Max Lucado

Let’s pray prayers like this one: God, please release living water upon and through your children. Let us be sources of life and love everywhere we go.

One of the most famous revivals happened early in the twentieth century in Wales. One hundred thousand people came to Christ in less than a year. Almost-empty bars were closed for lack of business. Magistrates saw their courts emptied of criminals. Miners even had to retrain the mules that worked in the coal mines. Many of the animals had been trained to respond to vulgar commands. But when the men got cleaned up, their language did as well, and the mules had to learn a new vocabulary.

May the need arise to retrain some mules today. Let the thirsty souls come to Christ. And let the rivers of living water flow again.

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I did not grow up on a ranch, but I was raised in the land of ranches. I learned that there are two ways to increase the value of ranch land: strike oil or discover water. If a ranch has a river or creek running through it or drillable water within it, it will be advertised as a ranch with “live water.” The presence of water changes dry ranch land into useful property.

The presence of Spirit-filled Christ followers does the same to society. The Holy Spirit flows out of us into the dry places of the world. This is how revival happens. There are 2.3 billion Christians in the world. Suppose each one each day responded to the prompting of the Spirit to bless someone else. Might revival happen in our day?

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“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37 NASB). Jesus spoke these words on an October day in a crowded Jerusalem. People had packed the streets for the Feast of Tabernacles, an annual reenactment of the rock-giving-water miracle of Moses.

“If anyone is thirsty.” Skin color does not matter. Income level is of no importance. There is only one qualification: “If anyone is thirsty.” All that is needed is an admission of thirst. Who fails to meet this criterion? We are thirsty—thirsty to be happy, thirsty to have meaning, thirsty for answers and strength. Thirsty.

Jesus was speaking in the midst of an extremely religious moment. Even so he invited, “Come to me!”  Spiritual thirst is quenched only by Christ himself.

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Christianity is on the decline in our country. The number of believers has dropped 12 percent in the last decade. Major depression is on the rise. The increase is found in all age groups but is rising fastest among teens and young adults. The increase in suicide is alarming. According to federal data on the US suicide rate, it is the highest it has been since World War II.

Yet we have this hope: revival can come at any moment! At the right hour God will open the floodgate and release his Spirit like a flowing river into society. This was the promise of Jesus. “Jesus stood up and said in a loud voice…’If anyone believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from that person’s heart'” (John 7:37-38 NCV).

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You have been anointed by the Holy Spirit. God offers this anointing to all of us. When you pray, preach, prophesy, or live out your faith, you are empowered by the Holy Spirit’s presence. Lean into him. You grow weary, but the Spirit never does. Your understanding is limited, but the Spirit has unsearchable wisdom.  And because he is in you, you have power that you would never have had without him.

The Spirit will give you whatever you need to do the holy work he has called you to do. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is God’s will for you: “I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through his Spirit” (Ephesians 3:16 NCV).

God poured his Spirit upon you! Receive him. Believe him. Entrust in the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

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“But you have an anointing from the Holy One [you have been set apart, specially gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit], and all of you know [the truth because he teaches us, illuminates our minds, and guards us from error]” (1 John 2:20 AMP).

From the perspective of heaven, the gift of the Spirit is the greatest gift imaginable. Jesus told his followers that it was to their advantage for him to go away. His departure would trigger the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Jesus limited himself to a physical body. He could be in only one place at one time. The Holy Spirit, however, can be everywhere all the time. There is no place that he is not!

God has decreed you to be special to him. He has soaked you with himself. Bask in this blessing.

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Anointing oil is a metaphor for the Spirit of God. “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts…” (2 Corinthians 1:21-22 NIV). God poured out upon you the power-providing, heart-healing oil of the Holy Spirit.

The verb pour deserves to be highlighted. God does not distribute the Spirit with an eyedropper or a tablespoon. He douses us with himself. Do you understand what happened on the day of your conversion? Yes, grace covered you. Yes, the tent of God’s sovereignty was stretched over you. Yes, the pathway to heaven was laid out before you. And yes, you were anointed by the Holy Spirit. You have been consecrated for a holy work.

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“Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another…”  (Hebrews 10:24-25 NRSV).

When the fire of the Spirit seems to flicker, what can we do? One of the most practical answers has to do with the importance of the church. The church is far from perfect. Even so, the church is the campfire that God uses to keep us kindled.

Fire is a protective element. The eastern shepherd would surround his fold at night with a wall of fire, keeping the wild beasts out and the sheep safe within. The fire of the Spirit deflects a thousand temptations. He loves you too much to leave you unguarded. So welcome his help. He will purify, refine, energize, and protect.

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Perhaps the greatest characteristic of fire is this: energy. It is the secret of the electric current. It has empowered countless coal-burning engines and fueled too many stoves to count. Fire combusts. Fire ignites. Fire moves things. And the Spirit? Does he not move us? “You shall receive power,” promised Jesus, “when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:8 NKJV).

God doesn’t want us to give him our best effort. We don’t try our hardest and then turn to God. We turn to God and trust him to do the work for and in us. The greatest force in the universe will work within you to give you the power you need to become more and more like him. He will make you holy in an instant and make you holier over a lifetime.

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The Holy Spirit will give you power over the struggle of sin. Many Christians can relate to these words of the apostle Paul: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24 ESV). This sobering confession is the exclamation point on the apostle’s remembrance of his life before he followed Christ. Each day was a day of defeat.

Many people feel the same way today. If that is you, observe what Paul says just a few verses later. Romans 8 is Paul’s great statement of liberation. In contrast to the previous chapter, he speaks of victory and assurance and grace. The difference? Chapter 7 was life under the old law. Chapter 8 is life in the Spirit.

The point? Victory over sin is the result of the presence of God’s Spirit within us.

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