Sermon Delivered in Romania and Exeter Recently

“Hope for Sinners”

Revelation 22:17 ¹⁷ The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Introduction – Seven churches long ago…

The words before us were first written for seven churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Yet they are words that are not just for 1^st century Christians in one part of the world. They stretch forward and touch us hear in Exeter and some time ago Pastor Magee preached on this same text to a small group of Christians in Romania. This verse contains some of the final words of the Scriptures and they call us to live with our God and for our God.

This brief text speaks of three different people that say the word “Come.” The Spirit is saying, “Come,” the Bride is saying, “Come,” and there is one who hears, and he says, “Come.” Let us deal with them in order, and along the way consider the importance of this appeal.

The Spirit is saying, “Come.”

Who is designated by the title “the Spirit?”

By this word “spirit” the writer of Revelation is designating none other than the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. While the Bible uses this same word at times to refer to the spirit that is within a person, in this place we are hearing of the entreaty of God the Holy Spirit. This is the One God promised to give to His people long ago when he said through the prophet Joel, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” Peter referred to this same Spirit on the day of Pentecost when he preached to the assembled crowd from that passage in Joel. He explained to them that those words were being fulfilled as the Spirit of God came powerfully upon the disciples, causing them to speak of the great wonders of God in different languages.

It was this Spirit who came to a virgin when Jesus was conceived. This Spirit is not an impersonal force, but a very powerful person. It was by this Spirit of God that Jesus cast out demons with ease from those who were possessed. It is this same Spirit that Jesus said He would send to us – the One who would guide us into all truth. It is by this Spirit that we confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.

Does the Spirit speak today?

This Spirit is the agent of God for the giving of true divine messages, as we read in 2 Peter 1:21, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” In days past God spoke through prophets of old little be little as the unfolding word of God was given to His people. But now we have the completed word of God. Yet God the Holy Spirit is just as powerful today and speaks just as surely as He did to Jeremiah or Moses.

How does the Spirit speak today?

The Spirit now speaks to God’s people through the preaching of God’s finished word in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. When your minister presents the Word of God truly from the Scriptures, then God the Holy Spirit is speaking to His people.

Who is the Spirit speaking to?

In this text the Holy Spirit has a word for someone or some group of people. Since we know that through the preaching of the Scriptures the Spirit is speaking today, do we have some indication of who the Spirit is speaking to. While we know that there is a special way in which God effectually calls only the elect by His Spirit, it is also clear that the preaching of the Word goes out to the world more broadly than this. We do not have the option of restricting the speech of the Holy Spirit to some small group of those who would seem to respond. We are commanded by God to preach the gospel to ever creature. We are told to make disciples of all nations.

In this broader sense the message goes out far and wide. While it may be the case that few are chosen, it is also plain that many are called. This is the call of the preaching of the church and it is the voice of the Holy Spirit, though not everyone has ears to hear it.

Why is the Spirit saying, “Come?”

The Spirit is saying, “Come.” This is the voice of God just as surely as when Jesus said to those who would listen, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The Spirit is saying, “Come” in these concluding words of the Bible, because God is sincerely commanding all people everywhere to repent and to turn to Him. This is why He commands that the word be preached to every creature.

Why does the Spirit say “Come” when it is plain that some will not come?

God is of course aware of the fact that not all are chosen. God has known his own beloved children from before the foundation of the world. If He wanted to design a system of salvation where only those who would be saved would physically hear His message, He certainly could have done that. But instead the Lord has determined that He would be more fully glorified by the granting of a sincere gospel invitation to everyone in every place where He sends His ministers, despite the fact that it will be an aroma of life only to some, but an aroma of death to the rest.

First Application: Listen to the Spirit of God in the Living Word

There is nothing more important for your consideration of your own situation with God. Through the truth of Jesus Christ preached to you this day through the Word of God, the Holy Spirit is addressing you directly. His Word to you is simple and plain. He says to you, “Come.”

It is very foolish for you to ignore the Son of God who gave His blood for sinners. The Spirit of God is urging you today to come to Jesus Christ, for there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved. “Come home to Jesus Christ,” the Spirit says.

The Bride is saying, “Come.”

Who is designated by the title “the Bride?”

There is a second voice in this passage that echoes the message of the Spirit. The text tells us that the Bride is saying, “Come.” Who is this bride?

In the Scripture, God (and particularly Christ) is called a husband, and His people (the church) are referred to as a bride. The language of cleaving in intimate marital love is used to describe the relationship between God and His assembled beloved. As Paul says to the Ephesian church, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

Christ has not taken on the office of a husband without cost. He shed His blood for His bride. John the Baptist spoke about the relationship between Christ and the church this way as he explained to his followers that he was not the Christ. He said, “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” John is the friend of the bridegroom. Jesus is the bridegroom. The disciples – the church – is the bride.

How does the Bride speak?

Now we see that in Revelation that it is not only the Holy Spirit who says, “Come.” It is also the church of Jesus Christ, His beloved bride, who also says to the world, “Come.” Throughout the centuries since the ascension of Christ to heaven, sometimes more clearly and sometimes less clearly, the church has spoken and lived out the message of the gospel.

That message goes forward in word and works. The church of the living God is called the pillar and ground of the truth. We who call ourselves disciples of Jesus are supposed to continue in His Word. But we also speak through works. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

When Polycarp was being put to death and the Roman proconsul urged him to curse Christ and to save his own life, he spoke. He said, “Fourscore and six years have I served Him, and he has done me no harm. How then can I curse my King that saved me.” He was burned alive for His faith. And the Bride said, “Come.”

When Monica the mother of Augustine prayed for her successful but unbelieving son for so many years, not satisfied with mere worldly success, she spoke. And the Bride said, “Come.”

When the Korean church sends out thousands of brothers and sisters throughout the world to spend their lives for Jesus and for the message of the gospel, they speak. The Bride says, “Come.”

Who is the Bride speaking to?

Just as the Spirit speaks this word “Come” to all the world, the Bride must also speak. We must go to every tribe and tongue and nation. We must spend and be spent. Then the world will wonder what the reason is for the hope that lies within us. We go to the world because we have hope that Jesus is still saving sinners.

Why is the Bride saying, “Come?”

The Church in her best moments is clearly saying “Come” because she sees the seductions of a world that is enticing the foolish. She remembers that she was once like all of them, dead in the trespasses and sins in which she once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But she also remembers God – God who is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ (See Ephesians 2).

Like a beggar who has found food, she speaks to hungry beggars about the Savior. She is a voice for Her Lord. She also lives in ways that are new, different, alive. She says to the world, “Come.” And she points to her Husband and King.

Why does it appear that sometimes the Bride is not saying, “Come?”

There is no doubt that there are times and places when it would appear that the Bride is not saying, “Come.” At times she can be complacent. At times she can be discouraged. At times she has forgotten that she has been rescued from the world and she longs for it more than for her Husband. This is a horrible pity, and at such times her voice to the world is barely heard at all.

Second Application: This must not be the way for us. We must say in our words and our works, “Come.” If the Holy Spirit says, “Come,” and if the Bride is just as surely to be saying, “Come,” how sad it is if our message is muted and corrupted. What if we live and speak in such a way that we give a different message. What if we say, “You should feel perfectly comfortable staying right where you are. You do not need to come. I am sure that you are going to be alright if you do not come.” What if something like that is the message that we live or even speak. And yet we know better than that. Will it be OK for us if we stand before the Lord and say, “I decided to say, ‘Stay where you are’ rather than, ‘Come?’ ”

It will not be OK. Jesus said in Matthew 10:33, “Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” It is not OK to be silent and to live invisible lives of worldliness. We must say, “Come.”

There is one who hears, and he says, “Come.”

Who is designated by the title “the one who hears?”

There is a third party who speaks in this verse. The Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word says, “Come.” The Bride – the church – through her words and works says, “Come.” But now, in the third place, the one who hears says, “Come.” This is very exciting news. There is one who hears. It is hard to keep on speaking when you think that no one will listen. But the Lord will give some people ears to hear.

He is not content that all should perish, so He sovereignly and savingly rescues the lost. And this is the person who hears. This person hears the Spirit say, “Come.” This person hears the bride say, “Come.” And so this person comes.

I received a call from someone about a year ago, who wanted to study the Bible. She wanted to study her faith. She had been away for many, many years. She felt like it was time to come home. I told her to come. She came. She came to a Bible study, and eventually she came to worship. But along the way she came to Christ. I am convinced that she heard, and so she came.

How does the person who hears speak?

The text tells us something more about the one who hears. Obviously we know that this person hears, but notice that she also speaks. Like the Spirit and the Bride, she now says, “Come.” She has joined her voice with something that she was once not a part of. Now she identifies herself with the Christian church. She loves Christ, and she wants others to hear His voice through the Word preached. So she joins in with the worship, the works, and the words of the church, and she says to all who would hear, “Come.”

This has always been the way. Someone new discovers the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Someone new discovers Jesus Christ as He is presented in Word and sacrament, and she becomes a living letter of the grace of God to someone else who has not yet heard. She says, “Come” because there is a new life to be enjoyed.

Third Application: However long you may have been saved, remember that in the face of eternity you have not been saved for very long. Think of yourself from that perspective and recover your enthusiasm for life as a newborn baby in Jesus Christ. Remember your first love and speak the word of invitation to others. Remember what God has said, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm 50:15) Glorify God by doing what the text says. Say, “Come.”

There is one who is thirsty, and he comes.

Today in this town, there is one who is thirsty. We know that next year there will be some in our midst who are not here today. Some of you have joined this assembly in the last year. Does it seem at all reasonable that there is no one else who is still thirsty?

Today in this town, there are people who are thirsty. They desire the water of life. If they can hear the message clearly preached by the Spirit of God, if they can see the Word in action in your life, they will drink the living water. They will come. Jesus said in John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ” By this expression he referred to the Spirit of God.

This is the promised gift that no man can pay for. The most successful entrepreneur cannot buy one thimble full of the Spirit of God. The most generous benefactor cannot earn one mustard seed worth of faith. The strongest or most beautiful person in all the world cannot use that strength or beauty to secure even one little bit of true repentance. Such things – the Spirit, faith, repentance, these are gifts of God. These are waters that you cannot pay for.

The water of life is priceless – priceless for us since we cannot purchase it – costly for God since it came at the price of His Son’s blood. We cannot bargain for it. We must simply receive this water as a gift. The Spirit says, “Come.” The Bride says, “Come.” There is one who thirsts and she says, “Come.” Dear friend reading these words, please come.