“Freedom!” replied the general. Behind the black door is a passageway
that leads outside, but only a few have been brave enough to see what was
behind it!
*Fear is the big, black door that keeps us trapped inside our comfort
zones!
In order to be free from what imprisons us, we must be brave enough to
open the door!
All of us are surrounded by
comfort zones; those invisible barriers that make us feel cozy and secure.
Comfort zones develop after we have done things a particular way for a period
of time. Unfortunately, they can make us feel so comfortable, that we never
want to change the way we do things! The only people who like change are babies
with dirty diapers! Sometimes it’s easier to keep doing the same things over
and over again than to make adjustments in our lives!
Comfort zones aren’t all bad. They make us feel security in our lives,
and that’s certainly better than going through life fighting feelings of
insecurity. However, security is like money . . . it makes a wonderful servant
. . . but a very poor master! Healthy security is found in loving home, warm
friendships, an enjoyable career, and good church relations . . . but a
different kind of security is found in a prison!
In prison the inmates don’t have to make decisions . . .
Worry about house payments . . .
Insurance payments . . .
Where the next meal is coming from . . .
That’s the reason many prisoners commit crimes when released . . . they
want the security they had in the prison. However, that is a real danger for us
also . . . WE CAN ALLOW OUR COMFORT ZONES TO BECOME OUR PRISON!
When a crab grows, it breaks out of its hard shell and begins the
process of forming a new one. Its life span is marked by passing through
successive shells. The crab grows when it is in-between shells. It will
continue to grow as long as it dares to break out of it shell. When it stops
breaking through shells, the crab ceases to grow and eventually dies. THE LAST
SHELL BECOMES THE CRAB’S COFFIN!
I wonder this morning . . . which comfort zone we will allow to become
our Spiritual coffin?
What to do in order to leave our comfort zone? / How to leave our
comfort zone?
1. Evangelism (Fulfilling Christ’s ‘Last Commission’)
Matthew 28: 19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded
you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
Notice that Jesus said "in the name" as opposed to "in
the names." We insist that because the word "name" is singular
and not plural, Jesus is suggesting that only one name, not three, is being
spoken of. To teach and observe as we are commanded to, demands us to be
learners (to be teachable) first. If Christ promised us that He would be with
us and never leave us then why don’t we take Him on and fulfill His last
commission to the Body of Christ?
In the 1970s we were less sophisticated but so much more zealous for
Jesus. We saw more people doing their best to fulfill the last commission. We
handed out tracts and witnessed to everyone. Sharing our faith was the
priority. Yet most people in churches today have never led anyone to Christ. We
are no longer contagious. Spirit-filled believers spend more time chasing
“financial breakthroughs” than lost souls. We have rejected sacrifice and
compassion and embraced a counterfeit gospel that produces bored, selfish
spectators.
Where are our missionaries? Today the third world countries lead in
every sphere of life. Even the top three countries which have the maximum
global missionaries are from the continent of Asia. The second on the horizon
is Africa. I attended a Lagrange District
class for Evangelism. We were told that
the United States is now the number 1 recipient of missionaries from other
countries. Think about this, the country
based on religious freedom is now host to more missionaries than what we would
believe to be third world countries.
Believe me, that information made me sit up straighter with surprise.
Do we honor "The Great Commission" in our lives? We do if we
are...
• Submitting to the authority of Jesus
• Working to make disciples of Jesus
• Striving to make disciples in all the nations of the world
• Abiding in His Word and thereby ensuring His abiding presence in our
lives
Shortly after giving "The Great Commission", Jesus ascended
to heaven (Acts 1: 9-11). His earliest disciples took that commission and did
great things with it. What are we doing with His instructions and commandments?
May these words of Jesus motivate us to do great things in our service to Him
also!
2. Faith Walk (Walking on Water)
Matthew 14: 28-32 “And Peter answered Him and said, "Lord, if it
is You, command me to come to You on the water." So He said,
"Come." And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on
the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was
afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, "Lord, save me!"
And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him,
"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" And when they got into
the boat, the wind ceased.”
Peter was about to break through a comfort zone by stepping out of the
boat and walking on water. Any scientist will tell you that water will not
support the weight of a person who tries to stand on it! But Peter forgot what
he’d learned in his science class and thought, “If Jesus is walking on the water
and then it’s possible for me to do it too!” This time the law of gravity would
be suspended! But, before Peter could walk on the water … he had to get out of
the boat! … He had to let go of the “security” of the boat for the “insecurity”
of the water! Of all the things Peter could have requested of Jesus (Like a
bridge to come to him on … sunny weather, etc… WHY DID HE ASK JESUS TO COMMAND
HIM TO COME TO HIM? BECAUSE … IN ORDER TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT AND BREAK THROUGH
HIS COMFORT ZONE … HE HAD TO HEAR A WORD FROM GOD! When Peter heard he put
“both feet” in the water … not half & half … total commitment! Is it the
same truth for us today?
Why do we continue to stay in our Boat?
Different fears will keep us in the boat! Before Peter stepped over the
side of the boat, a lot of thoughts must have run through his head.
(i) Fear of Criticism: “What will the other disciples think of me if I
get out of the boat?” Who cares? . . . The biggest critics we have will be
those who stay inside the boat - the ones who don’t take the risk! We must not
allow what somebody else thinks to keep us in the boat! Our actions must be
determined by what God wants us to do!
(ii) Fear of Failure: “What if it doesn’t work?” Many folks don’t ever
try to break out of their comfort zones because they think if they fail people
will make fun of them, so, to avoid the potential for embarrassment, they
simply opt to do nothing! I had rather to fail trying to do something than to
succeed at doing nothing! Failure is not “falling down,” failure is “staying
down” when you could get back up!
Proverbs 24: 16a says, “For a righteous man may fall seven times and
rise again …”
If we are in bondage to our fears, then we will never succeed because
we never attempt anything “different” or “new.” We must take some risk in life
if we are ever to accomplish anything significant!
a) Most people know
that Babe Ruth set a record of 714 home runs in his baseball career . . . How
many people know that he struck out 1, 330 times on his way to that record?
b) Jonas Salk
discovered the polio vaccine . . . he failed two hundred times before he found
the right one!
c) Michael Jordan is
probably the greatest basketball player of all time . . . He was “cut” from his
high school basketball team! . . . He didn’t quit playing because of one
failure!
d) Henry Ford went
bankrupt five times before he finally succeeded.
e) Thomas Edison failed
over ten thousand times in his attempts to find the right filament for the
light bulb . . . When an aide encouraged him to quit after several hundred
failures, he replied, “Why quit now? We now know of at least a couple of
hundred things that won’t work!”
None of these people could have accomplished what they did if they had
stayed in their comfort zones because they were afraid they would fail! Neither
will we accomplish for God those things we should accomplish if we are afraid
we will fail!
(iii) Fear of The Unknown: “I wonder what is going to happen to me if I
step out of the boat.” Fear of the unknown keeps a lot of people in the boat .
. . As humans we tend to want to know what we’re getting into “before” we get
out of the boat. But . . . occasionally we must step into the unknown . . .
fully on faith in God! Many want to figure out God before they embark on a
relationship with Him.
Note: Getting out of his comfort zone placed Peter in some very elite company!
Twelve men walked on the moon . . . only one man (only Peter excluding
Jesus) walked on water. However, breaking through a comfort zone is no
guarantee of continued success.
Peter got his eyes on the waves … his mind reverted back to “science
class” and he began to sink! Not only did Peter stop walking on water … HE
BEGAN TO DROWN! When we break through comfort zones … we may sink if we take
our eyes off Jesus!
You see, being inside God’s will is more fulfilling than staying inside
our comfort zone would have ever been!
3. Giving (Tithe & Offering - Faith Test)
Malachi 3: 10-11 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there
may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts,
"If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you
such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. And I will
rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of
your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,"
Says the LORD of hosts;
Tithing pleases God because it is done in faith. Tithing is not about
money, but it is about our faith. I have not been given the message for us to
give monies; I’ve been given the message for us to tithe of ourselves. Tithe is not only money; it is our time,
talents and free will.
Our sacrificial giving of tithe makes God very happy! Tithing never
comes naturally. Sometimes the struggle to begin tithing may seem as painful as
Abraham’s struggle to give up Isaac. We don’t want to give up what belongs to
us – our house, our cell phone, our motorcycle, our money or our relationships.
But when God claims any of these as His, we should not ask any question, but
obey Him. If we do not have faith that it is what God requires, then we cannot
give it up.
Relationship with God comes first (more than anything else or anyone
else in your life)
• don’t tithe to get good with God.
• Accept Jesus, you’ll then want to do it.
• Your level of giving shows where your heart lies.
* Get out of your comfort zone and see how God will bless you and your
family because of your giving unto the Lord.
I want to share an article a friend sent me.
Parable of the Candles
There was a blackout one night. When the lights went out, I fumbled to
the closet where we keep the candles for nights like this. I lit four of them.
I was turning to leave with the large candle in my hand when I heard a
voice, "Now, hold it right there!" "Who said that?" "I
did." The voice was near my hand. "Who are you? What are you?"
"I am a candle." I lifted up the candle to take a closer look. There
was a tiny face in the wax. "Don’t take me out of here!" it said.
"What?" It said, "Don’t take me out of this room."
"What do you mean? I have to take you out. You’re a candle. Your job is to
give light. It’s dark out there." "But you can’t take me out. I’m not
ready," the candle explained with pleading eyes. "I need more preparation."
I couldn’t believe my ears. "More preparation?
""Yeah, I’ve decided I need to research this job of
light-giving, so I won’t go out and make a bunch of mistakes. You’d be
surprised how distorted the glow of an untrained candle can be." "All
right then," I said. "You’re not the only candle on the shelf. I’ll
blow you out and take the others!"
But right then I heard other voices, "We aren’t going
either!" I turned to the other candles, "You are candles and your job
is to light dark places!" "Well, that may be what you think," said
the first one, "You may think we have to go, but I’m busy... I’m
meditating on the importance of light ... It’s really enlightening (no pun
intended)." "And you other two," I asked, "are you going to
stay, too?" A short, fat, purple candle with plump cheeks spoke up.
"I’m waiting to get my life together; I’m not stable enough,"
The last candle had a female voice, very pleasant to the ear. "I’d
like to help," she explained, "but lighting is not my gift ... I’m a
singer. I sing to other candles to encourage them to burn more brightly."
She began a rendition of "This Little Light of Mine." The other three
joined in; filling the closet with singing ... I took a step back and
considered the absurdity of it all. There lay four perfectly good candles
singing to each other about light but refusing to come out of the closet.
Here is a question for you, "When was the last time you shared the
gospel with someone?" This world is full of darkness, with many people
stumbling around trying to find their way. You can be a light for them.
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be
hidden. "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in
heaven.” Matthew 5: 14-16
©Betty Jean Bowers
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