Scriptures
Luke 5:1-11 NLT
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. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets.
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. 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.”
“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.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 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.
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.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 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!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
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. 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.”
“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.” And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 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.
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.” For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 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!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Hebrews 13:17 NLT
Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.
Devotion
Even if you’re not into fishing, it’s easy to see that the disciples didn’t bring in that huge catch because the fish preferred one side of the boat over the other. The side of the boat wasn’t the key — it was because Jesus gave the word. Coming into line with what Jesus told them to do released them into fruitfulness.
The Bible tells us to obey our church leaders because God has given them authority to watch over us and care for us. The truth is that as we submit ourselves to God — and also to the leaders He has given us — it releases such blessing!
I’ve seen this over and over again in church. I remember years ago while we were running Planetboom, Ps Russell felt that we needed to adjust the services in a certain way. Honestly, I remember thinking, “I don’t know if that’s going to work — we’ve tried something like that before.” But I also remember thinking that if Ps Russell said to try it, then I trusted his decision. Kind of like Peter: “If You say so, we’ll let down the nets again.”
Sure enough, the change we made was really fruitful — exactly what Planetboom needed at the time to keep growing. The key was coming under the authority of leadership so we could receive the flow of what God was doing.
Let’s allow the Holy Spirit to check our hearts today and bring us into alignment with His delegated authority through His church leaders. Coming under authority leads to fruitfulness!
Prayer
Father, thank You for loving me and wanting to make me fruitful in every area.
Help me to bring my heart into line with Your Word and with Your House. Please adjust any area in my heart that’s not submitted to that authority. I trust You, Father.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
More post from Section 1: Living "Under"
See More