Christ the giver of Living Water
Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted
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· 4 viewsJesus teaches about Living Water that comes only to those who believe in Him.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Today is a very special day for these four individuals who we have heard their story of Salvation from.
Today is the day that they want to proclaim their faith in Jesus Christ alone for their Salvation, and to publicly commit their desire to Following Jesus with their life.
Before we head over to the camp for the baptisms I want to take a couple ofd minutes with you to continue our story in the gospel of John
I want us to consider 8 verses in John Chapter 7.
Turn with me in your bibles to John chapter 7 verses 32- 39 and follow along as I read our text this morning,
John 7:32-36 “The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him[ meaning Jesus], and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?””
John 7:37-39 “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, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
The Pharisees hatred towards Jesus.
The Pharisees don’t like Jesus at all. In Fact, they wanted to kill him because he was disrupting their lives.
They hated Jesus because He kept pointing out their sins and they didn’t like it.
These guys have lived their whole life trying to prove to the people around them that they are the most righteous people on earth , and now Jesus keeps bringing out their sinful hearts in front of the people and this is making them angry to the point that they are now seeking a way to murder Jesus.
jesus doesn’t praise them like the other people do but he exposes their sinful hearts.
So Now in our story We read in verse32 - “The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about Jesus , and this made them angry enough to go and arrest him for his speech.
Everyone in the town of Jerusalem is talking about this man named Jesus who has been healing the sick and performing many miracles.
This man jesus who claims to be the Son of God the Promised Messiah of Isreal.
And These crowds of people who are talking about Jesus get really quiet when they see a Pharisee coming towards them.And this is why the text says the Pharasees heard the people whispering about Jesus.
The People did not want to receive the wrath of the Pharisees in their life and so when they saw a Pharisee coming towards them they got real quiet in their conversations about Jesus.
The people had seen Jesus do the impossible.
and They were wondering if Jesus could possibly be the Promised Messiah of the Old testament Scriptures.
Think about it- Everything Jesus did pointed to Him as the fulfillment of all the old testament prophesies of the coming Messiah.
Everything He did pointed to him being the one sent from God to defeat mans debt of Sin and to rescue them from eternal death.
Think about the conversations that would have been going in in the streets of Jerusalem as Jesus walked by.
“look there he is. Its Jesus of Nazareth- what do you think about him? Do you think that he might actually be the promised messiah sent by God himself to deliver us?
“ I dont know for sure, But I was there in the crowd when he took that boys lunch and fed everyone us with those 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish., I don’t know howe he did it but Im telling you there were like 10,000 people there and everyone Got enough food to be full, and even after all of us had enough to eat there was still more food left over.
I dont know how he did it But I think he might actuall y be sent from God
And another man jumps into the conversation and says “I saw jesus do the impossible too, I was at the pool of Bethesda when Jesus walks up to the crippled man- you guys know the one HE the man whose been laying there since before any of us were even born, My dad said he’s been laying there for over 30years hoping tog et healed.
And Jesus walks up to him and speaks and says pick up you bed and walk and that Guy Jumps up and walks away! “
“SHHHHHHH guys quiet down stop talking about Jesus , Here comes Simon& Nicodemus, the Pharasees- They can’t stand Jesus and I don’t want to find out what they would do to us if they here us talking about Jesus as the Promised Messiah.
The People Were talking about Jesus and How he could be the promised Messiah. Everything He did and everything He spoke about pointed to him being the one sent by God to deliver mankind from the penalty of Sin that is is upon us.
And now in verse 33 Jesus looks at the crowds talking about him and He says
John 7:33- “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?””
What Jesus is doing is inviting these crowds of people to come to him while there is still time.
In essence He is warning them that they do not have forever to chose whether or not to follow Him. Because there is coming a time when he will no longer be able to be be found by them.
Listen to the corwds response to Jesus calling them to follow Him.
John 7:34 “ The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?””
The people in the crowd were confused They didn’t understand what Jesus was saying to them.
The only conclusion they could come up with was that Jesus was going to leave Jerusalem and go to live with the Greeks instead because of the dispersion.
and then in verses 35-36 We see a dialog of confession amongst the people trying to understand what Jesus meant by saying they will not be able to find him.
Our story picks up in verse 37
John 7:37 “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,
Jesus has been in Jerusalem for seven days now celebrating the feast of Tabernacles
The Feast of Tabernacles was a festive time for the people of Israel. It was a time for the nation to come together and remember Gods’ providential care for their ancestors when they Journied through the wilderness on their way from Egypt to the promised land. It was also A time for the Jewish nation to look forward to the promised kingdom of the Messiah.
The temple area was lit up with large candlesticks that reminded the people of the guiding pillar of fire; and each day the priests would carry water from the Pool of Siloam and pour it out from a golden vessel, reminding the Jews Of God’s miraculous provision of water from the rock.
The last day of the feast was an extra special day. The priest would march seven times around the altar, singing Psalm 118:25 “Please Lord, deliver! Please Lord, grant us success!”
This would be the last time that they priest would draw the water and pour it out on the alter.
I believe that it was at this moment as the priest are symbolically pouring out the water on top the alter as a remembrance of God providing water which brought with it life, for the nation of Israel in the wilderness that John chapter 7:37-39 are spoken,
Listen to our text:
John 7:37-38 “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.’”
In order for us to truly understand the words Jesus is speaking here we need to understand the scripture he is quoting from.
His statement “‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” points us back to the book of Isaiah.
ISAIAH
The first 39 chapters of Isaiah are all about the judgment of the wickedness of mankind.
It speaks on the judgements of Israel and Judea for their disobedience to God
It speaks on the judgement of the nations that oppose GOd’s People
& it speaks on the judgment of the sin of mankind as a whole.
And then the book takes a ginormous turn from the judgement caused by disobedience to the promises of Salvation for those who follow after God.
All of these promises center around someone who is coming called “the servant”
And in Chapter 52 We find out that the servant God is send ing to rescue mankind is is God himself
In Chapter 53 We find out that the Servant will be rejected by men, Suffer because of man’s unrighteousness, and will bring Salvation by hanging on a tree, and dying in the place of Sinners.
In Chapter Chapter 54 We find out that it is the death and resurrection of this Servant that allows God the father to Bring those who follow him into a covenant of peace and with it , eternal freedom from Judgement.
and Now we come to the scripture that jJesus is referring to in John chapter 7 : in
Isaiah 55:1 ““Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;
The Jewish people Jesus is speaking to at this celebration would have known the words of Isaiah, they would have heard them many times in their lives and they knew exactly what Jesus was claiming when He spoke the words of Isaiah to them at this a feast.
`THE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WITHOUT THE WATER FROM THE LORD THEIR ANCESTORS WOULD HAVE DIED IN THE WILDERNESS .
If you are in the dessert, and become thirsty it is a sign that death is knocking at your door. and unless you receive water you will continue down the path that only leads to death.
AND As the priest symbolically poured the water out on the alter at the feast of tabernacles TO REMEMBER GOD”S PROVISION of water for the thirsty people - Jesus stand up and cries out the words of Isaiah 55:1
John 7:37 “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ””
Jesus the Promised Messiah- The Servant , The Son of God - invites thirsty people to come to him and drink.
BRING IT HOME
If you are stranded in a desert a long way from any town or anyone else who could help you and every where you look all you see is more and more sand.
The realty you must face is that unless you find water you will die. and as the day goes on and the sun gets hotter and hotter your thirst becomes greater and greater, and with each minute that passes by death gets closer and closer.
Eventually your strength begins to fade and you will struggle to go on, and the only thing that could save your life is if someone comes to your rescue and offers you a drink of water.
Jesus is inviting dying people to come to him for life.
Are you dying this morning?
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—”
The answer to our question yes We are all dying in our sin.
We are lost in the desert of our own unrighteousness and there is no hope of ever escaping on our own, We need someone to step into our lives and bring us the water that can quench our thirst. and bring us life.
Jesus says “If anyone is spiritually thirsty let him come to me and drink.”
the only source of life for the one dying in the wilderness is the living water from Jesus
Only Jesus can satisfy your thirst for life.
But notice Jesus doesn’t just give youa drink but he puts a river of water in your heart.
John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ””
To those in the dessert, a cup of water is great but it will leave you thirsty again, But a river of water changes their life forever. it is a guarantee that They will never be thirsty again.
Jesus is promising you today that if you come to him, If you believe in Him, he will give you unending life by putting his spirit inside you. He will actually put some-of himself in your life.
If you are here this morning still in the desert of sin, If you have never believed in jesus as your savior Here is what Jesus is saying to you today.
If you are dying ( and you are because of your sin) Come to me. Not only will I give you life, but I will put my spirit inside you so that you will always have life and never again be condemned to death.
Remeebr the warning Jesus gave the crowd earlier as he was speaking” Come to me while you still have time>”
The Bible is very clear
In Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
If you are here this mornign this includes you- it doesn’t take us too long to look at our lives and know that we are sinners.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death,
We all desearve death because of our sin. We deserve eternal seperation from God because He hates sin and he cannot have it in his perfect place.
This is the dessert you are all in before Christ.
We are dead in our sins and we need someone to bring us water of eternal life, and unless we get this water we will die in our sins and spend an eternity apart from God in eternal Judgement in a place called the lake of fire.
And this is why Jesus said come to Me if you are thirst-y if you are dying and in need of water.
And in Romans 5:8 it describes what Jesus as the Son of God, as the Servant as the Messiah did for us Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus took your place and paid your debt in full and in its place he offers you life.
Remeber what Jesus said we must do in order to get the living water that will never run dry
Believe in Jesus
Do you believe in jesus this morning?
Today we have seen four testimonies of people who have gone from death to life, From people3 who were once thirsty and dying in the wilderness of their own sin, but now have eternal life in jesus - because they put their faith and trust Jesus.
Romans 10:9-10 tells us what it means to beleive in Jesus “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
To confess that Jesus si Lord is to put him in total control of your life. to say I no longer live for my own glory but now I want to live for Him.
To believe in Jesus means that you put all of your eternal eggs in one basket that you believe that he is the only way for you to pass from death to life.
To believe that he is the only source of water that can save your life and without him you will die in your sins.
it means that you believe he is big enough to pay for all of your sins past present and future
it means to believe that he is sufficient enough to pay for all your sins leaving nothing more for you to do.
This morning Jesus is inviting you to come to him for salvation. IF you have never accepted Jesus as your savior don’t wait because if you do it may be too late.
This morning as we close, we are going to celebrate the baptisms of these 4 individuals who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.
The Bible tells us that when we accept Jesus as our savior there is nothing more to do to receive His free gift of salvation and that includes baptism,
Baptism doesn’t bring us extra grace, it doesn’t seal the deal with jesus.
it is an outward expression proclaiming to the world that I am now a follower of Jesu Christ. He is now the Lord of my Life and I want to live my life for his glory alone.
CLOSING PRAYER
DISMISS TO THE BAPTISM.