1 “All you people who are thirsty, come! Here is water for you to drink.
Don’t worry if you have no money. Come, eat and drink until you are full!
You don’t need money. The milk and wine are free.
2 Why waste your money on something that is not real food? Why should you work for something that does not really satisfy you? Listen closely to me and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the food that satisfies your soul.
3 Listen closely to what I say. Listen to me so that you will live. I will make an agreement with you that will last forever. It will be an agreement you can trust, like the one I made with David— a promise to love him and be loyal to him forever.
4 I made David a witness of my power for all nations. I promised him that he would become a ruler and commander of many nations.”
5 There are nations in places you don’t know, but you will call for them to come.
They don’t know you, but they will run to you. This will happen because the LORD, your God, wants it. It will happen because the Holy One of Israel honors you.
6 So you should look for the LORD before it is too late. You should call to him now,
while he is near.
7 Evil people should stop living evil lives. They should stop thinking bad thoughts.
They should come to the LORD again, and he will comfort them. They should come to our God because he will freely forgive them.
8 The LORD says, “My thoughts are not like yours. Your ways are not like mine.
9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways,
and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.
10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky and don’t return until they have watered the ground.
Then the ground causes the plants to sprout and grow, and they produce seeds for the farmer and food for people to eat.
11 In the same way, my words leave my mouth, and they don’t come back without results.
My words make the things happen that I want to happen. They succeed in doing what I send them to do.
12 “So you will go out from there with joy. You will be led out in peace. When you come to the mountains and hills, they will begin singing. All the trees in the fields will clap their hands.
13 Large cypress trees will grow where there were thorn bushes. Myrtle trees will grow where there were weeds. All this will happen to make the LORD known, to be a permanent reminder of his goodness and power.”
1. The Key to a Satisfied Heart vs. God’s Invitation
When I was in high school, I often asked: “Why are we alive? What is the value and meaning of life?” These questions show that my heart was empty and not satisfied.
Dear brothers and sisters, God gave us a special gift. Besides letting us enjoy the physical world (what we can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste), He also gave us a spiritual world inside our hearts. This part can feel love, mercy, faith, hope, happiness, and joy.
Isaiah 55:1 says, “All you people who are thirsty, come! Here is water for you to drink.…”
Just like Jesus said in John 7:37, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink..”
God is warmly inviting us to come and enjoy His rich blessings. His plan is to give us free salvation and a full life. He knows our hearts are thirsty and that we can’t earn it ourselves. So He offers us His gift freely—like the best wine and milk, which represent the grace of salvation.
Isaiah 55:2 asks: “Why waste your money on something that is not real food? Why should you work for something that does not really satisfy you?”
This reminds us: even though we work hard in today’s world filled with material desires, we don’t feel truly satisfied. We spend most of our time chasing worldly things and forget to come close to God. But (v2b) says if we “listen closely to God,” we will “enjoy the food that satisfies your soul.” What a wonderful promise!
The key to life’s meaning is in your spiritual heart. Whether rich or poor, if your heart is full, the world around you feels beautiful and rich. But if your heart is empty, the world feels meaningless.
(V 3-5) tell us to “Listen closely to what I say” God uses the example of David, a man who sinned and had many troubles, but still kept seeking God. He understood God’s heart, repented honestly, and received God’s mercy. So he became a person after God’s own heart and a leader who showed God’s grace.
Our value and purpose come from our Creator, God. Only the One who made our spirit can satisfy our spirit. God invites us to become people who follow Him and enter into a lasting covenant with Him.
Discussion 1: Do you feel empty or not satisfied in your heart?
According to verses 2–3, if we “listen carefully,” what will we hear?
2. Seize the opportunity responding to God
(V6 )tells us look for the LORD before it is too late. (V 7) says clearly: hey should come to our God because he will freely forgive them.
So we must: ● ‘come to the LORD again’;
●“Call on Him” ●“Turn back to God”
●‘stop living evil lives’; ‘stop thinking bad thoughts’;then, ‘he will freely forgive them.’
But remember: God’s mercy has a time limit. When the door of grace closes, we can’t enter anymore. So we must act now and Everyone gets the same chance.
God is calling you—are you willing to say: “Lord, here I am. I want to be Your child”?
(V 8–9)explain that God’s thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. When we first believe, we often hope everything will go our way. But God’s plans are different. His ways are right, and His thoughts bring salvation.
So GOD asks us to let go of our own ideas and seek His will. Then we will receive His grace and peace.
Discussion 2: What does it mean: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and My ways are not your ways”? Share your understanding or experience.
3. Let God Lead — His Word Never Fails
(V10–11 )compare God’s word to rain and snow. Just as rain brings life, God’s word brings life and blessing. What God says will happen—no one can stop it.
In these end times, what is God’s most important plan?
I believe it is: preaching the Gospel and completing the Great Commission.
Before Jesus went to heaven, He said (Acts 1:8):
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
God uses the church . We must receive the Holy Spirit and His power, and then be witnesses for Him everywhere. Let’s rise up and share the Gospel in Manchester and take the land for the Lord.
(V 12) says, “So you will go out from there with joy. You will be led out in peace.” This reminds us the scene of the Israelis leaving Egypt and returning from Babylon. It also shows us turning back to God from sin. Every believer will experience God’s joy and peace. Even nature will rejoice because of Jesus’ salvation.
(V 13): Even when facing difficulties (symbolized by thorn bushes and weeds), we can bear good fruit (symbolized by cypress trees and myrtle trees) through God’s grace.
So today, let us stay awake and not chase those things that can’t satisfy. Let’s keep seeking the full life that Jesus gives.
