LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 26
THE RIVER THAT FLOWS FROM THE HOUSE
WEEK 13 - WEDNESDAY
Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 47
Read and pray: “Jesus said to them, Children, do you have anything to eat? They answered Him, No. Then He said to them, Cast the net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. So they cast it, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the great number of fish.” (John 21:5-6)
THE DEPTH OF THE FLOW
DEPENDS ON HOW MUCH WE HAVE BEEN
MEASURED AND TAKEN BY THE LORD
You may be wondering how we can determine how much we have been measured and possessed by the Lord. We determine this by the depth of the river. If the river is only at our ankles, this proves that we have not been fully measured by the Lord.
The depth of the river depends on how much we have been measured by the Lord. There is no need to argue and justify ourselves. Instead, we should simply consider the depth of our flow.
How deep is your flow? Is it up to the ankles? Up to the knees? Up to the loins? Has the flow become a river that cannot be crossed? Has the flow become waters to swim in? We need to consider our personal situation in this way.
The same principle applies to the local churches. There is no need to argue about the church in your locality. You may say that the church in which you meet is the best. Your church may be the best according to your concept, but it may not be the best according to the flow.
You may claim to have a flow, but how deep is that flow? Consider the depth of the flow in the church where you meet. The flow may be only up to the ankles or knees or the loins. Perhaps the flow is a river that cannot be crossed, and therefore it may be waters to swim in.
The depth of the flow in each local church depends on the degree of the Lord’s measuring and possession. In this matter, we may deceive others, but we cannot deceive the Lord. He knows the depth of the flow where we are.
We all need to be measured and possessed by the Lord. For His measuring, the Lord needs our cooperation. It is difficult for the Lord to measure us, judge us, possess us, and take us without proper cooperation on our part. May we cry out to the Lord for His mercy that, through His measuring in all the local churches, there would be a river that no one can cross.
GRACE VERSUS SELF-EFFORT
It is easy to walk on dry land, but the flow of the river makes it difficult to walk. When the water is up to the ankles, we can still walk, but it is not very convenient. When the water is up to the knees, it is more difficult to walk. When the water is up to the loins, it is very difficult to walk.
This indicates that before we enjoyed the Lord’s grace as the flow, we were able to do whatever we liked. When we experience the Lord’s flow only in a superficial way, we can still walk by our own effort.
But when the flow becomes deeper, reaching the knees, walking becomes much more difficult. We have grace, but the amount of grace we have is not sufficient, so we continue to exercise our own effort.
When the flow increases, it troubles, restricts, and frustrates us. When the flow of grace rises higher, to the loins, that is the most difficult time to be a Christian. Our situation becomes quite strange. For example, on the one hand, we may have enough grace and it is difficult for us to lose our temper; on the other hand, we may not have enough grace to overcome our temper.
We have grace, but we still need to exercise our own effort. This is a dilemma. The river of grace is with us, but it is not deep enough. But once the flow of grace becomes so deep that we cannot cross it, we will praise the Lord and begin to swim in the river. When we swim, we stop trying to stand. Instead, we abandon our own effort and begin to swim in the river.
The less grace we receive from the Lord, the more we need to use our own strength. But when we receive an abundance of grace, we no longer need to use our own strength. Instead, we lay aside our own effort and allow the flow of the river to carry us along. As we are carried along in this way, we can easily follow the Lord and let Him take us wherever He wants to take us.
I am concerned that many among us have not yet abandoned their own effort, but are still trying to stand on their own. They continue to struggle by their efforts to remain standing. This means that they are exercising their own effort to be overcomers.
Those who are in such a situation need to realize that they need more grace. They need a deeper flow so that they would give up trying to stand and instead swim in the river. The best way to swim in the river is to place our trust in the flow of the river, forget our own efforts, and let the flow carry us along.
When we receive an abundance of grace, this is our experience. Although the grace is sufficient, we still need to follow along with the flow of the Lord’s grace. When we are being carried by the river, we should not try to have our own direction. We should abandon our direction and move in the direction of the flow. However, the flow may be in one direction, but our intention is to move in the opposite direction. For this reason, the Lord often has problems with us.
🌿Enjoy more:
Hymn: “Savior, lead me to the mountain”
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