Invitation to the LORD’s Salvation: An Invitation to Abundant Life

The Savior’s Great Invitation to the World

 

Introduction: the human race has the most unique opportunity imaginable, that of having worldwide peace, economic prosperity, and justice. Peace among all people is possible. A society in which need has been eliminated is possible. A society in which citizens live in comfort and joy, treat others fairly, and always do what is right is possible. Incomprehensible! Unimaginable! Yet this is the very offer that God extends to the world—the salvation of society. His great invitation to every society and group of people of the world is to receive His gift of peace, prosperity, joy, justice, and righteousness. This is the great message of the present Scripture. As seen earlier, God’s very special Servant, His Son Jesus Christ, died for the sins of the entire world (Is. 52:13–53:12). He died to offer salvation to the world. This is "The Savior’s Great Invitation to the World." 

The invitation to come to the LORD 

1 (55:1–5) The invitation is not extended only to the Jews. God does not call only the religious and righteous to come. He calls everyone, including the ungodly and unrighteous. Note the Scripture and outline:

OUTLINE

SCRIPTURE

  1.      The invitation to come to the LORD

    a.      The people invited: The thirsty & poor

    b.      The offer: Salvation

      1)      Water: Spiritual fullness

      2)      Wine & milk: All needs met

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

    c.      The price: Free

    d.      The urgent plea

      1)      Do not waste money & labor on things that do not satisfy

      2)      Listen to the LORD: Be filled with His nourishment

2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

    e.      The promise: If you come to the LORD …

      1)      You will live

      2)      You will receive all the mercies & love promised to David, 2 S. 7:11–17

3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

    f.      The agent of salvation: The Savior

      1)      He is God’s Witness, Leader, & Commander

4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader, and commander to the people.

      2)      He is God’s Witness who issues the call for the people (Gentile nations) to come

         •      They will rush to Him

         •      They will see Him glorified by God

5 Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. 

a. The people invited to come are those who have thirsty souls and poverty-stricken hearts. To thirst means to desire, crave, long after, yearn for, eagerly seek. So to those whose souls are like a desert—dry and barren, eagerly seeking and yearning to have their thirst quenched—God says, “Come to me!”

To be poverty-stricken means to be poor, impoverished, distressed, and in desperate need. To those whose souls are poverty-stricken—utterly famished, destitute, unable to find anything that will satisfy their emptiness—the LORD cries out, “Come to me!” Let all who are thirsty and poor come to the LORD.

b. The offer of the LORD is salvation (v. 1). The thirsty, hungry soul can be saved and delivered from its thirst and hunger. The LORD offers streams of living waters to satisfy the dry, thirsty soul, and He offers wine and milk to satisfy the hungry heart. Keep in mind that water and food are the most valuable commodities in a dry, barren country. When traveling through desert areas, people will perish unless they have prepared themselves by securing water and food. So it is with the human soul. As people walk through life, they must secure the water and food that the LORD provides, or else they will perish. What is the water and food that God provides?

      ⇒      Jesus Christ is the living water of God.

      “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water” (Jn. 4:10).

      “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn. 7:37–38; also see Re. 7:17; 22:1–2; 22:17).

      ⇒      Jesus Christ is the bread of life.

      “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (Jn. 6:35).

      “I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eats of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (Jn. 6:48–52).

c. What is the cost of God’s water and food? Astoundingly, they are free, absolutely free. This fact suggests several points: 

First, God’s salvation is a free gift. It cannot be secured by money, giving religious offerings, or working for it. If salvation were by works, people's good deeds would put God in debt to them. God would owe them. If that were the case, God would be subjected to them, owing them salvation to pay His debt. But God cannot be subjected to any man. God is the LORD of the universe, ruling and reigning over all. All creatures are in debt to Him; He is in debt to no creature. Whatever He gives is from grace, freely given. He restates the point: God’s salvation—the water and food that satisfy the human soul—is freely given. It is a gift.

• “And by him, all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Ac. 13:39).
• “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Ro. 3:23–24).
• “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (Ro. 4:3–7).
• “But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many” (Ro. 5:15).
• “Therefore as by the offense of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Ro. 5:18–19).
• “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Ro. 6:23).
• “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Therefore, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:10–14).
• “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ep. 2:8–9). 

Second, the LORD cares deeply for us. He longs to meet the hunger and thirst of our hearts by freely giving us the living water and the bread of life. When a gift is given without any expectation of payment, the gift reveals a caring heart. God is interested in our welfare. He is concerned, cherishes, and holds us in the highest esteem. And He has proven His love by freely offering us the gift of salvation.

Third, the price of salvation was extremely costly to God. Salvation cost God the death of His very own Son. Christ paid the ransom for our sin. Through His death, we are redeemed, set free from the bondage of sin and death, and given eternal life. Although we receive salvation freely, God paid an enormous price for our redemption.

• “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jn. 3:16).
• “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Ac. 2:23).
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro. 5:8).
• “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Ro. 5:19).
• “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jn. 3:16). 

d. The plea of God for people to come is urgent and compelling (v. 2). Come is an imperative that demands immediate attention. The life or death of the human soul is at stake, for the soul is as thirsty as a barren desert and as empty as a starving man. Thus the appeal by God is pressing, requiring our utmost and immediate consideration. God makes a twofold plea:

      1)      Do not waste money or labor on things that do not satisfy. Note that God puts this plea in the form of a question, focusing on how many people do just that. They spend their money on things that do not satisfy the human soul, such as …

• worldly pleasures and activities
• immoral and illicit sexual behavior
• material possessions
• fleeting and worthless adventures
• acquiring or buying position, authority, power, or fame

      Carnal pleasures and worldly possessions cannot satisfy the human soul. Stimulating the flesh and securing the possessions or fame of this world will leave a person empty inside. With its bright lights, cheap thrills, and get-rich-quick schemes, this world will only make an individual more destitute. The person’s soul will be like a wasteland, hungry and starving for something that will give it a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction.

      Think of all the people whose primary objective in life is to get more money, more cars, more houses, more property, and so on. They work as hard as they can, laboring day and night to make more money to buy even more things. Once people have enough to meet the necessities of life, they accumulate more money for one of at least three purposes:

• to hoard it to satisfy the emptiness within their souls
• to become recognized as persons of wealth, authority, and power
• to use it to meet the world's needs and to carry the gospel of Christ to every living soul. (This is the only purpose that is truly justified in the eyes of God.)

      2)      God’s second plea is, “Listen, listen carefully to me! Eat what is good! Be filled with my nourishment!” Excess money is used for worldly, carnal, and selfish purposes in most cases. For this reason, God pleads with all of us to ask ourselves this question: Why do we spend money on things that do not nourish us and feed us spiritually? And why do we labor to purchase material things that do not satisfy? God provides the Water and Bread of life, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Everyone who truly comes to God receives the fullness of Christ. Christ floods the thirsty, hungry soul with the fullness of His Spirit:

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• gentleness or kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• meekness
• self-control or discipline
• purpose
• fulfillment
• satisfaction
• assurance
• confidence
• value

      When Jesus Christ fills a person’s soul, the individual walks victoriously in life, conquering and triumphing through all the trials and temptations that arise. Day by day, the person is filled with assurance and confidence in the LORD’s presence and guidance. This is the nourishment that Christ brings. He alone is the Water and Bread of life. He alone can meet every need to fill the human soul. He alone can keep man from dying of thirst and hunger. 

QUESTIONS FOR BIBLICAL INFLUENCE AND LIFE APPLICATION 

1. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? 
2. Why do you labor for that which satisfieth not? 
3. What is the water and food that God provides? 
4. How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
5. What is the cost of God’s water and food? 
6. For what saith the scripture?
7. Why do we spend money on things that do not nourish us and feed us spiritually? 
8. Why do we labor to purchase material things that do not satisfy?

1. Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers. 
2. The New King James Version. 1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 
3. Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2005. Isaiah: Chapters 36–66. Vol. II. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 
4. Isaiah 55:1 ESV; “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (bible.com)