And they would pray, “Lord not only that this land is empty, not only that this land is parched, not only that this land needs water. Our hearts, our lives, our religious lives need the outpouring of your water no less than the coming of the Messiah. No less than your reign.”
And interestingly, because the water from which they draw comes from “Siloam.” Siloam is actually a term given to that body of water that would remind us of the meaning “Sent One.”
In the scripture passage we were told that on the last day when they were having this ritual of praying to God for the reign to come, here lo and behold, someone stood up. We were told in the Scripture passage he was no other than Jesus. “ Jesus stood up, shouted and said “Come to me all of you who are thirsty.” He was challenging the people around to come to Him because there was something that He could give to what they actually prayed for.
There are three things that I would like to share with you in this story that would lead us to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
First thing, the Scripture tells us that Jesus stood that gives us an idea of Jesus’ PRESENCE. Jesus is right there beside you. He stands beside people who were thirsty, who is in need of his filling, who is in need of the quenching power of Jesus because Jesus Christ claims to be the Living Water.
You know friends I do not know what situation you are in your life right now but I would like to believe especially this time that we are on a pandemic, though we are confronted with Covid-19 and all of us longing for, not only the answer to our problems, but all of us dying for already: One thing to come to church, one thing to be with his people, have fellowship with one another. One thing to listen to His words, but we want to hear the Word of God. We want God to answer our prayers.
Now I tell you friends, if you are in need of God’s presence this story should remind you that He is just right there. He is standing beside you. He is just right there near you. He is now right there at your homes. God is everywhere.
We were told in the previous worship services and in messages that even behind locked doors God will come in to us because He could never be stopped by any circumstance in life. In times like these, He can stand right beside you.
The second thing I would like us to look into closely is that as Jesus Christ stood, according to the story, Jesus Christ called these people and he said “Come let anyone of you who is thirsty come to me and drink.
This is something that we should be reminded of that Jesus Christ INVITES His people to come to Him.
At one time, to the weary, He said “Come to me all of you who are tired and are weary for I would give you rest. You see, this is the kind of God that we have in Christ Jesus. He is the one who has an open heart and open mind to welcome us all, to invite us into His presence.
God wants us to be reminded that no matter how much we try to consider ourselves being equipped already with many things in life, with whatever it is that we may have accumulated in life: money, wealth, position, and power –There is still one thing that we need. Very simple, that if we are deprived of this or if you refuse to take this we would die after a few days. And what is that? WATER.
Time will come that you will search for this water and therefore Jesus Christ wanted us to know that the water that He offers is just like the water that you need every day without which you will die.
And Jesus Christ was giving importance to this need of the People to be met. And no one could meet the need of the person who is parched or thirsty, empty – but the One who made you. The One who created you.
Come to Me all of you. Come to Me and drink because whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of Living Water would flow from within them.
This is the challenge that we are to receive from the Lord himself. We are all invited to come to Him. And when we come to Him, we know that He is the giver of everything that we need in life and much more our need for the Living Water. No one, no fame, no position, no power, no possession can quench our thirsty soul except Jesus himself.
I remember the song “There is no satisfaction in riches or in fame when the Saviour is denied.” The song composed after the story of the one (Judas) who betrayed Jesus. When he betrayed Jesus, he actually sold Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. 30 pieces (of silver) just the price of a slave. But here, look, not even those pieces of silver can satisfy the need of a person. Not even 30 pieces of silver can buy Jesus Christ because He is priceless but this ‘priceless’ Jesus is given to us for free. Third point. In verse 37 to 38, “Whoever believes in Me as the Scripture has said, rivers of Living Water will flow from within them.” The kind of water that one receives will not just satisfy one’s need today or tomorrow or the days to come. It would satisfy one person’s need all throughout the days of one’s life.
Why? Because no less than the Living Water would reside from deep within. Other translation says, from the ‘belly’ or from the ‘bottom of one’s being’ or from ‘the heart.’ Come to think of it, your heart, your ‘the bottom of your being’ comes the spring from which this water would flow. Why? Because God in Jesus Christ would want us not just to receive this water but for us to be able to SHARE this water with OTHERS. And you know what, this water that Jesus Christ is talking about, verse 39 says, “By this He meant the Holy Spirit whom those who believe in Him were later to receive. Now this is the answer to the question I posed earlier: “How can I be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now the story tells us that those who believe in Jesus Christ they would receive, they would be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The thing I want us to be reminded of, Is that Jesus calls everyone to believe in Him. First, Jesus is the one who STANDS BESIDES US when we are in need. Second, Jesus is the one who INVITES us to come to Him as the Living Water. And third, Jesus CALLS us, INVITES us to BELIEVE in Him. According to the Scripture you will receive the Holy Spirit.
Verse 39 is actually a footnote of the storyteller, by this he meant the Holy Spirit whom those who believe in Him were later to receive – Later to receive – up to the time the Spirit had not been given yet. Why, because according to this Footnote verse 39, “since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
We know from the story that as Jesus Christ stood, shouted, and asked them to come, there was no record at all if there were two or three people who went to Jesus and asked for the water. There was no record at all.
What we have for the record about the coming of the Holy Spirit was after around 7 months according to the story, when the disciples of Jesus gathered together in that upper room, there were about 120 if you notice of the story as recorded in the Books of Acts, and right there for ten days and what were they were waiting? They were waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Because why? They remember Jesus Christ who once said “Wait when the time will come when God himself will send the Holy Spirit.” This is the time of waiting that they were doing and in so doing of seven months and ten days of waiting, lo and behold, the Holy Spirit was poured unto them. Thus, fulfilling the promise as what the Book of Isaiah said “For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground. I will pour out my spirit on your OFFSPRING and my blessings on your DESCENDANTS.
You know what that LAST DAY means? According to the story, ‘Last Day’ is the day of the feast called “Hossana Rava” Hossana meaning “Save Now Oh Great One.
Now friends I know we are praying for the solution of the problems we are facing right now specifically the pandemic. I wouldn’t promise that after “7 months and 10 days” that there will be a solution to Covid-19 but no less than the Lord promised “as we wait upon Him, as we respond to His call, as we draw ourselves closer to Him – right here and right now – He is listening to our prayers. And He will send us – not an answer – to COVID-19 but an answer to all our concerns in life because no less than the Holy Spirit is sent to you and to me, to all of us who believe in Jesus Christ. It is sent to us so that all of us will receive Jesus Christ and believe in Him from our deepest being, from our inmost being, from here in our hearts would flow water that will never run dry. The last line tells us that the spirit did not come yet since Jesus had not yet been glorified. The purpose by which the Spirit is given to us therefore is for the glory and honor of no one else but God in Jesus Christ.
