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Life Application Sermon Series Sermon #9
Breaking Out of Comfort Zones
Matthew 14: 25 - 33
Text Scripture:
25 And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.
28 And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.
29 And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.
31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
32 And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.
33Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.
Intro:
All of us are surrounded by comfort zones, those invisible barriers that make us feel cozy and secure.
Comfort zones develop after we have done things a particular way for a period of time. Unfortunately, they can makes us feel so comfortable, that we never want to change the way we do things!
The only people who like change are babies with dirty diapers!
Sometimes it’s easier to keep doing the same things over and over again than to make adjustments in our lives!
ILLUSTRATION:
Two construction workers had taken a lunch break and opened their lunch boxes.
One exclaimed, “Oh no, not baloney again. I can’t believe it. I hate it. This is the third time this week I’ve had baloney. I can’t stand it!”
The other guy replied, “Why don’t you ask your wife to make you something different?”
To which he responded, “I don’t have a wife. I made these myself!”
*The fact of the matter is, most of the baloney in our lives . . . we put there ourselves!
*If we ever want our lives to be any different from the same old baloney we keep serving ourselves, then we must break out of doing the routine!
Comfort zones aren’t all bad. They makes us feel security in our lives, and that’s certainly better than going through life fighting feelings of insecurity.
However, security is like money . . . it makes a wonderful servant . . . but a very poor master!
Healthy security is found in a loving home, warm friendships, an enjoyable career, and good church relations . . . but a different kind of security is found in a prison!
In prison the inmates don’t have to make decisions . . .
Worry about house payments . . .
Insurance payments . . .
Where the next meal is coming from . . .
That’s the reason many prisoners commit crimes when released . . . they want the security they had in the prison.
However, that is a real danger for us also . . . WE CAN ALLOW OUR COMFORT ZONES TO BECOME OUR PRISON!
ILLUSTRATION:
When a crab grows, it breaks out of its hard shell and begins the process of forming a new one.
Its life span is marked by passing through successive shells.
The crab grows when it is in-between shells.
It will continue to grow as long as it dares to break out of it shell.
When it stops breaking through shells, the crab ceases to grow and eventually dies.
THE LAST SHELL BECOMES THE CRAB’S COFFIN!
I Wonder tonight . . . which comfort zone we will allow to become our Spiritual coffin?
Tonight I want to look at five “Comfort-Zone” principles:
Principle #1: We break through comfort zones when we do something that makes us feel uncomfortable.
A: If we ever want to receive some things we’ve never had before, we’ve got to do some things we’ve never done before.
God places many of His blessings outside our comfort zones, then asks us to come get them . . . This means we have to break through our comfort zone to receive the blessing!
ILLUSTRATION:
I’ve watched with great admiration as Ms. Hazel Smith has struggled to break through a personal comfort zone of hers concerning this new keyboard we’ve purchased.
Hazel was real comfortable with the old organ . . .
Hazel was very uncomfortable with the new keyboard . . .
But as she has mustered the courage to do what she had never done before . . . she discovered she could do what she thought she couldn’t do! . . . AND SHE DOES IT BEAUTIFULLY! . . . And the more she fools with that thing, the more she will discover it will do!
She’s breaking through a comfort zone . . . and we’re receiving something that we never had before because she is doing something she never did before!
B: Peter was about to break through a comfort zone by stepping out of the boat and walking on water.
Any scientist will tell you that water will not support the weight of a person who tries to stand on it!
But Peter forgot what he’d learned in science class and thought, “If Jesus is walking on the water, then it’s possible for me to do it too!”
This time the law of gravity would be suspended!
But, before Peter could walk on the water . . . he had to get out of the boat! . . .He had to let go of the “security” of the boat for the “insecurity” of the water!
The same is true for us today!
Principle #2: We break through comfort zones by refusing to listen to our fears.
ILLUSTRATION:
A spy was captured and sentenced to death by a general in the Persian Army.
Before carrying out the sentence the general gave the spy a strange choice. He told him he could have his choice of a firing squad or a big black door.
After much deliberation the spy chose the firing squad and within a few moments he was dead.
The general turned to his aide and said, “They always prefer the known way to the unknown.”
The aide then asked the general, “What’s behind the black door?”
“Freedom!” Replied the general. Behind the black door is a passageway that leads outside, but only a few have been brave enough to see what was behind it!
*Fear is the big, black door that keeps us trapped inside our comfort zones!
In order to be free from what imprisons us, we must be brave enough to open the door!
Why We Stay In Our Boat:
Different fears will keep us in the boat! Before Peter stepped over the side of the boat, a lot of thoughts must have run through his head.
A: Fear of Criticism: “What will the other disciples think of me if I get out of the boat?”
Who cares? . . . The biggest critics we have will be those who stay inside the boat - the ones who don’t take the risk!
We must not allow what somebody else thinks to keep us in the boat!
Our actions must be determined by what God wants us to do!
B: Fear of Failure: “What if it doesn’t work?”
Many folks don’t ever try to break out of their comfort zones because they think if they fail people will make fun of them, so, to avoid the potential for embarrassment, they simply opt to do nothing!
I had rather to fail trying to do something than to succeed at doing nothing!
Failure is not “falling down,” failure is “staying down” when you could get back up!
Proverbs 24: 16a says, “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again.”
If we are in bondage to our fears, then we will never succeed because we never attempt anything “different” or “new.”
We must take some risk in life if we are ever to accomplish anything significant!
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Most people know that Babe Ruth set a record of 714 home runs in his baseball career . . . How many people know that he struck out 1, 330 time on his way to that record?
Jonas Salk discovered the polio vaccine . . . he failed two hundred times before he found the right one!
Michael Jordan is probably the greatest basketball player of all time . . . He was “cut” from his high school basketball team! . . . He didn’t quit playing because of one failure!
Henry Ford went bankrupt five times before he finally succeeded.
Thomas Edison failed over ten thousand times in his attempts to find the right filament for the light bulb . . . When an aide encouraged him to quit after several hundred failures, he replied, “Why quit now? We now know of at least a couple of hundred things that won’t work!”
None of these people could have accomplished what they did if they had stayed in their comfort zones because they were afraid they would fail!
Neither will we accomplish for God those things we should accomplish if we are afraid we will fail!
C: Fear of The Unknown: “I wonder what is going to happen to me if I step out of the boat?”
Fear of the unknown keeps a lot of people in the boat . . .
As humans we tend to want to know what we’re getting into “before” we get out of the boat.
But . . .occasionally we must step into the unknown . . . fully on faith in God!
ILLUSTRATION:
An old mariner’s chart of the east coast of North America that was drawn in 1525 is now in a museum in England.
It was drawn by an unknown mapmaker.
He had wrote across the areas that were then unexplored seas:
“Here be fiery scorpions.”
“Here be giants.”
“Here be dragons.”
Sometime in his career, the map fell into the hands of the scientist, Sir John Franklin.
He scratched out the old markings and wrote: “Here be God!”
You can imagine the fear the early sailor’s felt as they read that map . . . Ain’t no way I’m going there!!!
I imagine Peter felt the same way . . . UNTIL FAITH IN GOD MARKED OUT THE FEARFUL MARKINGS AND SAID: HERE IS GOD!
*Are there any imaginary dragons keeping you in your boat?
Principle #3: We break through comfort zones by taking a step of faith.
A: Imagine Peter and all the disciples huddled in the USS Comfort Zone.
A storm was rocking their boat when Jesus walked toward them on the water. (Sometimes God has to rock our boats to get us out of our comfort zones.)
At first they thought it was a spirit. Why? Because it’s easier to believe a spirit can walk on water than a man!
Now . . . don’t miss this:
Of all the things Peter could have requested of Jesus (Like a bridge to come to him on . . . sunny weather, etc… WHY DID HE ASK JESUS TO COMMAND HIM TO COME TO HIM?
BECAUSE . . . IN ORDER TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT AND BREAK THROUGH HIS COMFORT ZONE . . . HE HAD TO HEAR A WORD FROM GOD!
Romans 10: 17: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
The reason many people fail at breaking out of their comfort zones . . . is because they don’t have a word from God to do it!
(NOTE) When Peter heard he put “both feet” in the water . . not half- &-half . . . total commitment!
Principle #4: We break through comfort zones in order to fulfil God’s will.
A: We will never implement the changes in our lives that are necessary to fulfill God’s will in our lives until we grab hold of this one principle: Being inside God’s will is more fulfilling than staying inside our comfort zones.
TWO PERSONAL ILLUSTRATIONS:
1: Preaching:
God called me to preach.
He had to almost kill me to get me to preach.
I though I was going to die when I preached my first sermon ( The congregation probably thought they were too!)
But, being inside God’s will is more fulfilling than staying inside my comfort zone would have ever been! . . I wouldn’t have missed this ride for all the tea in China!
2: Full-time Ministry:
When God called me to go full-time here I thought He had lost His mind!
I viewed myself as a successful man . . . had all I wanted.
Came here for ½ of what I was making.
I am living better that I ever have before!
You see, being inside God’s will is more fulfilling than staying inside my comfort zone would have ever been!
Principle #5: We break through comfort zones to experience freedom on the other side.
A: Peter walked on water. That is a statement that can only be made about two individuals . . . Peter and Jesus Christ.
Getting out of his comfort zone placed Peter in some very elite company!
Twelve men walked on the moon . . . only one man (excluding Jesus) walked on water.
However, breaking through a comfort zone is no guarantee of continued success.
Peter got his eyes on the waves. . . his mind reverted back to “science class” and he began to sink!
NOTE: Not only did Peter stop walking on water . . HE BEGAN TO DROWN!
Fear can paralyze you to the point where not only do you not do “new things” you stop doing the things you already know how to do!
Yes, Peter sank after he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the storm. He didn’t sink because Jesus deceived him or because it was impossible to walk on water . . . He sank because he focused on circumstances rather than Jesus!
When we break through comfort zones . . . we may sink if we take our eyes off Jesus!
Close:
Ms. Jean sent me the following article today . . . She didn’t know what I was going to preach tonight:
Parable of the candles:
There was a blackout one night. When the lights went out, I fumbled to the closet where we keep the candles for nights like this...I lit four of them.
I was turning to leave with the large candle in my hand when I heard a voice, "Now, hold it right there!" "Who said that?" "I did." The voice was near my hand. "Who are you? What are you?" "I am a candle." I lifted up the candle to take a closer look. There was a tiny face in the wax. "Don't take me out of here!", it said. "What?" It said, "Don't take me out of this room." "What do you mean? I have to take you out. You're a candle. Your job is to give light. It's dark out there." "But you can't take me out. I'm not ready," the candle explained with pleading eyes. "I need more preparation." I couldn't believe my ears. "More preparation?" "Yeah, I've decided I need to research this job of light-giving, so I won't go out and make a bunch of mistakes. You'd be surprised how distorted the glow of an untrained candle can be." "All right then," I said. "You're not the only candle on the s shelf. I'll blow you out and take the others!"
But right then I heard other voices, "We aren't going either!" I turned to the other candles, "You are candles and your job is to light dark places!" "Well, that may be what you think," said the first one, "You may think we have to go, but I'm busy... I'm meditating on the importance of light...It's really enlightening (no pun intended)." "And you other two," I asked, "are you going to stay, too?" A short, fat, purple candle with plump cheeks spoke up. "I'm waiting to get my life together, I'm not stable enough,"
The last candle had a female voice, very pleasant to the ear. "I'd like to help," she explained, "but lighting is not my gift... I'm a singer. I sing to other candles to encourage them to burn more brightly." She began a rendition of "This Little Light of Mine." The other three joined in, filling the closet with singing...I took a step back and considered the absurdity of it all. Four perfectly good candles singing to each other about light but refusing to come out of the closet.
Here is a question for you, "When was the last time you shared the gospel with someone?" This world is full of darkness, with many people stumbling around trying to find their way. You can be a light for them. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light, unto all that are in the house. LET YOUR LIGHT S0 SHINE BEFORE MEN THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS AND
GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHO IS IN HEAVEN." Matthew 5:14-16
I wonder tonight . . . will you commit to do whatever it takes to get out of your comfort zone?
Preached: 5-26-99 @ Roper Heights . . . recorded for series and radio.