The Great Invitation

(Isaiah 55)

I titled this message “The Great Invitation”, first because it is God's invitation, and secondly because it is an invitation to come to the great gospel of our Great Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ! It is a great invitation because it is an invitation of great grace extended to the most undeserving and unworthy sinners!

I want to consider five points from Isaiah chapter 55, which I believe presents one of the most gracious invitations in all the Word of God… An invitation to a world of lost sinners to come to Jesus Christ and be saved from our sins.

I'm not going to preach a complete exposition of Isaiah 55 this morning, but I just want to consider some key thoughts from this most wonderful chapter of Scripture that pertain to one of the most important subjects in all the Word of God, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1. First, I want us to consider God's gracious invitation.

Isaiah 55:1-3 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.

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.

“Ho, everyone”... God Himself is the Herald in this passage, who is calling out to sinners far and wide. This is God's gracious call that goes out to all, especially to the world of heathen Gentiles. This is God's call that goes out to you this morning!

“Ho everyone that thirsteth”... This is the only requirement of those who are invited to come to Jesus. Are you thirsty for spiritual things? Do you see the need of your soul for Jesus? Do you thirst something more, something better than everything this world has to offer? Maybe you have already tried everything this world has to offer, but nothing has satisfied your spiritual thirst. You've spent all your time and resources and you are nothing bettered for it! You are still wanting. You are still thirsty for something that will satisfy the need of your soul. Search no further thirsty soul! God has just what your soul needs!

“come ye to the waters”... That is, the gospel waters! The waters of life, that if a man drink thereof, he shall live forever! Come to Jesus who will give you living water. Jesus said in John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Come “without money”, and “without price”. Do you see that you have nothing to offer God for His salvation? Do you see yourself as bankrupt and destitute of anything that God will accept as payment for your sins? That's OK! That's good! You don't need a thing? God invites you to come just as you are, a sinner in need of a Saviour, and take of the waters of life freely!

Incline your ear, and come unto the Lord, and listen intently and hear what God has to say to you, and your soul shall live forever!

He will make a covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David, who is Jesus Christ the Son of David, the Son of God, who God promised to send into the world to be our Saviour!

God will make an everlasting covenant with you, you personally, which is the covenant of grace, the blood covenant that Jesus made between God and His people when He shed His blood on the cross for our sins!

Come to God believing in Jesus Christ His beloved Son. Believe in Jesus as your Saviour and sacrifice for your sins, and He will make an everlasting covenant with your soul!

2. Secondly, Jesus is God's faithful Witness, Leader, and Commander.

Isaiah 5-6 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.

6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

In these verses God provides us with a little more information about His Son. First, Jesus was God's witness. Jesus is the Amen, and the faithful and true witness (Revelation 3:14). He was the true witness of everything pertaining to God, and especially of the true way of salvation through faith in Him. He witnessed of the way of salvation to every soul who crossed His path. Everywhere He went, and to everyone He met, He preached the gospel of His dying love for sinners.

And as the Good Shepherd, Jesus is the Leader of His people, especially His Church of which He is the Head and Founder. He leads His people beside the still waters, into plush valleys of green pastures where they will be fed with the best that heaven has to offer! He leads His people in paths to righteousness for His Name's sake! And He leads them through His Word, which is His revealed will. He leads us, but do we follow Him?

And Jesus is also the Commander, not only of His people, but of all the host of heaven! He is King of kings and Lord of lords! He is the Commander of all principalities and powers, whether good or evil, all creation is subject unto Him. God gave Jesus this power and authority! All power is given unto Jesus in heaven and earth. He is the One to whom every knee shall bow and tongue confess that He is Lord to the glory of God the Father!

And He will call all nations and peoples unto Himself through His glorious gospel, and they shall run unto Him. Here we see the effectual call of God's grace, and the response of God given saving faith…”they shall run unto thee”! Jesus is the One whom God has glorified. And He is the One who is able to bring us to God through faith in His saving work on the cross! Can you trust in Jesus with your soul this morning? Can you believe in Jesus as your hope of salvation and eternal life? Can you believe that He died for your sins, was buried in the tomb, and rose again the third day to save you from your sins?

Beloved, He is worthy of all our trust and allegiance! He is worthy of all our devotion and service. And He is worthy of all our praise and worship!

3. Thirdly, we want to consider - Man's responsibility to heed God's invitation.

Isaiah 6-7 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;

We see in these verses the urgency of heeding the call of God. He will not always be near in salvation. The good news of the gospel is preached to all men everywhere without distinction, but it will not always be available to needy lost sinners. Today is the day of grace, but the day of grace is coming to an end! Seek the Lord now, while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near! Come to the Lord now, listen diligently and hear the gospel message. Your time is at hand. You may never have another opportunity to trust in Jesus as your Saviour! Beloved, it is the sinner's God given responsibility to repent and believe the gospel! The time has come, and God commands all people everywhere to repent and believe the gospel!

The words "while He may be found" and "while He is near", might also be speaking of the heart and mind of the lost sinner. That is, while your heart is humble and contrite before God, and while you feel a thirst for spiritual things, and see your need for Jesus. It is in times like these that God is sensed by the lost sinner as being near and within his reach. But soon the church service is over, and the lost man or woman walks out the doors, and quickly loses that sense of God’s presence, and goes on his way from the presence of the Lord, maybe never to be that near to God again!

How many times have we seen people who seemed genuinely concerned for their souls, who were attentive and interested in the things of God and the gospel of Jesus, who seemed to be thirsty, only to turn back from God to their old life of sin.

In verse 7 the requirements are laid out for coming to the Lord for salvation. These include true repentance, and the turning from, and forsaking of one's sins and wicked ways. The truly penitent sinner, who truly is thirsty for Jesus, will gladly sacrifice all his sins and sinful ways that he might win Christ! Jesus invites you to come to Him just as you are, but He expects you to leave your sinful life behind!

This passage can also apply to saved sinners, who are backslidden away from God, and are bidden to return, and be restored to His fellowship and blessings. Maybe this is you this morning. Maybe you've gone astray from the Lord in your heart. Maybe the Lord is calling you to come home, and restore your fellowship with Him.

4. Fourthly, we want to see the mighty power of the gospel message.

Isaiah 8-11 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.

10For 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.

As we saw in the beginning of our message, the gospel is God's invitation…it is God's message!

And because the gospel is God's message, it is far higher than man's thoughts and ways. Man couldn't devise such a wise and wonderful plan of salvation even if he would, and he wouldn't even if he could!

The pride of man would much rather exalt and glorify himself, and his own so-called freewill, so he can boast of doing some part in salvation. But the Bible says that if we were justified by our works we would have whereof to glory; but not before God! (Romans 4:2). No, beloved, God's way is to humble the pride of man and to exalt the grace of God in salvation! “To God be the Glory, great things He hath done”!

Verse 9 shows just how far apart man's feeble thoughts and ways are from God's. They are as far apart as the high and holy heavens are, above the lowest, most sinful pit on this earth! That is how far God’s thoughts and ways are above those of sinful mankind, who thinks he wiser than the omniscient God of heaven!

In verse 10, God gives us the gospel seed in His Word. It is sent out into all the world by His ministers, where it is planted in the field of lost humanity. Some seed falls by the wayside. Some falls on shallow ground where it springs up, but quickly dies because it has no depth of earth. Some seed falls on thorny ground where it is choked by the cares of this life. But some falls on good ground of hearts that were before prepared by the Holy Spirit, where it brings forth much fruit unto eternal life, and to the glory of God! What kind of ground is our heart this morning?

One thing is for certain, the Word of God will accomplish that where unto He sends it. It will not return unto Him void. It will take root in good ground, where it will bring forth much fruit unto eternal life. This is the promise of God concerning His Word and the gospel ministry in the world.

This is a great encouragement to the ministers of the Word, because God will use His Word to accomplish His holy will in the world, and it will not be thwarted by puny, sinful men! It won't return void but it shall accomplish that whereunto He sends it!

5. Fifthly, and finally, I want us consider the gospel blessings that result from God's saving grace.

Isaiah 12-13 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.

These last two verses speak of the gospel blessings that will result from the success of the gospel. This is poetic language that speaks of the great joy of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who have come to the waters and drank from the well of salvation!

Joy and peace in verse 12 are two things that men don't have because of their sinful natures. But now, by faith in the gospel, you can have abundance of both! Peace with God through the sure mercies of David, and the peace of God in heart and life as a result.

Suddenly, by the grace of God a whole new world opens up to the converted sinner! What was once a dark, doleful forest filled with demons and foreboding creatures of the night, now becomes a joyful land of light, with beautiful flowers of grace, and hills singing with joy and praise to God, and beautiful trees of grace clapping their hands giving glory to God.

The saved by grace will then be changed from their former life of sin and darkness, to a blessed life of walking in the light, and living by faith in their Saviour.

The old lives of thorns and briar bushes of sin, will be transformed into straight, strong, and useful fir trees of grace, and fruitful and pleasant myrtle trees to the praise and glory of God!

These converts to the faith of Jesus shall be called by the Name of the Lord who saved them, and changed their lives, and made them His ornaments of grace.

And they shall be as a glorious monument to His love and grace, and to His power and faithfulness, which shall never be cut off, but will endure throughout all eternity.

Conclusion…

In conclusion, are you thirsty for Jesus and the new life that He can give you?

Will you come by faith to the waters of life, where you can drink of the well of salvation and live forever?

Can you see Jesus as God's witness of His saving grace? When He died on the cross for sinners, did He die there for your sins?

Is He your Leader and Commander? Do you follow Him, and obey His Word? Jesus said “why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say”? (Luke 6:46).

Have you repented of your sins and sinful ways, and forsaken the world to follow Jesus?

Beloved, God's Word shall not return void! It shall accomplish that whereunto He sends it! What has it accomplished in your life? Has it worked a gracious change in your heart and life? Has it brought true saving faith in Jesus Christ? Are you a new creature in Christ Jesus because of faith in the gospel of Jesus?

Do you experience the gospel blessings of being saved by God's amazing grace? Do you have that joy and peace that only God can give? Have the worthless thorns and briars of sin been changed into useful, God glorifying fir trees and myrtles?

Finally, are you called by the worthy name of Christian? Is your life an ornament of God’s grace to the praise, honor, and glory of God, which will never be cut off, but endure for all eternity?

I hope and pray that it is!