THE BARBARIAN WAY: Part 2

THE CALL
June 11, 2006

OPENING:
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door. You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off too. Do you realize that this is the very path that goes through Mirkwood, and that if you let it, it might take you to the Lonely Mountain or even further and to worse places?”

DANGEROUS INVITATION: Mushroom Eaters
l The men and women closest to God will most powerfully live out the raw and untamed spirit of faith.
l Versions of the Invitation
Civilized Version: Jesus died & rose, so that you can life a life of comfort, security and indulgence. (Diminishes life after death)
Simple-Minded Version: simply confess & believe and you’ll be saved from hellfire & torture, then you’ll go to heaven when you die. (Diminishes life on earth)
Jesus Version: Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me. (the real call)
l Hebrews 11 folk: The were not disappointed, understood their call, and chose it willingly. For them love & sacrifice were inseparable.
l CRUX: A world without God cannot wait for us to choose the safe path.

RISKY BUSINESS: If you’re hungry enough you’ll eat.
l Jesus never lied about the danger or cost (Matthew 10 or 2 Corinthians 11), but invites us to a life of uncertainty, mystery and risk.
l John 21: Peter argues with Jesus that it’s not fair that not everyone is given the same life.
l CRUX: To walk in the character of Christ is always the right choice, regardless of the outcome (Betsie and Corrie ten Boom). Instead of finding confidence to live as we should regardless of our circumstances, we have used it as justification to choose the path of least resistance, least difficulty, least sacrifice. Instead of concluding it is best to be wherever God wants us to be, we have decided that wherever it is best for us to be is where God wants us. Actually, God’s will for us is less about our comfort than it is about our contribution. God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance. God created you so that your life would count, not so that you could count the days of your life.


CHALLENGE
l “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.” (Matthew 11)
l It’s time to rediscover the Call of Christ.
l John the Baptist: Defied anyone who would deny the legitimacy of Jesus. He declared his subservience to (banner) the purpose and person of Jesus Christ.
l CLOSE: pages 53-55 of "The Barbarian Way"
l BAGGINS REWRITE: “It’s a dangerous business, friends, going out your door. You walk by faith, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where the Holy Spirit might sweep you off too. Do you realize that “The Barbarian Call” is the very path that Christ took, and that if you let it, it might take you on lonely journeys, or even further or to harder places?”