Pentecost and the Fountain of Youth

Welcome, everyone, to this Pentecost weekend. Very glad to have this third feast during the year. Sabbath and Sundays are always combined, two days that we're able to serve God this way and worship Him. I remember back as a young boy, growing up in Miami, Florida, that at school we would go through history class, and always it was brought up, the person who discovered the state of Florida. It was a Spanish conquistador by the name of Ponce de Leon. And he has a reputation, not only because he was the one that became governor of Puerto Rico, and then he heard from the natives that there was someplace out west where there was this magic fountain of youth. And he asked around and the natives said, yes, there's a place there. And so he left where he was and he says, I want to find this fountain of youth. It's better than gold. Everything else is insignificant in comparison. And so he took off in his Spanish galleon and he ended up discovering Florida instead. And he searched every river and stream and he never found that fountain of youth.

And today human beings are still trying to find that fountain of youth through medicine, through gene therapy, you know, special diets. And guess what? Everybody ends up dying just the same.

There is no such thing as a physical fountain of youth.

But strange enough, when I was 17 years old, I stumbled upon something that was better than finding the fountain of youth. I wasn't looking for it. I wasn't an explorer or a door or a conquistador at all. But I stumbled upon it and of all places I found it in the Bible, where there is a fountain of youth that is promised there, that is going to be so much better than having a physical fountain that can restore a certain amount of youth because you're still a human being and you're still going to die. But here's one that is so much better, but it has to be done in God's way and in the manner that God designed it so it would be so much more beneficial to us. And tomorrow, we're celebrating that discovery of the fountain of youth when that church in the day of Pentecost received God's Holy Spirit as a collective body. And God would start calling people to be part of His firstfruits. And the ones that could partake of that spiritual drink of God's Holy Spirit.

And it is something that now we can just sip on occasion, but it is something that one day will multiply to the point where we will be like that famous song says, forever young.

We'll never have to worry about aging and getting sickness. And so God has vowed and promised this in the Bible, and we should never take it for granted. So it's one of the aspects of the Feast of Pentecost to look and how the symbol of God's Holy Spirit, one of them has to do with the fountain of living waters that Christ invites us to partake of.

So let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

This is when it's going to happen, brethren, to those who have been faithful, who have died, or who are still alive. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, starting in verse 50.

It says, now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

As long as we're physical beings, that kingdom of God has not come, because that's not something that a physical being can live and be a spirit being. It says here, nor does corruption inherit in corruption. So in this life, we, unless Christ comes back, are not going to be transformed into forever young spirit beings. He says, behold, I tell you a mystery, which means something that's going to be revealed, that have been hidden to mankind. We shall not all sleep, and means not everybody's going to die before experiencing this, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye in the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Paul was hoping that Christ would come in his lifetime, and then he would just be transformed. He says, verse 53, for this corruptible must put on in corruption. Only by resurrection is that going to happen, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on in corruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, see we don't have it right now, but we will be granted it, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. All that death that has happened, it will be no more for those resurrected saints.

Oh death, where is your sting? It's saying. Where is your victory when you see those people living now eternity, in eternity, never to die a second time. Oh Hades, which means the tomb, where is your victory? It's just temporary. The sting of death, the sin, so that's what causes death, and the strength of sin is the law, breaking of God's law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. He did it. He made it possible for us to one day partake of that fountain of eternal youth. Verse 58, as a result, he says, therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, no matter what obstacles are in the way, what trials are there, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. God, he's looking forward to giving us those living waters that will come into us one day. As Christ said, in that last great day that we celebrate after the Feast of Tabernacles, let's go to John chapter 7. John chapter 7 verse 37.

It says, on that last day, that great day, which means magas in the Greek, it's used for a holy day, Jesus stood up and cried out, saying, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive, for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. So before Pentecost could be fulfilled, Christ had to pay the price for the sin. And so that's what Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread are all about, preparing one to be able to take of that Holy Spirit, which was not available in the same way. We know Old Testament saints also were given that as a special case to Moses, to David, and others, but they're just very few that have received the Holy Spirit until the New Testament church got started. Notice in John chapter 4, Christ again used the analogy of the Holy Spirit as living water. Notice in John chapter 4 and verse 9.

This is when he meets the woman in the well in Samaria. Verse 9, it says, Then the woman of Samaria said to him, How is it that you, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. They were excluded.

They were pariahs. Jesus' answer said to her, because of course he's not going by the rules of the Jews, he came to die for everybody, not just for the Jews. He said, If you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. The woman said to him, Sir, you have nothing to draw with. There's no bucket that you hand to me. The well is deep. Where then do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? Here the Samaritans claimed to be part of the descendants of Abraham, which was not true, who gave us the well and drank from it himself as well as his sons and his livestock.

Jesus answered and said to her, Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again. Talk about the well. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. So this is the water that we really need.

We use the example of God's Spirit, of drinking of God's Spirit, as something that is so important, just like we drink water every day. Without water, we would perish quite quickly.

And the analogy is, spiritually, we need to drink of that water every day. Notice in 1 Corinthians 12, in verse 13, Paul says, For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves are free, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

So we're all drinking of that same Spirit of God. Once we're baptized and with the laying on of hands, then we begin to participate.

So here's a prop for you.

Just imagine. Just imagine being able to have a drink of spiritual water. So God is offering that to us. And in a way, we have to drink of that every day when we go before God to replenish us spiritually. Because that water is just a small amount of God's Spirit. It's not going to last over a long period of time. It has to be renewed. Notice what it says in 2 Corinthians 4.

Once we quit praying, once we quit being close to God, then what takes over? The carnal human nature. We sink into wrong thoughts, wrong desires. Why? Because we're not drinking enough of that spiritual water. Notice what it says in 2 Corinthians 4. In verse 16, it says, therefore we do not lose heart, even though our outward man is perishing the physical fleshly person, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

That Spirit in us can be renewed with God's Spirit working there. For our light affliction, but for a moment the trials that we have, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. So trials, difficulties, sometimes we just have to come to God and confess and ask for forgiveness. And He never says no. He will forgive. He looks at our heart. If our heart is right before Him, He will always forgive. He says, while we do not look at the things which are seen, you can't get this from a physical fountain of youth, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. God's Spirit is that way. He is eternal. He is working in us. And so after we're baptized, then we receive the laying on of hands by the ministry. Or if it's just one or more, doesn't matter. But the thing is that that Holy Spirit descends and makes a contact in your Spirit, the Spirit in man, and it makes that union. And then you have access to that fountain of life which we have to drink of. Notice in Isaiah chapter 12, Isaiah chapter 12, verse 2, it says, Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. For YAH, the Lord, is my strength, and song. He also has become my salvation. Therefore, with joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. So we are to draw from that water that comes from God, from being close. And so it is a great privilege. Looking back on our lives, are we gonna really think about just physical things? No. We're gonna think, oh, how blessed to be part of God's kingdom and to be with Jesus Christ and have that Holy Spirit like springs of living water in us. It's gonna transform us. We're not gonna have human nature anymore. We're not gonna have to fight anymore with Satan and this world. Then we will be part of God's family. This is what God is offering us, which none of us deserve, but we're so thankful about. Notice what it tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13. This is a very important Scripture. It's not mentioned very much, but it's very important. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 13 describes God's people. It says, but we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation. And actually, another translation makes it more clear that you were the first that God has been able to call to this salvation. Through time, and just a very few, you are the firstfruits of God through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

One of the truths is that we keep Pentecost. We don't keep these Hindu ideas, and we don't keep Catholic feast days and whatever. No, the truth of God is found in God's Word. And we see throughout the Old and the New Testament that the faithful people that God called kept Pentecost in their day, and they were not willing to compromise. They were willing to faithfully continue as long as they can drink of that fountain of the living waters that God talks about so much. We should never forget what the promises are that Jesus Christ mentioned. In Luke 12, verse 31, Luke 12, and I hope this is encouraging, and this is a preparation for tomorrow, the day of Pentecost, to look at it as such a privilege unmerited by us. Second, Luke 12, verse 31.

It says, but seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. In other words, that should be your first goal. Now, hopefully you can seek many wonderful things. Get a good education. Enjoy your life. Have a prosperous and blessed life in whatever state you're in.

But being in that kingdom should be our first goal, because that's where the living waters are. And guess what? We can lose access to that water if we're not careful.

So in Luke 12, verse 31, it continues in verse 32, it says, do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. It's God's will. He's not going to give it to the high and mighty and powerful of this world. Little flock.

Many times it looks so insignificant. It looks like it's hardly anything of real value in this life. The whole church disappeared. It wouldn't make a dent in this world. But that's the church that God is developing, because He deals with the lowliest of the low. When Christ became the lowliest of the low, He humbled Himself to that point. He does not want anybody exalted in His kingdom, as it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 26.

He says, for you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. Those are the exceptions. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world. Those that people are not considered important. To put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world. Not any powerful type of people or personalities.

To put to shame the things which are mighty, and the base things of the world. Things that the world doesn't consider important or worthy. And the things which are despised, again, by the world. God has chosen. And the things which are not valued as people are concerned. To bring to nothing the things that are. That no flesh should glory in His presence. So nobody's going to say, well, I know God had to choose me because I was so great and mighty and powerful and rich and whatever.

We don't have that type of people in the congregation. I've met a couple that were millionaires. You know what? None of them survived that I know of. They all got taken out by Satan. I had one who was a senator in the Spanish in Chile there. He was an ex-senator when I met him, but he'd been a very influential man. And one day he never was able to make it to baptism. And he called me, he said, you know what? And he tithed faithfully for years and years. But he says, you know what? This system is just like an octopus. Every time I grab one of the arms and the tentacles, another one grabs me. And that was the last time he talked to me. Just sucked into the world. Just brought this way. And yet, here we are. We don't have that problem, do we? Because we're not that high and mighty important. Society doesn't consider us very valuable, and we should be thankful for that.

Now, God's Spirit is given by the thimbleful. Women used to have thimbles on their little, my God, he's a good seamstress, believe me. And she has one of those to protect from pinching her finger when she's sewing. It's a little thimble. It's about as small of a little jar that you can find. And basically God gives it to us in that portion so we don't get all high and mighty. Notice in Ephesians chapter 1, Ephesians chapter 1, in verse 13, he says, in him, talking about Christ, you also trusted after you heard the word of truth. Notice how many times? The truth of God in the Scriptures. After you heard that, after you compared, after you were convinced. This is what the Bible teaches. The gospel of your salvation, the good news of how you can drink of that living waters, in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Through the baptism, the sealing came with the laying on of hands. And it should say, which is the guarantee of our inheritance, the down payment? This is a part of that Holy Spirit that one day will fill us, a million full to what we have now. Until the redemption of the purchased possession, until it's all yours, a self-generating Holy Spirit, to the praise of His glory. So God is wonderful, but He is humble. He wants humble people. He is willing to submit and serve others, just as Christ did, and showed it to us when He lived in this life. And so those that become haughty, become vain, eventually that will show by the fruits.

See, the problem is that we can neglect having God's Spirit going to that well of water that God has, and we can lose it. Notice in 1 Timothy chapter 4. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 14.

Let me see if I've got the... Yeah, 1 Timothy chapter 4, 14. It says, Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. You see how important it is? It's a laying on of hands of the eldership. And the prophecy, of course, was that this young man, God was drawing him, and the congregation knew this was a young man, and some of the prophets said this young man is going to be part of the ministry Monday. And so Paul was reminding Timothy, don't neglect that gift. So it's not something that automatically is generated.

It barely lasts probably a day before it starts winding down, just like a cell phone or whatever. It's not going to last that long. You're going to see that carnal human nature begin to grow in a person. The Holy Spirit is the thing that suppresses it. It's like putting it inside a jail cell. And pretty soon that jail cell begins to weaken, and that human nature wants to come out and break it out in the open.

Notice in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 6. Paul says, therefore I remind you, Timothy, to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Paul was one of the ones that ordained Timothy. Well, and he baptized him. And actually this was when he was a member.

Verse 7, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Sound mind, something that is balanced, doesn't go to extremes, has a healthy view of life, which is so important. And so we come to now the end of the message which is in the book of Revelation. Notice these three scriptures in Revelation starting in verse, in chapter 7, verse 13. Describing God's people in the end time. It says, verse 13, Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, Who are these arrayed in white robes?

And where did they come from? And I said to him, Sir, you know, so he said to me, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation. It hasn't started yet, but these are the ones that went in to the great tribulation, and washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Notice here the contrast, that their robes were not white, but they were made white through the blood of the Lamb. So that's the way you purify yourself. You go before the throne of God and repent and commit to improving, to overcoming, and God will always forgive you.

Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore, nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them, nor any heat. See, there are spirit beings now.

For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them. And this is talking about when God comes back, and that new Jerusalem will be established, and will shepherd them, and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God, talking about God the Father, will wipe away every tear from their eyes. So we have to have that faith. We have to walk. This is a reality. This is something that we can never lose sight of in our lives. Notice in Revelation 21 verse 3. Revelation 21 verse 3. When that new Jerusalem comes, it says, I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men.

God the Father finally descends upon the earth, and He will dwell with them. He shows He wasn't dwelling with them before. Christ is the one who had been in charge. Now He's going to dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And then it says in verse 6. And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega. In other words, everlasting, always living. The beginning and the end I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to Him who thirsts.

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God, and He shall be my God, my Son. Probably one of the greatest scriptures in all of the Bible. And then in Revelation 22, in verse 14, it never ends this analogy about the fountain of life. It says in Revelation 22, 14, Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

In verse 17, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him who hears say, Come, and let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the waters of life freely. So Ponce de Leon never found that fountain of youth, but we have found it. If we have faith, if we're faithful, and patient, and persevering till the end, and be drinking of that water, which is the power of God.

It was in Pentecost that the church first received that portion of God's Spirit.

We believe that was in the year 31 A.D. and that started the church in the New Testament.

And we are part of that group that forms that church today. We are the church that is drinking of that waters of the Spirit of God. And we're only six years to celebrate the 2000th anniversary of the day of the founding of the church. Who knows what is waiting for us? It's very close.

We still have that period of 6,000 years somewhere. We'll have to see, but there's these events that are coming pretty soon in our lives. God knows what's going to happen. It can go on. We don't ever know, but 31 A.D. and 2,031 A.D. are 2,000 years, and that has some meaning. So let's enjoy Pentecost tomorrow.