Rodney Howard Browne is pastor of The River at Tampa Bay.

John 4:10 (NKJ)
10 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.”

Jesus is our source of living water. Living water is as essential for our spirits as spring water is for our bodies. Water can be clean and pure and life giving, or it can be dirty, polluted, and contaminated. Dirty water does not taste very good, unless it is all you have ever known. It definitely does not promote health and well being! Ephesians 5:26 (NKJ) 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

The Word of God is water to our spirits, washing us clean and sanctifying us. The water of the Word washes away the pollution of sin and the stench of the world that we had before we were born-again. Unless we are washed with the Word, we will continue to walk dirty and unchanged. We may even find our way back to the world, unless the Word is allowed to continually cleanse us. Once you are clean, you won’t want to go back to being dirty again. The clean feeling will be too good.

>Rodney Howard Browne shows us that deception and religious tradition muddies the pure river of living water. We must hunger and thirst for the truth of the unadulterated Word of God. If you allow false doctrine or ideas to come into your life, it will be like drinking polluted water. It will bring death to your life. Your doctrine should line up with the whole of the Word of God. Every scripture that you stand on must line up with and be supported by other scriptures. Even the devil uses scripture, quoting it out of context, in order to deceive. Just because someone uses big words, it does not mean that they actually know what they are talking about. The Word is your guide to the truth.

John 7:38-39 (NKJ)
38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because
Jesus was not yet glorified. The Holy Spirit is also like water. This is the water that we drink to quench our spiritual thirst. We can drink all we want to. The more we drink of it, the more this living and life-giving water nourishes us. As it flows in us and through us, it brings life to others, too.

Revelation 21:6 (NKJ)
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.”

Revelation 22:1 (NKJ)
1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

This is a never-ending fountain and river of water of life that we can partake of freely. It proceeds directly from God, Himself. If we are thirsty, we can drink. God’s presence is available to us if we will have an open heart, and a strong desire for Him, and everything He has for us. A river of life is there for the taking if we only thirst for Him.