Wednesday 16 October 2013

What Do You Thirst For?


Scripture: John 4 v 10 - 14; John 7 v 37 - 39.

 

We sing a lovely chorus:

"There's a river of life flowing out from me; it makes the lame to walk and the blind to see; it opens prison doors and sets the captives free; there's a river of life flowing out through me."

Jesus told the Samaritan woman He met at Jacob's Well that He could give her living water so she would never thirst again. What do we thirst for?

Firstly, Righteousness. Sin dries us up inside our hearts. We become like wrinkled prunes in our soul and spirit. Dried and shrivelled and unhappy. A thirst for right standing with God begins to move into our conscious minds. The thirst grows more insistent and we look for many thirst quenchers to try to slake that demanding drought within. Nothing helps until we admit our guilt of sin towards our Father and receive Jesus as our Saviour.

As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman when you receive the living water you will not thirst again. Once you have Jesus within your heart you are completely satisfied. His righteousness with the Father is extended to us.

Secondly, we thirst for truth. Our lives are so bombarded by lies, false promises, infidelity, scams, identity theft etc that we have forgotten what real truth is. When we actually hear the truth our mind rejects it as false. It is so alien it cannot be right. I am talking about the truth concerning Jesus.

When the truth about Him is received and believed the living water bursts forth in a joyous stream within us. In John 7 Jesus says it will flow out of your innermost belly to touch others who are searching for truth.

Thirdly, we thirst for knowledge and go to great lengths and expense to expand our minds with learning. When we know Jesus who is the sum of all knowledge, the Alpha and Omega, the well-spring of living water refreshes our thirsting soul.

The living water in John 7 v 39 is the Holy Spirit which could only be given after Jesus death, resurrection and ascension to Heaven where He was glorified. Ten days later on the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down and the Church was born as the Disciples of Jesus burst forth in tongues, prophecy and cloven tongues resembling fire on their heads. Acts 2.

In John 3 v 3 - 5 Jesus says we cannot even perceive Heaven until we are born again through water and the Spirit.  We must be born again, baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit to receive the full blessing of salvation. I cannot stress this truth enough.

This morning a small group of us were praying in tongues and directing it towards those in need of healing. One of us saw the River of Living Water; another saw people struggling in a sea of pain and problems. They were fighting off sharks and leviathan and sea serpents.

We were helping them out of the stormy dangerous sea and leading them to the River of living water. Not everyone listened or came out of that sea. Those that did were rewarded with peace. I heard an old hymn in my mind "Tell us the old, old story of Jesus and His love."

The Holy Spirit said to me - speak it forth and I will bring them near to hear it. A strong anointing came upon me to share the true and life changing Gospel of who Jesus is and what He did to rescue us. Perhaps you heard it in your heart today, maybe it will be there tomorrow. Whenever the Holy Spirit senses you have come to the place of maximum thirst it will be given to you.

As soon as I had finished speaking a long breath came forth from within me and then the anointing lifted and went wherever the Holy Spirit wants it to go. So do not put Him in a box labelled "Not for today" because He desires to quench your thirst and use you to meet the thirst of others going forward.

Prayer: Heavenly Father I could not live one minute without the flow of the Living Water, the Holy Spirit, in my life. Father let that Old Old Story of Jesus and His Love reach every heart and mind on every continent to quench every thirst. In Jesus' name. Amen. 

PS. On Twitter today there was a photo of a group of people on a beach in California holding a huge giant sea snake or oarfish. A confirmation from the Lord to illustrate today's ministry.