I Thirst (Just A Little Bit)

Read

John 19:28–29 KJV 1900

After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.

Matthew 15:22–28 KJV 1900

And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

I have two subjects today. I first want to use the subject, I Thirst. But if you will just tap the person beside you and say, “It Only Takes A Little Bit.” You may be seated, if not already seated, as we go to the Lord in prayer.

Prayer

John 19:28-29

We see that Jesus is hanging on the cross and is nearing the close of his life.

His body is weak and broken from hours of hanging on the cross and the beating that he took for you and I sitting here today, that we might have a chance at life everlasting

Now I do not have time to go back into the scriptures and show each time, but up until this point Christ has turned down two other opportunities to drink throughout his ordeal leading up to Calvary.

He was offered drink by soldiers to desensitize him to the pain of the beating he received.

And he was offered drink by some women to decrease his pain for the ordeal of crucifixion.

This means that from the time of his capture to the time of his death, which is from the evening of the previous day through about 3pm the next day, Christ did not have anything to drink.

We must also take into consideration that the land of Israel has a Subtropical Arid Climate, which is just shy of being a desert environment.

That leads me to my point. Christ suffered an incalculable amount of pain for you and I.

So, do not allow anybody to tell you the lie that nobody cares about you, nobody loves you, and nobody is concerned about you.

Because God the Father thought enough about you, to send his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but will have everlasting life.

His love is not conditional, it never ends, and it grows with each day.

Because you see he died on that cross because his love for me even when no one else knew to love me.

You got to make that thing personal.

Matthew 15:22-28

Then we flip over to Matthew where we see a woman seeking the Lord. Her daughter has been vexed with an evil spirit and it is her desire to see her daughter delivered.

She asked Jesus for his help three times and was twice denied. But she was undeterred. This is because she knew that within him lied the answer to her prayer.

Now I must stop here because you see how the Disciples are looming in the backdrop.

The woman of God said, “thou son of David.” She did not call Peter, James, nor John. But that’s just like Church folk. They get a little title, a position, and a bit of authority and they liken themselves to Jesus himself. But the Devil is a lie.

The woman said, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And when the disciples started whispering and grumbling Christ turned her down.

And you see some of us must get the spirit of this Syrophoenician woman in us and ignore the crowd. Because she then began to worship him and said help me

The people of God need to get past this little cutesy stuff that we have been doing. Too many of us try too hard to stay cute, but the God I serve is worthy of all the praise and worship. Because see when you worship, you don’t care about what you look like, or how you sound, or if you clothes get dirty but you got to make up in your mind that I Thirst and whatever I have to do I am going to get the little bit I need to make it to my next level.

Now see, Jesus then does something that shocks me, he turns her away again. But its not that he says no, its how he says no.

He looks at this woman and says its not meet for me to take the children’s bread and to cast it before Dogs. Let me be perfectly clear, the Savior that I know, called this woman a Dog.

But watch her response. She said truth Lord, but even the Dogs can eat the crumbs that fall from their masters table.

Then the Lord said woman, thy faith is great, and he bid her request be given unto her as she asked.

What Am I Saying? I am Glad You Asked

Sometimes we let the Devil fool us into thinking that we need a bunch of something to make a lot happen. You see Jesus asked for a drink because he needed to, as they say in the south, “Wet his whistle.” He needed a little beverage to prepare himself for his sixth word.

He didn’t need a cup, he needed a taste.

He didn’t need a slurp, he needed a sip

Let me bring it down to your level.

He didn’t need a glass, he needed a shot

Y'all don’t hear me

He didn’t need a whole lot but tap your neighbor and say it only takes a little.

We must get it down in our spirit like the woman. She didn’t need a plate, she didn’t need an appetizer, she didn’t even need a sample, but all she needed was a crumb.

I stopped by here on this Good Friday night, to let you know that the God you serve can make a whole lot with just a little.

All you need is faith the size of a mustard seed

You don’t need strength because his strength is made perfect in your weakness

You don’t need grace because his is enough

So, if you feel yourself in a valley. Maybe your job is working your nerves. Your children are testing your patience. Your marriage is testing your faith. School is messing with your mind, just remember what was said here today. You don’t need a whole lot, but it only takes a little.