All my life long I had panted for a drink from some clear spring That I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the husks around me Till my strength was almost gone, Longed my soul for something better, only still to hunger on. Hallelujah. I have found him. whom my soul so long has craved.
Jesus satisfies my longings through his blood. I now am saved. Have you ever felt unsure how to talk about your faith? Are you keeping to yourself the very message that saves lives? There's no cure for growing old.
or magic potion that can restore your youth. But believers in Jesus Christ look forward to an eternity of living in heaven with God. The saving power of the Gospel is not something to keep to ourselves. The message of hope that the world longs for is something we should share whenever we can. Welcome to Wisdom for the Heart.
Stephen Davey is your Bible teacher, and he has a message for you today called Finding the Fountain of Youth. Today, we focus on this wonderful gospel and our Lord. by means of this table. And let me just sort of set our thoughts As we consider it Take your gospel by John and turn to chapter 1, and I'll get there eventually. It's interesting to me how, for centuries, probably for as long as mankind has been around, people have wanted to figure out a way to live longer.
It's a billion-dollar plus industry today. Anything related to anti-aging? Not that you or I have anything to do with any of that stuff, but finding some kind of secret, finding some loophole. How to defy aging, how to live longer. People were interviewed.
In fact, you can just do what I did and Google the searches and find all sorts of comments from people who've lived beyond their 100th birthday. I did find it interesting that Christianity Today. A journal carried excerpts of interviews with some of these individuals who've lived into their 100s. You know, looking for some kind of clue, looking for some kind of habit, some kind of perspective. Maybe it's the region, maybe it's the weather.
And it really doesn't. have much to do with it all. Christianity Today interviewed one woman who was in there 100s and They asked her, you know, what's the benefit of living? beyond a hundred years of age. And she thought just for a second, and then she said, well, There's no more peer pressure.
For one thing. Another woman interviewed at the age of nearly 120 was asked to. Describe her vision for the future, and she said, Well, it's very brief. Huh. One Article Talked about traveling to an Asian village.
Several people in that village live into their hundreds. But the uh reporter could find no clue, no secret, no unusual diet. They'll practice. One woman in Michigan So you know it's not the weather, right? She's 112.
Anyone here from Michigan? You moved here because you didn't think you could live that long in Michigan, right? She was asked what her secret was, and I love this. She said, Well, my secret is. Plenty to eat and plenty of sleep.
We can do that. I'm two for two. And then she added, and plenty of time to relax. And I thought, well, I'm two out of three. One woman was funny.
A reporter shows up at her door. And I couldn't help but laugh when I read what he said. He knocked on her door. She came to the door, and he asked her, What is your secret? to a long life.
She responded, minding my own business. End of interview right there. Of all the people interviewed who passed their 100th birthday, Nothing really unusual surfaced. One person I read never ate bananas. Another person ate a lot of fish.
No one really had a secret formula. For living. Such a long time. Made me wonder: could you imagine this week perhaps you're going to plant some flowers? as we prepare for the next season.
You're out in your backyard and You're digging. A hole to plant some flowers in, and you turn that sod over and Suddenly a little sprout of water. little fountain of water just springs up one or two inches high. And you're mystified, especially if you've got the backyard I've got, there's no water anywhere, it's dry. dusty, can't grow anything, but there it is.
two inches of a water spout. And you're sitting there wondering, where did that Where did that come from? And then you notice as the water trickles over, it touches some leaves that have already fallen, and those leaves begin to fade right in front of your eyes from Brown back to orange and red and then Green. You barely breathe. In your amazement and then you watch as that water trickles out and you watch and it creates this this path of green grass that goes from brown to green and in in a matter of seconds and you're you're amazed now you're kneeling there and and you're you're you're not moving and then some of the water has seeped toward you and it's soaked your jeans as you've knelt there and you notice your knees don't ache like they had earlier.
And you stand up uh a little quicker than you're used to standing up. And you rush into the house and you get a cup, and you come back out, and and you hold it, and from that little spout, it fills up, and you take a sip. And immediately you begin to feel rejuvenated. In fact, your eyesight goes fuzzy, and you take off your glasses, and it's clear. Can't see you, so I'm going to put mine back on.
Okay. You drink a little bit more. You feel strong. You rush into the house. You stand in front of a mirror, and the temples have gone from gray back to auburn or brown, and those laugh lines.
which is a nice way to refer to wrinkles or smoothing out and you realize you have discovered the fountain of youth that wasn't fiction. After all, it's in your backyard.
Now what do you do?
Well, you take another cup full, don't you? And you drink it. You are invigorated. I mean, you can't believe the strength. Eureka, you have found.
The fountain of youth? Anything who may or call? What am I going to say? Who am I going to tell? Who am I going to call first?
You're pastor.
Okay? I uh I got laughter every hour. I don't know why that's funny. You'd call me first, and then, wouldn't you gather around your family? Wouldn't you grab a cup, maybe put a lid on it, and rush to the hospital where a gravely ill friend is in ICU, or to the nursing home where your parent or grandparent are languishing, and certainly all of your children, your family, your household, your friends, you'd be on the phone.
I have found. The fountain of youth. Would you ever Consider? For a moment? covering that Fountain back up with that sod.
And saying, you know what? It's Best left alone. And then go plant your flowers. Have we not discovered The fountain. of Immortality.
Have we not found the water of everlasting life, never-ending? When we are immortalized in perfection of holiness and vitality and health and life, do we really believe that? Does the church really believe we've found that? Then who are you telling? Are you getting a sip of that to the lips of your children or your family?
Your friends One survey conducted A number of years ago found that on any given Sunday, one out of every four people surveyed would willingly attend a service if they were invited by a friend that represents 79 million more people. people. Have you ever invited anyone? Have you ever told them about the fountain of youth? Christ.
It's interesting. Every time I read an evangelistic survey, the effectiveness of them, I read the same statistics. 85% or more of all the people who come to faith in Jesus Christ have delivered to them the gospel by someone they already know, someone they already trust. Jesus Christ is is surfacing. His ministry is going to begin trickling outward.
In John chapter 1, he's been introduced by John the Baptizer as the Lamb of God. I want you to notice. What happens in verse 40? Two of the men who heard John the Baptist preaching, that's not John the Gospel writer, different man. John the Baptizer is preaching, and they.
They've heard the introduction. Jesus invites them. To come. Verse 39: They came, saw where he was staying, stayed with him that day. They heard him teach.
There's a volume in between the lines here.
Now, notice verse 40. One of the two men, that is, who heard John. The Baptist speak and followed Jesus was Andrew. That's Simon Peter's little brother. And notice what happens.
He, Andrew, first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found. The Messiah. Eureka! We have Discovered! The Anointed One.
The giver of immortality. We found him! The Greek word, in fact, translated found. We have found. The Messiah was used by the Greeks for someone who had found hidden treasure.
That verb You're a common. gives us our English transliterated word. I've said it twice already. Eureka. It carries within it the nuance of joy for the one who's made some startling.
Discovery. We have discovered the anointed one. And what does Andrew do? Go back and look again. The text tells us he first found his own brother, Simon Peter.
You could translate that action to literally read a little more woodenly. He first, the first thing he did was find his own brother. Do you think he went to Simon and he said, Hey, Simon, you got a minute? I found the giver of eternal life. And uh Would you like to meet him?
It's okay if you don't want to. I don't want to offend you. I don't want to suggest you don't have eternal life. I don't want to bother you, but I'll take you to 'em. No, it's more like Simon, I've discovered the source of eternal life.
You've got to have a sip. Come on, man. Drop everything. Let's go. I have found him.
We need people who cannot keep the gospel to themselves. They have discovered the fountain of life and they can't keep it a secret. In fact, beloved, if you do not consider the discovery of Christ all that significant, you'll never consider sharing the news of him all that important. This past week we had a We had a wonderful conference and each evening A speaker and Erwin Lutzer. Spoke on Tuesday night.
Many of you know he's no stranger to us. He's the pastor of Moody Memorial Church. And he told me, Stephen, we're celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Moody Church this year. eighteen sixty four to twenty fourteen. And the church, to commemorate this significant event, Put together a book, a hardback book.
And it's just filled with these amazing pictures. And I must have spent two hours this week just reading the history of this church. Think about this in terms of our church, 28 years old. We're just babes barely out of the woods. 150 years of faithful preaching.
Of course, the first chapter deals with D.L. Moody. the founder of the Illinois Street Church later named after his death Moody Memorial. Church. The church began, and you read it.
And I've read his biography before, but was fascinated all over again, and it made me think of this text. He just couldn't keep the news of the gospel to himself. It didn't seem like older people were all that interested, and so he began to tell it to children. And this converted shoe salesman is now gathering children. He went and told all of them he would go into Chicago, the inner city, the tenement homes where they're literally packed together in the back alleys.
Uh places nicknamed Drainside. That's literally what it was. where the sewage drained. And he would invite these children to a Sunday school that he formed. that met in his church, Plymouth Street Church.
He's still in his mid-20s. And he rented pews.
Now, back in that day, you didn't have a free seat. I'm sure you paid your way in here, but you just didn't have a free seat. You had to rent your pew. Families would rent pews, individuals would rent seats. And so, if we did that today, it'd be just like today.
These seats up front would be the most expensive. Choice seats. Most of them are empty. And the back would be cheap. And that's where most people would want to sit.
But he would rent pews. He'd bring in these rowdy, dirty street urchins, they were called. The congregation really didn't like it. All that well. Even though he was riding the pew.
So Moody realized he needed a move. In fact, the kids were going to outnumber the church. before very long. And so he rented a saloon. On Sunday.
And eventually he had over a thousand Children. and some workers that he recruited. He never referred to the children, by the way, as street urchins. He always referred to them as. Scholars.
My scholars. He would call them. All of his life, any young person was a scholar. She can imagine This would grow. and the children would love him.
He always seemed to have maple candy in his pocket. One of his former students recalled That's on Saturday. That first Saturday he met Moody, Moody knocked on their tenement house door and asked, his mother if there were any children there. And she said, yes, I have two. He said, Moody invited my sister and me to attend his Sunday school the next morning.
And we agreed. And we were fascinated. With all that was happening, he writes about the teaching and the spirit and the energy of Moody. He writes this: He was the most energetic fellow you ever saw. He would often play games.
with the boys. And he would go home. Either without a coat, because he'd given it away. or with his coat so torn and tattered after the games he could not use it again. Many of these children were saved.
Along with parents and other adults, who then wanted, of course, to attend the children's Sunday school, and Moody protested, telling them they needed to join local churches. His Sunday school was not connected to any church. But they insisted they weren't welcomed anyway. and didn't want to leave them.
So in 1864, 150 years ago, With more than a thousand children, along with a number of adults, 27-year-old Dio Moody. Planted A church. And outside the door, he hung two rough pieces of wood with simple writing on them, a hand. One sign read this. Ever welcome to this house of God are strangers.
and the poor. And the other sign below it read, The seats are free. Shocking. He had found the Messiah. And he couldn't keep him to himself.
The one who searched for us. Until we found them. He searched for us. Until we found them. Today we need people who aren't over that.
As we celebrate the sacrifice of our Lord, we're reminded he is the fountain of everlasting. life and by the way the gospel is offered just like Moody's seats. freely. I need to tell you. that this verb appears Again.
In fact, it appears near the end of the Bible. For the sake of time, I'll just tell you this verb that says Andrew found him. Only on this occasion there will be no joy. It's the occasion we call the great white throne because of the description in Revelation chapter 20. And all of the unredeemed, of all of human history, are gathered before this throne that's suspended in nothingness.
Earth has been destroyed. And the heavens This is just prior to the recreation of a new earth in heaven. His throne sits upon a sea of glass. There's lightning. Flashing everywhere, angels circling his throne.
It just beggars the imagination. And John the Apostle, the same one here in this chapter. is writing that book of Revelation and he says just before the unbelieving humanity is cast into the lake of eternal fire, the sentence reads, Their names were not found. Same verb form. Their names were not Found written in the Lamb's book of life.
Their names were not found. Look again! Look again! Not found. You believe the gospel?
And you have discovered and drunk deeply from Christ. whom you've found. And your name has been etched into the Lamb's Book of Life. But you reject the gospel, you reject the free offer. You reject God.
and your name will not be found. Jesus referred to himself in John's Gospel as The gift of God, living water, John 4.10. He said, the water that I will give you is a spring of water welling up. Unto eternal life. John 4, 14.
Anything less won't satisfy anything. Else. Won't last. Who are you telling? Have you effectively taken the sod of your life and Well, you know what?
It doesn't matter. I'll cover back over this. I'm in. Might we be a little more like Andrew? Might we be a little more like Moody?
We just can't keep it to ourselves. Because he has satisfied us. In fact, in 1875, while Moody was preparing to celebrate the completion of their new church building. A woman by the name of Clara Williams, several miles north of Chicago. wrote these lyrics.
All my life long I had panted for a drink from some clear spring That I hoped would quench the burning of the thirst I felt within. Feeding on the husks around me Till my strength was almost gone, Longed my soul for something better, only still to hunger on. Poor I was, and sought for riches, something that could satisfy But the dust I gathered round me only mocked my soul's sad cry. Hallelujah. I have found him.
Whom my soul so long has craved, Jesus satisfies my longings through his blood I now am saved. Isn't that great? Last stanza reads, Taken from this text, well of water. Ever springing. Bread of life so rich and free, untold wealth that never faileth, my Redeemer is to me.
And that refrain just rejoices. Hallelujah, I have found him whom my soul so long has craved. Jesus satisfies my longings through his blood. I now Am saved. Have you told anybody?
Father, thank you for The fact that as believers we know there was an Andrew a moody in our life. are lives somewhere. A parent, a teacher, a grandparent, a friend, a neighbor. A telecast, a program. Or maybe just reading John.
Who was willing? to be used to tell The story.
Someone told us. Would you give us Father, fresh Enthusiasm for the Eureka discovery we have made in Christ. Causes In the quietness of some moment this week, perhaps time spent with you. Each day to recall that if we really do believe that we have found. the fountain of everlasting life.
That we must Understand then why we're here. It isn't for our career, our job. That just pays the bills. It's to be ambassadors. Begging a world.
to be reconciled to you. Oh god. We thank you for the gospel which has marked our hearts and lives forever. My friend, with heads bowed and eyes closed, if you know enough of the gospel, have yet not. Receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, placing faith in Him alone.
This table is not for you. This is... This is a table of rededication for believers. Who come to confess and make right anything that's wrong. reestablish the lines of fellowship as they ought to be.
as we remember our Savior. Our fountain. But as we say nearly every time we're at this point, If you would give your heart and life to Christ, Find this one. who is ever ready to be found. Believe the gospel.
And did him. Then partake. You've been listening to Wisdom for the Heart, and your Bible teacher is Stephen Davey. Stephen is the teaching pastor of the Shepherds Church in Cary, North Carolina. He first delivered this message to the church during a communion service, but But the invitation he gave at the end is also an invitation to you.
If you've never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you can do that today. And I hope you will. If you'd like more information on understanding the gospel, we have a resource to help you. It's a simple and clear explanation of the gospel that we call. God's wisdom for your heart.
This resource will help you if you'd like to understand more about the gospel. If you'd like printed copies to be able to share, we have those available. If you visit wisdomonline.org you can navigate to our store and find this resource there. We sell it in bundles, so you'll have plenty to share with your family and friends really anyone who needs the message of hope that Jesus Christ brings. This resource is also available for you to read on our website.
You can go there any time. There's a header at the top of our site that says Free Resources. The third way you can find this resource is on our smartphone app. If you install the Wisdom International app, there's a link right on the home screen that says Gospel. you can click that link and it'll open right up.
That makes it very convenient if you're out and about and you want to share the gospel with someone. Once again, the name of our app is the name of our ministry, Wisdom International. That app is available to you free of charge in the iTunes and Google Play Stores.
So, however you choose to access this resource, I hope you'll do that today. You can get printed copies to share with others. You can read it on our website. or you can access it from our smartphone app. Before I leave you, I do want to tell you a little bit more about the Wisdom International app.
It's a resource filled with content that's going to help you walk wisely through life. Everything you find there is designed to help you know what the Bible says. Understand what it means, and and apply it to your life. Stephen's been teaching God's Word for over four decades. The archive of all of his lessons and sermons is available on that app.
We also have a daily devotional that you'll find there. as well as a Bible reading plan. And I'll mention this once again, you'll find the Wisdom International app in both the iTunes and the Google Play Stores. Download it today. Then make plans to join us back here next time.
Stephen will have another message from God's Word. on wisdom for the heart.
