Wells of Living Waters

By Dennis Lee

Before the church can arise and shake the world for the Lord, it must bring back the truth of God's Word. The church needs to make the declaration to "Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us God." Wells of Living Waters is a message of the Holy Spirit for the church to remain strongly rooted in the foundational truths inherent in God's Word. Its purpose is to bring back those foundational teachings that Satan has been trying to stop or cover over within the church. In its desire to stay current and culturally relevant, the church has left behind some of the great biblical teachings in order not to offend those who attend. In the process, however, the church has dug all these new wells of teaching only to find many of them dry or worse, filled with poisonous water. Instead of trying to come up with all these new culturally relevant teachings, the church needs to go back and reopen those foundational truths where the true living waters of God's word can be found that has brought life and revival to millions. In Jeremiah 6:16, the Lord said, "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls." Wells of Living Waters deals with the foundational truths of holiness, faithfulness, repentance, the blood of Jesus, judgment, hell, Satan, the person and purpose of the Holy Spirit, the authority of the Scriptures, fasting, and stewardship. This book is soundly based on scriptural authority as well as Pastor Lee's long-term experience in the discipling of God's people""to all who seek to bring pure, living water to a thirsty world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644160336

Dennis Lee

DENNIS LEE is Toronto’s first Poet Laureate, an Officer of the Order of Canada and the author of timeless children’s collections such as Alligator Pie, Garbage Delight, Jelly Belly, Bubblegum Delicious and The Ice Cream Store. He has received many honours for his body of work, including the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children’s Literature. He is also an acclaimed writer of poetry for adults. His work is anthologized and read around the world.

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Wells of Living Waters

Dennis Lee

ISBN 978-1-64416-032-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64416-033-6 (digital)

Copyright © 2018 by Dennis Lee

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures quotations are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV). Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. used by permission. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Endorsement

Within this excellent resource, Wells of Living Waters, the message of the Holy Spirit to his church to remain strongly rooted in the foundational truths inherent in God’s Word is a passionate call and well communicated by its author, Rev. Dennis Lee. In our vigorous and important drive as Christians to be relevant in order to reach the unreached, Dennis communicates the potential danger of us forgetting the wells of living water found in the essentials of our faith. He states, What the church must do instead of trying to be culturally relevant is reopen these wells of living water that has brought life and revival to millions in the past. I highly recommend this book—based on scriptural authority as well as on the author’s long-term experience in the discipling of God’s people—to all who seek to bring pure, living water to a thirsty world.

Dr. Glenn Burris, Jr.

President, The Foursquare Church

Spiritual Transformation Series

Spiritual transformation is probably the most important process a Christian can undertake. Its goal is to encourage growth into a likeness of Jesus Christ. It’s about actively engaging with God and His Word, the Bible, and following the Bible’s commands in and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Bible tells us not to be conformed to or by any worldly standards. We are to be transformed, changed by renewing our minds and hearts (Romans 12:2), because what we think in our hearts is who we will become (Proverbs 23:7).

The Apostle Peter says it’s all about growing in the grace and knowledge of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

This book is one of a series written by Pastor Dennis Lee dealing with discipleship and doctrine to help readers apply biblical reality to everyday life and grow in their knowledge of God.

Introduction

In 2015, the Lord laid on my heart to do a sermon series dealing with the doctrines, or Wells of Living Water, that the enemy of our faith, Satan, has tried to stop or cover over within the church. The reason I readily accepted is because the church has dug new wells of teachings in an effort to be relevant, only to find many of these wells are coming up dry or filled with poisonous water.

Over the years, the church has tried to stay current with cultural changes in society. In the process, however, it has left behind some of the great biblical teachings because the church doesn’t want to offend those who are walking through its doors.

What can the church do?

Let me answer that question with a story that’s at the heart of this book. The story is found in the book of Genesis and involves Abraham’s son, Isaac.

Famine gripped the land of Canaan where Isaac and his family lived, so Isaac packed up his household, rounded up his flocks, and went into the country of the Philistines to a place called Gerar, which was ruled by Abimelech.

In Gerar, God warned Isaac to go no further saying that if he stayed put, he’d be blessed. God also said that He would fulfill the covenant that He had made with Abraham and his descendants.

So Isaac set down roots in Gerar and God blessed him.

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him (Genesis 26:12–14).

Seeing how prosperous and strong Isaac had become, Abimelech told him to leave. To make sure Isaac got the point, the Philistines plugged the wells Isaac had been using.

Water is vital to life and especially to those with flocks and herds. So when Isaac left to find a new place to dwell, instead of digging new wells, he reopened the wells already dug by his father, wells the Philistines had stopped up long ago.

And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham … and found a well of running water there (Genesis 26:18–19).

Isaac reopened the wells the Philistines had covered over because he knew they contained living water.

Today’s church is so busy trying to dig new wells, trying to make itself relevant, that it’s leaving unopened wells of truth, wells of living water that the forefathers of our faith dug long ago. And more than anything else, Satan wants these wells to remain closed.

What the church must do instead of trying to be culturally relevant is reopen these wells of living water that has brought life and revival to millions in the past.

Here’s the point, the church can be relevant in whatever culture it is located in without sacrificing biblical truth.

In Jeremiah 6:16, the Lord said, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Why did they say that? Why did they refuse to walk in the ways of the Lord?

The answer is found in what the Apostle Paul said in his second letter to Timothy.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables (2 Timothy 4:3–4).

This book will look at those wells of living water, those doctrines from the Word of God that Satan covered over, plugged up, and wants to remain closed. These include holiness, faithfulness, repentance, the blood of Jesus, judgment, Hell, Satan, the person and purpose of the Holy Spirit, the authority of the Scriptures, fasting, and stewardship.

There Are Going to Be Battles

When Isaac reopened the first two wells dug by his father, he was immediately confronted by those living in the area who claimed the water was theirs.

And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, ‘The water is ours’ (Genesis 26:18–20).

When we begin to reopen these biblical teachings taught by the forefathers of our faith, doctrines that brought life and revival to millions, there are going to be battles.

The unfortunate part is that most of those who will come against these teachings are Christians, and once these doctrines have been reopened, many within the church will quarrel over their use. They don’t want them to be taught. They are like those who told the Lord, No way, we’ll not walk in them.

The result of these doctrines remaining closed is that the church is no longer the light bearer God has called for it to be.

Leonard Ravenhall said, We are so subnormal these days that the normal New Testament experience seems abnormal.¹

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are called by God to bring forth His whole word, even if it means going back and reopening these doctrines. It won’t be easy, but God has called us to faithfully discharge the duty of being His witnesses to a lost and dying world.

Before the church can arise and shake the world for the Lord, it must bring back the truth of God’s word. The church needs to make the declaration to Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us God.

The church needs to be shaken and awakened by the whole counsel of God’s Word, not what feels good. The Lord will never heal our country until the church becomes healed and becomes what God has called for it to be, the salt and light of this world.

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:13–16).

Doctrinally Correct but Devotionally Wrong

As we explore these doctrinal truths, it must be perfectly clear that whatever we learn can never take the place of love and grace. We must be careful not to be so doctrinally correct that we become devotionally wrong.

Paul says that knowledge puffs a person up with pride, while love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1).

Paul explains this in what is described as the Love Chapter. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul uses loud instruments to make his point.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1).

Paul is saying that without love, everything we do to promote the gospel will never prosper.

We can fill bookshelves with what’s wrong with the church, but if we fail to show God’s love, we’re actually nothing more than clanging cymbals, making a lot of noise but saying nothing.

In verses 4–8, Paul says, Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Corinthians 13:4–8).

What You Can Expect

These chapters do not represent complete treatises on these various doctrines; I’ll leave that to those theologians and professors more qualified than me. Additionally, each of these doctrines can be found in greater detail in books on Christian theology, Bible encyclopedias, and books dealing with each topic on an individual basis.

My intent is to provide a working knowledge of various doctrines so people can immediately start applying them. Revival will come when believers begin to appropriate the doctrines, not through intellectual acknowledgment.

How to Use Wells of Living Waters

Over the years, I have found myself quickly breezing through different books. I’d have a chapter finished in an hour or so, and within the week, I would have read the book and be off reading another. The problem with reading like this is that too often whatever’s read is soon forgotten or placed in a holding pattern while new material is being consumed.

This is no way to embrace and retain material and the lessons it may be teaching. It takes a person ninety days to change a habit. To allow the truths presented in this book to take root, don’t race through it and quickly move onto something else. Read it slowly and write down what the Lord is saying to you.

For maximum retention and effectiveness, write down what changes you need to make so God can do a revival in your heart. Go back regularly to see how you’re progressing. At the end of each chapter, there are questions for