Scripture:
Isaiah 55:1-13 NKJV
[1] “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. [2] 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. [3] 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. [4] Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people. [5] 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.” [6] Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. [7] Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. [8] “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says 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. [10] “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make 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 goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. [12] “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. [13] Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress 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.”
Observation:
I love reading the LORD’S living word. It’s like every time I read it, HE points something new out to me. HE is such an amazing GOD. Giving us an instruction book for life. A book that took literally a few thousand years to write, and several different authors, some of them never knowing each other, yet their writings are still perfectly cohesive without contradiction. The time span in which it was written included a 400-year period of silence. I’m just going to be honest with you… that staggers my imagination. Now, here is something that will increase the amazement of our heavenly Father. The first part of the book foretold about the second part of the book. Now, if it had been only one man writing it, that wouldn’t be that surprising. That could, in fact, be part of the plan. However, there are several different authors, but here is the catch their hands were all used by the Holy Spirit to write GOD’S living word. So the fact is it was written by one man, and HIS name is YAHWAH. HE is the LORD of heaven and earth. Using Isaiah’s hand, HE wrote the words we had the honor of reading this morning. Words that have quickly become a piece of my soul. Words that explain that salvation is free, it can not be bought or bartered for. It’s something you truly must just receive. Now, as you have gotten the opportunity to read through Isaiah 55, you might say to yourself as you read it… ” That’s not what it says at all,” but remember you just went over it yourself, HIS ways are not your ways, and HIS thoughts are not your thoughts. The LORD operates differently. HE puts things just under the surface, so you have to think about what is being said in order to get what HE is saying. As I was reading through Isaiah 55 this morning. I honestly fell in love with it all over again, and I hope it had the same effect on you. I have to be honest, though. I sought out this scripture this morning. I had to. There is just something about it that moves me. The first 3 verses speak of a free salvation, buy bread without money. Come to the water and drink for free,” incline your ear to hear, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you.” Here is the thing, though it doesn’t just come right out and say it. You have to read the entire book to know that what is being talked about is Jesus Christ. HE is the living water that satisfies and quenches the spiritual thirst, the bread that fills the stomach of those who are spiritually starving. It just can’t be bought. Now, I would love to break down every verse and really dive into this. However, unfortunately. I just can’t, I still have to work for a living, and I dedicate the first few hours of my day to studying and putting this together. The bible says, “Give HIM your first, your best,” and that’s when my mind is the clearest, and I’m able to focus the most on HIM. The verses I want to get to are honestly all of it. However, we are going to have to settle for 8 through 12. Because I have seen how those verses have absolutely changed my life. HE is different from us, but we are made in HIS image. HE does what HE says. The root of these few verses tells us that GOD’S seeds will grow. They will produce a crop. A crop of salvation, provision, redemption, and restoration. HIS word WILL DO WHAT HE SET OUT TO DO. HIS will is going to be accomplished. I want to bring us back to a phrase. I believe that was said yesterday… the bible says it, we believe it, and that settles it.
Application:
I remember the first time I was able to read verse 11 and understand in a way that I had never had the ability before. The way it had always been intended to be interpreted. You might say I was taking back through my life in the spirit. I know that may sound strange to some of you who are just coming to know the LORD, but looking at it now, that’s what happened. The Holy Spirit pointed out in my life all the people who had spoken GOD’S word over me, and I didn’t even know it. As a child I was sent off to church so my parents could do whatever while the church babysat for a few hours. All the way to my decision to change the radio in the car on the way to a wrestling show I was booked on. GOD’S word was spoken over my life. I’m sure you all know this, but when you plant a seed, it may take years before it produces anything tangible. In fact, you might not even be able to identify what it is that’s growing for a lot of years, and then one day “BAM” there is an orange, and you think Now where did that come from. You see, GOD’S ways are different. HE is a farmer who is growing people into wheat from weeds. HE has planted a crop of HIS word spoken over your life that WILL do what HE set out for it to do. For a long time, I fought it. Trying to place rock where roots were trying to go. I don’t know if you have ever seen the power of a root. I have. I have seen them push foundations and destroy roads and sidewalks. It didn’t happen overnight, but over time. A root can tear down what the world built while building something GOD intended to be there. HIS word is being spoken over you right now as you read this, and guess what… it will produce. In fact, you may be just like me… thinking back to specific times when someone said something to you that as you look now was right out of the living word of GOD. For me, it’s that day in the car when the LORD was drawing me. Telling me I didn’t have to live that way. There was more just change the radio and see. Those Christian artists were singing GOD’S word, and it kicked the walls I had built around my heart to the ground. Like the walls of Jericho. Walls being ripped apart by the roots in GODS word that had been planted in me as a child. I don’t have to tell you my life is not the same. If you can’t see it, you are not looking. My suggestion to you is to stop fighting it, you won’t win. If the foundation you have built is not on Christ. It will be pushed out of the way. Trust me, I’m living proof. GOD’S word has produced something in me that says Don’t stop. Keep pushing. They will listen. Just let me speak, so that’s what I try to do every morning. The question is, do you have ears to hear? Then, listen to what the Spirit is saying. Surrender.
Prayer:
Father, we thank you. You love us so very much. The plan that you unfolded in your word in the first few pages is so amazing that it took you a few thousand years to explain it all, and if we are completely honest…. we will never fully understand all of it until that day happens, and we see the return of your son. What an amazing author you are, and you’re not done writing. You write the stories of our lives daily. Forming shaping and growing us into who you have always intended us to be. We stand here in awe of you, knowing that you have done something for us that we could have never done for ourselves. You placed people all through time, who spoke what you wanted said, and who wrote it down so that it would continue to produce. We thank you for what your word has don’t in us and pray that as we wait for the return, you will not stop drawing others to you through those who are brave enough to proclaim it boldly. We trust in what you say. Not only because we know that you can’t lie, but also because we know that you have brought us out of captivity through the chain braking power found in your word. All we can say is thank you. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus, we pray, amen.