John 7:37 (37-39)
"Jesus Gives Us Thirst-Quenching Soul Drink"
Sunday, May 11, 2008; Pentecost
[Number 11:24-30; Acts 2:1-21]
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
(John 7:37 ESV) "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up
and cried out, 'If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.'"
Introduction: Dear fellow Spirit-filled thirst-quenching soul drink
guzzlers.
What do mothers and the Holy Spirit have in common? The answer is:
They both birth life. Mothers birth physical life and the Holy Spirit
births spiritual life.
[Tomorrow/Today] is "Mother's Day." I publicly pay tribute to all
mothers . and especially the two mothers who hold a special place in my
life: my mother who birthed me and my wife who birthed our children. You
see, mothers deserve gratitude daily, but [tomorrow/today] is the day
designated by secular society to give special gratitude to faithful moms for
their devoted dedication. So, to all you mothers (and especially my mom as
well as my wife, the mother of our children) I offer sincere thanks and
heartfelt appreciation for constantly caring for the physical, emotional,
and, most important, spiritual needs of your children. Indeed, if God
received people into eternal glory because of good works, self-sacrificial
mothers would have a free pass into heaven. God give you a truly wonderful
and blessed "Mother's Day."
[Tomorrow/Today] is also "Pentecost." It's the historical event that
occurred 50 days after our Savior's resurrection from the dead. Many people
refer to the Pentecost event as the birth of the New Testament Church, the
time when the Holy Spirit gave Christ's apostles the ability and boldness to
publicly proclaim Him.
This occasion gives us an opportune time to review the person and work
of the Holy Spirit by recalling the following questions and their answers
from our Synodical Catechism.
(Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. 1991. Pages 145-147, 150,
152.) "154. Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the third person in
the Holy Trinity, true God with the Father and the Son . .
"156. What is the special work of the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit
sanctifies me (makes me holy) by bringing me to faith in Christ, so that I
might have the blessings of redemption and lead a godly life . .
"162. Besides faith, what else does the Holy Spirit create in you by the
Gospel? The Holy Spirit sanctifies me in the true faith, that is, by faith
He works a renewal of my whole life-in spirit, will, attitude, and
desires-so that I now strive to overcome sin and do good works . .
"165. Finally, what also does the Holy Spirit do for you? The Holy Spirit
by the Gospel keeps me in the true faith."
So, where does all that information lead us? It leads us to realize
that .
Transition: Jesus Gives Us Thirst-Quenching Soul Drink by means of which We
Have Spiritual Life because The Holy Spirit Himself Is Our Soul Drink.
I. We have Spiritual Life. [38: "Whoever believes in me, as the
Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"]
Life is vital. Life is good. Mothers gave us our physical life when we
were conceived and born. The Holy Spirit gave us our spiritual life when we
were baptized. Our spiritual vitality enables us to live for Jesus and tell
others about Him. In fact, .
A. Our Spiritual Life Is Faith in Jesus. The essence and substance
of our relationship with God Himself is Spirit-given trust in Immanuel.
Belief in the Savior is a wellspring of living water in our hearts and
lives. That wellspring of living water increases as we continually read and
hear God's Holy Word and faithfully consume Christ's body and blood in His
Holy Supper until .
B. Our Spiritual Life Flows to Others. That's God's desire for us,
namely, that we not only live in obedience to His holy will but that we also
give His merciful and gracious forgiveness to others. When we forgive
others we thereby extend His gifts of salvation and eternal life to them.
Our hands and arms of faith not only embrace Messiah, who already embraces
us, but they also embrace others near and far, young and old, friend and
foe, likeable and even unlikeable. It all happens because .
Transition: Jesus Gives Us Thirst-Quenching Soul Drink by means of which We
Have Spiritual Life because The Holy Spirit Himself Is Our Soul Drink.
II. The Holy Spirit Himself Is Our Soul Drink. [39: "Now this he said
about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet
the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."] It's
that time of the year when we once again work in our yards, vegetable
gardens, and flower beds. That outside activity is often in hot conditions
that create tremendous physical thirst. We quench that thirst with a
refreshing beverage or, best of all, basic H2O, the instant version of which
is quickly made by just adding water. Even as water and other beverages
quench our physical thirst, .
A. Christ's Physical Presence Soothed Thirsty Souls. After more
than 4,000 years of promises that began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and
Eve disobeyed God and spoiled His holy creation with sin, Messiah was born.
The incarnate Christ soothed thirsty souls during His three-year ministry
with His physical presence. Throughout that time He restored life to the
dead, sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and speech to the dumb. In
addition, He healed various diseases and calmed troubled consciences with
compassionate forgiveness. Most importantly, He lived the holy life that
God demanded of us but we are unable to do; paid the penalty of suffering
and death for all the sins that we so easily and frequently do; and defeated
sin, Satan, and death itself with His victorious resurrection from the
dead . all for our temporal comfort and eternal security.
As we marked with a special Divine Service less than two
weeks ago attended by almost 100 thirsty souls, Jesus bodily ascended back
to His heavenly throne from which He now protects us, provides our needs,
and intercedes for us. His physical separation caused His disciples much
anxiety and fear, something that we also often experience. Knowing that
would be the case, He promised them the Comforter. Ten days after His
ascension the divine Counselor came upon them as was reported in today's 2nd
Reading. Even now, as happened then, .
B. The Holy Spirit Soothes Thirsty Souls in Christ's Physical
Absence. He does so through the gracious Gospel that we read and hear in
God's Holy Word and the same gracious Gospel that we consume in Christ's
Holy Supper, in which Immanuel's body and blood are truly present. Stanzas
four and five of today's Hymn of Invocation beautifully expressed the
blessed assurance of that.
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 CPH, #498:4-5)
"Your light to ev'ry thought impart,
And shed Your love in ev'ry heart;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.
"Drive far away our wily foe,
And Your abiding peace bestow;
With You as our protecting guide,
No evil can with us abide."
It's what that so very significant statement in the
historic liturgy communicates to us when the celebrant declares after having
consecrated the Lord's Supper elements,
(Ibid., pages 163, 180, 197, 209, 217)
"The peace of the Lord be with you always."
It's all about the fact that .
Transition: Jesus Gives Us Thirst-Quenching Soul Drink by means of which We
Have Spiritual Life because The Holy Spirit Himself Is Our Soul Drink.
Conclusion: In today's Old Testament Reading we heard Moses declare,
(Num 11:29 ESV) "Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the
Lord would put his Spirit on them!"
The almighty Triune God did that very thing to each of us in our
Baptism. In that holy sacramental washing He commissioned us to be His
prophets, His voices on this earth to tell the Good News about Jesus to one
another, others, and all whom He places in our paths daily. When we were
baptized, the Holy Spirit entered our hearts and lives, took up residence in
us, gave us faith in Jesus, and now uses us to confess Immanuel to this
sin-sick dying world. Let's do so with words and deeds that communicate the
merciful and gracious forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life that Christ
Himself gained for all people with His holy life, innocent suffering,
crucifixion death, and majestic resurrection.
In today's 2nd Reading we heard the very familiar question that Dr.
Martin Luther repeated time and time again in the Small Catechism of
Christian instruction that he wrote,
(Acts 2:4, 12, 21 ESV) "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. And all
were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 'What does this mean?'
'And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord
shall be saved.'"
Although the Holy Spirit has not equipped all of us with the ability to
speak in foreign languages so people of other nationalities can understand
us in their native tongues, He has blessed many of them with the ability to
understand English thereby making it possible for us to communicate with
them in our own familiar language. He now gives us amazing words to speak
about Jesus Christ, the object of our faith.
As we do so, let's be prepared to answer that incisive question, "What
does this mean?" That's the blessed benefit of having memorized the
meanings to the Six Chief Parts of Christian Doctrine that Dr. Luther
identified. Those memorized answers tell of the hope that is in us and lead
others to call upon the Lord for salvation. Let's do so because Jesus Gives
Us Thirst-Quenching Soul Drink by means of which We Have Spiritual Life
because the Holy Spirit Himself Is Our Soul Drink.
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our holy
Savior. Amen.
In the name of the Triune God-Father, X Son, and Holy Spirit. [Amen.]
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/sermons@cat41.org/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
