Thirsty - A devotional on living a Spirit filled life

8/14/2019 Thirsty - A devotional on living a Spirit filled life

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THIRSTY?

Thirsty

Published by CruPress100 Lake Hart Drive, 2500

Orlando, FL 32832-0100

Written and Developed by Rick James

Designed by Mark Arnold (andarnold.com)

Editorial Assistance: Neil Downey, Kindra Pridey

Edited: Eric Stanford (editresource.com)

CruPress is the publishing division of theCampus Ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ

All Scripture quotations taken from the HolyBible, New International Version NIV

copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International

Bible Society. Used by permission of ZondervanPublishing House. All rights reserved.

2008 Cru Press, Campus Crusade forChrist, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this

publication may be reproduced, stored in a

retrieval system, or transmitted,recording or otherwise, without the prior

permission of CruPress.

ISBN 1-57334-071-5


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Introduction.Have you ever elt that this cant be all there isthat somehow there must be somethingdeeper, something more to the Christian lie? Something you dont need to act out but a pal-pable source o energy and lie owing rom the heart? Not behavior modifcation by your owneort and discipline but lie transormation through Gods power? Jesus clearly taught thatthere was when he said, i anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believesin me, as the Scripture has said, streams o living water will ow rom within him. John goeson to tell us, By this he meant the Spirit (John 7:37-39). According to Jesus, the Holy Spirit isthe source o that something more, the source o whats missing.

The phrase Jesus used, living water, w2:13: My people have committed two sand have dug their own cisterns, broken

But even i we didnt know Jeremiah 2:13use o the phrase living water. Soundsthe term living water poetically or mythe stu you use to water plants and anlive. And, importantly, it stands in opp

Saltwater looks and eels like reshi you drink it or any length

middldie o thirst. The more you drink saltwatsin, please stop me at any point.

And so here we are again, back at the bsouls need living water or well die o spdrink rom alternative wells, chugging door is Christ, whom we experience by th

Like the body, the soul cant go very longets thirsty, as experienced in innumera

loneliness, hopelessness, emptiness, bosouls are constantly crying out or some

But all temporal orms o rereshment (stravel, materialism) are, in the end, saltwthe lips but they only succeed in makingspiritually terminal.

But this isnt the worst tragedy. The greato know Christ continue to drink the sammore socially acceptable orms.

When we eel the thirst o insecurity, or


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clothes, lit weights, clamor or attention, irt, judge others or put others down, or get jealous?When we eel the thirst o loneliness or dissatisaction, do we turn to the Lord or do we eat, watchTV, play on the computer, antasize, sleep?

When we need confdence, do we rely upon God or jack ourselves up with music,coee, nicotine, Red Bull, new clothes, sel-talk, cool speech? To

what are we turning to satisy those thirsts?

Though we have

living water (theHoly Spirit) within us, wesatisy our thirst in much thesame ways unbelievers do. Maybeweve stopped having premarital sex ortaking illicit drugsmaybebut that doesntmean were not turning to saltwater. In truth, wereoten consuming it daily . . . by the gallon.

And this, when you clear everything else away, is at the coreo our dissatisaction and thirst: we are not flled and do not walkwith, or drink rom, the Spirit in the way we could or should.

Now, it could be that we just dont know any better. Maybe we never even knew the source o livingwater was within us. Or maybe we thought we were supposed to gut out a godly lie in our ownstrength through discipline and abstinence. Maybe this is all weve ever seen modeled. Whatever thereason, it doesnt matter, because we are going to change all that.

For the next two weeks, we are going to learn what it is to be flled, directed, and empowered by theSpirit. We are going to learn how to drink and satisy our thirst the way God intended.

This devotional contains three sections. The frst ocuses on the scriptural and doctrinal oundationso the Spirit-flled lie: what the Bible says concerning Gods Spirit indwelling us. The second sectionwill look at how we walk in, and experience, the Spirits empowerment. And the last section exploresthe practical ways this empowerment overows in love and service. I you ully engage or the nextourteen days, I guarantee your relationship with Jesus will never be the same.

Section one:

Indwelt by the Spirit

PERSON

PRESENT

SECURE

EMPOWERED

Section tWo:

Infuence o the S

WALKING

RELIANCE

LED

ATMOSPHERE

AWAKE

NAKED


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Okay, sO yOu enter a rOOm and the

twO pOwerful pOlitical figures (Ba

clintOn), a cOuple Of spOrts icOns

yOur twO favOrite musicians (lets

and twO actOrs whO define Beauty

JOlie). thats the scenariO. nOw . . .

Whose presence would you fnd most intim

How would you eel in his or her presence?

Which inspires a greater sense o awe in yogenius, or talent? Why?

Now imagine what it would be like to standfve words that come to your mind (Terriyi

Were your initial thoughts physical (the appspiritual (unworthy, guilty)? Why, do you thi

How do these thoughts or eelings dier roence o celebrities?

oLdns

T

M

E

And in him you too are being built together to become

a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.ephesians 2:22


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According to Gods Word, the moment you trusted Chrwas given to you and indwells you. You are now Gods were included in Christ when you heard the word o truyour salvation. Having believed, you were marked in hpromised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

Like the lling o the Jerusalem temple, the Pentecost ea unique display o Gods empowering presence. Typico Gods indwelling lacks this supernatural commotionsomething we are to take by aith in what Scripture haits promised is that God lives in you and will never lea

As best you can remember, when did you place your adecision?

As you let your mind mull over this actthat through immediate implications that come to mind?

Tracing the word lled in a single chapter o Acts sheds

Saul, who was also called Paul, filled w

When the Jews saw the crowds, they we

The disciples were filled with joy a

How is being lled with the Spirit similar to be lled wit

Why do you think God makes his infuence and presenand emotions rather than overriding them?

How have you experienced or elt the Spirits presence

What variables might aect how much you eel or expecan do to increase or decrease the Spirits infuence up

As the Lord indwells you, your lie is now his home. Whchange to make his new temple more o a holy dwelli

the sry f Gds presence and he emple.From the time Moses led the Israelites out o Egypt, Gods presence had dwelled withthem in a unique way. A portable tent, or tabernacle, was erected or Gods residenceamong them. And yet it wasnt until some 450 years ater their Red Sea crossing that KingDavids son Solomon built a permanent structure in Jerusalem, a temple, to be the earthlyocal point o Gods dwelling among his people. Upon the completion o the temple, therewas an inauguration ceremony that concluded with Solomon praying as ollows:

now arise, o lord God, and come to your restinG place,

you and the ark of your miGht. may your priests, o lord God, be clothed with

salvation, may your saints rejoice in your Goodness. o lord God, do not reject

your anointed one. remember the Great love promised to david your servant.

when solomon finished his prayer, fire ca me down from heaven and consumed the

burnt offerinG and the s acrifices, and the Glory of the lord filled the temple.

the priests could not enter the temple of the lord because the Glory of the

lord filled it. when all the israelites saw the fire cominG down and the

Glory of the lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their

faces to the Ground, and they worshiped and Gave thanks to the lord, say-

inG, he is Good; his love endures forever. 2 chronicles 6:417:3

All in all, a pretty wild demonstration o Gods power as his presence lled the temple. And, by the way, this was a one-time perormance. While Gods presence continued to dwell in the temple throughout Israels history, it was only at theinauguration (the grand opening so-to-speak) that we witness such a dramatic sceneGod visibly demonstrating thathis presence now dwelled in the temple among his people. Another event wouldnt occur like this until ater Jesus hadbeen raised. And its that event that we want to look at next.

the new emple. Read Acts 2.Pentecost was a Jewish harvest estival celebrating the rstruits o the coming harvest. How does this backdrop aid our

understanding o the event?

Why do you think God chose speaking in dierent languages as a sign o his presence among the church?

What other tangible results or outworkings o the Spirits presence do you see in this chapter?

How were the disciples dierent as a result o the Spirits presence?

In light o the ear and awe associated with Gods presence throughout Israels history, how do you think the disciples eltwhen they realized that theywere the new temple? (Excited? Paranoid?)


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And I will put my Spirit in you and move

you to follow my decrees and be careful

to keep my laws. ezekiel 36:27

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to

debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ephesians 5:18

the yanny o F=maF=ma is why skateboardingstay in business. Its the equand just like their physical cmoral laws do you nd mos

Do Not Lie; Do Not Lust;

Love the Lord Your God w

I you could be exempt rom

Do you think people who ha(Look at Romans 1.)

A plane fies due to the ingeactually lits the plane and cas Bernoullis principle. In agravity o the law o sin, whthe law o the Spirit. The law

the Law o Gaviy.Read Romans 7:7-25

What does Paul mean whenfor what i want to

In speaking o the Old Testincreased the desire to sin.

What, then, was the point o


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In what ways have you experienced, or are you experiencing, this law o sin in your lie?

Powe ouage.When a hurricane hit South Florida, Norenas home was one o many severely damaged. The elderly

woman received an insurance settlement o r repairs. However the contractor took her money a nd

skipped town leaving an unfnished home with no elec tricity. Norena has been living without p ower

ever since.

The astounding part o this story is that the hurricane was Hurricane Andrew. Norena has been living

in the dark since 1992: no heat, no air conditioning, not one hot shower. Without money to fnish

the repairs, Norena just got by with a small lamp and a single bur ner. Acting on a tip, the mayor o

Miami-Dade got involved. It only took a ew hours o work by an elec trical contractor to return power

to the house. Its hard to describe having [the electricity] . . . to switch on, she said. Its over-

whelming.3

the pinciple o figh.Though the Spirit indwells us the moment we trust Christ, most believers live out their Christian lie under their ownstrength and sel-eort. Thats not the Christian lie. Not even close. To use the airplane metaphor, our best eorts cannotprevail against the gravity o sin and our sinul nature. In act, the harder we try, the stronger the pull o gravity. Whathappens, or example, when I say, Whatever you do, do not look at the paper airplane? It made you want to look more,didnt it? Moral laws make us aware o our sin problem, but they are powerless to x it, powerless to transorm us. Theyare an x-ray machine alerting us to our moral problem, not a doctor able to x it.

The only way to overcome the law o sin is by a new principle: the law o the Spirit.throuGh christ jesus the law of the spirit of life set me

free from the law of sin and death. roMans 8 :2

roman law.Careully read Romans 7:248:18. What is condemnation? Why are we ree r om it?

What dierence does this make, or should this make, to us?

In this passage we nd living by the law and living by the Spirit contrasted. Write out those contrasts.

As reerenced in Romans 8:18, we wont have a sin nature in heaven. Currently, however, we are indwelt by both the Spiritand our sinul nature, and therein lies our struggle. In what area o your lie are you most experiencing this struggle?

What might be some o Gods purposes in allowing this struggle and not removing our sin nature here and now?

When reerring to our sin nature, Paul oten uses the whabits o sin. (Some Bible translations leave the word is strongest in those areas where we cultivated its infuareas o your lie did you do this? Where is your fesh s

While the Scriptures elsewhere answer, How are we tothe reality o both indwelling infuences and the choicethat ollow well look closely at how to live by the Spiritare you currently attempting to put to death the misd

How, as they say, is that working out or you?

Write a note to God, giving voice to any questions or r

God oten allows us to struggle in our sel-eort becauto begin walking in reliance upon his Spirit. Walking in ing is a lielong process. For now, we just want to take walk in step with Gods Spirit. There are three importandecision:

Are you willing to surrender control o you

Are you willing to coness sin and turn ro

Do you sincerely desire to be dire cted and

I you can say yes to these questions, then you can praand empower your lie through his indwelling Spirit. Alpower o the Spirit.

Dear Father . . .

I asking was the rst step o walking in the Spirit, theand empower you as you seek daily to walk in step wit

So, how do we daily walk in step with the Spirit? Lets p


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POST C

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep

in step with the Spirit. Galatians 5 :25

cant seem to get leResearchers at the Universiexperience a powerul urgesearchers asked a portion othen all o the volunteers wthat those mulling over the

Postserets.Each year, thousands fnd sdoing, coness their deepesGod and coness the thing you write? Here, have a pos


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In 1951 the ministry o Campus Crusade or Christ was launched on the campus o UCLA. Today it isa missionary enterprise reaching into 190 countries with 27,000 ull-time sta.

The late ounder, Dr. Bill Bright, grounded the ministry on a handul o basic biblical concepts.Their simplicity makes them timeless. Here is one o Dr. Brights simple Transerable Concepts,and its what you need to know about conession:

Spiritual Breathing by Bill Bright.For the nonbeliever, sin stands as barrier to a relationship with God; or the Christian, it stands as a

barrier to ellowship and to the unimpeded infuence o the Holy Spirit in our lives.

To receive Gods orgiveness, simply coness your sin and accept his orgiveness by aith. We call

this process spiritual breathing. Just as you exhale and inhale physically, so you must also breathe

spiritually. You exhale spiritually when you coness your sins. The Bible promises that i you conessyour sins to him, God is aithul and just to orgive you and to puriy you rom all unrighteousness (1

John 1:9). To coness your sins mea ns to agree with God a bout your sins. Your agreement is threeold:

First, you agree that your sins are wrong and grieve God. Second, you agree that God has already

orgiven your sins through Christs death and the shedd ing o his blood on the cross. Third, you repent.

You change your attitude, which results in a change o action. Through conessing your sins, you begin

the process o spiritual breathing:

Exhale: Coness your sin the moment you become aware o it. Agree with God concerning it and thank

him or his orgiveness.

Inhale: Surrender back contro l o your lie to Christ andby aithrely upon his Holy Spirit to lead and

empower you with his presence.

Conession, then, is an expression o aith, which results in our experiencing what God has already done or us throughthe death o his Son. Christ died or each and every one o your sins; conession is the vehicle through which you

experience the cleansing, mercy and orgiveness o that sacrifce.

Walking in the light.In 1 John 1:7-9, the apostle states:

if we walk in the liGht, as he is in the liGht, we have fellowship with one

another, and the blood of jesus, his son, purifies us from all sin. if we claim

to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. if we

confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forGive us our sins and

purify us from all unriGhteousness.

Why does John use light as a metaphor? What does light do, and (biblically) what does it represent?

What does it mean to walk in darkness? What does it mean to walk in light?

John states that when we walk in the light we have elellowship with other Christians?

In addressing conession, the passage underscores tha

John does not comment on the requency o conessiocouple o days, how many times do you remember con

Does your answer suggest a sensitivity to sin, an insenthing in between wasnt an option?

What role does aith play in conession? That is, what asin, about his Word, and about your relationship with h

Feeling forgiven.Our relationship with God is not aected by sin. By virtuebe our Father. But as with any relationship, sin does hindorgiven and your ellowship with God has been complestainsyou may fnd that eelings o guilt linger. To help

1. Write out on a piece o paper every sin youve

mind. Next, write out acros s the list the words o 1

rip up the list, and throw it awaypreerably whe

posted on the Internet.

2. Although we cant see God, sometimes others

to us. This is why Scripture tells us, Coness your

you may be healed (James 5:16). Who could you

basis to share your struggles, prayer requests, an

Just do it: What will you do this week to e

The critical things to remember about conession are: Yyou aware o it. Conession restores ellowship , not yoconession are agreeing with God that you sinned (doagreeing to turn away rom that sin and ask God to em

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Thirsty - A devotional on living a Spirit filled life