Book Excerpt - Get in the River - from the book "Send Your Fire"

Send Your Fire

Book Excerpt

Get in the River
(part of chapter 7)
The move of the Holy Spirit has had a definite progression throughout history. If you look at biblical history, you see the Kingdom of God advancing through a set plan and purpose of God. In that plan, the move of the Holy Spirit has increased with time.
In the 47th chapter of his book, Ezekiel was given a vision that shows forth this progression. His vision stemmed from the throne room of God, in the form of a river.

"Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. ³ And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. ⁴ Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. ⁵ Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."
Ezekiel 47:2-5

This water is the river of life. It flows from God's throne because God created and sustains all life Himself. Water also symbolizes the Word of God. The Word of God causes the move of God. As the Word is manifested in our lives, the move of the Holy Spirit can increase in the earth.
This river is very unique. Not only does it flow out of the throne of God, but it increases in size as it flows. Now, on earth, we see rivers increase also, but that's because off tributaries bringing in more water. The further a great river flows, the more other rivers add their water to it, until it becomes vast. This river has no other tributaries. It only receives its water from the throne, but it continues to increase anyway.
Each of these points that we see measured out in the vision can be seen as a specific point in time. Each measurement is 1000 cubits, or ten cubed cubits. In biblical numbering, the number ten is a number of completion, so ten cubed is a definite point of God completing something major.

"And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles."
Ezekiel 47:3

The first thousand cubits bring us to the point in time where God gave Moses the law. The shekinah glory cloud of God's presence fell upon Mount Sinai, and the fire of His presence burned the top of the mountain.
Moses was called up the mountain by God and received from Him the Ten Commandments, carved into stone tablets by God's own hand. This was the first time in history that any people group had the law of God given to them. Other nations sought to please their false gods through sacrifices, without knowing what was desired or required. Now, for the first time, man had a written document stating what God expected.
Being in the presence of God had so impacted Moses that when he came down off the mountain, his face shown with the glory of God.

"And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him."
Exodus 34:30

For some time to come after that, Moses wore a veil over his face, so that the glory of God would not harm the people around him.
I have not yet met anyone who so shone with the glory of God that it was impossible to look upon their countenance. However, if Moses entered that closely into God's presence in the Old Testament, we should be able to do so today.

"Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees."
Ezekiel 47:4a

When the water was knee deep, King Solomon dedicated the temple to God. The power of God was so strong, that the priests could not stand in order to minister to the Lord.

" And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD."
1 Kings 8:10-11

Oh, to have the presence of God so strong in our services. I spend a lot of time in worship down on my face, before the Lord. But rarely is this because I cannot stand, it is just because I decide that His glory deserves my prostrating myself before Him. That's not the same. In Solomon's day, the presence was so strong that they could not stand. We need God's presence that strong today.
Being that close into God's presence would put us into a place where God's power could do anything He needed it to do in us. Our hearts and our bodies could be instantly transformed, so that we could truly be made into the image of Jesus, the Christ.

Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
Ezekiel 47:4b

At the point where the water reached the waist, the move of God became so strong that Jesus was born into this earth. God Himself was manifested in flesh, in order to become our Savior.
Not only did Jesus come, but when He returned to heaven, He left us the Holy Spirit. Up until the day of Pentecost, nobody was ever baptized in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would only come onto a person (usually a prophet), in order to accomplish one thing, or bring forth one message. Then the Spirit would leave, and that person did not have the power of God operating in, or through them any more.
Jesus performed an incredible number of miracles while He ministered on the earth. The Bible records many of these, but those only a small percentage of the ones He did. There are several places in the gospels that it says "…He healed all…" So, we know there were many, many more that we won't know about this side of heaven.
Before Jesus left the earth, He said to His disciples:

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."
John 14:12

In the book of Acts, we see the early church moving with the power of God. They were actively involved in fulfilling the great commission that Jesus gave them in Acts chapter 1.

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."
Acts:1:8

Not only did He give the great commission, but He also gave them authority, in His name, to accomplish supernatural acts as directed by the Holy Spirit.

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature… ¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Matthew 16:15-18

Throughout the book of Acts, we find the power of the Holy Spirit manifested through the early Christians. Most specifically it is a record of the Holy Spirit working through the apostles. However, by no means is it limited to the apostles. It also shows deacons, and other believers being used as instruments of the Holy Spirit.
God's intent was that the last days would begin in the book of Acts. Peter even proclaimed that in the first message he preached on the day of Pentacost.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams"
Acts 2:17

If the Body of Christ had continued in God's perfect will, then the move of God that we saw in the book of Acts would have been only a starting point. From there, it would have grown and increased until the day of Jesus' return.
Unfortunately, it is too easy for man to fall into tradition and structure instead of following the full leading of the Holy Spirit. So, instead of the move of God growing from that point, it fell back, reaching low levels that God never intended. Throughout history, God has been working through the various revivals to bring us back up to the level that they were at in the early church.
Some people would say this isn't true because that would mess up God's timetable. These people are forgetting the power and intelligence of God. He is so far above our understanding that He is able to know how man would fall short of His ideal, and made His plans take that into account.

Before the end can come, God must bring us into the fullness of His power and glory. That means that we must first catch up with what was happening in the book of Acts, and then surpass it. So, let's take a look at some of the things that happened in those times and see where we are in comparison...

Continued in the book "Send Your Fire"