1. It is belief in Jesus that causes the water to flow.
This point is revealed in the life of believers worldwide. All those who seek the baptism with the Holy Spirit, find it, when they seek with their whole heart. Those of us who have studied the truths concerning faith in the scripture understand that although all of us are given the measure of faith, faith can grow and be stunted. According to the scripture, the centurian had great faith and the disciples had little faith, and James said our faith can be tried. Even though all of us start out with the measure of faith, not long afterwards each man's level of belief is different. Therefore we should not think it strange that some people receive the baptism with the Spirit easily, while others faith is tried in the receiving of it and the gift of tongues finally flows out of their bellies after much struggle, prayer, and contemplation. We do the body of Christ an injustice when we teach or insinuate that receiving this gift should be easy. It is received by faith, and according to your faith, it will be easy or hard. On many occasions Jesus said,"According to your faith, be it done unto you." If this point holds true, different people are going to receive this gift differently. James says the trying of your faith works patience and patience produces perfection. There is no shame in the struggle for obedience to this command. If you have spent a lifetime in an environment where the gift is disdained, there is no way your faith will be strong to receive. In God's Word we find that faith comes by hearing and hearing by God's Word. Some people will need to hear over and over again that it is commanded of them to receive this gift and the God of love would never command us to receive and then withhold. It is only our faith that hinders our receiving.
2. The power of the Living Water is released by faith in Jesus.
Jesus said that Living Water is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit exists in the form of a liquid and the nature of speech is fluidic. The gift of tongues is not the evidence of the baptism with the Spirit, it is the baptism with the Spirit. As long as the Church disdains or is embarassed by this gift they will receive little benefits from it. The truth is, Hebrews, chapter 11 is talking about the gift of tongues. The exploits done by the Old Testament saints will pale in comparison to those done by New Testament believers when they begin to exercise their faith in the Living Water flowing out of their bellies. Hebrews 11 does not address the larger houses, or Cadilacs, or greater incomes attained through faith as the modern faith movement does. Hebrews 11 references the work of God's Kingdom done by faith.
3. The amount of time you spend praying in tongues is directly porportional to your belief in Jesus.
Much belief equals much time, little belief equals little time. Jesus said,"all those who believe will have river(s) flowing out of their bellies. Rivers of water are no small amount.
4. The benefits of the Living Water are accessed through faith in Jesus.
Even though the water is living, the third member of the Godhood, who is representing Jesus on the earth today, the full measure of the Living Water can only be felt by faith in its life giving properties. As long as the gift of tongues is only an exercise that we perform because someone told us we should, we will receive limited benefits. Remember, Jesus could do no mighty works in His hometown because the people refused to accept Him as the Christ. They had watched Him grow up from a boy, He was familiar to them. That familiarity kept them from being able to receive from Him. The Holy Spirit is only representing Jesus on the earth today. The only thing that has changed is that Jesus represented the Father. Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." Similarly, the Holy Spirit is not representing Himself on the earth, He is repesenting Jesus. If you have seen the Holy Spirit, you have seen Jesus, but just like Jesus could do no mighty works because the people did not place their belief in Him, the Holy Spirit has the same limitations. Too many Christians today fail to realize that if they have seen the Holy Spirit, they have seen Jesus. The temperament and personality Jesus expressed throughout the gospels is the temperament and personality of the Father God. The temperament and personality expressed by the Holy Spirit is the personality and temperament of Jesus. To receive the benefits of the Living Water we must believe that the tongues pouring out of our belly is the representation of Jesus, with all His life giving flow.
We might consider some history as proof of Jesus' statement. Maria Woodsworth Etter was a woman who was mightily used by God to perform many mighty miracles. She had a tent that would seat 10,000 people. On the nights she was scheduled to minister people would show up at her tent in the early afternoon. After singing a few hymns they would start singing in tongues and continue for hours. Dr. Kenneth E. Hagin was one of the people called during the great healing revivals. His practice was to sing in tongues for 3 to 4 hours before every service and God routinely raised death bed patients to new life in his meetings. During the Charismatic movement great emphasis was put on the baptism with the Spirit and the gift of tongues. This is right and fitting because the Holy Spirit is representing Jesus and He is the head of the Church. New Life was infused throughout the denominational Church and works of wonder were routinely performed even by children. Every time belief is placed in the Living Water, the Living Water lifts up and glorifies the Christ. But isn't that what Jesus said the Holy Spirit would do when He came, "He shall glorify me for He shall take of that which is mine and show it unto you."
5. This experience of having Living Water flowing out of your belly was prophesied of in the Old Testament.
Jesus said, "As the scripture has said," indicating this. The only scripture that remotely paralells what Jesus speaks of here is the prophesy of Joel concerning the end times. In Joel 2:28, the Holy Spirit through the prophet Joel says, "And it shall come to pass after those days that I shall pour out my Spirit upon all flesh." Obviously, the "all flesh" is all those who believe, some for salvation, and others for the baptism with the Spirit. As the Holy Spirit pours forth from our bellies, He splashes down over our bodies covering us, and saturating us with God. This illustrates the end times to be the period of time from Jesus' resurrection till the day Jesus' feet again touch the earth. Since a thousand years are as a day with our Lord, we are two days into the end times. The predominate message of Joel is to repent, which makes sense since the majority of the Church is walking in a daily, callous, disobedience of the only command Jesus gave the Church.