The Real Adventurer

What does it mean to be an Adventurer?

Hands up to any adult if you grew up in the church and remember being an Adventurer?

Let’s see if you can remember the Adventurer Song?

We are Adventurers

At home, at school, at play.

We are Adventurers,

We’re learning every day

To be honest, kind, and true,

To be like Jesus through and through!

We are Adventurers!

You know, I can always remember part of the song mainly the first part of the song but never the rest, I can never remember the pledge or even the law.

The only reason why I can never remember the pledge or the law was because I never did Adventurer, I only remember the time I was in Pathfinders.

But, looking at what Adventurers is all about, if I had a time machine and was to relive the days when I was 5 years old, I would have loved to be an Adventurer.

But what are we promoting when it comes to Adventurer or even Pathfinders? What is it that we are promoting to our children?

Service and love to Jesus

Faith and trust in God

Discipline

Faith

Obedience

Outdoor skills

Domestic skills

The great thing is that this is all being taught right here by our wonderful Adventurer’s staff and here’s hoping and praying that we can get our Pathfinder club up and running for next year so we can teach and train our next generation of church leaders of Waitara SDA Church.

The definition of a real adventurer

But when we think about an real adventurer, a real adventurer is someone who enjoys or seeks adventure, someone who is willing to take risks to fulfill a personal desire.

Obviously, when it comes to these ‘Adventurers’, we don’t want our little ones taking risks of course, I mean these little ones think they are super heroes and would take the risk in running across the road without looking. How many parents here have had a heart attack when this happens?

I can definitely understand the feeling, my son has a three wheeled scooter and he loves going downhill and when he goes down hill he goes full speed. Initially when my son discovered this new talent of his, he forgot to inform his parents and decided to put his life in his own hands going full speed down the hill, now the footpath that he is going down has two options, left is more footpath for him to ride on and straight ahead is a road.

Now, I don’t know if my son was going faster than light because when I screamed his name it seems like my shout didn’t reach his ears when I told him to stop, it seemed like he broke the sound barrier, and he kept going down that hill and without hesitation my son just did a left turn with such finesse and kept on riding on until the sound of my shout reached his ears and stopped to look at me.

Now I didn’t scold him, but encouraged him to take it easy and not take dangerous risks.

However, when it comes to us Christians, how many of us are the real Christian adventurers?

Like, how many of you are the J. N. Andrews taking the risk to do a mission trip to Europe? Or the John Corliss taking the risk in handing out literature on the streets of Melbourne on a typical cold Melbourne day? How many of you are like Martin Luther and taking the risk in standing up for God’s Word? How many of you are willing to take the risk in standing up for truth like Jan Hus?

These are the real adventurers,

men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.

Are you that adventurer for Jesus? Willing to take the risk for Him? For His gospel?

Paul the Adventurer

One particular person that I can confidentially look up to that took the risk and was a real adventurer, apart from Jesus, is the apostle Paul.

Now I am not saying that the other apostles weren’t adventurers of the gospel, I mean Thomas took the gospel to India and sadly lost his life for it, he did however establish a church there and they continue to worship Jesus even to this day.

But the reason why I chose Paul because his life in ministry for Jesus is documented, and his interactions reveal to us what he risked to be an adventurer of Jesus.

Paul explains to the Corinthians what he had suffered as he risked his life for the sake of the gospel:

2 Corinthians 11:23–28 NLT

23 Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm. 28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

Paul including the many other apostles risked so much for the gospel, they were the adventurers and through their effort in faith we have the gospel in our hands today, ready for us to take it to a new adventure!

Zadour Baharian (the second Paul)

I recently read a story about a amazing man by the name of Zadour Baharian, an Armenian Seventh-day Adventist evangelist and missionary who recognised according to Adventist circles as the great apostle of the Levant, in fact it has gone so far to recognise him as the ‘Second Paul’.

How many of you have ever heard the story of Zadour Baharian? Let me give you a brief history of this extraordinary man of faith.

Not much is known about his childhood, all that is known is that he came from Adana in Cilicia, Turkey and was a school teacher. While attending a college in Ainteb he learnt about the Adventist faith through some tracts through Theodore Anthony who was the first Seventh-day Adventist in Turkey.

In 1890, Baharain connected with Anthony and borrowed two books; Daniel and Revelation (Uriah Smith) and History of the Sabbath (J. N. Andrews). Through the study of these two books and the guidance of Anthony, convinced Baharian that the Seventh-day Adventists had the truth and was baptised that same year.

Do you believe that we as Seventh-day Adventists have the truth? What have you done for the truth? Do you want to know what Baharian did next?

After Baharian’s baptism, he was invited by H. P. Holser, president of the Central European Mission to go to Switzerland and attend an Adventist school in Basel. For 18 months, he studied the Adventist theology and message, he also translated numerous Bible readings into Turkish and Armenian.

He was sent to Constantinople where he teamed up with Anthony and two other workers to print tracts that would be sent all over the country, and although the work was progressing, like anything, when the light of God grows brighter the darkness is disturbed and seeks out to extinguish the light.

False accusations got around and both men were in prison for four days, this would be the first of many yet the response from the tracts required them to meeting those who were eager to learn the truth.

Evangelistic meetings took place in Ovajuk, Barcecik, Aleppo (Syria), Iskenderun resulting in baptisms and churches were formed.

Baharian and Anthony were often arrested and imprisoned only to be realised and continue preaching. In the village of Ovajuk, the village were outraged and twice drove away the works and stoned the house that they were lodging.

There is a story when Baharian was in prison and while reading his bible and praying, an inmate was agitated and came to a point where the inmate wanted to kill him. But, this didn’t dissuade Baharian in sharing the gospel to the people in prison, lives were changed eventually and some inmates accepted the Adventist message.

Another story of persecution was when Baharian was defending himself to the ministers of Police and Interior in Constantinople. They offered him freedom if he would cease preaching about the Sabbath or else be banished to Ainteb where Baharian would say “leave the matter in the hands of God”. In which the minister had a change of heart and released him on the condition he would not leave Constantinople without his permission.

Now, the reason why Baharian would be considered the ‘second Paul’, was while he was not able to leave Constantinople he encouraged his fellow workers through letters. In 1904 he would be banished to Ainteb.

In 1908, a new Turkish constitution was proclaimed and restrictions on Baharian was lifted, this meant he man efforts in sharing the gospel in Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. But as you are aware, when we have good news then there is the possibility of some bad news. What was to happen in Europe in the next couple of years?

Baharian was making his way back to Constantinople 1914, he was apprehended outside Sivas and was murdered when he refused to recant his Christian faith.

As amazing as this true story is, where are the Baharians today? Where are the ‘third Pauls’ or ‘fourth Pauls’? Where are the real Adventurers? The risk takers of the gospel?

Jesus was a risk taker

Jesus took the risk as well, if you don’t believe me, while He hung on that cross it said that:

Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father's acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt the anguish that the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father's wrath upon Him as the sinner's substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.—The Desire of Ages, 753.

But Jesus trusted the Father, Jesus trusted His mercy, grace and love. He knew the Father’s love, and ventured through death knowing His death paid the price for our salvation.

Who is the real Adventurer?

And so you need to ask yourself this very simple question, are you the real Adventurer?

Are you taking the risk for the sake of the gospel? How far are you willing to take the Adventure with Jesus?

We have already seen the examples of Paul, of Zadour Baharian, and especially Jesus. If I had a chance to talk about the many who have sacrificed their lives for Jesus we can go on and on, I haven’t even had a chance to speak of the many missionaries that are out there taking the risk and adventure for the sake of the gospel.

But even if I was to share of their risks and adventures for the gospel, will it convince you to take the risk for Jesus?

What examples are we giving these children that are ready to be Adventurers for tomorrow?

1 Timothy 4:12 NLT

12 Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

If we want them to be mighty Christians for Jesus, we need to reflect Christ’s character here and now.

The Bible says:

Proverbs 22:6 NKJV

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

These children of the future look up to us older folks and follow our example. But, ultimately Jesus is looking to us and asking us to trust Him. Are we going to take that risk and go on that venture with Jesus?

If you want them to be the real Adventurer of Jesus, maybe it’s time for you to look at the mirror and see whether you are taking a real Adventurer with Jesus?

What risks are you willing to take for the gospel? What adventure are you taking with Jesus?