Introduction: The Lord is teaching during the “Feast of Tabernacles” actually it is the last day of the feast and for us to really understand what His message is about we need to understand the “Feast of Tabernacles.” This feast is first mentioned in Leviticus 23:36 and as it is explained there we see it as a thanksgiving for Gods blessing and safety for Israel while they journeyed to the promised land, later it was used to include thanksgiving for a good growing season, for the rains that came and prayer for the rains needed to help the coming years. Later as the temple was built and rituals were included in the mosaic law it was added that every morning the priests would walk to the fountain of Siloam and fill a golden picture, carry the picture into the temple and pour the water on the west side of the altar of sacrifice. Then sacrifices would be made on the altar for the blessings and thanksgiving of God. The sacrifices are given in detail from Numbers 29:12-38 the total number of animals sacrificed was 189. The eight day was a day of convocation a day when nothing was to be done except worship and praise. This is what our passage refers to when we read “the last day.” On the last day of the “Feast of Tabernacles” Jesus proclaims Himself as the only water to satisfy a thirsty soul. With an understanding of our passage lets you and I look at a couple of things that will help us identify God’s plan for our life. First we see…
The Lords call doesn’t include everyone, only those who are thirsty. This is important. Are you searching for the truth today? Do you really want to know the truth of eternal life? Jesus tells us, if anyone wants to drink let him come and he or she may drink.
This is a drink that not only fills it satisfies. The world and religion can fill us in many ways but only the Lord Jesus Christ can satisfy our thirst for true eternal life. For example the Bible tells us there is pleasure in sin for a season but we also know the wages of sin are death. The filling we receive from our fleshly desires of this world is only temporary and there is no permanent satisfaction in them.
Whether we will admit it or not we all thirst for a closer walk with God. Whether we need to be saved or we need to repent of things that are in our life which separate us from a proper relationship with God.
Just as there is a
call to the thirsty we also see…
When we have Jesus as lord and savior we no longer need the water pictures of religion. Jesus gives us a river of living water flowing from our heart (belly). You see water speaks of life, in this case eternal life because it is flowing water that comes from our heart, the abode of Christ within each believer’s life. If you are saved by the blood of Jesus today you have Christ living in your heart and He has provided living water flowing from your heart. That flowing water shouldn’t be hidden from the world but instead it should be put on display as a testimony for all to see.
Not only does the Lord provide a river of living water He also provides an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Now don’t confuse baptism and indwelling of the Spirit. Indwelling is one-time and permanent while baptism is recurring and temporal as the Lord determines and in conjunction with your walk with Him. Every saved man and woman experienced the indwelling of the Holy Spirit the moment they accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. That is permanent and everlasting, the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life will lead guide and direct you if you will permit it.
With this goes a warning as well. It is possible for a believer to grieve the Spirit of God by ignoring His efforts to guide your life. Grieving the spirit of God is sin no one wants to commit, the consequences are irreversible and permanent.
Conclusion: We can celebrate everything God has done in our past, whether it is our nation, culture, family or ourselves we all have something to be thankful for. However special those blessings are they cannot save us, nor can they atone for our slackness in walking with God. Just like those who celebrated the “Feast of Tabernacles” if we don’t drink of the living water we have no chance of eternal life. If we have drank of that water we have a river of flowing water flowing from us and an indwelling of the Holy Spirit that should never be quenched. Close as the Lord leads.