Satisfying Our Spiritual Thirst

On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone

is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:37-39)

Grabbing the attention of His hearers on the most important day of the Feast, Jesus loudly proclaims a wide and full and free invitation to all mankind–establishing with certainty the gospel as being eminently wonderful news. I am reminded of the prophet Isaiah’s words:

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.” (Isaiah 55:1-2)

Apart from Jesus and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, mankind remains spiritually thirsty, anxious of soul, in need of pardon before a Holy God, and longing for a lasting peace. God’s perfect law convicts us of our sin. We are in a hopeless state. No one possesses the ability to be declared righteous in God’s sight by observing the law, for apart from Jesus, we all remain helpless. We will always be found wanting. Paul tells us:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

The Jews were all too familiar with their lack of ability. The sacrificial system served as a constant reminder. God had warned His people through the prophet Jeremiah that they had forsaken Him, the Spring of Living Water, and had dug their own pathetic broken cisterns. They had replaced the one true God with false idols which could never satisfy nor meet their needs:

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jeremiah 2:13)

When we come to the realization of our sinful state, it is then that we desire the help and relief that comes through forgiveness. This is the idea behind Jesus’ choice of the word “thirsty.” Who has not been thirsty? Who has not been parched and desirous of having their thirst quenched? What we perhaps know all too well in the physical realm, Jesus relates to a spiritual truth. Unfortunately, we often seek to quench our spiritual thirst with almost everything but the Living Water! From money to pleasure, to honor, to prestige, to self indulgence –there is no limit to man’s chase for satisfaction or the careless handling of their own souls. We seem to go to great lengths not to pursue what ultimately satisfies. Jesus tells us:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

Take It to Heart

Isaiah prophesied:

The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:11)

Peace is only to be had in Christ Jesus who serves as our mediator and substitute. To come to Christ is to believe in Him and to be filled with Him.

Thirsting After God

Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit (2 Kings 2:9).

One of the first requirements to move in greater power and authority in God is to hunger for it. Yet, even this hunger is born from God. Elisha hungered after God. Elisha saw many miracles as the servant of Elijah. But he wanted more. He wanted a double portion of Elijah's spirit. When he asked Elijah for this he responded, "You have asked a difficult thing." It wasn't because it couldn't be granted. Elijah knew that with great anointing came a great weight of responsibility and difficulty.

Secondly, humility comes before honor. Elisha was known as the "servant of Elijah." How would you like to be known as "the servant of John?" Your name is not even mentioned. This was the preparation of Elisha. It has been the preparation of many men of God. Consider Joseph, the servant of Pharaoh. Consider David, the servant of Saul.

Thirdly, Elisha committed himself totally to his calling. When Elisha was called to join Elijah the scripture says he left his farm business completely. He destroyed his oxen and had a great feast for the community. It was all or nothing. He could not fall back on his farm trade if his new venture didn't work. This demonstrates Elisha's pioneer spirit in stepping out, not knowing what was ahead.

Do you want greater anointing in God? "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. I will be found by you"(Jeremiah 29:13). Begin thirsting for God's anointing today in you heart. This is the starting place.

Truth Comes from Above

Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.” (John 7:16-18)

Jesus divulges the mystery of His knowledge to His Jewish audience–His teaching is not His own, but rather divine. He had no need to be taught by man–His teaching was not learned, it was by divine revelation. Jesus was commanded by the Father what to say and how to say it. We find these words of our Lord later in John echoing the same sentiment:

"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." (John 12:47-50)

Many people complain regarding their ability to discover truth. In our verses for today, Jesus tells us one secret key to knowledge–obedience. And as we are obedient in the simple things, we will be taught the deeper truths. Jesus is telling us that anyone who chooses to do God’s will–responding to the Word and the Spirit–will succeed in their search for the truth. In other words, those who progressively submit to divine guidelines will progressively be given divine light. As the Spirit leads us through conviction and we are obedient to change, we grow in Christlikeness–conforming to His image. This process is called sanctification. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians:

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.(1 Thessalonians 4:7-8)

Jesus lived a perfect life; indeed, Jesus lived the life God calls mankind to. We are simply incapable of following His steps apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus came to portray God to man. Those who follow our Lord, through the Holy Spirit’s leading and power, are to portray God to man as well. Jesus brought God honor through His willing obedience. Likewise, we are to bring God honor through our willing obedience.

In Malachi, we are told that God rebuked the Levite priests for their failure to listen to His Word and for their failure to honor His great Name:

"And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.” (Malachi 2:1-2)

The priests knew they were to honor God by the reverence of their words and their actions. Their teaching and instruction were to be true, nothing false found on their lips. By walking in peace and uprightness, they would turn many from sin.

Take It to Heart

In similar fashion, believers in Jesus are a royal priesthood, so termed by Peter, and called to declare His praises. Not stumbling through disobedience to the message, but rather living in such a way that our lives demonstrate the peace and wisdom found in God:


But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (1 Peter 2:9)

Believed

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." (John 6:28-29)

Our verses for today illustrate the willingness of the crowd to know and to do their duty regarding the requirements of God. They were totally convinced the “food that endures” that Jesus had spoken of (verse 27) would be theirs at the completion of such works. They presented both a serious and humble question in response to Jesus’ words; willing to do the work, they now sought to know what the work was.

I can so relate to their inquiry! We live in such a works-oriented culture, do we not? Ever pushing ourselves to do more and more–get up earlier, stay up later–push, push, push, work, work, work, do, do, do. We even come back from our vacations needing rest! Sometimes I wonder what underlying factors propel our motivation toward this frenzied lifestyle–pride, insecurity, a continual desire for more, greed, power, selfishness, a desire to blend, a desire to stand out–you fill in the blank. I know what it definitely is not–it is not God’s requirement for our salvation. Scripture tells us:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Our works will never be good enough because flawed people do flawed works. Simply put, we lack. This is why we need a Savior; we simply cannot save ourselves no matter how hard we try.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

Jesus gives the people an answer quite contrary to their works-oriented thinking.

"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

Do we believe in the One He has sent? It is God who does the work of faith; the one thing necessary for us is that we believe or trust in the One He has sent. Jesus, sent from the Father, full of grace and truth, came to seek and to save that which was lost–which is everyone:

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10)

Take It to Heart

While grace is lavishly and freely poured out to those who believe, it came as a great cost to God. The cross of Christ was the price of grace. Sometimes I think we, as modern day believers, have the gift of grace down so well we are trampling upon it. Grace is not a license for licentious living, rather it is the ultimate response given in the law of love by our Lord. It calls every believer to a higher calling through His power. This love is found in the hearts of those who believe, transformed by the power of the precious indwelling Holy Spirit.

We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:13-19)

“It is not a question of our equipment but of our poverty, not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us.” (Oswald Chambers)

Jesus, the Lord of Life

“I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” (John 5:25-27)

Jesus can call the dead to life both physically and spiritually–this is a solemn truth. I am reminded of Jesus’ response to John the Baptist’s query found in Matthew asking if Jesus was indeed the One to come. Perhaps John was discouraged sitting in his prison cell, perhaps he was confused. He who had once recognized Jesus to be the Messiah now needed the truth to be reaffirmed in his soul. It is so easy to get discouraged in the midst of our circumstances and then become bewildered! I love the way Jesus responds to John’s question:

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." (Matthew 11:2-6)

Jesus refuses to give a yes or no answer to the question, choosing to site His works and let them speak for themselves. The coming Messiah’s actions had been prophesied by the prophet Isaiah and Jesus clearly demonstrated He was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s words:

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. (Isaiah 35:5-6)

"I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. (Isaiah 42:6-7)

Jesus came as the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to Israel and also as a Light to the Gentiles. Spiritually unredeemed Israel and Gentiles alike are blind captives living in darkness–spiritually dead in their sins–yet Jesus says that those who hear will live! Paul later said:

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)

God’s gracious offer of reconciliation by righteousness through faith is held out to all–Jew and Gentile alike. Sadly, many do not accept this Good News. Many fail to respond. It is a very sad and discouraging thing to the message bearer of God’s Word for the Word not to be embraced. It is even sadder for those who turn a deaf ear to the truth.

Take It to Heart

God tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. The writer of Hebrews says:

God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Jesus promises us the same through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” (John 14:16-21)

“Crown him the Lord of life, who triumphed o’er the grave, who rose victorious in the strife for those he came to save. His glories now we sing, who died and rose on high, who died eternal life to bring and lives that death may die.” (Matthew Bridges, “Crown Him With Many Crowns”)

"TO GOD BE THE GLORY"

Worship in Spirit and Truth

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)

Jesus tells us the old has gone and the new has now come. Paul puts it this way:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!   
(2 Corinthians 5:17)

No longer bound to worship in the ceremonial way of the Mosaic Law, Jesus now shows us what is essential and necessary: to worship God in both spirit and in truth. The stress is placed on the state of our minds and of our hearts. I am reminded of a time when God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah to His people in regard to trusting in their place of worship rather than in Him. At that time in history, the Jews mistakenly thought they were safe to do all sorts of detestable practices because they worshipped in the temple of the Lord–practicing a form of outward religion, with no inward change:

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message: "'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" (Jeremiah 7:1-4)

Jesus tells us we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. We are to depend on God’s Holy Spirit for strength and assistance, worshipping with sincerity of heart and bringing glory to the One we worship because we believe Him to be true. Paul says:

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh. (Philippians 3:3)

This true form of worship begins by setting our hearts and minds on things above–earnestly seeking to bring heavenly direction to our earthly duties by fixing our attention on the eternal rather than the temporal. We are told in Colossians:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

Take It to Heart

Simply put, the more we know Him, the more we love Him. The more we love Him, the more we desire to worship Him. The more we worship Him, the more we desire to serve Him. Our worship of Him mirrors the condition of our hearts. The true worship which God desires from His children works from the inside out. Our worship of Him should result in personal transformation.

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God's Great Love

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

The battle rages over the souls of men and while Satan lures us with lies, God lures us with love. God’s ultimate motivation towards His people is love. This love is not limited to a few choice souls or to a few distinct groups, rather His gift of love is given for the whole world.
“The essential fact of Christianity is that God thought all men worth the sacrifice of His Son.” (William Barclay)
To be sure, God delights in us and it is His desire for this delight to be evident to others as well. The prophet Zephaniah tells us:

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

The Bible teaches that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Paul tells us:

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

God loves us–we must let the truth of these precious words resonate in our weary souls–impress them upon our hearts and our minds. Indeed, God loves us! Even when we were His enemies, He so loved us that He gave us His one and only Son that those who believe in Him will not perish but experience life in abundance both now and forevermore.

If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:15-16)

“The supreme happiness of life,” Victor Hugo said, “is the conviction that we are loved” ... Unfortunately, many people go through life feeling unloved–and unlovable ... No matter the reason, your feelings aren’t telling you the truth! God loves you, and if you begin to see yourself the way God sees you, your attitudes will begin to change. If He didn’t love you, would Christ have been willing to die for you? But He did! The Bible says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). God loves you. Hammer that truth into your head and mind every day. It will make all the difference. (Billy Graham)

Take It to Heart

“I was the enemy of God. I was stamping through God’s universe, shaking my fist in His face. And in the very moment when I was shaking my fist in God’s face and tramping through the Creator’s universe, muddying all His streams, that’s when Jesus died for me. And if this is when Jesus died for me, what hope it gives me now! Now, even when I fall, the blood of Jesus is enough. He didn’t save me because I was strong; He saved me when I was weak. He didn’t save me when I was a pretty thing; He saved me when I was a mess. On the basis of this reality, I can have comfort.” (Francis Schaeffer, The Finished Work of Christ)

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)