THIRSTING FOR GOD
TEXT: Psalm 63:1-8 (KJV)
(A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.)
"O God, thou [art] my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee,
my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
To see thy power and thy glory, so [as] I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
Because thy lovingkindness [is] better than life, my lips shall praise thee.
Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
My soul shall be satisfied as [with] marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall
praise [thee] with joyful lips: When I remember thee upon my bed, [and]
meditate on thee in the [night] watches. Because thou hast been my help,
therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me."
INTRODUCTION: 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (KJV), Scriptures are from the KJV unless otherwise noted.
"We are troubled on every side,
yet not distressed;
we are perplexed,
but not in despair;
persecuted,
but not forsaken;
cast down,
but not destroyed;"
This is the language of King David while he was wandering in the wilderness when he was driven from the throne by his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:10-14ff.).
-King David was fleeing through the wilderness.
-He was longing for the Sanctuary in Jerusalem.
(Would that we Christians who are said in the Bible
to be kings and priests (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6) would
have such a love for the church house--the place of
concentrated and pointed worship of the Lord God Almighty!)
-The Sanctuary was his life.
Seems now-a-days the place in mens' hearts that the Sanctuary
(Church House) holds is secondary or tertiary to those that,
in reality, need the Church and the Founder of the Church the most.
David was hid in God (Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 2:2-3).
-hid, Strong's Greek #613, conceal; #614, kept secret-
Vine, W. E.--"the mysteries of the unsearchable riches of Christ
revealed in the Gospels."
It would take more to knock King David out than:
*Absalom his son...2 Samuel 15:13-14
*Amasa his nephew...2 Samuel 17:15
*Ahithophiel the Traitor...2 Samuel 15:12; 16:21
One may ask. "Why?" The answer is that the Lord of Hosts, "...the I AM,
THAT I AM...," The Everlasting God was the Defender of King David.
Perhaps the Lord's promise of Isaiah 41:10 was activated on
David's behalf ( Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I
am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteousness).
In the wilderness of this world's unsatisfying pleasures and profits, its counterfeit/pseudo friends, its back-stabbing relatives, and selfish, money-hungry counselors; it is imperative for one to discover his real need.That real need is for Jesus the Christ--the spiritual Water of Life ( John
4:13-14), Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water spring-ing up into everlasting life.
(Insight) "Drinketh" figuratively says, to receive into the soul what serves to refresh, strengthen, nourish it unto life eternal.Living water: In ancient times, they called spring water living water because it seemed 'alive' as it bubbled up from the ground. At first glance, it might seem
that Jesus tells this woman about a nearby active spring. But Jesus makes a play on words with the phrase 'living water,' because He means the spiritual water that quenches our spiritual thirst and gives life.___Guzik
ILLUSTRATION:
"Water! Water!"
After one of the great battles in the Civil War we were coming down the Tennessee River with a
company of wounded men. It was in the spring of the year, and the water was not clear. You know
that the cry of a wounded man is, "Water! water!" especially in a hot country. I remember taking a glass of the muddy water to one of these men. Although he was very thirsty, he only drank a little. He handed the glass back, and as he did so, he said—"Oh, for a draught of water from my father's well!" Are there any thirsty ones here? Come and drink of the fountain opened in Christ!
Your longing will be satisfied, and you will never thirst again.—Anecdotes, Incidents and Illustrations by D. L. Moody
THEME: God is at work meeting the needs of His people.
I. David Fellowships With God Who Is:
A. the desire of his being (Psalm 63:1-4)
B. the delight of his soul (Psalm 63:5-8)
C. the defense of his life (Psalm 63:9-11)
II. Also
A. David longed for God (Psalm 63: 1-3).
B. David lived for God (Psalm 63:4-8).
C. David looked for God (Psalm 63:9-11)
III. Let us examine this "thirst for God" of which we speak.
A. the nature of the thirst--it was intense to the point that not just anything would satisfy.
B. the object of the thirst--the satisfying fellowship with Jehovah which is to
the soul as pure water is to the dehydrated body.
C. the cause of the thirst--intentional or unintentional absence of communion
with God and His Holy Word.
D. the motive for this thirsting--having once partaken of the good things of the
LORD and His Son, there is nothing else as satisfying and benefical.
E. the guidance of the thirst--this thirst is a good thing in that they that hunger and
thirst after righteousness shall be filled. The Thirst Quencher will guide us into all truth.
IV. The Nature of this Thirst
A. Psalm 63:1, ...my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee...
1. thirst of an aching spirit
2. thirst of a life made poor and needy
B. a yawning gulf within mankind that material blessings cannot fill
C. One longs for that which most supports life.
D. This soul thirst is evidence of its kinship with God.
V. The Object of It.
A. Those who know God will thirst after Him.
1. Deer pant for the waterbrook because they
know the refreshing results of its benefit.
2. find satisfaction
3. acquire nourishment
B. Some souls do not realize the intensity of their thirst.
1. Do not know what they really need
2. try the polluted for satisfaction--Jer. 2:13, For my people have committed two evils;
they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns,
broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
3. illustration: A missionary stated that while serving in Africa some natives
thought if waters of streams, rivers, and ponds looked
clear that they were not polluted with disease causing germs.
C. Psalm 42:1-2, As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee,
O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come
and appear before God?
VI. The Cause of It (thirst)
A. ...a dry and thirsty land where there is no water...
B. This world offers everything except what is really needed.
1. Illustration: One of my favorite teachers and coaches in high school
encouraged the students to drink water
when thirsty. He repeatedly emphasized that if
we drank soft drinks, colas, and other sugary drinks that
thirst would still remain until we drank water. He wanted us
to drink water and not drink the other stuff that only partially
satisfied. HE WAS RIGHT!!
2. Psalm 34:8, "O taste [perceive] the LORD and see that he is good...."
VII. The Motive of It
A. ...to see thy power and thy glory...
1. power of God's saving grace
2. glory of God's notable character (attributes)
B. matchless character
1. natural / unshared
a. eternity
b. unchangeableness (immutability)
c. omnipresence
d. omnipotence
e. omniscience
2. moral / shared
a. holiness
b. justice (fairness, administration of what is right)
c. love
d. mercy to show pity / forbearance / patience)
e. faithfulness
C. John 7:37, "In the last day, that great [day] of the feast,
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him
come unto me, and drink."
VIII. The Guidance of this Thirst
A. Psalm 63:8, "My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me."
1. illustration: Thirsty roots of a tree followeth after a river.
2. Water, natural and spiritual is necessary to sustain life.
B. Finders of soul-satisfaction in God will abide in the Fountain of Living Waters.
C. Psalm 1:1-3, "Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his
delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit
in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
CONCLUSION: We have examined a "thirsting for God." Specifically, the details
considered were its nature, its object, its cause, its motive, and it guidance. God is at
work meeting the needs of His people. All those loyal to God rejoice in and praise Him.
We praise Him for those times when He steps in to guide us in resolving our struggles
with the enemy of our souls.
Allow me to illustrate. My older brother helped me once. I was a pre-teen and a
neighborhood bully was walking behind me with bad intentions on his mind. As
he was about to catch up with me my brother caught up with him and dispatched
him immediately.
The enemy of our sanctified souls would like to influence us to not become thirsty
for the things of God. However, we have an Elder Brother, Jesus the Christ, who
likes to help us resist and conquer the negative effects directed toward us.
They that hunger and thirst and righteousness shall be filled.
Again, Matthew 5:6, Blessed 3107 [are] they which 3588 do hunger 3983 and 2532
thirst 1372 after righteousness 1343: for 3754 they 846 shall be filled 5526.
I have included the numbers in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to aid in
futher appreciation of the fact that the Lord wants to satiate our hunger and thirst
for more of Him. He wants to fill us full and running over. He said that no good thing
will He with-hold from us!
Let us follow hard after Jesus in consecrated service.
INVITATION: Are you thirsting for God? Perhaps you are not fully aware that it is only God
and the things of God that can satiate that God consciousness that has been placed in every human. Have you been wounded in the battles of life as the injured and thirsty man in the Civil War illustration? The old hymn says, in part, "Come unto Me (The Lord), I will give you rest;
Take My yoke upon you, Hear Me and be blest;..." Will you come to the Lord just now? He awaits with arms out-stretched. Romans 10:9-13 New Living Translation (NLT), 9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” 12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. 13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
