Wading Into The Deep End

Yesterday in response to Monday’s devotional one of you wrote:

    I refuse to excuse you; I’m just going to wade in with you!

And yet another one of you wrote:

    I too have been convicted of a shallow Christianity. I am going in the deep end with you!!…

I’m so glad you’re here; I admit I didn’t want to go alone but I am willing to do so if need be.

But before we begin wading in, perhaps we need a better understanding of what it means to go into the deep end.

The very first Psalm in the Bible tells us where we are headed:

    “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:1-2)

Did you get that last part? I have to meditate day and night on God’s Word. How does that work? That is for another time; we’re still looking at the deep end.

The Prophet Daniel teaches us:

    “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.” (Daniel 2:20-22)

The deeper I wade in the more I’m going to learn about myself and the more I am going to have to admit about myself. The closer I get to Jesus the more His light is going to shine on and in my life. Sin hates the light; that why when we are in a rebellious state we don’t like to read our Bibles; too much light.

    “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (John 3:19-21)

Did you even know there were verses after verse 16 in John 3? I’m not sure many preachers know that.

Do you hate the light of Jesus Christ? Then I doubt you’re saved.

Do you avoid the light of Jesus Christ? Then welcome to what is too often my world.

The more you know the Word the more likely you are to avoid it when you are being rebellious. The light really hurts your eyes.

This is where we are headed.

    “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:46-49)

Is the stream of life ruining your house? Do you find yourself easily agitated by what is going on in the world? Are you hearing and doing nothing?

Wading into the deep means hearing Jesus’ sayings and doing them. It means being…how can I say this…what’s a good word…yes…

Obedient!

The deeper we wade the stronger the pressure gets all around us.

Maybe you’re distracted by being too busy; I know I get that way all too often.

    “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’ And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:38-42)

How many of you when you first read this passage said, “Yeah Jesus, tell her to help me!”

Too often our good deeds distract us from His good words.

To wade into the deep end means allowing the Holy Spirit to have preeminence your life. It is a choice we have to make daily; kind of like…oh I don’t know, dying to self. The Apostle Paul clears up the difference between the Holy Spirit and the spirit of man.

    “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:10-15)

Do we have the mind of Christ? Let me first say that if you have not admitted your sin and accepted the blood atonement through the sacrifice of Jesus’ shed blood and surrendered your life to Christ, in other words if you are not saved I can guarantee you do not have the mind of Christ.

And if you are saved and yet you still hate when Jesus says to love and you still save your life when Jesus says to kill it and you still covet when Jesus says not to then you have the mind of Dave and not Jesus.

Man it’s getting deep!

Let’s look at one more Bible passage about wading into the deep end.

The Apostle Paul explained it clearly to the Colossian church:

    “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossian 3:1-3)

Wading into the deep end means letting go of the things of this world and all its ungodly practices and emotions and becoming Christlike, showing mercy, kindness, meekness, humility, and patience.

It means dying to self.

But I don’t want to die Bro Dave.

I know; me neither.

More on that tomorrow…

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2010 David Jeffers

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