I love Isaiah chapter 55. It is quite possibly one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. It starts off with these immortal words:
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.
The prophet goes on to ask, Why would you spend your hard earned money for that which does not satisfy? The meaning is clear. There is a source of hunger that no bread, milk, or wine can satisfy. It can only be satisfied with the Spirit of God. It is the empty spot in man that only God can fill. A God-shaped void, if you will, exists in the heart of every human being alive. We will never be completely satisfied or at peace until that spot is filled with God's spirit.
This is, of course, the heart of the gospel message. Jesus referred to this verse in John 7:37 when he said, "If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink." The gospel message is simply this: if you will come to Jesus he will wash away your sins, change your course in life, and quench your spiritual hunger and thirst. However there is a part of this message that we often overlook.
Verse number 7 says, "Let the wicked forsake his way." That is right, the wicked. In the culture in which we live it is no longer acceptable to call anyone or anything wicked. It is considered as passing judgment to call anything wicked. Yet what many fail to realize is that the Bible calls a great many things wicked. We love the next verse in Isaiah chapter 53. In verse 8 we are told that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and his ways are higher than our ways. We like to take this verse as meaning that God has something better in store for us than we can imagine for ourselves. While this may be somewhat true, it is not the intended meaning of this verse. The meaning of this verse is clear from verse 7: Let the wicked forsake his way.
The clarion call of the gospel has always been for the wicked to forsake his sin and turn to God. There was a time when almost any denomination in Christianity preached basically the same message. REPENT! Repentance was a clear call to turn from unrighteousness and beg God for his mercy. It was to ask God to cover us with the blood of Jesus and withhold his judgment from us. That is what true repentance is. That message has been replaced by and large with a message that says believe and confess.
While confession of and belief in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, we must not let belief and confession replace the message of repentance. God's message of salvation has always been and still is , "Let the wicked forsake his way." It was this message that spared Nineveh when Jonah preached and it is this message that will spare America or any other country today from God's judgment.
Anyone that knows the word of God can look around and tell that America is on a collision course with the judgment of God. We call that which is unrighteous, righteous. We persecute those who boldly proclaim the truth. The only standard of truth we have in America today is "Thou shalt not judge." Can I tell you that there is a judgment coming. It is not a judgment of any man but the judgment of God himself. Yes, God is a merciful God. The end of verse 7 tells us to return to the Lord and he will "abundantly pardon." But the only way for the pardon to come is for the wicked to forsake his way.
We as Christians must intercede for our country. Instead of being angry at politicians and other we must realize that the problems this country has is the fault of the whole. For all of us have sinned and deserve God's judgment. Let us seek after him today as the people of Nineveh did at the preaching of Jonah. Let us beg him to spare our families, our cities, and our nation. He is a merciful God and it may be that he will hear our cries and spare us. But the only way that will happen is if
THE WICKED WILL FORSAKE HIS WAY!
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.
The prophet goes on to ask, Why would you spend your hard earned money for that which does not satisfy? The meaning is clear. There is a source of hunger that no bread, milk, or wine can satisfy. It can only be satisfied with the Spirit of God. It is the empty spot in man that only God can fill. A God-shaped void, if you will, exists in the heart of every human being alive. We will never be completely satisfied or at peace until that spot is filled with God's spirit.
This is, of course, the heart of the gospel message. Jesus referred to this verse in John 7:37 when he said, "If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink." The gospel message is simply this: if you will come to Jesus he will wash away your sins, change your course in life, and quench your spiritual hunger and thirst. However there is a part of this message that we often overlook.
Verse number 7 says, "Let the wicked forsake his way." That is right, the wicked. In the culture in which we live it is no longer acceptable to call anyone or anything wicked. It is considered as passing judgment to call anything wicked. Yet what many fail to realize is that the Bible calls a great many things wicked. We love the next verse in Isaiah chapter 53. In verse 8 we are told that God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and his ways are higher than our ways. We like to take this verse as meaning that God has something better in store for us than we can imagine for ourselves. While this may be somewhat true, it is not the intended meaning of this verse. The meaning of this verse is clear from verse 7: Let the wicked forsake his way.
The clarion call of the gospel has always been for the wicked to forsake his sin and turn to God. There was a time when almost any denomination in Christianity preached basically the same message. REPENT! Repentance was a clear call to turn from unrighteousness and beg God for his mercy. It was to ask God to cover us with the blood of Jesus and withhold his judgment from us. That is what true repentance is. That message has been replaced by and large with a message that says believe and confess.
While confession of and belief in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, we must not let belief and confession replace the message of repentance. God's message of salvation has always been and still is , "Let the wicked forsake his way." It was this message that spared Nineveh when Jonah preached and it is this message that will spare America or any other country today from God's judgment.
Anyone that knows the word of God can look around and tell that America is on a collision course with the judgment of God. We call that which is unrighteous, righteous. We persecute those who boldly proclaim the truth. The only standard of truth we have in America today is "Thou shalt not judge." Can I tell you that there is a judgment coming. It is not a judgment of any man but the judgment of God himself. Yes, God is a merciful God. The end of verse 7 tells us to return to the Lord and he will "abundantly pardon." But the only way for the pardon to come is for the wicked to forsake his way.
We as Christians must intercede for our country. Instead of being angry at politicians and other we must realize that the problems this country has is the fault of the whole. For all of us have sinned and deserve God's judgment. Let us seek after him today as the people of Nineveh did at the preaching of Jonah. Let us beg him to spare our families, our cities, and our nation. He is a merciful God and it may be that he will hear our cries and spare us. But the only way that will happen is if
THE WICKED WILL FORSAKE HIS WAY!