John 7:37-39b
Quenching Your Spiritual Thirst
Our Lord Jesus Christ is the living water of life, which quenches spiritual thirst! In Him you are satisfied. Only in Him is satisfaction guaranteed!
Anyone who has ever traveled in desert regions – be it Death Valley, the Sahara, or the Australian Outback – can only imagine the plight of a person who has run out of water! Having sufficient water is a yearly concern where Henry lives. They hope for snow in Flagstaff; as melted snow flows southward into Phoenix in the form of water.
Physical thirst is not a problem for us. Although our drinking water may be chemically treated there is still plenty to go around. Even in the midst of an occasional summer’s drought we still have had enough to drink!
Jesus speaks of another kind of thirst – a spiritual thirst – one which cries out for purpose and peace. This type of thirst – the one of mind and heart certainly needs to be quenched. For we cannot survive merely on water alone! This morning’s passages from Holy Scripture leads us to ponder this question; what are you going to do about satisfying your own spiritual thirst?
I. To do something about it, you first must realize that there is a true spiritual thirst. This is not easy. Most folk don’t recognize a true genuine spiritual thirst. That doesn’t mean that there have been some who have seen the need for God and have thirsted after Him. We need such people to model after. Such a man was our own Pr. Wyneken, who associated restlessness with a thirst for God.
As he witnessed the spiritual need in our community he would sacrifice whatever the cost. He incessantly became poorer in order to make others rich. He suffered the greatest inconvenience in order to bring other peace with God and meet the spiritual needs of others. He became a reassuring messenger of God for many. But again, such a man with such keen understanding is rare indeed.
A. The spiritual leaders of Jesus day were unaware of their own spiritual thirst.
1. The verses just in front of our text describe Jesus’ verbal encounter with Temple leadership at the feast. They just could not see Jesus to be the only one to give us purpose and peace and so they rejected Him as the one who could help and heal.
2. Self-righteousness
prevented them from quenching spiritual thirst. They did not grasp the meaning
of Jesus words! Oh that we could see in
them that there is salvation and life!
“They said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?” (Vv.35-36)
B. We are not always aware of our own spiritual thirst.
1. Smugness and self-satisfaction prevent us from saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
2. We think we do not need to grow in grace and in the meaning of God in our lives.
Transition: When we see that God has not yet filled every area of our lives, when we yearn for forgiveness, when we desire to be the kind of persons God would have us be – it is then, and only then, that we are experiencing spiritual thirst!
II. Jesus tells us how to quench this thirst.
A. Jesus made a great claim in impressive circumstances.
1. The
libation of water had rich associations for the people of Jesus’ day. For
example Moses and the rock of Horeb. The
children of Israel had been wandering in the desert for three days without
water. Moses struck the rock and the water flowed.
When they arrived at Marah they had water, but it was
undrinkable. It was bitter. So the LORD directed Moses to a tree which he cast
into the waters, when, at once, they were made sweet. The Lord provides for
those which are His own.
But a rebellious Israelite shall fare no better than a
rebellious Egyptian. The LORD himself is the great Physician. If we are kept
well, it is he that keeps us; if we are made well, it is he that recovers us.
He is our life and the length of our days. Let us not forget that we are kept
from destruction, and delivered from our enemies, to be the Lord's.[1]
In every trial we should cast our care upon the Lord,
and pour out our hearts before him.
2. Jesus
proclaimed Himself as the source of salvation and the means of quenching
spiritual thirst.
3. Coming to Jesus quenches such thirst, by believing in Him!
B. Jesus takes the initiative in quenching our
own thirst.
1. By the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost He quenched the people’s thirst. “Now when they heard this they were cut to
the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what
shall we do?” And Peter said to them,
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your
children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to
himself.” And with many other words he
bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this
crooked generation.” So those who
received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three
thousand souls.” - Acts 2:37 -41
2. The Spirit comes to us in Word & Sacrament.
a. To make Christ’s cross a living reality. The
cross changes everything. The cross of Christ is the center of salvation. It is
the crucial point, the place of convergence where everything about the gospel
comes together. If you interrogate Christian faith and ask, “In one word, how does God save sinners?”
the response of a healthy faith will be instantly and confidently to pick out
the Cross.
The apostle Paul knew this. When he said he “resolved to know nothing ... except Jesus
Christ and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2)
b. Through these gifts the
Spirit shows Jesus in the middle of our struggles. Jesus shows up in the middle of our storms, our
situations, and our struggles. He is not absent. He remains present to guide
you through any trouble. He encourages you to take your needs, burdens, joys
and sorrows to the throne room of grace. As the Savior has promised to answers
each petition
c. He comes to assure you of His gracious
concern for you. Hope is what sustains us
as we persevere, remaining steadfast in times of trial and discouragement. Hope
is not wishful thinking or passive waiting. The Christian hope is trust in God
in Jesus Christ. It is the confidence that God is faithful, that He will
complete what He has begun. It is also, therefore, that confident expectation
which waits patiently; eager for God's purposes to be fulfilled
In Genesis 12:1-2, we meet Abraham, the great Father
of the faith and pioneer of the spiritual journey which ends in Jesus. God’s
directive was simple, “Go forth from the
land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land I will show you
(Genesis 1:11).
Trusting in God’s promise, Abraham began a journey. He
had no GPS, no itinerary, no maps, no named destination, no hotel accommodations
along the way.
He knew where he was, but his destination was wherever God was going to lead him. Abraham traveled with a great deal of trust in divine providence. For he knew that the LORD would direct him. Likewise for you; the LORD orders your days and directs each step.
III. The Spirit enables us to be channels of living water for others.
A. We can tear down walls of hatred and
prejudice. As St. Paul teaches, “For he
himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh
the dividing wall of hostility. For he himself is our peace, who has made us
both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”
Ephesians 2:14-15
B. We can be fountains of goodness to others until the fountain wells up into life everlasting, when we shall never thirst again!
Again, we arrive at
our question for this morning. What are
you going to do about spiritual thirst?
Jesus is the answer, “If anyone thirsts,
let him come to Me and drink!” In
Jesus' Name. Amen.
Passive Sentences -7%
Readability -74.6%
Reading Level-6.3
[1] Matthew Henry Commentary Exodus 15 https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/commentaries/Matthew-Henry/Exod/Bitter-Waters-Marah-Israelites
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