HOW YOU CAN SATISFY THE REAL THIRST OF YOUR SOUL
JOHN 4:7-26
I. WHAT IS THE REAL THIRST OF YOUR SOUL THIS MORNING?
It may be to improve your marriage
It may be to get married.
It may be to have a child
It maybe to make good on the SAT
It maybe to get accepted into the college of your choice
It maybe to see your child saved
It maybe to just get some relief from a hectic life
It maybe to just pay the bills/ not lose house
It maybe to be healed from chronic condition
These are real and valid desires—thirsts but they may not be the real thirst of your soul.
1. Sometimes we do not really know our real problem.
Illus. Teri’s sleep problem—my sleep apnea
2. You are thirsting this morning but maybe the real thirst of your soul is something different than you think.
B. This was the case with the woman Jesus talked to in our passage today. John 4
1. She did not know the real thirst of her soul or how to satisfy it.
2. Jesus first brings her to see real thirst and then He shows her how to satisfy it.
3. My prayer today is God will use this passage to show you the real thirst of your soul and how you can satisfy it.
READ JOHN 4:5FF
II. JESUS’ ENCOUNTER WITH THE WOMAN
A. Jesus directs her conversation to a human need—-”Give me a drink” (7-9)
1. Notice her response—
*she ignores His question
*she centers on the issue of relationship (9)
*we are getting an indication of this woman thirst
2. She is baffled by Jesus
*Man would not talk to a woman like this
*Jew would not ask Samaritan for a drink
B. Jesus shows her there is something better than what she is experiencing (10-14)
1. Living water = running water
*fresh water from a stream in the well vs well water
2. She thinks He is talking about literal water
*we know He is speaking of spiritual water (the real need of her soul)
C. She wants this water so she will not have to thirst again or come back to the well! (15)
D. Jesus reveals this woman has been drinking out of the fishpond of relationships. (16-18)
1.This woman had spent her life seeking to satisfy that thirst deep in her soul with relationships—
*that’s not unusual for women
*men tend to drink from the fishpond of things and accomplishments
2. She had 5 husbands already…
*she had been going from man to man seeking to satisfy that deep thirst in her soul
*she kept coming up thirsty again!
E. Then I think she has an sudden realization (19)
1. She realizes Jesus is a prophet of God
2. She realizes that there is a longing in her soul for a relationship with God
3. To be in the presence of the Son of God brought an realization of her real soul-thirst!
4. Her real soul-thirst was for a meaning relationship—she had that part right
*But she had been seeking that relationship with men rather than with God
*Now she realizes the real thirst of her soul is to have a meaningful relationship with God.
F. She ask Jesus about worship—love relationship with God [worship=kiss + toward]
1.”That’s the real thirst of my soul—now how can I satisfy that thirst?”
2. How can I have that meaningful relationship with God that will satisfy the deep longings of my life?
3. How can I stop drinking out the fishpond and drink from the living fountain of God?
III. JESUS TELLS HER SHE MUST DRINK WITH THE CUP OF TRUE WORSHIP. (21-25)
The WORSHIP place is not important. (21)
1. It’s not were you are that’s important
2. You do not have to be in a church building
Illus. In the Muslim religion there are three cities which are considered sacred: Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. The Muslims believe that to worship in the city of Jerusalem is as good as performing 1000 acts of worship anywhere else in the world. Mecca and Medina would bring even greater honor.
B. The WORSHIP relationship is important (22-24)
“in spirit and truth”
1. It is a spiritual relationship!
a. Made possible by the Holy Spirit
—He makes our spirit alive to God
—so we can have a relationship with God
—He brings us into the Father’s presence
Eph 2:18
18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
—what Jesus made possible thru His death on the cross, the Holy Spirit applies to the believer’s life.
b. It is a love relationship between our spirit and God
*we are caught up in Him
*our heart is offered to Him
*we are most satisfied in Him
c. It is an inner spiritual relationship not external ceremony.
*it’s not the burning of candles, or incense, or singing songs or reciting prayers, preaching
*can do all that and not have the relationship
2. It is a relationship built on truth.
a. Truth about God—
*must know about someone to have a relationship
*The God of Scriptures
*Not the God of our own making
b. Truth about ourselves
*our need for and dependence on Him
*truth about our sins
c. Truth about boundaries
*much as been written in recent years about the necessary of boundaries in relationships
*God has set boundaries on our relationship with Him
*we must relate to God within the boundaries of Scripture.
—not free to worship Him anyway we want
—in drug induced state
3. It is a relationship God earnestly seeks (23)
a. Seeks=to earnestly and diligently look for something as opposed to casual
Illus. Shepherd who left the 99 to seek for the 1
*Illus. Me searching for the blood pressure cup
b. Amazingly, God seeks people who will find their soul satisfaction in Him
Illus. It was the realization of this truth that God used to bring young William Tyndale to Himself.
Tyndale a contemporary of Martin Luther and under Luther’s influence desired to translate the Greek New Testament into English so the common man could read God’s Word—strangled and burned
As a young man he did not think salvation was for him because he did not love God. This God opened his eyes to the verse “We love Him because He first loved us.”
He realized it was God who sought Him and loved Him first.
It is God who earnestly seeks an deep intimate love relationship with us.
C. This woman realized she needed a Savior, a Messiah (25)
1. Jesus tells her to look no further
2. He is her Savior! (26)
D. Jesus brought this woman to see that the real thirst of her soul was for a deep satisfying relationship with God.
1. It told her that relationship a is spiritual relationship .
*made possible by Holy Spirit
*love relationship between her spirit and God
2. Relationship built on truth
*About God—Word
*About ourselves—repentance
*About boundaries
3. God earnestly seeks true worshippers
IV. HOW CAN YOU DRINK FROM THE CUP OF WORSHIP?
It is a choice you make.
1. Your life will never by perfect—free from troubles
*how can I find soul satisfaction in God when my marriage is falling apart?
2.You must pull away from the pressures of world
B. It takes time.
C. It takes effort.
1. Seek God in the Word
2. Seek God in prayer
D. It takes faith.
1. Believe that He is and He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
2. That the Holy Spirit will bring you into God’s presence.
Illus. When I am thirsting in my soul—stress, difficulties...
Illus. Pastor Jack Hayford tells the following story…
Early in his career, Matt Redman, the popular Christian musician in Britain, was singing with his church’s praise band when his pastor confronted them.
They were proud of their musical performance, he said, but they were neglecting true worship.
Insulted by the charge, the members of the band left the church—all, that is, except Redman.
Shortly afterward, he wrote his hit song "The Heart of Worship," which included these words: "I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about you, Jesus."
SOUL SATISFACTION IS ALL ABOUT WORSHIP WHICH IS ALL ABOUT JESUS!
