Ezekiel 47: 3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits[a] and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 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. 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. 6 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”
The above passage in Ezekiel is of special significance to me as God has used it to speak to my life throughout my Christian life. A Born again - spirit Filled Christian knows that there is more of God than we can possibly measure. The more you pray, the more you worship, the more you read your Bible, the more you learn about God, the more there is to learn.
Somewhat early in my Christian life I heard preaching on this topic and it jumped out at me as though God Himself were speaking to me directly - that is the RHEMA Word - for those who have not experienced the joyful pleasure of God speaking to you through the Bible. I knew the preacher was talking about how we could have as much of God as we wanted.
Some will be content to be Christians at the ankle level. They fit God into their lives and they are Christians - I do not doubt their salvation but life is much more than God to them. God is some part of their lives - not the main part always. I would compare this relationship with God as an acquaintance. You know who they are but don't really get any further then that.
Some will press in further to God and become knee deep Christians. They will go to more Church services, pray more, give more. They may act more like a Christian by what they do and say. They may be known as Christians by those around them who are not. Their major decisions will be made with prayer and consulting \god. They will want to know what the Bible says about various topics.I would compare this to a friend rather than an acquaintance.
Those who go further are at the waist level of the River of God. They have made more of a commitment to God. They have surrendered all parts of their life to God. God is important in all decisions concerning life on earth - they pray; they read their Bible; they attend services. They are not only known as Christians by the people who don't know God, but they are known as sincere Christians by other Christians. People may gather around them because their is a spark of God in them that is charismatic. They use their gifts and talents for God.These are serious, devout people who worship the Lord Jesus Christ with their lives.I would compare this relationship as an intimate commitment as in a marriage or covenant friendship.
Those who enter into the waters that are so deep they can swim in them are a special treasure to God. These people live their lives in abandonment to God. I mean they want God more than anything or anybody. They want to share Christ. They want to share God's heart and pray as He wills for the people of the earth. Usually, they are intercessors who pray and worship and spend much of their time with God. They delight in praying for others as though it were for themselves.
They rejoice when God answers prayer and others are blessed because of it. They plan their lives around their relationship with God. As the Apostle Paul encouraged us to pray without ceasing,, these people go about their jobs praying and communing with God. They ask God to help them with ordinary things such as secular jobs or chores around the house. They commune with God while they do ordinary things but they always set apart special time to pray, praise, read the word of God, and pursue God passionately.
They are lovers of God. There are depths to God that no human can ever measure. God is higher, wider, deeper, above and beyond what we could ever conceive of - God is eternal - unending. Their relationship with God is as the most intimate sort of relationship but is more than all human relationships. It is an extraordinary, supernatural passionate, intimate - the only comparison I can make to this type of plunging into the depths of the River of Life is the analogy that God Himself gives in Revelation as the Bride, the Church preparing herself to marry Jesus.
It is not a natural preparing - there are spiritual explosions of glory that manifest in the lives of those who plunge into the depths of God. They will view things from the point of view of Christ seated on the throne in heaven rather than from the earth. They will be transformed from glory to glory as they constantly pursue the LORD Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment