IF ANYONE THIRSTS
OR
COME AND DRINK
SUNDAY MARCH 7, 2021
Scripture To Consider:
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts let him [or her] come to Me and drink. He [or she] who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his [or her] heart will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”
“Therefore, many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, ‘Truly this is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Christ.’ But some said, ‘Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?’”
“So there was a division among the people because of Jesus. Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands of Him.” John 7.37-44
Something To Consider:
This Scripture to consider took place, “On the last day, that great day of the feast.” The Feast of Tabernacles was first instituted by God in Leviticus chapter 23, beginning in verse 33, as written by Moses; “Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, saying: “The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation [an assembly of the people]. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it.”’”
This feast took place in the seventh month of Tishri of the Jewish calendar. The Georgian calendar’s equivalent is September-October. This Feast was in essence a mandatory eight-day holiday from customary work. It was also a celebration of God’s bountiful blessings that He had bestowed upon the nation of Israel during the time of harvest or the ingathering of seasonal crops.
On the first day and the eighth day of the feast there was to be a holy convocation, or a sacred assembly of the people giving thanks unto God for His provision. We are instructed in Psalm 100.4; “Enter into His [God’s] gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise; be thankful unto Him, and bless His name.”
Something Else To Consider:
Thankfulness is a most necessary attribute of a true Christian believer. The Psalms are inundated with admonishments commanding us to be thankful. Psalm 30.4 declares, “Sing unto the Lord, O you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.” And in Psalm 69, the writer proclaimed, “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving.”
And again, in Psalm 92.1 the Psalmist affirmed; “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Your name, O most High.” Are we obeying the commandments of God to be thankful and to praise His holy name?
Something More To Consider:
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts let him [or her] come to Me and drink.” After seven full days of religious activities, combined with much eating, drinking, and gathering together to give thanks, Jesus offered to all who were still spiritually thirsting, to come to Him and drink.
He reaffirmed the promise made to God’s people and spoken through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 44.3; “For I will pour water on him [or her] who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offering”. Jesus confirmed Isaiah’s words by stating, “He [or she] who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his [or her] heart will flow rivers of living water.”
But a person must first come to Jesus in order to be filled, thereby enabling rivers of living water to overflow to others. In other words, we cannot give of that we have not first received! Therefore, as sinners separated from God by our iniquity, have we come to God and to the cleansing blood of Jesus?
In 2 Samuel 24.10, we find David confessing his sin before God. We are told, “And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people [something God had commanded he was not to do]. So David said to the LORD, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.’”
A Few Final Words:
The wisest man to have ever lived, explained in the first half of verse 13 in Proverbs chapter 28; “He [or she] who covers his [or her] sin will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” It is extremely important from a biblical perspective, to confess our sins, iniquities, and trespasses! Our attitude should always be as the tax collector of Luke 18.13; “God, be merciful to me a sinner!”
But let us notice what Solomon declared, writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit in the second half of Proverbs 28.13; “Whoever confesses and forsakes [forsakes their sin, iniquity, and trespasses] will have mercy.” Entering a confessional booth and being humanly absolved by a man in a robe has no bearing whatsoever on true confession and the forsaking of our sin.
Confession in and of itself is simply an attempt to ease our own conscience. And from an eternal aspect the process is just an act of self-righteousness. According to Jesus, if our sin has caused us to be thirsty for true forgiveness we must come to Jesus and drink of the water of His Word which will give us new life in Christ.
Hungering and thirsting after God’s righteousness by drinking the water of His Word, brings about abundant overflowing blessings in the lives of believers. And according to Jesus and our Scripture to consider, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him [or her] come to Me and drink’.” Have we come to Jesus by way of His Word today? And if not, why not?
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, draw us as believers to the headwaters of the Word of God, that we might freely drink and be set free to an overflowing capacity. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 