The Evangelism Alliance

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”
–Revelation 22:17a
          It is the age of grace. A time when eternal salvation is being freely offered to everyone on earth who is willing to receive it. To let them know, the Holy Spirit is engaged in a wonderful alliance with the bride of Christ — the church. The message this alliance preaches is so simple and clear that it can be voiced in one urgent word: “Come!”
          Come experience salvation. Come experience the forgiveness of all your sins. Come receive the free gift of fellowship with your Creator. Come know the peace and joy of being inhabited by the God of the universe and being made holy and righteous by Him. Come, all of you who have not yet become a child of God; Come to Him and drink freely of the water of life.
          Ever since Pentecost, the work of the Church and the work of the Holy Spirit have been one and the same. By His own choice, the Holy Spirit does not work alone. By His own design, every move He makes follows the prayers of His people. His every Word of witness to the lost world is spoken through Christians whose mouths He controls and whose lives He sanctifies to the glory of the Father in heaven. Every action of His people on His behalf is inspired by Him, and carried out to completion by Him through His indwelling power and the gifts He bestows.
          When the Spirit and the bride work together, as it should be, their voices become inseparable, inviting the world to “Come!” But it is so easy for our churches to become distracted from this noble purpose. Buildings, facilities, programs, committees, power struggles, fundraising campaigns, procedures, traditions, self-centeredness, inward focus, sinful attitudes, arguments — everywhere we turn, there is another circumstance or situation that seems ready-made to take our attention off the purpose defined for us in Revelation 22: to be the mouthpiece of the Spirit of God. Before long, we no longer operate in alliance with the Spirit Who lives in us, and we begin to quench His fire and turn the living organism of the church into a mere organization built by feeble human hands, designed by inferior human intellect, and sustained only by failing human strength.
          If that is happening in your life, or in the church you attend, the Spirit calls to you today, saying, “Come back.” Come back to the purpose for which you were called. Come back to the evangelism alliance where you and the Holy Spirit join hearts, minds, and voices to beckon the lost and dying souls of the world to come to Jesus and be saved.