God's Universal Invitation

GOD'S UNIVERSAL INVITATION Spring Valley Mennonite; March 12, 2023; Isaiah 55:1-13 There is a story about a little girl with a little string of cheap pearls she wears around her neck. They are plastic and yellowed, but she is so proud of them. One night her dad comes into her bedroom and says, "Will you give me your pearls?" "No daddy," she says, "You'd look silly in pearls." The next night he asks the same question, "Will you give me your pearls?" "No daddy. They are mine and they are special." This goes on for three or four nights. The daughter finally gets upset and gives the pearls over to her dad and says, "If you really want them, you can have them." Then her dad pulls out a case and opens it. Inside the case, sitting on black velvet is a real set of glistening pearls that are beyond anything the daughter's eyes have ever seen." In Isaiah 55 the prophet speaks of things we value most, and how we so often settle for far less than our heavenly Father would provide. God has provided true spiritual food to give us life. Because our Loving Heavenly Father desires that no one should perish, He sent His Son into the world to be that spiritual bread and water. Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." Graciously our Lord offered, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and I will give him living water." These words serve to introduce a remarkable chapter in Isaiah where God extends His universal invitation to all men, for all men hunger and thirst spiritually. Isaiah is speaking words of comfort to Jews captive in Babylon. Deliverance from captivity had been promised earlier by the prophet, but he wanted the people to realize that their captivity was the result of a deeper problem: Israel had turned away from God. They were enslaved in Babylon because they were enslaved in sin. They had foolishly turned to worshipping idols, and consequently were inwardly dead in their sins. Before the exile, Israel put their trust in everything except God and, as a result, were dying of spiritual hunger and thirst. So God allowed the Babylonian exile to bring them to their senses. We all tend to look for life in all the wrong places. We seek for fulfillment and meaning horizontally when the reality is that we find life on the vertical from God. Yet those pursuits leave everyone dying of spiritual hunger and thirst. What will it take to bring us to our senses? What will it take to make us personally realize that our priority in life must be to satisfy our spiritual hunger and thirst? God clearly asks us, "Why do you spend money on bread that does not satisfy?" Turn to Isaiah 55 as God issues a universal solution and an open invitation. I. THE OPEN INVITATION Read v. 1. "Ho" is an exclamation to arouse attention, kind of like yelling "Hey!" "Listen up!", God is saying. He is making an offer to everyone. It is an offer of free food and drink, for it doesn't matter whether you have money of not-your wealth doesn't matter here. One time after a trip to Canada, I came home with a Canadian quarter. I mistakenly tried to buy something with it, and the clerk returned it to me. Canadian money doesn't spend here in Kansas. Likewise, God doesn't take our currency. This spiritual food and drink is not only without price, it is beyond price. This salvation God is offering is priceless. Man instinctively realizes the value of his soul; Jesus asked the question, "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?" The answer is that a man would give anything he has to live eternally, but the currency of man will not spend in God's economy. For the universal need of salvation from sin, God provides a universal solution: the Lamb of God was the required sacrifice, making the payment which satisfied the requirements of a Holy God. Now that the barrier between God and man has been bridged, God calls out to get our attention: "Everyone! Come and drink! It has already been paid for." But beware, for there are other voices calling, offering substitutes for the true spiritual food and drink. II. ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES (READ V. 2.) The enemy of God offers a multitude of substitutes which falsely promise to satisfy our spiritual needs. I see two false alternatives which we pursue: the first is through our physical world. Paul David Tripp describes it like this: "This physical, created world, with all its sights, sounds, locations, experiences, and relationships has no capacity to make your heart content. This physical world was designed by God to be one big finger that points you to the only place where your heart will find satisfaction and rest. Your heart will rest only when it finds its rest in God, and God alone."1 In today's world there also exists a second substitute for the genuine, a "spiritual supermarket," a virtual buffet of false spiritual choices. All these alternatives to God's banquet have a common emphasis: they all require human effort. Notice that verse 2, in speaking of the false bread which does not satisfy, tells us that these things require our money or resources to be spent. Every false religion is based upon self-effort, or what the Bible calls "works." They cost something from us. There is something WE must do to earn salvation. Even Christianity has not escaped this dangerous error. The Apostle Paul wrote the book of Galatians to warn of the heresy of "earning" God's salvation through our good works. We cannot pay for our own sins no matter how hard we work, for the price is too high. We simply lack the spiritual currency to pay. Yet that is exactly what false religion tells us. If we work hard enough, we can earn salvation. Whether it be the teaching of Buddha, Mohammed, Hinduism, Animism or any of the other "isms," they all involve self-effort. These false religions involve working our way up the ladder of spirituality so that we finally arrive at "Nirvana" or "oneness of the universe" or "Paradise." Each of these paths play to the pride of man, "I did it my way." Notice the great difference: God offers salvation as a free gift which we simply accept. The wisdom of man rejects something so simple. Amid the clamor of conflicting spiritualities we must listen carefully for God's voice (V. 2b.) In Hebrew, it is expressed as "listen, listen." Listen to God's voice as He speaks. He alone speaks truth. And once we find this truth, it is good and satisfying and brings delight. How do we find God's abundant table where we can eat and drink true spiritual food? How does one find this salvation God offers to all? I see several steps to salvation from verse 3. III. THE STEPS TO SALVATION Look at verse 3 (Read.) God calls out to get our attention, but as we look around, we observe that not everyone is listening. They are distracted, or are convinced that what they already have is nourishing They may not yet realize that their inner restlessness and yearning is a hunger for God; that their emptiness is caused by a God-shaped hole. Can you imagine a blind man trying to work a jig-saw puzzle? Until God gets a person's attention, that is about how successful man will be at solving the inner puzzle of his emptiness. He just fumbles around trying to fit things in life together. Yet God's salvation is available to everyone. It begins with carefully listening to God's voice. That is what "inclining your ear" means. It is like leaning forward, cupping your ear to hear clearly, concentrating intently to not miss a single word-that is inclining your ear. Next, we "come" to God-we hear Him speaking, and we begin to move toward Him. We listen, then come to His place of great abundance. The promise God makes to those who listen and respond is that He will make with them an "Eternal Covenant according to the faithful mercies show to David." A couple of things I want to point out in this reference to King David. One is that Isaiah is speaking to the Jewish nation, who looked back to the reign of King David as the golden age of Israel. Things had been perfect in the "good old days," especially considering their present predicament! But that golden age was only a tiny taste of what God had promised Israel for their future. God had made the promise to King David that One would come who would sit on the throne of David and reign over the whole earth, bringing unparalleled peace and prosperity. Every Israelite knew these promises and longed for this coming kingdom. Isaiah has explained that the coming Messiah would occupy this throne. They were on the far side of the cross, looking forward. We, on the other hand, are on this side of the cross. Jesus Christ is that promised Messiah. But like the Israelites, we too look forward to the earthly Kingdom of our Lord. This kingdom will be established when Christ returns. At that time, Christ will reign from David's throne in Jerusalem, and all the nations of the world will pay homage to Israel's Messiah, as spoken of in verse five (Read.) This everlasting covenant is the New Covenant which Christ instituted, and under which we live in this dispensation of grace. One more thing I would point out about David applies to the idea of mercy. As we think about King David, although he was described as a "man after God's own heart" he was far from perfect. He was guilty of adultery and murder. Yet as he confessed those sins, God extended mercy to him. The same God who extended forgiveness to an adulterer and murderer extends mercy to all those who come to Him today. The steps to salvation according to Isaiah are first, Hear God's voice. As we hear, then the Holy Spirit, Who has opened our ears, enables us to draw near to God. It is like entering a great banquet hall and seeing food spread before us. We recognize the spiritual hunger of which the voice of God has spoken, and we identify Jesus as God's provision. But we have not yet taken our seat and begun eating. IV. OUR RESPONSE TO THE INVITATION What is to be our response to the invitation God extends? For this most important of invitations, Isaiah explains further, beginning in verse six (read vv. 6-7.) There is for each person an opportune time to believe. God's Spirit draws a person and they understand the free gift of salvation. The choice is clearly before them. He has been brought into the banquet hall, and he can even see and smell the food. Now think with me for a moment: what happens if a man turns away at this point, for whatever reason? In several places, Scripture tells of people who "hardened their hearts" to God's leading. This is a process much like the building up of calluses on the hands. After a while, with continual stimulation, a thick protective covering grows. What serves as protection for the hands can be deadly to the heart. The next time that person who turned away from God hears the Gospel message, it becomes a bit easier to ignore. The next time, even easier until a hard heart is created, and God's message is only faintly heard. He no longer is moving toward God. And after a while, he is no longer able or cares to hear the truth. I believe that is what verse 6 states: "Seek God while He may be found, while He is near." There are two ways distance grows between us and God: I can move or God can move. God never moves, but we do the moving. The Gospel of love and forgiveness is always available to man, but continually rejecting the gospel results in a movement away from God. After a while, the distance becomes too great, and God's voice becomes faint. A hard heart sends a person into a Christless eternity. Today is the day of salvation: tomorrow the heart may be too hard to receive the seed of faith. But consider the person who enters the banquet hall, sees, and smells the food, and decides that he desires to sit down and eat. This decision means that he has decided to turn from his old ways and thought patterns and to follow Jesus. This is the meaning of repentance: recognizing our old ways are wrong, turning from following those ways to follow Jesus. Salvation will not come about in the life of one who wishes to retain his old life. This is why there are so many empty professions for Christ which never amount to anything. Jesus illustrated this graphically in His parable of the banquet in Matthew 22. Turn there for a moment, as we investigate this marriage feast. This is a feast of a father for his son, and the first group of guests who were invited all offered excuses for not coming. We'll begin reading in verse 8 through verse 13 (Read.) Notice the one person who didn't want to put on the proper wedding garment provided, and was thrown out. Is this not describing a person wanting salvation, but on his own terms? He desired to be part of the gathering but refused to put off the old garment of sin. Is this not a refusal to repent? Understand that repentance is not promising we will never sin again nor is it making vain promises to God. Repentance is the soul's turning away from futility toward fulfillment and satisfaction. This is the starving beggar leaving the hungry streets and moving into the mansion, leaving his dirty filthy clothes behind and putting on new clean clothing. One who desires to retain their old way of life is not serious about seeking God and turning to Him. To turn to God necessitates a willingness to turn our backs on the old life. We choose to forsake the old life. Then God gives us the ability to do so. Two things we forsake: our thoughts and our ways. God has a new way of thinking for us. He has a new road for us to walk down, hand in hand with Jesus. We may stumble off that new road and may find ourselves thinking according to our old way, but a truly saved person will be miserable there. He will come back to the new way. We forsake our ways and our thoughts and Isaiah says, "return to the Lord." Understand here the Jewish background of Isaiah's words. Israel is God's Chosen. They were like God's wife who left her husband to chase after other men. To the nation, God says "return." One true application of this returning would be to the believer who has strayed from the flock, who has gotten off the road; like the Christian who has allowed sin to flourish in his life. To such ones, these words apply: seek the Lord, call upon Him, forsake your sin and return to God. V. (Consider now) THE RESULTS OF HEEDING THE INVITATION (Read verse 7b.) What a wonderful insight into God's loving heart! Compassion and abundant pardon are waiting! This reminds me of the response of the father when his repentant and broken son came walking down the road home: God is looking and waiting for the sinner to come home. "Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling; calling dear sinner, come home." "How can this be?" we ask. Should there not be suffering and groveling and retribution demanded until the sinner proves himself worthy of salvation? Is God going to accept the murderer and the rapist and the prostitute and the drug dealer? Is He going to accept what we consider the "dregs of society?" Yes! Even mass murderers are welcome at the foot of the cross. You see, look at verses 8 and 9 (Read.) Our mercy and compassion are reserved for those who deserve it. We have great difficulty unconditionally forgiving those who have offended us. Praise God, He is different from us! There is as great a gulf between the way we naturally think and our ways and God's thoughts and ways as there is between the heaven and the earth. God's ways and thoughts are right; the thoughts and ways of man are wrong. We are to seek after God and His ways, God, and His thoughts. Where do we find His ways and thoughts? Look at verses 10 and 11 (READ.) Perhaps you have never read these verses in this context. Isaiah makes a comparison. He compares the rain and snow which fall to the earth with God's Word. God sends the rain to earth. It has a purpose, and that purpose is understood; the rain waters the ground from which food grows. God sends rais so that we might live physically. When there is no rain for extended times, everything dies. So it is with God's words of life and salvation. God sends His Word down to earth so that man might live spiritually. Just as man dies physically without rain from above, so man dies spiritually without God's Words. And just as rain accomplishes its purpose, so the word of God's good news accomplishes its purpose. It brings life to that which is dead. God's redemptive work has accomplished its purpose, and it is accomplishing its purpose today. In John Chapter 1, we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Verse 14 adds, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us." Jesus Christ is the Word which came down from heaven. Through believing in Him we have eternal life. There is a glorious future awaiting those whose hunger and thirst have been satisfied: VI. A GLORIOUS FUTURE In Genesis 3, we read of the ground being cursed because of Adam's sin, bringing forth thorns and thistles. In verses 12 and 13 of Isaiah 55 we see the lifting of that curse (read.) Instead of thorn trees will come the cypress (which requires an abundance of water.) On ground on which only nettles grow, we find the valued myrtle tree. Worthless ground will become productive. This is picture of God's fruitful people who have been redeemed, Instead of bearing thorns and prickles, we bear useful fruit. It is also a picture of the earth as it will be as Christ reigns in His future earthly Kingdom. This is all possible because God has made available His salvation through Jesus Christ. God is compassionate and merciful toward all men because his justice has been completely satisfied. He desires to take the dry ground of our lives and water it; to take the hungry and thirsty soul and fill it; to make your life fruitful and abundant. Our part? To listen to His voice; to heed His call to repentance and to newness of life, and then to follow him. Are you thirsty for God today? Do you hunger for the fullness of God? He came to satisfy and fill you. Do you know Jesus? Are you following Him closely? Is your life dry or well-watered? We have a glorious future awaiting, but also an abundant and joyful existence right now. Christian, are you like the little girl in the story, holding on to something cheap and worthless when God wants to bless you abundantly? Are you listening carefully to His voice as He speaks? Is there a need for repentance in your life? There is abundant pardon and compassion awaiting. 1 Paul David Tripp; New Morning Mercies (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014) devotional on March 9. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2