How Could You Refuse This Invitation…?
Give ear and come to me; hear me that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.
Isaiah 55: 3
D. Robert Chance
March 7, 2010
Isaiah 55:1-9
Invitation to the Thirsty
1 “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3 Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
Warnings From Israel’s History
1For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3They all ate the same spiritual food 4and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
6Now these things occurred as examples[a] to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.”[b] 8We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. 10And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.
11These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Luke 13:1-9
Repent or Perish
1Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
In initially thinking about what to call this message I thought maybe something like …
“You can lead a horse to water but ….” You know the rest of it.
After thinking of several other equally provocative titles I settle on “How Could
Refuse Such an Invitation?”
The message is simple. Implementing it seems to be not so simple.
God has invited us to come and have our thirst satisfied.
He has provided the very best well to come and drink from imaginable.
Better than anything else found anywhere else.
Better than anything the world could even possibly offer.
Yet, many…most in fact choose what the world offers rather than what God offers.
Many refuse to the accept the invitation.
And… here comes the clincher: If we don’t accept the invitation, if we choose to die of dehydration we die. The choice is ours.
I. God has provided an invitation to all who are thirsty, who have no money to come and receive that which will satisfy our thirst and fill our hunger, at no cost.
“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Are you hungry? Are you hungry for food that satisfies the soul?
Are you thirsty? Are you thirsty for drink that will fill the parchment in the soul?
Are you looking? Are you looking for a better road to journey upon?
Are you seeking? Are you seeking for that which will last, that which will give your life a deeper meaning and purpose?
The Lord has given you an invitation.
It hasn’t come through the U.S. Postal Service?
It hasn’t come through an email?
It isn’t on your answering machine – at least not the answering machine on the kitchen counter or the one on the office desk.
The invitation the Lord has sent and is sending you is the best and most important invitation anyone could hope to receive. It is unlike anything else you will ever hope to receive. It has no comparison.
It is eternal. It is priceless. It is beyond anything you could ever hope to receive.
II. Yet, most people ignore or refuse the invitation and accept what the world offers, a cheap and relatively worthless substitute.
2 Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
We spend our money on the circus.
We spend our money on bikes and wagons that rust and are eventually taken to the landfill.
We work for that which does not satisfy, that which brings no lasting satisfaction, that which into flows into and out of our lives like water being poured over sinking sand.
We spend our precious lives chasing the wrong things, the cheap things, the wasteful things which will never bring us true joy, or lasting satisfaction.
It’s so tragic that so many people refuse God’s invitation.
It’s so tragic that so many people won’t answer the door when the Lord knocks.
It’s so tragic that so many people aren’t up to opening the envelope.
We chase after the empty promises of the world.
We drink the cheap wine of the world’s walk up bar.
We eat the crummy junk food sold at the too expensive, little value “Joker’s Market” of Main Street.
Too many are idolaters, chasing after and worshipping the false Gods of the world, the athletes, the entertainers, the actors & actresses, the pretenders of faith, the bankers of greed, the merchants of tin and copper.
Too many sit down to eat and drink and indulge in pagan revelry and then wonder…
Why they feel empty.
Why they feel hungry.
Why they feel thirsty.
Why they feel hollow and cheap and poor of spirit.
It’s so ironic, no, make that “It’s so tragic” that so many ignore, refuse, deny the invitation of the Lord for the drink that satisfies in order to chase after and accept the invitation of the world’s worthless imitations.
III. God tells us that while the choice is ours, so are the consequences. We either choose life or death – but the choice is ours.
If we choose the world’s invitation we choose death.
If we chose the world’s invitation we choose that which never lasts, never brings us satisfaction. Like the Rolling Stones we get to sing “I can’t get no satisfaction”.
(I CAN’T GET NO) SATISFACTION
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m drivin’ in my car
And a man comes on the radio
He’s telling me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m watchin’ my TV
And a man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can’t be a man ’cause he doesn’t smoke
The same cigarrettes as me
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no girlie action
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m ridin’ round the world
And I’m doin’ this and I’m signing that
And I’m tryin’ to make some girl
Who tells me baby better come back later next week
‘Cause you see I’m on losing streak
I can’t get no, a no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
I can’t get no satisfaction
No satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction
On the other hand…
If we choose God’s invitation we live as we know he wants us to live.
If we choose God’s invitation we choose to be the people God has created us to be.
If we choose God’s invitation we choose the drink that lasts forever.
The choice is mine.
The choice is yours.
The choice is ours.
Jesus said, “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
6Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
8” ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’
Time is about up.
Options are running out.
The invitation won’t stay on the table forever.
Other nations, other peoples, other nations had the choice and made the wrong choices. Apparently, God’s patience has a limit.
If we continue to choose sports over church,
If we continue to choose cheap wine over the wine Jesus offers us,
If we continue to choose the material over the spiritual,
If we continue to choose the amusement park over the sanctuary,
If we continue to choose the movie stars and the tattooed basketball players over the teachers, the ministers, the counselors, the people of substance,
God will pull the invitation.
He will take the offer off the table.
The choice is ours.
The decision is ours.
The consequences are also ours.
Closing…
So! What do you say?
6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
Come and drink the water which satisfies our thirst forever.
Come; eat the food which fills the belly of the soul.
Come, sit at the well and receive the lessons which are the gifts of life.
Give ear to the Lord. Come to him.
Hear him that you soul may live.
Take him up on his everlasting covenant.
The promise is God’s love – forever.