Stay Thirsty My Friends

For those that are not familiar with an Anglican Service there are four Scripture readings before the "Message" Today's appointed readings were: Exodus 17:1-7; Psalm 95; Romans 5:1-11; and John 4:5-42

A small boy ... was sent to bed by his father...... Five minutes later... "Da-ad..." "What?"

"I'm thirsty. ......Can you bring drink of water?"

"No. You had your chance... Lights out."

Five minutes later: "Da-aaaad ...""WHAT?"

"I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water??"

"I told you NO!"... If you ask again, ...I'll have to spank you!!"

Five minutes later..."Daaaa-aaaad...""WHAT!"

"When you come in to spank me, ...can you bring a drink of water?" (Long Pause)

Have you ever been thirsty?

I don't mean an average thirst ......where a drink of water sounds good ... after a long walk ...or after working in the yard ... on a hot summer day.

I mean really ... really thirsty...where your tongue sticks to the roof of your mouth.

And you have to peel your lips off your teeth ...... all you can think about ... is water. (Pause)

A few years ago, ......a young marine corporal named Joey Mora ......was standing on a platform of an aircraft carrier ... that was patrolling ... the Iranian Sea.

Incredibly, he fell overboard......His absence was not known for 36 hours.

A search and rescue mission began, ... but was given up on ......after an additional 24 hours.

No one could survive in the sea ...without even a life-jacket ...... after 60 hours.

His parents were notified ...... that he was ......"missing ... and presumed dead."

The rest of the story is one of those ... "truth is stranger than fiction" ...events.

Scriptwriters would pass it up as... "not believable."

Four Pakistani fishermen found Joey Mora ...about 72 hours after he had fallen from the aircraft carrier.

He was treading water, ... clinging to a makeshift flotation device made from his trousers... a skill learned in most military and red cross courses on water survival training.

He was delirious when they pulled him into their fishing boat. ...... His tongue was dry and cracked ......... and his throat parched.

Just about two years later, ...as he spoke on NBC News, ...he recounted... an unbelievable story ......of a WILL... to live.

He said it was God ... It was God...who kept him struggling to survive.

His discovery by the fishermen ... makes searching for a needle in a haystack ...a piece of cake.

Joey said ... that the one thought that took over his body ...and pounded in his brain was...... Water!... Water!

Have you ever been thirsty to that degree?

And I am not talking about "H2O".

Beloved ... We all thirst ... for something.

-We long ... to feel loved.

-We long .... to experience happiness and joy.

-We desperately search for meaning ... and significance.

Beloved ......when we come to church... when we come to worship ...we are surrounded ... by an ocean ...of "Living Water"

During worship ... When we sing ... We are quenching our souls ...

When we hear the Scriptures... they hydrate our lives.

Yet many ...in this world ... many others still remain thirsty!

Many have a Sahara Desert soul.

A dry Soul.

Why?

Why do so few drink from the well ...that never runs dry?

Why are so many souls in this world shriveled ... and dehydrated?

To understand ...let us look at ...Physical Thirst.

There are a couple of interesting facts ...... about physical thirst.

Thirst ... is something we experience when the pituitary gland ...secretes two hormones... into the body.

One causes a physical reaction in the kidneys ...and the other causes the more complicated activity of the hy-po-thal-a-mus.

Which sends signals to the Salvatore (Sal-va-tor-ee) glands ...to reduce secretions.

I discovered many years ago ... that just thinking about thirst ......could make you ... thirsty.

Just thinking about thirst can cause hy-po-thal-a-mus ... to begin in the body.

Physical thirst ...can be excruciating and dangerous.

Dehydration ... can get you into serious difficulty ...in a hurry.

If you have ever been really thirsty ...then you will be much more able to connect ...with thirst ......in a spiritual sense. (Pause)

The story is told ... of a young student who went to his spiritual teacher ...and asked the question, ... "Master, ...how can I truly find God?"

The teacher asked the student to accompany him to the river which ran by the village ...and invited him to go into the water.

When they got to the middle of the stream, ... the teacher said, ... "Please immerse yourself in the water."

The student did as he was instructed, ...whereupon the teacher put his hands on the young man's head ...and held him under the water.

Immediately ......the student began to struggle.

The teacher ...continued to hold him under.