Plunge Into the River of God  by Steve Montag  

 

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.  Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?  I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.  The beast of the field will honor Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, to give drink to My people, My chosen.”  Isaiah 43:18-20

 “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.  Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from the womb, who will help you: ‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.  For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring;’” Isaiah 44: 1-3

 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat.  Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?  Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good.  And let your soul delight itself in abundance.”  Isaiah 55:1-2

 This day is a day of great outpouring, of blessing, impartation and healing.  It is a day of new beginnings.  God is going to do it in a grandiose fashion.  The Lord is not a cheapskate, aren’t you glad?  He doesn’t just want to moisten the ground a little and tease you, but the very language of the scripture speaks for itself, “I will pour water on him who is thirsty and floods on the dry ground.”

 God has been doing that here.  He’s been breaking up the fallow ground and the hard places because He wants to soak it.  He wants to flood the dry places of our lives with His living, healing waters and the power and the presence of His Spirit.  He wants us to understand that while we are soaking and receiving what we need from Him, we are not just receiving it for our own sake, it’s not only about us.  We are receiving it for the sake, and the life, and the health of the next generation.  Not only in the natural but also in the spiritual: those who are going to come to faith.  Our soaking, receiving, healing, power and anointing is not just for us but for the next generation that’s why the Lord says, “I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; they will spring up among the grass like willows by the watercourses.”

 What do you need to receive this?  It’s very simple: you have to be thirsty.  If you’re not thirsty, ask Him to make you thirsty.  He wants us all to come to the waters to receive.  Let us consider what He is actually telling us in Isaiah 55:2.  I believe the prophet is telling us to stop wasting our time, stop wasting our strength and resources on things that are of no profit to us or other people.

 We can’t waste it!  We must stop allowing the enemy to distract us and cause us to eat up our strength and resources on things that may even look legitimate but not necessary.  Paul writes all things are lawful for me but not everything is expedient or necessary.  We can’t let the enemy sidetrack us to eat up the things God has invested in us on things that may look good on the surface but may be things that keep us from what truly matter in the larger scheme of things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

 Be willing, he’s saying, to even give up things that are legitimate and good for what’s best.  Be willing to lay down the things that are legitimate for things that are necessary for life and godliness and healing for the nations.  Sell everything to gain the pearl of great price.  Sell it all to buy the treasure in the field because that treasure is Yeshua.  The pearl of great price is the Son of God.  It’s time to take the plunge into God’s river.  We can no longer hang out on the bank of the river and stick our toes in to see if it’s cold.  It’s time to plunge in headfirst!

 Ezekiel says in chapter 47:1-5, “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar.  He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.  And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles.  Again he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees.  Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist.  Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.”

 No more water that is ankle deep or waters that are waist deep, it’s time to start swimming waters we cannot cross!  It will be waters that will carry us to those who God wants to touch others, through our lives.  We need to be soaked in His life, with His health, in order to bring in the harvest that is ripe for picking right now!  This is a year of harvest and ingathering.  Take note of what else Ezekiel says about this river of God in verses 11-12.  “But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.  Along the banks of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fall.  They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary.  Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

 This river is here to satisfy our thirst, to meet our need.  No matter what it is: healing of the body, mind, spirit, of finances… it doesn’t matter.  The waters from the river of God will satisfy the need so we can heal others.  Ezekiel says this river brings healing wherever it goes and it goes wherever we go.  We are a living conduit of the living waters of God.  Yeshua said out of our innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.  And it needs to flow to bring life to others.  If we hoard it, it will bring death, but if we give it out it will bring life to others.

 Let the river meet your need and let if flow from your life to others!

 

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