The Thirst Quencher- John 7:37-39

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³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

John 7:37-39 

Jesus had also made this promise earlier to the Samaritan woman at the well.

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”     - John 4:13-14

It's a really impressive statement...but what does he mean by it? I'm grateful that John looks back at this story through the lens of inspiration and explains that Jesus was talking about the Spirit. But as I was studying this passage this week, it made even more sense when considering the context.

Commentators point out that the "last and greatest day of the festival" would have included a ceremony in which the priests would carry water from the Pool of Siloam to pour out on the altar after walking around the altar seven times. After that pouring there would have been great rejoicing. And it was either immediately after that moment, or it was the day after which would have been the first day for 8 days without a similar water-pouring ceremony that Jesus proclaimed in a loud voice that anyone who was thirsty should come to him. John's placement of the story is interesting in itself. In chapter 6 Jesus fed the 5,000 and then proclaimed that he was the bread of life. And then in chapter 7, he claims that he is the living water. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah in no uncertain terms! The people believed that the Messiah would provide for people in a similar manner that Moses (or rather God, through Moses) had with the Manna and the water from the rock.

So what difference does this make in your life today now that you understand it?

Do you feel capable of making a difference in someone's life? Do you feel content with the work God has given you? Do you feel energized as you go through life because you believe you are making a difference?

Listen to the promise!!!
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them...Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Not only will you never thirst, but the water that keeps you from thirsting will also flow out of you to quench the thirst of those around you! You will become yourself a "spring of water welling up to eternal life!" The "rivers of living water will flow" from within you!

So hear this and hear it plainly...if you have put your trust in Jesus...if you have believed in Him and therefore obeyed him...if you have come to Him to drink, then you have something incredible and eternal to offer! There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it! If you are in the fountain, then you have become part of the fountain! You have the Spirit of the living God living inside you to fill you up and to fill the lives up of those you let Him flow to!

So don't stifle that flow with self-doubt and timidity. Don't quench the Spirit inside you by holding back a word because you are scared of "messing up." Don't close the spigot because you don't want to make other people uncomfortable by pouring the living water on them! THEY ARE DYING OF THIRST AND THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW IT! Give them the water that you have been given!

Last week at EU, Craig Evans presented a lesson on Friday night. He stated very simply: Jesus loves you. Do you believe it? And is it enough? 
  
Do you believe it? Do you believe His words here about the living water in you if you have already believed that Jesus loves you? And is that enough? What will you do with it this week? 

That Pesky Conscience- Proverbs 20:27

Do you remember Jimminy Cricket's advice for Pinnochio? "Let your conscience be your guide." On the surface, that seems pretty good, right? After all, our consciences let us know when we are violating our morals. However, what if someone has a different set of morals than I do? Can I follow one set of rules while they follow another and both of us be in the right because we are both being led by our conscience? Obviously, the answer is "no." Either there is an absolute standard of right and wrong or there is not. If the latter is true, then Jimminy shouldn't be giving advice at all because it doesn't matter what we do anyway...there is no standard of right and wrong. However, you and I both know that there is a standard and it is defined by God, Himself. So is Jimminy giving good advice? Well...I'd say the answer is no...and yes.

The answer is no for the reason I've already stated. Each one of our consciences tell us slightly different things depending on our personality, our upbringing, and I'm sure a host of different influences that sociologists might point out that I don't have a clue about. However, the answer is also "yes" because it was God who designed the conscience as a warning system for us.

I've always understood the conscience to be from God simply because He made us and we have it, therefore it's from God. But I have never noticed this Proverb before. The Interpreter's Bible notes that "the word 'spirit' here is from the literal Hebrew word 'breath'; and it refers to that 'breath of life' which God breathed into mankind in the person of Adam (Gen. 2:7). It is the equivalent of conscience, God's lamp, that searches out the innermost recesses of a man's heart." I've talked and written before about my desire to hear God's voice. But according to this verse, what if I already am in the language and accent of my conscience? If the commentator is correct about the "spirit" referring to our conscience, then this is exactly what Solomon was teaching through this Proverb. What an incredible thought about the intimacy that God shares even with those who are not yet Christians and those who, in our minds, are worlds apart from the God of the Bible. I'm not referring to the kind of relationship that God shares with Christians after their sins have been washed away and they can then have access into the Most Holy Place. But we do know that God has "breathed life" into every human that has ever existed- both good and bad. I believe that refers to more than just getting our hearts and lungs pumping. It refers to that part of us that is eternal. We also know that God calls all men to Christ (John 6:44) and that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin (John 16:5-11). Unless I'm completely missing the point of the Proverb, God has placed our "spirit" (whatever that involves) inside of us in order to shine light on the hidden parts of who we are. But obviously, God doesn't need any help revealing to Himself who I am! Therefore, I have to conclude that the light that is being shed is for my benefit.

Why then do all of our consciences alarm in different ways and how are we to use it since there is only one standard of right and wrong?

Well, we know that we can sear our consciences by repeated violating them and thereby deaden them to a particular sin (1 Tim 4:2). I also believe consciences are different based on what children are raised believing, though, so how are we to use them?

Is it possible that we are to use our consciences not  as an absolute authority in itself, but as an alarm system for when we are violating a higher authority? In other words, our conscience is a tool that God uses to shape us and call to us but it is not a standard.

Let me suggest one other thought before I wrap up. We often consider our consciences only in the matter of a "guilty conscience." But what if we were to include the whole of our self in that. What about our emotions, the things our mind wanders to, our dreams and nightmares, our worries, and our passions? What if we also consider those to be part of our "spirit" that the Proverb refers to? Could God be trying to direct my life by giving me a passion for something? Could God be reminding me to come to Him when I begin to feel the emotion of despair and loneliness? Could God be nudging me to change my perspective when I notice a feeling of contempt for anyone? Could God be fueling a path for ministry by giving me unexplained joy and excitement about something I've participated in? I'm not talking about psychotherapy, but is it possible that God could still use dreams to get us to think about something or reveal an area of worry in our life that we need to turn over to Him?

I guess the challenge today is for us to pay attention to what's going on inside of us...not so we have an unhealthy preoccupation with self, but so that we can evaluate it with the words of God in the Bible and determine if God is trying to reveal something to us that He would like us to quit doing, start doing, or continue doing. Notice I said "doing" in all of those statements because inevitably, faith - trust in God- leads to action. May we continue to have faith that the God who began a good work in us is going to carry it on to completion (Phil 1:6) and may we realize that one of His tools to finish that work is the "lamp" that He put in each one of us if we will only take the time to pay attention to where it is shining...and then determine with the help of God to never "sear our consciences" in that area again. So yes...within reason I say, "let your conscience be your guide."