John 7:37-40 (KJV) says, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.”

When the Spirit of Christ resides within the believer, then he or she cannot help but for rivers of living water to flow out of them! This is a picture of heaven when rivers of living water flow from the throne of God (Revelation 22:1). In other words, God’s throne must be established in our hearts, and when it is, we will bring life to others through Jesus Christ. How is God’s throne established within us? First of all, God inhabits, or is enthroned by, the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). He lives within our praise! When are hearts are not filled with complaining, murmuring and doubting, which are attitudes the enemy inhabits, but rather the praises of our God, then He will choose to abide in such a bodily temple!

Secondly, God’s throne is founded in righteousness and justice (Psalm 89:14). The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts us of righteousness, sin and judgment (John 16:8). If the Holy Spirit is present, He will draw us to the Father’s heart and allow us to surrender our righteousness, which is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and exchange it for the righteousness of Christ! He will cause to abide in the fear and reverence of the LORD in such a way that we will love what He loves and hate what He hates! We will long for injustice to be overthrown so that the truth wins out in all things. We will stand for what is right in God’s eyes, even if it is not popular! Once this attitude, belief and character becomes the norm, we will be in a position to where we can bring life and hope to others!

In Revelation 22:2, on both sides of the river of life are trees of life, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. This is a picture of carrying a continual source of revival where others can be planted and even be healed, or made whole, in Christ! Others should be able to take root in Jesus Christ because of what is flowing out of us! We do not carry a “pond”, but “rivers” flow from us. A pond becomes stagnant because nothing is flowing out of it. If are always receiving in church or from God and we never pouring out into the lives of others, we will become stagnant and may not provide a true source from which to drink! We can no longer be satisfied with lukewarm, status quo Christianity, filled with dead dreams and a hopeless tomorrow. Instead, we should pray often for our hearts to be filled with the Spirit of God and ask God to provide opportunities for us to minister to others in their times of need!

Notice something else in John 7. Obviously, when Jesus was talking about rivers of living water, He was referring to the Holy Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit was not yet given because Jesus had not yet been glorified, which is signified through His death on the cross. Is it possible the Holy Spirit is not flowing through us because we are not glorifying and honoring Jesus the way that we should? It is time we consistently have a melody of praise in our hearts, glorifying Jesus as the King of Kings and LORD of LORDs, and refusing to give the enemy any room to operate in our lives through gossip, slander and negativity! Revival is NOW!