Taken from the Book, "God's Battle Plan For You" by Dr. Robert SJ Coutts
CHAPTER 8
Get In The River Of God
Revelation 22:1-2;
"And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Revelation 22:1-2;
One of the most beautiful scenes of the Bible is described is these two verse of Revelation. John was given a vision of the great River of Life that flows from the Throne of God and of the Lamb. This crystal clear river begins as a trickle from the Throne and then flows throughout the New Jerusalem to provide healing and life for all who live on its shores. The green grass, beautiful flowers, trees and meadows along its banks can only be seen in the mind and heart of man for the present, but one day soon we shall all see it just as John has described. What a day that will be when we get to see Heaven’s glorious scenes for the first time. All the troubles and trials of this life will pass into nothingness when we see Jesus face to face.
We are given many pictures and symbolism's of the water of life that comes from this river. In this chapter we will take a look at this River of Living Water.
One of the greatest pictures of the power of that river is given to us in Ezekiel 47:1-5;
"Afterward 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. Then 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. And 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. Again 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. Afterward 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." Ezekiel 47:1-5;
Ezekiel has been down to the valley of dry bones, representing the dead spirituality of Israel as a nation. These dry bones also stand for every man who ever lived who did not have the life-giving flow of God in their lives. When God asked Ezekiel, can these bones live He was asking a question for which there was only one answer if we answer in the power and ability of man. The answer would have to be no. But, in the power of the life giving River of God, these bones could not only live but they could become a mighty nation and able to do great things.
When we look a little further, we can see Jesus as he is waiting for the woman at the well who heard the words of Jesus as He said in John 4:14;
"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14;
As the waters of that river flow, there is much that it will do for those who will step into its water and wade out just a little bit deeper each day.
Ezekiel saw the waters as they were only ankle deep as Jesus began to lead him into the unseen depths of the river. Every Christian must step out into the water and begin to explore the things of God. As Christians mature in Christ and their relationship grows, they begin to wade out a little farther from the shore and a little farther until finally they are lost in the love of Jesus Christ and learn to live by faith. Too many people won’t go out into the deep water of relationship with Jesus because it requires a commitment of faith to believe that Jesus’ power will keep them afloat.
In these Scriptures in Ezekiel, we see how that Jesus has taken Ezekiel to the House of God, and has revealed to him the source of the river that will flow out upon a dry and thirsty land to provide life for all it touches. The waters came out of the right side of the house and flowed from the south side of the altar. What a wonderful type of the blood of Jesus Christ that flowed from His side on Calvary. The blood that began as a trickle, then became a flow that reached down and began to flow out from beneath the “Altar of Sacrifice of the Cross” to go down to the earth and flow over the souls of a sin darkened and lost world.
Praise the Lord, there is the real source of the Water of Life and of the River of God. Every provision for mans need is met in the precious Blood of the Lamb who is slain from the foundation of the world. As the River of Life begins its journey through the heart of man there is so much that it does for us. There are some benefits we need to look at.
The River Brings Life. Look again at John 4:14;
" But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14;
Those who choose to be washed in the Blood of the Lamb through repentance of sins and acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus and surrender their lives to Him will have this same well of living water springing up from within their own heart. Why is this so? Because Jesus is the source of that River and He dwells in the heart of every believer to provide the ability to reach out to other people and have them washed in the Blood also. The Holy Spirit within each of us is the manifestation of that river of living water as He speaks through us, leads us and teaches us every day.
The River Satisfies. “
”O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:" Psalms 63:1-5,
David knew what it was to need God’s forgiveness and God’s blessing. He had failed God so many times and yet David’s heart longed for the peace and forgiveness that only the River of God would bring.
That ends the free sample. I trust you are interested and would like to read the rest. You can do that by going here...
https://www.amazon.com/author/robertcoutts
Just click the link and it will take you to my Amazon site where you will find the rest of the book (God's Battle Plan For You) along with more books that will touch every area of your life. Thanks for your support and happy reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment