Dear Christian friends:

Water is most important for our life. Without water we will quickly die. In the Bible the Holy Spirit often compares Jesus with water. Same as we need water for our physical life, so we need Jesus, the living water, for our spiritual life.

In our text Jesus called out to the people, "If you are thirsty, come to Me and drink." (verse 37) On this Pentecost Sunday Jesus is still calling out to us:


Only Jesus can satisfy our spiritual thirst, which we all have whether we are aware of it or not.

Jesus says, "If you are thirsty, come to Me and drink." Are you thirsty? Do you have a spiritual thirst? Yes, everyone has a spiritual thirst. Everyone hungers for God. But many are not aware of their thirst. They feel restless and frustrated and without peace in their heart and mind. They feel guilty about certain past wrongs and sins. They have fears and worries about the future. But they are not aware that this is joined with their spiritual thirst.

People try to satisfy their spiritual thirst in various ways. They work hard to get riches, fame, power and pleasures. But when they are successful and get these things they are still thirsty, not satisfied with their life. Their spiritual thirst ts not quenched. Riches, fame, power and pleasures cannot satisfy our spiritual thirst and hunger. They perhaps satisfy our physical needs and desires.

Many people try to satisfy their spiritual thirst by obeying the Ten Commandments and government laws. They think, "If I try my best to love God and my neighbor, I will be happy and satisfied." So they try hard to keep and obey the Ten Commandments and the government laws, but when they sit down and evaluate their deeds and life, they know that they have not really obeyed the Ten Commandments or the government laws. After trying and trying they feel worse and worse and more and more guilty. Trying to keep and obey the laws and the Commandments cannot quench our spiritual thirst. It perhaps can keep us out of jail and on so - so terms with our neighbor, but it cannot make us right With God.

Only Jesus quenches our spiritual thirst. He offers Himself to us. He invites, "If you are thirsty, come to Me and drink." Jesus really loves us although we are bad, sinners. If you read the Bible, you will see how much Jesus loved sinners: Matthew, the crooked tax collector, who Jesus called to become one of His disciples; the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well who had had five husbands and was now living with her sixth man; Mary Magdalene, the whore, and many others. Jesus loved the handicapped, the poor and the sick and helped and healed many of them. Jesus suffered and died on the cross. He suffered God's just anger and punishment against all sinners. He offers forgiveness of sins and with that forgiveness peace with God and hope for eternal life.

Jesus invites the thirsty souls, "Come to Me and drink." We receive Jesus and all of His spiritual blessings when we come to Him and "drink." "DRINK" means BELIEVE! When we honestly and humbly confess that we are sinners and then believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins we are drinking Jesus, the living water.

But this drinking or believing we, ourselves cannot do. We are helpless to believe. Only the Holy Spirit who comes to our hearts through Word and Sacrament can lead us to come to Jesus and drink. That is why we are so happy today: Today is PENTECOST SUNDAY when we remember how Jesus kept His promise after His ascension into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples. As Jesus on that first Pentecost sent the Holy Spirit to those first disciples, so He today sends the Holy Spirit to us when we hear His Word and come to the Lord's Supper. It is very important that we faithfully come to church to hear and learn God's Word so that the Holy Spirit can lead us to faith and increase our faith.

And, if we come to Jesus and drink His living water, not only will our thirst be quenched, but living water will flow out of our hearts to other thirsty souls. Jesus promises in our text, "If you believe in Me, then from your heart will flow streams of living water." (verse 38)

This living water flows from every believer, no exceptions. If you really believe in Jesus, then living water will flow out of your heart to others who are thirsting for Jesus.

Remember the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well! After Jesus gave her His living water she was so excited that she left her water jar there at the well and ran to tell all the people of Sychar that she had met the Savior God had promised. (John 4:28-30) Remember the women came to Jesus' tomb that first Easter morning! They ran to tell the disciples the good news of Jesus' resurrection. (Luke 24:10) Remember the first disciples on that first Pentecost Sunday how after they received the Holy Spirit could preach Jesus to enemies. They preached with wisdom and with boldness. (Acts 2)

So you and I can give living water to other thirsty people, and not just a few drops, but "streams" of living waters! Because God has shown mercy to us and has forgiven us, we can show mercy to others, even our enemies, and forgive them. Because God has made peace with us, His former enemies, we can make peace with our enemies. At least, we can try and offer.

This living water flows out of each believer's heart individually. It also flows out of the Church where the believers join together to preach the Gospel, to baptize and give the Holy Supper. The living water also flows out of the Church to the world that is so thirsty through the Church's missions. By our generous support of our Church we are helping the living waters flow to a thirsting, dying world. The world so much needs this living water.

Wonderful things happen when the living water comes to the thirsting, dry world. Isaiah describes this wonderful change: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: because in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert."

Let us today accept Jesus' kind invitation and come to Him and drink, that our thirst be quenched and that living waters can flow from us to others.

Amen.