Amen.
Please take your Bibles and open them up once again to Isaiah chapter 55.
Isaiah chapter 55. If you're using the pew Bibles there in front of you and the seat underneath the seat in front of you,
you can find that passage on page 576.
And this is now week three that we have been in this incredible chapter of the Old Testament.
It's this invitation in Isaiah's prophecy to come and to feast on the goodness of God.
We're going to be in verses 6 and 7 of Isaiah 55 this morning.
So Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7.
So please Bibles open. Look there with me as I read.
Seek the Lord while he may be found.
Call upon him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
Let him return to the Lord that he may have compassion on him.
And to our God for he will abundantly pardon.
Let's pray together once more.
Lord, we pray now as we have opened up your word and read your word and now as I stand to preach your word,
we pray, Father, for ears to hear that our hearts would be fertile soil for the truth of the gospel this morning.
Would you speak through me?
I pray this in Christ's name.
Amen.
Well, it's hard to believe that we are already past the midway point of November.
And as Charlie Brown says in his Thanksgiving special, we have another holiday to worry about.
Thanksgiving Day is upon us.
And I'll be honest, I haven't really given it as much thought as I used to.
When I was in college, I would look forward to coming home for Thanksgiving.
I think that I was probably hungrier back then.
I know that I had no money.
I was poorer then.
I had nothing to bring.
Didn't even know how to cook.
So nobody expected me to do anything whatsoever, which was good for me.
Because all I had to do was come home and eat.
And I could do that.
For a couple of days, I could come home and feast on home-cooked food.
There's turkey and dressing, macaroni and cheese, hams and yams, beans and greens, cakes and pies, bread and rolls.
And if I timed it just right, I could eat our own lunch, our own Thanksgiving dinner, and then make it to my friend's house for dinner as well.
Sometimes they would time it differently.
We'd have ours for lunch.
They'd have theirs for dinner.
Maybe we'd have ours on Thursday.
They'd have theirs on Friday.
So there's just enough margin where maybe I could feast twice if I was lucky.
So you didn't have to invite me twice to come over and feast for Thanksgiving.
I was ready to come and eat.
You see, most people don't approach Thanksgiving dinner reluctantly, do they?
And most people don't come dragging their feet to the table.
They don't come to the table half-heartedly dragging their feet.
Most people don't come wondering whether there's going to be enough food there to satisfy them.
They don't come wondering and asking, will I find something good to eat?
Now, see, I know I just made a huge mistake, didn't I?
Huge mistake.
Preachers aren't supposed to talk about food this early in the sermon, and we're all getting hungry now.
But there's no getting around it, church, because Isaiah 55 has been inviting us to come and to feast.
We've seen, haven't we, over the past three weeks, he's been inviting us, calling out to any who would listen,
not just hear, but listen diligently, to come and to feast.
And we've seen, haven't we, over the past few weeks, that although it's described in these terms of physical food,
and water, and milk, and bread, and wine, that the feast ultimately is God himself.
We're invited, broken, sinful, poor, and needy, to come and to satisfy our souls on the goodness of God.
To listen diligently to his word, and to hear, it says, that your soul may live.
Isaiah has been telling us over and over and over again, this is the big idea of Isaiah 55,
there is nothing more satisfying for your soul than God.
And he invites you to come and to feast.
He invites you and offers himself fully to you this morning, if you would just come and feast.
So the question that I want to ask this morning, and let these verses, verses 6 and 7 answer for us this morning,
is simply this.
How should we respond to an invitation like that?
Well, I'll tell you, we should respond like a poor, hungry college student coming home for Thanksgiving.
See, this is what our passage this morning shows us in verses 6 and 7.
It tells us exactly how we should respond to this invitation to come and feast.
And Isaiah says we should respond in three ways.
Three ways.
This will be our outline this morning if you're taking notes.
Three ways we should respond to this invitation.
We should come urgently.
We should come totally.
And we should come confidently.
As our outline this morning, if you're writing it down,
three ways we should respond to this invitation.
Come urgently.
Come totally.
Come confidently.
First, Isaiah says we should come urgently.
In other words, do not drag your feet coming to this feast.
Come with urgency.
You know, there's a reason why from November 24th to November 28th last year,
do you know how many tickets state police issued?
10,126 speeding tickets were issued between November 24th and November 28th last year.
Why?
Because they knew people from all over the country would be booking it down the road
to get home and feast with urgency.
Well, Isaiah is telling us that's how we should respond to this invitation.
We should respond with urgency.
Why?
Well, two main reasons.
Because the feast is good and the time is short.
The feast is good and the time is short.
Look there to verse 6 again.
Isaiah 55, verse 6.
Isaiah, he gives this command for sinners to come,
to seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near.
And so the first thing that I think we should notice about this invitation
is this incredibly profound truth that the Lord may be sought.
The Lord may be found.
This is incredible.
The God of heaven and earth is near.
He may be called upon.
He can hear.
He wants to show us here that the feast is good.
You remember what Isaiah told us in verse 1,
this invitation to come everyone who thirsts.
Come to the waters.
He who has no money, come buy and eat.
Come buy wine and milk without money, without price.
You see, this incredible feast is available to any who would simply come.
The gospel is the good news that God has offered himself through Christ
to any who would come to him.
Anyone.
This invitation is extended out broadly to the weakest, the poorest, the lowless,
the weak, the lonely, those who are spiritually broke and hungry.
Any who would come and listen and trust can have their souls satisfied forever.
And they can feast on the goodness of God.
Through the gospel, the only one who is able to truly satisfy your soul says,
come on.
Come to me.
Come.
The table is set.
Dinner is ready.
Come and feast.
Stop spending your money on not bread and come feast your souls on me.
Well, how do we seek him?
How do we seek the Lord?
We're invited to seek the Lord.
How do we do that?
Isaiah says that our seeking is expressed in calling.
Our seeking is expressed in calling.
When I don't see one of my boys, I have three boys.
When I maybe have two of them with me and one of them slipped out of my sight,
what do I do?
I call out to them.
Where are you?
Come here.
I need you.
I call them by name.
I speak until I'm heard.
That's how I seek my child.
And if they're near enough, and if they're paying any attention,
he will listen and respond.
In the same way, Isaiah is telling us that we seek God primarily by calling out to him in prayer.
Not just with our words, but with our hearts seeking the Lord.
Isn't this what Jeremiah told the exiled Israelites as well?
He said, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Church, this is incredible news for sinners.
It's just astounding.
Have we gotten over this fact that the God of all creation,
this God that no one has ever seen, no one can ever see, is near.
He is near.
He is near enough to hear.
He's near enough to respond to the cries of sinners.
And he may be found by those who call out and seek him.
But the bad news, the second reason we should respond with urgency here,
is that this offer has an expiration.
This is an invitation to come limited time only.
Some of you, I know, love Thanksgiving for the food,
but I also know some of you probably like it for the Black Friday sales, right?
And I can't wrap my mind around it because Black Friday seems like it gets longer every year.
November 1st, I started receiving emails saying Black Friday deals had begun.
That window keeps expanding, getting longer and longer.
But even still, once December 1st comes, that deal is off the table.
It's gone.
No longer available.
That sale is gone until next year, at least.
But see, they want you to feel that sense of urgency in your heart
so that you will come and you will spend your money while the deal is available.
They want you to know it is limited time only.
Well, did you know, in the same way, in the same way,
Isaiah is telling us we should respond with urgency to this invitation of God
because God has opened up this window,
he has extended this offer,
and he has the freedom to shut it anytime he wants.
It is a limited time offer.
One day, you don't know when, I don't know when,
either you will die or Christ will return.
Until one of those things happen,
friend, we have a window is open.
This invitation is extended.
But friend, the window in which we can call out to him,
in which sinners can seek the Lord when he is near enough to hear,
when he's lending his ear in mercy towards sinners,
that window is shutting,
and we don't know when.
Look again to verse 6.
What does he say?
He says,
You see, God has extended an invitation to you and to the whole world
to come, to listen, to come, to trust my son,
to come, have your sins forgiven,
come, have your souls satisfied,
but it is limited time only.
God has extended an invitation,
but the day has come when that invitation will no longer be available.
The doors to the wedding feast will be closed,
every seat will be filled,
and you will no longer be able to enter.
The day will come, we don't know when,
when the Lord will not be found by sinners,
when he will not be near enough to call upon.
There is an expiration date on this offer,
so we must respond to it with urgency.
And we don't know how long we have.
You know, we live in an incredibly unique period of history.
Have you ever thought about this?
There was eternity past before creation,
before any of us were here.
There's eternity future,
when all the redeemed will be with the Lord,
and all the wicked will be separated from his presence.
We live in this unique period of history of God's mercy to sinners.
You ever wonder how God can endure such evil in the world?
Men and women created in his image,
every one of them created to glorify him,
created to honor him,
delight in them,
who spit in his face every day.
You know that was us.
Every one of us,
apart from the grace of God,
apart from the mercy and the patience of God.
We were his enemies,
but he showed us mercy.
I'm grateful for the patience of the Lord.
He showed us mercy,
not because of works done by us,
but according to his own mercy.
I'm thankful for the patience of God with a sinner like me,
but friend,
that mercy and that patience towards sinners,
it has an expiration date.
It will not last forever.
Do not presume,
as Paul says in Romans,
on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience,
not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance,
but because of your hard and impenitent heart,
you are storing up wrath for yourself,
on the day of wrath,
when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
If you are not in Christ,
if you have never trusted Christ,
friend, run.
Don't walk.
Run to the table with urgency
while he may be found.
And friend, if we are in Christ, church,
we must share him with urgency.
We must share him with urgency.
As our lost friends and family members and coworkers and neighbors and connections
perish without the hope of the gospel,
we must share him with urgency.
We must share him urgently while he may be found.
Not just this second.
Isaiah says the second way we should respond to this invitation of God is to come totally.
To come totally.
Look there to verse 7 with me.
Isaiah says,
Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
Let him return to the Lord.
See, this is a call for total repentance.
Total repentance.
That's an unpopular word, isn't it?
It means stop sinning.
Which means you're a sinner.
Which means I'm a sinner.
And in order to feast on the goodness of God,
Isaiah says we need to repent of our sin.
We need to stop feasting on sin.
In order to turn to the Lord,
we must turn from our sin.
That is repentance.
It is to abandon it.
Isaiah says forsake it.
To leave it behind.
And to turn to the Lord.
Isaiah is telling us we can't feast on him
while we fill ourselves with the not-breads of our idols.
That's what verse 2 told us.
You remember last week.
Why do you spend your money on that which is not bread?
Why do you labor for that which does not satisfy?
He says listen diligently to me and eat with your soul.
Eat what is good and delight yourself in rich food.
This is what we're all prone to do.
C.S. Lewis, he says human history is the long, terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.
See, our sin, our idols, they promise satisfaction but they never deliver.
They promise to satisfy but they always fall short.
They cannot satisfy the hunger of our souls.
Only God can do that.
And so this call to forsake our wicked ways, to forsake our wicked thoughts,
that's a call to stop snacking on sin and to come feast on the Lord.
God demands total allegiance.
What does he say?
Love the Lord your God with what?
All your heart.
All your mind.
All your soul.
All your strength.
Isn't this what Jesus told his disciples?
He said if anyone would come, does that sound familiar?
If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever would save his life would lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
John Piper, he gives this illustration of a married man in an affair.
He says it like this.
He says, you cannot seek God where he is not found in sin.
It would be like a man who leaves his wife, moves into his own apartment, has a regular sexual affair alongside his marriage,
and then gets on the phone and calls and seeks his wife.
And she says, have you forsaken this woman?
And he says, no, I can't.
And then she will rightly say, then you are not seeking me.
Your call is empty.
You will seek me and find me as your wife when you forsake her and all others for me alone, just like you vowed.
We must repent totally.
What does that look like?
Look there to verse 7 again.
Isaiah expresses this total repentance by calling the wicked to forsake in two ways here.
We must forsake our sinful ways and forsake our sinful thoughts.
You see that there in verse 7.
We must forsake our sinful ways.
That's our actions.
What we do.
This is the external, the visible.
What others can see and witness and say, man, yeah, that was wrong.
You really lost your temper in there, Jonathan.
You really shouldn't have said that, should you?
That was bad.
That was wrong.
That was sinful.
I saw that.
That was dishonest.
But Isaiah says, don't stop there because our visible sin, what others can see with their two eyes,
is almost always the fruit of invisible sin.
It's almost always deeper than we think.
It's internal.
It's always more.
See, murder flows downstream from anger.
Flows downstream from hatred.
Adultery flows downstream from lust, from dissatisfaction.
Thievery flows downstream from greed.
And yes, these are all heart issues.
They're issues of the heart, but they're also deeply connected with the mind.
Which is why Isaiah tells us we must also forsake our wicked thoughts.
Your thoughts are incredibly powerful.
Do you realize how powerful your thoughts are?
They are the director of your actions.
They're the steering wheel that influences the course, your path.
This wicked way that you're on is likely directed and steered by wicked thoughts.
If your thoughts are worldly, if your thoughts are wicked,
if your thoughts are conformed to the patterns of this world,
rather than transformed by the renewal of your mind,
it may not be today, it may not be tomorrow,
but friend, it will work itself out in your actions.
It will work itself out visibly.
Listen, I don't know what you're thinking most of the time.
Sometimes I can see it on your face.
Sometimes I can guess.
Make an educated guess.
But most of the time, your thoughts, they belong to you.
Right?
They're hidden.
They're internal.
They're private.
But not to God.
In the sight of God, your inner self, our hidden self,
the thoughts and the motives and the desires and the urges
that we try to keep hidden from everybody else around us
is as visible to God as any external action we take.
And if that's true, it's not enough simply to change your behavior.
Right?
It's not enough simply to forsake our wicked actions.
That might fool me.
That might fool other people.
That might impress one another.
But God is not fooled.
You must repent totally, inside and out, actions and thoughts.
The church, what sinful actions from the past week need to be repented of?
By name, need to be repented of?
The past month, the past year, the past hour.
And if you haven't acted outwardly in a sinful way,
though I'm sure you have,
what sinful thoughts need to be repented of?
Thoughts that no one else knows about?
Thoughts of anger or lust or pride?
What thoughts need to be forsaken that we might come to the Lord?
Totally.
Have you come to Him?
Totally.
Because here's the thing, church.
We can either forsake our sin and turn to God,
or we forsake our God and turn to sin.
There is no middle ground.
There's no middle ground.
We either forsake our sin and turn to God,
or we are forsaking our God to turn to sin.
We cannot have it both ways.
Have you come to Him totally?
But you may wonder,
what will happen when I do?
What will happen when I do?
Isn't the presence of God the last place a sinner needs to go?
Isn't the presence of God a bad thing for sinners?
Why would I go there with my sin?
Shouldn't I clean myself up and then get to God?
Won't God turn me away or punish me
or make me feel guilty for my sin?
Friend, if that's how you're feeling this morning,
I have good news for you.
Third, we can come to Him confidently.
We can come to Him confidently.
Look there again to verse 7.
These are some of the most assuring words for sinners like you and like me.
What we will find when we come to the Lord
as broken and sinful as we are,
when we leave the comfort of our sin
and forsake the false security of our sin
and call upon the name of the Lord,
what will we find?
Verse 7.
Let the wicked forsake His way.
And the unrighteous man His thoughts.
Let him return to the Lord
that He may have compassion on Him.
And to our God,
for He will abundantly pardon.
Church, we can come to the Lord confidently
because His heart is full of compassion towards sinners.
He is eager to pardon.
Not just to pardon,
but it says to pardon abundantly.
Let me ask you a question.
This is what I spent most of my time wrestling with this week
as I studied this passage.
What is the difference between pardon and abundant pardon?
Think about that.
What is the difference between pardon and abundant pardon?
And what is pardon?
Pardon is forgiveness.
It's a declaration.
You're treated like you're no longer guilty.
You're treated like you're innocent.
You are forgiven.
A criminal who knows that he's guilty,
who stands before the judge,
he should rejoice to hear the truth that he has been pardoned,
not guilty.
What difference does it make for that criminal
if he's pardoned or if he's abundantly pardoned?
Four differences and then we're done.
I had two,
but then I came up with two more
while I was whacking Miss Martha's bushes yesterday,
doing some yard work.
So we got four differences.
Then we're done.
First one is obvious.
This didn't take me long.
Abundant pardon is abundant
and pardon is not.
What's the difference between pardon and abundant pardon?
Well, abundant pardon is more.
It is abundant.
What happens the next day
when that guilty criminal goes out
and he breaks the law again?
And then again the next day?
And the next day?
And every day for the rest of his life
for such a wicked person,
for a repeat offender,
pardon is not enough
unless it is abundant pardon.
Friend, we are guilty.
Not just one time.
We are guilty of breaking the law of God
every single day.
But the gospel tells us
that God the judge
has decreed
abundant
pardon
for any
who would come
and turn from their sin
and trust
in the name of the Lord.
Overflowing pardon.
Infinite
pardon
for every broken law.
Every single sin.
Past,
present,
future.
for any
guilty sinner
who would simply come
and receive
what he is offering.
That is life changing grace
is it not?
That is
real freedom.
That means your sins
cannot rule you
anymore.
That means your
guilt
cannot
crush you
anymore.
If you have come
to Christ
for forgiveness
you will have it
and you will have it
abundantly
as far as the east
is from the west.
What does he say?
So far
have I removed
your sins
from you.
So what's the difference
between pardon
and abundant pardon?
It's infinite.
It's limitless.
It's abundant.
It's totally
effective
for all
time.
Friend,
our sin
and our guilt
cannot
outmeasure
his grace.
When we come
to the Lord
it is swept away
in a flood
of compassion
and pardon.
It's the difference
between a sip
of medicine
and life-saving
immunity
from every
sickness.
Second,
there's another
difference.
Infinite
everlasting
pardon like this
it cannot be
earned by
sinners.
Infinite
pardon
cannot be
earned
by sinners.
It must be
received.
We cannot
earn
this grace.
You know
if you were
just a little
bit guilty
just a little
bit guilty
maybe
a merciful
judge
would let
you get
out on
good
behavior
right?
But again
we are
abundantly
sinful
so we stand
in need
of total
abundant
pardon.
We need
total
forgiveness
that we
cannot
earn
but again
the gospel
tells us
that Christ
has.
Jesus
Christ
was the
only one
who has
ever
totally
obeyed
the law
of God.
He's the
only one
who is
totally
sinless.
He alone
earned
eternal
life.
He earned
it by
his perfect
obedience
and yet
he lived
in our
place.
He died
in our
place
in the
place of
sinners
so that
any who
trust in
him
can be
abundantly
pardoned
not on the
basis of our
goodness
on the
basis of
what we
have
earned
but on
the basis
of his
goodness.
The gospel
tells us
that he
was treated
as we
deserved
so that
any who
come to
him might
be treated
as he
deserved.
That's the
gospel.
Third
which is
why
salvation
like this
pardon
like this
that ought
to overflow
in praise
for God.
Amen?
Abundant
pardon
leads to
abundant
praise.
What did
Jesus tell
his disciples?
He who
is forgiven
little
loves
little.
There's a
connection
here.
There ought
to be.
That's the
aim of God
in the
gospel.
There's a
connection
between how
much we
are loved
and forgiven
and pardoned
and how
much praise
and love
and glory
go back
out toward
God.
If you're
starving
and someone
gives you a
crumb to
eat,
you might
say,
thanks.
Gee,
thanks.
I appreciate
it.
But if you're
starving
and a feast
is laid
before you,
plates upon
plates,
you're invited
to come and
eat at no
cost to
yourself,
your heart
ought to
rejoice.
It ought to
overflow with
thanksgiving
and praise
and worship
as we're
satisfied in
what he's
providing.
He is
receiving
the glory.
That's the
aim of
abundant
pardon.
The greater
the pardon,
the greater
the worship.
Friend,
we have been
abundantly
pardoned.
And
fourth,
abundant
pardon.
shows us
God's
eagerness
to save.
Abundant
pardon shows
us God's
eagerness
to save.
Pardon
can come
from
reluctance.
Pardon,
simple pardon,
that can come
from uncertainty.
The judge
may roll
his eyes,
be on the
fence,
just let you
go this one
time,
but really
not care
too much.
But friend,
abundant
pardon,
that's the
overflow
of a
heart that
is eager
to save.
You can
forgive someone,
sure,
just move
on,
be done
with it,
but to
abundantly
forgive,
it requires
that your
heart be
bent,
not just
towards
justice,
but towards
love for
the one
who did
you wrong.
wrong.
We need
to see
that God
is not
just
willing
to save
sinners,
he is
eager
to save
sinners.
When
sinners
forsake
their wicked
way and
come to
God,
they don't
find anger,
they don't
find chastisement,
God does
not roll
his eyes
and reluctantly
forgive,
that's what
I would
do.
If somebody
messed up
and wronged
me as many
times as I've
wronged God,
that is
exactly what
I would
do.
But as
we'll see
next week,
his ways
are not
our ways,
his thoughts
are not
our thoughts,
he is
overflowing
with love
and compassion
and mercy
towards
sinners.
When sinners
come to
God,
they find
compassion
and pardon
in abundance,
they find
a feast
of forgiveness.
Too often,
I think,
we take
just such
a low
view
of God's
heart,
a low
view of
God's
grace,
of his
eagerness
to save.
We come
to the
Lord
guilty
with our
tail tucked
between our
legs,
and we
just imagine
him rolling
his eyes,
you again,
really?
That is
not the
heart of
God.
Those
who run
from God
in their
sin will
be punished,
but those
who run
from their
sin to
God
will be
pardoned.
Why?
Because that
is exactly
why Christ
came.
That is
exactly
why
Christ
came.
Thomas
Goodwin,
the old
Puritan,
he says
that Christ's
own joy,
I want you to
listen to
this.
Christ's
own joy,
comfort,
happiness,
and glory
are
increased
and
enlarged
by his
showing grace
and mercy
in pardoning,
relieving,
and comforting
his members
here on
earth.
Did you hear
that?
Christ's
own joy
joy is
tied to
our
finding
pardon
through
his
atoning
work.
Did you
catch that?
Christ's
joy is
bound up
with ours.
Why?
Because that
is precisely
what he
came to
do.
Nothing
would please
him more
than for
us to
come and
to make
use of
his
sacrifice,
to come
and to
find forgiveness
in him.
That's why
he came.
It honors
him.
It pleases
him.
It magnifies
his glory
for sinners
to find
refuge in
him.
That's why
he shed
his blood.
That's why
he came.
He came to
demonstrate
the heart
of God
towards
sinners.
He has
prepared
a feast
and it
pleases
him.
It honors
him when
we come
and eat
again
and again
and say,
can I have
more?
Can I have
more?
Can I have
another helping
please?
Can I have
more?
And he
says,
come,
bring me
your plate.
Nothing
would make
me happier
than to
shower
abundant
pardon
on you.
Church,
God is
far more
eager to
show us
mercy
than we
are to
seek it.
But we
can come
to the
Lord with
confidence
because God
loves to
save
sinners.
He loves
to forgive
sinners.
Should we
ever question
how eager
God is
to save
us,
to forgive
us,
to redeem
us totally,
to receive
us,
look constantly
to the
cross of
Christ.
Our God
the Son
died in
your place.
And remember
that because
he rose
from the
grave never
to die
again,
Hebrews tells
us that
he is
always able
to save
to the
uttermost
those who
draw near
to God
through him
since he
always lives
to make
intercession
for them.
So again
in Hebrews
says,
let us
then with
confidence
draw near
to the
throne of
grace
that we
may receive
mercy
and find
grace to
help in
time of
need.
if you
would
know
life
and joy
and peace
and satisfaction
would you
come to
Christ?
Would you
seek him
with all
of your
heart?
Would you
call upon
the name
of the
Lord and
know that
without
hesitation
you will
be saved?
a few
weeks ago
we
concluded
with the
parable of
the prodigal
son
and it
seems fitting
again
doesn't it
to end
our time
there
this morning
this sinful
son who
exchanged
his father
for what
his father
could give
him
he traded
the comfort
and the joy
of knowing
his father
for the
riches
and the
gifts
his father
could give
he got
his inheritance
and he
went on
his way
and he
spent
every
last dime
to the
point where
he was
so hungry
that he
just begged
to eat
whatever the
pigs were
eating
do you
remember how
the father
responded
when the
son returned
home
not a word
of guilt
not a word
of anger
not a word
of chastisement
what happened
the father
ran
to him
and rejoiced
that his son
was lost
but is now
found
he was
dead
but is
now
alive
and he
celebrated
with a
feast
so it
will be
with any
sinner
who forsakes
his wicked
way
and turns
to the
Lord
for forgiveness
so I close
with this
encouragement
church
as you
gather this
week with
family
and friends
around the
table
and fill
yourself to
the brim
with food
and drink
let it be
a pointer
to you
of this
feast
in Isaiah
chapter 55
let it be
a reminder
to you
to come
to the
Lord
urgently
and totally
and confidently
and to
feast your
soul
on the
goodness
of God
let's pray
Lord
there is
nothing more
satisfying
than you
our souls
were made
to delight
in you
and though
we have
left you
and been
faithless
father
you have
been
faithful
and you
have sent
your son
so that
any
sinner
who calls
upon the
name
of Christ
will be
received
and pardoned
in abundance
Lord
we thank
you for
the good
news
of the
gospel
and we
ask
father
that you
would stir
our hearts
this week
remind us
of your
goodness
would you
draw our
souls to
you
we love
you
we pray
this in
Jesus name
amen