You've Got To Have the Want To! | Pastor Jeff Lee | Sunday, June 14th, 2026

Jun 14, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Empty Nets and the Courage to Cast Again

When exhaustion meets obedience, miracles happen. Peter faced empty nets after a night of fruitless labor, yet chose to trust Jesus’ command to try once more. This moment reveals how breakthrough often waits on the other side of surrendered effort. God’s timing disrupts human frustration, inviting us to trade resignation for radical trust. The miracle wasn’t in the net’s capacity but in Peter’s willingness to act despite disappointment. What feels like a dead end may be divine setup for abundance. [31:59]

And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
(John 21:6, KJV)

Reflection: Where have you stopped casting your “net” due to weariness? What one step of obedience can you take this week to trust Jesus with your empty places?

Day 2: From Blind Bartimaeus to Just Bartimaeus

Identity shifts when desperation meets divine encounter. Bartimaeus refused to let his condition define him, shouting louder when others told him to be silent. His healing came not just through Christ’s power but through his own stubborn faith that rejected lifelong labels. Miracles begin when we stop accepting the world’s definitions of our limitations. True freedom comes when we insist on being seen by Jesus rather than our struggles. [22:10]

And Jesus answered him, saying, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
(Mark 10:51-52, KJV)

Reflection: What “blind” label have you accepted about yourself? How might praying with Bartimaeus’ boldness reshape your story?

Day 3: Letting Go to Press Forward

Spiritual momentum requires releasing what anchors us to the past. Paul’s charge to “forget those things which are behind” confronts our tendency to rehearse old wounds or victories. Like a boat stuck in reverse, we’ll never reach new waters while fixated on yesterday’s tides. Freedom comes through open-handed surrender—not just of failures, but of comforts that keep us from God’s greater call. [15:59]

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:13-14, KJV)

Reflection: What burden from your past still weighs down your spiritual journey? What would it look like to lay it at the altar today?

Day 4: Seasons of Waiting and the Promise of Harvest

Fruitfulness follows faithfulness, not force. Paul’s analogy of seasons reminds us that spiritual growth operates on divine rhythms, not human urgency. The farmer who digs up seeds daily to check progress destroys the harvest. Our call isn’t to manufacture results but to tend the soil of obedience through both drought and rain. God’s “due season” transforms quiet faithfulness into undeniable abundance. [42:04]

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
(Galatians 6:9, KJV)

Reflection: Where have you grown weary in doing good? How might shifting from demanding outcomes to trusting God’s timing renew your perseverance?

Day 5: Wrestling All Night for the Morning Blessing

Jacob’s limp became his triumph. All-night struggles with God often precede daybreak breakthroughs. The blessing came not when Jacob overpowered the angel, but when he refused to let go. Spiritual tenacity turns trials into testimonies—our wounds becoming witnesses to God’s sustaining grace. Victory belongs to those who cling to God more fiercely than they fear the fight. [28:47]

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
(Genesis 32:26, KJV)

Reflection: What situation requires Jacob-like persistence in your prayer life? How can you actively “hold on” to God’s promises this week?

Sermon Summary

The want to drives the whole appeal. The want to refuses a half-hearted drift and decides to pour everything into Jesus, not sporadically but with a steady flame. The want to, not talent, not luck, becomes the hinge of breakthrough, the difference between stale religion and a living walk. Jesus, in Matthew 24, names a last-days swirl of deception, cold love, and pressure, then sets the bar plain. He that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. Endurance does not happen by accident. The want to keeps a saint from stumbling into apathy and keeps attention fixed on Christ when the headlines are loud.

Paul names the promise and the posture. In 1 Corinthians 15 he declares a trumpet, a change, and victory over death, then calls the church to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding. Not tripping into heaven, not coasting on good intentions, but choosing a way of life. Intentional devotion replaces vending-machine religion. Prayer, fasting, worship, obedience, and faithfulness become the ordinary roads where extraordinary grace meets a person.

Philippians 3 gives the map. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward, Paul presses. The windshield is bigger than the rearview for a reason. Unforgiveness and old wounds do not get to be the driver’s seat. The want to lets go, then reaches, then presses. Bartimaeus shows the same pattern. Labels stick when pain becomes identity, but Jesus erases the blind and writes delivered. When voices say hush, the want to gets louder until mercy stops in its tracks.

Peter and Andrew give a picture of holy persistence. Empty nets, tired hands, a long night, and Jesus says, cast again. Obedience answers weariness with one more try. One more prayer, one more invitation, one more act of faith. The want to does not wait to feel it. It chooses to do it. Galatians 6:9 settles the tempo. In due season, not always this season, a harvest comes if a person does not faint. The want to refuses to faint. It keeps a song when Pharaoh’s head is not yet on the shore. It trusts that God positions people in hard places so his glory can be seen when nets fill and graves lose.

Key Takeaways

1. The want to fuels breakthrough. [04:37] The decisive interior yes becomes the hinge of change. Desire is not hype but hunger that keeps praying, serving, and obeying when outcomes lag. When want to cools, identity calcifies and delays deliverance. When want to burns, labels fall off and rooms turn upside down. [04:37]
2. Endurance is chosen, not stumbled into. [10:23] Jesus ties salvation to enduring, not to accidental drift. Paul’s call to be steadfast and unmovable reminds that faithfulness is a decision repeated in dry seasons. A person cannot trip into heaven or ride good intentions; endurance is a practiced posture under pressure. [10:23]
3. Intentionality replaces vending-machine religion. [13:52] God is not an emergency dispenser for sporadic prayers. Intentional rhythms of prayer, fasting, worship, and obedience shape a durable communion, not a transactional one. Devotion that shows up only in crisis will resent God; devotion that shows up daily will recognize his hand. [13:52]
4. Let go and reach forward. [15:59] The windshield is bigger than the rearview because grace points forward. Forgiveness releases a person from old prisons so reaching can become possible. When the past is dropped at Jesus’ feet, the future stops being theoretical and starts being reachable. [15:59]
5. Cast the net one more time. [36:48] Obedience answers exhaustion with a fresh act of faith. One more prayer, one more invitation, one more step often meets the appointed moment that prior tries could not touch. In due season arrives on the far side of do it again. [36:48]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:12] - If only there was want to
[01:38] - Pour everything into Jesus
[03:53] - Want to for spiritual life
[05:38] - Beginning of sorrows and endurance
[06:38] - He that endures shall be saved
[09:57] - Steadfast and unmovable
[11:17] - Intentional beats good intentions
[13:29] - God is not a vending machine
[15:17] - Forget what is behind, press on
[21:42] - Bartimaeus and identity shift
[31:35] - Cast the net again
[36:48] - One more prayer, one more try
[40:44] - In due season, do not faint
[50:00] - Gratitude and worship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Matthew 24:13 (KJV): "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV): "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
- Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV): "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."
- Galatians 6:9 (KJV): "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Observation Questions

What specific conditions does Jesus associate with salvation in Matthew 24:13, and how does this connect to the idea of "the want to"?
In 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul uses three phrases to describe faithfulness: "stedfast," "unmoveable," and "always abounding." What actions or attitudes do these words imply?
According to the sermon, how does the story of Bartimaeus illustrate the danger of letting pain or struggle become an identity? [21:42]
What practical example does the sermon give for responding to exhaustion with obedience, as seen in Peter and Andrew’s story? [36:48]

Interpretation Questions

Why does Jesus tie salvation to enduring "unto the end" (Matthew 24:13) rather than a single moment of faith? How does this challenge common assumptions about spiritual commitment?
Paul urges believers to "forget those things which are behind" (Philippians 3:13). What kinds of "past" struggles or victories might hinder someone from reaching forward, and why?
The sermon contrasts "vending-machine religion" with intentional devotion. What does this metaphor reveal about the difference between transactional faith and daily discipleship? [13:52]
How does the promise of "due season" in Galatians 6:9 address the tension between persistent effort and delayed outcomes?

Application Questions

What area of your spiritual life currently feels like an "empty net" (exhaustion, unanswered prayers, etc.)? What would it look like to "cast again" in that area this week? [36:48]
Identify one label from your past (e.g., "failure," "unworthy," "broken") that Jesus might be asking you to release. How can you actively "reach forward" instead of clinging to that identity?
Describe a time when you treated God like a "vending machine" (only seeking Him in crisis). What intentional rhythm (prayer, fasting, worship) could you start practicing daily to deepen communion with Him?
The sermon warns against letting headlines or division "wax cold" your love (Matthew 24:12). What practical step can you take to guard your heart against cynicism or apathy in current events?
What does "steadfast, unmoveable" faithfulness look like in your current season? Name one commitment (e.g., serving, forgiving, praying) you need to prioritize, even if results aren’t immediate.
When has God positioned you in a hard place to reveal His glory? How can that memory strengthen your resolve to endure in a present challenge? [37:54]
Finish this sentence: "If I truly had the ‘want to’ this week, I would…" Be specific about one action tied to prayer, obedience, or releasing the past.

Sermon Clips

33s

#WantToBelieve

“here's the real question. you still have the want to? Do you still have the want to? Do you still have the want to to see a miracle? Do you still have the want to to be delivered? Do you still have the want to to see a healing take place? Do you still have the want to to see that family member you've been desperately praying for god to save sitting next to you next Sunday? Do you still believe that god can move in your deepest, darkest, scariest circumstance?”

50s

#PraiseInWilderness

“It's easy to pick up a tambourine and dance when you see the head of pharaoh washing up on shore. It's easy to be like Miriam and dance. When you see your adversary that plagued you for so long now laying lifeless at your feet. It's easy to have a song in your heart when the pharaoh of your life has been defeated. But can you still play that same tambourine when you're out in the wilderness and it seems like you have no direction? Can you still dance before the lord when you're out in the wilderness and it seems like all of god has gone silent?”

34s

#FaithThatActs

“Jacob had to have the want to to wrestle with an angel all night long in order to get his blessing. Noah had to have the want to to build a boat where it has never rained in order to see his family saved. The widow at Zarephath had to have the won't to in order to give all that she had left to the prophet in exchange for more oil and meal. In Cana, the disciples had to have the want to to obey Jesus and fill empty water pots so it could be turned into wine.”

43s

#CastYourNet

“And there are many across our world sitting in churches today standing in their desperation, living in what seems to be a dry spell, a drought. But I come with a word from the lord today Quitman, would you let down your nets one time? Sir, ma'am, would you cast your net one time? Can I say it this way? Would you pray that prayer one time? Will you worship god one time? Come on. I wish somebody would catch this right here.”

37s

#GodPositionsForGlory

“I'm allowing this to happen not to bring sadness to Mary and Martha but I'm allowing this to happen so that a miracle can take place and revival can break out. Are you listening to me? Sometimes, god positions us in certain circumstances not because he's being mean to us or trying to be critical of us, but god has selected you to show his glory through when he performs the miracle so that those around you can see the mighty hand of god and say, I know this couldn't be nothing but the lord.”

30s

#WantToForRevival

“You want an anointed kids ministry? You gotta have the want to. You wanna see church growth and have revival? You gotta have the want to. You wanna see signs, miracles, and wonders? You have to have the want to. You wanna make it to heaven? Gotta have the want to. More times than not, the very key to our breakthrough in this life has to do with just simply having the want to.”

39s

#LeavePastMoveForward

“and so, Paul is teaching this principle to the church here at Corinth by saying, look guys, I I'm I'm not where I need to be yet in Christ. I haven't apprehended everything that I want to get but here's how I get it. Here's how I go to it. First of all, I gotta leave the past in the past. If you try to drive down the road looking in your rear view mirror, you ain't going get too far. Amen. Come on. That's why they make windshields bigger than rear view mirrors because you're supposed to see where you're going, not where you've been.”

35s

#IntentionalFaith

“All I'm trying to say today church is if we're going to have anything from god, if we're going to receive any promise, if we're going to have any prayer answered, if we're going to have any blessing, if we're going to see god's hand move in any circumstance, we have to be intentional about our relationship with him. It's a two way street. Too many folks treat god like a vending machine. They only show up when they need something and so they'll pop a few prayers in and they expect an outcome.”

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You've Got To Have the Want To! | Pastor Jeff Lee | Sunday, June 14th, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Empty Nets and the Courage to Cast Again

Day 2: From Blind Bartimaeus to Just Bartimaeus

Day 3: Letting Go to Press Forward

Day 4: Seasons of Waiting and the Promise of Harvest

Day 5: Wrestling All Night for the Morning Blessing

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

You've Got To Have the Want To! | Pastor Jeff Lee | Sunday, June 14th, 2026

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