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by Dr. Walter D. Huyck Jr., D.Min.D.R.S.
Know What You
Believe
Does Your Soul
Live?
Isaiah 55.1-13;
cf. vs 3
[What is Christianity all about?]
[What does God really want for your life and the lives of
those around you?]
[There are many in our day who have thrown their hand up in
exasperation at the Christian Church.
They have looked into various
Churches and found,]
·
[Confusion
of faith – The Methodists believe this, the Lutherans believe that, the
Baptists believe something else, and none of them can agree.
Worse still many of those who sit in Church pews appear to believe things
that their own pastors would condemn.]
·
[Corruption in lifestyles – There is little difference between the
immorality of the unchurched and the churched in our day.]
·
[Contradiction in doctrine – Doctrine deals with truth, and the teaching of
truth. It seems that Pastor, Sunday
School Teachers, and Church folk believe that different things are true.
The worst part about it all is that none of them seem able to prove that
their truth is really true.]
·
[Combative
fellowship – Church members constantly fighting among themselves.]
[Is it any wonder that lost people, outside of the Church of
our Lord, when considering the possibility of adding a Church to their lives
want nothing to do with Church folk.
They come and visit, one Sunday, because their Christian friend has pleaded with
them to just come to Church. So,
because they know their friend loves them and cares for them, the finally break
down and come to Church with them.
When they get into the building they expect to see the people of God and the
family of God. What do they really
see? ]
[They see the saddest
group of people they have ever seen in their lives.
These people claim to have been freed
from every guilt and burden through the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ, but
they seem so terribly weighed down by religious rules and laws.
These Christians claim to have unity, love, and fellowship; but all they
can do is find fault with one another and complain about one another.
These people claim to have experienced deliverance through the victory
their Lord has provided; but they live in apparent despair and defeat.
These people claim to have found the abundant life, the fulfilled life,
which is only available through life in Christ; yet their lives are so empty,
boring, and unfulfilled.]
[The lost around us are
asking, “If these peoples lives are so great in Christ, then why do they
struggle to claw their way into worldly things hoping that their Christian
friends won’t find them out?”]
[The Question I ask you today is,]
[Does Your Soul Live?]
[Notice what God says through Isaiah in this passage,]
[Isaiah 55:3
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.]
[There is a lost and dying World all about us.
Outside the doors of this Church is a world full of desperate people,
doomed to eternal torment, discouraged by the hopelessness they live in.
They desire and long for the answers to life’s deepest questions, but the
answers seem hopelessly lost to them.
Good Christian people have testified to them about their Lord Jesus
Christ, but when they examine their lives they see something gravely
contradictory between their words and their way, their lifestyle.]
[What does it mean for our soul to live?
Without any doubt God wants His children to have lively souls.
Your Heavenly Father desires that you
should be alive! Jesus said,]
[John 10:10
10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to
destroy:
I am come that they
might have life, and that they might have
it more abundantly. ]
[Our Lord and Savior came, died, rose, and ascended to give
you everlasting life and abundant life.
The whole gospel is focused upon life.
Liveliness, and vitality ought to mark the lives of every born again
believer.]
In Isaiah’s Discourse
we discover,
A.
The
Measure of Life (vs 12) [-
How do we measure life or liveliness?
- For ye shall go out with joy,
and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth
before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap
their hands. -
Our text reveals that life is measured
in,]
1.
Joy (vs
12)[– For ye shall go out with joy . .
. – What is real joy! ]
a.
[Webster’s 11th
Collegiate Dictionary- 1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or
good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires
: DELIGHT b : the expression
or exhibition of such emotion :
GAIETY 2 : a state of happiness or
felicity : BLISS
3 : a source or cause of delight]
[For lost worldly people joy is experienced when they
get something they worked for or sincerely desired to have.
I suppose joy would be connected to a sense of accomplishment.]
[Certainly, joy for the redeemed would be similar, but
I would add that the certain knowledge of having pleased our Heavenly Father
would be an undeniable component of real joy for any born again Christian.
Once one steps into the family of God through the redemption provided by
our Lord Jesus Christ joy takes on a new and undeniable component.
For the child of God the
ascent of God is absolutely necessary in order to experience any real sense of
Joy. Hence, what once brought one
joy when they were lost, may not bring them joy as a child of God any longer.]
[Perhaps, many Christians struggle to realized a sense
of real joy in their Christian Journey because they have failed to realize that
their new relation to God has developed a new standard for joy in their life.
But, know this as well, my Christian friend, the joy you will experience
as a Child of God, through the ascent of God, is far greater and more compelling
than any joy the world can know apart from God.
Notice the end of verse 12, the text reads, ]
[. . . the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into
singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap
their hands.]
[This is a supernatural joy wherein all of God’s
creation rejoices with you as you please God and rejoice in His affirmation and
exaltation.]
[Do you know, child of God, that your Heavenly Father
means to fill you with life, and that a life that will be evidently measured
through heavens joy and rejoicing.]
2.
Peace
(vs 12) [- . . . and be led forth with
peace . . . – Peace speaks of
confidence or certainty. It is the
lack of guilt. Guilt is the
consequence of having done the wrong thing.
Peace is the confidence of having done that which is absolutely right.
Many have the wrong idea
about peace. They think that peace
is the lack of distress or trials.
However, the deep inner peace being referred to by God in this passage
speaks of the certainty of having pleased ones Heavenly Father regardless of our
world’s response or distress.]
[True peace is found in the absolute confidence that no
matter what might happen in life one is absolutely eternally secure and
confidently right with God. Hence,
knowing that you have been born into the family of God is essential for one to
experience any sense of real peace.
Secondly, knowing that what you are
doing is with certainty in the center of God’s will is the second element of
real peace.]
[Lost, unredeemed people will never be able to know
real peace because they have no eternal sense of security.
Saved people will lose their sense of peace because something in their
life is outside of the will of God and they know it.
How do they know it? The Holy
Spirit within them keeps convicting them about the issue or issues that are
robbing them of their Joy and Peace.]
[Understand that the Joy and Peace God is talking about
in this text are undeniably linked together.
If you have God’s Joy you will have God’s peace.
If you lack God’s Joy you will lack God’s peace.
What is required for one is also required for the other.]
3.
Purpose
(vs 12, Prov 29.18) [- . . . ye shall
go out . . ., . . .be led forth . . .
– Life is best experienced with purpose.
It might be otherwise said that without purpose there is no real life.
The Bible states, ]
[Proverbs
29:18
18 Where
there is no vision, the people
perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy
is he. ]
[It is important for each of us to realize that the joy
and peace expressed by our Heavenly Father in this passage are both connected
with going. They are realized
through diligent service in His kingdom work.]
[Is there a lack
of joy and peace in your Christian life?
Then ask yourself what are you doing in God’s kingdom?
Are you being led forth?
Are you going out?
Or are you sitting in and wondering why your life feels so empty?]
[Is there a lack
of joy and peace in your Christian home? Then ask yourself what is
your family doing in God’s kingdom?
Is your family led forth?
Is your family going out? Or is your
family sitting in and wondering why your home feels so empty?]
[Is there a lack
of joy and peace in your Church?
Then ask yourself are you helping your Church to do something in God’s
kingdom? Are you helping your Church
to be led forth?
Are you helping your Church to go
out? Or are you sitting in and wondering why your Church feels so empty?
It has been said by many Men of God, if your Church is full of
controversy and contention then your Church folk are not on mission with our
Lord in His kingdom work, because if they have the time to find fault and argue
then they are not diligently working in the harvest.]
[What are the things God calls you to do that will be purposeful and
lead to joy and peace?]
·
[Your
Integrity is God’s work in your life.
Live in this world in purity and accountability toward God.]
·
[Your
Marriage is God’s work in your life.
Nurture your relationship with your husband or wife in a way that is
accountable toward God.]
·
[Your
Family is God’s work in your life.
Purposefully bring up your children in a way that is accountable toward
God.]
·
[Your
Church is God’s work in your life.
Serve God through your Church in a way that is accountable toward God.]
·
[Your
Witness and Testimony is God’s work in your life.
Do all that you do as unto the Lord.]
[God has given you purpose in life.
This God given purpose will lead to joy and peace in your life.]
4.
Praise
[- . . . the mountains and the hills
shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall
clap their hands. – Notice
the praise being given here in Isaiah’s text.
The hills are singing and the trees and fields are clapping their hands.
When God’s people purposefully get into God’s work and experience the
fullness of God’s Joy and Peace all of God’s creation will shout out with
rejoicing.]
[There have been many occasions when people have approached me as a
Pastor and said,
“Preacher, I just don’t feel a sense of joy and praise in our worship.”
What they are really asking is, “Preacher, where is our heart of worship?
Where is the spiritual depth in our worship?
Where is our sense of the presence of God in our worship?”]
[Where is it?
It is in you and your sense of purpose, joy, and peace with God.
If you sit at home all week, aimlessly living a life void of God’s
kingdom work, lacking the joy and peace of a life lived out fully for God; then
how can you expect to find Spirit filled praise and worship in Church on Sunday?
My Christian friends you must come to understand that
Worship is not something
you will discover at Church on Sunday, it is something you must bring with you
to Church on Sunday.]
[Hence we have discovered the measure of life!]
B.
The
Meaning Of Life (vs 13) [– Instead
of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up
the myrtle tree:
and it shall be to the
LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign
that shall not be cut off.
– Knowing the measure of life, or what manifests a soul that is alive will be
short lived if you do not understand the meaning of it all.
Our text touches on the meaning of life.
Life is about,]
1.
The Glory
of God (Rev 4.8-11;
Luke 14.11) [- . . . and it shall be
to the LORD for a name . . . – To many in our contemporary culture,
Christians included, are living to make for themselves a name.
We want to make our mark in life.
We want to have some kind of legacy.
We want to be remembered for our accomplishments, and some just want to
be remembered even if they are remembered for evil.
But is the highest goal
in life that we might be remembered in this mortal world?]
[Actually the highest goal in a Christian’s life ought
to be to glorify God, or to please God.
God created all things to this end.]
[Revelation
4:8-11
8 And the four beasts had each of them
six wings about him; and they were
full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
9 And when those beasts give glory and
honour and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10 The four and twenty elders fall
down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and
ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive
glory and honour and power: for thou hast
created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. ]
[You will be on the path to joy, peace, purpose, and
praise when you realize that your life is not really about you at all; it is all
about glorifying and magnifying Almighty God.
This why Jesus said,]
[Luke 14:11
11
For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.]
[Our lives are wrapped up in the glory of God. We were created to please God. We please our Heavenly Father by seeking to serve Him. We will experience our greatest joy and peace in life when we, and all of creation, praise Him together. ]
2.
The Gift
of God (Rom 6.23) [- . . . for an
everlasting sign that shall not
be cut off. - This everlasting
sign speaks of the new life we have been given through Christ.
I am reminded of,]
[Romans 6:23
23
For the wages of sin is
death;
but the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord. ]
[The second meaning of life discovered in our text is
God’s desire that all men partake of the gift of everlasting life received
through our Lord Jesus Christ. I
began this message by speaking of the world’s disillusionment in God because of
the Church and people of our Lord.
However, when God’s people discover that they are all about glorifying God and
begin living out the joy, peace, purpose, and praise of God in their lives then
the lost around us will be able to see the importance of the gift of God
provided to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.]
[The glory of God will always point lost and wayward
people to the gift of God, which is the salvation provided through Christ.]
C.
The Means
Of Life [– Lastly, we must discover the means of life.
How do God’s people
actually develop a Soul that Lives?
Being alive in Christ, being a Christian that glorifies God,
experiencing the incredible joy, peace, purpose, and praise of God are all God’s
revealed intension for His people.
How can we realize this in our lives!?]
[I can almost
hear someone say, “I hear ya preacher.
I also see it right here in Isaiah’s text.
But I don’t see how it can all be possible, at least not for me.
My family life is a travesty, my finances are in ruins, my reputation is
shot. It would be wonderful to
experience, but its just not possible.”]
[Consider who
Isaiah was writing to in this text.
The king in
[Isaiah is speaking to a people who are in the worst of all
situations, and they know they deserve nothing but the stern judgment and
justice of God. But through Isaiah
God says joy, peace, purpose, and praise are still available to you.
God’s says to you today, you may be the worst of the worst, but God still
extends grace to you today. God’s
joy, peace, purpose, and praise are available to each of you today.
How do you bring it into your life?
The Means To Life is, ]
1.
To Savor
It (vs 1-3) [–
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. 2
Wherefore do ye spend money for that
which is not bread? and your labour for
that which satisfieth not?
hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye
that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
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. – Are you hungry for the joy,
peace, purpose and praise of God?
Are you tired of being spiritually famished?
Then it’s your spiritual supper time.
This reminds be of the words of our Lord when he said,]
[Matthew 5:6
6
Blessed are they
which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. ]
[Are you hungry enough for the joy of God that you would do anything to
know it? Your Heavenly Father says,
come to the waters and drink.]
[Are you thirsty enough for the peace of God that you would do anything
to have it? Your Heavenly Father
says, come to the waters and drink.]
[Are you thirsty enough for the purpose and praise of God that you would
do anything to know it? Your
Heavenly Father says, come to the waters and drink.]
[If you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord
and Savior then you must first call out to Jesus, and once you have been born
again then this same joy, peace, purpose, and praise will be yours for the
taking as well.]
[Christians are you thirsting and hungering for
righteousness then you are almost there.]
2.
To Seek
It (vs 6-7) [- Seek ye the LORD while
he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have
mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. – Seek your
spiritual satisfaction through repentance.
God will abundantly pardon!]
[But preacher, you just don’t know what I’ve done!
God will abundantly pardon!]
[How deep is your sin?
The devil would try to convince you that you have just done far too much,
that God will just never forgive you.
But God has said,]
[1 John 1:9
9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. ]
[God will
abundantly pardon!]
[Remember
[You may think
[Will you seek God’s joy, peace, purpose, and praise through repentance
and righteousness! God will
abundantly pardon.]
[I ask you again, Does Your Soul Live?]
