By the Power at Work Within Us 1984

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we could ask or think, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Most of us these days feel that the time has come for us to break up our foul ground and to take some new territory. We know that we're being called to take some steps that we have not yet taken, and in many of our lives we even have a sense of what those steps are, and yet we're afraid.

We're afraid to leave the familiar and move out into that which isn't familiar. Some of us this week, for instance, have been reading every day the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7, and as we read this we can see that if we're going to shine as the light of the world as we've been commanded to, we're going to have to burn the compromise out of our lives, and we're going to have to walk a far more radical road than we've been walking. Yet I'm afraid.

I'm afraid that if I really open my life wide to God and let him grab hold of it and do what he wants to with it, my nerves, my physical stamina, perhaps even my health, might break under the strain. What we need to learn, to understand, yes, to believe with all our hearts, is that God never calls us to take one step on the road of his kingdom without giving us ample power. If God is in fact calling for much, much more, and we know he is, he is also holding out to us much, much, much, much more power to be able to do everything he's calling us to do, to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.

Example, Simon Peter, back before he got called Peter, knew in his heart that there were some changes that he had to make in his life, that things weren't the way they should be, that he was in a rut. He went to the synagogue, he went up to the temple, he paid his tithes, he gave alms, said his prayers. He went down to the Jordan River, he went to see John the Baptist and hear him preach, and he was shaken by what he heard.

And down there he also met Jesus, and was shaken even more. And as he came back to Galilee, he kept shaking his head and saying, now I know that there is much, much more to it than what I'm doing. And yet Peter, like me, Peter just didn't seem to have the vision or the strength to go after that vision that would enable him to break through this invisible barrier that seemed to be holding him back.

Then one day, it happened. And we read about it in Luke chapter 5, starting in verse 1. While the people pressed upon Jesus to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land, and he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. And Simon answered, Master, we toiled all night and took nothing. Nevertheless, at your word, I'll let down the net.

When they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish, and as their nets were breaking, they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats so that they began to sink. But 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 was astonished, and all who were with him at the catch of fish which they had taken. So also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Do not be afraid.

Henceforth, you will be catching men. And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Now in this episode, we see Peter finally receives the vision and the power to go after the vision that he didn't have before.

The vision is that net loaded with fish. Peter looks down and sees this net loaded with fish. But what he really sees is not the net, not a mess of fish worth a mess of money.

He sees the kingdom of God. And he is scared to death. Get out of here, Lord.

I can't handle this. I'm a sinful man. Please don't come any closer.

Then come the words of power. Jesus says to him, Don't be afraid. From now on, you're going to be catching men.

The power that drew the fish into that net is going to be working inside you, drawing men and women into the kingdom. Peter receives these words into his heart, and as those words come in, and he holds onto them, the power that he needs to make the changes in his life and take those steps which before were impossible is now there. When John the Baptist announced Jesus as the Messiah, he said, I baptize with water.

But there stands one among you whom you don't know yet, and I'm not worthy to untie his shoes. He's going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Meaning, he's going to put within you the power to do the will of God and to conquer the kingdom of Satan.

A friend comes to you in the middle of the night from out of town, without warning. They look tired and hungry, so you want to give them something to eat. You go out in the kitchen, there's nothing there.

So you go next door, and you knock on your neighbor's door for bread in the middle of the night. You pound on the door, Hey, Sam, I'm in a jam. You've got to give me some food.

And Sam says, Look, I'm asleep. Don't bother me. But you know he's a good man, and you're not going to let him alone.

You're going to keep pounding on that door. Come on, come on. You've got to give me something.

I've got to feed these people. He says, All right, all right. He gets up and stumbles to the front door and lets you in, gives you all you need.

And that bread that you get is the power of the Spirit of God to really feed the hungry and bring life to those who are dead. If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Just before Jesus left this world to go back to the Father, He was gathered with His disciples for the last time. And they can sense that something isn't right.

I mean, there's going to be a change here, and they're not ready really for it, they feel. And they don't know how they fit in. And so they ask Him in Acts 1, verse 6, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the end of the earth. You are going to accomplish a work. You are going to witness to me from Jerusalem to the end of the earth by means of a power which is not your own.

And for us to make the changes in our lives we know we must make. And for us to go out there into that world right outside this building and beyond. And bring living bread to people, we must have that power.

To Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think. But what happens is, many, many times the power comes to us. Knocks on the door, waits.

Knocks a little bit more, waits. We never open it. The power comes, we don't receive it.

The Holy Spirit visits us. We walk right past, don't even see it. Imagine what would have happened that day in a fishing boat if when Peter looked at that net loaded with fish he had seen not the kingdom of God, but money.

Hey you guys, get a load of this. Look what we got here. No fear and trembling.

No repentance. No taking off of the shoes before God. No worship.

Just scheming and figuring as we so often do. A way to really harness this lucrative miracle for their own ends. If this had happened, you can be sure that when they brought their boats to land they wouldn't have forsaken everything to follow Jesus.

Rather they would have said, great to have you with us Lord. How about tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock we'll buy you breakfast. Do it again.

And they would have, that would have been the last time they saw Jesus. And it would have been, that miracle that really occurred that day would have been just another passing episode in their lives. And how many times the power of God, the Spirit of the Lord visits us and remains for us just another passing episode.

We're really moved for a few days. Maybe even a month or two. Really moved, it's marvelous.

Never saw anything like it. But there is no change. Nothing happens.

Because we allow the Spirit of God to stand at the door and we never open it. Now in this episode of Peter and the Fish there are three right there in front of our eyes ingredients in the life of any man or woman who ever is filled and driven and moved by the power of God from within. Three essential ingredients.

And you'll find these three things in every call to discipleship in Scripture and beyond right down to this moment. Somebody says, wait a minute, wait a minute. The Holy Spirit is a gift.

You don't earn the gift. You don't have to meet certain requirements. It's a gift, all you have to do is receive it.

True. Salvation is a gift. The blood of the Lamb is a gift.

Our Lord's death on the cross for us is a gift. And the Holy Spirit is a gift. But in order to receive this gift there are three doors you've got to open.

And if you don't open the doors, you don't have the gift. Door number one. And Simon Peter, when he saw it, fell down at Jesus' knees and said, depart from me for I'm a sinful man, O Lord.

In other words, he took off his shoes. Door number one is to take off your shoes. To repent.

To worship. To humble yourself. To stand in awe of this Lord Jesus.

Moses took off his shoes at the burning bush. And if he hadn't taken off his shoes there would have been no trip to Pharaoh and there would have been no Moses at least delivering these people out of Egypt. Joshua took off his shoes outside of Jericho.

And if Joshua hadn't taken off his shoes and worshipped there would have been no falling of the walls of Jericho at least for Joshua. Peter took off his shoes in the boat that day. On the day of Pentecost, everybody took off their shoes and they really worshipped.

If we're going to have the life of the Lord His Spirit moving and burning and ruling within we're going to have to learn to humble ourselves take off our masks get off our pedestals and our high horses take off our shoes and stand in awe and worship. Door number two when they brought their boats to land they left everything. They let go of their stuff.

That's door number two, they let go. They let go of their past and they let go of their future plans and they let go of their old ways. Jesus says that you can't serve God and manna.

So when God comes in if you really want a man you got to let go of manna. He doesn't say it in so many words exactly in those words but he says it all over the place, Jesus says you can't serve God's glory and your own glory at the same time. If you're going to serve God's glory you got to let go of your own glory.

You can't serve the name of Jesus in your name at the same time. You want to serve the name of Jesus? Let go of your own name. We have to learn to let go.

And to let go specifically in some of our lives will mean the letting go perhaps of the house we live in could even be the car we drive could be a switch in the kind of work we're doing could be any number of things but for all of us it will mean that we let go of our own ways. I mean you can leave your house, your car, your job and everything and go all over the place if you haven't let go of your own ways you haven't let go of anything. God's ways are not our ways.

His thoughts are not our thoughts. And we got to let go of our own in order to get into His. Door number three When they brought their boats to land they left everything and followed Him.

They followed Jesus. They didn't just stand there and watch Him nor did they sit around and discuss what it means to follow Jesus nor did they tell everybody else what it means to follow Jesus they followed Jesus. That is they obeyed His word.

They took hold of His cross they got under His yoke and learned from Him what it is to be meek and lowly of heart. They committed themselves to His body. His people.

We can't follow Him alone. We can't. If you're going to follow Him you're going to follow Him in company.

You're going to be committed to His body somewhere nor can you follow Jesus standing still. If you're the same today as you were two years ago no changes there's been not one specific change in your life from what it was two years ago He's way up ahead and you put yourself behind because He keeps moving and we have to move with Him. To Him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think the gift of the Holy Spirit is a gift but to receive the gift we have to open three doors.

We have to take off our shoes. We have to let go of our stuff and we have to follow Him. And if we will do that if we'll begin to do it even now what glorious things will happen.

So why don't we do it together? Let's take off our shoes before Him and worship Him and let's let go of our life our ways, our habits our treasures, whatever we're hanging on to that's holding us back and let's follow Him today. Afresh now. If we will, His Spirit will fall upon us and enter us and empower us to draw people into His kingdom to witness to Him all over the world to bring good news to the poor deliverance to the captives sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed.

Now to Him who by the power at work within us is able to do more than we could ask or think to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever. Amen. Let's take some time in silence just silence and let the Spirit of God show us specifically where He would have us take off our shoes where He would have us let go of something or where He would have us take a step.

We just thank you and praise you Lord God and we know that before we get to the marriage supper of the Lamb there's so much to be done and Father we are just ashamed at how we've been pussyfooting and how many things we're still clutching and how many fears we've allowed to hold us back. We pray that you'd help us to get the tangle untangled and this confusion removed and that with clear minds and pure hearts we may begin to move and make some headway now together and each of us before your eye.