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Don’t Wash Your Nets Just Yet

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages, Videos

*Luke 5:1-11 / John 21:1-14

  • They Toiled
  • They Tried
  • They were Tired
  • They were Troubled 
  • And They were Tested

Inconvenience Will:

  1. Test Your Faith
  2. Try Your Patience
  3. Take You Deeper

They were washing their nets.

*Pebbles, weeds, dirt, mud and debris. Life can get messy!

When they would wash their nets they would be removing debree; but they would also be repairing and reinforcing.

A net is only as strong as what it’s connected to.

They were tired… they were frustrated… they were done! 

Frustration occurs when you put forth effort without a desired result. Burnout occurs when frustration continues without a resolve or different outcome.

  • It’s so easy to get frustrated.
  • It’s so easy to experience burnout. 
  • It’s common to get tired of life’s routines and responsibilities. 

We are truly the Lords stewards…

  • the earth is the Lords and the fullness thereof! *Psalm 24:1 – however, He has given us dominion.
  • the Lord knew us before we were. They for we existed in the heart of God before we were ever born through natural birth. We came from God, but we came through our parents. Jeremiah 1:5 – therefore we are stewards of our children which are a gift from God. 
  • we are stewards of the earth, our marriage, our children, our job, our homes, our possessions, our responsibilities, our relationships, our finances… everything! That’s why we get weary and tired! 

They were washing their nets, probably while Jesus was teaching. You don’t 

wash your nets until you’re FINISHED fishing… 

  • What are you ready to wash your hands of?
  • What are you frustrated with?
  • What are you finished with? 
  • What are you tired of? 
  • What have you toiled with? 
  • What are you troubled by?
  • What are you being tested with?

The question is what have you decided to wash your hands of that God may be saying, “try again.”

Someone said, “I through in the towel and God through it back and said, ‘wipe the sweat off your face and keep going’!”

What is it that you have the the Lord is wanting to use. What is it that He desires to be in the center of? 

The boat that caught the fish was the boat Jesus was in. What if we invited Jesus into the center of our home, marriage, children, jobs, and money, stead of washing our hands of it?

They forsook all and followed the Lord. Isn’t it interesting when we receive what we desire it’s then we realize it’s not what we truly want or need. It’s the Lord and His presence that we truly desire and truly need.

Doing Good In A Stinky Situation

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages, Videos

Jesus was at a table with His disciple. They were eating. However, most theologians and historians believed that they were not sitting up like we picture, but leaning on their hand and resting on their elbows. That means that they would have been positioned head to feet and feet to head. 

Why is this important. It’s important because their feet were more than likely dirty. The passage tells us that with supper being ended, Jesus got up from the table and girded himself with a servants apron and washed the feet of His disciples.

Traditionally someone should have been at the door of the room where they were eating. And the person at the door would have washed their feet as they entered the house. Nonetheless, it appears that no one was there. It is also is apparent that none of the disciples volunteered to wash feet either.

There are so many interesting scenarios that surround this event. One being that Jesus didn’t wash their feet until after they were finished eating. Maybe they were too hungry to wait. Maybe they were preoccupied. Or maybe Jesus was just waiting to see if someone else would rise to the occasion and seize the opportunity.

Another interesting scenario was the fact that of those seated at the table with Jesus—one would betray Him, one would deny Him and all of them would fall asleep during one of the most crucial moments in Jesus life. Jesus would pray and sweat great drops of blood, while His disciples would sleep. Yet in this moment, He washed their feet. 

As leaders—and sometimes as friends or family—we may know the whole story. We may know all the facts, even those things that no one else knows. Yet we are still called to love, lead, serve, and give of ourselves anyway.

That’s what Jesus did. He led with a heart of humility and served with a heart full of love. He led by example and continued to serve even though He knew what His followers would eventually do. The question for us is: How will we follow His example, and how can we make a “stinky” situation better?

In regard to the matter of us “doing like wise” and the practice of washing feet. I’m not sure if Jesus was referring to it in the literal context exclusively. I think He may have also been referring to something like this as well:

  1. Lead by example—even when you know all of the facts.
  2. Be willing to do what know one else was or is willing to do.
  3. Do what should have already been done—even if no one else will do it now.
  4. Act in love and humility and serve others—even in a stinky situation.
  5. Humble yourself and meet the “obvious” need with a heart of humility and love.

Mindsets Matter

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages, Videos

A Mindset is the set of beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that shape how a person thinks, interprets experiences, treats others and responds to challenges.

A Mindset is the mental posture you take toward life, yourself and others.

It’s the internal lens through which you  see, yourself, others and the world.

Your mindset influences:

• How you handle setbacks

• How you view success and failure

• How you approach learning

• How you relate to others

A mindset is a belief!

  For example:

• A negative mindset believes things are set—I’m just not good at this”, “That’s just the way I am”, “It’s always been that way”, “That’s just not my thing.”

• A positive mindset believes things can change and become better—“I can improve with effort and repetition”, I can be different” “I can be better”, “I can and I will!”

In simple terms:

A mindset is the mental posture you take toward life. It’s also a mental picture of one’s self.

Some things to remember about mindsets:

  • If you don’t change what you believe and how you think things are not going to be any different.
  • The decision to change how you think about yourself and how you view uncomfortable situations and difficult circumstances will determine “the story of your life.”
  • You go into every situation—mind first. So start by getting your mind thinking the right thing.
  • Nothing changes until your mind changes!
  • There has to be a mindset change before there’s ever going to be a life or culture change.

I want to show you the power of a mindset:

In Numbers 13:1-4: “The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan. I will give this land to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve tribes.” So Moses obeyed the Lord’s command and sent out the Israelite leaderswhile the people were camped in the desert of Paran. These are their names: Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, and Geuel. Joshua and Caleb.

“We saw the giant Nephilim people there! (The descendants of Anak.) We felt like little grasshoppers. Yes, we were like grasshoppers to them!” Numbers‬ ‭13‬:‭33‬

“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” Numbers‬ ‭13‬:‭33‬

Not many remember the 10 spies that said, We can’t!” But, most everyone is familiar with Joshua and Caleb. And it’s because of their mindset—that said, “We can!”

However , because of the mindset of the other 10 spies, the Children of Israel experienced 40 years in the wilderness instead of entering in and enjoying the promised land. It took 40 days to get the children of Israel of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of them. 

The statement: “and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” in Numbers‬ ‭13‬:‭33‬ is interesting. It’s interesting because I’m pretty sure that the 10 spies didn’t have a mirror to see themselves. I’m also pretty sure that the giants of the land that intimated spies didn’t even see them to call them “grasshoppers.” They were spying. Therefore, they got in and out without even being seen. The giants didn’t see them and they couldn’t see themselves, but their self image was a mental picture of they felt themselves compared to the giants of the land—it was a mindset.

Your mindset matters! What you decide to believe about yourself, others and the obstacles that you may face, will determine what you experience. The mindset that you determine to have will determine what others remember about you. It will be your life story.

What do you want to be remembered for? What do you want your legacy to be? I can or I can’t? I will or I won’t? The decision that you make will determine the story of your life. 

The reason I chose this passage and to write this is because I want to see your life and your future be blessed. I want to see you experience the things that you deserve and that you desire.

I want you to believe that you can develop a different mindset. A mindset that says, “We can, not we can’t.” A mindset that says, “I can and I will”, not, “I can’t and I won’t.” So I leave you with this today: “You can and you will!!!” All you have to do is change your mind about yourself and the way things are. Develop a different mindset, because mindsets matter.

“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” —Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

That’s Not Who I Am!

Posted on by Rob Collins in blog, Blog, Messages

When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” I believe that He already knew the answer to that question. There is no doubt that He knew who He was. Nonetheless, He asked the question anyway. However, the problem with asking this question is that the answer would be based on people’s assumptions, ideas, perceptions, experiences and a reputation that has been perceived—not necessarily reality, or actuality. Other people’s opinions of Jesus was just that, they were opinions based on perceptions that were concluded by a reputation that had been concluded by their own perceptions.

Assumptions, perceptions and opinions aren’t necessarily reality. However, they definitely can be thought of as such. Jesus in asking the question, knew what others were saying about Him. He knew how others perceived him. Nevertheless, he asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am.” But the disciples answered with what others said, “Some say that you are John the Baptist, others say Elijah and some say, Jeremiah.” and the Jesus said, “But who do you say that I am?” And of course Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Jesus answered the Peter was correct and that he was blessed because know what taught him that, but that Jesus Father had revealed that to him. It wasn’t flesh or blood or reasoning or personal perception that had revealed that to Peter—it was God. You see our opinions and perceptions are not as important as what God is saying or what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us. We can have an opinion, but it’s just an opinion. Others can have an opinion, but it’s just an opinion. All of our perceptions and opinions are formulated through many sources and variables.

Jesus knew who he was and he knew who and where he had come from—His Father in heaven. It’s important to know who you are. Not what others say about you, but who you really are. The person you really are, because that’s who God knows and that’s who God loves. The real you! God really knows us and He loves us unconditionally. Have you ever had someone say something about you and you say or think, “That’s not true! That’s not who I am.” Jesus probably thought the same thing, especially when they called Him a blasphemer or Beelzebub.

If we asked God who He says we are He would say that you are forgiven, justified, righteous, redeemed and holy. He would say that you are a new creation in Christ. He would say that you are a work of progress that is continually being shaped in to His image. You see it’s not as important as what others say as it is what you say. Don’t say what God is not saying and don’t always believe what others may say either. What you say and what others say aren’t as important as what God and His word is saying. Our opinions and others opinions are based on perceptions, assumptions and opinions, but what God and His word says is the eternal truth and it is our compass for receiving acceptance and wholeness. Allow God and His word to reveal to you who you are in Him.


Learn, Unlearn and Relearn

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

Alvin Toffler said: “The illiterate of the future will not be those who can’t read or write. The illiterate of the future will be those who can’t learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Unlearning is perhaps the hardest part of this equation.

Paul said in Philippians 3:12-14: “I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal yet. But, I continue trying to reach it, although I know that I still have a long way to go. Nevertheless, there is one thing that I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine. I do this by forgetting those things which are behind me, while reaching for those things which are ahead of me.”

Toffler says that the future belongs to those who can:

  • Learn
  • Unlearn 
  • Relearn

However, he goes on to say that unlearning is the probably the most difficult part of this equation. In other words— understanding how it’s going to work now is not going to be possible until we unlearn or “forget” how it has worked in the past. In order to have a conversation of a different future, we must learn, unlearn and relearn. However, we can’t truly relearn, until we first unlearn what doesn’t any longer exist or work.

In life *(emotionally, physically and spiritually) and in business we must develop what I call a forgetful reach. In other words, we must reach forward while forgetting those things that are holding you back, or that are hindering you.

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A Forgetful Reach…

1. Reaches for what matters and forgets about what doesn’t matter.

2. Remembers what needs to be remembered and forgets what needs to be forgotten.

3. Let’s go of what’s behind and reaches for what’s ahead.

4. Focuses on things that will lift you up, not on things that will drag you down.

5. Doesn’t rehearse; what it’s trying to forget.

6. Releases what needs released, so it can receive what needs to be received.

7. Doesn’t just see things the way they are; it sees things they way they can be—different!

Toffler says that the future will belong to those who can learn, unlearn, and relearn. And Paul says that the future is better navigated and experienced when we forget the things of the past that are negative and that hinder us from a brighter future.

Therefore, in order to grow we must—forget the past and those things that no longer work— we must Learn, unlearn and relearn.

Why, What and How

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

The Why , The What and the How

The “why” is always more important than the “what” or the “how.” However, most of the time we tend to focus on the “what”, more than we do the “why” or the “how.”

As leaders we usually lead with the “what.” We always say this is what we are going to do. This is “how” we are going to do “what” we are going to do and this is what’s going to happen if we don’t do it a certain way or time frame. Nothing wrong with that, but if we’re not careful we can lose sight of the “why.”

We also talk about “how” we’re going to accomplish the “what”, but again, we spend very little time talking about the “why.” Even as people we talk about, “what” I’m going to do. And this is “how” I’m going to do “what” I’m going to do. 

But, we forget the “why.” However, I think if we would lead with and focus on the “why” then the “what” would be accomplished with great pride and purpose. It would be a byproduct of the “how”’and the “why.”

I also believe that if we spent more time focusing on the “why” we would have more peace, value and self-worth. The blessing would be a blessing and not a burden. 

The “why” has formed, founded and driven by guiding principles in the word: do everything as unto to the Lord, and do unto others as you have them do unto you,  and lastly, our guiding principle: let everything that you do, be down in love. In other words, it’s not just about me, it’s about “calling” and “purpose.” It’s about doing things like I would want them to be done if I were personally involved in the equation. And lastly, because I love what I do and I love those that I serve, it will reflect in how I do things. When this happens the “how” and the “what” become a byproduct of the “why.”

The “why” is the most important part of the equation. Don’t allow the “why” to get lost in the “how” and in the “what.” The “why” is what should drive everything that we do and everything that we do should be done in love. Do what you love and love what you do! Why is the why so important? Because the “why” is what will keep you going when you feel like quitting.

INVESTMENT

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

excerpts from Rick Warren Daily Hope

We can’t be so now focused that we aren’t prepared for the future, but we also can’t be so future focused that we miss the moment and opportunities of today. 

Investment is giving into something now for a return later. Nevertheless, you must invest as much into an existing today as you do into an unknown tomorrow.

Don’t miss today.

Don’t fret over tomorrow.

And, don’t regret over the past. 

Instead… 

LEARN FROM THE PAST.

LIVE IN THE PRESENT.

LAY OUT A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.

The good thing about the future is that it doesn’t hit us all at once. If you could see every event in your entire life (good and bad) laid out ahead of you, it would no doubt be overwhelming. So maybe that’s why God gives it to us in bite-size, 24-hour segments.

Since God gives you only one day at a time, that’s how he expects you to approach your life. Live it one day at a time, and make it count.

Jesus taught: “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34 NLT)

Is Jesus actually saying, to stop borrowing trouble. If there’s something happening next week, don’t mess up today by worrying about it?

Worry can’t change the past. It can’t control the future. Worry only makes you miserable today.

God gives you all the grace you need—but just enough for today, every day. He doesn’t stockpile all that power in your life and give it to you for the next week or month. As a matter of fact, He says to pray like this, “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11 ESV) 

He wants you to take life one day at a time.

When you don’t know what the future holds, you can still take life one day at a time. That’s all you are meant to do!

When everything is uncertain and you don’t know how to make wise decisions for the future, then just take care of today. It’s important to plan, pray, and trust God for the future, but he also expects you to put your energy into making today count too.

A great way to do this is to focus instead on the things that truly matter and the things that God loves and cares about. That’s how you make today count.

God doesn’t want you to worry about tomorrow, but he doesn’t want you to consider it a guarantee either. 

Here’s what Proverbs 27:1 in the MSG says, “Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow, or what it may hold.” 

When everything else in life seems unclear, this verse is about as clear as you can get.

Plan for tomorrow, but live for today. God will give you everything that you need to be obedient in both.

3 THINGS TO LIVE BY:

  1. LIVE IN THE PRESENT AND MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT.
  2. DON’T TAKE LIFE OR YOURSELF TOO SERIOUS.
  3. ALWAYS BE A WORK IN PROGRESS THAT IS ALWAYS GROWING AND EVER LEARNING.