Speaker 1: 0:00

We're going to continue our series through the Gospel of John, and my prayer for us this morning is that we would become even more fascinated with the greatness and the glory and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And as we hear from the Gospel of John this morning, may we continue once again to hear God's gracious invitation to come to Jesus. If you're already a follower of Jesus, we come to him again and again and again and find in our Lord everything we need now and forevermore. So I invite you now. John, chapter 7,. I'll begin our reading in verse 37 down through verse 52. Let us hear the word of God. 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 Now. This he said about the Spirit. When they heard these words, some of the people said this really is the prophet. Others said this is the Christ. But some said is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not? The scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was. So there was a division among the people over him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them why did you not bring him? The officers answered no one ever spoke like this man. And the Pharisees answered them have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed. Nicodemus, who had gone to him before and who was one of them, said to them does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does? They replied are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee. This is the word of the Lord. May he add his blessing to its reading and preaching by the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Speaker 1: 2:50

It's almost that coveted moment when the coach of the winning Super Bowl team gets snuck up on by his players and doused with an ice-cold cooler of Gatorade. I mean, it's a decades-long celebratory tradition. It's such a highly expected and anticipated moment during the Super Bowl that the sports bettors actually now place prop bets on what color the Gatorade will be at the end of the Super Bowl. It's a cultural phenomenon, but it's important to note that Gatorade that Gatorade that you find on the sideline of an NFL game is not just for this celebratory dousing, it's actually to drink. Athletes actually drink the stuff. Why? Because there's been, with 40 years of scientific testing and actual game-tested experience, they have found that the best way to replace electrolytes lost in sweat is found in Gatorade. Gatorade actually hydrates better and faster than water in game time experience, which is the reason why Gatorade actually hydrates better and faster than water in game time experience, which is the reason why Gatorade is not only trusted by the world's best athletes, it's also why it's got the nickname the thirst quencher. I'm sure these football players enjoy drinking other beverages off the field, but I doubt during the game, when they're on the field, when they're feeling depleted, when they're experiencing game time thirst, they're not thinking about a latte, chocolate, milk or a micro brew. They want an immediate thirst quencher. An immediate thirst quencher. And so during timeouts and in between plays, you find team personnel running onto the field with bottles of water or Gatorade dousing the players so that they can have their thirst quenched.

Speaker 1: 5:00

Isn't it true that when we're really thirsty, isn't it true that when we're really thirsty, we aren't thinking about all the things we want, we're thinking about the one thing that we truly need, both literally and figuratively. I think we can say it this way Thirst draws out essential desire. When we are thirsty, both literally and figuratively, we're not thinking about all the things we could possibly want, like a nice tomahawk ribeye or a well-aged glass of Cabernet Sauvignon or my wife's best chocolate cake ever that's actually the name of the recipe. All those things are wonderful, but when I am borderline dehydrated physically or when I'm really feeling weak and needy spiritually, all I really want is for my essential needs to be met, my thirst to be quenched, my thirst to be quenched. There are certainly times in life when we are preoccupied by dreams and extravagant desires, and it's okay sometimes to dream. But after a hard workout or a long hike, I'm not thinking about the things I'm dreaming for. When I'm in the middle of writing a eulogy for my mother, I'm not dreaming when you're on the market for a new job, when fires are devastating the largest county in our state, when you find yourself struggling with that same temptation again and again and again.

Speaker 1: 6:44

It's in those moments that our desires come down from the clouds and get grounded and we begin to think about what do I really need? What do I really want? We go from thinking about wild possibilities to being preoccupied with absolute necessities. This is not the case. In our text, jesus gives us an thirst quencher of all humanity, maybe not every day, but at the end of one of those days, you know what I'm talking about. Something in our soul tells us that what we really want, what we really need, is not those far-fetched out-there possibilities. What we really want at the end of one of those days is just to know life's going to be okay. I have everything I need and I don't need to fear where it's all going, because someone has it in their hands. Someone has my life, my needs, in their hands.

Speaker 1: 8:15

Adults we know what it's like to take care of children, whether they're our kids or someone else's kid. We know one thing's true about children they're absolutely dependent upon the mercy of adults and grownups who will take care of them. And even though we see children needing the attention and the care of adults parents, loved ones what we know deep down inside, even as adults, is that we desperately need someone who will take responsibility for us, take care of our most basic needs, and that's what Jesus is offering in this text. Jesus is offering salvation, sustenance and security, and that's why John is writing this gospel. My friends, john is writing this gospel because he wants the world literally the whole world to know that this can only be found in Jesus. He wants the whole world to know that only in Jesus can we find salvation, sustenance, security, significance, satisfaction. I'm sure there's another S in there somewhere. That's why John's writing this gospel. He wants us to know that through Jesus we can have maybe what we would call the good life, but what John calls eternal life he wants the whole world to know. He wants us to know that in Jesus we can have eternal life. And eternal life is really about these things I've just mentioned and alliterated by the word S. Eternal life is about salvation. Eternal life is about sustenance. Eternal life is about security. Eternal life is about satisfaction. Eternal life is about sustenance. Eternal life is about security. Eternal life is about satisfaction. Eternal life is about significance. Eternal life is an amazing concept, both theologically and practically in the scriptures. Is this not why John's written this gospel? This has been probably rehearsed every time you've heard a sermon from this series. This has been probably rehearsed every time you've heard a sermon from this series.

Speaker 1: 10:46

John 20, verse 31, says what these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. What kind of life? Just life generally. What kind of life? Just life generally. What kind of life? Jesus said in John 3, 15 and 16, we've already sang this in our worship this morning. So must the Son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him may have. What Eternal life? What kind of life? Eternal life, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Be amazed by this, don't be perplexed by this. Receive this this morning. God the Father loves you so deeply that he sent his Son and the power of the Holy Spirit so that you might have eternal life. Now, please don't underestimate how significant this is. Please don't underestimate how awesome this is, both now and forever.

Speaker 1: 12:02

Eternal life is not just talking about what we had to look forward to in the end. Eternal life is not just about our final destination and living forever in the presence of God in the new heavens and new earth. It's about that. But it's so much more than that. Eternal life is not just about quantity of life living forever. Eternal life is also about a quality of life, a life whereby you flourish in relationship with God under the saving reign of Jesus. Jesus says this later in John 17,. This is eternal life that you would know me, the only true God and Jesus Christ from the Father sent. So I might say it this way, and you should see this on the screen Eternal life is experiencing the quantity and quality of life that is freely offered under the saving reign of Jesus.

Speaker 1: 13:09

So John is presenting to all who read this gospel do you want your deepest needs satisfied? Are you thirsty for salvation and sustenance and significance in this life and the afterlife? Do you want your thirst for all that and more quenched? Then believe in Jesus. Believe in Jesus. Put your faith and trust, now and forever, in the saving reign of the one who was sent by the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit to give us all what we are truly thirsting for eternal life. So that's what I want us to encourage us to see eternal life. So that's what I want us to encourage us to see Understanding that as the theological and functional backdrop of John's gospel.

Speaker 1: 14:06

Hear these words from Jesus, hear this amazing invitation from Jesus in the text I just read. Against that backdrop, are you thirsty? Anyone who's thirsty, come to me and drink. Here's the big idea I want us to consider from this text this morning. Jesus invites us to find all that we truly thirst for. Where? In Him? In Him, and I want us to consider this in three parts. I want us to look at a foreshadowed provision in verse 37, a fascinating promise verses 38 and 39, and a few possibilities in response to this verses 40 through 52. First, a foreshadowed provision. Look at the text verse 37. On the last day of the feast, the great day, jesus stood up and cried out. Here's the invitation if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. The context of this great invitation is what John calls the great day of the feast.

Speaker 1: 15:23

The feast we are considering here is the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles. That's referenced back in chapter 7, verse 2. This annual feast was an occasion when all the tribes of Israel would make their way on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to commemorate and celebrate God's sustaining presence among his people throughout the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. For 40 years, god was with his people and during that time, when they were living in tents, when they were living in booths, god was with them and gave them everything that they needed. After God rescued them from bondage and death in Egypt through the Passover land, after defeating the enemies of God at the Red Sea and after covenanting with them at the foot of Mount Sinai, god promised to sustain them with everything they needed while they were on their way to the promised land.

Speaker 1: 16:23

We could say it this way the Feast of Booths reminds us that those whom God saves, god sustains, sustains. Those whom God saves, rescues out of Egypt, frees them from bondage, he promises to sustain all the way to the end. If they needed food, bread would come down from heaven. If they were thirsty, water would pour out of rocks. I mean, they would wear clothes for 40 years. Can you imagine if your favorite shirt would last 40 years? It would be amazing. It would be great on the budget as well. Whatever they needed, god supplied it Provision, protection, guidance, direction. God was not only their savior from bondage, he was also their generous sustainer.

Speaker 1: 17:26

That's the Feast of Booths, that's the Feast of Tabernacles, and what's also important to note about this is that God didn't give this provision from a distance. He was right there with them in their midst, a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night. You can read about this from Exodus 15 forward, all the way through Numbers and Deuteronomy. It's amazing he's with them. Numbers in Deuteronomy it's amazing he's with them when they set up their camp 12 tribes, three encampments facing north, three encampments facing south, three encampments facing east, three encampments facing west. And where was God's tent? Right in the middle of all their tents the tabernacle. He was right there with them in their midst. He did this all day, every day, for 40 years, until they reached their final destination, the promised land. So we can say this again In between their rescue and their reward, god took care of them with his sustaining presence.

Speaker 1: 18:40

Every year now, ever since that happened, ever since the 40 years of wandering, every year the people of God commemorated this moment. They gathered in Jerusalem, they set up tents. You can imagine it's like a camp out with the family, the camp out with your cousins and your uncles and your aunts, a big camp out where everybody sets up tents for eight days in Jerusalem and they party. A feast was a party. Hear that A feast was a party. They had a grand old time worshiping and celebrating that God was with them and he would provide everything they needed, because he was their unrelenting savior and sustainer. And they did this.

Speaker 1: 19:28

It's important to note, not only looking back on the 40 years that God did this during the wilderness wandering. They also did this looking forward to the day when the Messiah would come and he would usher in this eternal age of peace and provision and prosperity in the new heavens and new earth. They knew that what happened for those 40 years was a microcosm of a grand cosmic reality that was to come when the Messiah would appear and make all things new. Time does not suffice for me to get into all of this, but, my goodness, the end of Isaiah we read some of it today, the book of Jeremiah, the book of Ezekiel Zechariah, all looking forward to the day when the Messiah comes and meets every need and provides all sufficient provision for his people, now and forever, not in scarcity but in abundance. Not just wine, but the best wine. Not just food, but the good marbled ribeye kind of steak. It's that kind of language. The best of the best will come when the Messiah arrives and ushers in this eternal age of peace, prosperity and blessing. So when they gathered for this eight-day feast, they were looking back. Man, god's been good to us in the past. They were experiencing in the present. God is providing for us and sustaining us right now and they are looking forward to the day when the Messiah comes and makes all things new. And they're doing this while they're camping and grilling hot dogs. No, not hot dogs, unless they were all beef, definitely not pork.

Speaker 1: 21:28

Now, while this was happening, there were many events and many ceremonies taking place during this eight-day feast. Lots of stuff going on. But on the last day of this eight-day feast, which they called the great day which you see there in verse 37, we are told that something really amazing would happen. We read about it. Hermann Alslausen, a German theologian, says this about the last day of this feast the great day. He said, quote the generally joyous character of this feast broke out on this day into loud jubilation, particularly at the solemn moment when the priest, as was done on every day of this festival, brought forth in golden vessels water from the stream of Siloam, which flowed under the temple mountain, and solemnly poured it upon the altar.

Speaker 1: 22:26

Then the words of Isaiah 12.3 were sung With joy. Ye shall draw water out of the wells of salvation. This was the greatest moment of the greatest day of the wells of salvation. This was the greatest moment of the greatest day of the feast, when the worshipers were watching the ceremony of the priest pouring out the water around the great altar, reminding them of how God poured out provision in the past, how that is promised to pour out eternal blessing in the future, when the Messiah comes.

Speaker 1: 22:58

It's during this time that you experience, in this feast, the pinnacle of joy, the pinnacle of celebration, the apex of amazement. The crowd is singing and cheering. This is what they traveled for this moment. They were looking forward to this grand moment. It was like the fireworks at the end of the big game. Rabbinic scholar John Lightfoot notes. So ecstatic was the joy with which this ceremony was performed, accompanied with the sound of trumpets that it used to be said whoever had not witnessed it had never seen rejoicing at all. This was like a Super Bowl parade. Okay, this was huge. This was joyful. This was such a loud, ecstatic moment.

Speaker 1: 23:54

Now, listen, it was at this moment of ecstatic joy, as the priests are pouring out pitchers of water, symbolizing God's provision, god's blessing, god's saving, god's sustaining. While worshipers are singing out in prophetic promises of the coming Messiah who would save and sustain his people now and forever, it's at that moment that Jesus cries out if anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Wow. In other words, you think you have something to rejoice over, you think you have something to sing about. It's time to kick it up a notch, because the ultimate joy, the ultimate hope of this feast has arrived. Hope of this feast has arrived.

Speaker 1: 25:03

What this feast remembered in the past and what this feast foreshadowed for the future is now realized at this moment, as it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the true Savior and sustainer of God's people. He was the rock who blessed them with water in the wilderness and he is now the one who will begin the days of outpouring God's saving and sustaining blessing upon the entire earth, because God is loving the world at this moment. And so Jesus says are you thirsty? Are you thirsty for the salvation and sustenance you're waiting for? Come to me and I will give it to you, because I am the true thirst quencher. And Jesus's brothers thought they were the PR experts. They thought they knew how to get Jesus to make his appearance to the world. Jesus knows how to pick his spots, doesn't he? God knows how to turn an ordinary moment into a moment, doesn't he? That's exactly what Jesus does here, and he does it against the backdrop of this foreshadowed provision. And as he does, he invites those people, and he invites us to find all that we truly thirst for in him.

Speaker 1: 26:36

Notice, second, that this invitation is tethered to a fascinating promise in verses 38 and 39. Verse 38 says whoever believes in me, as the scriptures has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Here we find a promise, but it's a particular kind of promise. It's what we would call a conditional promise. Here we find a conditional promise that hinges on faith, believing, just like everything else, in the Gospel of John. If you believe in Jesus, that he is the Messiah, that he is the God-man who was sent by the Father, in the power of the Spirit, to save and sustain now and forever, then out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. If you believe here's the result If you believe in Jesus, then out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. Notice that this fascinating promise, first, is rooted, as all promises, in the authority of Scripture. As the Scripture says, out of your heart will flow rivers of living water. This will happen. Why? Because the Scriptures say so, and the Scriptures say so because God has said so. God says something at this moment and it is true, and the scriptures say so because God has said so. God says something at this moment and it is true because God's word always takes on the character of God himself. Therefore, god's word, his promises, are true, authoritative and reliable. So what these scriptures are alluding to is very broad and sweeping in the prophetic scriptures. And so we might ask the question what are the scriptures that Jesus is alluding to here and what will be poured into the hearts of those who believe, and what will then overflow as a source of life-giving water to others?

Speaker 1: 28:32

Well, john gives his commentary on the meaning of Jesus' promise in verse 39. He says now this he said ready about the Spirit. This he said about the Spirit whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as of yet, the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Oh, this is rich, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Oh, this is rich. The scriptures that fuel this promise center around a catalog of prophetic texts about the way the Spirit would function among God's people in the days of the Messiah. And so Jesus says that those who believe on me will experience the blessing of the Spirit that will be poured out in the days of the Messiah.

Speaker 1: 29:30

And John says after he's glorified, meaning after his death, after his resurrection, after his ascension, after he is seated at the right hand of God and glorified Think Philippians 2, where God has highly exalted Jesus and gives him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father. John is saying that at the moment that Jesus ascends and is seated at the right hand of God, at that moment Jesus is going to pour out water, to use the book of Acts language. He's going to baptize his people With what? With a unique blessing. What's that blessing? The presence and power of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus will pour out the Holy Spirit into the hearts of those who believe. And here's what's amazing this Spirit will not only bless, provide, sustain God's people. That same Spirit that blesses them will turn those people into a blessing to others, because out of their hearts will flow rivers of living water. So, in other words, god will pour out the Spirit upon His people, bless and sustain them through that outpouring, but then in turn equip them to be a blessing to others through that same Spirit.

Speaker 1: 31:04

To go back to the football analogy, as the people are running onto the field with the squirt bottles, squirting the water into the other players' mouths, dousing their helmets and their jerseys, where is that Gatorade coming from? In those small bottles. It's coming from the cooler. So the cooler is poured into the bottle and the bottle is poured into those who need it. In the very same way, jesus pours out the Holy Spirit upon us. He is the source of the blessing, pouring out the Spirit upon us, and then we go in Jesus' name, empowered by that Spirit, blessed by that Spirit, sustained by that Spirit, and we become a means of blessing to others.

Speaker 1: 31:52

So, undoubtedly, this Scripture points us to scriptures like Joel 2 that promises that in the last days, the Spirit will be poured out on all of God's people. And this undoubtedly directs our attention to what happens after Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, or glorification, to use John's language, as he pours out the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit is poured out not just upon the apostles but upon the entire church, and the whole church goes out into the streets of Jerusalem and begins to function in that blessing and bless the people of Jerusalem by sharing the good news of Jesus. So time does not permit me again to dig into the depths of what we have promised here, but suffice it to say this what Jesus is promising is that he will not only meet our needs through his life, death and resurrection, but after he ascends and he's glorified, he will pour out his spirit upon us so that we have his ongoing presence with us to the end of the age, not only giving us what we need when we need it, but also equipping us, enabling us, empowering us to be a blessing through that spirit as a means of blessing the world in the name of Jesus, so tying this back to the Feast of Booths. Just like God was present to save and sustain his people all throughout the wilderness, in between the times of their rescue and reward, so Jesus is present with us to sanctify and sustain us through the Holy Spirit. In between the time of our conversion and the consummation, when Jesus returns and makes all things new, we are guaranteed God's saving and sustaining presence through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon us, dwells within us to be the means through which we experience God's sustaining presence in between the times of our rescue and our reward, as we are on our way to the promised lands of promised lands, the new heavens and new earth. We are guaranteed, church, that we don't do this journey alone. Everything we need will be supplied for us because Jesus has poured out the Spirit. And again, time does not permit. But I would encourage you at a further point, a later time, to just read your New Testament with these glasses on and you will see, just promise after promise, how the New Testament is just replete with examples of the way that this promise that Jesus gives in John 7 works its way out in the many and multiple ways that the Holy Spirit serves the church.

Speaker 1: 34:58

The Holy Spirit will lead and guide those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will sanctify and transform those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will sanctify and transform those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will empower and give spiritual gifts to those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will illuminate the Scriptures to those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will intercede and give words for prayer to those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will give boldness and evangelistic courage to those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will give boldness and evangelistic courage to those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will give wisdom and understanding to those who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will make the abiding and sustaining presence of God tangibly known and experienced to those who believe in Jesus.

Speaker 1: 35:40

And I would even say, most importantly, the Holy Spirit empowers us to sense the love of Christ, the height and the depth and the width and the length of the love of God that he has for us in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit is with us and in us to sustain us with God's presence till we experience the very good end. So at the Feast of Booths, god's people were celebrating how God was present with them in the wilderness and how Jesus is here now, promising that for those who believe in him, he will do something even greater. There will not be a pillar of cloud by day and a fiery pillar by night, external to the people of God. He will actually put his presence within the people of God. So wherever we go, he goes. Wherever we are, he is. Whatever we need, he's there the abiding presence of God within the hearts and lives of those who believe in Jesus, not only to bless us, but to enable us to be a blessing to the world and community around us. This is what Jesus is inviting us to find our thirst quenched. Jesus invites us to find all that we truly thirst for in him. In this way, he is the thirst quenching fountain of life who pours out the Holy Spirit in our lives with the saving and sustaining presence of God. This is amazing. This is amazing and this invitation is for all of us. So how do we respond to this invitation? Well, there are a few possibilities. That's what we look at here. Finally, jesus, as Jesus gives this invitation, notice there are various responses In verse 40,.

Speaker 1: 37:42

Some believed. Some of the people said this really is the prophet. Others said this is the Christ. They believed this is faith. Jesus gives this invitation and there are people there at the Feast of Booths that go yeah, this is him. We believe this is the prophet we've been waiting for. This is the Christ. He is the one. We believe. This is the prophet we've been waiting for. This is the Christ. He is the one we believe that he can quench the thirst of our souls.

Speaker 1: 38:13

Some questioned Jesus. This is verses 41 and 42. But some said is the Christ to come from Galilee? Wait a minute, jesus is from Nazareth, right? Has not the scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?

Speaker 1: 38:31

These people aren't believing, but they're also not rejecting. They have more questions. There's some more for them to figure out. There's some things they don't understand, and what's even interesting about this question is that it's a misunderstanding. Understand, and what's even interesting about this question is that it's a misunderstanding. Jesus is from Nazareth, right? They didn't know, they hadn't heard that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and that he was of the house and lineage of David. They had questions that actually had reasonable answers. They just needed some more time, some more investigation. And then some obviously rejected Jesus.

Speaker 1: 39:07

Verse 44,. These are the Pharisees and the chief priests. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him, and we learned from Pastor Ricky's message last Sunday the reason why they couldn't lay hands on him because his time had not yet come. They were rejecting him, but they weren't stopping him. They didn't believe, they weren't just simply questioning they were rejecting Jesus. So here are the various responses, here in our text.

Speaker 1: 39:38

And so, as we come to a close here this morning, I think it's appropriate to ask this question when do you locate yourself in the various responses to Jesus' invitation to find all you truly thirst for in him? Are you believing? If you are, realize that the promised blessing that Jesus gives here in this text 2,000 years ago is for you right now? If you believe in Jesus, if he is your Lord and Savior, be blown away by this this morning. You might not see it, you don't always sense it, but the Holy Spirit of God is within you. Everywhere you go, god goes with you. When Jesus said at the end of the Gospel of Matthew make disciples of the nations, baptize them in the name of the Father, son and Holy Spirit, teach them everything I taught you, everything I commanded, and I am with you always, to the end of the age. This is the how. This is how Jesus, who died, rose and ascended, is still with us today. He's with us through the Holy Spirit.

Speaker 1: 40:59

If you are a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God is in you. And again, the New Testament is replete with both describing this and then unpacking the implications of this. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. You have been gifted by the Spirit, meaning you have abilities, both natural and supernatural, to make an impression and to make a contribution to what God is doing in the world, especially around those immediately close to you, in your home and in your neighborhood and in your workplace or at your school. You have been equipped by God, through the indwelling, empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, to make impact in God's world. The Spirit of God is in you if you believe, and that is God's abiding presence, whereby he promises to sustain you and change you until Jesus returns and makes all things new.

Speaker 1: 42:01

It's that same Spirit within you, who believe, that causes you to have the instinct to cry out to God in time of need. When you're feeling needy again, imagine the wilderness wandering as you're going through the wilderness of this broken world, waiting for that end day. You have need, you feel need and there's something inside you that, when you feel needy, what do you do? You pray, you ask God to provide, you ask God to guide, you ask God to help. That's the Holy Spirit in you.

Speaker 1: 42:36

When you wake up in the morning and you got this sense that you're supposed to call a friend and encourage them or exhort them. And you call them and you say hey, listen, I just want to let you know that God put you on my heart today. I want to let you know I'm praying for you. Who did that? It's the Holy Spirit of God that is in you. So if you believe, if you count yourself among those who believe in response to Jesus, then be encouraged. This morning the Holy Spirit of God has been poured out into your life and from you he wants you to be a blessing to others. Are you questioning? If you are questioning this morning, realize that your questions likely have satisfactory answers. Those who are questioning in this text. They had questions and Jesus doesn't scorn them or shame them for their questions.

Speaker 1: 43:38

You may be here in church this morning on the Lord's Day and you're not sure yet about the Christian faith. You have questions about the gospel. You have questions about Jesus. You have questions about the Trinity. You have questions about the church. This is a place that is safe to ask questions. This is a place that is safe to process those questions out loud together.

Speaker 1: 44:10

And let me say this especially for those of you in this room that are like myself, that you are a parent and I know. As parents, we want our kids to love and follow Jesus, and so we model for them what it looks like by grace. We seek to model for them what it looks like to follow Jesus by grace. We seek to be faithful and to be at church and to be sacrificial in our giving and we try to show through our lives as parents what it looks like to be a faithful follower of Jesus. And after all of that, you might think, well, our kids shouldn't have any questions about faith. That should seal it Done deal. Let me encourage you, parents Do not discourage the questions that come from the young people in this room. Let them ask. But kids realize this. There are good answers to your questions and after some time and after some humility and after some teachableness, I think you will find that your questions about the Christian faith, your questions about the Word of God, your questions about Jesus, the Savior and Sustainer of the world, will be answered as they would be answered for those who are questioning in this text. Don't be ashamed. If you have questions, ask them. Let's talk about them together.

Speaker 1: 45:37

Finally, are you rejecting? I hope not, but it's possible that you are. It's possible that you hear Jesus give this invitation, that he is the one who can quench that which your soul desperately thirsts for, and you're like, ah no, I might be here, but I'm not there. And as soon as I have the opportunity, I probably won't be here anymore, because I'm just not buying this Jesus stuff. I'm not buying this gospel stuff. I'm not buying this gospel stuff. Let me just say this If you're among those this morning who are rejecting Jesus first and foremost, today I extend the invitation of Jesus to you.

Speaker 1: 46:21

If you're thirsty, come to him and drink, because here's what you're going to find. You're going to find that you will continue to be thirsty and you will find that there's nothing in this world that will satisfy your thirst. You can go, look, but you will find what countless millions have found that there's nothing in this world, there's nothing in this life, there's no philosophy, there's no success, there's no success, there's no life experience that can fill the void within. Only Jesus can do that. So today, come to him and drink. You might be thinking to yourself man, I wish I was alive during the first century and I would have got to go to the Feast of Booths. That would be awesome to be in a place where I could be with all of God's people and be a part of this celebration of Christ being the fulfillment of all that the Old Covenant promised. You may not be a part of that feast, but you're a part of a different feast.

Speaker 1: 47:20

Today, every Sunday, every Lord's Day. We don't celebrate the Feast of Passover. We don't celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles or Brews. We don't celebrate the Feast of Pentecost exactly, but we do celebrate the Feast of our Lord, who is the fulfillment of all the feasts of Israel. And so, in just a moment, we're going to come to a table and we are going to participate in a small feast that reminds us that Jesus is exactly who he said he is in this text in John chapter 7. He is living water. We're going to come to a feast here in a moment that reminds us and that points us to the good news of what Jesus said about himself in John, chapter 6, before the sermon series took the break he is the bread of life. All that we need is found in Jesus, and every Sunday we celebrate that. That is the best news ever, amen. Well, let's delay no longer. Let's pray and prepare ourselves for this feast.

Speaker 1: 48:31

Father, we come to you now and we are thankful for Jesus.

Speaker 1: 48:36

We are thankful that he truly is the one who can satisfy our thirsty souls, and we don't have to look back at the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Booths, and feel like we've missed out somehow, because right here, right now, for those who believe, for your church, you have poured out your Holy Spirit and you are so with us, you are so among us that you are within us to sustain us, to give us everything we need, and not just to give us what we need, but to equip us, to fill us, so that we can be poured out as your means of love and grace to others.

Speaker 1: 49:21

And so, god, we come to you this morning with fresh joy and fresh excitement that your son, jesus, truly is the fountain of living water, that he quenches our thirsty souls and is with us every moment, every day, for all of our days. And we look forward to the day when all those promises surrounding the coming of your son, the Messiah, will be fully realized. When he comes again, it makes all things new. Until then, we trust that in between the times of our rescue, in between the time of our reward. We will experience your presence, your provision, your guidance, your direction, your grace. So come to us now, lord. We need more of your grace, and we anticipate that you will give it by the life-giving spirit who's been poured out upon all our hearts. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.