Dysfunctional Comfort (Elevation)

Mark 1:16 - 20

V20. God didnt wait for them to get confirmation, He simple gave them a calling.

No certainty, no contract. I will show you as you go.

It’s not going to be beyond your competency, but it’s going to be beyond your comfort.

“Coming into my calling means coming out of my comfort zone”

Christ didn’t come to make you comfortable.

Do we come to church for comfort? Do we leave when it’s uncomfortable?

People left Jesus one time because he said something uncomfortable “eat my flesh”

When Jesus was going He said He was going to send the ‘comforter”. But Jesus primary role on earth was confrontation. To confront the systems that kept the people in bondage. Jesus had to leave heaven to come and save you and me.

Calling is about vision. The level where you see God’s gift in you. Follow God and He will enlarge your capacity.

Familiarity can make you stay and stuck in what you can predict unless something calls you out.

Sometimes it’s easy for us to give all of ourselves to Christ when we’ve come to the end of ourselves. But when God calls you out of your success into something sacrificial, will you still obey? (they knew how to fish, they were good at fishing)

Capernaum means village of the comforter. (they went to capernaum v21)

“The greatest proclamation of the Gospel is not explanation, but demonstration”.

v24/ the “devil, evil spirit” something dysfunctional stood up in the man when Jesus spoke with authority.

Why was this man sitting in their synagogue for so long and the evil spirit was okay with sitting there. Until Jesus shows up, power shows up and dysfunction has no place to run.

Capernaum is where Jesus based His ministry and also the place He cursed before His ministry was over. Matthew 11:20- 23

Some of my dysfunctions I really grow to love. I dont love sin, i don’t love the devil. But i love the way it makes me feel. Dysfunctions can be comfortable. Eg. “if you really want to feel good quick. Critisize somebody. It makes my dysfunction smaller, it’s fun. Spend all your energy pointing out their dysfunction rather than facing my own”. “Indulging in my insecurities. It feels humble. But really what it does is it gives us an excuse not to fulfil my calling. Come out of the insecurity that has imprisoned you. Don’t get comfortable in your dysfunction.”

2 Cor 1:3-4

When you go through something in your life, you are not going through it for you. But for somebody else who will need it when you’re done. To comfort others. If you search scripture, you will find many commands to comfort others and maybe promises that God use to comfort you. But you will never find permission to comfort yourself. God will use trouble to show me comfort and disrupt my comfort to confront my dysfunction. When im going through trouble i shouldn’t be too quick to ask God to remove the discomfort.

Comfort can become dysfunctional when we get it from the wrong place. Comfort food, comfort friends - people in our lives who are good to us but not good for us. Sometimes the proof of the comfort of God is disruption. It’s one something in your life dies so that something else can come alive.

WHen you’re uncomfortable, don’t run back to your habits, don’t tolerate the works of the Devil.

Sometimes the loudest decision is the one made in your heart. I’m going to confront this, come out.” For the toxic mindset living in me since 2011, 2012, come out. For you who have been living in your mediocre faith and lukewarm commitment to Jesus, come out. This in an eviction notice. TO let everything in our lives that is keeping us from the high calling of God, that we serve notice on you this day, this moment, that we are coming out of our complacency, dysfunction, excuses.”