Thursday 6 February 2014

The Water



The Water


“And in the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But He spoke this about the Spirit, which they who believed on Him should receive” (Joh 7:37-39, MKJV)

In this passage the Lord depicts a fabulous picture describing the Holy Spirit as flowing refreshing fresh water. Like a river flowing over dry lands and thirsty souls, delivering life and prosperity to everything in its way. Here, the Lord reveals one of the works of the Holy Spirit, which is:

The Life Giving

Water is the basic component of tissues for all living organisms. Blood, which is the fluid of life for our body, consists mostly of water. Our body consumes a daily amount of water to perform its biological functions, and consumes another amount to withstand some external conditions like heat and drought. That’s why we need a certain amount of water every day to compensate for that consumption. If one could not make up their body loss of water, they feel thirsty, which is a harsh feeling that nobody can ignore or postpone. If the water loss continued without compensation, the body cells lose their ability to function; they shrink, they get dehydrated, and eventually die. Within a few days, the body fades up and ceases.

Our Spirits Thirst Too

That image teaches us that our spirits need God as much as our bodies need water. Our spirit originates from God. They cannot live without Him. The presence of God is crucial to the spirit to remain alive. Man cannot spiritually function unless he has a daily and continuous relationship with God Himself. If God’s presence absents from man’s life, man’s spirit dries up and weakens. If the absence of God in man’s life continued, man dies. That’s what God meant when He said to Adam, For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17, MKJV). The death of Adam after eating from the tree was not a punishment for his sin as much as it was a natural result of his separation from God. Dryness and death invaded his spirit, because she cannot live without relationship with God.

As the Hart Pants

The psalm writer used the same image when he said, As the hart pants after the water brooks, so my soul pants after You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?”  (Psa 42:1-2, MKJV).

The writer felt himself like a hart; the animal that lives in desert. Because of the hot and dry conditions, the hart consumes water very fast. That’s why it needs not just a spill of water, but brooks of water.

Life challenges and the resistance we face in the wilderness of the world consume our spiritual energy. That’s why we have a daily need not just to words, sermons or rituals but to God Himself. Not to a few drops of water but to rivers of living water. This is the work of the Water, the life-giving Spirit. That God the psalm writer indicates is the Spirit that Lord Jesus indicates too. He is the water to our thirsty spirits.

In the Beginning

When the earth was waste and empty under the deep, and darkness was on the face of the deep, we saw the spirit of life hovering over that waste (Gen 1:2). He generated life. He was the one who carried God’s will to create life on that waste earth. With the Spirit hovering, the life-giving command echoed in each corner of the creation. The darkness vanished, the light shined, the deep retreated, and the earth flourished. The waste earth is now inhabited by all kind of beautiful creatures. Dark heavens are now decorated with fabulous lights; great light for the day and small light for the night. That’s no surprise, because where the Spirit of life works, wilderness turns into gardens, darkness into light, waste land into habitat, and death into life.

And Death by Sin

The beautiful picture did not last. When sin entered the world, it separated man from God who is the source of life. It opened the door to the spirits of destruction and death to come to the world. The work of those spirits is contrary to the work of the life-giving Spirit. They spread death, dry up man’s soul, and turn his life into severe drought. They leave him behind consumed and living in a waste land under dark sky. Worries and fears then dominate every day of his life until he is delivered to the grave and eternal death. They are the spirits of he who “was a murderer from the beginning” (Joh 8:44, MKJV).

The activities of these spirits vary, but they all have the same effect which is draining life out of man. There is a spirit of fear who engulfs one’s heart, taking away his sense of security and hinders any progress in life. There is a spirit of grief who destroys one’s feelings. There are spirits of jealousy, anger, envy and greed; they destroy the relationships between people, generating struggles, wars and enmities. There are the spirits of passion, lust and uncleanness; they destroy man’s dignity and bring him down to akin an animal. There’re a countless number of spirits. They all oppose the work of the Spirit of life, attempting to bring the creation back to its first waste status.

Individuals Attempts

At all ages, there were individuals who sensed the death besetting them. They were thirsty to the Spirit of water, the life-giving Spirit. They had the spiritual consciousness to break through the darkness back to God. The Holy Spirit’s touches and revelations interacted with mankind through them. These revelations were like droplets of fresh water in the midst of a dry desert. Many generations lived on these droplets which gave them the strength amid the assailing spirits of death. However, those attempts were rare through the history of mankind that was drowning in a spiritual darkness.  The revelation resulted from those efforts were relying on the godly individuals who sought the Lord for themselves and for their people. Once those individuals die, the vision fades and the darkness hems the scene again. The way to the Holy of Holies was not yet open, and the spirit of water shall not pour out -in a general manner- upon a rebellious earth; not until the redemption is accomplished.

I am Thirsty

At the fullness of time, the blessed Redeemer came. He bore our sins in His own body.  On the cross, His greenness dissipated, and drought engulfed his wounded heart. Listen to Him saying, My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws” (Psa 22:15, MKJV). Also, “I am weary from my crying; my throat is dried; my eyes fail while I wait for my God” (Psa 69:3). Dryness is a figurative expression reflects the agony of the Christ on the cross. He had to walk our same land, bear our own sin and face our own judgement. Surprisingly, the only feeling He expressed on the cross was not pain, sadness or injustice; It was thirst. He suffered thirst so that we may have water. His strength was dried up, so that we have inner strength. He suffered the drought and the death of our realm to give us His life and His glory. All glory and praise be to Him forever.

The Fountain and the Cistern

“For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, to hew out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jer 2:13, MKJV).

Fountain and cistern were two sources of water in ancient Israel. The difference between them is significant. The fountain is running (living) waters burst out of the earth. The cistern is a deep man-made hole on the ground stores rain waters during the rains season. Therefore, the cistern water is still and not regenerated which makes it subject to all kind of contaminants. It’s also seasonal not continuous; the cistern is filled in the rains season, and then it dries up by the beginning of the summer. The worst type of cisterns is the one with cracked sides. It cannot hold water for too long, as the water leaks out of the cracks.

Me, the Fountain of Living Waters

In this passage, the Lord describes Himself as the source of the continuous running waters, to fill His people. Shockingly, His people turn away from Him and seek other means of fulfilling. Since his falling, man has always been panting after his fleshly lusts attempting to attain satisfaction and joy. Money, sex, and power became gods whom man worships and serves hoping to gain moments of pleasure and comfort. For the sake of those gods, man forsakes the real God; the only one who can give man authentic satisfaction and living water. Ultimately, man discovers that those strange gods are nothing but broken cisterns that can hold no water. Comparing the fountain water to the cistern water in this passage reminds how the fullness of God differs from the pleasures of the world in the following manners:
  

  • Internal not External: The Spirit of God dwells in the spirit of the believer, therefore, provides him with deep internal fulfillment. That fulfillment is independent from any external conditions. It helps the believer to rise above his conditions instead of getting overwhelmed by them. Even when afflictions surround him and he is perplexed with multitude of thoughts within him, the comfort of the Lord delights him (Psa 94:19). The world always promises to provide satisfaction from external sources. People believe that if they possessed this thing or that, they will be happy. Therefore, they spend their life in continuous race to possess those sources of happiness. Soon, one finds himself enslaved. He may own a lot of things, but does not own his own soul. He is now bonded by ruthless worldly lusts. Because man worships whoever gives him happiness, he becomes a slave to those external sources of happiness.
  • Continuous not Seasonal: The spirit of God permanently lives in the believer. His fellowship continues day and night, in health and in sickness, in strength and in weakness. Even when the believer falls, He doesn’t abandon him, but rather reproves and correct him. His water is a “living water” springing up into everlasting life (Joh 4:14). In contrary to the Spirit’s gifts, the worldly joy is for a moment (Job 20:5). When man gains it, he works hard to keep it for as long as possible. Soon, it leaks between his fingers, leaving him with nothing but chasing the wind.
  • God-Made not Man-Made:  The living water of the Spirit springs up in the believer’s heart without any human contribution. It’s based on God’s love and grace. Unlike the grace, worldly joy consumes the entire energy of man to obtain it and then to keep it.
  • Clean not Contaminated: The comfort of the Spirit is clean, pure and accompanied with good fruits. In contrary, the worldly joy is always subject to impurities, and full of selfness, greed and defilement.

No wonder the Lord told Heaven to astonish and shudder because His people forsook the internal for the external, the continuous for the seasonal, the God-made for the man-made and the pure for the contaminated. “Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and shudder; be amazed very much, saith Jehovah. For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water” (Jer 2:12-13, Darby). How evil and foolish man’s heart is.

My friend, what is your source of joy? Is it the world or the Lord?

Eternal Life

Talking to the Samaritan woman, Jesus said, “Every one who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinks of the water which I shall give him shall never thirst for ever, but the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life (Joh 4:13-14, Darby). Again, the Lord mentions the fountain water indicating the gift of the Spirit. This time he adds that this fountain of water “springing up for eternal life”. Eternal life means not only a life of infinite duration, but also of infinite depth; sinners also will live infinitely in hell. Eternal life means life that connects the depths of God to that of the man. It is a communion with God unlimited in its range and depth. Therefore, we enjoy that eternal life while we are still on this mortal earth.

God has set eternity in man’s heart (Ecc 3:11). That eternity constitutes hunger inside man for everlasting matters. Food and drink suffice an animal, but as for man, he shall not live with the bread alone. The breath of God within him drives him to seek everlasting fellowship with God; a fellowship that fills all his depths and satisfies them. Man needs everlasting love (Jer 31:3), everlasting joy (Iss 61:7) and everlasting security (Deu 33:27). That’s why all human feelings and social relationships fail to satisfy that eternal dimension in man’s heart. That’s what the Lord explained to the Samaritan woman who tried several intimate relationships, yet remained thirsty. No man was able to satisfy her eternal heart. Satisfaction is a need only the Spirit of water can fill, because He springs up into the eternal heart of man.

Have you tasted that eternal fill or you are still seeking other kinds of waters?

Overflowing Fill

In the last day of the great feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Joh 7:37-38, MKJV). The Lord spoke this about the Spirit, which they who believed on Him should receive.

In this passage, the Lord goes that the fill of the Spirit is not just up to one’s need; it is overflowing. It fills one’s inside, and then flows out like rivers to fill others as well. Because love and liberality are intrinsic essence of the Spirit, once He found a resting place in someone, He overflows to the other people surrounding that one. Look at Lord Jesus, when He was on earth, everyone came close to him was healed. The Spirit, by whom Jesus was full, overflew to people. Look at the disciples after the Pentecost day and you can see the same overflow. The shadow of Peter and the handkerchiefs of Paul gave healing to people everywhere.

We don’t see that tendency of outreaching in the worldly pleasures, which are dominated by selfishness. To reach those pleasures, we sometimes have to trample others in our way. When we reach those pleasures, we can’t share them with others, lest they decrease. Only the gift of the Holy Spirit increases when we share it with others. Didn’t the scripture say, “he who waters shall also be watered himself” (Pro 11:25). The more water you pass onto others, the more your water rise and overflows like rivers. If you tried to keep it just for yourself, the flow stops. A good example of that is the miracle of the widow and the pot of oil (2Ki 4:3-6). The more empty vessels were brought, the more the pot of oil overflew to fill them all. When there were no more empty vessels, the overflow stopped. Do people around you enjoy that overflow coming out of you?

The Spirits of Dryness

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he walks through dry places seeking rest, and finds none” (Mat 12:43)

The evil spirits seek rest where there is no water. They can only dwell where there is no working of the Holy Spirit. That’s because the working of these spirits is opposite to the working of the Holy Spirit. They dry up the resources of man’s life, leaving him in dryness and thirst. Everything these spirits touch turns into dryness. Social relationships are supposed to be a comfort zone; instead, they turn them into sources of oppression and depression. Possessions which are supposed to provide man with joy turn into causes of worry and fear of loss under the ascendancy of the evil spirits. That’s how man’s life turn into a dry land.

When Lot left Abraham’s humbled tent, he also left behind Abraham’s sacred altar. Lot chose to dwell in a fertile land like the garden of Jehovah (Gen 13:10) aiming for a more comfortable and prosperous life. Because evil spirits dominated the people of the land, that very land ended up to be the cause of pain, torment and loss for the rest of Lot’s life. Instead of being “the garden of Jehovah”, it turned into “hell”, and seared his house, his children and his pride. At the same time, Abraham was enjoying internal watering under the reign of the Spirit of water.

When a man fall under the power of evil spirits, “he is withering away” (Mar 9:18, Darby). Even when the Lord of glory was circled by these spirits on the cross, His strength was dried up like a potsherd (Psa 22:12-15), and His sap turned into the drought of the summer (Psa 32:4).

Woe to the wretches who fall under the power of those spirits.

Invitation for Watering

“The poor and needy seek water, and there is none; their tongue fails for thirst, I Jehovah will hear them .... I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water” (Isa 41:17-18, MKJV)

For the wretches who fell under the power of evil spirits, the Lord provides an invitation for watering. If you put your life under the reign of God, He will make your dry land springs of water; a green oasis. The evil spirits will be cast out of your life because they cannot live in places where there is water.

We often think that if we hadn’t passed through these hardships, we would have been in a better position today; happier and more comfortable. But in this passage, the Lord offers us a promise that in these high places (hardships) we will be watered. The rivers will run through the wilderness. This is the power of God and that’s His promise if we submit our dried life with all its agony to Him.

Mary and Martha thought it’s better if their brother didn’t die. Yet as the Lord presented, He turned that death into a matter of joy and comfort. Sarah thought her ageing is a terrible obstacle to have children, but the Lord turned it into a memorable miracle. Joseph thought his slavery and his imprisonment are barren period in his life, but he discovered that God was able to use that period for Joseph’s maturity and glory.

Do you accept the Lord’s invitation for watering? Do you put your life under His dominion?

Warning

“Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame” (Luk 16:24)

Those who ignore the Lord’s invitation for watering, will -one day- pine for a droplet of water but they won’t find it. They will yearn for one word from God, but it will be too late. Oh that you redeem the time and submit your life in God’s hands before it’s too late.

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