The Invitation
Isaiah 55:1-12
Introduction
Tony Campolo wrote a book called “The Kingdom of God is a Party.” In chapter one, he tells the story of a trip to Honolulu in the mid 80’s. Having crossed far too many time zones from Philadelphia to Hawaii, he found himself awake and needing breakfast at 3:30am local time. He ended up in a greasy, divey place ordering a donut and a coffee, and while consuming this wholesome breakfast in walks 8 or 9 prostitutes. The place is small, Campolo is surrounded, and like most of us decides the best thing to do is to get out of there. Then he overhears one of them say, “Tomorrow is my birthday; I’ll be 39.” Somebody else tears into her. “So?? Whadya want me to do about it?? Want me to throw you a party, bake you a cake, sing “happy birthday???” The first shot back, “Come on! Why do you have to be so mean? I’m just telling you, you don’t have to put me down. I don’t want anything. I’ve never had a birthday party my whole life, why should you give me one, why should I have one now. I’m just saying.”
If you know Tony Campolo, you probably have an idea what happens next. He hangs around till they leave, then asks the guy who runs the place if those people come in every night. They do, so Campolo asks if he could throw that one prostitute a big birthday party that next night. They get excited about the idea, make all the arrangements – Campolo decorates the diner, the chef bakes a cake, somebody gets the word out on the street. This is how Campolo describes the scene:
“By 3:15 every prostitute in Honolulu was in the place. It was wall-to-wall prostitutes… and me! At 3:30 on the dot, the door of the diner swung open and in came Agnes and her friend. I have everybody ready (after all, I was kind of the M.C. of the affair) and when they came in we all screamed, “Happy birthday!”
Never have I seen a person so flabbergasted … so stunned … so shaken. Her mouth fell open. Her legs seemed to buckle a bit. Her friend grabbed her arm to steady her. As she was led to one of the stools along the counter we all sang “Happy Birthday” to her. As we came to the end of our singing with “happy birthday dear Agnes, happy birthday to you,” her eyes moistened. Then, when the cake was carried out with all the candles on it, she lost it and just openly cried.”
She couldn’t blow out the candles. She couldn’t cut the cake. In fact, she was so overwhelmed that she asked if she could just keep the cake for a little while. The gruff chef said, “It’s your cake. Go ahead.” And so Agnes picked the cake up and carried it home as if it were the most precious thing imaginable.
The crowd was stunned into silence. Not knowing what else to do, Campolo said; “what do you say we pray?” And he did. He prayed for Agnes, for her salvation, for God to turn her life around. At the end, the chef turned to him with a trace of hostility in his voice and said, “You never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?” Campolo replied, “I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning.”
Our God has called us to the party. He says "Come," All you who are thirsty". The word "Come" in Hebrew literally means "Ho" and implies that an important event is about to take place. We would say something along the lines of "Hey!" or "listen up, this is important".
Who’s invited to the event, the thirsty. As a matter of fact, our Lord in Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:18 -19 invites those who are thirsty, hungry, hurting, grieving, imprisoned, captive, slaves and free alike to come in response to the invitation. It is not limited to one people but is open to all who will come. Everything is ready all you have to do is show up at this important occasion.
1. Riches - v. 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.
What is it that’s being celebrated? The celebration is about a new covenant, one that brings the soul to life, a covenant of everlasting unconditional love promised to David.
The new covenant is unique in that it means that God would bind himself to be their God, their protector, and their friend. It is He who would bring it to pass without the aid of the other party. He would be solely responsible.
This covenant would be made with all who would come to him. It would not be with the nation of the Jews, as such, or with any community, as such, but it would be with all who should embrace the offers of life and salvation. (Barnes Notes)
Jesus said in John 7:37, "If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink."
2. Respond - v. 6
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
The offer that is given is a limited time offer. Rab. David Kimchi gives the true sense of this passage: “Seek ye the Lord, because he may be found: call upon him, because he is near. Repent before ye die, for after death there is no conversion of the soul.”
The implication is, 1. That God may be found and, 2. There will come a time when He will choose not to be found. We know that at death, our decision in life is fixed. The Parable of the Richman and Lazarus tells us it’s fixed and cannot be changed.
Pharaoh also gives us the example of a man who said no so many times that his heart was hardened to the point that is all he could say. When does that point happen in your life? I don’t know but I do know if the Lord is speaking to you today, then "today is the day of salvation" for you.
The unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws for ever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven." (John Piper)
What must you do?
Not too many years ago newspapers carried the story of Al Johnson, a Kansas man who came to faith in Jesus Christ. What made his story remarkable was not his conversion, but the fact that as a result of his newfound faith in Christ, he confessed to a bank robbery he had participated in when he was nineteen years old.
Because the statute of limitations on the case had run out, Johnson could not be prosecuted for the offense.
Still, he believed his relationship with Christ demanded a confession. And he even voluntarily repaid his share of the stolen money! (Tim Zingale)
3. Repent - v. 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.
Notice the two part process in the repentance. First, turn away from the direction you are going. What direction is that, Away from God. Stop running in the other direction.
The next step, once you have stopped going in your direction, is to turn to the Lord. It is a 180 degree turn around. Stop walking away from the Lord and simply turn to Him in trust and faith.
4. Reside - v. 8-10
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Corrie Ten Boom in The Hiding Place relates an incident which taught her this principle. She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had seen yet, Ravensbruck. Upon entering the barracks, they found them extremely overcrowded and flea-infested. Their Scripture reading that morning in 1 Thessalonians had reminded them to rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. Betsy told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters. Corrie at first flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas, but Betsy persisted. She finally succumbed. During the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without guard interference. It was several months later when they learned that the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas.
There is much debate on what verses 8-11 mean. To me it is a statement that you and I will never understand the gospel fully. All we need know is that trusting in God’s word will bring a life of growth and abundance. The story of the old man is a great example of "whoever has the Son has Life."
What’s next, Rejoice!
5. Rejoice - 12
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
I do not understand the love of God nor do I pretend to, it just is. I know that whatever I encounter, whenever I encounter it I can rejoice in Him. Let me share some scriptures with you this morning.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:16-18
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
The old monk sat by the side of the road. With his eyes closed, his legs crossed, and his hands folded in his lap, he sat. In deep meditation, he sat.
Suddenly his zazen was interrupted by the harsh and demanding voice of a samurai warrior. “Old man! Teach me about heaven and hell!”
At first, as though he had not heard, there was no perceptible response from the monk. But gradually he began to open his eyes, the faintest hint of a smile playing around the corners of his mouth as the samurai stood there, waiting impatiently, growing more and more agitated with each passing second.
“You wish to know the secrets of heaven and hell?” replied the monk at last. “You who are so unkempt. You whose hands and feet are covered with dirt. You whose hair is uncombed, whose breath is foul, whose sword is all rusty and neglected. You who are ugly and whose mother dresses you funny. You would ask me of heaven and hell?”
The samurai uttered a vile curse. He drew his sword and raised it high above his head. His face turned to crimson, and the veins on his neck stood out in bold relief as he prepared to sever the monk’s head from its shoulders.
“That is hell.” Said the old monk gently, just as the sword began its descent.
In that fraction of a second, the samurai was overcome with amazement, awe, compassion and love for this gentle being who had dared to risk his very life to give him such a teaching. He stopped his sword in mid-flight and his eyes filled with grateful tears. “And that,” said the monk, “is heaven.” Fr. John W. Groff Jr.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
Invitation
