“I DARE YOU TO GO DEEPER”
By
District Elder M.L. Maughmer, Jr.
Part One
Ezekiel 47:1-12 “1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen [this]? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 7. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river [were] very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: [which being] brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. 9. And it shall come to pass, [that] every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. 10 .And it shall come to pass, [that] the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a [place] to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. 11. But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. 12. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine”.
For this lesson however, we are going to focus mainly on the first (5) five verses.
OPENING:- There is a game that no doubt we all have played at sometime or another and that game is called “Truth or Dare”. The premise of the game is that someone would ask you a question and you would have to make a decision on rather or not to answer the question truthfully or do whatever they challenged you to do. Well here is a little twist on this game. I’m going to tell you the truth and dare you to take the challenge.
HERE IS THE QUESTION:- “Are you at the center of God’s will for your life – having reached the level of maturity and obedience that He wants you to have”?
LESSON TEXT:- Ezekiel 47:1-5. “1. 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. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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.
BACKGROUND:- The purpose of the book of Ezekiel is 3 fold (REMEMBER THAT) 1. it is to explain that Judah must be judged for her disobedience; 2. to encourage the remnant of Judah through prophecies of the glorious future restoration; 3. to emphasize the preeminence of God’s glory and character. Ezekiel’s latter prophecies emphasize Israel’s future restoration, especially their glorious temple. Understand that numbers in the Bible play an extremely important role and have a very specific meaning to them. The number 3 means completeness, Since the purpose of the book of Ezekiel is 3 fold it gives the complete story of Israel her time before captivity, captivity, and it’s glorious restoration. The number 5 means God’s grace, the number 7 means perfection, the number 8 means new beginnings, and the number 9 means divine completeness. Well the last 9 chapters of the book of Ezekiel talk about the divine completeness of the new temple and the order of worship in this temple. In the natural it’s an ideal temple that has yet to be built. In the spiritual or figurative it is the church, the ecclesia, the Body of Christ you, you, you, and me. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own – 1st Cor.6:19.
Here in the 47th chapter we are going to deal the first 12 verses. The number 12 means divine government, thus the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles. Here in these 12 verses we are going to deal with the divine government of the temple. WHAT TEMPLE? – you & I.
However, since this is going to be a series we will look at the first 5 verses in this first part of the series. Remember that the number 5 means God’s grace therefore we will see the grace of God here.
In these verses we see that God in an awesome way is telling Ezekiel to stop standing on the bank of the river and get out into the deep. This same message is being said to us today and that is get into the deep. Sadly this is the mindset of the church today. Many are satisfied with going through the routine of standing on the banks of the river never getting into the water. They are afraid that if they were to actually get into the flow that God will require of them more than they are willing to give.
Standing on the banks is a comfort zone and people feel they are safe because they are standing and what we call solid ground. It seems nice on the banks because every once in a while there’s a splash that happens in the river because the river is flowing and is sometimes turbulent and it causes a mist to happen and settle on those standing on the banks; however, God is requiring you and I dare you to go deeper don’t be satisfied with just a mist. Sunday morning service is O.K., but it’s just the banks of the river. It’s sad but many people, church folk, will never truly experience an awesome move of God, they will never be able to catch the vision God has for their lives and unfortunately they will miss out on a multitude of blessings all because they are standing on the banks of the river and not getting out into the deep.
NOTE:- Understand that water in the Bible like oil is representative of the spirit of God. The water here that Ezekiel is seeing in this vision flowing from the throne of God is living water and represents the Holy Ghost working in your life. John 4:14 says “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thrist; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life”. We shall see in this series that the water in this vision of Ezekiel is a life giving water. We are talking about getting deep in God, get out of our comfort zones, stop standing on the banks of the river, but get into the fullness of His spirit. This is a kingdom thing, it’s not an Apostolic thing, it’s not a Baptist thing, it’s not a Methodist, Catholic or any denominational thing. It’s a God thing and that is what Ezekiel understands about this vision and what we must understand here today.
LETS LOOK AT THIS:- vs#1 “Afterward after God had showed him the temple and showed him how to worship. So many times we want to run putting the cart before the horse failing to learn and see what He wants to show us. We so many times want to baptize and put someone in a position and we haven’t yet taught them about the temple or how to worship God in spirit and in truth – AFTERWARD- he brought me again unto the door of the house; this is submission and surrender. Ezekiel said he brought me – understand that you can’t do this thing your way. It’s God’s way or no way, you must first crucify the flesh and submit to the Will of God in order to get into the flow of the spirit. That’s why there are so many that are standing on the banks of the river as Otis Redding said watching the tide roll away, they want to do it their way and not God’s way. Ezekiel said he brought me it’s not about me and mine but about Jesus and His will for us. Then Ezekiel said he brought me WATCH THIS he brought me again WATCH THIS:- that word again indicates continual submission to God. Ezekiel was not only submissive to God here but was submissive to God before. This walk with God calls for continuous submission, you can’t be wishy washy and expect to go deeper in God. Being a sometime church goer, sometime faster, sometime prayer, a sometime obedient person, a sometime Bible reader isn’t going to take you deeper in God He requires submission and surrender and, behold, waters remember water in the Bible represents the spirit issued the word issued means to flow or flowed out from under the threshold of the house eastward: The origin or source of these waters were not above the ground but came up from under the threshold, Ezekiel could not see from where they started he only was able to see them flowing, thus are the blessing that flow into our lives for the blessings of our life is hid with Christ in God; therefore we set our affections on things that above and not on things on earth because the source of our blessing is God for the forefront of the house [stood toward] the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, understand that the right side represents power and authority, it is with power and authority that we enter into the deep at the south [side] of the altar all of our blessings are because of the altar because if it had not been for the cross”.
Vs#2:- 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. Submission & surrender God wants to bring you out of the predicament you are in, He wants us to have life and have it more abundantly, but it requires that we submit and surrender our will to His will. Ezekiel said he brought me out of the way of the gate if we look at that today we need to say He brought me out of the way of tradition, He brought me out of the way of man, He brought me out of a secular mindset, but it takes submission and surrender.
Vs#3:- And when the man that had the line in his hand Ref: 40:3 “And he brought me thither, and, behold, [there was] a man, whose appearance [was] like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate”. & Rev. 1:12-15 “And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters”. This is God, Jesus Christ manifested in the flesh. The book of Ezekiel was written in about 571-549 B.C. Here Ezekiel experiences a theophany, which is a manifestation of God before the fleshly body of Jesus. Brass = judgment And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, (about 1 mile) and he brought me through the waters; this is spirit, they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. In order for Ezekiel to go through the waters he first had to be willing and submissive to leave the banks. You can’t do this except by the spirit you can’t say he brought me until you first submit yourself to the spirit the waters [were] to the ankles. This is good – ankle deep water deals with our walk with God. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. In ankle deep water we have left the banks and we have a little movement. We no longer are just standing on the bank getting the occasional mist (high service), but we actually come to Sunday school and even usher, yet we still do as we will. We act the way we want to act and do what we want to do. There is little resistance to our steps and we go running to where we want to go. We are in the water but we have not yet begun to fully listen and submit to the voice of God. Just as soon as it seems like things might get a little rough those in ankle deep water turn and run back to the banks. There are many that are in ankle deep water, but God is saying go deeper I want a relationship with you but you must go deeper. I dare you to go deeper.
Vs#4:- Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters [were] to the knees. Now we have come to knee deep water. Knee deep water means you must work a little harder, you must pray a little harder, study a little harder, and do more than those in ankle deep water. Understand that in knee deep water you must be more vigilant because in knee deep water there are things that have hidden themselves from view, you might not be able to see the sharp rock at the next step that will cut your foot to pieces or cause you to stumble. See knee deep water causes you to have more faith in God and because of this God will strengthen your faith. Eventhough you have stepped out some its still just a knee deep commitment God is saying come on out just a little bit deeper. Someone may feel that they are alright here but this is only a knee deep commitment and you have not yet fully submitted yourself to a relationship with God. I dare you to go deeper Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; Ezekiel says brought me through see you can’t do it on your own but God will bring you through the waters [were] to the loins” This is waste deep water, it’s a littler harder here. In waste deep water you are not just coming to church and ushering or singing on the praise team, but you are now working around the church, you’re witnessing telling people how good God is. See people in ankle deep water after they leave church Sunday morning most people don’t event realize they go to church WHY because they haven’t got deep enough. In waste deep water you are studying harder, praying harder, and working harder because you are now in training for leadership within the body of Christ. WATCH a runner they will get into water up to their waste and run because they are in training for something else. In waste deep water you’re concerned and desire to be a part of the building up of the Kingdom of God. However, in waste deep water you soon find out that opposition comes from all around. People begin to talk saying the water is to rough, they begin to tell you that you can’t make it and that you are foolish. There are those that say why go to the Ukraine you can do what you have to do right here. See they don’t understand the methods and what God is telling you to do because they are standing on the banks and you’re running in the water training for something else that God has for you in the Kingdom. Although you may be in waste deep water it’s still only a waste deep commitment you are still able to touch the bottom but – God is saying come deeper come deeper, I dare you to go deeper.
Vs#5: This is awesome because the number 5 means God’s grace and it is here that we see His grace - 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. This is total submission and surrender. Ezekiel is not able anymore to touch the bottom for he now had to swim, he was totally in the spirit. This is the place God wants us to be. He wants us to totally lean and depend upon Him. When you get to this type of commitment you don’t make a move unless God says move. When you get to this deep water you have now gone past your ability. Have you ever seen someone swim in the ocean they go to far out. They have passed they ability to swim back to shore, they are in the mercy of the ocean. Wherever the tide goes they must go with it because they are now under total control of the water. Many people have drowned because they try to swim back to shore fighting against the current. It is proven that if they would just go with the flow and swim with the direction of the current that they will be able to make it back to shore someplace down the shore line. WATCH THIS:- once they go with the flow and not fight against it they will come to the shore line, they will not be in the place they were before, but they are alright. WELL in the spiritual if you go deeper go beyond your ability get totally covered in the spirit, get of the banks, get out of ankle deep water, get out of waste deep water and begin to swim eventhough the current is strong and the volume of the water is great God is carrying you and He will not let you drown. Ezekiel eventhough he could not pass the river he was safe in the hands of God.
Many will never experience what it is like to be beyond their abilities, they will never experience what it is to be totally submitted to the will of God and the flow of the spirit simply because they fail to leave their comfort zone and go deeper. Their faith will never grow because they fear to stretch out beyond what they can see. They will stand on the banks grumble and complain saying the church isn’t growing or that they just don’t feel the move of God like before. They will try to blame it on God or the preacher but it’s all their fault because they fail to go into the deep. Then there are those that will never truly understand the vision and accomplish what God has for their life because they are standing in ankle deep water still doing what they want when they want and how they want not surrendering to the Will of God. They will never truly be able to know a peace that passeth all understanding because they fail to go deeper.
Spiritual maturity is coming to the end of yourself, to pass beyond your abilities and to plunge into hands of God. Just like Ezekiel whose natural will and ability was submitted to the river that could not be passed God wants you and I to become submissive to His will. God says go deeper. He wants us to loose ourselves in Him, get rid of our ankle deep goals, dreams, and ambitions and surrender all to Him and His will for our lives.
Ankle deep water requires little effort and makes for a shallow Christian.
Knee deep water requires a little more effort but is still based on your abilities.
Waste deep water you are in training for another level in God.
Water above your head requires total surrender to the Will of God.
You must put your hand in the hand of the man that stills the water, put your hands in the hands of the man that clams the sea take a look at yourself and commit to God totally.
I dare you to go deeper. Will you accept the challenge?
District Elder M.L. Maughmer, Jr.
Southern Ohio
Assistant Pastor
O.G.C.
Chillicothe, Ohio
