The Temptation to Settle

Speaker: Pastor Darin Browne

I believe this message about the temptation to settle will be prophetic for some here. Let’s read…

Numbers 32:1-5
Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, the land that the LORD struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” And they said, “If we have found favour in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”

The children of Israel had set out from Egypt, went through the miracle of the Red Sea, survived forty years in the desert, because they had a dream. The Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey. Their dream, their destiny, God’s best for them. God had a plan for them, a destiny, despite the circumstances they were lowing through for forty years in the desert.

But just before they were to cross the swollen Jordan river to finally take possession of what God had told them He had planned for them all along, two and a half of the twelve tribes had another idea. Two and a half tribes decided to settle on the east side of the Jordan.

REASONS WE SETTLE

This made me think about many Christians. We know that God has a plan for our life…

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

We know this, but too often we settle. We settle for second best, we settle short of what God wants, we settle for less, for partial blessing, rather than the fullness of life God promises.

Ephesians 3:20
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,

So why do we settle? Why do we stop short of what God really has for us?

1: COMFORT ZONE

So many Christians are simply too comfortable, especially in a nation like ours. We have everything we could want, we have safety, a home, food, provision, and in our country, if we cannot work, we have a pension and NDIS to help out. And we elect governments not in what is righteous or sensible but on how much they can give us to make us more comfortable.

We know little about paying the price, little about the cost of Discipleship, little about persecution. We forget that Jesus said…

Luke 14:33
So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

The symbol for Christianity is a cross, not a cushion. Jesus did not die on the cross to give you a comfortable life. In fact, your comfort is way down the list of incredible and amazing things God has for you. Do not let being comfortable hold you back from your destiny. People who achieve lots for God in life, who positively affect the eternal destiny of others, who bring many people into the Kingdom of Heaven, have invariably stepped out in faith and out of their comfort zone!

2: FEAR OF FAILURE

Another reason people settle for less because they have a fear of failing. Fear of failure is natural, but it’s not godly, because my Bible says…

2 Timothy 1:7
for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Fear knocked at the door, faith answered, there was no one there! When you know Jesus, He promises exceedingly abundantly, He promises He has plans for you, a destiny, a future and a hope. Failure is possible, in fact, it’s even normal.

Failure is also necessary in your growth as a Christian, because that’s how we learn. We try something, we fail, we figure out where we went wrong, we correct it, and we get it right. Failure is ok, and certainly not to be feared, because it doesn’t matter how often you fail, what matters is that you get on up and keep trying! You learn more from the failures than successes.

3: WE DON’T THINK WE ARE WORTH IT

I see this a lot in believers, we doubt our value as people, and as children of God.

Luke 12:6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

The two and a half tribes had a chance to get to the Promised Land, and they settled for what they had, but what was less than God’s best for them, don’t let that be you!

Let me be frank…I have seen many single men and women settle for someone God does not want them to be with, because they are worried that they are getting too old. It is better to be alone than married to the wrong person. In your relationships, in your life, in your profession, don’t settle for what is less.

4: WE ARE EASILY SATISFIED

Numbers 32:1-5
Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock.

The decision to settle on the east side of the Jordan was purely and simply a financial one. They knew the promise of God, they knew the dream, the destiny, but they made an executive decision to settle with what they saw as a better financial situation.

Sometimes, we settle because we are simply too easily satisfied. We think, this is probably as good as it will get for us. We’d better take it, lest we fail and get nothing! We say we want revival, but many are just happy having a nice church in a nice town. We say we want to see the Holy Spirit poured out, but we don’t care to pay the price.

CS Lewis said this…”Our desires are not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

5: IMPATIENCE

We are impatient people. As Queen sang, “I want it all, and I want it now!” At the root of impatience is fear, frustration or being out of control.

James 5:7-8
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Nothing worthwhile happens instantly. Most things take time to prepare, time to grow. This sums up my gardening ability…it all takes too long! I want to pick the fruit before it is ripe, not out of fear but out of impatience.

Sometimes we stop short of God’s best for us because we are too impatient to wait for the fulness. If we truly trust God, we must believe that He is in control and manoeuvring the pieces to give us the best outcome.

Psalms 27:14
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

6: PRESSURE FROM OTHERS

We live in a world of endless opinions, so don’t be surprised when somebody has an opinion, some word of advice, towards your settling short of what God wants.

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Don’t settle short of what God wants for you because someone else thinks it’s a good idea. “You’re not getting any younger, and all the best men are married.” “Don’t try and do that, you’ll never make it.” “Everybody else is doing okay, why risk trying when the market is saturated?”

We are about to start a coffee shop, when one just closed one hundred metres from us. When we started Lily House, another group were doing the same thing. Why do you guys exist, when Mercy House is successful? Why is Ignite even here when we have two other ACC churches in this town alone, and several mega churches within ten minutes drive.

Most of what I have become in God has been spoken against by someone along the way. Don’t let them pressure out of your destiny, because destiny depends on decisions, your decisions, not their opinions.

Galatians 1:10
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

7: LACK OF CLARITY

Many of us have no clue about what God wants, because we cannot hear His voice clearly.

Ephesians 4:14
that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

If you let circumstances drive your decisions, just like everybody else, then you will never reach your destiny in God. Circumstances are at the bottom of my list of hearing God. Then there’s feelings, godly advice, prophetic words, a Holy Spirit peace in my heart, and right at the top for me is God Word! Sometimes we settle for less because we don’t know God well enough.

That’s why I continually ask you to read God’s Word. We have our Bible reading plan, so why not join us. If you want clarity so you don’t settle for second best. Get to know God. You do this by reading, studying and even memorising His Word. There is no alternative.

Matthew 4:4
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

Psalms 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

ARE YOU SETTLING?

Many times I have settled, especially spiritually. I know God has more for my life. Out of fear I hold back. I came to Jesus in a Baptist Church and really looked with distain and even fear on those weird Pentecostals. I remember saying to God, “Lord, I will do anything for you, but not that crazy stuff, and definitely not tongues. You can have all of me except that bit.” I settled. Some of you here might relate to that.

I believe some of us here are grappling with the issue of settling short of what God wants for you in some area. We are settling for the East side of the river, instead of crossing into the Promised Land God has for us. We’re not reaching for the stars anymore; we are settling for less.

I believe many of you have dreams, dreams of ministry, dreams of hope, of a future. If you believe that God has given you a promise that has not yet come to fruition, I’m going to ask you to stand. It might be a promise of a job, a partner, a family, your health, or a ministry.

Let me ask you, have you been tempted to compromise, to settle for something less than what you believe God has called you to?