TITLE: THERE IS A FOUNTAIN
SCRIPTURE: ZECHARIAH 13:1
In this magnificent passage, Zechariah states “A FOUNTAIN WILL BE OPENED.” When we think of the word “fountain,” we probably have in mind a fountain in a public park that sprays water into the air, somewhat like the Splash Pads we see in various parks throughout our city that children and families enjoy during warmer months in Oklahoma.
• But in the Bible the word means something closer to what we would refer to as a “SPRING”
• The “Fountain” in our text refers to the source of PURE – CLEAN - REFRESHING WATER
What is this Fountain Zechariah began to Prophecy about? Where would this Fountain be located that he makes reference in this text? Was he referencing that FOUNTAIN LOCATED IN ROME THAT IS CALLED TREVI FOUNTAIN -- PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS FOUNTAIN IN THE WORLD.
• It stands 85 feet high and 65 feet wide
• It was commissioned to be built by Pope Urban VIII in 1629
• But work wasn’t begun until 1732
• It took 100 years to build
There are superstitions that are connected with this fountain that was the center point for the movie, “Three Coins In The Fountain.”
• If a visitor throws a coin into the fountain it supposedly insures they will return to Rome in the future
• It is considered lucky to throw three coins with one’s right hand over one’s left shoulder
• Over 3,000 Euros are collected from the fountain each day – little over $3,500 American Dollars daily
There is a fountain in Peterhof, Russia, a Russian city that is known for its lavish fountains.
• In front of its most famous one, the Grand Cascade is a sculpture of SAMSON tearing open the jaws of a lion
• This beautiful fountain was commissioned at the order of TSAR PETER
There is a fountain in Chicago called Buckingham Memorial Fountain that was built in 1927.
• It has underground pumps that are able to jet the water to heights of 150 feet into the air
• It has beautifully sculpted seahorses that spray the water and the beauty of the fountain at night is enhanced by the ever changing colored lights
Of course there is that fountain that many have travelled to see, located in Las Vegas. It is a dazzling display of water and lights that are choreographed to opera - broadway -- classical music.
• It is considered to be an entertainment wonder
• Can I FOOTNOTE for a moment since we are talking about Las Vegas?
• If you feel like shouting during any point during this sermon, go ahead and shout, because “What Ever Happens At First Baptist, Stays At First Baptist
My brothers and sisters, I don’t think any of those fountains is what Zechariah had in mind. I don’t believe he had seen any of those fountains as he began to give a Prophetic Word to God’s people. Although the fountains I have mentioned are quite beautiful and magnificent and attract millions of tourists each year, I don’t believe this is what Zechariah had seen as he was given a glimpse of the future.
Let me call to your attention there is another fountain.
• One that is more Beautiful
• One that is Far more Significant
• One that is Absolutely essential to our relationship with God
This fountain was commissioned by God Himself before He ever created the world. IT IS NOT A FOUNTAIN OF WATER -- IT IS A FOUNTAIN OF BLOOD. Zechariah’s prophecy tells us of the climax of God’s revelation of his plan of salvation - it’s the crux of the Gospel.
• But it was no afterthought to deal with sinful mankind
• It had been conceived in the Eternal Council of Almighty God even before the foundation of the world to bring redemption to His lost creation
• It’s what the writer to the Hebrews described as ‘SO GREAT SALVATION’
But before we discover its sheer wonder and splendor we must ask and answer a few questions. Zechariah specifically states this special fountain was ‘TO CLEANSE FROM SIN AND IMPURITY.’ The Bible’s description of ‘sin’ is that which ‘misses the mark’; it ‘falls short of the glory of God’ -- Romans 3:23. And ‘impurity’ is a word which sums up all those things which are dis-honoring to God; those things which defile mankind.
• So Zechariah says, because of that we need to find our way to A Fountain
• He says, There is a Fountain that is able to Cleanse us
This had been the problem ever since the fall of mankind in Eden. There has never been a man or woman in the world who has been able to stand up to Satan, the arch-enemy of God. Generation after generation came and went proving that mankind was in bondage to sin and incapable of dealing with inbred sin, even though increasingly blessed with the resources of mind and matter.
--I remember seeing a carton showing a scholarly man sitting on top of a great pile of books, looking at himself in a mirror, and above his head was found a question mark
--He has mastered every subject of learning, but couldn’t answer the problem of himself!
--The infection of sin has warped human nature so that it erupts in Selfishness and Greed
Zechariah states -- ‘A FOUNTAIN WILL BE OPENED.’ The anticipation of the Messiah clearly shows the ‘FOUNTAIN’ was already in existence but waiting to be unveiled. The Apostle Peter tells his Christian readers that Jesus, ‘A LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH OR DEFECT WAS CHOSEN BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD’ and what’s more, their redemption was only made possible ‘with the precious blood of Christ’ -- I Peter 1:19-20.
A fountain conveys the image of something which is always flowing, providing a constant, abundant supply of a life-giving stream. This thought is beautifully captured in the verse of a favorite hymn of the Church written by William Cowper -- ‘THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD DRAWN FROM IMMANUEL’S VEINS; AND SINNERS PLUNGED BENEATH THAT FLOOD LOSE ALL THEIR GUILTY STAINS.’
Can I tell you this morning - THE BLOOD OF CHRIST IS ESSENTIAL FOR OUR SALVATION. There is another great hymn of the church that speaks of the importance of the Blood of Christ. You know it don’t you? -- “WHAT CAN WASH AWAY MY SIN? NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS. WHAT CAN MAKE ME WHOLE AGAIN? O PRECIOUS IS THE FLOW THAT MAKES ME WHITE AS SNOW; NO OTHER FOUNT I KNOW, NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS!”
With these words we attest to one of the great themes in the lives of those who follow Christ. Nothing in the world has happened that has had such an impact in the lives of men. What is greater than knowing that we can be washed clean of our sins? Think for a moment the tremendous change it can make in the life of each person.
• Sinners can be forgiven!
• A foul, hateful spirit can be changed to a gentle, loving Christian!
• A person addicted to alcohol, drugs and a dozen other things can become an upright citizen!
• Abusers of families can become loving fathers!
• Selfish, hardened women can become mothers who are a blessing to little children!
• Teenage rebels and delinquents can become zealous for the things of God!
• Homes that are preludes to hell can become homes that are bits of heaven on earth!
• It is no small wonder that we sing of the precious blood of Christ that can wash away our sins!
Let’s take a look at another verse of COWPER’S HYMN -- “DEAR DYING LAMB, THY PRECIOUS BLOOD, SHALL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER - TILL ALL THE RANSOMED CHURCH OF GOD BE SAVED TO SIN NO MORE.”
• We should be reminded again and again that our salvation is possible because of God’s action for us
• We, ourselves, can never earn our salvation
• We can never be good enough to earn it
• We cannot pay enough to buy it
• Our salvation is based on Grace - the Grace of a Loving God
• It is approached by our Faith in the Son of God
• The cleansing comes by the blood of Jesus!
• Jesus paid a debt that He did not owe so that we could be forgiven a debt that we could never pay!
It’s one thing to know of God’s Plan Of Redemption but unless applied, it remains ineffective.
• We must come to God in Repentance of Sin and Faith in Christ’s Atonement for us on the Cross
• Doing this has implications for the rest of our life
Someone made the perceptive statement that ‘salvation isn’t a cafeteria where you take what you want and leave the rest.”
• You can’t take Christ as Savior and refuse Him as Lord and be saved (Vance Havner)
• It requires diligence and determination to be a follower of Christ’s way
• It’s a costly business to be a Christian
• The entrance fee into the kingdom of God is absolutely nothing
• But the annual subscription is all that we have and are
Zechariah went on to speak of the consequences of cleansing in this fountain. Changes have to be made when people are cleansed from their ‘sin and impurity’.
• God’s Word teaches that once you have been made righteous, you start the lifelong process of being made Holy
• God’s people are required to live holy lives in obedience to His commands
• It’s a matter of turning our backs upon the old life and to start anew
God’s people in Zechariah’s day were told to ‘banish the names of the idols’ to be ‘remembered no more’ and to stop receiving guidance from the false ‘prophets and the spirit of impurity.’ And this applies just as much in the 21st century. I don’t want to lose sight of the fact all Christians are unworthy.
--I read of a candidate for ordination into the ministry
--He was having an interview with the bishop on the day before the ordination service
--Feeling his unworthiness he said, ‘Bishop, if you knew how unworthy I am to be ordained by you, you would never lay hands on me’
--The dear bishop replied, ‘If you knew how unworthy I am, you wouldn’t let me do it!’
We must recognize that in the sight of God we’re but Sinners Saved By Grace. We need to come again and again to the Cross of our Savior, that ‘FOUNTAIN OPENED FOR CLEANSING,’ believing the truth of Scripture found in I JOHN 1:7 ‘IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT, AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS PURIFIES US FROM ALL SIN’
The blood of Christ is not only important for our personal relationship but it is also to the life of the church. Listen to what Paul wrote as he said farewell to the Elders at Ephesus, “BE ON GUARD FOR YOURSELVES AND FOR ALL THE FLOCK, AMONG WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS MADE YOU OVERSEERS, TO SHEPHERD THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH HE PURCHASED WITH HIS OWN BLOOD.”
• Our lifeline with God is through the blood of Jesus, His Son
• Our growth personally and corporately is dependent on our blood relationship to Him and to each other
• Our church is a work in progress
• We have not arrived
• We are still pressing on
• Each of our lives is a work in progress
• We are still maturing in Christ
Let’s take another look at Cowper’s Hymn -- “E’ER SINCE BY FAITH I SAW THE STREAM THY FLOWING WOUNDS SUPPLY, REDEEMING LOVE HAS BEEN MY THEME AND SHALL BE TILL I DIE.” The promise speaks to our journey of life as a Christian and our need to be aware of the continuing effect of the blood of Christ to our lives, “IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE HIMSELF IS IN THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS HIS SON CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN.”
• Our appreciation for that precious blood can be demonstrated in our desire to be faithful to Him in all things
• Our appreciation of that precious blood can also be demonstrated in our desire to tell others about the CLEANSING - THE FORGIVENESS - THE NEW LIFE that is available through and because of the precious blood of Jesus Christ!
One final question to consider this morning -- Why wasn’t the fountain opened earlier?’ Certainly, the need was great. Right back at the Fall, God had promised a RESCUE MISSION TO MANKIND - He told Satan in GENESIS 3:15 ‘I WILL PUT ENMITY BETWEEN YOU AND THE WOMAN AND BETWEEN YOUR OFFSPRING AND HERS; HE WILL CRUSH YOUR HEAD AND YOU WILL STRIKE HIS HEEL’ -- a clear anticipation of One who would defeat the devil, albeit at great cost to Himself.
• His promise was repeated to Abraham: ‘Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed’ -- GENESIS 22:18
• Moses, too, received a firm promise of the coming deliverance by One greater than he: ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him’ -- DEUTERONOMY 18:15
• And so on to the prophets to whom more details of the Messiah were given
• But the Messiah was still awaited
• There was about 520 years between this Prophetic Word from Zechariah and the birth of Christ
Perhaps a valid question is simply, Why? Men and women always wanted to claim they could save themselves so God gave them time to see this was an impossibility.
• The Greek Philosophers offered their Wisdom but to no avail
• The Romans gave mankind their legal system but that too failed to bring salvation
The last event in God’s salvation timetable was the appearance on the Palestinian scene of John the Baptist and his great announcement when he saw Jesus coming towards him at the River Jordan to be Baptized: ‘BEHOLD, THE LAMB OF GOD, WHO TAKES AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD’ -- It was then that God’s moment arrived, as the Apostle Paul wrote to the CHURCH AT GALATIA: ‘BUT WHEN THE TIME WAS FULLY COME, GOD SENT HIS SON, BORN OF A WOMAN …’
• Zechariah’s prophetic word of The Fountain Anticipated is transformed
There is no question about it! The Fountain Jeremiah prophesied is NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD OF JESUS shed for us and is essential for our salvation and our sanctification. There is another great hymn that does ask some pertinent questions.
--It’s great hymn by LEWIS E. JONES and the questions that hymn asks are questions I urge each of you to take personally this morning:
--REVELATION 12:10 -- “AND I HEARD A LOUD VOICE IN HEAVEN SAYING, ‘NOW THE SALVATION, AND THE POWER AND THE KINGDOM OF OUR GOD AND THE AUTHORITY OF HIS CHRIST HAVE COME, AND THE ACCUSER OF OUR BRETHREN HAS BEEN THROWN DOWN AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BECAUSE OF THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND BECAUSE OF THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY”
--Would you be free from the burden of sin? -- There’s power in the blood
--Would you o’er evil a victory win? -- There’s power in the blood
--Would you be free from your passion and pride? -- There’s power in the blood
--Would you Come for a cleansing to Calvary’s tide? -- There’s power in the blood
--Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow? -- There’s power in the blood
--Sin stains are lost in its life giving flow -- There’s power in the blood
--Would you do service for Jesus your King? -- There’s power in the blood
--Would you live daily His praises to sing? -- There’s power in the blood
--There is power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb
--There is power, power, wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb
