Title: LIVING WATER
Focus: As water brings about and sustains earthly life, so the Spirit of God brings about and sustains life from God himself.
Function: To make people away of the gift and abiding presence of Christ’s Holy Spirit.
I shall never forget the summer of 1986. It was a hot and dry summer. The farmers in my first parish were deeply worried about their crops in the field. They were afraid that if the rains would stay away much longer, there would be not much to harvest in the coming fall season. So on a Sunday morning, they came to me, their pastor, and asked if I would conduct a prayer service for the entire community that very Sunday afternoon.
Thus, announcements
were made, mostly by word of mouth, on that Sunday afternoon in July. And we
packed our church sanctuary. I welcomed the people, introduced our purpose for
coming together and emphasized that we would pray specifically for rain. As a
symbol of faith, I had taken with me an umbrella. I opened the umbrella, placed
it beside me for all to see; then we prayed. Oh! We were thirsty for God to
answer our prayers for rain!
I suppose we all
know the feeling of being thirsty. Our body tells us that we need water, and
somehow, by creating a strong desire within us, we know that we need to drink.
We all know what that thirst for water feels like.
But we don’t always
recognize our thirst for peace and rest, for harmony and healing in the midst
of brokenness. Centuries ago St. Augustine spoke about such thirst when he
referred to restlessness in our hearts. And Augustine said that our hearts
would not find rest until our hearts would find rest in God alone.
On this Pentecost
Sunday, I declare to you good news. It comes to us from the lips of the Lord
Jesus when he said: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will
flow from within him.”
Congregation, are you
thirsty? Is there restlessness in your heart? Is there a drought in your relationships?
Is there a deep longing for renewal, for change in your life, for peace in your
heart, for strength and courage to complete your pilgrimage of faith? Then pay
attention to Jesus’ words and respond to him in faith: “If anyone is
thirsty, let him come to me and drink.”
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Now the Lord Jesus spoke these words at a very opportune time.
It was on the last and greatest day of the feast—the Feast of Tabernacles, that
is. The Feast of Tabernacles is a 7-day festival that is concluded with an 8th
day grand ceremony, where the people gather at the temple in Jerusalem
for sacrifices and the singing of Psalms 113-118.
Centuries ago, God had instructed his people that they should
commemorate their exodus from Egypt during the time of Moses. At that time, the
Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years, lived in booths or tents, and
depended completely upon God’s daily provisions of food and drink. God “rained”
quails and manna on them for 40 years, and he provided water for them in the
desert, even water flowing from a rock.
The Feast of Tabernacles took place in the fall season, right
after the ingathering of the harvest. In Jesus’ days, the Feast of Tabernacles
involved a daily procession in Jerusalem by the priests. They would march (Beale and Carson) “in solemn procession from the Pool of Siloam to
the temple and pour out water at the base of the altar. On the seventh day of
the festival, there would be a special water-pouring rite and lights ceremony.”
Now get this! On the 8th day, there would be this
special concluding ceremony, with sacrifices and psalm singing. But there would
be no procession from the Pool of Siloam and no water-pouring rite at the
temple. And it’s precisely on that day, at that very time, in the midst of all
these people near the temple, that Jesus stands, and says in a loud voice: “If
anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the
Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
How timely and how opportune!
Here the Lord Jesus pulls
together the signs and symbols of the Feast of Tabernacles, and Jesus places
himself at the center of the Feast. Jesus draws upon prophetic voices in the
O.T. Scriptures and he makes himself the focus and fulfillment of these
prophecies.
Here, on that last and great day of the Feast of Tabernacles,
the Lord Jesus echoes back to his conversation with the Samaritan woman, who
came to Jacobs’ well to lessen her thirst. And there the Lord Jesus said to
this woman: “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but
whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give
him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Congregation, are you thirsty? Are you thirsty for living water? Then come to
Jesus in faith. For Jesus has promised his Pentecostal Holy Spirit to all who
reach out to him in faith.
Liturgically, we have seen Jesus granting the gift of his Holy
Spirit to these two children baptized today. The waters of baptism point to the
creative, renewing work of God the Holy Spirit. He cleanses us from sin; he
empowers us to live a new life—a life of faith and obedience and love. He
communicates Jesus’ abiding presence in our hearts, and he enables us to be a
blessing to others.
Liturgically, we may also witness the Pentecostal Holy Spirit at
work in our young people today. Two of them will profess their faith publicly
in Jesus Christ. And together with them, we may all celebrate Christ promise to
be with us, as he gathers in his people from all the nations of the world
through the work of his Holy Spirit.
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will
flow from within him.”
This past week, I talked with Randy Hedman. Recently, Randy
worked as a volunteer with Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. For one
week, Randy joined volunteers (mostly retirees) from all over the U.S.and
Canada, and they restored a house that was wrecked by hurricane Katrina a few
years ago.
Randy, along with the other volunteers, applied their skills and
energy and rebuild the house of 83 years old Katherine Casnave. You can see her
picture on the screen; she is praising the Lord as she, together with her
daughter, celebrated the dedication of her new home. To me, this is a picture
of streams of living water flowing from heaven above, into the hearts of
Christian volunteers, and flowing from within those hearts to others such as
Katherine Casnave. The Spirit of God brings living water—yes, life from above:
trickles of blessings, flows of harmony and joy, and streams of praise--to us
and to people around us.
The Pentecostal Spirit has come, and is for all who turn to
Jesus. And yes, he also intercedes for us and hears our prayers.
You remember that prayer service that I mentioned to you earlier
in my message? That service with the open umbrella on the pulpit? Well, the
rains came. That following Monday and Tuesday God replenished the fields of the
farmers in North Blendon, MI. And they gathered their crops in the fall.
The Lord Jesus Christ is true to all his promises! Christ is
gathering, and nurturing and refreshing his people still today.
The Spirit has come! The
Spirit gives life! Come to Jesus in faith. Drink!
In the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.