Rivers of Living Water - Joh..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. John chapter 7. verses 37 through 39.

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. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. But as yet, the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Amen.

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord, it remains forever. Well, brothers and sisters, we're back after a small break in the gospel according to John this afternoon. Providentially, the Lord has given us this week for us to meditate twice on the third member of the Trinity. The Lord has given us that we would be thinking through and considering the Holy Spirit this evening. Once on Thursday, if you remember, our brother expounded for us Acts chapter 21, and he brought out some key elements in the person and in the work of the Holy Spirit.

And I invite you, if you haven't heard that, if you weren't among us on Thursday evening or you didn't hear it online, I'd invite you, please, go back and get on the website, have a listen. And there would be a blessing there for you because the teaching was thorough, true. So too on this Lord's Day the Lord will give us a time now to get and meditate on the passage before us here in John chapter 7 which is very much focused on the Holy Spirit the person and and the ministry of the Holy Spirit poured out once Jesus Christ is glorified and I hope and my prayer for all of us this evening or this afternoon is that the Lord God Our God, the Holy Spirit, will illuminate our hearts and give us a greater awareness, a greater understanding of who the Holy Spirit is. And I believe as He opens our eyes to these things, that our hearts should leap with joy. That we should rejoice in the gift of God to His people, the incredible gift of God Himself among us who dwells within us.

So we've been in the gospel according to John a while now, and we've been in this chapter a while also, so the context hasn't changed. We're still in chapter 7, and we know that it is the feast of the tabernacles, except it is the final day, the last day, the great day, we're told. And we know that Jesus has been here for about three or four days. He's come up to the feast a little bit late. He didn't go up with the caravan from Galilee as he would have normally done throughout the years.

But rather he comes on his own because the timing was right for him to come up discreetly. And now he stands in the temple ground and he proclaims to the people, the multitudes, probably thousands there in the temple in Jerusalem. And he proclaims incredible, incredible truths. important truths, critical truths, truths that pertain to life and death. Now we know also that the Jews, well they were still antagonistic against our Lord.

We know that they wanted Him dead, we've been told throughout the chapter. They wanted to arrest this Jesus. They didn't believe His testimony. They didn't believe His claims. As far as they're concerned, this Jesus was a It was a pain.

It was a hindrance, an obstacle in their way. They developed this system and here's the one who's coming to destroy the system that they had so hard worked for and they want him gone. So we know in previous weeks that they'd already commissioned officers in the temple So they would find an opportune time to arrest this Jesus. Now when there's crowds or people everywhere, you just can't go and collect Jesus and pull him and drag him out of that place, because there were people who were sympathetic to our Lord. So you have to be very careful, otherwise a riot would come about.

So they commissioned the people, the officers, to do this. But Jesus, despite the dangers, despite knowing that his life is threatened, despite knowing that at any opportunity the Jews have already organized to drag him out of that place and arrest him, it didn't matter. He boldly stands before the people and continues to teach them in the temple grounds. And now on the great day, the final day, we're told. The festival is coming to a close.

It's a seven-day festival which spills over to the eighth in a holy convocation. But it's a seven-day festival. And then Jesus stands before what would be thousands in the temple grounds. And He declares from the top of His voice, He screams out, we're told, an invitation for everyone. For everyone who's there to hear.

An invitation to come, verse 37, and drink. Come, come unto me and drink and find satisfaction for your souls. You see, the theme of water is very much on everyone's mind. We said that a few weeks ago, there was a daily ritual that I spoke about about three or four weeks ago. But beyond that, the emphasis of this feast was to celebrate the provision of Yahweh upon their ancestors.

Some 1500 years ago, when they spent some 40 years in the wilderness. They spent 40 years in the desert wastelands. And it was the provision of Yahweh, the provision of God, His protection, His mercy and His grace upon them that they're celebrating. You see the first century people living in tabernacles or booths here in Jerusalem. tents.

It wasn't simply a reenactment of their ancestors some 1,500 years earlier. It wasn't simply just so they would do that for entertainment's sake, like you see reenactments of wars and other things these days. It wasn't it at all. No, it was a worshipful celebration, a celebration of Yahweh and His faithfulness. He was commanded by the law, but it was also for them to look back and commemorate the goodness of God in providing for His people.

It was also to look back, to recognize that He provided for their physical needs some 40 years in a place, in a desert wasteland, in a place that was almost lifeless. protection from enemies, food for their stomachs as he rescued them from Egypt. And as they wandered that place, he provided for them food for their stomachs. He provided for them clothing that didn't wear out. But more to the point, he provides them water for their hydration.

You can live without food for a while, many days, maybe even weeks, but deprive someone of water And that one, his life will come to an end fairly quickly. And so the Lord provided water from the rock, we're told, we know that, for his people. Life sustaining hydration to keep them from perishing in the wilderness. And this celebration is remembering, remembering what God had done for them. So the theme of water was very much on everyone's mind.

And now Jesus, in an incredibly fitting and appropriate way, calls to the crowd and says, come, come unto me. Come, drink and be satisfied. Drink from me, life. And of course, Jesus didn't have a bucket in his hand, but he was using a physical metaphor to declare a profound spiritual reality to those who have ears to hear. And although the invitation, beloved, was heard by probably thousands in that place, it's only those who thirst, only those who thirst, who are invited to come and drink from him.

Those who realize that they are in desperate need of spiritual hydration. Only those who recognize that they are lacking something serious that is necessary for life. Those who recognize they're empty. Those who recognize that their deep-rooted desire to be filled, to fill the void. It is those that the Lord is invitingly saying, come, come to me.

If you're thirsty, come, drink, and be satisfied. If you thirst, come to the Savior. You don't need a resume. You don't need a dress code. You don't need prerequisites.

There are no conditions. If you thirst, simply come. That's the message of Jesus. If you thirst, simply come. Come empty-handed.

Don't bring anything in your hands. Just come. Come and drink from the fountain of everlasting life. And of course, we know, as the passage continues in verse 38 and 39, the very verses that by God's grace we'll be meditating upon together this evening, Jesus clarifies what it means to come and to drink. Verse 37, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink the invitation.

And then he goes on to say, whoever, what? Believes in me. You see, to come to Christ is to believe upon Him. It's to believe upon Jesus Christ. It's to believe in who He is.

Believe His claims. It's to trust His promises. It's to believe His teachings. And then to act upon that belief. To believe, beloved, is not simply to acknowledge a series of facts, even if they're true.

No, to believe is to receive Jesus. It's to receive Him for all that He is. No picking and choosing as the Galileans had done in the previous chapter. You remember, they loved the fact that Jesus was powerful. They loved His miracles.

They followed Him because they were enamored by His power. They were very pleased with the fact that He's able to fill their bellies. They liked this Jesus. But when it came to His teaching, well, Yeah, we're not very fond. We're not very fond of your teaching, Jesus.

No, you can't do that. You can't do that. You can't come half-heartedly. You can't come and say, Jesus, I'll accept some of you, but then I'll deny some of you. No, you can't do that.

Either you recognize yourself as completely needy of Him. Either you recognize that you will die without Him, thus water. Water brings life to a thirsty soul. Either you recognize without this Jesus, you die and you come and you receive Him for all that He is, or you don't come at all and you don't receive Him. at all.

But beloved, if you do come, someone responds favorably to this invitation. If someone finds themselves to be indeed hungry for this Jesus, then when they come we're told that out of their hearts will flow rivers of living water. But before that happens, for the original first century audience that are before Jesus in the temple precinct, The Apostle John tells us something very interesting that we need to understand. You see, in verse 39, he says two main things that I want to bring out this evening. Firstly, he tells us that the rivers flowing from the heart is the Spirit.

And the second thing he says is those who believed in him were yet to receive the Spirit, because to date Jesus had not yet been what? Glorified. literally the text says the spirit was not yet the spirit was not And of course the Apostle John is not in any way suggesting that the Spirit was not yet in existence. The Apostle John knows that the Spirit, that He was always in existence. He's God and He has no beginning and He has no end.

To think that way is unfathomable. Nor was John suggesting that the Spirit of God wasn't at work in the world or among or through God's people, because He was. The Old Testament Scripture is full of texts speaking about the Spirit of God in many different ways. Even from the first paragraph of our Bibles, do we not hear about the work of the Spirit? You remember when it's written, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters?

He had a foundational role in the creation of this world. And as a result, the emptiness, the voidness that was this world, through the power of the Holy Spirit was brought into a state teeming with life. The spirit of life. Life everywhere. The birds of the sky and the creatures of the sea, the beasts of the field and of course the crowning glory of God's creation, mankind himself.

You see, the Spirit brings life. And as we read through the Old Testament over and over again, there are explicit references to the life-giving Spirit of God and the work that He has already accomplished in the world, continues to accomplish in the world, and in the lives of His people. Not only that, but the same Apostle has already mentioned the Spirit, His work, and His presence on a number of occasions already in this Gospel. We've been working our way through, and we should be aware of this. Not the least back in John chapter 1, when John the Baptist declares to have witnessed the Spirit descend upon Jesus himself.

He descends on Christ and he remains on Christ. He comes down like a dove, the Baptist says, at the time of Jesus' baptism. Luke tells us that from that point, Jesus goes into the wilderness, but he's filled with the Holy Spirit, empowered and equipped to do the work that Father has given him. So the words that John uses here, the spirit was not yet, had something else in mind, because it's evident that the spirit of God is already and has already been at work in this world. In any case, a full biblical view of the teaching of the Bible's teaching on salvation, one would have to recognize that even the Old Testament saints were saved by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There's no other way. There's no other way to be saved. The old dispensational, the new, it matters not. There's only one way you can be saved. Through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul is clear in Romans chapter 1 through 3 that all mankind is guilty of sin and is worthy of the wrath of God. And then we have in Ephesians chapter 2, we're told that sinners in the natural state and sins all have sinned. That means everyone. Then they're all dead in their trespasses and sins. They're dead, spiritually speaking.

That means if any saint, even in the Old Testament, were to be saved, they would have to be brought from death to life. And they're brought from death to life. through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the power of the Spirit of God. You see, regeneration would need to occur. Circumcision of the heart would need to occur like is written in Deuteronomy chapter 30.

It's necessary. Whereas Jesus says and explains to Nicodemus in the passage that we studied last year or the year before in John chapter 3, you must be born again. That which is born of flesh, he continues to say, that which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. You see, the restoration of the spiritual life that was lost with the transgression, the sin of Adam in the fall, requires the power of God by his spirit to create new life. That which is born of spirit is spirit.

Oh, the Spirit has always been at work through his regenerating power in bringing dead, rebellious, sinful sinners and bring them into the glorious salvation on offer. And the Scripture is clear on that point. If this was not so, then our Lord's words to Nicodemus would make no sense, would they? You remember in the same discussion, same conversation in chapter 3, you remember what our Lord said to Nicodemus after explaining this reality, this truth, this Pharisee who stood before him and looked confused. And Jesus' words were, are you the teacher of Israel, yet you do not understand these things?

Jesus had just finished saying that you have to be born again. You cannot enter the kingdom of God without being born again. And it's the Spirit who blows which way He pleases. He's the one who brings life where there is only death. In other words, Jesus is saying, Nick, you should know these things.

You're a teacher of Israel. You studied the scripture. It's inexcusable that you don't know. Apart from the Spirit, how can you have life? Only death abounds.

You know the prophetic words, Nicodemus? You've read the Old Testament over and over again. You've taught it. You know the contents of Ezekiel chapter 36. You know them and you know them well, I'm sure.

You studied the very next chapter, Ezekiel 37. And you know it is the ruh, the breath of God, the Spirit of God, that brought to life the valley of dry, dead bones and brought them to life and made them an exceedingly great army ready for battle. Nick, you know these things. It's not an excuse. It's inexcusable that you're not aware that it is the Spirit of God who brings life.

You see, nothing has changed in that regards from the Old Testament to the New. It is still the Spirit of God who brings life where there's only death. It's still the Spirit of God who regenerates the soul. However, there is something gloriously brand new in God's plan of redemption. A newness that will come with the advent of Messiah.

With the advent of the Kingdom of God through the Messianic King. A special outpouring of the Spirit of God upon all the people of God in a way like never before. This outpouring of the Spirit is what the Apostle John is referring to here in verse 39. And beloved, this special blessing was not a surprise. It was specially anticipated in the Old Testament.

I don't think any of us would deny that a special anointing of the Spirit in a special and powerful way was also evident in the Old Testament to some degree. See, unlike the regeneration by the Spirit experienced by all the saints in the Old Testament, we're comparing the old and we'll come to the new in a moment. Some, like the prophets and the priests and the kings, in their service to Yahweh, they had a special anointing by the Spirit of God. a special equipping by the Spirit of God to equip them for the service of Yahweh. They were equipped and anointed in a special way by the Spirit.

We would have to recognize this truth as we read through the Old Testament. We think at least we've just gone through, not long ago, the book of Exodus. You remember the craftsmen in the tabernacle? How they were equipped by the Spirit of God? Do you remember Moses?

Moses was equipped and anointed by the Spirit of God. How about 1 Samuel 16? What does that tell us? It tells us that the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon King David. when he was chosen to be the king, God's chosen king, to lead and to govern and to rule his people in Israel.

But even then, beloved, even that special anointing that we read about in the Old Testament, well, there's something different even there. Something different to what we can compare is taught and is the reality in the New Testament. You see, Psalm 51 exposes this fact. In Psalm 51, King David, we're aware of that Psalm, King David is in anguish after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. You remember the story.

He'd come and confronted him, and he revealed the sin of David. His rebellious, his horrible sin against Uriah, putting him in the front line of battle, essentially killing the man, and then committing adultery, or he committed adultery beforehand with his wife Bathsheba. And it's Nathan that the Lord brought to King David to expose that. And Psalm 51 is written as a psalm of lament in the soul of David. A psalm of repentance from the soul of David.

And you know what he writes? It's interesting. This is a man who is anointed by the Spirit of God. A man we were told that the Spirit of God had rushed upon David. So there was no doubt he was anointed in a special, powerful way by the Spirit of God.

And then in Psalm 51, he writes this, "'Cast me not away from your presence,' speaking to God, "'and take not your spirit from me.'" Take not your spirit from me. Be honest. How many of us today have prayed that prayer? How many of us have prayed, Lord, don't take your spirit from me?

For those who know their Bibles well, is that even a possibility in the New Testament era? You might say, just because David prayed it and said it, it doesn't mean God would do it. Well, what about Saul? In 1 Samuel 10, verse 10, after Saul is anointed to be king, we're also told, the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul and he even began to prophesy. But not long into his reign, we know the story hasn't been that long ago since in our Bible studies we did a short series or a short study on the life of Saul.

It wasn't long into his reign where He disobeys God and he has a history of disobeying God and his heart wasn't for Yahweh and God rejects him as king. And what happens when God rejects him as king? We're told these chilling words in 1 Samuel 16 verse 14. Now the spirit of the Lord departed was upon him. Now he departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.

He lost the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God, a spirit that was given to empower and to equip him to the service that God has called him, or at least in the service of leading and guiding and ruling over God's people. That was the anointing of the Old Testament. We know, beloved, we read our New Testaments, we know that won't and cannot happen in the New Covenant. And we also know that God's Spirit, once given, once poured out, once a person who have come to embrace Jesus by faith and receive Him, we know that the Spirit of God, this gift of God who dwells in our very being, is a gift that is irrevocable. It cannot be taken back.

That's a difference. There's another difference also. As I said earlier, in the Old Testament, as we look through the Bible, we see a select number of people who had a special anointing of the Holy Spirit for particular tasks. But in the New, we're told that all of God's people will be indwelt in a special and powerful way by the Spirit of God. And Old Testament was eagerly anticipating that day.

A day associated, as I said earlier, with the arrival of the Messianic King and the coming and the advent of the Kingdom of God into this world. It was a momentous outpouring of the Spirit of God that is anticipated throughout the Old Testament. And God will pour out His Spirit on all His people, all the saints without exception, not only for the prophets or the priests or the kings or those who are being equipped to particular service of Yahweh, but all God's people, both young and old. If you belong to God, you will be indwelt by His Holy Spirit. There's something glorious about the gift of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

Moses desired this. We'll get there soon. We're in Numbers chapter 3. But when we get to chapter 11, there's an incident. Someone comes and complains to Moses and says, two men are prophesying.

We're told they're prophesying in the Spirit. They're prophesying. And then Joshua comes to Moses and says, Moses, stop them. Stop them. You know what Moses says?

Moses, are you jealous for my sake? What would that all the Lord's people, would that meaning, I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit on them. That's Moses' words. Whether he knew it or not, he was speaking prophetically, because some 900 years later, the prophet Joel expresses in inerrant, infallible scripture, a absolute reality that is to come, which is of identical truth of what Moses was desiring. But it wasn't wishful thinking.

Moses said, I would, I wish this would happen. Rather, the prophecy in Joel was a promise. A promise of God that will come in a new covenant era when the Messiah comes and the kingdom of God is established through this messianic king. God is doing something remarkable. That's the message of the Old Testament.

That God is doing something remarkable. A day is coming where he's going to dwell in a powerful way by his spirit in the very being of his people. Every last one. And the Old Testament message over and over again was saying that day, that day is coming. That day is coming.

And the people were anticipating that good and glorious day. See, Ezekiel chapter 36 was looking forward to that great day. Let's open our Bibles now to the book of Ezekiel. Ezekiel comes after Lamentations and it's before Daniel. So Ezekiel chapter 36 and we'll begin our reading from verse 26.

Ezekiel chapter 36 from verse 26. And I will, and I will give you a new heart. And a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone. And let me ask you a question when we stop here.

The heart of stone, what does it mean to have a heart of stone? Doesn't it mean that these people are dead? Can you be alive and have a heart of stone? No, we're talking about spiritually dead people here. We're talking about people born in Adam and still in the sinful nature.

It goes on, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh, 27, and I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. What a glorious promise of the new covenant in Christ. brought from death to life we're told by the power of God then being gifted with the indwelling spirit of God and enabled but through the power of the spirit through the power of the spirit of God in us unto holiness unto obedience to God's law This is speaking of the glorious blessing. Ezekiel 36 is speaking about the glorious blessing of the messianic king and the advent of his kingdom breaking into the world in the new covenant. We know that Jesus is the king.

We know that. And the life of Christ and all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places are applied to the believer through the Holy Spirit. And although the advent of Messiah brings in the establishment of the kingdom of God, the fullness of the new covenant blessing until Jesus returns again to completely complete or consummate his kingdom is experienced through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the heart and in the being of the believer. And verse 39 tells us that he is not given, he is not given in that new and powerful way until Jesus what? Until Jesus is glorified.

And so the question is, that which we should be asking, when is Jesus glorified? Now, we don't need to rack our brains over this, because in light of verse 39, we're told that when Jesus is glorified, the Spirit will be given to his people. So we can work backwards and we can answer that question through in our inscription. We can say, okay, when was the spirit poured out to his people? Pentecost.

Pentecost. You see, Jesus, John is commenting here that the words of Christ, speaking about rivers of flowing living water from the heart of the Christian, speaking about that is the Spirit of God, the gift of the Spirit, is saying that that won't take place until Jesus is glorified. And that is, it won't take place until we know the day of Pentecost, until Jesus accomplishes the work the Father has given Him. He dies an obedient, sacrificial, atoning death upon the cross. And then he's resurrected in glory, and then he ascends to the right hand of the Father in an exalted position.

Until then, the Spirit won't be sent. This detail is briefly mentioned in verse 39, but Jesus, in the Upper Room discourse, in chapters 14 through 16 in the fourth gospel. He builds on this beautifully and gives so much clarity to the disciples and we need to go there. So let's open our Bibles once again. Let's go to chapter 14 and let's start reading from verse 15.

So flick the pages over to John chapter 14 and we'll start reading from verse 15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments, 16. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper. To be with you, how long? forever, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because he neither sees him or knows him.

If it's not seen by him, they're not interested in that and know him because they are willfully disobedient to the truth. You know him, he says to his disciples, for he dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you. I want you to put your finger there, bookmark that page.

We're going to come back to it shortly. So much I could say about these few verses in this chapter, but I'm going to hold back because we are working our way through the gospel. So we'll hold back until we get to chapter 14. But did you get the gist of what is being said? Do you get the gist of what Jesus is saying to his disciples?

He's saying, after my departure, after I leave you, I'm not going to leave you as orphans. I'm going to send the Helper to you. You already know the Helper. He says that. He says you already know Him.

Because He's been with you. But He will be in you. So what Jesus is saying is that your relationship with this Helper, with the Holy Spirit, is going to change. You already know him, he's with you, but he'll be in you. You're about to experience a major shift, a major shift, here it is, in intimacy.

A new closeness. A greater experience of his power. You're gonna experience his encouragement in a new light. You're going to experience the illumination that he gives you to the truth of my word. Because he is, after all, the spirit of truth, he says that.

Hear this, you're even going to experience through the power of the Holy Spirit, a greater intimacy with me. That's interesting. We'll get to that shortly. Because in chapter 15, Jesus tells his disciples again, same place, few chapters on, same night, on the night he was betrayed. So it's better for you that I go and send the Holy Spirit.

That's what Jesus is telling his disciples. And realize how in verse 18 of chapter 14, Jesus so closely associates himself with the Spirit. Because he says, I will not leave you of orphans. I hope you got that. Jesus is saying, I'm not going to leave you as orphans.

And then he says, I'm going to send to you the helper. And you would think he's going to say, I'll send you the helper. He'll be with you. But he doesn't say that. He's just informed them that he's going to depart to be with the Father.

But they're not going to be orphans. He's going to send the Holy Spirit. And then he says, I will come to you. I'm going to send the Spirit, but I'm going to come to you. Bookmark that, we're going to come back to that point.

Now verse 39, it tells us what will happen when He's glorified. You see, Jesus' glorification is the climax and the very apex of His ministry. And if you're a careful reader of the fourth gospel, you'll know that this is also a prime emphasis for the apostle John also, the glorification of Christ. Because if you remember, on many occasions, you would remember this through the gospels, and in particular here in the gospel according to John. On many cases, we hear the antagonism and the hatred of the Jews towards Christ.

And what they're trying to do is either arrest him, or kill him. They're the two things, even in this chapter, on two occasions. On two occasions we're told why they don't arrest him and why they can't get rid of him and why they can't kill him. You remember why? Because his time has not yet come.

Now that's an interesting saying. We find it twice in chapter 7 alone. Because his time has not yet come. And that leaves us thinking, or his hour I should say, his hour has not yet come. And that should leave us thinking, What hour?

What's this hour pointing to? Now we can speculate and take stabs at this, but we don't need to take stabs. We find it in Scripture. We're told what the hour is. Jesus tells us himself.

The reason why the Jews are not able to capture Christ and take him out of the equation is because the hour has not yet come. The Apostle John is pointing towards that. He's saying, it's all about this hour. Jesus' ministry is working towards a climax, an apex. It's working towards the hour.

And what is this hour, Jesus tells us in chapter 12, verse 23. And he says, the hour has come. Previously we heard, the hour has not yet come. And now Jesus says, the hour has come, 1223. And then he goes on to say, for the Son of Man to be glorified.

For the Son of Man to be glorified. That is the climax, the zenith of Jesus's ministry. Everything is building towards that momentous time in history. And beloved, from the Old Testament through the New, it is all working towards the glorification of the Son of God. when the incarnate Son of God, in His faultless perfection, completes the work of redemption, the work that the Father had given Him, crushing the head of the serpent in His life and in His death and in His resurrection, and then triumphantly ascends to the right hand of the Father to rule and reign as the King of kings forevermore.

When Jesus ascends to the right hand of the Father, He is glorified. He's glorified. But you might say at this point, we know our Bibles, didn't Jesus say in John chapter 17 that he'd already experienced and enjoyed the glory with the Father from eternity past? Didn't Jesus already say that that was the case? So what's the difference?

What's the difference between the glory he experienced in eternity past and the glorification that is yet to come? Let me tell you what the difference is. In the past he experienced that glory as the eternal Logos, the Son of God. Now he returns at the right hand of the Father Beloved with a new nature, a human nature. Get this, he now rules and reigns as the God-man.

on the divine throne of God in heaven at the right hand of the Father is a man, the God-man Jesus Christ, and forevermore he shall be the God-man. That's the glory. That's the glorification. That's the difference. And once there, having received the Spirit of God without measure from the Father, He pours out this gift, the gift of the Spirit of God upon all His people, all the ones who belong to Him in fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies and the anticipation of the prophets and in fulfillment of His words to His disciples as recorded in Scripture.

And that takes place when, you said it before, in Pentecost, on the day of Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2. Hasn't been that long since we've been there, but you might remember in Acts chapter 1, Jesus reminds the disciples of that promise, and he reminds them by saying, John baptized with water, but you, speaking to the disciples, you will be baptized by me with the Holy Spirit. He said that will come. And then Luke records for us the ascension of Christ. If you remember, the disciples see Christ ascend into the heaven.

The angels say, as you saw Him ascend, He will one day descend, if you remember that. So Luke records the ascension of Christ so we can tell us He's going to be glorified at the right hand of the Father. But not before Jesus says something to His disciples. Because He tells His disciples Do not leave Jerusalem until the Spirit is given. I've given you, I'm going to give you a commission.

A great commission to go into all the earth, starting in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the outermost parts of the earth. Yes, I will give you the commission, but don't you dare go until you receive the Spirit of power. Something is changing. you're going to receive power from above. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, these men who are Christian, they believe in Jesus.

These are saints. These are believers. They are saints. But without the Spirit of God, In this special New Testament way, Jesus says, don't go, don't begin that commission. You cannot do it without the Helper.

You cannot do it without the Spirit of God. You'll be impotent without Him. You'll have no power without Him. You remember these men? You remember how they shrunk back in the face of persecution when their rabbi was captured and arrested and then crucified?

How they shrunk back to themselves in fear Why, the only way we could describe the actions of Peter was cowardly. When the Spirit comes, they'll be prepared not only to suffer for his sake, for the sake of Christ and his gospel, but they'll be prepared to die gladly. What happened? What happened? What's the difference?

The Spirit of God poured into their soul is what happened. And in the very next chapter, the promise that Jesus gave them back in the first chapter is fulfilled. The spirit is poured upon all God's people. Of course, the disciples included then as well. And when the Jews stood and mocked thinking, you're all drunk.

Remember? You remember the courage and the boldness of Peter? Where did that come from? Standing before thousands. Three thousands were converted, but how many were unconverted?

That temple precinct, it can contain or store about 10,000, even more estimates up to 15,000 people. Standing before boldly, this is the guy who cowered back. This is the guy who cowered back because a little servant girl said, aren't you one of Jesus' disciples? Now he stands with a new found boldness, spirit empowered. Peter stands and he begins to declare in a momentous sermon on the day of Pentecost how this is and what this means.

This is the Spirit of God being poured out upon the people of God. This is the Messianic King. The kingdom of God has come through this Jesus who is now at the right hand of the Father and he is now pouring His Spirit upon His people. And I'm going to read to you a little snippet of His sermon. In chapter 2, verse 32 and 33, Peter, towards the end, he says, This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are witnesses.

And then he goes on to say, Being therefore exalted at the right hand of the Father. Glorified, exalted, lifted up at the right hand of the Father. As we read in John 7, verse 39, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit. Hear that? He received from the Father the fullness of the Spirit without measure.

That was John 3, verse 34. He has now poured out this. He has now poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. Beloved, Pentecost is a unique event in human history. But there is something that is the norm.

The event itself is not normal. It's a unique event in God's plan of redemption. But there is something that is the norm. And that is that from that point on, every believer, every believer without exception, will receive Holy Spirit. We've been through the book of Acts.

Some, it was delayed. We think of the Sumerians and we explained that when we got to that. And we also think of others. But it is from that point on, everyone who comes to Christ in faith and receives Him and truly has a true, vibrant, living faith in the Son of God, in the Messiah, Jesus Christ as Lord and a Savior, then that person, without any exceptions, will receive the powerful Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that fell upon the 3000, the same Spirit that fell upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost. No waiting.

No waiting. The first century here is of our Lord here in chapter 7. They needed to wait. We know why. Jesus needed to be glorified.

But Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus now is glorified. No waiting. No waiting. If you truly have come to believe in Jesus, You have the Spirit of God dwelling in you.

You should be rejoicing. This is incredible news. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 8, 9 through 11, You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. And then you've got to step back and say, Paul, what do you mean? And then he goes on and says, Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give you life. to your mortal bodies through Spirit who dwells in you." Do you hear what Paul said? He said, here, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.

If you belong to Him, you have His Spirit. If you don't belong to Him, you don't have His Spirit. And realize, in that section, the Apostle Paul, how he uses interchangeably the Spirit of God, and then he goes and shifts and says the Spirit of Christ. It's pretty interesting. He says here, you, however, are not, this is 29, are not in the flesh but in the spirit.

If in fact the spirit of God dwells in you, then he goes on to say, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ. We'll get back to that in a moment. Now I know we've done a bit of a tour around the Bible, but now we'll go back to John 7, 38. On the last day of the feast, Verse 37, the great day just stood up and cried out. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.

Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. John has already told us in the verse, in the next verse, that the rivers of living water flowing from the heart is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We know that. That's why the Spirit wasn't given until Jesus was glorified. This is the very life of God flowing through the child of God, and it's given to every child of God.

The spirit he is in every child of God. And as we read, the apostle wrote in Romans chapter 8, the spirit of life itself, it permeates our lives and brings life to our mortal bodies. He said that in Romans 8. The death, the death that sin brought about is made alive in the last and better Adam. Jesus is the one who is the life-giving spirit.

1 Corinthians 15 45. This is what being indwelt by the Spirit of God is. And as I said a few weeks ago, water is the very symbol of life and these people knew it. Jesus' words to the Samaritan woman at the well, you may remember them, he said, if you knew the gift because he asked her for a drink and then he says but if you knew the gift of God and who it is who is saying to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water and then he goes on to say the water i give because living water means running running water but then he goes on to say the water that i give will become in him a spring of water welling up into eternal life You see, where the Spirit of God is, there, there is life. Abundant life.

And the Old Testament foretold of this life to come in the messianic age. Isaiah 44 verse 3 says, Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, Jehusharun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon your offspring and my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass like willows.

by flowing streams. He will pour his Spirit and you'll see life teeming everywhere. That's what the Old Testament is saying. The Spirit of God is poured and everything he touches, everything he touches is teeming with life and blessing. That's the analogy Jesus is giving here now in the temple in Jerusalem, here at the last day of the temple, at that last day of the festival of booths or the tabernacles.

He's already called for all the thirsty to come. He's already said, come and drink and be satisfied. That is to believe in him. We've spoken about that earlier. Now he says that the blessing that is to come for those who come is the spirit of God, who he likens to rivers of living water.

And this analogy wouldn't have gone over the heads of these people. They may have refused our Lord, and maybe misunderstood the spiritual aspect, but they knew the value of water. They understood what a famine was. They read about famines in their history, and they read the horrible things that the people did during a famine. Because with the famine came drought, of course.

And with, my apologies, a drought, got that the other way around. They know what a drought is, when there's no water, no rain from heaven. And with the drought comes famine, and with the famine, people did some horrendous things. you can read about in the Old Testaments. They knew.

They knew. They knew the value of drinkable living water. And they could put two and two together and they knew that Jesus is saying, come unto me and drink and be satisfied. By him saying that, he's saying that I am the one who is the source of this water. I am the fountainhead, therefore the source of life is the one who speaks before you.

That's an incredible statement. Incredible statement that Jesus is saying. He's practically saying that I am the source and the substance of life itself. I'm the one who can satisfy the deepest spiritual need that you have. I can satisfy your thirst.

You see, he's not directing them to another person. Jesus says, come to me. Don't go anywhere else. Your souls won't be satisfied anywhere else. Come to me.

And if water is life, and this water is sourced in Christ, then whose life is it that dwells in the heart of the believer? Whose life is flowing from the heart? The believer. You see, back in John 14, I hope you have your fingers still there, when Jesus promises his disciples that he will not leave them as orphans, but the Father will send them the Spirit. He continues in verse 19, saying, Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me because I live, you also will live.

Those words are probably my favorite words in the Bible. Because I live, you also will live. In the day you will know, in that day, that's the day that they received the Spirit, the Helper. In that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you. Because I live, you also will live.

My life is in you. Your life is contingent on my life. That's what Jesus is saying. You get that? He said, on the day when you receive the Spirit, He will make known to you that I and the Father are united, we are one.

And that I am in you, and you are in me. And your life depends on my life, and because I live, you live. Beloved, this is an absolutely glorious truth if we come to see this. Jesus is saying when you receive the Spirit, I am present in you. I am with you.

I am in you. This is how he's able to say in Matthew 28, when he sends his disciples out on the Great Commission, he says, behold, I am with you always till the end of the age. This is not a figure of speech. This is a reality. that Jesus will be with His people and He'll be with His people by His Spirit that dwells in the lives of His people.

Beloved, let's not get this wrong. God is Trinity. He is Triune. Three persons, one in being. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

Three distinct persons. One in essence and one in being. Yet Jesus is able to say to the disciples that when he sends the Spirit of God, he is the one who dwells in them. Send the Spirit, but I'm the one who's dwelling in you. And as I mentioned earlier, the Apostle Paul interchanges in Romans chapter 8, the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ.

So beloved, although the Trinity is a mystery to us, don't try to explain every facet because you can't. There's nothing in our known universe that can be analogous to it. It's still a mystery. We know by God's inspired Word that God the Spirit and God the Son are distinct, yet at the same time, one in essence, both fully God. And the relationship between the Trinity, more specifically to our passage here this evening, the relationship between the Son and the Spirit is so intimate and so united and so strong that to have the Spirit of God dwell in us is to have Christ dwell in us.

The one we love is closer to us than the skin that is on our bodies. Christ in us. The rivers of living water flowing through us is the life of Christ. And that's so important that we know that. It's so important that we know that because of what it means and the implications of those words.

You see, right after Jesus speaks these incredible words to his disciples in the upper room in chapter 14, knowing the weightiness of these words, and of course the necessary implications if they fully understood them, which I doubt they did at that point. Because that truth is so heavy, it would be difficult to sink in. Without further explanation, now God is gracious, the Lord is gracious. He wants his disciples to understand that they didn't get the full understanding until the Spirit had come and opened their eyes to all the things that the Lord Jesus had told them. He gave them clarity and understanding, but then he takes them to chapter 15, all the contents that we have in chapter 15, and he unpacks What it means, what it means to have His life dwell in them, in a glorious metaphor that we can all understand.

Let's open our Bibles once again to chapter 15, John chapter 15. And we'll read from the first five verses. John chapter 15, and let's read the first five verses. You all know this passage. It's a wonderful passage.

Jesus says, I am the true vine. Remember, this is straight after chapter 14, when he explains to his disciples about sending the Spirit of God, and that it is he who comes and dwells with them. I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes, that he may bear more fruit. It's about fruit.

Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Now listen to this. Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches.

whoever abides in me and I in him he is he it is that bears much fruit for apart from me you can do what nothing you see the analogy don't you it's one of bearing fruit a Christian if you're abiding in Christ and he abides in you then you will bear much fruit and the father is glorified okay that makes sense we've heard this teaching before And now, according to what we've already considered this evening, so far, we know that it is Christ. We know that Christ abides in the Christian through the Spirit of God who dwells in the life of all who belong to him. We know that. But what I ask, this is what I want to ask you this evening. What fruit do we bear?

Jesus is saying, if you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. The Father is glorified. He says that a little bit later in the passage. But I want to ask you this evening, what fruit do we bear? In other words, what does the fruit that Jesus is speaking about look like?

If Christ, by His Spirit, abides in us, what fruit will we be bearing? Sure, we can go to Galatians chapter 5, and we can go to the passage there that speaks about the fruit of the Spirit, and we wouldn't be wrong, because that would be correct. But let's stay here for a moment. Let's stay here in John chapter 15. If this is where we stay, and we take in that Jesus is teaching that He is the true vine, and that His people are the branches, what would your answer be?

What is the fruit to look like? Now, I'm going to give you a bit of a clue from our Lord's words, but not in John, but in Luke. And it's Luke chapter six. You don't have to go there. I'll read it to you.

For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. That's what the passage says. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from bramble bush. So we get the concept.

James picks up on the same theme in chapter 3. He says, can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives? Or can a grapevine produce figs? Now it's a rhetorical question which demands a no answer. No, brother James.

That's not possible. Why? Because every tree bears fruit in keeping with its own kind. So let me ask. The vine is Christ.

A Christ vine. And it's his power. And it's his own word. And it's his own life coursing through the branches to feed and nourish and strengthen and sustain those branches. Then I have to ask you, what is the fruit going to look like?

If it's a fig tree, the fruit will look like a fig. And if it's an olive tree, the fruit will look like olive. If it's a grapevine, then the fruit will look like grape. Then, beloved, if it's a Christ vine, what's the fruit going to look like? It's going to look like Jesus.

The Spirit of Christ flowing like rivers from the heart of a believer ought to produce in you and I, Christian, Christ-likeness. That's how we are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Through the power of His life working through us, coursing through us, just like the vine analogy. destroying the passions of the flesh, and creating in us a new person in Jesus Christ. God's divine power working in us, making us like Him.

Don't undermine that. Don't underestimate the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. Don't deny it, and don't put any obstructions to it. This is what the Word says, and it is a powerful, powerful truth. It's mind-boggling, beloved, and it's glorious, but there is a warning here also.

The warning is, as fruit inspectors, we know what fruit we are producing in and of ourselves. We know the contents of our hearts. We know the thoughts of our minds. We know our actions. We know it all.

We may be able to pull the wool over our friends or our families, even those closest to us, but we know the contents of our hearts. Beloved, is that the fruit that you're bearing? does your fruit look like Christ? Because if that's not happening in your life, if we're not growing in Christ-likeness, putting to death the passions and the deeds of the flesh, and looking more and more like Jesus Christ, that is, of course, we can now at this point pull out Galatians chapter 5 and another text and see what that looks like. Because all those attributes are the attributes of Jesus Christ, but in perfection and in fullness.

If we inspect our lives and we are not producing fruit, if the Spirit is not producing fruit that looks like Christ, if that's not you, then there's a serious problem. There's no evidence of that fruit. Then either something is seriously wrong, spiritually speaking, or you have to deny the power of God and we're not going to do that. Or maybe the life of Christ does not course through your veins. And that's a terrifying thought.

We're not looking at perfection. We're not looking at completeness. Christ is the perfect righteous one. But we are asking, every one of us needs to examine and ask ourselves, are we producing fruit that looks like Jesus Christ? Because the scripture is clear.

The triumphant, victorious, resurrected life of Jesus Christ that flows through us. will bring about a produce of good fruit, because He's a good vine, and that fruit ought to look like Him. And I want you also to realize in that passage, and we're almost done, the work of the Spirit is not selfish. You see, I want you to realize in verse 38 of our section there in John chapter 7, that the gift of the Spirit is not described as a pond. It's not stagnant body of water that remains in one place and doesn't move anywhere.

No, it's flowing rivers, plural, not singular, that flows from the heart. And because it's rivers, it flows in all directions. You know, some have tried to say that this passage is speaking about the heart of Christ. that it is from His heart that the rivers flow, because we know He is the fountain of life. The teaching of Scripture tells us that.

And that's true. And even when we look at the prophecies of the old, like prophecies in the book of Ezekiel, the later chapters in the book of Ezekiel, say from 40 to 48, we see in that prophecy of an upcoming temple, a grandiose temple to come. And it's described in details, and we're told that there's a river that flows from the temple. And that river flows, and everything it touches teems with life. Listen to what it says in chapter 47.

It says, And whatever the river goes, that is, the river that flows through the temple and from the temple, every living creature that swarms will live. And there will be many fish, for the water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh, so that everything will live where the river goes. So that's a river of blessing that comes out of the temple. To add to that, the Apostle John, as Eric told us in his prologue, that Jesus Christ, the eternal Logos, became flesh tabernacle among us. And he was telling us back then that Jesus is the fulfillment of the tabernacle.

He's the fulfillment of the temple. And now, in the Feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles, no doubt, implicitly, Jesus is saying, everyone, I am the fulfillment of this feast. But beloved, the natural reading of this text definitely suggests that the flowing rivers are from the believer's heart. And I believe it is. Because although Jesus in his divine spirit is the source and substance of life itself, Believers who have come to believe upon Him and to receive of Him, just like the woman of the well, He has given a thirst satisfying soul quenching waters of life that will bubble up in the soul into eternal life.

He said that to the woman of the well. And beloved, let me ask you, who is the church? What are we described as? What is the believer collectively described as? Are we not the body of Jesus Christ?

1 Corinthians chapter 6, are we not told that Paul says that we are also the temple of what? The temple of the Holy Spirit as well. So we ought never to doubt that the source and the substance of life, the source and the substance of the flowing water, the fountainhead, is absolutely Jesus Christ. But that blessing flows through the believer. So I believe in verse 7, on chapter 7, verse 38, if Christians, if us Christians, who have the living waters flowing from within, then we need to acknowledge that the fountainhead is Christ.

He's the source and the substance. I said that earlier. And it flows through Christ. And that means that the Spirit of God flowing in and through us does two things. He sanctifies us to make us more like Christ.

He purifies us. He empowers us to put to death the deeds of the flesh and to live holy lives. He gives us the desire to love God's law. He gives us power to walk according to the precepts of the Lord. He produces in us the fruit that we know our brother explained to us on Thursday night.

The fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians chapter 5. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control, and the list goes on. But he also compels us to take what flows from Christ through the Spirit that dwells in us and share that with others. Remember, it flows from the heart and the rivers flow out of the heart. Share what the Lord has done in your life.

The goodness and the fruit of that ought to permeate out of your heart and out of your soul and out of your being, and it ought to affect and touch the lives of others. We ought to be calling people to come and drink, not from us, but the source and the substance of that life, who is Christ. You see, the Spirit of God makes us a vessel. an instrument to proclaim the life and the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ to those that we come across. You see, this was the purpose of Israel, was it not?

That he would be their God and they would be his people and as a result, as being his people, the nations of the world would look in and they would say, wow, we want that. We want that. That that would reflect the goodness and the mercy and the grace of God. That the nations looking in would not say, no, we don't like that. They would see how glorious these people is and how wonderful privilege it is to know this God who protects them, who loves them, who cares for them, who's faithful, who's merciful, who gives them all that is required to live the abundant life.

If they kept the covenant. That's the goal. That our lives would indeed The Spirit's work in and through us will flow out of our soul and it would spread and flow like rivers of living water, bringing life to others. How profound is that truth? The concept is not new to us because we know that Jesus taught about light.

He taught that He is the light of the world. Do you remember that? We're going to get to that in the next chapter. Jesus is the light of the world and yet He makes us, His church, the instruments to share and reflect that brilliant light into the darkness. So much so that He says in Matthew 5, you are the light of the world, speaking to the disciples.

Jesus, are you the light of the world or are the disciples the light of the world? Jesus is the source of the light, and his disciples are the ones who reflect that light. Just like Jesus is the source and the fountain of living water, the life that is found in Christ and in Christ alone, he uses sinful vessels who have been saved by grace, and he fills them with his Holy Spirit. And that Spirit, he dwells in us, working in and through us, so that we will overflow with good works that he's preordained for us to do. that the fruit of our lives, the fruit of the power of God working in and through us, would permeate from our lives and spread to others.

It's the rivers of life that flow from the heart of the believer, from the heart of the Christian. You see, when you have come to drink from the Lord, not only has He abundantly supplied you and satisfied your soul with all its deepest longings, Not only has He given you the incredible privilege of having the Spirit of God dwelled in you and sanctifying you and making Christ known to you, but He also gives you Spirit-wrought blessings to overflow so that your life would also be a blessing for others. Paul says it this way, for we are an aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To one, a fragrance of death to death. Some will decline to drink.

Some will decline to drink. But then he goes on to say to other, a fragrance of life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? Some will decline, but to others, We are the beacon of life, like we are the beacons of Christ's light. And I love how Paul ends that passage.

I want to end with this. He's so overwhelmed with that reality when he says in the end, who is sufficient for these things? Well, if the apostle was here, we could all say, brother, none of us are sufficient. But Christ is sufficient. And so only because that He has brought us to come and drink from Him.

Only because He has created in us a thirst that looks to Him and says, unless I come and drink of Him, I will perish in my sins. A thirst and a desire to see that He is the fulfillment of all that is good and righteous and holy and noble and excellent. a desire within to know that what he offers is the abundant life and whatever else is offered by the world is death compared to the life that is found in Christ. No other life found apart what is found in Jesus Christ. It's only because of that that he's made us instruments to be blessings to the world, to shine that light, to proclaim the life to the world.

to tell them about the grace that is found in Jesus Christ and to warn them of the impeding judgment unless they come and take the invitation of Jesus Christ seriously and come and drink and be satisfied. We direct people to Jesus, not to us. And as Jesus stood up in the temple here on the last, on the great day, and he called out, come, come and drink, we too should have the boldness to stand up and say, come, drink, and be satisfied. Let's pray.