By Rev. Michael Mwangi
Senior Pastor, Fedha Church KAG
Deuteronomy 1:6-8
[6]The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
[7]Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates.
[8]See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”
Introduction
As Christians, we are called to be on the move not to settle. Our call is a journey, not that will culminate into a destiny. We are called to grow every day and not settle for less. But at times we settle when we see convenience. We are to keep on advancing to new levels. When we become comfortable, we become content and self-satisfied. We no longer have the urge to move on. We settle in our comfort zone. This is a great danger for believers. We need to move or come out of our comfort zone. There is always room for improvement.
1. Don't settle in your comfort zone
Deuteronomy 1:6 - You have stayed here for too long
The children of Israel were out of the wilderness but not yet in the promised land. It was comfortable and bearable. They were camping in their comfort zone.
God never intended for the Christian or the church to stand still. But most time than often when we are out of the wilderness and things somehow are working for us, we get settled. When you are born again going to a nice church, have good friends a nice job good income etc, it is very easy to stop moving on and camp at that point. When our job or business are doing marginally well we become content. The desire and motivation for change not to move to the next level are no longer.
We need to be advancing not camping out around the mountain whether of failure or success.
Like Paul let us be on the move never settling on our comfort zones.
Philippians 3:12: Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
2. Comfort zones breeds stagnation
Stagnation yields grounds for harmful things. When we settle in our comfort zone we become easy targets of harmful influences.
The moment you stop growing you start dying. Stagnant waters breeds mosquitoes, diseases, and death. When metal is resting it is invaded with rust and corrosion. Stationary machines develop mechanical problems. When we settle in our comfort zones we stop growing and we can easily decay. We develop stale altitudes like veteran mentality, sisi tulifika, sisi ndio wenyewe (we arrived, we are the ones) which is a recipe for failure or backsliding.
1 Corinthians 10:12 - So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall
3. Stagnation kills growth
When we stagnate we miss God's blessings because
Hebrews 5:11-14 (NIV)
11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
Hebrews 6:1-2 (NIV)
1 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.Christians maturity demands being active. With stagnation, we become unproductive and inefficient.
2 Peter 1:8-9
[8]If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[9]But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
3. Change is a must to enter the next level
Deuteronomy 1:7 Break the camp and advance.
GOD was telling the Israelites its time to move on. It means it's time for a change. People are afraid of changes. They are comfortable with what is usual and familiar that's why people resist changes. But without changes, there is no growth. As long as the Israelites stayed there they had the same experience. They could not experience the Promised Land.
Changes require we face challenges.
There are challenges to overcome to move to the next level.
Between where Israel was camped and the possessing the Promised Land was River Jordan.
Are you ready for a change? Change is a must if you have to have growth.
1 Corinthians 13:11
[11]When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
Conclusion
Don't be satisfied by your past or be comfortable with where you are. Always aim and go the extra mile.
In the year 2022, purpose to do things better than last year.
JESUS is our role model.
Hebrews 12:1-2
[1]Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
[2]fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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