Dare to Go Deeper Ezekiel 47:1-12 John 7:37-39 In my judgment, the last few chapters of Ezekiel depict the redemptive work of Christ.  The rich imagery reflects the glorious work of Christ on behalf of his people.  The Lord’s elect will enjoy the presence of the Glorified Christ, and he will protect, provide, and preserve his people.  They will forever dwell securely with their Savior and behold his dignity and majesty in the dwelling place prepared for them.  He will preside over his Kingdom forever. Outline of the Background Passage: I.                    The Vision of the Renewed Jerusalem (40:1-49)  II.                 The Vision of the Renewed Temple (41:1-26) III.               The Chambers in the Outer Court (42:1-19):    IV.              The Presence of the Glory of the Lord in the Renewed Temple (43:1-27)   V.                 The Closed Outer Gate of the Temple (44:1-31) VI.              The Apportionment of the Area Surrounding the Temple (45:1-25) VII.            The Feasts of the Prince (46:1-24) VIII.         The Water Flowing from the Temple and the distribution of the Land (47:1-48:34) A.     Water Flowed from the Threshold of the Temple (vv. 1-12) 1.      Water trickled from the Temple (vv. 1-2) 2.      The water grew deeper as it progressed to the desert (vv. 3-6). 3.      The fruitfulness of the banks of the water (vv. 7-12) B.     The Division of the Land Among the Tribes of Israel (47:13-48:34) 1.      Joseph will receive a double portion of land (47:13-14) 2.      The general dimensions of the land (47:15-23) 3.      The Twelve Tribes (48:1-34) The allotment of land was equally distributed to each tribe.  Notice that the land assignments bear little resemblance to the historical allotments of Canaan.  Each tribe received the same amount of land, and the allotments were identical in length and breadth.  Ezekiel 47:1-12 John 7:37-39

On The Shore The first expectation. A. A Thousand Cubits. Ankle Deep. vs. 3. Eze 47:3 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. (KJV) What does this mean? What is ankle deep water? Beginning of the Christian life. Not ready to swim yet. A baby Christian. 3. Lack of Spiritual understanding. 1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (KJV) How many of your are reading your Bible through at least once this year? It is not too late to begin. Read 4 or 5 chapters a day and you will finish it by the end of the year. You won’t grow without reading the Word of God. God’s first measurement was ankle deep water. A steady diet of the Word of God.

Ankle Deep The first expectation. A. A Thousand Cubits. Ankle Deep. vs. 3. Eze 47:3 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. (KJV) What does this mean? What is ankle deep water? Beginning of the Christian life. Not ready to swim yet. A baby Christian. 3. Lack of Spiritual understanding. 1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: (KJV) How many of your are reading your Bible through at least once this year? It is not too late to begin. Read 4 or 5 chapters a day and you will finish it by the end of the year. You won’t grow without reading the Word of God. God’s first measurement was ankle deep water. A steady diet of the Word of God.

Knee Deep B. Another Thousand Cubits. Knee Deep. vs. 4. Eze 47:4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees…”. What does this speak of? Knee Deep Water. 1. Prayer life. 2. Beginning to understand the things of God. 1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (KJV) When a Christian gets knee deep in God he will be understanding the things of God better. When you hear someone say, “I just can’t understand the Bible”. What they are saying is they are still in the very shallow water. Water up to the ankles. They are still at the beginning of the stream. 3. Beginning to see certain things on your own. There is great pleasure in observing a new Christian as he/she begins to see things that God is showing them is their personal Bible study. I have had them come to me and show me something that God had opened up for them, and it is so enjoyable to see God working in their lives. That’s the water up to the knees.

Waist Deep B. Another Thousand Cubits. Knee Deep. vs. 4. Eze 47:4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees…”. What does this speak of? Knee Deep Water. 1. Prayer life. 2. Beginning to understand the things of God. 1Co 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (KJV) When a Christian gets knee deep in God he will be understanding the things of God better. When you hear someone say, “I just can’t understand the Bible”. What they are saying is they are still in the very shallow water. Water up to the ankles. They are still at the beginning of the stream. 3. Beginning to see certain things on your own. There is great pleasure in observing a new Christian as he/she begins to see things that God is showing them is their personal Bible study. I have had them come to me and show me something that God had opened up for them, and it is so enjoyable to see God working in their lives. That’s the water up to the knees.

Neck/Head Deep D. Another Thousand Cubits. Over The Head. Vs. 5. Eze 47:5 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. (KJV) 1. Waters could not be passed over. 2. Waters to swim in. a. You are submerged. b. Out of sight. c. Self is buried. Oh what a need we have for more and more people to get to this position in their Christian life. 3. Abundant life. Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. (KJV) 4. This is the final stage. 5. The water is supporting you 6. Not under your own power. Working in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. This is where God wants all of us to be. This the goal God has for all. Water over our head – water to swim in.

Brought Back On Shore III. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE INVOLVES SERVICE. A. Hast Thou Not Seen This? Vs. 6. Eze 47:6 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. (KJV) Back to the beginning. B. Return To The Brink. 1st Love. Back to the starting point. Back to the reality that all we are and all we are doing is in and for Christ. We are working for Him because we love Him. He is our first love. When we return to the brink – the first love then we are ready to serve Him. When we get to thinking that the work we are doing is not accomplishing much or that we are not making an impact we just need to return to the brink of the river – back to the 1st love. That is speaking of our love for Jesus Christ. Sometimes we get too far away from the brink of our strength and our source of supply. “Every need He is supplying. Plenteous grace He bestows. Everyday my way gets brighter, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows.” C. Many Trees. Vs. 7. Eze 47:7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. (KJV) 1. Trees represent humanity. a. People without God. b. Opportunities to reach the lost. c. We have within a 20 minute drive in all directions between 150,000 and 200,000 people. Many trees. Much people. We wouldn’t have to drive much further than driving to Wal-Mart.

Ezekiel 47