John Belt: "The Power of Life-Giving Rivers"

From the Desk of Steve Shultz:

"Worship people," like John Belt, are part of a very special, anointed and crucial "breed of Christian."

If we did not have them our gatherings would die. Our spiritual lives would wither, and our faith would simply vanish.

A worshipper knows what moves God's heart and His hand, and the answer to both is WORSHIP.

Now you might say, "I'm not that much of a 'natural worshipper' – whatever that is. I know this because I have said it myself.

But then, learning from articles like this, I've CHOSEN to worship God, not because I felt like it and not because I was in the mood and not because I was "good at it."

Rather, I've chosen to do it because God likes it, and He's worthy of it.

Give it a try. Just worship out of obedience and then just add a little actual gratitude to your worship and see what happens.

I double dare you to try it. I can dare you because I dared myself, and I like the results.

So will you!! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

Thank you for making the always-free Elijah List Ministries possible. To partner with us, click here.

Your donations truly help us keep these emails free for you. Donate at:

Give a Monthly Gift

Rivers are symbolic of the Holy Spirit. In the Scriptures, we see that Jesus referred to the Spirit as "rivers of living water" (see John 7:37-39). So, what are some characteristics of a river? One of the main attributes of a river is that it is water that continually flows – it is not dammed up or limited. It flows from a source higher than itself. Many rivers come from ice capped mountains or from rain. The common theme is that the waters always comes from a high place. Oh, how we need the water that only Heaven can give!

One of the places I love to visit is the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Water flows from the top of the mountains as the ice melts, creating beautiful and strong current rivers.

"There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High." (Psalm 46:4)

The Benefits of God's River

People benefit from rivers. Historically, cities have been built next to the rivers because everyone needs water. Not only that, but they've also been used to fish, to create power with dams, for irrigation in agriculture, for drinking water and even for transportation. Additionally, people like to swim in rivers, so there is a recreational aspect as well. Everyone needs refreshing! Joy, peace, serenity and community life all gather together by the river. Oh, how we need the simplicity of life together in community.

God has so much more in store for our lives that is fostered by family and love in His presence. There is nothing greater than the gladness that comes from knowing the reality of God's presence and others that cherish that same experience. It is the river of His presence that makes all the difference! When we gather together that is good, but it is God that makes it over-the-top great! When He is the common denominator in our gatherings it changes everything.

Seeking God for More

There is something so powerful about being connected to the river of God's presence. I can remember having extended prayer times on Friday nights many years ago. Sometimes, I would fast all day just before that time. During those evenings we would have worship, communion, a time of talking about God's Word, and then we would have a time of prayer for people's specific needs. I remember the healing anointing growing as I prepared my heart to be connected to God in a more powerful way.

I would do all of this just to see God's anointing manifested – to be used by the Lord. That was my heart's desire – wanting to be used by God in a powerful way. We had a faithful core group of people that would come every Friday night, then we would have a group of people or individuals that would show up for prayer. The anointing for healing just kept growing exponentially as I committed myself in this way to the river of His presence.

I began to see an exponential increase in people being healed. One of the reasons for this was because of my own personal preparation, but also because we were together, in unity, practicing the presence of God. We created a hub of glory where people who needed it could come and receive their healing or a miracle or whatever it may be. (Photo via Unsplash)

God Anoints Us

Be encouraged to press into the river of God – press into His presence! Believe that God put an anointing on you to such a degree that instead of always being the person on the receiving end, you can also be on the giving end of things, with the advantage of staying in that place of healing and blessing in the miraculous!

"For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." (2 Corinthians 1:20-22)

The river of the Spirit holds some memorable experiences for me. There was a time when I would minister with a lady who flowed in healing and miracles. I was sort of an intern at that time, just hungry and learning, trying to figure out how to do stuff and looking for any opportunity to be involved. At that time they made me a catcher. I don't know if that was a good idea. As a matter of fact, I'm sure it was not a good idea because I was not a very good catcher. If you are new to Holy Spirit ministry, a catcher is someone who "catches" the person who is falling down to the ground under the power of the Holy Spirit.

There was a time when the glory of God was super thick in the atmosphere of a meeting, and the minister was praying for everybody who wanted to receive. I was catching during that meeting and was doing pretty good up to a particular point. One of my friends, an older lady who was an intercessor, went up to receive prayer. I was supposed to catch her but when she went down under the power I was very much soaking up the presence myself and I ended up dropping her! It was not good. She went down with a thud! Oops. Then I realized I needed the anointing to heal! At that point I was relieved of catching duty. But this is just an example of how heavy God's presence can be where you're simply intoxicated with His glory.

Catching a New Song

During the 90s there was an outpouring that I got swept up in. I was receiving new songs from the Lord while I was refreshing myself in the presence of God. It was a time where God was building new levels in the building of my life. He was building new levels of experience with Him in things I had never experienced before. My eyes were being opened up to understanding prophetic life, the refreshing of the Spirit, communion with the Spirit in a new way, and the power of revival. At one point I received a song about the river of God.

Let It Flow by John Belt

See the river flowing down from His throne
See the angels making music with their wings
See the glory of the Holy One of God
See His presence flowing down to you and me.
Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow, let it flow
Let the river bring joy; let the river bring peace
Let it flow, let it flow, let it flow, let it flow
Let the river of life flow!

Surrendering in the River of God

In this revival there was testimony after testimony. People with serious health problems and issues would be in the Spirit and would have encounters with angels and would be totally healed and made whole. This was a time where revival was breaking out in Toronto, Canada and in Pensacola, Florida and people were doing crusades throughout America. But there was a huge stirring of the presence of God in this fresh outpouring of the Spirit. There were new songs of worship and revival was in the air! (Photo via Unsplash)

This was a life-changing time for me. For others it could've just been a moment in time and they went on with their lives. It is one thing to have an experience, it is another thing to continue to carry that experience throughout your life. Everyone has a choice. That is why it is so important that we are not only converts but we are disciples of Jesus. It's one thing to believe in Jesus and it's another thing to follow Jesus. God gives us opportunities to get the weeds out of our souls. If we don't take those opportunities, those weeds crowd out the good seeds of God's Word and truth in our lives.

He is looking for whole-hearted worship from us. Jesus really does want us to surrender everything to Him. I've heard the analogy that our heart has many rooms. Using this analogy, I can see that it is true that many like to pick and choose which rooms to let the Lord into. At the same time, there is a process that God takes us through. And there's always more that we can surrender to the Lord. What is important is that we are always making progress and heading the right direction.

When Jesus shares the parable of the different servants who were given the talents, those servants who multiplied their talents were commended for being good stewards. The master does not say, "Well done good and perfect servant," but rather, "Well done good and faithful servant." So it is about our faithfulness, not our perfection. We need to be faithful and obey God with a whole heart, by the grace of God, to the best of our ability.

"Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed." (Ezekiel 47:5)

When the Holy Spirit comes in revival there is much joy, peace and refreshing. There are life-changing encounters with God. When we jump into the river of His presence, we lose control and God takes control. Such is the picture in this verse above, where we cannot walk across but we must swim. In the fullness of the passage above, it speaks about wading in "ankle deep," then "knee deep," then "waist deep," and then finally, wading so deep a person must swim! The deeper the water the less control we have. God pours His Spirit into our lives in ways we've never experienced before.

Welcome the river of the Holy Spirit into your life today and allow Him to take you into His deep waters!

Whatever you do, don't miss another ELIJAH LIST email! Subscribe at this link: elijahlist.com/subscribe.

John and Brandi Belt
Belt Ministries
Email: hello@beltministries.com
Website: www.beltministries.com

John and Brandi Belt are the leaders of Belt Ministries. The heart of their message is that God's greatest desire is to indwell His people with His presence. They believe that man was created to be inhabited by God through His Spirit. With a sincere devotion to God through the Holy Spirit, people can live in a place of overflow in His presence. This overflow translates into touching the lives of others through living encounters with God. When John and Brandi minister, the intimate presence of God is manifest – being accompanied with demonstrations of God's power to heal, revive, and restore.

To receive more words like this in YOUR inbox, subscribe FREE to the Elijah List at this link elijahlist.com/subscribe.

Find us on:
* Facebook click here
* XAPiT click here