S) "17 The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost."
Revelation 22:17 (NASB)
O) Everyone who comes to Jesus, comes by the call of the God (see also John 6:44-45), which is the Spirit calling. But, there is also the cooperative work of the saints, which is the bride of Christ (the church) also calling to people. This is the core, or base, or first step of the gospel. The grace of God is free. The real issue, is that everyone is dying of thirst, but not everyone wants a drink.
A) There are two sides. The first, is that I still need to come to God (in a sense) to drink. I need to remember that His invitation to come and partake of Him is still active to me. He is still drawing me in to His presence. The second, is that I have a place in this calling. I was dying of thirst, I heard His call to come and drink for free, and I know the life giving Spirit He has (which is te living waters Jesus described in John 4). This is te starting point of the gospel, and this is as much as I need, to call people to God. Are you thirsty? God has the water you seek. Those are all the words I need. From there, God will work on people. Calling others to Christ is just about telling people how I was dying of thirst and I heard where this water could be found, in Jesus Christ.
P) Father, Your grace never ceases to amaze me. Your are holy and good, and You bring life to dead men. We deserved to die slow, painful, thirsty deaths. I deserved that, based on my own sinful choices. But in Your grace, You offered me waters of life that restored me. Help me to remember the gospel this simply, and to share it this simply with others. Let me call them with the same, simple offer: water for te thirsty. In all things, to You alone be all the glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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