Sermon Outlines . Volume 02 | Issue 08

Thirsting for God

By Michael Catt

(Part 1)
Psalm 63

  1. THE PASSIONATE PURSUIT BEGINS WITH A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP.
    NEVER UNDERESTIMATE WHAT GOD CAN TEACH YOU IN THE WILDERNESS.
    1. Hagar saw God in the wilderness – Gen. 16:13
    2. Moses saw God in the wilderness – Ex. 3:1-4
    3. Elijah saw God in the wilderness – 1 Kings 19:4-18
    4. Israel was led by God in the wilderness – Deut. 8
    “You are my God” Not just the God of creation but also of covenant. Not just the God of scripture but also of choice. Not just the God who saved me but the one who sanctifies me.
  2. THE PASSIONATE PURSUIT IS MAINTAINED THROUGH FELLOWSHIP. “I shall seek You earnestly” A. W. Tozer, (describing some believers), “Paul was a seeker and a finder and a seeker still. They seek and find and seek no more. After ‘accepting’ Christ they tend to substitute logic for life and doctrine for experience. For them the truth becomes a veil to hide the face of God; for Paul it was a door into His very Presence. Paul’s spirit was that of the loving explorer. He was a prospector among the hills of God searching for the gold of personal spiritual acquaintance!”

THIRSTING FOR GOD
(Part 2)
Psalm 63

  1. DAVID IS THIRSTING AFTER GOD.
  2. DAVID IS YEARNING FOR GOD.
  3. DAVID IS LONGING FOR GOD’S GLORY.

THIRSTING FOR GOD
(Part 3)
Psalm 63

10 PRINCIPLES FOR THIRSTY CHRISTIANS.

  1. God creates the desire – I must cultivate it.
  2. God meets me at the point of my desperation.
  3. God has commanded me to be filled with the Spirit.
  4. God has commanded me to worship in spirit and truth.
  5. God has commanded me to be holy.
  6. God has promised me that if I confess, He will forgive.
  7. God’s Son is right now making intercession on my behalf.
  8. God’s filling and empowering can come with or without feelings.
  9. God’s filling does not make me immune from temptation or sin.
  10. God teaches me on the mountain so I am equipped to serve Him in the valley.

My responsibility is three-fold:

  1. Believe what God says.
  2. Obey what God says.
  3. Put myself in position where God can bless me.
  1. A LIFE OF PRAISE. “Your love is better than life itself” Samuel Rutherford, “Grace grows best in winter.” Keith Price, “Affliction is a great watershed. It either drives us to God or from Him. Which course we take likely depends more on our existing relationship with God than any other factor. I have come to the conviction that my closeness to God is more precisely measured by my capacity for suffering than it is by my capacity for joy.” “My lips will praise you” –
  2. A LIFE OF THANKSGIVING. DAVID LIVED A LIFE OF PRAISE.
    LIPS – vs. 3 “My lips will praise You” vs. 6 “with joyful lips”
    TONGUE – vs. 4 “I will bless you as long as I live”
    HANDS – vs. 4 “I will lift up my hands in Your name”
    WILL – vs. 5 “My soul is satisfied”
    MOUTH – vs. 5 “My mouth offers praises”
    MIND – vs. 6 “When I remember You on my bed and meditate on You…”
  3. A LIFE OF FULLNESS. “marrow and fatness” Whatever God does – He does it abundantly.
    He abundantly pardons. Isa. 55:7
    He is abundant in loving kindness and truth. Ps. 86:15 (also Lamentations & Jonah)
    His redemption is abundant. Ps. 130:7
    His abundant goodness. Ps. 145:7
    His grace is abundant. Acts 4:3
    His grace is abundant. 2 Cor. 9:8
    He offers life abundant – John 10:10