Sermon "Thirsting for God" 3/20/22 16 Minutes

Psalm 63:1-8

This morning I'll be reading Psalm 63 verses 1 through 8. And I'll be reading from the King James Version Bible. Psalm 63:1–8 As David goes through another trial in his life,,, he makes it clear that God is foremost on his mind,,, and he yearns for God's love and presence all the days of his life,,, no matter the trial or problem.

Psalm 63:1–8 (KJV 1900) — 1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. 3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: 6 when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches. 7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. 8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last Sunday we looked at Philippians 3:17 through 4:1,,, as we followed Paul’s words to the Philippians as he used himself as an example to show them that he is reaching forward to obtain the goal that is promised to us by Jesus Christ,,, and showing us how to walk with God.

He is doing everything that he can to reach that goal,,, and he wants them,,, and us today,,, to copy him,,, do everything that we can,,, so that we obtain that glorious prize as well.

To do that,,, we must be sure that we stay on the right path,,, do the right things,,, and live the way that God wants,,, and expects us to live.

And we do that by staying in our relationship with God,,, listening to the Holy Spirit each and every day as He guides us,,, because we can’t do this on our own,,, but with God’s help we can.

God will help us in our walk with Him each and every day if we allow Him to,,, the key,,, is allowing Him to,,, and being obedient to His voice as well.

This morning we will look at these verses in Psalm 63 and see how they help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 1 and 2 say: 1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

If you look at the previous psalms,,, the faith expressed in Psalms 61 and 62 reaches a climax in this marvelous hymn of David,,, written about his experience while he was in the wilderness.

And it refers to a time when David,,, as king,,, was separated from the ark,,, which is the formal place of worship at that time (2 Sam. 15:25).

Some of the commentaries that I have,,, say that this psalm was written as a result of his enforced exile in 2 Samuel 15,,, where David was forced to flee from Absalom his son as Absalom tried to take over the kingdom,,, others say this was written as a result of David’s time in the wilderness while fleeing from Saul,,, during the time when Nabal refused to help David,,, and others just say that David’s time spent in dry desert country,,, without water,,, gives him the inspiration for the words in this psalm.

Regardless of which example you want to choose,,, in the words of this psalm,,, he writes of the satisfied longing of his soul for worship,,, by praising God for His loyal love,,, even during his distress.

And as a result,,, he confidently anticipated a time of joy when his enemies would be stopped.

Because his soul thirsted for and longed for God,,, he wrote,,, Early will I seek You.

To seek someone “early”,,, suggests doing so earnestly.…

And that’s something that we should always do,,, seek God earnestly,,, all the time,,, not just when we are in trouble,,, or,,, when we think about it!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 3 and 4 say: 3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. 4 Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

When you earnestly seek God as you should,,, the lovingkindness that He shows us,,, is,,, better than life,,, according to David.

David says that he will praise God for as long as he lives,,, and this is during a troubling time in his life,,, and yet,,, he is definite in his praise for God because he knows that God will help him get through this time,,, somehow,,, someway!

That’s the kind of faith that we need,,, and if we just remember the times when God has rescued us in the past,,, just like David,,, we know that God will rescue us again,,, no matter what we are going through.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 5 and 6 say: 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips: 6 when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

David is saying that praising God would satisfy his soul as much as the richest of foods would satisfy his body.

Praise to Him gave vitality to his spiritual life.

And praising God,,, is the natural expression of a heart that meditates on God,,, a heart that thinks of Him through … the night,,, which is what David made sure that he did,,, and it didn’t matter where he was at,,, or what problem was before him.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 7 and 8 say: 7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. 8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

When God has been our help,,, we don’t have any other choice,,, except to be thankful,,, and praise God as we shelter under the wings of God,,, similar to the way that a hen turkey does while her poults are still young and she protects them through the night by covering them with her wings.

And as we cling to God in loving dependence,,, He preserves us from dangers,,, both seen and unseen,,, and,,, gives us power to press on towards the mark for the prize.

It is God’s safety and support,,, that always helps us,,, no matter what problem or trial that we are going through.

----------------------------------------------------------- So we see from these verses that David depended on God,,, no matter where he was at,,, whether in Jerusalem near the ark of the covenant,,, or far away in the wilderness,,, it didn’t matter.

David made sure that he kept his eyes on God.

But that leaves us with questions this morning!

So,,, Are we acting in the same way?

Are we trusting God the way that we should?

Are we “Thirsting for God” the way that David did?

----------------------------------------------------------- I’m afraid that the answer to this question will not be what it should be.

Yes,,, when we are surrounded by our problems or trials,,, whatever they may be,,, whether it is financial problems,,, health problems,,, or emotional problems,,, we are doing our best to “Thirst for God”,,, but what about the rest of the time?

We come to church on Sunday,,, then rush off to begin another week,,, when we leave this place,,, does God go with us?

Is He a part of our every day life like He was with David?

These are questions that each one of us must answer,,, no one can answer for us,,, I can’t answer for you,,, and you can’t answer for me.

God will look to each of us one day,,, and we need to be prepared for that day.

And it will be so much better for us,,, if we have been “Thirsting for God”,,, the way that we should all the week long.

God wants our attention all day,,, every day,,, not just during our hard times!

And it’s the relationship that we have during the good times that helps us get through the bad times.

God is with us,,, no matter what we are going through,,, but when we have made the effort to build that relationship with God each and every day like we should,,, then it’s so much easier to recognize that God “is” with us,,, during the times when we struggle to find Him like we want.

----------------------------------------------------------- So I ask that as you leave here today,,, you make sure that you take God with you,,, be sure that He isn’t left here,,, with your intentions of picking back up here next Sunday and then doing better the next week,,, because,,, we are never promised next week,,, and by taking that chance,,, you miss that opportunity to strengthen your relationship with God,,, and make your walk with God better each and every day.

Which is what God wants for us while we are here passing through to our future home,,, with Him.

----------------------------------------------------------- If you feel like you aren't “Thirsting for God” the way that you should,,, Let me remind you,,, that Jesus said in John 4:14 “But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”

So you see,,, this is available,,, but you have to make that choice. It will not be forced on you,,, that is something that you must decide to do. If you have never made the commitment to allow Jesus to be your Personal Savior,,, please make that decision today. We aren't promised tomorrow,,, so the choice must be made today. We don't know the hour or the day when Jesus comes back nor do we know if we will be called home,,, we are just told to be ready. And to be ready,,, you must have made the decision to follow Jesus,,, be sure that you have made that decision today! ----------------------------------------------------------- So as we sing our final hymn,,, let me remind you that the alter is always open,,, If you feel God speaking to you,,, don't hesitate to come,,, maybe you just have questions,,, God will answer,,, you just have to ask Him,,, whatever the need may be,,, As we sing the final hymn,,, come if needed! Oakdale - Hymn Page - Seminary - Hymn Page - 382 ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------