Post by Michael on Jul 4, 2006 1:04:40 GMT -5
This is a devotion that I put together because my youth leader asked me to present a devotion to my church on our Week-Day Service on Tuesday. Please read and let me know what you think.
Ezekiel 47: 1-5: 1Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. 2Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. 3And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
Revelation 22:1: 1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
v1. In verse one, it says “...waters issued out from under the threshold of the house...” When I got to this part of the verse, the first thing I thought was “What is a threshold?” I looked it up and it meant doorway. Now, according to Rev. 22:1 these waters are pure waters of life. They are crystal clear and not only are they flowing under the threshold of the house in Ezekiel 47, but they also flow out from the Throne of God and of the Lamb.
So what is the connection? How do I know these are the same waters? The connection between the two verses is the waters. You may not see the connection until you know the meaning of the word “house”. It is a dwelling place; an abode. But, going further, we see in the synonyms that “church” and “temple” pop out among those in the list of synonyms.
God’s presence is in church –His house- and because of His presence there, the pure waters of life flow in the church and under the doorway of the church.
While writing this, I got to thinking “Why would the water be coming out from under the doorway?” Perhaps because there is so much water in the house. For instance, when the tub or sink overflow, the water rushes down the sides and fill the floor. When there is no more room, the water escapes through the space under the doorway. That’s how it is with God’s presence. In Isaiah, it is said that God’s train fills the temple. A train is part of a gown that trails behind the wearer. If God’s train is that big, it is only logical that when God’s presence is in the church, that his presence floods the church and it flows under the doorways of it.
In John 7: 37-39, Jesus says that if any man is thirsty, to go to Him and drink. Those who believe on Him, rivers of living water will flow from their belly. Verse 39 tells us that when He spoke that, he was speaking of the Holy Spirit, which would flow.
Before that, in chapter 4, Jesus tells the woman of Samaria that the waters that He gives is full of everlasting life and will cause her to never thirst again. Could it be that the water Jesus gives is from the “pure river of water of life” that flows from the Throne of God? The same the floods the church?
v2-5. So how far will you go before you say “Okay, I’m good! I’ll go the next step, a little deeper, next time.” How deep will you go? Ankle deep? Knee? Groin? Or so deep that you cannot pass over them walking; that you’d have to swim in them to pass.
So what happens when you go swimming? In the physical sense, your skin turns wrinkly, your eyes may turn red, and your body would smell like the water. But what about when “swimming” in the Spirit? Thanks to Bro. Jerry (a guy at my church), I can use Luke 9:29 and be able to tell you that your countenance changes. As does your appearance. The way you look or carry yourself may change. The way you speak may change and you may even have a sparkle of excitement, life, or joy in your eyes. Galatians 5:22 also points out something that happens when “swimming” or being in the Spirit.
When you have experienced the Holy Spirit, when you live and walk, you gain these fruits. These fruits are the signs of a person walking in the Spirit.
Okay, here’s another thing: Think of the church holding a river. There is always a “deep end” and “little end” to every rive, to every body of water. We all know that the bigger fish hang around the deep end because in the shallow end it is harder to maneuver themselves around. The smaller fish, however, keep to the shallow end and don’t mind it because of their small size. Now maybe not all small fish hang around in the shallow end, I’m not a fisherman, but for the sake of the devotion, the smaller fish stay in the shallow end. Now, back to thinking of the church as having a river with deep and shallow ends that holds big and little fish.
The river that the church has is the Holy Spirit and the deeper we wade into this river of life-giving water, the bigger the blessings you’ll receive. If you stay ankle deep, you’ll only receive a blessing that is capable of staying in ankle deep “water”. In other words, you’ll get a smaller blessing than that which you would receive if you had gone farther. But the deeper that you go down, the larger the blessings grow. But there is more than those blessings! God has many more larger blessings for you! If only you would swim in the deep end.
According to Psalms 68:19, God loads us, being the children of God, with benefits. Such as blessings. The only thing hold us back from obtaining them is ourselves.
How is this? Maybe because we may have to give something up in order to experience the deep end. Perhaps your pride is stopping you from plunging in. Fear, shame, worldly influences, whatever it may be, it’s not worth keepings over swimming in the deep end of the Holy Spirit. John 16:33 says,
Christ has already overcome everything we have gone through and are going through now. In 1 John 5:1-5, we are told that whoever believes that Jesus is the Son of God has overcome the world. Through Christ Jesus, we have triumphed over the worlds and all the things of it whether it may be sickness, pride, shame, or fear. Whatever it is that is hindering you from swimming in deep waters, you have already overcome it through Him.
So claim that victory in Christ, dive into the deep end and partake of the larger blessings and greater things that God has in store for you! Don’t settle for twiddling your toes in the ankle deep water, jump in the deep end and enjoy its benefits!
The Flowing Waters of Life
Tuesday Night Devotion (July 4, 2006)
Tuesday Night Devotion (July 4, 2006)
Ezekiel 47: 1-5: 1Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. 2Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. 3And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
Revelation 22:1: 1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
v1. In verse one, it says “...waters issued out from under the threshold of the house...” When I got to this part of the verse, the first thing I thought was “What is a threshold?” I looked it up and it meant doorway. Now, according to Rev. 22:1 these waters are pure waters of life. They are crystal clear and not only are they flowing under the threshold of the house in Ezekiel 47, but they also flow out from the Throne of God and of the Lamb.
So what is the connection? How do I know these are the same waters? The connection between the two verses is the waters. You may not see the connection until you know the meaning of the word “house”. It is a dwelling place; an abode. But, going further, we see in the synonyms that “church” and “temple” pop out among those in the list of synonyms.
God’s presence is in church –His house- and because of His presence there, the pure waters of life flow in the church and under the doorway of the church.
While writing this, I got to thinking “Why would the water be coming out from under the doorway?” Perhaps because there is so much water in the house. For instance, when the tub or sink overflow, the water rushes down the sides and fill the floor. When there is no more room, the water escapes through the space under the doorway. That’s how it is with God’s presence. In Isaiah, it is said that God’s train fills the temple. A train is part of a gown that trails behind the wearer. If God’s train is that big, it is only logical that when God’s presence is in the church, that his presence floods the church and it flows under the doorways of it.
In John 7: 37-39, Jesus says that if any man is thirsty, to go to Him and drink. Those who believe on Him, rivers of living water will flow from their belly. Verse 39 tells us that when He spoke that, he was speaking of the Holy Spirit, which would flow.
Before that, in chapter 4, Jesus tells the woman of Samaria that the waters that He gives is full of everlasting life and will cause her to never thirst again. Could it be that the water Jesus gives is from the “pure river of water of life” that flows from the Throne of God? The same the floods the church?
v2-5. So how far will you go before you say “Okay, I’m good! I’ll go the next step, a little deeper, next time.” How deep will you go? Ankle deep? Knee? Groin? Or so deep that you cannot pass over them walking; that you’d have to swim in them to pass.
So what happens when you go swimming? In the physical sense, your skin turns wrinkly, your eyes may turn red, and your body would smell like the water. But what about when “swimming” in the Spirit? Thanks to Bro. Jerry (a guy at my church), I can use Luke 9:29 and be able to tell you that your countenance changes. As does your appearance. The way you look or carry yourself may change. The way you speak may change and you may even have a sparkle of excitement, life, or joy in your eyes. Galatians 5:22 also points out something that happens when “swimming” or being in the Spirit.
“22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23Meekness, temperance...”
[/size][/center]When you have experienced the Holy Spirit, when you live and walk, you gain these fruits. These fruits are the signs of a person walking in the Spirit.
Okay, here’s another thing: Think of the church holding a river. There is always a “deep end” and “little end” to every rive, to every body of water. We all know that the bigger fish hang around the deep end because in the shallow end it is harder to maneuver themselves around. The smaller fish, however, keep to the shallow end and don’t mind it because of their small size. Now maybe not all small fish hang around in the shallow end, I’m not a fisherman, but for the sake of the devotion, the smaller fish stay in the shallow end. Now, back to thinking of the church as having a river with deep and shallow ends that holds big and little fish.
The river that the church has is the Holy Spirit and the deeper we wade into this river of life-giving water, the bigger the blessings you’ll receive. If you stay ankle deep, you’ll only receive a blessing that is capable of staying in ankle deep “water”. In other words, you’ll get a smaller blessing than that which you would receive if you had gone farther. But the deeper that you go down, the larger the blessings grow. But there is more than those blessings! God has many more larger blessings for you! If only you would swim in the deep end.
According to Psalms 68:19, God loads us, being the children of God, with benefits. Such as blessings. The only thing hold us back from obtaining them is ourselves.
How is this? Maybe because we may have to give something up in order to experience the deep end. Perhaps your pride is stopping you from plunging in. Fear, shame, worldly influences, whatever it may be, it’s not worth keepings over swimming in the deep end of the Holy Spirit. John 16:33 says,
“These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Christ has already overcome everything we have gone through and are going through now. In 1 John 5:1-5, we are told that whoever believes that Jesus is the Son of God has overcome the world. Through Christ Jesus, we have triumphed over the worlds and all the things of it whether it may be sickness, pride, shame, or fear. Whatever it is that is hindering you from swimming in deep waters, you have already overcome it through Him.
So claim that victory in Christ, dive into the deep end and partake of the larger blessings and greater things that God has in store for you! Don’t settle for twiddling your toes in the ankle deep water, jump in the deep end and enjoy its benefits!
