The 10th Sunday after Trinity

SERMON - “Come!” God Cries Out to a World Filled with Sinners! “Come, Yes, Come!”

INI

Text: Isaiah 55:1-5

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you—the sure mercies of David. Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you."

In Christ Jesus, who came into this world to invite us to come back to our heavenly Father in order to enjoy His eternal blessing, dear fellow redeemed:

What is it that you find truly satisfying? Is it a bowl of your favorite ice cream or a nice, juicy steak? Is it a cold beer on a hot Saturday afternoon or a bottle of fine wine you share over a conversation with your best friends? Is it the handling of an expensive automobile or the thrill of a speed boat crossing a large lake? Is it spending an hour reading a good book or an evening playing games with your family? Is it the sense of accomplishment in a job well done or is it the rush you experience when the pursuit of your goals involves a certain amount of danger? You may find some, all, or perhaps none of the things I have mentioned satisfying for you, but I am absolutely sure that if asked, you could identify people, things, and experiences that you find satisfying. I am equally as sure that the vast majority of things that satisfy you do so only on a temporary basis. You find great satisfaction in a good meal at noon, but by late afternoon you are hungry again. You delight in reading a good book, but the book finally comes to an end and the satisfaction fades. We are satisfied in any number of ways each day, but tomorrow we need more people, more things, and more experiences to satisfy us again. We have great needs and thirst for satisfaction—lasting satisfaction which goes beyond a few minutes, hours, or days.

Our text addresses that very human need. In it God Himself is speaking: “COME!” GOD CRIES OUT TO A WORLD FILLED WITH SINNERS! “COME, YES, COME!” For I alone can truly satisfy and delight your soul! I alone can offer you an everlasting relationship based upon the sure mercies of Jesus Christ! I alone can provide you with the leadership you desire through the glorified Jesus Christ!

I.

Isaiah 55 begins with the LORD God crying out: “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.”

The LORD uses a common need and desire of mankind—our thirst for satisfaction—to invite us to receive that which alone can ultimately satisfy—the grace and mercy expressed in His gospel promise of salvation! He urges us all repeatedly to come—to come as we are without anything to offer. He urges us to buy and eat the wine and milk of the gospel without so much as a penny to pay, for you cannot buy the grace and mercy of God! God offers that grace and mercy through Christ at no cost to us, for Christ Himself has paid the cost for us. Luther describes so exquisitely what Christ did for us in his explanation to the 2^nd Article: “He has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sin, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.”

The truth of the matter is that we cannot possibly buy God’s forgiving love. There is nothing we can do or give to make things right with our God. God’s justice demands personal perfection—a perfection we do not possess and can never achieve. Oh, yes, mankind tries in his arrogance to bargain with God or to bypass God’s justice. Man produces endless systems and patterns of work-righteousness in his efforts to buy off God. Go down to Barnes & Noble and take a look at their “Religion & Philosophy” section. It is filled with rows upon rows of books that ultimately will not satisfy those who buy them. The LORD God asks in our text: “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?”

No, if you truly want to be satisfied spiritually, eat what is good—the truths of God revealed in His Word, which directs your heart to Jesus! Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life (cf. John 14:6). Jesus alone is able to give your soul the rest it needs and which it so deeply desires (cf. Matthew 11:28-30). “COME!” GOD CRIES OUT TO A WORLD FILLED WITH SINNERS! “COME, YES, COME!” For I alone can truly satisfy and delight your soul!

II.

I alone can offer you an everlasting relationship based upon the sure mercies of Jesus Christ! Our God is a good God—a God who desires all of mankind to live in harmony with Him and to receive the blessings that only He can give. It is not God who by nature resists mankind, but mankind who by nature resists God. God created mankind in order to have a personal relationship with Him, but mankind rejected that relationship coveting for themselves the role and responsibility of God rather than being content with the role and responsibility God had given them. Yet, there is a restlessness within the heart of every man, woman, and child, for in spite of having rebelled against God there is still a deep desire to be close to and accepted by Him.

The LORD God addresses that very issue in our text. He says: “Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you—the sure mercies of David.” All earthly satisfaction ends. It ends when the food is digested, or the clothing wears out, or the vehicle rusts away, or the relationship ends. Even should you enjoy a long and satisfying life, it all ends in death. God alone can offer you and me an everlasting relationship that will truly satisfy our souls—that can restore to us and bestow upon us life in the midst of death!

The LORD God promises to make an everlasting covenant with us. A covenant is an agreement between two parties, in which generally both sides do something. In God’s gospel covenant with us, however, there is nothing that we can do, as we have seen. It is a covenant offered “without money and without price.” That does not mean that it is without value, for it is priceless! It is based upon what the LORD calls the “sure mercies of David.” The reference here is not to the actual biblical David, for by the time Isaiah recorded these words David had been dead for centuries. It refers to David’s greater Son—the promised Savior…Jesus!

Jesus mercifully came down from heaven’s throne, assumed our human nature, and then redeemed us in love from sin, death, Satan, and hell. He enters our lives through the gospel, knocking upon the doors of our hearts, and seeking to dwell within us, so that we need never fear, but can always live in confidence. You see God never promises us that in this world of sin, we will always be physically comfortable and emotionally satisfied. In fact, the LORD God often reminds us that in this world, we will experience trials and troubles due to our own sin and the attacks of Satan. However, He does promise to be with us, to walk beside us, to lead us through the dark times, and to bestow upon us always the light of His gospel. He promises us, in other words, an everlasting relationship based upon His love and sustained by His power—a relationship that ultimately will take us out of this vale of tears and into the glorious presence of God in heaven above! “COME!” GOD CRIES OUT TO A WORLD FILLED WITH SINNERS! “COME, YES, COME!” I alone can offer you an everlasting relationship based upon the sure mercies of Jesus Christ!

III.

I alone can provide you with the leadership you desire through the glorified Jesus Christ! In the final portion of our text, the LORD God redirects His conversation. He concludes by making a reference to Christ and then directly addresses Christ thereby informing us of a very important and special blessing. He says: “Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people. Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you.”

People thirst for leadership. They crave good leaders and, unfortunately, in the absence of good leaders, they often settle for strong leaders, who are not always so good. Study the lives of the great leaders of this world—ancient figures such as Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, or Richard the Lion-Hearted and more modern figures—Winston Churchill, Mao Zedung, Adolf Hitler, or any of our modern Presidents. People want to be led. They want to feel secure, but no human being can provide the leadership that will satisfy our every need—with the exception of One—Jesus Christ!

The LORD God sent Jesus to be our “leader and commander”—the One who would guide us through this life and bring us safely home to heaven. Jesus did not come without power, only to seize power, and then to use that power to satisfy Himself. That is the story of so many leaders in our world. They gain and then abuse power in self-service. No, Jesus came with all power, made use of only some of that power, and always to serve rather than to be served. This was the key to His greatness, and this alone is what will truly satisfy our deep desire for good leadership.

Think about Jesus for a moment. Did He ever take a vacation? Did He have a mountain retreat up in Lebanon, or a villa down by the Mediterranean seashore? Did He ride in a golden chariot or set up secret bank accounts in first century financial safe-havens? Of course not! He sacrificed Himself for us—He was the perfect “servant-leader.” The Son of God served us! He laid down His life for us, and now, as the LORD indicated, He has called us into a living relationship by which we know Him and are blessed by Him. He is the glorified Christ, who was raised from the dead and who sits at the right hand of God ruling over us—providing leadership through His Word and within His Church, so that we might lead our lives with so much confidence, that we too might serve and thereby be a blessing to each other.

My dear friends, GOD CRIES OUT TO A WORLD FILLED WITH SINNERS! “COME, YES, COME!” Let us not refuse our Father’s invitation! Let us not delay in responding to His offers of grace and mercy! Let us not reject the leadership of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! To do so will leave us ultimately dissatisfied and lost eternally! Let us come and enjoy and be satisfied now and forever! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting
Soli Gloria Deo!