Worship
Scripture
“One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
“When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’
“Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’
“When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.” -Luke 5:1-7, emphasis added
Our Call to Deeper Waters
Happy new year! As we stand on the shores of 2021, I awoke the other morning in the wee hours and began to pray for my husband that God would bring him people who would draw him into deeper waters. I began to pray this for all six of us in my precious family as I have sensed this invitation to scour the depth of the vastness of who God is. This prayer began to echo in my heart for all of us as we head into this new year. It’s time to launch into the deep. There is too much ahead for us to remain safely on the shore, merely gazing at deeper waters.
“Deep water” in Greek from this passage of Scripture is bathos meaning depth, height, of the deep sea, deep, extreme, poverty, of the deep things of God.
Jesus was standing with an initial invitation of miraculous encounter for His soon-to-be disciples as well as the crowd who had gathered. In the unknown, the impossible was coming to life. It was a whole new paradigm for these fishermen and an invitation to a life of wonder and increase. He was taking a moment to catapult these guys into the extraordinary—the deep things of God. They were just ordinary guys, and on that day, a prophetic vision was declared to Peter; he would be a fisherman of people.
“For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.” -Luke 5:9-11
We don’t get to stay in shallow waters and explore the depth of the wonder of God. It’s only for those who will swim against the reasonable, safe, and vast. But it’s in this place that we come to know and experience Jesus where few dare to trod.
Look with me at the places in scripture where this same word in Greek for the deep things of God is mentioned. It paints a beautiful picture of the facets of these deep waters we are invited to scour.
- The depth of His love: “… may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ … (Ephesians 3:18).”
- The deep soil for seeds to grow: “Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep (Matthew 13:5, NET).”
- The deep riches of God’s wisdom: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways (Romans 11:33, NET)!”
- The deep things of God: “God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10, NET).”
- No depth too great for His love: “… nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39, NET).”
- The overflow even in a depth of need: “that during a severe ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in the wealth of their generosity (2 Corinthians 8:2, NET).”
Our Call to Kingdom Partnership
What will be required of us in the days ahead will need to be traversed with the ones God has appointed to your boat. There are fish to be caught—billions of them, actually. Cities must be reached with the gospel. Your neighbors and mine need Jesus. But we cannot do this alone. I believe this is part of the reason behind the vision of 70 cities for Arise. We need to identify and connect the women in cities all over the U.S. who have a passionate hunger for Jesus and carry His heart for the nations. There will be a unified army of women whose hearts beat in unison for the gospel and for the One whom their hearts adore.
“Our time for taking up a fishing pole and waiting three hours to catch one fish is over. It is not a time for one or two super-anointed evangelists to dominate the work of the harvest. It is a time for us to cooperate in laying down the vast nets God has placed in our hands. We do not need to strive to the breaking point. We simply need to be hidden inside His heart and work together. God loves it when different streams of the church join in love to take in His net. I believe He is raising up an army of laid-down lovers who will each hold on to his or her part of the net in order to bring in fish by the millions.” -Heidi Baker, “Birthing the Miraculous”
As you stand on the shore of 2021, will you ask the Lord with me to take us into deeper waters? Will you ask Him to show you who your deep-water dwellers are, who will scour the depth of the goodness of God and bring in the harvest with you? Let’s launch out into the deep together. Let’s go find the other fisher people who are standing and watching and longing for a life of passion, significance, authenticity, and adventure. God has placed 70 boats in 70 cities in vision before us. Will you push out in one of them?
“Jesus did not make a suggestion; He made a command. And He did not order the disciples to let down their nets to try to catch fish, He ordered them to put out their nets for a catch of fish. In other words, Jesus was issuing both a command and a promise. The command was to put out the nets. The promise was that there would be a catch. And what a catch it would be!” -Bob Deffinbaugh
A Prayer for Deeper Waters
Lord, I pray for Your people today. I pray for a vision of their “boat” and their “crew.” I pray for an insatiable hunger for You and only You. May our appetites for the things of God change so that we would not have one foot in longing for the world and one foot standing with You. Take our feet, place them in a boat, and call us into deeper waters. I pray that there would be an invitation by Your Spirit as they are reading these words. I pray for vision and promise to be spoken to them by Your Spirit for this coming year. Give them faith to leave the shore and go where they have never gone before. Give them a picture of the fish and a longing for full nets in their lives. We have the boats, and we have the nets. So I pray for courage, boldness, and faith to launch out. Raise up 70 women in 70 cities to catalyze a call and connection for other women to be a powerful force for the Kingdom of God in this hour! Astound us with Your wonder and extraordinary love. In the powerful and mighty name of Jesus!
“Moving into deep water requires a full commitment. It means you weigh anchor and set your sails to catch the wind. It means you leave the shallows behind—fully surrendered to the directions of the Captain.” -Dr. Paul Chappell
A Few Key Notes
- I will be casting vision for 70 cities over Zoom in January. If you would like to receive the invitation to that call, please email [email protected].
- A new five-week Arise study begins January 19! Christina McCracken will be teaching from her new book “Live for THAT Day: Garnering Rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.” You can purchase her book on Amazon.
- Join us February 25-March 1 in Fort Hood, Texas, to share the love of Jesus with others! We will be taking a men’s team and a women’s team! Married couple housing is available.
- Ladies in the Houston area, join us for an inspirational workshop led by Cristina Slabic about designing your days to move in the direction of your dreams.
Saturday, January 16
8 a.m. – noon
Magnolia’s First Baptist Church
18252 N. Sixth St., Magnolia, TX 77353
RSVP to [email protected].
- Gather with other women in the Arise network over Zoom for a weekly prayer time this month.
2:30-3 p.m. CST every Thursday
Zoom ID: 8974297573
