What is God's Disposition of Heart?

Driving home: The most hungry and the most thirsty thing in all the world is the human soul.

Used as a common, relatable example of hunger, but then dismissed as not the 'most hungry thing in all the world' to set up the true answer: the human soul.

Well, some of you have got teenage boys. You say, Pastor, that's a no-brainer. The most hungry thing in all the world is a teenage boy. My parents used to say, Albert, you've got a hollow leg. Could never get filled up. Couldn't eat enough. But that's not the most hungry thing in all the world.

7:37 - 7:59 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The most hungry and the most thirsty thing in all the world is the human soul.

Used as another example of extreme hunger in the natural world, again to contrast with the deeper hunger of the human soul.

Someone who's seen some of the National Geographic films of animals in the wild would say, well, maybe it's a bear just coming out of hibernation. Or perhaps a lion or a lioness that's gone three-wheeled. Maybe that's the most hungry thing in all the world. What's the most thirsty thing in all the world?

7:59 - 8:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The most hungry and the most thirsty thing in all the world is the human soul.

These examples illustrate intense physical thirst, setting the stage for the spiritual thirst of the human soul.

Well, David might answer us and say, well, it's a deer that's been chased by hunters and finally finds a cool stream and plunges its muzzle in that stream as the deer pants after the water brooks, David wrote. Someone else might say, no, it's a camel that's come across a parched, barren desert for two weeks. Without a drop of water to drink and now it comes to a water hole and it's going to fill its hump again. That's the most thirsty thing in all the world.

8:21 - 8:52 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The most hungry and the most thirsty thing in all the world is the human soul.

A vivid image of extreme thirst in nature, further emphasizing the depth of the soul's yearning.

Some would say, no, I've seen pictures of the cracked deserts where no rain has fallen for months. And every crack in that desert, causing it to be spidered to the eye, is drying up for heaven in thirst. That's the most hungry and thirsty thing in all the world. How would you answer?

8:53 - 9:17 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The most hungry and the most thirsty thing in all the world is the human soul.

The prodigal son leaving his father's table but taking his hunger with him illustrates that turning from God does not kill the soul's inherent thirst, but rather misdirects it.

And though we have turned from God and we have forced God, as it were, out of our souls, we have not killed the hunger and the thirst of the soul any more than the prodigal son. When he left the father's table, he didn't leave his hunger at the table. He took it with him into the far country. Amen.

10:30 - 11:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He introduces Isaiah 55:1-3 as God's passionate invitation to hungry, thirsty souls, likening God to a street hawker determined to dispense His goods.

God is depicted as a passionate street hawker, determined to sell his goods (gospel provisions) and return home with empty baskets, emphasizing His earnest desire for people to receive His grace.

in the imagery of a street hawker, a man who, goes out into the streets, to the highways and byways to sell his goods. And each day when he goes forth with his goods in his baskets and in his buckets, he's determined his baskets will be empty when he returns. His buckets will be empty when he returns. His skins of water and wine will be empty when he returns.

14:35 - 15:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Hear and heed God's invitation with solemn and serious desire, recognizing His earnestness.

The coach saying 'Hey guys, listen up' is used to explain the Hebrew word 'Ho' as an attention-getting word, signifying the solemn and serious desire of God for His invitation to be heard.

It's the coach coming into the locker room where all the guys are milling and chatting and carrying on various conversations. And he says, Hey guys, listen up. Suddenly all the conversation stops. Everyone gathers in the circle.

16:45 - 17:01 Read in full sermon

The point: Hear and heed God's invitation with solemn and serious desire, recognizing His earnestness.

A sergeant shouting 'Attention!' is another analogy for the word 'Ho,' conveying the urgency and importance of God's message.

The coach steps into the center. They know he's got important words to speak to them. It's the word that you would use in a Hebrew context if you happen to be a Hebrew sergeant. And you're going into barracks.

17:01 - 17:16 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: This section analyzes the initial invitation in Isaiah 55:1, examining how it is given (with solemn desire and earnest passion), to whom it is given (everyone who thirsts, the…

Martin recounts a personal memory of a determined okra seller in a poor section of Augusta, Georgia, who passionately cried out her wares, illustrating God's unmistakable earnestness and passion in dispensing His gospel goods.

Hey kids, this is ancient history. The summer of 1954. That's in your books on ancient American history.

20:53 - 21:03 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: God asks two searching questions: 'Why do you spend money for that which is not bread and your labor for that which does not satisfy?' Martin explains that 'money' refers to our…

The image of a carrot always just out of reach of a racing animal illustrates the restless, unsatisfying pursuit of worldly things that never truly fulfill the soul's hunger.

It's like the carrot. In front of that animal. That they want to draw on in the race. He never gets his mouth in it.

42:06 - 42:14 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin tells an extended parable of retirees rejecting free, refreshing provisions for sand and sawdust, illustrating the 'moral madness' of those who refuse God's free gospel…

An extended parable of retirees whose bus breaks down, and who then reject free, refreshing water and food to pay for and consume sand and sawdust, vividly illustrates the 'moral madness' of those who refuse God's free gospel offer and pursue futile worldly satisfactions.

And. Judge. Trudge yourself. Imagine with me, a group of retirees can't find anything else to do.

44:31 - 44:40 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: God's imploring heart is revealed through gracious commands ('Hearken diligently,' 'Eat what is good,' 'Incline your ear,' 'Come to me') and gracious promises (delight in…

Martin uses his own habit of cupping his hand to his ear in prayer meeting to illustrate the command 'Incline your ear,' emphasizing the need to actively listen to God's words of grace.

Someone a little hard of hearing. That's me too. Incline your ear. Often in prayer meeting I turn around in the direction of whoever is praying.

56:08 - 56:17 Read in full sermon