Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the gospel according to John 7. John 7. I'd like to look at verses 37
to 39 this morning. John 7, verse 37. Let's read those verses and then
we'll ask our Lord's blessing. 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. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture has 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. for the Holy
Ghost was not yet given because that Jesus was not yet glorified. Let's pray together. Our Father, again this morning,
how wonderful it is to be able to come together and to hear
the glorious gospel of free grace. We ask you, Lord, to bless Bless
your word. We know and are convinced that
your word is not going to return void. Lord, there's a purpose
today for the preaching of this gospel. And that purpose is going
to be fulfilled. For that, we thank you, bless
you, and wait on you, and ask you. Lord, have mercy on us today
for Christ's sake. Amen. Our Lord and Savior had been
speaking to some that had doubted His Word. And that conversation
now has come to an end. And the Scripture sets forth
that we are now in the last day. That last day of the feast, the
great day of the feast of tabernacles. Now that 8th day, that big day,
this was the big day. of the whole feast. Leviticus
23.36 says that this day shall be a holy convocation. That means that there was going
to be a public meeting. That's what it meant. A holy
convocation. A public assembly of the people
was going to take place on this day. Now, being the Feast of
the Tabernacles, what had happened was during that feast, the people
were to take and to dwell in these little temporary booths. Remember, we looked at that on
what was being done during that Feast of the Tabernacles. They
would have to go out and build a little hut, a little booth,
and stay in that booth eight days. And there was a double
remembrance in that. Number one, there was a remembrance
of the temporary dwelling of the people when they came out
of Egypt while they dwelled in the wilderness for 40 years. But there was a much greater
meaning set forth in those booths. was the setting forth of the
precious Lord Jesus Christ who came into this world and tabernacled
in human nature. And we are to ever remember in
the picture of the Feast of the Tabernacles that our Lord and
Savior came forth into this world made of a woman, made under the
law, to absolutely harvest All that the Father had given him
in everlasting mercy and election. Being on the last day, this is
the eighth day, the people are all coming back. They are all
assembling back through the city, going back to their homes and
returning from these temporary dwellings, these booths. And
the Lord Jesus Christ, God's prophet, is standing in the midst. And as the crowds are passing
by, our Lord, as the prophet of God, is going to preach a
very, very short, but very, very memorable sermon. And what He
preached, and how He preached, We ought to take note of what
was done. This was the Lord Himself a preacher. A prophet. And not just a prophet. This is God's prophet. The true
prophet. Now I want us to consider, number
one, how He preached. Verse 37 says, In the last day,
That great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried. Our Lord preached openly, publicly,
without shame. Here He is in the place of God's
providence. He did only, always those things
that pleased the Father. Led of God's Spirit, the God-Man
Mediator. To be in this place at this time,
and the Scripture says He stood openly. All men could see Him. This wasn't done in a corner.
And He cried and exclaimed with a loud voice, indicating the
intenseness, the urgency of what He said, what He set forth. He set forth the glory of His
Father, the honor of Himself in coming into this world, and
the very heart and love that He has for all that has been
given Him in that covenant of grace, in that covenant of mercy,
Now he knows his own, you know that. I don't know who God's
sheep are. I have no idea who the elect,
the sheep of Almighty God are. I know he has an elect. Almighty
God has set forth by His Holy Spirit through these Scriptures
over and over and over. You will go back and you take
the word elect or chosen and go back and read how many times
those words are used. He knows His own. But He sets
forth that which we would set forth. as we preach the gospel
this morning. And he sits forth and he cries,
you know, if any man thirsts, he sets forth the glory of what
God Almighty has been pleased to do in calling out his sheep. He's preaching the gospel. Crying,
setting forth the absolute necessity of the salvation of his elect.
Faith comes by hearing. hearing by the Word of God. As
I've said before, the faith that is needed right now, God supplies
right now. I said last week. You're not
living on last week's air. You're not breathing the breaths
that you breathed last week. If you don't have a fresh breath
of air right now, you're going to die. I need for Almighty God
to give me faith right now. Romans 10, 13 says, Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord, not anything else or anyone
else, whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord, shall be
saved." Now listen to this, and when I read the next part of
this verse, listen to what's being said. And let me ask you
this, in whom do you trust? A what? Now you're either trusting
a who or a what. One or the other. It's either
a who or a what. If it's a what, it's something
that you've done. If it's a who, now there's hope. How then shall they call on Him
in whom they've not believed? How shall they believe in Him
of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. So here's my question. How did
he preach? He preached openly. Preached
boldly. Assuredly. I expect, I expect
Almighty God is going to do something today. I know He is. He's assured
us of that truth. When Christ is set forth, God's
Word is not going to return void. You say, what's happening? Whatever
God purposes. God's people are being comforted.
God's people are being assured. God's going to call out His elect
when it pleases Him. What's He going to do? He's going
to do that which He's everlastingly purposed to do. He's going to
bring honor to Himself in the glorious person of His Son. Secondly,
what did He preach? Now, this is what I want to be
very, very mindful of. What did He preach? Here's what He preached. If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. My, what a message! What a message! What a short, to the point, God-honoring
message by our Savior. If any man thirsts Now what I'm doing is I'm talking
to people that are thirsty. Thirsty. You say, thirsty for
what? Thirsty for forgiveness before
God Almighty. Thirsty for righteousness. Thirsty
for knowledge and acceptance by Him. Now this spiritual thirst
It's a need that is realized. You know, when I'm hot and I'm
thirsty, I know it. I realize it. Somebody asks me,
are you thirsty? And I've got to think about it.
I'm not thirsty. You want a drink of water? Well,
if I'm not thirsty, I might do it just because you asked. But
I tell you this, if I'm thirsty, I'm looking for it. I'm going
after it. Thirst is that spiritual realization
of my need for God Almighty and His blessed Son. If any man is
truly thirsty, spiritually thirsty, he is so by the grace of God.
Because man by nature is dead to any thirst. Dead men don't
get thirsty. Not for God. Oh, they may thirst
for the things of this world, hunger, desire, but not after
God Almighty. Those that are dead in trespasses
and sins, there's no need to them to drink. This morning, by the grace of
God, if there is anyone here that thirsts, I need to have
my thirst quenched. And the only thing that quenches
the thirst is the hearing of Christ, the hearing of the gospel. Tell me again about peace before
God. Tell me one more time. I know
you've said it before. I've heard it before, but I've
got to hear it again. Tell me one more time how Almighty
God has put away the sins of His people. Tell me one more
time how there's no condemnation to me in Christ Jesus. Tell me
one more time how that Almighty God does not look at me to answer before Him for righteousness. Tell me one more time how the
Lord Jesus Christ has covered me by His blood. Tell me again
how when God sees His blood spilled on my behalf, tell me how He'll
pass over me. I want to hear that one more
time. You say, I've heard that before. If you're thirsty, you'll
never tire of hearing it. I'll tell you when a man truly
wants to hear that. What if this was your last day? And you knew it. And you knew,
I'm getting ready to die. Todd Nyberg told me one time,
he said, Marvin, I was laying in the hospital bed, And he said,
I was convinced. Todd was very sick. He said,
I was convinced I was dying that day. I was going to die. And
he said, there was no comfort like going over in my mind again
the precious Word of God, how God had had mercy on sinners
because he said, I knew I'm one. And he said, the peace and comfort
of being able to be assured by God's Spirit, the Lord has put
away my guilt." He said, that's all I had. That's all I had. If any man thirsts, those that
are thirsty, truly spiritually thirsty, they're sensitive. They know something about God's
justice and the necessity of their sin being dealt with. I
know this. I know that Almighty God is not
going to just sweep sin under the rug. I know He's not. I know this. I know that Almighty
God is not going to put away sin based on the mere fact that
I might in myself say, well, Lord, forgive me. Oh, I'll tell you this, every
sinner that comes by faith to Christ will ask for mercy. But his mercy is not shown merely
because of my thoughts or my actions. My actions in asking
God Almighty to have mercy on me is totally based upon Christ
putting away my guilt. by that guilt being made to be
his own. Made sin. If any man thirsts, those that Christ bids as sinners,
they're thirsty. They need to drink because they
hunger and thirst after His righteousness. If any man thirsts, Here is the
next part of his message. Let him come unto me. Let him
come to me. As I said a while ago, no one is
ever bid to come to the law. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. By the law is the knowledge of sin. No man is justified by
the law. shows you what you are. The law
sets forth God's absolute righteousness, God's absolute demand for obedience
before Him. And there's not one of us that's
ever satisfied. Don't come to the law. Don't come to the church. This precious assembly right
here. I'm thankful. But I'm telling
you, there's no salvation in seeking to come to the church,
the baptismal pool. Water has never saved anybody.
I said before, did water put away your guilt? Did water die
for you? Did water shed its blood for
you? Do you think that your act of
getting into a baptismal pool and some man putting you under
and lifting you up... Now I will tell you this, every
man, every woman that believes in their heart that Almighty
God has put away their guilt and is trusting Him, you're commanded,
commanded to be baptized. It's obedience to Almighty God,
but I'm telling you, that water did not put away your guilt.
You trust that water, and you're going to perish. The Lord's Supper. Oh, the preciousness of those
elements. Because of who they set forth and represent. But
I'm telling you, there's no salvation in that little piece of wafer,
in that little cup of wine. If any man thirst, let him come
to me, to me." Almighty God has eternally purposed
that His people are going to come to His Son. This is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. You hear Him. God has purposed
Listen to 2 Thessalonians 2.13 again. We are bound to give thanks
all way to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief of the truth. I love that passage of
Scripture. God's purpose. God's will. God is going to have
mercy. If any man thirsts in every one
that God has chosen, I'm telling you, before they leave this world,
they're going to. They're going to thirst. They're
going to thirst after Christ. They're going to thirst after
Him. And they're going to come to Him. All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out." That is so comforting, settling. Lord, you're going to save your
people. You will. And I tell you, those that come,
they continually come. He that cometh to me. I've heard, I've been at funerals
Someone, a preacher is going to get up and
he's going to set forth the hope that the person that passed away
had. And they start talking about,
well, years ago, I remember as a young boy, he came down and
walked down the aisle and he gave his heart to Christ. Now,
I do understand he's, you know, maybe been this way. But look
back. Let me tell you something. Coming
to Christ is right now. He that cometh, continually cometh,
cometh presently, right now, now, now. Today is the day of
salvation. Not when I was 14 years old.
Anybody can walk down an aisle. But am I coming to Him right
now? Has He given me a heart for Him right now? Thy people,
the Lord, Turn to Psalm 110. Just look
at it. Here's a conversation between
God the Father and God the Son. Psalm 110. Psalm 110, verses 1, 2, and 3. Psalm 110. I want you to notice. The Lord. You notice where it
says capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D? You know this. That sets forth Jehovah. When you see all caps, it is
Father, Son, and Spirit. The Lord, Jehovah, said unto
my Lord. Now look how the word Lord, the
next one, capital L, little o, little r, little d. That sets
forth the Mediator. The surety Himself. The Lord
Jesus Christ. Jehovah said to my surety. Jehovah himself said to his Messiah,
sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord Jehovah shall send the
rod of thy strength, Christ himself, out of Zion. Rule thou in the
midst of thine enemies. And here is Jehovah still speaking. to His blessed Messiah, His surety,
His Savior, by people. What people? The one that Jehovah
gave the Son in everlasting electing grace. Jehovah Himself says,
thy people, those that I entrusted into your care, shall be willing
in the day of thy power, in the beauty of holiness from the womb
of the morning thou hast to do of thy youth. Thy people shall
be willing in the day of thy power. John 17 said, the Lord's
praying, His high priesthood prayer, He said, all power in
heaven and earth, thou hast given Me all power. that I should give
eternal life to as many as thou hast given me." I'm telling you
what's happening right now. The Lord Jesus Christ, the King,
He who rules in the army of heaven, He who has all power, all power
has been given unto the man, Christ Jesus, the God-man, He
rules. And I'll tell you what He's doing.
He's ordering everything that's going on in this world, this
universe. And He's moving and directing. Sometimes I just get lost in
the thoughts of things that are happening. I mean, every little
thing. Every time the wind blows. Every insect. He raises up nations,
but He rules the waters. Oh, everything! He's moving everything
according to His eternal purpose for one reason, in glorifying
Himself in the blessed person of His Son, in the bringing of
His people to Himself. And He will get, by His power,
He will get His people under the sound of the gospel. That
message that honors Him. That message that gives all praise
and glory to Him. And He will move everything.
Put them under, and when it pleases Him, under the preaching of Himself,
by His Holy Spirit, He's going to give them a new heart. And
they're going to believe Him. And they'll say, that's my hope
right there. He is all my hope. Thy people
shall be willing. And they'll come. They'll come
by faith. And they'll turn their back on
everything else that they formerly trusted. I told you, I don't know, I think
I've walked down the aisle two or three times. I've been in
the water a couple of times, you know. Second time, I couldn't
remember if I meant it the first time. So I just, you know. Oh,
but I'll tell you this. When Almighty God gives a man
or woman a new heart, they come. And they come. And they come. And they come. And that's what
His people are doing right now. If any man thirsts, let him come
unto Me and drink. And drink! All the water in the world is
not going to do a thirsty man any good if he doesn't drink
it. Drinking is a figurative expression that signifies Christ
being mine. I don't have a glass of water
right here, but if I did and I held it up, I'd say this is
not mine. But if I drink it, now it's mine. It's part of me. It's in me. To drink of Him is
to receive from Him spiritually that which refreshes and strengthens
and nourishes the soul. And those that are truly regenerated
by grace, they drink. They drink of Christ and come
unto me and drink. By faith. A man that drinks of
Christ drinks of nothing else. What else do you want? You that
know Him. Do you want for Him to have His
glory shared with something else? Well, it was Christ and me. It
was Christ and me believing. It was Christ and me walking. I don't want that. Lord, Thou
art worthy to receive all honor and glory and praise. And then lastly, here's the promise. This is what he preached. I mean,
this is how he preached. This is what he preached. And
now listen to his promise. A promise to those that drink
of him. Verse 38 and 39. He that believeth on me, as the
Scripture has 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. For the Holy Ghost was not yet
given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. He that believeth
on me." Now, this is what the Lord meant when he said, He that
cometh to me. and drink. He that believes on
me. Brother Henry Mahan said this
concerning this scripture, Believing Christ by faith is to acknowledge,
receive, and believe Him as our righteousness, as our sin offering,
as our Savior and our Mediator. Now you think, believing Christ
is to believe Him totally to be my righteousness. to be my
offering before God for my sin. He is my Savior, and He is right
now my Mediator. Our Lord reveals it, believing
Him, trusting Him for salvation, acknowledging Him by a new heart. Lord, You are the Messiah. To whom shall we go? You have
the words of eternal life. Our Lord promised this, out of
his belly, out of the very midst of his being, shall flow rivers
of living water. As Christ himself is in his people,
he is the living well of water, springing up into everlasting
life. That life shall be the issues
of life. Proverbs 4.23 says that issues
of life flow from the believer. By Christ indwelling, 1 John
5.10, out of His being shall flow rivers of water. Christ
in us. This is what 1 John 5.10 sets
forth. He that believeth on the Son
hath the witness of God in Himself. God's witness is in God's people. And where the witness of God
Himself is, that witness is going to flow out. Out of His belly,
out of His being shall flow rivers of living water. The mouth of
the righteous is a well of life. They speak of Him. They're going
to speak of Him. They love Him. They honor Him.
But just great promises not from ourselves. Thanks be to God's
Spirit for interpreting this Scripture. He that believeth,
verse 38, as the Scriptures, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. And then the Spirit of God gave
the interpretation of that. I'm glad He did. This He spake
of the Spirit, that they which believe on Him should receive.
For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was
not yet glorified. God's Spirit was going to be
given, poured out in power. on the day of Pentecost. Joel,
the prophet in closing, had said this. Here's what Joel 2.28.
He said, "...shall come to pass that afterwards I will pour out
my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young
men shall see visions." And on the day of Pentecost, that prophecy
was fulfilled. God Almighty poured out His Spirit
and indwells His people. Even now, and right now, God's
people, rest here. Rejoice that Almighty God has
revealed to them, I dwell in you. I live in you. Know ye not that
ye are the temple of the living God? May the Lord bless these
words to our heart. I leave you with this question.
Are you thirsty? Do you need Him? Do I need Him? Lord, make me to need you afresh
today, for Christ's sake.