Transcription
What's up, family? It is PM and this is week one. Somebody say week one of Bgroups. I'm incredibly excited. This is a super dope curriculum that I believe that God is going to use to pull us, what's the word of the year? Into the depths. That's right.
Listen, this is the first week. And listen, I want to invite you first and foremost, let me give it up for you cuz you have decided that you want not only to get community, but you want to go deeper into God's word. You want to go deeper into your faith. That you want to see what God is doing in this year. So, make sure that you tune in, lean into these teachings, lean into the conversations because I believe that God is going to do a work. Somebody say work. I can hear you right there. A work during this time.
Write this down. Come on. This is lesson one. Lesson one. What do you think our first verse of the year is going to be? Exactly. Luke 5:4. Make sure you turn to it. Now, some of y'all should know this by now, but if you don't, you'll learn it here soon. Luke 5:4. Today's topic is this: depth is an invitation. Depth is an invitation. Let me read this here. This is our verse of the year. "When he had finished speaking, Jesus, he said to Simon, uh-oh, here it goes. Our our verse of the year. Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets to catch some fish."
Let's pray. Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, we love you. We thank you. We honor. There's nobody like you. Thank you for being in the midst of this. God, I pray that you would move in the only way that you can. We love you. Praise you in Jesus name. We all say, "Amen."
"Depth is an invitation." I want to give you a big idea really quickly and then we'll kind of work around this. This is it. Write this down because we know that notetakers are what? Y'all think I can't hear you. Notetakers are what? World changers. There we go. Listen, this is our big idea right here: God invites us into depth sometimes before we're capable of sustaining it. That an invitation comes from God first.
So when we get to Luke 5:4, to give you a little bit of context, um, and I talked about this on New Year's Eve, is that what we see is that when Jesus is teaching on the shore, he's teaching the multitudes. He's had been doing miracles. Crowds had gathered that he pushed out. He took to one of the boats. He said, "Hey, Simon Peter, let's go out and so I can use your boat to catch, I mean, excuse me, to teach the people." And he begins to teach the people for a little bit. And after he gets done teaching them, which it said, "When he had finished speaking," come on, context, he turned to Simon and said, "Now let's go out where it is deeper. Let's go out where it is deeper."
Oh, first thing you need to write down: what he's telling is like, "What I want to do for you, I cannot do in this space." That there's some things that are reserved for different areas of your life. There's some things that are reserved when you go a little bit further. There's some things that are reserved for when you when you go a little bit into more of an uncomfortable place. And so depth is an invitation.
Let me give you our very first thing is that that you need to know about how depth is invitation. Point number one: depth begins with God's voice. Oh my goodness. Depth begins with God's voice. Is what we see is when we come to Luke 5:4 is that we see that this was not Peter's first time meeting Jesus. The first time there was an introduction. This time there was an invitation. The very first time Peter met him and he came and we see in Luke chapter 4 that Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law and then leaves. But in Luke chapter 5, they come around again and he begins to do things in his life and then he gives him an invitation to go to a deeper space. Let me share this with you that in this season of your life, if you're in this career, this this B-group around these people, then you've made a decision that hey, I've heard God's voice and it's time for me to go deeper.
Depth begins with God's voice. I told you Jesus initiates the move to deeper water. So that means that depth is not a self-generated ambition. It is a divine invitation. I'm trying to get this into your spirit really quickly before I move to the next point because you got to know is this is that if you're feeling a tug in this season of your life. "Behold, I stand at the door and I knock," is what it says in the book of Revelations. Is that God, revelation, Revelations, we put the s on there, is that the thing is is that it is an invitation that comes from God. God often calls us deeper. Watch me. Don't miss this. God often calls us deeper than our confidence. Pastor Matt, what are you saying? Like Peter was used to fishing. He was used to deeper waters. Yeah, but he also had just come back from not catching anything. God was inviting him into a place to say, "Hey, I want you to go into a place that you that you have not been." Watch me. He had been to deeper waters, but he had not been with Jesus.
In this season of our life, when God is calling us to a place of death, number one, death begins with God's voice because death is somebody say invitation. Number two, here it is right here: invitation requires a response. If you was there on New Year's Eve, you'd hear me. You got a RSVP. RSVP. Invitation requires a response. This is what you have to know. Jesus did not push the boat. He just spoke. Can I share this with you? Can I? Uh oh, first week already. Can I step on your toes really quickly? Stop asking God to drag you out there. Some things you have to go. Jesus doesn't push the boats. He spoke. Jesus didn't drag them. He spoke. Jesus didn't drag them into his space. He didn't push them into his space. He invited them into a space. What does that mean? Is that means that you and I have to make, uh oh, here's this word, a decision. That that that invitation requires a response. My question for some of you right now is: why do you keep leaving Jesus on red? Why do you keep leaving Jesus on red? What? That it requires a response. Jesus didn't push the boat. He spoke.
Depth requires trust, not certainty. Now, this is the thing. Sometimes we feel like we need certainty in order to trust. But if I have all the evidence, then trust is not there. There's a faith level that is needed in this place. I'm I'm I'm trying to speak this is because in this invitation, some of us think that we're going to drift. You don't drift into depth. Maybe you can in the ocean, not when we're going deeper with God. Going deeper with God and in this season, it's going to require a level of intentionality that seems so uncomfortable to you. It's going to require something that's like, "Hey, this is more than I, I didn't know that I'm, I'm a little bit unsure." That if we were to go into the context when Jesus told Peter and them to go out into deeper waters, you got to remember that they had just come back from fishing all night. They were tired. They had tried it already. They had already failed. They caught nothing. They had cleaned their nets. They were had decided that they were done for a moment.
And let me encourage you because some of you feel like that you are done with faith. Some of you feel like you're just starting this again. Some of you feel like, "I tried it and it didn't work." Some of you feel like, "Man, the church let me down." Some of you feel like, "Hey, I don't really know what I'm going to get out of this." Some of you right now are in a B-group and you're like, "I'm just kind of here 'cause I got invited. I don't know what even happened, but I'm just here." But let me tell you, God is asking you to respond. God is asking you to make a decision. I have a question here for you in a moment. But the thing is is that delay often reveals fear more than discernment. When when God is inviting you into a place, you have to watch for fear because fear is going to say, "I don't know if I if I'm willing." Watch me. "I don't know if I'm willing to do that again. I don't know if I'm willing to give that in this moment. I don't know if I'm willing to inconvenience myself. I'm comfortable here."
Depth is an invitation, but every invitation requires a response. Invitations require response. Elbow the person next to you. High five the person next to you. Slap your yourself on the head if you watching this by yourself right now and say, "It requires a response."
Number three, and then I'm going to ask you some reflection questions. Number three is this: obedience unlocks access. Obedience unlocks access. Death is an invitation. Death begins with God's voice. That that invitations require responses. But what you have to know is that obedience unlocks access. Is that there was a miracle that happened when they went into the deep. Now, some people would argue that there is one miracle. I think that there was two. I could probably argue for three. Number one, the first miracle that we see is that they go into the depth. Jesus says, "Cast your net out." And says they pulled up more fish than they could even, watch this, than they could even contain. Their nets began to break. That's one miracle. Second miracle is that Peter immediately began to see the character of God. Now, I don't know about you, but it is a miracle when God gets to show up in your life and you get to see him differently than you did before. Number three is that God invites him to become a fisher of men. And I'm jumping a little bit ahead, but you got to know that I love the Bible. But it was a miracle that Peter's watching. Not only did Peter's day change, but his destiny changed because of an encounter with God, but it all started with obedience. The miracle waited in the deep. Pastor M. What are you getting to? Is that obedience? When you decide to go deeper when God calls you to, it unlocks access to things you did not have before. It unlocks access to miracles. It unlocks access to favor. It unlocks access to healing. It unlocks access, watch me, access to a deeper presence or deeper a deeper presence with God. And and the thing is what you have to know is that typically what stands in the way of of of obedience is is trust and and it's certainty and sometimes it's fear. But I want you to write this down is that faith moves first. Understanding has to follow. Peter said this right here. He said, "Master, we have been out here all night. But if you say so." But if you say so, we'll do it.
Obedience unlocks access and depth is discovered by those who respond. Listen to me. Depth is an invitation. I want to give you three reflection questions that you're going to ask within your group. You're going to discuss these.
Number one, somebody say one. Where do you sense God inviting you deeper right now? If you don't have something right now, then then pray about that in this moment. But where do you sense that God is calling you deeper? Is it deeper into your obedience? Is it deeper into your worship? Is it deeper into your time? Is it deeper within submitting your finances to him? Is it is is it truly going after him for the first time in your life? For some of you, you took a step to get into a community, and I'm so proud of you. Where is God calling you deeper?
Number two, and I want y'all to discuss these and be honest. Number two is what hesitation rises when you hear that invitation? What hesitation rises when you hear that invitation? If you feel God tugging you to make more godly friends, what is rising up in your heart and saying, "Yeah, but I don't, I'm afraid that they'll judge me. I'm afraid that they won't." What has what what area of your life is the enemy trying to bring anxiety or hesitation? "I don't need all that. The Bible, I ain't got to do that." What hesitation is stopping you from completely obeying God?
Number three, this is a good one. Is what would obedience look like in this season? What is God calling you to in this season to where you have to be wholeheartedly obedient? I want you to discuss those three questions. I want you all to figure out what God is saying. And your homework is that through these three questions that you hold each other accountable to take at least one step forward to go deeper. Death is invitation. It's our ability or excuse me, and it's our um responsibility to give the proper response.
Let me pray for you. Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, we thank you. Thank you because you're good. And because you are good, you have given us an invitation to go deeper. Ask for me in my house. Ask for us in Blueprint Church, we will say yes. Thank you for this community. Thank you for your love. We love you and praise you. Come on. Let's just put in the building one time or put in the house where we are. So now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that works in us in Jesus' name. Amen. I love y'all. I'll see y'all next week. Good week too.