Ezekiel 47:1-12    OT p. 775 or 1064

[1] Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.

[2] Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.

[3] Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep.

[4] Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist.

[5] Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed.

[6] He said to me, "Mortal, have you seen this?" Then he led me back along the bank of the river.

[7] As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other.

[8] He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh.

[9] Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes.

[10] People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.

[11] But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.

[12] On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing." [NRSV]

INTRODUCTION:

Water. According to Encarta Encyclopedia: "Water is the major constituent of living matter. From 50 to 90 percent of the weight of living organisms is water. Water covers three quarters of the surface of the earth. Water is the only substance that occurs at ordinary temperatures in all three states of matter, solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (fog, steam & clouds)." [1]

Water. Water is one of the most important components of life. A human being can live for 40 days without food but for only about 4 days without water.

Water. We use it for so many different things. We drink it. We cook with it. We bathe in it and clean with it. We swim in it; fish in it and ski on it. We water our houseplants and our pets with it. We water our lawns and irrigate our fields. And when it's dry we pray for rain.

Water is a powerful force in nature. A little water over a long period of time can create the Grand Canyon. The water of rain can bring life but too much of that same rainwater can rise in a flood and destroy the very things it gave life to.

A wall of water rushing in an uncontrolled flood downstream can destroy homes and lives. That same wall of water rushing through a controlled system such as a dam and a hydroelectric generator can create electricity for the thousands of homes and businesses.

Water, such a simple thing when you think about it. We use it to quench our thirst. Just imagine a big tall glass of cold water right after you've mowed the lawn. Or an ice cold glass of lemonade or tea on a hot summer day. Water is the basic ingredient in Cokes and Pepsis.

Water conjures up images of summer fun: Kool Ade stands, squirt gun fights, water balloon wars, running through the sprinkler, and backyard pool parties.

It also conjures up images of flooded streets, homes and businesses and of displaced people.

Water is such a powerful image. We use it in baptism to talk about being washed clean from the filth of our sin. No wonder God inspires Ezekiel with a vision of a river flowing from the Temple. That river would be the River of Life, itself.

There's an old adage that says, "Before you drink at a brook, it is well to know its source." [2]

That applies here. And God reveals to Ezekiel that the source is God and the Holy Temple. The water of this vision flows right from the Temple into the land, widening and deepening as it goes. What better source of water, what better source of hope could there be than this River of Life?

I love the symbolism of this water flowing from the Temple. It truly is a River of Life. And in that River of Life we find that WATER RENEWS AND REFRESHES, WATER RESTORES AND REVIVES, and WATER CLEANS AND REDEEMS.

I. WATER RENEWS AND REFRESHES:

A. First let's look at how WATER RENEWS AND REFRESHES. Have you ever taken a deep breath after a spring shower? The rains have washed all the pollutants out of the air. The smell of spring floods your senses, not the smell of automobile and train exhaust. There's nothing quite as clean and refreshing smelling as the air after a spring shower.

I know some of you were in the military service. Remember boot camp and the marches? Remember how hot and tired and thirsty you were and how good it felt to drop that field pack and take a long pull on your canteen? Remember how dry and parched you got? It would have felt good to duck your head under some running water and cool off. When you finally got back to the barracks, remember how good that cold water tasted. One swallow of clear, cold water was like a little bit of heaven. WATER RENEWS AND REFRESHES.

Mary has a particular plant that is sort of the water guide for the other plants. I'm not a houseplant kind of guy so I don't have a clue what kind of plant this is. All I know is that it always looks healthy and green until it needs water. Then the leaves just droop. Not just a little bit but dramatically. It's almost as if the plant were trying to communicate with us and tell us it's thirsty. And the minute we take notice and water it, the leaves and the whole plant begin to stand up taller and regain their shine.

Just as that plant is renewed and refreshed by a little water, so are we.

B. For Ezekiel, the source of that renewal was the Temple. The Temple was the center of Jewish worship. The Temple influenced everything in the Jewish culture of the time. Every Jewish male was required to journey three times a year to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple. They came during Passover or The Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost or The Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles.

No wonder Ezekiel sees the source of the River Of Life as being the Temple. No wonder Ezekiel saw the River Of Life spreading and growing until it renewed and refreshed the whole land, including the bringing life to the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is about 1300 feet below sea level. Its waters contain about 27 percent sodium chloride or salt, magnesium chloride, potassium chloride and other chemicals. It is about seven times saltier than any of the oceans. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea except a few microbes. A fish placed in the waters will die within a couple of hours. There is a fable that no bird can fly over it, or that there are no living creatures on its banks.

But according to Ezekiel, once the River Of Life begins flowing from the Temple, "when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh." [vs. 8] Not only will the waters become fresh but it will bring life wherever it goes. And people will fish along its banks. And along both sides of the banks will grow fruit that will ripen all year long and the leaves of the trees will hold healing power.

Wow, what a description of RENEWAL AND REFRESHMENT. The waters of the River Of Life

II. WATER RESTORES AND REVIVES:

A. Water RESTORES AND REVIVES.

In 1981 we moved from Liberty City, Texas (Just outside of Kilgore) to Dimmitt, Texas, out in the Panhandle. That's where I did my Internship. It was 555.5 miles from Liberty City to Dimmitt. Mary was 81/2 months pregnant with Joshua. So, Mary's brother John and his fiancé, Carla, came down to help us move. At the time, we had a Buick Skylark which had air conditioning and a Honda Civic without A/C. The U-Haul truck we rented had A/C, too but there was no way Mary could hoist up into the truck.

So, Carla drove Mary in the Buick. John drove the U-Haul with Paul (the father of my new grand son) as his co-pilot. And I drove the Honda. Everything packed to the gills. Paul was the proud owner of a Teddy Bear Hamster by the name of Fluff. Fluff was my traveling companion.

We left at 4:00 in the morning so we could get to Dimmitt before dark. As it turned out, it was the hottest day so far that summer. It was 106 when we stopped for lunch. I looked in the back of the car to see how Fluff was doing and my heart stopped.

All the water from Fluff's water bottle had bounced out and Fluff was laying in the corner of his cage, belly up, legs in that "I'm dead" position, with his little tongue hanging out of his mouth. How was I going to explain to my eleven year old that his Hamster had died. Of course, about that time, Paul came over to check on Fluff. He was devastated.

So, we did the only thing we knew to do. We tried to revive him. We got a little cold water and an eyedropper and squirted some water into his mouth. And believe it or not, it worked. Fluff came around. We filled his bottle with water and he drank nearly half of it. I don't remember if we moved things around so that Fluff could ride in the Air Conditioning or not. What I remember is that little bit of water revived him. He lived for another two years. Water RESTORES AND REVIVES.

B. The waters of the River Of Life also RESTORE AND REVIVE. Those waters RESTORE AND REVIVE our lives and our spirits. That's why Jesus referred to Himself as the Water of Life. His life, His Living Water RESTORES AND REVIVES.

A few words From the musical "For Heaven's Sake" by Helen Kromer express it well.

The waters of the River Of Life found in Christ Jesus our Savior RESTORE AND REVIVE our hearts, our souls, our lives, our relationships and our spirits. And especially our relationship with God. And it doesn't much of that water. It might only be a drop. It might only be an eyedropper full but it can RESTORE AND REVIVE through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for our sakes.

The waters of the River Of Life RESTORE AND REVIVE.

III. WATER CLEANS AND REDEEMS:

A. We also know that WATER CLEANS AND REDEEMS. We use water to clean all the time. We shower in the morning. We wash our hands, our clothes, our cars, our kids, our dogs, and our dishes. If it can be washed there's probably a special detergent you can buy in either the grocery or hardware store. We are a very clean people. On the outside.

Thursday, Frank and Ernest were standing in front of a priest or a preacher and Frank says: "We're willing to flee from temptation, if we can leave a forwarding address." [4]

That's the way a lot of us act. But that's NOT the way God wants us to act. We get all cleaned up through the waters of our baptism but for some strange reason we don't want to stay cleaned up. We're almost like Dennis the Menace, once we get cleaned up, we can hardly wait to go get dirty again.

But what God wants is for to be cleaned up and remain cleaned up. The water of the River Of Life CLEANS AND REDEEMS.

A little girl was watching quietly and intently as her preacher baptized her little brother. But when it came time for the preacher to actually baptize, while he was dipping his hand into the water, the little girl became nervous. She edged up to the baptismal font and exclaimed, "And don't forget to wash behind his ears too, Preacher." [5]

When we are Baptized in the living water of Christ; when we're Baptized in the water of the River Of Life we are not only made CLEAN but we are REDEEMED. And living a life that remains CLEAN is living the REDEEMED life.

B. Living the REDEEMED life is also about being a tributary for the River Of Life. We're called to let waters of the River Of Life flow through us to others.

A Japanese Christian had just irrigated his rice field the previous day. It was very important at that time of the year to keep his field in standing water. The next day, however, when he went to check on his field, all the water was gone. After looking around a bit, he discovered that his neighbor just down the hill had broken the dividing wall between their fields and drained the water into his own.

This absolutely infuriated the man, so he went to consult with his pastor as to what he should do. The pastor advised the man to ignore the wrong done to him, repair the wall, and continue to flood his field again. The man did as his pastor advised.

The following day, however, the neighbor had once again drained the man's water into his own field. After three days of this, the man in a rage went again to his pastor and asked what he should do. After thinking for a moment, the pastor told the man to water his neighbor's field first, and then do his own. The man returned home and did as the pastor told him.

Three days later the neighbor came to the man, apologized for his conduct, and asked how he too could know the God of Christianity who would lead someone to act so forgiving and unselfish.

Water cleans. But the LIVING WATER from of the River Of Life CLEANS AND REDEEMS. It bubbles up from the Spring in Christ, flows from the Temple and spreads throughout the land. It brings life and hope.

The LIVING WATER from the River Of Life CLEANS AND REDEEMS.

CONCLUSION:

There was a young salesman who was disappointed about losing a big sale. As he talked with his sales manager he lamented, "I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."

The manager replied, "Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty." [7]

So it is with our faith. Our lives should be so filled with the Living Water of Christ that they create a thirst for RENEWAL AND REFRESHMENT, RESTORATION AND REVIVAL, CLEANLINESS AND REDEMPTION.

The LIVING WATER from the River Of Life should fill our hearts and souls and spirits so that they are transformed from stagnant waters to living water. It can only be done through Christ, so invite Him to transform the stagnant waters of your life.

Invite Him to bring new life. Come to the River Of Life and drink deep from LIVING WATER.

1. "Water." Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2001. © 1993-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

2. As quoted in Bob Phillips, Phillips' Book of Great Thoughts & Funny Sayings, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1993), p. 53.

3. The Pastor's Story File (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), July 1986

4. Bob Thaves, 9/6/2001

5. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), August 1989 Adapted

6. Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), June 1995

7. Preaching Magazine - Vol. 1, #3, (Preaching Resources, Jackson, TN)