Holy Spirit Water

Holy Spirit: Water

Summer is here and with it, California continues to be a dry and thirsty land. The people who keep track of this sort of thing reported in February that overall water use is climbing in Southern California even as this guzzling part of the state plunges back into drought.

You can blame it on human influences speeding climate change, but I am of the opinion it’s the housing units and apartment complexes that are being built at a rate that far outpaces the climate change that’s draining limited water supplies.

USGS—united states geological survey department,  says that showers, baths, toilets, plants, eating, brushing teeth,  runs between 80-100 gallons per day.

That’s per person.  An older shower deluges you at about 5 gallons a minute,

the newer water saving shower heads cuts that to 2 gallons a minute. About a gallon is used to wash your hands. And it’s a gallon to wash your face. Dishwasher 6 to 16 gallons,  dishes by hand 8 to 27 gallons, and that clothes washing machine 25 gallons.

In 2016 building permits in Orange County for 12,000 new homes and

10000 new apartments were granted. Consider the apartment complexes that have sprung up in HB--The Residence at Bella Terra 467 units; The Boardwalk next to Bella Terra 500 units; Elan at Ellis and Beach 274 units; The Residence at Pacific City created 465 units; and Luce by Bella Terra 491 units. Each occupant is using 80 to 100 gallons a day? Could it be that we are experiencing a drought

because there are too many people living in an area that can’t support the population?

There is never a drought in the Kingdom of God. That’s a good thing because we live in a spiritual desert. Today we are going to discover that the Holy Spirit, cleanse us, washes away the fortress of egoism and refreshes our very soul.

and brings forth life wherever He flows.  We’re going to see how the scripture refers to the Spirit as living water. We’re going to consider the dryness of our own souls and discover how to get caught up in the flow.

Before the Christian Pentecost,, the Spirit came upon people and empowered them to do the will of God. After the Christian Pentecost,, the scripture declares that the Spirit enters into a person and empowers that individual from the inside to do the will of God. “Upon and leaves, In and remains.”

During the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus taught:

John 7:37-39 (MSG)

 On the final and climactic day of the Feast, Jesus took his stand. He cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says."  (He said this in regard to the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.)

The scripture Jesus refers to could be Isaiah 12:3 (MSG) “Joyfully you'll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation.”  The scripture in Jesus thought might have been Isaiah 44:3 (MSG)  “For I will pour water on the thirsty ground and send streams coursing through the parched earth. I will pour my Spirit into your descendants and my blessing on your children. We may not know which scripture Jesus had in mind, but we can see that water can be used as a word picture to refer to the Spirit.

Recall Jesus words to the woman at the well, its mid-day and Jesus is sitting by a well and a woman comes to draw water from it.

John 4:13-14 (MSG)

Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again and again. Anyone who drinks the water I give will never thirst—not ever. The water I give will be an artesian spring within, gushing fountains of endless life."

There is plenty of evidence to liken the work of the Holy Spirit in the soul of a believer to what to water does in and for the physical body.

Just as we need water to live, so too do we need the Holy Spirit for spiritual life. We use water to cleanse and nourish us. We use water to bring life to the garden.

We use water to quench our thirst. The Spirit does the same in us. The Holy Spirit cleanses your soul, quenches your spiritual thirst, and refreshes your being.  Just like we need water to live, so too do we need the Holy Spirit for spiritual life.

The Spirit cleanses us from sin. Sin is anything that deters, damages or destroys right relationships. Four relationships are vital to living your life to the full—

one with God, one with the Earth, a metaphor for all your material blessings,

one with yourself, and one with all others. When these relationships are not working as they are intended the reason is sin.

Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV)

“Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

The Christian Pentecost was the birth of the Church, the Church is comprised of the called ones, the ones set apart for God, for citizenship in the Kingdom. Acknowledge that your sins are stains upon your soul. Believe that Jesus can wash you white as snow

Commit yourself to living in the river of the Spirit. And ask God to accept your faith.  God has never turned anyone way, who does these things. The Spirit washes away your sin stains, God no longer holds you accountable for your part in that which devastated your relationships.

Today is a good day to be cleansed by the Spirit. Did the Spirit of God just splash your soul? I suggest you jump in with both feet. Become a Christ follower. Get clean and start living your life the way God intends.

By the Spirit, we are sanctified. Sanctification refers to the Grace that transforms us into the image of Jesus, Sanctifying grace makes us like him. [Romans 8:29]

There comes a time in the life of a believer when they become aware that egoism

has the power to hijack their best intentions. Egoism is the self-centered upon the self; the scripture calls it the sin nature; that desire to be our own God, to call our own shots, to be our own judge of what is right and what is wrong. Egoism can hijack your best intentions.

Romans 7:10-11 (TLB) (NLT)

“So as far as I was concerned, the good law which was supposed to show me the way of life resulted instead in my being given the death penalty. Sin fooled me…”

“I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life,….

So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life,

brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me…”

When you mature to that place in your spiritual journey; when you realize that sin can hijack your best intentions, your desire to do what you know is right; there is the mighty moving river water of the Spirit that washes away the fortress of egoism and replaces it with your liberty to choose. That’s glorious freedom and an awesome responsibility.

Did the Spirit just splash your soul believer? Do you realize this is a description of the struggle you are dealing with? If so acknowledge that you fall victim to egoism. Believe that the Spirit can break the power of egoism to hijack your best intentions. Consecrate yourself, submit all to the rule of God and ask God to give you this glorious freedom by a new infilling of the Spirit.

Part of my lawn never seems to get enough water. Near the foundation of my home, the grass is lush and green, near the street it’s sparse and sickly. That struggling grass is because of a lack of water. If I intentionally water that area of the lawn, and it does take time and effort to do so, the grass does transform from brown and dying to green and living.

From time to time, I enter into the place where I find myself spiritually drained.

The demands of living, the stress, the responsibilities, the grind, the frustrations,  

can produce a dryness in my soul. Culturally we live in a spiritual desert. Responsibilities and needs, like the intense heat from the beaming sun, drain me of vitality. I find myself growing tired, apathetic, angry—my fuse gets short. I want to run, to quit, to hide. I get depressed. Instead of living life to the full, I am forcing myself through the motions, trying to get through one more day. “Fake it till I make it,” “Grin and bear it.” That’s not the way God wants me to live.

Needing to be refreshed doesn’t mean that I’ve backslid or sinned. When the lawn endures a hot day, it dries up and needs a good watering. Sure can’t wait for it to rain on its own. It may just be the same for you. We must intentionally place ourselves where the water is We have to jump in the pool; stand in front of the hose; turn the shower on in order to get wet.

It takes time and effort to do so. You need to daily practice the seven habits of a disciple. Bible Reading and Study, Prayer, Fellowship, Service, Worship, Obedience, Contemplation: these are the activities that will get you into the waterfall of the Spirit.

Jump in, with both feet, Into that fountain that will never run dry.

Jump into that well where the water cleanses, quenches, refreshes, and gives life.

Jump into the mighty current of the Holy Spirit, into the river of living water.

And be swept away in the life you were always meant to live.

Do you need to be forgiven of your sins, In need of a soul cleansing? Do you need to destroy the fortress of egoism, that hijacks your best intentions? Do you need to be refreshed and restored to spiritual vitality? Ask God for what you need. Ask while we watch this musical message--

Holy Spirit Rain down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-SI_HRWooA

We can understand the workings of the Holy Spirit by using the imagery of water. The Spirit cleanses the soul of sin. The Spirit washes away the fortress of Egoism

The Spirit refreshes and restores the vitality of your soul. Have you asked God for His help in any of these matters? If so I want to pray with you, so we can jump together into the streams of living water.

In the River

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxIj_0VKhg4