Put Out Into The Deep

Luke 5:1-11

God wants to do in us, through us and for us things that will never be accomplished if we stay at
ease in the shallow waters of life.

1. Life Lived in the Shallows (vs. Luke 5:1-5)
   1. The Deception it gives
      The shallow waters of life give us the false perception that we are in control.
   2. The Dilemma it causes
      “Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress” – A.W. Tozer
   3. The Direction of Christ
      “The callings of God never leave you where they find you” – Alistair Begg
   4. The Demand of Christ
      Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
      
      Hebrews 11:6 reminds us, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
      
      At the height of man’s greatest disappointment lies God’s greatest opportunity.
2. Lessons Learned in the Deep (vs. Luke 5:6-11)
   1. God works For us
   2. God works In us
   3. God works Through us

There are things out in the deep that we will never learn if we stay at ease in the shallow waters of life because it is usually in the deep that God demonstrates the greatness of His power and fulfills His plans and purposes for our life.

“To sinful patterns of behavior that never get confronted and changed, abilities and gifts that never get cultivated and deployed – Until weeks become months and months turn into years, and one day you’re looking back on a life of deep intimate gut-wrenchingly honest conversations you never had; Great bold prayers you never prayed, exhilarating risks you never took, sacrificial gifts you never offered, lives you never touched, and you’re sitting in a recliner with a shriveled soul, and forgotten dreams, and you realize there was a world of desperate need, and a great God calling you to be a part of something bigger than yourself – You see the person you could have become but did not; You never followed your calling. You never got out of the boat.”

John Ortberg