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Living water is a biblical term which appears in both the Old and New Testaments. In Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13, the prophet describes God as “the spring of living water”, who has been forsaken by his chosen people Israel. {{more: continue …}}?
… for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13)
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… O hope of Israel! O Lord! All who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you[a] shall be recorded in the underworld,[b] for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:13)
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He says to the Samaritan woman, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
Throughout the Bible, numerous verses show us God?s desire for us to take Him in, to drink of Him as the living water. For example, in John 7:37-38 we see that God?s desire for us to drink of Him is so great, Jesus actually stood up and cried out during a feast, issuing a call for people to come to Him and drink.
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So how do we come to Him and drink? Only the Lord Jesus can quench our inner thirst; only He is the living water. He wants us to drink of Him to quench our thirst, and even to drink until rivers of living water flow out of our innermost being to others. But quite often, instead of feeling satisfied and watered, we feel dry and even dead. We may want to drink the living water, but not know how.
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How to drink the living water?
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In Isaiah 12:3-6, we see six ways we can drink Christ as the living water:
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?Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing
From the springs of salvation,
And you will say in that day,
Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name!
Make His deeds known among the peoples;
Remind them that His name is exalted.
Sing psalms to Jehovah, for He has done something majestic!
Let it be made known in all the earth!
Cry out and give a ringing shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.??
Let?s look at how to practice these six ways to drink the living water.
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1. Give thanks to God.??We can drink the living water by thanking the Lord. This is something we can easily do first thing in the morning, before meals, and throughout the day. Always be grateful for the things He has done and will do in our future.?2. Call Upon HIs Name.??The next way to drink revealed in Isaiah 12 is to call upon the Lord?s name. Right after instructing us to give thanks to God, verse 4 directs us to call upon the Lord?s name. Call on HIs name when you are in trouble and struggling and when things are going well.
Today, we can call on the Lord?s name throughout the day by saying, ?Oh Lord Jesus,? or ?Lord Jesus, I love You.? Each time we audibly call on His name, we drink of the living water.?3. Make His Deeds Known Among the People.?Tell somebody about Jesus and HIs love.
We can also drink by making Christ?s deeds known among people. He?s done so much that we can speak to others about! He came to this earth and lived a perfect life; He died for the sins of all mankind; He resurrected and ascended; He became a life-giving Spirit to give us eternal life; and He produced the church as His Body through His death and resurrection.?4. Remind People That His Name is Exalted.??In addition to telling people about the Lord?s wonderful deeds, we can remind others that Christ?s name is exalted. Philippians 2:9 tells us that Christ?s name is above every name. This is something we can speak to those around us. When we tell others that the name of Jesus is exalted and that Jesus is Lord, we drink living water from the well of salvation.?5. Sing Praises and Psalms to God.??Did you know that singing is a way to drink? Opening our mouth and singing hymns to the Lord is one of the best ways to drink from the fountain of living water. As we sing, this fountain begins to well up in us, and even overflows. Singing is such an enjoyable way to drink!?6. Cry Out and Give a Ringing Shout.??We can drink the water of life by crying out and giving a ringing shout. Have you ever done this? Many times we pray quietly to the Lord, but have you ever cried out to the Lord and given a ringing shout? If you haven?t, give it a try!?
Sometimes we may find it difficult to pray. This can be because our mind is full of thoughts and anxieties. It?s not that God doesn?t hear us when we pray quietly. The problem is more with us. To get through all our mental activity, sometimes we have to shout out loud. We can break through the desert of our mind by crying out and even giving a ringing shout.
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A great place to try this is when you?re alone at home or in a car. You can cry out desperately, ?Oh Lord, I need You! I need You right now! I?m so dry, and I?m even so dead. Lord Jesus, be my life. I can?t make it without You. Lord, I come to You to drink. Oh Lord, quench my thirst!?
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You?ll drink Christ as the living water, be refreshed and revived in your Christian life, and even overflow rivers of living water to others.
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Praise the Lord, we can drink of Him as the living water every day!?See you on Sunday!?“I don’t know how, but I know WHO!”?Peace,
Pastor Nelda
