Sunday Morning
November 21, 2004
“Living Water”
John 4:6-15
The theme of Living Waters is to me one of the grandest in all of Scripture. Christ often used earthly things to describe HEAVENLY realities. In the passage, He uses something as simple as water to describe the saving and powerful work of His Holy Spirit. We can be certain that the Holy Spirit is spoken of here because we in John 7 the Scripture confirms as much –
NKJ John 7:37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
The theme and comparison between God’s Spirit is one that I’d like to explore more deeply with you today – AS much as is possible I would like to dive in and swim around and explore these LIVING WATERS Christ has described!
How is the Living Waters (the Holy Spirit) spoken of here by Jesus similar to our physical water, what do we learn from this?
I. As water is vital to physical life, the Holy Spirit is vital to spiritual life.
NKJ Romans 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
II. As water refreshes and brings life to the earth, so the Holy Spirit refreshes and revitalizes us spiritually.
NKJ Isaiah 12:3 Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation.
NKJ Isaiah 32:15 Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.
NKJ Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2 It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, The excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the LORD, The excellency of our God. 3 Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you." 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert. 7 The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
NKJ Isaiah 43:19 Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. 20 The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen.
NKJ Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring; 4 They will spring up among the grass Like willows by the watercourses.'
NKJ Isaiah 45:8 " Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the LORD, have created it.
NKJ Isaiah 58:11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
In the 1700s in England over 160 crimes were punishable by death, the main theology taught in churches was Deism, a theology that said God was a mere force, Who created the world but then left it, every sixth house was a gin mill, the prisons were horribly overcrowded and hangings were a gala event. Yet, in a short time THAT entire situation
changed
III. As water is worth digging for, the Holy Spirit is worth our fervent prayer.
In the wilderness, where there is no water, the lip becomes chapped; the skin is dried; the tongue is like a firebrand, and the mouth is like an oven; and the weary traveler must drink or die. O for a draught of water there! A bag of diamonds would not be too much to pay! CH Spurgeon
IV. As water has a cleansing power to wash off dirt, so the Holy Spirit cleanses us from sin.
V. As water is often an instrument of judgment, so the Holy Spirit convinces the world of sin.
VI. As Jesus turns water into wine, so being filled with the Holy Spirit brings more joy than being drunk with wine.
VII. The Water that Jesus offers, the Holy Spirit, is better, is more vital to our life (eternal life) than even our physical water.
How vital is water to our life?
Up to 60% of our body is water.
Our brains are 70% water.
Our blood is 82% water.
Our lungs are 90% water.
Without God’s Spirit, we are dead in our trespasses and sins!
Consider what the OT says about this, especially the Book of Isaiah which speaks a GREAT DEAL about refreshing, renewing water and God’s Holy Spirit -
Jacob had dug a well 100 feet deep. Water is worth digging that way for.
