Our text for today is quite a well-known text, at least well-known to those who are accustomed to attending evangelistic meetings. Listen to this text. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Isaiah chapter fifty-five and verse six. Let us bow for a moment of prayer. Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts before thee as never a day dawns, but we realize our need of thee. So we do pray that by thy Holy Spirit now, thou shalt look down in mercy upon every person who is listening to this broadcast. Bless speaker and hearer alike, and may the Lord's name be glorified in the message, that is broadcast. Hear us in these things for His own namesake. Amen. Now, of course, most of you will be aware of this, that there is a very basic principle in understanding the Bible. That is, a verse must be understood in the light of its context. Now, in order to understand then this text in its primary application, we must be able to understand, in some measure, the context in which it is found. Isaiah the prophet, writing to God's people of old. And right here in chapter fifty-five of his wonderful prophecy, he says, Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Now, if we only had that text, it's sufficient in itself to cause us to think, cause us to think of our need of the Lord, and the requirements, that is, that we should call upon him. But now let us look at the text a little in the context of the chapter in which it is found. In verse one of this wonderful chapter, we are faced with an invitation. You know, it's not often that you get invitations. Sometimes you get invitations to special functions. Sometimes you'll have an invitation to attend some ceremony, such as a wedding. And these kind of invitations you like. Now, here is an invitation, and it says, every one that thirsteth. Come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye buy and eat. Ye come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. A preacher of a past generation used to refer to this text as the poor man's market. Now there's not many markets today for the poor. Most of the markets today, the prices are of such a range that the poor find it difficult to trade in them. But here is what he called the poor man's market. And it's an invitation. And he's saying, Ho, everyone that thirsteth. Now you understand, of course, that thirst is a very real thing. Sometimes we take the amenities of life and we just take them for granted. But suppose for a moment that we were to have a special time of drought, and there was no rain, and our reservoirs were to dry up. There's an old saying, you know, you never miss the water till the well runs dry. And if we had no water... Very soon we would learn something regarding the thirst of the body. And if someone gave you an invitation then and said, Now look, come along to my place. We have plenty water. You can come and get as much as you like. Oh, here is an invitation to the thirsty. Come to the waters. Even if you've got no money. Come. Buy. Eat. Yea, come. buy wine and milk without money and without price. Oh, what an invitation. However, may I remind you there's another kind of thirst. It's the thirst of the soul. Some folk, you know, have thirsty minds, as well as thirsty bodies. Their mind is always thirsting after a greater knowledge. But then what about the thirst of the soul? It may be that some people don't know anything about having to go thirsty so far as the body is concerned. They've always something to drink. It may be that they don't know much about thirsting so far as the mind is concerned because there's plenty of books and libraries and they can go and just saturate themselves with the knowledge to be found in these books. They can learn every day if they like. But what about the thirst of the soul? That's something that gnaws inside. Something that cannot be satisfied with all the things of the world. Even if a man was to gain the whole world and die with a thirsty soul, that would be a tragedy. There is that which is deep-seated in every one of us. The longings of the heart, the longings of the soul. Some folk are able to describe what it is and other folks are not. They just simply say, that's something they're longing for. Yes, my friend, you're longing perhaps for the salvation of God. You're longing to be sure that you're right with God. And he says, come to me. Come and buy without money and without price. Now that's an invitation in verse one. But there is an interrogation in verse two. This is something that nobody likes. Or if people like to get good invitations, nobody likes to be interrogated. Yet here is an interrogation. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfies not? Harken diligently unto me, And eat ye that which is good. and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Now look at the first part of that interrogation. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bed, and your labor for that which satisfies not? Plain words. Why do people spend and waste their money for that which cannot satisfy the needs of the body? Why do they go out and waste their hard-earned money on that which can never satisfy? And why spend your labor? Why do you work for that which satisfieth not? Men will strain and work for something, and they hardly know what it is they're reaching after. And even when they get it, they're not satisfied. Now the question comes, life is so short. Time is running out on all of us, then why spend your money for that which can't satisfy? Why do you spend your money, he says, for that which is not bread, that which cannot meet the needs of the body? And why spend your time and your effort and your energy on things that don't satisfy? Isn't it satisfaction you're after, yet you can't find it? Alright, it says in that light, hearken diligently unto me. But now when you come to verse three, it's instruction that's laid before us. Incline your ear and come unto me. Here and your soul shall live. And I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure masses of David. Here is instruction. You've been searching around. You haven't found the thing that can satisfy. Your soul is still thirsty. You're spending your money for that which is not bread, and your labor and your time and all your effort for something it can't satisfy. The Lord said, but you're seeking in the wrong direction. You're going to the wrong place. You're seeking it at the wrong source. Just incline your ear and come unto me. Listen, in effect, is saying, to what I've got to say to you. Verse one, he said, Ho, everyone that thirsteth. Listen, behold, pay attention. That's the idea of Ho, ho, everyone that thirsteth. So now in verse three, saying, you're listening, all right, incline your ear and come unto me. Hear and your soul shall live. Now that sets before us a principle. which is also emphasized in the New Testament, such as, Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. The Lord Jesus Christ said, He that has ears to hear, let him hear. So He expects us to use the faculties He has given to us, the faculty of being able to hear. Incline your ear, he said. Listen to me. Hear. And your soul shall live. If a man didn't get something to drink for the body, he would die of thirst. Well, what about the soul, my friend? Have you got the thing that satisfies the soul? If not, why don't you turn to the Lord? He said, listen to me. Here and your soul shall live. But now, verses four and five set before us some information. He says, Behold, I have given him... for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the Lord thy God, and for the holy one of Israel, for he had glorified thee. So he sets certain things before them now, giving them information. You see, he has just mentioned at the end of verse three the name of one of their great leaders who was King David. And the moment he mentions King David, he says, Now behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. But now they had turned away from the covenants that God had made with David. They've turned their back on David's God. They're turning to their own path. But now the Lord is giving them some information through their prophet Isaiah. Now having reached that point, now we reach our text. You see, having given them the invitation, followed by a very strong interrogation, leading on to the instruction of verse three, and the information, verses four and five, now we come to verse six, which... is a text of exhortation. He says, Now here is the answer to your problem. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Is it possible that my voice is reaching someone this morning, and you are in the same condition that these people were in at that time? It's possible that you also have taken the wrong road. It may be that you have been despising the things of the Lord, and you have been traveling the path of rebellion, traveling away from God. And you're not satisfied. You're very much dissatisfied. Things have gone against you. My friend, will you listen to the exhortation of this verse? Seek ye the Lord. It may be you've never sought the Lord. It may be you've been seeking all sorts of people. You may have been seeking the doctor for medical advice. You may have been going to others, the psychiatrist and such like people. You may have been at business consultants to get advice about your business. That may not be your trouble. Your trouble may be soul trouble. And you haven't turned to the Lord. And he said, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. The word of the prophet Isaiah at that time certainly was applicable to the whole nation. But it was also applicable to every individual in the nation. And it also comes home to each of us at the present time with freshness. And it seems the Lord is saying to us through his word, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. You see, here first of all, seek ye the Lord. There is the divine direction. Some people seek possessions. Some people seek position. Other people are seeking for power. And they're seeking for all these things, but they're not seeking for the Lord. These things would be all right in their place, perhaps. But the primary thing is, seek ye the Lord. The New Testament says, seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Let me ask you, my friend, what is it that you are seeking? Are you seeking the Lord? Or are you seeking for material possessions? Are you seeking worldly position? Or are you seeking worldly power? Remember, the text says, seek ye the Lord. Then again, you come to the second thing in the text, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Here is a solemn reflection, while he may be found. Do you know that our days are numbered? The days of our life, God has numbered them, and our days are uncertain. There's not one of us can guarantee what we'll be doing tomorrow. The Bible tells us very plainly that when we begin to speak of what we're going to do, We should always say, if the Lord will. You know, you may make your plans for what you expect to do, or what you intend to do tomorrow, or next week, or next year. But you know, we only live one day at a time, and we've got no guarantee that we'll have tomorrow. So therefore the text says, Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. You see, he may not be found. when you think you can seek him. I remember a young teenager, approximately about eighteen years of age, fine, looking young fellow, well developed. The Christian friend of his spoke to him about his need of the Lord. He looked at his friend and he patted him on the shoulder. The kind of patronizing way looked down at the little fellow. He said, Alec, When I'm an old man like you, I'll consider these things. But at the present time, I'm young. I've got all my years before me. I'm going to enjoy myself first. Then I'll think of what you have when I'm old like you. Do you know that man was in eternity inside ten minutes from the time he said that? Yes. Caught in a tragedy. and killed. He said, I'll do it later on. When I'm old, he never was old. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Not only is it the fact that our days are numbered and the end may come at any time, but do you realize the day of salvation could come to an end and God could intervene and the Lord could come and call his own people home at the time of the rapture and after that the door is shut You'd be too late. You know, there was a time when people could have gone into the ark with Noah, but they didn't go in, and one day the door was shut. And I've often wondered how many of them went to the door after it was shut when it was too late. See, my friend, seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Then he says, Call ye upon him. Here is the sincere... petition, call ye upon him. May I suggest that here to call upon the name of the Lord, suggest the surrender of a trusting soul. You wouldn't call upon anyone unless you trusted him. The New Testament puts it like this, how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? That is, how would they call upon a person if they didn't trust him? And so it is, call ye upon him. So if you're going to call upon the Lord, and the Bible principle is, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So here is the sincere petition, someone calling upon the name of the Lord. It's the surrender of a trusting soul. Are you prepared to trust the Lord? Then why don't you call upon him? It's the expression of a believing heart. It's someone who is thoroughly convinced. that the Lord can meet their need, thoroughly convinced that the Lord is that something that can reach the heart and satisfy the soul. And so with the believing heart he turns to the Lord and calls on the Lord for salvation. Call ye upon him. It's the action of an enlightened mind. People will not call upon the Lord. unless their mind has been enlightened to the need. And my friend, in these days in which we live, people require to be enlightened to the fact that without Christ they're lost. But if they trust Christ, they'll be saved. Only two classes of people in the world today, the saved and the lost. And you must be counted with one group or the other. Are you counted in, my friend, with the saved? with those who have called upon the name of the Lord? Are you counted in with those who have despised him and have refused to call upon him? You see then the exhortation of our text. Seek ye the Lord, but seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him, but while he is near, there is the gracious occasion, while he is near. When you come over into the New Testament, It's very interesting to notice that when the Lord Jesus Christ was taking his last journey from Galilee in the north down to Jerusalem where he would be crucified, he went rather a detour and crossed backwards and forwards as if he was going to touch as many villages as possible and as he drew near to one place there was ten men who saw him. They cried out, Have mercy on us. They called upon him while he was near. It had waited till he passed. He would never pass that way again. It would be too late. Then we find him down in the town of Jericho, on his way up to Jerusalem. He had come down what today we call the eastern bank of the river Jordan. Then he crossed over. and was making for Jerusalem by way of Jericho. And there was a blind man sitting by the wayside begging, and he cried, and he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight. If he had waited, it would have been too late, but he called while the Lord was near. It was the last time he would pass that way. And so it says, Call ye upon him while he is near. I wonder if all my listeners today recognize and realize and acknowledge this great fact that for over nineteen hundred years God has been offering salvation to those who call upon the Lord. He's still near, but remember that offer may be withdrawn any day. And so while it is still the day of salvation, and the offer is still being made. Listen then to the exhortation of the text. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. Someone listening to me now may be inclined to say, But how can I do that? I can't see the Lord. How can I call upon him? Listen, my friend, to what he says following that. For I said at the beginning a text must be understood in the light of its context. He says, Here's how you call upon the name of the Lord. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 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 than your thoughts. And so he's calling to us to turn again to him and to call upon him. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. You'll be listening to the Bible Fellowship broadcast.