Rivers of Living Water — Fred Tomlinson

Well Fred Tomlinson here and It's a pleasure to be able to Share and speak to you today. I want to read a few verses from the gospel according to John they're actually verses that I've turned to so many times over the years and I'll do it again today.

Jesus' Invitation to the Thirsty

I'm in John chapter 7 and I'm reading from verse 37 in the last day that great day of the feast Jesus stood and cried saying if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me as the scripture has said out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

The Holy Spirit as Living Water

But this spake he of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given Because that Jesus was not yet Glorified, you know as we read through the scriptures we we know how that Right at the beginning of the story Scripture tells us it tells us how the the human story began how it began in a place called paradise Eden and And Adam and Eve were at that time God's latest creation and Had been designed to become the center of the Lord's attention.

Another life-form The master of deception he engaged with the garden dwellers and He distorted God's Word you'll remember his opening words has God said. You know in my my personal incredibly loose Paraphrase of what he would go on to say.

I think it would sound something like this. It sounds something like this in my mind at any way ignore what God said. There's more that you can enjoy than what he has made available to you. They took the bait they rejected God and Immediately they lost their fellowship with God and Forever man's self Became his God the consequences Continue to be catastrophic.

But you know deep in man's heart There is a longing for something That nothing can satisfy. Man exists on a kind of a treadmill of perpetual Dissatisfaction he's driven to To slake that inward thirst within man's self which as we read on in the scriptures, and we're reading in the Epistles of the Apostle Paul we would we alter the word self and we use the word flesh as Paul did it's interesting that if you If you spell the word self backwards and add an H F L E S H There you have the connection at least that works in the English language, I know it doesn't occur in other languages.

But driven to slake this inward thirsting of man's inward self or man's inward flesh He is constantly pursuing ever bigger and better Material or bigger and better emotional fixes of one sort or another this is the story.

It's the story of our culture we know that today this very inward thirst is is driving the advertising industry and much much of modern industry across the spectrum the appealing continually to those thirsting souls who Driven to have better clothes to have a better job a better automobile a better home a better marriage a better appearance better abilities and so on.

And you know modern Christianity is not immune from this seductive drive I think To be fair without realizing what it is doing it's created a huge marketplace providing substitutes for the knowledge of God included in this Provision these words.

I think we would find Mind Satisfying teaching and emotion-pleasing music. When we could go on we can talk about it for a long time and formulate a whole list. But the fact is that the human heart is fundamentally thirsting for God Without realizing it.

It was it was Augustine one of the ancient church Fathers who addressed this in what has been said to be the greatest sentence that has ever been written. He wrote because you have made us for yourself Our hearts are restless Till they find their rest in thee Amen that thirst at the core of man's Being is a thirst for God and for the most part He is completely ignorant of that and continues to pursue pursue the the treadmill experience of looking for fulfillment and satisfaction in a hundred different places.

Christ's Purpose: Abundant Life

You know, but let's be very clear about something as we carry on here and it's this. We've been hearing a wonderful song sung just a few minutes ago About the the Matchless grace of God in sending Jesus to this world To pay the price of our redemption.

But let me let me say this Jesus did not come simply to deal with man's restlessness as an end in itself. In his own words that is in the words of Jesus He came to bring life. I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.

In actual fact, he came to this world and gave up his life on the cross Sacrificially so that we could actually become partakers of his life. Even while we continue in this world in these verses that I've just read to you.

We have Jesus talking and he's talking to a very sincere and genuine group of Worshippers of God. They were Existing under the Old Testament. Not one of the people that he was addressing not one of the people that could hear him was a Christian as we would understand What a Christian is not one of them knew anything about the saving grace of Christ at this point.

They're just listening to this Interesting rabbi I Put the word interesting in quotations so far as they're concerned. But He's been following the group through the various stages of the Feast of Tabernacles, which we could Talk about in particular with and find some interest there.

Certainly, but they've arrived at the last day at the eighth day and On this occasion as the group are gathered together. He Jesus he's chosen the moment. Let me just pause there as I say those last words.

He chose the moment. He may be choosing this very moment for you who is listening to me today. I I can't tell but I do know this That God has a plan for for the lives of men and women and he has a timetable as well and His his plan is not always man's plan and his timetable is frequently not man's Timetable, but I believe this that God As he as he works with us as he seeks to draw us.

Well, we're completely dead to him and ignorant of what he's doing. He's arranging Circumstances he's preparing our lives and he's preparing us for the moment which As I said, I think in the meeting last week Using that phrase in the fullness of time There comes a fullness of time a divinely appointed moment.

When you a person is ready and God is prepared to speak that life imparting faith Communicating word of truth and that could be happening today even through this poor Broken vessel that he's speaking through perhaps to your heart today He's continually Organizing everything until Everything is ready.

Amen, so he's chosen this moment in time recorded in this text and He he in the last day that great day of the feast Jesus stood and Cried with a loud voice and he said if any man thirst Come on to me and drink.

Understanding John 7:39 and the Promise of the Spirit

You will have noticed and perhaps you've observed this many times over earlier years of reading That the last verse I read to you of that little Group of three was the 39th verse. Which is in a parenthesis in other words John the gospel writer included this verse.

To help the readers understand it's here I believe the Holy Spirit himself put it there so that we today could understand More clearly what Jesus was talking about when he said come to me and drink. Let me reread John's words he he said but this but he's just what Jesus has just said this he Jesus spake of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive.

For the Holy Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified. I mean the substance of what Jesus was talking about was the person of the Holy Spirit of God. He would he would later in the unfolding of the pages and the truth.

He would refer to this receiving as the As receiving power from on high. Amen. You know the question that comes up time and again. I've been asked this question many times over the years. But how do you do this?

Okay? We understand what Jesus is saying we think. We believe we understand what he's talking about. And we certainly are increasingly aware of our own need for something from outside of us to bring about this transformation that's so vital.

But how does it happen? And what is particularly interesting about this moment is is is the way Jesus frames this timeless and all Important statement that he's making here the intent of his message. He he frames it in such a simple context.

He says if if anyone's thirsty Then come to me and drink. Now there's a profundity behind these words, but there's a sense in which this is so simple. He's talking about drinking you know. It was Charles Spurgeon who made a comment on this very text a long time ago.

And he said this he said any fool knows how to drink and how true you know. To drink something you don't have to work. It's not like eating. Even a dear sister wrote a comment just a day or so ago To one of my messages with just one word or two words.

She said I'm hungry. Well, we understand because the scriptures present the the gospel and the provision of God in many different ways to highlight and and help us understand his his meaning and response that's required.

On this occasion Jesus is not talking about eating. He just says if you're thirst if you've got this aching thirst inside of your Devoutly religious hearts in this case. He says come to me and drink. Any fool knows how to drink.

We don't have to work to eat. All you have to do is open your mouth and receive. What is being made available. Isn't that something you know? Drinking really is something that I don't understand what I'm saying here, but I believe it to be true.

It's something that's written into our DNA. Because I'm told That even when the embryo is forming in the mother's womb. Something's taking place as a particular stage Where that little life puts its little thumb into its mouth and it's it's teaching itself how to drink.

How to drink from its mother's breast it's there. It's it's within us. So in other words what Jesus is talking about here is profound in the extreme and Yet with the question, how do we receive it? It's as though he's at a loss as it were if I may say that concerning him To reduce this to to any more simple terms.

He says all you have to do is just drink Just as it were just open your mouth. Just open your heart as God is seeking to minister to you and receive. You don't have to work at it. You don't have to become anything.

It's wonderful and The fact of the matter is Jesus is saying basically that that thirst within you Will then be slaked. You'll be satisfied More deeply than you ever could have realized when you when you or when any person Begins to drink in the person of the Holy Spirit.

Isn't that a profound statement to even make? I Don't know a better word. It's so profound and yet It has the potential to satisfy man's man's deepest Longings the actual the actual satisfying of our lives and and making us Satisfied so that we're not constantly treading the treadmill Is I think I could suggest It's it's a by-product If it's what happens, but Jesus didn't die just to keep us all happy and keep us all satisfied He comes to meet the deepest needs of the human heart that we scarcely even begin to know exist.

Yet we know that something's wrong. That's something is Seems to be as it were Like a car is hanging in front of us. We're constantly to try to reach it to find human fulfillment emotional satisfaction and yet it constantly evades us.

Jesus is saying if you are experiencing that kind of thirst even if it's within the context of your Christian community and you're doing all the right things and the Appropriate things and and we're not here to judge or condemn anything which is simply saying we can do so much and engage in so much and listen to so much and enjoy listening to So much possibly but if it's not bringing you to that place where you're discovering the miracle of Drinking in the Holy Spirit into your life you're missing something and I Suggesting that that something is the most important thing in the world and Jesus knows it.

Christ's Indwelling and the Dethronement of Self

Isn't it interesting when he stands up to speak to this huge crowd, which will immediately become his audience. Think of all the things he's not talking about. I mean that they're engaged for example in activities Which relate to their national history?

He's also relating to something which is prophetic. These these people these gatherers. They're all To put it into common, you know the common buzzword today. They're engaged in end time issues Because they're they're looking for the Messiah to come.

That's what they're engaged in and Jesus is saying in essentially said You know, I'm here listen to me and it's wonderful the the primary effect of engaging in this simple act of Responding to the Word of God and drinking what he is offering Will be the enthronement of Christ Within your inward being and the immediate net result of that enthronement of Christ within your heart will be the dethronement of self.

The flesh that we've referred to we won't have to work at doing this. That we don't have to work at anything. This is his grace. We receive what he is offering to us. We embrace it. We drink it into our inner man and Lo and behold it changes everything for us in the most profound sense.

Our whole lives are turned around our whole value system is turned around. Everything's turned around. Everything's become new old things have passed away. All things have become new if any man Becomes a new creature in Christ.

I'm taking a quote in verse backwards, but it's true. But you know there is without a question. There's there's a vivid a visible evidence of this indwelling life of which I'm speaking to you and I Think Jesus again in choosing his words and speaking here.

We want to be very careful that we Pick out of or draw from his words everything that he's saying here. Not only is this an offer of God. It's not only something that was so simply received. But he's saying there will be a consequence there'll be a result that will be visible.

He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said and that's an interesting phrase that last phrase. We don't know which scripture is being referred to there. So I think we can draw on other scriptures which seem to apply what one thing we know that God Consistently promised in the Old Testament that he was going to do something It when the time was fully calm.

It would be like it would be like pouring water on dry ground on desert ground and so on opening a fountain in Jerusalem and so on and so on. But the Thrilling thing is he says he that believeth on me as the scripture has said Out of his belly or out of his innermost being or another translation wants to say out of you out of your heart out of your inner man.

Something will flow and that something will be rivers of living water. Think of this Jesus in choosing his words, he's making it plain to his hearers. That he's not talking about some kind of trickle some minute sort of Alteration some minute change in some particular area of our lives.

No, you know, he's not even he's not even saying as the result of drinking his life into you. There'll be something like a river flowing out of you. He doesn't say that it's in the plural He said out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water what a wonderful thing and if you Drink and keep drinking.

This is the tense. This is being used there by the way. If you drink and keep drinking what he is making available to you as a natural Consequence there will be life Flowing and will keep flowing out of your inward being.

Amen, you know this I believe this outflow this. This above everything else is the evidence Of what is going on? What's coming into your life? What comes out is what has come in in that sense and You know, there's a There's a sense in which these rivers of living water, however, we are to understand their significance and their meaning they will become the proof positive that Here is a man or here is a woman who is responding to this gracious gift God being spoken by Jesus on this occasion.

It's it's it's the proof it's it becomes can I suggest it this way it becomes a kind of benchmark a point of reference for everything else. You know the benchmark or the point of reference it's that point from which everything else must be measured.

The Evidence of the Spirit-Filled Life

I don't know very much about this, but I know a little bit about building and I know and I've sons who've worked in the building trade for many years. But I do know this when they on a piece of ground which has been allocated and they're about to make a start the house has to be Situated in a certain way on a piece of land and of course, it's all got to sort of I don't know.

It's all got to be sort of properly set up but they start with it with a with a point of reference a pointer position is marked and every other measurement. For that house and the positioning of it and the construction of it in relation to that point of reference.

What then is the point of reference in a man or a woman's life who is calling themselves Christian? What is the benchmark? What is that that? Certain something That that enables us to understand and perhaps even listen to whatever else is being said by that person.

And I believe Jesus is referring to it here. You see the issue the point of reference is not going to be how much you know. That's that's inappropriate benchmark. Because we know a lot of things but whether we truly know them is something else.

The benchmark is not how clever I am or how clever I am at preaching or teaching. That's not the issue at all. Men are in many cases very clever and very well read and they're filled with lots of information and it's all so good in its Place.

I'm not questioning that. But we're saying, you know, Jesus put it in different words altogether on occasion. Do you remember he said by this shall all men know that you are my disciples then. It's reasonable and appropriate that we should assess what someone is claiming and someone is teaching.

Or someone is preaching on the basis not of what they're saying, which may in itself be very important. But it's who is it speaking to me? Does this person Understand are they you know, it's we can talk about drinking in the Holy Spirit.

But is what is the evidence that this individual? Is actually Drinking in this precious Holy Spirit of God, you know. The the huge problem and I think it is a huge problem today is. Is that so many people within the Christian framework or context?

They really don't know what? Normal is. That's the problem. They know what the average Christian life looks like, you know in their set in their group or whatever and so on. But. But but few really know what normal looks like few really know what fresh tastes like.

You know someone may pull the milk out of the refrigerator and You know pour it in the glass and begin to drink it and you might you might perhaps hear the words this milk is off. Well, how do you know it's off.

You see you can't tell what is fresh until you've tasted it and The same is true in this area, you know, we can Let me put it this way when you've when you've been exposed to fresh when you've tasted fresh.

You'll know it. Yes. There's just something about Again, changing this into a different setting again, but still with Jesus words. He says my sheep hear my voice. They know me. That's just something I can't explain it and how it works.

But there's something within the inner parts of a man and a woman Who has been Targeted by God and prepared by his spirit when they hear the truth or when they see the life. There's just an amen. There's this like a yes That rises inside we've been exposed to the the real deal as they say today Amen.

The Fragrance and Outflow of Christ

You know this life this this these rivers that Jesus speaks about again. We could catalogue a whole variety of different scriptures that we can find that will throw some light on this. But I can I can say one of two things here I can say that this this presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit As it flows out from a man or flows out from a woman.

It will always carry the fragrance of Jesus it will always carry it. And and once you've been exposed to it and your heart is positioned Appropriately to receive it you'll recognize immediately. This is genuine.

This is not just a very kind or generous or loving person this there's a fragrance That's unique About this. As I'm speaking, you know, I'm conscious that there's one man Who is listening to me and he stood in on a platform in a train station in Manchester many many years ago and Billy Graham had got off that train with his friends and was walking along the platform and walked very close to my my dear friend and He said as this man walked past him you were just conscious of his presence of the Lord's presence.

Amen this this is what we're talking about the these rivers. There's a flowing of Love the love of God love that never fails. Amen it flows From those who are drinking it. There's a peace that passes Understanding that flows from this person.

There's a there's a grace That knows no limit that flows there's a joy That is unspeakable and full of glory. Says the Apostle Peter there are these riches of Christ That are that are implanted enough by the Holy Spirit and they're flowing through that man of God or through that woman of God and They're no longer Merely ordinary they are Extraordinary.

I remember speaking a long time ago from a Old-testament scripture and without digressing to tell the story a woman said to her husband on one occasion She said I perceive that this is a man of God that walks past us Continually, I remember that scripture for a number of reasons, but I remember it not least because In my my brief time as a police officer I was invited to speak in at a police a Christian Police Association Gathering and I preached on that text and I was basically saying this is how God wants to move in your life.

And so what even though you're wearing a uniform the uniform for police officers you walk around the neighborhood. That the same response may be there. I perceive that this is a man of God That passes by us continually.

I perceive that this is a man of God who is Selling these automobiles or that is working in this office or this woman is a woman of God In this grocery store who is serving me? Amen. Jesus said on another occasion That if we drink of the water that he is offering you will never thirst again.

We used to sing a song around those words in Sunday school when I was a boy and The boys would would sing what never thirst again and the girls would say no never thirst again and so it was repeated through and so on but the whole object of that exercise was to somehow Underline and highlight this great truth that Jesus Enunciated when he said he that drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst again.

In that wonderful think of the old treadmill treadmill and all of that endless reaching for something bigger and better and Jesus comes by his Holy Spirit and changes everything and we drink of him. We learn to drink of him not just as a once in a moment experience 20 years ago Where it becomes the very pattern of our lives continually he that drinks and keeps drinking Out of him shall flow and keep flowing rivers Of living water.

Total Obedience to the Lordship of Christ

You know before I close There's something I think that many may miss and this is important that this Statement which Jesus was making to the crowd around him was by any assessment outrageous. It was an outrageous thing.

These people were devoutly religious they were focused on prophecy and prophecy being fulfilled and the Messiah coming and Here's this man standing in their midst and he says I am he that's the essence of what he says.

And he says if you're thirsty come to me. He might as well have been putting it in the words. I've just Mentioned went and said well, I am the fulfillment because indeed he was. He was I'm in in the same way.

I think Each of us must be aware That this this one who is speaking and the Holy Spirit he was speaking about Is the Lord God Almighty. And when you drink his water There's the point when you drink his water you launch into a life of total Obedience to him to drink his water you give yourself to that act.

To that experience to that grace. You drink his water. You surrender your life to him and if you're continually drinking that water your life is being lived. Surrendered to him continually. You know, I think I don't know a better way to say this.

But you know When he is enthroned in your heart He insists on calling all the shots. That's about the way we say today. That's total obedience anything less than that is no total obedience. This is how Jesus lived.

He said I do always those things that please the father. Amen, this is what? This is the normal. This is not the average. This is the normal Christian experience. It's drinking in. It's being filled with his life.

It's having rivers flow out. Each and every one of the rivers speak of Jesus in one way or another. And you're satisfied so you're not looking to other fountains anymore. Amen, and he speaks to you and he leads you and he directs you and we listen and we we rejoice in Opie obeying his bidding and Seeking to do his will.

Closing Exhortation: Drink Deeply and Keep Drinking

Amen. You know, I'm gonna close now, but I don't know a better way to close off what I've been sharing with you. Then to go back to a story which one or two of you listening to me will have heard me tell before.

Because you You tend to retell the best stories that have really sunk in deeply but you know this this story is of a Plymouth brethren Couple man and his wife. They're missionaries. They've got three sons and they're in Central Africa and They're traveling together as a little family unit to reach a new tribe that they've never been to before this is a true story and There's no road.

There's no real trail. They've got a compass and they're following that and as they're pursuing their journey to this tribe. They they they know that they're moving further and further away from the water supply that they had known and They reached a stage where the water that they brought with them was exhausted completely and they were becoming incredibly thirsty and You know, they sent housing.

There were a few carriers that were with them and helping them they sent them out in different directions to just see if they could perhaps find some possibility of some water and One day went by and two days went by and three days went by and things were desperate.

They were actually reaching they believed that they were looking at death in the face now this lovely Christian couple and their three boys and You know They they they made decision. The father said let's just let's just kneel down and let's pray.

And as they knelt down the Sun was blazing. There was not a solitary cloud in the sky to be seen and the father lifted up his voice and prayed. And this was his prayer. He said father in heaven in the name of your son.

We're ready for the ultimate sacrifice. But you are sovereign and I cry to you Lord. Send us rain and that man is recorded in his journal and he said as God is my witness clouds began to appear. He said there was thunder and lightning and a deluge of rain.

He said everything was water. They filled everything they had with water. But he said this and this is this is the this is the important point. He said we drank. And we drank. Are you thirsty like that my dear friend?

What else has captivated your heart and your attention or are you thirsty to truly know? God. If you are thirsty like that give yourself to God and Drink and drink deeply My dear friend and keep drinking never stop.

Drinking not ever. Let me just pray and I close Father we commit this word and The truth Lord from Scripture that we've sought to gather together here and To hear the voice of your Holy Spirit speaking to the hearts of each and every one of us afresh.

Lord have your way if this is the appointed time for one or another or perhaps for many. Lord, I pray that you will find those hearts leaping in response to you Lord and in that simple and yet profound way to open the innermost heart to you and receive and drink in your Holy Spirit your life transforming spirit.

Your spirit who reveals Jesus in and through our lives. We pray in Jesus name. Amen if you're watching on our YouTube channel. And Turn to the scriptures with Fred Tomlinson. Can I encourage you to? Click on the subscribe thing.

You know what that does doesn't commit you to anything really but it purely assures us that there are those out there who are identifying with us and Who are praying for us? May God bless you all. Amen.