An Invitation of a Life Time
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Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Intro:
The prophet Isaiah ministered during a turbulent time in Israel’s history.
The nation had abandoned the way of the Lord and was living in open sin and idolatry.
The prophets name alone was a call to salvation. Isaiah means Jehovah saves!
The verses leading up to our text chronicles a scene of rebellion and sin.
v. 2 – The people were in open rebellion against the Lord
v. 3 – They refused to acknowledge God and, spiritually, they were dumber than the farm animals around them.
v. 4 – They had forsaken the Lord and had provoked Him to anger.
v. 5 – They had refused to respond to the Lord’s attempts at chastisement
v. 5-6 - They were sick spiritually and they desperately needed help.
v. 7-8 – Violence filled the whole land.
v. 9-10 – In many ways, they had become as vile as ancient Sodom and Gomorrah.
v. 11-15 – Their religious services were an abomination to the Lord.
v. 9 – The only thing that held the nation together was a small remnant of faithful Jews.
Thank God for a small remnant!
It sounds as though these events could have been lifted straight from the headlines of today’s newspapers.
I believe We are in as bad or even worse a spiritual shape as was ancient Israel.
Many today call themselves Christian and have no reverence for The righteous and holy God they claim to serve.
They cruse His name during the week and think praising Him for an hour on Sunday keeps them in His good graces.
Then you have those that think God is ok with their sodomy and even promote it under the banner of Christianity.
God help us!
In the midst of this sad commentary, we see an amazing scene acted out.
These people had been blessed by the Lord in many wonderful ways.
Israel should have been seeking God and they should have been looking for ways to mend their relationship with Him.
Instead of that, we see the Lord seeking His people and inviting them to make things right with Him.
This fact underscores a truth we encounter throughout the pages of the Bible.
People will not seek the Lord until they are first sought by the Lord.
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
People will not love the Lord until they are first loved by the Lord,
We love him, because he first loved us.
God always makes the first move in this thing called salvation.
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
After all, man is “dead in trespasses and sins” and dead things cannot seek the Lord,
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Jesus came to the world for the sole purpose of “seeking and saving that which was lost”, Luke 19:10
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
I know that we want to elevate man in these days. No one wants to believe that man is totally depraved and cut off from God.
Most folks hold to the idea that man contains within himself “a spark of the divine” and at some point, the good that is in man will begin to seek the good that is in God.
The Bible is very clear in this matter.
Man is a vile sinner and there is not good in him at all,
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.
We all deserve hell. There is none good!
But I have good news this morning: an invitation awaits.
As we will see in this text, God has extended an invitation too all those that will come.
God is seeking to save those that are lost in here today.
Dont resist Him. Come to Him and be cleansed today.
I want to take this passage today and point out the principles contained in verse 18 of Isa 1 and preach for a few minutes on AN Invitation of a lifetime.
I. The Instruction in the Invitation
I. The Instruction in the Invitation
1. The word “come” is an “imperative”.
It is a command.
God is reaching out to a the wayward and the sinful nation and He is calling them back to Him.
He is telling them to come or be devoured.
This is amazing because God knows how they have been living.
He knows how they have treated His Law.
He knows the vileness and the depths of their sins.
He knows how wicked they have become.
Yet, He still loves them and reaches out to them in love, to extend grace and mercy to them, if they will repent.
God understood Israel’s condition better than they did.
They thought they were doing all right.
They were playing on both sides of the fence and they were happy.
But, God knew that they were in deep trouble, so He reached out to them to call them home.
2. The same is true in our lives as well.
God knows our condition better than we do.
You take that lost sinner.
He thinks he is doing his own thing and living his life by his own terms.
He does not realize that he is nothing but a pawn in the devil’s hand.
He is being driven from sin to sin by forces that he cannot control, Eph. 2:1-3
God knows all about the sins in your life and mine.
He knows how far down into the cesspool of sin we have sunk.
He knows that we are wicked, evil and utterly depraved.
Yet, He loves us, and His invitation is still the same as it was to the children of Isreal,
in spite of our sinful condition, The instruction is still the same: He is still calling all to come.
Listen to the Lord’s voice as He calls lost people to come to Him,
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Have you heeded that invitation and followed the Lord’s instruction?
Have you come to the Lord for the salvation you so desperately need?
Have you received Jesus as your personal Savior?
If not you can today, dont wait till Im done, if the Lord is calling you, wont you come now?
II. The Importance of the Invitation
II. The Importance of the Invitation
1. God’s command is for them to come “now”.
There must be no delay!
God could see what Israel could not see.
He could see where their rebellion and sin was leading them.
He could see the judgment that was about to fall upon them.
He could see their condition and their condemnation!
On the basis of what He could see, He presses them to make a change now.
2. So it is with those who are not right with God today.
All they can see is the next step that lies before them.
All they can feel is the pleasure of their sins.
All they can think about is the here and now.
They give no thought to what is awaiting them down the road.
If wayward people could see down the road, what they would see would terrify them. If they could see what lies just around a few more bends in the road, they would repent of their sins and run to Jesus for cleansing now!
That person who is lost would see an eternity in Hell.
They would see themselves in a place of eternal torment, where they will forever be separated from family, friends, peace, hope and God.
They would see themselves damned, doomed and destroyed in Hell,
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God.
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
That saved person who has walked away from God would see the chastisement of God unleashed on his or her life, Heb. 12:6-11.
They might even see themselves filling a premature grave, 1 John 5:16; 1 Cor. 5:5.
They would see the terrible consequences that are going to be suffered by their families because they refuse to get right with God.
3. God knows how bad it is going to get.
He knows the pain and suffering that is coming.
He knows about the judgment that is about to fall, so He calls the wayward ones to come to Him.
He calls them to come now, without delay, for He knows that delay is dangerous.
If you are not right with God this day, the time to come to Him is now!
Listen to what the Bible says about this matter:
And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Boast not thyself of to morrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
(Ill. James 4:13-16
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
III. The Intention of The Invitation
III. The Intention of The Invitation
1. The invitation is intimate. “Come now, let us reason together”.
The phrase “let us reason together” is legal terminology.
It means “let’s settle this matter before a court of law; let’s try our case in court”.
The people of Israel had broken their covenant with the Lord.
They had failed to hold up their end of the contract and God has initiated legal proceedings against them.
He is bringing them up on charges.
He has declared His case against them, v. 1-17, and He now invited them to defend themselves.
They are in serious trouble!
God has the goods on them and they have been called to answer for their sins.
However, the phrase “come now” before let us reason, is an invitation for these people to “walk with the Lord”.
He is not inviting them to a debate.
He is not opening the matter up to negotiations.
He is inviting them to come to Him and think like He thinks.
He is inviting them to agree with Him,
He is giving them an opportunity to say, “You are right and we are wrong. We are sorry and we are ready to go your way.”
He is offering them a chance to settle their case out of court.
He is offering them a plea deal.
Admit that they have broken God’s law and repent.
If they will be reasonable and honor their covenant with the Lord, He will drop the charges and restore them to a place of fellowship.
If they will repent of their sins and change their ways, God will receive them and restore them.
The intention is to show to Israel how much He still loves them and he wants them to change their ways and to get in line with God.
He is saying, “Let’s walk together, and you can see why I am calling to you.” That is grace!
2. God’s invitation to follow Him is still an intentional!
God does not call groups to come to Him; He calls individuals to come to Him.
His call is personal, individual and intimate.
When He calls, He always points out the areas of disagreement and He invites the sinner to come to a place of agreement with God.
That is the very nature of Holy Spirit conviction, John 16:7-13.
It is a very intimate thing.
Have you ever heard that intentional , individual call to come to Jesus for salvation?
When that call came, did you respond by coming to God?
Have you settled your case out of court?
It’s not too late!
God is still inviting wayward souls to come to Him and to His way of thinking. If you will come, He will receive you and save your soul!
IV. The Impressiveness of the Invitation
IV. The Impressiveness of the Invitation
1. God’s promise to Israel, if they will come to Him, is that all their sins will be washed away.
Verse 15 tells us that their hands are stained with blood.
They are dirty and unclean in the sight of the Lord.
But, if they will just come to Him, and heed His invitation, He will cleanse them completely.
The words “scarlet” and “crimson” refer to dye that was extracted from both shellfish and a certain type of insect.
When white garments were dyed with these colors, they could never be made white again.
These colors were both colorfast and indelible.
Once they were dyed no human means could ever return them to their pure state.
God describes the sins of Israel as being like a garment stained scarlet and crimson.
They were dirty and nothing they could ever do would take the stain way.
In ancient times once a garment was stained, it could never be made perfect again.
Yet, if they would just respond to Him and repent of their sins, He had the power to make them “whiter than snow”, and as pure as “wool”.
He had the ability to take the stain of their sin away and make them clean again!
Their rituals would not make them clean.
Their religious observances would not make them clean.
The only hope these people had was to accept the Lord’s invitation.
If they would just do that, He would make the stain of their sin disappear forever!
2. Let every person under the sound of my voice here these words: The invitation still stands!
There is nothing you can do to take away your sins.
At best, you and I are dirty and filthy in the sight of the Lord, Isa. 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; And we all do fade as a leaf; And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
We cannot cleanse ourselves by religious deeds or rituals.
When we try to erase our sins by our own efforts, all we succeed in doing is making the stain deeper!
But, if we will listen to His call and come to Him by faith.
God has the power to cleanse away forever the stain of our sins!
He is able to take our sins and put them away from us as “far as the east is from the west”, Psa. 103:12.
He is able to wash us in the precious blood of Jesus and declare us holy and clean, 1 Cor. 6:9-11.
He is able to cleanse us from all sin, 1 John 1:7.
He is able to deliver us from condemnation and the threat of Hell we were under, Rom. 8:1; 5:9.
He is able to make us perfectly, utterly, eternally clean, through the blood of His Darling Son!
C. Do you know for sure that your sins have been washed away? When God looks down at you, does He see your sins, or does He see the righteousness of His precious Son, Rom. 4:21-25
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
This is an incredible invitation! It is certainly an invitation of a lifetime.
I remember the day when I heard Him call for me.
He invited me to come over to His way of thinking.
He promised me cleansing, salvation and eternal life if I would come.
My sins were so vile; I was headed to Hell and I knew it, yet His invitation was so sweet that I had to answer it.
I came to Jesus by faith and I am saved today.
My sins have been washed away and I am whiter than snow.
Though I was dirty, vile and guilty, God has settled my case out of court and I am saved today
I am glad that I took advantage of His invitation. I am glad that He gave me the faith to say “Yes!” when He called.
What about you sinner friend?
Have you heard Him calling you?
What have you done about His invitation?
Some of you have answered it and you are saved today.
Some have heard Him calling you to come back to Him and you have answered that call and come back to Him. You have been restored.
Some hear that call today.
God is calling you to be saved right now.
If I were you, I would heed the invitation and come to Him.
Notice verses 19-20.
If the people came to God at His call, He promised to bless them.
If they refused to come, then all they could expect was His judgment.
What will it be for you?
Will it be the blessings of the Lord, or will it be the all-consuming judgment of God?
It all depends on what you do with the invitation.
If He is calling you, then you need to come. Come today and settle your case with God out of court. Get is settled now and never worry about it again!