River Of Life 

We only recently fixed a nasty leak in our bathroom. We've lived in our house for about nine years, we did not realise there was a slow leak. Slowly but surely the water made its way through the cracks in the tiles, behind the waterproof panels, through the wood and ceiling, until a section of the ceiling fell down with a loud bang one evening. The saying is true, water makes its way. Through hard surfaces looking for gaps, through permeable membranes soaking through, water finds its way. The leak we had was damaging, but water is often for cleansing, for growth, and for life.

I have a sense that God's water of life will wash over us. Every dirt, every doubt and every fear will be washed away by the river of God. At worship practice last Monday, Sandra reminded us of the river of life in Ezekiel 47. For many years as a church, we have carried this prophetic word, and we have seen its fulfillment at different stages in the life of the church.
In 2004 for example, we had a period of significant growth, when God fulfilled a promise to "bring the nations to us" after many years of praying for the nations and faithfully sending men and women on mission to Africa, Asia and Europe. That year, the Lord added people and families who were faithful Christians to the church. The Prophetic word in Isaiah 54:2-3 was fulfilled in and through the Church. "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities". (Isaiah 54:2-3).

Now we hear the sound of the trumpet, God is speaking of awakening again. He is speaking of renewal, restoration, and revival. The water of God's power and life is flowing from the temple, out into the outer courts and into the community. It starts as a trickle, then it reaches the ankle, knee until it becomes a river. (Ezekiel 47:1-6). Unlike the leak in my bathroom, this river does not leave destruction in its trail, rather, it brings life. It's the river of life.

"He asked me, "Son of man, do you see this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live."" (Ezekiel 47:6-9).

God is pouring out His Spirit once again. Let us wait on Him, receive His Spirit and overflow with His power and love. Let us tarry, let us linger until we become saturated with His life. As we become endowed with His life, we become light and salt in our community. We become the river that makes salty water fresh, we bring refreshment into our community. We bring the life of God into the death and darkness in our land. This is our prophetic mandate, but God must saturate us with His life first. So, come, join us in the river of God's grace, power, and love. Let us not be satisfied with ankle and knee-deep experience, let's overflow in the river of life.