“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1-2).

Sin lies.

Sin allures, baits, and attracts. But sin has no power to satisfy. Sin is never satiated. It is never satisfied.

It is in this context God declares:

• “Come, all you who are thirsty” (Isaiah 55:1).
  • Jesus declares, “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst” (John 4:14)
• “Why do you spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:1).
  • Jesus declares, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry” (John 6:35)

Sin has no power to satisfy. Only God can satisfy.

It is interesting that in our text, God knows we have no money. And yet God invites us to buy wine and milk, and bread. What is that about? How can we buy anything when we have no money?

The banquet which God prepares for us, is one which we can only be invited to. We have no part in preparing the banquet. Only God has the power to prepare the banquet. The banquet is offered to us as a gift.

The banquet is the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

• The wine, milk, and bread that God offers is his grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
• We cannot purchase these. We do not earn them.
• They are God’s to give. They are given by grace and grace alone.

But it is these gifts of God which alone satisfy.

So, “Why spend money (your efforts) on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?”

“Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters of grace. And you who have no money, come buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost!”

It is all grace. It is all God.

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2)

Seriously. When’s the last time you ever thought, “I thirst for the living God?” or “As the deer pants for streams of water, my soul pants for you?”

The thing is, it’s not that I don’t know how to long for things. I absolutely know how to yearn and thirst for things.

• I long to travel. It’s been over a year since I’ve been anywhere.
• There are times when I crave a juicy cheeseburger. One with grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, little bit of mayo, catsup, and mustard. Yummm. My mouth is watering just thinking about this.
• I yearn to hang out with my friends. It’s been way too long since I’ve been with my friends.
• It would be great to worship with all of you.

What makes this worse is that my flesh knows how to long for sin and pleasures. It has no problem longing, thirsting, and yearning for sin and pleasure. I don’t even have to think about it. It just happens.

So, what is wrong with me? Why don’t I long for God in the same way?

If that’s what you’re thinking, you’re not alone.

Here’s good news. Change is absolutely possible. But here’s the thing: If you want things to change, then you have to change. You can’t change without changing.

It’s not that longing and thirsting for God is impossible. It just means making some changes. It will require re-wiring our brains and re-routing our heart’s desires. We have lived in and with sin for so long, our brains and hearts are wired to sin. We need to retrain and re-direct our brains and hearts.

So, when my flesh yearns and thirsts for sin, I literally tell myself, “Re-routing!” You know, the way your GPS does in your car when you stray off. When my thoughts stray, I literally re-route my thoughts so that I can re-wire my brain to yearn for God.

Try that. Say it. “Re-routing!”

Good. Now keep at it until our default mode becomes longing and thirsting for God and his righteousness.

“Let your light so shine before others that when they see your good works they will glorify the Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

How are we to shine the light of Christ to others?

By our good works, Jesus tells us.

Here are five practical ways we can do that. Credit for this list goes to Life Church.

1. Give – give without expecting anything in return
   “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Revelation 21:6).
2. Forgive – forgive without punishing
   “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).
3. Be Patient – be patient with others as the Lord has been patient with you
   “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:2).
4. Listen – listen without interrupting
   “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19).
5. Be Kind – Let your kindness and gentleness be evident
   “Let your gentleness be evident to all” (Philippians 4:5).