Infinite Fellowship Ministries

The Life Of The Deep: Sermon By Rev. Loice Achola

As the hart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for You, O God. My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, Where is your God? These things I [earnestly] remember and pour myself out within me: how I went slowly before the throng and led them in procession to the house of God [like a bandmaster before his band, timing the steps to the sound of music and the chant of song], with the voice of shouting and praise, a throng keeping festival.

Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God. O my God, my life is cast down upon me [and I find the burden more than I can bear]; therefore will I [earnestly] remember You from the land of the Jordan [River] and the [summits of Mount] Hermon, from the little mountain Mizar. [Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me.

Yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I will say to God my Rock, Why have You forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword [crushing] in my bones, my enemies taunt and reproach me, while they say continually to me, Where is your God? Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God. 

 Psalm 42 (AMPC) 

The deep is the place where God draws you closer to Himself to be vulnerable, real and authentic. It is a prophetic environment where God draws you closer to Him, stripping you bare of everything that is not His. In this process, God shapes and forms us into the image of His Son.

Then he [my guide] brought me again to the door of the house [of the Lord—the temple], and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple was toward the east; and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the temple, on the south side of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around outside to the outer gate by the way that faces east, and behold, waters were running out on the right side. And when the man went on eastward with the measuring line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were ankle-deep. 

Again he measured a thousand cubits and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that reached to the knees. Again he measured a thousand cubits and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that reached to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over or through. And he said to me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he led me and caused me to return to the bank of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then he said to me, These waters pour out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah (the Jordan Valley) and on into the Dead Sea. And when they shall enter into the sea [the sea of putrid waters], the waters shall be healed and made fresh. And wherever the double river shall go, every living creature which swarms shall live. And there shall be a very great number of fish, because these waters go there that [the waters of the sea] may be healed and made fresh; and everything shall live wherever the river goes. 

The fishermen shall stand on [the banks of the Dead Sea]; from En-gedi even to En-eglaim shall be a place to spread nets; their fish shall be of very many kinds, as the fish of the Great or Mediterranean Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become wholesome for animal life; they shall [as the river subsides] be left encrusted with salt and given over to it. And on the banks of the river on both its sides, there shall grow all kinds of trees for food; their leaf shall not fade nor shall their fruit fail [to meet the demand]. Each tree shall bring forth new fruit every month, [these supernatural qualities being] because their waters came from out of the sanctuary. And their fruit shall be for food and their leaves for healing. 

 Ezekiel 47:1-12 (AMPC)

Where the River of God is there is life. Therefore, nothing in our lives should be dead. The River of God, means the flow of the Holy Spirit. It depicts how He fills us and overflows, thus affecting our environment. 

Humans desires a total divine connection. Any other thing will not satisfy or fulfill entirely. We get satisfaction when we connect and relate with the Holy Spirit from a place of sincerity. It is only from a place of sincerity that we reach the depths we desire in God. Sincerity is the key to connecting with the Lord.  This is being open from a broken and contrite heart. 

God desires that we seek Him. The desire you have for God is revealed by how you seek Him.

But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].  

Hebrews 11:6 (AMPC)

When God becomes the primary source in your life, every other thing will be added to you. The life of the deep is a personal pursuit in as much as we are in a corporate body. This calls for the Berean posture of searching Scripture and going further to tarry like Mary at the Lord’s feet to get our good portion.  

Ezekiel was alone in the river. Individual worship contributes to corporate worship. When you consistently fellowship with God, you bring substance to the Body during corporate worship. When we understand God as our all sufficiency, we live life intentionally and sufficiently. 

Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water. 

John 7:37-38 (AMPC)

We need to allow the Lord to fill us to the point of overflowing. The journey of the deep is scenic and full of experiences that usher us into an understanding of who He is. My Redeemer. My Healer. This is the reason why our testimonies bear so much power.   

The life of surrender is a prerequisite to the life of the deep. Be willing to follow God unlike Jonah more so in matters concerning the call. 

In the place of the deep, not many will understand you. It is a very personal journey that is divinely initiated and sustained. God is present in this journey. The waters will not overwhelm you. Even though it seems chaotic, it is orderly because God is there. Our expectation is in the Lord.

Unto You do I lift up my eyes, O You Who are enthroned in heaven. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, and as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy and loving-kindness for us. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on and loving-kindness for us, for we are exceedingly satiated with contempt. Our life is exceedingly filled with the scorning and scoffing of those who are at ease and with the contempt of the proud (irresponsible tyrants who disregard God’s law). 

Psalm 123 (AMPC)

God’s desire is to influence our hearing and vision. What you see will determine where you will go and what you hear will provoke your faith. Once your hearing and vision are acute, you will be manifest as a son in the strength of His word.  

The world and all its cares can hedge us in. When this happens, we most often than not find ourselves in places where we cannot understand the Word of God. We end up having walls around us, blocking our vision and causing us not to hear aright. The process in the journey of the deep is to bring you to new sight and hearing. In the place of the deep, no walls hedge us except the hand of the Lord. New life is formed in the secret place. Here, my pursuit is singular on the Lord.  

The Lord desires we walk in the things He has spoken over us. Anyone called of God must allow themselves to the taken to the deep. It takes a desperate tiredness of status quo to be able to get to the place where the Lord has His way. It is the Lord who determines the depth of my walk in the River of God. 

We shouldn’t be afraid of the cost that comes with the journey of the life of the deep. We should only concern ourselves with that which He requires of us. My life is not my own – it was not mine to begin with.   

Acquaint now yourself with Him [agree with God and show yourself to be conformed to His will] and be at peace; by that [you shall prosper and great] good shall come to you. 

Job 22:21 (AMPC)

We cannot launch deeper if the carnal man is in control. Your nature changed when you were born again. You must align to the new nature that God has given you so that God can move in your life.

Watchtower Reality: Speak that which the Lord requires of us.