Obey Your Thirst

Obey Your Thirst

Illustration: Sprite commercials - missed dunk

Those Sprite commercials can preach! That’s tonight’s message in fact.

* If you’re thirsty - drink something that will quench your thirst. Don’t just drink something because of commercialism, or peer pressure, or the pop culture. Drink what you KNOW will satisfy.

Opening: In today’s consumer world, we can never get enough ... of anything. We devour relationships, pleasure, food, work, entertainment, accomplishments, ministry, and things as fast as we can. People everywhere are driven by a thirsting, a wanting, a needing, and a longing. But for what?

It’s as simple as this:

1. We were created with an appetite for God!

Isaiah 43:21 - “the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

To make it personal, you were made (formed) for Him

The result - with every breath our soul longs for fellowship with God.

A. Our appetite is as Big as God!

Illustration: Have you ever filled up your plate with more than you could actually eat? My mom would say, “Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” When it comes to things of God, it’s just the opposite. In fact, sometimes we don’t fill our plates with more of God because our view of Him is too small.

* You may not fill up on God’s Word because you can’t see it importance.

* You may not indulge yourself in pray because you can’t see it value.

* Discipleship . . . it’s too hard, too busy

* Worship . . . makes us feel uncomfortable

* Witnessing . . . don’t expect them to always respond

How big is your God? How big is your appetite?

B. Our appetite cannot be satisfied with temporary things.

Why does your stomach growl only an hour after you ate lunch? Food is temporary fulfillment!

* Sometimes it’s because we are living in a dry land - detached from the river of life flowing from the heart of God.

Psalm 46:4 - “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.”

Are you satisfied in life? Do you long for more emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually?

Isaiah 55:1-3 - “everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come and buy and eat. Why do you spend money on what is not bread, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Listen and come to me, respond so your soul will live.”

Some of us need to “come to the waters”, and “seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near” (v4).

The problem is . . .

2. Our Appetite has been defrauded!

Jeremiah 2:13 - “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.”

A. Our appetite has been cheated out of true fulfillment

We have forsaken God. We no longer indulge and fatten ourselves up on the things of God. Our priorities have changed. We are not eating our vegetables!

* What happens if you don’t eat what’s good for you? - unsatisfied bodies

* We have become weak and lazy, a poor excuses of a Christian

B. We are digging wells that can’t hold water

Not only have we forsaken what truly satisfies, we digging our own grave by attempting to find soul-sized satisfaction in friends, accomplishments, fame, popularity, relationships, money, lust, appearance . . .

* What happens if we don’t change our eating habits?

* Disease settles in, sometimes leading to death.

So what do we do???

3. Obey Your Thirst!

Turn the equation around! “forsake wells ... dig God!

Will you turn and put your shovel deep into the heart of God?

A. Dig God!

James 4:8a - “Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.”

God is never more than a prayer away! If we will sincerely “seek Him first”, all of our appetites will be satisfied in the best possible way!

Remember John 10:10, Jesus came to satisfy your thirst to the fullest!

B. Forsake Wells!

James 4:8b - “Cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you who are double-minded.”

Story of Sodom and Gomorrah with Abraham and Lot (Gen. 18:23ff)

- Abraham “drew near” to God and became a Kingdom builder

- Lot moved into Sodom and lost the blessing of God as well as his opportunity to build the Kingdom.

Closing:

1. We were created with an appetite for God

- It’s as big as God is!

- It can’t be satisfied with temporary things!

2. We have cheated our appetites