7/14/2018 - THE (LIVING) WATERS PT. II.II
"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said rivers of living water will flow from within them." John 7:38
Cont.
Revelation 7:17 says, "For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; 'he will lead them to springs of living water.' 'And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.'"
Jesus is the sacrificial lamb, he died on the cross for our sins in order for us to live a life for him and full of him. He died in order for us to have an eternal life in heaven and not an eternal life destined for death and fire. He is also our Shepherd (yes, he is both the Lamb and the Shepherd). He will lead us to the spring of living water. He is the way, the only way to God. He will make our path straight, and that path leads straight to him and heaven.
He will leave the 99 in order for us to be found (Matthew 18:12).
Isaiah 12:3 says, "with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."
Isaiah 44:3 says, "For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants."
Isaiah 58:11 says, "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden like a spring whose waters never fail."
All these passages relate and are fulfilled by Jesus. Jesus several times in his ministry said that the only way to reach Heaven and salvation is through him (John 14:6). He is the living water, he is our source and the way. We have to draw from the well that gives us water and life, that is Jesus.
When we are baptized in water our soul (thirsty land) is quenched and we are filled with the Spirit. We are filled with blessings and promises of so much when we accept Jesus into our life. We are cleansed of all that we did in the past and wiped new. We are made new in Jesus.
When we are not baptized and do not accept Jesus into our life we are living a life full of sin. We are being burned alive daily by the fires of the world, our land is dry and not bearing any fruit. But when we are baptized we accept the waters of God. The waters quench our land and our soul. We are well-watered and bear much fruit.
We bear fruit that we never fail.
Matthew 10:40-42 says, "Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward."
I chose to end this little series with this passage for a reason. Read it a couple more times and write down what it means to you in the aspect of this series. Do not worry I will wait, I am not going anywhere.
I guess I will go on to explain what this passage means to me in this context. We are all one with Jesus. Everyone we see in life is Jesus, we are created in his beautiful and perfect image. We are all image bearers. We need to go about life with this in mind, you never know who you are going to effect, you may be speaking to Jesus or an angel of God. Everyone is our neighbor and we have to help them out to the best of our ability. We need to constantly be helping others, we are not on this planet alone and there is always someone to help. We need to help especially the poor, they are God's children too.
Over 63 million American are exposed to unclean water.
Over 780 million worldwide do not have access to an improved water source.
Over 2.5 billion people lack access to any improved sanitation.
I am about to speak some metaphorical truth so bare with me for a second.
Dirty/Contaminated Water = literal dirty and contaminated water/worldly decision and temptations
Clean water - literal clean water/Jesus
We need to provide people with clean water, there are millions and billions of people who lack a water source that will give them the proper nutrition and will give them everything they need in life. If we do not provide them with this source they are going to die to this world. It is not only the right thing to do, but it is what Jesus wants us to do (complete his mission and spread his message in order to make disciples of all nations).
We deal with chaotic waters everyday since we are living in the world, but we serve an amazing God who is our rock and our safety net. All we have to do is go up to him and lean on him, he will protect us in all that we need help in. We even seen in the Gospels that we should run to Jesus in the midst of trouble, he is able to control and tame the storm and the waves that are crashing down on our life. He was able to walk on water, turn water to wine, and when we are baptized in water we receive the Spirit. Water is a crucial part of our life, we need it in order to survive. We can go over 21 days without eating, but we will not last three to four days without water. The same is with Jesus, we can not last even one day without Jesus.
Jesus is our ultimate and perfect water source
"He said to me: 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life." (Revelation 21:6)
Lord, thank you for being our perfect and everlasting water source. Thank you for taming every wave and every storm that hold us back. I pray that you give us the wisdom to continue to drink from your fountain and from your spring. You make us whole in everything you do. Allow us to help every receive clean water and your water. I pray all this in your son's perfect glorious name, Amen.
#LetsBeAMovement