Stop Enduring; Start Enjoying (John 7:37-39)

Introduction:

John 7:37–44 KJV 1900

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 40 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? 42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Beth-lehem, where David was? 43 So there was a division among the people because of him. 44 And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him.

Give the background for the passage -

The Feast of Tabernacles; the observance; the ceremony;

The Type of the Lord; Jesus in their midst; the emptiness;

The Invitation - not to religion, but to experience Him!

Illustration - Evangelist Mike being asked if he wanted a drink on the airplane - "Oh, no thank you, I had a drink a number of years ago that satisfied me completely." - "Must have been some drink." - "Oh, it was." - " What was it?" - "Finish serving these others, and come back and I'll tell you..." - She did, and came back, strapped herself in to the seat next to him, and said, "Tell me about it," - and he did.

Matthew 11:28ff KJV 1900

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Main Thought: It's time to stop simply going through the motions of empty religion and it's time to start enjoying a real relationship with the Savior Himself!

Sub-intro: Is that your experience? Is there in you a river bubbling up? Is there in you a satisfaction because you have drunk deeply of Jesus? But more than a satisfaction, are you being a blessing? Is your life overflowing with blessing?

It's an amazement to me how many people today are trying to find the answer. Some people think that the answer is intellectual. They think if they can just learn more facts, if they can just learn more theology, if they can just learn more history, if they can just learn more of this or that. And so they go from class to class, and church to church with their heads getting fuller and their hearts getting emptier. They know that the answer is not intellectual.

Others think that the answer is in activity. If they can just do more, if they can just work harder, if they can just stay busy doing church work, a busy Christian is a happy Christian, so go to work. And people wear their fingers to the bone, and sometimes even ruin their domestic tranquility, by never being at home, doing this thing and doing that thing, trudging to church every time the doors are open, but still no reality in their lives.

Others think that the answer is emotional. i. e. The Charismatic Movement.

Is the answer intellectual? Is the answer in the activities that we do? Is the answer in emotionalism? And then there's the answer that the Pharisee has. He thinks that the answer to life is the way that he lives, primarily noted by what he doesn't do. I don't do this. I don't do that, and I don't this, and I don't do that. And so the proud Pharisee as he trims his limbs, he strengthens his root, becomes a bitter, hard Pharisee. He has religion, but he doesn't have reality. He does not know what Jesus Christ is talking about. And there are many in America who do not know they have religion. It's time they stopped enduring religion and started enjoying salvation. It is time that they came to understand what the great heart of Jesus longed for. When Jesus on that last day stood up and cried, and said to them what he's saying to you, "Are you thirsty? Come to me and drink." And out of your inner most being will flow a river of living water.

Body: Notice Four Simple Steps to Satisfaction in the Savior:

I. The Subjects

To whom is Jesus speaking?

The big "If..." = He is not speaking to everyone here, there is a condition.

Any person who is thirsty

Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst. That's all prefaced by this, "Are you thirsty?" "Well," you say, "God knows I'm empty." I didn't ask if you were empty. I asked, "Are you thirsty." My car has been empty many times, never once been thirsty.

There are many thirsty people today.

There are people who come to church on Sunday morning like they've done God a wild favor, but they don't come seeking God. They don't come with a burning, blistering thirst. Oh some might have a shallow thirst. Those who have a shallow thirst'll get a shallow satisfaction.

Many are not thirsty at all, because they are filled with the stagnant waters of self love and worldliness.

I don't know how much of God you have, but I'll tell you, you have all you want. It's not your job to persuade God to fill you. He wants to fill you. Jesus said, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. For they shall be filled. If you don't have anymore, it's cause you don't want anymore. It's not because God somehow has neglected you. You've neglected God.

And if you're not thirsty, I would suggest that the very first thing you do is to analyze your life, and pray that God would help you to get things in order, that God would help you to see things in reality, that God would give you the big picture, that God would grant to you a burning, blistering thirst, that you would say, "I'm done with religion. I want reality. I am thirsty today for that which is real." The subject's the thirsty ones.

II. The Source

The Person of the Lord Jesus

Jesus said, "If you thirst, come to me." He was talking of himself. You come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

You don't come to religion. You don't come to rituals. You don't come to rules. You don't come to resolve. You don't even clean up your life, and then say, "Lord, here it is. Fill me."

It's one of the biggest mistakes we make. Sometimes we get the idea that we want more of God. We want that fulness of the Spirit. We want that Living Water. We want that reality, and we think well, you know, if can just clean up my life, if I can just get right, if I can just somehow discipline myself enough, pray enough, study enough, work enough, live clean enough, then I'll be a candidate for the blessing. All that is, is a work's based righteousness, and you'll never ever make it. You're like a man in quicksand. The more you struggle, the deeper you sink.

If you don't hear anything else in this message, I want you to listen to this.

Holiness is not the way to Christ. Christ is the way to holiness. ~ Dr. Adrian Rogers

Write it on your heart right now. Holiness is not the way to Christ. You don't work your way to the way. He is the Way. Don't get the idea that if you could live right, God will fill you with the Holy Spirit. You can't live right until you are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Illustration -

It's like the banker... Do you want to borrow money? Do you know how you can get a banker to loan you money? Just go down there and prove to him you don't need any. Then he'll loan you some. Ha ha ha ha. Well, friend, God's not that way. I mean it is grace. We come to Jesus, to Jesus.

Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. Oh Lamb of God I come to thee. I come.

Come ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and worn. Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus.

Don't wait 'till you're better. Don't wait 'till you're stronger. Bring to Him your weakness. Bring to Him your fears. Bring to Him your failures. Bring to Him your heartaches. Bring it all to Jesus. Jesus throws open his arms to you today and says, "Are you thirsty? Come to me. Come to me." Oh if we could only learn that. I'm not saying that you come clinging to your sins. I'm not saying that you come to him with your fingers crossed behind your back. I'm not saying that you come to him, and at the same time intend to cling to Satan and this world. Oh no. Let go of everything, but come to Jesus. The subjects? The thirsty ones. The source? Jesus Christ himself. Now notice, The secret: Come to me and drink.

III. The Secret

Drink

John 7:37 KJV 1900

37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Now what does that mean. How do you drink? You drink by faith. The next verse explains it.

John 7:38 KJV 1900

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

He that believeth on me, he that believeth on me... You drink in the Christ. You appropriate, assimilate Jesus by faith. Come and drink.

Now the problem today is this, that many will come this far with me in this message and be with me one hundred percent. But at this point, they drop out. Now they don't mean to drop out. They just drop out. They say, "Yes, indeed I am thirsty. Yes, indeed Christ is the answer." But they never really believe that they dare take what he promises. And so somehow it gets in the margin of the bible, somehow it gets in the notebook, somehow it gets in the head, but it never gets down in the heart. It is never appropriated. You must drink. You must appropriate that which God has for you, and you do it by faith.

Drinking is not passive. It is active. There comes a time when you take the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and say, "Yes, He is mine. I claim all that you have for me, Lord Jesus. I believe in you. I do."

Illustration:

Suppose you're on the dessert. Let's suppose you've been there for several days. Your body is dehydrated. Your tongue is dry. Your mouth is parched. Your lips are cracked. You're perishing for water, and you know that you need water. Nobody has to explain to you what water is. Nobody has to tell you that you're thirsty. You know that. And then somebody comes to you, out there in the dessert, somehow miraculously appears, and there he is with a tall glass of water. We'll even put a couple of ice cubes in it. Put some little beads running down the side of it. Tall, cool, clear, sparkling, lifesaving, life-sustaining water. There it is. By the way, what would that man pay for that glass of water, a dollar, two, ten, fifty, one hundred, ten thousand? You name it. Price is not an object. If he has it, he'll pay it, right? All that a man has will he give for his life.

You see. That's the mark of a thirsty man. You see these people who have got these side issues and so forth. They're not really thirsty. But when a man is truly thirsty, the price is not an object. So thank God this water of life is absolutely free and it costs everything. Now that's what we would call a paradox. I mean you have to give everything to Jesus, and yet it is absolutely, totally free.

There it is, that glass of water. Now suppose the bearer of that water says to this man, "I brought this for you. I want you to have it, here it is."

Now suppose you were to get out your notebook, and you say, "Mmm hmm, let me get this down and da da da da, da da da da, da da da da. It's water. It's necessary. You brought it for me. There it is. You want me to drink." And so forth and you begin to make notes and think about it and so forth. And he says, "Yes, but now drink." "Oh," you say. "Water, that's what I need. Boy that sure is cool water, clear, da da da da da da." "Well, drink... well." "You know, I don't think I'm qualified to do that. I don't think I ought to do that." And I'm wondering what's wrong with this person. Why will he not by faith and obedience appropriate that which is offered to him?

People come to church on Sunday morning with no more intention of doing what the Lord asks them to do in His Word than obeying what they watched on Netflix on Saturday night. It's just something they come, and sit, and watch.

Folks there comes a time when you need to D R I N K, drink. There comes a time when you need to believe him, and say, "My heart is thirsty for the blessing. I will receive the Lord Jesus. I take him now. I take him by faith. I appropriate. I assimilate. I believe. I receive. Lord Jesus. I receive you. I drink of Your Holy Spirit. I do, and I do right now."

IV. The Supply

Flowing Rivers of Living Water

John 7:38 KJV 1900

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Not only will there be an income, there will be an outflow. There will be springing up in you, a river of revival, a river of blessing.

When Jesus says here, “…as the scripture saith,” He's referring to, I believe, not a single verse, but a number of verses. Particularly those found in Ezekiel 47. ..."As the scripture hath said, out of his inner most being shall flow rivers of living water." Jesus is saying that when you are filled with the Spirit, when you are saved and filled with the Spirit, your life is going to be overflowing with joy. It's going to be overflowing with praise. It's going to be overflowing with testimony. It's going to be overflowing with service.

Are you a normal Christian? Ah ha. I didn't ask if you were an average Christian. The average Christian is not a normal Christian. He's subnormal. Boy, we need to make a difference between the average, and the normal. You'll find the normal in the bible. You'll find the average on Sunday morning in church. Are you a normal Christian? What is a normal Christian? A normal Christian, one who's stopped simply going through the motions of "church" and enduring religion and started to enjoy salvation, is one not only who is having his own needs met, but is able to meet the needs of others. He has not become merely a reservoir. He has become a river. Now most folks come on Sunday just thinking, boy, if I can just get a blessing. I mean if I can just have my needs met, boy, how wonderful it would be if I could just have my thirst assuaged. How many of us say, "Oh God I want to be a blessing. I want the outflow of my life to be a river of revival. I want out of my inner most being to flow a river of living water."

Application:

See Ezekiel 47

The Mysterious Source of this River (v. 1)

Ezekiel 47:1 KJV 1900

1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

The Marked Course of this River (vv. 2-6).

Ezekiel 47:2–6 KJV 1900

2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side. 3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ancles. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. 6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

The Mighty Force of this River (vv. 7-8).

Ezekiel 47:7–8 KJV 1900

7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

It's Flow; There will be life where once there was death (v. 9).

Ezekiel 47:9 KJV 1900

9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

It's Fish; There will be success where there once was failure (v. 10).

Ezekiel 47:10 KJV 1900

10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

It's Fruitfulness (vv. 11-12); There will be fruitfulness where there once was barrenness (Gal. 5:22).

Ezekiel 47:11–12 KJV 1900

11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. 12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.

Galatians 5:22 KJV 1900

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

It's Fruit (v. 12b); There will be health where there once was sickness.

Conclusion:

Oh God, seal the message to our hearts. And I pray today that many thirsty souls will come to Jesus and drink. Lord, how many "church attenders" right here in our city have never been saved. Oh, may they come to Jesus today, and stop enduring a shallow religion, and start enjoying salvation. Oh Lord, how many here with us tonight have been saved, but have only drunk of You in such a shallow way. Lord, help that one here who has a shallow thirst and a shallow satisfaction. Lord, make that soul discontented with being only ankle deep. Who here tonight might need to drink deep of You, Lord Jesus, and let this river flow deeply out of their soul.

Somebody around us needs to be saved, they are not members of this church or any church. Maybe it's religion that's turned them off. Thank You Lord, for the truth that Jesus will never disappoint the thirsty soul. Oh, Lord, may that one who is truly thirsty tonight come to Jesus right now. We're not here to put our faith in a preacher, nor in a church, and not even in the word Baptist. We're simply thirsty to come to Jesus Christ. Thank you Lord, that there's not a sin He cannot forgive, and not a legitimate longing He's not the answer to. We are here tonight to come to Jesus, in His Name we pray, Amen.