Hello and welcome
to Anchors Of Truth.
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So glad that you all are
here, and welcome to you at home
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that are viewing over
the television airwaves,
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or maybe listening by radio,
joining us via the internet.
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Could be even the 3ABN app.
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We're so glad you could join us.
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It's hard to believe that we're
down to our final in this series
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that Pastor C.A.
has brought to us.
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And the title of this
series is, A River Runs Through.
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Have you guys noticed the
trend here in his sermons?
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It's all about water.
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On Wednesday
night, Cry Me By A River.
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Thursday, Abana and Pharpar.
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Friday, You Gotta Get Wet.
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This morning for
church, A River Within.
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And today's, what is
today's title for this sermon?
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And He Showed Me A River.
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And we're looking
forward to that message.
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Absolutely, you know I
appreciate Pastor C.A. so much,
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and his wife Irma.
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A tremendous people of God.
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One thing I like about Pastor
C.A., there's a whole list,
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but one of them is that he's
genuinely interested in people.
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How you see him
here behind the pulpit
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is how he is in real life.
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I know that when
he first came to 3ABN,
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I was sitting in my office.
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Pastor C.A., he just...
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At that time I was
at the call center.
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He just walked into my
office, spun the chair around,
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I was sitting in front
of my desk, and sat down,
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leaned over my desk and
said, "So how you doing?
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How you really doing?"
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And he sat there, talked
with me, counseled with me,
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and offered a prayer.
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You know, that's a
man that loves people.
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And that I
appreciate so very much in him.
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Amen, he's an anointed
speaker of the Word of God,
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as we can see by
the last four messages.
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And we're going to be blessed,
like Greg said, by the final
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message here this afternoon.
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The thing I love is, every
time you open the Word of God,
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God's word never returns void.
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And we know that the
anointing of the Holy Spirit,
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because we have prayed, and
know that he is surrendered.
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And we know that we're going
to be blessed this afternoon.
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But before he comes to deliver
the message straight from
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the Lord for you at
home, and for us here,
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we're going to be blessed
by another special music number
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by brother Michael Harris.
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He and his wife Lynn
ministered this morning,
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they were in the
federal prison ministry,
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and they had a church service.
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He loves to share
his testimony of what God
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has done in his life.
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He's going to be
ministering a song entitled,
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All Said and Done.
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After brother Michael
Harris shall have sung,
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the next voice you will hear is
that of our pastor and brother,
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C.A. Murray.
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When it's all
been said and done,
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there is just one
thing that matters.
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Did I do my best
to live for truth?
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Did I live my life for You?
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When it's all
been said and done,
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all my treasures
will mean nothing.
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Only what I've
done for love's reward
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will stand the test of time.
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Lord, Your mercy is so great;
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that He looks
beyond our weakness
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and finds purest
gold in miry clay,
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making sinners into saints.
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I will always sing Your praise
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here on earth and ever after;
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for He's shown me
heaven is my true home.
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When it's all been said and done
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He's my life when life is gone.
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When it's all been said and done
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every knee shall bow before Him.
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Did I do my best
to live for truth?
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Did I live my life for You?
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Lord, I give my life to You.
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What a beautiful song.
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Thank you so very much, Michael.
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Well we've come down
to our last presentation.
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And I should like
you to enter in with me,
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through the
musings of my own mind,
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something that I've been playing
with for quite some time.
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Some, I guess, 20 years
ago I preached a sermon,
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and I knew it was incomplete.
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And so I preached it
again and added a second sermon.
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And it got to four
sermons, and still hadn't
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gotten what I wanted.
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And so I just put it away.
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And then this week,
as we were dealing with
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this particular subject, I had
a sermon for this presentation,
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but it wasn't complete.
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And for some reason I
couldn't get the consent
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of the Lord to complete it.
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So I went home last
night and Irma said,
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"Are you coming to bed?"
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And I said,
"Yeah, sooner or later."
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Because this thing was
whirling around in my mind.
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And I wanted to
connect the dots, as it were,
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in something that I felt
was orthodox, but just couldn't
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quite get the hook.
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And so I went back
and I found my old notes,
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I guess about midnight.
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And then we
started out on a journey.
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And so this morning Irma said,
"What time did you come to bed?"
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And I said, "I don't know.
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I remember
1:30, I remember 2:00.
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but I don't remember
anything else after that.
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So we're going to take a
little journey and try to pull
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some things
together in light of what we
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spoke about this morning.
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And that is the
woman at the well.
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But we are approaching
it from a different angle.
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And the thing that began
this for me was the question,
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and it's just the way
my mind tends to work,
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in heaven there
is a sea of glass.
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That would seem to
me to be enough water.
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That's how my mind works.
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You've got a sea of glass.
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That's enough.
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But now you've
got a river of life.
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So my mind said, why the river?
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We've got the sea of glass.
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Why do we need a river?
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And so I began that search.
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And so it leads us
to where we are today.
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And we'll try to pull a
bunch of things together
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in just a little bit.
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Turn with me, if you
will, to the book of Revelation.
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Revelation 22:1-2
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You'll recall that
on the very first night
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I said there is an ecclesiology
of water in the Bible
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and in the Jewish economy.
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But there is also
a theology of water.
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And I ran into some
things that dealt with
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this theology of water.
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And this hour, much less
an hour now, 45 or so minutes,
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will not be enough to
exhaust this, but again,
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we're taking a little
trip through the musings of my
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sometimes convoluted mind.
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But this is how
this occurs to me.
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Dealing with the
theology of water
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and why does a
river run through it.
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What is, "it"?
Well, "it," is the gospel.
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It is the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Why does a river run through it?
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And why, even when
we get to the kingdom,
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there again is this river?
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And what does the river
symbolize in its purest form?
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Why is the river so important,
and why are rivers so important,
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and why does this river
theme occur again, again, again,
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and again
through the Word of God?
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I'm in Revelation 22:1-2.
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"And he showed me a
pure river of water of life,
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clear as crystal, proceeding
from the throne of God
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and of the Lamb.
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In the middle of its street,
and on either side of the river,
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was the tree of life,
which bore twelve fruits,
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each tree yielding
its fruit every month.
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The leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations."
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Gracious Father, as
we look into Your Word,
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would You please
give us of the treasure
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that is hidden in Your Word
so that we may understand You,
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and that we may
serve You faithfully,
00:11:09.36\00:11:11.93
and be prepared when
You come to take us home.
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We thank You in
Jesus name, amen.
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Close your eyes
for just a moment.
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Just close your eyes.
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What I want you to do
now is to think about heaven.
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Just take a moment.
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Your eyes are closed and
you are thinking about heaven.
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Now open them
back up and look at me.
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Now there's a disappointment;
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thinking about
heaven and looking at me.
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But I dare say that
everyone in this room,
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and everyone
watching and listening,
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had a different
thought in their heart.
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Everyone had a
different vision in their mind.
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Thinking about heaven, really,
is a fairly difficult task.
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Simply because we have nothing
to base our thoughts upon.
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So usually our thoughts
go to very subjective themes.
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Heaven is what you prize
and what you think is best.
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Streets of gold, gates
of pearl, a city foursquare;
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as wide as it is
high, as it is deep.
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All of these things swirl
in our mind, but the truth is,
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our minds cannot really
grasp or wrap themselves
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around what heaven is.
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When you say, "Think of
heaven," it's very difficult.
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"Eye hath not
seen, ear hath not heard,
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neither has it
entered into your heart."
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So your wildest imaginations
have to fall far short
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of what heaven actually is.
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You can muse about maybe
the best mansion you ever saw,
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or the best car
you've ever seen,
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or the finest
city you've ever seen.
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But the finest man-made city
or the finest man-built house
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falls far short of
anything that God's going to
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build and provide for us.
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Is that not so?
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So it is difficult to
think about heaven, because
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our imaginations are not
big enough to wrap around
00:13:33.88\00:13:38.21
what God has prepared for us,
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and what God has given to us.
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The text is 1 Corinthians
2:9, "Eye hath not seen,
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ear hath not heard..."
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And we've tried so many times.
00:13:50.79\00:13:52.59
I've listened to the description
given by Ellen White and others,
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and they're pretty good.
00:13:55.90\00:13:57.23
Yet the mind simply cannot
encompass those realities.
00:13:57.27\00:14:02.87
So we are not really
comfortable envisioning
00:14:04.11\00:14:07.28
what will be in heaven.
00:14:07.61\00:14:09.64
We are far more
comfortable in envisioning
00:14:10.61\00:14:15.22
what will not be in heaven.
00:14:15.78\00:14:17.75
Amen.
00:14:18.39\00:14:19.72
It's easier to think about
what's not going to be there.
00:14:19.79\00:14:22.36
Think of anything bad,
it's not going to be there.
00:14:22.52\00:14:25.03
Very simple.
00:14:25.06\00:14:26.39
Got a toothache?
Not going to be there.
00:14:26.80\00:14:29.13
You're wearing
glasses? Not going to be there.
00:14:29.36\00:14:31.93
Have trouble getting up
because you've got bad knees?
00:14:32.23\00:14:34.64
Not going to be there.
00:14:34.67\00:14:36.04
Amen.
00:14:36.07\00:14:37.41
Nurses. Not going to be there.
00:14:37.44\00:14:39.24
Doctors. Not going to be there.
00:14:39.41\00:14:41.64
Car accidents.
Not going to be there.
00:14:42.44\00:14:45.08
Mortgage payments.
Not going to be there.
00:14:45.11\00:14:47.88
Getting old. Not
going to be there.
00:14:48.18\00:14:50.89
You know, when I was a
youngster, when I was young,
00:14:50.92\00:14:52.95
my father use to get up
and sit on the side of the bed
00:14:53.52\00:14:57.16
for about five minutes.
00:14:57.19\00:14:58.53
And as a youngster,
you get up and you pop up.
00:14:59.26\00:15:02.16
And we couldn't understand this
sitting on the side of the bed.
00:15:02.66\00:15:05.40
What was all of that about?
00:15:05.43\00:15:06.77
You know, you get up and
you sit on the side of the bed
00:15:06.80\00:15:08.37
and kind of make sure
everything is where you
00:15:08.40\00:15:10.11
left it the night before.
00:15:10.14\00:15:11.47
And it just seemed so strange.
00:15:12.94\00:15:15.04
And I said as a child,
"I'm never going to get up
00:15:15.08\00:15:17.35
and sit on the side of the bed."
00:15:17.38\00:15:18.85
And this morning as
I was sitting on the
00:15:19.78\00:15:21.32
side of the bed...
00:15:21.35\00:15:22.68
It happens that way.
00:15:23.28\00:15:24.62
You know, you get old.
00:15:24.65\00:15:25.99
And you don't pop
up like you use to.
00:15:26.02\00:15:27.92
And when you fall, you
stay down there a lot longer
00:15:27.96\00:15:30.43
than you did before.
00:15:30.46\00:15:31.79
And it takes you a lot longer
to recover from those falls.
00:15:31.83\00:15:34.43
Well, that's not
going to be there.
00:15:34.46\00:15:36.53
Praise God.
00:15:36.56\00:15:37.90
No more sorrow, no
more parting, no more death,
00:15:38.10\00:15:40.90
no more saying goodbye.
00:15:40.94\00:15:42.30
It's much easier to
envision what's not going to
00:15:42.34\00:15:45.14
be in heaven than what is.
00:15:45.17\00:15:46.54
Because we simply don't
know what will be there.
00:15:46.57\00:15:48.68
But we have a pretty good idea
what's not going to be there.
00:15:48.71\00:15:51.45
And we praise God for that.
00:15:52.51\00:15:54.38
Ellen White, in
commenting on this chapter,
00:15:55.72\00:15:59.25
Revelation 22, says
this, "Christ is the truth
00:15:59.79\00:16:05.83
of all that we
find in the Father."
00:16:06.03\00:16:09.50
It's a powerful statement.
00:16:09.86\00:16:11.20
Then she says
this, and I love this,
00:16:12.07\00:16:14.24
"The definition of heaven
is the presence of Christ."
00:16:15.37\00:16:21.78
Amen.
00:16:23.61\00:16:24.95
Define heaven.
00:16:25.38\00:16:26.72
Jesus.
00:16:27.55\00:16:28.88
Amen?
00:16:30.05\00:16:31.39
Wherever Christ
is, that's heaven.
00:16:31.42\00:16:34.36
That's why Christ
could say, when He was here,
00:16:34.66\00:16:37.16
the kingdom of
God has come to you.
00:16:37.19\00:16:39.19
Because where Jesus
is, that's where heaven is.
00:16:39.39\00:16:42.36
Now, the gold and the mansions
and the wings and eternal life;
00:16:42.40\00:16:47.77
that's just
frosting on the cake.
00:16:47.80\00:16:49.84
Amen?
00:16:50.17\00:16:51.51
The real, dare I say,
guts of what heaven is,
00:16:51.54\00:16:55.94
is the presence of Jesus.
00:16:56.58\00:16:58.05
And the rest is just gravy.
00:16:58.88\00:17:00.35
Amen.
00:17:00.95\00:17:02.28
So she says, "The
definition of heaven
00:17:02.95\00:17:06.69
is the presence of Christ."
00:17:07.09\00:17:08.42
Where Christ is, heaven is.
00:17:08.46\00:17:10.53
She says, "Christ
is the heavenly Teacher
00:17:11.63\00:17:15.06
who will lead His
people to the tree of life
00:17:15.10\00:17:18.60
that grows on either
side of the river of life,
00:17:19.27\00:17:22.50
and He will explain to
them the truths they could not
00:17:22.90\00:17:26.94
in this life understand."
00:17:26.98\00:17:28.71
I don't know about you,
but when I get to heaven,
00:17:28.81\00:17:30.65
I've got a million questions.
00:17:30.68\00:17:32.41
I've got a lot to ask.
00:17:33.82\00:17:35.58
So you'll have to
line up behind me,
00:17:35.98\00:17:38.05
because that may be the
only fight that's going to
00:17:38.25\00:17:40.86
be in heaven; who's going to get
to ask their questions first.
00:17:40.89\00:17:43.49
Because I've got a lot
of stuff I'd like to know.
00:17:44.09\00:17:46.36
I've got some questions.
00:17:46.39\00:17:48.36
And I don't think they're
particularly tough questions.
00:17:48.40\00:17:51.03
I think Christ can handle them.
00:17:51.07\00:17:52.43
I just want to know, that I want
to know, that I want to know.
00:17:52.47\00:17:55.97
Amen?
00:17:56.00\00:17:57.34
You've got one or two
question for Jesus too?
00:17:57.37\00:17:59.14
I think we're going to
spend the first 1000 years
00:18:01.14\00:18:03.28
just, it'll be
like a press conference.
00:18:03.31\00:18:04.78
Everybody asking
their own questions.
00:18:04.81\00:18:06.85
But she says He will explain
to us things we cannot...
00:18:08.62\00:18:13.82
See, there's some things your
mind just cannot handle now.
00:18:13.86\00:18:16.52
There are some things I
think Christ just keeps from us
00:18:16.86\00:18:19.76
because we're not
prepared to deal with them
00:18:20.43\00:18:22.90
on this side of glory.
00:18:22.93\00:18:24.27
So on the other side
looking back, He can explain
00:18:24.30\00:18:27.97
those things to us.
00:18:28.00\00:18:29.34
And we will fully understand.
00:18:29.37\00:18:31.71
In the book, Early
Writings, Ellen White speaks of
00:18:32.71\00:18:36.54
the river of life
and the tree of life.
00:18:36.58\00:18:39.65
And I want to take
that reading just now.
00:18:40.45\00:18:41.92
She says, "Here, we
saw the tree of life
00:18:41.95\00:18:45.35
and the throne of God.
00:18:45.39\00:18:46.92
Out of the throne
came a pure river of water.
00:18:47.82\00:18:51.53
And on either
side of the river...
00:18:52.03\00:18:54.40
...both of pure
transparent gold.
00:18:55.10\00:18:59.60
At first I
thought I saw two trees.
00:19:00.74\00:19:04.31
But I looked again, and
I saw that they were united
00:19:04.94\00:19:07.98
at the top in one tree.
00:19:08.01\00:19:10.08
So it was the tree
of life on either side
00:19:10.88\00:19:14.05
of the river of life.
00:19:14.08\00:19:15.68
Its branches bowed to
the place where we stood,
00:19:16.02\00:19:20.02
and the fruit was glorious;
00:19:20.52\00:19:22.42
it looked like
gold mixed with silver."
00:19:22.82\00:19:27.30
Now how do you wrap your mind
around gold and silver fruit?
00:19:28.06\00:19:30.83
But that's there.
00:19:31.50\00:19:32.83
She said, that first
night that she was there
00:19:34.34\00:19:38.91
and spent time with God,
she never wanted to come back
00:19:39.27\00:19:44.18
to this earth.
00:19:44.48\00:19:45.81
So I want to talk
about the theology of water
00:19:47.95\00:19:51.05
for just a moment.
00:19:52.02\00:19:53.36
I'm going to read you something
from, Patriarch and Prophets,
00:19:53.59\00:19:55.82
that I
re-discovered on last evening.
00:19:56.39\00:19:59.39
"From the smitten rock in Horeb
first flowed the living stream
00:20:02.26\00:20:07.64
that refreshed
Israel in the desert."
00:20:07.67\00:20:09.67
You see, there were
two miracles in the desert.
00:20:09.70\00:20:12.01
We know about and talk about
and like to discuss the manna.
00:20:12.04\00:20:15.71
But there was a second
equally impressive miracle;
00:20:16.18\00:20:19.81
and that was the
miracle of water.
00:20:19.85\00:20:21.78
"During their wanderings,
wherever the need existed,
00:20:23.02\00:20:28.16
they were supplied with water
by a miracle of God's mercy."
00:20:28.72\00:20:33.36
Now get this.
00:20:33.93\00:20:35.26
"The water did not, however,
continue to flow from Horeb."
00:20:35.46\00:20:38.43
That was the first time.
00:20:38.47\00:20:39.80
The rock was
smitten, water gushed out.
00:20:39.83\00:20:41.47
"Wherever in their
journeys they wanted water,
00:20:43.04\00:20:47.04
there from the clefts
of the rock it gushed out
00:20:47.38\00:20:50.68
beside their encampment."
00:20:50.71\00:20:52.51
So wherever they
went, water followed them.
00:20:53.08\00:20:57.22
And when they needed
water, there was a rock nearby;
00:20:57.79\00:21:01.22
it always gushed out
as much as they needed.
00:21:01.62\00:21:04.53
Now you're talking
about a group of people
00:21:04.56\00:21:05.96
somewhere
between 3 and 5 million.
00:21:05.99\00:21:07.80
So this is a lot of water.
00:21:07.83\00:21:09.20
But the water followed them,
00:21:09.83\00:21:12.27
just like the
manna followed them.
00:21:12.43\00:21:15.10
Isn't that fascinating?
00:21:15.14\00:21:16.47
Just a little more.
00:21:18.54\00:21:19.87
"It was Christ, by the
power of His word, that caused
00:21:19.94\00:21:24.51
the refreshing
stream to flow for Israel."
00:21:24.55\00:21:27.32
Every day when they got
up, no matter where they were,
00:21:27.35\00:21:30.15
there was a water supply
right there, faucet right there.
00:21:30.19\00:21:33.36
"'They drank of that spiritual
Rock that followed them:
00:21:36.49\00:21:40.23
and that Rock was Christ.'
00:21:40.43\00:21:42.70
He was the source of
all temporal as well as
00:21:43.63\00:21:46.84
spiritual blessings.
00:21:46.87\00:21:48.20
Christ is that true Rock."
00:21:48.24\00:21:49.90
I'm going to drop down.
00:21:49.94\00:21:51.27
"As the life-giving waters
flowed from the smitten rock,
00:21:51.67\00:21:55.14
so from Christ,
'smitten of God,'
00:21:55.44\00:21:57.91
'wounded for
our transgressions,'
00:21:57.95\00:21:59.68
'bruised for our iniquities,'
00:21:59.71\00:22:01.18
the stream of salvation
flows for the lost race.
00:22:01.28\00:22:05.25
As the rock had been once
smitten, so Christ was to be
00:22:05.65\00:22:10.93
'once offered to
bear the sins of many.'
00:22:10.96\00:22:13.70
Our Saviour was not to
be sacrificed a second time;
00:22:13.80\00:22:17.57
and it is only
necessary for those who seek the
00:22:17.83\00:22:20.97
blessings of His grace
to ask in the name of Jesus,
00:22:21.00\00:22:24.64
pouring forth the heart's
desire in penitential prayer."
00:22:24.84\00:22:28.98
That is why the sin
of Moses was so great.
00:22:29.01\00:22:31.35
When Moses, in disgust,
struck the rock the second time,
00:22:31.91\00:22:37.22
he gave the wrong message
about the gospel of Jesus.
00:22:37.49\00:22:40.86
See, you don't have to
force a blessing from Jesus.
00:22:41.39\00:22:44.13
You don't have to
wrench a blessing from Jesus.
00:22:44.46\00:22:47.00
You don't have to smite
your breast or cut your body
00:22:47.26\00:22:49.80
or abuse yourself to
get a blessing from Jesus.
00:22:49.83\00:22:52.87
You only have to ask.
00:22:52.90\00:22:55.47
And when Moses struck
that rock the second time,
00:22:56.00\00:22:58.97
he was giving the
wrong message about how you
00:22:59.01\00:23:01.88
prevail with Jesus.
00:23:01.91\00:23:03.45
And so the punishment
was very, very severe.
00:23:04.35\00:23:07.88
"The flowing of the water
from the rock in the desert
00:23:09.15\00:23:14.62
was celebrated by the
Israelites, after their
00:23:14.72\00:23:17.79
establishment in
Canaan, with demonstrations
00:23:17.83\00:23:21.43
of great rejoicing."
00:23:21.46\00:23:22.83
So this idea of the
water flowing whenever they
00:23:22.86\00:23:26.67
needed it, when they
got into the Canaan land
00:23:26.70\00:23:28.87
they established a yearly
celebration to remind them
00:23:28.90\00:23:32.54
of how God gave
them water in the desert.
00:23:32.57\00:23:35.31
Now stick with me.
00:23:35.34\00:23:36.68
"In the time of Christ
this celebration had become
00:23:37.85\00:23:44.02
a most impressive ceremony.
00:23:44.05\00:23:46.35
It took place on the occasion
of the Feast of Tabernacles..."
00:23:46.55\00:23:50.33
So it's a fall feast
when everybody comes and
00:23:50.36\00:23:52.36
they kind of live
in tents for a while.
00:23:52.39\00:23:54.16
And it's a week
long celebration.
00:23:54.20\00:23:55.93
So this water
celebration was part of the
00:23:55.96\00:23:58.70
Feast of Tabernacles.
00:23:58.73\00:24:00.27
"...when the
people from all the land
00:24:01.14\00:24:03.51
were assembled at Jerusalem.
00:24:03.54\00:24:05.14
So there were, I think, one,
two, three, four yearly feasts
00:24:05.17\00:24:08.08
where you had to
come up to Jerusalem.
00:24:08.11\00:24:09.58
Feast of Tabernacles
was one, Passover was one,
00:24:09.61\00:24:12.11
forty-eight days later the Feast
of Weeks, or Pentecost, was one.
00:24:12.21\00:24:15.52
And this is one.
00:24:16.28\00:24:17.62
And this is when this
water celebration took place.
00:24:17.65\00:24:20.26
"On each of the seven
days of the feast, the priests
00:24:20.69\00:24:23.93
went out with music
and the choir of Levites
00:24:23.96\00:24:27.30
to draw water in a golden vessel
from the spring of Siloam."
00:24:27.40\00:24:31.93
This is an impressive ceremony.
00:24:31.97\00:24:33.40
And it takes place every day.
00:24:33.44\00:24:35.74
"They were followed by
multitudes of worshipers,
00:24:36.71\00:24:39.67
as many as could get near
the stream drinking of it,
00:24:39.71\00:24:43.78
while the
jubilant strains arose,
00:24:44.08\00:24:46.41
'With joy shall ye draw water
out of the wells of salvation.'"
00:24:46.45\00:24:50.45
This is a major ceremony.
00:24:50.49\00:24:51.82
It's not a little side thing.
00:24:51.85\00:24:53.19
This is a very
important celebration as part of
00:24:53.22\00:24:56.22
the Feast of Tabernacles.
00:24:56.26\00:24:57.63
"Then the water drawn by the
priests was borne to the temple
00:24:59.53\00:25:04.00
amid the sounding of
trumpets and the solemn chant,
00:25:04.03\00:25:07.54
'Our feet shall stand
within thy gates, O Jerusalem.'
00:25:07.74\00:25:11.37
The water was poured out on
the altar of burnt offering..."
00:25:13.48\00:25:18.48
Now get this, this is important.
00:25:18.51\00:25:20.68
The altar of burnt offerings
is a fire altar, is it not?
00:25:22.68\00:25:27.52
Burnt offerings,
your sacrifices and mine,
00:25:28.12\00:25:31.23
on the altar of burnt offerings.
00:25:31.43\00:25:35.50
On this last day of the feast,
water from this golden chalice
00:25:36.03\00:25:43.04
is poured onto the altar.
00:25:43.07\00:25:45.54
This is the only time you
get that kind of adulteration.
00:25:45.57\00:25:47.61
It's a very, very
solemn and important service.
00:25:47.84\00:25:51.31
And it highlights the value
of water in the eyes of God
00:25:51.35\00:25:56.22
and in the eyes of His people.
00:25:56.25\00:25:57.59
When water is poured out
on an altar that is meant
00:25:57.62\00:26:01.46
to symbolize the sacrifice
of Christ for you and for me,
00:26:01.56\00:26:05.43
this is big stuff.
00:26:05.46\00:26:06.80
You will forgive
my pejorative English.
00:26:07.76\00:26:09.40
So the water is poured
out on the altar of sacrifice.
00:26:11.30\00:26:15.07
And of course, it extinguishes
any fire that is there.
00:26:15.10\00:26:17.71
"The water was poured out upon
the altar of burnt offering..."
00:26:19.11\00:26:23.08
I wish I could take 30
minutes just to tell you what
00:26:23.11\00:26:25.98
this means, but I
can't do it now because
00:26:26.01\00:26:27.88
we just don't have time.
00:26:28.18\00:26:29.52
"...while songs of
praise rang out, the multitudes
00:26:31.89\00:26:35.12
joining in triumphant
chorus with musical instruments
00:26:35.16\00:26:38.86
and deep-toned trumpets.
00:26:38.96\00:26:41.23
The Saviour," this is
Jesus, "made use of this
00:26:42.20\00:26:45.87
symbolic service to
direct the minds of the people
00:26:45.90\00:26:48.90
to the blessings that
He had come to bring them.
00:26:48.94\00:26:54.34
'In the last day, that
great day of the feast,'
00:26:55.34\00:26:58.61
His voice was heard in
tones that rang through the
00:26:58.65\00:27:03.59
temple courts, 'If
any man thirst, let him
00:27:03.62\00:27:07.62
come unto Me, and drink.
00:27:07.66\00:27:09.92
He that believeth in Me,
as the Scripture hath said,
00:27:10.79\00:27:14.30
out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water.'"
00:27:14.33\00:27:18.20
Now when is the last
time He made that statement?
00:27:18.23\00:27:20.67
I told you this morning.
00:27:21.87\00:27:23.20
To the woman in Samaria.
00:27:23.47\00:27:25.94
He said to her what He
never said to the Jews,
00:27:26.21\00:27:29.51
what He never said
even to the disciples.
00:27:29.54\00:27:32.41
He gave her a special
message because He knew
00:27:32.45\00:27:35.32
she would take that
message and spread it,
00:27:35.35\00:27:37.69
and bring men and
woman, boys and girls, to Him.
00:27:37.72\00:27:39.89
So He's repeating it here.
00:27:40.22\00:27:41.62
"If you come to
Me, if you're thirsty,
00:27:42.09\00:27:44.63
if you need a blessing, not
only will I satisfy your needs,
00:27:44.66\00:27:48.16
I will make you a spring
of water so that those who
00:27:48.20\00:27:51.30
associate with you
will be fed by that water
00:27:51.33\00:27:54.67
and bring their
hearts and bring their lives
00:27:54.70\00:27:56.54
and bring their souls to Me."
00:27:56.57\00:27:58.17
"'This, said John, He spake
of the Spirit, which they that
00:28:00.18\00:28:05.11
believe on Him should receive."
00:28:05.15\00:28:08.42
So this idea of the theology of
water is very, very important.
00:28:10.42\00:28:16.06
It is not a light thing.
00:28:16.09\00:28:17.99
It is something that
was part of a central feast
00:28:18.03\00:28:20.76
and something that Christ
brought back again and again
00:28:20.80\00:28:24.00
and again and again.
00:28:24.03\00:28:25.73
And He told that woman there at
the well in Sychar in Samaria.
00:28:25.77\00:28:29.57
"The water that I give
you, you'll never thirst again.
00:28:30.84\00:28:34.14
But more than
that, more than that,
00:28:34.18\00:28:36.95
you will become a
spring of living water."
00:28:37.28\00:28:40.35
That's what I have been asking
the Lord to do for my life.
00:28:40.38\00:28:44.35
I just don't want to
have my soul satisfied.
00:28:45.92\00:28:50.73
I'd like to be a change
agent to satisfy other souls.
00:28:51.76\00:28:56.16
I'd like my life to
refresh other people.
00:28:57.03\00:29:01.84
You see, it is one thing
to have your thirst satisfied.
00:29:04.37\00:29:09.68
It is another
thing for God to use you
00:29:10.45\00:29:13.52
to help satisfy the
thirsts of other people.
00:29:13.72\00:29:17.02
See, that's ministry.
00:29:17.72\00:29:19.42
That's missionary work.
00:29:19.45\00:29:20.79
That's when you're
really living for the Lord.
00:29:20.82\00:29:22.42
There are people here at
3ABN who I find it refreshing
00:29:22.62\00:29:28.63
to be around.
00:29:28.96\00:29:30.30
Amen?
00:29:30.70\00:29:32.03
There's some people...
00:29:32.13\00:29:33.47
I am not by nature a
hanger on or around a person.
00:29:33.50\00:29:36.71
Irma will tell you that.
00:29:36.74\00:29:38.24
I'm very at home with myself.
00:29:38.47\00:29:40.21
I will find something to do.
00:29:40.24\00:29:41.58
If I get some free
time, my mind is facet enough
00:29:41.61\00:29:44.51
I'll find something to do.
00:29:44.61\00:29:45.95
Irma goes on a
trip and she comes home,
00:29:46.11\00:29:47.95
and stuff is moved
all over the place.
00:29:47.98\00:29:49.42
And you know, she
said to me the other day,
00:29:49.45\00:29:50.99
"Will you ask me before
you start throwing out stuff."
00:29:51.12\00:29:53.49
You know, I had a bunch of
stuff lined up by the door to
00:29:53.52\00:29:55.42
take to the Goodwill, she said,
"Ask me before you start..."
00:29:55.46\00:29:57.46
Because Irma is
by nature a packrat,
00:29:57.56\00:29:59.29
and I am by nature a person
who likes to toss stuff out.
00:30:00.06\00:30:02.60
So when she goes on trips,
she tells me before she goes,
00:30:02.80\00:30:05.13
"Don't start throwing out stuff,
because I may want that stuff.
00:30:05.17\00:30:09.20
You know, I may need that stuff
in the year 2050, you know.
00:30:09.24\00:30:12.41
So don't throw
anything out unless you ask me."
00:30:12.44\00:30:15.21
But I will find stuff to
do, because I'm that way.
00:30:16.01\00:30:19.98
So I'm not a hanger on person.
00:30:20.02\00:30:22.75
I don't have to
always be at your house
00:30:22.78\00:30:24.99
and always be under your feet.
00:30:25.02\00:30:26.35
But there are certain people
who, when I'm in their presence,
00:30:26.39\00:30:29.46
they refresh me.
00:30:29.49\00:30:31.19
They make me
stronger in the Lord
00:30:32.29\00:30:33.80
and they make me feel good.
00:30:33.83\00:30:35.93
So I like to have them
around, or I like to be at...
00:30:36.63\00:30:38.53
And I don't need to
just come and stay all night.
00:30:38.57\00:30:40.20
I don't need to spend the night.
00:30:40.24\00:30:41.57
You know, I just need a couple
of hours with you and I'm fine.
00:30:41.70\00:30:44.61
Amen?
00:30:45.71\00:30:47.04
They're refreshing.
00:30:47.08\00:30:48.41
Because they've got the
love of Christ in their life.
00:30:48.44\00:30:50.38
That's what I want to be.
00:30:50.41\00:30:51.75
I hope there's
somebody here at 3ABN that says,
00:30:51.78\00:30:53.62
"When I'm in the presence
of C.A. and Irma Murray,
00:30:53.72\00:30:56.05
I feel refreshed.
00:30:56.08\00:30:57.92
And I feel the love of God."
00:30:59.55\00:31:00.99
And I could begin naming
some names, but I'm going to
00:31:01.79\00:31:03.46
leave out somebody's name and
somebody is going to feel hurt.
00:31:03.49\00:31:05.46
So I'm not going
to name any names.
00:31:06.29\00:31:07.63
But there are some
people, you know who you are.
00:31:07.66\00:31:09.43
You refresh me.
00:31:10.93\00:31:12.27
And I praise God
for your presence.
00:31:12.83\00:31:14.50
Sometimes you have
to tell those people.
00:31:15.64\00:31:19.07
You've got to say, you
know, "Will you invite me over?
00:31:19.11\00:31:20.68
Because you refresh me,
and I need a little refreshing.
00:31:20.71\00:31:22.31
So cook something
and invite me over."
00:31:22.44\00:31:25.01
Don't you want to be that?
00:31:31.02\00:31:32.42
Don't you want to be a person
that people want to be around
00:31:32.79\00:31:34.89
because they can feel
the love of Christ in you?
00:31:34.92\00:31:37.46
So that people can
say, "When I'm with them,
00:31:38.16\00:31:40.53
I feel closer to Jesus.
00:31:40.56\00:31:42.13
When I leave them I
always feel a little bit better
00:31:42.16\00:31:44.83
than when I came
because they refresh me."
00:31:44.87\00:31:47.50
That's what the
living water can do for you.
00:31:47.70\00:31:49.90
Your talk refreshes people,
your life refreshes people.
00:31:49.94\00:31:52.81
The way you handle pain
and suffering refreshes people.
00:31:52.84\00:31:55.51
When I was sick last
year I was in a lot of pain,
00:31:55.54\00:31:57.88
but I said, "Lord,
I'm not going to whine,
00:31:57.91\00:31:59.85
I'm not going to moan."
00:31:59.88\00:32:01.32
Well Irma will tell you if I was
successful, but I think I was.
00:32:02.35\00:32:05.22
But you want to be one
who refreshes people and
00:32:08.06\00:32:10.86
who lifts people up.
00:32:10.89\00:32:12.23
So that people, when they
see you, when they leave you,
00:32:12.26\00:32:13.70
they say, "You know, I had
a nice time with them today.
00:32:13.73\00:32:16.70
And I saw Jesus in them."
00:32:16.73\00:32:18.67
So there is a theology of water.
00:32:22.27\00:32:24.71
Water was necessary for life.
00:32:26.01\00:32:28.38
And the ancient Jews saw in
water much that reminded them
00:32:29.18\00:32:33.48
of the glory and power of God.
00:32:33.58\00:32:36.58
So I want to delve into
the theological parallelisms,
00:32:37.79\00:32:41.39
dare I say.
00:32:41.42\00:32:42.76
Why a river?
00:32:42.79\00:32:44.13
Why does a river run through it?
00:32:44.16\00:32:46.46
Let's go to the
book of Leviticus.
00:32:47.36\00:32:48.90
And I'll show you
where my musings landed me
00:32:49.56\00:32:52.23
about 3 o'clock this morning.
00:32:52.27\00:32:53.77
Leviticus 11:24
00:32:58.04\00:33:00.18
I've asked you to go there,
I should probably join you.
00:33:00.58\00:33:03.01
Leviticus 11:24
00:33:03.45\00:33:05.91
You had a group of somewhere
between 3 and 5 million people.
00:33:07.82\00:33:11.75
And there had to be
strict regulations as far as
00:33:13.96\00:33:17.63
sanitation and
cleanliness was concerned.
00:33:18.79\00:33:21.66
But there were also religious
connotations, if I can say that,
00:33:22.06\00:33:27.44
or religious aspects
to how water was used
00:33:27.54\00:33:35.08
and what was
considered clean and unclean.
00:33:35.11\00:33:37.51
So I'm in Leviticus 11:24.
00:33:37.55\00:33:40.55
And I'll read
just that one verse.
00:33:41.85\00:33:43.39
"By these you
shall become unclean;
00:33:43.42\00:33:46.25
whoever touches the
carcass of any of them
00:33:46.59\00:33:49.59
shall be unclean until evening.
00:33:49.69\00:33:51.89
Whosoever carries," I'm
in 25, "part of the carcass
00:33:52.33\00:33:56.10
of any of them
shall wash his clothes
00:33:56.13\00:33:58.40
and be unclean until evening.
00:33:58.43\00:34:00.34
The carcass of any
animal which divides the foot,
00:34:00.64\00:34:03.91
but is not cloven-hoofed
or does not chew the cud,
00:34:03.94\00:34:07.51
is unclean to you.
00:34:07.54\00:34:08.98
Everyone who
touches it shall be unclean.
00:34:09.01\00:34:11.45
And whatever goes on its
paws, among all kinds of animals
00:34:11.78\00:34:17.62
that go on all fours,
those are unclean to you."
00:34:17.65\00:34:20.56
Now this chapter 11 of Leviticus
has a number of regulations
00:34:20.59\00:34:25.66
that, if broken, would
make you ceremonially unclean
00:34:25.93\00:34:30.63
and not worthy to
enjoin the temple services
00:34:30.73\00:34:35.80
for a short while.
00:34:35.84\00:34:37.17
So I will go through
them quickly, and then again
00:34:37.21\00:34:39.94
we'll try to pull a
bunch of things together.
00:34:39.97\00:34:41.71
Leviticus 11:24; if
you touch anything unclean,
00:34:42.58\00:34:47.98
you become unclean.
00:34:48.18\00:34:49.98
Plain, simple.
00:34:50.02\00:34:51.35
Not very
difficult to understand.
00:34:51.39\00:34:53.02
Leviticus 11:27; if
you carry anything unclean,
00:34:53.62\00:34:59.06
say, something
unclean gets into your house
00:35:00.73\00:35:02.96
and you carry it
outside of the house,
00:35:03.53\00:35:06.47
you become unclean.
00:35:06.60\00:35:07.94
For example, suppose a
mouse gets into your house.
00:35:07.97\00:35:10.57
The mouse is unclean.
00:35:11.74\00:35:13.14
You kill that mouse.
00:35:13.78\00:35:15.48
You become unclean.
00:35:15.98\00:35:17.48
If you step on the
mouse, you've touched the mouse,
00:35:17.91\00:35:21.28
so you're unclean.
00:35:21.32\00:35:22.65
If you take a piece of
wood and smash the mouse;
00:35:22.98\00:35:27.56
the wood has touched the mouse,
you have touched the wood;
00:35:29.26\00:35:33.36
you are unclean.
00:35:33.60\00:35:35.96
So if you kill the
mouse, put the mouse in a bag,
00:35:37.03\00:35:42.24
never touch the
mouse, but take the bag
00:35:42.67\00:35:45.57
and carry the bag outside;
the bag has touched the mouse,
00:35:45.61\00:35:49.91
you have touched the
bag; you are unclean.
00:35:49.94\00:35:54.32
So if something
unclean gets into your house,
00:35:54.35\00:35:57.52
in order to get rid of that,
you have to become unclean.
00:35:58.95\00:36:04.26
There is no way to get it out.
00:36:04.29\00:36:06.03
Even if you take a
broom and sweep it out;
00:36:06.06\00:36:08.90
when the broom
touches the mouse,
00:36:08.93\00:36:10.83
you are touching the
broom; so you are unclean.
00:36:11.03\00:36:14.70
If you take a
shovel and shovel it out;
00:36:14.74\00:36:17.11
you don't touch the mouse,
the shovel touches the mouse,
00:36:17.14\00:36:20.31
you touch the
shovel; so you are unclean.
00:36:20.34\00:36:23.91
So if anything gets into
your house, to get rid of it,
00:36:23.95\00:36:27.15
you're going to
have to become unclean.
00:36:27.18\00:36:30.05
That's what that is saying.
00:36:30.09\00:36:31.42
Got me? Are we together?
00:36:31.45\00:36:33.42
We're tracking. Okay, very good.
00:36:33.46\00:36:34.79
Now Leviticus 11:31;
small creeping insects.
00:36:34.82\00:36:40.70
Anything that
touches these is unclean.
00:36:41.43\00:36:46.10
And if you touch
anything that touches them,
00:36:46.57\00:36:48.87
you can become unclean.
00:36:49.24\00:36:50.84
So suppose...
Well you can eat those.
00:36:51.14\00:36:54.61
Suppose a spider
gets into your house.
00:36:54.88\00:36:57.11
What would you do if a
spider got into your house?
00:36:59.31\00:37:01.45
I know what I would do.
00:37:02.02\00:37:03.35
And I would forget about it.
00:37:08.46\00:37:09.89
But if that spider is unclean
and I touch it with my sandal;
00:37:10.26\00:37:14.73
the sandal becomes unclean,
my foot is in the sandal;
00:37:15.06\00:37:18.37
so I become...
00:37:18.40\00:37:19.73
Mm-hmm.
00:37:20.07\00:37:21.40
So becoming ceremonially unclean
is a fairly easy thing to do.
00:37:22.67\00:37:27.71
There is an
antidote. We're coming to that.
00:37:29.54\00:37:30.88
Just stick with me.
00:37:30.91\00:37:32.25
Leviticus 11:33; if something
unclean falls into something
00:37:32.61\00:37:37.89
clean, it becomes unclean.
00:37:37.92\00:37:40.29
Suppose you're baking a cake.
00:37:40.32\00:37:42.29
And you've got this
bowl and you're mixing flour.
00:37:42.59\00:37:45.86
And a spider
drops into your bowl.
00:37:47.10\00:37:49.50
Now you can allow that spider
to become part of the cake
00:37:53.47\00:37:56.47
and keep on stirring,
or you can take a spoon
00:37:56.50\00:38:00.58
and pick that
little tiny spider out.
00:38:00.61\00:38:03.14
But guess what?
00:38:03.75\00:38:05.08
Your cake batter is unclean.
00:38:05.55\00:38:08.15
The bowl is unclean.
00:38:09.22\00:38:11.85
The spoon is unclean.
00:38:11.89\00:38:14.62
And you are... Mm-hmm.
00:38:14.66\00:38:17.73
You're unclean.
00:38:18.43\00:38:19.76
So if anything unclean
falls into or comes into contact
00:38:19.89\00:38:24.17
with anything clean, it
becomes unclean by touch.
00:38:24.20\00:38:30.54
Alright? Now stay with me.
00:38:30.97\00:38:32.31
I'm going to show you
something in just a little bit.
00:38:32.34\00:38:33.98
Someone buys a pizza.
00:38:36.31\00:38:37.78
And the pizza
has pepperoni on it.
00:38:39.85\00:38:42.05
Now if you're a frugal person
and you're really trying to
00:38:43.49\00:38:46.42
get by, you can do as
I did once as a teenager,
00:38:46.45\00:38:50.83
you pick the pepperoni off.
00:38:51.23\00:38:53.19
But in Bible
times, you can't do that.
00:38:57.97\00:39:01.17
Because the pepperoni is...
00:39:01.70\00:39:04.41
So the pizza is...
00:39:05.37\00:39:06.98
And when you pick off
the pepperoni, you are...
00:39:07.31\00:39:09.61
Mm-hmm.
00:39:10.11\00:39:11.45
So you've got to
toss out that whole pizza.
00:39:11.75\00:39:14.38
But when you toss out
that pizza, the pizza is...
00:39:14.75\00:39:18.52
So when you toss
it out, you become...
00:39:19.25\00:39:21.49
Mm-hmm.
00:39:21.89\00:39:23.22
If someone drops a pork
chop on your veggie meat,
00:39:33.44\00:39:38.97
you've got to toss it all out...
00:39:40.58\00:39:42.11
...because it's all unclean.
00:39:43.41\00:39:46.21
Leviticus 11:35;
even a clean animal...
00:39:48.68\00:39:53.25
Suppose you raise sheep.
00:39:53.29\00:39:55.09
And one day you wake up
and one of your sheep is dead.
00:39:56.26\00:40:01.46
You don't know why it died,
you don't know how it died.
00:40:02.26\00:40:05.87
It just died during the night.
00:40:06.13\00:40:08.50
Died on its own.
00:40:09.30\00:40:10.64
That clean animal is unclean.
00:40:11.24\00:40:14.54
Cannot eat it.
00:40:15.48\00:40:16.81
You can't say, "Well it's dead.
We don't want to waste anything.
00:40:17.21\00:40:19.01
Let's just eat it." No.
00:40:19.05\00:40:20.38
If it dies on its
own, it is unclean.
00:40:20.42\00:40:23.15
You can't eat it
and you can't touch it.
00:40:23.18\00:40:27.52
It's unclean.
00:40:28.89\00:40:30.23
And if you take it up
to bury it, guess what.
00:40:30.73\00:40:34.86
You're unclean.
00:40:35.43\00:40:36.77
Now chapter 12 of Leviticus
deals with what we call,
00:40:37.97\00:40:42.14
atonement for childbirth.
00:40:42.17\00:40:44.54
Why do you need atonement?
00:40:45.64\00:40:48.21
That is because anytime there
is an emission from the body,
00:40:48.78\00:40:54.08
there is
ceremonial uncleanliness.
00:40:54.92\00:40:59.52
Can I say that, can I
invent that word, uncleanliness?
00:40:59.55\00:41:02.46
So when a child is born there is
an issuance of blood involved.
00:41:04.16\00:41:10.77
So the mother
and child are unclean
00:41:11.77\00:41:15.84
for a certain period of time.
00:41:15.87\00:41:17.21
As I recall, for
boys it is seven days.
00:41:17.94\00:41:20.88
Let me check my notes.
00:41:21.08\00:41:22.41
And I think for
girls it's fourteen days.
00:41:22.44\00:41:24.28
Why it's longer for
girls than boys, I do not know.
00:41:24.31\00:41:26.95
Well I do know, but we
don't have time to go into that.
00:41:27.85\00:41:30.22
So anytime there is
an issuance of blood,
00:41:31.25\00:41:33.46
there is an unclean condition.
00:41:34.59\00:41:36.89
And men don't get away.
00:41:36.93\00:41:38.36
Whenever there is an
issuance of any body fluid,
00:41:38.39\00:41:40.96
there is
ceremonial uncleanliness.
00:41:41.00\00:41:42.73
Which is why the woman
with the issue of blood
00:41:43.50\00:41:46.74
couldn't go to church,
couldn't enjoy fellowship,
00:41:47.20\00:41:50.47
couldn't get a
priest to pray for her,
00:41:50.71\00:41:52.47
couldn't get a
doctor to visit her.
00:41:52.51\00:41:54.44
Because as long as
that blood flow was there,
00:41:54.64\00:41:57.08
she was unclean.
00:41:57.11\00:41:58.61
And the Bible says, for
twelve years she had that issue.
00:41:58.65\00:42:01.75
You've got to think about that.
00:42:03.02\00:42:04.35
She can't go to
church for twelve years.
00:42:04.39\00:42:05.79
Can't get a priest to
pray for her for twelve years.
00:42:06.15\00:42:08.19
Can't get anybody to come
and administer for twelve years.
00:42:08.56\00:42:10.49
Now Luke says that she
wasted all her money on doctors.
00:42:10.56\00:42:14.10
Now I don't know what kind
of medical care she was getting,
00:42:14.30\00:42:16.46
because no doctor
would want to touch her
00:42:16.50\00:42:18.83
while she was actively bleeding,
because they would be unclean
00:42:18.87\00:42:22.84
and unable to go to the service.
00:42:22.87\00:42:24.31
So you can't minister
to a person at the end of a
00:42:24.34\00:42:26.41
ten foot pole, so I
don't know what kind of
00:42:26.44\00:42:28.21
medical care she was getting.
00:42:28.24\00:42:29.58
But I do know this,
her condition was bad.
00:42:29.61\00:42:32.41
Her condition was sad.
00:42:32.45\00:42:33.78
It left her broke and alone.
00:42:33.82\00:42:35.32
But she reasoned in her heart,
00:42:37.39\00:42:39.12
"If a touch can
make you unclean,
00:42:40.52\00:42:46.19
then why couldn't a
touch make you clean?"
00:42:47.33\00:42:50.93
Doesn't that make sense?
00:42:52.17\00:42:53.50
She knew the law.
00:42:54.04\00:42:55.37
She knew that if she was
unclean, any bed she sat on
00:42:55.70\00:43:01.21
was unclean.
00:43:01.24\00:43:02.58
If she opened the door,
the doorknob was unclean.
00:43:03.24\00:43:06.65
If she sat in a
chair, the chair was unclean.
00:43:07.55\00:43:10.15
So no one would come to
minister to her because you
00:43:10.19\00:43:11.95
can't sit on her bed,
you can't sit in her chair,
00:43:11.99\00:43:14.46
you can't eat at her table,
00:43:14.49\00:43:15.82
because you're going to
be ceremonially unclean.
00:43:15.86\00:43:18.16
So if a touch
can make you dirty,
00:43:19.09\00:43:21.20
surely a touch
can make you clean.
00:43:21.83\00:43:24.97
And so she knew she
didn't have to talk to Jesus,
00:43:26.77\00:43:28.64
she didn't have to
get a prayer from Jesus.
00:43:28.67\00:43:30.27
All she had to do was touch Him.
00:43:30.37\00:43:32.11
And she knew she
didn't have to touch His body,
00:43:32.31\00:43:35.84
she only needed
to touch the garment.
00:43:35.88\00:43:37.95
You see how it fits together?
00:43:37.98\00:43:39.31
Because if He's clean, and
the garment is touching Him,
00:43:39.51\00:43:44.72
then the garment is clean.
00:43:45.02\00:43:47.42
"So all I've got to
do is contact the garment
00:43:47.59\00:43:50.89
and I'll be clean."
00:43:51.26\00:43:52.59
And so she reached
out and made that touch.
00:43:53.50\00:43:55.36
Jesus said, "Virtue
has gone out of Me."
00:43:55.86\00:43:57.77
You know the story.
00:43:57.80\00:43:59.13
And the disciples
said, "Lord, how... Come on.
00:43:59.40\00:44:02.10
People are bouncing You
around like a ping pong ball
00:44:03.07\00:44:05.17
in this crowd.
00:44:05.21\00:44:06.54
And You're
saying, 'Who touched Me.'"
00:44:06.57\00:44:07.91
He said, "But this
is a special touch.
00:44:08.64\00:44:10.85
This is a heavenly touch.
00:44:11.28\00:44:12.91
And I feel that
something has gone out of Me."
00:44:13.58\00:44:15.95
And it had.
00:44:16.52\00:44:17.85
And from that
moment her issue of blood,
00:44:18.09\00:44:20.66
her twelve year malady,
dried up and she was clean.
00:44:21.09\00:44:27.13
In Leviticus 11:36, the
Bible slips in something here
00:44:29.43\00:44:34.07
that is truly
magnificent, but very subtle.
00:44:34.27\00:44:38.07
Later on in
Leviticus it is repeated.
00:44:38.81\00:44:41.24
And in the book of
Numbers it is repeated again.
00:44:41.54\00:44:44.45
As I said before,
you can't eat dead things
00:44:47.55\00:44:49.28
that die of themselves.
00:44:49.32\00:44:50.82
You also can't eat
animals killed by other animals.
00:44:51.12\00:44:54.22
So if a coyote gets into the
sheep pen and kills your sheep;
00:44:54.26\00:44:58.83
the coyote is
unclean, the sheep is unclean.
00:45:00.06\00:45:02.70
You can't eat it.
00:45:03.03\00:45:04.60
Leviticus 17:15,
you can't eat that.
00:45:06.94\00:45:13.78
And the ground that
it falls on is unclean.
00:45:15.34\00:45:18.41
Now this is where
it gets important.
00:45:18.45\00:45:20.75
If something is
ceremonially unclean,
00:45:23.35\00:45:26.32
everything that comes in
contact with that is unclean.
00:45:27.49\00:45:31.66
Even the ground it falls on.
00:45:33.83\00:45:37.17
Are you following me?
00:45:37.83\00:45:39.17
So if you come out and find
your calf dead on the ground,
00:45:39.40\00:45:49.18
blood spilled; the calf is
unclean, the ground in unclean.
00:45:50.11\00:45:56.02
You're standing on that ground.
00:45:57.32\00:45:58.92
It seems almost
like a dead-end street.
00:46:00.66\00:46:05.19
If a clean animal dies
and falls into your cistern,
00:46:07.10\00:46:14.10
it becomes unclean.
00:46:16.10\00:46:17.44
Everything touched
by an unclean thing
00:46:18.77\00:46:22.88
becomes unclean,
except for one thing.
00:46:23.31\00:46:29.48
Anybody know what it is?
00:46:31.32\00:46:32.65
There's only one thing
that can never ever be unclean.
00:46:33.92\00:46:37.19
That's what I
discovered 20 years ago.
00:46:38.29\00:46:40.40
Came back to it last night.
00:46:40.83\00:46:42.23
Running water
can never be unclean.
00:46:44.60\00:46:51.51
If your dead calf
falls into a stream,
00:46:52.74\00:46:55.58
it's still clean.
00:46:56.58\00:46:57.91
Running water
can never be unclean.
00:46:58.55\00:47:04.02
Now I knew years ago
that Hebrew synagogues,
00:47:04.82\00:47:10.09
particularly
principle synagogues,
00:47:10.13\00:47:12.13
were always built
near running water.
00:47:12.16\00:47:16.30
And it never really
clicked in my mind as to why.
00:47:16.33\00:47:19.73
When the children of God camped,
there was always running water.
00:47:20.57\00:47:27.31
When they were
wondering through the desert,
00:47:28.88\00:47:31.71
Jesus made sure that
there was always a supply
00:47:32.81\00:47:37.52
of running water.
00:47:37.72\00:47:40.72
In fact, the Bible
says, gushing water.
00:47:41.92\00:47:44.03
Because running
water can never be unclean.
00:47:45.09\00:47:51.67
That's a powerful
statement, it's very subtle.
00:47:52.40\00:47:54.57
But it's very, very
powerful when you think about
00:47:54.60\00:47:56.87
the theology of water.
00:47:56.91\00:47:58.64
There were ritual
baths near running water.
00:48:02.38\00:48:05.75
So the idea of moving
water is very, very important.
00:48:06.45\00:48:11.99
So then we don't
have to be held hostage
00:48:13.96\00:48:16.22
by an atrophied ecclesiology
of fear or an impoverished
00:48:16.69\00:48:21.90
exegesis of the
three angels' messages.
00:48:21.93\00:48:24.43
Because when you
have running water...
00:48:25.40\00:48:30.87
And running water, water gushing
out of you, is nothing more
00:48:31.71\00:48:35.14
than a symbolism of the presence
and power of the Holy Spirit.
00:48:35.34\00:48:38.85
That's what Christ was telling
that young lady at the well.
00:48:39.51\00:48:42.22
When you get the Holy
Spirit in you, you become
00:48:42.62\00:48:46.49
a fountain of water.
00:48:46.82\00:48:48.52
You can never be unclean.
00:48:49.46\00:48:54.06
I want you to wrap
your minds around that and
00:48:55.70\00:48:57.50
think about it for
just a minute, because
00:48:57.53\00:48:58.87
I'm not talking
about holy flesh.
00:48:58.90\00:49:00.24
I'm not saying that
you can go around saying
00:49:00.27\00:49:02.64
just because I'm a Christian,
anything I do is clean.
00:49:02.67\00:49:04.94
That's not what I'm saying.
00:49:05.14\00:49:06.47
I am saying, when
Christ is in your life,
00:49:07.14\00:49:10.58
when you're walking
after Christ, when Christ is
00:49:11.01\00:49:14.75
living out His life
in you and through you,
00:49:14.78\00:49:18.05
your life is clean.
00:49:18.75\00:49:20.49
And you can go to the
valley of the shadow of death
00:49:21.09\00:49:25.53
and fear no evil,
because your life is clean.
00:49:25.56\00:49:29.16
You don't have to be
afraid to give a Bible study
00:49:30.17\00:49:33.80
to a person who's a
drunkard or a smoker, because
00:49:33.84\00:49:38.51
they're not going
to contaminate you.
00:49:38.54\00:49:40.78
You're going to clean them.
00:49:41.28\00:49:43.81
Amen.
00:49:46.11\00:49:47.45
Years ago when I was
a child, we had a lady
00:49:47.95\00:49:51.92
who joined our church.
00:49:51.95\00:49:53.29
In fact, she was baptized
in the same baptism as me.
00:49:53.32\00:49:55.99
She was a famous gambler and
drinker in Buffalo, New York.
00:49:56.69\00:50:02.33
Everybody in every bar knew...
00:50:03.20\00:50:05.53
And I almost called her
name. I better not do that.
00:50:05.57\00:50:07.50
...knew her.
00:50:08.44\00:50:09.77
When it was time for
the church to raise money...
00:50:10.11\00:50:12.21
I remember back then we
had a problem with our furnace.
00:50:12.24\00:50:14.44
And having a furnace
problem in Buffalo, New York
00:50:14.48\00:50:17.11
is a major issue.
00:50:17.15\00:50:18.48
The church had a
problem with its furnace.
00:50:20.08\00:50:21.88
We needed to raise
somewhere in the neighborhood of
00:50:21.92\00:50:23.49
60 to 70 thousand
dollars to replace the whole
00:50:23.52\00:50:25.65
heating system in that church.
00:50:25.69\00:50:27.76
And everybody
was pledging money.
00:50:27.79\00:50:29.72
And she pledged $25,000.
00:50:29.76\00:50:33.19
And she had no money.
00:50:33.46\00:50:35.13
Everybody knew she had no money.
00:50:35.16\00:50:36.56
But she came up with
$25,000 in about three months.
00:50:37.10\00:50:40.74
Know how she got it?
00:50:41.70\00:50:43.04
She went back to those same
bars where her drinking buddies
00:50:43.27\00:50:47.41
use to be and she got
that money from those drunks.
00:50:47.44\00:50:50.68
And the ecclesio-ratti
of the church said,
00:50:51.28\00:50:55.42
"You can't go to those bars.
00:50:55.45\00:50:57.59
Christians
shouldn't be found in bars."
00:50:57.62\00:51:00.92
And she said, "Why not?"
00:51:00.96\00:51:02.29
Now she didn't know
the theology of water.
00:51:03.36\00:51:05.36
All she knew was that
when Christ is in your life,
00:51:05.39\00:51:08.53
you can go to a bar and you
can get money from those people.
00:51:08.56\00:51:12.20
And you don't have to
worry about them soiling you.
00:51:12.23\00:51:14.50
You can clean them up.
00:51:14.54\00:51:15.87
She found her
second husband in a bar.
00:51:17.41\00:51:19.27
Brought him in, cleaned
him up, got him baptized.
00:51:21.54\00:51:23.98
See, he didn't defile here.
00:51:25.08\00:51:27.05
She cleaned him.
00:51:27.85\00:51:29.18
Because she was a
river of running water.
00:51:30.95\00:51:36.09
He didn't dirty her.
00:51:36.79\00:51:38.13
So anytime there
was any call for money,
00:51:38.16\00:51:40.86
she would pledge.
00:51:40.90\00:51:42.23
And she'd trot right down to
those same ole drinking buddies
00:51:42.36\00:51:44.93
and get money from them.
00:51:45.03\00:51:46.37
She'd say, "You know me.
00:51:46.40\00:51:47.74
Give it up."
00:51:48.20\00:51:49.54
And they would.
00:51:50.67\00:51:52.01
She would get ingathering goals.
00:51:52.17\00:51:54.34
She would get any
kind of goal you want.
00:51:54.38\00:51:57.08
She was back in the
bars cleaning those guys out
00:51:57.45\00:52:00.58
and getting money for Jesus.
00:52:00.82\00:52:02.42
You know, and the Lord
never asked, that I know of,
00:52:03.08\00:52:04.92
"Where did that
money come from?"
00:52:04.95\00:52:06.29
First of all, He knew
where the money came from.
00:52:06.32\00:52:07.66
And she would bring
those guys to church.
00:52:09.42\00:52:10.89
Some of them would
sleep through the service.
00:52:10.93\00:52:12.39
Some of them were so drunk,
I don't know if they heard
00:52:13.16\00:52:14.73
what was being said.
00:52:14.76\00:52:16.43
But they were in the building.
00:52:16.46\00:52:18.20
And they didn't defile her.
00:52:19.40\00:52:21.00
She cleansed them.
00:52:21.90\00:52:23.24
Why?
00:52:23.77\00:52:25.14
Because she had
the running water.
00:52:26.04\00:52:27.64
She had the Holy
Spirit in her life.
00:52:29.04\00:52:30.61
Years ago when I
was a young pastor,
00:52:31.08\00:52:33.72
in my 20's, I had an
older woman in my church
00:52:34.12\00:52:39.39
who brought her
family up from Trinidad.
00:52:39.42\00:52:41.09
They were east
Indians living Trinidad;
00:52:41.12\00:52:43.56
brought them to the States.
00:52:43.59\00:52:44.93
Four boys and a
girl, and she wanted me to
00:52:44.96\00:52:46.93
give them all Bible studies.
00:52:46.96\00:52:48.50
And so this was the grandmother.
00:52:48.73\00:52:51.13
And I would come
over on Friday evenings
00:52:51.17\00:52:53.13
and give them Bible studies,
because that was the only day
00:52:53.17\00:52:54.84
I could get to them.
00:52:54.87\00:52:56.20
Their mother was
not in the church.
00:52:56.24\00:52:58.24
And she did everything
she could to distract me.
00:52:58.27\00:53:01.71
I'd be giving the Bible
studies, got the kids lined up,
00:53:04.58\00:53:06.88
and she'd be
standing in my line of sight.
00:53:06.92\00:53:09.28
And the grandmother sitting
there, we're at the table.
00:53:09.98\00:53:12.69
She's over their
shoulder in my line of sight...
00:53:12.72\00:53:14.72
I knew what she
was trying to do.
00:53:19.13\00:53:20.60
But I wasn't there for that.
00:53:22.20\00:53:23.63
I was there to study
the Bible with those kids.
00:53:25.53\00:53:27.84
And I baptized all four of them.
00:53:28.27\00:53:30.24
And I baptized that mother.
00:53:30.87\00:53:32.61
And she said to me, "Pastor, you
know what I was trying to do?"
00:53:34.44\00:53:39.81
I said, "I'm a
Christian, I'm not stupid.
00:53:41.18\00:53:43.28
I knew what you
were trying to do.
00:53:45.09\00:53:46.49
But I was there on
a mission for God."
00:53:47.02\00:53:49.42
And you know, that
woman apologized to me.
00:53:49.86\00:53:51.93
Now this was before Irma.
00:53:52.69\00:53:54.20
Just out of school.
00:53:54.80\00:53:56.13
My point is, when
you've got the living water,
00:53:59.13\00:54:01.80
they don't defile you.
00:54:02.44\00:54:04.01
You clean them.
00:54:05.37\00:54:06.71
Amen?
00:54:07.11\00:54:08.44
That's what living water
was, and that's what Christ was
00:54:09.21\00:54:11.15
telling that lady at the well.
00:54:11.18\00:54:12.68
"Out of you shall
flow rivers of water."
00:54:13.38\00:54:17.75
Because running
water cannot be defiled.
00:54:19.95\00:54:26.36
Cannot.
00:54:26.39\00:54:27.73
Cannot be defiled.
00:54:27.76\00:54:32.00
So why does a
river flow through it?
00:54:33.34\00:54:35.40
I think that river
is symbolic of the power
00:54:36.34\00:54:41.31
of the God from which it flows.
00:54:41.68\00:54:43.68
It is a constant reminder
that when you're in God,
00:54:44.28\00:54:49.78
when you're in
Christ, you cannot be defiled.
00:54:50.22\00:54:53.62
And I think it will be
there throughout all eternity
00:54:54.16\00:54:57.13
as a constant
reminder of the eternal purity
00:54:57.56\00:55:01.70
and beauty of the
heavenly experience.
00:55:01.73\00:55:04.53
Because there are
many, many, many, many things
00:55:04.97\00:55:07.77
in this earth
that can defile you.
00:55:07.80\00:55:09.67
You can turn on your
television set and be defiled.
00:55:10.01\00:55:13.61
You can turn on your
computer and be defiled.
00:55:14.14\00:55:18.81
You can turn on your
radio and be defiled.
00:55:18.91\00:55:22.12
You can walk down the
street and be defiled.
00:55:22.38\00:55:26.25
Years ago we took
Mollie and a bunch of people
00:55:26.92\00:55:31.29
to New York City, and I
took them to Times Square.
00:55:31.33\00:55:34.13
Two bad things happened; one,
the van that I had rented...
00:55:34.16\00:55:37.83
I got it from Rent-a-Wreck.
I should have known.
00:55:37.93\00:55:39.67
It broke down, so we
were stuck in Time Square.
00:55:39.87\00:55:42.00
So I'm walking
them along Time Square,
00:55:42.54\00:55:44.34
and people are handing out
little pictures of nude women.
00:55:44.37\00:55:48.38
You know, and
it's 11:30 at night,
00:55:49.04\00:55:51.31
and Time Square is just like
12 o'clock in the afternoon.
00:55:51.35\00:55:53.45
You can't move for
the people on the street.
00:55:53.48\00:55:55.18
And everybody is trying
to hustle you something,
00:55:55.22\00:55:57.29
everybody is trying
to sell you something.
00:55:57.32\00:55:58.79
Everybody has got
some filth or some trash
00:55:58.82\00:56:00.76
that they're trying
to push under your nose.
00:56:00.79\00:56:02.36
And we just walked through.
00:56:02.39\00:56:03.93
And nobody picked up anything,
and nobody took anything,
00:56:03.96\00:56:07.00
and nobody was
tempted by anything.
00:56:07.03\00:56:08.43
Why?
00:56:08.46\00:56:09.80
Because you've got
rivers of living water.
00:56:11.23\00:56:13.07
And they don't defile you.
00:56:14.60\00:56:16.60
You clean them.
00:56:17.41\00:56:20.01
Amen?
00:56:20.61\00:56:21.94
And that's what Christ
told that woman at the well
00:56:22.04\00:56:24.58
that the Jews just
couldn't understand.
00:56:24.75\00:56:27.75
Because they were so
hung up on the temple,
00:56:28.25\00:56:30.29
and so hung up on Jerusalem,
00:56:30.32\00:56:31.72
and so hung up on their own way.
00:56:31.75\00:56:33.19
They couldn't understand that
Christ was giving them the gift
00:56:33.22\00:56:36.56
that would keep them
through all eternity.
00:56:36.59\00:56:38.89
He was giving them a gift
that would allow them to do
00:56:38.93\00:56:41.56
precisely what the
Lord called them to do.
00:56:41.60\00:56:44.17
And that is, let His
light shine through their lives
00:56:44.87\00:56:50.44
to the whole world.
00:56:50.84\00:56:52.17
Ladies and
gentlemen, brothers and sisters,
00:56:53.07\00:56:54.54
that's what I want for me.
00:56:54.58\00:56:56.48
I want to have the
streams of living water.
00:56:57.18\00:57:00.12
So that when people
talk to me and walk with me,
00:57:00.55\00:57:04.85
they can say, "I
see Jesus in him."
00:57:04.89\00:57:10.16
But more than that, "I
want Jesus in my life."
00:57:10.73\00:57:16.73
Now we've got 14
seconds, I'm looking outside,
00:57:16.77\00:57:18.83
and it is pouring down outside.
00:57:18.87\00:57:21.47
It's raining so
hard you can hardly see.
00:57:21.50\00:57:24.47
Let's think of
that as living water.
00:57:25.51\00:57:27.21
Let's think of that as a
confirmation of this message.
00:57:27.98\00:57:30.98
Amen? You can't see
outside for the rain.
00:57:31.01\00:57:33.35
This is great timing.
This is like television.
00:57:33.38\00:57:36.15
Shall we pray.
00:57:37.49\00:57:38.82
Father God, Lord we love You.
00:57:38.85\00:57:40.99
Give us the living water.
00:57:41.26\00:57:43.02