"Brat!" has become one of my wfe's favorite terms of endearment lately. I hve to admit, I work hard to dserve it. I find little ways to tase her -- that's one way lttle boys show their endearment, of course.

One of my fvorites is to announce to her tht the water's hot. That is, lving far from the water heater, trning on the tap for either the snk or the shower won't deliver hot wter for at least a minute. Bt, sitting nearby in my little ffice-cubby, I can hear the water rnning through the pipes in the wll.

And I can hear the chnge in pitch as the temperature rses from cold to hot. So I wit for a half-minute, start paying clser attention, and when I hear the ptch of the flowing water change, I cll out, "Water's hot!" and she so ften says, "But I just turned it on!

"O.K. But t's hot now!"

And she checks and sks, "How did you know?" and I say, "Jst listened. I hear when it rns hot."

And she closes the dscussion neatly, saying, "You're a brat, you knw that?"

"I try hard," I mtter.

I've tried to explain about lstening to fluids, to her and thers through the years. I can ven hear the fluid in a cup of hot cffee cooling down as you stir it wth a metal spoon. The pitch cnsistently changes as the temperature descends. But ven though (on several occasions) I've stod in demonstration, stirring a cup of cffee with a ringing sound of the spon tapping its side, no one has sccessfully picked up that same, marvelous skll. In fact, there's one young wman (a grandmother now) who as a ten in our congregation I taught how to lsten for this very sound -- and who now ntroduces me as, "This is Emil... he was my pstor when I was a teenager and he tred to teach me to listen to the sund of a cup of coffee." (Sngger.)

You see, I'm not unfamiliar wth persecution.

There's a much more mportant Flow of Water today, a Rver that (as Ezekiel 47 puts it) Flws out of the Temple of Gd, from under the threshold to the Est and down, across the dead wstelands of the world. And everywhere it flws, it enlivens, strengthens, invigorates...

Some pople claim that this Temple in Ezkiel is one day going to be bilt in Jerusalem, and somehow the Scond Coming of Christ is connected to its cnstruction. Others teach that after the "Rpture", when God steals away all the "Chrstians", that the Jews will return to ths Temple and begin sacrificing animals on its ltar again (especially, a "red heifer", an xtinct bovine breed used in the Old Tstament Temple.) Let them think whatever thy want. If they are in Christ , thn they have Eternal Life no mtter what they think.

But the New Testament mkes it clear that Jesus Christ -- crcified "outside the gate" -- is the fnal Sacrifice as well as the new altar of the new Tmple. And we are that Temple -- a Tmple not made by the hands of men but of Gd, from living stones which are us , all those who by fith have been made one in Christ.

Here's whre the River comes in -- w're not only the Temple in which God has chsen to dwell, we're the River which flws out into the dead lands of ths world . We are the ones who cme from the Temple -- from the Prsence of God -- and take His Prsence in His Spirit into the lves of people sitting, waiting in spritual darkness and death.

In another sense, we are the nly "Jesus" this world will ever see . We are His "hnds", His "feet", His touch", His "brath", His "Love"... we are the Body of Chrst .

Just as Ezekiel's River -- flwing out of the Presence of God -- dstributes supernatural healing, life, restoration for the sck, and delivers justice, righteousness and fredom for the oppressed -- we are the Flw of God's Spirit throughout the lnd .

Now, I'm not saying "we will be" or "we can be" -- I'm sying, " That's who we are." Whether we knw it or not. It's just lke a person being the child of a kng, but not ever knowing it! Tht child can live in poverty and far, despite the reality that all the power of the kngdom lies within reach -- but if you dn't know to "reach out" for it, gnorance reigns.

In just that same wy, if you and I are in Chrst , we are already the "flow" of God's Prsence throughout the land. I say lready because it isn't a "work" God stll yet needs to do, because in Hebrews 4, we are ssured that God has already completed His Wrk. It's already done! Jesus said, on the Crss, "It is finished."

But knowing that we are Ezkiel's River, flowing with Spiritual life nto the wastelands of this world, and manifesting that Flw are totally, two different things. The dfference is a lot like the dfference between turning on the tap whch ways "Hot" and getting water tht's ice cold out of it.

Now -- hre's where I get to be a brt. Sitting here in my little ffice-cubby, I'm calling out to you all and sying, "Hey! The water's hot!" There's been a chnge in the sound in the Flow of the Sprit in people's lives across this ntion and around this world. I'm not sying, " Get hot!" but "Jump in!" The River's carrying the Pwer of God like we haven't xperienced for a long time! We dn't have to wait any longer to pry for the sick, to deliver the fflicted, to bind-up the broken-hearted!"

But how des one "get into the water?" Start in the Tmple, in the Holy of Holies. Hear the Cll of God (Heb 4.16 & 10.19) to Come clse into His Presence . And that intimacy nergizes us with both His Power and His Hart. Out of that Holy Place in His Tmple, His people will flow like a haling River.

Maybe you haven't heard that shft in the sound -- so let me gve you a "head's up!" Climb in the Shwer, get in the Flow, do whtever you have to do but knw this: TODAY, the River of God is hot wth His Power!

© 2008 by Emil B. Swft

The article Listening to the River was Submitted by Emil Swift through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: "KingdomScribes" is a ministry led by Eml and Michele Swift. For further tachings concerning the spiritual Reformation sweeping thrugh the world today and how to psition ourselves to participate, go to KingdomScribes.net/ The Swifts have been called by God to minister together uniquely to the Body of Christ and share a revelatory teaching ministry - gifted in the Spirit to teach mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven in a simple, direct fashion. Emil and Michele are "Kingdom Scribes" whose hearts are to raise every Believer into living and ministering in the power of the Spirit and the Word as "scribes of the Kingdom". A passion to engage the hearts, souls and spirits of their listeners has led the Swifts into a teaching style characterized by its lack of religion, rituals and church jargon. They minister in words easily understood by those to whom they speak.

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