Facing the Uncomfortable
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Pastor Mark D. Boykin
Watch the full sermon in it’s entirety here:
Have you recently been putting off a situation because it is too difficult to face? Rather than facing the uncomfortable, you put it off. You hope that it'll take care of itself. In time, maybe God will deal with it. There are so many things that God will deal with, but there are many things that He wants us to deal with.
Of all the vices we face in the world today, perhaps the greatest of all of them is fear. We fear so much today — sickness, disease, divorce, finances, abandonment, death, etc. And many times, the greatest fears are the ones that are the closest to home. It could be the hint of misconduct in a marriage, or the suspicion of foul play, or the dread of the uncomfortable facing the hard questions. We are afraid to ask because of the consequences. We then create what psychologists call “defense mechanisms” and attempt to avoid, ignore, or preclude the inevitable.
Here are three examples found in scripture.
Eli the Priest (1 Samuel 2:12–24)
Eli failed to ask questions of his own family. His own sons disregarded God, stole meat from sacrifices, and committed sexual immorality with women at the tabernacle. Eli heard this, but in his position, he was too proud to confront his own sons. He just simply said, “I’ve been hearing some rumors,” and left it at that. He turned his head, hoping it would go away or that people wouldn't bring it up.
As the people of Israel began to be tired, God raised up a true prophet in the form of Samuel, one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. The life of Eli ended at Shiloh, because Eli had had not asked the hard questions.
He never even considered his own life.
Eli became obese from overindulgence and enjoying the amenities of the office of priest. When Israel went into engage in warfare, news came back that Israel was defeated and the enemy had stole the Ark of the covenant. Eli, being so obese, fell backward off a wall and broke his neck. His sons were killed in battle. His daughter gave birth to a boy and named him Ichabod. “For the presence of God has ceased.” That's the way that it looks in many homes today.
Or maybe it looks like that in your community or workplace. You don’t want to raise objections or cause trouble. You feel the need to just go along to get along. It's so much easier to just say, “I’m going to be nice, and I'm just going to show love.”
That's not love. That's a reproach to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Disciples (Mark 9:30–32)
Jesus was committed to His mission and to His disciples. He knew that the priority of the gospel, the priority of his ministry, was not just to do miracles and heal the sick. His priority was that He would be the sacrificial Lamb of God. He would lay down his life and in the will of God. There was nothing that man could do to take Him away from that priority.
In this passage, Jesus foretells His crucifixion to the disciples. He explains that He will be betrayed, killed, and rise three days later, but the disciples fail to understand and are afraid to ask for clarification.
Jesus made a provocative statement that was meant to lead them to understanding. Instead, it left the band puzzled. There was so much that was said, but so much that wasn't said.
Jesus understood there were certain things that He could not do in a multitude. The Bible says Jesus and His disciples “departed thence.” Jesus knew that He could not commit to everyone. Only those who have been following Him could understand. But even then, the disciples were left confused and afraid to ask questions.
Jesus brought the disciples away from the multitude. And He said, “Boys, I want to share with you something that is vital. Something that is pressing my very soul.” I imagine that Jesus was thinking, “Wow, this is an opportunity for them to understand. So when I'm betrayed, when they kill me, the disciples won't run away in fear. They will know that the third day I'm going to rise again.”
But instead their response was “Master, who is going to sit at your right hand and your left hand when you come into your kingdom? And then they discussed among themselves who is the greatest in the kingdom.
How many times do we get distracted by peripheral things, self-interest, and the things that we want to do?
The Rich Young Ruler (Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18)
How many times have you heard the story about the rich man and Jesus? The rich man wanted to be saved. The rich man asked to be saved. The rich man begged to be saved. Jesus knew that as much as this young man wanted to be saved, he loved his money more than he loved the kingdom of God. Jesus said, go and give away all of your wealth, and come and follow me. The Bible says that the young man turned his back and went away, sad. Jesus loved the young man. Do you know that God can love you all the way to hell? He's not going to make an exception.
There are certain things in this life that we have to choose. If you're going to be a child of God, then you're going to have to act like a child of God. You cannot be a child of God on Sunday and a child of the world during the week.
Jesus is not a part-time lover. He's not a weekend boyfriend. He is either Lord of your life or He is nothing at all. You cannot use Him at your convenience because when you ask Jesus into your life, you give Him everything.
A marriage cannot survive in a crowd. Child cannot be raised by a commune. Even faith must be learned alone. Parents commit your children to God while they are young. Christ committed himself to the moment. Every good seed germinates alone.
The Bible uses the metaphor of “aroma” to describe how our motives and actions appear to God. Everything that we do in this world for ourselves has a bad odor (2 Corinthians 2:16). But what we do for God is a sweet smelling savor (Ephesians 5:2, Philippians 4:18, 2 Corinthians 2:15).
Sometimes that means doing the hard things and asking the hard questions. Jesus was always asking questions.
He asked whom do man say that I am Peter? Lovest thou me? How could you not pray? What were you discussing, by the way? Where will we buy bread that these may eat? Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I ask?
If the disciples had asked for understanding, maybe they wouldn't have missed the cross. Maybe they would have been there, praying all the way through. They could have rejoiced in knowing yes, He's died. But He said, in three days I will rise again. But they never bothered to ask.
There comes a time when we have to speak to the uncomfortable, especially if we are to be true soldiers of faith. No situation is helped by ignorance. Your actions speak of your lack of faith. Sin grows in the dark. By your denial, you are saying God is not big enough to handle your problem. If you're avoiding something uncomfortable, it will only lead to more sin. It will only lead to more degradation unless you’re willing to confront it.
I know it’s not easy.
How many of you have someone in your life, your family, friends, your job that you need to confront There are some situations that you just need to deal with that you haven't dealt with. With God’s help, you can face the uncomfortable.
In the name of Jesus, I pray for everyone who needs to confront the uncomfortable. I pray that each one of us that has made a profession of faith can follow up by being a disciple of Christ. I pray that God would give us the strength to face the uncomfortable. I pray the Lord will help that mother to talk to her daughter… help that father to deal with pornography… help that husband who needs the strength to ask his wife about a relationship at work. I pray we find the truth and never be afraid of truth. Lord, I pray your spirit will come down upon each one right now. Christian, raise your hand and pray this prayer with me:
Dear Heavenly Father,
With God's help, I will confront the uncomfortable. I will face to face the odds that are standing against me. With Your help, with Your leading, I will follow You all the way, and I will not give in to the pressures of this culture. Or the spirit of this world because the Spirit of God is dwelling within me. And I give Him complete control in the name of Jesus.
Amen