Early this morning the Lord woke me up with this very familiar passage of scripture from the book of Isaiah Chapter 55. The scripture is:
6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
This passage of scripture is a call-to-action scripture. It tells the reader that there is something that they need to do and that there is a limited time or conditional situation that they will have this opportunity before it is no longer possible.
People believe that they are always able to see the Lord or call on the Lord. Men and Women, Boys and Girls believe that God will always be there ready to help and answer their prayer regardless of how long they wait or how little they prioritize their relationship with the Lord. The bible teaches us that there comes a time when God’s spirit ceases to draw you, or you have become so used to hearing his still small voice calling you that you are not longer able to hear it. God has been calling and drawing you for your whole life but you continue to put yourself first. What you want to do. Your plans, your wishes your desires…..and now you can come and sit in a church service where the presence and power of God fills the room and not feel anything stirring in your heart. You can hear a preacher share deep and profound things of God from his word while your mind drifts to some other self-gratifying, leisure activity you hope to engage in the future. The activity that will finally bring you the joy and fulfilment your soul is thirsting for.
As we open this passage of scripture in Isaiah 55:1 we see the spirit of God speaking through the prophet with a call of attention:
Isaiah 55
1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
John 7:37-39
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
***Jesus is calling you this morning. Ho! Attention! Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Are you spending your life wasting away on the things that will never satisfy you?
***First Point of the Message: Jesus is calling, are you listening.
I see people everyday walking. I love to walk myself. It makes me feel good. Why? Because I am not running. Walking tells me I am purposely changing my location but I am doing it under my will, my control, my schedule. When I walk I am not in a hurry that is why I am walking. If I was in a hurry I would be driving…..or running…..But the truth is if I was running I would not run very far and then I would have to lay down and take a nap. So walking is just right……..But I have to tell you some of you people make me have to pray extra as I see you walking. Why you ask? You guys have headphones on or earbuds in and you are walking with your back to the traffic. You have so much more faith in the drivers than I do. What am I saying? I am saying that Jesus is calling you today but I am not sure you are listening. We cannot hear the voice of God because we are filling our minds with every other voice or sound.
Recently on a Wednesday night in the Joy Rangers we learned the story of Samuel as he was a little boy living in the temple with the priest Eli and his family. Samuel had laid down to sleep when the Lord called him and said:
1 Samuel 3
1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.
2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;
3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;
4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.
5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.
6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.
7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.
8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.
9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
***God goes on to speak to Samuel and tell him of the judgement that God is going to bring on the house of Eli because he did not correct his sons but let them do vile things in the house of God…….
My friends in Psalm 103:8-14 we read:
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
***But listen to what God says to Samuel regarding his judgement on Eli:
1 Samuel 3:11-15
11 And the Lord said to Samuel, Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.
12 In that day I will perform against Eli all things which I have spoken concerning his house: when I begin, I will also make an end.
13 For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.
14 And therefore I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever.
15 And Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel feared to shew Eli the vision.
***First Point of the Message: Jesus is calling, are you listening.
***2nd Point of the Message: God is merciful and longsuffering, but his love requires correction and direction in our lives.
In the book of 1st Peter we hear the heart of Peter, a disciple that learned from experience what it is like to be in relationship with God and receive correction and direction from him. Peter was bold and outspoken. Jesus loved Peter so much that he quickly corrected him when got out of line. One time Jesus even called Peter Satan…
Matthew 16:21-26
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
***Later as Peter is writing his letter to the new believers in the Church he talks about suffering and the difference between suffering persecution for Jesus Christ, or just suffering persecution because you got your nose in everyone else’s business.
1 Peter 4:16-19
16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.
17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
***First Point of the Message: Jesus is calling, are you listening.
***2nd Point of the Message: God is merciful and longsuffering, but his love requires correction and direction in our lives.
Isaiah 55
3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.
***Continuing in Isaiah 55 verse 6. This is our key scripture today:
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.
*** At the opening of this message I made the statement that people believe that they are always able to see the Lord or call on the Lord. Probably a better way to say this is people live their life in such a way that to the outside observer they appear to put everything else as a priority over their relationship with God.
Pastor Doug has made the statement several times that you can tell very much what is important to someone when you look at their day planner and their monthly bank statement. We value the things we invest in and we spend time doing.
*** The 3rd point of the message today: There comes a time when God cannot be found.
6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near…..
I want to spend some time teaching you from God’s word this morning, so you understand the principles of God’s word around this scripture. In the notes section of my Dake’s Study Bible, Dake describes six (6) conditions where the bible suggest that men cannot find God:
- When they turn their hearts away from him and will not hear:
Matthew 13:13-15
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Jeremiah 11:10-11
10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
- When they mock God and scorn at his dealings until calamity comes:
Psalm 95:7-11
7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
- When they become too proud and stubborn to humble themselves before him:
Numbers Chapter 16 records the story of Korah’s Rebellion and God’s judgement.
Proverbs 29:1-3
1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
3 Whoso loveth wisdom rejoiceth his father: but he that keepeth company with harlots spendeth his substance.
- When they neglect to settle all maters with him until Judgement falls:
Acts 5:1-11 we see the story of a husband and wife that lied to the Holy Ghost.
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Continuing the conditions where the bible suggest that men cannot find God:
- When they die in sin:
Hebrews 9:27-28
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
Luke 16:19-31
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
*** The sixth and perhaps most sobering condition that God cannot be found by man seeking him is found in Matthew 12 when Jesus says there is no forgiveness to someone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12:31-32
31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
***First Point of the Message: Jesus is calling, are you listening.
***2nd Point of the Message: God is merciful and longsuffering, but his love requires correction and direction in our lives.
*** The 3rd point of the message today: There comes a time when God cannot be found.
**Listen to the words of Paul as he is writing to Timothy:
2 Timothy 4:1-8
1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
***In closing lets read the rest of Isaiah 55 starting with verse 6
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.
***4th and closing point of the message: Return to the Lord and he will have mercy and pardon you.
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.
Benediction Scripture:
Nehemiah 8:10
In this passage, Ezra the priest had just finished reading the Law of Moses to the Israelite assembly. Upon hearing the words, the people began to weep out of conviction and mourning. To comfort them, Nehemiah (alongside Ezra and the Levites) stepped in to shift their posture from mourning to celebration.
10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.