Erwin Lutzer once described a man who walked into a psychiatric hospital where a staff member took him on a tour. On the tour, they saw a man in a padded cell, who was beating his head against the walls. He kept saying, “Linda, how could you do it? Linda, how could you do it?” The staff member explained that the man had been in love with Linda, and Linda jilted him. It drove the man crazy.
They went to the next cell, and there was another man saying, “Linda, Linda, how could this happen? Linda, Linda.”
The visitor asked, “Who's he?”
The staff member replied, “He's the man who married Linda” (Erwin Lutzer, “Learning to Love,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 99; www.PreachingToday.com).
What you think may satisfy could drive you mad, or at the very least leave you feeling empty.
Some time ago, AARP magazine interviewed singer and poet Bob Dylan. He talked about his music, life on the road, and true happiness. Dylan said, “OK, a lot of people say there is no happiness in this life and certainly there's no permanent happiness… I'm not exactly sure what happiness even means, to tell you the truth. I don't know if I personally could define it.”
The interviewer asked Dylan if has ever touched and held happiness. To which Dylan replied, “We all do at certain points, but it's like water—it slips through your hands. As long as there's suffering, you can only be so happy. How can a person be happy if he has misfortune?” (Robert Love, “Bob Dylan Does the American Standards His Way,” AARP The Magazine, 1-22-15; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s a good question, because life is full of misfortune. So how can you find a true and lasting happiness? How can you enjoy true contentment and satisfaction in a world full of disappointment? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to John 7, John 7, where Jesus describes how to find rivers of living water in a dry and barren world.
John 7:1-5 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For not even his brothers believed in him (ESV).
They grew up with Him, but they didn’t believe in Him. In the same way, a lot of people grow up going to church, but they have no genuine faith. They don’t really believe in Jesus. They don’t really trust Jesus with their lives.
But that’s where true satisfaction starts. It starts with true and genuine faith in Christ. If you want to enjoy lasting contentment and satisfaction, you must believe in Jesus. You must trust Him with your life. You must…
SURRENDER TO JESUS.
For that’s what genuine faith is all about. It goes beyond just knowing about Jesus. It is a sweet surrender to His will for your life, trusting that He knows what’s best for you.
Jesus’ brothers thought they knew what was best for Him. They urged Him to go to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles.
It was one of the three annual Jewish feasts, starting with the Feast of Passover in the spring, then the Feast of Pentecost in the early summer, then the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall. At the start of each of these feasts, Jews from all over the world made pilgrimages to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. So Jerusalem would be full of people, providing a great place to gain world-wide recognition, especially if you performed a few miracles there.
Jesus’ brothers were telling Him, “Leave the small, rural towns of Galilee and go to Jerusalem where you can become real popular real fast.”
John 7:6-9 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” After saying this, he remained in Galilee (ESV).
Jesus remained in the far, out-of-the-way region of Galilee, because His “time had not yet come.” That is the time when God would glorify Jesus by His death on the cross (John 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:23, 27; 13:1; 17:1). The last time Jesus was in Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders threatened to kill Him (John 5:18), but this was not His time to die. That time would come later when Jesus would die for the sins of the world.
You see, Jesus came to this earth to die on a cross, so anyone who believes in Him could have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus paid the penalty for your sins and mine on the cross, so God could justly acquit us of those sins the moment we put our faith in Him.
Now, that doesn’t happen automatically, no! You must believe in Jesus to experience eternal life and forgiveness of sins. Unlike Jesus’ brothers, it is not enough to be familiar with Him, even to grow up with Him. No! You must believe in Him. You must trust Him with your life. You must surrender to Him and allow Him to change your life.
Lord Kenneth Clark, internationally known for his television series Civilization, lived and died without ever believing in Jesus Christ.
He admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience. He wrote, “My whole being was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before."
But the “flood of grace” as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So, he concluded, “I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course” (Vernon Grounds, “Changed Lives Are Possible” Our Daily Bread, 10-1-05; www.PreachingToday.com).
Please, don’t be too deeply embedded in this barren world to allow Jesus to change you from the inside out. Instead, trust Him with your life. Surrender to Him and so find true and lasting satisfaction. More than that, if you want to find rivers of living water in a dry and barren word…
SUBMIT TO JESUS.
In dependence upon Him, do His will. As He works in your life, live in obedience to Him.
John 7:10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private (ESV).
Jesus avoided going up to Jerusalem the way His brothers wanted Him to, but He did go up secretly.
John 7:11-13 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him (ESV).
They couldn’t find Jesus, but that didn’t stop them from muttering or grumbling about Him. Here, they debate about His character. Then, when Jesus reveals Himself, they debate about His authority.
John 7:14-18 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood (ESV).
As the Jewish leaders marvel at Jesus’ teaching, they question His authority. “He didn’t study in any of our schools,” they said. To which Jesus replies, “I studied in God’s school. The One who sent me taught me everything I know. And if you would do His will, you would know that My teaching comes from God.”
You see, if you want to know, you have to do. If you want more revelation, you have to obey the revelation you already have.
But the Jewish leaders had no interest in doing God’s will. They just wanted to retain their power, so they continue their ignorant debate. They debate about Jesus’ character. They debate about Jesus’ authority. And they debate about the Sabbath. Jesus continues…
John 7:19-20 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” (ESV)
The Jewish leaders sought to kill Jesus for healing a paralytic on the Sabbath (John 5:1-18), but the crowd had no clue what their leaders were up to, so they accuse Jesus of having a demon; they think He’s crazy.
John 7:21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it (ESV).
That’s the work of healing a paralytic on the Sabbath (5:1-18).
John 7:22-24 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” (ESV).
Jesus asks, “If you do surgery on a small part of the body on the Sabbath, why are you angry because I made a man’s whole body well on the Sabbath? You’re not making sense, and your judgment is flawed.” It was flawed, because they had no interest in doing God’s will. As a result, they judged people based only on their outward appearance, not on reality.
Some wag put this sign on a department store dressing mirror: “Objects in mirror may appear bigger than they actually are” (Hope Health Letter, 12/95; www.PreachingToday.com).
He wanted people to avoid judging themselves based solely on their outward appearance. Otherwise, they may just put the clothes they’re considering back on the rack without buying anything. After all, judgments based on outward appearance are flawed.
Caelie Wilkes was proud of her little succulent plant. She said, “It was full, beautiful coloring, just an overall perfect plant…” She had a watering plan for it; and if someone else tried to water her succulent, she would get defensive. She just wanted to take good care of the plant she absolutely loved.
Then Wilkes decided it was time to transplant the succulent into a larger vase. That’s when it shocked her to find that the plant was plastic. She said, “I put so much love into this plant! I washed its leaves. Tried my hardest to keep it looking its best, and it is completely plastic! How did I not know this?” (Mike Moffitt, “Calif. mom crushed to learn plant she watered for 2 years is fake,” SFGate.com, 3-4-20; www.PreachingToday.com).
She did not know, because her judgment was based solely on outward appearance, and that’s how the Jewish leaders were judging Jesus. He refused to conform to their rules, so they considered Him a sinner, worthy of death.
Their judgment was flawed, because they had no interest in doing God’s will. Again, they just wanted to retain their power, so they continue their ignorant debate. They debate about Jesus’ character. They debate about Jesus’ authority. They debate about the Sabbath, and they debate about where Jesus came from.
John 7:25-31 Some of the people of Jerusalem therefore said, “Is not this the man whom they seek to kill? And here he is, speaking openly, and they say nothing to him! Can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ? But we know where this man comes from, and when the Christ appears, no one will know where he comes from.” So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple, “You know me, and you know where I come from. But I have not come of my own accord. He who sent me is true, and him you do not know. I know him, for I come from him, and he sent me.” So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?” (ESV)
The crowd is at odds with their Jewish leaders. Some of the people believe in Jesus while their leaders and others question His origin. They had no interest in doing God’s will. They just wanted to retain their power, so they continue their ignorant debate. They debate about Jesus’ character. They debate about Jesus’ authority. They debate about the Sabbath. They debate about where Jesus came from. And they debate about where He is going.
John 7:32-36 The Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him, and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest him. Jesus then said, “I will be with you a little longer, and then I am going to him who sent me. You will seek me and you will not find me. Where I am you cannot come.” The Jews said to one another, “Where does this man intend to go that we will not find him? Does he intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What does he mean by saying, ‘You will seek me and you will not find me,’ and, ‘Where I am you cannot come’?” (ESV)
Jesus said to the Jewish leaders, “You cannot come where I am going.” Later, he would say to His followers, “Where I am [going] you may be also” (John 14:3). The difference was their attitude towards Jesus. His followers trusted Him and desired to do God’s will. The Jewish leaders rejected Him, because they wanted to retain their power, not do God’s will.
They thought Jesus was going to the Greeks in Gentile territory, a place they would never go. Instead, Jesus was going to Heaven, a place they could never go because of their stubborn unbelief.
As a result, Jesus leaves them in a state of confusion and ignorant debate. For if you want to know, you have to do. If you want more revelation, you have to obey the revelation you already have.
In another place, Jesus said, “Take care… how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away” (Luke 8:18). When you heed God’s word, God gives you more insight. But when you defy God’s Word, God takes what little insight you have away.
A lawyer, a doctor and a preacher were hunting together when they came upon a big buck. All three of them shot at the same time, and the buck immediately dropped to the ground. The lawyer, the doctor and the preacher rushed in to examine their prey, but they could not determine whose shot had actually killed the deer.
They got into a heated argument which drew the attention of a game warden. He asked them what their problem was, and the doctor told him that they were arguing about who shot the buck. The officer took one, quick look at the buck and confidently declared, “The preacher shot the buck!” When they all asked him how he could be so sure, the officer said, “Easy. The bullet went in one ear and out the other” (As retold by P. J. Alindogan, The Potter's Jar blog, “Hearing,” 3-4-12; www.PreachingToday.com).
I’m afraid that’s what happens when a lot of people hear God’s Word: It goes in one ear and out the other. Please, don’t let that happen to you. As you hear God’s Word this morning, accept it and act upon it. For, if you want to enjoy lasting contentment and satisfaction, surrender to Jesus, submit to Jesus, and then…
SIDE WITH JESUS especially when others oppose Him.
When people take sides, stand with Jesus, and champion Him before His critics.
Before the feast, Jesus’ brothers disbelieved Him (vs.1-9). During the feast, people debated about Him (vs.10-36). Now, at the end of the feast, people divide over Him (vs.37-52). That’s because Jesus interrupts the feast with a loud declaration.
John 7:37 On 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 (ESV).
The Feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days with a solemn procession each day from the temple to the Gihon Spring. There, a priest filled a gold pitcher with water. Then they all returned to the altar in front of the temple and poured out the water. The dry season was well under way at the time and water was scarce, which made the ritual especially meaningful.
It reminded them of God’s provision of water coming from the rock during their wilderness wanderings. But it also looked forward to the coming of Messiah. “On that day,” Zecheriah predicted, “living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea” (Zecheriah 14:8). That’s the time Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink…
John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
Not out of the temple, not out of the rock, but out of the heart the living waters will flow.
John 7:39 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 (ESV).
Do you want true and lasting satisfaction? Then come to Jesus and drink. Believe in Him and a never-ending supply of God’s Spirit will flow through you.
In the classic French film Jean de Florette, townspeople in a small village in Provence, France conspire against Jean, a local landowner, who has just inherited a plot of land. They want to force Jean off his little farm and get the land for themselves. The land receives very little rain, so they sneak onto his property and plug a healthy stream, cementing it shut and covering it with dirt.
Jean does not know about the nearby spring, but he knows of another, more distant water supply over a mile away. He initially makes progress, but eventually getting the water and dragging it from the distant spring becomes a backbreaking experience. Sadly, he never discovers that he already has a nearby, underground, inexhaustible supply of water (Wikepedia, “Jean de Florette,” www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s what every believer has in Christ—an inexhaustible supply of God’s refreshing Holy Spirit living within. Sadly, some are like Jean, who spend their lives in backbreaking effort trying to haul in another supply. Please, if that’s you, stop your backbreaking effort looking for satisfaction in any place else other than Jesus Christ. If you haven’t done it already, trust Christ with your life, who will give you God’s Spirit. Then access your inexhaustible supply of God’s Spirit within. By faith, draw from that spring, which never will run dry even in a dry and barren world.
That’s Jesus’ promise to you—believe and receive God’s Holy Spirit. It was an audacious claim, a claim which only God could make. That’s why the people divide over Him.
John 7:40-44 When they 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? Has not 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. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him (ESV).
Some think Jesus is the Christ, their Messiah. Others think Jesus is a criminal, needing to be arrested. The crowd divides over Jesus, as well as their leaders.
John 7:45-52 The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee” (ESV).
Nicodemus, who secretly met with Jesus in John 3, sides with Jesus against all the other Jewish leaders.
Jesus provokes controversy and division. You cannot remain neutral when it comes to Jesus and His claim on your life. So, which side will you take? Will you side with Jesus against the world? Or will you side with the world against Jesus? Those are your only two choices, so decide today whom you will serve. I hope you decide for Jesus, because only in Him do you find rivers of living water in a dry and barren world.
If you want to enjoy lasting contentment and satisfaction, surrender to Jesus, submit to Jesus, and side with Him.
In a classic Russian novel Eugene Onegin, a jaded aristocrat meets an innocent young girl in the countryside. The girl, Tatyana, writes him a letter, offering him her love. Onegin does not reply. When they meet again, he turns her down: the letter was touching, he tells her, but he would soon grow bored of marriage to her. Years later, Onegin enters a St. Petersburg party and sees a stunningly beautiful woman. It is Tatyana. But she is now married. Onegin falls in love with her. He tries desperately to win her back. But Tatyana refuses him. Once, the door was open: she offered him her love. Now it is shut.
Jesus offers you His love and so much more. Please, accept His offer today before you live to regret it. Reject the idea that you will be bored with Him. For one day, you will see Jesus in all his glory, your eyes painfully open to His majesty. Then, in that moment, you will know that all your greatest treasures were nothing compared with Him, and you will bitterly regret your decision to reject Him.
However, if you accept Jesus now, you will live with Him forever in a fullness of life you cannot imagine. If you reject Him, He will one day reject you, and you will be eternally devastated (Rebecca McLaughlin, Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World's Largest Religion, Crossway, 2019, p. 219; www.PreachingToday.com).
The choice is yours. What will it be?
