Connecting Points

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Today’s Topic: He Became a Servant

Today’s Text:  Genesis 39:1 (ESV) Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

Thank you for sticking with this study of the life of Joseph, which up to this point may have seemed too doctrinal and not very practical. But doctrine is the foundation upon which all practical application must be built. If we do not have solid doctrine we will be, as Paul warns in Ephesians 4:14, children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Do not let doctrine scare you. Do not permit shallow waters to be your only place of refreshment because they are warm and comfortable. Dive into the deep waters and swim where faith is required and strength grows.

As we continue to discover the marvelous picture of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior that is painted by the life of Joseph, we come to the parts of the story that combine good doctrine with personal application.

First, we see Joseph being sold on the slave market by the clan that bought him from his brothers. Through an uncontrollable series of events in which Joseph was powerless he goes from being the chosen and beloved son of prosperity in his father’s household to a common slave in a foreign land. Yet the degradation he experienced was nothing compared to the voluntary self-humiliation of Jesus Christ when He left His throne in the Father’s house and became man – and not just man, but servant-man and eventually, on the cross, a slave to sin.

Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV) ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus himself said, “The son of Man has not come to be served, but to serve.” And again He said, “He who would be great in the Kingdom of God must be the servant of all.”

The connecting point to our lives is apparent – we are most like Christ when we are the servant of God and the servant of others. Paul’s challenge to us in Philippians 2:5 is to have the same mindset as Jesus Christ had when He willingly gave up His position and power in heaven to become a servant of those He loved. The promise he declares is that in Christ we have that mindset as a permanent reality.

We all carry around in our minds the list of things we would never give up for God or for others. Each list is divided into one or more of the following categories:

• Time – there are limitations on how much time I can surrender without affecting my own agenda and goals.
• Treasures – there are limitations on how much I can give without affecting my personal financial security and my goals to have more treasure.
• Talents – there are limitations on how my skills can be used to serve others without affecting my ability to get things done for me or for my boss.
• Title – there are limitations on how much honor and prestige I can surrender without affecting my personal assessment of my worth.
• Trust – there are limitations on how deep my relationships with others will be allowed to go so I can avoid the pain of conflict and broken trust.

Joseph had no such list. Jesus had no such list. Slaves and servants are not allowed such lists. As a servant of Jesus Christ, today I destroy any list I have, for I have been crucified with Christ, and the live that I now live is not my own. I was bought with a price – the price of Christ’s life – and I accept His life of servant-living as my own.

Connecting Points

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Today’s Topic: He Sent His Son

Today’s Text:  Genesis 37:14 (ESV)  So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.”

When I was a young dad, one of the ways I taught responsibility to my children and instilled confidence in them was to send them on errands. They were simple errands at first, like bringing me the remote for the television, yet each errand showed them that I trusted them and believed in their ability. It had nothing to do with me being lazy. Really.

But seriously, sending someone on an errand is a statement of trust and an affirmation of ability. When Jacob sent Joseph on an errand to find his brothers and bring back word of their location and condition, he made a statement of his trust in Joseph and affirmed his ability to accomplish the task. Yet this errand didn’t turn out well. It ended in what Jacob thought was his son’s death as Joseph’s brothers conspired to eliminate him from the family line once and for all so they could protect their lifestyle choices and futures.

The grief and guilt Jacob must have felt was intense. He mourned for his son many days and refused to be comforted, stating that he would go to his grave in grief. He had no way of knowing what would happen to his son when he sent him on the errand, but that did not reduce his grief. If only he had known the real story and had been able to see the end result, it might have helped. But that raises the most important question of all – if he had known what would happen, would he have chosen to send his son at all?

What if Jacob knew in advance everything that would happen to his most beloved son?

• His own brothers would not believe his words. He had revealed to them the secrets of their futures and they rejected it.
• They conspired to eliminate the threat to their own plans and purposes.
• They stripped him of his coat and exposed him to public shame and humiliation.
• They threw him into a pit and left him for dead.
• They hypocritically tried to erase all guilt from their hands by turning him over to someone else who would be responsible for his future.
• They covered his precious coat in blood to convince their father that Joseph was truly dead.

What if Jacob had known all of this? Would he have chosen to send Joseph on that errand? Maybe, just maybe, if he would have known the future results that would eventually save them all from certain death. But even then, for any human father, that would have been unimaginably hard no matter how much we trusted their ability to accomplish it.

Yet that’s what God the Father did when He sent His Son on an errand to find His brothers. The Father knew His Son would not be believed; that He would be rejected; that the very people to whom He came to show the Father’s love would conspire to eliminate Him; that they would strip Him of His robe and expose Him to public shame and humiliation; that they would attempt to remove themselves from any responsibility for His death by having Him killed by another group of people – the Romans; and that they would put him in a pit and leave Him for dead, and then conspire to make everyone believe that He is still dead.

Yet God sent His Son on that errand knowing all of those things. His love for each and every sinner is so great and eternal that He was willing to watch His Son suffer more than we can imagine because He knew it meant ultimate salvation from certain death.

God sent His Son for me.

For you.

Now what will you do? Will you be like Joseph’s brothers, or will you become the brother of Jesus and a child of God?

Connecting Points

Friday, April 19, 2013

Today’s Topic: Tell the Truth for Good

Today’s Text:  Genesis 37:2 (ESV)  And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

Nobody likes a tattletale. The problem is that we have allowed pride to define what a tattletale does or is.

You see, telling the truth can be motivated either by personal gain or by the desire to see good come to others. But when someone tells the truth about us, we generally don’t believe they have our good in mind. We believe they are trying to hurt us in some way so they can improve their own image and status. While that may be true in some cases, we must not assume it is always true.

The very beginning of the story of Joseph illustrates this. At seventeen years of age, Joseph was much younger than his brothers. The very first statement we have about Joseph’s life is that he brought a bad report about his brothers to his father. We have all seen this happen with siblings in our own families. The younger ones love to bring bad reports to the parents or grandparents about the activities of the older ones. It is generally motivated by a sense of jealousy or a feeling of being left out, but the tattletale behaviors happen often.

It would be natural for his brothers to think that Joseph was trying to better his own position with their father. We may even believe that ourselves, and think less of Joseph than we should. But this seventeen year old boy was respected by his father for telling the truth in love, and he was rewarded for his pure motives of wanting good for others.

First, his father rewarded him by making him a special coat. I understand that there is no specific connection in the story of the coat to the report that was given, yet the Holy Spirit chose to put those two events in sequence and I think that is significant. When the brothers saw the coat, and realized that it probably meant their father believed the report that Joseph had brought against them, they hated Joseph and would not speak a kind word to him any longer.

How sad that we so quickly break relationships and even retaliate against those who are ultimately seeking our good simply because we don’t like the truth being told about what we have done. Our pride is powerful, and when it appears that our worth, image, status, or future could be negatively affected by the truth being told, we take the side of self-protection rather than truth.

Second, I believe that Joseph’s father respected him and knew that his motives for telling the truth were pure because later, in Genesis 37:14, Jacob sends Joseph on another fact-finding mission. So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.”  Jacob knew that Joseph would bring him honest information about the status of his brothers and the flocks. Joseph was respected because he could be trusted to tell the truth, not for his own good, but for the good of others.

We must consider how we respond when we know someone is watching us and is making reports about us. If we are living in pride and believe to any degree that we are responsible to protect our image and status, then we will react as the brothers did and not only begin to hate the messenger but also to attempt to eliminate the threat. But if we are humble and truly believe that the truth is what sets us free from the bondage of pride and self-fulfillment, then we will accept the correction of others who love us enough to tell us and others the truth.

Tattletales are not always bad, but let’s change their names to truth-tellers, and let’s honor them as instruments of God for our growth and our good. Then let’s all become such truth-tellers, who never speak the truth with the intent to benefit self, but only speak the truth when it will truly benefit others.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Today’s Topic: The Revealer of Secrets

Today’s Text:  Genesis 41:45 (ESV)  And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah.

When I was in fourth grade I tried to change my name. I was fascinated with the story of Jonathon in the Bible, and wanted to be just like him. So on all of my schoolwork I changed my name. It didn’t take long for the teacher to call my parents into a conference and explain that I was a troubled boy, at least in the area of identity. My parents were upset and demanded I stop using that name and return to my given name because it had significance for them. To this day I have never been told what that significance was, but I obliged.

I’ve been called many other names in my life. I had nicknames like Gork, Stringbean, and Trumpet. The first one was likeable because it was a derivative of my name, but the others were not so fun because they reflected physical appearance. I will leave you to determine what Trumpet referred to.

Names are meant to be significant. It is by the name of Jesus that we are saved, and in this case it represents both character and mission. Some names in the Bible reflected physical appearance, like Esau. The names we give our children may have family significance. Sometimes names were changed to reflect a change in a person’s life, like Saul to Paul or like Joseph to Zaphenath-paneah. Not a household name is it, but it has deep significance.

Joseph’s new name was given to him by Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. It occurred right after Joseph had been summoned from his false imprisonment to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. Having proven himself to be the Revealer of Secrets, Pharaoh chose that as his name. As a type of Christ, Joseph’s new name connects us to one of the missions of Jesus, to be the Revealer of Secrets.

Joseph revealed secrets in a variety of ways.

• He wore a fancy robe given to him by his father, which revealed the true heart of his father.  Jesus also wore a robe – not just the one fought for by the guards at the cross, but the robe of flesh, and by wearing it He reveals the love of the Father. He showed us how much the Father loves His Son, and He revealed to us how the Father’s love can be ours.
• Joseph’s robe also revealed the true nature of his brother’s hearts. Jesus, in the robe of the flesh, also reveals the secrets of man’s heart. He was the Light shining in the darkness, exposing all the thoughts and intents of man’s actions.
• Joseph also, through the interpretation of dreams, revealed the plans that were necessary for the survival of the nation during the coming famine. Likewise, through His teaching on earth and through the prophets and writers of Scripture, Jesus reveals to us the plan and purpose of God that will bring survival in the coming days of God’s wrath.

Just as Pharaoh needed Joseph to make sense of what was going on in his personal and political life, so we need Jesus, the Revealer of Secrets, to make sense of what is going on in our lives and in the world around us. Just as Pharaoh had to place his faith in what Joseph said, so we must place our faith in what Jesus said. He is our Revealer of Secrets.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Today’s Topic: Never Done This Before

Today’s Text:  Acts 10:44-48 (ESV) ⁴⁴ While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. ⁴⁵ And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. ⁴⁶ For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, ⁴⁷ “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” ⁴⁸ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

I must interrupt the study of the life of Joseph to share with you some incredible news of how the Holy Spirit is at work in our church. Now more than ever we are on an adventure of faith in fulfillment of Christ’s Commission.

It all started many years ago as I sat in a local Asian restaurant having lunch. As I interacted with two of the servers the Holy Spirit reminded me of an interaction I had several years before that in another country with people of the same heritage. At that time the Lord had convinced me that someday I would be a part of a church that would reach people of Chinese descent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That initial vision was given to me twenty-three years ago. I have had it in the back of my mind waiting for the Lord to open the door. Four or five years ago, the Lord started laying the groundwork for what is now becoming a reality. A wonderful sister in Christ of Chinese descent began coming to our church, and had a ministry to college professors and students at the University of Wisconsin here in Eau Claire. She began inviting visiting Chinese professors to attend our church and be informed about the truth of the Gospel. Several of them repented of their sins and were saved by grace through faith in the work of Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection. They have since returned to China to do their part to spread the Gospel.

“So this is how the Lord will fulfill His vision,” I thought. But our Lord had even greater plans than that. About eight months ago two more Asian men who speak Chinese began attending our church, both of whom have known Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord for some time. It has been a joy to begin to fellowship with them. Then last night the Lord swung the door open wide so we (the Elders) could see the Lord’s bigger picture. Here’s what happened.

One of the Chinese men came to our Elder meeting last night to share his testimony and his desire to serve the Lord in our church. I didn’t know why, but as he spoke, in fact only about two sentences into his testimony, my eyes welled up with tears. I couldn’t stop. I wondered if he thought something was wrong with me. But there was nothing wrong. The Lord began to reveal to me the realization of a twenty-three year old vision. Our guest shared his experience in Dallas, Texas as a member of the council at a large church, and his ministry as the director of campus outreach to Chinese students at the University of Texas.

He went on to share his passion for reaching “his” people in the Chippewa Valley with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, explaining that there are over 100 Chinese students at the University here and over 200 Chinese residents of Eau Claire. The longing of his heart is to fulfill God’s call on his life to reach these 300+ people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I’m in full-blown cry mode now, wiping tears from eyes as the Elders ask him questions about his spiritual gifts and previous methodology of reaching Chinese people in an American culture. I stopped them and spoke for the first time, with tears continuing down my face. I read them the passage of Scripture above that the Holy Spirit had laid on my heart, translating verse forty-seven into this current application. “Can anyone here think of any reason why we should not honor the movement of the Holy Spirit in this meeting right now and immediately confirm that Jesus Christ is calling us to plant a Chinese Church in our new facility?” The room was instantly filled with affirmations, and it was done.

The Elders of Calvary have officially decided to follow the direct leading of the Holy Spirit and begin an intentional process of starting a Chinese-speaking church in Eau Claire. I wept some more. I am weeping now as I write this.

God never reneges on a promise. He never withdraws a vision. He ALWAYS fulfills His purpose if we wait for His timing.

What a step of faith we took. We’ve never done this before. But God has given us a plan, and a person who has already worked this plan, and He has given us three Chinese-speaking people to be the launch team. Pray for us, in the same way Paul asked the people of Colossae to pray for him – At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ… (Col. 4:3)

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Monday, April 15, 2013

Today’s Topic: Suffering Before Glory

Today’s Text:  Genesis 37:3-4 (ESV) ³ Now Israel [Jacob] loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.
⁴ But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

The book of Genesis is fascinating. It tells us the accurate, actual, and Holy Spirit-inspired history of the creation of the world and the first 2,500 years of the human race from Adam and Eve up to the beginnings of the nation of Israel in Egypt.

The one aspect of this incredible book that fascinates me the most is the typology of all the stories. In other words, each and every story contains a picture of the major doctrines of the Bible and the main characters of the accounts are true and accurate pictures of Christ himself.

For example, the story of Abraham is a clear picture of the doctrines of election and faith. In Isaac we have the picture of the Divine Sonship of Christ and the new spiritual nature of man in Christ, while in Ishmael we have pictured the old man of the flesh. In Jacob, who would be named Israel, we see the conflict between the two natures that lingers in us all, and the loving discipline of God to bring eventual triumph over the flesh.

In Joseph we see the heirship of Christ and all believers typified. His life story points to the future Savior who would first suffer and then be glorified, and who calls all of His followers to the same path in life. One day, as Joseph’s family discovered, we will reign together with Christ, but not before we have learned to suffer as He did.

There is an important distinction that we must understand from Scripture as depicted in the lives of Jacob and Joseph. You see, Jacob was disciplined by God as a son, but Joseph suffered like Christ as an heir. Discipline is the loving hand of God applying correction and training to the lives of His children because of their flaws, while suffering is the testing ground of faith to prepare His children for their inheritance.

It is the suffering for righteousness sake that we see in Joseph, and it is the beginning point of his story in Genesis 37. His father loved him more than all the others, yet that love brought him undeserved suffering. Yet it is in these martyr-type sufferings we see in Joseph that will mark the path for all those who will reign with Christ in glory. It was His path. It will be our path.

As we mature in our faith, it will become increasingly important for each one of us to learn to discern this truth. We must begin to understand the difference between the discipline of the Lord in our lives because of sin and character flaws, and the suffering that we have been called to as we stand for righteousness in an unrighteous world. It will benefit you greatly to spend quality time meditating on this truth and recognizing its importance.

In general practice we tend to avoid both. We ignore the discipline of God because it means admitting weakness and sin and involves correction and change, all of which are contrary to the nature of our flesh. We also tend to avoid a consistent and public lifestyle of faith whenever there is a threat of rejection or harm for being unashamed of the Gospel and representing Jesus Christ. But both are necessary. In Jacob we see the necessity of God’s children being disciplined and trained in righteousness. In Joseph we see righteousness lived out with such fervor and conviction that no amount of unjustified suffering could convince him to deny his God.

As it was true of Christ, and Joseph as a type of Christ, let it also be true of us, that we may understand that it is in and through righteous suffering that we are proven as heirs with Christ of all things and become partakers of His glory.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, April 12, 2013

Today’s Topic: Sovereign Identity

Today’s Text:  Ephesians 1:5 (ESV) In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will,

This morning the Holy Spirit spoke a truth to me concerning the issue of the Father’s Sovereignty. It started with a question that raced across my mind – “What about identity?” He instantly got my attention, and I knew exactly what He meant. You see, when it comes to the truth of God’s Sovereignty, we generally and primarily think of it in terms of activity, i.e. God’s control of nature, political powers, circumstances and events. Yet Sovereignty, by pure definition, demands control of more than just activity. It must also include the control of identity.

As the Holy Spirit spoke to me, He convicted me of my abuse of my identity. He opened another compartment of my mind where I had been working on Sunday’s sermon, and used the story of two blind men coming to Jesus to drive home the point. These two men came to Jesus and asked to be healed of their blindness. In response, Jesus asked them, “Do you really believe I can do this for you?” They responded with a unanimous YES! So Jesus restored their sight.

As my mind drifted into the subject for Sunday, which is the faith that Jesus required for the healing, the Holy Spirit asked another question. “How many blind people, after being healed, willingly go back to being blind?” After responding quickly and saying none, I thought about it more deeply. Once Jesus Christ established a new identity, and it was accepted by faith, no one need ever go back to the previous identity. The new identity has been established forever by the Sovereignty of God.

This is when the Holy Spirit began the convicting process in my own heart. How many times have I abused the identity Christ gave me by returning to the old one? How often have I distrusted the Sovereignty of God by not believing that the identity He gave me is not only eternally secure but entirely sufficient? Every time I fall into any level of despair or discouragement about my past, or any time I allow the circumstances of today to re-define me according to my old nature, am I not abusing the Sovereignty of God?

Read again in Ephesians 1 the description of His Sovereignty (verses 4, 5, 8 and 11) and our identity. I will assist you by underlining key thoughts.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. ¹¹ In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹² so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. ¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

By the Sovereign will of God I am adopted permanently into the family of God through Jesus Christ who redeemed me and forgave me of my sins. I have been sealed eternally with the Holy Spirit who guarantees the inheritance promised to me in the glorious presence of God someday. That is my identity – and yours, if you believe the same. God, who is Sovereign, has said so, and if I truly believe it, then I will never willingly choose to go back to being blind.

Pastor John

What a statement of faith for all of us to be able to make – God, whatever comes my way, I will trust you. Meditate on the truth of God’s sovereignty today until it overwhelms you and conquers your fears and doubts.

Connecting Points

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Today’s Topic: Sealed Forever

Today’s Text:  Ephesians 1:13 (ESV) ¹³ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit…

I’m completely serious when I say to you that I don’t have much to say. Hard to believe, right? But it’s true.

I have this one thing on my heart today as a gift from God – I’m sealed by the Holy Spirit as a child of God forever!

It cannot be undone by circumstances, tragedies, loss, or even my daily diversions into prideful sin.

At the moment I heard the word of truth, the Gospel of my salvation, and believed in Jesus Christ as my Savior, I was sealed. It didn’t happen later after I earned it or prayed for it, but right away, as a gift of God’s grace and love and the fulfillment of Christ’s promise. The instant I believed in Jesus according to the word of truth, I was born again by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, baptized by Him into the family of God, empowered by Him with gifts for serving Jesus and His church, and I became His dwelling place.

The same is true for you if you believe in the One who died for your sin and rose from the dead.

Pastor John

Connecting Points

Friday, April 05, 2013

Today’s Topic: Living Water

Today’s Text:  John 7:37-39 (ESV)  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.

The warm temperatures are accomplishing what we all in the north have longed for – the melting of the snow. All over the landscape there are streams of water flowing, reviving childhood memories of rubber boots and little toy boats. In some places the rushing water is causing problems, flooding people’s houses and garages because the natural flow of the water is being diverted by stubborn ice and snow banks. But one thing is certain – unless contained water always seeks equilibrium: it always flows downhill and fills every hole until it establishes balance.

When Jesus ascended into heaven following His resurrection, He left His disciples with a promise –
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7) Jesus had previously used the analogy of water to describe the coming of the Helper, the Holy Spirit in John chapter 7. “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. When Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, a flow of living water began.

Using my analogy of the snow melting, let me point out some practical truths for us today.

• Living Water always flows downhill. The Holy Spirit of God comes from above. He does not flow up from the earth, but down from the throne of God. Do not seek fullness of life from the world, but from the Word.
• Living Water can be contained. Our bodies are designed as cisterns to hold the Living Water, but we must maintain the integrity of the vessel. Jeremiah the Prophet proclaims the word of the Lord – for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13) The Apostle Paul calls us “temples” in 1 Corinthians 6:19 –  Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
• The Living Water fills all the holes of our lives. Given freedom to flow with no diversions, the Living Water will seek equilibrium. By its very nature it must fill in every low spot and create a perfectly smooth and balanced surface. The result of being filled with the Holy Spirit is an abundant life of balance, satisfaction, and contentment.
• The flow of Living Water can be diverted by stubborn sin that refuses to be melted away by the warmth of God’s love. The Water is diverted by ice jams and snow banks of sin that formed when we didn’t properly remove the sin as it began to pile up. Now those snow banks of sin are so large and solidified that they cannot be easily moved. The flow of water is diverted and does damage to our lives – not destructive damage, but disciplinary damage, to teach us to remove sin quickly so the Living Water can flow beneficially and productively into our lives.
• Unrestricted flow of Living Water will always overwhelm the limitations of its container and overflow to the low spots around it. Our hearts have a capacity limit, and when filled with Living Water there can be only one result – the Living Water will flow out of us onto others. We are surrounded by people with holes and low spots in their lives. We are to be the unbroken cisterns that not only hold water, but remain under the constant downhill flow of Living Water so that it flows out of us into their lives, thus bringing the healing power of Jesus to restore the broken cisterns of their lives.

May these simple truths become profoundly significant to our lives today as we seek to obey the Lord and be filled with the Holy Spirit.