Episode Transcript
So I'm going to be talking to you about this morning the discomfort zone. You've heard about
the comfort zone. We're not talking about the comfort zone. This morning we're talking about
the discomfort zone. Thank you, Mia. Can everyone put your hands together for Mia and our worship
team? You know, as we think of comfort, I want you to think about what's the first thing
you think about when I say comfort? Where does your mind go? Yeah, chocolate. Yeah, that's
really, yeah. Like a Snuggie or an Udi. I don't know. Maybe some people think about that.
Blanket. Hot cup of tea. Whatever it is. Discomfort. Where does your mind go? This would be an interesting
one. What do you think of chocolate? You know, as humans, this is something we think about a lot.
Even if we're not thinking about it on a conscious level, we're not aware of it. What's comfortable?
What's not comfortable? And sometimes these things act as the boundaries for how we live.
Well, I'm not going to do that because it's not comfortable. And so forth. And so when we think of
the comfort zone, it's defined as a situation where one feels at ease or safe. A settled method of
working that requires little effort and yields only barely acceptable results. A place where your ability
and determination are not being tested at all. And you know, when we think of this amazing book,
the Bible, there are many examples of God speaking to men and women to step outside
into the discomfort zone, out of their comfort zone. We see it with Jonah, which always makes me
laugh a little bit. The reluctant prophet who flees from the people of Nineveh because he believed they
didn't deserve him or anyone going to the lengths of bringing them a warning because he knew they
would repent. It worked out in the end, but Jonah had to learn the hard way. We see it with Abraham.
In obeying the Lord, Abraham is prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac. And so when we think
about these men and women, there's a theme. Obeying God means stepping into the discomfort zone and out
of our comfort zone. You know, God often asks men and women in the Bible to do terrifying things,
things that make no sense initially. We have the benefit of reading through the stories and their
life in hindsight. And today he is still asking us as his followers to do things that terrify us.
And so God put this message on my heart because as a location, we are stepping into a new season
that will require all of us to step out of our comfort zone. And that there are things that the
Lord wants to do in us. There are things that he wants to grow in us. And so there is a well-known
story of a man who God calls completely out of his comfort zone, into the discomfort zone,
who is highly relatable for us as believers. And his name is Moses. So we're going to start actually
at the very end of his life in Deuteronomy 34. And so the scripture should come up on the screen behind
me. But let's read it. It's Deuteronomy chapter 34. And it's titled, The Death of Moses. It says,
Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Phizgar, which is opposite Jericho.
And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead, as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and
Manasseh, all the land of Judah, as far as the Western Sea, the Negev and the plain that is the
valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as all. And the Lord said to him, this is the land
of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to your offspring. I have let you see
it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there. So Moses, a servant of the Lord, died there in the
land of Moab. According to the word of the Lord, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab,
opposite Beth Peor. But no one knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses was 120 years old
when he died. His eye was undimmed and his vigour unabated. And the people of Israel wept for Moses
in the plains of Moab 30 days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.
And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him.
So the people of Israel obeyed him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses. And there has not
arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, none like him, for all
the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his
servants and to all his land. And for all of the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that
Moses did in the sight of all Israel. The great deeds of terror. So when, I mean, most of us in this room
would know about the story of Moses, but just some context that we're all on the same page as we go
in to the word this morning. Moses grows up privileged as a son of Egypt living in Pharaoh's
house. However, even after a life starkly opposed from slavery, Moses still identifies the Hebrew people
as his people. So obviously Moses is brought up by his biological mother, but he grows up in Pharaoh's
house. And it's a privileged life. But he identifies, it's interesting, in Exodus 2, he says he identifies
with the Hebrew people so much so that he struck a man, struck down a man, an Egyptian, beating one of his
people and hit him in the sand. And at the, in Exodus 2, it documents how God heard the groaning of the
people of Israel because they were in slavery. And their cry for rescue came up to God. He remembered
his covenant and saw the people of Israel. At this time, Moses is in the land of Midian. And
he has this incredible encounter with the Lord. Everyone knows about the burning bush encounter.
And in that burning bush encounter, God declares his plan to release the Israelites out of slavery
and appoints Moses to be the one to lead them out. Now Moses is a reluctant leader. Who here has been
a reluctant leader? I can put my hand up. Yeah, there's a bunch of us in the room. So he says to
God in Exodus 3.11, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?
God tells Moses that he's going to be with him. And he tells him, he tells him that he's going to tell
him exactly what to say and what to do. But again, in Exodus 4, Moses is so adamant that they will not
believe him or listen to him. So then God shows him. So first he tells him, I'm going to give you all
the words. Then he shows him with his staff what he will do. Even after he sees what the Lord can do,
he's still not convinced. In verse 10, Moses uses eloquence as the excuse to not go, that he's slow
of speech and tongue. And the Lord tries to speak to Moses, but Moses just tells the Lord, send someone
else. You've got the wrong guy. And then it's interesting because it says that God's anger was
kindled against Moses and tells him, okay, take Aaron with you, your brother, because he knows how
to speak. God doesn't accept Moses' no. This is because God sees that it isn't because Moses isn't
capable or not able, but that he's simply not willing. So God's anger is actually kindled against
Moses for his unwillingness. Now, all I will say is this. Does God know everything? Yes. Now,
most of us know what happens with Aaron. Yeah. So God knows everything. Enough said. He lets him
take Aaron, even though he knows. Ooh, okay. Yeah. Take Aaron with you. God's funny that way.
So we know the journey for Moses was not smooth sailing. In just Exodus 5.23, he confronts God
because the Hebrew people are getting treated worse than ever as he's obeyed and said, God,
I've obeyed you and I've been doing what you've asked me to do. But look at the people, they're
getting treated even worse. After the Exodus, we know the people grumble and complain. They threatened
to stone him at one stage. And then Aaron keeps failing and falling further and his sons as well.
And so in that brief synopsis, there is so much more. I really encourage you to go and read about
Moses. But as we take a deeper look, there is a process of Moses going from reluctance to obedience,
obedience to being faith-filled, to maturity, and then to steadfastness. So we're going to unpack this
and what we learn from this passage in Deuteronomy 34. So the first point is this. Obedience comes first
and it sends us flying into the discomfort zone. So Moses knew who God was. We know that because he was
raised by his Hebrew mother. I think her name is Jeheved. I think that's how you say it. And he
identified the Hebrew people as his people. Now, in the burning bush moment, Moses still had a choice.
He could obey or not obey. And though reluctantly, he did. Even with a spokesperson, he did obey.
Because we see right after, in Exodus 3, in Exodus 4, he goes straight to Jethro, his father-in-law,
and he asks for his blessing to go to Egypt. Though he doesn't have all the answers,
Moses cannot deny that it's the Lord that is speaking to him.
And you know, the Christian life, when we think about us bringing ourselves into this,
is not a comfortable one. So much of what Jesus has asked us to do is uncomfortable.
And I would suggest that if we feel like we're constantly cruising, constantly comfortable,
that maybe we're not engaging in the things that Jesus has asked us to do.
And so I'm not saying, listen to what I'm saying and not what I'm not. I'm not saying that God
doesn't want us to enjoy life and the things that bring us pleasure, of course. However,
we can't have comfort as the main goal and be followers of Jesus. And it's okay for us to ask
questions. I don't think that God had a problem with Moses going, but, but, but. But the thing I've
come to realize is that if I know God, I can trust him. And if I can trust him, then I can obey him.
And so it's important to note for us, just as Moses' issue was not that he was not capable,
it is the same for us. So if God is asking you to do something, or has asked you to do something,
or will ask you to do something, the issue of, are they capable, has already been resolved.
It's not even a question anymore. It's up to us to not be caught in the unwillingness to do what
God has called us to do. Because the person who believes in us the most is the one who created us.
Yeah, that issue of, is he or she capable? Can I do it? Am I eloquent enough? All these things,
it's already been resolved, or else God wouldn't have come to Moses. God wouldn't have come to us.
And this is a sticky point for us as believers in our journey, because we do want things to be and
remain comfortable. I know I do. I love comfort. But the Christian life is not comfortable all the time.
So the second point is, obeying then and living outside of the comfort zone, automatically forces
us to exercise our faith. Moses found himself, as we read through the scriptures, doing things and
having conversations I'm sure he would never have thought he would have had. He was stretched,
to say the least. However, he did exactly everything that the Lord asked him to do verbatim. And the
Lord did exactly what he said he would do. All Moses had was to exercise his faith. He needed to listen
for God to speak. And the more God did what he did, the more Moses' faith grew. So faith doesn't grow
in the comfort zone. It grows in a place where our faith in God is the only option. You know, in 1 Peter
1, he explains the genuineness of our faith happens in the testing of it. It doesn't happen in the
comfort zone. It happens in the testing of our faith. So obedience comes first, and then comes the
moments where we believe God and stand on his word and his promise. Moses had no choice but to trust.
And by faith, we believe who God is. It is by faith we walk out and begin a relationship with God.
Without faith, these things do not happen. We see in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 to 9,
for by grace you have been saved through faith. In Romans 5, 1 to 2, therefore we have been justified
by faith. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into the grace in which we now stand.
It's important for us to understand that God never called us to live the safest life.
He has called us to live a faith-filled life, which let's face it, it's full of risks,
it's vulnerable, it's vulnerable, and it's uncertain at times. And, you know, one of the things that I
found myself, the question I found that I was asking myself is, what am I doing or have I done
that requires faith lately? It's a good indicator to where we are.
Next, obeying, living out of the comfort zone, and exercising our faith allows us to grow in
maturity. As we continue to obey and trust, the Lord matures us. You know, it's so fascinating,
even though, you know, Moses, we all know about Moses. Who's watched The Prince of Egypt?
Kind of inaccurate, but it's a great movie. I love it. I love watching it with the kids. But
it, you know, sometimes we, we know a story so much, we become so desensitised to the bits in
the story, and then you go back and you find all this gold. You're like, oh, wow, the word is amazing
in that way. And so you see the pattern initially, and, you know, most of us know this in how
communication happened. The Lord speaks to Moses and Aaron, and then Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh
and did everything just as the Lord commanded. That's what the word says. This pattern occurs
in Exodus 7 through to Exodus 8. But an interesting thing starts to happen in Exodus 8, verses 8 to 13.
After the second plague of the frogs, Pharaoh said to Moses, plead with the Lord to take away the frogs
from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. Moses agrees, and he goes
away, and he cries out to the Lord. And it says in verse 13, then the Lord did according to the word
of Moses. Then in the fourth plague, God asked Moses to go to Pharaoh. So it's not like God saying,
Moses and Aaron, go to Pharaoh. The same pattern happens. The Lord did as Moses asked, because Pharaoh
asks again, plead with your God to take this away from us. In the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth,
and final plague. Again, God calls on Moses alone. And the Lord said to Moses, and Moses does exactly
what the Lord asks of him. It's the same pattern that follows in the books of Leviticus, Numbers and
Deuteronomy. The slow progression is part of Moses' training and equipping for what is to come.
You know, at the beginning, Moses is unwilling, but he obeys and exercises his faith. He starts to
mature in a way that gives him confidence in intercession and mediation. So much so that God
calls on Moses alone, and Moses doesn't defer to Aaron as much. So all the things that he put forth
as, you know, his excuses, I'm not eloquent enough, I can't do it, it doesn't become a factor. The more
he obeys, the more he obeys, the more he exercises his faith. And maturity is so important. You see it
very, very clearly in this, in the life of Moses, in Deuteronomy, in Numbers, because Moses was going to
be extremely discouraged by things to come. In Exodus 30, for example, where Moses had gone up to the top
of Mount Sinai, and the people under Aaron's lack of leadership, built a golden calf, i.e. the people
wanting to stone him, the people constantly grumbling. However, in these situations, Moses had
developed enough maturity to understand that he couldn't fix these things on his own. He needed
to cry out to God. You see this happening in these scriptures. And God would make a way. Like when the
people grumbled, oh, you know, we should have stayed in Egypt, you know, because at least we had all the
food we wanted. And God answers with food literally falling from the sky. He cries out to God.
And he found that God would make a way. And this is the thing. He grows in humility. This is what it
did for Moses. He didn't go, oh yeah, I'm the man because I'm so close to God. And God does exactly
according to my word when I plead with him or when I pray to him. He actually grows in dependence
to God. He grows closer to God. Moses found that though people failed, God never fails. And the more
Moses obeyed God, his allegiance cemented in God, not in the fickle nature of the people. And you know,
this is so appropriate for us in our walk because there are many things that we have experienced or
that we are going to experience, that are going to discourage us. You know, once trusted leaders
having moral failures or letting us down, being treated unjustly and unkindly in church,
feeling abandoned. But God wants to develop the kind of maturity in us that nothing will shake our faith
in him. That these things that happen, which will happen, will not cause us to walk away from him
or gathering in the church. Unfortunately, this is something we know. We've been through the season
that we've been through. It happens a lot. But my heart for us, for this location, each and every one of
us is that we would develop in our maturity in the Lord and hold on to him in each and every season.
That we would see him above all the other things that could come. Because these things will come
and our maturity will be tested. Yeah? We do that for each other because chances are,
you know, we will offend each other or I, you know, we will be misunderstood. I will misunderstand
you. You will misunderstand me. It's bound to happen at one point or another. So this maturity,
it doesn't happen in the comfort zone. In the comfort zone, actually, we're more prone to become
armchair critics. Because we're not putting ourselves into the arena of faith. And there's
no fruit in our lives that makes our critiques viable or valuable. So this is when we really need
to, okay, obey, grow in our faith and allow the Lord to mature us. Because the Lord wants to do this
in us. But I know I can put my hand up. Sometimes I'm like, Lord, I'm not humbling myself down. That
person needs to say sorry to me. Or, you know, whatever it is. We all have, like, let's just be
real in church. It's okay. We all have those things. So the Lord needs to mature us. This is so important.
Because if we allow Him to mature us, it helps us to remain steadfast, consistent, and faithful to God
and to endure as believers. You know, like I said before, we have the benefit of the Scriptures
of seeing it in Moses' life. For Moses, as he obeys, again, he establishes his faith in who God is.
The Lord matures him, and he remains steadfast to the Lord and in the Lord to the very end of his
life. Moses obeys until the very end. And we see this, you know, throughout the Scriptures,
but also in another very powerful way that I didn't see until God showed me in the Scriptures.
Moses obeyed when the Lord tells him all the way back in Numbers 27, 12 to 22. It says,
to take Joshua, son of Nun, and lay your hand on him. Invest some of your authority in him.
And in verse 22, it says, Moses did as the Lord commanded him. So the Lord asked Moses to bring
Joshua on a discipleship journey. Moses obeys in Deuteronomy 3, 27 to 28, when God tells him that
he won't be entering into the promised land. And says, but charge Joshua and encourage him and
strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession
of the land that you shall see. And at the end of his life, we read in Deuteronomy 31, that he does
encourage and strengthen Joshua as his successor. You know, we've seen it in other places in the Bible
where this process doesn't go smoothly at all. It's a train wreck, actually, due to the pride of
the current leader. You see it with Saul and David. Even Joshua does not disciple another like Moses did
for him. Through all the critical moments in the life of God's people, Joshua was there with Moses.
Moses. Moses obeyed and helped ensure the following generation would love and fear God. He served his
people by pouring his life into another, Joshua. And immediately after Moses died, Joshua was ready to
lead. And you know, if you go all the way into Joshua, 21, 45, this encapsulates God's goodness,
but also the Moses of legacy, of his obedience and his steadfastness. It says not one word, not one word
of all the promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed. All came to pass.
Isn't that amazing? And so we read in our main text in verse 10,
Moses remained steadfast until the very end of his life.
Steadfastness is to be fixed and solid, stable and not shifting. Steadfastness is not easy.
We have to be willing to be uncomfortable, to live a life that's not just about our own ease.
Steadfastness is hard because it's hard for us to wait to see fruitfulness.
We want to see our efforts now. We prefer to immediately see it, immediately get results.
It's not easy to keep enduring. Steadfastness requires we exercise our faith and take hold
of the promises of God. It requires that we stand no matter what comes.
You know, James 5.11 says,
Living outside of the comfort zone, in the discomfort zone, is how we should be living
our lives as followers of Jesus. And you know, even as we look to the end of Jesus'
assignment here on earth, he gave us his final words in Matthew,
and I will be with you until the very end of the age.
God knew that life lived on earth as followers would not be comfortable. It would not be easy.
So you know what? He sent us a comforter. Isn't that amazing? He sent us a comforter.
He could have called him anything, but he sent us a comforter. John 14.26, the Holy Spirit is our
comforter. He's our soft landing place when we are living a life in the discomfort zone.
Isn't that an amazing thought? That we are the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
And so whenever we are stepping out, doing things that the Lord has called us to do that bring us
discomfort, he's our soft landing place. And he's with us everywhere we go, bringing us comfort.
And so for Moses, his assignment was a big one. It's immortalized in the pages of the Bible.
But for all of us, our assignments look different. Could be platform ministry, could be any type of
ministry, could be being a life group leader, could be, you know, creating a healthy home culture
when there hasn't been one in your family in the generations past, could be business,
could be in any industry. The assignment is never the primary thing. The primary thing is always our
hearts. What is the posture of my heart in anything I do for the Lord? The posture of my heart determines
character. God is not trying to grow big ministries or big churches or movements. He's wanting to
transform us so we look like his son Jesus. And like I said at the start, this is a message that I'm
living in real time in the discomfort zone. So as Pastor Dave shared a couple of weeks back and just as
he introduced me, I'm in the discomfort zone. And it's important I share about my part of this season,
of this next part of the journey. And so when we were praying about who would lead West,
I hadn't thought that I would lead it. I was like, okay, let's pray about it. And then the Lord said
to me, you know, this is your path to walk. And I said, no, actually I didn't. So we should talk about
that. So I prayed with him and it just, I felt the conviction of the Lord on my heart. Trust me,
if you really know me, if you've known me for years, it would be easier for me to drive out into
the sunset with Dave and, you know, and then, right, and not do this. Because this is a weighty
thing. This is very weighty, you know, to lead a location. And so I journeyed with the Lord,
but I remember standing here in worship at the end of last year. And God did something in my heart
that he did all the way back in 2017, before we were even asked to lead this location. I remember
we were going to our staff retreat on the Thursday, but this was the Monday. And I was having my quiet
time with the Lord. It's like June, I think, June, July. So winter, and it's, you know, so cold.
Make me appreciate today. And I remember the Lord saying, go out onto your balcony. You've got a
little balcony outside of our room. And I was like, Lord, it's cold. I'm not going. I'm not going.
But I did. And I, he just asked me to pray over the West. And he broke my heart for this community
and for just the West in a way that I can't even describe. It's so supernatural. And then on Thursday,
we get asked to lead this location. So I was like, okay, Lord, thank you. Thank God I obeyed.
But then sitting here at the end of last year, going on this journey with the Lord,
he broke my heart again for you and for the West. And I knew what he was asking me to do.
It's not easy to say yes to the Lord. Sorry. It's weighty. But you know what? I've got enough
history with the Lord now. And enough evidence to know it is better to obey. It is better to obey.
And yes, it will be the hardest yes. And yes, it will be stretching. Thank you so much.
I knew I was going to cry at some stage. Thank you. That's perfect. Thank you.
But it's the most beautiful thing we will ever do to say yes to the Lord.
Because I would rather be, as someone said, you know, as someone, these words will always sit in
our hearts. It's better to be in the centre of God's will than outside of it. And yes, while there is
some discomfort and some pain, Jesus is so worthy of my yes. And so every assignment is different.
For you, it might look different in this season. But what God wants to grow in us is the same.
Obedience, growing in faith, exercising our faith, maturing us so that we will be the ones who endure,
that we will be steadfast. Okay. Why don't you close your eyes? I'm going to ask the team,
the worship team to come. I want to pray for us. I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand,
because I believe that this is a word for all of us.
And like I said, it may look different. But the Lord is calling, calling us this morning
to say yes to him, to say, Lord, you have my yes. So, Father, I thank you so much for who you are.
I thank you that you are so good. You have been so good.
That we are all sitting in this room, yes, at different stages of our journey with you,
at different stages of our relationship with you. But we are all sitting in this room because of you.
This is our common denominator. And Lord, I thank you that you have called each and every one of us
to serve you. And the function may look different. The assignment may look different.
But we're all called to live our lives as to you, Lord. And so I pray for all of us in this season.
As we take a step, God, this morning, I pray that every heart would be prepared
to step a little bit further into the discomfort zone, knowing that we are saying yes to you.
That we are saying yes to you, the most trustworthy person that we could say yes to.
