Memorial Day weekend sees a lot of pools pop up in backyards. Those little pools are great at first. They are cheap and do not require a second mortgage like a built-in pool. They are shallow for the little kids, not that you can ever leave them unattended. There are no chemicals to purchase. Plus, they can be filled up and emptied quickly, but if they are left for even a few days, they will fill with dirt, grow algae and become a home for little floating creatures making them unusable.
A little backyard pool is not like a freshwater spring found up in the mountains flowing with cold filtered water. The constant flow of fresh clean water from a spring makes it good for a swim and even to drink. Plus, it is free and takes no maintenance. Like living spring water, Jesus promised an outpouring of the Holy Spirit to his disciples in our Gospel reading from John 7, 37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. With these words, Jesus was pointing ahead to Pentecost, which we celebrate today. The Holy Spirit had already been at work in the hearts of all who believed in Jesus, but Pentecost would be a unique outpouring showing the message of Jesus was for all people.
The tongues of fire that settled on the disciples at Pentecost showed the Holy Spirit had been poured out on them to share the saving name of Jesus. It had been 50 days since Easter and Jerusalem was once again filled with Jews from around the world to celebrate a festival called the Feast of Harvest or Weeks which would be similar to our Thanksgiving holiday. We read again what happened to the disciples on Pentecost in our reading from Acts 2, 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. The Holy Spirit had already given the disciples the gift of faith in Jesus who fulfilled the Scriptures as the sacrifice for sin who was raised on the third day. Now, the Holy Spirit opened their eyes to see the message of Jesus was to be shared with all people. Sitting stagnant with the truth was not an option for the disciples. They were springs of living water meant to overflow, and small flames meant to ignite others with the message of Jesus.
The same Holy Spirit has been given to us to share Jesus with others. At this point, your sinful nature may have distracted you with some splashing in the kiddie pool to convince you to stop listening to what must be another sermon on sharing Jesus, outreach and evangelism. Turn away from sin’s splashing and back to listening to the life-giving encouragement of Scripture. We might quickly disagree that we have received the same outpouring of Holy Spirit as the disciples because no one has tongues of flame above their heads today. True, but that was a teachable moment whose truth applies to all believers until Jesus returns on Judgment Day. The miracle of being heard in other languages did not last because the point was not the tongues of fire or a glimpse of ‘Google translate’, but that the message of Jesus is for everyone.
When we conclude that we have not been given the same Holy Spirit to share Jesus with people throughout the world, it is a denial of the power of the Holy Spirit. Stagnant faith rather than faith like a spring of living water is no good to us as individuals, to others or to God. When we do not look for or act on opportunities to share Jesus, we perpetuate this mindset that the Holy Spirit is not powerful enough to work in someone else’s heart and God’s Word is not effective. We also deny the Holy Spirit’s power when we worry about not knowing what to say, although we believe and know what Jesus has done for us in addition to our speaking one of the Christian creeds each week, but we do not grow in our knowledge of Scripture, memorization of Bible passages, prayer life, asking pastor for help, etc. In addition, when we blame something about the other person to justify not sharing Jesus, we deny the Holy Spirit’s power. So, all our not sharing Jesus is not a problem with others or God, but our lack of being filled with the truth.
The Holy Spirit is a spring of living water for us. Our stagnant faith, preoccupation with other things and lack of sharing Jesus are the kind of near empty cups the Holy Spirit fills up. In our reading from Acts 2, Peter quoted the prophet Joel about all of us living in the New Testament church, 17 “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.” The Holy Spirit has been poured out on you. Our Savior Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross for all our sins and guaranteed our resurrection to eternal life through his own resurrection. Jesus rules all things for his church from heaven since his ascension, and he sent his promised Holy Spirit to us. Jesus is the one who did all Scripture had said the Savior would do, so we have been saved as we read in Acts 2, 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. The Holy Spirit turns us away from focusing on ourselves to focus on Jesus who saved us. And that same Holy Spirit then turns our eyes to all those around us who need their eyes lifted up to the Lord who has saved them too.
On this Memorial Day weekend, we give thanks for all those who did not pick and choose who they died for but gave their lives in service to their country and for all who live here. This weekend offers us a time of rest and thanksgiving to God for those who have kept us safe and alive so that we get to live another day filled with the Holy Spirit to share Jesus with others. Talking about sacrifice, war, freedom and peace this weekend gives us ample opportunities to segue into a conversation about Jesus.
Before we leave here having heard another Pentecost sermon with an outreach and evangelism theme and encouragement with excuses, apathy or high hopes of sharing Jesus with someone new that will be forgotten by the time we are home and lost in Memorial Day plans or sales or trips here is a practical way to remain filled with the Spirit and living water rather than stagnant water and death. Open your Bible and read Exodus 20:1-17, it’s the Ten Commandments, then apply how you think, speak, act, plan, react and live to them. Do not only read them but meditate on them. You will find that you have not done them, which is sin that separates you from God bringing eternal punishment in hell. Then, read Hebrews 10:1-15 which shows Jesus as the law-abiding, perfect, innocent, one and only sacrifice for sin that saved us and guaranteed a place for us with him in heaven forever. Reading these passages and others like them is to be our daily habit as Christians, and in doing so, the Holy Spirit will work through the Word filling you with living water that spills out into the lives of others. This puts God back in his place as the one who gives us life and fills us with love and the desire to bring Jesus to others. Everyone has broken the Ten Commandments and Jesus sacrificed himself to save all people. When you hear something in Scripture that fills you with hope, peace, thanksgiving and joy, those same words apply to every single other person in your life. We have the assurance that we have been given the Holy Spirit because we have the gift of faith in Jesus as our Lord as we hear in our New Testament reading from 1 Corinthians 12, 3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. And from God, we have also received different gifts from the Holy Spirit as we read a few verses later, 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. These various manifestations of the Spirit take as many different forms as there are believers, but they all serve the same common good. Together we use our Spirit given gifts to share Jesus. If you want to better understand your gifts, ask a trusted Christian friend, your pastor or here at Divine Peace our Personal Member Ministry Coordinator.
Memorial Day weekend sees a lot of pools pop up in backyards. Those little pools are great at first, but quickly they fill with dirt, algae and little creatures making them unusable. Little backyard pools are not like a freshwater spring up in the mountains with cold filtered water that is good for a swim and even to drink. The tongues of fire that settled on the disciples at Pentecost showed the Holy Spirit had been poured out on them to share the saving name of Jesus. The Holy Spirit has given us the gift of faith to call Jesus our Lord, so sitting stagnant with the truth is not an option for us because the Holy Spirit uses different people to share the saving name of Jesus. Amen.
Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church
Gunnar Ledermann
I’m passionate about Rockwall’s vibrant community and actively engage with local non-profits and community organizations, including the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce, the City of Rockwall, and the Downtown Rockwall Association. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a master’s degree in divinity. Currently serving as a pastor at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Marinda, and our five children.
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