John 7:37–39 ESV: 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

I want to break this verse down into THREE parts:

1. IF ANYONE THIRSTS!

A. Have you ever been super thirsty?

• Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with zero moisture in your mouth?
• Or maybe you’ve been at a restaurant and ran out of drink and wished the waiter would come.

B. God uses the ground as an example in Scripture to show blessing and cursing.

• The heavens are said to be bronze and the ground iron.
• There were three ways to get water in Israel:
  • Cistern
  • Well
  • Spring

C. Spiritual dehydration has specific symptoms.

• Lack of RESILIENCE — You don’t rebound from hardships quickly.
• Increased STRESS — You are anxious and stressed out.
• DISORIENTATION — You feel confused and disoriented.
• AGITATION — You become angry and fall into despair.
• DEPRESSION — You just want to disappear and want to give up.

2.LET HIM COME TO ME AND DRINK!

A. Jesus is the dispenser of water for your soul.

B. Why do we look in other places for water?

• Other religions — meditation, Eastern religions
• Entertainment — new show, movies, sports
• New things — shopping, new phone, Amazon
• Possessions — new property, new house, new car
• Experiences — go on that trip, go skydiving
• People — get married, get in relationships

C. All of these are only temporary sources of hydration.

D. Jeremiah 2:13 NLT: For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!

E. If you find yourself dry, there remains one answer for your soul—Jesus, the Christ.

3.RIVERS OF LIVING WATER

A. Jesus was going to give the Spirit!

B. What Jesus had in mind was to put within you a perpetual spring of water.

• John 4:14 KJV: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

C. Let’s talk about the Holy Spirit in your life

• Jesus gave Him to us to be a constant COMPANION.
• Jesus gave Him to us to be a constant ENCOURAGER.
• Jesus gave Him to us to be a constant TEACHER.
• Jesus gave Him to us to be a constant LEADER.

D. “Do not QUENCH the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19 ESV).

• Don’t DOUBT Him.
• Don’t IGNORE Him.
• Don’t RESIST Him.

E. ENGAGE the Spirit.

• Pray in the Spirit, and sing in the Spirit.
• Take walks and talk to Him.
• Don’t let a day go by where you don’t acknowledge Him.