Hope Springs part 3
Today I want to talk about the spring. You know, the one that hope springs from. And we've already said its the breast--the heart. So lets look at a couple of memory verses and flesh this out a little bit. "In 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 shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38). And I think its interesting that Jesus first offered the living water. He didn't force His will on anybody, but He made what they all needed available. He said, "If you're thirsty, come and get it." Which, to me, is echoed in Revelation 22:17, "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." Receiving and releasing, right? Take of the water of life, and it WILL flow out of you. The Message Bible, instead of saying "belly" in our verse in Matthew, says, "innermost being." What's inside WILL come out. When you partake of it. When you know and believe that it's in there. We WILL be who we really are, when we know who we really are. Who we are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in us. So the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" But they don't say, "Come, or else." They say, "Come and get it!" Our heart's desire, the very thing we long for, is availabe to us! Faith is the substance of things hoped for, right? And we are to have faith in God. Have faith in love! That's the desire of our heart. What else could it be? And that love--that living water--that we put our hope in... in flows out of the spring of our hearts. Song of Solomon 4:12 says, "A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." But then in Song of Solomon 4:16 we see this, "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." The Holy Spirit came with the sound of a rushing wind. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth that leads and guides us into all truth. The truth that we have everything we need inside us. The garden may have been inclosed. The fountain may have been sealed. The spring may have been shut up. But then something happened. The cross happened. And now the secret garden isn't a secret anymore! The hidden man of the heart isn't hidden anymore! Let me say it like this: "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life" (Proverbs 13:12). Hope that never materializes (like when we "hope" we'll win the lottery) can make you sick. But when the true desire--love--comes, it is a tree of life. It is a river of living water. And it has been given to us. It has come. It is available. If any man thirsts, let him come and drink. Hope springs eternal out of the spring that is no longer shut up, but has been filled to overflowing! It flows out of our innermost being. The reason people can always find a way to be hopeful is because love is such an intrinsic part of our makeup. Love isn't just what we want. Or what we hope for. Or what we do. Love is literally who we are! WE are the spout where the glory comes out. We are hopeful, because what we hope for is at hand. It's not always bad and getting worse. In truth it is good and getting better. Upward and Godward!