The Fountain of Living Waters cont...

OTHER BROKEN CISTERNS

Loving this world and the things of this world is drawing from a broken cistern that cannot truly satisfy; in fact it, like a broken cistern has less and less to satisfy with each time one draws from it. What, specifically, are some of the things of this world that mankind turns to? Let us consider another verse from Jeremiah that highlights specific things the children of Israel were choosing instead of the Great Fountain, the Lord Himself. In the following verses we can see what God is warning His people about. Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, [the fountain of living waters] that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” We see three specific broken cisterns that Gods people turned to, human wisdom and reason; human strength and abilities and the false security of money and wealth.

HUMAN WISDOM

A broken cistern of today that some of Gods people are turning to for satisfaction is human wisdom. There is a blend in the church of human wisdom, intellect, reason and Christianity. One needs to be careful here; let us remember that human wisdom stems from the fallen human nature (James 3:15 –“This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly, sensual, devilish”). God has made it very clear in the scriptures that mans thoughts are not His thoughts and mans ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9); also that the human mind is continually at enmity with God (James 4:4). Peter speaking out of his own human reason argued with the Lord when Jesus spoke of His death on the cross, “surely this shall not be”. We must be very careful in this area, human intellect and reason will destroy faith and dilute the truth.

We should also be very careful in the area of Christian psychology. Psychology is the study of the human mind and how it works. One should be very careful about feeding on this; the human mind is incapable of discerning Gods thoughts. Bear in mind what Jeremiah said in 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Why study the mind to try and figure it out? The wisest man who ever lived said the fool is the one who seeks to know his own heart: Proverbs 18:2 “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.”

We need to be renewed in our minds by faith, grace and the Blessed Holy Spirit; Romans 12:2 “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This comes by seeking the One who is the fountain of living waters. This word “transformed” in the original text is the word “metamorpho”, which is where we get our word “metamorphosis” or “to transform”. It is the same process that changes a caterpillar into a butterfly. We don't need to know the human mind; we need to walk by faith and know the mind of Christ.

 HUMAN MIGHT

The prophet also listed human strength as a broken cistern; 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” God hath chosen the weak things of this world to confound the things which are mighty… it is actually a sign of Gods favor on your life when he weakens your strength or ignores your talents. He might touch our strength by giving some physical limitations, He could do it through pressures, He could do it through people who have authority over us. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” God has to bring us at times to the end of our strength, so we don't swell with self-confidence.

Consider what Jesus said about His own human strength in John 5:19 “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” Also, he continues later in the same chapter; John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” Later in the book of John he further drives home this point; John 8:28 “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” The Lord was trying to make his disciples understand that the power He possessed was the result of His submission to His Father. It was not of Himself; His own strength or His own might (although He was the Son of God); it was His dependency on His loving Heavenly Father. The point is further illustrated for us in John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

We want to come to the place where we know that in ourselves we can do nothing. Why is this so important? It is because man is so easily lifted up in ambition, pride and arrogance; the fallen nature wants to be recognized and praised for its accomplishments. Remember how severely God judged king Nebuchadnezzer for his arrogance in declaring that Babylon was created by his own power and ambition; God brought great humiliation in his life so that he would know he was nothing. Self ambition, pride, strength posse a problem for the Godhead since 1 Corinthians 1:29 “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” Also, 1 Corinthians 1:31 states “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” As true believers let us glory in the Lord; He is our fountain of living water!

UNCERTAIN RICHES

1 Timothy 6:17 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” Note the phrase “uncertain riches”; this is clearly a broken cistern. In actuality riches are quite unstable; they can come today and go tomorrow without warning. The Lord Jesus, however, is very certain, very stable and is worthy of our devotion and trust for our every day provision. Let me illustrate this by something that happened to me. I well remember a time when I was pastoring a small church in New York. The church was too small to give us a living wage and the job market in the area was very depressed so I could not find a decent job. During my time there I was brought to a place where I literally did not know where the money was going to come from to pay for our rent, utilities and daily necessities. I was so overwhelmed by this burden of how to provide for my family that in the middle of the night I was driven into the woods to cry out to God and weep before Him; while kneeling in the woods in the middle of the night I simply got one phrase, “I am your loving heavenly Father and I will take care of your needs” At the time it was almost impossible to see how God would provide, I might have said that if I had a lot of money right now I would be happy but in truth there were other ways God was going to make me rich; rich in faith and trust and I would learn how to lean on the arm of my beloved. We did not have any extra but God provided for our every need, I didn’t need more money; I needed more grace.

Paul also said this 1 Timothy 6:6-8 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” Don't become caught up in vain pursuits, riches are snares, seek the one who is the fountain of living waters and let Him determine your state in life. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Don't fall in love with money; it will bind you. The best policy is this; don't allow yourself to trust in bank accounts and money, learn to walk in loving obedience to the Master and see the hand of the Lord provide for your daily needs.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS

Finally, concerning these three areas, wisdom, might and riches let us bear in mind Col 2:9-10 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Only Jesus Christ is the fountain of living water everything else man puts his confidence in is a broken cistern. Is Jesus satisfying to us or do we need other things? Answer the following questions as honestly as you can:

• Do you need to have earthly things to be happy and secure?
• Do you feel confident in your own strength and abilities?
• Does your intellect need to be titillated with human wisdom?

If any of these are true of us, then we must take care we may be drinking from a broken cistern that in the end will let us down. I have seen good Christians neglect their relationship with the Lord for years in pursuit of these other things only to come to a point in their lives where they realize they have developed nothing of any spiritual value, they labored for the wrong things and now they are dry and empty. Dear ones let us conclude this essay with words from the book of Colossians: Col 2:9-10 “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Christ came that we might find in him our all sufficiency; let us do His sacrifice for us justice by making Him our all in all.