Living Water
Living Water
John 4:10-14 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou would have asked of him, and He would have given thee living water.
13 Jesus answered and said unto her (the Samaritan Women), Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
Sometimes the Lord wants to make life lessons so black and white that there will be no margin of error, no misdirection that will lead us off His path.
There really is living water and the Lord wants us to partake in this heavenly drink. While Jesus knew the Samaritan women would not understand this in their introduction meeting, He still explained to her there was a cup with eternal life in it-and when you receive it – you will never thirst again Jn. 4: 10-14.
When you drink this living water, it changes everything. The first sip brings eternal life in Christ. To receive this cup however, we have to reach out to the Lord and partake in His life
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
To be part of the Heavenly Kingdom that has your name inscribed in the book of life, it can be nothing short of total surrender…Lord I want Your life, I want to be part of Your kingdom that fulfills my life with Your eternal glory. I will be honest with my sin and receive Your truth.
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Never Thirst Again
When we continue to drink from this cup however, the results are just as miraculous. This ‘never thirst again’ promise is meant for His children, believers in the Lord.
We can begin to get an idea of what Jesus is teaching in other scriptures, let’s take a look.
Revelation 22:1-3 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (The Lord’s eternal reign) 2 In the midst of the place of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life….and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it
The Word explains to us the heavenly water of life (living water) comes straight from the throne of God (Proceeding out of the throne of God). The very essence and glory of God flows from this river-from the Presence of the Lord Himself.
From the midst of the river of life comes the tree of life. The Lord Himself declared this tree must be protected until His return above, for whoever takes from the tree of life lives forever. (Gen. 3:21-24). In other words, the living water from the throne of God gives the tree of life its eternal qualities- never-ending life from the center of Jehovah’s Royal Kingdom.
This living water that flows to the tree of life will not only heal all the nations of the world, but the next verse mentions the curse of sin finally ceases.
When Jesus and the Father fully restore this world as mentioned in Revelations above, their glory from the throne will flow from the river and all the nations on this earth will have access to God’s living water. The river of life, the tree of life, the healing of the nations will be the truest natural reflection of the Lord-for out of this living water will come life from God Himself. The curse of sin stops only after this living water flows from the throne of God. The horror of all the millenniums of sin ceases when the river of life passes through His throne room, His life-giving touch reaching to the entire world. As we shall see from the next verse, this living water is made Holy by His Spirit for all ages of time. Praise God, Life-giving Water containing the Holy Spirit!
Living Water and the Holy Spirit
John 7:37-39 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.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (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.)
Notice Jesus gives the source of life in this water, the Holy Spirit vs. 39. Revealing the Divine Nature of Gods living water cannot be understated. It explains why Divine Water from heaven can now connect us to the Lord from our earthly dwelling
John 16:13 But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears (from the Father) and He will tell you what is yet to come See Jn. 14:26
Jn. 7 above also explains how Divine Water will flow from the Throne of God and continually bless all the nations of the world Rev. 22:1-3. In both cases, on earth and in heaven, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Throne Room of God and gives Divine Qualities to all who follow the voice of God Rm. 8:14, Jn. 14:3 . For all eternity, our contact with the Living Water-The Holy Spirit, will be our greatest encounter with Jehovah God.
Jesus again confirms that this living water has to flow, giving reverence to ‘flowing from the throne of the Lord’ in Revelations and ‘springing up’ in John 4 above. The similarities in Rev. 22, Jn. 7 and Jn. 4 are not coincidental; the Lord is teaching us the importance of the living water–
-Its substance is the very essence of God Rev. 22:1, from His Throne, On earth, from the Holy Spirit Jn. 7:39, Jn. 4:14, 24
-heavenly water never runs out or makes us thirst again, it has eternal qualities Rev. 22:1-3, Jn. 7:38-39, Jn. 4:14
John Wesley reiterates what the Lord is teaching when the Spirit ‘flows-gushes out’ everyone and everything around is touched….
He teaches ‘And whosoever doth come to him by faith, his inmost soul shall be filled with living water, with an abundance of peace, joy, and love, which shall likewise flow from him to others. As the Scripture hath said – Not expressly in any one particular place. But a reference to all those scriptures which speak of the effusion of the Spirit by the Messiah, under the similitude of pouring out water.’ Zec 14:8
Living Water in a Believers Life
We see then this Living Water ‘flows’ from the throne of God and is embodied by the Holy Spirit. As mentioned in Revelation 21 and John 7, it is the truest manifestation of God Himself, for the Holy Spirit flows in it. The first sip brings eternal life, when we respond by faith to the Holy Spirits leading – the salvation call.
Jn. 6:37 All that the Father gives Me shall come to me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.
Thirsting for the living water continues to bring life because this river will never go dry Jn. 4:14.
As Christians however, we have to abide in the river –in the things of heaven to never thirst again.
Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Our thirst for earthly things comes about by drinking water different than His heavenly water-similar to drinking saltwater. Living water is always available, but we have to ‘thirst’ for heavenly water and not the water that comes from the desires of this world
Mark 4:19-20 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
For those who have made the effort to read thus far, I believe many of you will agree with the message in the next few sentences. The Lord woke me up this morning with a groaning in His heart. He is seeing so many of His children drinking ‘saltwater’ or the water that makes them thirst again. Like a drug that gives someone a short ‘fix’, they thirst again for things of this world to fill their soul. It leaves them in a worse condition than before, for it takes them away from His living water from heaven. His concern for His church is real-He cares deeply and does not want their path to lead away from His light-life Rev. 2-3.
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
He so desires them to know…it is not always the flagrant sins that cause us drift away from the living water….in fact, in most cases it is not. Jesus mentions in Mk. 4:19 above that it is simply the ‘desires of life’ –waters of this world that cause us not to be diligent in seeking the water from heaven.
He wanted to alert us to the normal pleasures of life, if they replace ‘seeking after living water’ will stop the flow of ‘Living Water’ –His Spirit from heaven.
This was not a warning to one or two people, but a direction from the Word to all of us. Activities like
-participating in social events
-our hobbies and recreational events
-vacations
-receiving recognition from our peers in church and out
-building our personal aspirations, in church and out
-watching TV, etc.
are not wrong in and of themselves, but without earnestly seeking the Lord’s heavenly water-a multi-daily process-earthly waters will become what we thirst for Jn. 4:13-14, Matt. 5:6. These simple pleasures-can slowly replace the vigilance needed to maintain our flow of heavenly water from heaven.
The Lord desires for us to enjoy the blessings on earth, but ‘first priority’ is everything
Matthew 6:33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
The Lord is seeing so many drifting away from His living water that brings them into His heavenly presence-a church of one accord, full of His joy and life. A covering of protection and direction for His plan of life for you. An anointing of living water that can only come through the throne room of God Almighty.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I personally believe He is calling out to all of His children to maintain a special place-a close bonding to His heart-Lord, Your heavenly life, not mine. Christ example…
Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
His Provision, Our Response
In these three living water scriptures alone, the Lord provides His children with divine life-giving water that brings us into the very presence of God Himself, by the Holy Spirit Jn. 4:10-14, Jn. 7:37-39, Rev. 22:1-3.
Our response is simply turning away from darkness and partaking in His radiant life-giving water. It can be difficult and at times we all fall short. The Lord will eternally honor a faithful servant, but one of the most beautiful moments in the Lord’s eyes is when a sinner repents and gets honest-and truly starts living for God Jn. 15:7-8, Lk. 18:9-14, 1 Pet. 1:4-7
Luke 7:37-38 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.
38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
1) Let’s start with the greatest command, it was given this importance for a reason. It searches out every area of our life and causes us to be honest, continually discarding the ‘junk’ and replacing it with His living water in us.
Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
2) Always worth repeating
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Please see first 4 articles, Kingdom of God
When we focus on (thirst for, seek) the priorities of heaven, the earthly desires are kept in check. Earthly things then are viewed in light of promoting the Kingdom of God (His Eternal Treasures) and they then can become a true blessing. It may take some serious priority shifts to get back to our consistent divine water intake. When the lost and other believers see His radiance on you however, you will absolutely know you made the correct choice for Divine Living.
Scriptural steps to partake in His Living Water.
-meditating on His Word (Ps. 119:1), (1 Thes. 5:16-18), surrendering our earthly pursuits while walking in His divine path He has for you
Psalm 63:1-8 You, God, are my God, earnestly I will seek You; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for You, in a dry and parched land where there is no water (see vs. 2-8).
3) Breaking the Mold. For those who have are truly honest before the Lord, His respect for you will last eternally.
Jeremiah 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
So many have voiced that –it’s been so long since I have heard from the Lord, received a personal direction from Him…it is so difficult to ‘break the mold’.
Start by being truthful to Him, this is where the road to recovery begins
John 3:21 But whoever lives by the truth, comes into the light-paraphrased…whoever lives truthfully with the Lord comes in His light-presence (where the living water is found, above verses)
Realize, the kingdom of Light is in war with the kingdom of darkness Rm. 7. If we have avoided the steps needed to abide in the Light as scriptures mentioned above, then it can take time to ‘breakthrough’ again. He promises however if we truly repent He will take us back and restore us 1 Jn. 1:9. Make the lifestyle changes the Lord has given in step 2.
4) Abiding in His True Fellowship-those like-minded –the remnant mustard seed church Philippians 2:2, 1 Peter 3:8, Matt. 13:31-32, See The Way. I need the light of other Christians in my life…there is no earthly replacement for this brotherhood of believers. As mentioned in Jn. 3:21 above, as we walk into the truth, we come into the light…His Living Water from His throne.
Simply, pray and seek out Christians who truly are seeking the Lord’s Way in their heart-who are honestly working at abiding in Him. Don’t be bound to churches, groups or friends that do not pursue the Lord’s Living Water. Always point the way to those who need to know His truth, but walk with the Lord and those who truly are seeking His narrow road See Matt. 7:13-14, Our Road With God.
May the Lord bless you as you abide in His Living Water 🙂
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