The Living Water

John 7:37-39

Introduction

The Holy Spirit as living water provides the ongoing experience of spiritual life and satisfaction to all who are willing to receive it. People need the Holy Spirit in this way so they can live their lives fully, be spiritually fulfilled, and be continually fed from the never-ending source of truth. Because an individual’s spiritual reservoir can often run dry, it needs to be filled with life giving nourishment. Like water gives nourishment to the body, the Spirit gives the same to the soul. In order to have sustenance, believers must be willing to go to the right source. Wrong sources do not result in sustained filling. Any other source can only provide temporary rejuvenation — not long-lasting or life-producing rejuvenation. This is what water is designed to do. When water is poured onto something it gives life.

This life requires that people appropriate Christ — be devoted to Him. People must drink, so to speak, believing and accepting that Christ is the starting point, then live for the glory of Christ. The living water that the Holy Spirit offers is pumped from a well by the believer’s decision to live for Christ. The more Christ is glorified, the more the Holy Spirit delivers life-giving water. Then, people must personally relate to the Spirit of Christ. This happens when they relate to the Holy Spirit by walking with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit delivers the spirit of the reality of Christ, who lives inside the believer through the presence of the Spirit.

Living in alignment with the Spirit results in a transformation of the soul. The Spirit transforms the soul. The soul transforms the body. This overflowing reality of the Spirit’s power transforms the way people will experience Jesus. The more the soul and the physical life are transformed, the more the lives of others will be transformed because of the overflow of the Spirit’s work. Transformation starts inside and works itself out to others. In order to truly be a blessing in this world, you have to have a constant source of filling and transformation. This is the Spirit’s job. One of the reasons people are not being blessed is because they are not receiving the water from the Spirit and don’t have anything to pour out. This results in spiritual clogging due to secular clogging. Secular thinking and sources of refreshment block the Spirit of God from doing His work because Christ isn’t glorified when we use wrong methods to get the life that the soul needs. The human soul is very hungry for the spiritual life and the living water from the Spirit is the only thing that truly fills us.

Getting Started

1. What new truth about the Holy Spirit did this sermon teach you?
2. Human beings are created with a thirst that only the spirit of God can satisfy. What types of refreshment does the world offer? How can you tell that those sources of “drink” do not fill?

Let’s Get Personal

1. Is your soul thirsty? In what ways are you spiritually thirsty? How do you know?
2. Have you ever experienced the satisfying living water from the Holy Spirit? What did it look like for you to “take a drink?” How did you know you were satisfied?
3. Why do you think many believers allow themselves to slide into a season of thirst even when they understand that only God can satisfy?

Take the Next Step

1. What do you need to do to intentionally position yourself to experience the living water offered by the Spirit of God?
2. The Holy Spirit fills us to overflowing so that we can impact the lives of others. In what ways are you spiritually impacting the lives of others?
3. Want to go deeper? Take a look at the following passages: 1 Thessalonians 5:23; John 4:14; 6:35; Matthew 5:6; 11:28-30; Revelation 21:5-6; 22:16-17; Galatians 3:3-5; Isaiah 55:1; Luke 24:49.

Renew Your Mind

“but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst;”
John 4:14a