November 29th, 2015 - AM - Steps to Reconciliation (Is. 55:6-13)

Join me. Would you in the book of Isaiah chapter number 55 as we consider the mercy of God that saves our soul as a children dismissed for children's church, Isaiah chapter 55.

You're finding your place and Isaiah 55. Let me set your mind on our context. As a Bible student. I've never had the privilege to travel to Israel and to the Middle East but I understand that it's a very arid climate that it's very very desert-like area. And in fact as we study the scriptures we We realize that God put Israel in exactly where he wanted them so that they would really have no other means of sustenance except for from his direct provision. So think about that think about the area of the Middle East and how it's isolated from the major rivers of the world. And think about Israel and their dependents complete and total dependence on God for their life. You're in Isaiah chapter number 55 follow along with me beginning of verse number 6. The Bible says seek. Ye the Lor that's Jehovah while he may be found call you upon him while he is near let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither. Are your ways my ways say at the Lord praise the heavens are higher than the earth. So are my ways higher than your ways in my thoughts then your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven. And return is not litter but water is the Earth and make is it bring forth in Bud that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it for you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace the mountains and the hills shall Break Forth before you and sit into singing and hold the Trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree 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 Lord. I ask that you would help us to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ your son through our time in your word together. I pray that you would bless and as this passage tells us my faith is it will not return void. It will accomplish exactly that which you send it and may the hearers of your word under the sound of my voice today be moved in all and Inspire to freshen a new to come before your presence in humility acknowledging their sin and cleaning only to your provided salvation through the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world Jesus Christ in his name we pray. Amen. God's people living in the promised land were forced to look in face to a Life Source beyond their surroundings Egypt had the Nile to keep them alive. Mesopotamia had the Tigris and the Euphrates. But Canaan had only the rain not a constant flow but a seasonal intervention if the rains didn't come people starved God located his people where they had to live by faith in him not once for all but continually even the Jewish Exiles in Babylon carry the memory of this they understood that ring was the difference between life and death at living in Colorado. I understand that just a little bit here. We also have quite an arid climate and and without water our plants die in our yard looks atrocious and I perhaps you battle with the same thing those water. Pills that come in when you're trying to you know run the sprinklers in the in the green season, but you know, thank God for the snow that we've gotten the moisture that it brings because soon it seems like there's been times where things have been so dry and we've gone for so long without water that it just is us almost like just a sprinkling of doing and then the next day you get up and and things are growing again and then they're blooming in their budding because of the water and the sustenance that it brings, you know, God does the same thing I believe to his spiritually speaking he brings us to a place where the rivers of the world will never satisfy the parchment of our soul and we find that without his divine intervention. We will surely surely perish in the desert of sin. But we can turn our eyes toward Heaven. Amen from that source of life. We can look to him and in Humble face to a god whose ways are perfect. Whose ways are Beyond finding out and when we look to him he pours his word out upon us as he sends the rain on the just and the unjust he is sent his word to all mankind and we have but to look in and peer into the precious pages of scripture to be able to sign the life sustenance for our soul believing as those Waters of the word Bay's us so graciously rain down from heaven above to such a poor and thirsty and needy people. What's the word of God reaches our heart via our mind, you know that 18in trip that preachers talk about so much if it's here. It's not going to Vail you anything. It must be here in the heart. And so once the word of God penetrates the dryness and the Darkness that surrounds Us in the light verse through once our heart is open too, and we receive it once we repent and believe on the Lord and turn to Jesus then. transformation takes place she got is in the transformation business, isn't he? Old things are passed away behold. All things are become new. This is really a theme in this passage of Isaiah. They gone is going to transform and he's going to make all things new and so gods in the transformation business friend and he wants to transform your life follow along with me if you would as we consider this their Are three things that I'd like for you to hang your hat on this morning as you think about the goodness of God in his grace and that Mercy that came down. First seek and you shall find secondly I want you to strengthen your faith in God and serve them going to ask you to do all that. You can to grow in God's Garden God's Garden of Grace So seek and you shall find that's taken from Matthew 7:7 knock and it shall be opened unto you. Ask and you shall receive but I used the word seat because of our verse before us noticed the invitation and we have to connect this with the proceeding versus remember God has already given one of the greatest invitations in all of the scriptures when he says come three times in chapter 55 inverse number one come to the banquet. Come to the feast that the Lord is prepared come to the place where you can buy and even if you don't have any money come to the place where you can be nourished, even if you're poor and needy and on the brink of Destruction see the invitation is given. And now he says are you looking are you looking for this diligently not as if you lost it because well, I guess I did lose the Lord and in a sense when they departed from him and went after their sin. But not in the sense that you're looking for something in that way, but that's you are so diligent that you're going to do everything. You can to find what you're after you see God never moves. He's right where you left him. Just go look for him. And he's there seek and you shall find the invitation is to call on him, but here's the condition. While he is near invitation to call on the Lord in the hour of his favored verse number six siki that's plural seek. Ye Jehovah while he may be found call upon him while he is near And as I thought about this verse especially that last phrase as to while he is near. I had to ask myself. Was there ever a time when he's not near me on a wonderful Journey Through the scriptures because I I looked up that word near. And I try to find all the places I could I could that it was used and when I did I found out that there are different senses behind the word near that it's used in different ways to communicate different things one would be a spatial idea in that someone's near and in over and over. I saw this when they were talking about armies and and Nations being near to one another close in proximity geographically speaking in a spatial sense, but then there's also other times when this word near was used in a more temporal sense. And and I think the indicator that finally helped me figure it all out was the English word while if I would have just paid attention as an English speaker. I would have been well off because while is a temporal word is wild speaks of a time element and so is there ever a time when the Lord won't be near I ruled out the spatial idea because I mean there's never a place where we can go that God's not there even David said in the Psalms that if I Ascend into heaven Behold our there and if I descend into hell Lo Thou Art there there's never a place. There's never a location. There's never a spot if you will and we can go that we're Away from the omnipresence of God. But is there ever a Time?

That we will not be able to call on him and it's a rather commentary some of them understood this and they applied it to death. And I think the the targum in the Jewish writings applied it to death that when you die too late to call on the Lord. That ought to shake us up because none of us are guaranteed to tomorrow. We're all on borrowed time and how true that is. Harry day that passes the closer we get to Eternity. And so can we call on him now today? If you will hear his voice Harden, not your hearts. When will the Lord not be near when the time expires to be redeemed through repentance and Faith. That's when it's too late to call on the Lord because you let that ticket expire. There's illustrations in the scriptures of this Noah is 1 he was given a message from God that judgment was coming to the Earth for the wickedness in the sand in the imagination of the heart. That was only evil continually in God's spirit will not always strive with man, but Noah found Grace in the eyes of the Lord and Noah begin to build the ark Ann while the ark Was preparing for a hundred in year 20 years Noah preach the word of God and he preached that judgment was coming and the world turned a deaf ear to this preacher. sadly for the world but through the grace of God Noah one day was told to take his family eight Souls total in the ship and enter into the ark and when they were in the art the Lord, of course, you know said come into the art meaning he was already in there. He invited them to come into the art. Once they were in the doors were shut. forever shot forever closed to all who would be outside. the time of Grace had expired Seek ye the Lord while he may be found don't count your tomorrows. And think that they're yours go to now you rich men that say will go to such and such a city in. buy and sell and trade oh, you know not what is on the morrow as the one in scripture in that Parable who built bigger Barns and laid up all he could and said, well I live I'll eat drink and be merry and the Lord said that fool. For tonight shall I shall be required of the let's not let that time expire when the Lord would be near enough for us to call on him close and it hand. Because the day of the Lord is at hand. No, let us believe the preaching of the word of God. Let us repent of our wickedness. Let us turn in Phase to our God for the saving of our souls. The phrase while he may be found. Where's be said to suggest that if we do not take his invitation. Seriously the invitation Macy's while we are delaying thought that was well said the parable of the great supper. God closed the door on those who spurned his invitation and he quotes Luke 14 16 to 24 and he tells us to see Proverbs chapter 1 verses 22 23 vs 22 33, excuse me, and then he quotes 2nd Corinthians 6:2 Behold now is the day of salvation. Today Hebrew says in chapter number for if you will hear his voice Harden, not your heart as in the provocation is in the wilderness. Let us therefore fear lest a promise be left us of entering into that rest. What a warning and yet what a gracious invitation that says. There's still time you see don't emphasize the negative so much that you missed the positive. You still have a window. Hey do this for me.

Can you do that? You breathing. Then you still have a window. You still have God's grace available to you? Then call on him call on him while he is near. What's the result? Okay, I get the invitation. I need to call on the Lord and I need to do it now. I don't need to let any time to lay on this I need to take care of my soul salvation and make sure my eternity is secure for all time without having to wonder what will happen. When I stand before the Lord what what's going to happen. When I do that what's the result of the result is? Nobody repentance in your heart will be a return unto the Lord. You see verse number 7 goes on to explain this to us. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts which of the parallelism here. Can you see it the beauty of the Poetry let the Wicked the unrighteous man. The wicked is to forsake. What hit the unrighteous man is to forsake. What his thoughts. Do you see the parallelism? It's just beautiful. So we forsake but then we returned there's a colon in the verse that explains to his in this forsaken. You see is two sides of the same coin. We forsake one we turn to another. The best biblical definition of repentance. I can give you a turning away from returning to repentance toward God and Faith toward the lord Jesus Christ. He says if you do this, he'll have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. You know, this was just a wonderful verse. We repent we forsake our Wicked Ways. We forsake our Wicked doings. See the Waze speaks of a lifestyle. This is more of the outward that happens at end in certainly. We live in a day where we don't have to explain to anyone that Wicked atrocious things are happening. Why are these things happening? We shouldn't ask why because we know why. When will they cease? We know the answer to that too when the Lord comes in the Lord returns. That's when all this will pass over the scripture saying it came to pass. And so I guess a better question is what what do we do? Hey, we the only way that we can make a difference is by helping others find what we found in Jesus that changed our life. That's what will hold at bay. That's the salt that will that will hold back corruption. That's the light that will reveal the darkness of the world. So that's what weird to be doing perhaps but you know, this is just lovely. This most gracious invitation. We repent we turn from our Wicked Lifestyles a friend. What are you into that? God is not pleased with just get that out. Can you hear us invitation? He wants to give you Mercy. He wants to save you he wants to deliver you, but you can't come to him holding onto this baggage. No, you take your burden to the cross and you leave it there. You you take your sins and deposit them on Jesus Christ and never take him up again. You forsake you turn from your wicked lifestyle and when I got to save things changed. Did things change for you when you got safe? I hope and pray they did we can come to Jesus. Anyway, we please but we better not leave the same way we came. Because he does a miracle work in our life but things I used to do. I don't do them anymore. But things I used to do. I don't do them anymore the places I used to go. I don't go there anymore the places I used to go. I don't go there anymore things. I used to say. I don't say them anymore, you know the song. Got changed my life. He changed my heart. And so what happens on the outside now is is now pouring of of my face from the inside what I believe about Jesus Christ that is solid for all eternity. I saw it and I found and I'm so glad the Lord was gracious and merciful to me a sinner. So we we seek the Lord. We repent we forsake our Wicked Ways. We forsake our Wicked Lifestyles our Wicked doings and let's call send what it is and see it as it is in God's eyes and we forsake are unrighteous thoughts that Unholy thinking that causes us to do the things that we do you see it's as right at home as deep as he can go. unrighteous thoughts Unholy thinking movie repent then we return there's a return. And notice what happens when we return this touches rains down on us, you know, I saying about that mercy and and I didn't really plan to to have these passages go with that special necessarily, but I just can't get away from what God's done and Tiny idea the mercy that came down when Jesus died on Calvary Mercy on the soul from Jehovah seek, and you shall find in a verse number. Inverse number 7. He goes on to tell us let the wicked forsake his way the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return unto the Lord when you repent when you return what happens. He who notice the spelling. Who is the the he that has Mercy?

Is it God or is it the Lord?

I got you thinking didn't I? Are they the same? Yes, there's three in one we believe in the Triune godhead, but look at the text. Look at the words. Who is it? Is it Jehovah or is it Elohim? Is it the Lord that has Mercy or is it God that has Mercy simple question simple answer. What is it?

Jehovah it is Jehovah. We all settled on that. Okay, let's read it together and Here's your sign at find the antecedent of the pronoun he ready. Okay for those Vermeer, it's up there. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return it to the Lord and He will have mercy upon him. Who is the first he he will have mercy upon him if we agree the ham is awesome. If we return we get to Mercy where the recipient but who's the giver Jehovah Lord all caps Lord Jehovah that why do I make such a big deal out of this? Okay, pastor, you're beating a dead horse. There's a reason why because I quoted a verse to you a moment ago that helps us understand it. We get Mercy from Jehovah. We have mercy upon our soul from Jesus because I believe Jesus is Jehovah. Not only do we get Mercy but we get something else we get a bun didn't Harden says just pardoned. It is abundantly pardon for our sin. Look at it again says to our God. For he will abundantly pardon so the mercy comes from who Jesus. Jehovah the pardon the Abundant pardon comes from who? Elohim it comes from God. Why is that important? Well because we didn't necessarily sin against Jesus as first we did when he when he came and murdered him innocently. Yes. I mean you could say that we send against him in that respect but he came unto his own his own received him not but ultimately the one that we send against is God the idea of God the thought the notion of God in essence in quality and character it is he who issued forth to decrees of the laws of the universe that we are to abide by that we can't We live in his his creation. We are his creature. We are accountable to him to God. And thereby when we violate. And do wicked things because we think wickedly as sinners. Then we violate against a Thrice. Holy God. Who will pour out wrath on send and who will hold us accountable and so Acts chapter 21 verse number 21 is a good verse that helps us understand from the New Testament what we're seeing here. We get Mercy from Jesus we get pardoned from God and its abundant part in the word abundant. There's important because it's literally he will act multiplying Lee in pardon multiplying with only put it to you this way. This is like pardon with compound interest.

You know, what compound interest is. I hope you do because it's either your friend or your enemy. And right here, it's our friend compound interest of the pardoning work of God. It doesn't mean that he brushes it under the rug. No, it means he goes to every length necessary without going into the details of How It's all provided but he does whatever it takes to make sure our sin debt is taken care of. When did he do that? Jesus loves you this much right across acts 20:21. The Bible says that time we have repentance toward God and Faith toward the lord Jesus Christ.

Pause helping us understand Disney because it is a holy God that we send against that's why we need to Pardon from God because it is Jesus who in Mercy came down from heaven and took our place on Calvary and died for our sins. That's the mercy that came down from heaven that washes our sins away. When we return to the Lord when we repent and we return to the Lord it just rains down on us the mercy does seek and you shall find so strengthen your faith in the Lord.

Strengthen your faith. How do we do this? How do I believe in God more? How do I know a tribute his word as truth in my heart. How do I reconcile all this in my mind me? This just sounds too good to be true. And if it's too good to be true. It probably is you think of think about it. We are talking about

Something that is impossible. It is absolutely impossible.

How in the world?

When we wrecked it all we've send we come short of the glory of God. We know that. You see this, this is Impossible by any means that we could Attain. how about works of righteousness which we have done but according to his You know the verse. Mercy gorgeous Mercy saves it's not possible that we should be in a right standing with God. It's not not possible that we could have fellowship with him anymore because we violated his creation. It's just not possible. If he's a guy that holds us accountable for a since how do I strengthen my face? Consider who we're dealing with because the Bible says that although with men these things are what impossible With God all things are possible. Harley possible only through believing is only through By faith, we perceived that the worlds we understand that the worlds were framed Hebrews tells us it is by faith without faith. It is impossible to please him faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen in the faith simple Faith believe in God, but you know the older we get the harder it is for us to believe anything and I find this to be true of my own self. I sit down and I see something I'm at someone's house and something comes across the TV and I go yeah, that's fake. They might be as real as the day, you know staring me in the face, but I'd say know that you know, that's video graphics or something that they've done, you know that to do this or I see some unbelievable. I just can't believe this. See we've encountered this before. This is just unbelievable to think that that God in heaven would send Jesus to do something like died on Calvary for someone like me a worm a center. Why Lord why would a king bleed and die for is the song says? Why would he give his precious lifeblood? Consider who we're dealing with the infiniteness of Jehovah the infinitus of our God in verse number 8 Isaiah tells us about this this Transcendent and holy God. He says for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither. Are your ways my ways. She sure you're thinking is not my thinking. You see how he's thymus to the verse before because of the ways in the thoughts keywords that help us connect them together. The lifestyle of man is not the lifestyle of God. He doesn't operate like we do he doesn't think the way that we do he thinks completely different it. It's foreign to us to understand his perspective without the Enlightenment from his word. We wouldn't know what God thinks about things we would continue on his post that I had not known sin except the law that said Thou shalt not covet. it was the law of God the word of God the revelation of the Lord on high that showed Paul that he had fallen so short God's ways are different. That his thoughts are not like our thoughts his lifestyle to other ways their say is Jehovah for as the heavens are higher than the Earth. And we've penetrated the heavens a little bit as man feeble man, and Usher can Spears conspiracy theorist. I believe we didn't really land on the moon and I don't know why I opened up that can but but if that's you let me just throw this thawed out at you if that's the case if all that stuff was staged. No, I talked about being skeptical. I'm skeptical of everything will the moon landing it was all fake. They did it in the studio, you know, they made it look like a like something and it was actually supposed to be Mars or whatever you want to argue. We can come up with with reasons why didn't happen but if that's true then you also have to think about this. Yes, there were at least three people on board that aircraft spacecraft that Claimed to be Christian. That professed to know Jesus. And so if you're going to believe it all that was fake, then you have no other option but to call every one of those three Christians a liar. In the Bible tells us that in the mouth of two or three Witnesses every word shall be established. So I'll take their word for it and let the Lord iron it out in the yet. So that's where you can take that with you. That's a side thought but you know, we're dealing with you no criticism and thinking how can this be? However, this is impossible that would we're dealing with the god of the impossible and we've only made it to the moon and Mars in you know, sent Machinery out even further, but we have no idea what's out there really? Do you know what's out there? And they they say that the Universe seems to be expanding and galaxies are there red shifted in the light, you know, it looks like they're going away from us that everything is moving out and there's just billions upon billions upon billions upon billions of galaxies even just within a small a little. And a telescope that we can see you. Where is God? I don't know. Someone told me once that he might be you know, the throne room of Heaven is a real place. It might just be behind the North Pole because we can't see behind the North Pole with anything any pools that we have. We don't know what's back there. I don't know about all that but I mean there has to be a place where God is. Could you be there Isaiah says for my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither of my ways your ways or neither. Are your ways my ways, excuse me says the Lord as the heavens are higher than The Earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts consider the infinite thoughts of our God. Well our thoughts and imaginations tend only toward evil continually Paul and in our depravity his thoughts are only pure only. Holy only goodness. There's no one that is like our god consider not only his infinite thoughts consider his infinite ways while there's a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death Jesus Jehovah said himself that he is the way the truth and the life. No, man can come to the father but by hand so your face will be strengthened when you consider how when you remember how helplessly weak and sinful we are and how Great and Mighty Is the Lord your God He's not like us. How do we strengthen our faith that we believe in him more consider who you're dealing with think about him? He's higher. He's transcendent.

the infiniteness of God also consider the goodness of the word Yes, he's higher than anything my finite mind can grasp but the goodness of Jehovah life-giving life-sustaining word know it was the goodness of God that Paul said turns us to repentance causes us to look to our god Isaiah goes on a verse number 10 has the rain coming to town and the snow, you know, he included coloradans right there. The rain comes down in the snow from Heaven return is not there either but water is the Earth and make is it bring forth and Bud you like my yard after it's been weeks and weeks and weeks without rain and then it comes down and poop. Here's flowers and weeds and everything make it bring forth and Bud. What's the purpose of it that it may give seed to the sower bread to the eater seed and bread. You know, that means life. That means we get to continue eating and living and all comes from where the hand of our good God. Why do you have the things that you have friend? Why were we able this last week during Thanksgiving to counter many blessings and name them one-by-one. Why did it surprise us so much What the Lord Has Done every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of Lights to see we're looking at the physical nourishment of God in the rains, but look at verse number 11 and it turns from the physical to the spiritual now. He says so shall my word be so just like you think about Rick and think about the Bible think about the word of God or in in Isaiah's day specific to the context the prophecy that Isaiah is giving it's not going to return void. It's it's going to accomplish something. He said so shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void. But it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing where to I sent it. God's rain fall on the just and the unjust with no respect of their person and his reins bring life and sustenance to the physical Earth. But the spiritual nourishment of God. We're told by Paul in Romans 10:17 that Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Remember I said strengthen your faith. How do you do that?

Read the Bible just read it put all the other books aside because as we talked about on Wednesday night in our price there was this book is worth more than all the other books that have ever been printed and published by me. There's no book that compares to this book. There's no book like this book about impossibilities something that's impossible for us to understand and grasp is how a book that has passed through human hands could come away undefiled.

And this is one of the great challenges of our faith today even among good bible-believing Christians. There is much doubt as to how much of this is without error.

Shame on us. But it's natural to ask questions. Isn't it is natural to not want to just stake everything we have on a whim that we don't know if it's true or not. I word is true from the beginning. And every word of God is pure as a tried in a furnace of her seven times. Know if we're going to have space there's no other way, but to believe that this is the infallible inerrant incapable of error word of God. This is impossible with men. But With God all things are possible. Can you just have simple childlike face? Like Jesus said if you come not as a little child, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Put all the wrestling away from your mind and just believe that if God's really up there and he really wanted you to know about him. Don't you think he'd tell you somehow? And if he's got enough to inspire his word, isn't he got enough to preserve and keep it to every generation? You don't have to wonder where that you would have the word of God today. I know this is something that I've dealt with many times from behind this Pulpit, but it just encourages us together to think about our God faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God, but if you doubt the word of God, you're going to doubt God himself you have to come with No Reservations believing that this is his book and that men have not been able to corrupt it. And that's what we believe faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God and nothing friend will strengthen your faith. Like some good old fashioned Spirit-filled people time. Just get out your Bible start studying it be diligent in it and it will bless your soul if you come to it in face, and if you have the Holy Spirit as your teacher, you'll be fed from the word of God from The Bread of Heaven. He says it will not return void it shall accomplish that Shall accomplish that which I please it shall prosper in the thing. Where do I send it? You're the source we find is Jehovah's mouth. Where does this word come from? It comes directly from the mouth of God. And then what's the outcome of it? We see that the outcome of the water of the word is the Gathering of souls into Jehovah's presents because he says it will not return empty. Where does the rain get the nutrients? That it brings to the soil. Well, as it goes through its channels various channels on the way back to the clouds and the cycle of the Earth.

It has to pick up nutrients Longway has to pick something up that it can take him and then bring back down and cycle through and the great filter of the soil in the clouds as we mentioned before, you know, how they were able to put those Nets up in the air and gather water when there wasn't water. Where do the where do the nutrients come from various places, but you see something has to be lifted up and God's word is no different spiritually speaking when it comes to us and we believe it by faith. It carries us back to God. He says it will not return to me empty. I send it out and it comes back but it doesn't come back with nothing. It comes back with me it comes back with you and we know that Jesus is the word. right in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God the same as in the beginning with god without him with all things were made by him without him was not anything made that was made. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth. So Jesus is the word and Jesus has come down and Jesus has gone back. He's calling us and we believe that one day we will be resurrected or raptured will be with the Lord say so I can return void. How many souls are going to be with Jesus? I don't know that number but God knows every one of them by name. And now we're all written in his book. If we're saved through Jesus Christ. So the outcome is the Gathering of souls in the Jehovah's presents. The mission of the water of the word is Jehovah's pleasure. It's what he Delights in to. Do. You see this just baffles me. Why would he be like in in this? Well, he's he's a god who's in the transformation business remember? And he Delights. She takes pleasure in transforming Wicked sitters into holy people. Through the blood of Jesus Christ not the rod works of righteousness that are filthy rags before him but through what Jesus does for us in putting his righteousness on our life. Accomplices Jabba's pleasure. So where we bare the curse of sin for our efforts being frustrated and toil by the Fall since the garden God's work never results in toil. Think about that. Remember we said he's different from us everything. He touches prospers.

Here's a challenge for you. Go study the life of Jesus Christ through the Gospels. And tell me if there's anything that you can find that Jesus either began to do or attempted and failed.

WW2 next week. Just kidding

No, he's exempt from the curse of sin. Every person. He healed was not just healed of their physical infirmities friend. They were made whole immediately from that very hour on everything. He does prospers. There is no toil in the economy of Our Lord. He's not frustrated at his causes. He's not frustrated in his efforts what he builds doesn't get torn down what we build might and what the devil builds might but the Lord builds its Eternal its Everlasting. And so this is singing everything that Jesus did when he was human. He found success and his own testimony and John 17 is that he had finished the work teleost. He had completed the work that his father had given him to do.

And what's that work? God is Long-suffering tortoise, he's not willing Peter tells us in 2nd Peter 3:9 that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. He wants us to turn to him that's his work in her heart and like that the redeemed should be conformed to the image of Christ we get saved and then he starts molding us put this back on the wheel as the great Potter that he is in and conforms us to that image that we lost at the fall the image that we were created in the likeness of God. He restores us back into the image of the second Adam Jesus Christ. See that's his plan. He's he's fixing everything we broke. I love it.

the promise of the water of the word is prosperity to Jehovah's cures Prosperity this word grab my attention, so I looked it up to in prosperity it's used in passages of probably some of the more familiar ones would be when the Lord tells Joshua that if he will meditate on on the word day and night then he shall he shall go into the land and he shall prosper and he shall have good success. So if we're thinking about it prospering then we have the idea of success in her mind, but friend, let me challenge you to be careful on how you define success. Let's define success the way God define success because let's face it. Although everyone has access to the revelation of God. There's not a single person that doesn't have access to the Revelation somehow someway. What is the general creation or through specific revelation of his word? We all stand accountable to him. So if all of us have the same privileges in that respect. Then what about those that have God revealed to them through the light of their conscience or more directly through the light of the scriptures they have God revealed to them, but they turn away from that light and I say no, I don't want that light may reject that light and they wind up separated in from all but I shouldn't say separated because we just talked about the omnipresence of God and he's everywhere so we can never really be separated from him that says but I think you understand what I mean. What will be in a place called hell will be away from from heaven will be away from all the Eternal joints that God wants to provide will be paying for our sins for all eternity with the devil and his angels. That's who hell was made for not for us. And so if there's Souls that will be there then does that mean that God's word hear that Isaiah was wrong somehow that he he missed it that that that it didn't Prosper to that which it was sent to that. It wasn't successful that there was some kind of barricade that it couldn't overcome that it couldn't conquer that that that God was not omnipotent enough to to accomplish this so be careful how you define success Paul again helps us understand this in the book of Corinthians because he says the gospel that we preach. Goes out and that's the word of God. The message of Salvation goes out but he says to some it's a saver on to life. Has it been a saver until life to you? Do you know the Lord as your savior, but he says don't stop there. The bitter thought is that to some is a Savor unto death. How else can we explain the ministry of preachers such as Jeremiah? Who came and poured his heart into people to try to get them to repent and turn from their Wicked Ways to be delivered from the Judgment of God and they refused to listen to him and they keep Thunder them selves preachers that would preach peace and tell them what they wanted to hear and they would turn a deaf ear towards the warnings of the Judgment of God. How else can we explain Noah Wyle the world perished yet. His household was saved because they turned a deaf ear to the word of God. How else can we explain these things except for his Paul said it is unto some a saver of death. How can we explain when? a Spirit-filled Bible preacher goes into a city and tries to set up camp there for God and preach the word of God. But that preacher leaves one day. And heads out at City stopping by the sign takes his shoe off and dust It Off. with no return and goes on and had success in Ministry elsewhere. How can we explain these things that now this town is buried beneath a lake. A town that had the opportunity to hear the gospel. A town that had the opportunity to receive the word of God, but they rejected it. Even Jesus is on disciples were told that if they go to a house and they're not received. Shake the Dust off of your feet and move on see Jesus. Is in the saving business. the transformation business and it will prosper to that which he sends it whether it prospers and salvation or whether prospers in judgment. Do not underestimate the mercy of God when he sends a gospel Messenger to your door or to your life in whatever way that maybe a friend a co-worker a preacher a missionary the list goes on and on a teacher family member. See God's word will get where he wants it to go and it will accomplish its purpose but let's do all we can to sort and avoid an end steer indirect people away from that purpose of judgment because will stand before the Lord one day regardless will we stand before him as our savior or will we stand before him as our judge? Either way? It will prosper because God's going to purge this old Wicked World of sin one day. We're going to have Heaven at our fingertips, but it's a Bittersweet next because there are those that we want to reach that still hold Jesus at Bay for whatever reason they they have in their mind and heart that they don't really need him or that there's something wrong with this book or whatever might come to challenge their faith. his word shall when we come to the place where as hearers of the word of God we respond. And it's quick and Powerful sharper than any two-edged sword and it lays US Open and discerns are our thoughts and intents and we're naked and open before him with whom we have to do. It's my plea that you will not allow your stinking Pride to hinder you agreeing with God that yes, you are a sinner. Concerning what he reveals in your life. When you try to draw close to him that you'll humbly confess as that Publican did be merciful unto me Lord Eye Center has Peter did when he saw the the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He said depart from me for I am a sinful Man O Lord as Isaiah did when he saw the Lord high and lifted up. He says, woe is me for I am a man of undying I'm a Don I'm a man of unclean lips. I dwell amongst the people of unclean lips when we can see our state for what it really is only then can we take the can the Lord take the cold and and Purge the send for my heart and life only then are we ready to allow the great physician to bind up our broken heart to open our eyes to set the captive free in a free us from the bondage of our sin. That's the power of the Gospel by the way. It will accomplish he turns us from Darkness into the light of his son Jesus Christ, which lighteth every man that cometh end of the world if we would only confessed he is ever faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. strengthen your faith Think about who you're dealing with he's not like us and then grow and God's Garden God's Garden of Grace noticed a personal transformation to hasten on here that Isaiah pointed out to us the personal transformation inverse number 12 for ye shall go out with joy. Hey, when you come to the Lord and you heed, his invitation will be joy in the camp, my friend and he changes your life forever. You'll be led forth with peace. And so if you want the Tranquility that only God can give you that peace that passes understanding it can be yours. And then there's a colon in the verse that explains to us a little further hear the mountains in the Hills. Shall Break Forth before you into singing.