FBC Morning Light – June 27, 2022

Well a good Monday morning to you. I hope you're eager to get this last week of the month of June off to a good start, and I trust that just meditating for a few moments on God's Word will help you to do that very thing.

So today we're reading in Isaiah 55, and there's two different but somewhat related precious truths in this passage. The first one is found in verse 6 and 7. It says seek the Lord while he may be found.

That tells you that he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. That is, there are times when he draws near, and he's drawing near, and he is open to be found when he is proclaiming his convicting truth to draw sinners to himself.

All right, so he says 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, and he, the Lord, will have mercy upon him, and to our God, and he will abundantly pardon.

What a tremendous truth this is, that you can go to the Lord in humble repentance, knowing that you have sinned, knowing that you are guilty, but you can go to him in repentance, and he will forgive. He will abundantly pardon.

This is echoed in 1 John 1, 9, isn't it? It's a very familiar verse that we often quote as believers in Christ. We confess our sins. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Why can we have that confidence, and why can we claim that verse? Because even in the Old Testament, God was faithful to report that that was true of him. That if you seek him while he's near, while he's convicting you and confronting you with your sin, and you will confess that sin and deal with it, you will forsake your way.

That's what that means. The wicked forsake his way. We'll repent. Then he will forgive, and he will abundantly pardon. This is a truth we need to claim, and claim frequently without any question. But the other one that is somewhat related to this is the other good, exciting, and precious truth is found in verses 10 and 11.

Verse 10 says, For as the rain comes down in the snow from heaven, and does not return there, so the rain doesn't just fall and just flip right back up into the heaven, but instead it waters the earth and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.

Okay, this understanding the value and the effect of rain on the earth and the crops. But he goes on and applies that to the word. The Lord says, So shall my word be that goes forth out of 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.

I don't know what God's purpose is for the sending forth of his word to you this morning, but it will be accomplished. I don't know what all the purposes that God had for his word to go forth yesterday in the pulpit, from the pulpits, and from Sunday school class lecterns yesterday, but whatever that purpose was, God says, I will accomplish it.

It will accomplish its purpose for which I sent it. When you sit down and you open the Bible and you ask the Lord to speak to you, and that through his word, and you begin to read his word, God in Christ Jesus promises to you that his word will accomplish the purpose for which he sent it.

This is a wonderful truth. Now, there is the fact that sometimes the truth of God's word, the purpose for which he sends it, is to hold sinners accountable for their unconfessed, unrepentant sin, and they have no claim against him for his punishment, his chastening that he sends.

But I think the primary focus, and if you continue reading into context here, the primary focus and purpose of God sending forth his word is to call people to himself, and it will accomplish, his purpose will be accomplished in the sending forth of that word.

So, open your Bibles with confidence, listen to the preaching of the word with confidence, that God has a purpose for that very moment, and it will be accomplished. So let's thank the Lord for that today.

And so, Father, we are grateful today that you are merciful, and you will forgive the wicked when they forsake their way. You will accomplish your purpose with your word in sending forth the convicting power of that word.

So we thank you for your sovereign work in sending the word, in convicting the heart, bringing sinners to yourself, and bringing bringing erring children to the place of repentance. We thank you and praise you for that, in Jesus' name, amen.

All right, have a good Monday. Hope your day gets off to a good start. Good day.