Oakbrook Evangelical Free Church

Introduction:

1. Rebel Without A Cause

2. Reality TV

“It’s harder to get on these shows than it is to get into Harvard,” says Jonathan Murray, who produces the MTV shows.

This raw material, ordinary people who want to be on TV, is needed for a genre exploding in size. Survivor, TheReal World, Fear Factor and The Bachelor head a list of more than a dozen prime-time reality shows, not to mention syndicated “date-coms” such as Blind Date. And the list is growing: UPN is searching for a Supermodel, CBS is reviving Star Search, Fox is expecting engagements in Married by America, and ABC is looking to muss heirs with an inheritance show, The Will.

Survivor series – up to Survivor 6

American Idol 2

The Amazing Race up to 3

Fear Factor

Extreme Fear Factor

Frontier House

America’s Most Wanted

Cops

Big Brother 3

Real World

Road Rules

The Bachelor

The Dating Game

Temptation Island

3. Real Reality

The Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Have you ever wondered what happened to those 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? 5 signers were captured as traitors by the British and were tortured before they died. 12 had their homes ransacked and burned. 2 lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured. 9 of the 56 fought and died from wounds or the hardship of the War.

What kind of men were they? 24 were lawyers and jurists. 11 were merchants; 9 were farmers and large plantation owners. These signed and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Carter Braxton of Virginia was a wealthy planter and trader. He saw his ships swept from the seas by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in rags. Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family constantly. He served in Congress without pay and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Ellery, Clymer, Hall, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Tutledge, and Middleton. Francis Lewis hade his home and properties destroyed. His wife was jailed and died within a few months.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr. noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. The owner quietly urged General George Washington to open fire, which was done. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and grist mill was destroyed. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home after the war to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Morris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

The story of Col Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Commanded the 20^th Maine prior to the battle of Gettysburg. Just a month before the battle 120 mutineers from Maine were assigned to Chamberlain’s regiment. His superiors commanded him to get the men to fight…or execute them.

So Chamberlain gave an impassioned speech, imploring the mutineers to fight. He reminded them that this war was not being fought for any of the usual motivations; they were fighting to set men free. And then he said an extraordinary thing:

“We know not of the future, and cannot plan for itmuch. But we can…determine the know what manner of men we will be whenever and wherever the hour strikes that calls to noble action…No man becomes suddenly different from his habit and cherished thought.”

All but six of the mutineers signed on to fight with Chamberlain. They believed that risking their lives was worth the cost because they were inspired by his vision of character and noble action.

The Crew of the Columbia

American Troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq

Definition of Risk: an action that exposes you to the possibility of lose or injury. The possibility of losing money, losing face, losing youth health or your life. May even expose other people to the possibility of lose, not just yourself.

Will a wise and loving person ever take a risk?

Is it wise to expose yourself to loss?

Is it loving to endanger others?

Is losing your life the same as wasting it?

I. We Are Wired for Risk

A. By God

Genesis 1:26-28 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Genesis 2:15 “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”

B. By Our Sin Nature

But this God-given motivation can because a lust for adventure

And a lifestyle of self-reliance without God.

Steve Fosset – set the world record balloon trip

Now he is working on taking a glider to 60,000 feet.

Our default setting that moves to us takes risks for the wrong reasons.

Genesis 3:1-6 And the serpent said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

And again.

Matthew 4:5-10 “Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “ On the other hand , it is written , ‘ You shall not put the Lord your God to the test .’ ” Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “ Go , Satan ! For it is written , ‘ You shall worship the Lord your God , and serve Him only .’ ”

Under the illusion that we won’t die – Rebel Without A Cause

And all the other stunts that we foolishly pull.

Jumping off roofs

Under a dare

Misusing a promise of God for self exalting purposes.

To demonstrate for all the world to see how great you are.

Wanting to do our own thing apart from wanting to do God’s thing.

Wanting to do God’s thing our way.

Why are we drawn to the a life of risk

Fixation with false heroism

Focused on self-exaltation
“Interview with

“I have no sympathy for career girls like you and I who

are in it for our egos. The real heroes of the world are the

mothers who stay home and raise their children.”

To stroke our egos.

To gain someone’s approval or to save face?

The only satisfying life is one lived out of our God-given passionate center!

But, for whom do I do what I do?

1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

ILL: Microscope vs Telescope

Making something small look big

Helping us see how large and how beautiful something really is.

Colossians 3:17, 23 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father…. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men,”

II. The Myth of Safety!

A. Just a Part of Life

James 4:13-15 “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

Life is lived out in ignorance and uncertainty!

When we say “in sickness and health, for better or worse” we do not know!

~ Ought to reject independent living

~ Security is found in conscious, daily dependence on the loving, sovereign hand of God!

2 Timothy 1:7 “God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”

Isaiah 44:6-8 “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.’”

Isaiah 46:8-11 “Remember this, and be assured; Recall it to mind, you transgressors. “Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man of My purpose from a far country. Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.”

We are ignorant of the future.

These are uncertain times.

Our plans for tomorrow can be shattered by a thousands unknowns.

But God is not ignorant. He knows the end from the beginning and we are called on to live our lives with confidence before God.

Seeking to magnify Him.

And trusting His plan and purpose for our lives.

Some of us are, by nature, those who “cultivate and keep” the garden.

We are timid by nature. We avoid things that seem risky to us.

We relish safety and security. Risks tend to paralyze us.

B. For Believers, Safety is a Myth

Matthew 16:22-27 “Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “ Get behind Me, Satan ! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s .” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “ If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself , and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul ? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul ? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels , and will then repay every man according to his deeds.

Use it or lose it!

Playing it safe is dangerous!

The believer is called to follow Christ whatever the cost!

Horded manna turns rotten.

Cast your bread upon the waters and after many days it will come back to you.

2 Corinthians 11:24-28 “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. 2 Co 11:24-28

Safety is a mirage!

Life turns on only a few basic issues:

~ Who am I living for?

~ Who am I trusting?

~ Will I live out my life with enthusiastic pursuit of pleasing God or in a lukewarm, half-hearted attempt to be a Christian?