“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
(John 7:37-38)
On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Passover, Jesus poured out His Spirit on believers in the upper room, and they began to speak in a new language. Rivers of living water flowed up out of them and they prophesied. This experience—the baptism of the Holy Spirit—is available to every born-again believer.
The origin of the rivers written about in John 7:38 is the river that flows from the throne of God. It is the life of God Himself. As we worship God, that river flows. As we speak in other tongues, that river flows. As we prophesy, that river flows. As we speak the Word, that river flows up out of us.
Many people have never experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They have never let the rivers flow out of them. This experience was foreign to me as I was growing up. Later, when I was in college, I realized it was true. It is for today, and it is for all believers.
As a young boy, I swam in the cold waters in Albert Pike at a state park in Arkansas. It didn’t matter how hot it was, the temperature of the water always seemed about 38 degrees. When you jumped in, you suddenly came alive. Every fiber of your body was jolted by the coldness of the water.
It’s the same way with the baptism of the Holy Spirit. When you receive it, you are filled with a power that affects your entire being. To walk in victory, you must release the refreshing rivers of the life of God that have been deposited inside of you.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Billy Joe Daugherty was founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was also the founder of Victory Christian School, Victory Bible Institute and Victory World Missions Training Center. Five hundred twenty-three Victory Bible Institutes have been started in eighty-five countries around the world. He inspired individuals and ministries with his life, love and influence for more than 30 years.