How Deep You Wanna Go?
by Beth Jones

“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4, NKJV

A few years ago, I was sitting in the bleachers at my daughter’s basketball game and the Lord asked me this question—right in the middle of a basketball game! He asked, “How deep do you want to go?” I knew what He meant.

I knew God was asking me if I wanted to go “deeper” in Him. Of course, I did! I love rich, meaty, “deep” times in my personal walk with God, in corporate worship services, in prayer, in meetings where the Holy Spirit is flowing. Personally, I love all of that, but somehow I knew that wasn’t what the Lord was talking about.

When He asked me, “How deep do you want to go?” I was immediately reminded of this passage of Scripture in Luke 5:4, where Jesus told his disciples…

“Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets, and you will catch many fish.” (NLT)

“Push out into deep water and let your nets out for a catch.” (The Message)

I sensed the Lord giving me a completely new and different definition for being “deep” in God. His definition of going “deeper” had something to do with catching fish…that is: reaching people that are lost without Christ. It occurred to me: the deeper we go, the more it leads us to let down our nets in order to win people to Christ! The deep things lead us to evangelism! Fishing for men…reaching seekers…going after lost people!

Think about a simple example of what it means to be “deep.” Ever lost a child in the grocery store? Instantly, the deep love a parent has for a lost child causes them to look for that lost child with a passion unmatched! The purpose for going “deeper” with the Lord isn’t to accumulate more revelation knowledge or to parse the Greek and Hebrew…it’s to get His heart of compassion – to love Him and others deeply—and reach out to lost people with passion!

Reaching the lost—fishing for men—is about as deep as it gets. If we are not winning people to Christ and loading our nets with seekers, we may not be as “deep” as we think. Deep = soulwinning!

The rest of the passage is pretty exciting…

Luke 5:5-11 says: “But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your Word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, 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 and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’ ” (NKJV)

Wanna be a deep Christian? Launch out into the deep in your neighborhood, workplace and family. Let down your nets. Seek the lost. Win souls! The writer of Proverbs said it this way, “…he who is wise captures human lives [for God, as a fisher of men—he gathers and receives them for eternity]” (Proverbs 11:30, AMP).

Say This:

“Father—I want to go deeper with You! I will launch out into the world around me, to share Jesus with those I know and meet. You love people deeply and You don’t want any child of Yours to be lost. I want to be deeply moved to reach the lost. Help me to be a ‘deep Christian’ by being a fisher of men. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

In His grip,

Beth Jones

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