"LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP!"

April 21, 2020   “Launch Out InTo The Deep!”   Luke 5:1-10  Key Verse: Luke 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.”

Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina…In Luke, chapter 5, Jesus comes to a group of fishermen who had fished all night.  They were tired and discouraged, but Christ gave the command, “Launch Out Into The Deep!”  I believe that the Lord is saying to us today, “Launch Out Into The Deep!”  Many of us have hardly gotten our toes wet yet and we act as if we have everything that Christ has to offer.  Others of us who are up to our ankles and knees, but we still will not go further because we are scared to step out any further.  Listen to the Lord as HE speaks, “LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS!”  God has some great things for us, if we will get off of the dry shores and start plunging into the deeper water. 

Do you remember how you learned to swim?  Well, I remember clearly.  Picture it…A farm pond, dark water and a mushy, muddy bottom.  Walking out into the pond required all that I had to tolerate the sensations of muck and mud pressing between my toes and reminding me of the “barefoot” landmine experience of walking through my Aunt Dorothy’s yard where the chickens ran free.  I did not like that feeling!  What could I do to avoid this unpleasantness?  I had to go deeper, where my feet would not touch the bottom, however, I couldn’t swim.  So, I asked daddy to teach me to swim.  What an experience!  He assumed that I would do exactly what he instructed.  Guess what?  I did not!  Well, a few days later, we were fishing along the Neuse River, at a place called “Spring Bank.” The River made a turn here and there was a place where the water was deep, yet didn’t have the strong currents associated with the other parts of the water.  Usually, in the summer, I was in shorts, T-shirt and barefooted and today was no different.  “About your learning to swim, I have come up with a way to help you learn,” said my daddy.  Before I could gather myself to hear about this “epiphany,” I was being “Launched out into the deep!”  I floundered and spit and sputtered and bobbed and gasped and “swam” back to the shore where he was waiting for me.  “Why did you do that?”  “What were you thinking?”  Daddy said, “You can never learn to swim if you stay on the bank!”  I learned 2 lessons that day.  The first, I learned how to swim, and secondly, I learned that, in my spiritual life, I have to go deep, where my feet do not touch the bottom, where by faith, I am committed completely.  On the shorelines of Life, we can see Christians who have been there for years, who want more of Christ, but are not listening when HE says, “Launch Out Into The Deep And Let Down Your Nets!” 

I have never been disappointed when I “launch out into the spiritual depths of the Lord and let down my net!”  Friends, the world has nothing to offer, but Christ has promised to “fill our nets,” but we have to go deep!  He said that, if HE would be lifted up HE would draw all men unto HIM, and that is a promise that we can count on!  Remember, we have to trust HIM and when HE says to you, “Launch Out into the Deep,” you have to step out, on faith, and believe that HE will honor HIS promises!  Stay Strong, Stay Focused… Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!