The Faith Walk

Jonathan Evans: God is calling out to the saints who feel empty and he's been speaking to you and he's been saying, "Jump." And you're saying, "I can't. I can't see it. I don't understand it. This is not my experience. I'm not feeling it." And he's saying, "Jump."

I don't need you to understand it. I don't need you to feel it or see it. I need you to hear your Father's voice and jump. And once you do that, how else can you feel yourself in the hands of the Father unless you're willing to jump into them?

Guest (Male): You're listening to the Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. In a moment, Jonathan will continue today's message. But first, to thank you for your support of this ministry, Jonathan has a couple of gifts for you.

The first is the audio series called The Message in the Miracles, equipping you to shift focus to Jesus as your ultimate source and letting his breakthrough happen. The second part of this gift is the book Victory Is Yours. In this book, you'll find 100 uplifting devotions packed with scripture and daily motivations. I'll tell you more about these later in today's program. Or you can call right now at 1-800-800-3222 or visit tonyevans.org to learn more. Now, here's Jonathan with part two of his message, Let Down Your Nets.

Jonathan Evans: Why is Jesus telling me to forgive somebody who didn't even forgive me for the same thing? Maybe he's trying to get you to catch the peace you've been praying for. Why is Jesus trying to get me to give to a needy person when I myself have been in need? Maybe he's trying to get you to catch the blessing you've been praying for.

Why is Jesus trying to tell me to use a gentle word in time of battle? Maybe he's trying to get you to catch the harmony you've been praying for. Why is Jesus calling me to lead my family and I ain't never had no blueprint? Maybe he's trying to get you to catch the legacy that you've been praying for.

Why is Jesus calling me to live in this simplicity? Maybe he's trying to get you to catch contentment. Why is Jesus calling me to preach the gospel in uncomfortable places? Maybe because he's trying to get you to catch fish. And you can't have a catch unless you're willing to go outside of your experiences based on God's word.

He's not concerned first with your comfort. He's concerned first with the calling of your catch. And most of us miss the catch because we'd rather catch the comfort. It's okay to feel a little skeptical, but it's not okay to be still. And many of us are relying on our instincts and that's why our life stinks.

Because we want to stay in that comfort zone and God is trying to push us forward. He's calling you and I to the deep, a deeper experience of him. There's one thing when you get an invitation, it's another thing when there is application. If there is no application, there is no growth, no matter how emotional you got in church.

I love Ecclesiastes chapter 12 because it starts talking to the preacher. The writing and reading of many books will make you weary. Just tell the people to fear God and obey him. And if they learn to fear God and obey him, they will then be at the place where he already sent the fish.

And he's telling Peter and he's telling all the Simons in the room, you're hearing a lesson. It's in shallow water. It's a deep lesson, but it's in a shallow place. You have to take the lesson and you have to go to another place with it. And then what you do there is you take what I told you that's counter-intuitive to your experiences and you fully drop anchor in that place. Lower your nets down right there where I told you, because I've already sent your blessing that way.

After he told them to go out there, Peter said, "Jesus, I've been fishing all night." In other words, I don't want to keep doing this. I'm tired. Is there anybody in the room that's tired of fishing for the catch? Jesus is trying to get Peter to go do something else and he's like, "I'm done. I don't want to keep doing it. I ain't slept. It was a good message, but I need sleep."

It's hard when you're going through marital struggles and you've been doing it for a long time, or any type of struggle, and you go to the counselor and the counselor says, "Listen here, I need you to do these assignments when you get home." You be like, "Bro, I didn't come here for no assignments. I came here for you to give me biblical grounds. I'm done. I'm tired. I don't want to keep going."

Or my kids who do math and they can't get the answer right and they're tired and frustrated. And then they go to Mom and Mom says, "Well, try it this way." They be like, "Ugh, just give me a zero. I don't want to pass. I just want to be done." Jesus will catch you in your fatigue and say one more thing. I need you to take this lesson that was in your boat and I need you to apply it in your fatigue.

Having faith doesn't mean you're not fatigued. It just means that you're going to do what he says in spite of your fatigue and frustration. I'm just being real with you. I know some of you are fatigued and you're tired and you're hearing another message of Jesus in your situation. And you're like, "Oh Lord, he trying to get me to do something else that I don't want to do because I'm so fatigued." But Peter said, "I will do as you say."

Look at verse five. Simon answered and said, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But I will do as you say and let down the nets." Jesus is waiting for people to just say, "I will do as you say." In spite of my experiences, in spite of my fatigue, in spite of my frustration. I am a fisherman with no fish. I have a net, I've got a boat, I've got the tools, but I'm empty. I'm going to have to take up my cross, deny myself, and follow Jesus.

This is called walking by faith. Outside of his experiences, he's going to have to do what Jesus has told him to do in the area of his emptiness in order for his emptiness to become full. I asked my dad, I said, "Dad, how did you make it from your point A to your point B?"

Many of you may know my dad's story, many of you don't. He was raised in the inner city of Baltimore, Maryland, where the word statistic derives its meaning. I used to go there to Two Mama and Two Daddy's house. I'd be sitting looking out the window because it was like watching a soap opera. So I would just sit there and look out the window to see what was going on on the streets.

And Two Daddy would put his arm around me and he'd say, "Boy, I better not ever see you out there with them drug dealers." That was his name for drug dealers. So I'd be watching it and I was thinking when I was 18, I thought back on it. I said, "Dad, how did you make it from there to here? How did you get this catch?" And he said, "You really want to know?" I said, "Yeah, I'm 18 and I'm asking. Aren't you impressed? Tell me how you made it from your point A to your point B."

And then he said, "Go read Hebrews chapter 11 and tell me what you see." I said, "Man, is this a spiritual Easter egg hunt? You're sitting right here, you can't just explain?" He said, "No, go read Hebrews chapter 11 and tell me what you see." I went to Hebrews chapter 11. Verse one says, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen."

Verse four says, "By faith, Abel offered a better sacrifice than Cain." Verse five says, "By faith, Enoch was caught up." Verse seven says, "By faith, Noah built that ark." Verse eight says, "By faith, Abraham obeyed even though he had no idea where he was going." Verse 11 says, "By faith, Sarah conceived even though she was barren."

Verse 22 says, "By faith, Isaac blessed Jacob." Verse 24 says, "By faith, Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter." Verse 31 says, "By faith, Rahab hid those spies." I closed the book, I said, "Dad, I know how you did it. You did it by faith." He said, "Bingo, boy."

That's all you need because without faith, it's impossible. It's impossible. You can't get the catch without that. And he's going to test your faith. And he wants to hear God's people say, "I will do as you have said." I tell my kids all the time, "Y'all are always trying to catch freedom. That's what you want. You want to be free while asking me for money." I sound like my dad when he was talking about me.

I told them, "But there's only one key for that door: obedience. If you don't use that key, you can't access that door." They keep trying to go through the door with a myriad of keys that ain't that one. And I'm trying to help them understand that your catch lies in your obedience to what I've set up in our house.

Once you obey, then you begin to see fish of freedom jump in your net. But they not going to jump in your net if you don't go out to this deep. And God is telling us, just like I tell my kids and you tell yours, in order for you to have the catch, you must be obedient to the word. And when you understand that, you get to experience what Peter and his boys experienced.

Because what happened when he placed faith and he started rowing in what God had asked him to do based on his situation and his circumstance, based on the lesson that he was taught? His nets got so full in verse six and seven that they began to break. How did you go from empty with a burden to breaking with a blessing? How did you move from emptiness to being filled? They rowed out to that deep, they left their experiences behind, and they let down that net.

Guest (Male): His nets got so full in verse six and seven that they began to break. How did you go from empty with a burden to breaking with a blessing? How did you move from emptiness to being filled? They rowed out to that deep, they left their experiences behind, and they let down that net. More of the Faith Walk with Pastor Jonathan Evans in a moment.

Have you ever wondered what is God's plan for your life? Or do you feel like you're not sure what to do when you're struggling? Right now, Jonathan wants to give you a book called Victory Is Yours, with 100 uplifting devotions packed with scripture and daily motivations, helping you trust that your struggles aren't wasted in God's kingdom and he'll never leave you empty-handed. This book is our gift to you as a thanks for your donation to help support the ministry of the Urban Alternative.

Included in the book is Jonathan's four-part audio series, The Message in the Miracles. Discover how Jesus' miracles unlocked victory, restoration, and deliverance in your crisis through active faith, obedience, and bold action. Both the devotional book Victory Is Yours and the four-part audio series, The Message in the Miracles, are our way of showing appreciation for the continued support of listeners like you who make this program possible. Get all the details online at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or you can call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. Find your way out of distractions and into God's purpose for your life. Now, let's get back to Jonathan with the rest of today's message.

Jonathan Evans: Your net is the thing that God is asking you to do that's counter-intuitive to your experiences and what you normally do. And he's telling you to let it down so that you can have the catch that you've been asking him to. When you understand that, you're in the place where you can start filling up with what you've been praying for.

He had to call his boys over. "Hey fellas, I'm going to need some help. It's too much. The blessing is too much." And they came over and filled both the boats to where the boats both began to sink because he had sent so many fish after him. He was just waiting. Some of us are waiting on God and God is waiting on you and he got more time than you.

He ain't going to run out. You going to run out. It's already there. I'm waiting for you to obey, not in shallow-ish or deep-ish water. I need you to go to the deep and let down your nets for this catch. Simon and his boys went to the deep and let down their nets for a catch and they experienced what we call an overflow.

This is an overflow blessing. Deuteronomy 28:2 says, "All these blessings will overtake you if you obey me." Luke 11:28 says, "Blessed are those who hear my word and keep it." That's where the blessing is, but it only happens by faith. There was a little girl one day who was at the fourth floor of a building and the building was on fire.

The police were there, the ambulance was there, the fire department was there. Everybody was there and they thought they evacuated everybody out, but she was on the fourth floor and she felt her way through the building to get to the window. And they said, "Oh no, there's another little girl." And they said, "Hey, jump! You gotta jump! You gotta jump!"

They were sitting there to catch her. They had blown up one of them fire bounce house things, you know what I'm talking about. And they told her, they said, "Hey, you gotta jump! We can't go back in. It's too much smoke." The girl got there and she couldn't get herself to do it. Because what they didn't know is that this little girl was blind.

And so she couldn't see where she was jumping. So it was too uncomfortable for her to jump. And then she heard another voice that said, "Sarah, baby, jump!" Because that last voice was the voice of her father. And when she heard that voice, she said, "I don't need to see it. I'm jumping."

God is calling out to the saints who feel empty and he's been speaking to you and he's been saying, "Jump." And you're saying, "I can't. I can't see it. I don't understand it. This is not my experience. I'm not feeling it." And he's saying, "Jump." I don't need you to understand it. I don't need you to feel it or see it. I need you to hear your Father's voice and jump.

And once you do that, how else can you feel yourself in the hands of the Father unless you're willing to jump into them? Unless you're willing to place full faith in the catch he's already sent out there. Peter, go out to the deep and let down your nets and you will have a catch of a lifetime. And they did that and they had a catch of a lifetime because your faith is the net for the catch.

Your faith is the key to the lock. Your faith is the foundation for the structure. Your faith is the melody to the song. Your faith is the compass to the journey. Your faith is the igniter to the flame. Many people are saying, "It's up to him," and he's saying, "I've already spoken. Now it's up to you," and whether or not you're willing to partner with my word.

After they had the catch, it says in verse eight, "But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' feet and said, 'Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.'" Because when you experience the catch, you get a different view of the Christ. This passage is not about the catch. It's about the Christ.

And now he sees himself in light of his former disbelief. But that when he placed faith in Jesus Christ, he no longer saw Master, what he called him in verse five. Now he sees the Lord, what he calls him in verse eight. Not just a teacher or a good lesson, but someone now who owns my life. Peter says, just like Isaiah in chapter six of Isaiah, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." I see myself clearly.

I'm giving my life as a possession to you because if anyone has a true catch in their life from a testimony from Jesus Christ, you have now submitted your life and are ready to be used. Because now you know what time it is. Simon in the passage is not the fisherman. Jesus is and he caught Simon.

Today he's trying to catch Simons in the room. He's casting a net for you to recognize who he is. Because to hear his word and not do it is saying, "I don't believe you." And Simon said, "Oh, I believe." He was saved, humbled, and now ready for service. And it ends with this. He says, "Simon, now that you've had the catch, now that you've had the experience, I want you to take the experience you've had of me and go catch other fish in the sea."

What he tell Simon? I'm going to make you a fisherman of men. God will take your former misery and use that to catapult you to your greater ministry. God will take the filling of your empty times so that you can use that to bless other people that are empty in your life. God will use you to translate your experience for their experience.

Luke chapter five is only foreshadowing Peter's future ministry. The reason why he had him go out to the deep, show faith and catch those fish in the deep, is because the deep sea is the most chaotic part of the waters. Remember the sea represents sin, wickedness, and chaos. He sent him to the sin, wickedness, and chaos in order to get a big catch out there, not in the shallow.

Why? Because in Matthew 28, he's going to need Peter to demonstrate the same faith. Because he's about to say, "Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations." Bro, I'm about to send you right into the chaotic waters that I sent you in in Luke chapter five. And when you go, like I just told you, you're going to preach a message in Acts chapter two.

And you're going to talk about the Old Testament in connection with Jesus Christ. And in Acts chapter two, 3,000 souls came to Christ from the message that Peter taught. In Acts chapter 10, Peter saw the vision of the hog maw and the pig feet coming down on the sheet. And he said, "I can't eat that," and Jesus said, "Don't call unclean what I call clean."

What am I telling you, Peter? You're about to go to the Gentiles. Peter went to Cornelius' house and in Cornelius' house he brought his family and friends in. And Peter taught another message and all of the Gentiles received the Spirit. And what does it say in Acts 10? It says when Peter's brethren saw the catch of the Gentiles, it says they were amazed.

In Luke chapter five, when they had the catch, it says they were amazed. Jesus was only using Luke chapter five to get Peter ready for the whole book of Acts. Jesus is not just waiting for you to have faith for your catch. He's waiting for you to have faith for your calling. Because if he can't get you just to get your own catch, then how he gon' get you to get him his catch?

People are waiting on purpose and calling and use me Lord, send me I'll go. I'm trying to get you to go to your deep. I can't get you to go get your catch and you trying to get me to give you your calling. Peter's faith that he demonstrated that day only let Jesus know, "Yep, caught the right one. Now let's get to it."

I can imagine our Savior wanting to use every person in here because he doesn't create for nothing. If you're in here, he wants to use you. But he's waiting on you to go to the deep, let down your nets, so now he can say, "Okay, they're ready. Let's go fishing."

Guest (Male): That was Pastor Jonathan Evans. Before you go today, I want to remind you that we have a couple of gifts for you. Jonathan's devotional called Victory Is Yours and his four-part audio series, The Message in the Miracles. The devotional can be your go-to for facing trials with Jesus' power, vanquishing obstacles, and living victoriously by claiming Christ's cross as your own triumph.

You'll gain powerful reminders of his faithfulness to preserve towards his purpose for your life, plus practical steps and insights to win any battle. The audio series will equip you to shift focus to Jesus as your ultimate source, understanding obedient faith to let his breakthrough happen.

Both the devotional called Victory Is Yours and his four-part audio series, The Message in the Miracles, are a gift to you to thank you for your donation to help support the ministry of the Urban Alternative. It's our way of showing appreciation for the continued support of listeners like you who make this program possible.

Call 1-800-800-3222 anytime or get all the details online at tonyevans.org. Again, that's tonyevans.org. Or you can call our 24-hour resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. Find your way out of distractions and into God's purpose for your life. Thank you for listening to the Faith Walk with Jonathan Evans. The Faith Walk is produced as a part of the Urban Alternative, a ministry of Dr. Tony Evans.