Participants:
Series Code: TMC
Program Code: TMC000018A
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00:14 Tonight, our subject is entitled
00:17 "Living Water." 00:20 The Bible says that when you and I come to Christ, 00:25 that we become streams 00:28 of living water, 00:30 then out of us flows 00:33 a river of living water. 00:35 And tonight, 00:36 Michael Harris is going to sing for us 00:38 that beautiful song, I heard, 00:43 "There is a river." 00:58 There 01:02 Is a river 01:08 And it flows 01:11 From deep within 01:19 There 01:22 Is a fountain 01:29 That frees the soul 01:34 From sin 01:39 Come 01:42 To this water 01:49 There is a vast supply 02:00 There 02:03 Is a river 02:10 That never shall run dry 02:20 One day 02:23 A thirsty woman 02:30 She was drawing 02:34 From the well 02:40 You see her life was ruined 02:46 And wasted 02:51 And her soul 02:54 Was bound for hell 03:01 Oh, but then 03:04 She met the master 03:11 And He told her 03:15 Of her sin 03:22 He said if you drink 03:26 Of this water 03:32 You'll never 03:35 Thirst Again 03:43 There 03:45 Is a river 03:52 And it flows 03:55 From deep Within 04:03 There is a fountain 04:13 That frees the soul from sin 04:24 Come 04:26 To this water 04:33 There is a vast supply 04:44 There 04:47 Is a river 04:54 That never shall 04:59 Run dry 05:22 Gracious Father, tonight, 05:26 we're thankful 05:29 that the water of life is given to us 05:33 as a river that never will run dry. 05:37 Lord, help us this evening 05:40 to drink 05:42 and to drink deeply 05:45 of the water of life. 05:48 Give us ears to hear, 05:51 hearts that are open, 05:54 minds that are clear 05:57 that we may accept Your Word, 06:00 for this we pray in Christ's name, amen. 06:10 Once, a year, 06:12 the Jewish people made their way 06:14 from all over Israel. 06:17 They're coming up to Jerusalem, 06:20 and they're coming to Jerusalem for the Feast 06:23 of the Tabernacles. 06:25 It's also referred to in scripture 06:27 as the Feast of Booze. 06:29 And so from every little village and hamlet, 06:32 all across Israel, 06:33 little groups are making their way 06:35 towards Jerusalem. 06:36 This is a very festive time, 06:38 because the climate at this time of the year 06:41 is just about ideal. 06:43 And they're gonna come to Jerusalem. 06:45 Everybody, everybody is gonna move out of their house, 06:50 and they're gonna in the backyard 06:52 or out in the vacant field, 06:54 maybe even up on top of the house, 06:56 they're gonna build a little tabernacle 06:58 or a little booth. 07:00 And they're gonna move into this tabernacle, 07:03 and they're gonna live in it for a week. 07:06 It's to remind them of the 40 years 07:08 that their forefathers spend in the wilderness. 07:10 This is a very, very special time 07:12 because they can visit with relatives and friends, 07:15 and just have a good time visiting. 07:17 But every morning, 07:20 they make their way up the mountain side 07:22 to the temple. 07:24 And there in the courtyard of the temple, 07:26 they worship God and they sing songs, 07:28 and they spend time, 07:30 they're praising the Lord 07:32 and reading the scripture together, 07:33 and then during the day 07:34 they visit with friends and family. 07:37 But when they come down to the last day of this feast 07:41 early that morning, 07:43 they all gather there in the courtyard of the temple. 07:47 And a couple priests 07:50 take two large jugs and set them on their shoulder. 07:53 And then those priests begin to march 07:56 around the courtyard. 07:58 And other priests begin to following behind them, 08:01 and then the people begin to march with them. 08:03 And they march around the courtyard 08:05 as they sing songs 08:06 and as they play musical instruments, 08:08 and they march around the courtyard. 08:10 And then outside the temple gate, 08:12 down through the streets of Jerusalem, 08:15 outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem, 08:17 and down the hillside 08:19 till they come to a brook 08:21 called Kidron. 08:23 And there those two priests 08:24 now take those two large jugs, 08:27 and they dip them into the brook 08:28 and fill them with water, 08:30 place them on their shoulder, 08:32 and they begin to make their way 08:33 back up the hillside, 08:34 singing songs 08:36 and repeating scripture together 08:38 until they've arrived in the courtyard again. 08:42 Now one of those priest 08:44 takes one of those jugs of water 08:46 and other priests takes a jug of wine 08:50 and they make their way up the stairway 08:52 of the altar of sacrifice. 08:55 And they walk right out to the very front of it 08:57 and there in the front of it is a large funnel 09:01 and they begin to pour water and wine into that funnel. 09:05 Just at that moment, 09:08 while they're pouring the water and the wine into that funnel, 09:11 someone out in the crowd of people begin to shout. 09:15 And you find his words recorded in the Book of John. 09:18 John 7:37, 09:21 and it says, "On the last day, 09:24 that great day of the feast, 09:26 Jesus stood and cried out, 09:28 saying, 'If anyone thirst, 09:30 let him come to me and drink.'" 09:33 You can just imagine, 09:35 here that whole courtyard is just crowded with people. 09:37 And Jesus is shouting out across that whole crowd, 09:40 if anybody's thirsty, 09:43 let him come unto me and drink. 09:47 Marvelous promise that He gives to you and me. 09:50 "He who believes in Me, 09:52 as the scripture has said, 09:54 out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 09:59 So it says that out of you and me 10:03 will flow rivers of living water, 10:07 marvelous promise that God gives to each one of us. 10:11 Jesus and His disciples, 10:14 they have left Israel. 10:17 They've gone over into Samaria. 10:20 They're approaching a city by the name of Sychar. 10:24 Jesus has sent the disciples into town 10:26 to buy something to eat. 10:29 And He has gone over 10:30 and had a seat beside Jacob's well. 10:34 A woman of Samaria from the city of Sychar 10:37 has come to the well to draw water. 10:41 As she approaches the well, she sees Jesus sitting there, 10:45 but she doesn't pay any attention to Him. 10:47 You see, Jesus is a Jew, and she's a Samaritan. 10:52 And the scripture puts it very politely, 10:54 it says that they had no dealings. 10:56 That's what the scripture says. 10:58 You want me to tell you how it was. 11:01 Well, if you were a Jew, 11:04 and you were eating, 11:06 and a Samaritan walk by, 11:08 and his shadow fell on your food, 11:10 you turn the plate upside down. 11:12 So she didn't expect Jesus to speak to her. 11:17 But Jesus knew that in the Middle East, 11:19 there's a request that you cannot refuse 11:22 doesn't make any difference 11:23 how much you dislike the person, 11:25 how much they might be your enemy. 11:27 You cannot refuse request for a drink of water. 11:32 And so Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 11:36 And she couldn't understand that. 11:37 She said, "How is it that you being a Jew 11:40 would ask me a Samaritan for a drink of water?" 11:45 And Jesus said, "If you knew who was asking, 11:48 you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you." 11:52 Listen. 11:57 "And Jesus answered and said to her, 11:59 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 12:04 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked of Him, 12:06 and He would have given you living water.'" 12:10 Oh, He said, if you just knew that 12:12 you would have asked of Him, 12:14 and He would have given you living water. 12:17 It's a promise. 12:19 Over and over in this book, 12:20 God gives you and I an invitation to come 12:24 and drink and drink of the water of life. 12:28 And it says that out of us will flow 12:30 rivers of living water, 12:32 Isaiah, Isaiah 55:1. 12:36 "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, 12:40 you who have no money, come buy and eat. 12:45 Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money 12:48 and without price." 12:50 So it says come, come to the waters. 12:53 What is that going to do for you? 12:55 Revelation 22:17, 12:57 "And the Spirit and the bride say, 13:00 'Come!' 13:01 And let him who hears say, 'Come!' 13:03 And let him who thirsts come. 13:06 Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." 13:12 Totally free, dear friends, 13:15 there's no other way tonight that you can get it. 13:21 It's free. 13:23 You understand what I mean? 13:24 It's free. 13:27 You see, money can't buy it. 13:32 Wisdom can't impart it. 13:36 Impossible. 13:37 Merit will not procure it. 13:41 The only way you can receive it 13:45 is by what? 13:49 Do you know? 13:51 The only way you can get it is by accepting it. 13:55 You can't buy, you can't work for it. 13:58 It is given to you totally and completely free. 14:03 It's given on the basis of grace. 14:06 And God offers to you and says, 14:08 "Come, come to me and I will give you 14:12 the water of life." 14:15 And out of you will flow rivers of living water. 14:19 This woman, she couldn't understand this. 14:22 She couldn't understand it. 14:24 She said, "You don't have a rope. 14:27 You don't have anything to draw with." 14:29 What do you mean? 14:31 You would give me water of life. 14:35 Jesus answered and said to her, 14:37 "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again." 14:42 "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again." 14:48 Oh, I find so many people today 14:51 that are trying to drink the water of this life 14:54 and find satisfaction. 14:57 Flying on the plane the other day, 15:00 picked up a magazine 15:01 and was thumbing through the magazine. 15:04 And here was a full page ad in the magazine. 15:07 And it said, find happiness, lay linoleum. 15:16 Is that the way you find happiness? 15:18 Lay linoleum? 15:20 We get the idea 15:23 that satisfaction in life can be found in these things. 15:28 I have people say, Oh, Brother Cox, 15:30 if I just had a better job, I'd be happy. 15:34 No, you wouldn't. 15:37 That didn't what produces happiness. 15:39 I have people say, 15:41 "Well, well, if I just made more money, 15:43 I'd be happy." 15:45 No, you wouldn't. 15:46 That isn't what produces happiness. 15:49 An individual say, "Well, if my spouse just loved me, 15:53 I'd be happy." 15:54 No, you won't. 15:56 That isn't what makes happiness. 15:58 He that drinks of this water shall thirst again. 16:04 You see, that's what happens. 16:05 The waters of this life, dear friends, 16:07 only take place when the showers come. 16:11 When the shower comes, the pond overflows. 16:16 But you let the heat of hard times come 16:21 and that water goes dry. 16:24 It's only the well. 16:26 Only the well that has water in winter and summer. 16:31 You see, he that drinks of the water 16:34 that I shall give him shall never thirst. 16:37 Listen. 16:40 Jesus promises and says, 16:42 "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him 16:45 shall never thirst. 16:46 But the water that I shall give him 16:49 will become in him a fountain of water 16:52 springing up into everlasting life." 16:57 Oh, He just says, if you come to me, 16:59 the water that I will give you will come in you. 17:02 And, dear friends, please understand, 17:05 it doesn't say it will be from you. 17:09 It doesn't say it will be around you. 17:11 It doesn't say it will be about you. 17:14 It says it will be in you 17:18 springing up unto everlasting life. 17:21 You see, when you and I drink water, 17:25 it goes into our system, it goes into our blood, 17:28 it becomes part of our blood. 17:29 It infuses every cell of our body. 17:34 So when I come to Christ, 17:36 and I drink of the water of life, 17:38 it becomes part of me. 17:40 It infuses every part of our body. 17:45 You see, folks, 17:50 I don't hear music. 17:53 I don't feel music. 17:57 And that's just not part of my being, 17:59 it's just not there. 18:02 You could give me music lessons for 10 years, 18:05 and I still wouldn't ever feel it or anything. 18:09 It just not part of me. 18:11 When I was in school, 18:13 I had to take a class called conducting. 18:15 I was in college. 18:16 And I will never forget, 18:18 the teacher had a girl sat down at the piano, 18:22 and she had her play a piece and she said, 18:24 when she got through, she said, 18:25 "Tell me, what time was that played in?" 18:27 I said, "You've got to be crazy. 18:29 What are you talking about? 18:30 I don't know what time that was played in. 18:32 It just not in my being." 18:36 But let me tell you something. 18:38 These people like Donna Klein, 18:41 Myrna Haynes, Adrian Westney, 18:45 Michael Harris, it's part of them. 18:49 They feel it. 18:51 It's in their inmost being. 18:53 That's what I'm talking about. 18:55 This is what Christ is talking about 18:57 when you drink the water of life, 18:59 it becomes part of you. 19:01 It's in your inmost being. 19:04 And, dear friends, if it is not, if it is not, 19:09 then it is totally external religion. 19:14 You see, music, I'm sorry, 19:17 will always be external with me 19:21 'cause it's just not in me. 19:23 God didn't give that to me. 19:25 But, dear friend, He did give me the water of life 19:28 and He gives to each one of you the water of life. 19:31 And tonight, if it is not that to you tonight, 19:35 then your religion is external. 19:38 And you're missing the joy that's there, 19:40 you're missing what it's all about. 19:43 When I grew up as a boy, we had a phrase that we said, 19:48 we talked about people 19:49 putting on their Sunday go to meeting hats. 19:53 You know what I'm talking about? 19:55 Put on their Sunday go to meeting hats 19:57 and they go to church, see, 20:00 but it's all external. 20:02 'Cause when Sunday was passed, 20:03 well then they put on their work hat. 20:06 There was no difference. 20:07 You see, they changed. 20:10 They didn't, it wasn't internal, 20:12 it wasn't part of their being. 20:14 That's what I'm talking about tonight. 20:16 This is what Christ is talking about 20:19 in the Book of Jeremiah. 20:22 He talks about this very thing. 20:25 Says here in Jeremiah 2:13, 20:28 "For my people have committed," what? 20:31 "Two evils." 20:33 Let's see what those two evils are. 20:34 "They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, 20:40 hewn themselves cisterns, 20:41 broken cisterns that can hold no water." 20:44 So He said one thing, "They have forsaken Me, 20:48 the fountain of living water." 20:50 You see, I talked to people who go to church, 20:54 who keep people who claim to be Christians, 20:57 and they say to me, 20:58 "Oh, Brother Cox, I'm so busy. 21:01 I'm so busy. I don't have time to pray." 21:07 Let me tell you something. 21:09 If you're so busy, you don't have time to pray, 21:12 you're too busy. 21:16 Okay? 21:17 If you don't have time to pray, you're too busy. 21:22 I don't care what you do. 21:24 I don't care what your work is. 21:26 I don't care if you're a preacher. 21:29 I don't care if you're an elder or a deacon in the church. 21:33 If you don't have time to pray, 21:35 you're too busy. 21:39 It's absolutely necessary if you are going to understand 21:43 what Jesus Christ will do in your life. 21:46 You must take time to pray. 21:49 I have people say, "Well, Brother Cox, 21:52 I don't have time to read God's Word." 21:57 You have time to eat, don't you? 22:00 I don't see any of you starving to death out there. 22:05 If you have time to eat, then dear friends, 22:07 you need to take time to eat spiritually. 22:11 You put it in your schedule. 22:13 You see, I'm one of these individuals 22:15 that I cannot do something on a haphazard basis. 22:21 I've got to know exactly what I'm gonna do 22:24 when it comes to God's Word. 22:26 I've got to know what I'm gonna do tomorrow. 22:28 I got to know what I'm gonna do the next day. 22:30 I've got to know 22:32 what my devotional life is the end of the year. 22:34 So before next year starts, 22:36 I will plan that whole thing out 22:38 and I will know exactly what I'm gonna read. 22:41 I will know exactly because I am going to eat, 22:45 I'm gonna feast on God's Word every day. 22:50 And if you want your spiritual experience to grow, 22:53 you got to spend some time in the Word of God. 22:57 If you are not praying, 22:59 if you are not spending time in the Word of God, 23:03 then dear friend, your religion is external. 23:08 You understand me? 23:09 That is external religion. 23:12 And that's what he's talking about here. 23:14 They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water. 23:20 But he goes on talks about it. 23:22 Jesus makes some comparisons to it 23:24 here in Matthew 13:22. 23:27 "Now he who received seed among the thorns 23:31 is He who hears the word..." 23:34 Okay, you person hears the word, 23:37 "And the cares of this world..." 23:40 What is that? 23:43 What's the cares of this world? 23:45 Well, the cares of this world are clothing and food. 23:50 That's what cares of this world are. 23:52 Okay, shelter. 23:54 Those are all cares of this world. 23:56 "The cares of this world 23:58 and the deceitfulness of riches choke the..." 24:04 What chokes the word? 24:07 Huh? What chokes the word? 24:09 Cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches. 24:13 That's what chokes the Word of God. 24:18 And, dear friends, I hope tonight, 24:20 that you're not letting those things keep you 24:23 from spending time in the Word of God. 24:27 I can assure you, 24:29 I can tell you right now, 24:31 you're much better off 24:34 if you spend time with the Lord. 24:37 Much better off 24:39 and he becomes what? 24:42 Unfruitful. 24:43 So dear friends, take time. 24:46 The Bible speaks about these people 24:47 whose their religion is totally external. 24:51 And it makes some comparison of them like in Jude here. 24:54 Jude 1:12, it says, 24:56 "They are clouds without water, 25:01 carried about by every winds, 25:03 late autumn trees without fruit, 25:05 twice dead, pulled out by the roots." 25:09 I don't know here in Chicago, 25:10 do you have clouds without water? 25:14 You ever have that? 25:15 California we have clouds without water. 25:18 You know, 25:19 get up in the morning here some great big beautiful clouds 25:21 and sun comes out 25:23 and they just all kind of dry up 25:24 and disappear. 25:26 Clouds without water 25:28 says that's the way you and I are. 25:30 If you're not spending time in God's Word, 25:32 if you're not spending time in prayer. 25:34 It says, "For you shall be as the terebinth tree," 25:38 that's a tree, 25:40 "whose leaf fades, 25:41 and as a garden that has no water." 25:46 You know, what a gardens like without water. 25:50 Boy, Oklahoma. 25:52 What was it? 25:53 The last of March, 25:54 first of April 25:56 that we planted the garden, 25:58 plowed the ground, planted the garden. 26:01 April rains came, 26:04 garden begin to come up. 26:06 It's vibrant. 26:08 It's green. 26:09 It's growing. 26:10 And usually by... 26:12 Oh, in May sometime 26:14 we're eating some things from the garden. 26:16 It still is the rains and it's nice and green 26:20 and we're eating from it. 26:23 End of May, 26:26 June the garden is really bearing now, 26:29 all of it. 26:31 But we hit July 26:33 and you can begin to see around the edges of the garden 26:36 a little bit of brown. 26:40 August comes, there is no rain. 26:45 No rain in August 26:47 and the old garden just dries up. 26:50 Is that way your Christian experience is? 26:56 Like a garden without water dry. 27:00 Dry as the hills of Gilboa. 27:05 That's the way he's talking about, 27:06 that's external religion. 27:09 That's what I'm talking about. 27:11 It's when I don't spend time with the Lord. 27:14 He says that these people, 27:17 "They hewn themselves cisterns, 27:20 broken cisterns that can hold no water." 27:24 Broken cisterns that hold no water. 27:27 Jesus talked about these type of people in His day. 27:31 Listen, 27:32 "Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, and hypocrites! 27:35 For you are like whitewashed tombs 27:39 which indeed appear beautiful outwardly." 27:44 You ever been to Jerusalem, you'll understand what I mean? 27:48 Whitewashed tombs, they have tombs there, 27:50 they whitewashed them all. 27:51 Whitewashed tombs, 27:53 "but inside are full of 27:56 dead men's bones and all and cleanliness." 28:00 You see, 28:02 if you're going to church, 28:06 but you don't have any joy in your heart. 28:10 If you're going to church out of habit. 28:15 If you're going to church just because 28:20 its tradition 28:22 and your relationship with Jesus Christ 28:26 is totally lacking, 28:29 then dear friend, you're like a whitewashed tomb 28:34 full of dead man's bones. 28:37 "Even so you also outwardly appear 28:42 righteous to man 28:45 but inside you are full of hypocrisy 28:48 and lawlessness." 28:51 This is what Jesus talking about. 28:52 You see, this is why He said that they are cisterns, 28:56 broken cisterns that can hold no water 28:59 'cause they don't take any time 29:01 to spend with the Lord Jesus Christ. 29:05 Talked about one of the Pharisees, 29:06 he told the story about this Pharisee, 29:10 who went down the temple to pray. 29:13 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus within himself, 29:17 God, I thank you 29:18 that I am not like other men, 29:24 extortioners, unjust, adulterers, 29:27 or even as this," 29:29 say over on the side 29:31 there was a poor, "tax collector." 29:35 He may not have been poor, 29:36 he may have been rich tax collector, I don't know. 29:39 But he was over there and this Pharisee said, 29:42 "Sure glad I'm not like him." 29:48 "I fast twice every week. 29:52 I give tithes of all that I possess." 29:58 If any of you here tonight, 30:00 think for one moment 30:05 what you give makes you righteous, 30:09 then dear friend, your religion is external. 30:12 Sorry. 30:18 Said I'm not glad I'm not like this tax collector. 30:22 But that tax collector says just beat on his chest 30:26 and said, "God be merciful to me a sinner." 30:32 And it says 30:33 that he went down to his home justified. 30:38 You see, I'll never forget, 30:39 I was speaking to a room full of fifth graders. 30:43 And I was trying to explain to them 30:46 the grace of Jesus Christ 30:48 and what the Lord Jesus Christ does for them. 30:51 And how that it was a gift that Jesus gave 30:53 and how all they had to do is just reach out 30:56 and accept Jesus into their heart 30:58 and all that he would do for them 31:00 and this little fifth grade boy raised his hand. 31:04 He said, "Are you trying to tell me that 31:06 all this stuff my parents have been telling me 31:08 I've got to do is not true." 31:10 You talk about a loaded question. 31:14 And I said, "Well, I don't know 31:15 what your parents have been telling you. 31:18 But I'm telling you that 31:19 the only people that are gonna be saved 31:22 is those that qualify." 31:25 And he got a downcast look on his face. 31:28 And he said to me, "Okay, 31:30 what do I have to do to qualify?" 31:33 And I said, "The only people that qualify are sinners." 31:37 He smiled and he said, "I qualify." 31:41 That's what I'm trying to tell you tonight, 31:43 dear friend. 31:45 You see, it's the grace of God 31:47 that must come in and fill your heart. 31:50 It's the grace of God that must work in your life 31:52 and only as it takes place that way, 31:55 will anything happen. 31:56 The children of Israel couldn't understand this. 31:58 It was external watch. 32:00 Romans 9:31 32:02 "But Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, 32:05 has not attained to the law of righteousness." 32:08 What were they pursuing? 32:11 They were pursuing the law of righteousness. 32:14 And as a result what? 32:16 They weren't finding it. 32:19 "Why? 32:21 Because they did not seek it by faith, 32:24 but as it were, by the works of the law." 32:27 They said, "Oh, if I do this, this and this, 32:30 I'm gonna make it." 32:32 No, you're not. No, you're not. 32:36 Let me tell you right now, dear friend, 32:38 if you don't know Jesus Christ, you've missed it. 32:43 You can pursue the works of the law all day long. 32:47 But if you don't know Jesus, 32:51 you're not gonna make it into the kingdom of heaven. 32:54 It's what it takes. 32:57 For they stumble at the stumbling stone, 33:01 who was the stumbling stone? 33:04 Jesus Christ. 33:07 Now let me talk to you just a little bit about 33:09 internal religion. 33:11 We've talked about external, let's talk about internal. 33:15 What takes place, what happens? 33:19 "And being found in Him, 33:22 not having my own righteousness," 33:27 I don't have many folks. 33:29 I don't have any. 33:32 Bible makes that very clear, 33:33 my righteousness is as filthy rags, 33:37 don't have any. 33:40 "Not having my own righteousness, 33:41 which is from the law, 33:45 but that which is through faith," what? 33:50 "Faith in Christ." 33:52 Yes, that's the way it comes faith in Christ, 33:55 "the righteousness which is from God by faith." 34:00 You see, I reached out 34:02 and I claim Jesus Christ and His righteousness. 34:08 Then something begins to happen, 34:10 begins to take place. 34:12 Eternal, internal religion takes place by faith. 34:17 That's the way you get it, folks, is by faith. 34:20 Let me tell you something. 34:22 Quit. Quit. 34:24 Living lives that inefficient. 34:29 Quit living weak lives. 34:33 What do I mean? 34:35 Faith. 34:36 Faith requires that you have something in your hand 34:38 that's bigger than you can accomplish. 34:41 Move out in faith and do something for God. 34:45 Take Him in His Word. 34:47 If His Word says, "This is what I want you to do. 34:50 Then step out in faith and say, "Okay, Lord, 34:53 I can do that not of my strength, 34:55 not what I can do, 34:56 but what you can do in my life." 35:00 That's faith. 35:04 If you don't do it that way, 35:05 you're like a garden without water. 35:08 But if you do it by faith, 35:10 this is what internal religion will do for you. 35:17 Instead of being a garden without water, 35:20 it says, "The Lord will guide you continually, 35:23 and satisfy your soul in drought," 35:28 you see the well of water has water during drought, 35:32 okay? 35:33 "Satisfy your soul in drought, strengthen your bones, 35:38 you shall be like a watered garden, 35:41 and like a spring of water, 35:43 whose waters do not fail." 35:47 Never fail. 35:48 Never will 35:50 'cause that's what the Lord does for you and for me. 35:54 Internal religion must be a work of the heart. 36:00 It's where it has to be. 36:02 It is not external, has to be work of the heart. 36:08 "For he is not a Jew 36:10 who is one outwardly, 36:13 nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 36:18 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, 36:22 and circumcision is that of the heart." 36:27 Okay, that's internal. 36:30 So tonight, 36:32 and guess what I'm trying to tell you. 36:35 If you've been going to church all these years, 36:39 and it's been boring to you, 36:42 and you go to church 36:43 and you kind of have to make yourself go, 36:46 well, then, dear friend, the problem is, 36:49 you don't know Jesus. 36:51 Sorry. 36:53 You don't know Jesus. 36:55 Because if you know Jesus, He changes that. 37:00 Jesus Christ is the one that puts joy in your heart. 37:03 He puts a spring in your step. 37:06 He makes the sky bluer, makes the birds sing sweeter. 37:11 And then if you don't know him, 37:13 then your religion will never be joyous, 37:17 will never be happy. 37:18 You go and you come back home 37:21 and it hasn't done anything for you. 37:25 That's all external 37:29 has to be a work of the heart. 37:31 "In the spirit, 37:33 not in the letter, 37:35 whose praise is not from men but from God?" 37:40 That's what it is. 37:41 When I do that, 37:43 all things begin to change, my life begins to change, 37:47 I begin, 37:49 define a life that I've never known before. 37:54 And so to you tonight, I just say, 37:59 take time. 38:01 Take time to get acquainted with Jesus Christ. 38:06 Don't get so busy, 38:09 that you can't spend time with Him. 38:13 "That the righteous requirements of the law 38:16 might be fulfilled in us 38:21 who do not walk according to the flesh 38:23 but according to the Spirit." 38:26 You see, if you're keeping God's law 38:29 because you think you have to. 38:31 That's drudgery. 38:34 Yeah, that's total drudgery 38:35 if you're keeping the law of God 38:37 because you think I have to. 38:39 I talked to people they say, "Well, I keep the commandments. 38:44 I keep the Ten Commandments." 38:47 Oh, bless your heart, you may 38:49 but you may be miserable. 38:54 I don't keep the commandments of God. 38:58 I do not keep the commandments of God 39:00 to be saved. 39:04 I keep them because I am saved. 39:09 Okay, keep them because I am saved. 39:14 That's a total different situation. 39:18 You see, God says to each one of you here tonight, 39:20 "Come to me and I will make you, 39:25 I will make you priest. 39:28 I will make you kings." 39:31 He promises that He will do that for you. 39:33 That is His work. 39:36 If you come to Him, 39:37 He says He will take His law 39:39 and He will write it on your heart. 39:43 If He writes it on the heart, then dear friend, 39:47 that's an internal experience. 39:49 And I'm gladly keep His law. 39:52 Gladly keep it. 39:55 "Then I will give them one heart, 39:58 and I will put a new spirit within them." 40:03 Gonna do what? 40:05 Put a new spirit within you. 40:06 I'm talking about the water of life. 40:08 He puts that new spirit in you 40:11 "and take the stony heart out of their flesh, 40:13 and I'll give them a heart of flesh." 40:17 Dear friend, when Jesus comes into your life and does that, 40:22 what a difference, what a difference. 40:25 It changes you, makes you totally different. 40:30 "And they may walk in My statutes 40:33 and keep my judgments and do them." 40:37 Why? 40:39 Why are they gonna walk in His statutes 40:41 and keep His commandments, 40:42 His judgments, and do them? 40:43 Why? Why are they gonna do this? 40:48 'Cause He wrote it on their hearts, 40:51 He came in and He wrote it down in their heart. 40:54 And because it's in your heart, you're gonna do it. 40:56 That's what the scripture is simply telling you. 40:59 "And they shall be My people, 41:02 and I will be their God." 41:06 You better believe, they're His people. 41:09 "Keeping the law of God is the fruit, 41:13 it's the fruit of an inward experience." 41:17 Are you with me? 41:19 It's the fruit of it. 41:21 "For this is the covenant 41:22 that I will make with the house of Israel 41:24 after those days, says the Lord. 41:26 I will put My law in their mind and write them on their hearts. 41:31 I will be their God, 41:33 they shall be My people." 41:37 And so to many of you here 41:40 who have been watching by television, 41:43 or you've been coming here to the meeting, 41:46 and maybe you've been struggling 41:47 over some of the things you've been hearing. 41:50 Dear friend, let me tell you, 41:52 the answer to that comes 41:55 in surrendering your heart to Jesus Christ. 41:58 That's where the answer comes. 42:01 You see, if you try to face it on your own. 42:06 And if you try to reason out 42:09 all the reasons why it won't work, 42:11 it won't work. 42:13 But if you come in faith, 42:16 and surrender your heart to Jesus Christ, 42:19 marvelous will be the results of what He'll do in your life. 42:24 For He says, 42:28 "I delight in thy law of God 42:31 according to the inward man." 42:34 Says I delight to do. 42:36 I delight to keep the law of God. 42:40 You see, when I first became a Christian, 42:42 I had trouble with that. 42:44 Because I'd pick up my Bible and read it. 42:49 You know something strange about the Bible. 42:51 It says the same thing every time you read it. 42:54 You ever noticed that? 42:56 I'd read this text and, man, it just hit me hard. 43:00 I mean, just hit me right between the eyes. 43:02 And so I go read some other place, 43:04 and then read there. 43:06 And then later, I'd be reading again and there it was, 43:08 again, it said the same thing again, 43:11 you know, and I said, "Listen, Lord, 43:14 listen, I love you. 43:17 But I don't like some of these things that it says." 43:21 You know, 43:22 but it wasn't until I understood 43:26 that it wasn't what I had to do. 43:29 It was what Jesus did. 43:32 That all of a sudden, 43:33 it begin to do something for me. 43:35 All of a sudden, I begin to understand 43:37 that He was saying, 43:39 "Listen, open up your heart, 43:40 accept Me by faith, 43:42 surrender your life to Me, 43:44 and I'll change you and make you different." 43:47 And the law of God was no longer offensive to me. 43:51 I could say, "Lord, write it on my heart." 43:55 Go ahead, put it there. 43:57 And when I did that, changed the whole thing. 44:01 You see, if the law of God is to you this way, 44:06 we'll take a look at what is external 44:08 and what's internal. 44:12 If it's written on stone, 44:15 like with me, 44:17 it was written here on these pages. 44:19 And I read it and I said, I don't like it, you see. 44:22 That was totally external. 44:25 It graded, it went against what I want to do. 44:30 But when I surrendered my heart, 44:34 gave my life to the Lord and surrendered my heart. 44:37 And He wrote it on my heart, it was no longer offensive. 44:41 That's internal. 44:43 You with me? 44:46 You see, 44:48 if circumcision 44:51 is strictly external, that's all it is. 44:56 That's all it is with you. 44:58 But if it's circumcision of the heart, 45:00 that's internal. 45:03 If your religion is legalism, 45:08 you understand what I mean by legalism? 45:11 And I understand, I run on to people 45:13 who don't understand legalism. 45:16 Legalism is when I want to do my own thing. 45:22 I want to act like I want to, 45:24 I want to do what it might be a good, 45:26 I might go to church, do all that 45:28 but if it's what I wanna do, that's legalism, okay? 45:35 Righteousness by faith 45:38 is when I simply say here, Lord. 45:42 I don't have one thing in this world, 45:46 to recommend myself to You. 45:49 Accept my great need. 45:53 Come into my heart. 45:55 Take possession of my life. 45:57 I'm yours. 45:58 That's internal religion. 46:03 Our Bible says the letter kills. 46:07 Spirit gives life. 46:10 See, I can keep folks, listen to me. 46:14 I can keep 46:16 the Ten Commandments by willpower. 46:22 I can do that. 46:24 I can just, you know, 46:25 say I'm not gonna do this and have strong willpower. 46:29 I run on to some of these people, 46:31 man they have willpowers like you 46:33 I have never seen in my life. 46:35 Just nobody can live with them. 46:36 You know, they're just, 46:39 but I can keep the Ten Commandments 46:41 by willpower, okay? 46:44 But let me tell you something, you cannot, 46:47 you cannot keep the spirit of the law 46:51 by willpower. 46:54 You can't do that. 46:56 You can keep the letter of the law by willpower, 47:00 but you can't keep the spirit of the law 47:01 by willpower. 47:03 But if you keep the spirit of the law, 47:05 you keep the letter of the law. 47:09 Come and go together. 47:11 Old covenant 47:14 works. 47:16 That's the old covenant, new covenant, 47:19 faith. 47:21 Internal, external. 47:24 Works of man, works of grace. 47:29 That's the difference. 47:31 You see, 47:33 give me a man 47:37 or woman 47:40 who does not base their experience 47:46 upon the preacher. 47:50 Give me a man or woman 47:54 who do not gather inspiration 47:57 from a warm-hearted friend, 48:00 or from a large meeting. 48:03 Like give me a man or a woman 48:07 who has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ 48:12 and know Him personally. 48:15 And that man and woman will stand 48:17 if every preacher dies. 48:20 You see, that's what God is looking for. 48:24 He's looking for somebody 48:25 that's willing to come to know Him 48:28 in a close experience. 48:31 And if you do that, dear friend, 48:32 then you're talking about religion, 48:35 then you're talking about the water of life, 48:37 then you're talking about 48:38 what Jesus Christ will do in your life. 48:45 What will it do to you? 48:47 Let me explain what it do to you? 48:48 This is out of the Ezekiel the 47th Chapter, 48:51 you may have read it, never known 48:52 what it was talking about. 48:54 Watch what it says. 48:56 "And he brought me back to the door of the temple, 48:59 and there was water, 49:00 flowing from under the threshold 49:02 of the temple towards the east, 49:05 for the front of the temple faced east, 49:07 and water was flowing 49:08 from under the right side of the temple, 49:09 south of the altar." 49:11 Now this text just simply saying 49:12 that Ezekiel got there 49:14 to the front door of the church. 49:16 And here water was seeping out under the threshold. 49:20 That's what it says. 49:21 The angel takes Ezekiel for a walk 49:26 around the church, okay. 49:29 "He brought me out by the way of the north gate, 49:33 and led me around on the outside 49:37 to the outer gate that faces east, 49:39 and there was water, running out on the right side. 49:43 And when the man went out to the east 49:45 with a line in his hand, 49:47 he measured one thousand cubits." 49:49 So it just simply says, 49:50 he took him for a walk around the church, 49:52 one thousand cubits, 49:55 "and he brought me through the waters, 49:57 and the waters came up to my ankles." 50:01 Now they've gotten back to the front of the church 50:04 and here water was ankle deep, like tonight. 50:09 If we would have come here and water was seeping out 50:12 under the front door out there 50:13 we would say that's catastrophe, 50:15 you see. 50:16 Well, here it is. Now it's flowing out. 50:18 Now it's ankle deep. 50:20 They take another walk around the church. 50:24 "Again, he measured one thousand 50:26 and brought me through the waters, 50:27 and the waters came to my knees." 50:30 You see the water's rising. 50:33 "Again he measured one thousand 50:35 and brought me through the waters 50:37 they came up to my waist." 50:41 It's getting deep. 50:43 "Again, he measured one thousand 50:45 and it was a river I could not cross, 50:51 for the water was too deep, 50:52 water in which one must swim, 50:55 a river that could not be crossed." 50:58 What's he talking about? 51:01 He's talking about you, and he's talking about me. 51:05 You see, when you come to Jesus Christ, 51:09 and you open up your heart, 51:12 and you invite Him into your heart, 51:15 the Bible says, "You become a spring 51:17 of living water." 51:19 When Jesus comes in your heart, and by the way, dear friends, 51:23 when you drink, 51:26 you drink, okay. 51:29 You got to drink. 51:31 Let me tell you a secret tonight. 51:33 If your cup is only half full, 51:38 you don't have anything to share with anybody. 51:42 But when you drink and you drink 51:44 until your cup runs over, 51:46 then you can't help yourself. 51:48 That's what this text is talking about. 51:50 You come to Jesus Christ and you drink the water, 51:54 swim in, lots of water, it's a river flowing. 51:57 And out of you will flow streams of living water, 52:01 and when that religion is internal, 52:05 and it flows out of you, 52:07 then you're gonna say something to that neighbor next door. 52:12 And you're gonna say something to that loved one. 52:15 And you're gonna say something to that person 52:17 about what Jesus means to you, 52:19 and the wonderful experience that you have in Christ Jesus, 52:23 and all the joy and the happiness 52:25 that He brings to your heart. 52:26 And as you witness to them, 52:28 you're gonna find other people gonna say, 52:31 man, I'd love to have what that person's got. 52:35 I'd love to have that. 52:36 And you're gonna find men and women 52:38 reaching out to accept Jesus Christ. 52:41 And when they accept Jesus Christ, 52:42 do you know what just happened? 52:46 The stream just rose, see. 52:49 And then the two of them, 52:51 they bring people to Christ and the stream rises again, 52:54 until it's ankle deep, and then it's knee deep, 52:57 and then it's waist deep, and then it's a river. 53:00 That's what God has called 53:02 every one of you here tonight to do. 53:05 That's what He's asked us to do. 53:07 Become rivers of life. 53:08 "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' 53:12 Let him who hears say, 'Come!' 53:14 Let him who thirsts come. 53:16 Whoever desires, 53:18 let him take the water of life 53:21 freely." 53:22 You see tonight. 53:25 God's inviting you to take the water of life. 53:28 Oh dear friend. 53:31 I hope it won't be an external experience with you. 53:36 I hope tonight you'll open up your heart, 53:39 let Jesus in, 53:42 that you will accept Him 53:44 like the woman 53:46 at the well reach out 53:50 accept the water of life. 53:54 Like the woman at the well 53:58 I was seeking 54:02 For things 54:05 That could not satisfy 54:11 And then 54:15 I heard the Savior speaking 54:21 Draw from the well 54:26 That never 54:28 Shall run dry 54:35 Let's bow our heads for word of prayer. 54:37 Father, we thank You 54:39 for Your love, 54:41 for the hope that we have in Christ. 54:44 Tonight, Lord, 54:46 we ask that You would give to us 54:48 the living water, 54:50 that it might spring up, 54:53 become a fountain of life in each one of us, 54:58 and that we might be joyful, 55:01 and the wonderful grace that we find 55:04 in Jesus Christ our Lord. 55:06 For this we ask in His name, 55:08 amen. 55:10 Although they're small and seemingly insignificant, 55:14 soybean pods filled the farm fields of the United States. 55:18 What a treasure they are for the farmer at harvest time. 55:22 Nearly all soybeans in this country 55:24 are processed for their oil, 55:27 which is then refined for cooking 55:29 or sold for biodiesel production, 55:31 as well as for many other industrial uses. 55:34 Because of the high demand for soybeans, 55:37 a farmer must be able to harvest large quantities 55:41 in the most efficient and cost-effective manner. 55:44 One of the best ways to do this is to use a combine harvester. 55:49 These massive machines 55:51 give the farmer the ability to quickly harvest 55:54 and haul the beans at an incredible rate. 55:57 Have you ever considered what one farmer can do today 56:01 with the help of modern tools? 56:03 The farmer if the past could hardly imagine it. 56:06 Within hours, 56:07 one man and machine can harvest and deliver 56:10 untold bushels of soybeans to the market. 56:13 His goal is to obtain the largest yield possible 56:17 at harvest time. 56:19 Like the farmer today, we must do the same. 56:22 In Luke 10:2, Jesus said, "The harvest truly is great, 56:27 but the laborers are few." 56:29 And in John 4:35, 56:31 "He looked over the wheat fields 56:33 and said to His disciples, 56:35 'Lift up your eyes and look at the fields, 56:37 for they are ready quite for harvest." 56:41 In both passages, 56:42 Jesus referred to men and women of this world 56:45 as He proclaim that the harvest is here, 56:48 and the work must be done. 56:50 When I was a boy, 56:52 the corn harvest was all done by hand. 56:55 We literally had a horse-drawn wagon, 56:58 and we would walk along beside it 57:00 and pull the corn off the stock and throw it onto the wagon. 57:03 But folks, the time is short. 57:06 So the Lord has provided the most marvelous technology 57:10 to enable us to harvest more souls 57:13 through television, radio, and other media. 57:16 Today we can take the message 57:17 to the multitudes around the world 57:20 at the speed of light. 57:22 Such ability was far beyond the imagination 57:25 of the evangelist of the past. 57:29 The harvest is here 57:32 but we can't do it without you. 57:34 Won't you help us? 57:35 Please consider what you can do for those 57:37 who still don't know about Jesus. 57:39 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:41 please send your tax-deductible gifts 57:43 to Kenneth Cox Ministries, 57:45 PO Box 1027, Loma Linda, California 92354, 57:50 or call us toll free at 888-747-1844. 57:56 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 57:58 through television and radio. 58:00 Your gifts help bring the blessed hope of salvation 58:02 to millions around the world. |
Revised 2019-05-16