[0:00] Father, in the name of Jesus, we thank you for your mercy and grace. We thank you for Juana's mother and the many years you've given her among us. Lord, we pray for your continued grace in her life.
[0:12] Though outwardly she may be wasting away a little bit, but we pray inwardly she'd be renewed day by day, day by day. She would know your inner renewing. We pray also for those in our church who are grieving.
[0:23] We think of the Taylor family. We think of our Reverend Plummer and others who have lost loved ones. So God, will you, Sister Brianna, Lord, please comfort them even as they grieve.
[0:35] Maybe not as those who have no hope because of your grace to their loved one. But Father, we do know they grieve and we grieve with them. Please encourage their hearts and strengthen them.
[0:46] Father, we come to your word now. Will you speak to us? Will you guide our lives? Will you reprove, rebuke, exhort, heal, do all your holy will in us, but guide us, don't leave us like this.
[0:58] We need to follow Jesus. Deal with our idols. Deal with our hearts, oh Lord. And Lord, help us to fall more and more in love with him who has loved us and washed us from our sins with his own blood.
[1:13] Help us. Give us ears to hear. And grant your servant your wonderful, matchless grace to preach your word. In Jesus' name. Amen.
[1:25] Amen. Amen. Amen. Once again, we return back to John chapter 7, verses 37 to 52.
[1:36] On the last, the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
[1:57] Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Now this he said about the, this is John's commentary, by the way.
[2:09] Now this he said about the spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
[2:20] When he heard these words, some of the people said, this really is the prophet. Others said, this is the Christ. But some said, is the Christ to come from Galilee?
[2:31] Hasn't the scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was? So there was a division among the people over him.
[2:42] Some of them wanted to arrest him. But no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, why did you not bring him?
[2:57] The officers answered, no one ever spoke like this man. The Pharisees answered him, have you also been deceived? Have any of your authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
[3:10] But this crowd, this crowd that does not know the law is cursed. Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, who was one of them, said to them, point of order, does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?
[3:28] They replied, are you from Galilee too? Search and see. What a discussion.
[3:41] That is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Please. Sir.
[3:56] Thank you all. Thank you, Praise Team, so much. I remember reading an account of some men traveling across the Sahara Desert where sand dunes can reach 300 feet in height.
[4:10] Temperatures rise to around 120 degrees Fahrenheit for months at a time. The sun's rays are reflected off the sand, causing temps to soar.
[4:24] There are no bodies of water to give water vapor to cool it. And yet nighttime temps can reach below freezing and in the winter and in the northern parts, even get below zero.
[4:40] As they traveled, you know what happened. Their vehicle quit. I guess they didn't get it checked out before they left. I don't know. There was no Blakely auto or Firestone to help them.
[4:54] So after a few days, they ran out of water, of course. Indiana Jones, eat your heart out. But this was a true story. The only thing they had to drink was radiator fluid.
[5:10] And if you don't know, that's kind of poisonous, I think. The condition that led them to drink something so deadly is called polydipsia.
[5:23] It can be caused by intense dehydration brought on by intense heat, leading to excessive sweating.
[5:34] Not the only cause, but this is one of the major causes of polydipsia. They experienced all of that, by the way. That's what they were experiencing. In this condition of extreme thirst, believe me, you will drink anything.
[5:51] As long as it's wet. In our spirit, the world in which we live is a place of spiritual polydipsia.
[6:05] In our spiritual thirst for ultimate significance, satisfaction, safety, security, we will drink anything that we think will take away the ache.
[6:21] And we do. If we refuse the living water that Jesus gives, we do. Family, if we are not allowing Jesus to satisfy our thirst daily, something else will.
[6:42] We are subject to drinking spiritual poison. So, I guess the question, once again, is, got thirst? Remember where we are.
[6:57] Jesus is satisfying our deep spiritual thirst for significance, satisfaction, and safety. Only in God, only in God can this spiritual thirst be met and quenched.
[7:10] Nothing in creation will do it for us. Last time we went to the Old Testament and saw that Jesus is the rock that Moses struck that brings water.
[7:21] Remember that in Deuteronomy. It was a low time in the life of the Israelites as they were thirsty and very irritable and blamed their shepherd Moses. God had led them to this place of thirst that they might cry out to him to satisfy them.
[7:41] God, this is similar to what he did with the manna. Very similar. In Deuteronomy 8.3, the Bible says, And he, meaning God, humbled you and let you hunger.
[7:54] Did you catch the phrase? He humbled you and he let you hunger. And fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know.
[8:05] That he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God. That's what God did with the manna.
[8:16] He's doing the same thing with the thirst. David will respond centuries later when he's hurting. He's been attacked by his enemies and he's hurting. And in Psalm 42, which you all know, but that's the backdrop to Psalm 42.
[8:31] David is in pain. He's being pursued. He's being attacked. And in Psalm 42, 1 and 2, it says, As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
[8:44] My soul thirsts for what? God. For the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? David is only probably echoing Moses' heart in the desert.
[9:00] Because remember, Moses and his family didn't have water either. They were all thirsty. But Moses was following God. The Israelites failed the test.
[9:16] But God was still gracious and gave them water in spite of their sin of dissatisfaction with him. This is what our Lord is referring to. This is what we read in verse 37 when he says, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
[9:34] He's referencing that situation. But now we need to hear how the New Testament comments on that same scene. This is an important scene. You have the actual scene in Deuteronomy.
[9:46] You have our Lord Jesus reference it. But you also have something else happening. First of all, remember, Jesus is the rock that supplies water. Paul also talks about that same situation in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verses 1 through 12.
[10:05] Allow me. That should be on the screen. Hear what Paul writes. For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea.
[10:17] And all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food. And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
[10:33] Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did.
[10:48] Do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did.
[11:00] And 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents.
[11:12] Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these, now he says it again. Now these things happened to them as an example.
[11:23] Now listen, this is powerful, y'all.
[11:44] This is, he's taking that same scene. Paul is warning us not of being thirsty, but of satisfying our thirst with idols that cannot satisfy and which will bring, he shows us, the Lord's discipline in our lives.
[12:01] He says it twice. That situation in Deuteronomy was for new covenant believers. It was for us as an example.
[12:11] Verse 6, and I think it was verse 11. They took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did.
[12:26] Of course, if we seek to satisfy our thirst in anything that the Lord forbids, that certainly is evil, right? If God says, don't do this, this is bad.
[12:37] This will hurt you. This will bring dishonor. If we seek to satisfy ourselves in that way, that's evil. That he's saying, yeah, that's evil. He even gives examples in verses 7 through 10.
[12:48] What does he mean by this? Don't be idolaters as some of them were. People sat down to eat, drink, rose up to play. Don't indulge in sexual immorality. Sex is for marriage between a man and a woman.
[13:01] Outside of that, it's sexual immorality. He says that some of them did. In 23,000, when he says fell, God put them to death, by the way. Then he says, we must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did.
[13:15] We're destroyed by serpents, nor must we grumble and complain. That's what they were doing with Moses, as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. Man, that's some heavy stuff, y'all.
[13:29] I know you say, oh, this is legalism. No, family. This is God warning us as a loving father, warning his children whom he loves, whom he cares for.
[13:41] He's warning his people, don't satisfy your thirst this way. It will kill you. He's warning us. This stuff is toxic. Jesus is crying out.
[13:57] Israel bowed to actual idols. Idols of the nation. They bowed down to actual idols. But idolatry goes deeper than some statue.
[14:09] Ezekiel 14.3, the New Living Transition, puts it this way. He says, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts. Not set up idols in their tent.
[14:21] Not set up idols in their home. Not set up idols in their temple. No, he said, idolatry is a heart thing. And these were the leaders of the people of Israel Ezekiel was talking about.
[14:34] Tim Keller. Some of you love Tim Keller. So here, I got some Tim Keller for you. Sorry, it's not on the screen. Apologize. This is his book, Counterfeit Gods. Tim says this, God was saying that the human heart takes good things like successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into ultimate things.
[14:57] Our hearts deify them as the center of our lives because we think they can give us significance and security, safety, and fulfillment if we attain them.
[15:12] The patron saint of the city has spoken. That's Tim. That's my joke. Never mind. Let me put it in Kevin Smith words.
[15:23] Anything we seek for ultimate satisfaction, significance, and safety that only Jesus can give you becomes seeking evil. It's an idol.
[15:35] If you make your family your ultimate hope for these things. And family is good. Tim, he's right. Family is good. But if you make your family your ultimate hope of attaining significance and safety and satisfaction, family becomes an idol.
[15:56] Because family can't handle that kind of weight. You're too heavy. Family can't carry that weight. You're just too heavy. You're too demanding.
[16:06] You're too needy. Only God, only Jesus can satisfy that ache in your soul. If you make your life. If you make your life. If you make your life or even a particular ministry, your life, and ultimate significance and satisfaction, then even that good ministry or that good vocation, that good job becomes an idol.
[16:27] And it will let you down every single time. It won't hold you. It won't satisfy the deep longings of your heart. And it becomes evil for you.
[16:42] The Israelites, and we're being warned, they've rejected the Lord and therefore his word, turning to idols to satisfy their thirst. Later in the Old Testament, God's going to warn his people again through the prophet Amos.
[16:58] Amos 8, 11 to 14. Here's what he says to Amos. Striking. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
[17:14] They shall wander from sea to sea, from north to east. They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. In that day, the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst.
[17:26] Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria, that's an idol, and say, as our God lives, Odan, that's a tribe. And as the way of Beersheba lives, they shall fall and never rise again.
[17:39] You know, that was fulfilled. That was fulfilled. God actually kept his word to his people there because of rejecting him and his word and thirsting after other things.
[17:50] He kept his word. They preferred the false gods of the nations. They preferred the dead gods of the surrounding people groups.
[18:01] And so God said, I won't speak to you anymore. And so from the book of Malachi to the book of Matthew, 400 years of silence where God did not send a prophet until John the Baptist.
[18:17] When God said, I was born to the church. When God in his grace once again started to speak to his people and prepare the way of the Lord.
[18:28] Family, we live in the time of the new covenant. God is not keeping his word from us.
[18:39] He has sent the word, the son to us. Water is all around us. Our problem is we keep ourselves from the water.
[18:59] It's like being at the beach. I love the beach. In Miami, on Key Biscayne, which is an island off the coast, off of downtown, I have my special spot.
[19:10] It's a little beach area. It's got a grove of palm trees. You can feel this, man. It's a grove of palm trees. My spot, lifeguard tower not too far away in case I get in trouble.
[19:26] You know what I'm saying? I'm getting kind of old. And I sit under that thing. And I'll tell you the truth. I don't care about getting in the water. I really don't. I sit under that palm tree.
[19:37] And I'm sitting there. And I've got my smooth jazz, my sushi. And I'm chilling, my books. And I'm having a good time. And I'll sit. And I've sat there and sweat my brains out.
[19:49] Because I don't want to get in the water. I don't care. Listen, that's what happens to us spiritually speaking. As believers today, we will sit and sweat our brains out.
[20:03] Worry and fear will tear us apart. As long as in our own hearts, we'll just play with our minds and torture us. We're torturing ourselves. And there is an ocean of Jesus sitting right there saying, jump in, man.
[20:20] Jump in. I'm right here. And we're sitting under a palm tree. Sweating. We keep ourselves from water.
[20:32] Saints, you don't have to faint for thirst. Jesus is the water you need every single day you breathe on this side of the earth. Just like water can get into the cracks that we didn't even know was there.
[20:48] Like in your basement. Didn't even know those cracks were there. But let it rain hard enough. And you will find you got cracks in your foundation. That water will always find the cracks, y'all.
[21:01] That's the good thing about the water of life that Jesus gives us. That water that Jesus gives seeps into the cracks in our hearts and souls that we didn't even know we had.
[21:14] It just keeps flowing through. As you drink, you are called to drink. As you drink.
[21:25] As you drink. When Jesus says, if anyone thirsts, let them come to me and drink. In the original language, if anyone continues to thirst, let them come to me to continue to drink.
[21:36] It's a continual thing. And when you continually drink and God will show you stuff in your life you never knew was there. He will build up your strengths and say, keep on going, boy.
[21:50] Keep on going, girl. That's right. You're walking in the right place. He'll say, this is the way. Walk ye in it, right? Remember that verse? He'll do that. He'll continue. But then he'll also say, Nisha, but some stuff over here, you got cracks, girl.
[22:03] And we, not you, Nisha, we got to deal with that. Sanctification is both working. You working with the Spirit of God and the Word of God to grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus.
[22:17] Amen? Can I get an amen out there somewhere? All right. I'm almost done. Yep, almost done. How do we drink this water?
[22:30] Reformation teaching. By faith alone. In Christ alone. Jesus' water is only received by faith, verse 38. And he says it so beautifully in verse 38.
[22:43] Where's my passion? Here we go. Come on, baby. There we go. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
[22:57] Whoever believes in me. Jesus doesn't ask you to perform to get his thirst-quenching water. He doesn't demand great sacrifice to prove your sincerity.
[23:13] Whoever believes in me, come and drink. The Reformation made popular several slogans. You've heard me mention this before. You've heard them wherever you've been.
[23:24] You've heard these slogans, right? To sola fide, faith alone. Solus Christus, Christ alone. Those are the two big ones right now that I want to deal with.
[23:35] Faith alone in Christ alone. We come and drink the water Jesus gives by faith in Christ. We trust him. Faith is trusting.
[23:46] This is faith. That's faith. Faith. I trusted this chair. Faith is not saying, I believe that chair can hold me up.
[23:58] I really believe it, but I ain't sitting in it. That's not faith. This is faith. Will we put our trust in Christ alone to do what he said he would do?
[24:13] Give us living water. Give us significance. Ultimate significance. Ultimate satisfaction. Ultimate security and safety. We trust in him alone.
[24:24] Nothing else. Not your works. Not your mama's works. Not Pastor Kevin's works. Not your dog's works. You trust in him alone. Because nothing else can bring you to God.
[24:35] There's no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved other than the name of Jesus. And having Jesus, oh, here you go. You have everything.
[24:49] We come to Jesus, not even first the church or a particular cause in the church. We come to Jesus. To believe or have faith in Jesus is what the Bible means by being justified.
[25:04] It's in your Bible. It's a big word, I know. It's in your Bible. So we speak of justification by faith alone in Christ alone.
[25:15] To be justified means that God declares you righteous. He declares that you are conforming to his law. But he said, hold it.
[25:26] I got speeding tickets. I haven't kept the law of God. Well, that's where Paul comes in again. Here we go. Romans 3, 21 and 24. Here's what Paul says.
[25:37] But now. Oh, I love that but now. But now. The righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law. That's keeping the law. Although the law and prophets bear witness to it.
[25:49] The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. There is no distinction. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
[26:04] And that same all who are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God, salvation, living water is a gift from God that you only get to gulp down by trusting in Jesus alone.
[26:27] You are justified before God. The judge says not guilty. You stand before my court acquitted. Not because you actually kept my law because you didn't.
[26:42] But because someone else did in your place. The living water. Amy, the living water is for you. Every single day.
[26:53] To wash away that fear and guilt. To deal with the deadness. You know, the anxiety. Whatever it is. That living water is for you.
[27:04] And you need it. You need it. You need that satisfaction in Jesus and trusting in him alone. It's so important that Luther called it the doctrine by which the church stands or falls.
[27:20] Trusting in Jesus. Trusting. We're not going to do that just yet. Trusting in the living water. So, let me ask you some questions.
[27:32] Why do Christians, after coming to Jesus, still drink the poison of the culture? I mean, that could be a small group discussion, so feel free to use it.
[27:45] Let me just toss a few thoughts out. Just and then we'll end. We really don't think Jesus is enough. You see, we've been programmed, saints.
[27:57] We've all been programmed to think that we need more. More activities. More church programs, especially for our kids. More understanding of ourselves.
[28:08] So we focus in on ourselves. We spend so much money learning more and more about our own desires and brokenness. Now, these things have their place and they can be important, but that's not going to satisfy you.
[28:22] Jesus has got to be enough. You've got to understand that he is the one who will deal with all of those insecurities and broken things in you.
[28:35] You've got to believe that he's enough. And we don't. Too many times we just don't. Which means, the second thing, we haven't spent enough time getting to know him very well.
[28:49] We want instant spirituality. Instant Jesus. Take two scriptures and go in the power of God. I had devotions this week.
[29:01] Once. Woo! No! We don't know Jesus very well. We really don't know how much we have in him.
[29:12] We're not growing in greater understanding of his love for us and what that means for living. Sam and I had a great privilege the other night.
[29:24] Some of our senior saints came by and had dinner with us and they all had been on the mission field. It was amazing. And listening to them talk. Oh my gosh.
[29:35] I won't give their names. I don't want to embarrass them. Listen to them talk about living on $30 a month. $2,400 a year at times. With a family.
[29:47] In a foreign country. And then how they said those years were the most important in their lives. Hearing about a woman that they went hiking with.
[29:59] They went hiking with this dear sister. And the whole time she was reading her Bible as they hiked. And this is before having it on your phone I think.
[30:10] You think that's weird don't you? Because we're not like that. We don't hunger for his word.
[30:21] We don't hunger for the living water. We don't hunger for Christ like that. We're not satisfied in Jesus like that. Family. Family. We're in trouble. But the living water is here.
[30:32] He's not left us. He's just saying hey. Hey. You're being satisfied with what the world wants for you. You're listening to the hype. You believe in the culture. And you're treating the church like a commodity.
[30:43] You're treating the church like it's a commercial thing. You want the church to do for you what Jesus wants to do for you. And you want your family to do it. You want your jobs to do it. You want money to do it.
[30:53] You want success. You want Facebook likes. You want all these things to satisfy you. And they never will. Because God has made you for himself.
[31:04] And our hearts are restless until they find their rest in him. St. Augustine said that. What are you looking for? We're not done yet.
[31:14] We're coming back. There's more on this passage. We're coming back next week. But Lord willing. But listen. Will you this week? Will you please? I'm begging you. Talk to Jesus about the idols of your heart.
[31:27] Talk to Jesus about what you are finding that satisfies you more than him. Ask Jesus to pour his water into the cracks in your heart and your soul. And reveal to him.
[31:37] Because you got him. And you know you do. What are you so unhappy about? What are you so unhappy about?
[31:51] What do you think will fix it? Is it Jesus? If it's not Jesus. If he's not the ultimate fix for that.
[32:02] Whatever it is. I'm serious. If he's not the ultimate fix. You probably have an idol creeping up on you. And it's sapping your thirst.
[32:14] Because you're satisfying. It's okay to say yes I would be happy. I would be happy. I'm going to use an example. I'd be happy if I was married. That's a good thing. Beautiful thing. Beautiful thing.
[32:27] But you. But begin finding your satisfaction right now in Jesus. Begin letting him be that companion that you need more than life itself. See then you'll be ready.
[32:39] If he sends that person in your life. Fill in the blank for that. I just tossed that one out. There's an idea. Fill in the blank. But satisfy with him. Father in Jesus name.
[32:52] Please satisfy our thirst. Nothing else can do. We've tried it. And it makes us irritable. And sometimes mean. We get. We just. We man.
[33:03] We start grumbling and complaining about life and things. And man. We just get. Because we're not happy. Lord. Forgive us. May we find our joy in Jesus.
[33:13] May Jesus be the center of our joy. May the joy of the Lord be our strength. Oh Lord. May we draw. May we withdraw. May we withdraw. Draw water from the well of salvation.
[33:24] Each and every day. Because Jesus. Satisfies our thirst. Help us in his name. Amen. Amen.