Split the Nets and Sink the Boats

Jeremiah frames the Old Testament as a story of Exodus and exile. Exodus brings freedom from Pharaoh, while exile feels like everything held dear is being carted off to Babylon. Jeremiah 29 does not tell God’s people to bunker down, hold their breath, and merely survive. God tells exiles to plant gardens, build houses, have children, help their children have children, eat from the garden, and increase rather than dwindle away.

Generosity flows from seeing the self as a steward, not merely as a recipient. The single mother who received a minivan had to wrestle with a new identity when she was invited to give her former car away. God turned a woman who assumed generosity belonged to “rich people” into an instrument of blessing. What God has put in someone’s hand may be far more significant than that person realizes, if the heart opens to a bigger horizon.

Ezra’s journey from Babylon to Jerusalem gives the church another picture of faithful increase. Ezra asks God for safety from bandits, protection over resources, and care for the little ones. The bandits do not steal everything at once. They take a little every day until God’s people arrive empty-handed. The little ones cannot make the 900-mile journey unless everybody helps carry them. Christian witness must create conditions where children and teenagers can know Christ, because the future is happening in the hallways where the little ones are growing up.

Luke 5 brings the call down to one simple question: will Peter let Jesus use the boat? Jesus turns Peter’s exhausted fishing boat into a platform, a synagogue, and an amphitheater for hungry people to hear the Word of God. The boat represents every life placed at Christ’s disposal. Nothing else in the story happens until Peter permits Jesus to board the vessel.

Peter’s second act of obedience is deeper still. His nets are empty, his body is tired, and his experience tells him there are no fish left. Yet Peter says, “Because you said it, I’ll go.” Jesus does not demand a huge pile of faith. Christ asks what remains. A little faithfulness, a little salute, a boat, and a willingness to go deeper become enough for God to split the nets and sink the boats. God can still bring abundance from waters that look fished out, dry, and empty.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Plant gardens in seasons of exile. Jeremiah’s command refuses the false choice between despair and denial. Exile does not cancel fruitfulness; it makes faithful building even more necessary. God calls His people to make room for future generations even when the surrounding world feels unstable. [36:06]
• 2. Generosity begins with a new identity. The single mother’s car became powerful because she stopped seeing herself as only someone in need. God often changes lives by revealing that the recipient can also become an instrument. What looks small in someone’s hand may become a miracle in another person’s life. [41:31]
• 3. Everybody must carry the little ones. Ezra’s journey shows that children cannot be treated as somebody else’s assignment. The strength, resources, attention, and prayer of adults create a path for the next generation to survive the journey. Christian legacy is not mainly about big people preserving comfort, but little ones receiving a living witness. [49:27]
• 4. Jesus can board the boat today. Peter’s boat was ordinary, tired, and probably the last thing he wanted to hand over after a fruitless night. Yet Christ made that boat a platform for truth to reach thousands. Availability is the first doorway into a life that God can use beyond its natural limits. [59:21]
• 5. Go deeper with what remains. Peter did not move forward because he felt strong or optimistic. He moved because Jesus spoke, even though exhaustion and disappointment argued against it. God can multiply what is left when obedience says, “Because you said it, I’ll go.”
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [31:06] - A Legacy in Elk Grove
• [34:44] - Exodus, Exile, and Planting Gardens
• [38:28] - Generosity Changes How People See Themselves
• [44:12] - Ezra’s Prayer for the Little Ones
• [50:47] - Jesus Heals Disorder and Restores Minds
• [54:46] - Hungry Souls and the Power of the Spirit
• [57:43] - Jesus Uses Peter’s Boat
• [60:32] - Peter Is Called Into the Deep
• [63:33] - Split the Nets and Sink the Boats
• [67:04] - A Wheelchair, Two Envelopes, and Deep Faith
• [72:07] - Increase and Do Not Dwindle Away

1. On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. [57:43]
2. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. [57:43]
3. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” [01:00:32]
4. And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” [01:03:33]
5. And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. [01:03:33]
6. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.
7. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

1. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: [35:39]
2. “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. [36:10]
3. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.
4. For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, declares the LORD.
5. For thus says the LORD: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
6. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” [44:12]

1. Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. [44:42]
2. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”
3. So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. [49:27]

1. In Jeremiah 29, what specific things does God command the exiles to do while they are living in Babylon? What does He tell them not to do? [36:10]
2. What three areas does Ezra seek God’s protection over before the long journey to Jerusalem?
3. In Luke 5, what happens before Jesus tells Peter to go into the deep water, and why would Peter likely have been tired and reluctant to respond? [59:03]
4. What changes for Peter’s boat after he lets Jesus use it, and what happens after Peter obeys Jesus’ command to cast the nets again? [01:03:54]

1. Why does God command the exiles to build, plant, multiply, and seek the welfare of Babylon instead of merely waiting for their return to Jerusalem? What does this show about faithful living in a difficult season?
2. Ezra prays for safety, resources, and “the little ones.” Why might the care of children be included alongside protection for the whole traveling community? [49:51]
3. Peter has real experience behind his disappointment: he worked all night and caught nothing. What is the difference between ignoring disappointment and obeying Jesus in the middle of disappointment? [01:02:25]
4. Jesus first asks Peter to make the boat available, then asks him to go deeper. Why might availability come before deeper obedience in a person’s walk with Christ? [01:00:32]

1. Where does life currently feel more like exile than exodus—perhaps in family life, work, health, finances, or the wider culture? What could it look like to “plant a garden” there instead of simply bunkering down or giving up? [36:38]
2. God’s instruction to the exiles included seeking the welfare of the city where they lived. What is one practical way this group, household, or individual could pray for and pursue the good of the local community this week?
3. Generosity begins when a person sees himself or herself not only as someone in need, but also as a steward and an instrument of blessing. What has God already placed in your hand—time, skills, possessions, encouragement, attention, hospitality, or resources—that could become a blessing to someone else? [43:25]
4. “Everybody has to carry the little ones.” Who are the children, teenagers, younger believers, or spiritually vulnerable people God has placed near you? What would it look like to help create conditions where they can grow strong in Christ? [50:28]
5. What are the “bandits” that can slowly take spiritual strength, hope, time, attention, or resources a little at a time? What boundary, prayer, or habit could help guard against that slow loss? [45:53]
6. Peter’s first response was simple: “Jesus, you can use the boat.” What part of your ordinary life may need to be made available to Jesus again—your workplace, schedule, home, relationships, abilities, or finances? [01:00:04]
7. Where have exhaustion, past disappointment, or fear made it difficult to go deeper in obedience? What is one small act of faithfulness you could offer Jesus this week, saying, “Because you said it, I’ll go”? [01:03:19]