PASTOR TIMOTHY L. MELTON
CHEROKEE PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCH
“Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea. All the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim, (on the western shore) the shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean.
“But the marshes and the swamps will not be purified; they will be salty.
“Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47: 10-12 (NLT)
(The river is similar to the river mentioned in Revelation 22:1-2. Both are associated with the Garden of Eden. {See Genesis 2:10}. The river symbolizes life from God and the blessings that flows from his throne. It is a gentle, safe, deep river, expanding as it flows. The valley of the Dead Sea is the geological depression in which the Dead Sea lies. The Dead Sea is a body of water so salty that nothing can live in it. The river will freshen the Dead Sea’s water so it can support life. This is another picture of the life-giving nature of the water that flows from God’s Temple. God’s power can transform us no matter how lifeless or corrupt we may be. Even when we feel messed up and beyond hope, his power can heal us. From NLT postscript.)
“Fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to En-eglaim they will spread nets. They will catch many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea.
“But its swamps and its marshes will not become fresh: they will remain salty.
“On both sides of the river’s banks, every kind of tree will grow for food. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail, but they will bear fruit every month, because their water source flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47: 10-12 (GSB – NET)
“We should all be living according to who we have been called to be by Him. There are exceeding many fishes right here. Go fishing means to look for those you know, or at least are similarly your kind of people. In one study, (Barber’s) it stated that only two out of every ten people have even won anyone else. Say, if you are a writer by trade, it will be your kind or your kin, who would be drawn by your example to go with the flow of the Spirit. Join the flow bopping along even through the rapids downstream—remember that first day of Pentecost saw 3,000 people saved in a minute. Get in the Great Sea where there are ‘exceeding many fishes.’ Go fishing.
“There’s a caution where there are miry and marshy places. There will be those who could refuse to be healed easily. Some may even reject you. Since they cannot decide to be healed, they may remain too salty. Try again somewhere else. God is with you.
For the ‘tree’ that is planted firmly on the shore, the leaves are for the healing of the nations, the fruit becomes edible to anyone who will eat of it. Like a ‘planted tree’, your body has become a sanctuary, and a candle is lit inside you that should cause others to run to you. There is a music inside of you flowing out of you—a ‘living’ sanctuary. The fruit is being developed in your spirit. You must protect your sanctuary. Strange rock music—do not let it in your sanctuary, for your sanctuary has to be kept in holiness. This really cannot be done by yourself alone. It simply cannot be done without the power of God.
“It says in Acts 2: 14-21 that Peter, humbly but boldly, preached that first morning with his newly-formed, new-found confidence that came from the Holy Spirit. He had made him a powerful and dynamic speaker from then on. With the Holy Spirit living in us, we can also be effective in our witness and in winning souls. Say, ‘I want to be like the early Church.’
“Don’t ever look down on these as they make their start. Help them grow up in Jesus. Our Jesus is a gift asked for and received. He is pictured for us in Ezekiel, in Joel, and in 1 & 2 Peter, Lord, let us see Him there – we love Cherokee!
