What if we positioned ourselves as the net and Jesus as the one casting us out into the deep end? Because without Jesus, we’re just a net. A bundle rope tangled at the bottom of the boat, but He calls us capable and gives us value by casting us out knowing that we will catch something. Notice the passage says the “deep end” and not the shallow end. There is no need to test the waters, He wants us to jump right in and trust Him that He is going to provide for our desires and needs. He wants to get us to the point where we can’t do it without Him. This is when we really put our faith into action. It’s so easy to get caught in our feelings of not being enough, but He is calling us into His capabilities.

As you read in Matthew, you see that the net caught so many fish that the nets began to break. God will not let you break, but He promises an abundance of goodness when you let Him use you to your full capability. Get this: The fish they caught in their nets didn’t benefit just them, but also the people around them because the fish are sold for the use of livelihood and for the use of food. In our lives the fish can represent people, finances, responsibilities, relationships, and/or our future calling. Which don’t just benefit us, but also the people around us.

So why do we doubt the Lord’s plans when we know He is good? Why do we worry about tomorrow? It clearly says in Matthew 6:34 that tomorrow can worry about itself. In Matthew 14:22-33 it talks about Jesus walking on the water. The disciples had their doubts if it was actually Jesus and even thought He was a ghost.

“Then Peter cried out from the boat ‘Lord if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ Jesus said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the son of God.’” 

Jesus made Peter capable of walking on the water, but it took faith for Peter to trust in Him. That’s why he told Peter to come to him. It takes a big step of faith to follow Jesus in what He’s called us to do. As humans, we like to think we are incapable of doing the impossible because it’s unknown what could happen and sometimes uncomfortable. But with Jesus we are fully capable. Just like Peter, he doubted that he could actually walk on water with Jesus, which resulted in him sinking. Yet again Jesus picked him up. Just like the nets. Although others may have looked and thought they were worthless nets. But Jesus saw that he could do something with them. He can do something with you! He calls you capable even when you or others around you might not.

There have been so many times that we’ve doubted the Lord’s goodness because of how unworthy we see ourselves. There have been many instances that He’s called us to do something, and all we needed to do was be cast out into the deep, or to step out into the water. We’ve sunk countless times because of our human doubts, but He continued to pick us up and pull us to safety. He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called. You are capable of what Jesus called you to do, otherwise, He wouldn’t have called you to do it.

What if we choose to not set onto the water? What if we choose to stay at the bottom of the boat? God will still use you, but imagine what could happen if you let the all powerful God ,who knows you better than you know yourself, use you in his power. What if you let Him make you more capable than you could ever imagine? He will meet you where you’re at. He will use you to your capability no matter where you go. You are capable because He calls you capable.

If you want to step out of the boat and trust God, a DTS is a great option for you! Or if you’ve already done a DTS, maybe your next step out of the boat is to do an SFM and really dive deep into looking into long term missions. Pray about it and if you have any questions we’d love to get in touch with you. Blessings!

“Coming home after a DTS was exciting, yet terrifying. I was so excited to come home after 6 months of being away from family and friends. I was excited for what the Lord was going to show me, and how He was going to use me in this season. However, I was extremely scared as well. I was nervous about what people would think of this ‘new’ me, and that I wasn’t going to have friends when I got back. I didn’t know how the (GOOD) changes I made during my DTS would affect my home life.

 It was hard for me coming back into the swing of things after being in Redding for half a year. However, people were nice and curious as to what I was doing. Most of my friends were really happy and supportive of me. Meanwhile, there were some people who were opposed to everything I was doing and had done. I started falling back into old habits I thought were long gone. Which resulted in removing some of the people out of my life I thought were my friends. The enemy continued his onslaught for weeks until I finally had a breakthrough.

Through a Sunday morning service, I had conviction rise up in me like a fire. A fire I had felt before, a fire I knew had to be the Lord. The Lord brought all of my failings and shortcomings to the light. In an instant, I felt relief on my life. Then there was this blissful peace that came over me, I repented, thanked the Lord, and gave Him all the glory!

Although I had a breakthrough with the Lord and everything seemed to go up, the enemy doesn’t give up that easily. Family troubles started to rise, along with financial struggles.

Our family has been under a lot of spiritual attacks; however, each day we grew closer and closer with each other, and the Lord. As I write this testimony, my family sat down for 5 hours and talked. Talked about our days, our stress, our hearts. Then we focused in on the Lord and what He wants for our family. We all laughed and had an amazing conversation.”

When we follow Jesus our struggles don’t just go away, sometimes they come back even stronger because we have opposition. Thanks to Jesus, we have someone to lean on and trust in to help us with our battles in order to help others walk in victory over their own. 

Jesus calls us to “Cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7

You are not in this alone. We all walk through seasons of fruitfulness and of silence. For those in the YWAM community, you may be coming out of a dry season about to step into a DTS, or you’re getting ready to transition out of YWAM. Get this: our best days here on earth are barely a glimpse of what our time in Heaven will look like. The Lord doesn’t just use you in the season of fruitfulness like DTS. He will use you in any season you are in, if you’re open to letting him use you. We go through is a daily sacrifice, a daily practice of laying our struggles at the foot of the cross; because without Jesus, we can’t do anything in our own flesh.

Sometimes saying yes isn’t to a crazy adventure overseas, but simply just going back home to continue walking with Jesus. Saying “yes” to Jesus, means saying “yes” in ALL seasons. Saying “yes” when it’s easy. Saying “yes” even when it’s hard. Even when it hurts. Because Jesus is worth it and He will guide us to the promised land.

If you’re looking for a next step, check out our Discipleship Training School or our secondary schools. It just takes a yes, so say ‘YES’!!! 

Briefly, rhema is the Greek word which means “word.” However, it’s definition refers directly to the spoken word of God. In contrast to the written word of God, which is the Bible. An example of a rhema word would be God speaking to someone about a current event in their lives. If you’ve ever had someone pray for you and their words matched your exact situation, you’ve experienced rhema. God spoke to them about what you needed to hear. That person may not have even realized it themselves! If God spoke to them, He could speak to you too.

Consider this, Christians are very familiar with the idea of believing God for signs, wonders, and miracles. Would it be so crazy to think that He speaks to us? Sometimes, we think of hearing God’s voice is a miracle in and of itself. What if it wasn’t? What if it was the key to seeing more signs, wonders, and miracles happen on earth? 

That’s exactly what God wants for us. That’s why He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us! So, that we could experience communion with Him and have a personal relationship with Him. As it says in 1 Corinthians 2:11-13 (ESV), “For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So, also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of this world, but the spirit that is from God. That we might understand the things freely given to us by God. And we impart this not by human wisdom. But taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”

God wants to reveal His thoughts and plans to us! This, in and of itself, is not a miracle. This is simply a simple truth. So shake off the expectations and just be open to what He wants to share with you! Often times, we imagine the voice of God to come from the clouds. (Exodus 24:16) But the Bible also refers to the still, small voice of God. (1 Kings 19:12) However it comes is pretty cool! The point is that it’s hard to be obedient if we don’t know what He’s saying..

One of the best ways to practice hearing God’s voice is to just start listening. A common struggle of trying to hear His voice is wondering whether or not it’s your own voice. So just practice listening first. Then you can start to feel out the difference. The main difference is in the character. At first it might sound like your own voice, but then you will begin to hear God’s character coming through. He might nudge you to talk to someone, or do something differently than you normally would. If it’s Him, it will always be good and will always align with the values He shows in the Bible. Lean into hearing that voice!

ACTIVATION: When you have free time, pray and ask God how to spend it. Then, do it! (Hint: He might tell you to do something you enjoy, because He wants to enjoy it with you. Just because it’s God’s voice doesn’t mean He’s going to tell you to read your Bible.. But if He does, ask Him which book He wants you to read.)

ACTIVATION: When you’re struggling with a person, try asking God what He thinks about them. God created each and every one of us in a unique way! He might show you something about them that will make see them the way He sees them. 

ACTIVATION: Write a letter to yourself from God’s perspective. Ask God what He wants to say to you, then write it out ! You might be surprised what He has to say..

YWAM Redding’s Discipleship Training School (DTS) is a safe environment to practice hearing God’s voice. It provides plenty of opportunities to listen and respond to what He’s saying. Through activities like intercession, worship, and evangelism. The good news is that there is still time to apply to our Fall DTS! Click below to either learn more or apply for the school.

First, let’s back up a bit. To be more accurate, let’s back up around 1000 years before Jesus was born. A man named David made a covenant with God. (2 Samuel 7) You may have heard of David from the story of David and Goliath. Or, possibly, the story of King David and Bathsheba. Yup, that’s the one! In between those two major events in his life, God promised him that He would build David a kingdom. He also promised that He would raise up one of David’s descendants. God says, “He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever,” in 2 Samuel 7:13. 

Naturally, as humans have done in the past, the descendants of David broke their part of the covenant. This lead to an exile of the Israelites from their own land, which left them feeling hopeless. In the book of Isaiah, the Prophet Isaiah wrote a poem, which was actually a prophecy! The poem recorded explicit details of how God would remain faithful to the covenant He made with David. Even though the Israelites had failed. The elements of the poem lined up with elements of Jesus’ life and death years later. You can read this in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53.

Fast forward to when Jesus was alive and well, He was bringing freedom with Him wherever He went. He would heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. The leaders of the Israelites despised Jesus. Even though the history of their own culture foretold what would happen, their hearts remained hardened. His own people planned to kill Him, and Jesus let them.

Jesus knew who He was and what He came to do. He came to fulfill every covenant made with God’s people before, and to establish a new one. This is what all of the Old Testament was building up to. In this New Covenant, He died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. (Matthew 26:28) This even covered all of the times that humans broke their promises to God in the past. Meaning that anyone would be able to enter the Kingdom of God through believing and proclaiming what Jesus had done. Hallelujah! 

Luke 22:42-44 portrays the humanity of Jesus so well. In this passage, Jesus is just about to be given over to the leaders of the Israelites to be killed. He cries out to the Lord. Yet, Jesus still asks that the Lord’s will be done. Then, Jesus starts to literally sweat blood. Which is a very rare thing that can happen when the human body is experiencing extreme fear.

This passage showed that Jesus’ body was not some sort of superhuman body. It wasn’t “specially designed” to handle the pain that He endured on the cross. Even though Jesus knew what had to happen, it didn’t make it any easier to do. However, what did make it easier was that He knew the Father. He trusted God and His plan, all the way to His death. He knew that in the end, He would be with the Father. What a beautiful testament to the depths of Jesus’ intimacy of the Lord.

The story isn’t over yet! Jesus’ life and death made a way for God’s Kingdom to come to earth. Since it obviously hasn’t happened yet, there is still work to do! This means that we have a purpose to serve in our time here. We can use Jesus’ life as a model for how we can live our lives. He embodied humility, sacrifice, and love to the highest degree. It’s possible to know God’s heart like Jesus did, and to live it the way He did too! 

Exodus begins 400 years after the covenant God made with Abram. During that time, the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied, which is exactly what God told them to do. All of a sudden there was a new king of Egypt called Pharaoh who decided that there were too many Israelites. He was worried that they would realize their great number and join forces with the enemies of Egypt to overthrow them. So the Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites. He inflicted harsh rules over them and forced them to do manual labor. But even in the brutal conditions, the Isaelites were increasing in number.

As if the Pharaoh wasn’t evil enough, he planned to keep the Israelite people from growing. He told the midwives to throw every Hebrew newborn male into the Nile river, but to let females live. So that the Israelite bloodline would cease. Thankfully, the midwives did not listen to the Pharaoh. They let all of the Hebrew children live, and the Lord blessed them for this!

Moses’s mother was a Levite, which was a tribe of Israel. When Moses was born, she hid him for as long as she could. Soon, she realized she would have to do something before the Pharaoh found out. So she made a basket and hid Moses in the reed on the bank of the Nile river. The daughter of Pharaoh went to the river to take a bath, when she found baby Moses. He was crying, and the Pharaoh’s daughter had compassion on him. She took him as her own and raised him.

When Moses grew up, he saw an Egyptian man fighting a Hebrew man, which he knew was one of his people. Moses was angry at the sight of it, so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. The next day, some Hebrew men told Moses that they saw what he did. Soon after, the Pharaoh found out and wanted to kill Moses. So, Moses fled to Midian.  There, he found a home and married a Levite woman. At the same time, the Lord heard the cries for help of the Israelites in Egypt.

In Exodus chapter 3, the Lord got Moses’ attention from a bush that was engulfed in flames, but not being burnt. He spoke to Moses, revealing Himself as, “the God of Abraham, the God of Issac, and the God of Jacob.” He shared with Moses the plan He had to rescue the Israelites from the hands of Pharaoh. God promised that His people would not leave Egypt empty handed. Plus, He would lead them to a fruitful land. His plan directly involved Moses speaking to Pharoah on God’s behalf.

Moses argued with the Lord by saying that no one will believe that God sent him. So, God gives him three very powerful signs to prove that he was sent by Him. After showing him the signs, he still argued that His plan would not work because he had a speech impediment. The Lord promised, yet again, that He would be with Moses and give him the words to say. Moses begged Him to send someone else. The Lord became angry with him, but still offered another solution. Even though Moses felt inadequate, God raised him for the task. Because of the way grew up, Moses understood both the culture of the Egyptians and the Israelites.

REDEEM: to make amends for evil or error.

In this chapter, we can see the direct link between what God was doing in Moses’ life and the covenant He established with Abram. God promised to make Abram’s family a great nation and to lead them to a land of their own. By calling Moses, even 400 years later, He is remaining faithful to His Word. 

The point is, that the process was something that needed to take place for everything in Exodus chapter 6 to be fulfilled. The Lord gave Moses’ a clear promise with clear results. One main difference that separates this promise from the others was that the word redeem was introduced to the story. God said, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and acts of judgement.” If you look at the definition of redeem, what God said ensured that there would be evil and error. However, everything that was lost would be compensated for and paid back in full. Everything would be restored. 

We need understand that by saying “yes” to God, we are also accepting the process He has for us. It’s easier to say it than it is to do it. However, we can see from the life of Abram and the life of Moses that God is faithful and intentional. We can trust that He will be that in our lives, too. He keeps His promises. The plan He has for our lives redeems every area of brokenness and evil, because it’s perfect! He is so worthy of the trust is takes to give Him our “Yes.”