Revelation 22:17: And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!’’ And let him who hears say, "Come!’’ And let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.
Whosoever is used throughout the New Testament 93 times, and implies anyone and everyone. You are an anyone, I am an anyone, it is an all-inclusive term, and leaves no one out. Anyone and everyone that hears come. Anyone and everyone that thirsts come. Anyone and everyone that wants can take of the water of life freely. The Spirit and the bride are calling us, and saying come, but they won’t force us to drink. We are given a free will, but because we’re given a free will, we can choose to partake of life or we can choose to partake of death. If we make no choice at all, we have chosen death by default, because we have not chosen life. The ultimate responsibility is ours, and our future eternity will be a result of our decision.
I don’t want to create fear, but to make you aware of the power involved in decisions. I’ve heard of so many people, who have gotten into trouble because of their bad decisions. Then ask how could God let this happen to me? God didn’t do that to you, but in a sense He did allow it to happen, He did not and will not override your free will. He wouldn’t be a very fair judge if He were to go about and over ride our decisions. We will be judged for our decisions and actions. We are not puppets.
-- New Jerusalem with Apocrypha
De.30: 19. Today, I call heaven and earth to witness against you: I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live.
We see by this scripture that God is offering us a choice, and we will be judged according to the choices we make. Heaven and earth will be witness against us, but the good news is, we can choose life, we don’t have to choose death, we can choose life not only for us, but for our descendants as well.
Blessings of God are always based on a decision. If we make a decision to walk in God’s Word, we will walk in blessing. He will cause us to be blessed, and to be a blessing to others, if we decide however to walk after the world, we shall reap corruption, and there is nothing God can do about it. It is our choice.
Galatians 6:7. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
I don’t know about you, but eternal life sounds a lot better to me than corruption. In order to receive eternal life we have to be obedient to the Word of God.
Acts: 2:21: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
1 John 4:15: Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God..
We have to call, we have to confess. God is not going to do it for us. If that were the case, none of us would have to do anything, we would just all automatically go to heaven, our free will would not mean a thing. That would not be consistent with the rest of what God is saying in His Word. God has given us freedom of choice, but with that freedom comes responsibility.
Deuteronomy 28:1: "AND if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments which I command you this day, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your beasts, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock. 5. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough. 6. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. 7. "The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. 8. The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; and he will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
We have to be obedient to receive the blessings of God in our lives. God gives us the choice to receive blessings. God has our best interest in mind when He gives us the choice to obey.
The law has a curse upon it, and under the Old Covenant that curse would come upon them if they would break even one part of the law. It was impossible to always keep the law. That is why God set up the Levitical priesthood, or they would all fall under the curse of the law.
15. "But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. 16. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. 7. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading-trough. 18. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock. 19. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.
The reason I ’m using these scriptures is to show you that no one can keep the law, and the wages of sin is always death. However, I would like to point out we are not under the Old Covenant. God in his wonderful plan of redemption has given us the blessings and taken away the curse. Jesus became the curse for us, so that through Him all the blessings of God could come upon us.
Galatians 3:13: Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’’), 14. that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
We have a new and better Covenant with new and better promises
Hebrews 8:6: But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
We have better promises and we must act on them and acknowledge them, and receive them for our own. They will not just fall on our heads like the apple fell on Sir Isaac Newton. Because of our free will we have the choice to believe them and act on them.
Remember our opening scripture. We are being called to come, we are being led to the water of life. We are not being pushed, we must partake, we must drink, we must receive! Praise God for all his wonderful blessings, but God will never force them on you, never!!! These blessings are freely given, and were purchased at an incredible cost, the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s lay hold of the promises for ourselves, and partake of the water of life freely! We can partake of this life ourselves, and come into a personal relationship with God. We can know Him and be known of Him, this is the greatest privilege any of us can ever have.
