Unstoppable Idiots

So last week, I marked out 7 characteristics embodied by the “right” partner who will make you unstoppable in your quest to follow the heart of God into the passion that He takes you. I took four of those characteristics and busted them out into quiet times this week and was told by a lot of people that I don’t embody any of those characteristics! But since I love Jesus, they said, they’ll let it slide. Which is probably the most important characteristic of the “right” partner. It is somebody who begins his or her own partnership with Jesus. The funny thing is that the “right” partner embodies these characteristics of godliness and then is available in your circumstances. But what happens when you have this unstoppable mindset and then you meet a partner who empowers you and you empower them to achieve something God put into your hearts to do? Well, that’s today, you become an unstoppable idiot. Except, some of us don’t becoming idiots for the vision we have. We don’t become fools for the passion burning in our hearts. We don’t become unstoppable in the circumstances we face. The reason we don’t do any of these things is because there are some underlying misrepresentations we believe in that cause us to stop pursuing God’s dream for us and instead of being an idiot, we live idiotically. Here’s the first lie we are told when we find it difficult to pursue our calling: you are not ready. Let me tell you something, you’re never ready and there never will be a time when you are ever ready. I don’t care how many letters you have after your last name. God doesn’t call the prepared, but He prepares the called. So let me explain how God works because He is an extremely efficient God. Here’s how it goes—God doesn’t expect you to be perfect before you can step into the vision he placed in your heart. When God called you to Him, that moment you accepted Jesus as your savior because it became clear that you were depraved and unable to fix yourself on your own, He then started to prepare you for something. God did not call you to Him, into salvation, when you were ready for it; He called you to be saved and prepares you for something more. I want to define the word, “idiot” for you before I continue because I know some of you are now thinking that I’m off my rocker and just being inappropriate and giving sermons titles that are senselessly controversial for the sake of controversy. The word, idiot is a noun meaning: private person, layman, person lacking skill or expertise. The disciples of Jesus in the first century fit this definition. Let’s look at Mark 1. 16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. – Mark 1:16-18 Jesus found these guys while he was walking down a beach! There was nothing special about them! Jesus then says to these fishermen, who had spent their entire lives fishing, to suddenly change careers, where the only type of talk they had to do was trade fish for money, and become rhetoricians and/or politicos. I want you to notice something here in the text that we take for granted. Look at verse 18. It says, “…immediately they left their nets and followed him.” I want you to underline or circle that verse. Listen, you can get God to call your name a hundred times and guess what, if you don’t leave what you’re doing behind to follow Him to where He wants to take you, you ain’t going. And you can’t ever be prepared to what God has for you, if you never leave it behind and go! I know, it’s a trust issue, it’s a commitment issue. It’s hard for you. I know, trust me, I know, I have both those issues where I distrust and I can’t commit—I mean it’s apparent by the vast quantities of people I keep around me that I don’t even know. And have you ever tried to pin me down to give you an answer, the work you have to put in, to get a simple yes or a no? I want you to realize something about yourself. You’re an idiot. There’s nothing special about you despite what your momma says. Listen, growing up, I thought I was such a good hockey player because I was big, I was fast, and I can hit really hard—both the puck and other people. But then my parents came to one of my games early in high school and said to me, “Jonathan, you suck at hockey!” And I said, “what do you mean, I made the city all star team, this is why you came to the game.” My dad said to me, “Son, I don’t think you understand the game, you spent more time in the penalty box than you did on the ice, you don’t want to play hockey, you just want to hit people and that’s the only reason you made it this far, quit now while you’re ahead.” Yes, I was an idiot! But here’s the difference. You can be an idiot wherever you or I go, but there’s something undeniable about idiots who spend time with Jesus. Let’s look at Acts 4. So let me try to fill you in on what’s happening. Peter and John were going to temple and there was a beggar that was annoying them. So instead of giving the beggar money, they prayed and told the beggar to get up and walk, and the dude got up and started jumping up and down and virtually started doing the dougie down Jerusalem Temple. So Peter and John were arrested and sent to sensitivity court, I mean, they were sent down to the Sanhedrin, that’s the religious oligarchy that rules Israel. 13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14 But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15 But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16 saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18 So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21 And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. – Acts 4:13-22 When an idiot is called by God and lives in the love of Jesus, there is something recognizably different about them (13). No, they don’t stop being idiots, but something is changed. It’s like there is a fire in their eyes, something on their faces that cannot be described, but experienced. I know you’ve seen this before. These seemingly dumb and untrained people start doing things that they have no training in doing. Not only that, they are actually good at what they are doing and nobody can really explain it and nobody is going to deny it as luck either (17, 22). This is the part that always amazed me about idiots who are called by God. An idiot who has been with Jesus, gives their whole lives to God’s calling. Do you see the move that Peter and John make in part because of their idiocy? If it were me, I’d be trying to bow out of there because these attorneys have the power to crucify you. I don’t know whether it was bravery, stupidity or a mixture of both, but they could have definitely given a noncommittal answer and walk out of that room. Don’t look at me with those judgmental eyes; you know you’d do the same thing. Listen to what they said in verse 19 and 20: “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” They didn’t care what other people were going to do to them. It didn’t matter what the price was. It didn’t matter the circumstances that they faced. They knew that despite what they are trained to do, and the skills they don’t have, that they were going to be unstoppable because an unstoppable God was guiding their steps. My question to you is whether you have this same faith. Do you have this same confidence? You and I both know that at some point, God used you to do something life altering and you were not qualified to do it. You never had the training for it and yet, you did it and somehow, it was amazing. We’re always going to have naysayers, but it would behoove us to listen to them. When it comes down to it, these idiots were unstoppable because they didn’t listen to people—they listened to what the voice of God said to their hearts and minds that they could do and what they were created to do. They went out and then did it! My friends are constantly worried about me because every time they blink, I’m quietly taking on another impossible, shipwrecked project. I was on the phone with a friend, trying to figure out the math for a project work and he basically told me, “Jon, can you just go to sleep and forget this project even existed?” So I asked why? And he says, “well, because honestly, you were set up for failure, there’s nothing here that would suggest you come out of this in one piece.” 33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them. 34 But a Pharisee in the council named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law held in honor by all the people, stood up and gave orders to put the men outside for a little while.35 And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. 36 For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. 37 After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. 38 So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; 39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. – Acts 5:33-42 Just in case you don’t know who Gamaliel is, he is the Apostle Paul’s teacher. If you don’t know where I’m going with this, then just imagine how prepared Paul was when Jesus called him on the road to Damascus and told him to change the course of his life by becoming a missionary as opposed to a synagogue leader. When we are ready to give our whole lives for the vision and mission God has put us on, He will take us on a journey, whether we’re ready or not, and most likely we won’t ever be ready, and if it is God’s plan, the journey we travel will not fail. That is a guarantee and this is the first place we step toward as we begin a new series next week called, “Found Favor.” Let’s watch this video. Let’s pray. 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. – Ephesians 3:14-21