The Church with Overflowing Living Water (Ezek. 47:1-12)
“Let us commemorate the founding of our church where true Gospel is relayed.”
[Introduction] Along with families, the church is established by God Himself. The evangelized families and the churches filled with the Gospel are being used to fulfill God’s plan of saving the regions, the nation and the world. We must be used to fulfill the reason and the purpose of God establishing the church. This is the very reason of our existence. I bless all YewonChurch members in the name of the Lord that you live with overflowing living water in your field and become field evangelism disciples who testify that God is alive and works even now.
1. Christ, the Source of Living Water
Today’s passage is about God showing Prophet Ezekiel the vision and hope of living water as the Israelites were in despair in the midst of captivity to Babylon. Ezekiel 47:1-2 reads, “The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.” In the passage, the threshold of the temple was the source of this living water. This provides a very important spiritual truth. The temple represents Jesus Christ. The living water flows from Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus is the source of living water - the Christ.
This Jesus Christ is now with you. Then, everything is finished. Are you still worried about worldly and introductory things? Do you thirst for materialistic things? I pray that you would fully grab hold of the fact that Jesus is the solution to all problems.
In order for Ezekiel to open his spiritual eyes, God took him through an experience. In Ezek. 47:3-5, following the guidance of the messenger of God, Ezekiel walked into water. When he first entered the water, it was only ankle-deep. At his second time, it was knee-deep. At his third time, it was waist-deep, but the last time, the water was a river he had to swim in order to cross. This shows that being filled with Jesus Christ, who is the living water, is the complete walk of faith. There are some of you whose faith is now ankle-deep, knee-deep or waist-deep. But Jesus does not want you to be in those levels. Jesus wants us to be completely immersed. Only when you are completely immersed in God’s abundant grace, can you truly enjoy your Christian life.
God is waiting for us to enjoy much more grace beyond the new life He already gave us. I bless you in the name of the Lord that all YewonChurch members would enjoy all the abundant blessings God prepared, and have the evidences of reaching the spiritual summit.
2. The Works of Healing and Restoration Spread
Verses 6-8 read, “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 Sea. When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh.”” This shows that living creatures come to life and the work of healing and restoration takes place wherever the water that came out from under the threshold of the temple reaches. Dead seas like the Dead Sea became fresh when this water flows.
Looking at this, where the living water brings the works of healing and restoration, what comes to your mind? The fields with these works are in the evangelism camp. In the field where the living water of Jesus Christ flows, everything lives and healing and restoration take place. Verse 12 emphasizes that the characteristic of the living water is having abundant power of life that makes trees bear new fruit every month. As much as you enjoy the power of life of Jesus Christ you can bear fruit. May you believe that evangelism camp is God’s historical answer that allows us to be spiritually awakened and experience what the walk of faith is actually about. I bless all YewonChurch members in the name of the Lord that you enjoy the blessing of camp in your life every day and realistically experience abundant works of saving lives.
[Conclusion] We can be victorious in any situations, not by our power and strength but by the power of Jesus Christ. We may be hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; stuck down, but not destroyed. This is how enormous and amazing the power of the Gospel is.
Wherever you go, with the living water that comes from the pulpit, may you save the dead lands, dead seas, and dead people. I bless all Yewon church members in the name of the Lord that you would be the field evangelism disciples to shake the heavens, the earth, the sea and all nations and bring spiritual earthquake.