Rivers of Living Water

The Lord has been reminding me of this phrase for a couple of weeks now-“rivers of living water.”  

John 7:37-39 (KJV)

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.

³⁸ He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

³⁹ (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.)

I looked this up last night and was amazed to see that it said, ³⁸ He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”



Did you notice that it didn’t say out of the preacher’s belly or out of the scholar’s belly???  It says out of the belly of those that “believe on me!!!”  That means that if you are a child of God then you are supposed to have rivers of living water flowing out of your belly!!!
 


Your belly (in scripture) is used to mean the most central part of your being. 



Today, when we mean describe something that is genuine or sincere we say that it comes from the heart!!!



The New King James uses the term “heart” instead of “belly.”



John 7:38 (NKJV) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

I like the way the Amplified explains this passage!!!


John 7:38-39 (AMP)

³⁷ Now on the final and most important day of the Feast, Jesus stood, and He cried in a loud voice, If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink!

³⁸ He who believes in Me [who cleaves to and trusts in and relies on Me] as the Scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow [continuously] springs and rivers of living water.

³⁹ But He was speaking here of the Spirit, Whom those who believed (trusted, had faith) in Him were afterward to receive. For the [Holy] Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (raised to honor).

Do we realize that Here Jesus is assigning us the responsibility to teach others about HIM and HIS great love for the world???



You see while Jesus was here on earth, it was His responsibility to teach everyone about HIS FATHER, GOD and about love!!!



But now that HE is gone, it is our responsibility!!! 


Wow!!!  Yes, you read it right, HE passed what had been HIS responsibility on to us, but HE didn’t leave us ALL alone!!!


In fact, HE tells us here that we ALL need the Holy Spirit!!!  I know some folks don’t agree!!!  They think that God gave us ALL that we need!!!  And I do agree that God indeed did give us ALL that we need!!!



When we got saved, we received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit!!!  And so, yes, we have ALL that we need!!!




God created us in HIS IMAGE as living, breathing beings.  We are spirits like God is a SPIRIT!!!  We have souls and we live in our bodies!!! 



And if we do NOT feed our bodies (the ones that God gave us), then our bodies will die and we will have nothing to live in!!!  If our body does NOT grow and get bigger then we know that something is wrong!!! 



God gave us muscles and we are supposed to exercise and allow our muscles to grow!!!  We are strong because our muscles are strong!!!! 



We know that we are spirits just like God!!!  But I wonder how many folks understand that we have to feed our spirits, just like we feed our bodies!!! 



To make sure that our spirit grows, we must feed our spirit The Word of God!!!  And if we don’t feed our spirit, it will become weaker and weaker and weaker!!! The ONLY difference is that our spirit will never die!!!!  But it will also never grow without the word of God!!!  It will never become strong without THE WORD of GOD!!!



Having the Holy Ghost dwelling within us and learning to allow HIM TO LEAD AND GUIDE US IN ALL THINGS is part of growing up in GOD!!!  Part of the Holy Spirit guiding us in ALL things is ALLOWING HIM to pray through us!!!



Here is what God said in HIS WORD about the assignment of the HOLY SPIRIT!!! 



Romans 8:26-27 (AMP)

²⁶ So too the [Holy] Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance.

²⁷ And He Who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the [Holy] Spirit [what His intent is], because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.

John 14:26 (AMP) But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.

God gave us HIS SPIRIT to live within us to make sure that we would represent HIM and speak with wisdom and love.  He wants us to treat others with love and respect, so that they will see THE LIGHT OF CHRIST LIVING IN US!!!