Deeper Waters

Going Down the rabbit hole

Getting too caught up in what it is that you’re doing

lose sight of what the point was in the first place

A fish doesn’t see the water it’s swimming in

Every now & then, we need to hold the mirror up to ourselves

Two big lies:

“There’s no way I could be wrong”

“I'm no good”

We don’t want to hear the truth about one, we can’t hear the truth about the other.

See it in our own lives

See it in the world around us.

The church is not immune to this.

What are two of the biggest criticisms of Christians?

self-righteousness. ie. thinking we’re right about everything

self-flagellation. We can end up with a guilt complex because we feel like we can never measure up.

Two spiritual pitfalls:

Immaturity and lack of growth - thinking we’ve got it all sorted, we stop looking in the mirror, and we stop listening to God.

navel-gazing. We get so caught up in our own stuff, then we forget the purpose - v.16 “making the most of every opportunity”

One truth that leads us through

We are loved by God

Leads us out of self-flagellation when we can believe that we are truly loved

leads us out of self-righteousness when we have the humility that we are not the centre of it all. The world does not revolve around me. The world does not revolve around you. The world does not revolve around the church even.

I’ve heard people saying “the church is the hope of the world.”

It’s not.

Jesus Christ, sonf of God, who loves us and gave himself for us. He is the hope of the world. The Holy Spirit who comforts us and breathes life into us. She is the hope of the world. One God and Father who is over all and through all and in all. He is the hope of the world.

The church? We’re just the group of people who have been swept up in that hope. We’re just the group of people who have been gathered up in that love and called to share it, with each other, and with the whole world.

Living waters

One of the images for God’s love in scripture is the spring of living water. We are called to drink deeply of God’s living waters. We are called to immerse ourselves in His love.

the prophet Jeremiah puts it like this:

Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

These two sins are connected to the two lies.

When we believe we have no need of God, we drift away. We forsake the spring of living water.

When we believe that we are no good, we become ashamed, and we try to do it all by ourselves. Broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

When we hold the mirror up to ourselves, what do we see?

We know Jesus loves us, that’s why we’re here, but when we stop to take a breath in our furious swimming, are we heading into the spring of living water, or have we become sidetracked, going up some side stream while we weren’t paying attention?

Jesus is calling us back to himself. Not because of the bad stuff we may or may not have been doing, but for his goodness which grows deeper and sweeter and richer the further it flows.

Jesus said:

John 7:37–38 (NIV)

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

If we’re going to be immersed in something, let’s immerse ourselves in God’s wisdom and God’s love.

Seek out the things that draw us closer to God.

Paul encourages us to pour ourselves into God’s life. to sing and make music from our hearts to the Lord. To always give thanks to the Father for everything. To immerse ourselves, heart and soul, into Him.

I want you take a moment now. A moment of silence. A moment of peace. A moment to drink in the living waters of God’s love.

While I pray this prayer, I want you to remember a time that you have felt God’s love surrounding you. I want you to bask in that moment and ask God to refresh your love for Him.

If you are struggling to remember a time, that’s ok. You don’t need to find the living water for yourself, it will seep in, fill you slowly. Just allow yourself to welcome God’s love.

There’s nothing to hide, and there’s nothing to hide behind. God loves you, and that’s enough.

So let’s take that moment together now.

Lord, we confess that there have been times when we have built up the walls around our lives. Seeking to hold back the tide, we have kept out the living waters of your love.

We confess that there have been times when our bowl has been broken, and we’ve tried to fill it for ourselves anyway.

We know too, Lord, that there have been times when we have been filled with teh richness, the sweetness, the abundance of your love. Your love has surrounded us, buoyed us up, given us peace and given us hope.

We open ourselves to you once more.

Remind us, Lord, of the times that your grace has been everything we needed.

Remind us, Lord, of your Holy Spirit’s gentle embrace.

Remind us that we find our truest selves in you.

Fill us with your love.

We pray together:

Loving Father, fill us with your loving Spirit. Take our broken vessels and fill us with fountains of your living water. Fill us to overflowing with your love and kindness to share with others in the midst of a thirsting world.

Amen