In chapter five, we saw that we need to be those who experience the constant flow of life in God’s house and that we need to be measured by the Lord for the increase of the flow of life. In this chapter we want to see more concerning the flow of life in Ezekiel 47 and Isaiah 55.
Ezekiel is a book of recovery. The recovery of the building of the house starts from chapter forty, and by the end of chapter forty-six the building is complete. In chapter forty-seven the waters are flowing out of the builded house. The entire Old Testament is a picture book that can show us something concerning our situation today. By the picture in Ezekiel 47, we can realize that the flow of the divine waters always comes out of the building of God. Today we are in the age of recovery, and the flow of the divine life must be out of God’s recovered house.
In most of the religious worship services in Christianity, the ones who attend have the sense or feeling of dryness, not of watering. When I was in Christianity, I heard many teachings, but I had the sense of dryness because there was very little flow of the living water. There was hardly any flow because there was no recovery of the house of God. When one enters into a local church which is in a proper situation, he will have the feeling and the sense of watering. We always have the sense of watering when we get into some of the local churches because of the recovery of the building up of the house of God. Where the house is, there is the flow of the living water.
The flow of the living water is out of the house because the source, the fountain, the spring, of the living water is within the house. This source is the Lord Jesus. He is the fountain, and now He has a place on this earth to locate Himself. He has a place to dwell, to get Himself settled. Those of us who met in the various groups in Christianity can testify that when we were meeting there, we did not have the sense that the Lord had settled Himself there. When I was meeting there, I had the sense that the Lord was outside the door. This is similar to what is depicted in Revelation 3 where the Lord as the Head of the church is standing outside the degraded church, knocking at her door (v. 20). We did not have the sense that the Lord was settled there, so we were not satisfied or settled. However, when I came into the practical church life, I had the sense that the Lord Jesus was there, and I became settled there.
The Lord Jesus is within the house as the source of the living water; out of Him the living water flows. To have the local churches built up is a great thing. We have to pay our full attention to the house of God, and we have to stay in the house. Ezekiel told us that the Lord brought him to the door of the house (47:1). We need to be impressed with our need for the house. There is much work in today‘s Christianity, but where is the flow? There is much gospel preaching, Bible teaching, and mission work, but where is the flow? There is the feeling of dryness and not the feeling of watering. Many seeking Christians are dissatisfied due to the dryness. They are seeking after the watering. The seekers of the Lord desire the flow of the living water. Out of the marvelous building of God comes the flow of the living water.
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