Jesus, the Confronter
There is no believer who is born again is not called.
When you step into your calling, you step out of your comfort.
This message is to disturb those got comfortable.
Jesus will disturb your agenda until you confront your dysfunction to cause you to pursue the call.
Sometimes he'll call you out of your success, sometimes he'll call you out of where you've actually set things up quite well, things are pretty well sorted and comfortable and then Jesus turns up and says it's time to follow me.
When God called you from day one, he didn't call you to training, it was a call to service.
You cannot impact the world and remain being comfortable.
You're a believer in Jesus Christ and if your faith is actually quite comfortable, you're in danger of dysfunction.
The greatest enemy of faith is not fear but familiarity.
Somehow the provision of the miracle has become our prison.
We so easily become familiar, I say it's one of the biggest enemies we have in the church, just get familiar with miracles, familiar with salvation, familiar with marriages that are redeemed, familiar with healing, familiar with forgiveness that goes on every day, familiar with hope and life familiar with this gospel that we have, that's demonstrated through action not through conversation.
Fear is the thing that often can drive your faith.
Your greatest days are found outside of comfort.
Jesus came to create a war against the system in every one of us and that is the war between belief and unbelief.
We need to start talking about what God is about to do? not about what's happened?
1) What dysfunction have you become comfortable with you?
2) Where did you allow your faith to become comfortable?
3) In what ways, he asking you to leave your boat today?
So we're gonna be looking in this part again about who the real Jesus is? and it's we like to look at this side that perhaps not everyone thinks about.
Teaching bike ride
I just want to just mention one of my boys in an experience that we had years and years ago what reminded me was this week, I was talking to Josh my son and he was saying hey Dad, I think it's that time where I'm gonna teach Judah, his eldest son to ride a bike. When you get to that point as parents, we're gonna need to begin this process of riding a bike, it's one of those great things to sort of find freedom in. But when they're little, it doesn't come easy and it reminded me straightaway of when I was trying to teach Jordan, so George he was our third born, he wasn't that keen on riding a bike, he ride it with stabilizers, remember stabilizers put those little arms on the back, he'd be happy going around the sort of driveway on his stabilizers. But we went on whole day one time and well we're on whole day, we were all going to go for a family bike ride. Five boys, Heather and myself and we're all going to go for this like bike ride and with it, it's not helpful if he's on stabilizers. so I'm thinking, today is the day we can remove those stabilizers and he's going to learn what it is to find freedom. I thought it was a fantastic idea, Heather wasn't so keen but it's like today is the day, because we were gonna to go like an a 10 mile bike ride. I thought that was a good idea to start off with, and so off we went the other boy shot forward and then I'm trying to help like little jawed on his bike, and he was this little toddler on on his bike, and I'd obviously run alongside, you've done it parents, run alongside and they you think oh he doesn't know one I've let go until he crashes, tears getting back, come on George you can do it, back on the bike. This happens three times, four times, five times. He was so upset, I don't want to do it. I say you're gonna do it whether you like it or not because we're all waiting. We've started something, we're gonna finish it.
Maybe Jesus has started something in your life, he wants to finish. In fact he says that I won't start something without the intention of finishing him. It says that he started a good work in you will complete it. I just love the way Jesus process.
We don't like talking about the Jesus bit, that's gonna help you ride the bike without stabilizers.
Because what happened is, we kept going and going, I remember one point you were doing really well and we actually got some distance. I was thinking come on, he's got it, got it and then he veered off into the stinging nettles and he had sort of stings all up his legs and he was tears down his face. I said the best thing is you got to get back on that bike, and we got to go again. Heather's in the background heartbroken. Can't we stop this? I said No, we got to push through and that day he did learn to ride his bike, he overcame it. There was something about today's the day, there was pain involved, there was stress, it was very uncomfortable but he overcame.
There's something that God has speak to every one of us, about an area in our life. We all have it, it doesn't stop, an area where he's saying, it's time to do without the stabilizers, your fall back, your safety.
Because, we're involved in a walk of faith. If we're involved in a walk of faith, it means we got to step out with what we cannot understand or see. It means you're gonna need a step out sometimes on the water and not know whether are you gonna sink? so this is about the life that God has given us.
We're gonna start off with this scripture that was a great way to start off.
[Simon, Andrew] & [James, John]
Just think, they're theirs by the lake, they're doing their business, this is their business, their income, their livelihood and they're throwing out their nets, they're catching fish. and then Jesus just turns up, and he says it's time put your nets down to come and follow me. Because I'm gonna make you fishers of man.
So interesting that Jesus were at the very beginning cause two sets of brothers and he does it in this one passage.
They're not only leaving their business, they're actually leaving their family, they're leaving something greater, they're leaving their security.
I want us to realize that when Jesus comes and he speaks into our life, there's always going to be a challenge, there's always gonna be something that's gonna say hey it's time to get up and leave.
He didn't go and say hey we're gonna hang out tonight and have a bit of a supper and I'm going to talk to you about the idea of following me. He didn't say I'm going to take you on a three-year plan, this is what its gonna look like, do you want to buy into it.
He came and immediately said follow me and when it talks about Peter and Simon's brother Andrew, they actually had a fishing business, these have one boat, they had a fleet that all business going on and it says they let things down and they went and followed.
Jesus is disturbing the cycle of their life, the pattern of their life of what's going on. and this is what he's done, I'm sure for many of us where Jesus came along and he doesn't always call us out of problems.
Many people think hey come to Jesus, come out of your problems. Sometimes he'll call you out of your success, sometimes he'll call you out of where you've actually set things up quite well, things are pretty well sorted and comfortable and then Jesus turns up he says right now it's time to follow me.
So let's not presume that Jesus just comes along to your problem situation to call you out of it, he'll actually call you out of your success. He will disturb your agenda to cause you to pursue the call.
In fact when you step into your calling, you step out of your comfort.
I want us to understand this church, wherever we are around the world, we need to understand that when Jesus comes to call you, see every believer I believe is called. It's not like joining a club, It's not like hey just fancy doing a bit of this Jesus stuff right now.
Maybe you're sat in one of our locations listen to this, you've got some sort of faith but you're not quite sure, I'm telling you, Jesus when he calls you and you will know this you're going one direction, I know many almost like every week we see people who were going one direction and then suddenly, maybe they come into a location, maybe they hear a word and it's like Jesus calls them and says follow me and they respond to Jesus and by following him what do you do? you turn around and you follow, you turn into a new direction.
When you're called, you step out of your comfort. You look at all of the times that Jesus moves and calls people, they don't step into comfort, they step out of comfort.
We got to realize Jesus didn't save us to make us happy, he saved us to cause discomfort.
But if you've lived this life and you've heard the call, you will identify that when he called me, it created disturbance in my life, it created disturbance . It's not like hey do you know what we're all going live happily ever after, everything's gonna be like predictable from now on, do you know what? all your needs to be taken care of things are just gonna get better, and you're gonna think what is this life? is like Jesus, the comforter.
In fact the Bible doesn't refer to Jesus as the comforter, refers to him as the confronter.
He comes to confront a system but the system is within us.
I'm going to show you what this is? he comes to confront things. Even as those brothers decided to get up and leave their business, leave their family to pursue Jesus. What would they do? they were leaving their comfort, security.
Here many people, I think sometimes we as the church done a terrible job at this, we sort of come and we say hey follow Jesus, Jesus is gonna forgive you. It's true there's forgiveness in Jesus. He will come, you can be reconciled to God through Jesus. We can say, how wonderful Jesus is? we can say he's your peace, he's this he's that.
Yet there is something about Jesus being the confronter who will confront sin in your life, he will confront disobedience in your life, he will disturb your agenda even when it's not a sin, but it's not the best.
Because those guys I believe they had faith in God, they believed. But it's like, no there's more for you, he's disturbing them and he's saying will you get up? and will you move?
Straight after this point when the brothers got called, do you know where they end up? if you follow on in Scripture what happens next? they end up in the feeding of 5000.
So he calls them, not into comfort but discomfort. I've tried to imagine being the disciple around Jesus and I just thought it was pretty uncomfortable. You weren't there just thinking oh wow this is like you know, I mean one minute we're in a storm, we're gonna drown. Next minute, We've got impact over 20000 people, we've got packed lunch and Jesus is saying you sort it out in front of them all.
See, Jesus's confronting something, he's confronting something in the disciples, he won't avoid you and we get all worked up about it, perhaps ask someone else, But Jesus saying No do you want to grow? I'm gonna confront something, Do you wanna realize your potential? I'm gonna confront something.
Jesus will confront something within us but it's whether we're going to respond.
Jesus goes into the feeding of 5000 is like, this is where it's going to be guys, he sets it out from the beginning. He even talks about being the bread of life, he talks about hey I am the bread of life after the feeding of the 5000 and it says so many of them were offended, so he had thousands of people following, it says they were disciples. so more than the twelve, there were so many disciples and it says they got so offended. They said who can accept this? teaching is so hard, I think Jesus didn't know what he was doing.
Jesus was saying, if you're gonna get offended by this teaching, you're not gonna walk with me when we go through the trial. So many of them left many of them.
Jesus saying I haven't called you to comfort.
God has given you a call. When he called you from day one, he didn't call you to training, it was a call to service.
Many of us would like to think, train me for a couple of years Lord then I'll be ready for the call. He doesn't do that, he calls you then he goes about training you. that's what I love.
You're not qualified because you train while in you past, he called you so as we respond to the gospel and we respond to his call, we're saying I hear you call and I'm coming after you.
I think often comfort is from the devil, discomfort comes from Jesus.
We spend our lives seeking to be more and more comfortable. Jesus will spend time through our life trying to make us more uncomfortable.
I believe in bringing a message that is real, it's pretty, it's down to earth but we do, we are whole like our life is set up to actually become more comfortable, more laid-back, more sort of less challenge, less risk. Let's make ourselves, let's plan things so even towards the end of our life war, you just prepare them for death.
But there's something, because there are people check out. They finish their job, and they check out and like no vision. They just seem to suddenly become very old, because we respond to vision we don't respond to comfort.
Yet we feel uncomfortable all the time I hear people say, hey I love you know I love freedom Church, I came along to one of your locations but I just find it too challenging, yes it's uncomfortable. But when I look at who Jesus is? there's no other way.
I believe that he wants the best for us in this.
Examples:
Even right now, Hereford I'm preaching this message, give you an example of this, this isn't just a theory, this is the way God calls us and leads us on the front row alone. I've got a family of five, basically they don't have a thing, they're staying with their family waiting to go to Cape Town plant Church, put everything on the line and lay down their nets to say ready Lord.You ask them, if that process is comfortable.
I've got Joshua & Rose who also sold everything, this is on the front row guys, sold everything with their family of three and expecting another one, sold everything, going from one home to another, waiting and believing to get a visa to go onto the place God has called them. you ask them if it's comfortable.
I thought another couple here, who haven't long been married, who were given everything up to go to Cape Town plant church,
I've got another couple who have given everything up, sold things to go to Port Elizabeth.
Guys, this is on front row. I could keep going through every row, our worship fans today, there were three people on the stage who were going to three different nations in the next few weeks.
I really just don't like to start waking up and thinking, oh did Jesus call us to be uncomfortable, yes he did. He's called us and he's disturbed us and this message is to disturb those that got comfortable.
See everything about our life and about the way we are as people, we want to draw to security and comfort, it's not natural to say I just want to just make myself really uncomfortable. We want to go this way but when you discover Jesus the path that Jesus calls you to, it is one of being uncomfortable, is one of challenge, is one of confronting but it's the best way. because why these people doing it,
Because the call comes, we lay things down, we leave family and we go after what Jesus has.
So straight after the disciples, I talked about the feeding of 5000. Literally straight after this in the same chapter, Jesus leads them, he goes into the synagogue to teach, he's going to go into the local synagogue. As he goes into the synagogue again a situation happens and it's a bit awkward
Disciples, this is going to be the life we live, this is an accident and yes so many of us getting comfortable even talking about demonic spirits, and impure spirits, the shriek and whatever and they have to obey the name of Jesus. We get uncomfortable, we've got a whole church around the world that gets uncomfortable to talk about the demonized or the oppressed and those that need say I'm free.
Let's keep church comfortable, let's enjoy time in his presence. Yet, Jesus goes right into where does he go though? and he knows what you're doing? where does he go to set the man free from the impure spirit? he goes to church.
It's not like hey let's go to that night club, because all they really need it, he goes to the church. It's his first stop off with the disciples. He says you'll be quite happy wouldn't you to go to the place where you think all the sinners are, we're going to go where the religious people are, and we're going to cause the disturbance and it's going to be so uncomfortable but we're gonna call that demon out and they're gonna have to go and the impure spirit be gone and I'm gonna show you what it is to follow me? that there's no place to hide, don't you think that you can just go and church and just think that we can make ourselves all look nice and pretty, we're going to call out the demonic spirit.
Now this is the challenge though is that it seemed normal that this impure man with the impure spirit was in church. Now if it was impure, I don't know what that means but it could be sexually impure. He could be doing things within the church. It says that was his sin, he was there so he was regularly like part of that place. He wasn't a stranger.
Don't you find it strange that this impure spirit was quite comfortable to be in the house of God.
At the moment that we have Church where it's comfortable we're in trouble.
The moment that we try and please people we're in trouble. Right here it was almost like a form of religion he was part of, but underneath the serve surface was this impure spirit.
It is amazing what can lie low in church, so I want to say right now in every location, every place in the name of Jesus come out. I tell you what there is something, sometimes we can just like being this set in and we can hide and we can keep those things that we know it's not right, it's a dysfunction.
Jesus comes to confront it, he doesn't come to make you feel comfortable.
Maybe you feel in like, what I just feel it's time to go now, and some of us what we do is, we go to certain Church for a year or two, because it takes a couple of years to get to know someone, and then we start feeling like maybe this isn't a church for me, you go to another one. Because sometime there's something within us, that is driving us. So we don't get confronted but we remain comfortable, and today God is saying will you call it out?
See sometimes I think that I've done this, we can take comfort in our discomfort.
What dysfunction have I become comfortable with?
I've known many people because sometimes we feel more comfortable around our bondage than around the freedom that might come. We get used to a pattern of thinking which causes us to actually feel quite secure, and we don't want to change it. I know I am speaking to some people right now, in fact the question I got for you is, what dysfunction have I become comfortable with?
If you don't write that down as a good question to think about, because normally we don't recognize our dysfunctions, and how we often combat that is we look at others.
It's really important, what dysfunction have I become comfortable with? that it's become part of me, that God wants to change, and said no that's not what I want for you.
See if it can feel good to gossip because it makes my dysfunction smaller. It can be good talking about other people's problems, because it makes my problems seem less significant. It feels good to indulge in my insecurities because I've got fresh excuses not to change, I can go on about my insecurities and about who I was and I think he would don't like me, they don't speak to me, they don't really care about me. Because what it does is it says to me is you don't need to change, just stay in that place. is this true? this is true,
Why would you want to stay in that place? because I got comfortable with my dysfunction and it's become normal, it feels good to wear my hoods because then people can see I'm a victim. Self-pity actually makes me feel better.
Guys, some of us were talking too much about where we failed? where we got hurt? where it went wrong? we need to start talking about the future, We need to start talking about what God is about to do? not about what's happened?
We need to realize that as we stay in that place is dysfunctional, if we stay within our hurt and the brokenness, Jesus comes and he calls out the impure spirit and he says I see you and I called you out. Because he loves us, but that's not comfortable, that wasn't comfortable being that guy, bye he was happy after. Thank you for setting me free. He will call it out. He'll create situations in your life to highlight it to say you're gonna deal with it.
God will disturb your agenda until you confront your dysfunction.
Sometimes you're thinking, why isn't this working out? why isn't that happening? maybe he's pointing, maybe it's another relationship hasn't really worked out, she can't seem to trust anyone, maybe God is causing a disturbance so you can look at your dysfunction around the lack of trust or the hurt that you wear, because he wants you to be free.
I love this see although we can live a life that wants to seek comfort and Jesus comes to bring discomfort, why does he do it? so we can ultimately be free.
See that's the thing, it's not that all, this because who would ever sign up just to beat it, it's not about just being in a place of discomfort, it's that's where freedom is. Freedom comes through this place.
This other bit of scripture I want to talk to you about is, you'll know this is well known gonna whisk through it. They were on the boat and Peter's gonna see Jesus and he's gonna get out of the boat and walk on the water. But just before that, Jesus had done a setup, he set the situation up. He said you guys go out on the boat and a storm happens and all his other stuff and then what Jesus does is he comes around the back door through the back curtain and he's pops on the water and he's walking along there go and there's a ghost. They think Jesus a ghost at first, then Peter says no it's not a ghost, it's Jesus. so they think they're gonna drown, they then think there's a ghost and then Peter takes the opportunity to say something's going on here, Jesus is confronting something in us, he's confronting fear. He's confronting, are they gonna trust him?
He didn't have to do this, they could just say wow is it this an amazing event, and if you were on Instagram, he became Jesus well you know it's like Mazen this is what happened today. Peter's not thinking about that as an event, he said if it's you and he said come and this one would come and Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
See, you've got this whole set and what he's saying? I could just watch this or I could be part of it. He's confronting something in me.
I'm not gonna avoid it, I'm gonna actually come after it. Peter, he's one of the most uncomfortable disciples, he's like he said saying the wrong thing, he's cutting someone's ear off, he's like doing all sorts of then here he is, he saying Lord if it's you tell me I'll come. Jesus says one word, come.
What's he calling him into? it says he think, gets down from the boat, steps in, starts walking, start sinking. what's he calling him into? Oh a nice comfortable life?? he's calling him into like are we gonna have a lesson here but we got the safety nets in place and we're then gonna go back to the classroom and observe and see how we could have done that better? it's all gonna be right, no one's gonna get hurt.
He say no you're gonna get out, and actually there's going to be a risk of drowning, because that it didn't go still, it said the waves and he's heading towards Jesus.
Jesus, the confronter. Jesus the one that he's saying you need to find some peace in your discomfort, finding peace in your discomfort.
That's often the transition of selling up everything and then moving into what God has for you, is sometimes a long time and through that time lots of doubts come, lots of ghosts come and yet we are required to say just call me, It's about the call, is not about the training. It's about the call, he called every one of you.
There is no believer who is born again that is not called.
If you think, I'm not one of those sorts of Christians you're not a Christian then. Jesus never ever stepped down from heaven out of all
I know being comfortable in the glory of heaven stepped into the earth, into the stable, what's he doing? he's showing his life, he's showing yeah I'm actually gonna walk the path of discomfort for you, I'm gonna go right through. He didn't do all of that so he could get some followers that want to sit in a little room all together and not in the world.
If you can impact the world, you're gonna need to be uncomfortable, you cannot impact the world and remain being comfortable. it doesn't work.
You cannot remain comfortable and unlock the potential he placed in you.
Our Church building
I've said this you know in the past but this this comes to mind a story where Jesus made me really uncomfortable. It was years ago, in the very first building that we had for church where we bought it through an amazing miracle. God provided, it was like an amazing miracle story. In the coming years, we saw amazing growth, we filled that church. Other churches were like saying, hey you know it's so amazing what God is doing and we we were really like doing well and we are all different things going on and he was saying aren't you doing well? do you know what I was so unhappy, we didn't have financial issues, we didn't have attendance issues, all the people in our church thought it was like great, it was just like wow this is a great time, and we were sort of at a moment where it's like things are doing really well.
I remember not be able to sleep at night because God said, if you settle in your comfort right now, in this small town with under a hundred people, you're never gonna fulfill what I really called you for.
I remember, I said to Heather that something's really wrong on the surface, everything looks great what we worked towards, but somehow the provision of the miracle has become our prison. What was once a miracle in your life where God provides for you new thing what a blessing can be the very thing that will stop you entering the greater thing. It will stop you from entering, because you've got to leave this behind, and you got to move into risk to see the greater thing of God unfold in your life.
So that's a great warning for every one of us, the moment you think hey isn't this all going well, we're having our happy clappy meeting and we do well here, but God said no it's time to move, I said what shall I do Lord and that's when he said sell the building. I thought it would give me about a year to selling it was a difficult type of building, and within a few weeks it was sold. Because what Jesus was saying I want to make it uncomfortable for you, I want you to be able to work this through so you get your plans together, I want your plans to be my plans, I'm teaching you about getting out of the boat.
What Jesus was doing was, he was saying come. I got to say it wasn't like an easy route then, that it cost upset, it caused people to doubt that were with us, it caused some people to leave, that will we there was a process we went on to the water. But we wouldn't be here right now if we hadn't have done that thing.
I want to use that to put it into your life and just say okay what area I have look to get comfortable with, you need to feel disturbed and that disturbance is the very thing that drives us to the best that God has.
So the greatest enemy of faith is not fear but familiarity.
I think many of us we talk about the enemy of faith being fear or that's what you know comes against us, and I understand some of that. But I think it's more being familiar.
I have familiar are, we are just hearing another message today, you know we do every week, actually we've forgot the last two messages, really?? It's like we can hear message, we can take notes but take no action. We can become familiar with worship, when Jesus stepped down from heaven and took the hardest route there ever was. He was the King of Kings, he came down and took this route for us and sometimes we struggled to get up out of our chairs and to raise our arm. Because we're feeling not very comfortable with it today.
We so easily become familiar, I say it's one of the biggest enemies we have in the church, just get familiar with miracles, familiar with salvation, familiar with marriages that are redeemed, familiar with healing, familiar with forgiveness that goes on every day, familiar with hope and life familiar with this gospel that we have, that's demonstrated through action not through conversation.
I believe fear can be an ally of faith because when Peter stepped out do you think he had no fear? I've learned to discover that actually fear is the thing that often can drive your faith, because as soon as I feel it coming up against me is right we're gonna come at it.
I know as I refer to many of the families and couples that are moving into the next season, they will be able to get up here and tell you is not without fear but they've learned a couple fear and say we're not gonna be intimidated by fear but we're gonna use fear to drive us towards Jesus. See fear can drive you towards Jesus, without it you don't tend to risk. But with fear, you will.
So if your faith got comfortable, you're in danger of dysfunction. so what I'm asking everyone who's listening this message now if you feel comfortable in your faith, please hear me, to respond to this, you don't need to change your address, you don't need to go on a trip the other side of the world, that don't miss the point, it's actually about responding to vision, it's not about responding to go into another country.
It's about responding to, maybe share in your faith see because you got comfortable around those who know you, but you wouldn't really want to share it to those people at work, because that would be uncomfortable.
See it's about vision, what is God calling your family to next? what is God speaking to you to believe for next? where do you need to come in and believe for God next? so this isn't about an address, it's not about moving countries, please if he's asking you do that, do it. But if he's asking you to continue in business and maybe take some risk and take some steps out, do it. But the point I'm saying is, if your faith today, you're a believer in Jesus Christ and if your faith is actually quite comfortable, you're in danger of dysfunction.
Somehow dysfunction is crept in, because it doesn't go along with Jesus. You don't see Jesus, saying hey this how it's all gonna be, we're just going to hang out and play nice Christians until we move on to eternity. It doesn't work like that.
I want to challenge you, there's some dysfunction, if your Christianity got safe. Because that's not what we call to live.
See, the devil's goal is to get us to find comfort outside of Jesus. It'll even do it, when we get that job promotion, because it keeps us there, because then we have more coming in, and we rely on those things.
Sometimes we see success which can be a blessing, but it actually can become comfort that the enemy will use to stop you in your tracks, so that you don't fulfill what God put on your life and that unfulfilled prophecy that you had, that you're still waiting to receive is still not happening, because you got stuck in your comfort, you got stuck in that place.
This is Jesus speaking, so funny, because people think Jesus the peace Giver, Jesus the comforter, but here he is he saying don't you think for a minute that I came to bring peace but I came to bring the sword.
He's not talking about a physical battle, do you know just before, if you want to read more in Matthew 10 at the beginning, he talks all about, he says if you're gonna follow me, you're gonna get falsely accused. if you're gonna follow me, you're gonna get imprisoned, you're gonna get flogged, you are gonna get imprisoned, you were gonna get perhaps even death. but don't worry don't worry about die and be more afraid of the one that can rob your soul.
He's described all this, then he comes to this like where he said don't think I came to bring peace, I came to bring the sword. What is he talking about? he's saying, I've come to create a war against the system.
What is the system in every one of us? is the war between belief and unbelief that's what he is right now speaking to every one of us about.
Why do we end up here in in the place of being comfortable and not press in to what God wants us, it's because of unbelief. I come to bring a sword because he then says sometimes it's gonna separate family, because some family won't believe but you're gonna need a believe, some won't get it and you're still gonna need to believe.
Sometimes you didn't be asked to give up everything and follow me and others won't believe. This is a war on unbelief. Jesus came and that's why he's calling us to the place of discomfort. He's the confronter because all the time he's saying, you need to choose belief.
When Peter got out and he said come. What's Peter doing? he's going to a war on his unbelief, he steps out, he's choosing faith. The ultimate goal is faith and it comes to trust, that's what he's doing in your life, that's why when you recognize discomfort, you can say, what God's doing something new in me, God's training some muscles.
You've got a choice, because I know far too many people right now are sat on a chair and you're not prepared to change, you're not prepared to move into discomfort, because you've got comfortable but I want to call it out of you in Jesus name, I want to call out the potential that's in you, because there's a potential in you that you will answer for one day, the lives, the people, the places.
Because in fact the Bible says that God gives comfort and he does it through the Holy Spirit. When he gives comfort, it says he does it, so you can comfort others, it's not even for you.
So your greatest days are found outside of comfort, it's found outside of the boat.
3 Challenges/Questions
I want to just like sum up the thing with three challenges. it's just three statements and now I'm going to pray.
1) What dysfunction have you become comfortable with you? I just pray Holy Spirit will you reveal to us, what we got comfortable with that dysfunction, maybe that impurity, maybe that unbelieving heart, speak to us.
2) Where did you allow your faith to become comfortable? you once believed for the impossible for amazing things but somehow you got your place yourself in a place of comfort. God wants to disturb it
3) In what ways, he asking you to leave your boat today?
This is for every person that is listening to this message, if you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
I believe that there's always a call where saying will you leave the boat? when we have willingness and we show willingness, he's always gonna say come. But you need to be prepared.
So right now to ask us to close our eyes every location wherever we are. and I want you to think about those three things. But I think the most important one, the thing of action is saying where is God asking me to get out of my boat of comfort of security? where is he asking me? what is it that I need to confront today? where am I gonna choose belief over unbelief?
The disciples the others they were all in the boat, they won't do anything wrong, they were a great bunch of guys. You can be in church, you might be doing really well but you're not fulfilling the best life that God gave you. right now, I want to call it out in Jesus name, I want to call it out, what is dormant? call it out what somehow you got discouraged with dis heart with, and say you need to choose to believe again and say call me Lord, I am coming. it says he steps outside of the boat starts walking towards Jesus.
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