Firsts

Posted: May 05, 2017

On July 1st, I had a fishing trip with my best friend and fishing buddy Rod Graham that we will not forget because it was very productive (9 Steelhead on, 5 landed) and there were three significant “firsts” for us. I intended to go to church that evening to hear a speaker who just returned from Finland, but the day went longer than anticipated and I was unable to make it. I got home in time to tell my wife what happened that day before she left for church. When she got home, she summarized what had been said and suggested the fishing day was prophetic because the three firsts fit with what had been shared that evening – God was going to do amazing new things we had never seen before.

After considering what had taken place, I believe she was correct and the three “firsts” we experienced on July 1st were prophetic. I believe the context they are to be applied came to me a couple weeks later when the Lord said Isaiah 54: 2-3 and Isaiah 55:5 were for the church in these last days. These verses say:

Isaiah 54: 2-3 (NKJV)
² “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare; Lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.
³ For you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the
nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited.

Isaiah 55:5 (NKJV)
⁵ Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall
run to you, because of the LORD your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has
glorified you.”

God is preparing His church for the last days to be a light to the nations before time comes to a close. He is calling us to stretch out the borders of our influence, ministry, the nations we touch, types and places of ministry…………..God wants to enlarge our capacity to minister to the nations. We are to withhold nothing (do not spare) necessary for the Lord to accomplish His purposes. His desire is to glorify us so nations will be drawn to us and we will point them to Jesus. Time is growing short and He wants to pull out the stops that have been inhibiting our ability to experience all that He has for us to be and to do.

It is in the context that we are to enlarge our tent, lengthen our cords, and expand our borders to the nations that I want to share the three firsts that occurred and the three applications each one has. I believe these are practical steps we need to take to see the enlargement described in Isaiah 54 & 55 take place.

1) Both of us caught a steelhead anchored in a place we had never caught them before. This was a place nearly everyone (including me) would think was crazy because the water was so swift and shallow where we hooked them. We got out of the boat to land both fish.

. We are to exercise our gifts in places we have never ministered before. I believe this applies to places we live every day (e.g. family, work, neighborhood, etc), and to nations. In addition, we are to ask/seek God for new gifts because He wants to enlarge our capacity to minister for His kingdom. It is interesting that the place where we have caught many fish over the years just above this location has been unproductive the past 2-3 years. For some reason, fewer fish are in this section of the river and we’ve had to move to be successful. I believe we are in a season where we need to move to achieve the fruit God has in mind for us. We cannot presume the old ways will continue to be adequate. We don’t have to abandon them completely, but we must be willing and ready to quickly move on. We must clearly hear what God is speaking for today and not assume what worked yesterday is good enough. On the other hand, just because something is new or different doesn’t make it right. The only “formula” is to seek God’s direction and respond in faith and obedience.

. In some cases we must get out of the boat (our comfort zone, familiar/safe position) to accomplish our objective. Neither fish could have been landed had we stayed put. We had to move. We could have pulled anchor and landed the first fish from the boat, but lost the spot for an additional catch or we could jump out of the boat and wade to the bank so we could get to a spot we could land the fish and wade back to the boat with fish in hand. Sticking with the status quo ensures we will not accomplish all that God has for us.

. We ignored what everyone in sight (including me) undoubtedly thought was a stupid place to fish. Sometimes, there are places and things God calls us to do that others will consider stupid, unwise, fruitless, etc. If God has truly spoken to us, we must ignore what others may say and persevere in obedience to what God has directed regardless of what they may counsel us to do. God is not bound by what failed or succeeded in the past. God is God and He can do as He pleases. When we see the outpouring of God’s Spirit and our primary focus is to ensure we don’t get caught in error rather than seeking what God is doing, we have accepted the recipe for mediocrity. This is not to say that we shouldn’t check things out, take appropriate precautions, be aware of things taken to extremes or abused, etc., but this cannot be at the expense of missing God’s blessing when He requires us to do unusual things. I believe this point applies to a prophetic dream my pastor had regarding the quickly approaching need to make an abrupt turn at God’s command when everyone else was turning the opposite way. If the fear of man or the wisdom of man is influencing how we are responding to the Lord’s direction, we will be unable to make the turn at the correct time.

2) We both had a fish on at the same time (our first double), but both lost them because our leaders broke which is highly unusual. In one case the tackle was old and in the other the drag was too tight because it had not been adjusted back to the correct setting after breaking off due to being snagged on a rock or log.

. We must keep our relationship with God fresh and new. It is out of relationship that we experience the full power and blessing of God. We can’t allow our relationship to become weak and brittle or live on stale bread; our walk with the Lord needs to be renewed and fed on a daily basis. Relying on what or how God did things in the past is often irrelevant to what or how God is doing things today. We must hear His voice and respond in obedience to His word. God wants us to passionately pursue Him. It is presumptuous to assume that God will do things the same way He did them yesterday. He wants us to rely on Him and daily seek His face and not put our trust in a particular method.

. We must pay attention to details. It would have been a simple thing to loosen the drag after I broke off, but letting this simple thing get by directly led to a lost opportunity to experience a catch – the object of why we were there. When things occur, we cannot ignore the corrections that need to occur as a result. Complacency never leads to good. It isn’t OK to let things slide that need to be attended to. You only slide one way – down hill! When the still small voice of the Holy Spirit prompts us to do something, we must respond. The apparent size of God’s request is not a good gauge to the significance behind the request/command. In many cases, it is the little things that create problems when we ignore them or bring great rewards when we obey.

. We must stay flexible – we cannot be rigid in our approach to God, but must stay pliable in the potters hand. If we are doing anything, we will make mistakes. The issue isn’t that we make mistakes, but how we respond to them. If we are teachable and responsive to the Lord, God will make good come out of it.

3) I thought I hooked a fish, but after a couple of minutes I realized my line had wrapped around someone else’s fishing line that was hooked to the fish. We jumped out of the boat onto the bank so Rod could tie the two lines together. I was able to fight the fish more aggressively, but could only reel in to my swivel which left 25-30 feet of line between me and the fish. I backed up far enough to get the fish near the shore, but was unable to control it so Rod could net it for several minutes. After knocking the fish in the head, we looked at the rigging in the fish’s mouth and realized it was Rod’s. He had purposely broken the line off after being snagged on the bottom 10+ minutes before I had “hooked” the fish (Note: this was not the same fish that broke Rod’s line in point 2!). The steelhead had taken the bait and hooked itself and was swimming around in the area we were fishing.

. It will take teamwork/unity to accomplish what God has for us! It is highly unlikely I would have caught this fish had I been alone. It is only as Rod and I worked together that we were able to achieve the desired goal. God made us a body with many parts, not lone rangers. The greatest good will always come when every member of the body is contributing and participating in the move of God. While there are cases where we have to act alone, they are the exception. God wants to work together as a team, as His partners.

. Do not be afraid to reap where you have not sown or sow where you will not likely reap. I didn’t actually hook the fish, but it was a legal catch because the fish was hooked in the mouth. As noted in the Bible, some are called to sow, some to water, and others to harvest. Our role may typically be the same or may shift as the circumstances change. Be ready to do whatever the Lord brings your way.

. God is able to take circumstances that appear to be negative and turn them into something good! It is normal to break off several times a day while steelhead fishing, but never welcomed. The above incident is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, but in God’s kingdom, He supernaturally brings things about that aren’t normal. God is not bound by our constraints, past precedents, failures, or successes. He is able to make something good out of whatever comes our way. Our God transcends our abilities and is desperate for us to rely on Him for things we never dreamed possible, but are realities waiting to happen… if we trust in Him.