Jesus and the Living Water

John 7:37-38 “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

Introduction

Have you guys ever felt so thirsty that you felt like you were going to pass out? Maybe some of you guys are saying this in your mind… yah every Sunday whenever we would run around and didn't have a water dispenser in here…

That being said.. Thank-you Alan~ I have been trying to get that water dispenser in here for the longest time… and I told Alan to ask Pastor Hong… and as soon as Alan asked… we got a dispenser that week… lol so everyone thank Alan for our water dispenser in here !

Anyways…. I wouldn't say that is a very good example of being really thirsty….

I'm going to ask you a question… how long do you think an average person can last without water? 3 days…

Nowadays… especially in America… people drink pop/ soda, energy drinks, all these different type of drinks…. More than they drink water…

There might be some of you guys here thinking… Wait, I'm still alive.. I haven't drank water in three days….

I'm talking about water as in liquid.. If you don't drink any liquid for three days… you are going to have a hard time…

Growing up in Thailand, 110 degrees playing soccer. Ban nai fan~ Cramps… dizzy… can’t concentrate.... but what happens when you drink water?

Get to Know Jesus Series

Who do you say I am

Parables

Living Water

Thirst For Jesus

We talked about being thirsty for physical things…. But have you every thought being thirsty spiritually?

Is that even a thing? Thirsting spiritually?

Thirsting spiritually means that your soul is thirsty, it’s longing for something more…

psalms 42:1 “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.”

Let’s study this passage for a little bit….

Do you guys know what panting means? dictionary says: to pant is to breathe with short, quick breaths, typically from exertion or excitement.

Brody

the passage says a Deer is panting for flowing streams….. This means that the deer is thirsty for water ok? Is there anything wrong with that phrase…. As the deer pants for flowing streams….

Deers dont pant for water…. period… they are not like dogs…. that pant for water on a hot day…. Deers actually live in climates that aren’t too hot.

Instead, deers get 90 percent of their water from Food… so it is really unusual to see a deer panting…

There is only one reason that deers pant…. They pant when they are chased by a predator for a long time…. If they are safe afterwards… they start panting…. As soon as they know they are safe… they start panting for water… they need to replenish themselves quickly or their life is in danger….

So when deers pant… they are exhausted… they are worn out…. They want to just lay down and die if they dont find water…

So… as a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, o God…. This means that the writer is saying my soul pants for you God…. I have been suffering this long… and now if you dont fill me up… I just want to die…

can any1 guess who the writer of this verse was? King David….

King David’s 2nd run… absalom

Have you guys ever been thirsty for God like this… sooo done with life…. ready to give up…. Depressed…. No motivation….

King David’s life was in danger… he was on the run for 15 years when Saul was king… David didnt ask for this life…. One day a random prophet named Samuel came and appointed David as king…. When he was minding his own business….

and because of that… he was on the run for 15 years…. After he killed Goliath…

and then after he was king… his own son rebelled against him… and David was on the run again…

he was in his 60s…. He was tired… worn out…. His life was physically in danger… but he still chose to worship God…

He wrote… as deer pant for streams of water I pant for you…. He yells…

MY SOUL THIRSTS FOR YOU! I NEED YOU!

Our situation probably will not be as bad as King David’s…. But when we struggle… are we going to thirst for Jesus? Is your soul going to pant for God?

I encourage you all to fill your souls by drinking from Jesus….

Drink From Jesus

It is your choice to drink from Jesus….

On friday, for those of y’all who came out… we shared about three stories….

All the characters in the story were thirsty….. they wanted their souls to be filled….

For example… One of the story we talked about was a Canaanite women that went to JEsus…

share the story

She was willing to be like a dog… so that her daughter can be saved

She was willing to degrade her life…. Imagine if you had to be humiliated to drink from Jesus… would you be able to do that?

I dont think Jesus called her a dog to be mean… It was a lesson… if we see how the story ends… he says this woman has great faith….

Whenever we see a person with a thirsty soul…. They all are willing to do whatever it takes to drink from the water….. that’s how desperate they are…

You guys all know avenger endgames? They were risking it all to go back in time and fix what thanos destroyed…. “Whatever it takes”

Thats our life…. Some of us complain… you guys say I want to meet Jesus.. I have been praying for a long time but he doesnt seem to show up…

I dont know what I am doing wrong… p moon can you pray that I can meet Jesus?

This is my answer to you… are you willing to do whatever it takes.. Jesus doesnt want a half hearted person…

He says there cant be two masters… you have to choose me or the world….

If you really want to meet Jesus… you have to be fine with losing everything in your life…

In todays culture… You guys want to fit in… you want to be pretty,… you want to be cool…

you want to wear the things that celebrities wear…. This is all so that you can fit in with your friend group….

If Jesus tells you to not put on makeup, wear clothing that makes you look poor, and sit with the people who have no friends at school because they are weird…. would you be able to do that?

If you answered no in your heart… then maybe that’s the answer why you havent met Jesus yet…We haven’t fully died to ourselves and let Jesus be the true Lord over our lives

you need to be able to do whatever it takes so that you can meet Jesus…..

Women who bled for 12 years

Rivers of Living Water

When you drink from Jesus…. When you drink the living water…. You are saved…

What does Jesus say to the people who were desperate and drank from Jesus?

Go and sin no more…

When you drink from Jesus you become the carrier of the water…

wherever you go… you pass on the water…

Ezekiel river of living water

you become a true Christian that passes on this living water….. wherever you go… it will spring with life…

like the desert which as no water…. When the living water flows… it becomes a oasis of life…

When you walk in a group that are thirsy for the living water…

you can fill their hearts by passing on the living water you received…

So we need to thirst for Jesus…. And drink from him… so that we can become the river that flows into a dessert…. And make it into a oasis….

This is the real reason why Jesus came to die on the cross for us…

So that we can become heirs to his kingdom and pass on his blessings…

So I challenge you all this week…. Can you become that river that flows into the dessert and brings life?

at church… can you not only hangout and have fun with your own cliques but involve someone else that looks like they are not having fun?

Can you sacrifice yourself? Do whatever it takes and let Jesus be the true Lord of your life?

We have a heavenly father who desperately wants a relationship with us. When we are thristy for him, let’s be quick to turn to him, because he will always welcome us with arms open wide. Let’s pray.