The Holy Spirit Brings Life From Within

Jesus stood in the middle of a great religious celebration and offered something the ceremony itself could not give. Water was being poured out where everyone could see it, but Jesus pointed beyond that water to what God wanted to do inside people. He was speaking about the Holy Spirit.

What did Jesus mean by rivers of living water?

Jesus meant that the Holy Spirit would come into believers and flow from within them with life that ordinary water could never provide.

Jesus said in John 7:38, “He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart or out of his belly will flow rivers of living water.”

You have to remember the setting. This was the Feast of Tabernacles. On the last day of the feast, multiplied gallons of water were brought in and poured out around the place where the sacrifice was being made. It was a great ceremony, and everybody could see it.

Jesus stood there while that water was being poured out and called their attention to another kind of water. The water they were watching would evaporate or be absorbed into the ground. It could not change their lives.

But Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the living water.

What does the Holy Spirit do inside a believer?

The Holy Spirit works in our inner person, cleansing us and bringing life, vitality, hope, and a divine energy we cannot produce on our own.

That is important because Christianity is not simply about improving the outside of your life. God wants to do something inside you. Jesus spoke about living water flowing out of the heart, the inner person.

There are things we cannot manufacture for ourselves. We can become tired. We can become discouraged. We can reach the end of what our own strength can accomplish.

But the Holy Spirit brings life where we need life. He brings hope where we need hope. He brings divine energy that does not come from our own ability.

This is why I do not want us to reduce the work of the Spirit to a religious ceremony. The water in Jerusalem was visible and impressive, but Jesus said that water could not do anything for them. They needed what only God could give.

How can the Holy Spirit's power show up in our lives?

The Holy Spirit's power can be expressed through speaking in other tongues, shouting, the Word of God, and an inward work that cleanses and strengthens us.

As Pentecostals, we believe there is a move of the Holy Spirit for us. That move can manifest itself in speaking in other tongues. It can manifest itself in shouting.

But do not stop there.

The Holy Spirit also works with the Word of God to cleanse your inner person. He does something inside you that brings life and vitality. He gives hope. He gives divine energy.

The point is not simply to have an outward expression. The living water is meant to flow through your inner person.

And it is not only about one individual. I spoke about the river of God flowing through the whole body together. God wants His people to be filled with His Spirit so that His life is flowing through them.

Why do we need the Holy Spirit instead of relying on ourselves?

We need the Holy Spirit because the life and power God intends for us cannot be produced by human strength alone.

We often try to carry life in our own strength. We try to keep ourselves going. We try to create hope by determination.

But Jesus offered something greater. He offered living water.

There is a move of the Spirit for you. That does not mean God is offering you something empty or temporary. He wants the Holy Spirit to work in your inner person and bring what you cannot give yourself.

The Feast of Tabernacles pointed toward harvest. The trumpets sounded, the people were called to get their lives right with God, and there was a purpose in all of it: to be filled with the river of God.

That is what I want you to hear. God does not only want you to know about the Holy Spirit. He wants the Holy Spirit to bring life, hope, cleansing, vitality, and power into you.

The water of a ceremony eventually disappears. The living water Jesus gives changes a life from the inside out.