NavNight Talk-- 1.3.2011

We return to Jesus's earthly ministry:

Jesus went
Jesus taught
Jesus preached
Jesus healed

This week we will focus on the third part of his ministry, his preaching. Remember that teaching and preaching can be distinguished by the part of the soul that they address. Teaching is compared to light in a dark place; it addresses the mind. Preaching, however, addresses itself to the will, drawing forth the conclusions brought to light by the teaching.

Preaching is where they offense comes in, preaching is where Jesus entered the lives of the people he spoke to. Preaching has the character of a command, or instruction, and as such it cannot be passively heard. To be passive under preaching IS to respond. This is the nature of things. If I say to you, "Do this," it is impossible for you to stay neutral. You either do it or you refuse. Inactivity is refusal. Jesus denied everyone the opportunity to remain neutral towards him by preaching.

Text: John vii.37-38

37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."

Jesus's preaching is general but not universal. He speaks generally to the masses in the temple for the Passover feast. However, his preaching by nature of being confined to one place and one time is not universal.

1. The condition of those he address: "If anyone is thirsty..."

Thirst has four parts.

A) A lack of moisture--This is an intolerable condition leading to death.

B) An awareness of it--No matter how dire a man's condition, we cannot say he thirsts unless he is aware of his lack. Hence Christ, "Blessed are the poor."

C) An awareness of the possibility of being satisfied--Simply the awareness of a lack of moisture does not breed thirst; it would breed simply despair. Thirst also stirs the soul into seeking a remedy.

D) Knowledge of the location of this satisfaction--Water will satisfy our lack of moisture. Therefore thirst motivates the soul to seek after water.

Now, the sum of Christ's teaching is to create in man a thirst. First, he revealed to man the dangers of his spiritual condition, his extreme poverty through sin, and the death that awaits all who disobey the law. Second, he presented himself as the Messiah, the sent one, the one through whom forgiveness and new life would come.

His message: You are thirsty and I am water.

If his listeners were not convinced of these two things, all his preaching was useless.

2. The call, or the invitation

In two parts:

A) The voice

Every call has a voice, every command comes from a commander, a speaker. In this case, it is the voice of God which addresses us in the call. When we read Jesus say, "Come to me," in the Word, it is the voice of God itself which addresses us.

Now, not everyone perceives it to be God. Hence the diversity of responses. Jesus says, he who has ears let him hear. If Christ calls, and you hear in his voice the summons of God, you will respond. Our response to any voice is based on our perception of the authority of the speaker.

B) The command

We can call this a command, because the one who speaks it has the authority of a king. But we can also call it an invitation, because the one who speaks it is filled with tenderness and love surpassing our understanding. He entices and commands in the same words.

The words of his command are simple: "Come to me and drink." This is to believe in him with the faith that ushers to soul into his presence. This is to seek in him the remedy for what bestirs the soul. Are you thirsty? Here is water. Are you hunger? Here is bread. Are you weary? Here is rest. Are you sick? Here is healing. Are you enslaved? Here is freedom.

Come to me and drink, you who are thirsty. Why would we summon them thus unless in him WAS the water that could satisfy their thirst? This is metaphor of course, a powerful one because of the nature of thirst, but to the soul in need of life, Christ summons you. Here is forgiveness and the new birth. Here is hope. He calls because he possesses it to give, and because he is willing to give.

Anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those that seek him. Believe these two things about the call:

--The call comes from God, it is an invitation from him who has all power.
--That in responding, you will receive full satisfaction. Your needs will be fully met.

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This is not once, but constant. What is it to come to Christ?

1. To seek in him the satisfaction of all desires (and its corollary: to not seek in other things the satisfaction of any desire).

To whom does your heart belong? Life is given only by Christ. Where else do you seek it?

2. To take the yoke of Christ upon yourself.

To come to Christ is to be his, and to not come to other things. No one who places one hand on the plow and yet looks back is fit for service to the kingdom of God. His yoke is easy because it is a conformity to the design in which he made us. A thing longs to be as it was made. And so you long to fill yourself with that which alone can fill us. Insatiable desires set upon eternal things give eternal fulfillment. A desire satisfied, said Solomon, is a tree of life.

Come to him once and forsake all other things. Throw off the world, which entices with empty lies. Throw of the flesh, which fogs the senses in empty and vain pleasures. Throw these off and pursue the greatest thing. Come to Christ, once, constantly, forever.