Anchored In Obedience - Week 6

I want to read today from Luke chapter 5 as we continued in this anchored season this series I've been blessed by the stories that I've been hearing from people who've been on the 75-day journey in the 75-day challenge. I know it's not easy it was never meant to be easy and I want to encourage you even as Michelle said earlier if you fell off the boat like many of us have it's okay get back up and get back on 75 days is 75 for a reason I want to read the scripture I'm gonna get to it sometimes when God gives me a word I just get so excited because I know the potential that his word has to change our lives this morning Luke chapter 5 I'm reading from the NIV verse 1 through 11 it says this one day as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennasaret the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God he saw at the water's edge two boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets that's important he got into one of the boats the one belonging to Simon and asked them to put out a little from shore that's important then he sat down and taught the people from the boat when he had finished speaking he said to Simon put out into deep and let down the nets for a catch Simon answered master we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything but because you say so this is important because you say so I'll do it because you say so I will let down the nets when they had done so after they had been obedient they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break so they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them and they came and filled both boats so full that they begin to sink when Simon Peter saw this he fell at Jesus's knees and said go away from me Lord I am a sinful man for he and all his companions he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken and so were James and John the sons of Zebedee Simon's partners then Jesus said to Simon don't be afraid from now on you will fish for people so they pulled their boats up on shore left everything they left everything even the fish that they just got they left everything the boats the fish their nets their expectations they left everything and followed him Holy Spirit would you speak to our hearts this morning in Jesus name we pray amen I want to speak to you from the title today anchored in obedience anchored in obedience if there's one thing in my life I say this about a few things

I'm noticing it now but they're all connected if there's one thing in my life that has changed the game for me it is me understanding how important obedience is in this walk of Christ it's me understanding the blueprint the blueprint to success in this walk of faith is the ability to be obedient to the voice of God and if you're going to be obedient to the voice of God you're going to have to know how to discern the voice of God from the voice of your algorithm you're going to know how you're going to need to know how to discern the voice of God than the voice outside of the voice of your feelings you're going to need how to discern the voice of God in the culture that is so loud and it's so noisy how do you hear God in order to obey him it's one of the the things that'll change the game for most of us for all of us if we learn how to do it and we're going to get to that but I want to point to something as I read this scripture and I've read this scripture hundreds of times throughout my life but there's an important detail that happened here let me set the picture you have these men these fishermen they're professional fishers they've been fishing forever and on this particular night they go out at night to fish and for those who don't know during this time and in this the this lake of Gennesaret which is also the sea of Galilee and if you study the scripture you will know some things that happen at the sea of Galilee that this they go and the important thing for them when they fish is that they have to fish at night because when you fish at night that's the time when you get the most fish when you fish at night that's that's the time the fish can't see the nets and it's a whole science behind them fishing at night and so these people who fish as a profession they know if I get there at night this is my opportunity to catch all the fish and and if this was important for them because this was their livelihood this is how they made money this is how they fed their family this is how they paid their bills this fishing was everything it was dependent on them being able to catch fish on this particular night so they go out at night and this is equivalent to them working the overnight shift they go out at night and they're fishing and the scripture says they had fished all night that's out in the water 8 p.m 9 p.m 10 p.m 11 p.m 12 a.m 1 a.m 2 a.m 3 a.m 4 a.m up until the sun starts coming up they're fishing all night and they get absolutely nothing fishing all night doing what they're supposed to do all night and get absolutely nothing

I could imagine what kind of frustration they might have been facing in this moment I could imagine what kind of disappointment they might have been facing in this moment like like I'm doing what I'm supposed to do and yet there's no results I'm at the place I should be at and yet there's no results and they're fishing and the sun comes up and the night is over I could imagine at this point if you're like me or if they were like me I would have just said forget all of this man I'm upset I'm throwing their nets down I'm walking away I'm going to figure out another way to make money another way to make money because the family got to eat these bills got to get paid something got to give but then I read this scripture I noticed something important it said they had pulled their boats up and when Jesus was looking it says this it says they were washing their nets when I read that I said this is wild why would they be washing their nets when they caught nothing there was nothing it just touched the water why would they be washing their nets as a matter of fact I'll go as far to say if that was me I definitely wouldn't have been washing my nets I would have been too mad I'm like I'm done with this I'm out of here but perhaps the ability to stay disciplined despite facing disappointment allowed them to be in a position to realize their destiny perhaps the ability to remain faithful in the face of failure position them for a miracle may I suggest to you that many of us miss what God wants to do in our life because we don't know our life because we don't know how to stay disciplined when we deal with disappointment may I suggest to you that many of us miss what God wants to do in our life because we don't know how to stay faithful in the face of failure let me say like this discipline will position you for destiny it's your ability to keep the Bible says this don't grow weary in good doing because at the right time you will reap a harvest at the right time the Lord of the harvest will show up can I tell you something about faith some of us misunderstand faith here's what I begin to know about faith the question of faith is never whether or not Jesus is going to show up the question of faith is whether or not you'll be in position when he does many of us allow disappointment to move us out of position many of us allow failure to move us out

of position and so when Jesus shows up when the Lord of the harvest shows up when God shows up he ends up asking the question that he asked Adam and Eve where are you where where are you I'm I'm coming and you're supposed to be ready you're supposed to be ready you're supposed to be found faithful you're supposed to be found disciplined some of us are only disciplined as long as we guarantee the certain outcome and the many things don't go our way we stop doing the things that we're supposed to do. Do not disqualify yourself from destiny because you don't know how to stay disciplined when you deal with disappointment. Don't forfeit your future because you don't know how to stay faithful when you face failure. I feel that so strongly for some people in this room because the determinative factor and whether or not we experience what God wants to experience for a lot of us is our ability to stay faithful. I know you started faithful but can you stay faithful? I know you started with good intentions but can you keep on going? I know you've been doing the right thing for a long time and it seems like you caught nothing. Will you continue to be disciplined? Will you wash your nets now? Or will you throw it down and move so when God comes, when he shows up to do what only he can do, will he find you or will you be nowhere to be found? They, Jesus shows up at this moment and little do they know this is a date with destiny. Perhaps their frustration, perhaps, perhaps Jesus allowed them to get in this situation just so he could set them up on purpose. Perhaps the things that you're dealing with, God is saying this is the perfect breeding ground for me to show up and do a miracle. Perhaps the thing that you're praying for would happen no other way but for you to get to your wits end. They're there and they're trying and nothing is happening and nothing is happening but they stay. Here's what I learned in my own life about staying disciplined and staying ready. At some point the opportunity will show up. At some point the thing that you pray, at some point the opportunity will present itself and if you are not being found disciplined you will not be ready for the opportunity. I don't know who this is for. Some of you have been tempted to stop doing the things that you should be doing. God is saying I need you to keep on doing it because at some point the opportunity is going to come and it presents itself to those who have been being disciplined. Some of you have started on a 75-day journey and you're not seeing no results. I'm not so I stop and Jesus is like I need you to keep going. I need you to get back on the boat. I know it's not easy

but something happens when opportunity meets discipline. There's some people who disqualify themselves because you have not remained disciplined. I remember the one of the pivotal moments in my life where I was going for a specific job at the time and the job seemed to have been falling through. It had not heard nothing anything back from the job in about two weeks and it was a it was a pastime position and I didn't even go for it. They reached out to me for it and so I just had this habit. I had always been practicing. I had always been studying. I had always been writing. I had always been praying and so during this time when when it was silence when nothing was happening after two weeks of waiting to hear back from a certain position I just I was at the crossroad like should I I'm kind of like sick and tired of this but I kept on doing and I kept on doing it and then one morning as I'm just waking up had to be around five or six a.m. I get a call from the head pastor at the time. He calls me and I answer the phone. I'm like hello. He's like CJ will you sleep? I'm like no I wasn't asleep. What's going on? He said CJ something came up and we need you to show up to speak tonight. I said speak tonight? He said yeah I need I need you to get ready to speak tonight. I'm like he like do you have something? It's like yeah yeah I got something. He said he said perfect all right I need you to reach out to this person. This person gonna reach out to you. I just need you to show up tonight and oh by the way we have to record and film it because we gotta hand it off to the higher up. I said what in the world? I wake my wife up. I said baby they asked me to come speak tonight. She's like you have something? I'm like yeah I got something. I get there. I speak. It ends going very well. I end up getting a position but can I tell you something? I would not have been ready have I decided I will not continue to stay disciplined when I was facing disappointment in a moment. How many of us will not be found ready when the opportunity finally comes? When Jesus shows up. Opportunity he often presents get this it often shows up as an invitation to obedience Don't miss this Because some of us miss what god wants to do because we don't recognize him when he shows up And we don't recognize that he's offering us an opportunity an invitation to be obedient I want to show you in the scripture

When jesus shows up and says he's getting he gets into the boat and what does he says he said he asked him He asked him To put out a little from shore He asked him He showed up And he gave them just a gentle question, you know Sometimes people ask a question or if you ever asked a question that really wasn't a question It was an invitation to obedience it's like when I asked my son to pass me the remote You know It's not really a question it's an invitation to obey Because god forbid he don't give me the remote we're going to see the the tone switch rather quickly Jesus showed up and he asked him. Hey, could you put out a little from shore? It's it's an invitation And you know what determined how they were able to view the invitation They were able to view the invitation He would he would simon was able to view the invitation the right way because he already saw jesus as master How you see it will determine how you hear it oftentimes Some of us god shows up in many different ways in our everyday this was their everyday ordinary life Yeah, he will show up in your everyday ordinary life and just gives you an invitation To obey And we miss it because a lot of times he don't show up in the way shape or form we thought he should We miss it because he doesn't show up in a way shape or form that that we expect him to valentine's day was just yesterday Valentine's day was just yesterday Something amazing happened on on wednesday night Now if you know me, you know I could do with or without holidays I'm, like like like holidays is cool. Not cool. Whatever Whatever i'm good without it But my daughter Is different My daughter

She's gonna celebrate any holiday that's on the calendar that gives an opportunity to celebrate she takes these things to heart But valentine's day coming up i'm not really paying no attention to it. I kind of am Kind of not for my fellas in the room. You know what? I mean? Like i'm kinda I know what's coming But sometimes I To be quite honest with you. I get so much anxiety when it comes to certain holidays. I'm like, oh gosh, here we go again I'm in the store with all the guys doing their last minute shopping. They're all looking at each other. Are you two? Yeah, me, too And so this valentine's day is coming up and I find myself i'm praying i'm like god just help me Help me to deal with this. I don't even know I feel anxiety god. Just help me help me help me Wednesday night I'm in the kitchen. My daughter comes up to me She says daddy I have a question I'm like, what's up? She said daddy which restaurant are we going to for valentine's day? I said What do you mean which Restaurant we there's so many words in this question That had a hard time comprehending And I just tried to like brush it off. I'm like, yeah, we'll see she said no daddy Which restaurant are we gonna go to the diner because I want pancakes with the hot chocolate with extra whipped cream Or are we gonna go to bj's? And I just i'm literally stuck I was so confused. I was so thrown off that the next day i'm driving in the car with my wife I don't even think I answered my daughter in the moment I'm driving in the car with my wife the next day And you would think that a person who communicates often in front of a lot of people will have the right words I'm driving in the car. I don't even have the words. I'm like i'm like babe Let me I gotta Can I? I don't know if this is a question or a comment or a concern. I'm just kind of I just need your input

I'm like Anissa my daughter she came and she said you were there. She said which restaurant are we going to i'm confused. It's valentine's day for you Is it for her? Should I be setting up separate dates? Is this a family? I don't know. Like, help me to comprehend what's happening here. Can I tell you something? It wasn't until I paused and realized that the thing that I had been praying for, how to handle a certain thing, God has showed up in the form of an invitation from the most unlikeliest of sources. My daughter, you know, the reason why we miss the invitation to obey a lot of times is because that call to obedience will often confront our own logic. It's things that the thing that Jesus shows up and he talks to them and he asked them, they like, man, we've been fishing all night. We don't been fishing all night. It's at nighttime when we would typically get fish, but you want us to do what? This doesn't make sense. You know what's important to notice about our logic? When the things that Jesus will often ask us to do, when he often invites us to obedience, the things he asked us to do was hardly ever illogical. Most times it's just translogical. The things he asked us to do illogical was crazy. Illogical really makes no sense. Translogical just transcends our own limited understanding. So the things he asked us to do a lot of times we look at, and it's not that it's crazy. It's not that putting your nets back out in the boat is crazy. It's not that it makes no sense. It just surpasses our limited human understanding. It's not that my daughter asking me which restaurant we go to is crazy. We go to restaurants. It was just that I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. Where in your life is God asking you to do something that you deemed illogical? He's not, it's not, it's not illogical. It's just, it just transcends your own understanding. This is why he says, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding in all your ways. Acknowledge him and he will direct your path. He will give you the blueprint and oftentimes it shows up in a form of an invitation that, that, that goes by what you would typically, that, that transcends what you would typically do. It transcends the ways you would typically think. Some of us have a hard time being obedient because it just doesn't match up with our own logic. We look at it and we say, why would I do that? That's dumb. Why would I do that? That makes no sense. Why would I do that? I've never done that. Why would I do that? Everybody else is doing something else. Look at the

trends. We should just be doing what everybody else is doing. God's like, no, no, no, no, sometimes we can't be obedient because we're in competition. Who here needs to get out of competition and get in obedience? Sometimes competition, there are people who are in debt right now because you're in competition and not in obedience. There are people who have messed up relationships right now because you've been in competition and you haven't been in obedience. There are people in places and spaces right now that you should not be because you're in competition and you're not in obedience. We have God might be calling you to do something that might just transcend your understanding. God, I wouldn't do it like that. But if you say so, I'll obey. If you say so, I'll do it. Can I tell you, it's not just our logic that the call to obedience confronts. The call to obedience will also confront our feelings. Some of us have a hard time being obedient because the things God asking us to do, if we're quite honest, we just don't feel like doing it. God, I just don't. Imagine I'm looking, it's just frustrated, disappointed, down like God, we've been doing this. Oh, I'm not trying to do this. I'm not trying to do this. Can I tell you this? Sometimes we make things illogical just because we don't feel like doing it. There's sometimes God might be asking us, have you ever ran into somebody and maybe it's you who's you would actually do something that was actually simple, but because you didn't feel like doing it, you made it sound crazy. I could imagine him God asked him to pull a boat out a little from shore. They like you want me to pull a boat. God, if I pull a boat out from shore, then I got to take the rope off. And when I take the rope off, it's going to fall in the water. Then the piranhas going to eat the thing. And then it's going to be a big thing.

They gonna eat my hand when I come out. God, this is crazy. God, it's like all I ask you to do is pull out the boat a little bit. It's not that crazy. It's not that wild. God be like, I just want you to give. Like, God, if I give, if I give, then I won't have money to pay my bills. And if I won't have money to pay my bills, then I won't be able to eat. And if I won't be able to eat, then this and this and this. And God is like, all I do is ask you to give. That's all I ask you to do. God be like, I want you to be in community. Like, God, if I be in community, then I got to get with around people. And I don't like being around people. People be backbiting and people be hurting me. Somebody talk crazy to me, then I'm going to punch them in the face. If I punch them in the face, then I'm going to be in jail. Then I'll be in jail. Then I'm going to be in a wrong type of community. Like, God, I know this ain't. God's like, all I ask you to do is get in the community. It's not that crazy. It's not that crazy. Some of us have made the simple obedience things that God is asking for. We made it too crazy to obey. And God just brought you here today. It's not that crazy. For some of you, the most spiritual thing you can hear today is this. Get out of your feelings and get in alignment. Some of us can't get in alignment because we too in our feelings. God, just don't. This is dumb. This is stupid. God is like, the moment you get out of your feelings, you'll step into what I'm trying to bless you with. Some of our feelings are the things that's disqualifying us from destiny. What things might God be trying to do in your life have you allowed your feelings to get in the way of? What things might God be trying to get to you that you've allowed your feelings to get in the way of? God is like, would you put your feelings, just put them to the side for a little bit. And he's like, I'm not asking you to do anything I haven't done myself. Sometimes we think God is being unreasonable. Sometimes we think he's just being too harsh. Sometimes with God, you don't understand. He said, you don't have a high priest who cannot be sympathized with where you've been. You don't have a high priest who cannot sympathize with where you've been. He said, as a matter of fact, I know exactly how you feel times a hundred. Yet and still, I humbled myself even to obedience, even to death on a cross. I humbled myself. Some of us, we have a humility problem. Jesus on his way to the cross. He's in the garden and he's praying.

And he feels the weight of the purpose. He feels the weight of what's ahead of him. He feels the weight of what God is asking to be obedient to. And it says he's praying and he's sweating drops of blood. And in this moment, he prays, he says, if there's any way, then let this cup pass from me. But nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. Nevertheless, not what I want. Nevertheless, not my desire. Nevertheless, not my plan. Can I tell you, sometimes it's not our logic. Sometimes it's not our feelings, but sometimes obedience will confront our own will, our own desire. Perhaps we can't do what God wants us to do because we're more committed to what we want than what he wants. Perhaps we can't walk in what God wants us to walk in because we're committed to our own five-year plan. Some of us bring these five-year plans to God, these 10-year plans, these lists of our perfect spouse, these lists of our perfect job, the perfect conditions. And God wants to take the list and just rip up the whole thing and say, get this out of here. I have something better for you. And I know it doesn't seem like it's better on the onset, but if I ask you to step into something else, will you be willing to rip up your own plan? Will you be willing to rip up your own desire? What if I have a whole different career path for you? Are you so committed to the thing that you set out to do that you can't even hear the voice of God? In my own life, I could tell you that there's so many, so many paths I put myself on. Keyword, I put myself on. How many of us are like that? We are on paths that we put ourselves on. God is like, I never, and we want God to co-sign it. And when God say no, we get an attitude. When the doors won't open, we like, God, why? He's like cuz I never meant that for you you meant that for yourself I Tell you before I got into ministry I was I worked I worked I worked in Wall Street on Wall Street for a while I Was at JP Morgan Chase. I was at CBS. I was doing project management out in New York City After a while after that I had went to school for for writing and so I started writing scripts And so I had a whole show a whole season and a half of a show I held auditions my wife could tell held auditions. I had people ready to step into rows. We secure different spots to shoot And at some point God came to me he's like yeah, I just want you to get rid of all of this But you know I went to school for this You know how much they pay At JP Morgan Chase and CBS

You Want me to do what what if God is causing you to do something again that just transcends your own understanding When he came to me at the time I'm like 29 years old you know what I didn't see Everybody sitting in this auditorium right now You know what God saw everybody sitting in this auditorium right now This is why I like the song that they said it says give me vision to see things like you do Because some of us can't obey because we don't see it, right? I Love this quote that says this if you view it right you do it, right? Some of us is going around our whole life Just looking at the situations wrong looking at our family wrong look looking at the call that God is calling So we look at it wrong, but I love What happens when you obey because when you obey It says this after they caught the fish after they caught so much Peter looks and he has this revelation He says Lord. He now he went from calling him master at first to all of a sudden now. He recognized him as Lord He says Lord go away from me. I'm a sinful man Perhaps the thing that God wants us to see will only unveil itself after we decide to be obedient There are things that happen when we obey God will reveal something to us about himself when we obey And it's not only himself that he will reveal he will reveal something about you Peter Peter Eyes were open. He saw Jesus as Lord, but Jesus also told him something about himself. He said I'm changing your occupation Up until this point you had fish for fish, but from now on you're gonna fish from people for people What revelation what thing is God trying to get you to see that you cannot see because you have not decided to obey yet You're still fighting in your own mind. You're still fighting in your own feelings. You're still fighting your own Will your own plan? God wants you to know today if you decide to lean into his voice to bow your knee and Do exactly what he says When he says it how he says it get this not part of it because partial obedience is disobedience Some of us have done a little bit of what God showed us to do

God is like I'm waiting for you to do all of it And get this God's voice will never go against God's Word Some of you may be wondering I want to know if it's really God I won't know if it's him Does it line up with his word? What does his word say? His bow eyes closed You God wants to anchor us He wants us to be anchored but Your ability to be anchored would it is dependent upon your ability to do what he says He wants to lead you. He wants to show you he wants to guide you But like I said discipline Will position you for destiny but positioning is only part one When the invitation comes will you accept the invitation? Will you obey and will you live out the thing that he's calling you to live out? I want you to take about 60 seconds in your seat right now And identify where in your life may God be whispering to you, where in your life may he be calling you, where in your life may he be prompting you to do something but you haven't done it yet, maybe it's something at your job, maybe it's something in the church, maybe it's something in your relationship. Somebody has probably even been praying for God to come through in your marriage and God is like it's the simple thing that I've asked you to do that you have not done yet. You want to see healing in your marriage but you can't even say sorry. It's the simple thing that I'm asking you to do that you've been overlooking. Father God I pray that you open our eyes to the simple acts of obedience that you're calling us to. It's the simple things. Forgive us God for prioritizing the voice of the culture, the voice of our feelings, the voice of our own family members over your voice. Father God for those who need to get out of their feelings and get in alignment would you give them the strength, the confidence, and the courage to do so. God may you show us all that the blueprint is obedience. It is obedience.

In Jesus precious and mighty name we pray amen. Could you stand to your feet? Amen. Scripture tells us this and you hear me say it often. Don't just be hearers of the word. Be doers of the word. Don't just come into the auditorium on a Sunday and hear the message. Here's a simple act of obedience for everyone in the room. When you go home today, when you get in your cars, when you get over that mill, talk about the message. There's something that happens when you begin to talk about the message that you just heard. Don't be the person who go in your car and decide you know what I'm gonna just go eat now. I'm gonna just go whatever. I'm gonna go turn on this music. I'm gonna do whatever. I'm gonna get back to my regular scheduled programming and miss what God wants to say because right now you coming to church for some of you it's just the discipline that has now got you in a position to hear the invitation. Now here's the invitation. When you leave here discuss what you've heard here. Talk about it with your husband, with your wife, with your kids. Talk about it with your friends. Talk about it. It's the simple, I believe, I feel it strongly with my whole heart right now because some people are going to do it and some people will not. And those who won't, it's cool. Just don't look at God and blame God for the act of obedience you didn't step into. But that scripture says those who have an ear let them hear. I want to invite you I want to invite you as you leave today, as you go home, talk about what you've heard today and see what God will allow to start coming up supernaturally. He told them to do it and they said because you said so. And when they did what he said so, they caught something that they never expected to catch. It's the simple act of obedience that God wants to bless you with. Be blessed. We love you. The hoodies and everything and the merch is available in the cafe. If you're looking for a next step, we will see you in the hub. We love you. We will see you all next week.