|
Launch Out Into the Deep and Get Ready for a Haul--
Levels of Experiencing Jesus
By Janine Scott-Lowe, MD
Luke 5:4: “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.”
Don’t you love it when God surprises you? You think He is going to do things one way or go in a certain direction, but then He does it in another. Guess He’s reminding you that HE IS GOD. Well, that’s what happened with this writing. The phrase “launch out into the deep and get ready for a haul” has been ringing in my spirit as of late. To really understand this verse in context, you must actually read Luke 5, verses 1-11.
Here is the story of Jesus teaching the crowd by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw the fishermen, who had just finished fishing all night, catching nothing, washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, continued teaching, and then told one of the fishermen (Simon) to “launch into the deep and let down their nets for a catch.” Simon told Jesus about their recent fishing failure, but (this is what I LOVE), he THEN said “NEVERTHELESS, AT YOUR WORD I WILL let down the net.” (talk about OBEDIENCE IN THE FACE OF FAILURE--another message, another time…smile!) The fishermen’s OBEDIENCE was GREATLY REWARDED, as when they obeyed, they caught a GREAT NUMBER of fish, so much so that their net was breaking and they had to signal their partners in another boat to come and help them. In the end, BOTH boats were filled, so that they began to sink. The fishermen were astonished and afraid of what they had seen, but Jesus told them NOT TO BE AFRAID. From then on, instead of catching FISH, they would be catching MEN. When they brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Jesus.
Wow! What an AMAZING story of an AMAZING miracle. On the SURFACE, we can see the message of the Blessing of Obedience, which is where I thought the Lord was going with this message. But, He took me EVEN DEEPER into it for even MORE revelation; He showed me the different levels of experiencing Him.
In verse one, we see Jesus on land by the lake, teaching the crowd. In verse 3, Jesus got into the boat a little out from shore (in SHALLOW water), where he still taught the people on the land, but now was more alone in the presence of the fishermen on the boat. Finally, in verse 4, Jesus commands the fishermen to go into the DEEP water, where they catch their haul.
What do these levels signify? The crowd on land are those who all have equal access to Jesus, as they are hearing the words that He spoke. Getting into the boat and going into shallow water is comparable to those people who CONTINUE TO LEARN about Jesus, but are still considered “babes in Christ.” At this stage, they are being fed with MILK and NOT the SOLID FOOD of the Word (1 Corinthians 3:1-2). These spiritual INFANTS may be more “worldly,” being controlled by their OWN desires, rather than God’s. The need for milk is a natural instinct for a baby, providing the nourishment it needs for growth. As one begins to find nourishment in Christ (the Bread of Life), his spiritual appetite increases, and he starts to grow and mature in Him.
This leads us from the SHALLOW to the DEEP. It is in the DEEP waters that the fishermen experience a REVELATION OF CHRIST and what He could do. Not only did Jesus show them how to do THEIR job, but when they followed Him, they received a MASSIVE HAUL (can we say “exceeding, abundantly above all they could ask or think? Ephesians 3:20).
Seeing what Jesus did in their lives caused them to recognize their own humanness and sin (verse 8), but Jesus didn’t leave them there. Their experience in the DEEP TRANSFORMED THEM from being fishers of FISH to fishers of MEN.
I think that’s what God was saying by that phrase. He is ready to bring His people into the DEEP--DEEPER REVELATION of Him and DEEPER EXPERIENCES with Him that lead to a GREATER MANIFESTATION of His MIRACULOUS POWER. This “deepening” is NOT just for US, however, but for the purpose of CATCHING and BRINGING other people to Christ. In the end, as we experience Christ, we can then turn around and lead others to Him as well.
Are YOU ready to go out into the DEEP? By your OBEDIENCE, LAUNCH OUT and GET READY FOR A HAUL!
|
