Tag Archives: thirsty

JOHN’S GOSPEL…LIVING WATER- 13a

Bible Study, ,

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Another beautiful symbol of the Holy Spirit in Scripture… a river. No one and nothing on earth can survive without water. Just as “bread” is a symbol of that which sustains life…”bread is the staff of life”, so water completes the picture of what is utterly necessary for every living thing. 

The greatest tragedy of Adam’s disobedience was the loss of the life-giving Spirit. He could no longer indwell a heart polluted with sin. When the Holy Spirit left Adam, He left behind an empty shell. Adam was physically alive but spiritually dead, and he passed on this condition to the whole human race. 

What did God’s people think when John the Baptiser made this announcement? Did they even recognise the significance and implication of this promise?

“Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The entire history of Israel was one of failure…no Spirit, no power to obey. Only rebellion! Failure brought judgment, punishment, exile, suffering, and eventually, occupation by the hated Romans. They were slaves of sin and had no hope of deliverance outside of God’s intervention…

…Then came John…with a promise! The Holy Spirit is coming back…not just on special people for special tasks, like on Samson, or on Gideon! On everyone! Not just a trickle but a river! A perennial flow of the life-giving Spirit…now, through Jesus, if we believe in Him. 

At the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles, the high priest performed a ritual that ironically pictured a system that could never slake anyone’s thirst for real life. He poured water onto the dry ground, to be swallowed up in the dust, producing nothing…By contrast, Jesus offered water that would satisfy and keep flowing from within forever. 

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 

The people of Israel understood the imagery. God had often spoken of Himself as a “fountain of living water.” Israel was cursed because they had chosen to drink water from a polluted fountain. 

“Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”

‭‭Jeremiah 17‬:‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God’s people today have been robbed by a terrible lie that teaches that we need a special and separate “baptism” in the Holy Spirit to enjoy the benefits of the Spirit’s presence in us. This teaching contradicts Paul’s words…

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What can be clearer than this? “All”, meaning “all”, used three times, emphasises that everyone who believes enjoys the fulness of the Holy Spirit, not only those who have a “special anointing” or a separate “baptism”.  The Holy Spirit is not divided into a little bit and later, ”fulness” after a separate “baptism”. 

Joel’s prophecy, quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost, to explain the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is an all-inclusive promise. 

“These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! “No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:” ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Fellow believers, don’t be carried away by any “second blessing” deception. Jesus promised the fullness of the Holy Spirit to all who believe in Him. His presence and His power is for all who obey Him.  We need only drink and keep drinking from His fountain of truth. 

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This fountain keeps flowing as we keep praising Him and living for Him.  

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. 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. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world. Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion, for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.””

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To be continued…

THIRST? – 8

Bible Study, ,

John 4:13-14 NLT‬
[13] “Jesus replied, “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.”

God had a quarrel with His people. Despite His goodness to them and His many instructions and warnings about idolatry, the Israelites were bent on worshipping the idols and following the evil practices of the wicked nations around them.

‭Jeremiah 2:4-7, 11-13 NLT‬
[4] “Listen to the word of the Lord, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel! [5] This is what the Lord says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves. [6] They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness— a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’ “
[7] “And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you….
[11]” Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! [12] The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the Lord.

His diagnosis was simple.

[13] “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”

In their thirst for a life-giving faith, God’s people looked everywhere else but to the Lord, indulging every fleshly lust that their idols could offer them. The outcome was wicked behaviour in the extreme. They were often led by their kings and priests who should have been the custodians of righteousness and truth.

Jesus came to bring us the water of the Spirit who would quench our spiritual thirst with the truth that satisfies forever.

‭‭John 7:37-39 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.’”
[39] (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

The life Jesus promised is often pictured as a spring of fresh, crystal-clear water bubbling up from underground. How different from the pools of stagnant water or the muddied streams from which His people drank.

Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well outside Sychar is a poignant reminder of the consequences of drinking at the wrong fountain.

She was a sinful woman, an outcast, full of fear, guilt, and shame. She came alone at midday to fetch water, not with the women of the town. She tried to hide behind religion, but Jesus knew her life and He knew her heart.

‭John 4:16-18 NLT‬
‭
[16] “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.
[17] “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband—
[18] for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”

Imagine her shock at Jesus’ disclosure! His words hit her right between the eyes.

‭John 4:28-29 NLT‬
[28] “The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, [29] “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”

What did this encounter with Jesus mean to this woman? She came face to face with the truth about her life. For all her years of shame, she was trying to slake her thirst at the wrong fountain! The so-called “love” of a man, especially not a husband, was nothing more than lust, cheap pleasure at her expense.

Her longing for real love was never satisfied, and never would be if her source was a polluted fountain.

‭Proverbs 5:21-23 NLT‬
[21] “For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes. [22] An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. [23] He will die for lack of self-control; he will be lost because of his great foolishness.”

In Jesus’ promise, she discovered truth that would change her heart and satisfy her thirsty soul forever.

‭John 4:13-14 NLT‬
[13]” Jesus replied, “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.”

The same prophet who diagnosed Israel’s disease, prescribed God’s cure.

‭Jeremiah 31:3 NLT‬
[3] “Long ago the Lord said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”

How must we respond to a love like this?

‭John 4:39-42 NLT‬
[39] “Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!”
[40] When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, [41] long enough for many more to hear his message and believe.
[42] Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

Faith in the one who made the promise opens the heart to truth, love, peace, and security that wells up into eternal life.

Try it! I have!

CHANNELS OF LIVING WATER

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CHANNELS OF LIVING WATER

“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.'” John 7:37-38 (NIV).

What an invitation! What a promise!

On the Great Day of the feast, the seventh of eight days, when the Water Ceremony was being carried out by the priest (water drawn from the pool of Siloam was poured into a basin as a drink offering to the Lord in thanksgiving for life-giving water and a prayer for rain to water their crops), Jesus shouted out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. As Scripture has said, rivers of living water (mayim chayim) will flow from within him!’ 

The focus of the worshippers was on the water that was always scarce and was vital for life. Once more Jesus, with His attention on the hearts of men, was offering them a source of living water which would satisfy their unconscious inner thirst and connect them to the perennial Source of real life. What He offered was not only for them but through them to quench the thirst of others around them as well. They would become a conduit of life, not just a reservoir.

Imagine the reaction of the people! This roaming rabbi was at it again, trying to draw the people’s attention away from their physical lives and refocusing on their broken connection with their Source. Like all of us, the people of Jesus’ day were more interested in getting their own needs met than in doing what God wanted them to do – to be channels through whom He could meet the needs of others.

Whatever our needs are, God’s way to meet them is for us to look for someone else to bless. Jesus assured us that our Father knows our needs before we ask Him. Why does He allow us to have needs? It’s His way of creating a current of resources that will keep circulating instead of our becoming a reservoir that will, like the hoarded manna, become stale and polluted. 

Jesus put it in a nutshell like this: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV).

It takes a powerful work of God, through the Holy Spirit to change us from self-centred, selfish people to people who care about the needs of others more than their own. What was Jesus offering His people?

“By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.'” John 7:39 (NIV).

This is not about being baptized in the Spirit so that you can become a spiritual “giant”, wowing people with your power and “holiness”, drawing attention to yourself as some privileged super-saint with supernatural ability to do spectacular things.

How tragic that in many streams in the church today, the Holy Spirit has been reduced to magic and goose bumps. Jesus insisted that the greatest person is the one who can come down to the level of a child and treat him with respect and dignity because of his potential; the one who can go to the tap and give a drink of water to a thirsty beggar because he was also created in the image of God.

It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to remove a stony heart and replace it with a heart of flesh. Satan can counterfeit miracles, but he cannot counterfeit the character of Jesus.

If we are hungry to become a truly righteous person, one who is generous towards others, and thirsty for a new heart of mercy and compassion instead of selfishness and greed, Jesus is the bread of life and the living water. He will give you in abundance what you crave!

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

It Is Finished!

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IT IS FINISHED! 

“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’  A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” John 19:28-30 NIV.

The long journey was over! Thirty three years of being human, experiencing humanness is all its forms was over. Human birth, babyhood, growing up as the firstborn in a peasant family; learning, studying, training, over! Navigating all the vicissitudes of human life as well as being exposed to the frustration of uncomprehending disciples, the irritation of jostling and demanding crowds and the relentless antagonism of religious enemies, were over.

Was that all that was finished? Did Jesus heave a sigh of relief that His humiliation, His pain and suffering were over? Was it all about Him? Never! Not by a long shot! Jesus lived for the Father and He died in obedience to the Father. In those three little words, “It is finished!” He encompassed the entire scope of God’s plan to rescue the world from its self-imposed plight.

Every prophetic utterance about His origin, His mother, His birth, His character, His life, His work, His sacrifice, His redemption, His destiny were encapsulated in that one word in the Greek, “Tetelestai!” Finished! Done! Completed! Redemption’s story was written – in His blood. The way to the Father was cleared of the rubble and debris of human sin. The curtain was torn from top to bottom. The huge, unpayable debt was paid. The Father was satisfied. His Son had done the job.

Even His last sigh, “I am thirsty,” spoke volumes to those who would hear. A sponge of vinegar on a stalk of hyssop? What did it mean? John insisted that His utterance was a fulfilment of prophecy? Which prophecy?

The Israelites were instructed to “Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe…” Exodus 12:22 NIV.

Why hyssop? Hyssop, a member of the mint family, grew plentifully in the Middle East and was used for cleansing, medicinal and flavouring purposes. It symbolised cleansing from sin as David’s prayer suggests. After his adulterous affair with Bathesheba and all the terrible things he did to cover up his sin, the broken-hearted king pleaded with God, “Cleanse me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7 NIV.

Was Jesus saying, in His final prophetic words, that the work of cleansing was done? He had drunk the cup of the Father’s wrath down to the dregs. He could release His spirit to the Father in the assurance that He had fully accomplished the work of redemption and His sacrifice had been accepted. Death could not hold Him in its grip for even death and hell had been overcome.

Those around the cross could gloat and cheer because their evil work was finished. There was nothing more than they could do to the Son of God. They had shown Him, with all the vicious cruelty they could muster, what they thought of God. When it was all over, and the victim of their hatred hung tattered and lifeless, they were left to gaze at their handiwork, relieved to know that they could get on with their lives because He was no longer around to confront them.

But would they? Jesus’ life was over but little did they know that their woes had only just begun. Finished? Yes and no. His earthly life may have been over but he was alive in eleven men and many women, and in a few short weeks the Holy Spirit would light a flame in these men and women that they would never be able to put out.

Channels Of Living Water

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CHANNELS OF LIVING WATER 

“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.'” John 7:37-38 (NIV).

What an invitation! What a promise!

On the Great Day of the feast, the seventh of eight days, when the Water Ceremony was being carried out by the priest (water drawn from the pool of Siloam was poured into a basin as a drink offering to the Lord in thanksgiving for life-giving water and a prayer for rain to water their crops), Jesus shouted out, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. As Scripture has said, rivers of living water (mayim chayim) will flow from within him!’

The focus of the worshippers was on the water that was always scarce and was vital for life. Once more Jesus, with His attention on the hearts of men, was offering them a source of living water which would satisfy their unconscious inner thirst and connect them to the perennial Source of real life. What He offered was not only for them but through them to quench the thirst of others around them as well. They would become a conduit of life, not just a reservoir.

Imagine the reaction of the people! This roaming rabbi was at it again, trying to draw the people’s attention away from their physical lives and refocusing on their broken connection with their Source. Like all of us, the people of Jesus’ day were more interested in getting their own needs met than in doing what God wanted them to do — to be channels through whom He could meet the needs of others.

Whatever our needs are, God’s way to meet them is for us to look for someone else to bless. Jesus assured us that our Father knows our needs before we ask Him. Why does He allow us to have needs? It’s His way of creating a current of resources that will keep circulating instead of our becoming a reservoir that will, like the hoarded manna, become stale and polluted.

Jesus put it in a nutshell like this: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV).

It takes a powerful work of God, through the Holy Spirit to change us from self-centred, selfish people to people who care about the needs of others more than their own. What was Jesus offering His people?

“By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not yet been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.'” John 7:39 (NIV).

This is not about being baptized in the Spirit so that you can become a spiritual “giant”, wowing people with your power and “holiness”, drawing attention to yourself as some privileged super-saint with supernatural ability to do spectacular things.

How tragic that in many streams in the church today, the Holy Spirit has been reduced to magic and goose bumps. Jesus insisted that the greatest person is the one who can come down to the level of a child and treat him with respect and dignity because of his potential; the one who can go to the tap and give a drink of water to a thirsty beggar because he was also created in the image of God.

It takes the power of the Holy Spirit to remove a stony heart and replace it with a heart of flesh. Satan can counterfeit miracles, but he cannot counterfeit the character of Jesus.

If we are hungry to become a truly righteous person, one who is generous towards others, and thirsty for a new heart of mercy and compassion instead of selfishness and greed, Jesus is the bread of life and the living water. He will give you in abundance what you crave!