The Call of Salvation – part 3
Isaiah 55:1-13 (7-9)
August 25, 2024
I want to start this morning
By having you turn to the greatest sermon ever preached.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 5
You know this as the Sermon on the Mount.
• I just want to meander through this a little because the sermon Jesus preached here is a perfect illustration of the point Isaiah is about to make to us this morning.
Matthew 5 begins with the famous segment we know as “The Beatitudes”.
• They are the essential attitudes which must be present if a person is to inherit salvation.
• They are actually the attitudes which are produced through the process of regeneration.
What I want you to see is that
There is nothing about them that we would call natural.
That is to say the attitudes Jesus requires here
Are not the natural way of thinking of humanity.
Consider verse 3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We’ve discussed this recently even in Isaiah 55
• We saw that the call of God was NOT GOING out to the fully satisfied or self-
sufficient.
• The call of God WAS GOING to the thirsty, the hungry, those who had ruined
their lives.
• The call of God is going to that barren woman and that immoral rejected
woman.
And that is what Jesus said here.
You must be “poor in spirit”
And because the “poor in spirit” inherit “the kingdom of heaven”
Jesus uses a word to describe them.
He says “BLESSED are the poor in spirit”
I would just point out that this is NOT WORLDLY THINKING in the least.
To be certain there is a “phony admiration of humility in our world”.
• People like to see humility in others.
• People hate it when someone is dogmatic in their beliefs.
• But no one in the world genuinely thinks that the road to success or victory or prosperity comes through being “poor in spirit”.
No, THE WORLD thinks that you achieve things just the opposite.
• If you want something you fight for it;
• You protest; you get in someone’s face;
• You outwork your opponent; you prove your worth;
• You go out and take what you deserve.
The world thinks that “fortune favors the bold”.
But here Jesus shows up and says
The real path to happiness or blessing is not found in being bold,
But actually it is found in being “poor in spirit”.
THAT IS BACKWARD THINKING TO THE WORLD.
And so goes the remainder of the beatitudes.
Each of them starts with the word “blessed” and each one demonstrates an attitude that is not how the world thinks you achieve happiness.
• “Blessed are those who mourn…”
• “Blessed are the gentle…”
• “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”
• “Blessed are the merciful…”
• “Blessed are the pure in heart…”
• “Blessed are the peacemakers…”
• “Blessed are [the persecuted]…”
That is just not how the world thinks happiness is achieved.
That is just not how the world thinks success is achieved.
It is even more absurd sounding
When you read Luke’s version of the beatitudes.
Luke 6:20-26 “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”
Has anything ever sounded more backward to worldly thinking than that?
• Everyone knows that being full makes you happier than being hungry.
• Everyone knows that being rich makes you happier than being poor.
• Everyone knows that laughing is more fun than weeping.
• Everyone knows that being praised makes you happier than being insulted.
How in the world can Jesus say
That true happiness and blessing is found in things like humility, weeping, meekness, hungering, mercy, purity, and persecution?
To a world that is desperately seeking happiness
Jesus’ words seem totally foreign.
BUT JESUS ISN’T FINISHED.
Look a little further in His sermon and see how readily He confronts conventional thinking.
In the next section every point begins with, “You have heard…”
And then immediately responds, “but I say…”
That is Jesus totally refuting human logic.
(5:21-22) “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”
It was Jesus’ way of saying that your thinking is totally wrong.
You think murder is an issue of the hands
I tell you it is an issue of the heart.
And, as you know, He continues on this thread 5 more times.
• He talks about lust and adultery.
• He talks about divorce.
• He talks about integrity.
• He talks about revenge.
• He talks about brotherly love.
And each segment starts the same way, “You have heard…but I say…”
• Your thinking is totally wrong.
• Your thinking is totally backward.
• What you’ve been taught is not accurate.
AND HE STILL ISN’T FINISHED.
You get to chapter 6 and He begins to analyze your religion.
He points out how wrong humanity has gotten it and how to do it correctly.
• He talks about those who sound a trumpet when they give…
• He talks about those who pray for public recognition…
• He talks about those who fast to be seen…
And again the point is the same.
YOU ARE DOING THIS THE WRONG WAY.
What you think is biblical giving is not.
What you think is biblical praying is not.
What you think is biblical fasting is not.
AND HE’S STILL NOT DONE.
From there He goes on to talk about money and again His message is totally foreign to the world.
First – DO NOT LOVE IT
(19) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Secondly – DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT
(25) “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
Is not that exactly the opposite of what the world teaches us about money?
The internet and television and radio are flooded with advertisements
That literally tell you to do exactly the opposite.
They tell you that you should be genuinely worried about money,
And to eliminate this worry the best thing you can do is store it.
How could it be any more obvious that what Jesus is teaching
Is totally opposite of natural human thinking?
Or how about chapter 7:12
• Where Jesus says, “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
That is exactly how the world operates isn’t it? (NO)
• You just go out and sacrifice yourself for the good of others.
• There is nothing in our world that operates this way.
Now look, that is the greatest sermon ever preached.
That sermon is salvation according to Jesus.
And, as you can see, it is filled with a correction of wrong human thinking.
When Jesus preaches a sermon on how to be saved,
His overarching point is that you are first going to have to
Completely change your way of thinking.
• What you thought was happiness is not.
• What you thought was salvation is not.
• How you thought you get saved is not how you get saved.
Without using the actual word, Jesus is calling for repentance.
He is calling for men to change their mind
Regarding everything they know about salvation.
You see that in His preaching don’t you?
Now, with that let’s go back to Isaiah 55 and read verses 7-9:
(7-9) “Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor 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.”
Do you understand the point now?
• As a human, you have a natural way of thinking.
• And your way of thinking makes so much sense to you.
• It just seems right, it feels right, and to your brain it must be right.
BUT IT IS NOT.
If you are to be saved…
If you are to respond to God’s call of salvation…
• You are going to have to “forsake [your] way and…[your] thoughts”
• You are going to have to “return to the LORD”
• You are going to have realize that God’s “thoughts are not your thoughts”
• You are going to have realize that God’s “ways are not your ways”
• You are going to have realize that God’s thoughts are “higher” than yours.
And as we said last Sunday night,
This is a VERY DIFFICULT THING for most people to do.
You’ve heard it before,
But the 3 most difficult things to say in the human language are:
1. I’m sorry
2. I was wrong
3. Worcestershire sauce
YOU GET THE POINT.
It is very difficult to forsake what seems naturally right to you.
BUT IT IS REQUIRED if you are to answer God’s call of salvation.
Because, God’s call is an ADAMANT CALL
• It is exclusive
• It is unyielding
• It is uncompromising
• He will not change His mind, you must change yours
And that is where we come to THIS MORNING.
I would quickly remind you where we’ve come thus far.
Because of the work of atonement that has occurred in chapter 53
• God’s call of salvation is now going forth.
According to chapter 54
• It is going out to the most undeserving and unable.
• It is going to the hopeless and helpless; the barren and the rejected woman.
And here in chapter 55 we have seen what a glorious call it is.
We’ve already seen:
#1 GOD’S CALL IS AN ABUNDANT CALL
Isaiah 55:1-3a
• We saw again God reach out to the hungry and thirsty.
• We saw again God reach out to those who had made a mess of their life.
God has extended His call of salvation and He promises abundance.
(2b) “Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance.”
He is giving men what they do not deserve and could not earn
And He is giving it to them in gobs!
• Barren women promised more children than other women.
• Rejected women promised more honor than those who haven’t messed up.
• Thirsty people offered living water so as to never thirst again.
• Hungry people offered bread of life so as to never hunger again.
God’s call is an abundant call.
#2 GOD’S CALL IS AN ANTICIPATED CALL
Isaiah 55:3-5
That is to say, it is what you have been waiting for.
• Isaiah reminded of the covenantal promises God made to David.
• Namely that David’s descendant would reign on the throne, rule the world, and usher in world peace.
Israel anticipated that greatly.
We anticipate that.
And here God reveals that when Israel responds to His call to come to Him, then God will fulfill that promise.
(3b) “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David.”
• It is the same thing Peter preached in Jerusalem that if Israel would “repent and return” then God would send Jesus to usher in the times of refreshing.
And we are reminded that God’s call of salvation
Is NOT a call to be DREADED as some AWFUL thing in your life.
God’s call of salvation should be anticipated.
If you knew how great are the plans which God has for the redeemed
• You’d sit by your phone endlessly just waiting on the call
• And the second you received it you’d respond to it as fast as you could.
It is a blessing, not a curse.
It is an anticipated call.
#3 GOD’S CALL IS AN AVAILABLE CALL
Isaiah 55:6-7
The reality is that God’s call is on God’s timing.
• You have to respond when He calls.
• You have to respond when He can be found.
• Natural man cannot just come to God any time they want.
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
It’s not up to you, it’s up to Him.
But the good news is that clearly you are hearing the call today!
Today, for you, it is available.
2 Corinthians 6:2 “for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”
He is calling you today, you have no guarantee He’ll ever call again.
But today it is available, respond to it.
Those are the 3 things we’ve seen thus far
This morning we move on to number 4.
As we said a moment ago:
#4 GOD’S CALL IS AN ADAMANT CALL
Isaiah 55:7-9
And again,
• It is unyielding.
• It is exclusive.
• It is uncompromising.
I included verse 7 in this point as well because you must get the point.
(7) “Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”
As Jesus pointed out,
Your thinking and God’s thinking are not on the same page.
And verse 7 answers the question
As to which one of you must change.
It is not God, it is you.
God is not going to change.
Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”
God isn’t budging, you must do the moving.
• There is no compromise here.
• There is no meeting in the middle.
Even when God put His word into the mouths of the prophets
He was very adamant that there should be no compromise.
Jeremiah 15:19-20 “Therefore, thus says the LORD, “If you return, then I will restore you— Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the worthless, You will become My spokesman. They for their part may turn to you, But as for you, you must not turn to them. “Then I will make you to this people A fortified wall of bronze; And though they fight against you, They will not prevail over you; For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” declares the LORD.”
He told Ezekiel
Ezekiel 2:4-5 “I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ “As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them.”
Again:
Ezekiel 3:5-9 “For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate. “Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. “Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.”
You get the point:
GOD IS NOT BUDGING ON HIS WORD.
Holy God and sinful man are miles apart regarding what is right,
But it is not God who is going to compromise His thinking,
Man must do this.
James told us that regarding God’s word we are to “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry”.
Remember,
• We aren’t here to argue.
• We aren’t here to improve.
• We aren’t here to offer suggestions.
If we are to respond to God’s call of salvation it will require REPENTANCE
• It requires that we change our minds.
• It requires that we forsaking our ways.
We remember the call of Jesus:
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
The admonition is clear.
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me”
• He’s not taking your yoke, you’re taking His.
• He does the driving.
• He calls the shots.
God doesn’t need a co-pilot.
He is calling for full submission, NOT a brainstorming session.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”
THAT’S THE CALL.
Abandoning your way of thinking is mandatory.
That part we see clearly in verse 7.
BUT SUPPOSE THE ARROGANT MAN TAKES ISSUE WITH THIS
Suppose the arrogant man, as many are prone to do,
Assumes that no change is necessary
FOR SURELY GOD AND I THINK THE SAME.
Many a fallen man assumes that he and God
Are more alike than you might think
So there won’t be much change of mind necessary.
“I mean, me and God already think pretty much the same,
So it shouldn’t require much change.”
Have you seen this mindset?
• How many today are busy doing this very thing as they condone and tolerate all types of sin and then reinvent a Jesus who agrees with them?
But listen to the Psalmist:
Psalms 50:16-21 “But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? “For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. “When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. “You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit. “You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. “These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.”
We’re not as alike as you think.
“You thought that I was just like you” – WRONG!
And that is what God reveals here.
For you to respond to God’s abundant call of salvation
There will be a necessary change in the way you think
AND REST ASSURED THAT CHANGE WILL BE A DRASTIC ONE.
For what does God reveal here?
(8) “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are you ways My ways,” declares the LORD.”
When the change starts being made it will be a big one
For we don’t think alike about anything.
AND LET’S JUST SIT HERE FOR A MOMENT.
Do you understand that?
• Do you understand that your natural way of thinking; the way that seems right to you, is nothing like God thinks?
That is a humbling but necessary truth to swallow.
We see this all the time in the New Testament,
Even among those who desired to follow Jesus.
See the people who want to follow Jesus
But don’t see the necessity of forsaking the world to do so.
They don’t understand why they can’t follow Jesus and acquire the world.
But one by one Jesus told them their thinking was wrong.
• Remember the man who would follow but Jesus revealed He was homeless?
• Remember the man who wanted to first collect his inheritance?
• Remember the man who first wanted to check with his relatives?
• Remember the rich young ruler?
These were all men who didn’t understand
Why following Jesus required a break with the world,
But their thinking was totally wrong and Jesus told them so.
But they weren’t all, we even see this among the 12.
Matthew 16:21-23 “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
Peter didn’t see why a crucified Christ was necessary.
• How about when James and John wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans?
• How about when Philip wanted to send the crowd away for food?
• How about when all the disciples didn’t understand why Jesus was talking to that Samaritan woman?
• Remember how they argued over which one was the greatest who who’d get the best seat?
Over and over and over we see the clear contrast between
The way the disciples thought about things and the way Jesus thought.
And quickly we learned that even among His followers,
We don’t naturally think or act like Him.
Remember this one?
Matthew 18:21-22 “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
I hear your thinking Peter, but you didn’t get that from Me.
• Your thinking must change.
• Even the 12 had to come to grips with that, and so must you and me.
Certainly this was a major stumbling block for THE ENEMIES OF JESUS.
Matthew 9:11-13 “When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. “But go and learn what this means: ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
They did not understand the thought process or the ways of Jesus.
His thoughts and His ways were not their thoughts or ways.
Matthew 15:1-2 “Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
• The behavior of Jesus was puzzling to them.
Jesus then explained:
Matthew 15:10-11 “After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
They didn’t understand what Jesus understood.
They didn’t think like Him or act like Him.
Remember how they took issue with healing on the Sabbath and they thought they were doing the work of God by restricting it.
Jesus asked them if any of them water their sheep on the Sabbath and then said:
Matthew 12:12-14 “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.”
THEY DIDN’T THINK THE SAME.
And we could go on and on with illustrations of how man’s thoughts are not God’s thoughts and how man’s ways are not God’s ways.
But just understand that if you are to answer the call of God
You’ll have to realize your plans and God’s plans are not the same
And that it is your plans which must change.
Are you willing to do that?
• Are you willing to humble yourself and run to His word and have your mind renewed?
• Are you willing to change your way of thinking and adopt God’s?
LET ME TELL YOU WHY YOU SHOULD:
(9) “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Do you know why you should this very moment abandon your thinking and submit to God’s?
BECAUSE GOD’S IS WAY BETTER!
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”
It is true that God and man think different, and WAY DIFFERENT.
BUT LISTEN
We are the fallen ones, not Him.
We are the ones who think wrong, not God.
His thoughts and ways lead to life and life abundant.
Listen to what God has to say about His thoughts and ways:
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
The Psalmist followed suit:
Psalms 40:5 “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.”
Psalms 92:1-5 “It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre. For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands. How great are Your works, O LORD! Your thoughts are very deep.”
Listen to Paul speak about God’s plan for you.
Ephesians 1:18-19a “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
1 Corinthians 2:7-9 “but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”
Paul said you can’t even fathom how awesome
God’s thoughts and plans for your life are.
And the key word here is: TRANSCENDENT
God’s thoughts and God’s ways are above us in every way.
If you’ve ever read Romans 9-11 you have no doubt
Had your mind blown by the transcendent wisdom of God.
In that 3 chapter segment
• Paul talks about how Israel rejected Christ and was broken off.
• He talks about how Gentiles were grafted in and how all of this was by the sovereign prerogative of God.
• How Gentile salvation will make Israel jealous.
• And he talks about how God will one day graft Israel back in again and save them.
Here was Paul’s summary thought:
Romans 11:28-32 “From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”
Paul says that this is what God did.
God ordained that Israel would reject the gospel
• So that He could show mercy to Gentiles who did not deserve salvation.
God then ordained that one day Israel would see the mercy shown to you
• And would desire that same mercy in their lives.
And in spite of their current disobedience to God,
• God will show them mercy too.
And Paul sums this up like this: “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.”
God condemned men in their disobedience so that men would understand and appreciate the greatness of His mercy when He saves them.
And when Paul began to understand
Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
NO ONE THINKS LIKE GOD!
• His thoughts are infinitely better!
• His thoughts are infinitely higher!
• His ways are infinitely greater!
It is absolutely foolish
• To think that we think like Him.
• To think that our thoughts are better than His.
• To think that we can follow Him without changing our thinking.
Only God conceived a plan that saw sinners saved.
If the plan had been left up to man,
• It would most certainly involve man doing something to earn God’s favor,
• For this is one thing all false religion had in common.
But God’s plan was different, it was better!
God’s plan involved Him doing it all for us.
• He sent His Son in the likeness of sinful man.
• The Son He sent would then fulfill the Law in perfect obedience.
• This righteous Son would then die on a cross to pay the penalty for sinners.
And if those sinners would place their faith in the work of the Son
• Then God would credit the righteousness the Son earned to their account
• And would credit the sin they committed to the Son’s account.
• They would be declared righteous and rewarded accordingly.
• He would be declared guilty and punished accordingly.
• He would be scorned and we would be saved.
That is the gospel.
That is God’s wisdom.
Those are God’s thoughts.
And if you are to answer to God’s call, you must submit to that.
• Leave your own thoughts.
• Leave your own ways.
• Humble yourself before God.
And submit to His plan.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
That is the call and God is adamant about it.
