By Nick Bibile
Joh 7:37 In
the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If
any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He
that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water.’”
No one born to this world is looking for
sorrow but on the other hand looking for happiness. There is a desire for
happiness in humanity. The goal of many
to get a good education in order to get a high paying job. Everyone is looking for more money, more
wealth and no one has a desire to be poor. Many think money, wealth;
materialism can bring happiness and pleasure. This is the quest or the hunger
in humanity. All humans in all nations no matter what language they speak, they
all pursue happiness. There is a universal appetite for happiness.
Due to the high demand for happiness the
world is supplying this happiness to humanity and looking for new inventions.
The merchants and the businessmen are daily seeking and exploring to make man
happy. There are some who become rich
and they think they attained happiness. Now they have a nice home, a most
comfortable home. They have a good job, so they buy happiness from the world,
they buy nice comfortable cars and all kinds of material things, they eat tasty
foods, and they buy expensive clothes. They travel and seek pleasure. They live
a comfortable lifestyle yet not content as the humanity is not satisfied but
hungering for more and more for happiness.
The taste is gone for the things they purchased before, satisfaction of
the eye will diminish as the years pass by and now they see more better things
to buy. Even the rich and the poor both have lamentations. The happiness which this world provides is
not a perfect happiness, there is sorrow and danger mixed and it’s a temporary
happiness.
But what is happiness? Happiness is to be
contented in mind. To be pleased and satisfied.
Many who are wealthy and powerful are not content in what they poses.
Ec
Luke
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But there is a real happiness. God is
perfectly happy. He is constantly happy. The angels are always happy. Heaven is
a perfect happy place; there is no sorrow or tears in heaven. God is the author of true happiness. God
manifested in the flesh in Christ Jesus. Jesus is inviting us to partake this
true and everlasting happiness.
John 7: 37 On the last day
of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If
anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his
heart will flow rivers of living water.
What subject can be more interesting than
the above statement of Jesus. It is Jesus who said he is the water of life; he
is the fountain of life. He is the source of blessedness. When the children of
Now let us see a little background of the
above statement of our Lord. Jesus had
gone up to
Here at the time of the morning sacrifice,
one of the priests brought full of water in a golden vessel drawn from the
fountain of Siloah. This fountain sprang at the bottom of the mountain on which
the temple was built. This water was carried to the inner court of the temple,
mingled with wine, and then poured the mixture on the altar as liberation.
The performance of this ceremony is accompanied
with solemn instrumental and vocal music, where a party of priests sounding the
trumpets and cymbals and another party of singers, singing the anthem of the
words of Isaiah, “With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3)
The courts of the temple were crowded with
worshippers, the performance of the ceremony is just finished, the loud music
just finished, now there is a silence among the multitude of worshippers.
The silence is broken suddenly and
immediately by a mysterious man from
Ceremony behind the true happiness is the
Savior of the mankind, Jesus Christ. He is the fountain of living water open to
all. He is the source of happiness, joy
and peace. Whether you are poor or rich you can have that peace and joy in
Christ Jesus as out of your heart will flow rivers of living water.
Who are invited?
If any man thirst. Only the thirsty are
invited. Whoever hungry and thirsty after righteousness is invited. Whoever
wishes to be happy is invited.
A thirst is something to have an earnest
desire to be delivered from the present condition. The present condition of man
is that he is depraved.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others.
Humanism teaches people are basically good.
It is the environment and upbringing makes them corrupt. If this is true we see
the scandals of FBI agents, judges, high-ranking government officials, good
people who live in good neighborhoods. How often when you see when a man is
caught raping a little girl the neighbors are surprised as the man lived a good
life and was a good neighbor.
But in relationship to the
infinite holy God how good is man? We see man from a horizontally as we compare
to one another or to Hitler and say, “I am not that bad.” Because we compare
goodness to other good neighbors. But when the prophet Isaiah the man of God
saw the infinite holy God this is what he said.
Isa 6:5 Then said I, Woe is
me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the
midst of a people of unclean lips for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of
hosts.
When we speak of man's
depravity we mean man's natural condition, fallen nature, inherited sin, if not
for God’s restraining grace all can become like Hitler.
Also man is weak and mortal. Only Jesus can
strengthen us in our present situation, he can give us strength in time of need
and only Jesus can give us eternal life.
He is an all accomplished Savior, he
accomplished all the works of a Savior by fulfilling all of the laws which we
have broken and taking the believing sinners guilt and sin upon him although he
was sinless and righteous. Also he is
God in human flesh, as God he can never suffer, also he is fully man. As a man
he suffered the death of the crucifixion. All the fullness of God dwelt in him
bodily. He has the all the merit, the power, the authority, the knowledge, the
wisdom, kindness, love and long suffering. He is a perfect Savior. He is the fountain of life. If a man drinks
of the living water he gives, he shall never thirst again.
The well of living water is Jesus; this well
is never shut or sealed, always flowing. There is a double call. “Come, and
then drink”
Come to Christ is the same as believing in
Christ. He that comes to Christ is the one that believes in Christ. The one who
believes in Christ will come to him.
Joh
Heb 11:6 But
without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
When we believe who he is and believing the
truth, then we can come to him. Coming to Christ is when we truly believe in
our heart then having thoughts and affection towards him. When we realize that
we were depraved, lost, dead in sin but now we have
become alive in Christ, purchased us from sin, we have come to the fountain of
living water.
Now we are to drink of that fountain, which
means to partake in the blessings of our Savior and our desires will be
satisfied. Drinking from the fountain brings full satisfaction. We are complete
in Christ Jesus, we don’t need another savior or another salvation we are fully
satisfied in Christ Jesus when we drink from the fountain of living water.
The invitation is not limited but he said, “If
any man thirst…”
The invitation is to all. The invitation of the gospel is not limited
but universal.
Isa 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea,
come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
They that come to him and drink, or they that
believe in him will partake of the great blessings. How? Now their thirst is
quenched and they become a secondary fountains for
quenching the thirst of others. They
will be happy and joyous in their salvation and also they will become
instruments to make others partake of this living water and make others happy
and joyous. You will experience the great, great happiness when a soul comes to
know the Lord, this is what Lord meant when he said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living
water.
Many do not understand that the happiness that
the world can give is temporarily. Even the wealthiest people cry, mourn. So we
see this happiness is constant, there are ups and downs even for the rich. This happiness is only temporary. There is a
day that is coming when that happiness will end, the day of death which comes
to all.