Introduction: His Closing Message in the Temple (John 7:37-53 [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. [39] (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) [40] Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. [41] Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? [42] Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? [43] So there was a division among the people because of him. [44] And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. [45] Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? [46] The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. [47] Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? [48] Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? [49] But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. [50] Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) [51] Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? [52] They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. [53] And every man went unto his own house.
See All...); the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-2 [1] After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. [2] Now the Jew's feast of tabernacles was at hand.
See All...); The time of rest when the Lord will make His tabernacle with men (Leviticus 23:40And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.
See All...; Leviticus 26:11-12 [11] And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. [12] And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
See All...; Revelation 21:3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
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1. THE THREE MEN
1. The Thirsty Man – Lost (John 7:37In 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.
   See All...; John 4:10Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
   See All...; Isaiah 55:1-2 [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. [2] Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
   See All...; Revelation 22:17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
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1. Elected According to Choice – William Bell Riley (1861-1947) served for many years as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Minneapolis, Minnesota (from 1897 to 1943). He was also a key figure in the early independent Baptist church movement. While recognizing the sovereignty of God, he “also set forth his position on the freeness of the gospel and man’s freeness in responding thereto: ‘The impression that prevails with some people that God only calls a few of His favorites is absolutely false. Isaiah, speaking for God, said, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.” [Isaiah 55:1Ho, 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.
   See All...] …No man ever hears the gospel, no matter who he is and to what stock he belongs, but God is calling to him… Every promise of salvation made by the Son of God is His call to the sinner… The soul’s election depends upon the soul’s choice. Thou, my friend, art the only person who can settle this question of election. It is not settled in Heaven; it is settled on earth. It is not settled of the Lord; it is settled by man.’ ( The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist New Testament, Vol.9, pp.152-153, 155, 158)” –from Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom by Samuel Fisk (page 15).
2. The Quenched Man – Saved (John 7:37-38 [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.
   See All...; John 4:13-14 [13] Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: [14] But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
   See All...; John 6:35And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
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3. The Overflowing Man (John 7:38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
   See All...; John 10:10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
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1. Life and Life More Abundant – “Christ says, ‘I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly .’ [John 10:10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
   See All...]. Christ for us, appropriated by faith is the source of life; Christ within us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the source of more abundant life; the one fact secures our salvation; the other enables us to glorify God in the salvation of others. How distinctly these two stages of spiritual life are set forth in our Lord’s discourse about the water of life! The first effect upon the believer of drinking this water is, ‘he shall never thirst: but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.’ [John 4:14But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
   See All...]. That is, the soul receives salvation, and the perennial joy and peace which accompany salvation. But the second stage is this: ‘He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive .’ [John 7:38-39 [38] He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. [39] (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
   See All...]. Here is the divine life going out in service and testimony and blessing through the Holy Ghost.” –from The Twofold Life by A. J. Gordon (pages 9-10).
2. THE LIVING WATER (John 7:38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
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1. Note: living water is a phrase that can refer to a spring because the spring flows up from the earth on its own and does not have to be drawn as water is drawn from a well (Jeremiah 2:13For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
   See All...).
2. From Jerusalem (Psalm 46:4-5 [4] There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. [5] God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.
   See All...; Joel 3:18And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
   See All...; Zechariah 14:8And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
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3. From the Heart (Psalm 1:3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
   See All...; Isaiah 58:11And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
   See All...; John 4:10-11 [10] Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. [11] The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
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3. THE PRESENCE OF THE SPIRIT
1. Spirit Above and Spirits Below – David Benedict, in his 50 Years Among the Baptists (page 74), tells of the state of Baptist church buildings in the early 1800’s in America. Some would share buildings with other churches or schools. “In other cases, you might see stores and warehouses underneath them. In the basement of one of these buildings a grocery store was in full operation, in which, according to former custom, the ardent article [that is, alcoholic beverages] constituted no small part of the trade. This gave occasion for some wag to place on the building the following lines:  "There’s a spirit above and a spirit below, A spirit of joy and a spirit of woe; The spirit above is the spirit divine, The spirit below is the spirit of wine."
2. With You (John 14:16-17 [16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; [17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
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3. In You (Romans 8:9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
   See All...; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 [19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
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4. Filling You (Ephesians 5:18-21 [18] And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; [19] Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; [20] Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; [21] Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
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1. Seeking God; Not the Experience – E. M. Bounds, the author of many books on prayer, observed a revival during the years 1904-1905. “As the revival ebbed in 1905, many churches focused on activities directed toward self rather than submission to God. Forum and programs became the hallmark of the day instead of submission, obedience, and sacrifice. Church leadership began to try to emulate what God had done through the Great Awakening and to duplicate the experiences. Yet they were unable to duplicate the movement of the Spirit of almighty God. Bounds challenged Christians to the command of Christ to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness [Matthew 6:33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
   See All...]. The will of God is not geographical but positional. Standing ‘holy and acceptable before God is our reasonable service’ and is the perfect will of God for our lives. Otherwise, church ‘activities’ will be just that rather than the result of fresh anointing and empowerment.” –from E. M. Bounds by Darrel D. King (pages 139-140).
4. THE WORK OF THE SPIRIT
1. We Live in the Spirit (Romans 8:5-13 [5] For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after 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, neither indeed can be. [8] So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. [9] But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. [10] And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11] But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. [12] Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. [13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
   See All...; Galatians 5:25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
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1. Life Through the Spirit – “Too much emphasis cannot be placed on the fact that, since God has proposed the impossible rule of life and provided the sufficient Spirit, the believer’s responsibility is thereby changed from being a struggle of the flesh to being a reliance on the Spirit. Grace thus introduces a new problem for the believer’s life which is wholly foreign to every aspect of the law. It is the problem of the adjustment of the heart to the holy presence of the Spirit, and of maintaining the unbroken attitude of dependence on the Spirit. The new principle of achievement consists in getting things accomplished in the believer’s life and service by trusting the power of Another, rather than by trusting the energy of the flesh.” –from Grace: The Glorious Theme by Lewis Sperry Chafer (pages 207-208).
2. We Walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-24 [16] This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. [17] For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. [18] But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, [20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, [21] Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. [24] And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
   See All...; Romans 8:1-4 [1] There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
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1. Secret of All Ministry – “The true secret of all ministry is spiritual power. It is not man’s genius, or man’s intellect, or man’s energy; but simply the power of the Spirit of God. This was true in the days of Moses, and it is true now. ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts’ (Zechariah 4:6Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
   See All...). It is well for all ministers to bear this ever in mind. It will sustain the heart and give constant freshness to their ministry. A ministry which flows from abiding dependence upon the Holy Ghost can never become barren. If a man is drawing upon his own resources, he will soon run dry. It matters not what his powers may be, or how extensive his reading, or how vast his stores of information; if the Holy Ghost be not the spring and power of his ministry, it must, sooner or later, lose its freshness and its effectiveness.” –from Notes on the Pentateuch by C. H. Mackintosh (page 498).
3. We are Led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
   See All...; Galatians 5:18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
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Conclusion: Protected by the Great Spirit – In “1742, Count von Zinzendorf, the famous Moravian leader, made a trip to the American colonies and became interested in spreading the gospel among the Shawnee, about whom he had heard so much. The Shawnee in turn resented his intrusion and conspired to kill him. One September evening, when Zinzendorf was busily attending his journal, a rattlesnake that slithered into his warm tent passed undetected over one of the man’s legs:

“ ‘At this moment, the Indians softly approached the door of his tent, and slightly removing the curtain, contemplated the venerable man, too deeply engaged in the subject of his thoughts, to notice either their approach, or the snake which lay before him. At a sight like this, even the heart of the savages shrunk from the idea of committing so horrid an act; and, quitting the spot, they hastily returned to the town, and informed their companions, that the great spirit protected the white man, for they had found him with no door but a blanket, and had seen a large rattlesnake crawl over his legs without attempting to injure him.’ ” –from Faithful Volunteers: The History of Religion in Tennessee by Stephen Mansfield and George Grant (pages 14-15); second paragraph quote from Life of Tecumseh by Benjamin Drake.