Drink Deep

[0:00] Amen. You may be seated. Children, you must stay. You are forbidden to leave.

[0:11] ! All right, if you would open up your Bibles to John, the Gospel of John. It's on page 1061 of your pew Bible, and as you're opening, I must exhort you, stay hydrated. It's warming up outside. I love it. We're going to be outside more. We're going to be active. You've got to stay hydrated. Now, your body will let you know when you need water. You get thirsty.

[0:45] Your mouth runs out of saliva. You get parched. You get sluggish. You get a headache. Your body is telling you, you need water. Did you know your soul tells you when you need living water? A living water that only God supplies. So your soul, your inner being, it will let you know when you're parched, when you're soul-drouted, that you're desperately soul-thirsty. Now, here are some indications of soul thirst. Purposelessness. Why am I here? Hopelessness. What do I have to look forward to? Deep discontent. There's nothing that can make you happy. You can't find satisfaction anywhere. Now, the world, and when I say world, I'm not talking about the planet. I'm talking about what John talks about the world, and he defines it. It doesn't define it. It's defined this way. The world is sinful humanity in organized rebellion against God. The world offers to satisfy your soul thirst with its own soda fountain, and it's got multiple options on it. I love soda fountains. I love going to Culver's. I love having options. Zach Melgren loves the root beer.

[2:35] I go straight for Coke Zero. The world has its own soda fountain of sugar water. Materialism, pleasures of various kinds, self-reliance, working on your appearance, your to-do list, and there's so much more. But the deal is, with any kind of soda, this is why we don't let our kids drink gallons of soda or pop. It's just carbonated sugar water. It doesn't do anything for you. You can't survive on sugar water. This morning, Jesus offers your soul not sugar water. He's going to offer your soul living water. And this living water hydrates your inner being forever. It satisfies you in ways that the world's options just can't. So you need to drink deep of the living water that Jesus alone gives. And so we're going to walk through John chapter 7. We're going to tackle the whole chapter.

[3:58] We're not going to be here until 3 in the afternoon. Don't worry. What we have here are four interactions between Jesus and other people.

[4:11] And we see Jesus' dialogue, and then we see this mixed response in each one of them. And what we need to ask is, what do these conversations that were had over 2,000 years ago, what does that have to do with us today? Well, are you thirsty?

[4:32] So we're going to quickly make our way through these four interactions and see what Jesus alone offers your soul. So interaction number one. I'm not going to read through these in full. I'm going to point some things in order to conserve time. Just point as we go. Interaction number one. It's in chapter 7, verses 1 through 13. It's between Jesus and his biological brothers, which you may be surprised to hear. Jesus has biological brothers and sisters. So if you looked up, you don't need to go there, but Mark 3, 21 and 31. But particularly Mark 6, verse 3, we learn that Jesus has four biological brothers and a couple sisters at least. And we're even told the names of those four brothers, and two of them are James and Jude. These are half-brothers, born to Joseph and Mary after the conception, miraculous conception and birth of Jesus. But in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 7, we're given kind of the back story, the setting of the scene. Jesus has just spent the last several months in

[5:43] Galilee, and that's northern Israel. But he hasn't been going down to Judea because we can see it in verse 1, the Jews were seeking to kill him. Now, that's not new. If you go back to John 5, verse 18, we read, this was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him. Because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.

[6:12] So Jesus has been kind of biding his time to go back to Judea because he knows he's not necessarily welcome there. In verse 2, we learn something else. Now, the Jews' feast of booths or the feast of tabernacles was at hand. Now, this is one of the Jews' kind of like three high festivals. There was Passover. There was the feast of weeks, which was 49 days after Passover. And then there's the feast of tabernacles. It was an eight-day feast. And it was to commemorate God's provision, his life-giving provision for Israel while in the wilderness. They would build these makeshift kind of shacks out of twigs and stuff like that to kind of replicate their wilderness experience and God's provision of them. And so what I want you to see here is that that feast is in the background of all of chapter 7.

[7:12] So let's get to this conversation. In verses 3 and 4, Jesus' brothers present Jesus with an idea. Here's how it goes. Hey, Jesus, you know, we know you want to get your thing off the ground.

[7:31] So how's this? You bring your miracle show, bring it down to Jerusalem for the feast of booths because everybody's going to be there. They're coming from Israel and around, and the big theological hitters are going to be there. And so you just kind of roll out some of your miracles, and you will make a name for yourself, brother. Come on.

[8:03] Look how Jesus responds. In verse 8, the beginning of what Jesus says, excuse me, verse 6, he says, my time has not yet come. And at the end of verse 8, he says, for my time has not yet fully come. He's like, guys, I can't. My time hasn't fully come.

[8:20] And what Jesus is getting at is he's operating off of a different time frame as his brothers. Jesus is on kingdom time, on God's time, on mission time.

[8:33] His brothers are working off the world's time, as in sinful humanity and organized rebellion against God.

[8:45] So Jesus has the cross on his mind. He's got God on his mind. God's plan of salvation on his mind. He's got God's timing on his mind.

[8:58] His brothers are just thinking, hey man, how can you make a name for yourself? Let's do what everybody else does. Let's gather a crowd. Make a name for yourself.

[9:09] Go big. In verse 7, Jesus tells his brothers that they are of the world. Look what he says.

[9:23] The world cannot hate you, brothers, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. Again, the world is sinful humanity and organized rebellion against God. And so Jesus is telling his brothers, hey, you're aligned with the world.

[9:38] Of course they're going to welcome you. Of course it's your time. You're drinking from the soda fountain of the world. Not me though. I speak to the world the wrongs that they're doing.

[9:54] And we're going to see two examples in the next interaction. So wait on it. what we're seeing here is that Jesus will not compromise God's ways for the world's ways.

[10:07] His brothers are part of the world. And Jesus is like, nope. I know you're drinking from the carbonated sugar water of the world among God's time.

[10:22] The response that we see is mixed. Jesus in verse 9 remains in Galilee. Verse 10 his brothers go up to the feast.

[10:35] Verse 11 there are these Jews these are the same Jews from verse 1 who are seeking to kill him. They're asking the question where is he? And they're not asking that question because they want to have coffee with Jesus.

[10:48] They want to kill him. Where is he? So you have this hostility directed towards Jesus. You have these brothers who are kind of doing things the world's way.

[11:02] And then if you go on you see this. Verse 12 and there was much muttering about him among the people. There's a lot of Jesus talk going on but nobody's going public with it because look at verse 13 yet for the fear of these Jews who want to kill Jesus no one spoke openly of him.

[11:18] The Jews the authorities of the time had a real kind of like tender spot when it comes to Jesus so everybody's just kind of talking about Jesus hush hush. But we also see these other other kind of responses.

[11:34] Verse 12 he's a good man. Others says no he's leading the people astray. So all I want to see here is that Jesus walks he's going to eventually go down to Jerusalem but he's on God's time and then there's already talk about him and we have a lot of mixed views and postures of heart towards Jesus.

[11:54] Now before we move on I just want to make you see something. People's posture of heart towards Jesus 2,000 years ago hasn't changed much.

[12:07] There was a variety of responses to Jesus 2,000 years ago as it is today. We have a lot of people with a lot of different views of Jesus. A lot of mixed responses and what I want to help you to see is how Jesus steps right into that and he's going to make an invitation to live.

[12:27] That's the first interaction. The second interaction is in verses 14 through 32. It's an interaction with a number of different people.

[12:39] In verse 14 Jesus purposefully has waited to go down to Jerusalem because he's going to go down to Jerusalem privately not publicly. So if he were to go down at this point and walk into Jerusalem or ride into it on a donkey it's not God's timing yet.

[12:56] That's going to be six months from this moment. So Jesus goes down privately after the feast has begun and he waited in a similar way as he waited with Lazarus' death chapter 11.

[13:10] He's got he's got something on his mind he's on God's time. In verse 15 the Jews who wanted to kill him they hear him teaching.

[13:24] So Jesus shows up mid feast and he begins teaching in the temple and the Jews who want to kill him they hear him and they are like whoa this is impressive and they ask how is that how is it that this man has learning when he's never studied he didn't study under Gamaliel he didn't graduate from the Jerusalem Theological Seminary how is this possible?

[13:50] This isn't something that they're saying with like oh man we've never heard this before and we are in awe we're marveling we're going to fall at his feet this marveling is mixed with disdain how can this guy teach like that?

[14:10] Jesus responds in verses 16 through 24 he starts talking my teaching is not mine but his who sent me Jesus' response to their questions is hey just to let you guys know what I'm telling you I didn't come up with on my own this isn't my authority with which I'm telling this I learned this from the one who sent me my father God I've been with him I've seen him I've heard him and I'm just communicating to you what he says in verse 17 if anyone's will is to do God's will if you want to do God's will Jesus is saying if that is your heart's desire you will hear that what I am saying is from God Jesus goes on to say the one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true and in him there's no falsehood

[15:24] Jesus is like I'm here to proclaim the glory of my God my father and I'm not I'm not kind of pitching you falsehood here I am speaking the truth I am true and if you would just look down at verse 28 Jesus says the same thing of his father he who sent me is true this is a claim of divinity now in verse 19 Jesus turns up the heat a little bit and he starts exposing the evil of these worldly leaders has not Moses given you the law verse 19 yet none of you keeps the law why do you seek to kill me so they're saying where did you get all this stuff how can you teach like this you want to kill him and what Jesus brings out is a zing he's like hey has not

[16:29] Moses given you the law you know the law that you go to great lengths to obey and to require other people to obey and he goes on to say yet none of you keeps the law if you were one you'd be like oh yeah where and he says why do you seek to kill me he calls him out he says hey you are actually in your hearts breaking the command thou shall not murder you see what Jesus is doing he's exposing their hypocrisy he's testifying to these worldly religious leaders of their evil works they're murderous I mean Jesus just walks right in and he starts dropping dimes the crowd verse 20 hears what Jesus says and they're like you have a demon why would our leaders want to kill you they're actually blaspheming

[17:40] They're attributing to Jesus something that is not true but they're also showing their ignorance that they're in the dark of what their leaders are actually doing these people were in the dark in 21 through 24 Jesus isn't done he testifies to another evil that these leaders are doing another hypocrisy in verse 21 he says this I did one work and you all marvel at it the one work he's talking to about is what happened in chapter five where he shows up on the Sabbath in Jerusalem and he heals a man who's been paralyzed for 38 years he heals!

[18:26] him and everybody responds the Jewish leaders are like huh that's law breaking you're working on the Sabbath you're healing him Jesus is like hey there's this one thing I did and you guys got all bent out of shape over it and Jesus now presses in on it he goes on to say I did one work and you will all marvel at it Moses gave you circumcision not that it's from Moses but from the fathers Abraham and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath so according to the eighth day following his birth and it didn't matter what day the eighth day fell on if the eighth day fell on the Sabbath they would still circumcise their son on the Sabbath so what Jesus is bringing up is a little conundrum for them and then he makes a lesser to greater argument track it he goes okay you guys in order to keep the law you are circumcising your sons on the eighth day even when it falls on the

[19:37] Sabbath I healed a guy I didn't remove a little foreskin I healed his whole body I brought full Sabbath to this man and you're getting angry of word he says you gotta recalibrate you gotta rethink what you're doing verse 24 is a rebuke do not judge by appearances but judge with right judgment he's like do you guys not see what you're doing Jesus comes right after him he walks into Jerusalem to the temple begins teaching and calls out the Jewish leaders I love him there's no one like him the response is in verses 25 to 32 again it's a mixed response in verses 25 to 27 some in Jerusalem they actually know that the authorities were seeking to kill

[20:41] Jesus some did not some did and look what they say is not this the man whom they are seeking to kill and here he is speaking openly and they say nothing to him can it be that the authorities really know that this is the Christ what they're what they're saying is it's a little bit of a conspiracy theory they're like hey wait hold on a second this is the guy that they want to kill look at he's preaching!

[21:07] he's teaching and they're not doing anything to stop him why aren't they stopping! do they know that he's actually the Christ but they're not telling us? in verse 27 we see some ignorance but we know where this man comes from and when the Christ appears no one will know where he comes from that some rabbis were teaching at this time that when the Christ comes nobody is going to know where he's from but what we know from our Bible is that the Christ will come from Bethlehem so there's ignorance here we have some people saying hey wait a second maybe he is the Christ others but they don't know where he's from verses 28 and 29 Jesus chimes in again he goes you know me and you know where I come from but I have not come of my own accord he who sent me is true in him you do not know

[22:10] I know him for I come from him and he sent me see one of the things that you see throughout this gospel is Jesus is consistent he's consistently telling people who he is where he's from that God has sent him so they seek to arrest him in verse 30 but it's not his time they can't lay hands on him 31!

[22:38] Yet many of the people believed in him but it's not the kind of belief we're talking about because they're still asking questions when the Christ appears will he do more signs than this man has done so there's some question over who he is check out verse 32 the Pharisees heard the crowd muttering these things about him uh-oh we've got some interested parties in Jesus let's send out seal team six and the chief priests and Pharisees sent officers to arrest You know why?

[23:16] They want to shut him up they don't want people listening to him so here in this interaction this extended interaction we see Jesus just showing up in Jerusalem and making some just bold statements to the Jewish authorities there's marveling but with disdain there's some confusion about maybe he is the Christ what we see is these mixed responses it's the same with today mixed responses but we have a savior who shows up and speaks boldly interaction number three chapter seven verses thirty three through thirty six brief section I'll be brief on it because the action comes the next one the

[24:18] Jews send in a SWAT team a SEAL team six to get Jesus to shut him up but but Jesus doesn't stop in verses thirty three and thirty four he starts talking about his departure it's really the first time in John he starts talking about his departure like this I'll be with you a little longer and then I'm going to him who sent me you will seek me and people hear that and they have no idea what Jesus is talking about do you remember Nicodemus when Jesus says hey you need to be born again and Nicodemus is like what huh I gotta go back into my mama it was he was misunderstanding it he thought Jesus was talking about literal rebirth where Jesus is talking about a spiritual rebirth remember the woman at the well Jesus offers her living water and she is like but you need a bucket the well is deep she is like no not that kind of living water it's spiritual life even in the last chapter chapter six where

[25:28] Jesus is talking about that he is the new and better manna the bread of life and he says and this bread is my flesh eat my flesh drink my blood and people are like gross cannibalism but that's not what he's talking about he's talking about a radical dependence on him so it is here Jesus is misunderstood that they hear him talking about going away that they're not going to be able to find him and they assume that it's somewhere on the planet where verse 35 where does this man intend to go and that we will not find him does he intend to go to!

[26:09] dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks that's a reference to the Jewish diaspora of the Jews who went all around the Greco-Roman empire is he going to go out to them to teach them these things there's just a whole lot of questions going on here Jesus raises questions one of the things you need to know about Jesus is he's always been controversial always mixed responses it's possible to misunderstand him today that's interaction number three and finally interaction number four Jesus doesn't stop remember this is all taking place during the feast of tabernacles he's shown up mid feast and in verse 37 we now learn it's the last day of the feast this past week

[27:09] I read something interesting that that during this eight day festival there was a water pouring right in the temple every day for the first seven days a priest would pour out water from a golden goblet with all the people gathered to see and so they're coming out of their stick booths that they've built remember this is kind of a reenactment of the wilderness journey and they come out and they see at the temple the priest pouring out the water and it was a picture of life God's life giving provision during their wilderness years it's quite a picture but on the eighth day the great day the culminating day they didn't pour out water from a golden goblet they prayed for rain they prayed for harvest rain but whether it's coming from a goblet or coming from heaven it's got everything to do with life giving water so in

[28:23] Jesus says verse 37 if anyone thirsts it's carrying a lot of freight if anyone thirsts he's not talking about physical thirst he's talking about soul thirst being parched in your inner being saying things like why am I here what what possible good is the future holding for me why can't anything satisfy me so amidst all of these mixed responses in Jerusalem Jesus makes this incredible invitation if anyone thirsts if anyone is thirsty of soul he stands up and cries it out if anyone thirsts on the eighth day of the feast he's saying he is the new and better water

[29:37] God's new and better provision for thirsty people in the wilderness anyone thirsty in the room have you have you come to the point where you've realized that what the world has to offer in its little soda fountain that it can never satisfy you it actually leaves you more thirsty there's all sorts of sugar water out there!

[30:16] materialism fame power pleasures of all sorts productivity are you trying to drink from your to-do list entertainment water this sugar water doesn't satisfy our souls it leaves us more thirsty more soul parched so Jesus says if anyone thirsts come to me way back in Isaiah 55 listen to what Jesus not Jesus well Jesus is fulfilling these words come everyone who thirsts come to the waters and he who has no money come buy and eat come buy wine and milk with money without money and without price you see what

[31:18] Jesus has to offer no one can buy why do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy!

[31:29] listen diligently to me and eat what is good and delight yourselves in rich food incline your ear and come to me here that your soul may live and I will make with you an everlasting covenant my steadfast sure love of David a new covenant with the giving of the Holy Spirit in fullness Jesus makes this invitation if anyone is thirsty come to me and drink I hope you're asking this question right now how do I drink that how does that work well look at verse 38 Jesus tells us how to drink come to me and drink whoever believes in me that's how we drink whoever believes in me whoever trusts in me whoever comes to me in faith that's how we drink what

[32:42] Jesus is offering it cannot be bought it's an offer of grace this eternal life that Jesus is offering and this is eternal life this living water it's a gift you can't earn it there's nothing that you can possibly do to secure this soul quenching living water it is a gift how do I drink you partake of this water by faith and look at the result in verse 38 as the scripture has said out of his heart will flow rivers of living water out of his heart will flow rivers of living water it's it's not outside in it's inside out these rivers of living water this is this is where elsewhere Jesus will say this is abundant!

[33:44] life this is this is sourced in us and it flows out it overflows what is this what is this self perpetuating river flowing out of me that Jesus gives me and fulfills the scriptures verse 39 we're going to learn more about the Holy Spirit later in the book of John but John says now this he said about the spirit whom those who believed in were to receive for as yet the spirit had not been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified when Jesus dies and is raised he ascends to heaven and in Acts 2 the Holy Spirit is poured in full this living water this eternal life giving this new birthing is the

[34:46] Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity it is he is the gift the life giver Augustine said our souls are restless until they find their final resting place in you our souls are thirsty until they find their soul satisfying quench in you God this is quite an invitation Jesus has walked into Jerusalem and he's confronted the men who oppose him and in the midst of all this mixed responses and postures of heart towards him he offers life and the response is mixed verse 40 is he a prophet verse 41 is he the Christ there's confusion in verse 42 where is he from isn't he supposed to be the Christ come from Bethlehem verse 43 there's division

[35:47] Jesus always brings controversy in verse 44 some want to arrest him but again they can't lay hands on him because it's not his time because he's on kingdom time in verses 45 through 52 seal team six shows back up you know what happens seal team six shows up without Jesus and the authorities are like where's Jesus and seal team six is we haven't heard anybody speak like this before do you see what's going on here the authority of the Jews have just been totally upended and then they're like wait wait are you deceived too does anybody know the law you know what there's no one in the authoritative realm here in Judea that would follow him and then

[36:49] Nicodemus says who's one of the Sanhedrin shouldn't we let God's word the law determine what we do next again it's a reversal turning things upside down this is the fourth interaction where Jesus makes this extraordinary and exclusive claim so here we are 2026 looking at four interactions that took place 2000 years ago so what there's four ways that this makes a difference first Jesus is unstoppable he's always on God's time not just while he was on earth but while he's in heaven he's building his church all around the world right now he's right on time and his day is set when he will return so

[37:51] Jesus is unstoppable two don't be surprised when you experienced mixed responses just as Jesus then experienced mixed responses even from his brothers so too we will experience mixed responses from people now we'll experience image bearers in our lives even people under our own roofs who are indifferent about Jesus who are suspicious about Jesus who are hostile towards Jesus or even open towards Jesus we'll experience them all but what we love about Jesus is he just walked right in nothing to hide bold and clear faithful he's on kingdom time he offered water living water to everybody around him we do too we get to offer what

[38:57] Jesus offers to everyone and it matters because everybody's thirsty everybody wants to drink something everybody wants to satisfy their souls in something the third way that this makes the difference is for you if you're a non Christian in the room if you're in the room and you have yet to put your faith in Jesus you need to start drinking deep of this living water that Jesus alone offers he is offering you this today just as he did 2,000 years ago he offers it to you today because he's alive!

[39:39] He's risen! He's reigning on have you come to see that the soda fountain of the world doesn't get it done so if you're a non Christian in the room and you are thirsty it's time to take Jesus at his word will you come to Jesus and drink deep of the soul satisfying living water he alone offers it starts with this forgive me Lord Jesus for drinking from fountains that do not give life and then you say give me life give me life and at that moment your eternity changes drink deep the fourth way that this makes a difference is if you're a

[40:43] Christian keep drinking deep of this salvation Jesus offers poured out by the Holy Spirit if you are a Christian and you're parched of soul you've got soul drought you know what you need to do you need to repent because chances are you are drinking from a fountain that cannot give life you've made a cistern for yourself a broken cistern Jeremiah 2 that that's just full of sand so you say forgive me Lord Jesus forgive me for drinking from this this gives me nothing and then you turn back to Jesus again and say Lord Jesus fill me afresh revive my soul with your spirit again and again pour out your spirit afresh upon me spring up oh well within my soul why does this matter because everyone in the room is thirsty and only

[41:54] Jesus can satisfy let me close with a poem titled thirsty what will quench this thirst today what should I drink first a Facebook reel may do the trick but after drinking that I feel sick more stuff will this soul quench no it piles up godward stench maybe likes will my inner itch scratch but likes work more like a nicotine patch productivity a brimming to-do list been there done that just a mist ah yes i'll drink up first thing conditioning but no gym delivers a body from death sting kids activities our cup overflows god who!

[43:06] ! woes. Why can't these things quench my thirst? It's because nothing in all creation can come first. Fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit flowing, a joy inexpressible that defies all knowing.

[43:23] I am the clay. Jesus, you are the potter. Today, fill this broken vessel with living water. What will quench this thirst? Today, what should I drink first? If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Let's pray. God in heaven, we are a thirsty bunch.

[43:49] Would you pour out your Spirit upon us and fill our souls forever, satisfying us forever, God, we ask that you would richly bless us with new fullness of your Spirit. In the name of Jesus, amen.