Friday, 12th August 2022
Rev Daniel Xi An Poon
Section One V1-7 God’s Calling
God is talking to those who want to give up. The Israelites were in captivity under the ruling Babylon, they lost hope and wanted to give up on their identity as the chosen ones of God. God was talking to them through Isaiah 55, hoping to bring their hearts back and to give them hope again. God is showing His love to His people, He said to us, come. A lot of time, when we hear the calling of God, we might be afraid, we might think that God wants us to do something or to discipline us. But God’s calling is love, He knows we are dry and thirsty, and He knows that we need to come near the water.
V1 ‘Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ Do we know that we are the people thirst for water? Do we know that we are a dry land? God is calling us to look at the living water, do not think we don’t need the water, but see that we are thirst from within, humble ourselves and come before God. We must be connected with God and with our authority, and to understand the Heart of the Father.
V2 ‘Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in abundance.’ What can we buy without spending money? Our values for money are different to the values of the Kingdom of God. What is really valuable in our lives and what can we really spend? The answer is to listen carefully to God. We want to earn and spend what we have in our hands, the things we work hard for. But God said today that all we need to do is listen to Him.
V3-4 ‘Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you—The sure mercies of David. Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, a leader and commander for the people.’ God wants us to remember the promise of the key of David, because no one can take away God’s blessings for us. People and the environment may be in the way from time to time, but God’s promise never fails. When David was hiding in the cave and being chased after by Saul, he didn’t give up the identity God gave him, and continued to lead and guide those who followed him.
V5 ‘Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and the Holy One of Israel; for He has glorified you.’ We would try to prove ourselves in front of others and show others what we are capable of. But at the end, we receive nothing. When we try to use our talents and gifts to make changes to the world, we will forget about the calling of God. God calls us to let go of what we hold onto, and He calls us to come near to Him.
Section Two V8-13 God will Make Happen
V6 ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.’ We must seek God while we still can! God wants us to cry out to Him, because the devil always tries to attack us. The Holy Spirit comes to convict us for sin, for righteousness, and for judgement. We must be alert to the Holy Spirit, to walk way from our own path and let the peace of God to come upon us.
V7 ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.’ God’s Word is true, He is teaching us, guiding us and helping us.
V8-9 ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says 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.’ We want to do a lot of things for God, we want to hold everything in our hands, but what God wants is for us to come near to Him and listen to His Word.
V10-11 ‘For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.’ His promises never fail, His blessings come like the rain and the snow. We might feel that the rain makes us wet and the snow makes us cold, but God is nurturing us and cultivating us through the rain and snow.
V12 ‘For you shall go out with joy and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.’ When God is talking to us, we might not see a way out at the time, but when we learn to let go, learn to follow, learn to listen, then all our problems will be resolved. Do we believe that the mountains and hills in front of us will be moved away?
V13 ‘Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress 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.’ God wants us to receive His calling, respond to His teaching, and to come!
以赛亚书 55 – “来吧！”
2022年8月12日 星期五
潘锡安牧师
神借着本章经文继续对那些在巴比伦失去盼望、想要放弃的人说话。神知道我们一切的心路历程，他在我们无可指望的时候对我们说话，因为他是爱。神看到他所拣选的子民落到如此的光景，很难过，就借着他的仆人对这些失去信心的百姓说话，让他们重拾盼望。神在本章一开始的时候就问我们是否知道自己生命的光景，是否知道自己是“干渴”的？很多时候我们被蒙蔽，还以为自己所享用的东西都是好的，但神说我们是干渴的，需要来靠近活水江河。我们不要以为自己什么都可以，而要看到自己的不足，谦卑来到神面前对水位。正如我们现在处于马可楼阶段，要常来到神和权柄面前承接从上而来的祝福。神有一颗慈爱父亲的心，不忍看到自己儿女陷在问题中，所以对我们说：“来吧！”我们是否听到神的声音？
一、v.1-5 神的呼召
V1 我们听到神对我们说“来吧”的时候，第一反应常常是害怕、退缩，不知道他又找我们做什么事或者要怎样提升我们。其实神的呼召是深深的爱，要我们放下自己所听不懂的。神知道我们是干渴的，所以一定要“就近水来”。我们可能觉得在神和权柄面前要表现得很好才叫“就近水来”，我们甚至不愿意近前来，因不想自己被操控，但神说，即使是“没有银钱的”人都可以来。神又让我们“买了吃”，没有钱如何能“买酒和奶”呢？我们可能想用自己有价值的东西或劳力来换取，然而神说这些都不用。
V2 我们眼中所想的都是这个世界的东西，是祖宗遗传的价值、方法。我们能用什么去买呢？神说，“你们要留意听我的话，就能吃那美物，得享肥甘，心中喜乐”。我们想要用自己的方式去拥有所买的东西，但神说我们只要留心听他的话，就能享受这些我们本来想赚取得到的东西。
V3 无论面对多么让我们觉得走不下去的光景，只要我们侧耳听神，抓紧神给我们的话，“就必得活”。。。。神看到我们在水深火热当中，就让我们记起大卫的钥匙，他所开的门无人能关，任何仇敌的破坏都无法夺去神要给我们的祝福，神的应许永不落空。
V4 大卫当初打了胜仗后反而因扫罗的追杀落荒而逃，但当他躲到亚杜兰洞后，愿意带领那些跟随他的人，使他们从落魄的光景中走出来成为勇士，大卫就真正成为神的仆人。我们是否愿意放下我们自以为了不起的能力和这个世界？其实我们是一无所有、干旱无力的，当我们愿意在神的膀臂下、在神给我们的马可楼中，与上下左右连结的时候，我们的生命就不一样。
V5 我们常想用自己的能力来反转失败的光景，但神要我们放下这些来倚靠他，“因为他已经荣耀”我们。我们有什么是紧紧抓住放不下的呢？神在呼召我们：“放下，来吧”！
二、v.6-13 神必成就
V6 当我们愿意来回应神的呼召时，神必成就他的旨意。在我们还能听到神的时候，我们就要寻找他。在我们被攻击、想放弃的时候，不要让我们的情欲、内心的小剧场高过圣灵在我们里面的声音，也不要找人来抱怨，而要懂得向上连接，靠近神，求告他，神的平安就必临到我们。
V7 圣灵来，是让我们看到自己是不认识神的“恶人”。圣灵来，不是要我们分辨是非对错，而是让我们“离弃自己的道路…除掉自己的意念”。神在对我们呼喊，“来吧！”我们不要再假装圣洁，不要以为躲起来什么都不管事情就会过去。当“归向耶和华”，他就必怜恤我们，广行赦免。
V8-9 我们是否相信神的意念和道路高过我们？我们想要靠自己为神做些什么事，但神要的就是我们来到他面前聆听他的话。
V10 我们觉得不舒服的“雨雪”原来都有神美好的心意，是可以“滋润地土，使地上发芽结实，使撒种的有种，使要吃的有粮”。
V11 我们若听到神所说的就去行，就“必然亨通”。我们不要画蛇添足，不要想成为别人的神。
V12-13 有时我们听了神和权柄对我们说的话便觉得是行不通的，但我们若听到了就去做，就“必欢欢喜喜而出来，平平安安蒙引导”，那些我们看为问题的一切“大山小山”也必在我们面前“发声歌唱”。我们要看到自己是干渴的，听到神的呼召就要来到神面前，回应他的教导，去行出他对我们说的话，神就必成就他的旨意。