I began preaching almost thirty-three years ago, and I've preached many, many
times during those thirty-three years. If you add together the Sundays
and Wednesday nights and revival meetings and Bible conferences,
television programs, and then twenty years on the radio every
day, Monday through Friday, and other radio broadcasts, you come
to fourteen or fifteen thousand sermons. But I find three things at the
close of thirty-three years of preaching. I find that the study
of Scripture is a course that we never complete in this life.
We never graduate. No man has ever mastered the
Bible. No man's ever mastered one of
the books of the Bible. No man's ever mastered one chapter.
No man could ever call himself a master of the theology of one
verse. I'm confident of that. Every
day is a day of new discoveries in a single verse of Scripture.
So the study of Scripture is a course that we never complete
in this life. And then the second thing I've
learned is this, the knowledge of the living God and the Lord
Jesus Christ whom He had sent. And this is what our Lord said
about eternal life. He said, eternal life is to know
Thee, the living God. And Jesus Christ, whom thou hast
sent. You want a definition of eternal life? It's to know God. That's what Christ said, it's
to know God. Not to know about God, not to know there is a God,
it's to know God. And Jesus Christ, whom he has
sent. But I find this is a desire that's never fully realized until
we stand in his presence. I know in part. I preach or prophesy in part. I see, I see. No, I see through a glass dimly. But when that which is perfect
is come, that which is in part shall be done away, faith will
give way to reality, hope to facts, gifts, complete knowledge. And then I found, thirdly, that
the thirst for holiness, True godliness I'm talking about.
I'm not talking about an outward false piety, a put-on hypocrisy,
a human righteousness. I'm talking about true godliness.
The thirst for true godliness is a hunger and thirst which
will never, never, never be fully satisfied on this earth. It will not be satisfied till
we awake with His likeness. David said, I shall be satisfied.
Wouldn't that be good? Satisfied. I shall be satisfied
when I awake with his likeness. And perhaps the greatest apostle
of all. The apostle Paul wrote in the
book of Philippians. I'd like you to turn to the third
chapter of Philippians and look at these verses with me. This
is perhaps the greatest apostle of all. He said in verse eight
of Philippians three, He's been talking about his religious accomplishments,
religious heritage, background, so forth. He says in verse eight,
Yea, doubtless, and I count all these things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ my Lord, for whom I suffered
the loss of all things. And I do count them but rubbish,
that I may win Christ and be found in Him. not having mine
own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through
the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that
I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his
death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead. Not as though I had already attained or were already
perfect, but I follow after. if that I may apprehend or lay
hold on that for which also I have been laid hold of by Jesus Christ. Brethren, I count not myself
to have arrived, to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ. So the study of
Scripture. is a course that a man will never
complete in this life, and the knowledge of the living God is
a desire that will never be fully realized until he stands in God's
presence, and that thirst for true godliness will never be
satisfied until we attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
However, the years of teaching and being taught, the years of
searching and being searched, of judging and being judged do
give us a place to stand. There are some things that we
can know. A place to stand and go on from
there. These years give us some definite
ground on which to pitch our frail tent until God takes it
down and calls us to that city that He's prepared. I boldly
declare to you, I am a Trinitarian. I'm still studying the Trinity.
I will be studying the Trinity until I'm taken to glory. But
I believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I have
many reasons to believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. God is three in one. Our Lord said, Go ye and baptize
in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our
Lord said, I will pray the Father, and He'll send you the Holy Spirit.
When our Lord was baptized, the Father spoke and said, this is
my son. The son was being baptized of
John, and the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove. And our
Lord had said to John the Baptist, upon whom you see the Spirit
descend, that's the Christ. There are three that bear record
in heaven, the Word, the Father, the Word, and the Spirit. There's
so many scriptures. that we can establish our feet
at this place. There is Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
I'm a verbal inspirationalist. That is, I believe this Bible
is the Word of God, verbally inspired. I believe the Bible
is God-breathed. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. and is profitable for doctrine,
reproof, for correction, instruction, and righteousness. Holy men of
God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. There are
personalities in the books, but God gave them the words. That's
the reason it's inerrant, infallible, unbroken. It was written in Hebrew,
written in Greek, and it has been translated. There may be
errors in the translation thereof, but this is the Word of God.
It's the inspired Word of God. Not traditions or customs or
heritage, it's the word of the living God. And by his supernatural
power, he has preserved this word. 3,500 years ago, Moses
wrote the first book. 1,900 years ago, the last one
was written. And this book has... Where are the books written by
men that are even 3, 400, 500 years ago? And this book has
crossed the boundaries of nationalities. This book means the same to a
Russian as it does to an African, or to a Chinese, or to an American.
I go through my library and I find no Chinese books, and I find
no books by people from India, I find no books by anybody from
Russia, most of them by English writers. And I imagine you go
to the average Chinese library, you wouldn't find a book by an
American, but yet this book, And it's crossed the barrier
of age. You see a dear old lady, snow-white hair, in the closing
sunset years of life, reading this book, and you find a little
buddy boy, six, seven years old, reading the Bible. It means the
same thing to both of them. You find a lawyer, a man educator,
a professor, reading this book, and it means a lot to him. You
find a plowboy who has second-grade education and has to say, what
is this word here, honey? What does this mean? But it means
the same thing to both of them. It's a powerful book. It's providentially
preserved by the purpose and power of God. It's a supernatural
book. Nobody explained this book. It's
the Word of God. I'm a verbal inspirationalist.
Make no apology. I'm a creationist. I believe
God created the heavens and the earth. I've looked into what
the others say, but they can't explain it. They say, One cell
animal appeared back down to, well, where'd it come from? I
keep on going back, where'd it come from? Where'd this come
from? Something's got to come from something. Something can't
come from nothing, but nothing can come from something. God
can make something out of nothing. I'm a creationist. I believe
God created all things, every species of life God made. I'm
a predestinarian. Without apologies, I believe
salvations of the Lord. I believe all may come, and I
believe all whom He chose will come. I make no apologies for
the fact I believe that the whole of the work of redemption is
of the Lord from beginning to end. He's the Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending. He's the author and finisher
of our faith. I am what I am by the grace of God, not by the
persuasion of a preacher, not by the eloquence of an orator.
I am what I am by the grace of God. I believe what I believe
because He hath made known that truth to my heart. All that my
Father giveth me, Christ said, shall come to me. And him that
cometh, I'll in no wise cast out. I'm an evangelical. Salvation's
by grace, not by works. Salvation's by faith. Our Lord
said, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. I'm an evangelical, a missionary. take the gospel to every creature
because he's got a people in every tribe, kindred, nation,
and tongue unto heaven, he said, as the stars of the sky and as
the sands of the seashore. And anyone who wants to come
to Christ may come. All who want to come, all who
desire to come, all who will come, may come. But I'm sure
of this, all whom the Father hath given to the Son will come.
They will be awakened by the Spirit, called by the grace of
God. The truth will be revealed to
their hearts, and they'll embrace Christ with a willing heart,
with a believing heart, with a loving heart, with a persevering
heart. They shall continue in the faith.
God shall not fail. Christ cannot fail. He came to
do the Father's will. I'm a Baptist. I'm a Baptist
in church government. I believe Christ is the head
of the church, not some man. I do not believe in potpourri,
I reject potpourri with a passion. I do not believe that a church
should be ruled and governed by any human being, but rather
by the Holy Spirit. Christ is the head of the church
and the Holy Spirit's the president. And every believer, even the
least of the believers, has a voice in the affairs of the congregation,
congregational government. That's what the Bible teaches.
Not to be churched, not to be ruled by a Lord in human flesh,
but by the Lord of glory. I believe I'm a Baptist in the
ordinances. I believe in baptism by immersion. That's the only
kind of baptism it is, what baptized means, to immerse. I believe in the doctrine of
personal liberty and individual priesthood. We have one mediator
between God and me and the man Christ Jesus, and every believer
is a priest, every believer is a saint, every believer has personal
liberty to come bold into the presence of God. I need men to
teach me, but I need Christ to intercede for me. I need men
to teach me and instruct me and comfort me and exhort me and
correct me. But I only need the Lord Jesus
Christ to present me to the Father. I don't need a man. He's one
mediator. So those things, through the
years, God gives us a place to put our feet, that we might stand
and go forward, that we might pitch our tent, waiting for the
time when He'll remove it. But above and beyond all this, I'm a Christian. I'm a believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm a bond slave of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Above and beyond all this, I'm
a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ, a joint heir with the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's the vine, and I'm a branch. He is the head, and I am a part
of His body. He is the chief cornerstone,
and I am a living stone built on that chief cornerstone as
a living temple to a holy God. He's the master, and I'm but
a servant. He's the King of kings and Lord
of lords, and I'm His subject. He's the shepherd, and I'm His
sheep. He's all in it all, and I'm complete in Him. He is the
Redeemer, and I'm accepted in the Beloved. He is the surety,
and I'm chosen in Him. Of God are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification
and redemption. Above all things, I'm a Christian. A Trinitarian, yes, but a Christian. A Predestinarian, yes, but a
Christian. A Baptist, yes, but foremost
a Christian. And my friend, if you would be
accepted of God, you must be accepted in the Beloved. He said,
this is my beloved Son in whom I'm well pleased, and if you
would be accepted of God, A man is not accepted in theology or
in denominationalism. A man's accepted in the beloved.
If you would build a spiritual house that will not fall in that
day of plow, you must build on the rock Jesus Christ. If you
would be forgiven of your sins, you must be crucified with Christ.
He said, Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save
his people from their sins. Without the shedding of his blood,
there's no remission. In whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of our sins, in the blood of Christ. Would you be
free from your burden of sin? There's power in the blood. Would
your evil of victory win? There's power in the blood. If
you would enter the Holy of Holies, you must come by the way he opened,
through the veil. That is to say, by his flesh.
Or we have a high priest. Our high priest is the Lord Jesus
Christ. He's seated at the right hand
of God. He's finished his work. He sat down. He's waiting for
the day when all of his rewards shall be laid at his feet. If
you would reign with Christ, you must suffer with Christ.
If you would know the Father, you must know the Son. If you
would have a righteousness with which God Almighty Himself is
well pleased, you must be robed in that wedding garment of Jesus
Christ, the righteousness of Christ. My hope is built on nothing
less and Jesus' blood and His righteousness. I dare not trust
the sweetest frame, but I wholly lean on Jesus' name. His oath,
His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood. When
all around my soul gives way, He is my only hope and stay. And when He shall come with trumpet
sound, oh, may I then in Him be found, dressed in His righteousness
alone, faultless to stand before God's throne. I'm a Christian,
a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, a joint heir with Jesus
Christ, a lover of the Lord Jesus Christ, a bondslave of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He's my all and in all. He's
my life. He's my hope of eternal life.
He's my righteousness. He's my sanctification. He is
my redemption. I'm not saved because I made
a decision. I'm saved because God made a
decision. He decided to redeem a people. And He decided one
day to send His Son into this world to bear their sin and shame
and guilt and filth and sins on the tree. He decided in His
mercy by the power of His Spirit to awaken and call me unto Himself. And He enabled me to decide for
Him. He drew me, and I followed on,
charmed to confess His voice divine." Look at our text again,
will you, John chapter 7. Let's take a look at this text.
It says in John chapter 7, verse 37, "...in the last day, that
great day of the feast." Three things we must look at, first
of all. The place, the occasion, and
the time. First of all, the place. Where
was this? It was Jerusalem. The place was
Jerusalem. Now think a minute. This is that
great stronghold of religion. Religion. Jerusalem is the home
of the priests, the home of the scribes and Sadducees and Pharisees. Jerusalem is the site of the
temples, Solomon's temple. The altars, the shrines are all
in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the place where
ceremonies are held, and sacrifices are slain, and rituals are observed,
and days are kept, and scriptures are read and taught. That's Jerusalem.
That's the place. Secondly, the occasion. It was
the Feast of the Tabernacles. This was a special feast. It
was one of the great annual feasts. religious holy day, when Jews,
if they could, from all around, from all countries, came to Jerusalem,
to the temple, according to the law. They came for several days,
eight days, I believe in all. The time. It was the last day
of the feast. All the ceremonies were over.
All of the sacrifices were over. All of the rituals were complete.
The feast was over. The water from the pool of Siloam
had been poured on the altar. It was all over, and the people,
all that remained for the people who were standing around watching
all the observances and listening to the words and the voices and
observing all the different ceremonies and rituals, all that was left
for them to do was go home. Icky, frustrated, discouraged,
ignorant, still far from God. You ever watched all this go
on and wonder what in the world is going on? You stand back and watch religion,
you watch Here's some fellas come down the aisle with candles,
and they got certain robes on, and certain little tassels here
and a tassel there, and a gold strip, and a red strip, and a
blue strip, and all the different gowns, and the funny-shaped hats,
and all of the different things. And they get the water, and they
throw some of it out, you know, and they got a Bailey ring and
something else they do this way with. And you say, what's going
on? What does all that mean? Why is that thing in his hand
round and not square? Why is it shaped like a diamond
and not like a heart? What's going on? What does all
that mean? What's all this chanting? And they open the book to this
place and do all this, and open it to that place and do all this,
and some are red, and some are blue, and some are green, and
some are white. That's the way it was here in
this last day of the Feast. It is all over. Go to some places you don't know
when to stand, when to kneel, when to cross, when to bow, when
to be quiet, when to speak. And when this was all over, the
people our Lord stood there. At that moment, He stepped forth
in the last day, the great day of the feast. Jesus stood out
in front of every one of them. He knew their hearts. He knew
they were going away with guilty hearts. He saw them going away
with confused and empty hearts. He saw them going away with no
hope, no knowledge of God, far away from God. They'd gotten
nothing from their blind leaders and their dead teachers. They'd
gotten nothing from all of these rituals and church services and
goings-on. And he stood there in front of
them and he said, If anybody's thirsty, let him come to me. Let him come
to me. What kind of thirst is he talking
about? Is he talking about physical thirst? You know, I don't know
anything about being physically thirsty. I've read about men
in the desert, men and women, died of thirst. I read about,
I remember in particular, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker's experience
in the Pacific, World War II, when they were out there almost
30 days or more without water, and they'd tell about how horrible
it is. But our Lord here is not speaking
about a physical thirst. He's talking about a soul thirst. Turn to Psalm 42. He's talking about a... Now listen
to me. My body has needs, and needs
that are met in various ways, food and water and warmth and
so forth, sleep. But my soul needs God. And I know my soul needs God.
My soul thirsts for the living God. If anybody's thirsty, look
at Psalm 42. David said, as the heart, that's
a deer. an animal, a deer, panteth after the water brooks, so panteth
my soul after thee, O God." My soul thirsteth for God, for the
living God. The law can't satisfy this thirst. I can read, Thou shalt not, Thou
shalt not, Thou shalt not. I can read it and read it and
read it, and it doesn't quench my thirst for God. And the ceremonies,
I can watch these fellows go through all their little old
silly religious ceremonies, and I get nauseated, but it doesn't
meet my needs. And all the different socials,
and gather around in a circle and hold hands, you know, that
doesn't meet my soul's thirst for God. and light a candle and run down
and place it somewhere and hold hands and say some words and
chant some ritualism or... It just does not meet my soul's
thirst. And theology... I can study doctrines,
doctrines, doctrines, till I hold my head with weariness, and it
doesn't meet this soul's thirst. Listen to David, "...and my soul
thirsteth for the living God. When shall I come and appear
before God?" Verse 3, "...my tears have been my meat day and
night, while they continually say unto me, Where is your God?"
Where is your God? Anybody thirsty? I believe this
is the thirst that the Jews felt at Pentecost when Peter preached,
and they cried, men and brethren, what shall we do? What shall
we do? Now, what are we going to do? Peter said, you stained your
hands with the blood of God's Son. Him whom God hath exalted, you
crucify. They said, what are we going
to do? What are we going to do? I believe this is the thirst
that the publican felt, who wouldn't lift his eyes in the temple.
That old religious Pharisee, he ran right down to the altar
and lifted his hands and said, Lord, I thank you I'm not like
other men. I sure am thankful, Lord, that I'm not an extortioner
or an adulterer or an unjust, that I give my trials and I fast
twice a week, and I'm sure not like that publican. He stood
over there and smote upon his breast. He would not lift so
much as his eyes, let alone his hands, to heaven. He cried, O
Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner! That's the thirst I'm talking
about. And the thirst of that thief
on the cross who turned to our Lord, and he said, we're getting
what we deserve! I'm dying as a criminal, for
that's what I am. Lord, if you'll just remember
me when you come into your kingdom. That's the thirst. This is the
thirst the Philippian jailer felt. When trembling, he came
and fell at the feet of Paul and Silas and said, Sir, what
must I do? What must I do to be saved? This is the thirst of the Ethiopian
eunuch who was reading Isaiah, chapter 61, chapter 53, and he
said to Philip, How can I understand? Somebody doesn't show me. This
is the thirst David was speaking about in Psalm 51, when he said,
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness, according
to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions,
wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Purge
me with hyssop, and I'll be clean. Wash me, and I'll be whiter than
the snow. Create in me a clean heart. Renew within me a right
spirit. And, Lord, cast me not away from
Thy presence, and take not the Holy Spirit from me." Our Lord said, at the last day
of that feast, when it was all over, and no need had been met,
and no heart had been blessed, and no spirit had been lifted,
and no soul had been saved, and He stood there and said, ain't
nobody thirsty? Nobody thirsty. Let Him come to me. Oh, I like
that. That little sentence, let Him
come to me. That little sentence is so simple,
there's no word there that a child can't understand. This little
girl in front of me can understand what I'm saying. Let Him come
to me. Let Him come to me. It solves
that mighty problem, how can man approach God? Let him come
to me. How can man be justified with
God? Let him come to me. I read about
a soldier in the Civil War who had been discredited falsely,
lied about, and had been stripped of his rank, and had been sentenced
to dishonorable discharge. And he talked to his commander-in-chief
into letting him appeal to Mr. Lincoln. And he went to Washington. On his way to Washington, he
was robbed of all his papers. He had no letters of recommendation. He had no identification. And
he went up to the White House. And that was the days when you
could get in to see the President if you had the right papers.
But he went to Washington, and he had no identification. He
told them at the door who he was and why he'd come. They said,
let's see your papers. He said, I don't have any. And
he went out into the lawn, on the lawn of the White House,
and just sat there on a beach and started weeping. Discredited,
dishonorable discharge. No hope of ever being cleared
of his guilt. And while he was weeping, a little
boy came up to him and said, what's the matter, soldier? Oh,
he said, son, you wouldn't be interested. The boy said, I might
be. Well, he said, son, I'll tell you the way it was. He told
about how he'd been lied about and discredited and stripped
of his rank and was going to be discharged with a dishonorable
discharge, but his commander-in-chief liked him and gave him an opportunity
to appeal to the president. He said, I can't get in to see
the president because I have nothing to recommend me, no papers,
no nothing, no identification. I'm a nobody. The little boy
said, do you want to see the President? He said, I want to
see him more than anything in the world. He said, you come
with me. The little boy took him by the hand. They walked
across the lawn. When they got to the door of
the White House, the guard at the door spoke to the little
boy, opened the door, and he and the soldier went in. They
walked down the hall. They came to a big door where
two soldiers were standing out in front. The little boy stopped
in front of them, said, I want to see my daddy. And one of the soldiers said,
well, your dad's busy, Tad. He said, I want to see my daddy
right now. And so they knocked on the door, and the president
said, come in. The soldier said, your son wants to see you, and
he's got a man with him. The president said, bring him
in. And the two doors opened, and the little boy took the soldier
by the hand, walked out to the president, and he said, Father,
he said, this man has a story to tell you. And Mr. Lincoln said, pull up a chair,
son. You want to get into the presence of God? And you've lost
your identification, you've lost your papers, and you've lost
your recommendations. You've lost everything, your
inheritance. I tell you one who can bring you into the presence
of God, that's his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let him come to
me. Let him come to me. It solves the mighty problem.
How can a sinner approach the living God? The philosophers
of Greece can't answer that, and the ceremonialists of Jerusalem
can't answer it, and the ritualists of Rome can't answer it, but
Christ can answer it. Let him come to me. You put that
short statement by the other six golden sayings of our Lord.
Listen to them. I am the bread of life. He that
cometh to me shall never hunger. I am the light of the world. He
that followeth me shall never walk in darkness. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved. I am the way. No man cometh to
the Father but by me. I am the resurrection and the
life. He that believeth on me shall never die. I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. Let him come to me. What is the
sum and substance of what I'm saying? I'm saying that Christ
is the fountain of life. that all life flows from him,
he's the fountain of living water, from him, as out of that rock
smitten by Moses in the wilderness flows an abundant stream for
all who are in need, a stream of pardon and forgiveness and
mercy and grace and rest and comfort and hope. And if you're
thirsty, he says, come unto me, all ye that labour in a heavy
laden. I'll give you rest. Just as I am without one plea,
but that Thy blood was shed for me, O Lamb of God, I come. Just
as I am in waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to
Thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come. Just as I am poor, wretched,
blind, but sight, riches, healing of the mind, all of these in
Thee I thank, O Lamb of God, I come. Let him come to me. What's the promise? The problem
first. The remedy? Christ. The promise? And he that believeth on me,
as the scriptures have said, out of his belly, out of his
innermost being. See this work of regeneration.
My friend, listen to me. And contrary to what they're
saying all over this world today, come down the aisle and God will
meet you. If God meets you, you come down the aisle. This is
an inward work. This is not a walking an aisle,
this is not an outward commitment to a program or a theology. It's an inward work, it's a regenerating
work. He's talking about out of his
belly, out of his innermost being, out of his bowels, out of his
true person shall flow rivers of living water. This is something
that happens in here. It's not a mental acceptance
of facts, which I've always believed. There's a God, I've always believed
that. The Bible is the Word of God. I was raised on the Bible.
I cut my teeth. I weaned on the Bible. Jesus
Christ lived and died. The calendar tells me that, A.D.
and B.C. You'll be saved if you just believe
that Jesus died on the cross. I've always believed that. You'll be saved if you believe
He rose again. I've always believed that. We've
been hunting Easter eggs since I was a kid. meet no Putnam Stadium
resurrection, and sing, Up from the grave He arose, and our hearts
are still far from God. Brethren, this thing of salvation,
this coming to Christ is not a fleshly walking an aisle, or
shaking a hand, or joining a church, or being baptized, or believing
doctrines, or singing songs. This is an inward work. Let him
come to me, and out of his belly, out of his innermost being, out
of his heart, out of his soul, shall flow rivers of living water. It's the work God has to do for
you. Men can't do it. They can hand you a book on how
to be saved and know it and how to be filled with the Spirit
and how to this and how to that and how to the other. You don't
how to this thing. God does it. It's a work of grace.
It's a birth. It's a supernatural quickening
and awakening. God, give me life. Man can't
give me life. I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. And no one can meet
my need. God, you can. Give me life. Lord, that I might see. Lord,
that I might hear. Lord, that I might live. Do something
for me. Do something for me. Out of his
belly shall flow." It's a continual, perpetual work. It's not a...
So many folks seem to think that this thing of salvation... Or
you say, yeah, I made a decision 20 years ago, and that's it?
Well, isn't that it? Don't you say you do something
and do something and that's it? No, that's not. Out of his belly
shall flow, shall flow continually, perpetually. It's a continual
work. We have been saved. We're being
saved. We shall be saved. We have repented. We are repenting.
We shall repent. We have believed. We are believing.
We shall believe. We have God. We shall have God. He lives within me. shall flow
rivers, sufficient rivers. You ever lived on a creek? Talk
about the creek beds dry? What are you going to do when
a creek runs dry? What's that song? Brother, this
creek don't run dry. Like that Ohio River down there,
there's always plenty, sometimes too much. Out of his belly, out
of his innermost being, shall flow continually Perpetually
rivers, sufficient for the darkest days, sufficient for the longest
nights, sufficient for the heaviest burdens, sufficient for the greatest
need, rivers. We don't worry about a supply
of water in Iceland. We got a river. They got a river. Shall flow rivers of what? Living
water. Living water. Everything about
this earth is dead and dying. It's living water. It's divine water. Christ is
life! This is living water! Rivers
of living water! He lives, and because He lives,
I live. Anybody thirsty? Thirsty. Oh, I'm thirsty. I'm thirsty. Well, Christ said, let him come
to me. Don't get sidetracked now. There'll be plenty of folks
out here in front of you trying to sidetrack you. Join our church. We're right. Come to our group. We want to have 500. We had 499
last Sunday. You'll be 500. You can be 500.
You can be... Let's play banana. You'll be
one of the bunch, you know. That's foolishness. Don't break
the chain. I'm not interested. Not interested
in playing your games. I'm interested in getting to
Christ. I'm interested in you getting to Christ. Wherever you
find Him, that's where you'll be. Let Him come to me, and out
of His belly, out of His innermost being, not out of church membership
role, and not out of a Sunday school class, but out of His
belly, shall continually, perpetually flow an abundant supply of living
water, because it's a river. Our Father in heaven, how weary,
weary, weary we get in this dry and thirsty land. So much going
under the name of God, so much confusion, competition in the
name of religion. All speaking of another Jesus,
another Spirit, another Gospel. How thirsty we are for revelation
of Thyself, for the rest and peace that comes from knowing
Christ, that Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Lord, reveal Thyself
unto us. Give us a knowledge of Thyself
and a quietness of spirit and a rejoicing in our heart. Bring
us to Christ. Settle us upon that foundation,
that tried stone, that living stone, and we shall never be
ashamed. Reveal Thyself to every person
in this congregation and all who hear this message, wherever
it's heard. Glorify Thy matchless name. There's
a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins.
Sinners plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains.
May I to that fountain be led. In the name of Christ the Lord
we pray, amen.