Crossing into Risk

Hebrews 11: 23-37

Crossing into Risk

Risk is the willingness to potentially lose certain

assets with the hopeful expectation of gaining

assets that are perceived to be more valuable.

Crossing into Risk

Kingdom risk is acting from the willingness of

losing my life and my agenda with the

expectation of gaining His life and His

agenda.

Crossing into Risk

Risk has always been necessary to secure the

destiny, liberty and freedom of a nation, and

to move new movements in history towards

God’s ultimate intention

Crossing into Risk

What kind of risk ventures can we expect?:

Crossing into Risk


Abraham: The riskful settler

Crossing into Risk


Jacob: The riskful relational rebuilder

Crossing into Risk


Elisha: The riskful disciple

Crossing into Risk


Joseph: The riskful entrepreneur

Crossing into Risk


David: The riskful warrior

Crossing into Risk

Risk analysis & risk strategy:

Are you:

a risk avoider,

a risk reducer,

or a risk optimizer.

Crossing into Risk

Characteristics of a risk avoider :

• Self-preservation

• Fear

• loss of control

• Pride

• Disobedience

• Content with too little

• Wants things to stay the same

Crossing into Risk

Characteristics of a risk optimizer :

• Courage

• Obedience

• Revelation

• Humility. Surrender.

• Faith

• Intelligence gatherer

• Vision. Seer.

Crossing into Risk

Spiritual assets applied in developing a risk strategy:

• Prayerful hearing from God

• Seek counsel and authority

• Gather intelligence

• Apply your resources

Crossing into Risk

Crossing into Risk

Christ Church Kirkland. Dr. Simon Mould. July 23rd, 2006.

Christ Church Kirkland - 1 - A Community for Those Who Want to Grow

Crossing into Risk

Introduction:

Two weeks ago Pastor Norm reminded us that CCK is in a “crossover season that has brought us to a junction of

expectation.”

The actions that we must experience that will bring us into our phase II are dependent upon us crossing into a place

of risk. The very act of crossing over is in itself an act of risk.

“We must release into Christ Church Kirkland an atmosphere of risk.”

Read Heb. 11: 23-37

By faith, each one crossed into risk.

Definition of risk:

Engaging in any activity with an uncertain outcome.

Risk is the willingness to potentially lose certain assets with the hopeful expectation of gaining assets that are

perceived to be more valuable.

Equation: Willing loss + Hopeful gain -> Risk taken

For us, Kingdom risk is acting from the willingness of losing my life and my agenda with the expectation of gaining His

life and His agenda.

Oxford Dictionary: Hazard, danger; exposure to mischance or peril.

Webster’s 1828:

The sense of the word is to push forward, to drive forward. (similar to crossing over)

To be bold, to dare.

To run a risk is to incur hazard and encounter danger.

To trust.

To expose to injury or loss.

To risk one’s person in battle or combat.

Crossing into Risk



To risk one’s fame by a publication.

To risk life in defense of rights.

Why is risk necessary?:

We live in a culture of paradox.

One one hand we hate to take risks because we live in a “health and public safety” culture that is afraid to do

anything for fear of loss or law suits. Mother’s feminize our boys. Corporations turn leaders into managers.

Government over regulates entrepreneurs.

One the other hand, we have turned taking risk into human pursuits of extreme endurance and pleasure. Explosion

of extreme sports (general term for sports featuring speed, height, danger, a high level of physical exertion, highly

specialized gear, or spectacular stunts. A feature of such activities in the view of some is their alleged capacity to

induce a so-called adrenaline rush in participants.

The irony of the paradox, is that the safer we try to make life, the more boring it becomes, thus the more people

take haphazard and self-centered risks.

Read quote.

We are programmed for risk because we are made in His image.

Since risk is acting from the willingness of losing my life and my agenda with the expectation of gaining His life and His

agenda, risk becomes necessary for the fulfillment of His Kingdom agenda.

There is no gain without risk taken. Crossing over is predicated upon taking strategic risk. Receiving the promise is

protected by requirements that require great risks.

Risk has always been necessary to secure the destiny, liberty and freedom of a nation, and to move new movements

in history towards God’s ultimate intention:

The heroes of the faith in Heb. 11 (Abraham, Moses, etc) embraced risk to secure the identity and destiny of the

nation of Israel. Through their risk, Israel crossed over from a slave nation with no land or identity, to a great nation

that stills provides a model today.

The apostles and early church fathers risked their lives for the destiny and liberty of the church in the midst of

Roman persecution. Through their risk, they crossed over from being the religious and legalistic Jewish people, to

being the church of many nations, full of life and power.

Martin Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and many others, risked their lives by speaking out against the abuses of the Catholic

Church and started the Reformation. Through their risk, Western civilization crossed over from an era of tyranny,

corruption and abuse, to a new era that sowed the seeds of political, cultural and economic freedoms.

Crossing into Risk



American revolutionaries risked their lives by taking on the most powerful military force in the world at that time in

order to secure their liberty. (My story)

The Declaration of Independence states: “When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same

Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such

Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” Through their risk, such rights were secured and

America crossed over to found a nation upon biblical principles.

Winston Churchill risked all of England when he took on Hitler who had already occupied most of Western Europe

within a few weeks of the start of WWII. The allied soldiers, through their risk, crossed over the English Channel,

once unsuccessfully at Dunkirk, the other successfully at Normandy, in order to push back the German advancement.

Dunkirk and Normandy are stories of risk – one was prepared, the other haphazard. (Story of Grandpa on bike)

Our armed services, including our own Garrett and Jonathan, continue today to risk their lives in the War on Terror.

Through their risk, we will cross over into a new era of history currently being defined.


Many of the biblical stories reveal leaders and ordinary people who crossed into specific risk ventures in order to

secure their promise. They have become our example for specific risk ventures God might be leading you into:

Abraham: The riskful settler

Gen. 12. God tells Abram to move from his place of comfort and security in Ur, to go to Canaan where a community

would be birthed. For us, to cross over into promise, we need to embrace a risk venture where we emigrate from

places of comfort and security on the peripheral of the community and settle in the core of the community. (My

story: God’s call to come to the US)

Jacob: The riskful relational rebuilder

Gen. 33. Having stolen the birthright from his brother Esau, Jacob risked restoring relationship with his brother once

again. For some, the risk venture is relational restoration, which involves restoring intimacy and communication. This

requires taking the risk of placing trust in others again. In order to cross over into a restored marriage, you must risk

encountering intimacy once again.

Elisha: The riskful disciple

I Ki. 19. In order to cross over into the double portion anointing of Elijah, Elisha had to risk by letting go of his self-

preservation in order to become Elijah’s disciple. When Elisha initially wanted to return and legitimately say goodbye

to his parents, he was using it as a potential door of escape. Despite his desire to escape, Elisha embraced Elijah’s

discipleship, risking his past by leaving it behind. Discipleship requires the risk of leaving your past behind because you

are now accountable to cross over into places of advance.

Joseph: The riskful entrepreneur

Crossing into Risk



Using prophetic guidance, Joseph discerned both, the coming economic abundance and scarcity, and thus prepared

Egypt to supply other nations with bread out of its abundance during the worst drought to ever hit the region. Joseph

risked by overcoming the bitterness of his surroundings and chose to increase the resources of his captors, which led

to his rise in influence. Risk by overcoming the circumstances that prevent you from crossing into abundance.

David: The riskful warrior

David fought major battles against Israel’s long-term enemy, the Philistines. Prior to David, the Philistines had pushed

Israel into holding the smallest amount of territory ever since they had conquered the land under Joshua. When

David became king after Saul, he took the nation from a disunified shambles, to a unified and prosperous world

power. But David’s success was temporary because he did not continue to embrace riskful ventures as a warrior. (II

Sam 11) He stayed home when it was customary for kings to go to war, and instead, fell into sin. David risked in his

rendezvous with Bathsheba. This is why our perception of the gain we are willing to risk for must be Christ-centered.

David’s risk focus had changed from war to pleasure. Ps 46:9 states, “He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth.”

Who determines when a war has ceased? He does. Unless He says a particular battle is over, we carry risking

ourselves in the fight.

Daniel: The riskful intercessor

Dan. 6 Daniel engaged in riskful intercession when he went home to pray after an edict was signed banning prayer.

Other risk ventures:

Preaching the gospel – Cambodia

Use of spiritual gifts.

Will you be listed as a risk venturer in future history?

Being a part of a new congregation sent from CCK

Being a part of the first graduating class of CCU

Starting an MC program in the Middle East

Running for political office

All of these risked because they acted with the willingness of losing their life and their agenda with the expectation of

gaining His life and His agenda.

In order for us to embark on specific risk ventures, we must allow the Holy Spirit to lead us in a risk analysis and a

risk strategy.

It’s time to make a risk analysis and a risk strategy:

In the financial world of investing, a wise investor meets with a financial advisor to analyze the appropriate level of

risk that needs to be taken in order to potentially reach certain financial goals. From that meeting, a risk budget or

strategy is drafted that will expose specific assets to different risks. A risk budget is a means of taking risks

strategically rather than haphazardly.

First: Risk analysis

Crossing into Risk



We need this to determine what level of risk we are currently undertaking. Determine if you are a risk avoider, a risk

reducer, or a risk optimizer.

Characteristics of a risk avoider:

Self-preservation

Fear

Loss of control

Pride

Disobedience

Content with too little

Wants things to stay the same

Characteristics of a risk optimizer:

Courage

Obedience

Revelation

Humility. Surrender.

Faith

Intelligence gatherer

Vision. Seer.

Most of us are some mix of both: Risk reducers.

Second: Risk strategy

A risk strategy is where we identify the things we are willing to lose in order to gain other things of greater value. A

Kingdom risk strategy lays out spiritual assets that must be employed so that the risk venture is strategic and not

haphazard:

Spiritual assets applied in developing a risk strategy:

Prayerful hearing from God.

Seek counsel and authority from your covering and covenant relationships.

Gather as much knowledge, understanding and wisdom as possible pertaining to the venture.

Apply your resources: time, money, talents.

God wants something to work with. Gideon’s pots and pans led to the defeat of an army.

Widow’s last oil sustained the prophet Elijah. The small boy’s lunch fed 5000.

Crossing into Risk



Conclusion:

Planting CCK

CCA – home school

CCA – classical school

Courtship

Market place ministry

MCs – giving up a year, scholarships

Rebuilding program

FBLA

Believing for miracles – praying for the sick

What kinds of risks are you willing to embrace in order to move us into phase II?

Some need to take the risk of surrendering to Christ for the first time.

Documents

Crossing into Risk