Scripture Reference: Genesis 29:1-8
Preached at Evergreen Baptist Church Revival on August 28, 2018
Delivered by Rev. John Daniel Johnson
Sermon Prop—Bring a bottle of water and pass it to someone in the audience. Ask them to take a swallow of water without them opening the cap. Then tell them the title of the message.
I want to read this text this morning then I’m going to draw a great symbolism that God revealed as I studied this. Actually when God revealed this, I had to stop my study and start screaming for Jessica to come to me. She thought I had fallen or something because she came running into the room where I was at! I had to tell someone quickly what God did!
Read Scripture: Genesis 29:1-8
The key verse I want us to understand is verse 8. Again that verse states, “But they said, “We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together, and they have rolled the stone from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep.” Literally, what they are saying is we cannot take the cap off the well until we are ready for the sheep to receive water.
Now here is what God began to reveal. I want you to notice that there were these sheep that were waiting to be watered. They are laying around in the hot sun right beside of well with a lid on it. Two things immediately began to stick out. First, in Psalm 23, God describes Himself as the Great Shepherd and we are his sheep. John 10:27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." So, you and I are sheep. If you are a follower of Jesus tonight, then I’m glad to be called a sheep, because I’ll follow Him wherever He goes.
Characteristics of Sheep
1. Sheep like to stray from the flock.
2. Sheep are slow to learn.
3. Sheep are don't see or hear well.
4. Sheep follow each other, and can lead each other astray.
Secondly, Jesus describes Himself in John 4:13-14—13Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, 14but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
Then in John 7:37-39 Jesus states—"If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Draw Your Attention
1. Scripture tells us that Jesus is the provider of the water, not the water. The Holy Spirit is the water.
2. You must understand the Hebrew mindset to understand “living waters.” In Israel water was scarce. So they made for themselves wells or cisterns to hold the water. It often would become stagnant. The ground around Israel would become hard, and vegetation would not grow. But every once in a while, the heavens would open and the “living water” would fall. The ground would become fertile. Grass would grow. Crops would spring to life. Production comes when the living water comes.
So catch this…there’s a blessing in it if you’ll just hear the Spirit tonight. We are sheep in desperate need of that water. Not some physical water, but spiritual water. We need that life giving water. We need that healing water. We need that water that revives us. Water keeps us a live—you can’t live very long without it. But, there is a lid on the source of the water. Somebody or something has blocked out source of revival and replenishing. Something has prevented us from getting to that water we need to bring us out of the spiritual drought that we are in; that we as a Country are in.
Then here is the best part! Who placed lid on the source of the water. The Bible says that Jacob asked where the men were from and notice in verse 4 says they were from Haran. So they, the people of Haran, placed this stone cap over the water source. Do you know the funny part! The people of Haran served idols and their chief god had a name. This “god” was symbolized with a crescent-shaped moon. He was called the moon god. Later, the moon good was called Allah, but do know what they first called him? Can you guess what it was? The god’s name was SIN! Thank the LORD tonight I don’t serve the moon god, I serve the SON-GOD.
So in other words, the people who served Sin placed that lid on that water source keeping it from those sheep. People of God you need to understand something—it you serve sin…you tolerate sin…you allow sin in your home…you are a slave to sin and a slave to Satan! Jesus said that either you are for Him or against Him. You cannot serve two masters!
I tell you sin will always try to keep the lid on the water. Keep the lid on the letting the Spirit flow. Sin won’t let you taste the goodness of God. He wants to keep baby Christians babies. He wants to keep us on the milk so you’ll never taste the meat. He wants to keep you in your immaturity so you’ll never mature into the good stuff.
Sin wants to keep you flustrated. Sin wants to keep you harvesting hatred in your heart. Sin wants you to stay entertained in your home so that you won’t pray with your family. He wants you to be discouraged. My friends if you’re tolerating sin in your life, you are opening yourself up to the work of Satan in your life.
Oh, Satan is not happy when Christians are happy. He loves to see us not singing praises to our Father. So I’m gonna sing! He hates it when we read the living Word of God, so I’m going to read it. He despises me when I spend time alone with God, so I’m gonna pray, pray, pray and pray some more! He don’t like me going to church, so I’m gonna be there early! He doesn’t want me to have a relationship with God, so I’m going to renew my vows to God daily! Satan my job is not to make you happy! I only want the Father’s approval!
The book of Jeremiah, chapter 13, verse 23 says, “Can an Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Satan is the Father of lies, breeder of discouragement, and the great attacker of the children of God. He is a snake and he’ll always be a snake.
It doesn’t matter how well you dress that snake up. It doesn’t matter what clothes he wears. He will always be a snake. Satan will always try to dress himself up to something more attractive, appealing, desiring, but he will always be a snake. I don’t serve a snake. To be honest I despise snakes. A good snake is a dead snake! And it always baffles me that when we see a snake we want to kill it, but well tolerate the schemes and activities of Satan inside of our own home! If I found a snake in my house, I wouldn’t put him on my T.V. I wouldn’t put him in my sock drawer and try to hide him! I would kill him!
Paul says in the Book of 2 Corinthians 2:11, the church is not to be ignorant of his schemes or ignorant of his devices. How does he work? How does he operate? His method of operation has not changed since the beginning. It has not changed since the Garden of Eden. Every since the beginning, Satan has always distorted the truth. He’s always tried to break apart the relationship of man and God. He’s tried to break apart the family. He’s actually tried to tear down everything that God put His approval upon!
Transitional Sentence
Tonight I want to give you some solid advice on how to avoid putting a cap on the Holy Spirit, and if the cap is already on Him, how to take it off. We as His sheep need the reviving, refreshing, and replenishing water that only He can give us to revitalize us.
1. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). That involves devoting yourself to prayer, to worship, to singing, to praise, and making your whole life a testament to the LORD’s work.
2. Second, Resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7). That involves standing against sin. Whether it be in the world or in the church, you stand firmly against it. Don’t allow this place to get corrupted by sin. I’ve been a pastor for 20 years. I’ve preached in well over a hundred churches. I’ve seen sin alive and well in churches and those churches that tolerate it, condone it, and approve of it, have no life in them.
3. Acts 13:52 states that “the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” Use the jacket illustration. Without someone inside of the jacket is just dead and lifeless, but once the jacket is put on, (Spirit entering) life comes into it.
4. Realize that you’re not where you need to be, repent, and get revived.
