Sermon Outlines

By Frederick F. Schwindt, Evangelist

MAN'S THIRST FOR GOD
Part 1

1. Visualize, if you can, the Son of man standing up among the celebrating mass of worshipers:
   1. Crying, "If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink"
   2. Calling the attention of the worshiper to the fact that He is in truth the water of life
2. He knew that there were many in the crowd:
   1. Who had a thirst for God
   2. It is to these thirsty souls the Lord directs His appeal

1. The doctrine of Christ as the living water runs through the early chapters of the Gospel of John:
   1. The water that was turned into wine - the first miracle of our Lord - John 2
   2. The water of the new birth - John 2
   3. The living water - John 4
   4. The cleansing at Bethesda - John 5
   5. The miracle of Genenesaret - John 6
   6. And the invitation to thirsty souls as recorded in our text
2. Thirsting for God runs through the Bible:
   1. Says the Psalmist, "Thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures. For with thee is the fountain of life" - Ps. 36:8-9
   2. "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?" - Ps. 42:1-2
   3. In Psalms 63; he speaks of a dry and thirsty land where there is no water" - read Psalms 143:6
   4. The prophet Isaiah tells the believers that "with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation" - Is. 12:3
   5. Note, prayerfully, the special promise of the Lord, "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places and fountains in the midst of the valleys. . . " - Is. 41:17-18

1. To come to the church of the living God:
   1. "And the Spirit and bride say, Come, and let him that heareth, say Come, and to him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" - Rev. 22:17
   2. This heavenly invitation is made possible by the living faith of the Christian believers of them the Son of God says, "He that believeth on Me as the scriptures hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" - John 7:38
2. Thus God invites all who are thirsty for God:
   1. To find fountains of living water in the lives of all who have al living connection with Jesus Christ our Lord
   2. What a challenge such an invitation brings to us as the professed believers of the word of God
3. But, and this is very important to realize, the water of life has reference to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit:
   1. "But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive" - John 7:39
   2. And think of how this promise found a rich fulfillment on the day of Pentecost - Acts 2
   3. Three thousand were baptized in one day
   4. Then, we must not overlook the promise of the early and the latter rain - Jer. 5:24; Hos. 6:3; Zech. 10:1
4. All this heavenly blessing is attached:
   1. To the earnest and persevering prayers of God's children - "Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain" - Zech. 10:1
   2. That was the way the Lord poured out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost - it was the answer to ten days of earnest prayer by the early disciples - Acts 1:8-12; 1-17
5. Thirsting for God:
   1. Means that we make earnest prayer a must in our daily life
   2. It means that we allow nothing else to break our connection with the fountain of life