September 18, 2020 RIVERS OF LIVING WATER
John 7:38, 4:14 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become within him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Everyone who thirst, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk. Without money and without cost.”
Jesus did not tell us that we ‘should’ have rivers of living flowing from our innermost being; He said we ‘would’ have rivers of living water. We cannot produce a well of water in us; the well that produces a continual flow of water in us is a result of the work of God in us. Jesus could make this astounding promise that living waters would flow in us, not because of our self-effort, but because He knew the impact of the truth of the scriptures and He knew the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. . There is one proviso to this magnificent promise of living water flowing; we must believe in Jesus according to the scriptures. There are many who define Jesus according to their own preferences, and many interpret the scriptures to fit their own likes and dislikes. (Revelation 22:18-19 has a stern warning for anyone who adds to or takes away from the word of God.) Since the promises of Jesus are sure, if we are not experiencing rivers of living water, the only conclusion is that we are not believing in Jesus according to the scriptures. That may sound shocking to us, but it’s true. It must be said that having rivers of living water flowing in us does not mean that we will live a life free of troubles and trials-but it does mean that even in the difficult times, the life of Jesus flows in us and causes us to be overcomers. I must admit, the idea of us having rivers of living water flowing in us and a spring of water welling up in us may seem like a stretch for us to buy into-maybe too good to be true. However, what Jesus says about us having this river of life flowing in us absolutely true and it is for every believer to experience. I think there are two problems that can prevents us from experiencing this flowing river. One is that we do not really believe the scriptures-even though we are quick to say we do. We may see the bible as more of a history book and a book of good ideas and we pick and choose the ones we like. The other problem is that we may believe the scriptures with our mind, but not with our spirit. The scriptures are the words of God-and that in itself is awesome-to have the recorded words of the CREATOR. Do we believe that His word is the only source of true life, or do we try to blend what He says with our preferences and views of what life is? It’s not complicated. God loves us and He desires we experience life as only He can give. Only when Jesus is truly Lord of our lives, only when we love Him with all of our hearts, and only when we seek to Him with all of our hearts, will we experience a well of water and rivers of life flowing deep within. The fact that God reveals Himself in His word should motivate us to read His word; if we do not have a desire to learn from His word, or if we think we already know His word sufficiently, that should be red flag for us. It’s not about knowing ‘about’ Jesus, but about knowing and experiencing Him personally. Let our beliefs, our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions be based on and flow out of what the Scriptures say. The scriptures tell us that God loves us, that He alone is the source of true life, that He has made us new creations, and that He has transferred us from darkness to His marvelous light. In Him we move and have our being. Even in the routines of life, even when things are not going like we desire, we can experience rivers of life flowing deep within. Let us be ones who believe in Him as Scriptures hath said.
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
Blessings,
Buddy
RSS Feed