Thirsty

Introduction

Thy physical often models the spiritual

weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning

reap what you sow

today we will look at being thirsty

“thirsty” means that you wanted water or something to drink

now it also means that you are desperate for relationship, companionship

there are some great lessons when it comes to being thirsty

there are some great spiritual applications when we think about being thirsty

John 7:37–38 NASB95

37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

We are all thirsty . . . thirsty for spiritual satisfaction

if someone says, “I’ve found the key to a happy life/three steps to peace/the most important thing in life is” . . . . even if we are skeptical, we pause to see what they have to say

for there is a longing for our souls to be satisfied, for our minds to be at peace, there is a part of our essential being that needs filling

We are all thirsty . . . . we all have a spiritual thirst!

and that spiritual thirst is tied to our emotional, mental, and physical well being

And we will try to satisfy it

learning - If I can learn enough/train my mind . . . I won’t be thirsty

money - If I can make enough money/pay all my bills easily . . . I won’t be thirsty

relationships - If I can find that special someone/strong family . . . I won’t be thirsty

health - make my body strong/feel good and feel good about myself . . . I won’t be thirsty

various other religions - if I can find the right path . . . I won’t be thirsty

but these are substitutions, and substitutes are only temporary and unsatisfying

like drinking a soda after a strenuous workout . . . you won’t feel right until you get some water, and the soda will eventually make it worse, more thirst

we ARE thirsty . . . so what are we do?

But Jesus said, “if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me”

Jesus gives an open invitation for all of us . . . anyone who is thirsty . . . come to Me and drink

Jesus will quench your thirst

This is good news because spiritual thirst manifests itself in so many ways: pain, grief, fear, emptiness, longing for hope, loss of joy, a troubled mind, a desire for purpose, the need to know that you are truly loved and accepted, need for validation

Whatever it is, Jesus says . . . come to me!

whoever anyone is hurting. . . come to me and drink

whoever anyone is needs peace . . . come to me and drink

whoever anyone is afraid . . .

purpose/loved/

if you really want to quench your thirst, if you want true satisfaction, you must go to Jesus

We are thirsty, and the invitation is to come to Jesus and drink

How do we drink?

verse 38 teaches us that it starts by believing in Him

it starts with, believing in who he is . . . the son of God

it starts with, believing in what he did . . . suffered, bled, and died for your sins, then rose from the dead on the 3rd day

believing enough to accept him as Lord and Savior

just call on Him - for whosoever calls on the name of the Lord, shall be saved

that’s how you make the connection, that’s how you get the water turned on, Believe in Him

yet many in this room, have done this, but we yet remain thirsty . . . .

God is true to His word, so we will look at why many Christians remain thirsty

mistake #1 - we are always sipping

because of Christ, we are connected with God, the water is turned on, yet when we go to the faucet, we just take sips

spiritually parched, but only taking a sips

imagine walking a couple of hours in the heat of summer, and taking just a sip (take a sip from prop cup)

imagine running a marathon, and only taking sips

the heat of life beats down upon us, the marathon of life grinds us, and we come to Jesus and just take a sip . . . . then wonder why . . . why we are still thirsty, hurting, grieving, lonely, hopeless, joyless . . . because we are sipping instead of drinking

spiritual sips, “Give me just a little Jesus . . . and do it quickly”

always saying a quick prayer . . . and never tarrying with the Lord

let me bow real quick

always using one sentence prayers - never a paragraph

always fast talking prayers - in a rush

quiet time is measured in seconds

always reading a quick scripture . . . Daily Bread, scripture/word of encouragement . . . and that’s it

always a verse and never a chapter

always a chapter and never a book

been a Christian over 5 years, and still haven’t read the entire Bible

quick prayer, quick scripture, quick worship . . . just a sip

some people try to get to church, just in time for the sermon . . . I don’t need all the other worship stuff . . . I just need a sip

But Jesus said come to me and drink

Not, come and take a sip . . .

not, come and take a swallows

not swish a little bit in your mouth

no, it’s an invitation to drink! . . . take a full swig . . . “help yourself” . . . there’s plenty

your soul would not be so thirsty, if you took more than a sip . . . I challenge you to tarry with the Lord

mistake #2 - we take just one drink

and then some of us will do a little better, and take a full cup . . . but just one . . . one and done

we are thirsty (worried, lonely, afraid, sad, hurting), so we take a good swig . . .

we fasted, we prayed, we have others praying for us, we mediated on that chapter of the Bible, we worship at church and home, we wake up and put on our Christian music

feel that we are in lockstep with the Holy Spirit

God is speaking to us

and the thirst is quenched . . . the worry goes away, fear is replaced with faith, joy has truly come in the morning

but I’ve found that even if I drink a couple of bottles of water in the morning, later that day (later that morning) . . . my thirst returns . . . and I must drink some more, drink again

and spiritual thirst is the same way, it will come back . . . we start to feel afraid again, worried again, grieve again

but for some reason, many of us won’t take another drink, we hope the last drink will carry us through

imagine trying to convince a thirsty person that they can turn the faucet back on, and get another drink

“I’ve already had a drink of water” . . . . so, take another! . . . there plenty!

because a present tense verb is used . . . thirsty? Then drink!

there is a habitual sense here . . .

one drinking may refresh and comfort: but we can continue to be refreshed and comforted.

the river will not dry, just turn on the faucet whenever you need it

Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China said, “we often leave our drinking in the past, while our thirst continues in the present. “

we need to constantly drink the living water that comes from Jesus

for each and every occasion and circumstance, drink as much as you need

when that worry hits again . . . drink

when that grief hits again . . . drink

fear, pain, emptiness . . . drink

pray again, get others to pray again, fast again

meditate on the word again, pull out those same scriptures that got you through last time

worship again,

go watch that sermon again

we are always looking for a new word . . . many times we need the same word . . . just like you get another bottle of water

you can take another drink!

mistake #3 - some of us are not aware that we are thirsty

first, we don’t drink enough

but we are so used to being at a certain level of thirstiness, that you don’t realize you are thirsty

just like some of us go to the doctor and we are surprised when they say, “you’re just dehydrated”

“drinking more water” and that will get rid of the - dizziness, cramps, dry skin, fatigue, headaches

some of us are spiritually dehydrated, living in a state of thirst, and don’t know it

we are so used to trying to fight through the spiritual fatigue, dizziness, cramps . . . . just pushing through

joyful, but not fully joyful

hopeful, but not always hopeful

having faith, but still plenty of fears

at peace, but kind of troubled

have overcome a lot, but still hurting

you are spiritually dehydrated . . . you need to drink more!

you don’t feel the thirst anymore . . . but you soul is crying out, “I need more Jesus!”

so even when you feel that you have everything under control - pray

even when you feel that you have a handle on things - mediate on his Word

when things begin to turn around - keep coming to church

even in the best of times, stay spiritually hydrated!

maybe that’s why the Bible says, “pray without ceasing” . . . stay hydrated

overflow

John 7:38 NASB95

38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

what is incredible is that Jesus promises more than alleviating our thirst

if we come to Him and drink, we will have overflow, enough to flow to others

come to Him needing hope, end up giving hope

come to Him needing love, end up sharing love

come to Him needing peace, end up causing peace

come to Him needing joy, end up bringing joy

coming to Him needing purpose, end up helping others get on the path God has for them

That’s why in Bible Study, we looked at the scripture in Thessalonians that said, “Don’t quench the spirit”

it goes together . . . avail yourself to the Lord, stop sipping, stop being one and done, let the Spirit have His way

he will help you

He will give you power to help others

quench the thirst, not the Spirit

that’s why we see later in the book of John

John 15:5 NASB95

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

. . abide in me, and I in you . . .

stay there, stay with me, stay connected

you can bear much fruit

if you stop abiding, stop drinking . . . you can do nothing

it is that simple . . . as simple as doing more than sipping spiritual things

more Jesus is not going to hurt you . . . it’s going to help you

sometimes it starts with BELIEVING that more Jesus will make a difference

the time invested in prayer, devotion, church, Bible study . . . will be worth it

and it is that simple . . . as simple as, when that spiritual thirst hits again, then drink again

Lord, I’m starting to worry again, feel depressed again, fearful again

pray, get a scripture, sing a worship song

and do it every time that thirst hits

it is that simple . . . as simple as the doctor saying, “you need to drink more water”

so people make extra effort to remember to drink enough . . . special water jugs, set reminders

you can do the same with spiritual things . . . set your phone to remind you, put a scripture on the mirror,

Daniel set a routine - prayed 3 times per day

and you know that when you drink a lot of water - it flushes the body out

coming to Jesus will flush that bad stuff in your spirit right out

you won’t have to try to hard to live right, you will begin to live right because the living water will flush it out

but there is no relationship that can satisfy your thirst like a relationship with Jesus

in fact, a relationship with Jesus, will make the other relationships better

and keep you out of some bad relationships (because you are not so thirsty)

You don’t have to be thirsty

Invitation

as stated earlier, quenching that thirst, starts with accepting Jesus aas lord and savior

Financial Update

Building Fund: we are at 4,833 now, and first benchmark is now just $5,000

Once we reach that, we will set the Building fund aside until the end of March, and we will start giving to the Project Fund.

Project Fund: Fixes, repairs, upkeep, that need to be done, to take care of the building that we already have. The men have started forming a list, and we will keep you informed. Then we will return to the building up the building fund.

Closing Remarks

Listening Party will be just that