Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

TALK IT OVER

Discussion Questions:

Reflecting on Ruth’s message and the emphasis on obedience and risk, how do you personally balance the desire for safety with the call to take risks for the Kingdom of Heaven?

In Acts 20:22-24, Paul demonstrates a willingness to risk his safety and comfort for the sake of obeying the Spirit's leading. How can we discern the leading of the Holy Spirit in our own lives, especially when it involves potential risks or discomfort?

The scripture in Matthew 28:18-20 outlines the Great Commission, calling believers to make disciples of all nations. How can we practically apply this command to our lives today, even if it means stepping out of our comfort zones? How can you get comfortable being uncomfortable for Jesus!

Mary's response to the angel in Luke 1, "I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled," exemplifies radical obedience despite the risks involved. How can we cultivate a similar willingness to surrender to God's plans, even when they seem risky or challenging?

Ruth emphasized the importance of embracing discomfort for the sake of Jesus' call. Can you share a personal experience where you felt uncomfortable but chose to step out in faith? How did that experience shape your faith journey?

TRANSCRIPT

The whole context of my message today is that we would be a spirit led people. And obviously that statement that he shared last week just came out as the Holy Spirit was speaking to him. And so that statement was that, you know, when talking about risk, that it's not about risking to get more in this world, but risking everything that we have.

That is pretty big. That one hit me and it has not left. It's just been turning around inside my heart and it made me really think about the kind of life that I want to live. A risky, faith filled life that is full of courage and adventure and where I truly would be willing to risk it all. for him. See, we are called, if you are a follower of Christ here this morning, we are called to surrender all in obedience to him.

We have the incredible joy and the incredible privilege of being part of extending the kingdom of heaven. right here on earth right now. We get to be for people to show them that there is a God who is for them and who loves them. We get to wake up every single morning and go out to a hurting and a broken world and be a part of that change.

That is risky. And so the call to risk can actually find its roots in the great commission. I love that. It's about stepping out in faith and taking a risk to build a bridge and connect heaven to earth. Risk is not about getting more from this world, but being able to offer and surrender everything that we have for the kingdom of God.

And so that's what I want to explore this morning. I want to propose to you all that a risky life bridges the gap between heaven and earth. So what does that kind of risky life look like? look like? You might ask. I think that it looks like a person who is spirit led and obedient. It's as simple as that.

See obedience to me when I think about obedience, it is an act of faith. It's a choice that we willingly make to step out when he calls us and prompts us and nudges us to do what he says. he's asking us to do. And we do it even when it requires stepping into the unknown, even when it seems a little bit uncomfortable, and even when it involves risk.

And so I've been thinking about obedience and it's funny because this is a topic that has Kind of been on my mind for about 12 months and it's funny isn't it when you go through your journaling and you look back, like it's been a consistent theme there for me. I think God might be trying to tell me something.

But what I find really interesting when I think about obedience is that often the first thought that comes to my mind is actually safety. Would you agree? It's about and I think, and I think often in the culture of our families and the way we grow up, obedience is about guidelines and, and keeping us safe.

I mean, every single one of us, whether you are a parent or a child, has been on the giving or receiving end of a line that went something along the lines of, don't do that, you'll get hurt. Right? Don't touch the oven. You'll get hot. When I work, you'll get hot. It's hot. Maybe I should touch the oven. No, you'll get burnt.

Burnt. I will continue along.

I didn't touch the oven enough. I was being obedient. There was one time though, when And maybe this is a story you might not have a common, commonality in, but it, it, it's similar. I was about six, and my mum and I were at the shops, and I don't know if you remember this mum, but there was the most amazing indoor plant that I had ever seen.

It was, I know, I know it's hilarious, but it's me, you know that I'm a nature lover. I had never seen anything like it before in my life. said, don't touch it. There was a laminated sign on the front of the pot that said, please don't touch. But honestly, it was just beautiful. And I thought, I have to touch it.

Like I'm that kind of person. I'm a little bit inquisitive. And so Let me tell you, it was not fake. It was a very real, very large, prickly cactus. And in embracing the cactus that, that morning, the don't touch warning suddenly made sense. I had a handful of hundreds of these spiny little cactus spines and they were covered, my hand and my fingers, and I A healthy respect for the cactus was born that day, let's just say.

Obedience can keep us safe, right? But, and here's where I think it's fascinating, obedience can also lead to something that's almost the very opposite of safety. And that is risk. Obedience in God's vocabulary requires faith. And faith steps, they're risky. A lot of the time we walk by what? Faith and not by sight.

Often we're stepping into the things that are unknown. We don't know what's coming up and that can be risky. But that's the beauty and that's the joy of surrender in faith, isn't it? Because you're putting your trust completely in Him. You're removing it from yourself. So a risky life bridges the gap between heaven and earth.

The spirit led surrendered life of the Christ follower is one of incredible adventure. It's not safe. We're called out to waters and to places that we haven't walked before. And it's about something bigger than ourselves. It's about something eternal. And it's about embracing risk for the sake of the gospel.

There are so many stories recorded in here about people who were willing to take a risk, who were willing to step out in faith because of something bigger than themselves. And we could spend a whole year unpacking those different stories about risk and faith. You've got Abraham, you've got Moses, you've got David who took a slingshot and went and stood in front of a giant.

You've got Esther, that young woman who literally put her life on the line when she went and approached the King and said, if I perish, I perish. That is risk. They all took risks that echoed into eternity and their obedience and the faith steps that they took into the unknown absolutely involved discomfort and worry, perhaps uncertainty and definitely risk, but they inspired So there's another story that's recorded in the book of Acts and this is where I want to sort of park a little bit this morning.

And if you do have your Bible, oh, we have slides, but you can still open your Bibles or open new version on your phone and read along with this. There's a couple of it's only a couple of sentences, but there is so much in there that I would like to unpack this morning. Now, Paul, the apo The apostle Paul, for those of you that might not be familiar with him, he actually started out as a guy named Saul, and he was a really, I think you'd call him like, zealous, a really zealous persecutor of the Christian faith.

And then he had the most incredible encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, and it changed everything. And he actually converted from this persecutor of Christians to being a champion. And he went on to share the teachings of Jesus everywhere he went on missionary journeys and he encouraged all of these, all of these local churches and his writings that include a bunch of letters that he wrote to the early church actually found a big portion of the New Testament.

And so, So, where we pick up this morning he's been traveling through Macedonia, he's been in, I think, Greece for about three months, and then he calls the elders to him, and he's kind of recapping to them, here's what I've been doing, here's what God's been up to, and then he flips the switch a little and he says, and here's what's going to happen next.

So this is where we pick it up. He says in verse 22, and now, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. He's on a mission. He's not just off for a little, you know, cruise through the Greek islands. He is, that would be nice, but he is compelled by the spirit. He has felt the prompt, the nudge, the whisper that many of.

us have experienced in our own lives from the Holy Spirit, and he has surrendered to that. He is compelled to go. This is not an idea that's of his own human origin. This is something bigger than himself. So he is compelled to go. There's something bigger at play, and he's obedient. And you know what's amazing is that he has no idea what's going to happen to him there.

But he knows he has to go and I was thinking as I read that, how often life is like that for us. We know the next step and we might not see beyond that, but we've got that first step. And it's up to us as to whether we'll take it or not. So he continues it. He doesn't know what's going to happen to me there, but I do know.

That, you can refer to your Bibles, it says, I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warms me, that prison and hardships are facing me. So he doesn't know exactly what's going to happen, but he's got this sense that perhaps, there's going to be some stuff that's not real nice. Can you imagine that?

Knowing that suffering, and challenge and possibly chains and prison await him, but he still feels compelled to go. Now, keep in mind, Paul used to be the persecutor, so he knows exactly what is potentially in store for him, and yet he is compelled to go. The what ifs don't deter him. And I wonder how many times in our lives the what ifs hold us back from stepping into what God would have us do.

So he's not held back by the possibility of risk or harm. Instead, in obedience, he steps forward. And he wasn't held captive by fear. Paul knew firsthand and he actually wrote that to Timothy, didn't he? Where he says that God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind.

This is something that he actually lived out. And you know what? He would be beaten there. He didn't know that at the time, but he would be imprisoned. And two years after that, he would be sent off to Rome and a few years after that, he would be martyred for Christ. Still sharing about Jesus and living the Great Commission, but he didn't know any of that there, here, when he's written this.

So why? Why would somebody be willing to risk all of that and still go and step forward in obedience? Because it's a pretty tough journey, and he's got really no idea how it's gonna play out. Well, he lays it out for us in the very next verse. In verse 24, he says, However, I consider my life worth. to me. My only aim is to finish the race and to complete the task that the Lord Jesus has given me.

The task of testifying.

He considers his life worth nothing to him. That is a pretty extreme statement when you read that. It's actually pretty sobering. And It probably does sound a bit extreme, but it's also incredibly profound. See, Paul's perspective on life had shifted. He was now viewing all of life through the lens of eternity.

He was living with eternity in mind. It was no longer about his personal comfort. It wasn't about his safety. It wasn't even about his own life. His sole goal in life was to finish the race. And to fulfill the task that had been assigned to him. He was willing to live a risky life. In order to bridge heaven and earth the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace That was the heartbeat of Paul's journey.

That was the very thing that compelled him You know last week pastor Kev shared in Matthew 28 The Great Commission when Jesus said to them all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me and therefore go And make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always, even to the very end of the age. You know, in calling us to himself, when we choose to follow God like Paul did, we take up our cross and we die to self daily. It's an act of surrender. And the incredible thing is that in that act of surrender, we find life and we don't just find an average, ordinary life.

We find life abundant. This is the space where we are meant to live. Whoever finds God, finds life. And suddenly we start living in Him and living for Him. We count Jesus so dear. So, so dear that the response of obedience and those faith steps, they simply follow from a place of love and of surrender. And the risks that come as we go.

As his disciples and we love God and we love others are 100 percent worth taking because it's bigger than us. It's about eternity and it's because of Jesus. So compelled, Paul was willing to lean into the power of the Holy Spirit, embrace the risk, step out in faith and obedience, and bridge the gap between heaven and earth.

How about you? It's a big ask, it's a big call, but boy, isn't it worth it. What compels us? journey of faith? Are we willing to be led by the spirit even into the unknown? Paul's example challenges us to consider our own perspective on life. Is it about our comfort or is it about the higher calling of risking it all for the sake of the gospel, of sharing his love and sharing his forgiveness?

And his life and his hope because the good news of Jesus is the answer to the brokenness and the hurt and the despair in the world around us. A risky life bridges the gap. between heaven and earth. Now I think I mentioned before that obedience has been an ongoing theme of mine and I didn't bring my journal this morning but I should have because honestly entry after entry in there is about obedience and I think sometimes God must think are you picking up what I'm putting down or do I need to like go over with you again on this topic because it's just such a common theme and on a side note, we talk a lot about journaling here.

And if it's something that's unfamiliar to you, we would love to help you with that. We use the life journal reading plan, which is lays out very simply for us a way to read the old and new testaments and we do it collectively as a body. So it's very cool to be sharing the revelation collectively along the way.

So reach out if that's something that you would like to know more about. But anyway, the 1st of January this year, we were in the book of Luke and my number one very first entry for the year was about obedience. And it's the passage where the angel appears to Mary and it's. fairly familiar with a lot of us.

He comes and he tells Mary, you're going to have a son. He's going to be Jesus, the son of God, you know, no small news here. Like it's pretty, it's a pretty big deal. And anyway, Mary asks how and the angel says, you know, well God's gonna overshadow you and you're gonna give birth to this holy child And and it will be the Son of God and here's what I journaled on and I had a photo actually of the journal But I'll just read it to you The verse was I am the Lord's servant May your word to me be fulfilled another version of scripture says may it be to me as you have said Oh my goodness I've always Amazed at Mary's response when I get to these accounts in scripture It is massive and I want you this morning just to think a little bit about Mary teenage girl unmarried, probably had a beautiful family.

We don't know, but I imagine so. She's engaged to a young man named Joseph. And so this announcement to her is going to completely upend her life. There are so many risks attached to her saying yes to this situation. She could lose her marriage, her betrothal to Joseph might get. cancelled. She risks shame and and being shunned by her community and not just her but her entire family.

She actually even risks her life because being an unwed mother she could be stoned. She could be killed and so these are huge risks and yet what does she respond with? Let it be. To me, as you have said, what a beautiful act of surrender and of obedience. She willingly obeyed. Life was suddenly not going to look anything like she had planned or imagined.

But she stepped in and she said yes. And my application when I journaled on this a few weeks back was that like Mary, when I hear God's voice and his prompts, even if they seem risky or out of control, I want to respond with the same immediate response. Willing to say yes, Lord, knowing that he is faithful and he is good and he will have his way.

And I prayed at the end of that journal entry that my faith would continue to grow, that it would be planted solidly in his firm foundation, and that I would step out confident in him and obedient to whatever he asked. That's the kind of person I want to be. A person who lives obediently and who is spirit led.

Because I believe that that kind of life, that kind of risky life, bridges the gap between heaven and earth. You know, when he was walking on the earth 2, 000 years ago, Jesus went to the lakeshore. And he, there's a couple of fishermen then, there, and he says to them, Hey, come, follow me. And they had homes, they had extended families, they had businesses, they were probably fairly well established in their businesses actually.

They, they had nets, that's for sure, and, and boats. And what blows me away when I read that passage is how quickly they acted. The book of Mark tells us that immediately. They left their nets and they followed Him. They had a defining moment to act in obedience and take a step of faith that changed the course of history.

They gave up something really good for something really great, for something bigger than themselves. And together with the rest of the disciples, they would later begin a movement that literally changed the world. And Jesus continues to invite us. Come, follow me. It's as simple as that. But are we willing to abandon everything for the sake of His call?

Because of His grace and His mercy and His love and His goodness, are we willing to offer our lives in surrender of the One who created us? Spirit led, showing people that there is a God who loves them and is for them. Oh, the world needs us. to take risks, to live with an eternal perspective to live, willing to step in and surrender everything that we have in order that we might share his love and his goodness and his and his joy and his forgiveness with the people that we encounter.

It's a privilege and it's an honor. And what a purpose it is to live a risky life that connects heaven and earth. So, over to you. What risky step has God been speaking to you about? Is there a little nudge? a little whisper, a little prompt that he has been knocking on the door of your heart in recent days or weeks, you know, in a culture that values comfort and security and You know, our own attempts at security.

I mean, really, does that even exist in the world that we live in? But stepping into the unknown can seem really daunting. I, I get that. It's hard. But what if the greatest adventure And the greatest fulfillment are found beyond the borders of comfortable. It's a good thing to risk. When God calls us to action, even when it's risky, we know that he is with us.

We go in his grace. We go in his power. Sometimes all it takes is 20 little seconds of courage to say yes to the adventure. To step out knowing that he's with us. We live what? by faith, not by sight. Fear and uncertainty and sometimes even the pursuit of earthly comfort and security have tainted the faith of many believers, robbing them.

of the excitement of what it actually means to live a spirit led surrendered life. So step out in faith, trust him, take the risk. It's all a part of the, of the journey of faith. Forsake the comfortable, forsake the convenient, forsake the predictable. Risk the judgement that might come. Risk the cultural norms that exist.

Risk the fear of the future. Be willing to give up the things of this earth now for a greater purpose. Does it mean that you'll be in over your head? Probably. But isn't that where faith begins?

In Him, we can go beyond the limits of our own strength. in a realm where you recognize that you're only able to do this because of his strength and his power working in you. So back to you. What is it for you? What little step are you willing to take today? Perhaps it's something like this little nudge to share your story and the story of God with somebody that you've building, that you've been building relationship with.

And you know what? That means you have to risk vulnerability. But I would say, take the risk. Spirit led, of course. His timing, his prompts. Share with somebody. Even if your palms get a bit sweaty and your heart races, God can still use you. He's bigger than that. Maybe you're the one that somebody has been sharing their faith with.

And your risk today would be to say yes. to exploring what a journey with Jesus could look like. Maybe for you, it's a prompt to call somebody and apologise, or offer forgiveness.

For others, it might just be a choice to keep on believing. Maybe there's A dream that God has placed deep within your heart and the years have passed by and stuff has happened and that person that you've been praying for hasn't changed and that healing hasn't come and that dream you've almost given up on, then I would say to you this morning, risk it again, keep believing because our God is good and he is faithful and his timing is perfect and so take a risk and keep on praying and keep on trusting.

Knowing that his ways are higher than our ways. Maybe it's about offering your time and your resources to somebody in your world that desperately needs them. Did you know that in Australia there are 13 million unused rooms in people's homes? 13 million. Spare rooms, granny flats. Can you imagine, even in this room, if that would solve?

foster care issue for one child.

Often we think our homes are places of comfort where we disappear because we've been so busy loving and serving God out in the community and we need a place where we can just retreat. What if God was turning that on its head and asking you to Rethink that view about the thing that you've got in your hand.

Tom and Mikey have walked this journey over the last 12 months and they have kindly allowed me to share a little bit of their story this morning. One day when Tom was out driving, he distinctly heard the Holy Spirit ask him to pull over and engage with a gentleman that was walking along the side of the road.

And all he had to do was to say hi. and then offer him a lift. That's what he felt that God had prompted him to do. And so he did it. And that led to the most incredible series of circumstances where they connected again a few days later. And what resulted was that Tom and Mikey offered this homeless man a space in the duplex that was right beside their home.

So, basically sharing their, their living with this gentleman in, in a separate space. Across the next 12 months, they had him over for family dinners. They built relationship, they built friendship, they poured encouragement into him, they helped build his confidence, and they shared the gospel with him, not just with words, but with actions, because they were showing him that they were for him.

And it was a risky move, right? Very, very risky. They had a little boy, little heart. They had just settled into this space. They were new to the area. There was a lot of risk involved in this. And just a couple of weeks ago, Tom texted and he said, Hey, we found permanent accommodation for this man. They've got him his own place.

He is on a brand new road filled with hope and filled with possibility, filled with strength. security because somebody was willing to be for him and show him a God that was for him as well. The seeds of the gospel have been planted in his life in such a real way, way beyond words, but with action to boot.

It's a massive risk. That was not a space that they had set aside for that purpose. It was just something that the Holy Spirit asked them to do. And Tom was certain that the Holy Spirit had asked him to do that. And of course, he also used the wisdom that the Holy Spirit brought and he put in certain safeguards in the use of that space by that gentleman.

There is so much more to this story. Like we could literally unpack it all morning. Tom, if he would come in this week and we'll record it and send it out to you guys to be encouraged by because it's just a beautiful story. Now, what I am not saying is that you should all go to Broad Beach and pick up a guy on the side of the road and bring him into your home.

This was something that the Holy Spirit on this occasion directly told Tom and Mikey to do and they obeyed. But what I am challenging you with is that God is going to have something unique for you to do. Someone on your path that He wants you to engage with. And I want us to be a people who are listening and ready to step out in faith and surrender and say yes and bring action.

It's going to look different for everybody. Not all of us have a spare room or a granny flat, but you know what we all do have? is a kitchen table. Well, most of us do. And maybe the Holy Spirit is simply nudging you to extend the table of grace and invite people in you and in, with you to just, you know, have relationship with and, and eat and drink and, and talk about His grace and His love over dinner.

There are so many possibilities and I don't know what this step of faith looks like for you But I do know this one thing that in all of these things that in living any kind of risky life we have to get comfortable being uncomfortable because it's in that place of discomfort that God meets us And he does what he is going to be doing.

There are times when we step out in faith when it is way beyond what we think we can handle. And it probably is, but that's where we lean into him and to his strength. He meets you. of faith. And I was chatting to Heather this week. Do you all know Heather? She doesn't come on Sundays anymore, but every Tuesday she's in with the sewing group and she watches online every single Sunday.

And I went around and visited her this week and we were talking about risk and It was so cool to hear her perspective. Oh, that that's Heather there. She's one of our beautiful quilters and she shared with me about a time literally decades ago that where she felt really prompted by God for a risky move.

And it was a move as a single lady to go and live in Hong Kong and work. See, she'd been actually working here. at Christian Community Church. She was Pastor Ted's secretary. For those of you that don't know Nara, who was leading worship earlier, her dad, Ted, and her mum, Karen, founded this church. And so Heather was Ted's secretary.

And after Pastor Ted passed away, she found herself presented with a really risky choice. Stay or move to Hong Kong. and work for a mission organization. And there was very little, very little job security. You know, she said to me, you had to apply every year for a visa. She had no idea what it was going to look like.

She, she had no, she didn't know a single person in Hong Kong. It was like through a series, you know, friend of a friend who recommended her to the job. So she knew no one there. It was well before the time of FaceTime and you know, the ability to connect easily with friends and family. It was a massive risk.

But she said to me that despite the unknowns and despite the risk, there was actually an excitement and a peace and a confidence that she knew that she was stepping in to the thing that God wanted her to do. He meets us. in our steps of faith. Can you imagine what our world would look like? What our communities would look like?

Even what our homes would look like when we get comfortable being uncomfortable for Jesus. When we step out of faith and we risk the temporary for the eternal, lives would be changed. We would be changed. And for many in our community, because of the risky life that we would be committed to leaving, the gap would be bridged between heaven and earth.

Now, I said earlier that obedience can bring safety or risk. I actually think it can bring both. If you're willing to shift your paradigm. When we live our lives with an eternal perspective, we discover that safety isn't found in limiting risks or in avoiding harm. True security emerges. When you find yourself in the palm of Jesus hands.

When you're willing to surrender everything into His care. That is where you find ultimate security. And discomfort takes on purpose when we live a risky life. A risky life that bridges heaven and earth. That others might know Him. Because of the way that we lived. Would you pray with me this morning before I asked the team to lead us in a song.

Heavenly father, I am so, so grateful for the stories of inspiration that you have. Recorded for us and allowed us to read men and women who were fully surrendered to you and who lived risky lives of adventure and obedience Help us to as your disciples to live like that God for those this morning that Maybe you're just exploring what it would look like to Explore a relationship with you God.

I pray that you would prompt them to just consider surrendering their lives and discovering life because whoever finds God finds life and God, I pray for all of us as individuals, as families and as a church that we would be the church, that it would not just be a place that we visit on a Sunday, Heavenly Father, but that we would live out your purpose and your mission each and every day, even when it feels uncomfortable, even when it feels risky, God, I pray that you would give us the courage and the confidence to lean into you and to step out and to walk, not by sight, but by faith.

God, may we lay down our lives. May we live lives of surrender that are risky because we are willing to lay it all down and see a bridge between heaven and earth. So we surrender. We are yours. God, I pray that you would use us in Jesus name. Amen.