The Way Church Podcast

Hebrews 12 and 2. And it reads, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Now if you go to the Old Testament. The Book of Ezekiel. The Book of ezekiel, chapter number 47.
Haruto. I read a few verses in your hearing, starting at verse one. Then he brought me back to the door of the temple. And there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple towards the east. For the front of the temple faced east.
The water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, of the south, south of the altar. Thank you. He brought me out of the by the way of the north gate. And he led me around on the outside of the outer gateway and that faced east. And there was running water running out on the right side.
And when the man went out on the east with the line in his hand, he measured 1,000 cubics. And he brought me through the waters. The water came up to my ankle again. He measured 1000 and brought me through the waters. And the water came up to my knees again.
He measured 1000 and brought me through the water. The water came up to my waist again. He measured 1,000. And it was a river that I could not cross, for the water was too deep. Water in which one must swim.
A river that could not be crossed. He said to me, son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.
I asked the Lord, what was the word for us today?
And I heard him say, keep moving. Somebody say it out loud, keep moving. As you take your seats, look at somebody like your life depended on it and tell them, you have to keep moving.
You have to keep moving.
Family. One of the greatest indicators of life is movement.
Anything that is alive is moving. The wind moves, the waves move, the earth rotates. Everything God created that has life moves. I came here today on assignment to shake someone loose today, to let you know that this is not the season to stand still. The moment movement stops, death begins.
The moment a business stops innovating, it declines. The moment a relationship stops growing, it starts dying. The moment believers stop moving forward in their faith, they start drifting backwards. That is why Christianity is not a monument. Christianity is a movement.
If the Christian life is anything, it is alive and progressive. It is not static. Even in medical science, they tell us one of the most important factors pertaining to good health is exercise. They say that a body in motion stays in motion. That means that it is much easier to keep something moving that is already in motion than to start moving from a stationary position.
This is why they encourage everyone, no matter what your age is, to keep moving, to get up, to walk, to move. Because movement is a sign of life. Well, if truth is parallel, then what is true in the natural is also true in the spiritual. Movement is paramount. You must keep movement.
Movement is evidence that there is still life. And when there is life, there is hope. And when there is hope, there is still potential. Potential for what, Pastor? Anything you need from God, there is still potential.
When you're moving, if the enemy can keep you stuck, he can keep you from your destiny. If he can stop you, then he can steal from you. But the moment you decide to keep moving, the moment you decide to press forward, the moment you decide that quitting is not an option, that is when breakthrough begins to happen.
The text that we read today in ezekiel, chapter number 47. And let me tell you, there's more here than we have time to unpack this morning. But I believe God is saying something to us in this text. Ezekiel is having a vision. He sees a river flowing from the temple.
But here's what caught my attention. The further he moves into the water, the deeper it gets. First it's ankle deep, then knee deep, then waist deep. And eventually it is so deep that he has to swim in this water. Did you catch that?
The river did not get deep. Deeper because God changed something. The river got deeper because Ezekiel moved. Yeah, you're going to catch me in a second. Somebody has been waiting for a deeper anointing.
You've been waiting for the praise team to sing a better song. You've been waiting for the pastor to preach a better message. You've been waiting on the grease to be a little bit warmer. You're waiting on God, but actually God is waiting on you. You don't go deeper in the river by standing still.
Still. You do not experience the fullness of God by staying on the shallow end. You have to move. See, the Bible says that Ezekiel walked a thousand cubics that 1750ft he walked, and the water was at his ankles. He walked another 1750ft, and it was at his knees.
He walked 1750ft again. And the Bible says that the water was at his waist. Finally, it got so deep that he had to swim. Somebody in this place shout, go deeper. No, you didn't shout it.
Shout, go deeper. Watch me. The prayer presence of God was always flowing, but it was his movement that changed his Experience in the water. The river did not change. He changed.
And you need to hear this because the deeper that you go, the greater the flow will become. Here's what I found. When you get to get more, you're going to have to move more in order for you to feel more. You're going to have to move more in order for you to see see more of God, more of his results. You're going to have to move more, See every one of us in this place.
We are at one of four levels. One of four levels. Some people are ankle deep Christians. Yeah, you, you're in the water, but just barely. You, you want to experience the presence of God, but not too much.
You don't want to get your hair wet. You don't want to sweat your clothes out. You don't want nobody to talk about you. And then there are some, some people that are knee deep Christians. You're committed, but you still in control.
You pray, but then you second guess the prayer that you pray to a God for help. You second guess that prayer. But then there are waist deep Christians. You feel the current of the Holy Spirit. You feel God moving like he was in here today.
But you're still standing on your feet. You're trying to control the flow, unstable instead of letting the flow control you. But then there is another level. There are the deep ones. There are some people in this place that say, God, I'm trusting you enough to let go and let God.
I trust you enough to move when you say move. I trust you enough to run when you say run. I trust you enough to wave my hand when it's time for me to wave my hand. You have surrendered enough to say, I'm going swimming. I don't care who goes with me.
I'm getting ready to go swimming. Somebody look at somebody next to you and tell them it's time to swim. Yeah, it's time to swim. Somebody shout, I'm going deeper. I'm going deeper.
Some of you all are ankle deep in faith and God is calling you to go swimming. Some are knee deep in purpose. But God says, I need you to go a little deeper. And here's what you need to understand. Every level requires movement.
What did I say? Every level requires movement. Ezekiel didn't go deeper by standing still. He had to step forward. And what is true in the life of Ezekiel is true in our lives as well.
And let me break this down, because Ezekiel is a people picture of our spiritual growth and development. Point number one. Movement requires surrender. Movement requires surrender. I want you to pay special attention of where the rivers came from.
Watch it. The river Ezekiel saw started at the Temple. The Temple represents the place where God lives. It symbolizes his place, presence. And notice that everything started at the door.
Jesus is the door into the Father's house and into the Father's presence. The writer of Hebrew, Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 12 and 2, he says, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. In other words, what he is saying is pay attention to Jesus. Jesus is the ultimate example, example of movement and progression. He did not stop at the pain of the cross.
He did not get stuck in his suffering. He did not stop because he was getting ready to be crucified. He kept moving forward for the joy that was set before him. And John 14:6, it tells us, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man can come to the Father except through me.
In other words, if you don't come through the door, you are a thief and a robber. Jesus was saying, I'm the way you going to get into the presence of God. Notice what Ezekiel saw in his vision. The Bible says that the river Ezekiel saw started at the Temple. That means movement begins in the presence of God.
The power of God does not flow from your opinions and from your plans and from your personal preferences. It flows out of his presence. In other words, the presence of God is the source of movement. And here's why this is important. Because you can't move forward without the presence of God.
I don't care what you're trying to do. I don't care what you're trying to become. I don't care what you're trying to have. You. You can't walk in purpose without his power.
You cannot be bold in Christ without His backing. I don't know about you, but I need God for everything that I do. I don't just need God for Sunday morning when it's time for church. I need Him Monday through Saturday when I got to walk through my week and I got to deal with demons and devils and spirits and I got to handle business. And I need protection.
I need his presence.
Watch me, because some of us are praying for more movement in our lives, but we are disconnected from his presence.
But listen, you can't expect movement without connection. The temple represents where God dwells. The river represents the Spirit flowing through you. If you are disconnected from the temple, you are disconnected from the flow. And if you're not in God's presence, you are not in his flow.
And when you are not in his flow, then you feel stuck and you feel stagnant and you feel like, I'm not going anywhere. And if you are stuck, perhaps you're dry. Because everything that's not connected to the soul, swords will wither up and dry. You don't get power without presence. You might have a gift, but you don't have no power.
You don't get anointing without alignment. You don't get overflow unless you are obedient to his word. And that's why the enemy's greatest attack in your life is against your proximity to God.
The enemy is not about your car. He's not thinking about your money. He's not thinking about your house. The enemy don't want you to be close to God. He uses the car and uses the money and uses the relationship to get you to stop moving in God.
If he can stop getting you moving in God, he will stop you from moving forward.
And this is why some people are stuck, because they're trying to move without him. Can I ask you, if you're stuck this morning, I need you to check your proximity to the temple. If you're feeling stagnant today, I need you to check your connection to his presence. If you are spiritually dry, maybe it's time for you to get back in the river and go for a swim. Because the river only flows from the presence of God.
Are y'all getting this? Now? Here's the revelation. Because the river starts at the altar. If you go back and read that the river issued or flowed from out from under the right side of the altar.
The altar is where you die to yourself. The altar is where your plans get surrendered. The altar is where your excuses stop and your faith has to stop start. The altar represents letting go of our will so that we can move in God's will. Does anybody want to move in God's will?
We don't hear much about the altar these days and in this culture, but there's still an altar. There's still a righteous altar that will help us to get back into the river of God. You cannot step into the deep things of God, God without laying something down. Jesus said it this way in Luke chapter number nine, verse 23. He says, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself, take up their cross daily, and follow me.
The cross is not just something that you carry that you wear on your neck or you post on social media. The cross is something that you have to die on. The cross is something that you have to take everything that God doesn't like about me. And I gotta put it on the cross and it's gotta die. See, when we talk about movement, we talk about, or we have to talk about, what are we willing to leave behind.
Lot's wife turned back and she turned into a pillar of salt because she was more attached to where she had been, to where God was taking her. She was more connected to everything out there than looking forward to what God has for us. And you cannot move forward if you are still looking back. And some of us are wondering, why am I stuck? And that is because you won't stop looking back.
You're stuck in past relationships. You're stuck in past hurts. You're stuck in what didn't work. And you're stuck in who left you and who don't want to be your friend. You're stuck, stuck in old mindset.
But God says you gotta keep moving forward. Somebody shout, I'm refusing to be stuck. I refuse to be stuck. Some of us are missing out on what God has for us because we are so attached to what happened to us. We are so connected to everything that is behind us.
And God says, if you just come up here, if you just move up here, I got some great. And matter of fact, he says it this way, forget the former things and don't dwell on the past. Because I'm getting ready to do a new thing. If you need a new thing, I dare you to jump up and say, I'm experiencing a new thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I'm looking for a new thing. I'm looking for a new thing in my life. A new thing in my body, a new thing. And my finances.
You may be seated. Paul says it this way. He says, you gotta press. Somebody shout, press, press. Towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Pressing is moving. Reaching is movement. The prize is in front of us, not behind us. And the deeper you go, the more, hear me, the deeper you go, the more you're going to have to let go of.
Because you can't have weights holding you down. You ever wonder why people, before they go swimming, even if they're trying to save somebody, they start shedding layers. Because I cannot have the full current. If that weight is on me, I won't be able to survive. And let me ask you this morning, what is keeping you from moving?
Is it fear? Is it comfort? Maybe it's the unknown. I don't know what God is trying to do with me. But let me tell you this.
If you keep resisting you'll never experience the full flow of God's purpose in your life. Are you listening to me? So, point number one, movement requires surrender. But watch this. Number two, movement requires both.
Boldness. Somebody shout boldness. Notice verses five. He measured a thousand cubits. The water came up to my ankles.
It came up to my knees. It came up to my waist. And then it became a river too deep to cross. Do you see the progression here? God doesn't take Ezekiel straight to the deep waters.
He takes him step by step. Somebody say step by step, ankle deep. You're in the water, but maybe you're still in control. Knee. Knee deep.
You're feeling it, but you can still resist it. Waist deep, you're halfway there. But you can plant your feet so that you don't go. But God, I need full immersion in your life. In other words, you have to let go and trust the flow of where I'm taking you.
And this is where some of us get stuck. We like the safety of shallow waters.
We want just enough Jesus to feel better, but not enough to lose control.
I want just enough of the Holy Spirit to inspire me. But I don't want to be led by the Holy Spirit. But hear me. You cannot feel or experience the fullness of God until you let go. And every step stage requires movement.
Ezekiel teaches us something powerful. The deeper you go, the more the current is going to carry you. The Holy Spirit is like a river. But some of us don't want to let go of control. But I'll be the first to say faith is not safe.
I know I'm like, messing up some people's theology right there by that statement. Faith is not safe. In other words, obedience is uncomfortable.
Faith.
Some people have more faith in their faith than they have faith in God. But faith is not fake. Faith is like electricity. You need electricity. Electricity can provide power to you.
But I dare you to go stick your finger inside of an outlet. Hebrews tells us, faith is the substance or the material of things hoped for. In other words, I need faith. But it's not easy to operate in faith. Because when I operate in faith, I have to trust that God is going to do exactly what he says he going to do.
I gotta trust what I do not see when I have faith. Faith requires risk. It requires movement. It requires boldness. The woman with the issue of blood would not have been healed if she did not get in the press of the crowd.
But she had to take a risk. It wasn't safe for her to be in the public, but she took A risk Blind Bartimaeus would have never received his sight if he didn't refuse to keep. Be quiet. And he cried out for Jesus even more. God is waiting for some of us to make a move.
In other words, I can't wait for conditions to be perfect. I cannot wait until I get the validation of somebody else. Oh, my God. You can keep waiting for people to understand your assignment, or you can say, I'm getting ready to make a move, whether you like it or not. I'm getting ready to be.
I'm getting ready to do. I'm getting ready to have. Everything that God says, I'm supposed to have somebody shout, I'm making moves. I'm making moves. Yeah, I can't play it safe anymore because some of us have been playing it safe staying on the shallow end of the pool.
But hear me. When God told Abraham to go to a land that he had never gone before, it was not safe, but it was a move. When God told Jesus told Peter to walk on the water, Peter had to step out of the boat. It wasn't safe, but he had to make a move. When Jesus went to the cross, it was not easy, but it was the move that saved the entire world.
What am I trying to tell you? You can't play it safe and obey God at the same time.
Shallow faith won't get you deep miracles. Shallow faith won't break generational curses. Shallow faith won't build the business. It won't write the book. It won't start the ministry.
Shallow faith won't help you to break free from the cycles of. Of fear and doubt. Somebody say it's time to go deeper. It's time to go deeper. Going deeper means letting go.
Going deeper means I got to surrender control. The deeper Ezekiel went into the river, the bigger the river got. In other words, the more Ezekiel died to himself, the more the river of God could flow through him. The deeper his flesh went down, the stronger the flow became. This is what the Holy Spirit is saying to us today.
There's more. Somebody say there's more. The Christian life is progressive, but watch it. Hear me. Please don't miss this.
It can be progressive death or a progressive life. I don't care how mature you are. I don't care how long you've been saved. You can be saved and have a progressive death because you haven't seen anything yet. Every single day.
You got to realize, this is no place for me to be comfortable and complacent. The truth is Christian. The Christian life is not automatic. Every Single day of your life, you got to choose to get up and get moving. Every single day of your life.
You. You gotta choose to get up and let go of what is comfortable. You gotta choose to boldly walk in the faith of God.
I gotta choose to dive in the word, choose to sanctify myself.
Just going to church doesn't make you a victorious Christian. Just like parking a Hyundai under a Cadillac sign does not make it a Cadillac.
I was talking to somebody and they said, pastor, you don't understand. I'm just going through. I'm going through. And I said, yeah, I understand you're going through. And I said, well, you know what?
Praise God, you're going through. They said, what do you mean, praise God? I said, the fact that you going through should be fine enough that God is taking care of you. That means you still in the fight. That means that you're not dead yet.
That means that you haven't been conquered by the enemy. That means that you still have the possibility to get everything that God has promised you. That means that you are still on the devil's hit list because he would not be fighting you if you were not making a difference for the kingdom. So praise God, I'm going through because it's just a sign that. That God is still working on me.
You got to keep moving.
Look at somebody and tell them I'm getting ready to go where I've never gone before. Tell them I'm getting ready to see what I've never seen before. I'm getting ready to do what I've never done before. I'm stepping into new levels. I'm stepping into a new anointing.
I'm stepping into a new boldness, a new level of faith. A new. I'm getting ready to make a bold move.
And watch this. Everything that's been holding you back can't go where you're going. In other words, fear can't go where you're going. Doubt can't go where you're going. Depression cannot go where you're going.
Past failures and toxic people cannot go where you are going.
Nudge your neighbor and say, you gotta move. Yeah, you gotta keep moving. It may feel tough, but you gotta keep moving. It may seem like the devil is coming at you, but you gotta keep moving. You gotta keep moving.
You gotta keep moving. You gotta keep moving. You gotta keep moving.
Foreign I'm gonna move if it's the last thing that I have to do. Nobody is gonna have to pump me. Nobody gonna have to pry me. Nobody gonna have to tell me the only way I won't do it myself is if I'm unconscious with tubes running out of me. But if I have one ounce of sense, I'm gonna do what I need to do.
I'm gonna say, I'm gonna move. If I gotta wave my hand, I'm gonna wave my hand. I'm gonna open my eyes. If I can't talk, I'm gonna blink my eyes, and you gonna know. With the blinking of my eyes, I'm moving.
You gonna know me sending them back and forth. I'm moving.
Watch it. I'm almost done.
Look at somebody. Tell them, just keep moving. Tell them, just keep moving.
Here's my last point. I'm done. Point number three. The reason why I got to keep moving is because your movement brings life. Your movement brings life.
Somebody say, my movement brings life. Notice the text. He said unto me, this water flows from the eastern region and goes into the valley and enters the Dead Sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And wherever the river flows, everything will live.
The river isn't just for you. The river is supposed to flow through you. The river is what represents the power of the Holy Spirit. Scripture's talking about the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea represents what is lifeless.
Anybody have some lifeless things in your life? Anybody have some lifeless things going on? I know, we don't want to admit it. We don't want nobody to know. We want everybody to think everything is perfect.
But watch this. The Dead Sea is the place where nothing grows.
No life is in it. But the text tells us. When the river touches it, life appears. When the river touches what is dead, it comes alive. I hear you, Jonathan.
Sometimes when I'm studying, I like to reverse engineer what I'm reading so that it helps me understand. So when I read that text, it says, wherever the river flows, everything will live.
Then where there is no movement, there is no life. Where there is no flow, there is no transformation. Where there is stagnation, there is death? Could it be this is the reason why Allah's wife turned into a pillar of salt? Because she stopped moving.
Because when you stop moving, you stop growing. When you stop moving, you stop hearing. Nobody can tell you anything. You know everything. And anybody that tries to tell you something, you remind them that you already know.
When you stop moving, you stop hearing. When you stop moving, you stop receiving.
Tell somebody close to you, I refuse to be a monument. I'm called to be a movement every single day. Watch this. Don't miss it. What if I told you that your movement is the key to somebody else's breakthrough.
What if I told you that your movement is the key to somebody else's breakthrough? Somebody is waiting for you to step into your calling. Somebody is waiting for you to start the business.
And I was looking at this and I started chuckling and I said, God, when I say that I believe some people will think, oh, I'm gonna start the business because God just wants me to have money. And. And here. God wants you to prosper. But you got to understand, it's not about you prospering.
God wants you in business. He wants you to start the business because there's somebody that will come to your business before they come to the church and when they come to the business. And then when you connect with them, you minister to them. Because whether you know it or not, most of the miracles that took place did not take place in the Bible, did not take place in the temple. They took place place in the marketplace.
Oh, my God. Somebody is waiting for you to forgive so that they can heal. So you'll be able to tell them, I went through what you went through. Let me tell you how I heal so you can heal. Somebody is waiting for you to get out of your feelings so that they can walk into their purpose.
Look at somebody eyeball to eyeball and tell them, your movement is bigger than you. Your movement is bigger than you. Did you hear what the text said? He says it in verse 9. He says, Wherever the river flows, everything will live.
Whenever the river flows, there is life. Healing happens when you move. Breakthrough happens when, when you move. Revival happens when you move. I've seen people that were sick and they will say, you know what?
I can't move, but I'm going to try to move. And all of a sudden we have miracles upon miracles. That's been noted in this ministry that people that bishop would notorious for saying, do something that you could not do before. And they would try to move. And when they started moving, the Holy Ghost would hit them.
And all of a sudden the healing power would begin to be manifested. And God told me to tell this church there's some things that he still wants to do, but he's just waiting for about 50 people to say, God, I'm gonna get up and move. I'm not sitting stoic, I'm not gonna sit and look, but I'm getting ready to move. So that's.
Watch it. Somebody's healing. Somebody's healing is on the other side of your obedience. Somebody's deliverance is connected to your Movement.
Somebody's depending on you not quitting so that you can be a light to them.
Look at somebody while you're standing there. Tell them I have to keep moving.
You may be seated. Let me bring this home. Let me bring this home for you. The enemy's greatest strategy. Hear this.
The enemy's greatest strategy is stagnation. He doesn't have to destroy you. He just has to stop you. Because if he can stop you, then that means he will get you to stop moving and you will not walk and become what God wants you to become. But I came here locked and loaded to break that spirit off of you.
And I came to tell somebody it's time to get back in the flow of God and start moving again.
Listen. Ezekiel reached the point that he could no longer walk. He had to swim. That's the moment of transition. It's the moment where I lose control and I have to fully trust, even though it hurts, even though it doesn't seem like it's safe, I have to trust that God's got me no matter what.
That's the moment where God says, let go and trust me. Because this is a decision. Ezekiel had to decide to go deeper. And that is what we have to decide as well. Well, we have to decide.
Nobody can do it for us. Nobody can push you in the river. You have to make the decision to move. Some of us in this room, you're on the verge of a breakthrough, but you're hesitating. Some people are right at the edge of something new, but you are afraid.
Afraid to step forward. But hear me. You cannot walk in a new dimension while you are holding on to an old mindset.
Prophetically, I declare this is a season of movement. This is a season of bold steps. What is stopping you, stopping your flow? Today, some of us stop moving because of fear. We stop moving because of comfort.
We stop moving because of past disappointments.
But I came to prophesy over your life that this is your season to move again. I don't know who I'm talking to. This is your season where you're no longer going to be able to stand, stand still. This is your season that you can no longer sit in fear. You cannot dip your toes in, not just wait a little bit.
But this is your moment. This is your time. And God is saying, keep moving.
If you receive it, lift your hands. God is saying, this is not the season to be speaking stagnant. This is not the season to be complacent or comfortable. This is the season to move your ankles have been in long enough. You've been waiting long enough.
Fear can't go where you're going. Anxiety cannot go where you are going. Complacency cannot go where you are going. By the power of God, I speak new levels in your life. I speak that God is doing great and mighty things in your life.
I speak the plans and the purpose of God being made plain in your life as you move. I speak a destiny lift in your life where some will go from obscurity to into notoriety and the devil cannot do anything about it.
I speak movement in every area of your life. I speak movement in your relationships. I speak movement in your business affairs. I speak movement in your body. I speak movement in your mind.
I speak movement to everything that is connected to you.
Some people you have to be bold enough to declare. I will keep moving. Somebody say it. I will keep moving. Say it again.
I will keep moving. Somebody say, I may have to crawl. I may have to pace myself and walk. I'll try to run. I'll learn how to swim.
But quitting is not an option. I will keep moving.
I will keep moving. My life depends on it. My future depends on it. Somebody else's life depends on me moving.
And listen, I can't force you to move with me. But I also know you can't stop me. Because the moment I decide I'm getting ready to move, all I gotta do is move. I don't need anybody's approval. I don't need anybody's validation.
I'm moving. Moving. Go touch three people and tell them I'm moving. I'm moving. Yeah, look at me.
Think about me. I'm moving. I'm moving. I'm moving. I'm moving.
I'm moving. I'm moving. I'm stepping into deeper waters. I'm stepping into deeper waters. I'm moving.
I'm moving. I'm moving. I'm moving.