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By Richard Gazowsky

God is undoubtedly displeased with mediocrity among His people. He is calling us to the extreme. The trouble most of us face is, “How do we get there?” I believe the heart beating in every one of us is that of a potential champion. This is why when we hear of the little guy making it big, something within your heart races and says, “One day that’s going to be me!” The trouble is, most of us have been told, “Sorry, it’s closed.”

We live in a generation that is different from any previous generation. I’m not sure I understand how we got here, but we are definitely here. Caution amongst young people is no longer acceptable and we are constantly being surrounded by those who push the boundaries of extreme to new levels. This is why many in traditional Christianity have begun a lifelong journey of pursuing mediocrity and safety. They use as logical examples those who have entered into the realm of extreme sin, such as beer bonging, Girls Gone Wild and other perversions. But these “sin movements” are only fringes of the real passion that is beating in the heart of this generation. I personally believe that we cannot stop it. There is a passion for the extreme that has been set in our generation’s heart by God Himself. In activities such as dancing, satanic forces can try to turn it into something perverse, thereby forcing Christians to shun it and some to speak out openly against it. But how foolish that is for us when dancing was obviously initiated for and by God; Miriam danced coming out of the Red Sea (first recorded dance in history).

How do you join God in this adventure? There are two elements that I have discovered to be extremely important. We must know the difference between the words of God and the ways of God. Years ago, I used to think that copying another minister was following God. I soon learned that that was a big mistake. There is absolutely nothing but death down that pathway. God’s word is fresh, it is Rhema and it must be spoken to us. If you don’t understand this, then you should quit reading this letter. It’s just going to mess you up. But if you ‘get it,’ you must know how to hear God’s voice and know that it is Him speaking through dreams, day visions, words in your spirit, or whatever method He chooses to communicate to you. This can never be taught. It can only be developed through the matter of use. Any other method is a waste of time. This is why the Lord tells us, “If you are faithful in little, I will make you ruler over much.” But what most people don’t get is what He means by ‘much.’ Hang on to your seat because He’s not talking about big bank accounts! He’s talking about greater risk and the level of an extreme life. If that doesn’t excite you, then you simply don’t get what the great adventure of God is about.

The second piece to this puzzle is knowing the ways of God. In other words, you can receive a word from God and apply it to your life in a completely carnal Western thinking environment and neutralize the entire effect of that word just given to you. For example, you may receive a word that the Lord is going to give you a car. So instead of following the ways of God with this word, you go out and do the normal thing; a) make a list of what kind of car you want, b) shop around at dealers that have the car you want, c) negotiate for the lowest price, d) get into debt, e) tell everybody that God gave you this car, but now you can’t afford the payments. WOW, what a testimony! (Sic) Now let’s get real. What are the true ways of God? The first thing to realize is that God means exactly what He says. I believe He would “give you a car” is His actual promise. That means that the blessing will overtake you, so what are you doing or wishing for one? Instead, you should believe for one. Secondly, shopping around is nowhere in God’s ways. Jesus always told His disciples, “The first house you come to, stay there and don’t go from house to house.” Thirdly, if the price matters, then you are not serving God, but mammon. Almost in every single point, the ways of God are opposite the trained ways of our Western culture. As a matter of fact, most of our ways have actually been designed to protect us from the extreme Kingdom of God life that God is calling us to.

All around us, we are surrounded by “Caution’ signs” that say, “Don’t do this! CLOSED FOR YOUR SAFETY.” I saw a barrier broken through by one of sport’s greatest extreme skiers, Doug Coombs, who passed away saving the life of his friend. Back in the early 90’s, Doug kept running into signs that said, “Mountains closed at sunset. Pathway dangerous. Don’t go here.” So he did something no one ever thought was possible. He flew to Alaska and had helicopters take him to mountains that hadn’t even been climbed yet. He said, “When I stood on these mountains, there was no one there who could say, “It’s closed.” WOW- what freedom he felt as he was able to break all barriers, gates and walls and open up a whole new vista of extreme skiing that now has overtaken the world of that sport. This is the heartbeat of our generation—breaking through the barrier that says, “It’s closed.” We are coming back to the original command that God gave Adam- TAKE DOMINION! Let Doug tell you in his own words:

No One Can Say “It’s Closed”

But this is not the only place where the extreme is being sought. It runs through the very fiber of our generation. Let me give you just a few examples:

On the British show “Top Gear,” they are told by the mayor of a local city that they cannot race in the city streets at night. Once again, the message is the same. “IT’S CLOSED!” So, what they did was rent out the mall that is in the center of town and instead of racing beyond the speed limit on public property, they did it inside private property. What an amazing video this is!

Ford Fiesta vs. Corvette

Kent Couch is a gas station owner in Bend, Oregon who decided to do the extreme fantasy. He tied over 100 large helium balloons to a lawn chair and tried to fly to Idaho. What did you do with your lawn chair this weekend? What he did was so extreme that I am sure that it inspired the new Pixar film coming at the end of this month, “UP.” Before we know it, lawn chair ballooning will probably be an international sport. The video below:

Balloon Man’s Amazing Journey

I am not talking to you about doing extreme for extreme’s sake, but I am talking about that basic desire put in all of us by God. The desire of divine discontentment, the wanting of more than just what was dealt out to you, the desire to push the limits. These desires and urgings are not evil, as many religious factions would want us to think. Instead, they are extremely Godly and totally safe. I have spent my life reigning in my extreme urges. It wasn’t until I learned how to listen to His voice and follow His ways that I began to give into them completely. Oh! What fun it is! Two years ago, my son and I signed up with Virgin Galactic for their flights into outer space. I’m sorry to say that there were over 7,000 in line before us.

So what is it? Why are we in the church usually surrounded by mediocrity? It’s very simple. We are copying each other instead of talking to God Himself. Look man, I realize that taking the time for your personal prayer life is a hassle but you will never move into the extremity of God until you are willing to move into it. It’s the process of obeying the little things before you take on the big things. Last week, I didn’t tell you the full story in “Puke Or Be Puked.” The truth is that I did not personally have the extra cash that it was going to cost to take my family deep sea fishing. It was either buy groceries or obey the voice of God and go deep sea fishing. But you see, every time God gives you even the simplest command it is set up in a way to put you in the valley of decision: whether you are going to play it safe or go extreme. When I got back home, I discovered that my bank had added over $600 in overdraft charges on my account. This meant that I was now extremely in the red. There are two ways I could approach the situation. One is like the Israelites in the wilderness who just whined and complained over every difficulty or the other is like Christ, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.

Principalities and powers do not want you to get this so they have put up “IT’ S CLOSED” signs everywhere. I even have friends in the ministry that begin every sentence with the phrase, “But I’m concerned, Richard…” What is up with this kind of life? Somebody has got to run outside the camp like Moses did and grab the tabernacle and put it in the extreme presence of God, letting the Lord speak, and then follow Him to the place where “no one can say it’s closed.”

Richard Gazowsky pastors a church in San Francisco called The Voice of Pentecost, and is also president of Christian WYSIWYG Filmworks. He has directed the films, “Guardians” and “The Roman Trilogy.”