The Greatness of Water

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that this week's message finds you doing well.

Even in the midst of pain, fear, or trouble, I pray that you are able to accept that God's grace is sufficient for you (2 Corinthians 7 -9). Over the past couple of weeks the days have been extremely long and the nights even longer. I have spent more and more time in prayer and reached out to my family for their love and support. A few days ago, I spoke with God and requested help in clearing my path and helping me get closer to him. I rediscovered meditation and prayer. I asked God for a way to clear my head when praying and focus on Him. Immediately, my martial arts training came to mind. When we would prepare for training we would begin with meditation and the Sifu (Chinese word for teacher), would talk to us about the cleaning qualities of water. We would close our eyes and be asked to allow water to flow from the top of our head then through our body, then through our soul to the feet.

"The imagery of God's Word also includes the idea of cleansing power. It is likened to water because water cleanses, as Psalm 119:9 shows: "How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word." Jesus adds in John 15:3, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you." Paul says in Ephesians 5:26, ". . . that He might sanctify and cleanse [the church] with the washing of water by the word." (anonymous)" Yesterday our Pastor spoke about the importance and power of prayer. In my personal opinion, prayer is what allows the water to flow. Prayer turns on the faucet, opens the valve, or makes way for the canal. Cleansing comes by the Spirit of God. Please take a moment to review the scriptures below and see the comments afterwards.

Book: Psalms

Psalm writers: Did King David write all of the Psalms? No. He is, however, the most prolific writer of songs found in the Bible. David, who lived from 1040 to 970 B.C., wrote roughly 80 songs in this Biblical section. Other writers include Moses, Heman the Ezrahite, Ethan the Ezrahite, Solomon, Asaph, and the sons of Korah. Several of them do not come with any credit.

The original structure: No overt structure of the Psalms, other than numbering them, exists in almost all modern Bible translations. In the original Hebrew manuscripts, however, there are five major sections of the book. Section (or book) 1 contains Psalm 1 to 41, Section 2 has songs 42 to 72, Section 3 has songs 73 to 89, Section 4 contains songs 90 to 106 and Section 5 has 107 to 150

Overview: Understanding the overall characteristics of this section of the Bible can help us fully appreciate what they say and teach.
• The purpose of many of the songs is public worship in Israel's temple, although some are more suited for private devotion. They all, however, ultimately lead people to worship the true God.
• They were a part of Israel's daily life. The Bible records a number of times when the people spontaneously responded to God with a Psalm of praise.
• They passionately record a person's response to God given their situation and circumstances at the time. Some songs cry out to God during a trial and others seek his intervention in their (and others) affairs. Some focus on God's blessings or curses, while others sing his praises and thank him for what he has done.

(Psalms 51:1-7) 1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love! Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! 2 Wash away my wrongdoing! Cleanse me of my sin! 3 For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin. 4 Against you- you above all - I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me. 5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me. 6 Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom. 7 Sprinkle me with water and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

Matthew Henry Commentary: Psalms 51:1-7 David, being convinced of his sin, poured out his soul to God in prayer for mercy and grace. Whither should backsliding children return, but to the Lord their God, who alone can heal them? he drew up, by Divine teaching, an account of the workings of his heart toward God. Those that truly repent of their sins will not be ashamed to own their repentance. Also, he instructs others what to do, and what to say. David had not only done much, but suffered much in the cause of God; yet he flees to God's infinite mercy, and depends upon that alone for pardon and peace. He begs the pardon of sin. The blood of Christ, sprinkled upon the conscience, blots out the transgression, and, having reconciled us to God, reconciles us to ourselves. The believer longs to have the whole debt of his sins blotted out, and every stain cleansed; he would be thoroughly washed from all his sins; but the hypocrite always has some secret reserve, and would have some favorite lust spared. David had such a deep sense of his sin that he was continually thinking of it, with sorrow and shame. His sin was committed against God, whose truth we deny by wilful sin; with him we deal deceitfully. And the truly penitent will ever trace back the streams of actual sin to the fountain of original depravity. He confesses his original corruption. This is that foolishness which is bound in the heart of a child, that proneness to evil, and that backwardness to good, which is the burden of the regenerate, and the ruin of the unregenerate. He is encouraged, in his repentance, to hope that God would graciously accept him. Thou desirest truth in the inward part; to this God looks, in a returning sinner. Where there is truth, God will give wisdom. Those who sincerely endeavour to do their duty shall be taught their duty; but they will expect good only from Divine grace overcoming their corrupt nature.

Verses 7-15 Purge me with hyssop, with the blood of Christ applied to my soul by a lively faith, as the water of purification was sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop. The blood of Christ is called the blood of sprinkling, ( Hebrews 12:24 ) . If this blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin, cleanse us from our sin, then we shall be clean indeed, ( Hebrews 10:2 ) . He asks not to be comforted, till he is first cleansed; if sin, the bitter root of sorrow, be taken away, he can pray in faith, Let me have a well-grounded peace, of thy creating, so that the bones broken by convictions may rejoice, may be comforted. Hide thy face from my sins; blot out all mine iniquities out of thy book; blot them out, as a cloud is blotted out and dispelled by the beams of the sun. And the believer desires renewal to holiness as much as the joy of salvation. David now saw, more than ever, what an unclean heart he had, and sadly laments it; but he sees it is not in his own power to amend it, and therefore begs God would create in him a clean heart. When the sinner feels this change is necessary, and reads the promise of God to that purpose, he begins to ask it.

Book: John 3: 5-8

Author: The Apostle John

Time: Likely between AD 85 - 95

Purpose: Christianity.about.com, says "The Gospel of John was written to prove that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. As an eyewitness to the love and power displayed in the miracles of Jesus , John gives us an up-close and personal look at Christ's identity. He shows us that Jesus, though fully God, came in the flesh to distinctly and accurately reveal God, and that Christ is the source of eternal life to all who believe in him."

(John 3:5-8) 5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, You must all be born from above. 8 The wind blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Matthew Henry Commentary: John 3:5-8 (Excerpt) Our Saviour spoke of the necessity and nature of regeneration or the new birth, and at once directed Nicodemus to the source of holiness of the heart. Birth is the beginning of life; to be born again, is to begin to live anew, as those who have lived much amiss, or to little purpose. We must have a new nature, new principles, new affections, new aims. By our first birth we were corrupt, shapen in sin; therefore we must be made new creatures. No stronger expression could have been chosen to signify a great and most remarkable change of state and character. We must be entirely different from what we were before, as that which begins to be at any time, is not, and cannot be the same with that which was before. This new birth is from heaven, ch. 1:13 , and its tendency is to heaven. It is a great change made in the heart of a sinner, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It means that something is done in us, and for us, which we cannot do for ourselves. Something is wrong, whereby such a life begins as shall last forever. We cannot otherwise expect any benefit by Christ; it is necessary to our happiness here and hereafter. What Christ speak, Nicodemus misunderstood, as if there had been no other way of regenerating and new-moulding an immortal soul, than by new-framing the body. But he acknowledged his ignorance, which shows a desire to be better informed. It is then further explained by the Lord Jesus. He shows the Author of this blessed change. It is not wrought by any wisdom or power of our own, but by the power of the blessed Spirit. We are shapen in iniquity, which makes it necessary that our nature be changed. We are not to marvel at this; for, when we consider the holiness of God, the depravity of our nature, and the happiness set before us, we shall not think it strange that so much stress is laid upon this. The regenerating work of the Holy Spirit is compared to water. It is also probable that Christ had reference to the ordinance of baptism. Not that all those, and those only, that are baptized, are saved; but without that new birth which is wrought by the Spirit, and signified by baptism, none shall be subjects of the kingdom of heaven. The same word signifies both the wind and the Spirit. The wind bloweth where it listeth for us; God directs it. The Spirit sends his influences where, and when, on whom, and in what measure and degree, he pleases.

(John 4:13-15)13 Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

Matthew Henry Commentary: John 4:13-15 (excerpt) Christ asked a woman for water. She was surprised because he did not show the anger of his own nation against the Samaritans. Moderate men of all sides are men wondered at. Christ took the occasion to teach her Divine things: he converted this woman, by showing her ignorance and sinfulness, and her need of a Saviour. By this living water is meant the Spirit. Under this comparison the blessing of the Messiah had been promised in the Old Testament. The graces of the Spirit, and his comforts, satisfy the thirsting soul, that knows its own nature and necessity. What Jesus spake figuratively, she took literally. Christ shows that the water of Jacob's well yielded a very short satisfaction. Of whatever waters of comfort we drink, we shall thirst again. But whoever partakes of the Spirit of grace, and the comforts of the gospel, shall never want that which will abundantly satisfy his soul. Carnal hearts look no higher than carnal ends. Give it me, saith she, not that I may have everlasting life, which Christ proposed, but that I come not hither to draw. The carnal mind is very ingenious in shifting off convictions, and keeping them from fastening. But how closely our Lord Jesus brings home the conviction to her conscience! He severely reproved her present state of life.

I am not sure where you are with your relationship or even if you have one with Christ, but here is what I do know. You or someone you know is experiencing something difficult in life and are not sure where to turn. As I said before, if you do not see the corrosion in our society, from the breakdown in the schools, families, economy, national unity, the Church, you are in need of a revival.

Unfortunately, this has been going on for many years, the advent of social media, reality television, political correctness, and the assault on Christianity, has widened the gap. You may not agree with my thoughts, but what I can only say is that there is one sure way to address the problem you or the person you know is having, that is Jesus Christ. Consider this, if your most favorite clothing article was soiled, how would you clean it? If you want to grow your favorite plant, how would you keep it alive? Your body is made up of 98% of it, without water, you would die. If water is so important to us in every way, wouldn’t it be better to have the best and purest water? Try Christ, pure and never ending water!!! Have a blessed week.

For further study on Psalms see - http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/who-wrote-the-psalms.html