14 comments

Paula Hendricks

In the Deep End with Jesus

Posted on 09.22.12 by Paula Hendricks | Twitter: @PaulaWrites678

Oh, yikes, I thought. How will she handle this?

Priscilla Shirer was just a little ways into her message last night when the clouds opened and rain and hail pelted the Indiana Convention Center with a deafening roar.

The storm’s timing was interesting. Priscilla had been reminding us from Luke 5:1 that just as Jesus saw Simon washing his nets after a sleepless, fish-less night in his boat, He sees us. He cares, even in the chaos of our life.

If distractible ol’ me had been the speaker, I would have been tempted to sit down right there in the middle of that platform and have a good cry. The audience could barely hear a thing over all that clamor. But Priscilla simply raised her voice louder, praying, “Yes Lord, send Your rain in this place!” and then continued teaching from Luke 5:1–7.

Your “Abandoned Boat Circumstance”
She pointed out that when Simon climbed out of his boat (v. 2), Jesus stepped in (v. 3). And suddenly, Simon’s abandoned boat became an amphitheater to teach the crowds. I loved Priscilla’s point that,  

If Simon’s boat had been full of fish, there would have been nowhere for Jesus to stand.

When there seems to be weakness or lack in your life, you shouldn’t be sad—you should be excited. Jesus is getting ready to fill up that lack with Himself. He sees you. He’ll use that part of your life that seems useless.

What’s that “abandoned boat circumstance” of yours that Jesus wants to turn into an amphitheater to proclaim to others how awesome He is?

An Invitation to Go Into the Deep End with Jesus
When Jesus finishes teaching the crowd from Simon’s boat, he extended a startling invitation to Simon: “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (v. 4).
In Priscilla’s words,

The shallow water was to teach the people. The deep water was to teach Simon.

If God’s calling you to a deep place, it’s a divine setup for you personally to experience Him.

Is God calling you to something risky? Do you feel like you’re “in over your head”?

It may not make sense, what Jesus is asking of you. It sure didn’t make sense to Simon after a wasted night of fishing. But He did it anyway, just because Jesus said so. In Priscilla's words,

You’re better off in deep water with Jesus than you are in shallow water without Him, where you’re able to stand on your two feet. After all, Jesus is the God who can help you walk on the water!

If Jesus is going deep, you need to go deep. Yes, you’re going to be in over your head. But when you’re already in over your head, it doesn’t matter how much deeper you go.

So go deep.

Speechless In the Deep
When Simon climbed back in his boat and ventured out into the deep with Jesus, his place of weakness suddenly became the site of his biggest catch yet: “When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break” (v. 6).

When this happened, you’d expect Simon to shout to his buddies in the second boat, but he didn’t. Instead, he signaled to them (v. 7). Priscilla thinks that’s because he was speechless. “That kind of miracle only happens in the risky place of faith,” she said.

So how about you? Is God calling you to a place where you’re “in over your head”? Will you go into the deep with Him so that His strength can be showcased in your inadequacy?

If you do, prepare to be left speechless.

Comments

  1. I wasn't there but I hear you loud and clear. Thank you for being an instrument of God.
    posted by Thea Mendlula
    on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 11:41 am
  2. So much is pressing upon me at this moment and the lessons Priscilla shares are so timely -- exactly as God would have them to be. Praise Him for He is Holy and Omniscient and Omnipresent. Thank you, Jesus, for your Strength.
    posted by ann
    on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 12:24 pm
  3. Oh praise God for His encouraging word. I can't wait to show all my friends and church family this video!!! Jesus is in the boat of my marriage (after I got all my stuff out) and I am now waiting to bring in the boat load of blessings. God is sp awesome!
    posted by jamie
    on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 1:31 pm
  4. YES this message is very timely for me too. I am shaking in my boots, but I am exppecting to see THE AWESOME GOD in a way I have never seen Him before and want desperately to know and believe this ALL SUFFICIENT GOD.
    posted by Kathy Sturgis
    on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 1:54 pm
  5. Was a wonderful time. She is so so good. The message was great and hit home. The whole weekend was amazing.
    posted by Sue
    on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 3:10 pm
  6. I have been sinking in shallow waters after the death of my husband of 61 years of a wonderful mariege, but after i heard the messge, I came out of the water, dried my feet and praying to be into the deep with Him!
    none
    posted by Maritza Marti
    on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 8:24 pm
  7. I've heard this passage preached countless times but Priscilla opened my eyes to a new way of looking at the event. I bought three of the CDs for this message and am sharing them with my daughter and daughter-in-law! If you want Jesus to work in your life, the deck has to be empty of YOUR stuff to make room for Jesus's "stuff." Amazing presence of God and Priscilla shines with her Father's light!
    posted by Ann Wolski
    on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 9:22 pm
  8. I was there and was my favorite message of the week.....
    posted by Virginia
    on Saturday, September 22, 2012 at 10:16 pm
  9. This was such an exciting session. Priscilla has a definite gift for delivery and gripping her audience, I thoroughly enjoined it. I bought the CD, but am going to send for the DVD. I want my husband to see her in action, the gestures and eyes.....well she is a captivating speaker. Loved this. It was powerful.
    posted by Kathleen Churchill
    on Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 2:08 pm
  10. That was an awesome message! I blogged about it, too! We are leaving in about 3 weeks for Serbia to meet and adopt a child with Down syndrome. Talk about deep water! Her message was just what I needed to hear to realize that we ARE on the right track, that it might not make sense, but that going deep with Jesus is ALWAYS worth it!
    www.simeonstrail.blogspot.com
    posted by Tara
    on Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 2:10 pm
  11. Priscilla was excellent - powerful and funny. She has a way of striking right to heart.
    posted by Christina
    on Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 2:14 pm
  12. Priscilla's dynamic ability to relate the gospel truly touched my heart. I had asked for God to answer a prayer and he answered it during this message! I know now that I do need to go deeper, even though I don't understand it. I am trusting Jesus. Thank you, Priscilla!
    posted by Cheryl
    on Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 5:49 pm
  13. This was my favorite message of the whole weekend. We thought it interesting that the one person who could speak over that rain was the one speaking at the time. God's timing is perfect! =) This message was exactly what I needed to hear. Also bought it on CD for a friend to hear. Thank you, Priscilla!
    posted by Stephanie Reasen
    on Monday, September 24, 2012 at 5:30 pm
  14. This message spoke loud and clear into my life right now! God is calling me into an area in ministry that is way over my head, in very very deep waters. However though this message it made me realize, its just as HE planned it. Taking me to the deep to minister to me while leaving me speechless by what HE is doing with me. Glory be to God for the amazing way HE uses HIS daughters to minister to one another!!! Our God is an Awesome God!!
    posted by Karla Rossi
    on Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 1:44 am

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