Final Word - Forward Edge 10/87

Final Word - Forward Edge 10/87

Dacie and I recently returned from a three-week trip to Guatemala and Nicaragua. As we arrived, the work of a Forward Edge team was just coming to an end. Team members were preparing to return home.

As I think of the many who step out on such teams, and of countless others who replant themselves and their families in a foreign land to minister, my mind ponders the nature of risk in the work of Christ. Many times I have asked myself: "What is it that causes men and women to rise up, leaving the reasonable certainty of their own lands or homes, and go to the forward edge?"

I have come to the conclusion that risk-taking in the gospel is the result of a vision put in the heart of a man by God Himself. The man or woman who experiences something of the great heart of God becomes a different person. He or she thinks differently about life. The risk of change, of leaving loved ones, of letting go of personal security becomes a minor item.
Once a man or woman hears from God and experiences that inner certainty, that sense that he or she can make a difference, the risk is no longer risk.

When a man or woman begins to believe that one life does make a difference, that they can help establish the kingdom of God in the place of God's choosing, then risk or inconvenience fade away. What becomes important is the opportunity to bring glory to God.

Joseph Anfuso recently preached that faith is spelled R-I-S-K. I agree, because it is faith in a God-given vision that causes a person to take a step of risk.

But risk is only risk if God will not be there. Risk is only a real factor if God will not or cannot keep His Word. The man or woman who takes risk in following God's will is merely acting in the faith that God will perform His Word, that He will bring to pass the dream or vision that He has given.

Years ago when we sent a Gospel Outreach team from Eureka, California to Guatemala, I wasn't sure the team was fully prepared. But after prayer, I felt to release them to the task. They believed they had heard from God. As a result, they packed their belongings and drove with their families in a caravan to Guatemala. As they left, I wondered about the outcome of their dreams.

As the work grew they had their monumental struggles. I'm sure there were plenty of times when they wondered about the vision God had given them. But during my recent travels there I saw hundreds, I should say thousands of believers in Guatemala and Nicaragua, preparing to go into all the world. What a sight!

From one point of view you could have called their initial journey to Guatemala in 1976 a big risk. But not from God's point of view. Because they had heard from God, and were set to follow His will, their vision was a certainty from eternity.
Upon returning from my travels my thoughts turned back to that Forward Edge team, filled with hope and excitement, telling me how much they wanted God to use them. How ready they were to go anywhere for Jesus. Hallelujah!

Am I concerned for the future of the church? No, I am excited about the future. A great and vast army of faith-filled risk-takers is rising up, an army of men and women burning with vision for what some might call the impossible. But the impossible with man is the possible with God.

It is those with impossible dreams, and with the courage to step out and live them, who will turn this world right side up.
Keep it up church. Keep it up Forward Edge. Your best years are still ahead.

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