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Discussion Forum : Miracles that follow the plow : The Waters of Life (Changing the very heart of you)

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 The Waters of Life (Changing the very heart of you)

Isa 12:3 And with joy you shall draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Isa 41:17-18The poor and needy seek water, and there is none; their tongue fails for thirst, I Jehovah will hear them, I the God of Israel will not leave them.
Isa 41:18 I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Hi Guys
How many of us know that water is the very source of life? God is often times referred to as water, the life that He gives us is supernatural water. When we receive this water then we never thirst again. There is river that flows from the Holy throne of God. It is the source of all life and it is in this source we must flow. This flow must come from the very center of who we are, the most secret parts of us, the secret gardens of our hearts, a place that is often times hidden away by the ravages of life. While this is the true source of life, the place that Jesus must reign over, too often is it guarded. Jesus will and has gone to enormous lengths to free us to be exactly who He wants us to be yet so many will miss out because the very core of who they are remains veiled and guarded.

Each one of us has been given a portion of the river of life. It is to be found at the very center of our hearts.When we discover Jesus, we discover the power to unlock the source of life itself, the river of life. Jesus is the key to unlocking this river and it must begin to flow from the hearts of man.

Several years ago I helped a friend go and move his stepson out of his college apartment. The stepson had lived there for two years with 3 other college boys. I have lived in some rough places in my life, but I do not believe I have ever seen squalor like this. We looked around at the mess, not believing anyone would want to live like this. The irony was that this boys mother was a "cleanfreak." Just when we thought we had seen it all, we noticed a curtain that was crossed. We looked behind the curtain, it was the kitchen. The first thing to hit us was the smell, it was so rancid that it almost had substance, a substance that just reached out and grabbed your nose and made your head recoil. The kitchen was desolate. Dirty plates stacked everywhere. Empty food cartons, some not so empty. Mold growing all over the plates. I am sure if penicillin had not yet been discovered, it may have been growing in this kitchen. When we questioned the boy and his cohorts they explained that the kitchen just got so bad that they pulled the curtain and "decided never to go in there again." This kitchen had been untouched for possibly a year, you can imagine the rest.


Someone famous once said, "Show me the boy when he is seven and I will show you the man." This is true of men and women, perhaps seven is not the right number, but there is no doubt that we are programmed as children by our experiences. Despite all that councilors and Freud may say, this program cannot be changed by human efforts because it is the essence of the heart that is lost, the beauty and the majesty of Gods original plan is locked away in the stagnant pool at the very center of our being. When Jesus died on the cross, it is said that He went into the grave, hell itself to release the captives to preach the good news to the prisoners. Jesus descended to the depths of the human heart, He fought sin and death and arrived at the very core of who we are, and if you allow Him, he will pull the curtain back , kick down the door that has locked away the true essence of who you are and bring that person into the light of His love, into the flow of the river of life. And all things, all the struggles, all the lack of joy, contentment, all things lost in the fall, will be restored in the river of life as you are immersed and allow yourself to flow in the this river.



Can I suggest that at the very heart of many people, where their essence is, their portion of life, the water of God designed to flow in the river, has been isolated, they have pulled the curtain over the most intimate part of their heart and it has become a stagnant pool. The scriptures urge us to join the river, not up to our ankles, not up to our knees, not even up to our waist but to become fully immersed in the river of life. This is the river that flows from the foundations of the temple of God. God, in His mercy released this flow from Calvary. Everywhere this river touches, all that join the river of life are blessed and everything this river touches it heals. Do not imagine that the Lord does not know the pain of the covered heart. You see, many of us because of circumstances, perhaps abuse, sexual, or emotional retreated into the deepest recesses of their hearts and pulled the curtain shut. Sin compelled the true essence of who God wanted you to be to hide in the most hidden and intimate place.


Before Jesus came, God's presence was to be found in what was called "The Holy of Holy's." Behind the curtain, behind the veil the actual presence of the Lord was to be found. No man or woman could come into this presence and live. The sin in our lives would render us destroyed in the presence of perfection, akin to matter and anti-matter, the two cannot exist side by side. So why was God the Father behind the veil? Gods heart was broken by the sin of His creation. His longing to be reconciled to His children was a pain that would be impossible to understand. If we are even to get a glimpse of how much pain the Father felt because He loved us so much we have to look to Calvary and the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. At the very height of the agony of Calvary, when Jesus cries out to His Father "Father, why has thou forsaken me," the Fathers heart is broken in pain, the ultimate sacrifice has been accomplished, there is now nothing that can separate us from the river of life. The veil, the curtain in the temple was "torn," and our Fathers heart was torn. And in the pain of sacrifice and agony and love, a love we cannot possibly understand for our minds are so small, the presence of the Lord was released into the world from the very heart of His presence, no longer veiled behind the curtain of separation, but released to flow into a world darkened by separation, by a decision to shut God of by disobedience and sin.

If we are to be a light unto the world then we too must rip the veil of our heart and expose the very core of who we are to the light of the Lord Jesus. Only then can we allow our portion of the river to flow and to begin to heal everything that it touches, starting with ourselves and then reaching out to our families, friends and ultimately the world. This is a challenge that will strike fear into the hearts of many, for only you know the very intimate source of your pain, but you probably cannot even imagine how many areas of your life it has effected.

Only last year did I truly reconcile with my earthly father. I have been a Christian for fourteen years, he has been a Christian for seventeen. Before coming to Christ I was an addict. An addict of drugs, an addict of alcohol an addict of sex an addict of cigarettes. Coming to Jesus I was able, in His strength, to overcome all of these. For truly I was addicted to oblivion and anything that anesthetized my secret pain. The pain of a childhood raised by a violent alcoholic. The pain of rejection by a father. Coming to Jesus I had no further need of oblivion and all these things just fell away, or so I thought. You see, I was overweight, at least 50 pounds overweight. I ate when I was happy, I ate when I was sad, any excuse to eat.

This addiction had snuck under the radar. Last year, under instructions from the Lord, I was able to confront my father face to face. Not with anger or recrimination, but with love and forgiveness. Now I forgave my father fourteen years ago, but it had remained unspoken, My father had never asked for my forgiveness and I had never spoken about it. I still had never heard any affirming words from my dad. After facing some of my greatest fears, I spoke to him what the Lord had instructed to me to speak, words of love and forgiveness. I had never been more afraid, but urged on by the Spirit, I spoke vulnerable words to the man who had hurt me more than anyone on earth. The fear of rejection almost overwhelmed me, but I was obedient to the Spirit. Right into the heart of the secret veiled garden of my heart went the Lord to release that portion of the river of life. And ever since that day, a day that my father hugged me and embraced me, the river has been flowing. Months later he called to tell me what a great job I had made of some tilework , so simple, so enormous. The first words of affirmation I had ever heard from my father, and I am a forty year old man.I could tell how difficult it was for my father to say the words, but he was now flowing in his own river.

In the last several months since these incidents I have lost 50 pounds, the addiction of food, the final addiction has been swallowed up by the river of life that flows from the unveiled secret place of the heart, the source of who we truly are in Christ, who Christ made us to be.
I am not sure what it is that may lie at the center of your heart, but I know that the Lord desires to rule and reign over all of you, nothing held back that He may put into operation, the full victory of Calvary. When He cried out "It is finished," then down came the veil, and out poured the presence of God Himself into this world, the river of life that flows and heals everything that it touches. Open up your heart today, let the Lord lead you in healing the most secret parts of your heart and today life will flow through you, waters of life that will quench your deepest thirst and touch all that is in your life.
In the beauty of Holiness
Frank






 2006/1/13 20:35









 Re: The Waters of Life (Changing the very heart of you)

Very appropriate for [b]"Miracles That Follow The Plow"[/b].



Thank you Frank.

 2006/1/24 15:34
myfirstLove
Member



Joined: 2005/11/26
Posts: 496


 Re: The Waters of Life (Changing the very heart of you)

very encouraging testimony. thankyou for sharing. i had a similiar experience with my dad. surely when we humble ourselves the river does start flowing. obedience is beautiful. because of your obedience to God it brought blessings to your dad. our obedience to God surely brings about life to others, not all, but some (2cor.2:14-16). even if it is just one life brought back to life, it is worth the death of us.


_________________
Lisa

 2006/1/24 19:57Profile









 Re:

Praise God brother. He is faithful and true. To a broken and contrite heart He can do so much. If we will humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, then He will lift us up...........Frank

 2006/1/24 21:13





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