WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:02.560 Five, Isaiah chapter fifty-five. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:09.039 History has a way of turning on invitations. 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:26.160 In the late 1400s, a person that we know of by the name in English anyway, as Christopher Columbus, had a bold idea that they just simply sail west across the Atlantic, and there they would find the Spice Islands and Asia and India. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:34.719 Now, most experts in his time thought that the journey was too long and too dangerous, and some of them thought it was just simply impossible. 00:00:34.719 --> 00:00:40.000 But Columbus was convinced, but he needed a sponsor. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.399 So, first of all, he went to Portugal. 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:44.640 Portugal was the natural place to go. 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:47.200 They were at the time the leading maritime power. 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:58.320 They had already made their way down the coasts of Africa, had gone around the Cape of Good Hope, and were shortly thereafter to find their way over to India itself. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:08.799 But after reviewing the proposal, uh King John II of Portugal declined the invitation to be a sponsor for Christopher Columbus's journey. 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:15.840 The court of Portugal thought that the risks were too high, and so they said no. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:17.840 They declined the invitation. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:22.640 So what did Columbus do? 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:24.239 He went to Spain. 00:01:24.239 --> 00:01:28.719 And there he talked to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:36.719 And in 1492, after some rejections before, they heard once again his invitation and they said yes. 00:01:36.719 --> 00:01:39.280 And they agreed to fund the voyage. 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:45.519 They made him admiral of the ocean sea and granted him governance over any of the lands that he discovered. 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:49.920 That yes changed human history. 00:01:49.920 --> 00:02:02.560 Spain acceptance of that invitation launched an era for them of exploration, of colonialization, and started what is in effect to our day, global transformation. 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:13.360 Portugal, by contrast, declined the invitation and missed the opportunity to lead the West in that exploration and development. 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:17.520 One nation said yes, one nation said no. 00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:26.400 But invitations, missed invitations, don't always have just a political or global effect. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:28.319 They also have a personal effect. 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:35.199 And all of us can look back on our lives when we've been had moments that were offered to us and we declined them. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:48.879 And we might have thought, well, something else is better, or I we were too distracted to say yes, or too proud to welcome it, or too uncertain to step into the moment, only later to realize that was the moment. 00:02:48.879 --> 00:02:50.800 That was the time. 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:55.680 That was the door, but I missed it. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:00.159 Isaiah 55 opens up with just such a moment. 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:12.639 It begins in verse 1: Come, everyone who's thirsty, come to the water, and you without silver, come buy and eat, come buy wine and milk without silver and without cost. 00:03:12.639 --> 00:03:15.759 This is a glorious invitation. 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:18.080 And it's not just a casual offer. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:28.080 It's not even a statement of religious sentiment, it's a divine summons to find wholeness and fullness and restoration in God's welcome. 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:30.000 It's about a new life. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:40.319 And Isaiah is speaking to a people who were in exile because they've been chasing bread and paying the price for it, and those things that don't satisfy. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:42.479 But the Lord is not finished. 00:03:42.479 --> 00:03:52.560 He gives them an invitation to come, to come to a feast, to come to this glorious promise, to come to a person who is himself the bread of life. 00:03:52.560 --> 00:04:01.360 And if there's any tragedy at all in this situation, it's the tragedy, not that they weren't invited, it's a tragedy that they didn't accept the invitation. 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:04.719 And so this morning we're going to walk through this. 00:04:04.719 --> 00:04:06.400 We're going to see the invitation. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:10.560 We're going to see the foundation of the security that's there. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:18.000 We're going to consider the response and see how it flows out to all who accept it with joy and fullness and life. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:20.399 So let's begin with this first moment. 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:26.560 This moment where we're asked and told to come and to be filled in verses 1 and 2. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:30.639 Again, Isaiah begins with these sweeping words. 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:37.600 Come, everyone who's thirsty, come buy wine and milk without silver and without cost. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:41.680 And this invitation starts with a stunning word. 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:45.439 You may not think of it as stunning when you first see it. 00:04:45.439 --> 00:04:52.240 The word come is a very common word for us, but it is a very, very striking word. 00:04:52.240 --> 00:05:00.399 It's the Hebrew word, which in every other place in Isaiah is translated whoa. 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:03.600 But here it's come. 00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:10.160 It's like a street crier's exclamation to try to grab attention. 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:14.800 It's not very gentle, but behind it are gracious purposes. 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:18.959 I don't know if there's an English equivalent to this at all. 00:05:18.959 --> 00:05:27.279 The only way I could think of it was when I was a boy and I heard the words, Douglas Alan McMasters, I knew I'd better duck, right? 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:36.319 Because uh mom had discovered that I had been not the kind of boy I should have been, and I was getting called into judgment. 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:47.199 But imagine if I heard Douglas Alan McMasters, and here I come, like, oh dear, what did my sister say about me now? 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:59.519 And I come up to her and she says, I just wanted you to see your official name on this will that says you've just inherited 10 million dollars. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:03.360 What a difference, right? 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:13.199 So this word, come, it's not gentle, it's disruptive, but it's disruptive for the purposes of grace. 00:06:13.199 --> 00:06:26.480 And the shift from woe to come is showing us that God is calling the attention to the people, not because he wishes to be a judge to them, but he wants to be a gracious provider to them. 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:37.439 And then he wants them to come to him, not bringing payment for the penalty, but to receive without any money at all. 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:44.480 It's it's a glorious way to use a word in such a dramatic and different way. 00:06:44.480 --> 00:07:02.399 And what he promises us here is that the the depth of our comprehensive needs are met in God's inexhaustible wealth and generosity, and that they're provided to us without any cost whatsoever. 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:10.639 And we can have them not because we have the resources to purchase them, but because he's already provided it. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:13.759 The imagery is striking there. 00:07:13.759 --> 00:07:15.680 Water, right? 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:25.920 Wine and milk, symbols of necessities, symbols of joy, symbols of abundance. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:28.639 Come and get these things. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:36.720 And they're not rationed, they're not given to us in little measure, they're there in the fullness. 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:38.639 And he says, Come take. 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:40.879 Do you have necessities? 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:43.759 Come and have your necessities supplied. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:45.360 Do you need joy? 00:07:45.360 --> 00:07:48.879 Come and have all that would bring you joy given. 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:52.639 Do you do you want to be in a place of abundance? 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:55.439 It's all here for you. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:56.639 Come. 00:07:56.639 --> 00:08:15.279 Now, God is not offering himself as some sort of uh spiritual vending machine where we just kind of go, Yep, I'll have the lay potato chips, and we walk away and we don't think about the vending machine until, well, I want another bag of potato chips, and we go back and get another one. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:26.480 He's not saying, I'm just going to be a spiritual vending machine to you, and there's no money you have to put in the slot, but he is inviting us to an eternal feast. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:36.080 He tells us if there's any tragedy at all, it's the tragedy of not accepting the invitation. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.759 And take a look at verse two, he presses that home to us. 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:47.519 Why do you spend silver on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:53.759 Listen carefully to me and eat what is good, and you'll enjoy the choicest of foods. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:09:13.919 What a tragedy it would be to exhaust yourself in the pursuit of trying to find those things to fill your needs, to fill your joy, and to give you an abundance, only to realize that you've expended all your time and all of your attention and all of your resources on something that doesn't give it to you. 00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:17.759 That's the tragedy. 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:22.559 Ecclesiastes chapter 2, verses 10 and 11. 00:09:22.559 --> 00:09:27.360 The preacher there confessed that he had looked into all sorts of things. 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:33.200 He had spent money and time and attention on them, and he said at the end of it, it's all just empty. 00:09:33.200 --> 00:09:37.440 It's vanity, it's a burst soap bubble. 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:40.480 Jeremiah 2, verse 13. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:46.080 Who? 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:48.159 The spring of living water. 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:53.759 And they've dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that can't hold water. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:10:00.720 When I was in Israel a few years ago, we went into a cistern and it was about at least a hundred feet deep. 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:02.080 It was huge. 00:10:02.080 --> 00:10:08.720 And I can only imagine without the excavation tools that we have in our day, that people were out there digging that hole. 00:10:08.720 --> 00:10:10.720 It was cavernous. 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:18.960 Imagine digging down a hundred feet and spread out as far as it was, and you and you go, well, that's no good. 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:20.879 It can't hold a bit of water. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:23.279 This is what he's saying here. 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:30.799 The tragedy is not only the emptiness of the false sources, it's also found in the rejection of the one source of supply. 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:34.240 We've seen this in our day. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:36.799 Jim Carrey is a good example of that. 00:10:36.799 --> 00:10:48.000 He, after years of being in the public light and receiving all of the accolades that that brought and the money that it did, he said this. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:52.080 He said, I had everything people dream of. 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:56.080 Wealth and fame and accolades. 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:59.279 And I was still unhappy. 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:13.440 And he he said later, he said, I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they've ever dreamed of so that they would find out that that's not the answer. 00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:17.519 Russell Brand. 00:11:17.519 --> 00:11:21.840 He said, I thought fame and fortune would fill the hole inside of me. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:23.759 It didn't. 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:25.440 It made it worse. 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:34.720 And then Lady Gaga, I had all the things I thought I wanted, and I didn't feel happy. 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:36.720 I felt empty. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:44.159 Those are modern reverberations of Isaiah 55 in verse 2. 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:50.960 These are people who had spent their money on what is not bread and their labor on what does not satisfy. 00:11:50.960 --> 00:12:01.679 You see, the bread of empire, the bread of Hollywood or Wall Street or Babylon, doesn't satisfy. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:10.240 This invitation is not just their reticle, it's it is meant to be received, and it is meant to be an experience. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:14.159 And the Lord is offering Himself here so wonderfully. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:16.720 Come, come and be filled. 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:20.720 And the second point is come and be anchored in verse 3. 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:22.399 Come and be anchored. 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:25.200 Pay attention and come to me. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:26.960 Listen so that you'll live. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:33.840 I will make a permanent covenant with you on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David. 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:37.919 This is really the hinge of the whole chapter here. 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:52.960 God's invitation, sincere, secure, eternally satisfying, is based upon this phrase here: a permanent covenant on the basis of the faithful kindnesses of David. 00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:58.080 Well, that's a strange phrase for us, the faithful kindnesses of David. 00:12:58.080 --> 00:12:59.919 What does that mean? 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:15.039 Well, on first glance, it might seem like it's the faithful kindnesses given to David, but it's actually talking about the covenant actions fulfilled by one of David's line. 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:35.600 That the life and the fullness of supply that's offered here is founded on the basis of the faithfulness of one son of David, one who will be righteous, one who will do God's purposes, one who will fulfill all that God demands. 00:13:35.600 --> 00:13:42.159 And on the basis of that, David, the people will have everything they need. 00:13:42.159 --> 00:13:57.759 We see this in scripture in different places, and I won't bring us there, but in 1 Kings chapter 11, God speaks to Jeroboam and he talks about the things that he's promising to do for the kings and for the people. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:09.039 And he says he's preserving the people and he's going to preserve the king because of David, who did my will, who fulfilled my purposes. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:22.159 And because David did fulfill God's will and purposes, as weak and frail as he was, future people would be able to have blessings secured in their time. 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:24.639 This is what it's talking about. 00:14:24.639 --> 00:14:32.559 And this causes us to wonder why all of a sudden David's name shows up again in Isaiah. 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:36.960 We haven't heard about it for a long, long time. 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:49.840 What we've been reading about and learning about in the past several chapters is a person identified by the title of the servant, the servant. 00:14:49.840 --> 00:15:00.320 But now we're told about David and these faithful kindnesses of David. 00:15:00.320 --> 00:15:05.279 Now we have to ask ourselves, why is Isaiah switching gears here? 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:07.039 What is he doing? 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:09.600 Well, let's think about it for just a second. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:15.360 Let's trace both of these lines: David and the servant. 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:31.360 In Isaiah 9, we're told that a child is going to be born, that a son is going to be given, and that the government will be upon his shoulders, and he will reign on the throne of David and establish peace forever. 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:38.960 In Isaiah 11, just two chapters later, we meet the shoot of Jesse Stump. 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:40.399 What is that? 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:47.919 A spirit-anointed ruler who's going to bring justice to the nations, a son of David. 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:53.679 And from that point forward, we hear nothing about David. 00:15:53.679 --> 00:16:08.799 Until we get to the place in Isaiah chapter 40 and beyond, 42, 49, 50, 52, 53, all of a sudden the servant is mentioned. 00:16:08.799 --> 00:16:23.519 And in four servant songs, we see someone who is also chosen by God, also filled with the spirit, also bringing justice, also being a light to the nations. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:28.559 So there's this overlap between these two figures. 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:33.039 On one hand, the servant is spirit anointed in Isaiah 42 1. 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:38.639 On the other hand, David, the Davidic king, is spirit anointed in Isaiah 11 2. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:46.480 On one hand, the servant brings justice in Isaiah 42, and on the other hand, the Davidic king brings justice in Isaiah 11. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:56.159 On the other hand, servant gathers the nations in Isaiah 49, 6, and on this hand, the Davidic king rules the nations in Isaiah 11, 10. 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:58.480 What's happening here? 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:10.319 Isaiah is taking two brushes with two colors, and he's painting the same portrait so that it might give it a three-dimensional look to us. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:18.079 This one who's coming is the son of David, and he is the servant of the Lord. 00:17:18.079 --> 00:17:32.960 The servant who will bear our iniquity is also the son of David who's reigned, raised, and will reign, and will be faithful, and who will gather his people and will give light to the nations. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:39.920 And this is exactly how the early church understood Isaiah 55. 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:52.160 In Acts chapter 13, Paul quotes this verse to declare that God has fulfilled his promises by raising Jesus from the dead. 00:17:52.160 --> 00:18:10.880 The faithful kindnesses of David then are not just faithful kindnesses remembered to David, but they're enacted and sealed in the obedience and the justification that's found in Jesus Christ and in his vindication through the resurrection. 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:17.599 So Jesus has fulfilled all of the purposes of God by being the suffering servant. 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:24.880 And because of that, he's highly exalted, and he is become the reigning obedient son of David. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:27.359 Luke chapter 1. 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:29.279 Gabriel speaks. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:33.759 He said, Listen, you'll conceive and give birth to a son, and you'll name him Jesus. 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:45.039 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:48.640 Now, take it back to Isaiah 53. 00:18:48.640 --> 00:19:05.839 What Isaiah is saying, this invitation to come and to get all the water you need, to get all the wine that you need, to get all the milk that you need, don't bring any silver with you, just come and receive, and the bounty is there, and it's in such an abundance. 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:11.599 It's going to be an ever-flowing stream of water, it's going to be an ever-running source of joy. 00:19:11.599 --> 00:19:21.039 It's going to be an abundance and a fullness where it's going to be said of you, eyes not seen, nor is it even entered into the hearts of men, the things that God's prepared for those that love them. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:23.839 It's going to be so full you can't even conceive it. 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:25.519 Why is that there? 00:19:25.519 --> 00:19:28.160 Because there is a faithful servant. 00:19:28.160 --> 00:19:30.319 There is a faithful son. 00:19:30.319 --> 00:19:33.279 And he's given it to you. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:39.599 And it's not based upon whether you woke up today and you felt like I walked with God today. 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:46.000 It's based upon the one who every day did the will of the Father. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:49.200 This is why it's secure. 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:53.680 So come and be filled, and come and be anchored. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:54.799 There's more. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.559 Come and be restored. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:58.720 Come and be restored. 00:19:58.720 --> 00:20:05.519 Now, verse 4 and verse 5 seem a little puzzling to us at first. 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:16.559 Since I've made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples, so you will summon a nation you do not know. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:20.160 And nations you do not know will run you. 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:25.920 For the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel, has glorified you. 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:37.680 Now, this invitation, remember, is given to the people of Judah who are in Babylon because of their disobedience. 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:42.960 And there is this invitation to come back to the Lord, even though they've forsaken him for generations. 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:51.920 And that even though they're in exile, they have a promise of restoration through the faithful kindnesses of David. 00:20:51.920 --> 00:21:02.960 And if they come back to the Lord, they will once again be restored to the very meaning and purpose of their national identity. 00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:17.759 Because I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and a commander for the peoples, so you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations you do not know will run to you. 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:27.119 Isaiah is referring back to that unique role that the people of Israel played in human history. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:37.680 When God called Abram out of the land and brought him into a land of promise, he said, look up into the stars. 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:43.039 And he said, You and your seed will be a blessing to the nations. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:56.960 And so the identity of the Jewish people from that point forward was not just about their relationship with God, but about the responsibility of a role to be a light to all of the nations. 00:21:56.960 --> 00:22:03.920 There's a lot of discussion in evangelical circles today about whether or not we're blessing Israel. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:08.240 The question in the scriptures here is Israel blessing the nations? 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:11.039 That's the bigger question right here. 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:19.839 And what God is saying in Isaiah 55 is when you come to me, I'll restore you to your original design. 00:22:19.839 --> 00:22:26.400 You will be a spokesman for me among the nations, and they will heed you. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:32.640 Those things are reinforced and reaffirmed all through the Old Testament. 00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:36.960 Genesis 12 and Exodus 19, Isaiah 2. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:40.319 Now follow this thought. 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:56.079 Because through the faithful kindnesses of David, this one who was made a witness to the peoples, this one who is a leader, this one who is a commander for the peoples, is going to represent his people as they return to him. 00:22:56.079 --> 00:23:00.079 And what he is, they will be also. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:14.559 And so through him, the promises of God are not only wide open for forgiveness, yes, but also for restoration of their identity and their purpose. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:19.839 Their life will now all of a sudden have meaning and direction. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:22.880 It has significance again. 00:23:22.880 --> 00:23:29.359 They will be able to step into their role and the responsibility of being a light to the nations. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:38.880 Let's go to Acts 13 just for a second. 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:40.640 Acts 13. 00:23:40.640 --> 00:23:54.400 The Apostle Paul here in Acts 13 is preaching in the synagogue of Pisidian, Antioch. 00:23:54.400 --> 00:24:00.000 And in that he's addressing fellow Jews and also God-fearing Gentiles. 00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:06.160 And you can see that beginning in verse 13, where he's he's beginning to preach. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:14.079 Verse 16, fellow Israelites, and you who fear God, listen. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:22.480 And then he begins to recount Israel's history and reminds them of God's covenants with David. 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:28.000 And then in verse 32 and 33, he makes a dramatic statement. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:34.960 He said, We ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:40.079 God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. 00:24:40.079 --> 00:24:44.240 As it is written in the second Psalm, you are my son. 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:48.799 Today I have become your father. 00:24:48.799 --> 00:25:07.200 So what Paul is saying here is that Jesus is the faithful son, that he is the one who has been counted as the ruler of David, as Psalm 2 indicates, the embodiment of all that Israel was meant to be. 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:11.759 And he deepens that within with this argument in verse 34. 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:23.440 As to his raising him from the dead, never to return to decay, he's spoken in this way I will give you the holy and sure promises of David. 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:25.440 Isaiah 55. 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:36.720 Now, Paul doesn't just preach, he presses this home on the people with a sense of urgency. 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:41.279 And he tells them that they need to listen to this. 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:46.799 In verse 40, beware that what's said in the prophets does not happen to you. 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:55.519 Look, you scoffers, marvel and vanish away, because I'm doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if someone were to explain it to you. 00:25:55.519 --> 00:26:00.480 He's telling the Jewish people, you need to listen to this. 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:07.680 The scriptures have found their fulfillment in Jesus, Isaiah and Psalms all over. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:12.240 And we we need to come to this invitation. 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:16.960 And if we don't, it's going to be it's going to be a tragedy for us. 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:20.240 But they didn't listen. 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:24.880 Take a look at verse 46. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.519 Well, 44. 00:26:27.519 --> 00:26:32.240 The following Sabbath, almost the whole town assembled to hear the word of the Lord. 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:39.759 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what Paul was saying, insulting him. 00:26:39.759 --> 00:26:47.039 Paul and Barnabas boldly replied, It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. 00:26:47.039 --> 00:26:53.039 Since you reject it and judge yourself unworthy of eternal life, we're turning to the Gentiles. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:27:06.160 If you refuse to come, you're not only refusing eternal life, he's telling them, but you're refusing the joy of living as you were meant to live. 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:15.519 Paul says that he himself has found that fulfillment in Christ. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:18.000 Take a look at verse 47. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:22.720 For this is what the Lord has commanded us. 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:30.799 I have made you a light for the Gentiles to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:34.640 Now, doesn't that sound like Isaiah 55, verses 4 and 5? 00:27:34.640 --> 00:27:39.839 It's actually a quote from Isaiah 49, one of the servant's songs in verse 6. 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:45.279 But listen to Isaiah 55 for a second while you have your finger here in Acts 13. 00:27:45.279 --> 00:27:57.920 Since I've made him a witness to the peoples, a leader, and a commander for the peoples, so you will summon a nation you do not know. 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:02.079 And nations you do not know will run to you. 00:28:02.079 --> 00:28:08.240 For the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel, has glorified you. 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:14.640 Now look how Paul has applied this quote to the servant song in Isaiah 49. 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:19.519 He says that these things were spoken to him. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:23.920 Well, in Isaiah 49, they're spoken to the servant. 00:28:23.920 --> 00:28:27.839 In Acts chapter 13, Paul says they're spoken to us. 00:28:27.839 --> 00:28:30.480 What is Paul saying? 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:34.000 He's not treating these things as some distant prophecy. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:40.880 What he's seeing them is a present commissioning of the apostolic proclamation of Christ. 00:28:40.880 --> 00:28:53.519 And he's saying the servant's mission and believing Israel's mission are melding together as one and the same in the apostolic proclamation of the gospel. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:29:06.240 Paul is saying here that through union with Christ, finally believing Israel is united to the servant, the son of David, and his mission is their mission. 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:13.119 They are now being able to call the nations to the Lord who is their Lord. 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:21.279 All of that, to say this to us, let's go back to Isaiah 55. 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:30.079 That's a little bit of a biblical theology right there, but there's a practical point to it. 00:29:30.079 --> 00:29:57.839 To these people who are in exile, who are under the thumb of a foreign nation, who are under the dictates of Babylon, who have no sway of their own, are by returning to the Lord going to be in a place where they can speak to the nations, have the nations come to them, are finding not only forgiveness and supply, but meaning and significance and renewal of their purposes. 00:29:57.839 --> 00:29:59.759 And what is this telling us here? 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:05.599 When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we're not just forgiven. 00:30:05.599 --> 00:30:08.319 We are reformed. 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:14.400 We are made into what we were supposed to be as people. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:21.519 We are finally able to live as God intended humans to live. 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:29.599 We are finding a purpose and a significance in our life in every day. 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:38.640 Because to know Christ is not simply to be comforted, to know Christ is not simply to be brought into the fullness of his supply. 00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:49.440 It means that he's going to work within us to reshape who we are, to reorient our life, and to refit us to walk in the purposes that he's designed for us. 00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:52.799 Let's put it in a Pauline way. 00:30:52.799 --> 00:30:56.559 For by grace have you been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. 00:30:56.559 --> 00:31:00.880 It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:12.319 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works, which God has before ordained for us to walk in them. 00:31:12.319 --> 00:31:21.359 This is forgiveness and meaning, supply and significance for our lives. 00:31:21.359 --> 00:31:28.480 Because knowing Christ's forgiveness is not the end of the journey, it's the beginning of the journey. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:36.559 And the more deeply we get to know Him, the more we get to know how we ought to be living our days. 00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:39.680 So, what does that mean? 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:49.279 It means when you're working and navigating a career and you're feeling like, well, you're just disconnected from any kind of purpose. 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:52.480 The drudgery of daily duties. 00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:57.920 When you come to Christ, it doesn't mean you abandon your profession. 00:31:57.920 --> 00:32:15.680 It means that the things that you're doing gain a new significance, that you're placed there for a purpose, to be a witness of Christ, to be in a space for living out Christ-like integrity, to be a means of serving others, even in the workplace itself. 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:28.559 When you come to Christ as a parent, it means that you've now stepped into the role that's not only familial, it's sacred. 00:32:28.559 --> 00:32:39.759 That in your hands is an eternal soul, that you are in a most intimate place of influencing and shaping. 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:50.960 I said to my sons, I said, you know, my my biggest role in my life is not just to be your dad, it's to be the very one that helps you to see Jesus. 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:56.319 And I need to be your discipler more than I need to be your father. 00:32:56.319 --> 00:33:09.039 If you're here and you come into Christ and you sit amongst us and you wonder, well, I'm just a lonely person in a crowd. 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:11.920 What can I bring to this body? 00:33:11.920 --> 00:33:16.880 The scriptures tell us that God supplies gifts to each and every single one of us. 00:33:16.880 --> 00:33:25.279 And he wants to fulfill his purposes in you and through you to give you that significance by way of those spiritual gifts that he's provided you. 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:31.119 And they look different, so different, but all so needed. 00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:38.720 Or if we're looking at the world and we sense its brokenness, and boy, it is. 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:48.160 Coming to Christ isn't a call to retreat and hold out till the end, stay up in the castle, you know, lock yourself up. 00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:51.200 One of these days King Jesus is going to rescue us out of here. 00:33:51.200 --> 00:33:54.720 You know, we've no, no, no. 00:33:54.720 --> 00:34:08.000 He's called you to be a light, not to hide that light, but to be distinct through your compassion and through your courageous integrity in the face of compromise. 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:15.199 To be a voice of God amidst a world that desperately needs the hope of the gospel. 00:34:15.199 --> 00:34:28.559 Here in poetic form, Isaiah is speaking to the people in exile and saying, if you come to me, you're going to be so renewed, you'll be able to accomplish what I wanted you to do. 00:34:28.559 --> 00:34:31.360 You're going to be a light to the nations. 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:36.320 And we come to Christ, we're going to be able to accomplish what he wants us to do. 00:34:36.320 --> 00:34:42.400 Because the one who calls us is also the one who equips us to do those things. 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:48.639 So come and live, come and be anchored, come and be restored. 00:34:48.639 --> 00:34:53.039 And there's one more invitation come and be forgiven. 00:34:53.039 --> 00:34:56.400 Verse 6. 00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:59.760 Seek the Lord while he may be found. 00:34:59.760 --> 00:35:01.280 Call to him while he's near. 00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:05.119 Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts. 00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:12.320 Let him return to the Lord so he may have compassion on him and to our God, for he will freely forgive. 00:35:12.320 --> 00:35:16.320 This is the response of the invitation in some ways. 00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:21.840 It is a response of repentance and return. 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:24.239 What is repentance? 00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:29.280 Well, repentance is to abandon the path that you've been walking that leads you away from God. 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:39.519 And it is also one of behavior and thought, your way and your thoughts, it says here. 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:49.280 But it's also a return back to the one who is near, who is compassionate, who pardons abundantly. 00:35:49.280 --> 00:35:57.440 Repentance is not merely sorrow, it's surrender, and it's not simply behavioral correction, it's relational return. 00:35:57.440 --> 00:36:01.360 And so the scriptures are filled with statements of repentance. 00:36:01.360 --> 00:36:07.679 Jesus began his ministry with those words, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand in Matthew 4. 00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:13.199 Peter began the apostolic ministry with the words, repent, in Acts 2. 00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:19.519 Paul, as he brought the mission to the Gentiles in Acts 17, said, Repent. 00:36:19.519 --> 00:36:30.079 And even before the king, Agrimpa, I preached that they should repent and turn to God. 00:36:30.079 --> 00:36:42.559 But I want you to notice something here. 00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:49.840 The gospel shows God's readiness here in just beautiful ways. 00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:56.000 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways. 00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:58.880 This is the Lord's declaration. 00:36:58.880 --> 00:37:02.880 What is the Lord saying here in light of that? 00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:07.840 What he's saying here is that his heart is a heart of mercy. 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:17.599 That his reception of us is not grounded in our worthiness, it's grounded in his character. 00:37:17.599 --> 00:37:21.199 That his mercy is not like ours. 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:28.400 His compassion is deeper, his forgiveness is fuller, his grace is stronger. 00:37:28.400 --> 00:37:31.119 Why do we need to hear these words? 00:37:31.119 --> 00:37:38.960 Because God is so overwhelmingly forgiving, it escapes our ability to comprehend it. 00:37:38.960 --> 00:37:45.199 Because we wouldn't forgive that kind of person who did that to us. 00:37:45.199 --> 00:37:48.079 But he does. 00:37:48.079 --> 00:37:59.119 We imagine a God who receives us reluctantly because we too often are people who receive reluctantly. 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:07.199 And this is why God has to say, My thoughts are not like your thoughts, my ways are not like your ways. 00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:12.559 My forgiveness is a lot different and bigger than yours. 00:38:12.559 --> 00:38:14.880 A lot. 00:38:14.880 --> 00:38:21.360 And so if you're thinking about returning to the Father, I want to tell you this. 00:38:21.360 --> 00:38:30.159 Don't be hesitant. 00:38:30.159 --> 00:38:34.719 God's ways are different than what you understand. 00:38:34.719 --> 00:38:39.519 And this restoration is not fragile either. 00:38:39.519 --> 00:38:40.880 Take a look at this. 00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:43.920 It's secured by the power of God's word. 00:38:43.920 --> 00:39:11.199 And he goes on to say, For as the heaven is higher than the earth, and my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than yours, verse 10, for just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing heat to sow and food to eat, so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to be empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do. 00:39:11.199 --> 00:39:26.159 Now, this is a glorious statement about Scripture itself and its effectiveness, but in the context, it's a clear declaration of the effectiveness of God's promise to forgive everybody who returns to him. 00:39:26.159 --> 00:39:34.960 This is the assured word that he'll receive the lost who come home. 00:39:34.960 --> 00:39:44.639 To those who've been awakened to their sin and come to him fleeing, they will find him welcoming. 00:39:44.639 --> 00:39:51.519 Because this is a declaration of God's promises of good news. 00:39:51.519 --> 00:40:02.079 That yes, his word is sent out to call the lost to return home, to awaken them to repentance and to bring them to renewal, even though they've been rebellious. 00:40:02.079 --> 00:40:08.480 And he's not waiting passively, he's actively working his word to do that. 00:40:08.480 --> 00:40:12.320 It's going out there and it's accomplishing that purpose. 00:40:12.320 --> 00:40:19.519 And so you might wonder well, I've been a really wicked person. 00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:23.599 I've done a lot of bad things, and my thoughts have been even worse than my actions. 00:40:23.599 --> 00:40:28.079 Can God do anything with the mess I've made of my life? 00:40:28.079 --> 00:40:31.119 And the answer to that question is yes, he can. 00:40:31.119 --> 00:40:33.280 Absolutely, he can. 00:40:33.280 --> 00:40:40.480 Because he will send his word into your heart and it will prosper in his hand. 00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:44.320 He can restore and renew you no matter what you've done. 00:40:44.320 --> 00:40:50.480 His mercy is not exhausted, and his purposes are never derailed. 00:40:50.480 --> 00:40:53.199 He accomplishes what he wishes. 00:40:53.199 --> 00:40:55.519 So don't be hesitant. 00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:57.519 Don't think you've gone too far. 00:40:57.519 --> 00:41:00.559 Don't wonder if any good can come out of that. 00:41:00.559 --> 00:41:04.159 Listen to this and don't be fearful. 00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:05.519 Receive it. 00:41:05.519 --> 00:41:08.079 His word is not empty, it's alive. 00:41:08.079 --> 00:41:10.159 One final point. 00:41:10.159 --> 00:41:19.920 We've heard the words come and be filled, come and be anchored, come and be renewed, come and be forgiven. 00:41:19.920 --> 00:41:24.719 And the next word is go and be full and joyful. 00:41:24.719 --> 00:41:28.400 Look at verse 12 and 13. 00:41:28.400 --> 00:41:33.440 You will indeed go out with joy and be peacefully guided. 00:41:33.440 --> 00:41:39.920 The mountains and the hills will break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. 00:41:39.920 --> 00:41:51.039 Instead of the thorn bush, a cypress will come up, instead of the briar, a myrtle will come up, and this will stand as a monument for the Lord, an everlasting sign that will not be destroyed. 00:41:51.039 --> 00:42:12.000 And in this prophecy spoken to people in exile of Babylon, they're told that if they come and receive and respond to the invitation of God, that they turn away from that path and come to Him, He'll receive them, but He'll lift them up out of their exile and bring them home. 00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:26.719 And when they come home, their journey march will not be a weary one to look at the rubble of a ruined past, but it will be a joyful procession into something new and vibrant. 00:42:26.719 --> 00:42:34.559 They will go out from Babylon and come in to mountains where the hills are breaking out in song. 00:42:34.559 --> 00:42:42.880 They'll come back to a land that once was rubble but now filled with trees that are abundant and secure. 00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:49.039 Yes, the language is poetic, but it's profoundly prophetic as well. 00:42:49.039 --> 00:42:58.639 Because the people that were once brought out of the land in disgrace are now to come back to the land in praise. 00:42:58.639 --> 00:43:10.880 The people that were left, had left the land dormant for 70 years are now going to come finding it not just needing agricultural attention. 00:43:10.880 --> 00:43:14.480 They're going to find it flourishing, waiting for them. 00:43:14.480 --> 00:43:21.440 It's not just a reversal of their address, it's a renewal of their life. 00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:27.519 And they'll rejoice that God is that merciful. 00:43:27.519 --> 00:43:37.440 And the evidences of what once were covenant curses are going to be replaced by displays of covenantal blessing. 00:43:37.440 --> 00:43:47.760 What once were thorn bushes and what were once briars are now going to be replaced by cypresses and myrtle trees. 00:43:47.760 --> 00:44:04.480 Once were symbols of a curse and a futility of life, and of living and gaining our bread by the sweat of our brow, are now going to be replaced with symbols of strength and beauty and permanence, the cypress trees and the myrtle trees. 00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:07.679 But I want you to see something more here. 00:44:07.679 --> 00:44:17.440 Because Isaiah's vision, yes, reaches into the future of the people past the 70 years of exile, into the return to the promised land. 00:44:17.440 --> 00:44:20.000 But this language is not done yet. 00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.960 This language is stretching to further horizons yet. 00:44:24.960 --> 00:44:29.760 Because there are whispers of Eden restored here. 00:44:29.760 --> 00:44:33.840 There are whispers of the curse taken away. 00:44:33.840 --> 00:44:43.119 There are whispers of that Genesis curse being undone, of a fallen world being remade and restored to its original design. 00:44:43.119 --> 00:44:50.639 That the original Eden is once again going to be planted and there will be plenty and there'll be joy. 00:44:50.639 --> 00:45:09.119