Series: Release from the Golden Cage (Sermon # 10)

Church of Christ

1256 Cruzada Street

Quiapo, Manila

(734-8658

March 8, 1998

Introduction:

Last Week, we have started looking at some ways by which we can all be freed from our self-made golden cages.
Remember what we said when we say we’re in a cage. Many times, we feel as if we’re living in a cage because
we’re trapped! No matter how much we try to change, it is simply not taking place. We’re trapped! However, we were given a good deal! We’ll live in a golden cage--a cage made of gold. Although we feel trapped, we are somewhat contented for a while because our cage is made of gold. The feeling of satisfaction and contentment does not stay long in that cage made of gold. All it gives is false hopes and false promises. Success, popularity, numbers, and accomplishments do not meet the needs of the aching inner being. Last week, we were told that real change is possible when we look beneath the surface of life. For real change to take place in our lives, we are required to take an inside look. The point here is simple: The courage to be honest is necessary if we’re to experience the kind of change our Lord makes possible. We need to take an honest look inside us and continue without ever pretending things are good when in reality they are not.

Today , we would like to say that real change is possible once we admit we are thirsty people. This is based on a simple principle or reality that "when I’m not thirsty, a tall glass of water has little appeal." Notice also Jesus’ invitation in John 7:37-38, "If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within Him."

There is not a single doubt that Jesus is recognizing and seeing all our desires. He knows very well that we all have desires. Jesus recognizes the fact that longing is real in our part, "if a man is thirsty."

Notice also that Jesus was never condemning those desires and longing that we feel inside us. Jesus was not only saying, "it’s okay to desire." He’s also saying, "It’s okay to hurt." "If a man is thirsty. . ." What did Jesus say next? He did not say, "Good! I’m glad you admit you have desires. Now stop being so selfish. Repent of your thirst and get on with loving others. Bury you hurt under renewed commitment to stay productively busy." How many of us here have been told that when deep longings and desires and hurts come our way just forget them and bury them. Focus on serving others, serving God, first of all, and memorizing Scriptures and soon all you desires, pains, and hurts will disappear. For all we know, things inside us are never disappearing. We’re just burying them. Then we wonder how come real change is not taking place in us when we already made ourselves obsessed with Bible memorization, Bible study, Discipleship, attending seminar, concerts and others. The answer to this quest is simple: the reason why we do these religious things is in order to bury or relieve pain and not to know God at any cost. There’s nothing wrong with relieving pain or shaking the stone out of our shoes before continuing a walk, but when relief of the pain becomes our priority, real change would hardly occur.

Notice what Jesus said next: Let him come to me! He surely doesn’t want us to deny our thirst. He wants us to come to Him just as we are. We’ll look at the three areas of our thirstiness, importance of experiencing thirstiness, and how to face our thirstiness.

 

I. Identifying the three areas of thirstiness

Our Lord has promised in verse 38 that, "streams of living water will flow from within him." Right away, we ask the question, "If He has promised springs of living water to all who come, then why do many sincere Christians live lives filled with pain and longing? By the way, when our Lord promised to supply us with living water, He told us the springs would flow from our innermost being. In other words, Christ was promising to do something about the core desires, the innermost desires of our soul." To answer the question why sincere Christians lives lives filled with pain and longing, we need to realize that there are three areas of longings but the springs of living water that Christ was promising pertain only to the joys that only relationship with God provides.
 

• A. The basic and most profound longings of the human heart is called crucial longings. This can only be satisfied through a personal, intimate relationship with God. Without this kind of relationships, life is profoundly empty and joy is never experienced. Nothing can satisfy our crucial longings except the kind of relationship that only God offers.
 
• B. There is also the so-called critical longings. The longing here can be satisfied and supplied only through another person’s giving of himself. Critical longings are longings for good relationships with people like husband and wife.
 
• C. A third category of desires is called casual longings. This includes every other desire we experience from the trivial (restaurant to eat) to the significant (knowing how healthy we are).
These are all legitimate pains/longings but please realize that Christ has only promise to meet our crucial longings (personal, intimate relationship with Him) but not all our casual or critical longings/desires. God will meet our causal longings or the physical comfort we need. He gave such promises in Matthew 6 but the satisfaction available now is only a taste. Always remember that the banquet comes later. We will still feel the pain once in a while. No relationships on earth are perfect because of what sin has done among us. We will, therefore, experience longings for good relationships with people. Sometimes we will not be feeling disappointed. Many times, we’ll feel disappointed still.

Therefore, realize that the streams of living water pertain only to our crucial longings that is, our intimate, personal relationship with God.

II. Importance of Experiencing thirstiness (instead of denying or burying it)

I read about the story of James Cook, the sea captain who discovered Hawaii and Fiji Islands and a number of other South Pacific Islands. On one of the islands he discovered, they treated him like a god and put him on a pedestal because they had never seen anybody like him. And when he left on his ship, he ran into a storm. Captain Cook because afraid so he turned around and came back to shore. When they came back the natives murdered him and his crew. Why? The natives could not handle the fact that he wasn’t a god. That’s bad news. The good news is that Jesus is never going to condemn you if you’ll admit, open up and be hones about all your fears. Let’s give three importance of experiencing thirstiness.
 

• A. It is emotionally healthy. It requires an enormous amount of energy to try to live a life that shows everybody, "I’ve got it all together. . ." when you know you don’t. When you walk around with a mask all the time, it will create enormous pressure, stress, anxiety, and tension in your life. It is so difficult to try to be something you’re not.
• James 5:16 is giving us a healthy tip to live, "Confess your fault to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." The point is never try to be something you’re not. Revealing your feeling and longings to others and your faults to others is the beginning of healing. This is significantly true especially when you were hurt by a friend or a brother. Never deny nor bury the pain. Share your burden with him.
• B. It is spiritually empowering. James 4:6 says, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Notice that the words grace and humble go together. This means that humbling oneself is the only way to receive grace. When you humble yourself, you will be hones about your weaknesses. And the more honest you are, the more grace you get. That’s why it is spiritually empowering and liberating.
• C. It is relationally attractive. The fastest way to make yourself attractive to other people is to quit trying to pretend that you’ve got it all together. Just admit your weaknesses. We think this is wrong but whether we believe it or not, we don’t desire people who are deceitful, hypocritical, and people who pretend they have it all together. We basically want people to be open to us and be honest. Matthew 5:22-24 is admonishing us to be reconciled first with our brothers or sisters before we offer our sacrifices to God.
 

III. Facing our thirstiness (How to come face to face with your pains)
 

• A. Admit Confusion. We have tendencies to cover, confusion with easy answers. In the face of confusion we must continue looking unto Jesus, clinging what He has promised for us. Confusion isn’t bad at all because that will make us aware that God is strong, kind, and is working behind all we see. Confusion is not and never a negative word. It’s what we are going to do, the decision we’ll make, when we got confused. It is not necessarily true that you will make wrong decisions when you’re confused. It is only possible. Confusion will not always drive us away from Christ. That could be the time that we will find it very time and useful to draw our lives to Him. When that happens, confusion drives you to faith.
 
• B. Acknowledge Disappointment. The point is when we know that every longing of our heart will one day be eternally and completely satisfied, we will learn to live without demanding anything now. Hope is the antidote for disappointment. With confidence in the Lord’s return, we are willing to embrace frustrations because of the greater experiences we’ll have in Him in spite of disappointment (Romans 8:18) so let your disappointment drive you to hope.
• C. Accept Conviction. When we accept our sinfulness, God will totally set us free. Our view of our weaknesses and longings and sinfulness should be that of David, "Search me O God and know my heart. . .See if there’s any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Ps. 139:23-24). Praying for conviction will deepen our awareness of how thirsty our soul really is. In the end, you will realize that your conviction is driving you to love God and others.

 

Conclusion: As we conclude, let’s read Psalm 32:1-5. "Then I acknowledge my sin before you."

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