Ezekiel 47:1-12, is a poetic and symbolic picture of what life with Jesus is intended to be. Ezekiel is taken by a river that flows from the temple of God and told to measure it. This river is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel examines what he sees, the river gets deeper and deeper. At first it is manageable, barely a trickle. As it flows on, it becomes so deep that it would sweep the prophet away if he gave himself over to it.
I’ve been swept away down and actual river like that. It is scary. Having something (or someone) take over control of your life is panic inducing. We get anxious and we then we fight. We try to “grasp for straws” as people drowning, desperate for a manageable life again.
We start a series Sunday reminding each other of our mission together as an expression of Jesus’ Church in our city.
You do not need me (or anyone) to try to put together a creative vision for our lives that you are encouraged to follow. You don’t need pithy thoughts or easy memorizable statements to guide your lives. You have everything you need in God’s word and his Spirit.
What we all need is a reminder. A reminder of who our God is and what matters most. It is easy to go to sleep, wake up, do real life, and- through it all- forget what matters to God.
My heart’s desire is that the Spirit would use his Word (and each other) to both encourage us to follow where his River will take us…and have the courage to live in the unmanageable deep.
We start with “expressing that Jesus is our treasure”- or saying it another way- worship. We plan to walk through Romans 12 over the next few weeks, starting Sunday evening with verses 1 and 2.
Prepare by reading Romans 12. Prepare by willfully allowing the Spirit to have his unmanageable way in you.