Isaiah 55. I'd like to read and consider just
a moment. Verse 1. Isaiah 55. Verse 1. 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." This afternoon I had a little cassette tape popped
it in. And it was a fellow preaching
that I knew, having talked to him for years and years and years,
and listened to the message that he preached. It was out of John
1. Just as straight, doctrinally, as I'd ever heard, just right
down the line. I listened to that and began
to think, this fellow, as far as I know,
doesn't preach anymore. Quit. Just gave it up and left
and went off and started doing something else. The thing that struck me about
it was that as I listened to the message as he developed it,
it was very good construction, very
good delivery. Brother Scott was in the congregation
because I heard him call his name. And I thought to myself,
you know, but for the grace of God, somebody one day would pop
in one of my tapes and would say, but for the grace of God. You know, I remember hearing
that guy, and he's not around here anymore, but for God's grace. And they'd say that about you
too. but for God's grace. This is New Year's Eve. We've
come to the end of another year. And you know, but for the grace
of God, none of us would be here tonight. I looked at this passage
of Scripture Isaiah was the penman. The Spirit
of God is the author. I read that first line, "...whole
every one that thirsteth." Now let me tell you, tonight
I'm going to speak for just a very few moments to a particular group
of people. I pray I'm one of them. A group
of people that possess some specific characteristics that have been
obtained by the grace of God Almighty is serious business. We didn't just come to church.
This is serious. I am not the one that chose the
characteristics Not the one that chose the message. I'm a messenger
at best. John said, I'm just a voice.
That's what he said, I'm just a voice. But if there be any here tonight
that truly possess these characteristics, they do so by God's grace and
they rejoice. Rejoice! They don't glory in
themselves. They don't think that they've
produced the characteristics. But in their heart, they praise
Him who has saved them and called them by His grace. First of all, I'm speaking to
some folks tonight that are thirsty. That's what Isaiah said, "...whole
everyone that thirsteth." Thirsteth. Now that word, thirsteth, means
thirsts and thirsts and thirsts and keeps on thirsting. It didn't
thirst one time. "...Whole everyone that keeps
on thirsting." that's thirsty. Is there one here that thirsts after the Lord Jesus
Christ? That thirsts to worship Him? Thirsty for fellowship? The Lord Jesus said in John 7,
37, if any man thirsts, here's what He says, if any man thirsts,
Let him come unto Me and let him drink." What else does a thirsty man
desire but to drink? That's what he desires. If a man or a woman is here tonight
and they thirst after Christ, if God has given them a heart
to thirst after Him, that is a precious possession. That is a precious gift of Almighty
God. Because if He left us to ourselves,
we're sitting here going through the motions and that's all we're
doing. That's all we're doing. We're making a show. We're showing
up. You know, we've made our entrance.
That's all we're doing. But if He has given me or you
a heart to thirst spiritually soul-thirsting after Him. Oh, my! What a possession! And a believer has this attitude,
Lord, take not Thy Spirit from me. For David said, the awareness
of Your presence. Lord, it is by Your grace that
I thirst after You. I know it. I am convinced of
it. Lord, You have made me. I am
what I am by the grace of God. Oh, if anyone thirsty! What a desire! I'm serious. Me and Brother Scott were talking
just a few moments ago. How many places in not just this
county, Marion County, but just name a few other counties around
here. How many places are there? where the Lord would raise up
a body of believers and would give those believers, give those
people, sinners, a thirsting after Him. Oh, if any man, if
anyone thirsts, thirsts! The Lord said in Matthew 5, 6,
Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness.
And you that know Him know that. That is a blessing. That's a
blessing. Oh, I can tell you for a fact
just as sure as I'm standing here. There's a time I didn't
thirst after Him. And said I did. Said I did. Said I did. I was just a lying
scoundrel. I was lying. I wasn't fooling
God. I may have fooled myself. Thirsted. Blessed are they that
hunger and thirst after righteousness. That new heart, the soul, thirsts
not for the world, not for the world's pleasure, not for the
world's money and fame and ease, but thirsts for Him. Thirsts
for Him. A heart made to hunger and thirst
after Him. Oh, you that know something about
that, Isn't that precious? Isn't that a precious thing?
Lord, thank You. Thank You that You'd give me
a heart to come here. That You'd give me a heart to
thirst after You. Natural water, oh, it will temporarily
satisfy the body, but it doesn't do it eternally. It doesn't do
it truly, effectually. But Christ told the woman at
the well, He said, drinketh, of the water that I shall give
shall never thirst." Never thirst. Why? They're satisfied. They're
satisfied with Him. David says, as the heart panteth
after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after they. My soul thirsteth
for God, for the living God. A pant farm. Oh, everyone that
thirsteth for righteousness. I'm talking, first of all, to
some thirsty folks. Anybody thirsty? Anybody thirsty? Secondly, I'm talking tonight
to some spiritually poor folks. Oh, everyone that thirsteth.
Ye to the waters, he that hath no money hath no money." Now
these are the people that know something about Almighty God.
These are some folks here that know something of Him. They're
thirsty for Him, thirsty for His righteousness. They thirst
after Him. And they're poor. They have no
money. Spiritually poor. I'm talking
to some that God has made to be beggars, spiritual beggars. If Almighty God has made you
to be a beggar before Him, you need Him. You need Him. It's not you and Him together,
as those bumper stickers, you know, me and Jesus, you know,
have a good thing going. if you love the Lord. I'm not
talking about that. I'm talking about a beggar. A
spiritual beggar. He that's thirsty and he that
has no money, no silver, no worth. I looked up every reference in
Scriptures for beggar and begging. Beggar and begging. There's not
one place in all Scripture where there was ever a beggar that
ask for mercy. The hands of our Lord, not one
beggar, not one place was ever found in Scripture where one
beggar ever asked for mercy and didn't get it. Beggar. Blessed, Scripture says, the
Lord says, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the beggars.
Spiritual beggars. Verse Samuel 2 verse 8 says,
He lifted up the beggar. from the dunghill to set them
among princes, beggars, poor in spirit, those
that have nothing to purchase salvation with, and they know
it. They knock. They've been given a heart to
thirst after Him, and they knock at the door of mercy. They ask
for forgiveness from sin on the merit of Christ's blood and seek
Him. Him. They are beggars. And what
are these thirsty beggars told to do? Oh, every one that thirsteth,
listen, come ye to the waters, you that have no money. Thirsty
beggars, come ye to the waters. Now, you know when I first read
that, I looked at that word waters. Waters. Come ye to the waters. Waters. What we've got to do is we're
going to have to compare Scripture with Scripture to find out. But you know what it is. In John
7.37, the Lord Jesus Christ, I just quoted this, He said,
If any man thirst, what did he say? Let him come to who? Me. That's what He said. If any
man thirst, let him come to Me. Matthew 11, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28,
28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28,
28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, 28, Revelation 22, 17, the Spirit
and the bride say, Come, let him that heareth come, let him
that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water
of life freely. Isaiah 45, 22, Look unto Me,
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and
there is none else. What does it mean to come to
the waters? I'll tell you exactly what it
means. It means, come to Him. Turn with me and I'll show you
something in Jeremiah 13. I'll just tell you this and maybe
it will help you. It helped me. It's a Hebrew word,
and this is the way it's said it. It's a Hebrew word that has
a dual sound, waters, with a singular meaning. waters. Jeremiah 2.13, For my people have committed
two evils, they have forsaken me. Now look there, you see that?
They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. And hewn them
out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold No water. Look
at Jeremiah 17, 13. Jeremiah 17, 13. O Lord, the hope of Israel, all
that forsake Thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me
shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the
Lord, the fountain of living waters. He is called the waters,
the living waters. Oh, everyone that thirsteth,
come to the waters. The Lord said, Come to Me. You
thirst, come to Me. The fountain of living waters. So when we read the waters here
in Isaiah 55, that word we read there, waters, we speak of the
same One who is the living waters in Jeremiah. He is the Lord in
John 7 who said, Come to Me. Come. Everyone that's thirsty,
come to the waters, the fountain of waters, the fountain of living
waters. The Lord who is one, who is our
surety, our representative, our substitute, our righteousness,
our mediator, our advocate, our prophet, our priest, our king,
our hope of eternal glory. The waters! Come to the waters. He's one God. But He is our All
and in All. He's my Prophet, my Substitute,
my Lord, my King. Come to the waters. Come in heart. Come by faith. Come. Approach. Come, ye to the waters. Abandon all false notions of
establishing a righteousness before God Almighty and yourself.
Come, you thirsty beggars, come empty-handed to Him. Come to the waters, to Christ. Not baptism. Placing your hope
in baptism. You placing your hope in church
membership. Placing your hope in a pastor.
you come to the fountain of water Himself. Revelation 21, verse
6 says, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I
will give unto Him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water
of life freely. The soul that is a thirst is
a thirst for Christ Himself. thirsty for His righteousness,
thirsty for His pardon, thirsty for communion with Him, and thirsty
for a greater knowledge of Him, come to the waters. I'll tell
you this, a poor sinner, a beggar, one without money, a drawn sinner,
made to be thirsty for Christ, comes. He does come. Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. Come to the waters,
ye that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine
and milk without money, without price." Now, you know you think
about this. Come and buy. Come and buy. Buy, like the man
that found the goodly pearl of great price, the Scripture said,
sold all that he had and bought it. Bye. A man made to be thirsty, a woman
made to be thirsty, beggars before Almighty God, sees the Lord Jesus
Christ as the treasure, the pearl of great price. But the Scripture
says here, Come ye by. Buy. You know, normally, this
is the way we think. We buy something by paying the
price. That's how you buy something,
isn't it? Buy. Buy something. You've got something
to sell. I've got some money. I give you
the money. You give me the merchandise.
I bought it. I paid for it. I got something
to glory in. I paid it. Right? Isn't that
the way we do it? I'm honorable about it. I paid
for it. But the Scripture says here,
you have no money. Come ye and buy. We have no worthiness. We have nothing to buy with. But somebody would say, well,
I'd buy it by faith. That's how I'd buy it. That's
what an Arminian believes. An Arminian believes that God
has got something to sell. Salvation. And the Arminian says,
I've got faith. How much is the salvation? I'll
pay it. I've got the faith. That's salvation
by works. You don't buy by faith. You have nothing. Buy, the Scripture
says. Come ye and buy. The Lord said in Revelation 3.18, Buy of me gold tried in the fire
that thou mayest be rich. Buy of me. The word buy right
here is procure. Procure. Procure without money. Come and procure without money,
without anything you have. Salvation is by grace. Salvation
is by grace, for by grace are you saved through faith and not
of yourself. It's the gift of God. It is God
Almighty that makes a man thirsty. It is God Almighty that makes
that man to realize he's a beggar before God. And it is Almighty
God that gives him salvation. Come, procure. It's the gift
of God. You didn't buy it. You didn't
have anything to pay. You didn't have anything to pay
with. Come and buy. and eat. But I'll tell you this,
how can one buy if the Lord Jesus Christ is not the one for sale? How can one buy if he has nothing
to pay with? He can't. Come and buy. No man can. It must be by grace. Come and
procure and eat. Come ye, procure and eat. Eat of me. It's a personal appropriation. Come, buy, eat. Yea, come and buy wine and milk. Wine, here is the heart-reviving
comfort of the pardon from sin. It is the peace of God by His
blood and milk, the soul-nourishing Word of the Gospel. These are
procured by grace. Get it out of your mind that
you bought anything and you paid for anything. You procured it
by grace. That's what the Word means. We
get it in our mind that the word, buy, means I paid the price. I paid for it. I gave whatever
it cost. It is the gift of God. Let me
read it like this. Oh, everyone that is spiritually
thirsty, come ye to the Lord Jesus Christ, the fountain of
waters. And you that are beggars, that
have nothing, come ye, procure it. from Him. Get it from Me
and eat. Eat of Me. Appropriate it. Yea,
come, buy or procure peace. Peace and nourishment, milk,
without money. Without money and without price. How do you buy something without
price? There is no price for you to
pay. The price has already been paid. The Lord Jesus Christ,
the One who procured salvation, redeemed, come, procure it. Why? They're procured. The gift of God. If you do something
to buy, then you have something to glory in. This is without
price. You see, one has to be made thirsty. Is anyone thirsty? Has God given
any man, any woman in here a thirst after Him? If you're thirsty,
come. I'm not talking, stop thinking
right now back when you first believed. I'm talking about tonight. If anybody's thirsty tonight,
if you're thirsty tonight, He made you thirsty. If any man
thirsts, if any man's thirsty, come right now. We come now. And we come now. And we come
now. We come. Only beggars will come. And they will come without money,
without worth. Empty handed. By grace, they are saved and
they feast upon the gift of Almighty God. Come by, eat it. Taste of the Lord. See that He
is good. And in Him, they procure as the
gift of God, the comfort of Him. And they procure also the peace
that their sin has not been imputed to Him. Buy the truth. This is what Proverbs 23, 23
says. Buy the truth and sell it not. Now you think about that. Can you sell that? I mean, can
you buy that? You've got something to pay.
Buy the truth. What are you going to buy it
with? With that money, with that price, buy the truth. Procure it. by God's grace procured
it. If a man has bought the truth,
procured it, he has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as his
hope of glory. The Scripture says, buy the truth
and sell it not. I started off this message talking
about someone a few years ago. that I heard preaching a message
that was doctrinally sound, sounded good. And in time, he quit and
he went somewhere else. He sold it. He sold it. Let it go. Let it go. A man has sold the truth, he
left it. The Scripture says they went
out from us because they were not with us, not of us, for surely
had they been of us, they would have remained. If you are here tonight thirsting
after Him, hungering after Him, If Almighty God has given you
by His grace a knowledge of who He is, if you have procured Him by your
grace, Scripture says, you bought Him by the truth. Procure it. Obtain it. And don't
sell it. Don't sell it. If a man remains
to the end faithful, they that endure to the end shall be saved.
If you endure to the end, it's because God will keep you. He'll
keep you. Kept by the power of God. Kept
by Him. Anybody thirsty, come to the
waters. Come for that money, that price. Come. Buy and eat. Feast on Him.