Substitution. This is the great sin of the Israelites in the Old Testament. In Jeremiah 2:13, God states that they had committed two evils. They had forsaken God, "the fountain of living waters," and had replaced Him with broken cisterns, "which can hold no water." This is also the great sin of the Laodicean Church and the average church member in America today; God calls them wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.
What happened? In both cases, the average "believer" had substituted the power of the Holy Spirit for acts of religion. In the average church, focus is on activity, pounding ungodly rock music, and "excitement"—all of which gets the blood pumping and the heart beating fast, but is a work of the flesh nonetheless. God also called the Laodicean Church member lukewarm. The actual temperature of lukewarm is 98 degrees, near the natural body temperature. Lukewarm is a production of the flesh in worship.
This book serves as both a warning and as a teaching tool to instruct honest seekers yearning to live a live in the power of the Holy Spirit. It's not only necessary, but is what God expects of a true Christian. The choice is yours: living waters...or broken cisterns.
