The Ways and Thoughts of Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about God's ways and thoughts compared to ours?

Isaiah 55:8-9 teaches that God's ways and thoughts are higher than ours, affirming His ultimate authority and perfection. In Isaiah 55:8-9, God declares, 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.' This emphasizes the vast chasm between God's divine wisdom and our human understanding. His ways are perfect and reflect His holiness and sovereignty, while our thoughts and actions are often marred by sin and selfishness. The Lord's thoughts are of peace, in stark contrast to the evil that continually resides in our hearts (Genesis 6:5). Therefore, it is essential for believers to seek the Lord, recognizing His infinite wisdom and aligning our lives with His higher ways.

Q: How do we know that God's thoughts are good towards us?

Jeremiah 29:11 reveals that God's thoughts towards us are plans of peace and hope, demonstrating His loving nature. In Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord states, 'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end.' This passage reassures believers that God's intentions for us are rooted in His love and purpose. Even in our struggles and imperfections, God has a plan that always aims for our ultimate good. His thoughts are infinitely higher than ours, filled with peaceful resolution rather than destruction. This is a testament to the grace we find in Christ, who embodies God's perfect love and mercy.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to forsake their own ways?

Forsaking our own ways allows us to seek the Lord's higher thoughts, leading to mercy and forgiveness. Isaiah 55:7 instructs, 'Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord.' This verse highlights the necessity of turning away from our selfish and destructive inclinations to receive God's mercy. By relinquishing our own ways, we acknowledge our weaknesses and come to understand that only through Christ can we find true righteousness and peace. Embracing the Lord's ways enables us to align with His will, which is far better than our flawed human ways. This act of forsaking creates space for experiencing God's abundant pardon and grace.

Q: How does God's righteousness differ from human righteousness?

God's righteousness is perfect and unblemished, while human righteousness is flawed and often self-serving. The contrast between divine and human righteousness is stark. While God's righteousness is encapsulated in His perfect character and holy attributes, human righteousness is tainted by sin. Scripture reveals that all of our efforts fall short of God's glorious standard (Romans 3:23). The Lord's perfect ways, as stated in Psalm 18:30, demonstrate that His direction and intentions are entirely pure, in contrast to the corrupt nature of mankind. Understanding this difference compels believers to rely not on their own deeds, but on Christ's perfect righteousness, which is credited to them through faith.

Good morning. Let's turn to Isaiah 55 together. Isaiah chapter 55. Isaiah 55, we're going to look at verses 8 and 9 this morning. Isaiah 55, verse 8. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts and your thoughts. Now the first thing I want to consider is who spoke these words, who is speaking about our ways and thoughts as who is speaking about the Lord's ways and thoughts. It's said at the end of verse eight, saith the Lord. So the Lord has the, obviously, the ultimate authority to speak about His ways and thoughts. He is God Almighty Himself. He is everything that God is, is encapsulated in Jesus Christ. He can tell us about who He is, but the Lord also has the utmost authority to speak to us about who we are and about our ways and thoughts and about our person. And I'll show you that in scripture. Let's turn to Psalm 139 together. Psalm 139. Psalm 139. Let's begin in verse one. This is David speaking.

Oh Lord, thou has searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down sitting and mine uprising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compass my path and my lying down and aren't acquainted with all of my ways. So in terms of our ways and our thoughts, we think that we know ourselves better than anybody. And in an earthly sense, I would agree that nobody knows you like you know yourself. But the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. The Lord does not have an inflated view of us like we do of ourselves. We like to manipulate who we are in situations to make ourselves appear better than we actually are. But he says, I'm acquainted with your ways. I'm acquainted with your thoughts. David said, you have searched me and you've known me.

So our Lord has the ultimate authority to speak about who we are, about our ways and our thoughts. Now, we're going to consider our thoughts and ways, and then we're going to consider the thoughts and the ways of Jesus Christ. And I'm going to try to be brief in talking about our ways and thoughts, because that's not really what the passage is about. The passage is about who the Lord is, about his high thoughts and his high ways.

Now our thoughts, our thoughts are what we're thinking, what's going through our head, thoughts as we know them, but that word also means our purpose. What is our purpose behind what we're doing? What is the driving factor? What is the motive for all that we do and all that we think? So with that in mind, let's turn to Genesis chapter six, Genesis chapter six. Genesis chapter six, let's look at verse five. This is the first time that man's thoughts are mentioned in scripture. Genesis six, verse five. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

They were not only evil, but they were evil continually. They are never improving. They are never graduating to a higher state. It doesn't matter how much we come to church, how much we read the Bible, they are evil constantly and continually, never changing from that state.

Psalm 94 verse 11 says, the Lord knoweth the thoughts of man that they are vanity. That means they are worthless in the sight of God. He said about our thoughts, They are evil continually, and they are worthless. And we could look at a lot of other scripture that says the same kind of thing. They hold no value to us. And again, how God sees things is how they really are, not how we see things. We might think our thoughts are not that way, they are that way, because the Lord said it in his word plainly.

Now let's consider our ways. Let's turn to Romans chapter three together. Romans chapter three. Now, our ways are our works. It's what we do. That word also means our direction. It is where we are heading. What is our way and our path? Where are these things leading us to? Romans 3, verse 13, their throat, speaking of ours, is an open sepulcher. With their tongues they've used to seat, the poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. Now our works are destructive and miserable, and this is a destructive world. And you don't need to look far to see the destruction of man. destruction against other men, destruction against all kinds of things. We are a destructive people, but this is also where we are heading. It is where our works, where our ways and our thoughts will lead us. It will lead to nothing but destruction and misery. It will lead to eternal punishment if we are found in these things. Now let's turn to Ezekiel 36, Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel 36. Ezekiel 36 verse 17.

Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings. Their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman. So they defiled it by their own way. Now what we want by nature, more than anything, is to go our own way. We want our own path. We want our own legacy. It does not matter how destructive it is. It doesn't matter how evil continually. It does not matter how worthless. Man by nature wants to go their own way. They don't need help. They don't need another way. They want their own way.

Now that is our great fear, would be to be found in our own way. and to be left to these things and to have that presented before the Lord as our way. It is truly the great fear. So that's our ways and our thoughts. He said they're evil continually, they're worthless, they're destructive, they're miserable, and maybe the worst of all is that we want that as our way by nature. It's strong language, but it is the right language. Again, David said, you've searched me and you've known me. The Lord knows us. And he knows that these things are true. And he said so in his word.

So let's turn back to our text, Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55. And let's look back at verse seven. Isaiah 55, verse seven. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and you will have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon. Now what forsake means when it says let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, forsake means to loosen or to cast something away.

Now we hold on to these things so tightly. We hold on to our thoughts and our work so tightly and we care so much about what men think about our ways and our works. Now what, when he says forsake your way, what he is saying is let those things go. They do nothing for us. They will lead to eternal destruction and punishment. We are commanded to let these things go and to cast these things away. And somebody says, what does that mean? And it does not mean to stop sinning. You will not be able to do that. We have an old and evil nature that can do nothing but sin. It does not mean to stop sinning. What it means is shown plainly in verse 6. Look at verse 6. It says, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near.

To forsake our ways is to look to the ways and thoughts of the Lord and to seek Him in all things. And it's such a blessing to have somewhere to look to. You know, we're not just forsaking our ways and then we have nowhere to look to. No, there is a hope for us and a hope for the Lord's people in the ways and the thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And you will seek him when he shows you something of who he is. The Lord is going to have to reveal himself in a measure for us to see who he is. And when we see his high way and his high thoughts, and then we look back on ourself, we will see our ways and our thoughts as they are. It is in light of seeing who He is that we are able to see who we are. It is not in comparison to other men. You can make yourself feel real good about yourself comparing yourself to other men.

But when you see who the Lord is, that's where our ways and our thoughts and our sins are so evident. And it's a work of grace when the Lord reveals that to us, when He shows us His high ways and His high thoughts. It says in Isaiah 55 verse 8, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

And that means they are completely different. They are complete opposites. They don't just not line up every now and then. They are completely different all the time. And in what way are they different? He said in verse nine, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. So the difference in our ways and thoughts versus is that his are higher is what he said.

Now our Lord is so very high, and he is high in every way that a God could be high. Look in chapter 57, just two chapters over, verse 15. It says, for thus saith the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. He's called the high and lofty one. I love that name for our Lord, the high and lofty one, and it is only one. There is only one that is this high and lofty one, and that is Christ our Savior.

And that distance, it says, as the heavens are higher than the earth, an infinite difference. an amount of space that we cannot measure and that we cannot comprehend. That is the difference in our ways and thoughts and in His ways and thoughts, as the heavens are higher than the earth. All of our Lord's attributes are infinitely high. But today we're just going to consider God's thoughts and God's ways and how those are high. So let's consider God's thoughts. Let's turn to Jeremiah 29. Jeremiah is right after Isaiah. Jeremiah 29, verse 11. Jeremiah 29 verse 11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end. Now you see the stark difference here.

You see the opposite nature of his thoughts and our thoughts. What did he say about our thoughts? They were evil continually. And what's he say here? Thoughts of peace and not of evil. And what's so amazing is that it is thoughts of peace for the evil continually, for the worthless, for the destructive. That is who our Lord has thoughts of peace towards. And it said, It starts to give us an expected end.

Everything is expected with God. There is nothing surprising Him. We are surprised all the time in this life with things that come, good things, bad things, trials, but He's not caught off guard by any of it. It is always expected. And when those things happen to us, we're just catching up to what the Lord has always known He was going to send. And what He's always known is going to happen. It's such a comfort to know that things aren't just happening by chance, but that the Lord is ordaining all these things that is all expected.

Now let's turn to Psalm 40. Psalm chapter 40. Psalm chapter 40. Now let's look in verse five, Psalm 40, verse five. Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to usward. They cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee. If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. He said his thoughts which are to us word and what a blessing that the Lord would think on us that he would actually consider us and we consider him and think of him so lightly and so not as we should. But thankfully he thinks on us.

And that is what our salvation is relying on. It is not relying on our thoughts of Him, but it is relying on His thoughts toward us. You can extrapolate that out through the whole Gospel. We are not relying on our faith on Him, but His faith in Christ, His belief in Christ, His obedience in Christ, His perfect works, and not our evil works. We are wholly relying on Him, and His thoughts are to usward, And it said, they are more than can be numbered.

He has always thought on His people. That's why David could say, you've searched me and you've known me. Because the Lord's thoughts have always been on us. They were on us in election, before time began, before the earth was created. They are on us today. And they are going to be on us through the end.

If by His grace He will save us and we behold Him in glory, His thoughts will still be toward us where they are more than can be numbered. What a blessing that He would think on us, that He would consider us. Now that's God's thoughts. Now let's consider God's ways. Let's turn to Psalm 18, Psalm chapter 18. Psalm 18, verse 30. Psalm 18 verse 30, as for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is tried. He is a buckler to all those that trust in him.

His works are perfect. His way is perfect. His direction is perfect. Everything God ever did was perfect. and He is perfect today and will be perfect in the future. The Lord was perfect in electing His chosen people. He was perfect in the creation of this earth and in the creation of man. He was perfect in being born into this earth. And what a blessing that the Lord came to this earth and was actually made a man. That's hard for me to wrap my head around, that God, God Almighty, was made man, was made flesh like I was. What a blessing that He came to this earth. He was perfect in His time on this earth. All the wonderful things the Lord did in this earth. He came here and He never sinned, not once. Did He do any man wrong? Did He break any of the commandments? He was perfect on this earth.

It's so amazing to read what the Lord did on this earth in Scripture. And it's amazing to think of all the things that we don't know about that He did, that weren't recorded in Scripture. What amazing things He did on this earth. What a perfect work He accomplished for His people.

He was perfect in His death, and it was the only death that's ever accomplished anything. Death that saved us. Death for His people. He was perfect in death. He was perfect in resurrection, rising to be on the throne, and as He sits today, ruling and reigning over all of His people, over everybody, He is doing so perfectly. His way is perfect.

Now, to sum up these two verses, he said, my ways and thoughts are not yours, as the heavens are higher than the earth, my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts and your thoughts. If I were to sum them up, I would say the Lord is other. He is other. And our pastor's been saying that the last few years, and that's been such a blessing and an encouragement to me that to just know that he is not like me and he is not struggling with the same things I struggle with and he's not constantly looking to himself and he's not constantly doubting but that he does all things well and that he is just he is in his own category he is not like any man has ever been he is perfect he is other and there's many great examples of this in Scripture. There's a lot in just Isaiah 55. I'll show them to you quickly. Verse 1 in Isaiah 55, it says, Now that is other.

That doesn't happen on this earth. We don't just go buy things without money. But why is grace free is because the Lord has paid for it. It did come at great cost to our Lord. And through the cross, it is free to us. It is actually free grace that the Lord gives his people.

Look in verse, where is it? Verse seven. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord and he'll have mercy upon him and to our God for he will abundantly pardon." Abundantly pardon. That is other.

We don't pardon the same thing over and over. And I don't, I'm not going to forgive somebody for doing the same thing over and over and over again. You can do something once, maybe twice, but we don't just forgive the same things over and over, do we? But our Lord forgives the same sins over and over every day. We're just in this evil nature. It is evil continually doing the same things, but our Lord He pardons abundantly. There's no limit to His mercy. There's no, that's it, I'm not gonna forgive that sin again. No, not with the Lord. He abundantly pardons.

Verse 10 says, for as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth 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 goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void, but it will accomplish that which I please, and it will prosper in the thing whereto I send it. That is power that is other.

He said, my word will not return unto me void. We cannot say that. We can preach the gospel, but we can't save through the gospel. We can't make the Lord's people hear. The Lord can do that. He said, when I send my word out, it's not going to return unto me void. It will accomplish the thing whereto I sent it. It will save its people.

That is a power, that is a sovereignty that is other and that is higher and that is bigger than me. Now those are some examples, but I want to go over the one great example, and there is one great example of the great difference and of the great otherness and of the Lord's high way and high thoughts, and that is the cross. Now, he said my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts and your thoughts.

Now, what was man's way and thought at the cross? What was our purpose and what was our work at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ? It was a way and a thought of hate at the cross. They said we will not have this man to rule over us. It was a work and a thought of evil at the cross.

Again, the Lord never sinned. He didn't do man wrong in his time on this earth. He was perfect. He was holy. He was God in flesh. And yet they said, we will not have this man to rule over us. Pilate said, I find no fault with this man. They said, we don't care. And they put him to death.

It was murder, what happened on the cross. It was the most evil thing man ever did, was to put God to death on the cross. And what did it look like at the cross to man? What was the result of the cross? What they thought was Christ is defeated. They said we will not have this man to rule over us and he's dead. They thought Christ is defeated. Man won. Man was victorious.

That was our way and thought at the cross. And then you think about what the Lord's ways and thoughts were at the cross, and you see that stark difference. You see his high way and thought infinitely higher than ours. Now, our Lord had ways and thoughts of mercy at the cross and love at the cross. There's never been love shown like was shown at the cross. The son's love to willingly go to the cross for his people, and the love toward his father to do his sovereign will, and the love of the father to send his only begotten son to this earth, who he knew was going to be put to death for his sins, that is an other love. That is love like I cannot comprehend, that I cannot attain to. He was so purposeful in the cross. We do so many things with no purpose. We don't even know why we're doing it, but our Lord was so purposeful in His death on the cross.

And the result, what was the result? Again, man thought when Christ was defeated, but the cross was truly Christ's victorious for His people. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 57, but thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, victorious for His people, victorious over the sins of His people. At great cost to Him, He obtained victory for His people, obtained victory in the purpose of God, accomplishing what He came to the earth to do. Victory for His people.

I think of what Joseph said to his brothers when, remember, Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery. And Joseph goes on to become king. It said the Lord was with Joseph. And he becomes king, and many years later he reveals himself to his brothers. He tells them who he is. And you remember what he told them about what they did when they had sold him into slavery. He said, you thought it evil against me.

But God meant it unto good. Now that's a picture of the cross. Man meant the cross for evil. But God meant it for good. And it shows what happens when our evil meets the goodness of the Lord. The Lord, every time, He prevails in it. The evil does not undo the good. The goodness is done. The mercy and the love and the salvation is done. And Christ is victorious for his people.

I'm so thankful that my sin does not overtake God's grace. His grace always, it is always ever present. It is never going to be defeated. And it is such a secure salvation, this thing of salvation in Christ, in Christ alone. How thankful we are that God prevailed over sin on the cross and that our sins have been put away.

And in light of that, in light of the cross, I want to turn back to Psalm 18, where we read about his way. And I want to keep reading. Psalm 18, let's read verse 30. Psalm 18, verse 30. As for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is tried. He is a buckler to all those that trust in him. For who is God? Save the Lord. Or who is a rock? Save our God. It is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect. Now that is what the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ did. It made our way perfect. It gave us the ways and thoughts of the Lord as ours.

So that when God looks on us, he does not see the evil continually. He does not see the destruction. He only sees his only begotten son. He sees the higher way and the higher thought. And that is what we look to. for our hope, that is what we are looking to at all time for our salvation, is His high way and His high thought and what peace there is in that. What peace there is in knowing that the work is done, that it is finished, and that we are found in the ways and thoughts of the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that that will be a peace and a comfort to all of us. All right.

The Ways and Thoughts of Christ

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's ways and thoughts compared to ours?

How do we know that God's thoughts are good towards us?

Why is it important for Christians to forsake their own ways?

How does God's righteousness differ from human righteousness?

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The Ways and Thoughts of Christ

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's ways and thoughts compared to ours?

How do we know that God's thoughts are good towards us?

Why is it important for Christians to forsake their own ways?

How does God's righteousness differ from human righteousness?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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