The River of God’s Spirit Today

David Copeland June 16, 2005 2:17 pm

Ezekiel 47:7-11

7Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8Then 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. 9And 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. 10And 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. 11But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

Recently, I was awakened by the Holy Spirit with these words in my heart: "Flowing with the Coming Apostolic Order." Much has been written over the last decade about the restoration of apostles and prophets. I've never had a problem believing apostles and prophets were still for today. My Baptist heritage has taught me to believe the Bible, all of the Bible, and that it is true. We should not choose which scriptures are for today and which scriptures are not for today. It was only after I became involved in Full-Gospel circles that I noticed a "cessationist mentality" over certain subjects, this being one of them.

While I do not have time in this newsletter to go into detail proving the validity of apostles and prophets, I will remind you that Ephesians 2:20 plainly tells us the church "…built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone."

Since the mid–1990's the River of God's Spirit has brought a new flow of Apostolic Order that has brought many into a fresh encounter with God. God has raised pastors with an apostolic mantle to take congregations and cities into new levels in God. Preachers and Evangelists are finally accepting the prophetic mantle and pointing the Body of Christ into our destiny. Entire cities have been transformed and the landscape of ministry in America is being redefined by this move of the Holy Spirit.

However, the Holy Spirit is about to change the face of the current Apostolic order with an entirely new flow of His Spirit. Those who become rigid and refuse to move on in the flow of the River will find themselves pushed into spiritual marshlands and miry places. Ezekiel 47:11 clearly tells us "those places will not be healed, they will be given to salt."

Everywhere I have been in the last several months I have seen God moving pastors and churches into this change. It is not easy leaving the spiritually comfortable places where we are, even if we have already moved into the current Apostolic Order. But if we want the life-changing refreshing from the River God, we must "go with the flow" of His Spirit! It may be uncomfortable, but it's worth the risk!

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