CREATURE VERSUS CREATOR

Chapter 11

WATER OF THE WORLD VERSUS WATER OF LIFE

“Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” (John 4:13-15)

On that day when the woman of Samaria came to the well as usual to draw water, something unusual happened to her this time. The Saviour of the world was waiting to talk to her. How blessed she was, that the Saviour came her way. (How blessed we are, that He has come our way also.) Among the several important things He said to her, one was, “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.”

All of us know from experience the truth of that statement of our Lord. All of us have drunk natural water. And after a short period of time, we always come to thirst again, and thereby we must drink water again and again, without end, as long as we live here on this earth. So, if each time when you read this verse you simply take it at face value and say to yourself, “Well, anyone knows that,” and go on reading, then you are missing a most important lesson from your Lord.

This natural water and the temporary satisfaction that it gives us is a type of the “water of the world,” that is, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. As we “drink” of these “pleasures of the world,” our flesh and soul receive some varying degrees of satisfaction. The things of the world are fun, thrilling, exciting, suspenseful, adventurous, challenging, rewarding, and such to our fallen human nature. But, just as in drinking the natural water of this earth, the effect soon wears off. The thrill and excitement dies away, leaving us thirsting for them again. In order to quench that thirst, we must drink of them again. But, unlike the natural water of the earth, in which each additional drink satisfies (temporarily) to the same degree that the last drink satisfied, the “water of the world” becomes less and less satisfying with each additional drink. No matter how much you do not want to believe that fact, or want to accept that fact, still it is an eternal truth that you will never find any way to avoid.

“Heavenly Father, please send Thy Holy Spirit to teach me all I should know about the nature of the water of the world. Give me a heart receptive to these Truths about the water of the world. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

Therefore, when any human creature anywhere on this earth sets out to live for the things of the world, a certain pattern typically follows. First, it is ever so fun and exciting. Life is just one more thrill after another. Second, the thrills steadily fade into boredom. Long ago, I read that in the 1970’s, a group of Soviet teenagers visited the U.S. for a short time during which they spent most of the time interacting with American youth. Toward the end of their stay, an American adult asked these young Soviets, “What is wrong with the American young people (teenagers)?” The inquirer was most desirous to hear the opinions of these communist youth regarding this question. The Soviet youth did not need to ponder the question. They had an immediate answer. “They (American youth) are bored.”

Those American teenagers that the Soviet teenagers observed had a great abundance of material things (things of the world). They also had “unlimited” opportunities in the US to “rise” and to make themselves into someone “great.” In spite of all these advantages, they were beset with many problems then (1970’s), and even more so today. And those Soviet youth only had to observe the young Americans for a short time in order to clearly see that one of their main problems was boredom. What a paradox, living in the land of plenty but bored to death. That problem was caused by drinking the water of the world instead of drinking the water of life. “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.” That is an absolute truth that no human creature on this earth will ever be able to escape.

Many parents (Christians included) make the tragic mistake of exhausting so much of their life’s energies, time, and resources (money and such) to provide as much “water of he world” as they possibly can for their dear, precious children. The reason being that they love their children and want the “best” in life for them. Tragically they are deceived and mistaken about what is “best.” The “Water of Life” is the only good thing on this earth. But those deceived parents mistakenly believe that drinking the water of the world will result in a happy, exciting, fulfilled life for their children. But the most definite result that will come from it will be boredom in this life and likely eternal hell fire in the life hereafter, because seeking the “water of the world” is likely to keep one from receiving the “Water of Life.”

Back about 1992, I preached this here in Japan to a Thursday night church gathering of about 7 Japanese people. Afterward, a Japanese mother present testified to me that her teenage son regularly said, “I’m bored.” That boy had sufficient money. He had an abundance of things of the world to play with, including all kinds of high tech gadgets. He had lots of friends to associate with and the freedom to come and go pretty much as he desired. So what was the final result? “Life is SO exciting.” No, it wasn’t. “I’m bored.” That is what results from drinking the water of the world. “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.”

Why does the water of the world not satisfy us? The water of the world DOES NOT satisfy us because it CANNOT satisfy us human creatures. That is an eternal truth of God that you will never get around, no matter how much you try. Many people deceive themselves into thinking that the “water of the world” does not satisfy simply because they have not yet drunken enough of it, haven’t learned the proper way to drink it, haven’t yet sampled enough varieties of it, etc. So they work more vigorously, trying to do it the right way, feverishly working to gain more “water of the world” and to partake of it in every form and fashion that is available, searching for the key to making it satisfy one’s soul and spirit. But all such effort is totally vain and is to no avail. All that striving does is to create more thirst. It is impossible for the water of the world to satisfy our being. No matter how much you try, you cannot change that fact.

“Heavenly Father, convince me fully that the water of the world cannot satisfy me and please save me from seeking my life’s satisfaction from it. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

“Vanity of vanities… all is vanity”

King Solomon is said to be one of the wisest men ever. God used him to vividly describe the futility of attempting to achieve satisfaction from the “water of the world.” The book of Ecclesiastes written by Solomon accurately describes this natural life on earth. “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher…all is vanity.” (1:2) “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” (1:14) For brevity’s sake, I will quote no more. Read chapters 1 and 2 of Ecclesiastes where Solomon describes many great things he did, only to add after each description that it was vanity and vexation of spirit. Then ask God to help you to totally believe that and to save you from chasing after the water of the world to your own destruction.

“Almighty God, please save me from loving the things of the world and from chasing after and drinking the water of the world. Help me to truly believe that the water of the world cannot possibly satisfy my soul and spirit and that drinking the water of the world only creates greater thirst instead of satisfying thirst. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

First, the “water of the world” gives satisfaction, but ever so short and temporary. Second, boredom sets in. Third, comes “burnout.” That is not a Biblical term, but nowadays one with which we can readily identify. Vigorously pursuing and drinking the “water of the world” brings a person to the stage where he finds little or nothing in life to be interesting or even to have any meaning. Nothing satisfies any more. “Burnout.” I see it written on the faces of so many people, even young people. They have tried it all. They have drunk of every variety of the “water of the world” that they can possibly find. And the end result is total dissatisfaction, greater thirst than ever. “Burnout.” They cease to find any meaning to life and therefore lose the desire to go on living.

If such people fail to seek help and salvation from their Creator God, then soon comes the final stage of destruction. They perish by means of junk foods, overeating, tobacco, liquor, drugs, fast living, general stress that comes from the world, daredevil stunts, suicide, and such. Some of these means of destruction are contained in the “water of the world” and therefore begin their destructive work early (tobacco, liquor, drugs, and such) often apart from the stages of boredom and burnout that soon follow. Finally, it is not all that rare for suicide to end one’s fervent chase after the “water of the world.”

In the US is a certain city in which live a quite large number of wealthy people. That city has become a rich suburb of an adjoining larger city. It is well known as a rich person’s town. Children growing up there are showered with the “things of the world” from birth and some of them soon drown in the “water of the world.” When a teenager there gets his or her drivers’ license, the parents typically give the child their choice of a new car. Looking on their lives with worldly eyes, it appears to be a paradise on earth. And thinking with a worldly mind, one would think that each day would be filled with thrills and excitement beyond imagination. Their lifestyles are the envy of many people who love the things of the world.

But, one day in the early 1980’s, when the life of fun and thrills was going on normally there in that vanity fair, a high school teenager committed suicide. What a devastating shock that was to the community. Life had been going on normally for that teen, with no known harsh adversities or problems that would tend to drive one to suicide. Why did he do it? No one could understand. But soon another teen there committed suicide. Greater shock. It’s been a long time since I heard this true story. But as best I can remember, I think a third teenager soon committed suicide, and that both male and female teenagers were among the ones who killed themselves.

Parents and teachers there correctly sensing an epidemic of death, assembled the high school students together with a lot of parents and teachers present and demanded those kids to answer, “What is going on with you boys and girls? Come on, ‘fess’ up.” Because those adults adamantly demanded an answer, finally some of the teens sheepishly admitted that a few of them had entered into a suicide pact, each of them in the pact agreeing to take their own life, if one of them would start it. They said that they felt like they had already experienced most everything life had to offer and the result was that it just left them bored and empty, thus bringing on the desire to depart this life. “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.”

I did not hear any further details, so I don’t know the exact reactions of those parents. But we all can quite accurately imagine their stunning shock and despair. And we can just picture those parents throwing up their hands in despair and exclaiming to their children who had entered into that suicide pact but were still alive, “WHY?” “Why would you possibly want to do that? We gave you EVERYTHING!”

And right there is the very reason those precious, teenage souls perished at such a young age. With the goal of giving them the best things in life, those parents poured the “water of the world” upon their children until it drowned them. Thinking they were doing the best thing for their children, those parents poured barrels of “water of the world” upon them, thus sending them thru boredom, burnout, and destruction so fast that some of them took their own lives even before reaching adulthood. What a tragic waste of precious human souls.

That is where living for the pleasures of this present world tends to take us. Sooner or later, that water of the world comes to provide no satisfaction at all, causing the drinker of it to feel like he has done it all, seen it all, and therefore there is nothing new and refreshing waiting for me tomorrow or any time in the future. So it seems like the best remaining option is to depart this life. Imps from Hell will sit on his shoulders whispering deadly, encouraging words into his ears. “You don’t have to stay chained to this boring life on this bland earth. There is a whole universe out there just waiting for you to explore it. Surely there must be many different places much more exciting than what you are now experiencing. Come on. You’re brave. Just take that leap and see what exciting place you land in.” And the poor kid takes that leap and plunges right into an eternal Hell.

You can easily picture just how devastated the community was and readily hear all of them exclaiming that those young deceased ones had everything to live for. The parents of those deceased would be about my age. (I was born in 1946.) Some of those parents may have grown up in financial comfort, but some may have experience a youth of financial leanness. Most of those parents had studied hard in the 1950’s and 60’s and then started working hard in a lucrative career that gained them much mammon in return. (Don’t forget my 2 chapters about money.) They got married, started their families, built palaces to live in, filled them with palatial furnishings, and amongst much other rejoicing over their great achievements, they so rejoiced that their children would not have it as hard in their youth as the parents had. “We have the money to buy our children everything they want or need (within reason of course). All they will have to do is just enjoy life to the fullest every day and therefore be the most fortunate and blessed people on earth. How happy we all are going to be!!!”

And as they go along their merry way, daily drunken on the water of the world (the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,) one day, out of the clear blue, comes someone with the message that their teenage son or daughter had just committee suicide. Those parents were likely devastated, plunged to the depths of despair. Such a hollow and empty feeling would form in that dad and mom’s hearts. As dad and mom looked into each other’s sorrowing eyes, neither would be able to offer any real comfort to the other. In their hearts would be many baffling questions. “Where did we go wrong?” “If, when we provide them such a wonderful life it only results in suicide during youth, then just what could we do to give them a good life?” “We set our hopes so high and gained our goals. But if this death is what prosperity reaps, then just what are we to live for???” The other parents in the community who did not yet lose a child to suicide would be desperately searching for answers to the same questions, hoping to prevent the same deadly tragedy from devastating their families also. The answer to that deadly problem is most clear and simple to anyone who knows God’s Holy Scriptures. Those people chose to drink of the water of the world instead of the water of life. “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.” That is a scriptural fact that you had better believe and act upon in order to save yourself from perishing and also to save your offspring from perishing.

“Lord God, please teach me just how destructive is the water of the world. Give me a heart to believe Thee. Give me a heart to love the things of God and to shun the things of the world and the water of the world. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

“Water springing up into everlasting life”

“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” If you desire for you and your family to live a long and happy life here on earth and afterwards live forever in God’s Perfect Heaven, then you all had better drink long and deep from the Water of the Fountain of Life, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. As the old hymn says, “Only Jesus can satisfy your soul. Only Jesus can make you fully whole.” My fellow Christian, you had better believe that and make the right choice when choosing your water. While in this life, we Christian believers are faced with 2 choices. We can choose to crucify the flesh, reckon ourselves dead to the flesh and live and walk in the spirit and thereby daily drink of the Water of Life. Or we can choose to live and walk in the flesh, drinking fully of the cesspool water of the world and thereby making a ruin of our life (and our families’ lives) while still on earth. By all means, choose the water of life.

“Lord God, please help me to daily choose the Water of Life and refuse the water of the world. Please give me victory over the world. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

My fellow preachers, take earnest heed to what God’s Holy Spirit tells you to preach concerning these waters. Pastor, likely you have a congregation filled with worldly people destroying themselves by regularly guzzling all the water of the world they possibly can. It is killing them and their children. God set you as a watchman over His flock to warn them of these dangers. God forbid that you guzzle the water of the world right along with them instead of doing your duty as a watchman. Pastor, your flock regularly pack into the church van or bus and roar off to Six Flags over Anywhere (or to some other such stagnant, stinking, slimy, muddy swamp of world water) to drink all that poison they can hold, only to return home to wonder why they feel so empty and thirsty the next day. That worthless water of the world takes your flock on a lofty high only to immediately bring them rapidly plunging back to the lowest depths, just like the roller coaster at Six Flags did to them. And do you finance that water of the world drinking bout with the tithes and offerings your church receives? Preach to your flock that the only way they can give their tithes and offerings to God is thru the church. And then instead of using that money to further God’s cause on this earth, you use it to buy water of the world to pour down their gullets till it drowns them. Pay Day is coming. And no amount of any kind of water will be able to drown out its fiery wrath.

“Brother Richard, you are being just downright mean about this!” Thank you for the compliment. The reason for me being so mean about it is that by God’s grace, I have allowed Him to teach me just how destructive it is for His created human race to drink the water of the world. I didn’t just brush off the suicides of those youth in Rich Town as having nothing to do with me. Instead, I listened to their Creator tell me how precious were their souls in His Sight and how it grieved Him so to see them completely destroyed in their youth by the water of the world. If such sinful destruction bothers you not in the least, then please plainly tell that to your Creator God so He can plainly put it on the court record for you to meet on Judgment Day when you meet Almighty God The Consuming Fire in Person. Who among you will be your brother’s keeper and care about this perishing human race just as its Creator does??? May God give you a Holy hatred for the putrid water of the world and a Holy love for the Water of Life.

As God’s people increasingly come to love the things of the world and the water of the world, they commit 2 evils in 1 swipe. They forsake the Fountain of Living Waters and hew them out broken cisterns that can hold no water. “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13) What a destructive sin that is.

Pastors and church leaders watch their flocks evolve into doing that, forsaking Christ for the water of the world. Then the church leaders tragically conclude that the only way to keep the people in church is for the church to give them what they want, the water of the world. Hence spring up an unlimited number of church social functions and events for the purpose of providing a bountiful supply of the water of the world for our Lord’s flock to drink. The church hires or appoints a youth minister who in reality is a water boy busing the church youth around to all the stagnant water cisterns of the world to let those kids drink all that putrid swamp water that will only leave them more thirsty and sooner or later draw them toward the option of suicide. Salvation from that eternal destruction is found in returning to our first love, our Lord Jesus Christ Who is the Fountain of Living Waters. My fellow minister, our Lord holds you responsible for His Flock He has entrusted in your care. How tragic it will be for you to stand before Him in Judgment with bloody hands because you deliberately destroyed some of His precious sheep by giving them water of the world to drink. You are duty bound to their Creator to guide them to shun the deadly poison of the water of the world and lead them to Fountain of Living Waters. Watchmen, keep not silent!

“Heavenly Father, I pray for all church pastors and leaders throughout the world. May they guide Thy flock away from the deadly water of the world. May preachers clearly preach on the dangers of it. May each of them do their duty to always lead Thy flock to the Fountain of Living Waters and cause Thy sheep to drink of those Living Waters to fully satisfy their thirsty souls and spirits so that they never thirst again. Amen.”

“Poverty”

A life of poverty is difficult in many ways. I know that from many years of experience. But there is something most beneficial about poverty. While in the midst of it, one can always hope that things will get better. On the surface, that statement may sound comical. But such hope does give one the desire to keep living, looking forward in faith to a time when things will get better. During my years of poverty, never did that poverty ever cause me to even once consider suicide. But drinking freely of the water of the world has just the opposite effect. “I have done it all, seen it all, and it is all vain. I find no satisfaction in anything. I have concluded that it is impossible for things to get any better in this life. Therefore, why prolong it? I will end it all now.” That is exactly where those teenagers in Rich Town arrived, and some of them did end their lives before they lived 2 decades on this earth. What a tragedy, and the source of it was the water of the world. “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.”

Our Divine Creator put His human creature on this earth to till the soil. That is what God ordained for us. I grew up doing just that, using only human and animal power the first few years of my life. I know from experience that God ordained farm work was often boring to me. But life was not boring. Please catch exactly what I said there because this is important. The work was usually mundane and somewhat boring. But life was not boring. I found much pleasure in God, His created nature, and other people. Any time I had a little free time, during warm weather, I usually headed for the nearest stream or pond with a fishing pole or swimming trunks, or both. During cold weather, I usually headed to the forest and meadows with my little rifle, hunting for small game. Such God ordained activities gave much pleasure and satisfaction to my being, saving me from ever considering ending my own life.

At the end of Genesis 3, the Lord God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground that was then cursed for their sakes. God told Adam the ground would bring forth thorns and thistles and in the sweat of his face he would eat bread. But those God-ordained hardships are necessary for us human creatures because we have fallen and become degenerate. That hard life of toil is best for us. There is God ordained salvation in it. While doing “boring” farm work as I grew up, I regularly daydreamed of becoming rich when I got big, and thereby being able to escape the dull farm life for something more exciting (the water of the world). But listen carefully to exactly what saved me from being destroyed from the water of the world. By the time I got financially able to buy enough water of the world to drown myself in, I was in my mid-twenties. And the Bible knowledge and adult wisdom I had gained from God by then, coupled with the rich experience of being reared on God’s “poor” prison farm, saved me from chasing the water of the world and being drowned by it. That may seem to be a minor, matter of fact point to you, but it is not minor. The clear proof of its importance is the suicides of those teenagers in Rich Town who grew up with an unlimited supply of the water of the world to enjoy. And they “enjoyed” it so freely that it killed them short of 2 decades of life. Listen carefully right now as God’s Holy Spirit warns you about just how deadly dangerous the water of the world is. My fellow preachers, listen to God calling on you to guard His flock from the poisonous water of the world.

Think on another most interesting point. That group of Soviet youth visiting the US back about the 1970’s immediately pinpointed the problem with American youth. “They are bored.” But those Soviet youth were not plagued with boredom like the American youth were. Also, those Soviet youth were not Christians and therefore they were not drinking from the Fountain of Living Waters. Therefore, what prevented them from being bored, not having the Water of Life? Answer: They didn’t have much water of the world to drink either. No water of the world available equals an absence of the thirst it brings on. Also those Soviet youth were thoroughly brainwashed into believing they were creating a paradise on earth. Tho they lived in poverty, they looked forward to a better day. I have already preached on how the hope of a better future puts purpose and meaning in life. But if you are rich enough to drown your children in the water of the world, life will quickly cease to hold any meaning for them and that will bring on the desire to end their lives.

In this church age, when any person believes on and receives the Lord Jesus Christ, that believer receives the Water of Life that satisfies his soul and spirit, provided he lives in the spirit and walks after the spirit instead of living in the flesh and chasing after the things of the world. If we live in God’s nature and till the soil to gain our necessities, that satisfies our physical body, and refreshes our soul and spirit. God ordained a mundane life of toil and sweat for us. But its setting is full of God-created pleasures and joys for us that are found in His natural creation. These pleasures from God typically do not blow our minds by thrilling and exciting us like the pleasures of the world can do (but only for a season). The pleasures from God are more “low key,” but they do continue to satisfy our being to the same degree, year after year. “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” I praise God for giving me a love for the Water of Life and a hatred for the water of the world. Please allow Him to do the same wonderful thing for you.

“Heavenly Father, please do that for me. Help me to love my Lord God with all my heart. Help me to love The Water of Life, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Create within me a Holy hatred for the putrid, deadly water of the world. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

When a person trusts in Christ as his Saviour, he then gains access to the Water of Life to drink freely of it any time he so chooses. But in order to never thirst again, that Christian believer must daily choose to crucify the flesh and to live in the spirit. He must daily choose to shun the water of the world and choose to drink from the Water of Life by walking with God, reading and meditating on the words of the Bible, praying and singing to God, and obeying God’s teachings in the Bible. That obedience will include not loving the things of the world and not drinking the water of the world.

One of the main causes of discontentment in a Christian’s life is continuing to drink from the water of the world. Tho God has saved him out of Egypt, the world, he remains worldly and returns to the fleshpots of Egypt to continue to drink of that stagnant water of the world. That water of the world will continue to create thirst in a believer’s soul, just as it creates thirst in a lost person’s soul. Many professing Christians continue to lustily drink of the water of the world, madly pursuing worldly fun, fame, and fortune while daily neglecting prayer, praise, Bible study, walking with God and living in obedience to Him. Thus it is only natural that they experience much discontentment and thirst in their soul and spirit. They are still drinking of the wrong water. God help us to drink only from the Fountain of Living Waters.

“Heavenly Father, please do give me a genuine love for the Water of Life and a Holy hatred for the water of the world. Lead me to drink only of the Water of Life. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth”

Overall, the younger a person is, the more the “world, things of the world, and the water of the world” appeal to him or her. Small children are easily contented and satisfied with the simple and natural pleasures of life that God ordained for them, provided they are not exposed to the water of the world. As we age, “desire shall fail” (Eccl. 12:5). Just observe how vividly alive a child is physically, abounding with energy. The child’s soul is just as active and energetic, always busily searching for its satisfaction. Therefore you Christian parents are duty bound to your children’s Creator to clearly teach your offspring of the true nature and the many, deadly dangers of the “water of the world” and to guard them from drinking of that deadly poison. With God as your Helper, do everything you can to lead them away from the devil’s deadly water of the world. You have a heavy duty to your Creator and to your offspring to do so.

“Heavenly Father, I pray for all Christian parents to properly guard their offspring from the deadly water of the world and to properly lead them to the Fountain of Water of Life to daily drink thereof. Amen.”

I heard a true story that vividly illustrates just how strongly appealing the water of the world is to small children, if only they are exposed to it. This event happened in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s when life was much “tamer” than now, with fewer things of the world in existence. At that time, a godly mother in the U.S. forbade her children to go to the small movie theater (picture show) in town. Likely she had no TV in her home either. One day, her son snuck away from the house and went to the picture show without his mother’s permission. Possibly that was the first time he had ever watched a moving picture. After he returned home, his mother discovered what he had done and sternly rebuked him for his disobedience. After listening to her reprimand, the lad replied, “But Mom, if you would go to the picture show just one time, you never would want to go to church again!”

I wasn’t told the lad’s age, but I can picture him being about 10 years old. That was about 1950, so likely he had never once watched television in anyone’s home, and it is clear that was the first time he went to a theater and saw a movie. Likely it was a Saturday afternoon, with a “clean” movie geared to children. (You young people now can hardly imagine just how “clean” were the worldly movies geared to children in 1950.) But drinking of that water of the world, for the first time at age 10 or so, thrilled that lad beyond measure. Such excitement led him to honestly conclude; “Why would anyone choose to go to church (it being so dull and boring), when they could instead choose something as fun and thrilling as a movie?” That was his honest, unbiased conclusion upon once being exposed to that thrilling water of the world. In a sense, he wasn’t deliberately desirous to rebel against his godly mother, tho he did so. He was just honestly stating the emotions he truly felt when exposed to that movie (water of the world). If he were to begin to attend the picture show weekly, each succeeding time, the thrill would be less intense. If he were allowed to drink of every form of worldly water available, he would just become more thirsty with boredom and burnout till he would possibly consider suicide before he reached 20 years of age. That is where the water of the world takes those who drink of it. So please listen to the Saviour of the world as He so lovingly says to you, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

“Heavenly Father, please teach me all the wisdom Thou desirest I gain from this sermon. And please help me to broadcast that Wisdom from Thee to everyone whom I can. Amen.”

Small children are easily satisfied with the simplest, God-ordained pleasures of life, especially if you parents will guard them from being exposed to profoundly thrilling and exciting worldly pleasures while they are little. On occasion, a child who receives a fancy worldly toy for a Christmas or birthday present has more fun playing with the box it came in. Keenly observe the wisdom shown there. Children growing up on God’s earth receive the many God-ordained pleasures simply by playing in God’s creation, free of charge. Seek God’s Guidance in giving your children the Water of Life and in protecting them from the fatal water of the world.

Grandparents, you typically do a commendable job in training your own children up in the way they should go. But then, a generation later, you go all out to spoil your grandchildren rotten. Some young parents who read my writings tell me what a battle it is trying to rear their children properly while those children’s grandparents are going all out to ruin those children by continuously heaping a mountain of things of the world upon them. May God open your eyes to the grave damage you are doing to your precious grandkids and may God save you from that sinful foolishness.

“And Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom”

During the 20^th century, young Christian parents, in steadily increasing numbers, left the God ordained prison farm and moved to Sodom to chase madly after the things of the world and to drink freely of the water of the world. Becoming busily engaged in that sin robbed them of the time necessary to train up their children in the way they should go. So those busy, worldly Christian parents instead came to pacify their children with more and more things of the world (water of the world), while the parents were someplace else (separated form their children) at a worldly workplace earning all the mammon possible, and then rushing around to worldly dives to dive as deeply as possible into those stinking cesspools of worldly water to drink all they could and to drown in it.

Such parents robbed their children of the blessings of growing up in God’s created nature, and cursed them with a tiny dwelling with little or no yard, isolated from nature. Inside their abode were numerous gadgets of the world (audio, video, and everything else) to pacify the children because the parents didn’t have time to give their children the affection God ordained. So the parents instead just throw money at their precious kids and hope for the best. So, why should those parents be so naïve as to be shocked when someone comes to them with the tragic news that their teenage child just committed suicide? Parents will be held accountable to the Judge of the Universe for freely allowing the world to destroy their children. Let each of us believers completely submit our self to God for Him to teach us to serve the Lord with fear and trembling.

It is most highly displeasing to our Creator for parents to commit the horrible sin of heaping all the water of the world they possibly can, upon their God given offspring. And the many parents who thereby destroy their children will stand before the Judgment Bar of God with their children’s blood upon their hands.

Fellow preachers, listen carefully to what the Holy Spirit is now telling you to do regarding being a faithful watchman who warns people of the deadly water of the world. Pastors, listen to what God now tells you about training your Sunday School teachers to do to warn those precious little and young souls in their classes of the dangers of the water of the world. Christian school teachers and leaders, look at your school students drowning in the water of the world and ask God to tell you what to teach them about that danger. May we all care for the many precious souls who are drowning in the water of the world, and may each of us Christians cease drinking it. So many lives are at stake here.

“Rivers of Living Water”

My dear Christian friend, you have a most Loving and Gracious Lord and Saviour Who ordained and desires the very best for you and your family. Listen carefully to Him now speak to you thru His Scriptures. “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.” (John 7:37-38) You do not have to live for the things of the world! You do not have to thirst after the water of the world, yet never be able to quench that thirst no matter how much you drink! You do not have to thirst at all! You can come to Christ and drink freely of the Water of Life and never thirst. “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (4:14) Come to Jesus and drink freely of the Water of Life to have a well of water in you springing up into everlasting life and to have rivers of living water flowing out of your being. Forsake the broken cisterns of the deadly poison of the water of the world and come to Christ to drink of the Water of Life and live forever and never thirst again.

In John 4, look at the Samaritan woman’s response to this wonderful invitation by our Lord. “The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” (Vs. 15) Back in verse 11, the woman mentioned that the well was deep. Here in verse 15, she expresses her desire not to have to continue to come there to draw that heavy water from that deep well. As one continually draws from this deep well to drink of the water of the world, it steadily satisfies less and less, causing the drinker to have to go deeper and deeper each succeeding time to find any degree of satisfaction, until it wearies them to DEATH. May God give each of us the desire that Samaritan woman had, to cease drawing from that deep well and instead come to Jesus where springs of overflowing Living Water abide.

“Almighty God, by Thy Unlimited Power, please do that for me. Please save me from desiring the deadly water of the world that cannot satisfy but rather destroys and kills. Lead me to the Springs of Living Water and cause me to drink freely thereof. I confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is that Living Water. Thank Thee, Lord, for Thy gracious invitation to come to Thee and drink freely of the Water of Life and thereby never thirst again. Please lead me to that Living Water and help me to drink of it always and of it only. Please help me to totally forsake the deadly water of the world. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith”

One important side note here concerning the Water of Life. In II Corinthians 13:5, Paul calls on the “believers” in the body of Christ there in the church at Corinth to examine themselves to see if they actually are in the faith, to see if they are truly trusting in Christ or only mistakenly think they are trusting in Christ and are thereby deceived by thinking they are saved. All down thru the church age, there are tares among the wheat. Some of these “tares” are aware that they are unsaved children of the devil. Others have deceived themselves into thinking they are truly saved children of God. Therefore God gives us “believers” a most important command to examine ourselves to see if we are truly in Christ Jesus by faith in Him. How do we carry out this self-examination? By holding our life and our being up to the Light of God’s Holy Scriptures to see if we measure up to what God’s Word says a believer is. Right now, let God’s Holy Scriptures examine you to see if your being contains the Water of Life.

Christ clearly says that the person who drinks of the Water of Life will have in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:14) Our Lord also says that the person who believes on Him shall have rivers of living water flowing out of his belly (being). ((7:38) That “springing up” and “flowing out” cannot fail to be evident to you and to people around you, because it just flows out everywhere. Does the glory of God radiate out from your being? Do these living waters flow from you by means of your words, actions, and deeds? If not, obey God’s command to examine yourself by means of the Holy Bible while praying to God to send His Holy Spirit to reveal to you just exactly where you stand with God and what are the exact problems and causes of Rivers of Living Water not flowing out from your being.

“Lord Jesus, help me to obey Thy command to examine myself by Thy Holy Word thoroughly while listening closely to what Thy Holy Spirit tells me about my present relationship to my Creator God. I open my heart fully to Thee for Thee to clearly reveal to me my present standing with my Creator. Teach me what it really means to have Rivers of Living Water flowing out from my being. It that is not true of me at this time, please show me exactly what the problem is. I truly desire for my life to be all that Thou wouldest have it to be. I pray that all other people will also examine themselves thoroughly to see if they have true faith in the One True God and to see if they have the Water of Life. Amen.”

“In the last day”

Take note of that timing recorded in John 7:37. “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.”

No doubt we are presently in the “last day” of this church age, very close to the time when Christ is to take His body of believers out of this sinful world. Harvest time will soon be ended for good. Meanwhile, masses of precious human souls all around us are drowning and perishing in the deep cesspools of the deadly water of the world. Therefore it behooves us Christian believers to do as our Lord did on that “last day,” stand and cry out to all of lost mankind to come to the Saviour of the world to receive the Water of Life. Let’s give everyone this invitation of true hope while always showing them the testimony of rivers of this Living Water flowing from our beings. May God grant this for His Great Glory.

“Almighty God, what wonderful news it is that the Water of Life is freely available to all mankind. No one has to perish or drown in the devil’s water of the world. Save people from drinking of the water of the world. Please help all Christian believers to do their duty to proclaim Christ to everyone and to call on all people to come to Christ and drink of the Water of Life to never thirst again and to live forever. Amen.”

(This is the end of Chapter 11 of Creature Versus Creator)

chapter 12

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