At Your Word

RWM SERMON- 04-08-09 At Your Word

Foundation Scripture: “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.” (Luke 5:5)

Faith doesn't rely on empirical or pragmatic matter.

“At Your Word”; one of the most powerful statements in human history.  Yet, it is more than a statement.  It is an illuminated and erudite state of mind.  It is not supported nor justified by rationale or intellect.  It cannot be attained and cultivated by the empiricist nor the pragmatist.  This state of mind is not esoterically associated with sight walking.  It is spiritually empowered and sustained in faith.

If we are to ever live our lives in the abundance and awesome power we were created to live in, we must take on an “At Your Word” state of mind.  Proverbs 3:5,6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”  

This type of state of mind requisites a total commitment of the heart.  I’m not speaking of the heart in a sentimental nor emotional type of way, but as the center of your existence; that force at the center of your soul that guides your every action.

This type of state of mind also calls for us to move away from our natural proclivity to intellectualize, anatomize, and rationalize every situation.  We are told not to lean to our own understanding.  This ethereal journey of Christianity calls for faith, make no mistake about it.  Not faith in the superficial sense of the word, but that faith that says, “If God said it, I believe it, and that settles it.  The faith that is not deterred by circumstance.  The faith that refuses to acknowledge the illusionistic portraits of despair painted by the enemy.  When we truly trust God’s word, we will be able to stand in the midst of the storm and respond,” at your word”.

This state of mind does not consider nor tolerate difficulties and thrives in the cul-de-sac of impossibilities.  This is the ultimate in trust.  It says all things are possible if we only believe.

In our scriptural passage, Christ asks Peter to cast out his net.  This, in and of itself may seem somewhat insignificant, however, let us look a little closer.  First, Peter and his partners had been fishing the entire evening (the best time to fish) but had caught nothing.  Peter and his partners were professional fishermen and Jesus a carpenter.  Jesus had already commandeered Peter’s boat and transformed it into His pulpit.  Peter could have responded to Jesus’ directive with the arrogance of expertise; he was in fact the professional when it came to fishing. Yet, we see something completely different; Peter’s surrendered spirit.  Peter points out the obvious, we’ve fished all night and we’ve caught nothing.  Then there appears the conjunctive adverb, “Nevertheless”, in spite of or irregardless.  Nevertheless negates the preceding statement and points to the subsequent statement.  “At Your Word” -there is no logic or rationale, but at Your Word.  All of the evidence says the opposite, but at Your Word.  Peter’s response reveals his servility, teachability and implicit obedience.  These virtues are the bridges to the blessing.

The scriptures tell us that the nets were filled with so many fish that they began to break.  When Peter’s partners brought their boat over to help, both boats were so overloaded by the catch that they began to sink.  This constitutes exceedingly abundantly above all that Peter could have asked or imagined.  If Peter would have trusted his own intellect or expertise, he would have never experienced the awesome power of God to provide.  He would have missed his overflow moment.  That moment in which the Red Sea is divided in all its splendor.  That moment when the sun stands still as time yields to prayer.  That moment when dry dead bones become living flesh.  That moment when you say Lord, I cannot understand, but at Your Word.

You’ve been praying for a breakthrough; you’ve been searching for that place of overflow.  God is saying to you now, “Step out on the water.  I know what the circumstances reveal, I know what your friends are saying, I am cognizant of the things that have happened in the past.  I am God, step out on the water.”  You have spent too much time rationalizing, contemplating, and procrastinating.  You have wondered around too long in the fruitlessness of empirical confirmation.  You have struggled mightily under the opaque shadows of inevitability.  It is time to say to the Master, “At Your Word.”  At Your Word, I will stand, at Your Word I will press on; at Your Word I will rejoice.  At Your Word, I will have the audacity to praise you in the midst of the storm.  

It was Peter who led the disciples on the day of Pentecost.  It was Peter that healed the lame man at the Gate Beautiful.  It was Peter that contributed three letters to the Biblical Cannon.  None of this would have been possible if he would not have stepped out from behind human viewpoint and into the phosphorescent light of divine guidance.

“And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”  (Isaiah 58:11)

In the preceding scripture we find promises of strengthened bones, watered gardens, and unfailing springs; these are similes for sustaining power, prosperity, and the blessings of God’s saving grace.  However, the first thing we notice here is that God will guide you.  Only when you submit to the guidance of the almighty will his power flow fully through you.  The question then arises; in the time in which we live, how does God guide us?  There are numerous ways that we are guided by God in our Christian lives: Through the filling of the Holy-Spirit; the Holy-Spirit convicts and prompts us in our actions; Through the Word of God inculcated into the mentality of our souls; the Word of God is the will of God.  Through prayer; when the believer prays to God for Guidance, which is a legitimate Christian right, God answers.  God guides us through providential circumstances; providence is the molding of events by God to obtain the fulfillment of His divine purpose.  In whatever manner God chooses to guide and lead you, it is your Christian duty to respond.

In 2 Peter 1:19, Peter alludes to the profitability of heeding God’s prophetic Word.

Right now, God is calling us to step out, stand up, and be sure.  This is not a time for sight walking.  This is not a time for rationalization.  No, this is a time to stand in faith, walk in faith, speak in faith, and live in faith.  This is a time to say, “At Your Word.”  This is done without regard to current circumstances, without consideration to past situations, without contemplation of the negative conjecture of naysayers.

It is time to cast out your nets.  God is calling you to reap the bountiful blessings of obedience.  There is someone out there god has called to step into the arena of entrepreneurship, yet, you are thinking, “I’ve tried this before and it was a disaster, experts are saying that this is not the time, the economy is not conducive to the successful launching of a business.  Nevertheless, “At Your Word.” 

Someone has been called to relocate to a new city, to follow a dream, to fulfill their destiny, but there’s uncertainty with a new environment, the anxiety associated with change rears its ugly head, the support of friends and loved ones seems sporadic at best.  Nevertheless, “At Your Word”.

God has called you to vacate that abusive relationship, to walk in the liberty of emancipation, to stand in the sufficiency of His power and grace, to live in the fullness of purpose, however, this situation is all you have ever known, there is no family support in place, you suffer from a fear of being alone. Nevertheless, “At Your Word”.

At Your Word says, “Lord, I see nothing but you!  The moment is dark, but You are able.”  At Your Word says, My friends have forsaken me, but I trust Your Word to heal.”  It’s time to step up and step out.

You keep gazing back into your past for confirmation.  You keep consulting the circumstances for authentication and corroboration.  It's time to view things through a different lens.  You have been viewing life through the lens of empiricism.  You have been viewing life through the lens of popular opinion.  You have been viewing life through the lens of social acceptance.  You have been viewing life through the lens of retrospective inquiry.  It is time for a paradigm shift.  It is time to start viewing things through the spiritual lens of faith.

Dr. Rick Wallace

But Bishop, I’ve never been successful in this area of my life.  My life has been one big failure after another; everyone says that I’m in over my head; they say that I’m reaching beyond my abilities.  I say that God’s Word is true.  His word says, “Things that are not possible with men are possible with God.”(Luke 18:27)  His Word says, he is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us”.

Let go of the past failures; God desires to open up the windows of heaven.  God desires to send excessive blessings, an overflow of power, a surplus of abundance and peace, over and above what you seek, extraordinary favor and a superabundance of joy.  Take Him at His Word.  Stand on His promises.  Live in His awesome power.  Cast out your net and become the head and not the tail.  Cast out your net, become the lender and not the borrower.  Cast out your net and be above and not beneath.  Cast out your net and see the glory of God revealed in your life.  I promise you if you cast out your net your life will never be the same.

I invite you to simply tell God, "At Your Word". ~ Dr. Rick Wallace