Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.1 Kings 18:21
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I did many miracles, signs and wonders for My people that no other could do and yet they had a leaning to running after idols that were the work of their own hands. Why? They did not believe I would give them what they wanted so they were seeking it elsewhere. This was what turned Adam and Eve to submitting to the words of a creature over the creator. They thought that there was more for them from the world than they would find in Me. But I made and sustain the world.
To be in Christ is to be in the place of rest but to stay there you must know and believe that in Me you have the best and there is nothing better outside of Me. The prodigal son left the abundance of his father’s house thinking he could have more freedom and fun in the world but he found that the world without his father was a perilous and barren place without mercy for those it drained dry and tossed aside.
When My people would leave Me for idols, I called it like a spouse committing adultery. This was because I am in Covenant with you and in Covenant, as in a marriage, each one is set aside for the other and is expected to be loyal and faithful.
For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, WHICH IS FOR YOU; do this in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-24.
But when one begins to be ungrateful for the other and decides someone else looks more exciting, that is where the sin that destroys the relationship begins. It is a lack of gratitude but it comes from not knowing that in Me you already have everything you are seeking so hard to find. And that is what the prodigal son found out, everything he was looking for was back in the father’s house that he had left. And there was no toil for him to have it there as it was in the world, it was simply based on the family relationship.
The same was true with Adam, when he walked with Me in the garden as one there was no toil or sweat to cultivating the garden and watching the increase, but when he rejected Me, and thereby rejected the truth which is eternal for a perishable lie, then toil, sweat, and pain came in and entered to the core of his being.
In Christ, however, you can return and restore the relationship Adam severed. Jesus took your pains, sorrows, sickness, disease, sins, and toil and, by My doing, I put you in Christ and made Him wisdom unto you, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. And this was not your doing but Mine. In Him, you are My child and heir, and in Him, I have freely given you all things, far beyond all you can ask or imagine. In Him, I have given you the Kingdom. There is nowhere you can find anything better, higher, richer, or more advantageous to you than in Christ and in Him alone will you have eternal life. There is no other place you can connect with eternal life than in Him. He is the only way to Me. Why would you be seeking another path when I have given you a direct and living way and a good Shepherd to lead you along that path of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit?
Noah and his family had to be all in the ark or they would have perished in the flood. If they, like Lot’s wife, had still wanted the attractions of sin in the world and refused to commit to closing the door, the flood would have taken them down as well. But even though they had never seen a flood, Noah believed that in Me he had the best and he followed My directions perfectly. And, as My servant David sang, in keeping My Words there is great reward.
David knew he had the best. He never worshipped an idol or even glanced that way. He was all in with Me. He found My Words better than thousands of pieces of gold and sweeter than honey, giving a light to his path and a lamp to his feet. He found He was smarter than his teachers by knowing My Word.
My Word puts you way ahead of the worldly because it gives you wisdom from above in which there is peace and rest in works of excellence which are the fruit you will bear on the divine vine for the blessing and increase of all. The wisdom of the world is shrewd, full of devilish cunning, giving a semblance of superiority and power but by oppression and pride. It causes divisions and strife.
So what is the answer? Let the disciple who defined Me as love, perfect love that casts out all fear, tell you:
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17.
Do you remember how the devil tempted Eve and it ended in losing all she had, even her dominion authority, to the devil? Exactly as the Holy Spirit is speaking in this passage through My disciple John:
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6.
She saw that the tree was good for food, this was the lust of the flesh from which all addictions, gluttony, and the like arise if not held in check by the peace of your spirit.
And that it was a delight to the eyes, this was the lust of the eyes, and that is why I tell you to keep your eyes on Jesus and off the sin that so easily encumbers and ensnares you.
My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; keep them in the midst of your heart . . . Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Proverbs 4:20-21;25-26.
And the next line of what brought Eve down: “and the tree was desirable to make one wise.” This was the “boastful pride of life.”
Adam and Eve did not pass the test that every person must take in this life to determine their forever and that is found codified for you in Deuteronomy 30:19:
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days. Deuteronomy 30:19-20.
Adam and Eve had a test and they failed it. They chose death over life. My Words are life to those who find them. When you choose to disobey My Words you are choosing death, for My Words are Spirit and life. Do not make the same mistake, you are still in the repercussions of it. It is going to take new heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells to take care of it. But the good news is that when you are in Christ you will never fail the test because when you chose Christ you chose life for, He is the author of life.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For [x]by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17.
Now let us go to a vision I gave the prophet Ezekiel and I will show you what it means to be “all in.”
When the My house lay in ruins, burned to the ground with fire by the Chaldeans, and My people had been taken captive to Babylon, I took Ezekiel back to the land of Israel in a vision and I set him on a very high mountain and on it, to the south, there was a structure, a beautiful city that was Mine. And I sent a messenger to show him around and give him the dimensions. And during this vision he saw My glory come like the rising sun from the east and fill the house, the very place of My throne where I would dwell among men. Ezekiel 43:1-7. And in the light of My glory Ezekiel fell on his face in worship, heartfelt genuine amazing worship, caught up in My glory, as one day you all will be. Ezekiel 44:4. And then I showed him something amazing. I showed him the river of water flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east from the south side of the altar. Ezekiel 47:1. But at first the water was only a trickle, but as Ezekiel walked back and forth in it, guided by the man with the measuring rod who I sent to guide him, it soon reached his ankles, but he could still step in and out of it, but the man kept leading him and measuring off a thousand at a time, and next it reached his knees, he measured a thousand and led him back in and it reached his hips. He again measured a thousand, and it was now a river tha Ezekiel could not ford, he now had to swim in it. Ezekiel 47:2-5.
And I then showed him more about this amazing river of delight, that made trees spring up with healing in their leaves for the nations and made everywhere it came fresh and new, teeming with life. But let Me stop here a moment at the bank of the river. Ezekiel 47:6. And there, as Ezekiel sat on the bank of the overflowing river, his guide asked him if he had seen what I had showed him.
Have you understood?
There is a stream, clear as crystal, flowing from My throne in Heaven and the throne of My Son in Heaven. Revelations 22:1. And it is the river of the water of life. Revelation 22:1. It is the river of My delights which I give My children to drink. Psalm 36:8. In Me is the fountain of life and in My light you see light. Psalm 36:9.
And My Son told you about this river, and He died to give you the right to drink of it. John 7:37-39. And when He had done the work of your salvation and returned to My throne, He received from Me the promise of the Holy Spirit and poured forth that river of living water on those who receive My Son as LORD. Acts 2:33.
If you but knew the gift of God, My Son told the Samaritan women, you would ask Him for a drink and He will give you living water, that will become in you a well of water spring up to eternal life. John 4:10-14.
But let Me go back to Ezekiel’s vision, for it is for you too. As he followed the lead of the one I sent to him in the vision at first the water was only a trickle, it would hardly wet his feet. This is the spiritual life of many today. They mentally assent to believing in Jesus but they are more of the flesh than of the spirit. You really can see no difference in their commitment to Me than that of an unbeliever. They are skirting around the power that can change them. They would rather stay in the rut they are in. No Word, no prayer, no worship.
Then there are those who are enthusiastic but not fully committed. There is still sin in their lives. They are involved in immoral relationships, living outside marriage as if married, and other practices of the world and yet running to prayer groups and professing faith in Me. They like the power but cast My discipline behind them. They wade in the Spirit but keep stepping out to the world, they do not want to go too deep and change things they are comfortable with. Never get comfortable with sin. It will destroy you in the end. The wages of sin is death and the devil will enforce that for you.
The next group will get in to their knees. Then there are some that have dared to go as high as their hips.
But guess whom I am looking for? Guess what My eyes are roaming the earth to find? The one who has jumped in and is swimming and floating right in the middle of My Will and has found the river of delights to be their heart’s delight. And that is the one who has made the commitment to stand with My Word and obey My Word in season and out of season, in abundance and in famine, on the mountain tops and in the valleys, in the sunshine and in the storm! And, like Daniel, even in the lions’ den! Like John in exile on the island of Patmos! And like Paul in a jail cell chained to the floor. And later Paul wrote to Timothy, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:1-5.
And in abundance or want, Paul had learned the secret of being content. How? He knew he could do all things in the One who strengthened him. That river of grace that filled him was sufficient. He counseled everyone to be filled with the Holy Spirit. When you are, you are filled with that river of life, that will carry you by its current to My City, and right to My throne. And when it is flowing in and through you, everyone who joins with you will be caught up in the glory, the healing of that river of life. From your fullness, they can also drink. Offer My Word to a thirsty world.
But most people are only in as far as their ankles so that they can keep wading out back to the world. You cannot serve two masters. You will love one and hate the other. I will not share My glory with another.
Like My prophet Elijah told the people of Israel, you cannot straddle the fence and serve Me and other gods. You have to make the commitment. You are all Mine or you are not Mine. I will not share your heart with another god, with an idol.
And when do I know that you love Me? When you keep My Word. John 14:21, 23. When keeping My Word is more important to you than all the things in the world which are not of Me– the life of lust, greed, selfish ambition, and darkness. My beloved John, who was in the river all the way so that his feet could not even touch the ground, and never left it, wrote thus to you by My Spirit: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:15-17.
Yes, forever, the river of life. The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. Revelation 22:17. And that is the final invitation I give in the Bible.
Swim in it, drink it, long for it—the river of the water of life. Make the commitment. You are either in or out. Why not just jump in? You will find it is much easier to swim and float then to hike. And if you like to paddle, it is so much easier to paddle with the current of the river of the water of life than to go against it. Selah.
Follow your guide, the Holy Spirit will guide you to all truth and to the springs of life giving water. Your good Shepherd will lead you beside restful waters of peace. Psalm 23:2.
I love you. Do not leave the river, let it carry you through life. You will never thirst again. Too many of you have only let yourselves wade in and out to your ankles. Stop playing with the world, the flesh and the devil and go for all that Christ died to give you. But it takes a commitment and it requires you to stick with it like a good soldier, even in armed combat. But just know, if you stay in, you will win. It will carry you home.