The Wanderer

I would like to share the special night I had with you all. This video is from a place called the River Fellowship. It truly is the only place when it comes to “churches” that I have felt at home.

Although I could let you just watch the video starting at the 1:20:00 mark, I need to tell you what I was called to. The message was definitely directed toward me. My favorite part of his first eight points was the eighth. I just felt God tell me to trust in Him wholeheartedly and unreservedly and He would give me the desires of my heart when I was ready for them. This message was enhanced by the song New Wine. I was emotionally overcome with the desire to follow Him. I have been struggling with wanting to know if my life is making an impact for Christ in this world. He told me in my heart that He was refining me and He is the God who reveals the future. It hit home that He has promised something and He has to deliver.

Now for the outstanding message and then I will return to that. A river is seen in Ezekiel 47:1-12 flowing eastward out of the House of God. As I studied this a little more during worship, I found it breathtaking that this Scripture parallels with so many. I just kept getting little tidbits that I’d follow only to be astonished at His feet. One such Scripture is Zechariah 14:6-8.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.

The river is flowing from Jerusalem and flows east. All I could think of was Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

Then I was showed another passage – Isaiah 2:3

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Jesus is not only the Word of Life but the Living Water from which after drinking no man will thirst again.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. - John 4:14

If you taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8), you will have no other desire for anything else. But here comes the important part… in the vision, Ezekiel sees that he records in what we know as chapter 47, the river gets deeper (chills). It starts at ankle deep and continues in stages of depth to the knees, then to the waist, and then to its full capacity where you need to stop relying on your own two feet and swim. In the beginning, we merely step into God’s grace walking in it and tasting His goodness. Then when we start to walk with Him and use our gifts He has blessed His church while being filled with the Holy Spirit. It gets better! It continues to the waist where it becomes a blessing and reproduces fruit: His Word is fulfilled and shown in the acts of His Bride, the church. This results in a full trust and reliance on God when the river starts getting deep enough to swim, or float. We are totally consumed by His Word. The mind picture I had was me wading in and then turning around and falling backwards, like a trust fall, into the water. O, taste and see that the Lord is good! He has called me to go deeper into His Graceful plan so that I may yield to His plan and in the process, sustain the lives of those around me with the fountain inside us (John 4:14). He confirmed this with the song, Pieces by Hillsong. He does not give His heart in pieces nor does He hide Himself. He is the only true love we will ever experience. Anything claiming to be so apart from Him is as clashing cymbals (1 Corinthians 13:1), a noise. This goes back to what the River is. It has an outlet. It has a Source (John 4:14). It has direction, or a calling and a purpose. The river alters the landscape and begins to transform our lives (Romans 12:2). It is a source of power from which the energy of the Holy Spirit can be harnessed when we willingly follow Him in obedience and lead disciplined lives. A river can transport. If we yield to His current we will be shown the way of His will. A river is unpredictable, for His ways are higher than my ways. A river doesn’t just flow straight down a mountain but winds and turns. He works in mysterious ways. Lastly, this river sustains the life around it. It flows out of us and becomes a healing balm (Ezekiel 47:9).

That song, new wine, has a lyric.

Make me Your vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus bring new wine out of me

This was what had me weeping last night. He was showing me that I have a larger impact than I think and that as a chosen disciple and as a royal priesthood I can come to the throne on behalf of those who are dear to me for whom I have been praying over in agony from anywhere close to 12 years to even just a couple of weeks.

There is a warning with this calling though. Just as the Holy Spirit is the River flowing through the church, the church can actually plug this river with disunity. Rules, regulations, legalism, fundamentalism, and many more things like strife, envy, and hatred have plugged the river and polluted it. The River of God is no longer pure water but has been polluted with culture by the laziness of His Bride. Isaiah 56:7 says,

Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

As the church, we need to wake up to the pollution in the church that has been caused by our divisions. We must let Jesus purge the River. That means the church needs to be refined by fire. Who is ready for that? Jesus tells us that persecution is natural for a Christian. To go along with this, I once heard that you can measure how much damage you are doing to the principalities of darkness by how much you are receiving pushback. I know this first hand with my grandpa. My family has been praying for his salvation for over 12 years. I have cried countless tears and probably filled hundreds of bottles with prayers and mournful tears (Psalms 126:5). I have seen change but it is slight. Last night was an experience I will never forget. The whole church of God was praying in the Spirit for my grandpa. I cannot explain the turmoil and tearing feeling I was going through. When I weep for lost souls dear to me, my soul and body just feels like it collapses in fatigue. We are called to intercessory prayer by the Lord. Dangerous prayers are those with skin in the game and are a measure of your faith. Let it cost you! Once you have experienced the Touch of Heaven you will never forget the peace that He blesses you with.

If you watch the video and have patience through our 4-hour gathering, you will hear that Satan is just a mirage and knows his time is coming. He seeks to appear bigger than he is. Prayer is our only defense. We have the whole of Heaven and the armies of God at our disposal yet we just send a quick prayer and leave it at that. We must have faith and continue in our praying. Seeking the Lord’s face earnestly. He has promised you something; hold onto it and trust Him with your life. I know He will deliver. When you feel surrounded just remember Elijah. Read 2 Kings 6:17. When it feels like you’re surrounded, know that we fight our battles in prayer and in praise. We come before His presence in pure worship. Revelation 5:8 and James 5:16 are my battle cries. He sees my prayer; He hears my voice. I will delve deeper and wade in His unending Grace so that through me, a River may come from the fountain of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside me. We are called deeper. Listen to these songs if you didn’t catch them in the video and there’s a bonus:

Thank you Jesus for the blood.