Scripture:

John 5:37-38　Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes into me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

I. The thirst of human living:

  1. It was the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem. A feast is a day of joy.
  2. On the last day of the feast Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts…” (John 7:37). The last day of the feast is absolutely related to the thirst. Man is thirsty because the feast has its last day. A feast is a period of joy in the human living. But the last day of the feast is the termination of the joy. When the joy of human living reaches its end, man immediately begins to feel the thirst.

II. The Lord has the living water:

  1. The Lord cried out and said, “If anyone thirsts,” because He wanted man to realize what man’s real need is.
  2. The living water of the Lord is the Lord’s life and the Lord’s Spirit.

III.  How the living water flows out from the Lord:

  1. The Lord’s life-giving water came out of His broken body through the death on the cross, just like the living water that came out of the smitten rock. As soon as the Lord was glorified after His death and resurrection, His life-giving water flowed out; that is, He descended as the Spirit.
  2. The Lord’s life-giving water is in the Holy Spirit. It flowed out through the Holy Spirit. Today if you are moved by the Holy Spirit, the living water has flowed into you. If you receive it, this water will then be flowing inside of you.

IV. How to receive the Lord’s life-giving water:

  1. The only way to receive this water is to drink. This is why the Lord said here, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”
  2. To drink is to believe. To believe is to receive the Lord into you, that is, to believe that the Lord died for you on the cross and released His life. When you thus believe into Him, you are receiving Him in, and His Spirit and His life will flow into you.
  3. Such a believing not only results in the living water flowing into you but also causes the living water to become rivers of living water flowing out of you.