No Need To Perish

Some years ago in the newspapers there was a female novelist found dead in the desert of America. She had died of thirst.

It seems that she had started out across the desert thinking she had enough water to make the trip; However when she stopped to get a swallow she found out that her canteen was empty.

She eventually came upon an oasis where she saw a small little cabin. She went to the front door of the cabin and knocked, but no one was at home. She finally broke a window out and crawled into the cabin looking for water and found none. Finally – disgusted – she started to leave; but barley made it out the door when she collapsed and died.

When they found her body she was only 200 yards away from plenty of water. If she had kept going for just a couple more minute, she would have come to that supply of water.

It is difficult for us to understand that people can die of thirst. But this invitation in Isaiah was given to a people to whom water was a precious item. Many people went thirsty in the ancient land of Israel. Most of the time when you did find water on the surface of the earth, it was contaminated. I have even heard that in modern Israel there is still a scarcity of water.

In America, there is no need for anyone to perish from thirst because of all of our great supplies of water that are readily available to everyone.

The story I shared to begin this message is a picture of the spiritual state of many people today. Many are perishing from thirst, spiritually, even while there is an abundant supply of the Water of Life in reach of everyone in the land. We are blessed not just materially, but spiritually - yet we done even realize it.

Nevertheless;…

I. There are Many Perishing

A. Men are religious.

1. Its just part of our nature that we be religious.

a) There is just recognition on the part of most men that there must be something greater or higher then us.

2. The first two verses in Psalm 42 describe most people today.

a) As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

3. Therefore we are on a continual quest for something greater then man.

a) We worship this thing that we find.

(1) We serve it.

(2) We honor it.

(3) We turn to it in times of trouble.

(4) We prepare to spend the rest of our life preparing for eternity with it.

B. Furthermore – there is recognition on the part of most men that their souls are immortal.

1. That our soul is crying out to be satisfied.

a) That it is thirsting for something that will bring it peace, happiness and contentment.

b) And most people in this world are on a quest to find something to quench this spiritual thirst.

2. But most men are trying to quench their thirst and satisfy their souls at fountains that are not satisfying.

a) The more they drink the more their soul cries out for some different.

(1) And they are still yearning for something to satisfy them

b) They are at a point that they are ready to try almost anything.

(1) Anything that comes along with a spiritual invitation.

(2) But there is something we all need to know and share...

II. There Are Some Waters That Do Not Satisfy.

A. Materialism.

1. It doesn’t satisfy the spiritual longing in the heart of man

a) There are men who have more then enough of this world’s goods.

(1) Yet there is a deep longing in their hearts and souls for life.

b) Like the rich, young ruler that came to Jesus asking for salvation.

(1) People know something is missing.

(2) People know their “stuff” isn’t going to get them to heaven.

(3) People know that their spiritual nature is not satisfied.

(4) They just need to know what will satisfy.

2. The Palmist well illustrates that the waters of materialism doesn’t satisfy.

a) He had wealth, possessions, fame and popularity.

(1) Yet he cried out, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

b) The waters of materialism do not satisfy the spiritual thirsting of men.

B. Morality

1. There are men who are as clean and decent as they can be; but still there is a deep longing in their souls for something spiritual.

a) Their spiritual longing is not satisfied by moral precepts.

2. People in our world today are like the young ruler in Luke 18:18 that came to Jesus wanting to know “what must I do to inherit eternal life”.