Sermon Tone Analysis

After the call to come and receive God’s satisfying salvation free of charge, the Prophet Isaiah instructs us to come in repentance also.

We are called to repent of doing things our way because God’s ways and our ways are immeasurably different.

Those who come to the Lord in repentance, ready to live life God’s way, find that He abundantly pardons.

All sinners need God’s forgiveness, His grace, and His new life.

God brings about His purpose in life and in our life by His Wonder Working Word.

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I. CALLED TO SEEK GOD AND REPENT vv.

6-7

* /“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”/

(Isaiah 55:6–7, NIV84)

#. in verse 6 we are exhorted to embrace God’s salvation when we sense His nearness

#. seek the Lord while He may be found

#. call upon Him while He is near

#. this invitation to seek and call is a universal invitation

#. in light of the fact that the Gentiles are to be included in the household of faith (vv.

4, 5), the invitation addressed to all who are wicked and men of iniquity

#. here is God’s free offer of the Gospel to all men even though God is aware of who His Elect are and are not

#.

this invitation to seek and call is a limited invitation

#. this seeking and calling upon is to take place, however, when God permits Himself to be found (such is the force of the Niphal stem)

#.

God’s Sovereign grace is apparent in these words

#.

God cannot be found at any time but only when He desires to be found

#. the two expressions together signify the repentance of faith and obedience

#. they involve an abandonment of the old way of life

#.

that old way is a life of wickedness and iniquity

#. but more than just repentance, these verses imply a whole-souled turning unto the true God in humble faith

!! A. GOD COMES NEAR TO US THROUGH HIS SON AND THROUGH HIS WORD

*/“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”/

(Hebrews 1:1–2, NIV84)

#. this New Testament verse affirms what Isaiah teaches us

#.

God comes near to us in the person of His Only Begotten Son

#. the only way we can know about God is through His Righteous Servant

#. that Righteous Servant is the ultimate Word of God

* /“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”/ (John 1:1–4, NIV84)

* /“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”/

(John 1:14, NIV84)

#. the Lord has come near to man not only in the person of His Righteous Servant, but also in Isaiah’s preaching of the Word

#. it’s a way that seems foolish to many men

* /“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

Where is the wise man?

Where is the scholar?

Where is the philosopher of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.”/ (1 Corinthians 1:18–21, NIV84)

#.

God has come near because He wants to comfort the despairing, forgive the sinner, and deliver the bound

#. it’s a message for even the most profane of sinners

* ILLUS.

Madalyn Murray O'Hair was perhaps the most notorious atheist of the 20th century.

Often profane and sarcastic, she was a powerful debater who shouted down her religious opponents.

(In a 1975 debate with Dr. W.A. Criswell, she ‘ate his lunch’).

After O'Hair mysteriously disappeared in 1995, her diaries were auctioned to pay back taxes she owed the federal government.

They reveal an unhappy human being who didn't trust even the members of the American Atheists Association.

She passed this harsh judgment on herself: "I have failed in marriage, motherhood, and as a politician."

Yet she yearned for acceptance and friendship.

In her diary she wrote six times, "Somebody, somewhere, love me."

#. what must one do to experience the love of God?

#. sinners must seek the Lord and call upon Him

#. what one is to seek is the presence of God and way of the Lord in one’s life

#. it is a call to become a new creation under God’s leadership

#.

He is ready to forgive, clean the slate and give you a new page on which to write a new history

#. we are commanded to do so before our day of grace runs out

* /“before the appointed time arrives and that day sweeps on like chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD comes upon you, before the day of the LORD’s wrath comes upon you.”/

(Zephaniah 2:2, NIV84)

#. the fire of God’s presence will either melt your heart or harden your heart

* ILLUS.

An Insurance Agent had tried repeatedly to convince a man to buy fire coverage for his home.

"No," the homeowner kept saying.

"It’s well built, and I maintain it properly.

My house will never catch fire."

But one day it did!

Imagine the look on that insurance agent’s face when the homeowner foolishly called to buy an insurance policy as smoke filled the sky and flames gutted his home.

It was way too late!

#. salvation, of course, is more than an eternal fire insurance policy, but when the sinner smells the sulphur, and feels the heat, and sees the flames, it will simply be too late to call upon the name of the Lord

#. this text teaches the folly of presumption, and of putting off until tomorrow a decision that needs to be made today

#. by paying for our sins on Calvary’s cross, Jesus has provided the only way of escape from the judgment to come

#. but we must make an important decision before we can enjoy that salvation

#. we must accept the offer while it is still good—before death overtakes us

!! B. WE COME NEAR TO GOD THROUGH REPENTANCE AND FAITH

* /“Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”/

(Isaiah 55:7, NIV84)

#. the call is to start life over again with God

#.

only if people forsake their way, which is the way of wickedness, and turn to the Lord and His way will they authentically be seeking and calling the Lord

#. seeking which is not accompanied with forsaking our former way of thinking and living is not genuine seeking

* ILLUS.

Mickey Cohen was a well-known Los Angeles gangster in the 1950's and 1960's.

Very early in life he was known as a hustler, and a runner—delivering boot-leg gin made by his older brother.

As a young man, he became an enforcer in Al Capone's gang.

He also began running card games and engaging in other illegal activities.

While in Chicago, he survived arrests, prison and at least one assassination attempt.

After the attempt on his life he moved back Los Angeles, which had been his boyhood home.

There, he partnered with Bugsy Siegel and helped Siegel create and then run The Flamingo Hotel.

In the early 1950's, Cohen was sentenced to four years in prison for tax evasion.

After his release he became something of a media celebrity.

In 1961 he was again convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to 15 years.

In 1949, one of Cohen's "associates," Jim Vaus, was converted to faith in Christ by Billy Graham at his famous Los Angeles crusade.