come unto me and drink

John 7:37-38. 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 hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.

‘Sunday morning coming down…’ And the Lord’s sanctuary is filled to overflowing! Bless His holy name! The faithful believers have come to renew their connection to Almighty God; to sing His praises and give Him thanks, hear His Word and receive His body and blood in the symbolic gesture of communion, thereby reawakening and reenergizing their listless and tired souls.

Wow friends! What a blessing it is to have fellowship every Sunday with other believers under the remarkable auspices of our Creator! So as we do every Sunday, let’s begin the proceedings with some praise and worship to soften up our hearts and make them more receptive to the word.

And today’s song of praise is that old but magical hymn, ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,’ taken from the 10^th and last movement of the cantata ‘Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life,’ composed by Johann Sebastian Bach in the early 18^th century. This version we’re going to sing today, is apparently the most common English one, written by poet laureate Robert Bridges.

So without further ado, let’s raise our heads, hearts, eyes and voices to high heaven in sweet, adorable and exalted praise, accompanied by the scintillating symphonic music of the master composer, as performed by the full orchestra. As one harmonious choir now: ‘Jesus, joy of man’s desiring, Holy wisdom, LOVE most bright; Drawn by Thee, our souls aspiring Soar to uncreated light.

Word of God, our flesh that fashioned, With the fire of life impassioned, Striving still to truth unknown, soaring, dying round Thy throne. Through the way where hope is guiding, Hark, what peaceful music rings; Where the flock, in Thee confiding, Drink of joy from deathless springs. Theirs is beauty’s fairest pleasure; Theirs is wisdom’s holiest treasure. Thou dost ever lead Thine own In the LOVE of joys unknown.’

And isn’t that the awesome truth my brethren! Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ALWAYS leads us, His faithful people, with LOVE, to unknown, unbelievable gasps of joy! Praise His Holy Name! Oh friends, Jesus is indeed the joy of our desire!

And why not eh? He has Holy wisdom, the brightest LOVE that exists and shines in the universe, not to mention the everlasting hope of salvation and eternal life He’s provided for us through His ever-faithful promises and sacrificial actions of two thousand years ago.

Now let’s hear his Word, which fashioned our flesh, then breathed the fire of impassioned life into it, as we strive to uncover unknown truths from it. And today’s scripture deals with ‘Drink of joy from deathless springs.’ Listen as our Lord and Saviour expounds on His abilities with thrilling confidence.

‘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 hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)

And can you imagine the confusion those statements caused amongst the mainly ignorant crowd. ‘But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believed on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.’ (John 7:39)

Yes friends, Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit that was to come upon every believer after His crucifixion, resurrection and ascension back to heaven. And if we’re truly spiritually thirsty, the best place to seek relief from that thirst is in Jesus. He is the ONLY one who can quench, can satisfy, can satiate our thirsty souls!

And in the end of the Good Book, He again declares unto John: ‘I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star’ (Rev.22:16)

And what does this revealing angel make known to John? ‘And the Spirit (Holy Spirit) and the bride (the church) say, Come (to Christ in faith for eternal life). And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst (thirsty) come. And whosoever will (desires), let him take the water of life freely.’ (Rev.22:17)

Oh friends, you can’t beat that offer! It’s the best offer going in this mish-mash world! And we’ll end with these beautiful words of scripture as prophesied by Isaiah about the Lord’s doings through Jesus.

‘Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings (deeds) among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.’ (Is.12:2-6)

And our Lord and Saviour is indeed great in our midst my brethren! So let’s be wise and do like the prophet advised nuh; let’s call on His name, declare His deeds, exalt His holy name and above all, accept His free offer of grace, whereby we can receive salvation and eternal life! That is wisdom of everlasting proportions! Much LOVE!

…in Jesus…we have EVERYTHING…we can ever need…

Deuteronomy 28:3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.

Oh friends, it seems like it’s going to be a wet day in my neck of the woods. At least that’s how it’s begun. We had a wicked thunderstorm this morning around one o’clock. Brother! The thunder and lightning and the lashing rain were certainly out for a good run. (smile)

I was sitting down in the family room watching the tube at the time and all I could see were the bright flashes of lightning behind the blinds, as the thunder rolled and the rain beat down.

But it’s a good thing that we Christians are associated with the ONE who has control of the weather, Almighty God. He blesses us, so we don’t have to worry about it affecting us, unless we unwisely do something to cause a negative circumstance.

Oh, and by the way, did we count our many blessings as we awoke this morning, to remind us of what blessed lives we live? I certainly hope so, because that lifts our spirits, encourages us to stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to the Father by way of Jesus!

Anyway, here is a poem from our One Day Book of Bible verses with writings by Ruth Harms Calkin. It’s titled ‘Rivers and Rivers.’

And it says: ‘O my Father My heart longs for you! Fill me to capacity with your spirit…No, Father, I’m sorry – That’s not sufficient. Fill me to overflowing with your Spirit And then increase my capacity That there might still be more overflow.

Out of my life May there flow rivers And rivers Of Living Water Bringing relief, release And exhilarating refreshment To a bruised and broken world Where thirst can never be quenched Apart from you.’

What a noble prayer my people! Do we ever pray along those lines, asking to be vessels of Living Water to a broken world? It would definitely be a nice gesture.

And the scripture passage on which that poem is based is Christ’s clarion call: ‘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 hath said, out of his belly (heart) shall flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38)

And that’s where we’re supposed to be at my brethren; the stage of belief where rivers of the living water is jut pouring out of us on to the broken and needy around us. So let’s ponder some on that today nuh, see how we’re doing along those lines and with God’s help try and improve it. End of sermon! (smile)

Now let’s do something else that ought also to raise our spirits and encourage us to keep on keeping on with Christ. Today’s Thursday – as least I believe so – (smile) that means we need to declare our Thursday Blessing over our lives.

So with expectant belief and hungry hope let’s declare them in strong voice. ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance!

I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline! I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection!

I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and everyday! Amen!’

Ah friends, please remember that a blessing is not a blessing until it has been vocalized over someone, and we must also bless our friends and families and those around us, so that their spirits can be lifted and encouraged.

And our rather appropriate Bit just strengthens our argument. ‘Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.’

Yes friends, if we are obedient to God’s Word, then the blessings of obedience will flow down on us, run us down and overtake us! Glory to God! But we have to first get the ball rolling for that to happen.

Now let’s look at a couple of scriptures that enhance our position. And the first one deals with Bruh Joseph when he was sold into slavery and bought by the Egyptian army officer Potiphar.

The Good Book tells us: ‘And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous (successful) man: and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace (favour) in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put in his hand.

And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.’ (Gen.39:2-5)

Yes my fellow believers, the Lord blessed Joseph wherever he went, into what ever negative situation he found himself, because he never complained, just tried his best to be obedient to God’s word. Now can that be said of us? It would certainly help us all.

And we’ll conclude with these words from Psalm 128 – The rewards of faithfulness. ‘Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands (fruit of thy labour): happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.

Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of (in the heart of) thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.’ (Ps.128:1-4)

Friends, I can’t say it any better than that. I can only encourage us to do as it says, if we want to be blessed. Much LOVE!

…obedience brings blessings…it’s as simple as that…

SCRIP-BITS

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 October 2018 John 7:37-38

Today’s Scrip-Bit 14 July 2016 Deuteronomy 28:3‏

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