Everything Shall Live Where The River Comes
PPT 1 Message Title
New Series: River Scenes, today part 1 Everything shall live where the river comes.
Ezekiel is a priest in Jerusalem, carried away. Temple is destroyed. Has a vision of an angel. Shown a new temple. Measures everything with a 9’ long measuring reed. They measure everything starting with the outer wall. 500 reeds long 500 wide. (Eze 42:20) Think of how long this vision took, think of how meticulous this measuring is.
In Ezekiel 47 a river is shown to him, Ezekiel saw something that never existed in the temple before: a river flowing directly from the temple.
I believe this river represents life from God and the blessings that flow from His throne. The river in this story is a picture of the beauty and power of the Holy Spirit touching people, and in this story you will hear an invitation by God to step into this river and go further into the river of His presence and power.
Today we are going to look at the rivers source, its power, and finally we will ask the question, “Where am I relation to this river?”
The Source
PPT 2 text
Ezekiel 47:1 Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.
Ezekiel 47:2 And he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.
Ezekiel 47 is the culmination of a vision about a temple in Israel. Many believe it will be what is called the millennial temple. We are skipping that subject today, I have other important ground I want to cover. After the introductory remarks of v.1,2 the water that is just trickling becomes an incredible life giving river. Ezekiel is taken out into it first ankle deep, then knee deep, that waist deep, then it is over his head. We will get back to that part of the vision shortly.
I want to begin by talking about the rivers source and particularly what the angel challenged Ezekiel with when this vision of the temple began to unfold we read this in Ezekiel 40:4
PPT 3 text
Ezekiel 40:4 And the man said to me, "Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see."
Ezekiel 44:5 And the LORD said to me, "Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the LORD and concerning all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary.
At the beginning of the vision Ezekiel is told to pay very close attention all that he sees and is shown, but especially to mark well the entrance of the house and the all the exits of the sanctuary. We are going to talk about the very amazing entrance and exit to this house and what comes from it.
This passage, and the exhortation to record it exactly reminds me of what Moses was instructed when God gave Him the design for the tabernacle in the wilderness
PPT 4 text
Hebrews 8:5 who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN."
God will not allow the slightest deviation when it comes to access to His presence, and acceptable sacrifices, even down to the slightest details of how the temple was to be built.
Ezekiel 47 is about a river that brings life I want you to notice the source of the river to the world, It’s source is the temple
PPT 5 text
Ezekiel 47:1 Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.
Note carefully, according to God there can be no deviation from His pattern. There is only one access point, one source from which the river of God flows. It flows from His temple altar through His doorway entrance. (From under the threshold)
Jesus said, in John 10:
PPT 6 text
John 10:1 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
There is only 1 river of life and it comes from God’s temple, and Jesus is the only access point to that temple. Try to climb in some other way you will be treated as a thief and robber and no entrance will be provided.
The apostle Peter laid it for the Jews of his day:
PPT 7
Acts 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
The only source to the river of God is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
This river is a supernatural one I want to show you something back in verse 2:
PPT 8 text
Ezekiel 47:2 And he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.
Notice it starts out as a trickle, but as we will see shortly it becomes a mighty river, and yet there are no other tributaries adding to it. It is supernatural, there shouldn’t be more but there is. This is not normal water it is miracle water. It is representative of the Holy Spirit. John 7:37ff.'
The rivers source is God, now, let’s talk about this rivers power. We will start with just one verse.
PPT 9 text
Ezekiel 47:8 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. (KJV)
Ezekiel 47:8 Then he said to me, "These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh. (NASB)
The sea mentioned in this passage is the Dead Sea, and the Arabah is a valley rift that the dead sea is a part of. This river has the power to bring dead things to life. The dead sea is called the dead sea because nothing lives in it. There are no plants, fish, or any other visible life in the sea. Its salt concentration is a staggering 33.7%, 8.6 times saltier than ocean water, which is only about 3.5% salt. It is toxic to all but a few forms of bacteria.
PPT 10 Pic of wedding dress 2 months soaking in dead sea
If you ever go to the dead sea don’t put your face in the water. I read recently of some divers who went there. They said they needed to wear full face masks to protect their eyes and mouths. That's because accidentally swallowing Dead Sea salt water would cause the larynx to inflate, resulting in immediate choking and possible suffocation. The salt in that sea will burn your eyes and mouth.
The dead sea is the lowest point on earth.
That is the literal, here is the spiritual the river of God can bring life to the lowest places of hell on earth, and to those bound with the greatest chains of darkness hell has at its disposal. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the river of God.
Let’s read further from our text
PPT 11-14 text
Ezekiel 47:6 He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river.
Ezekiel 47:7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.
Ezekiel 47:8 He said to me, "This water flows towards the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh.
Ezekiel 47:9 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.
Ezekiel 47:10 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 Great Sea.
Ezekiel 47:11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.
Ezekiel 47:12 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, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."
These verses all detail the incredible blessings this river brings.
Wherever this river flows it brings “Life.” Resurrection life. Life that overcomes death. It has power to “Heal.” To bring forth “Fruit” and The river has the ability to “Feed” you. Harvest not once a year but every month. The river has the power to “refresh” and cleanse you. Now for the most important part of this message. We have looked at its source, and its power, to restore from financial ruin. (All those fish and fruits) Now we ask the question, “where am I in relation to this river.”
The angel that is showing all this to Ezekiel, doesn’t just want him to see and perceive he, he leads him into this river.
PPT 14 text
Ezekiel 47:3 When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles.
Ezekiel 47:4 Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the knees. Again he measured a thousand and led me through the water, water reaching the loins.
Ezekiel 47:5 Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded.
He starts with the trickle and proceeds to the different depths of this river, The will of God is to lead you deeper into the river of the Holy Spirit.
What end of the pool are you swimming in? There are people in the dead sea of life waiting for you to bring the life of God to them.
There is something I think God is hinting at in this passage that you have to visualize it to get what is going on. 4x’s he has to walk a thousand cubits (1,500 feet), 1,500 to get to ankle deep water. Would you go swimming in a lake, river or ocean like that? 1,500 more feet just to get to knee deep water. That is more than half a mile. How many of you have turned around already, or given up that it is not going to get any deeper. 1,500 more, and you are to the waist, and finally more than a mile to get to the swimming area.
What is the lesson God is trying to get to us?
There is a tender balance in scripture that you don’t receive the Holy Spirit by works. You being evil… but that is held in dynamic tension with this truth: The soul of the diligent shall be made fat. You must believe that He is a rewarder…
Moses must climb Mt Sinai, Bartimaeus must cry out till Jesus stops, The woman with the issue of blood must press through the crowd.
Some people never leave the beach. Some never stretch themselves to be more than ankle deep. Where are you in relation to the river?
What end of the pool are you swimming in? There are people in the dead sea of life waiting for you to bring the life of God to them.
From Spurgeon: The living waters, in the prophet’s vision, flowed into the Dead Sea, and carried life with them, even into that stagnant lake. Where grace goes, spiritual life is the immediate and the everlasting consequence. Grace proceeds sovereignly according to the will of God, even as a river in all its windings follows its own sweet will; and wherever it comes it does not wait for life to come to it, but it creates life by its own quickening flow. Oh, that it would pour along our streets, and flood our slums! Oh, that it would now come into my house, and rise till every chamber were made to swim with it! Lord, let the living water flow to my family and my friends, and let it not pass me by. I hope I have drunk of it already; but I desire to bathe in it, yea, to swim in it. O my Saviour, I need life more abundantly. Come to me, I pray thee, till every part of my nature is vividly energetic and intensely active. Living God, I pray thee, fill me with thine own life. I am a poor, dry stick; come and make me so to live that, like Aaron’s rod, I may bud and blossom and bring forth fruit unto thy glory. Quicken me, for the sake of my Lord Jesus. Amen.
Close: If that prayer is your prayer, if it touched a cord in your soul I want you to come to the altar. I believe God is tugging at me to get deeper in the river. I want to see the fruit of the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. I want to see people in the lowest places on earth come to life!
