Thirsting for More of God — E.A. Johnston

A Lifelong Thirst for More of God

I am always amazed at how some servants of God maintain their zeal and passion for God without ever growing cold toward God. There are some Christians who, as they age, not only don't lose their passion for things of eternity, but as they age, they want more of God and things of eternal worth.

Leonard Ravenhill's Burning Passion

One such man comes to my mind, and that is Leonard Ravenhill. I want to take a moment, friends, and read you a poem he wrote. As a matter of fact, this was the last poem of Leonard Ravenhill. Listen to his passion as he engages his God and aches for more of an experience of Him.

Lord, engage my heart today with zeal that will not pass away. Now torch it with Thy holy fire that never more shall time's desire invade or quench the heaven-born power. I would be trapped within Thy holy will, Thine every holy purpose to fulfill, that every effort of my life shall bring a rapturous praise to my eternal King.

I pledge from this day to the grave to be Thine own unquestioning slave. And Leonard Ravenhill kept the fire burning on the altar of his heart for his God. He wasn't satisfied with the relationship he had with God.

He always wanted more of God and a deeper revelation of Him. The title of my message this evening, friends, is Thirsting for More of God, and my text can be found in the book of Psalms. We will be in chapter 42.

David's Thirst in Psalm 42

You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. I want to read us Psalm 42 and verses 1 through 3 because they describe our theme this evening, which is a deeper thirst for God. Listen to this striking passage of scripture as it describes David's zeal to serve his God and to experience more of Him.

As the heart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat, day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

Picture in your mind, friends, a deer as it's running through the forest. Perhaps it's being chased by hunters and it's desperately doing all it can to get away. It is running as fast as it can through the woods to escape danger, and now it's free from any harm.

And it thirsts. Its tongue hangs out from its mouth as it begins to pant for water. It cannot find any. Frantically it searches here and there, looking for a stream or a pond or any puddle that it can find to quench its thirst.

Finally, it comes across a mountainside brook and the deer drinks to its delight. David is here describing a condition not common to many Christians. Many Christians are quite content with their religion and seek little more than Sunday morning fellowship each week to get them through till next Sunday.

But David here represents the believer who is hungry for more of God, who thirsts for a deeper walk with God, who cannot exist without a fresh encounter with the living God. He's thirsting for more of God like a deer pants for water.

David even states his need clearly with the words, My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. His entire soul is hungry for a deeper experience of God. He longs for it. His heart aches for a fresh revelation of God.

How about you, friend? Are you there? Are you there? Or are you content with your portion of God? I enjoy reading good Christian biography, not the kind that is mainly published today like the biographies of country music stores or Hollywood entertainers.

David Brainerd's Sacrificial Zeal

No friends. The kind of good Christian biography I'm referring to deals with men and women who shook their generation for God with their sacrificial lives, which were poured out for God like a fragrant offering.

One man who absolutely fascinates me is David Brainerd. I have traveled to Brainerd's grave on numerous occasions. It's in Northampton, Massachusetts, in the Bridge Street Cemetery there. The ancient cemetery where Solomon Stoddard is buried.

Brainerd's grave is just a few steps away from Stoddard's grave. Jonathan Edwards buried both of them and did their funeral sermons right in that cemetery. In fact, Brainerd is buried next to Jonathan Edwards' young daughter, Jerisha.

She took care of David Brainerd his last few months of life, and she caught tuberculosis from him and died just four months after he did. But what amazes me about men like Brainerd is their passion and holy zeal for God.

They just couldn't get enough of God and be satisfied. Listen to his words as taken from his diary. When he was a missionary to the Native American Indians in the 18th century, here now are his words.

In the evening, singing hymns with friends, my soul seemed to melt. And in prayer afterwards, enjoyed the exercise of faith, and was enabled to be fervent in spirit. I found more of God's presence than I have done any time in my late, wearisome journey.

Eternity appeared very near. My nature was very weak and seemed ready to be dissolved. I longed to fill up the remaining moments all for God, though my body was so feeble and wearied with preaching and much private conversation.

Yet I wanted to sit up all night to do something for God. Let me ask you, friend, have you had a thirst for God like that recently? Do you hunger for more God? Are you willing to sit up all night to do something for God?

Are you thirsty for Jesus? Or are you content with the status quo in church on Sunday morning? This message is for the believer who wants to go deeper with his God. I want you to turn in your Bibles, friends, to the book of Ezekiel for a moment.

Ezekiel's River and the Progression into Deeper Waters

I want us to peer into chapter 47, for it is rich with truths for us this evening. I want to read just a little from Ezekiel 47 and listen to this passage. It's a very deep, deep passage, friends. Listen to what it has to say to us this evening.

Let me begin in verse three. And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters. The waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand and brought me through the waters.

The waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand and brought me through the waters to the loins. Afterward, he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass over. For the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

I will stop there. Here we have a picture of a man standing in ankle-deep water. Then he wades in a little further and it goes to his knees. Then he goes further out into the water, just like you would at the beach, for instance.

And soon you are waist-deep. Then there's a drop-off and you're swimming in an ocean. Listen, friends, God is like that water. He's unfathomable. He beckons us to draw near him. We go to the ankles.

Soon we want more of him, so we go deeper in the water to the knees. Some believers are not satisfied to stay here, so they wade out a little deeper to the waist. Finally, their desire for God increases and they want even more of him.

So they dive in and are now swimming, swimming in an ocean that knows no depth. God is like that. He's like that ocean. We can have as much of God as we want, friends. But many of us just stop at the ankles and are satisfied.

We go no further. Others go a little deeper and get to the knees and stop there. A few go further out and experience more him as they get waist-deep in his riches. But very few are still press on until they are swimming in an ocean of God's lovely attributes and glory.

A thirst for God will take you there, friend. The more him you encounter, the more him you will desire. You will not be satisfied just up to the ankles. You'll want to immerse yourself with your God in a deeper knowledge of him and a closer walk with him.

You'd be like David Brainerd. You want to spend all night staying up with him to do something great for him. But there's a cost, a sacrifice. What cost counts and what counts cost. Higher education is like that.

Peter's Step of Faith on the Water

Anything that matters will entail some kind of sacrifice of time or money or something. A close walk with God has both sacrifice and gains. I like the story of Peter as related in the Gospels where Peter is in the storm-tossed boat with the disciples.

And he sees Jesus approaching them, walking atop the rolling waves. And Peter says in so many words, Lord, if it's you, bid me to come down and join you. And sure enough, Jesus says, come. And Peter takes a step on an incredible journey with God.

For soon he's walking on the water himself. He's experiencing the supernatural. And do you know what, friends? Once you get a taste of a supernatural walk with God, you don't want to get back in the boat.

You want more Christ. You are thirsty for more him. Do you know people like that, that make you thirsty for Jesus? The more time you spend with that individual, the more hungrier you are for your God.

Adrian Rogers was like that to me. The more time I spent with Adrian Rogers, the more I wanted to be like Jesus. And Stephen Oford was like that to me as well. The more time I spent with Dr. Oford, the more I hungered for a closer walk with God myself.

Listen, dear fellow believer, you can have as much of God as you desire. He's waiting for you to take that step of faith out upon the water and experience more him. He wants to do great things through your surrendered life.

Evan Roberts and a Hidden Life of Prayer

He's waiting for you to join him in a great adventure of faith. I'm always greatly stirred when I think of the life of Evan Roberts of the Welsh Revival. Here was a young man who lived his life on the full stretch for his God.

He hid himself away for 10 years in prayer as a young man. Then he had a public ministry of little over a year. In the midst of the last great revival this world has seen back in 1904 to 1905. We've not had a move of God like that since.

Evan Roberts went from complete obscurity to the national stage as the human figurehead of that mighty revival, which gripped the world. Oh, how that man lived for his God. And then he disappeared back into a hidden life of prayer for the next 50 years or so.

You never hear from him again. But just because he dropped out of society did not mean he dropped out with God. Rather, he spent the remainder of his life in a hidden life of prayer on his knees before his God experiencing deeper revelations of the Almighty as he entered a deeper walk with him.

And even though Evan Roberts died in obscurity, he did not die in obscurity with his God. I want to read you the last poem Evan Roberts wrote. I believe we can learn a lot from the last things of a person, particularly a believer and from their last poems.

Like we already saw from Leonard Ravenhill's last poem, which spoke of his burning desire for more of God. Listen to the words of Evan Roberts, written when he was 73 years old. Listen to his thirst for more of Jesus.

Listen to his strong faith after all those years. Listen to the sacrifice he's willing to make to experience more of his God even late in life. Here now is the last poem of Evan Roberts. And friends, I will close this message with his stirring words.

Here I have built my altar. The wood I've placed in order. The sacrifice is ready now. I send thou, O Lord, the fire. My soul is weary, weak, and lustful. But to the end, I will be faithful. Though hellish hosts revile forever, I lay myself on Christ my Savior.

Uh, we'll go now to our time of prayer, friends, as we pray for revival in this desperate day in which we live. Let us now pray.