THE RIVER 

 

            I want you to picture yourself walking along a large river bank, on the mud, right out of reach of the water.  Every now and then you wade into the water and allow it to wash over your bare feet as you feel the water moving between your toes.  You quickly step back out and once again you're walking in the mud.  The river bank is unsettling, and your standing is not sure.  The dirt sinks under you as if you're weighted down, and every now and again you get stuck.  The mud represents the flesh and sin when you're walking in it.  The water represents walking in the Spirit and being IN Christ.  As young Christians, we are not sure what we want to do.  Do we keep walking in the mud, which is what we are used to, or do we wade into the water of the Holy Spirit, and walk in Christ?  Every now and then there is movement in the water.  The Spirit comes to us to wash over our feet compelling us to follow Him back into the deep water.  But we are afraid to give up the flesh, and we know that the body of flesh we are trapped in is not built to operate in the water. 

 

            The Holy Spirit keeps calling us in, and as the river gets higher and higher, we find that we are wading in deeper and deeper water.  As the water gets deeper, we realize that we are unable to effectively walk according to our own will, because the force of the water is pulling us in the direction the water is flowing.  We are not used to this, and if we don't have strong faith, we will start to struggle in the water to gain better standing to go back to the muddy bank. We want to walk according to our own will, in the flesh.  But, if we trust God and allow the Holy Spirit to take us deeper in we will realize that we are completely suspended in the water.  Our movement and direction is according to the waters flow and not our own carnal will.  The Holy Spirit will take us to where the water is flowing, which is where God's will is directing His Spirit to go.  We literally become one with the water.  We are one with the Spirit.  We are carried along to the places and people where God's Spirit is moving.  The river becomes a sea, and the bouncy keeps us afloat with little risk of sinking.  We come to the point where we completely surrender to God.  We are no longer afraid and struggling against the water to try to get some footing to direct our own path.  We lean back, and float along to where God is taking us trusting that God knows best. 

           

            See, when you go up to the altar and confess Christ you are the person standing on the riverbank trying to decide if you should wade into the water.  Your confession makes you a servant, and you can serve from the river bank.  If you serve effectively by walking in God's will, you will be led into the water.  Those who resist the calling to go deeper will stay on the bank wallowing in the mud of sin.  There are all types of false doctrines out there today that justify us staying on the river bank in sin as just a servant.   They assure us that we have no need or worry because our salvation is sure.  Remember what Christ said:

 

John 8:34-35

34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.

KJV   

 

            Good servants dive into the river and give up their own will to flow in God's will.  Good servants become sons and daughters.