It’s Time For A Change
Isaiah 1:18

Intro: The prophet Isaiah ministered during a turbulent time in Israel’s history. The nation had abandoned the way of the Lord and was living in open sin and idolatry. The verses leading up to our text chronicle a scene of rebellion and sin.

v. 2, The people were in open rebellion against the Lord

v. 3, They refused to acknowledge God and, spiritually, they were dumber than the farm animals around them.

v. 4, They had forsaken the Lord and had provoked Him to anger.

v. 5, They had refused to respond to the Lord’s attempts at chastisement.

v. 5-6, They were sick spiritually and they desperately needed help.

v. 7-8 – Violence filled the whole land.

v. 9-10 – In many ways, they had become as vile as ancient Sodom and Gomorrah.

v. 11-15 – Their religious services were an abomination to the Lord.

v. 9 – The only thing that held the nation together was a small remnant of faithful Jews.

If we did not know better, we would think that we were reading from the headlines of today’s newspapers. We are in much the same shape as was ancient Israel. They should have been seeking God, and they should have been looking for ways to mend their relationship with Him. Instead, we see the Lord seeking His people and inviting them to make things right with Him.

This fact underscores a truth we encounter throughout the pages of the Bible. People will not seek the Lord until they are first sought by the Lord. People will not love the Lord until they are first loved by the Lord, 1 John 4:19. God always makes the first move in this thing called salvation. Jesus came to the world for the sole purpose of “seeking and saving that which was lost”, Luke 19:10. I know that we want to elevate man in these days, and no one wants to believe that man is totally depraved and cut off from God. Most folks hold to the idea that man contains within himself “a spark of the divine” and at some point, the good that is in man will begin to seek the good that is in himself and find God. But the Bible is very clear in this matter. Man is vile, wretched, ungodly, filthy, depraved, corrupt, rebellious, law-breaking, stiff-necked, and sinful; furthermore, there is no good in him at all, Rom. 3:10-18; 23, “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Man will never come to God unless God first comes to man, John 6:44.

What we see in this passage are a dirty, vile, wicked people who need to be cleansed. But in v. 18 they are approached by the Lord and invited to come to Him for the cleansing and change that they so desperately need. We can also see a principle that is still true today. God is still inviting dirty, sinful people to come to Him for the cleansing they need, and he said, “Come now!” Now is the time... I want to preach today on “IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE.” Notice what this verse teaches:

I.          “COME,” TAKE TIME: The Hebrew root word translated “come” here expresses a command to walk. It is the word a Hebrew would use when inviting another person to take a walk with him. The Lord is doing more here than just asking us to come to the altar or come to the church... He’s asking us to take a walk with him. He’s asking us to take some time with him. We are always in such a hurry, but God is longing for us to take some time. You should take some time with God to:

A.        Make Sure You Are Saved: we are in a world where people come to the altar, repeat a preacher’s prayer, and declare their conversion, but you need to take some time and make sure you are saved! II Peter 1:10, “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.”

B.        Make Sure You Are Separated: In this time of loose-living like it was in Israel in Isaiah 1, it would be easy to compare yourself with other men and believe that you are living a pretty Separated and clean life, but if you will take some time with God, he will show you what areas of your life need change.

C.        Make Sure You Are Still: In this fast paced society, we make snap decisions and afterward ask God’s blessings on them. Make sure you are still. Take time to let God work on you, in you, and through you.

II.        “REASON,” TAKE THOUGHT: included in this phrase “reason together,” is the inference that we are in an irreconcilable disagreement, and the only way to get together on it is to appoint a daysman... a mediator. Consider where you are and where God is, and you will understand that we have differences that are irreconcilable. You see:

We have irreconcilable differences and must have a mediator in order to have any opportunity to work them out. We are under judgment, without God, without hope. Furthermore, since he is right, and we are wrong, he will not change. Therefore, somebody has got to make up the gap... When we “reason” this in ourselves, it seems a hopeless situation, but that’s why he said let’s reason together. Let’s find a solution to this impossible problem. When we reason together the Lord says, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” He did not leave us to work it out ourselves, but he reasoned with us. He sent us a daysman, a mediator (I Tim 2:5).

III.       “SAITH THE LORD” TAKE THE TRUTH: This is not the message of man, the government, the church, or the preacher. It is “Thus saith the Lord.” It is time for a change, but you will never change until you take the truth. There is much I could preach here. Jesus gave a parable to this end in Matthew 7:24-27 (House on the sand). The man who built on the sand was one who would not take the truth. Unless you accept the truth, you will never be saved. It is the truth that all have sinned, Jesus died for sinners, and he’s the only way to heaven. Even as a Christian, you will never have a good life for God until you accept the truth. Some folks buck preaching, rebel against the Bible, and fight authority, but it is time for a change... take the truth today!

Conclusion: Now is the time for a change. Today is the day to get things right in your life. If you don’t know God, come now! If you are drifting from God, come now! If you are not where you should be with God, come now! If you are hurting and must have help from God, come now! If you have seen the truth and know you are in trouble and must reason with the help of a daysman, come now! IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE.