“Burrs in Our Saddle”
Are You an Old Dog?
INTRODUCTION: It is amazing to me the lengths a horse will go to removing, or trying to remove a burr under its saddle. The burr, as small as it is, is a source of great discomfort. That burr causes major discomfort to the horse. Discomfort to the point of action.
Where are our comfort zones?
Temperature
Finances
Interaction with people
What moves us out of our comfort zone? What is the burr that brings us to the point of action? Just like the horse, it is pain. When we are placed in a position where the pain and discomfort of moving is less than the pain and discomfort of staying, we will move!
I TWO ILLUSTRATIONS OF MOVING OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONES
A NICODEMUS
1 John 3:1-7 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him." 3In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." 4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!" 5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ’You must be born again.’
a Nicodemus comes at night
1) Protecting his comfort zone
a) Position
(1) Responsible for the Religious Decisions
(1) Responsible for Civil Rule
b) Acceptance
c) Reputation
b Challenged by Jesus
1) “Must be born again” – Start over Spiritually
a) Nicodemus needed to start over spiritually BECAUSE he did not understand WHO Jesus was
(1) “teacher come from God”
(1) Jesus was more than a “teacher come from God”, he was God!
2) Challenge to leave his comfort zone
2 John 7:45-53 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, "Why didn’t you bring him in?" 46"No one ever spoke the way this man does," the guards declared. 47"You mean he has deceived you also?" the Pharisees retorted. 48"Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? 49No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law--there is a curse on them." 50Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51"Does our law condemn anyone without first hearing him to find out what he is doing?" 52They replied, "Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee." 53 Then each went to his own home.
a Nicodemus responds to what is being said, and questions the conclusions of the council
b Nicodemus is struggling with the value of his comfort zone and the claims of Christ
3 John 19:38-42 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
a Nicodemus comes to claim the body of Jesus
b VERY public
1) Had to ask permission
2) Availability of records
3) Roman and Council interest in the “friends of Jesus”
c Nicodemus is identified with Christ by his action
1) Nicodemus has moved from fear to action
2) Claimed the body
3) Provided the spices – about 75 pounds!
4) Provided the grave
5) Provided the grave clothes
6) Covered the cost
7) Done PUBLICLY
Ø NICODEMUS GOT HONEST CONCERNING THE TRUTH OF CHRIST
Ø NICODEMUS’S HONESTY WITH THE TRUTH OF CHRIST BECAME MORE IMPORTANT THAN HIS COMFORT ZONE
Ø WHEN JESUS BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING WE COULD LOSE, WE MOVE
NOTICE: THE DISCIPLES WERE NOT THE ONES TO COME FOR THE BODY.
B PETER
Matthew 14:22-33 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It’s a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. 27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid." 28"Lord, if it’s you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 29"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" 31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" 32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
1 Peter is in his comfort zone – the boat
a Not bothered by the hour
b Not bothered by the waves
2 Peter fears what he sees
a Does not identify Christ
b Believes it is a ghost
3 Peter is called out of the boat
a In order to leave his comfort zone, Peter must subdue his personal perceptions
b Peter is ultimately limited by his focus on the circumstances rather than Jesus.
II THREE REASONS WE STAY IN OUR COMFORT ZONES
A FEAR – If we never face our fears we will never leave our comfort zones
1 Nicodemus feared what he would lose
2 Peter feared what the water held
THE “X-FILES OF FEAR” – Fear brings some strange things out in us
Numbers 13:27-32 They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." 30Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." 31But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.
Numbers 14:1-4 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."
Pre-Exodus: Israelites were slaves, making bricks in Egypt
FACED WITH FEAR …
Pre-Promise: Israel wants to go back to Egypt – At least they knew what they were getting into in Egypt!
STEPPING OUT INVOLVES RISK
STEPPING OUT INVOLVES FEAR
IF WE NEVER FACE OUR FEARS WE WILL ALWAYS STAY IN OUR COMFORT ZONE
B FOCUS – Christ is the path out of our comfort zone
1 Nicodemus moved out of his comfort zone when Christ became the most important thing to him
2 Peter – stepping out of the boat required focus on Christ
FOCUS LETS US:
Ø Buck the trend
Ø Face what we fear
REFUSING TO FOCUS KEEPS US BOUND BY FEAR, OR IMMERSED IN THE CROWD, OR BOTH!
C FAILURE (to move forward)
1 God bless him, but Peter is always doing the wrong thing!
a 11 out of 24 times in Matthew Peter is mentioned and doing or saying the wrong thing
b 11 out of 20 times in Mark
c 7 out of 18 times in Luke
d 10 out of 19 times in John
2 What if Peter had stopped?
a What if Peter had stopped after the lake?
b What if Peter had stopped with the denials?
IF PETER HAD STOPPED PEOPLE WOULD HAVE GONE TO HELL!
c Perhaps Peter’s greatest act was at Pentecost – and thousands came to know Christ!
IF WE ARE LIKE THE OLD DOG – TOO OLD TO LEARN A NEW TRICK …
IF WE ARE TOO UNWILLING TO LEAVE WHAT IS COMFORTABLE TO US …
WE ARE RISKING THE SOUL OF MEN
NEW ORLEANS, LA — City lifeguards, who were celebrating a summer season without a drowning, found a guest dead at the bottom of the pool at the end of their party.
About half the 200 people at the party on Tuesday night were lifeguards, and four of them stayed on duty as the party-goers swam in the Olympic-size pool at the New Orleans Recreation Department Center, director Madlyn Richard said
The annual party is held at the end of July, when most of the city recreation centers’ pools are closed. This year, the lifeguards also were celebrating the first drowning-free swimming season in memory.
At the end of the party, the lifeguards on duty began clearing the pool and discovered the body of a party guest, 31-year-old Jerome Moody, at the bottom of the deep end.
Copyright © United Press International, Aug 2, 1985
COMFORT ZONES GIVE THE ILLUSION OF SECURITY. YET ALL IT TAKES FOR EVIL TO PREVAIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO DO NOTHING.
Can you really risk remaining in your comfort zone?
EMAIL FOR POWERPOINT
