Title: God's Requirement/Isaiah 55:1-9
Content: What God requires of humans is different from what people ask of God. Most of the things humans eat, drink, and enjoy are to satisfy their desires, but what God requires of the saints is different from that for the saints. So, if you respond to his request, he will pour out the good things you have prepared for you, overflowing and overflowing.
Poet Kim Chun-chu says in his poem "Flower", "When he called me, I went to him and became a flower." A relationship of love is established where we hear and respond to the call of love.
Christians are those who hear and respond to the call. Only those who hear and respond to God's call to the place of grace moment by moment and taste the grace can maintain vitality. How blessed is it that God is still calling us today?
1. God tells us to taste the prepared grace to our heart's content.
God's invitation to taste the free grace of free does not mean that the grace is cheap and worthless. If you have to pay, he tells you to come and buy it for free because no one can ever own it. God's grace is incalculable. Here you will discover the kindness and meticulousness of God. In addition, God prepared fresh drinks for the thirsty and abundant food for the hungry.
Those who have become saints can only maintain their vitality when they are supported by the dew of the dawn of God. You can find vitality. Therefore, it is impossible to have a full life without longing for grace.
2. He tells us to listen to the Word.
(Isaiah 55:2) “Why do you give silver for what is not bread, and toil for what is not satisfied? The important word here is to obey me. This is to listen to and obey God's Word. He said that if we first listen to God's word and obey it, we will eat good things. That is why He tells us to listen first to the word of the Lord and to listen. That's right. It is said that if you obey, you will receive great blessings from God, and you will be blessed even if you go in, and you will receive blessings even when you come in. Therefore, it is said that obedience is better than sacrifice.
3. He tells us to come before God.
(Isaiah 55:7) “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous from his thoughts, and turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy. Come to our God, and he will forgive widely.” This means that you will forgive the sins you have committed during that time. The wicked are told to forsake their evil deeds and come out, and the unrighteous are told to forsake their thoughts and turn to the Lord. If you do that, any sins will be forgiven. Because God is a God of forgiveness, He unconditionally forgives the sins of those who repent. Therefore, when He asks you to come, do not delay and come out to receive blessings. (Isa 1:18) “Come, let us reason together, saith the LORD, Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:19) You shall eat of its produce (Isaiah 1:20), and if you refuse and betray, the sword will devour you, saith the LORD." In any case, if you come to God without delay and repent, you will be forgiven.
Anyone who is thirsty is invited to come. There is no limit to the subject of God's invitation. In particular, he is earnestly calling for those who are thirsty in their hearts. When people turn away, God seeks them. Not because they are good, not because they are useful, but because of God's mercy and mercy. In this respect, God's standards are different from human standards, and God's concern is for all peoples.
The image of a father waiting for the prodigal son who has left home shows how well God is. Although he was a son who rejected his father and left, God did not judge by his actions, but waited and tolerated with the infinite love of the Father, showing the same image of God who tolerated sinful Israel.
4. God tells us to find you when we can meet you.
(Isaiah 55:6) Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. This is a word that tells us that it is easy for God to approach us and meet us. God is not far away, He is near, He hears our prayers and helps us in time of need. He invites them, but sometimes even tells people to seek God. And he tells you to pray. Jesus Christ said, “(Luke 11:9) And I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you (Luke 11:10). find, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” That's right. To those who pray, He gives an abundance of good things. Therefore, we must seek God and pray to Him as believers and receive many things.
The words to seek the Lord while he may be able to meet him are of urgency. Opportunities don't always exist, and doors don't stay open forever. As the writer of Ecclesiastes said that there is a time for everything, there is an opportunity for everything. The more good believers are, the more sensitive they are to times and opportunities. That's why the Bible also asks for this, and that's what it says, "Keep awake." A victorious believer is a person who does not miss the time, and a person who takes advantage of the opportunities that are given to him. “There is a time for everything” is the teaching of the Bible. Opportunities are not always in front of us, and only those who try to seize the opportunity and those who take advantage of it will not miss the opportunity.
The Bible asks us not to miss the opportunity to meet Jehovah. Here, the meeting initiative is not on the side of man, but on God's side. God is excreting a feast of love and grace to meet humans. It is a message to come out without becoming hardened toward that God's call, that God's invitation, and that God's patience and waiting. It is a great blessing and grace that we can still stand before the throne of God's grace. It is a word of counsel not to miss the time of grace.
Those who respond to God's invitation will find true joy in life. The invitation does not require any conditions, all you need to do is come before him in humility in responding to his call. Isn't His voice disappearing from my heart today? Do I hear His voice calling me?
What God requires of us is not what we cannot do, but what we are able to do. Therefore, I hope that there will be a wonderful work of hearing, obeying, coming before God, praying to Him and receiving many things.