John 7:37-39 NKJV On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. (38) He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (39) But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Here we see Jesus interrupting a religious celebration. At some point, while everyone was having a good old time eating and drinking, you know, all the kind of stuff you do at a party (it was a feast, not a somber occasion), He stood up and cried out so everyone would hear Him, “Hey, if anybody’s thirsty come to me and drink!”
I don’t know what they were drinking or how long, but He was inviting them to drink of something else, something deeper, something better. Verse 39 tells us that He was talking about receiving the Holy Spirit. Back in those days the Holy Spirit only came upon certain people, like a prophet or a king or someone else chosen by God for a special mission. But John tells us that a day was coming after Jesus was glorified (died on the cross and was resurrected to pay for our sins) when the Holy Spirit would be freely given out to anyone.
We are in that day! Jesus has been glorified, so the Spirit is available to everyone who comes to Jesus. That is the only requirement to receive this special impartation of God’s Spirit: you have to come to Jesus and drink. God gave us His Son Jesus, Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit. Whenever you see the Holy Spirit on or in someone in the Bible, He was given to empower the receiver to do God’s will.
What we need to realize is that it is absolutely critical that we come to Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit. Do you know why? Because doing what God wants you to do is impossible!! Check out this Scripture.
Romans 7:18-19 NKJV For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. (19) For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Paul understood this principle: in his human flesh there is nothing good. He wanted to do what was good, but he couldn’t find any way to do it. So what he did was the evil he did not want to do.
So we humans are pretty messed up when it comes to pleasing God and doing good instead of evil. Paul emphasized that even more in this verse:
Romans 8:8 NKJV So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Wow!! We can’t even please Him, let alone do His will. So what do we do?? Let’s look at the verses just before that one.
Romans 8:5-7 NKJV For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. (6) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (7) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
Get your mind off the things of your flesh: your desires, wants, emotions, reactions, sinful habits, etc. and set your mind on the Holy Spirit that Jesus wants to give you. Your mind fights against God. Your mind is an enemy of God, because it is not spiritual on its own. Your mind can’t even obey God’s Word of His Laws. But if you get a good dose of God’s Spirit in you, your mind will produce life and peace (verse 6)!!!
So come to Jesus and drink! How much should you drink??? Well, gee, don’t sip! DRINK. Get all you can. Go back regularly for free refills. It’s a gift for you from Jesus.
Do you want to see something really interesting about this drink. Jesus said “Whoever believes in Me will have rivers of living water coming out of his heart.” Now think about that. You take a drink from Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit in you. How much comes out of you? Rivers of living water. Not a river, but rivers, more than one. Is that like totally fantastic. You take a drink and somehow what you receive multiplies inside you so that what comes out of you are rivers of living water. Jesus is the great multiplier. He can take a little bit and turn it into abundance.
What kind of water do you get?? Living water that makes you truly alive!! It’s the Spirit of the living God. This water turns changes your mind and it now becomes a friend of God. One so filled has a mind that produces life and peace. In this condition you are able to please God because you are living the spirit-filled life, rather than the mind controlled by your sin infected humanity.
So what are you waiting for? Come to Jesus, drink, and get ready, because rivers of the Holy Spirit’s power are going to gush out of you.
