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In this chapter we will fellowship concerning the flow of the water of life and the results of this flow.
The flow of the river of water of life depends on our being open in two directions: toward God and toward man. In order for a river to flow, it must have a source and an outlet. Every river has one of its ends open to a source and the other end open to an outlet. A river that lacks either a source or an outlet is not a river, and it will not flow. This also applies to the river of water of life in the New Jerusalem. It flows from the throne of God, meaning that God is its source; it is open to God. The river of water of life flows throughout the entire city so that no place is without water. In order for the water of life to flow in a person, there must be a thoroughfare between him and God as well as a thoroughfare between him and the other saints. This may seem obvious, but almost every Christian has a problem in this matter.
Some Christians are completely cut off, severed, from the source. There is a barrier between them and God. Perhaps they do not pray in order to contact God. Even if they do pray, they pray routinely and with little interest, because they are not willing to remove the barrier between them and God. Since there is not a thoroughfare between such believers and God, they do not have any fellowship in the spirit. There are other Christians who fellowship with God and are open to Him. It seems as though they are connected to the source, but they are closed toward other believers. As a result, the river of water of life cannot flow out of them. Some believers are closed because they are introverted by disposition; it is not easy for them to open to others. Some believers are closed when they are in an unfamiliar environment; it is not easy for them to open in certain situations. There are still other believers who are closed because they want to “learn a spiritual lesson.” These believers are not willing to show the riches that are within them. Whatever the reason may be, a believer should not be closed.
We must overcome all three situations. As a Christian, we should live a life that is against our natural man, that is, our natural disposition. If a person is naturally slow, God will ask him to be quick. If a person is quick by nature, God will ask him to be slow. If a person’s natural disposition is closed and introverted, God will ask him to be open and extroverted. We often say that we should receive the breaking of our natural man. To go against being introverted is to receive the breaking of the natural man. This does not mean that a Christian should always speak; rather, it means that he should go against his natural disposition and be open to fellowship with other believers. He should preach the gospel, and in the meetings he should testify for the Lord, speak the truth, pray, and praise. In spiritual matters he must go against his disposition and be released. The natural tendency of being closed must be overcome.
We must overcome the situations in which we cannot open. Our spirit should be strong and uplifted; it should not be conquered or dictated by the environment. We should overcome and rule over our environment. With regard to learning spiritual lessons, we should accept the environment that has been sovereignly arranged for us, but with regard to serving the Lord by praising Him, testifying, and praying, we should rule over our environment. We should not allow the environment to rule over us. If we desire to let the river of water of life flow, we must learn to go against our natural disposition and overcome our environment.
Some saints have “spiritual reasons” for being closed. They desire to learn lessons and not display themselves. Although their motive and intention for being closed seem “spiritual,” the issue is that their spirit actually is restricted within them. Whether a person displays himself does not depend on his being open or closed; rather, it depends on his intention. If his intention is not to display himself but to release the spirit, others will not feel that he is showing off. Therefore, we do not need to be closed.
The human spirit is the purest and keenest part of man. Our motives are easily recognized by those who know how to discern the spirit. If a believer’s motive is to show off, those who know how to discern the spirit will recognize it when he speaks. Whether or not he is showing off is not related to his speaking but to his intention and inner motive. If his intention is to put on a show and display himself, others will discern it. If his intention is to release the spirit so that the Lord may come forth, others will discern that he is not showing off. One does not become humble merely by closing his mouth but by dealing with his inner motive and intention. As a Christian, our mouth should always be open. This is not a matter of self-display. A believer who hides, regardless of the occasion, often wants others to have the impression that he is a spiritual person. He knows that he can receive more praise when his mouth is shut than when his mouth is open. We need to reject this concept. A truly humble brother can open his mouth in every situation and let the spirit come forth. Such a brother can have much utterance without any hint of displaying himself. We must overcome being closed in the name of spirituality. We must not allow our mingled spirit to be restricted; we must not restrict the Lord in us. Our prayer must be open toward God and man and connected with both God and man.
In order to exercise our spirit, we must be able to pray in the Lord’s presence and with other believers. Some saints are able to pray in the Lord’s presence, but they cannot pray with others. When they are praying by themselves, they are open, but when they pray with others, their spirit is closed. Other saints can pray with a small number of believers but not with a large number of believers. Still others can pray when they are with younger believers but not with older believers. Some sisters cannot pray if brothers are present, some saints cannot pray in the presence of the elders, and still other saints cannot pray in the presence of the co-workers. None of these situations is proper. There should not be any distinctions among us when we pray. We should be able to pray in the presence of anyone. It is not normal to be able to pray only in the presence of the Lord but not with other saints. There is also a small number of saints who can pray only when they are with others but not by themselves. They are open toward man but not toward God. We should overcome all these situations.
A Christian must be open both to God and to man. He cannot be open only to one and not to the other. If he is open to only one, there will be no thoroughfare within him. He must be open to both God and man. A Christian should be open even to unbelievers. He should have the feeling to preach the gospel to an unbeliever. If we are open to God and also to sinners, God will flow through us and make us a channel for the river of water of life as we preach the gospel. As a result, sinners will be saved. We should be open to sinners and especially to the brothers and sisters. We should be persons who have a thoroughfare that is completely unobstructed; we should allow God to continually pass through us in order to reach others. This is the way that the river of water of life will flow within us.
The basic hindrance to the flow of the river of water of life is a lack of prayer. We must spend much time in prayer. On the one hand, we should pray in the Lord’s presence, and on the other hand, we should pray with others. When we preach the gospel to an unbeliever, we should lead him to pray. Sometimes the saints are embarrassed to lead a gospel friend, who is well educated, to pray. Some saints dare not pray with their boss. Such problems are the issue of not having an open, strong, and released spirit. If our spirit is strong, we will lead our gospel friend to pray, no matter what his status is.
The flow of living water is also the flow of the Spirit in our spirit. This flow supplies the divine life. Whoever is in this flow will have a richer spiritual life and will receive more inspiration and revelation. In this flow we enjoy the riches of God. The supply for our spiritual life is obtained in this flow. If we lack the flow of living water, our spirit will become dry and weak. When we are open to God and to man, we allow the water of life to flow through us so that we can have a fuller and richer supply of the divine life.
This flow brings light. According to the Bible, the flow of life brings in light (John 1:4; Rev. 21:23; 22:5). Those who are experienced know that when the flow of life passes through us, light shines within us. The more we allow the water of life to flow through us, the brighter we will be within. On the contrary, when we do not allow the water of life to flow through us, we become dark within.
This flow supplies water to quench our thirst. When our spirit is blocked, we will feel dry and thirsty. Furthermore, those whom we contact will feel as if they have come to the bitter waters of Marah (Exo. 15:22-23). But when the river of water of life flows within us, those whom we contact will feel as if they have come to Elim, where there are twelve springs of water (v. 27). They will be able to drink living water, and their thirst will be quenched. Some brothers and sisters are like a river; when they open their mouth, everyone is able to drink.
Two chapters in the Bible speak of the Lord Jesus being living water. John 4 says that He is the fountain of living water (v. 14), and chapter 7 says that He is rivers of living water (v. 38). His being the fountain is for us, and His being rivers is for others. With the fountain, the emphasis is on His flowing into us; whereas with the rivers, the emphasis is on His flowing out of us. We must not receive the Lord as the fountain but not allow Him to flow out as rivers. We should always allow others to receive the supply of living water from us. In order to flow out rivers of living water, we must be open in two directions. Only those who are open toward God and toward man, allowing the living water of life to flow through them unhindered, can supply others.
The flow of living water swallows up death. In Ezekiel 47 the flow of the river caused the water of the sea to be healed and caused things to live and grow (vv. 6-12). This shows that life swallows up death and produces abundant fruit. Churches do not bear fruit because death reigns in their midst. Some churches are like the Dead Sea, full of salt water. Hearing idle talk, gossip, criticism, judgments, and opinions can be compared to drinking salt water. This is the reason that hardly anything grows in some churches. For many years not many have been saved, edified, or raised up to serve the Lord, nor have elders been produced. This kind of condition in a church can be compared to the Dead Sea; it is full of salt water. If the living water of life can flow through, the salt water will be healed, and all kinds of living things will begin to grow, because life will swallow up death. Hence, if a church desires to have fruit, it must allow the living water to freely flow through it.
The flow of living water is able to wash away the filth and make everything clean. The New Jerusalem is not only clean but also pure, because of the washing of the flow of life. When the water of life cannot flow through a believer, silt will accumulate in his being, and those who contact him will become dirty. Some churches are like this. Many of the saints in the churches are filled with so much silt that they are dumb in the meetings. This deadens the atmosphere of the meeting and stops the flow of living water. However, as soon as the meeting is over, everyone is anxious to talk by criticizing or judging. Such talk only stirs up mud and filth. Doctrines and teachings are futile in this kind of situation. These saints need living water. If they can be brought into the flow of living water and will let it flow through them, it will wash away the mud and filth. Only when this happens will the filth that has accumulated be washed away so that the situation becomes clean.
The flow of living water makes everything new. It is one thing to be filthy and dirty, but it is entirely another matter to be old. Some things are not dirty, but they are very old. This can be compared to cleaning an old garment. Even though the garment is clean, it is still old. Some saints are old and stale because they lack the flow of living water. The tree of life in the river of water of life in the New Jerusalem bears fruit each month (Rev. 22:2). This fruit is not old or stale; it is completely new and fresh. If we desire to have new believers as fresh fruit, we must let the living water flow through us continually.
The flow of living water will produce genuine results in the work. We give messages because we expect results in the work. However, messages that do not cause the water of life to flow in the saints are not effective. We visit the saints because we hope for results. However, if we do not bring the saints into the flow of life, our visitation will be ineffective. In this respect our past labor offended the Lord. We depended on our speaking of messages, but we did not let the Lord flow into the saints so that He could work in them. We have given many messages, and we have also worked much, but we have done little in terms of opening our spirit and praying, thereby transmitting the Lord into the saints for Him to work directly in them. As a result, the saints have received many doctrines but have not gained much of the Lord. We have offended the Lord, we have not given Him the first place, and we have not glorified Him.
A lack of results is the issue of not bringing the saints into the flow of life. If we could reduce the number of messages that we give and spend more time to lead the saints to pray, the water of life would flow into them.
Whether we give a message or visit the saints, our purpose is for the saints to receive the life supply, to be enlightened, to have their thirst quenched, to have death swallowed up, to be washed so that they may be made new and fresh. If we do not lead the saints to pray, none of these results will be manifested in them. In order to produce such results, we must bring the saints into a spirit of prayer. There is no other way but to pray.
We must admit that we have been short in the past. We have not prayed much; hence, we have not led others to pray. We do not pray when we contact others or visit the saints. We did not know how to lead the saints into a spirit of prayer so that they would be willing to pray regularly. This is a serious lack among us. We must learn how to bring the saints into a spirit of prayer so that they would want to pray, would be able to pray, and would pray regularly. If we can accomplish this, we can be at peace, because the water of life will flow in the saints. As the flow increases and becomes stronger, the positive results listed above will be manifested. Only then will we obtain genuine results in the work that can genuinely build up the church.
