Let's Get Real, Quenching the Thirsty

 Quenching the Thirsty  

Welcome. Today we are continuing our series, "Let's Get Real." We are currently going through the list of things Jesus told us plainly, that would be a measuring stick of sorts or a criterion of which we can see how God will see our lives at our time before Him. Here is the "list."

"I was hungry and you gave me food,"

"I was thirsty and you gave me drink, "

"I was a stranger and you welcomed me,"

"I was naked and you clothed me,"

"I was sick and you visited me,"

"I was in prison and you came to me.’

To those who do not gain entry to heaven, He said that they did not do any of these. See the whole conversation in Matthew 25:31-46. Today we will be discussing this one.

"I was thirsty and you gave me drink, "

What does this mean? Does this mean if someone is running a marathon and you give them a bottle of water? Yeah, it can mean that. What about blessing someone? Look how much Paul praised the Church at Macedonia for giving to the Saints who were there to preach the gospel.

"We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us." 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

What he is saying is that they, even when they had very little, gave what they had willingly, to the Saints, food, water, clothes, money, whatever the Saints needed while they were there. God wants us to do the same. Remember this passage in James.

"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." James 2:14-17

I remember working for a place at one time where I have to work outside in the elements. One day, in the heat of the day, I was really feeling the heat. It was like 100 degrees out and I looked like I jumped in a pool. If there was one I may have. When this older gentleman came out of his house and blessed me with a Gatorade. Was this his last? Did he have more? Was he well off? Was he poor? I have no idea, but I know I was blessed and it really helped me to continue to do my job.

But just like food, God is not just talking about actual physical water. In His famous "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus said this.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." Matthew 5:6

So what is this water that quenches this thirst?

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:7-14

A little bit later we read this.

"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39

Did you know that? YOU! Yes, YOU! You have " rivers of living water" living inside you.

"The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook." Proverbs 18:4

You have the same Spirit in you that raised Jesus from the dead. YOU have this river of living water in you ready to give out. You just have to give it out freely. Tell them Jesus is the living water. Tell them if they drink of Him, they will never thirst again. Tell them this. This could be their future.

"They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”" Revelation 7:16-17

The world wants to buy this or that drink. They want you to buy more and more. Yes, the human body needs physical liquid for substance. But how much more do we need the living water that is Jesus? What does it really matter if we have all the water in the world? All the food in the world? All the riches in the world? If we do not have Jesus, we have nothing.

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36

You will see this sort of recurring trend of meeting people's spiritual needs even more so than meeting their physical needs throughout this series. For this is the reason Jesus came and the reason He gave us the "Great Commission." Everything here is temporal. The Word declares that our lives at but a vapor.

"yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." James 4:14

As a child of God, it is our duty to share with others what we have been given freely. Give freely unto others. Feed the hungry, quench the thirst of the thirsty. and share the good news, Jesus is Lord.

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will hear you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, You shall be saved." Romans 10:9. You need to find a Church that God leads you to and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 2 Corinthians 13

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus is Lord!!