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Grafted to the Fountain!

Another reason you can be confident about being able to "drink" is that you are grafted to the Lord (Rom. 11:17). The Bible also says of our attachment to God, "I am the vine, you are the branches" (John 15:5). You can be confident about receiving God's presence because you are grafted to a fountain that continually radiates the Holy Spirit.

Leaves on trees receive nourishment from the roots up through the trunk of the tree. Just above the wood but under the outer bark is a layer of soft bark called the cambium layer. This layer of bark extends like a pipe all around the trunk and the branches of the tree. If you peel the bark off a branch you can see the cambium layer. Usually it is lighter brown than the outer bark itself. It is through the tube like layer of cambium bark that the leaves receive their nourishment. If a branch is grafted to a tree properly, the cambium layer extends right through the graft without interruption. The cambium layer is the part of the tree that is alive. We can drink because the vine to which we are grafted is like being grafted to a fire hydrant that is turned wide open.

Like a branch that is grafted to the trunk of a tree, we are attached to the fountain of God. Our grafting to the Lord is like a pipe that extends to us from God. I believe that the "two witnesses" are going to be witnesses about our grafting to the Lord. The Bible says, "the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves...These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth." (Zec. 4:12a,14). They are emptying the oil of the Holy Spirit from themselves because they are standing before the Lord of glory. Let your heart rejoice that you too have been grafted to the fountain of God. The head of a fountain is always under pressure. You can’t but receive from the Lord because the radiance of God is so intense.

Leaves also absorb water directly from the rain. My kids learned in school that leaves on some trees receive about 5% of their nourishment direct from the rain. Here again we find a similarity to the way we receive from God: "So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth" (Hos. 6:3). The Bible also tells us, "it is time to seek the Lord Until He comes to rain righteousness on you." (Hos. 10:12b). Use thanks and praise to impress the truth about the grace of God. Thank Him that you can receive the Holy Spirit because God has grafted you to a great and glorious fountain of the Holy Spirit. 

The Bible gives another picture that describes our attachment to the Lord. The clothing of the Old Testament priests included cords. Blue cords of woven material were used to fasten articles of clothing together over the priest’s chest and above their forehead (Exodus 28:28 and 36-38). I believe the woven blue cords were pictures of our attachment to the Lord that are similar to an umbilical cord that attaches a child to it’s mother.

That which attaches us to God is the Holy Spirit. Just as a child receives life from it’s mother, even so, we also receive the Holy Spirit from God, "the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor. 3:6b). Our grafting to God was never intended to be reduced to just be a nice theological idea. The cords in the Old Testament were only symbols. You and I have the real thing. Because you are a kingdom priest you can rejoice that you too are attached to God. You can experience the presence of God freely! Let God thrill your heart because of the woven cords that extends between you and the "fountain of life" (Psalm 36:9). 

Think about the grace of God as something that includes His desire to lavish His presence upon you freely. Otherwise, the verse below will be difficult for you to believe. Similar to Jesus’ promise that a river of the Holy Spirit could flow out from inside us, God wants you to radiate His glory. He wants you to become a fountain too! Letting God be your glory results in experiencing His presence in this way.

You will rejoice in the Lord, You will glory in the Holy One of Israel. The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, And their tongue is parched with thirst; I, the Lord, will answer them Myself, As the God of Israel I will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights And springs in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water And the dry land fountains of water. (Isa. 41:16-18).

God’s desire that you become a fountain or a spring is a literal thing. The "thirsty land" in this passage refers to people that God wants to make into fountains of His Spirit. The Bible often describes people as "dry ground." Another example is this, "‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants" (Isa. 44:3 see also Isa. 61:4; Hos. 2:19,24).

Since Jesus is the radiance of the Father’s glory and we are the body of Christ here it is reasonable to conclude that God wants to make us to radiate His glory on earth. The Lord told Moses, concerning the release of Israel from bondage, "but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord" (Num. 14:21). Even today, it is still in God’s heart to fill the earth with His glory. We too are living in a time when God’s people need release from bondage. This time, I believe God is going accomplish His purpose by what He pours through individual believers who make up the body of Christ. It is not about what we can do as individuals it is about what we can do together. Those who make the effort to reassure their heart with the truth until they find freedom to draw near and stand open before the Lord, are the ones who will become springs and fountains of the Holy Spirit. God wants to use you to fill the earth with His glory. Each one of us have to do our part. Draw near and drink. Let Him work through you. 

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I am praying for the Lord's abundant blessing on your efforts to direct your heart toward Him.

Barry.

     Come and Drink — Continued...

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(C) Barry Hall 1999

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