The Insanity of Obedience: Walking with Jesus in Tough Places

by Nik Ripken

Overview

Wise Sheep Among the Wolves

All Christian disciples have one thing in common: as they carry the gospel across the ocean and across the street, persecution will become the norm for those who choose to follow Jesus. How believers respond in the face of persecution reveals everything about their level of faith and obedience.

The Insanity of Obedience is a bold challenge to global discipleship. Nik Ripken exposes the danger of safe Christianity and calls readers to something greater. The Insanity of Obedience challenges Christians in the same, provocative way that Jesus did. This book dares you—and prepares you—to cross the street and the oceans with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Some of Jesus’ instructions sound uncomfortable and are potentially dangerous. We may be initially encouraged by His declaration, “I am sending you out.” But how are we to respond when He then tells us that He is sending us out “like sheep among wolves"?

In light of the words of Jesus, how can modern day believers rest comfortably in the status quo? How can we embrace casual faith in light of the radical commands of Jesus which are anything but casual? Ripken brings decades of ministry experience in some of the most persecuted areas of the world to bear on our understanding of faith in Jesus. The Insanity of Obedience is a call to roll up your sleeves . . . and to follow and partner with Jesus in the toughest places on this planet.

"We have the high privilege of answering Jesus’ call to go," Ripken says. "But let us be clear about this: we go on His terms, not ours. If we go at all, we go as sheep among wolves."
 
Jesus gives us Himself.  And He gives us the tools necessary for those who dare to journey with Him.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433673092
Publisher:	B&H Publishing Group
Publication date:	01/01/2014
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	1,132,406
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Nik Ripken is the world's leading expert on the persecuted church in Muslim contexts. He is a missions veteran of 30 years, having served primarily in North Africa and the Middle East. He is the author of The Insanity of God and the new book The Insanity of Obedience. He and his wife have done extensive research on the persecuted church, and on Muslim background believers, in approximately 72 countries.

Table of Contents

Foreword xix

Prologue xxv

1 Our Marching Orders 1

Part I God's Command to Go to the Nations

2 Where's the Parachute? 9

3 Did I Sleep Through This Class in Seminary? 18

4 Defining the Conversation 36

5 The Need for Willing and Tough Workers 47

6 Cleaning Out the Clutter 59

7 Lies, Lies, and More Lies 67

8 Staying Put 93

Part II The Birth of Faith in Persecution Environments

9 The Persecutors 105

10 God's Spirit in Present Active Tense Today 116

11 Supernatural Conversions through Western Eyes 137

Part III Reaching Grandma and the Rest of the Family

12 Working Smarter, Not Harder 157

13 More Barriers? 175

14 An Historical Case Study: Persecution and Its Aftermath 189

15 How to Deal with Judas 196

16 Bring on the Water 204

17 "I Have Come Home!" 210

Part IV Practical Matters

18 Wise Servants, Tough Places 231

19 On Our Faces before God 239

20 Jesus and Money 245

21 Being Midwife to the Body of Christ 252

22 Recognizing and Equipping Local Leaders 263

Part V A Victorious Faith

23 If the Resurrection Is True, This Changes Everything 277

24 Our Marching Orders 299

Afterword 301

Notes 303