Revival - Rivers of Living Water — Gerhard Du Toit

Well, can I just say it's a great joy for me to be with you today and tomorrow and until Friday night, God willing. And I wondered this morning if you would like to turn with me to two passages from the Old Testament, Ezekiel chapter 47 and the 22nd chapter of the book of Genesis.

Ezekiel chapter 47 and then if you turn to Genesis chapter 22, please. Ezekiel chapter 47 and also Genesis chapter 22. Ezekiel 47 verse 1. Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house. And, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down on her from the right side of the house at the south side of the altar.

Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and he led me about a way without unto the other gate, by the way that looketh eastward, and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. And when the man that had the lion in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters.

The Four Stages of Revival in Ezekiel's River

The waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand and brought me through the waters. The waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand and brought me through the waters. The waters were to the loins.

Afterward he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass over, for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this?

Then he brought me and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees in the one side and in the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issued out toward the east country, go down into the desert, and go into the sea, which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be you.

And it shall come to pass that everything, that leather, which moveth whithersoever the river shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither, for they shall be you.

And everything shall live whither the river cometh. And then he returned to the twenty-second chapter of the book of Genesis, reading again from verse number one. And it came to pass after these things that God had tempted Abram, and said unto him, Abram, and he said, Behold, here I am.

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of.

And Abram rose up early in the morning, and sailed his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clayed the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.

Then on the third day Abram lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abram said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I, the lad, will go younger, and worship, and come again to you.

And Abram took the wood for the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son, and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and they went both with him together. And Isaac spoke unto Abram his father, and said, My father.

And he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abram said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. So they went both of them together, and they came to the place which God had told him of.

And Abram built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him in the altar upon the wood. And Abram stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abram, Abram.

And he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.

And Abram lifted up his eyes, and looked. And behold, behind him a ram caught, and had flickered by his horns. And Abram went, and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

And Abram called the name of that place, Jehovah, to rye, as it is said to this day. In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. Just bow for a moment of prayer, shall we? Our Father, we come to Thee this morning in our deep sense of dependence upon Thyself.

Lord, our hearts have been melted when we sense the presence of God. And we acknowledge this morning that our hearts long for God to bless us in these days in a way in which we maybe have never experienced Thy blessings before.

We ask Thee that Thou would cover us under Thy precious blood. We pray this morning as we ponder upon Thy Word, that Thou would give unto us the gracious function of Thy Spirit. Speak to us, Lord, in the closing moments of this, our very first meeting in this crusade.

The Holy Spirit as Wind, Fire, Oil, and Water

And come to us these days through the workings of Thy Spirit. For we ask it in Jesus' precious name. Amen. It's very significant when we study the work of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament that there are only three references to the Holy Spirit as such, but there are many references in the Hebrew, because the Hebrew word for the word Spirit is the word Ruach.

Now when we study the work of the ministry of the Spirit of God in the Old Testament, it's very significant to discover that there are a number of symbols of the Spirit of God. The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as wind.

You remember that God breathed upon Adam, and spiritual life came to Adam. And also in the New Testament when the Lord Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit, you remember that He sent in Nicodemus the wind blower, and we do not know where the Spirit, where it's coming from.

He said, so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. You remember Philip the evangelist in the 8th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles? The Bible said he was taken away. It speaks of the idea, the concept that the Spirit caught Philip away.

That's very significant that in the Old Testament we can look upon the Holy Spirit as wind. For instance, a sign in the Old Testament that a sacrifice was acceptable to God was the fact that the fire of God came.

And the fire of God fell upon the altar, and it was acceptable in the sight of God. Now you remember in the New Testament at a number of places we see the work of the Spirit as fire. John the Baptist said about Jesus that He will come and He will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

And on the day of Pentecost, you remember when the Spirit of God came, the Bible speaks of tons of fire which came and distribute themselves upon those early disciples. The prophet Zechariah speaks of the Spirit of burning.

There is the Spirit of God as wind, the Spirit of God as fire, and there is the Spirit of God as oil. When you study the New Testament, it is very significant that it constantly speaks of the unction of the Holy Spirit.

And you remember it was said of Jesus that He was anointed to preach the Gospel. And in the Old Testament, if you study the law of the leper in the 14th chapter of the book of Leviticus, it speaks of the oil upon the thumb and the ear and the great toe of the leper.

And we read in Psalm 133 of the oil upon the high priest. So there is this gracious working of the Spirit of God in the symbol of oil. One of the greatest symbols of the work of the Spirit of God is to look upon the Holy Spirit as water.

Now you remember the prophet Isaiah said that God said, I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. Isaiah speaks of the wells of salvation. We read about the latter rain when it refers to the Holy Spirit as water.

Rivers of Living Water and the Promise of Revival

And twice in the New Testament, Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as water. When He said to the woman at the well that He will give unto her a well of water. And in the seventh chapter of John's Gospel, He said, He that believeth on Him, as the Scripture said, rivers of living water shall flow from the innermost of His being.

And I would say to you this morning that this chapter in Ezekiel, chapter 47, is one of those great chapters which speaks to us about the promise of revival. It seems to me that when we study the subject of revivals of religion and revival in the Word of God, that the Bible speaks of stages in revival.

Whenever God sends revival, and when I speak of revival I do not speak about the crusade as this, but I am speaking about the manifestation of God sweeping through the lives of His people, through a place, through a country, something which lasts sometimes for weeks and for months, and sometimes even for years.

But it seems to me that the Bible speaks of stages of the visitation of God's Spirit. Now, Ezekiel, chapter 47, gives unto us four stages. The Bible speaks of water to the ankles, which we will focus our attention upon this morning.

Then the Bible speaks of water to the knees. It seems to me that it speaks of a place of prayer in revival. When we come to that place where we sense the Spirit of God is sending upon us, and we start to pray the prayers of God's Word, when the psalmist prayed and said, O that thou might revive us again, he sensed the burden of God in the promise of revival.

And then the Bible speaks of not only water to the knees, but the Bible speaks of water to the loins. Well, what does that mean? Well, it seems to me that in this concept of revival, it seems to me that it speaks of the stirrings of God.

If you study the history of revivals, then you will realize that they came to the place where they prayed for revival, sometimes for years and months they sought the faith of God. And then there are the signs that God is going to work.

And it seems to me that these waters to the loins refer to those stirrings of God's Spirit. There is an atmosphere in which people sense that God is going to do something in their midst which they maybe never in their lives experienced before.

We speak of the stirrings of God's Spirit. A sense of conviction would come upon people. They sense that God is omnipresent. They sense something of the majesty of God. Something of the omnipotence of God.

Something of the revelation of God. And there are these stirrings. Now twice in my ministry did I find myself in the midst of the movement of the Spirit of God. And the second place was in an island of Scotland where they were in the beginnings of these stirrings of the Spirit of God.

26 people were converted. No meetings. They just came under the conviction of sin. And they were on the brink of God breaking through. And the Spirit of God was grieved and it stopped. And then the Bible speaks of rivers to swimming.

That moment when the Spirit of God broke into our midst and we sense that this great river of God is set at loose in our midst. And my brother and sister, may I say to you this morning that when God will be let loose in our midst in this great promise of revival that there is no stream of swimming.

We find ourselves being caught up in this mighty movement of His Spirit. Sense the Spirit of God mightily at work. I want us this morning to focus our attention upon what I would call the water to the ankles.

And that's the reason why I also read those verses in the 22nd chapter of the book of Genesis. You see, there are 60 names of God in the Old Testament. And when Abraham came to that place in Genesis chapter 22 when he said, It really means that he came to the place of God's provision.

In the Hebrew it speaks not only of God's material blessing upon him or God's physical protection upon his life. But in the Hebrew text it speaks of the possibility of personal revival. You see, there is no possibility whatsoever that you and I can sit in a service on a Sunday morning like this and say to ourselves, we want to be involved in this great promise of revival.

We want to sense the water to the knees. When we sense the great burden to pray. We want to sense something of the great stirrings of God. We want to see something of the great river of God. If we do not come to the place where we enter into this river of God.

In other words, water to the ankles. If you study that chapter in the book of Genesis then it seems to me that there were three places where Abraham had to respond before he could come to this place in his life where he said, God will provide.

Hearing and Responding to the Voice of God

And the very first place which I want to bring under your attention is the fact that the Bible says in the very opening verses that there was a moment that God tried Abram. And the moment when God tried Abram, Abram had to respond to the voice of God.

My brother and sister, if you study those verses you will discover three places Abram came to the place where he said,.

Here I am, or here am I.

And I would suggest to you this morning that it seems to me that somehow we need to come to those places in our lives before we can say that we have entered into this great and wonderful river of God.

Now, what was the first place? Well, the first place was when the voice of God came to Abram. The Bible says, after these things God tempted Abram. Now, the Hebrew word for the word tempt does not speak of temptation, but it speaks of the permissive will of God in the sense that Abram, or the faith of Abram was going to be tried.

And do you know the most wonderful thing for me is the fact that the very first thing which I want to mention was the fact that it was the voice of God which came to Abram. I wonder this morning, my brother and sister, if you would allow me to ask you this morning, is the voice of God still something which is precious to you?

You know, the longer I find myself in this beautiful land of Canada, the more I realize the tremendous danger that we as God's people can be so involved in so many things without really coming to that place where we sense something of the precious voice of God.

And do you know there was a place in the life of Abram where the Bible says God would speak to Abram.

I wonder this morning, if I may ask you,.

Is your name known in the presence of God? Can you remember that the Bible speaks of Job? And as Satan came to God about Job, God said to him, can you remember, or do you remember My servant Job? My brother and sister, I wonder this morning, is our name still known at the throne of God?

Here was a man and God would have spoken a word to him. Here was some man that when the voice of God came to him, that Abram did not say, well, I don't think this is the time to hear the voice of God.

I don't think this is the place to hear the voice of God. I don't think this is the circumstances, the moment when God said, Abram said, Here am I, Lord.

My brother and sister, I would say to you this morning,.

It seems to me that the secret of the movings of God's Spirit and this great promise of revival is when we come to this place where we hear the voice of God, where we sense it's not my pastor or this or that which is speaking to me, but between all those voices which is coming, do I discern something of the precious voice of God?

I just close with what was said a number of days ago at a place not too far away, on the Tuesday night of those meetings, God broke into our midst in a very precious way. There was a lady, she knew the Lord Jesus as her Saviour, but somehow between whatever was said that night, and I don't believe it was my message, but somehow between what was said that night, she heard something of the voice of God.

Do you know that voice spoke to her in a very specific way? It was not the voice of a cell. It was not the voice of a preacher. It was not the voice of Satan. But it was that persuasive, gentle voice of Jesus.

And I wonder this morning, my brother and sister,.

Do you sit here in this very opening meeting,.

And what a privilege and joy for me to be these days in this place. But is it possible this Sunday morning that we would come and say, Lord, what I long for is for You to take me into places in my relationship with Yourself where I've never been before.

Places where I would hear Thy voice. Can you remember the prophet Ezekiel? I speak of visions of God. Places where he saw something of the revelation of God. My brother and sister, is the voice of God still precious to you?

Is that voice of God... Do you know what happens sometimes to us?

God wants to speak to us about certain things in our life, and when the voice of God comes and the might starts to cut into our beings, somehow we say, Lord, this is not for me. Do you know that very moment, it seems to me, that we stop growing spiritually.

Why is it? Because it was the voice of God. It seems to me that in the Hebrew, that whenever we deal with the voice of God, that it is almost like an arrow. Do you know, my friends, when the voice of God comes to us, it's not something which comes to my mind or to my life.

For a morning service, you go out to the service, you go for your lunch, you come back tonight and tomorrow night and it does disappear. But the moment when the voice of God comes, it is something which remains upon my life, and upon my relationship with God.

It seems it's like an arrow piercing into my heart and into my being. Why is it? Because it's the voice of God. I wonder if Sunday morning if you sit in the service, and you say, Gerard, there are things in my life, which somehow no one else knows about.

Something which I am doing behind the scenes. Some unequal joke in business. Some situation where I am doing something, or find myself involved in something, and I know that it ruins my testimony. Is it possible that we would say, Lord, I want to open my heart in your presence.

I want to sense the stirrings of God's Spirit. I want to sense something of this great, precious voice of God. Do you remember the Apostle John in the 12th chapter of John's Gospel? That the Bible says that when the Greeks came to Philip, and they said, we want to see Jesus.

That Philip came to the Lord Jesus and said, the Greeks want to see me. And there was a moment that, in that occasion, that a voice came from heaven, and it was the voice of God.

And God was looking upon His Son and said,.

This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Do you know what the Bible says? The Bible says there were some of those,.

They looked upon that, and they said, it was thunder and lightning.

I was said, the prophet spoke to me. I was said, the voice came to me. But there was the beloved Apostle John. And he sensed that it was the voice of God. My brother and sister, can I ask you this morning, as I ask myself this very same question in this service.

Am I at the place when the voice of God would come,.

That I would say to God, Lord, here I am?

Maybe it's a situation in which you find yourself. And you find you don't know how to face this situation.

I don't know how I'm going to cross this mountain. I don't know how in a simple step of faith,.

Will I be able to get through these circumstances. Can you open and say, God, I long to hear Your voice. God said to him, Abram. And he said, here am I. He responded to the voice of God.

Consecration, Sacrifice, and the “Isaac” in Every Life

And do you know my brother and sister, what happened?

The moment when God's voice came, somehow this man could not get away from it. Do you know what happened? God said to Abram, Abram, I want you to go and sacrifice your son at one of the places which I will show thee of.

Do you know my brother and sister, it seems to me when God challenges us with revival, and when God brings us to this place where we need to enter into the river of God, do you know what happens to us?

It seems to me that God lays His finger.

Upon areas of our lives.

Where we never expect Him to work. Why do I say that?

Well, can you remember Abram? Wasn't it Abram that in his old age, when he was visited by God, that said, how is it possible.

There was a trial upon his heart for a son? He realized that unless God is going to give him a son, somehow there will not be any future for them in the days to come. They sensed the sense of need. Where is Abram being chosen of God?

Abram being set apart unto God, and he didn't have any children. There was a moment when God visited Sarah, and there was this wonderful miracle of the fact that Isaac was born. Do you know what I discovered?

When Hebrews 11 said that Sarah received strength to conceive, see that Hebrew, or rather that Greek word,.

Is the Greek word to namas, the power of God came upon her.

And here was this wonderful son Isaac being born. And I could imagine that for days, for months, and for years, Isaac became so precious to Abram and to Sarah. And they said, this is our son. This is the precious son which God has given to us.

And God said, Abram, I want you to go and sacrifice Isaac. My brother and sister, you know, it seems to me that when we turn to the promise of revival, that somehow this knife, this loving voice of God, comes to areas in our lives where we never expect God to come.

It touched areas of our lives. It touched our future. It touched my ambitions, my possessions, my place of work, wherever I find myself. And I sense this grave of God. Can I ask you this Sunday morning, do you find yourself in places where you feel uncomfortable?

Places where you feel, my testimony has been affected. Why is it? Because I sense the stirrings of this voice of God. He said, here am I. God said, go and sacrifice Isaac. Possible that God could have done that.

Wasn't it the voice of God, the same voice which came to Abram and said,.

Abram, can you see the stars at night?

And he said, yes Lord, I see them. Abram, so will your descendants be on the seashore. Yes Lord, I see them. Abram, so will your descendants be. And yet the voice came. Sacrificed Isaac.

Sacrificed Isaac. My brothers and sisters, I want to say to you something this morning. Do you know it seems to me that God.

Brings us to this place in our lives.

Where He starts to speak to us.

In realms beyond human things. Reasonable and reason is saying to us, no, this is not possible. And yet it is the voice of God to come to that place, you see. God said, Abram, go and sacrifice Isaac. I wonder this morning if I may ask you, my brothers and sisters, is there an Isaac?

I say, well, it's not sin. And yet it's an area where God is speaking to me. Maybe God is saying to you, listen, there is a secret prayer line. You know, I've preached churches through the years. And sometimes in those churches.

There would be two old ladies with an old man sitting in that church.

And this great voice of God would come to him. God said, your Isaac is the fact that I want you to surrender yourself to Me in such a way that you are going to be the backbone of this church in the place of prayer.

I wonder this morning in this brassy gospel church if there is one Christian who would say, Lord, I want to surrender myself to Thee in that way. No one else is going to know what's going on.

But there behind the scenes.

In the secret corner of my house.

I'm going to pour out my heart in the presence of God. God said, sacrifice.

Sacrifice. You know, my brother and sister, sometimes a tremendous sense of fear came upon my heart when we preach about these things. I don't know what God is going to say to us these days. I don't know what God is going to say to you.

I don't know what God is going to say to me. In the course of these meetings some of us here in a year or in two years would find ourselves being thrown out into the mission field. Some of us find ourselves in areas of being involved in God's work in this very same place.

And you say, I've never expected it to happen to me. Yes, it was the voice of God. The voice of God. God says, Abram, go and offer Isaac. When we come to the New Testament that the Isaac is sometimes myself.

God is concerned about us, my friend. I sat here this morning and my heart was just about smashed up.

When I think again and again of the greatness of the grace of God. Why was it that He visited me?

Why was it that He visited you? We sense that we do not... There is no boasting in the presence of God. There's no sense of saying, you know, it's tremendous that I'm doing this and this. It doesn't work like that in a spirit-filled life.

We sense our own unworthiness, our brokenness, our sense of dependence upon Him.

Yet God says to people like that that I'm coming because I'm using the foolish things of this world. I always wanted to become a missionary in Africa. I think, for one reason, that I knew the African people so well and they're so precious to me and there are many days that I just wet my heart out when I think of them.

Because millions of them are without the Lord Jesus. God said He never gave me permission. Why? I would have gone on great amounts and because I knew them so well. Do you know what He does? He takes you to places where you are absolutely cast upon.

Can I ask you this morning, my dear brother and sister, are we at that place this Sunday morning? I don't accept for one moment that you sit in this Sunday morning service and you say to me, Gerard, everything is fine.

I don't accept that. I sense that there is a sense of need in many of our hearts. And God is saying, is it possible, is it possible that you will bring yourself to Me? Is it possible that you will allow Me to deal in areas of your life where I could speak to you?

God said, Abraham, go and sacrifice Isaac. Isaac. I think today one of the greatest problems in the evangelical world is that people have been lifted up.

About irrelevant which God wants them to be. And God said, I give My glory to no man. No man.

And I have to remind you, friends, once we come to that place where there is more emphasis upon a person or a personality upon God, I tell you, we are in trouble. But once we come to that place where we say, Lord, in My dependence I come to you.

Lord, we are but dust. Is it possible that I can hear something of this precious voice? Tell Him. Go and sacrifice Isaac. Maybe it's your relationship with God. The quiet place where you need to meet with Him every day.

My brother and sister, it's not what we do. It's what we are. And it's that place where I said, Lord, I have given myself to the disciplined. I spoke to a minister a few days ago.

You know, I'm sometimes utterly amazed.

That 40 or 50 percent of my time in these crusades is sitting down with these men.

In full-time ministry. And they are burned in their hearts.

They say, I can't face the pressure. I can't face this. I don't know how to handle this. I often say to them, listen, in a crusade, if you do not come to the place in the morning where you separate yourself to God, I would lose this very same sense of function.

But there was a moment on a sacrifice scale. I said, Lord, those hours belong to Thee. He said, I can't do that because I've got my place of work. And we appreciate that and understand it. But oh, my brother, that place of work is a surrender to God.

Can you remember Mary when Jesus came into her little house? So often Mary and Martha, there was the precious ointment.

No one else maybe knew about it.

She kept it for her wedding day. It was made of a precious type of brass which came from Himalaya. It took her a whole year of savings to gather up so that she could have that fragrance for the day of her wedding.

Every time when Jesus walked in, oh, my brother and sister, it spoke to her heart.

There was something there to see. Sometimes it seems to me that our conscience is of such that somehow we have become to the place where we say, no, this is not so bad.

Do you know what happens when the voice of God comes to us? My friend, sin became sin.

There are things that in the sight of God is sin.

I said, Abram, sacrifice Isaac. They said, here am I. Couldn't get away from it, you see. I sometimes say to people, you know, when we come to the place of consecration, do you know what you really do?

You come to that place in your life where you commit your will to God. I sometimes preach in churches where there's a tremendous emphasis upon the realm of emotions. And I'm greatly concerned because you need to get through to the realm of the will.

And, you know, we sit in meetings like this and emotionally that's the fact that our hearts break and we melt into the presence of God. Intellectually, you say, in your mind, this is true, this is biblical, this is right.

But my friends, it's in the realm of the will. Do you know what happens when God brings us to the place of what I would call the spirit-filled life? Do you know what happens? I commit my will to God.

And I said, Lord, in the days to come, Your Spirit is going to be in control of my will. It's not going to be a goal. It will be but a gateway. But now You're going to work out Your will in my heart and in my life.

And the moment when Abraham says, Lord, here am I. God said, Abraham, I'm dealing in the realm of the will. Isaac is very precious to You. Isaac is very precious to You. Go and sacrifice Isaac. Go and sacrifice him.

That was all God said. Oswald Chambers said in one of his books, he said, The voice of God comes to me. And that's it. No word more. Jesus stood in the presence of Pilate. And Pilate said, Our God is King of the Jews.

He said, Do you say that out of yourself or did someone else say it to you? Jesus never said a word again. Do you know this happens to us in the Christian life, my brother and sister, when we face the challenge of revival?

The moment when He came, the voice came. God said, This is the area of your life. This is the place which I want you to surrender. This is the circumstances which I want you to give over to God. I was speaking to a friend of mine years ago in South Africa.

He was involved in business. And he said to me, God spoke to him at a convention about this very same thing. He said, When the Lord spoke to me, He said, There was something which I had in my house which I took from my place of work about, I think he said about 20 years ago.