Thirsty for the Water of Life
10 May '05 20:17Thirsty for the Water of Life
Family hardships. Relationship tensions. Indecision and restlessness ... emptiness. Are you overwhelmed with life—drinking in self-help and worldly counsel to satisfy your craving for peace and fullness in life? The living water of Jesus Christ is what you are really thirsty for.
A Message by Billy Graham
One day Jesus was walking through Samaria. He was weary, so He rested at Jacob's well. In the heat of the day, a woman came to draw some water. The Bible says: "Jesus said to her, 'Give Me a drink.' ... The woman of Samaria said to Him, 'How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?' ... Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says 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 with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?' Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life'" (John 4:7-14, NKJV).
Jesus is the Living Water. This is what all people need, whether they are in Africa or India or China or the United States. We all need the spiritual water that Jesus gives. The Bible says that we are prisoners of "the pit wherein is no water" (Zechariah 9:11, KJV). Think of that—prisoners in a pit with no water.
How long do you think a person can live without drinking water? Not very long. You can live a long time without food, but not without water. Have you ever been really thirsty? So thirsty that you thought you were going to die? I'm told there is no feeling quite like it.
The Apostle Peter talked about wells without water (2 Peter 2:17). Think of traveling across the desert and coming to a well where you believe there is water. You are thirsty. Your tongue is swollen. Your cheeks and lips are parched. But when you arrive at the well, there is no water.
Restless and Searching
The Bible says that "The wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 'There is no peace,' Says my God, 'for the wicked'" (Isaiah 57:20-21, NKJV). I've seen the sea moving and tumbling, and the great waves lashing against the coast. The sea is always moving.
The Bible says that those outside God are like the troubled sea. They are restless, searching, questing, trying to find a place where it will be calm and smooth—and they cannot find it. Life is rough and hard and tough, especially without God's peace and God's joy and the living water that Christ can give.
How many of you are in a "waterless pit" right now? In your family? In your business? Maybe you are a young person not knowing what vocation to follow, not knowing what to do about marriage, not knowing what to do about the problems you've gotten yourself into—you are finding yourself in a pit without any water.
Why don't you come to the well that Jesus offers and drink of the living water that He gives? That's what you're really thirsty for.
Maybe you are running madly from place to place, searching for something that will bring satisfaction to the terrible spiritual thirst that only God can satisfy. Jesus said He is the Living Water. He is the Living Water who will come into your heart and quench the thirst that you have.
Maybe you have tried everything to satisfy, to bring peace and joy to your life, to have a sense of forgiveness and a sense of belonging. And you haven't found it. Jesus said, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again" (John 4:13, NKJV).
Drink of the water of drugs, and you will thirst again.
Drink of the water of fame, and you will thirst again.
Drink of the water of popularity, and you will thirst again.
Drink of all the other waters being offered today, and you will thirst again.
But drink of the living water that Jesus will give you, and you will never thirst. Jesus said, "The water that I shall give [you] will become in [you] a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14, NKJV).
Have You Been There?
Every person can have everlasting life by drinking at the well of Jesus. Have you been there? Oh, I'm not talking about being a member of a church. I'm not talking about baptism. I'm not talking about knowing all the right answers. I'm talking about having a relationship with Jesus Christ every day, a genuine living experience with Him.
The woman said, "Sir, give me this water" (John 4:15, NKJV). Will you say that? "Lord Jesus, give me that living water. I want forgiveness of my sins. I want to know that I'm going to heaven. I want a new life. I'm tired of the old life I've been living. I'm tired of this merry-go-round that I'm on. I want something else in life." You'll never find it until you come to Jesus Christ.
What You Thirst For
Jesus said that if you want this living water to come into your heart and into your life and change you, then you must be born again.
Jesus said, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you. ... Let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:16-17, NKJV). Whoever—that's you. Come just as you are. Come to Jesus Christ.
After you receive Christ, dedicate your life to Him. When you receive Christ, He becomes not only your Savior, but also the Lord of your life.
The Bible says, "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat" (Isaiah 55:1, NKJV). Yes, come and buy; it's without price. Some of you are thirsting for this—a personal relationship with Christ.
Come to the water! Drink of the living water! Become excited about Christ. "The Lord ... has become my salvation. Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:2-3, NKJV). The wells of salvation are being offered to you. Come and draw the water with joy!
The Living Fountain
When you come to the water, there's a satisfaction beyond anything words can describe. Jesus said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38, NKJV).
The woman had come to that well. She had come by divine appointment. Jesus was passing by, and He stopped to rest. This woman came at that moment.
This woman had an empty life. Her expectations in life had faded. No longer expecting, no longer hoping for anything different, she was on the same old treadmill. She had been married five times, and when Jesus spoke to her she was living with a man who was not her husband. Having tried nearly everything, she was miserable, unhappy—thirsty.
"Come to the waters; drink of the living fountain," Jesus told her.
He offers the same living water to you. Will you accept His offer today?
Family hardships. Relationship tensions. Indecision and restlessness ... emptiness. Are you overwhelmed with life—drinking in self-help and worldly counsel to satisfy your craving for peace and fullness in life? The living water of Jesus Christ is what you are really thirsty for.
A Message by Billy Graham
One day Jesus was walking through Samaria. He was weary, so He rested at Jacob's well. In the heat of the day, a woman came to draw some water. The Bible says: "Jesus said to her, 'Give Me a drink.' ... The woman of Samaria said to Him, 'How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?' ... Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says 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 with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?' Jesus answered and said to her, 'Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life'" (John 4:7-14, NKJV).
Jesus is the Living Water. This is what all people need, whether they are in Africa or India or China or the United States. We all need the spiritual water that Jesus gives. The Bible says that we are prisoners of "the pit wherein is no water" (Zechariah 9:11, KJV). Think of that—prisoners in a pit with no water.
How long do you think a person can live without drinking water? Not very long. You can live a long time without food, but not without water. Have you ever been really thirsty? So thirsty that you thought you were going to die? I'm told there is no feeling quite like it.
The Apostle Peter talked about wells without water (2 Peter 2:17). Think of traveling across the desert and coming to a well where you believe there is water. You are thirsty. Your tongue is swollen. Your cheeks and lips are parched. But when you arrive at the well, there is no water.
Restless and Searching
The Bible says that "The wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 'There is no peace,' Says my God, 'for the wicked'" (Isaiah 57:20-21, NKJV). I've seen the sea moving and tumbling, and the great waves lashing against the coast. The sea is always moving.
The Bible says that those outside God are like the troubled sea. They are restless, searching, questing, trying to find a place where it will be calm and smooth—and they cannot find it. Life is rough and hard and tough, especially without God's peace and God's joy and the living water that Christ can give.
How many of you are in a "waterless pit" right now? In your family? In your business? Maybe you are a young person not knowing what vocation to follow, not knowing what to do about marriage, not knowing what to do about the problems you've gotten yourself into—you are finding yourself in a pit without any water.
Why don't you come to the well that Jesus offers and drink of the living water that He gives? That's what you're really thirsty for.
Maybe you are running madly from place to place, searching for something that will bring satisfaction to the terrible spiritual thirst that only God can satisfy. Jesus said He is the Living Water. He is the Living Water who will come into your heart and quench the thirst that you have.
Maybe you have tried everything to satisfy, to bring peace and joy to your life, to have a sense of forgiveness and a sense of belonging. And you haven't found it. Jesus said, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again" (John 4:13, NKJV).
Drink of the water of drugs, and you will thirst again.
Drink of the water of fame, and you will thirst again.
Drink of the water of popularity, and you will thirst again.
Drink of all the other waters being offered today, and you will thirst again.
But drink of the living water that Jesus will give you, and you will never thirst. Jesus said, "The water that I shall give [you] will become in [you] a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14, NKJV).
Have You Been There?
Every person can have everlasting life by drinking at the well of Jesus. Have you been there? Oh, I'm not talking about being a member of a church. I'm not talking about baptism. I'm not talking about knowing all the right answers. I'm talking about having a relationship with Jesus Christ every day, a genuine living experience with Him.
The woman said, "Sir, give me this water" (John 4:15, NKJV). Will you say that? "Lord Jesus, give me that living water. I want forgiveness of my sins. I want to know that I'm going to heaven. I want a new life. I'm tired of the old life I've been living. I'm tired of this merry-go-round that I'm on. I want something else in life." You'll never find it until you come to Jesus Christ.
What You Thirst For
Jesus said that if you want this living water to come into your heart and into your life and change you, then you must be born again.
Jesus said, "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you. ... Let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:16-17, NKJV). Whoever—that's you. Come just as you are. Come to Jesus Christ.
After you receive Christ, dedicate your life to Him. When you receive Christ, He becomes not only your Savior, but also the Lord of your life.
The Bible says, "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat" (Isaiah 55:1, NKJV). Yes, come and buy; it's without price. Some of you are thirsting for this—a personal relationship with Christ.
Come to the water! Drink of the living water! Become excited about Christ. "The Lord ... has become my salvation. Therefore with joy you will draw water From the wells of salvation" (Isaiah 12:2-3, NKJV). The wells of salvation are being offered to you. Come and draw the water with joy!
The Living Fountain
When you come to the water, there's a satisfaction beyond anything words can describe. Jesus said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:37-38, NKJV).
The woman had come to that well. She had come by divine appointment. Jesus was passing by, and He stopped to rest. This woman came at that moment.
This woman had an empty life. Her expectations in life had faded. No longer expecting, no longer hoping for anything different, she was on the same old treadmill. She had been married five times, and when Jesus spoke to her she was living with a man who was not her husband. Having tried nearly everything, she was miserable, unhappy—thirsty.
"Come to the waters; drink of the living fountain," Jesus told her.
He offers the same living water to you. Will you accept His offer today?