The Final Invitation

MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER

RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

TEXT: Genesis 6:5, 17:18-23; Revelation 22:17; Hebrews 11:7; Acts 26:14

What is God's most compelling word? What is the word that echoes in every part of the Bible? What was the word that God spoke to man before He destroyed the earth with a flood? What is the word that prophets & apostles cried out so often?

What is the word that brought Peter to Jesus? What is the word that He spoke to little children, & to the weary & the heavy-laden?

What is the word that brings the Bible to a close with its final invitation?

Listen to these words, almost the last words in the N.T. "The Holy Spirit and the bride say, ”Come!” And the person who hears should say, “Come!” Anyone who is thirsty should come.” (Revelation 22:17 NIrV)

Yes, you have figured it out. That word is "Come." There are command-ments & warnings & promises in the Bible, for God is a God of righteousness & truth; but sounding like a refrain among all the other voices is the voice of invitation, "Come."

I. NOAH & THE FLOOD

The first time that the word "Come" is used in the Bible is when it is used with Noah. Noah stands out in the history of mankind. He is first mentioned at a time of great crisis. The whole earth was corrupt before God. And when we see what is going on in the world around us we wonder how that world could have been more corrupt than our world today.

But today's wickedness, terrible though it is, is somewhat relieved by the lives & earnest prayers of those who are faithful to God. Were it not for that, God might indeed be ready to destroy the earth once again.

But back in Noah's day, the Bible says, "The Lord saw how bad the sins of everyone on earth had become. They only thought about evil things.” (Genesis 6:5 NIrV)

Because of this universal wickedness, God decided to cleanse the world & start all over again. Noah was commanded to build an ark to save himself & any others who were willing to be saved.

In the obedience of Noah, in spite of all the ridicule he must have re¬ceived, we have one of the greatest examples of faith recorded in the Bible. Ages afterwards it was not forgotten, for the writer of Hebrews lists Noah in God's hall of fame, & says,

"Noah had faith. So he built an ark to save his family. He built it because of his great respect for God. God had warned him about things that could not yet be seen. Because of his faith Noah showed the world that it was guilty. Because of his faith he was considered right with God.” (Hebrews 11:7 NIrV)

When the ark was finished, God said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you & all your family.”

Then, when Noah & his family were safely in, the Bible says, "the waters rose & increased greatly on the earth . . . & all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered . . . Every living thing that moved on the earth perished . . . Only Noah was left, together with those who were with him in the ark." (Genesis 7:18-23

ILL. If you go into the Catacombs at Rome today, where the early Christians laid their dead, the picture that you will see most often as a symbol of the Christian's hope & faith is that of the ark floating upon the waters.

The ark was also the symbol of the Church. And still the message of God to a perishing world is what God said in the beginning, "Come into the ark." When we urge people to come into the church, remember this is not our invitation, but God's.

God said to Noah before the flood destroyed the world, "Come into the ark." And in Revelation, when the long battle with sin & darkness is over, John heard the voice of God saying, "Come; the Holy Spirit & the Bride say come."

II. CHRIST & BARTIMAEUS

It was a bright spring morning at Jericho. Blind Bartimaeus finds a sunny spot against the wall & waits to see what the day will bring him.

As he sits there he hears in the distance the hum of voices & the shuffling of feet. He soon realized that it was more than the usual street traffic. So he begins asking those hurrying by, "What is going on? What is the excitement all about?"

Someone answered, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by!" "Jesus of Nazareth!" thought the beggar. "I have heard of him. Some say that He is a good man. Others say that he is an impostor & evil. But I have heard that he is able to do great miracles, & that he has even opened the eyes of the blind. If he was able to do that for others, then why not for me?"