My day job man, Terry Winslow,
was going home to pray to the Lord. Jonah. Jonah. My dad's name's
Greg. Oh, that's Greg. That's the name
on the telephone. Oh, yeah. You called from his
house, right? Yeah. Jonah. Remember, those are requests
for prayer, so if you want to say a prayer, come by the name
of the Lord. Let's begin our worship service
with this sheet. Some of the tune of Jesus calls
us over to I am vile, bad, and so unrighteous,
All erratic and full of sin. In my heart there is no goodness,
Only darkness dwells within. Is there hope for such a sin? and there be a rim on me far
from dying so polluted must I die eternally? Oh, the goodness of
salvation in the gospel came to me Jesus came to me to save the sinful by his death
on Calvary. Place the tidings of salvation
in the Word of God, I found. God forgives the violent guilty. What a cheering, joyful sound. By His dead, black, slain His
people, washed away their sin and shame. I who yearned and
came to trust Him, praise His sweet and precious Name. I who leaned upon the Savior
for His blood, Let's make it all a wonder, O Redeemer, He
has saved my sinful soul. Revelation. I, Jesus, have sent
my angel to justify me in these things in the churches. I am
removed in the offspring of David, and a bride in the womb of Solomon.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth
say, Come. Let him that is a thirst come,
and whosoever will, that he take the water of life free. Our Father in heaven, blessed
be Thine, holy and righteous, pure, sovereign, holy and holy. We praise you for who you are
and what you have done for your children. We thank you for electing
Grace. For predestinating your people to
be conformed in the image of Jesus Christ. Predestinating
them to adoption of children by Jesus Christ into himself.
Calling them to the light of the gospel. Making Jesus to become We know this is your work, the
work of your hands, and not ours, and we praise you for it. We
thank you for that perfect salvation, which fully set us in our righteous
standing with the acceptance of the Lord. And it's all in
the praise of the glory of your grace. We pray for those who
are sick, those who are going through trials, and I know it's
every case. We pray that you would be pleased to meet with
them, touch their hearts, and show them that Jesus Christ helped
us this hour. We pray as we preach, sing, and hear the gospel. We pray that
you would be with us. He calls us to see the glory
of your person and the frailty of our own frame and our utter
need for you. Help us now, we pray in Christ's
name, amen. In number 39 of your hymn books,
this is my Father's Word. This is my Father's Word, and
in my history, This is my father's world I raise
me in the dark this is my father's This is my father's world. He shines in all that's fair. He'll wash me fresh, I hear him
clap. He speaks to me and I'll clap. This is my Father, again we approach in
the name of Jesus Christ. a majestic and wondrous Savior.
He died in the womb instead of His people, secured their salvation,
redeemed them by His blood, and now they sit with Him, seeking
their heavenly places. Let us render to Thee that which
You have given us with a thankful heart. Amen. so so so and and and and and In verse 17 of this passage, There are two words that are
preferred to a blunt force instrument in the hands of religion. It's ineffectually wielded to
pledge the doctrines of substitution, sovereignty, original sin, total
and unconditional election, predestination, effectual call, and the preservation
and perseverance of the saints. Those two words are sort of And I cannot tell you the number
of times after I've mentioned the doctrine of election and
the doctrine of predestination that the immediate response is
supposed to be tort. If I believe it, so do you. If Pat asks if it should be given
to such and such, it usually shuts the mouth of those who
say it is. Whosoever will want it. These two words, to the mind
of man-centered, works-free, real religion, is the be-all
and end-all of revealed truth. Many years ago, a friend of mine,
who preached the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace, was
actually brought to task about it by his church, many members
of his church. They wanted to actually bring
him to court. They sued him for heresy. This
is in the United States of America, whatever you want to call it.
And of course, the judge dropped the case because it was accepted
in the church and not in the court of the land, which he understood.
But after all the history, all the venom that was painted against
my brother by the Southern Baptist Convention, after it was all
said and done, the church, after the church led it down to the
state, The people who left, who despised him and hated him, wrote
him a real sweet letter and said, we're praying for your ministry.
We called him a heretic. We're praying for your ministry.
But we know that we all stand on the cardinal, doctrinal truth
of Scripture. So people believe this is the
answer. This particular use of these
words, since they come at the end of scriptures, given additional
gravity, this is kind of the last thing spoken. And also since
they appear in what could appear to be, and is often called an
invitation, though it's not, that version of this is their
cause to the religious mind. Another thing that causes religion
to salivate is that this is the only time For the term, whosoever
will, appears to stand as an independent phrase. The only
time in Scripture. Nowhere else in Scripture are
these words found without an obvious verb attached to them.
Nowhere else in Scripture. Because these words are in the
Bible, because men love the notion of the freedom of their will,
Whosoever will has become the banner slogan, the sacred mantra
of useless, false, heretical religion. To simply say, whosoever will,
and put it forth as a doctrine of truth is not only ridiculous,
it is also romantically incorrect. The word will, when used in a
sentence, must be connected to the verb. It must be. Whether declared or understood
in order to have it have any meaning at all. You see, will,
when it's used in a sentence, is an auxiliary verb. An auxiliary
verb. And it's used to suggest action. The word will, if it's not preceded
with a definite article like the will, the possessive pronoun
such as my or your, must be accompanied with a word denoting action.
In our text, the word will is connected to the act of taking,
to select will. the action of taking. Our text
is understood to mean, whosoever will take, let him take. Our text is understood to mean
that. The word will, when it's attached
to such a verb, means is willing, whosoever is willing. So whosoever is willing to take
the water of life, take the water of life. This is the case in every instance,
and it is thus employed in the Word of God. Does the Scripture
teach who is, or who will be willing to take the water of
life? Because the Scripture does teach
who they are. The Scripture says plainly, that
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and when they
come to me I will know where I stand. That's who the whosoever
will is, as he's described in scripture. We know that works
religion is not willing to take the water of life. Our Lord said
that about their will. He says you do search the scriptures
for anything you think about eternal life, but they are things
just about me, and you will not come to me. That's my life. We know that they that are in
the flesh are not willing to take the water of life. They
that are in the flesh do not mind the things of the flesh. We know that they who are not
taught of God are not willing to take the water of life. We
know that all who are taught of the Father according to John
chapter 6 verse 45, all who are taught of the Father, all who
have learned of the Father, every one of them. Those are
the same ones that in the first part of what I just said a while
ago that the Father has given to them. All of them will come
to Christ. All of them will be raised up in the last day. None
of them will be lost. That's the language of John chapter
6. We know that mercy is not obtained by anyone's will. Paul
made that clear in Romans chapter 9. He said it's not him that
will it. who were of him that runneth,
but of God, that shall have mercy, who God, that shall have mercy. They're not born again by the
hand of the Lord, for it says in John 1, which were born out
of the flesh, out of the will of man, but of God, who then
is willing They are willing, who are made to be so, by the
sovereign God. One preacher used to say, God's
got the diggable will. All of God's people, all those
given to Christ before the world began, Christ's people, those
who are given to Christ, shall be willing, in the day of his
power. That was the promise in Psalm
110 when David was privy to listen in to the counsels of heaven
as the Father spoke to the Son in secret things and wonders.
He said in Psalm 110, the Lord said to my Lord, sit down at
my right hand. I hate that. You know, it's quoted many times
in Scripture. The Lord shall send the rod of
his strength out of Zion, that is, the church, and boom, bow,
it's to thine enemies. That's his sovereignty. And he
says, thy people shall be with him in the day of judgment. When you exercise your power,
your people will be with him. They will be made with him by
God Almighty. We know that they are willing
because they are in the hands of the One who has the power
to change them and to move their will for Christ. It's Christ
Himself. God has given Christ authority
over all flesh. That's everybody. All flesh. That He might give
eternal life to as many as God has given Him. Now the power
He has over all flesh is certainly the power over their will. I
know that the religion hates that thought. They say, well,
God will just not overcome a man's will to save him. The question
to ask, if someone actually says that, they say, well, will he
overcome man's will to put him in hell? Will he do that? Does anybody
go to hell voluntarily? Hey, I want to go to hell. I've
never heard anybody say that. Really? However, it says he casts
them in there. He binds them and casts them
into hell. Don't sound too willing to me.
These clowns stand in the pulpit and say God will not overcome
your will to save you. He will not overcome his will
to do you eternal good. But he will overcome your will
to damn you in the flames of hell forever. What can you do? Jesus Christ, only Jesus, is
the sole proprietor of your destiny. Your soul, your spirit, belongs
to Him. And He will do with you as He
sees fit. If you are His people, He was
named Jesus because He shall save His people from their sins.
If you are His people, somewhere along the line, in your weary
journey here, of life, freely. All of God's
people. All of God's people. This here
is true life in the words of our Lord. In several places,
he said, this is where we go. Follow me. Then he'd take up his cross.
Follow me. Then he'd insert the word will
into scripture where it's not needed, it does not belong, it
does not exist. Many hold that John 3.16 and
other verses say, whosoever. And they also use the word we.
Many times John 3.16 says whosoever, but it does not. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth. Whosoever believeth. The words,
whosoever believeth, are used in the New Testament eight times,
and the word will is not in any of them. You can check it out. Those who believe, or whosoever
believes, do so because why? How do they believe? Are they
born with faith? No, all men have not, as it says
in 2 Thessalonians. How does a person believe? How
does a person who was born under the earth, born in sin, conceived
in iniquity, drinking iniquity like water, damned, doomed, dead,
and dying, how does a person who is dead believe? How do you do that? I've heard
people say, well, it's easy to believe. A lady said that one
time about the flowers that were up there before me. And after
I preached a message along these lines, she came up, she was mad
at me. She said, I can't believe those flowers are gone. I said,
go ahead. She couldn't. But it is a wondrous
thing, an invisible, mystical, amazing, beautiful thing that
God gives his people when they have faith. And it's a miracle. It happens through preaching
the word of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
the word of God. We don't understand it. We can
never understand it. You're born again, not a corrupt seed, but
incorruptible seed. Even the word of God, which has
never been abided forever, this is the word of God which by the
gospel is preached unto you. This thing called faith, I'm
amazed. I remember the night I heard
the gospel for the first time. I went in the church as a preacher,
a Calvinistic preacher, who didn't know God. I had straightened
out everybody's life for a long time. And mine was at Crookings
Community. And I was sitting there, and
I heard the gospel. In this second, I was an unbeliever. A second
later, I was a believer. There was no progress in it.
I didn't work up to it. I didn't study and learn it. All of a sudden, in the wonder
of grace, God gave me faith, and I was a believer. How does
a person believe? He believes by the grace of God
through faith. Faith is a gift of God. By grace
you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's
a gift of God. Why? Because if it was yourself,
you'd know it. Not of works, lest any man should
know it. You are his workmanship. This poem was created in Christ
Jesus unto good worshipers. God is before them, and you should
walk in it, and you most surely will. God has given his people
faith, and so the matter of willingness is really a good point. If they
believed, it would be ridiculous to say that they're not willing
to. Wouldn't it? A person who's a believer is not
willing to believe. Of course they're willing to
believe. They didn't speak. They believed. Anyone is willing to take the
water of life because that is what he wants. That is what he
wants to do. He desires to do. That is what
he needs to do if he takes the water of life. Those who don't
want it will not take it because they're not thirsty. I know the
general idea of religion is you need Christ. Everybody says you
need Jesus. Well ask people. If they're not somewhere where
the gospel is preached, rejoicing and worshiping God, they don't
need Christ. And I'll tell you, they don't need Christ. But those who need Him, they
find Him. Those who need Him, willingly
come to Him, because God has made them willing that they have
the power. Those who do not want it, will
not will themselves to want it. They can't. If they want water,
it's because they're thirsty. You see, only those who are alive
are thirsty. Dead people don't thirst. The will is to choose. That's
all it is. The will is to want, to desire. More than that is to choose what? So what about God? His will is free as to power
to perform which does not exist in manner. But His will is not
free because He always does what He wants to do. He's God. He never does something He doesn't
want to do. So His will is not free in that sense. He's subject
to his wants, his desires, his purposes. God's will is free
in this sense, that whatever he wants to do, gets done. Our
will is subject to that too, everything. I made a will to
go on a trip and find that my car was radiated. Well, my will
didn't work. I sat beside the bedside of many
people in their family and said, well, he has a will to live.
We'll see how long that lasts. Your will and my will simply
is a register or an indicator of what we want. The will you
see evolves in affinity and inclination. It is veritably impossible to
attach the concept of freedom to any sense of predisposition. If you're predisposed to like
something, that's what you will go for. Won't you? Won't you? If you choose what you want,
then the predisposed desire nullifies the idea of freedom. Something
else is controlling your will. Something else is moving your
will. If you're willing to do something, you want to do something.
And if you want to do something, it's because there's something
in you that makes you want to do something. It's not just will. Your will is simply the manifestation. what you're presupposed to do
in your heart. The choice is made in the realm
of affinity and inclination. What we want or what we're inclined
to do. It's impossible to freely choose what you do not want.
It's impossible. You will never freely choose
what you don't want. Will you? It's impossible. And you may choose what you don't
want. Someone holds a gun to your head and says, give me your
money or give me your life. You may choose then to give him
your money. But your real choice is to save your life. That's what you're really willing
to do, is to save your life. To do, to will to do what you
don't want to do, be to say that if I will do,
or to say I will do, what I will not do? Nobody does. It's impossible.
I will do what I will not do. So this passage here in Revelation
22 verse 17, used often in invitations, things like that that have been
invented by the churches over the years First of all, it comes from the
words that are preceded with, I am the root of the offspring
of David, and I am the morning star. It comes from the Sovereign
of the Lord. So, when the Lord says something, it is not a lie. It is not fascinating. It is
commandment. In fact, we've all talked about
the Gospel. In Romans chapter 10, He said they have not all
obeyed. You cannot disobey. You can disregard it. But you can disobey a commandment. Christ has commanded His people
to do it. Christ has commanded His people
to do it. So this passage, particularly
this one, is often used This phrase, whosoever will, is spoken
to, quote, who? The women. They're thirsty. Let him that is a thirst. What? Not just anybody. Let him that
is a thirst. This verse, this passage will
be accepted by those whom God has made alive, given faith,
and made to thirst, those whom he has made willing in the day
of his life, those whom he came to save. The first part of this
verse is not a call for anyone willing at all. It's real. It
says, And the spirit and the bride say, Cut! And let him that heareth say,
Cut! I can remember many times preachers
standing up and weeping Petting her eyes on the head, she said,
the Spirit is calling for you! The Spirit wants you to come!
He said, come! He's not talking to sinners here.
You know who they're talking to? The One who's coming. That's who they're talking to.
The One who is coming. That's made clear in this very
passage. This is a report of what the
Spirit is saying concerning what our Lord Jesus Christ is saying. A word spoken by the Spirit and
deriving Him that hears and spoken in response to the words of our
Lord here in this passage. Verse 7, Behold, I come quickly. This is the words of the Lord. I come quickly. Blessed is he
that keepeth these sayings and this prophecy. Then in verse
12, Behold, I come quickly. The Lord is with me to every
man according to his works. Then in verse 20, He which testifies
these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come,
Lord Jesus. That's what the Spirit and the
Bride and Him that heareth are saying. They're saying to the
Lord Jesus Christ, Come on. Come now. The Spirit and the
Bride say, That's the way this very book started. Look at Revelation
1. Revelation 1. Verse 7 says, Behold,
he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierce him, and all kindreds of the earth shall weep because
of him, even so. Many times in this passage it
says, Even so, come, Lord. Even so, come, Lord. Jesus is
coming. Even so, do that. So after the
Lord has said, I'm coming. Coming quickly. Spirit says,
come. The bride says, come. Church
says, come. Here's the gospel. He says, come. He says, come. The Spirit and
the bride are one. They say, come Lord Jesus. He
can hear the word spoken. It's him who is of God. Our Lord
said, he that is of God, heareth God's words. Proverbs chapter
20. How is it they hear the gospel?
Proverbs chapter 20 verse 12 says, See, I, the Lord has made even
both of them. That's how they hear. And that's how they see. Faith
comes by hearing. Hearing by the Word of God. Such,
when they hear the Lord speak quickly, period, they say, come. They love His appearance. That's
what it says in Titus. They're looking for His appearance.
They look steadfastly at heaven as His appearance. and they say,
come, come Lord Jesus. Now this passage switches from
the recorded response to the call, to a call of those who
have a need and a desire. First the spirit and the bride
and him that hears say, come. Then our Lord switches and hears
here and speaks to those who have his need. Those that are thirsty, our Lord
says, come. Isaiah chapter 44. I promise
to give him concerning that. Isaiah 44 verse 3 says, For I
will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the
dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon thy
seed, and my blessing upon thine altar spring. I'll pour water
upon them that are thirsty. In Isaiah 55, after chapter beginning,
chapter 52, this is the gospel, say of Isaiah, thy God reigneth.
And in chapter 3, it says forth the vicarious, victorious, vicious,
involuntary death of the Lord Jesus Christ. in his absolute
success he shall see all the travail of the soul shall be
satisfied for my righteous servant by his skill shall justify me
and in chapter 54 he talks of those of all the benefits that
they shall have in them with no weapon formed against you
shall prosper and my righteousness will be he says in chapter 55
hope hope what does that mean? You see, when we preach the gospel
to every creature, we do it. But the gospel is a guided message.
It will find the hearts of people. When we preach the gospel, it
stops men from thinking they can do something. to tell them
there's nothing in them or out from them that can ever recommend
them to God. They cannot be righteous, for
they are filthy. Their righteousness is filth,
they're rags. They cannot choose God because
they have chosen sin from the beginning. They're born in sin.
They cannot do except what they do, for a leopard cannot change
its spots, nor Ethiopian change the color of your skin, therefore
you will be accustomed to the evil out there. There is none
good, no, not one. There is none righteous, no,
not one. There is none that seeketh after God. You are in a bad shape
as you were born into this world, and there's nothing in you or
about you that can do anything for God. Nothing. Nothing. What does that do? do you see yourself in such a
rich condition? that you desire something better?
you're at the point. so everyone that is thirsty come
ye to the waters ye that have no money come ye by and eat ye
come Buy a wine and milk without money and without price. Hope is everyone's excuse. Our Lord said you're one of the
well. You drink of the water I give to you. If you knew who
I was, I'd give you living water. If you drink that water, you'd
never die. He stood up and said, anybody
out there thirsty? If you're thirsty, come unto me
and pray. Breathe and believe that I'm
going to be out of this devilish world, rivers, and living water
to whosoever is willing to take this water. Whosoever is willing
to take this water. You are thirsty for Christ's
drink. There are no restrictions here. There is a guarantee that the
thirst will be eternally slain. The Spirit of the bride say come.
Let him that heareth say come. Let him that is thirsty come. So.