It's been 2,000 years since
the glorious light of the Cross
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illuminated a world
veiled in darkness and confusion
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about the character of God.
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And still today, the
greatest need of mankind
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is a revelation of
God's love as revealed
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in the life of Christ.
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Amazing Facts presents
the "Everlasting Gospel"
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with Pastor Doug Batchelor...
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Coming to you each week
from Sacramento Central Church
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in sunny California!
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Discover hidden
treasures in God's Word today.
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A few weeks ago, I
needed to fly down to
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Bakersfield for a meeting and
I noticed that an awful lot of
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the reservoirs are low on
water and it's easy to see
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from the air because, you know,
there you'll have this great big
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brown chasm with a little
bit of water at the bottom,
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and you could see what the
water level should have been
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because it's just dirt and
then you've got the edge of the
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tree line and all this dirt
and then a little bit of water
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in the bottom.
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And then one of the
members here took the boys and I
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out to Folsom
Lake a few weeks ago,
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and it was really
accented, now they're not even
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allowing a lot of
activities out there because
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there's just not enough water.
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Now that was
accented by a string of fires
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that we've had recently
in California and I tell you,
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if you've got the combination
of low waters and high fires,
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you've got trouble.
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Water is life.
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I was just impressed
with the importance of it
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even in the Bible.
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If you're
traveling through space,
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what is it that
makes our planet stand out
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from all of the other planets?
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That's because two-thirds
of the planet is water.
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I was looking at a definition...
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Water - A clear, colorless,
odorless, tasteless liquid.
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They say it's tasteless
in the definition here,
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but you get thirsty
enough, it tastes pretty good.
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H2O - Essential for
all plant and animal life,
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and the most widely
used of all solvents.
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You know, water is interesting
because it occurs in 3 states;
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you've got solid, liquid and
gas and all 3 states of water
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occur in this planet.
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Now they have found
planets in the solar system
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where there's evidence of
water, but they're all frozen.
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But on earth, you can
have it in vapor form;
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you can have it in
solid form such as ice in the
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arctic regions and of course,
liquid form which is what
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gives life to our world.
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Someone had
estimated that planet earth has
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approximately 1.4
quadrillion tons, not gallons...
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1.4 quadrillion tons of water!
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What's interesting
is, some of the scientists
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are wondering
how did it get here?
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They theorize that a
storm of comets filled with ice
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struck the planet - billions
of years ago, of course.
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But that's not
what the Bible says.
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You know, even in the
first few pages of the Bible,
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the word "water" appears
over 700 times in Scripture.
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From Genesis to Revelation,
this is a blue planet,
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and from Genesis to Revelation
you can see the evidence
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of water in the
Bible more than 700 times.
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For instance, the second verse
in the Bible talks about water.
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In the first chapter,
in the Bible, 11 times
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there's reference to water.
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I mean, God is creating
and where there's no water,
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there's no life!
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I asked them to turn off the
air-conditioner for this sermon
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so you'll really
appreciate it by the end...
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Water is life - you can
find the rivers of God being
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created there in the
first chapters of the Bible.
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In chapter 2, it says, "From
Eden, there flowed a river"
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Evidently, this one river
irrigated all of the planet,
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and it divides into 4 parts;
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that was, of
course, before the flood.
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Now when you read in the
Bible about the journeyings of
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the children of Israel,
water is especially important.
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I don't know if any of
you have been to Israel...
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At one time it was called a
land flowing with milk and honey
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But sometimes
deserts move, they migrate.
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As-a-matter-of-fact,
parts of the Sahara right now,
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the biggest desert in
the world, they find evidence
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that at one time, it
was a land rich in water.
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They find engravings,
they find places where
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flocks and herds were.
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They find the bones of
animals and evidence of swamps
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that have disappeared.
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And it was once lush, full of
vegetation and now it's desert.
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The land of Israel has
experienced this desertification
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that's a hard word to say.
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A land once
flowing with milk and honey
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turned into a desert.
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You know there's a
number of reasons for that.
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As you cut down the vegetation,
it attracts less moisture
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in clouds from over the ocean.
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You know at one time, there
was a Muslim king and he taxed
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the people in Israel based upon
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how many trees they
had on their property.
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Now if you're a landowner
and you don't want to pay taxes,
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what would you do?
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They decimated the
trees in the country,
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and the Romans, when
they conquered Israel
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in order to teach them a
lesson, they sowed it with salt.
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And so, basically it was like
spraying Roundup on the country.
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It killed a lot
of the vegetation;
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the trees were cut down
and it turned what was once
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a land flowing with
milk and honey into a desert.
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But even back in
the time of Abraham,
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it was a fairly dry
country in the summertime...
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something like California
if you wanted to get the idea.
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And especially in
the Sinai wilderness;
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when the Lord brought
the children of Israel
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through that desert,
water was very important.
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The first thing the children
of Israel did as they left Egypt
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is they went through the waters.
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That was a symbol of baptism.
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This is typifying
that for the Christian,
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when you leave the
slavery of the devil,
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one of the first things we
do is we go through the water
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because water is
a cleansing agent,
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we'll talk more
about that later.
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They went through the sea.
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They were baptized in the sea.
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And then they came
into this great desert,
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and evidently they had to
haul a certain amount of water
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with them when they left
Egypt knowing that they were
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going on a journey;
it's always a good idea
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to have water with
you, but water is life.
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Turn with me in your
Bibles to Exodus 15:22
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You can read about this first
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experience of a
miracle of water.
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"So Moses brought
Israel from the Red Sea,
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and they went out into
the Wilderness of Shur;
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And they went 3 days in the
wilderness and found no water."
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Now I can appreciate what
that must have been like...
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I used to live in a desert
and I've actually been lost
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in deserts more than once.
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I'm not bragging about
that because it doesn't make
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me sound very intelligent.
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I remember one occasion,
living in the mountains above
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Palm Springs, I went hiking
with a friend and he used to
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always have a big old
jug of water in his backpack.
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And so we took off and
I had a little backpack,
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he had a backpack and we went
hiking all through the desert.
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We were looking for some new
trails to from Tahquitz Canyon
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over to Chino Canyon;
dry, desert mountain and
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we used to see how tough
one another was and whoever
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could go the longest without
asking for a drink of water,
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that meant you were tough!
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And so, after hiking for hours
without stopping for a drink,
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finally I couldn't take it any
more and said, "Okay I give in."
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"Let's get a drink."
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He said, "All
right, well I was wondering
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when you were going to say so."
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And I kind of looked
at him and he looked at me
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and I said, "Well, I
didn't bring the water,
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you always have the gallon
jug of water, I got some food."
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He said, "I
didn't bring any water,
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I thought you had the water."
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And so we're out there in this
desert, just totally parched,
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and out of water.
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And so then we
thought, well, we're in trouble,
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we had food and no water.
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Well, we thought this canyon
over here probably has some
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water in it, so we thought we'd
go to this other canyon which
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was in the other direction
of where we knew there water was
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because it was shorter.
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We got there -
there was no water.
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And now we're really thirsty
and it's the middle of the day,
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in the summer, in the
mountains above Palm Springs
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it gets over 120 degrees!
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And, this is
just one day no water.
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You know, they say you
can live 40 days without food.
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One man on a hunger
strike in Ireland, went 80 days
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before he died from no food.
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You can live about
3 days with no water,
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and that's if you're
still and you're shaded.
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One man in Mexico caught
in an earthquake lived 9 days
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without water but
he was in a moist area.
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But if you're in the hot desert,
you can die in half a day.
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It just sucks the
water right out of your body.
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They had no water and
there are people of cattle
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that drink water and they
knew they were going to die,
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they're cattle were going
die and so they came to Marah.
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They came to the springs, but
they couldn't drink the water
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because it was bitter.
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It was either an
alkali or a sulfur springs,
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but something
that made it bitter.
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Riding around in
the deserts of Nevada,
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every now and then, you'll
find one of these springs,
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and they will even have a
history marker there by it
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... how the wagon trains would
come across and it would be
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bad or poison water
- you can't drink it!
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What a disappointment
to be that thirsty,
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to find some
vegetation and think,
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Oh, there's a spring
there, there's an oasis,
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and to go there and to
dip in and just spit it out!
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As much as you want to drink
it, you know it will kill you.
00:10:49.51\00:10:51.72
Like people who are
lost out in the ocean,
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and they're floating in
water and they can't drink
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the sea water - dying of
thirst out there in the ocean.
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And so the people cried out
and they didn't know what to do!
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So Moses prayed to the
Lord and the Lord showed
00:11:03.91\00:11:07.14
showed him a tree.
00:11:07.17\00:11:09.13
Now we don't know
exactly what the tree was.
00:11:09.16\00:11:12.13
God turned those
bitter waters to sweet water.
00:11:12.16\00:11:16.14
And that may have been an
Acacia tree like this one here
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that they find out
in the Sinai deserts.
00:11:19.26\00:11:21.58
It doesn't tell us what
tree because I think it's
00:11:21.61\00:11:23.47
more important that tree
was a symbol of something.
00:11:23.50\00:11:25.86
When you read "tree" in the
Bible, Jesus died on a tree.
00:11:25.89\00:11:30.79
It says in Acts
2, "Whom ye hung upon
00:11:30.82\00:11:34.53
the tree," - that's crucifixion,
00:11:34.56\00:11:37.22
"In order to see Jesus,
Zacchaeus climbed the tree."
00:11:37.25\00:11:40.67
"That tree cast in the water,"
represents the cross of Christ
00:11:40.70\00:11:44.51
that makes that
which is bitter sweet!
00:11:44.54\00:11:47.20
And it says, "He cast
His tree in the water,
00:11:47.23\00:11:51.18
and the waters were
healed and they were made
00:11:51.21\00:11:54.00
not just drinkable;
they were made sweet.
00:11:54.03\00:11:57.68
That doesn't mean it turned
into Kool-Aid but it was sweet,
00:11:57.71\00:12:02.34
clear water that
they could drink.
00:12:02.37\00:12:05.28
It makes me think of the story
in the Bible when there was a
00:12:05.31\00:12:08.53
famine in the land and
they had this spring that they
00:12:08.56\00:12:11.39
couldn't do anything
with it because it was bitter
00:12:11.42\00:12:14.23
alkali water and Elisha put
some salt in there and those
00:12:14.26\00:12:18.34
bitter waters remained sweet,
00:12:18.37\00:12:19.60
and I've drunk from that spring
there, it's still running today
00:12:19.63\00:12:22.73
there outside of Jericho.
00:12:22.76\00:12:24.84
So God healed the waters.
00:12:24.87\00:12:27.25
Now that's not the only
experience the children of
00:12:27.28\00:12:30.50
Israel had when they
were dying from thirst.
00:12:30.53\00:12:33.77
Back in 1921, the
British used to own the country
00:12:33.80\00:12:36.56
that we call "Palestine."
00:12:36.59\00:12:38.54
Now Palestine really has nothing
to do with the Arabs that
00:12:38.57\00:12:42.73
live there today.
00:12:42.76\00:12:44.15
The real
Palestinians are Philistines.
00:12:44.18\00:12:47.68
As-a-matter-of-fact,
the name "Palestine"
00:12:47.71\00:12:49.51
comes from the
word "Philistine."
00:12:49.54\00:12:51.22
It was the land
of the Philistines.
00:12:51.25\00:12:53.65
The people that we
call "Palestinians" today
00:12:53.68\00:12:55.58
are not really
Philistines, they're Arabs
00:12:55.61\00:12:58.80
that live in that land.
00:12:58.83\00:13:00.76
But in the country,
before it was divided,
00:13:00.79\00:13:04.93
the British occupied
the land of Palestine,
00:13:04.96\00:13:07.99
and what we call Israel today.
00:13:08.02\00:13:12.36
And a unit of soldiers in 1921
got lost in a terrible sandstorm
00:13:12.39\00:13:19.03
... it's a true story,
we've used it as an amazing fact
00:13:19.06\00:13:21.75
before.. out in the wilderness
there, out in the desert.
00:13:21.78\00:13:25.35
And they wandered for
days, they ran out of water,
00:13:25.38\00:13:28.93
they were dying of thirst
00:13:28.96\00:13:30.06
and in desperation, they
said, "Let's see if we could
00:13:30.09\00:13:32.94
dig in the sand
and find some water."
00:13:32.97\00:13:34.40
And so they dug and they
dug, but they came up dry,
00:13:34.44\00:13:37.70
there was nothing there.
00:13:37.73\00:13:38.97
And as they were about
ready to completely give up,
00:13:39.00\00:13:41.89
one of the soldiers,
looking off in the distance,
00:13:41.92\00:13:44.37
he saw this great rock
outcropping and he said,
00:13:44.40\00:13:48.29
"You know, this is the country
that the children of Israel
00:13:48.32\00:13:51.20
wandered in and I
remember reading in the Bible,
00:13:51.23\00:13:55.23
when I was a boy,
that Moses struck a rock
00:13:55.26\00:13:58.53
and water came out.
00:13:58.56\00:14:00.26
He said, "We might find some
water in those rocks over there.
00:14:00.29\00:14:04.26
And they stumbled over
to this rock outcropping
00:14:04.29\00:14:07.72
and one of them still had a pick
and they began to pick away.
00:14:07.75\00:14:10.88
And you might think -
This is a crazy thing to do,
00:14:11.80\00:14:13.92
but when you're
desperate, and you're dying,
00:14:13.95\00:14:16.39
you'll try anything
and they began to pray,
00:14:16.42\00:14:18.59
and they began to pick just
into the rock out in the desert.
00:14:18.62\00:14:22.02
And would you believe, that
they chipped off some of that
00:14:22.05\00:14:24.61
limestone rock and all of a
sudden, water began to seep out.
00:14:24.64\00:14:29.97
And those men were able to get
enough water out of that rock
00:14:30.00\00:14:33.99
to revive them all
and keep them alive.
00:14:34.02\00:14:37.52
You know, it
doesn't take a lot of water,
00:14:37.55\00:14:40.07
if it's steady,
to keep you alive.
00:14:40.10\00:14:44.26
I'll tell you, a little
later, about digging springs
00:14:44.29\00:14:46.60
out in the hill - I've
got a neighbor that was
00:14:46.63\00:14:48.53
so excited, he started
digging around and he found
00:14:48.56\00:14:51.04
this little seepage coming
out of the ground and he was
00:14:51.07\00:14:54.37
able to capture that
and he ran it from a pipe
00:14:54.40\00:14:56.76
and he ran it into a jug and it
came to about 1 gallon a minute.
00:14:56.79\00:15:01.45
Now that may not sound like
a lot, when you turn on your
00:15:01.48\00:15:04.75
spigot at your
house, it runs a lot faster
00:15:04.78\00:15:07.76
than a gallon a minute but
if you get 1 gallon a minute,
00:15:07.79\00:15:11.57
if you get 1/2
a gallon a minute,
00:15:11.60\00:15:14.33
you get 700 gallons
a day, actually more
00:15:14.36\00:15:16.91
than 700 gallons a day.
00:15:16.94\00:15:18.17
One gallon a minute is
about 1,440 gallons a day.
00:15:18.20\00:15:21.55
Now do you use
1,440 gallons a day?
00:15:21.58\00:15:25.06
Can you see how just a little
bit, a little trickle of water
00:15:25.09\00:15:29.67
in the desert, if it's constant,
00:15:29.70\00:15:31.49
it can keep a whole
unit of soldiers alive.
00:15:31.52\00:15:35.20
They did that, they picked
there and they found the water
00:15:35.23\00:15:38.16
and it kept them alive
and that brings us to our
00:15:38.19\00:15:39.89
other story about
water from a rock.
00:15:39.93\00:15:43.15
Turn in your
Bibles to Exodus 17:1
00:15:43.18\00:15:45.37
This was not the only
time that they needed water
00:15:45.41\00:15:49.64
out there in the desert.
00:15:49.67\00:15:53.62
Exodus 17- "Then all
the congregation of the
00:15:53.65\00:15:59.38
children of Israel
set out on their journey
00:15:59.41\00:16:01.54
from the Wilderness
of Sin according to the
00:16:01.57\00:16:04.03
commandment of the Lord.
00:16:04.06\00:16:05.27
And then camped in
Rephidim, but there was no water
00:16:05.30\00:16:09.35
for the people to drink."
00:16:09.38\00:16:11.48
"Therefore, the people contended
with Moses and they said,
00:16:11.51\00:16:14.42
"Give us water
that we might drink,"
00:16:14.45\00:16:16.70
and Moses said to them,
"Why do you contend with me?
00:16:16.73\00:16:19.59
Why do you tempt the Lord?"
00:16:19.62\00:16:21.52
"And the people thirsted
there for water and the people
00:16:21.55\00:16:24.24
murmured against
Moses, and they said,
00:16:24.27\00:16:26.28
"Why have you brought us
up out of Egypt to kill us
00:16:26.31\00:16:28.46
and our children and
our livestock with thirst?"
00:16:28.49\00:16:31.33
"And Moses cried
out to the Lord."
00:16:31.36\00:16:33.91
So when they needed
water, you notice what they do?
00:16:34.21\00:16:36.97
Twice now it says,
"They cried out to the Lord."
00:16:37.00\00:16:39.97
This is going to make
sense before we're done.
00:16:40.00\00:16:43.67
So Moses cried out to the Lord
saying, "What shall I do with
00:16:43.70\00:16:46.56
this people; they're
almost ready to stone me?"
00:16:46.59\00:16:49.62
"And the Lord said to
Moses, "Go before the people and
00:16:49.65\00:16:52.67
take with you some
of the elders of Israel;
00:16:52.70\00:16:54.91
Also take in your
hand, the rod with which you
00:16:54.94\00:16:58.38
struck the river and go and
behold I will stand before you
00:16:58.41\00:17:03.23
there on the rock in Horeb
and you shall strike the rock
00:17:03.26\00:17:07.80
and water will come out of
it that the people might drink"
00:17:07.83\00:17:11.72
"And Moses did so in the
sight of the elders of Israel,
00:17:11.75\00:17:16.14
so he called the name of
the place "Massah and Meribah"
00:17:16.17\00:17:20.35
because of the contention
of the children of Israel
00:17:20.38\00:17:22.75
because they
tempted the Lord saying,
00:17:22.78\00:17:24.44
"Is the Lord among us or not?"
00:17:24.47\00:17:27.46
They were questioning
God was among them because
00:17:27.49\00:17:29.57
they were dying of thirst.
00:17:29.60\00:17:30.75
You know sometimes you get
thirsty and it doesn't mean
00:17:30.78\00:17:33.20
the Lord is not with you
- What do you need to do?
00:17:33.24\00:17:35.63
You need to pray for the water.
00:17:35.66\00:17:38.32
You know this is interesting
because it makes me think
00:17:38.35\00:17:41.21
of that verse in the
Bible, 1 Corinthians 10,
00:17:41.24\00:17:44.59
it talks about Moses
striking the rock and water
00:17:44.62\00:17:47.22
coming out of a rock and it
says in 1 Corinthians 10:4...
00:17:47.25\00:17:51.60
"And they all drank
the same spiritual drink;
00:17:51.63\00:17:55.47
For they drank of that spiritual
Rock that followed them...
00:17:55.50\00:17:59.75
The rock that followed them?
00:17:59.78\00:18:02.76
... And that Rock was Christ."
00:18:02.79\00:18:04.52
Now what does this mean?
00:18:04.55\00:18:05.64
The rock that Moses struck
- did he find some boulder
00:18:05.67\00:18:08.42
out there in the
wilderness and he struck it?
00:18:08.45\00:18:10.31
And water came out of
that rock and as they went from
00:18:10.34\00:18:12.77
place to place
somehow, they hoisted this rock
00:18:12.80\00:18:15.83
with them or maybe the rock
rolled and it followed them?
00:18:15.86\00:18:20.41
You know, most scholars don't
00:18:20.44\00:18:22.17
think that's what
it's talking about.
00:18:22.20\00:18:23.35
When it says, "the
rock that followed them"
00:18:23.39\00:18:26.86
it's talking
about the water that
00:18:26.89\00:18:28.51
came from this
rock followed them.
00:18:28.54\00:18:30.12
Adam Clarke in his commentary,
sums up what the Jews believed.
00:18:30.16\00:18:34.22
The ancient Jews believed
the streams followed them
00:18:34.25\00:18:38.11
in all their journeying.
00:18:38.14\00:18:39.48
So Moses struck that
rock and as they journeyed
00:18:39.51\00:18:43.70
through the wilderness,
miraculously, the stream just
00:18:43.73\00:18:45.96
continued to follow
them wherever they went
00:18:45.99\00:18:48.21
there was the water
that was flowing from God.
00:18:48.24\00:18:51.07
It failed one time and
God gave them the opportunity
00:18:51.10\00:18:55.22
to see if they trust,
but they lost faith again
00:18:55.25\00:18:57.86
and they complained and
that's when Moses got upset,
00:18:57.89\00:19:00.81
and he struck the
rock twice when he was only
00:19:00.84\00:19:03.09
supposed to speak to it.
00:19:03.12\00:19:04.53
But the rest of the time,
God had this stream evidently
00:19:04.56\00:19:08.68
following them
through the wilderness.
00:19:08.71\00:19:11.42
It says, "When they came
to the camp, the waters formed
00:19:11.45\00:19:14.25
themselves into cisterns
and pools and the rulers of the
00:19:14.28\00:19:17.42
people guided them by
their staves into rivulets
00:19:17.45\00:19:20.24
into the various
tribes and the families,
00:19:20.27\00:19:23.30
and this is the sense
that they get in Numbers 21:17
00:19:23.33\00:19:26.87
where it says,
"Spring up oh well."
00:19:26.90\00:19:29.86
Wherever you go,
wouldn't it be nice to know that
00:19:29.89\00:19:32.49
you got rivers of
water following you.
00:19:32.52\00:19:35.42
And the Bible says in Psalm
1, "Blessed is the man that
00:19:35.45\00:19:38.69
walks not in the
counsel of the ungodly,
00:19:38.72\00:19:43.42
nor stands in
the path of sinners,
00:19:43.45\00:19:45.79
nor sits in the
seat of the scornful,
00:19:45.82\00:19:47.95
but his delight is
in the law of the Lord.
00:19:47.98\00:19:50.30
In his law, he
meditates day and night.
00:19:50.33\00:19:52.87
He shall be like a tree
planted by rivers of water
00:19:52.90\00:19:56.67
that brings forth
its fruit in season."
00:19:56.70\00:19:59.05
A man of God is like what?
00:19:59.08\00:20:01.33
Someone who is
planted by the waters.
00:20:01.36\00:20:04.11
What does the Good Shepherd do?
00:20:04.14\00:20:06.59
Psalm 23:2... "The
Lord is my Shepherd,
00:20:06.62\00:20:09.35
I shall not want; He
makes me to lie down in
00:20:09.38\00:20:12.15
green pastures.
00:20:12.18\00:20:13.75
He leads me
besides the still waters."
00:20:13.78\00:20:18.14
You know, water
cleanses and it protects us.
00:20:18.17\00:20:22.90
Water cleanses - that's
what baptism is a symbol of.
00:20:22.93\00:20:27.16
People go down in the water
and it's a symbol of the old
00:20:27.19\00:20:30.16
life is washed away.
00:20:30.19\00:20:31.31
And it's also a symbol
of new birth because water
00:20:31.34\00:20:33.52
not only
cleanses, water protects.
00:20:33.55\00:20:36.09
Your brain is encased
in a meninges of water,
00:20:36.12\00:20:41.25
and it's protected - that's
why you get bumped on the head
00:20:41.28\00:20:43.79
... with a normal bump,
you'll be able to resist it
00:20:43.82\00:20:46.30
because that water is protecting
and the water cleanses.
00:20:46.33\00:20:50.51
It's a solvent that purifies.
00:20:50.54\00:20:53.83
And all this ties
together because Jesus says
00:20:53.86\00:20:56.25
that he's offering
us that living water.
00:20:56.28\00:20:58.90
Christ is that
Water that cleanses.
00:20:58.93\00:21:02.07
He is that Water that protects.
00:21:02.10\00:21:04.37
You know, in the Bible, meetings
often happened at water.
00:21:04.40\00:21:09.36
I think it's interesting
that you find the story of
00:21:09.39\00:21:15.34
... where was it
that Rebecca was tested
00:21:15.37\00:21:19.92
to be a mother in
Israel? It was at the well.
00:21:19.95\00:21:23.57
And the test was...
Will she give a drink to me,
00:21:23.60\00:21:27.60
and will she water the camels?
00:21:27.63\00:21:29.39
That's what Eliezer set out.
00:21:29.42\00:21:30.84
It was a test
about giving water.
00:21:30.87\00:21:34.92
She was a type
of the church there.
00:21:34.95\00:21:36.92
The church is supposed
to dispense the living water
00:21:36.95\00:21:39.35
to a thirsty world. Amen?
00:21:39.38\00:21:42.63
Where does Moses find
his wife? It's at a well.
00:21:42.66\00:21:47.81
The shepherds were striving
with the daughters of Jethro,
00:21:47.84\00:21:51.75
and Moses delivered them and he
helped them water their flocks.
00:21:51.78\00:21:55.25
How is it that Jacob
meets Rachel there at a well?
00:21:55.28\00:22:00.50
He uncovers the
mouth of the well
00:22:00.53\00:22:06.24
that their sheep
might get their water.
00:22:06.27\00:22:08.14
And then Jesus
meets the Samaritan woman
00:22:08.17\00:22:10.48
there by the well.
00:22:10.51\00:22:12.88
We'll talk about
that, John 4:7...
00:22:12.91\00:22:18.12
This was in our
Sabbath School lesson too,
00:22:18.15\00:22:21.36
but I didn't plan it that way.
00:22:21.39\00:22:24.00
"A woman of
Samaria came to draw water,
00:22:24.03\00:22:26.57
and Jesus said to
her, "Give Me a drink."
00:22:26.60\00:22:30.43
You know, it's interesting
that Jesus would say,
00:22:30.46\00:22:32.27
"Give Me a drink."
00:22:32.30\00:22:33.84
Is Jesus thirsty?
00:22:33.87\00:22:36.06
What is it that satisfies Him?
00:22:36.09\00:22:40.50
That His people might
dispense living water to others.
00:22:40.53\00:22:43.63
You remember, after
this woman accepts Jesus,
00:22:43.66\00:22:45.56
and brings others to
Him, He tells the disciples,
00:22:45.59\00:22:47.90
"I've got food and water
that you don't know about."
00:22:47.93\00:22:50.37
It satisfies Jesus.
00:22:50.40\00:22:52.04
When He was on the
cross, what did He say?
00:22:52.07\00:22:54.79
He was thirsty.
00:22:54.82\00:22:58.56
She said, "Why are
you, a man who is a Jew,
00:22:58.59\00:23:02.30
asking me, a woman of
Samaria, for a drink of water?
00:23:02.33\00:23:04.86
We're not supposed to have
any dealings with each other."
00:23:04.89\00:23:07.40
He said, "Oh but
if you knew who I was,
00:23:07.43\00:23:08.77
you'd ask from
Me, living water."
00:23:08.80\00:23:10.93
She's still thinking
about the earthly kind of water
00:23:10.96\00:23:13.16
that I've been talking
about so far and He's now
00:23:13.19\00:23:15.50
transitioning to a
different kind of water.
00:23:15.53\00:23:18.81
"Bless is he who hungers and
thirsts after righteousness."
00:23:18.84\00:23:25.06
Are you thirsty?
What is Jesus thirsty for?
00:23:25.09\00:23:28.30
Righteousness among His people.
00:23:28.33\00:23:30.26
"Seek ye first the kingdom
of God and His righteousness."
00:23:30.29\00:23:35.25
Are you thirsting for that
like you're thirsty for water?
00:23:35.28\00:23:39.18
How bad do you want it?
00:23:39.21\00:23:42.01
Do you ever have that longing?
00:23:42.04\00:23:44.96
Do remember when David
was in the cave of Adullam,
00:23:44.99\00:23:47.88
and you feel sorry for David
because here, he was a shepherd;
00:23:47.91\00:23:51.54
as a boy he had lived
out in the open fields,
00:23:51.57\00:23:53.58
he was able to freely - whenever
he was thirsty, he'd just run,
00:23:53.61\00:23:56.33
and he'd dropped this
bucket down into to the well of
00:23:56.36\00:23:58.95
Bethlehem - he'd get himself as
00:23:58.98\00:24:00.35
much as he could
possibly drink and that well is
00:24:00.38\00:24:02.32
still there today in Bethlehem.
00:24:02.35\00:24:04.76
And now he's running from
King Saul and he's living in a
00:24:04.79\00:24:07.83
dark cave and he's out in
the badlands where they've
00:24:07.86\00:24:11.92
got the bad water.
00:24:11.95\00:24:13.43
And one day, he
just longingly says,
00:24:13.46\00:24:16.19
"Oh, if I could have a
drink of water from the
00:24:16.22\00:24:17.86
well of Bethlehem."
00:24:17.89\00:24:19.15
Just kind of talking out loud...
00:24:19.18\00:24:22.72
Three of his soldiers,
they loved David so much,
00:24:22.75\00:24:24.68
they went all night
long to the City of Bethlehem
00:24:24.71\00:24:28.49
where the
Philistines had a garrison,
00:24:28.52\00:24:31.34
a contingent of soldiers
there and they fought their way
00:24:31.37\00:24:34.23
past the soldiers; 2 of
them cutting and slashing
00:24:34.26\00:24:39.23
and they lowered down this
pitcher and filled it back up
00:24:39.26\00:24:42.20
and brought it back to
David risking their lives,
00:24:42.23\00:24:44.86
just because he was longing for
a drink of water from that well.
00:24:44.89\00:24:50.89
Have you ever been
somewhere where the water is bad
00:24:50.92\00:24:53.47
and you miss the
water that's good?
00:24:53.50\00:24:56.74
You know one of
the things that I do as
00:24:56.77\00:24:59.38
I travel around, I
drink a lot of water!
00:24:59.41\00:25:02.04
And when I go to
a hotel in the town,
00:25:02.07\00:25:05.38
I take the hotel
cup that they provide,
00:25:05.41\00:25:07.90
I understand
that's not always safe,
00:25:07.93\00:25:09.99
and I taste their tap water.
00:25:10.02\00:25:12.99
Believe it or not, some
of the cities that are tested
00:25:13.02\00:25:15.01
with the best water,
you wouldn't think so,
00:25:15.04\00:25:16.58
New York City - supposed to
have comparatively good water.
00:25:16.61\00:25:20.72
You would think it
would be terrible there.
00:25:20.75\00:25:22.85
And there are some
places, you drink the water
00:25:22.88\00:25:24.57
and ohhh - it
either tastes like copper
00:25:24.60\00:25:27.57
or it tastes like sulfur.
00:25:27.60\00:25:28.85
Have you ever been
to some of those places
00:25:28.88\00:25:30.37
where the water
smells like rotten eggs?
00:25:30.40\00:25:32.78
Or have you been to those
places where people got water
00:25:32.81\00:25:34.96
in the bathtub and all
the appliances are brown
00:25:34.99\00:25:37.45
because there's so
much iron in the water...
00:25:37.48\00:25:39.30
and it always tastes
like you're drinking rust.
00:25:39.33\00:25:43.21
And you put up with that
for a while and you'll start
00:25:43.24\00:25:45.91
longing like David for a drink
of the water from Bethlehem.
00:25:45.94\00:25:50.23
And you know, when his
soldiers brought him that water,
00:25:50.26\00:25:52.66
he dumped it out.
00:25:52.69\00:25:54.46
He said - You risked
your life to get this for me,
00:25:54.49\00:25:56.71
I'm not going to encourage that,
this is an offering to the Lord.
00:25:56.74\00:25:59.94
And, they loved David for
that because he didn't want them
00:25:59.97\00:26:04.82
to jeopardize
their lives for him.
00:26:04.85\00:26:08.37
So here, Jesus is saying
- I'm willing to give you
00:26:08.40\00:26:11.30
this living water.
00:26:11.33\00:26:15.44
Some of you were at
Redwood Camp Meeting,
00:26:15.47\00:26:16.89
you heard me tell this story.
00:26:16.92\00:26:18.92
On my way to Redwood
Camp Meeting a few weeks ago,
00:26:18.95\00:26:21.72
I was driving up this
long stretch of road between
00:26:21.75\00:26:26.79
Ukiah and Willits,
there's a big, long hill there.
00:26:26.82\00:26:29.36
Halfway up the
hill, I saw this man...
00:26:29.39\00:26:32.18
He looked like an older
man because he had gray hair
00:26:32.21\00:26:33.87
and a gray beard, a little
bit heavy, had a jacket on,
00:26:33.90\00:26:38.02
and it was one of
these 100 degree days,
00:26:38.05\00:26:40.83
and he's walking up hill.
00:26:40.86\00:26:42.83
And I thought...
You know I often pick up
00:26:42.86\00:26:44.52
hitchhikers - I thought
he probably needs a ride
00:26:44.55\00:26:46.27
because this is no
town, I know the area.
00:26:46.30\00:26:47.90
There's nothing
between those 2 cities.
00:26:47.93\00:26:50.18
But I was in the
wrong lane to pull over,
00:26:50.21\00:26:52.96
and there were truck-cars
around, I couldn't pull over,
00:26:52.99\00:26:54.61
and so I went
zipping on by and I said -
00:26:54.64\00:26:56.31
Well, maybe someone
will give him a ride...
00:26:56.34\00:26:58.39
And the Lord said, "Doug,"
00:26:58.42\00:27:00.55
I said, Lord, "I'm going
to camp meeting, I'm late."
00:27:00.59\00:27:04.08
"Doug," I
didn't hear it audibly,
00:27:04.12\00:27:08.36
but you know what I mean.
00:27:08.39\00:27:10.04
And I said, "Well, but
Lord this is concrete barrier,
00:27:10.08\00:27:12.27
I don't know where
I'm going to turn around."
00:27:12.30\00:27:13.42
There was a concrete
thing between the lanes,
00:27:13.45\00:27:15.16
you can't just flip a U-ey.
00:27:15.19\00:27:17.15
And so I thought, all
right, I'm not going to be happy
00:27:17.18\00:27:20.28
unless I do and so I go
up the road, I keep waiting,
00:27:20.31\00:27:23.03
I had to go up the road quite
a ways and finally I found a
00:27:23.06\00:27:25.17
turnaround and I
turned around, I came back
00:27:25.20\00:27:27.41
and I saw the guy but now
there's still a concrete barrier
00:27:27.44\00:27:30.75
and I thought - Oh
man, I don't know how far...
00:27:30.78\00:27:31.98
I had to go like
2.5-3 miles down the road
00:27:32.01\00:27:34.87
before I could find another
turnaround to pick this guy up.
00:27:34.90\00:27:37.93
I know I'll probably get
no credit from God for this,
00:27:37.96\00:27:41.23
because I'll
telling everybody else...
00:27:41.26\00:27:42.98
So you know, if you
have your reward, this is it.
00:27:43.01\00:27:46.43
And so, I'm going to
milk it for all I can...
00:27:46.46\00:27:49.37
So I went all the way
down 3 miles, turned around
00:27:49.40\00:27:53.80
and came back up again and
sure enough the guy was there,
00:27:53.83\00:27:56.06
I pulled over and
boy, he was happy.
00:27:56.09\00:27:57.45
And it wasn't a real
safe spot to pull over;
00:27:57.48\00:27:59.76
fortunately there
was no traffic now.
00:27:59.79\00:28:01.71
He jumped in the car and
the first thing he said...
00:28:01.74\00:28:04.88
He didn't tell me
where he was going;
00:28:04.91\00:28:06.39
he didn't tell me who he was;
00:28:06.42\00:28:08.11
he said - "Do
you have any water?"
00:28:08.14\00:28:10.53
And I could see the guy
was red in the face and he was
00:28:10.56\00:28:13.25
perspiring; he was older
and he had forgotten to take
00:28:13.28\00:28:16.28
water with him and he
was walking uphill with all
00:28:16.31\00:28:18.01
his clothes on - he had
a jacket and everything,
00:28:18.04\00:28:22.43
and I thought - "Well, I
do," but under my armrest I keep
00:28:22.46\00:28:26.51
2 of those little plastic, about
half the size of one of these.
00:28:26.54\00:28:30.11
I felt bad - I
didn't have anything more.
00:28:30.14\00:28:32.88
And I said, "Well I
do," and I gave that to him
00:28:32.91\00:28:35.53
and it wasn't as much
as he wanted but he just
00:28:35.56\00:28:38.02
sucked that down in one drink.
00:28:38.05\00:28:40.16
And God told me to turn
around and pick this guy up.
00:28:40.19\00:28:45.11
And, he told me
that he was a Christian;
00:28:45.14\00:28:48.83
he was on his way to a mission
and he said he was dying of
00:28:48.86\00:28:53.61
thirst - he said, "I was
praying that somebody would
00:28:53.64\00:28:56.72
pick me up that could
give me a drink of water."
00:28:56.75\00:28:59.01
And that's why I felt
that strong impression that I
00:28:59.04\00:29:03.27
was supposed to turn around
and give this guy a drink!
00:29:03.30\00:29:05.62
If Jesus knows when we're
physically thirsty and He cares;
00:29:05.65\00:29:10.47
if we pray and God cares
about taking care of our thirst,
00:29:10.50\00:29:13.70
if He's willing to make water
come out of a rock for soldiers,
00:29:13.73\00:29:16.77
then does He care if
we're spiritually thirsty?
00:29:16.80\00:29:20.18
Which thirst is more important?
00:29:20.21\00:29:22.50
You know, they say
that as you get older,
00:29:22.53\00:29:27.63
the mechanism that helps
you know that you're thirsty,
00:29:27.66\00:29:31.33
doesn't operate as effectively,
and sometimes you'll
00:29:31.36\00:29:35.11
see people who are
older and their lips are dry
00:29:35.15\00:29:37.30
and they forget to drink.
00:29:37.33\00:29:39.26
You need to drink even
if you don't feel like it.
00:29:39.30\00:29:43.63
And that's also
true of living water,
00:29:43.66\00:29:45.77
you need to discipline yourself
to drink water every day.
00:29:45.80\00:29:49.90
The first thing I do when
I get up is I heat up water,
00:29:49.93\00:29:52.13
and I drink water and I
drink several glasses of water.
00:29:52.16\00:29:54.97
First thing I do is I go into
the bathroom, I drink water,
00:29:55.00\00:29:57.03
I go downstairs, I drink
more water and I try to tank-up
00:29:57.06\00:29:59.73
for the day because
you kind of dehydrate,
00:29:59.76\00:30:01.84
especially in a dry
climate, during the night.
00:30:01.87\00:30:04.03
And even if I
don't feel thirsty,
00:30:04.06\00:30:06.08
I know how much I need
and I make myself drink it.
00:30:06.11\00:30:09.04
I keep bottles in my
car; I got them in my drawer
00:30:09.07\00:30:13.19
at the office; we keep
them here at the church.
00:30:13.22\00:30:15.14
Just before I went
on the platform, I said,
00:30:15.17\00:30:16.55
"Helen, get me some water."
00:30:16.58\00:30:17.84
I wanted to be able to
have you at least see that.
00:30:17.87\00:30:22.32
You need to also
discipline yourself about
00:30:22.35\00:30:25.60
the spiritual water.
00:30:25.63\00:30:27.09
You may not know
how thirsty you are.
00:30:27.12\00:30:28.99
You might be thirstier...
as-a-matter-of-fact, I can
00:30:29.02\00:30:31.93
almost guarantee you need
more than you're drinking.
00:30:31.96\00:30:35.11
Have you ever heard
someone tell you that before?
00:30:35.14\00:30:36.92
They say you need - what is
it, 3 liters of water a day?
00:30:36.95\00:30:40.12
And of course, if
you're in drier climates,
00:30:40.15\00:30:41.99
I'm sure you need more.
00:30:42.02\00:30:43.76
You need more spiritual
water that you probably think.
00:30:43.79\00:30:46.95
Jesus said if you
invite Him into your heart,
00:30:46.98\00:30:50.57
He actually provides
an artesian source of
00:30:50.60\00:30:53.55
water that will spring up.
00:30:53.58\00:30:55.80
Artesian wells are
the best kind of wells.
00:30:55.83\00:30:59.65
You know I like reading
the stories in the Bible
00:30:59.68\00:31:02.02
about when God
provided His living water.
00:31:02.05\00:31:08.09
In John 4:13-
Jesus said to the woman,
00:31:08.12\00:31:12.02
"Whoever drinks this
water will thirst again,
00:31:12.05\00:31:15.22
but whoever drinks the
water that I will give him
00:31:15.25\00:31:17.99
will never thirst;
but the water that I will
00:31:18.02\00:31:20.53
give him will become
in him a fountain of water
00:31:20.56\00:31:22.75
springing up
into everlasting life.
00:31:22.78\00:31:25.74
You know, most water
needs to be pumped or drawn,
00:31:25.77\00:31:28.93
but it's really something
when you find artesian water
00:31:28.96\00:31:31.84
where it bubbles
up to the surface.
00:31:31.87\00:31:33.95
Jeremiah 2- He
says here in verse 13,
00:31:33.98\00:31:38.79
"For My people have
committed two evils;
00:31:38.82\00:31:42.03
They have forsaken Me, the
fountain of living water..."
00:31:42.06\00:31:45.48
And that word "living water
there means "springing water."
00:31:45.51\00:31:49.40
"And they've dug out
cisterns for themselves,
00:31:49.43\00:31:52.22
cracked cisterns
that can hold no water..."
00:31:52.25\00:31:55.87
You know, this is a problem
is we all need that water,
00:31:55.90\00:31:58.14
and Jesus is the living water.
00:31:58.17\00:31:59.77
We're trying to get
it by manual effort,
00:31:59.80\00:32:02.79
and He's offering it by divine.
00:32:02.82\00:32:05.08
We try to dig it and it's
so wonderful if you can have it
00:32:05.11\00:32:08.76
come on its own.
00:32:08.79\00:32:09.91
You know, this has been
of great interest to me...
00:32:09.94\00:32:14.02
You may not get
anything out of this sermon,
00:32:14.05\00:32:15.47
but it's really
interesting to me because
00:32:15.50\00:32:18.35
I've been thinking so
much about water power.
00:32:18.38\00:32:21.59
All the years up there
at our place in Covelo,
00:32:21.62\00:32:24.89
we've had solar power.
00:32:24.92\00:32:26.90
We've never really been
able to have water power.
00:32:26.93\00:32:29.40
We tried it once, but 12
volt alternator turning a little
00:32:29.43\00:32:33.70
Pelton wheel because
you lose so much electricity
00:32:33.73\00:32:36.83
with 12 volts - you get very
far from your house, the voltage
00:32:36.86\00:32:40.91
drops - I tried it for a
year and it just didn't work.
00:32:40.94\00:32:44.05
But they now came out
with 110 volt alternator
00:32:44.08\00:32:49.24
and a little Pelton
wheel and I've ordered one.
00:32:49.27\00:32:53.81
And we got lots of
water but it's at the house,
00:32:53.84\00:32:56.72
and it runs away from the house,
00:32:56.75\00:32:58.96
but now we can run water
1/4 mile away from the house,
00:32:58.99\00:33:02.79
and just the
natural flow of that water,
00:33:02.82\00:33:05.63
without it being
pumped, is going to turn the
00:33:05.66\00:33:08.60
Pelton wheel that will provide
00:33:08.63\00:33:09.66
112 volts for the
cabin in the winter.
00:33:09.69\00:33:11.92
Solar power is
great in the summer,
00:33:11.96\00:33:14.16
but in the winter,
you got weeks with no sun,
00:33:14.19\00:33:16.95
and you got to run
a generator for power.
00:33:16.98\00:33:19.37
This gives you a power of
natural water - it wonderful!
00:33:19.40\00:33:22.82
Most of the power in California
comes from hydropower.
00:33:22.85\00:33:27.68
I don't know, it's kind of
nuclear and hydro, I think.
00:33:27.71\00:33:30.57
But it's wonderful with
just the power of water,
00:33:30.60\00:33:33.64
the gravity of
water gives you power!
00:33:33.67\00:33:36.73
Jesus is offering us
this naturally-powered water.
00:33:36.76\00:33:40.81
So I've been thinking so
much about water lately...
00:33:40.84\00:33:43.43
Then my friend told me, he
dug and he found this spring.
00:33:43.46\00:33:46.96
Kind of made me want
to go and start digging.
00:33:46.99\00:33:50.49
So while I was up there
this week, I talked to my
00:33:50.52\00:33:53.74
buddy, Dave, and he
knows our place pretty well,
00:33:53.77\00:33:56.86
he said, "Doug, you know,
you got a patch of berries
00:33:56.89\00:33:58.89
that's been there for 30 years,
00:33:58.92\00:34:01.10
and wherever you've
got this spring grass,
00:34:01.13\00:34:02.77
there's probably
water there," and I said,
00:34:02.80\00:34:03.96
"Aw, I've seen that and
it's never gotten to be anything
00:34:03.99\00:34:05.74
more than just mud."
00:34:05.77\00:34:07.83
Well I was talking to
some friends and something
00:34:07.86\00:34:10.27
interesting
happened - All these fires in
00:34:10.30\00:34:12.67
northern California - he
said, "Springs that have not
00:34:12.70\00:34:17.60
run for years, have started
running in the places that have
00:34:17.63\00:34:21.63
burned." Did ya catch me?
00:34:21.66\00:34:24.88
Springs - fire goes over
some hills and all of a sudden
00:34:24.91\00:34:29.68
the springs start running.
00:34:29.71\00:34:30.93
He said, "What happens is
there are springs in the hills,
00:34:30.96\00:34:33.40
but when there's water,
vegetation starts to grow,
00:34:33.43\00:34:37.98
and the more and more of
these trees and these plants
00:34:38.01\00:34:40.62
and things begin to
grow down around the springs,
00:34:40.65\00:34:42.72
and they send their roots down
sometimes hundreds of feet down,
00:34:42.75\00:34:45.51
and they're sapping up
gallons of water every day,
00:34:45.54\00:34:49.24
and you get an acre of land
of trees and vegetation just
00:34:49.27\00:34:52.26
soaking up all the water,
it never reaches the surface,
00:34:52.29\00:34:55.89
and all the trees die,
they stop drinking and the
00:34:55.92\00:34:58.40
springs have no where to go,
they start bubbling up again."
00:34:58.43\00:35:02.48
He said, "The water is there,
you just have to dig for it."
00:35:02.51\00:35:06.58
So I thought, "Well,
I've got to try this."
00:35:06.61\00:35:08.27
By the way, let me pause on
that point for a second, friends
00:35:08.30\00:35:10.78
Some of you are dry
right now in your lives
00:35:10.81\00:35:14.31
because there are too many weeds
00:35:14.34\00:35:15.99
that are growing
around the spring,
00:35:16.02\00:35:17.79
and nobody knows that
there's any water in there
00:35:17.82\00:35:21.08
because it's getting all
soaked up by these other things,
00:35:21.11\00:35:23.90
and you might need a fire
to go through and clean it off
00:35:23.93\00:35:26.98
so those springs
begin to flow again.
00:35:27.01\00:35:28.50
Sometimes God allows us
to go through fiery trials
00:35:28.53\00:35:32.60
in order to get the
water running again -
00:35:32.63\00:35:34.32
did you catch that?
00:35:34.35\00:35:37.89
And so I thought, "Wow, I'm
going to go check that out."
00:35:37.92\00:35:41.21
And so I'm just
talking 2 days ago,
00:35:41.24\00:35:42.93
so I'm really
excited about this.
00:35:42.96\00:35:44.44
This happened after I
picked the sermon title,
00:35:44.47\00:35:46.92
but I thought
that was providential.
00:35:46.95\00:35:49.37
Dave said, "Doug, you
ought to check that out."
00:35:49.40\00:35:51.13
And I called him up and I
said, "You got a couple of hours
00:35:51.16\00:35:52.93
... let's go see."
00:35:52.96\00:35:54.80
I got a backhoe and
drove the backhoe...
00:35:54.83\00:35:57.32
This berry patch has
been there 30 years -
00:35:57.35\00:35:59.89
it was there hundreds
of years, I never checked.
00:35:59.92\00:36:02.56
It's above the house -
if you find water running
00:36:02.59\00:36:05.55
above the house,
it's pretty exciting.
00:36:05.58\00:36:07.01
So I started
digging - that's me digging.
00:36:07.04\00:36:09.65
Dave also helped me dig.
00:36:09.68\00:36:11.47
And first, we had to
clear out the berries,
00:36:11.50\00:36:14.53
got to get rid
of the vegetation,
00:36:14.56\00:36:15.93
we scraped all that off.
00:36:15.96\00:36:17.24
There were some
fir trees around there,
00:36:17.27\00:36:18.83
they weren't too big
and so we pushed them over.
00:36:18.86\00:36:20.60
I got a lot of fir
trees, so don't talk
00:36:20.63\00:36:22.21
to me later about it
- I'm not a tree-hugger.
00:36:22.24\00:36:25.58
And see all the trees
back there are plenty of trees.
00:36:25.61\00:36:27.97
And so we got rid of the trees
00:36:28.00\00:36:29.38
because they were
soaking up the spring.
00:36:29.41\00:36:30.63
Pushed them out of the
way, scraped off the surface
00:36:30.66\00:36:33.13
and it was nice
- all of a sudden,
00:36:33.16\00:36:34.36
I mean, it's 100 degrees
out, this is a dry time of year.
00:36:34.39\00:36:37.47
I saw some wet ground, I
thought - wow, this is great!
00:36:37.50\00:36:40.13
So we started digging and pretty
soon I found a little bit of mud
00:36:40.17\00:36:43.59
I said, "Oh this is
great, we found water."
00:36:43.62\00:36:45.03
And Dave said, "Don't stop
there you have to get below
00:36:45.06\00:36:49.58
that layer of clay."
00:36:49.62\00:36:50.69
He said, "There's a layer
of rock underneath these hills,
00:36:50.72\00:36:53.32
and if you get
into the layer of rock,
00:36:53.35\00:36:54.63
if there is water above it,
you get to the layer of rock,."
00:36:54.66\00:36:57.23
So I went down 8 feet; I
said, "Look, I see a little
00:36:57.26\00:37:00.32
water." He said,
"No, no, keep going."
00:37:00.35\00:37:02.73
And so I kept digging!
00:37:02.76\00:37:04.25
And then, we would
take turns, he kept digging.
00:37:04.28\00:37:06.30
And pretty soon, you put
your bucket in and it's the
00:37:06.33\00:37:09.17
sweetest sound in the
world; it's a slurping sound...
00:37:09.20\00:37:15.11
and you hear that when
you're digging a spring,
00:37:15.14\00:37:18.12
that's like the
Halleluiah chorus.
00:37:18.15\00:37:21.38
If you're in the dry hills
and you're dying of thirst,
00:37:21.41\00:37:24.41
and you hear that,
it's a wonderful sound!
00:37:24.44\00:37:29.29
And the bucket went
like that and I took picture.
00:37:29.32\00:37:31.09
I was so excited, I
wanted to show Karen.
00:37:31.12\00:37:33.72
And I took a picture and
the water just began to pour
00:37:33.75\00:37:37.62
into the hole and
you're probably thinking,
00:37:37.65\00:37:40.76
"Doug, I don't
like you anymore...
00:37:40.79\00:37:42.70
You're just
bragging about all your water
00:37:42.73\00:37:45.22
that you got up
there in the hills."
00:37:45.25\00:37:46.83
This is good news,
friends, I am so excited.
00:37:46.86\00:37:50.09
It just doubles the
water flow that could
00:37:50.12\00:37:53.25
go to the Batchelor
pad up there in the house.
00:37:53.28\00:37:57.22
And so, just be happy for me.
00:37:57.25\00:38:00.58
I was so excited, I
actually - you know what I did,
00:38:00.61\00:38:03.74
I just wanted to see
where it was coming from,
00:38:03.77\00:38:05.92
and we dug it even deeper
than that and I hopped down
00:38:05.95\00:38:08.52
in the hole -
don't ever do that.
00:38:08.55\00:38:10.76
Kids, don't do that at home.
00:38:10.79\00:38:13.00
I got down in this
ditch, it was 12 feet deep
00:38:13.03\00:38:15.12
at that point - I wanted
to see where is it coming out.
00:38:15.15\00:38:18.53
I want to put my finger in
the spot where this miracle
00:38:18.56\00:38:20.69
was happening and I went down
and I could see where it was
00:38:20.72\00:38:23.40
gushing out from several
places coming into the hole,
00:38:23.43\00:38:25.61
and we took a picture
and then I climbed out,
00:38:25.64\00:38:28.10
and a few minutes
later, the whole side caved in,
00:38:28.13\00:38:31.52
it would have killed me
if I was still in there.
00:38:31.55\00:38:34.86
And so that wasn't very smart
00:38:34.89\00:38:36.26
but you already
knew about me, right?
00:38:36.29\00:38:38.90
Anyway, but I got so excited
because now we're going to
00:38:38.93\00:38:42.21
end up developing - we
know there's water there.
00:38:42.24\00:38:44.02
Once you know there's water
there, you can figure it out.
00:38:44.05\00:38:46.39
You'll find a way to get
it, we'll take the bulldozer
00:38:46.42\00:38:48.54
or something like that,
but it just was so exciting
00:38:48.57\00:38:51.46
to see that water up
there in these dry hills,
00:38:51.49\00:38:54.24
especially when
there's a drought.
00:38:54.27\00:38:57.40
You know, the Bible
tells us in the last days,
00:38:57.43\00:38:59.34
there's going to be a famine.
00:38:59.37\00:39:00.93
What is it that
usually brings on a famine?
00:39:00.96\00:39:04.28
It's a drought - the
days are coming says the Lord,
00:39:04.31\00:39:08.44
there's going to be a famine
- a famine for the Word of God.
00:39:08.47\00:39:13.17
And it's a drought of living
water that causes this famine.
00:39:13.20\00:39:17.16
Now, I've talked
a lot about water...
00:39:17.19\00:39:20.56
What is the "living water?"
00:39:20.59\00:39:23.06
Is it - you know, we talk in
terms, we talk in these symbols,
00:39:23.09\00:39:26.54
what does the Bible say it is?
00:39:26.57\00:39:27.96
Turn with me in
your Bibles, John 3:5...
00:39:27.99\00:39:37.46
"Most assuredly I say to you,
unless one is born of the water
00:39:37.49\00:39:42.19
and the Spirit, he cannot
enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
00:39:42.22\00:39:45.37
How important is water?
00:39:45.40\00:39:46.62
Jesus said, "Unless
you are born of the water,
00:39:46.65\00:39:48.29
you cannot enter
the Kingdom of Heaven."
00:39:48.32\00:39:50.92
That "being born of the water,"
has a couple of meanings.
00:39:50.95\00:39:54.21
No, it does not mean
being born of a baby.
00:39:54.24\00:39:56.37
Some people think it
means coming out of the water
00:39:56.40\00:40:00.83
that a baby is in - the water
sac - that's not it because
00:40:00.86\00:40:04.74
why would Jesus say that?
00:40:04.77\00:40:06.11
He that is born of the water...
You must be born of the water,
00:40:06.14\00:40:08.07
and born of the Spirit...
00:40:08.10\00:40:09.34
How many here
were born of a woman?
00:40:09.37\00:40:13.23
Everybody is born
of that water, right?
00:40:13.26\00:40:15.69
It's talking about the
cleansing of the Spirit
00:40:15.72\00:40:19.07
on the inside and
baptism - the cleansing
00:40:19.10\00:40:21.50
of the Spirit on the outside."
00:40:21.54\00:40:22.57
So it's talking about the
new birth and the cleansing.
00:40:22.61\00:40:26.15
Isaiah 44:3... "For I
will pour water on him
00:40:26.18\00:40:32.25
that is thirsty and
floods on dry ground."
00:40:32.28\00:40:34.95
Have you ever
felt dry in your heart?
00:40:34.98\00:40:36.62
"I will pour My
Spirit on your descendents
00:40:36.65\00:40:41.27
and My blessing
on your offspring."
00:40:41.30\00:40:43.25
So what is this water?
00:40:43.28\00:40:44.79
"I will pour My Spirit..."
00:40:44.82\00:40:47.21
What is it the church is
supposed to be praying for
00:40:47.24\00:40:49.36
in the last days?
00:40:49.39\00:40:50.51
You've heard of
the former rain...
00:40:50.54\00:40:52.70
We're praying now
for the latter rain,
00:40:52.73\00:40:56.00
and that latter rain
is that water coming down,
00:40:56.03\00:40:58.24
it represents a rain of what?
00:40:58.27\00:41:00.64
The Holy Spirit being
poured out on the church.
00:41:00.67\00:41:03.65
And by the way, back
in the days of Elijah,
00:41:03.68\00:41:07.73
the Holy Spirit or the rain
came after God's people prayed.
00:41:07.76\00:41:12.80
They humbled themselves
00:41:12.83\00:41:13.98
before the Lord and
it's going to happen again.
00:41:14.02\00:41:17.03
John 7:37... This was
our Scripture reading.
00:41:17.06\00:41:20.04
"On the last day
of the great feast,
00:41:20.07\00:41:22.52
the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus
stood and cried out saying,
00:41:22.55\00:41:26.21
"If anyone thirsts, let
him come to Me and drink;
00:41:26.24\00:41:29.94
He that believes in Me,
as the Scripture has said,
00:41:29.97\00:41:33.00
out of his heart will
flow rivers of living water."
00:41:33.03\00:41:37.12
Rivers of water flowing out,
an artesian supply of water!
00:41:37.15\00:41:41.94
"But this He spoke concerning
the - you still got your Bibles?
00:41:41.97\00:41:46.31
I'm reading, we stopped
there... What is that water?
00:41:46.34\00:41:49.03
"This He spoke
concerning the Spirit."
00:41:49.06\00:41:52.38
So that living water is
talking about God's Spirit
00:41:52.41\00:41:54.88
inside that
refreshes us from within,
00:41:54.91\00:41:58.28
and Jesus picked the
optimum time to do this.
00:41:58.31\00:42:00.89
He waited for the
"Feast of Tabernacles."
00:42:00.92\00:42:02.59
Now, it's not in the
Bible, but the Jews had a custom
00:42:02.62\00:42:06.43
back then, during the feast,
where they would draw water
00:42:06.46\00:42:09.63
from the pool of Siloam.
00:42:09.66\00:42:11.55
The pool of Siloam was
formed because Hezekiah had dug
00:42:11.58\00:42:14.89
a tunnel - how many of
you have heard of Hezekiah's
00:42:14.92\00:42:18.27
tunnel before?
00:42:18.30\00:42:20.66
See, back in Bible times,
you could withstand a siege
00:42:20.69\00:42:23.86
for quite a while -
they could store food,
00:42:23.89\00:42:25.85
but you had to
have water in the city.
00:42:25.88\00:42:28.66
And if your water
was outside the wall,
00:42:28.69\00:42:30.56
the enemy would block it and
you couldn't get to your water.
00:42:30.59\00:42:33.18
So what Hezekiah had done,
he had some brilliant engineers
00:42:33.21\00:42:38.14
that went to the Spring of
Gijon outside of Jerusalem,
00:42:38.17\00:42:41.66
and they dug down,
down to the source of it.
00:42:41.69\00:42:45.69
They then dug a tunnel;
they dug down within the
00:42:45.72\00:42:48.73
City of Jerusalem and
they dug toward each other,
00:42:48.76\00:42:51.53
and how they did this back then,
with their primitive technology
00:42:51.56\00:42:54.51
is absolutely miraculous.
00:42:54.54\00:42:56.26
We don't know, to
this day, how they did it,
00:42:56.29\00:42:57.92
but they had teams
going from 2 opposite sides,
00:42:57.95\00:43:00.37
and we can see,
right now, where they met
00:43:00.40\00:43:02.03
because the pick marks
are going like this in an arc
00:43:02.06\00:43:04.40
on one side and then
you can see the pick marks
00:43:04.43\00:43:06.59
going like this in the
walls on the other side,
00:43:06.62\00:43:09.13
and finally when they meet,
00:43:09.16\00:43:10.23
they were only off
a couple of inches.
00:43:10.26\00:43:12.94
But they managed to meet
and know exactly what depth
00:43:12.97\00:43:16.28
and level they were outside
the wall and inside the wall,
00:43:16.31\00:43:19.53
and the water began to flow
from the spring into the city,
00:43:19.56\00:43:22.62
and it formed
the Pool of Siloam...
00:43:22.65\00:43:24.86
And that was like
the lifeline of the city
00:43:24.89\00:43:27.57
whenever Jerusalem was
besieged was that pool.
00:43:27.60\00:43:30.78
And so, they would take
water from the Pool of Siloam,
00:43:30.81\00:43:34.26
and they'd walk up the steps
into the temple with trumpets
00:43:34.29\00:43:38.22
playing and the
people praising God.
00:43:38.25\00:43:40.20
They put a little bit of
grape juice in the water,
00:43:40.23\00:43:42.95
which is interesting - the water
and the grape juice from the
00:43:42.98\00:43:46.00
side of Jesus, when He
was pierced, what came out?
00:43:46.03\00:43:49.23
Water came from the
side of Christ and blood...
00:43:49.26\00:43:53.97
symbolizing that we
are washed by these things,
00:43:54.00\00:43:58.23
washed by the
blood, washed by the water.
00:43:58.26\00:44:00.44
And then they would
pour it out on the alter.
00:44:00.47\00:44:03.63
During that feast where
there was this great ceremony
00:44:03.66\00:44:06.34
of water, Jesus
speaks these words...
00:44:06.37\00:44:09.15
And He says that He
offers us the living water.
00:44:09.18\00:44:13.05
John 7- "If anyone
thirsts...?" Who? Anyone!
00:44:13.08\00:44:18.38
Was that just
anyone back there then,
00:44:18.41\00:44:20.07
or is that anyone here, today?
00:44:20.10\00:44:22.37
"If anyone thirsts, let
him come to Me and drink."
00:44:22.40\00:44:27.02
"He who believes in Me,
as the Scripture has said,
00:44:27.05\00:44:30.89
Out of his heart will
flow rivers of living water."
00:44:30.92\00:44:34.53
And we just quoted that
Scripture there in Isaiah 44.
00:44:34.56\00:44:37.79
But He spoke
concerning the Spirit.
00:44:37.82\00:44:40.26
If you believe in Him,
He can give you that Spirit
00:44:40.29\00:44:42.52
that will cleanse your sins
and that joy will be flowing
00:44:42.55\00:44:45.97
out of your heart like it
was with the Samaritan woman
00:44:46.00\00:44:48.27
and so many others.
00:44:48.30\00:44:49.87
Isaiah 58:11...
"The Lord will guide you
00:44:49.90\00:44:51.94
continually and
satisfy your soul in drought;
00:44:51.97\00:44:56.55
And He'll strengthen your bones.
00:44:56.58\00:44:57.97
You will be like a watered
garden, like a spring of water
00:44:58.00\00:45:01.46
whose waters do not fail."
00:45:01.49\00:45:04.78
You know it's wonderful
to know that you've got
00:45:04.81\00:45:06.50
a dependable source of water,
00:45:06.53\00:45:08.21
especially if
there's a famine in the land,
00:45:08.24\00:45:10.89
and to have that
artesian well to be available.
00:45:10.92\00:45:14.77
You know, back in
the days of Abraham,
00:45:14.80\00:45:19.08
everywhere Abraham
went, he did two things...
00:45:19.11\00:45:21.75
Do you know what
those two things were?
00:45:21.78\00:45:26.08
He built an alter to
God and he dug a well.
00:45:26.12\00:45:30.39
And oh, he's a
shepherd; he had a household
00:45:30.42\00:45:32.26
with hundreds of servants.
00:45:32.29\00:45:33.64
We know he had 300
that could fight in battles.
00:45:33.67\00:45:36.09
This is actually a
picture of a very ancient well
00:45:36.12\00:45:39.15
that's in Beersheba -
they call it Abraham's well,
00:45:39.18\00:45:41.35
and to this very day,
it's got water down there.
00:45:41.38\00:45:44.08
They argue that it dates
back to the time of Abraham,
00:45:44.11\00:45:47.26
and it was one of his wells.
00:45:47.29\00:45:48.95
Well after Abraham died,
the Philistines were afraid
00:45:48.98\00:45:51.74
at how powerful he had become;
00:45:51.77\00:45:53.35
they went around and they
filled in the wells of Abraham
00:45:53.38\00:45:56.67
with debris, with rocks,
with dirt to try to prevent
00:45:56.70\00:46:00.57
the people of Israel
from settling in that land.
00:46:00.60\00:46:04.78
And one of the things
Isaac did is he went and he
00:46:04.81\00:46:07.70
cleaned out the wells
of his father, Abraham.
00:46:07.73\00:46:12.81
Everywhere Isaac went,
he cleaned out the wells
00:46:12.84\00:46:17.63
that his father had dug.
00:46:17.66\00:46:19.78
Here you've got Genesis 26:15:
00:46:19.81\00:46:23.01
"The Philistines had stopped
up all the wells that his
00:46:23.04\00:46:26.41
father's servants had dug in
the days of Abraham, his father,
00:46:26.44\00:46:29.72
and they filled
them with earth..."
00:46:29.75\00:46:31.97
Because where there's
no water, there's no life;
00:46:32.00\00:46:33.68
trying to drive them away.
00:46:33.71\00:46:34.77
What does the devil do?
00:46:34.80\00:46:36.15
Does he try to plug the wells?
00:46:36.18\00:46:38.24
Does the devil put all of
his weeds around the spring
00:46:38.27\00:46:41.80
and try and soak up the water?
00:46:41.83\00:46:43.60
He's trying to keep us thirsty.
00:46:43.63\00:46:45.89
Genesis 26:18... "And
Isaac dug again the wells
00:46:45.92\00:46:49.75
of water that they had dug in
the days of Abraham, his father.
00:46:49.78\00:46:53.32
For the Philistines had stopped
them after the death of Abraham,
00:46:53.35\00:46:56.62
And he called them by the names
that his father had called them;
00:46:56.65\00:47:00.26
And Isaac's servant dug in
the valley and they found a well
00:47:00.29\00:47:04.91
of running water there."
00:47:04.94\00:47:06.64
What do you think that means?
00:47:06.67\00:47:08.81
They were digging
with their backhoe?
00:47:08.84\00:47:11.71
No, they did it
the hard way back then.
00:47:11.74\00:47:13.82
They'd lower a guy by
his feet down in the hole.
00:47:13.85\00:47:16.26
He'd chip away until he
couldn't stand it anymore,
00:47:16.29\00:47:18.28
and they'd pull him out
and they'd get another one.
00:47:18.31\00:47:19.98
Can you imagine
them - chip, chip, chip,
00:47:20.01\00:47:21.66
and all of a sudden you hear,
gurgle, gurgle and he says,
00:47:21.69\00:47:23.59
"Quick get me out of here,"
and the water began to rise up
00:47:23.62\00:47:27.46
of its own power and
flow out of the well.
00:47:27.49\00:47:32.96
It's wonderful when
you get living water.
00:47:32.99\00:47:35.74
It's miraculous - sometimes
you wish you had x-ray vision.
00:47:35.77\00:47:39.53
Some people claim to
be able to water-witch.
00:47:39.56\00:47:42.34
They walk along with
these willow sticks, this iron,
00:47:42.37\00:47:45.86
and they try to say,
"Where is the water."
00:47:45.89\00:47:47.52
If you could only
know where to dig.
00:47:47.55\00:47:50.41
I'm sensitive about this!
00:47:50.44\00:47:52.38
I know a couple of
unscrupulous realtors
00:47:52.41\00:47:54.60
that sold land to
people and they said,
00:47:54.63\00:47:56.08
"I'm sure you
could put a well in here,
00:47:56.11\00:47:57.44
there's no water on the land,
aw, you can put a well in."
00:47:57.47\00:47:59.47
And there was no water and
they spent thousands drilling,
00:47:59.50\00:48:02.52
came up dry and I know families
that they put every penny
00:48:02.55\00:48:06.67
they had into a piece of
land and then every extra penny
00:48:06.70\00:48:09.09
into trying to get a
well in and they're now living
00:48:09.12\00:48:11.97
on that land and
they're hauling water in barrels
00:48:12.00\00:48:15.58
to wash their
dishes, to take their showers
00:48:15.61\00:48:17.86
because there's no water.
00:48:17.89\00:48:19.39
And it's so sad - I
mean we take it for granted
00:48:19.42\00:48:22.13
living in a city like
this, you turn the spigot,
00:48:22.16\00:48:24.40
it may not always be that way.
00:48:24.43\00:48:27.29
And I think sometimes we
take Jesus for granted too,
00:48:27.32\00:48:30.15
and we don't realize
what a gift it is to have such
00:48:30.18\00:48:33.94
an abundance of water
for life, for our gardens,
00:48:33.97\00:48:37.89
for our yards, for our bodies,
for cleansing, for drinking.
00:48:37.92\00:48:42.16
And Jesus says that He
is offering us that water.
00:48:42.19\00:48:45.44
The Bible begins by God creating
a river in the Garden of Eden
00:48:45.47\00:48:49.48
that irrigated all that life.
00:48:49.51\00:48:52.13
And then, you know, you
get to the end of the Bible...
00:48:52.16\00:48:55.04
In Revelation
22, the last chapter
00:48:55.07\00:48:58.57
of the Bible you find this.
00:48:58.60\00:49:00.76
"He showed me a pure
river of water of life."
00:49:00.79\00:49:04.50
Water of life...
00:49:04.53\00:49:06.07
Not only is
there a Tree of Life,
00:49:06.10\00:49:07.35
there's a Water of Life -
Clear as crystal proceeding
00:49:07.38\00:49:10.48
from the throne of
God and from the Lamb.
00:49:10.51\00:49:12.41
Water coming from God's
throne and from the Lamb.
00:49:12.44\00:49:16.05
"In the middle of its
street on either side of it
00:49:16.08\00:49:18.28
was the Tree of Life."
00:49:18.31\00:49:20.10
You know, it says in Isaiah
32:2 "A man will be as a hiding
00:49:20.13\00:49:27.40
place from the wind and
a cover from the tempest,
00:49:27.44\00:49:29.97
as rivers of water in
a dry place as the shadow
00:49:30.01\00:49:33.51
of a great rock
in a weary land."
00:49:33.54\00:49:35.54
"A man will be as rivers
of water in a dry place."
00:49:35.57\00:49:40.08
So how do we get
the living waters?
00:49:40.11\00:49:41.96
You know, there's a story,
I just heard it this morning
00:49:41.99\00:49:46.39
on my way to church again.
00:49:46.42\00:49:48.28
H.M.S. Richards,
Sr., was sharing.
00:49:48.31\00:49:50.90
I was listening to an old tape,
00:49:50.93\00:49:53.23
and he talked about
during the Civil War.
00:49:53.26\00:49:57.03
They had this
notorious prisoner of war camp
00:49:57.06\00:50:00.04
that was in Georgia,
called Andersonville.
00:50:00.07\00:50:02.02
Have you ever head the history
or the story about Andersonville
00:50:02.05\00:50:04.60
It's as bad as any story
you've heard, or almost as bad
00:50:04.63\00:50:10.64
of a concentration camp.
00:50:10.67\00:50:13.63
I mean, at this point, at
the end of the war in 1865,
00:50:13.66\00:50:18.27
the South had no food
for their own soldiers.
00:50:18.30\00:50:21.86
There was really no food
for their prisoners of war.
00:50:21.89\00:50:25.91
And they had so many
soldiers stacked together
00:50:25.94\00:50:28.58
in Andersonville within
this one swampy area that
00:50:28.61\00:50:34.15
they barely had a
place to lay down,
00:50:34.18\00:50:36.99
and they were dying like flies.
00:50:37.02\00:50:38.92
There was a stream that
came from the hills that kind of
00:50:38.95\00:50:42.99
ran through the camp
that really was the sewer
00:50:43.04\00:50:46.27
and that's all they had to
drink and finally it dried up.
00:50:46.30\00:50:51.74
And there was this one summer
when they were just dying;
00:50:51.77\00:50:54.37
they had no
water; they had no food,
00:50:54.40\00:50:56.36
and all those
Northern boys gathered together
00:50:56.39\00:50:58.94
and they had a prayer meeting.
00:50:58.97\00:51:00.66
You know, back then a
lot of people went to church;
00:51:00.69\00:51:03.94
a lot more than they do today.
00:51:03.97\00:51:05.62
And they all came from
homes, different denominations,
00:51:05.65\00:51:07.88
but they believed in God,
and they started to pray...
00:51:07.91\00:51:11.88
And it was hot, the
ground was dry because of the
00:51:11.91\00:51:16.63
red clay there in Georgia.
00:51:16.66\00:51:18.56
It was filthy and they
just said we need water.
00:51:18.59\00:51:21.56
They were dying of thirst
and they had a prayer meeting
00:51:21.59\00:51:24.01
specifically praying that
God would give them water.
00:51:24.04\00:51:27.03
And right about the
time that they were praying,
00:51:27.06\00:51:29.07
a thunderstorm moved into
the area and it began to rain.
00:51:29.10\00:51:34.58
Well that was a
temporary answer, but during
00:51:34.61\00:51:37.28
the thunderstorm, lightning
struck the parade ground
00:51:37.31\00:51:41.02
in the middle of
that prison of war camp,
00:51:41.05\00:51:43.56
and where the lightning hit the
ground, water began to spring up
00:51:43.59\00:51:48.02
and it's still running today.
00:51:48.05\00:51:50.54
It's called the
miracle of Andersonville,
00:51:50.57\00:51:52.68
and it was happening as those
soldiers were praying for water.
00:51:52.71\00:51:56.72
Does God still answer prayer?
00:51:56.75\00:51:58.37
If He had saved
those British soldiers
00:51:58.40\00:52:00.87
out in the desert when
they prayed for water...
00:52:00.90\00:52:02.91
Oh, by the way, we
knelt down Thursday and prayed
00:52:02.95\00:52:04.93
before we started
digging, that God would help us
00:52:04.96\00:52:06.60
find water and we did -
so I'm excited about this!
00:52:06.63\00:52:11.00
I think if the Lord cares about
giving us that physical water -
00:52:11.03\00:52:15.09
You know one of the last things
Jesus says in the Bible...
00:52:15.12\00:52:17.63
Last chapter in the
Bible, Revelation 22:17...
00:52:17.66\00:52:22.79
"Let him who thirsts
come; whosoever desires
00:52:22.82\00:52:30.06
let him take the
water of life freely."
00:52:30.09\00:52:33.43
Isaiah 55- says, "Ho! Everyone
00:52:33.46\00:52:35.87
who thirsts, Come
ye to the waters."
00:52:35.91\00:52:37.50
Jesus is offering
living water to everyone,
00:52:37.54\00:52:39.61
and yet people are dying
of dehydration spiritually.
00:52:39.64\00:52:43.86
They don't even know it.
00:52:43.89\00:52:45.82
Why will you die?
00:52:45.85\00:52:47.98
Why would you
want to be so thirsty?
00:52:48.01\00:52:49.61
If you ask God,
He'll give you His Spirit.
00:52:49.64\00:52:51.76
He'll give you
that living water.
00:52:51.79\00:52:53.18
He'll give you that cleansing
if you pray and you ask Him.
00:52:53.21\00:52:56.83
Does Jesus care
if we're thirsty?
00:52:56.86\00:52:59.18
Yes He does - look
at all the miracles
00:52:59.21\00:53:01.68
He did to
satisfy physical thirst.
00:53:01.72\00:53:03.15
Does He care about
our spiritual thirst?
00:53:03.18\00:53:05.30
He'll give you that living
water - He said if you ask Him.
00:53:05.33\00:53:08.07
That's what He said
to the woman at the well,
00:53:08.10\00:53:09.41
if you ask Him.
00:53:09.53\00:53:11.02
Would you like to ask Him today
00:53:11.05\00:53:12.43
that He gives us
that living water.
00:53:12.46\00:53:14.30
Let's stand and we're
going to sing together 432,
00:53:14.33\00:53:18.26
I believe that's
the right number.
00:53:18.29\00:53:22.40
We're going to sing about
"Shall We Gather At The River"
00:53:22.43\00:53:25.08
I'm hoping to gather by
that river in heaven, Amen?
00:53:25.11\00:53:27.67
And there are
streams that flow today.
00:53:27.70\00:53:29.94
Let's sing this
together and then we'll pray.
00:53:29.97\00:53:31.90
Shall we gather at the river
00:53:41.61\00:53:46.14
Where bright
angel feet have trod,
00:53:46.17\00:53:50.72
With its crystal tide forever
00:53:50.75\00:53:54.79
Flowing by the throne of God?
00:53:54.82\00:53:59.74
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
00:53:59.77\00:54:04.42
The beautiful,
the beautiful river;
00:54:04.45\00:54:09.25
Gather with the
saints at the river
00:54:09.28\00:54:13.54
That flows by the throne of God.
00:54:13.57\00:54:19.86
I think there may be some people
that are thirsty here today,
00:54:19.89\00:54:23.50
and I'm not just
talking about physical thirst.
00:54:23.53\00:54:26.98
I actually went to the
store yesterday thought about
00:54:27.01\00:54:29.62
buying a whole pile
of the bottled water,
00:54:29.65\00:54:32.14
and having them
out in the foyer,
00:54:32.17\00:54:34.98
but I just thought
about it, I didn't do it.
00:54:35.01\00:54:38.54
Because I wanted you
to tangibly think about
00:54:38.57\00:54:42.61
drinking that spiritual
water that Jesus is offering,
00:54:42.64\00:54:45.98
and I wanted to save the
environment from all those
00:54:46.01\00:54:47.78
plastic bottles -
that's why I didn't get it.
00:54:47.81\00:54:51.64
But there may be some
of you here today that
00:54:51.67\00:54:54.10
you sense that inner
thirst; you know the need for
00:54:54.13\00:54:56.89
the Holy Spirit.
00:54:56.92\00:54:58.52
Maybe you have not experienced
that cleansing that Jesus offers
00:54:58.55\00:55:02.76
... that new life on the inside.
00:55:02.79\00:55:05.53
Without water, there's
no life; it's true in the
00:55:05.56\00:55:08.32
physical world, it's
true in the spiritual...
00:55:08.35\00:55:10.33
And you'd like to
have special prayer
00:55:10.36\00:55:13.09
that you can
receive that living water.
00:55:13.12\00:55:14.81
If you have a need and
you'd like to come for prayer,
00:55:14.85\00:55:18.86
why don't you come as we
sing verses 2-3 together.
00:55:18.90\00:55:22.88
On the margin of the river,
00:55:23.89\00:55:30.29
Washing up it's silver spray,
00:55:30.33\00:55:34.09
We will walk and worship ever,
00:55:34.13\00:55:37.86
All the happy golden day.
00:55:37.89\00:55:43.16
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
00:55:43.19\00:55:47.56
The beautiful,
the beautiful river;
00:55:47.59\00:55:52.76
Gather with the
saints at the river
00:55:52.79\00:55:57.07
That flows by the throne of God.
00:55:57.10\00:56:03.31
Soon we'll reach
the shining river,
00:56:03.34\00:56:08.36
Soon our pilgrimage will cease,
00:56:08.39\00:56:13.08
Soon our happy
hearts will quiver
00:56:13.11\00:56:17.33
With the melody of peace.
00:56:17.36\00:56:22.51
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
00:56:22.54\00:56:27.24
The beautiful,
the beautiful river;
00:56:27.27\00:56:32.06
Gather with the
saints at the river
00:56:32.09\00:56:36.48
That flows by the throne of God.
00:56:36.51\00:56:44.31
Father in heaven...
Lord, we are so thankful
00:56:44.34\00:56:49.74
that You have sent a
virtual fire hydrant of water
00:56:49.77\00:56:55.02
into our lives through Jesus.
00:56:55.05\00:56:58.07
Lord, we praise
You and we thank You.
00:56:58.10\00:57:01.09
We know that Christ, when
His very heart was pierced,
00:57:01.12\00:57:03.87
that water flowed
out, that it might irrigate
00:57:03.90\00:57:07.22
the souls of
everybody that asks,
00:57:07.25\00:57:09.43
that everybody that believes
can have that refreshing.
00:57:09.46\00:57:13.30
Lord, I pray that you'll
work that miracle right now;
00:57:13.33\00:57:16.63
do right now, Lord,
for those that are here,
00:57:16.66\00:57:19.59
for those that
might be listening,
00:57:19.62\00:57:21.38
in opening up the ground
and providing water, Lord,
00:57:21.41\00:57:25.82
in a miraculous way.
00:57:25.85\00:57:27.84
You did it for Hagar when
she wandered in the wilderness;
00:57:27.87\00:57:30.92
You did it for Samson
when he was dying of thirst,
00:57:30.95\00:57:34.12
and we believe that
You'll hear our prayer today.
00:57:34.15\00:57:36.75
We pray that You'll send
Your Spirit, that living water,
00:57:36.78\00:57:39.65
send the latter
rain on Your people.
00:57:39.68\00:57:41.76
There's a famine in the
land, Lord, and we need life.
00:57:41.79\00:57:44.82
Bless us in our church
and be with each person
00:57:44.85\00:57:47.55
who has come forward
with a special request,
00:57:47.58\00:57:49.74
and help them to believe and
to experience that refreshing,
00:57:49.77\00:57:53.02
we thank You and we
pray, in Jesus name... Amen
00:57:53.05\00:57:55.01