What Do You Do You have a Work Setback

Intro

Welcome to River church this evening. It is so good to be back with you. PK and I had a great time on our vacation, but it’s always good to get back home.

Tonight, I want to begin a series I will call, How God Turns Setbacks into Comebacks. We live on a broken planet, everybody has problems, trials, difficulties, losses, failures, mistakes and setbacks. We all have them and they come in all shapes and sizes. You may be in one right now.

Maybe it’s a financial setback, a health setback, a career setback, a relational setback, a marriage setback, boyfriend or girlfriend setback, a set back to accomplishing your dreams. We have setback after setback in life and during this series, we’re going to look at how God helped people in the Bible overcome each one of these kinds of common setbacks that we experience in our lives.

When your setback seems irreversible

When a setback is your fault

When your setback seems like a failure

When your setback leaves you emotionally empty

When your setback makes you feel like giving up

When others keep setting you back

When a setback fills you with fear

When it looks like it’s too late for a comeback

When no one understands your goals and dreams

Today, we will begin with What do you do when you have a Work Setback? It could even be a bankruptcy where you have lost almost everything. We are going draw some principles from a story of some professional fishermen who were failing miserably in their business until they turned to Jesus. We may not be professional fishermen, but the principles we are going to learn today will apply to each of our lives.

I don’t fish anymore, but I grew up fishing. My dad’s favorite place was anywhere he had a fishing pole in his hands. Lake, Gulf, Boat, Peir… He loved to fish.

Reminds me of this family we met on the cruise. They had 2 boys. On the day we were in Skagway and went fishing. They caught a couple of fish on the excursion, but then the boys went to the hardware store and bought some fishing gear and caught around 40 fish in a creek… that made their trip.

But today we will look at one of the greatest fishing stories of all times. We will learn some principles from that story.

If you have ever felt discouraged by your work, by your career, by your business… if you’ve ever felt like you’re not getting anything accomplished, if you’ve ever felt fatigued, worn out after putting your heart and soul into something… maybe you lost your job after you had given it your all. If any of that is you, you are in the right place. The story we will look at tonight will help you make a comeback after a setback in your job.

None of the fishing tales you have ever heard will match this one in Luke 5. It’s the 2nd miracle Jesus did so it’s early in his ministry. We will look at this story… this miracle where he actually calls his first four disciples.

Background - Peter and Andrew were brothers, and James and John were brothers, and these four guys had a fishing business together in Northern Israel around the beautiful Lake in Galilee called, the Sea of Galilee. It's also called Lake Gennesaret, it's called the Sea of Tiberias. It's got three different names for the same beautiful lake. It’s a beautiful lake.

At this point, we catch the story where Peter, James, John, and Andrew, they're not disciples of Jesus yet. They're just professional fishermen, and they make a living catching fish, and they'd been out all night fishing on the Sea of Galilee, and they've caught nothing and the lake is in recession. Nothing’s biting right now. They're going through tough times in their job.

They're catching nothing, they're making no profit. They've worked hard, and now they've come ashore in the morning, and after 10 hours of fishing, they're cleaning their nets with nothing to show for it. They're tired, they're discouraged, and they've got empty buckets. Some of you can relate to that today. Now, Jesus comes along, and he's talking to a crowd. There's a crowd of people on the shore, and he asks these guys, "Can I use one of your boats as a platform to speak from?"

Let’s pick up the story here…

Luke 5:1–3 NLT

1 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

Why did Jesus ask to borrow the boat? Well, there are a number of different reasons. In the first place, water amplifies your voice. If you've ever been in a boat, you know that you can speak much further across a lake than you can on ground, because ground absorbs sound waves. So it's just smart communication. He could speak to hundreds of people, maybe thousands of people on the shore who were listening to Jesus as the water amplifies his voice.

But there are actually a couple more important reasons. Jesus is about to choose these four guys as his first disciples. He's going to ask them to leave their business and follow him. So he's got a plan to do a miracle in their work, a miracle they're going to understand. They're fishermen. A miracle of fish to a bunch of fishermen.

Luke 5:4–5 NLT

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” 5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

Remember, these guys had just been fishing all night. They are good fishermen.

Simon says, "Master we've worked hard all night, and we haven't caught anything." We haven't made a sale. We haven't close a deal. We haven't sold a house. We haven't stepped up our game. We haven't signed the contract. In fact, I'm out of work right now. We've worked all night, fished all night and caught nothing. You can hear the discouragement in his voice.

Now, sometimes this happens in life. Sometimes you give it your best shot, and you still come up 10 feet short. Sometimes you work hard, and you work diligently, and you work long, and you got nothing to show for it. "We've worked all night and we've caught nothing."

Sometimes you even do what you think is the right thing to do in your job, in your career, you make the right decision, and you may even believe God is leading you to do it, and it just doesn't pan out. You've had a setback. That's what this series is all about. You go start this business and it falls apart, and it doesn't make a profit, and you go deep in debt. All those things that you think that God was leading you in, it just doesn't happen.

You know, sometimes you hang in there with your marriage, and you struggle, and maybe you get counsel, and you read books on marriage, and you really try to make this thing work, but you just don't see any improvement at all. It just isn't getting any better. The fact is, this miracle has a lot to teach us about setbacks, because everybody's fishing for something.

Sometimes we're fishing for approval, and we're just looking for somebody to love us, and sometimes we're fishing for security, and sometimes we're fishing for significance, and sometimes you say, "I want my life to count." Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Maybe you're fishing for a wife, or a husband, or maybe you're fishing for who knows what. What are you fishing for today?

You say, "Well, I'm fishing for a job. I need work. I need a new source of income." Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Everybody's fishing for something. When these fishermen, these four guys, did what Jesus tells them to do in this miracle, they not only receive a miracle, but they're blessed more than they can handle themselves. They actually have to share their blessing with other people. Wouldn't that be great to happen in your life? And their lives are changed forever.

So Jesus used Simon’s boat as a platform to preach the Good News. After he finished he told Peter to push back out and throw out the nets. Look what happened…

Luke 5:6–7 NLT

6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

Here is the point.

They caught more in 10 minutes than they had caught in 10 hours when they did it the way Jesus said to do it. This is how you turn a setback into a comeback. This is called the miracle of acceleration, when God speeds thing up. They catch more in 10 minutes than they had in the previous 10 hours.

Now, when you understand the principle of this miracle of acceleration, you're not going to worry about timing. You might go a month, or two months, or a year, or two years, without work, but it doesn't matter, because God can turn on the faucet as quickly as the other one got turned off. He can do more in 10 minutes than you can do in 10 years, if you do it the way he tells you to do.

Now, the first thing you need to do is what Peter, and Andrew, and James, and John did in this story. Write this down. I need to give Jesus complete access to my boat, or to my job, or to my business.

What do you do when you have a work setback?

… when you have come up empty?

1. Give Jesus complete access to your work.

If you want to go from emptiness to overflowing, do what these guys did. The let Jesus into their boat.

Luke 5:3 NLT

3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

Write this down…

I must get Jesus into my boat.

You have to get Jesus into your boat. That’s the starting point if you want God to bless your work… your career, your business? If you want to move from emptiness to fullness, you have to get Jesus into your boat.

What's the difference here? It's the same lake, it's the same boat, it's the same nets, it's the same fishermen, it's the same fish. The only thing that's different between nothing and overflowing abundance is Jesus is in the boat. Think that makes a difference? Oh, yeah. Jesus is in the boat.

They have Jesus in the boat. They were no longer working for themselves, they had Jesus in their boat. That was a game changer. Get Jesus in your work.

What is your boat?

Your boat is what you do to make a living.

The boat represents your job… what you do for a living. Having Jesus in your boat means that you dedicate your work to Jesus.

I am not talking about salvation. You can be saved and not have Jesus in your work. You trust him for your salvation and you come to church, you praise the Lord, but when you go to work, you leave Jesus at church. So you want to get Jesus in your boat which means you invite him into your job.

What is your boat?

When Peter did this, when he gave his job to Jesus for God to use, he gets blessed with incredible results. Now, we normally think that God makes me really great and successful in business, so that then I'll serve God with my success. Wrong. It's the exact opposite. God often uses my job, or lack of it now and then, so that then success can come. There is no comeback without a setback first. The setback is part of a plan. Are you listening? The setback is part of the plan.

Peter has fished all night and caught nothing, and so how's he going to go from nothing to abundance?

First, Peter lets Jesus use his job for a platform. Jesus gets to use his work, his job, his source of income, to speak to other people. That's the order. It's not, "God, you make me a success and then I'll serve you." It's the exact opposite. "God, I'm failing in my job, in my career, in my business, but I'm going to give whatever I've got to you as a platform. Now you can bless it."

Let me ask you, what do you want God to bless in your life? Whatever you want God to bless, you put them first in.

You want God to bless your time? Give him the first part of every day in a quiet time.

You want to God bless your week? You give him the first day of every week, you know, a week of service.

You want God to bless your money? You give him the first part of your money, that's called a tithe.

So you get Jesus and you work. You say, "I want you to use my work, Lord, as your platform to spread the good news." Then we let God take care and control of everything.

You see, “you a marketplace missionary." What do you do? Well, you say, "I'm a missionary disguised as a realtor. I'm a missionary disguised as a nanny. I'm a missionary disguised as an accountant. I'm a missionary disguised as a truck driver. I'm a missionary disguised as a nurse, or CEO, or a teacher, a house cleaner, whatever it is. First and foremost, I'm using my career as a platform for Jesus. Then he blesses me in return."

Some of you are going through tough times right now, and you're trying to change everything. Let me tell you something, these guys who had fished all night and caught nothing, they didn't need to change their nets. They didn't need to change their boat. They didn't need to change their business partners. They didn't need to change their location. They didn't need to change their marriage. They just needed to get Jesus in charge of the boat; get him in the boat, and let him take charge, and follow him. That's what was needed.

Some of you are trying to change everything else. "Maybe I need to move out of New Orleans… I need to move to whatever." Well, maybe that's not necessarily wrong, but maybe you just need to get Jesus in charge of your job. Get him in the boat.

What does it mean to have Jesus in my boat?

2. Admit that my efforts are not working.

If I want to move from a setback to a comeback, I have to admit that what I have been doing isn’t working.

Luke 5:4–5 NLT

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” 5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

Do you realize how hard this was for Peter to say this? Peter is a pro. He's good at what he does. He's a professional fisherman. He's done it all his life. These guys are not amateurs, they're not novices, they're not weekend fishermen. They make a living at this. They know how to do this, but do you know what? Sometimes even when you're a pro, you fish all night, and you catch nothing.

Even when you're experienced at your career, at your job, you fish all night and you catch nothing. Now, it's humbling to say this. It's hard to say this. These guys make their living, their identity is tied to their work. For Peter not catching fish, that's like LeBron James playing an entire game and never making a basket. It's unheard of.

But friends, sometimes our best just isn't good enough. Sometimes our situations are out of control, and you can't control the economy, and you can't control the weather, and you can't control a lot of things that will affect your job, your business, your life, your profits, and everything else. Other people, and you can't control other people. You can't control diseases, you can't control the aging process. Most of the major things in your life you can't control.

So what do you need to do? Well, you need to do these first two things to go from setback to comeback. You get Jesus in your boat, and you admit that your way isn't working. We fished all night and caught nothing. Now, why don't we want to admit this? Why don't I want to admit it? Why don't we want to admit it?

Which of these is preventing me from admitting I need help?

It’s going to be one of three things. Pride, stubbornness or fear. Circle which one you think it might be for you.

Pride? Stubbornness? Fear? (circle)

Fear will keep us from saying, “I fished all night and didn’t catch naything.” We are afraid people will think less of us. We may even be afraid to get Jesus into the boat because we are afraid he will steer it in a different direction… maybe one we don’t want to go in. He might make you a fanatic. So we are afraid to give Jesus our jobs.

Eric Stackleback… had to make a decision to pursue fame or follow Jesus. He chose Jesus and he has a nightly one hour show on TBN.

Regardless of whether it’s pride, stubbornness or fear, the next step is to admit this isn’t working. Maybe your job isn’t working like you hoped. There is a third step the disciples had to take. You have to take it too if you want to move from a setback to a comeback.

3. Do whatever Jesus tells me to do.

I do what Jesus tells me to do. Even if it doesn’t make sense to me. Even if it’s not logical. Even if it appears foolish to others. Even if it doesn’t make financial sense, or emotional sense, or relationship sense. I am going to do what Jesus says to do. Even if I am scared to death… I’ll do it anyway.

Look at verse 5.

Luke 5:5 NLT

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.”

Underline, but if you say so…

That’s the third key to a miracle, trusting the WOG, because Jesus says so… not me. Not because I think it’s smart, not because it’s popular, not because it’s rational, not because I can afford it… I do it because He says so.

Now, not only is Jesus in the boat with the disciples, he is giving fishing instructions. Notice what they do not do. Peter doesn't’ argue with Jesus. He doesn’t say you are a carpenter and I fish… How do you know where to go to fish… I have been out here all night and no fish are biting. He doesn’t do that.

Peter doesn’t hesitate. He pushes out like Jesus said to do. When Jesus told him to launch out, he didn’t hesitate, he did what Jesus told him to do. That folks is a great way to live.

I’m sure he was tired and frustrated, but he doesn’t listen to his feelings… nor his fatigue. He does what Jesus said to do.

Peter showed unquestioned obedience to what Jesus told him to do. Now remember, he is not even a disciple yet. That was his first experience with Jesus. Listen to me. God will bless your life if you become a “because you said so person.” You say Lord, I don’t understand it all, but I trust you by faith.

What has God told you to do that you still haven’t done?

Be Baptized? Start Serving? Forgive someone? Start Tithing?

Whatever you do, what ever God tells you to do, you say, “Because you say so” … When you do that, God will give you a vision for your work like maybe you have never seen before. He never gives you the vision all at once. He gives it to you in phases.

It will involve three things: When, what, and where. Jesus launch out now. That’s the when. by the way, launch out means to take a risk. It’s risky to launch out and God will force you to take a risk. Why? Because there is no faith without risk, and without faith it’s timpossible to please God.

So Jesus saysd to launch out now, then tells them to let down your nets. Then he tells them where… in deep water. Why did Jesus tell Peter that… because the big fish were in the deep water.

Most people live their lives in the shallows of life. They don’t launch out into the deeper waters, they stay in the shallow calm water.

Why do most people live in the shallows of life? it’s safer there. Your boat doesn’t get rocked… waves are not big… it’s safe. At least thats what people think. It’s actually very risky to live in the shallows because you will miss out on so many blessings the Lord wants to bless you with. So we live these shallow lives where it’s safe, comfortable … where we want God to bless OUR plans.

God may be allowing the setback in your life to force you into the deep water.

He loves you too much to let you stay in the shallows missing out on the blessings he has for you. So he pushes you into the deep waters. Obeying Jesus when it doesn’t make sense may be the scariest thing you have ever done, but it’s the safest and most rewarding way to live.

YFC

River Church

So first, I give Jesus access to my job… I get him in the boat. This isn’t salvation. You have given the Lord your life… but held out on giving him this part of your life. Then you admit that your efforts are not working out the way you had hoped. Then you do whatever Jesus tells you to do… because he says so. Here is the 4th thing you have to do.

4. Expect Jesus to turn things around.

If God tells you to go fishing, and God comes along with you in the boat, and God points out where to let down your nets, do you think you're going to come up empty? I don't think so. At this point Peter was probably jumping with expectation…. oh boy oh boy…

Listen, all of the fatigue and fear and frustration just went away when they did what Jesus said. Expectation replaced it. Why? Because Jesus was in the boat, telling them to cast out to the deep and to let down their nets. Jesus was working too. he told all the fish to come to where Peter and the boys were fishing.

Listen to me. He can get you what you need too. He can take care of you, but you have to do it his way. He can do it now or over night or in the weeks ahead.

Look at the results of the disciples taking these steps. Notice what happened when they gave Jesus control, admitted their way wasn’t working, did what Jesus told them to do, and expected results… that’s the starting point for turning a setback into a comeback.

You need to realize that you work for Jesus, not the company. That’s just where he has assigned you to work for now. You are a missionary to your work.

Luke 5:6–7 NLT

6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

They caught so much it almost sank the boat and broke their nets. They couldn’t handle the blessing so they had to call their partners to come help them and they filled up both boats with fish. They had to share it to not go under.

God has blessed me so much in my life that I want to share that with everyone. I want people to know Jesus like I do and experience his peace and joy.

God is looking for people to bless. It’s not like he doesn’t want to bless people. He does. He’s looking to bless you and he will if you do these 4 things we have talked about tonight.

God is looking for people to show His power through… to show the world that He is God. Now notice Peter’s reaction.

Luke 5:8–9 NLT

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.

Remember Peter is not a disciple at this point, he is a fisherman. He said, Lord please leave me I am such a sinful man. Luke 5:9 They were awestruck by what happened.

Luke 5:9 NLT

9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him.

He is going, there is no way I deserve this blessing. This miracle was the turning point in the lives of Peter, James, John and Andrew. Look at what Jesus said here.

Luke 5:10–11 NLT

10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

This miracle is not about the fish or the money…. possessions or financial success. It’s about finding God’s purpose for your life. It’s not about keeping a bunch of fish for yourself, it’s about the Kingdom of God. Jesus is getting ready to call these guys to follow him 100%. He does this miracle and says, I want you 100% all in and you can trust me to take care of you. I am going to teach you how to change the world. He did and they did. Jesus will teach you how to change your world… your workplace… your home… your community.

Jesus is saying to these men, let me show you what I can do if you will put me first. Look what happens…

Luke 5:11 NLT

11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

They left all the fish, the boats, the equipment and followed Jesus. Think about this. When you want to move from a setback to a comeback, think about this… the disciples were willing to leave the blessing and follow the Blesser. They walked away from the miracle and followed the miracle worker. Why? Because they were more interested in the blesser than the blessing.

Are you? Are you more interested in God blessing you, or are you more interested in following the blesser?

That blessing of fish would go away but they chose to follow the person who did it. They said I don’t need this one blessing in my life if I’m walking next to the blesser. I can walk away from the big catch… the business deal … the job offer… the stocks…whatever… because if I’m walking next to the blesser, there is plenty more that came from.

Too often we are more interested in the blessing that the blesser, but they knew that following Jesus was the key to everything else. So let me ask you here in this room and those who will watch.

What is Jesus asking you to do?

You may have been following Jesus a long time, or a short time. What is God calling you to do? I left a comfortable job in the hospital world to start YFC in JP. He called me to serve him full time.

Does he want you to serve him full time? Are you willing to do that if he says so?

or

Does Jesus want you to begin using your job as a platform to share his message of hope? To be a marketplace missionary. He wants you to take the 4 steps so he can bless you.

Give Jesus access to your work. Admit that your way isn’t working. Do what Jesus says. Expect Jesus to turn it around.