A SPRING OF LIVING WATER

 
Isaiah 12:3 NLT
[3] With joy you will drink deeply from the fountain of salvation!

Did you know that the moment you believed in Jesus and were born from above by the power of the Holy Spirit, you were drinking deeply from the fountain of living water.

Something miraculous happened when you took that first drink. A spring of living water began to flow from deep within you.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman,

John 4:13-14 NLT
[13] … “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. [14] But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

He called the crowds attending the Festival of Shelters (Tabernacles), to come to Him km.

John 7:37 NLT
[37] On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! [38] Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

What did Jesus mean by “living water”. The Jews referred to flowing water as “living water”, not a stagnant pool but a fresh, clean stream, a symbol of what flows from within us when we have believed in and received Jesus as our Lord.

John 6:63 NLT
[63] “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

On one occasion, Jesus taught His disciples that people are defiled, not what they put into their mouths but what comes out of their mouths, the sinful words and attitudes that proceed from polluted hearts.

What is this living water that flows from within us? Surely it is God’s Word. Among the many symbols used to describe the Word of God, bread, a hammer, a fire, for example, Paul says that the Word is water cleansing us as it flows from within.

Ephesians 5:25-26 NLT
[25] “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her [26] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.”

There is an anomaly in the use of the symbol of the fountain of water that flows from within us. Jesus said that what flows out of our hearts is a revelation of what is in our hearts.

Mark 7:21-22 NLT
[21]”For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, [22] adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.”

James summed it up for us…

James 3:8-12 NLT
[8] “but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. [9] Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. [10] And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! [11] Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? [12] Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring.”

What is the solution for us who have drunk deeply of the water of life?

What we put into our hearts, will be what comes out.

Colossians 3:16 NLT
[16] “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”

Put God’s Word in and let God’s Word flow out.

Proverbs 4:20-23 NIV
[20] “My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. [21] Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; [22] for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. [23] Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Isaiah 12:3ff tells us what to  do when we have drunk the water from the fountain Jesus offers us….

Isaiah 12:4-6 NIV
[4] In that day you will SAY : “Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.
[5] SING to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.
[6] SHOUT aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

Three simple instructions guarantee that the pure water of life will flow from our hearts to quench the thirst of others who drink from that water… SAY, SING, SHOUT!

Psalms 141:2-4 NLT
[2] “Accept my prayer as incense offered to you, and my upraised hands as an evening offering. [3] Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips. [4] Don’t let me drift toward evil or take part in acts of wickedness. Don’t let me share in the delicacies of those who do wrong.”

Our mouths are the opening from which water flows. Let that water flow from a heart that is constantly being cleansed and refreshed by the one who is the Word and by the Word He speaks that brings life to those who drink it.