The Clarion Call Of God

Isaiah 1: 8-9

The Clarion Call Of God

INTRO:

A. These verses contain one of the many times God has called to man down through the ages.

a. These calls of God began with Adam soon after he and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit.

b. When they ate of the fruit their eyes were opened and they did come to knowledge of good and evil for they saw they were naked and went and hid themselves.

c. Here in these verses from Isaiah we find God again calling to man, His highest creation, to return to Him and the fellowship they had together.

d. Notice the verse says, Come now and let us reason together says the Lord.

1. This call is a general call and is extended to all mankind.

2. Isaiah makes this call to whosoever wills a little clearer in chapter 55:1 Ho! Everyone who thirsts come to the waters.

3. I call this The Clarion Call of God.

B. The word clarion means loud, clear, ringing, and inspiring.

a. When thinking of the definition of the word clarion think of it as clear and inspiring, for God always makes His desires for man clear and inspiring in an endeavor to draw them to Him.

b. There are some things I want us to note about this clarion call.

I. FIRST I WANT TO IMPRESS ON YOU THAT THIS CALL IS A LOVE CALL.

A. It is a call from God to man therefore it is a love call, for God is love and everything He does is based on His love for man whom He created.

a. God wants a people that will love Him in response to His love for them.

b. He doesn’t want people to serve or love Him out of fear but, because they love Him, because He first loved them.

1. Think of the book of Song of Solomon as God’s love song to you and me His beloved.

2. Notice the tender yearnings of His voice as He calls to His beloved.

3. However, Song of Solomon isn’t the only place we see the tender love call of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is calling His beloved to come to Him that He may nourish them, coddle them on His shoulder, and whisper sweet love songs to His beloved.

c. He has manifested His love to all mankind in so many ways that it’s a wonder all do not love Him.

d. But the sad thing is so many are so wrapped up in themselves and the pleasures of this world that they cannot see His wondrous love.

e. It is only as the Holy Spirit is able to get people to stop their endless rushing about that they can see the love God has for them.

1. He put me in the bed flat on my back for about two weeks to get my attention so He could talk to me and show me some things I was doing that was not only displeasing to Him but detrimental to the Kingdom

f. Therefore it places a tremendous responsibility on the Christian to pray that the Holy Spirit will be able to somehow stop people long enough and get their eyes off themselves and pleasurable pursuits that He can show them the wondrous love of Jesus.

II. THE SECOND THING ABOUT THIS CALL WE NEED TO NOTE AND REMEMBER IS IT IS A PERSONAL CALL.

A. Every time the call of God is recorded in scriptures it is stated in a personal tense.

a. The first recorded call of God to man is in Genesis 3:9, Then the Lord God called to Adam and said unto him, WHERE ARE YOU?

b. This is soon after he and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit.

c. Genesis 4 records the birth of Cain and Abel, and Cain’s rebellion against God that resulted in the killing of Abel, Cain’s brother.

d. Verses 6-10 records the calls God made to Cain before and after he killed his brother.

e. Notice they are in the present tense directed directly to Cain.

f. Isaiah 6:8 records another personal call of God to man.

g. Here He is talking directly to Isaiah when He said, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?”

h. There are many more such references to the loving personal calls from God.

i. He called Sau, (later called Paul), on the Damascus road. (Acts 9:1-16)

j. Revelation 22:17 records the last of the personal calls.

III. THE THIRD THING TO NOTE ABOUT THIS CALL IS IT IS A CALL TO SALVATION.

A. Man needs saving because by his own choice he disobeyed God, thus is on the downward spiral to an endless eternity in a bottomless hell.