Christ Before Comfort
Message Moments & Highlights
Look To Past Pioneers
Look To Christ
Let The Father Love You
Not Letting Go: Choosing Jesus Over Comfort
The Power of HIS Word
The choice between personal comfort and following Christ's calling stands at the heart of authentic faith. God has set a specific race and purpose before each believer, calling them to pursue His greater plan rather than settling for an easier path. This journey requires examining our priorities and making intentional decisions that put Christ first in all areas of life.Three key strategies help maintain focus on Christ over comfort: looking to past pioneers of faith who demonstrate sacrifice and endurance, fixing our eyes on Jesus who endured the cross for greater purpose, and embracing God's fatherly love and discipline. These practices help believers stay committed to their divine calling even when faced with challenges.The rewards of choosing Christ over comfort are transformative: healing from past hurts, renewed strength for the journey, and increased impact in others' lives. This choice requires identifying areas where comfort has taken precedence, making specific commitments to prioritize relationship with Jesus, and taking practical steps to serve others despite discomfort.
Key Insights From The Message
Related Bible Verses
Hebrews 12:1 (NLT): "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."•
Hebrews 12:2 (NLT): "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne."
Hebrews 12:3 (NLT): "Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up."
Hebrews 12:5-11 (NLT): "And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all his children, it means that you are illegitimate and not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way."
Hebrews 12:12-13 (NLT): "So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong."
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All right. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews 12. I had another message planned.
And then God spoke to me, spoke to my heart and challenged me. And everything I've been hearing in our worship, in people's words, in our prayer meeting, it's all sort of along the same lines. And I think God wants to grab ahold of us. He's certainly grabbed a hold of me for the start of the year. And so we're going to go there.
Hebrews 12:1 says this. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and performs affects our faith because of the joy awaiting him. He endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people.
Then you won't become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, my child, don't make light of the Lord's discipline and don't give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.
We're going to go through some of this scripture and a few more verses after that. But there was a part here that really grabbed a hold of me. Here it says at the start in verse one, and let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. God has set before us a race. He's got a plan for your life.
He's got a purpose for your life. We believe that, don't we? That's why we're here. We all think, as Christians, God has a plan and a purpose for my life. He's got a path.
He's got a race for me to run. But how easy is it to find another path, an easier path, a more enjoyable path, a more comfortable path? We were up in Noosa, like I said, and one night Norell went to bed because she likes her sleep. And Ella and I went for a walk down the. Down the beach.
And it was beautiful. You've got the national park and all the forest on one side. You've got this beautiful beach and the waves coming in. You've got Hastings street, and it's got the lights there. And it was just this really calm, beautiful.
And we're sitting there, just Ella and I, and we just looking at nature and just enjoying it and going for a walk and then sitting down. And for some reason, I started a conversation with her. And I said to Ella, I said, do you know, be so nice just to retire from everything, retire from ministry and just like, sell up a house and buy something little and just enjoy life for the rest of life. Just come down to the beach every day. I said, I'd get my books and I'd read my books and just enjoy relaxing.
Who thinks sometimes you go on a holiday and you go, wouldn't it be nice to just live this holiday? If life was this holiday, wouldn't it be wonderful? And I thought, this would be a beautiful life. And then I was like, really, Dad? I said, yeah, I've got a whole bunch.
I've got like 40 books I've got on hold at the library right now. And I said, I've got to go through all them. And then I could just relax and take my time and go to the beach and go swimming. And then I looked at Ella, said, but I'm not going to do that, am I? She goes, no, dad, you're not going to do that.
Because I said, I can't retire. Because I said, God's given me a job to do. God's got a path for me. I can't just go in life. And then I went on a little preaching spiel with my daughter.
Started off, oh, wouldn't it be nice to just relax and enjoy life? And then it was like, but we can't, because God's got a call on my life and we've got got to pursue it, and that's why we can't give up. And God grabbed a hold of me in that moment and some other moments where I was like, you know what? Sometimes we can enjoy the comfort of life so much, and we make that the thing we look forward to and build our lives around without even knowing it. But I feel challenged that God's calling me and he's calling you to say, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance, not just for a moment, not just, just for the start of the year, or January is a good start.
February, March. You know what? The church is the most on fire between February to April. Do you know that? Because we're all fired up.
And then May comes and the cold weather sets in, and halfway through the year, and we're like, oh, nah, nah, had enough? Yeah, it was a good idea. I'll. I'll revisit that idea to be on fire for God back in 1-20-26. Let's start again.
We're human beings that's why. And then we go, I just want to be at home. I want to be in my comfort. I just want to cope, run with endurance that lasts. The race that God has set before us, before you.
I want to tell you this. God has a plan for your life. It is a greater plan than your comfort. It is a greater plan than the one that you have set up for yourself. It is better, it is stronger.
It is going to impact people's lives, is going to impact your life. He wants to change you, transform you, do a work in you that no other person can do. But you got a choice. I've got a choice. And I want to talk to us about this idea of choosing God's plan, his race, his path in life.
My title, today's sermon, Christ before comfort. Christ before comfort. Comfort. Because I thought it'd be nice to just ease into the year with a nice subtle, gentle message. But who knows?
You're going to be challenged this year to prioritize your comfort and your own personal well being. But God's saying to you actually, will you choose to put Christ first? Will you choose to follow the plan that God has for you? How can we do that? How can we do that?
How? How are we going to do that? Well, this passage has some keys in it. Three things I want to talk about. About how we can be encouraged and challenged to choose God's plan, his race to choose Christ before our own comfort this year.
So I want to look at those today. The first one we see in the first verse, the first one is that we're called and asked to look to our past pioneers. Look to the people that have already been there before you. Hebrews 11 Many of you would know is the great chapter of the Heroes of Faith. Literally throughout he goes through the Old Testament and he talks about some of the great the Abrahams and Noah's, Moses, some of the great heroes, the famous people of the Old Testament who had great faith and did great things for God.
He said, look at their example. And I love that. He talks about Sarah, who had a baby in her old age and birthed a nation. He talks about Rahab, who was a prostitute, but she followed God and made a decision to look after God's people and God blessed her because of it. He talks about others like Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, David and Samuel.
And then he. He talks about, because we always think about the famous pioneers of faith, but then he talks about people that don't have a name. He says, but there were others that gave up their lives for the cause of Christ, for the cause of following Jesus. And they went through trials and persecutions and they were jeered at. Their backs were cut open, they were chained in prison.
Some died by struggle, stoning. All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith. I want to tell you, we have past pioneers. Do you want to know how to follow God's path? How to choose Christ before your comfort?
The first thing you got to do is look to those who've gone before you. The famous people, the ones who aren't even alive anymore. Some of the ones who are then the local people. We've got local people in our. Our church, local people in our lives.
We're surrounded. He says, therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us too choose that path. So we have the famous ones. They inspire me. Some of the great.
The Billy Grahams of this world, the Mother Teresas of this world that have given their lives and been an example. But then we have others around us. I think of this church. This is my Norell's 10th year in this. This church.
And some of you are like, oh, man, that's gone quick. And others are like, man, that's taken forever. Ten years. It has. It feels like it's gone quick, but this is family to me.
But I go this church next year is going to be 40 years old. So we've been here about a quarter of this church's history. And what I love about this church is it has a heritage of past pioneers. Some of you are sitting here in this pioneer place right now. You know, you're sitting here being.
Russ is here. Been in this church how many years, Russ? 25 years. Steve Funky's here, been here forever.
And Jen and Trevor and many others in this place. I think about the founding pastors of this church 40, almost 40 years ago, took a group of people, you know what they had. They're doing what we did in GR I don't doing in Grantville. They just took a group of people and they hired out a hall. They went to the George Jenkins Theater.
At one point, they just said, we're going to just start a church. And it was just a group of people. And then God stirred their hearts. And you know what? There was a bunch of people as they gathered together and they said, we want to buy a piece of land and we want to plant for the generations to come.
And they got this piece of land. The story is a miracle of how happened. It was a It was swampland. And they somehow people gave. The bank wouldn't give a loan, but they gave.
People chipped in and they got this piece of land and then they filled it with dirt so we could build on it. And then Pastor Ian Krutoff, he designed the building, and then a whole bunch of people in this church chipped in and gave money and gave their experience and gave their expertise and their trades and just built this church. And I go, they are our past pioneers. We are here today because our past pioneers said, we're going to serve God, we're going to endure. I think of other couple that were with us the other week, and they've been visiting Mornington.
Pastor Robin Carroll Morris, used to be the assistant pastor here, then been the pastor at Numa Church for many, many years, serving God faithfully over their whole lives. I go, these are the people that inspire me. And I go, when I get. Sometimes when my comfort comes in, you know, when you sort of want to go, it's all too much. I just want to.
I think of those people. I think of the people that have come before me, and I say, I've got a responsibility to them. They surrender and they gave their time, effort, their energy so that I could be here today. Then I think about the intimate people, the intimate pioneers in my life, the people that were there for me, the people in my church, my leaders and pastors and others that came alongside me. Think of, you know, you think of your parents who, when you always loved you.
Even when you go through a difficult time, they love you and believe in you. My dad's here today and always believed in me. Me. Even when he wasn't. When he wasn't going to church, he was like, son, if that's what you want to do, I'm proud of you.
You go for it. I go. People that have built into your life, who are those people in your life? Some of us as Christians. Can I say this?
People have paved the way for you. Whether it's a family member, a parent, or whether it's someone that invited you to church, someone that built into your life. They're a past pioneer, and we have a responsibility to not waste what they did. When I feel like giving up, when I feel like throwing in the towel, I say, no, I can't. We got a responsibility to the past pioneers who've paved the way for us.
And then do you know what? You've got a responsibility to the future people. Because guess what? Some of you don't see yourself like this, but you're a past pioneer. You're a current pioneer, but you're going to be a past pioneer.
I've realized that. I'm 45. I'm going, these guys think I'm old. I'm not old yet. I'm still going.
Who feels like that? Sometimes people are down there looking at you like you're an old person. No, I'm not. I'm still alive. I've still got something to contribute.
And it's true, we do. It doesn't matter what age you are. Young people, you got some older people. We all do. But I've realized this.
We're all going to be past pioneers. You guys are as well. Harry, you're going to be an old man one day. You're going to be a tall old man. You're going to be very old.
Oh, you're 20 today, Harry, happy 20th.
That's the way your senior past encourages you on your 20th birthday, telling you you're going to be an old man. Stooped over, still playing the drums.
But you know what? I would say that because here's the truth. There's a generation of people who are watching you, relying on you. Will you be the past pioneer? Will you be the person they're talking about?
Surrounded by such a huge crowd? I want to be spoken of in that group. Here's the thing. The Hebrew writer was writing about this and he was saying, hey, look at the past. But you know what?
He became part of the next group of past pioneers. We're looking at them now, the Apostle Paul, all their contemporaries became our past pioneers that are inspiring us. And God's saying to you and I, we're not just here to fill a pew. That's the old school term a seat. We're not here to just get through and look after a comfort.
We're here to show the next generation God is worth serving. And I'm going to pave the way for you. Like the way has been paved for me. Come on. That's what I'm called to do.
The church in Australia has been going backwards. We have the lowest church attendance percentage that we've ever had in our nation. Right now. We're changing that. I thank God that in Connect Church, we're growing.
In Connect Church, more people are coming to church. But that's because you are saying, I'm going to be a pioneer. I'm going to say Christ before my comfort. And I want to tell you, as this year goes on, keep choosing Christ. Keep saying, it's not just for you.
It's for your kids. It's for your grandchildren, some of us. It's for our great grandchildren. It's for the spiritual kids that haven't even joined us yet. It's for the ones in your school, in your uni, in your workplace, along your street.
I've got some people along our street I see on the beach all the time. They haven't joined us yet, but they're going to. Some of them have, but they're going to. I'm serving God for them. Come on.
How are you going to keep choosing Christ over comfort? Look to our past pioneers and be one of them. Who are the pioneers that inspire you? Remember them and then say to yourself, I'm going to be one of them. I'm going to be, come on, mums and dads.
I'm not talking about being heroes like Abraham and Moses. I'm talking about the heroes that just endure and keep on serving God no matter what. You're the one that will change the world. You're the one that will change your family. You're the one that will change your life.
What can God do through you? That's the first thing. How are we going to choose Christ over comfort? Look to our past pioneers. The second one you know is coming.
We've got to look to Christ. We've got to look to Christ.
Verse 2. We do this, he's like, how are we going to keep running this race that God has set before us? We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Other version says the author and finisher of our faith, because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross disregarding its shame, and now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people.
Then you won't become weary and give up.
I will say this. Been serving God basically my whole life. Grown up in church, kept serving, went into Serve God as a volunteer and in ministry when I was like 17, 18 and then went into full time ministry when I was 23 years old. So I've spent my life, you know, a lot of past pastors, they go through and they get burnt, they get hurt and they find something else to go and do because it gets tough. And you know, this life gets tough.
And if I think about all of this, there's one thing, one truth that keeps me on fire for God and keeps me saying, I will keep serving even when I feel like giving, even when the new beach looks like it'd Be nice to just sit there. There's one thing, I love people, I love our church. You know, there's all wonderful things about serving God together in a church. But there's one thing that keeps me focused, and that is my Lord Jesus Christ. And I want to tell you this.
If you get your eyes off Jesus, you're going to get lost. Lost. It's a hundred percent guarantee. You take your eyes off Jesus and you will get lost. Keep your eyes on Jesus Christ.
The other version says, fixed. Let us fix our eyes on Christ. You can be in church, you can be serving God. I know in pastoral ministry you can look like you're serving God, but if you have taken your eyes off Jesus, they get pulled, put on other things and suddenly comforts of life look more enticing. And suddenly sometimes the pride of life comes up and we do things with wrong motives.
Sometimes we carry hurts and we aren't willing and able to forgive. Do you know why? Because we've got our eyes off Christ. When you look to Christ, he will show you the way. And this is what the author's saying.
Fix your eyes on Jesus. Look to Jesus, who is the champion. He started our faith and he finishes our faith. He's done the whole gamut. He's done the whole race.
He knows it all. And then he says, look. Look at what he did. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross. You think you've gone through suffering.
You think it's got hard, look to Christ. I do. Oh, God. It's not fair. It's hard.
When I've gone through tough times in ministry, in life. And you know what? The Holy Spirit, when I go and pray about it, the Holy Spirit reminds me. He's like, I remember one time I was going through a really hard time and I went. And he didn't say it exactly like this, but I'll put it like this.
It was the Holy Spirit said, welcome. Now you feel a tiny little bit like Jesus felt. And I didn't feel like, oh, that's not fair. You know what? I felt closer to Christ when I went through hardship, when I went through, through pain, rejection.
I went, ah, Jesus. This is how this felt when the disciples left you and you were all alone choosing the right thing, even though they were treating you like a criminal. Ah. And I go, why did he do it? It says, because of the joy awaiting him.
Have you ever thought about that? How do you keep going for Christ and do the right thing when no one else cares with you? Do the right thing. When you don't get the benefits in this life. Other people aren't going, well done.
You did the right thing. And you didn't, you know, talk negative about this person or you didn't or whatever they're saying. And it's like, there's no guarantee that you're going to get rewarded for that. Why would you keep choosing the right thing for Jesus? Because of the joy that was set before him.
What was the joy? There were two things. The joy was, number one, pleasing his heavenly Father to bring glory to his Father. He was in Garden of Gethsemane saying, please take away this suffering that's before me. I don't want to do it yet.
Not my will, but your will be done. He wanted to please his heavenly Father. That was a joy. There is a joy. There's a joy that comes from saying, God, I'm close to you, and I please you.
And the second joy that awaited him, do you know what it was? Us. We don't believe it sometimes, but the joy. Why did Jesus endure the cross for the joy that awaited him? The joy of being able to say your feet given you're embraced, come into the family.
I've done it for you. Isn't there a joy in that? You know what? It is a joy. I'm a bit of a.
You know, you want to save people, you want to help them. There's a joy that comes from when you sacrifice to save someone else, to help someone else. That's the joy. And I want to tell you there is a joy. If you look and fix your eyes on Christ, you will start to live a life more and more that is not about yourself.
It is about others. For the joy says set before you, the purpose that Jesus saw was greater than the pain that he had to suffer. And I'm looking for men and women who say, I choose Christ. Choosing Christ means I'll suffer some pain and some uncomfortable things for the joy of helping others, a greater purpose. Fix your eyes on Christ.
Fix your eyes on Jesus Christ. Look to him. So what happens if you stop looking at Christ? You veer off the way, don't you? We were hiring a car the other day, and I forgot my license.
So Narelle had to drive everywhere, Right? And maybe I conveniently forgot my license. And so Narelle was driving, driving everywhere. We got this car, and we're driving around Queensland. And keep in mind, it was our anniversary.
So just been our anniversary. 23 years we've been married now. Is that true? 23. So congratulations.
She had to Remind me. I thought it was like, 24, 25. She was like, no, no, settle down, Settle down. Hasn't been that long. And 23 years.
And we're driving around, and Narelle's keep. She keeps looking over at me, talking to me. And as she's looking over, I feel the car veering to the left towards the curb. And I'm not looking at her. I'm looking at the curb.
I'm like, honey, look over here. She's like. She goes, I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm driving.
Well, I'm a good driver. I said, yes, you are, honey. It's fine. But. And she looks over again.
She's like. And blah, blah, blah. And I was like, honey, I know I'm incredible, incredibly good looking. I know it's very hard to concentrate.
No, I didn't say that. Because I said, just focus on the road, please. And Narelle's like, ah. And we straightened up. Now, Narelle told me last night that that did not happen like that.
Honey, you have exaggerated it and maybe a tiny, tiny little bit. But we did veer over. Because when she. When you. Who knows this?
When you look over here, that's where you start going. It just happens to all of us. You have to look where you want to go. It's like when you play sport. Where do you want to hit the ball?
Where do you want to kick the ball? Look where you want it to go. The same is true of our faith and our walk with God. How do you expect to follow Christ when you're off here looking at this entire enticing thing? The people you hang out with, if they have got nothing to do with Christ, and they're not, you will veer towards them.
That's just the truth. I've had to make decisions in my life where certain friendships. I didn't cut the friendship off, but I had to make a decision to say, I can't let that be my key friendship because it will veer me off here. I've chosen. I've had to make sacrifices to find, follow Christ.
We have to choose. Fix your eyes on Jesus, and you'll have to make decisions. And some of us. We got the decision. Okay, that's comfortable.
Because it doesn't feel nice to not, you know, associate with certain things and certain people that everyone else is doing. But God says, fix your eyes on me. I want to ask you, what do you need to do in 25 to look to Christ more? Where do you need to look to Christ More. Some of us.
This is why we talk about devotions and reading the Word and all. You know what that's doing? It's very simple. It's looking to Christ. Fuwa preached a great message last week about the power of the Word of God.
We need His Word. How do I look to Christ? I need to go in time in prayer, and I need to speak to him. I need to ask the Holy Spirit to guide me. I need to open His Word like we're doing right now and saying, lord, speak.
Speak to us and the Lord will direct you. And the more you look at Christ, the more you fall in love with him. I promise you that. I'm not talking about a religious figure. I'm not talking about someone that's like, you do this or else.
I'm talking about the person that saved you, the one that you chose to serve as Lord and Savior. Don't you love him? Look to him. What are you going to do in 2014 to look to Jesus, the author and the finisher of your faith, the one who endured the shame of the cross because of the joy of you and His Heavenly Father. What a life that can be if you will choose it.
The third thing is this.
The third thing we need to do to help us follow Christ before our comfort is we need to let the Father love us. Let the Father love you. Let the Father love you. Because this is an interesting one, this passage. I've read this over my life and sometimes I'm like, ah, you've wrecked it.
Have you ever read some of the Bible and gone, oh, that was awesome. And then he wrecked it.
I'm not allowed to say that. It's like, no, Adrian, we are very holy here. And we do not cry, question the word of the Lord. It is holy. I agree, it is holy.
But sometimes I read and I go, I would have been good if that bit wasn't there. Just for this bit, because I don't really. But it sort of goes here. He's like going, come on, we got the heroes of the faith, and we've got Christ who's leading the way. And he endured the shame of the cross.
And then he goes into verse five. And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? Well, that's good. The encouraging words God spoke to you as his children. He said, my child, don't make light of the Lord's discipline.
That's what I mean. He's wrecked it. Where are you going here, buddy? It's like, let's stick to God let's go for it, my child. Don't make light of the Lord's discipline and don't give up when he comes corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves and he punishes each one he accepts as his child. As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child that is who is. Who is never disciplined by its Father? If God doesn't discipline you as he does all his children, it means that you are illegitimate and not really his children at all.
Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn't we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits and and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God's discipline is always good for us so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening. It's painful, but afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living.
For those who are trained in this way. You see what I mean? It's like a bit of a downer. It's like this is one of the most inspiring scriptures ever. And then we're like, well, let's just leave out those verses.
Hey, remember how you got disciplined as a kid and it didn't feel good? Well, God's going to do that to you and that's awesome. And that should make you want to follow Christ with all your heart. It's like, well, hang on a second. We got to re.
We got to. But we have to. We have to take all of scripture, don't we? Can't just leave out the bits we don't like. What's he saying?
What's the author of Hebrews saying? He's actually saying that let the Father love you. Love doesn't look like just saying everything you want to hear. Love doesn't look like just, you do whatever you want and I'm fine with it. The person who loves you cares about your future.
They want to lift you up. And when you're making decisions and you're doing stuff that are wrecking you and others you're around you. Someone who loves you wants to say something in love to lift you up out of that, don't they? Isn't that what you want to do for others? The problem is we don't like it, especially in Australian culture.
Don't you tell me what to do. I remember my wonderful daughter. She used to tell me she stopped telling you now because she's gained wisdom when she was like 1314. Yeah. When I'm 18, you can't tell me what to do.
I can do whatever I want. I'm like, that's true, you can.
But when you love someone, the word, the word discipline there and punishment is probably not the right phrase because we have negative connotations on all that stuff, right? The word that it's actually talking about, the idea that it's talking about is a. Is a. Is a. Is a teacher or, or a parent coming along and bringing correction to someone and bringing instruction to someone.
And sometimes that correction, instruction involves, hey, you've got to have a little bit of a. Of a penalty here so you can learn. It's not. The instruction the Lord brings is not retributive. It's not there to just punish you because you're bad and to push you down.
It's restorative. So we have to understand this about God because it's a. This, this scripture, you can look at that and you can feel negative about it. So. Oh, that's a downer.
But actually the author's not saying it. He's literally saying, isn't this good that we have a heavenly father that cares so much about you as his child, as someone he loves, that he's willing to come into the deep, intimate parts of your life and bring you instruction and help you. And if you choose to see him that way and allow him to do that, he will make you into the person he always made you to be. Isn't that who parents are called to be parents? We're called to instruct and discipline our children, to lift them up.
The devil wants to push you down. He wants to push you right down and he wants you to feel bad about yourself. That's condemnation. The instruction and the discipline the law brings is always, every time about lifting you up and saying something like this. You're better than that.
I've got more for you than that. You can live a different life from that. You don't have to be stuck in that sin. You don't have to be stuck in that pain, that unforgiveness, that controlling behaviour. You don't have to be stuck there.
I can change you. It literally lifts you. That's the correction of the Lord. And we need it. I need it not to embarrass my daughter, but she's had it enough in her life, so she'll be fine.
But I remember a few years ago, we, you know, it's going around at the moment, all this phone and social media and all this stuff for young people and one of the things we did, we haven't been perfect in it, but one of the things we did is that we ended up restricting Ella's phone because basically, I mean, it's very hard to overcome the YouTube and all these things are made to just consume all the time. And as a young person, it's hard to stop doing that. And so we put some restrictions on there. And Ella was not happy with that. So don't do that.
What am I supposed to do now? I said, go and read a book. She goes, oh, I want to read a book. And we had to push. And you know what?
It's like this passage. She didn't enjoy it. She didn't like it. But you know what I said to her? I said, ella, I said, we have to do this for your benefit.
I said, we love you and we care about you, and said, we have to come in and bring some things in place to help you in life. And so she went through a little bit, and then one day she went and she found a book, and I watched her, and she was just sitting there reading a book. She didn't tell us. She goes, oh, yes, guys, you were right. You were right, guys.
And your parenting is wonderful. So good. She didn't say any of that. She just went and read a book and she went and read another book. And then over that year, I think she read something like 70 books.
She became like a bookaholic. And now I've got the opposite problem. She wants to buy all these books. So how many books was it, Ella? Oh, my Lord.
Okay, well, we didn't. I was trying to bring it down because we don't want to boast, Ella. There's apparently 130 books she read in a year. She went ballistic. And I looked there and I went, that's the kind of parenting that God wants to do on us, on my life, on your life.
Things that aren't good for us, but we can't help ourselves. He wants to bring correction if we'll let him. And in that bringing that correction, he'll lift us up. You know why? Because he loves you.
He loves you. Do not despise the correct directions of the Lord. They're not there to push you down. They're there to lift you up. Do you know that your heavenly Father loves you?
Don't you need that? I need that. I told you this. The thing that makes me want to serve God is Jesus Christ. And I look to him.
There's another person that makes me want to serve God with All my heart. And that's my heavenly Father. He's the one where no one else understood me. He understood me. When I stuff up, when I've got wrong motives, when I feel like giving up, he comes and corrects me.
And he. He lifts me up. He says, come on, son, you know, I got a greater plan. You know, he doesn't push me down. He lifts me.
I love my heavenly Father. I'm not scared of God. You don't have to be scared of God. I've not been scared of God because he loves me. I'm his son.
You're his child.
Let the love of the Father fill your heart.
And then I say God. When he corrects me, I listen to it and I choose different options. When the conviction of the Holy Spirit comes on, you listen. Let the Lord correct you. You watch what he does.
It's in the little things that will change your life. He knows that. It's the little choices. When God speaks you. I shouldn't be doing that.
Ah. Or I've done that and I got it wrong. And you know what a beautiful thing is to do? Apologise if you've hurt someone. I'm sorry I said that.
I'm sorry I hurt you. I've learned to do that over the years. Go. And I can't fix what's already happened, but I can say sorry and choose a new path of love and grace. They're the three things.
Look to your past pioneers, look to Jesus and let the Father love you. And then he finishes with this in verse 12. I love this. I love this. These two verses.
He's given us some good teaching in Hebrews 12 about how to live a life for Christ and follow the races called us to run with God. This is very fitting for us. Now, verse 12. So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall, but become strong.
It's good at the start of 25, isn't it? Take a new grip.
Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall, but become strong. Another victory version, I think, puts it in an even nicer way. Not just to become strong, but says, but to be healed. Do you know that when you choose Christ, when you choose Christ and say, I will follow you, God before my comfort, he will bring healing to your life. He will heal the burdens, he will heal the hurts, he will heal the insecurities.
He will Work and do a work in you that is greater than any work that this world can do in your life. Some of us feeling weak, some of us feel like we're tired. Some of us feel like we've failed. But it's time again to take a new grip and say, lord, strengthen me again. Give me strength.
Give me heal my heart again. I'm going to follow Christ before comfort. I want to choose Jesus Christ before comfort this year, don't you? I was reminded as I was preparing this message of a friend, a distant friend, but a friend that I met many years ago in very strange circumstances. And some of you would know who I'm talking about.
Most of you probably would. But he was the. Supposedly the ringleader of the Bali 9. Andrew Chan was the.
The guy who sort of helped put that group together. And he got caught in Bali in his hotel, got sentenced to death for his part in that drug ring. And some of the Bali non have now come back home and been released after serving many years in prison in Bali. And what happened was Andrew Chan, I found. I had a.
We had a contact that someone said, I've been in touch with him. And I said, oh, I'm going over to Bali. I said, would I be able to get in touch? And they gave me a number that he had there and I was able to contact him and said, can I come and visit you? And we had a team going over.
And so we went to visit Andrew Chan in the Bali prison. And we got there and what we'd heard is that Andrew Chan had become a Christian and that a pastor had gone to visit him when he was at his lowest point, when he was suicidal and saying, what's the point of my life? Look who I've hurt, My parents, my family. And he wanted to die. And a pastor came and told him about Jesus Christ and he chose to give his life to Christ.
And I got in touch with him because he was doing an online Alpha Crucis Bible college course in prison. So we went to visit and I got there and I didn't know who I was going to see. But I went to visit this young man and I met someone who was the most on fire for God person I think I maybe have ever met. He'd started a church in the Bali prison. He had a whole band.
It was like a church like ours, and it was packed every time they ran a service. And he invited us to come and be a part of the service and me to speak there. And he led worship and he led it the most Passionate. I've ever seen someone lead worship. He couldn't sing in tune, but he made up for it with passion.
He started that church, and he ran the whole day. He was known as the pastor of the prison. The guards would come and talk to him and seek advice. He would baptize people in that prison. And I thought about him as I was preparing this message, and I thought, get a new grill on my title hands.
Because it doesn't matter what's happened before. Can I tell you that? It doesn't matter what life you've led before. It doesn't matter what mistakes you've made. Here was a man who'd wrecked people's lives, and he paid the ultimate price.
But he found Christ. He saw Jesus, and he fixed his eyes on Jesus, and he let the love of the Father fill his heart. And God changed his life. And I didn't meet a drug criminal. I met an on fire for God pastor.
And I got to see him again. We used to message each other, and I went to see him again with Narelle this time, and he was close to death. He was getting closer. And he said, I'm still believing that God might do a miracle, but if it doesn't happen, it's okay. I'm scared, but it's okay.
I'm gonna. I know where I'm going. And right to the end, he kept serving God. Right to the end, he kept serving God. One of the girls on that island, when they were taken to be executed, she got let off literally, like, a few hours before the execution.
And they were all celebrating with her. Even though they weren't spared, they celebrated with her. A pastor I know was there to watch what happened. And the moment he died, do you know what I did? He got them all to sing, shout to the Lord, Sing and worship God in the last moment of their life.
I love that story. Because I go. I was lost, but now I'm found. And some of us here, you haven't gone through that life, but you feel like you failed God, or maybe you've let go and you said, oh, God, I've been on a different pathway. But you can choose Christ, and you can say, christ, I choose you for this year, and I'm not letting go.
I'm going to endure. I'm going to follow you. I'm going to fix my eyes on Jesus Christ. And he's the one I serve. Not my comfort, but Jesus.
Because I've got a generation to change. I've got family members. I've got friends. I'VE got people that need Christ. And you know what?
I need him. I need him to change me and revolutionize my life. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to pray. I'm going to invite us in your own time to say, lord, I want to make a fresh commitment.
Will you choose Christ over your comfort? What does that look like for you this year? What is God calling you to do this year? What commitment do you need to. What change in your life do you need to make to say Jesus Christ first?
Christ first. When I feel like just relaxing, God, I'm going to still open your word. I'm still gonna reach out to people in love. I'm not gonna give up and just look after myself.
I'm gonna choose your plan for me to lift up, get a new grip on my weak hands, God, strengthen my knees. I'm not retiring, God. I'm not going to the beach at Noosa to just soak in the wake waves and the sun. I'm standing up strong. I'm gonna keep serving my God with more passion than I ever have, with more belief than I ever have.
Because I'm surrounded by a cloud of witnesses in the past and in the present. Come on, we're gonna support each other. God has got a call on your life. You believe that. Can't, Hastings.
God's got a call on your life to do mighty things.
So I say yes. What about you? So we're going to sing this song, Christ alone. Christ Alone, Cornerstone. And I want to tell you across all of our churches together, as we still listen in, if you say yes to God and say, God, I choose Christ over my comfort.
As we sing, I want to invite you, if you want to stand to your feet and just worship the Lord and make a declaration to the Lord today. Christ before my comfort. Jesus. This between you and God right now. What's the Holy Spirit?
Choose him. Choose him. You'll never regret it. Oh, we sing Christ Alone.
Yes, God.
Come with eyes closed in this place. Maybe you want to lift out your hands to the Lord. There's a new day prophesy, a new season for Connect Church.
We will do as God has called us. We will love God, we will love people, and we will change lives and God. Our theme, our heart will be Christ alone. Christ before my comfort. Christ before my own desire.
Christ before everything. And I pray God, that let us be wherever we are, wherever we go, wherever your people go, in their workplace, in their homes and their streets. Lord, let us be a beacon of light, of serving Jesus Christ. We're here to change our society. We're here to change our community.
And Lord, I pray for your people. Fill them with your power. Strengthen us, God, heal us. Empower us with the Holy Spirit. That we too, God, can be the past pioneers and the current pioneers for the generations to come.
We pray it in Jesus, precious, mighty, amazing name. All the glory and honor to you, Lord. In Jesus name we pray. Everyone said, amen. Amen.
Thank you. God bless you guys. We love you. Have a great rest of the week. We'll see you again soon.
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Choosing Christ Before Comfort: A Guide to Living a Purpose-Driven Faith
Living a life of faith means making difficult choices between our personal comfort and following Christ's calling. As we enter a new year, we're challenged to examine where our priorities truly lie and how we can put Christ first in all areas of our lives.
Why Do We Need to Choose Christ Over Comfort?
God has set a specific race and purpose before each of us. While it's tempting to seek an easier, more comfortable path, we're called to pursue God's greater plan - one that impacts not just our lives but the lives of others around us.
How Can We Stay Focused on Christ Instead of Comfort?
There are three key ways to maintain our focus on Christ over comfort:
1. Look to Past Pioneers of Faith
We're surrounded by examples of those who've gone before us in faith - both biblical heroes and modern-day pioneers. Their stories remind us that:
Faith requires sacrifice and endurance
Our actions impact future generations
We're part of a larger story of God's work
2. Fix Your Eyes on Jesus
Jesus is our ultimate example of choosing God's purpose over personal comfort. He:
Endured the cross for the joy set before Him
Found purpose greater than temporary pain
Stayed focused on His mission despite opposition
3. Let the Father Love You
God's correction and discipline in our lives comes from His love as a Father who:
Wants to lift us up, not tear us down
Provides instruction for our growth
Helps us become who He created us to be
What Happens When We Choose Christ Over Comfort?
When we prioritize Christ over comfort, we experience:
Healing from past hurts
Renewed strength for the journey
Greater impact in others' lives
Deeper relationship with God
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself to:
Identify areas where you've chosen comfort over Christ
Make specific commitments to prioritize your relationship with Jesus
Take practical steps to serve others even when it's uncomfortable
Ask yourself:
What specific comforts am I holding onto that may be holding me back from fully following Christ?
How can I better fix my eyes on Jesus in my daily routine?
Who are the past pioneers of faith that inspire me, and how can I follow their example?
In what ways is God trying to correct or guide me that I might be resisting?
Remember: "Take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong."
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A discussion guide for the sermon can be found here.