Get Out Of The Comfort Zone

This post was originally published at www.modernchristianliving.com   Bill Petite

It is so easy to get comfortable in our lives with our surroundings, our environment, our neighborhoods and our church. We settle in for the long term without really being all that aware of it. As Christians, our attitudes should be that we are willing to go where the Lord wants us to go and to do what He wants us to do. We should be ready to get out of the comfort zone and do the Lord's work. I can't help but think about Abram and how he left his homeland without so much as a question to God (Gen. 12:1-4). He didn't even know where he was going, he gathered his family together and started walking. Can you imagine doing that! You hear the voice of God, loud and clear, and you gather your family together and jump in your car and start driving. You don't know where you are going and as you travel, the Lord gives you directions. That would be kind of like a built in spiritual GPS or better known as a God Positioning Sensor. As you approach a major intersection or an interstate, the Lord starts giving directions but only you can hear them. OK, that is a little unusual but it has happened to some Christians but maybe not in that particular way. I heard the story of a young man, a hippie, in the days of the Jesus Movement of the late '60s and early '70s, who would go to the airport, at the Lord's direction, and wait to be instructed as to where he was going. Without fail, someone would walk up to him and say, "The Lord told me to give this to you." The person would not hand him money, but a ticket, already purchased, to the destination where the Lord wanted him to go. This happened on more than one occasion.

Some of us are so firmly planted in our comfort zone, we would never consider taking this type of action. When the Lord wanted me and my wife to leave California and relocate to Pennsylvania, it took six months for me to realize I had to be obedient to this calling from the Lord. My first response was an absolute no! I loved living in Southern California; the weather was great, I was involved in thriving ministries, my children were there, all our friends were there and did I mention the weather was great? I grew up in Pennsylvania and I knew what the weather there was like. It was hot and humid in the summer and cold and snowy in the winter. That didn't seem like a fair trade to me. But after praying this through for six months, I knew this is what I needed to do and I needed to do it because this is what the Lord wanted me to do.

Get Out Of The Comfort Zone When God Calls

What we have to realize as Christians is we need to get out of the comfort zone when God calls and do the work He has called us to. There are times when God will persist until we realize we need to submit to His calling. Jonah is a classic example of this (Jonah 1-3). He ran but the Lord was extremely persistent, and that is an understatement. There are other times He will get someone else to do the work, but that is a topic for another time. How many examples of this do we have in scripture? Noah, building the Ark because God told him it was going to rain for 40 days; Noah had never experienced rain but still went ahead and started building and telling those who would listen (and they didn't believe him) what God was going to do (Gen.6:8-22). Moses and the burning bush episode. Moses argued with the Lord until he realized this was something he had to do for God (Ex. Chpt. 3). He went back to Egypt and went face to face with Pharaoh 10 times because God instructed him to (Ex. Chpt. 5-11). Hosea married a prostitute because God told him to (Hos. 1:2). The Lord used Hosea's situation to make His point concerning adulterous Israel. And, of course, Paul and Barnabas were sent out to preach the gospel to the gentiles (Acts 13:2). And finally, Jesus told His disciples and us, to go out into the world and make disciples; tell the world about Jesus (Matt. 28:19). There are so many other examples in the Bible of those who were called by the Lord and responded but they are too numerous to mention here. If we are to live our Christian lives according to God's word, then we should be obedient to what Jesus has instructed us to do. Our heart should be prepared to hear the voice of God and respond to His call.

In the early 1800s, George Mueller was saved and wanted to be a missionary. He didn’t want to pastor, he wanted to go to the mission field but God had other plans for George. He wanted this young British man to start an orphanage; George wanted to go to the mission field. It was quite a struggle for George to finally accept God’s will for his life and to understand by faith that it was a missionary he would be but not in the way George had pictured it. He responded to God’s call and he built orphanages and cared for children but the most important thing he is remembered for in this work was his faith in the Lord through prayer. George Mueller left his comfort zone, answered God’s call and was faithful.

A lot of Christians fear being called to a distant location to do God's work and they can only think of being called in this way. But, the Lord needs workers locally as well as in a foreign location. I was one of those young Christians who always thought God would call me to go to a faraway mission field. The truth is, God knows who is prepared to answer that call and those are the ones He sends to those locations. Jesus knew where I was prepared to go and it wasn't a foreign mission field. He may call you to go across the street to witness to a neighbor or He may want you to go to Appalachia and work with those people. Jesus knows our hearts and He knows what we are capable of doing. He will prepare us for the work He will call us to, but we need to respond when called. We need to get out of the comfort zone and get to work. I have had more than one pastor tell me how they ran from the call to ministry. They knew God was calling them to a pastoral ministry and they didn't want to go or they were afraid; they also told me how they finally gave in to the call.  It is truly a blessing to receive the call from Jesus to go forward into a ministry and follow His leading. He provides for us and takes care of us. I can testify to that promise; He never failed to provide for us when we traveled across the country with nothing waiting at the other end. He provided employment, housing and many other things which we needed, not for our wants but our needs. My wife and I did this three times and every time the Lord provided for us. We had unsaved friends telling us we were crazy; they could not grasp the idea of leaving a good, well-paying job and moving across the country where there was nothing waiting for us at all (except Jesus, of course)! It was a perfect time to tell them about Jesus and His work. It was a great opportunity to witness. Now, this is not an easy thing to do for the Christian whose faith is weak or who is not prepared to receive a calling such as this. But, the Lord will not call anyone who is not prepared to make this type of move. Again, God knows us, He knows our hearts and He knows when we have been sitting long enough. He knows when we have received more than enough preparation and He knows when it is time for us to go and minister and do the work He has for us.

Get Out Of The Comfort Zone And Get To Work

A big problem in the Church today, and it has always been this way, there are not enough workers to do what needs to be done. Sunday School classes go without teachers, buildings go without needed repairs, outreach ministries cannot reach out and pulpits are empty because there are not enough workers to fill the needs. There are a few reasons why this problem exists but let us assume that all things are in place for training up people to fill those needs. Now I can only think of one reason those needs would go unfilled; those who the Lord is calling to fill those needs are not responding. Please understand that I know there are always circumstances in every local church which prohibits the fulfilling of every vacant ministry position. I am not addressing these situations; I am simply referring to those who know they are being called and will not respond. We used to have a saying about the types of people in the local church when it came to fulfilling the ministry needs, "There are shirkers and there are workers. The shirkers refuse to help and the workers do all the work." Maybe you are in a situation such as this and if so, then you know very well what I am talking about. I think the main problem lies in the fact that there are too many Christians who attend church 2-3 times a week and never get involved in any work. They see others doing it and are content to sit by and do nothing. There are those who think since others are doing the work, they are not needed. We should never assume help is not needed because we see someone else doing the work. There can never be enough workers. Also, we should never sit idle and allow everyone else to do the work of ministry. I know in most cases that would not be tolerated at our place of employment. Consider this: Your boss wants to know why you are not working and you reply, "Well, I saw the other guy working at it so I decided he didn't need help." How long will you last at a job with that attitude? Are you there just to collect a pay check? In the same sense, did we accept Jesus as our savior just to avoid going to hell? Did we accept Christ as our savior only to get fire insurance? What did Jesus have to say about a lack of workers?

He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”      Mt. 9:37-38    NLT    www.gatewaybible.com

The harvest is great but the workers are few. Not much has changed since the time Jesus spoke these words. There are too many Christians who do not respond to the call from the Lord. People may respond to this by saying something like, "Well, I've been a Christian for a while and I've never heard God telling me to do anything; He has never spoken to me." I respond to that by asking if they have ever been invited to take part in an outreach ministry or have they ever been asked to help with the Sunday School classes at church, have they ever been asked to help out with cleaning the church and many, many other invitations to help somewhere in some kind of ministry. This was or is Jesus calling on us to get out of the comfort zone help with His work.

 There is another important point to be made here; we can be involved in the Lord's work outside of the church. There is so much work which takes place outside of the church walls and it is in more need than the ministry inside the building. Remember, Jesus could be calling you to a work outside of the building such as street witnessing, inner city missions, rural missions, secular work place ministry and so many others. Personally, I would rather be involved in the Lord's work and be in church once a week than be in church 3 times a week and not doing anything! The Christian who is seen only once a week in Church might be so involved with the Lord's work, he can only make it to one service a week. The Christian who is sitting in the pew for every available service but not doing anything for the Lord is doing nothing except taking up space. Pew potatoes don't always grow and they can become rotten and stale and are not always healthy for the body (of Christ). So, if you have heard the Lord calling you to help in His work, don't refuse or ignore Him, get to work, get out of the comfort zone. We should consider it a blessing that He would ask us to be a part of His work. If He has entrusted a portion of His work to us, we need to realize how important that is. There is nothing else in this world which can be more important than answering the call when Jesus invites us to be a part of His work! Be a worker, not a shirker.

 

It's All About Jesus

This post was first published at www.modernchristianliving.com   Bill Petite

 

We have a natural born instinct to want to be in the spotlight or to seek attention. Watch a toddler when he/she knows the adults are watching. They will ultimately begin to do things which they think will bring the attention to them. As we grow, some of us put that aside and our personality is one which either seeks attention or runs from it. But, we all want our due; we want credit for the things we do (or don't do) and we want to hear our names called for our accomplishments. That is the sin nature we are born with but when we get saved, we begin to grow away from the instincts of the sin nature and grow closer to Jesus and the person He wants us to be. As we grow spiritually and begin to develop into that person Jesus wants us to be, we no longer look for that spotlight or we should not be looking for the spotlight. It's all about Jesus, not us. It's all about what Jesus has done for us and the work we can and should do for Him. There are still many who want that Jesus spot light on them; they, at times, want to take the spotlight off of Jesus and put it on themselves. The work they might be doing, in the name of Jesus, can be a work which is based on bringing all the attention back to themselves. We really have to check our pride at the doorway to salvation. At the time we are saved, one of the first things, among many, we must put in check is our pride. We must remember it’s all about Jesus, not us; we are merely instruments to be used by Him to further His kingdom by telling anybody and everybody about Him. With our advancement in technology, it is really easy to be in a position to be heard or seen or read by many people. This writing is just one example of how these words can be read by many people which would not have been possible if it were not for the Hi-Tech world we live in. The other side to that is, I would never have been given an opportunity to serve God in this medium if not for this technology. Now, take it up a few notches to satellite TV, internet streaming and satellite churches. The normal TV medium was thought to be super advanced technology for preachers in the '50s, but that has exploded into what we see now in our current era of time. The possibilities are endless; if you buy a computer, tablet or smart phone, it is outdated as soon as you walk out the door of the store where you bought it. I say all this about our Hi-Tech world simply to make the point that it is really easy for a person to obtain a swollen ego by utilizing one of these mediums to get his/her message out. The sad part is this, many who have found themselves in a position to reach millions via one of these mediums has seemed to forgotten who is actually seated on the throne! One of the important things which many in these positions have overlooked is, it is not about the numbers you may be reaching but what your message is and who is at the center of that message.

I remember the first time I taught a Bible study; I was so nervous and there were only about five people there. I knew the Lord had called me to teach His word and I knew I was doing what He wanted me to do for Him, but I was in no position to steal His glory from Him. I'm glad I was nervous and scared, to an extent. I had only been saved for about two years and I thought I was ready but the Lord has that special way of keeping us humble. I have witnessed many men who gave off the impression that they were the one special person God needed to get His message out; it was like a beacon sending out a signal telling the world that they were the special one with the only anointed message from Jesus. When I lived in Southern California, I was at a swap meet or flea market on a Saturday morning and as I was going out the gate, there were three men coming in. The man in the center was repeating something like, "Praise God, oh holy God." It was something like that but might have been something a little different. The reason I probably can't remember exactly what he was saying is because of the way these guys were walking. The two on either side were his body guards; nobody could get close to the guy in the center. They treated him as if he were a super celebrity as he continued to ramble on with whatever it was he was saying about God. My first thought was, "Who is this guy and why does he think he is so special?" If he was trying to draw attention to himself, he had accomplished that; but he also was bringing shame to the name of God because there were many who thought he was some kind of kook! We have to remember, it's all about Jesus, we are simply tools for His use and we should be blessed and excited that He would give us the privilege to be used by Him. Jesus set the example for us and the apostle Paul told us how we should approach anything in our Christian lives.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,   who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.            Phil 2:5-8  NKJV 

www.biblegateway.com

If Jesus made no attempt to bring all the attention to Himself, why should any of us, why should we consider ourselves to be more important than Jesus Christ who paid the ultimate price for our sin? Keeping the flesh in check is a full time job for us; we must understand how fortunate and blessed we are to be in God's service and if you are a Christian, you are, or should be, in God's service. Jesus did not have to leave His glory in heaven to become one of us and then die a horrible death to provide salvation for us. We don't deserve this and we must always keep this in the forefront of our minds! Jesus loves us but that doesn't give us the right to step on His honor and seek to cloth ourselves with it! We need to, if we haven't already, understand the true meaning of humility; I need to fully understand the meaning of humility! We only dishonor God when we seek to put the spotlight on our selves.

I'm always reminded of a story I once heard, years ago, concerning humility when the topic is discussed. It seems a young man fresh out of seminary was given his first opportunity to speak at a large local church. When the time came, in the service, for him to approach the platform and speak, he strutted up on the platform as if he was God Almighty Himself preparing to speak. As he began, he stumbled and stammered through the message he had spent hours preparing. When he finished, he hung his head and very meekly walked down from the platform. As he came off the last step, there was an elderly man sitting in the front row who whispered some words of wisdom to him. "If you had went up the way you came down, you could have came down the way you went up." Most Bible teachers/preachers understand their calling and many will approach the pulpit in a humble manner but there are always going to be a certain group who will consider themselves to be the star of the show.

The biggest problem in the Church today is the idea that some Christians in some local churches insist on making the pastor a celebrity or in some cases the pastor himself is guilty of this. The apostle Paul tells the church at Corinth, "Therefore, let no one glory in men." (1Cor 3:21)  We should never put men above Jesus and I know that sounds like basic Christianity but it has to be said. There are countless pastors in the Church today who are elevated to a higher level by those in the Church. This is absolutely wrong; remember, Jesus did not put Himself above the Father. If you read the gospels, it is evident that Jesus didn't say anything He wasn't told to say, did nothing He wasn't told to do and gave all the glory to His Father. If Jesus conducted His ministry, here on earth, in this manner, why then would any person believe he/she does not have to? It's all about Jesus and we must remember that; it's all about His word and it's all about what He has done for us. I guess it is all a matter of keeping ministry and any work for Jesus in the right perspective. We need to remember what our role is and that of God. God doesn't want us to steal His honor and yet He doesn't want us to belittle ourselves beneath who we are in His eyes. C.S. Lewis said it right in this quote: Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. 

There is only one God and He deserves all the glory and honor. It doesn't matter how big a local church is or how many people see or hear one man. It doesn't matter how many books he has written. It doesn't matter how big the building is or how much money is generated through a ministry, it only matters if Jesus is at the center of the message and He is always in the spotlight. We must remember, it's all about Jesus, and not about us!

 

 

 

Basic Christianity

This post was first published at www.modernchristianliving.com by Bill Petite

 

I can remember when I was first saved and how exciting my new life in Jesus was. I remember my first Holy Week, that week leading up to my first Easter Sunday. I was excited all week about what Jesus had done for me; He had paid with His life to deliver me from a life of alcohol addiction and I knew I could never pay Him back. Accepting the free gift of salvation which brought on a whole new way of living for me was simply a blessing. Getting saved, believing in Jesus as my savior, reading and studying the word of God, being in fellowship with other believers and meeting together for prayer was all part of my new life and was basic Christianity. I see this same excitement in new Christians all the time. When they are baptized or giving a testimony, it is a blessing to hear what Jesus has done for them and is doing for them. How difficult is it to hold on to that excitement? How hard is it to continue to move forward with Jesus, doing His work and seeking His will and plan for your life? Well, that depends on a lot of things; do you have a good mentor, someone to disciple you as you grow in Jesus? Or, are you discipling younger Christians? I love discipling younger Christians or new Christians in their faith. It is such a blessing and it keeps that excitement in my life as I continue to move forward for Jesus. Basic Christianity should never be something that grows cold or stale. That can happen so easily and it happens in a very subtle way. We will never wake some morning and decide we no longer need the basics of Christianity in our lives. But, the devil knows what our weaknesses are and he knows right where to hit us. Satan will even use our own faith to lead us in the wrong direction and thus draw us away from those basics while we believe what we are doing is for our Lord. We are easily sidetracked and we can move away from Jesus without even realizing we are slipping away. Now, the Bible tells us we can't forfeit our salvation regardless of what we do but we can slide a good distance away from the Lord and we become stale and stagnant in our relationship with Him. We have no excitement for Jesus and we have lost our desire for the basics of Christianity. At this point, we are in need of repentance; sometimes this takes a rebuke from a Christian brother or sister. This is always done with love and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. I remember when this happened to me. I had lost my interest in the basics and I was sliding back faster than I was moving forward. Thank God, literally, that I had a Christian brother who cared enough for me and loved the Lord enough to be obedient and call me out. I immediately knew he was right; I had been going in the wrong direction and the Holy Spirit applied the loving salve which I needed to repent and get back to the basics.

In today's Church and Christianity, as has happened in the past, there are so many distractions which bog Christians down. It could be a book about visiting hell for 40 nights in order to warn the unsaved what it is really like. Mary K Baxter wrote the book, A Divine Revelation of Hell, back in the early '90s and can be read (which I don't recommend) on her web site, http://www.divinerevelations.info/mary_k_baxter_a_divine_revelation_of_hell.htm. 

 This is a material which can really cause a young Christian to head off in a direction leading away from basic Christianity. She claims that Jesus would come and take her into hell with Him every night for 40 nights. The Bible tells us enough about the suffering of those who choose not to accept Jesus as savior when they find themselves in hell. Is this the material you want to use while evangelizing? Most non-believers view this as scare tactics and think the one using it is trying to scare them into accepting Jesus. I can see why they think that. Why not tell them about Jesus and His love for us. Tell them what Jesus has done in your personal life. We don't have to use scare tactics on the unsaved.

Recently, there has been some material produced covering the Blood Moons. Four blood moons, or properly stated, four lunar eclipse in eighteen months has set off a frenzy of misinterpreted prophecy. Actually, it is false prophecy because the Bible says nothing of what is being said concerning these four lunar eclipses. The references concerning the moon becoming dark is also accompanied by the sun becoming dark at the same time (Mt 24:29, Rev 6:12). Some have taken these lunar events and stretched this stuff way out of proportion. But, these are the types of things or distractions which can pull Christians away from the basics. Now, I am not saying that any Christian who takes the time to study or look into these things will be totally distracted and lose touch with the basics. I am simply saying it can happen to some, possibly those who are not yet mature enough to know how to compartmentalize these things. When we know how to look into these things without being distracted, that is a good thing because the Lord has called some of us to discern what is right and what is wrong, what is from the Lord and what is a distraction from the devil.

The important thing about being a Christian is being properly balanced in our walk with God. In our Bible studies, we must be balanced. If all a Christian ever does is study prophecy or end times or the Mosaic Law, well there will be a great imbalance. There is a movement currently telling Christians that they need to study the Law and incorporate it into their Christian life. The Hebrew Roots Movement is good at cherry picking scripture from New Testament writings as proof for this. Of course, those scriptures are always taken out of context. I can cherry pick any scripture and make up any kind of teaching I want to. When I was in Bible College, this was actually one of my assignments; it was to prove how easy it is for some to actually do that and deceive others into believing it is true. You can only imagine how easy it is for this movement to prey on younger, immature Christians who will believe this simply because it is the Bible which is being referred to in this false teaching. Think about it Christian, Jesus said Himself that He came to fulfill the law. The law pointed to Jesus as the Messiah and there was absolutely no salvation in the law, so why would we need to incorporate this into our Christian life. The Old Testament is just as important as the New but we do not need to study the law as a part of our Christian faith. There is a very good reason for studying the Bible as a whole and I would encourage it but to emphasize the law as being a very important or even most important to your faith or your walk with Jesus is wrong. If you read and study the gospels, you will see how Jesus takes everything in the law to a higher plain of responsibility, you will know that He has superseded the law. Allow me to give an example of this:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old,

 

‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matt 5:27-28  NKJV   www.biblegateway.com

There are many other movements, materials, teachings and individuals who can lead Christians away from the basics if they are not careful. Actually, keeping a strict, regimented schedule or routine for Bible study, prayer and Church attendance will block most attempts by these hustlers. Even when they worm their way into the local church, which they do and will, it is so easy to pick up on it and warn others of this invasion. A Christian should set a time for themselves for a private time for reading the Bible or prayer or study. I can remember as a young Christian with small children, I had to lock myself in my bedroom in the evening to read and study the Bible. OK, I didn't lock the door but you get the idea. A good Christian friend of mine encouraged me to get up twenty or thirty minutes earlier in the morning so I could have my private, quiet time. That worked; I began to practice this for prayer and reading and it was amazing. So, I encourage you, as I always do for others, if you are not already, get up a little earlier and take advantage of the early morning time for your quiet time with the Lord.

Christianity in this country has been waning for many years now. Christians are floating away from the basics of Christianity. They are simply too busy with their personal lives. Both parents work because they feel they have to in order to pay for the things they need or want or have. Is it possible we have become too much of a materialistic people? Are some of our needs really some of our wants? I'm not saying this is the case with everyone, God does know how tough it is to raise a family and provide for their needs. But, maybe we should depend on our Lord just a little bit more for our provisions. I do know of Christian families, with children, who only have one income, the father, because they know how important it is for the mother to be in the home with the children. I know a family of 7, with one more on the way, and only the father works. He is currently laid off but the Lord is providing for them. I spoke with him a few weeks ago and this man could not stop giving praise to God. He fully trusts that He will provide work for Him soon and that the Lord will continue to provide in the meantime. This young man has not moved away from the basics of Christianity. The devil set him up, created all the right situations but this man knows his Lord will never fail him. This is a part of basic Christianity. How easy would it be to simply want to throw in the towel in his situation? I have seen Christians want to quit over far less trouble. Stick to the basics and we will never have a reason to doubt our Lord. When we start drifting away by getting involved in some of these pseudo Christian movements or activities, we are setting ourselves up for troubles. I once asked a young woman why she was so interested in one of the Word Faith teachers, she responded by telling me, "He's so fresh, his message is fresh." Fresh?! I contained myself and simply walked away; she was not going to listen to anything I would have said. The gospel message is as fresh today as it was 2000 years ago and the name of Jesus is as powerful and carries as much meaning as it ever did! He never loses His freshness, His authority. The Church today has too many distractions. It has too many celebrities, too many mansions called church buildings and too many lukewarm followers. That last comment might be offensive to some but let the truth be known, we must get back to the basics of Christianity. I recently read about a missionary family who returned from the mission field with the father and husband pastoring a local church. The following comment from the wife says it all about the Church in this country.

Perhaps I am wrong, but I have noted that the American church is quite shallow in the sense that I don't see the evangelism, the all-night prayer meetings that we were accustomed to on the mission field, praise and worship that is not just a "song service," older women teaching the younger women things that they have learned from experience, and other things....I don't want to be critical, but I have learned to observe.  Letters,  The Berean Call Newsletter,   www.thebereancall.org

May we all become as observant and obedient and begin listening to that quiet voice as the Lord whispers in our ear. Pay very close attention to what He has to say and cling to the basics of our faith. Jesus can never be improved on by man so why should we always go running after the newest, freshest, hippest or coolest version. Jesus is the basics of Christianity!