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Captain Kirk
11-21-10, 07:28 AM
Look at Luke 5 with me. Here we read about Peter, James, and John. They owned their own business and they weren’t making it. This story is powerful. I mean powerful. These guys were professional fisherman. They fished for a living. They had labored all night and caught nothing. Then Jesus came along and they ended up with the biggest catch they’ve ever seen. They had never caught that much before. They probably hadn’t even heard stories of anyone who had caught that much.

Those boats had been sitting on the shore doing nothing. Before Jesus came, Peter, James, and John were caught up in the earth curse system. They had labored all night and caught nothing. This is about taking your life from that model – the earth curse system of striving in our own strength, with the boats sitting idle – to a situation where you have more than enough and you’re demonstrating the Kingdom of God.

Because the Kingdom of God is real. I really want you to get this! God blesses us. We have, at our disposal, these things for us to enjoy. We are the heirs. We need to demonstrate God to the people around us. Our lives MUST look different than those sitting around the shore with idle boats. Most of those people – the ones around you – live to stop. Is that your mindset, too? Because that’s not how you were created.
It works that way in the earth curse system because we’re all forced into labor, but that’s not God’s system. That’s why you need to let Him show you your created purpose, your gifts, and your talents. Once you get a hold of that, and you’re operating in it, you won’t want to stop.

There is a way to live above the earth curse system. God designed us to live differently. The earth curse system is about running after money, or hoarding money, but God’s system is about being a channel for money – about meeting needs, and having an inheritance that never ends. So how do we tap into that?

First, we have to enact the process and invite God to redirect us. We have to recognize that we’re looking to sources outside of the Kingdom of God for our provision. We have to transfer how we’re living, our businesses, and where we look for our provision over to the Kingdom of God. Peter, James, and John gave Jesus their boats and their business came under the authority and the dominion of God.

Next, we have to get the plan. Jesus gave Peter a plan. He told him to go out into the deep water and fish. You better be prepared for an idea that sounds goofy, or even stupid. Because sometimes we look at an idea through the eyeglasses of our pasts and we think it won’t work, that we’re not qualified enough, or we don’t have the right skills. God’s not limited by that! Ask God for the plan. Let Him lead you.

Third, we need to follow the plan. Now this is where things get crazy. When we step out to walk out the plan God has given us, we have to have courage. We have to operate in faith. It’s going to look scary. It’s going to look bigger than anything you’ve ever done. God wants to stretch you from where you are to a new place – to a new level of responsibility and influence. I always know that there may be some chaos as I’m adjusting to an added responsibility, but I also know that I don’t want to stay where I am – and this is the only way to get there!

Now, there are two principles I need you to catch when you read the rest of the story about James, Peter, and John.

The first is the principle of partnership. Peter’s boat began to sink. He had to call his partners – James and John – over to help, and then their boat nearly sank, too. But how much faith did they have to put in to get that catch? Zero! So how did they get the same benefit even though they didn’t act on the word of Jesus? They received the same benefit because they had the power of partnership. In Philippians 1, Paul called God’s people partakers and sharers of God’s grace. And that’s it. James and John didn’t have to exercise their faith to get the overflowing catch because they shared in the grace. Legally, they were in partnership with Peter. When God filled Peter’s boat, He was obligated to fill all of the boats, because He had to bless the business. Jesus had preached from the business.

When you partner with a ministry, you’re enacting your faith in partnership with the ministry. We’re releasing our faith for the money necessary to carry on the assignment that God has given us. We’ve already done that. Our faith is already developed past that. When you hook up with us, you get the same reward. It’s better than being by yourself. The grace that is on this ministry now begins to affect your personal finances.


The second principle we get from the story of Peter, James, and John is that of measure. See, the measure by which we give, and the measure by which we’re prepared, determines what we’re able to receive.

The measure Peter, James, and John had given Jesus was their entire business, so Jesus filled their business. Their catch was limited to the measure of the ability they had to hold their harvest. They only had two boats. What would’ve happened if they had 3,000 boats that day?

All of them would have been filled. They set the measure. YOU set the measure.

Remember the story of the woman in I Kings 4? Her husband had died and she was in debt. Her sons were being carried off into slavery to pay for the debt, so she asked the prophet to help her. He asked her what she had in her house and she said she had oil. He told her to gather pots to put the oil in. He didn’t tell her to only gather a few. In fact, he specifically told her NOT to gather a few. He tried to encourage her, but I believe she set the measure by her perception of what she needed. How many pots would have been filled if she had really seen the potential she had? If she had had one million pots, she could have changed plenty more than just the destiny of her family. She could have changed the destiny of her entire city.


I’m guessing that Peter, James, and John filled the boats and then had to drag the nets behind them to shore. They had more than enough – more than the boats could hold. That is how the Kingdom looks. That is what God wants for you.

Lord help us to excercise these principals so we may effect more people with your Good News.

Amen

doc h fmf
11-21-10, 09:36 AM
Thank You Doug!!!
Godbless You My Brother And Semper Fi.

Stephen Doc Hansen Hm3 Fmf

Sgt Jim
11-21-10, 09:44 AM
Amen.

hbharrison
11-21-10, 09:58 AM
Amen !!!

Wyoming
11-21-10, 12:15 PM
Here in the Emirates, it is always good to be able to read the word of God.