Thoughts & Words: Comfort Food
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
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Emotion
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Language
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Social
New Years
New Years
Thoughts matter
our lives follow the direction of our greatest thoughts
we can overcome our negative or worldly thoughts by speaking God’s truth that overcomes it
Tuesday night list
Lust
The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.
Fear/Anxiety
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Do not toil to acquire wealth;
be discerning enough to desist.
Lying
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Prov 12:22
22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
anger, grief, forgiveness others, shame doubt...
I believe one of our greatest struggles is seeking comfort
we like to be with people who are like us so that we are comfortable
we like to be with people who are like us so that we are comfortable
have a comfortable faith
doesn’t push us from our comfort zone
giving
serving
loving
forgiving
ect
no accountability or correction
no challenge
eat & take care of our bodies
work out
entertainment
our comfort zone often keeps us from God’s will and keeps us from growing in our faith
2 guys:
Monday: Marbin grandpa
$6/day
God opened my eyes to the the growth potential in being uncomfortable
Thursday: kids to Japanese steak house
conversation led to faith
here I am to worship
amazing grace
we worship different in my home country
walk b/c no cars from one mountain to next
worship in secret but with passion
americas biggest struggle for faith is our comforts
too easy to come to church so we take it for granted
Thoughts & Words: Comfort Food
look at a man of God named Jonah
Jonah 1:1-
1 Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me.”
3 But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the Lord.
Comfort can keep you from God’s presence & power
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
God has called us to do His work
He has a plan for each of our lives
Jonah knew that the people that God called him to minister to would not be an easy task
great city two days to walk across it
how could one man share God’s message with this many people?
second they were evil
veggie tales says that they slap each other with fish
so he went in a different direction
in hopes of fleeing God’s presence & call
opposite direction than Nineveh towards Tarshish
God has called you into deeper fellowship with other believers
but you leave Sunday morning with no intention of studying God’s Word with others
praying with others
confessing sin
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
James 5:
accountability isn’t even on our radar no matter if our schedule is open or not
COMFORT
God has called us to repent of sin BUT we enjoy it too much to let it go so we hide it from our church family thinking that if the pastor doesn’t know that God won’t either
COMFORT
God has called us to share the message of the Gospel with a lost and dying world like their lives depend upon it BUT that would make us uncomfortable because they may not like what we have to say so we choose
COMFORT
So God sends a storm that threatens the ship
mariners begin to pray to their gods
throw cargo overboard
all the time Jonah is hiding— been there?
captain finds him and tells him to pray
they draw straws to see who is at fault and wouldn’t you know Jonah draws the short straw so they question him
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.
8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?”
9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
Jonah 1:7
They ask him what should we do to get this to stop?
throw me overboard
they rowed trying to get to land but could not
they get desperate and throw him off the ship & into the sea
then a “great fish” comes along seeking some comfort food and swallows up Jonah
Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days & 3 nights
HIS CONCLUSION: worldly comfort is most uncomfortable
we think that avoiding the uncomfortable work of the Lord with help us ease through life but we will carry the weight of life alone, struggle alone, grieve alone, battle sin alone, fight the enemy alone...
worldly comfort is false comfort
the only true comfort is found in the presence & power of God
not thru specific circumstances
God’s presence & power will see you through the worst of circumstances
If you feel that life has swallowed you up you can pray as Jonah did
1 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish,
2 saying, “I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
3 For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away from your sight; yet I shall again look upon your holy temple.’
5 The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head
6 at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.
7 When my life was fainting away, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
8 Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
Jonah 2:1-
It’s not too late to come back into His presence & power
sought comfort for far too long in a place that is far from comfortable
10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
you will not grow if you only hang with people just like you:
seniors, single moms, young people, people who believe just like you (KJV group, supernatural group, conservative group, beer & Jesus group, the suburb Christian group, Jesus gang members, casino til I’m broke on Saturday group & beg for Jesus to help me Sunday group), look like us (black, white, pasty white, hispanic, ect.), social class, ect.
It is good to find something in common with others but if we are just like those who are around us and pull away from those who are different then we will stunt our growth & the growth of others
currently I have heard from several people who feel that it’s hard to get into some of the clicks in the church
so they don’t feel a part & jump from one church to another until they give up
we need one another
young need the old, old need the young
prayer warriors need the Bible scholars
timid need the bold
Let us avoid the comfort of prejudice within the church
seems comfortable — not
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
It doesn’t seem comfortable to have God chisel away at your sin and faults but it’s much more comfortable to have God at work in your life then to leave His presence & power
It doesn’t seem comfortable to share our faith with others but knowing that we have done all that we can do to lead people away from eternal damnation and into the presence & power of God will bring far greater comfort than we have lost
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.