THE CLEANSING FOUNTAIN

The Book of Zechariah #18

Pastor Dennis Clanton

Woodland Church

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

(Zechariah 13, NLT) “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity. “And on that day,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will erase idol worship throughout the land, so that even the names of the idols will be forgotten. I will remove from the land both the false prophets and the spirit of impurity that came with them. If anyone continues to prophesy, his own father and mother will tell him, ‘You must die, for you have prophesied lies in the name of the Lord.’ And as he prophesies, his own father and mother will stab him. “On that day people will be ashamed to claim the prophetic gift. No one will pretend to be a prophet by wearing prophet’s clothes. He will say, ‘I’m no prophet; I’m a farmer. I began working for a farmer as a boy.’ And if someone asks, ‘Then what about those wounds on your chest?’ he will say, ‘I was wounded at my friends’ house!’ “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs. Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. “But one-third will be left in the land. I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.”

1. GOD CLEANSES US FROM SIN’S PUNISHMENT AND POWER.

(Zechariah 13:1, NLT) “On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.”

(Jeremiah 2:13, NLT) “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!”

(Jeremiah 17:13, NLT) “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.”

a.  The cleansing comes from the fountain.

(Psalm 34:20, NLT) “For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous; not one of them is broken!”

(John 19:34, NLT) “One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.”

(John 19:35, NLT) “(This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.)”

b.  The cleansing stems from grace.

(Zechariah 12:10, NLT) “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.”

THERE IS A FOUNTAIN FILLED WITH BLOOD

There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see

That fountain in his day;

And there have I, as vile as he,

Washed all my sins away.

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.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood

Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransomed church of God

Be saved, to sin no more.

c.  The cleansing is infinite.

(1 Timothy 1:13–15, NIV) “Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.”

d.  The cleansing must be personally experienced.

(1 John 1:9, NLT) “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”