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Streams of Living Water

Streams of Living Water
Words of Faith 11-1-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 7
[37] On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." [39] 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.
[40] On hearing his words, some of the people said, "Surely this man is the Prophet."
[41] Others said, "He is the Christ."
Still others asked, "How can the Christ come from Galilee? [42] Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?" [43] Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. [44] Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.

Some friends were commenting the other day of how thirsty they got in the crowds at an annual spring Arts Festival. The only available drink was bottled water and it was outrageously expensive! But they paid the asking price. When you are really thirsty, you will do anything to get a quenching swallow of water!
The Feast of Tabernacles was a joyous celebration of thanksgiving for food and water. Each fall families built outdoor shelters to live in during the Feast as a remembrance of the years that Israel spent wandering in the desert and how God had provided food and water. They also gave thanks for God’s continued provision of crops and rainfall.
The Feast was held for seven days followed by an eighth day of special offering to God. The celebration included a daily procession of the priests from the Temple to the pool of Siloam to draw water that was poured out on the altar as a thanksgiving offering to God. This was accompanied by the recitation of Isaiah 12:3: "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."
It was on the last and greatest day of celebration that Jesus made the bold statement: "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."
Jesus was making it clear that in our desert wanderings not only is He is the Bread of Life that God supplies, He is also the source of water. Just as water flowed from the rock in the desert, so does the water of the Spirit flow from the Rock of Jesus. Through belief in Jesus, our parched souls are quenched and refreshed by the Spirit of God Who wells up and flows from within the believer.
John pointed out that the era of the Law was drawing to a close and giving way to the era of the Spirit. While the Spirit had always been present and at work there was a time coming in which God would pour out the Holy Spirit on all sorts of people.
Ezekiel had prophesied the Word of The Lord: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws" (Ezek 36:26-27).
The Spirit would come after Jesus had been “glorified”. This refers to the death and resurrection of Jesus, which demonstrates the perfection of God's love and power through humiliation.
As the Apostle Paul put it, "He humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Philippians 2:8-9).
Praise God we are living in the era of the Spirit! Jesus has been glorified. Hallelujah! The Spirit has been poured out. If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Jesus and drink. Whoever believes in Jesus, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.

Lord, I thirst for You. Wash me with the waters of Your Spirit. Quench me with the streams of living water. May Your Spirit flow from within me. Give me a new heart and put in me a new Spirit. Remove from me my heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh. Put Your Spirit in me and move me to follow Your decrees and be careful to keep Your laws. In the powerful and mighty name of Jesus.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.