Participants: Karen Thomas (Host), Pastor Kymone Hinds
Series Code: IAADD
Program Code: IAADD000040A
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00:27 Welcome to Issues & Answers.
00:29 Say, have you ever been so thirsty. 00:34 But outside is so hot, you have to... 00:36 Hold a second. 00:38 Have some more water and you're like, "Oh, man!" 00:41 Oh, no, I got to have some more. 00:45 Or have you ever wanted something 00:47 besides being thirsty? 00:49 Have you ever wanted something so badly that you can taste it? 00:55 Well, today we're going to talk about obey your thirst. 01:00 And our guest today is none other than Pastor Kymone Hinds. 01:04 He is a graduate. He's a native New Yorker. 01:07 He graduated from St. John University 01:09 in New York City with actuarial science. 01:13 Yeah. 01:14 And then the Lord called him to the ministry 01:16 and he attended Andrews University 01:18 and obtained a Masters of Divinity. 01:20 He was a former youth director for Central States Conference 01:24 of Seventh-day Adventist. 01:25 And he is now in Memphis, Tennessee 01:27 pastoring Overton Park Seventh-day Adventist Church 01:30 and is planting a new church journey fellowship. 01:33 Welcome to the program, Pastor Hinds. 01:36 Thank you. Thank you for having me. 01:38 I'm glad to be here. 01:39 So we get to obey our thirst? 01:41 Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. 01:43 Okay. What's that all about? 01:45 Well, you know, let me, let me start here. 01:47 Have you ever really had a really good dream? 01:49 I'm talking about the dream that 01:51 you're getting to do all the things you want to do 01:53 and in this dream while you're sleeping, 01:56 you're getting to the point of the dream. 01:58 It's the best part of the dream. 01:59 Yes. 02:01 And we're getting to the part where you win the game, 02:03 the part where you get the new house. 02:05 And all of a sudden your dream gets interrupted. 02:07 Yes. 02:09 I mean like your alarm clock goes off 02:10 or someone wakes you up. 02:12 Isn't that one of the most 02:13 frustrating experiences of life? 02:14 Yes. 02:16 As a matter of fact, at one time I was in the hospital, 02:17 and I was having this wonderful dream. 02:19 And you said that... I got waken up by the nurse. 02:22 It's time for your shot. 02:24 Now, what do you do to... 02:25 You know, what do you do when your, 02:27 when your dream gets interrupted? 02:28 I know what I try to do. 02:30 I try to go back to sleep, 02:31 to get the rest of the dream and it never works out. 02:33 It never works out. 02:35 And it's frustrating when 02:37 someone wakes you up out of your dream, 02:38 when life wakes you out of your dream. 02:40 Right. 02:42 But it's even more frustrating 02:43 when the dreams we have for life 02:47 are awakened dreams are interrupted by life. 02:50 When the things that we hope for 02:52 and we long for in life, 02:54 we just can't seem to have them. 02:55 Right. 02:57 And I feel like all of us have awakened dreams. 02:58 We have daydreams. 03:00 Dreams of things we want to do 03:02 and things we want to accomplish in life 03:05 or even as parents, we have dreams for our children. 03:07 Sure. 03:08 Things that we want them to accomplish 03:11 and just go on in life. 03:12 And just seems like there are times 03:14 when life interrupts our dreams. 03:16 So what do most people do when that happens? 03:19 You know, when our dreams get interrupted by life, 03:22 we substitute something else for the lofty things 03:26 that we were going after. 03:28 Instead of going after big dreams, 03:31 we begin settling for smaller things. 03:34 We begin just living life at a lower level. 03:37 We make a substitute. 03:38 You know, it's like if you can't find 03:40 what you're really looking for water. 03:42 Sometimes we'll substitute it for some drink 03:44 that may have lesser value. 03:46 Like soda. That's what we do. Yeah. 03:48 And there's a story in the Bible 03:49 actually about a lady 03:51 who had big dreams for her life, I'm sure. 03:54 But now it started settling for something less 03:57 and had substituted 03:58 for something a whole lot lesser. 04:00 And Jesus interrupts this, this substitute, 04:03 this settling of life 04:05 and begins to awaken a dream in her. 04:08 It's found in John 4. 04:10 John 4? Yep. 04:11 And it's the story that we call 04:12 "the woman at the well" story. 04:14 Okay. 04:15 That Jesus now comes in 04:16 and begins to awaken in her dream 04:19 that she had before. 04:20 It's John 4. 04:22 And here's how Jesus awakens that dream in verse 7, 04:24 He says to her simply give me a drink. 04:28 Well, it's just a simple line, "Give me a drink." 04:30 And here it is this lady was coming to the well at noon 04:35 when no one else is supposed to be there. 04:37 She comes to this well expecting no one to be there, 04:41 expecting no one to, to interrupt her 04:44 and to talk to her. 04:45 And Jesus has a plan to stop her 04:49 and to say to her, "Give me a drink." 04:51 Now, to you and I that's, that's no big deal. 04:55 But this lady begins to dialogue. 04:56 And she says to Jesus, who's a Jew, she's a Samaritan. 05:00 She says, "It's not the custom 05:03 that a Jew would ask a Samaritan to drink." 05:05 Now, now why are you having this dialogue with me. 05:08 And Jesus says these interesting words. 05:10 "If you only knew who was offering you this drink, 05:14 if you only knew the gift of God, 05:16 you would ask me give me a drink 05:19 and I would give you Living Water." 05:22 Jesus says, "If you only knew who you were talking to. 05:25 If you only knew what I had for you, 05:28 you would be clamoring for what I have. 05:32 You would, you would run to me and you would ask me for it 05:35 because what I have 05:37 is what you've been looking for all along." 05:39 Wow! Wow! 05:42 So what happens next? 05:43 I mean, so now, it's interesting 05:44 the woman begins to try to tell Jesus 05:47 this interesting thing, in verse 11. 05:49 I think it's something we all tell God from time to time. 05:52 She says in verse 11, 05:53 "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with 05:57 and the well is deep." 05:58 She says, "Jesus, I hear this offer 06:01 that you want to give me water. 06:03 You want to satisfy me. 06:05 But as I look at you, 06:07 You have nothing to draw water from 06:09 and the well is deep." 06:11 And in our lives there are parallels. 06:13 We sometimes tell God, "God, I see your offer of life. 06:16 I see your offer of blessing me. 06:19 But you don't understand my issues 06:21 because my pain is deep and my issues run deeper." 06:25 Yes. 06:26 You don't have what I need because what I've been, 06:30 I've been dealing with God is a whole lot deeper 06:32 than what you're able to handle. 06:34 You know, that, that's so true. 06:36 That's so true. 06:38 Sometimes life can just be overwhelming. 06:40 Sure. 06:41 And you just wonder, like you said, 06:42 you just wonder is it possible for God 06:44 to be able to address this particular issue in my life. 06:47 Sure. Sure. 06:48 I mean, let's, let's think about some of the issues 06:50 where we feel lonely, for instance. 06:51 Yes. 06:53 And we think, "God, you're offering me all of these things 06:56 that can satisfy me but after I'm done praying, 06:59 I'm still alone. 07:00 After I'm done praying, 07:02 I'm still going home to a house by myself. 07:04 You don't have anything to draw water with and my, 07:07 my well runs deep. 07:08 Yes. 07:10 You know, we say, "God, I know all of these solutions 07:13 that we've talked about. 07:14 But maybe that was good when I was a child. 07:16 When, when I was dealing with small problems 07:18 like someone didn't want to play with me at school 07:21 but now I'm dealing with grown up issues. 07:22 Right. 07:24 I've dealt with abuse some people are thinking, 07:26 I've dealt with rejection, 07:27 I've dealt with some of life's hurts 07:30 and I've even inflicted things on myself. 07:32 God, you have nothing to draw water with 07:35 and my well runs deep. 07:37 And we say, "God, I've been tired 07:39 of trying all the things that people say, 07:42 you should try a spiritual people. 07:44 I've been tired of, you know, naming it and claiming it 07:47 and reaching up my hands and grabbing it, 07:49 and God, I don't see it because maybe it's me. 07:52 Maybe my issues run too deep for God. 07:56 And I think like that woman, sometimes we think, 07:58 "Jesus, I see the offer, 08:00 but maybe I'm beyond the point that You can help me." 08:04 That is so true. That is absolutely true. 08:06 Yeah. 08:08 I don't know, I think, in all of us as human beings, 08:10 there is a part of us that feels 08:11 that maybe my issues are too deep for God. 08:15 I've felt that way. 08:16 I felt, "Maybe God, I'm too messed up. 08:20 I have too much baggage." 08:23 We've all felt, "Maybe God, you can help other people 08:26 but my well runs too deep. 08:28 And God, you can't get to the bottom of this. 08:31 You can't fix this." 08:32 And this woman is telling Jesus, 08:35 "You have nothing to draw water with 08:37 and this well runs deep. 08:41 And then Jesus says to her... 08:42 She says to Him, 08:44 "Are You greater than our fathers? 08:45 Are you greater than all the people 08:46 who thought they could help us?" 08:48 And then Jesus says to her, 08:49 "Everyone who drinks, verse 13, 08:52 of this water will be thirsty again. 08:54 But whoever drinks of the water 08:56 I will give him will never be thirsty. 08:59 The water I will give him will become in him a spring of water 09:03 welling up to eternal life. 09:04 Jesus says. "Here's what I'm going to do. 09:07 You come to this well to get water. 09:10 But when you come you go home 09:12 and you exhaust what you've taken home. 09:15 You come to a mountain and you worship 09:17 but when you go home, that experience is gone." 09:20 Jesus says, "I'm going to make this personal. 09:23 I'll put the well inside of you. 09:25 I got to tell you this. 09:26 You telling this story 09:28 is really touching my soul so much. 09:30 And it's true, you know, 09:31 I don't, I don't think of anybody 09:33 who's lived life long enough, 09:35 you're gonna have some serious disappointments. 09:37 You're gonna have some things that you feel like you've, 09:40 you know, that you felt that, that, you know, 09:42 you haven't quite made, met the mark. 09:45 But you're saying that God is 09:46 able to give us something that is, 09:50 that will supply that thirst in us. 09:52 That's right. 09:53 Because all of us have a longing, 09:57 that only God can supply. 10:00 We may run after other things 10:02 but God is the only one that can supply that longing. 10:06 And at our core level, there is, 10:09 there are just sometimes that we say, 10:12 "I'm not satisfied. 10:14 I have been coming to this well for the lady. 10:17 Well, I've been doing this experience. 10:20 I've been trying this thing. And I'm still not satisfied." 10:24 And Jesus says, "All of the things you try, 10:27 they're not personal but what I'm saying, 10:29 I want to come, put the well inside of you. 10:31 I want to give you something that not only satisfies you 10:35 but overflows out of you." 10:37 So we don't have to go to the well. 10:39 You're saying God is, 10:40 Jesus is willing to put the well inside of us? 10:42 Yes. 10:44 So we don't have to go and seek out the well. 10:45 Right. 10:46 Let me go, get this thirst quench. 10:48 Let me go over here. Let me try this here. 10:50 Let me keep looking over here. 10:51 You're saying, we' don't have to keep looking anymore. 10:53 Right. Now, let me, let me say this. 10:55 I'm a pastor. 10:56 And every week, I'm ministering to people. 10:59 And from time to time someone will say, 11:02 I'm just so broken down by life. 11:03 I just got to get to church to get filled up, 11:06 and that sounds great. 11:08 And we're glad that the church becomes a place 11:10 where people can find God and experience God. 11:12 Right. 11:13 But God is saying, "I want to do something 11:15 even greater than that. 11:16 I don't want you to come to religious services 11:18 each week empty." 11:19 Right. 11:21 "And get filled up and go out through the week 11:23 and get exhausted and, and emptied into life 11:26 and then come back." 11:28 God is saying, "I want you to live life on full. 11:31 I want you to live life where you're not coming to... 11:33 Live life of full. 11:35 That's right. I like that idea. 11:36 You're not getting your needle going down to E. 11:38 And then you come back to us, 11:40 worship service and you get back to F. 11:42 No, God is saying, "I want you to live life 11:45 on full to the point 11:46 where the supply is bubbling over out of you 11:49 and spilling out to others." 11:51 So can you imagine, 11:52 what would happen if everyone 11:54 received the well on the inside. 11:55 And we all came together, 11:57 what kind of experience we would have as believers, 12:00 as worshippers, as human beings 12:02 when all of us who are living life on full 12:05 because God is supplying us on the inside. 12:07 We're connected with others who are full 12:09 and we're just overflowing in love and just, 12:13 just the grace of God is flowing out 12:14 from us to others. 12:16 What would happen to us? 12:17 We would have one great wave that we could ride a wave. 12:20 That's right. That's right. 12:22 Now, what's interesting in this story is, 12:23 Jesus has just awakened a desire. 12:25 He just, you know, 12:26 He's just given her that dream back again. 12:29 And she says to Him, 12:30 "Sir, give me this water in verse 15. 12:33 She's like, ''Okay, I got it. 12:35 The dreams that I've had as a girl, 12:37 the dreams that I've been longing for, 12:39 I now see it. 12:40 Give me this water. I want that. 12:41 I don't want to keep coming back to this well. 12:44 Give me this water." 12:45 And you would think that Jesus will say, 12:47 "Okay, here's the water." 12:49 But something interesting happens. 12:50 In verse 16, He says, 12:52 "Go, call your husband and come here." 12:55 Now come on Jesus after all of this time, 12:57 you're trying to tell us how good the water is. 13:00 Sell her on the benefits of this." 13:02 Yes. 13:03 "You've been marketing this water. 13:04 I mean, you've packaged it so well, 13:06 that she says, I want to buy it. 13:08 And you go change the subject to say, 13:10 "Go, call your husband." 13:12 I mean, that's like, 13:13 if you, if you study marketing you don't do that. 13:15 You make the sale 13:16 and you complete the transaction. 13:18 Close the deal. Yes, right. 13:19 You close the deal. 13:20 Jesus changes the subject and says, 13:22 "Go, call your husband." 13:23 Now, I know in today's culture like 13:25 people don't want you to get in your business. 13:28 They don't want you to get up-close and personal. 13:30 This is Jesus now getting into her stuff. 13:33 And I would just pay money to see some people 13:36 what they would say to Jesus 13:37 if He said that to them at the well that day. 13:39 Oh, oh. 13:40 Like, uh-uh, Jesus, don't get up in my business. 13:42 We work fine when we were talking about water. 13:45 But now you're talking about my personal stuff. 13:48 And Jesus says, "Go, call your husband." 13:50 So she tries what we all do. 13:51 We divert, you know, we change the subject. 13:53 I don't have a husband. 13:55 Jesus says, "You're right 13:56 because you've had five husbands 13:58 and the man you're with now is not your husband." 14:00 I mean now, Jesus is getting really into her business. 14:03 Put her on blast. That's right. 14:05 He's all up in the Kool-Aid. He's right there. 14:06 Right. 14:08 And, and she, she says, 14:10 "Sir, I think you're a prophet." 14:11 Now what's interesting here is Jesus is offering her water. 14:15 He wants to satisfy her. 14:17 But before He gives her what will satisfy, 14:20 He wants to deal with the things 14:22 she's been using to substitute 14:24 what she's been really longing for. 14:26 So even though Jesus satisfies, He doesn't share. 14:31 He doesn't want to share with anything else 14:35 what only God should supply for us. 14:38 Explain that one? Now think about this. 14:41 This lady had been using relationships to satisfy 14:46 and to quench her thirst. 14:47 Right. 14:49 She had been going from relationship to relationship 14:51 to satisfy the longing that only Jesus could satisfy. 14:55 And Jesus is saying, "I want to, 14:57 I want to be that, 14:58 that one thing that satisfies you. 15:00 But before I do that, 15:02 I've got to address all the things 15:04 you've been using as a substitute for me. 15:07 I want to address the things you've settled on, 15:10 that you've been using to now, 15:13 make you not long for me as much. 15:15 I want to, I want to remove that, 15:16 I want to call that thing out. 15:17 Address the issue. 15:19 I want to address the issues 15:20 and Jesus does the same thing for us, 15:23 because all of us have things in our lives 15:25 that we've used to substitute for God. 15:28 Like what kinds of things? 15:30 Things like achievement. 15:32 You know, even good things, I am successful. 15:37 I do well in all the things that I put my hands to 15:41 and I have attained a certain level of just status. 15:45 And those things can sometimes become the things 15:48 that we substitute for the longing 15:51 that we really should have for God. 15:53 Amen. Amen. 15:54 I think even as a parent, it's so dangerous 15:56 that we can use our children 15:58 and their endeavors into things that we are pushing them after 16:02 to substitute for what only God can supply for us. 16:06 Wow, that's really powerful. 16:07 You know, there's a line. I want to just skip down. 16:09 There is a line here in verse 29 16:10 that I feel like it's so interesting. 16:12 You know, we know part of the story 16:14 and we get down to the part where the lady goes into town. 16:17 Right. 16:18 And she begins to tell others to come see Jesus. 16:20 Right. 16:21 And she says in verse 29, 16:22 "Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. 16:26 Can this be the Christ?" 16:28 Now listen to the word she tells to the people. 16:30 Jesus told me everything that I ever did. 16:35 Now, you read the dialogue. 16:36 We just read the dialogue. 16:37 The only thing Jesus told her about herself is 16:40 you've had five husbands 16:41 and the man you're with now is not your husband. 16:44 He didn't tell her about her upbringing, 16:46 didn't talk about what school she went to... 16:47 Right. 16:49 We don't know what career she had. 16:50 All we know is she's had five husbands. 16:52 And the one she's with now, that's not her husband. 16:55 And she describes that as all I've ever did. 17:00 And you know for all of us, there is a story of 17:03 all I've ever did because we all have a pattern. 17:08 Her pattern was I define myself by relationships. 17:12 And I go from relationship to relationship 17:15 because that's all I've ever done. 17:18 That's what I know. 17:20 That's the pattern I've gotten myself into. 17:22 That's what I use to satisfy the longings of my soul. 17:26 That's all I've ever done. 17:28 And all of us, Karen... Right. 17:30 I have it. 17:31 There's some things that I do, that's all I've ever done. 17:34 And our listeners 17:36 and the people are watching this. 17:37 Right. We all have a story. 17:38 That's, that's all I've ever done. 17:40 And for some people, we, we, it's, you know, 17:43 I try to get into relationship with someone 17:46 and if I'm out of a relationship, 17:47 I feel useless. 17:49 I'll go to another one that I may not, 17:51 that may not be good for me or good to me, 17:52 but that's all I've ever done. 17:54 How do we get caught up in that? 17:56 You know, it's just a cycle. 17:58 And we, and we, we find ourselves in the cycle 18:00 and we do it because that's all we've ever done. 18:03 And I think after a while, 18:04 we get tired of doing all we've ever done. 18:08 Yes. We get tired. 18:09 We just, we just get tired of 18:11 going from one thing to the next, 18:13 going from one person to the next, 18:16 one achievement. 18:17 And it's so empty, you know, you get to the top of the hill 18:21 and when you look down, you realize, 18:22 "Man, this hill isn't as high as I thought it was 18:24 and the view isn't as great." 18:26 Right. 18:27 But it's all I've ever done, so I chase the next hill. 18:30 You know, I make this accomplishment 18:32 and I hang it on the wall. 18:33 And it's not as shiny as I thought it would be. 18:36 And it doesn't give me as much points in my ego bank 18:39 as I thought it would. 18:40 But I'll chase the next one 18:42 because that's all I've ever done. 18:45 And Jesus says, "I'm here for you 18:48 when you're tired of doing all you've ever done." 18:51 Amen. Amen. 18:53 Because your thirst leads you to Jesus. 18:59 And when you obey your thirst, 19:01 you realize Jesus is the only thing 19:03 that satisfies us. 19:06 And so Jesus tells this woman, 19:08 "I don't want to share your allegiance, 19:10 I don't want you to think you can fulfill this need 19:14 with something else. 19:16 I want to show you that I'm the only one 19:17 that can fulfill this. 19:19 And so the woman says, 19:21 "I wanted Jesus, 19:23 I want whatever you have for me." 19:26 And it's interesting in this story. 19:28 What I love about this story is this woman 19:32 leaves her water pot behind 19:34 to go into town to tell people she's found Jesus. 19:37 Now, why did she come to the well, Karen? 19:39 She was thirsty. So she came for... 19:41 I'm assuming she is thirsty or she needed water. 19:43 She came for water. She needed water. 19:45 That's right. 19:46 But she actually forgets the reason 19:48 that she came to the well. 19:50 Right. Right. 19:52 You know, it's so interesting that 19:54 have you ever been doing something 19:56 and you're so fulfilled by that one thing 19:59 that you forget to eat. 20:00 Yeah. You forget to drink. 20:02 You're like, "Wow, I realize. 20:04 I've gone all day along 20:06 and I haven't even eaten anything. 20:08 I didn't realize I was thirsty 20:10 because whatever I was doing was so fulfilling. 20:12 So much fun. Right. 20:14 Or so fulfilling. That's right. 20:16 This lady had gotten... 20:18 When she grabbed the hold of the offer 20:20 that Jesus had for her, 20:21 she actually left behind the thing 20:24 that she had brought with her 20:26 to fulfill a legitimate human need. 20:28 She had become so satisfied what Jesus had offered her, 20:32 that her water pot, she left it behind 20:34 and she goes into town to tell everyone, 20:37 "I've found the thing that I've been looking for." 20:39 Wow! Wow! My thirst is quenched. 20:43 But can I tell you something else in that story? 20:45 Please do. 20:46 She wasn't the only one that was satisfied that day. 20:50 Look at the story. It's interesting to me. 20:53 The Bible tells us early on that Jesus gets to this well. 20:57 It says, He needed to go through Samaria. 21:00 Now, that's interesting words. 21:02 Jews never walk through Samaria. 21:04 Really? They would walk around. 21:06 They had so much strife between them and Samaritans 21:09 that they would never go through Samaria. 21:11 They would go the long way, you know. 21:13 You know, how it is when you are in, you know, 21:16 you don't, you're not getting along with someone. 21:18 You see them coming one way, you walk the long way around. 21:20 Right. 21:21 Well, Jews would actually walk the long way around. 21:23 How far was that to go out of their way? 21:25 Well, it was, it at least added hours to their journey. 21:27 Hours? 21:29 But Jesus says, I have to go through Samaria. 21:32 He had an appointment. 21:33 And He gets to this well with His disciples 21:37 where He sends His disciples away into town to get food. 21:41 Now, Jesus understands, you know, the disciples, 21:44 they couldn't handle certain things. 21:45 So He gets rid of these guys 21:47 before they mess up this whole thing. 21:49 He said, you know what? 21:50 Go get me something to eat. 21:52 Now, He probably is legitimately hungry. 21:54 So Jesus sends them away to get food. 21:58 And He has an appointment with this lady at the well. 22:01 This is not by accident. 22:03 This is a divine appointment that Jesus has set up 22:05 to meet this woman who is longing for Him. 22:09 So Jesus now meets her at the well. 22:11 And He offers her the living water. 22:13 He deals with the things that 22:15 she's been using as a substitute. 22:17 And after He does that and she goes into town, 22:20 who show up on the scene? 22:21 The disciples. 22:23 They come back. They come back. 22:24 And what are they bringing? 22:26 They're bringing food. Food. 22:27 They are like Jesus, "You sent us to get food. 22:29 We did it. Here's the food. 22:30 We got exactly what you like." 22:32 You know, I don't know what Jesus was looking for 22:35 but they brought exactly what He was looking for. 22:38 And when they come back 22:39 and they bring the food to Jesus. 22:42 They say to Him, "The disciples are urging Him, 22:45 saying, Rabbi, eat." 22:47 Verse 31. Jesus, eat. 22:48 The food is there. It's getting cold. 22:50 You know, we, we've brought it. 22:51 We walked fast. 22:52 We got exactly what you needed. 22:54 Eat something. Right. 22:55 Jesus says to them, verse 32, 22:58 "I have food to eat that you don't know about." 23:01 Now the disciples are saying to one another, 23:03 "Someone else brought Him food." 23:05 You know like, we didn't take that long. 23:06 I thought we came as fast as we could. 23:08 We went to the closest store. 23:10 How does someone else beat us to give Jesus food? 23:12 Right. 23:14 And Jesus says, "My food is to do the will of Him 23:17 who sent Me in to accomplish His work." 23:19 Wow! 23:21 So the lady leaves her water behind 23:24 and Jesus leaves His food behind... 23:26 His food behind. 23:27 Because the lady is satisfied because she's found Jesus. 23:31 And Jesus is fulfilled because He's found someone 23:35 who's been looking for Him. 23:38 See not only are we longing for God, 23:42 God has been longing for us. 23:45 And the reason we even desire God 23:48 is because He has been the one that has been desiring us. 23:53 Wow! 23:54 That's amazing. That's amazing. 23:56 So God really desires us as much as we need Him 24:00 and desire Him or He puts that desire in us like thirst. 24:03 That's right. 24:05 The God who we thirst for has been the God 24:08 who has been longing for us even before we knew it. 24:12 It says, "Jesus was the lamb slain 24:15 from the foundation of the world 24:17 before we were even created, 24:19 and before we even had a problem. 24:22 God provided a solution for us. 24:25 God says, "I'm longing for you 24:27 more than you've been longing for me." 24:30 And I don't know about you but sometimes in my low moments, 24:34 I feel God has given up on me. 24:37 God does not want me. 24:39 And I want, I need to be reminded. 24:42 We all need to be reminded 24:44 that we didn't come looking for God, 24:46 God has come looking for us. 24:49 When Adam and Eve sinned, 24:50 they were running away from God 24:52 but the Bible tells us that God came looking for them. 24:56 And maybe there is somebody 24:57 listening to this who might feel, 25:00 "I've gone to the end of the road. 25:01 I'm at that point in a road that says, 25:04 you know, no more. 25:06 I'm at the point of the road it says, failure. 25:08 God is disappointed in you. 25:11 God wants nothing to do with you." 25:12 And I want you to know, 25:14 when you get to the end of that road, 25:15 there is someone standing there and that's Jesus. 25:17 Amen. 25:18 He is waiting for you because He's been longing for you 25:22 more than you've been longing for Him. 25:24 Wow! 25:25 That's just, that's just really, 25:28 that really is amazing, amazing love. 25:31 You know, so much talk about love, 25:34 and met love matches, and love connections, 25:36 and all those stuff, you're saying that 25:38 there is a divine desire for a love connection. 25:41 That's right. That's right. 25:43 You know, we love God. 25:45 And we need to love God and God wants us to love Him. 25:48 But I think the thing that awakens our love for God 25:51 is understanding how much God loves us. 25:54 I mean God is crazy about us. 25:56 God desires us. 25:58 God is so attracted to us, 26:01 and God comes after us, and God says, 26:04 if you understand how much I love you. 26:07 How much I'm crazy about you 26:09 that you're the apple of my eye. 26:11 It will cause a love within you to well up for me. 26:15 God is in love with us. Oh, wow! 26:18 You know, I know that I would like to have prayer. 26:21 And I know that those 26:23 that are watching for you at home, 26:25 this has touched my soul. 26:26 I hope it has touched your soul as well. 26:28 I'm gonna ask Pastor Hinds, 26:30 if you would please offer prayer for all of us 26:33 that we're able to obey our thirst. 26:36 That' right. That's right. 26:37 God, we thank You. 26:41 We thank You that when life has caused this 26:43 to give up on our dreams, 26:45 that You've come into our lives and You've awakened that dream, 26:48 that longing within us that only You can satisfy. 26:52 God, we thank You for Jesus. 26:55 A Jesus who comes after us. 26:58 A God who comes looking for us when we run away from Him. 27:02 And a God who is not satisfied when there is one lost soul 27:07 and one lost person out there in the world 27:09 thinking there without hope. 27:11 But God you send Jesus, 27:12 if there were just one person in this world, 27:14 you sent Jesus for that one person. 27:16 Yes. 27:17 So God, I pray for that person who is watching this right now, 27:20 who may have been thinking 27:22 and been tempted to give up on their relationship with You 27:25 because they've messed up so badly. 27:27 Others are disappointed in them 27:28 and they're disappointed in themselves. 27:30 And they are thinking God 27:31 does not want to have relationship with me anymore. 27:35 But God, I want You to let them know that 27:37 You are in love with them 27:39 that You sent Jesus to die for them, 27:41 that You're longing for them. 27:43 And because You love them so much God, 27:45 You want to awaken within them a love for You. 27:48 So God, we accept the love that You've given us. 27:50 We want to receive 27:52 what You've done for us on the cross, 27:54 that You've sent Jesus to die for us in our place 27:57 and now you offer us His righteousness. 28:00 So God we accept it. 28:01 We thank You for the gift. 28:03 And we long for what You give us. 28:04 God, we want to obey our thirst 28:06 and understand that Jesus is that Living Water. 28:09 Thank you God, in your name we pray. 28:11 Amen. Amen. Amen. 28:13 Thank you so much for joining us today 28:15 and God bless. 28:16 Obey your thirst. |
Revised 2017-03-09