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Again, good morning. Please open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 22. We'll be looking at verses 14 through 17 today. Revelation chapter 2, verses 14 to 17. Let me go ahead and read those. Beginning in verse 14. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

Outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the immoral persons, and the murderers, and the idolaterers, and everyone who loves and practices lying. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.

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 to take the water of life without cost. Well, we're in those concluding thoughts of the book of Revelation. And as this book comes to a close, and not only just the book of Revelation, but the whole canon of Scripture, as it comes to a close, We want to know how to steward these words.

These words are written to the bondservants of Jesus Christ. What does a bondservant do? Bondservant is a good steward of that which is entrusted to him. How do we be a good steward of these words, which we have studied nearly three years? Words of Revelation, coming up three years.

We want to make sure that when we leave, we are going to be good stewards, and we want to know what that looks like. So far, as we're concluding Revelation, beginning in verse 6 of 22, a good steward of the words of Revelation does several things. Number one, a good steward lives expectantly in light of Christ's return.

Second, a good steward of the words of Revelation will heed the words of Revelation, seek to hear them, understand them, and obey them. Third, a good steward of the words of Revelation will worship God and will worship Him according to how He is worshipped in heaven, He be worshipped on earth.

A good steward, fourthly, does not conceal the words of Revelation but proclaims them. The words of Revelation were given to be read, to be discussed, to be obeyed. So we do not conceal them, but we proclaim them. And fifthly, today, I want to add to that list, a good steward of the words of Revelation invites people to come to Jesus.

That's what a good steward does, invites people to come to Jesus. And that's what we'll be looking at today. Those who have been taught by the words of Revelation come to Jesus. Those who have been taught by the words of Revelation welcome Jesus' return. They long for Jesus to return.

And those who have been taught by the words of Revelation invite people to come to him. Have you ever been on the outside of something? I think if we're all honest in some setting, we know what it's like to be on the outside. Maybe it's a business circle.

Maybe it's a friend circle. Maybe you're not getting invited to some of the events, or maybe you're not part of the critical decisions or part of that core group, whether it's at a work, whether it's among friends, whether it's in certain professional organizations or any other organizations you may be involved in.

We know what it's like. To not be included, not to quite have the handshake, not to quite fit in or be part of the in crowd. Well, Jesus knows what it's like to not be on the inside. And the good news of the gospel is that God does not desire for anyone to be on the outside, but he invites all people to be part of the inside, to be on that inside, blessed category of people in union and fellowship with him.

That's what he invites. And so, as we look upon these final words of Revelation, these last few, there'll probably be another one message coming, of course. But we're getting to the very end. And for those of you who have been taught, those of you who have been with us through these words, I want you to leave here today, number one, more earnestly coming to Christ yourself.

He is the one who satisfies. He is the one who's on the inside. He is the one who invites you to come and dine with Him and fellowship with Him. And there is no higher calling. And so, to you, all of us here, I want us to leave.

Here, more earnestly coming to Jesus with everything and in everything. And second, I want you to leave here with a greater enthusiasm of inviting people to Jesus. That's really what we're about: to come to Jesus and to invite people to Jesus. That really sums up who we are and what we are to be doing on this earth while we wait for the words of Revelation to be fulfilled.

And so, come to Jesus. Come to Jesus is our message. It's what we counsel our own heart. It's what we counsel hearts around us. And that needs to be clearly who we are about. Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus is our message to the world. And so, this morning I want to look at several aspects to motivate you to be more enthusiastic about coming to Jesus yourself and inviting people to come to Jesus.

First of all, I want you to come to Jesus because there is a stark difference between those who do and those who do not. I want you to look back at the difference between the two groups. I look back at verse 14. There's those who are blessed, and there are those who are outside.

This blessed category. Look at verse 14. Blessed. Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city. So those who do, who are they? They are the blessed. The blessed. Those who come to Jesus are among the blessed.

This is the in crowd. Blessed means happy. Happy. And the idea is the one who is in a privileged place of divine favor. That is what blessed means. To be in that warm, blessed affections and favor of God Almighty. That's the blessed. Questions? Just looking at our verse, who are they?

Who are the blessed? And how are they blessed? First of all, look at who they are. Blessed are those who wash their robes. Literally, blessed those who are washing. The ones washing. What is washing? Ones who, when they are dirty, they cleanse. They cleanse through Christ. And they are washing their robes in the blood of Christ.

We'll come to that in a moment. But they are washing their robes. What are they washing? Their outer garments. A robe is the outer garments. Garment. It's really the outer clothes are what one sees when they look at the person. And so, I mean, you think about when we look at each other today.

I mean, we are covered in clothes. And that's a good thing. And it's, but it's like, that's what you see. You see people's clothing, what they are wearing. The blessed are those who have clean coverings. When others, when God, the holy assembly, the angels, when other people, when they look upon you, they see cleanness.

That is the state of the blessed. Notice how they are blessed. Look back. So that. Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that there is a cause, washing, there is a result, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and enter by the gates into the city.

They may have the right to the tree of life. Literally, it says they will have authority over the tree of life. And certainly that implies access to the tree of life. This is what was lost in the garden. When Adam and Eve did what they should not have done, they were expelled from the garden.

Namely, specifically that tree of life. God did not want them going on eternally, forever, in that state. And so he blocks access to the tree of life. But here at the end of the canon of Scripture, we see again that access. Man has been granted the privilege back to him that he had lost.

And the tree of life, it's best to take it as a literal tree, something that is necessary for the body to live eternally with God. One of the things, and I'll make a plug for Dr. Barter Huff's Systematic Three class next week, is that man's a unity. We are body, spirit.

We are material and immaterial, and we don't separate those. It's only in this temporary state of death in which we enter into that unusual situation. But the way God has created it, we are a unity, body and soul. And so the tree of life is something the emphasis.

Seems to be upon the body. When Adam and Eve died in the garden, spiritually they were separated, and their bodies then were expelled from the tree of life. But one thing's clear, that it is something that's necessary for healing. Look at verse 2 of 22. In the middle of its street, on either side of the river, was the tree of life, bearing the twelve kinds of fruit, yielding fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations, necessary for the healing, the sustaining property of the nations.

One thing, this tree of life is not to be taken as, as the cross of Jesus. There are those who would see the tree of life allegorically referring to the cross of Jesus. They would see the New Jerusalem as the church. They would see the tree of life as the cross.

The problem with this is it raises some very difficult questions to answer. Number one, if the cross is the tree of life, why did God block access to it in the Garden of Eden? That's difficult. But even more problematic is if you look at the location of the tree, it's in the city.

Washing is necessary for entering into the city, which is necessary for access to the tree of life. So, if the tree of life is the cross, how does one wash before coming to the cross? You don't, because Revelation 21:27 already makes it clear: nothing unclean shall enter the city.

You have to be washed and cleansed before you can have right to the tree of life. No, as we have gone through the Revelation, the cross work, the image that is used, is the image of the slain lamb. That's the crosswork, that's the shedding of the blood, and it is that blood that is the agent of cleansing.

You remember, we already saw this in the great multitude. You remember in Revelation chapter 7, this great multitude comes out of this great tribulation, and the angel says, Who are these? Or the elder says, Who are these? And John says, You know. And he answers, and he says in verse 14, These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This great multitude, their cleansing comes from being washed in the blood of the Lamb. They're washed. And you need to be washed. Washed before you can enter into the city. Just like I told you last week about an illustration of when I was growing up, we would get into mud fights on the farm, and those mud fights would turn into cow patty fights, and we would come just covered and caked in all kinds of foul mess.

And then guess what? Grandma wouldn't let us do. She wouldn't let us come into the house. I mean, it was like a fire hose turning on you and being cleansed, and clothes come off, and clean clothes put on before you even thought about coming into the house in that kind of a state.

Well, that's the same situation with the eternal city. Nothing unclean shall enter it, and so must be cleansed. And the agent of cleansing for the soul is the blood of Christ. You see, the blessed condition, the state of happiness, of divine favor, is that they are forever in the good graces of God.

The blessed. Forever, they are part of the in crowd. They are brought into the city by the work of Christ, cleansed, and they have access to the tree of life. They go from being an outsider, dirty and foul, to being an insider. And this is the Seventh and final blessed condition in the book of Revelation.

And as we're going through this, I want you to be: where are you? Are you an outsider or are you an insider? Are you outside the blessing of God or are you inside? If you're outside, come to the inside. If you're inside, rejoice and invite those on the outside in.

But there are other blessed conditions in Revelation. Remember, in Revelation 1:3, blessed are those who read and hear the words. Revelation 14:13, blessed are those who die in the Lord. Revelation 16:15, blessed are those who stay awake. Revelation 19:9, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Revelation 26, blessed are those who are part of the first resurrection. Revelation 22:7, blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book. And here in our text this morning, blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have right to the tree of life and enter in through the gates of the city.

There's a stark difference between those who do come to Jesus and those who do not. Look at the blessed. Next, I want you to see the contrast. With the outsiders. Notice those who do not come to Jesus are described as outside. Look at the first word of verse 15.

First word of verse 14 is blessed. First word of verse 15, outside. Outside, verse 15, are the dogs and the sorcerers, the immoral persons, the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. That's their status. Outside speaks of a position, not a territory. It's an adverb, speaking of what they are not part of.

They are outside. It's not territory, speaking of, it's not a noun speaking of territory. They are away from the insiders. What has been said about the blessed is not true about those who are outside. In stark contrast, to those who have access to the city, there are those who do not.

They are outsiders and they are forever outsiders to the special favor of God and all the eternal blessings that will go along with that. Now, this is also an interpretive issue. You're by now very familiar with interpretive issues in the book of Revelation. But some people suggest that they are outside the city roaming around the new earth.

Perhaps hoping to enter into the city or needing protection. The city needs to protect people from them. Some suggest that eventually one day all will be brought into the city, and they speak of a universal salvation for all. But the problem with this view is it fails in a number of places.

Number one, the physical location of such outsiders has already been identified. Where are they? They are not in the new earth, they are in the lake of fire. Look back at Revelation 20, verse 15. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

And even after the new heavens and the new earth come, guess what? The lake of fire still exists. Look at what it says in Revelation 21, verse 8. But for the cowardly, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and immoral persons, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part will be in the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

So to be outside the city is to be in the lake of fire. This isn't about physical location, it's about status. It fails to understand the emphasis. The term outside, like I said, it's an adverb. It speaks of what they're not part of. It's an adverb. They're away from the inside.

They're not outside on some physical territory. They're away from the status, outside of the status of those who are blessed. You see, the emphasis is upon their unblessed status. Outside. And these chapters describe a very horror for evildoers. The horror is twofold. Number one, the horror of the lake of fire, which has already been talked about.

Second, it's the horror of what they are not part of. It's the horror of the punishment, but it's the horror of what they miss. They are forever outside God's blessing. Outsiders. They are unwashed. They are outside because they are unwashed. That's their condition. Outside are the dogs, the swords.

The immoral persons, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. We've seen this list before, except for the first word, dogs. Now that's a new one. Dogs, they have replaced the abominable in the previous list of 21,8. And this isn't some cute little white fluffy dog.

No, dogs, this is a rabid, mangy, flea-infested scavenger, foul temperament. This is referring to, throughout scripture, it refers to male prostitutes, it refers to Gentiles, it refers to false teachers, to fools, to the Judaizers. And in this context, it's clearly not just those who are impure, but those who are committed to impurity.

They are addicted to many unnatural vices. They are polluted, they are corrupted, but not just in a singular act, their whole disposition is disposed to doing that which is detestable. That's the dogs. The sorcerers, we've already won't spend as much time on these because we've already seen this, but sorcerers, pharmakios, these are those who poison the mind through mind-altering drugs.

Immoral persons, pornos, the sexually perverse of all distinctions, murderers. These are those who kill. Those who are party to killing. Those who empower others to kill. These are those who place a very small value on human life. Murderers. They're unwashed. And by the way, I know we're in an election year.

I'm going to say this. Don't vote for someone who supports abortion. They kill. And when you do, you become party to that killing. You become one of those who empower those who kill the whole industry. Do not think you can be separated from them if you throw in your lot with them.

All murderers are on the outside, those who are part of the whole organization of killing. Listen, God places a large value on human life. If there's anything you haven't, if you've been taught from scripture at all, God places a huge value on human life. Don't you be one of those who support the industry or party to or practice murder.

The killing of innocent life. God loves life. Idolaters, those who worship other gods, they're the ones who fear the images. Probably the image of the beast in the context of Revelation. When we were in Greece and Turkey, we were looking at jewelry, and there's all these little things with the evil eye on them, what they call the evil eye.

We'd go into these stores and some people would try to show Nancy, like, okay, here, look at this jewelry. She's like, no, I don't want anything with the evil eye on it. They're like, shh, don't say that. Don't say that. And it's like, I'm not afraid of this little piece of cheap gold because I don't even think it's really gold.

And you want me to. Your cheap jewelry doesn't frighten me. But that's the idea: those who worship, those who fear the image, those who fear or are given to all kinds of evil pursuits. And then there's this last phrase: everyone who loves and practices lying. Listen, these people are outside.

And in all of the lists, there is an emphasis. All of these lists of the evil persons, there's three of them, and each one, this is the third one, this is the final one, and each one ends with this emphasis upon liars. Are those who are friendly toward lying, those who have an affection for, those who prefer the lies to truth?

These are the ones, and they're practitioners. They actively engage in practices of lying of all sorts, not just with the tongue, but deception of all sorts. They're crafters of deception. They're party to propping up a deceptive narrative. And boy, you can see that in our times. But to deceive is to be like Satan.

That is how he opposes God. And as you've gotten through the book of Revelation, the only thing he's good at is lying. He can't stand anywhere else. He's constantly in retreat. And yet, he's good at lying. And his power he exerts through those who lie. And those who will propagate a false theology, a false narrative of reality, are his slaves.

But this is what we need to wash ourselves from. Without Christ, this is who we are. This describes us. The difference between the blessed and the Those on the outside is the cleansing work of Christ. All who will come into the city, this will need washing. And how do we wash?

Well, we do so, first of all, by agreeing that these things and this list and all these others are offensive to him. I'm dirty. That's where it starts. Agreement with God about the standard of what is clean and what is dirty. And being honestly coming before him with your dirty coverings.

When he sees you, what does he see? These people are on the outside. Don't practice deception at all. Come out of that in every way. Come to Jesus. There is a stark difference between those who do and those who do not, and we can be certain of this.

There is certainty in these realities. Look at verse 16. The certainty of these realities is affirmed by Jesus Himself. Verse 16: I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I, Jesus. This is Jesus' personal involvement in revealing them. He says, Sent to testify.

He sent his angel to bear witness to these things. These things. What are these things? Well, in the context of the book, it's the things which must happen soon. All things in Revelation that the angel has testified to. But also, it immediately emphasizes what he has just said about the blessed and those outside the blessing.

There are many pretenders, and we can be certain that it's going to be just like he says here. Only those who truly wash will be on the inside. Notice what he's saying to you. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to y'all. It's a plural. To y'all, to you people in the churches.

But look at what he says: to testify to you these things for the churches. He is teaching y'all in the churches for the churches. But look at what Jesus is doing. His reputation is connected to the validity of the events that he just described and everything in. Revelation.

Jesus has personally validated this. His understanding of the things to come, his truthfulness about the things to come, and his ability to communicate the things to come are all on the line. If there's a misunderstanding in Revelation, the problem isn't with Jesus, it isn't with the angel, it isn't with Jesus' knowledge, his ability to communicate, it's with us.

And he has written them to be understood. We cannot understand, I mean, we cannot obey that which we don't understand. He wants us to be certain about these events and certainly certain about who the blessed are and who the outsiders are and will forevermore be. So, the certainty of these realities is seen in Jesus' personal involvement in revealing him, but it's also seen in the titles which Jesus uses to describe himself.

Look at back at verse 16. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright and morning star. These are the last three descriptions that Jesus gives himself in the book of Revelation. I am the root of David. He is the stock that gave rise to David in the first place.

He's the cause of David. Jesus is the God of David and the reason for the covenant promises made to David. He is the root of David. He is also the descendant of David. Speaking of the posterity, the offspring. In one sense, Jesus is the cause of David. In another sense, David is the reason for Jesus' coming.

Make good on all the promises. God gave rise to David and all the promises that went with it. And yet, Jesus is the posterity, the seed, the one to whom all the promises of David would ultimately be fulfilled. Listen to what, just a few of these promises, and I could spend a lot of time on the promises made in this vein, but just listen to a few.

2 Samuel 7:12. God's speaking to David, when your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall Build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Verse 16, he says, Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever. There's only one throne that lasts forever, and that is God. Psalm 132, 11. Psalmist says, This, the Lord has sworn to David, a truth from which he will not back, turn back.

Of the fruit of your body, I will set upon your throne. Isaiah 11 says this: Then a shoot will spring forth from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, and he will delight in the fear of the Lord, and he will not judge by what his eyes see, nor make a decision by what his ears hear.

But with righteousness he will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. And he will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips, he will slay the wicked. Also, righteousness will be the belt around his loins, and faithfulness the belt of his waist.

Verse 10, then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse. Who will stand as a signal for the peoples, and his resting place will be glorious. Jeremiah 23, 5, Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he will reign as king and act wisely, and do justice and righteousness in the land.

In his days, Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely, and this is his name by which he will be called the Lord, Yahweh, our righteousness. You see, Jesus is the cause of David, the cause of the blessings promised to David, and he is therefore the one worthy to receive all the blessings and honor and glory for carrying out those blessings and promises.

He is the guarantee and the certainty that these events will take place. But look at the next title, and this is the very last title that Jesus gives himself in all of Scripture. This is the final word, the final picture, final image, metaphor describing Jesus, the bright morning star, the bright morning star.

He is the radiance of God. And that is what is emphasized: radiance here. And you think about it from an earthly standpoint, Venus, the morning star, is the most exalted star in the sky. That comes at a time of the darkest night. It is the most exalted star, has more glory than the others, really, in all the galaxies from an earthly perspective.

And what this is pointing to is that Jesus is the most glorious figure in the constellation of humanity, in the constellation of the heavenlies and the heavenly hosts. He is the radiant one. He is the one who shares the throne with the Father. He is the one who deserves the very same worship as the Father.

He is the bright morning star, radiant. And the morning star also heralds something. It heralds that a new day is coming. You think about Jesus' life, everything that happened, his atoning death, his bodily resurrection, his glorious ascension, his prominent position at the right hand of the Father, and his revealing the things that are soon to take place.

All of these herald that a new day is coming, a day, a glorious day, of the heavenly day. The heavenly age is coming. He is the herald of a glorious age, heavenly age that is to come. And we are all invited to partake. You remember what Jesus promised those at Thyratira?

He said, The one who overcomes, I will give the morning star. Revelation 2:26. And here he declares himself to be the morning star. Now, think about that for you and me. What does this mean? He's going to give us himself as the radiant one, the splendid one. Well, at a minimum, it implies that you and I, who are blessed, have the closest union with the highest majesty.

It implies that you and I have shared glory with the most glorious. We have a shared prominence with the most prominent, a shared holiness with the holiest sort, which then implies a cleansing of the deepest kind and a life of the most spirited kind. All of that in Christ.

And what all this boils down to, so what? What is all this about? It's a Invitation to come to Jesus. An invitation to come out of the realm of the cursed and into the realm of the blessed, to be washed, to be renewed, to be transformed into the likeness of Christ.

And it's an invitation based upon the most solid testimony ever recorded. That's the point. It is certain. These realities are certain. You can trust your soul to these words. And not only that, you can trust those you lead. You can trust those you lead to these words. This is reliable advice.

And one of the first reasons I went to seminary was I figured I needed to really understand theology. I needed to understand the Bible. If for no other reason, just to instruct my children. There's all out there. And if you've spent any time in this world, you realize it's not one world.

Which one is right? What is the right path? Eternal, is there heaven? Is there hell? The eternity. These are weighty matters. Is there certainty in any of these? And the answer is a profound yes. And as a pastor, I need this. As a father, I need this. I need to be sure that my counsel is that which is going to lead people to a sin.

Safe haven and not disappoint. And this is the most reliable testimony of Christ Himself, His personal involvement that we can go and leave here and say, Come to Jesus, and you will be transferred from the realm of the cursed into the realm of the blessed. Come, come, come.

We can be sure of that. It will go well with you. Isn't that exciting? Come yourself and invite others. Listen, those who are part of Christ's littleness now will be part of his bigness later. If you are part of Christ's littleness now, can't even say it. But those who are part of Christ's littleness now will be part of his bigness later.

He's not esteemed in this day and age, is he? But he will be. Come to Jesus. This is the message of Scripture. Not only is there a stark difference between those who do not and those who do, this is really the message of Scripture. And I realize it's getting a little bit late.

We'll blame it on the music team. But it's, I'm going to try to finish this. But this is the message of Scripture. Come to Jesus. And now, come all the way through the scripture, all the way through Revelation. We're at a vantage point to see this picture of Scripture.

What do the Spirit-inspired Scriptures reveal about the God of the Bible? It reveals that the God of the Bible is Jesus Christ. He is the God of the Bible in human flesh. And the Scriptures showcase Him. And they reveal Him so that we would long for Him, so that we would come to Him.

That's what the message of Scripture is: long for Jesus, come to Jesus. Look at verse 17. The Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let the one who hears say, Come. There's an interpretive issue. To whom is this command given? Is this addressed to Jesus or the thirsty?

Is the Spirit and the bride saying to the one who's thirsty, come? Or is the Spirit and bride saying to Jesus, Come, Lord Jesus? Those who take it as a command to the reader. Stress the connection to what happens next, and let the one who is thirsty come, which is clearly a call to the thirsty.

But in the context, and in the near context and greater context, it's better to connect this as an earnest plea of the Spirit and the bride to say to Jesus, Come. This is exactly what John is going to say. Look at the end, verse 22, verse 20. He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming.

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. You be coming. This is the cry of the Spirit. Come, Lord Jesus. This is the cry of the bride. Come, Lord Jesus. This is the cry of John. Come, Lord Jesus. And it is also the cry of the one who is truly taught by the words of Revelation.

And let the one who is hearing say, Come. Yes, come, Lord Jesus. We long for your presence and your reign upon this earth. Come, Lord Jesus. This was the Spirit's desire from the very beginning to create man in God's image. This is the longing of the bride. This is the longing of everyone who is truly taught by Scripture.

Long for him. It's the message of Scripture. He reveals Christ, reveals the God of Scripture. In such a way that we would long for him and long for his presence, that his will will be done on earth just as it is in heaven. But it's also the message of Scripture is to come to Jesus.

Look at the second part of verse 17. And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wishes take of the water of life without cost. And here is the generous invitation of Scripture summed up by Christ Himself. Come, come, says the Lord, Isaiah 1:18. Though your sins be as scarlet, they will be as snow, white as snow.

Isaiah 55, 1, we already read it. Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters, even if you have no money. Buy, come. The water of life. Not only will they have access to the tree of life, and I think that is something more about the physical body, the water of life, the soul of man, the need for humanity to be in union with God.

The soul, everything that satisfies, Jesus gives. He gives of his spirit without cost to all who are thirsty. And here's the command: let the one who is thirsty come. Come, take. You must come. You must take. You must draw the water of salvation. You must drink in these promises.

You must believe these truths. You must take them in, seize upon them. The one who is thirsting. You see, all you really need to know is your need of him to come to him. Well, a good steward invites people to come to Jesus. There's a stark difference between those who do not come and those who do.

And this is the message of Scripture: Come to Him. Question: Are you thirsty? You know, if you are truly taught of the Scripture, you will be. If you are not thirsting for the things of God and thirsting at the moment for God to be in your life, it's because you have not been taught Scripture.

You have, for whatever reason, you have not let it sink in. Let me explain why this is so. Let me explain why this is, and I'll do so from my own experience. In order to come to him, you must thirst for what he supplies. What does he supply?

Well, at first glance, I could tell in my Youthful days, even though my mind was scattered and all over and couldn't focus on anything, I knew this much. I was dying. I looked around me, physical life, all of us die. There's only one individual who came forth from the grave.

There's only one individual that displayed such power over the human body as Jesus Christ. He has power over the human body, that's sure. He has power over physical life. I know that I need that because I don't have it. I also know that I don't have spiritual life.

I know that he had spiritual life. He was in union with the Father. I could tell God was with him for sure. If you've been taught by Scripture, you get it. God was with him. And he was with him. He was somebody who stayed in union with God.

And I need that. I need to be in union with God. And I need to stay in union with God. And I see my painful disposition to not remain there. Pardon. I need pardon. I knew I needed to be cleansed of past sins, present sinful inclinations. I, yeah, I'm thirsty for satisfaction in that.

I need cleansing. I also am thirsty for his character. I mean, he's the man. He is the epitome of good, thoroughly to be admired. And I need to be like him. I also thirst for his presence. I need a sense of his smile, a sense of his presence.

He is creator God, and I have need of all these. And so, whether it's physical life, spiritual life, pardon, or a need to be like him, or a need for just his personal presence, I know that I need what he supplies. And so, I came to him. Are you thirsty?

Scripture reveals your thirst, a thirst, so that you will come to him. And that's the invitation. Come. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the truths that you have revealed. We thank you for in such clear terms you make a distinction between the blessed and those who are on the outside forever.

Father, and it's my prayer that everyone here be taught, would long for you, would come to you, and invite others to come to you. We have tasted and seen that you are good. We desire your ways, desire your presence, desire your pardon. We desire the water. We desire to take part in the spiritual life that emanates from your.

Throne in your spirit. We long for it in Jesus' name. Amen.