Slavery to Comfort

Good morning.

That was quite good.

Good morning. If you don't know me, my name's Chris.

I help oversee community groups here at Watermark.

At Watermark, if you haven't been here for a while,

we often say we're going on a journey together.

Because life is a journey, it's a quest, it's an adventure, it's a voyage.

And those kind of words are meant to make you feel excited.

Like me, when I was six years old, my mum used to read to me

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

And I was so excited to hear the story.

Because deep inside all of us, journeys and stories like that

kind of impact us because we want to be going somewhere.

We want to feel like there's some purpose for where we're heading.

And the purpose of this journey of life is not just to kind of wander around

aimlessly trying to find some random meaning somewhere.

The purpose is that there is a destination in mind for all of us.

And the Bible is filled with images of journeys.

And the Exodus story that we've been going through over the last few weeks

is one of those stories.

It's a story of redemption where God releases the Israelites out of slavery

into freedom in loving and serving the king, the God of Israel,

the one who wanted to bring them freedom.

And God had made this promise hundreds of years ago to a man called Abraham

that he was going to make this people who were going to go into a land

and they were going to be blessed and they were going to be a blessing

to all the nations.

And this is the purpose that God was beginning to unfold.

But the problem was this journey to the promised land led through the wilderness.

And the wilderness is, well, a wilderness.

It's a place of struggle.

It's a place of discomfort.

It's a place of thirst.

It's a place of craving.

But it's in the wilderness that God wanted to teach his people

what it really meant to trust him.

And he wanted to show them how gracious and glorious his power was

to provide every single step of the way.

Because he wanted to show them that once they got in the promised land,

which was filled with all these blessings,

that actually the greatest blessing wasn't the gifts and the blessings of the land,

the physical blessings,

but he was going to be the greatest blessing for them.

That's what he was about.

And the New Testament, in Hebrews 3, other passages,

gives us this same idea of a journey.

It uses this Exodus story to describe what it means for us to be Christian.

God releases us from captivity to sin,

and then he passes us through not the Red Sea,

but the waters of baptism.

He then leads us onto a journey into a new resurrection,

new creation,

a restored world which satisfies every desire for peace,

for security, for longing,

for harmony and joy.

And through that, he brings a perfect mediator,

not like Moses, an imperfect one,

but Jesus Christ,

to take us there.

But we're not yet in the promised land.

Now is actually the journey through the wilderness.

That's the way the Bible described it.

We haven't yet arrived into full,

perfect comfort and redemption.

So my aim this morning is to talk about how we live well in the wilderness,

and to find that our greatest treasure is not found in making our lives more air-conditioned,

but in finding joy in this wilderness.

And that's what we're all about in this series.

This series is really about how Christ,

if you're a Christian,

he has set you free,

but he set you free from slavery to things.

And whether it's control,

whether it's your own sense of self-reliance,

whether it's fear of others,

or today we're looking at comfort,

these things we look to to satisfy us,

but God says they're not the ones,

the things that are ultimately going to satisfy you.

And we'll find ourselves,

if we chase after these things,

drinking from a sewage pipe,

rather than drinking from the living water that God wants to give us.

So we're going to have a look at this story together,

and we're going to look at grumbling in the wilderness,

comfort in the wilderness,

and God's vision for the wilderness.

So grumbling in the wilderness,

our comfort in the wilderness,

God's vision for the wilderness.

So let's kind of dive into the story a little bit.

Okay, if you've got your bulletin here,

kind of you can check through with me.

Chapter 15, 22 to 27.

It's been three days since the euphoria of passing through the Red Sea.

The honeymoon period is over.

The water's running out, it's hot, it's dry,

it's worse than Hong Kong in the summer,

and Moses sees a spring.

And he goes up to it to get water,

and it's filthy, undrinkable.

And everyone is grumpy and thirsty.

This isn't what I bargained for.

Where's the 7-Eleven?

And God's people are worse than a bunch of whining kids

stuck in a traffic jam in a non-air-conditioned bus in the summer.

They're whining, they're complaining to Moses,

and Moses says,

God, okay, help me.

And God provides an amazing water purification system,

and they can drink.

And then, God, remember,

who is guiding them with a pillar of cloud and fire,

he leads them to Elim.

And Elim is like an oasis in the desert.

It's got shade, it's got coconut milk,

it's beautiful, it's paradise.

Finally, it feels like this is more like it.

They settle down there for a few days

in their little resort of Elim.

And then, chapter 16, 1-4,

they've got to move on.

The holiday's over.

They've got to move out further into the wilderness.

God is leading them on.

And he's leading them somewhere.

But nearly one month later,

the food supplies start running low.

They're on to one-figure day.

They're getting seriously hungry.

And the Israelites are like me.

When I'm hungry, I'm miserable.

And the whining starts as a little murmur,

and then it grows, and then it grows,

and then it grows,

until finally the frustration explodes.

Verse 3,

If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt.

There we sat around pots of meat

and ate all the food we wanted,

but you have brought us out into this desert

to starve this entire assembly to death.

They're a grateful lot.

Now, I don't know if you remember earlier in the story,

but in Egypt, I don't remember the Israelites

sitting around like barbecues,

kind of rejoicing in the food.

Do you remember that?

No, they were crying out for God to save them,

for God to rescue them, right?

And they'd forgotten that kind of part,

you know, rose-tinted spectacles,

looking back on the past.

But, you know, when we experience discomfort,

our temptation is always to compare

to another time, to other people.

The grass always looks greener

than where we are right at the moment.

And they've lost sight of where God is taking them,

and they've lost sight of what God has done for them,

and they've lost sight of the promised land.

And they think, because it's hard now,

Moses must be against them,

God must be against them,

they'd rather die than follow what God has got for them.

Because, you see, the Israelites were more focused

on their stomachs and discomfort

than seeing the goodness of God,

and they'd lost sight of him.

They'd lost sight of the miracles.

They'd lost sight of the way he provided

every step of the way.

And they kept losing sight of that.

Now, it's not that their need for food was illegitimate, totally.

Food is necessary to live,

but God had showed them,

I will provide every step of the way.

I just want to use this as an opportunity

for you to see just how amazing my grace and my love is,

because I will always provide for my people.

But they were more interested in getting a comfortable ride

than really in knowing God in this process.

Now, I don't know about you,

but if you've got a bunch of whining kids

in the back of your car,

and you've already given them a snack recently,

and it's not far now,

and you're saying,

hold on, there's a great meal coming,

and they're still whining,

I don't know what your response is.

My response is usually frustration.

But God is incredibly patient with the Israelites.

He graciously provides for them.

He says, verse four,

I'll rain down bread from heaven for you,

but I'm not going to give it so you can kind of bulk by,

so you can kind of put some away in the freezer for later.

Every day, you're going to have to depend on me for grace.

Every day, it's a test to see every day,

will you trust me?

And on the Sabbath,

you're going to have to collect enough for two days,

and I'm going to provide it,

because I want you to rest, put me first,

know that you can trust me.

To satisfy all your needs with good things,

because I'm good, and I care for you.

Verse six says,

In the evening, you'll know that it was the Lord

who brought you out of Egypt,

and in the morning, you'll see the glory of the Lord,

because he's heard your grumbling against him.

Every circumstance that God brings you and I into,

no matter whether it's coming to the springs of Elim,

and it's beautiful, and it's comfortable,

or whether it's wandering in the wilderness,

is an opportunity, is a gift,

a circumstance where God says,

here is a chance for you to rely on me,

for you to put me first, for you to trust me.

Here's a chance for you to experience my grace sustaining you.

Verse 10, God shows up in the wilderness.

He says, I am with you.

His presence is there with them.

That's what he wants to say to some of us now

who feel like we're going through a wilderness in our lives.

I am there.

I am with you.

You can trust me to provide.

Will you?

And the thing is, God in this story is not just interested

in giving the Israelites a hard life.

He actually provides great tasting manna.

He could have provided anything.

He provides honey flavored crackers.

Okay?

And it's a foretaste of the milk and honey

that he's going to bring them into the promised land for.

And you know, they're full.

Verse 18, they lack nothing.

And all the grateful Israelites can say is,

when they see this manna, what is it?

Which is what manna means.

Manna means, what is it?

You can see how grateful they are.

God wants them to know his grace.

All they can see is their circumstances and their discomfort.

And even after all of that,

God providing again and again,

the Israelites still doubt that God's going to be good enough

to provide for them.

So they go out collecting more than God tells them to collect.

Just in case.

Because you never know if God's really good.

He came through last time,

but maybe he's not going to come through again.

So we've got to provide.

We've got to build a little bit of security.

We've got to make sure,

because maybe God really isn't good enough for us.

Let me ask you right now,

what's going on in your life?

Is it an Elim experience?

Does it feel like a wilderness experience?

Do you see what's happening in your life as a gift from God,

as an opportunity to know him and to see his grace?

Or are you like the Israelites,

who are more consumed with your comfort,

that you've lost sight of a gracious, good God,

who has provided many, many things for us?

That's the grumbling in the wilderness.

Next, our comfort in the wilderness.

In this passage, Moses actually says,

your grumbling and complaining is not against me.

It's not just kind of being real.

It's against God.

He's saying, you're actually saying to God in this circumstances,

you're not good.

We can't trust you.

Because complaining in a way that refuses to run to God

in circumstances and find your hope in him

is always, always a desire for something more than God.

For them, it was a desire for comfort more than God.

And anything you desire more than God,

the Bible calls an idol.

It's a sign when you start complaining and grumbling

that actually you think God is not good,

something else you deserve, you should get more than God.

It's an idol.

I teach on a Monday night at Hong Kong Youth Space.

I teach English there.

A couple of weeks ago, I was just kind of coming back.

I'd done some cleaning in the flat before I went.

I finished my class about 9.45.

I'm on the bus back.

It's 10.15.

I'm tired.

I'm hungry.

I just want to get home and rest.

And then Fiona, my wife, calls me.

And she's just got back from a long day.

And she's just come into the kitchen

and just seen the state of the kitchen.

And it's not a pleasant sight.

I'd forgotten that I'd been a little bit too engrossed

in my other things to actually clear up the mess

that was in the kitchen.

And my wife graciously reminds me that actually,

I mean, she needs to take 15 minutes

to try and clear everything up

so the devastation doesn't kind of remain.

And she's tired.

And she tells me,

hey, can you be just a little bit,

she's very gracious.

Listen, I know you've helped,

but could you just be a little bit more responsible,

clear up after you've done,

because that would just make my life

so much easier in this thing.

She's been gracious.

But as she's speaking,

I'm getting frustrated and impatient.

So I quickly try and shut down the conversation.

Okay, okay, fine, fine, fine.

I'll do it next time.

I'll better do it.

I'll do it next time.

My wife knows that I'm not really listening.

No understanding from me

as to what she's just had to do.

She's tired.

And I'm thinking,

I don't need this.

Don't you know what a long day I've had?

Don't you realize

that I have done 90% of the cleaning in the flat today?

Poor Chris.

Isn't life hard?

I just need a break.

That's all I want now.

Just give me some peace.

I don't have to deal with this now.

Poor me.

It's not fair.

Isn't life terrible?

Now, what's going on in my heart?

I held my tongue.

I didn't say that to her.

But actually,

because she didn't experience my apology,

she didn't experience my sympathy in that,

I didn't express my frustration.

I held my tongue.

But actually,

if you could have seen what was going on in my heart,

you would have seen

that whether I'd said it or not,

exactly the same thing was going on here,

and God looks at the heart.

Because you see,

why am I so impatient and frustrated

when something that's clearly my fault

and it's been dealt with graciously,

well, is it because I'm tired?

Well, tiredness contributes to those things,

but tiredness doesn't cause me to be impatient.

You know,

I don't suddenly get tired

and then I'm really impatient.

It doesn't happen like that.

Tiredness lets down my guard,

but actually what my heart wants,

it wants comfort.

It wants me to have my little world

just suiting me at that time.

And my wife was stopping me

getting comfort at that moment.

I didn't want to hear it.

And I deserve comfort

because I work hard.

And my wife is not feeling loved

by the way that I respond.

I'm not actually thinking about her

because it's actually all about me.

And the root of all our idols

is a self-centeredness

which wants life to be all about me,

what suits me,

what's comfortable for me.

And it stops me seeing other people

and loving them.

And I think if I'm honest,

as I look around Hong Kong,

I think this idol of comfort

is one of the ones

that we actually struggle with enormously.

Even in our church,

we struggle with this.

Because we're told

that satisfaction in life

is found just if you can make your life

as comfortable and convenient as possible.

And discomfort must be avoided.

at all possible costs.

You see, we live in a city

that just revolves around convenience and comfort.

Technology and science

has developed our lives,

transformed it to the point

where we are the most comfortable people

in the whole of history.

There were emperors before

were never as comfortable as we are.

You know, the Israelites struggle to find food.

We have shops open late

selling fast food

because we can't wait for slow food.

and then you even get Food Panda

to deliver it to your home

so you don't have to walk out of the door.

It's amazing.

We have helpers,

great public transport,

fast internet,

Siri.

You know, you don't even have to

press a button on your phone now.

You can just talk into it

and it does what you want.

And I could go on and on and on and on and on.

There's so many things we have.

Washing machines.

You know, incredible.

But washing machines are great.

But in spite of all the inconvenience we have in Hong Kong,

I still find myself complaining.

I complain about the lack of space.

I complain about the air quality.

I complain about those annoying people

who stand on the lift texting

right in my way

so it takes me at least five seconds longer

to get either to the lift

or get down the escalator.

We complain about schooling.

Okay.

And I then say,

it's not like this in the UK.

You know, we have great air.

And I go back to the UK.

And you know, the air's great.

And you know, there's space.

And then I ring up the customer service.

And I'm sent halfway around the world.

And they're not contactable after 7 p.m.

And the shop's shut at 5.30 or 6.

And the nearest one is about 15-minute drive.

And the public transport is so expensive

and always delayed.

And very quickly I realize I'm complaining.

Because,

and everyone else is complaining as well.

Doesn't matter where you go.

Everyone complains.

Now, why,

if we have this unprecedented level of comfort

that others in the past would only have dreamed of,

do I still complain and grumble?

Why?

Because I believe the great lie

that just having more comfort,

a bigger flat,

retirement,

a vacation,

anything else,

something more will satisfy me.

And you know,

we're willing to suffer long hours of work

just so we can make our life

and our family's life more comfortable

in the future.

But it doesn't matter where you live.

It doesn't matter how much time-saving gadgets you have.

You will never truly be satisfied with them

because there will always be inconvenience

and uncomfortable people

and uncomfortable situations

that will frustrate you.

Always.

You will never be satisfied.

Because now is a wilderness time.

There are times of refreshment.

It's not the promised land.

There are ELIM experiences.

There are good things.

But you know,

what happens is

a greater comfort

leads to greater expectations.

And yesterday's desires

become today's needs and demands.

When internet first came out

and I first went on the internet,

it was amazing.

I was like,

wow,

just,

it was great.

It was such a privilege.

And it would take like 10 years

to download one page.

But I could wait.

Now,

if it takes longer than one second,

I'm like shouting at the computer.

I'm like cursing the thing.

Why?

Because

I now expect

and I think

that this is what I deserve.

And a desire has become a need,

become a demand.

And the thing is,

our expectations

are shaped

by everybody around us.

We compare to everyone around.

And we always think

like the Israelites

that the grass is greener

on the other side.

So if we just get something more,

then it's always going to be better.

And we're in a competition

in Hong Kong

and you can't get left behind

by anybody else.

And we focus more

on what we don't have

than what we do.

And we become ungrateful.

And we'll shy away

from ever making decisions

which will make us

uncomfortable

for the sake of the gospel

because we think

that life is going to collapse

if I'm uncomfortable.

And so it's going to be moaning

and complaining

if my life

is not the way I want it.

Because for me,

and I struggle with this one,

fundamentally life

is more about me

than about God.

I think I deserve

to have comfort

and I'm not willing

to be inconvenienced

because I can't imagine

that I can live without it.

Spurgeon,

who's a great English preacher,

said,

when we have much

of God's providential mercies,

his amazing mercy,

it often happens

that we have

but little of God's grace

and little gratitude

for the bounties,

the enormous abundance

that we have received.

We are full

and we forget God,

satisfied with earth

and we're content

to do without heaven.

Rest assured,

it's harder to know

how to be full

than it is to know

how to be hungry.

Take care

that you ask

in your prayers

that God would teach you

how to be full.

Isn't that interesting?

We are often full

yet not satisfied

and yet God says,

I want to teach you

how to be full

and it's my provision.

So where do you see

your heart

regularly complaining?

Are the blessings

that you have

held with open hands

knowing that they're

a gift from God

graciously given?

Are our lives

personally as a church

marked by a radical

thankfulness

and contentment

whether we're in Elim

or whether we're

in the wilderness

or are we never

happy with what we've got

always wanting

that we've got to have more?

We grumble

in the wilderness

because we seek comfort

more than we want

to find satisfaction

in God.

Thirdly,

God's vision

for us

in the wilderness.

God's vision

for us

in the wilderness.

The problem

with the Israelites

is that they've shrunk

their little worlds

down to their stomachs.

But God

wanted to expand

their vision.

God had called

Israel out of Egypt

into a relationship

with himself

to experience

his grace

and blessings

so that they would

be a blessing

to the nations.

You look at the end

of this passage

verse 32 to 34

with this test

that God brings

them through

and God is faithful

they're unfaithful

but he still provides

and he tells

this unfaithful people

put a piece of manna

in a jar

to save it

as a testimony

to generations

to come

of how good

and faithful

God is

because they're going

to forget

like you forget.

And God's vision

for this test

that he takes them

through

is not just

about them.

He's wanting

to make it

so that their eyes

get focused on him

and so that they

can see

that regardless

of how comfortable

or uncomfortable

how convenient

or inconvenient

God is leading

them to a place

where his name

his glory

his goodness

will be made

known to themselves

and to millions

of people

like us

who are reading

the story

even today.

That's what God's

wanting to do

through this

little incident.

But

what we do

what I do

is we focus down

on our narrow

things that we

think we need

and we narrow

the world

down to an

armchair of one

when God

wants to

expand it

to a whole

world that

is out there.

I think the story

says these two

things for us.

One is God's

vision for your

journey and our

journey as a church

is to grow

our delight

in him.

Grow our delight

in him.

Jesus

in John

John 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6

he says to a

crowd of people

he's fed

the 5,000

hungry people

and you know

what happens

after them

they start to

follow him

because

they just want

to get fed.

They want to get

food because

they think

Jesus

he's a great

bakery.

That's what

they're thinking

and so

Jesus

says to them

your fathers

ate manna

in the wilderness

and they died

but I

am the bread

of life.

Whoever comes

to me

will never

grow hungry

whoever believes

in me

will never

be thirsty.

When we

celebrate a

communion

we celebrate

with the bread

of God's

provision

for our

needs

by dying

on a cross

showing that

he's good

that he loves

us

that he'll

provide for

us

but you know

how those

people responded

they started

grumbling

and they walked

away

many of them

from Jesus

because Jesus

for them

was only a

means of

food

and if you

want Jesus

just to get

his blessings

then when he's

provided one meal

for you

you'll soon

become hungry

again

and if he

doesn't seem

to provide it

as quickly

as you want

then you'll

go away

and look

for another

canteen

to find

food from

but Jesus

is saying

I'm not just

about giving

you meals

blessings

physical

things

I don't

want to

just give

you that

I want

to give

you myself

the chef

and if you

get the

chef

do you know

what

you get

unlimited

blessings

which will

last

eternally

satisfyingly

and I know

what you need

and I will

provide what

you need

it's not

about you

and getting

the blessings

and getting

the comfort

it's about

him

because when

you get

him

you get

everything

that's

what God

is doing

so do you

come to

church

is your

relationship

with God

just about

getting fed

or is it

actually about

I want

to really

know Jesus

as a church

Jesus says

to you

and to me

whatever is

going on

in your life

right now

are you

willing to

lay down

your chase

for temporary

comfort

which will

soon leave

you hungry

are you

willing to

lay it down

for the sake

of the gospel

for the sake

of having

a satisfaction

in me

are you

going to

hold it

with open

hands

because I

want to

satisfy you

in a way

that you

will not

be satisfied

if you

chase

comfort

if you're

a Christian

if you're

not a

Christian

following

Jesus

is not

going to

make your

life

easier

listen

it's

going to

make

your

life

harder

guaranteed

if you

really want

to follow

Jesus

it will

make it

harder

but it

will

make it

the most

satisfying

life

that you

can ever

possibly

lead

because he

says

I

am

the bread

of life

the bread

of life

if you

want to

live

come

to me

and the

call today

is are you

willing to

follow him

however

uncomfortable

or inconvenient

he is

because he

wants to

show you

how good

he is

so we

need to

repent

of where

we

actually

think

other

things

are better

than

him

it's

about

delighting

in

him

but it's

not

just

about

that

it's

about

because

vision

for the

wilderness

is

about

others

as well

do you

know

that

contentment

is one

of God's

great

evangelistic

strategies

did you

know

that

Philippians

Philippians 2:14–15

2

verse

14

to 15

it says

this

Paul

who writes

it

he says

do

everything

without

grumbling

or arguing

so that

you

do

everything

everything

without

grumbling

or arguing

so that

you may

be pure

and blameless

children

of God

without fault

in a warped

and crooked

generation

then

you

if you're

not grumbling

you

will shine

among them

you will shine

among them

like stars

in the sky

as you

hold

firmly

the word

of life

he's saying

in a society

of comfort

seekers

grumblers

like me

complainers

like me

God's

evangelistic

strategy

for Hong Kong

is to

raise up

a church

which will

find contentment

in him

so that

when you

go out

into your

families

your workplaces

your friendship

circles

and they

see what's

going on

in your life

where things

are not

comfortable

but actually

you're still

able to find

joy and

satisfaction

in him

and you're

still able

to be content

and people

will look at

you and say

what is up

with you

how can

you

still

find

contentment

when you're

not getting

everything

you want

and you know

some people

will be

attracted

to that

light

and will

be able

to point

them to

Christ

to say

it's not

me

it's him

turn to

him

because he's

the one

who can

do it

for you

as well

in a

thirsty

hungry

society

around us

that's

what Hong Kong

needs

it's not

about

you

it's about

Christ

it's not

about you

it's about

others

I worked

for a while

in a garden

centre

in the UK

and one

day

I was

in one

of these

polytunnels

they're kind

of like

green

like plastic

greenhouses

and I was

watering

some tomato

plants

in there

I had a

hose

put the

hose

on one

of the

tomato

plants

it snapped

in two

and I'm

like

oh no

so

I went

to the

head

gardener

and I said

I'm really

sorry

I'm just

destroyed

one of

your

tomato

plants

and he

turned

around

to me

and he

said

don't

worry

it's

fine

because

you know

those

tomato

plants

there

they

were

not

supposed

to be

kept

inside

in the

warm

and the

comfort

of that

greenhouse

because

you know

those tomato

plants

are actually

meant to be

kept outside

in the rain

and the storms

and the elements

of life

because you know

when they face

those things

what happens

is it strengthens

their branches

it strengthens

them

so that they're

able to hold

more fruit

and you say

he said

that tomato

heart snapped

because it actually

never felt

the pressure

of the water

and it's never

going to be

the tomato

plant that it

should have been

you and I

and this

church

is meant

to be a

tomato

plant

that is

meant to

bear fruit

fruit

isn't for

you

you don't

eat your

own fruit

if you're

a tomato

plant

fruit

is for

others

that's

what we're

made for

a tomato

plant is

made to

bear fruit

Christians

are made

to bear

fruit

the church

is made

to be

a tomato

bearing

plant

and we

will never

enjoy

who you

and we

were meant

to be

as a church

if we

simply stay

inside the

greenhouse

of comfort

and we

don't step

out to

those who

don't know

Christ

to those

who are

not

comfortable

reaching out

to

yes in

the outside

God does

bring sunshine

he does

bring times

of refreshment

and joy

and pleasure

and comfort

like Elim

he wants to

do that

to show you

his goodness

but he will

lead you on

into the

wilderness

and in the

wilderness

of our

lives

out there

is where

that we'll

have stories

to tell

to generations

to come

to people

around you

of how good

and amazing

our God

is

and that's

our experience

as a church

you know

we don't always

have this venue

we like

people in the

wilderness

sometimes

but God

has provided

a venue

he's provided

finances

again and

again and

again for

us as a

church

it's not

about us

it's about

him

it's about

people around

us in this

city who

don't know

him

so let me

challenge us

as a church

as a church

we believe

in community

because we

believe that

the gospel

brings people

together

it's one of

our values

there is

a danger

with community

the danger

with community

is we can

be so

comfortable

with our

particular

community

that we

never do

this thing

which is

called

mission

we're never

reaching out

because we

don't want to

go out of

our comfort

zone to

the people

that we're

not so

comfortable

with

because we

want to

stay in

the greenhouse

students

singles

who do

you talk

to after

the service

do you

only ever

talk to

people who

are like

you

or are

you willing

to go out

of your

comfort to

see who

God might

be bringing

around you

and to

take a step

of faith

to actually

go up to

somebody

and say

hi

some of

us

that's the

step we

need to

take

marriage

do you

only ever

talk to

married

people

or are

you willing

to engage

with people

who are

not like

you

who are

singles

who are

non-believers

who are

people who

are wrestling

with things

that you

have no

idea

how to

deal with

but you're

willing

to go

out of

your way

because if

we don't

do that

we're going

to miss

out on

the stories

that God

wants to

show us

his grace

and his

glory

and you

know

if you're

an introvert

and a thousand

objections come

to your mind

or even if you're

an extrovert

and you've got a thousand

things in your mind

which say

I can't reach out

to somebody

who's not like me

because I don't know

what to say

I don't know

where to go

and God says

listen I'm the same

God as the God

of the wilderness

I provide grace

for every situation

so will you ask me

for grace

and then step out

and you'll see me

provide

whether it's words

whether it's the

the ability

to connect

with someone

whatever it is

God will provide

in your cgs

when was the last

time we started

thinking not just

about how

to be comfortable

but about the people

who don't know

this great

and awesome God

are we prepared

to have people

in our groups

to connect with people

that we don't

necessarily like

we don't necessarily

feel most comfortable

with but we know

that the gospel

calls me to love

them anyway

and we're going

to need grace

because actually

that's all that

can get you

through that

but we have someone

who is so satisfying

that we say

if we want to put

him first

then we will see

him provide

and we will see

us grow

and we will flourish

like that tomato

plant

because you know

for a tomato

plant the greatest

joy

that it can have

is to see someone

pick its fruit

and enjoy it

to see the joy

that the fruit

that God works

in us

and through us

by his grace

as we find

satisfaction in him

whatever circumstance

he brings us

and we need each other

with that

because we keep

forgetting

but you know

if we step out

with his grace

we will have

stories to tell

for generations

to come

of the faithfulness

of God's

good provision

God is good

I don't have to

look elsewhere

for comfort

and that's when

this journey

this adventure

in life

gets really

exciting

and God

gets the glory

let's pray

maybe just stop

and think

for a minute

when was the

last time

for the sake

of the gospel

I went out

of my comfort

zone

when was the

last time

that I had

to rely

on God's

grace

to get me

through

just as you

think about

your own

heart

and I think

about my

own heart

God

wants to

show you

that he

is enough

for you

and for me

he wants

to show

us

that in

whatever

we're going

through

right now

he is

enough

father I

pray that

you'd

forgive me

where actually

I live

for comfort

often more

than you

I procrastinate

and things

that I know

I should

do

because I

don't want

to do

the hard

uncomfortable

thing

I stay

comfortable

with the

things that

are familiar

to me

because it

seems too

risky to

go out

of my

way

and yet

you're a

God who

is right

there

with us

calling us

to step

out

I pray

just show

us

for each

one of

us

it's

going to

mean

something

different

please

just show

us

what it

means

to step

out

this

week

whether

it

means

we need

to actually

just see

with gratitude

what you've

given us

and lay

down some

of those

desires

that we

have

Lord

whether

it's

we just

need to

open

our

eyes

to see

the

people

around

us

to see

that you

have called

us to

love

to point

them to

see

something

that's

more

satisfying

than just

getting a

new iPhone

or just

getting a

better career

position

Lord

please

would you

help us

to see

and experience

just how

good you

are

would this

church

be a

light

in this

city

so that

people would

turn to

you

pray this

in your

name

amen