The Thirst Quencher
Easter Sunday
April 12, 2009 (Palm Sunday)
Pastor Bill Bump
I Corinthians 15:1-4
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—-in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
John 4:14
“...but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 7:37,38
...Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
WHAT IS IT THAT WE THIRST FOR?
1. WE HAVE A THIRST FOR MEANING AND PURPOSE
Jesus declares he can satisfy our thirst for meaning, purpose and value.
2. WE THIRST TO LOVE AND BE LOVED
Jeremiah 2:13
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
God desires to rain down his love into our lives.
3. PEOPLE THIRST TO BE CLEAN, TO BE CLEANSED
The only way to get moral dirt washed away is through the work of Christ.
CONCLUSION:
John 7:37,38
...Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
SPIRITUAL SURVEY:
A = I’ve already opened my life to God’s cleansing and my thirst has been satisfied.
B = I’ve decided TODAY to open my life to God’s cleansing so my thirst can be satisfied.
C = I’m in the process of considering opening my life to God’s cleansing.
D = I have no interest in having God’s cleansing in my life or my thirst satisfied.
