TIME TO GO DEEPER

INTRO: The year is flying by so quickly and we are in March already and I feel God has given us a vision for this year. 

• I believe God is wanting to do amazing things this year. 

• And I also believe that he wants to use each and every one of us to do it. 

• Over the past 2 months we have been on the theme of “Faith” and that is no coincidence because the word says, “The righteous shall live by faith.” 

• I don’t know about you, but I want God to use me in 2025 and not like he did in 2024 but something fresh in the Holy Spirit. 

• I believe God’s desire for His church is that we all grow in our faith and walk with the Lord. 

• God has great things prepared for His people in 2025. 

• He wants us to step up and step out in faith. 

• He desires that we go to another level and build His church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. 

STORY: About 10 years ago, there was a man in Dubai who was on holiday’s and was surprised by all the construction taking place there in the middle of the desert. 

• 1/3 of all the worlds construction cranes were all in Dubai at the same time. 

• Never in history had there been such a massive boom in construction in one place. 

• One building after another, one skyscraper after another spread across the desert. 

• We flew into that area, and it was 49 degrees at 8:30 at night. 

• Why anyone would want to live there is beyond me. 

• The countries leader had a vision to see tourism as the economic resource for the future as they had been reliant on the sale of oil to keep their country afloat. 

• This man was walking around what looked to be a big construction project with trucks and excavators all working away. 

• He got to the fence and saw a massive hole in the ground.  

• He called out to one of the workers and said, “I thought you were building a skyscraper but all you have is a massive hole in the ground.” 

• The worker responded by saying, “before we can go up we must go deeper!!!” 

• The higher we want to go the deeper the foundation must be. 

• Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had a vision to build the tallest building in the world. 

• I order to see that vision fulfilled they needed to go deeper and have strong foundations. 

• They went over 50mt deep before they started to construct the tower that was (828 mts high 163 floors).  

The title of my message this morning and what I feel God is saying to us is: 

IT’S TIME TO GO DEEPER 

God is wanting to build his church in Geraldton, but to do that, we need to go deeper in God. 

• We are not living in a time where, “just a little dab will do you.” 

• We will not change our city if we just stick to a relationship that is based around our Sunday church attendance. 

• If the only time you spend with God is Sunday, then that will never have the impact that God desires. 

John 15:7-8 (NKJV) 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 

• God wants a habitation and not a visitation. 

John 15:5-6 (NKJV) 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  

• Abiding brings the anointing. 

• Day of Pentecost when the fire of the Holy Spirit fell, what were the disciples doing? 

Acts 1:4-5 (NIV) 

4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

• Jesus said in a few days you will be baptised in the Holy Spirit. 

• They had no idea of how long a few days is to Jesus or what the baptism in the Holy Spirit was about. 

• They just waited for 10 days in the upper room in one accord and God poured out his Spirit upon them. 

God is not found in the temporal but in the tarrying. 

• If we want to build anything of substance for the Lord, we need to dig deeper. 

• Going deeper is about intimacy. 

• Deeper in our relationship with Him so that we can be led by the Holy Spirit. 

• Deeper in our knowledge of the word. 

• Deeper in our faith and walk with him. (Discipleship) 

God is not found in the shallows: 

Ezekiel 47:1-6 (NIV) The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar.  2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side. 3   As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off 450m and then led me through water that was ankle-deep.  4 He measured off another 450m and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another 450 and led me through water that was up to the waist.  5 He measured off another 450, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in — a river that no one could cross.  6 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?” 

God led Ezekiel into the deep water where he had to trust the Lord to lead him. 

• No one could cross. 

• Do you see this?  

• Do you perceive what I am wanting you to do. 

• Get out into the deep and flow with the Holy Spirit. 

• The Holy Spirit will never control you but he will lead you. 

Q: Have you ever had a time when God has impressed on your heart that you needed to spend more time in prayer and the word? 

• I’m not talking about condemnation where you have guilt that you are not reading or praying enough. 

• But just a leading of the Holy Spirit to draw near to Him. 

• What happened when you did? 

STORY: I remember a time in the Kimberly when I was pastoring, I was in the word every day preparing sermons and getting ministry ready. 

• God laid it on my heart to go out bush and spend time with him every morning. 

• I would ride my bike out to bridge on the highway where I could stand under to get out of the heat and just spend time with the Lord. 

• I would just sometimes pray other times I would just sit in His presence and other times I would just partake of communion. 

• It was at that time that God started to speak to me about what he wanted me to do in His church. 

• There was also a spiritual hunger in the church, and we gathered for prayer in the mornings at 4:30am. 

• I would go around and start picking up people at 3:10 in the morning 4 days a week. 

• That was a time where we saw God move in a powerful way. 

• Not because we had to but because we felt led to pray and seek the Lord. 

• It stared of with just a few people, but God started to draw people in. 

• One morning I was picking up in a part of town called Mardiwar Loop (where they didn’t even have electricity), and people were standing out the front of their camps on the road at 3 am asking if they could come to prayer meeting. 

• I even picked up unsaved people who wanted to come to the prayer meeting at that time in the morning. 

Every move of God starts with a hunger for his presence: 

• People who are not satisfied with the statis quo and desire more in God. 

• Every move of God started with people who had a desire to go deeper in God. 

• Starting with prayer. 

• Prayer is the key to going deeper in our relationship with the Lord. 

• Every revival was birthed in Prayer and flowing in the Spirit. 

Ezekiel 47:6-12 (NIV) Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. 11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” 

Ein Gedi today picture: 

So it is in the natural, so it is in the Spirit. 

• Water in the desert brings life. 

• There are many places that are Spiritual deserts. 

• God want to bring life to those people and places. 

• So where the Spirit flows it brings life. 

• Fish of many kinds. People from many nations. 

• Leaves: God’s provision and healing.  

• Move of God. 

How do we go deeper in God? 

John 15:7-8 (NKJV) 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 

1: Abiding in His presence: 

G3531 μένω menō, v. [118] [→ 388, 670, 1373, 1844, 2152, 2910, 3665, 4169, 4338, 4693, 5222, 5702, 5705]. to stay, remain, live, dwell, abide; to be in a state that begins and continues, yet may or may not end or stop. “To abide in Christ” is to follow his example of a life obedient to the will of God:– remain (24), stay (14), lives (13), stayed (12), remains (11), continue (4), endures (3), live (3), enduring (2), living (2), remained (2), staying. 

Spending time in the presence of God.  

• Yes that is in church, but you can also spend time with the Lord when you are working, mowing the lawn or out shopping. (who likes shopping?) 

• Next time you go to the shops you can say, “I’m waiting on the Lord!!!” 

Waiting on the Lord is not about doing nothing: 

• It’s being like a waiter in a restaurant who is there to serve. 

• The waiter comes and asks, “Is there anything you would like me to get for you?” 

• Can I take your order? 

Abiding and waiting on the Lord is having the posture of a servant, asking, “Is there anything I can do for you… I’m ready to take your order!!!” 

• Being open to God’s leading every day. 

• Q: Could you imagine how awkward it would be if I were at a restaurant and the waiter came and took my order: It would go something like this.  

•  “I’ll have the flame grilled prime rib, medium rare with mushroom gravy and mash, Justine says I’ll have the chicken parmigiana with vegetables please. 

• He writes down my order on his notepad and then continues to stand there and then asks me again what would you like to eat? 

• I just gave you the order, so all you need to do is take it to the chef then bring my meal when it’s done. 

Abiding or Waiting on God involves 2 parts: 

1. Listening to the voice of God.  

Revelation 2:29 (NIV) 

29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  

This is mentioned 8 times in the book of revelations. 

• Up north the locals would say, “what’s wrong with you, you got no ears!!!” 

• Who knows we can have ears but that doesn’t mean we listen? 

• We can tune out certain voices… For a lot of guys, it is higher pitch voices. 

• We get a bit deaf as we get older. 

• The reason Jesus says this so many times in the new testament would imply that most disciples of Christ aren’t in tune with his voice. 

• We can tune out the voice of the Shepherd. 

John 10:27 (NIV) (Jesus said) 

27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 

There are 2 parts to this scripture: 

1. My sheep listen to my voice. 

2. They follow me. 

Abiding or waiting on the Lord is not just about listening but obedience. 

Jesus is saying, Having ears to hear is seen in our actions. 

• Jesus is saying that it’s not enough to hear the word, but are you putting it into action? 

• When God speaks to you don’t just be like the waiter who takes your order and just stands there. 

• Take a hold of what he tells you to do and do it. 

Going deeper in God is found in abiding in his presence: 

John 15:7-8 (NKJV) 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 

There is another key in the scripture to going deeper in God. 

• If you abide in me and my word abides in you. 

• If we want to bear much fruit, we must go deeper in his word. 

Q: What do I mean when I say, GO DEEPER IN HIS WORD? 

• Some people will say, we need to open up the book of revelations and predict who the antichrist is in this season. 

• Is it doing a study on the blood moons or the abomination of desolation. 

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NIV) 1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 

Ephesians 1:15-21 (NIV) (Apostle Paul speaking to the church in Ephesus) 

Thanksgiving and Prayer 

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you…… 

• Can be super spiritual? 

• Predict the future? 

• Be spiritually superior? 

• Quote more scriptures than your friends. 

So that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 

Ephesians 3:16-19 (NIV) 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

• Growing in God is not just about knowledge but experiencing His love deeply. 

• The Holy Spirit helps us comprehend the vastness of Christ’s love, which surpasses human understanding. 

• The ultimate goal is to be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”—living completely in His presence. 

• Practical Application: Meditate on scriptures about God’s love, journal about His faithfulness in your life, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His love to you in new ways. 

Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV) – Hunger and Thirst for God 

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” 

The good news for Christians this morning is: you can meet with God whenever you make time. 

• We need to be intentional and take time to spend with the Lord. 

• Spiritual growth requires a deep hunger and thirst for more of God. 

• Just as a deer seeks water for survival, our spirits need God’s presence to thrive. 

• This verse reflects a longing for deeper communion with God. 

• Practical Application: Foster a deep longing for God by eliminating distractions, creating space for worship, and seeking Him with a sincere heart. 

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) 

6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 

Hebrews 11:6 (TPT) 

6 And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who give all their passion and strength into seeking him. 

Church it’s time to go deeper in our relationship with God, Deeper in his word and a deeper faith to trust Him when he speaks.  

• The only time you don’t want to go deeper is if you are stepping out of the boat to walk on water. 

• But even if you do, Jesus is there to lift us up.