I wonder what the most magnificent building you have ever been to is. Maybe a castle, a palace or a cathedral. Soaring architecture, the peak of mastercrafters\u2019 artistry, decades in the building, standing for centuries, bright with gold, perhaps? In the scale of these things, this building isn\u2019t perhaps in the premier league of magnificence, but I know that many of us, many in the community, and many visitors find it an inspiring place to be. The striking window depicting Jesus on the cross, the acoustics which make music sing, the sense of this being a safe, prayer soaked, place. <\/p>\n
As we hold those recollections of magnificent buildings, of places of worship that have touched our hearts, so we get a glimpse into the mind of the person who wrote the Psalm that we have read this morning. For them the building in mind was the Temple in Jerusalem. <\/p>\n
The temple had been built by King Solomon, and was a truly magnificent building, stone built, cedar clad, gold sheathed. The heart of the worship of the people of God, the place of the presence of God. And that last thing, the place of presence of God is the driving force of the writer\u2019s desire to be in this place.
\nAt first glance it may seem that this is about a building, but it\u2019s not, it\u2019s about the presence of God, and a burning desire to be in the presence of God. At that time this was strongly associated with the location of the Temple. <\/p>\n
This, of course, isn\u2019t the case for us. Solomon\u2019s temple was destroyed by the Babylonians when the people of Jerusalem were defeated and taken into exile. When they returned they rebuilt the temple. This, second, temple is the one that read about Jesus visiting and teaching in. It is this second temple that Jesus prophesied would also be destroyed, which it was, by the Romans a couple of decades after Jesus\u2019 death. <\/p>\n
In our reading from John\u2019s eye witness account of the life of Jesus we heard the beginning of a conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan women, in which he offers her water that will mean she will never thirst again. As the conversation goes on they talk about the differences between the worship practices of the Jewish community and the Samaritan community. <\/p>\n
Jesus says, <\/p>\n
\u201cA time is coming, and has now come when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.\u201d<\/p>\n
In saying this, Jesus was looking forward to the time when God\u2019s presence would be experienced around the world as the Holy Spirit is out poured. The experience of God\u2019s presence wouldn\u2019t be restricted to special places or buildings, it would be everywhere. <\/p>\n
We live in this age now. It\u2019s my experience that there are places that it is easier for us to experience the presence of God. For some of us this will be a church building, or a particular place we pray regularly at home, or out on a mountain top or beach. God created us and knows that people create associations in their minds and spirits with particular places, and is gracious in meeting us there. However, the point stands. God\u2019s presence is not restricted to particular places.<\/p>\n
So, let\u2019s spend some time in this Psalm, with the Psalmist\u2019s thirst for the presence of God.
\nI invite you to have your Bible opens at Psalm 84, p569 in the pew Bibles, p883 in the large print, as we soak in this together.<\/p>\n
It is so heartfelt, so fundamental to the writers being, so visceral, every aspect of who the writer is pulls towards the presence of God, towards the dwelling place of God.<\/p>\n
My soul yearns, even faints\u2026.
\nMy heart and my flesh cry out\u2026.<\/p>\n
There is nowhere else the writer would rather be, the presence of God is so rich, so desirable, that everywhere else pales in comparison. The writer wants to be where God is, even if only at the edge, as a servant.<\/p>\n
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.
\nI would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.<\/p>\n
Imagine the warmth of a summer\u2019s day \u2013 that would be welcome at the moment, wouldn\u2019t it. Imagine the relief of getting into the shade at a hot and cloudless noon time, under the shielding protection of a tree. God is both \u2013 Sun and Shield, energiser and protector.
\nWe long to feel the warmth of the presence of God on our face. We need to know God\u2019s protection when we\u2019re under fire. <\/p>\n
God is the generous source of all good things. It\u2019s not the magnificence of the architecture or the gold hammered over the fittings that draws the Psalmist in \u2013 it\u2019s the presence of God, the dwelling of God, the abiding of God. <\/p>\n
The writer is so thirsty for the presence of God. They have experienced it, they know what it\u2019s like, and they want more of it, they want to dwell in it consistently, they\u2019ve had a taste of it, and they want more.<\/p>\n
At All Saints we are called to be closer to Christ. One of our vision images has been on the screen whilst I\u2019ve been speaking. It depicts Jesus at a meal in Bethany. Mary is bowed at his feet in worship, Lazarus is leaning against Jesus in friendship, Martha is serving Jesus in faithfulness. Each one close to Jesus in their own way, each one thirsty for Jesus\u2019 presence as their Lord, their friend, their God. <\/p>\n
As I said I couple of weeks ago, I\u2019ve been reflecting on these ideas of thirst since last summer, and I have, to be honest, been perplexed and wrestling with the idea that as we come closer to Jesus so our thirsts are satisfied and we get thirstier for more of him, for more of God\u2019s presence. How can the same thing relieve our thirst and make us thirstier? Liz says I\u2019ve been over thinking it. <\/p>\n
So, I\u2019m just going to confess. I don\u2019t have a neat explanation that reconciles these two things. I don\u2019t understand it. All I can say is that I believe that both things are true. It\u2019s what we find in Scripture, and it\u2019s what I, and countless followers of Jesus have experienced through the ages. Jesus is the one who truly relieves our thirst. The more we experience of God\u2019s presence the more we thirst for it. <\/p>\n
The woman at the well was thirsty for God \u2013 her life was hard and lonely. She was thirsty for something, and Jesus promised her water that would quench her thirst. The Psalmist was thirsty for God\u2019s presence, it was all that they could think about.<\/p>\n
As we reflect on these things, there are a couple of questions that I\u2019d like to encourage us to think about.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s begin with people like the woman at the well, those we know who are thirsty for something. It might be the five people you are praying for to come to know Jesus. As you think about them, ask yourself the question, \u201cwhat signs of thirst are they showing?\u201d If you don\u2019t know the answer to that question, then ask the Holy Spirit to show you. When you\u2019re praying for them ask God, \u201cwhere is this person thirsty?\u201d. Or, you could pray, \u201cFather, would you make this person thirsty for you?\u201d And then, when you\u2019re talking with them be ready, when they show signs of thirst, to gently and carefully suggest to them that in Jesus you\u2019ve found someone who meets you in your thirst. Pray for the right words to say at that point. <\/p>\n
Now let\u2019s turn to ourselves. As we were reflecting on that Psalm, on this image, I wonder what reactions were being stirred in our hearts. <\/p>\n
Perhaps it resonated completely, this is your experience, of being enthralled by the presence of God, of a good thirst that keeps drawing you deeper into your relationship with Jesus, and the depths of God\u2019s love for you. I encourage you to keep going, to lean into that thirst, to allow it to take you on in your walk with Jesus. <\/p>\n
Perhaps there was a sadness. This is how you\u2019ve felt in the past, but it feels like it\u2019s slipped, it\u2019s not your experience right now. Something has dulled your sense of thirst for God. Life circumstances, painful times, busy-ness, shame about a sin that has made you afraid of God\u2019s presence. Whatever it is, the Father\u2019s arms are open wide. There is grace. As you bring these things to God, as you ask God to make you thirsty for God\u2019s presence again, the Father will come running towards you. <\/p>\n
Perhaps it all feels completely alien, this is not something you\u2019ve ever experienced. Perhaps there\u2019s something attractive about it, you feel a pull towards it. Perhaps it all feels a bit much, a bit over the top. I encourage you to bring these feelings to God, to ask the Holy Spirit to guide you through them. To give you a thirst for God that will draw you closer.
\nHe is gentle and humble of heart, a bruised reed he will not break, and a flickering flame he will not extinguish.<\/p>\n
As I draw to a close I\u2019m going to take us back to that well. Imagine yourself sitting there with Jesus. Tell him what you\u2019re thirsty for. Ask him for a deeper thirst for his presence now. Listen to what he\u2019s saying to you. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I wonder what the most magnificent building you have ever been to is. Maybe a castle, a palace or a cathedral. Soaring architecture, the peak of mastercrafters\u2019 artistry, decades in the building, standing for centuries, bright with gold, perhaps? In the scale of these things, this building isn\u2019t perhaps in the premier league of magnificence, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[431],"tags":[1406,1407],"class_list":["post-1169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wellington","tag-john-41-14","tag-psalm-84"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1170,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions\/1170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carterclan.me.uk\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}