Come and Feast

And ordinarily what we do is we work our way through books of the Bible.

So we just finished up walking through the book of Titus together.

Last week, if you remember, we spent nine weeks together walking through the book of Titus,

passage by passage by passage.

And if you are wondering how long is it going to take us to work our way through 66 chapters of Isaiah,

I have good news for you.

Don't fear.

We're not going from chapter 1 all the way through to chapter 66.

We're just going to focus in on one chapter.

For six weeks, we're going to be spending our time in chapter 55 of Isaiah,

this one beautiful chapter in this Old Testament prophecy, Isaiah chapter 55.

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

So if you would, go ahead and open up your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 55.

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

And we're going to look at verses 1 through 3 this morning.

If you're using the pew Bibles there in front of you, if you don't have your own Bible,

you can find that on page 576 of the pew Bibles there in front of you.

Either way, you'll want to have a Bible open because that's what I'm going to be reading and preaching from.

And I would like for your eyes to be there on God's word.

Isaiah 55 verses 1 through 3.

Isaiah 55:1–3

Follow along with me as I read.

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters.

And he who has no money, come, buy and eat.

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,

and your labor for that which does not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me and eat what is good,

and delight yourselves in rich food.

Incline your ear and come to me.

Hear that your soul may live.

Let's pray once more.

God, this invitation is beyond our greatest imagination.

Father, that we would be invited to come and to delight ourselves in you and be satisfied.

I pray, Father, that as this word is opened and preached,

even now, God, would you give us appetite for you and your glory.

We pray this in Christ's name.

Amen.

One of my favorite movies growing up was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

And it's amazing how when you look back on these themes of certain movies from a Christian perspective,

how much they rob, how much they steal from the story, the gospel.

You remember the story?

Charlie Bucket is a poor boy who lives on the outskirts of town

with about 100 of his family members who apparently all share one bed for some reason.

They're just dirt poor.

And every day on the way to and from school,

Charlie Bucket passes by Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

This ginormous, mysterious chocolate factory has been closed down to the public.

Nobody knows exactly what is going on in there.

Until one day, Willy Wonka decided to run a contest.

And, of course, as you know, he hid five golden tickets,

tucked them away inside the candy wrappers of the chocolate bars.

And whoever bought the right bar, whoever got the golden ticket,

would be welcome.

They could come join him in his chocolate factory,

not only for a guided tour of the factory by Mr. Wonka himself,

but they would also receive a lifetime supply of Willy Wonka chocolate products.

As every kid's dream, right?

A lifetime supply, full access to feast on whatever candy you want,

whenever you wanted, brought to you by the candy maker himself.

Well, what they didn't know was that Wonka was not just giving away chocolate.

He had planned, secretly, he had planned to give away the whole factory to the right child,

including his prized possession.

You remember what it was?

The everlasting gobstopper.

As this one piece of candy that would last forever,

never lose its taste, never lose its flavor,

it would change flavors, change color, never lose its luster.

It was always satisfying.

And you can imagine how for a poor boy like Charlie,

something like this was almost unimaginable.

While other children bought up as many chocolate bars as they could find,

poor Charlie buckets couldn't afford much,

he'd be lucky just to get his hands on one.

And you know the story, he miraculously found a piece of money in a snowbank,

ran to the store, bought a chocolate bar, and rips it open,

and there it is, the last golden ticket.

It's his invitation to the chocolate factory.

And this was his access, his invitation to a world of never-ending delight

in this magical world of chocolate and mystery.

A poor, desperate boy is invited to everlasting joy beyond his wildest dreams.

This is the gospel according to Wonka.

Well, as we come to Isaiah chapter 55 this morning,

Isaiah 55 · chapter mention

we see the gospel according to Isaiah.

This book is an Old Testament prophecy.

It was written to Old Testament Israel while they were in exile.

It was written about 700 years before Jesus Christ ever stepped foot on earth.

But did you know it's commonly referred to as the fifth gospel?

The fifth gospel.

There's Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and all the way back here is Isaiah.

In fact, if you only read your New Testament,

never even opened up your Old Testament, which I don't recommend that you do,

if you ignored your Old Testament entirely, only read your New Testament,

you would still be pretty familiar with the book of Isaiah.

And depending on who you ask and how you add it up,

some say that out of the New Testament's 260 chapters,

over 90% contain some reference to this fifth gospel,

some allusion, some reference, some direct quote from the book of Isaiah.

Our chapter this morning, chapter 55 of the book of Isaiah,

our chapter that we'll be studying for the next several weeks,

is towards the end of a section of scripture

that is just overflowing with the message of the gospel.

Chapter 53, you might know chapter 53 of Isaiah.

It's one of the most popular, well-known passages in the Old Testament.

Chapter 53 showed the suffering servant,

dying in the place of sinners,

bearing the sins of many.

Chapter 4 portrayed a renewed creation,

with renewed joy, renewed relationship with God,

on the basis of that servant's work.

And now chapter 55 is an invitation to come.

It's an invitation to come and to feast.

It's an invitation to enter into true and lasting satisfaction for your soul.

So this morning, we begin our study in Isaiah 55,

with this invitation to come and feast.

And what we'll see this morning is three parts of the gospel according to Isaiah.

Three parts of the gospel according to Isaiah.

If you're taking notes, I encourage you to do so,

and help you follow along.

Three parts of the gospel according to Isaiah.

Isaiah, we are needy,

we are invited,

and God alone can satisfy forever.

I'll say that again.

We are needy,

we are invited,

and God alone can satisfy forever.

Well, clearly this chapter is an invitation to a feast.

Fresh water,

fresh milk,

wine,

and bread,

rich food,

a satisfying food,

as much as you can handle.

But there's a prerequisite there,

isn't there?

And there's a requirement here.

In order to come and eat,

you must be hungry.

In order to come drink,

you must be thirsty.

He says,

in order to buy a ticket,

guess what?

You must be broke.

You must be poor.

You must be needy.

Look there to verse 1 with me.

He says,

Come,

everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters.

And he who has no money,

come buy and eat.

Come buy wine and milk,

without money,

and without price.

Price.

Now this is an invitation to the world's greatest feast.

And when we hear that,

our ears,

our mind,

immediately goes to cost.

How much does it cost?

What's the price of admission?

Or at the very least,

what can I bring to the table?

Can I bring something to contribute?

But we have to see here in verse 1,

a prerequisite of us coming to this feast

is that we bring nothing with us.

In fact,

we couldn't afford it if we tried.

Church,

this is the bad news

that must come before the good news

of the gospel.

This is what the gospel tells us.

It tells us that we are,

in and of ourselves,

every one of us,

apart from the grace of God,

spiritually broke.

We are bankrupt.

We are incapable of bringing anything good to the table.

We have nothing to offer.

And Ephesians tells us,

Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 2,

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

before God saved us in Christ,

we were dead in our trespasses and sins

in which we once walked.

Dead in our trespasses and sins.

Dead men don't eat.

Dead men don't cook.

Dead men don't bring anything to the table.

They are dead.

We have to understand this

before we get too far into this chapter

that he's making the point

we cannot buy our way.

We cannot earn our way.

We cannot work our way into this feast.

And that is exactly the point.

This feast is not for those

who are well-fed and rich.

It's not for those

who are satisfied already.

It is for those

who realize by the grace of God

that they are poor and needy.

We don't like to think of ourselves this way.

Do we?

We like to think of ourselves

as capable,

as worthy,

as respectable,

not needy.

But those put together,

well-resourced, well-fed people,

it's clear they cannot come.

They do not meet the qualifications.

The fact that they think they are qualified

makes them, in fact,

unqualified to come.

The Bible is clear.

It does not matter

how materially rich you are,

how well-respected,

how prosperous you are.

Spiritually speaking,

every one of us is broke.

And it is broken,

poor,

desperately needy people

that Jesus came to save.

Amen?

Amen?

Amen.

This is what drove the Pharisees crazy,

isn't it?

The Pharisees,

you might remember,

they were the religious elite

in Jesus' day.

They were the teachers of the law.

They were masters of the word of God.

They were well-respected,

and they made sure

that they were well-respected.

And they could not stand

that when Jesus came,

he didn't really care too much

for their resumes.

He was not impressed

by their knowledge.

Instead, what Jesus did

was he went out to the fringes.

He went out to the poor

and to the marginalized.

He went to the rejected.

He went to the needy.

He spent his time with them.

And so he says things

like what Pete read for us earlier.

He says things like,

come to me,

all who labor

and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

That sounds an awful lot

like Isaiah 55, doesn't it?

Those who are tired,

those who are weary,

those who are weak,

those who are needy,

come to me.

Those who are thirsty,

come to me.

Those who are hungry,

come to me.

Those who are poor,

come to me.

He says things like,

blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek,

for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those

who hunger and thirst

for righteousness,

for they shall be what?

Satisfied.

He doesn't say,

blessed are those

who have it all together already.

Blessed are those

who are full of themselves.

Blessed are those

who don't need anything.

This bothered the Pharisees.

Because they were blind

to their own spiritual poverty.

And it really bothered them

when Jesus started spending

so much time with sinners.

I mean, how could he do this?

How could he go

and spend time with them?

You may remember the story

of when Jesus met

a tax collector named Levi

sitting at his tax booth.

Now there's a lot in the Bible

that doesn't exactly correlate

with our day and our time,

but one thing that hasn't changed

is people back then

hated paying taxes

as much as people now

hate paying taxes.

Levi was a tax collector.

People hated tax collectors.

These men would come

take your money

and often they would help themselves

to a little bit extra,

a little bit off the top,

so they would be rich

and they made sure

everybody else

was not as rich as them.

They were not

well-received people.

And so when Jesus came

to the tax collector Levi

in Luke chapter 5,

Luke 5 · chapter mention

this righteous teacher

and this sinful thief,

and Jesus looked at him

and simply said,

come follow me.

What did Levi do?

He left everything

and followed him.

The Pharisees didn't like this.

But apparently Levi went

and told all his friends

because Luke 5 29,

it says,

Levi made him a great feast

in his house

and there was a large company

of tax collectors

and others

reclining at table

with them.

And the Pharisees

and their scribes

grumbled at his disciples

saying,

why do you eat and drink

with tax collectors

and sinners?

And Jesus answered them,

hear this,

those who are well

have no need

of a physician,

but those who are sick

I have not come

to call the righteous

but sinners

to repentance.

I have not come

to call the righteous

but sinners

to repentance.

Why do you eat

with tax collectors

and sinners?

Why would Jesus

come into the home

of a sinful man

and associate

with his rabble

of sinful people?

Why would he feast

with sinners?

If only the Pharisees

had studied Isaiah 55,

a little more closely,

they might have understood

they are the only ones

invited.

Jesus did not come

to call the righteous

but sinners

to repentance.

sins.

Now of course,

the Pharisees

were just as sinful

as anybody else.

They were plenty sinful

just like us.

The only difference

between them

and these other sinners

was that they

didn't think so.

They were blinded

to their sin.

They didn't realize

their thirst.

They didn't realize

their hunger.

They didn't realize

their poverty.

And so Jesus says,

before you come

and feast with me,

God says,

before you come

and feast on me,

you must recognize

your need.

You are a sinner

in great need

of a Savior.

One more example

from the book of Luke.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

Chapter 18.

Chapter 18.

The parable of

the Pharisee

and the tax collector.

Luke says in verse 9,

chapter 18.

Jesus told this parable

to some who trusted

in themselves

that they were righteous

and treated other people

with contempt.

Okay, so you see

the audience here.

And he goes on

to tell this parable

of two men

going to the temple

to pray.

One of them

was a Pharisee,

this religious elite.

The other was

a tax collector,

a clear sinner.

And it says,

the Pharisee

prayed like this,

God, I thank you

that I am not

like other men.

extortioners,

unjust,

adulterers,

even like this

tax collector.

And he pulls out

his resume

for God to read.

He says,

I fast twice a week.

I give tithes

of all that I get.

God,

aren't I just awesome?

But the tax collector,

standing far off,

would not even

lift up his eyes

to heaven,

but beat his breast,

saying,

God,

be merciful to me,

a sinner.

Now here's

the most striking

part of this story.

Jesus says

in verse 14,

I tell you,

this man,

this man,

the sinner,

the tax collector,

this man,

went down

to his house

justified

rather than the other.

For everyone

who exalts himself

will be humbled,

but the one

who humbles himself

will be exalted.

Church,

which one

are we more like?

Before we step foot

into this great

feast of God

portrayed in Isaiah 55,

our hearts

must be humbled.

We must recognize

our need

and our poverty.

Do you see yourself

as righteous,

as more deserving

of the grace of God

than anybody else,

more deserving

of the presence of God

than anybody else?

The bad news

of the gospel

is we are

desperately sinful.

We bring nothing

good to the table.

Sinful beyond

our wildest imagination,

but the good news

of the gospel

is that that is

exactly who

Christ came to save.

which is the second

part of the gospel

according to Isaiah

this morning.

The second part

of the gospel

according to Isaiah.

We are invited.

We are invited.

The good news

of the gospel

for sinners

like us

is that we

are invited

to come.

Four times

in these three verses

we hear this

gospel invitation,

don't we?

It says,

come everyone

who thirsts,

come to the waters.

He who has no money,

come buy and eat.

And down in verse 3

he says,

incline your ear

and come to me.

Hear that your soul

may live.

Because,

chapter 53,

because he has

borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows.

Because he was

pierced for our

transgressions

and crushed

for our iniquities.

Because of the work

of Christ

on the cross,

we are invited

to come

and live.

This is what we call

the general call

of the gospel.

The general call

of the gospel.

The gospel message

is a promise

of eternal life.

It's a promise

of forgiveness

of sins,

everlasting joy

in the presence

of God

on the basis

of the work

of Christ,

his life,

his death,

his resurrection

received by grace

through faith.

It costs you nothing

because he has already

paid the price

of admission.

We simply must receive

it by faith

as a gift

by turning from our sin,

by trusting in

our Savior.

That's the gospel.

That's the gospel message.

And that invitation

to come to the Father

is broadly cast out,

generally, broadly,

into the ears

of any who would hear it.

Come.

Come to Christ.

Turn from your sin

and live.

Turn from your sin.

Trust in your Savior.

Come.

Have your sins forgiven.

Come.

Listen that your soul

may live.

But not everybody comes,

do they?

Only those who are

effectively called

will, in fact,

come to the Lord.

And that effectual call

where through the preaching

of the gospel,

through the extending

broadly of this invitation,

through our personal evangelism,

sinners hear the good news

of the gospel

and are spiritually reborn again

of His Spirit.

Regenerated.

Born again.

It is extended to all,

but sadly,

it is not received by all.

And that's where

our statement of faith,

we confess,

concerning the freeness

of salvation.

It reads like this.

We believe that salvation

is offered freely

to all in the gospel

and that it is the immediate

duty of all

to accept the gospel

by a humble,

repentant,

and obedient faith.

Hear this.

There is nothing

that prevents

the salvation

of the greatest sinner

on earth

but His own depravity

and voluntary rejection

of the gospel

which results

in just condemnation.

Jesus told another parable

in Matthew chapter 22.

Matthew 22 · chapter mention

of a rich king

who wanted to throw

a banquet.

He wanted to throw

a wedding feast

for his son.

And so he sent out

servants out

into the streets

to call those

who were invited

to come to the feast.

But they would not come.

So he sent more servants

out into the streets

and sent out the call,

the invitation,

come,

come celebrate,

come enjoy the food,

come enjoy the wine.

My son is getting married,

everything's ready,

come on,

come to the feast.

But again,

they paid

no attention

and went off

about their business.

They were too busy

to come.

In fact,

some were so bothered

by hearing this invitation

over and over

and over again

that they treated

the servants shamefully

and killed them.

So he says,

the king executed judgment.

He says,

he destroyed those murderers

and burned their city.

And then he sent

his servants again.

Go therefore

into the roads

and invite

to the wedding feast

as many as you can find.

And the servants

went out into the road

and gathered all they could,

both good and bad,

so that the wedding hall

was filled with guests.

Here's the sad reality,

church.

You can hear

the general call

of the gospel

time after time

after time

after time.

You can know it

inside and out.

You can come to church

every week

from the time you're one

to the time you're 101

and never actually come.

to Christ.

You must hear

the good news

in order to believe it,

but only hearing

this general call

of the gospel

will not save you.

You must come

to Christ.

So Jesus concludes

this parable

by saying,

many are called

generally,

but few

are chosen

effectively.

You must

come.

How do we do that?

How do we

come

and feast,

accept this invitation

to come

and delight ourselves

in the Lord?

He tells us,

doesn't He?

Isaiah.

In Isaiah 55.

It's by listening

and trusting

the Word of God.

By listening

and trusting

the Word of God.

It's not just

to hear,

it's to listen.

Verse 2,

Isaiah 55,

Isaiah 55:2

verse 2.

He says,

listen diligently

to me

and eat what is good.

Verse 3,

incline your ear

and come to me

here

that your soul

may live.

So how do we

come to the Lord?

It's by listening

diligently

to the Word of God.

How do we come

into the presence

of God?

How do we

enter into His presence

so that we might

satisfy our soul?

It is by feasting

on the Word

of God.

What does Jesus say?

Man does not live

by bread alone

but by every what?

Word.

From the mouth

of God.

Are any of you

spiritually dry?

Are any of you

spiritually hungry?

You're invited

to come

and to feast

on the Word of God.

Are you weary?

Are you thirsty?

Are you poor?

Are you needy?

Come and hear God speak.

Come that your soul

might live.

Do you want to know

God more?

Come and listen

to His Word.

Do you want to grow

as a disciple of Christ?

Do you want to grow

in your love for God

as His child?

Open up the book

and read.

But don't just hear it.

Church,

listen

diligently.

Listen

to your Father

speak

life-giving

words.

faith.

And then

go out into the streets

and invite others

to come feast

with us.

Faith comes through

hearing

and hearing

through the Word

of God.

What does Paul

say in Romans?

How then

will they call

on Him

in whom

they have not

believed?

How are they

to believe

in Him

of whom

they have never

heard?

And how are they

to hear

without someone

preaching?

And how are they

to preach

unless they

are sent?

Church,

we have been

sent.

Jesus Christ

commanded us,

go therefore

and make disciples

of all nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them

to observe

everything I have

commanded you

and lo,

I am with you

always,

even to the

uttermost ends

of the earth.

We have been

commissioned

to go out

into the streets

as His servants

and invite

as many as we

could find

to come feast

their souls

on the Word

of God.

Our privilege,

church,

as God's ambassadors

is to be the

mouthpiece

of this invitation.

This invitation

in Isaiah 55.

We don't know

who the Lord

will call

effectively

unto salvation,

but we do know

how they will

come.

It's through

the proclamation

of the gospel.

It is through

the church

effectively

going out

and obeying

this great commission.

We have been

entrusted

as servants

of the King

with the task

to go into

the streets

and invite them

to come.

Everyone who thirsts,

everyone who hungers,

everyone who's poor,

everyone who's needy,

come to the waters

and drink.

One thing

that we keep

talking about

is personal evangelism.

Have you heard me

mention that before?

One area

that we want

to see this group

of people,

this church,

grow in

in the years to come

is personal evangelism.

Our strategy

for reaching

the lost

in all in all,

for reaching

our community,

for ministering

to our community,

our strategy

for the growth

of this church,

our strategy

for the growth

of every one

of you

is that we

would share

the gospel,

that we would

be equipped

personally,

every one of us

to share

the good news

of the gospel.

So who do you

know

that needs

to be invited

to come?

Who do you

know

that is

spiritually

thirsty?

And maybe

that's you

this morning.

And maybe

you've realized

now by the grace

of God

you've heard

this invitation,

you've heard

this message

time and time

again,

you recognize

your need

but you've

never actually

come.

Friend,

you're invited

now to come

and to listen

and to put

your trust

in Christ.

but what's

the point?

What's so

great about

this feast

that we

come back

to it time

and time

again?

Friend,

the gospel

invites you

not only

to forgiveness

which is

wonderful,

not only

to peace

with God

which is

wonderful,

not only

to escape

from judgment

and condemnation

and hell,

the good

news of

the gospel

is that

we are

invited

to be

satisfied

in God

forever.

This is

the third

part

of the gospel

according

to Isaiah.

Third,

God

alone

will satisfy.

God

alone

will satisfy.

If we

don't believe

this,

we will

never

come.

If we

don't

genuinely

believe

that God

alone

can satisfy

the needs

of our

soul,

we will

never

come

to the

Father.

Do you

know the

reason why

so many

don't

come?

When we

look at

what God

is offering

in this

feast,

this water

that gives

life,

this milk

that nourishes

and gives

strength,

this wine

that gives

joy,

bread that

satisfies our

hunger and

nourishes our

soul,

why would

anybody not

come?

He tells us

in verse 2,

Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55:2

verse 2,

it's because

verse 2,

we spend

our money

for that

which is

not bread

and we

labor for

that which

does not

satisfy.

In other

words,

we don't

come to

the feast

because we

have filled

ourselves

already,

or so we

think,

we're not

hungry because

we've been

snacking on

empty calories

no less.

This is a

sad depiction

of our

pursuit of

pleasure,

our pursuit

of joy,

our pursuit

of satisfaction

in anything

other than

God

himself.

Isaiah

tells us

we are

desperately

poor,

yet we

continue to

spend

ourselves

for that

which is

not bread

and that

which will

not

satisfy.

Jeremiah

the prophet,

he had

something to

say about

this.

God spoke

through

Jeremiah

the prophet

to his

people in

Israel in

exile again

and he

says in

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 2:13

chapter 2

verse 13,

he says

this,

my people

have committed

two evils.

They have

forsaken me,

the fountain

of living

waters,

and they

have hewed

out cisterns

for themselves,

broken cisterns

that can hold

no water.

You see

these two

evils,

they have

forsaken me,

the fountain

of living

waters,

the all

satisfying

fountain of

living waters,

this fountain

of life

and joy,

but not

only that,

they have

also just

tried to

create their

own cisterns

and they're

broken cisterns

that can hold

no water

and of course

all of us

are guilty

of this

type of

idolatry.

We turn

from the

fountain of

life and

joy and

peace and

satisfaction and

we try to

find it

ourselves in

other things.

That's what

idolatry is.

We try to

find that

satisfaction in

money,

in success,

in a

relationship,

in sex,

in a child,

in respect.

Every one of

us, whether we

realize it or

not, we

worship idols.

Idols are

anything that

we turn to

for the

satisfaction that

only God

can provide.

Jeremiah says

they are

broken

cisterns.

They can't

hold water

and yet we

form them

and we

trust them.

and we

turn to

them and

we rely on

them to

quench our

thirst but

they never

will.

Sadly, they

are broken.

Several weeks

ago, you

might remember

we talked

about the

lawsuit that

was filed

against Red

Bull.

You remember

that?

And their

slogan, it'll

give you

wings.

consumers

claimed it

was false

advertising.

They'd been

drinking Red

Bull for

years and

never once

had they

grown a

pair of

wings.

And they

won the

lawsuit, believe

it or not.

Well, in

2016, there

was yet another

food-related

lawsuit.

This time, it

was against

company against

company, two

food companies.

Hungry

Man versus

Heinz.

Hungry

Man, the

frozen meal

company, it

had a

slogan.

Anybody

remember what

it was?

Satisfy your

craving.

Hungry

Man will

satisfy your

craving.

They had

trademarked it

and everything.

They were the

only frozen

food company

who could

say that

their frozen

meals would

satisfy your

craving.

But the

marketing geniuses

over at

Heinz got

together and

they came up

with Devour

Foods.

It was their

own frozen

food line and

they drafted

up their

own unique

slogan.

Devour

Foods will

satisfy your

cravings.

There's an

S.

It's plural.

More than

one.

There's an

S at the

end of it.

And of

course, the

good people

over at

Hungry

Man took

issue with

this because

they were

the only

ones who

could satisfy

your craving.

But Heinz

over here,

they said,

well, you

can satisfy

a craving,

but we

satisfy

cravings.

We can

do it all.

And if I

were bold

enough, I

would file a

lawsuit against

them both

because as we

all know,

frozen food

does not

satisfy your

cravings.

Whether one

or many,

not for long

at least.

You may be

satisfied for a

moment, you

heat it up,

you eat it,

your belly's

full, but

within a couple

hours, you're

hungry again,

it doesn't

last, and

even the best

meal of your

life, I know

Thanksgiving's

coming up.

We will

feast and

be satisfied

temporarily.

It doesn't

satisfy forever.

It's momentary,

it's temporary,

and Isaiah

and Jeremiah

show us that's

how it is with

our idols.

We believe the

advertisement

that this job,

this feeling,

this accomplishment,

this raise,

this child,

will satisfy

the needs

of my soul,

but once you

dig in and

consume it,

you get it,

you realize it

doesn't live up

to the hype,

and you're left

hungry again.

You have spent

your money on

not bread.

Why do you

spend your money

for that which

is not bread?

Why do you

labor for that

which does not

satisfy?

church,

God invites

us in

Isaiah 55

to listen

diligently

to me

and eat

what is

good.

Delight

yourselves

in rich

food.

Incline

your ear

and come

to me

here

that your

soul

may live.

Here's what

he's telling

us.

True

joy

and true

life

true

lasting

satisfaction

is found

in God

and God

alone.

He alone

can satisfy

the desires,

the cravings,

the need

of your soul,

and he has

no competitors.

This is what

we were made

for.

What is the

chief end

of man?

The chief end

of man

is to glorify

God

and enjoy

him forever.

This is what

we were made

for.

We were

created

to delight

ourselves

in God,

to be

satisfied

in him.

So every

desire that

we have

for love,

for joy,

for acceptance,

for pleasure,

every craving

for satisfaction

is ultimately

and only

fulfilled

in him.

And this

is what

Christ

came

to do.

We're told

in 1 Peter 3

1 Peter 3:18

verse 18.

For Christ

also suffered

once for sins,

the righteous

for the unrighteous,

that he might

bring us

to God.

The best

part of the

gospel is

not forgiveness,

it's not

freedom from

sin,

it's not

freedom from

death or

disease or

suffering,

it's not even

that we might

be reunited

with our

lost loved

ones and

family members.

The best

part of the

gospel is

that we

get to

feast

forever

on the

goodness

of God.

And it

will take

all of

eternity

for us

to explore

the goodness

of God.

One commentator,

J. Alec Motier,

says this,

The Lord

himself is

the feast.

Just as

true food

restores the

body debilitated

by not bread,

so the food

of the Lord's

word,

brings the

whole person

to the

life that

is life

indeed.

Is your

soul hungry?

Do you

hunger and

thirst to

be satisfied

in God?

You are

invited to

come to

feast that

your soul

might live.

God

and

Jesus

told

another

parable

in

Luke

Luke 15 · chapter mention

chapter

15.

You all

know it

as the

parable

of the

prodigal

son.

A man

had

two sons

of the

younger

dishonored

his father

by asking

for his

share of

the

inheritance

early.

While his

father was

still living,

he basically

said,

you're as

good as

dead to

me,

just give

me the

money,

because that's

all I

really want

anyways.

And the

father gave

it to

him.

And so

the son

went off

and lived

recklessly

and spent

all his

money on

things that

would not

satisfy.

And suddenly

there was a

famine in

the land,

and he

was hungry

and thirsty

and poor

and needy.

And so

he said,

I'll go back

to my father

and I'll ask

for forgiveness.

Maybe at least

he'll let me

be like one

of his servants

and I can get

a good meal,

I can work

at his house

and eat.

But when he

started on his

way back home,

the father saw

him from a

long way off.

And Luke

says he felt

compassion on

him.

And he ran

to him.

And he embraced

him.

And he kissed

him.

And he wouldn't

even let him

finish his

apology.

He ordered

that they bring

out the best

robe and put

it on his

back and a

ring for his

finger and

shoes for his

feet and to

kill the

fattened calf

and prepare it

so that they

could feast

and celebrate.

For this my

son was dead

and is alive

again.

He was lost

and is now

found.

Can you imagine

what a joy

that must have

been?

For the son

to come back

home having

nothing to offer

whatsoever,

broken and

humbled and

poor,

not just to come

back and enjoy

a feast,

not just to

enjoy rich

food and

drink wine

and to

celebrate,

but to be

restored to

his father

and to be

with him

and to be

embraced by

him and to

be welcomed

back home.

Friend,

that is the

call of

Isaiah 55.

Come ye

sinners,

poor and

needy,

weak and

wounded,

sick and

sore.

Jesus ready

stands to

save you

full of

pity,

love and

power.

Would you

come?

Would you

come?

Would you

come?

Let's pray.

Lord,

we thank you

for your

heart that's

displayed in

this passage

that you

would invite

sinners like

us to

come and

to be

satisfied in

you.

Nothing else

can satisfy

the needs

of our

soul,

but you

and you

alone.

We thank

you that

through the

work of

Christ you

have made

a way for

us to be

forgiven and

to be

restored to

our father.

We pray that

we would leave

this place

encouraged and

with the good

news of this

invitation quick

off of our

lips to any

who would

hear.

We pray this

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.