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Welcome

I’ve had seasons where I worked really hard and felt like I had very little to show for it.

When Effort Stops Producing

Then… nothing

No breakthrough
No momentum
No return

That did something in me

I was tempted to quit… but didn’t quit

But I did… Level off. Give less. Believe less

That’s stagnation

Stagnation =

We know all about this, right?

We can get stagnant anywhere

Stuck Stats & Silent Drift

Doing life
Not feeling alive

The strong majority are just going through the motions.

We should change right… Change is hard!

Change Is Hard

That means real change… takes longer than we feel like sticking with it.
We try.
We don’t see results.
We stop and drift right back to what’s familiar.

Stagnation =

Are you stagnant in an area of life?

Are we wasting out time at Church…?
Or does Jesus have something to stay for all of us who are stuck?

John 21 gives shows us.

And it is important, because Jesus does not meet the disciples at their best.

He meets them…

Here is the story.

THE MOST AMAZING THING JUST HAPPENED!

JESUS IS ALIVE

…but the disciples are not preaching.

Even though they had seen Jesus and spoken with him multiple times.

The disciples are fishing.

Back to what they know.
Back to what’s familiar.
Back to routine.

Because when we don’t know what to do next…
we go back to what feels normal.

That’s stagnation.

It pulls us into the familiar.

So here they are—
after resurrection, after hope, after everything Jesus has done—

in a boat,
working hard,
getting nowhere.

And that’s exactly where Jesus meets them.

John 21:3
“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

See that last line? That’s stagnation.

Working hard.
Getting nowhere.

Effort… No fruit.

Motion… No movement.

Doing something… But not progressing.

That is where a lot of us live.

We’re busy.
We’re tired.
We’re active.

But we’re not fruitful.

John 21:4
“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.”

Jesus shows up in their empty night.

Jesus shows up in their frustration.

Jesus shows up when nothing is working.

They don’t even know it’s Him yet.

But He’s there.

That’s good news.

Because sometimes Jesus is closer than we realize.

John 21:5
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

No. Perhaps they mumbled.
But at least they were honest.

John 21:6

6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

These are professional fishermen…
Some guy on the shore suggests…

Kind of funny. Almost like… “I should have gotten out on the other side of the bed this morning.”

Same boat.
Same water.
Same nets.
Different side?

But one small shift… changed everything.

Nothing changed around them.

They do it.
They don’t argue.
They don’t analyze.
They move.

Can you do that?

They obey before they recognize Him.

The nets fill… too big to haul…

The miracle happens before they realize it’s Jesus.

Clarity didn’t come first. Obedience did.

We want to know first.

We want certainty.

“Jesus, prove it’s You… then I’ll move.”

But a lot of times—

Jesus says: “Move and then you’ll know it’s Me.”

John 21:7-8
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 
8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish

Peter doesn’t hesitate.

He doesn’t think it through.

He doesn’t stay in the boat.

He jumps and heads toward Jesus.

Which is not normal.

Fishermen don’t do that.

-Stay with the boat.
-Secure the catch.

But Peter? 

He leaves the fish.
He leaves the nets.
He leaves the miracle.

Knowing it’s Jesus, matters more than what Jesus just did.

The miracle was big. But Jesus was better.

We get that backwards. We chase what God can do… and we miss God Himself.

You’ve been praying for a job..
Knowing it is Jesus… more important..

Praying for a miracle…
Knowing it is Jesus… more important

Right now…you may not recognize Jesus in your life.

But this week— when you obey… there’s going to be a moment.

“That was Jesus.”

And when that happens— Don’t stay in the boat. Run toward Him.

Lean into it.
Act on it.
Tell somebody.

Call me.
Call someone in this church.

“Jesus just moved in my life.”

So what do we do? Real steps.

Break the Stagnation

1. Name where you stopped growing

Where did it level off?

Career
Health
Relationships
Faith

You can’t change what you won’t name.

2. Stop hiding in routine

Have I confused familiar with fruitful?

Just because I’m doing something doesn’t mean I’m growing.

3. Pick one act of obedience

Not ten things. One.

Read, Pray, Move, Call, Join

4. Act quickly

They didn’t overthink it.

They moved.

Delayed obedience keeps us stuck.
Action creates momentum.

5. Get comfortable being uncomfortable

Growth won’t feel natural at first.

The other side of the boat felt strange…

But that’s where the breakthrough was.

It may not be dramatic.

Just a different step.

One act of obedience can break stagnation.

Now think about what happens if we actually live like this.

We’re not stuck

We’re not coasting

We’re not just going through the motions

We’re moving

We’re growing

We’re becoming fruitful

And as a church—

We’re not just attending

We’re not just hearing

We’re responding… doing what God says.

We don’t get there by thinking about it

We get there by moving.

MAKE A MOVE

#1 Do something different today

Come receive prayer.

Don’t leave the same way.

#2 Take a step toward connection

Don’t grow alone.

#3 Commit to a Next Step
         (Fill out the connect card)

You are one step of obedience from changing everything.