Risk 3

RISK

A New Year Challenge

"The Risk of Letting Go"

Luke 5: 4-11 "When He had stopped speaking, He (Jesus) said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6 And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. 7 So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.”

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We've been talking about "Risk" the last couple of weeks---the kind of risk that always accompanies stepping out in faith.

So far we've talked about two kinds of risk---the risk of VULNERABILITY and the risk of OBEDIENCE...

Now today I want to talk about the RISK OF LETTING GO....

We're believing God for a year of the miraculous---miraculous open doors, miraculous answers to prayer, a miraculous harvest of souls...

And when that's where your faith is, it will always require a level of RISK...

Someone once said, "If you want to go where the real fruit is, you've got to go out on a limb."

And I'm not talking about foolish, presumptuous, unBiblical risk...

But the kind of risk we see played out in the lives of God's saints all throughout Scripture...

The risk of looking foolish, the risk of stepping out into the unknown, the risk of obeying God when it doesn't make sense, the risk of putting yourself and your stuff on the line in order to obey...

This is the kind of risk we see in Simon Peter's life when Jesus got into His boat, and told him to launch out into the deep where he'd just been all night long and caught nothing...

The kind of risk where Peter said essentially, "Your command to go back out there doesn't make any sense, but "NEVERTHELESS at your Word I will let down the net."

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We see in our text that after catching a net breaking, boat sinking load of fish, Peter and his business associates including Andrew, James and John, "FORSOOK all and FOLLOWED Him."

I notice there that you can't FOLLOW without FORSAKING.

FORSAKING precedes FOLLOWING when you're talking about following Jesus!

The Greek puts it, they "left everything behind..."

This was the moment of a "total letting go" of everything these four men had ever known, ever worked for, and had assumed they would always have!

This was their livelihood, their craft, their identification, their source of income...

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They took this "letting go" step based on two things---the MIRACLE they had just witnessed of the greatest catch they had ever seen...

And at the WORD of Jesus to them, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men."

FACT: I have never moved forward in God, never taken a step of faith into a new level, without having to let go of some things...

We must "LET GO" of what we have in order to "LAY HOLD" of what is coming.

The disciples "left everything" they had behind them, in order to "lay hold" of everything that was coming...

Peter "let go" of fishing for fish in order to "lay hold" of a great harvest of souls.

Paul "let go" of his position as a respected Jewish scribe in order to "lay hold" of his position as the great Apostle to the Gentiles.

Abraham "let go" of his hometown of Ur of the Chaldeans in order to "lay hold" of the Promised Land.

Moses "let go" of his lofty position in Egypt in order to "lay hold" of his calling to deliver God's people from Egypt.

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Any time Jesus calls, we must have a "let go" attitude, because nothing you're holding on to can be compared to what's coming!

We must keep a LOOSE GRIP on the things of this world, and a TIGHT GRIP on the things of God.

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When Jesus called me to follow Him, I had to "let go" of old friendships that were dragging me down...

I had to "let go" of my own plans for my life...

I had to "let go" of the fear of what others would say about my total commitment to Christ...

But in return I have "laid hold of" leading thousands to Christ through the years...

A level of education I'd have never reached apart from Him...

A clean, God glorifying life free of drugs and corruption...

Following Jesus always includes the Risk of letting go, but OH what you gain instead!

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Now, let's look at a few of the things we will deal with in LETTING GO...

The fear of being the loser

Following Jesus is always a series of trade-offs...

Jesus says, "Give me THAT, so you can have THIS."

He told the young rich man, "Give me your riches, and I'll give you eternal life."

He told Peter, "Give me your fishing for fish, and I'll make you a fisher of men."

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But sometimes we deal with a FEAR....

We're afraid of what will happen if NOTHING happens.

In other words, What if I "let go" and God doesn't move, doors don't open...

What if I'm left feeling foolish and looking like a failure...

At least before I LET GO, I have something!

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Scripture says that Peter, Andrew, James and John dealt with the "fear of being the loser" issue quickly!

They were so convinced of Who Jesus was, and that His call to "follow Him" was worth the risk, they instantly LET GO of everything and left it all behind!

Mark's gospel tells us...."They IMMEDIATELY left their nets and followed Him" (1:18).

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The fear of losing what you have is the fear the devil uses when Jesus calls you to LET GO and follow Him...

But not only is it a lie that you will lose, it's a HUGE lie...

Listen to what Jesus Himself promised,

"Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has LEFT (let go of) house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this lifetime—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).

Did you hear that? For every one thing you leave behind for Jesus' sake, you will receive 100 fold in THIS LIFE!

Does that sound like a loser?

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So when faced with the Risk of LETTING GO, we often experience the fear of losing...

Then a second factor involved in the Risk of Letting Go is....

The necessity of removing obstacles

The writer of Hebrews mentions two things every Christian must deal with...

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." (12:1)

He mentions SINS and he mentions WEIGHTS...

We all know what sin is, but I don't think we're as clear on what a 'WEIGHT' is...

He tells us in the verse that a weight is anything that slows us down, that hinders our progress, that saps our inner strength, that eclipses our potential....

It's not a SIN, it's a WEIGHT.

The difference between the two is....

A SIN breaks our relationship with God, while a WEIGHT hinders our progress in God!

Often it is the 'WEIGHTS' of life that we must leave behind, or as Hebrews puts it 'LAY IT DOWN.'

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In my own journey I have learned that some things are WINGS and others are WEIGHTS.

That is, there are some things in life that help me to soar in God; as Isaiah said, "They shall mount up with wings as eagles..."

For example, here are some wings:

Encouraging people; a daily devotional time in the Word and prayer; an uplifting book; an edifying conversation; solid Christian friendships; a good, Bible preaching, Jesus worshipping church....

All of these things are WINGS that pick me up and help me to soar!

But then there are WEIGHTS....those things that tear and wear me down, like:

Wrong friendships;

A secret habit;

Negative conversations based in gossip, unbelief, or doubt;

A worldly attachment that takes the "first place position" reserved only for Jesus;

All these things are WEIGHTS and not WINGS!

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Now let me give you something to put in your pocket and take home with you....

I've never given up a WEIGHT that Jesus didn't replace with a WING!

Put another way, Jesus wants us to give up what is holding us up, so that He can give us what will lift us up!

The WEIGHTS that are slowing you down are keeping you from the WINGS that would cause you to soar!

FACT: The older I get in God the less I can afford weights that drag me down...

If it's a choice between a WEIGHT or WINGS, it's time to choose the WINGS!

So....We see now that you can safely LET GO of weights without fear of being the LOSER!

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And finally, the Risk of Letting Go requires....

The courage to go where you've not been

I'm sure you've noticed that we love that which is familiar.....

That familiar old restaurant, neighborhood, town, or friends....

It is scary to leave the familiar––but that is often what we must do in order to engage in the Risk of LETTING GO...

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When God was preparing Joshua to take the Promised Land, he told the people something that has always stuck with me...

"When you see the priests carrying the Ark of God, follow them. You have never before been where we are going now, so they will guide you" (Joshua 3:3-4).

You see, the Ark of God represented the Presence and Promises of God....

And the people here are being forewarned to stay close to God's Presence and Promises, because they're going to be led where they've never been!

In other words, "People of God, You're going to have to LET GO of the familiar for the unfamiliar, the known for the unknown."

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The testimony of Scripture is that the disciples left their boats, Paul left his position, Moses left his security, Abraham left his hometown---these were all things and places familiar to them.

But look at what they gained in the long run!

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What is God asking you to LET GO OF today?

What are you afraid of TURNING LOOSE OF?

Is there a WEIGHT that is hindering your progress––a person, a place, a thing?

LET'S PRAY