Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/ntolstafreechurch/sermons/59894/the-invitation-of-the-spirit-and-the-bride/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] Worship God, let us sing to his praise from Psalm 95. Psalm 95 and verses 1 to 6. O come, let us sing to the Lord.

[0:18] Come, let us everyone a joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation. Let us before his presence come with praise and thankful voice. Let us sing psalms to him with grace and make a joyful noise.

[0:33] For God, a great God and great King, above all gods he is. Depths of the earth are in his hand, the strength of hills is his. To him the spacious sea belongs, for he the same did make.

[0:46] The dry land also from his hands its form at first did take. O come and let us worship him. Let us bow down with all. And on our knees before the Lord our Maker, let us fall.

[0:59] These stanzas, verses 1 to 6 of Psalm 95. To God's praise, O come, let us sing to the Lord. O come, let us sing to the Lord.

[1:20] O come, let us sing to the Lord. O come, let us sing to the Lord. O come, let us sing to the Lord. A joyful noise in the Lord.

[1:32] To the Lord our Maker, let us sing to the Lord. O come, let us sing to the Lord. The Lord our Maker, let us sing to the Lord.

[1:43] The Lord has before His presence down With praise and thankful voice Let God sing song to Him with praise And make a joyful noise For God, the great, for the great, for the great, I love all God's tears And from here I hear His sound

[2:47] The strength of His existence To burn the stage as He belongs For He the sin in Him Let thy thy arms so calm is now It's on a virgin day O come, now let us burn your skin Let us burn your skin

[3:47] Let us pray And all that need is Be called the Lord And make a letter Let us pray Let us pray O Lord, we are in constant need Of your leading and guiding Because without you we can do nothing And in particular we are not able to do anything In the spiritual realm Without the leading and enabling of your Holy Spirit And you explained this to the woman of Samaria long ago

[4:48] When she thought the Samaritan worship was acceptable And you reminded her that they who worship God Must worship in spirit And in truth Lord our God Teach us To know what we need And in teaching us to know what we need Teach us To understand what we are like As fallen creatures That each one of us Have sinned against you And we come short of your glory That each one of us Is deserving of your eternal wrath and curse Both in this life and that which is to come That is the legacy that sin Leaves Each one But we thank you that In your own infinite wisdom and love

[5:50] That you have set apart from all eternity A Saviour Who came in the fullness of times To be the mediator of God's elect people And that Jesus Christ Is the mediator To whom we are exhorted to look even this evening As the Bible says We have to run our race With patience Looking unto Jesus Who is the author and finisher Of faith Help us O Lord To have our eyes open To behold his glory And to have our hearts open To receive his word And to have the arms of faith Ready to receive And embrace him For there is no other name under heaven Given among men Whereby we must be saved And grant us this evening

[6:52] To understand the glory that belongs to him And the gross Awfulness of the sin Of rejecting him Lord our God We pray that you would open our hearts To praise you this evening And to worship you According to the words of the psalm Which exhorted us to come And sing to the Lord Come let us everyone A joyful noise make To the rock of our salvation We thank you that you have Kept us safe with our two in life And that we are able to stand here this evening Ready to worship and To hear what God the Lord Doth speak to us We thank you that you are the God Of our providence And the minute dealings of God In providence So often amaze us When we see the way You have gone ahead of us

[7:53] And made provision for us Without our even Knowing that we needed provision That you have gone ahead of us Even this evening And we ask that you would Make yourself known to us now As the God who is ready to bless We thank you for this congregation Of your people And we pray for your Leading and guiding of them During these days of vacancy We ask oh Lord That they would have the mind of Of your spirit As they consider Who is A pastor Available And Chosen by yourself To lead them And guide them In the things of God We pray for your blessing Upon all the ministers Of the congregations Around us And throughout our Presbytery And throughout our churches And throughout our nation We ask oh Lord

[8:53] That in a day of Your great power You would Fill us with your spirit And that the people Would have Hearing ears And understanding hearts That they may hear And obey What God the Lord Doth speak We pray for your blessing To be upon us As a nation As we Have prayed this morning We also pray this evening That you would turn us Oh Lord We have Drifted so far away From the point At which we ought To be moored To your word In every aspect Of our lives We pray Lord For our government We pray for our King Who is now Embarking on a new phase In his own life We pray Lord That you would give him To fear you And to serve you And always set the Lord Before him Grant him grace To do what's right And grant him strength

[9:55] To serve you Acceptably And with godly fear And all around him Who advise him We pray that the fear Of the Lord Be upon them That our nation Would be turned From the path Upon which It seems to be Running ever faster Even the path Of worldliness And self-centered And we pray Lord That you would arrest All these forces That seek to Distract people From the things That really matter The things of the spirit The things of eternity We pray Lord That you would remember Those parts of the world Where there is Turmoil And where there is war We pray that you would Intervene And that You would Put down These evil forces That seek to disrupt The lives of people We pray that you would

[10:55] We pray that you would Bless Every attempt That is being made To bring peace And justice To rule and reign In these parts of the world We pray for your blessing Upon the sick and suffering Remember them this evening We pray And we ask That as the sun Begins to go down That the sun of righteousness Would rise upon them And that they might know What it is To be blessed Even at the end Of this day Pray for those Who are seeking you Those whose hearts Are longing to know you But who cannot as yet say That they have come To know the Lord Jesus Christ And through We pray that you would Open their eyes O Lord And enable them To commit Commit themselves to you As unto A mighty saviour Who is able to do for us Far above what we are able To ask Or even think

[11:56] Go before us now We pray Lead us in your word And in this act of worship And forgive our sins Which are many In Jesus name And for his sake Amen Let us further sing This time in Psalm 145 Psalm 145 The long meter version Of the psalm And verses 8 to 16 This is the second version The Lord our God is gracious Compassionate is he also In mercy he is plenteous But unto wrath and anger slow Good unto all men Is the Lord O all his works His mercy is Thy works all praise To thee afford Thy saints O Lord Thy name shall bless The glory of thy kingdom Show shall they

[12:56] And of thy power tell That so men's sons His deeds may know His kingdom's grace That doth excel Thy kingdom Thy kingdom hath none End at all The death through ages All remain The Lord upholdeth All that fall The cast down Raiseth Up again The eyes of all things Lord attend And on the way That here do live And thou in season Due dost send Sufficient food Them To relieve And yea Thine hand Dost open wide And everything Dost satisfy That lives And doth On earth Abide Of thy great Liberality These stanzas Verses 8 to 16 Of Psalm 145 The Lord our God Is gracious The Lord of allouch

[14:18] Good night.

[14:48] Good night.

[15:18] Radio Green. CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS

[16:21] CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS CHOIR SINGS You've heard thy count, a soul in white I'll let you hear the savage cry But is now the honor of life Of thy great liberality Let us now turn to the book of Revelation and reading in chapter 21 from verse 9

[17:43] Revelation 21 from verse 9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues and talked with me saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. And had a wall great and high, and at twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the east three gates, and on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

[18:50] And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

[19:06] And the city lieth four square, and the length is as large as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

[19:21] And he measured the wall thereof, and hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

[19:40] And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third a chalcedony, the fourth an emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysalid, the eighth beryl, the ninth a topaz, the tenth a chrysoprises, the eleventh a jacinth, the twelfth an amethyst.

[20:07] And the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Every several gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

[20:20] And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God would lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

[20:37] And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there.

[20:52] And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it, and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination nor maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

[21:07] And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month.

[21:27] And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him.

[21:39] And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun. For the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.

[21:55] And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

[22:08] Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I, John, saw these things, and heard them. When I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel, which showed me these things.

[22:25] Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not? For I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book.

[22:39] Worship God. And he said unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still.

[22:52] And he which is filthy, let him be filthy still. And he that is righteous, let him be righteous still. And he that is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I come quickly.

[23:04] And my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

[23:24] For without are dogs and sorcerers, and whoremongers and murderers and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.

[23:39] I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the spirit of the bride say, come. And let him that heareth say, come.

[23:51] And let him that is a thirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. But I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

[24:11] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

[24:24] He which testifieth these things saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

[24:37] Amen. May God bless to us that reading from his holy word. To his name be all the praise. Let us know sing to his praise from Psalm 45.

[24:50] Come and meet a version of Psalm 45, in verses 10 to 15. Psalm 45, verse 10.

[25:06] O daughter, hearken and regard, and do thine ear incline. Likewise forget thy father's house and people that are thine. Then of the king desired shall be thy beauty vehemently, because he is thy Lord, do thou him worship reverently.

[25:24] The daughter there of Tyre shall be with gifts and offerings great, those of the people that are rich thy favour shall entreat. Behold, the daughter of the king all glorious is within, and with embroideries of gold her garments wrought have been.

[25:40] She shall be brought unto the king in robes with needle wrought. Her fellow virgins following shall unto thee be brought. They shall be brought with gladness great, and mirth on every side, into the palace of the king, and there they shall abide.

[25:57] These stances of Psalm 45, verses 10 to 15, to God's praise, O daughter, hearken and regard.〈 Can anyone strokes for thee?

[26:15] The birth of God, and do with no doubt. Those who are swift is given by thee, and do with no doubt.

[26:28] Malocaジ simplesmente ולixes line down to the palace of the Christ of the King, My Father's house, I'm feeling the love of my life.

[26:44] The love that He is our heart of me, by His love, He's the king and king.

[27:01] Because He is my God to love, Him worship, and and and and and and The children that all my eyes are free, with gifts I've not received.

[27:38] For us, I'm feeling the love of my life. Thy love that He is our heart of me, The mother's hand and the hand of the King, Our glorious days will be, And when the glory of His love Have God and the strong have been, The child be brought down to the King,

[28:44] Then rose with me the Lord, For I've never heard Him following, Shalom to the King, This child be brought with God's grace, And earth from every side, Into the paintings of the King, And earth from every side,

[29:48] Now as the Lord enables us, Let us turn back to this portion of Scripture we've read, Particularly in the book of Revelation and chapter 22, And focusing for a short while as God enables us on verse 17.

[30:14] Revelation 22 verse 17, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, And at him that heareth say, Come, And at him that is athirst come, And whosoever will, Let him take the water of life freely.

[30:32] The book of Revelation is full of symbolism regarding the church, And the circumstances surrounding it.

[30:58] And from the very beginning of this book, The Lord addresses the church under the title of the seven churches, The seven churches in Asia.

[31:12] And commentators suggest to us, That these seven churches in Asia, With their various problems, In the society in which they found themselves, They are representative of the church of Christ, Down through the ages.

[31:34] The Lord Jesus said to his disciples, In this world you shall have tribulation, But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

[31:48] And when you look at the seven churches, Most of them have many problems to contend with, And situations that are so difficult and trying, For the people of God.

[32:06] But going on to chapter seven, In this particular book, John, To whom the letter was given, He sees a large number, Which no man could number, Of all nations and kindred and people and tongues, Standing before the throne of God and before the Lamb, And they were crying with a loud voice, Saying, Salvation to our God, Which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb.

[32:46] And he doesn't know who these people are. And one of the elders answered, These are they, Who came out of great tribulation, And have washed their robes and made them white, In the blood of the Lamb.

[33:06] Therefore are they before the throne of God, And serve them day and night in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, Neither thirst any more, Neither shall the sun light on them, Nor any heat.

[33:22] For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, And shall lead them unto living fountains of water. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

[33:34] So whatever problems and difficulties and trials these seven churches had, The time was going to come when the troubles were to be behind them, And they would stand triumphant before the throne of God, Clothed with white robes of righteousness, And the palms of victory in their hands, Singing the praises of God, Who redeemed them, And kept them, Every step of the way, And at last presented them faultless, In the presence of his glory, With exceeding joy.

[34:14] Such is The experience of the Church of God in every age. But coming to this particular section that we read this evening, John is granted to see, And we see this in chapter 21.

[34:34] He is granted to see the bride, the Lamb's wife. This is chapter 21, verse 9. One of the seven angels, Who had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, Talked with me, saying, Come hither, and I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

[34:54] And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, And showed me that great city, The holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven, From God. And so on.

[35:06] He is granted A A marvellous vision of the bride, the Lamb's wife.

[35:17] That means the Church of God. Because God has united his people to himself, In an everlasting covenant bond. I will betroth thee unto me forever, the Lord says to his people.

[35:34] And the people of God come through this world, As the bride of Christ. The people of God are married to Christ.

[35:50] Through their effectual calling, And through their being blessed with covenant blessings, They are united to Christ. He is their husband.

[36:01] And each one of his people constitute his bride. And in these words we have in chapter 21, We have a little insight into the glory that belongs to the people of God, Ultimately, As they are presented at last, Before God in heaven.

[36:30] See for example in chapter 21 verse 13. This city is presented to us as having, Three gates on the north, Three gates on the east, Three gates on the south, And three gates on the west.

[36:44] It's a city that its gates are open, Accessible to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Heaven is for those who believe in Jesus, And they will be received into heaven, At the end of life's journey.

[37:02] The gates are access into the glory that awaits them. And then also in chapter 21 verse 16, The city lies four square, Length is as large as the breadth, And he measured the city with the reed twelve thousand furlongs, The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

[37:22] Heaven is a spacious place. We get the impression regarding hell as a most confined space, A place of anguish, A place of agony, A place of darkness.

[37:37] But here, heaven is a place of light, A place of light, And space, And glory. But then also in 2117, We see it's a place of security.

[37:50] He measured the wall thereof, And hundred and forty and four cubits, According to the measure of a man, That is, The angel, The building of the wall of it was of jasper, And so on.

[38:02] There is constant and eternal security for the people of God. They are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

[38:14] Even in this life, they are so kept. And at last in heaven, nothing shall mar the peace of their blessedness, Throughout the endless ages of eternity.

[38:26] And then there's 21, verse 22, We see that it is a place of light. I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it, And the city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, For the glory of God had lightened it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

[38:48] A place of light. No more darkness. It says in the Old Testament, That the sun shall no more go down by day, Neither shall the moon withdraw itself.

[39:00] The Lord is their eternal light. An everlasting day. And then, verse 21, verse 27, There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, Neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, But they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

[39:23] It's a place of holiness. A place where sin cannot enter. Sin entered into the Garden of Eden at the beginning of man's history. But sin cannot enter the eternal blessed state of the people of God in heaven.

[39:39] Nothing can enter in that defiles, or work abomination, or make a lie. And he has given us in these symbolic ways, A little insight as it were, into the glory of the heaven into which the people of God are passing.

[39:58] And he continues giving us an understanding of that in chapter 22. Verse 1, he showed me a pure river of water of life, Clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

[40:14] A pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. This is the source of blessing to the people of God.

[40:30] You notice that it came out of, or proceeded out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. God ordained it from all eternity. And it is through the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, that this marvellous fountain was opened.

[40:45] This pure river of water of life. When Jesus Christ was on the cross in Calvary, he opened in his death a fountain of living waters to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness.

[41:02] And that river, the blessings of that covenant and the blessings of Jesus' finished work, continue to flow into the church of Christ.

[41:14] Not only in this world, but throughout the endless ages of eternity. Then it goes on in verse 2. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, there was the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits.

[41:30] Heal it our fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Do you remember there's a mention of the tree of life in the garden of Eden?

[41:41] And Adam and Eve were told not to touch it or eat of its fruit. Well, when they ate of the fruit forbidden to them, God cast them out of the garden.

[41:54] And he set up as a watchman over the tree of life there, an angel with his sword drawn. And anyone who was going to avail themselves of fruit from the tree of life must deal with the angel with the sword drawn.

[42:16] And that's a picture of what Jesus did. God in his righteous judgment protects the tree of life. And Jesus as the representative and mediator of his people engages with that sword of justice.

[42:33] And God plunges the sword of his justice into the experience of his Son on the cross. So that Jesus Christ made peace by the blood of his cross and gave access to believers in him, to this marvelous tree of life and the fountain of life.

[42:52] It's only through faith in Jesus, the Redeemer, can we have access to this pure river of water of life and this tree of life in the center of the garden.

[43:07] And there is no more curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. And then it goes on to say that they shall see his face and his name shall be in their foreheads.

[43:20] The face of the God who has given them this eternal life shall be seen by them. They shall see his face in the person of Jesus Christ.

[43:33] And Jesus said, he who has seen me has seen the Father. And they will see his face with such clarity as they have never seen it in this world with the eyes of faith.

[43:47] They will see him as he is. John said in his epistle, we know not yet what we shall be, but we know that when we see him we shall be like him.

[44:00] And we shall see him as he is. And then he goes on. His name is in their foreheads. That is that they have been sealed with the blessing of God's Spirit.

[44:15] They are God's property. And they are God's property forevermore. And there is no night there. And they shall reign forever and ever. Well I wanted to go through that to give us, as it were, a little bit of an insight into the glory and the blessedness that belongs to the people of God.

[44:39] The glory and the blessedness that belongs to them. Particularly when they leave this world. And then it comes to verse 17, chapter 22.

[44:52] And the Spirit and the Bride say, come. And let him that heareth say, come. And let him that is a thirst come.

[45:05] And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. The Spirit and the Bride. This speaks of the Spirit of God in the church.

[45:22] The people of God have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. They are temples of the Spirit. And in response to all that the Lord has been saying, by way of telling about heaven and his coming soon.

[45:44] The Spirit moves the church to say, Lord come. We want to have part of this glory that you have prepared for your people.

[45:59] We see around us so many signs of sin and iniquity and godlessness. And within ourselves we feel the power of sin so often seeking to dominate us.

[46:12] May the Lord Jesus Christ come and give us to inherit that glory that he speaks of here. The Spirit and the Bride say, come.

[46:25] Come. Are you one of these who longs to see the glory of Christ in heaven?

[46:37] Well, I think we have to be in a particular frame of mind and spirit to be able to say wholeheartedly and with this kind of conviction.

[46:55] Lord come. Come tonight. Sometimes we feel, am I ready if the Lord were to come tonight? Am I ready to receive him?

[47:06] Will I be found at his right hand or not? But the Spirit and the Bride here, they say, come.

[47:19] They know that when the Lord Jesus comes, he will put everything in his own place. And then it says, let him that heareth say, come.

[47:36] Him that heareth what the scripture is saying. Him that heareth what the gospel is saying. Him that heareth the word of God.

[47:47] And that asks us really, what response are we having to the word of God? Is the word of God a word that motivates us and moves us to say to the Lord Jesus, come into my life.

[48:05] Even in my poor and sinful situation. Lord come in a day of your power to move me and to enable me to walk in your ways.

[48:17] I have walked in the ways of sin and worldliness for long enough. I want to walk in your ways now.

[48:29] You have set before me such a marvellous and glorious picture of heaven. With its security and its glory and its light and sinlessness.

[48:41] And the supply of water of life and the tree of life and all of these marvellous things. I desire these things for myself. I desire to know the Lord of the place, the Lord Jesus Christ.

[48:55] I desire to know him for myself. And when you say, come. You ask him to come to you as you read the scripture.

[49:11] To enlighten your mind in the knowledge of himself. When you hear the word of God being preached. You ask him, Lord open my ears. That I might hear your voice.

[49:23] Open my heart to receive this word. Come into my life with power. Come into my life in such a way that I will find in you all that my soul needs.

[49:38] And all that my soul requires for eternity. Let him that heareth say, come. Come. And thirdly, he says here.

[49:51] Let him that is a thirst come. Thirsty for what? Well, the prophet Isaiah in chapter 55.

[50:06] He speaks something like this also. He says, Oh, everyone that thirsteth. Come ye unto the waters. There is a thirsting in the heart of man.

[50:19] A longing for more of this world and the things that belong to this world. A longing for more money or more position for whatever.

[50:31] But Isaiah says, you come to the waters. If there is a thirsting in your life, this world cannot in any way satisfy the thirsting of your never dying soul.

[50:45] You come to the water of life. Just as it says here. The pure river of water of life that flows in this world through the gospel, through the gospel ministry, through the word of God as you read it and hear it.

[51:05] Him that is a thirst, let him come. You have tied all the broken cisterns of this world.

[51:17] This is what the Lord said of Israel of old when he was reprimanding them for their sins. He says, you have turned your back upon the fountain of living waters.

[51:30] And you have hewed out for yourselves cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water at all. And that's the way we are by nature. That's what Adam did in the Garden of Eden.

[51:44] He turned his back upon God, the fountain of living waters, by disobeying his commandment. And he hewed out for himself a cistern that could hold no water at all.

[51:56] In other words, he gave himself over to sin. And sin destroyed him. Destroyed his relationship with God. And destroyed the blessings that he enjoyed in fellowship with God before.

[52:15] Him that is a thirst, let him come. You remember what the Lord Jesus says in the gospel according to Matthew. Come unto me, all you who labour and are heavy laden.

[52:30] And I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. I am meek and lowly in heart. You will find rest unto your souls. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.

[52:43] What an amazing invitation that is. And also throughout the scripture we are exhorted to look unto him. To come to him. To place our trust in him for time and for eternity.

[52:58] Him that is a thirst, come. And then whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. What an open invitation.

[53:12] Whosoever will. Oh but there is a problem, isn't there? There are so many who are not willing. It's a problem of the will. The will is bent against the will of God, against the word of God as we are by nature.

[53:31] That is the way we are. We are not willing to bow before him. We are not willing to have this man to reign over us. We are not willing to live according to his word, his law.

[53:46] Where does that find you? Where does that find me? Am I willing to come to Jesus this evening? Am I of a willing mind and a willing heart to turn my back upon all these things that have loomed so large in my life and in your life?

[54:09] And have dominated your thinking and your aspirations every day of life until now? Are you able by God's grace to turn your back upon them? Ask the Lord to create in you a new heart.

[54:27] To give you a willing spirit. That you might be willing to take him at his word. We spoke about that this morning.

[54:39] That's part of what faith really means. Taking God at his word. And of course, more than that, there is trusting in the God whose words you have received.

[54:53] And this is what we need here. Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Do you remember the account of the woman of Samaria and the Gospel according to John?

[55:08] She was a woman who came to the well of Jacob seemingly about midday. When people wouldn't be coming.

[55:20] When people wouldn't be coming. Because it is such a... A hot time of day. But the Lord Jesus was waiting for her there.

[55:31] And the Lord Jesus said to her, give me a drink. And she refused. Because she said the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

[55:43] Jesus was a Jew. She was a Samaritan. And then Jesus said, if you knew the gift of God. And who it is who is asking you, give me to drink.

[55:56] You would have asked of him. And he would have given you living water. The woman of Samaria, she was ignorant of that living water. She didn't know who she was dealing with.

[56:09] When the Lord Jesus requested that she gave him some water to drink. And he turned the whole situation into a spiritual thing. And he said, you would have asked me for living water.

[56:23] And I would have given to you. If you had known. But then she starts arguing with him. And trying to evade his argument.

[56:34] And at last she said, when the Messiah comes. He'll tell us all these things. And Jesus said, I who speak to you am he.

[56:49] He revealed himself to her. As the fountain of living water. He revealed himself to her. As the one who was able to give her that.

[57:02] That deeper water than she really thought of before. Water that was going to reach right down into her soul. A soul blessing.

[57:14] And we see the response and the effect all that had on her. Says that she left her water pot. And went and said to the man.

[57:25] Come and see a man. Who's told me everything I've ever done. Is this not the Christ? He revealed himself to her. As the one who was able to satisfy the deepest needs of her soul.

[57:39] Whosoever will. Let him take the water of life freely. And then he goes on, verse 18.

[57:50] I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book. If any man shall add unto these things. God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

[58:03] People in response to these invitations come, come and let it take the water of life freely.

[58:16] They have buts. But this. But that. But the other thing. They have something of their own as it were. To add to what the gospel is commending to them.

[58:31] People want to establish their own works. People want to do this, that and the other thing. Apart from respond to the free offer of the gospel. And the Lord Jesus warns us against doing a thing like that.

[58:48] We have to come just as we are. Without one plea. As the hymn writer put it. But that thy blood was shed for me.

[59:01] And that thou bidst me come to thee. O Lord, my God, I come. This is what it says here. Whosoever will.

[59:13] Let him take the water of life freely. Really. It cannot be bought. It has been bought already, as it were. By all the work that Jesus Christ has done. As our Saviour and Lord.

[59:26] He has paid the price of our redemption. Of the redemption of his people. And he has poorly paid it. There is nothing else to pay. You come and take it.

[59:38] The problems that the church in Galatia were having. Was that they wanted to do something along with what the gospel commended to them.

[59:54] They wanted to do some works of their own, as it were. To make sure that they would be saved. Well, you don't do that.

[60:06] You have to receive Jesus Christ and trust in him alone for salvation. As he is offered to you in the gospel. The spirit and the bride say, come.

[60:22] Let him that heareth say, come. Those of us who come to church and hear the gospel preached.

[60:41] We need to commend the gospel to others who don't come to church at all. Maybe family members. Maybe relatives or friends or acquaintances in the community.

[60:57] We have to tell them. There is a Saviour who is calling you to himself. And he is saying, come unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth.

[61:11] For I am God and there is none else. We have to tell people. Let him that is a thirst come.

[61:22] And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely. And then it goes on to say, If any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book.

[61:43] My friends, don't take anything away from what is written in this word. Don't take anything away from the free offer of the gospel. Don't take anything away from the inspired word.

[61:56] Receive it and trust it for time and for eternity. The glory that awaits God's people.

[62:10] The Bible says, Eye has not seen and ear has not heard the things that God has prepared for those who love him.

[62:21] But he reveals them to us by his Holy Spirit. He reveals it in a way, in a sense that we can understand a little of it.

[62:32] The glory that awaits us. But will you be there? And will I be there? Well, the onus is on us from this point of view that the scripture says, Come.

[62:48] And if we don't come, we're going to miss out. If we come, we will inherit the promises and the blessings of eternal life.

[62:59] Come. Don't leave it till tomorrow. Come now. For all things are now ready. Come.

[63:10] May God bless these thoughts to us. Let us pray. Have mercy upon our souls, O Lord. We ask that you would give us grace to bow before you.

[63:25] Because we are unworthy of the least of your mercies. But we thank you that you are willing to bestow the greatest mercy of all on those who are your own by election.

[63:42] May each of us be found in that number. Bless us as we come to the end of another Lord's Day. Oh, may it be a day of blessing to each one of us who have been in the house of God.

[63:59] Remember those who have not come to the house of God. May you come to the door of the church of Laodicea of old.

[64:10] And you said to her, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. May you knock at the door of our people and our own door this evening.

[64:22] And we pray that you would give us grace to open the door of our hearts and lives. To receive you in. Knowing that when you come in. You will sup with us.

[64:35] And we with thee. Have mercy upon us, we pray. In Jesus name. And for his sake. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let's conclude our worship at this time singing to God's praise from Psalm 84.

[65:00] Psalm 84 at verse 8. Verse 8 to 12. Lord God of hosts, my prayer hear.

[65:13] O Jacob's God, give ear. See God our shield. Look on the face of thine anointed deer. For in thy courts one day excels a thousand. Rather in my God's house will I keep a door than dwell in tents of sin.

[65:27] For God the Lord's a sun and shield. He'll grace and glory give. For withhold no good from them that uprightly do live. O there that the Lord of hosts that man is truly blessed.

[65:40] Who by assured confidence on thee alone doth rest. Psalm 84 verse 8 to 12. To God's praise. Amen. Amen.

[65:54] Amen. Thank you. And he will a shall goods. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[66:06] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Lopez, that mangledITCH, the may Titan, that made the dream.

[66:18] Amen. Let the joy of the saints go on celebrate and together. In thy bones, what may I send, Thou pleasant brotherly.

[66:30] My God's friends will thy weep adore, Thou dwell in case of sin.

[66:44] For God, the Lord's a son, O house of grace with our God's Ephem.

[67:04] Amen. The Lord, the Lord, the Lord, your host, the man is truly blessed.

[67:21] Goodbye, the children of confidence on thee, I hope, thou friends.

[67:35] Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit raise upon and abide with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.