Why don't you turn in your Bibles to Zechariah chapter 14. Zechariah is the second last book of the Old Testament. What a marvelous book. This last Sunday we looked at verse 6 and 7. I did intend to get done with verse 8, but in God's providence, verse 8 will be the theme of our sermon this morning. Let me read to you Zechariah 14, verse 6 to 8, and then we'll have a word of prayer and get into the exposition of verse 8. And it will be in that day that there will be no light, the luminaries will dwindle, and it will be a unique day which is known to Yahweh, neither day nor night. But it will be that at evening time there will be light, and it will be in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem. Half of them towards the Eastern Sea and the other half towards the Western Sea. It will be in summer as well as in winter. Lord, as we consider your Word this morning, we pray that you would, by your Holy Spirit, open up the truths of your Word to us. You are the one that has inspired this marvelous Word that we hold in our hands. And you're the one that also illuminates this Word to us. And so we pray that you would do a mighty work in us, that we would not also be just hearers of your word, but that we would be doers of your word, that you would move our hearts towards worship of you, Lord. We thank you for this morning. We thank you that you, Lord Jesus, are risen from the dead. And we thank you that you have brought life to the nations of this world. And we pray that we would come to drink from that fountain. That water that will satisfy the soul and we pray that we ourselves would spring up with this living water and be your witnesses here in Benoni, in our land, in Gauteng, in South Africa and even to the ends of the earth. We give you praise and we give you glory in Jesus name. Amen. We saw last time, last Sunday, that from verse 6 to 7, that this day, this day that Jesus puts his feet on the Mount of Olives, if you look back from verse 1 to 5, it's speaking of this day that Jesus returns, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. He comes to rescue and redeem His people Israel, and He comes to crush the enemies that have gathered their forces against His covenant people. He shows his faithfulness to them. This day is unlike any other day since the creation of the world. Because the luminaries will dwindle, yet at evening there will be light in verse 6 and 7. And the supernatural light isn't the sun or the moon, but it is Jesus himself. The true light of the world as John 8 verse 12 teaches us fulfilling the very pattern that we see of Genesis 1. Remember that in the beginning he said let there be light and this was before the sun and the moons had even been made and Jesus our Lord is this light but yet even on day one there was morning and evening or there was evening and there was morning day one and so since the very beginning of the world there's never been a day like this day. The day that Jesus returns and puts his feet on the Mount of Olives. It is unlike any other days of darkness that we'd seen before. God's judgment was plain even on this day as he crushes the enemies of Israel and we'll learn more of this in weeks to come Lord willing. But it is also a day of redemption of his people as the Mount of Olives is split from south to north opening up a wide valley through which the people of Israel would escape but also a valley through which water would flow. And so today's focus is verse 8. We're going to look at the living waters that will flow from and out of Jerusalem. Such a different river as well, because it flows in two opposite directions. From Jerusalem, half of the water flows towards the Eastern Sea, and the other half towards the Western Sea. It will be in summer as well as in winter. So that tells you the duration. This will carry on going from this day that Jesus returns, this water begins to flow east and west. And what a fitting passage it is for us to look at this morning because Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. And this Easter Sunday we celebrate our Lord's victory over death. And we return today to look at this passage in verse 8 and it speaks to these very same key principles. Because we are the ones that enjoy by the Spirit of God living water that comes from Christ. We are those that are alive. We are those that have been brought from death to life because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. We, the Church of the Living God in this age, are a foreshadow and a type of what Jesus is still to do in the millennial reign. And I'm going to show that to you, Lord willing, so I guess buckle up. So we're going to look at this section in three parts. Firstly, we'll look at the source. Where's the source of this living water? Well, it comes out of Jerusalem. Living water will flow out of Jerusalem, the city of peace that finally becomes a city of peace as Jesus rescues and redeems his elect. The living waters will flow out of Jerusalem. It flows from God's chosen throne, from where Jesus will be enthroned for the millennial kingdom, where he will sit on the throne of his father David. Let's look back for a moment at 1 Kings chapter 8 and we're going to look there where Solomon consecrates the temple. 1 Kings 8 verse 27 to 30. Because this is the place where God put his name. Yahweh decided that this place would be the place of His choosing. The place where He would enthrone Himself amongst the nations of the world. So let's look back at what Solomon says when he consecrates the first temple. And remember that the third temple, because there's the second temple that's getting rebuilt in Zechariah's day, But then there's the third temple which will get rebuilt just during the tribulation period, or just before the tribulation period. That is not the millennial temple, because there will be the millennial temple which will far exceed the grandeur and the glory, and you see this in Ezekiel, of even the first and the second and the third temple. This is the temple where Jesus will be enthroned but listen to what Solomon says in 1st Kings chapter 8 verse 27 to 30. But will God truly dwell on the earth? Solomon says. Behold heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you. That is the reality of our God. How much less this house which I have built yet I have regard Yet have regard to the prayer of your slave and to his supplication. O Yahweh my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your slave prays before you today, that your eyes may be open toward this house night and day. towards the place of which you have said my name shall be there to listen to the prayer which your slaves shall pray towards this place isn't it fascinating how this is part of his prayer that Jesus fulfills on this great day where neither night nor day will not have light And he says this in verse 30, 1 Kings 8, and listen to the supplication of your slave and your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Listen in heaven, your dwelling place, listen and forgive. This fulfills what Moses had said to the people of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy, just before they go into the land of Canaan. And the land of Canaan is an important concept because right at the end of Zechariah, if you look down at verse 21 of Zechariah 14, right at the end it says, and there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Yahweh of hosts in that day. So this is part of God's grand fulfillment of what even happens just before the people of Israel head into the land of Canaan. Right at the very end, there won't even be a Canaanite now in the house of the Lord. But Deuteronomy 12 verse 11 to 12, Moses says this to the people of Israel. then it will be that the place in which Yahweh your God will choose for his name to dwell. There's a place where Yahweh chooses for his name to dwell and it is Jerusalem. It is Zion. It is this city of Christ our Lord. This very place where Jesus would be crucified outside of its walls. He would now reign from this mount. then you shall bring all that I am commanding you your burnt offerings and your sacrifices your tithes and the contribution of your hand and all the choice votive offerings which you will vow to Yahweh and you shall be glad before Yahweh your God you and your sons and daughters your male and female slaves and the Levites who is within your gates since he has no portion of your inheritance with you It's where Solomon built this temple and where Jesus our high priest poured out his life and where that curtain was torn from top to bottom. It's this place. This place where even our Lord Jesus would chase out almost at the estimate a hundred thousand people with a leather whip saying this will be called a house of prayer. This is what he reestablishes. So how does this connect with what we're looking at as far as the fact that Jesus is risen from the dead? Well remember that as our Lord hung on Golgotha's hill He was pierced in his side from which blood and water flowed. John 19 verse 34 says this, but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear and immediately blood and water came out. The first living streams of our redemption. But on Easter morning, on the Lord's day, that first Lord's day, turned from death into life as Christ our Lord rose. He became the eternal fountain of resurrection power. from him streams flow. Romans 4 25 says this he who was delivered over on account of our transgressions he went to the cross for our transgressions and was raised on an account of our justification it is by him that we are washed clean it is by him that we are redeemed he is our resurrection hope Jesus our Lord rose the firstborn of those who have fallen asleep as 1st Corinthians 15 20 says So will the spring of life rise from Zion and bring in life to the nations if you go back to the Abrahamic promise that God makes with Abraham in Genesis chapter 12 and you look at the covenant that God made with him and the people of Israel listen to what he said in Genesis 12 verse 1 to 3 and Yahweh said to Abram go forth from your land this land is important it's part of the reason that it flows from Jerusalem and from your kin and from your father's house to the land which I will show you This land, the land of Israel. I'm going to show you that land. And I will make you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great. And so you shall be a blessing. You're going to be a blessing because I'm going to bless you with such blessing. And I will bless those who bless you. And the one who curses you, I will curse. And in you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. This living water that will flow from Jerusalem is the grand fulfillment of this Abrahamic covenant because the waters will flow to the east and to the west and they will bring healing to the nations. Why will the nations need healing? Well all of their armies were gathered up against Israel and the armies are absolutely obliterated but the nations rejuvenate by the living water from Christ himself. For that thousand years the nations are restored. For that thousand years the curse that Adam and Eve brought upon the ground is lifted and Jesus reigns from the earth. Look with me at Isaiah 49 verse 1 to 13. I hope that you will see these things. I know that it is a bit of a fast paced roller coaster this morning. But Isaiah 49 verse 1 to 13 says this. Listen to me, O coastlands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. Yahweh called me from the womb, from the body of my mother. He made my name to be remembered. Remember, he would be called Emmanuel. God with us? This was the name given while he was in the womb. Yet when he's born Joseph calls his name Jesus. But what is his name from the womb? God with us! He has set my mouth like a sharp sword. What happens there when Jesus returns? And the enemies are absolutely obliterated with the sword from the mouth of Jesus. In the shadow of His hand, He has concealed me, and He has also set me as a select arrow. He has hidden me in His quiver. He said to me, You are my servant Israel, in whom I will show forth my beautiful glory. But I said, I have toiled in vain. I have spent my might for nothing in vanity, yet surely the justice due to me is with Yahweh, and my reward with my God. So now, says Yahweh, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to return Jacob to him. What will return Jacob to God the Father? It is by Jesus Christ, so that Israel might be gathered to him. For I am glorified in the sight of Yahweh, and my God is my strength. Where is Jesus right now? At the right hand of the Father, interceding for his church, ready to come when God would put him into his bow and shoot the arrow at the appointed time he says it is it is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the present that the preserved ones of Israel to return I will also give you as a light to the nations what is this day Jesus is the light day and night What will be at Zion with this new temple in the millennial reign? There will neither be day nor night. They will have light, light to the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One. Yahweh is the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One. What did they put upon the cross above Jesus' head? Here is the King of the Jews. Yahweh redeems Israel. Yahweh redeems its Holy One to the despised one. What did they do with Jesus? They mocked Him. They placed him on a cross to be abhorred by the nations. Why do the nation's rage and the people's plot in vain against this one? And they come with their armies against this one that is rejected by the world. To the servant of rulers. What did Jesus do in John 13 as he lay outside, he put aside his outer garment and he slaved to his people washing their feet to the servant of the rulers. Kings will see and arise. Princes will also bow down. Every tongue will confess. Every knee will bow. Because of Yahweh who is faithful. I want you to note that. Yahweh is faithful. He does what he says. The Holy One of Israel who has chosen you. heaven to earth he will establish the land to make them inherit the desolate inheritance. Why will this desolate inheritance be inherited by him? While this stream of living water east to west which now makes the desert to bloom will be his saying to those who are bound go forth To those who are in darkness, show yourselves. Along the roads they will feed, and their pasture will be on all bare heights. They will not hunger or thirst. Nor will the scorching heat of our sun strike them down, for He who has compassion on them will guide them and will lead them to springs of water. Do you see our good shepherd here? How he leads them? How does he lead them? Now they suddenly see because he's the light. Why will they not go thirsty while he leads them to springs of water? I will set all my mountain as a road and my highways will be raised up. Behold those will come from afar and behold these will come from the north and from the west and these from the land of Sinim. Shout for joy. Oh heavens and rejoice. Oh earth break forth into joyful shouting Oh mountains for Yahweh has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted I believe that Isaiah was speaking about the same day that we're reading about in Zechariah So we've looked at the source Secondly, let's look at the scope the scope half towards the Eastern Sea half towards the Western Sea and Eastward to the Dead Sea. I believe that it could even go further and What you could call the South China Sea if you take a line all the way east and you take a line all the way West You'd be able to see something of that But yeah, I do believe that this is the fulfillment of even what we see in Ezekiel 47 verse 8 to 12 the Dead Sea is unlike any other sea in the world and It's named for its barrenness. People that visit Israel will often go and spend some time at the Dead Sea and they're able to go in there and float around. But don't go under and don't keep your eyes open, it will blind you. It's so salty and the salt that is in it makes it that you can just lie there on top of this sea. But it sits over 400 meters below sea level. And it's a place where it's just dead. Actually near to that is where you'll find Sodom and Gomorrah and all of the salt that is now there. And fascinating how even you think of somebody like Lot's wife who turned into a pillar of salt near to this location. But there, it's absolutely dead. There's no fish that can swim in its waters. Its shores lie stark and desolate. And Ezekiel 47 verse 8 to 12 speak of this prophecy as well, of the sea that now, or this river of life that now teems with life to this very place. Then he said to me, these waters, this is Ezekiel 47 verse 8 to 12. Then he said to me, these waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Araba. Then they go toward the sea. been made to flow out to the sea and the waters of the sea will be healed. This very place the Dead Sea becomes the Living Sea because of the streams of living water. This is the power that comes from Christ. This is what Jesus does by the way in your and my heart when he redeems us. That which was dead comes to life. That which had no life and all it loved was darkness. now has the light of Christ that shines upon the heart and he that said let there be light in the beginning says let this light shine in this heart because of Christ And this, let me read further from Ezekiel 47 verse 9 says this, and it will be that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes will live and there will be very many fish. And here's a good verse for those of you that love fishing. I don't like fishing very much. I'm not sure why people like fishing. Um, you know, if, if I was alive during Jesus time and he was calling me to be his disciple, he probably wouldn't have found me on a fishing boat. But he has a good verse for the fishermen. I can understand fishing being more exciting than golf. I'm pretty sure that nobody likes golf. Like there is nobody that actually likes it and it's just one big game that everybody plays around with and pretend to like it. You can try and argue with me later, we'll talk about that. But I just don't get it, like how anybody could do that. You don't even get to eat a fish after playing golf. Okay, so you can go and enjoy some fishing, but please, the golf, hey, Who would do that? I mean, you can get some exercise other ways, okay? So yeah in verse 9 and it will be that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes will live and there will be very many fish for these waters go there and the other waters are healed. So everything will live where the river goes. This is a place where you'd be able to go fish like the Sea of Galilee. This is a place like you'd be able to send Peter and John during the millennial reign and teach us how to fish at the Dead Sea. And it will be that fishermen will stand beside it, from En-Gedi to En-Galim. There will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the great sea. Very many. We're given promises not just of the living aspect of the living waters that flow into the Dead Sea, but we're even told that there's going to be fish like every kind that is in the seas. And it's going to be such good fishing, such good food. It'd be good for places like Ocean Basket to go and buy up some land at the moment, near to this spot. Because it's going to be so many fish. And then it says to us even further, it talks about if you've ever been there, I haven't been there but I've looked at a lot of videos and I enjoy the, I'm going there someday. But it says there, of its marshes and swamps will not be healed. So at the same time that the sea is healed and it teems with life, the swamps and the marshes will not be healed, they will be left for salt. Interesting. You're going to have salt on your fish and chips. And by the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither. Does that sound familiar? Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. Does that sound familiar, Psalm 1? They will bear every month! Now if you know anything about trees and the fruit that comes from trees, there's certain months that they grow and there's certain months they don't. We have a banana tree that's busy giving out bananas and I have no idea which month to harvest it in. And I'm even asking questions of people and they don't really give me good answers. But there's certain months that it bears fruit and there's certain months it just won't. But these trees on the banks of this living water will neither fail at any time. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows out from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be food and their leaves for healing. Like all herbs have been given by God, as this Proverbs even teach us, I think it's Proverbs or Ecclesiastes, for healing. Their leaves will bring healing, and their fruit will be there all the time. And that's why we see in Zechariah, this river will flow, summer or winter. And everything that grows on its banks will be for the nations to enjoy. It will team with life. So you can be there with your fishing rod while you're grabbing some good fruit from the trees. I don't know, you pricked your finger with a hook because you're not really good at fishing and somebody convinced you during the millennial reign to come and try it, well then you take some leaves for the healing. Can you see the picture? How marvelous this is different to what it is right now in this world? It tells us about the when in Zachariah's prophecy. It starts the day that Jesus returns. When he puts his feet on the Mount of Olives, everything that man has messed up begins to be reversed. It goes also to the West, so it doesn't just go to the East, to the Dead Sea, but goes to the West, to the Mediterranean. Flowing West, the river reaches the Mediterranean seas and then begins to mingle with all of the oceans of the world, bringing healing to the nations of the world. God blesses all of the nations that are busy being rebuilt after the tribulation period and after their armies have been destroyed at that great destruction. In you, God said to Abram, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12 verse 3. What a geographic wonder. Do you know that in nature rivers flow gravitationally? That's how they flow. That means that it goes from top to the bottom. Of course, you know what that means. But did you know that we spin around the earth? And so most rivers flow from north to south. It's so interesting. I went and looked this up. And I mean, I can't believe I never looked it up before. But it's so fascinating. And you go and look at this. They go from the highlands to the lowlands. And most of the time, these rivers go from north to south because of the way that we are, the gravitational pull and the way that we spin around the sun. Yet this river will flow both east and west by divine decree. Here's where the spring comes up and this water goes that way and this water goes that way. Unlike any other river that has ever been. And it shows God's grace that has no boundaries, because just as far as the East is from the West, so far has He taken our sin away from us. But there's some rare exceptions, if you go and look up this later, such as the Nile River, that actually flows from South to North, but it still goes down gravity in that sense. But that's one of the biggest rivers that actually flows quite a lot differently than some of the other rivers. And that also, during this millennial reign, we're told even the bounds of where this land will be, because it will flow, or the land will be from the great river in Egypt, which is the Nile, all the way to what other river up north? The Euphrates. A massive piece of real estate, which Israel has never yet completely owned. They've never once owned the full extent of the land that God had promised to Abraham, but they will. This first river flowing east, flowing west, but for the healing of the world. Just as a practical scale for us, I went and looked this up to give us a bit of an idea of what will be. But the modern Israel that we have right now spans an area of about 19,500 kilometers squared or square kilometers. It's roughly the size of the Kruger National Park, because I know that you were like, ooh, you're busy tracing that in your mind. Where is the size? Israel right now is about the size of the Kruger National Park. But the Abramic promise stretched far beyond that portion. From the river of Egypt to the Euphrates, Genesis 15 verse 18, if you're taking that down as a reference point, That is over a million square kilometers. So you're going from 19,500 square kilometers to over a million square kilometers. That is comparable to the whole of South Africa, which is 1,221,000 square kilometers. And apparently when you say big numbers, you say, listen carefully. So that's how big. That's how big Israel will be during the millennial reign of Christ. I don't think we can properly comprehend that, but we got a pretty big country. Maxine was saying to me, man, we should really get a tandem bike and someday take a cycle down to Cape Town. I was like, that is never going to happen. That is never going to happen. Going to play golf is more likely. But you know our wives can dream, right? And then we say, yes dear, I love you. But imagine that vast territory. Once this dry wilderness, I mean, you go and look at that area right now, and you just see there was an area, there's a highway running from north to south that actually connects Asia to Africa, and that was called the King's Highway. And many times, and God put Israel in the very spot that they would need him the most, because armies that were going from the south to the north would go straight through Israel. Armies that went from the north to the south would go straight through Israel, because anything that would be more to the east of Israel would just be desert, arid lands with no water. And so they wouldn't have water to drink. And just even these analogies that Jesus gives to us, you can't go without water. One of the fascinating things we looked at recently was a guy that survived in the Amazon. And the first thing that he's setting up his camp is near water. And he's got water purification stuff. I was like, well, that's cheating. You're supposed to be surviving there without any help. But he's got, you know, iodide, I think it is called, that they drip, one drip into a water bottle and it purifies the water for them. You can't live without water. Which is one of the reasons that you all should dig boreholes in our country, right? One of the things the deacons are looking at, possibly putting a borehole at Benoni Bible Church for the times when there's water that's low. Because you can't live without water. But this springs to life, this millennial kingdom of Christ, almost the size of South Africa. And it just teems with life. That whole region becomes like the Garden of Eden because of what Jesus does. Because Jesus sets his feet down on the Mount of Olives. So we've looked at the source, we've looked at the scope, let's look lastly at the sustenance. The sustenance in summer as well as in winter. That's what this water is like, this living water. I'm very fascinated by a lot of these subjects. I went and looked up some of these things as well. There's a product today that some people are claiming is living water and that's where they put something called ozone into the water and that becomes like ozone water and they say that's the closest you get to these mountain streams that has more oxygen within the water, and it actually helps with this. So I've been looking at that, thinking about it, wondering about it, thinking, you know, what kind of a machine could you do to put that and get that going? But we're told this is living water. In summer as well as winter, it flows east as well as west. And on its banks, these trees that are there give their fruit all the year round, and their leaves are for healing. But there's no seasonal aspect to this where there's a different ebb or flow. This water flows all the time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 12 months a year. Whether the desert is there or whether winter comes, it's life-giving water never ever ceases. There's an eternality to the very grace that God gives to us and that's part of this picture. Because spiritually this teaches us that through the resurrected life of Jesus, we are sustained for every season. That is the reality for every saved individual today. Whether night time is coming for you or whether you are still in the springtime of your life. The life that Jesus gives is sustaining. There's joy even within sorrow. There's abundance even within times of drought. We are never beyond the reach of the living water of our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ our Lord. And we know as New Testament saints that the Holy Spirit of God is spoken of as that living water within us. That's why I said that we are a foreshadow, a foretaste of what that millennial kingdom will look like. Because Jesus makes all the difference in your and my life. We were once desert lands. barren without life and look at what a work Jesus does. Thinking about this from a biblical perspective it takes you to both cover ends of the Bible because in Genesis 2 you've got those four rivers and you've got the river in particular in Eden that has that life and you got the tree of life and we're told about this tree of life once again in Revelation chapter 22 verse 1 to 7 which is right there with this river of life. It would seem that at the very spring point of this water that is the spring of life you've got the tree of life once more in the millennial kingdom of God and people will live up until a thousand years again like it was in the pre-flood time. You've got the both ends of God's Word giving us a view of this. Look with me there at Revelation 22 verse 1 to 7 because it tells us a bit more about this water in Zechariah's verse 8 of chapter 14, we read a little bit about it, but we got more light in other parts of God's Word to tell us more about what this water will be like. Revelation 22 verse 1 to 7, Then he showed me a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. I couldn't help getting thirsty as I'm reading about this. In the middle of its street, on either side of the river was the tree of life. He has the tree of life which was closed up to us because man chose death. Remember what happened in the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3 where the cherubim with the flaming sword is placed at the entrance to the Garden of Eden and I know some of you are wondering is there a place we could go to where there is the Garden of Eden right now? I think it is underneath the Gulf of Aqaba which is there in Kind of where there's a lot of action at the moment in the Middle East. But there's a different world that we're in now. Why? Because of Genesis 6 with the flood. So Eden was destroyed. There's no flaming cherub standing there at the portals to Garden of Eden. Garden of Eden doesn't exist anymore. but our Lord Jesus will make this whole land like the Garden of Eden this is the promise and that tree is there the reason that the flaming cherub was put there wasn't to keep them out of the Garden of Eden it was to keep them from the tree of life because man chose death in the day that you eat of it you will surely die this is the reason that any of us die this is the reason that we have funerals at the moment is because man in his sin chose life apart from God and we bear the consequences of that but those that are in Christ have died with Christ and we are resurrected with Christ we have resurrection life about us so much so that the believer no longer dies because the sting of death is taken they fall asleep and they are absent from the body and present with the Lord we have a very different expectation as believers but listen to this river of life then he showed me a river of the water of life bright as crystal coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the midst of its streets on either side of the river was the tree of life bearing 12 kinds of fruit yielding its fruit every month and that would even indicate that you need a different kind of fruit every month which God in his wisdom does for us that's why oranges come out in almost it's springtime wintertime because you need some extra vitamin C But on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there will no longer be any curse. Let me ask you, dear one, are you going to be there one day with me? there will no longer be any curse at the moment you still face that curse that's one of the reasons that we groan with all of creation like Romans 8 says for the day of redemption and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it and his slaves will serve him and they will see his face that is the very best thing about this oh to see the face of my Savior who bore the thorn the thorny crown for me and His name will be on their foreheads and there will no longer be any night and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun because the Lord God will illuminate them and will illumine them and they will reign forever and ever and He said to me these words are faithful and true see how God does what He says And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show me his slaves, the things which must soon take place. Who are the ones that will serve him one day? It's you and me, brothers and sisters, that are walking in the light of Jesus today, that have come to that fount to drink full of salvation. Jesus says there in verse 7 and behold I am coming quickly Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book and look with look down a little bit in that last portion of Revelation 22 notice the amount of times that Jesus says I am coming quickly. I am coming quickly. I am coming quickly That's the message for you and me today Jesus is coming quickly. What is it that you're facing in your life? That feels a bit like a desert place that needs the Lord Jesus. So what is the application for us as a church as we look at this, as we, like the people in Zachariah's day, still look at this from afar? What were they called to do? They were called to do the work that God had called them to do, which was to build up the temple of God. Did you know that you and I are called to the same work that they were called to, just the spiritual work, build up the temple of God? We are co-workers with Christ regarding redemption. We go out to this world and we cry out to the world. We declare the matchless worth of Christ who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. We proclaim these realities and we are part of this building project of Christ. We are those living stones that are built upon the cornerstone our Lord Jesus Christ who has been rejected yet he is the chief one. So what should we do? What a picture it is of this future reality. As I mentioned, the church is a shadow and a type of what is to come in the millennial reign of Christ. So here's the first application point. Come and drink. Come and drink. Jesus said if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Are you thirsty today? Are you thirsty in your soul because you have not Christ? Then come and drink, John 7 verse 37. Come to the risen Christ and drink deeply of His resurrection life so that His resurrection life will be your resurrection life and so that you might have a spring within you by the Spirit of God and that living water would flow for the healing of the nations. Listen to John 7 verse 37 to 39. Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out saying, this is what our Lord Jesus cried out to the crowds. He said, if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture said, from the innermost being will flow rivers of living water. Brothers and sisters, if you indeed have believed on Jesus Christ and God is faithful to his word, which he is, then streams of living water flow from within you this morning. But this he spoke of the Spirit. We're told this by John. Have you received the Spirit of God when you came to Jesus Christ? Because then you have streams of living water within you. Whom those who believed in Him were going to receive. This is what happened at Pentecost brothers and sisters. They received the indwelling Spirit of God. There is no believer that does not have the Spirit of God. Then you're a fake believer, a false believer, a convert who's not a convert at all, a charlatan, a goat that is amongst the sheep, a one that is a weed amongst the sheaves. And one day you will stand before Jesus. Don't be deceived, rather right now come to Jesus and drink full of the salvation that is found in him alone. None of your good works will save you, none of your personhood will save you, only Jesus will save you. And then springs of living water will well up within you and you just won't be able to help it. and it will flow and guess what happens to you you become like a tree that is planted by streams of living water and you are sturdy by the streams and you bear your fruit in its season and the very nations of the world can come and eat and take rest under your leaves so that's the second application point for us and that is bear fruit bear fruit Christian because of this reality bear fruit Like trees that are planted by the stream. Listen to Psalm 1 verse 1 to 7. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of Yahweh. And in his law he meditates day and night. He doesn't have time to do the other things that the worldly people are doing. and to behave the way that worldly people are behaving? He doesn't sit and stand and walk with sinners. He's a saint. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither and in whatever he does he prospers. We who abide in Christ will bear fruit in every season. What season are you in in your life? The Christian bears fruit in that season. Doesn't matter what season, whatever time that you're going through, you will bear fruit in that season. The fruit that is fitting for that season. You will bear it. Because this is part of the promise of being filled with the Spirit of God. You let His living water transform your dry places. To transform your doubts, to transform your fears, to transform your sins. And Jesus is the one who receives all of the glory. Go with me to John 4. And I know that our time is marching onward and upward. And I know that many of you are so excited you want me to just preach until our evening service. But listen to John 4 verse 7 to 15. What a fascinating passage this is. And I pray that the Spirit of God would enlighten you this morning that you can see this. Because this is the whole point of even the end of our Bibles. You've got to get this. John 4 verse 7 to 15. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. And Jesus said to her, give me a drink. For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to him, How do you, being a Jew, ask for a drink from me, being a Samaritan woman? She's confused by this. But you see, Jesus was setting her up. We know that because we've got the rest of the account. For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water you know that even a cup of water in Jesus name is worthy service of him we're called to be those that give a glass of water to one another we're told to kind of be like the Samaritan woman but we should be the ones that have come to Jesus first she said to him sir You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. What do you mean you've got some water that I can get from you? You don't even have a jug to get down into this deep well to draw water from it so that you could give it to me. What are you even talking about? Kind of sounds a little bit like Nicodemus. How can I go back into my mother's womb and be born again? Back in the chapter before this. Where then do you get the living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle? Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water that this water that he's speaking of is this Jacob's well water will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst ever but the water that I will give him will become in him listen to this church a well of water springing up to eternal life There's an overflow in the life of the Christian of this water of Jesus. The woman said to him, sir give me this water so I will not be thirsty nor come back here to draw. She's just thinking man it's been an effort my whole life to get water. If I can have this water I don't have to come and draw this water anymore. But Jesus was speaking about her soul, which was so needy. He says to her, go get your husband, another setup for her. No, no, I don't have a husband. Yeah, you're right, because you've got multiple. He starts to dig right there into the heart. And she then goes back to the town. And she calls everybody. She says, come to the one who's told me everything about me. Because when this living water starts to come in, it shows all that which is dead and it replaces and redeems. There's a well that springs up in us. It's living water that flows from us. We're a type and a shadow of what the millennial kingdom will look like. Listen to Galatians 5 verse 22 to 25, but the fruit of the spirit So when you've got this living water in you, this tree that's planted by it, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. And brothers and sisters, if we have crucified our flesh with Jesus, with its passions and with its desires, guess what happens? We then are the ones that live with Jesus. We rise with Him because He rose from the dead. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit. This is the life of the redeemed. So what are the application? Not just the bearing of fruit, which I've mentioned as a part of this application, not just of a coming to drink full from him, but carry the stream. Carry the stream. That's application for us. Carry the stream. Be a conduit for this living water. Don't be a dead sea that has water that comes into it and has no stream that goes out. Carry the stream, just as the river flowed east and west, so our mission flows out from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth. Carry the living water to a world that is dying of thirst. There's thirsty people all around us that are needy of this gospel message. Now turn with me to Revelation 22 verse 17, right near the very end of our Bibles. Because this is what the Spirit of God says. And this is what the Bride says. Because Jesus says, I'm coming soon, I'm coming soon, I'm coming soon. So many times in Revelation 22. Listen to what the Spirit of God says right now. And listen to what the Bride says. Who's the Bride? You and I are the Bride. You and I are the Church of the Living God. Jesus has given us the message he's coming soon again. He's going to put his feet on the Mount of Olives. We've been learning about this the last few weeks in our series in Zachariah. This is what the Spirit of God says and this is what the bride says. Come! Because Jesus says I'm coming soon. That's what the heart of the Christian says. And I wonder with a preaching series like this, if you saying that in your heart, with the Spirit of God and the Bride, come, Jesus, come. Come Lord, put your feet down on the Mount of Honours. Come, because you get it, you understand it. And let the one who hears say, come, you've just heard this, you've heard about this this morning, you've been preached to about this this morning, what should you say? Come! Come Lord Jesus. And let the one who is thirsty come. Are you thirsty this morning? Have you truly come to the Lord Jesus? As I've been preaching to you, has your mouth started to dry as you think about your soul that is in need of living water? Then come, let the one who wishes receive the water of life without cost. Isn't that glorious? You don't have to come with any money to get this. You come to Jesus on the account of what he has done in his finished work at the cross and that he rose again. Friends, as Christians, you are the conduit of living water. Let the cup run over wherever you go. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Oh Lord, we are reminded of what we saw earlier on in the book of Zechariah in chapter 4 verse 6, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says Yahweh of hosts. Oh, that you would do a mighty work within us, even as we remember this Easter Sunday, as we celebrate the empty tomb and the living Savior. I pray, Lord, that Zechariah's vision would remind us that the same power which raised Jesus from the dead will one day flood the nations with that life-giving flow, flowing east and flowing west in every season. I pray, Lord, that you would help us to drink deeply today to trust in the risen Christ and that you would let your living water renew us now and forever. In Jesus' name we pray. And we say with the church, Maranatha, come. Lord Jesus, come. Amen.