River of God (A Bumper Crop)

20 years, Rob. The father's house. That's amazing. It's good to see you. Also good to be with you been into UK almost almost 3 weeks, the home tomorrow. I always save the best for last. Yeah, right right here, probably because you're right next to Heathrow Airport. I'd come anyway. We love Dave and Julia giving up for your pastor and his wife. Come on. Yeah, that's a grateful. Cuz I get to do this in churches and pastors, don't get uptight. Let's hear around him pause for me. So I'd like to do that on their behalf because without everything Rises and falls on leadership and get really good leadership here have a great team trustees. So thanks everybody for what you do and you're going to outgrow this room soon. I'm just going to keep prophesying that just like we promised. I'd you right out of Virginia. Lodge going to prophesy your out of this room to something bigger. It's time for Harvest, Right? Things are happening in the earth. I'm seeing it everywhere. And in other nations and soul, God's on the move and we're going to try to catch him Chase Card, right? And catch him this morning and I thank you for that scripture. As the deer pants for the water stream, so my soul Longs at me. What does that mean? If a deer panting for water, what does that mean in the deer? He's thirsty, right? Are you thirsty this morning? Alright, go with me. The Gospel of John chapter 7, John 7:37. 339.

On the last day of the feast, the great day. Jesus stood up and he cried out, if anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink, whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow, rivers of Living Water. Abbasi said about the spirit from those who believe in him. Work to receive Forget the spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. That's John's commentary on what Jesus said at that moment. I have good news. This morning church, the spirit has been given. This was a prophetic picture of like what's coming. This river is coming for all. Who are thirsty. Not was also Jesus bringing his we said sing amazing song, him manifest himself. What a powerful hunger we should have in a thirst for God to manifest himself. And so this even this text was a perfect manifestation of what had been going on for years in the people of Israel. The context on the last day of the feast, what feast? It's called The Feast of Tabernacles are the Feast of booths where for a whole week, the people of Israel. Well, in our vernacular, they go camping, they would set up a little tent, a little, a little booth, and they would stay there for a whole week, reminding them of their Journeys in the wilderness and how God's applied for them. And all the symbolism, the things that God did, which one the last ate something significant happened. Because prior to this every other day for 7-days, the priest would go down to the pool of Salome and take a bucket of water, bring it back up to the temple and pour water out. The water would run down symbolic. And so on the great day, the last day they put it a different scripture on that day. There was set up with joy. You shall draw water out of the wells of Salvation and they do that 7 days in a row, open on the last day. He also put it, Isaiah 44, First three, I will pour water on the Thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my spirit. This is Isaiah seeing into the future. This great demonstration of water being poured out. I will pour my spirit upon your Offspring and my blessings on your descendants. We're all a descendant of somebody. We're all offspring of somebody. What a beautiful picture. It's just like what acts to when he said the spirit is for you. And for all who shall come, after you write it for you, and your children, and your children's children, just pouring out of the spirit didn't stop when they in the bucket. Was empty continues on that was prophetic, and now Jesus with the water, and if you're thirsty, you like to go to a well, come to me, what he believes in me as a scripture, his head out of his heart will flow. Rivers of Living Water. How many? No, God does not want you to live spiritually, dry stagnant, just getting by in life, right? By be getting we get thirsty, Natural Life, Natural Body. Life was designed to be thirsty. And so this invitation starts with an invitation verse 37. If anyone's thirsty. Stop right there. Are you serious right? Thirst is the starting point in your relationship with God where designed to be thirsty. Cuz you know why? We forget and we leak and life gets crazy and we get busy and every now and then we have. I'm just really thirsty knowledge. Your thirst. That means what I need something. I have a need that needs to be met. Psalm 42, my soul thirsts forgot. Just for water, Living Water, you know, in the Gospel of John, a few chapters before and chapter 4, we have this amazing story where Jesus meet the woman at the well, why they go to the well to get water every day, the women would go. But this woman shows up in High Noon, you know, the story because of her fractured life, she came at noon, so no one would see her yet. Here's a Jewish man, sitting on Jacob's Well and she's about to draw water and Jesus triggers. Our thirst. He uses natural thirst to trigger her spiritual thirst and he said to her. Can I have a drink? I'm thirsty for a drink twice in all the gospels right here. Woman at the well, and on the cross he said, I thirst, he was thirsty. So this one is like why you asking me a Samaritan woman for a drink? And you're a Jewish man and I just a little conversation about water, natural water and then Jesus triggers her spiritual thirst. Cuz he said, oh, you want to watch you go outside water. If you drink my water you'll never thirst again. She goes good, I don't have to come here every day to get it. Until she said, okay, I want some of this and he said good go. Call your husband. That triggered something in her spirit cuz she's like, I don't have a husband. I know you've had five husbands in the one. You're with is not your own. And since you said, now, I'm thirsty. I got a different kind of thirst now, I want to know the type of person that can sit here and tell me all about my life. And then he told her what the true source of water was those that worship God in spirit and Truth. See, worship is a way that we drink. She she was thirsty in the natural, Jesus. Her spiritual thirst, and then shorter. What's the true Source those that worship. You know, just the last 30 minutes, we've been drinking. I've been drinking, I've been taking in the presence of God. We taking good to see. It doesn't stop there. We're thirsty, you can't deny that. You know, we have the person but you know, it's not just like I need fill me up. It's All About Me. Jesus said something else when that happens, when you come and you drink or something's going to happen inside of you, something's going to come out of you, not just into you. Out of your innermost being out of your heart will flow, rivers of Living Water. That's what he offered the woman at the well, and saw the response quite appropriately as what.

Let him come. Why coming is intentional? What time does christians would like to say, bring me another drink, I'm thirsty. He's at the big Butler in the sky, right? He's not our servant, although he came as a servant. But we think, you know what? Time, Thursday, just you just come to me why he wants relationship with you.

Didn't they go to your app? Go to your thirst app on Thursday, click dolls, come to me. You want a relationship, not a religion, Isaiah 55 one. Come all who are thirsty. There's a coming. This invitation to a beckoning and we come how often do they come. Whenever you're thirsty, you're thirsty. More than once a day. What? A natural understanding of spiritual therapist. Just a labor naturally. Thirsty. I called this generation the hydration generation. I noticed you have your water bottle, water bottle, okay? How many don't raise your hand in church? That's the same water bottles everywhere, right? And What are the kid would be out playing in the summer? Be hot? We get thirsty. No water bottles. When we left the house, my mother said bring your water bottle. We went to the nearest post pipe you know someone's house just yeah just let it run for a minute and drink but you know what? We're designed to be thirsty until not were very aware of it. I mean, it's hydration, hydration and so and my wife was very healthy. She not only says, drink water. She gets these little hydration packets to put in your water to make your hydration more hydrated. I guess it works. I kind of miss this works but you know we're just very aware of hydration. So here we are drinking and stay hydrated forever. It's an ongoing relationship that Jesus wants trusting receiving that's your life of devotion and worship and all that. That's what he's offering, So, I can come to church, we loved invite people to Jesus is inviting us to come and drink. We need to invite people that there's 30 people all over again. This morning, they don't even know it they're having coffee, but you know what? Inside, they're like, the woman at the. Well, I have a thirst that can't be quenched.

Whoever believes in me, a little bit of a caveat here, that's a little condition that Jesus put in there. Why you see? It's faith that receives. The water face is your internal cup. When we say I'm thirsty and I want to drink, what is it? Where does it go? It feeds your faith out of your innermost being and that's your chamber of faith and that's not Jesus. It's is the word heart. Is it in some translations? But Two different Greek words for heart. One is cardia. That's what we get the word cardiac that your blood pumper, the heart. But there's also another Greek word. Kalia. Kalia means your innermost being your belly. Okay your abdomen is that that deep place down inside where we feel We have a witness. We say things like well, you know, in my gut, this is what I feel. What I feel down here, not up here. It's better to feel down here than up here we have a saying you know don't listen to The Fanatic in the Attic. Listen to the Feller in the cellar, right? You got two voices going on back up here but we need to fill that up. Weber Believes In Me to Your Heart Is the Chamber of face, but see your mouth is the organ of your faith. How do you know if someone has Faith just listen to talk? How did they talk? I didn't think you here face when they speak fill up with faith, faith comes out out of your innermost being something. River's not trickles, not a, not a pond not a well it's a river, Rivers have life in them. In the Book of Ezekiel, I just want a reference it in the Book of Ezekiel God gives the profit an amazing vision of a river. And so he takes the proper To The River and the speed spitting up through the basic everybody, take him to the river and shows him the river, and he steps in the river and water comes up to his ankles. That's great analogy of our, our walk with God. And if you can take it on a macro scale or just like every day but the water comes in and it comes up to the ankles and then it comes up to the knees and then up here the Lions. But then there's this moment where it sweeps, the proper way you just start swimming. God doesn't want you just playing around in the shallow end. That's good everybody. Everybody has to start somewhere. We start even your Christian walk. You get your feet wet, you find stability. And I feel stable for the first time, right and then if the water rises, when the river is Flowing, it'll come up to your knees. I don't change your prayer life. I don't know. The holy spirit will change your prayer life cuz he's the master prayer. He is your intercessor. He's making intercession for for you right now. What was 826. He's making intercession before the Father and Jesus are joining them. Romans 8:31, they're both praying for you right now. That's the river. The river is Flowing. The river has life in it. Never gets up to your knees. I don't change your prayer life and that it rises even more. And you begin to feel strengthened your loins loins carry the weapons, it's a weapon belt, a law against our strength, you know, if you're standing in a river when the water is rising up to your waist, you still feel pretty good. but then there's that moment where the water rises more. It's not like I can't stand anymore, and that's where the river wants to take you somewhere. That's where the river once flowed into you. And through you, to carry you, where he wants you to know, we're supposed to be led by the spirit. Paul said, this is a walk in the spirit and not the flesh. Those that are led by the spirit other Sons and Daughters of God, would you be led by the spirit? But you got to let go? I'm not, I'm not moving the current pushing on you. Like I'm not moving the water. Is there in all of a sudden it takes you away because I think you said this, wherever the river goes, it brings life. See the river of God and he was full of life. That river that Ezekiel Saw It flowed from the temple. And it's always comes from the source is, always God. He is the temple. But see now you're the Temple of the Holy Spirit, you're the source for the the whole region. You're the source for people at work are the stores for those at school. You're the sort. And that's designed to flow out of you in that River. That is it yourself? Float down out down out of the temple. And went toward the Dead Sea

You see the river in you? It's full of life and it's designed To go to somebody that has death.

You should be drawn to people that are dying. I'm talking about spiritually, dead people, spiritually dead things, dead relationships, wherever, there's that water said, find me something to give life, to find me, something to give life to. That's what the spirit in you the river. And you is always drawn to people that need life, that need living water. And so, what happened when this, the prophet seeing all this all done. I wasn't the fish are coming. You know, when the river is flowing, the fish start coming. It's going to be more fish here. I love this. You're like one of those big beautiful tanks with all the multi colored fish. I look around. See all the all the flags in the dressing. That's that's representative multi colored people different kinds of fish. And then the fishermen come the Evangelist, start getting hungry.

In the leaves of the trees with the healing of the Nations that you are seeing, if you're here because you have Living Water, you float with the spirit, you love evangelism, right? And you know what, they're going to be healing healing for the nation's here. So the spirit was designed not just to flow to us but through us. I told John gives this explanation.

Dusty said about the spirit in case you're confused, he said about the spirit, which had not been given, but it's been given now this he said about a person. So we said about the spirit, not an emotion, it's not height. Something you just have an emotional moment with, it's recognizing the person, and the work of the Holy Spirit In You. And so, this gift is for those who believe believers. That's what everybody. This is the charge to the charge today is for the believer. You whoever believes condition out of, you will flow something for all who believe in Christ, it's not for Spiritual Elite people or the clergy. Are those who believe let him come and drink. Now this is your prayer life. You just touch your prayer life. This is what this is where you do most of your drinking. And your prayer life because you get in the word, you're drinking the word, then you're asking your prayer life and worship. All this flow is your, your time in the world is drinking your time and prayer is a massive amount of drinking. I would say, I like your your prayer life represents your your drinking life. Because when we're going to the Lord, we're needy. Why do you drink? I'm thirsty. I'm needy. I need something. And I don't have to get it from somewhere. We drink. Then we flow, we're each other people. so, the spirit of God is God's Life in The Believer, And Jesus said the words that I speak are spirit and life. Some Jesus speaks through his word prophetically preaching, whenever the word of the Lord comes to drink, we drink. Logos in Rainbow comes out the Living. Word comes out the logos. Written word comes in that comes up asking asking, is We embarked on today? It's so important that we understand that when we're asking you for not being whiny and smiling. There's my daughter. Come on, you know, the whole Lord's Prayer, The Lord's Prayer of some kind of the disciples prayer, Luke 11. I grew up in the Anglican Church in America called The Episcopal church. We read it every week 14. I definitely knew that. I understand it, but I did it. It was good that I learned it then because now you understand, it's all asking the whole prayer is asking. If it's a drinking Prayer, by the way, it's one way you can come to God and drink Our Father, Who Art in Heaven, first rest of the father of the disciples to pray. We watch you praying all the time. You do you get thirsty. You just go off by yourself what you doing. I know he said something about, he's thirsty, he doesn't have water, but it's like that. Teach us how to pray. Is John taught his disciples. It's okay. When you pray, we forget this one little word saying one thing I appreciate about my, Anglican tradition was we recited the Lord's Prayer out loud. All together. Which I thought they were all thirsty. When you break say, which means what breaks silence. I'm all for praying in your heart pranks on the prison. All that there's times. You got to say something. When you're really thirsty, you're going to say something. Say Our Father who art in heaven? Hallowed be your name is like you're my source. Your kingdom, come your will be done. You recognize this is all about you and then they asking Begins the rest of the prayer. Just asking this day. Our daily bread, reading the scripture of the Bible says, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness? They shall be satisfied. And so Lord, give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us as we forgive those. Lead us, if we're not done or not. Done asking yet or still drinking. What lead us? Not into temptation, still not done Deliver us here at the hear, the asking for us from people. That's drinking that sticking. In that thing I need, I need, I need God for yours. Is the kingdom of simple prayer.

So, we go to the New Testament, to finish and we look at the ongoing command. This wasn't a one-off thing that Jesus was declaring if anyone thirst. Let him come to me and drink once and you're done nose like this, going to be an ongoing relationship. It's a Paul picks up on this in the fusions chapter 5 of this ongoing command to be filled with the spirit, which means what keep drinking. Go to your Source was a good texture Ephesians, 5:18 to 21 do not get drunk with wine. That is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit to know. Some people are looking how to meet their needs outside of God and outside of the holy spirit because the world offers, amazing substitutes. How do people turn to drugs and alcohol, and other things sugar, whatever, whatever, caffeine. Okay, I admit it, I think I need the caffeine, but we need to see what we have to go to him. If he says, okay, you can have one more cup of coffee. Thank you for but another don't get intoxicated with other substitutes substances. They filled with the spirit and the result is amazing what he says he fell to the Greek. It's a continuous action. Be being filled be continuously, feel not a one-time experience. Like I said, we leaked our natural bodies deplete and so our spiritual man, do pleats. And we need to refill here. The thing you do get to choose the source. Pause think you would be up Source Choice. Here you can choose a source here. The world offers amazing substitutes, news feeds, right, social media icon, reels, and unreal's, most of my reels are unreal for the quick satisfaction. Like I just have this moment, I just need a dopamine or so whatever. I need is like and then your spirit, empowers, you that comes through the word. Consumer prices. Aren't you asking your prayer. Life is a transformational process with God. Not just Lord. Here's my list. I'll text you the list. God doordash it back to me. You know, later today. That transactional is relational. And so this feeling then leads to overflow here, Be filled with the spirit, watch addressing one another and yourselves in Psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs. You see, when you're drinking of Psalms and hymns reading your songs, reading, the Bible, taking in, there's going to be an outflow, the spirit wants to flow out of you and he, he really like Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs because he wrote them all. Bulshit wrote all the songs by the way. My David David, by the Holy Spirit, right? Even hymns, hymns are of a song of human composition, but it's the Holy Spirit and spontaneous songs of the Spirit by the spirit, something when you're drinking properly, wow worship.

Making Melody to the Lord with all your heart. And then watch this giving. Thanks. Yeah. I know something. Thank you for our food. And we just thank you for my family giving. Thanks when Always, you got to be kidding. There's a whole lot of things. I'm not very thankful giving. Thanks always for everything to God. The father, in the name of the Lord. Jesus. It's like, because in everything give thanks for everything and everything. Give thanks, this is the will of God in Christ and then here's the big one. Here's the big reward of all. If you're filled with the spirit, guess what?

You're much more submissive. First of all to God then it says submitting to one another. That's the hard part. Everybody isn't it? That's the hard part. He's my father. He's Lord, he's perfect. What about people? They're very inconsistent but you see if you're filled with the spirit you can submit to one another out of reverence that's Love Field to living you know to submit somebody means you got to love them more than they even love themselves. Loving one. Another in a marriage is all about you. Having him, get him to out, serve the other and submitting and love, because you're not born with the kind of love. That makes you do that. I thought you got to be filled with the spirit. It's impossible to love other humans at the at the level, God requires two possible.

There's four different Greek words for love, they all deal different areas of our life from that store, gay Eros, Eros love romantic, love from the old family love, I love pizza. There's all kinds of love, right. But there's this thing about the love of God. That's not on planet Earth. There's no websites and give you the love of God. Romans 5:5 says the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, that's where it comes from. So you can't submit to one another in the natural. You can't have you can't have the satisfaction. You can't be loving, you can't even look field life because the love of God, comes from another dimension and you get that when you drink You get that. When you drink. Supplies, the spirit, we have to drink. So how do you live in the flo? We finish up with this. First of all, we go back to the beginning. Start with acknowledging I'm thirsty. We should all just be a little more. Humble about that. You do it. I'm in church more than most people. I was in 55 churches last year I mean hundreds of services Mike Mike. MyChart is full and I probably go to heaven tomorrow and still say, but he's got more than he could give to other people. I'm kidding. I do a lot of churches. Didn't know how you doing, brother. I'm fine. How are you? And inside? I'm so thirsty. I have so many names. I could I could use some prayer and all this ending when you're actually thirsty. I think it'd be really refreshing. I think we should stir things up. If people walk into how you doing, come on in and let's remember drinking, you know, we always choose people that don't have a drinking problem, that sounds like such a negative thing. I think the church would have a drinking problem. So you're all going with that doesn't that doesn't date. We should have a massive ongoing appetite, okay, for thirst. How you doing, brother?

Lord, I need you. And where you go? This morning and you're worshipping, you can have personal devotions. That's good. I'm thirsty. Lord, I read my devotions, maybe put on worship song. All this. But you know what? When you come together, when the church is gathered at River, get some force behind it. You could actually drink out of the same out of the river of your friend. There's a corporate River, the sound of many Waters Revelation talks about. I like that because a relationship fuels the river in, you relationship will always feel the river. Even when I want to go to have coffee with somebody, sit down and the river in you and the river and him and her, I'll let you know what the river talks the river Cadillac, Escalade Bluetooth, you know, that connects to the river River to River. Right out of you will flow how your faith in your mouth. So, you get connected to another River stream, and it shall be done, right? One can put a thousand to flight two, put ten thousand but that's River power up. The river power that God said we would have Jesus said how I'll send my Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit comes, you shall receive what power Divine ability? That's manifestation. And drink deeply.

There's something I've always said that you can't pollute the river.

But you can block it. River got his pure pop of holy spirit's, he's Invincible, but he's stuck in our Earthly Temple and we can block the flow. We can block the flow. So, obviously sin and bitterness particularly think things that we we kind of slept off as like I'm justified. In being upset with that person, look what they did to me and we can, we can we can be anxious and oh my goodness distractions alone, just distractions. We may not even be aware, distractions will block the river. And it's so easy and so quick, like I said, we all got this little distraction distraction device, some call it an iPhone icons, just a major source of distraction most the time. But you know, we get in there and when you realize why I realize what happened here, here's a quick tip of the day confession. Clear the channel. That's all when you realized What's blocking here. Why don't I feel And do the Holy Spirit. May I speak to the river wants to talk to you and tell you what's going on, really inside of you and you just been watching us for 15 minutes away. So it's not like we can have Leisure and things like that but there's some things we allow into our life. That block the flow. You just confessed it, you just confessed it out and live rc-f, live expecting overflow in your life. You expect the Holy Spirit.

The organs of faith. That releases the river is your word, your mouth. And sometimes it just a touch your hands. Laying hands on the sick, the touch can release the river. God. And it starts here. Lord Your Love. So, my go-to prayer is Romans 5:5.

Love these people through me tonight. Love this person through me that works on a marriage. That works with your kids that works with news that we got to love somebody. When you don't have the love, you just pray. So that's drinking. I'm needy Lord, love them through me and you become the channel, you become the river.

You ready step in the river? It's here. I say it's he's here. The rivers, the person of the Holy Spirit, and sometimes we got to stir the waters. Sometimes we just got to come and get stirred up and you need to leave with that expectancy. I got a river me. It's an old song says, I got a River of Life flowing out of me. Makes the lame to walk in the blind to see opens prison doors. Set the captive free. Oh, I've got a River of Life flowing out of me, but you stand. I want to pray for you.

When it read. One more scripture, just a cap. This off the end of the Bible. The last chapter of the Bible Revelation, 22 verse 17. Jesus never stops throughout his whole, the whole Bible. There's this constant come. Come to me. Revelation 22:17 the spirit and the bride say, who's the bride? That's y'all's. We say in North Carolina. That's all y'all. You're the bride in the spirit and the bride say, come there should be something that is running in you all the time when you see people want to come. And it's not just come to church but let you come join, our spiritual family, complete, my family, you know, come and be inviting come the purse for the right side. Let the one who hearsay come. Let the one watch who is thirsty.

I'm not the one who desires take of the Water of Life without price. But Jesus is still standing by your house for Melissa spray and that's come to him intentionally. You don't have to move your feet, want to move your heart. You still standing still calling. If anyone is thirsty. Is anybody perfect? Does anybody have it all together? No, is anyone thirsty? Cuz I'm not offering you a drop a sip. I'm offering you. A river, be filled with the spirit and out of your innermost being will flow. This River of Life that needs this area. Needs, the nation's need Uganda. Need every nation, needs the River of Life, and you might be the water source for some other person who's thirsty and literally dying of thirst. Or let the river flow out of RC F.

Butterfly out of each and every one of us in a fresh new way, stir us up. You've killed us. I believe work. What we've been filled with the word of God with the the worship of God even with our prayers and asking but God let the flow. Come to me today. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Church. Amen.