It is important that there is growth for the health of any relationship. Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is no different.
What are you doing to promote continual growth in your relationship with the Holy Spirit?
If there were a number scale of 1 ¡V 10, 1 being no relationship & 10 being a totally submerged, totally controlled, totally consumed relationship where would you rate yours?
You see much of the spirit-filled church has the misconception that once I receive the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues then I have all I need in the Holy Ghost.
WRONG ANSWER!!!!
Let¡¦s look at the different levels of growth that I believe we can get from the Word of God.
We know that Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as being like a river flowing out of our inner most being.
In our text today we see Ezekiel being shown a vision of a river that was passing by the right side of the altar.
Never forget that the river of God flows form the altar.
Ezekiel is being led in this river to different levels of the river. I believe they have great significance in our relationship with the Spirit of God.
Remember, the scripture says that ¡§Life will flourish wherever this water flows.¡¨
How important is life to you? Then how important should your relationship in the Holy Spirit be?
I. Ankle Deep ¡V this can represent to us coming into a salvation relationship.
John 3:5-7 NLT Jesus replied, ¡§I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don¡¦t be surprised when I say, ¡¥You must be born again.¡¦
We find Jesus establishing the fact that the Holy Spirit is the only way we are going to get into relationship with Him & the Father.
John 4:14 NLT But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.¡¨
He brings what many have referred to as a refreshing in their life!
II. Knees Deep ¡V This can represent our relationship in prayer.
Many think that because they pray that they have arrived. Has anyone here ever met anyone that prayed that did not exactly live a life that demonstrated Christianity?
Prayer is definitely important but it is not an end in itself! But it must be developed for our relationship to go any farther!
Ephesians 6:18 NLT Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Pray how??? In the Spirit! How important is it that we grow in our relationship in the Holy Spirit?
Romans 8:26-27 NLT And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don¡¦t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God¡¦s own will.
Did anybody get what I just said? Who is doing the praying in this scripture?
How much do we need to work on our relationship with the Holy Spirit?
Jude 20 NKJV But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit¡K
III. Waist Deep ¡V This level represents our death to self.
Most every relationship I know that is filled with self never becomes very fruitful. How much more is it true in our relationship in the Holy Spirit!
Galatians 5:24-25 NKJV And those who are Christ¡¦s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
In the river waist deep you cannot stand in your own power or control anymore. You lose your balance easy.
Romans 8:12-14 NKJV Therefore, brethren, we are debtors¡Xnot to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Are you beginning to see that it is only when a person truly begins to enter into the prayer level of life in the Spirit that we are truly able to understand the need to die to the flesh & begin to truly live in the Spirit!
That takes us to this next level of relationship in the Holy Spirit!
Luke 9:23-25 NLT Then he said to the crowd, ¡§If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?
What in the world do you really want that you will allow it to stop you from growing in your relationship in the Holy Ghost?
What if you manage to become one of the richest people in the world but fail to cultivate your relationship in God in true obedience & love? What benefit can you find in dying without Jesus being first in your life?
IV. Water to Swim in ¡V Flowing in the manifest demonstration of the Holy Spirit.
That is what you are about to experience happening in these altars in just a couple of minutes.
See a person calling themselves a Spirit-filled Christian without a demonstration of the Spirit is like a person calling themselves a medical doctor without any medical certification or authority to back them up.
1 Corinthians 2:3-5 NKJV I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
Are you getting the importance of your relationship in the Holy Ghost must be progressing all the time!
John 14:12-14 NLT ¡§I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!
Right now is get real time! Don¡¦t check your relationship by what I think, but rather by the Word of God!
Mark 16:17a NKJV And these signs will follow those who believe:
„« What signs of Jesus¡¦ life are following your life right now?
„« With this knowledge in mind where would you place yourself on that number scale of 1 ¡V 10?
Remember, ¡§Life will flourish wherever this water flows.¡¨
„« How much of the life of the Holy Spirit is flowing in you & around you?
„« Right now you have a chance to make a change in your relationship status. What are you going to do?
