Going Beyond Ministries with Priscilla Shirer – God Will Use Your Abandoned Boat

Be encouraged. If you’ve been working hard to accomplish something and are not seeing the level of benefit that matches your level of investment, remember Simon. He fished all night and caught NOTHING. His boat was empty. But Jesus, who redeems all things, “…got into the boat…sat down and began teaching the crowds.”‬ (LUKE 5:3) Jesus enters into emptiness. Weakness is always a platform for His strength. Every. Single. Time

I am so glad to be here so thrilled to

be a part of what God is doing in this

incredible church into this means I’ve

known I’ve known pastor Lee for probably

a decade or so now and our worlds have

continued to cross so to be here in this

place

watching the vision that the Lord has

given her in this incredible team at

this church for for all that has

happened here watching it unfold has

been breathtaking for me so I have

enjoyed every single moment of it I

brought my man with me and I’m just

gonna introduce him to you this is Jerry

Shire stand up Jerry and say hello oh

he’s so mad at me I’m gonna pay for this

anyway come on babe

he’s been hanging out with packs remark

I’m so grateful it is it is a treat for

us to be able to look at the two of you

in the years of ministry and parenting

and and marriage and the health of all

of those things and we’re grateful for

your influence in our life thank you so

much for that I want to share something

with you from the Scriptures tonight

that I pray will be a blessing to your

life I was thinking about this as I was

considering that Jerry and I our

full-time job really is that we parent

three boys actually we have three sons I

brought a couple pictures of those boys

I think they have them they’re gonna put

them on the screen so that you can see

our sons they used to be little they are

not little anymore

my husband’s standing there in the SEC

in the middle he is you know six foot

three inches tall the one that is on his

left hand side is 15 years old and he’s

6 foot 2 or so the one that is on the

right side at the time we took this

photograph he is 13 years old that’s

Jerry junior he’s about 6 foot 1 inch

tall and then Jude is our youngest one

our 9 year old

Jude is our surprise boy we still don’t

actually know how you got here but there

he is

I named him Jude on purpose because

that’s as close as I could get to

revelation because this finish that’s

the end of the line it’s over right

there so I have Jackson Jerry junior and

Jude I think they have another photo too

so those are the boys

they are big boys big ol boys and so we

spend the majority of our time feeding

these boys that’s my real full-time job

trying to figure out new ways to cook

chicken for dinner

just like you that’s what I’m doing I’m

doing that and laundry that is my entire

life right there I have the privilege in

between those things to be able to share

in ministry but those boys are really

are are our full-time job and joy and

privilege one of the things that I have

done with the boys through much of their

upbringing is that I’ve taken them

fishing it’s sort of one of the fun

things that we’ve done for the most of

their upbringing we lived in a fairly

part of the dallas-fort Worth area I

loved it that way in Texas sort of away

from the city is where we lived in a

little suburban area that felt a little

country and a little quiet a little bit

like the way Lisa described where she

lives as well I wanted it like that it

was ten minutes away from the city so

that I could get there as quickly as I

needed to but it felt like it was worlds

away and that was really great I loved

this little house small little house but

I loved it so much because there was a

yard there were trees in the backyard

and I’ve got three boys they need to go

outside and play are there any moms in

the house that still believe it outside

anybody go outside and play there’s

trees and bugs and mud and things boys

need in their life in the backyard and

so anytime my sons have the nerve to

come to me and say mom I’m bored I say

no you’re not you see that tree right

there go play with it you can eat it you

can play tag with it I don’t care what

you do with it go play and one of the

things we love about where we live is

that my one of my closest friends her

name is Rachel she lives directly across

the street that’s how we found out about

that place actually it’s because I would

take my oldest to and they were really

little I would take them to visit Aunt

Rachel and so they I just love seeing

them out there running around on her

property and chasing butterflies and

that sort of stuff and so often we will

go to Aunt Rachel’s house we go there

for many reasons but one of our

favorites is because there is a big pond

that is right at the front of her

property and so we will go fishing at

the pond I will grab a couple of fishing

poles that I got on sale at the local

sort of super Walmart that is in our

area I got those on sale and we will

take those across the street to fish I

also grabbed on sale at the local super

Walmart store I got a tackle box and

inside that tackle box I have extra

hooks you know just in case we need

another one I’ve got extra little bobber

thingies you know those little bobbles

those always seem to float away somehow

I have got scissors in the tackle

tonight and I also have gloves because

y’all know I don’t mind going fishing

but I ain’t gonna actually touch no fish

so we grab whatever hot dog meat is left

from the week because you know we’re

very very professional about our

business of fish people we grab whatever

is left over we walk across the street

we stand in this little cove that we

found underneath the shade of some trees

there’s a little pocket there that

shaded of water and right there there’s

a big pool of small sun perch just real

small fish that’ll be right there we’ll

drop the line in and most of the time

within five or ten minutes there’s been

a tug on that line and we’ve got a fish

every five to ten minutes every time we

drop a line in we get a fish it’s

instant gratification this is the kind

of fishing a six-year-old needs in his

life so we will do that quite frequently

I thought that because the boys like

doing it so much at home that they must

just like fishing in general and so

every summer we go to a Christian camp

we’ve done this actually it’s a camp

that I’ve gone to since I was five years

old I still take my boys there it’s

about two hours from our house and

they’ve got a big old lake there I’ve

got pictures of myself standing on the

dock at the lake at this camp fishing

and so when I would take my boys when

they were a little bit younger we would

take those fishing poles with us when we

went to camp for the week and I thought

they just loved fishing in general so

I’d wake him up early in the morning

stand there on the dock thinking that

they would love it just as much as they

did back at home and we were fishing on

one particular morning and I’ll never

forget it because we fished and we

fished and we fished and it was painful

because not only did we not catch

anything in the hour that we were out

there but there wasn’t even a tug on the

line I mean nothing was happening

underneath the water and I don’t know if

that’s ever happened to you before where

you’ve been doing something for your kid

and then you realize that you’re kidding

even there anymore has that has that

ever happened to

cuz I looked up from my intent fishing

trying to see why the fish not

responding using different kind of kinds

of bait or different fishing poles

trying to figure out what in the world

was happening and I looked up and

realized the boys were not even there

any longer I looked over into a nearby

field that they had and the boys were

throwing the football back and forth

they weren’t even on the dock with me

any longer and at that point you know I

was intense I was gonna make these fish

respond in Jesus name I was going to

catch a fish today so I was fully

exacerbated and intent about this

experience I wanted to catch a fish and

I yelled over to the boys I said boys

what are y’all doing over there get back

over here I didn’t come out here from my

house this morning I came out here for

y’all we’re supposed to be fishing

together and my second son the now cert

14 year old he was probably about six at

the time he looked over at me from the

field a distance away and he said mom we

don’t like fishing like that the other

one responded and said yeah mom fishing

is not supposed to be that hard I

giggled and went back to fishing

and as I was standing there was my line

in the water I thought about what those

boys had said particularly that second

one fishing is not supposed to be bad

I’ve been sitting here with you

throughout the entirety of this

conference that I’ve been just sort of

mindful of all of you and the different

walks of life that we all come from the

different struggles and frustrations and

disappointments and irritations and joys

and difficulties and sorrows and all of

those things that make up the diversity

of this group that the Lord has gathered

together and it occurs to me that in a

group this size there are probably very

many of us that feel similarly to what

my boy described on that particular day

that you have been in some area of your

investing yourself into that marriage or

into that child your parenting or into

that job or that endeavor or that

ministry you’ve been fishing and fishing

and fishing and you feel like you keep

coming up empty-handed

that you feel like the investment you’ve

been making in whatever area of life you

have been giving the fullness of your

time or your energy or your effort or

your creativity or your ideas you’ve

been given everything you got and you

feel like you keep coming up

empty-handed my son knows how it feels

to invest and invest and give and give

and feel like that you’re not yielding

the benefits of the investment that

you’ve been giving and in a group decide

sighs I bet there are very many of you

that have had a fishing trip or two gone

bad that you’ve been given it all you

got and you feel like you’re not getting

out of it what you were putting into it

that can be disappointing and there is a

disciple in Scripture that knows how it

feels to fish and fish and fish and come

up empty-handed if you have your

brick-and-mortar Bible with you I love

that Lisa calls it that if you’ve got

your brick-and-mortar Bible with you or

your iPhone your iPad any manner of

eyeness just flip on over to Luke

chapter 5 Luke chapter 5 is where we’re

gonna land tonight because it’s gonna

help us to have some encouragement

that’s what I want to give you tonight

just some encouragement for anybody who

may be in the house and you’ve got a

fishing trip that’s not turning out the

way that you expected that it would

because all of us have an assignment

have a fishing trip that has been

assigned to us we’re all investing

ourselves in something we’re all giving

of our time or our energy or our effort

to something and there can be

disappointing seasons and each and every

one of those journeys where we’re giving

and we’re not yielding we’re not getting

out of it what we feel like we’re

putting in there’s some encouragement in

the scriptures from a man named Simon

who knows exactly how that feels

Luke chapter 5 I’m gonna read to you

verses 1 through 7 and see what

encouragement we can find in the

scriptures tonight first one says now it

came about that while the multitude were

pressing in

him that’s Jesus and listening to the

Word of God he was standing by the lake

of Gennesaret that’s another phrasing

for the Sea of Galilee and he saw verse

2 says he saw somebody say he saw he saw

two boats lying by the edge of the lake

but the fishermen had gotten out of them

and they were washing their nets and he

got into one of the boats which was

Simons he asked him to push out a little

way from the land and he sat down he

began teaching the multitudes from the

boat when he had finished speaking he

said to Simon come on out to deep water

and let down your nets for a catch Simon

answered and said to him master

we’ve worked hard all night long we’ve

caught absolutely nothing but at your

bidding I will let down my net anyway

and when they had done this verse

success they enclosed a great quantity

of fish their nets began to break and

they signaled to their partners in the

other boat for them to come and help

them and they came they filled both the

boats so that they both began to sink

that’s a lot of fish admit it starts out

by making sure that we have a

description of what’s happening when we

meet Simon after he has fished all night

long we get to see Simon exactly the

same way that Jesus did on this

particular occasion I’m like like Lisa

just a bit in that I love the Gospel of

Luke oh I love the details that Luke

gives us to help describe for us of the

details of a story so that we’re able to

put a little flesh on the bones of the

story and Luke wants to make sure that

you know that on this particular

occasion Jesus is surrounded by people

and he wants you to know that he’s not

just surrounded by a crowd of people but

that they are pressing in on Jesus he

wants you to get the picture of this

crowd that has gathered on this

particular day this is not a calm sedate

casual crowd that is sitting nicely like

you are tonight listening to the Word of

God no these people were clamoring to

get close to Jesus they were pressing in

on him they wanted to be maybe like the

woman with the issue of blood you

remember the one who forced her way

through the crowd so that she could get

close enough to reach out and touch the

hem of Jesus garment these people wanted

to capture the attention of G of Jesus

these folks were waving they were

calling out they were crying out to him

this was a clamoring chaotic loud a

group of people he wants you to know the

author does that they were pressing in

on him meaning the reason why Jesus is

now backed up to the shoreline of the

Sea of Galilee is not because he’s

casually walked there on that particular

day it’s because there are throngs of

people who have backed him up so that he

is now against the shoreline of the Sea

of Galilee they want to get close to

Jesus because even if these people

weren’t sure that he was the Messiah

they didn’t know whether or not he was

the one that they’d been waiting on they

didn’t know whether this whole repent

the kingdom of hinton of heaven is at

hand stuff they didn’t know about all of

that but what they didn’t know was that

when this guy showed up blind people

could see that’s what they knew they

knew what Jesus showed up deaf people

started hearing and the lame could walk

the dead were raised they knew that

there was something unique about this

man that every single time he opened up

his mouth and taught his words were

dripping with an authority they had

never ever heard before they wanted to

get close to Jesus I mean just think

about how you would feel if Jesus were

your Bible study teacher they were not

sitting casually they were pressing in

on Jesus and with all of this chaos and

all of this confusion and all of this

clamoring this crowd that was gathered

around him with all of that whirlwind

that hurricane of noise happening around

Jesus verse two says that he saw one man

who’d had a bad night fishing

I flew from halfway across the world to

tell somebody tonight that he sees you I

want you to know that in this huge

crowded auditorium tonight this

sanctuary this church where thousands of

us have gathered so much so that they’ve

had to open up another auditorium and

that there are songs of young women that

are seated on the floor up here tonight

I need you to know that even in a crowd

this size he sees you you may be lost to

someone else who is seated on the other

side of this room that may not know that

you’re planted on this side or in the

back or even in the front but you need

to know that no matter how big the crowd

gets you serve a God who’s got his eyes

on you yes we serve a God who sees us he

knows every single tear that you’ve

cried every single one that has fallen

from your eye it has not gotten lost in

the carpet fibers of your bedroom floor

every single one of them he is captured

in the palm of his hand you need to know

that every moment you’ve spent awake at

night trying to go over that problem and

figure out a solution and and exert your

frustration every single moment you’ve

spent up at night your spouse may not be

aware that you were up that second and

third and fourth hour your spouse might

not know but you serve a God who sees

you you need to know that your best

friend may not be aware your mom or dad

may not be aware the person sitting next

you may not have a clue what you’ve been

going through nobody may know but you

serve a God who’s got his eyes on you he

sees you he saw you today if you sat

down because you needed prayer even if

you were missed in the shuffle and no

one reached over and touched you and

prayed over you earlier when we prayed

together you felt like you were all

alone because maybe you even came here

by yourself you need to know you are not

lost in this crowd you serve a God who’s

got his eyes on you he

the details of your fishing trip gone

bad he knows what you’ve been given he

knows how disappointed you are that you

have not been yielding what you feel

like is a worthy benefit for the

investment that you’ve been making it

may be lost on everybody else but you

serve a God who’s got his eyes on you

never in a million years

should we let the fact that our God sees

us roll off of our shoulders casually as

if it’s no big deal he sees

y’all okay I mean I can’t believe it I

can’t believe that the God of the

universe who sent his son to give his

life so that I could have a ticket to

Eternity I can’t believe that after all

of that he didn’t dust his hands and say

that’s enough for you to worship me for

the rest of my days I don’t actually

have to be engaged in your life because

honestly if he never did one other thing

than give us an opportunity to have

relationship with him

and spend eternity with him that would

have been enough for us to celebrate all

of our days but when that might have

been enough for us it wasn’t enough for

him he said no I’m going to engage your

life every single day I’m gonna give you

the spirit so that my presence can be

with you

I’m gonna offer you comfort I’m gonna

walk beside you I’m gonna be near you

during the disappointing times and the

frustrating times during the times when

we’re celebrating during the times where

we’re rejoicing but also during the

times when were irritated or overwhelmed

was life he says I love you enough not

to wait till you get to heaven to have a

relationship with you but to give you

little bits of heaven while you’re right

here on planet Earth

we serve a God who sees us I can barely

send I can barely stand it without tears

rolling down my cheeks when I realized

that he doesn’t have to have a

relationship with me he chooses to I

mean this is God we’re talking about

here he is the one who is right now

making sure that the universe stays in

position he is the one making sure that

neighborhoods in the galaxies that

scientists have not even yet discovered

they haven’t even put their finger print

on the fact that there is a galaxy and

or there’s a neighborhood in the galaxy

of that particular portion of the

universe ain’t even gotten there yet

he’s the one our God who is making sure

that the neighborhoods of the galaxy

stay exactly where they’re supposed to

be he is the one this morning that made

sure that the earth spun on its axis so

much so that when we got up the bright

million beautiful Sun was hanging over

us welcoming us into a brand-new day he

is the one that made sure that that Sun

fade exactly where it was supposed to be

into swamps places for the moon tonight

that we get to just enjoy he is the one

that makes sure that every single star

that is hanging in the sky is known not

only by a number but by a name he is the

one that is making sure that the globe

that you and I sit on the one that I’m

on this end right now tonight and my

boys are on the other and he’s the one

making sure that this Earth spins on its

axis at just the right speed to make

sure that life can actually be sustained

here that God who’s controlling the

throes of the universe also has made

time to see about you he and I feel like

tonight somebody needs to just know and

rest in the fact that you are not unseen

you are not unknown in the crowd with so

many people so many issues so many

bigger it seems like to us sometimes so

many bigger needs that need to be solved

and seen and taken care of by a mighty

God we can feel like our little small

things are sort of lost in the shuffle

God wants you to know tonight his eyes

are on you he sees you Luke wants to

make sure you know exactly what it was

that Simon was doing when Jesus saw him

backed up against the shoreline of the

Sea of Galilee people spanning

everywhere to his left in his right and

in front of him probably hundred

scholars say hundreds if not thousands

of people pressing in upon him he sees

Simon who is already at this point

fished all night long he’s already

disappointed he’s already irritated and

frustrated because he’s been giving it

everything he’s got Luke wants you to

know what he saw when he saw Simon and

it says in verse two he saw two boats

lying by the edge of the lake but the

fishermen had gotten out of them

and they were washing their nets if we

were not sure that Simon had completed

his fishing trip for the day now we know

cuz Simon has gotten out of the boat he

has completely abandoned that which

represents his frustration his

disappointment his continued investment

and lack of benefits for that investment

he has completely abandoned the boat he

is frustrated and irritated he’s gotten

out of the boat and now he is washing

his net Jesus sees him washing us that I

mean he is done now I’ve often heard

some some teaching and gives a little

bit of a hard time to Simon here maybe

considering that he should have hung in

there a little bit longer he should have

just stayed on the platform of that boat

he should have just thrown out that net

maybe one more time but in all of the

the times that I have heard Simon given

a given a hard time really for deciding

to get off of the the deck of that boat

on that day and decide to start washing

and tending is that there are many

people who I’ve heard gives Simon a hard

time but do you know when I read this

story there’s one person who sees that

Simon has abandoned the boat he sees

that Simon is washing his net but he

doesn’t say one negative word to him and

it’s Jesus which means that there’s

nothing inherently wrong with the fact

that Simon needed to get off the boat

and take a break there’s nothing wrong

with the fact that Simon is washing his

net and here’s the reason why I think

that is because I’m gonna tell y’all

right now if I had been fishing all

night long and had not caught one single

solitary fish I promise you I wouldn’t

be washing my net I may be trying to

sell my net on eBay but I wouldn’t be

washing it because washing it implies

that I intend on using it again washing

it may mean I’m done for now but I’m not

done for good the reason why gatherings

like this one are so important is

because maybe just for a few days we get

to step off of that which might be a

struggle for us a disappointment for us

discouraging for us we step off of it we

drag

into this room broken and torn and dirty

and we get with a group of people who

are willing to help us tend our necks

and then encourage us to get back onto

those boats and be who God has called us

to be that’s the reason why the circle

of friends we heard that today the

circle of friends that you have around

you are so important because we read in

verse 2 that Fisher men were washing

their nets not 1 plural there were many

that were gathered around one net those

nuts y’all were so big there were so

many little details that had to be

tended to

after an all-night fishing trip they

were heavy next they could not be

managed well by one fisherman that’s

what lies throughout the scriptures you

would always see many Fisher men

together that’s because when you were

born into the family of God you were not

born into an only child situation you

were not an only child you were part of

the family of God a sisterhood where

you’re supposed to be vulnerable enough

and authentic enough to bring your net

tattered and torn into the house of God

and now there are some sisters who love

you enough that they’re willing to get

down on bended knee pull out their

mending needles pull out their wash rags

and soap and help you get that net back

in order and encourage you to get back

to the fishing trip that you’ve been

assigned to that’s why weekend’s like

this are so important because we get to

tend our Nets together so tender net my

friend just don’t sell your net there’s

a fishing trip that’s been assigned to

you and if you need to get off of the

deck of that boat for just a little

while to wash your net well good for you

you have encouragement from your God to

do that but then when this time together

of refreshing is over there is a fishing

trip that you’ve been assigned to that

requires you to get back on the deck of

that boat and get busy doing what it is

that God has called you to do Jesus sees

Simon tending his net and he

he sees you getting refueled getting

refreshed he sees me getting refueled

getting refreshed getting encouraged

again from the struggles that we’ve had

this week this month that you’ve had

this year the last two three five years

maybe have been difficult in the fishing

trip the assignment that you have in

your life he sees you he sees you

washing and tending your net and then

there’s gonna be encouragement for you

to get back on that boat and do what it

is that God has called you to do he sees

him then it says in verse 3 Jesus got

into one of the boats which was Simons

and he asked him to push out a little

way from the land look at that again

verse 3 it says Jesus got into one of

the boats which was Simons Jesus got

into the boat

got in the boat

whenever I’m reading through a portion

of Scripture there are many things that

sort of help to direct what I’m looking

at what I’m concentrating on one of

those things is that that if there is

something contrasting in a very short

space of time in a very short span of

real state in the scriptures and I’m

looking at and I can see that something

is different than it was a few moments

ago it always catches my attention same

thing if something’s repeated like when

Jesus says verily verily I say unto you

are truly truly I say unto you that

means I lean in and I pay attention

because I know that God doesn’t just

talk because he likes to hear himself

talk it’s because he wants me to pay

close attention so if he’s saying it

twice I’m leaning in if something is

contrasting I’m leaning in to see why

which is why reading that Jesus stepped

into the boat in verse three gives me

pause it’s just one verse earlier in

verse two that Simon got out of the boat

verse two

Simon’s album verse 3 Jesus is in

the thing that was so disappointing and

discouraging and irritating and

frustrating to Simon and verse two that

he could not wait to get out of it is

the very thing just one verse later that

is the perfect platform for Jesus to

stand on I want to encourage somebody

tonight to know not only that he sees

you but he will step on to the very

thing you want to step off of he will

get into the very thing you want to get

out of the season of life you want to

get out of that’s probably the season

he’s gonna get into the place where

you’re standing the struggle that you’re

having the thing that you want to

abandon because you’re so frustrated by

it that is most likely the place where

God Himself is gonna plant his feet in

your circumstances and demonstrate his

power he steps onto this empty platform

there are no fish there is nothing that

Simon’s own experience or his own talent

or his own gifting or his own money or

his own time or is more more his own

energy or effort he could not gather

anything on his own Jesus steps into

that emptiness and he stands on that

platform and because he is standing

there it becomes a natural amphitheater

where everybody who has gathered that

day can hear every single word that is

about to come out of his mouth in fact

Luke wants to describe the message Jesus

had on that day he says that Jesus spoke

the Word of God it seems like a random

phrase but actually that phrase in

specific the Word of God was only used

in particular when Jesus was giving a

clear message about his Messiahship when

he was pointing attention to who he was

and what he had come to do when he

wanted to make sure that people

recognized that the Messiah they had

been waiting on that he was the one who

was an answer to the prophetic

announcements of the prophets of old it

was him making sure that folks saw that

he was the Promised One throughout the

Gospels

the first time that the Word of God is

mentioned and when Jesus wanted to give

that message when Jesus knew that almost

for the first time people were gonna

maybe begin to grasp the gravity of who

he was when he looked around to try to

figure out where is the best place for

me to stand to make sure that there is

not one person in this crowd who will

not hear every single word that I have

to say where’s the best place that I can

stand to make sure that the folks on the

front row but also the people that are

in the farthest reaches of this canyon

where we’re standing will be able to

hear every word that I’m getting ready

to say when he looked around to find the

perfect place he used the abandoned boat

circumstance of Simon’s experience do

you realize that sometimes the best

message that anybody will ever hear

about the power and the greatness and

the grandeur of God through your life

will not come from what you say it’s

gonna come cuz there was some emptiness

there was a fishing trip gone bad there

was something you could not do in your

own power and your own strength the

place where you did not have the

resources you did not have the time you

didn’t have the passion you didn’t have

the energy you didn’t have what it would

take to make this fishing trip good on

your own that will be the place where

Jesus himself will plant his feet and

declare his power to those that are on

your sphere of influence they’ll know

Jesus not because of what you say but

because of how he shows up in your

emptiness okay here’s the great thing

about our God are y’all still with me

y’all still with me listen here’s the

great thing about God he is sovereign

somebody say sovereign sovereignty means

that he stood before time that is pre

Genesis 1:1 he was an eternity past in

fact the only reason why there is a

Genesis 1:1 is because he was already

there so that he could say let there be

and there was right so he was in

eternity past he has not only been in

eternity past but he was there at the

beginning of time

beginning of the spectrum of time

Genesis 1:1 he has seen the spectrum all

the way through to the end of time which

you and I have not yet seen he’s already

been there already done that but he it

didn’t stop there for him at the end of

time he has already been in eternity

future the entire spectrum of time and

eternity he has already been there and

done that ok but sovereignty does not

just mean that he’s been there

sovereignty means he’s got the whole

thing in the palm of his hands this is

good news for us because your life and

mind is just a blip on the radar screen

of time and eternity the 70 80 90 100

years that we may get on this planet

it’s just a small dot on the radar

screen of time and eternity which means

if he’s got the whole thing in the palm

of his hand your life is covered

sovereignty is what allows you and me to

do what Psalm 46:10 says be still see

striving chill out girl relax and know

that I am God

so if we apply God’s sovereignty to Luke

chapter 5 the sovereignty of Jesus the

god man to Luke chapter 5 what this

tells us is that when Simon was out

there in the water fishing all night

long when he cast in the net the first

time an experienced fisherman and pulled

up the net and couldn’t believe there

were no fish and then he threw it out

again and man it’s getting close to

midnight by now but he throws it out

there and still no fish and now he’s

getting real frustrated because he’s

throwing it in again it’s almost 1:00

a.m. there’s no fish again and again and

he’s disappointed and frustrated and

shocked and surprised because this has

never looked this way before he cannot

believe this has happened what the

sovereignty of our Great God Jesus

Christ tells us is that even though

Simon was shocked Jesus was not what

Jesus in his sovereignty knew before the

fishing trip even began is that he was

going to allow Simon to fish and not

catch anything

when Simon went on the fishing trip

Jesus already knew he was gonna fish and

fish and fish and not catch anything and

here’s why because Jesus and His

sovereignty knew that a morning was

coming and in the morning he was gonna

need a place to stand and if he lets

Simon catch all his own fish if the deck

of that boat had been filled with a

bunch of flipping flopping fish there

would have been no room for his feet so

he left

Simon fish and catch nothing he

purposefully put him in a position he

put you in a position he puts me in a

position where he already knows you’re

gonna fish and catch nothing he sets you

up to have what I call God margin

somebody say God margin God margin is

the distance between what you can do

with your own resources and where it is

that God wants you to be

it’s the gap that always exists who puts

you in that place so that you can see

what it’s like to have gee

to step into your emptiness and perform

a miracle that will blow your mind if

your talent is always enough if your

reasoning is always enough if your

connections are always enough if your

diplomas are always enough if your

successes are alright always enough if

your smarts are always enough if your

money is always enough if your rationale

is always enough you will never have

enough empty space for the feet of Jesus

if you can catch all your own fish

you’ll never know what it’s like to have

God show up in your emptiness this means

if you’re on a fishing trip right now in

your life and it keeps going bad because

you’re given your investing emotionally

into that person or financially into

that endeavor or

with your own ideas and creativity into

that ministry or that business you’re

giving it everything you got and you

keep coming up empty it means that you

shouldn’t be frustrated you should

actually be sitting on the edge of your

seat with your chin in your hands in

anticipation knowing that if there’s

emptiness he intends to fill it so Jesus

steps into that boat and he begins to

declare the Word of God to the people

who were gathered when he finished

speaking to them he looks at Simon and

he says now let’s go deep the shallow

water was for them the deep water is for

you you’ve got to decide in fact listen

the only reason why you and I would be

privileged to be in this space for

two-and-a-half whole days is if on the

tail end of this thing he fully intends

to call you deep that’s the only reason

why you’re here you’re getting equipped

right now because the Holy Spirit is

gonna whisper to you in some area of

your life come and go with me you’re

gonna have to decide right now

do I want to stand in just the shallow

places where I can stand on my own two

feet I can keep my head above water this

makes sense to me I’m comfortable here

in this place the face cuz it’s shallow

or when he says come to the deep place

where you already know you’re gonna be

in over your head where it’s gonna be a

little bit scary you got to decide I got

to decide are we willing to go deep the

shallow stuff is for them the deep stuff

that’s what he shows up for you

Simon goes deep and in the deep water he

casts out his net on the same vein fruit

les waters he had the night before and

all of a sudden everything changed

because Jesus was in that boat those

same waters that had been completely

fruitless the night before now they are

teeming with fish the fish almost can’t

wait to get in the boat they almost seem

to be jumping into the boat almost on

their own but no Jesus said let that

happen

even though he could have y’all know he

could have just said fish get in the

boat and the fish would have just

started just jumping in the boat instead

he said Simon cast out your net

Simon you participate in this miracle do

you know that in the scriptures there

are about eight thousand promises that

are available to daughters and sons of

God eight thousand opportunities to see

God move in your life most of those

promises he did not place in our hand he

placed them in our reach that you’ve got

to do your part to grab hold of the

promise

Simon cast out the net and all of a

sudden there were so many fish he did

not have the capacity to hold for seven

says that he signaled to his partners in

the other boat I love that Luke has so

many details he wants you to know that

he did not call out to his other

partners he did not say y’all get over

here you are not gonna believe this

he just scripture does not tell us why

he didn’t call out to them but I just

wonder if it’s because he was speechless

I just wonder if it’s because when his

brain tried to come up with the right

words to describe the astounding miracle

that God was doing he could not even

find the words so the best he could come

up with was just a signal for them to

come over because he could not even

verbalize how great God had been this is

you Christian it’s when our gratitude

when our celebration of God is so

overwhelming that sometimes we can

celebrate an applause and with our hands

raised and with words that spill out of

our mouth and adoration but sometimes he

stuns you so incredibly so impossibly so

overwhelmingly that you cannot even

speak and I want to suggest to many of

you in this room that the reason why

he’s let you be here this weekend is

because he’s gonna call you deep

with the intention if you’ll follow him

of blessing you so big of performing

such an astounding miracle and your

outburst of gratitude will look more

like just a violent implosion of

gratefulness to God because you will not

be able to verbalize the miracle that

God does in your midst I believe that

for many of you if you’ll say yes and go

to the deep place of faith with him in

this area where you’ve already been

fishing and you’ve already been

discouraged I believe that if you’ll go

he’s telling you he’s setting you up

right now to let you know that he is

already planning on Ephesians 3:20 and

21 kind of miracle now to him who is

able to do exceedingly abundantly above

and beyond

anything that you can ask a thing to him

be the glory in the church and in Christ

Jesus both now and forever amen I want

you to bow your heads that listen if you

were in this room and honestly you are

discouraged because you’ve been on this

fishing trip of yours for a while you’ve

been given everything you’ve got and

honestly you’re just about to throw in

the towel but you want to heed the voice

of God calling you today to hang on in

there and full expectation that he’s got

something planned for this fishing trip

of yours if you’ve been feeling

discouraged

and maybe you’ve come to wash your nets

and maybe you didn’t intend to get back

on that fishing trip and to continue on

but now you know he would have you to do

that in your marriage and your parenting

on your job in your school in that

ministry in that endeavor if that’s what

you need prayer regarding would you

please just stand right where you are we

cannot wait to join with you in prayer

and encourage you tonight come on stand

up wherever you are if that’s what you

need prayer for tonight Lord Jesus I

pray for every single sister who is

standing in this room and beyond and

lord I pray right now in the matchless

name of Jesus Christ that you would lift

discouragement off of their life and

that you would replace it with courage

in Jesus name Lord I am praying that any

way that the enemy may have assigned to

their life something that would distract

or discourage them from the fishing trip

you the sign for them I pray that that

assignment would be canceled in Jesus

name and by his blood that has been shed

on Calvary lord I pray that you would

give them a steely confidence Lord that

you would give them a diligence a

tenacity father to do what it is that

you have called them to do and god I

pray that when the in face they respond

to go with you even to the deep places

of faith I pray Lord that you would blow

their mind father I call on Ephesians

3:20 and 21 I ask that you would be the

God of abundance I pray that the waters

that have had no fish for them up

this point Lord I pray that they would

be so filled with your abundance and

your faithfulness that never again will

they ever discount the goodness of God

in their lives Lord we’re sitting on the

edge of our seat waiting to see how you

will respond and it is in Jesus name and

Jesus name that everybody agreed with me

and said amen