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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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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.