In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of having a personal relationship with God and walking in His ways. He references the story of Jacob's encounter with God at Bethel, where Jacob saw a ladder with angels ascending and descending. The speaker explains that Jesus, as the Son of God, came to earth to preach the gospel and fulfill God's plan. He also encourages believers to allow the stream of life that God has placed in them to flow forth and impact others, creating a river of living water that brings joy and blessing to the city of God.

Therefore, the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples. He left Judea and departed again into Galilee, and he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well, and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give me the drink, for his disciples were gone away into the city to buy me. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself and his children and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. That's all we'll read there at this moment. I woke up this morning and all I could think of was wells and springs of water. Many scriptures seemed to come to me, various places in the scripture. So we just want to speak about that this morning. Jesus must need to go through Samaria. He had to go through there. His life was with purpose. His life wasn't just a life that he haphazardly went about ministering. I think I'll go here and I think I'll go there. He was led of the Spirit. And the Apostle Paul tells us that that's the sign of a son of God, one who is led of the Spirit. And that doesn't just mean led geographically here and there. It means led of the Spirit in the ways of the Spirit. It's certainly necessary that we are in that place God wants us to be geographically, but it's far more important that we be in that place in the Spirit that God wants us to be. And furthermore, when we learn the ways of God and begin to walk in the ways of God, there'll be no doubt as to our walking in that particular geographic location where we're supposed to be. That's not the problem. The problem is to learn his ways and to find ourselves walking with the Lord. And then everything else will be taken care of. And so here was the Son of God, the Messiah, who came down to earth to preach the gospel to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to deliver the captives. But he had to go through this one locality because the Spirit was leading him there. And so he came to Jacob's well and sat thus in the well. All in the leading of the Lord, he sat thus in the well. Along for that day when our lives will not just be centered about church gatherings and church fellowships and meetings, and when we lose the vision of Bethel, as it were, and have that confrontation with the Lord at Peniel. Jacob went to Bethel and he, remember how he lighted upon a certain place and it was night and he laid down to sleep and gathered the stones together and used them for his pillow and slept upon them. And during the night he had visions of the heavens open and angels of God ascending and descending upon the ladder. And behold, God was at the top of the ladder. God was still out of his reach. It was a wonderful vision, a vision of the house of God. And he awoke in fear and said, behold, God is in this place and I know it not. And he was greatly afraid and he called the name of the place Bethel, because Bethel means the house of God. Or actually it was just a heap of stones. But in vision and in prophecy and in the Spirit, he saw the building of God in those stones upon which he lay his head. And it is a wonderful vision and God would yet fulfill that vision. But God was at the top of the ladder. The vision was Bethel. And so you know the story how he had to go up to Heron and work there with his uncle for many years until God called him back and on his way back, how he had that confrontation with the Lord at the at the waters of Jabbok and where he wrestled with the angel all through the night. And the angel could not prevail against him until he touched him in the hall of his side and crippled him. And he called the name of the place Peniel, for he said, I have seen the face of God. Peniel, the face of God. And he arose from that confrontation, changed, different. In fact, he never walked the same again. He walked with a limp. He was crippled. He didn't arise from that confrontation as God's mighty man of power. He arose a weak man and crippled. And yet in God's sight, he was his man of power. And he called him Israel, which means prince of God or power with God. But Jacob never felt that way. And you know very well that when men are magnified as God's great men of the hour, they've never seen the face of God. They've never had their confrontation with the Lord at Peniel. So God bring us all to that time of confrontation, where once and for all, I don't mean to say that after that there'll be no more dealings of the Lord. There certainly will be, as there was with Jacob. But once for all, our goals are fixed. We have one goal that we're seeking after, and one only. And that is to come to know him and to walk with him. And let us turn now, I want to turn to a few scriptures regarding the wells. Jesus had to go through Samaria and sit in the well, because he was to minister the water of life to the needy ones in Samaria. And so he sat there by the well in the leading of God, waiting for the purpose of God to unfold. People say God has given us everything we have to have. He's given us gifts, he's given us ministries, all we've got to do is go forth now and make them work. But the gifts of the Spirit that God gives his people are not only to be gifts of power, they're to be gifts that will work the character, the nature, the presence, the patience, the meekness, the long suffering, the gentleness of Christ within our very being. And that is going to require waiting upon God. He had to go to Samaria, there he was. Now Lord, what do you want me to do? He was just sitting away until the opportunity arose. We'll come back to that a little later. But in the book of Genesis, we read how Isaac began to dig again the wells that Abraham, his father, had digged in his day. Because it says that the Philistines had stopped them, they filled them in. And so Isaac and his servants went out and began to dig again these wells. I think it's in Genesis 26. And he digged again the wells of water which they had digged in the days of Abraham, his father, for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham. And he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. There's a lot of talk these days about restoration, and it is true, God is restoring, as well as doing new things. Or as we've tried to impress upon the people of God, when God restores, there's also a new thing. It's not just bringing back some old thing that existed in the past, polishing it up, but it's a restoration of principles of truth. It's to bring us back to principles of truth that are eternal, that in this day, in this generation, in this hour in which we live, God might do a new thing. And so God doesn't change, or the Lord doesn't change, His Holy Spirit doesn't change, but He does new things because He's constantly changing His people. And that's what we're talking about. Not God changing, or changing His plan, or His purpose, or anything else, but changing His people. And therefore He leads us on from one degree of glory to another. And in leading us on, He must bring us back. Take us back to that place of consecration. Take us back to that place of anointing, that place where we met God, that place where the waters of life flowed freely. And so the Philistines had stopped the wells. They weren't able to destroy the water, but they stopped them up so that they weren't able to derive any benefit from it. And well, how well do we see throughout the land how the Philistines have plugged the waters which God intended to be springing up into everlasting life. Plugged them up with all the debris and the trash of the Philistines so that the people of God come to meetings and go away from meetings without partaking of the water of life. Because the Philistines have stopped the waters. And so Isaac recognized that, and he began to clean away the debris. And as he did, of course, trouble arose. As soon as he cleaned out a well, the Philistines came down, and they took it for themselves. And so the first well he dug, he called it Isaac, because the Philistines come and they drove Isaac's servants away. And they struggled with him until they got possession of it. And so Isaac just went away. Isaac was a meek man. He wasn't one to cause trouble. And so he just walked away from it. I know we have our rights and all that, but God's people who know him, they're not afraid to set their rights aside. You want that well? Take it. I'll dig another one. And how we've got to learn that spirit of Christ, and I know that we're learning it, and I pray that God will continue to work in our lives until we learn that general spirit of Christ. If they want it, let them have it. And so he moved on, and they had a little quarrel. A herdsman had a quarrel, but Isaac said, no, we just dig another one. And so they went and they dug another one. And they strove for that also. So he called the name of it Sitna, which means opposition or enmity. And so they just walked away from that. Isaac knew that God had plenty of water in the land. And so we're not striving to partake of blessings from God. And if somehow someone seems to deprive us of those blessings, start to fight about it, God help us to get away from the Asics and the Sitnas that we come across in our pursuit after God. We find a flowing stream, and then there's a fight. There's a quarrel. We find another one, and there's another fight. And we've gone through it. You know that. But the problem is really in ourselves. The quarrel is really in your own heart. You find yourself at enmity with a brother. Well, maybe you've got a just cause. I'm not denying that. But the chances are, the problem is within yourself. Because it does take two to make a fight. You all heard that when you were a little kid. It does. And so the problem is within yourself and within myself. And I think we've learned that, haven't we? We've discovered that. So we just move on. We don't get under bondage or condemnation because of the Asics and the Sitnas where there is a certain amount of confrontation and strife. But we've got to go on. Somewhere we'll find rest in the matter. God isn't going to deny us the presence of his Spirit because of mistakes that we've made. So they digged another well, and they called it Rehoboth. And they didn't fight for that one. And so he called it Rehoboth because he says, Now the Lord hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. And Rehoboth means broad places. So God had brought them into a broad place. I think God is bringing us into a broad place. I think he's enlarging our hearts. So it won't be so small. Enlarging our hearts. Paul said to the Corinthians, You're straightened. The word means cramped. You're hemmed in. But he says it's not in us. He says it's in your affections. Therefore he says, O be ye enlarged. Be ye also enlarged. God give us all a large heart. A large heart that isn't troubled with the petty little differences or confrontations that come up. Give us a large heart, Lord, to know that in you we find our total life and strength and blessing. You cannot disturb our spirits because God has brought us into a broad place. And when you discover your spirit getting troubled and upset and a tendency to want to justify yourself or fight back, just move on from that and find your Rehoboth, the well in a broad place. David says, Thou hast brought me into a large place. God bring us into that large place where our hearts are enlarged so that we might have room for all of God's people. And all these petty things that clutter up the wells that the Philistines are thrust in might be taken away completely. And we find ourselves in a broad place where there'll be fruitfulness. Fruitfulness in the land. God wants to bring forth fruitfulness in his people. Joseph of Joseph, it was said, he's like one that was a fruitful bough planted by a well. A fruitful bough that is planted by the well. God wants it to be planted by these wells that we might bring forth fruit. Whose branches would then go over the wall. And so Joseph became the fruitful one in the family of Jacob. The fruitful one. And his son who got, his second son who got the blessing, his name was Ephraim, which means double fruitfulness. And Joseph had the double portion because of the afflictions which he went through and came forth in victory. So there's so many things in the Old Testament along this line about the wells of God. I want to turn before we come back to John for this passage in Numbers 21 where the Lord led the people. He's leading them through the wilderness. And you know the story how on one occasion they came to this certain place where there was no water. And how the people murmured and God told Moses go and smite the rock. And he went and smote the rock and water is gushed out. Very simple wasn't it? They hadn't learned God's ways. And they murmured and complained why did you bring us to this dry place? And all the while God was seeking to show them his ways. And to show them if he brought them into a dry place it was that in that dry place he might give them refreshing water right from his own heart. And so God forbid that when the trial comes we begin to question God and allow seeds of doubt or bitterness to arise. Because down the way somewhere sometime God is going to show how that this test, this trial that he brought us through was intended of him for our benefit and for his glory. And how sad if we murmur and complain against God and then years later we discover that that's something that we needed and something that helped us and something that brought us closer to him and something that enlarged our spiritual life in him. And look back and say Lord here I was complaining and I murmured against you and all the while you had this in mind. I know that's the way it is because the Apostle Paul tells us that all things are working together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose. So we don't see how it's working together but we just know it has to be that way. And so the Lord led them and to another place he brought them the waters were bitter. And we've gone through this before. And God brought them to bitter waters not that they might partake of bitter waters but that he might give them the provision whereby the bitter could become sweet. He brought them to another place where again there was no water and God said to Moses go speak to the rock. By this time Moses was so upset and angry in his spirit with the constant murmuring of the people not only against God but against him. He took the rod and smote the rock twice when God said go speak to him. He went and smote it twice and said must we fetch water out of this rock for you rebels. He called the people of God rebels and God was angry with Moses for talking that way and for smiting the rock twice instead of speaking to it. And for that God said Moses I'm not going to let you go into the promised land for that sin that you've committed. And yet Moses had such a character before God that he didn't just pout and say all right I quit right here. If you're not taking me in I'm not going to I'm not going to lead these people any further. What a what a character the man had that he arose from that accepting it was from the Lord and continued to show mercy to the people of God and to obey God and to lead them further on in their wilderness journey. God said to Moses on another occasion now take them to this certain place and he told Moses where it was called here Beer. Beer which means well. And he says take the people here at Numbers 21 verse 16. This is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses saying gather the people together and I will give them water. And so what a thrill it was when Moses said we're going to a place that's called the well. Beer means well. Because God told me to gather the people together at this well that you might have water. What a thrill to think that God was leading them once again from a dry place to the well. And so they came to the well and there was nothing there. There was nothing there. But according to the word of the Lord he set them digging. And the nobles they were called. The nobles started to dig with their according to the commandment of the lawgiver and with their staff. Another version says they dug with their scepters and with their staff. This word lawgiver by some is translated scepter. The scepter was a symbol of power and authority that kings and rulers had. It took various forms. It was generally metal. Some hard metal on which was engraved perhaps some insignia of their tribe. It signified the power and the authority of that tribe. It could have been large or small but apparently something made of metal. Strong. Spoke of authority and power. But they also dug with their staffs or their sticks. And it was quite common in the Old Testament for people to carry a staff. So many many times they carried a staff. Moses was carrying a staff when he was out there on the mountain by Sinai when God appeared to him. And they'd carry a staff. Sometimes the elderly would carry one. They'd carry a cane or they'd carry a staff maybe to use you know going through the brush or what not to sort of clear the way. But it was just a stick. Just a very weak thing just a stick. God said to Moses what that in your hand? Just a staff. Just a stick. Cast it on the ground. And so it seems that in these two things that the people the nobles had the scepters and the staff. God was revealing the secret of their power and the secret of their authority in this particular situation. A scepter the sign of authority and the stick the symbol of weakness. And so they dug the well with that. They dug the well. That was hard work. Moses why don't you just speak to it. Just speak to it and cause water to gush out of the ground. Well God did that before but but you see we always wanted God to do something like he did it the last time. If he do it the way he did it the last time we'd have no problem. But God never does anything the second time like he did the first time. Not exactly like it. And so that that always becomes our problem. God you did this. And that's the problem with God's people in the church has been I guess since the beginning. We look back and see how wonderfully God did something back there and we we take the pattern we try and follow it and try and make it work. It worked then. Gotta work now. And that's where the church is today. They're always looking back trying to find out the key that Wesley had that Luther had that Finney had. Find that key and you can take all these rules and regulations that they gave which God ordained for that day and that hour and put it in practice today and it just won't work. Because God doesn't do anything the second time the way he did it the first time and they get frustrated about it because they can't make it work again. And so on this occasion God was requiring some effort from his people. There's no way they could make the water. But there was a secret here that somehow I spoke through Moses. Moses said here's the well. I don't see any well. Well take your scepters there and take your sticks and start digging. And so they dug a hole and now Moses says sing unto it. And Israel sang this song. Spring up oh well. Sing ye unto it. The princess digged the well. The nobles of the people digged it by the direction of the lawgiver with their staves. They digged the well. And they came there at the will of God and the leading of God to the place called well and they had to dig it themselves. And then Moses says sing unto it. Spring up oh well. Spring up oh well. You who have anointing to minister in song and music don't think it's just something incidental. When you feel of the Lord leap forth in a song you don't have to be a musician to do it. Sing unto the well. Sing unto the well. It'll cause it to rise. It'll cause it to flow through the people of God. And you've noticed that. And you've noticed that I'm sure that as we gather together and we don't use music for entertainment and to get the people excited and to get their toes tapping or to try to get them dancing although they're free to do all of those things. We're singing unto the Lord. We're seeking to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. And you know that when the song of the Lord comes forth there's a release of those springs of water. And they begin to flow. And there comes through that release of the singing a oneness in spirit. And there's a worshiping of God in spirit and in truth. And so spring up oh well within my soul. And make me whole. Spring up oh well. Empty it to me that I couldn't be. Spring up oh well within my soul. Spring up oh well and make me whole. Spring up oh well empty it to me that I could be. Thunder and light flowing out of me. Make the angel walk and the light to me. Open to the Lord and look at me. Make the angel walk and the light to me. God has drink for his people. God has provision for those who are thirsty. God has promises for those who are thirsty. Don't think if you're thirsty that God is denying you anything. Thank the Lord that you're thirsty. Because there's multitudes of people sitting in churches throughout the land today that are not thirsty. If you're thirsty for the life-giving streams of God, be thankful for that. Because God put that thirst there. If you're hungry and you come and you say oh I'm so hungry and you feel sorry for yourself, don't think I'm going to feel sorry for you. I'm happy that you're hungry. I know that if you're hungry God's got provision for you. But there's multitudes of people sitting in our churches throughout the land this morning that are not hungry. Those are the ones I feel sorry for. It is the Laodicean church that said we are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing that God was displeased with. Jesus said blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. There are special promises of God for the hungry and for the thirsty. So I don't sympathize with you when you're hungry or when you're thirsty. I pray that God will make you hungry. I pray that He will make you thirsty. Because I know that as sure as God makes you hungry and thirsty for Him, the provision is there for you. He might let you get more hungry than you want to get. He might let you get more thirsty than you want to get. But if you're hungry and if you're thirsty, God put that within your heart because He has the provision for you. As the heart panteth after the water brooks, said David, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. Here's this little heart out there in the heat looking around for water. Its heart is panting, panting for water and can't find it. David says, I'm like that, Lord. My heart panteth after thee like the heart panteth after the water brooks. My soul panteth after you in the same way. God grant that there might come upon His people that hunger and that thirst that will cause the people of God to begin to pant after the Lord. They're panting after entertainment. They want nice church buildings. They want nice structures. They like to go to a place where there's choirs and there's orchestras and there's lots of people and there's good sermons and there's a big outreach and there's lots of excitement. But God give us people whose hearts are panting after God. All they want is God. That's all David wanted was God. One thing have I desired of the Lord, said David, that one thing will I seek after. That I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. Now the temple of Solomon wasn't built yet. David wasn't permitted to build it. The only temple that David knew was the tabernacle of David which he had erected in his own yard. And there he put the Ark of the Covenant. There's a lot of teaching on the tabernacle of David today. By and large the substance of it is that you just got to praise and praise and praise God and dance before the Lord and that's the restoration of the tabernacle of David. I know worshiping God in song and singing the praises of God is part of it. But David only danced before the Lord once as far as I know when the Ark of the Covenant came back to Israel. And he put the Ark in his tent. And David's delight after that was to go in and sit down and to listen to hear what God had to say. One thing, he says, is all I desire and that is to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. May we come to that one thing. One thing. One thing is enough. You know, people want so many, many things. Many things. And God does, you know, distribute the bountiful supply of His blessings upon His people but it's all intended to bring us to that place where we have one eye single unto His glory. And so that was David's total pursuit. Jesus sat there on the well and He said to this woman, Give me to drink. Oh, you say you're thirsty. Let me tell you, Jesus is thirsty. You don't believe that? Jesus is thirsty. And He sits by Jacob's well. He sits by the, you might say, the fountain of the family of God. Jacob, who was the foundation head of the family of Israel. And He dug this well and drank thereof Himself and His servants and His sons and His cattle. Became known as Jacob's well. And Jesus was sitting by Jacob's well. He had come to bring spiritual water to the people, to the family of God. And so He sat here by Jacob's well in the will of God, moved there by the Spirit, waiting for the purpose of God to be fulfilled. And so as He sat, God had already ordained everything according to His own plan so that there would be this meeting of the one who had the need with the one who had the supply. God has that all arranged in your life and mine. You have a need, God has the supply. And the one who has the need is waiting and He wants you and I to wait. God is timing everything perfectly. Jesus sat there, the answer to every human need, just sitting, just waiting. And in the will of God and the purpose of God, a woman came forth from Samaria, a Samaritan woman from this little town nearby, to draw water. And Jesus said, give me to drink. Jesus was thirsty. Give me to drink. Oh, not really for that spiritual water, but to use that to get into the conversation whereby He would show her her need for the real water. And in supplying the real water to this woman of Samaria, His own spiritual thirst would be quenched. Because God is thirsty and God is hungry to partake of His people, to partake of fellowship, to partake of communion, to partake of that worship and adoration that can come from your heart and which delights His heart more than the praises of all the angels and archangels in heaven. Nothing He delights more than the worship and adoration that proceeds from the heart of His own redeemed ones. Because the Lord Jesus Christ does not really have fellowship with those creatures. Because they're not His kin. They're not like Him. They're of another order. But we alone, of all God's creation, were made in His image. And we alone can satisfy the heart of God. And it's often been said that man was made in the image of God and can never find rest or delight until he comes back to the heart of God and submits to God, and that's true. But man was also made for God's glory and God can never find true rest or true delight until the man whom He made in His image comes back to His heart and fellowship is restored. So God continues to be hungry for that and thirsty for that. And the woman of Samaria said unto Him, I was at the tower being a Jew, asked this drink of me, which of a woman of Samaria, for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. The Samaritans were not received by the Jews. They were a foreign people. Way back hundreds of years earlier when Israel had gone into such complete apostasy that God sent down the king of Assyria and took them off into captivity. He took all the tribes of Israel off into captivity and He replaced the towns in this particular area with people from Babylon and different parts of the realm of Assyria. Took these foreign people and He brought them up and settled them there in Samaria. And so being there in close proximity with Jerusalem and the Jewish religion, they had come to understand somewhat of the purpose of God and God's plan and they became sort of a religious people adopting the Scriptures and many of the practices that the Jews had practiced. But the Jews didn't like them of course because they were foreigners. They were intruders. They had driven Israel out of their land. But God had a purpose for them and God is beginning to open the door even to the Samaritans. And Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water? The woman says, You've nothing to draw with? You don't have a pail? You don't have a bucket? Where are you going to get this living water? Yes, I'd like that living water, but you've nothing to draw with. Don't you realize that our Lord has something to draw with? That he's seeking to draw forth a spring of water out of your life and he's got something to draw with. He's got love, he's got patience, he's got a drawing power over your life. He it is who calls you unto himself. You didn't just come to God because you thought it would be a good thing to do, but God had a way of drawing water out of that dark area of your soul where there was no water. He had a way to do it. And the way he would do it would be to implant within you a hunger that would desire something more than you had. The woman says, You've nothing to draw with. That's what she thought. And so he began to talk to her about living water. And Jesus said, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. I'm told the real meaning of the word springing up is leaping up. God puts within his people a spring that leaps up into everlasting life. It leaps and it leaps and it leaps. God grant that we might clean out all the debris that the Philistines have thrown in there. That that fountain which Jesus opened for sin and uncleanness might begin to spring up again in our lives. I'm glad the Lord showed me that thing that I've mentioned so often. People would ask me, How is it? We want to have this liberty. We want to have total freedom from sin and the carnal nature. We want to be delivered from ourselves. How is it that somehow though we know these things and we seek to pursue it, somehow we still find ourselves in areas of defeat so often? And it bothers me also when I know that in the cleansing of the blood there's sufficiency for everything. I know that there's nothing cleaner in God's sight anywhere in the universe than that heart, that redeemed heart that's washed in the blood of Christ. Couldn't be anything cleaner than that. There isn't a greater cleansing agent to be found anywhere in God's universe than in the precious blood of Christ. Yet we testify that he washes in the blood and we also recognize that there's much filthiness that abounds from time to time. We try to subdue it. And what's the answer, Lord? You've said you've cleansed us. Until I discovered, as I read there in the Old Testament, and we've mentioned it before, how that when they made the water of separation, the water of cleansing, how they would take the hyssop and the scarlet wool and they'd burn the red heifer and take the ashes and mingle it and so it became a water of cleansing. And then on another occasion they would take this turtle dove and slay it over running water and as the blood dripped down from the turtle dove they would catch it there in this vessel with well water, springing water. Living water it's called, a flowing stream. And the blood would be mingled with that and that became a water of cleansing. And so John says that blood and the water agree. They agree in one. And somehow or other, because we have not given the Spirit of the Lord His Lordship in our lives, we find ourselves heavy on the Word. We love the Word and we profess to love the Spirit. But somehow the water and the blood are not in total agreement. We haven't allowed them to flow together. God hasten that day when this stream of water that God has opened up will once again flow forth in cleansing power as we give Him His Lordship in our lives. Because I know that when Jesus died on the cross the Spirit of God was there. We're told that through the Spirit He offered Himself without blemish unto God. It wasn't just a man who was dying the penalty of your sin and mine. Though that was true. But as He died He was offering up Himself by the eternal Spirit. And as that blood flowed from His body the Spirit of God absorbed the blood of Christ into His own being so that we only partake of the benefits of the blood of Christ through the Spirit. Therefore if the Spirit of God does not have Lordship in your life and mine and in our assemblies and in our gatherings together we do not feel and know the efficacy of the blood. We know it historically. We know it happened. We know that judicially we're cleansed by the blood. But to know that constant cleansing of the stream of God we have to make room for the stream of God to flow once again in the midst of His people. Therefore we do great injustice to God and to the Holy Spirit if we just gather together with some preconceived plan and program with no thought of giving the Spirit of the Lord His Lordship in our midst. We're doing great dishonor to God. We're harming God. We're injuring God. If we come together without that one thought in our hearts and minds Lord Jesus we come here that you might have your Lordship in our midst and that the Spirit of God might flow through your people. We're denying ourselves the efficacy of the blessing of the Spirit as well as the efficacy of the blood of Christ. If we do not make room for the Spirit of God to flow in the midst of His people. Jesus says, Whosoever drinketh of this water that I shall give him shall never thirst because the water that I shall give him shall become within him a well of water leaping up unto everlasting life. I believe that as God brings us into this Rehoboth, this enlarged place you and I are going to discover a release in our own spirits as we individually make room for the Spirit of God to have His way. It's essential. There's no other way. There's no other way. I don't care if you bring in the most eloquent, the most powerful, the most mighty man of God you know of to establish a church here in Cranbrook. Get the best you can find anywhere in the continent. Get all the people together in the biggest building you've got unless you've got the flowing of the Spirit flowing through the people. All you've got is a bunch of people gathered together. You do not have a New Testament church. You do not have the temple of God where the Spirit of God exercises His Lordship. On the other hand, if you have a half a dozen people, that's why the temple of God. We want to be that temple. We want to make room for it. I thank the Lord for you people. Thank you all for coming down. The Lord opening the door for you to come down. I want to say this, that if you've appreciated the Word that has gone forth these years, it's only been because you have found in your heart a hunger and a thirsting for that Word. I mean, God gave me a kind of a ministry that if people are not hungry and thirsty for it, I can't minister it to them. That's why I haven't been out ministering. Until God raises up a people who are hungry and thirsting after Him and after truth and after His Word, I don't have it to minister to them. Therefore, I'm not anxious to go forth in ministry, but I know that if God should so desire and choose and ordain, and the time comes when there's a people of God who are really hungry and thirsting after Him, I know that I'd long to go to that place if God would send me and that there will be a release of living truth for them. And so I thank the Lord for this 14 years here in this area. I spent 14 years, I was just thinking the other day, I was 14 years in Calgary and I sort of left it feeling what desolation. You know, I ministered a very, very little while I was there. I went to church constantly, sat in the pew, listened to sermons, ministered a couple of months there in one assembly before I left. I left it feeling in the will of God I was to leave it, but really, 14 years is just, what a waste. And I did pray at that time, Lord, send me to a people who really are hungry and thirsting after you. Not knowing where I was to go, my feeling was to be in British Columbia, so I put a bed in the back of my old cargo truck and drove down through here and through Crescent and up to Princeton, thought I'd go down to the coast and just sort of try and get the feel of where I was to go and got as far as Princeton and somehow didn't feel to go any further. Drove into a gravel pit there and took a jug of water and stayed there three days or so. I felt, no, I can't go any further, got to be back here somewhere. And so somehow I got back and settled in Prince. And, oh, it hasn't been all that encouraging on many occasions, but I do know that little by little, the Lord gathered the people together. And so here in Cranbrook there's just a handful of us that gather. I'm not saying we're the body in Cranbrook and like that, but for some reason the Lord hasn't seen fit to cause others to be joined unto us in that way. I just leave it with him. It may not be his purpose, so I'm not saying any more than that. And then there's a little group in Golden that are meeting unto the Lord and a group in Fernie and a group down there in the past and a few there in Bonners and Fincher Creek. And so it's wonderful on an occasion like this when we get together and we say, well, no, we're not just a half a dozen people. Scattered throughout, there's a people whose vision is centered upon the Lordship of Christ. And they don't get frustrated and write to headquarters, please send a summon. There's a dozen people here. If you don't send a summon, they look after us. Well, we're going to get scattered. No, they're the Lord's people. They're the Lord's people. You're not my people. You're the Lord's people. And, in fact, God keep us in that state where we'll never, even if the Lord should enlarge and bring in many people into our gatherings, God guard every one of us from any thought, these are my people. These are the Lord's people. They're the Lord's sheep. And Jesus said, my sheep will hear my voice. And the strangers, they will not follow. So you get all excited, we've got to bring in somebody to look after them in case they, you know, get scattered and they get into deception or something. Jesus said, they know my voice. And the strangers, they will not follow. They know the Lord's voice. And so we can go away and leave the people. And often I've thought, well, I wonder if they'll still be gathering when I come back. Like last winter when I went to the coast and I was away several months. But I thought, well, that would be a good way, I guess, to sort of ease my way out of the situation. But gathering? No, they're still gathering. In fact, I had some good meetings. Real good meetings when I was away. And so they're the Lord's people. And so I thank the Lord for His people. And I know this, that unless there was that reaching out in your heart, that desire for God, that searching after God, that searching after righteousness, I wouldn't be able to help you. Have I helped? It's only because God has caused a hunger and a thirst to come in your own life, or I couldn't help you. I assure you of that. And so deep calleth unto deep, David says, that the sound of thy water falls. Deep calleth unto deep. And so as God puts a stream of life in you, let it flow forth. Keep away the debris of the Philistines that it might flow forth unto others, that they might partake of it. As they partake of it, God says it will become a leaping fountain. It becomes a leaping fountain in them. And so they flow forth unto others. And then they partake of it. And there cometh forth a leaping fountain in someone else. And so that together, as they corporately gather together, there's a river of living water. The streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God grant that these living streams might flow once again through His people. Be with you. Keep you. Remember us as we go. Pray for us. Uphold us. And above all things, make the Lord Jesus to be the total object of your worship and praise in all things. The Lord bless you. In the ancient of days, that's God the Father. And they brought Him near before Him. Didn't they? They sure did. And verse 14, And there was given Him... Who's Him? That's right. Dominion. And dominion involves judgment, doesn't it? Sure, the first thing a conqueror does is he comes in and judges the victims. And glory. And a kingdom that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away. And His kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed. Is that what it says? Alright, you're talking about a king. A judge. Righteousness. Alright, now. Daniel was grieved in the spirit in the midst of his body. People think when they have visions that they're going to be real happy and run around the church like Pollyanna. Not always. And the visions of my head trouble me. You have to beware of saints when they're too sweet, don't you? Saints, when they're troubled, are much nicer. I came near unto one of them that stood by and asked him the truth of all of this. So he told me and made me know the interpretation of the things. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings. And that's talking about a preceding passage. But now he's talking about the vision. And this is it. Verse 18. But the saints... Who's the one like the Son of Man? Remember our prepositions I told you in 2 Corinthians? First chapter. When he comes to be glorified, what? In. In. See, that's what he is preparing today. Not people who will rule with him, but people through whom he shall rule. Make sense? See? He's not looking for people who are imitating him, but people who are filled with him and who reveal him. That's why they can judge. Because they are part of the judge that God has appointed. And the judge is part of God himself. Is that right? Jesus is part of God himself. Is that true? He's part of the one God. Is that true? And we are part of Jesus. Is that true? You got it. Okay. Theologians are going to have to wrestle many, many years before they ever figure it out. And they've had trouble with the Trinity. What are they going to do when the Trinity is revealed in the church? Is there four gods? One God? Three gods? Four in one? One in four? What is there? One God. Revealed through Jesus. Revealed through the saints. It says that in John 17 just as clear as can be. Doesn't it? That day you shall know, John 14, that I am in my father, and you are in me, and I am in you. My father will love him. We will come unto him and make our abode with him. Where's that come from? Huh? John 14, 23. I bet I've quoted that 267 times. In the last 10 years. John 14, 23. My father will love him. We will come unto him and make our abode with him. The saints. Wake up, Hank. We're not through yet. The saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom. That's the one like the Son of Man. All right. And you go down. Verse 21. I beheld in the same horn made war with the saints, that's Antichrist, and prevailed against them until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given to Bill Campillo. Who is judgment given to? The saints. Is that what it says? How many say that's what it says? Okay. Now, who are the sinners going to stand before? Saints. Not the saints by themselves. But the saints who have gone through the processes of death. And the Lord is their mind. Like they are the Ark. You know, the Ark represents the body of the Messiah. The Messiah. And upon that crowning it is the golden mercy seat. And God wants you to be crowned with his presence and person. Not your scrambled eggs up here in your skull. See, that's what man... We've got today, we've got the head of man on the body of Christ. So that's why it's a monster. And it is a monster. Because the body is being ruled by a human brain. And God wants these scrambled eggs in here fried. And on top of our neck he wants the person and presence of the God of Israel. So we do as Jesus said. What we hear as we hear we judge. The words that we speak, we speak none of ourselves. See, James says, any man speak, let him speak as the oracle of God. See, that oracle, that's what is called in the Bible, the mercy seat is called the oracle. But we've got a ways to go, don't we? Right into God. Right into the rest of God. That's the move past Pentecost. Is into the rest of God. That's why we're in a flux. That's why we're in a turmoil. And people don't understand us. They say, what are you talking about? I don't know. All I know is that we're going into God in a greater way. Waters to swim in. Hallelujah. And again. And again. Did you notice that? Judgment is given to the saints. And in verse 27. And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom unto the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints. Now, I think a human being would rather stand before Jesus. He'd rather stand before God than before Jesus. And he'd rather stand before Jesus than before man. But the scripture has spoken. He shall stand before man. Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world. So in this company where Habakkuk said, when I heard my belly tremble, rottenness entered my bones because he saw the great people in the strong. And that's where we're sounding the alarm. These people are coming. It is not a Sunday school picnic being carried up. It is not the catching away of a waiting bride. That's a tradition. It's not true. It's the coming of a great people. Judges who will judge. Beginning with the coming of the Lord. And you say, but grace says may I not be judged. It's not scriptural. Not scriptural. Every human being shall give an account of the deeds done in his body. Every human being. And we can take care of that now if we want to by confessing our sins as the Holy Spirit brings us through judgment. Then we won't be judged in that day. But if we do not, and if we cop onto an easier way, and don't go through this bittersweet program that we're on now and stay on the track. If we do not, and we weaken and say, oh, that's too rich for my blood. I'm going to go another way. Then we will stand before saints and we will give an answer. Maybe standing before Paul or standing before some saint you never heard of from 2,000 years ago. But he will not judge you according to human judgment. He will judge you as the Spirit of God comes down through him. And you're facing that. And the only way to get out of that is by today allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work now. You must. We must confess our sins. We must come out of the world. We must allow Jesus to forgive us and to rectify our personalities. If we do not, we will be standing before a God-filled human being. A great people and a strong. When I heard my belly tremble that I might rest in the day of trouble. When he cometh he will invade them with his troops. Behold, the Lord cometh with 10,000 of his saints to execute judgment upon the ungodly and convict the ungodly of their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed. Where is that found, Dougie? Jude. Jude. Jude. The Lord comes. A great people and a strong. That's the true vision. The day of the Lord. Okay, now notice in Isaiah 42. We preached out of this many a time by God's grace. Not by our own machinations, but by the leading of the Lord with fear and trembling, not knowing what we're doing half the time. Don't say amen, Hank. No, it's not the time. It's not the time. Now, Isaiah 42. Behold, my servant is whom? Is who? Is who? Yeah, it's probably a good noun. All right. Is who? Behold, my servant. Who is the servant? I preached this so many times. Who is the servant? The Messiah. Head and body. The Messiah. Head and body. It's the servant of the Lord. All right. Now look what it says about the servant of the Lord. Verse 19. Who is blind but my servant or deaf as my messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect and blind as the Lord's servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not. Opening the ears, but he heareth not. What does that mean? What does that mean? Why is a blind man perfect? You'll meet a blind man. Why is a blind man perfect? Because, you remember, how many remember when the disciples were showing the temple to Jesus? How many remember that? The disciples were showing the temple to Jesus. And what did he say? This is marvelous. Look at this thing. What did he say? There'll not be left one stone on another. Which is true. And some of those stones weigh 30 tons. There's not one stone left on another. Do you see the difference in vision? What were the disciples seeing? They were seeing white granite bordered with gold. Shining. One of the most beautiful sights in the world. The temple. White marble and granite and gold. The temple. But Jesus didn't see that, did he? He was blind to the glory of man. He didn't see Herod's temple. He saw by the eye of the Spirit. Jesus didn't hear what men were saying. He heard what? What the Father was saying. And that's why he judged righteous judgment. See, he said, if I judge my own judgment, it's not righteous, but I judge righteous judgment. I judge righteous judgment. Now, we all the time judge unrighteously, don't we? Huh? We criticize people and we don't know what we're talking about. Do we? We don't know why they do what they do. We're not hearing from the Lord, are we? Huh? We're judging after the sight of our eyes. We're not blind. We see because we walk in the light of this world. That's why Jesus accused the Pharisees. He'd say, if you were blind, you'd have no sin. But now you say we see. Therefore, your sin remains. Because they're walking in the light of this world. They're judging. We do that all the time as church people, don't we? We see somebody behave in a certain way. And then we make a judgment. We say, this is why they did it. We have no idea why they did it. We just figure, well, they did it, and then we've got grist for our meal, don't we? We've got something juicy to talk about. Just like a dog will go and get some old bone, and maybe there's two or three molecules left of marrow in it. He'll dig it up. And he'll chew on that thing just like he had good sense. Did you ever see a dog do that? Huh? Chew on an old... You never saw that, Toretta? You never saw a dog chew on an old dirty bone? Oh, you haven't lived yet. He'll get an old bone and chew on that thing. That's just like a person gets some tidbit of gossip, you know. I mean, he's got maybe two molecules of marrow left in him. He'll draw that out, get a whole steak dinner. Just chew, just chew on that thing. That's so good. I'll tell you who else is chewing on it. It's the accuser of the brethren. He's chewing on things. But when we see somebody do something, and we go to God, sometimes God tells us something different, doesn't he? Sometimes God tells us something different. And that's a death, isn't it? To refrain from jumping off and entering into our nice juicy bone. And to hold our spirit in check. And to bring that before God. And to refrain from entering into the spirit of accusation. Huh? And go before the Lord. Then we find a whole different ballgame, don't we? We find a whole different ballgame. Because we find that the Lord won't let us sit in harsh judgment on another. For one thing. And many times then the Lord will give us a prayer. And we can pray for that person. What is wrong with me? Where have I been? Why wasn't I praying for him all the time? Because you were snookered by Satan. That's right, you were snookered by him. And he catches us, doesn't he? Because we're not prayerful. The first thing you know, we're going right down the primrose path, joining in with the demons, tearing the church apart. Isn't that right? But when we begin to grow in the Lord, we're not taken that easy. Not that easily. Not that easily. We've learned. When we begin to feel that negative, critical thing, we go to the Lord and say, Lord, what is your judgment on this? How are you viewing this? God told me some interesting things when I did that. Interesting things. When you could be quick to pass a judgment as a pastor, you could be quick to make a decision. And, you know, maybe use your authority in a destructive way. And God has taught me some things about people. It's not maudlin. It's not, oh, everybody's nice and they're doing right, and you should love everybody. God doesn't talk in church platitudes. But he gives me, and he will you too, and does, understanding in how you do proceed mentally and how you address yourself to things so that you can stay peaceful and with a good attitude, a good, wholesome attitude that will be helping people and not destroying them. Because God is anxious that everyone be built up as much as they are willing to be built up. And God's great Father heart goes out to people, doesn't it? Do you ever have two, a brother and a sister, and one will run to you, run to mother, run to dad, and say, do you know what he did? And it may have been terrible. He may have stole something. He may have ripped out a string of profanity like a Marine Corps drill sergeant. And they expect mother to be pleased because they came and got the tattle, didn't they? But you see, the mother is not pleased because that's her child also. And so that's another nail in her coffin, another thorn in her crown because she takes no delight in finding that the brother or sister took delight in finding something wrong with their brother or sister and reporting it. They took delight in that. Just like an adult will take delight in finding some juicy jelly bean that you want. But when you bring it before God, you begin to sense that God is not taking delight in it because that is his child. And he wished they would do better. And so we learn a lot of things, don't we? One time I was brought up short. I heard the Lord, I thought, maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed to me like I heard the Lord talking to Adam. And I always pictured Adam of all, oh boy, the trouble you caused, man. Why couldn't you have, you know, cut the grand poupon in a better way than that? You know, blow the whole thing for all of your descendants. I was still picking up the tab for Adam. Oh boy, who needs a guy like that? And then one time I heard, I thought I heard the Lord speaking to Adam. And he said, Adam. Boy, what was conveyed in that one word. And I realized the grief, you know, the grief that even though God knew he was going to sin, even though God made it possible, as it were, for him to sin, yet even so, when he did, God said, Adam. Because the Bible says Adam was the son of God. And God was feeling just like you would if you went and found that your son had stole something or done some terrible thing. You know, everybody else is saying, you're too easy on people. Put him in the adult prison. He's 16 and six foot four. But his mother, he's still her little teddy bear sensitive darling. But she doesn't want him tried as an adult in adult court, does she? She wants him in the juvenile court. But everybody else reads the paper and they say, try him like an adult. Get tough. Let's show him. Until it's your sensitive child. Boy, doesn't that change things? How many know that changes things? Yeah? Every mother and every dad in the house that's ever gone to court with your son knows that that changes things. Yeah? No matter what they've done, that changes things. That's the same way when we're criticizing another Christian. We go before God and God hears that. And it grieves him, doesn't it? We say, throw the book at them. They deserve it. But God doesn't feel that way. Isn't that right? Amen. Oh, hallelujah. Oh, Lord, we do thank You, Father. We know that Your love and Your holiness makes us all appear at times as so many brute beasts, Lord. Your nature and the love and the mercy and the holiness of God makes us appear as the clods that we really are. And yet, Lord, You love us. We call You Abba because You have begotten us by the Spirit of God. And we no longer are just the children of Adam, but we now are also the sons of God by birth, by true birth, and not just by some lesser means. Father, we thank You that the divine nature is in us calling unto You constantly and as the flesh is battling, so Your life within us is battling to come to full term. Oh, Lord, we love You tonight. Hallelujah. Let's stand in the presence of the Lord. God, the thing. You have called us out of this world. Oh, hallelujah. Oh, hallelujah. And that You are making us judges, not judges that judge with the harshness of the flesh, but judges that judge by the Spirit of God. Because, judges that judge in the fullness of the compassion and the fullness of the wrath and the fullness of the wisdom of God, because it's not us, Lord, but it's You in us. Oh, Lord, help us in this hour to press into the fullness of that which is being offered to us, Lord. Oh, hallelujah, Lord. Grant, Lord, that the pressures of the world this day shall not have succeeded in robbing us, Lord, of our zest, of our delight, Lord, in pressing into the processes of death that we truly may live, not as animals, but as sons of God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, we love You, Lord. Now I pray You'll give rest to everyone in this assembling. Supernatural rest, Lord. Rest that cannot be gained had they spent the time at home watching the television. Lord, refresh them and honor them. I pray each one who has come tonight, Lord, with supernatural health and supernatural rest, Lord, that they'll know that a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. We love You, Lord. Refresh us for the battle tomorrow and help us, Lord, to go forth. Hallelujah. With the divine glory of God upon our necks, Lord, not just the brains of man, but the glory of the eternal God. Hallelujah. With our bodies, Lord, refresh spiritually and supernaturally. Oh, hallelujah. Forgive us, Lord, our shortcomings. Wash our feet and make us by all means, Lord, forgiving of everyone, slow to criticize, quick to forgive, quick to put the best possible frame on every situation. Oh, hallelujah. Grant that, Lord, that we may be like You, Lord. Oh, hallelujah. Never rejoicing in evil, but always rejoicing in the truth, Lord. Oh, we love You tonight, Lord. Make us more like Yourself for having been here tonight. And bring us into total union with You, Lord. Oh, that You may come and render in the earth Thy judgment, O Lord. Oh, hallelujah. Hallelujah. Peace, peace, wonderful peace Coming down from the Father above Sweep over my spirit forever In fathomless belows of love Hallelujah, hallelujah Oh, Thou art worthy Wonderful, Jesus. I'm going to ask Doug Bellamy, if he will, to thank God tonight and pray for us. We pray, Lord, that You sight of all our calling up before us, Lord, that You might glisten in our eyes, Lord, that we might run after with all of our might, Lord, and count all else to be nothing, Lord. Father, we submit ourselves to You this night as Your people for each one, Lord. We pray, Lord, that it comes to You with a sincere heart tonight, Lord. We ask that You would grant them understanding concerning Your will for their life, Lord. We pray, Lord, that You would open up Yourself to them, Lord, and give them insight that they might grasp what it is that they should do in the here and in the now, Lord, and grant that not one of us will miss that thing for which we were created, Lord, the very purpose for which You have made us. We pray, Lord, that our lives might be a sweet-smelling savor, and that we might bring pleasure to You, Jesus, help us to forsake, Lord, those things that would in any wise hinder, Lord, Jesus, and grant, Lord, that we might be sped along according to Your purposes, Lord, and not according to our own mind, Lord, or our own thinking, Lord, but according to Your wisdom, Jesus. Now give us wisdom tonight, Lord, and if there be anything, Lord, in any of our lives that is standing in the way, Lord, we pray that it might be removed utterly, Lord. Just take it out of the way, Jesus. Take it from us, Lord. We don't want it, Lord. If it's not of You, we say, Lord, take it in Jesus' name and give us Your will, Lord. We want to depart in peace, Lord, after our eyes have seen Your salvation, in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless everyone.