Revelation 22:1-2 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Ezekiel 47:1-5 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. 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. 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. 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. 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.
BAPTISM IS IMMERSION.
THIS IS A PERFECT PICTURE OF HOLY GHOST BAPTISM.Ezekiel 47:6-12 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
At the very outset of the Bible, we find two opposing NATURES vying for man's soul.
Genesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed
man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life; and man became a living soul.
Genesis 2:9-10 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.
Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.Genesis 2:9 says out of the ground grow trees.
Genesis 1:11-12 And God said, Let the
earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding
fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was
so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his
kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his
kind: and God saw that it was good.
Seeds are put into soil and they grow into the kind of trees from which that seed came.
TWO NATURES.
So this other NATURE grew up in man and actually took over man.
Matthew 3:7-8 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:It was a SERPENT that gave fruit of death to Eve.Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
I want to show you this morning what God wanted man to be, and what kind of desired people God does have in this world.
Genesis 3:11-13 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.Judgmentalists.
The first attitude the people had when confronted with God was passing the blame on another.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed
from death unto life.
Romans 5:18 Therefore as by the offence
of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness
of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Revelation 22:1-2 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.The word MEDICINE in verse 12 in the Hebrew language is literally "for bruises and sores".Ezekiel 47:8-9 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
Ezekiel 47:12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Jesus said He had the Spirit of God anointing Him to set at liberty them that are bruised.
Revelation shows ONE TREE OF LIFE by the river of life, and Ezekiel shows MANY TREES OF LIFE.
These trees represent God's people.
RIGHT NOW.
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.For Revelation 22 to say we can come and drink of the water of life freely, right now, after saying the River of life flows from a throne, we know this flowing river is a RIGHT NOW thing.
John 7:38-39 He that believeth on me,
as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him
should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus
was not yet glorified.)
Psalm 1:1-3 Blessed is the man that
walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the
law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he
shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth
his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper.
I am talking about saints of God who are truly trees of life in a world of knowledge of good and evil.
2 Corinthians 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.The Old Testament, signified by the ten commandments engraved on stone, is referred to as a certain kind of ministration.
2 Corinthians 3:6-9 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.We can administer condemnation to people if we do not catch the will of God carefully enough.
RESCUED.
DELIVERED.
Jesus SETS AT LIBERTY THEM THAT ARE BRUISED, NOT CONDEMNING THEM MORE!
SET CAPTIVES FREE.
Jesus is the Tree of Life.
Isaiah 11:1-3 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:Notice the terminology in verse like that of a TREE.
1) Spirit of the LordSeven is God's perfect number.
2) Spirit of wisdom
3) Spirit of understanding
4) Spirit of counsel
5) Spirit of might
6) Spirit of knowledge
7) Spirit of fear of the Lord.
Isaiah said these seven spirits shall make him of QUICK UNDERSTANDING.
Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;
he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
1) Spirit of the Lord.Jesus also indicated the same to John's disciples.
2) Preach the gospel to poor
3) Heal the brokenhearted.
4) Preach deliverance to captives.
5) Recovering of sight to blind.
6) Set those bruised at liberty
7) Preach acceptable year of the Lord.
Matthew 11:5-6 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.All He did was GOOD.1) Blind receive sight
2) Lame walk
3) Lepers cleansed
4) Deaf hear
5) Dead raised
6) Poor have gospel preached
7) Blessing to those not offended in Him.
John 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.The thief came to steal, kill and destroy.
John 10:1-2 Verily, verily, I say unto
you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth
in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:6-10 This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.Here stands a ministry that seeks to heal your wounds and not condemn you.
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of
the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that
I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water,
that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go,
call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have
no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband:
in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that
thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say,
that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith
unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in
this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye
know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But
the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
John 7:37-39 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)This is the river into which is rooted and anchored the trees of life.
John 1:17 For the law was given by Moses,
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Matthew 18:21-34 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.Peter asked about how to handle a man who sinned against you seven times in one day and came each time for forgiveness.
Matthew 18:18 Verily I say unto you,
Whatsoever ye shall bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven:
and whatsoever ye shall loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Matthew 18:26-27 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.The Lord is moved with compassion and LOOSES us, FORGIVING us.
And the true church does the same.
This is not speaking about those who sin and stubbornly never cease to do so (see Matthew 18:17).
Matthew 18:29-30 And his fellowservant
fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with
me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast
him into prison, till he should pay
the debt.
Jesus said that after wheat was planted in a field the enemy came at night and sowed tares in the field.
Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or
figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but
a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth
evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every
tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the
fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
There is a time for BINDING a man when he refused to listen and repent and argues with the preacher who comes and kindly encourages repentance and cutting the sin off, and argues with the church, and argues with the Bible....