Isaiah 55:6–13
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier 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.
There is the Gospel presented in this text that may often be missed in our casual reading.
From the seeking of God; to the wicked forsaking their way and returning to the Lord; and the Lord bringing an abundant life through his word, which we see as likened to the rain that bring life to the earth; to the total unbounded prosperity which fills the heart with joy for what God has provided.
In the end, the blessing is eternal and the glory is to the LORD alone,
and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. (V13)
In the first part of the message this morning, you will see the Lord providing you a limitation of opportunity to take advantage of.
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
It is THE TIME-BOUND OPPORTUNITY
In the second part of this message, you may find chastisement. Just as Isaiah, through the Lord, first chastises the people of Israel, so too should you find yourselves the subject of Gods focus in this text, but not without hope;
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
This we see is THE HEAVEN-BOUND REALITY, the eternal hope of that OPPORTUNITY that went before.
In the third point we will have our focus on the explanatory portion of the passage that reveals to you WHY you should take heed to the Lord and to understand HOW HIS WORD fulfils its work, primarily in the Everlasting Gospel.
In the final portion of the text, you will see the UNBOUNDED PROSPERITY to those who have attended to that which went before, for their own eternal joy.
The Time-bound Opportunity
Isaiah 55:6
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
We have all seen the countdown clocks on shopping sites on the internet, “Limited Time Only” specials hanging in windows of store fronts, End of Financial Year and Black Friday sales coming about annually to take advantage of, Boxing Day sales where multitudes of people run over themselves and risk both life and limb just to nab a big ticket item at cents on the dollar, so we are not ignorant that there is in reality opportunities to take advantage of “While Stocks Last”, a LIMITATION is imposed but not before the opportunity is presented.
The reality described above reveals the nature of Man for the temporal prosperity of life. But in this text, God reveals to man the opportunity for UNBOUNDED PROSPERITY in the riches of eternal life.
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
No matter how we might interpret this text, it is a time-bound opportunity that is set to expire.
“Seek ye the LORD WHILE he may be found, call upon him WHILE he is near”;
It may be true for us to think that in a very real way it is God who found us and not we that found him. Times in the depths of our sorrow and pain, it seems in a very real way that the LORD found us.
In those times in our life there is no strength to search out God.
In times of tremendous trial of life, there are often far too many things occupying our minds. We may be in the midst of a financial crisis in our lives, sometimes brought about by our own decisions and sometimes life takes advantage of those choices to bring about an end that we did not have the wisdom to foresee.
And then there are those rare times when the wind of God blows against the four corners of our homes and we escape with the skin of out teeth.
It is in those times that we cry out to the Lord rather than actively seek him, like Jonah in the belly of hell;
Turn to
Jonah 2:1–4
1 Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish’s belly, 2 And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. 3 For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. 4 Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.
Beloved these are those times when we do not actively seek the LORD to find him, and yet if we cry unto him he will find us.
Nevertheless the charge is there to “Seek the LORD”.
If the truth be told we have EVERY OPPORTUNITY to “Seek the LORD” well before those dire times come when we feel we have no choice. That man does not seek after God until it is his last resort, is so common it’s almost laughable, and yet God is still willing to hear our cry.
But are we willing to seek him before the trials of life come?
Are we willing to “seek the LORD while he may be found”?
Many are the opportunities that we are given to seek the LORD, and, while the passage explicitly tells us the opportunity is limited, it also tells us explicitly that “he may be found”.
Turn to Jeremiah 29
The southern kingdom of Judah have finally gone into captivity. They had been warned time and again against their sin and told again and again that their sin is going to have them cast away from God, but they would not hear the word of the Lord as spoken by all the prophets that warned them.
But now their time is near the end and they ready for the fulfilment of all God has said.
YET he still gives them hope, but leaves the responsibility to turn with them;
Jeremiah 29:11–13
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
This is a confirmation of the promise; though the opportunity is limited, it has a promise of infinite reward should it be taken advantage of.
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
“Call ye upon him while he is near”
There are times indeed when God seems nearer than other times and yet it is assumed in the text that we can individually identify both that he may be found, but also when he is near.
Now, his “nearness” is most often NOT identified by how GOOD WE FEEL about something, this may be true more often than not by those who have already found and been found of him, but to those who are lost or who have distanced themselves from God, the nearness of the LORD may be evidenced by BITTER EXPERIENCE.
Conviction of the heart is attended to by God to bring about either humility to repentance, or hardness to resentment.
When you find yourself convicted by the preaching of the word of God, when you think that the man with the tie is speaking directly to you and you DON’T LIKE IT, it may be that the LORD has given you an opportunity to “call upon him while he is near”.
Beloved, this is a TIME-BOUND OPPORTUNITY.
In other words, IT IS LIMITED.
That is the most evident thing to see in the text.
The greatest limitation that we are ALL IMPLICITLY AWARE OF IS…..?
Life.
Imagine if EVERY countdown clock for sales on internet sites remained at one second to midnight, at any moment there would be that final ‘tick’ but the hand graciously remains paused…
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
The Heaven-Bound Reality
Isaiah 55:7
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
There is a fundamental problem with the state of mind of the wicked, an ignorance as to his way of life that leads him to an end that is anything but what he expected.
Proverbs 14:12
12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Before I forsook my way the path that I was leading both myself and my young family, was to death, even eternal death. I was a damned man for my sin, and neither myself nor my wife Maria knew the Lord.
As the man in the relationship, there was a strong chance I would not only lead my wife to hell but my children also, because there was a way which seemed right to me, but the end thereof was the ways of death.
There is another great proverb that tells the present truth of ALL the WICKED, all who, like me, preferred to live life their own way and NOT TURN to the Lord, NOT “forsake his way” or “his thoughts” as we are told in verse 7.
It is a text found in Proverbs 10:28, and it simply says;
Proverbs 10:28
28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
In other words, the righteous have an eternal hope that will end in gladness; they are those who have indeed forsaken their old ways which they KNEW were wicked, they have changed the “thoughts” that they used to deceive themselves into trusting that their wickedness will somehow be rewarded in this life, and have no consequence in the next, and now their hope shall indeed be gladness.
But not so for the wicked, the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
In other words, all the vain hope that they have of a good end will completely disappoint them as they receive the reward of their deeds.
The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death”, it is the due reward of wickedness and the wages paid is set according to the proper penalty rate, WITH LOADING for good measure.
Death, is the wages for sin, and judgment for sin is the ultimate expectation of the foolish who would not forsake their way.
No man lives to himself!
Never had I given thought that my sin would not only affect my eternity but have the very real potential of affecting Marias and my children, had I not forsaken my way.
Men, those of you who are fathers and those yet to become one, know of a certainty that God has set you as the leaders in your homes and whether you like it or not, whether you accept it or not and whether your wife is determined to take the reigns from you, what will not change is the influence you have on your family in far greater proportion that that of your wife. Why? Because the order that the Lord has set cannot be delegated.
Studies over and over have shown that in general, where the fathers go the children follow. Not in ALL cases, but the majority. 80% of households with a truly born again, saved father ONLY, come to Christ in their lifetime. The opposite is true if ONLY the mother is a saved woman, 20% only come to Christ.
Men, you have an influence in your family.
The REALITY was that, as a wicked man, I had to change my way and I was open to the reality of God. I searched, I sought for the Lord, even diligently. Science and Logic were the two main tools I employed.
Now, when I say I was wicked, it is important to understand how the Bible presents the wicked. In short, the wicked are ALL THOSE WHO CHOOSE THEIR SIN OVER GOD.
In other words, the wicked are those who would rather die in their sin and separate from God, than forsake their way and return to God.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
You see the greatest reality of all is that God desires to forgive sin, THAT ALONE IS THE HEAVEN-BOUND REALITY, if man will only be willing forsake his way and his thoughts, for the LORD.
The LORD can take away your sin from you, and even remove some of the most habitual sins you struggle with, but ONLY if you are willing to forsake them.
But in turning to him, he can make our crimson sin as white as snow, he can perfectly clean us, and he does so when we turn to him.
Turn back to Isaiah 1
Isaiah 1:18–20
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
There is a Heaven-Bound Reality, but it comes ONLY through your willingness to forsake your wicked ways and thoughts to return to the Lord through the one who died to save you from your sin.
There is a cost.
But what of the cost of not doing so?
Proverbs 10:28
28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
The Abundance-Bound Causality
Isaiah 55:8–11
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Verse 8 and 9 demonstrate the disparity between us and God, and in this case it is applied to the context going before concerning the wicked and God’s favour toward him IF he would turn from his way.
The legal system that we have around the world will punish the wicked not pardon them.
There is a cost to society for the acts of the wicked and that cost must be paid for by the wicked and not by society. The only way for that to occur is to give sentence against the wicked at his own cost that society be not burdened by his sin, and hope the wicked are reformed.
While a man yet lives, God offers pardon not punishment. While the man yet lives, God’s mercy for him is infinite and he is ready to forgive….while the man yet lives!
Death offers no such clemency. Death seals the end for which man lived his life.
We need to understand that it is not as if God is not angry with the wicked while they are in their sin. To the contrary; Psalm 7:11 tells us “God is angry with the wicked every day”.
Two Psalms later God tells of the end of the wicked;
Psalm 9:17
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
So it is not as if God will not judge man at the end of his days and punish eternally that which man has lived all his days, but if he turns to the LORD while he lives, he shall live evermore.
But how can this be? How can God forgive sin?
Aristotle asked this same question in a letter to Plato, saying;
I know it is for God to forgive sin, but frankly I do not see how.
You see all sin has a cost, and that cost can not be born by the victims of sin if justice is to prevail. In other words, it mush be punished. If the wages of Sin is death, if that it what is earned by sin, and the sinner dies in his sin, then his punishment is damnation.
For God to be just, the punishment for sin must be absolute, but how does God extend both mercy and justice?
How can God justly pardon the wicked, when the wicked does seek the LORD while he may be found and forsake his way and return to the LORD?
Isaiah 55:8–11
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
God answers Aristotles question by first highlighting the disparity, the distinction, the infinite contrast between his thoughts and ours, between his ways and ours.
And then he brings the comparison, the similarity as he draws a parallel between the abundant provision that comes from rain as it nourishes the earth and the power of his words in the heart of man.
1 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
There is an abundance that comes from the rain of heaven as it brings forth life to all the world. In so many incredible ways, the word of God is the exact parallel as it is dispersed throughout the world throughout history.
We are seeing that today as the world has turned from God and his word, so evil prevails the world over.
When there is a drought of rain, there is a death on earth; when there is a drought of his word, the wicked abound. The parallel is very real and we are seeing it play out before our eyes as the very governments themselves are so evidently evil.
The greatest representation of God’s words came through the Gospel.
It is The Gospel that answers Aristotles dilemma, “How can a just God forgive sin?”
John 3:16 is the single most powerful passage in the Bible respecting what God had done for the wicked and it is represented ALSO in the Old Testament that you may know it was always the plan of God to pardon those who turn to him.
Turn back two chapters in your Bibles.
Isaiah 53
This passage tells you of what is called The Substitutionary Atonement, that is, that God had given to man a substitute to bear the cost of their sin to exercise both the divine attribute of justice and also that of Love and Mercy.
Isaiah 53:4–11
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
What an incredible passage as we see the Gospel in the Old Testament.
But sadly, it is not concluded in this passage alone and would leave the likes of Aristotle unsatisfied respecting the answer. Why?
Because in a court of Law it remains possible for one innocent man to sacrifice his freedom and even his life to pay for the sins of another man. If I chose to, I have the right to pay for another mans fines and those fines are perfectly paid for, never to be revisited.
But how can a sinner pay the fine of a sinner?
And even if it were a righteous man, how can he save any other than himself? Or at the most, one other?
How is a man able to pay for the sins of the wicked of the entire world?
This is where we need Gods words in the New Testament to reveal that which is meant in the Old.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
It was God the Son who sacrificed himself for the sin of the world.
It was the judge of all mankind who stood from his seat, removed the robe of authority, came down as a man, a peer of all men, laid the full cost of the fine upon the table before the condemned, returned to his seat and awaits your decision.
Will you take what he left for you to settle your debt, of will you choose to pay it yourself?
The provision made for you is abundant, will you take it with your whole heart?
Unbounded Prosperity
Isaiah 55:12–13
12 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13 Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier 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.
Well, here we have it, the joy that comes from the soul that has been forgiven all. The wicked have now forsaken their way and the unbounded joy of their heart overwhelms them.
They have been forgiven, there is no more guilt of sin, no more shame, no more sorrow, and no fear of death. They know of a certainty they have been washed by that rain that cleanses all the filth of their lives and now, they “go out with joy, and are led forth with peace”.
No one can truly express to another the unbounded prosperity that has just filled the heart and soul of the one who has believed the report of the Gospel. They have received the word of God like the dry parched earth receives the rain of heaven, and they have sprung forth to life, eternal life, life that can now be lived to the full knowing the hope that is laid before them.
They sought the Lord while he could be found, they called upon him while he was near, they forsook their way and their thoughts and returned to the Lord and he abundantly pardoned their sin, having already made the provision for it.
Now, instead of thorns there comes up the fir tree, instead of death, life is given, instead of condemnation they are justified through the blood of Christ. Now, not even the trials of life should weary us as we look for the hope set before us.
Turn to Romans 5
Romans 5:1–8
1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Beloved, this is the Gospel, this is the word that nourishes the soul of man. No more thorns, but in its place a fir tree, no more briers, but in its place the myrtle tree;
and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
The power of the words of God are sufficient to save a soul from hell;
The logic is plain, we were once dead in trespass and sin, the Gospel brought to us life, and life abundant.
Jesus said
John 10:10
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Aristotles dilemma is answered, is yours?
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