Healing

In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side.  The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles.  He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist.  Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank.  When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river.  Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure. There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. 

Ezekiel 47:1-9 (NLT)

So everything will live, where this river flows.

It begins as a tiny spring, bubbling up beneath the threshold of the temple, trickling down around the south side of the great altar of sacrifice. And then this little trickle of a stream finds its way across the courtyard eastward toward the east gate of the temple.

It didn’t look like much. It was just a spring. It didn't have much force; it didn't have any depth.

But now outside the temple and after the length of about five football fields to the east, now there is a little stream that comes up to the ankles, go another 500 yards, it's up to the knees, go 500 more yards, it's up to the waist. Two more city blocks and it’s over the head.

A mighty river you can't pass through.

Now somebody says, “How can a little spring, an innocent little spring bubbling up beneath the threshold of the temple, become a mighty river inside the distance of just slightly over one mile”?

This water is no ordinary water. It looks like water, but it's in fact, the Spirit of God.

Whoever is touched by this river (if their heart is at all open),

- is touched with light from God, with healing.

- is invaded by the atmosphere of another world

When you touch this water, you're touching the holy.

You're touching God.

 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”’  Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39)

Then Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.  He said to them, ‘Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there.  Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’  They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere. (Luke 9:1-6)

When Jesus came out of his wilderness temptation and announced the Kingdom of God and began to manifest the Kingdom of God, mainly with signs of healing, this vision of Ezekiel was fulfilled.

It didn't look like much at first; just a little spring bubbling up in the temple. That's where it began at the place of worship. But even then, those who were touched by this spring were touched with life from God.

Then it began to run about that huge altar of sacrifice, which was Calvary, where the Lamb of God laid down his life for the sins of the world. There the stream began to pick up speed and force. Then it burst from beneath the outside eastern gate of the temple, going through that gate, which was the resurrection. It began to move down outside the world with resurrection power outside the temple, into the world, with resurrection power, and by the time it got to Pentecost, it was a huge river that could not be passed over.

Most of you reading this have been touched by that river. And if you haven’t been…there is no reason why you can’t be touched before you finish this day.

There was a day, there was a season, when this stream brought to us the atoning power of the Lamb. The resurrection power of the Son of God, the power of the Holy Spirit came into our lives, bringing to us, healing of whatever kind we needed. Following the healing, we began to change and that change, and if we're cooperating with it, the healing is still going on today.

What we need to see, however, today, is that in order to retain the life and the healing brought to us by that river…

We have to become part of that river.

We have to become the means by which life from God reaches out and touches and heals, and justifies, and sanctifies other people.

If we don't become part of the river, if we don't allow ourselves to be part of it … what ends up happening is that we simply become a little puddle of water off to the side that dries up in the sun while the river goes on without us. And it's possible for people to receive, and taste, and experience, and rejoice, from the river but before they know it, without realizing it, be bypassed by the river.

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of them, two by two into every town and place where He himself was about to come.

And He said to them, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore, for the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

Go your way. Behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.

Whatever house you enter first say, peace be to this house and if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him. If not, it shall return to you. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you.

Heal the sick in it and say to them the Kingdom of God has come near to you.

Luke 10:1-9

The outflow of the Kingdom of God into this world, with the principal sign of the Kingdom being healing …. continued long beyond Pentecost, long beyond the resurrection of our Lord. These people continued to do these things all through the Apostolic Age. And really down through the whole history of the body of Christ on Earth, this has been going on.

And this counsel, this command to the seventy, with very little change, applies to us exactly the way it did to them, it applies to us.

We know, for instance, that we're not to go out there scratching around trying to find church members.

We're not to go out there trying to bring everybody to our doctrinal position.

Nor are we to spend our time and energy babysitting adults, or young people, or whoever they are who refuse to grow up …creating Christian clubs for them, where everything is sanitary and uniform and homogeneous and everybody is comfortable and they have a nice time together… ….that's not what we're called to.

We are called to be that river.

The spring coming up at the threshold, the stream flowing past the altar and going out through the gate of the temple, will bring the healing, cleansing, saving, restoring, quickening life of God to sin sick people, in a sin sick world, regardless of the disruptions it causes us.

Expect in the next week, wherever you may happen to be or go, that you will touch at least one person… so directly, so graciously, so wonderfully with the life of Jesus, that that person will experience healing.

Believe it.

Faith is being sure of things hoped for, certain of things not seen.

He who believes in me out of his heart will flow, rivers of living water

…and those rivers of living water… heal.

To believe it and to practice what you believe, see yourself as part of this river at three points:

The spring bubbling up beneath the threshold - which means worship

The stream going by the altar of sacrifice- being joined to the Cross of Jesus.

The mighty river that brings life- bringing the Kingdom of God into this world with unspeakable power.

And all three go together. You can't pick out one, and just concentrate on it. It has to be all three.

Spring bubbling up beneath the threshold

Begin by seeing yourself as the spring bubbling up beneath the threshold of the temple.

It’s significant that this stream begins in the temple. It begins at the place of worship, the worship of the Living God is the start of it all. That's where it was for Jesus our Lord. Satan says to Him, “if You’re the Son of God, turn these stones to bread”. And “if You're the Son of God, jump from the pinnacle of the temple”. And then he offers this shortcut, “I'll give it all to you if you just bow down and worship me”. But Jesus says, “it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve”.

As the Son of Man, Jesus fulfilled that call to worship and serve. Worship was His life. Service was his life. Praising God not only in worship, but also in service. 

And with the apostles, it’s the same thing. It began for them with worship.

And it must begin for you with worship. The source of your life is God, and you touch the source as you worship God. As you praise him, thank him, adore him, honor him, commit yourself to serving Him.

And commit yourself to serving his people.

And present your body as a living sacrifice to him.

As you do, you receive healing. Healing comes into you as you worship.

If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.

How do we come to Him and drink?

By worshiping.

He who believes in Me, as Scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water

…and those rivers of living water begin as worship.

Holy, Holy and Holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.

Worship!

Let’s worship God.

Worship him every day.

Worship him every hour.

Let's worship Him together.

Let's worship Him in everything we do.

Worship is the starting point. It's the source, it’s the spring bubbling up.

Stream flowing by the great altar

Secondly, we need to see ourselves as the stream flowing by the great altar, which means in fact, for us, that we join ourselves to the cross of Jesus.

The stream doesn't go west. It doesn't avoid the altar, going past it, It becomes a part of it.

Our life is in the cross. Apart from the Cross of Jesus there is no healing in us.

See that, live that, and to say it in prayer.

Lord your Cross is my life this day. Your cross is my salvation.

I get under the yoke with You and I pick up my cross and I'm carrying it with You…

So that Your death can work in me. So that Your resurrection can flow out of me to others.

Joining yourself to the cross is not just accepting the doctrine of His atonement.

It's joining yourself to it… then letting the working of his death begin to have an impact on your life.

Meaning not only do you die to self and reckon yourself dead with Christ, but now, this gets turned into actual day in and day out living where “self” rears its head. Sometimes it's so subtle… we see “self” springing out of everybody but us. But seeing it in others is not doing us any good. If we’re not careful, if we're not allowing the death of the Lord, through his cross, to kill “self” in us, pretty soon we’re monsters before we even know it. We need to bring our “self” to him.

Lord, let death work in me… Your death, so that Your life may flow out.

Seriously asking Him to put His finger on those things that must go, if there's going to be any life, any healing.

When you begin to think that way, and pray that way, and live that way, then you understand more clearly than ever before what Jesus means when he says to us ….

Take and eat. This is my body given for you.

Take and drink. This is the blood of the new covenant shed for your sins.

Now, you're joined to my cross. You're dead with Me.

Now the stream begins to pick up speed.

Mighty stream that brings life

Finally, you need to see yourself as the mighty stream, which is now a river, that can't be passed through… meaning that you go out there and you boldly proclaim the Kingdom. You manifest the Kingdom with unspeakable power.

Expect and believe in the next week, that you are going to touch at least one person with that power. One person is going to be touched by the healing of Jesus. One person is going to be touched by the cleansing of His blood.. through you!

You’re going to say something.

You’re going to do something.

You’re going to pray for somebody.

Perhaps, you’re going to lay your hands on somebody and the chains of Satan will break and they will be healed.

You can go forth from here…

As the spring bubbling up from the threshold.

As a stream going by the great altar.

As a mighty river that brings life wherever it goes.

And at least one person will be impacted by the life of God through you… as Jesus himself touches and heals that person through you.

Believe it.

Be certain of it.

Dare to go out and do it.

And it will come to pass.

Richard E. Bieber 1985 with edits by Maranatha Mirror