Encouragement

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If Anyone Thirsts – Part 1 (John 7:37-38)

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

This message is an open invitation from Jesus who has made it possible for us to experience holy hydration in the power of the Holy Spirit. Religion leaves us dry and thirsty and working hard to please, but Jesus gives us the ever flowing water that refreshes and restores. Friend, are you thirsty and longing for more? There is a River that never runs dry. A River that flows from the mountain of the Most High”. However much you drink of His love, there is always more, and still some more! Jesus promised the people who were gathered in the synagogue that day that they could be filled and flowing in the limitless and glorious power of His Spirit and He says the same to you and me today. What an offer! What a promise, but how do we step into this amazing River?

THIRST. Jesus said “If anyone thirsts”. We can drink as much as we might desire. There is no limit to how much we can drink of our limitless God and no one can stop us having more, except ourselves. How thirsty are you for the living water? How tired are you of the same old same old? Plans and programs are all very good but they cannot take us into the depths of the River, where we can freely drink. Jesus is calling you to dive in and take a deep drink of His presence today. He has more for you than you ever imagined – all the wonderful glory of heaven - and you begin to see it when you get thirsty and drink! Maybe your heart feels dry and you know there is something missing, but you are not really feeling a thirst. You can get thirsty by beginning to drink. When you taste of the presence of God, you begin to thirst for more. In the natural realm, your thirst ceases when you take a drink of water; but when you taste of the reality of the Holy Spirit, you begin to want more and still more! It excites a thirst deep within you which will never be stilled, so long as you keep coming back to drink from the River. You can drink forever of His presence and never stop! So taste and see that the Lord is good. The more you have, the more you want, and the more you want, the more He fills you – it is an amazing dynamic that can change your life forever! God wants to fill His thirsty kids with the ever flowing River that comes from His glorious throne. He has more in store!

Perhaps you are thinking back to the times you used to be really thirsty and hungry for the presence of God and wondering why you do not feel that way anymore. It could be that you drank progressively less of the presence of the Lord until you stopped feeling any thirst at all. Or maybe you have been trying to get rid of an unwanted habit or addiction, or a situation with sin. The answer is to get filled up with God! Paul wrote to the Ephesian church (Ephesians 5:18) that they should get filled with the Holy Spirit rather than getting drunk on wine. This was his formula and it works!

The Lord is calling you into sweet communion with Him once more, dear friend. He wants you to set aside time to drink of the River again, and see the glory of His presence filling you with abundant love and joy. As you hunger and thirst for the sweet presence of Jesus, you are heading for higher ground. There will be more of Him and less of you!

Friend, believe that your breakthrough is just around the corner. Whatever you have been seeking can be found in His presence. Draw near to Jesus and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). Seek Him and you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). As you hunger and thirst for the Lord and His righteousness, you surely will be filled (Matthew 5:6), but only to hunger and thirst once more, hallelujah! May you be richly refreshed and filled anew as you learn to tap into the unending Source, and to drink forever from the glorious Rivers of the waters of Life. “Come sweet Holy Spirit, and fall afresh on me. I am so thirsty for the waters of life.”

Minoli Haththotuwa, 19 August 2014
www.risingonwings.org

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