Without Price

Thirst for the Living Water: Inviting the World to Christ

Bible Passage: Revelation 22:17

Revelation 22:17 NASB95

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.

This scripture is part of the end of the last chapter of the last book of the Bible - Revelation.

The overall message here is the offering living water. Which is everything that pertains to life and spiritual nourishment with Jesus Christ as our source.

The living water satisfies our soul in the deepest depths of a Christian in a way that the world cannot offer. Its not physical water, but a sustaining substance that comes from Jesus with our salvation.

And scriptures is telling us that as the bride, we are to say to those who are thirsty… “come to the water of life. There is no price.”

You’ve been paying for it… but you no longer have to. What you’re paying for, won’t sustain. Won’t actually quench your thirst.

Isaiah 55:1–2 ““Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.”

There is a life sustaining power that we can consume that was paid for… but we have to come to the source. We can’t keep spending ourselves on what doesn’t sustain and wonder why its not working… delight in the abundance that God has for us.

The scripture isn’t just the bridge saying come, its The Spirit.

When we’ve given our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in us. The same Spirit that is in Christ. Jesus promises His return and this scripture is the response of those who have the Holy Spirit to His return to earth.

It says, “The Spirit AND the bride…” The Spirit being the Holy Spirit and the bridge being us, the church.

The point of this scripture is to not just tell those who don’t know about Jesus to get ready, but to call out the very need in our lives that we naturally have for Him. Its like someone who is thirsty needs water.

If you were thirsty and I called out that I had water, wouldn’t you come?

In the same way, we are to call out to the world, who has been deprived of the living water. Not just wait for them to come to Him when they’re thirsty, but call out while also being in line with the Holy Spirit calling out to the lost.

It tells us that whoever is thirsty should come and the one who wishes, take the water of life… at not cost to them!

About 12-13 years ago, I went to see some of my favorite bands at Firefly Fest in Deleware. I came completely unprepared. I spent all day just walking around in fields, in the mud, from stage to stage belting out the lyrics to the my favorite songs. So much so that I didn’t care what was happening. I don’t remember getting food, going to the bathroom, or stopping at all. Just going hard.

My favorite band was at the end of the night and I had watched many bands from a distance, but I got so close that I was in the middle of thousands of people. Every once in a while, someone would body surf by. Then it hit me: I was thirsty. Then it really hit me. If anyone has every passed out, they know what it looks like to see colors… I thought maybe it was the lights, but it was the colors I was seeing from dehydration.

I wouldn’t move though since it was my favorite band. By the end, I was desperate. I waited in line for water, readying to give them a dollar. A $.99 water was $7. The water last night at the Tomahawks game was $4 a bottle… I thought that was a lot!

Steelers Game, $20some on three bottles, Elevation Concert - $10

I don’t know about you, but if I was thirsty, I would pay anything for a drink. You know who else knows that? People selling water when they know people are thirsty.

Here’s the interesting thing that maybe you haven’t thought of:

Water is the most important nutrient that not just humans needs, but animals and plants too.

Water is the reason we’re able to live on the earth.

Our bodies are made up of water. - 60%

The earth is made up of mostly water. - 71%

97% of earth’s water, we can’t drink.

Though the percentage of coverage has changed, the amount of water has not. There are no new molecules of water since the beginning of time.

Water is everywhere and its been here from creation. The water we drink is quite literally the oldest thing on earth.

Genesis 1:1–2 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

God created the heavens and the earth and then it was just the Spirit of God and the water.

My point here is - Why is God, in whats known as the “final message” of the Bible, chose to offer something that is so abundant that its not only the thing that makes up most of our world, but most of us… in the grand scheme of things, the water isn't going anywhere.

If you’re thirsty… you know where to find water. You go get a drink.

When you’re feeling a certain way… you know where to go to “take the edge off”… to find some crutch or give in to some vice.

God doesn’t say, “come to me all who are thirsty.” Why? Because the thirsty won’t hear it.

There needs to be a call to the desperate and thirsty from His bride filled with His Spirit.

He says, “The Spirit and the bride say, come.”

So we are thirsty… well, “we have an abundance of water. We will go to the places that we’ve gone before to get our water… but whos that over there saying, we have living water…. that sounds expensive… I’ll stay here.”

Every time we go back to the old way of living, it takes something of us. We compromise our God given purpose for just a little bit of thirst quenching.

Then God is saying, “you have water. But I have living water. And its free.”

Sometimes we say, “I have enough. I’m good.”

Has anyone ever drank water and thought… “man, this is good water.”

I never sit around when I’m not thirsty and just want water… I only do when I’m thirsty…

And when I’m thirsty… I’m desperate. I feel like I know what its like to be stranded in the desert.

God is using the Holy Spirit and the church to call out to the desperate - come. I have what will sustain, what will provide…

You see, the enemy knows what to do when people are thirsty… He tempts us, but offers nothing for free and nothing that will sustain. It only leaves us empty and more dehydrated.

He’s like the one who says “Free” but theres strings attached.

He’s like the one who’s offering water, but you don’t know about the parasites and the chemicals in them… or the salt.

The water that we consume is only 3% of the entire supply. In that 3%, we have to be able to know whats in our water…

Do we want the water the world offers….or the pure untouched life sustaining water.

You’re more worried about how much I spent on this water than how drinking this will effect you.

There is only ONE who can purify and give us sustaining water for life that is untouched by man, the world, the enemy…

When we are thirsty, we can’t assume people will come based on simply seeing amazing things. Or whats attractive. If you’re here because how cool things are or the atmosphere, I can easily switch out the water with something poison.

The substance has to be pure. Untouched. and it has to come directly from the source…

Thirsty people will go for whatever they can get - if I’ve drank a lot of water and i come across a puddle of mud stranded in the desert, i’m not going to drink it…

I’ve got the living water. The unlimited supply.

That thirst and desperation is felt in the world. Theres a false sense of fullness. A lie that is believed that “this is the best it gets.”

But we have the source and scripture is telling us “look to the ones who will hear and say come.”

“Let that person who is thirsty drink… without cost.”

We can’t assume the thirsty will come without someone calling.

When we call to God, He always answers. But when God calls us, we don’t always do the same.

God is telling His church, “Here is my power, now go and call those who are thirsty to a living water… the same water I give to you, I give to them.”

We might think… whats the criteria for who can drink? God says, “if they are thirsty.”

Let those who are thirsty drink from the water.

“But God… they are this or they do this…”

God says, “Of course… so were you before you were drinking from the living water. You were dead and consuming the world. If they are thirsty… let them drink.”

Who are we to be determine who does and doesn’t get to drink of the living water? Wouldn’t we want to be the ones who are lost being invited into life?

When I was desperate and thirsty at the festival… I went to the place where I could see the biggest sign that said “water.” By the time I got there, i was desperate enough to pay whatever price.

The lost will do the same. They don’t want to keep looking until they find God. They want to quench their thirst. The enemy is putting up signs and they’re going to them. We can not be silent.

Its not a marketing battle. We have the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Its us saying “come.” while the breathe of God is being let us to those who will feel it and respond to it!

Will you respond to it?!

Will you who are thirsty come to the water. When we come, we meet Jesus…. this water is without cost TO US. But it was paid for.

Christ paid and He gives freely.