11.27.7 "It's Much Quieter with your Head in the Sand"

"It's Much Quieter with your Head in the Sand"

Daniel 4:1-37
2 Peter 1:1-21
Psalm 119:96-112
Proverbs 28:17-18

Do you ever wish that someone hadn't told you something? Maybe it was when you found out what was in hot dogs! I wish I hadn't heard THAT! I think our lives are often spent in the pursuit of our human nature's mission statement, "Live the Comfort Zone!" We love to hover as close to that as we can. We try to make sure we chase possessions and wealth, and even the pursuit of "rest" whether that be in days off, or sleeping in, or whatever. We can have seasons where we think "it doesn't get any better than this." I have a great TV, a recorded football game, and a reclining couch. What more do you need?

Then someone comes along, and rocks the boat with this irritating morsel of truth. On of my "heroes" is Diane DeLaSantos. She is the Executive Director of City on a Hill. That is an an incredible inner-city mission in Milwaukee. When she visited our church and was sharing her heart & we were hearing testimonies of lives changed, It was great! well... it was great in the sense that you have to get off your couch!

Diane was not from the inner city. She was a very successful business executive. God called her to this work. She made a statement that I think is profound. She spoke of the security of her career and the fear of leaving that for the "danger" of the mission. She said she came to realize that the "danger" was in the security of her career and the true security was in walking in obedience.

Because we work so hard to pursue "comfort zone", we don't want to hear that. We think we've built our safety net... our security. We draw the line in our schedule and say, "God I've given you enough". Even when we feel the tug of the Spirit, we don't put more in the offering because it doesn't fit into the budget. We think WE have it figured out. "God, you'll mess up my plan if I follow you in this."

Let's see how that worked for Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel chapter 4.

"I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in peace and prosperity, when one night I had a dream that greatly frightened me. I called in all the wise men of Babylon to tell me the meaning of my dream, but when they came... they couldn't interpret it. At last Daniel came in..."

He proceeds to tell Daniel the dream. Daniel is silent for an hour before sharing the meaning with him. "Daniel replied: 'Oh, that the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, and not to you!"

Uh oh...

As it turns out the dream meant that this mighty king who is known throughout the world is going to live like a beast in the field for 7 years. Sure enough, verse 29 says, "Twelve months after this dream, he was strolling on the roof of the royal palace in Babylon, and saying, 'I, by my own mighty power, have built this beautiful city as my royal residence, and as the capital of my empire.' While he was still speaking these words, a voice called down from heaven, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you: You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be forced out of the palace to live with the animals in the fields, and to eat grass like the cows for seven years..." Now get this: "... until you finally realize that God parcels out the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he chooses."

That happened, and when he realized 7 years later that it was God, and not him, he regained his kingdom.

We stick our head in the sand when we surround ourselves with all that is comfortable. Then God has a way of getting our attention. Sometimes it's to the extreme of King Nebuchadnezzar. Other times it's more subtle.

When Diane brought some girls from City on a Hill they did an interpretive praise dance to a song that said, "Imagine being free". It can be just entertainment when your head is in the sand. But when you hear their stories of neglect and abuse and horrible living conditions in poverty, you have to respond. God has called us to reach out.

We must get our head out of the sand and Live the DREAM as laid out in 2 Peter 1:

"Do you want more and more of God's kindness and peace? Then learn to know him better and better. For as you know him better, he will give you, through his great power, everything you need for living a truly good life [Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship]: he even shares his own glory and his own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power he has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings he promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character." (vs. 2-4)

"But to obtain these gifts, you need more than faith; you must also work hard to be good [the discipline of Empowered through Biblical Training], and even that is not enough. For then you must learn to know God better and discover what he wants you to do." [Active Ministry Involvement] vs. 5.

"Next, learn to put aside your own desires so that you will become patient and godly, gladly letting God have his way with you. this will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply." [Relationships Devoted to Unity] vs. 6-7

"The more you go on in this way, the more you will grow strong spiritually and become fruitful and useful to our Lord Jesus Christ." [Mission to Reach our World for Christ] vs. 8.

Maturing in Christ is a process that we must keep before us each day. We must challenge one another. We must get our head out of the sand and pursue with intensity the race marked out before us. It would have been much more comfortable if my ears wouldn't have heard the need.

But they did.


Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ