| Two Ships
Wade Taylor
“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.” Luke 5:1-2a
Notice that the people were “pressing upon Him to hear the word of
God.” Whenever we take a step
toward the Lord, He will respond and begin to draw us closer to Himself. There will always be “two ships” (two
opportunities to choose) in our spiritual life experience. These have been placed in our path by
the Lord to cause us to make a choice.
Jesus will never enter the first ship, which relates to our self-life, our being in control of all
that we are and do. When we make
the right choice, Jesus will enter the second ship (His will and
purpose for us) and become active in our spiritual life experience.
“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.” Luke
5:3
For us to be “thrust
out a little from the land” speaks of our giving up the right to do as we
please, so Jesus can bring us into a submissive, cooperative relationship with
Him. Here, we will be prepared to
function in the deeper realms of the Spirit (He sat down
and taught the people). As we continue to make the right choices, the “water” will gradually become deeper and
deeper until our feet (which once stood on the land and controlled which way we
moved) can no longer reach the bottom.
“Deep calls to deep. At the noise of Your waterspouts,
all Your waves and Your billows are gone over me.” Psalm
42:7
This means that the Lord is in control (all Your waves
and billows are gone over me). Only now can He say to us, “let
down your nets for a draught.”
“Now when He had left speaking, he said to Simon, Launch
out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” Luke
5:4
The heart
consecration that we make, and our choosing to be obedient, will prompt (release) Jesus to step into our “boat” (our life
experience). Our “willing obedience” is a determining
factor in our becoming an overcomer. Our being an “overcomer” is not the result of, or, the
reward for something that we do. Rather, it relates to the intent and issues of our heart, which
determines our actions.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Our being “poor in
spirit” means that we have come to the end of our “self-life.” We have placed ourselves, and all that
relates to us, under the headship of Jesus. We are now subject to the government of
God, and, as long as we walk in submission and obedience, it can be said that we are an
“overcomer.”
We can only obey when it is possible for us to disobey. Therefore, the Lord will place
circumstances in our path which will force us to make a choice. Thus, there were “two ships.” This also relates to the two trees in the Garden of Eden - the
“tree of life,” and the “tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.”
“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every
tree of the garden you may freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall
surely die.” Genesis 2:16‑17
The Lord placed man in a probationary environment so he could
be tested. Just as Jesus stepped
into one to two ships, two trees were placed in the midst of Adam’s daily
activities as the means by which this testing would be accomplished. These two trees are diversely different in
their intent and purpose. Adam was
told to freely partake of the one; but he was forbidden to eat of the other.
The tree of life relates to a “spiritual-heavenly”
life in which Adam lived in a dependent
union with the Lord. He could
only abide in this spiritual realm by partaking of the “tree of life” daily (communion). This confirmed and maintained his full dependence upon his Creator. A description of the tree of life is found in Isaiah, chapter
53, which reveals that Jesus is the tree of life (a root out of
a dry ground).
“For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and
as a root out of a dry ground. He
has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we
should desire Him.” Isaiah 53:2
Jesus is seen by fallen mankind as offering nothing that
would (to
them) make Him desirable. The beauty of Jesus is therefore within, and is recognized only by
spiritual perception through “regeneration,” and Holy Spirit “enabling.”
The “tree of
knowledge” relates to our “natural-earthly” life that results from
Adam’s transgression in which he chose to become independent from God. The fruit of this tree appears to us as
being very pleasant to our eyes, and desirable as food. By divine intent, the way of the flesh
is appealing to every aspect of the fallen human makeup, whereas, spirituality
is seemingly uninviting.
It would seem that spirituality should have been made
attractive, and sin ugly. Therefore, we might ask, “Lord,
why did you make our self-life attractive, rather than spirituality?” But, there is an answer. Because we are capable of having an
intimate, personal relationship with Jesus, with the possibility of our being
seated with Him in His throne, as an overcomer, this high calling can be gained
only by our making the right choices. And, the Lord has not made this easy.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14
Or, “Few will pay the
price in order to be chosen.”
By divine design, there is a price to our being chosen by the Lord
(a tested
and proven overcoming quality). Therefore, the Lord placed the beauty within, which can be seen only by
spiritual perception, which is given to those who truly desire Him (those who
pressed upon Jesus to hear the Word).
Outwardly, the tabernacle in the wilderness was covered with
ugly badger skins. But within it had a beautiful royal blue
covering, and, His Shekinah presence. It contained a wondrous glory, which cannot be described ‑ only
experienced. By divine arrangement,
it takes a determined effort to press through to behold the beauty of the
Lord. Few will push past the
hindrances to gain this prize. Paul
said:
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
This prize is not heaven, which is included in our
redemption. Rather, the prize is
our being seated with Jesus in His throne, while experiencing an active
cooperative relationship with Him.
“His lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful
servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over
many things: enter you into the joy of your lord.” Matthew
25:23
May each of us continue to press toward this prize and rise above
all that seeks to hinder our spiritual progress, or to turn us away from being
an overcomer, who, as being His Bride, is seated with Jesus in His throne.
“But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the
kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and the violent seize on
it.” Matthew 11:12 Darby
At this present time, we have the opportunity to make the
right choices, which will determine which “ship” we will be found in.
May we be among those who will be “launched out into the deep in that
day.” |
