Good morning. Church is always.
It's a joy to be with you all want to welcome you again, to
this Gathering of new Eden shirts church.
As Kevin said, my name is Joel McCarty.
I have the privilege of serving as one of the pastor's here at
new Eden Church, specifically the pastor for preaching and
oversight and it's an honor to be able to walk with life, with
walk through life, with each of you.
For those of you that don't know yesterday marked a new holiday
called Juneteenth. Now, this name comes from the
words June and 19th combined to make one word.
And this is a day that is been recognized for quite a while
now, especially within the black community.
But this last week it was recognized as an official
holiday and signed into law or whatever.
And so this holiday is a time to look back to June 19th in 1865,
which is when the last slaves were released from captivity,
which was in the state of Texas and they were allowed to go
free. And so even though Abraham
Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation, In
over two years earlier, it took a while for the proclamation to
take effect, especially in many of the southern states is
obviously there was pushback from the slaveholders.
So this day, which was yesterday, especially for our
black brothers and sisters is a day to celebrate Liberation and
freedom, and I'm personally I'm glad that we have this as an
official holiday alongside, July 4th or Independence Day because
for some in our country that day 1776 didn't actually represent
true freedom because they were Still enslaved and in Chains.
And so yesterday, some of us, some of us from new Eden had the
privilege of going to a local Juneteenth celebration here in
Decatur. It was a great experience.
We were able to supply some door prizes for the bingo game.
That my wife got roped into leading, my wife hates being a
front of people and she hates conflict.
And I found out yesterday. She hates conflict.
Just a little more than she hates being in front of people
because somebody grabbed her and said, hey you want to run this
bingo game and she couldn't say no and so she got stuck up there
running this. No games.
Like I'm you know how to do Bingo.
But okay. So it was a great time.
The whole event was actually put on to raise money for the
building of the museum to tell the story of the Scottsboro
boys. And as a church, we've committed
to donate some money as a part of our missional Outreach.
Now, for those of you who don't know, the story of the
Scottsboro, boys, I encourage you to look it up.
They were nine black teenagers. Who are all falsely accused of
raping a white woman back in the 1930s in the Scottsboro area.
Hence the name, the Scots, Burro, boys.
Now, many years later. They were eventually exonerated
but not before many of them died in prison and went through
horrible situations. But one of the Lesser known
facts about that story is that the trials actually took place
right here in Decatur at the Morgan County Courthouse.
It was a horrific thing. All the black jurors were struck
from jury duty and an all-white jury just convicted them.
The youngest boy, being only 14 years old.
They also the KKK would come in and burn crosses on the lawn.
Of the prominent black citizens that spoke out and actually ran
many of the black businessmen away.
And on Bank Street today, there's business names, like
Sykes Place Sykes was a prominent black Citizen here
indicator. That was run off through this
event. And so we can talk about that
more later, but we're supporting the efforts to tell that story
because it's important that we speak truth that as we look back
at our past. We don't gloss over the history
and the horrors of History. At the same time, I'm thankful
for holidays like Juneteenth where we can look at the
progress that by the grace of God has been made.
While we still look ahead to the work of justice, that still
needs to be done here, locally in our own Community nationally
and around the world. See every culture has these
markers and days, right? No matter your time or place
that you can spend time looking back but also looking forward,
right? And so these festivals and
celebrations are these Times are we can recount stories for
future Generations. So we remind them of the past
but also it energizes us to press forward to a brighter
future. And today, in our journey,
through the Gospel of John, we've seen this in the Gospel of
John, the last few weeks that there is a festival taking place
and it was this same type of opportunity for the people of
Israel. The nation of Israel to remember
looking back and also to look forward it was this Festival of
shelters as its called. And it was a time and an
opportunity that was celebrated annually for them to come
together and remember what God had done for them.
So, John's already mentioned that the last few weeks that
we've been in the Gospel of John, that this conversation has
taken place at the festival of shelters.
But today in our text, he wants to make sure that we know that
this has incredible significance for this passage.
So as we read earlier, we're going to be in John chapter 7
verses 37 through 52. You if you'd like to make your
way there in your copy of the scriptures on your phone,
whatever will also have the verses on the screen if you want
to follow along that way. So, let's reread again, verses
37 and 38 as we dive into our text today.
It says on the last and most important day of the festival.
So John makes this note. Jesus stood up and cried out.
If anyone is thirsty. Let him come to me and drink the
one who believes in me. As the scripture has said, will
have streams of Living Water. Flow from deep within him.
So for us to notice and see the scandalous nature of what Jesus
says here, we need to look a little closer at this Festival,
this holiday, this Festival of shelters or booze or
Tabernacles. So this Festival was instituted
along with like six or seven other festivals for the nation
of Israel on Mount Sinai when they are delivered from the
nation of Egypt and they are entering this Covenant with God
on Mount Sinai. They're told to celebrate this
Festival of shelters. And God tells them this is a
week-long festival. What they were to do is to take
these handmade shelters like these little tents and they were
to live in them for that entire week.
And so right the whole family's just going camping together
essentially, right? If you ever been camping with
your kids in the backyard, this is kind of what's going on.
And so they're building these festivals in these booths.
And we're told that they are to do this specifically to remind
future generations of how they dwelt in temporary Boos when
they were delivered from the nation of Egypt.
And so they are Not forget how God delivered them and that
passed. And they're also looking forward
to the day when God would dwell with them again.
So they would have all these ceremonies and celebrations
taking place. It took place right after the
year's Harvest so around the fall time and it was an
opportunity. Also to pray for God to provide
as he did in the past also provide again in the future.
This would have been a fun week for all of the families.
They would all come to Jerusalem, even if they didn't
live there, they would come and they would set up these
temporary booths. And these shelters and there was
partying and feasting all week long.
Just an opportunity to say God is good.
He's provided, let's party, right?
Like that's what this is happening.
That's what's happening here. So, one of the central elements
To The Feast that's important for us to remember that, every
person who read this in the time it was written, would have known
about was this water pouring ceremony.
And so on the very first day of the feast, when it started, the
priest would leave this procession from the pool of
Siloam. Which was outside the temple and
they would go up to the temple courts.
They would fill up this water pitcher and they would get water
from this pool of Siloam. And this pool of Siloam was kept
with fresh running spring water from the, make sure I say it
right from the spring of gihon and so they would take this
golden picture with clean water and they would take it through
the water gate up to the altar at the temple courts and all the
people would lead in this procession.
They were celebrating and they were reciting and chanting the
Halal. Which was Psalm 113 to 118 what
we know as that passage. And so they would go up to the
Altar and the priest would take this water and they would pour
it out on the Altar and they would pour this out on the altar
every day of the feast, and it would build to its climax on the
seventh day of the Fest. And on the seventh day of the
festival de priest, would March around the altar seven times,
and then pour out the water. And this was showing their
dependence on God to provide salvation for Them and to
satisfy their needs. God, bring the rain, which
signified provision for the people.
And so, this is the scene and the setting that we see on the
last and most important day of the festival, when all this is
building up. This would be fresh on the
hearts and minds of everybody gathered there at the temple.
Maybe now, we can see a little clearer what this would have
meant for the people who hear Jesus stand up, and say what he
said in verses 37 and 38. If anyone is thirsty, if anyone
wants provision, let him come to me and drink, the one who
believes in me. As the scripture has said, will
have streams of living water flow from deep within him.
Maybe a comparable thing would be Jesus standing up at a
Juneteenth party or a Fourth of July celebration.
When all the fireworks are going off and saying, hey, if anyone
wants true Freedom, if anybody wants true Liberation, if
anybody wants true Independence, let him come to me.
This declaration that Jesus makes is incredible and it sets
the stage for the rest of our story today.
He is saying that he is the one that brings about true
satisfaction and he's the only place that our souls can
actually be fulfilled. We saw this with the woman at
the, well, you remember that. He said the same thing.
Hey, if you want to drink of water where you'll never thirst
again, come drink of me, I'm where you find that?
I will grant you living water. Now.
John, our author points out specifically for us, what Jesus
meant by Living Water? See, Jesus is the way to living
water. But the actual Living Water were
told in. John 39, is actually the Holy
Spirit, The Gift of the Holy Spirit.
Look at verse 39, our author, John inserts, his own commentary
and he says, he said this, Jesus said this, about the spirit,
those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the spirit for
the spirit had. Not yet, been given because
Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Jesus is saying that those that come to faith in him, those who
believe in Jesus. And the gospel that they would
receive the very Spirit of the Living God in their being in
their person. And we're going to get to see
the Holy Spirit Come to play later in the Book of John will
get to look at some of the Theology of this Spirit later,
but there's a couple things that we need to see here.
Jesus taught about the Theology of the Holy It before he even
left Earth. See everything that you're
called to do. As a follower of Jesus is
absolutely impossible without the power of the spirit.
If you have a Christianity that teaches you is just about morals
or you can do it all in your own strength.
That's not Christianity. You can't do what Jesus calls
you to do without the very power of the spirit.
That's why our prayer for new eating constantly is that we
would drink deeply of The Well of the spirit and that we would
be completely dependent on him for our success.
Us and even our definition of success would come from him.
We'll talk more about the spirit as we work through John and what
will teach how to think properly about the Holy Spirit?
But let me say this, more dependence on the spirit and
more awareness of the spirit and his presence is never a bad
thing. We don't need to be scared of
that or skeptical that it's always a good thing.
Like the spirits not going to make any mistakes as he moves
among us. We might mess it up, but he will
not. We're never meant to follow
Jesus in our own strength. But here's the good news in
verse 38. As we just read.
We're told that the one who believes in, Jesus will have
streams of Living Water, the spirit flow from deep within
him. Remember the visual of the water
being poured out on the altar. Remember the visual of the
spring of gihon flow in clean? Water, was an incredible thing
in this culture because they didn't have it that much.
So this is living flowing water that's clean and refreshing.
And life-giving. Jesus is saying, hey, if you
believe in me, you get that flowing from deep within Within
you and it's not the spirit that originates within us.
It is a gift from Jesus to US based on the belief in him
alone. And so here, we see Jesus, teach
us about the amount of the spirit.
See the amount of the spirit is, abundant.
Jesus, doesn't skimp out on giving us this gift.
It's overflowing. It's flowing from deep within
us. He gives us his spirit.
Your dad's an abundant offering over our lives to comfort us to
convict us when need us, when needed to lead us to guide us.
And I think is important for us in the church, not be scared of
the spirit, cannot be skeptical of the spirit.
It's almost like we're afraid of being too in tune with the
spirit. Like what like, that's the power
source for the Christian. How can we be scared of that are
skeptical of that? See as a follower of Jesus, if
you believed in him you get access to all of the spirit and
this is good news. This doesn't mean that there's
not X or we can't grieve him through our sin of unbelief.
But it does mean that the gift of the spirit is not something
we have to kind of earn our way into our work, our way up to,
you know, for those super Christians.
When we believe in Jesus, we are in dwelt with the very power of
the spirit immediately and that indwelling never goes away.
Even the truth that you can grieve.
The, holy spirit means, he's there even in your lowest
points, even in your sin. He's there.
Now how all of this Spirit stuff plays out in the life of the
believer. I'll be honest.
I don't completely understand how it all works.
Some of this is a mystery, probably on purpose.
So you depend on him and not your own strengths and not your
own intellect. Kind of putting a spirit into a
box, right? Which people have tried to do
this, right? He won't stay.
It's why Christians have argued and debated about the spirit for
centuries, but we need to understand that the spirit is
still alive and active, and in the heart of every Christian,
and he moves as he wishes. Pouring out himself abundantly
on us corporately as a body whenever he chooses and in your
own life. We also know that when he does
when he pours himself out in you, it doesn't just stop there.
He can't just reside in you, you're not a cul-de-sac.
You're an opportunity for the spirit of flow in you, and then
threw you to the world around you.
You aren't meant to keep it just for yourself.
It's abundant. It's overflowing.
You're so full of the spirit of God that as Kevin has has said
before that as you walk and bounce with other people that
you Splash Jesus on them because they're just around you.
The amount of the spirit is abundant and this is good news
for us, but it's not even the most scandalous part of what
Jesus said. That's not what divided the
crowds and angered the Pharisees as much as what he said in verse
37. Let's look at it again closer.
If anyone. Is thirsty.
Let him come to me, and drink. We've seen the amounts of the
spirit. And now we see the availability
of the spirit. We're told that Jesus stands
before this loud crowd with a loud voice.
And says that, anyone not just the Smart Ones, not just ethnic
Israel. Not just the healthy, not just
the religious. But anyone, the only requirement
is that, you know, you're thirsty and in need of filling,
and you can come and Drink freely and this message, when it
gets everything that the religious leaders, the culture
that they had set up. And it goes against everything
that our culture in America of performance teaches us today.
This goes against the message that keeps people on the fringes
because they're not the right gender.
The right ethnicity. They're not smart enough.
Healthy enough or Rich enough. Jesus stands up and says the
only requirement to receive abundant gift of the spirit is
to know, you're thirsty and come to him.
The amount of the spirit is abundant and they Avail
availability is for any and all who would come.
That's why in verses 42 44, the crowds divided.
They don't know what to do with the scandalous.
Message. Some are like, maybe this is the
Messiah. Maybe it's a profit.
Some here. It is.
Good news. Probably those who are thirsty
and those who have been kept on the fringes.
Like what would we get access to this living water?
You're talking about me. The religious system has kept us
on the outside this whole time and you're saying I can partake
but then others who set up this religious system, especially the
Pharisees in the chief priests they get Really angry.
Most of these guys had probably just LED this procession of
water that had just become empty, meaningless acts of
worship, just going through the motions.
And now Jesus is saying that, hey, all these rituals all these
sacrifices, they're going away because I'm the Fulfillment of
those. Those have always been pointing
to me and Jesus saying any can come drink freely.
This goes against everything, the chief priests believed and
taught. And if you remember, last week,
they had already gotten upset at Jesus, and they sent guards or
servants as they're called in our text, to arrest, Jesus and
stop him from teaching. And John Paul's is that and
comes back here in verse 44 and tells us that they were
unsuccessful. Look at verse 45.
We're told in verse 44 that they don't seize him.
And in verse 45, the servants come to the chief priests and
Pharisees, who ask them. Where's Jesus?
Why don't you bring them? We told you to go arrest him.
We're sick of what he's teaching.
The servants answered. No, man, ever spoke like this.
And the Pharisees responded them.
Are you full to have any of the rulers are Pharisees believed in
him? But this crowd these
rabble-rousers, these common folk.
They don't know the law, they're cursed and you want to listen to
them over us. The guards admit we couldn't
bring ourselves to arrest them. No one's ever spoken like this
man. We didn't know what to do.
And this make the makes the Pharisees mad that they start
showing their true colors. They start showing their true
arrogance. They asked the guards.
Are you fool to they said, hey guys, you can't believe Jesus is
the Messiah without us first, you know, kind of being the way
to God and telling you how to worship God and who the Messiah
is. The word crowd they use here is
like rabble-rousers. This was a, very inferior term
the way they use this, they saw the common Focus inferior
because they were uneducated. They weren't a studied, as these
Pharisees, who knew the Torah and knew the law.
And this crowd was a cursed because they didn't know the
law, like, we did their world view, their way of viewing.
The world cannot even begin to comprehend that the gift of
Living Water, the gift of the spirit would be given to just
common. Read a ignorant.
Nobody's this infuriates them. There's this ironic Twist of
Nicodemus, who was actually a ruler of the Jews came to Jesus
by night in the past, eventually.
It seems from Jean that he'll come to Faith and he.
So he's in this wrestling stage, and he actually defends Jesus,
in verse 52. Sorry.
He defends them, and in verse 52, the Pharisees respond in
Nicodemus. Look at what they say to
Nicodemus. You aren't From Galilee to.
Are you? They replied investigating.
You will see that no Prophet arises From Galilee.
Not them over there. There's no way a profit could
come from there. There's are you from there, too?
And they start using this ethnic slur, this you're not surely
taking the side of those Gentiles.
Are you? See, the religious leaders
thought they had an inside track to Yahweh based on their
intellect. They had studied the law.
They knew the tour inside and out.
And not only that, but they thought they had a standing with
God based on their position. They were the leaders, the
elite, they had Insider access but not only did they have
intellectual pride and positional Pride.
They also had ethnic Pride. They and their culture where the
real chosen ones, right? They were the ones that God
chose. So God Favored them above all
the others. And Jesus stands up and says,
look, my spirit is gifted. Not based on your intellect,
your standing, your position or your place of birth or
ethnicity, but instead, based solely on, if you come to me,
based on belief, in me alone. This is the good news of the
Gospel. This is good news for all of us
who have been stripped of our own self reliance and our own
pride and realize that we have a longing and a thirst that this
world cannot satisfy. And we say I thirst where do I
find satisfaction? And we come to Jesus and say, we
need a savior and he stands up and proclaims laude loudly, that
I am the Fulfillment of all the hopes and dreams that the people
of God ever longed for As Jesus stood up and made the scandalous
Proclamation, those in the crowd would have remembered Isaiah
chapter 12 verses 2 & 3. It says, indeed, God is my
salvation. Not some ritual, not some right.
But God I will trust him and not be afraid for the Lord.
The Lord himself is my strength and my song, he has become my
salvation. You, the people of God will
joyfully draw water from the Springs of Salvation has.
The priests are drawing water from the pool of Siloam.
Jesus saying, drink of me. I am the salvation.
That you long for and as we drink of him, we find true
satisfaction and joy. As he grants us his Spirit.
Jesus also Echoes the words of Isaiah 55, which say, come
everyone who is thirsty. Come to the water and you
without silver. You don't need no money.
You need to buy this, you'll need to earn it.
Just come and eat. You don't need money to purchase
this come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost
pay attention. And come to me.
Listen, so that you will live. You want Springs of Living Water
come to Jesus. And Isaiah goes on to say, that,
the Nations that did not know, God will be given the spirit of
God. This was always the plan that
the spirit of God would go forth to all people.
All nations, all tribes, and all tongues.
And the beauty of it is that the reception of the spirit.
The receiving of the spirit is based on his Covenant work, not
ours. See we could never earn access
to God. I mean think about the fact it's
crazy that the spirit indwells you I mean, you know your own
Brokenness. I don't have to remind you of
it. The Same Spirit that raised
Jesus from the dead, the spirit of the Living God is in dwelt in
your person. Seeing on her own.
We could never be clean enough for the spirit to make his
dwelling among us. See, as the Pharisees spoke of
the crowd, when they said they were a curse, they were
prophesying without even knowing it, but they weren't just
talking about the crowd reality. Is they themselves were accursed
along with all of humanity. We need a savior.
We need someone to save us from ourselves.
And that's what Jesus came to do.
Jesus made his dwelling, his his Booth is temporary tabernacled
among us, became flesh made his home as one of us so that he
might become the perfect human on our behalf so that we would
not have to stay a curse. This is why Jesus went to the
Cross. He didn't just stand up and
Proclaim some message loudly to get the crowds riled up.
No, he actually lived this. He accomplished salvation for
all, who believe. He walked the path that we
couldn't walk. He brought Heaven down to us
this. What the Tabernacle represented
represented. It's the place where Heaven met
Earth. And Jesus is saying I am it.
I'm the true Temple. Jesus is bringing satisfaction
for us later in the Gospel of John Hill record for us.
Jesus on the cross, toward the end of his death and he cries
out loudly. And he says I thirst And yes,
the shows us is humanity. But there was more than a
physical aspect to his thirst. We see in this, these two words.
I thirst that Jesus was completely emptied so that we
might be filled. He enters into the emptiness of
humanity, as he becomes sin. He becomes the accursed one on
our behalf and all these Idols that we Chase seeking to satisfy
us and they leave us empty every time.
Jesus willingly, walks into the results of that emptying himself
as the hymn, says, of all but love.
So that we might receive the Abundant filling of his spirit
and that same Spirit, that's granted to you.
And me is the Same Spirit that in the Tomb, breathe life, back
into the dead, bones of Jesus, and causes him to raise up
again, and he conquers death, and he'll, and your sin.
So that the spirit might end. Well, you and when he ascends
back to the father, he doesn't leave us alone.
He says it's better for me to go cause I want the spirit inside.
Each of my Believers this temple on building where I'm the
Cornerstone and all of you has the church aren't dwelt by the
spirit. The hands and feet of Jesus in
the Earth today. He breathes on in the spirit.
He brings Heaven down and he places eternity in our hearts.
This can only be fulfilled by the water, the spirit, that
quenches our Eternal longing. Jesus is the Fulfillment of all
of this. It's all about him.
It's always about him. That's why everything we do here
is about him. The psalm that was chanted as
the priest poured out, the water on.
The altar was Psalm 118, as they got to the end of this Halal.
And that's the song that says the stone that the builders
rejected has become the Cornerstone.
And it even says that the stone being rejected, Jesus being
rejected was from the Lord, and that it's a cause for
celebration wait what? Him being emptied him dying is
an opportunity for us to celebrate and throw a freakin
party. Yes, because that is our
Salvation. That's our hope, his death
brought life to us. Jesus is the true one who was
poured out on the altar of the Cross.
He was emptied completely so that we might be overflowing
with his Spirit and the invitation to us.
Today is to lay aside, all pride and self, whether that be pride
in your theology. Pride and how much you studied
the texter, how good you are at your reading plan, pride in your
position or your wealth or your status National Pride of what
nation you were born into lay this, all the side and come
thirsty to the only one who can satisfy.
That's what we see at the end of the entire story in revelation,
22. Look at it with me.
It'll be on the screens. Then he showed me the river of
the Water of Life, clear as Crystal flowing from the Throne
of God, and of the Lamb down, the middle of the city's Main
Street, and we're told that this this water of life brings forth
trees that are for the healing of the Nations.
And then look at verse 17. It says, both the spirit.
And the bride say come, let anyone who hears say come, let
the one who is thirsty. Come, let the one who desires
take the Water of Life freely. This invitation is open to all
and if you've not come and drunk of the water of life together,
the spirit and the bride, the church that's us.
Like we stand and implore you to come drink.
You don't need money. You don't need status.
Just bring your emptiness. And he will fill you because
Jesus was emptied on the cross. You can be filled.
And for those of us who've received this, Jesus, our
prayers that we would surrender our own interest.
Lay them, aside surrender. Our members are gifts, whatever
we have to the spirit so that he can flow from us to the world
around us. Growing into a greater awareness
of the spirits work and our other need for dependence on him
will absolutely change us as we say all the time.
If the spirit was removed from your life.
Would you even notice our lives reflecting the fact that we
can't do this on our own when people want to give us credit
and glory for anything that happens?
We say it's all Jesus. It's all the work of his Spirit
within us flowing from within us as a gift from him.
And this happens in all of life, right?
Not just the things that we deemed sacred, you know, stuff
like Sunday morning, when we show up, you know, we're all
singing and praising which I love doing, right.
But it's also in the everyday, as the spirit, works at your job
and your career, and your education, whatever it is that
you do, where you find yourself, you're displaying and declaring
to the world, the beauty of Jesus.
We need him, but the good news is that he is available to all
and given in abundance. So come drink freely without
price.