“A limited opportunity to drink.”
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John 7:25-39
“A limited opportunity to drink.”
My hope is that at the end of this message you will strengthen you conviction:
-that Jesus is Lord,
-that the time to make a decision to follow Jesus is limited,
-and those who do follow Jesus find deep satisfaction.
Read John 7:25-39
Pray
Opening - Who is Jesus?
Was Jesus a liar, a lunatic, or is He Lord?
Those in our passage had to make that decision. You have to make that decision.
Short context -
Our passage today begins with ...
-Jesus going to Jerusalem late during the Feast of Booths.
-The feast of booths was one of 3 big celebrations during the year.
-During the feast of booths the Jews celebrated how God took care of them when He freed them from Egypt and they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years living in tents.
-People would be excited.
-The atmosphere during the week would be that of combining the social excitement of being at the state fair and spiritual excitement of Easter morning and worship.
-Lots of great social and spiritual energy.
-There would be hundreds of thousands of people in Jerusalem.
-The floor of the Temple would be filled with a crush of people.
-It seems that Jesus came late to allow the festivities to get started so he could slip in unnoticed by the religious leaders.
-We find Jesus today in the Temple teaching.
-He can’t help, but to go to the most crowded place and tell people how great His father is and how the people can be saved.
There is a warning in our passage today that Jesus gives the people.
It’s our big idea - Stated in a sentence it is...
Those who reject Jesus have very little time to receive his blessing.
Transition - To be a Christ Follower, you have to make a decision about who Jesus is.
In our first point, the people had to answer a question.
John 7:25-31, “Will I accept Jesus as God or reject Him?” The Rejection of Jesus -
We are talking talking about the Identity of Jesus. Who He is.
Can I ask you a very personal question - Who is this man named Jesus?
C.S. Lewis asked it this way.
Who would you say Jesus is? Is Jesus a Liar, a Lunatic, or is He Lord?
For the average blue collar Jew ....
There was a popular belief in that day that the Messiah was going to appear in the Temple, no one will know where He came from, and would lead His people in victory over Rome - as a warrior King.
BUT - Jesus, The man before them wasn’t this man who came out of no - where. He didn’t look like a warrior king. They knew his mother and father were Marry and Joseph. They knew where He came from.
-This would have made Jesus a liar. He was not the Messiah as He claimed to be.
Transition - The religious leaders painted Jesus as a crazy man, a Lunatic.
The religious leaders thought He was a threat to their religious customs. Their religious hierarchy, the way they viewed God. Jesus was a threat to their way of doing things. He was accused of having a demon in Him.
They painted Jesus as a lunatic.
The religious leaders claimed that Jesus wasn’t to be trusted because He was out of His mind. A demon was controlling him, like a marionette.
The narrative of the religious leaders was that Jesus was a lunatic.
John 1 tells us this about Jesus rejection.
John 1:10-11
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Transition - Interesting enough there were some religious leaders like Nicodemus who we will find out later did not think Jesus was Lunatic.
-Nicodemus fell into this 3rd category.
Those who believe in Jesus as Lord
While the large majority of people rejected Jesus, many believed in Him.
They did believe that He was the Son of God.
They did believe that He could forgive sin.
They did trust their entire life to Him.
My friend, Have YOU trusted your life fully to Jesus?
Do you believe ...
-That Jesus has paid the price for your sin on the cross.
-That He has saved you from the condemnation of sin.
-That He is the final authority over your life.
For those of you who have fully trusted Jesus, are you regularly giving all of yourself to Him?
Is Jesus a liar, lunatic or is He Lord?
Transition - Accepting or rejecting Jesus will have a massive impact on your life.
Acceptance and rejection in general can change your life.
Illustration - There was a time in my life where a rejection changed my life.
-I dated a young lady in High School for a year. Eventually the relationship ran its coarse.
Unfortunately, I saw the end of the relationship before she did and broke up with her. But for a 16 year old, a year long relationship is a big deal.
-In hindsight, that was a relationship I should not have been in.
-That rejection was a good rejection. A rejection that effected my life in a good way.
There were many times when an acceptance changed my life.
-Acceptance to college.
-Meeting Susan and her accepting me. Both of these acceptances radically changed the trajectory of my life in a wonderful way.
Transition - There is nothing that will change you life more powerfully accepting Jesus and rejecting this world!
Pause
There are some observations I want you to see in this first section.
Observation 1
-Vs. 31, God will always keep a remnant.
-While most people rejected Jesus, God always has a remnant of believing people that He has kept secure.
-God wants you to be His remnant.
-In Our Culture, Where Jesus and His followers are rejected, God has asked that you be part of the few that trust Him and Follow Him, and represent Him here in this broken world.
Observation 2
-vs. 30, God’s plan trumps the human will
The religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus, but no one could touch him.
-Why wasn’t Jesus arrested???
-The religious leaders had their own special police force . There were plenty of Temple police when Jesus was in the Temple.
-There were thousands of people who could have jumped on Jesus and taken Him into custody right then.
-But they couldn’t. They couldn’t.
-Why? God’s plan trumps the human will.
-Someone may say, God would never violate the free will of a person.
-God did that day. It was impossible for the leaders to do what they desired to do.
-What those who rejected Jesus wanted to do would interrupt God’s plan.
-Jesus hour for arrest and crucifixion had not come. It wasn’t time yet.
-The will of man will never overcome the plans of God.
-God can easily overcome the will of man.
-God does what God wants, when He wants to do it.
Transition - But today what do we see in the heart of most people. The rejection of Jesus.
The most wonderful and perfect person on earth was rejected by those He created and loved.
Those He came to offer forgiveness to, those He came to heal - rejected Him.
Pause
Transition - Then Jesus gives a warning in John 7:32-36
Read John 7:32-36
2. II must receive Jesus before it is too late. The Availability and Opportunity of Jesus????, John 7:32-36
Where I am, you cannot come. Where did Jesus go? To His Father in heaven.
Jesus was saying to those who rejected him. You cannot come to heaven. If you die in your sin and unbelief, heaven is not open to you.
The doors of heaven are bolted shut to unbelievers.
Hell is all that remains as the just punishment for sin.
In our culture if you do not murder or molest children you are considered good and going to heaven.
That is not true. Most people do not go to heaven.
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Most people take the road that leads to eternal destruction - in hell forever.
God limits the time that you have the opportunity to trust Him as Savior.
Genesis 6:3. God says, “My spirit will not always strive with man...” There is a limit.
It is possible to seek too late, to seek at a time when the Lord will not hear.” That’s why the prophet Isaiah says,
Is 55:6 “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He’s near.”
How many times have you been warned to do something, and you ignored the advice.
Illustration - Have you ever been warned to fix a car or change the oil, or fix a leak in a roof or pipe, but you put it off. In the long run it cost you more?
-You didn’t heed a warning.
-Jesus gives a warning here.
-I’ll be here a short time and then I will be gone.
-You cannot come with me.
-Trust in me before it is too late.
Transition - There is a too late for us today as well.
The scriptures tell us that we will not know the day or the hour that Jesus comes back to judge the earth.
42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
You do not know the day that you will die. You are not promised tomorrow.
You say, I’ll decide tomorrow. You could walk out of this church and die today.
-Illustration, This afternoon at 2pm will be the funeral service for Tony Pennington. Friday morning at 7:15am Tony woke up, happily said good morning to his family, sat down in his recliner, gasped for air, and died on the spot. He had a catastrophic medical event.
-Tony did not expect to die that day. His sons did not expect him to die that day.
-We are not promised another day on this earth.
If you have not decided to follow Jesus, you may never get another opportunity. Say, Yes to Jesus today! Turn from you sin today!
When you DO turn to Jesus, Here is what John tells us ...
John 1:12 “12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,”
Transition - When you follow Jesus. There is great blessing & gifts that God extends to you
Transition - We we see 2 gifts in verses 37-39, in our third point ...
3. The blessing of Jesus’ Water
Read, John 7:37-39
Vs. 37 Jesus yelled out loud - John 7:37
John 7:37 (ESV)
37 … “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
Illustration - The offering of water at the Feast of booths - Carson.
On each of the seven days of the Feast, a golden pitcher was filled with water from the pool of Siloam in Jerusalem. It was carried in a procession led by the High Priest back to the temple.
Then the water was poured out before the Lord in morning worship.
This “Water Rite” symbolized the fruitfulness that only rain could bring.
It symbolized the grace and provision of rain by God.
God was worshiped because He brought rain and provision.
God brought physical life to the Jews through water.
God is ultimately the one who literally quenches the thirst of the body.
We don’t know exactly when during the day Jesus proclaims his words.
In my sanctified imagination, sometime close to when the water rite was done and the opening morning worship traditions were finished - Jesus stands up - Yells out ver loud - drawing attention to himself and says, verse 37
YELL THIS WITH HANDS UP
English Standard Version Chapter 7
If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
With thousands of people present, Jesus proclaims that He is the living water.
That He will satisfy the spiritual need to satisfy the thirst of our soul.
-When you have faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is deposited in you, He satisfies your spiritual thirst.
-Christ Follower, YOU are given one of the greatest gifts the moment you believed.
-The presence of God’s Himself in you, in your soul.
Not only would you the Christ Follower receive God’s Spirit in you, but God’s Spirit would do such a work in you that He would use you to be a blessing to others.
Read verse 36
God does not intend for you to be just a receiver of His blessings.
He intends for you to receive and then to be a giver of His blessings to others.
-You are to minister to others.
-You are to love others.
-You are to encourage others.
-You are to pray for others.
-You are to pray for others.
-You are to disciple others.
-You are to serve others.
-You are to share Jesus with others.
God’s Spirit works in your life so that you are a spiritual blessing to others.
Out of your heart flow rivers of living water.
The fruit of the Spirit flow out of your heart and you bless others.
You are blessed so that you can be a blessing to others
Who in your life is God calling you to be a blessing to?
Pause
Summary - In our passage today Jesus warns us. If we want to be a spiritual blessing to others, we must make a decision to believe in Him and follow Him knowing there is very little time left to make this decision.
There is a Limited Time To Drink from the Well of Christ.
Close -
I want to close with these 3 questions -
Have everyone bow their head and close their eyes.
What do you believe about Jesus? Do you believe that He is a Liar, a Lunatic, or that He is Lord?
-If He is Lord, are you following Him?
2. Are you living for & believing in Jesus like your time is limited? That you could be removed from this earth any minute?
3. God has given you His Spirit, Who has He called you to be a blessing to? Who is He pressing you to minister to?