Sermon
Go Fish
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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I want to read here in Luke chapter 5 and verse
Luke 5 chapter mention
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1. I'll be reading all the way to verse 7. So
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it was as the multitude pressed about him to
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hear the word of God that he stood at the lake
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of Gethsemane and saw two boats standing by the
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lake. But the fishermen had gone out from them
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and were washing their nets. Then he got into
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one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked
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him to put out a little from the land. And he
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sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.
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When he had stopped speaking, he said to Simon,
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launch out into the deep. Let down your nets
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for a catch. But Simon answered and said to him,
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Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing.
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Nevertheless, at your word. Some would say nevertheless.
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Sometimes that's what we need in our spirit,
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a nevertheless. At your word, I will let down
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the net. And when they had done this, they caught
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a great number of fish and their net was breaking.
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So they signaled to their partners in the other
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boat to come and help them. And when they came
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and filled both the boats, So they began to sink.
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They began to sink. Amen. I'm going to speak
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for a few moments today on the thought, go fish.
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Somebody say, go fish. Amen. Amen. Let's pray.
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Father, I thank you for your presence to us here
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today. Lord, thank you for all of us. You made
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a way, Lord. You made a way for us to be here.
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To worship you and also to receive word so that
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we can be edified. So our faith can grow. and
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so that we can become who you've called us to
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be, God. So I pray that you would anoint us now
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and anoint my lips of clay so that every word
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that comes out of it gives you glory. In Jesus'
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name we pray. Someone say amen. You can be seated.
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I'm going to start with a quick survey here today.
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How many fishermen do we have in the house? Raise
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your hand. We got two. All right. We got two
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back there. Not bad. Any other? Three. Or fisherwomen.
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That's all right. I don't want to discriminate,
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okay? We got a few, and that's good. I'm not
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one of you. I'm not a fisherman. I like to eat
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fish. You know, I do enjoy that part, but catching
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them is a whole different story. I've only gone
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fishing a few times in my life, and each time
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I didn't catch anything significant, like maybe
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a couple of guppies. You know what a guppy is?
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It's like a small little fish. And that's about
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it. So I never had like a big fishing story to
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tell. But in fact, I think I may have caught
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more rocks than I did fish. I had a habit of
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getting my hook caught in the rock somewhere
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and cut the line and all that. It was all a little
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frustrating to me. But I have no shame today
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admitting this because I'm not a fisherman. So
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I don't feel bad at all saying that I've not
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caught much. Because I don't claim to be good
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at it. I don't claim to be good. So no expectations
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equals no disappointment. Amen. But it was the
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exact opposite for Simon Peter. Because as we've
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learned in this series, he was a professional
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fisherman. Fishing was his whole life. So when
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you see him in the text today, washing. his nets
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early in the morning, that's not a good sign.
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It had to feel like total defeat for an expert
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fisherman, somebody who prided themselves on
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catching a lot of fish. And for Peter, this wasn't
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just something that hurt his bottom line as a
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career fisherman. Obviously, no fish meant No
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payment, right? No money. But it also hurt his
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ego. It hurt his pride. It signals something
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to perhaps other fishermen in the area, others
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who may have been watching and observing that
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something might be wrong with Peter. Because
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this was the one thing in his life, the one thing
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that he could say, I'm good at that. I'm good
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at that. Now, I don't know if anybody can say
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that about at least one thing in your life, right?
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Say, hey, I may not be able to, you know, do
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this or that, but, you know, but give me some
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flour and sugar and I can bake. Amen. Somebody
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say amen out there. I don't know how to, you
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know, fix cars or I don't know how to build houses,
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but there's one thing, you know, we all got that
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one thing we can do, right? When we tell somebody
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else, when we see they're struggling with that,
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we're like, step aside, you know, let the pros
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take over because this is my forte. This is what
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I do. This was that for Peter. He was a fisherman.
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This was his forte. This is his arena. So for
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him to be washing his nets and to come up empty
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where he ought to have had something to speak
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of, something to show for, Felt bad. Must have
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made him feel like a failure. Must have made
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him feel bad about his life. But what if I told
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you today that this is exactly where God wanted
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to meet him? What if I told you that this is
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exactly where God likes to meet us? God doesn't
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like to meet us when we're on top of the world.
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When everything is going according to plan. Of
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course, we do enjoy those moments, but those
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are also the moments that we tend to forget about
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God and who it was that opened the doors for
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us to be there in the first place. And so, as
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it were, there are many times where we come up
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empty just like Peter did and our nets are empty.
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And we all know that empty feeling, right? We
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know that empty feeling of having a job that
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feels uncertain or... Our health has hit a rough
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patch and we've got some uncertainty. Got follow
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-up appointments. You don't want a follow -up
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appointment. Just tell me what it is right now.
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No, we've got to do another test. We don't like
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being in that place of having to do another test
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and feeling empty. Our relationships are strained.
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The season that we're going in feels a little
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lonelier than usual. Or even just our spiritual
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life is stagnated in some way. We're not doing
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anything different, praying the same prayer.
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reading the same passages, fasting from the same
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foods. But yet, for one reason or another, we
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just feel spiritually stagnant, plateaued in
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some way. And we don't like those feelings of
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coming up empty, but that emptiness is often
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an invitation for God to show up and begin to
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speak into our life, begin to continue the process
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of molding and making us into a strong disciple.
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And at this stage of Peter's life, he was already...
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at a point where he had met Jesus. As we have
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heard in this series already, he had received
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the formal and official call to follow the Lord
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as a disciple. A couple weeks ago, that's exactly
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what I preached about. The Lord had officially
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called him to follow him. But as we see here
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in this passage, in this scene, Peter has obviously
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gone back to fishing to some degree. He was at
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least a part -time fisherman. And if Peter was
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a part -time fisherman, that means that he was
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also a part -time follower. Even though Christ
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had called him to follow him all the way, there
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was still something in Peter that felt like he
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had to go back, you know, and still kind of do
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it on a part -time basis. Still got to do these
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things. Still not ready to follow Jesus all the
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way. And so that's exactly the place that he's
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in mentally and spiritually. And so in order
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to push Peter into his purpose and into his destiny
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as a disciple, as a future apostle and a future
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preacher of the gospel, God allowed him to come
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up empty. God allowed his nets to come up empty.
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Why? So that Peter would ultimately learn that
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it was not his fishing skills, that it was not
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the weather that day or any other aspect, but
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it was God that controls the harvest. Somebody
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say amen today. God wanted to teach Peter, I'm
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in control of everything, not you. It's me that
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is holding your world together, holding your
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life together. I'm the one pulling the strings.
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I'm the one pushing the buttons that must be
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pushed. I'm the one, Peter, that's got all of
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this under control. But if I'm going to make
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you into the disciple that I've called you to
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be, then you need to learn some other lessons
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about trusting in me and how it is that I will
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step into areas of your life that are not all
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together. The first thing that we must learn
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in this message today, like Peter learned, is
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that we need to let Jesus into your boat. Someone
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say, let him in. Verse 3 says that Jesus stepped
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into Peter's boat and began to preach to the
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crowds that were gathered. Jesus had been teaching,
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and a crowd of listeners had been following him.
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And before you know it, He's at the sea, at the
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lake, and he's being pressed up against the shores.
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And it was just divine providence. It was God's
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plan all along that he would be in that position.
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And so he sees the empty boat of Peter, and he
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steps into that boat. And from that boat, he
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begins to preach to those who are hanging on
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every word that he is speaking. I love the irony
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of God. I love the way that God works because
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God's ways are not like ours. What we like to
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do is pour gasoline on something that's already
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on fire. Huh? And then take credit for it. I
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believed in you. Yeah, after I already was like
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a success you did. But Jesus is not like us.
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He stepped into... A situation where the odds
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were already against Peter. His boat was empty.
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And this is the irony of God, of stepping in
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to places and choosing areas of life that are
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embarrassing to us. Like Peter must have thought
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in that moment, Jesus, of all days, you wanted
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to show up and have a preaching revival. This
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was the day you couldn't have come at a different
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time when maybe I had a little more to show for.
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You couldn't have come at an hour where at least
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I caught a couple of fish. But Jesus, you mean
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to tell me you had to pick the one day where
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I had nothing to show for. And you stepped into
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my boat and you decided to turn my empty boat
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into a pulpit. Well, that is how God works. Just
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when you think your life, your situation is too
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embarrassing, too flawed, fractured, or frustrated
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for God to do anything, is exactly the ideal
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condition that God looks for to step in and to
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show you that he has not forsaken you and that
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he has a plan to use and to bless and anoint
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your life. So God doesn't look at our situations
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the way that we do. The thing that we're most
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embarrassed about, most ashamed of, least likely
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to put on our resumes. That's the area that God
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looks for in order to step into. And this ought
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to encourage somebody today who's thinking about
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areas of your life and your ministry and your
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heart, your family, where you think surely God
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is not attracted to any of this. Surely God would
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want to bypass this. But I'm here to tell you
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that God will turn your pain into a platform.
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God will turn your pain into a pulpit. He'll
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turn your disappointment into a platform. And
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he'll use those areas of our life that we think
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are wasted and broken and dysfunctional and offer
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no value. And God will take a hold of that place.
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I've come to tell somebody that God never wastes
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your pain. That's a word for somebody here today.
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If you don't hear anything else I say for the
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rest of this message, you need to understand
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that God never wastes your pain. No matter what
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pain you're feeling emotionally, spiritually,
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mentally, financially, that pain is not going
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to waste. God's going to use that pain and he's
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going to use it for his glory. God's going to
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step in areas that other people are leaving when
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other folks are turning their back on you and
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abandoning you. That's the very time that the
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whole Holy Ghost will step into your life. Come
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on. Is anybody a witness here today of the very
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thing that you're embarrassed about, the very
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thing you're hurting over? God will step in.
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He'll stand on that thing, and he'll speak on
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it as a platform. We've got it backwards sometimes.
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We think God wants to use our strengths. God's
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not interested in your strength. He said, my
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strength is made perfect in, somebody say it,
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weakness. God's not interested in our strength.
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Our strengths are wonderful. They're great. And
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they can definitely be utilized. But that's not
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where the anointing is going to flow from. The
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anointing doesn't flow through wholeness. It
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flows through brokenness. Because that is the
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conditions that's going to cause that anointing
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to truly have an effect in your life. Jesus was
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teaching Peter and us today a profound lesson
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about stepping into our boats. That brokenness
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is the birthplace of real significance. God has
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to break us in order to make us. I said God has
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to break us in order to make us. There are times
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where I have asked, people have asked me, Pastor
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Jacob, what is it that That you decided one day
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to plant this church, City Light, in Mountain
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View. And I have to tell them that it really
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didn't start here in Mountain View. It started
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many miles away. In fact, hundreds of miles away.
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I wasn't even living in the Bay Area when God
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really began to deal with me about this church.
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I was living in Southern California. And I had
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a whole life. Some of y 'all don't know that.
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But I had a whole other life that I was planning
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on living in Southern California. My wife and
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I had already bought a house. We had already
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had everything set up with our jobs and everything
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was good to go. And I realized that, hey, this
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must be what it is. I do not like the weather
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down here. You know, it was too hot. I was used
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to the Bay Area. Come on, somebody. And there
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I was in the Inland Empire of Southern California.
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And I just, you know, but that's where I felt
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like God had us and we were down there. But it
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was, and I don't want to bore you with all the
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little details, but I can tell you that through
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a process of one thing after another. started
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to fall apart in our lives. And it got to the
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point where I had to look up to God and say,
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Lord, you must be trying to tell me something.
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You must be trying to tell me something because
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why is it that one day I went into the job that
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I thought was, I mean, I moved down there because
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of that job. And now they're telling me they're
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letting me go. And then that happens. And then,
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you know, they're starting to foreclose on my
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house. All these things started happening. And
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then my wife found out she was going to lose
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her job. We're losing all of these things. And
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our life is starting to break down and to sputter.
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And I couldn't tell up from down. I don't know
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if you've ever. been there in your life before.
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You can't tell up from down. You don't know what
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God is doing and why you're at where you're at.
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And you're trying to figure things out. And it
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was in that moment that I began to realize that
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I was trying to do things my way. And I was trying
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to carve out my own slice of the American dream.
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And I was trying to do things according to what
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Jacob thought was in Jacob's best interest. I
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thought that this was what it was all about.
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I thought this is what I was supposed to do.
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I could preach everyone's little why. I can have
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my cake and eat it too. But God allowed some
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things to grow empty. I was washing the empty
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nets of my life. And it was in the empty nets
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of my life of lost jobs and lost cars. I'm telling
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you, I lost everything. You know, if you've never
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lost everything, you probably don't understand
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what I'm saying. But just imagine for a moment,
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you've lost everything. everything, and I lost
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everything except for my health. I thank the
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Lord for that, but it was in that moment where
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God began to speak to me, and he began to show
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me, Jacob, this is not what I have in store for
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you. I had to let your nets come up empty so
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that you would realize I've got a greater plan.
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I've got a greater mission. I've got a greater
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purpose, and I've come to tell somebody here
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today that if you feel a little empty in your
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life, if you feel a little Send me here today
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to tell you that he's just getting ready to show
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you what it was all about. He's just getting
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ready to step into your boat. Somebody ought
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to give the Lord some praise here today. The
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dream of planting this church started with a
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broken dream. The dream of planting a church
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here in the Silicon Valley where people told
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me you're wasting your time. People don't want
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God in this area. They've got money. They've
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got everything they need. But I heard the voice
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of the Lord and I never would have heard it unless
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God had crushed me. And crushed my dreams. And
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I realized that I was building my own empire.
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I wasn't building his kingdom. He took it all
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away from me. And I remember how I felt. I felt
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like such a failure. I felt like, Brother David,
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I felt like I had failed my wife. I felt like
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I had failed my child who was only two years
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old at the time. I felt like I had failed my
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pastor. I felt like I had failed everybody. Having
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to sit there and talk to my pastor and tell him
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with my tail between my legs, you know, this
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is what I got to do. But he was graceful about
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it. But I felt like a failure. I felt like what
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is God going to do with me now? And like Peter,
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my nets were empty. washing the nets of my dreams,
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washing the nets of my ministry, washing the
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nets thinking God's done with me and what do
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I have to offer? What am I going to do? Go plant
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some church over there. Nobody's going to believe
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me. They're going to know I was a failure. But
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let me tell you, when God steps into your boat,
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when God steps into your world, when God steps
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into your marriage, when he steps into your life,
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he's going to turn it all around for his glory.
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You're going to see clearer than you ever did
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before. Oh, hallelujah. In the natural, when
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your eyes are tearful, you've got to wipe your
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eyes so that you can see clearly. But in the
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spirit, it's the opposite. You don't see clearly
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until you're crying. You don't see. Come on,
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somebody. You don't see clearly until you've
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got tears in your eyes. That's when everything
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becomes clear. Somebody ought to praise him for
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about 30 seconds right now. Somebody ought to
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pray in the Holy Ghost. Somebody ought to say.
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Somebody ought to say. It must have been your
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plan. It must have been your will, God. Oh, hallelujah,
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hallelujah. God's getting ready to do something
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in our life. And he tells Peter, I stepped into
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your boat. Now this is what you got to do. Launch
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out again. Launch out. Someone say launch out.
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He says, launch out again. I didn't just step
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in here so we can just hold hands and sing kumbaya.
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No, no, I stepped in here so that you can launch
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out again. You've got work to do, Peter. Get
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out of your emotions. Stop sucking your thumb
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and realize that I have called you and you cannot
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stay there anymore. I'll put up with it. You
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know God is good. Somebody say he's good. He'll
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put up with it for a little while. He'll let
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you cry about it for a little while. But there
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comes a point. Where God says, enough is enough.
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I've called you. And it's time for you to snap
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out of that. And realize that it's not just going
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to happen. No, the presence of God is in your
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boat. So I'm telling you, Peter, launch out again.
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And Peter, once again, he's thinking, Lord, not
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only did you pick the wrong day. My nets are
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empty. My boats are empty. But now you're going
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to try to tell me how to do my job. I'm a fisherman,
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Lord. With all due respect, you're a carpenter.
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Oh, with all due respect, Jesus, you're a carpenter.
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Stay in your lane. Let me figure out the fishing
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stuff. That's my domain. You know, I'm a fisherman
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after all. And I'm here to tell you, this is
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my translation of the verse, you know, hallelujah.
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He said, I've already been out there before.
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I've done it already. I've tried it. Why are
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you asking me to go again? There's nothing out
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there. I've been there. I've done that. Been
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around the block. Got the t -shirt. I've been
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there. There's nothing out there, God. But this
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is what you've got to understand about God. Is
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that God rarely asks you to do things that make
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sense from a human standpoint. Do you understand
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what I'm saying here? He never asks. In fact,
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one of the ways you know God's speaking to you.
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Is if it doesn't make sense. If it makes too
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much sense, I wonder if it's even God talking
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to you. Oh, I lost you right there. You should
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have worshipped when you had a chance, man. I
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lost you there. And we want God to make it make
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sense to us. And there are things that will never
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make sense to you. You simply have to trust his
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word. You're waiting for it to make sense. You
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know, it's all got to, you know, the math ain't
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mathing, like some of us say. Well, God don't
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use your math. God don't look at your calculator.
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No, no, no, no. God is all together powerful,
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all together wonderful. If he says to do it,
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God knows something that we don't. Oftentimes.
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You'll know God is speaking when he asks you
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to do the very thing that you're convinced won't
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work. I've tried that and I've failed before.
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I don't know if I can do that. And our logic,
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you know, it's like, well, I already did that.
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So what's God trying to teach us then? When he's
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clearly asking, and I know that there's some
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areas in your life. I want you to consider what
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God is asking you to do in your life now that
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you feel is not worth it or is only going to
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be repetition. Of what? You've already done before.
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This is just going to be a repeat. I hear what
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you're saying, but it's going to be a repeat
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of last time. Last time I went and nobody listened.
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Or last time I tried, it didn't happen. Last
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time I applied for the job, I got turned down.
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Last time I spoke to that person, they ghosted
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me after. So what difference is it going to make
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now? Can I tell you that your success is not
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determined by your experience? Stop using your
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experience as the measurement. It is by your
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obedience to God. Man, this is a good word. I'm
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going to have to go and watch this during the
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week this week. Hallelujah. It's not determined.
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My experience says, AI says, you better be careful
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what kind of advice you're getting on AI. I heard
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about some folks that maybe you heard that were
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up in the mountains. I think it was in Shasta
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or Tahoe. They planned out a whole thing using
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AI. AI told them what to eat and how much to
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pack. And then you know what happened? They had
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to call 911 and get rescued because they ran
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out of food. and they were lost. So AI had it
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wrong. And sometimes we're depending on things
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and technology and the stock market and the job
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market and the economy and who says this and
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who says that. Your experience, well, that's
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not the way it worked in the 2020 and we're living
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in a post -pandemic. Forget all about all that.
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If God said to do it, that's the only evidence
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and the only proof that you need. Stop relying
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on your own wisdom. Oh, stop relying on your
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own. Lean not to your own understanding. Amen.
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But acknowledge him in all of your ways and he
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shall direct your path. I don't know Pastor Jacob
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like that. My experience tells me, well, what
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has your experience brought you? What has your
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experience brought you? You say, well, sometimes
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it is good to have it. Absolutely. I'm not saying
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it's never good, but don't listen to your experience
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over the voice of God. Because if Peter had said,
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wait, wait, wait, you know, respectfully speaking,
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Lord, like, I know what I'm talking about here.
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And there's no fish out there. Trust me. There's
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no fish. I know this. I know this lake, like
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the back of my hand. In fact, I'm more comfortable
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on the water than I am on the land. I know what
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I'm talking about. And imagine if he had stuck
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to his guns. I'm not going to buzz, Lord. I'm
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not going to look like a fool all over again.
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This is bad as it is. But he, in his heart, recognized
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that. Now, there's something about, so he said,
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nevertheless. Somebody say, nevertheless. And
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that's what you got to have in your spirit sometimes.
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You know what, Lord? I don't understand what
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you're asking. This has got failure written all
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over it. You told me to do it, God. Nevertheless.
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I'm going to say nevertheless. Nevertheless.
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I know it doesn't look good. I know the odds
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are against me. I know there's a resistance.
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I know the past time it didn't work. But nevertheless.
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If you get a nevertheless in your spirit today,
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if you walk out of these doors today with a nevertheless,
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nevertheless, I will love again. Nevertheless,
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I'll serve again. Nevertheless, I'll witness
-
again. Nevertheless, I'll evangelize again. Nevertheless,
-
I'll forgive again. Nevertheless, I'll honor
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again. Nevertheless, I'll go again. That's your
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word, God. Nevertheless. Oh, that's what God's
-
looking for in our hearts today. It's just a
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nevertheless. We've come through more than half
-
of this year. Some of you have tried things this
-
year that haven't worked out. And you're already,
-
some of you, you're already talking, my goodness,
-
already talking about 2027. Hello, we're not
-
even done with 2026. Already drawn plan. Well,
-
next year is my year. Hello, you still got like
-
three more months. Do something with it. Hello.
-
Come on, someone say amen. Well, in 2027, man,
-
just start 2028, man. Just keep going down the
-
road. Why is it all the way going to 2030 at
-
this rate? But we still got time. How many believe
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souls can still be one this year? Come on, I
-
need some help. I said, how many of you believe
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souls can still be one this year? We can fill
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up the tank again this year. We can have growth
-
this year. God's not done. But will we say, nevertheless,
-
God. Come on, why don't we clap our hands and
-
give the Lord some praise here today. We got
-
to go. And he says, out into the deep. He said,
-
you got to go out into the deep. Not right here
-
on the shallow. And he said, you got to launch
-
into the deep and out into the deep. How far
-
out there are we going to go? Like where I can't
-
feel the floor with my feet deep? Like where
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I have to swim deep? How deep are we going to
-
go? Go out into the deep. You know what deep
-
is. Deep is when you no longer have control.
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Oh, man. Deep is when you let go of the edges
-
of the pool. Some of us, we think we can swim.
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You don't know how to swim. You just know how
-
to hold on good. Hallelujah. And we call that
-
swimming because we hold on good. And we kick
-
our feet and we splash around. And God said,
-
no, I need you to get to a place where you're
-
completely at my mercy. Where you can't feel
-
the floor from under you. You know why? Because
-
the deeper you go, the bigger the fish are. See,
-
one of the reasons why I only caught guppies,
-
brother, because I was always fishing from the
-
shallowest places. I was fishing from little
-
creeks and little streams, right? And so that's
-
all you can get is little guppies. But I see
-
some stories of some guys that go out into the
-
deep, and you know what they're pulling up? They're
-
pulling up, I mean, huge fish, big fish. I said,
-
God, as some of you are wondering, you're like,
-
why don't I see that kind of success in my ministry?
-
Why don't I see those kinds of results in my
-
life? Why don't I win people like that? Why don't
-
I do things? I'll tell you why. Because you're
-
still in the shallow end. You're still in the
-
shallow ends. You're still in it because it's
-
safe over here. It feels better over here. But
-
if you ever step into the deep end, where deep
-
calls into deep, and now you're saying, whoa.
-
Oh, where am I now? I can't feel the floor. This
-
feels risky. This feels like a liability. I might
-
say something wrong. I might do something wrong.
-
Lord, if you don't give me the word, I don't
-
know what to say. If you don't help me out, I
-
might dig myself so deep, I don't know what.
-
And that's exactly where miracles are. That's
-
exactly where the fish are. That's exactly where
-
the blessings are. If you want God to do big
-
things, Come on, does somebody hear what I'm
-
preaching here today? You got to get out into
-
the deep ends. Miracles. Brother Tony, come on
-
up and play something. Hallelujah. Someone say
-
miracles. Say it again. Miracles. Miracles start
-
where self -dependency ends. Never going to see
-
a miracle as long as I'm still depending on what
-
I know. Never going to see a miracle as long
-
as I'm still depending on my education and my
-
networks and my skill sets and the degree on
-
my wall. And I'm never going to see a miracle
-
as long as I'm depending more on medicine and
-
on health advisors. And all those things could
-
be great and wonderful. Pastor, are you saying
-
to discount? I'm not saying to throw that stuff
-
away. What I'm saying is that you're never going
-
to see a miracle if that's where your faith and
-
your trust is. If it's in you. It's in your giftedness.
-
God is not looking to use your giftedness. He
-
wants you to be broken so that you can rely only
-
on him. People, you've got to hear me when I'm
-
saying today. The miracles that God has for us
-
will be in such a way that no one will be able
-
to take credit or get any glory for what God
-
does. If it's because of our knowledge, we'll
-
say, well, you know, go to Bible college like
-
me and you might know something. It's good to
-
know something. You can't be biblically ignorant.
-
But that's not, that's not where the power is.
-
It's not where the anointing is. You know, it's
-
because of how eloquent I talk. When I speak,
-
man, people start crying. People get emotional.
-
I have a way with words. That's not what it is.
-
That's emotions. People need spiritual healing.
-
It's got nothing to do with me. And when Peter
-
brought up that catch, It was so big. It was
-
so great. Final point. I'm not going to get into
-
everything here, but he started to live in the
-
overflow. This is what you've got to do, live
-
in the overflow. You only get to the overflow
-
of life when you've gone through letting Jesus
-
onto your empty boat. When you've gone through
-
allowing yourself to launch out again. Next slide.
-
It's to live in the overflow. Because now Peter's
-
got so much, whoo, Jesus, that he doesn't know
-
what to do with. God's been so good to me, I
-
can't keep it to myself. Would you stand with
-
me at this hour? God's blessed me so good, I
-
can't contain it anymore, brother. Oh, I feel
-
the Holy Ghost. me so much. I can't hold back
-
any longer. I've got to tell somebody. I've got
-
to share this love that God has poured into my
-
life. Let me tell you something, church. God
-
doesn't bless you. Just play something there
-
softly. God doesn't bless you just to bless you.
-
Hear me? God blesses you to be a blessing. To
-
be a blessing. Oh, God, I feel something right
-
now. In fact, would you just close your eyes
-
right there? Just begin to pray in the spirit.
-
I feel the Holy Ghost just moving right now.
-
I feel something happening. You see, some of
-
you have been asking for a double portion. And
-
you've been asking amiss. You know why? Because
-
you think the double portion is for you. The
-
second portion is not for you. It's for somebody
-
else. Why should God give you double of something
-
you're going to keep to yourself? Why should
-
God bless you with an increase in your job if
-
you're not going to give more to him? Why should
-
God bless you with areas in your emotions, in
-
your life, in your spirit, in your ministry,
-
if all you're going to do is do what you've always
-
done? God said, if I'm going to bless you, if
-
I'm going to give you a double portion of my
-
anointing, a double portion of my spirit, a double
-
catch, a double catch, if I'm going to give you
-
double for your trouble and bless you out of
-
this world, then I'm going to do it. Because
-
you're going to share with somebody else who's
-
empty. This is what the Holy Ghost showed me.
-
I'm not claiming special revelation on this.
-
It's in the Word. But when Peter, this is ministry.
-
Some of you have been wanting to know, what is
-
the next step? What is the secret? What is the
-
key to unlock effectiveness and growth and becoming?
-
this call disciple and what it's simple it's
-
when God has blessed you to such a degree both
-
spiritually mentally emotionally financially
-
whatever it is you recognize that I think I have
-
enough of whatever God has done for me and so
-
now like Peter there was another boat that was
-
empty who are the empty boats that God has placed
-
around you ministry is not complicated evangelism
-
is not complicated all you have to do is look
-
for empty boats my god my god my god my god my
-
god my god my god my god my god i just gotta
-
look for empty boats some of you you go to work
-
you're surrounded by empty boats and oh my god
-
at the park at the doggy park at the kid park
-
you're surrounded by empty boats You got empty
-
boats at Starbucks. You got empty boats everywhere
-
you go. Some of you got empty boats in your own
-
household. You got empty boats in your family
-
members, cousins, brothers and unconverted brothers
-
and brothers -in -laws and sisters and sisters
-
-in -laws and parents. You got empty boats. That's
-
your ministry. Your ministry is not to get on
-
a soapbox. Your ministry is not to start judging
-
them. You're going to go to hell. Yeah, if they
-
don't get right, we all go there, right? But
-
your ministry is to say, you know, I see some
-
emptiness over there. I see loneliness. I feel
-
this on the Holy Ghost. I see depression over
-
there. I see hurt over there. I see sorrow over
-
there. I see sin and brokenness and counterfeit
-
joy. counterfeit happiness. I see it over there.
-
And so I've got to help fill that boat with the
-
abundance that God has filled me. But right now...
-
Bow in the Holy Ghost as we begin to worship,
-
as we begin to pray. This is what God's going
-
to do for every single one of you that wants
-
it. If you want it right now, then this is what
-
God's going to do for you. First of all, you've
-
got to let him step into your life right now.
-
Let him step into your empty nets, your empty
-
boat, your empty heart, your empty dream, your
-
empty prayer. You've got to let God step in.
-
Let him step in. Let him step in. into that right
-
now. In the name of Jesus, let him step in. Let
-
him step in. Let the Spirit of the Lord step
-
in. Let him put his foot on your emptiness right
-
now. Let him step his foot onto your brokenness
-
right now, onto your weaknesses right now. Let
-
God step into you. Step in right now, Holy Ghost.
-
Come on, somebody, you need to pray. Step in,
-
Holy Ghost. Step in. Step into it right now,
-
God. Step in this mess. Step in this failure.
-
Step in this embarrassment. Step into it, God.
-
Step into it. Step in. And if you will let God
-
step in. This is what I feel in the Holy Ghost.
-
God said that you launch out into deep worship.
-
You launch out into deep praise right now. You
-
launch out into deep spiritual warfare right
-
now. You launch out into deep, come on, into
-
deep prayer right now. You launch out into deep,
-
into deep worship. For a few moments, I wonder
-
if there's somebody in this place. You can launch
-
out deep into the spirit right now. into the
-
spirit right now.