All Who Are Thirsty: How To Drink from God’s River Series
Relocating the Head Waters
(Inspired by The River of God by Dutch Sheets)
4/10/16 CFBC Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker
A God talks a lot about water in His Word (Genesis to Revelation): He compares Himself to it, walks on it, a river actually flows from His throne.
1 There is something special, calming, refreshing, memorizing about water.
a He compares the life in Him as a well, a fountain, stream, river, rain.
aa Ps. 23.2, Water is a picture of rest He wants to give us.
bb Ps. 46.4, River of delights and makes glad.
cc Eph. 5.26, He compares His Word to water.
dd We love to label things/movements: (First/Second Great Awakening, Welsh Revival, Azusa Revival, Laymen Prayer Revival, Brownsville Revival, Toronto Outpouring, etc.,); the current move of the Holy Spirit is refereed by many as “the river.”
b Life cannot exist without water, our bodies are 65% water . . . what’s the fascination that God has with water?
2 The river of God in Scripture represents His life & power.
a At times the water flows from Christ . . . sometimes the flow is attributed to the Holy Ghost.
aa I believe it’s safe to say that the flow starts with Jesus and the Holy Ghost causes it to flow, or distributes it.
bb The important thing to know is that the river represents spiritual life/power . . . God’s life living in you.
b In Missouri there is a power plant named, Taum Sauk: the water is pumped up hill through pipes every day and released over turbines to create power every night.
aa Christ is building the Church to be a place where the power of His kingdom is distributed, Power of His Holy Spirit flows from.
bb When the power of God is released, there will be a prophetic reality that comes to the church (Hab. 2.14, NKJV, “For the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
B How the water/river gets to us is not the issue (flood, river, brook, creek, trickle or a gully washer) . . . the issue is on the water itself . . .the source of the water is Jesus on the cross.
1 Some us got saved at church, VBS, in front of a radio/TV, Pizza Hut . . . but we all got saved by the same blood/Gospel.
a John 19:34 (NASB) 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
aa It probably appeared as a trickle dripping to the ground, but it has satisfied every one who is thirsty for 2,000 years now. Truly, the fountain of life!
bb In the OT, every drink offering was poured out on the ground (Gen. 35.14; Exod. 29.40,41).
cc The drink offerings were symbolic of the water of life that would be poured out from the Cross.
b 1 Chron. 11.15-19: David was fighting the Philistines & got homesick, longed for the sweet waters of Bethlehem.
aa Three of his mighty men snuck past the enemy and went to Bethlehem, drew water . . took it back to David.
bb David took the water and poured it out on the ground . . . an act pointing to calvary, when mankind’s thirst would be satisfied.
2 Just as David’s own homesickness led him to the wells of home, our homesickness will lead us the Cross.
a IL. (Get Pic) Charing Cross in London, geographical center of London. Little boy was lost and approached a policemen: the boy didn’t know his address, phone number, where he lived. “What do you know?” I know the cross! Take me to the cross, I can find my home from there!.
b The cross has been leading us home for 2,000 years!
C Another picture of combining the cross with water is found in Ex. 17.1-7; Israel was thirsty in the wilderness and God supplied water from a rock (Exodus 17:5-6 (NASB) “Then the LORD said to Moses, "Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”
1 The Psalmist describes the water gushing from the rock (Ps. 78.15,16 NASB 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths. 16 He brought forth streams also from the rock And caused waters to run down like rivers.
a Paul syncs this OT type/shadow with the Cross in 1 Cor. 10.4 (NASB) and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.
b The rock in the wilderness is a type/shadow of Jesus being struck on the cross, bringing forth the water of life (Jn. 19.34).
2 Watch this: Ex. 17.6; Is. 53.4
Exodus 17:6 (NASB) 6 "Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
Isaiah 53:4 (NASB)
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
a The word (nakah) used to describe the rock being hit is the same in the Wilderness as the prophet used to describe the Messiah on the cross.
b On Calvary, the Father opened up the fountain of life through breaking the Rock of our salvation (John 4:14 (NASB) 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.")
3 1 Samuel 17:49 (NASB) 49 And David put his hand into his bag and took from it a stone and slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead. And the stone sank into his forehead, so that he fell on his face to the ground.
a The word used to describe the rock split in the wilderness, Jesus split on the cross, is the same word (nakah)used to tell us what the rock did to Goliath when it was released from David’s sling:We see a tremendous foreshadowing in this passage!
aa The reason David went out to fight was because the giant called out, “Choose a man to fight me. If he wins we’ll be your servants ... if I win, you’ll be my servants.”
bb David kills the enemy by striking him in the head with stone.
b On Calvary, the fiercest giant of them all (Satan) said, “Choose a man to fight me . . .”
aa Our freedom, liberty, life, happiness, eternity was in the balance on the beams of the Cross.
bb At the Cross, was a reply of the David & the Giant . . .Son of David & the Giant.
cc Our Rock, Jesus, hit the biggest giant right between the eyes and gave us victory, authority, power, inheritance!
c When Moses struck the rock, the river flowed: When David flung the rock, the enemy was defeated.
aa When Christ was struck, the river of life flowed and the enemy was defeated!!!
bb The cross is where the Water of Life flows from, Power/Victory rolls down like rain. . .
cc I’ve been to the cross before . . . drank from it’s river/fountain of life . . . I want to go back! Refreshed!
dd Take me back to the river!
Conclusion:
A There’s a picture of a grave that is from a church cemetery in Watford, England.
1 The tomb is thought to be that of a naval officer (Ben Wangford), whose dying wish was to buried with a fig in his hand.
a The life of that fig took hold the death of that hand and the power of the life split the tomb.
b 2,000 years ago, Jesus entered death for us and three days later . . . a tree split the tomb for us!
aa “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15.54.55)
bb Our study of the river of God starts at the cross.
2 At the cross, the river of death ends and the river of life begins.
B “There is a fountain, filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains!”
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
