RIVERS OF LIVING WATER
by Pastor Jim May
John 7:37-53, "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)
Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house."
On the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood in the midst of those who had come together for a solemn assembly. It was time for the offering of the bullock upon the fire. This day would require fewer sacrifices than the seven days prior. The Feast of Tabernacles began with the offering of 13 bullocks on the first day and then each day, one less bullock would be offered. But, on this day, the last day, there would be only one offered. In total, there were 70 bullocks offered in the first 6 days, one for each of the 70 known nations of the world. But, on this great day, the greatest day of all, the last day of the feast, only one would be offered, but it was the most important one for the Jews, for this bullock would be sacrificed on behalf of their own nation.
On this last day, things would differ greatly from the previous 6. On this day there would be a special prayer made, a feast that was greater than those of the previous six days, a different song of worship would be sung, a special blessing invoked from God Jehovah, and a very special offering would be given.
On this day also, there would be a special ceremony, according to Jewish tradition and law. There would be an offering of water to be poured out unto the Lord.
Here is how the water offering ceremony would be done. The priests would take a golden pot, draw water out of the Pool of Siloam, then travel through the city to the Water Gate. There they would blow their trumpets, give out a long, loud shout, as the priest would climb to the altar at the gate. Upon that altar were two silver basins. On the west, the basin was filled with water, while the basin on the east was filled with wine.
This ceremony, for the Jews, had a great significance. It was brought down by tradition from the time of Moses upon Mt. Sinai and it was representative of the pouring out of the Holy Ghost upon God’s people.
Even the Prophet Isaiah referred to this ceremony when he said in Chapter 12, verses 2-6,, "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee."
The drawing of the water from the well and pouring it out into the basins at the Water Gate was symbolic of drawing salvation from the wells of God’s mercy and grace, and then allowing God to pour out the “new wine” of the Holy Ghost upon His people and filling the land with His blessings.
In addition, this was the day that they prayed for the rains that would be needed for the coming year so that their crops would be productive.
Now, if you look at the symbolic meaning of this day, with its water being poured out to ask God’s blessings upon the rains that would be needed, and for the pouring out of the Holy Ghost upon the people of God, we can begin to understand why Jesus chose this time, and this day, to stand and shout His proclamation to the Jews.
Jesus shouted out, “if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.”
If there was one thing that the Jews understood it was being thirsty. Their land was hot and dry. Much of the land in the Middle East is dry, desert land.
But Jesus wasn’t talking about a natural thirst when he shouted those words. He was talking about a spiritual thirst.
We are living in a dry and thirsty land right now. Even though we hear people claim to be Christian, and nearly every home in America has not just one, but several Bibles, there is still a lack of knowledge of the Word of God. The Bible is nothing more than a dust collector on the shelf or the coffee table, while most of the church is starving to death and perishing for lack of knowledge. There is no victory, no power, no glory in the church, because the Word of God goes unread.
We hear Christian programming on the radio, we can watch it on the TV, but the vast majority of it nothing more than fluff. Is there any real gospel being preached anymore? Not much I believe. Just watch or listen to any program you want to and listen to what is being put forth on the airwaves.
The messages and teachings are to “better the church” and to teach Christians how to enjoy living for the Lord. Now these aren’t bad, but where is the real message of the gospel? How many lost souls are going to come to Christ by listening to a preacher tell about his new jet or how to have a better relationship with your spouse? When was the last time you heard anyone on the radio or TV give an altar call for lost sinners to come to Jesus at an altar of repentance?
You will hear them preach about wealth, prosperity, love, relationships and a lot of other things, but you don’t hear them preach against sin anymore.
How thirsty is our soul, and our land, when people can go to a church for weeks on end and never hear a true message of repentance for sin and surrendering your heart and life to Christ, being born again and then seeking after the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire?
Jesus shouts out to us, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
With those words Jesus was proclaiming to the Jews that it was not the ceremony, not the bullock upon the altar, and not the water poured out that they should be looking to fill their thirst – THEY SHOULD BE LISTENING TO AND LOOKING TO HIM TO FILL THEIR HEART AND LIFE!
Jesus is the Giver of Life and the Source of Life. Just as no life on earth can survive without water, neither can the soul survive without Jesus. Jesus in you becomes a river of “living water”. The Holy Spirit fills your thirsty soul and fills you with all of the goodness and mercy of God. He overflows your soul with blessings and springs up from within your soul as a river that will wash you, cleanse you and make you whole.
Oh what a river that is! The River of Living Water that comes from deep inside.
You may have walked into this building with a deep thirst for something. You don’t even know what it is that you need, but there is a longing for something better; something that you haven’t been able to find, and something that will satisfy your search for true meaning in life and bring joy to your heart.
The world doesn’t have anything that can fill your thirst.
You can try to find it in relationships but they will only leave you thirsty for more. Every day I run across people who are trying to fill their thirst by seeking out a new relationship. Promiscuity rules the land as men and women everywhere are searching for something, or someone who will be real. The reality of it all is that no person can fill that void in your soul. No person, no matter much love there is, or how much infatuation there is, has the ability to fill the emptiness in your heart that longs after God. You know something is missing. Every morning when you wake up you are wondering if there is more to life. Yes, there is!! You need Jesus to fill that void in your soul.
You can try to find it in alcohol but when the buzz wears off, it will leave you still thirsting for more. Night after night, the local bars are filled with people who are trying to slake their spiritual thirst with earthly drinks. They take that glass of some “adult beverage” (just a term used to disguise that fact that this drink will destroy you if you take enough of it and you ought to have better sense than to drink it). They will gulp it down, and for a few brief moments, they can forget their troubles and forget that there is an emptiness on the inside that they can’t seem to fill. But when the alcohol wears off, the emptiness inside only grows larger and deeper.
The very thing that they thought could slake their thirst only drives them deeper into despair and destruction because the thing that they are thirsty for is spiritual and not earthly. Only Jesus can fill that emptiness on the inside. Only Jesus can take away the guilt and shame. Only Jesus can start them back on the true path to recovery. While medical science can say that alcoholism is a sickness, and that may well be true after a little while, I believe that it’s a sin, brought into the life willingly by a sinner looking for something to fill his thirsty soul.
Some will attempt to find a way to slake this thirst in their soul by using drugs, and medication, but that won’t fill the void either. The thrill, the high, and the euphoria will come quickly to end, and then the thirst for more is greater than ever. The thirst is still there, and it continues to grow. The flesh craves the feelings and the drugs but the real thirst is in the soul. That craving and that thirst it must be filled with something and so we are compelled to go get another fix, and another, then another, and it never ends as we continue to search for an answer. The thirst is never satisfied, the hunger for more increases, the demon down in the soul will scream and cry for more, ever more, driving the body ever closer to death. That’s his business – to kill, steal and destroy, and Satan will see to it that we are never really satisfied, no matter how much we take.
There’s only one answer for the thirst down in your soul. There is only one person who can fill that void in your heart. There is only one way that you can live on a permanent “high”. The answer for your thirst is only found in Jesus Christ.
Jesus stands in front of you right now. Through the Words of this message, He is shouting to you, ““If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”
The water of the Holy Ghost is being offered to you right now. Jesus wants you to come to him in repentance, and let Him pour out the Holy Ghost upon your soul. If you will give your heart and life to Jesus, He will fill that emptiness with His power, His presence, His mercy and His grace, and He will give you eternal life and a joy and peace that this world knows nothing about. He won’t leave you searching for something to fill the void. He will fill your life and your soul with His love. All of these things will fill your emptiness so much that your life will become a “river of living water”. Everywhere you go, people will see Jesus in you. Everyone you meet will know that there is something inside of you that they don’t have. That River of Living Water will flow from your soul to touch everyone you meet in some way.
As you listen to this message this morning, don’t take the attitude that so many did on the day that Jesus stood and shouted his proclamation to the Jews.
-Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.
I know that not everyone will hear this message and respond to it in the way that I hope they will. There was a business associate of mine that used to say it this way, “Some will, some won’t, so what!”
Some will – they will hear the words of Jesus and they will allow those words to sink down into their heart and soul. The Word of God will not return void but will enter in and take root and they will begin to understand and know the truth. They will recognize Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and today, they will begin a new life, as a new man or woman, born again by the power of God. Oh that everyone could receive this message with that kind of attitude!
Some won’t – they won’t accept Jesus’ offer to come to Him. Their spiritual eyes have been so blinded by the devil that they can’t see Jesus for who He is. He is the very Son of God, the Savior of the World, but all they will see is a man. They are so dry and thirsty that they are like a man wandering and dying in the desert, who sees a real oasis, but thinks it’s only a mirage. That man will die of thirst because he is afraid of trying to reach the water only to find it wasn’t real. Let me tell you that Jesus is real. His love is real. His mercy is real. His joy is real. His blessing of eternal life is real. His promises are true. He will give you that River of Living water if you want it. Don’t listen to the devil, listen to Jesus and come to Him right now.
So What – so what if you don’t hear these words of this message? So what if you don’t come to Jesus? So what if you walk out those doors and keep looking for ways to fill your thirst with the things of the world?
Here’s what! If you continue down that same path you will fall into destruction and death. You see; there is not one sinner who rejects Jesus who will not end up burning in hell itself. Not only that but Satan will blind you even more, and drag you down into the pits of sin even more, and he will take you farther than you wanted to go and keep you longer than you want to stay. How far will you go before you turn around? How deep will you go into the pits of Hell before you turn around? God will let you do as far as you want to. He won’t stop you. He will let you make your choice. But the whole time that you are running from Him, the Holy Ghost is going to be like bloodhound on your trail. You will never forget the words of the message. You will always have a tugging at your heart to come back to Jesus.
Jesus will still love you even in your rebellion. He loved the whole world when not one man loved Him in return. Jesus went to the cross and gave his life for you just as you are right now. He still loves you and He doesn’t want your life or your soul to be destroyed, so come to Him while you can.
Here’s What! If you accept Him, come to Him, repenting of your sin, confessing that He is Lord, that He died for you and rose again, asking Him to come into your heart – then you will walk out of this building a new person this very morning. That river of living water will begin to flow through you. The world will be brighter. Your life will take on a real meaning. Jesus will break the chains that bind you and set you free. You will be free to love, free to serve him, free to enjoy the life that He has given to you, and free from guilt and shame. And, you will be free to enter into Heaven when Jesus calls you home.
So what! – What will you do with Jesus’ invitation? Will you turn and go back to your own house, your own way and your own self-made eternal destiny?
Many of those who heard the words of Jesus on the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles refused to accept His offer. Today, those who refused are already burning and will be burning, eternally separated from all that is good, forever and ever. If they could speak to you right now I know that they would shout, “don’t walk away, listen to Jesus, don’t come where we are!”
What will you do this morning? Will you surrender your life to Jesus? Let Jesus give you that River of Living Water in your soul. Let Jesus give you the sweet presence of the Holy Ghost. Let Jesus pour out the water on you right now and you will never thirst again.
-Never man spake like this man - No one can speak to your problems like Jesus. No one can deliver your soul from torment like Jesus. No one has given His life for you and purchased your salvation, but Jesus. He is your only source of real peace, real joy and real love. Never a man spoke like Jesus for only His words contain the source and power to give you eternal life. Will you come to Him today?
