by Danny B. Smith, Purple Ark Ministries

© Copyright Reserved October 29, 2008

Prepairing God's Ark

“Obedience to the power of God”

The Gospel of Saint Luke Chapter 5, 1-11

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, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. 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. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. 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. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 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. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: 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. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

“As I was writing this devotional, I said to the Holy Spirit, I believe that God has a different outcome than the one I am planning to write”.

Many of us see sail boating as a simple act of getting into a boat, launching a sail and aiming for the high seas. Today we will look at the step of obedience that allows us to move into deeper water with God. Our Father in Heaven is the authority that controls the outcome of our lives.

Noah built the ark on a virtual graveyard, knowing that death was coming. It really must have been hard to follow God's instructions knowing the outcome. In today's devotional, let us look to the New Testament as Jesus is teaching his disciples about obedience to power of God.

In the book of Saint Luke; Peter, James, John and possibly Andrew had returned from a tour of fishing and we're unsuccessful in their efforts to bring home a harvest from the shallow region of the sea. Jesus instructs Peter to go and sail out to deeper waters. Peter at this time was exhausted. His obedience was half-hearted as he proceeded with an unbelieving attitude. Have you ever been exhausted and had an unbelieving attitude?

Let us also consider that Noah must have had moments that challenge his steps of obedience. As Jesus is teaching in Luke, recognize that Peter has forgotten or did not fully understand the power that the Creator holds over his creation. Peter believed that the result would be the same if they had taken their nets into deeper waters. He believe that what Christ was suggestion was not realistic. The message of the Lord was not about the fish they could receive, but about being obedient to the power of the Creator over his creation.

In the missionary field we must always believe that God is ever present. We must know that He has all power over his creation. Truly many of us are being called to deeper waters. Peter became a fisherman of souls under the teachings of Christ. Sometimes we have to leave the shallow waters of our own thinking.

There is a harvest of souls waiting to be found in the deeper waters of our communities. I recently hesitated to fish for a great harvest of souls. I was afraid that provision would not come for the mission to feed five thousand.  As did Peter, I continued to step forward into deeper water.  We don't all have the faith of Noah, but we can continue to persue obedience through God word.

In the end, it was God who shut the great doors of Noah's Ark. For Peter, the end it was not about the fish, but the power of the Potter over his clay. In the end Peter did travel into the deeper water as Christ commanded him. We must be eager in these last days to pursue the deeper water for God's glory. As time come to an end, let us consider the pairing in pray to enter the Ark of God. As in obedience like Noah, let us be removed from the things of the world for forty days. Challenge yourself and grow in Him.

Prayer:

In the name of Jesus, look to the sea of life and spread your net of faith and obedience into places that you have never considered. It is time to take your faith into the deeper water! It is time to take your trust into the deeper water. It is time to take your heart into the deeper water. God is real and ever present. Trust Him, Trust Him! Take a leap of faith! Tell the Lord, “Send me, I'll GO! Send me I'll GO! Amen.