How can we determine how much we have been measured and possessed by the Lord? We can know by how deep the river is. If the river is only up to our ankles or up to our knees, it proves we have not been measured fully by the Lord. How deep the river is depends on how much we have been measured by the Lord. There is no need for you to argue with me and try to justify yourself. Simply check the depth of your flow. Look at your flow within. Is the flow within you up to the ankle? or up to the knee? or up to the loin? or has it become a river that you cannot pass over?
The same principle applies to the local churches. There is no need to argue concerning your local church. You may think that your local church is the best. But simply check the flow. How deep is the flow? You may say that you have a flow, but how deep is the flow? Is the flow in your church only to the ankle? or is it to the knee? or is it to the loin? or has it become a river? The flow in your local church depends upon the degree of the Lord's measuring and possessing. We may fool one another, but we can never fool the Lord. He knows the depth of the flow where we are. The depth of the flow depends on how much we have been measured and taken over by the Lord. For His measuring, the Lord needs our cooperation. The Lord can never judge us, measure us, possess us, and take us over without our adequate cooperation. We look to the Lord for His mercy that in all the local churches there will be a river that no man can pass over.
The most convenient way to walk is on dry land where there is no water. When the flow of the river comes, it is wonderful, but it is not convenient. When the water is up to your ankles you can still walk, but it is not very convenient. When the water rises up to your knees, it is even more difficult to walk. When the water comes up to your loins, it becomes very difficult to walk. Before you enjoy the grace of the Lord as the flow, you are able to do whatever you like. It is very convenient for you to walk. When you experience the Lord's flow only in a shallow way, you can still walk by your own effort. But as the flow becomes deeper, your walk becomes more difficult. You have the grace, and yet the grace is not sufficient. You must still exercise your own effort. As the flow increases, it bothers, restricts, and frustrates you. When the flow of grace rises higher to the loins, it is more difficult to move. This is the hardest time to be a Christian. You have sufficient grace so that it is not easy to lose your temper, and yet you do not have sufficient grace to overcome your temper. This is a real dilemma. Neither way is easy. The grace is there, yet it is not deep enough. Once the water of life becomes so deep that it is a river you cannot pass over, then you will shout, "Hallelujah!" Then you will swim in the river. When you swim, you give up standing on your own feet. To swim means you are not standing on your own two feet; you give up your standing. I am afraid that many of you have not given up your standing. You are standing on your own two feet. You are still struggling on your own standing. You are standing on your two feet exercising your own efforts to become an overcomer. You need more grace; you need a deeper flow so that you will give up your standing and swim in the river. The best way to swim in this river is to put your trust in the water and forget about your own efforts. Let the water float you. Hallelujah, this is wonderful! This is sufficient grace, but you must go along with the flow. When you are being supported by the river, you should not have your own direction. You must forsake your own direction and go in the direction of the flow. Many times the flow is toward the east, but your intention is toward the west. Because we human beings are not simple, the Lord always has some problems with us. But hallelujah, we do have the flow! Hallelujah, we do have the river!
Where the river flows, everything shall live and be full of life. This river is the river of life, and only life can cause things to live. Mere teaching or gifts cannot impart life. Ezekiel does not say that everything shall be known or that everything shall speak in tongues or that everything shall exercise gifts, but that everything shall live (47:9). In this flow the trees live and bear sweet, delicious fruit every month (47:12). Furthermore, the water brings forth an abundance of fish (47:9). The cattle are included within the names of two cities, Engedi and Eneglaim (47:10). Engedi means the fountain of kids or lambs, and Eneglaim means the fountain of two calves. These are the fountains for the young cattle, the kids, and the calves. Thus, the flow of the river produces trees, fish, and cattle. In the proper church life, there should be many trees bearing good fruit as food. There should be no lack of fruit. All the trees grow by the living water. If the church in your place is living, there should be trees bearing fruit. When there are trees bearing fruit, it indicates that there is a flow in your church.
By the flowing of the river there is also fishing (47:10). Fishing signifies increase in numbers. If the number of people in your local church does not increase year after year, it means you have no fishing, and no fishing means there is no flow. We need the flow for the fishing. We need a place to cast out the net and a place to spread the net. We need fishing to have an increase in number.
In the local churches we also need some fountains of kids and fountains of calves for feeding. We must have not only fishing, but also feeding. Thus, we need food, we need increase in number, and we also need feeding. This will bring in the mingling and the building up of the church. Hallelujah! We need Engedi, and we need Eneglaim, the fountains of the kids and the calves. All these items depend upon the flow of the river. We all need such a flow.