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God’s Invitations (Part B)

Cross Reference Radio / Pastor Rick Gaston
The Truth Network Radio
December 6, 2024 6:00 am

God’s Invitations (Part B)

Cross Reference Radio / Pastor Rick Gaston

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December 6, 2024 6:00 am

An invitation is given, an offer is made. Your way has been paid in advance; you just need to take hold of it. In this Old Testament passage, God sends out His invitation to ALL, not just those of Jewish birth.

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It shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. It shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Now here's Pastor Rick as he continues teaching through Isaiah chapter 55 with today's edition of Cross-reference radio. This has not been fulfilled but we catch glimpses of it. You know a lot of Christians love to go to Israel and that's not a criticism. It's just a fact and it's born out of this relationship between the believer and what God has done in on that little piece of land in Israel. And that's not the only place Christians like to go to. You know, Christians go to Rome to see the Colosseum where Christians were persecuted and go to Turkey, want to see where the seven churches were.

Very difficult to find. Some of the remains of them are just like barren land now. Well, and there used to be cities there. Anyway, coming back to this in verse 5 is where we are, surely you shall call a nation you do not know. A nation who do not know you shall run to you.

And as I mentioned, we've seen some of this happen. Jerusalem will be the global center of worship. Jesus Christ will be glorified as the nations meet together to worship him there in Jerusalem. Zechariah, I love this verse. Zechariah has a lot to say about this this age. He says, yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek Yahweh, Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before Yahweh, before the Lord, which is Christ. Now, it's an interesting little thing that Zechariah gives us here.

He says, strong nations. In the millennial reign, there will be nations that will be thriving. Life will go on with much of the sin drained out of it.

And it will be a very exciting time. We know that Messiah came not only for the Jewish people, but for all people, John 3.16, of course. But most Jews don't see it that way, and they didn't see it that way in the ancient times either. The Jews largely misunderstood the gradual unfolding of God's redemptive plan. Now, that's not Bible jargon, that's just a fact. God is gradually unfolding His plan.

His zentime plan also is gradually unfolding. We now call it the gospel. And they resisted their Messiah because, and everybody should know this, He did not vanquish the Romans on the spot. Because He did not behave the way they wanted Him to behave, failing to recognize His gradual unfolding of God's plan. They voided out His words and His wonders.

Well, He didn't kill the Romans. They wanted dead Gentiles, not converted Gentiles. That's not what God wanted. It's in the scriptures, in their scripture. That's what happened in the days of Christ. And many of them are still crucifying Christ in their hearts. The Hebrew prophets did not know that believing Jews and Gentiles would one day be united in a church in the New Testament church.

Paul talks about this in Ephesians 3 and other places, but there's a main one, the first 12 verses of Ephesians 3. Furthermore, none of the prophets could see how difficult this integration was going to be. Isaiah couldn't see what Paul was going to have to put up with to try to tell the Jews, listen, your Sabbath days won't work in the Gentile world. How would you even reach Eskimos and you have to follow the Sabbath? You couldn't do it.

It's impossible. God got you out of your little comfort zone in Israel and bringing all the Gentiles of the world into the faith. And to do that, He had to get the Sabbath out of the way.

Quite remarkable. We'll come back to the Sabbath. He says, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel. Well, Jesus, He is referred to as the Holy One of Israel in the New Testament.

The demons recognized Him for who He was. We know who you are, the Holy One of God, which is the same meaning. Acts chapter 3, verse 14, Peter, but you deny the Holy One and the just. That's not two different entities, that's Christ.

And ask for a murderer to be granted to you. Another Peter was saying, how messed up can you people be? And he's just a lowly fisherman. He has no credentials. He was with Christ.

Those are his credentials and those are ours too. So, verse 6, seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. That should be a song.

It is a song. So, not taking the Lord's invitation seriously puts a soul at big risk. Seek the Lord while He may be found.

In other words, He's hinting, He's saying, you know, there comes a time where He can't be found and that's bad for you. He's no less God because you go to hell. And He's certainly no less God because, no less God or greater God because you go to heaven, but He's sure that's what He wants. Verse 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.

So, here comes more the invitation just flying, hey, everyone, if you don't have that money for this, which for some people, you know, they think you have to buy anything, the good has to be bought. Agree with God about sin so He can do something about your sin or else nothing's going to work for you well when you stand before God. There is no acceptable alternative.

What do men, what can men say? Here's an alternative to the gospel. I'll roll up my sleeves, I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll earn my salvation.

It's laughable. Both the attitude and behavior must depart the natural and pursue the spiritual. The New Testament's all over that, you know, the spiritual man putting to death the old nature and anything otherwise is rebellion. And, you know, the hunger and thirst for righteousness, the righteousness of God.

There's nothing in this life that's going to satisfy these things except, of course, God's plan of salvation. I hope it never gets boring or old news to us. And I'll also say, you know, you don't have to feel it when it's time to share it. You just have to obey. If you see the door open, you don't have to dance through it, but you do have to go through it.

And that creates an excitement all of its own. When Jesus said, I have meat to eat, you know nothing about. He's, you know, preaching the truth to someone about God's kingdom and having them receive it is nourishment. Many in Isaiah's Israel considered religious observances a substitute for right living. Well, they do that now. There are many people that think, I put some money in the offering box, I go to church, I do this. Well, that's not a substitute for obedience. Obedience is a demand all by itself. Also in Isaiah's day, there were those that were asking God to forgive them for sins that they had no interest in giving up. And they did this by taking their sacrifices to the temple. There, it's done.

And we see this today. I bought an indulgence, you know, I did this. I did a good deed. That ought to erase my sin.

No, it won't. Only the blood of Christ takes away the sin. Let him return to Yahweh and he will have mercy on him. How many Christians lose sight of that when you stumble? When you get, when you do the, you know, you're not where Jesus would have you and you feel it. Don't forget these important teachings from God's mouth to your ears.

Let him return to the Lord and he will have mercy on him. Peter did. Judas Iscariot did not. And what happened to the two?

One went to heaven, the other did not. All that is necessary to receive forgiveness is repentance. Of course, in repentance, there are elements which have to be present. And one of those elements, of course, is faith. You're going to trust what God has said and not just give him lip service.

There is no mention here of ritual sacrifice, a mosaic sacrifice. He's talking about a sincere heart. Attitude is central to restoring a relationship between God and the sinner. But too often we think of the wicked in terms of human crimes. We think that doing bad things makes a person wicked.

But God has identified or defines the wicked as a class of humans outside of a relationship with his son. And that's one of our messages to the world. They don't like to hear it.

Not telling them, not going to help them. Many people have not wanted to hear the gospel and have gotten saved by hearing it. They come to church and they hear it and the Lord grabs hold of their heart and they don't resist. They resist no more. He says here in verse seven, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

I love that it is abundant. I have come that you may have life and that more abundantly. Peter was pardoned and Judas Iscariot was not. Because one availed himself of the mercy of God through confessing his sin.

And the other just acknowledged, that was a bad idea and I can't live with myself. And that did not help him one bit. The result of all the processes of Isaiah 53 are built into that. And our God will pardon for he will and our God will abundantly pardon. Verse eight now, for my thoughts are not your thoughts nor are my ways. I need to reread that. I'm sorry I'm thinking about things to say while I'm saying something while I'm reading and at the same time they don't get it.

It's oil and vinegar kind of a thing. For my thoughts are not your thoughts nor are your ways my ways says the Lord. Why do people tend to suppose otherwise? Why do they think, well sure God thinks like me.

I mean they might not even voice it, they're doing it. This is said to a people who are attempting to justify their sins by making the offerings again with an insincere heart. Reducing you know offerings at the temple to a rabbit's foot.

To this day they have you know a little thing on the doorway and they touch it, they kiss, they touch it as though that's going to somehow bless them. It's superstition and God wants none of that because it's a lie. In the 50th psalm David wrote about this behavior, God speaking through David, these things you have done and I kept silent. You thought that I was all together like you but I will rebuke you and set them in order before your eyes.

I'm going to take my belt off and judge you. This is something of God that oh God give us a chance to repeat these words to an unbeliever. You thought I was all together like you.

They scramble, they run, they come up. You know you throw out a word you said to an unbeliever a couple of days ago when they were giving me their spiel about what they think God is. I said that's idolatry. It didn't go well. I mean it didn't end up in a fistfight but you know I knew that this door is closed right now but I got to plant a seed in Satan's yard.

That's what I got to do and I knew it and I was like yeah. They didn't know I was rejoicing. They didn't. I wanted them to say tell me more but they did not but I'm hoping that seed is just grating on them right now. God stick the hounds of heaven on them and convict them. Anyway God works mysteriously and God works slowly and we must learn to continuously accept this.

Accept that this is how it is. Years ago I was sitting and having coffee and that coffee break with a co-worker his old timer and he wanted to share some biblical wisdom with me and he was right on. He says my mother told me that God works slow and mysteriously and all I could say to that was amen but he didn't change his life. He had that bit of information the biblical doctrine but he had no care for the Christ of the doctrine.

There's nothing you could do with that. Well Satan knows that he can cause a soul to dislike the person of God. I dislike God because I don't like that he works slowly and mysteriously.

I want to know what's going on. I want the Bible to be organized this way. I want all the Bibles to match. I don't want different translations.

I want everything to be in its neat little cubicle. That person's living outside of reality and God is not. God says it doesn't work that way and it cannot work that way. Too many languages, too many people, too many cultures, too many generations.

Everything that I've written when you read it and it's about you, you know it's true. You can go pick up as many translations as you want. Thou shalt not kill is thou shalt not kill. You should have no false gods before me.

The 10 commandments is very clear no matter what language you put it in. By creating dissatisfaction with God's timings and methods you can seal your own fate. Well, eternal fate. Verse 9. And then this is a incidentally verse 8 is a power verse. You do a whole sermon on that and verse by verse you just you take too much time on it. Verse 9. For as the heavens are higher than earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Again part of the power verse that goes with verse 8.

They go together. His ways of past finding out in many cases and Deuteronomy 29 29 tells us yeah God does hide some things but he sure sells a lot of things other things too. His character is clearly unfolded before us in scripture manifested throughout scripture and I'm not going to take the time to quote them. Paul echoes this verse in Romans 11 33. But the Christian we spend our lives serving within this rhythm not outside of it.

There's a rhythm to this. His ways are higher and in many ways past our finding out and we surrender to that and that's how we keep in this rhythm. Otherwise there'd be no need to tell Christians to abide. Why do we have to be told that?

Because things like this upset us and if we're not careful our faith diminishes. Verse 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.

Now I'll stop there in mid clause. Don't miss the come down part comes down from heaven and its application to God's word. Isaiah is not making a statement about the hydro cycles of the earth. He's making a point that things come from God. They originate he is the origin of the good the word of God and that's what he's talking about here. John chapter 3 verse 13. No one has ascended to heaven but he who came to come down from heaven that is the son of man who is in heaven. Boy there's a lot of a lot to go with that but Jesus is basically telling them I've come from heaven you have not and then in John 6 the Jews then complained about him because he said I am the bread which came down from heaven. Yeah but what if it's true?

If it's true I think you would you better side with him. Verse 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. Yeah you're going to need to go back up to verse 8 for my thoughts are not your thoughts in my way to understand all these things or accept them but there is still much here that we get out of this. God's word does not return void in this way for sure it creates a stir it creates a movement. Good for some troubling for others. God's word is his messenger that is a fact and when he says it shall not return void his word serves as a demarcation a barrier not a barrier a border. A border. Luke chapter 12 verse 51. Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth I tell you not at all but rather division there's that barrier there's a bore a border right there that separates a demarcation the demarcation between the two numbers chapter 15 because God's speaking about this misbehavior towards the things that he has told the people presumptuous behavior you know one of those well I'm going to be the exception to this well God addresses that numbers 15 31 because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment that person shall be completely cut off his guilt shall be upon him I think when you heard that if you were one of the Jews in those days the right response would be would be I'm going to honor God's word and some did and some did not and God's word does not come back void in that sense it gets work done it separates the sheep from the goat those who are sincere from those who are insincere the contrite heart versus the one that is just really not that interested and yet they still want to participate in religion while they ignore the God of the very scripture who has given them in many cases the rituals that they go through so God warned the people about living outside of his word living presumptuously David prayed God keep me from presumptuous sin when our Lord used the word to refute the corruption of Satan there in the wilderness the temptation of Christ the word did not return void did it it accomplished at least two things it halted Satan's further attempts to corrupt Jesus through corrupting the scripture in other words Jesus shut them up by using the scripture so the scripture did not return void it shut the devil up it also did not return void in this sense it stands as a textbook example on how to talk back to devils proper application of scripture in their face I like that kind of stuff but I also have to say there's nothing easy about this life it's just you're gonna have to still by the sweat of the brow you're gonna have to fight and scratch for everything good but knowing that God is backing you up it makes it possible it makes it worth it ergo that word worthy he is worthy this does not mean when we talk about God's word not returning void that we get what we want and we should be glad because we also don't get what we deserve so it kind of balances out verse 12 for well I gotta stop this of this another phrase that people like to say and I like this one I'm not gonna you know how are you doing I'm better than I deserve well I could have told him that I was saying the same thing about you just to the other guy verse 12 for you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace and the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands well of course it's not gonna please aren't gonna really cut because spooky right I don't remember this was that Alice in Wonderland where were those talking trees they were mean too it was a couple of places they show up anyhow and they're real big and heavy well anyway what's going on here they ultimately they will be rejoicing and the scriptures loaded with this and Christ mentioned this to the Pharisees when they when he was marching into Jerusalem on a donkey and they tell your disciples not to say these Hosanna things about you and he said yeah well the rocks will cry out if they don't verse 13 instead of the thorn shall come the cypress tree instead of the briar shall come the myrtle tree and it shall be to the Lord for a name and an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off well cypress trees are beautiful trees some some trees aren't that beautiful so I'm just scrawny but the cypress is just a beautiful tree goodness harmful what's going on here with the thorn and the briar that stand out is the godless and the harmful the self-centered lives the fruitless lives the thorn is not fruit and you know not edible fruit and it is pictured in the thorn and the briar verse Isaiah 56 now in this section God reveals a salvation that's made available for all who would follow him and keep his covenant but also those outside those outsiders so he expands a little bit to the non Israelites and the Israelites who restricted who were restricted because of Mosaic law well he's gonna invite them in verse 1 now thus says Yahweh keep justice and do righteousness for my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed again there are Jews in Israel that were loving this always encouraging the people to obey to do good to continue with him to abide to virtues named here justice and righteousness basic aspects of a proper Israeli life or Israelite they're really Israel the difference between Israelite is the Israelites with the people under the Mosaic law the sons of Jacob and an Israeli today there are you can be a Muslim living in Israel but you're a citizen and you are an Israeli but you're not an Israelite so this is some one of the differences there integrity is belongs to this towards others and of course in observing God's laws the justice is more of a legal concern and righteousness is out of the heart godly behavior verse 2 blessed is the man who does this and the son of man who lays hold on it who keeps from defiling the Sabbath and keeps his hand from doing any evil well the phrase the son of man that Ezekiel Ezekiel loved that phrase and it was God saying you're finite you're gonna die you're a sinner compared to me you're not me and you're not God thanks for tuning in to cross-reference radio today cross-reference radio is a ministry of pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel mechanics ville in Virginia if you'd like to learn more about this ministry we invite you to visit our website cross-reference radio.com you'll find a number of teachings from pastor Rick available there we also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast when you subscribe you'll be notified of new additions of cross-reference radio just search for cross-reference radio on your favorite podcast app you can also follow the links at cross-reference radio.com we're glad we were able to spend time with you today tune in next time to continue learning from the book of Isaiah with pastor Rick right here on cross-reference radio
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-12-06 08:08:26 / 2024-12-06 08:17:34 / 9

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