Rivers of Living Water
Talks on the Holy Spirit
About This Book
"He that believeth on Me, as the scripture says, from within him shall flow out rivers of living water"! Not a stream—rivers of living water, able to turn desert areas into a garden, able to transform whole great areas around us. Rivers of living water.
In these compiled teachings of Lance's, he explores the person and work of the Holy Spirit, addressing common questions and misconceptions, and clearing up the Holy Spirit's role in the believer's life.
The Holy Spirit, not merely a force or influence, desires to be known intimately. Through these profound teachings, Lance Lambert guides readers into a deeper understanding of the third person of the Trinity and His work in our lives.
This collection offers biblical insight into one of the most misunderstood aspects of Christian faith, providing clarity and encouraging intimacy with the Holy Spirit.
Christ as Baptiser in the Holy Spirit
The burden I have had has been centred in these words in II Corinthians 11:2–3:
In these last days, in this last phase of world history, you and I need to get clear that the end of our walk with the Lord, of all the dealings of the Lord with us, of all Christian life, of all service and work and of church life, is that you and I should be presented a pure virgin to Christ, that we should not have our minds corrupted from the singleness which is toward Him, the unaffectedness which is toward Him, that our mind should not be corrupted from the purity which is toward Him.
Christ Our Life and Our Power
Now, I would like to share about Christ as our life and our power, and I find it a tremendous joy and a tremendous discovery to find that the Lord Jesus is the life. There is no such thing as the Christian life. You know, this Christian life is so complex. I do not know if you have discovered that yet, but it is the most complex thing in the whole world. Trying to be holy in an unholy world is a dreadful business. Trying to turn the other cheek in a world that's continually hitting you is no easy matter.
It's bad enough amongst the believers when they are hitting you. You must have all discovered that. We talk so much about the Christian life. The interesting thing is the Christian life is not mentioned once in the whole Bible. You would almost think it does not exist.
But what we call the Christian life, the New Testament calls eternal life, that is the life of Jesus. That life of Jesus is communicated to us, transmitted to us in the person of the Holy Spirit.
You don't have to try and tie apples on an apple tree to make it fruitful. If you do, it may look pretty, but it's a dreadful job. Can you imagine going down to the supermarket, buying so many pounds of apples, then going out to the poor old tree, getting a ladder, going up in it, and tying each apple on the branches? Now, my dear friends, for a few days it will look good, which is what happens with many people in these kinds of conferences. The apples are tied on the branches; they look pretty good. But within a week, the apples have withered. They never came out of the life in the apple tree.
Christ as Our Baptiser
Now, I am very well aware that this is the most controversial subject, but I have to point out to you that at the beginning of all four Gospels and the beginning of the book of Acts, we have this phrase, "He shall baptise you in the Holy Spirit and fire."
You cannot get away from it. It must be not only vitally important, but deeply significant.
It is not as if one of the Gospels mentions it and none of the others do. Every one of the four Gospels, the three synoptic Gospels and John, which is the interpretation, every one of them mentions this statement of John the Baptist, "I indeed baptise you in water, but He that cometh after Me, He shall baptise you in the Holy Spirit and in fire."
Immersed
Would you note something about this statement we find in all four of the Gospels? "He that baptiseth in the Holy Spirit and fire."
Now, I do not know about you. I do not know your theological persuasion. I think I know quite a lot here, but I understand baptism as immersion. I do not think anybody with a Jewish background could understand baptism in any other way, because that's the way everybody was baptised in the time of Jesus.
The very word in Greek means to dip. Originally, primitively, it means to dip. In fact, it is used in classical Greek of dyeing a garment. Now, have you ever heard of someone taking a garment and you want to change it from yellow to deep green and you sprinkle green dye over it?! Nobody has ever heard of such a thing.
Now listen again. "He that cometh after me, He shall immerse you in the Holy Spirit." For me, this takes this whole question out of controversy and puts it into a new dimension. Immersed in the person of the Holy Spirit!
I think of these words of Jesus that come to me in John 7:37–39:
"If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink." That is how we get born of God, isn't it? We receive the Spirit then. He comes to live within us. But then there is something else. "He that believeth on Me," as the scripture says, "from within him shall flow out rivers of living water"! Not a stream - rivers of living water, able to turn desert areas into a garden, able to transform whole great areas around us. Rivers of living water.
Dear, dear friend, note it is all to do with Jesus. "He that believeth - not on the Spirit, but he that believeth on Me from within him shall flow out rivers of living water." I believe that it is almost every time you believe more deeply in the Lord Jesus, the rivers of God flow out of you in a fuller way. It is a faith position.
Beyond the shell infinity of sea;
O Saviour, I am like that empty shell;
Thou art the Sea to me.
A sweeping wave rides up the shore and lo,
Each dim recess the coiled shell within
Is searched, is filled, is filled to overflow
By water crystalline.
Not to the shell is any glory then:
All glory give we to the glorious sea.
And not to me is any glory when
Thou overflowest me.
— Amy Carmichael
That is what it means to be immersed in the Holy Spirit.
Fire
But there is something else that cannot go from it until we have just said it. It is fire!
Now, I think fire is the most wonderful thing in the whole world, really, and also the most terrible thing. Fire speaks of warmth, of love. It speaks of energy and power. It speaks of radiance and light. It speaks of refining and purity - fire. The symbol of the new covenant is fire. On the day of Pentecost, it was a rushing sound of a mighty wind that came in and fire fell upon every one of them.
If that does not awaken in you a hunger, nothing will. You will never win another soul to Christ if there is not fire in you. No one will ever turn aside to see this great sight, unless you are a thorn bush burning with fire and not being consumed.
The Baptiser
So, my friends, here's the last point: I want you to note that the whole emphasis in all four Gospels in this statement is not, if I may say it reverently, on the person of the Holy Spirit as much as the Baptiser.
"He shall baptise you in the Holy Spirit and in fire." There is only one person in the universe who can take you, saved by the grace of God, and immerse you in the person of the Holy Spirit and in fire, and that is the Lord Jesus. He is the baptiser.
Dear friends, there will be no way in which you and I will be presented a pure virgin to the Lord Jesus apart from the person of the Holy Spirit.
Oh, dear brother and sister, may God open your eyes and deliver you from this spirit of controversy over this subject. Over different techniques, different steps, different ways. I am not bothered about that. All I am bothered about is this: Do you know Jesus as the baptiser in the Holy Spirit and in fire?
The discovery of the person of the Holy Spirit is as tremendous as the discovery of the person of Christ.
— Lance Lambert
Rivers of Living Water
Biblical insights into the person and work of the Holy Spirit
About Lance Lambert
Lance Lambert (1931-2015) was one of the most distinguished Bible scholars and speakers in Israel and had an itinerant teaching ministry worldwide. He is the author of "Jacob I Have Loved" and numerous other books.
Born in Richmond, Surrey, Lance came to know the Lord at twelve years of age. He studied Classical Chinese, Mandarin, Oriental Philosophy and Far Eastern History at London University to prepare for work in China.
After discovering his Jewish ancestry, Lance became an Israeli citizen in 1980 and made his home next to the Old City of Jerusalem. His father and many members of his family died in the Holocaust.
Lance was noted for his eschatological views, which place him in the tradition of Watchman Nee and T. Austin-Sparks. He produced a widely appreciated quarterly audio recording called the Middle East Update.