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Ezekiel 47:1-6a

“Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

2) Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

3) And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.

4) Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.

5) Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

6) And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this?”

 

You will remember what I said to you either last week, or the week before, that everything in scripture is progressive (from a seed to the harvest ~ “as long as the earth remains, there shall be seedtime and harvest” Gen. 8:22). It is the same principle here also.

As in all the Word, there are MUCH deeper truths to be found for those who are searching.  And many times the Word can mean several different things and convey many different truths. Robert Govett called it the “Two-foldedness of Divine Truth”.  Job 11:6…”for sound wisdom has two sides” NAS or “for there are two sides to sound reason” RV. Remember this and it will help you greatly in your personal study of the Word.

Let’s now turn our attention to this section of the Word and pull out deeper truths that are for the taking.  As we go through this, I want you to be constantly thinking about this verse, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Phil. 2:13.

Now notice that Ezekiel was brought out in verse 3 to his ankles.  This represents his “walk” with the Lord.  But notice that Ezekiel didn’t measure out the thousand cubits…but Another did.  So, you see that it was Another who measured out (“will“) and who brought out (“do“) Ezekiel to this level in the river (the Spirit).  It is very important that you see this principle: that Ezekiel did not do any of the measuring out or the bringing out of himself.  God did this, just as He does it in Philippians 2:13.

We can do nothing in and of ourselves.  We must rely totally upon Him to measure out our spiritual distance and then to bring us out to this place that He has called us out to.  But it starts with our “walk” (ankles).

So we now realize that Ezekiel kept his heart right and turned to the Lord, otherwise the Lord would not have brought him out – He would only have measured it.  Those of you who are walking in these deep places know what I am talking about, and those of you who are not will see something beautiful as we progress further in this teaching.  It all begins with our walk with the Lord. This is the starting point of all spiritual progress.  And we must progress in spiritual matters, Hebrews 6:1-3.  Charles Finney used to say “if you’re not further along in your walk with the Lord tomorrow than you are today, you are backslidden.” I never forgot that quote.

Our whole life is our experience matching up to our actual position in the Spirit, Gal. 4:1-2 & Gal. 5:25.  And may the Lord give you wisdom in understanding those 2 verses; and if you need help understanding them, feel free to ask and I will explain them to you.  Those of “us who are mature” 1st Cor. 2:15 & Gal. 6:1b, must always remember the younger ones and help them come “a little bit further into the garden.” Matt. 26:39.  All of our knowledge and experience is for them and not really for ourselves.  We only “know that which we ought to know” 1st Cor. 8:2.

Let’s move on…then the man (angel) measured out another thousand cubits and he brought Ezekiel out to his knees.  This represents his prayer life.  If a man is really walking with the Lord, he will walk on his knees and not necessarily on his feet.  Because it is at this place that real transformation begins to take place.  Up till now, he has just been walking along in the allotted measurement of his salvation; but now he sees that the river is actually deeper the further out he is brought.

He is remembering his walk up to this point and all the failures and many sins and many struggles, and this has driven him to want a relief from that old way of life.  He finds it here on his knees.  I call it the “place of great breaking.” God is always there waiting for us to come to this place.

You will notice in Jacob’s breaking at Peniel (Gen. 32:24-31) that we have no mention of the Angel of the Lord, which was Christ (a Christophany, which is Christ in human or angelic form) appearing to Jacob, and we have no record of His leaving Jacob.  What can we derive from this? That the Lord was there all along waiting for Jacob to come to this place.

For of a truth I say that he not only walked away with a halt in his hip, but more importantly he walked away with a halt in his heart that forever changed him. The man writing to you today has been to this same place and has met this same Man and has come away a very lame and broken man, with a limp in his walk and a limp in his heart.  No longer am I “Jacob” so-to-speak, but a new man has emerged.  And only those who can receive this will know what I am talking about.

The Lord has shown me this river in His word and in my heart so that by my life and example it may bless and nourish you.

So now Ezekiel is praying in the Spirit (and I’m not talking about speaking in tongues ~ I’m talking about a place in the Spirit he went to in prayer Acts 16:16). Prayer is a position and a place in the SPIRIT.  It’s not just something you do, it’s a place where you live and abide. It’s a dwelling place.

Do you want to abide in the “secret place” of the Most High? Then get yourself in the Secret place.  Jesus said in Matthew that prayer IS the secret place.  If you’re in prayer, then you’re living in the secret place. Real simple…nothing complicated here.  But some will choose to live here in this place, because they think they’ve arrived.  No brethren, lets go further out now into the river.  It doesn’t get easier, but more difficult (many under-currents, stronger waves, deeper water, a greater chance of drowning, more danger, but a greater reward).

He was now been brought out to his loins (his thigh). Sound familiar? Where was Jacob touched?  This is the strongest muscle in the human body and it is right here that God wants to touch and deal with.  This represents the self life. This will be the hardest place for many. And for many, it can take but a moment, and for others it can take all night, as in Jacobs case. But with everyone the process and effects of it will last a lifetime.

This is the hardest place for the Lord to deal with.  Our will and self-life is stronger than we care to admit; and until the Lord begins to show you, try nothing on your own as it will only lead to failure and heartache and much distress.  Remember, “first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear.” The Lord will do it all if you really want Him to.  Be careful what you ask for though, for you will always reap more than what you sow in prayer.

Sister Kuhlman said once, “I know the exact place where Kathryn Kuhlman died, the exact day, the exact time.” I never forgot that.  Because now, after 24 1/2 years of walking with Him, I understand.  How much will it cost you brethren? It’ll cost you everything.  You will have to give up and give in, you’ll have to surrender and submit, and you will have to yield.  If any of us are to go on to the deeper things in this river, we will have to come to this place of utter abandonment of ourselves and our wills and our ways and even of our very futures.

It’s gonna’ hurt and it’s gonna’ cost!!  But it is at this place that something happens…God brings us out and we lose ourselves in Him (verse 5) and then, and only then, will we “understand” (verse 6) and then we will see (verse 7) that the tree of life is actually a vine that has been on both sides of the river all along, but Ezekiel couldn’t see it until he was brought through it.

Because it is called the “tree (singular) of life.”  The only way for a “tree” to be on both sides of the river is if it is a vine.  Jesus said, “I am the vine.” He has been there all along, we just haven’t seen him because we have been too busy just seeing ourselves and we have been blinded to the vine and the fruit of the vine, which is Christ in palatable form.

I speak these things to you in Christ, and I lie not, my own conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost that these things are just and true.  May they minister to you in the deepest recesses of the human heart and soul.

“Father, I have given my brothers and sisters today the manna that I picked up off the ground. As it says in 1st Samuel 3:19, let not “any of my words fall to the ground” but may they minister life to the hearers.  May they be filled with all Your fullness, and may Christ be revealed IN them (Gal. 1:16) even more.  May your blessing, and yes…even your breaking find them today in whatever state they are in spiritually.  May your Word locate them and me and say to all of us that which You have said down through the ages “Adam…where art thou?” Let us see this truth, understand this truth, and then leave this truth of Adam far behind us.  But let the memorial of it live on in our hearts and minds. Amen”