Seek the LORD
Isa 55:6-7
6 Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. 7 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.
NIV
Seek the LORD
(Is. 55:6-11)
Intro:
A. Jesus was surrounded by tax-collectors and “sinners.” What that means is Jesus spent time with spiritually outcast people. If we think about the church today, how would we describe what expect things to be like when we come together each Sunday for worship? How would a person feel who is was not raised in Churches of Christ and maybe has very little religious background? Matthew West has a song called, “Let the Truth Be Told.” I want to read you part of the lyrics from that song: (READ)
B. How true are those words from that song? How many of us say “we’re ok” when the truth is we’re broken. So when Jesus was surrounded by these tax-collectors and “sinners,” a group of Pharisees and scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
C. Let me ask you, “Were they tax-collectors and people who didn’t keep the Law correctly?” I believe the answer is “yes.” They were not as spiritually sound as the Pharisees and the Scribes. They didn’t always live, act, talk and keep the law like they should. But here is something else I believe, they knew it. They knew they had a spiritual problem, but Jesus offered them a solution more than accusation. He invited them to come to God’s table, God’s spiritual house, God’s love and in turn, God would help them see what He desired as far as repentance is concerned.
D. So the stories of the lost sheep, lost coin and prodigal son are told to help them know that God desires them and can help them to change in ways they didn’t realize.
I. Come To Me
A. Isaiah shares the love and compassion of God to the people and tells the people to “come.” READ Is. 55:1-3.
B. Look at who Isaiah is talking to. It the people of Judah, the kingdom of Israel, who should have had a great relationship with the LORD but don’t.
C. I am mess, but I am a forgiven mess. I am not forgiven grudgingly by God, but with open arms. I am the son in the story of the Prodigal Son who breaks his father’s heart, runs from home so he can sow his wild oats, and in the pig pen of life realizes the love that he so longingly desired was given to him at home. In repentance that young man comes home, but the father does not grudgingly go out to meet him, the father, God, runs to meet the unworthy child, me, and gives grace, love, forgiveness and acceptance.
D. God crying out to his own people, “Come and drink! Come to the water freely. Come, buy win and milk without money and without cost.” It is an invitation FROM God to come TO God; the only one who can satisfy.
E. When Jesus met the woman at the well in Samaria he offered her “living water.” Do you remember her replay? “Give me this water so I will not be thirsty or have to keep coming here.” (John 4:15). Isn’t that what you want also? “God, give me water so that I won’t get thirsty.” There is that longing and need inside that cries out to be filled, but only God can fill it. We as Christian seek to fill it in our own ways that sometimes look and sound good. If I just do this right then God will like me. What we don’t seem to get is that God has spent all of time proving he loves us. Jer. 2:13 says that “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
II. Seek the LORD
A. Listen to what Isaiah says (Is. 55:6-7). There are three parts to verse. The first is for me to seek and call upon God. I cannot seek the Lord while seeking my own pleasures. I cannot seek the Lord while living in a sinful manner. I cannot seek the Lord by attending worship but never worshipping the God I come before. I seek the Lord when I turn to Him. It is a humbling of myself to come before the great I AM, yet I am coming before the one who loves me.
B. The second teaching from this passage is that we need to seek the Lord – now follow this – “while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” Is God playing hide-and-seek with us? Is God difficult to find? No! It means this invitation has an end point. The idea is that if we don’t see the urgency in seeking God, if we don’t take advantage of the invitation, the opportunity for us to repent and turn to God may end. In our world we have lost the sense of urgency. “I will change when I get older. I will come to God after I have done what I want to do. I will start getting right when feel like it.” Do you know what those types of phrases mean? It means you are more interested you than you are in God.
C. The third part takes us back to the opening verses. The third part (vs 7) is to forsake ourselves and return to the Lord. That’s how we experience God’s pardon. It is coming to God because I am spiritually thirsty and all that I have tried has failed to satisfy me. God offers me the guarantee that everything is fulfilled in and by Him.
Conclusion:
A. John most likely gives us the final written words of God to mankind in the book of Revelation. As he closes out that great revelation that he has experienced, he says these words (READ Rev. 22:17). Did you recognize those words? Drink for free, just like Isaiah said, now John tells us God is saying one more time.
B. As Isaiah 55 comes to a close, Isaiah says that God’s word will not return to him void. Then he says, “For you shall go out in joy and be led in peace.” (vs 12)
C. The greatest joy is knowing I am saved and loved by the creator of the universe. I get to spend time with God who spoke and things came into being. I bask in the love of God who gave himself so I could live with him. I want to drink deeply from the life-giving water of God. I pray you do also.