Launch Out into the Deep

by: Rev. Leon Aguilera

Peter knelt in the water, intent on washing his nets. Unaware of the crowd of people thronging Jesus, he, along with James and John, continued the task of rinsing grime from the Galilean Sea off their empty nets. The night had been long and fruitless. They had not a single fish to show for their efforts. Suddenly, Peter heard his name. “Simon, may I use your ship?”

Willing to assist Jesus, Peter left his net and resumed his seat in the fishing boat. He nudged it away from the shore and listened as Jesus’ voice now projected across the Galilean Sea to the multitude on the bank.  Jesus finished His message and turned once again to Peter. His request this time was astounding: “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a drought” (Luke 5:4).

Why Launch?

It was a well-known fact that in the Sea of Galilee, fishermen caught fish at night in the shallow water—not in full daylight in deep water. Peter could obey Jesus and launch out, or he could follow his senses and decline. Peter didn’t know it, but his choice in that moment would be the pivotal point for the rest of his life.  Peter’s decision and the resulting miracle reveal that a single act of obedience to Christ’s command can change the course of an entire life. When Peter chose to place his faith in the powerful word of God, his life would never be the same.  You and I likewise have the opportunity to experience the miraculous power of God. We serve the same Jesus who spoke to Peter two thousand years ago. We have access to His written Word, and we have the promises of His faithfulness to back us. Why then do we experience a lack of fruit in ministry? Why could we echo Peter’s comment, “Master, we have toiled all the night [by our methods, with the means we know] and have taken nothing”?

Lack of resources is not our problem—we have the boat and net. There is no shortage of souls that need Christ—the sea is wide open and ready. But we sit on the dock attempting to catch fish in shallow waters.  Before anything great will be accomplished for Christ, we must make the decision to “launch out” at His command. Like Peter, our response to God’s Word will either invite His blessing and power, or it will hinder it.  Great things will happen only as we launch forward in our service to Christ. Without Spirit-led, Spirit-filled action, our lives and ministries will become spiritually stagnant. Like Peter’s disappointing night of fishing, our attempts to serve the Lord in our strength will yield empty nets every time. As we heed Christ’s commands, however, we will experience miracles made possible only by the hand of God.  Are you ready to launch out?

Get Out of the Shallows

Perhaps our greatest obstacle in seeing the miraculous power of God is our own apathy. We generally do what we want to do. And most of us don’t want to leave our comfort zone.  In today’s accommodating culture, we are willing to dabble in service for the Lord—we may even wade out a bit further than the Christian next to us—but we insist on staying near the shore. It’s one thing to receive Jesus as your Saviour; it’s another thing to wholeheartedly follow Him as a disciple.

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.  In the murky waters of shallow Christianity, we lose focus; we forget the very purpose of ministry is to preach the gospel.  In the shallows, we’re often busy, and we generate a full array of programs. But we don’t catch fish! Our ministries become more about service than about reaching lost men and women with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Content with the status quo, some will sit on the dock and look out over the water, offering only complaints when our nation turns from God.

We can lament the state of our nation and the multitudes of lost people around us, or we can roll up our sleeves, hoist the sails, and launch out into the deep.

Cross the Threshold of Humility

When Christ saw a need, He acted. He was willing not only to condescend to come to Earth, but also to interact with sinful, flawed humanity. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”(John 1:14).

Peter’s boat wasn’t freshly scoured. It was slimy and smelly. Peter himself had been working with filthy fishing equipment all night as well. But Jesus cared about people more than He cared about comfort.  Jesus’ ministry didn’t target the upper class—those who would cause Him the least discomfort. He reached out to the needy. God in the flesh now entered the environment of a common fisherman.  No real ministry will take place in your life or mine, until we, too, are willing to cross the threshold of humility. We must obey the instruction of Philippians 2:3 to “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

The greatest opportunities for ministry often are, humanly speaking, the most distasteful.  Serving in in our cities, seeking out wounded souls, and ministering to shattered lives isn’t always easy, nor is it comfortable. But it is fruitful.  James 4:10 directs us to, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” Jesus condescended to our low estate so every person might have an opportunity to be saved. May gratitude for His unspeakable gift compel us to likewise serve with humility.

Set Aside Human Reasoning

Initially, Peter responded to Jesus’ command like you and I would have done—with logic. “Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing.”  I can imagine Peter’s thoughts behind those words. Jesus, really? You’re great at carpentry, and you’re a marvelous preacher, but how about we leave the fishing decisions to me? This is my specialty.  Peter had already toiled all night. He knew his work—he was a master fisherman. What Jesus had just asked Peter to do was contrary to all of Peter’s training and experience.  Even so, Peter made a watershed decision: “Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.”  There is a pattern I see repeated throughout Scripture: God often doesn’t intervene until the task is humanly impossible. God loves impossible odds.

Remember Gideon? “And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me” (Judges 7:2). Gideon experienced the truth that faith does not operate in the realm of the possible.  George Müller said it well: “There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends.”

Would you like to launch out? Recognize that what Jesus calls us to do—whether it is in witnessing, giving, serving, forgiving, or emptying self—is usually in exact opposition to human reasoning. Discipleship is not a life of logic or reasoning. It is a life of faith.

When we are willing to follow Christ into deep, unfamiliar waters, we will have closer fellowship with Him. This comes simply out of the complete reliance upon Him to meet our every need and guide us in our way. When the only answer to a problem is dependence on God, we tend to listen to Him more closely and spend time with Him more often. As we launch out in sharing the gospel, giving of our time and resources, and humbling ourselves to serve others, our growth becomes deeper than that of a Christian who insists upon sitting on the dock. Out in the deep water, we learn how to trust and how to pray. Those who launch out learn quickly that God accomplishes great things with a life wholly lived by faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6).

The Lord knows our limitations. He knew Peter’s fatigue, his doubt, and his needs. John 2:24–25 tells us: “But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, and…he knew what was in man.” Before we argue with Christ, we should try trusting Him! As the omniscient God, He knows us better than we know ourselves.