If Anyone Thirsts Let Them Come To Me
John 7: 37-39
Day of Pentecost
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen. The sermon text for the day of Pentecost is the Gospel reading John 7. Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out if his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Our Lord said these words on the last day of a festival known as the Feast of Booths. The Feast of Booths lasted for seven days. On each of the seven mornings a priest filled a golden pitcher with water as the choir repeated words from Isaiah 12:3, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Water was then poured on the base of the altar. The Israelites celebrated the Feast of Booths to remember the forty years they were in the wilderness. God freed the children of Israel from the bondage of Egyptian slavery, He parted the Red Sea for them, gave them the 10 commandments and provided for them as they wondered the wilderness. During that time in the wilderness the Israelites would often grumble against God and against Moses. One of their main complaints was their fear of dying of thirst in the desert. The Lord was gracious to them. During their time in the wilderness God provided them with water so that they could live.
When Jesus spoke up during the Feast of Booths the people’s prayer for water was answered. “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Of course Jesus was not speaking about plain water, but He was referring to the spiritual water of life and salvation. The drinking that He was speaking about was not drinking plain water but believing in Him. Jesus was speaking about the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Our Lord was glorified when He died on the cross for it was there that He won our salvation. After His death and resurrection, Jesus revealed Himself to His disciples for forty days and then He ascended into heaven. Ten days after our Lord ascended into heaven the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost. The Lord told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come to them after He went to the Father. The words of Jesus came to pass when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost. It was the Holy Spirit that gave the disciples the ability to talk in many different languages so that all the people could hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit worked through that Gospel proclamation, and He brought many people to faith in the Lord.
That continues to be the work of the Holy Spirit to this day. It was the Holy Spirit that brought you to faith in Jesus. The Spirit has called you, once dead in your sin, to be alive in Christ. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus you have been forgiven and given the gift of everlasting life. It is the Holy Spirit that revealed Jesus to you through the Gospel and gives you the blessings that Christ won for you on the cross. It is the Holy Spirit who created and sustains faith in you through Word and Sacrament. You have received life and salvation, and you believe in Jesus.
We now humbly kneel before God and receive His blessings. We have been brought out of the darkness of sin and placed in God’s light. We have been transferred from the dominion of Satan to the Kingdom of God. As Christians we thirst for God’s grace, and we look forward to being in the full presence of the Lord for all eternity. Recall what Jesus said. “If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”.
These are wonderful words of Jesus but there is also great danger. We live in a sinful world, our sinful nature still clings to us, and Satan is always on the attack. In the wilderness the Israelites had forgotten the glorious things that God had done for them. They stopped looking to the Lord and trusting in Him and instead developed a craving to return to the slavery of Egypt in order to fill their bellies.
We will have the same temptation. All too often our priorities are all wrong. We thirst for money, reputation and possessions. We thirst for status and recognition. We thirst for success and earthly comfort. We want to always get our way, we want to be entertained, we want things to be easy. In our sin we think winning an argument is more important than the truth. We indulge our pride, our lust, our selfishness. We think only of filling our belly.
We can start to forget what is most important. We neglect the devotional life of Word and prayer. We stop thinking about the glorious things that God has done for us. In doing so we also forget to look at the needs of our neighbor and how best we can serve in the church. All too often we forget that we are here on this earth right now to be a Christian witness to the rest of the world. We forget that we are here to honor God’s Name and to serve our neighbor. Let us repent and turn to the Lord and receive living water. Let us say, “Lord have mercy on me a sinner. Be gracious to me for the sake of your Son Jesus.”
Repent and rejoice because the Lord is gracious to you. He loves you and from Him comes living water. Drink it and be satisfied knowing that the Lord is good. He created you and redeemed you. He has restored you and continues to bless you. Look to the Lord and remember what He has done for you. Trust in Him and be glad. Not only does He give you all the temporal blessings that you will need in this life, but He also gives you true peace, certain hope, and everlasting joy.
By the power of the Holy Spirit our priorities change, and things are put in proper order. As we receive forgiveness and life forever, we are moved to love God and to share His love with others. Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Once we drink this living water from the Lord it will continue to flow from our heart.
That means you will be moved to share Christ with others as the living water flows from you. This living water flows from you to your children. This happened when you brought them to be baptized and it continues to happen when you teach them about Jesus. The living water flows from you when you bring your grandchildren and others in your family to church and Sunday school. The rivers of living water flow from you when you comfort someone who mourns with the love of Christ, knowing that their believing loved ones are in perfect glory in heaven. The living water flows from you as you openly live out your Christian faith, a life of forgiveness and kindness. The living water flows from you as you pray with your family and friends in the name of Jesus. The waters pour from you when the Holy Spirit moves you to speak of Jesus to the lost.
Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” Our thirst is for the Lord and so let us drink from the fountain of life and be satisfied eternally. Let us turn to the Lord and receive the living water that comes from Him. Amen.