Seeking Yahweh

Scripture Introduction

Connection: We are to help others come to the Lord and at time may find ourselves straying so far that God can no longer bless us.

Potential Impact

Take Home: Gaining a deeper understanding of God empowers us to share the transformative good news of His character in a way that resonates personally with each listener.

Message Focus: Character of God that should draw us to him

Seeking Yahweh vv. 6-7b

Isaiah 55:6–7 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Joe is a charismatic guy and that comes out in his teaching. H is able to catch peoples attention and holds it for the duration of his talks. He has a great sense of humor and many times get people laughing so hard tears are rolling down their cheeks. He is one of those guys who everyone surrounds during fellowship times. He was engaged in discipleship and a man many looked up to.

Joe realized that everything they praised was a human trait: “You’re charismatic; you’re dynamic.” None of them was a fruit of the Spirit.

Amos 8:11 famine of the Word of Yahweh.

forsake his way

forsake his thoughts

Enablement- Forsaking our way and thoughts

Be aware of your biases, motivated perceptions, personal interests (will, wishes, agenda), secular training and experience, good and holy things that distract from good and holy things God is calling us to.

Character Qualities of Yahweh v. 7c; 30:18; Ex 34:6-7

Isaiah 55:7 “let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Sin is so bad because we have no way to remedy it ourselves. To make matters worse we have no means to get ourselves out of this predicament. Everywhere we turn to help ourselves, we leave more fingerprints of sin. Even if we could somehow obey God’s law perfectly going forward, we would have no means to remove our previous sentence of judgment. In and of ourselves we are stuck. . . . God had taken care of your most pressing problem, and he had taken care of it powerfully and permanently. - Eric Raymond, Chasing Contentment

Compassion

"have feelings and actions of kindness and concern for one in difficulty, regardless of one’s state of guilt for an offense”

Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Therefore

On account of their wickedness

Yahweh waits to be gracious to you

Delay in punishing, to give you time for repentance

So when we find ourselves asking the question, “How long, O Lord?” his answer may be, “Whenever you’re ready.”- Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. and R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word

He exalts himself to show mercy to you

He will be far removed from you (far above out sight), “in order that He may have mercy,”

Yahweh is a God of Justice

Exodus 34:6–7 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.””

Merciful- Showing favor

Gracious- Compassion

Slow to anger- Long-suffering

Abounding in steadfast love- (Excess) Loyal love

Abounding in faithfulness- Reliability

Keeping steadfast love- (Maintain) Loyal love

Forgiving iniquity- Judicial state of being liable for a wrong

Forgiving transgression- Breach in relationship

Forgiving sin- Moral offense

No means clear the guilty

Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children

Sin continues to be repeated down through the generations.

In other words, God here reminded his people that they could not rightly think something like “we can probably get away with doing this in our generation because God punished an earlier generation for doing it

We don’t experience the fullness of His pleasant attributes when we are living in a way that God can’t bless.

Enablement- Hope

We may not always understand what God is doing in someone's life, but we know the character of God behind His work.

Distinction of Yahweh vv. 8-9

Isaiah 55:8–9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Getting the park’s job

These two verses pick up on the idea of the “ways” and “thoughts” of mankind from verse 7.

Answering why it is necessary for people to forsake their ways and thoughts and seek God’s thoughts and ways.

my thoughts are not your thoughts

Created the world

sustains all things

Knows what has happened

What will happen

What could happen

Is everywhere- world perspective beyond human

controls history

Perfect in goodness

Compassion

Love

Justice

For as the heavens are higher than the earth

Voyager 1 (900k mi/day) would take 77k years to reach first star

He anticipates and compensates for peoples’ needs

Enablement- Respecting God’s thoughts and ways

Refrain from expressing your opinions when it's not your responsibility or when you're not directly involved. Avoid holding others to your own standards. Remember, God's thoughts are not our thoughts; therefore, if someone is discerning of the Lord's guidance, it may seem wrong to you because God’s ways are higher than our ways.

Summary

We considered some of the character qualities of God that will help us to share the transformative good news of His nature in a way that resonates personally with our acquaintances.

Seeking Yahweh

Forsaking our thoughts and ways.

Character Qualities of God

God, in his love, has compassion on us.

Distinction of Yahweh

His thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are higher than ours.

A Possible Next Step

The next person you talk to who is in need of hope. After listening, consider if God wants you to connect their situation with an attribute of His (possibly through prayer).