Come, all you who are thirsty

Isa 55:1-3
What stands out is “Come”.
There is this generous, repeated invitation to come.
It is the opposite of our friend “Scrooge” whom we met at Christmas. The miser.
The call from in Is. 55 is “Come”. Here is someone who is generous, who is welcoming, who is to shower you with blessing.

Come, all who were lost and return to God in humility (Luke 15:21-24).
To the children: Matt 19:14
To the insignificant whom even others want to keep away: Matt 20:29-32  
 
1. Who are invited?
a) The Thirsty
“I can’t get no satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones (1965).
So many go through life, delve into so many things from materialism, religions and whatever satisfies the senses and in the end cry out “I can’t get no satisfaction”. I am thirsty! Those are invited!
b) “you who have no money”.
those who can afford to buy and who have strength to work; or those who realize they cannot obtain or buy what is offered, the poor in spirit. (Matthew 5:3) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. What matters is that we come before God acknowledging that we are poor and needy.  ‘I am thirsty, I find no satisfaction and MMK, Euro’s or USD’s will not buy me what I desire. I thirst!
But if know that you have no money, if you know that you have nothing to offer and if you are thirsty, then you can buy!
Where are you in this?
May God give grace to esp. all the kids in our church to get a thirst for the things of God without having the taste the emptiness of a life without God and without having to take the scars that come from a life not surrendered to Him.
Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters, you who have no money.
I hope you are in! We have answered our first question, who is invited.


2. What are they offered?
Come to the waters
Water is our most basic need after oxygen. It sustains life. It also refreshes.
Read Psalm 23; John 4:13-14; 7:37-38.
Come to Jesus to drink and you won’t be thirsty again!

-Eat
We need food for energy. Look for what satisfies. Psalm 13 gives us the imagery of an invitation to God’s banqueting table. In John 6 Jesus presents Himself as the Bread from heaven (vv. 33-35).
Not only is Jesus the water of Life, He also is the Bread of Life. In Jesus there is a fulfillment of the promise in Isaiah 55!

-buy Wine
Wine speaks of joy, festivity and abundance.
Whereas water and food is what we need to survive, wine links to pleasure, joy and celebration (John 2).


-milk
The promised land was described as a land flowing of “Milk and Honey”. It is like food and water in one, containing both fats and protein and useful for yoghurts, curds etc. Similar to wine, it speaks of abundance.

Get the picture? Come, there is refreshments, water, wine and food on offer of the kind that truly satisfies. About 700 years later we see Jesus fulfilling not only the Messianic prophesies of Is 53, but also give a deeper meaning to the invitation in Is 55 and fulfilling it.
 
3. What are they told to do in order to get it?
Verse 2 “Listen”. Vs 3 “Give ear” and “hear me”
God may be speaking but if we don’t listen it won’t help us.

5X “Come”
After listening; action; move to God, seek Him, come in His presence and in the presence of His children.

“buy”
John 6:27-29 27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval." 28 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" 29 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." 

“eat”
Actually take what is there! The blessings of fellowship with God are there, but we need to take the time to actually eat and drink, to feast on Jesus and let the Holy Spirit work in our hearts.

Welcome to our English Service of an International Church in Yangon!