Come To The Fountain

Q: What does the Bible say about sin and uncleanness?

The Bible describes sin as a pervasive uncleanness represented by leprosy, which highlights our need for cleansing through Christ. In scripture, sin is often paralleled with leprosy, a disease that signifies both physical and spiritual corruption. This symbolism underscores the depth of our fallen condition, as seen in 2 Kings 5 with Naaman, a leper who was healed through God's intervention. Christ is portrayed as the ultimate source of healing and cleansing, as noted in John 5, where He is the true pool of Bethsaida. The fountain mentioned in Zechariah 13:1 is a metaphor for the grace that Christ offers, opened specifically for washing away our sins and restoring us to purity. In Him, there is total forgiveness and renewal, affirming that the cleansing we require cannot be achieved through our own efforts but through Christ alone.

Q: How do we know that Christ is the fountain of grace?

Christ is described as the fountain of grace because all blessings and salvation flow from Him, satisfying our deepest needs. The scripture explicitly states that Christ is the fountain from which all grace flows. Zechariah 13:1 speaks of a fountain opened for sin and for cleansing, which signifies that all spiritual blessings are found in Him. According to John 1:16, 'Of His fullness have we all received, and grace for grace.' This illustrates that every aspect of our salvation, including justification and sanctification, is rooted in Christ alone. Just as a fountain is a never-ending source of water, Christ provides an inexhaustible supply of spiritual nourishment and grace, essential for the believer’s life and growth in holiness. His sacrifice ensures that we receive grace abundantly, affirming that through Him, we are justified and cleansed.

Q: Why is Christ referred to as a fountain in scripture?

Christ is referred to as a fountain because He is the source of purity, fullness, and everlasting salvation for sinners. Throughout scripture, Christ is depicted as a fountain to emphasize His purity and the life-giving properties He offers. In 1 Peter 3:18, we see that He suffered for our sins to bring us to God, highlighting His cleansing work. The metaphor of a fountain captures the essence of Christ’s sustaining grace; it signifies that He is always available and able to meet our spiritual thirst and need for cleansing. The fountain imagery communicates that His grace is overflowing, refreshing, and accessible to all who come to Him. Additionally, it illustrates that unlike earthly sources, which can run dry, the grace of Christ is eternal and sufficient to cleanse and sustain sinners completely.

Q: What does justification mean in the Reformed view?

Justification in the Reformed view refers to being declared righteous by God through faith in Christ’s sacrifice. In the Reformed tradition, justification is fundamentally a legal declaration by God, affirming that a sinner is accounted righteous on the basis of Christ's completed work. This is articulated in Zechariah 13:1, where the fountain is opened for sin, highlighting that justification comes through the blood of Christ, which cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It is not based on our works but on faith alone—'For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law' (Romans 3:28). This understanding emphasizes God's sovereign grace; we cannot achieve justification through our own merit or effort. Instead, it is a gift of grace received by faith, reaffirming that in Christ alone do we find righteousness before God, making justification a foundational element of salvation.

In the scripture, there is a disease given repeatedly
that more accurately than any other portrays our sin, leprosy. A disease that showed corruption
without because of corruption within, a disease associated
with filth and with death. And in 2 Kings chapter 5 there
was a mighty wealthy man, a sworn enemy to God and his people by
the name of Naaman, who was a leper. And one day he came to God's
prophet and he washed in the river Jordan
and came out clean all over. In John chapter 5, our Lord Jesus
came to a place called the Pool of Bethsaida. It was thought
that the pool had healing powers. Superstition led men to believe
there were magical healing powers in the water so that when the
waters were moved, the first man to get in would be made whole
of whatever it was that ailed him. And the Lord Jesus came
there and saw many Many sick folk laying around the pool waiting
for the waters to move. And there was one fellow laying
there. The master said to him, wilt thou be made whole? And he said, well, I'd like to
be. But there's no man when the waters are moving. to put me in the water, and I
can't get there on my own. Many impotent folk were laying
there, but the Lord passed by them and made a sovereign election
of one impotent man. Many were there who needed the
waters just as much as he, but he was the object of the Lord's
mercy, and not only Was the Lord Jesus able to heal him? He did heal him, and he is the
true pool of Bethsaida. He doesn't just ask, will you
come to the water? He is the water, and he puts
you in the water, and you can't get there otherwise. Oh, will
he do that for you? and for me today. Turn with me
to Zechariah chapter 13. I bid you come to the fountain. Come to the fountain. Brother
Don, you just told us we can't come. I don't have to tell you
you can't come. You know you can't come. Any fool who imagines he can
come doesn't know himself No, he's lying to himself. He does
know himself. He knows he can't. You can't
come on your own. Your free will won't get you
to God. Your free will won't get you
anything. Nothing. Nothing. Oh, but if
the Lord Jesus put you in the fountain, you will gladly come
to the fountain. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power." Zechariah 13, verse 1. In that day, in
the day of God's grace, in the day when Christ died, and in
the day when God opens to you this fountain, in that day there
shall be a fountain opened to the house of and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, opened for two things, for two things, opened
for sin and opened for cleansing, opened to justify us and opened
to sanctify us. Christ is the fountain, and the
fountain he is in whom all fullness dwells, from whom all the fullness
of grace flows to our needy souls. John said, Of His fullness have
we received grace for grace. He is the fountain from which
all fullness flows to our souls. There is no other fountain. There's
nothing else for our souls to be found anywhere except in Christ
the fountain. All justifying grace flows from
Christ the fountain. In him alone there is justifying
righteousness before God. Righteousness by his obedience
and his blood. By him alone we are justified,
listen to what the scripture says, from all things. from which we could not be justified
by the law of Moses. Justified from all things. When the prophet says here, the
fountain is open for sin, he is speaking specifically about
this business of justification. We must never separate the two,
and yet we must never fail to recognize that these are two
things, justification and sanctification. The Lord Jesus is the fountain
open for sin to justify us from all sin. And primarily, justification
is a legal matter. Primarily. Certainly it is something
experienced in the soul. But primarily, it is a matter
before law. It is a matter accomplished in
the courts. accomplished in the court of
God Himself by the sacrifice of His Son one time at Calvary. He justified us by His blood
and gives us this justification by His grace. All sanctifying
grace flows from Christ as well. But I thought sanctification
was something we did. You thought wrong. Most folks
do. Sanctification is in Christ. It's not in the church, it's
not in your religious works, it's not in your doing this or
not doing that. Sanctification flows to sinners
through Jesus Christ the Lord, and I speak specifically now
about regeneration, about the work of God the Holy Spirit in
us, making us partakers of the divine nature, causing us to
be made new in Jesus Christ in the experience of his grace.
In sanctification, the way God cleanses us is with the washing
of the water by the word, planting a new nature in us, making us
clean before him. All the streams of pardon and
grace flow to guilty sinners from this fountain. from Christ
Jesus, who shed his blood, his precious blood, to obtain eternal
redemption for us. We have, the Apostle says twice,
redemption through his blood. What does that mean? The forgiveness
of sins. Where there is redemption, there
is forgiveness. Where there is forgiveness, there
is redemption. Let men talk all they will about
some sense in which Christ died for folks who are in hell. If
Christ died for you, you are forgiven. There is no possibility
of redemption without forgiveness as the consequence. The Lord
Jesus, by the opening of his precious blood, pouring out his
precious blood unto death for us, has obtained for his people
redemption, even the forgiveness of sins, and it flows to us from
him and him alone. In a word, Christ is the fountain
of all the blessings all the promises, all the benefits of
God's everlasting covenant. The covenant of grace is not
a family covenant in the sense that it was in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament, that covenant God made with Abraham was a gracious
covenant. But it was a covenant given to
Abraham and his seed physically to typify this covenant of grace
given to Christ and his seed, the true seed of Abraham, spiritually. It is not a family covenant in
the sense that since David and Celeste Peterson are believers,
then we can claim God's promises for their children. No. No. Grace doesn't run in bloodlines.
Grace doesn't run in bloodlines. We hear folks who ought to know
better talk contrary all the time. And the whole religious
world, you know, somebody finds out one of the fellows in the
family is going to be a preacher, or if they ever knew a preacher,
and they find out you are, Well, I knew a preacher one time, as
if somehow that's going to have some good benefit. My great granddaddy
was a preacher, as if that's going to have some benefit. No,
no. The fact that God saved me by his grace doesn't mean that
he owes or will give my daughter, my son-in-law, my grandchildren
anything. They deserve his wrath just like
everybody else. You hear that? You deserve his
wrath just like everybody else. All the blessings and benefits
of the covenant flow freely to chosen, redeemed sinners from
Christ, the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness. And
once this fountain has been opened, it shall never be shut and can
never run dry. The fountain is opened by God,
and that which God has opened, no man shall shut. It is open
specifically for the house of David, for the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, specifically for God's elect. Turn to Psalm 68. Look
at verse 18. Now we know this is talking about
the opening of this mountain. The death and resurrection and
ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with his own blood entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. We know that's what it's talking
about, because in Ephesians chapter 4, the Spirit of God tells us
that's what this psalm is talking about. Psalm 68, 18. Thou, Lord
Jesus, hast ascended on high. Thou hast led captivity captive. That is, you have taken into
captivity Satan, the prince of this world, who held us captive. Thou hast received gifts for
men. Yea, for the rebellious also. Thank God he included that, that
the Lord God might dwell among them. What gifts? all the gifts
of grace and glory, including the gift of his spirit and the
gifts of his spirit to his people. Blessed be the Lord who daily
loatheth us with these gifts, who daily loatheth us with benefits,
even the God of our salvation. Now watch this. He that is our
God, this one who has ascended on high, the God-man, our mediator. He is the God of salvation. He's the one who owns it. He's
the one who possesses it. He's the one who bought it. He's
the one who gives it to whom he will. Unto God the Lord belong
the issues from death. That is, all these things belong
to Him as the result of His death and resurrection. Now, it's my
prayer. that God may be pleased this
day by His Spirit to bring you to the fountain, to bring you
to Christ Jesus, and cause you to forsake forever the broken
cisterns of empty religion. What do you mean by empty religion? Every form of free will works
religion. Every form of it. I don't care
whether it goes by the name Baptist, Buddhist, Catholic or Presbyterian
or Pentecostal or Methodist. Every form of free will works
religion is the unclean idolatry spoken of in the very next verse
of our text. Zechariah chapter 13 verse 2.
The very next thing. This idolatry, Paul calls will
worship. Will? Well, Brother Don, who
ever heard of a man worshiping his will? Read Colossians chapter
2. Every man who has the conceited
notion that somehow his will determines something about his
salvation, worships his will. He worships himself as God. That's idolatry of the basest
form. What are the broken cisterns
of religion? Legalism. Legalism. notion that something we do,
whether keeping the Ten Commandments, or observing the Passover, or
observing the Yom Kippur, as foolish folks do these days,
claiming to keep the feast, any form of legalism Any form of
works religion, anything a man does by which he thinks he has
won God's favor or he improves his standing in God's favor or
he maintains God's favor is legalism and it's death. It's a broken
cistern. What's a broken cistern of religion?
Every form of religious ceremonialism. The notion that by doing things
we draw near to God. There's a common word used among
Pathists and Protestants that I despise. It's called sacraments. The sacraments. Let's keep the
sacraments. Tonight we're going to come together
and we're going to have vespers. We're going to have a sacrament. You know what a sacrament is? A sacrament is a means of grace. It is that by which grace is
conveyed to the soul. The only sacrament we have is
Christ the Lord. That's all. Baptism is an ordinance
by which we confess Him. The Lord's Supper is an ordinance
by which we confess Him. Not a sacrament by which we obtain
His grace. What is an empty cistern of religion? What Brother Lynch was talking
about this morning earlier. every idea of asceticism. See, I do
know some fancy words. What do you mean asceticism?
Touch not, taste not, handle not. Oh, I never, never would do that. But the Tim James, one time sitting
out on his front porch, down in Cherokee, whittling as he
likes to do. And this fella knew Tim was a
preacher and wasn't very well thought of amongst other preachers
on reservations. He walked up to him. Tim's sitting
there. And this fella said, the Lord
told me to come up here and tell you something. Well, Tim said,
well, if God told you to tell me, I want to hear it. And the
old boy said, Toots, I'm 60 years old, and my lips have never tasted
alcohol. And I've never smoked a cigarette,
and I've never been with a woman. Well, Tim said, you've missed
out on three of the best things in life. But that's what folks think about
religion. I didn't. I haven't. I wouldn't. And you're
not as good as me because you do. Oh, no. No, no. Christ is a fountain. ever flowing to needy sinners
for sin and for uncleanness. Come, plunge into the fountain. Wash and be clean. Drink and
be refreshed. Come to the fountain filled with
water and filled with blood for our souls. Well, why does God
the Holy Spirit use this word fountain so often in Scripture
to describe our Savior and the benefits of His grace toward
us. Let me give you seven words. Seven words. You can remember
the outline easily. First, purity. Purity. Turn to 1 Peter 3. A fountain is pure. Somebody, I forgot who it was,
I think maybe it was Shelby, told me she saw it in the This
bottled water you pay a dollar a piece for, for spring water.
Some big company out in California, they found out it was just tap
water they had filtered. Well, what a great surprise. There are not as many fountains
around as folks pretend when it comes to pure water. Fountain
water is not purified water, it's pure water. We had a well
when we lived in West Virginia. Everybody around us had iron
water, all the coal mines around. Water came out of the spigot,
that's the color top of this pulpit, a little bit lighter,
turned everything dirty. You couldn't drink it. It smelled
like sulfur. It smelled like rotten eggs,
horrible stuff. We were the only folks around
who had clean water, except when it rained. We had a well that
got a little surface water in it, and when it got surface water
in it, He didn't want to drink because it was impure. It was contaminated with the
surface filth of the earth. We used to have a cistern out
here in front, our source of water. We'd catch rainwater.
But you didn't dare drink the water if you didn't run it through
charcoal first and filter the water to get the impurities from
it because it was contaminated. with the impurities of the air.
A fountain is water that's pure. There's no surface filth of the
earth. No impurity of the atmosphere
in it. Come to the fountain so rich and sweet. Cast thy poor
soul at the Savior's feet. Plunge in today and be made complete. He's a fountain pure, altogether
pure. And because Christ is a pure
fountain, He is able to make sinners pure. His purity and
His purity alone is all-out cleansing from sin, an absolute remedy
for uncleanness, a complete blotting out of transgressions. Christ
the fountain cleanses us completely from all uncleanness. all filthiness,
all the corruption that springs from our corrupt nature. And
there is in Him an infinite, complete doing away of sin and
uncleanness. Look here in 1 Peter chapter
3. For Christ also has suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God
There was no other way for him to bring us to God, except by
sin being put away, except by justice being satisfied, except
by the law of God being honored. So he died the just for the unjust,
for this purpose, that he might bring us to God, being put to
death in the flesh, but quickened, made alive by the Spirit. Look
at chapter 4, 1 Peter. For as much then as Christ hath
suffered for us in the flesh, Arm yourselves with the same
mind. That is very much the same thing as Paul tells us in Romans
6. Likewise, reckon ye yourselves
also to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. Arm yourselves
with this mind, for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased
from sin. Darwin, he was made sin, wasn't
he? He suffered for sin until justice was satisfied and sin
put away. Now he's risen, and he's ceased
from sin. He's ceased from sin. But that's
not all. Not only did he cease from sin,
all for whom he died did. Look at the next line. He hath
ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time
in the flesh to the lust of men. He never did. He never did. He never lived to the lust of
men. He is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. But
he who was made sin for us has put away sin and has ceased from
sin, and we in him and by his blood have now ceased from sin,
that we should live unto the will of our God. The second is fullness. I've
already hinted at this. A fountain is always full. You can fill a cistern, but every
time you take something out of the cistern, it is being emptied,
and it can be emptied very quickly. You can run a well dry. We never ran out of water when
we had a well. Never did, except when we had
company. Just as sure as we had company,
out of water. Because it didn't have just so
much, and it was gone. Creeks and rivers will dry up
in a time of drought. But not a fountain. Not a fountain. A fountain is a constant replenishing
source of water. Christ the fountain. is used
continually and used by many, has been used by countless multitudes
for generations, for thousands of years, and yet this fountain
is always full. Verse 19, Colossians 1, for it
pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. Read your bulletin, you'll see
more than I can say now. All fullness, all fullness, all
the fullness of God's purpose, all the fullness of the whole
universe, all the fullness of all things resides in Him. Particularly, He is full of merit
to justify a guilty sinner by His blood. He is full of grace
to cleanse and sanctify us by His Spirit, and He is full of
life to give us life. Ever full is our blessed Savior,
and He is the same yesterday and today and forever, full of
love without beginning and without end, full of mercy that endures
forever, full of grace sufficient all the time. Our Savior's merit
is as inexhaustible as His deity. He is fullness. All fullness
of all grace is in Him. Blessed be God, it's yours in
Him. He's a full fountain. Now, come
to this fountain, in whatever condition you are in, at any
time, from any place, come to the fountain, and you will find
infinite supply gushing out to your soul. You can't come to
the fountain and not be filled. You can't come to the fountain
and not be cleansed. Him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. Someone said Christ is heart
to pity, ear to hear, hand to help, and might to save. That's a pretty good description
of Him. In every age, in every climate, Sinners have drawn near
and found a fountain always flowing with streams of salvation. A
fountain ever ready for our souls. Come, pitch your tent at this
fountain. Come, plunge into this fountain. Turn to Titus chapter 3. The
fountain is pure and is full. And thirdly, it's cleansing. A fountain has cleansing properties. Its pure stream is beneficial. Corruption is the atmosphere
of fallen man. Sin is the air we breathe. Vileness
spews from our hearts. Death is in the touch of our
hands. Everywhere the leper's cry resounds, unclean, unclean. That's our nature. We are all
as an unclean thing, the prophet said, and there's no remedy but
washing and no washing, but by the water, no washing, but by
the sanctification of God, the Holy Spirit and regeneration.
Titus three, verse three. So we ourselves also were sometime
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers, lust and pleasures. Living in malice and envy hateful
and hating one another But after that the kindness and love of
God our Savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness,
which we have done You ever notice how often Paul does that? Every
time we talk about salvation by grace He'll back up and he'll
say now just in case you didn't get what I said your works don't
have anything to do with it Not by works of righteousness, which
we have done But according to his mercy, he saved us. How did
he do that? By the washing of regeneration
and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. What does he mean, the
washing? Sprinkling of your hearts with
pure water? The washing of your consciences,
the washing of your bodies with pure water, the washing of the
Holy Ghost is regeneration. It is God, the Holy Spirit, creating
a new nature in you, that holy thing that's born of God and
cannot sin, that new man created in righteousness and in true
holiness, which is shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ,
our Savior, that being justified by his grace. We should be made
heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Let me show you
another passage in this regard. 1 Corinthians 6. Verse 9. Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Paul, who
are you talking about? Be not deceived, neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers. He equates idolatry to both pornography
and adultery. And the word fornicators here
refers to every form of sexual deviancy. It's the word from
which we get our word pornography. He says, I'm talking about the
pornographers, the wheel worshipers, the adulterers. nor effeminate,
you know, limp-wristed fellows, lighten the loafers, I'm being
nice, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. Do
we miss anybody? Anybody? ye are washed, but ye are sanctified,
but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the
Spirit of our God." Well, man, it looks like Paul got that backwards.
It should read, you are justified and you are sanctified and you
are washed. No, Paul got it right. Men get it backwards. Paul is
not here talking about the order in which things are accomplished,
but the order in which they are experienced by us in the new
birth. We know nothing about justification
and we know nothing about sanctification until we have been washed by
the Spirit in regeneration and given faith in Jesus Christ.
being born again by the Spirit of God, being washed in the fountain. Now, this is evidence that we
have been called, regenerated, sanctified by the Spirit. And
that is evidence that we have been justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus, our great Redeemer, by his blood. Uncleanness is
what we are. Sin defiles our entire being. It renders us loathsome before
God. But now, by His grace in Christ
Jesus, by the Spirit of our God, we have been washed and sanctified
and justified. And it's all His doing. Here's
the fourth word. Refreshing. Turn to 1 Corinthians
10. Christ is a refreshing fountain. Oh my, nothing quenches thirst
like cool fountain water. I'm talking about a fountain
gushing out of the side of the mountain. I'm talking about the
cool water that constantly flows. I don't know if you noticed it
or not, I can't believe I do the same thing other folks do.
I buy water these days in a bottle, carry it with me. And when I
get done drinking it, just a few minutes, I'm still thirsty. I
defy you to go find you a fountain, a spring, somewhere gushing out
of the earth and just take you a little dipper and get just
a drink and walk away thirsty. I defy you to do it. Defy you
to. We experience thirst as a common
thing. So common that we think little
about it. Because we always have a handy supply of water. But
thirst in a place where there is no water to quench it. Thirst aggravated by extreme
distress. Thirst aggravated by scorching
heat, by constant labor, by burning fever, is intense beyond description. In Exodus chapter 17, you'll
remember the children of Israel. They come out of Egypt, and they're
out in the wilderness, and they had no water to drink. And they
began to murmur against Moses, and they tempted God, and they
got so mad at Moses, They wanted to go back to Egypt. They were
ready to stone Moses to death. And God commanded Moses, his
servant, to take his rod and smite the rock. And water gushed
out for all their needs. He clathed the rock in the wilderness
and gave them drink as out of the great depths. He brought
streams also out of the rock and caused waters to run down
like rivers. Now look here at 1 Corinthians
10, Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant,
how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed
through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud
and in the sea. They were baptized completely
immersed, which is what the word means, water above them, water
around them, completely immersed under Moses in the cloud. And
they did all eat the same spiritual meat and did all drink the same
spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed
them. And that rock was Christ. How did water come out of that
rock? The rock. on which our souls are built,
the foundation stone of our souls, the rock of our salvation. He
is smitten by the rod of Moses, smitten by the law of God, and
smitten but once, for once was enough. Moses smote the rock
again when God said, speak to it. And God said, no, we smite
the rock once. He's smitten by the justice of
God, and being smitten for us, rivers of water, still gush from
that rock, and God's Israel drink still of the rock that follows
them unto this day. Oh, warriors in the heat of battle,
how thirsty they are. Come you who have a warfare in
your souls, and drink of the water of life, and be refreshed. The pilgrim, as he makes his
journey is often thirsty and looks for wells of water, come
Zion's pilgrims and drink of the fountain and be refreshed.
The sick soul, parched with fever, filled with thirst. You've been a long time in the
hospital after surgery, had serious surgery. Doctors won't let you
have anything to drink, and you don't want anything like you
want something to drink. Oh man, if I just had a gallon of water,
I could drink it right now. I've been there. How delightful
it is for somebody to just take a cotton swab, dip it in a little
water, and rub it right on your lips. But here is a fountain open. for the sin-sick soul to drink
in great draughts, great draughts of refreshment, and never fear
any harm coming as the result, but only good. David said, as
his soul sighed, Oh, that one would give me to drink of the
water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate. Christ
is that water. And Christ is that well, come
and drink. And he that drinks of the water
that I shall give him, our Savior says, shall never thirst again. Here's another word. Fruitfulness. Turn to the Song of Solomon,
Chapter 4. A fountain is a very fruitful
thing. Its waters flow forth, watering
the earth, making it fruitful. That is a fruitful garden. I
promise you, that is a fruitful garden that has a fountain right
in the middle of it. And that's what God's church
is in this world. Song of Solomon chapter 4, verse
12. The Lord Jesus describes his garden. A garden enclosed is my sister,
my spouse. A spring shut up, a fountain
sealed. Thy plants are an orchard. of
pomegranates with pleasant fruits, camphor with spikenard, spikenard
and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense,
myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices." In verse 15, the
bride takes attention away from herself and turns it to Him. A fountain of gardens, a well
of living waters. and streams from Lebanon. But
you don't. Christ speaks in verse 16, Awake,
O north wind, come thou south, blow upon my garden, that the
spices thereof may flow out. And the bride speaks, Let my
beloved come into his garden and eat his pleasant fruits.
Verse 1 of chapter 5, the Lord Jesus speaks again. I am come
into my garden, my sister, my spouse. I've gathered my myrrh
with my spice. I've eaten my honeycomb with
the honey. I've drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends,
drink ye, drink abundantly, O beloved. In all this, the gospel shines
forth beautifully. When God cursed the earth, the
heaviest portion of the curse fell on man. In Christ Jesus,
the curse is removed, and that which was a curse, he makes into
a blessing. Listen to this. In that day,
seeing ye unto her a vineyard of red wine, I, the Lord, do
keep it. I will water it every moment,
lest any hurt it. I will keep it night and day. And from him comes forth the
fruit. All the fruit of the Spirit.
Religion talks about works. Have you ever noticed how religion
constantly talks about works? Do this, do that. Grace talks
about fruit. Fruit is not something you produce.
Fruit is something produced by God. And the fruit of the Spirit
is what? It is love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. And against
these things there is no law. All this comes because of the
flowing of the fountain, the great waters of life. God's saints
are called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. And
they are richly laden with luxuriant fruit. made holy and pure, even
as holy and pure as Christ himself, being justified from all sin
by his blood, and made righteous by his nature being put in us,
being made partakers of the divine nature. Here's the sixth word,
precious. In days gone by, men fought war
over fountains. Abraham reproved Abimelech. because
of the fountain they'd stocked up. The herdsmen of Gerar and
the herdsmen of Isaac often were at odds because of fountains,
striving with anger over fountains, saying the water is ours, because
water in a thirsted land is precious. And truly, Christ is a fountain
precious to our souls. Unto you, therefore, who believe. Unto you who have tasted this
water. To you who have experienced the
cleansing of His blood. To you who have drunk from this
fountain. Unto you, therefore, who believe. He is precious. Oh, the unsearchable
riches of Christ. Who can speak of the unsearchable
riches of His grace? Of His infinite love that passes
knowledge? Of His glorious person? Of His
great redemption? Of His great salvation? Truly,
Christ is precious to our souls. And one more word. Back here
in our text, Zechariah 13. Christ is a fountain opened. Opened. That means, Ross, He's
open to you right now and will never be shut. Not in this world
and not in the world to come. Opened. Opened for the house
of David. Opened for the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. Jerusalem here, this local assembly
right here and now, and Jerusalem above, open to all God's people
in heaven and in earth. I ask you, as our Lord asked
the impotent man, wilt thou be made whole? But I know, even as I bid you
come to the fountain, As I say to you, as our God says to you,
O everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. He that hath
no money, come ye buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk without
money and without price. The Spirit and the bride say,
Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is
a thirst come. And whosoever will, let him come.
And take of the water of life freely. Come all. Come all to
Christ. And welcome. And yet I know you
won't go. You prefer your broken sisters. That's your nature. Mine too. You'll never go. You can't go. Because you're And so I pray, blessed Lord Jesus, plunge me into the fountain constantly. Plunge sinners into the fountain
and graciously give them to drink. Come to the fountain. so rich and sweet. Cast thy poor
soul at the Savior's feet. Plunge in today and be made complete. And I promise you, if you do,
you'll go out of this place not bragging about having plunged
into the fountain. Well, I went to church today and I got saved,
hogwash. Ain't nobody ever gone to church
and got saved. No. Christ saved me by his grace. Glory to his name. Brother Rock Barnard, years ago,
driving out west, preaching. One of those old Fords. I forgot
what model it was. But he's driving out west. He
and his wife, his car had broken down. Had to work on it. And
he got out to Yellowstone National Park. where they had that great
fountain, that, what is it called, that old faithful, that gushing
fountain. And he'd been working on his
car and his handkerchief was dirty. And he put the thing over
there, washed it, wrung it out, and he began to sing, There is
a fountain. filled with blood, drawn from Emmanuel's veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. Somebody standing back behind
him a little ways, he didn't know he was there. He said, can
we join you on the next verse? Let's stand together and sing
the rest of it. Number 222, there is a fountain filled with blood.

Come To The Fountain

What does the Bible say about sin and uncleanness?

How do we know that Christ is the fountain of grace?

Why is Christ referred to as a fountain in scripture?

What does justification mean in the Reformed view?

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Come To The Fountain

What does the Bible say about sin and uncleanness?

How do we know that Christ is the fountain of grace?

Why is Christ referred to as a fountain in scripture?

What does justification mean in the Reformed view?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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