Steven Furtick - A New Net Worth (02/14/2017)
Drawing from Luke 5, the preacher tells how Jesus stepped into Simon Peter's boat, taught from it, then called him to launch into deep water for an abundant catch after a night of failure. The sermon redefines "net worth" beyond money—highlighting worthless pursuits like grudges or popularity versus what's truly worth it: finding a cause in Christ, obeying His word, and valuing God's work, word, and will through sacrificial giving, especially ahead of the church's special offering.
Gratitude and Going Deeper in Faith
Hey, I want you to take a seat. Thank you so much for your attendance today. Thank you, worship team, for a great time in the presence of God. Don't you appreciate our worship teams and our production teams and our parking teams and our children's ministry teams? I saw all the volunteers gathered together at Lake Norman today. They were meeting before you ever were even getting dressed for church, setting up, getting things done.
And, you know, why we do what we do, if you're wondering that, why would people give their day off on their weekend to serve Jesus Christ? I think you'll see that answer in my message today, because we're in a season where we don't just want to receive from the Lord what he has for us in the next year, but we're consecrating an offering to God next weekend, December 12th and 13th.
And all the people who call this ministry their home and who are fed through this ministry are planning to bring an offering to the King. And we've been praying about what to bring and wrestling about what to bring, and this is our yearly tradition. It's funny when people get uncomfortable if money is mentioned in church. How do you think the seat that you're sitting in was in place for you to come to church if somebody didn't give? That's the only way we do what we do.
And not to single anybody out, but just to know who's with me. How many of you are planning on participating in the offering in some way next weekend? Would you raise your hand? Well, we're going to be all right if you do your best.
The Story of Jesus and Simon's Boat
And in the spirit of that, I want to read a passage, a little story, a little Bible story, just talk you through a little Bible story that I think exhibits what it means to go deeper in your faith. Last week, we talked about graduating in gratitude. Did any of you find it more difficult to complain last week after hearing that message? Just had a little check. That was the goal.
And last week, we were going higher, and this week, we're going deeper into all the things that God has for us. Check this out in Luke chapter 5, verse 1, coming up on the big screen. One day, as Jesus was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the Word of God.
And he saw at the water's edge two boats. Touch somebody and say, I'm on the edge. I'm on the edge. I'm on the edge. I'm on the edge. I'm on the edge. He saw at the water's edge two boats left there by the fishermen who were washing their nets.
He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon. This guy gets his name changed to Peter later in Scripture, so that may be what you're more familiar with. But God has us all in a process. And so, this is how Simon Peter became a disciple of Jesus.
He had a boat at the edge of the shore, and Jesus got into it and asked him to put out a little from the shore. And then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch. Let down the nets for a catch.
Obedience Even with a Bad Attitude
And Simon answered, Master, sir, we kind of know what we're doing. I know you're a carpenter. I know you're really good at public speaking. But fishing is our business. And we've been working hard all night and haven't caught anything. But, you know, if you want me to, like a teenage girl, because you say so, I will let down the nets.
How many know that God can bless your obedience, even if you have a bad attitude, if you're just willing to step out and see. Touch somebody and say, Step out and see. I will let down the nets.
And when they had done so, not when they thought so, not when they intended so, not when they prayed so, but when they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break.
So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. They filled both boats so full. Wouldn't it be cool if we were in a series called Full? Filled. They filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
Biggest problem before Jesus showed up was empty nets. Biggest problem after he got involved was sinking boats. How many know God is about to do something extraordinary in your life?
A New Net Worth – Redefining What Matters
So I want to speak today from this subject: A new net worth. A new net worth. Let's pray one more time. You're going to need it for this message. Father, open their hearts, their ears, and their minds and make them ready to obey and receive everything that you put in my heart to give them. Give us courage to listen and even more so give us the boldness to obey in Jesus' name. And everybody said Amen.
I'm in a good mood today. Excited about Jesus. Excited about the local church. Excited about his goodness in my life. Let me straighten my desk out for a moment if you would. You know how you can tell when I have a good sermon? When I come up with notes written on stuff like this. That means God was speaking to me so fast I couldn't find the iPad to put it in. Old school.
Finish this sentence. I wish I had known then what I know now. If you have a younger person sitting next to you, somebody who looks younger than you, tell them, I wish I had known then.
Maturity: Knowing Worthless vs. Worth It
It used to annoy me to death when people who were older than me would say that to me. It felt kind of condescending. You know, like, well, just tell me what it is then. You know so much. And they would say something like, no, you just have to live it. I can't tell you about it. You just have to live it. That's the only way.
And that's kind of frustrating to me, but I'm 35 now. 35 with the stress level of a 65-year-old. Pastor and all, you dysfunctional people will age you in dog years.
But when they used to say that, and they would say it like there was some secret, now I'm learning what they mean, is that maturity in life is learning the difference between what's worthless and what's worth it.
And the essence of what those well-meaning advice givers, pseudo-advice givers, the essence of what they were trying to get across to me was, there are some things that you're worried about that it's worthless to worry about. And there are some things you're neglecting that are totally worth it to invest yourself in.
Worthless Pursuits That Drain You
And I wish I had known the difference earlier between what was worthless and what's worth it. I wish I had learned earlier in life what was worth my emotional energy. I wish I had known that holding a grudge is worthless because, you know, you really only lock yourself in solitary when you hate somebody with malice in your heart.
No matter what they did to you and no matter how it hurt you, it's not worth it for you to hate them, but it is worth it for you to step outside of your bitterness and forgive somebody regardless of the offense so you can set yourself free. It's worthless.
You find out, you live a little while, you find out. It's worthless to try to control people because people are basically going to do what they want to do. It's worthless to try to get people to, you know, you can't do it. It's worthless to try to get somebody to be something that they're not.
In fact, I've come to the point where I don't even give advice anymore. Because people, when they ask for advice, they don't really want advice. They want affirmation of a decision that they've already made, and if they don't get it from you, they'll go to the next person and they'll just keep going through their contact list until they can find somebody to tell them what they wanted to hear so they can do what they already made up their mind to do.
Just some advice. This is some advice. I give advice only in the pulpit. I don't give advice in other parts of life because people don't really want to hear it. They don't really want to hear it unless it's what they want to hear. And I found out it's worthless. Everybody say, worthless.
Teenage Chases and Lasting Purpose
To try to convince somebody of something, you know, for them to really be convinced is going to take them coming to their own conclusion. You can't manipulate it. You learn these things. Man, how many worthless efforts did you make as a teenager to impress people? How much dumb stuff did you do trying to be popular with people who aren't even in your life today, trying to impress people who ended up in jail?
Trying to impress people you really didn't even like, but you needed them to like you? If I could grab every teenager, I would just say, you know, it is worthless to pursue popularity at the expense of your purpose. But to pursue your purpose with everything you've got, no matter what they say about you or think about you, no matter how lonely it makes you feel in the moment. God's favor lasts for a lifetime.
I found out pursuing your purpose is worth it. Touch somebody and say, it's worth it. Let the whole church shout, it's worth it. I found out that some things are worthless and some things are worth it.
Jesus Enters the Boat – From Crowd to Committed
And I see as the central proposition of the text in Luke chapter 5, a man named Simon Peter coming to terms with his own personal self-worth and with the worth of the vocation that he had been assigned. I see it when Jesus comes over to his boat, gets all up in his business and grabs this guy. Hey, man, I need your help. I need your help.
He's preaching one day. Jesus is preaching one day on the shore. He did it because the acoustics would have been really good, like an amphitheater, so his voice could echo. He didn't have one of these. So he had to get out in the lake to provide natural acoustics.
And he sees a guy on the shore named Peter. His name is Simon, but he sees the potential of Peter in a man named Simon. And he says, here, come help me out. And he invites him to do something that God is inviting you to do.
What's your name? Darius. Darius is going to help me preach the rest of my sermon today. Now, he wasn't planning on this. Just have a seat. We didn't talk about this. I just grabbed you. Jesus just got in Peter's boat.
What would you do if you went in your car in the parking lot to leave church today and I was sitting in the passenger seat talking about, hey, where are we going to lunch? I like Red Lobster. But that's what he did. He just got in his boat and said, let's do this.
The Crowd vs. The Committed
Now, the crowd had gathered on this day to hear Jesus preach. Peter wasn't necessarily in the crowd, but he necessarily wasn't committed yet either. We read in Luke chapter 4 that Jesus and Peter had already met. In fact, Jesus came into Peter's house and healed Peter's mother-in-law. Many scholars believe that's why Peter denied him. You get it on the way home.
But he wasn't yet committed. Everybody say committed. I notice in every church you got the crowd and you got the committed. I'm going to preach this thing today, Darius. You're going to help me. Darius wasn't expecting to be up on the stage today, and Peter wasn't expecting for his boat to be turned into a pulpit.
Some of the greatest blessings of your life will be when you are obedient to trust God in unexpected opportunities. All of a sudden, Peter, who was one in a crowd, becomes a central player in the purpose of God.
The crowd gathered around that day, Darius, it says, to listen to the word of God. And every weekend in our church, people gather to hear the word of God. They don't gather to come see me. They don't gather for the music. Music's good. I preach good, all that stuff, you know, real good.
But they gather to hear from God. And that's good. That's good because it is an act of worship for you to press in and to press past whatever you have to press past to get in the presence of God.
That's one of the reasons Jesus needed a boat was because the crowd was so claustrophobic all around Jesus that he needed to push out so he could keep preaching. But the miracle never happens on the shore. The miracle never happens in the crowd. The miracle happens when somebody from the crowd commits at a deeper level.
Giving Jesus Your Boat
And so it's one thing to say, I'm coming to church to get a word from God. It's another thing to say, I'm giving Jesus my boat so he can speak from my situation. And that's what's happening here.
I meant to ask you, how old are you? I'm 17. 17. Going on 18. That's good. That's perfect. I became a real true follower of Christ when I was 16. Mom took me to church. I was in the crowd. I made my commitment at 16. Walked the aisle, all that stuff, and my life changed.
And I kind of made that decision that all my gifts, all my abilities, everything God has blessed me with, and even my limitations, I was going to put it all in God's hand at that point and really commit my life to Christ.
And a lot of people aren't experiencing what God wants for their life because they're still in the crowd, but they're not committed yet to Christ. And I pulled you up because I just wanted to find somebody around that age and walk you through what it means to commit at that level, what it means to let God in your boat, to let him all up in your business, to not just gather to hear him and, oh, you know, that's good and I do this thing, but to really go deeper. Everybody say deeper.
Building Assets, Liabilities, and True Cause
Do you have a… I know this is personal. Do you have a lot of money right now personally? I didn't figure you would. If you did at 17, I would have other questions to ask you because I didn't have any money at 17.
Now, I had a job at 17. I've never been scared to work. When I was 17 or I think that at that time, I had a couple of different jobs I was involved in. And so, I was going back and forth. I worked for a pet cemetery and cremation service. You're judging me. I didn't kill the animals. I disposed of them for the people.
You just have a little bit of money, and you go, and you earn a little bit of money. And I don't know if you have, like, a job yet or a part-time job or you're just doing school, but it doesn't matter because right now you have a very low value for what things are actually worth because you probably don't pay for everything yourself. Right.
You probably don't make the water come on. You probably don't heat the house. You have no idea all the unseen sacrifices that somebody, and I don't know you, so if it's your parents or if it's somebody who is paying the bills around the house, you have no idea.
And one day, you're going to come back to them and thank them for putting up with your expensive self and all this flat bill stuff and all this stuff that you took for granted and say thank you to your parents. I'm just talking to Darius.
From Assets to Real Prosperity
But hopefully, hopefully, what your mom is hoping and those who have to support you, they're all hoping that one day you'll make your own money. Where'd the parents go? They're hoping that one day you will establish your own checking account, savings account. Maybe you pay for your own apartment.
Me and Holly, our first apartment that we rented was $415 a month. Juniper Terrace apartment. C-15. 600 square feet of glory. I'll tell you a funny story. When we first moved in, the walls were so thin, it was a duplex. And the lady next door came and knocked on our door, and she said, I just want you to know, in case you're wondering, we can hear everything y'all do in there over on our side. I mean everything.
But watch this. Hopefully, you know, then maybe you buy a house. Maybe you meet Mrs. Darius and you buy a house. You put down a down payment. It's going to be good. You've begun to collect what we call assets. Turn around to the screen. I'll put it up on there for a lesson. Assets.
And assets is what you own. Anything you own. So turn back around to me. So. you might get a car. That's an asset. It's a depreciating asset. Broke people buy depreciating assets to try to look flashy. Don't do that. What you want to buy is assets that make you money. You want your money to make money. That's how wealthy people think. So that's how you're going to think.
And you want to buy assets, true assets. And you can total up maybe at age 25 or 30. Hopefully, you followed God's ways. He's been good to you. He's been faithful. Hopefully, you have some assets. Hopefully, you have a house and a car, and you have a retirement account. Because you can't always work all your life. So you put a little aside every month.
And I started doing that when I was 22. I started putting a little aside. It was very little, but you put it aside. And you've got a savings account and an emergency fund. You're building your assets. Your assets.
The Key Column: Cause Over Crisis
And then you have another column, if you look at your financial statement. It's called liabilities. Liabilities. Now, some people have a lot of liabilities. Liabilities.
And I'm going to teach you the simple formula for financial success. You ready? This is like a $10,000 consultation I'm giving you, by the way. Is that when you have more assets than liabilities, you're called prosperous. When you have more liabilities than assets, you're called poor.
And then you go back home to see mom again for an extended stay. And that's not what you want. Am I helping him?
And so then maybe you're 30, you're 35 years old, and you've got assets and you've got liabilities. Now, some people, they have liabilities. That's what you owe on your car. What your car is worth is the asset. What you owe on it is the liability.
What you own is the asset. What you owe is the liability. What your house is worth, that's the asset. What you owe on the house is the liability. Some people, they do something crazy. They don't have the self-control to afford something before they buy it.
So they get plastic, and they run up liabilities, and they spend the next 12 years paying off sneakers. But not you, Darius. Not you. You are not stupid enough to let your liabilities outstrip your assets.
But they'll take your assets and your liabilities, and maybe you sit down with someone and you total up all the assets, and you total up all the liabilities, and you subtract the liabilities from the assets.
And the term for that, they call it your net worth. Your net worth is like what you net after all the liabilities you owe or taken away from what you own. That's called your net worth, which is a funny term to me.
To attach the word worth to how much money I have really shows you the sickness of the American dream. I know it's just a financial term, but we should probably find a better one. Because to suggest that what I'm worth can be summed up in a number, that's disturbing to me.
I mean, because joy is worth something. Peace is worth something. Doing right is worth something. Integrity is worth something. I'm worth more than how many zeros are behind my name. Touch somebody and say, I'm worth more.
Nevertheless, you can't pay the light bill with peace, and you can't pay the light bill with joy, and you can't bless other people with just good thoughts and prayers. God entrusts you with assets. He entrusts you to limit your liabilities.
But there's got to be more, because I've met people. I pastor every age group, every demographic, every economic demographic, every ethnic demographic, and I've met people who are 55, who accumulated a lot of assets, a lot of assets, and they kept their liabilities low, and yet there's still something missing in their life.
They sound like, Peter, I fished all night and caught nothing. I spent my whole career accumulating assets, but I didn't find significance in all my success. I fished all night, and I caught nothing, because I realized that I can't keep what I caught.
It's like the rich man in the Bible who amassed all these possessions, all these assets, and he built so many that he needed bigger barns, and God said to him, you fool! You spent your whole life amassing, but you never asked the question, what is it for? What for?
So I think to determine the real net worth of Darius or the real net worth of any believer sitting in my sermon, we need another column. It's not enough just to subtract my liabilities from my asset and look at a balance sheet with figures on it. I need another column.
This column, Darius, is what it takes some men until age 70 to get, but you're going to have it at 17, because I'm about to give it to you right now. You need a column called Cause. Cause.
You need a cause. I hope God blesses you with a lot of assets. God doesn't mind blessing you. You hear me? God doesn't mind blessing you. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. He's given us all things to richly enjoy. God doesn't mind blessing you.
I said, God doesn't mind blessing you. God doesn't mind blessing you. He's stocked the pond. You think he doesn't want you to have any fish? God doesn't mind blessing you.
But I found out that the nicest nets in the world are useless if you don't know what water to put them in. It'd be a shame to spend your whole life trying to get nicer nets when what you're really fishing for is something that can't be found in an asset column.
And so, God wants to give you a cause. Do you have a cause? Men who don't get a cause eventually face a crisis. Women who don't establish a cause eventually face a crisis.
Men who don't have a cause sometimes go and sleep with a woman 15 years younger than him just to prove he still got it. But what he didn't have can't be found in a younger woman. What he needed was a cause.
When you come to a point in your life where you've accumulated assets, assets, assets, relationships, relationships, relationships, things, things, things, but you didn't have a cause, it turns into a crisis.
Peter is at a crisis point today. Fished all night, caught nothing. Faced with the decision, am I willing to walk away from what I've invested my life in for the sake of a greater cause?
The Power of Having a Cause
The reason I preach, and I don't know how long you've been coming to the church, but I preach like this now coming up on 10 years. They were supposed to clap right there. Thank God for 10 years of ministry. You're going to have to leave them there a little slow.
And the reason I've been able to stand up here and preach, no matter what I was going through personally, is because I have a cause. If I had just been doing it for the asset column, I would have quit a long time ago, because there's been times where I didn't have much in the asset column, but I still had a cause.
Some of you are waiting on God to give you something to get started. But if you get a cause in your heart, no devil in hell will be able to make you quit when you've got a cause on the inside.
A cause will make you get up and go to work again, even around hateful people, because I'm not here for them. I'm driven by a cause. A cause will make you stay up late and not worry about who gets the credit, because I don't do it for credit. I do it for a cause.
Some of you gave up on your last job because you weren't getting credit. If you could get a cause, you wouldn't need credit, because when you have a cause, God gets the glory shout, I've got a cause.
I want you to get a cause, man. David walked up on Goliath and said, Is there not a cause? How can we stand around in complacency when we have a cause?
I'm just one of these guys who believes radically that there is no greater cause than Christ. For all of you who want to put your hope in a political cause, God bless you. I have nothing but love for you. But to me, that's going to be an all-night fishing trip, and you're going to come up empty if that's your cause.
I mean, be involved in the process, but don't make that your cause. If that's your cause, you're in trouble. If that's your cause, you're going to wake up crying with empty nets.
Sometimes we try to make other people our cause, and that won't work, because people can be very, very thorny ground. And you can sow into them for many seasons, and then you're surprised when they don't produce.
But if Christ is your cause, when Christ becomes your cause, when his purpose on the earth becomes your cause, then you can live through the liabilities, and you don't become arrogant when you get the assets, because you have a cause.
Christ as the Ultimate Cause
I wish I could pull everybody on the stage and ask them. Turn to them, look them in the eye, and say, Do you have a cause? Come on. Turn to your neighbor, ask them, Do you have a cause? Wait for their answer.
If they look back at you confused, they haven't found it yet. If they look back at you confused, they feel empty. If they look up at you confused, It won't matter how many fish they catch. It won't matter how many people like them. It won't matter how much they amass.
Until they find their cause, they'll always be empty. But when you find your cause, something to motivate you from within... See, Christ is my cause. I serve him. He saved me. Everything I have is because of him. Wouldn't have it if it weren't for him. Wouldn't be it if it weren't for him. Wouldn't be standing if it weren't for him. He's my cause.
And if he is my cause, then I want to give the rest of my life to serving his. My cause is Christ, and his cause is the church. There are many causes in the earth today, but there's only one cause that Jesus died for. And it's us. It's this.
Not just when we're in this room, but when we leave this room. We're not a club. We're a cause. I said, we're not a club. We're a cause. Fishers of men. That's what Jesus told Peter.
From Unworthiness to New Worth in Christ
See, Peter was astonished by the catch. And it freaked him out. He couldn't believe that Jesus would use somebody like him to fulfill a great cause. So I want you to watch his response in verse 8. It says that when Simon Peter saw the catch of fish, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man.
In other words, I'm not worth your presence. I'm not worthy of your investment. Now, value is proven by investment. Value is not proven by declaration. It's proven by decision.
So look at all these shoes on the front row, some boots and some sneakers. Everybody on this front row decided the value of those shoes, what they were willing to exchange for them. That's how the value of those Toms was determined by Keller Hebeka, what she was willing to walk away from so that she could hold those in her hand.
And Peter said, I'm not even worth it. Go away from me. And everybody in the room struggles with feelings of unworthiness and feelings of really God me. And how could you choose me? And how could you use me? And our reaction to that is to distance ourselves from God.
To think that we're not enough and we'll never have enough. And who am I? And we push God away because we feel unworthy. But Jesus is about to show Peter a new net worth. A new net worth.
And it would take him years to learn it. Peter wouldn't really know what he was worth in this instance. Peter wouldn't really know what he was worth when he was a part of feeding the multitudes. Peter wouldn't really know what he was worth until Jesus, after his resurrection from the dead, He invited him to have breakfast on the seashore after his failure, after his flaws, after his frustration, after he fell away.
And Peter looked Jesus in the eye, and Jesus asked Peter a question. He said, Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me? Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep.
Prove my worth to you by placing value on what's important to me. And see, Peter didn't have to wonder about his worth anymore, because value is proven by investment.
And Jesus didn't stretch his arms and die for something worthless. And Jesus didn't give his life at the hands of sinful men for something that's worthless.
And for everybody who's ever felt worthless today, I wanted you to know that your value was proven by the price Jesus paid so you could be free. If you got the guts to do it, touch your neighbor and say, I'm worth it. I'm worth it.
I'm not worth it because I feel like I'm worth it. I'm not worth it because I deserve it. I'm worth it because Jesus came for me and died for me and bled for me. I'm worth it. Baby, I'm worth it. I'm worth it.
Failure Positions You for Purpose
And Peter said, Get away from me. I'm a sinful man. Now watch this. I got to show you one more thing. Is this good? How many of you think this is going to help Darius? How many want to congratulate him on having a successful country music career after Hootie and the Blowfish? That's amazing. You don't see somebody often just be able to do both.
Verse 9. He's only 17. For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, Don't be afraid. From now on, you will fish for people. You have some assets. You have a boat. You have some nets. You have a business. You have some liabilities. You fished all night. You caught nothing.
It's interesting how Jesus picked somebody who had failed at their task to sign them up for his mission. You would think he would have looked for a boat that was full of fish and chosen somebody who knew what they were doing.
But see, if the boat had been full of fish, there would have been nowhere for him to sit. And Jesus has to find an empty boat. He can't use somebody who's full of self. He can't use somebody who's full of ego. He can't use somebody who's full of all their good ideas.
Sometimes he needs to… You know what hit me? If they had caught fish, they would have still been out in the water. It was their failure that positioned them for their future. He got it. It was their failure. They wouldn't have been on the shore if the fish had been biting.
God said, I'm about to use your last season of failure to position you for your future. That's for somebody. Don't be afraid. Don't feel worthless. From now on, you're going to be the nets. When I met you, you were washing nets, but now you're about to be my nets.
I'm going to throw you into the earth, and you're going to fish for people. Now that Peter was a net, he didn't need his nets. Look what he did in verse 11. This is how you can tell if you're in the crowd or if you're committed.
So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything, and followed him. And the worth of Jesus was proven by what he was willing to walk away from to follow him.
What Will You Give Next Weekend?
Challenge each person who is standing on the shore of our church going into next weekend, because that's what people are really deciding when they make an offering to God. And you make this decision every day when how you treat people, whether you forgive people, whether you spend time seeking God, you're deciding this.
What is he worth to me? What is he worth to me? That's what Peter is deciding in this moment. He's now got full nets full of fish. Would I rather have a net full of fish that I can't keep, or would I rather have a cause that can't be taken away?
And he chose the cause over the catch. And that's what people will be deciding. You see old man Gary Sessions back there? Been successful. He's 113 years old now. He's on staff at the church. And the reason he likes being on staff now is because he had a great career. But now this is a cause.
And God's not going to move everybody out of their career to be on a church staff. But what he will challenge everybody to do is to use your career for his cause.
And when we give next weekend, it's not just a contribution. It's a cause. Isn't that what Peter said? Because you say so. Because. I don't just have a cause. I am the cause. Because you say so.
Verse 5 is so good. Everything hinges on verse 5. The catch of fish, the miracles that would follow, it all hinges on verse 5. Master, we've worked hard all night and caught nothing but because. Everybody say because. What's your because?
If you don't get that right, what will it matter how big this column is? If you hadn't established this one, this side of the equation can never make up for an emptiness in this one.
We worked hard all night, caught nothing. But because you say so, I'll let down the nets.
The Three W's of Worth
See, in that text, Darius, there's three W's. When the people come next weekend and establish what they're going to give and bring that offering to God, there are three things that they're ascribing worth to. And they all start with the letter W. W, W, W, W.
The first one that they're establishing is the work of God. The work of God. That they value the work of God. That they believe that we must work the works of him that sent us while it is day. For night is coming where no man can work.
So we got to do it now. It's urgent to do it now. I'm not putting it off until later. I've worked hard by myself all night and caught nothing. But when I join up with Jesus, greater works shall I do in his name.
I value the work of God. All of those people that I mentioned earlier that are keeping kids in the E-Kids ministry, snotty kids, kids that shouldn't even be in church this morning because they've been sick all week, but the parents couldn't stay in the house with them one more day, so they dropped them off to infect our volunteers.
The reason they're back there doing it is because they value the work of God. I realize that when I work for God, he gets to work inside of me, and greater works shall I do in his name. I value his work.
I value his word. I value the word of God. Does anybody value the word of God? Because I'm telling you what I know. One word from God can rock your world.
I mean, you can be on the verge of suicide, and one word from God flow forth and give you a reason to live. You can be on the verge of hopelessness. You can be on the verge of emotional bankruptcy. And one word from God, one deposit, one moment, telling you what I know.
I get these letters. I know what the word of God means to people. I know people who drive here and say, one more chance, God. If you don't speak to me today, I'm done. I don't want to live. I've received the letters where God gave them exactly what they needed.
I value the word of God. I'm going to ask you a question. I want you to be honest. This is a Gideon Bible. They give them out all the time. How much would you give me for this? For real. Come on, keep it a hundred. How much would you give me for a quarter? A quarter? Yeah.
Back story. That's actually a little much, because the Gideons leave these in hotel rooms. You don't even have to give me a quarter for it. You can get one. You could just go online. I'm sure they'll give you one. You might find one you're not even looking for.
Unless you knew that my pastor, Craig Groeschel, gave me this Bible. And this is the Bible, when he was in college, that one of the Gideons, the organization that gives these away, they were on his campus handing them out.
And just before he had walked out of his dorm, he had prayed, God, if you're real, give me a sign and I'll serve you the rest of my life. And when he walked out his door, a man handed him a Bible.
So let me explain something to you. You couldn't pay me enough for this. I dare you to try to take it from me. This will turn into a different kind of demonstration that will wind up on YouTube.
You can't have this, not because of what it is, but because of what it did. If you just look at it as just the Green Bible, you'll never understand. And if you just look at this as a sermon or speech or motivational talk, you'll never value it.
But Peter said, because you say so, you cannot get blessed by the word of God that you will not put into action. They crowded that day to hear the word of God. It wasn't the ones who heard the word who experienced the miracle. It was the one who acted on it. At thy word, I will let down my neck.
God speaks to us, and we make a decision when he speaks. How much do we value what he said? Is he true? Is he trustworthy? You see, you can sing all kinds of stuff about how you trust God. It doesn't cost you anything.
You can say all kinds of stuff. God is the head of my life. Praise the Lord. But when you do this... Stay right there. When you do this... And I did it this week. Again, this is the 10th year I've done this.
When Holly and I first got married, we were already tithing, 10%, basic level. That's where I'm saying, God, I wouldn't have any of it if it weren't for you. So the first 10% goes back to God through his cause to the local church. I never deviated from that one minute.
But I've been able to go up now several times on several levels. And God has blessed me. I'm telling you, he's blessed me like you would not believe. Not just with material things. That's the least of it. And that's a part of it, but it's the least of it.
Because the material things without the ability to enjoy them is actually not a blessing. It's a curse. Am I right about it? Some people are like, well, I'd sure like to find out. No. Material things without the ability to enjoy them, you'll blow your head off.
Because then you caught the fish, but they still didn't satisfy you. Now you've got nothing left to live for.
Giving as Worship – What Is He Worth to You?
So when I sit down, and everybody gets to do it this week. And I want you to do it. I know you don't feel like you have much. I'm praying for somebody to give a million dollars. Probably not going to be you based on our conversation at the beginning about your net worth.
Touch somebody and say, I got a new net worth. I got a new net worth.
And when I sit down to write the check, and I wrote mine this week, and I sent Holly a picture of me holding the check with the amount, and my face was like... Because, you know, if you do it right, your hands will shake a little bit.
If you don't have to, you probably... That's not deep water. That's shallow stuff. That's tipping. That's not trusting. But your destiny is in the deep water. To find out, do you trust God? It's a faith issue. It's a value proposition.
Do you value his work? Do you value his word? Because you say so. It doesn't make sense. You want to make sense? Or do you want to make a difference?
See, one thing that faith and grace have in common is that neither one makes sense. It doesn't make sense for God to give me freely his grace. It doesn't make sense for him to overlook my offense. It doesn't make sense for him to welcome me into his arms no matter how many times I turn away. It doesn't make sense.
If his grace doesn't make sense, then why should my faith make sense? One time, me and Holly went on vacation, and a woman was doing portraits. She would draw you, and I asked her, How much? How much would it cost you to draw me and my wife?
And she said, No price. Pay me what you think it is worth. I said, What? I said, How much is it to draw? She said, There is no price. I draw the portrait, and when you see it, you give me what you think it is worth.
What kind of business model is that? Who does that? God does that. He gives you grace. He gives you mercy. He gives you abundant chances. He gives you purpose. He gives you a reason. He gives you the use of your mind. He gives you the use of your body. He gave you his son.
And then he says, now you give me back what you think it's worth. You don't have to pay me for it. You don't have to earn it. You could never deserve it. When you give, you tell God what you think he's worth.
What is his work worth in your life? What is his word worth in your life? What is his will worth in your life? What is his will worth?
For Jesus, the struggle was so intense It's that he sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the only commitment he could come to was, not my will, but yours be done. It's a battle of wills. Do you value God's will?
I thought one time I should preach a whole sermon off of Isaiah 55 where he says, my ways are higher than your ways. And you know what I would call the sermon? My way or the highway? Because that's the decision you make when you give this offering. Is it going to be my way or God's way?
And his ways are always higher. But you'll never find that out until you launch out into the deep.
Peter could have gone home with his nets, he could have gone home with his boats, or he could have gone home with a reason to live. And he left everything and followed Jesus.
Now, God isn't going to call you to leave everything and be a missionary in a foreign land. The next week, you have the opportunity to worth-ship your God. Worth-ship. That's what worship is. Telling God, this is what you're worth to me.
I could never repay you, but I want you to know that you are worth it to me.
I think you'll find, Darius, if you went around to all the people in this church who have given sacrificially, that they would look back at you and say, to be involved in the cause of Christ, to get to see God change lives, to get to see people have their future rewritten by the grace and mercy of God, to get to see the difference we make in our community, I think they would tell you it's worth it.
I'm wondering, is there anybody in the church who has found God's way to be worth it? Let him know that serving God is worth it. That it's worth it to trust him. That it's worth it to Wade out into uncertain waters and let down the nets for a catch. It's worth it, church. It's worth it.
If you believe God is worthy of praise, lift your hands in the air. Lift your hands. Say, God, you're worthy. Say it again. You're worthy. Say it again. You're worthy.
You're worthy of our praise. You're worthy of our adoration. You're worthy of honor and glory. You're worthy of all the glad tidings we bring, worthy of all of the. You are worthy, Father, Creator. You are worthy, Savior, Sustainer.
You are worthy, worthy and wonderful. You are worthy of worship. You are worthy of praise. You are Almighty Father. You are Master and Lord. You are King of all kings. You are our Redeemer. You are wonderful Counselor, Savior, and Friend.
You are the source of our life without end. You are worthy. You are worthy. You alone are worthy, God. You're worthy of shouts. You're worthy of sacrifice. You're worthy, Lord. You're worthy.
Your kingdom is worthy. Your cause is worthy. Your name is worthy. We give you the glory. We give you the praise. We give you our lives. We give you our future. We give you our hope. We give you our all. We give you the glory.