3. THE WATERS OF LIFE

THIS SERIES: LIVING IN THE OVERFLOW

Water is vital to human survival, and in ancient Israel, with its seasonal rains, it needed to be stored up in large tanks or cisterns against the dry periods, which were subject to the usual hazards associated with standing water. Far more health-giving were the wells which were supplied by the few natural springs in Palestine, and of course these were hugely prized by communities. The water that came from these springs was known as ‘living water’: ever fresh and flowing spontaneously. Naturally in this environment, water also took on spiritual significance, being seen as a symbol of God’s blessing and spiritual refreshment, and God Himself was seen as the fountain of life.
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While nobody would choose cistern water over spring water to quench thirst, if there was a choice, often spiritually that is what happens: we try to live by our own efforts, our own resources, rather than from the fresh and flowing ‘living water’.

My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,
​and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
[Jeremiah 2:13]

​Jesus’ mission was to reconnect us to the fountain of life:

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,
‘ Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said,
rivers of living water will flow from within them.’
By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.
​Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified
[John 7:37-39]

Jesus promised that instead of a life bound by external rules and regulations, His followers would be given abundant Life—life flowing from within. That life was the person of the Holy Spirit who would come and take up residence in His people, where His desire was to fill each one to overflowing. This would be the baptism in the Spirit that was prophesied by John [Luke 3:16].
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The Holy Spirit’s life in humanity was to be like rivers flowing out. Fountains of living water, watering not just their own lives but the surrounding ‘ground’.

THE PROMISE OF OUR GLORIFIED SAVIOUR

​Yesterday, was Ascension Day in the liturgical year, the day when Christians around the world celebrate the return of Jesus to Heaven as the conquering Lord of All. The Ascension is a vital part of salvation history for it marked the glorification of the Lord Jesus—and its associated promise to His followers.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in His holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god…
 
Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
Who is He, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty--
    He is the King of glory.
[Psalm 24:3-4; 7-10]
 
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Exalted to the right hand of God,
He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit
and has poured out what you now see and hear.
[Acts 2:33]

Seated at the right hand of the Father, our exalted Saviour has poured out the promised Holy Spirit on His followers. No longer limited to a few chosen ones, His stated intention is to pour out the Spirit on all flesh—from all nations, young and old, men and women, rich and poor, slave and free [Joel 2:28-29].

This promise is for you and me—and is given on the basis of what Jesus has done for us--nothing we can do can earn it or deserve it. If you want to live inside-out, if you want that life-giving river to flow out through your life, the gift of the Holy Spirit is God’s solution.

THE HOLY SPIRIT AND YOU page of this website will show you how.

THIS WEEK’S GRACE RHYTHM:

We need to keep the river flowing, so whether for the first time, or the thousandth, take the steps outlined on the 'Holy Spirit and You' page—and make it a daily habit.

NEXT WEEK: LOOKING FOR THE RIVER’S FLOW
Developing expectation...

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​[Photo credits: Brice Cooper (watercourse); Paul Zoetemeijer (stained glass);
​Claudio Schwarz (hands) @ Unsplash, with thanks]