Let's take our Bibles again and turn back to Isaiah 55. Isaiah 55. Let's read verses 8 to 13. 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. For as the rain cometh down as snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, that watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth, and it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it. For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth to peace, mountains and the hills, shall break forth before you in singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." We thank you again for the miracle of your grace that you've allowed us to be here today. Oh, the privilege to be able to hear the gospel of Christ. Lord bless these words we ask, for it's in the name of the Lord Jesus we pray. Amen. Again, this last message of Isaiah 55, contemplating the thoughts and the ways of the Lord. That's what he said in verses 8 and 9. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. From that word, we know that however man thinks by nature, however man thinks, it's wrong, no matter what. However man contemplates, however he thinks concerning God, concerning salvation, concerning peace, that's wrong. Your thoughts are not my thoughts. Man's thoughts are always toward repentance God's thoughts and ways, reconciliation to a people everlastingly loved, that's not the way man thinks. However God thinks, man has a hundred and eighty degrees thought. Man's thoughts are always high. High from God. Run. We just looked at this commandment. Seek ye the Lord. Man by nature Don't say God. Man don't think that way. That's not the way man by nature approaches God. He runs. Man is satisfied by nature to die in spiritual poverty. That's what man is running to hell. He's running Deliver them that goeth down to the pit. Why? I found a ransom, everlastingly. Almighty God, bless His holy name, has had a ransom for those that He's everlastingly loved. Oh, every one that thirsts, come to the waters. He that hath no money, no spiritual ability to buy. Come ye, buy me. Come ye, buy wine and milk without money, without price. A man's thoughts is to always purchase his supposed salvation by self-righteous works. I'm a Christian. Really? Why? Because I gave my heart to Jesus. Because I joined the church, because I took the Lord's supper, because I was baptized, because I, because I, because I. Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread and labor, for that which satisfies not? Man starts ways of governance. by a heart that's waxed gross. When it comes to hearing the Lord, their ears are dulled with hearing. Their eyes, they're closed. Scripture says, God's thoughts and ways for His own is that He causes them to incline daily and to come unto Him to hear. And their soul lives because God's given them a heart. He's given them a new heart. This is real. This is real. This is true. Not just fill in time. Almighty God is going to feed His people. This morning, as you hear of the honor of Christ, your soul eats. That's refreshing. Oh, how true. His thoughts, the Lord's thoughts, not our thoughts. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways and thoughts, loftier than ours. Oh, when it comes to God's thoughts, how seriously should we desire to know what He thinks. It's concerning his glory. It's concerning his will, his purpose. Isaiah 14.24 says, The Lord, the host, has sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass. And as I have purposed, so shall it stand. Oh, if I know that Almighty God's thoughts are going to stand, Lord, tell me what you think. Lord, show me of yourself." Now, the Lord set forth the fullness of his thoughts when he talked to Moses. Moses said, show me your glory. Show me the splendor of your honor. Show me, Lord, what you've always purposed to do. Lord, whatever you've purposed, that's going to stand. What is it? I'm going to save my people. I'm going to save my people. I've everlastingly loved them. They're not going to perish. I put them in my Son, and I trust Him. And my words shall stand. My thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. He told Moses, I'm going to make all of my goodness And I'm going to proclaim the name of the Lord, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Lord, tell me about that. is their salvation in His Son. This is my belief. You hear Him, His glory, His goodness, He has set forth His glorious Son. I'm going to cause all of my goodness to pass before you. The Lord calls me to see Christ Lord, teach me again, knowing that it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, to give in Christ that which you could not buy by your own merit and righteousness. He has given peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. He's given you the kingdom. It's the Father's good pleasure. of his thoughts and his ways, and how is what he has everlastingly purposed to do, how is that set forth? He said, As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it rain forth, That may be a seed to the sower, bread to the eater. Like you look outside and you see it raining. I was talking to a friend of mine in Texas, East Texas here, a month or so ago. He told me, he said, Martin, he said everything is just dead around here. Just dried up. The grass is brown, the trees, nothing, just nothing. It hadn't rained. No rain. All of a sudden it started raining. Boy, everything just tangled up, you know, grass is growing. As you see in that heavenly picture, tight, rain coming down, snow coming down, ground being watered, stuff is starting to grow spiritually. So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. and it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the things whereto I send it." Now, I'm telling you, that right there is a surety that God's people believe. Almighty God is going This morning, we're preaching. Now I know, I know, I know that the glory of Christ has got to be set forth. The gospel, Paul said, if you want to know, you'll be reminded again, Romans 1.1. I mean, listen, if you want to know, what's the gospel? Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated under the gospel of God, which he had promised before by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made at the seed of David according to the flesh. We set forth the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what we said. God was made flesh. Why? He came into this world to live for, to die for, in the honoring of God's law, the obedience in the establishment of a righteousness before God Almighty for a people. And he absolutely took and bore in his own body the sins of everyone that the Father gave him. We set forth that the Lord God Himself is going to save His people. His Word is to be preached. This is the means of God's grace. God has established means. He has been pleased by the foolishness of preaching, that which the world considers foolishness. Let's tell Brother Gary a minute ago, can you imagine how ridiculous This time, someone says, well, you just showed me in Psalm 14 that the Lord says that no man seeks after Him, that no man can come. No man. That's right. Man by nature is unable, dead. And He commands men to come seek. And He says, if you seek Me, you'll find Me. When you seek Me with all your heart, new heart, true heart, Well, there's the key to man's depravity and deadness and God Almighty having to do something for a man that a man could not do for himself. And He absolutely makes them willing in the day of His power. God's Word must be preached. The sure mercies of David set forth. God says, this is what I shall do. And he said, it is absolutely not going to return unto me void. It shall not return unto him without accomplishing the purpose that he intended. God never speaks in vain. Never. His word never fails to produce the end that he's purposed. Now I do know this, and there is in my thinking, I can think of at this moment while I'm standing here, I can think of no better, no greater, no more truthful setting forth of this scripture right here and that parable of the Son of Man. I know this, the seed of the Son, the Word of God is And some of it, I know, falls upon barren ground in the wilderness of man's rebellion. And it seems to have absolutely no effect. Not so. Not so. If the word of the Lord Jesus Christ is rejected, it absolutely leaves None. His word goes forth. I've mentioned a few times about putting these articles in the paper. I've had people ask me, said, do you think very many people read them? I don't know. I don't know. Some have. I mean, I've had some people tell me about them. But do you know what I know for a fact? I know for an absolute fact that that word that has been put forth in the paper right here in Grandmont, West Virginia, is absolutely going to go forth out of the mouth of the Lord, and it is absolutely not going to return unto Him void. It's going to accomplish the purpose for which He sent it. accountable, not only what he did here and didn't here, but what he could have heard. Man is not going to be let off the hook. Man is going to answer before God Almighty. If his word is rejected, A person that hears the gospel and refuses to come, and says in their heart, no, no, no, will absolutely answer for God's word that was sent for them. And this word right here, brought up for those that reject Him, that word will be brought will be judged out of the words that were sent forth from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ. If His word is blessed by the Spirit of God for the salvation of a soul, then the Lord receives all the honor and glory and praise for the salvation of that sinner. It's going to accomplish the purpose. God's word is never in vain. God's people shall go out of spiritual bondage. That's what he said, verse 12. You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace, and the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you, and the singing of all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. When, Lord? When? When is this going to take place? Lord, when is creation, when is all of creation going to rejoice with the salvation of God's love? When? When is that? Romans 8. I'm going to read this in closing. Romans 8. 19-23. For the earnest expectation of the creature, the creation, is actually what that word means. We're looking around here, this creation. For the earnest expectation of the creation, for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature, or the creation, was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. Because the creation, the creature itself, also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaned and travailed in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit. Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to wit, the redemption of our body. It's going to be a new heaven, and it's going to be a new earth. But the revelation of that earth awaits resurrection of God's people. This earth in which we live right now has been subject, because of sin, to decay and disease and death, all because of man's rebellion in the garden. That's what the Lord said. The earth is cursed for your sin. When Adam rebelled against God, And now we've got riors and thorns. It all grows naturally because of man's rebellion. But this state is not going to continue. It's not always going to be like this. For the creation is going to be delivered from the bondage, just like God's people shall eventually. be delivered from our corrupt bodies. This earth, materially, when you look outside, what you're looking at right there, materially, is the same as it was materially before the fall. But after the restoration, it's going to be perfect. 2 Peter 3.13 Nevertheless, we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Right now we look and we see corruption everywhere. Nothing but the effects of sin and rebelling against God. Man, rebelling against Almighty God, saying, ìNo, God, I will not come.î But Iím telling you, according to these Scriptures right here, Godís Word is not going to return to him vain, unable. God's desire to save all men. God's Word says, My Word is going to accomplish the purpose for which it's sent. And my friends, you listen to me. Almighty God did His promise. His Word is not going to return void. It's going to prosper in the thing where to He sent it. There's coming a time when all of creation After God Almighty comes back a second time, after the judgment, the Lord is going to make new heavens, new earth, and the very creation itself, that new heaven, new earth, the scriptures set forth that the very creation of God is going to praise God. for His indescribable grace and mercy. I'm going to read those last two verses again. This is the result of Almighty God accomplishing the purpose for which His Word was sent. Here it is. After the resurrection of God's people, after maidenhood, after they've come out of the ground, after that which was sown in corruption comes forth, After we've been made like unto Him, Scripture says, we'll see Him as He is and be like Him. Here's the way it's going to be. You shall go out. You're going to go out with joy. And you're going to be led forth. in the singing, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree, and it shall be the Lord's name, for a name of everlasting life that shall not be cut off." I've quoted this scripture many times, and it's so. I have not seen, the ear hath not heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, that which God has prepared for those that love him. Lord, your word that goes forth from your mouth and accomplishes the purpose for which it is sent to you, and it prospers and the thing worth it to you said. Lord, speak to me. Lord, speak to me. Speak to my heart that you've given me. Lord, lead me by the Spirit that you've given me, with the earnestness of my heart. Lord, I know, I know that I am what I am through the grace Lord, I know that without you I'd do nothing. And Lord, that is the safest and the most wonderful thought that you'd ever give me, is that you would be to me, my Savior, my Lord, my God, my King, my great high priest that ever lived to make intercession for me. Lord, salvation is all of you. Lord teach me afresh today with Christ's name.