Thirsty for more?
March 11, 2012
Rev 22:17
Introduction
- Have you ever been hungry?
- Really hungry?
- Hunger is something we rarely experience in the western world
- What we call hunger is something that is actually only a craving, or a desire, not that our body is aching for sustenance
- During the last world war, when the Germans invaded Holland, they took everything edible out of the fields, back to Germany
- People in Holland starved
- They ground up tulip bulbs to create a form of indigestible flour, so they could fill their stomachs with something
- This particular winter was called the Hunger Winter
- People were hungry
- Have you ever been thirsty?
- We may have experienced thirst. Recently I was able to help a lady with 5 children whose water had been cut off for a week.
- This family was thirsty
- Without water, we will die very rapidly
- Our body needs water for life
- A cup of oil won’t quench our thirst. Nor will a glass of gasoline
- Our body craves water
- Are we thirsty? Today?
What are we thirsty for?
Are we thirsty for a new car? A new job, success, fame, money
Perhaps we are thirsty for acceptance, appreciation, love
Perhaps we thirst for a church that is family, a church that cares for each other
Perhaps our need is a desire for gifts, spiritual gifts, a desire to see people healed, a desire to see the kingdom advanced
What is it that we are thirsty for?
All these things are good, if desired for the right reasons
1 Cor 12:31 Paul tells us to eagerly desire the greater gifts
1 Cor 14:1 – He tells us to follow the way of love and to eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy
So Paul is telling us it is good to desire to have particular spiritual gifts
But is that what we should be seeking above all else?
Seek God above all else
- Psalm 42:1-2 – “As the deer pants for streams of the water, so my soul pants for you O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?”
- Jesus tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness – Matthew 6:33
- The kingdom, means the rule of God
- Seeking first that God would rule absolutely in our lives
- Allowing him to seek out every nook and crevice in our life
- Are we thirsty for God, like a deer for water?
- Is God an add-on to our life, or is he what life is all about?
- My own life, is God what it is all about?
We were created to need God
- It is the natural state of man that we need God
Each man and each woman, is created needing closeness with God
That is because without God in our life, we are dead
When Jesus moves into our spirit when we surrender our life to him, he quickens us, he brings us to life
At last we are able to commune with God
The better we recognize our dependence on God for anything worthwhile, the more thirsty we will be
How do we satisfy our thirst?
Thirst comes from recognizing our own personal need
As we read Psalm 42, we see how needy David is
He is depressed, his soul is downcast and disturbed (v.5)
The days when he led the procession into the house of God seem long ago
There were times when David was close to God, and there were times when this was a memory
David is aware of his need.
He recognizes his distance from God and he is thirsty to get back into that relationship with God
He turns to God and places his hope in Him, and praises God
No matter that he is grieving, his body is sick and his enemies are taunting him about his God
He places his hope in God and praises him
The key to regaining that relationship with God, is that we put our hope in God, and praise him
This means taking our eyes off our troubles, and onto God our Savior
Verse 2 – My soul thirsts for God, for the living God, when can I go and meet with God?
David seeks to meet God? How does he do this? By placing his hope in God and worshipping him
He is thirsty and he satisfies that thirst by meeting with God
We meet with God each time we pray, whether that be our devotions in the morning, quick prayers under our breath while we engage in our daily activities, or praying in our spiritual language as we drive somewhere
We meet with God when we worship him in church
We meet with God when we sing songs to Him, when we placy worship CD’s in the car
It is in our meeting with God that that thirst is quenched
Without that meeting with God we are like a dry wilderness
When we seek God first, in every part of our lives, that thirst is being quenched
When we experience the closeness of God, that is described in John 14:20 “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you”
That is closeness
God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, one with me
Am I thirsty for that? You bet I am!
Conclusion
So, are you thirsty?
Come to the source of living water
John 7:37 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink”
Rev 22:17 “Whoever is thirsty, let him come and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life”
Meet with God, pray, worship, seek Him and you will find him
