Dysfunctional Comfort | Savage Jesus | Pastor Steven Furtick

let's pick up right there in mark chapter 1 verse 14 with the second delivery of

savage

Jesus after John was imprisoned Jesus went to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God the time has come and said the kingdom of God is near repent and believe good news Jesus walked by the Sea of ​​Galilee he saw Simon, that's the guy whose name was changed to Peter because God doesn't call you what other people call you, he doesn't call you what your name is, you call yourself a failure, he calls You are a masterpiece of grace, a tin can waiting to be painted, so that is what Simon is and we believe that Peter marked the memory of this gospel story.

Mark was writing many of Peter's memories, that's what the scholars tell me anyway. Let's continue there he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake because they were fishermen come and follow me Jesus said and I will make you fishers of men and once they left their nets he followed him when he got a little further. He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat preparing their nets preparing to go do what they did without delay what is Mark's favorite phrase in the Scriptures it is translated in different ways but it is immediately or suddenly he writes that way way it's a breathless account that gives up the life of Christ because knowing he has no time to waste getting to the cross, he can't really take much time with trivial details and so he's not giving us the whole exchange that happened, no believe.

Jesus simply passed by and said: come, follow me, become fishers of men and they went with him. I believe there was a conversation, but we are given the essence of the conversation so that we can know that Jesus did not come to give us clichés and distinctive cards but instructions of commands that are best for our life to guide us on the eternal path and without delay he called them He didn't wait for them to understand his call before giving it to them so interesting he didn't wait for them to do it. Through the confirmation classes, he didn't give them ministerial training, he just gave them a call and they left his father Zebedee on the ship with the hired men and followed him, so there is something in common.

I'm going to read more than that, but I'll tear it up. What is common is that in both cases you have Andrew and Simon, who became Peter, you have John and James and look what they had to do to fulfill his calling. Verse 18 says they immediately left their nets and then again. in verse 20 without delay they left their father, so the first pattern I see emerging here about following Christ to truly follow Christ is that accepting my calling means leaving my

comfort

zone and I want to preach this point fully, but I do not do it.

I want to take a lot of time because it's not my main point, it's the context of Christianity, even though Christ didn't come to make us feel

comfort

able. I think to understand your relationship with someone you have to understand the function and I want to talk. Today I'm dedicating a few moments to you about

dysfunctional

comfort, that's my topic,

dysfunctional

comfort and when you don't understand the function of something, you're more than likely going to hurt yourself or break it, trying to activate it, that's why I had to explain it to you. my boys that the treadmill in our house is not a toy it is a coat rack when I saw them taking their little sister Abby and they were putting her on the treadmill at speed 8.5 and they put her on the treadmill and they told me that they were playing checkout at Target this is not what the treadmill does and your sister is worth more than 15 cents that's what they told her that's why she was crying you only called for 15 cents I'm sorry Abby you're not that expensive I had to shut it down Learn why the treadmill isn't for that , but when you don't know what something is for, you will know how to use it, you won't understand how to relate to people if you don't understand the nature of a relationship most of the dysfunction in my relationships was because I violated the nature of the relationship.

Either I tried to get something from someone that they couldn't give me and that I wasn't designed to put into my life or I tried to give someone something that They didn't ask for or didn't want to receive from me, but without understanding the nature of a relationship, you will have frustration. and relational dysfunction because you don't understand what that person in your life was because of their kindness. It's weird how some of the people you try to help the most or who try to help you the most end up being hurt more in those relationships than in any other relationship when my dad first got really sick and we didn't know it was like that.

ALS still, but we knew he needed help. I started trying to pay for everything and I started trying to take care of everything, but in the process of trying to take care of his physical needs I stopped meeting the emotional need that he had. a father to me and when I started acting like he was the father, it created a dysfunction in our relationship that almost broke it and a lot of that was my fault because I was ignoring the fact that when you try to give something to someone in a relationship that isn't The main need they have for you will be a good intention with a bad result.

How many know what I'm talking about on some level? Yes, on some level try to make your children your best friends. No, they stink, treat them as such. I love my children. I'm just saying that sometimes it's going to have to be a father moment and not a friend moment and I don't have any examples of that because in our house it's perfect and we pray a lot, but this is what I wanted to say about it. I believe that many of the problems in our relationship with Christ are due to our failure to understand his primary role in our lives.

I think many of us associate Christ primarily with comfort we come to church for comfort and people leave churches sometimes because they say I was uncomfortable people left Jesus once because he gave them food comfort food they loved it later he turned around and said something very uncomfortable eat my flesh drink my blood we're out of here that made me feel a little uncomfortable that cannibalism part of a sermon the food was good but it's not worth it all of that made them uncomfortable ok now the Spirit Holy I can teach you a little theology class I paid five eighty thousand dollars to go to school and learn these things.

I have to share a moment when the Holy Spirit was coming. Jesus said: I will send you a comforter so that the holy spirit will not only convince you, but also comfort you. The main role of the Holy Spirit is Comfort, okay, Jesus' main role when he was on earth was not comfort, it was confrontation. I know you don't like that. I know you want Jesus to talk to you and aphorisms that made you feel better about yourself every day, but the main function of Jesus, I will show you here in the Scriptures in a moment, was not to comfort people but to confront Sister Thums who kept people in slavery and captivity, it is important that we understand this because if we misunderstand the reason why Christ came we will be confused about how we came to him and we will begin to associate the presence of God in our lives with comfort and we will associate the devil with confrontation and conflict, but sometimes it is the devil who is giving you comfort. and it is God who is putting you in conflict.

What if I just dropped the mic, walked off stage right there and we thought about it for 45 minutes because you've been blaming the devil for God's work and accepting your calling requires you? to get out of your comfort zone Peter had to leave his nets James had to leave poor Zebedee in the boat because I have to go I'm going to fish men notice I'm going to do the same thing fishing but with a different purpose not for profit, but for people now, when God calls you, it doesn't always make you change careers. I'm so tired of people quitting their jobs and opening a coffee shop because they like coffee.

You have to be good at business if you like coffee. you can go to Starbucks you need to be good at marketing to open a coffee shop the calling is not about direction or vocation the calling is about vision it is about the level at which you see the gift that God has put in your life so that Jesus said I see in you a gift for fishing you have tenacity you have a certain set of skills but I am going to apply your aptitude to a higher application in other words come and follow me and I will expand your capacity.

I am going to take you calling, but in order for you to find your calling, you must abandon your comfort. We usually want crunches and no planks at the same time. A divine calling and without discomfort, but accessing your calling means leaving your comfort. no certainty zone there is no contract follow me and I will show you as you go that sounds almost exactly how Abraham sees the land I will show you it is an uncomfortable proposition but if I am going to bless you so that you can be a blessing, you are I'm going to have to learn to feel uncomfortable.

I'm not going to call you to do something that is outside your competence. I'm going to use what you're good at. I won't put you on vocals if you can. Don't sing, please bless us by keeping it in the shower. If you can't sing, you see what I'm saying, it's not beyond your competence, but it will be beyond your comfort. You will feel pressured by this and so they did. They Did Not Move One interesting thing is that they did not move or relocate, instead, God's call was for them to repent. This word doesn't mean feeling really bad about yourself, it means changing your mind, changing the way you think about why you are.

Here has changed the way you think about what you are going through and to change the way you think about who is really in the seat of authority in your life, so follow me, abandon the familiar and walk in faith, the greatest enemy of faith. It's not fear, it's familiarity. Fear is an ally of faith. Fear puts you in a place where you know you need something bigger than yourself to make connection with God possible. Fear may lead you to faith, but familiarity can keep you trapped in predictable cycles that are unfortunate. but because they are predictable, you will stay in them unless something catches your attention.

What was interesting to me about this introductory context is that if you remember one time, Peter had been fishing all night and caught nothing and Jesus said, let down your nets. and you will catch many fish and they did. I thought it was at that very moment because you know there are four different gospels. I investigated and found out that this was the first time they were called, so Jesus didn't call them. From their failure or frustration, what they were doing was working, but there was a higher purpose. Now many times it is easy for us to give everything we have to Christ when we come to the end of ourselves, but when God calls you. of your success in something sacrificial, will you continue to obey?

Will you leave your comfort zone? they knew how to fish they were good at fishing they had a system in place by which their catch could put food on their table and he called them out of their comfort zone now, where they went next is really critical to our understanding of the nature of the call of God in our lives. Verse 21 says they went to Capernaum. I was there. In fact, I was in Capernaum and our guide Rhea said I was. By saying it wrong, he said no Capernaum Keffer no, home, it took me seven times to say it and until he was satisfied he said Jeff son gaffar, no, home, no.

Oh, Jeff, our people, no, home, comforter like the minor prophet, he can come home, he says idiot, kaffir, kafar, no. at home now Jeff our govardhan a home stress in the cake he hid from Allah no matter what matters what does it mean what does it mean village of the comforter in that fresco said you call it Capernaum and you had missed the whole point means Jeff our people knew it to whom comforter people of the comforter they went to Capernaum wait it is very important what I want to say they went to Jeff our new home and when the Sabbath came Jesus entered the synagogue and began to teach as a guest speaker this was customary in the people they were amazed at his teaching ooh this is a good preacher

pastor

amen because he taught you as someone who has authority not as the teachers of the law but remember that I told you last week the greatest proclamation of the gospel is not the explanation, it is the demonstration, I said that in In case you are not good with your words, you could preach the gospel louder than me without saying anything simply by how you do your business or how you treat people or how you respond to your wife, then Jesus is proclaiming the Word of God explaining or teaching and they're amazed oh wow Oh hashtag hashtag amazing authority hashtag this guy at that moment verse 23 a man in his synagogue whose synagogue whose synagogue Jesus is just a guest preacher, not the head

pastor

, he's just getting Capernaum and he leaves to base This whole ministry in the name of Keffer is going to do a couple dozen miracles, twenty-two biblical miracles are in Jeff, our new home village of the Comforter, and then Jesus comes and calls the disciples, he does his circle well, he doesn't call to the people who make him feel comfortable he calls the people who will make him effective even saying that accepting your calling means leaving your comfort zone must be validated by the fact that for Jesus to save you he had to come down from heaven so that Jesus fulfilled his calling as a lamb slain from the foundation of the earth had to leave aside the riches and glory of heaven and here we pass sometimes and we will not move away from our heated seats andluxurious lives and broken beliefs long enough to get out of our comfort zone and into our calling now Jesus is in Capernaum but he doesn't just come to comfort people he comes to confront the system that has imprisoned people.

What happens next has never happened to me in a sermon and I pray it doesn't happen then. Many things have happened to me while preaching. They get up and leave. I don't know if they're angry or if their bladder is full. I don't know, but I've had people get up and leave. I have had people say strange things during my sermon and do strange things during my sermon. my sermon never had this and please don't try it today he just said: a man in his synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit shouted at that time a man who was in his synagogue now listen, don't go to the synagogue simply because I feel that every first Sunday or at Easter and Christmas he was part of their synagogue, so it stands to reason that he would have been there many times before sitting down and listening to the teachings and instructions.

As little as we know about him, we are right. believing that he was a normal man in his synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit or an unclean spirit or maybe his version of the Bible says a demon or the King James version says a devil, no matter what you call it, it was kind of dysfunctional. dysfunctional in this man stood up when Jesus spoke something dysfunctional in this man shouted when Jesus spoke with authority an evil spirit shouted what do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth you have come to destroy us I know who you are the Holy One of God, shut up, Jesus said with severity, get out of him, he didn't need a session, he didn't need steps, just the virtue of power, I feel like preaching the Bible today, the power of his word made flesh in this man expelled the dysfunction. out of the man, come out of him unclean spirit I don't think Jesus shouted it I don't think he had real power you can whisper and get his point the evil spirit shook Jesus didn't touch the man but he started shaking and the man was convulsing violently on the ground but Even though the demon resisted, he had to come out when Jesus spoke.

I can't say if you met me today at church or if I'm doing this alone because I believe that today we need to talk about some things in the presence of God that have taken up space in our spirit, in our minds, in our families, in our schools and in our generational lineage. Someone will come out and the Spirit will come out with a On the street, the power of God is not always pretty. Look, this man is shaking on the ground. We just want a nice clean pad with roses and chrysanthemums and we walk down the aisle and we accept Jesus and everything is fine, but some things in your life won't come. outside unless confronted it has to be confronted or it won't come out shout it again back get out get out and the spirit obeyed Jesus what I can't understand and this is what I've been studying this week in preparation for our time together that's why that this man was able to sit in his synagogue for so long and the evil spirit felt comfortable in the church, but when Jesus appeared I said when Jesus appeared when the Son of God soda I'm not preaching this for everyone this is just for a fuel job when Jesus appears the power appears when Jesus appears the demons triple when Jesus appears the dysfunction has nowhere to hide and nowhere to run and we came to declare today to every evil spirit in our city come out in the name of Jesus how many times have you been to church possessed by this demon don't let yourself be trapped by the devil I know some of you are so scared right now looking for the exits that we are not going to do anything like that if you make this biblical passage about demons you missed the whole demonstration of Authority because you no longer have them We call demons in the ancient world everything was a demon brat demon has a serious mental illness he was a demon they didn't have tests and pills and all this so now he was just a demon.

Do demons still exist today? Yes, but do we call them dysfunctions? I won't, but I was thinking about asking you to raise your hand if you come from a dysfunctional family. I won't make it number one, it might cause some tense conversations on the way home. I'm babysitting my teenagers, but I did it once. I did it once. I said how many came from a dysfunctional family and thought. I would minister to 20% of the room every hand goes up when I think of the dysfunctions in my life. I have to be honest with you. I don't like to say this, but some of my dysfunctions I have really learned to love.

I don't love dysfunction I don't love the devil I love sin but sometimes I love the way it makes me feel like it was too real for it. You know, in church people say something that sounds like real life. They stop screaming. if you put Jesus on a horse coming out of the clouds, they scream, but when you say things like this, this feature can be comfortable. This feature can be a Snuggie. I mean, if you really want to feel good, let me tell you the best. way to criticize someone can we talk about this how fun is it to criticize others?

It's amazing how quickly my dysfunction goes away when I choose someone who has a different dysfunction that I don't have to fight and put all my energy into instead of facing my own dysfunction if I can spend five minutes judging yours come on can we be honest , it's funny, listen, it's funny, that's why they call it that funny, son, it's funny, it's fun to talk about other people, you should be a dad, it's amazing. talking about other people should spend their money and what you would do if you did it quietly it's amazing i love it i love my dysfunction the way it comforts me i love it here's my favorite dysfunction i love indulging my insecurities it's humbling but i really do What does it do?

It gives me an excuse not to fulfill my calling but it's comfortable so instead of reaching the level that God has called me to, I indulge the insecurities that's who I am what you say what did you say see? From what arose from the insecurity that has imprisoned them, this is a word for someone who has become comfortable in their dysfunction. In fact, I want to take you to another very quick passage that shows you the devil's strategy. How many of you would like to do it? I know the devil's strategy to keep three of you defeated.

Okay, I'll do it for three, three, because Paul writes something in second chapter one of Corinthians that I've always loved as a counseling scripture when people are going through difficult times. I will often share this verse with them because really the whole passage is good, but two verses in particular talk about how sometimes when you go through something in your life, you are not going through it for yourself, but there is someone who will. go through something that will need what you will have after you go through what you are going through and you will have it to give it is the function of comfort is the function of comfort comfort has a specific function the comfort of Christ comes in our life not only so that we can be comforted but so that we can comfort others.

If you look to the Scriptures for comfort, you will find many commands to comfort others and you will find many promises that God will comfort you, but you will never find permission to do so. Take comfort in what the devil wants us to do is to learn to run for comfort and cover ourselves to places outside of our calling so that he can keep us comfortable in our dysfunction so that we never see our destiny fulfilled when Paul says it. He says, praise the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort, well, look, Pastor Steven, you said Jesus didn't come to comfort us and there Paul says yes and so I am.

I'm going to Paul, wait another verse and see if you still want to sit there and argue with me after being into these books all week. Verse 4 says who comforts us in all our dysfunctions, I don't see, that's what the devil does. the devil wants to comfort you in your dysfunction until you no longer see it as a problem until it becomes so normal that you can go to church with an evil spirit and take it to lunch and take notes but not take action against what Christ came to confront . your dysfunction praise the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ father compassion that comforts us in all our give me the verse all our problems all our problems comfort can become dysfunctional when we get it from the wrong place some of us have comfort foods Why do I Do you look like you've never eaten the whole bag?

Okay, let me try another route since you're going on a diet at this point. Some of us have comfort friends. Here we go, help me. Holy Spirit. I feel a streak of demons. As I preach this word, some of us have people in our lives who are good to us but are not good for us. I don't want to call you out, but could it be possible that your comfort is preventing you from fulfilling your calling? you have put yourself in a space that seems safe but you are sabotaging by silencing the power of God in your life because you love comfort praise the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ for all compassion the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our problems in all our problems you mean that God will use the problems to bring me comfort, yes, and not only that, but God will disturb my comfort to face my dysfunction, so when I am going through problems, let me be a little slower to ask God to help me. rebuke the devil maybe the problem is the means of transformation when God calls you sometimes it's uncomfortable sometimes the way I measure the presence of God when I'm preaching is by how uncomfortable people look in their seats.

I didn't do that when I first begin to appreciate my first preaching stop. I thought they applauded. I was doing well. Now I understand when you squirm. My favorite is when the Holy Spirit has you pinned to your chair and I'm about to send the medical team over to check you out. your pulse was when the presence of God came when you felt most uncomfortable as long as we associate Jesus with consolation we will miss him because Jesus comes to confront to console not to condemn there is a difference confrontation has the intention and the means to change your condemnation Don't you?

Did God love the Lord so much? He gave a son not to condemn the world but so that the world through him might be saved. The Spirit of Christ is not to condemn but the Spirit of Christ will confront and my question today is what if we allowed? feel too comfortable in our presence to occupy the space that belongs to God that the man sat in his synagogue week after week, day after day and the demon said nothing until Jesus came that the evil spirit dysfunction remained silent but the Proof of God's presence is not always comfortable feelings Sometimes proof of God's presence is an interruption Sometimes proof of God's presence is that one thing in your life dies so that something else can come to life.

I don't think we recognized him when he comes because we don't understand what he came for, but I'll show you one thing: the demons knew more about who Jesus was than the people in the church when Jesus spoke they said oh, you came to get rid of us, oh oh, This is our eviction notice. oh, this is the Promised One, the church people were still taking notes and the demons were taking Prozac because the demons know the name before which every name must bow, the name before which every tongue must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and if he is the Lord here.

He has to go and if he is the Lord, the darkness recedes and if he is the Lord and he has the keys to death, hell and the grave there is nothing if sometimes we get too comfortable with our dysfunction. Yes, I think the devil doesn't want it. make us feel uncomfortable because then we would change, so he will make it so comfortable for us to be dysfunctional that we will not look for anything different. I don't hear many people walk into the baptism tank and say, you know, I have a career. I got married, the ring was seven carats.

I went to Elevation. I hear many times that they say that something changed in my life. I lost something. I went through something. I face the consequences of something and at that point of my discomfort God used my problem. To confront my dysfunction, then, can I say something to everyone who is in trouble today? This is not just a test, it is a confrontation, it is an opportunity that God wants to use to confront what you have called normal and call you to something greater, I believe. the spirit of Jesus Christ is in you and if the Spirit of Christ is in you greater is the one who is in you than the one who is in the world so let's take 18 seconds and give the order to every insecurity, to every fear of every doubt to every regret in the name of Jesus I will not feel comfortable in the darkness when God has called me to the light that is what the devil is telling his demons keep it comfortable keep them comfortable keep them comfortable keep them comfortable keep it so comfortable that what what I died to free them from will settle into them will keep them comfortable one of my friends gave me some good advice because I was telling him something that someone said about me that I heard through someone else how dysfunctional this is, he said he said how you found out that they said it I said well the person told me that someone told them and he said oh okay, this is what you should do whenRegarding this, don't ask the person what the other person said about you but instead ask them why the person felt comfortable telling them that about you.

No one ever said anything bad to me about Holly. I don't think they felt very comfortable. So what did I do? What was she? Capernaum Capernaum, the town of the comforter. They were so comfortable in their religion that they missed the revelation of Jesus Christ, you know, what's in Capernaum is the place for Kevin, a home, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sir, sir kefir Nahum mm-hmm, that's how it is We say, that's the authentic way we say it, okay? It was the place where Jesus based his ministry and it was the place that he cursed before he finished his ministry in Matthew 11 he gave him some woes I actually wanted to give him verse 22 because it is important for the context Matthew 11:28 Jesus began to denounce the cities here it is in which most of his miracles had been performed because they did not change their mind they saw the miracles but they did not change their mind and direction the The third city that he renounced or denounced is a city called Capernaum, the place where he lived in the place where he settled and the place where he most graciously showed his glory and look what he says about them in verse 23 and you capernaum Keffer naome. people of the comforter you will be lifted up to the heavens after all you have seen after all you have been exposed to after hosting the presence of the eternal Living Word of God you will be lifted up you will not descend to the depths if the miracles that were done in You would have become Sodom that evil City that was judged for its pride and arid donkey would have remained to this day but I tell you that it would be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you why because you made yourself too comfortable you made it too comfortable your name was a prophecy of what would ultimately be your downfall when I love comfort more than I love Christ and I run for comfort I flee from calling you I will not be lifted up you You will be struck down because you ran for comfort outside of Christ You ran to religion You ran to others You rented a familiar fear You are back in insecurity and you will not experience your calling because you were stuck in your comfort Are you stuck in your comfort has become dysfunctional have you learned to tolerate things in your life the works from the devil that Jesus came to destroy he came to save us from our sin but he also came to free us from it and the Spirit of Christ is in this place and you don't have to be stuck in a comfortable dysfunction another day, you know, I don't think I have to be loud and I don't think we have to shout and scream sometimes, sometimes I think the loudest response is a decision. in your heart to say I am going to face this, come to light for you who have been living in the year 2011 in 2012 and the relationship that did not work came to light for you who have been living in the trauma of an event that has past, come out for you who have been living in a complacent place of mediocre faith and lukewarm commitment to Jesus, come out, he is in the place, this is an eviction notice to let everything in our lives keep us from God's high calling in Christ Jesus no, we warn you this day we warn you at this moment we warn you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth we are leaving our dysfunction we are leaving our excuses we are leaving our complacency we are leaving I am leaving I do not want the comfort that comes from dysfunction I want the comfort that comes from God and if the Spirit of the Lord is here there is Freedom here it also breaks every chain enter the name of Jesus if he came out of his grave I come out of my praise be the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ the god of all comfort he is in this place I want to pray for you right now on the Level that God is speaking to you I pray that the Holy Spirit gives me precision Yes, thank you for standing up I want you to stand up right now and if there is anything that God is speaking to you in your life that is dysfunctional, that you have become comfortable with and you want to pray to say a really crazy prayer today for God to interrupt your comfort to confront your dysfunction so that you can be whole and have more abundant life and not just go to heaven when you die one day, but to know the fullness of the power of God on this earth the Holy Spirit is in this place the comforter is here the comforter is here so if that's you I want you to raise both hands in the air as if Don't be ashamed of the presence of God and see when you did that you said something you said I will go out with my hands up I will go out completely surrendered I will not go out I will not go out in my own opinion or in my own strength I am going out in the power of God and I declare and decree in this moment that the name of Jesus and the blood of Christ is greater than everything I have done.

I declared that the blood of Jesus has spoken a better word over my life. now God by the authority that you have invested in me by the power of your word and the name of Jesus and the gift of your Holy Spirit to preach the gospel I command everything that is not like you to come out of your sons and daughters everything that has kept you bound everything that has kept you broken everything that has kept you depressed everything that has kept you in cycles of dysfunction that you cannot break we declare right now in the name of Jesus change or break the miraculous powers in this evil place evil spirits come out spirits thoughts of defeat come out discouragement come out in the name of Jesus the saints are falling into the presence of a powerful God one greater than Abraham and Moses hey thanks for watching two things I want you to do first click on our logo to subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single second of the video.

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