STEP INTO THE DEEPER WATERS OF THE SPIRIT-LED LIFE

STEP INTO THE DEEPER WATERS OF THE SPIRIT-LED LIFE Romans 8:6 June 25, 2000 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] I have a confession to make. I am afraid of water. It's silly, I know, but I'm the guy who stands on the side of the pool jealous of all the others who are enjoying themselves frolicking in the water, swimming and "floating" (I float like a barbell). Actually, half the story is I'm afraid of water-the other half is, I just don't like it very much. Of course, with a wife, three children and two grandchildren who are half-human, half-fish, I am always around the water. The first question when planning vacations is always which ocean or lake we'll be near. And there absolutely MUST be a pool-gotta' have a pool! I don't know what's the matter with me. My mother does report that I nearly drowned in the bathtub at age one, but that was five decades ago, and I refuse to admit that a 49-year old trauma can still control me. Then there was the incident when I almost drowned in Hanauma Bay in Hawaii-'nearly took Charlotte to heaven with me that time! But no scary water experience compares to the renowned "White Water Rafting" incident of the summer of 1991. It was in the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina, about 50 miles Northwest of Maggie Valley. Once again, while on vacation, I was outvoted by my water-addicted family to try something aquatic. We stopped in at the rafting place, just to "check it out," and before I knew it, we were the next group out on the raft challenging the fast moving mountain river. Not only that, but, when we were asked if we wanted a ranger-guide to go with us (why is this only an option?), Charlotte, Heather and Krista said, "No, we'll be fine-we love the water!" I was just about to volunteer to sit this one out, when the ranger said that each raft had to have a "captain" and the girls conscripted me as the captain! I protested that I couldn't even swim, how could I be the captain of a life-threatening expedition down a treacherous river? The girls assured me it was just a formality. I was shaking my head, trying to reason out how, if the ranger insisted on there being a captain in each raft, it could be just a formality, when we were rushed into a retired 1955 school bus with huge rubber rafts tied to the top and about 40 excited, water-loving adventurers all around us. I was making a well-reasoned speech on how this was not right for me or my endangered family, but no one heard me. Everyone was "oohing" and ahhing" as they watched the river off to the right. The bus was climbing the mountain, and we were all privileged to look over at the water we would be traveling in a few minutes. There were other rafters screaming by us at about a hundred miles an hour, laughing and screaming with delight as they raced to certain death! I say certain death, because, early in the ride, the guy on the squawk box at the front of the bus pointed out a WATER FALL we were passing, noting that it was rated a number six, and was, in fact, dangerous, if not deadly. Can you imagine that? Someone actually RATED the danger level of the rapids, so that people like us could know how close to death we were at any given time. I guess the higher the number, the bigger the idiot who negotiates it! Anyway, the guide warned us, we did not want to miss our "putting out" spot just down river from there. That was all I needed to go into a full panic. I was certain the deadly waterfall was only about 100 yards from the "putting out" place, and was already imagining our missing the "putting out" place and crashing to our deaths. I could see my two lovely daughters' terrified faces as we were tumbling to our watery graves, crying out, "O, Captain, how could you let this happen?" We arrive at the "putting in" place all too quickly and before I knew it we were tearing down the river. Everyone around us was having great fun, and so were three of the four people in our raft. I, of course, was too busy being the "captain" to have fun. Besides I was trying to remember who it was that would collect on the life insurance if all four of us died at once. Well, we were thrown around a lot, but we managed to survive the #2 , #3 and #4 rapids. The #5 rapids were coming up and we were reminded by a guide with a megaphone standing on a rock that just after these #5's we had to get over to the right very quickly, because it was our "putting out" spot. All I could think of was the deadly waterfall, and all through the white water of that last run I kept trying to paddle us over to the right, in order to be ready. I barked commands to my crew, but they were too busy enjoying the ride to listen. My paddling must have worked because just as we were coming out of the rapids we hit this huge boulder on the right, off of which we bounced way to the left. I was yelling, "Paddle right!" but they were screaming with delight and ignoring me. They did seem to pick up on the panic in my voice, because, before I knew it, the girls had jumped overboard and were swimming over the "putting out" spot. I was abandoned by my beloved family! Just for a moment I thought, maybe it was an insurance collection scheme. ["That's the plan girls-at my signal, jump, dad goes over the falls, and in a few months we divide the money three ways!"] Well, I knew I couldn't maneuver the huge raft to the right in time with my single paddle, so I baled out, too. Unfortunately, I was a little farther downstream now, and in a narrow strait where the force of the river's current was very strong. As I entered the water my feet were whipped out from under me and I found myself being carried helplessly down stream, feet first, totally out of control. Between gasps I looked over to the right and-you guessed it-I was moving past the notorious "putting out" point at a high rate of speed. I could see that Charlotte and the girls had made it safely and were watching me with concern. I was sloshing my way toward old Number Six, banging and scraping my knees and elbows on every rock, and the raft was long since gone (no doubt over the waterfall by now). "Oh, no! The deadly #6! It was just up ahead!" And here I was thrashing around like a pike on a hook, being hurtled down the river, panic-stricken, swallowing gallons of cold river water, totally out of breath. I began to pray. Suddenly, as my body turned in the violent waters and I started moving head first, I looked ahead and saw a miracle-there was a rope strung across the 100' of the river with lengths of rope attached and hanging down to just above the water! Incredible! They must have set this whole thing up just for fools like me who never should have gotten in the raft in the first place, and who missed the "putting out" point! Well, I knew it was my only chance for survival-either grab one of those ropes or be hurtled to my death over the coming Niagara. (I couldn't get out of my mind the image of this hundred foot waterfall I had seen in a Tarzan movie as a child.) As I sped by I would have to grab one of the hanging ropes and hold on for dear life. So I did. Trying to keep my head above the splashing water all around me, I lunged out and felt the rope in my hand! My other hand quickly found the knotted rope end and I grabbed tightly because my torso was being whipped past the rope at lightning speed, and the impending "snap" was going to be rough! "Ugh!" I did it-I had turned completely around, my feet were now aimed downstream and I was stretched out flat, fully extended, holding onto the miracle rope for dear life, because, if I let go, my life was over! Water was now splashing in my face, and I could barely see Charlotte and the girls over on the side, about fifty yards back at the "putting out" point, and they looked worried. Oddly though, the other people standing around didn't seem very concerned about the drowning man in the river at all. They saw me alright, but no one tried to help me-they were just looking at me incredulously. I could have been the Loch Ness monster judging by the look in their eyes. Just then, of all things, a kayaker, comes paddling up to me against the current, and he's yelling at me, "Hey, let go of the rope, you jerk!" I tried to ask him if he was nuts or something, but I was completely out of breath. The girls had found a ranger and brought him to the shore where they were, begging him to do something. He just stood there with his hands on his hips and told me to let go of the rope. I couldn't believe my ears! This guy, this whitewater expert was telling me to let go of the only thing that kept me from certain death at old #6! I tried to respond but I was totally out of wind and unable to speak, let alone yell a response. Finally, he shrugged and picked up a rope with a red lifesaver on the end of it. He hollered that he was going to throw the lifesaver in upstream and when it floated to me I should let go of the rope and grab the lifesaver. Oh, no, another dramatic, life-threatening moment, as I had to release from my sure thing and grab the red ring. And here it came. Almost without thought and in complete trust of the stranger on the shore with the ranger hat, I released and grabbed the ring. I drifted quickly a few more feet downstream until the slack was taken up. The kayaker-guy paddled past me and around the dangling rope, barking some obscenity at me. I couldn't believe that guy! He wanted to send me plunging to certain death so he could maneuver his little boat around my soul-saving rope! That was when the ranger starting pulling me in. Boy, did it feel good to be inching against the current toward safety. It was all I could do to hang on to the life-saver, I was so completely exhausted. Just then, it happened. As I was being reeled in toward the "putting out" point, the water had gotten much shallower, though it was still moving very fast. I was still supine, head upstream, feet downstream. Suddenly, my swimsuit snagged on a rock jutting from the river bottom beneath me. Right at groin level. I tried to wiggle away from it, but the pull of the ranger on the rope had me stretched out completely. Suddenly getting nowhere, he yells impatiently, "What are you doing?" I try to yell but I am so exhausted I can't even speak. Finally I muster all the wind and voice I have and I try to say "I'm snagged"-only I am so winded I can't pronounce "snagged" and it comes out "I'm sagged!" I was close enough now to see the expression on the ranger's face-and it was one of utter confusion, "What?" he asked. By now I am about ready to faint from exhaustion, I am still swallowing water, I can't get free of the jutting rock, and now I'm afraid I'm going to lose my trunks! It was then another ranger came walking out to me. Another miracle-was this guy walking on the water? No, another look assured me he was just wading out in the water toward me. As he grabs my hand and helps me stand up, the other ranger hauls the lifesaver in. My helper just looks at me like I'm crazy. I thought, shouldn't he be hugging me and celebrating with me that I was rescued from certain death? Shouldn't he be acting like a hero or something? It was then I realized that the crystal clear water I am standing in is only deep enough to cover my ankles. I look toward the riverbank and everyone is looking at me like I just sold nuclear secrets to the Chinese. I turn around to see the deadly waterfall behind me and what do I see? I see a lovely scene where the river widens. Families are picnicking on the shores. Children are playing in the water in the three-foot depth water. Then I notice the ropes that were suspended over the river were actually an obstacle course for a team of Olympic kayakers who were practicing their paddling maneuvers in the river's swift current. My miracle rope was part of their obstacle course. Had I let go of the rope I would have safely floated on another thirty feet into nice, calm waters where I could have stood up and walked out without being a disturbance to anyone. There was no sign of a deadly waterfall. I was later to learn that I had miscalculated and the #6 waterfall was another five miles downstream. I turned and started walking my bruised and waterlogged body out of the "dangerous" river. As I met Charlotte and the girls, they hugged me and cried their gratitude that I was safe. All the other hundred or so onlookers were gawking at me, totally stupefied by my strange behavior. I was so embarrassed! We stood there, three females, clinging to what looked like a drowned rat with a scratch on his stomach where his swim trunks battled with a jutting rock. We slowly made our way past the staring unbelievers, me still panting and trying to catch my breath, the girls wiping their tears. Adding insult to injury, we had missed our bus, and it would be another half-hour until the next bus. So we got to stand around while people pointed at me and told their stories to one another. "You should have seen what that guy did." "Boy, were those rangers put out!" "What a wimp-thought he was going to drown out there with the little children!" And you know the kayakers had a story to tell over dinner. My only comfort was that nobody knew my name or where I was from. I have another confession to make. I am often afraid of giving total control of my life to the Holy Spirit. I ask myself, "Where will He lead me?" "What will he expect me to do?" "Will I be able to do it?" Oddly enough, I do know the freedom, joy and peace I experience on those rare occasions when I relinquish control of my life to the Spirit. But I still find my flesh wanting to resist the Spirit's call to absolutely trust Him and rely on Him and Him alone to lead my life. I find it's a lot like learning to trust water. We water-haters and water-panickers just don't learn to trust the water to buoy us up. We think we have to work real hard at staying afloat. Consequently, our nervous and tense bodies do tend to want to sink instead of float. There is a life available to the believer that is very much like floating effortlessly downstream in the flow of God's Spirit. Too often, though, we would rather thrash about in our own carnal strength, trying to live for God and please Him. But God says, the life that pleases Him is not when we wear ourselves out trying to obey this commandment and do that many good works, and make ourselves be more and more perfectly obedient. That's like trying to swim upstream. If we have the Holy Spirit in our lives, we don't have to buck the current. It is our privilege to ride the current! "Therefore, there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to god. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." There are three words that come to my mind as I consider this text and the related text at Galatians 5. One of those words is RELAX.. The believer, as one who has accepted Christ as Savior, has moved from a place of fretfulness to a place of peace. Christian, you do not need to worry any longer about the possibility of your going to hell. Romans 8:1 says that, for those who are in Christ Jesus there is no WHAT? That's right, CONDEMNATION. Be reminded, fellow-believers, that Christ has paid the debt of your sin in total, and there is no need for you to worry over being condemned. Colossians 2 says, "God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross." So, concerning sin and guilt and condemnation, RELAX! The victory is already yours because of what Christ has done for you. "But I don't deserve it!" Of course you don't--relax! It's a gift-that's what grace is! Paul's message here is that Christians don't have to struggle under the heavy load of condemnation. There's an old story about a man who is riding on a horse-drawn wagon. On the trial he meets up with a man who has a very large and heavy pack on his back. He has obviously been walking a long way and is tired. So the man on the buckboard offers him a ride. He takes him all the way to town, a distance of 15 miles, and as he turns to say goodbye to the man he notices he is standing in the back of the wagon with his pack still on his back. Relax, Christian, there is no condemnation. But there is a second way you can relax. You can relax because as a Christian, you now have the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life, and it is HIS power that will lead you to live a life that is pleasing to God from now on. You will never please God by your vain striving and hard work and tireless effort. Pleasing God is only a matter of walking in agreement with His Spirit. That leads me to the second word. RELINQUISH Relinquish control of your life to the Holy Spirit. Controlling your life is the job of the Holy Spirit. And giving Him that control is your only job. Listen, you don't have to worry about trying to find things to do that will please God-RELAX and RELINQUISH CONTROL to the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into the perfect will of God. You don't have to worry about trying to avoid sinning against God-RELAX and RELINQUISH CONTROL to the Holy Spirit and He will lead you in right living. "So, I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.If you are led by the Spirit you are not under law." (Gal. 5) Your own control of your life is a fleshly attempt at living for God and is doomed to fail. Think of your flesh-your best attempts at living a righteous life for God-as a back-seat driver: "Watch out for that bump! Stop at that red light! You're going to miss your turn! You're going too fast! You're going too slow! Look out for that truck! Be careful!" Paul says to contrast that back-seat driver with relinquishing the wheel to the Spirit-let Him drive. Living according to the Spirit is relinquishing control to Him. That is, we are called to live our daily lives much like Jesus modeled. He prayed and sought the Spirit's leading. When the Holy Spirit said, "We need to go through Samaria today," Jesus went through Samaria. And one conversation with a woman later an entire village of people believed in Him. If the Spirit said, "Tonight we are going to pray and fast," that's what He did, and the next day He knew the reason He was to choose His twelve closest disciples that day. One night the Spirit said, "Go to the Garden and pray." And when He did the Spirit said, "You must go to the cross tomorrow." And He did. And because He did, you are saved today! Relinquishing control to the Spirit means no longer trusting your own religion, your own resources and your own ways of pleasing God. It's saying, "I have one Director in my life now, and that's all I need." Relinquishing control of your life means totally trusting the Spirit to lead you, trusting Him to overcome your fleshly nature today, trusting Him to bear His fruit in your life today, trusting Him to empower you for whatever the Lord asks you to do. Trusting Him means no longer fighting the current, but getting out in the deep water, where your feet don't touch bottom any more and floating where He takes you. There is one last word I would leave you with - REJOICE. Joy is the byproduct of having surrendered your will to His. Once you have relaxed and trusted His provisions for you, once you have let His grace massage the tension out of your taut, worried muscles, once you have let the presence of his Spirit smooth out your worried brow, He will replace it all with His peace and joy. And you will say with Nehemiah, "The joy of the Lord is my strength!"       [Back to Top]