SPIRITUAL THIRST

-- Living Bible

Psalms 42:1  As the deer pants for water, so I long for you, O God.

-- Living Bible

Psalms 42:2  I thirst for God, the living God. Where can I find him to come and stand before him?

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

John 7: 37.  On 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.

 38.  "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.''

   a.) notice they were at a feast, a table was spread with both food and drink

   b.) yet Jesus here deals with a deeper thirst

1.) A picture of the church ; we’ve become fat and sassy, satisfied to the point that we’ve lost our spiritual appetite.

   a.) the roller coaster Christian: High on God one day, not so high the next

   b.) backslid condition: Anytime you go back in your walk with God from where you were you’ve backslidden.

Doesn’t mean your lost, you’ve lost the closeness that you once knew.

2.) Sometimes things go smooth for a while; no major battles, we live in a comfortable degree of victory or success.

   a.) auto pilot/ cruise control...and as a result we become LUKEWARM.

Revelation 2: 4.  "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.  (church of Ephesus)

Revelation 3:15.  "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

(church of Laodicia)

   a.) lost your love for Me, your lost your fervor....

   b.) that fanatical love

3.) You no longer desire to sit at the Master’s table.

   a.) we’ve allowed other things to satisfy us, leaving us unfulfilled and spiritually dead.

2 Chronicles 16: 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

-- New King James

2 Chronicles 16:9  "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.

   a.) complete, completely sold out, dedicated, addicted!

4.) What we need is a Holy desperation.

   a.) Hungry for God again!

   b.) Hungry for the anointing again.

   c.) Hungry for the fresh oil.         Revival!

WHERE NOTHING ELSE WILL DO!

   a.) not vain religion....going through the motions...serving God out of obligation, no deep desire!

NOTICE: You have as much of God in your life as you really want! God fills you in proportion to your hunger and thirst!

5.) Hebrews 10:20 speaks of going beyond the veil of the flesh.

   a.) deeper walk with God

   b.) press past other things

   c.) get lost in the Spirit

Like the lady with the issue we must press past other things, other allurements of life, our jobs, even our families, to go into deeper walk, relationship with God.

Even ministry. We many times get so busy doing the work of the Lord we forget the Lord of the work.

   a.) We work to please God without realizing that God is pleased when we hunger and thirst for Him!

Ministry to others should never come before our ministry to God!

I’m desperate!

I can’t take religion as usual any longer! Church as usual. I’m tired of trying to fit someone else’s mold to be what they think I should be or do! I’m hungry for God to do a fresh work in my life and your life! I’m hungry for God to bring revival to our homes, our workplaces  and the streets!

The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart! We no longer thirst for God’s presence and power any more! We are trained in our religious traditions and no longer hungry for God to show up!

   a.) not just in church but also in our daily lives.

Examples of desperate hunger for God:

1.) Jacob

Genesis 32: 26.  And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks.'' But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!''

   a.) touched his hip and changed the way he walked.

   b.) changed his name, which meant his life was changed, a name was who and what you were.

Jacob means  deceiver, lier, con man . Israel means Prince of God.

From a swindler to a champion with God.

If you study the origin or the birthing process of the great moves of our land it was when a man or woman got on their face before God, and said “I will not let go until you send revival...(etc)

2.) Exodus 33:13-23

Moses said , “Lord show me your Glory” No man can look on my face and live. Moses said so what even if it kills me I want more of you Lord.

   a.) in fact it will kill you , you must die.

John 12: 24.  "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

 25.  "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Galatians 2: 20.  "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

3.) David

2 Samuel 6:12-22

   a.) we must get to the place where we care about the things of God more than anything else!

4.) The disciples

Mark 6: 48.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.

 49.  But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out;

   a.) He would have passed them by... (like many churches )

   b.) but they cried out

WE NEED YOU LORD IN THE MIDST OF OUR STORM!

Lets define the problem in more detail:

Proverbs 27:7.  A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.

-- Living Bible

Proverbs 27:7  Even honey seems tasteless to a man who is full; but if he is hungry, he'll eat anything!

   a.) we are so full of other things we do not hunger anymore for the things of God

   b.) clean out some junk and make room for revival

When you really want to go further with God ;

   a.) simplify your life

   b.) make more room, more time for God

5.) 2 Kings 4

When the vessels were all full the oil stopped pouring.

   a.) The oil is never the problem.

   b.) It flowed until the woman ran out of vessels.

God needs some people that have been full of the things of the world to empty themselves so God cab fill them with himself!

We must hunger to be hungry again.

We must thirst to be thirsty again.

O God give us a spiritual hunger and thirst for you again!

Give us the Holy Desperation again that if we don’t have you we don’t want to live.

-- Living Bible

Isaiah 55:1  Say there! Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink--even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine and milk--it's all free!