Featured Regeneration w/o Living Water?

Rev. 22:17...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.(ESV)

The command is given to them that are thirsty. Now, can anyone choose to be thirsty?


I ask this so that you can ponder on how they that thirst(and hunger) for righteousness shall be filled...

I will expound after your response...

 

Indeed, those whoa re lost in sins do continually reject the Holy Spirit and Jesus, but there will be NONE doing such whom God chose to save in the death of Jesus for their sins!

 

God is proclaiming to all sinners the truth that Jesus is the risen lord, and ONLY way to get saved, but only those granted 'ears to hear" will respond yp that calling!

 

Steaver,

Thank you. Tuesday night I was blessed to preach a message using this very topic. I have a monthly appointment on every 2nd tuesday night at a Separate Baptist church about 5 minutes from my house. It's the only Spearate Baptist church in the state of WVa. They are far from DoG, seeing that they believe one can be saved and lost again. They believe one can be saved for 40 years and denounce Christ and die eternally lost, iirc. TBS, here are the verses I took my sermon from...

Isa. 55:1, Matt. 5:6, and Rev. 22:17.

I asked them if they could make themself thirsty. I then said, "You might think you can make yourself thirsty by working hard all day, but what do you do after waking up from sleeping all night?" I said, "You'll get yourself a drink of water, coffee, pop, or something liquid." "How did you make yourself thirsty when all you did was sleep?" I stated that even Jesus said we didn't have the ability/power to change the color of one hair." I then went to Exo. 17 and Num. 20 and expounded on how the Israelites desired to drink some water and how Moses rebelled against God. I stated, "They had a thirst for the natural water, but not the Spiritual water." I then went to John 4 and expounded on Jesus' dealings with the Samaritan woman at the well. All she was looking for at first was natural water that came from Jacob's well, but after conversing with Jesus, she had a desire for that water that she would not "come hither to drink again", but would be in her a well of water springing up into everlasting life. I then went to Rev. 22 and showed them the Source for this water, water which proceeded forth from the Throne and also from the Lamb...this water is clear as a crystal.

I then mentioned to the pastor...he's a carpenter by trade, that after you toiled all day in 95+ degrees heat and you had no water, if someone offered you a glass of cold water, you'd take it and not reject it(he even reached his hands out like he would take it from me...I had a cup of cold water in my hand, btw). I said that's how God deals with His children. He makes them thirsty,"'Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteouness, for THEY SHALL BE FILLED." I said notice how Jesus sated that. He stated, "THRY SHALL BE FILLED." I then stated if God places a thirst and hunger in someone's life, they will be filled.


They lapped that sermon up like a thirsty dog does water...sorry about that pun...


If God places a thirst there, Steaver, you can guarantee it, God will quinch that thirst....

A person who has a 'God placed thirst' will drink that Spiritual water like a thristy man in the Sahara desert would...they would FREELY drink it if offered....

 

To follow your analogy, anyone who doesn't drunk will be thirsty. No, they don't choose to be thirsty, it happens to everyone when they're without water.

 

The point I am making is that no one has the ability to make themself thirsty. Even if all we did was sleep for 12 hours, we still end up being thirsty. We can not make ourself to thirst after righteousness. TBS, once God places that thirst(and hunger) in one's life, He will quinch that thirst, too.

 

A dead person has no thirst for righteousness, Steaver. Those who thirst for righteousness have not yet been filled. Just like a thirsty person has not yet had a drink of water. Thirst precedes being filled...

 

Being thirsty is evidence of the regenerative power of the Spirit. The Spirit quickening a sinner to life causes them to see their need(thirst) of a Saviour. Unless you are thirsty, you will never come and drink of the water of life freely. Unless quickened, a sinner will never get thirsty....

 

Brother Willis, you are correct. The sinner does not desire living water, nor can he understand his need for it (Rom. 8:7; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 2:1). It seems redundant to come back to those oft used passages, but they communicate the consistent truth that sinners are incapable of any positive spiritual action apart from God first making them capable through illumination/regeneration.