THE RIVER IS RISING

Dear Saints, as you respond to the call of Jesus Christ and to the grace of God, you are about to find yourself in His River.  This Heavenly River is rising! Get ready, because you are about to be caught up in something tremendous, something immense, something with which you cannot cope. It’s going to be absolutely exhilarating because within this water ….. you are FREE! 

Stand strong as you read this message because the enemy comes to steal every seed planted by God through our minds, reminding us of  something we did, something we watched, or even a thought that may be wasn’t even your own. The battle to keep you from wading in this holy river. We need this river, as truth is revealed to us the water rises by the flow of the Holy Spirit!

As you sit in the presence of the Lord, practice a time of reflection and true appreciation of our Holy Yahweh. We know God’s powerful truth breaks every stronghold for those who wait on the Lord.

Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Isaiah 58:6‭-‬8 NKJV

You might remember early in our journey, we were taken to the river over and over? Well it’s in God’s Holy river, where we find His Grace. But through His Mercy, we are given wisdom through the prophet Ezekiel who comes to our rescue with a true picture of God’s Grace. Ezekiel explains,”the river came out from beneath the threshold of the house, flowing by way of the altar, out through the whole sacred area, and down through the land, gaining in breadth and gaining in depth.” 

The prophet says that the man in the vision led him up to the river and then into the river, and at first it was ankle-deep; and then he was led further until it was knee-deep, and still led on until it was thigh-deep; then - "waters to swim in", and the last description is, "a river that could not be passed through" (Ezek. 47:1-5).

Then the shining man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing from underneath the temple threshold. It was flowing eastward (for the temple faced east). Water was trickling out from the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 Then he took me out by the north gate and led me around the outside to the gate that faces east. And there I saw water flowing out on the right-hand side, south of the gateway. 3 The man holding his measuring line walked east and measured off a thousand cubits. Then he made me wade across the shallow water, and it was ankle deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and told me to wade across the stream again; the water was up to my knees. He measured off another thousand cubits and made me wade across the stream again, and the water was up to my waist. 5 He measured off another thousand; it was now a river over my head, which I was unable to swim across. It was a deep swollen river—a river no one could cross. Ezekiel 47:1-5 TPT -

May I ask, are you beginning to wade in this amazing river? 

God’s river is life giving and it’s also mentioned in Revelation 22:1-2. It’s was formed in the Garden of Eden and symbolizes life from God and the healing and restoration that flow directly from His Throne in heaven to His Temple [us]. Its gentle, safe, but a deep river, expanding as it flows. 

Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four [branching] rivers. 11 The first [river] is named Pishon; it flows around the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 The gold of that land is good; bdellium (a fragrant, valuable resin) and the [g]onyx stone are found there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the entire land of Cush [in Mesopotamia]. 14 The third river is named Hiddekel (Tigris); it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.Genesis 2:10-14

I love the word of God, don’t you! Let me share a vision I was given while in prayer a few years ago, I believe it is relevant for today.

My Elim Vision 

I am sitting under a tree by a river that flows from Eden. In the distance, I see Saints standing knee deep in water with their pant legs rolled up and occasionally bending over to pick up river stones. As each one picks up a stone, each one’s is inspected for its beauty and placed it into a bag thats loosely hung over their shoulder. Each one’s is smiling because the river is a peace.

And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season; Its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity]. Psalm 1:2-4

I know this river and remember that the garden and Eden are separated because of the fall of Adam and Eve. As I am taking these notes of reflection, I feel the loving presence of the Lord within my heart and a warmth grows from within my belly and flows to my heart. Jesus is here, among us in the river. He had promised to come with us, to lead us, guide and protect us – and here He was, in the form of this glorious, shimmering flowing river. Every concern is immediately put to rest and every burden was represented as a stone in the river. Jesus’ love washed by the flow of his waters and begins to fill my heart. I want to camp here indefinitely; but my journey is far from complete. 

That is the wonderful river of Divine grace, it is more than you and I will be able to compass or master, more than we can bring within our poor, limited capacity. It will be beyond us, always, no matter what the need may be; it will always be beyond us. 

Can you grasp this river? I hope so, it’s a beautiful revelation. It is beyond you, it takes your breath away. It defeats and defies every effort to comprehend and understand and explain. Maybe you are at a place where you thought that perhaps the grace of God could not help you any more? 

I found myself here when I finally came to the end of myself and just said, God take it all. Have you found this place yet? 

Can I tell you … the truth? This river is God’s Grace. A place where you will find it…is beyond you altogether: you cannot cope with this truth! It’s unfathomable to the human mind. This is a spiritual encounter!

As I was saying, if you respond to the call of grace you will discover that it is something tremendous. It goes right back before time and on after time: it is boundless as eternity. 

However, beware the measure of the Spirit that we know will be proportional to the measure of the purpose of God in our lives. Meaning, if you are only in part-way for what God has purposed for you and you are not willing to go beyond that part, then you will only be given a measure of the Spirit. 

This river flows within us if we are right in-line with the full purpose of God, than GOD provides full co-operation of the Holy Spirit.

Our alignment with God is the key to the river and it is related first to the Cross. Jesus is the way, He keeps the way open for us by deepening and broadening the channel. It’s also related to the House or Body [believers] of Christ. Everything in the purpose of God is related to the wonderful, divine masterpiece of God conceived plan for mankind. 

Every age has an assignment. Jesus came to earth at a specific point of time to do the works that were prepared for Him. As we exit the age of grace (Ephesiens 4:11-16), to enter the age of the 7 spirits of God, we must enter God’s Holy River and experience His Holy Spirit.  

We are still far from the closing of this age because of the immaturity of the Body. You see, most Christians understand being filled with the Holy Spirit, but that is only the beginning. The Holy Spirit matures us spiritually so we can start operating in the full spectrum of the menorah, as Jesus did. 

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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. – Isaiah 11:1-2

The seven spirits of God are wisdom, understanding, knowledge, understanding, counsel, might, strength, power and fear of the Lord. Each is an aspect of the Holy Spirit who comes to help us to fulfill our purpose and expand the Kingdom of God here on the earth. 

Jesus was a teacher, prophet, apostle, shepherd and evangelist all in one. He was full of wisdom and understanding. He peformed signs and wonders that had never been seen before. He embodied the fullness of the anointing of the seven Spirits; this is much deeper and greater than just operating in spiritual gifts. There are depths of the spirit that we can also partake of children of God.

Many believers have not matured because they have been trained to be spectators or mere church-goers. They have never heard of or have rejected the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The writer of Hebrews encourages believers to move on from the elementary teachings which include the laying on of hands (e.g for healing) and the doctrine of baptisms (Hebrews 6:1-3).

In the Book of Revelation, John brings greetings of grace and peace to the seven churches from God, the seven Spirits before His throne and from Jesus (Revelation 1:4). Jesus says of himself in Rev 3:1 “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars”

John goes through a door into heaven and sees seven lamps burning before the throne of God, which are the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 4:5).

A Door into Heaven Then I looked, and, oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, “Ascend and enter. I’ll show you what happens next.” I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne (these are the Sevenfold Spirit of God). Before the Throne it was like a clear crystal sea.

We must remember each of us are in a separate stage of our journey but we are all one body in Christ. The church age was to bring believers to a certain level of maturity, but the workings of signs and miracles left believer’s lost at sea, searching for God. Yah is saying come now cast yourself upon Him.(1 Peter 5:7)

I am quite sure that some who have known the Lord a long time find that this is the only thing to do, and will do it immediately! Others, will start today and  plunge into this holy river letting it consume every fiber until they are floating on their backs in the living waters of His Grace embodied by His Holy Spirit.

Blessing,

🦋Angela