RIVER of LIFE John 7:37-39
DAY 1 - "Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone if thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to received." John 7:37-39. What does this passage means? Imagine you are very thirsty and you start loosing your energy because of your thirst, then you find streams of water. You can fulfill your thirst and get your energy back by drinking from the refreshing streams of water. This is exactly what this passage means. If your life is empty and you are loosing the hope, the motivation and the power to go on (i.e., spiritually thirsty), then you can change that life into an abundant, significant and powerful life by being filled by the Holy Spirit (i.e., drinking from the streams of living water.) Are you thirsty? Are you loosing hope, the motivation and power to go on? Do you feel like there is something missing from your life? Do you feel like you are not living your life to its fullest? If you are, then you need the streams of living water (i.e., the Holy Spirit) to fill and guide your life. The next two days, we are going to study about the meaning and mark of the life that is filled by the Holy Spirit.
DAY 2 - MARK of LIFE that is FILLED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT Yesterday, we have seen that the Holy Spirit is the River of Life, it is the streams of living water. So now, what is the mark of a life that is "filled by the Holy Spirit?" 1. OBEDIENT LIFE. A life that is filled by the Holy Spirit is a life that is marked by obedience to God. Why should we be obedient to Christ? Because He is our Lord and Creator. Look at this illustration, who knows best on how a computer should be used to get the optimum result? The creator, the designer, the manufacturer knows BEST on how that computer should be utilized to get the maximum performance. The manufacturer then created a user's manual that tells the customer how to get the most out of the computer. That's the same way with us. God is our Creator. As our Creator, He knows best on how we can achieve the optimum life. God then creates the Bible that contains the instructions on how to conduct our lives according to what we are designed to be (i.e., the user's manual). Therefore, obeying God is a guarantee to have an abundant life (i.e., a life that is conducted according to its design). 2. OVERFLOWING LIFE. Imagine your life as a glass. Prior to being filled by the Holy Spirit, the glass (i.e., your life) is EMPTY. Then, the Holy Spirit FILLED UP the glass (i.e., your life) to the point of being SPILLED OUT. Yes, life in the Spirit is so abundant that it is more then just being filled up to the point of being spilled out. But, life in the Spirit does not stop there, it also means to be POURED OUT (i.e., share your life and share your love to others.) Yes, this is what an overflowing life means. It is so abundant that we have more than the power and hope for ourselves, but we can share that joy and fulfillment with others. 3. OVERCOMING LIFE. Life that is filled by the Holy Spirit is a life that is powerful enough to overcome the sinful desires that we have. Have you ever feel like you don't have enough strength to face the temptations and you'll end up doing the things that you do not want to do? Have you ever felt like you are to weak to have victory over sin? Then, what you need is a life that is filled by the Holy Spirit. This life gives you the power to change, the power to keep it up and the power to overcome sin in your lives.
DAY 3 - HOW to be FILLED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT Yesterday, we have seen the marks of a Holy Spirit filled life. Today we are going to see how to be filled by the Holy Spirit. The most important thing is that you have to WANT it, you have to DESIRE it, you have to really want to have a life that is filled by the Spirit (i.e., an obedient life, an overflowing life and an overcoming life). What does a life that is filled by the Holy Spirit means? It means a life that allows the Spirit to work through you. It allows the Spirit to flow and be unleashed within you. It means to let God to be the Lord of our lives. Yes, friends, it simply means to let God be the Lord (i.e., MASTER) of our lives. There is nothing magical about how to be filled by the Holy Spirit. There is only two required steps: a. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Only if you have received salvation, then it is possible for the Holy Spirit to come into your heart and fill your life. How can you receive salvation? You can pray the following prayer: "Lord Jesus, I am a sinner and I need to be saved. Jesus, I turn from trust in myself and my sin and I look to you who alone can save an cleanse. I know that you died on the cross for my sin, that you were buried for me, and that you rose again that I might have life everlasting. Come into my life, Lord Jesus. Thank you for saving me, Lord Jesus. Amen." b. Let Jesus be the Master of your life. It is only about wanting to let God be the Lord, the Master, of your life or not. If you do, then you can pray the following prayer: "Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I have received you as my Savior, but I know that I am not living my life to its fullest. Today, I want to commit my life to You and let You be the master of my life. Take control of my life and make me the person you want me to be. Fill my life, let it be spilled out and poured out for You." Friends, are you filled by the Holy Spirit? Do you want to be filled by the Holy Spirit?
Disclaimer This material is a summary of the message that was preached by Pastor Jack Graham at Prestonwood Baptist Church. The writer of this EBS (Electronic Bible Study) made some changes and added some personal notes that is necessary to customize this material into an electronic media, a daily reading material and to better fit the audience. The Prestonwood Baptist Church is not affiliated in anyway with the Indonesian Christian Fellowship of Fort Worth.