Will you answer the call? COMFORT IS NOT THE MISSION
Main Texts: Matthew 9:35–38; Ephesians 6:10–18; 2 Timothy 2:3–4; Luke 9:23
Supporting Text: Jonah 1–3
INTRODUCTION
We live in one of the most comfortable societies in history.
Comfort isn't evil.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying the blessings God has given us.
But there is a danger when comfort becomes our highest value.
When comfort becomes more important than obedience, something has gone wrong.
There is a collision between a culture that prizes comfort and a Kingdom that calls people to carry crosses.
Jesus never promised His followers a comfortable life.
He promised us purpose.
He promised us His presence.
He promised us victory.
But He also promised us a battle.
And one of the clearest examples of this tension is found in the story of a man named Jonah.
God called Jonah to go to Nineveh.
But Jonah didn't want to go.
God said, "Go."
Jonah said, "No."
God said, "Nineveh."
Jonah said, "Anywhere but there."
And Jonah teaches us something important:
Sometimes the greatest obstacle to God's call isn't our inability. It's our unwillingness.
Jonah wasn't incapable of going to Nineveh.
He simply didn't want to.
And sometimes that’s the same thing happens to us.
The question is whether we are willing to obey.
Because comfort is not the mission.
POINT 1: WE ARE LIVING IN A WAR, NOT A VACATION
Ephesians 6:12 says:
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers..."
The Christian life isn't a cruise ship.
The Bible describes it as a battlefield.
A soldier doesn't wake up in the morning asking,
"How can I be most comfortable today?"
He asks,
"What's my assignment?"
And that's a question the church needs to recover.
What's my assignment?
Because the enemy doesn't take days off.
People need Jesus.
And the church cannot afford to sleep through the battle.
We weren't saved just to sit.
We weren't redeemed just to be comfortable.
We weren't called just to attend.
We were called to engage.
Ephesians tells us to put on the armor of God because we're in a war.
And Jonah reminds us that sometimes the first battle we have to fight is the battle against our own resistance to God's call.
POINT 2: COMFORT CAN BECOME A DANGEROUS IDOL
Comfort itself isn't sin.
But when comfort becomes our master, obedience becomes optional.
Jesus said in Luke 9:23:
"If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
Notice the words:
Deny himself.
Take up his cross.
Follow Me.
Crosses were never symbols of convenience.
They represented submission & surrender.
Jesus didn't say,
"Follow Me when it's easy."
He didn't say,
"Follow Me when you're comfortable."
He said,
"Follow Me."
And nearly every biblical hero was called away from comfort.
Abraham left home.
Moses left the palace.
David lived in caves.
The prophets faced rejection.
The apostles endured imprisonment.
And Jesus Himself said He had nowhere to lay His head.
God repeatedly calls His people beyond comfort because that's often where faith grows.
God called Jonah to Nineveh.
Nineveh was not comfortable.
And Jonah had a decision to make.
He could obey God...
or he could protect his comfort.
Jonah chose comfort.
Jonah 1:3 says:
"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord."
God gave Jonah a mission.
Jonah found a boat.
Sometimes that's what we do… find a reason not to follow.
And here's the danger:
We can become so committed to comfort that we begin calling disobedience wisdom.
We say:
"I'm just being careful."
"I'm waiting on God's timing."
"I don't feel led."
"I need to pray about it."
Sometimes those things are legitimate.
But sometimes...
we already know what God said.
We just don't want to do it.
Jonah didn't need another word from God.
He needed to obey the word he'd already received.
Delayed obedience is still disobedience.
God is not looking for people who merely hear His voice.
He's looking for people who respond to it.
Because there is a need, and HE is calling…
POINT 3: THE HARVEST IS READY, BUT THE WORKERS ARE FEW
Matthew 9:37–38 says:
"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"
Notice what Jesus didn't say.
He didn't say there wasn't enough work.
He didn't say people weren't searching.
He didn't say God lacked power.
He didn’t say it’ll be ok.
He said:
There aren't enough workers.
The church doesn't primarily need more spectators.
It needs workers that are willing to say yes to the mission.
Every generation asks the question:
"Who will go?"
Isaiah answered:
"Here am I. Send me."
And Jonah gives us the opposite picture.
God said, "Go."
Jonah said, "Somebody else."
God said, "Nineveh."
Jonah said, "Tarshish."
God said, "Reach them."
Jonah said, "I don't want them saved."
But here's the amazing thing about God:
God cared about Nineveh even when Jonah didn't.
Nineveh mattered to God.
And the people around us matter to God.
The harvest is still plentiful.
We have to ask ourselves:
"Am I willing to be interrupted by the mission of God?"
POINT 4: SOLDIERS DON'T ENTANGLE THEMSELVES
2 Timothy 2:3–4 says:
"Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him."
Paul isn't saying Christians shouldn't work.
He's not saying we shouldn't own homes.
He's not saying we can't enjoy life.
He's talking about priorities.
He's saying our lives cannot become so tangled in earthly things that we forget our eternal assignment.
And that's where comfort becomes dangerous.
And yet we have to ask:
Are we making disciples?
Are we praying for lost people?
Are we investing in eternity?
Are we sharing our faith?
Are we serving?
Are we answering God's call?
The enemy doesn't always have to destroy a believer.
Sometimes he simply has to distract them.
A distracted church rarely changes the world.
We can spend our entire lives building our own little kingdoms.
Our houses.
Our careers.
Our bank accounts.
Our retirement plans.
Our vacations.
Our entertainment.
Our comfort.
And let me tell you, none of those things are necessarily wrong.
But if we're not careful, we can become so invested in this temporary world that we neglect the eternal one.
Jesus said:
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
We have to ask:
Where is my heart?
Because what we value determines what we're willing to sacrifice for.
And soldiers don't entangle themselves because they understand that they have an assignment.
They know why they're there.
And church, we need to remember why we're here.
We are here to glorify God and reach people with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
POINT 5: VICTORY BELONGS TO THOSE WHO STAY DRESSED FOR BATTLE
Ephesians 6 tells us to put on the whole armor of God.
Truth.
Righteousness.
The gospel of peace.
Faith.
Salvation.
The Word of God.
Prayer.
Notice something:
Armor isn't furniture.
You don't put armor on to sit comfortably.
You wear armor because you're expecting conflict.
God has already provided everything necessary.
The question isn't whether the armor exists.
The question is whether we'll wear it.
And Jonah's story reminds us that before we can fight the battle around us, we sometimes have to surrender the battle within us.
Jonah had to surrender his own will.
But when Jonah finally obeyed, God used him.
And that's good news.
Because God doesn't require perfect people.
He requires available people.
THE STORM, THE FISH, AND THE SECOND CHANCE
Jonah 3:1 says:
"And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time."
I love those words:
The second time.
Thank God for the second time.
Because some of us have run before.
Some of us have delayed.
Some of us have made excuses.
Some of us have chosen comfort over calling.
Some of us have said no when God said go.
But God's grace says:
"Get up and go again."
APPLICATION: WHAT IS GOD ASKING YOU TO DO?
So let me ask you some questions.
Have you become more committed to comfort than to Christ?
Are you consuming more than you're contributing?
When was the last time you shared your faith?
Who are you discipling?
Who are you praying for by name?
Are you making room in your schedule for God's interruptions?
Are you treating life like a vacation while heaven has called you into the harvest?
Is there something God has told you to do that you've been running from?
Maybe God is calling you to forgive somebody.
Maybe He's calling you to serve.
Maybe He's calling you to witness.
Maybe He's calling you to disciple somebody.
Maybe He's calling you to step into ministry.
Maybe He's calling you to give.
Maybe He's calling you to go somewhere you never planned to go.
Maybe He's calling you to do something that scares you.
Maybe you've been running toward your own Tarshish.
But today God is saying:
"Arise & Go."
Don't wait until you're comfortable.
Don't wait until you're fearless.
Don't wait until everything makes sense.
Answer the call.
Because somebody may be waiting on your obedience.
Your "yes" may be connected to somebody else's salvation.
Your testimony may be what somebody needs to hear.
Your invitation may be what brings somebody through the doors.
Your prayer may be what keeps somebody from giving up.
Your service may be what helps somebody encounter the love of Jesus.
Your obedience matters.
CONCLUSION: WHEN THE KING RETURNS
One day, every comfort this world offers will disappear.
The houses will disappear.
The promotions will disappear.
The possessions will disappear.
The conveniences will disappear.
The schedules will disappear.
The vacations will end.
But every soul touched for Christ will matter forever.
Our culture says:
"Protect your comfort."
Jesus says:
"Take up your cross."
Our culture says:
"Live for yourself."
Jesus says:
"Follow Me."
Our culture says:
"Find the easiest path."
Jesus says:
"The harvest is plentiful."
Our culture says:
"Stay where you're comfortable."
God says:
"Go."
Remember, Jonah teaches us that running from the call doesn't make the call disappear.
God's purpose was still waiting on the other side of Jonah's obedience.
But today the call of God is still going out.
Who will go?
Will you answer?
Church, let's stop running.
Let's stop making excuses.
And when God says:
"Who will go?"
May our answer be:
"Here am I, Lord. Send me."
Because Jesus is worthy.
Comfort is not the mission.
Obedience is.
The harvest is ready.
The workers are few.
The call has gone out.
Will you answer?
Amen.
