Christ for the Thirsty - Joh..

Welcome to Cornerstone Reformed Baptist Church. Thank you for using and sharing our resources. What you're about to hear is God's Word from one of our teaching elders. We trust that God's Word will inspire, instruct, and bless you. For further teachings or information on our ministry, please visit us on our website at cornerstonerbc.

com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. John chapter 7. from verse 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. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 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. Amen. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord remains forever.

Well, beloved brothers and sisters and friends, as you're aware, we're still in the gospel, according to John, still in the seventh chapter. So the context hasn't changed. We're still in Jerusalem, in the temple. And our Lord Jesus Christ is amongst the people who have come to Jerusalem to enjoy the Feast of Booths. This is the third of the three main feasts that the people of Israel or the Jews or even the proselytes would come into Jerusalem to enjoy.

The third. But what we have here in the context of the verses that we've read together this evening from verse 39 or 37 through 39 is we're told this is the last day and the great day of the feast. It's the last day of the feast. And on this day, our Lord Jesus Christ stands before everyone and cries out for them to come. He issues an invitation.

Come. Come. Those who thirst, come. come to me and drink." You see, for the most part, we know we've been working our way through this gospel and chapter 7, we know that most part the people have rejected Christ.

The Jewish leaders and the Jewish authorities, the religious establishments, they've rejected Jesus already. And in fact, humanly speaking, for our Lord to stand up in that way and declare before all in that place where multitudes, thousands upon thousands of lay followers as well as religious leaders were, that was a great risk to Jesus, humanly speaking. It was in the public view. And we know from previous weeks that the leaders had already planned or launched a plan, I should say, to capture Jesus, to arrest him, to get rid of this person who's causing so much trouble to their influence and the system that they've worked out. They want to get rid of this Jesus.

Get rid of his influence. They want him gone. But Jesus doesn't cower back. Despite the risks, our tender-hearted Saviour Motivated by a concern for a great multitude of people who will in and of themselves perish in their sins, he offers an invitation of salvation. His heart, no doubt, moved.

It's moved within him as he as he looked upon these people rejoicing and celebrating in this festival. Yet these people were completely oblivious to the spiritual peril, the spiritual danger that they're in. And so with that background, our Lord stands and before them all, as we read in our verses here this evening, He declares that the spring of soul sustaining life and the fountain that offers the greatest satisfaction for the soul is standing right there before them, proclaiming these words. And all they need to do is come and drink. In essence, our Lord Himself is proclaiming that He is that fountain.

He is the true fountain of life, and He is the source of abiding satisfaction. He is for a thirsty soul, and that's key. But also in this passage before us, we see another glorious truth. And it's introduced to us here in John chapter 7. A truth hinted at previously in this gospel already, clearly asserted for us in these verses.

And as we work our way through this gospel, it will be filled out more and more, in particular, in chapters 14 through 16. And that is that those who come and drink of this fountain, that is Christ. Those who believe in Him, they will receive the gift. of the Holy Spirit. God will dwell in the hearts and in the souls of mankind, of those who come, those thirsty souls who come to Christ and drink of Him and believe upon Him.

The Spirit of God was prophesied to be outpoured in the latter days in the prophets, in the Scripture that most of these people were aware of. They heard the Scriptures, read weekly at least. Holy Spirit would come once Jesus is glorified. See, in hindsight, we have the privilege of having the New Testament, so we're able to look back, and we're able to know that once Jesus ascends to be with the Father, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit He speaks of here is the day of Pentecost, and then from that time forward. We know that.

But not before He's glorified. You see, He needs to be glorified yet, we're told here by the Apostle John. So that is, Christ needs to be glorified as the God-man. He needs to go back to the Father as the God-man, the eternal Son of God who is with God in the glories of heaven from eternity past. He took on flesh and became like you and I to be our human representative.

And now He is to accomplish the work the Father has given Him, die on that cross as a sacrificial death, as an atoning sacrifice for His people, and then He would be He would be buried, and then He would rise in the resurrection, ascend at the right hand of the Father, be glorified, and then pour out His Holy Spirit upon those who trust Him. Now, we'll consider that portion of the text in a few weeks' time. The next time we're in the Gospel according to John. But this evening, although I had originally planned to preach the whole text, the whole paragraph, in the one sermon, I did decide that it would be best for us to actually concentrate our efforts on verse 37 this evening and then meditate on the rest of the passage by God's grace in a few weeks time. Verse 37, it begins, on the last day of the feast, the great day, it's the last day we're told.

Previously, I've touched on some of the events and some of the details of this festival, Feast of Booths, or the Feast of Tabernacles, and it begins on the 15th day of the seventh month in the Jewish calendar, and that would coincide with our September-October period. It's the month of Tishri, according to the Jews. And it's at this feast, which is, as I said earlier, the last feast for the year. So when the people leave to go back home, because they've come over and they pilgrim from all over the country, when they leave to go back home, they'll have to wait until next year before they come to the feast again, the Feast of Passover. Now the Old Testament, in both the book of Leviticus, the book that we just completed this evening, as well as the book of Numbers, it gives instruction on how to observe, the Lord does, through Moses, how the Jews, how his people, the people of his covenant, how they are to observe the feast before the Lord.

And although observances of this feast do actually spill over into an eighth day, this feast is really recognized as a seven-day feast, because all the bulk of the activity on this feast, especially including the 70 bulls that are sacrificed, if you remember, I said this is the most The most probably expensive feast is probably a word I can use, because most sacrifices are sacrificed during this feast, among which 70 bulls are sacrificed in the space of seven days, starting with 13 on the first day of the feast, and then diminishing one at a time until they get to seven on the last day of the feast. The eighth day, however, is a solemn day of rest. It's a holy convocation, a holy assembling of the people. But the feast is considered a seven-day feast, especially that our Lord says in the book of Leviticus 23, in the 39th verse, He says, you shall celebrate the feast, which is speaking about the Feast of Booths, of the Lord seven So I'm meant to believe that this here, when the Apostle John says, on the last day, the great day, he speaks of the seventh day, not the eighth day. And the only reason why I bring all this up is because it matters.

What happens on the seventh day, I believe? is, although not commanded by the law, not commanded by God to the people of Israel, but what does take place in the temple and during this time of the feast. Providentially, these events are very, very appropriate as a backdrop for what our Lord is about to tell these people and about to say to the people of Jerusalem. So we need to understand that backdrop, and we will in a few moments. You see, the Jews, by way of religion, would practice different rites, different rituals together when they come to the feast.

And these were acts of worship, along with, of course, what Yahweh has commanded through Moses at this feast. The traditions were themed in some way to commemorate the faithfulness of Yahweh in his provision upon the wilderness generation. for 40 years as they were wandering in the desert. You remember when God rescued them from the bondage in Egypt and they spent 40 years in the wilderness. rituals, although not commanded by God, that were fitting reminders, because the feasts, the booths themselves, the tabernacles themselves, were indeed commanded by the law, they're commanded by God, and they were erected all over the city.

Why? As a reminder of the same thing, a reminder of God's faithfulness to that generation in the wilderness. And so when we began this chapter several months ago, I mentioned the two main traditions, two traditions that the Jews practiced at this feast. The first, if you remember, was the light festival or the light display that illuminated practically the whole city from a handful of massive candles erected in the temple precinct, some 20 or so meters high, actually about four of those that illuminated the whole city of Jerusalem. Now they were commemorating the Shekinah glory.

You remember what that is? That is the... The pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the wilderness. The pillar of fire that showed them and told them that I am Yahweh. I am dwelling among you.

You're my people and I will be your God. And I will be your protection. I will be your light. I will lead you, my people. That's a commemoration of these things.

And if we work our way through into chapter 8, we'll hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ when He says, I am the light. of the world. That's in the eighth chapter. And when this ceremony was still fresh in the people's minds, and they're looking at these lights, or possibly they've been taken down at that point, but it's still fresh in their mind, and Jesus says. And Jesus has a habit of doing that, doesn't he?

He looks around and sees what's going on, and his teaching is always applicable. It gives understanding to the people. It's an agrarian culture, and that's why a lot of his examples and parables are for them to understand. And so he does the same here. The other tradition, and more pertinent to the passage that we have here this evening, is the water pouring ceremony.

This ceremony commemorates Yahweh's provision by providing, if you remember, water from the rock to a thirsty, complaining, but thirsty people of Israel, again, in the wilderness. And God continued to provide the water for them. In this ceremony every day in Jerusalem for seven days a procession of priests would walk down the southern valley to the south of the city, of course, and they would go down that way and they would leave the temple grounds. They would take with them pitchers or water containers and they will fill them up from a nearby pool of Siloam. Now remember that name.

We'll come across that name again in chapter 9 where Jesus heals the blind man. Now, the lay worshippers, they wouldn't follow the priests there. They would remain in the temple precinct, and they would be worshipping God at that point in time. In fact, they would be reciting and singing the Psalms, in particular Psalm 113 through 118. And these Psalms speak of the greatness of God, the glory of God, the everlasting faithfulness of God, and of course, the salvation, the salvation of God, the salvation that is found in him alone.

The priest, my apologies, will then make their way up into the temple precinct. And when they do, they're welcomed by blasting trumpets and people shouting joyfully because they have come. The priest will then circle around the altar with the water pitchers in their hands, the water containers in their hands. They'll circle around the altar once, and then they would pour the water at the base of the altar. But on the seventh day, on that great day of the feast, the last official day, they would circle around the altar, not once, but seven times before pouring the water at its base.

You see, there's a particular emphasis on water on that day. And this was the water ceremony. Beloved, we know, and they did too, that water is essential for life. You die without water, right? It quickly became a symbol of life itself.

Water became a symbol of life. Water meant life. No water meant death. And knowing that God is the one who provides water, not only for their ancestors, but even now for them, that is, He provides water for their hydration, He provides rain so that their crops will grow and they can eat. Knowing that it is God who provides water, then they're able to say, through the tradition that they've seen, although not commanded by God, they're able to give Yahweh worship and say that Yahweh is the provider of water, and therefore Yahweh is the provider of life itself.

But it wasn't only the physical blessing of life that they had in mind, but the spiritual also. You see, the scripture, and we would know this, beloved, the scripture is filled with outpouring of water as a metaphor of spiritual blessing and salvation to come. And they knew it. The water ritual was not only looking back, But he looked forward to the messianic age. They read Scripture of a time, and they were anticipating a time of God's salvation and the outpouring of the Spirit of God, which was symbolized with the water language throughout the Scripture.

It was to be an unprecedented time of salvation and blessing and life from God. And no doubt as the water being drawn from the pool of Siloam by the priest and then come up and they poured at the base of the altar, these prophecies would have come to their mind. Listen to Isaiah 12 verse 2 and 3. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and I will not be afraid for the Lord God is my strength and my song and He has become my salvation with joy.

Hear this, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Zechariah 13 chapter verse 1. On that day there shall be a fountain open for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanliness. Salvation's in mind. And Isaiah 44 3 just to name a few.

For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry land ground. I will pour my spirit Oh pour my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants. You see, water became a powerful symbol of life and salvation. And these rituals, as I said earlier, look back to the faithfulness of God upon their ancestors in the wilderness, but they also look forward to and anticipated the time of the messianic age. The time that is promised in Scripture for these people of the time of incredible outpouring of water or life or salvation and blessing to come.

A time of great blessing which is symbolized with an abundance of thirst quenching water. As I said earlier, the very symbol of life. And with that backdrop, our Lord comes onto the scene in verse 37. On the last day, of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and he cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Realize how the apostle John is making sure to tell us that Jesus stood up?

He's making sure you and I notice that point. You see, Jesus was in a sitting position, and now He stood up. And that's significant for you and I to see. Why? Because it's not the normal posture for a rabbi to stand up and to teach.

Normally, rabbis, they sit down in a relaxed state, and they calmly teach their followers, or their pupils, or their disciples. This is what Jesus does on the Sermon of the Mount. We're told He sat down in many, multiple other places. Jesus sits down in a position of authority, and He teaches calmly. calmly in a relaxed state.

But that's not the case here. The multitudes in Jerusalem will likely depart and begin the journey back home tomorrow. There's a sense of urgency. There's a sense of urgency in what Jesus is about to say. He knows his crucifixion is only about six months away and that his time is coming.

There won't be a next year for Christ. So he stands up. He stands up and then he cries out, literally screams. Thousands are now gathered in the in the temple precinct, speaking and singing and laughing and shattering and making noises. Thousands of people can imagine how much noise there was in that place.

But Jesus, he stood up and he screams out for everyone to hear. In other words, whatever you're doing, give me your attention. You have to hear what I have to say. I'm going to stand out. I'm going to raise my voice.

I'm going to make sure you hear me because there's no words that are more critical and more important for your soul than what I'm about to say Jesus is saying. Nothing, nothing, nothing is more important than what Jesus is about to say. And he knows it. But Jesus is moved with concern for these people. These people have They were, for the most part, convinced that He's not the Messiah.

They weren't convinced of what He was saying He is, what He claimed of Himself. They didn't buy it as of yet, for the most part. So without any self-preservation or a thought of self-preservation, Jesus stands up and proclaims. He knows the officers have been commissioned to detain him. He knows that the religious leaders are bent on getting him out of the way, no matter what, as quickly as possible.

And he knows that the crowd, many of the crowd, have called him demon possessed. But did he care about that? Did that deter him? Not one bit. He understood the weightiness of the truths that he's just about to utter.

And with his eyes, he could see the desperate danger of this oblivious people who stand before him. Despite the risks, he cries out to them and he invites them to believe. Urgency. Utmost urgency is in the air. These people are on the cliff's edge.

They're about to fall over. This is not the first time they hear of Christ. This is not the first time they hear his teaching or his claims. And they've rejected him already. They rejected his claims.

They rejected his salvation. They've rejected the life that comes in him alone. And if you reject Christ, what's awaiting? Judgment. Judgment looms over their heads.

And this may be the last time they can personally, physically see Jesus speak before them. So what else do you expect Jesus to do? What else would you expect from the one whose heart is filled with compassion, mercy, and love? What else would you expect from the one who said, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked will turn from his way and live? In perfect love for neighbor, you expect nothing else from our Lord who looks upon a people who are blinded, blinded and are trusting in a system that does not save.

You expect nothing else other than to stand up despite all the risks and proclaim the truth of saving grace. What benefit? What benefit are all the activities of these people, all the rites, all the rituals they practice over the week, knowing full well that these things were pictures of something future to come, if they were not able to recognize that reality, when that reality has come? the very substance of everything they were doing, the very substance of everything they were doing was pointing towards, stands before them and they did not recognize him. You see, beloved, if you're like our brother said earlier on, ticking the boxes, it's empty religion.

And that's not accepted by God. If they've been introduced this crowd to the Messiah, and they have, Jesus has been there now three or four days. And for the most part, in the last few days, if they have not believed, then their religion is empty. It's empty. And God hates empty religion.

As it stands, they are spiritually dead. And as I said earlier, they are awaiting the judgment of God. And so Jesus urgently calls them out to come. Come. Beloved, there's something in this for you and I.

If our Lord, who knows who His sheep are, was moved in this way to act with utmost urgency and importance to declare the truth of salvation to these people, then what should your attitude and mine be towards the lost? We know time is limited. The Lord can return any time and further to that he has numbered the days of your life and mine and everyone else out there. Time is limited. Do you feel the weight of that urgency?

Are you warning the lost of the upcoming judgment if they were to perish without Christ? Are you presenting the amazing grace that is found in Christ and in Christ alone for all who thirst and come and apprehend him and believe upon him? We are daily surrounded by people who are walking headlong, head long into the eternal fires of hell. What are we doing about it? Don't ask.

Don't ask if they're elect. That's not up to you or I to ask that question. In compassion, we must warn everyone. Leave that to God. But we warn.

We warn everyone. In love, we proclaim the good news. We should to everyone we come across. We have to ask ourselves this question, beloved. Am I warning people of the danger they're in?

How urgent is my heart towards this? How urgent is my heart towards declaring the good news of the gospel? Because if I truly believe that there is no other remedy apart from Christ, if there's no salvation apart from Christ, if there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved, then how urgent is my declaration of that news? How heavy is that burden upon my heart? Beloved, how often do we warn people of lesser important physical dangers they're in?

If we walk by a building and there's a fire, we will probably get in there and try to save. If we find someone's about to trip, we'll warn them. If there's a bit of water on the floor or a banana peel, we will warn people, and we should. But beloved, if there's an urgency in that, then the worst that could happen is break an arm, break a leg, maybe death. And that's serious.

We warn people in love for neighbor, of course, but that's temporary consequences. How much more should we warn those who are facing the eternal damnation under the wrath of God for all eternity? Oh, beloved, I wish, I hope that we can feel the weight of this truth. Beloved, you might say, I don't see many people in the week. Okay.

You pray for the lost. And do you pray for boldness for those that you know do see people through the week, that the Lord will give those among us the boldness to stand up as Christ stood up and say, there's only one saviour, wake up, place your trust in him. Because if the greatest desire for a Christian is to be like Christ, then let me tell you, what we have on display in those words before us is the very heart of Christ. His heart towards the lost. So my question is, how does your heart stack up against His?

And beloved, I speak this to you and I speak this back to me, because this is just as relevant to my heart as it is yours. On the last day of the feast, Jesus stood up and he cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. If anyone thirsts, you hear that? If anyone thirsts. You see, at this festival, people had come and they'd flocked from all over the known world.

They've come over from everywhere, practically. Not only Jews, but also proselytes, that is Gentiles, who have converted to Judaism. So you had people from all ethnicities, really every color, every creed, and they flocked into Jerusalem. And here you have Jesus saying, if anyone thirsts, no distinctions made between gender or color or ethnicity. If anyone, the invitation goes out to absolutely anyone to come and drink with one condition.

Do you see that condition? They must be thirsty. They must be thirsty. They must know they are desperately in need for what Jesus is offering. An awareness of the emptiness of the soul, an awareness of the longing and the need that is within that can only be fulfilled and filled in Jesus Christ.

They must be aware of incompleteness. They must be thirsty. And beloved, we know that it's not a physical thirst that is spoken of. It's not a remedy for a dry mouth or a parched throat that Jesus is offering. It's not a remedy for those things any more than eating of his flesh, as he said in chapter six, is to satisfy physical hunger.

No, no, no, no. It's not physical that's spoken here. Here, what is on offer is a remedy for spiritual thirst. Spiritual thirst. Anyone and everyone who recognizes his or her need to be spiritually nourished is invited to come to Jesus to drink and to be satisfied in Him.

One must consciously recognize that something is missing in one's own soul. A thirst that is yet to be satisfied. Something is wrong within me. I'm longing for life, but all I have within me is death. That's the condition.

That's the condition that Jesus is giving. One must be thirsty for Jesus and thirsty for what Jesus can give. Thirsty for forgiveness of sins. Thirsty for salvation. Thirsty to be free from the bondage of sin.

Thirsty for his word. Thirsty for life. Thirsty, essentially, for God. thirsty for God. And Jesus is saying, if you have this thirst, I can help you with that.

Come, I can help you with that. No matter who you are, come drink and be eternally satisfied in me. That's the promise. That's the invitation Jesus gives to the people in first century Palestine in the temple precinct. And that's the invitation he gives to all of you.

Anyone who's thirsty, come. Oh, the glory of these words, beloved. They drip with grace, don't they? But he's the rub. He's the rub.

The Bible is clear. And Jesus has been crystal clear to these people and throughout the gospel already and throughout his earthly ministry that no one in the natural state is thirsty for what Jesus has to offer. No one is thirsty for God. No one. No exceptions.

in and of themselves. No one thirsts for God. In the natural state, all are dead spiritually. And if dead people don't thirst, then what hope is there? If spiritual thirst is the requirement that Jesus is placing and the condition for them to come and drink and be satisfied, and by nature all are dead spiritually and they do not thirst spiritually, then who can come?

Who can come? Beloved, this is the teaching of the Bible. And until you understand the sublime truths, you will never appreciate how amazing, hear me, how amazing grace is. Come with me to Romans chapter 3. Come with me to Romans chapter 3.

We'll start reading from verse 9. This is some context. The Apostle Paul has in the first two and a half chapters of this book, He's indicted all of humanity into sin. All of humanity worthy of the judgment of God. That is both Jew and Gentile.

The Jew who has the law, the Mosaic law, had been given to them. And Gentiles who have not been given the Mosaic law, but they have a conscience, which is God-given, and they also have the work of the law written on their heart. Everyone. No exception. Jew or Gentile, everyone on the earth is is condemned under sin.

Everyone. This is the backdrop of this passage. And here in chapter 3, the apostle, he practically bangs in the final nail of that reality and reveals the actual depth of human depravity. And beloved, no matter what one's gender is, colour, ethnicity, no matter what it is, if you have a heart that beats and lungs that breathe, then you're under this category at birth. Listen to what it says in verse 9.

What then? Are we Jews any better off No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin. As it is written, none is righteous. No, not one.

No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good, not even one.

Their throat is open grave. They use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Fourteen. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery and the way of peace they have not known. Here it is. There is no fear of God before their eyes. What a sad state.

No one. No one, without exception, in and of himself or herself, thirsts in a way to be satisfied by Christ on their own. And if that's the spiritual or the natural condition of a man, then won't Jesus' invitation always fall on deaf ears? And that's a reasonable question to ask. So the answer to that is yes, and of course, no.

Yes, because of the deception and the foolishness of sin. Man will always reject the soul-satisfying, thirst-quenching, living water from the gracious hand of God. It's hard even saying those words. It's incredible to the mind, but it's the reality. You and I all know it, brothers and sisters, because once we did too.

But instead, they'll exchange the glorious gift of God. They'll exchange that every time. They'll exchange it and they'll instead thirst, not for God, but for what the world will offer. The world will satisfy what their longings are. The illusion of joy.

Illusion because it's not real. The illusion of fulfillment. The illusion of satisfaction captures their heart. But in the end, beloved, in the end, it's a mirage. empty of substance.

They've been duped. By whom? By the deceiver. The one who is the father of lies. Listen to the words of our Lord to the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 2 verse 12 and see how great this deception is and how foolish sin makes a person.

Listen to what he says in Jeremiah chapter 2 verse 12. You don't have to open, I'll read it to you. Be appalled, O heavens, at this. Be shocked, be utterly desolate. They're hearing that from the words of the Lord.

That's pretty, like, that'll get your attention, will it not? Declares the Lord. Thirteen. For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters.

Why? Goes on. And hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. They rejected the fountain of living water. And instead they said, no, we don't want that.

We'll get cisterns that look good on the outside, but have massive cracks in them that leak water and will not satisfy their thirst. Reject the treasure of God, that which is broken and cannot satisfy it. That's the natural state of man. But there is hope, right? There is hope because the answer to that question is yes, and there is a no.

There is hope because some will be saved. You know why? Because as the prophet Jonah says, salvation is of the Lord. If your salvation, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, and my salvation was in any way predicated or depended upon us in any way, our ability, our intellect, our desires, our thirst, then sorry to burst your bubble, but not a single one of us would be saved. Not a single one.

We just don't desire the right things. We just don't desire that which is righteous. We don't desire God in and of ourselves. As sinners, we don't want God in our lives. We're too selfish.

We are our own gods. And we craft gods in our minds. We desire not righteousness, but the passions of the flesh, the things that make us feel good. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. That's what we desire.

That's what we thirst for. Naturally, we appeal to the world to satisfy those desires and those passions. Naturally, we do thirst. We do thirst, but not for God. We thirst for personal pleasure, possessions.

power, position, prominence, promiscuity. They're the things that we thirst for, but never righteousness. Nor does a sinner ever seek after God. He's not interested. And therefore the glorious gift of Jesus is offered, or when it's offered, in and of himself.

The natural man sees it to be a joke. Because they don't thirst in that way. They just don't thirst. in that way. Beloved, we can see now that we were all this way once.

And grace is so big. So now as we are able to see things clearly, if you are in Christ and you're trusting in Him, if you've been united in Him and you can see clearly, you're able to see the deception of the world and you're able to see that which the world submits to, that which the world holds to and is in bondage to, sin and the deception of sin, which is an illusion and will always leave them empty, always. Beloved, how many times have you been completely astounded and amazed when you're evangelizing someone? And with passion and vigor and with love for that person, you're expressing your very desperate, absolute need for Christ, that they're in and of themselves in their sin. They're under the judgment of God.

And you're expressing that you're under God's judgment. You can't do enough. You can't buy your way into heaven. You are going to be judged and punished. You need the Savior.

And then you express the gospel of grace, the gospel of Jesus Christ. And you explain to them how wonderful grace is and the glory of knowing Christ in an intimate way, knowing God and having the relationship with God, which is the greatest privilege. of mankind, and knowing that when all is said and done, you will be with him in the glories of heaven for all eternity, where no mind can fathom. And you're speaking this way, and you're so invigorated, and so excited about it, and they don't care one iota. That gives you no interest.

They're more interested in what they're going to do that day or the next meal they eat. And they have no interest in what you have to say. No interest in eternity. How many times? That's the power of sin.

That enslaves a person and deceives them in unrighteousness. They don't thirst after God. The shape and the nature of their thirst is satisfied, hear this, by the dirty wells of this world. That's what satisfies the heart of the lost. And as the law of diminishing returns states, what may seem to satisfy one now, just give it enough time and it will no longer satisfy.

You would want more and more and more and more. And as you grow sin begets sin and gives birth to more sin and judgment grows and grows and grows and grows. Beloved, it is empty. All the world has to offer is empty. Cisterns that look good on the outside, but as I said earlier, have massive cracks that do not store water.

You go when you're thirsty and there is nothing there. Empty. Sin gives birth to sin. And it creates within one an insatiable desire for more. The world promises fullness of life, but it will only deliver death.

You know why? Because the prince of this world is the father of lies. And the system that he's behind is a system of lies. Promises the world, but it doesn't deliver anything apart from death. You know, the prodigal son learned this lesson.

He's thinking, I haven't spoken about the prodigal son before. Not from this pulpit, which is interesting. But he learned this lesson, didn't he? He tried to receive the long lasting satisfaction from the world. He had great hopes.

He was young and he had ambition and his whole life was ahead of him and he had a wonderful inheritance. So what does he do? He goes out there into the world and he explores. He consumes and consumes and consumes. He has friends.

He has the best food. He has drink, women, the latest cars or the latest donkeys, whatever they had in those days. He had the latest of everything. And beloved, how did that end? He consumed from the dirty contaminated wells of the world.

The springs that promise everything but leave you empty and dry. How did that end him? Destruction, emptiness, despair. You know the story after squandering his whole inheritance. Remember what he desired?

Feeding the pigs. He desired to eat that which the pigs would eat. Left his father's home. And now he's desiring the food of pigs. Deception.

Deception. It's empty. The world is empty. It's a chasing after the wind. There is no satisfaction there, beloved.

Maybe, maybe there's some of us here today. Maybe there is someone here still pursuing pursuing satisfaction from what the world offers. Maybe there's someone here or listening to the sound of my voice still pursuing to be fulfilled with what the world puts on a platter and says, eat, enjoy, be fulfilled. Maybe you are the prodigal son, but you're not quite yet out of money. Well, let me give you some news.

It doesn't get any better. The end is always despair. 100% of the time, the end is always despair. And then comes judgment. It's not worth it.

The dirty springs of the world will never satisfy. They will never ever satisfy. Come and drink from the only spring that will quench your parched soul. Come and drink from Jesus Christ. Because in Him there is true life.

Come to Him. Beloved brothers and sisters, these words aren't foreign to you. You all know what I'm talking about. You've all tasted of the contaminated wells of this world, haven't we? But beyond that, even now, you're sometimes, to our shame, tempted to go back and take a sip.

You know, we're not in bondage to sin. Our brother explained that to us earlier on this evening. But we sure know of its alluring power and its pull. We know what the flesh desires, don't we? And there's always times where that temptation causes us to go and think, should I go back and take a sip of what the world offers?

We're familiar with the battle within. All right, we all know it. I hope you can answer yes, because if you don't answer yes, or if you're not aware of it, then that's a bad sign. But we are familiar with the battle within. There is a battle going on, going on.

And beloved, the flesh is always fighting against the spirit, and the spirit is always fighting against the flesh. Our desire and thirst as Christians is for Christ. But we're aware that temptation is still alluring. We're aware that in times, the temptation is to go back to the dirty springs and the contaminated wells and that which is filthy but looks great. We're tempted to go back and just take a sip.

And my counsel to you and the word's counsel to you and to me is this, don't. Do it. There is no satisfaction there. Don't do it. Don't do it.

You will not be satisfied in those wells. They'll lead to destruction. Listen to how the Apostle Paul says it in Galatians chapter 5 verse 17. For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

You hear that? the things you want to do, that the desires of the flesh keep you from doing the things you want to do, to keep you from the things you desire to do, to keep you from the things you thirst for. How's that possible? Since no one in the natural state thirsts after God, how is it that Christians indeed thirst for Christ? Well, the same reason that Jesus that Jesus' invitation in verse 37 will not, will not come back always void, but land on some ears who are willing, not only willing, but desirous to come and to drink of him for the same reason.

Because salvation, as I said earlier, is of the Lord. It is of the Lord. God takes the initiative in salvation. You remember what Jesus said to the Galileans on the western side of the Sea of Tiberias? You remember what he said when speaking on this point in verse 44 of that chapter?

He said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. See, Jesus stands in the temple ground and shouts out, He who thirsts, come! Come to me and drink, and there are some who will come." Because the Father is drawing our hearts through the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Father is drawing them by His Holy Spirit.

He's bringing them through teaching them about their desperate need for Jesus and their need to be saved and to be forgiven and to find thirst of divine quenching and the satisfaction of their soul that is found only in the one who is Christ. All of a sudden, because of the life-creating work of God in his drawing power, this person who's been drawn by the Father through by the Spirit, this person begins for the very first time to realize he or she is missing something crucial within them. for their well-being. They're lacking spiritual substance, a real consciousness now they have that there's something serious is lacking in their own soul. Empty, no rest, no comfort, no security.

And as water is essential for life, they begin for the very first time to thirst for Jesus, convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's able to give them exactly what they require to make them whole. He's able to give them exactly what they require to make them complete, to satisfy the longings of their heart, to forgive them and to give them reconciliation with God and bring them into an intimate relationship with God for which they were created. What a glorious truth. What a glorious, what a glorious truth. For the first time, there is within a thirst for forgiveness for sins.

true forgiveness. This is not the worldly sorrow that is predicated or built upon selfish ambition or the fear of being caught with. Everyone experiences that sort of sorrow. No, this is godly sorrow that leads unto repentance and unto life. There's a desire for that.

To be forgiven. To be forgiven. For the very first time, one begins to thirst for salvation. Because they now know their true spiritual condition. They thought they're okay.

You ask many people, you say, where would you spend eternity? And I'll think for a few moments, because that pause is a sign of humility, right? I think I'm okay. I haven't been that bad. And then they'll name the big sins.

I haven't killed. I haven't cheated on my wife. I haven't murdered anyone. I haven't done any grand treason against the government. I haven't blown up a building.

I haven't done any of these things. not knowing that a single sin condemned the whole world. One single sin condemned the whole world. On your own, you will not stand before the judgment throne of the all-seeing eye of God. You will not stand.

But now, now it's all seen. The heart is exposed. For the very first time, one thirsts for the Word of God. And although that light was despised before, why? Because it's just too bright.

It shows my soul, it shows my sin, it shows me for who I am. Before you would run away, but now you're okay to stand there even fully exposed. Even with all your sins on the table, you're okay with that. Why are you okay with that? Because you know that's grace.

Because the exposing of the sin gives you an opportunity to repent of the sin. And you know that there is one in Christ Jesus who is faithful and just to forgive that sin. No more cowering back into the darkness. Stand in the light and praise God for the light. But that wasn't the case before.

That wasn't the case before. Even now, for us far removed from the first century, those who respond to our Lord's call, those who are indeed thirsty for our Lord, those who are a deeder are able to say, yes, yes, I want to come to the feet of Christ and drink from that well, because I know that he's able to give me what my soul desires. How is it that we've never seen him, but we're able to say we love him? I love him. How is it that our souls are able to say, we love Him.

We've never seen Him. I love Him. He is my Lord and I love Him. And the springs or the wells of the world are seen for what they are. Now they're so dirty and contaminated.

Worthless wells. Wells that do not satisfy the soul. They leave you empty. And as I said earlier, they will lead you to despair if you taste Christ. That's why the Bible says, taste and see.

The Lord is good. If you taste Christ, nothing else in this world will satisfy you. As Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again. That is the water from Jacob's well in Samaria. But then he goes on to say, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.

If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. All the symbolism that's going on in the temple ground with the pouring ceremony, the water pouring ceremony, and the anticipation in that place of the coming Messiah and the blessing of life he brings, all pointing to the one who stands in the middle of the temple and calls out at the top of his voice, I believe, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Jesus is the fulfillment. And he says, come. Jesus is saying, come and drink the commemoration of God's provision of life giving water from the rock in the wilderness.

Who is that rock? You know, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, 1 through 4, For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers are all under the cloud and are passed through the sea. And all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and into the sea, and all ate the spiritual food and all drank the spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them. And the rock was Christ. You know, the Israelites would have perished in the wilderness apart from the thirst quenching water that was provided by God, right?

That water, we said, is death. Water is a symbol of life. So too, beloved, so too, anyone who doesn't drink from Christ will die a spiritual death for all eternity. And if you come, come, drink, he says. If you thirst, there is no condition.

No payments, no rights, no ritual. There is no conditions. If you thirst for Christ, just come and drink from the source and the fountain of life. Come, everyone who thirsts. Come to the waters.

And he who has no money, come buy and eat. Come buy wine and milk without money, without price. Why do you spend your money on that which is not bread and labor for that which does not satisfy? Isaiah 55, 1 through 2. Come, drink from the fountain.

of salvation. Beloved, what does it mean to come and drink of Christ? It's to believe in Him and to receive what comes from Him into your soul. You know, it's not a matter of looking with your eyes and acknowledging with your mind. It's not simply that.

It's not simply being able to recollect some information and some facts and be able to utter those things. It's not that. The instruction that Jesus gives is to come and then to drink. Come to me, drink, drink. There's a physical picture that is profound here.

If you're wandering, if you're wandering in the desert and you've been wandering for say three or four days and you're parched, Your tongue is sticking to the top of your mouth. Your lips are starting to break. You are thirsty and you're on the brink of collapsing. And as you stagger along, you find yourself right before a freshwater spring. You rub your eyes because you think it's a mirage, but it's not.

You dip your finger and it's wet. It's the real thing. What do you do? Do you simply look at the water and have a conversation and calculate the flow rates? Do you just calculate how big it is and just admire the water?

Is that what you do? No, no, because your thirst will not be quenched. The life will not be sustained unless you go there and you take from what is outside you and bring it inside of you. You need to take from what is outside of you and bring it inside of you. The water needs to come into your body to satisfy your physical thirst.

So too is it that way in the spiritual sense. Christ must be consumed. Just like he said, I am the bread of life. One needs to eat his flesh. Not physically, but spiritually.

So must one drink him so that his life becomes your life. You share in his life. Love, you can live some reasonable amount of time without food, but you cannot live very long without water. You know why? Because it's one of your greatest needs.

Because when you drink, that water, that hydration, permeates every single part of your physical being. It permeates into your limbs, into your bones, into your muscles, your blood, your skin. It goes into your organs. There's no part in your body that that water, hydration, doesn't go to. It permeates every part of you.

So must the drinking from Christ, the fountain that is Christ, permeate every part of your spiritual being. And this is done through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because the drink of Christ is the drink of His life. And that is His Spirit dwells in you. And that's what the next part of this passage, which we'll meditate upon next time we're in the Gospel according to John.

that it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that the life of Christ permeates every part of your spirit. That's a glorious, glorious truth that God of the universe will dwell in me. Beloved, don't be ashamed of that. It's true. The God of the universe by His Spirit dwells in you if you are united in Christ.

So to drink Christ, and continue to drink of Christ. You continue, as Christians, you've had of this well, of this life well that is Christ, and you continue to want to drink from Him, to source your sustaining life from Him. He gave you life initially, and He's the one who continues to give you life. You continue to drink and draw from this Jesus Christ, your Lord, your Savior, and the source and the fountain of spiritual life. So you do this.

How do you do this? You do this as the Spirit engages your whole being and turns your affection to the things of God. Turns your affection to the Word of God. So you would meditate upon the Word. The Word that you did not love, now you love.

And you're able to say with the psalmist, oh how I meditate upon your Lord day and night. You love His Word. You commune with Him in prayer. You draw from Him in prayer as you supplicate before Him. How can you have a relationship with God and not speak with Him and not commune with Him?

Imagine what sort of relationship a husband and wife would have if they don't communicate. Draw from the Spirit to strengthen you in all of life. Walk in the Spirit according to His ways. Beloved, the more we drink of Christ, the more we become like Christ. The more we drink of him, the more the spirit of Christ conforms us into the image of Christ.

That's the goal of the believer, is it not? To become like him. As life flows through him, as life is, he's the author of life and it flows through him. That life he gives to us and it flows through us. Living rivers, we're told.

It's an incredible truth that we'll get to next time. That the life of Christ, not only does it permeate every part of our being, our spiritual being, not only does it satisfy us in abundance, but also, beloved, hear this, the life of Christ then overflows from your life to bless others. And that's an incredible reality. And that's why the Christian's heart is not me, me, me, but to consider others above oneself. That's why the Lord summarized in love and God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and to love others as yourself.

It's not that obligation that we heard this evening. It's not that obligation, this is what I must do because my hands are in chains. It's not that at all. It is the freedom under grace that this is what our hearts are predisposed to do because the love of Christ now abides in us and we're able to love because he loved us first. So the question is, do we thirst for Christ in this way?

Have we come to the bottomless supply of the fountain of living water that is Christ. Have you come to find complete satisfaction in him? Or are you still stooping down to drink from the dirty, contaminated wells of the world? I'll leave you empty. So appealing to the eye, but they will not satisfy.

You'll drink and drink and drink and drink and drink, but in the end, you'll be empty. No substance, no joy, no peace. Beloved, no life. The fullness of life is found in Christ alone. I came that they may have life, and have it how?

Sparingly, abundantly, John 10.10. And that satisfaction is for all who thirst after him. This is the real deal, he beloved. Why do you think it is that the parables, when we read the parables, I mean they're such fascinating.

The parables of the kingdom of God in Matthew 13 are tremendous parables that speak to this truth.