November 10, 2016
RIVERS OF LIVING WATER -- LET 'EM FLOW!
John 7:32–52
Marcy Freiberg
Central Truth
If you truly follow Christ, then your life will be Uncommon. It will look different. We all have ditches that we fall into when we rebel; but when we begin to rely on Him instead of ourselves or things of this world, we begin to have His glory and excellence.
Key Verse | John 7:37–38
"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37b-38)
John 7:32–52
Officers Sent to Arrest Jesus
32 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. 33 Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. 34 You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” 35 The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? 36 What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?”
Rivers of Living Water
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 1 7:38 Or let him come to me, and let him who believes in me drink. 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.
Division Among the People
40 When they heard these words, some of the people said, “This really is the Prophet.” 41 Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Is the Christ to come from Galilee? 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So there was a division among the people over him. 44 Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.
45 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” 46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? 48 Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? 49 But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” 50 Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, 51 “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” 52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”
Dive Deeper | John 7:32–52
I need Jesus. I need Him like I need air to breathe, food to eat, and water to drink. There is life in Him alone. But I haven’t always known this.
Wow! What a great reminder of the sweet gift God has given us! In our passage, we see Jesus preparing those around Him for His death and the promise of the Holy Spirit. When He declares that those who thirst should come to Him, I can’t help but think of the many times I have chosen to try to fill my cup with anything but Him.
It took me years to stop going to the same places to quench my thirst. Left alone, I thought I could fix the pain I was experiencing from being sexually assaulted in high school and in college. I thought I could “survive” by trying to control situations, having unhealthy relationships, and abusing alcohol. I believed in Jesus, but I did not trust Him, and my choices reflected that. I lived a life of destruction until I had nothing else to hold onto.
When I realized my need for Jesus, my life began to look different. Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) By God’s grace, my dependence on Him allowed me to heal and forgive; I’m no longer just surviving, I’m thriving. I am no longer defined by my past hurts. Today, I am defined by the one true God, by my heavenly Father who is crazy about me and sees me as His precious daughter.
Discussion Questions
1. What are you thirsty for?
2. What are you crying out to God for?
3. Who is God in your life?
4. If you were to die tomorrow, what would your obituary say? What defines you?