“The one believing into Me, as the Scripture said,
Out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.”
John 7:38 (LITV)
There is safety for those who allow the current of living water to flow out into the world around them. Wherever His life flows, there will be opposition and conflict, the world’s natural response to Light. Those who withdraw from the conflict become the prey of the enemy.
King David’s Fall
“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.”
2 Samuel 11:1 (ESV)
“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful.”
2 Samuel 11:2 (ESV)
Those who are becoming “kings” in Christ (Revelation 1:6), “go out to battle.” They do not shy away from the fight of faith; they do not sit in faithless inactivity. David was overcome by his own lust when he failed to remain engaged in the battles of the Lord.
For those occupied in His Will, the press of the Lord will keep them single in eye, pure in heart, and free from the lusts of this world.
Our Safeguard
“Occupy till I come.”
Luke 19:13 (KJV)
“He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.”
Luke 19:12-13 (ESV)
(Engage or occupy in the Greek – “to busy oneself” [Strongs] in the gifts given.)
“No one serving as a soldier entangles himself with the affairs of life,
that he may please Him who enlisted him.”
2 Timothy 2:4 (LSV)
Related Post: The Good Fight
The Safeguard
“There are two ways of defending a castle; one by shutting yourself up in it, and guarding every loop-hole; the other by making it an open centre of operations from which all the surrounding country may be subdued. Is not the last the truest safety? Jesus was never guarding Himself, but always invading the lives of others with His holiness. There never was such an open life as His; and yet the force with which His character and love flowed out upon the world kept back, more strongly than any granite wall of prudent caution could have done, the world from pressing in on Him. His life was like an open stream which keeps the sea from flowing up into it by the eager force with which it flows down into the sea.”
— Phillips Brooks
Are the waters of our life making inroads into the sphere of our influence, or are the lusts of this world bringing our hearts into bondage?
Flowing waters purify themselves;
static waters breed contamination and corruption.
“And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.”
Ezekiel 47:9 (ESV)
But the marshes:
“But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh;
they are to be left for salt.”
Ezekiel 47:11 (ESV)
The uninvolved and the stagnant, like Lot’s wife, become a “pillar of salt” as a testimony to the Lord’s judgments.
Brian Troxel
Follow The Stream
Eze 47:3 He walked to the east with a measuring tape and measured off fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water that was ankle-deep.
Eze 47:4 He measured off another fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another fifteen hundred feet, leading me through water waist-deep.
Eze 47:5 He measured off another fifteen hundred feet. By now it was a river over my head, water to swim in, water no one could possibly walk through.
The Lord showed me a vision based on these verses from Ezekiel. In the vision I saw a stream that was ankle-deep and people were crossing over the stream to get to the other side. The stream to them was an obstacle to be crossed that stood in the way of them and the other side(their ministry). Others walked in the stream for a bit and then got out because the water was only ankle – deep and it was easy to get in and out of the stream, Still others walked in the stream following the path of the stream faithfully wherever it went.
As this last group followed the stream the water began to rise and it became knee-deep, yet still easy enough for anyone who wanted to, to get out of the stream and onto dry land. Those who remained faithful and followed the path of the stream found that the water was now waist deep, and although a lot more difficult, there still exists a way out of the water for those who chose to get out. Finally, the faithful ones who followed the stream from the time it was ankle-deep water until it was waist deep find themselves in a river that was over their head and in water that no one could possibly walk through.
The explanation of the vision is this: The water is the Holy Spirit. There are those involved in ministry that see the stream as an obstacle to get to the bank on the other side(their ministry) rather than a path to follow. Then there were those who wanted to get their feet wet in the ankle-deep water and then quickly get out because their level of commitment was as shallow as the stream that they walked/crossed. They liked the idea of going along with the current of the stream (the Holy Spirit) at first but lost interest because the water was only ankle-deep( the miracles & signs and wonders weren’t enough to keep their attention) Then there were those who pursued the water until it was knee-deep, a deeper commitment by those who pursued the stream when it was just a small stream and they are representative of those who have surrendered a greater amount of their will than those in the ankle-deep water. And, the anointing on that is on their lives shows it Then we have those who have followed the stream from ankle-deep to waist-deep. The deeper you go in the stream is in direct proportion to how much of your will is surrendered to God’s will. The deeper you go the harder it is to get out, although it is still possible to do so. The deeper the water, the greater the anointing, the presence, the power and ministry. Finally we see the faithful ones who have faithfully followed the stream from the time it was ankle-deep to where we see the that the water has become a river and is over the heads of those in it and no one could possibly walk through it. These 4 stages of water depth represent the ever-increasing presence and power and anointing that the Holy Spirit is , and will be poured out. Those who are among those who are in water over their head are those who have completely surrendered their will to the will of God and it is these who will walk in signs and wonders ministry such as not even the Apostles saw.
There is no short that can be taken here. In order for one to have the Spirit’s anointing, presence, and power , they must follow the path of the stream from within the stream and not on the banks. And, it must be followed from ankle-deep to the river that no one could possibly cross.
Also realize that it looks from a common sense perspective to follow a stream’s path from within the stream, very stupid and foolish. It makes much more sense to follow the streams path from the safety of the bank and on dry ground. Those who pursue the course of the stream from within the stream will be looked at as foolish and stupid
https://tpuccio.wordpress.com/2010/02/19/follow-the-stream/
Will be sending this link out on my other email posting, and it will find its way on a future post here. To go deeper in the river must come to us by walking in the river. Ezekiel was standing in the river to the ankles before he could proceed to the next level. Abiding in the life I now have is preparation for the deeper.
Awesome word!
Blessings
Brian
Amen.