Sunday Sermon 9.18.21
In my view, there’s probably nothing more calming and soothing than the sounds of a river babbling through it’s bed or a gentle waterfall over the smooth rocks. With it comes a deep sense of tranquilility, clarity, purity, refreshment and power.
It was during the Feast of Tabernacles (which, by the way, is approaching Sept. 21-27), that Jesus stood and spoke:
“On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit…”
John 7:37-39a NIV
Imagine a rustling, babbling river flowing through you, through you and the riverbed of your life, over every rock embedded in your personality. Imagine it’s tranquility, clarity, purity, refreshment and power.
THAT my friend, is the Holy Spirit flowing through you. And that, dear one, is what Jesus promised to those guys back then, and to you and me today. Rivers of living water flowing through those that believe.
So we must ask ourselves, is that river flowing in and through us? Is that waterfall of the Spirit, overflowing and toppling down, over the boulders, bushes, birds of the air?
Chances are the flowing is a mere trickle. Or worst-yet, a dry riverbed, lacking even the slightest bit of moisture. My new hero of the faith says this –
“Dear brethren, our eyes are dry, because our hearts are dry.”
Leonard Ravenhill – “Why Revival Tarries”
Are our hearts dry or is there a river of life flowing through it?
The Lord used this event and picture in my life this week to teach me a thing or two about this flowing river from within us.
I had determined to go for a walk with my husband yesterday and when we returned, I was going to clean the house. You know, mop, vacuum, dust, etc., etc. So we went for our walk and had a wonderful time outdoors, together.
When we returned home, I opened the door to the sound of a waterfall in my kitchen. Now mind you, we have no water fountain or any such water feature in our home, much less in the kitchen.
When I rounded the corner to the kitchen, this is what I saw…
Overflowing from the filled sinks was filthy, black water! It was flowing from the sinks, over the kitchen counter, down the cabinet wall, into the dining room and all over the kitchen floor. Under the cupboard was a collection of water, and the pipes were shooting this disgusting water from the lines.
And the SMELL. WAS. DISGUSTING!
I wish there was an APP for smelling, luckily for you tho’, you can use your eyes instead.
Short story now, the tenant above us was having plumbing work done, this we knew. We had previously had no blockage problems (last November we had a plumber out to clear the lines), so we thought we were good. Until we got home that is. Another plumber came out, cleared the line and we were left to clean up the mess. After 4 hours, we were on the road to “back to normal”.
But here’s the lesson I feel the Lord had for me in this.
“You Debbie, were content to clean the visible part of the house, but I am wanting to clean what is unseen. I am wanting to unclog the lines between us, unblock the emotions between us, clean up the stinch of lies that have polluted your image of how I see you, and open you up to the clean, refreshing, tranquil, pure and powerful flow of the living water of the Holy Spirit through you.“
WOW! WOW! WOW! I was undone.
You see, the Lord has been working on me, challenging me to allow Him to walk with me through past experiences that have shut me down, distorted my image of the Father, and misshapen my stand as His beloved daughter. So when this picture played out yesteday in my life, it was powerful.
The stinch, the blockage, the sight of unclean water all were used to help me see what He was doing in my life. What He was doing to clean not just the outside but clean the inside of my life, because from me (and YOU) is to flow rivers of living water!
Refreshing, calming, life-giving, powerful, rushing pure rivers of the Holy Spirit flowing through me. But first, I gotta get unclogged, unstopped, roto-rootered… I gotta allow Him to clean me up to feel, sense, think and act like Him. So all that smelly, grungy, flesh-life has got to go.
We could mention hundreds of bible verses here, but I won’t. I will offer this one that has been so magnified in my mind and prayers these past weeks,
“Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.”
Psalm 5:3 TPT
You see, I am surrendering every area of my life to Him, afresh. Allowing Him to examine, reveal and walk me through the healing that is needed so that my heart will be passionately on fire for Him and clean, refreshing and powerful rivers of living water of the Spirit will flow through and from me.
It took a waterfall in my kitchen to speak powerfully to me and I hope that through it, He has spoken to you too.
Flow through us in purity, Holy Spirit. Unstop and unclog us. We yield to you.
Debbie
Under Debra’s Palm 
This is an incredible sermon this morning with a wide range of applications for every Believer and church leaders as we move deeper into the “end times”. Perhaps this sermon will help everyone to consider the flow of the river of life within themselves that may or may not be flowing as the Lord intended. Perhaps it’s time to have a “power” washing of the walls in our own hearts. Perhaps it time to get that “roto-router” out and clean off the sludge that has been damning up the flow of the river of life within ourselves. Hmmmmm ……