THE HOLY SPIRIT – THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER
Sakkie Parsons
Translated: Die Heilige Gees – “Die Fonein van Lewende Water”
Someone wrote to me:
"I want to ask you something. Would you please explain to me what “living water” means? God will give me abundant living water.”
I do not have the background regarding this question, but it seems to me that this might be a prophesy to the person.
The Word actually explain to us very good what the living water is; through the words of Jesus Himself – Jesus, God who became man:
JOHN 1:1-4
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
JOHN 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Full of this "loving kindness and truth." Jesus stood up on occasion and exclaimed:
So, let's look at what God, who became man, speak of: "God will give me abundant living water”:
JOHN 7:37-39
37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"
39 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.
As I understand it and try to live it out even though I sometimes fall, it works like this:
The day I repented and received Jesus as my Lord and Saviour; I received the Holy Spirit – who is the fountain of living water.
We, like every human being, (take my great hero Paul as an example), have the potential to make a river of living water flow from myself to the people in the world around us – but now we have a will of our own and the most of us have, so to speak, built a high dam wall in our lives, with which we hold back the river of living water.
Some of us sometimes open the floodgates of that dam wall and let a wonderful flow out of the river of living water to the people around us.
Some people sometimes open those locks just as slightly and some people who are children of our Lord hardly open those locks.
And so I can continue to the people whose floodgates simply never open.
Isn't this a sad phenomenon in most of our lives?
Because – no matter how big I open the locks every now and then – there should never have been a dam wall in the first place.
Remember, the ideal is:
JOH 7:38 Whoever believes in me, (and then of course fully uses his potential) as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"
So my friend –
Let you and I strive every day to bring out the maximum potential of the Holy Spirit in us.
For our Lord also say to us:
MAT 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Let us therefore strive for the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy about us who have accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour:
The Amplified read as follows:
JOHN 7:38 He who believes in Me (who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me) as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow (continuously) springs and rivers of living water.
JOHN 7:39 But He was speaking here of the Spirit…
Maybe someone now reads this who does not yet have a personal love relationship with Jesus and wants rivers of loving water to flow to the broken world around you.
Then I want to seriously and urgently encourage you to start a love relationship with Jesus Christ.
How do you do that?
Just follow these directions from our Lord's precious Word:
ACTS 2:37-39
37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." (And through this writing, you hear our Lord calling you again today).
Let us also, who already have our Lord's Holy Spirit in us, work to break down that dam wall we have built up over the years – because we are no longer content anymore to open the floodgates every now and then – but that the rivers of living water flow from within us. Because the barren dry broken world around us needs it so infinitely.
I now leave you with this passage from our Lord's precious Word that our God and Saviour Himself is saying to you and me. We, who have accepted Him, Jesus, as our Lord and Saviour:
ACTS 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, (when the fountain of living waters spring up also in you) and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
Yes, the rivers of living water will flow from within us to this barren broken lost world around us.
Greetings,
Sakkie