Can He Use Your Boat?

If you’ve got your Bible—and I hope you do—turn with me to Luke chapter 5. We’re beginning a new series this month called "Into the Deep." And I’ll tell you straight up: this is more than a catchy title. This is a call. It’s a challenge. It’s an invitation to go where Jesus is leading us—not just as a church, but personally.

We’ve been saying it for months: God is doing something here at Community. I believe that with all of my heart. You can feel it—in our worship, in our conversations, in the way people are stepping up to serve and stepping out in faith. God is moving.

But here’s the question we need to wrestle with:

Are we recognizing it?

Right? I mean, feeling it and actually receiving it—and stepping out by faith—are two different things.

So I want to challenge you this week..

I want you to ask yourself this question: Why am I here? I know, that’s a dangerous question. Because when people start asking that, sometimes they pack up and leave. And I’m praying that’s not the case. I’m praying you recognize that the Spirit of God has drawn you here on purpose. You’re not here by accident. You’re not just passing time. You’re here because God has a plan for your life.

And our goal here at Community isn’t just to preach good sermons or provide amazing worship—it’s to equip the saints for service. It’s discipleship. And the outcome of real, relational discipleship is always mission.

So let me press deeper: Why is Christ in you?

Why does Christ affect your mind and your emotions, your body and your will and your relationships?

Because He wants to use all of it.

He wants to use you—your mind, your emotions, your body, your will, your relationships, your friendships, your marriage, your parenting. Every part of who you are—to display His glory to the world.

And I want some of you to hear this… he wants to use what you think is broken, for his glory.

He has a purpose for being in you.

I want you to see your faith as more than a Sunday morning routine. Have you ever thought about this verse in Galatians 1:15–16?

"But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles…"

Did you catch that? Paul said God, in His grace, revealed His Son in me for a purpose—that I might proclaim Him to the nations.

Why, Paul? Why did God save you? Why did He bring you into Christ?

I could ask the same, and you too… why did God save me? Why did He bing me and you into Christ?

Paul would say, "So I can proclaim Christ. Show Christ. Declare Christ to the world around me.”

This is the reason why Christ is in you. He is in you for a purpose. He is in you for a mission.

So let me ask it another way:

Can He use your boat?

Lets look at our text together this morning, Luke chapter 5 beginning in verse 1. (NIV) One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Have you ever been hungry?

I mean, really hungry. We all have, right? Hunger is just part of life. It’s normal. But what’s not normal—what’s heartbreaking—is being hungry and having no way to feed yourself.

This week, I had a meeting at Panera. When it was over, I was heading back to my car, feeling full and satis ed. As I was walking out, I noticed a man sitting in one of the outdoor chairs. Now, I tend to strike up little conversations with people as I pass by, so I casually said, “Hey, are you enjoying the day?”

He looked up and said, “Man, it’s hot.”

And honestly, I hadn’t even noticed the heat. I felt comfortable, refreshed even. So I replied, “Well, at least there’s a nice breeze.

He laughed quietly and shook his head. “Maybe where you're standing—but right here, the breeze is warm.”

At that moment, I realized our quick hello was becoming something deeper. It was turning into a conversation. And right there, I felt that familiar nudge from the Spirit, saying clearly, “Sit with him.”

So I did. I closed my car door, walked back, and sat down beside him. Just as we were getting settled, another person came out from inside and sat beside us and listened into our conversation…. We were talking about Alaska and he turned around and joined our conversation. Soon, all three of us were deep in conversation, sharing stories and getting to know one another.

As we talked, it became clear to me this man wasn’t just passing the time. He was a passerby, yes, but he was hungry. Yet here’s the thing—he wasn’t holding a sign, he wasn’t asking for food, and he wasn’t making himself obvious. He had simply stopped to rest and cool off, planning to move on shortly.

Through our conversation, I discovered what he liked to eat. So I went back inside, ordered him some food, along with enough for his friends, and brought it out to him. And as we sat together, sharing food and stories, God opened a door. In a simple, relational way, I was able to share the hope and love of Jesus with this man.

AND THIS is one of the most Jesus ways to minister to others… : ministry isn’t about big plans or programs. It simply starts when we’re willing to be surrendered to Jesus where he lives through us, and that happened by sitting down, seeing someone, and sharing a meal together.

All I did was share conversation with him and some bread.

And I think of Jesus feeding the hungry when he fed the 5,000 and eventually they were cornering Jesus on the other sides saying, we want more, And Jesus looks at them and says, one of these many, "I am” statements in the Book of John, “I am the Bread of Life.”

From the very beginning, God intended for our needs to be met, he created us to hunger.

Think about Man in the garden. The first created human was created to have a need for food. God had created him that way. Sometimes we almost think to ourselves, “In the Garden of Eden when everything was perfect, man had no needs.” That’s not true. Man de nitely had needs. Man had a need for air and for food.

We find out later in Genesis 2, he had a need for companionship. It was not good for man to be alone, and so God created and wired man with cravings, with needs, and with an empty stomach to fulfill.

Here’s the key though: In the Garden, it wasn’t that man didn’t have needs. The picture in the Garden of Eden was that man had needs that were intended to be met only by God, in a way that was designed by God.

So, God created us to crave and then, second, our cravings are designed to be satisfied by our Creator. Our cravings are designed to drive us to God as the one who ful lls our cravings, meets our needs, and satis es our desires, which leads us to the problem in Genesis 3.

Genesis three is the fall of man. And its when man and woman let their needs control their hearts. And we see for the first time, the trigger of sin….

Which is, We look to the things in this world to satisfy us apart from our Creator, and the tragedy of sin is this: We end up running from the one our souls long for and need most. This is what happens in Genesis 3. They think they can find satisfaction apart from the Creator. They end up doing that, and they end up turning away from the one their souls need most.

Now, I have said all of that to get this this moment in Luke… Look with me in verse one…

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.

They were hungry… they were pressing in. They were pressing in to hear the word of God. The language here in greek denotes that they had an intense craving.

But for what? There’s no mention anywhere about miracles, healings, financial provision, or even for food; so what were they pressing in for? They were pressing in for the Word

Thats what attracted them. And like a moth to light, Jesus as the word, drew them in with the word, to the edge of the sea.

All Throughout Scripture, whenever people truly hunger for God, He responds with satisfaction. Desperate people are drawn to God’s Word.

All throughout Scripture we see this.. a hunger for Gods word.

“I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commandments” (Psalm 119:131) and Jeremiah exclaims “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart” (Jeremiah 15:16)

His word is a joy and a delight…

Listen church, Scripture is soul food for the desperate.

Imagine that crowd jostling closer on the beach, eyes fixed on Jesus, ears straining for every word. That poses a convicting question: What about us?

I remember one time I went to Alicia house for dinner while we were dating. And growing up I always saw theses things called pickled eggs. And the look was horrible.. hard boiled eggs, in a a jar, purple from beat juice looking all nasty… like there’s also a thing called picked pigs feet.

I couldn’t even stand the sight of picked eggs without gagging. And here they were, sitting in front of me and all of her family enjoying it and I'm like, where’s the deviled eggs? What’s this. Ewww.

But guess what.. I ate one… I felt left out.. I wanted to make an impression and I wanted to enjoy what her family enjoyed because, well I wanted a wife. And so if that meant suffering by eating a purple butt nugget, then so be it…

But actually, I thought it wasn’t that bad… and then over time, and in all seriousness, my taste buds changed. The more I ate the more I enjoyed it.

I think one of the reasons we don’t desire God’s Word is because our taste buds are so accustomed to the things of this world.

We fill our stomachs with so many empty calories (like ve or more hours of messages from the world on our screens every day), and as a result, we’re not hungry for God’s Word. But what might happen if we took the time to feast on Scripture instead of all the measly morsels the world offers us? Might our taste buds change?

There’s a line in a hymn you might know it.. it goes like this..

“Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.”

The Word of God awakens a hunger that only God can satisfy.

And then something happens when we press in… When we lean forward like that crowd did on the shoreline look at where Jesus takes them. Jesus starts moving toward the places we weren’t even paying attention to.

Look at verse 2.

“He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.”

Ordinary life. Nothing special.. just two boats and failed fisherman.

But while the crowd is hanging on the very word of Christ, Jesus’s eyes is seeing something else…. He sees the invisible people.

This is what James and John and Peter and Andrew are right now.. ordinary people, doing ordinary things, but its something you see everyday, so its not a big deal.

And this is the theme of Jesus ministry in the gospels. His gaze gravitates to the lonely, the left behind, the discouraged. He sees what others have ignored.

And I often wonder, how often do we ignore the ordinary, so we can find the extraordinary things. We see them as precious and desirable, but what about the ordinary things we over look.

Hagar, an abused maidservant, gave God a beautiful name: El-Roi, “the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13)fter the Lord noticed her af affliction in the wilderness. The empty boats here in Luke show us that same El-Roi in action through Jesus. He sees the tired fishermen cleaning their nets in frustration, and His heart moves toward them.

This truth is deeply encouraging: No matter how invisible or ignored you feel, Jesus sees you. He sees what others overlook in your life.

So ask yourself: Are there areas of hurt, failure, or need I assume God doesn’t notice?

Hear this: Jesus sees! The God who created this word, who put galaxies together, and places us right here in this one, and gave us life, sees you. Your emptiness and disappointment have caught the eye of a compassionate Savior.

Peter wouldn’t know it in this moment watching this preacher come forward, but in 1 Peter 5:7 after time after time of failures and hurt, and hardships he would write, He sees what you’re going through, and He cares (1 Peter 5:7).

But look at that happens when Jesus sees us… Look with me in verse 3.

3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,…

He steps into our personal space… There is so much grace and wisdom in how Jesus does this. He doesn’t begin by commanding Peter to leave everything and become an apostle. He starts small. Just like a simple conversation… before Peter becomes an apostle, he’s got other learn obedience as a young follower.

You see, churhc, Jesus Gets Close Before He Calls.

This is so important. He doesn’t begin with a job description—He begins with presence.

Relationship precedes commission.

He doesn’t lead with a title—He leads with intimacy. Before Peter ever becomes a preacher, he becomes a disciple.

And that’s the order so many of us get wrong. We want the purpose without the presence. We want the mission without the Master. But Jesus says, “Let Me in the boat first.”

And I want to bring us back to the question we asked at the very beginning of this message: Why are you here? Why has Christ come to live in you? Why has He drawn you into this place—into this family of believers at Community?

It’s not just so you can hear a good sermon or attend a worship service. It’s because He’s forming you into a disciple. Because before God sends you to proclaim Christ to the world—like Paul in Galatians 1:16—He wants to reveal Christ in you. To many of you are trying to fish for people, or serve in ministry at the same time fighting Christ to be in your boat.

We want His blessing, but not His presence. We want His power, but not His Lordship. We want to be effective for the Kingdom, but we’re not willing to let Him rule over our private lives. And I’ll just say it plainly: You cannot fish for people if you keep pushing Jesus out of the boat.

So if you’re a young Christian, or maybe you’re just now taking your faith seriously, let me plead with you— don’t try to walk into calling without first walking with Christ.

Because if you do, it won’t be long before ministry becomes performance. And performance without intimacy leads to exhaustion. You’ll start serving for your reputation instead of God’s glory. Pride will move in, and humility will move out. And everything you do—even good things—will become activity without intimacy. You’ll be busy for God, but distant from Him. But that’s not what He wants for you.Jesus wants your heart. He wants your friendship. He wants to teach you how to hear His voice before He asks you to raise your own.

So pay attention to how He’s drawing near to you right now—through your relationships, your job, your struggle, your quiet time, your questions. I just heard a story about a 90-year-old woman who was ordained at our Nazarene General Assembly this year. That’s incredible. You are never too old—or too broken, or too young —to walk in your calling. But please hear me: before you walk into your calling, make sure your heart is surrendered to Christ. Don’t just ask, “Can He use my boat?”—ask, “Am I close enough to hear His voice when He steps in?”

You see church… before verse four comes, and well talk about that next week, when Jesus asks Peter to put out his nets out into the deep… Jesus simply asks, A simple invitation. “Push out a little from shore.” That’s what Jesus asked Peter. Not “Preach.” Not “Lead.” Just: “Move your boat a few feet.” And Peter obeyed.

And that small act of obedience became the foundation for a calling that would shake the world. You see , Obedience and love often begins with small steps.

As our worship team comes up… to prepare for our closing….

I need to pause here for a moment… because………. The boat in this story… isn’t just a boat….. It’s a picture. It’s a mirror. It’s a foretaste of something deeper. And I don’t know if anyone has ever seen this before, because I didn’t until this wek.

Sometimes we look at this passage and we overlook the ordinary. We see the crowd pressing in, we see Peter as a failure, we see here soon that he goes out into the deep and a great miracle happens… but remember, Jesus sees what we do not see at times…..

Jus like I never saw myself as a pastor. But he saw it.

But think about this… have you ever looked at this moment when Jesus gets into he boat and then realize that Jesus getting into the boat, was him teaching the people, and Peter, and us that one day, he will be in us?

We become the boat… his presence and Spirt in us, and we become living vessels.

Think about that.

Your life is the vessel. Your heart is the space. And Jesus climbs in, and Peter is in.. and Jesus begins asking Peter, will you push off.

Remember what I asked you at the beginning: Why is Christ in you?

He is in you because He wants to speak through you. Shine through you. Love through you. He wants your life to be His platform—just like Peter’s boat became a pulpit.

But here’s the thing: before Peter ever launched into the deep, Jesus just asked for a few feet.

Push out a little from shore.” Not a leap—just a nudge.

And maybe that’s where some of you are today. You’ve been waiting for some big assignment or loud callin or some writing in the sky, or some big miracle… —but Jesus is simply asking, “Will you trust Me right here? Will you give Me what you have?” Will you let me use your ordinary life. If Christ is in you, then your ordinary life has become a holy place. You are the boat. And He’s ready to move.

But you’ve got to say yes. You’ve got to surrender. You’ve got to push off—maybe just a little at first. But that little push can carry His glory into places you never dreamed.

Obey Him on the shore. Let Him in the boat. And watch what He will do, in you, and through you.

So how do we end a message like this?

We end the way Jesus began—with a question.

Can He use your boat?

But maybe now you hear it differently than when we started. It’s not just about what you can do for God—it’s about whether you’ll let Him in. Into your schedule. Into your pain. Into your dreams. Into your heart.

You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be present. You don’t have to go deep today. Just push off a little from shore.

Because if Christ is in you, then your life is no longer just your own. It’s a vessel of His presence. And when His presence lls a surrendered life, even the smallest act of obedience becomes sacred.

So this morning… what’s your small step?

What small moment will you trust him in? No arguments.. no trying to talk Jesus out of the boat.. but whats one small step you can make before he hear the words, put out into the deep water.

Whatever it is—start there. Push off a little. Let Him in.

Because He’s not just calling you to deeper waters next week.

He’s calling you to make room for His presence right now.

Let’s pray. Jesus… You didn’t ask for a performance. You asked for a boat. You didn’t demand perfection. You just stepped close. And we confess—so many times we’ve pushed You away. We’ve kept You at the edge of our lives. We’ve tried to carry out callings without intimacy. We’ve longed for Your power without surrendering to Your presence. But today… we want something different. Today, we say yes. Even if it’s small. Even if it’s simple. We say yes to pushing off from shore. We say yes to letting You in. Yes to Your Word. Yes to Your will. Yes to Your presence—right here, right now. Lord, we believe that even the smallest act of obedience, in the hands of a holy God, can change everything. So take our lives—our minds, our hearts, our stories, even our failures—and make them vessels of Your glory. We are the boat. You are the Lord. Have Your way in us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.