All Who Are Thirsty

John 7:39

I have worked in the fields, working in tobacco fields, and have seen people pass out from the heat. The hottest experiences have been working on air conditioning units in the attics of homes throughout the summer months. I have had heat exhaustion. I have experienced dehydration plenty of times.

There have been those moments… where I longed to get to the end of that tobacco row. There were plenty of moments where I wanted to break through those ceilings… to get to that drink… to that water...

Before I died...

Jesus is talking about another kind of thirst, a very real thirst, and a very real drink for us today.

Jesus is talking to His people then and His people now, today. There is a real thirst that you will experience in this life, and there is a real remedy to that thirst, only one real remedy to this thirst in this life… and the life to come.

“If anyone is thirsty… Let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scriptures said, From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water...”

What is Jesus talking about: “If anyone is thirsty...”

Here we are on the 7th day of the great celebration (the feast of tabernacles). Each morning of the feast, at the time when they would have the sacrifice, the priests would draw out water and carry it into the temple to be poured out.

What did this do? This commemorated God giving the Jews water in the wilderness… God’s provision to His people. God made water come from a rock...

This day, the 7th day, was the climatic day of the feast… Can you imagine Jesus crying out on this climatic day… as the people remember God providing for their people supernaturally in the wilderness… Jesus cries out these words?!

“If anyone is thirsty… Come to Me...”

Jesus is applying this memory, this physical picture, to a spiritual reality that is found in Him.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages...

You are a spiritual person. You have a spirit and a physical body. Your spirit, outside of Christ, is dead to the things of God, to the will/desires of God; you are cut off from God, from the source of your spiritual life...

Every human soul is thirsty… But not every human soul knows where to go. Every human soul is longing to be satisfied. But they never are...

Why? Because they are going to the wrong source.

What do they do? They keep looking. They keep trying. They keep wandering. They will go from this place to that place. They will consume knowledge and fill their intellect. They will pursue and consume attention and applause. They will go from job to job, to career... They will go to relationship to relationship to find fulfillment…

But in the end… They are still thirsty… Dry… Dead...

Just like the Israelites were, in the desert, without God intervening for them...

Jesus points the people to the Scriptures… What all does the Scriptures tell the People of God?

“They need water:”

Isaiah 44:3 - “I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the ground; I will pour out My Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.”

Isaiah 55:1 - “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters… Why do you continue to labor for that which does not satisfy…?”

And this was laid out for God’s people back then: God would command the people to come to Him, seek Him, and be filled… But what did God’s people do back then?

They did the same things we do today: We turn from God, and pursue something or someone else to satisfy us.

This is what God’s creation says to God:

“God I know You created me… but I am going to do my own thing. God, I know that you said that only you can satisfy… but I don’t believe you. I know what’s best for me… And you are not enough for me...”

This is where we are before Christ… And this is what we continue to struggle with even after receiving Christ...

What are we guilty of? Turning from the Fountain of Life.

“Is that a big deal?”

Jeremiah 2:13 - For My people have committed 2 evils: They have forsaken Me, the Fountain of Living Waters, and have hewed out cisterns (water tanks) for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water...”

This is what we have done, and this is what we do...

And It is evil. This is evil. We are committing evil when we do this. “Let’s not call it evil brother...” The Bible calls this evil!

Unbeliever… You live here. You stay here. This is your world. You are constantly rejecting and turning from your God and you are constantly pursuing other Gods, other things, other waters to satisfy....

God is not enough for you. You don’t want Him for Who He is, and you do not desire Him. You are seeking to be filled and to be satisfied with yourself… With your job… or something, or someone else...

Listen: And you will never be truly satisfied. And you will long for that water, for just a drop of it... as you experience the pains of hell forever...

But believer… You have the Water Source. The Spirit has been given to you. You have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. He has quenched your thirsty soul and has refreshed your life with blessing, giving you joy and peace in the Holy Spirit...

But what?

But now… are you trying to be refreshed from other wells again? Are you seeking people to take Christ’s place? Are you seeking jobs to take God’s place? Money? Sex? Drugs? What?

Dear Christian, have you become convinced that you need something or someone else to make you whole and complete, to give you life?

Have you forgotten this truth? Or have you damned up the flow in your life with your unrepentant sin?

Listen: Verse 38 - This drink is not a one and done drink. This Fountain is not a Fountain that goes away. He is a constant Source for all who will come and drink from Him.

“He who believes in Me… From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water...”

This water can flow within us. The Spirit can and will give us a sustained nourishment within our spirit. There can be refreshment today, comfort today, water that will drown out fears and sorrows… today.

And... you are as full as you want to be… as a Christian

Believer… do you know the Oceans, the Rivers the size of oceans that lay in store for you and me? Do you not know that there is more to God… Than you have ever experienced?

Do you not know that His Well never runs dry?

You and I just quit going to the well. And have decided to drink from broken toilets instead...

You and I become deceived and fall into delusions that there is something better than God, or that we need to add to God in order to be truly satisfied… in order to be happy or joyful.

Question:

Am I deceived? Am I convinced that God is not enough?

Am I running after other waters?

Am I damning up the waters in my life with unrepentant sin?

Moving on to the Remedy:

Ephesians 5:18 - Do not be filled with alcohol… But be filled with the Spirit. 1 Cor. 12:13 - We were all made to drink from one Spirit.

How can you drink the Spirit of Christ? Paul said in Romans 8:5, “Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.”

We drink the Spirit by setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. What does “setting the mind on” mean? Colossians 3:1–2 says, “Seek the things that are above. . . . Set your minds on things that are above.”

“Setting the mind on” means seeking, directing your attention toward, being very concerned about (Philippians 3:19), being devoted to Christ and His will.

1. So drinking the Spirit of Christ means seeking the things of the Spirit, directing your attention to the things of the Spirit, being devoted to the things of the Spirit.

What are the “things of the Spirit”? “The things of the Spirit” are the teachings of or about God. Jesus also said, “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life” (John 6:63).

Therefore, the teachings of Jesus, the teachings of God are also called, “things of the Spirit.”

So drinking the Spirit means... setting our minds on the things of the Spirit. And setting our minds on the things of the Spirit means directing our attention to the teachings of the apostles about God and to the words of Jesus… In other words, our Bibles, the Word of God.

Not just reading… Pharisees did that. Reading was the means and the end… Get every word right... No, no, no…

Our goal is to drink from Christ: Setting our minds, our hearts to the Person as we read. Meditating on Him and His Word day and night, focusing on the things of God, and thinking deeply about Him, Who He is, what He has done, doing and will do… Looking to everything around us and giving thanks to God for it...

Look at all of Creation that points to the Creator, and give Him thanks. Be in awe of His creation. Enjoy it and give praise to God.

2. Also: Luke 11:13 must be added. Jesus said to his disciples, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

If we want to be filled with the Spirit, we must pray for it.

And that is just what Paul does for the Ephesians 3:19. He asks his Father in heaven (verse 14) that the believers might be “filled with all the fullness of God.”

So, to drink up, to fill up... you are reading, filling your minds, talking to Him, singing to Him, Giving thanks to Him always…

3. And yes… Drink of Him by singing (Ephesians 5:19). Turn the Word of God into songs, make up songs, speak to God through songs… Be filled with singing...

Col. 3:16- Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly… singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Three Letters to Remember:

I like guitars (Paul Reed Smith Guitars… So I go with - (PRS) Pray. Read. Sing.

If you are familiar with Retirement Savings Plans… Use the letters in this order: R.S.P - Read. Sing. Pray.

And I like that picture of saving up, storing up, filling up… that spiritual account… for living out of in the future.

For individual discipleship, for family discipleship, and for one on one with others… P.R.S… or.... R.S.P....

This is my plan to drink. This is my road to the well and to spiritual hydration. This is our families plan. This is what we are going to do. We are going to go to Him and drink on a daily basis…

We are going to make a daily, family, commitment to do this.

We are not going to allows hindrances, or dams to form, distractions that will keep us from getting our Water Supply.

We are going to draw from Christ.

If we do this long enough, we will be filled and satisfied with the Spirit. In fact we will get addicted to the Spirit. Instead of a chemical, dependency, or any other dependency... we will develop a wonderful Spirit-dependency.

Are you in need? Are you dry? Are you spiritually thirsty?

You need a Person. You don’t need religion. You need a person. You don’t simply need books. You need a Person. You don’t need dead religious activity… You need a Person!

Dear person, is this you:

Psalm 42 - My soul pants for God; My soul thirsts for God.

Psalm 63:1 - I earnestly seek you; my soul thirsts for you… as in a dry and weary land where there is no water...

Dear person: If you desire to be blessed, to be joyful, to be really/truthfully happy… There is One Well and One Drink for you.

The Fountain of Living Waters: Jesus.

Jesus is calling all of His people to Himself. In this moment when people were thinking back to the miracles of God, Jesus was pointing to Himself...

Why?

And 1 Cor. 10:4 - Clearly teaches us that it was Jesus, the Son of God, that provided for the Israelites, even back in those days with Moses… The Rock was Jesus.

God, the Son, provided for His people then… and He will provide for you today.

Are you thirsty? Are you in a desert land?

John 4:14 - Jesus tells the woman at the well… It looks like she has been pursuing relationship after relationship… Seeking You can keep coming back to this well… Or you can come to Me...

You also may be saying today:

“But I have nothing to give for it… I have nothing to offer.” Good! This is the only person who can get this Water and receive it. Jesus bought it for you and now you can enjoy it…!

Rev. 22:17- The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come… Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take water of life without price...

Come, all who are thirsty! Come!