Take a Swim

 Ezekiel 47:3-5, "And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."

 

Are you living in the center of God’s perfect will in your life right now? Have you reached a level of spiritual maturity and obedience to God’s Word that you feel God wants you to have? The truth of the matter is we all have plenty of room for improvement!

I want you to see what God is telling Ezekiel about wading out into the deep spiritual waters of the Spirit-filled life. In the modern church, many have become too afraid to give their all to Jesus. They are afraid because they think God may require more of them than they are willing to give. They reason within themselves that if they don’t commit to the work fully, then they won’t be found guilty of failing in their commitment to Jesus. They are just afraid of getting in over their heads.

The Prophet Ezekiel is given a vision of a river that springs forth from God’s Throne. This river of living water, coming from the Throne of God, is representative of the working of the Holy Spirit in your life.

 

Ezekiel 47:6-10, "And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed, and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many."

 

Ezekiel saw the water as it flowed and became a mighty river that brought life, healing, and deliverance to a dry and thirsty land. This land was to be the home of God’s chosen people, Israel. God had such great things in store for his people.

There are many who hear the Gospel, and they see what the Spirit can and is doing in the lives of others, yet that is as far as they get! They never really get in. They never respond and surrender their lives to Jesus.

Ezekiel first saw the waters. He could not and did not go into the water alone. God carried Ezekiel out into the water.

 

We cannot enter God’s Kingdom or experience the Holy Ghost in our lives unless we come God’s way. We don’t have the ability to step out without the Lord leading the way. We can’t even come to Him in repentance unless the Holy Spirit deals with us and brings conviction.

When the Holy Spirit deals with the life of a sinner, that sinner must respond, either in repentance or rebellion. If our response is one of repentance, then God saves us, and we begin the journey through life with Him.

We step into the water and get our feet wet. At this point in our walk with the Lord, we still behave the way we want to. We can behave according to our own thinking. There is very little “resistance” to our steps because we have not yet learned to recognize the Voice of God as He gently leads us into a deeper relationship with Him.

As we grow in the Lord and learn to trust Him, He begins to bring us into a little deeper walk with Him. The Holy Spirit begins to open doors of ministry for us and leads us to step into a more productive life in Christ. Now, we are getting knee-deep in obedience to the call of God.

Maybe you feel led to teach a class, minister to the youth, or do some of the work around the church to help the facilities be better. Whatever you see needs to be done, you are anxious to complete it.

“I’m not ready to get up in front of people; I don’t know if I’m ready to teach others.” We can come up with a lot of excuses, but none of them are as good as we try to make them appear.

Serving God in knee-deep water means that we must work a little harder, study a little more, do a little more than other people, and even draw attention to the fact that we are more committed to doing a job that needs to be done.

Just as knee-deep water is a little harder to walk in and hides many things that may cause you to stumble, so does serving the Lord. God will begin strengthening you and building your faith in Him. But this is just a knee-deep commitment.

God is saying, Step on out a little further. Let me draw you closer to me. Ezekiel is carried out into the water until it becomes waist-deep.

Now the going gets tougher. The demands upon your time, energy, and commitment now really cut into your already busy schedule. You are not just teaching a class or working around the church now. God has now called you into training for leadership within His church. Now, you must read more, study more, pray harder, and be concerned for a part of God’s work that He has entrusted you with.

Rest assured that as you try to wade out in water up to your waist, you are going to face opposition. As the Holy Ghost leads you into a deeper walk with the Lord, there will be obstacles in your path.

There will be those who will not commit themselves and will tell you that you are foolish for being so radical for the things of God. There will be those who won’t agree with your conviction or your methods. There will probably be those who will even try to convince you that you can’t do what you feel God is telling you to do.

There will always be those who only wade out ankle-deep or don’t even step into the water. These are usually the ones who try to discourage those who will step out further for God.

Finally, Ezekiel was carried out into water too deep to touch the bottom, and he had to swim. When you get committed to God enough that even your plans are scary, that’s when you are getting into this deepest walk with the Lord. That’s where you must learn to depend upon the leading of the Holy Ghost more than ever because you know you can’t do what God has called you to do on your own. When you are this deep, you have gone beyond your ability.

Ezekiel had gone so far from the shore that he could no longer walk back. Wherever the river flowed, that was where Ezekiel was going. The current was so strong, and the volume of water was so great that Ezekiel was in over his head. Still, God was carrying him, and there was no danger of the Prophet drowning. God was still in control of the water and the prophet's life.

Most Christians will never experience the joy, fulfillment, trust, and love for God that comes with this kind of commitment because they love the safety of the shore too much. They refuse to leave their comfort zone. They refuse to stretch and grow beyond what they can see. Their faith is never exercised to the point that they have complete peace no matter what the world throws at them.

If someone is to reach the deep relationship and commitment to the Lord that this represents, he has moved beyond himself and placed himself under God's hand in complete obedience and trust. That is what true spiritual maturity is all about! It is about coming to the end of ourselves and realizing just how big God is and that there is no way that we could ever do it on our own.

When Ezekiel got in this deep, his will was surrendered to the river's will. He was going to go where the river took him. God wants us to lose sight of ourselves, our goals, our ambitions, and our dreams, and He wants us to be one hundred percent surrendered to Him and His will for our lives.

Do you know what the secret to genuine revival is? It‘s God’s people getting to the place where they are as committed to Jesus and the call of God upon their lives as they can get! Revival isn’t for the ankle-deep people because they will never see what God wants to do. They will never have complete trust and faith in God to accomplish those things that seem so impossible. They will only sit by and grumble because the church isn’t growing or because they don’t “feel anything” as though it was God’s or the Preacher’s fault.

 Revival isn’t even for those who will get knee-deep in God’s work. They may sense that God wants to accomplish something great in their lives. They may even catch a glimpse of God's vision for their ministry if only they would be committed. But they will never experience the real power of the dream that the Holy Ghost will bestow upon the one who completely surrenders to the will of God.

The church will experience revival, and the individual Christians will only become all that God has intended for them to become when they surrender to God and commit their lives to Him without reservation. They must put their faith in God’s ability to keep them, God’s provision for every part of life, and God’s faithfulness to do what He has promised.

Ezekiel says about God, "He brought me through the waters."

Maybe you find yourself holding back on total commitment to the Lord because you are afraid that if you entirely sell out to Him, you will drown. God will not fail you. He is faithful and able to take care of you. He is Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord that provides. His provision is for your success in ministry, your needs in every aspect of life, and for your protection and safe journey during your life in Him.

Many Christians never realize that a deeper commitment, wading deeper and deeper into a strong relationship with Jesus and allowing the Holy Ghost to have complete control of their lives, helps them stay close to God. They will be less likely to “fall off the wagon” in their spiritual walk if they get in deep water.

Walking in water that is only ankle-deep requires little effort. The force of the water against your steps is minimal, and you can quickly get in or out at will. It’s also easy for some outside force, like wind or the push of a friend, to knock you out of the water.

Since many people never get more than ankle-deep in their commitment to Jesus, you can see why so many live such shallow lives and are so easily carried about by every little “wind of doctrine” that blows their way. These dear people rarely hear the true voice of God. Instead, they listen to every voice that says what they want to hear that makes them feel good and justifies their shallow walk with the Lord. My concern is that many of these “shallow Christians” aren’t Christians at all and will not go in the Rapture of the church.

Walking in water up to your knees requires a little more effort and a deeper commitment. Even so, it is still easy to be knocked out of the water by the same circumstances as those up to their ankles.

I believe Jesus refers to these first two categories as “lukewarm.” These are the ones that He will “spew out of His mouth.” (Revelation 3:16)

In my mind, these two categories of people, who are non-committal and compromising with the world, are the type of people that President Teddy Roosevelt was speaking of when he made this statement: "Far better it is to fail in the attempt of great things than to take rank with the weak, timid souls who know neither the glory of victory or the agony of defeat."

Only those who will get at least waist deep and ultimately “over their heads” in a deep commitment to Jesus will ever really experience the glory of victory in Jesus. Any good work for the Lord will accomplish great results after someone dives into a strong relationship with God and makes a real commitment to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes under the leadership of the Holy Ghost.

D.L. Moody said, and I believe it, “It remains to be seen what God will do and can do through someone that will commit totally unto the Lord and have absolute trust in Him!”

That’s the kind of commitment that Jesus is looking for. Sadly, those who will make such a commitment are few by comparison with those who won’t.

What about you right now? Are you still in the shallow water? What are you going to do with your commitment to the Lord?

Some reading this still haven’t stepped into the water at all. Some are in every stage of this message. Jesus is looking for a total commitment. Let the river carry you wherever the Holy Spirit leads. Allow Jesus to have the complete Lordship of your life; there is no telling what great victories lie ahead.