The Message of Isaiah the Prophet

THE MESSAGE OF ISAIAH THE PROPHET

Text - Isaiah 55: 1 - 11

The Book of Isaiah is a miniature Bible. It has 66 chapters
just as the Bible has 66 books. The first 39 chapters of
Isaiah speak for the most part of law and judgment just as
the 39 books of the Old testament. The last 27 chapters of
Isaiah speak of comfort, restoration, and mercy under the
Messiah just as the 27 books of the New Testament speak of
Jesus the Christ (Messiah). Isaiah contains a bit of all
that is found in the rest of the Bible. Isaiah’s message
covers about every theme and doctrine of the Bible. Isaiah
preached over a period of about 40 years.

There are a many great verses and chapters in the Book of
Isaiah. One who studies the book cannot but be inspired by:
Isa. 6 - where Isaiah meets the Lord
Isa. 14- where the fall of Satan from heaven is described
Isa. 38- where the Lord gives weeping Hezekiah 15 more
years to live
Isa. 53- where we find the prophecy of the Crucifixion
detailed over 800 years before it occurred.

I WANT US TO LOOK INTO THIS GREAT BOOK FOR A FEW MOMENTS AND
CONSIDER SIX OF THE GREAT STATEMENTS MADE IN THE BOOK AND
THEIR APPLICATION TO US IN OUR DAY.

I. THE PROMISE OF FORGIVENESS - Isa. 1:18

What a message to the world in which we live. It is a fact.
It is a command. It is an invitation. It is a promise.

A. Notice the invitation - "Come". There are 642 personal
invitations in the Bible to "Come" and in every case it is
God who gives the invitation.

"Come thou and thy family into the Ark"
"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden"
"Suffer the little children to come unto me..."
"The Spirit and the Bride say come and let him that
heareth say come and let him that is athirst come..."

"Come" means action and a change of direction. You do not
usually tell someone to come who is coming. You tell
someone to come who is standing still or going in another
direction.

B. Notice the time - "Now".
Now is the accepted time -II Cor. 6:2.
Boast not thyself of tomorrow - Prov. 27:1
Today if ye will hear his voice harden not your hearts -
Heb. 3:7
What a message to those who say they have plenty of time.

C. Notice the main characters - "us" - You and God.

D. Notice the possibilities - forgiveness and cleansing.
"Crimson" indicates glaring sins. Crimson was an indelible
color. They could not get it out of anything that it got
into. Man cannot get rid of his sins either. GOD CAN
FORGIVE AND CLEANSE THE WORST OF SINNERS.

II. THE PROMISE OF PEACE - Isa. 26:3

This promise of peace was given to the nation in a very
dark period of their history. This is a promise for times of
trouble and trial, disappointment and temptation, tears,
anguish, loss and bereavement. In times of sunshine this
promise may seem unimportant but in dark days this promise
becomes very precious.
Notice that the promise of peace is not to take the
trouble away from us but to give us peace in the midst of our
trouble.

But what kind of peace is God offering? Perfect peace!
There is no room in a soul at perfect peace for such things
as jealousy, envy, discontent, selfishness, pride, criticism,
fear, or anxiety.

How perfect?
Perfect in Kind. if God promises a peace that is perfect