Rivers Shall Flow

Jn 7:37-39 describe what the Holy Spirit does in Christians when we believe on Jesus Christ.  Jn 7:38 says, “… out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”.  If the Holy Spirit is not in you, then you are not a Christian.  And that’s why no rivers of living water flow out of you.  In your case, you must first believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will receive the Holy Ghost, Jn 7:39.

The reason some people don’t believe on Jesus is that they do not thirst.  They are filled with the things this world has to offer, like business, entertainment, recreation, fitness, dining out, internet, social media, etc.  They don’t hunger for righteousness, Matt 5:6. Jn 6:35.  So, they never come to Jesus to drink.

The text begins with a condition, “If”.  If you thirst for living water, like the woman at the well in Jn 4:10-15, you will come to Jesus for a drink, and his water will spring up in you to everlasting life.  You’ll never have to come back to him to get everlasting life.  If you have not trusted Jesus Christ, you should trust him today.

After you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will need to drink of his water continually to enjoy the everlasting life he gives.  What’s flowing in his river of life must flow into you so that it can flow out of you.  The Lord’s rivers shall flow in Spirit-filled Christians.  And to stay filled you need to drink often.

The reason some Christians don’t have any evidence of the Spirit of God flowing out of them is that they aren’t thirsty for God.  They are feasting on the husks around them, and their soul is never satisfied.  But out of thirsty Christians, who come to Jesus and drink, rivers shall flow with living water.

We drink of the living water when we come to Jesus, the fountain of living water, through his words in the Bible, Eph 5:26.  He is the Word of God, Jn 1:1; and his Bible is the word of God, 1 Thes 2:13.  They are so closely connected, that in most respects, one is the same as the other.  Get a good daily dose of his words, and he will not only quench your thirst, but his rivers shall flow out of you.

Thinking of his Spirit like rivers of living water flowing out of us, we should consider these truths:

We are to be a river not a reservoir.  The filling of the Spirit in our lives is not for us alone.  God fills us, not so others can see how much of the Spirit we have, but so that the Spirit can flow out of us to benefit others around us.  Most of us in this church were influenced by the Spirit of God working through someone else we knew.  He flowed out of them to draw us to the living water of Jesus Christ.

Our river is not to have a faucet.  The rivers of living water are to flow freely out of us.  Sometimes, we are inclined to regulate when the river flows and when it is shut off.  We like it to flow when we’re around Christians.  But we might stop it from flowing when we’re around people in the world who don’t know that we are Christians.  We should never stop the rivers of living water.

Our river should flow not trickle.  We are to be a conduit, like the water that comes to your house through a pipe connected to the main.  What flows into us should flow out of us at the same rate.  However, some of us have choked the word.  Distress, distractions, discouragement, dismay, and the like, can cause the river to drip rather than flow.

There may be trash in us that causes the pipe to get clogged, like rust in an old galvanized pipe.  You can’t add filthy thinking and filthy actions in your life without slowing down the flow of the living water, dramatically, if not entirely.

We aren’t to draw power off the flowing river for our use.    Dams are often constructed to provide hydroelectric power.  The generators draw power from the flowing river.  Some Christians draw power off the Holy Ghost working in them to draw attention to themselves or to promote their own ministries.  The rivers shall flow through you for God’s purpose, not yours.

Conclusion: Are the rivers of living water flowing out of you?  If not, and the reason is that you aren’t saved yet, then get saved today.  If not, and the reason is that you’re not drinking regularly from the Lord’s water of life (the Bible), then cut out what’s stealing your thirst, and start drinking.  If not, and the reason is that you’re turning them off at times, your life is choked, or you’re drawing power off for your use and not the Lord’s, then get the problem straightened out with God and the rivers shall flow.