Brother Danny Sanders Saturday Evening 11/3/12

Brother Danny Sanders Saturday Evening 11/3/12

Topic:  Having a deeper experience with God.

Luk 5:1  And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

Luk 5:2  And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

Luk 5:3  And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

Luk 5:4  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

Luk 5:5  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Luk 5:6  And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

Luk 5:7  And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

Luk 5:8  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

Luk 5:9  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

Luk 5:10  And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

Luk 5:11  And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

God help us that we would not settle for a shoreline experience.  Just as Jesus instructed Peter to launch out into the deep, we must also launch out to experience the true riches of God.  We must let down our nets in that we forsake all, let go, to receive the great blessing from God.

Christ is giving us the command to launch out.  What God has for us will not be found on the shore.  It will take more than just reading and prayer.  Our experience with Christ must be much more than just touching the surface with Christ.  There is learning to trust, going by faith and not by sight.  There is proving Him at His word. 

Taking risks for God: God wants us to take risks for Him.  Moses and the Israelites would not have experienced what God had for them if they had just stayed on the shore of the Red Sea.

Exo 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

Exo 14:14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

Exo 14:15  And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:

Wherefore criest thou to me?  Just like He addressed Peter, “I realize that you’ve toiled all night.”  As he could have said to Moses, “I have heard your prayer and I know that the Egyptians are approaching.” 

If we are willing to trust God, God will deliver on His word.  He wants us to prove Him. 

Christ understands us.  He says, “Go forward, move off the shore, and realize the true riches that I have for you.”  Spiritual progress will not be found on the shoreline.  Dive deeper into taking chances for Him.

Luk 5:5  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

We have toiled all the night and taken nothing.  God has so much to offer; isn’t it time to let down your net for a draught?  It is time to realize all God has for us.  Peter said, “At thy word, I will trust, I will be willing to take risks for you.” 

Learning to trust is a deeper experience and much can be said for following the Word of God.

Joh 2:1  And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:

Joh 2:2  And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.

Joh 2:3  And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine.

Joh 2:4  Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.

Joh 2:5  His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.

Joh 2:6  And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.

Joh 2:7  Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

Joh 2:8  And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.

Joh 2:9  When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,

Joh 2:10  And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.

Fill the water-pots with water:  Take the steps of faith.  Launch out into the deep. 

Draw out now and bear unto: let down your nets for a draught.

And they bear it: once they completed Christ’s command and acted at His word then the blessings came. 

It may not have made sense or it may have seemed impossible, but by following the word the blessing came.  There will be situations in life where we will be asked to do something that doesn’t make sense, but if we will just obey then we will be blessed.

God is saying, “Just act on my word and the blessing will come.”  Fill our water-pots: fill these vessels of clay and be blessed.

Luk 5:6  And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

There are a multitude of blessings beyond your imagination if you will launch out into the deep.  When I first got saved at the age of 25, I was stuck in a rut and not happy.  I remember God dealing with me; I didn’t know that it was God because I had no background and no knowledge of God. 

I went to church first when I was seven to a vacation bible school.  At the end there was a call to go to the altar.  I got up to go and a gentleman met me and told me to go back and sit down. 

At my grandparent’s house, when I was 14 years old, I went to church at a church of Christ.  After my grandpa preached, I got out up out of my seat to go forward and He told me to go back and sit down.  Beyond this I did not go to church and I never heard the word sin or knew the basics of anything as I was growing up.  You may think, “That is bad.”  But I feel that God really spared me; I could have just gotten religious.

 There are blessings beyond our imagination when we fully submit to God.  When my wife and I got saved, we had nothing, lived in a one bedroom apt and 20 some thousand dollars in debt.  In two years time, I got a job making two times what I was making before.  We got out of debt and my wife got pregnant.  God changed us. 

When you get saved and give your life to God all those things that seemed to be broken come together.  God puts your life back together.  He changes us. 

When you first get saved and you hear something, measure.  When Brother Sam would preach something, my wife and I never even stopped and questioned if it would work, we would just do it. 

In that first year, we were barely getting by.  Brother Sam brought a message on tithing your gross and not the net, if I had sat down with a calculator and a pencil we would have come up with “It won’t work.”  It did work.  Two weeks after we started measuring to that message, I got a new job.

A person with a shoreline experience lets the devil influence his decisions.  But a deeper experience says, “Get thee behind me Satan.”  A deep experience doesn’t waver but stands.  A person with a shoreline experience allows himself to be swayed by personalities and influences, but a deeper experience allows God and the Holy Spirit and the Truths of the Word to be the influencer. 

A shoreline experience is swayed by society.  Society has molded and swayed even the definitions of words.  Compare some spiritual words in an old dictionary and a dictionary today.  It is amazing.  A deep experience doesn’t allow the crowd to sway them but they look to God to direct them and possess a backbone. 

A shoreline experience gets moved by emotions.  A car-lot salesman wants our heart strings to be attached.  A deep experience waits on the still small voice.  A person with a shoreline experience likes the good feelings, feeling good about himself. 

We need to be out in the deep and not on the shore.

Luk 18:18  And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Luk 18:19  And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

Luk 18:20  Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

Luk 18:21  And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

Luk 18:22  Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

Luk 18:23  And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

Luk 18:24  And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Luk 18:25  For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Luk 18:26  And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

Luk 18:27  And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

It is easy to think because we go to church weekly and because we are saved then we are somehow immune to the traps that are out there.

If that is the case then why did Elijah’s servant go after the treasure?  Why did Ananias and Saphira claim to have given all their money?  The time they lived in was an exciting time, a revival was happening, God was adding to the church daily such as should be saved.  You would have thought that they would have been immune to the temptation. 

There is a danger of drifting, overriding the checks and balances that God has set in place, we need to get the tap root down so that our anchor doesn’t become weak.  Our anchor needs to go deep enough that when the storms come, when life’s tribulations come, our anchor is deep enough that we don’t drift.

Why did Achan, who had just witnessed an incredible act of God: the walls of Jericho fell, choose to take the cursed thing?  Had he had a deeper experience then it wouldn’t have happened.

Challenge yourself young people, you are going to be met with many challenges, surrender your life fully to Christ.  This is what God is working for.  Young married ones, establish yourselves deep in life.  You will face a lot.  Your anchor has to hold on because you have others counting on you.

Middle aged with teenagers had better go real deep and hold on.  We love them so much and those cords of love will challenge the strands of your rope that hold the anchor.  More families than I wish to remember have left since I’ve been saved over the children.  We have to be anchored.  We must be anchored deep in our experience or we will be washed to shore. 

For the elderly, life has its challenges.  Pillars of truth: battered by the storms but anchored.  An aging ship but still a vessel for God, anchored and that is why they are still here. 

If you and I wish to do the same we must stay out in the deep and we cannot allow ourselves to drift to shore.

1Co 2:1  And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

1Co 2:2  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1Co 2:3  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

1Co 2:6  Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

1Co 2:7  But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

1Co 2:8  Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Paul and the apostles were fully convinced of God’s plan and salvation.  They knew that it was God that revealed His riches unto us.  Going to a seminary is not how we get a deeper experience with God.  God is the one that ordains and helps us get a deeper experience with Him.

Luk 10:38  Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

Luk 10:39  And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

Luk 10:40  But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

Luk 10:41  And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

Luk 10:42  But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Christ is telling us here to get our priorities right, draw closer, don’t drift to shore, stay out in the deep.  If you want to be truly satisfied and want the deeper experience with God, then come and sit at Jesus’ feet.

Eph 3:14  For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Eph 3:15  Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Eph 3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

Eph 3:17  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

Eph 3:18  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Eph 3:20  Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Eph 3:21  Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Rooted and grounded in love, Christ dwell in your hearts by faith, if something is missing in your life, if you don’t have that contentment or that fullness of God in your soul that you may have once possessed.  If the things of God have grown cold unto you, it is possible to get back.

Luk 5:5  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Do you really want to spend the better part of your life toiling?  What do you have?  Take that first step.  Once you heed God’s call, a deep experience full of the blessings of God is waiting for you. 

Will you launch out into the deep or will you remain toiling all the night?