If Any Man Thirsts

Introduction:

It was the Jewish feat of Tabernacles (or Booths) one of the most popular of all the feasts of the Jews. It was designed to last seven days but the Jews had added an eighth. Each day for seven days, the priests brought water in golden pictures from the pool of Siloam, through the city of Jerusalem, to the temple. The water was to commutate the water in the wilderness that came from the rock that Moses struck. The brothers of Jesus wanted Him to go to the feast and present Himself to the priests to prove if He was the Christ or not. We read:

John 7:1 - 9 (NKJV) ¹After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the ^£Jews sought to kill Him. ²Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. ³His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. ⁴For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” ⁵For even His brothers did not believe in Him. ⁶Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. ⁷The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. ⁸You go up to this feast. I am not ^£yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.” ⁹When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

Jesus waited until his brothers were in Jerusalem and the festivities were well on their way and then He entered the city with no fanfare.

John 7:10 - 31 (NKJV) ¹⁰But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. ¹¹Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?” ¹²And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him. Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.” ¹³However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. ¹⁴Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. ¹⁵And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” ¹⁶^£Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. ¹⁷If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. ¹⁸He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. ¹⁹Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?” ²⁰The people answered and said, “You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?” ²¹Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one work, and you all marvel. ²²Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. ²³If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? ²⁴Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” ²⁵Now some of them from Jerusalem said, “Is this not He whom they seek to kill? ²⁶But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is ^£truly the Christ? ²⁷However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.” ²⁸Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, “You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. ²⁹^£But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.” ³⁰Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. ³¹And many of the people believed in Him, and said, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?”

At first Jesus taught small groups but finally He ended up teaching in the temple. The people could not understand how Jesus could teach like He did and continue teaching in the Temple since He had no religious credentials. He was not a Pharisee nor did He graduate from some great Rabbinical college yet He taught with authority. So the people were divided in their opinion of Him.

On the eighth day of the feast the Priests came carrying one golden vessel and turned it to pour out water but this time no water came announcing that God no longer supplied the water from the rock. At that time everyone was silent when suddenly there came a shout of one not teaching, but prophesying – IT WAS JESUS!

John 7:37 - 39 (NKJV) ³⁷On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those ^£believing in Him would receive; for the ^£Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This so infuriated the religious people they wanted to kill the messenger – they always do when the messenger speaks about the Holy Spirit. You can call people sinners and they will say “amen.” You can tell them that Jesus died on a cross to save them from their sins and they will either accept Him or reject Him. But tell them that you have been Baptized in the Holy Spirit and filled with the Holy Spirit and they get downright angry, mean, vicious. From this point on they wanted to kill Him!

I. When the Holy Spirit was given for salvation

John 20:19 - 23 (NKJV) ¹⁹Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were ^£assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” ²²And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

This is call the insuffiation – He did not take the breath out of them but put His Spirit into them.

Genesis 2:7 (NKJV) ⁷And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

When Jesus breathed on them their dead spirits became alive and they were “born again of the Spirit.” But there is more water from the Rock!

II. When they were immersed in the Water of the Spirit

Acts 1:4 - 11 (NKJV) ⁴And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; ⁵for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. ⁸But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be ^£witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ⁹Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, ¹¹who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Now Jesus is Glorified!

Acts 2:1 - 18 (NKJV) ¹When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all ^£with one accord in one place. ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. ⁵And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. ⁶And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. ⁷Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? ⁹Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” ¹²So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” ¹³Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” ¹⁴But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. ¹⁵For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. ¹⁶But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. ¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.

One tongue many languages

A. What do unknown tongues do?

1 Corinthians 14:1 - 5 (NKJV) ¹Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy. ²For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. ³But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. ⁴He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. ⁵I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; ^£for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.

· Speaking in an unknown tongue edifies – charges up – the person who does the speaking!

· One who speaks in an unknown tongue to the Church should have an interpretation.

1 Corinthians 14:13 - 22 (NKJV) ¹³Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. ¹⁴For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. ¹⁵What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. ¹⁶Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? ¹⁷For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified. ¹⁸I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all; ¹⁹yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue. ²⁰Brethren, do not be children in understanding; however, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature. ²¹In the law it is written: “With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; And yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,”^£ says the Lord. ²²Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.

B. Do not forbid the speaking in unknown tongues!

1 Corinthians 14:39 - 40 (NKJV) ³⁹Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues. ⁴⁰Let all things be done decently and in order.

IV. One Baptism many fillings

Acts 4:8 - 17 (NKJV) ⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: ⁹If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, ¹⁰let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’^£ ¹²Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” ¹³Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.”

Acts 4:31 (NKJV) ³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 9:17 - 18 (NKJV) ¹⁷And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord ^£Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

Acts 13:6 - 12 (NKJV) ⁶Now when they had gone through ^£the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. ¹²Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

V. What is necessary in order to drink

A. Get Thirsty

B. Let the water flow

Witness
Lay hands on the sick
Worship

C. Ask Him

Luke 11:9 - 13 (NKJV) ⁹“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ¹¹If a son asks for ^£bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Conclusion: Oh Lord!

Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy:
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
"Draw from my well that never shall run dry".

Chorus
Fill my cup Lord,
I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

There are millions in this world who are craving
The pleasures earthly things afford;
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord.

Chorus
Fill my cup Lord,
I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole!

Cathedral of HIS Glory Sermon Notes

Tuesday, August 21, 2007