Thrust A Bit Further, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye
Many years ago, in elementary Physics, I leant about what is called ‘Gravitational Force’; which simply put, is ‘the force of attraction by which terrestrial bodies tends to fall toward the earth centre’. In layman terms, it means is ‘whatever goes up, must come down’. But I have always wondered why aeroplanes as big as they are can go up and remain there.
I later realised that even though the force of gravity does occur on aeroplanes as well, its own dynamics it’s somehow different.
There are four powers or forces operating on an aeroplane that is in motion: Gravity; Drag; Thrust and Lift. Gravity/Weight tries to keep the aeroplane on the ground; Drag tries to keep it from moving forward; Thrust tries to move it forward; while Lift tries to keep it off the ground.
So that when an aeroplane is engaged in gear moving, Drag will immediately set in; as the winds blowing in opposite direction are pulling it back. This is followed by the force of Gravity; which make sure that the plane remains on the ground because of its weight and the winds blowing over its wings.
For the aeroplane to fulfil it’s calling of flying therefore, it will need to increase Thrust, which is aided by rotating propellers or rotating fans that remove frontal air resisting the plane from moving forward quickly.
For the aeroplane to take off from ground, the Thrust must be greater than Drag; and the Lift must be greater than Gravity (this is achieved by the special design of its wings so that the winds passing under the wings are greater than the ones passing above them); thereby making the aeroplane to become airborne.
To remain level in the air, the Thrust must be equal to Drag; and the Lift must be equal to Gravity/Weight. So that critical to the mechanics of an aeroplane is the Power of Thrust and Lift. For Lift to happen even; Thrust is very critical.
You are in a way like an aeroplane that must fly. No Drag will pull you back. No Gravity will press you down. You will gain Thrust. You will be lifted in Jesus name.
As a church, individuals and families, God has helped us to progress thus far; His message to us today is that for us to be lifted higher, we will need to thrust a bit further.
There is a critical moment when the nose of the aeroplane is supposed to tilt upward. If it doesn’t increase Thrust at that stage, it will go pass the runway.
Luke 5:1-10 – And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 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 that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken: And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.
Lake Gennesaret could be likened to the world we live. Some people have come to catch fishes; some have come to buy fishes. Others have come to teach; while some have come to learn. Sadly, some other people have come to watch what others do.
In life, you will not be an onlooker. You will catch fishes, you will eat and you will sell. You will learn and you will also teach. You will not be a look man or a look woman in life.
Peter had come to catch fish: for his family to eat and possibly to sell. He had good experience in the trade; he had acquired skills; he had the necessary resources. But he was not operating at a prosperous level (subsistence farming). That particular day at work was actually bad. He caught nothing.
You have been getting bye day by day, but things are not looking good at the moment. Your present condition shall not last long. In the name of Jesus, you will enter into the realm of abundance; the realm of surplus; the realm of the overflow in Jesus name.
The bible didn’t tell us the topic or the theme of Jesus teaching on that day; however, two statements that Jesus said to Peter were recorded, which are great lessons for us today:
– Jesus prayed him to thrust out a little bit from the land. He said so because of the pressure from the people.
Someone is here; the Spirit of God says I should tell you that the pressure for that land is mounting. Thrust a bit further from the land.
There is usually an assurance from the ‘land’. Under normal circumstance, whatever you give to the land, it will return, but the lake does not seem to offer such assurance. Yet the resources in the water are more and greater than those on the land. Thrust a bit further from the land.
If Peter had kept the boat by the shore that day, people would still have pressed on Jesus, the boat could have been damaged, and the lives of people could have been lost. That would have been the end of Jonas Sons & Co.,
– The second sentence of Jesus for Peter to “Launch out into the deep, and let down your net for a draught”.
For Jesus to say this, Peter must have been fishing in shallow waters, this could be due to his training, it could be because of the season of the year, it could be due to the type of the boat he was using. It might also be because of personal fear.
Against all skill, experience and knowledge, Peter let down the net as Jesus has said and he caught multitudes of fishes.
Someone here, you are presently operating at the ‘sea shore level’, move a bit further from the shore.
There is the level at which knowledge we have gained in life can help us. There is also the place of experience in life. To succeed beyond this level, one would need absolute faith and total dependence of God.
Someone is here; there is a ‘lake full of fishes’ waiting for you. No one shall be able to compete with you. Those who are presently competing with you will soon come to receive rations from you.
I thought of why was Peter not able to catch any fish throughout the night before. The answers that came to my thought were these:
– It’s either that there were many fishermen at the shallow waters, chasing the fishes away.
– The fishes in the shallow water could simply have become extinct.
– It could be that the fishes have got used to the routine of the fishermen. (Come out at day & hide at night).
– It could just be that Jesus wanted to teach Peter a lifelong lesson.
There is someone here; the ‘deep’ is awaiting you. Leave the ‘land and shore’ for little boys, go for the deep. The deep is an untapped territory, virgin land, full of fishes, but only few will take the risk and the initiative.
You may need to change what you are going now or do the same thing with a different touch, in order to experience the miracle of ‘this is too much’.
Someone here, I hear the Spirit of God says, take that new step and I will surprise you.
Your result will be shocking to even you. May the blessing of multiplication come upon you. When you see your huge harvest, may your testimony be “Father, what have I done to deserve this”?
The bible tells us that the blessings of Abraham passed unto Jacob when Isaac blessed him, but he later ran away from Esau – his brother. To be in the full covenant of Abraham, he had to return to Canaan, but his brother had vowed to kill him 20 years earlier, so he didn’t know what to expect.
With all the family and riches God gave him; he decided to risk going back home. But when he heard that his brother was coming to meet him; he was terrified. He got to a critical point in his life that he had to either go back or move forward. He decided to thrust a bit further. (Gen. 32:9-12).
He prayed to God, so God sent an angel to reassure him, but the mere presence of an angel didn’t satisfy him. Jacob pressed the angel to pronounce blessing on him. After the angel did; Jacob was encouraged and he went forward (Gen. 32:24-31).
For every matter of life there is a critical point of transformation. For water to turn to gas or ice, a critical point must be reached; for rocks to turn to liquid; for wood to turn to coal; etc.
Also for a destiny to turn from ordinary to extraordinary; there must be a critical point. E.g. Elisha the son of Shaphat was when he cried out ‘my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof’.
I perceive in my spirit that today marks the critical point in the life of someone here. The power to become extraordinary is coming upon you now. An extraordinary life now begins for you.
To get there to that extraordinary life, you will need a sustained motion; continuous progress and perpetual thrust. Unless you continue, you cannot get there (Elisha refused to stay or go back). He kept telling Elijah, ‘As The Lord lives and that soul live and as thy soul live, I will not leave thee’.
Do something new. Re-invent what you are doing now. Find better ways of doing the same thing. Explore new opportunities. Commit your ways into God’s hands. And see your destiny rise.
May your progress shock you. May those around you stand in awe of you. May people praise your God. Trust a bit further.
Prayers
Father, do not allow my destiny to drag.
Father, do not allow my life to be too weighty to progress.
Father, enable me to thrust forward in life.
Father, let my life enjoy Divine lifting.
The sermon, Thrust A Bit Further, by Pastor Samuel Obafaiye, was delivered on September 3, 2017.