River of Living Water
Psalm 36:7-8, How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. {8} They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. {9} For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
Psalm 105:41, He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river.
Psalm 1:1-6, Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; {2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. {3} He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. {4} The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. {5} Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. {6} For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
When Scripture says, "Whatever he does prospers," it does not mean immunity from failure or difficulties. Nor is it a guarantee of health, wealth, and happiness. What the Bible means by prosperity is this: when we apply God's wisdom, the fruit (results or by-products) we bear will be good and receive God's approval. Just as a tree soaks up water and bears luscious fruit, we also are to soak up God's Word, producing actions and attitudes that honor God. To achieve anything worthwhile, we must have God's Word in our hearts.
John 7:37-39, On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. {38} "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." {39} But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus used the term living water in John 4:10 to indicate eternal life. Here he uses the term to refer to the Holy Spirit. The two go together: wherever the Holy Spirit is accepted, he brings eternal life. The Holy Spirit empowered Jesus' followers at Pentecost (Acts 2) and has since been available to all who believe in Jesus as Savior.
WATER - GOOD OR BAD?
1. Water flow leads to life if we accept it.
2. It crushes us if we fight it.
In fighting the river some build where they shouldn't. They have no foundation.
1 Cor 3:10-15, According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. {11} For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. {12} Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, {13} each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. {14} If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. {15} If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
The foundation of the church--of all believers--is Jesus Christ. Paul laid this foundation (by preaching Christ) when he began the church at Corinth. Whoever builds the church--officers, teachers, preachers, parents, and others--must build with high-quality materials (right doctrine and right living) that meet God's standards. Paul is challenging future church leaders to have sound preaching and teaching.
In the church built on Jesus Christ, each church member would be mature, spiritually sensitive, and doctrinally sound. However, the Corinthian church was filled with those whose work was "wood, hay, straw," members who were immature, insensitive to one another, and vulnerable to wrong doctrine. No wonder they had so many problems. Local church members should be deeply committed to Christ. Can your Christian character stand the test?
A building is only as solid as its foundation. The foundation of our lives is Jesus Christ; he is our base, our reason for being. Everything we are and do must fit into the pattern provided by him.
Are you building your life on the only real and lasting foundation, or are you building on a faulty foundation such as wealth, security, success, or fame?
Two sure ways to destroy a building are to tamper with the foundation and to build with inferior materials. The church must be built on Christ, not on any other person or principle. Christ will evaluate each minister's contribution to the life of the church, and the day of judgment ("the Day") will reveal the sincerity of each person's work. God will determine whether or not they have been faithful to Jesus' instructions. Good work will be rewarded; unfaithful or inferior work will be discounted. The builder "will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames" means that unfaithful workers will be saved, but like people escaping from a burning building. All their possessions (accomplishments) will be lost.
Page created and hosted by