February 6, 2022 ~ Fifth Sunday after Epiphany ~ Sermon & Zoom Worship Video Link

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/9fA89x9x8T7WZYxMFBEFrr2k0fO1OH9Bv_6hkL0MadYJZ_uegjcTKKGCGX68mrrj.7_jGZ2pOv_1C4VEM

Communion                                                                                        02/06/22—Highland—Meute

“Deeper Waters of Service”

Isaiah 6: 1-13; I Corinthians 15: 1-11; Luke 5: 1-11

Pearl: Our Lord Jesus invites us to deeper waters of ministry.

Function: To inspire listeners with the joy, challenge, and excitement of launching out to follow Christ in deeper waters of life and service.

In these three scripture readings are accounts of when the Lord invited Isaiah, Peter, James, John, and Paul into ministry.

1. Most all of you listening to this sermon have had similar experiences of being invited into service of some kind for the Lord…a service of a deeper nature.
   1. How old were you when you were first asked to serve as an Elder or Deacon? Trustees cannot usually serve until they are legal adults. But many of you may have been ordained as Deacons and Elders as youth.
      1. My previous Avondale church considered every year whether any of our youth should be asked to serve as Elders or Deacons. These young disciples offered important perspectives worthy of hearing.
      1. Highland will have that opportunity in a few short years as our young people keep inching toward adulthood!
   1. I wasn’t asked to do much as a young person in my church. Although one time the Director of Music, who also played the organ, asked me to sit on the organ bench with him to turn the pages while he played a magnificent, lengthy piece accompanied by a mass of choirs.
      1. I was nervous but honored to be asked. We practiced. And it went well.
      1. Invitations to deeper service come to us often.
         1. How do you respond?
2. The more that you hang around Jesus and his church, the more you will be invited to follow him into the depths of service.
   1. Jesus doesn’t want “spectators,” he wants followers who will be partners with him in spreading his love and establishing his will and realm.
      1. Those fishermen were asked by Jesus to allow him to sit in one of their boats so that he could teach. After addressing the crowd he turned his attention to Peter and those with him including James and John (these three would be his closest disciples going forward). He surprised them by inviting them to go back out for more fishing.
      1. Jesus would use this as a means to impress them and to lure them (pardon the fishing pun) to join him in his ministry.
   1. Jesus doesn’t let you just watch from the sidelines; he wants you to get into the game. He wants to hear you say, “Put me in Coach; I’m ready to play.”
      1. You don’t have to wait to be asked. Go to any of our church leaders and offer to join in what they are doing for the Lord.
      1. Even better, make a proposal to the church leadership and offer to launch some new ministry or mission in keeping with our mission of “Sharing the love of Christ and growing disciples.”
   1. Maybe the Lord is moving you in a powerful way. It could well be that the Lord is bringing you to just such a time as this, as it happened to young Queen Esther when she was able to save God’s people by exposing an evil plot to destroy them.

Go for it; enter into the deeper water of service for the Lord in the power of the Spirit.

You will find new challenges which will likely intimidate you but there will also be exciting, life-giving possibilities. Take courage and trust God.

1. Isaiah had a memorable vision of God in holy splendor. He saw angelic beings surrounding the Lord God in glory. He heard the Lord calling and questioning who he could send into service for him.
   1. Isaiah heard himself saying from somewhere within, “Here I am, send me.”
   1. And Isaiah, believe me, was being sent into the deep water by God. We usually look mostly at the first part of this call story. But the Lord had a hard word for Isaiah to bring to God’s people. He was to tell them that they would be going into exile.
      1. This would be a difficult assignment, but Isaiah sensed the Lord’s sincere calling and felt he was the one for the job.
      1. Isaiah said, “Here am I, send me.”
      1. Isaiah was inspired, convicted, filled, alive and ready to respond.
2. The Apostle Paul was another highly motivated servant for the Lord. Although, he was working against Jesus before Jesus himself confronted him on the road to Damascus. Paul was knocked off his horse and struck temporarily blind. Then Jesus spoke to him, “Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
   1. Saul knew who was speaking to him and he was transformed.
   1. It wasn’t long before Saul accepted a new name from God and became a champion for Christ when at first he was one of Jesus’ most accomplished opponents.
   1. Paul accepted his invitation to join Jesus and the rest is history. Paul, of course, wrote much of what is our New Testament in the bible.
3. Isaiah, Peter, James, John, and eventually Paul sensed the invitation of God to go into the deeper water of service down through the centuries.
   1. God has continued to invite people into the depths of service.
      1. And this includes you and me today.
      1. Believe me, Jesus calls you today into the deeper waters of service!

Try again, just like those seasoned fishermen, go back out “into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”

Expect the Lord to move and to empower and to equip you! It is exciting; it is life-giving to partner with Jesus.

1. Jesus encouraged these seasoned fishermen who had spent the night out on the water to go back out and try again.
   1. They must have felt annoyed and frustrated that this inspiring teacher made this suggestion to do again what was so common and mundane, and after a long night of unsuccessful fishing.
      1. Yet something inside of them perked up. So they decided to humor him and try again.
   1. Jesus said, “Put out into deeper water and let down your nets for a catch.”
   1. When they did their nets filled up so much that they could barely handle the catch.
      1. Simon Peter immediately fell to his knees, begging Jesus to depart from him, aware as he was of his sinfulness, and sensing the holy wonder of Jesus.
2. As you and I accept God’s invitation to try again to follow into deeper service for the Lord, you will be brought to your knees by the holy wonder of God working through you and in you.

What are the greater depths Jesus wants you to go?

Well, the sky is the limit in this regard! But deeper is where he calls you.

To the depths of welcome,

To deeper waters of inclusion,

To the depths of repair,

To deeper sharing of the story of God’s love,

To deeper understanding of others,

To deeper sharing of people’s burdens,

To deeper compassion…deeper and deeper wholeness…shalom.

“Put out into deeper water and let down your nets for a catch!”

In the deeper places of service you will find your very big God and there you can get in on the life of God’s reign.