Thirst Quencher
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Shepherd Me
“Thirst Quencher”
July 14, 2019
Introduction
We are in the middle of a series entitled, “Shepherd Me.” In this series, we are going line by line, phrase by phrase through .
Read Text (NIV)
Verse 1 sets the stage for this entire Psalm. The Lord is my Shepherd. God need to guide our lives. God needs to take the lead in our lives.
I shall not want. Only God can meet the greatest needs in our lives. For God to meet our greatest needs, we must surrender ourselves to him. The Lord is my Shepherd.
In verse 2, we begin to see how God meets our greatest needs. Last week, we look at the first phrase in verse 2 and talked about how God provides rest for our souls.
Today, we are going to look at the second phrase in verse 2. (Put Verse on Wall)
Illustration: Gatorate — top brands in the world
Created in 1965 by a team of scientist from the University of Florida to rehydrate their student athletes.
More than 100 billion ounces of Gatorade are sold in the United States each year, which means that approximately 12.2 million bottles of Gatorade.
Gatorade Slogans: Thirst Quencher
This phrase in verse 2: He leads me beside quiet water symoolizes God leading us to have our greatest thirst quenched.
1. Our thirst for God.
(NKJV) As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
That is the desire of all humanity. Most people do not realize that their deepest desire is God.
Illustration: Failing to Realize Something
Most people do not realize their deepest desire is for God. But is the desire of all humanity.
The desire for God is written on the human heart. Human beings have an insatiable thirst for God.
Philip Keller said, “All the long and complex history of earth’s religions, pagan worship, and human philosophy is bound up with this insatiable thirst for God.”
Human beings have an insatiable thirst for God.
Saint Augustine of Africa summed it up so well when he wrote, “O God! Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our souls are restless, searching, ’til they find their rest in Thee.”
Our greatest thirst in life can only be quenched by having a relationship with God and experiencing salvation in Christ.
There is a story in John’s Gospel in which a woman from Samaria came to a well to draw water. This woman was searching, seeking. Something was missing in her life. She was thirsty.
She encountered Jesus. Jesus offered her living water. Jesus offered to quench the Samaritan woman’s greatest thirst.
(NKJV) 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.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst …
The living water that Jesus is referring to is salvation that comes through Jesus’ death on the cross. The living water that Jesus is talking about is a personal relationship with the God of the universe. Salvation in Christ, a restored relationship — that’s what all of humanity is searching for, longing for.
(NKJV) 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.
(NKJV) And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
Salvation in Christ, a restored relationship with God — that’s what all of humanity is thirsting for, searching for, longing for.
Before we move on to point 2, there is a word here for the Christian in verse 2. Quiet waters or still waters not only speak of quenching thirst but also refreshment.
Illustration: July 4 parade — Cool Down
As Christians, we need spiritual refreshment. We live in a weary and exhausting world. We need spiritual refreshment. Sometimes, we need spiritual refreshment. There are numerous ways that we get spiritual refreshment: worship, Sunday School, Bible study. But I want to mention in particular a daily quiet time. Think of quiet waters or still waters as our daily quiet time. A quiet time is time set aside each day for prayer, Bible reading, reflection.
A daily quiet time is so important. It keeps us spiritual refreshed and nourishes. It brings a sense of calmness and peace to our hectic and chaotic days.
Recap: God leads to quiet waters. God shows us the way in which our greatest thirst is quenched. God shows us the way to salvation, a restored relationship with him. For Christians, God leads to quiet waters where our souls can find refreshment through worship, Bible study, fellowship, and a daily quiet time.
2. We try to quench our thirst in all the wrong places.
(NKJV) As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
That is the desire of all humanity. Most people do not realize that their deepest desire is God.
So, we try to quench that thirst for God in all the wrong places.
When sheep are thirsty, they become restless and set out in search of water. If not led to the good water supplies of clean, pure water, they will often end up drinking from the polluted pot holes where they pick up such internal parasites as nematodes, liver flukes, or other disease germs.
Same is true of us as humans. We will drink from any source trying to quench our thirst for God. A lot of times we drink from the wrong places hoping to quench our greatest thirst.
Here are the some of the wrong places that we drink trying to quench our greatest thirst.
If I can find love and acceptance, I will be fulfilled.
Maybe, you are an athlete in High School and your thinking that if you could get that starting job or get that win or get that championship, I will be fulfilled.
Maybe, you are a student, and you are thinking that if you get good enough grades to get in the best college, then I will be fulfilled.
Or maybe we think ...
If I make enough money, I will be fulfilled. If I have financial security in retirement, I will be fulfilled.
If I check every thing off my bucket list, I will finally find fulfillment.
We look for fulfillment is art, culture, music, movie, hobbies, community involvement, success, and the list goes on and on.
I think back to the Samaritan woman at the well in . She was searching, seeking. She was thirsty. She had looked for fulfillment in love. She desperately wanted to be accepted. But something was missing. She was looking for fulfillment in the wrong places. She was drinking from all the wrong places. She didn’t find fulfillment. Her greatest thirst in life was not quenched until she met Jesus.
Same goes for us. We can have all the money. We can cross off everything on our bucket list. We can have success. We can be involved in community efforts. We can get in the best college. And something can still be missing if we don’t have Jesus. Our greatest thirst in life can only be quenched by God.
(CSB) For my people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves—cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.
The book of Jeremiah is a compelling picture of what happens we try to quench our thirst in all the wrong place. The pictures is one of broken lives, shattered hopes, and barren souls
Keller: Christ, our Good Shepherd, made it clear that thirsty souls of men and women can only be fully satisfied when their capacity and thirst for spiritual life is fully quenched by drawing on Himself.
Unless we have Jesus, stay focused on Jesus, there will always be something missing, a thirst that can’t be quenched.