A REVELATION OF……. THE THIRD AND FINAL DWELLING PLACE OF GOD’S GLORY PLUS THE RIVER OF LIFE. Part 4

THE RIVER OF GOD

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38)

For the 100% sold out to God, Disciple of Jesus, experiencing the living water of the river of God, is the most beautiful experience of our Christian walk. For it enables us to enter His rest.

In the natural, swimming in a river is a unique experience and very different to either a pool or the sea. For a river can work for you swimming downstream or exhaustingly against you when trying to swim upstream. Downstream you feel like superman as the current helps you along, but upstream great effort brings you little or no reward. In fact you may even lose ground. A river can be a beautiful calm place to float along, or very dangerous, even life threatening, if caught in a rapid.

Spiritually, working with the river is symbolic of God’s guidance and blessing.

Along with the symbol of the eagle that flies on the mountaintops where the spirit of God dwells, the submission to the flow of God makes the river the second symbol of the end time kingdom church. 

There are significant rivers, both in the Old and New Testaments, both of which are the primary focus of this study. For the Old Testament provides the pattern for New.

 

EZEKIELS TEMPLE RIVER

The water, or spring to our understanding, comes from under the Holy of Holies, the dwelling place of God. So it comes directly from God Himself.

The River From the Temple

47 The man brought me back to the entrance to 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 trickling from the south side. (Ezekiel 47:1-2)

In his vision, Ezekiel saw a man measure a 1000 cubits, round 500 yards or 450 metres. By this stage the water was ankle deep…..

³ As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. (Ezekiel 47:3)

Entering it one has complete control over their movements. The…..

⁴ He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. (Ezekiel 47:4)

Depending upon the flow of the water, this can be challenging act, requiring conscious effort to achieve. Then again…..

⁵ He measured off another thousand, 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. (Ezekiel 47:5)

Presumably, in the natural of his vision, this must have been a fast flowing river as you could not cross it, even by swimming. Remember, that it came from a very high mountain, so the flow would have been fast until it got to the plains, where it would slow to some extent, in the natural. Then he was shown the culmination of the vision, of the power of God to change the landscape and lives…..

⁶ He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”

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.  (Ezekiel 47:6-11)

Google defines ARABAH as…..

The Arabah (Arabic: ÙˆØ§Ø¯ÙŠ عربة‎, WādÄ« Ê»Araba), or Arava / Aravah (Hebrew: ×”ָעֲרָבָה, HaAravah, lit. "desolate and dry area"^[1]), as it is known by its respective Arabic and Hebrew names, is a geographic area south of the Dead Sea basin, which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east.

The old meaning, which was in use up to the early 20th century, covered almost the entire length of what today is called the Jordan Rift Valley, running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee and the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba at Aqaba/ Eilat. This included the Jordan River Valley between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself, and what today is commonly called the Arava Valley. The contemporary use of the term is restricted to this southern section alone.

After Moses died, the Israelites, now under the leadership of Joshua, crossed the Arabah, and the Jordan River, the entry to the Promised Land, in order to reach Jericho, which they conquered, under God’s instruction, by walking round the walls blowing trumpets.

The pattern created here, which finds fulfilment in the New Testament, is God’s river bringing life to a barren desert. Water is life. 60% of our body is consists of water and we can only last 3 to 4 days without it.

When water evaporates on a large scale, a salt residue is left.

The Dead Sea or Salt Sea has its name because of its high salt content 33.7%.It is also the lowest point on earth, at 1388 feet (423 metres) below sea level. It is fed by the Jordan River and has no outlet, losing water volume through evaporation. While it supports floating swimmers, there are only minuscule quantities of bacteria and microbial fungi present. It is for all intents and purposes, dead.

But God’s river in the vision will supernaturally bring abundant life to the river and the surrounding countryside.

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.” (Ezekiel 47:12)

These are supernatural fruit for the leaves do not die and the fruit is never ending.

Interestingly, in the natural, in Israel today man has made the deserts to bloom through the clever use of specialized irrigation, utilizing the little precious water available to grow amazing crops, such as oranges.

But even with the best of technology, it is impossible to produce fruit tree crops all year, and without the leaves ever having to replace themselves.

Ezekiel’s Temple is supernatural, and cannot be built by man, but only by God.

The river must flow from the presence of God in order to have the supernatural characteristics it, the sea life, and the vegetation it has, as described in Ezekiel. For even the Israelis, the cleverest people in the world at making the desert bloom cannot do this, nor can they create a river of such magnitude from nothing. 

(Continued next week)

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FROM THE WORD

THE WORDS OF JESUS
May we hear what the Lord is saying to us.....  

 

Jesus Questioned on Paying Taxes (Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:19-26)

To Caesar, by the Pharisees’ disciples and the Herodians. 

“Why are you trying to trap me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin that is used to pay the tax.”

“Whose image and whose title is inscribed here?”

“You should give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God,”

 

Sadducees Question Jesus on the Resurrection (Matthew 22:23-33, Mark 12:18-27,

Luke 20:27-40)

Using the example of who is to be the husband of a woman married seven times. 

“Here in this age people marry and are given in marriage,” “But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and the resurrection from the dead don’t marry or are given in marriage. They can’t die any longer; they’re like the angels and are children of God since they’re children of the resurrection. But on the question of whether the dead are raised, even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush, when he calls the Lord, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him they all are alive.”

 

What is the Greatest Commandment? (Matthew 22:34-40, Mark 12:28-34)

As asked by the Scribes and Pharisees. 

“The first commandment is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your spirit, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There’s no more important commandment than these.”

(Continued next week)

 

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OUR AFRICAN EXPERIENCE

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A GARDENERS PARADISE

It is unbelievable how fast plants grow here, provided they have water and fertilizer and are weeded, of course. 
Currently, we have strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, passionfruit, Pawpaw, bananas on and off, with tree tomatoes on the way. Unbelievable!

PAW PAW PATIENCE

Kathy is very proud of her pawpaw as you can see by the big smile! She mothered this weak seedling into growth around 18 months ago, and now the gardeners at the Bible School have called her to enjoy the 'first fruit'.

PLENTIFUL PASSIONFRUIT

 Passionfruit fruit here in, at most, 5 months after planting. The fruit here are of a purple variety, grafted onto yellow rootstock. A large size, vigorous and disease resistant.

NEW LABORATORY MACHINES

Our single biggest internal challenge has been the theft of 2 laboratory machines and the terminal breakdown of the other. Needless to say, our security has been tightened greatly!
However, the Lord has looked after us with the supply of replacement machines at half price, and a time payment scheme for them if required.

Currently, we have no funds available to pay for them but are relying on Him to supply this also. A step of faith we have had to take as the hospital desperately needs these machines to operate effectively. These are brand new, compared to the second-hand ones we had purchased initially. A microscope (using a borrowed one currently) is still to come.

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One key element here is the setting out in chronological order (as far as it is possible to do so) our Lord's words drawn from all the Gospels, and the elimination of repetition between Gospels.

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TUESDAY TEACHINGS

THIS WEEK:  12 LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FROM ‘DIVIDING THE WATERS’ (Continued)

Continuing our look at these 3 key occasions when the waters were divided, each signaled a new stage in the progress of the Jewish inheritance. From them, we can see parallels in the challenges facing the church and believers today, as we move on to a new stage in God, prior to the return of Jesus.

 

 

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LAUGHING AT OURSELVES

      ***Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused*** 

                       *** Those who can't laugh at themselves leave the job to others. ***   

QWIK QWIP: “Look for opportunities...not guarantees.”

 

262. Give Us a Sign

The following are actual notices on church signs spotted around the country:

** Belgrade, Montana: “Fight truth decay. . .study the Bible daily.“

** Independence, Missouri: “Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long, and the pay is low, but the retirement benefits are out of this world.

** Mineral Point, Wisconsin: “Super Sunday every Sunday: 50-yard-line seats!“

** LaGrange, Indiana: “I was going to waste, but Jesus recycled me.“

** Tequesta, Florida: “It is unlikely there’ll be a reduction in the wages of sin.“

** St. Petersburg, Florida: “Sign broken; message inside this Sunday.“

** Also from St. Petersburg: “Forbidden fruit creates many jams.“

 

263. Sermons

The congregation liked their new clergyman, but were somewhat puzzled by his speaking style. His first sermon ran only 8 minutes; the second Sunday he spoke for 45 minutes; the third week he rattled on for an hour-and-a-half. That was enough for the Board to summon him for a little chat.  

To their relief, Wilkerson had a ready explanation. "The Saturday before the first sermon, I had my teeth pulled and my mouth was still terribly sore. But, by the time a week had gone by, I'd gotten used to my new dentures." Here the minister paused, and blushed deeply. "And as for last Sunday . . . well, I'm afraid that I picked up my wife's set of teeth by mistake!"

 

QWIK QWIP: “People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross.”

 

264. Do Unto Others

The pastor’s car stalled at a stoplight. He tried to get it started, but nothing. The light turned green, and there he sat, frustrated and embarrassed, holding up traffic. The car behind could have gone around, but instead the driver added to his anguish by laying on the horn. 

After another desperate attempt to get the car started, he got out and walked back to the honker. The man rolled down his window in surprise. 

“Tell you what,” the pastor said. “You go start my car, and I’ll sit back here and honk the horn for you.

 

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A DAVID MUSING

In order to deeper into God, you need to walk through the valley of trials. Only in this way will you truly learn to dig deep into God.

It may sound ridiculous to those brought up in an 'easy Christianity', prosperity type situation. But my own experience, and that of those I know or have read about, who have dug deeper in God, without fail, this testing, hardship or persecution time has been a reality to them all.

Here I would like to testify about my wife Kathy, in particular.

The nearly 2 years we have now spent in a Kenyan village, having shifted from the comfort of New Zealand, has been hugely challenging to her. Adjusting to a completely different culture, is not easy, to say the least. She has had 2 options. Leaving her husband of 49 years or getting God to see her through. 

Fortunately for me, she has chosen the latter option. She is not a quitter.

As she has got more desperate, so has her power in the Lord grown tremendously. To hear her pray or share now is simply amazing! She is a new woman in the Lord. 

So if you are going through tough times, remember and be encouraged that it is all for a purpose - to take you closer to your Saviour and Lord. Yes, it is tough, but the rewards for those who pass the test are eternal.

Until next week.....                                                                                   

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND YOU BLESS GOD

His servant and yours 

David Tait

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WALKING WITH JESUS MINISTRIES is a non-profit, non-denominational, Bible based ministry located in Hastings, New Zealand. A ministry dedicated to developing discipleship, fostering unity amongst God's people to achieve the Great Commission, and in doing so, preparing for Christ's return. It is securely based upon the foundational principles of the Apostles Creed while recognising the wide and rich diversity of beliefs amongst Christians in other areas. In accordance with the Lord's direction, materials produced by the ministry are available, free of charge, to genuine enquirers upon request. The ministry is solely funded by donations, as the Lord provides. A list of materials available (plus some fun!) is obtainable and freely downloadable from our website
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Our role is to bless and encourage those in ministry while promoting co-operation and unity of direction amongst the body of Christ, as emphasised 3 times by Jesus in His longest prayer, immediately prior to His arrest and crucifixion. "... so that they may be one as we are one." (John 17:12, 21, 23-4) Our website is currently being developed to encourage your participation one with another, to share resources, and to enable you to promote events and items of interest to the body as a whole - and have a smile while doing it!

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