THE MAKING OF A GREAT CHURCH #8
THE THIRSTY CHRISTIAN
DATE:
TEXT: Isaiah 44:3, 4
INTRODUCTION
The death knell of any Church or Christian is Apathy and
Complacency
Ill. Someone gave this definition of complacency:
“Complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes
a drain on the brain. The first symptom is satisfaction with things as
they are. The second is a rejection of things as they might be. ‘Good
enough’ becomes today’s watchword and tomorrow’s standard.
Complacency makes people fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and
abhor the new”
Ill. The great pianist, Paderewski, achieved tremendous popularity
around the world for his playing. Yet, he was never satisfied with his
playing. He said, “There have been a few moments when I have known
complete satisfaction, but only a few. I have rarely been free from the
disturbing realization they my playing might have been better.” The
world considered Paderewski’s playing near perfection, but he
remained unsatisfied and constantly was trying to improve.
When it comes to being a Great Church …
There needs to be a Thirst for greater things
When we become content with things as they are
We will cease being a Great Church or a Great Church
member
The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
A Great Church member is one who is Thirsty to see God do
more
When we cease to be Thirsty we will cease to see God bless
In Isaiah 44 we see God’s promise that He “will pour water
upon him that is thirsty”
Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 – “Blessed are they which do
hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be
filled”
The condition in these great promises, to enjoying and
experiencing God’s blessings, is being Thirsty
I’d like to look at this great promise and consider the matter
of being Thirsty
Let’s pray and then I want us to answer this question
Am I “A Thirsty Christian”?
I. “BOTHERED” BY THE DRY CONDITIONS
To illustrate the intensity of the Thirst that is described in
our text …
The Bible uses the image of “dry ground”
This Dry Ground is ground that is Parched and Barren
because there has been no rain
Its ground that’s in desperate need of rain
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
Ill. During the 1930’s, a severe drought struck the heartland of
American. During the drought, the fertile soil of the Great Plains dried
out and became dust. The topsoil was literally blown away by the wind
forming large black clouds. The wind driven soil blackened the skies
as far east as Chicago. And at one point made its way to Washington
D.C. It became known as the Dust Bowl. It was a major ecological
and agricultural disaster that left more than 500,000 Americans
homeless. Some residents of the plains, especially in the Kansas and
Oklahoma area, fell prey to illness and death from dust pneumonia and
malnutrition.
Spiritual Conditions can get just as Desperate
What are these Spiritually Dry Conditions?
First, the Dry Ground speaks of:
A. Spiritual ‘Deprivation’ (state of poverty)
The reason for the Dry Condition described, is the Lack
of Rain
Rain in the Bible is a type of the Blessings of God
When the Children of Israel were preparing themselves to
enter into the Promised Land …
Moses described the land in Deuteronomy 11:11 –
“as a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh of the water
of the rain of heaven” It was not a land of Dry Ground …
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
But one that was watered by the rains of heaven
The land was described as a land “flowing with milk and
honey” –Exodus 3:8
Moses was telling them that it was a Prosperous Land,
one that was Fruitful and Productive
It was a land Blessed by God, for His people
Then we read of the warning given in Deuteronomy
11:16, 17
“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not
deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and
worship them;”
“And then the LORD’s wrath be kindled against you,
and He shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and
that the land yield not her fruit”
The result of turning away from God would be no rain
upon the land
Which in return, would cause the land to become “dry
ground” and unproductive
Dry ground is always due to a lack of rain
And the lack of rain was a sign that God was withholding
His Blessings
Spiritual ‘Deprivation’
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
Furthermore, this Dry Ground speaks of:
B. Spiritual ‘Desolation’
When there is a serious lack of rain, and Drought
Conditions exist …
The land becomes Desolate
The grass turns brown, the crops dry up, the fields waste
away, and the soil loses the nutrients that are essential to
sustain the crops
Ill. The U.S. Drought Monitor has five levels of drought. D0
which is abnormally dry; D1, moderate drought; D2, the drought is
severe; D3, the drought is extreme; and D4, the drought is
exceptional.
If we are not careful the Spiritual Drought Conditions can
get to a D4 in our Church or in our Christian’s life
Ill. In the mid-1800, the U.S. was at a spiritual, political, and
economical low point. You could say that things were at a D4
level. Many people had become disillusioned with spiritual things.
Church attendance was at an all time low. Rationalism was
sweeping the country. Higher Criticism of the Scriptures was
taking place in Europe. The Transcendental Movement was
growing. Known as the Romantic Age, traditional Christian beliefs
were held in less favor by the so-called educated Americans. The
liberalism and empty traditionalism of the Church did not help.
Adding to the low spiritual conditions; agitation over the slavery
issue had bred much political unrest. A civil war seemed imminent.
Financial panic hit as banks failed, railroads went bankrupt,
factories closed, and unemployment increased. It was time of
hopelessness and despair in our country. Again, you could say that
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
the Spiritual drought conditions were at a D4 level.
The Thirst that is described in our text implies that
Someone is Bothered by these Dry Conditions
We should be Bothered when heaven is shut up and there
is no rain, whether it’s personally or nationally?
It should cause Someone to be Disturbed
We should be “Bothered” by our Spiritually Dry
Conditions
Secondly, we not only see Someone Bothered by the Dry
Conditions
But we also see Someone:
II. “BURDENED” FOR A DIFFERENT CONDITION
A Thirst indicates that Someone Desires a change in the
Conditions that exist
They are Bothered by the fact that there has been no rain and
the ground is parched
They are Thirsty for rains from heaven that will change the
conditions as they are
Of course the promise that God gives speaks of a Spiritual
Change
The Thirst that is described is a Thirst for:
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
A. A Divine ‘Visitation’
The promise of God is – “I will pour My Spirit upon thy
seed”
This Thirst is for an outpouring of God’s Spirit upon the
people
The word “pour” speaks of an overflow
It’s a Thirst for more than a shower here and there
The ground is so dry there is a need for “floods upon the
dry ground”
The day of Pentecost was a Great and Glorious Day
There was a Mighty Outpouring of the Spirit of God
I know that technically we can’t have another Pentecost
for there were features about the day of Pentecost that
have passed and were unique for that particular event
However, we are in Desperate Need for a Mighty
Outpouring of the Spirit of God in both our nation and on
our Churches
Our Churches may be the largest ever in recorded history
 From the World’s Perspective
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
Never has there been a time when the Church was as
successful as it is today
However;
 From a Divine Perspective
This generation is living on “dry ground”
This is a generation that has never experienced a Mighty
‘Visitation’ from God
This thirst is also for:
B. A Divine ‘Manifestation’
The Promise of God was not only that He would Pour
Water upon someone that is Thirsty
But that He would also pour “My (His) blessing upon
thine offspring”
His “blessing” speaks of God being at work, making
Himself known, and working in the midst of His people
This is a Thirst for not only –
A Visitation of the Presence of God, but also
A Demonstration of the Power of God
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
Ill. As I mentioned, the mid-1800’s were a time of Spiritual
Drought Conditions in this country. The answer was what we now
know as the Second Great Awakening. The Second Great
Awakening was a unique revival in that it was a series of revivals
in different locations. As with all revivals, it started when certain
ones got thirsty to see a change in the dry conditions that existed.
One example was Jeremy Lamphier of New York City. He had
been hired by the Dutch Reformed Church in lower Manhattan to
spearhead a visitation program to halt the declining membership.
His efforts were for the most part unfruitful. People were listless
and unresponsive to his visits. Burdened by the conditions he
found, he rented a hall on Fulton Street in New York and began a
noon prayer-meeting.
The Second Great Awakening, like all other revivals,
found its roots in people crying out to God (prayer)
 Things were Desperate around them and
 Things got Desperate within in them
They got Thirsty
This Thirst is more than a Desire to get a sip of water
It is a Craving in the heart for rain from heaven!
Ill. Let me show how desperate we need to be. In 1996, a young
marine corporal named Joey Mora fell overboard an aircraft carrier
patrolling the Iranian Sea. His absence was not realized for 36
hours. A search and rescue mission was begun, but was given up
after 24 hours. It was believed that no one could survive in the sea
without a lifejacket after 60 hours. His parents were notified that he
was “missing and presumed dead.” However, four Pakistani
fishermen found Mora 72 hours after he had fallen from the ship.
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
He was treading water in his sleep, clinging to a makeshift flotation
device made from his trousers. He was delirious when they pulled
him into their fishing boat. His tongue was dry, cracked, and his
throat parched from being in the sea water and not having water he
could drink. Later, when interviewed by Stone Philips of NBC
Dateline, he recounted an unbelievable story of determination and
the will to live. He said it was God who kept him struggling to
survive. He told Philips that the one thought that took over his body
and pounded in his brain was “WATER!”
When someone gets Spiritually Thirsty there is a
Pounding in our heart and souls for rain from heaven
They crave the Divine Visitation and Manifestation that
can only come about by a change in the Dry Conditions
that exist
Lastly, in the Words of God’s promise I find not only
One that is “Bothered” by a Dry Condition and
Someone who is “Burdened” for a Different Condition
But also Someone who is:
III. “BLESSED” IN THE DIVINE CONDITION
Notice once again the promise that God gives –
“For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods
upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed,
and my blessing upon thine offspring:”
“And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows
by the water courses”
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
God is telling us what He will do for someone that is Thirsty
Instead of Living in a Dry Condition …
They are brought to the place where they can live in a Divine
Condition
We see that this Divine Condition is one in which the:
A. Water Flows Freely
Whereas, there has been no rain, leaving everything Dry
and Desolate
v.4 tells us that the water will flows in courses
The word “courses” speaks of streams
The land is now flowing with streams of water
Furthermore, in this Divine Condition we see that the:
B. Grass Grows Fully
V.4 also tells us that where there had been a dry and
barren land
Now the grass grows like willows on a river bank
Everything has been changed
The rains from heaven have fallen and the land that had
been as a desert not beams with life
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
Ill. Let me once again refer back to the Second Great Awakening.
I mentioned Jeremy Lamphier and the noon prayer-meeting that he
called. He placed a sign out announcing that prayer-meetings
would be held each day at noon. On that first day, September 23,
1857, only 6 men showed and they were late. However, they began
to pray. By the third week there were 40. That number increased to
over 100. By the spring of 1858 thousands were meeting each day
to pray. The rains fell and in New York City alone, it was reported
by the newspapers that there had been over 50,000 conversions by
May, 1858, some eight months from the time the prayer meetings
started. The Christian History Institute gave this description of the
results of the Second Great Awakening. “All classes became
interested in salvation, backsliders returned, conversions increased,
and Christians desired a deeper instruction in spiritual truths.
Families established daily devotions, and entire communities
underwent a noticeable change in morals. Preaching, which in
many places had become intellectual and lifeless, now concentrated
on the truths of the Gospel of Christ and His cross. As James
Buchanan of Scotland summarized it, it was a time when ‘new
spiritual life was imparted to the dead and new spiritual health
imparted to the living.’”
I pray, GOD DO IT AGAIN!
We need Rain from Heaven poured out upon the Dry
Ground
God’s promise is that when we get Thirsty …
He will pour Showers of His blessings upon us
Great Church members are Thirsty Church members
They are not satisfied to live life on the Dry Ground
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The Thirsty Christian – Isaiah 44:3, 4
They want to live a Life that is Showered by the Blessing
of God
They are members who Thirst for God’s blessings
May God give us Thirsty Church members!
Psalm 1:1-6
“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in
the seat of the scornful”
“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law
doth he meditate day and night”
“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also
shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper”
“The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the
wind driveth away”
“Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous”
“For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the
way of the ungodly shall perish”
Are you “Bothered” by the Dry Condition?
Does it “Burden” you for a Different Condition ?
Then What do you think we should do that we might be
“Blessed” by the Divine Conditions?
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