Listen for the Prompts
I'll be reading from the book of Isaiah chapter 12 verses 1 through 6. And that day you will say I will praise you Lord all though you were angry with me your anger has turned away. And you have comforted me surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid the Lord. The Lord is my strength and my song he has become my salvation. With joy, you will draw water from the wells of Salvation and that day you will say give thanks to the Lord call on his name make known among the nation's what he has done and proclaimed that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord for he has done glorious things let this be known to all the world shout out louds and sing for Joy people of Zion for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.
I don't know what you think about this new seating arrangement and get to see each other face-to-face you normally I'm the one that gets that particular of you each Sunday morning, but now you all can enjoy each other a little a little bit more which is I don't think necessarily A Bad Thing. So thanks to those creative thinkers who devised the way to rearrange so that we can fit maybe a hundred plus people in in in our space worship here this evening. Who knows?
Well, we think back a week ago flakes were beginning to come down and we thought in our minds. Okay soon. No problem saying it's going to turn to rain. Remember that story The Rain never came and we had six date in at your house Richmond had 12 ish or whatever. And so it was very heavy wet snow and I hear that it played Havoc it and many of our places down power lines and all of that kind of thing. But what losing our power does is
Reminds us of things that we often take for granted. I Googled take for granted or taking things for granted this morning. And the the very first thing at the top of the list that popped up on on this first website listed 28 things that Americans take for granted. What do you think? The first thing was? electricity related but not quite that just that.
Water running running water. What's at the top of the list? I don't know. How many. Do you know? What supplies are water here at the church. Are we on City water or do we have a well?
OKC, I love it. Yeah. Alright. It's got a little bit of both going on there. That's because we pay so little attention to where a water comes from that's called taking it for granted. It's just there we go to the sink and Wallah running water. We do have a well by the way, and I thought, you know, maybe we should since this sermon is has features a well. The passage isn't up there right now, but I guess we could put it up there. That's first three talks about Wells of Salvation. It would have been great to have our gather around our well at for iMessage. Sometimes we have gathered outside like on Palm Sunday. We often do that. So maybe we ought to have a well Sunday just to get out there and say thank you Lord for providing us with with this running water. Because I know it our house when the power went out at 5:30 or whatever. It was Sunday evening. I was thinking, 5 gallon buckets of water when I saw those lights flicker filled up a couple gallons buckets because you know, we only have two flushes left, right and So anyway that we got our power back in about 7 hours later, and I know money many of you were without power much longer.
but
we depend on WE depend on are wells and this is true both physically and spiritually.
One of your favorite songs might be in. My favorite song is Lord. I am finally earnestly longing. I don't know what number it is in our him know or whatever, but it has for the course open the wells of Grace and salvation. Who are the rich streams?
deep into my heart
So we sing about our wells from time to time but too often we take both our spiritual well and are physical Wells for granted.
What what are our what is this? Well of Salvation that this that this chapter talks about Well, there's only one there many Wells that we have in the county here and in fact if you are on city water. You're probably getting that that water is probably coming from a well. Anyway, I know there's water mill that provides a lot of water for the city of Williamsburg. But Williamsburg also has lots of Wells that feed into the even the city system.
But spiritually speaking there is only one and I know Wells is plural up here in this purse.
Jeremiah describes the well this way this is Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 13. My people have committed two sins. They have forsaken me the spring of Living Water and they have dug their own cisterns broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
And I have to thank you know, what's my broken cistern? What am I? What do I order? I tend to draw my life from that is like a bro broken cistern. And you're you're broken sister and it might be something different than mine. But I think self effort would be one way to describe my broken sister. So there are there other ways that we can we can look to other things. We can look to for Spiritual sustenance to to make our spiritual well other than Jesus.
And maybe you're thinking of yours now. But I love the way Paul addresses this issue Philippian in Philippians 3 and I won't read it, but you can read it. He called certain things rubbish because it gives a whole list of of things that that maybe could be broken cisterns in his life and and he names them.
So take a look at that if I'd Philippians chapter 3.
We shouldn't limp through life drawing from broken cisterns that can't hold water.
now if we were steeped in the Jewish feasts We would know which of the feasts feature water features water. I don't know if any of you know, which which Beast is is water predominant in in how it's celebrated.
But every every Feast of Tabernacles, which was celebrated in the fall of the year, and these fees are all too often a week long. But on the last and greatest day of the Feast of Tabernacles, someone special goes to the pool of Salome and with a golden picture takes water and brings that to the temple and takes wine. Someone else brings wine and they pour out this offering of water and wine on this to celebrate the gift of Tabernacles because they know this is written in Jeremiah. They know that they recognized God is is there spiritual well? Which is a very good thing. But then Jesus. Are we worried about his? time in Jerusalem over this Feast of Tabernacles in John Chapter 7 Bible verses 37 to 44 we have on the last and greatest day of the feast Jesus stood and said in a loud voice if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the scripture has said streams of Living Water will flow within from within him by the cement the spirit whom those who believe in him were later to receive up to that time. The spirit had not been had not been given since Jesus and his words. Some of the people said surely this man is the prophet other said he is the Christ still others asked. How can the Christ Come From Galilee does not the scripture say that the Christ will come from David's family and from Bethlehem the town where David lives that's the people were divided because of Jesus son. Wanted to seize him but no one laid a hand on him.
So Jesus created quite the stir when he stood up on this greatest day of the feast and said I am I am the spring of Living Water. And the people certainly got his message someone it's a some believed, but others wanted to seize him.
This passage also talks about in that day. Well by Jesus coming on that Feast of Tabernacles and pointing to himself as the The Well of salvation. He was saying that day is now.
So we are living in this day.
And we serve a lord who is said if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
Devon and I had the privilege of visiting Kosovo last year. I guess it was and installed Kosovo is up against the mountains of Montenegro. And the water flowing out of those mountains, they had pipes just it was crystal clear you could drink right there. So it's dog was known as having great water. Great Puritan and clean water.
But that doesn't come close. To the pure and clean water that we have in Jesus.
So I'd like to make just a couple of comments about this this well and first of all. The rate the whole deal with the wells being plural. I take that to mean that. Jesus is
bigger than One well, so when when the rider here describes Wells of Salvation, it's like you can't fit all of Jesus into just one container so to speak. I'm very first. verse of this chapter Which is this one? that was left out of what I was supposed to preach on today. When you look at the lectionary a guide for the today, it's Isaiah 12:2 to 6 instead of Isaiah 12126. And I'm thinking okay, why not including this verse in in the reading for today? And I don't know if this is right or not, but I thought maybe it's because it talks about God getting angry. And that's we don't we don't want to lift. Okay? That's that's taking God and putting him into a box of our own making.
But we learn about God and Jesus through this book. This book tells us all about Jesus. And we need to read it not leaving things out when it says yes. God can be angry, but we know that we know that we know that God is slow to anger and he a bounce in love. Let's do God gets angry like we did angry. We are created in His image.
I will praise you Lord all though you were angry with me your anger has turned away and you have comforted me.
This makes me squirm like I might make you squirm to thank that God God being angry with me.
But that's why I believe the Bible says Wells. Jesus called himself Vine a door a gate. A light red kitchen he gave himself all of these the script descriptions and if we just hang on to Jesus and say Jesus is bread and that and that's what I'm sticking with and that's what I'm going with and that's when I'm going to another words. Jesus is here to take care of all the social ills in the world that we have today. Jesus is bread.
Jesus is more than just that. Well Jesus is that well as a man, but he's he's a gay he protects. He's more than just a protector. He's he's a road. He's the path that we follow in obedience, but he's more than just that he's a Vine. It's so these are the wells that this Bible is talking about
another thing about Wells is that
We continually use them versus a one-time-use. Okay, you have Jim's Well Service come to your lot. With that big truck got the auger going down and he runs water out of that Rascal and then he pulls the truck away and then you fill in the well and don't ever use it again. No paying thousands of dollars for a while and only using it once. That's not how we use wells will there's a reason that the Bible talks about Jesus being our well of Salvation and that is because it's a continual. It's a continual source.
You might remember the story of the Samaritan woman at the well what really got that woman saved with the fact that she said letting water. That means what I don't have to keep coming back to this. Well, he had to go visit that well, I don't know how many times in her lifetime and she was tired of always going back to the landlord something we visit continually. How many times does your well pump pump click on in a day's time? A bunch we're always drawing from that well. And another thing about Jesus being our wells of Salvation is that it's it's not that far away when you come to think of it. It's right under our feet.
A while isn't doesn't produce the water or well simply Taps into what is already provided.
God has provided Jesus for the whole world. It's just a matter of tapping into what is already built in. Revelation 13:8 the lamb that was slain from the creation of the world is how Jesus is described. So built into the bones of his creation.
Is this well Jesus? just like I don't know if you can go anywhere on the planet and drill down and find water or not, but you can't hear in Virginia. Anyway, every lot that you buy. I suppose you can drill and find water. It's just right there always under our feet. Well, I can't just only focus on verse 3. But just quickly. Are these are the other verses around verse 3 verses 1 and 2 in that day. You will say and then there's this quote. And then in verse 46 again in that day, you will say and then there's a quote. I know Mary. Ann isn't going to do this tonight for any of you Lauryn the play because she said it at the dress rehearsal last night. I won't have my script in front of me. So another words there won't be any nice director sitting on the front bench. and if you draw blank on your lines You won't have anyone saying?
And then he not giving your line. But we have a director that lives with us. Who does this? the Holy Spirit speaks to us and I believe the Holy Spirit can use these very words.
to prompt us
just like sometimes people in a play need to be prompted. Because we forget we forget to praise.
We forget how great the Holy One of Israel is Among Us.
So I even think about how the disciples asked Jesus Lord. We need we need a prompt from you. Please prompt Us in Jesus said, okay. Pray like this Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be thy name and we gave us the Lord's Prayer. This is another Lord's Prayer that I believe we have here and Isaiah chapter self in chapter 12 in that day. You will say and then this is the this is what we could certainly pray. How many of us could pray with our whole Hearts verse to surely God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. What a wonderful thing to carry in your heart and pray.
or verse 6 Great is the Holy One of Israel?
Among Us This these versus Amor personal. In that day, you will say it's all about I and I trusting in the Lord and I not being afraid. He's my strength and my song my salvation and these words are about us together. Are we sing together?
How we can proclaim the greatness of God Among Us which we doing our sharing time, which less is my heart.
Please join me in prayer.
God may we not take you the Living Water?
for granted
as we open our hearts to you right now.
Open the wells.
of your grace and salvation
and for the rich streams deep
into our hearts into us your people. Oh, man.