Communion With the Christ:: Sailing the Waters of Zion

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah , is referred to by some Biblical Scholars as the fifth Gospel because it speaks so powerfully regarding the work of salvation that Our Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished on our behalf.

Isaiah prophesying about an ideal time that the people of Israel have long hoped for, the Prophet sees in vision a water flow issuing forth from Zion the place where the Great God is worshiped.

"Look on Zion, the city of our festivals;
your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken.
There the Lord will be our Mighty One. It will be like a place of broad rivers and streams." Isaiah: 33:20-21

Zion is seen as the place of God, a water flow of Justice, Peace, Mercy, Equity, Holiness, and Grace all flow from his presences. Zion is that idealized place where God dwells and rules. It is here that the people gather to worship. It is here that the rivers and streams are broad with lots of freedom to navigate.

Flows From Zion

Psalm: 48:2 - tells us that Zion, which upon the North side of Jerusalem, “Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King."

North is found in Scripture to represent the place of Gods’ throne and dwelling place.

No Great Ships

Upon these streams flowing out of Zion the Prophets speaks of the boats and ships that sail upon the waters. Isaiah tells us that the vessels which navigate the broad waters of Zion will not be the great ocean-going ship which were driven by slaves chained deep within the depths of the ships. Those slaves who rowed were subjected to cruel task masters who were never satisfied, they restlessly beat and abused the hapless oarsman.

Human efforts will not take us to Zion, we will become frustrated and exhausted as the galley slaves became.

Many times, even some Christians will look for the means to row upon these waters only to find themselves spent and exhausted spiritually. Yet some row on believing that they are making headway.

Those who rowed these ships found that life upon these vessels was hard with little reward and little rest afforded them, always anguishing and working but seemingly with little recompenses. Life at the oars offered little benefits, other than if you rowed well, the slave would live to row another day.

The means is there for them, but religiosity prevents them from hosting the sails of grace, it's there just un-availed of in their lives and they missed many great blessings. They can row, but can they not sail.

" Your rigging hangs loose: The mast is not held secure, the sail is not spread. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided and even the lame will carry off plunder"Issiah: 33:23

It was just such great ships that the Lord God would not allow to sail the waters of Zion, no ships that relied upon the energies of human strength were found here.

The Winds of Grace

These verses offer us a glimpse of such a peacefully state that Israel has longed for, but the verses speak of more than that. They speak to us regarding the life of grace that we can experience, not just, "someday" in the years to come after the reign of God is extended over all things, but here today, right now. Any who will but freely receive all that our Lord Jesus has for them can sail the peaceful broad waters of his grace.

All that we read here is far more meaningful when we read them through the vantage point of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus came to bring us Gods' grace. Jesus sets us free from rowing at the oars chained within the ship of legalism under cruel taskmasters who are never satisfied. Where work is long, hard and fruitless, there is only more work to do with only the hope that we might live to row another day. That is how the law or any religiosity works, it acts as a task master, we labor under it but never seem to do any better than just living to row another day.

The chains of "religiosity" feel as a great weight, at best theses chines keep us at the oars, we are as the galley slaves in the great sea vessels which the Lord will not permit to transverse the waters of Zion. This is "religiosity", but Jesus came to bring us something better, that is Grace formed relationship.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ". John: 1:14-17

Hoist the Sail

The waters of Zion which flow from the presence of our God, which the vessels of our lives were intended to sail, are meant to be sailed by boats bearing a hoisted sail. The wind of Grace is enough: powerful enough to give us momentum throughout lives, yet gentle enough that the boats of our lives are not out of control or capsized. All we need to do is hoist the sail, that is, by faith look to and rely upon our Lord and the salvation Jesus has accomplished for us all.

The life which we can have in Jesus is not the painful work of the oars of "religion”, but rather it is a lite burden that Jesus offers all, his yoke that we assume is easy and lite, it is ours' by accepting his grace rather than having it forced upon us. Jesus calls us all to rest in him.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" Matthew:11:28-29

No more struggle in the depths of "religiosity” but rather rest for our souls. That is what our God offers us all. Life in Jesus can be as effortless and sailing on the waters of Zion.

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm: 46:10

The wind of the Holy Spirit will move us ever closer to the fountain head of the Waters of Zion which is our Lord himself. Jesus said in John:3, that wind blows where it will but you cannot see from where it came or where it goes, so it is with the work of the Holy Spirit, he moves in our lives in ways we may not first understand, yet we do not drift aimlessly upon these waters, our Lord navigates us along to where he himself desires, if we will just hoist the sails.

The winds of Grace move us not works, there is freedom to navigate these broads streams and rivers of Zion when we sail in grace there is little danger of midstream collisions with the oar driven vessels of" "religion".

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." 2Corinthians:3:7

We are cautioned by the Apostle St. Paul not resort again to the oars of religion but sail rather in the freedom of our Lord Jesus. there are moments when our momentum may not be as great as we had wanted, we think that there is something needed from us, we look for an oar to take up and row in these moments, whatever that oar may be, a program, a prescribed list of "dos and do nots", some sort of expedience, secret knowledge or works, sometimes we seek an oar when all we really need is Jesus.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians: 5:1

Arriving at Zion

Here the Prophet Isiah is inspired by the Great God showing the ideal life of resting in Him, this is for us even now not just in the years to come, we can even now have the waters of Zion flowing in abundance in our lives moving us ever closer to our Lord, God tells us that it is in rest that we know that He is God and then He will be exulted in the earth.

We do not find God in the sweat of our brow as we row chained the oars of religion. But rather in rest as we sail the grace filled waters of Zion, which brings us to gently into the presence of God.

Benediction: May we each and all hoist the sales of the Grace of God, as we sail the waters which flow forth from Zion, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen