Called to Follow

And I'm going to invite you to go with me to

read the book of Luke, Gospel according to Luke,

Luke 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5 and verse 1. And just bear with me

for a few moments. We're going to read a somewhat

lengthy portion of Scripture, but I think it's

all important. It says this way, So it was, as

the multitude pressed about him to hear the word

of God, that he stood by the lake of Gethsemane,

which is... also known as the Sea of Galilee.

And he saw two boats standing by the lake, but

the fishermen had gone from them and were washing

their nets. Then he got into one of the boats,

which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a

little from the land. And he sat down and taught

the multitudes from the boat. And when he had

stopped speaking, he said to Simon, launch out

into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.

But Simon answered, and said to him master we

have toiled all night and caught nothing nevertheless

at your word i will let down the net when they

had done this they caught a great number of fish

and their net was breaking so they signaled to

their partners in the boat to come and help them

when they came and filled both the boats they

began to sink when peter's or when simon peter

saw it he fell at jesus knees saying depart from

me for i am a sinful man o lord now verse 10

and jesus said to him simon do not be afraid

from now on you will catch men so when they had

brought their boats to land they forsook all

and followed him Thank you for reading with me.

I'm going to preach for a few moments today on

called to follow, called to follow. Let us pray.

Father, we love you today. Thank you for everything.

Thank you for your presence is here, for blessing

us once again, God. Your goodness is in this

place. Your presence is in this place. God, now

we're just asking that you would speak to us

a word. Our coming in here is not in vain, God.

You're going to send us home full of word, God,

to edify us, to bless us, to prepare us, God,

and convict us, shape us. Lord, I pray that you

would anoint my lips so I can preach your word

and not mine, and that you will get all the glory

and the honor. In Jesus' name we pray. Everyone

say amen. Amen. You be seated in God's presence.

I'm going to do the best I can to fit everything

that I have to share in this message. We may

even break this one message up into two parts.

We'll see. how time goes. But if you've ever

watched a sports replay, you know that the first

shot doesn't always tell the whole story. Thank

God for replays. There's been some replays that

I have seen that have actually turned back some

controversial calls and got to get it right.

How many of you know you got to get it right?

Right? Got to get it right. Got to get the call

right. And you need multiple camera angles to

see everything that happened. And it's the same

when reading the Gospels. Key moments in Jesus'

ministry show up more than once, told by different

writers through their viewpoints, which function

like camera angles. Think of the Gospels as camera

angles. on the life and ministry of christ and

these provide their own perspective and the calling

of simon or simon peter is one of those times

where all the gospels have cameras pointed at

this moment matthew and mark give us the shortest

version jumping straight to the part when simon

and his brother andrew are casting their nets

and called with those unforgettable words Follow

me, and I will make you fishers of men. Luke,

who was not an eyewitness, but more of a historian.

In fact, contrary to what some might think, Luke

was not one of the original 12 disciples. He

came after the fact and served as an investigative

reporter. He took notes and interviewed witnesses

and... He compiled all that data, and with all

that information, he put together a full and

complete story for what took place on that moment.

And that was what he did here with the calling

of Simon Peter. And so that's why his, unlike

Matthew and Mark, includes the backstory, fills

in the scene with richer, smaller details. And

he described how there was a pressing crowd,

a sermon on the boat, a miraculous catch of fish,

and even Peter's humble confession before Jesus.

When you harmonize these accounts, you then get

a vibrant picture of not only how God called

Peter, but how he calls us as well. It's not

just one random moment of change. It's not as

simple as flipping a switch. What we see through

the compilation of the Gospels is that a true

calling of God is a process. It's a process in

which God begins to work in the heart and in

the life of an individual. through his word,

through relationship, through interaction, in

order to bring that person into their God -given

role. And this is what's going on with Peter.

He's experiencing a process of letting go of

the life that he knew for the life that Jesus

was calling him to. And because this series is

about called What are we called to do? And everyone

is called to something and to someone who is

Christ. But there are aspects of our calling.

And I believe that Peter and his life provides,

similar to that of Paul, a very complete picture

of how God takes a life, regardless of how they

started, regardless of where they are in their...

progression of life, and moves them and transforms

them into becoming a man who could one day stand

with boldness, full of the Holy Ghost, and preach

the inaugural message on the day of Pentecost.

Peter doesn't become that man overnight. Amen,

somebody. I said he doesn't become that man overnight.

It's a process. I'm going to say it's a process.

And it began with him being just an ordinary

seasoned fisherman who together with his brother

Andrew and the sons of Zebedee, James and John,

ran a decent fishing business out of Capernaum.

And these men were skilled tradesmen. They were

pros at fishing. They knew the winds. knew the

currents. They were familiar. They were, in fact,

probably more comfortable on water than they

were on land. That's how much their lives were

revolved around their fishing business. It wasn't

just a hobby like some of you might have, going

to the lake or the coast every once in a while.

No, this was their livelihood. Their families

depended on it. And so they were... They were

well -tuned to the elements of the Sea of Galilee.

And on this occasion, they had hauled and toiled

all night on the sea. But Scripture says that

after all of that, they caught nothing. Spent

all night trying to catch something, and they

came up empty. Nothing to show for. And by morning

time, they were exhausted, discouraged. defeated,

and just washing their nets in despondency before

they went home and have to tell their wife and

family, I'm sorry, but I caught nothing. We're

going to have to, you know, eat leftovers. We're

going to have to figure something out because

we didn't quite meet the quota that we needed

to to make do. And this is the state that Peter

was in. He was in a broken state. He was in an

empty state, evident by the empty nets that he

was washing in defeat. This was a low moment

for somebody like him. He swung and he missed.

This was not a moment of pride for him. This

was not a moment for him to brag to his buddies,

you know, in the fishing union, you know, about

how big of a catch he had. This is the moment

where Peter is kind of walking home with his

tail between his legs. This is not his best moment.

This is not his brightest moment. This is the

moment where Peter is feeling like a failure,

feeling like the thing that I'm supposed to be

good at, I failed at. And it was at that precise

moment that Jesus steps into his life. And it

was at that moment that Jesus steps into his

boat, not when Peter was at his best. but when

he was at his worst. And to me, this says something

about the way that God moves in our life. It

tells us something about the heart, about the

nature of God, and how he enters our world. Contrary

to what we might think, God does not show up

when we're at our best. He shows up when we're

at our worst. Oh, hallelujah, somebody. He doesn't

show up and wait until we got ourselves together.

He doesn't show up. And wait until our house

is clean, until our act is together, until we

are, you know, when we are the best version of

ourselves. He doesn't show up when things are

spick and span. He doesn't show up when we pulled

in, you know, that great contract or when we

pulled off, you know, what people didn't think

we could do. He shows up when perhaps we're toxic

and when we're radioactive, you know what I'm

saying, where maybe nobody wants to be around

us. We're kind of living in a cloud of defeat.

That's the very moment. What I've come to tell

you initially today is that God is not looking

at your life, judging you, saying, well, are

they good enough for me to enter into their life?

No, it's when we're broken. It's when we've lost.

It's when we're at the end of our rope. washing

our nets in failure and in defeat, when we're

tired, when we're afraid. And I've come to tell

you my first point today is that the truth about

following Jesus is that following Jesus reveals

the miracle of grace. Somebody shout grace. Come

on, let's shout it again. Somebody shout grace.

It's all about grace. And so Jesus steps into

a broken man's life. My God, I can preach the

whole message just on this. He steps into a broken,

into a mess. He steps into... a dysfunction.

He steps into a person's life who's trying to

get their act together, who's trying to figure

things out, who isn't quite accomplished, isn't

quite someone who is, you know, incomplete, someone

who is not a finished product. Are you hearing

what I'm saying today? Someone who is not a polished

version of themselves, but somebody who's like,

someone who's got some explaining to do, you

know, someone who doesn't quite have their act

together. Someone who's got some gaps, you know,

in their life and got some holes in their story.

And someone who is just sort of barely making

it even. And this is where he was. And so I come

to just tell you something about the way God

works and how he, because everyone in this place

under the sound of my voice, God is calling us

to follow him. We've got to follow him. And before

Peter would ultimately leave his nets, he saw

what Jesus could do with almost nothing. He saw

the miracle of provision. His mind was utterly

blown at the power of God. Here he is with empty

nets, having hauled and toiled all night. And

then the Lord tells him to launch out again.

I'm not sure what Peter was thinking when God

told him this. Maybe, like, wait a minute, aren't

you a carpenter, you know, and I'm a fisherman?

How about we just kind of stay in our own lane,

you know? How about you give me advice when I'm

ready to build my deck in my backyard, but why

don't you just leave the fishing stuff to me?

Huh? Imagine if that would be our attitude sometimes

with God. Like, Lord, let me handle it. I got

this on my own. Lord, have mercy. But Peter heard

the voice of God, and he said, all right, nevertheless,

that's your word. And when he did that, he caught

something so big. It blew his mind. It blew every

record. I mean, if he had a record for greatest

catch, this blew that record out of the water.

And all of a sudden now, his nets are breaking

under the weight of blessing, under the weight

of fish, and he saw the miracle of grace in his

life. He saw what God can do. I have... I've

seen this in my life, and I'm sure you have too,

that just before God gets ready to call you to

the next level, call you to a greater devotion,

call you to follow him in a more devoted, consecrated

way. Oftentimes, God will show you something.

God will move into your life. God will bless

you. God will touch you. He might even heal you.

He might do a miracle in your life. Why does

he do these things? Just before he asks more

of you so that you will know and have the confidence

that God is with you, that God is able, that

God is powerful. God wanted to show this future

disciple and apostle of his. Listen. Everything

that you're trying to catch with your own skill,

with your own giftedness, with your own expertise,

and your own knowledge, everything you're trying

to accomplish in your life, Peter, all the goals,

the desires, dreams, aspirations, you name it,

Peter, all that stuff that's wrapped up in the

nets of those fish. Let me tell you, I've got

all of that and a lot more. Everything you're

chasing, everything you want for you and your

family and your children and your household.

Guess what, Peter? If you follow me with all

of your heart, I will never shortchange you.

I'll never leave you high and dry. I will be

your Jehovah Jireh. Come on, let's clap our hands

and give God some praise. Thank you. How many

of you know he's a provider? I said, how many

of you know he's a provider? Yes, he is. And

so he's proven to Peter a very powerful lesson.

Don't worry. I got you. I got you in the palm

of my hand. I'm going to take care of you. It's

going to be all right. And this gave Peter the

confidence to believe that if I follow this man,

who really at this point is still a stranger

to me, He's going to take care of me. I'm not

going to lose out. Let me tell you something.

There's no way you can lose out following Jesus.

I wish you would hear what I'm saying. I said

there's no way you can lose out following Jesus.

In the short term, it might look like, well,

if I would have taken that raise, it might have

required more of me, more time. stolen from things

I can give to God, but giving it to my job or

giving it to that relationship. Yes, in the moment,

in the temporary, it might feel like you're losing

a little bit of this or that, but in the long

run, let me tell you, God will never leave you

nor forsake you. Let me tell you, in the long

run, God will always provide exactly what you

need. In the long run, he's never going to shortchange

you. And this was an important lesson that Peter

needed to learn. And I'm kind of hitting on this

moment, on this lesson, because I feel like there

may be some in here today that have some trepidations,

some reservations about taking that next step

in God. Well, if I give more of me, then what's

going to be left of me? What's going to be left?

What have I got to work with if I give more of

my time and more of my finances? and more of

my heart, and more of my work. What's going to

be left over for me? What about me and all this?

But God wants you to know that whatever you give

to him, he will bless everything that remains.

Give, and it shall be given unto you, pressed

down, shaken together, and running over, coming

out of your bosom. I need you to know, God wants

you to know that you'll never lack when you follow

him. Hallelujah. And Peter needed to see this.

He needed to understand that there's always an

upside. There is no downside to giving more to

God, following that call. But more than this,

more than this, more than the miracle of the

fish, he must have felt like he hit the lotto.

Man, we can go on that vacation we've always

dreamed of. Bigger than the miracle of the fish.

Was the miracle of the master stepping into his

boat. You see, Peter's net, the Bible says, it

didn't break. But you know what did break? His

soul. The idea, check this out, that a holy and

awesome God, Jesus, would step into. his imperfect

and blemished life, that God would choose him.

Hmm. Can I work on this for a little bit? Amen,

somebody. The miracle of being blessed with fish,

hey, that's great. That's awesome. No one's going

to turn that away. But that's not the point of

the story. That's not the greatest miracle. The

greater miracle was that he was called to something

greater. Peter's greater miracle wasn't about

fish. And if that's all you focus on, then you're

missing the main point. It wasn't that Peter

found fish. The miracle was that God found Peter.

God was giving him a living parable. He was trying

to show him that you need spiritual eyes today

in order to see. He was giving him a living illustration

that, look, Peter, the greater miracle is not

that you caught all of this fish that wasn't

there, but that I caught you in my net and I

chose you for my purpose and for my glory. And

it dawned on Peter. That this was what was happening

in his life. I think he forgot about all the

fish. He said, that's great and wonderful. I

am mesmerized. I am speechless at the fact that

God almighty in the flesh chose me. Oh, my God.

And no wonder, church, no wonder his knees buckled.

And his voice cracked as he cried out to the

Lord, depart from me, for I am a sinful man,

oh Lord. When he saw what God was doing, he,

in that moment, was overcome and overwhelmed

by his own sheer fallenness. He saw how far he

was from where he ought to be, and yet God still

chose him. And so he cries out, Lord, I'm not

good enough! God! There's got to be, you must

have made a mistake, Lord. There are other people

that are far more qualified than me, other people

that are greater than me, holier than me, better

than me, more talented and gifted than me, God.

Oh, depart from me. I'm a sinful man. Lord, I'm

not worthy of this. I feel the Holy Ghost in

this place. Oh, God, I don't know if anybody

in this place under the sound of my voice has

ever had that conversation with God. God, why

me? Why me, God? Lord, is there anybody else,

Lord? God, how could it be, Lord? Haven't you

seen my resume? Haven't you looked over my, haven't

you called my references? Haven't you done a

background check? Don't you know that I'm not

a religious man? I'm not a studied man. I'm not

even a rabbi in training. That's not even who

I am. I don't come from a line of preachers.

I wasn't born. into this kind of thing. God,

don't you know these things about why would you

choose somebody like me? Oh, it's reminiscent

of the cry of Isaiah when he saw the glory of

the Lord after the death of King Uzziah. He saw

the Lord high and lifted up and his train filled

the temple and Isaiah was so overcome by not

just the glory of God but the sinfulness of a

man and his own life and his filthy row. righteousness.

And he says, woe is me for I am undone because

I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the

midst of a people of unclean lips for my eyes

have seen the king. When you get a revelation

of the king, oh, I'm here to preach to you today.

I'm talking about when you really see the king,

then you will really see yourself and realize,

woe is me. For my eyes have seen the king, the

Lord of lords. Can we just worship him for a

moment right now in the beauty of holiness? Come

on, saints, can we worship the Lord? God is in

this place. His presence is here. His glory is

here. Why don't you lift up your voice? Why don't

you magnify him with the fruit of your lips?

Why don't we take about 30 seconds? Why don't

we just acknowledge? that God is in this place.

Come on somebody. Come on, church. Come on, church.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I am convinced that one

of the reasons why people don't humble themselves

as they ought to is because they have a high

view of themselves and a low view of God. But

if you ever get a high view of God, you'll see

yourself exactly where you are. And it's not

to condemn you. And it's not to destroy you.

But it's to put everything into perspective in

real life. That it's not a right for me to be

here. It's not a right for me to sing, play,

do whatever. It's not a right. It's a privilege.

It's a privilege. Every time I stand behind this

pulpit, I realize it's a privilege. Every time

we serve, whether it's in front of people or

in private, in public or in private, we realize

it's a privilege. I don't have a right. I'm not

entitled to anything. Are you hearing what I'm

saying today? Because when I remember where I

came from, David said, ah, you can have my palace.

David said, you can have the chair. He said,

if I could just be a doorkeeper in the house

of my God, I'll give it all up. I'll give it

all up if all I got to be is a doorkeeper to

the house of my God because I remember where

God found me. That's the heart. Heart of servitude.

And when we're not careful, it's that other opposite

attitude creeps into our heart when we start

to feel like I'm owed something. I'm not owed

anything. Jesus already paid the price. And God

forbid I lose my voice and I never preach another

message a day in my life, I'm still going to

serve him. I'm still going to worship him. If

I can't use my voice, I'm going to be the loudest

stomper that there is. I will make a joyful noise

unto the Lord. So every time I open up my mouth,

every time I do anything in the name of Jesus

Christ, it is with the perspective that God doesn't,

I said this last week, God doesn't, or two weeks

ago, God doesn't need my voice. He welcomes my

voice. Don't you forget for one moment that God

can cause a rooster to crow and get his message

across. Don't you forget for one moment that

God can take a donkey and let that donkey profit.

God can raise up a pig and a donkey. Come up

here and preach the word of God. God can use

a whale to swallow a man and deliver a message.

Oh, my God. It's a privilege. And it's one that

Peter, a lesson that Peter needed to learn early

in his process of being called. So that when

he stands up, hear me today. On the day of Pentecost.

and preaches the most famous apostolic message.

I'm sorry, Paul, but none of your sermons are

going to top Peter's sermon. That's just my opinion

on the day of Pentecost. Maybe you better think

you're a scholar and theologian, but as far as

preaching at a precise moment in history, I'm

sorry, that honor goes to Peter. I said that

honor goes to Peter. The first Pentecostal message.

And he preaches it. And there's no way that Peter

stands on the platform that he does and preaches

the message of God that he does without the perspective

that, and I'm just a fisherman. I will always,

in my mind, just be that fisherman that God called

out of darkness, into his marvelous light. And

I don't ever forget that. No, Pastor, are you

saying that we should beat ourselves up and be

self, you know, just defeatism and all that?

That's not what I'm saying for you to hang your

head low with just false humility and all that.

No, walk confidently in the Lord. Hallelujah.

But what I'm saying is that we ought never to

lose that perspective. If we're going to go far,

if we're going to go the distance with God. And

so, my dear friend, more powerful than God meeting

our needs. Is God meeting us where we are, not

where we should be? Oh, oh, hallelujah. Can I

make this into a two -parter? We're going to

come back next week. I know some of you are looking

at the capacitor. Don't you look at the clock

right now. Hallelujah, Jesus. Oh, we're going

to make this a two -parter. But I'm going to

tell you something. I can relate to Peter. As

a musician, brother, if you can come up here

in a moment. I can relate to Peter. You know

why I can relate to him? Because when he said,

depart from me, I am a sinful man. Go back to

that verse, please, where Peter cries out, depart

from me, for I am a sinful man. He said, Lord,

depart from me. I don't have what it takes. Lord,

please pick somebody else, God. Is there anybody

else that you could use? Let me be transparent

with you. And I ask you to be respectful with

what I'm about to say because I don't say this

because I want your sympathy and I don't say

this because I need some kind of, you know, validation

from saying these things. But I need to be truthful.

I need to tell you like it is so you understand

that we are all in the same boat, so to speak.

when it comes to seeing our inability and our

state and the bigness of God's calling and us

not feeling worthy of that. I can relate to Peter

because for many years, for many years, I tell

you, for many years before pastoring this church,

I was a minister. I was a preacher. I had evangelized.

I had done various different works within the

body, within the church. God had used me in different

ways. And I'm going to tell you something right

now as a piano player. I can tell you something

right now that I was happy doing those things.

I was all right doing those things. I would have

been all right if I just continued to preach,

and that's all they ever did, just give me the

microphone and then give the microphone back,

you know? I began to hear the voice of God call

me to pastoring. pastoring this church. And let

me tell you, I never wanted to pastor. I don't

know. Maybe I'm not supposed to say that. But

I'm going to be real with you. For several years,

my wife and I, we ran from that. We ran from

that. Lord, thought to myself, Isn't there somebody

else? Is there anybody else? God, is there anybody

else? Where's our keyboard at? Okay. Is there

anybody else? Has anybody ever asked that question

before? Come on, let's be real. God, why me?

And we fought the will of God for years. And

that's what I told the Lord. Find somebody else,

God. I'm not good enough. I'm not qualified enough.

Don't you dare say amen on that one. But even

if you did, it's all right. Because I'm not afraid

to say it about myself. I'm not qualified enough.

You know it's okay to say that someone else can

do this better? Whatever it is you do for the

Lord, you know that there's always somebody that

can do it better. Hello, y 'all are quiet on

me. Somebody else can do it better. We got great

organizers in here, great administrative minds.

And you know, but I guarantee, you'll find somebody

that will probably do it better. That's all right.

There's always going to be someone out there

that can do it better. I'm not ashamed. I'm comfortable

in my own skin enough to say that there are better

preachers than me in this world. Absolutely.

better leaders than me. I'm comfortable in my

own skin. Can I be vulnerable? You need to be

prayerful about what I'm saying. You better not

take this, go home and say, hey, you should have

heard what the pastor said about himself. No,

no, no, no. If that's the case, I rebuke that

spirit. I'm not sharing this with you to give

you ammunition. Say, I told you the pastor wasn't

qualified. The devil is a liar. My point, Is

that when God puts you somewhere. When God steps

into your boat. Every devil that was there. Thinking

they had you on lockdown. Thinking that you were

radioactive enough. Toxic enough. Not good enough.

So that God wouldn't use you. It sends a powerful

message. That it's not about who's the best.

It's not about who's. Come on. Who's most gifted?

Who's most talented? It's not about all of that.

Who's got the most credentials? Not about who's

got the most degrees? Who's got this? Who's got

that? No. It's who is most surrendered and willing

to die to themselves. Y 'all hear what I'm saying.

Who's willing to pick up. themselves daily and

follow. Somebody say follow. Would you stand

with me today? I stand before you not to put

myself down. I'm just being honest. I'm telling

you, before I answered the call that God had

on my life, there was a process. Someone say

it's a process. Come on, say it again. It's a

process. But you know what I love about the Lord?

someone say what thank you for asking what i

love about the lord is that even when at first

we are apprehensive even when at first we are

doubtful even when at first we are hesitant even

when at first we're unsure and there's this bit

of tug of war that happens between you and the

lord's will You and the Lord's call. What I love

about the Lord is that he doesn't give up trying

on us. What I love about God is that he'll keep

calling you. Because once God calls you, this

is gonna help somebody right now. Once he calls

you, he cannot uncall you. You're saying, but

pastor, but what about those guys that are out

there? You know, what about those guys that,

you know, people who are backslidden? No, they're

still called. God didn't change his mind about

those people just because they're not serving

him right now. Are you hearing what I'm saying

today? He didn't change his mind just because

someone's going through a spiritual funk or they're

not where they're supposed. God didn't change

his mind about those people. The call is as real

today as it was the day when it first went out.

And he's waiting on. to get over ourselves, to

get beyond our excuses and say yes to the Lord.

I wonder today if there's somebody that's willing

to just give God a space right now in your life

to where he can call you to go to another level.

Would you close your eyes in this place? I feel

the holy. Oh, shalom. We've got some people with

your eyes closed. Let me tell you. Look, a preacher,

an evangelist is going to preach this different

than a pastor, and I'm going to tell you why.

As your pastor, I know in prayer, in the spirit,

that some of you, in fact, a good number of you

right now under the sound of my voice have for

a while now, whether it's months or years, struggling

and wrestling with the call of God in your life.

And every time you get ready, to answer that

every time you get ready to to just take another

step forward and and embrace what god is doing

that something just pulls you back and and it's

these own questions in your mind i'm not good

enough and i'm not i don't know if i have what

it takes come on keep your eyes closed in prayer

i don't know if i have what it takes i i i you

know what i hear some of you i hear And I'm not

a weird mysticist, okay? I don't believe in mysticism.

But you know what God allows a pastor to hear?

Sometimes I hear the prayers that you're praying.

This is just a frequency in the Spirit. I can

hear what some of you are praying. And I hear

the objections that you're making to the Lord.

And some of you, you say things like, I don't

want to do it because I don't want to mess up.

I don't want to fall. I don't want to do it,

God. I don't want to answer because I'm afraid

if I answer. What if I mess up, God? I'm here

to tell you today, regardless of what you think,

we all fall short of the glory of God. We all

fall. And it's not about if you fall. It's about

do you get up when you fall. You're going to

make mistakes. You're going to fall. A righteous

man falls seven times and he rises again. I hear

some of you praying, but I'm not. I don't have

everything figured out. Enough. I'm still, I'm

still, my family, I've still got issues in my

family. Let me tell you, if you're waiting to

iron out all... of the blemishes and the wrinkles

in your family and in your marriage and with

all your children. Let me tell you, you're never

going to be in a position where God can really

use you. Because if it's not one thing, brother,

sister, it's going to be another. And you'll

just find yourself in a perpetual cycle of just

never being ready and never being at that space.

But I hear the voice of the Lord say, come on,

let me into your boat. Let down that net. Let

me show you that I'm God. Oh, I hear some of

you. I hear the objections you've made. There's

a cistern here that in your prayer time with

the Lord. Come on, let's stay in the spirit right

now. In your prayer time with the Lord, you say,

I don't know if physically I can handle it. Because

your physical body, you're afraid, is going to

give out on you. And you won't be able to handle

it physically or mentally. You're prone to stress

and anxiety. You say, but if I give more of myself

in that season, you know, I need to take a year

off. You know, I just need a coach. Don't you

listen to the enemy. Everyone needs a break from

it. time to time even me we all need time to

relax and refresh but we've got to be careful

that we're not taking the bait of the enemy and

allowing a time of refreshing to be a whole season

a lifestyle of complacency where we never get

back into the thing that we took a break from

are you hearing what i'm saying today i need

somebody to understand that while we all are

human and we need better be at a place of sincerity

with God that says, Lord, I better not be just

telling, you know, because I have an anxious

mind. No, you need to give that over to God.

Be anxious for nothing but in everything through

prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving. Let

your request be made known to God and the peace

of God which surpasses all understanding will

guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus. those

anxious thoughts and anxiety and stress overwhelming

to the point that you count yourself out from

doing what god has done i feel the holy good

god's working right now