God's Grand Vision: Total Satisfaction

Good morning everybody. I'm going to ask you to bow your heads and pray with me.

Heavenly Father, as we come to your word now, as we come to you,

we pray that you would speak to us from your word, by your spirit,

that we would be grown in Christ, that we would be drawn closer to yourself in truth.

And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Queen Marguerite got one. Barack Obama didn't.

Tim Matheson got one. Tony Abbott didn't.

Martin Fieldler, the butcher, got one. Princess Mary didn't.

Brian Naylor, the postman, got one. Chris Jones didn't.

What are we talking about?

But I've got one, look.

And if I'd got one, it would say something like,

if you got an invitation to the royal wedding, if you were lucky enough,

the invitation would read something like this.

The Lord Chamberlain is commanded by the Queen to invite Brian Rowe

to the marriage of His Royal Highness Prince William of Wales, KG,

with Miss Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey

on Friday the 29th of April, 2011, at 11am.

And in case you didn't notice, that was last Friday night.

You mightn't care.

And maybe you do. I think a lot of people did care.

But an invitation is something which demands a response.

So somebody makes an offer to you,

and you have to decide how you're going to respond to that offer.

So you're asked to come,

and immediately the question sort of hangs in the air,

what are you going to do?

How are you going to respond?

And I imagine that if any one of us here received an invitation

to the royal wedding, the first time we would have asked is,

or the first thing we would have asked is,

is this for real?

Is somebody taking the mickey out of me?

It just seems too good to be true.

When you come to Isaiah 55,

which I hope you've got your Bibles open

because that's what I'm preaching from this morning,

the invitation to come is a striking and surprising one

which really sounds too good to be true.

So verse 1.

Come, come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters.

And you who have no money,

come, buy and eat.

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

And come is the very first word used here.

I think this is one of the great words of the Bible.

It's such a, it's a winsome word.

It's an invitational word.

It's God speaking and there is this wonderful invitation

to come into his presence.

And it's an invitation to those who don't have to come

and to receive.

And if you're thirsty, come to me for water.

And if you haven't got money to shop with

or a credit card to put it on,

come and buy and eat and it's free

and there's no cost.

It's just zilch.

Now, if somebody offers me something for nothing,

as they do all the time on the phone,

I'm looking for the trick.

I'm looking for the catch, the snag.

You know, what is it that they really want from me?

Show me the fine print.

Tell me what the bottom line is.

Somebody's on the phone the other day

and you just know they're reading off their script.

And I'm saying, I'm very sorry.

I don't want this.

And if you don't stop talking,

I'm just going to hang up anyway.

And did.

But when a free gift is real,

it is an enormous relief.

It is just such a blessing.

I experienced much-needed kindness and generosity

in Chatswood the other day.

I was in a borrowed car with my elderly mum and my nephew

and the engine blew up suddenly and unexpectedly

in the middle of Daisy Street.

I only had to drive two spaces to get the car off the road

and I stopped dead because I just thought it was on fire

that there was that much smoke pouring out

from underneath the bonnet.

And I was stranded.

I hope it doesn't happen to you, new car, Asher.

But I was stranded.

It won't.

It's a lot newer than mine.

I was stranded without NRMA

in somebody else's car

with the phone battery going flat

and fairly desperate to get to my daughter's graduation

in two hours' time.

And I was at the mercy of others.

I needed the generosity of others.

And even when I ring the NRMA,

I said, we'll give you a table.

It'll be two hours.

I won't tell you the whole story,

but within an hour,

Karen from the office had taken my mum to safe care.

Brian Tung had helped me push the car.

He's really good at pushing cars.

He does have muscle underneath that slight body.

And I received a free tome.

Didn't charge me,

even without NRMA on that car.

And I made it to my daughter's graduation

with half an hour to spare.

But I was completely dependent on the help of others

and was relieved to receive what I urgently needed.

And Isaiah 55 is this invitation from God

to come to his abundant banquet

and he invites us to receive all that is on the table

and he says, you can have it for free.

And so you say, well, what's on the table?

What's for dinner?

What's the menu?

And that takes a bit of unpacking.

So you look at verse two.

Why spend money on what is not bread

and your labour on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me.

Eat what is good

and your soul will delight in the richest of fear.

Give ear and come to me.

Hear me that your soul may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

my faithful love promised to David.

Now big to the background of Isaiah

are the four kings of Judah

who reigned during the time that Isaiah prophesied.

So he prophesied over the reign

of four different kings of Judah.

And the kings struggle with what all governments do.

They're a bit of a minnow

compared to the size of the surrounding superpowers.

And the question for them is, who do you trust?

What alliances can I make that will keep me safe into the future?

I think Julia Gillard was probably doing something like that

when she was in China the other day

and making bilateral agreements on us warship exchanges

and visits to one another's countries.

We have a lot of trading interests between us at stake.

We seek friendship for protecting our interests.

But Judah is God's country.

And the people of Judah are God's people.

And the prophet rebukes them and he says,

why spend money on what is not bread

and your labour on what does not satisfy?

He's referring to the tribute money

that they have been paying to the Assyrian king

to keep him from invading.

They've been paying real money.

And they've also been doing real work,

building for themselves some of the golden idols

of the surrounding nations

and they're getting nothing for their efforts.

And that's sort of the emptiness of religion, isn't it?

You know, you can invest in something big

and you think it looks really great,

something that looks pretty fancy and delivers nothing.

If it's fake, it doesn't work no matter how good it looks.

But the prophet calls the people of God

back to trust the promises of God

and the word of God.

God's not unknown to his people,

but he is forgotten.

And Isaiah reminds the people

how God has revealed himself

and he's done that through a series of covenants,

ordeals, which he's made with them

throughout history.

And so you see that in Isaiah chapter 54

Isaiah 54 · chapter mention

and now in Isaiah 55.

So back in chapter 54, in verse 80, he says,

In a surge of anger, I hid my face from you for a moment,

but with everlasting kindness,

I will have compassion on you,

says the Lord, your Redeemer.

To me, this is like the days of Noah

when I swore that the waters of Noah

would never again cover the earth.

Now, it's sort of hidden,

so you've got to draw it out.

But in Isaiah 54,

he speaks about things like enlarging your tents

and he refers to himself as Yahweh,

their Redeemer.

So he uses language

which reminds the people

of three different covenants

and promises that God had made.

That's in chapter 54.

So with Noah,

I walked across the harbour bridge the other day

and coming right down into the harbour

underneath this was a rainbow.

Couldn't see the gold,

but you could see the rainbow

hitting the surface of the water.

Really beautiful.

Well, that's the sign that God gave Noah

to say that he would never again

destroy the earth in such a way.

And with Abraham and his promises,

he promises to enlarge their tents

and to make them a great nation.

And with Moses,

when he gave the sign of circumcision,

sealing the nation that God had redeemed

out of Egypt.

And so he's saying,

God has spoken to Noah.

God has spoken to Abraham.

God has spoken to Moses.

And now in chapter 55,

God has spoken to David

and God's word

and God's promises

are still valid.

They still stand.

And so in verse 3 of chapter 55,

I will make an everlasting covenant with you.

My faithful love promised to David.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and a commander of the peoples.

Surely you will summon nations you know not

and nations that do not know you

will hasten to you

because of the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

for he has endowed you with splendor.

He's saying,

this is 300 years after David,

the promise of an everlasting,

and they're about to go into exile

and the northern kingdom already has.

But he's saying,

the promise of an everlasting covenant

with David still stands.

God's promise is firm.

It will be an eternal kingdom

that will never come to an end,

and it will be a kingdom

to whom nations will be drawn

and they will submit to the king.

There's a lot of parallels

between this part of Isaiah,

the last, you know,

from Isaiah 40 on

to the very end of the Bible

in the book of Revelation.

A lot of very similar images

which are expressed.

And here,

Isaiah is talking about a kingdom

which will never end

and to whom the nations will be drawn.

In Revelation chapter 11,

Revelation 11 · chapter mention

there's a great cry in the heavens,

the kingdom of the world

has become the kingdom

of our Lord and his Christ

and he will reign forever and ever.

Sing it.

It's the Messiah, isn't it?

And he will reign.

Go on.

That's all you're getting.

And then in Revelation 22,

I, Jesus,

have sent my angel

to give you this testimony

to the churches.

I am the root and offspring of David

and the bright morning star.

The spirit and the bride say,

come,

and let him who hears say,

come,

and whoever is thirsty,

let him come,

and whoever wishes,

let him take the free gift

of the water of life.

So at the end of the Bible,

the eternal promises of God to David

are affirmed as still current and relevant

just as they were by Isaiah in his time.

And at the end of the Bible,

they are declared in the kingship of Christ.

And so this free banquet

is an invitation

to return to the word of God

and to trust the eternal promises of God.

And he is effectively saying

what Paul writes to Christians in Corinth.

In 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20,

2 Corinthians 1:20

for no matter how many promises God has made,

they are yes in Christ.

And so through him,

the amen is spoken by us

to the glory of God.

Now there might be a lot of reasons

why you are sitting in church this morning

and perhaps have forgotten God and his word.

And you might be

playing around with temptation

and sin

which is ripping

the heart out of your walk with Christ.

And he hasn't walked away from you,

but you have been walking

with your back turned to him

and you know it.

Or maybe differently,

maybe you have been bitterly hurt in life.

You might be like my friends

whose son was tragically killed at 15.

And brought to a place in life

where it is very difficult

to think that God is nearby

and even cares about what has happened to you.

And perhaps even asking the question

that Philip Yancey asks in his book,

what good is God?

You might be like the people in Isaiah's time.

Very clever in the world of politics.

Savvy in the business world.

Able to make your way safely

with the security of wealth or education.

You might have walked away

from Christian faith in some measure

and started to design your own.

All religions are the same.

We worship the one God, don't we?

And so we take a bit of Islam

for its law and order stance.

We like that.

And yeah, reincarnation sounds pretty good

because you get another chance.

Oh yeah, and Jesus,

he said a lot of stuff about love, didn't he?

We'll take that too.

Or maybe you have stuffed up your life so badly

that you don't think that you can come near God.

That he just would not want to deal with you.

God's people have terribly offended him.

And yet he offers this exceedingly generous invitation,

come back.

Verse 6.

Seek the Lord while he may be found.

Call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way

and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the Lord

and he will have mercy on him.

And to our God, for he will freely pardon.

Come back to Christ.

When my car broke down the other day,

I was enormously helped

by the generosity of a number of people.

And to get the benefit of that help,

I had to humble myself

and ask for it

and then rely on them.

God has spoken.

His word is clear.

His invitation is generous

and we are called to respond to it.

And the offer is sealed by his son

who laid down his life for our sins.

So in Isaiah,

it's God's servant

and we preached about him last week

in Isaiah 53.

The one who was bruised for our transgressions,

crushed for our iniquities.

The punishment that brought us peace

was upon him

and by his wounds we are healed.

You come forward into the New Testament

and you see the servant revealed

as God's son,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

For God so loved the world

that he gave his one and only son

that whoever believes in him

should not perish

but have eternal life.

And back here in Isaiah 55,

let the wicked forsake his sin,

turn to the Lord

and he will pardon freely.

See, Isaiah speaks to us

with enormous confidence

in the character of God

to forgive and to freely pardon.

He's not this weak parent

who forgives a child

that keeps spitting in their face.

He is enormously forgiving

of the child who turns back

and says like the prodigal son,

Father,

I have sinned against heaven

and against you

and am no longer worthy

to be called your son.

Friends, hear the invitation

of God to come back,

to trust his eternal promises,

to see his power

and his will

to pardon all our offences

against him.

He is approachable

but only on his terms.

It sounds like the impossible.

It certainly seems too good

to be true

and God responds

to our unasked question,

you know,

how can this be possible?

Well, look in verse 8.

My thoughts are not your thoughts

and neither are your ways

my ways,

declares the Lord.

As the heavens are higher

than the earth,

so are my ways higher

than your ways

and my thoughts

than your thoughts.

You know,

as smart as we like

to think we are,

we are not even on the board

as far as God is concerned.

There is a vast difference

between people and God

and it's expressed right here.

Sometimes, you know,

you listen to people,

you listen to us,

you listen to the way we speak,

we treat him as an equal,

you know,

another person

and it's almost like

we stand over him,

we demand a reckoning from him,

we question his decisions,

we question his justice,

we question his purposes,

we question his plans.

And God speaks here

and he says,

I'm way above you people.

My ways and my thoughts

are way above yours.

And it's a good reminder

and not unlike

what God does with Job

in Job chapter 38

Job 38 · chapter mention

and just after he says,

you know,

brace yourself,

you want an answer?

Brace yourself like a man,

I'll give you an answer.

Where were you

when I laid the foundations

of the earth?

And on and on and on

and on he goes.

It's stating the obvious

but God is vastly superior to us

and it takes humility

on our part

to assume our place before him

and to recognise his glory.

And part of that humility

means that we don't get

to understand everything

about God.

We only understand

what he chooses

to reveal about himself

and he can only be known

as he chooses to allow.

He sets the boundaries.

But on the other hand

there's nothing which is hidden

from his sight

and he knows everything about us.

And even the secret thoughts

of our hearts.

Every intent of our heart.

And I think I wonder

is that a terrifying thought

for you?

That God knows

every rebellious thought

and inclination,

every bit of pride

where we exalt ourselves

over him

or others,

every secret sin

and with that

the fear of a just judgment.

Or is it a comforting thought?

In fact for me it is.

It's a deeply comforting thought.

God knows everything.

every wicked inclination

of my heart

and despite him

knowing those things,

the things that I would

never want you to know,

he is my redeemer.

And I know his ability

to freely pardon my sin

when I turn back to him.

That's a safe place

to be, isn't it?

Verse 9,

as the heavens are above the earth,

try measuring that.

God is a fantastic God

with the amazing ability

and desire

to pardon our sins.

I think that makes him

very, very good.

And the sort of forgiveness

that he extends to us

is incomparable

to any forgiveness

that we might need

to show one another.

You carried stuff

to church this morning,

lack of forgiveness

for a brother or sister

in Christ.

As serious as it might be,

it is puny

in the economy of God.

And that is

very New Testament.

The parable of the servants

are forgiven

a vast sum

who goes and beats

the living daylights

out of the man

who owes him

a tiny bit.

The extravagant pardon

of God

and by implication

our need to forgive

people

who offend against us.

And so,

Isaiah 55

is a wonderful invitation

to return

to the Lord God

and to trust in his word

and in his promises.

It includes

the amazing offer

of sins forgiven

and offences pardoned.

And it is true

even though it sounds

too good to be true.

And it finishes

with a powerful declaration

of the supremacy

of the word of God

to do its work.

Verse 10,

as the rain and the snow

come down from heaven

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it

bud and flourish

so that it yields

seed for the sower

and bread for the eater,

so my word

that goes out

from my mouth

will not return

to me empty,

but it will accomplish

what I desire

and achieve

the purpose

for which I sent it.

And so,

God's word

is powerful

to achieve

every purpose

for which God

sends it.

And so,

for a king

like Hezekiah

struggling to figure out

which alliance

to go with,

God calls him

and his people

to trust his word,

which is what

Hezekiah ultimately did

as the Assyrian army

besieged the walls

of Jerusalem.

And God did the incredible,

he did the impossible,

he defeated

the Assyrian army

without the people

of God

lifting a finger.

The New Testament

declares the ongoing

power of the word

of God,

something that cuts

to our hearts

for the word of God

is living and active,

sharper than any

double-edged sword

and it penetrates

even to dividing

soul and spirit

joints and marrow

and it judges

the thoughts

and attitudes

of the heart

and nothing

in all creation

is hidden

from God's sight

and everything

is uncovered

and laid bare

before the eyes

of him

to whom we must

give account.

The dark side

of the car

the other day,

I'm selling it

for my sister,

selling it in good faith

not thinking

anything's wrong

with it.

The day before

I put my head

underneath

to change the oil

and I saw

some of this

green stuff

which suggested

there must be

a leak.

Do you think

I wanted to know

about it?

And so I was

struggling with my

conscience

what I do

about this.

Will God

help me out?

He brought it

to everybody's

attention.

He forced me

to face

my own sin.

Severe mercy

of God

isn't it?

I felt very

protected

through the process

but he certainly

dragged me out

into the open.

The final words

of this passage

are similar

to the final words

of the Bible.

He says

verse 12

you will go

out in joy

and be led

forth in peace.

The mountains

and the hills

will burst

into song

before you

and all the

trees of the

field will

clap their

hands

and instead

of thornbush

will grow

the pine tree

and instead

of briars

the myrtle

will grow

royal wedding

the other night

the trees

down the aisle

myrtle trees

and this

will be

for the

Lord's

renown

for an

everlasting

sign

which will

not be

destroyed.

New

creation

joy

delight

great trees

replacing

thorns

beautiful

myrtle

replacing

weeds

God's

covenant

sign

a new

world

a new

creation

a place

without

death

or mourning

or crying

or pain

a new

world

that will

never

pass away

and Isaiah

invites

people

to it

come

all you

who are

thirsty

come to

the waters

and you

who have

no money

come

buy and

eat

buy wine

and milk

without

money

and without

cost

and Jesus

invites us

to it

the spirit

and the bride

say come

and let him

who hears

say come

and whoever

is thirsty

let him

come

and whoever

wishes

let him

take the

free gift

of the

water

of life

not only

does he

invite us

he enables

us to

enter

he is

the one

able to

pardon

our

offences

turn to

him

come to

him

accept

his

wonderful

invitation

amen

t