Deeper Water

Deeper Water

Introduction

Have you ever been to the beach? When you go to the beach, you see that there are different types of people.

1. Those that lay on the beach and never get in the water.
2. Those that just walk along the shore and get their feet wet, trying to look cute - hey, just taking pictures.
3. Some go a little deeper to splash around a bit and jump in the waves.
4. Then there are those that are way out there, swimming - on the jet ski or getting pulled by the boat.

At the beach, you get to pick your comfort level and enjoy the beach the way you want. Sometimes we try to treat God the same way - we want to experience Him at our comfort level. "I want a little church. I want a little prayer when I am in trouble. I need a word this morning to help me out this week, then I want to go back home."

Well, today God is going to call you into deeper water.

There are too many believers talking about faith, singing about faith, and reading about faith. And the Spirit of God is calling His church to experience Him at a deeper, more intimate level.

Let's go deeper in reverence, deeper in prayer, deeper in submission to the will of God, deeper in awe of His goodness toward me.

Look at your neighbor and say, "Go deeper."

Turn with me to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 47.

Background: Ezekiel in Babylon

Ezekiel was taken captive in 605 BC, likely along with many others, including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, along with thousands of other Hebrews. He was the son of a priest and was training to be a priest. But before he would officially serve in the temple at age 30 (Numbers 4:3), he was taken captive.

Ever had God shift your plan?

What do you do when your plan and God's plan are different? God came to Ezekiel and told him he was not going to be a priest in Jerusalem - he would be a prophet to the people who had been deported to Babylon.

Ezekiel's name means "God Strengthens" or "May God Strengthen." I'm going to use you, but it will be in unfamiliar spaces. I will need you to strengthen a broken people, a disobedient people, a hard-headed people. I need you to remind them that the same God who was in Jerusalem is the same God in Babylon.

In the book of Ezekiel, God gives Ezekiel visions - first of judgment, then of restoration. Most are familiar with the dry bones that God raised as a reminder that no matter how dire the situation, God can restore. Some have dried-up dreams, dry marriages, dry bones - and God tells us they can live again. Anybody here believe that God can make dry bones live again?

But today we will discuss another vision. Ezekiel has a vision of a temple, and a river flowing from it. From chapter 40 on, he discusses this temple.

I. Source of the Water

Ezekiel 47:1-2 (ESV) Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

Major cities and communities are often built around rivers - Babylon on the Euphrates, Nineveh on the Tigris, Thebes on the Nile, Rome on the Tiber. Rivers and fresh water are vital to life. But interestingly, Jerusalem was not built by a river. It had access to a few underground springs, and Hezekiah had to build tunnels to bring water from those few fountains into the city.

In the vision, the water issues from below the threshold of the temple - from the very presence of God. This water represents the outworking of the glory of God and the Spirit of God, flowing from the throne of heaven.

Ezekiel 43:1-5 (ESV) Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple.

Ezekiel's vision reminds the people that your source of life is from God. To fill the thirst of your soul, it will come from the presence of God. You don't have to trust in man-made cisterns and wells - you can access water directly from the temple of God.

Jesus picks up on this imagery and tells the woman at the well that if she knew who He was, she would ask Him for living water.

John 4:13-14 (ESV) Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

II. Stages of the Water

Ankle Deep

New to Christianity - just getting started. But there is real value in that first step. "I have stepped in the water. I have given myself to God, I have been born again, and heaven is my home." And we celebrate that. Every growing church has some ankle-deep saints, and babies do just fine in ankle-deep water.

The goal is to keep growing and start walking. If your ankles are in the water, you have enough access to be strengthened, and you can walk.

Acts 3:7-8 (ESV) And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

At ankle deep, you can go to a baptism class, attend a men's meeting or a ladies' class. You can start reading your Bible, jump on the prayer line. You can tell your neighbor, "I was blind, but now I see." Every level can do something.

Knee Deep

God measures distance and depth - life is filled with measuring moments.

Ezekiel 47:4a (ESV) Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee deep.

You must keep moving. Being stationary is not an option. When you are in the water, there will come a time for a measuring moment - it's a two-fold measurement, distance and depth. God will test how far you have come and how deep you have grown. The angel decided when to measure the water, and God will allow a situation to happen to test the depth of your faith.

When you get that x-ray back, it's a measuring moment. Those legal papers are delivered. That fire alarm goes off and you have lost it all. That call from the hospital. That pink slip handed to you. When your sister calls after midnight and tells you your mother has passed away. Life is filled with measuring moments. How deep is your faith in those darkest hours?

In knee-deep water, you start to walk a little differently. The water has more impact on your walk - knee-deep saints are changing how they walk. I don't go the same places I used to go. I slow down and spend more time in prayer and study.

Knee-deep saints worship. They humble themselves before a mighty God and loving Father, and say, "Use me, God. Lord, strip me of anything that is not like You. I want to move according to Your influence and will."

Knee deep is where pride dies:

• Your own righteousness is as filthy rags.
• Your dependence on connections disappoints.
• Your talents fail you.
• Your likes, follows, and views don't consume you.

Knee-deep saints pray more. They are more interested in what God has to say than their favorite podcaster or YouTuber. They make time to pray and talk to their Father. They understand that prayer equals productivity. There is a quote attributed to Martin Luther, the German Reformer: "I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." They understand they must trust in God because there are things far out of their control.

They pray for our community, our country, and our world. They pray for pregnant mothers. They pray for the state of the church in America and the world. They pray for the nations at war. They pray for the favor of God over their lives, their families, their children's children. They pray for the people in hospitals facing illness and diagnosis alone. They pray for the people in backroom meetings making policies on education and curriculums for our schools.

Waist Deep

Ezekiel 47:4b (ESV) Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist deep.

Waist-deep water washes a lot of the sand and dirt off you - it cleans you up. At this stage, a lot of you is in the water. Your desires and passions change. Here you are fighting your flesh and cravings, choosing to walk in the Spirit.

The King James Version says the waters were "to the loins." You are able to stand when tempted, because your loins have been surrendered to the Spirit of God. Maturity is when your relationships, your passions, are saturated in the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (ESV) Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

We live in a sexualized society, and Ezekiel reminds us that as you walk in the Spirit, the water can cover you waist-down. You can walk in holiness, righteousness, and integrity. You can honor the marriage vows you made before the Lord.

My daughter came and asked if she could raise the TV rating limit on her Netflix profile, because there were shows her friends were talking about that she couldn't see. I looked at my middle schooler's profile, and it still had Paw Patrol and Bubble Guppies on there. So I said, sure, we can move up to G and TV-Y7. Then I got to wondering - do I need my own Netflix account rating wide open? So I put a rating cap on mine too.

You can be like Job and make a covenant with your eyes not to look lustfully upon another.

Job 31:1 (ESV) I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?

Waist deep, your pockets are covered too. Someone might say, "The preacher is coming after my money." No - I am coming for your heart.

Matthew 6:24 (ESV) No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Jesus is teaching that money has the potential to be elevated in your heart to the position of a master. I've met people, teaching at the jail, who made money their master - "I gotta get this money." I'm not saying you have to live in a van. But when the Spirit of God covers your pockets, your finances, your career, your purchases, and your investments are submitted to God. I listen, so when God says give, I give.

Waters to Swim In

Ezekiel 47:5 (ESV) Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.

The river itself got deeper and deeper. Usually a body of water has to mix with multiple streams, creeks, and tributaries to grow - rivers often need to collect rainwater runoff and melting snowcaps to get deeper. But this overflowing source is the presence of God.

You want to go deeper? You don't need Jesus plus your ancestors, the Holy Ghost plus magical cards and crystals. The water rose because God Himself is inexhaustible. God's glory just gets deeper and wider. He is omnipresent. In seminary, the term "immensity" refers to God's attribute of being immeasurable, without physical boundaries, transcending all limits of space. It highlights that God cannot be contained by the universe. My Sunday school teacher used to say it simpler: God is big. Real big.

Deep enough to swim in - is that total commitment? What does total commitment to God look like on you? What would it look like for you to live by faith - when your feet leave the bottom and faith takes over?

God wants total control. God wants surrender. Leave the shore. When you make your petition to the Lord, you say, "Not my will, but Yours." When you pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - that's total commitment.

Galatians 2:20 (ESV) I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Deep is when your ambitions and your dreams are submitted to God. What if God says you are not going to have a worldwide ministry - you are going to run a small dairy farm and raise your children in the Word and pray for revival? That's what God told William Franklin Graham Sr., and his son Billy Graham went on to lead millions to Christ.

III. Strength of the Water

Ezekiel 47:6-9 (ESV) And he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, so that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes."

Have you seen this? There is evidence of the presence of the river.

The presence of God brings life to what it touches:

• Trees grow on both sides of the river (v. 7).
• Water flows into the desert, into the dry places (v. 8).
• The dead sea is transformed into fresh water to sustain life (v. 8).
• Everything lives where the river goes (v. 9).

Ezekiel 47:10-12 (ESV) Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.

The presence of God provides what we need:

• Fish for the fishermen, in abundance (v. 10).
• Some salt will remain, to preserve (v. 11).
• Trees will bear fruit, and the fruit will not fail (v. 12).

Psalm 1:3 (ESV) He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

God wants to take us from fruit in its season, to fruit in every season.

Closing

Jesus expands Ezekiel's prophecy:

John 7:38-39 (ESV) Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Do you know Jesus? Today is the day - now is the time! We encourage you to come as you are. Change begins with you. If you want something different, you have to do something different.

Discussion Questions

1. Think about the four types of beachgoers described at the start - which one best describes your current relationship with God? What would it look like for you to move one step deeper this week?
2. Ezekiel had to let go of his expected path (becoming a priest) to walk into God's actual plan (becoming a prophet in Babylon). Has God ever shifted your plans in a way that felt disorienting at first? How did you respond?
3. "Knee deep is where pride dies." Which of the four things listed - your own righteousness, your connections, your talents, or your likes/follows/views - do you find yourself leaning on instead of leaning on God? What would it look like to surrender that this week?
4. At waist-deep, both your desires and your finances come under the Spirit's influence. Is there an area of your habits, entertainment, or spending that you sense God asking you to bring under His authority, the way the sermon's Netflix rating story illustrates?
5. "Deep enough to swim in" is described as total commitment - when your feet leave the bottom and faith takes over. What is one specific area of your life where your feet are still touching the bottom, where you're relying on your own control instead of trusting God fully?