October 8, 2023
Morning Service

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

            To receive a vision of where we are going it helps for us to take a look back where we have been.  This scripture has been a battle cry for our Fellowship from Day #1 back in 1978. It in a way is our Mission Statement.  We as the Bride want to be a place where we point those who are thirsty to what they are thirsting for.  It is an invitation to come and become part of the Bride of Christ and walk with fellow believers along the journey of life to one-day meet Jesus face to face.  Our mission is to invite those who are seeking in and point them to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.  The water is the same Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman at the well.

 

John 4:13-14 Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, (14) but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

            Many in our society today do not know what they are thirsting/searching for.  They are trying everything the world has to offer to fulfill their thirst, but it all still leaves them unsatisfied.  We are all created with a longing for God and there is nothing that can fill that void in our life except the Lord.  Worldly successes and pleasures still leave an empty hole in our life.  They do not quench the deep thirsting of our soul for God.  Many around us are not living that life of success and pleasure but are struggling with the cares of this world trying to find a place where there is peace, happiness and contentment.  In this world, such a place does not exist.  The world may offer what appears to be true happiness, but as Jesus tells us here, the allurement of the world is a tool our enemy uses against us.  Jesus is the only One who offers a truly abundant life.

 

Joh 10:10The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

            We, as the Bride, need to be sharing this message with those who are thirsty.  Jesus freely offers to everyone what they are truly looking for.  They thirst to be loved, cared for, to be known, hope for a better tomorrow, and to have a purpose.  Following Jesus grants to us all those things.  We all have family, neighbors, coworkers, and dear friends who are searching, but are looking in all the wrong places and are deceived believing they can find what they are searching for on their own.  Jesus is what they are searching for.  He is the only One who can quench their thirst.  It is our mission to invite them to “Come” and drink of what the Lord is offering and find what they are looking for.  It is the Great Commission that Jesus Himself laid out for us right before He ascended to His Father.

 

Mat 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  (19)  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, (20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

 

 

 

            Today, praise the Lord, we baptized five (two more coming) new believers into the family of God.  These are ones who were invited in, sat under the teaching of the Word, loved on by our church family and realized that a relationship with God was what they have been searching for.  It was not any one of those things that convinced them to accept the Lord, but a culmination of all of them.  We each play a part in that.  You may have invested directly yourself in one of these this morning, you may have made them feel loved and welcomed here, you may have prayed for them, taught them, fed them, or even just gave your gift in the offering plate that kept our lights on.  Praise God for your part in these lives being changed this morning and may God bless you and reward you for it.  Rejoice in the fact that God used you to change these lives today.  We are indeed better together!

   Today each of these that were baptized used an outward action to display an inward decision.  They chose to obey the scriptures and follow up their hearing and receiving of this gospel message, repentance with an act of obedience to enter into the water of baptism this morning.  They followed the internal desire of their heart with an outward action to prove it.  This act of obedience allowed them to experience their spiritual death, burial and resurrection.  The water washed away their sins and they arose to the “newness of life” in Jesus by becoming children of God.  Their lives are changed forever as now Jesus’ promise applies directly to them; “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” They fulfilled the requirements of confessing with their mouth and believing in their heart and secured the promise that they “will be saved.” (Rom 10:9-10) We celebrate these becoming disciples with great joy along with all of heaven.  I love moments like this when lives are changed and God is glorified as we fulfill our Commission to make disciples.  BUT

            We, as the church, however must not be satisfied with this success.  Celebrate today with these, but the work is not complete.  First, we now have to take ownership to mentor these to grow in their faith to begin with the milk of the Word, but to grow into the meat of it.  Parents especially, I charge you to encourage, teach and model them to follow Jesus faithfully.

Secondly, there are more out there who are thirsting for God; let’s make moments like this motivate us to invite others to “Come.”  I know there are those in my life that I need to offer this invitation to and I know there are those in yours as well.  What are we waiting for?  The Lord will return, and it could be very soon, in an instant and then it will be too late.

 Do you believe that?  Why are you not sharing the Good News with those around you then knowing the time is short?  I know we all feel intimidated in the moment, but look at it like this; you can offer to them the solution to all of their problems. What are we waiting for?  If not us, then who?

Take time today to begin to pray for those around you that need the Lord; lifting them up to the Lord and asking for opportunities to arise for you to witness to them or to simply ask them to church.  Philip told his doubting friend Nathaniel to “Come and See!”  Invite them to enter into God’s presence here in our Fellowship and let our family love on them and let the Spirit begin His work on them to realize they need Jesus.  Let’s begin to seek out those who are thirsty to “Come and drink of the everlasting water and never thirst again!”

The best way to witness to those around us is to live the life Jesus is calling us to out before them.  Let your life shine as you reflect the Light of Jesus by not being only hearers of the Word, but by being doers of it.  Be a beacon in this dark world that God is alive and is only thing that can quench what everyone is thirsting for.

 

Heavenly Father thank You for the joys of this day as we celebrate together with these who have begun their walk with You today.  Stir within each of us to be motivated to share Your love all around us and to be a light in this dark world.

 

Brittany song: