Dear Christian friends:
Today I want to ask you a very important question. Perhaps you will
think that my question is foolish, but nevertheless I must ask it.
My question is: are you thirsty? You answer, "No! Why do you ask
that question?" I know you are not thirsty for water. If you were
thirsty for water you would go and get a drink because we have plenty
of water around here. But I still ask you that question: are you
thirsty? Why? Because I want you to understand about another thirst.
Not a thirst for water, but a thirst of spirit and heart. And your
thirst of spirit and heart should be satisfied. You cannot live on
H20 only.
In our text Jesus talks about that spiritual thirst and tells us how
we can satisfy it. So this morning I ask you to think about that
question:
Are You Thirsty?
You may not be aware of your thirst. All people have this "thirst,"
but many are not aware of it.
The Jewish leaders were not aware of their thirst. The verses
preceding our text tell about their enmity against God and against His
Son Jesus. (verses 14-36) They felt no hunger or thirst for Jesus. Why?
They had a false God, a false religion. They were proud and self-
righteous. They felt that they could be righteous by the Law. They
felt no need for Jesus to save them from their sins. They refused to
confess their sins and their need for a Savior. The Jewish leaders
were not aware of their spiritual thirst, or they tried to satisfy it
in the wrong way.
We also are not always aware of our spiritual thirst or need.
We also often try to justify ourselves by the Ten Commandments. We
are not eager to confess our sins and failures and to say, "God, be
merciful to me, a sinner." You know how hard it is for an alcoholic
person to admit that he is an alcoholic. When a person joins the
Alcoholics Anonymous Association (AAA) he must stand up before all
the members and confess: "My name is John Doe, and I am an alcoholic."
It is hard for an alcoholic to say that. So it is hard for me to say,
"My name is August Hauptman, and I am a sinner, a helpless sinner."
Although it is hard, it is necessary. We must become aware of our
need, our thirst. That is the first step toward help and rehabilitation
for the sinner as well as the alcoholic. But when we become aware of
our weaknesses and failures to be good, holy persons as God wants, and
yearn for forgiveness and improvement, then we are beginning to feel
spiritual thirst, like Nicodemus (John 3), the woman at Jacob's well
(John 4), and Zaachaeus in the tree (Luke 19:1-10)
Are you thirsty? If your heart and spirit is not thirsty for forgiveness
and improvement, you are blind and ignorant. You do not know
the truth about yourself. I hope and pray that God will help us all
become aware of our great spiritual thirst. Then He can quench it.
Jesus tells us how to quench our spiritual thirst. He says in our text,
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink: (verse 37)
Come to Jesus. He has the water of life. Jesus told the sinful woman
at Jacob's well, "If you ask Me for a drink, I will give you living
water." (John 4:10) "Come to Jesus," means to believe in Him that
He is who He says, the Son of God who came from heaven to live and
die for the world's sin. When you believe in Jesus then you have
wonderful peace in your heart and soul because you know that God loves
you in spite of your sins and forgives you in Jesus. Your thirst is
satisfied in Jesus. One of our hymns shows this very beautifully.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
"Behold, I freely give
The living water; thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink and live."
I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream.
My thirst was quenched,
my soul revived,
And now I live in Him.
(TLH 277, I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say, verse 2)
But one big problem! We, ourselves cannot come to Jesus. The Bible
says, "No man can say that Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit."
(Corinthians 12:3) And Martin Luther says, "I believe that I cannot
by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or
come to Him, but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened
me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the one true faith."
(Luther's Small Catechism, explanation of the Third Article of the
Apostle's Creed). Spiritual thirst can be satisfied only by the Holy
Spirit. So-Jesus quenches our thirst by sending the Holy Spirit to
us. (verse 39) We cannot come to Jesus. But He can come to us.
In the Epistle Lesson, which I read to you before, it told how Jesus
sent the Holy Spirit to the first disciples. That was a wonderful
special pouring out of the Holy Spirit with special signs, the wind and
tongues of fire. Today He sends the Spirit through His Word and the
Sacraments (Baptism and the Lord's Supper). In the Word and Sacraments
we have the water of life which can quench our spiritual thirst and give
us new life in Jesus. So it is important for us to hear the preaching
regularly, attend Bible Class, read our Bibles daily and attend the
Lord's Supper often.
Then our thirst will be quenched and we will be able to bring the
living water of the Holy Spirit to others. In our text Jesus says,
"If you believe in Me, then from your heart will flow streams of
living water." (verse 38)
Many people are still thirsty. Also many deaf. Many are not aware
of their thirst. We whose thirst has been quenched and who now have
the Holy Spirit's water must go and bring it to the "thirsty ones"
in the world, that their thirst may also be quenched.
Are you thirsty? You are whether you know it or not. May the Holy
Spirit come to each one of us and make us aware of our thirst. May
He also quench our thirst and then live in us and use us to bring
the living water to many others who are still thirsty.
Amen.