19. Rivers of Living Water
19. Rivers of Living Water
“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” [John 7:37-38 ESV]
Jesus stands before a great crowd and declares himself, the answer to the great thirst of our souls. Now he stands before us today and his word speaks to us, ‘Is your soul thirsting’? Well, blessed are you, for not only will you be satisfied, but to those who drink of Jesus, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’. The only way to cure that thirst is to drink. Sounds simple right? But what does it look like to us to drink of Jesus? And what is it that our souls are thirsty for?
“Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” [John 7:39 ESV]
As water is to thirst, so is the Spirit to our souls. There is remedy to the longing inside of us. But there is also an enemy of ours souls that leads us to believe we can fill our thirst in the pleasures of the flesh alone. But the more we consume the desires of the flesh, the more desperate and thirsty we become. Here is a quote from From C. S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, which describes the lie of Satan in regards to feeding our thirst with anything other than the living God:
“An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula. . . . To get a man’s soul and give him nothing in return.”
Jesus pushes back:
“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 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 in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.””
[John 4:13-14 ESV]
I want to give you a picture of where this stream originates from, how you drink of it and when it begins overflowing out of you
Click here to Read Ezekiel 47:1-9
The water that Jesus describes in John 4 is the Spirit. The headwaters of the river is the very throne of God, his glorious presence. You have to experience him first, like in the story in Ezekiel. First, you stand by the river, maybe dip in your toes. Then you get ankle deep in him, then let him draw you deeper, up to your knees. Further still into the river of God, the Spirit leads us waist deep. Finally, we come to a place where we can no longer touch the bottom. This is a place of complete trust and surrender, where we are completely surrounded and overwhelmed by his unfathomable love. When we are bathed and soaked in His presence, his rivers of living water begin to flow out of our lives. Where our faith leads us so deep that we are in over our heads, there we find that the water is good, and as it flows out of us, everywhere it flows it brings life, provision and healing. Eternal life flows into you and out of you as you put your trust fully in Jesus and his Spirit. He fills us and transforms us and it is his Spirit that flows out of us, made manifest in the fruit of the spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
[Galatians 5:22 ESV]
Scripture Reference:
“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.”
Ezekiel 47:1-9 ESV
Discussion Questions:
So where are you at in your walk with Jesus?
- Not sure if he’s real? Standing on the shore of the river of life, unsure of how to enter in?
- Ankle deep in the river? Just getting started? What is your next move to grow deeper in Christ?
- Knee deep? Already have taken a next step and scared out of your mind but moving forward anyways?
- Are you up to your waist? Oh you’re deep! Keep going, you’ll find all you need in the eternal waters of God.
- Are you all in? Are you wanting to be all in? This is really what will satisfy the thirst inside of us. Let’s pray that the Spirit will lead us deeper than our feet could ever take us.
Assignment:
Take a moment and reread Ezekiel 47:1-9
Click here to Read Ezekiel 47:1-9
Write a journal entry answering the question above detailing where you are in the river of God: Ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep or all in? Then take a moment to reflect on what it would look like for a river of living water to flow out of you. Then be prepared to share it with your small group.
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