Please turn with me in your Bibles to Isaiah the prophet, chapter 55. Isaiah chapter 55. We're taking these weeks in the summer off from our study in the gospel according to Matthew. And we're looking at instances of God's grace in the Old Testament.
So often people have a misunderstanding concerning the Old Testament. They think that the God revealed therein. is only a God of wrath and fury and anger and judgment. And while He most certainly is those things, He is a God of great grace and kindness and mercy, as we saw last week in our study of a gracious God and a fallen king in 2 Samuel chapter 11 and 12. Well, this morning we're going to consider this gracious invitation made by God through His prophet to people.
Remember the context. If you do not, I'll just remind us in chapter 52 of the prophet Isaiah, redemption and deliverance are promised. And then in the final servant song of God's chosen one, the Lord Jesus Christ in Isaiah 53, we see redemption. accomplished. It is through substitutionary curse-bearing.
It is through substitutionary wrath-bearing, where the perfect one is offered up on behalf of the sins of his people. That's chapter 53. Chapter 54 then makes a few promises to the church or to the covenant community. And then chapter 55, as I've already mentioned, is a gracious invitation to come to the waters, to drink, to feast, to rejoice in the God of Israel.
Well, I'll just pick up reading in chapter 55 at verse 1. Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to me. Here and your soul shall live.
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the sure mercies of David. Indeed, I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you because of the Lord your God and the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. Seek the Lord while he may be found.
Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him. And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth.
It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree.
And it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our God and our Father, we come before you now and we love your scripture, we love your truth, and we pray that your spirit would guide us as we study now.
We ask that you would wash us afresh in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. For as we acknowledge, sin darkens our understanding, darkens our hearts, and we pray that even now you would wash us, you would purify us, you would cleanse us and cause us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ. God, for those who have come here this morning who have not come to the waters, we pray that today would be the day of salvation. We pray that your spirit would work by the word.
We pray that our Savior Christ would exercise his sovereignty, his dominion, his power. We know that he has come with a specific purpose. It was not to render men savable, but to save his people from their sins. And we pray that as the gospel is proclaimed here, in other churches in Chilliwack and throughout this earth, we pray that your word would run swiftly, and that it would be glorified, and that it would accomplish the purpose for which you sent it.
And we ask these things in the name and for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Introduction
Well, the chapter can be broken down into two broad categories, and we'll take it up in this order. The first section, verses 1 to 5, is an invitation to come. And then verses 6 to 13 is the call to believe and repent, or it is an explanation of what it means to come. In other words, he invites, by his prophet, everyone who thirsts come to the waters.
And then in verses 6 and 7, he explains what that looks like. He explains what that means. The Bible not only throws things out there, but it gives explanation in a concrete application so that you may receive it and God willing, you may act upon it." As I said, this does display the graciousness of our God, the kindness and the mercy of our God. As we walk through, as we wander about in the Old Testament, I mentioned several weeks ago, we can't help but trip on God's grace.
We see Him in the Scripture as most kind and most good and most merciful to His creatures. And Isaiah 55 certainly captures that reality. So let's look first of all at the invitation to come, verses 1 to 5. And I want to consider this under four considerations.
First, the invitation proper. Secondly, the interrogation made. Thirdly, the blessings listed. And fourthly, the guarantee specified.
The Invitation to Come (vv. 1–5)
So let's look first at this invitation. Notice it is a universal invitation. He says, oh, everyone who thirsts. Now certainly within the covenant community of Israel, there were those who were dead in their trespasses and sins.
The Apostle Paul will indicate, Romans chapter 9, not all Israel is Israel. Jacob I love, Esau I have hated. So within that body politic, within the Commonwealth of Israel, there were those who were not saved. Certainly they are being addressed here.
But as well, the implication is that this gospel call is made to all creatures. As Jesus says in Mark 16, Go therefore and preach the gospel to every creature. We know that in the context. When we look down at verse 5, it says, And nations who do not know you shall run to you.
This is Gentile. This goes or flows out of what we've already seen, or if you've read the book, in Isaiah 2. where it is prophesied that there is a day coming when all the nations of the earth shall march to Zion. They will all come before the Lord in order to learn the law of God Most High. And so this is a universal invitation addressed to all creatures without distinction, without exception, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
E.J. Young explains it this way. He says the introductory particle, this word ho, is mainly an attention-getting device. Wake up!
Listen, give heed. In fact, that is repeated throughout this particular chapter. An overarching theme in this chapter is the necessity, the absolute crucial nature of God's Word. Look at verses 2 and 3.
Listen carefully to me. Incline your ear. Here, he says in verse 3, if you have come here this morning simply to kill an hour, listen to the prophet. Ho, pay attention, wake up.
This is important stuff. In fact, there is nothing more important for you to hear right now than what the prophet of Israel speaks to sinners. Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. E.J.
Young says, it's mainly an attention-getting device, but it expresses a slight tone of pity. There is in the prophet's heart pity. He says, the prophet is an evangelist with a concern for the souls of men and a realization of their desperate condition without the blessings that the servant has obtained. The prophet here wants you to pay attention.
The prophet here wants you to listen. Some confine the blessing simply to the exiles in Babylon at the time that the prophet wrote. But we see the spiritual nature of these blessings. It transcends that particular historical context.
When we get into verses 2 and 3, let your soul delight itself in abundance. It's not just physical. is not just be satisfied with the things that Babylon has to offer, forsake that and come to the God of Israel. No, this is a passage that deals with the inmostness of man's heart. It deals with sin.
It deals with redemption. It deals with reconciliation. The servant, according to the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53, was bruised, was crushed, was a substitute for sinners, and now based on that reality, this gospel call comes.
A Gracious and Free Invitation
Notice that it is a gracious invitation. Look to whom it is addressed. Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You who have no money, come, buy and eat.
Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. You don't have works that will secure this redemption. You don't have enough money that can secure this redemption. You don't have a goodness that can secure this redemption.
There is nothing in you that you can proffer as a price in order to receive the salvation of God. That's why every non-Christian religion is an exercise in futility. The idea that sinners can somehow make themselves acceptable to a holy God. A God in whom there is no impurity.
A God whose eye cannot look approvingly upon any impurity. How can sinful man transcend the heavens and find acceptance with God in his own strength? You see, God through the prophet knows better. You don't have money.
You don't have the purchase price. You don't have the ability. You don't have the wherewithal to make yourself acceptable to God the Lord. But it is intriguing.
This isn't just a handout. Notice he still speaks of buying. He still speaks of purchase. This isn't a soup kitchen.
The price has been paid. The sinners who are bidden come because one other has satisfied the requirements. Let me just read a quote from Alec Motier. He says, yet alongside the emphasis on freeness, the verb buy is repeated.
He says, the thought of purchase is not set aside. This is no soup kitchen, I took that from him, even if the clients are beggars. There is a purchase and a price, though not theirs to pay. They bring their poverty to a transaction already completed.
You see, it's not as if God just throws away the requirement that a price must be paid. No, rather God provides the requirement or God provides the remedy who does in fact pay the price. He says, contextually, this is another allusion to the work of the servant. His the price, ours the freeness.
So you see, Christ has come. Christ has lived. Christ has died. Christ has risen.
And the prophet says, oh, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And then notice, it is a complete invitation. The water speaks of refreshment. The wine speaks of exhilaration.
And the milk speaks of nourishment. You see, there is every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places secured by Christ for His children. It is a glorious invitation that is made here in the prophet Isaiah.
The Interrogation: Why Not Come?
Now notice his interrogation in verse 2. Based on this reality, ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. You who have no money, come buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
That should solve it right there. If I come here this morning and I say, look, there is forgiveness in Christ. There is mercy to be had in the Savior. There is eternal life granted you by God's grace through faith in the Lord Jesus.
That's it. Come. Why won't you come? Why don't you come?
Why those of you who have heard the gospel and yet continue to reject it, continue to reject it? This is what the prophet speaks to in verse 2a. Notice, why do you spend your money for what is not bread? Why?
Why are you looking for satisfaction elsewhere? Why are you garbage dumping or dumpster dumping when you've got a feast spread? Why are you eating nubs of carrots and old potato skins and sludge that's at the bottom of the dumpster when God has given a feast? What is it about that that you find offensive?
Well, there is a tendency and an inclination in man's heart. Calvin speaks to it. He says, men are so enchanted by the devil that they choose rather to wander through deserts and to vex themselves in vain than to rely on the grace which God offers to them. In other words, why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy?
There is folly in pursuing idolatry. It is wrong to make things other than God, God. We looked yesterday in a study in the morning at Matthew chapter 6. Jesus tells us very specifically, you cannot serve God and mammon.
You cannot do it. You cannot bow to the Lord God Almighty on Sunday and then bow to mammon Monday through Saturday. I just saw an interesting thing. Perhaps you're following that case where Ariel Castro confessed his guilt and was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 1,000 years for abducting and sexually assaulting three girls in Ohio.
It's interesting what he got the life sentence for, aggravated murder for causing a miscarriage. What kind of laws in a land will put a man behind bars forever who causes a miscarriage, and yet in the self-same city license abortionists to commit murder. It's just bizarre. So you come back to the prophet Isaiah chapter 5, and you say, we're living in days like he was.
Woe to those who call good evil and evil good. But one of the young ladies testified, and she said to him, how in the world could you have gone to church every Sunday? You see, Ariel Castro was a church-going man. Ariel Castro didn't miss his time in public worship.
Ariel Castro sat under the Word of God. But Monday through Saturday, and probably Sunday as well, God was his lusts. His vile, heinous, wicked, unrighteous lusts. The Prophet says, why do you spend money?
Why do you waste your efforts? Why do you waste your time on that which cannot satisfy? Why do you weigh out silver? Why do you negotiate?
Why do you attempt? Why do you try this bartering scheme? That will never avail the blessing of heaven for a sinner. If you leave today saying, wow, I just need to be a better guy or a better girl, you've missed the point.
There is no better guy or better girl. There was the best, the Lord Christ. And he lived in obedience to his father's law completely, entirely, perpetually, and exactly. And he died as a substitute on behalf of sinners.
And he rose again on the third day. And the scripture says, all those who believe in him will have everlasting life.
Blessings Promised to Those Who Come
Notice the blessings enumerated by the prophet to those who come. There is satisfying water, wine, and milk. There's bread to be had. There's an abundance to be had.
There is everything to be had. I've already alluded to Ephesians 1. The Apostle Paul, before he gets into that great long sentence of opening up God the Father with reference to electing His people, with reference to sending the Son to die for His people, and sending the Spirit to secure His people, When he offers up his topic statement, he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. We need a righteousness?
God provides. We need sanctification? God provides. We need glorification?
God provides. We need the Spirit? God provides. We need grace from on high just to get out of the bed every day?
God provides. We need grace, as Pastor Cam mentioned, to not afflict our wives, to show affection to our wives. God gives grace. It's the whole point of Colossians 3.
Set your mind at the right hand of God, where Christ is. And then Paul says, based on that reality, put off sin, put on righteousness, and live with one another in a manner that is consistent with God's will for His creatures. There's everything in Christ. If you don't have Christ, you've got nothing.
If you don't have Christ, you have nothing. If you have Christ, you have everything. It's better physically to be a dumpster diver with Christ than to live in the fanciest house and to eat the most wonderful food without Jesus. Solomon speaks to that.
It's better to have a handful of herbs at a table where there's no strife than a household of feasting where there's nothing but tension and strife. If you don't have Jesus, you've got nothing. We are people like that. Did you get the new this?
Do you have the new that? I mean, we're a people that when an iPhone comes out, people stand in line. It's just crazy, isn't it? The latest offering from Apple and people go berserk.
I suspect they're at the water coolers on Monday saying, did you see my new iPhone? That new iPhone without Christ is nothing. You may have, if I can speak in the language of our day, the flip phone. And you have Christ and you've got everything.
You see, the Prophet is using conventional language like that to communicate with conventional people. This isn't all high and lofty, pie-in-the-sky, esoteric stuff. Why are you doing what you're doing? Why are you resisting?
Why are you rejecting? Why won't you come? Is it because you love the idols of this age? Is it because of your own flesh?
Is it because of your own desires? Because it is folly in the end. The delight of the soul. Look at what he says, and let your soul delight in abundance.
You know, I have yet to meet a Christian who said, man, you know, when I think about the forgiveness of sins, that really bothers me. And it hurts my soul to think about these spiritual blessings in Jesus. No, they want to think about them more. They want to delight their soul in abundance.
This is what Christ says in John 10. I have come that they might have life. And that they might have it what? They might have it abundantly.
You see, God gives superabounding grace to superabounding sinners so that they can be brought out of darkness into marvelous light to sing His praises, to glorify His name, and to reflect His glory. That's where this chapter goes. Chapter 55, verse 13 points to the future. 12 and 13. It points to the future glory of Zion.
It was commonplace for a conqueror, when he ravished a particular country, He would go in and set up memorials to display His glory. He would set up memorials to display His handiwork. The people of God, the redeemed humanity, the transformed community, they reflect the victory of Yahweh, of Israel, and His conquering plan to bring His people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation under the banner of His blessed Son, Jesus Christ. everything to be had in coming to the Lord. Let your soul delight in abundance.
Fellowship with God and Spiritual Life
Notice the fellowship with God, chapter or verse 3a, and he says, come to me. Come to me, later he'll speak in terms of covenant. This is the chief blessing of God's covenant, is communion with him. I shall be their God and they shall be my people.
Look what this invitation is. Again, he's using earthly, temporal images to illustrate a spiritual point. Those who are thirsty, bid to come to the waters, are coming to God most high. We would be foolish not to think of our Lord Jesus with that Samaritan woman in John chapter 4, when he speaks of giving living waters to her.
And in John 7, at the last great day of the feast, Jesus stands and he cries out in the hearing of Jerusalem sinners, and he says, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. You see, this is everything for the Christian. This is the pinnacle. This is the bliss of Christianity, is to have God as our God and to be considered His people.
Isn't that where the Scriptures move to in chapters 21 and 22 of the book of Revelation? The Lord God Himself wipes away every tear from their eyes. The Lord God Himself makes sure there is no more sorrow, there's no more pain, there's no more suffering. We see the redeemed at the end of chapter 21 into chapter 22.
They've got the mark of God on their forehead. The curse has been lifted. They are His people. He is their God.
And His glory is reflected in the fact that His Son purchased them. His Son saved them. His Son delivered them from their bondage. And then the blessing of spiritual life itself, verse 3b, your soul shall live.
You realize that if you're not a Christian here this morning, the Apostle Paul says you're dead in your trespasses and sins. Dead in your trespasses and sins. See, sometimes people mess up a little bit. They think we're just a little bit wounded in our trespasses and sins.
We're just a little bit hindered because of our trespasses and sins. We walk with a cane because of our trespasses and sins. We roll on a wheelchair because of our trespasses and sins. And see, the idea goes that when I get serious, I'll flip on the light of my salvation and then I'll turn to the Lord.
You are dead in your trespasses and sins. Pray that God the Holy Spirit will regenerate you, will open your heart, will give you a new heart, cause you to hear, cause you to receive, cause you to believe, cause you to repent. All these are saving gifts and graces given by a good God, designed for the salvation of his people. Spiritual life is most blessed here, and your soul shall live And I mentioned there's some guarantees here.
There's guarantees given.
The Guarantee of the Invitation
Notice in verses four and five. We'll just quickly pass through this to get into the next section. But it is important to see this. It is crucial to understand this.
You see, when God issues an invitation, he has the ability and the power to make good on it. You see, if I said to you, come over to my house today, we'll have lunch and we'll have a great time, quite possibly you could come over and not have a great time. Right? When God the Lord Almighty says, ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.
He gives a guarantee, a three-fold guarantee in this passage. that the one who comes to Him will certainly not be cast out. This gracious invitation, this promise is pledged by covenant. It is pledged by covenant. That is a blessed word for the children of God.
Pastor Dr. Dale Ralph Davis says, how do you spell relief? C-O-V-E-N-A-N-T. Covenant.
Look at what he says in verse 4. I'm sorry, verse 3, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you. Believe this speaks to the new covenant. Jeremiah speaks of it in Jeremiah 31.
The prophet Ezekiel speaks of it in chapter 36 and chapter 37. We see it littered throughout the Old Testament, this promise that a champion will come, a deliverer will come, a new covenant will be inaugurated, and God's people will be purchased. grounds this. He founds this on the covenant. He says, the sure mercies of David, all those promises given to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7, that from his seed one would rise up, one would exercise sovereign power and sway universally forever and ever.
Amen. Peter applies that to the Lord Jesus on the day of Pentecost in the book of Acts chapter 2 verses 30 to 32. He pledges himself by covenant. Notice as well, the promise is secured by the Davidic king.
It is secured by the Lord Christ himself. Verse 4, indeed, I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. Certainly, this does find some historical root in David. But it transcends David.
It points to David's greater son. It speaks to the Lord Christ. If you're familiar with biblical theology, or rather systematic theology, you'll know those offices of Jesus Christ. Jesus is displayed as the priest in Isaiah 53, dying as a sacrifice for his people.
Here he's displayed as prophet and king. Indeed, I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. So this promise is secured by the Davidic king himself. And then this promise is transacted by God himself.
Commentators are mixed on who verse 5 applies to, whether it's Israel or whether it's the Messiah spoken of. I think it's the Messiah. Surely you, Jesus, shall call a nation you do not know." Again, we're talking about Gentiles. "...and nations who do not know you." Don't you love the language?
"...shall run to you." Calvinists or Reformed people are often mocked or criticized for teaching that God drags sinners to himself, kicking and screaming. No, He makes them willing in the day of His power. He changes the heart. That affects the affections.
It affects the will. It affects the desire. So that not only do they come to Him, but they run to Him. Did you get this grand image in your head as you ponder this verse, the nations running to our Savior?
This is gospel preaching. This is what's happening today. This is what we pray will happen right in this room as the gospel comes forth. God makes men willing in the day of his power, and they come a running unto the Lord Christ.
And they find mercy. They find forgiveness. They find that amazing grace that we love to sing about. But notice, surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you because of the Lord your God.
Next time somebody says that God revealed in the Old Testament is only about genocide and warfare and all those things, you say, no, it's because of the Lord our God that the nations shall run to Zion and submit to the Lord Christ Almighty. It is transacted by Yahweh Himself and the Holy One of Israel for He has glorified you. Truly, a blessed invitation.
The Call to Believe and Repent (vv. 6–13)
Let's look now, secondly, at the call to believe and repent, or an explanation of what the prophet means. Notice his call to believe and repent, verses six and seven. It's already said generically, come. Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.
Yeah, it might be you. Might be thirsty. You might be saying, yes, I'm a sinner, starting to understand this. Sin isn't just about those things I do out there.
But sin is a matter of the heart. Sin is a matter of the thoughts. Sin is a matter of the intellect. Sin is a matter of the mind.
Sin is a matter of the orientation, to whom am I bowing down to. So what does he mean when he says, come? He's already said, without money, without price. So he doesn't mean I've got to go to my bank first.
I have to go to the ATM, I have to make a withdrawal. He doesn't mean I have to sell my house or I have to sell my car and then bring that silver and gold and lay it out before the Lord and say, you know, I want to come to this invited feast. He explains it for us.
The Instrument of Faith
And the first thing we need to appreciate is the instrument of faith. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. That's faith.
That's faith. What is the call in the New Testament in terms of response to the gospel? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Isn't that beautiful?
Without money, without price, you see, your works don't impress God. Your money doesn't impress God. The one who comes must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Belief on the gospel. What's John's recurring emphasis in John's gospel?
Belief on the gospel. What marks apostolic preaching in the Book of Acts? If you take your concordance down from your shelf, or you look at your concordance on your iPhone, or you look at your concordance on your computer, do you know what word you'll never find in the Book of Acts? Kind of surprising.
You never find the word love. No, I'm not suggesting that love is absent in the Book of Acts. I'm not suggesting that God hates all mankind and all mankind hates God. There is a redeemed community operating in the Book of Acts.
We see the evidences of love. The people sell their stuff and they give to the needs of others. Certainly that is born out of a heart of charity. But you'll notice when the apostles went town to town, city to city to preach, they did not say, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
God loves you and wants you to realize your potential. God loves you and he wants you to unleash and have vision and do amazing things. No, they preach the gospel. The gospel is the historic, revealed, Christ-centered message that Jesus came into this world to live, to die, and to rise again.
Once they presented the facts of the gospel, they then called upon men Synonymously, we see repent, Consider this on Wednesday night. Those are two sides of the same coin. They are used in various places in the book of Acts separately. We see them used together.
And when one is absent, we can be sure, when one is stated, we can be sure that the other is presupposed. In other words, when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we repent from our sin. Repentance, first and foremost, is not the fruit of repentance. We look at things like giving up smoking or not looking at internet pornography or not eating an extra donut after dinner as repentance.
But you see, people can do that for behavior modification. People do that to control their health. People do that to control their whatever. The fruits of repentance are born out of a change of mind.
That's what repentance is. It is a change of mind. It is intellectual first and then fruits flow as a result. Just because you stop this or that doesn't necessarily mean you've repented.
It's the mind. The Lord God Almighty calls upon us through the apostles to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to repent of our sin. Two sides of the one coin. Where one is mentioned, the other is certainly presupposed.
We need to seek the Lord. We need to call upon Him while He is near.
Urgency: Call Upon Him While He Is Near
Notice the sense of urgency that the prophet laces in that statement. Call upon Him while He is near. What does that imply? It implies a time when He may not be near.
It implies a time when either A, Jesus returns and consummates the age, or B, you die and you can no longer call upon the Lord. Then you'll be nearer than you want in judgment, and in condemnation, and in wrath, and in fury, and in those words that Jesus says, depart from me, I never knew you. Call upon him while he is near. Some of you young people and children, I suspect it's in your head.
When I hit 40, My life will just about be over then, so I'll believe the gospel. It's amazing, when you're 10, 40 seems very old. It's a fool's errand. It's crazy.
Call upon him while he is near. Call upon him while there's gospel preaching. Call upon him while your mommy's reading the gospel of Matthew to you at night. Now is the acceptable time.
Today is the day of salvation. The prophet's language here ought to terrify you if you're not a Christian. Call upon Him while He is near. There's a time coming when He may not be near.
When that proffer of mercy is over. When you die in your sin, or when the Lord Christ does come to judge the living and the dead, and you are found outside of Him. call upon him while he is near. The prophet has a sense of urgency.
The Necessity of Repentance
Notice the necessity of repentance. Chapter, verse 7a. One man says, we come to the Lord as we are, but not to stay as we are. It is the way and the thoughts of man that needs to be repented of.
Again, it's not just stop going here or stop doing that. First, it is to believe on the Lord Jesus, to repent of your sin, And then the actions God willing will follow in a life of sanctification. You will put off sin. You will put on righteousness.
You will stumble. You will fall. You will go back to the Lord Christ. You will seek His forgiveness.
You will plead 1 John 1, 9. You will plead Psalm 25, 11. You will plead Proverbs 28, 13. But in that initial coming to Christ, believe on Him.
Repent from your sins. And then notice the gracious enticement. Again, God not only gives the explanation, but he specifies his intention. Seek him, call upon him, forsake your way, forsake your thoughts, return to the Lord, and then notice this in verse 7b, and he, the Lord, he, God, will have mercy on him. and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Isn't that beautiful?
That's gospel logic. You see, man's logic is this. I need to get clean first. I need to fix these areas before I come to Christ.
I need to stop doing that. I need to quit doing that. I need to quit going there. I need to get some things right before I go to Jesus.
That's not what the text says. The text says, believe on the Lord Jesus. The text says, repent of your sin. And the text says that God will have mercy on him.
And to our God, notice, for he will abundantly pardon. Isn't that great? Just take it from me this morning. You are an abundant sinner.
You say, well, you don't know me. But I know God's word, at least in that area. And he says, you're an abundant sinner. You see, without abundant mercy, none of us are helped.
Without abundant mercy, none of us are saved. Without abundant mercy, there is no hope. Every single one of us are abundant sinners who stand in need of abundant mercy, and this God through his word, by his spirit promises that those who seek, those who forsake, those who call upon the Lord, which I think is just one act, coming, he will pardon. Spurgeon spoke to this issue of thinking that we need to clean ourselves up before we come to Jesus.
He says, oh, there be men that quite misunderstand the gospel, They think that righteousness qualifies them to come to Christ, whereas sin is the only qualification for a man to come to Jesus. He says, good old Crisp, this is Tobias Crisp, good old Crisp says, he's quoting now, righteousness keeps me from Christ. You see, I'm certain that in a setting like this, when we talk about the wicked forsaking his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Our minds, our inclination, our hearts go to the worst things we can imagine.
They got to stop smoking crack. They got to stop snorting cocaine. They got to stop stealing money. They've got to stop doing those yucky things.
How many of us, for a moment, entertain, I need to stop being proud and arrogant and self-righteous and somehow thinking God accepts me because I don't smoke? Or God accepts me because I don't look at Facebook. Or God accepts me because I don't do such and such. That is every bit as abominable, and probably more so than sins that we so commonly see as being really bad.
Crisp says, righteousness keeps me from Christ. Not crack cocaine. Not piles of money, not prostitutes, not my lusts. Righteousness keeps me from Christ.
The whole have no need of a physician but they that are sick. Now what Jesus says in Matthew 9, remember that? He calls Levi, follow me. He calls Matthew, follow me.
Matthew leaves the tax office and Matthew follows Jesus. What does Matthew then do? He throws a feast. And then Matthew invites a pretty interesting client list.
He brings sinners. He brings other tax collectors. He brings people that are categorized like him. Really bad and yucky people.
Well, the Pharisees do not miss this, and the Pharisees are thinking among themselves, this man goes and eats with sinners. In fact, they peg a few of his disciples as they come out of the house. Why does your master, why does your rabbi, why does the teacher, why does he dine with sinners? Jesus hears.
Jesus says what Crisp is alluding to. The healthy don't need a physician. If your heart's working properly, your arms are hanging properly, your legs are functioning properly, you're probably not gonna walk to the hospital. It's the sick that need the hospital.
Watch Jesus' point. The Son of Man came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Good old Ralph Barnard used to say, if sin is damning its thousands, religion is damning its tens of thousands. Just because you look good and polished and nice doesn't mean that you're accepted in the beloved.
Good old Crisp says, righteousness keeps me from Christ. The whole have no need of a physician but they that are sick. And then I love what Chris goes on to say, sin makes me come to Jesus when sin is felt. Sin makes me come to Jesus.
He says, and in coming to Christ, the more sin I have, the more cause I have to hope for mercy. That's gospel logic. That's Psalm 2511 logic. That's where in the Psalter we read, For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity.
Why? For it is great. come to Christ because you are great sinners. And He provides abundant mercy and grace, and He forgives, He washes, He justifies, He cleanses, He sanctifies, and He will ultimately glorify all the ones the Father gives Him, and the ones who come to Him, they will certainly not be cast out. It truly is a gracious invitation.
Then this is finally at the reasons given for this in verses 6 and 7. He gives this call to repentance and faith. And then verses 8 to 13, he refers to the ways of God, the absolute dependability of the Word of God, and the future bliss of the people of God. We'll be quick here.
But
The Ways of God and Efficacy of His Word
notice the ways of God, verses 8 and 9. This is one of those passages that unfortunately is misunderstood. People come to verses 8 and 9, they say, well, we can't know anything about God. Because he says right here, my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. We think, or people unfortunately think, well, we can't know anything about God whatsoever. No, God in his word has revealed his thoughts, hasn't he? That's what we're doing.
We're studying those thoughts. God in His Word has revealed His ways. He created the world. He governs the world.
He redeems sinners from the world. That can't be what He means that the sinner has no contact whatsoever with the living and true God. I think the context helps us out. Seek the Lord.
Forsake your ways, forsake your thoughts, for they're not mine. God is holy and you are sinful. That's what repentance is all about. Stop seeking those things that orient you to this world and to your lusts.
Because God's thoughts are high, because God's ways are high, the one returning to him must forsake his own. Oswald says, our ways and thoughts have been perverted by original sin, and it is only as we turn from them to God and His mercy that we can ever have peace with Him and live lives that will be truly productive. So repent, because you're not thinking God's thoughts after Him. Repent because the Word of God is absolutely dependable and trustworthy.
In other words, everything specified by the prophet in this message, everything specified by preachers on earth today in this message is to be trusted in. It is most certain. That's what verses 10 and 11 highlight. He says, as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth in blood, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.
So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Now probably we don't appreciate verse 10 as we would if we lived in an arid climate. Our tendency is to complain about rain, isn't it? Well, not me, Pastor.
I love rain all the time. That's why I live in Chilliwack. It's just wonderful. Most of you, most of us, not you, most of us, murmur a little bit.
I came from Southern California. I've got to say, rain was cool when I first got here. And it still is. But when you're in month three, it can be a little depressing.
Right? It only ever rains. Look at what he likens his word to. What happens if rain doesn't come from heaven?
We die. What happens if rain doesn't come from heaven? Let me just say it again. We die.
The prophet here, or God through his prophet is underscoring the importance of his word. the necessity of His Word, and the efficacy of His Word. Just as rain is absolutely crucial for life on this earth, so is the gospel for life in the earth today. Just as the rain actually does water the ground and saturate it and make it a place where growth can occur, so does the Word of God. Just as the rain functions according to God's mind and plan, so does His Word.
You know, for those of you who have been here any time, you know that I've often said most sermons, indirectly or directly, are about Christians needing to read their Bibles more. When pastors go to conferences, they have a pastor tell them, you need to read your Bible more. When Christians go to conferences, there may be, you know, all kinds of corollary thoughts and all that, but if we focus in and we find the main theme, what's the main theme? You need to read your Bible more.
The prophet Isaiah, in this gracious invitation, is telling his hearers, you need to read your Bible more. Because it's in the Bible that you learn of these things. It's in the gospel that you learn of Christ. It's in the gospel that you learn of blood atonement.
It's in the gospel that you learn of your sin. It's in the gospel that you learn of sin's demerit. It's in the gospel you learn of God's wrath. It's in the gospel that you learn the way of acceptance with God through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
As important as rain is to this earth, so is the word of the living God to sinners in this earth. Deuteronomy 8, Matthew 4 are not kidding. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. I've already highlighted verses 12 and 13 point to the future, points to the future bliss of God's people.
A little bit of the language is set in the midst of other prophecies in this passage. Just suffice it to say the people of God will rejoice The curse shall be lifted, and in the new heavens and the new earth, it is that transformed humanity that reflects the victory and the majesty, the sovereignty, and the power of God Almighty.
Application
Well, in conclusion, with reference to this gracious invitation, God the Lord calls you to come. He does it four times. Three times in verse one. and one time in verse 3. In other words, if you leave this morning, please consider that one of the primary themes of the message was come to the Lord, come to Christ, come to the waters, come satisfy your spiritual thirst, come take this feast that God has offered through His Son.
God the Lord instructs you on what it means to come. So you cannot leave here and say, well, I just don't know what it all means. Seek the Lord. Call upon Him.
That means believe the truth. As you have heard it, believe it. Turn from your sins. Flee to the Lord Christ.
Come to the one alone in whom there is forgiveness and acceptance. Be that prodigal. Be that one running. Or the father runs to him and he comes back.
And initially, he's still just trying to wheel and deal. You need to come to the Lord Christ most high. God the Lord promises mercy and abundant pardon. Secondly, the accomplishment of redemption.
The reason why this invitation can be given is because of what the servant does according to 53. One man says it this way, when people respond to the Lord's word calling them to seek, forsaken return, the effective power of that word brings them into an experience of the love, forgiveness, and peace of God, and lifts them into membership of a new world of eternal duration. This is what the servant accomplished. Thirdly, I've already sketched it briefly.
You need to hear it again. I realize that everybody probably has a phone, and on that phone you probably have a Bible. I know that sounds like a nursery rhyme, but I won't continue therein. Get a Bible.
Get a hard copy. Get something that you can carry with you. Get something you refer to during preaching. Something that you read during the week.
If the Word of God is as important as Isaiah 55 mentions, highlights, necessitates, underscores, again, all the imperatives in the first couple verses. Listen carefully to me. Incline your ear to me. Hear.
You see, the God of Israel was not the God you pictured. The God of Israel was not represented by idols. The God of Israel was not big on the visual arts. He abominated the visual arts.
Do not make representations, because how can you pour the infinite into the finite? The God of Israel was a speaking God. The God of Israel is a revealing God. The God of Israel calls upon men, women, boys and girls, to incline your ear to me, to hear, to listen carefully.
He likens his word to the life-giving power of rain itself. If that is true, then read the Bible. If that is true, then attend to the preaching of the Bible. If that is true, pay attention when the Bible is being preached.
It's not only rude to sit there and yawn or sleep or look at your watch, it is to resist God Almighty. There's a story, I forget the name of the particular man, but he was preaching And I think it was before a king of England. The king of England did something untoward, something like he wasn't really interested in what this man was preaching. He says, look, if it was only me here standing before you, if it was only me standing here telling you something from my heart, no problem.
You don't have to pay attention. But when the king of the jungle, the lion, roars, everybody pays heed. You listen when God's Word is preached. And then you take it and you internalize it.
You chew it up. You swallow it. You feast upon it. It is the Word of the living God.
So please, take the prophet's encouragement. Come to the Lord Jesus by all means. Take the prophet's encouragement. Value the Holy Scripture.
Take the prophet's explanation. Come means to seek, it means to call, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and repent from your sin. And may I suggest that you take the prophet's interrogation to heart. If you leave here, again, resisting the Holy Spirit.
If you leave here again, rejecting the gospel, why? Why? Why do you spend your money on that which does not satisfy? Why do you weigh out your silver on that which is not bread?
Or in the language of one of God's other prophets, why will ye die? Turn, turn and live is what God through Ezekiel says. Do not stay away. Call upon Him while He is near.
If God is moving you now, believe. Come, be saved, and know the joy of everlasting life.
Closing Prayer
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for its clarity, we thank You for the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the promise that You do pardon, that You pardon abundantly, and that You are God full of mercy. Lord, I pray for each and every one here, does not know you, that you would work in their hearts, work in the secret place, and draw them unto your Son, that they may know the joy of being found in Him. Not having their own righteousness, which is from the law, but that righteousness which is from you, through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.
And for believers, God, give us grace to truly appreciate and to truly marvel at what you have done for us in the person and in the work of our Lord and Savior. Help us to never tire, to never lose interest in hearing the gospel. But may it always refresh us, and may it always exhilarate us, and may it always nourish us. And we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.