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The Amish Voice 7
heater…a city main
that supplied the
water…and from
the city main went
a line to an outside
source of water.
The magic is
not in the fau-
cet; it’s what is
behind
the
faucet
that
gives the wa-
ter! The fau-
cet can be 24
carat gold,
but if
it’s not at-
tached to a water supply, it’s use-
less!
In a sense, you and I are just like a
faucet; we are totally helpless, power-
less, and incapable of accomplishing
anything in life. We are nothing more
than a heap of dust taken from the
earth. Yes, powerless dust! But when these
powerless bodies of ours are connected to
God, great signs and wonders can be poured
out of us and onto the world in which we live
in. Jesus said in John 7:38.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture
hath said, out of his belly
shall flow riv-
ers of living water
.
The one who believes in Christ – fully trusts
in Him – out of his heart shall pour RIVERS
of living water. Water is one of the greatest
forces on earth. Water can potentially devour
a huge city in a short amount of time; it is
that kind of force that Jesus is speaking
about.
In the next verse, Jesus tells us what the river
of living water represents.
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.
At the time Jesus was saying these things, the
Holy Ghost had not yet been given. But Jesus
was clear: In the near future, when I leave for
heaven, the Holy Ghost is going to take my
place on earth. And when He comes, He will
fill you with a gigantic amount of spiritual
force, similar to a raging river. All you have
to do is open your belly and let Him flow in
and through you. He wants us to make our-
selves available so He can flow through us--
similar to the faucet we all have in our kitch-
en.
Dear friend, do you believe Him? If you say
you do but there is no evidence of the Holy
Ghost flowing from your belly, then you
have been fooled. Believe is a powerful
word!
Those who come to God must believe.
…for he that cometh to God must
believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek him. —Heb11:6
Belief is what saves a person from hell.
… Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And
they said,
Believe
on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy
house. —Acts 16:30-31
You cannot buy the Holy Spirit and His
power; it’s a gift from God.
In Acts chapter 8, we are told that when the
apostles in Jerusalem heard Samaria had
opened their hearts to the Word of God, they
immediately sent Peter and John down to
help them along. Upon the arrival, the apos-
tles started pray-
ing and laying
hands on the be-
lievers,
asking
that God would
give them the
Holy Spirit and
His power. And
the Bible says, as
they prayed, the
Holy Spirit came
upon the Samari-
tan believers, and
they were filled
with an immeas-
urable amount of
spiritual
force
and power from
high.
The Bible goes
on to say in verses 18-19 that a man by the
name of Simon was standing nearby, taking
in all that was happening before his eyes.
Look what he asks them:
And when Simon saw that through laying
on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost
was given, he offered them money, say-
ing, give me also this power, that on
whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive
the Holy Ghost. —Acts 8:18-19
Simon also wanted to place his hands on
people and watch them receive the Holy
Ghost and His power. In fact, he wanted it
so bad that he offered the Apostles’ money.
But look how Peter responds to him in verse
20.
But Peter said unto him, Thy money per-
ish with thee, because thou hast thought
that
the gift of God
may be purchased
with money.
The power--the river of flowing water is a
gift from God. All the money in the world is
not enough to buy even a small share of it.
It’s free! Absolutely no strings attached. But
remember, it is conditional;
you have to be-
lieve
.
As we think of the word believe, let’s consid-
er the faucet again. Every faucet has handles
on it. The further you open the handle, the
greater the flow of water.
In light of what we just read, consider, for
instance, that you have a faucet attached on
your kitchen wall. And connected to the fau-
cet is a line of plumbing that leads to a pres-
sure tank in your basement that is holding
one thousand pounds of water pressure. The
pressure tank is forcing all of
one thousand
pound
s of water against the faucet in the
kitchen, but since the
handle is in the shut
position, nothing is
coming out. Let’s say,
however, that you
walk over to the fau-
cet and open the han-
dle just a bit, and all
of a sudden the faucet
begins to drip. Then
you open the valve a
bit further, and the
water goes from drip-
ping to a small
stream. You get the
picture! It is up to you
how much water you
want coming out. Do
you want a drip? A
steady stream? Or do
you want to open the valve all the way up so
water gushes out full blast?
That is exactly how the Holy Ghost and His
power work within the believer. We are just
like the faucet and have been given the right
to open and shut ourselves off to the rivers of
living water (Holy Spirit). Within each born
again believer is a living force of power the
size of our universe. It is the same power that
spoke the world and creation into existence.
It is so powerful that our mind cannot even
begin to fathom it. However, it does not
make any difference how powerful the force
is; if you and I do not have faith and believe
it, nothing will happen.
And just in case, you thought this power and
might only happened in Bible times, or was
He that believeth
on me, as the
scripture hath
said...
out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water
—continued next page—