It’s exciting to go to the mall to shop, and often, we make “plans” to drive north to the big mall to shop, anticipating the fun we will experience and the great food we will enjoy while in the city.  So, go with me—there—to the mall (in our minds).  See the square-like building as we park our vehicles.  Sense the euphoric anticipation as we gather our belongings and walk toward the entrance.  Hear the intriguing noise inside as we step through the door (and if we go to the mall at Christmastime, well, then our senses become even more euphoric).

Feel the floor below our feet as we walk to first one store & to the next.

Touch the items for sale, pick up each one, deciding if we want to part with our hard-earned cash to purchase this item and that.

THEN,

As we walk down the wide corridor, we notice the kiosks sitting in the middle, where there are a variety of items being offered.

Jewelry.

Food.

Drinks.

Back Massages.

Facial Creams and Make-up.

Toys.

Christmas Tree Ornaments.

• On &
• On &
• On.

We pass by hundreds of items we can purchase “along the way” as we travel from one store to the next inside the mall.

Each kiosk employee has been tasked with attracting our attention AS WE PASS BY, and in order to do so, the employees step out into the flow of traffic enticing us with “free” offers.

If you have ever been to a mall & if you have ever stopped by an offer of a “free” item, or even if you have waved off the offer of accepting the “free” item, then you can visualize in your mind exactly what I have described.

• What is it about the word “free” that makes something believable or not?
• What part of the word “free” makes salvation so difficult to accept?
• How is it that a person can walk through his entire life, paying his way through, and not latch on to this incredible and free offer of God’s Salvation?

• God established His covenant with Abraham—& God has not forgotten!
• God came to earth as a babe in a manger, to dwell among us—so we may come to know Him!
• God offers every man, woman, and child His Free Gift of Salvation!
• We can only come to know God through the way He provided—through Jesus, His only Son!

God’s offer of Mercy is FREE!

God’s offer of Grace is FREE!

Bible theologian J. Vernon McGee said it this way:

“You could not see God—God is spirit.  He had to become flesh;  He had to become one of us in order for us to know Him.  We could not go up there [to Heaven] to understand Him;  He had to come down here and bring God down where we are.”

• When God came to earth to take on flesh, He was still God!
• When the Son of God came to dwell among us, He was still God!

God Is God Is God—full of mercy, full of grace, and full of truth!

However, there remains a barrier that separates us from God—our sinfulness!

• We must come face-to-face with our sin.
• We must be “thirsty” for a taste of the Living Water Jesus offers!
• We must believe IN God’s Son, Jesus!
• We must confess our sin to God!
• We must accept His Free offer of Salvation as we “drink” of the Living Water Jesus offers!

The Living Water is offered to everyone who walks the face of the earth.

Yet, there remains a condition—one must have a “thirst” for God’s offer of Salvation.

Until such time, the Gospel is offensive to those who remain lost, without Jesus!

It is a fact; many are drawn to believe IN Jesus because of the influence of their Christian family members and Christian friends.

• So, we who believe IN Jesus.
• So, we who confess our sins TO God.
• So, we who accept Jesus AS our Lord and Savior.

MUST

• Live in such a way that the Living Water of Jesus makes those who are lost “thirsty” for Jesus.
• Walk with God within every day of our life.
• Speak the Word of God with those we encounter, as the Holy Spirit leads.
• Live out loud our faith as we go through our days God has given us to live.
• Be the church of God that we are commissioned to be!