The pro\u00adphet Eze\u00adkiel descri\u00adbes a visi\u00adon of a river who\u00adse source is in the Holy of Holies of the Temp\u00adle. From the\u00adre the water flows through the land into the Dead Sea. Ever\u00ady\u00adwhe\u00adre it pas\u00adses, health, food and life emer\u00adge. One day this visi\u00adon will be ful\u00adly and glo\u00adbal\u00adly ful\u00adfil\u00adled. Until that day comes, the fol\u00adlo\u00adwers are ent\u00adrus\u00adted with the task of wet\u00adting their sur\u00adroun\u00addings with the life-giving water and thus pro\u00admo\u00adting life.<\/p>\n
Later in this ser\u00advice, we will send Mar\u00adtin to a distant coun\u00adtry as a fri\u00adend in the field. For me, this rai\u00adses the ques\u00adti\u00adon of whe\u00adther this is still neces\u00adsa\u00adry and eco\u00adno\u00admic\u00adal\u00adly via\u00adble in a digi\u00adta\u00adli\u00adsed world. This much can alre\u00ada\u00addy be reve\u00ada\u00adled: This topic is also direct\u00adly rela\u00adted to the holi\u00adne\u00adss of God. C.S. Lewis: \u00abHow litt\u00adle do peo\u00adp\u00adle know who think that holi\u00adne\u00adss is bor\u00ading. Once you have expe\u00adri\u00aden\u00adced the real thing\u2026 It is irre\u00adsis\u00adti\u00adble! If only ten per cent of the world\u2019s popu\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon unders\u00adtood it, would\u00adn\u2019t the who\u00adle world be con\u00adver\u00adted and hap\u00adpy in no time?\u00bb \tLiving water brings food: The text in Reve\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon says that the trees bring forth a new fruit every month, twel\u00adve times more often than our apple tree in front of the house. This means that food is available in abun\u00addance. People\u2019s hun\u00adger is satis\u00adfied in all its facets \u2013 not just phy\u00adsio\u00adlo\u00adgi\u00adcal hun\u00adger. No, also the hun\u00adger for belon\u00adging, for mea\u00adning, for secu\u00adri\u00adty, for love, etc. All this beco\u00admes pos\u00adsi\u00adble when the wal\u00adking temp\u00adles go on the offen\u00adsi\u00adve. If you have expres\u00adsed your bond with Jesus Christ through bap\u00adtism, rivers of living water will also flow out of you. This water brings nou\u00adrish\u00adment, health and life to your fami\u00adly, your neigh\u00adbour\u00adhood, your class\u00adroom, your work\u00adplace. Switch from the defen\u00adsi\u00adve to the offen\u00adsi\u00adve, swarm out and let it flow! Your ever\u00ady\u00adday life offers you exclu\u00adsi\u00adve oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties that others don\u2019t have. This is your respon\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty. Let\u2019s remem\u00adber: we don\u2019t have to pro\u00addu\u00adce the water, but we are allo\u00adwed to drink it in the encoun\u00adter with the com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly different. \tThe water flows from the holy of holies of the temp\u00adle. Why from the\u00adre of all places? The pro\u00adphet Eze\u00adkiel descri\u00adbes a visi\u00adon of a river who\u00adse source is in the Holy of Holies of the Temp\u00adle. From the\u00adre, the water flows through the land into the Dead Sea. Whe\u00adre\u00adver it pas\u00adses, health, nou\u00adrish\u00adment and life are crea\u00adted. One day, this visi\u00adon will be com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly and glo\u00adbal\u00adly ful\u00adfil\u00adled. Until that time comes, the fol\u00adlo\u00adwers with\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7257,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[90],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-heilig-heilig-heilig","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-7234","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"hentry","11":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nSource: Holi\u00adne\u00adss of God
\nWe know from various sto\u00adries that God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss is life-threa\u00adtening. Nad\u00adab, Abihu, Uzzah, Hana\u00adniah and Sap\u00adp\u00adhi\u00adra lost their lives when they came into cont\u00adact with God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. In ear\u00adly Isra\u00adel, the temp\u00adle was the cen\u00adtral place whe\u00adre God was pre\u00adsent with his holi\u00adne\u00adss. The rear\u00admost room was cal\u00adled the Holy of Holies. It was the cent\u00adre of God\u2019s pre\u00adsence. Peo\u00adp\u00adle were only allo\u00adwed to approach this room with the utmost cau\u00adti\u00adon. The solu\u00adti\u00adon in the Bible is that one must beco\u00adme \u00abpure\u00bb, both moral\u00adly and ritual\u00adly. Ritu\u00adal puri\u00adty is a sta\u00adte of stay\u00ading away from any\u00adthing that has to do with death, e.g. tou\u00adch\u00ading things like dise\u00ada\u00adsed skin, dead bodies or even cer\u00adtain bodi\u00adly fluids. All the\u00adse things make us \u00abunclean\u00bb. Beco\u00adming ritual\u00adly unclean is not neces\u00ads\u00ada\u00adri\u00adly sin\u00adful. Howe\u00adver, it is wrong to come into God\u2019s pre\u00adsence in an unclean sta\u00adte. That is why God gave the Israe\u00adli\u00adtes clear ins\u00adtruc\u00adtions so that they would know when they were unclean and how they could beco\u00adme clean in order to be allo\u00adwed to enter the temp\u00adle again.
\nThe pro\u00adphet Isai\u00adah knew the rules very well when he found hims\u00adelf in a visi\u00adon in the temp\u00adle, direct\u00adly in God\u2019s pre\u00adsence. His blood free\u00adzes in his veins for fear that he will be des\u00adtroy\u00aded. But then a stran\u00adge being, a seraph, flies over and tou\u00adch\u00ades Isaiah\u2019s lips with a hot coal. This bur\u00adning coal makes Isai\u00adah clean. This is remar\u00adkab\u00adle, becau\u00adse when we touch some\u00adthing unclean, the uncle\u00adan\u00adness is nor\u00admal\u00adly trans\u00adfer\u00adred to us. Here we find a com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly new idea: the coal \u2013 this holy and pure object \u2013 trans\u00adfers its puri\u00adty to Isai\u00adah when it tou\u00adch\u00ades him. Isai\u00adah is not kil\u00adled by God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss, but changed.
\nJesus is the ful\u00adfilm\u00adent of this visi\u00adon. He touch\u00aded peo\u00adp\u00adle who were unclean: Peo\u00adp\u00adle with dise\u00ada\u00adsed skin, a woman with chro\u00adnic hae\u00admor\u00adrha\u00adging or even dead peo\u00adp\u00adle. And their impu\u00adri\u00adty should actual\u00adly be trans\u00adfer\u00adred to Jesus when he tou\u00adch\u00ades them. But ins\u00adtead, Jesus\u00bb puri\u00adty is trans\u00adfer\u00adred to them and their bodies are hea\u00adled. Jesus is like the holy coal in Isaiah\u2019s visi\u00adon, He is the embo\u00addi\u00adment of God\u2019s holiness.
\nFor many years, the reci\u00adpe for suc\u00adcess in inter\u00adna\u00adtio\u00adnal foot\u00adball was pos\u00adses\u00adsi\u00adon of the ball. But at the last World Cup, the most suc\u00adcessful teams such as Argen\u00adti\u00adna and France adopted a new stra\u00adtegy: Pres\u00adsing and fast tran\u00adsi\u00adti\u00adon play. After win\u00adning the ball, the attack\u00ading forces imme\u00addia\u00adte\u00adly swarm out, so that only a few seconds pass befo\u00adre the goal is scored. Through Jesus, a swit\u00adching game from defence to offence has taken place in terms of holi\u00adne\u00adss. It is no lon\u00adger a ques\u00adti\u00adon of careful\u00adly defen\u00adding ones\u00adelf from harm, but of brin\u00adging life-enhan\u00adcing holi\u00adne\u00adss to the out\u00adside world on the offen\u00adsi\u00adve. The holi\u00adne\u00adss of God wants to chan\u00adge the impu\u00adre, the unworthy.
\nA good hundred years after Isai\u00adah, Eze\u00adkiel has a visi\u00adon in which he stands in front of the temp\u00adle and sees water drip\u00adping out of it. The water beco\u00admes a stream that grows into a deep river and flows through the desert. It lea\u00adves behind a trail of green trees and flows into the Dead Sea. Along the way, ever\u00ady\u00adthing beco\u00admes fresh and ali\u00adve. So ins\u00adtead of beco\u00adming pure and flowing into the temp\u00adle, God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss comes out of the temp\u00adle and makes ever\u00ady\u00adthing pure and brings it to life.
\nThe visi\u00adon: who\u00adle world
\nThe final ful\u00adfilm\u00adent of this visi\u00adon is descri\u00adbed in the Book of Reve\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon: \u00abAnd the angel show\u00aded me a pure river of water of life, clear as crys\u00adtal, flowing from the thro\u00adne of God and of the Lamb and run\u00adning down the midd\u00adle of the high\u00adway. On eit\u00adher side of the river is a tree of life that bears twel\u00adve dif\u00adfe\u00adrent fruits and pro\u00addu\u00adces a new fruit every month. The lea\u00adves are for the heal\u00ading of the nati\u00adons\u00bb (Reve\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon 22:1\u20132 NLB<\/span>). In this future sce\u00adna\u00adrio, we see our world that has been com\u00adple\u00adte\u00adly rema\u00adde. The who\u00adle earth has beco\u00adme God\u2019s temp\u00adle. And Ezekiel\u2019s river is the\u00adre. It flows from God\u2019s pre\u00adsence and waters the who\u00adle of crea\u00adti\u00adon. It washes away all impu\u00adri\u00adty and brings ever\u00ady\u00adthing back to life. One day the who\u00adle world will be floo\u00added with God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. It will be inde\u00adscri\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly, incon\u00adceiv\u00ada\u00adb\u00adly magnificent.
\nWe are not the\u00adre yet. The\u00adre is a very inte\u00adres\u00adt\u00ading pre-ful\u00adfilm\u00adent of this visi\u00adon that is direct\u00adly rela\u00adted to you and me. Paul puts it in a nuts\u00adhell when he descri\u00adbes the fol\u00adlo\u00adwers of Jesus as temp\u00adles of the Holy Spi\u00adrit (1 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans 6:19). In this day and age, the\u00adre is not one cen\u00adtral temp\u00adle in which God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss dwells, but many mobi\u00adle temp\u00adles. A per\u00adson beco\u00admes a temp\u00adle of the Holy Spi\u00adrit when he ent\u00adrusts his life to Jesus Christ. The ama\u00adzing thing is that water also flows from the\u00adse temp\u00adles. Jesus says to his fol\u00adlo\u00adwers: \u00abIf anyo\u00adne is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! Whoe\u00adver belie\u00adves in me, rivers of living water will flow from within him [\u2026] By \u00abliving water\u00bb he meant the Spi\u00adrit, who would come to ever\u00adyo\u00adne who belie\u00adved in him\u00bb (John 7:37\u201339 NLB<\/span>).
\nThis besto\u00adwal of the Spi\u00adrit hap\u00adpen\u00aded on Pen\u00adte\u00adcost. It was the initi\u00adal spark for the mis\u00adsi\u00adon to pro\u00adcla\u00adim the mes\u00adsa\u00adge of Jesus \u00abin Jeru\u00adsa\u00adlem, in all Judea, in Sama\u00adria, inde\u00aded to the ends of the earth\u00bb (Acts 1:8 NLB<\/span>). Pen\u00adte\u00adcost tur\u00adned the fol\u00adlo\u00adwers of Jesus into out\u00adpou\u00adring temp\u00adles of the Holy Spi\u00adrit. And as such, we have the pri\u00advi\u00adle\u00adge to chan\u00adnel streams of living water into our neigh\u00adbour\u00adhood. From the defen\u00adsi\u00adve to the offen\u00adsi\u00adve! It is remar\u00adkab\u00adle, howe\u00adver, that only the per\u00adson who comes to Jesus and drinks can release water. From inti\u00adma\u00adcy with Jesus, we beco\u00adme a source for our par\u00adched environment.
\nThe impact: Food and life
\nThe water that flows from the sanc\u00adtua\u00adry has striking effects: \u00abAs I was wal\u00adking back, I sud\u00adden\u00adly saw trees gro\u00adwing on both sides of the river\u00adbank. Then he said to me: \u00abThis water flows east\u00adwards into the Ara\u00adba (Jor\u00addan Val\u00adley) and flows into the Dead Sea. When it flows in, it heals the waters of the Dead Sea. Ever\u00ady\u00adthing that stirs and moves whe\u00adre the water comes will live. The\u00adre will be a lot of fish, becau\u00adse this water comes the\u00adre and makes the salt water healt\u00adhy. Whe\u00adre\u00adver this water flows, ever\u00ady\u00adthing will live\u00bb (Eze\u00adkiel 47:7\u20139 NLB<\/span>).
\nThe water flows from the Holy of Holies of the temp\u00adle, from God\u2019s pre\u00adsence. The reason is very simp\u00adle: God is the powerful crea\u00adtor behind the who\u00adle uni\u00adver\u00adse. HE<\/span> is the only being who has the power to crea\u00adte a world full of beau\u00adty and life. HE<\/span> is per\u00adfect, the source of all life. All the\u00adse abili\u00adties make HIM<\/span> uni\u00adque and that is the mea\u00adning of \u00abholy\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\n\tLiving water crea\u00adtes health: sal\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon and heal\u00ading are clo\u00adse\u00adly lin\u00adked to God\u2019s holi\u00adne\u00adss. The water from the Holy of Holies has heal\u00ading power and heals what it moistens.
\n\tLiving water crea\u00adtes life: The water from the sanc\u00adtua\u00adry over\u00adri\u00addes the levers of natu\u00adral sci\u00adence and crea\u00adtes life in places whe\u00adre this is not actual\u00adly pos\u00adsi\u00adble. Only anae\u00adro\u00adbic micro\u00ador\u00adga\u00adnisms can live in the Dead Sea. Whe\u00adre\u00adver this water flows, it crea\u00adtes life. This does not just mean bio\u00adlo\u00adgi\u00adcal life, but pri\u00adma\u00adri\u00adly divi\u00adne, eter\u00adnal life.<\/p>\n
\nLiving water can\u00adnot be trans\u00adfer\u00adred digi\u00adtal\u00adly. It would be like put\u00adting pla\u00ads\u00adtic flowers in your gar\u00adden ins\u00adtead of real flowers. The\u00adse flowers do not pro\u00addu\u00adce seeds for repro\u00adduc\u00adtion, are not fra\u00adgrant and offer neither bees nor bum\u00adble\u00adbees pol\u00adlen to pro\u00adcess. That is why we are sen\u00adding Mar\u00adtin with gre\u00adat con\u00advic\u00adtion to a coun\u00adtry that is dry both spi\u00adri\u00adtual\u00adly and sceni\u00adcal\u00adly. Like us here, he beco\u00admes the rea\u00adli\u00adser of the visi\u00adon of Eze\u00adkiel and John the\u00adre. Through our joint swarm\u00ading and wate\u00adring, we pro\u00admo\u00adte the glo\u00adbal final ful\u00adfilm\u00adent of the visi\u00adon. When Jesus returns, he will crea\u00adte a new hea\u00adven and a new earth full of life, food and health. Until that hap\u00adpens, we need fri\u00adends in the field.
\n
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small group
\nRead the Bible text: Eze\u00adkiel 47:1\u201312; Reve\u00adla\u00adti\u00adon 22:1\u20132<\/p>\n
\n\tWhat are the natu\u00adral and sym\u00adbo\u00adlic effects of this water?
\n\tAre you alre\u00ada\u00addy a temp\u00adle of the Holy Spi\u00adrit? What task is con\u00adnec\u00adted with it? What is the con\u00addi\u00adti\u00adon for you to be able to ful\u00adfil it?
\n\tWhen will the visi\u00adon of Eze\u00adkiel be ful\u00adly ful\u00adfil\u00adled? What has to hap\u00adpen befo\u00adre that?
\n\tWhy do we still need fri\u00adends like Mar\u00adtin in the field today?<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"