Ezekiel 47:11(NKJV)
11But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.
This week we have been studying this prophetic vision from Ezekiel 47. It is easy to see that our world needs healing. 2 Chron. 7:14 tells us that we are responsible for providing the channel of faith so that this healing can flow to our land. In Ezekiel 47 we find that the source of this healing is the presence of God. Many churches have looked to other methods that actually hinder the presence of God from flowing The most extreme of these mindsets is what has been called “seeker friendly” churches. This approach says we should do nothing that would offend or put off the seeker. We will not be overtly religious especially in a Pentecostal or Charismatic sense. We will not preach hard messages. We will use worldly methods to entertain and entice people to come to our churches. Once there we will try to minister bible truths to them.
Paul asked of the Galatian church, “Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (Galatians 3:3) I would say the same to those who think we can bring healing to the world by eliminating the presence of God from the equation. It is foolishness. Any thought that we can win the world for Jesus without the active work and presence of the Holy Spirit is without any scriptural merit at all.
We have learned that in order to walk in this presence to its greatest degree we must understand that it can not be limited to the church or our private time. The presence of God must be taken into the world. Our daily living must be infused with this presence and our actions must be dictated by it. We must depend on it daily as we go into the world, expecting the presence of God to make the difference as we preach the gospel. Only then will we find ourselves so deep in God’s presence that we will find “waters to swim in.”
Today I want to share another key that will help us carry this healing presence to the world. Yesterday I pointed out that the depth of the water was not determined by how far we were from the bank but how far down the river we allowed this presence to go in our lives. There is a need, however, to get away from the banks and fully into the river. In this verse God cautions the prophet that the marshes and swamps would not be healed.
What are these marshes and swamps? Paul tells Timothy that in the last days there will be those who have “a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Tim 1:5) I believe that is talking about empty religion. We often use this term in relation to dead denominational churches, but make no mistake, we are all subject to the trap of these marshy waters.
The problem is that they resemble the river. They are wet. There is water. We can think that we are OK since we are close to the river. We have some of the same elements as the river. We are at least ankle deep in water. There is a major difference between the swamp and the river. In this verse it says these waters are not healed but given over to salt. What does the swamp lack that the river has? The river has a current. It flows. The swamp does not.
If we are going to be a channel for the healing presence of God to the world we need to be where the flow is. If there is no flow the place where we are will eventually become a marsh. It will still be wet but without the flow of like it will not be capable of brining healing. It’s as if we have a seepage of the presence of God. It will keep you wet. You will have a form of godliness, but there will be no healing life flowing from it.
Sometimes we settle for this because it is uncomfortable to be in the current of the river. The current brings pressure to bear on us. It pushes us in directions we don’t always want to go. It exposes things that need to change. As we will see tomorrow, it takes us out of control. However without that pressure there can be no life.
I encourage you to get into the river today. Don’t be satisfied with the dead water of the swamp. Don’t stay on the fringes of the things of God. Get into the church. Enter in to praise and worship. Really spend time in the Word of God and prayer. Allow the Holy Spirit to affect your life. Let Him make the necessary changes so you can be a channel of the presence of God to your land. Don’t settle for the stagnation of dead religion but yield to the flow of the river of life. If you do you will be a source of the healing power of God to your land. If not, you may feel like you are doing your religious duty. You may even have a little blessing in you life, but you will never fulfill the wonderful destiny God has for you.
Get into the river. Get out of the swamp and carry the healing presence of God to your land.
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