“Quenching Spiritual Thirst”
John 4:6-18
02/10/08
by
Dcn. Chris Nerreau
INTRODUCTION: May the words of my lips and the meditation of my heart be always acceptable in thy sight, giving praise, glory and honor to Your name our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen!
Thirst is an amazing thing, it is the sign that we need refreshing, that something is wrong and it requires our attention and that our bodies are suffering. Actually doctors say that if you wait until you are thirsty to get a drink, you have waited to long! With this said…
I want to begin today by asking you a question – Have you ever been thirsty before? Not just a little thirsty, I mean so thirsty that you could barely breath? I mean so thirsty that your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth? That kind of thirsty…
ILLUSTRATION: I can remember not to long ago experiencing this, I think it was last summer actually. I had fallen asleep with a very stuffy nose, as such I was breathing out of my mouth. Unfortunately, I forgot that there was a fan blowing directly on my face, slowly drying out my mouth and throat. I think it was about 1 or 2 am before it actually woke me up, I thought it was a nightmare, I felt like I could not breathe, my throat was so dry that when I tried to get a drink from the sink in the bathroom, I could barely swallow the water at first. Heck, I am getting thirsty now just thinking about it! Now I understand that, that is a radical case of thirst, but I think you have probably felt something at least close to this in your life.
The reason I am discussing thirst is because today, in our passage, Jesus deals with a similar problem to that of physical thirst, He deals with spiritual thirst. My guess is that many people’s souls are like a sponge that has sat out in the sun all day! They are thirsty for God!
One of the unique things about thirst is that by being thirsty, we presuppose that somewhere there is something to quench our thirst and we look for it until we find it. The same is true with spiritual thirst!
PROPOSITION: If you are thirsty for more of God, then you are presupposing that there is a way to quench that thirst! You presuppose that somewhere out there God has a way to quench your thirst for Him!
ORIENTATION: So in today’s sermon, I want to look at this a little more closely as we see:
1. Who Is Thirsty
2. Why We Are Thirsty
3. How We Quench Spiritual Thirst
TRANSITION: So if you would open your Bible to John 4:6, we will begin by looking at..
I. Who Is Thirsty?
EXPLAINATION:
• The first question I want to look at as we consider spiritual thirst is – “Who is thirsty?”
• In the gospel of John, John makes the statement – “But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.”
As such, John had to chose carefully the stories he included in his gospel.
Today there are two stories John included (back to back) that help us to define those who are thirsty for God:
A. The Story Of Nicodemus – John 3:1-15
a. Ruler of the Jews
b. He knew who he was
c. Socially A Prominent Figure
d. A Religious Zealot
e. Upper Class and Wealthy
f. Highly educated
g. Zealous about keeping the law of God
h. He sought out Christ under the cover of darkness
i. YET HE WAS THIRSTY
B. The Story Of The Woman At The Well – John 4:6-15
v. 6-7 “It was about the sixth hour… There came a woman of Samaria…”
a. Sixth Hour – This would be high noon, the rest of the woman would go early as a group, she was an outcast and alone.
b. A Woman – Strictly forbidden for a Rabi to greet a woman in public
c. A Samaritan – An enemy of the Jews, Outsider
v. 9 “For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans…” A Religious Zealot
d. She knew who she was as well
v. 18 “For you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband…”
a. She was an overt sinner
Interpretation – (v. 13, 14)
• It is likely that John selected these two stories and placed them side by side (chapter 3&4) to give us a contrast of those who thirst for God.
• John in effect demonstrates that EVERYONE is thirsty for God!
o From the rich, upper class, prominent people
To the poor outcast enemies of God
o From the religious elites
To social misfits
o From those who seek out Christ in the cover of darkness
To those who meet Him in broad daylight and have no idea
o From the outwardly righteous
To the outwardly sinful
o From those in Holy Orders
To Those in Holy Heartache
• Everyone from the hyper religious to the sacrilegious, from the prominent to the broken, from the rich to the poor… We are all thirsty!
Illustration –
Put 100 people in the sun and 100 will thirst, give 100 people salty popcorn and 100 people will thirst, send 100 people into the ocean for an hour and 100 people will come out thirsty, we are all the same, regardless of background, prominence or popularity. Now then, separate 100 people from God through sin and 100 will thirst for Him!
Everyone, everyone, everyone is thirsty for God, even those who deny it, those who hate it, those who reject it, those who run from it, those who regret it, those who can’t stand it, Everyone is thirsty for God!
Application –
• Are you thirsty even now?
• Do you scream in the silence of your mind – “God where are you”?
• Does your life feel like a journey through the desert, without a drink?
• Today, I want you to know that you are not alone in your desire for God and that being a Christian does not mean that there are not times when we thirst.
• Today, do you recognize your thirst? May I say, if not, it will only grow more unbearable as life proceeds. I have witnessed the death beds of many who’s thirst has driven them mad.
• Today, recognize your thirst for Him.
Transition – So we have seen that everyone thirst’s for God, but now let’s see why?
II. Why We Thirst?
EXPLAINATION:
• The first question we looked at was who was thirsty, now I want to take a closer look at why we thirst….
• I can remember as a kid being super thirsty after a great deal of playing in the sun. I ran in the house and downed a cup of “CoolAid”, unfortunately, someone was playing a trick on me, they had emptied the salt shaker into it and rather than quench my thirst, it aggravated it!
• This is exactly why we thirst in life… We thirst not because there is a drought, but because we drink the wrong water! Let me show you what I mean…
OBSERVATION:
Jesus is not concerned with physical thirst, rather He is using it as a teaching moment.
THE WOMANS PROBLEM: STAGNANT WATER
had to be drawn from the well with great effort. (100 ft. deep)
was a great distance away (upwards of a mile)
had to be carried back a great distance (could be upwards of a mile or more.)
The woman had to draw from the well often as her thirst continued
JESUS TEACHING:
Jesus contrast’s the well of stagnant water with that of living, running water
This new water welled up inside of you, not a mile or more away from you
This new water would quench your thirst, so that you would not have to continually journey back and forth.
This new water would relieve the symptoms of thirst and give you rest
INTERPRETATION:
Jesus is contrasting two kinds of water – The water of this world and the living water.
o Ultimately, Christ is discussing two kinds of life
1. The life that seeks the stagnant waters of this world to temporarily quench their thirst
2. The life that seeks the living waters of God to quench their thirst eternally
This woman was thirsty:
She sought love – Married 5 times and currently living with a man who is not husband.
She sought acceptance – Had to travel to get the water alone because of her embarrassment. Typically woman journeyed together early in the morning before the heat of mid-day to get the water, but she was alone and it was noon- the hottest time of day.
She sought true religion – She was concerned where the proper worship occurred
But in every case she drank the stagnant waters of this world and continued to thirst.
Christ is the fountain of living waters:
She sought love – Christ is love
She sought acceptance – Christ sat with her, spoke to her and shared with her things eternal
She sought true religion – Christ said “I who speak to you am He”
Christ Himself is the Living water :
(Jer. 2:13 for my people have... forsaken me, the fountain of living waters)
John 7:38 “He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.”
Illustration –
I can remember a friend of mine, after seeing the wildness of all the kids playing in our neighborhood, he said – “there must be something in the water up there on woods road…”
I guess the same could be said in Beverly Hills, or even skid row, that there is something in the water and it’s “THIS WORLD”.
We quench our thirst not from the things of this world, but through Him alone.
Application –
• Which water are you drinking?
• Do you seek satisfaction in things?
• Do you trick yourself into believing that this thing or that thing, this job or that job, this trip or that trip, this person or that person, this home or that will quench your thirst?
• Today, consider the water you are drinking, because if it’s salt water, it aint gonna work!
Transition – So we have seen that everyone thirst’s for God, and that the reason we thirst is we drink the wrong water, but lastly, lets look at…
III. How We Quench Spiritual Thirst?
EXPLAINATION:
It is one thing to say – “Jesus is the living water and we must drink Him”, but how is this done in practical terms?”
OBSERVATION:
Notice the woman’s response to Jesus claim of water that will eternally quench thirst – She say’s “Give me this water”.
Jesus answer to her is an outline for us, as to how we can receive this living water…
STEP 1 – RECOGNIZE WHO GOD IS:
Jesus said to the woman – “If you knew the gift of God”
o We are to remember God’s gift of love! (Speak on God’s Love)
Jesus went on to say – If you knew who it was speaking to you
o We are to recognize God’s love incarnate in the person of Christ
STEP 2 – RECOGNIZE WHO YOU ARE:
Immediately following her request for the living water – Jesus brings up her deepest sin. (Go get your husband)
Repentance is required to drink the water, but in order to repent, we must be aware of who we are. Do not be surprised if you request this water and Jesus first shows you who you are!
Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
STEP 3 – ASK:
Jesus said – “you would have asked him, and he would have given”
o God is a gentleman, He will not force His love on you but will woo you until you ask for His love.
INTERPRETATION:
Jesus not only meets this woman at the well…
He not only breaks the taboo of His culture and speaks with her in public
He invites her into His peace.
The steps Jesus lay’s out for this woman are the steps Jesus has laid out for us
o RECOGNIZE GOD
o RECOGNIZE YOU
o ASK
ILLUSTRATION:
I can remember showing up to our old church one day and trying to get in. the doors were locked and the key I was using did not fit? I tried and tried, I really thought it was the right key, but it was not and no matter how hard I tried, I could not open that door until I went home and got the proper key.
The same is true with thirst, we can drink and drink of this world, we can say “I go to church, I do religious things” we can make up our own plans for quenching the thirsts of our lives, but until we do it God’s way (recognize God, Yourself and Ask), we will continue to thirst…
APPLICATION:
• How long have you been drinking from a stagnant well?
• Do you want to quench the thirst of your soul?
• What is stopping you from asking today?
• Today, I call upon you to drink “Living Water
Transition – So in conclusion…
CONCLUSION:
• Today we have seen that:
o All thirst for God
o There are two types of water
o We must recognize God, ourselves and ask
If you are sick and tired of being thirsty, If you are looking for the peace, comfort and satisfaction of God, the peace that “passes all understanding” and the peace that will “guard your heart and mind in Christ”, then, that today I call upon you to drink living water!!!
CLOSING ILLUSTRATION:
The body needs about 3 quarts of water a day to operate efficiently. It helps break up and soften food. The blood, which is 90 percent H2O carries nutrients to the cells. As a cooling agent, water regulates our temperature through perspiration. And without its lubricating properties, our joints and muscles would grind and creak like unused parts of some old rusty machinery.
In the same way, our spirits need God! He operates our lives efficiently, breaks us the effects of sin, cools us from the heat of hardship and makes us glow as having been refined in a fire. Today, drink the living waters!
Amen!
