Running To Win

Dave McAllister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. On a great Jewish feast day, Jesus told the crowd that all who believe in him would receive rivers of living water. This was a reference to the Holy Spirit who would empower and comfort the disciples after he ascended to heaven. But that promise can include you and me today. Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.

Pastor Lutzer, can any believer experience living water or only the truly spiritual ones?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: One day I cannot overemphasize the change in my thinking and in my life when I began to realize that the fullness of the Holy Spirit and what Jesus spoke about is not something given to those who are holy, but rather given to the needy that we might become holy. So, in answer to your question more specifically, of course, any believer, the most needy believer, the most unworthy believer, can come to Jesus Christ and to say by faith I received the fullness of the Spirit. Now, you're going to be hearing me say this over and over again, the fact that the Holy Spirit of God indwells every believer.

But at the same time, we don't experience his fullness, we don't experience his presence unless we invite that aspect of the work of the Holy Spirit into our lives. I want to say to all who are listening today, I believe that the message that you are going to be hearing is going to be such a word of encouragement, such a word of hope even in your most desperate situations. At the same time, I trust that many of you will be praying about the possibility of partnering with us as we continue to share the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world.

Stay tuned following this message because I'm going to be sharing some information as to how you can connect with us. For now, let us listen. Now, it says that as the scripture have said from within him, from within his heart shall flow rivers of living water. It's been pointed out that there is no direct quotation that says those words in the Old Testament. But there are many other passages that relate directly to what Jesus said and the essence is there. For example, Isaiah chapter 12 verse 3 where it says with joy they shall bring water from the wells of salvation.

By the way, one of the most indisputable proofs of the Holy Spirit, which we will discuss in another message is joy. With joy they shall bring their water and get their water from the wells of salvation. Isaiah 55 said, "Ho, everyone that thirsts, come to the water. And if you have no money, come buy milk and wine without money and without price." So, throughout the Old Testament, there are many references to water. And what Jesus said is that if you come to me from your inner parts, you will receive power and strength and the Holy Spirit of God will give you not just a river, not just a stream, but rivers plural of living water.

What happens when we come to Christ? Well, first of all, this living water cleanses us. Now, this is a reference to Israel in the Old Testament, but it applies to us. God says, "I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness and from all your idols and I will cleanse you." You see, when we come to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit regenerates us. He gives us a brand new nature.

This is what Jesus referred to as the new birth. But part of that also is a cleansing of the conscience and water symbolic of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. Here's an example of how how God takes us and cleanses us. Another translation says not uncleanness, but our filthiness. And he cleanses us. And so we come to Jesus and then he empowers us. He actually gives us power and strength in the deepest core of your being. You are at peace and you have the assurance that you belong to God forever. That's the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God in our lives.

One day Jesus walking along came to a woman of Samaria sitting on Jacob's well. It's interesting that the text says she came there at noon and that wasn't usually the time when women came to get water. That was their responsibility. They came early in the morning when it was still cool rather than at midday when it is hot. It's speculation, but it's certainly possible that the reason the reason that she was there at noon is because the other women kind of despised her. Maybe she felt so ashamed because remember she was a woman who had five husbands and was now living with a man just a common law arrangement.

So, what was her reputation like in the little village? She's there and Jesus engages her in conversation. The disciples have gone away to buy some food and Jesus said you know, give me to drink. And then he says, if you knew who it was that was speaking to you, you would ask of him and he'd give you living water. And she said, great idea. Then I don't have to come here and draw water. And she misunderstood that he was speaking of the Spirit. And then Jesus said this, "Everyone who drinks this water shall thirst again.

But whoever drinks the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall spring up within and become a well of water springing up into everlasting life." Wow. And the woman believed in Jesus as the text indicates. Now, let's be very clear. Jesus was not promising her that if you come and believe and drink, that means that from now on your husband, your live-in husband is going to love you. He didn't say that from now on life was going to be easy. The women in the village are now going to respect you.

He didn't say that. He's not talking about a change in the outer circumstances. He is talking about this inward transformation, the the depths of the soul. This dear woman couldn't depend upon her husband for spiritual nourishment just like some of you. You can't depend upon your mate to help you spiritually or to even encourage you. They may be discouraging you. They may be speaking evil of you and actually working against you in the marriage and so you can't look to your mate and this woman couldn't look to her mate. And Jesus said, if you look to me, I will give you water that will spring up into everlasting life.

Wow. What a gift to a woman beaten down in a culture that did not respect women. Now, what's the bottom line in all of this? Couple of things. First of all, Jesus is not offering to us. Jesus is not offering to us a recipe. Jesus actually is offering to us a relationship. You see, some of you may think, well, religious people try to do better and they supposedly do better. Sometimes yes, sometimes not. They try all that they can possibly be, but that's not what Jesus is offering the people. He's offering himself. And notice that the text says very clearly it says this he said of the Spirit which they who believe on him were to receive because Jesus wasn't glorified.

Here I'm going to give you some specific instruction in just a moment about drinking, drinking every single day. When Jesus died on the cross and then went to heaven, the blessed Holy Spirit of God came on the day of Pentecost. And now as we've already learned in this series so far, he indwells every single person who trusts Christ as Savior. In fact, the Bible says that if you do not have the Spirit of God, you don't belong to Christ. So, Jesus has poured out now this gift of the Holy Spirit on all those who believe on him because the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost.

But notice this. Jesus had to ascend bodily into heaven before the Spirit could be poured out. Now, think this through. How do you and I drink every day and walk in the Spirit? Well, how did you get saved? You say, I got saved by trusting in Jesus and his death and resurrection. And it wasn't a matter of feeling. That was something that I struggled with as a boy. I asked Jesus into my heart repeatedly and somehow I didn't think it took until I did it by faith, no matter how I felt. Then the feelings followed.

That's the way you get saved. And how do you walk in the Spirit? How do you drink? By faith. There was a minister by the name of Meyer who said that one day he said, "Oh Lord, you know that I need the fullness of the Spirit, but I don't know how to get the fullness of the Spirit." He said, I'm too tired to agonize. What do I do? And he said, just like that the thought came to him. As you received forgiveness from the dying Christ in the same way you should receive forgiveness and cleansing and the power of the Spirit from the ascended Christ.

So, each day you say, Father, I thank you today that Jesus has ascended, that he's poured forth the gift of the Holy Spirit and today I choose to drink through the word and in faith. I would say that there's never a day goes by in my life, though there may be one because I don't keep track where I don't say to God, oh God, today I trust the Holy Spirit because I don't have the wisdom that I need to do the writing that I do. I don't have the wisdom to answer the letters that come to me.

I don't know what to say in this situation. It's too much for me. I trust your spirit. Now, I don't feel different after I trust the Spirit, but then I look back at the end of the day and I say, wow. In ways that I could have never predicted, the Holy Spirit of God has led me. So, remember this. The Holy Spirit has been given and what we need to do is to allow him to be God in our lives and every day receive his strength and power by faith. As you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

Walking in the Spirit is something we fail at all the time, but we keep walking. My wife and I have eight lovely grandchildren. Our oldest is Jack. Uh he's quite old now, but I remember when he was about a year old, how many times he he fell when he began to walk at about 11 or 12 months, whatever it was. And did we say, well, you know, this kid is never going to learn. Look at look at that. He fell three times. He fell three times in 5 minutes. You know, that's it. No, you keep walking and walking and then you fall into sin and then you confess your sin and you get up again and say, I trust the Spirit of God to be the living water within me.

And you're reading the word and step by step you learn to walk in the Spirit. It's a relationship with Jesus, but there's something else in the text. And that is that even though the water is free to us, it's very costly to Jesus. Did you notice what it says here? For Jesus was not yet glorified. John uses the word glorified to refer to Jesus Christ's death. And so what John is saying here is that um Jesus hasn't been glorified by being crucified. You say, well, what kind of glorification is that of all things? Well, you know that the glory of the cross is that God took a crime and turned it into a fountain of blessing so that the apostle Paul could say, God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And God forbid that we should glory except in the wonder and the beauty of the redemption that was purchased for us on the cross. And when Jesus was there on the cross, there were seven sayings that came out of his mouth and number five was this. He said, I thirst. I thirst. I mean, are you serious? The creator of the rivers and the oceans and the lakes is thirsty? Yes. Could have created water for himself, but he didn't. I'll tell you why. He said to those of you who are sitting over there and over there and over there, I will absorb your thirst so that you will never never thirst again.

It says in the text of scripture and later on I'm going to be quoting the last verses of Revelation, but just read this if you intend to be blessed. And I actually marked it out in my Bible. It's here. They shall hunger no more, neither shall they thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd and he will guide them to springs of living water. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. That 's why Jesus could say to the woman at the well that the the water within you will spring up into everlasting life.

It is because of God's grace. Jesus said, I will thirst for you so that you'll never thirst again. And for those who do not receive Christ, there's a story in the New Testament about how a man was in Hades and he looked at Abraham and said, Abraham, he said, send Lazarus that he may dip his finger in water and put it on my tongue because I'm tormented in this flame. And one of the most sobering things you and I could ever think about is that that man still does not have his drop of water. You're condemned to an eternal thirst if you don't trust Jesus.

Let me ask you something. Why should you leave here today feeling dirty when Jesus can cleanse you? Why should you leave here today feeling empty when Jesus can fill you? Why should you feel today in despair when Jesus can give you hope? The condition is to be all in with Jesus. And the promise the promise of the Old Testament is, ho, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water. I urge you today, come to Jesus. Come to Jesus. Come even now where you are sitting, where you are listening. Open your life to him because he's here.

If you're thirsty, he's ready. I think it's very significant that the last verses of Revelation opens with these words. Now, the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him who hears say, come. And whoever is a thirst, come and drink of the water of life freely. Let us drink. Well, of course, my friend, the verse that I quoted is one of the last verses in the book of Revelation. The invitation is there. And when we come to Jesus Christ, he will enable us to deal with sin issues, any barriers that exist between us and him.

But he is there to fill those who are empty, those who are thirsty. You know, as you look around the world, you discover that there are many ministries that are involved in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we recognize that and we're so thankful that we also have the opportunity of sharing the gospel. And I would like to put before you a matching gift challenge. Now, we know that all of you might not be able to give, but there's some of you we trust that God is laying this ministry upon your heart. Very quickly, here's some contact info.

Go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember, every gift that you give will be doubled. What an opportunity for you to partner with us in this ministry. Let me give you that contact info again. You go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337.

Dave McAllister: It's time now for another chance for you to ask Pastor Lutzer a question about the Bible or the Christian life. Yvonne listens to us on WCRF in Cleveland, Ohio with this question. Recently, I had a discussion with a fellow believer. She told me we were all supposed to speak in tongues. I've read several Bible passages and I can't seem to find where it says that. If this is true, can you lead me in the right direction?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, the reason that you can't find a Bible passage that says that all of us should speak in tongues is because there isn't any. You know, I believe that when they spoke in tongues and that of course began on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 that they were actually speaking spoken languages. As a matter of fact, they're listed there in the book of Acts chapter 2. And this is a longer discussion, but I believe that tongues was a sign, this miracle was a sign to the Jewish nation that the gospel of Jesus Christ was now going to go out in Gentile languages.

And the whole idea that the gospel, so to speak, the Jewish nation, God was saying, I'm now transitioning to all the different nations of the world. So, he did this miracle. And the miracle occurs in the book of Acts as a new people group really becomes in contact with the gospel. That's the way in which I interpreted and I could show why I believe that, but that would get a little bit extensive in this particular uh context. But what I want to do is to prove what I'm saying to you that there is no command that all speak in tongues.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12 Paul is talking about tongues and then he's speaking about these uh spiritual gifts and he asks, are all apostles? Well, the answer obviously is no. Are all prophets? No. Are all teachers? No. Do all work miracles? No. Do all possess gifts of healing? No. Do all speak with tongues? No. Do all interpret? No. But then he says, earnestly desire the higher gifts. And then he says, I'll even show you a more excellent way. And then he goes into the beautiful passage of 1 Corinthians chapter 13 about the excellency of love.

But the bottom line is that Paul is making it clear that there were gifts in the church and not everyone had the gift of tongues. Now, it's interesting that after the 1st century this gift died out. And the reason I think it died out is because God had made his point that the gospel was going to Gentiles all throughout the world in different languages. But the gift of tongues did reappear in the 20th century in the early part of the 20th century and it became something different. Today speaking in tongues for the most part is not an actual language.

It is supposedly some kind of a heavenly language. Well, I don't want to put God in a box. I realize God can do whatever he likes, but the idea that your friend has that all of us should be speaking in tongues clearly, bottom line is false.

Dave McAllister: Some wise counsel as always from Dr. Erwin Lutzer. Thank you, Dr. Lutzer. If you'd like to hear your question answered, go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win 1635 North La Salle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60614. It's unfortunate that one of the most blessed teachings about the Holy Spirit has been a source of confusion for many people. The baptism of the Spirit places all who believe in Jesus into a new community, the body of Christ. But some see the baptism as a special anointing whose mark is speaking in tongues.

Next time on Running to Win, what the Bible says. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McCallister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.