The Eternal Spring
Pastor Tan Thai · Jan 26, 2020
This sermon draws on Vietnamese Lunar New Year customs such as house-visiting and New Year greetings to introduce the theme of Christian hope. From the earthly longing for a new spring, the pastor points the congregation toward the eternal spring promised in heaven in Revelation 21–22.
The sermon opens by surveying Vietnamese Lunar New Year customs, particularly the practices of house-visiting (xông đất) and New Year greetings (chúc tết). The pastor reviews familiar blessings such as 'boundless health, continuous success, pockets always full of money' and quotes the satirical poem 'Chúc Tết' by poet Tú Xương to show that however sincere, these wishes are not guaranteed to come true. Yet all these customs reveal a deep human instinct for hope that cannot be suppressed.
The next section develops a theology of hope. The pastor uses the Greek myth of Pandora's Box to illustrate: when all the world's evils escaped the jar, the one thing that remained was hope. Citing Romans 8:24 and Hebrews 6:19, the sermon establishes that Christian hope is not grounded in people's well-wishes but in God's promises and faithfulness. The apostle John's blessing in 3 John 2 is presented as a model of a wish rooted in faith.
The heart of the sermon exegetes Revelation 21:1–5 and 22:1–2 concerning the new heaven and new earth and the river of living water. The pastor explains the Greek distinction between 'neos' (new in time) and 'kainos' (new in quality), concluding that the eternal spring of heaven is kainos — never fading with time regardless of how long it endures. The second law of thermodynamics is cited as a contrast: everything visible will eventually decay, but the new heaven and new earth will not.
The sermon then compares the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2 with the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21–22. Both feature a river and the tree of life, but in heaven there is no longer a tree of the knowledge of good and evil, no separation, no disease, no mourning, and no death. God himself will wipe away every tear and make all things new, fulfilling what Eden originally promised but which was lost through sin.
The sermon concludes with the invitation of Revelation 22:17: 'Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.' The congregation is encouraged to enjoy the earthly spring while always directing their hearts toward the eternal spring of heaven, where God reigns and every promise is perfectly fulfilled. This invitation is extended to all who are willing to receive Christ by faith.