Isaiah 55:6-9 ESV
“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.
For my thoughts are
not your thoughts,
neither 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.”
What are the ways of God? They are the ways of holiness,
righteousness, purity, faithfulness, truthfulness, morality and godliness, etc.
They are not the ways of man (of humans). For, God doesn’t think like we do.
His ways are much higher than our ways, so we must be so careful that we don’t
try to bring God down to our level and to assume that he thinks like we do.
So, this gospel which is permeating the church, at least
here in America, but that is teaching that belief in Jesus is a mere confession
of faith, but that it doesn’t have to alter our lifestyles, is not from God. It
is conceived in the wicked hearts of men in their deceitful scheming to pull us
away from God, not to lead us to God – not to the God of the Bible, anyway.
Whether Old Testament or New Testament, it is still God’s
ways that we turn away from our wicked ways and that we turn to the Lord, not
just for forgiveness of sins, though. For, this turning away from wickedness,
and this turning to the Lord has to do with us now living according to his
ways, but in his power and strength at work within our hearts and lives (Eph.
4:17-24).
So, if you have confessed faith in Jesus Christ, and you are
assuming that heaven is your eternal destiny, but you have not turned away from
your wicked ways, and you are not walking now according to the Spirit of God in
holiness and righteousness, then please know that you are believing a lie, not
the truth of the gospel, and heaven is not your eternal destiny.
If we want God’s pardon for our sins we must, as the
scriptures teach, turn away from wickedness. We must forsake our former lives
of living for sin and self. And, we must turn our hearts to the Lord to follow
him in obedience to his ways (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
Isaiah 55:10-11 ESV
“For as the rain and
the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the
earth,
making it bring forth
and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the
eater,
so shall my word be
that goes out from my mouth;
it
shall not return to me empty,
but it shall
accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I
sent it.”
It can be both an encouragement and a warning to know that
God is a person of his word, and that he will do all that he said he would do.
For, not only has he promised to pardon those who turn from their wicked ways
to follow after him in his ways of holiness and righteousness, but he has
promised that those who refuse him and his ways will not spend eternity with
him in glory, but that they will spend eternity in the fires of hell.
But, before that time of the end comes when we will be
judged by God and we will receive our eternal rewards, either of heaven, or of
hell, our Lord has also promised that he will discipline those he loves and
that he will judge on this earth in our lifetimes those who have turned away
from him to follow wicked ways. And, usually the purpose of those judgments or
those divine disciplines is to bring us to repentance and to draw us near to
God.
I believe in our lifetime now that we can see the hand of
God in all this craziness that is happening on the earth. We can see how God is
allowing conquerors to conquer people and mad men to rule kingdoms in order to
bring people to their knees in repentance and in true faith in Jesus Christ
before the end comes and their chances for pardon are now gone.
For, God’s words will not return empty, but they will
accomplish the purpose for which he sent them. And, the purpose, I believe, is
to save the hearts and lives of many people on this earth before the day when
we will all be judged and will go to our eternal destinies. And, that is why
the New Testament is filled, not only with promises, but with many warnings,
even many warnings to those who profess faith in Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 55:12-13 ESV
“For you shall go out
in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and the
hills before you
shall break forth into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap
their hands.
Instead of the thorn
shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the
myrtle;
and it shall make a
name for the Lord,
an everlasting sign that shall not be cut
off.”
This is God’s objective that we would all be led forth in
peace and would rejoice in our eternal salvation and in our fellowship with our
Lord. But, not everyone is going to turn from his wicked ways. And, not
everyone is going to turn to the Lord to follow him in obedience to his ways.
Even not everyone who confesses Jesus as Lord is going to inherit eternal
salvation.
But, it is God’s will that none should perish but that all
should be brought to repentance. And, that is why he allows us to go through
times of hardship and heartbreak and suffering so that we do come to him, and
so that we do bow the knee to God in humility and in surrender to his will and
purposes for our lives. For, many are living in open rebellion against God all
the while they are professing faith in him, and this should not be!
For, God’s purposes and his ways have not changed to conform
to the ways of man, as many would have you to believe. He is the same
yesterday, today and forever. His purposes for us have not changed. He still
demands that we leave our former lives of sin to follow him in obedience to his
ways if we want to be in relationship with him and if we want to have eternal
life with him (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Lu. 9:23-26; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Gal. 6:7-8).
So, if you want your sins to be pardoned, and for you to be
in fellowship with God, and to have heaven as your eternal destiny, then you
must seek the Lord while he may be found, and call on him while he is near, and
forsake your sinful and wicked ways, and turn to the Lord in true repentance
and in genuine faith, which is accompanied by walks of obedience to Christ.
But, this is not some one-time event that takes place in one’s
life. This is a choice to choose God to be our Lord and Master for the rest of
our lives. This is a choice to follow him in obedience and in surrender to his
ways day after day after day for eternity. This is a choice to leave our old
lifestyles behind us and to be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of
God to new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; Lu. 9:23-26; 1 Jn.
1:5-9).
So, if you haven’t done this yet; if you haven’t surrendered
your life to Jesus Christ, making him your Lord, I pray you will do so today.
My
Jesus, I Love Thee
Hymn
lyrics by William R. Featherstone, 1864
Music
by Adoniram J. Gordon, 1876
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art
mine;
For thee all the follies of sin I
resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art
thou;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I love thee because thou hast first
loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's
tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on
thy brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love
Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest
me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold
on my brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
In mansions of glory and endless
delight;
I'll ever adore thee in heaven so
bright;
I'll sing with the glittering crown on
my brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
*Copyright
status is public domain
No comments:
Post a Comment