HIGH TIDE by Larry W. Peebles August 10, 2018 18.20
The highest tides in the world can be found at Burntcoat Head in the Bay of Fundy between Canada’s New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The locals told me these tides were over 50’, but NOAA says they are closer to 40’. They are still the largest in the world. Every six hours billions of gallons of water flow through the Bay, enough to fill the Grand Canyon. As soon as the high tide is complete, the transition toward a low tide begins. Six hours later, the flow reverses—the low tide is complete and the high tide begins. The tidal process of emptying and refilling the Bay never stops. The trash, pollutants, algae and seaweeds are emptied out of the Bay during the low tide. The tide then reverses and the Bay refills. The cold clean water of the North Atlantic Ocean returns for the benefit of the sea life such as the whale, seal, haddock and lobster.
Stagnant water becomes depleted of oxygen, and promotes growth of undesirable plants and organisms. This tidal action is God’s way of cleansing the Bay waters. Scripture is clear that God not only created the seas, He also maintains them. Genesis 1:21- “So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” Psalm 146:6 says- “He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them- He remains faithful forever.” Psalm 107: 24 says- “They [those who went out on the sea in ships] saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.” The Bay is emptied and filled repeatedly during the tidal flow. One could say the waters are healed and restored to the point they can once again give and support life. This is similar to what we read in 2 Kings 2:21, where Elisha “went out to the spring and threw the salt into it, saying ‘This is what the Lord says-I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’”
The incoming tide compares to being filled with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:17-20 speaks of being filled with the Spirit when it says- “Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts Chapter 2 also speaks of those gathered together on the day of Pentecost as being “filled with the Holy Spirit”. That Greek word “filled” is pleroo (Strong’s #4137) and it means filled, completed, and supplied. Like the Bay at high tide, we are to be full of the power, purpose, inspiration, motivation and character of the Holy Spirit. Everything we do and say exudes the Holy Spirit. Everywhere we go, we carry a special energy and life-giving influence. In John 7:38, Jesus said out of our bellies would flow streams of living water. He went on to say by this He meant the Holy Spirit.
My wife and I are filled with the Holy Spirit during the days and weeks prior to a mission trip to Kenya. This is a high tide event for us. We are supplied with His word for the people, and filled with purpose and passion. Carrying the power of God, we function at a level above our own. We realize that in each of our seven previous trips we are full of victory and life, ready to pour out the inspiration of God on all we encounter. We set foot on Kenyan ground full of joy and praise. There is no stopping until we accomplish everything God has planned for the trip. He gives us the supernatural strength to do that.
We come home with vivid memories of people who were touched, changed, and healed by the power of God. Their stagnant waters full of pollutants and undesirable growth were flushed out, healed, and replaced with living water from God. Problems, worries and fears are gone. Sickness is cured. Help has come. The purpose of our being filled with the Holy Spirit has been accomplished. God never intended for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit simply for our own use or pleasure. He intended we would be filled so we could carry the fresh water to others. If we keep it, it becomes stagnant, like the Dead Sea. Given out, it refreshes others, and we can become filled again.
The emptying out process is as important as the filling process. Like an old car, many of us are running hot if we are running at all. We spend a few minutes in prayer or in the Word of God. We dash into church on a Sunday morning for an hour, hoping to get enough water to top off the radiator, cool things down a bit, and get through another week. Completely draining the radiator is what is needed. Submitting to the Holy Spirit will help us empty out the dirt and grime, and the rust and metal particles. We will never function as God intended trying to run on stagnant water. It needs to be flushed out. Then and only then are we ready to be filled with fresh, clean, cool water. Merely topping off with fresh water will not satisfy. We need to be completely filled top to bottom with the living water of the Holy Spirit. His deep, moving water brings life into hot, dry situations.
Having seen these powerful and refreshing tides, I am reminded of one more promised event from the Word of God. In Habakkuk 2:14 we read- “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Habakkuk is obviously writing of a future event, for there has not yet been a time when the glory of the Lord has covered the earth as the waters cover the sea. Just as the waters of the sea ebb and flow, and tides rise and fall, there have been times on the earth when God has stirred great revival. Those who study the great revivals can point to the high water marks such as the Welsh revival, the Great Awakenings in America, and the Azusa Street revival. Recent examples might be the Brownsville revival, later carried to Toronto.
Like the waters of the sea, God is always moving. The high tide of His glory comes when He moves in a geographic region. However, God has promised the day will come when His glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. That day will be the greatest revival the earth has ever seen prior to the second coming of Jesus. It is possible that day will be the second coming itself. I believe it will be so remarkable as to be undeniable, and so powerful it will dwarf the 40-50’ tides I saw in the Bay of Fundy. The Bible also speaks of a time when “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the Glory of the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11). These two scriptures are related, although they may or may not occur simultaneously. Nothing will be able to stand against these events planned for mankind in the mind of God. His glory will manifest in such a way no one will be able to say “I never knew there was a God, and I never saw His glory.”
The things that are happening in the world today require a major move of God. Man cannot solve the problems of the world because he has been a large contributor. Governments, laws and political parties will not find the answer. We need a high tide of the Holy Spirit, the largest revival the world has ever seen. Mankind has grown stagnant and is spiritually polluted. We need a change so refreshing, so large and so powerful it will bring the human race back to God. Will you join the countless thousands all over the world who are praying for that day the tide will change?
