This weekend I heard two different messages on giving in the kingdom of God and they both reminded of an essential principle when it comes to gaining an increase in any resource that comes from heaven. God gives more to those who give away what they have already received. The basic principle is that God gives to us so that we might act as conduits of his grace for others. We all know the analogy of the Sea of Galilee in Israel versus the Dead Sea. The Jordan River runs into the Sea of Galilee from the north and then out of the Sea of Galilee south to the Dead Sea which has no outlet. The Sea of Galilee teems with life as water enters and then exits to other destinations while the Dead Sea stagnates and supports no life because the water flows in but never flows out.

Jesus likens the Holy Spirit to streams of living water. “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (Jn.7:37-39).

Jesus speaks of the Spirit as a life-giving stream that flows from within each believer. The apostle John was given a vision of a life-giving river in the Book of Revelation. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Rev.22:2-3).

This image reveals two things about God. First, life flows from his presence and secondly, the life of God is meant to give life to others and to bring healing to entire nations. The Holy Spirit is the life of God that flows into us from the presence of God and then is meant to carry that life or direct that life to others.

In Ezekiel 47, there is a similar image in the midst of visions God had given the prophet regarding a new temple in Jerusalem. In this part of his vision, Ezekiel sees the temple with water rushing out from beneath the threshold of the temple forming a river that ran eastward. The further the river ran from the temple, the deeper it became – the volume increased. Along the river banks trees grew tall and strong.   “Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing” (Ez.47:12).

The further out into the nations the river ran, the deeper it became and more fruit was produced to satisfy the hunger of the nations and to bring them healing. When God pours out his Spirit on the church, it is not meant just to build up and encourage the church. God also intends for his people to take the life of the Spirit and freely give it to those who are hungry and thirsty and to those who need healing. When we only exercise the gifts of God’s Spirit within the walls of the church there will be little or no increase. When we take those gifts to the streets, to the market place, and to the nations the river will run deeper, the anointing will increase.

Those of us in charismatic churches are pretty comfortable prophesying to one another, praying over each other for healing, sharing words of knowledge, and even driving out demons. But taking those gifts outside the walls of our friendly confines is another thing. However, if we want increase from the Spirit we must leave the temple courts and go out into the nations. If we personally are asking God to increase the anointing in our lives, the principle is to not only minister to the family of God but also to take the gifts outside the body and use them to minister to those who do not yet know Christ. That is where the Spirit will flow more deeply. Pray for such opportunities and when they come risk introducing the non-religious to the supernatural move of God. Then watch the Spirit flow.