Out of the Box

Out of the Box

Luke 5:1-11

While Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, many people pushed to get near Him. They wanted to hear the Word of God. 2 Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen were not there because they were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into a boat which belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to push it out a little way from land. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Push out into the deep water. Let down your nets for some fish.” 5 Simon said to Him, “Teacher, we have worked all night and we have caught nothing. But because You told me to, I will let the net down.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish, their net started to break. 7 They called to their friends working in the other boat to come and help them. They came and both boats were so full of fish they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he got down at the feet of Jesus. He said, “Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man.” 9 He and all those with him were surprised and wondered about the many fish. 10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised also. They were working together with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will fish for men.” 11 When they came to land with their boats, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Limited and lock in by. . .

What we are busy doing

2 “Jesus saw two boats on the shore. The fishermen were not there because they were washing their nets.”

You can either be consumed with your DISTRACTIONS or be consumed with your DESTINY, but you can’t be consumed with both.

Limited and lock in by. . .

What we don’t have.

3 Jesus got into a boat which belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to push it out a little way from land. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

I’m not asking what you have, I am asking who you are holding? Its not about the container, it is all about the contents!

Limited and lock in by. . .

What we have already tried.

4 When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Push out into the deep water. Let down your nets for some fish.” 5 Simon said to Him, “Teacher, we have worked all night and we have caught nothing. But because You told me to, I will let the net down.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 might have popped into his head. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

The greatest gift you will ever give to God is the person you become.

Limited and lock in by. . .

What we have to lose

10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were surprised also. They were working together with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will fish for men.” 11 When they came to land with their boats, they left everything and followed Jesus.

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Effective Radical Prayer

 

 

Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:19–20

Effective radical prayer engages the hearts of men and women, teenagers and young adults, boys and girls. Solo prayer invites the ear of the Lord, but group prayer purifies prayer. In a group of devoted disciples, God’s will is established and boldly petitioned to heaven. Prayer support from a small group gives confidence, direction, and determination. For example, the righteous one who fervently prays for those outside the faith is effective to draw them within the faith. There is no doubt hell shudders when heavenly supplications seek to snatch lost souls from eternal damnation. The Holy Spirit hovers over prayer meetings motivated to glorify the Lord and save sinners. Group prayer ignites eternity. “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31). We pray and praise God, but Christ converts. The pressure is not on Christians to make Christians, but to pray for hearts to be pricked by God’s Spirit, converted, and born into the kingdom of God. The Lord uses prayer to soften sinners so the soil of their heart moistens and seeds of truth take root. Pray without ceasing for Jesus to save lost souls. “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:46–47). The local church is a natural location to lean into the Lord in small group prayer. Our home can also be a sanctuary of supplication to Christ, with other like-minded believers. So begs the question, “Are you engaged in effective prayer with other followers of Jesus?” Prayer is a team sport. It is not meant for us to only linger alone with the Lord. We all need prayer, and we need to pray for others. It is a Holy Spirit-initiated prayer movement that moves cultures and communities toward God. Perhaps we complain less to each other and pray more with each other. When we humble ourselves together before God, He hears, He answers, and He heals. Effective prayers mobilize the body of Christ. “You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven” (Matthew 16:19 msg).

Prayer Heavenly Father, give me great faith to pray boldly in the name of Jesus, in His name I pray.

Application Does Christ capture my heart in radical prayer with a small group of believers in Jesus?

Related Reading 2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 7:14; 1 Corinthians 5:4; James 5:16

Trending Part 4

Trending Jesus

II Corinthians 5:20 NKJV
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Ambassador—an official representative

Reconcile—to be friendly or harmonious; to adjust; to settle the differences; to bring to quiet submission or acceptance.

The Greek word for “evangelism” means “sharing good news”.

Acts 26:18 NKJV
18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

I am right now going to recommission every one of us as ambassadors for Jesus Christ.

Use your testimony.

Acts 26:28 NKJV
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

I Corinthians 3:6-7 NKJV
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

It’s our turn. Christ has no back up plan. We are the plan.

Matthew 28:16-17 NKJV
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.

This plan can only be accomplished by the fact that the Spirit of God has come within us, prompted us, and challenged us to move forward; even when we have doubt or other agendas, it’s still the Spirit of God that brings us back to this great commission and to the fact we are commissioned.

Acts 1:8 NKJV
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:6 NKJV
6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Some of the 500 in Acts chapter 1 were mentally captivated by the physical restoration of Israel. They wanted more than anything for the Romans to be defeated and Israel once more to be a great nation.

The majority of the crowds that followed Jesus seemed more interested in what He could do than who He was.

All of a sudden, a man, who was just a simple fisherman—who denied even knowing Christ—turned into a flaming evangelist with no doubt and no fear, declaring the power of God and quoting scripture from the book of Joel and Psalms without any hesitation.

This was not bad for the disciples’ first crusade. Three thousand souls were added to the kingdom.

Christ ends His words to the 11 disciples in Matthew 28 by saying, “Lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.”

In other words, He has promised that He’s going to help us to accomplish this great commission to reach the world.

Mark 1:17 NKJV
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

To catch men and women, we’ve got to use the right bait—the bait of a life that’s filled with the love of God and words that are filled with His love.

The gospels record approximately 132 contacts Jesus had with people.

6 were in the temple.
4 were in the synagogues.
122 were with people in their daily walks of life.

As I have said—inviting people to church is fine and good, but the Great Commission is about going

Matthew 28:19 NKJV
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Romans 6:4 NKJV
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.