Is Jesus calling you to take a step out in faith for Him?  Are you hindered from taking that step because of fear?  Is what Jesus is calling you to do a bit risky, and are your flesh and the devil pressuring you to say “No” to God?

If you said “yes” to these questions, I want to comfort you by letting you know that you are in good company.  Whenever Jesus calls anybody to make an impact for the Kingdom, you can bet that your flesh and the devil will set themselves against that call.  You WILL experience spiritual warfare!

Maybe Jesus is simply asking you to share the gospel with a family member or neighbor.  Maybe Jesus is calling you to change jobs.  Maybe Jesus is asking you to serve in a ministry.  Perhaps Jesus is calling you to give sacrificially toward something.  Maybe Jesus is asking you to lovingly confront somebody’s sin.  Maybe Jesus is calling you to take a stand for His truth.  Maybe Jesus is asking you to go a mission trip.  No matter how big or small the thing is that Jesus is calling you to do, it’s a bit risky, and your flesh and the devil are opposed to it.

I’ve experienced this personally recently as I’ve prepared to travel to Honduras next week to teach at a Bible institute for pastors.  The warfare has come from different fronts, by and large from those who were well-meaning I believe.  Even today I listened to a copier salesman tell me about how dangerous the airport at Tegucigalpa is to fly into because of the geography and topography of the area.  Nevertheless, even the well-meaning ones were unwittingly playing into Satan’s schemes.

I was dealing this past Saturday with some spiritual warfare concerning the trip.  So, I began to do what God has called us in Ephesians 6 to do in such situations.  I began to battle the spiritual warfare with spiritual weapons.  I began to pray, asking God to comfort me, and like the faithful God that He is, He did.  God’s Word began to flood my heart and mind, reassuring me, encouraging me, and emboldening me.

I immediately began to write these reasons down.  These reasons are not my wisdom.  They’re straight from the Word of God!  I came to 10 and then to 15 and then to 20.  I could have gone on to 50, I suppose, but 20 is where I stopped.

If Jesus is calling you to take a risk for him, here are the first 10 reasons why you should take that risk:

1. Take risks for Jesus: not a hair of head will be touched unless the Lord wills (Luke 21:18)
2. Take risks for Jesus: your life is hidden with Christ on high (Colossians 3:3)
3. Take risks for Jesus: to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21)
4. Take risks for Jesus: whoever loses his life for Jesus’ sake and the gospel’s will save it (Mark 8:35)
5. Take risks for Jesus: God has ordained your number of days (Psalm 139:16)
6. Take risks for Jesus: nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39)
7. Take risks for Jesus: you’ve been bought with a price and are not your own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
8. Take risks for Jesus: you have a Judea, Samaria, and remotest part of the earth and not just a Jerusalem (Acts 1:8)
9. Takes risks for Jesus: you should aspire to also preach the gospel where Christ has not already been named (Romans 15:20)
10. Take risks for Jesus: you walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)

His Word was a great help to me, and I pray it’ll be a great help for you.  If you are a child of God, God is calling you to take some risks for Jesus, and His Word is replete with reasons why you should do so.  Take heart, and take risks for Jesus!

I’ll follow up with the final 10 reasons tomorrow.