Mike Breaux - Am I CHOSEN by God? (01/13/2026)
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Summary:
In this message from Acts 4, the preacher contrasts the boredom of ordinary life—like fishing without a catch—with the thrilling adventure Peter and John experienced after Jesus chose them and said, «Follow me.» He highlights how these unschooled fishermen, filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly proclaimed Jesus as the only name for salvation despite threats, astonishing leaders who noted they «had been with Jesus.» The takeaway is that truly following Jesus transforms a boring, safe existence into a meaningful story of faith, risk, purpose, and ripple-making impact that turns the world upside down.
Welcome and Gratitude
What’s up, everybody? Great to see you, LakePointe family! I want to welcome all our campuses and those of you that might be joining us online as well as those of you over in the bridge. Grateful for all of you, and I don’t say this enough, but man, I’m so grateful for all the teams that lead us in worship around this place, all of our campuses. Actually, they’re just phenomenal people with great hearts, as well as all the people behind the scenes. There are so many smart people around this place that are pushing buttons that I have no idea what work they’re doing, levers, cameras, graphics, and all kinds of stuff that enables us to be one church in lots of different locations.
To add to that, there are people working in parking lots, holding babies, greeting people on the way in, making coffee, and group leaders, and guys working in security. All of you that serve behind the scenes, I’m just super grateful for every single person that calls this place home and makes a difference by serving the way you do. So grateful for you!
Next week is going to be Easter, and be thinking about who you’re going to invite next weekend. It’s going to be a phenomenal weekend. I wish I could be with you; I’m actually going to be out in Southern California teaching this Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at a great church out there. So if you think of us, say a prayer for us this week that God would move in the hearts of people there.
What Do You Find Boring?
Now, we’re going to be in Acts chapter 4 today. We have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the book of Acts. Before we get there, let me ask you this question. Besides listening to guys like me, Josh, and others ramble on, what do you find extremely boring? Real quick, just turn to each other, take a few seconds, and say what just bores you out of your mind. Go!
All right, so how many of you would say waiting in traffic? That’s it, or just waiting in line generally? Well, anybody say those Hallmark movies bore me out of my mind? Yeah, that’s me! Reading a book—does anybody just hate to read? You go, «Reading is just boring to me, » or cleaning the house—super boring! You know, the baseball season is getting ready to start. How many of you say that watching baseball just bores you out of your mind? Or watching soccer—how many of you say that sports in general just bore you to death? What about shopping? I believe there is a hell, and it’s going to be held in an outlet mall; that’s exactly what I believe. How many of you say that a long road trip in a car just bores you like crazy, or you’re bored out of your mind on an airplane for a 4-hour flight? What about riding a school bus? Anyone think that’s the most boring thing in the world? Or actually sitting in school—boring, right? What about mowing the grass? Does that bore anybody? I love it, but it might bore some of you. Or how about sitting in a deer stand? Does that bore anybody else? What about fishing? Is fishing boring for anybody? Now, I do like to fish; I really do, and I really like it when I’m catching stuff, but I’m not a real patient fisherman. When you’re catching stuff, there’s hardly anything better. It is so fun! But when you’re not catching anything, there’s nothing more boring than sitting there fishing, at least to me.
The Boredom of the Fishermen
And I’m just guessing at times that’s the way they felt. I’m talking about James, John, guys like Andrew and Peter. I mean, it was a hard-working, honest way to make a living being a fisherman, but sometimes when the nets would fill up with so many fish you couldn’t handle it, it had to be an adrenaline rush. But most of the time when the nets would just sit there all night beside the boat, stealing empty, you know they had to be bored out of their minds. I heard someone say one time, «Boredom is the desire for desires.» And every time these guys had heard Jesus speak or when they sat in the boat having a discussion about what their friends told them they heard Jesus say one day, I think desire got stirred in them. See, sometimes we forget these guys were probably late teens, early 20s. I mean, they were up for a little passion; they were up for a little adventure. Not that any age negates that, but these were young guys who had been definitely intrigued with Jesus for quite a while. They’d never heard anyone say the things Jesus said; they’d never heard anybody teach like Jesus. He was nothing like the pious religious leaders they had grown up listening to. Those guys made following God sound like, well, boring. But Jesus made it sound like an adventure of faith and purpose. He even said things like, «Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the religious leaders, you’ll never really get to know God and his kingdom.»
So, I would bet that when those fishermen heard things like that, they probably thought, «That’s what I think; that’s what I’ve been feeling too. There’s got to be more than just keeping a bunch of man-made rules. God has to be closer than that; he’s got to be bigger than that. Life has to be more than this.» Now, I know that I would never be invited to follow a rabbi like that guy. In fact, I’ve been picked over all my life. I know the reality of who I am; I’m an unschooled blue-collar fisherman, but I’m telling you, if I ever had a chance to follow and hang out with a guy like that, man, I’d do it in a heartbeat. So you can imagine how these guys felt when Jesus chose them.
Being Chosen by Jesus
I really love the television series called The Chosen because that’s exactly what they were—they were chosen by Jesus. And I like how they portray what happened the day that Jesus chooses Peter. Take a look at this.
«Put that down for a catch a little further out.»
«I don’t have a quarrel with you, teacher, but we’ve been doing this all night. Nothing.»
«All right, that’s your word! Grab it! Grab, grab it! Take that! Let’s go! P! Help push this way! Pull up, pull up! Push it! Hold up!»
«Hold on! Breathe, breathe, hold!»
«I told you! I told you! It’s huge! Get out, my brother!»
«And the baptizer, you are the Lamb of God!»
«Yes, I am! Depart from me; I am a sinful man!»
«You don’t know who I am, the things I’ve done.»
«Don’t be afraid, Simon.»
«I’m sorry. We’ve waited for you for so long; we’ve been believing, but my faith—how sorry! Lift up your head, fisherman! What do you want? For anything you ask, I will do.»
«Follow me.»
You know, there are a few things in life that feel better than being chosen. When I’m chosen, it means somebody wants me; it means I’m desired, I’m loved, I belong. Regardless of my past, regardless of my imperfection, somebody sees me, somebody believes in me, somebody wants me. See, when you’re chosen, it makes you feel like you’re a contributor, like a real player. You think, «Man, they really want what I can bring! They must really believe that I could make this team, this company, this ministry, this family better. They want me; they chose me.»
I like what it says in 1 Peter 2:9: «But you are the ones chosen by God, » talking about us, «chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be God’s holy people, to speak out for him, to tell others of the night and day difference he made for you: from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.» Did you notice who wrote that? Yep, a former fisherman named Peter who was chosen. Every one of the disciples knew that they had been chosen by Jesus, and when they chose to follow him, they had no idea the adventures they would get to go on. They never imagined the mouth-dropping, awe-inspiring things that they would get to see and hear and do—things they would write about, things they would speak about. They had no idea of the extremely difficult circumstances they would go through or the countless lives that they would touch. They just knew they were chosen. Jesus said to them, «Follow me, ” and they did.
Recap of Acts 3 and Into Acts 4
We’re currently reading their story in the book of the New Testament called the book of Acts. Josh unpacked this part of the story from Acts chapter three last weekend. If you missed it, go back and check it out online; it’s so good. I love learning from Josh; I partner with Josh. But just a quick recap to give us an on-wrap to what happens next in the story. You might remember one afternoon, Peter and John are heading up to the temple at about 3:00 in the afternoon for prayer. Lots of people did this every single day. On their way in, there’s a beggar who had been crippled since birth who asked them for some money. Well, they’ve been learning to look deeper at people. I mean, hanging out with Jesus will do that to you. And they saw what he really needed was some hope and a touch from God. So Peter looks straight at this guy and he says, „We’re a little short on cash, but we’ll give you what we got: in the name of Jesus, the Messiah from Nazareth, get up and walk!“ And guess what? The guy got up and walked! It says he begins to jump around; he begins to dance! I mean, the dude’s doing the moonwalk, he’s flossing, he’s doing a city rock, running around praising God for the very first steps he’d ever taken in his life! Incredible scene!
And when the people saw this guy that they recognized as the crippled homeless guy that begs by the gate every day, now up and running around, pandemonium breaks out. Huge crowds gather around to hear from Peter and John. So in the moment, Peter stands up and begins to preach this passion-filled, history-filled, truth-filled, grace-filled, hope-filled message on the front porch of the temple. And again, it’s Peter, that uneducated blue-collar former Bass Pro Shop dude, now preaching, and his words create quite a stir. In fact, thousands more people on that day become followers of Jesus! Well, the religious leaders, they ain’t having it. Same ones who executed Jesus—they don’t like all this Jesus came back from the dead talk. So they push their way through the crowd and have Peter and John arrested and thrown in jail overnight.
Well, the next day, they run them through an interrogation process and ask them point blank, „By what power, by what name did you do this?“ And Peter, filled with God’s Spirit, asks them, „Are you really charging us with an act of kindness to a lame man? Seriously? Like that’s the charge?“ And then he gets really bold and he answers their questions straight up. He says, „You ask by what power you asked by what name—let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that this man was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the scriptures where it says, ‘The stone you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’ There is salvation in no one else; God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.“
The Astonishment of the Leaders
Now, my question to you: did you hear what Peter just said? Did you hear it? Because he’s telling you and me that by his death and resurrection, Jesus proves he is the cornerstone upon which to build a great life. And he, as Jesus said about himself, is the only way to eternal life. There is salvation in no one else, and man, I have been praying that many of you would choose to follow Jesus also and maybe even be baptized next weekend on Easter Sunday.
And I love this next verse, verse 13. It says, talking about the religious leaders, „When they saw the courage of Peter and John and they realized that they were unschooled ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.“ I think that’s one of the coolest passages in scripture! They took note that these men had been with Jesus. No other explanation for that kind of miracle, no other explanation for that kind of passion, no other explanation for that kind of confidence and courage. The only reason this much purpose was surging through these guys' veins was that Jesus had said, „Follow me, ” and they did.
So the religious council members, they confer with each other, talking about how they have to put a stop to all this so-called propaganda about the resurrection. And it says this in verse 18: „They called the apostles back in, ” talking about Peter and John, „and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.“ But Peter and John replied, „Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? We can’t stop telling about everything we’ve seen and heard! We’re sorry, but sir, you don’t understand. Three years ago we were fixing our nets, bored out of our minds—not so much bored with our job, but just bored with life. We knew there had to be so much more than the mere religion that you know and teach. Our lives, much like yours, were so empty. But then Jesus walked by our boat and he said, ‘Follow me, ’ and everything changed! We can’t shut up about the things we’ve seen him do! We can’t stop talking about the things we’ve heard him say. He alone has the words of life. He alone holds the keys to deep satisfaction. He alone holds the power over life and death. He alone breathes life into people like us, empty people. He alone can forgive people like us and you guys, for that matter! He is the one who, if you let him, will take you places you never dreamed you’d get to go! He will lead you on adventures that you never ever saw yourself taking! You see, following him is an absolute rush! He is our life, and man, we wish you would open your hearts and follow him too! But we’re sorry, we just can’t and we won’t shut up about him!“
Such a cool story! Then it says, „The council threatened them further, but they had to let them go. They couldn’t figure out a way to keep riots from breaking out among the people because the people knew that they had just witnessed the greatness and power of God in their midst.“
Imagining Peter and John’s Conversation
As I was rereading this story, I got thinking, I wonder what these two young guys said to each other as they’re walking out the door after this meeting with the Sanhedrin Council. I don’t know; it’s one of those things I want to ask Peter and John when I get to heaven. „Hey, tell me what you guys said to each other when you were walking out of that meeting.“ I don’t know; maybe it went something like this:
Peter goes, „John, dude, can you believe what just happened?“
„I know, Pete! This is crazy! And when that lame man asked us for cash, and we both sensed that the Holy Spirit was saying to us, ‘Go ahead, you have the power! Heal that guy! ’ Was that scary or what?“
„And by the way, I know all the people around you, Peter, heard you say to that guy, ‘Get up and walk in the name of Jesus! ’ Because you don’t realize it, but your voice carries big time, Peter! What if the guy had just laid there? Do you know how stupid we would have looked?“
„And Peter says, ‘Yeah, but he didn’t, did he? ’ And they’re high-fiving each other and chest-bumping each other, saying, ‘This is simply unbelievable! Did you see all those people give their lives to follow Jesus too? This is amazing! Man, he told us we’d be catching people someday and not just catching fish! Did you ever think in a million years the two of us would get to do something like this with our life? ’“
So can I ask you again, are you bored?
Living a Meaningful Story
I can remember one summer taking my low rider beach chair and putting it in that spot where the surf meets the sand, where, you know, it comes up on your feet and stuff. I was playing a Zac Brown and Jimmy Buffett song, „Knee Deep In The Water Somewhere.“ The only worry in the world is, „Is the tide going to reach my chair?“ I was sitting there, and I read a couple of books—one, a murder mystery that was written by a guy who knows how to tell a great story, and then I read a book about actually living a great story. The book is called „A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.“ The author, Donald Miller, begins the book by talking about how nobody would pay to see a movie about a man who worked all of his life to get a Volvo. He said nobody would pay to go see that movie. No one’s inspired by that story! No one cries at that story! Nobody is moved by a film about a guy who always wanted a Volvo and worked all of his life to get it! And then he writes these words: „But we spend years actually living those stories and expect our lives to be meaningful. The truth is if what we do with our lives won’t make a story meaningful, it won’t make a life meaningful either.“
Sitting there reading that book got me thinking about the story that I was living. I thought, „Is it a meaningful story that I’m living, full of faith and risk and adventure? Is it a story about a man who really, really follows after Jesus? Is it a story about a man who lives with passion and joy and courage and generosity? Is it a story about a man who stirs up hope everywhere he goes? Is it a story about a man who’s fully alive? Or is it a story about a bald guy who just sits on the beach and reads about it?“
You see, people absolutely love the idea of living a better story, but few will actually live it. Few will actually walk by faith and embrace the risk, saying, „I don’t know, man. Seems like too much potential for conflict, too much potential for pain. If I speak up, if I take a stand, then I might be a little ridiculed. Maybe there will be a little persecution involved if I reach out in love. I know it’s going to be extremely inconvenient, and my schedule is so packed right now. You know what? I hear him saying ‘Follow me, ’ but man, it’s not a really good time; I’m pretty comfortable right now, actually.“
Listen to me, gang! What’s true in a great story is true in life. If there’s no faith, if there’s no risk, if there’s no sacrificial, other-centered living going on, then chances are you and I are living a pretty boring story. And you know what? I look around and I see so many people who really are bored out of their minds. There’s no passion, there’s no all-consuming purpose in their life; they’re just stuck in that same old routine day after day. They have no interest in creating anything other than a calm, safe, comfortable, secure, risk-free environment. Boring is good! Their life, if it was a flavor of ice cream, would be the flavor beige!
Making Ripples Like a Cannonball
I’ve talked for years about how some people get into a swimming pool. I know how some of y’all—some of y’all toe dippers—be honest—you stick a toe in a pool and go, „Whoa, that’s cold!“ And then it’s like your ankles? „Whoa, it’s cold!“ Then your calves? „Woo, cold!“ Thighs? „Woohoo!“ All the way in, you’re going, „Oh my goodness, this is…“ That’s no way to get into a pool! How do you get into a pool? You take a running start, tuck up your knees, and do a cannonball! You hit the water, and the water goes flying, and the ripples go out and hit the side of the pool, and they come back in; they go back out, they come back in, they go back out. And then if you’re really big, they come back in, they go back out, and they come back in, and they go back in. But if the sides of the pool weren’t there, the ripples would just keep going and going and going and going and going long after you made your splash.
And I believe that’s what God calls you and me to do with our life! That’s what it means to really follow Jesus—to jump in with the courage and faith like guys like Peter and John and create some ripples in your life to touch a life who will touch a life who will touch a life who will touch a life, to make some ripples that will continue to touch people long after you’re dead and gone.
Do you remember what was the most commonly said thing about the first-century followers of Jesus? We talked about this just a couple of weeks ago. The first thing people said about them was, „These people, they love everybody.“ The second most commonly said thing about these folks was, „These are the men and women who are turning the world upside down. These are the ones who follow—who really follow—this man named Jesus.“ Seems like everywhere they go, they’re dispensing grace, they’re stirring up hope! They’re definitely making some ripples! All the way to Lake Pointe Church, we’re still feeling their ripples! We’ve been saying the book of Acts is really all about the acts of the Holy Spirit because he’s the star of this whole book of Acts! You can watch him guiding people, encouraging people, gifting people, empowering people. He’s the reason these men and women were turning the world upside down! He kept repeating in their ears the words of Jesus: „Remember, follow me! Follow me!“
Chasing the Wild Goose
Mark Batterson, in his book called „Wild Goose Chase, ” writes about how the Celtic Christians had a unique name for the Holy Spirit. They called him „An Gead Glas”—I think that’s how you say it—or the wild goose. They saw God’s Spirit as someone who could not be tracked or tamed. There was an element of danger or an air of unpredictability surrounding him. Mark writes about having a relationship that he calls an inverted relationship with God. This is what he says: „Instead of following the Spirit, we invite the Spirit to follow us. Instead of serving God’s purposes, we want him to serve our purposes. And while this may seem like a subtle distinction, it makes an ocean of difference. The result of this inverted relationship with God is not just a self-absorbed spirituality that leaves us feeling empty; it’s also the difference between spiritual boredom and spiritual adventure.“ And man, he is right!
I have few regrets in my life, but most of them center around the fact that I didn’t go where he was asking me to go. I didn’t follow his lead. And most of the thrills of my life have been when I said yes to him and began to follow his lead. I’m learning that if you will chase the wild goose, so to speak, he will take you places you never imagined going, and it is a chase anything but boring! Jesus said in Mark 8:35, „Only those who are willing to throw away their lives for my sake will ever know what it means to really, really live.“
Don’t you want to really, really live? The people of the book of Acts, guys like Peter and John, they knew what it meant to really live. They were fully alive because they chose to follow the one who chose them. So let me ask you again, are you bored? Want a life filled with adventure? Then follow Him! You want to experience, as Jesus called, a life to the full? Follow Him! Want to be a better husband, a better dad? Want to be a better wife, better mom? Then follow Him! You want to experience the thrill of being used by God to touch other people’s lives? You want to know unstoppable power? You want to know deep satisfaction every day of your life? You want to stir up some hope with your life? You want to make some ripples with your life? You want an unquenchable fire burning within you? Then choose to follow the one who chose you!
I’m talking really follow Him! This makes me wonder—this whole study of the book of Acts just makes me wonder, what if we, the church, all of us began to live a little dangerously, came out from hiding behind the brush, allowed God to light a flame in us? What if we began a revolution, didn’t back down from persecution, but became part of the solution? Got in the business of the distribution of love, grace, and hope? What if we knew what God said—let his word wrap around our heads more than words collecting dust unread, but a book that’s alive and not dead?
What if our families were thriving—a place of peace, no depriving, no striving, more than just surviving, but rising up to give, serve, care, and guide? Set aside our pride, decide to abide, to stay beside a place where children can thrive, love is supplied and hope presides? What if you’re 12, 16, or 20, and you live with a courage unlike so many possess—valor, boldness, and faith plenty? Let God write your story from the very beginning. Hand him your record and let him start spinning! All the somedays will be your phony and fleeting—you’re worthy right now, and your life now has meaning!
What if we unleashed compassion, flung our faith into action, opened our hands, our home, our wallet, our door to the lonely, the outcast, the hurting, the poor? Gave to our neighbors and didn’t keep score? Humbled ourselves so that someone else could soar? What if all of our wh-yifs were more than just the words we say, more than just a game we play? What if we didn’t stray or sway or live our lives in shades of gray? What if instead, the day we pray, „Oh God, make this our DNA?“
I think we’d make some ripples!
Closing Prayer
Father, we’re so grateful, so grateful that you chose us, that from the beginning you chose to choose people who would choose you, that you would say to us, „Follow me.“ And God, there are so many of us that have made that decision to follow you, and we look back on our life and go, „Wow, what I would have missed out on if I hadn’t said yes to the one who wants to choose me!“
So, Father, I pray that you would give us faith, risk, and adventure. Move us beyond our comfort zones! Help us to be people that stir up hope wherever we go-people that are kind and loving and compassionate-people who just shine a light. And God, I pray that would be so true of us today and the rest of this week as we invite folks to come for Easter. I pray that the light of Jesus Christ would just flood their lives with hope. And I pray all this in the one who said, „Follow me.“ Jesus, we love you. In your name I pray, amen.