Title: Never Hope
Contents: When he was young, he was taken to Babylon and lived as a captive. At first there was hope for Jerusalem to be restored and returned. But 11 years later, they heard that Jerusalem had been taken and the temple had been turned to ashes. To Ezekiel in this despair, God showed a vision of the future. From Ezekiel 40, God promises to restore the temple to him. Today's verse shows us the vision of the work of the Holy Spirit, the water of life flowing out of the restored temple. Ezekiel had absolute hope for revival based on the words of this vision.
Brothers and sisters, we too must have absolute faith in revival based on the vision of God that Ezekiel saw and the word of today's promise. What is revival? Revival is the coming of the Holy Spirit with full power. Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, there can be no revival. God promises us through Ezekiel. He promises us the work of the Holy Spirit for revival. I hope you believe in this promise. Please pray on this promise. I hope that the Holy Spirit will come as an answer to your prayers and you will see the results of revival. Dear saints, why do we have this absolute hope?
1. Because the promise that the water of life flows out of the temple is ours (verses 1-2, 12b)
“The water comes from the sanctuary; its fruit is for food, and its leaves for medicine” (verse 12b).
God shows Ezekiel that the temple will be restored and the water of life will flow out of the restored temple. When are you? “This is what the LORD says: When the seventy years are finished in Babylon, I will visit you and do my good words to you, and bring you back to this place” (Jeremiah 29:10). It is a promise to restore Israel after 70 years of payment for their sins.
We have been redeemed by the cross of Jesus Christ and have received the Holy Spirit, we are a new temple. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16). Based on today's Word, Jesus tells us that the river of life will flow out of us. “Whoever believes in me, as the scripture says, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.” This was referring to the Holy Spirit that those who believed in him would receive. ” (John 7:38-39).
Dear saints, today's word is the living God's promise to us. A faithful God never forgets his promises. God will surely fulfill this promise. God had already kept this promise on the Day of Pentecost. I hope that you will also believe that He will work according to this promise.
Dear brothers and sisters, what is important here is how clearly we realize this promise, how deeply we perceive the implications of that promise, and how seriously we pursue it. For God's promises to be effective, they must be meaningful to us. We must keep God's promises in our hearts and continue to pursue them with confident faith. If we do not have a clear awareness of God's promises and do not understand them for one reason or another, we cannot pursue them. Also, if you do not pursue the promise, you will not experience the promise. Therefore, I hope that you firmly hold on to the promise of absolute revival through the Holy Spirit.
2. Because the water flowing out of us creates miracles of life (vv. 8-12a)
“Then he said to me, “This water will flow toward the east, and it will go down to the Arabah and come to the sea; and the waters of the sea will be refreshed by this flowing water. and the waters will flow in, and the seas will be refreshed, and all things will live wherever the river goes, and fishermen will stand by the river, from En-gedi to Eneglyim, and their fish will be according to their kind They will be as numerous as the fish of the great sea, but their pearls and mudflats will not be burned, but will become a salt land.
What is the promise of the Holy Spirit? What is the effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit? It promises tremendous power. It's a promise with great potential. It is the history of new creation that completely changes something.
1) It is history that changes us. Even a heart like a desert is transformed into a heart of soil.
“Jesus answered and said to them, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I will give him will never thirst. .
2) It is history that changes the world around us. Not just to abide in us. It's not just about changing our lives. Wherever this river flows, it creates a history of life. Everywhere this river goes, everything comes alive.
3) It is the history of reviving the distant sea of death. This is a world mission vision.
Saints, can you evangelize? Can you evangelize? God wants us to hear the word “I can do it” through this promise. He wants us to feel we can do it. I hope you will occupy the spiritual heights with this promise. God's promises are the starting point of prayer of all faith. God's promise is the starting point of all revival. God's promise is the starting point of all blessings. If we hold on to the promise of the Holy Spirit and pray for revival, absolute revival will be ours. I hope you believe it.
3. Because the small waters will be joined together to become a great river (verses 3-7).
“The man took the rope in his hand and went east, and after measuring a thousand cubits, he made me cross the water, and the water came up to my ankles, and again, after measuring a thousand cubits, he made me cross the water, and the water came up to my knees and again a thousand He measured the cubits and made me cross the water, and the water came up to his waist, and he measured a thousand cubits again, and the waters became a river that I could not cross.
How can it be a river? It is a prayer of faith.
The Holy Spirit makes us pray. As the prayer expands, the dripping water becomes a stream, and springs and streams combine to form a river. This is how revival works. The strength and breadth of revival is closely related to the degree of unity in the church. Where there is no oneness, the presence of the filling of the Holy Spirit does not appear. Even more so if we do not pray together. However, as the church unites in prayer, the river of the Holy Spirit will increase rapidly.
Dear members, the core of Happy Day 517 is to pray with God's promises. It consists in praying together with the assurance of absolute revival with the promise of God. We hope that everyone will participate in the one meal relay fasting prayer starting tomorrow.
Dear saints, we will never be revived. I have no choice but to do it. Because God has promised us this. Because we have the promise of the Holy Spirit for revival. To us who believed in the gospel of the cross and believed in the promise of the Holy Spirit, God will surely keep the promise of revival. I hope you believe it.