Transcription
[Music] Greetings in Jesus' name. I'm Bishop Chester Wright, and this is the video teaching series, Praying in the Spirit. This is part 1 of that series, that's focusing on learning how to pray in the spirit. And this is lesson number 21. And the focus of this lesson here is the necessity of outflow. The necessity of outflow.
I've used these verses several times already, but we're about to use them again, at least as the introduction for this lesson. That, of course, is Jesus' words in John 7:37 through 39. "And the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly [King James word] shall flow rivers shall flow rivers out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified."
So much of Christianity is focused on Jesus coming into their heart. I remember the song we sang as children in Sunday school: "Come into my heart, come into my heart, come into my heart, Lord Jesus. Come in today, come in to stay, come into my heart, Lord Jesus." Beautiful song, isn't it? There's still a beautiful song, and the sentiment of it is is very sweet and kind and nice. But it only tells a small part of the story.
And again, John 4:14, Jesus speaking to the woman at the well in the city of Sychar, in the province of Samaria. He tells her that if, if she drinks of the water that He has to give her. And of course, in John 7, Jesus tells us the source of that water, which is Him personally. "Come unto me. If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." And so people can't drink anyplace that Jesus isn't. So the first and foremost purpose of any gathering, whether it is a small group or a full-blown church service or anything in between, that where two or three are gathered, that the purpose of any of that is for Jesus to be present, because people cannot drink from Him if they're thirsty, if He's not manifested there. And you said, "Well, of course, Jesus is always there." Let us see, He wasn't. He was on the outside knocking, trying to get into their church service. And so this is critical.
So He's telling the woman at the well that if she would drink of the water that He was going to give them, because He said to her, "Give me the drink." She said, "What are you doing talking to me? I'm a Samaritan, you're a Jew." Jews don't deal with the Samaritans. He just ignored her and said, "If you knew who it was that was saying that, you would have asked of Him, and He would have given you living water." And said later, He says to her, "Whoever drinks of this water [the well, Jacob's Well] shall thirst again. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
And so Jesus did come in. How did Jesus come in? Well, Paul said in Romans chapter 8, verse 9, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." So the way that Jesus comes in is by His Spirit. And since there's only one Spirit, that the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Son of God, the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of God, etc., etc., is all speaking of the exact same Spirit and the exact same experience. But Jesus let us know in John 7 that His focus was not on what was coming into us, but on the proof of the evidence that He was in us by what was flowing out of us.
And again, just for a moment, I'm gonna look at a couple of Greek words. I've mentioned before, but I want to give you some more detailed definitions here. The Greek word for "out of" is the Greek preposition *ek* or *ex*, and it primarily denotes a point of origin, the point from which action or motion proceeds from or out of. So where is the, where are these rivers coming from? "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his [singular] belly, or figuratively innermost being, or literally cavity or hollow place that's now filled with this, this fountain of living water, out of that's the source, out of that's where it's coming from. To it's not coming in, to it's coming out of."
Now, obviously, in order for the rivers of living water to flow out of us, that presupposes that the living water has already flowed into us. And how does the living water flow into us? Not through the mouth, but as we receive the Holy Ghost for the first time, He installs a fountain, a spring. King James uses the word "well," but "well" connotes a hole in the ground that you got to lift that stuff down into. A Jacob's Well was a well, but Jesus isn't giving us a well of living water. He's giving us a spring or a fountain of living water. And as I have thought already in a previous lesson, all rivers begin with either springs or collecting the rain that falls from heaven. The rain comes down on the mountains, it collects into small brooks and streams, and the river lets into small rivers, and then into a main river that flows down to the ocean. And in the Old Testament, that's the only way they got living water was it flowed down upon them. But in the New Testament, the rain, the rain, it comes upon the field, yes. But in this analogy, in the New Testament, the rivers of living water don't flow from the collection of rain on top of the mountains, but from that which is placed deep in the mountains, those subterranean rivers that are obviously very mighty because most fresh water that we drink originates from these kinds of springs or fountains. The mighty Mississippi River, does it come from mountains, per se? But comes from springs, several different small rivers that originate in springs and then collect together and becomes the mighty Mississippi River.
So Jesus is focused on this outflow. And I've already said it, but according to Strong's, the word "belly," it literally means hollow or a cavity, especially the abdomen. By implication, the matrix. Figuratively, the heart. Strong's says that the word "belly" means, in literally, hollow. It denotes the entire physical cavity, but most frequently used to denote the womb. But in John 7:38, Vine's says it stands metaphorically for the most innermost part of man, the soul, the heart, as the seat of thought, feeling, and choice.
And again, as I've taught, the word "flow" it means it is the strengthened work form of the Greek word *rheo*, *eryo*, which is the strengthened form of the Greek word *reo*, which is the word most usually used for to utter, to speak, or to say. So according to Vine's, that strengthened form of *reo*, *eryo*, is to flow. It is used figuratively of the Holy Spirit acting in and through the believer. But how, how does it flow out of us? In a stream of supernatural words, whether in languages we don't understand as the Spirit gives us utterance, or in anointed words that are originated by God and then put in our minds, and that we hear and repeat what He says, either in prayer or in ministering the word.
Now, with all that being said, we need, we need to now understand this very critical thing. Too many believers have put a dam on their rivers. They've turned themselves into reservoirs. And the dam holds all this for themselves. And then they, they let those, and the dam lets out enough water to keep the dam from breaking and flowing downstream. They let that water flow downstream just a controlled amount to keep the water levels in the dam in a safe place. But it's called a reservoir, that which is reserved. Or can I tell you, the Bible would call that quenching the Spirit? We were given an unending supply available to us when we were given a spring, a fountain of living water. We were never called to be a reservoir. But the problem is this, far too many aren't even reservoirs. They just become stagnant ponds, because there's only enough inflow into them to take care of the loss of water through evaporation.
Now, the problem with our spirits becoming stagnant because we have no outflow is, stagnant water. Stagnation occurs when water stops flowing. Flowing water is living water. In fact, that is one of the main definitions of the Greek word that's talking about that that's translated living water. It is flowing water. Living water is always flowing water. When water stops flowing, it is no longer alive. It begins, it automatically begins the stagnation process. Stagnant water can be a major vital hazard. According to Wikipedia, malaria and dengue fever are among the main dangers of stagnant water, which can become a breeding ground for the mosquitoes that transmit these diseases. Stagnant or stale sediment water can be dangerous for drinking because it provides a better incubator than running water for many kinds of bacteria and parasites. Stagnant water is often contaminated with human and animal feces, particularly in the desert or other areas of low rain.
Now, apply all of that spiritually. When the Lord, when the Holy Ghost chose terminology, "living water," and the definition of living water is flowing water, you don't think He understood all of these issues? You don't, you don't think He understood all this? He's the one who designed it all. So certainly He understood it. And how many people, not counting the ones that don't even have the Holy Ghost, that claim they're believers, but how many people with the Holy Ghost have no flow? They don't even flow at all in praying, hardly in English. So much of prayer has become religious exercise, religious obligation, a religious discipline. There's no flow in that. In fact, some people who have given themselves to that kind of prayer can essentially do that with their minds someplace else, just putting in their time. That doesn't please God. It doesn't glorify God. But worse than all of that, from your and my perspective, in the immediate case, is it allows our spirit to stagnate. And then whatever water or spirit in us becomes stagnant, and then it carries all kind of negative things. That's why when Paul taught in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 about not fellowshipping with things that are not, not pleasing to God, and we should come out from among them and be separate, saith the Lord, so that He would receive us. He said in 2nd Corinthians 7:1, "Wherefore, let us cleanse ourselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Because we need to do that. God will not us against our will. We have to choose to be clean in our spirit. And part of that, of course, is repentance. But repentance takes care of what we have done, or the, or the condition that exists from, from this point back. But what about the tradition from this point forward? Repentance only brings us to the place where our water is clean again, so it can flow.
Because, hear me again, friend. Matthew, not Matt, Matthew 10 and verse 8 says, "Freely you have received, freely give." And if you have received the Spirit of God, and it's living water to you, then you cannot help but allow the Holy Ghost to flow out of you. That's a paraphrase, exactly what the Apostle said when they were rebuked by the Jewish elders for, for bringing this man's blood upon us and preaching in our streets the name of Jesus. They told them to stop. They commanded them to stop and threatened them with bodily harm and potentially death. That they continued to do that. And Peter and the others with him said, "We can't stop this. We can't hold this back. You can't keep a flow of the Holy Ghost back. You can't."
So if there's no flow of the Holy Ghost, it's not about personality. It's not about ability. It's not about how much knowledge of the Bible you've got. You've gotten the flow when you got the Holy Ghost. And you didn't get the Holy Ghost, you didn't receive the Holy Ghost unless it flowed out of you. A lot of people want the Holy Ghost to come in. But what do you think speaking in tongues is? Speaking in tongues is the evidence that I'm full, and that the, the living water is flowing out of me. No outflow, I'm not full of the Holy Ghost. Well, if that's true on the day I got the Holy Ghost, it's still true every day thereafter. And so many people, that's not how they live. So many people, they've obeyed or they fit what Jesus said, or it was Jesus, the Spirit of God said in Jeremiah 2:13, "My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living water, and hewn them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."
This is, this is so critical. I cannot tell you how critical this is, not just for you and your personal salvation, but for the purposes and the will and the plan of God in the earth. Because the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. So how in the world is the kingdom of God going to be manifest to the earth if we keep all of that locked up inside of us and it never flows out, either in other tongues or unknown in words of our mind? How?
And according to 1st Corinthians 14, I don't have a choice to just do the anointed words of my mind. Paul said, "I thank God, I speak with tongues more than you all." As I've said numerous times in this series. But he said, "What, what will I do then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also." That's the Word of God. And Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Christ." There's no option here. The idea that we have an option. I mean, over the years, people said, "Wright's just a tongue talker." They meant it derogatorily. But they don't know how much of a blessing that was to me. I never, I'm not speaking in tongues for other people to notice. I don't pray in tongues for other people to watch. I'm not trading tongues for other people to, to have an opinion about it one way or the other. I don't care what their opinion is about it one way or the other. I'm praying in tongues in obedience to the Holy Ghost. I'm praying in tongues in obedience to the Word of God. I'm praying in tongues because that's the will of God for me to have an outflow of rivers of living water. "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his [singular] belly shall flow rivers [plural] of living water." That's it. I don't know how any Christian ignores that. But how someone who claims to have been baptized with the Holy Ghost, how do you ignore that? I don't know how. I'm not trying to be offensive here. I'm not trying to condemn. I'm trying to challenge you. I'm not finding fault. I'm saying, "Look what you're missing out on." I'm trying to get across to you what is available to you.
But the most important part of all this, it's not just for your benefit. It's because God has given each one of us a place in His kingdom, in His plan, in His purpose. And part of that plan of purpose for every one of us is that His Spirit would flow out of us. In Jesus' name, living water, flowing water.
Just look at, just look at four verses in the book of Revelation, just to see how important living water is to us. Revelation 21 and 6: "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending. I will give unto him that is athirst of the water of life freely." Revelation 22 and 1 and 2: "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Speaking of the eternal kingdom of God. In Revelation 22 and 17: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." And then Revelation 7 and 17: "For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto fountains of the water of life: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
My friend, my brother, my sister, a stagnated spirit produces death. Stagnation is the state or condition of stagnating or having ceased to run or flow. Stagnation is a foulness or staleness, as one emanating from a standing pool of water. There's always a smell in the spirit that comes off someone who is stagnated. You can smell it. You can sense it. I'm not being critical, but you can't be stagnant and hide it. You may think you are hiding it, but you're not. A failure to develop, progress, or advance. Stagnant, the state or quality of being or feeling sluggish or dull. As a verb, to stagnate needs to cease to run or flow, as water or air. To be or become stale or foul from standing, as a pool of water. To stop developing, growing, progressing, or advancing. To be or become sluggish or dull.
How much of the body of Christ today is stagnant spiritually? Not growing. And I don't want to date this lesson, but in the present crisis that we're in, that has churches shut down, where we can't do all of the stuff we are normally able to do, what is revealed the most here? That those who were stagnant when all of this started are in the most danger of not surviving this time. Because there used to church services propping them up. Because they ceased to protect the fountain of living waters and they become cisterns. And cisterns have to be the mouth out of which living water is supposed to flow. That's, that's the only way they could get any water into them. They have to go to church to get refilled because they're a container, not a conduit. And when they don't have access to that, and the, and the, and the streamed live stream services just start getting it done for them because it's just not the same. That's what we mean by that, you know, it's just not the same. Meaning those that are stagnant, that the only way they're getting any water in, rather than that pool evaporated. Because every standing water with no source will, it evaporates. It eventually it dries up. And so if there's not, if I don't have enough church, church to be able to get more water in me, I eventually dry up and die. So it's bad enough to be stagnant and not really have a flow, but I got something flowing into me, so that the normal process of evaporation does it empty me completely of what happens. But I don't have any kind of inflow. Like in this crisis, and I'm just not getting the same thing out of a stream service because I feel we're doing in my house what I did at home, and in the church. What happens then? You eventually die of the lack of water.
Outflow produces life. Just for a few moments, consider the difference that I've mentioned this before in the ecosystem of the Jordan River. There are two lakes or seas, as they're called. There's the Sea of Galilee, one of the names by which it's been known, and the Dead Sea. Now, the Sea of Galilee has been fished for thousands of years. There's life in the depths in the Sea of Galilee. At least four of the twelve apostles were fishermen full-time, and they fished the Sea of Galilee for a living. And they're still commercial fishing efforts on the Sea of Galilee today. How can they? How's it possible? It's not a huge, huge area. It's about, about 50 miles long, about 15, 20 miles wide. That's not exact, but it's about that. That's not huge. It's not as big as any of the Great Lakes. And yet they'd be sick commercially all these years. Why? Because the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River flows in one end, and the Jordan River flows out the other. So there's always life in the Sea of Galilee. Always life. Always life.
But down at the end of the Sea of Galilee, into one of the lowest places, in actually the lowest body of water on earth, is the Dead Sea. Because the Jordan River and a few other small rivers flow into the Dead Sea, but there's no outflow. And it is the highest salinity of any body of water on earth. Because all of those minerals come into the Dead Sea, but with no outflow, there's no life. There's no life. There is no life. Inflow, no outflow. Inflow, no outflow. Because that Dead Sea is so low, there's no victory there, if I could use that analogy spiritually. There's no victory there. It exists, just like a lot of Christians exist, but there's no life there. And so there is, there is enough flow coming into it that the water still basically is there. But because it's such a hot area, very hot and dry, the rate of evaporation from the Dead Sea constantly is increasing the salinity, how salty the Dead Sea is. Because all of those rivers with all those minerals, especially the Jordan River, flows into the Dead Sea. But as the water evaporates, the minerals are left behind, constantly increasing the deadness of the Dead Sea.
Which are you, my friend? Which are you? Are you the Sea of Galilee, or are you the Dead Sea? And again, all rivers in the New Testament, it spiritually begins with a fountain. All rivers that come from God in the New Testament begin from those fountains right there, from right there. And so out of us flows rivers of living water. That's the will of God. That's the plan of God. So they flow out of us individually. But collectively, when all those rivers are flowing out of each one of us, when we're together, they become mighty, mighty rivers. Mighty rivers.
So the question, my friend, is this: Are you willing to acknowledge that you have become a cistern, just focused on containing the Lord? Because you, you see, when we use the terminology "filled," that automatically connotes container. Because you can't fill something that doesn't have a defined capacity. And so if I get filled, I have a capacity. And if through evaporation or use the water level goes down, I got to go get refilled and refilled and refilled. And for many people, that's how they started. But that's still how they're living their life in fellowship with God, or primarily with the church. But that's not the plan of God, and that's not the will of God. Because He filled us initially. And in our spiritual immaturity, we may need that filling to be renewed. But we're supposed to grow in the flow of living water, or flowing water, where it's not being held as a container. We're not trying to contain the Holy Ghost, as a cistern would do. But we're trying to be a conduit of the Spirit of God to flow through us. Which are you today, my friend? Your container that is desperately in need all the time of getting back to church, to getting a new refilling so that I can survive till the next service? Because I have no idea how to get refilled even on my own between services? Or have I started out as a container, but realized that it's never going to satisfy me, because you can't get rivers out of a container? I've got to become a conduit for rivers to flow out of me.
And so when Jesus said, "He that believeth on me, as scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water," He told us in advance, not of the beginning stage of a person receiving the Holy Ghost, that is the woman at the well receiving the fountain. But Jesus told us in John 7 of the mature place that we could get in God, if we would just not be satisfied with being a container. So that we have our own well to drink from, and that nobody else can drink from our well, because we're holding all this for ourselves. And the only people or things that drink from our well is those things that benefit us. But when I grow past that, and I become a conduit, then it is not hard at all to see and understand how rivers plural can flow through into and out of a conduit. It's not hard at all.
Now, as I close this lesson, I leave you with this thought: What is it that changes a container to a conduit? Well, the limiter in any container is the bottom, the foundation, the thing which that entire container is built around. And so what is that container? Me, my soul, my life, my will. And God, in His love and mercy, gives us the Holy Ghost while that is still there. And He works with us. That's why Paul said in Romans 7 that he needed the deliverer, a deliverer from whom he needed to be delivered from himself. And that's why Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Now, how can the faith of the Son of God be used by my flesh? Because by dying out to me, and letting Christ live in me, the faith of Christ can now flow out of me to a lost and dying world.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray that the Spirit of God would give you hunger and thirst to reach your full potential in God, and that you would by His grace be brought to the end of yourself, and that you would let Him convert you from being a container to a conduit of His mighty, wonderful, powerful Holy Ghost, that He and His glory might fill the earth. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is so. Let it be so. Amen.
[Music]