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The integration of constant communication andthought is what brings us closer to our loved onesand the same is true with our Heavenly Father.Continual interaction with God is how we developour relationship with Him.While I’m for praying for every meal and atbedtime, if those are the only times we talk to God,how close we will become in having our heartperfect toward the Lord? An old hymn just poppedin my head: There’s nothing like sweet communion,a sweet communion with Jesus There’s nothinglike a sweet communion with Him.2. By keeping good company who will assist yourfocus on the Lord.I Kings 11 begins describing Solomon and his issueof loving lusting after women. The first threeverses discuss the degree of this problem, but insummary, verse 4 explains the outcome:As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heartafter other gods, and his heart was not fullydevoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of Davidhis father had been.No big mystery, is it?Choose your close relationships with care.

3. By doing right.In I Kings 15:1-5, David, the man after God’s ownheart, is described as being fully devoted to theLord. We are told that he “did that which was rightin the sight of the Lord.” Except in one situationwhich was fully revealed. How do we have ourhearts perfect toward the Lord, thereby having theability to step outside of our comfort zones andtake a leap of faith? We make the constant choiceof proactively doing right. Doing what we KNOWto be right according to what God has revealed tous through His Word is whatDoes it mean that we won’t make mistakes? Davidmade mistakes. A huge mistake. He committedadultery and then murdered a man over it. Thereis no scale of sin degree in God’s eyes. David wasstill a man after God’s own heart because when hedid sin, his heart immediately repented.Do right, but when you fail, not if, but when, turnimmediately to the Lord again.“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew aright spirit within me.” Psalm 51:104. By knowing God and serving Him with a perfectheart and willing mind.In I Chronicles 28:9, David details what having aperfect heart is all about. Essentially, this point

summarizes the practical application section of thislesson.What steps do we physically take to get out of ourcomfort zones, those boundaries that hold us inlukewarm spiritual staleness? How do we have aperfect heart before the Lord? We have towillingly use our minds to choose to do the rightthing. We nurture the desire to have a closerelationship with the Lord.Whether it is our own appearance or theappearance of others, God wants us to see peopleas He sees them. Verse seven of the above-namedreference tells us:Man looks on the outward appearance, but Godlooks on the heart.In previous posts, the discussion focused oncomprehending what God wants us to look past,make invisible, and ignore. From a practicalapplication viewpoint, the last post outlined indetail the four Scriptural steps we can take todisallow our comfort zone of appearance to havethe control.Now to look past our comfort zones even further,let’s view the incredible promises of security Godgives to us when we take baby steps, scissor stepsor whatever kind of step you take in faith!

When our hearts are perfect towards the Lord, Godprovides promises of security.II Chronicles 16:9For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughoutthe whole earth, to show himself strong in thebehalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.1. He is looking for us; He watches over us. What isit that He longs for us to understand? That Hewants to reveal Himself mightily in our lives! Thereis such security in knowing that God has myback! He also has every other side. He desires toshow us the intimacy with Him that a perfect heartwill provoke.Psalm 138:8The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Yourmercy, O Lord, endures forever; Do not forsake theworks of Your hands.2. Having our hearts perfect toward the Lord is apiece of work. It is! David begged God in the aboveverse not to stop working on him. In order to haveour hearts perfect with the Lord, they mustcontinually be shaped and molded. The promise ofsecurity we have in this verse is that all thosethings we worry about (you know, those littledetails that keep us awake at night?)- those are thethings God will take care of. Not only will He

provide, but it will be perfect. His own will and wayin His own time.His mercy is bigger than any worry I have yet toconceive.Philippians 1:6Being confident of this very thing, that he whichhath begun a good work in you will perform it untilthe day of Jesus Christ:3. He is faithful! He will fulfill his purpose in mylife. He is not getting sidetracked when I am. He isnot losing focus. He does not take sidebars. He iscontinually, daily, omnisciently working on keepingmy heart perfect toward Him. How? By providingopportunities for me to choose Him. To choose Hisway. To rely on Him. To be prepared in His name.And now, pay close attention, because this sectionbrings me to tears every single time I discuss it:Psalm 78:70-72He chose David also his servant, and took him fromthe sheepfolds: From following the ewes great withyoung he brought him to feed Jacob his people, andIsrael his inheritance. So he fed them according tothe integrity of his heart; and guided them by theskillfulness of his hands.

Look at David’s life: he went from shepherd boy toking of God’s holy nation. How? By a process ofgreat detail. Look at David's experiences as ashepherd: Providing care for the maternity ward of thesheepfold crafted character traits ofpatience, gentleness, and understanding. Learning to play the harp to an audience ofsheep, the dumbest animals on the planet,was the forerunner of serenading to sooththe soul of Saul, his predecessor to thethrone. Killing the lion and bear was the precursorto freeing God’s people from the torment ofthe giant Goliath.I don’t know what God has called you to do. Maybeyou aren’t so sure either.But through the example of David, the Bible is clearthat:The Lord will bring you THROUGH your comfortzone to the other side when you dare to keep yourheart perfect towards Him.No matter how you appear to others No matter how you look at others

The tapestry God is weaving in your life isexceedingly, abundantly above all that we can askor think, according to the power that works in us.Ephesians 3:20Just a tad “outside the zone”, don’t ya think?Notes:Outside the Zone of Appearance: DavidI Samuel 16:1-13When men and women of the Bible allowedthemselves to go outside their comfort zones, thenthe Lord received the most glory. Why?Because of thethat only by HIM could such incredibletake place.1. Samuel was sent by God to anoint a king toreplace .2. Two criteria God specifically negated:a.b.3. The Lord doesn’t see as sees; Godlooks on the .

4. Step 1 to going “Outside the Zone”, thatcomfortable place where we createboundaries and limit our faith in God is:Stop forming based on the visualsense.What you see is NOT always.5. What is God calling us to look past? To fullyignore? To make invisible?6. How do we look on the heart as God does?7. How do we get past the comfort zone ofour own appearance?

8. How do we get past the physicalappearance of people and peer into the heartof their souls?PRACTICAL APPLICATION1. Stay inwith the Father. I Kings 8: 57-612. Keep good company toyour . I Kings 11:43. Don’t walk in . I Kings 15:1-54. Know God and serve Him with aand a. IChron. 16:9SECURITY OF PROMISES1. The Lord shows himselfon behalf of those whose heart isperfect toward him. II Chron. 16:9

2. The Lord will be to fulfillhis purpose in me. Psalm 138:8; Phil.1:63. The Lord will bring youyour comfort zone to the other sidewhen your is rightwith him. Psalm 78:70-72“Difficulty is the very atmosphere of miracle- it ismiracle in its first stage. If it’s to be a greatmiracle, the condition is not difficulty, butimpossibility.” Streams in the Desert, Lettie B.CowmanLooking Forward:Outside the Zone of Appeal: MosesRead Exodus 3: 1-221. Who appeared to Moses out of the burningbush?2. Did Moses recognize the call of the Lord?

3. What task did God call Moses to do?4. What was Moses’s overall feeling about thistask?5. How do I respond when the task God has calledme to do has no “appeal” to me?6. Why do we think God can only use our“appealing” characteristics and circumstances?In the next chapter we are stepping “Outside theZone” and taking a leap of faith to overcome ourspiritual tasks that have no appeal to us. We willalso consider the aspect of our own character andthe lack of appeal to others that we may feel thatwe possess.What we view as a lack of appeal to others is theexact trait God wants to use for His glory!

Chapter 3: Outside the Zone of Appeal: Moses,Part 1Last chapter in our study of stepping outside of ourcomfort zones and taking the leap of faith, welooked at Moses, beginning in Exodus 3 through4:11. The first point regarding Moses was thatsomewhere between verse 3 and verse 11 ofchapter 3, Moses went from “Here am I” to “Whoam I?” The description of the task God chose forMoses overwhelmed him and he felt completelyinadequate. But in viewing Moses for who he was,we find three identifying characteristics that shouldhave told Moses exactly who he was.1. Moses was the beloved son who was savedfrom certain death by way of an escape.Look at the preservation of Moses’ life as a babyboy; when all other Hebrew baby boys were beingkilled by order of Pharaoh, Moses’ life waspreserved through the little ark his motherprepared and hid in the bulrushes.2. Moses’ story of protection alone should havegiven him a sense of identity.When the princess found him in the river, sheimmediately had a connection with him uponhearing his little cry. Not only did God protect Himby giving the princess this compassion for him, sothat Moses then had the protection of the king; but

also Jochabed, Moses’ birth mother, was given theprivilege of caring for baby Moses as his nurse,providing a protection from God over the potentialloss of Moses’ true heritage.3. Moses’ story of redemption by way of the heirto the throne should have brought anacknowledgement of a particular plan for his life.Such irony of how Jochabed “placed her son in theriver” as was the command, yet God spared his lifethrough the heir to the throne. After all, it’s notevery day that you are rescued by a princess!It seems so simple to view Moses’ life and becritical of his question, “Who am I?” But he wasnot the only one to ask this question. In I Samuel18:14-18, David asks this question to Saul, due to alack of security in his called position. Call ithumility or insecurity, either way, both Moses andDavid were re-thinking their God-givenassignments at a point in their lives.I find it so interesting that God called both of thesemen into training for years prior to their actualtask. Both of these men were shepherds beforethey became the phenomenal leaders of theirday. Pause a moment with me and think aboutthis.The following is an excerpt from Storey’s Guide toRaising Sheep:

“ .there are some difficulties to raisingsheep. They think fences are puzzles that you’veplaced there for them to figure a way out of. Theirflocking nature can sometimes make handling achallenge. Although they’re less susceptible tomany diseases than other critters, they’re moretroubled by parasites. They’re also vulnerable topredators .”Seems to me that raising sheep is much like leadingpeople. Sheep are often called the “dumbestanimals on the planet” and yet, it is obvious thatGod used these difficult and stubborn animals toteach both David and Moses some very valuablelessons.Many times the training ground God uses in ourlives is not understood by us. We look at particulardetails, times, places, people and fail to observethe value in our boot camp. God’s way is not oursand when we lean to our own understanding (Prov.3:5 & 6), we come up short of God’s ultimateblueprint for our lives.Personally, I can attest to this. There are manycircumstances in my life that I can’t comprehend,because they just aren’t the way I’d do things if Iwere God. I think Moses was completely in thisline of thinking at the burning bush, standing inGod’s Almighty presence. However

Isaiah 55:9His ways are not my ways, His ways are HIGHERthan my ways. His thoughts are HIGHER than mythoughts.So I ask you for now:What thought is in your current possession thatyou need to surrender to the Higher One ofthinking?

Chapter 4: Outside the Zone of Appeal: MosesExodus 3 and 4:1-11In the last chapter about stepping out in faith,outside of our comfort zones, Moses was thecentral character. Briefly we compared Moses andDavid; they held the common boot campassignment: shepherding.A very interesting point we have yet to cover:David was a shepherd for years, but probablyabout fifteen years total. He grew up herdingsheep and was anointed to be king by Samuel. Fiveyears passed from the time of David’s anointing tothe time he actually was on the throne ofIsrael. However, Moses lived his first forty years asthe son of the princess; then his second forty yearswere his shepherding career. From theseobservations, we learn that God’s timing isdifferent for everyone. While similarities exist inthe training field of Moses and David, God’sultimate plan of leadership for each of them held adifferent course. It is so easy to compareourselves to each other and think about God’s planfor someone else, how it just must be the same asHis plan for us. Not the case.When we reflect on Moses from Part 1 of thisstudy, after asking the Lord, “Who am I?,” Mosesthen asked “Who should I tell the people of Israel is

sending me?” God replied, “I AM.” This means theself-existent and self-sufficient One in anutshell. Imagine what this name would mean toMoses in the future as the wandering through thewilderness drug on further and further!So Moses is looking at a task that is completelyoutside his comfort zone. “Look, God, I’ve beenherding sheep for forty years and well, it’s prettycomfortable. Yes, those sheep are stubborn. Yes,they are dumb. But I’m used to it and understandthe issues that accompany this position.I just hate change.”At this point, Moses’ career switch was not veryappealing to him.3 Reasons Moses Gave for His Lack of Desire forthe Position1. The people won’t believe me.Oh wow. How many of us have used thisone? I’m especially convicted in relation tosharing the gospel with others.2. The people won’t listen to me.Yikes. Yep, used that one. Doesn’twork. Doesn’t matter if they listen or not;our job is not to do the work of the Holy

Spirit, but to do the task assigned to us bythe Holy Spirit.3. The people will say “The Lord hasn’tappeared to you.”Can’t blame Moses for thinking this. Afterall, he hadn’t accomplished anything thatwould vouch for his walk with the Lord. Oh,killed a man and forced into being a fugitiveto avoid death himself. Yep, sounds like aleader I’m just dying to follow.But the fact is: God DID appear to Moses. Theburning bush was real and God was calling Mosesto lead His people out of Egypt. For each of theabove excuses, God gave a miracle to Moses toperform. A tangible, physical miracle that wouldprove to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh thatGod had indeed appeared to Moses. And He is theI AM.What is God calling me to do that is “Outside theZone?”Am I asking “Is this task appealing to me?”Am I asking “Will I appeal to others?”Satan’s tactics are old; he uses the same tricks onus that he tried to use on Moses. How do werespond? WHO AM I, as a Christian?

1. The beloved child who was saved from certaindeath by way of escape.2. My story of protection alone should give me asense of identity.3. My story of redemption by way of the heir to thethrone should bring the acknowledgment of aparticular plan for my life.Have you ever had a moment with God when youwere 100% sure of His plan for you? Max Lucado'sbook, “Cast of Characters” is subtitled “CommonPeople in the Hands of An Uncommon God.”Here is a short excerpt from the book:“ I am not a great man! How can I go down to theking and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11)I’m glad Moses asked that question. It’s a goodone. Why Moses? Or more specifically, whyeighty-year-old Moses?The forty year old version was more appealing (myemphasis) “School’s out,” God tells him. “Now it’s time toget to work.” Poor Moses. He didn’t even know hewas enrolled.

But he was. And guess what? So are you. Thevoice from the bush is the voice that whispers toyou. It reminds you that God is not finished withyou yet.”Time to step: Outside the Zone. I can’t wait todiscuss Moses in the next chapter: “Outside theZone of Ability.”Notes:Outside the Zone of Appeal: MosesExodus 3 and 4:1-11Somewhere between verse 3 and verse 11, Moses’“ “ changed to“ .”Who was Moses?1. Moses was the son who was savedfrom by way of an.2. Moses’ story of alone shouldhave given him a sense of .3. Moses’ story of by way of theheir to the throne should have brought

of a particular plan forhis life.4. Moses was not the only Bible character toask “?”5. Moses had to ask “Who isme?”Isaiah 9:6 The .3 Reasons Moses Gave for his Lack of Desire for thePosition1. The people willme.2. The peopleto me.3. The people say “Who is me?”God gave Moses a miracle for each excuse.What is God calling you to do that is “Outside theZone?”Am I asking “Is this task to me?”Am I asking “Will I to others?”Satan’s tactics are old; he uses the same trick on usthat he used on Moses. What should our responsebe? Who am I? Who are you?

1. The beloved who wassaved from certain

Chapter 2: Outside the Zone of Appearance: David, Part 2 Chapter 3: Outside the Zone of Appeal: Moses, Part 1 Chapter 4: Outside the Zone of Ability: Moses, Part 2 Chapter 5: Outside the Zone of Ancestry: Gideon Chapter 6: Outside the Zone of Adversity: Noah Chapter 7: Outsi