For the increase of the flow of life, we need to be measured by the Lord as the man of bronze; the more we’re measured to be judged and possessed by the Lord, the more the flow of life will increase until there will be waters to swim in. Amen!
Our God is a flowing Triune God, and He flows throughout the ages to reach man and flow into man.
The Lord Jesus when He was on earth called all men to come to Him and drink.
Even after a seven-day-long feast, He stood out and cried out for those who were thirsty to come and drink.
Man is thirsty. The real water that quenches man’s thirst is God Himself. And God flows out from eternity to eternity!
Even more, in Ezek. 47 we see that there is a river of water flowing out of the house of God.
On one hand, God flows in us, in each of the believers in Christ individually.
On the other hand, God flows as a river of living water out of God’s house.
It is the same God who flows, but in the house of God, He flows much richer. Amen!
We all can testify that, even though we enjoy the Lord’s rich dispensing when we spend time with Him personally, we are much more nourished and watered when we come together with the saints and enjoy Him corporately. Amen!
If we want to have the flow of God out of the house of God, we need to have an opening toward the Lord and we need to be built into God’s house.
Our being needs to be open to Him, and we need to be built together with the saints as the church, the house of God.
To have the flow of life, we need to seek only God’s glory; if we seek our glory or we do things in and for ourselves, we cannot have the flow of life.
God flows out of the house of God to reach all men and bring in life; we can be part of God’s flow, we can release God’s flow, and we can bring God’s flow to others when we live for God’s glory.
We need to give the Lord the preeminence in all things, and we need to give the first place to the flow of life in our being.
If we sense that the flow stops when we do something or say something, we also need to stop; we need to recover the flow and remain in the flow of life. Amen!
We need to allow the cross to operate in us and deepen the flow of life, and we need to consecrate ourselves fully to the Lord.
Everything we have and can do needs to be put on the altar; then, there will be a flow of living water out of the house of God.
Praise the Lord, today in the church life we are enjoying the flow of life out of and for the magnificent house of God!
We need to be Measured by the Lord for the Increase of the Flow of Life
All genuine believers in Christ have the flow of the divine life within them, and to a certain extent, they enjoy the flow of life out of the house of God.
However, how deep is the flow?
In Ezek. 47:3-5 we see that Christ as the man of bronze came and measured the depth of the river flowing from God’s house; first, there was a trickle, and after He measured one thousand cubits, there was water up to the knees.
Then He measured another one thousand cubits, and the flow became deeper, even up to the loins.
He measured one thousand cubits a fourth time, and the flow was now very deep, even a river which could not be passed through, and the river became waters to swim in.
In our Christian experience, there needs to be the increase of the flow of life by our allowing the Lord to measure us.
The Lord is a man of bronze, and He measures us to judge and possess us so that the flow of life would increase (Ezek. 40:3; 47:2-5; Rev. 1:15; John 7:37-39).
He was judged by God in every way and to the fullest extent, and He passed all the tests; He is now qualified to measure us, His people.
To measure is to examine, test, judge, and possess; the four measurings of a thousand cubits, which is a complete unit (Psa. 84:10) indicate that as creatures we need to be thoroughly measured by the Lord so that He may take over and thoroughly possess our entire being (Isa. 6:1-8).
Some sisters like to buy fabric materials to make drapes, curtains, or clothes.
When they find the right fabric, they measure it and then they cut it; they examine it, measure it, and cut it to possess it.
Similarly we today are being measured by the Lord, judged by Him, and examined by Him so that we may be possessed by Him to a further extent.
A carpenter similarly is looking for a particular piece of wood which he can work on; he examines the wood, measures it, and then cuts it to possess it.
The Lord as the man of bronze measures us by examining us, judging us, and shining on us so that He may possess us.
He does not just test us; He wants to possess us so that the flow of life would increase in us.
We should not despise the Lord’s measuring nor should we resist it. He wants to measure every part of our being.
He wants to measure our goals, our desires, and our aims.
The Lord wants to measure our possessions, our involvements, and everything about us.
We need to allow the Lord to be our judge to measure us and test us so that He can possess us, and we will have the increase of the flow of life.
If the Lord does not measure us again and again, the flow of life in us will not increase.
Many times, however, we may not allow the Lord to measure us.
He doesn’t measure us four thousand cubits at a time; He measures us one thousand cubits at a time, and each time He measures us, there’s an increase of the flow of life.
We may think that, after some measuring done by the Lord, we are now fully measured; however, we may have been measured by the Lord only five hundred cubits, and He wants to make the flow deeper.
After some more measuring, we may think that we are now there, we broke through; however, the Lord still needs to measure us.
If we want to enjoy a flow that is deeper, we need to be measured, that is, we need to be tested, examined, judged, and taken over by the Lord.
This will deepen the flow of life within us.
![Then He brought me out by the way of the north gate and led me around on the way outside to the outer gate, on the way to [the gate] that faces east; and there the water was running out on the south side. When the man went out to the east with the line in His hand, He measured a thousand cubits; and He led me through the water, water that was to the ankles. Then He measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water that was to the knees. Then He measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through [the water,] water that was to the loins. Then He measured a thousand [cubits, and it was] a river that I could not pass through; for the water had risen, [enough] water to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. Ezek. 47:2-5](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Then-He-brought-me-out-by-the-way-of-the-north-gate-and-led-me-around-on-the-way-outside-to-the-outer-gate-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "Then He brought me out by the way of the north gate and led me around on the way outside to the outer gate, on the way to [the gate] that faces east; and there the water was running out on the south side. When the man went out to the east with the line in His hand, He measured a thousand cubits; and He led me through the water, water that was to the ankles. Then He measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water that was to the knees. Then He measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through [the water,] water that was to the loins. Then He measured a thousand [cubits, and it was] a river that I could not pass through; for the water had risen, [enough] water to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. Ezek. 47:2-5")
As He measures us, we simply need to confess. As He exposes us, we just agree with the light, and He will break through in us.
We simply need to say Amen to His shining, exposing, and judging, and all the things He exposes and measures will be possessed by Him.
We may think we are fully consecrated to the Lord and everything we have belongs to Him, and then the Lord allows something to happen, and we realize that we still keep so much for ourselves and we’re not fully for Him. Oh, Lord!
We need more measuring. We need to open to the Lord’s measuring.
We cannot remain in the same place and have the same level of flow of life as one year ago.
We shouldn’t analyze how deep is the flow, but we need to open to the Lord to be measured by Him.
The Lord’s measuring needs our cooperation. He needs us to allow Him to measure us so that the level of the flow of life may increase.
If we want to have an increase of the flow of life, we need to open to the Lord for HIs measuring day by day.
The more we allow the Lord to examine, test, and judge us to possess us, the deeper the flow of life becomes (1 John 1:5, 7).
The depth of the flow of life in our being depends on how much we have been measured by the Lord.
Lord Jesus, we open to You. Shine on us. Measure us so that You may possess us. We want to have an increase of the flow of life in our being. Deepen the flow of life in us. Save us from remaining the same. Go deeper in us. We open to Your testing, examining, judging, and being taken over by You. Oh Lord, have a way in our being. We do not want to resist Your measuring. Amen, Lord, all that You have judged in us is now Yours. Take us over, Lord, and take full possession of us. Keep us open to Your measuring day by day for there to be an increase of the flow of life! Amen, Lord, we treasure the sweet flow of life. Deepen the flow of the divine life in our being!
Being Measured by the Lord until we’re Lost in and Carried Along by the Flowing Triune God
![Then He measured a thousand [cubits, and it was] a river that I could not pass through; for the water had risen, [enough] water to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. Ezek. 47:5](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Then-He-measured-a-thousand-cubits-and-it-was-a-river-that-I-could-not-pass-through-1024x1024.jpg?resize=750%2C750&ssl=1 "Then He measured a thousand [cubits, and it was] a river that I could not pass through; for the water had risen, [enough] water to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. Ezek. 47:5")
For us to have a deeper flow of life, for there to be an increase of the flow of life in our being and among us in the church life, we need to be fully taken over by the Lord by being measured by Him.
This is not easy to experience.
After we have some experiences of being measured by the Lord, we may think we are there, or there’s an increase of the flow of life, but we need to be measured even more, for the flow needs to deepen.
The Lord gains us little by little, day by day; He also shines on us to expose how much we have still reserved and preserved for ourselves.
![Now on the last day, the great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for [the] Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Now-on-the-last-day-the-great-day-of-the-feast-Jesus-stood-and-cried-out-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "Now on the last day, the great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water. But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for [the] Spirit was not yet, because Jesus had not yet been glorified. John 7:37-39")
Even after a number of years, we still may not have been fully possessed by the Lord, and we need to be again measured, tested, judged, and possessed by Him.
The more we allow the Lord to examine, test, and judge us to possess us, the deeper the flow becomes. Amen!
The more we are measured by the Lord, the more we are restricted and limited by the flowing of the grace of life until we eventually are lost in and carried along by the flowing Triune God as a river in which to swim (Ezek. 47:4-6).
The man of bronze in Ezek. 47 measured four times one thousand cubits, and after the last measuring, the river was deep, having waters to swim in.
In one sense, we lose all our freedom, for we are taken over and away by the waters of the river of life; in another sense, we are really free, for there’s no more need to swim, walk, or struggle: the flow of life does everything Amen!
The Lord measures us up to a certain point, and there’s water up to the ankle; there is some restricting, for it’s difficult to walk or swim, but there needs to be an increase of the flow of life.
After some more measuring, there’s an increase of the flow, and the level of water is up to the loins.
This is the most difficult time as a Christian because when the level of water is up to the loins, we have grace and it’s not so easy to lose our temper, but we don’t have enough grace to overcome our temper.
We have the grace to not react and lose our temper or respond to others, but within us, we are still not happy because we don’t have to say anything; we need more grace.
The problem is that, when we are in such a situation, many times we may compensate for the lack of grace with self-effort.
We shouldn’t do that; this does not work.
We need to be willing to be measured more by the Lord, acknowledging we need more grace and we need the flow of life to increase.
We need more measuring until there’s water to swim in.
We need to be measured by the Lord to the extent that there’s no more self-effort – we are simply carried along by the flow, and we have the family life and the church life in the flow of life!
We coordinate with the saints, we fellowship with others, and we even do our work at the office by being in the flow of life, fully immersed in it! This is possible!
We just need to allow the Lord to measure us. How deep the flow is depends on the measuring.
May we open to the Lord’s shining, exposing, and measuring.
The more He measures us, the richer and deeper the flow is.
The Lord wants to flow as rivers of living water out of our innermost being (John 7:38), but for this to happen, He needs to measure us so that the flow may be deeper and richer.
May we say amen to His measuring. May we not fear the Lord as a Man of bronze. He also has a golden girdle, serving us in love to possess us.
He wants to measure our attitude, the way we spend our money, the way we spend our time, and our conduct.
He wants to measure our clothing, the way we dress, and the way we style or cut our hair.
![Then I said, Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with an ember in his hand, [which] he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. And he touched my mouth [with it] and said, Now that this has touched your lips, / Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? And I said, Here am I; send me. Isa. 6:5-8](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Then-I-said-Woe-is-me-for-I-am-finished-For-I-am-a-man-of-unclean-lips-683x1024.jpg?resize=400%2C600&ssl=1 "Then I said, Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with an ember in his hand, [which] he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. And he touched my mouth [with it] and said, Now that this has touched your lips, / Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged. Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us? And I said, Here am I; send me. Isa. 6:5-8")
The more we’re measured, the deeper the flow is.
When He measures us in the way we dress and behave, there will be water of life flowing from us even by others seeing us, for the flow of life has deepened in us. Amen!
He wants to measure our thoughts, our dreams, and our imaginations. He wants to measure the things we watch on the internet and the things we spend doing on our phone.
He wants to measure our fantasies and aspirations, and He wants to also measure our hands, our feet, and our heart.
As He measures us by examining, testing, and judging us, He possesses us.
This is what happened to Isaiah in Isa. 6:1-8; he was a man of unclean lips amidst a people of unclean lips, and after being touched on his lips by the seraphim with the ember from the altar, he was purified.
The result was that he responded to God’s call saying, Here I am, send me. If we want to be sent by the Lord, we need to have our lips measured.
Our eyes, ears, and lips need to be measured by the Lord.
May we be willing to be measured by the Lord in our relationships with our neighbours, our co-workers, our family members, and in everything.
May we be willing to be measured in our finances, in the way we manage our money, and in everything about us.
If we are not willing to be measured by the Lord and resist His examining and judging, we will be like Moab in Jer. 40:8-11, remaining the same, not having our scent changed and having our taste within us. Oh, Lord Jesus!
Lord Jesus, we open to You to be measured by You for the flow of life within us to increase. We love You, Lord, and we just open to Your measuring so that You may examine us, test us, and judge us to possess us. We open our thoughts, aspirations, desires, and decisions to You. We open to You concerning the way we spend our money and what we buy. Oh Lord, what about our relationship with our family members, our co-workers, and the saints in the church life? We open to Your measuring. Come in and measure us so that the flow of life may increase. Lord, measure us in our speaking and in our hearing. We open to You concerning the things we hear, the things we watch, and the things we speak. May there be an increase of the flow of life in our being. Measure our thoughts and dreams. Measure the way we spend our time by ourselves and measure our hobbies, habits, and desires. Oh Lord Jesus, we don’t want to preserve anything; we just want to open to the Lord in all things! May we be measured by You to the extent that we’re lost in and carried along by the flowing Triune God as a river to swim in! Oh, the freedom to be lost in God and swallowed up by the life of God!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ricky Acosta in the message for this week, Life-study of Ezekiel, pp. 305-307 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Christian Life (2024 Memorial Day Blending Conference), week 5, Living the Christian Life by Enjoying the Flow of Life with the Ministry of Life out of and for the Magnificent House of God.
- Similar articles on this topic:
– Finding the flow and getting into it, a portion from, Life-Study of Genesis, Chapter 88, by Witness Lee.
– Living Water Flows to, in New Jerusalem (5), via, New Jerusalem blog.
– The Lord’s desire for a river, a portion from, The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee.
– Christ, the Cross, and the Church, via, Shepherding Words.
– Our need to be measured for the Lord’s move, a portion from, The Crucial Revelation of Life in the Scriptures, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee.
– Speak to Christ the Rock to Drink the Spirit as the Water of Life! More at, Holding to Truth in Love.
– Why God is Spirit – drink and flow, article via, Conversant Faith.
– The Basis and Motivation for Consecrating Ourselves to God, via, Bibles for America blog. - Hymns on this topic:
– From my spirit within flows a fountain of life— / The Triune God flowing in me; / God the Father’s the source, Christ the Son is the course, / And the Spirit imparts life to me. / Lord, I treasure the sweet flow of life, / And my soul-life at last I lay down; / O Lord, deepen the pure flow of life; / At Your coming may life be my crown. (Hymns #1191 stanza 1 and chorus)
– Measure us, measure us, measure every day; / Measure us, measure more, measure all the way, / Till we know that the flow is a mighty flood, / Sweeping over all the earth for Christ the Lord. / Take us through, take us through, take us through the flow; / Take us through, through and through, everywhere we go. / Flow increase, never cease, till we swim in Thee, / Till we are immersed in God eternally. (Hymns #1115 stanzas 3-4)
– Oh, may my spirit flow, / Oh, may it flow! / Now I implore Thee, Lord, / Oh, may it flow! / No more self-satisfied, / No more in self-bound pride, / No more my spirit tied; / Oh, may it flow! / Oh, may my spirit flow, / Oh, may it flow! / For this I plead with Thee, / Oh, may it flow! / High-minded not to be, / Pride shall not prison me, / I’d flow unceasingly, / In spirit flow. (Hymns #846 stanzas 2-3)
About aGodMan
Life-study of Ezekiel, pp. 306-307, by Witness Lee
If we want to have the increase of the flow of life, we need to be willing to be measured by the Lord.
The more we are measured by the Lord Jesus as the man of bronze, the more He possesses us and the living water can flow.
May we not limit the Lord in His measuring to examine, test, and judge us. May we open to Him.
Amen! Lord we open to be measured by You!!
Amen Lord, measure us and posses us until we swim in You.
Amen brother. We need to be measured & possessed completely.
The Lord’s judging & testing of us are not once for all.
Bit by bit He will come with His measuring rod and we will discover that there are still parts of us that we have reserved for ourselves.
It’s good for us to be judged & examined in this way.
Only when we are fully possessed by the Lord will we be fully freed.
We will be fully swallowed up by the living water and carried forward toward the goal of the New Jerusalem…
The man of bronze with a measuring reed measures, examines, tests and judges us to deepen the flow within and out of us.
Our motives, aims, desires, intentions and goals, even everything we are and have must be measured and judged so there is a deeper flow – enough water to swim in. It is not sufficient for such a flow to be a trickle up to the ankles.
It must be deep enough to swim in!
Praise the Lord 🙏 that He is measuring us to remove our all natural virtues so that we can be possessed by Him for the flow of life.
We need to learn how to swim in Him. We are dependent on Him to float and move as well as immersing deep into Him.
Praise the Lord! 🙌😃
https://youtu.be/qh7Ulrot40E
Amen, Lord, measure us for the sake of the flow that’s out of Your house.
Listen to the audio version of this article via,
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https://rumble.com/v5h0f51-being-measured-by-the-lord-to-have-a-deeper-flow-of-life.html
Ezek. 47:3, footnote 3 on “thousand cubits,” Recovery Version Bible
Amen. Lord Jesus, may we be fully possessed by You so that we may have waters to swim in!
We must be measured again and again in order to be fully possessed by the Lord.
Everything must be judged to deepen the flow of waters to the point that we can swim in it.