In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of having a life overflowing with the Spirit of God. He shares a personal story of going on a camping trip and realizing the desperate need for water when he became extremely thirsty. The preacher relates this to the spiritual thirst that people have for God. He encourages the congregation to surrender to God, confess their sins, and allow Him to fill and satisfy their hearts. The sermon concludes with a passage from Luke 11, where Jesus teaches about the importance of being prepared to meet the needs of others.

So good to be back with you this evening. Thank you for coming back out this evening. I want to share, I want you to turn, if you would, to 2 Kings chapter 2. But before we read that text, I want to also share another scripture. John chapter 7, beginning in verse 37. 2 Kings chapter 2, if you just mark your place there, and then we're going to turn to John chapter 7, beginning in verse 37. John 7, 37, these are the words of the Lord Jesus. On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Now the context of those words is that Jesus is speaking to a group of very religious people, they experienced all the feast days, they've gone through all these religious motions, and in essence what he's saying, at the end of all you're doing, all you're striving, and all these ceremonial laws, and all these things you're doing, if there's a thirst in you, still a thirst in you, if any one of you is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. None of that will give you life. Life is found in the person of Jesus Christ alone. And if there's anyone out here thirsty, let him come to me and drink, and out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water. Now our brother just challenged us earlier to be absolutely honest with ourselves before God. Would you be honest before the Lord, my brother, my sister, not thinking of anyone else around you, draw a circle around yourself as I'm doing myself, and answer this question. Are there now rivers of living water flowing from my heart? Am I experiencing the fullness of the life of God's Spirit flowing through me continually? And if not, it should create in us a thirst for more of Jesus, a thirst for more of God's presence, a thirst for more of Him. And for those who have that thirst tonight, the message that God has simply put on my heart is don't settle for less. Don't settle for less when God himself has given you and I a promise tonight that He is willing to so fill us with His Spirit that out of our innermost being will flow rivers of living water. I have to be honest with you and to tell you many times, and I've experienced this in the ministry, there have been times that if I was absolutely honest before God, I would have to say, Lord, I feel more like a dry, barren desert than I do rivers of living water coming through me. But that's the first thing God requires of us is honesty. First, we must get honest before God. We must see our desperate need for Him and more of Him. And when God finds an honest heart here tonight, when He finds someone here who's thirsty, someone who will not settle for less, He will pour out upon them His Spirit. There's a promise right there in Scripture. Now, I want you to turn to 2 Kings with me in chapter 2 as we learn from the example of a man named Elisha, a man who would not settle for anything less than a double portion of the Spirit of God. Would you admit with me tonight that there is more of God to know than what you know right now? Would you admit with me tonight there is so much more that the Lord wants to do in and through you than what you're experiencing right now? How many of us have arrived at the Christian life? We're on a journey, brothers and sisters. And someone said Christian life is like riding a bike. You're either moving forward or you've fallen down. We're either drawing closer and closer to Jesus and getting to know Him more and more and walking more and more in the fullness of His Holy Spirit or we're backslidden. There's no in-between. And the truth is God is constantly wanting to enlarge our hearts. The Scripture talks about the cup of salvation in the Psalms. Jesus talked about in John chapter 4, to the woman at the well, this wellspring of the water of life. Here in John chapter 7, He talked about rivers of living water. And we all know there's a great difference between the cup and rivers. And we all may have experienced that cup and God filling us with His Spirit, but our capacity was only that of a cup. God is constantly at work in His children like the potter works with the clay on the potter's wheel, molding us and making us. And one of the things the Lord wants to do is to enlarge our hearts more and more and more so that we are growing in Christ and there's a greater and greater capacity to be filled with all the fullness of the life and Spirit of God. Let's learn from this man who would not settle for less. We'll begin reading in verse 1, chapter 2. And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Then Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel. But Elisha said, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they went down to Bethel. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? And he said, Yes, I know. Keep silent. Then Elijah said to him, Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho. But he said, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So they came to Jericho. Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today? So he answered, Yes, I know. Keep silent. Then Elijah said to him, Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan. But he said, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave you. So the two of them went on. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water. And it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground. And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, Ask, what may I do for you before I am taken away from you? Elisha said, Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. So he said, You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I'm taken from you, it shall be so for you. But if not, it shall not be so. Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire and separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen. So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the water and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that, and Elisha crossed over. Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha. Let's pray together, please. Dear Heavenly Father, I believe, Lord, You've given me a burden that comes from You. I believe with all of my heart You're calling us deeper. You have already said to us through Your Word, Lord Jesus, come follow me. And You're calling us to follow You deeper. You're wanting us, Lord, to know You more. You're wanting to enlarge our hearts. And I pray, God, that You would create in each one of us tonight a thirst, a hunger and thirst that will settle for nothing less than more of You, more of Your Spirit. God, here I am preaching about a need for more of Your Spirit. And I myself feel in need. I pray, God, that You would fill me with the fullness of Your Spirit and speak to each and every one of our hearts tonight. Give us ears to hear what You are saying to us, O Lord, and glorify Your name. In Jesus' name, amen. Now Elijah and Elisha began their journey according to verse 1 in Gilgal. This is where the journey begins. Now, why is that significant tonight? Well, it's significant when we understand what the word Gilgal means. The word Gilgal, if we turn back just a few pages to the left to the book of Joshua in chapter 5, we are told what Gilgal means. Gilgal was the place where the children of Israel, if you remember when God led them out of Egypt, led them out of captivity, He was leading them to the promised land. But because of their disobedience, they ended up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, 40 long years. But now we come to the place where Moses is gone. God has raised up Joshua to lead his children across the Jordan into the promised land. And after entering into the promised land, Gilgal was the first place that they camped. And when they crossed the Jordan into the promised land, God commanded Joshua to start sharpening knives. He said, I want you to circumcise all the men. There were many of those that were born in the wilderness that had not yet been circumcised. And under the old covenant, circumcision was a symbol that God had given of His covenant promise to His people. Now, where does this word Gilgal come from? If we look in Joshua, just follow me in chapter 5, verse 8. It says, So it was when they had finished circumcising all the people that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. Therefore, the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. Gilgal means rolled away. And so what God is saying is I want you to call this place Gilgal because this is symbolic and all the circumcision was symbolic of rolling away the reproach of Egypt from off of you. The next thing He had them to do was to celebrate the Passover, celebrate the Passover land. You see, brothers and sisters, this is an absolute type of our journey when the Spirit of God awakened us and suddenly we were convicted of our sin and the Spirit of God drew us to the cross of Jesus Christ and we met Jesus by faith and repentance. He saved us and the burden of our sin was rolled away. That's our Gilgal. Gilgal is when you were born again of the Spirit of God. It's where we met the Lord. What a glorious day. That's why we sing that great hymn, At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light and the burden of my heart rolled away. Do you remember that day when you put your faith in the Lord Jesus and He washed you in His precious blood, washed you whiter than snow, took out the stony heart and gave you a new heart and you were born again of His Spirit. That's your Gilgal. The old life was rolled away. God has given us new life. We are born again of His Spirit. We are saved by His grace. Gilgal. That's a wonderful place, is it not? And if Elijah wanted to, he could just stay there. And notice what Elijah tells Elisha in verse 2. Then Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel. Gilgal is a wonderful place. And here's the test. You can stay here, Elisha. You can stay here. But the Lord has called me on to Bethel. I'm going deeper. I'm going further. The Lord is leading me on. You see, some people, the only testimony they have, it seems, is what the Lord did back in 1962 or 1972. I want to ask you, are you alive today? Or do you have a vibrant personal relationship with Jesus Christ today? Many have stayed back in Gilgal when the Lord says, No, I'm leading you on to Bethel. And here is a man who will not settle for less. Elisha says, No, if you're going to Bethel, I'm going to Bethel. Elijah the prophet is a type of Christ. And Elisha is saying, If you're going, I'm going. I will not settle for less. Now, what does Bethel mean? Bethel means the house of God. The Lord is wanting to take us as His people. Once He saves us and redeems us, and the sin is rolled away, and the reproach of Egypt is rolled away, and we're given a new heart, now the Lord says, I'm leading you to the house of God. Under the new covenant, that is the church of Jesus Christ. Each one of us are living stones. And the Lord puts us together as a body. And the Lord wants to take each one of us, different as we are, different gifts, different callings, and bring us together into fellowship so we become the family of God, the body of Christ, the house of God. Today, it's not a physical temple. It's a spiritual house. And you, the church of Jesus Christ, are that house. But here's what many do. They say, No, I don't need to go to church to be a Christian. I don't need to be a part of a body. I said that once also, my friend, and I became cold and backslidden. And you will too. I'll guarantee you, because God didn't make any of us to be lone rangers. It's just like a pile of coals. You set those coals on fire, and as long as they're together, loving one another, the people of God, loving one another, fellowshipping together, those coals get hotter and hotter and hotter. They burn brighter and brighter and brighter. But when one of the coals, one of the members of the body gets offended, becomes unforgiving or just proud and doesn't see his need for the rest of the body or her need for the rest of the body and decides to go over here by themselves to serve the Lord, what happens? While these are burning brightly, it doesn't take long for the flame to go out and die and that one to become cold. God created us under the new covenant to need one another as iron sharpens iron. He's building a spiritual house. He's building His church. He's calling us to go deeper from Gilgal to Bethel, from having been born again of His Spirit to becoming now a part of the body of Christ. Hallelujah. But the journey continues. He goes on in verse 4, Elijah says to him, Elijah, stay here please, for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho. Now I'm saved. Now I've become a part of the body of Christ. I've been brought into the family of God, into the house of God. But the Lord says, we're going deeper still. We're going further still. We're going to Jericho. And Jericho represents that place, if you remember, it was the first stronghold that the children of Israel experienced after they went into the promised land. It seems like an impossibility. There's this huge walled city that's standing in the way. This mountain that's standing in the way. It's at Jericho that our faith is tested. We got our faith tested today, didn't we, brother? We saw Jericho. We saw an impossibility. We saw a precious, precious lady that the doctors can do nothing for. And apart from God touching her and doing something miraculous, raising her up off of her sickbed, that's the only answer. But what happens is God is growing us. It requires faith to follow the Lord Jesus. And at Jericho, our faith is tested. Will we believe God? Will we trust God? Or will we say, no, I don't want to face this kind of thing. I'll just go back to the house of God. Our faith isn't so much tested in here. Your faith is tested tomorrow morning when you go to work. Your faith is tested tomorrow morning when you go out into the world and you're confronted with Jericho's. When mountains stand in your way. Perhaps someone here is here tonight that has a mountain standing in the way. A stronghold. A giant. Something that looks absolutely impossible. God's leading you into His promises, but there's something standing in the way. And it looks like an impossibility. Your faith is being tested. I want you to hear the Lord calling you. Trust me. Trust me. And at Jericho, God called His people to trust Him, to believe Him, to not lean on their own understanding. He's refining your faith. He's trying and molding and maturing you. And God says to His people, march around this wall for seven days. Six days they march around. Seven days. The seventh day, He says, march around the wall seven times. And let out a shout of victory. And what happened? God brought the walls down. It was a tremendous victory. And you and I are going to experience those kind of victories in our Christian life. We're going to see God do what only God can do. And what can only be explained by God. But here's another tragedy. It's when we experience such victory and we think, ah, now I've really arrived. No need to go deeper. No need to go further. But what does the prophet say? You can stay here, Elisha. In fact, he says, you go ahead and stay here. Verse six. Elijah said to him, stay here, please. For the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan. Now, Jericho and that victory is being up on the mountain. Jordan, the name Jordan, the word means descender. We're going down. The Lord led me up on a mountain. He allowed me to experience a victory. Now he's leading me down, down into the valley. It's not easy to go down to Jordan. Not easy to go down there. But that's where the Lord is calling. And the tragedy is many, many people want to live on yesterday's victories. And they miss today. Many are trying to live on yesterday's manna. But yesterday's manna stinks in the light of today. You cannot live on yesterday's manna. Jesus wants you. He is the great I am. He is our daily bread. And he wants us to have a personal relationship with him, whereby we are abiding in him every day. I went, brothers and sisters, had the opportunity to go to the UK. I had read and studied about the Welsh Revival, 1904 Welsh Revival. Evan Roberts was preaching. God moved mightily in that land. Church houses were full to overflowing. Hundreds upon thousands were saved. I had the privilege of being able to visit the Mariah Chapel where it all broke out. Revival broke out. I did not know. I thought I was just going there to attend a conference. I get there and the leader says, I'd like you to preach. So I had the privilege of preaching in that Mariah Chapel. It's a wonderful experience. But that was during the week. And after the conference was over, for some reason, my plane was a day late. And all my brothers and sisters had gone back to the States. And so I'm over there in Wales. It was a Sunday. I thought, well, I'll just take in a service at the Mariah Chapel. I've read about this revival. I'm so excited to visit this place. You know what I discovered? A dead, empty building. It was tragic. It was tragic. A place where once the Spirit of God was moving mightily. Now there was just a handful of people. And I only remember one of those being excited about the Word of God. I walked in there just to take a part of the service. And the pastor comes back, says, Brother Brian, you will deliver the message today. I was not prepared to preach at all. But God gave me the privilege of preaching there. What I will never forget is here was a place where God's Spirit once moved. But everybody was trying to live on yesterday's victory. And today there was no victory. Everybody's trying to live on yesterday's manna. Where is the manna for today? Do you know that place today is just a museum of the past? It's tragic. And it's not just there. You're seeing churches all across this land that were full at one time that were overflowing. The baptismal waters were stirred constantly. People were coming to Christ, being saved, born again. Now those churches are having to shut the doors. It's tragic. This is not the will of God. The will of God is for the church to continue to grow and to glorify God and to be drawn closer and closer to God. And God enlarging our hearts and Him taking us deeper and further. From Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to Jordan. And here's where ultimately He's leading. The whole time Elisha's being tested. But the whole time He's saying, I will not settle for anything less. I've heard God call. I know He has already made me a promise. I know it is the Lord's will to give me a double portion of His Spirit. I want more of Jesus. More of Him. And so even when He's told, you stay here. I'm going further. He says, nothing doing. If you're going Elijah, I'm going. Now where are we going? To Jordan. Okay, finally, verse 9. Elijah said to Elisha, ask, what may I do for you before I'm taken from you? Now that I know you're thirsty. Now that I know you're serious. Now that I know you value the presence of God. What do you want? And His request, please let a double portion of your Spirit be upon me. This is a hard thing you ask, He says. But if you see me when I'm taken away, it shall be done for you. And it was done for him. And the testimony of Elisha, verse 15, was the Spirit of Elijah rest on Elisha. He received the promise because He wouldn't settle for anything less. Now keep following me. We're going on a journey. Ezekiel chapter 47. Ezekiel chapter 47. And we'll begin reading in verse 1. Then He brought me back to the door of the temple. This is a vision that God gave the prophet Ezekiel. He brought me back to the door of the temple. And there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east. For the front of the temple faced east. The water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east. And there was water running out on the right side. And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured 1,000 cubits and he brought me through the waters. The waters came up to my ankles. Again, he measured 1,000 and brought me through the waters and the waters came up to my knees. Again, he measured 1,000 and brought me through. The waters came up to my waist. Again, he measured 1,000 and it was a river that I could not cross. For the water was too deep. Water in which one must swim. A river that could not be crossed. He said to me, son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. When I returned there, along the bank of the river, there were very many trees on one side and the other. Then he said to me, this water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves wherever the rivers go will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish because these waters go there for they will be healed. And everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from in Getty to in Inglim. They will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds of the fish of the great sea. Exceedingly many. Now, what is this vision? We see throughout the New Testament, even much of the old, that the Holy Spirit, a symbol that God uses often in His word for the Holy Spirit, is a river. This is a vision, brothers and sisters, of this river flowing from the house of God. It's flowing east. And he says, I saw this and I was led into the river. And he said, the water went up to my ankles. But the Lord's calling us deeper. And as he follows the Lord deeper, the water comes up to his knees. Still not satisfied, the Lord calls deeper. The water comes up to his waist. Still there's more. And God calls him deeper. And he says, it was now too deep for me to keep my feet on the bottom. It became rivers to swim in. This is an absolute picture of what the Lord is saying to us tonight. For those who will not settle for anything less, God is calling us deeper. It's one thing to be in the river, but only be there ankle deep. It's another thing to be knee deep. It's another thing to be waist deep. But what about these rivers to swim in? This is where the Spirit of God is leading us. This is where he's calling us to go deeper. And you see, it's going to require something of us. It requires surrender. As long as the water is only ankle deep, then I'm pretty much still in control. I can go where I want to go. I can do what I want to do. Yeah, I'm in the river. My feet are wet. But is that where you want to stay? Is that the will of God for you to stay in waters ankle deep? No, the Lord Jesus is continually saying, follow me. And notice this, the rivers flowing east, the closer you get to the sun, the deeper the water gets. The closer we get to Jesus, the Son of God, the light of the world, the deeper and deeper the water gets. Again, the Lord is calling us deeper. For those who will settle for nothing less. But it requires surrender. Who does the Lord grant a double portion of his Spirit? To whom will he fill the overflowing rivers of living water? It is those, first of all, who are willing to surrender to him their whole hearts. Their whole hearts. I challenge you tonight. Have you trusted the Lord this way? Did you know you can trust perfect love? God has called you to trust him with all of your heart. Some of you, I think some of you may be holding back. Trusting the Lord with all of your heart. Because you've been hurt and wounded in the past. And you're at a place you don't think you can really trust anybody. I want to tell you, God Almighty is trustworthy. And you have to trust the Lord for him to lead you deeper. It's one thing even to be waist deep. That requires some faith. But you've still got your feet on the bottom. The Lord wants to take you where he wants you to go. And he will heal your heart. But you must trust him. You must trust him with all of your heart. And trust means surrender. Trust is surrender. That's where you no longer are holding anything back from the Lord. It's trusting the Lord with every key to your heart. As I said this morning. Our hearts, if you will, are made up of many, many rooms. There are many, many different parts of our lives. And Jesus Christ is calling you to surrender every part to him. I've shared this with many. I don't know if I shared it here the last time I was here. But I'm going to share it with you again. It was something that happened to a man by the name of F.B. Meyer. That really, really ministered to me when I read it. I read it in a little bitty book called The Christ Life for the Self Life. And the Lord brought that book across my path when I needed him so much. I thought that I was a castaway. I looked at ministry and I had been ministering for a long time. I was seeing little fruit. I was dry as gunpowder. I'd seen so many failures in my own life. And in my mind, the only thing to do was just to walk away from it all and go back to fishing, if you will, just like Peter. But the Lord, in his mercy, drew me unto himself. And during that time, God spoke to me through this little book, The Christ Life for the Self Life. And he spoke to me through F.B. Meyer's testimony. F.B. Meyer was, if I remember the details right, he was at a convention. And it was at night and he was sitting around the fire with some other brothers. I think one of those brothers was C.T. Studd. And maybe Hudson Taylor. I can't remember all the details. But he was looking at these brothers and he said to them, you brothers have something I don't have. And one of them said to him very simply. In essence, you can have all of Jesus you want to have. But you must surrender all of your heart. You must surrender all. F.B. Meyer, if I remember the details right, went out into the darkness. At first, he was very aggravated and frustrated. But the Lord gave him a picture. It was a dream, a vision. I don't remember exactly, but he had an encounter with the Lord. And the Lord Jesus came up to F.B. Meyer and held out his hand. And he said to him, all the keys to your heart. And F.B. Meyer said he took out a set of keys and he placed them in the Lord's hand. And the Lord said to him, are all the keys there? He said, Lord, all but one. And the Lord Jesus took those keys, placed them back into F.B. Meyer's hand and turned to walk away. F.B. Meyer said, no, Lord, wait, don't go away. The Lord turned around and said, you either trust me with all or you do not trust me at all. You see, brothers and sisters, he's either Lord of all or he's not Lord at all. And F.B. Meyer said to him, Lord, there's one place in my heart that I can't even seem to go. There's one place in my heart I can't even seem to surrender this key to you. But if you will reach in and take it, you can have it. And the Lord reached in and took that final key to his heart. He had come to an absolute surrender. And he said, I was never the same again. The Lord filled him with his Holy Spirit. For some of us, the thing that is holding us back from going deeper into the Lord is that we have not surrendered all. You're still holding something back from the Lord. Something back that you've yet to trust him with. God is calling you very clearly tonight to surrender all, surrender all every key to your heart. That means when you surrender all the river can take you wherever he wants you to go. And make you what you could never become. And do you know where he always leads us? This river, as it became waters to swim in, goes down and it goes down to a place called the Dead Sea, just as the Jordan flows down from the Sea of Galilee into the Dead Sea. Here he talks about this river in verse eight. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves wherever the rivers go will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish because these waters go there, for they will be healed. And everything will live wherever the river goes. This river is a river of life. And this river, the Holy Spirit is calling us to surrender to him, to follow him, and where he always leads us is to become fishers of men. He will lead us to the Dead Sea. He will lead us to that place where the Lord found us dead in our trespasses and sins, in the filth and darkness of the world. That's where the Lord Jesus rescued us. That's where he saved us. And there are others out there tonight, brothers and sisters, who need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, who need a demonstration of the power of God standing before them, who need someone to bring them words of life. They are dying. They are in the Dead Sea. This river of life, the Spirit of God, Christ in you, the hope of glory is the hope for Engram. And I was reading this a while ago and it came to verse 10. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from Engedi to Enenglam. I said Enenglam sounds like Engram to me. Here we are. Where is your mission field? Your mission field is wherever the river takes you. Your mission field is when you walk out those doors tonight, wherever you go tomorrow. The person that God brings across your path, the person that is standing in front of you, the little child that you're taking care of. People, people, young, middle-aged, old. That's your mission field. And that's where the river will take you. Jesus said, come follow me and I will make you what? Fishers of men. But here's the tragedy. Some of us have heard that call to become fishers of men. But we've forgotten that we can't do it apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit of God. And who does He fill with His Spirit? That person, that man or woman or child who's willing to surrender completely to Him. He is looking for surrendered vessels. Who else does He fill with His Spirit? That one which is thirsty. We read it in the beginning. Jesus didn't say, let any man come to me and drink. He said, if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. Are you thirsty for the presence of God? Are you willing to surrender all to Him? He's looking for surrendered vessels. He's looking for clean vessels. If you come to my house and you wanted a glass of tea, I don't go and pick out some cup that's in the middle of the sink that's still got milk in the bottom of it and fill it up. You wouldn't drink from that. I take a clean glass, fill it up for you. God is looking for clean vessels. And there's only one way to be clean, and that is to come to Jesus Christ and confess your sins to Him and trust Him to wash you thoroughly in His precious blood that makes you whiter than snow. You see, when Jesus fills us, then He sends us to become fishers of men. Now, I want you to turn to our final text in Luke chapter 11, and this is all building up to this. Ultimately, this is what I believe the Spirit of God would have me to share tonight with you. Luke chapter 11, Jesus says in verse 5, And He said to them, Which of you shall have a friend? And go to him at midnight and say to him, Lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him. Now let's stop there. I have nothing to set before him. Have you ever experienced this? God has sent someone across your path, and it was a midnight hour, and they were desperately in need, and they're looking to you, and you feel you have nothing to set before them. Let me see your hand. Have you ever experienced that? Or am I the only one? A couple of us have experienced that, a few of us. God brought somebody across my path who needed Him, and I had nothing to set before Him. I'm dry. There's not rivers of living water coming from me. It's a midnight hour. They're hungry. They're desperate. What's the answer? Verse 7, And He will answer from within and say, Do not trouble Me. The door is now shut, and My children are with Me in bed. I cannot rise and give to you. I say to you, though He will not rise and give to Him, because He is His friend, yet because of His persistence, He will rise and give Him as many as He needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Ask for what? Seek, and you will find. Find what? Knock, and it will be opened to you. What will be opened to Me? For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. If a son asks bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you, then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? When you have nothing to set before the needy, the lost, those who are in the dead sea, it's because we're empty and we need to be filled. And so what is Jesus saying? Ask. Seek. Knock. And He says you will receive. You will find. It will be opened to you. What? The gift of the filling of the Holy Spirit. And apart from Him, we have nothing to offer anyone. And you cannot give away what you don't have. The Christian life, the abundant, fruitful Christian life, is a life that is overflowing with the Spirit of God. The life of God. And that's what we all need. Who does He fill? Those who are thirsty. Those who are thirsty for God. I remember one time when I had gone on this camping trip, I was just a teenage boy. As a matter of fact, it was one of those times when I thought that I didn't need anybody but the Lord. And I was going to go out in the mountains and get along with the Lord. And I took a horse and a pack horse. And it was during the summertime. And I rode way up into the mountains. And took a little bit of food. Never thought to take any water. And here I am up in the mountains. And that night, I'm getting thirsty. Camped out by a pond, but it was so stagnant. I wasn't dare going to try to drink any of it. Next morning, I'm really thirsty. And I take off riding, looking for water. There's no water to be found. Almost two days had gone by. And I was really, really, really thirsty. Finally came to a spring that was flowing with crystal clean, cold water. And I tell you, I jumped off my horse. Ran to that spring. Dumped my head under the water. Drank and drank and drank. I was really thirsty. I say to you again, I know I'm repeating myself. God is looking for thirsty hearts tonight. Who come to this place where Jesus, nothing else will satisfy me. Only you can satisfy Holy Spirit. Only you can meet my desperate need tonight. Apart from you, I'm poverty stricken. Apart from you, I cannot live the Christian life. I cannot overcome sin apart from the Holy Spirit. Did you know we can no more overcome sin apart from the Holy Spirit than a man can see without eyes? Or hear without ears? Or breathe without lungs? We need the Spirit of God. It requires thirst. It requires surrender. It also requires, according to this passage, faith. For some of us, we're willing to surrender. We are thirsty. We have asked Him, Lord, fill me. But there's one thing lacking. It's faith. And God says to you who do not believe, God says to you who are doubting, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. If one of my little ones or one of your little ones came up to you and said, Daddy, I'm hungry. Can I have a bite of that? How many of us would hand him a rock? How many of you, if your son asked for a fish, would give him a serpent? If he asked for an egg, would give him a scorpion? Jesus said, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? God Almighty wants to give His Spirit to us more than we could ever want to receive. Trust Him. He's a good Father. He's a good Father who gives good gifts. And He wants to answer that prayer, I believe it with all of my heart, to any and all who are willing to surrender to trust the Lord tonight. We pray. We ask. We're filled. We go fish. Let the Holy Spirit take us to that dead sea to bring forth life. Will you stand with me tonight? It's a very simple message, brothers and sisters. If you'll bow your heads with me, I do want to make a simple appeal to you. It's very simple. We're not here to work anything up because we can't work anything up. We're here tonight to get dead honest before God. We're here tonight to get honest before God and to acknowledge our lack, our need. Father, I pray right now that You would search our hearts by the power of Your Holy Spirit, Lord. I pray You would search our hearts and You would reveal to each and every one of us tonight our desperate need for You. This call to go deeper. This call to follow You, Lord, to rivers to swim in. This call to settle for nothing less than a life that is filled with Your Holy Spirit. God, I pray that You would find honest hearts here tonight. I pray that You would find those who are thirsty for You. I pray, Lord, if there be some that are holding back that tonight, this be the very night that by simple faith, we surrender every fiber of our being to You, O God. Holding nothing back. And I pray tonight, Lord, You would hear the cries of those who will settle for nothing less than for You to fill them to overflowing with Your life-giving Spirit. Move among us, I pray, O God. Move among us this evening. Give us an encounter with You that we would never be the same again. Johnny, if you'll come and lead us in a song, we're going to enter into a time of worship. And I simply want to ask you, my friend, if God has spoken to you tonight, did you know there's more than enough people here? God doesn't need a great majority. He took only a handful of men and turned the world upside down. If God will find one tonight. Someone challenged D.L. Moody. He said, Dwight, the world has yet to see what God can do through one man that is completely surrendered to Him. And D.L. Moody said, By the grace of God, I will be that man. And he was thirsty and he sought the Lord. And there came a day when he was walking down the street and the Lord poured out His Spirit upon D.L. Moody. And it was like wave upon wave upon wave of liquid love, he said. So much so that he finally had to say, God, please withstand, withhold your hand. I can't take any more. He said, I preached the very same sermons after that, but the results were entirely different. When the Spirit of God breathes upon us, then life is given, then fruit is given. We need the Spirit of God. And if you're hungry tonight, these altars are open, we can kneel at the pews. And we just want to have a time where you call out to the Lord. You surrender to Him all that you are. If your heart is dirty and unclean and there's sin in your life, tonight is the night to confess that sin to God. If you're holding on anything, tonight is the night to let go, to surrender. Let Him take you wherever He wants you to go. It may be across the world. It may be across your street. But is Jesus Lord of all? Is He Lord of your life? I pray that we respond to Him tonight. He is worthy. He is worthy of all. Lead us in a couple of songs, if you would.