One River, Two Rivers, Four Rivers

Last Sunday April 6th was Vision Sunday. As a body of believers at River of Life International Fellowship, we gathered to be reminded of the vision of our assembly: as the word says, "Without a vision, My people perish."

The story of River of Life Int. Fellowship, (ROLIF) is an interesting one, born out of the coming together of two works: River of Life Church and Oasis International Fellowship. Two streams coming together to form one.

Instead of one however, the vision we have is of the four rivers, coming out of the one river that flowed out of Eden,(Gen 2:10 ): Pishon, Gihon, Hiddekel and Euphrates. Pishon means change, Gihon means the valley of grace, Hiddekel means a sharp sound and Euphrates means fruitful.

Pishon: As an assembly we aim toward serving God and our fellow man. We envision our church to be a place of change, change for the better; change toward the mind, intent and attitude of God. We remember the charge in the book of Romans, paraphrased, 'Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind to test and prove the will of God.' In His presence we want to be changed to be like Him.

Gihon: We also want our church to be a place which proclaims the grace of God and a place where the grace of God can be received. At ROLIF we pray for grace to dwell in our midst and to bring healing to all who come. May we be a gracious people, carriers of His grace and full of His grace.

Hiddekel: We envision our church to be the sharp sound that draws attention to the will of God. We want to perceive His word and the spirit of His word with clarity. We want to exalt His word so it is able to be effective in our lives and lead always to the grace of God.
The bible says a number of things about God's word:
*The word of God is living and active and sharper than a double edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit......
*He has exalted His word above all his name.
*The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God...
* The letter kills but the spirit is life....
*Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Euphrates means fruitful. We envision our church to be a place of great fruitfulness. We wish to be found abounding in every good work, walking in the good works prepared for us in advance. The bible says:
*I am the vine and you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing.
*By this My father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples.
*The least of them shall be a thousand and the smallest a mighty nation!

The source of our river is the throne of God in heaven and the picture of the river in Ezekiel 47 and Revelation 22 is awe inspiring for the power of its flow and the life it brings. May His river course through us bringing life and healing to individuals, families and nations!