Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
Today I am in Portugal. I have had a busy, but wonderful, week. I was blessed to connect with several churches and many leaders. I am finishing today with more connections and times of sharing. I will fly home tomorrow. I am looking forward to being with my family after a fruitful time away.
The true desirable place of life is to live in and from the presence of God in our lives. It is not only a place of God’s blessing, but also the place of finding God’s purpose for our lives. To fulfill our purpose in life, we must live from a place of God resting in us and with us. This testimony can be seen in the beginning of creation as recorded in the book of Genesis.
God formed man from the dust and then He plated a garden in the East and put man in the garden. It was a place of knowing God and knowing the goodness of God in order to fulfill human purpose upon the earth. The goal was not to live life in the garden, but to live life from the garden. Our goal is not just to live to know God in life, but to live life from the place of knowing God. We are supposed to influence our world with the goodness and presence of God in all things.
There was a river in the garden of Eden that produced four riverheads, and those riverheads flowed to the world. I believe that these rivers in the garden depict what Jesus was talking about when He cried out; Is anyone thirsty? Come to me and drink, and from inside of you will flow rivers of life-giving water! I know this to be true, not only in Scripture, but in the testimony of my own life.
When we live in a desirable place with God, the expressions of our lives become desirable to others. When we experience the life of God, we become givers of the life of God to others. Like the four covenant rivers in the garden of Eden, the life that flows out from our lives causes our world to be changed. The covenant rivers in the garden were filled with the abundance of life for the purpose of reaching the field. The purpose of the rivers was to reach the place where herbs needed to grow. The water of these rivers was destined to flow where trees needed to find their destiny. The field that Adam was formed from was dust and it needed herbs and trees. The earth needed life to become a place that can give life. The garden of Eden was not just a place of blessing, it was a place of purpose. When God rests in our lives it is not just for us to experience the life of God. It is so we can be those who give life to our world.
Genesis 2:10 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 11 The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
There was a river in the garden that produced four riverheads. Four is a number of covenant and it represents the ability to give life to the whole world. These rivers were the testimony of life for all who need life in the earth. If we look at the names of these riverheads, we find some great truth concerning the power of life. If you research the names of these four rivers you will find a description of the following testimony:
- A RIVER THAT BRINGS CHANGE FOR INCREASE – (Pishon – persuasion – an extension of the mouth). This is like BELIEF that causes our confession to be one of faith.
- A RIVER THAT BRINGS AWAKENING – (Gihon – breaking forth – valley of grace). This is like ACTION that empowers our vision to give our lives for the sake of others.
- A RIVER THAT BRINGS INCREASE AND MOMENTUM – (Hiddekel –beyond what is – sharp voice, sound). This is like IMAGINATION that inspires us to dream for the next generations.
- A RIVER THAT BRINGS FRUITFULNESS – (Euphrates – that makes fruitful). This is like INFLUENCE that produces blessing for the world beyond our own lives.
Whatever be BELIEVE determines how we ACT. How we ACT determines what we can IMAGINE. What we can IMAGINE determines how we can INFLUENCE the world around us. The secret to these being life-filled realities for life-filled purposes is to live in and from the presence of God in all things. God is resting in our lives for the testimony of His glory in our world! It is not merely so we will be blessed. It’s so we will be a blessing. It’s not so good things of God will be added to our own lives. It’s so we can see good things come to others in our world. It’s not just so we will know God today, but so the world can receive the glory of God through a generational inheritance of life. It’s not about what can happen in our lifetime. It’s what can happen in the earth because of our lifetime. Knowing God resting in us is so we will fulfill the purpose of God in our lives and His name will be glorified in all things.
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
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House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
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