Fear, Apathy and Faith

Each mission trip I have gone on has shape and formed who I am today. My first trip was to Cambellton, New Brunswick at the age of 12. I went with a group called Kings Kids to sing songs, dance and do work bee at churches. Then at the age of 18 I spent 2 months of my life living in the heart of Time Square in New York City working with troubled youth. In my final year of University I went to San Francisco to spend a week feeding the poor with an organization called “Mission Possible”. Following that, I went to the Congo with Steve in 2007 marking the longest mission trip drought of my life. That trip was a step up in difficulty, intensity and faith at a time in my life where I needed to really begin trusting in God. I can remember each of those trips as if they had just happened yesterday. God led me to each of those places because he had two things in store. One was for the work I was to asked to do at the location, whatever that may have been from just hanging out with kids who slept at the building I worked in because if they went home they would be beaten by their parents, or maybe just handing out sandwiches to some people who were hungry, or leading a men’s bible study in a university classroom that had been riddled with bullets. But secondly somehow just as, or more importantly God did a great work inside of me at each of those places. It chipped away at some attitude I had, or showed me levels of faith I never thought possible inside myself.

Enter in Haiti in 2011. In the first meeting almost a year ago, we went around the room and we answered the icebreaking question of “Why are you going on this trip”. For me at the time, my answer was simple. “I think it’s a good idea.” I had seen the destruction on the news while travelling to Louisville, Kentucky for meetings about NYC and it had barely touched me. Later on, I gave some money when asked to as God had prodded, then even further help sell some water bottles at crazy prices to help provide people with drinking water. Yet… that wasn’t enough to absolve me of what God has asked me (us) to do. So I went. I didn’t particularly feel “called” to this trip as some people might have described it. At that point I had merely seen the need, was given an opportunity to follow through on my faith and give back. I didn’t feel I needed a reason beyond that. After going and coming back, I realized how much more I am required to help, to give, to be there. So in small way I’ve only given of myself when it was convenient for me, how much more am I required to give when it’s not?

My testimony today won’t be about what we did there, how God changed me, or how Haiti is a beautiful, yet desolate dichotomy of contrasts. God has simply asked me to challenge you, to ask you to help. Our church is filled with people who have heard his call and gone and given of themselves, yet I feel there are many, many more here that God has asked to go, and have ignored him. Or perhaps didn’t realize what they were being asked and got confused or simply let apathy or fear rule their decision making. I feel the Lord has asked me to speak to you. Simply giving of your money is not enough to absolve you of your Christian responsibility. I’m sorry, it’s just not. He has called ALL Christians to give of themselves in service, and I’ll even argue service outside of just your “local area”, or otherwise known as your comfort zone is not enough as we see in the scriptures. So I’m going to quickly speak on 3 topics that the Lord spoke to me while being on the trip. My prayer is that one or more of you will hear what I’m saying and not leave here today without saying “yes” to what big adventure God has in store for you next.

Apathy!

“Only if my enemy was bigger than my apathy, then I could have won.” “I Gave you All” -Mumford & Sons
Wikipedia defines Apathy as a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, or physical life. He or she may exhibit an insensibility or sluggishness.
For far too much of my life I have been apathetic to the problems around me, the issues of the world, to the needs of the many. Far too often my enemy was not bigger than my apathy, and so I’ve lost precious hours, days, and weeks not caring, not loving. Haiti changed that for me. No longer can I live my life ignoring, suppressing my emotions, being unconcerned. Allowing oneself to become apathetic is a sin that needs as much or more repentance then most. Even if you have lost time to apathy, take this quote from Prince Caspian in the chronicles of Narnia to heart.
“To know that would have happened, child? No. Nobody is ever told that. But anyone can find out what will happen. If you go back to the others now, and wake them up; and tell that you have seen me again; and that you must all get up at once and follow me—what will happen? There is only one way of finding out.” –Aslan in Prince Caspian
Woe to you who has let your heart harden to the cries of pain and suffering of this world. Woe to you who has stood by and watched as the world has burned. Woe to you who knows no passion, concern or excitement. Do not let your heart be hardened, but let God’s light shine in, and you might be pleasantly surprised what just might happen.
Fear!
“Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven but Nobody Wants To Die lord, I Want To Go To Heaven but I Don’t Want To Die though I Long For The Day When I Have New Birth still I Love Livin? Here On Earth everybody Wants To Go To Heaven but Nobody Wants To Die.” – David Crowder Band
Many times people allow fear to rule their lives. If I had a nickel for every person I’ve talked to over the years that have made excuses on why they can’t help, or go somewhere to give of themselves I’d probably would have solved world hunger by now. More times than not, it is simply person allowing their fears to rule and win over what God has planned for them. What I hear when people tell me those things is that they simply believe that God is not big enough to take care of whatever it is they are worried about. If there is anything I learned in Haiti is that it is not about you. When you become a follower of Christ, you are giving up yourself for him. So often in the first world, we believe way too much that the world is centered on us. Once you let go of the idea, that “it” is about you, the easier it will be to do simply what he has asked of us. Let go of your fear, let go of your “ifs and buts”. Listen to him and go… do something. Do not let fear stop you from experiencing what God has planned for you. If you do, you are robbing the world of Joy, goodness, hope, faith and life.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 8 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.[a] “Everything is meaningless!”
Psalm 27:1 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
Faith!
“To the desperate eyes and reaching hands. To the suffering and the lean. To the ones the world has cast aside. Where you want me I will be.” – “I Will Go” – Starfield.
Matthew 28: 17-20
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
I’m pretty sure when I read that in my Bible, it says all nations. Maybe your version says something like “Therefore and make disciples of all the first world nations”, or “make disciples of all the safe places”, or maybe yours says “make disciples of all the easy to get to nations.”
Have we become a people of those who only selectively tell the gospel because it might be scary, or uncomfortable, or cost “too much”?
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
I know man is saved by Grace and not by works, but if you read that the same way I do. Each Christian will be held responsible for their giving, or lack thereof. Just giving some money to help absolve you of your first world guilt isn’t enough people. We are demanded to do something to help those in need. Can you sit there in your chair and tell me those are not the people Jesus was talking about? (Show picture of kids in Sunday school)
Acts 1:6-8
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
I’d like you to all bow your head with me and pray this prayer with me. “Lord lead me to what you have for me to do. Break my heart with what breaks yours. Increase my faith, take away my fear, and never let me become apathetic. Amen.” I challenge you to pray this every single day until he speaks to you. I promise you it won’t take long.
When you become a Christian you gave up your right to be apathetic, fearful and ignorant. What are you going to do next? Don’t let Satan’s use of fear and apathy rob you, and God’s people of what he has planned. For we will all be held accountable when the time comes for not acting when asked.