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
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
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
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 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
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