Please open your Bibles to Revelation 22. I'll be reading verses 1 through 5. This is the inerrant, all-sufficient, sweeter-than-honey Word of God. Revelation 22 verse one. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

In the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations, and there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. They shall see his face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there They need no lamp nor light of the Sun for the Lord God gives them light and They shall reign forever and ever Let's pray Father we praise you that you are a fountain of living waters every day, every moment of the day, and for all eternity. Lord help us to drink of that river, to see its beauty and glory, and also to drink of it ourselves, to be satisfied with the fullness of your house, to feed upon your word now.

Amen. Please be seated. So these five verses actually continue the context. They bring us to the final statement about the city of God in the new heavens and in the new earth. And these verses continue to explain God, his attributes, and how his attributes are meant to flow to the hearts of sinners.

But of course you know this already, this whole section is all about the bride. Earlier in chapter 21, let me show you the bride. And so what's so remarkable about this section is that it shows you how God treats his bride. It's so compelling and it's so beautiful. And We learn that his infinite attributes are delivered to the hearts of those who are the bride, to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this is the last scene in the life of the bride, these first five verses in Revelation. And what you find is that the bride is, she's in a garden. She is drinking and being nourished from a river and there's a tree that bears fruit all the time. It never stops And you have God's face and you have his reign. That's the chapter.

We're just going to be focusing on verse one this morning. But This is the life of the bride in the city, in the garden, in the mountain. This is a picture of the Church of Jesus Christ. And it really describes many things, but I think what is outstanding and helpful for us to understand that there is the doctrine of the attributes of God. There are many attributes of God.

If you read books on the attributes of God, They're wonderful. A.W. Tozer's first volume has 11 attributes of God. A.W. Pink's volume on the attributes of God has 45.

But his attributes are infinite. They're absolutely beyond what we can even describe in human language. Here, one of his attributes is that he's an ever-flowing river of life. That's what he is. And his beauty can never be completely understood or examined or cross-examined.

It's so vast, it's infinite. And the Bible takes over 1, 100 chapters to try to describe the infinite beauty and glory of God. And of course, when you gather as a church, that's what you want. You want to see God. I hope you've come here to see God.

That's really all that we have to offer. And in this section in Revelation 21 and 22, the whole section is about the regeneration, the new heavens and the new earth. And what God Has been doing and what he will do for for all eternity This is life in the city of God. This is the life of the bride This is how God treats his bride Many of you have brides. I hope you treat your bride as good as God treats his bride.

You know, we've been talking about the fact that everything in Revelation 21 and 22, you've already seen. You've already seen it on the earth, but it's also in heaven. And we've also been trying to communicate the fact that heaven shouldn't be some ethereal ghost-like thing in your mind. It's very concrete. There's very specific things that are happening there.

And the reality is You've already seen them happen here on the earth. You've already seen trees bear fruit. You've already seen rivers. You've already seen mountains. You've already seen God wipe your tears from your eyes.

You've already seen God heal your body. You've already seen that here. The things that you experience here are experienced in heaven maximally and perfectly. Heaven will not be so strange to the true Christian. It will be astounding.

It'll be more than you ever dreamed but it'll be like what you experienced that's why the Lord Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It's heaven that we bring down. In our prayers we're bringing heaven down. In fact this is prayer week for those of you who are following us in prayer week, the whole theme of prayer week is bring heaven down. That's right out of Matthew chapter six, Jesus teaching his disciples to bring heaven down.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as is in heaven. God has given his people in the world to make a little piece of heaven on earth. That's what God's people do and it's such a thrilling section. You know I was reading in my devotions this this week and Matthew Henry said when God designs mercy he stirs up prayer That's prayer week. God is designing mercy to fall down upon you in the everyday situations that you're in.

And he desires for heaven to come down. So don't think of heaven as some ethereal thing. You're not like Casper the friendly ghost floating around in ethereal nothingness no it's concrete and it's real And you're experiencing Fortes of heaven Earth is a foretaste heaven is a magnet And so we're here to speak of that. You know, I'm reminded of the song Sands of Time. By the way, by Sammy Rutherford, that's our hymn of the month next month.

We'll start singing it next week. Here's a line out of that song. Oh Christ, he is the fountain, a deep sweet well of love. The streams on earth I've tasted, more deep I'll drink above. You'll taste the streams of living water right here.

But they won't be quite as wonderful and they certainly won't be as perfect as they will be in heaven. So understanding revelation is very critical. Now, also I wanna just remind us that Genesis and Revelation are bookends of the Bible. It's helpful to understand how your Bible is constructed. The Bible starts with a garden and a paradise and a mountain and gold and a river and a tree and the presence of God.

And that's exactly how the Bible ends in Revelation. The Bible ends in a garden with a river on a mountain and God is there and there's the tree of life that bears fruit. The Bible ends and begins the same way. And so Genesis is the book of beginnings and Revelation is the book of the end. But it's interesting, you know, we do taste the joys of heaven here on earth in so many different ways in light, in water, in tastes, in people, and all kinds of things.

But on earth the satisfactions fade. You know the sights and the sounds and the relationships are wonderful, but they can also lose their glory on earth. They might even tarnish. You know, people experience this all the time when they when they buy something. There's actually scientific data that people experience satisfaction.

They experience a sense of euphoria when they buy something. They've waited for it, it finally comes and now they have it and it's just so exciting for a while and then they want a new rush, so they have to buy something else, and they get a slight rush out of that, and then it fades, and then they get their eyes on something else, and there's another rush, and then it fades, and then it fades, and it happens, step and repeat. That's the story of our lives. Because the glories of earth fade, but they never fade in heaven. That's just such a great difference.

So this is the conclusion of chapter 21. You know how Revelation is constructed. We've spoken about it. The first three chapters are specific instructions to the seven churches of Asia, and then from chapter four all the way to chapter 20 are these cycles of history that end finally in the destruction of the devil. And then at the very end here in chapters 21 and 22 we find the new heavens and the new earth.

And paradise was begun in Genesis, and paradise is lost in the world. And then it is regained in Revelation 21 and 22. And it all ends in a garden. It's very interesting that The Bible has something like 1, 180 some chapters. Only two chapters at the beginning and two chapters at the end describe life without the fall.

And the rest of the Bible speaks of the struggle with the fall. In Genesis you find a garden and all is perfect and there's no sin there. And at the very end you have these last two chapters, just four chapters in the Bible speaking of the perfection, the first two and and the last two. I like what Richard Barcellos says about this, he says the Bible goes from garden to glory, from one temple to another, from the temporary to the permanent, from good to better, from Eden to New Jerusalem, from creation to new creation via redemption by Christ. And frankly, all of life in the world for the Christian is to restore Eden, is to bring heaven down.

That's our life. We're always in a restoration process in the Christian life. Christians are restorers. And we're restoring the garden. When you become a Christian, you begin restoring the glory of the Garden of Eden again.

And Sin progressively is pushed out of your life. Remaining sin is despised and you turn away by repentance and you're bringing the garden back. The Bible really is about the restoration of the garden from the fall. Your home is a garden. Your family is a garden.

It's meant to be a restoring garden. That's why J.R. Miller expressed it like this. He said, The first home was a garden. Every home should be a garden spot.

An important part of our work in this world is garden making. We ought to make our homes as beautiful as we can. We may be very plain, perhaps only two or three rooms, but we should put into them all the lovely things we can gather. Our first home in this world was in Eden. We should try to make our homes Edens.

Amen to that. Isn't God good to give such good things to his children? To actually bring heaven down. What a life. Well let's get into the text here.

Verse 1, and he showed me a pure river of water of life clear as crystal proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Now notice the very first words, the first four words, and he showed me. Remember this is an angel, he's showing John what is real and what is true and what is to come. And this is a picture. John is being shown a picture.

Revelation is a book of images. It's a book of scenes. It's a book of pictures. It's doctrine in images. It's pictorial theology It's truth visualized.

That's why so many Authors about Revelation say that it's the perfect book for children because it illustrates the doctrine. The children see the pictures and they can see the doctrine and Revelation of course is in apocalyptic language. It's the language of prophecy which is the language of imagery. But here, John sees, again, it's something that he sees, and so we're trying to see what John has been shown by the angel. And it is a pure river.

Every home should be a pure home. Every heart should be a clean heart because this is a clean river. The things that come from God are cleansing. It's a supernatural river. It's a supernatural river.

It comes from the throne of God. It does not have input. It's just flowing out of a throne. It's very interesting when you get to Ezekiel, he speaks of this river. It's a river that's so supernatural that it's just coming out with no input and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

Most rivers get smaller and smaller and smaller. This river gets bigger and bigger and bigger because it's a supernatural river. It's clear as crystal. It's like the gold of the streets. Remember, the gold is transparent.

You've never seen gold like that. It's absolutely astonishingly beautiful. Remember, the Jasper in the foundation of the New Jerusalem was also clear as crystal. This is Jasper, but it's better Jasper than you've ever seen. It's more stunning, it's more appealing.

This is apocalyptic literature. It's figurative language to help us to understand. But it's crystal clear water. It's so beautiful to see crystal clear water. I remember years ago we were skin diving in Florida in this absolutely crystal clear river, just floating down this river, it seemed like for miles.

And then it opened up and way off you could see manatee swimming in this crystal clear water. It was just amazing. But there's something so beautiful and compelling about crystal clear water. That's what this is. This is the life of God.

This is how God treats his bride. He treats his bride to crystal clear water. And it's the water of life. You know, we've already been exposed to this in Revelation 21 where Jesus is promising the waters of life to everyone who thirsts. He says, I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

That's the call of the gospel. Are you thirsty? In Revelation 22, 17 is the very last mention of this river of water of life. The spirit and the bride say come, and let him who hears say come and let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires let him take the water of life freely.

Now also Notice where the water comes from. It comes out of the throne of God. It's flowing out of the throne. Throne is mentioned over and over in Revelation. But out of God's throne, out of God's authority is refreshing.

God's authority is refreshing. It's like a river of water of life. This is the life-giving promise of God. Now, it's interesting when you read about these similar scenes in the Bible. In Eden, remember, the water's flowing out of the garden.

In Ezekiel, we'll get to that in a minute because we're gonna read Ezekiel 47. In Ezekiel, the water is flowing out of the temple and now the water is flowing out of his throne. Isn't that interesting? God is just trying to tell us what he's like when you worship him in his temple. That's his agenda with us is to flow waters of life, that our lives are to be like a garden of Eden and where his water is flowing.

But it's proceeding from the throne of God. The most beneficial thing you can ever do in your life is to put yourself under God's authority because God's authority is so good. It's like a river of water of life. Nobody loses by putting themselves under God's authority. People are afraid of God's authority though.

Everybody before they become a Christian is afraid of God's authority because they think that he's gonna rain on their parade. Well, he's gonna reign on the bad parts of their parade. And he's gonna give life to every good thing. God's authority is good. Don't ever be afraid of God's authority.

Don't ever be afraid of the command of God, don't ever be afraid of a law of God. Every law of God is a law of love. That's what the Bible teaches, it is. But the authority of God is not oppressive. The authority of God is freeing.

The authority of God is not crushing to the soul. It's comfortable for the soul. The authority of God is not burdensome. One of the brothers just early this morning when we were in this room was quoting Jesus who said, take my yoke upon you and learn from me for my burden is light. His authority is not a heavy handed authority.

And it's actually light to the soul. It, it, it makes the soul want to soar. It's enlightening with light and it lightens the burden of life. If you desire God's authority this morning, you're desiring God's abundance. You're desiring the rivers of the water of life.

God's authority is such a good authority. I mean, that's what it actually means to be a Christian, is you say, Lord, my authority is stinkin' lousy. Yours is good. I'm so tired of exercising my authority over my life, I need you, I need a ruler, I need a king, and it's not me. And the person who becomes a Christian, that's what they're saying, that they need, they need a river of water of life from the throne of God.

They need God's throne. Also too here is the doctrine of the Trinity. Just in this very first verse, you have the throne of God, and of the lamb, you have the father and the son and Then you have the water. That's the Holy Spirit Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. In this one verse is the doctrine of the Trinity, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit as the water of life.

Jonathan Edwards made this very clear. He says, this river is the river of God's pleasures. It is the Holy Spirit and therefore proceeds both from the Father and the Son, from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The fountain of all good flows out of this stream. Christ himself has told us what the water is, or which is the same thing, the water of life.

That is, it's the Holy Spirit. Well, you know what the fruit of the Spirit is. It's all good. God's authority is all good. And this is the doctrine of the Trinity encapsulated in this one image of the water of life.

You know, water means so much to us. It refreshes us, it keeps us alive. You can live for a while without food, but you can't live very long without water. Water, one of the things I love about water is water is a medium that carries you and you can swim in it. It's a medium that has substance and you can actually travel in it and it holds you up to some degree.

And you can glide on it and you can paddle on it and you can water ski on it, and you can even snow ski on that water in a different form. Water is just so, water carries you. Water sustains you. Water feeds you, keeps you alive. That's the imagery.

We're given this image to help us understand God. This is a picture of what God wants to do to his bride and what he is like. Matthew Henry, all our springs of grace, comfort, and glory are in God, and all our streams from him are through the mediation of the lamb. Because you notice in the text that the water is flowing from the throne of God, but did you notice it's always also flowing from the lamb, out of the lamb. I mean, can you try to picture that?

Water is flowing out of the lamb of God. Well, you know, Jesus isn't a lamb. He's like a lamb. And it's like flow at water flowing out of the lamb. Out of Jesus Christ is flowing rivers of living water.

Out of the throne of God, out of the authority of God, flows rivers of living water. All of it's life giving, Jesus Christ gives life. Jesus said, I came that they might have life. That's the water flowing out of the Son of God. Let's walk through this doctrine from Genesis to Revelation.

Open your Bibles to Genesis chapter two. Genesis two, fine verse nine. Is the testimony, the first mention of this river, Genesis 2, 9, and out of the ground, the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now, a river went out of Eden to water the garden and from there it parted and became four river heads.

The name of the first was Pishon. It is the one which skirts around the whole land of Havilah where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Delium and the Onyx stone are there. So in the midst of this garden there's a river and and this river is this it seems like a supernatural river because it It branches out and it branches into four rivers.

It gets bigger. And it's very, the language is almost identical to the earlier parts of Revelation 21, where you have gold and you have a mountain. The water is flowing down. It's on a higher plain. It's a mountain garden temple in Genesis.

The very same thing that you have in heaven. And so there you have water that waters the whole face of the ground and it gets bigger and bigger. That's the first mention. We are in the second to the last mention of this river in Revelation 22. It's mentioned twice in Revelation 22.

Open your Bibles to Ezekiel 47. Ezekiel 47, we're gonna look at verses one through 10. You know, the water flows out of a garden in Eden, the water flows out of a temple in Ezekiel. By the way, Ezekiel 40 through 47 is an elaborate description of the temple of God. All the things that come out of the temple of God are in those chapters in Ezekiel.

These are all foretastes. These are all things that are fulfilled in the prophecy in Revelation 22. This is so compelling. Verse one in Ezekiel 47. Read along with me.

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east. The water was flowing from under the right side of the temple south of the altar. He brought me out by the way of the north gate and led me around on the outside of the outer gateway that faces east. And there was water running out on the right side and when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand he measured 1, 000 cubits and he brought me through the waters the water came up to my ankles again he measured 1, 000 and brought me through the waters and the water came up to my knees Again he measured 1, 000 and brought me through the waters and the water came up to my knees. Again he measured 1, 000 and brought me through the water and the water came up to my waist.

You notice the water's getting deeper. It's just like the river in Eden and it's just like the river in Revelation, verse five. Again, he measured 1, 000. And it was a river that I could not cross, for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. And he said to me, son of man, have you seen this?

Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. When I returned there along the bank of the river were very many trees on one side and the other. Then he said to me, this water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves wherever the rivers go will live.

Wherever the rivers of the water of life go, there's life. There will be a very great multitude of fish, that's you, you're the fish, You're the Gentiles. A very great multitude of fish because these waters go there. For they will be healed and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen shall stand by it from Ngedi to in Eglaim and they will be places for spreading their nets.

Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many, but its swamps and marshes will not be healed. They will be given over to salt. Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary.

Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine. The refreshment of the soul, the medicine of the soul, the life of the soul in man's heart is here. Lots of fish swimming in that water. And so there you have cleansing from the temple of God and healing. And then, let's go to Psalm 46.

This river of water of life is for gladness in a time of trouble, of time of fear. A time when the nations are coming unglued. A time when armies are marching. A time when there's instability in the world. It's a time of upheaval.

This river of water flows there. You know, it's very interesting when an enemy lays siege to a city, they often destroy the water supply. Or they'll pollute it. In Psalm 46, the context really is most likely Sennacherib surrounding Jerusalem. It's recorded in 2 Kings 19.

But Psalm 46 really gives the context. And of course, the end of it is, be still and know that I am God. Why? Why? God is our refuge and strength, the very present help and trouble.

Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though its waters roar and be troubled, though its mountains shake with its swelling." Selah. And then he says, there's a river. There's a river. There's a river in the midst of the tumult. There's a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High, just like in Ezekiel, where it's flowing from the temple.

The tabernacle, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High, just like in Ezekiel, where it's flowing from the temple, the tabernacle, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved. God shall help her just at the break of dawn. This river flows all through the troubles of your life. It also keeps you from withering.

Open your Bibles to Psalm 1. This river keeps you from withering. It not only carries you through the trials and tribulations of your life where things are coming unglued, it also keeps you from withering. Psalm 1. This is the person whose delight is in the law of the Lord and he's meditating on it day and night.

This is why you should meditate on a day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in its season, whose leaf shall not wither, and whatever he does he shall prosper." So this river of water of life keeps you from withering. It helps you to prosper. And then There's the transforming power of water. Isaiah 35, turn to Isaiah 35.

Find verse one in Isaiah chapter 35. Here you have transformation. The wilderness becomes a wasteland. Isaiah 35. The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice Even with joy and singing the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it the excellence of Carmel and Sharon they shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God.

Now skip down to verse six. The lame shall leap like a deer, the tongue of the dumb sing. Why? For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The parched ground shall become a pool and the thirsty land springs of water.

In the habitation of jackals where each lay, there shall be grass with reeds and rushes." This is such a beautiful picture. You have these despised animals, these unclean animals, these jackals, the jackals are there. The despised animals you don't want around because they're so bad, they're so offensive. But they're the jackals. The jackals get living water and they begin to eat even the jackals The sinful of this world when they drink of the living water everything changes There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

It's no longer desolate. There are no, if you read the context here in Isaiah, there's sections that are connected here in Isaiah. What you have is these wasteland bombed out cities, and the jackals and the owls and the snakes are there. But then the water starts flowing, and they're all satisfied. There's everlasting joy in the desert where the rivers of water of life flow.

A highway shall be there verse 8 and a road and it shall be called the highway of holiness and then the last well verse 10 The ransom of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing. With everlasting joy on their heads, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Behold your God. This is the treatment that God has for his bride. This is how God exercises his authority in your life.

He gives living water. He gives living water. You ask for bread, he doesn't give you a stone. He gives you bread. If you go to Isaiah chapter 43, I'll just read it.

I will make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isn't that just like Revelation? You have a street, you have the road, and you have the rivers. The rivers in the desert, the beast of the field shall honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to my people, my chosen, this people whom I formed for myself, they shall declare my praise. God is so kind to jackals and ostriches and owls and snakes.

He redeems them and then he gives him water This is the salvation of God. This is the gospel. This is the kingdom of God In Joel chapter 3 the spirit is prophesied as being poured out. And I'll just read to you what happens. Well, it's called the fruitfulness of Eden in Joel 3, 18.

And it will come to pass in that day in the day of the coming of christ and the outpouring of the holy spirit That the mountains shall drip with new wine The hills shall flow with milk And all the brooks of juda shall be flooded with water A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord and water from the valley of the Acacius." Water is so good, it's so life-giving. That's why God told husbands to wash their wives in the water of the word, because it's refreshing, it's helpful to them. That's what husbands should do with their authority, is to wash their wives with the water of the word. The tragedy is that you have in the Bible this testimony of people rejecting the waters. In Isaiah chapter eight, verse five, the tragedy is framed in that they have refused the gentle waters of Shiloha.

They've refused the consolation and the calming effect of forgiveness and having the truth of God. These people refused the waters of Shiloh that flow softly. When you refuse the water of life, you're refusing the gentle waters that flow, that flow around every part of your life and just cleanse it like water does. Water is a cleansing agent. If it just keeps flowing, it just keeps cleaning.

You know, and the parts per million of impurities Are washed away and you have pure water That's this is the life of God in the soul of man This is what God does to his bride. Isaiah 48, 18 speaks of how tragic this is. Oh, that you had heeded my commandment, then your peace would have been like a river. Your peace would have been like a river. You could have had peace every day of your life and you rejected it.

You could have had the word of God and the spirit of God guiding you every day, comforting you, leading you, teaching you, illuminating you, you could have had that every day. He says, oh, that you had heeded my commandments, then your peace would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 17, we learn that people will be ashamed of rejecting the living water. The danger of rejecting the water of life is so clearly spoken. Oh Lord of hosts, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be ashamed.

Those who depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord the fountain of living waters." You don't want to forsake the fountain of living waters. No, you don't. Because you can drink of them every day. Salvation is secured by living water. Jesus said to Nicodemus, most assuredly I say to you unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit. You must be born again by the Spirit of God. Water symbolizes the work of the Spirit in the Gospel of John. Titus talks about it as the washing of regeneration. This is a cleansing agent.

The Holy Spirit causes you to be born again and you are washed. In 1 Corinthians chapter six, verse nine, Paul is telling the Corinthian church about themselves. He's giving them a biography And he's saying, you know, some of you, you used to be fornicators and idolaters and homosexuals and sodomites and thieves. You used to be covetous. You used to be drunkards.

You used to be revilers. You used to be extortioners. And you know that those people can never inherit the kingdom of God. But he says, but you, you and Corinth, something happened. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God, washed by the Spirit of God.

You know, a sinner, a guilty sinner, an extortioner, an adulterer, a homosexual can be washed. That's a miracle. Also, your conscience can be washed. In Hebrews 10 22, we read, let us draw near with a pure, a true heart in full assurance, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Even the innermost meditations of your heart and your conscience, your messed up conscience, can be washed.

The problem with our conscience, even though it's a gift of God, is that sometimes our conscience has become defiled. Our consciences are wrong. You can't always rely on your conscience even though God gave it to you, but he also gave you a conscience that he might cleanse your conscience and make your conscience have the impulses that he has. Impulses that he has. The Lord Jesus Christ was at the at a feast the great he was the great day of the feast the Pentecost the feast and he cried out at the feast he says if anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink he who believes in me as the scripture has said out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

And then John interprets it, he says, this he spoke of the Spirit. This is the Spirit of God. You know, that's how a home can be like a little place of heaven, particularly when the parents are filled with the Holy Spirit of God. When they're filled with the Holy Spirit of God, they create a little world of love because the fruit of the Spirit is love. You can always tell when the flesh is operating in your house, where love and peace and patience is gone.

But this is the Spirit of God making a little piece of heaven. It's the Spirit of God bringing heaven down. It's the Spirit of God manifesting on earth as it is in heaven, where there's a river of water of life. And that's why Jesus said, Unless one is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. So those are just some of the high points of a biblical theology of the river of the water of life beginning in Genesis, where the water flows out of a garden.

And then moving on to the water flowing out of the temple as in Psalm 46 and in Ezekiel 47. And then finally, flowing from the authority of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Well these are the attributes of God that are meant to flow in the world. We need God. This church needs God.

I need God. I need that river of living water, and so do you. And God has made it so that in a local church the rivers flow to one, all around one another. The jackals and the ostriches and the snakes get living water flowing around them. That's what's gonna happen today as we fellowship together.

Some of the most beautiful words ever written are, I will give of the water of life to everyone who thirsts. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the beauty of your word. It describes reality. It shows us what's true.

And it draws us up to see everlasting joy. Lord, while glory fades as it did in Moses' face when he beheld your face, Our glory fades too, but with the Holy Spirit it need not fade like that. And we are so thankful that someday it'll never fade. Amen.