God’s Way, Not Our Way
Isaiah 55:8-9
July 21, 2024
Jay Haugh
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.” —Isaiah 55:8
Isaiah 55:8 is NOT about God’s control but about God’s compassionate heart.
“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. —Isaiah 55: 6-9
What does God want from us?
(1) God wants us to pursue Him.
God’s great invitation.
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. —Isaiah 6-7
God is inviting us to seek and call upon Him because we have left Him.
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. —Isaiah 55:1
God delights in extending compassion (v.7)
God delights in extending compassion AND He abundantly pardons.
It’s not what Jesus wants from us, but what He wants for us.
(2) God wants to pardon us.
Jesus abundantly pardons.
…to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. (Ephesians 3:18 NIV)
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. —Isaiah 55:8-9
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him. (Psalm 103:11)
God’s forgiveness and grace are that abundant!
God’s offering of compassion and forgiveness is not contingent upon you.
There is nothing so soiled that God’s grace cannot or will not wash clean.
God’s compassion and forgiveness bring joy and peace.
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. —Isaiah 55:12
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. —Isaiah 55:1
In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)
Big Idea:
Jesus invites us to experience His lavish and insurmountable compassion and pardon.
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Read Isaiah 55:6-9, 12-13
(1) What does it mean to you to seek the Lord? How often do you seek the Lord? What steps do you take to draw near to Him?
(2) You may come to the Lord as you are, but He does not want you to stay as you are. He wants you to turn from your sin. What are some things in your life that you know Christ wants you to forsake? Are there “wicked ways” or “evil thoughts” you need to repent of?
(3) God is inviting us to turn from our sin and return to Him. Why can turning away from sin be difficult? What does our desire to keep sin hidden say about sin, about our view of ourself, and our view of God?
(4) Some sins in our life may be obvious and others may be more hidden. How can we go about identifying our sin? After we have identified our sin, what do we need to do to move away from it and grow closer to God?
(5) God delights in extending compassion and forgiveness. Think about a time when you desperately needed forgiveness. How did you feel, and how did receiving forgiveness change things? Sometimes, the most difficult person to forgive is yourself. How can we receive God’s forgiveness and feel that grace applied in our life?
(6) Do you struggle with understanding the scope and magnitude of God’s great love and forgiveness? Have you ever felt that you or another should not be forgiven for something? When you see God’s forgiveness in action, does it bring you joy like it did King David? Or does it frustrate you like it did Job?
(7) Whenever we come face to face with the way God forgives us, we are challenged to forgive others. Read Matthew 6:12, 14-15 and notice the link between God forgiving us and our forgiveness of others. Is there someone you need to forgive, or someone you need to seek forgiveness from?
(8) Isaiah 55:12-13 conveys that God’s forgiveness should be a joy for us. And that our joy be a visible testimony for others to see that will bring glory back to God. How can we more embody a spirit of joy? How can we use this evangelistically to share God’s greatness with others?