Embracing God's Higher Ways and Infinite Love

 

Summary

In reflecting on the profound truth that God's thoughts and ways are far above our own, we are reminded of the vastness and inscrutability of His divine wisdom and love. As Isaiah 55:8-9 declares, God's ways are higher than ours, and His thoughts surpass our understanding. This truth is evident in both His providence and grace. In providence, God's designs are vast and often mysterious, yet they are always wise and aimed at His glory. He brings light from darkness and joy from sorrow, demonstrating His infinite wisdom and power. In grace, God's thoughts are even more astonishing. The concept of atonement, the idea that God would send His only Son to die for humanity, is beyond human imagination. It is a divine revelation that showcases His love and mercy.

The sermon encourages us to recognize the disparity between our thoughts and God's. Our thoughts are often self-centered and limited, while God's thoughts are filled with love, justice, and grace. We are called to forsake our ways and thoughts, which are often contrary to God's, and to seek His ways and thoughts. This call to repentance is not a harsh rebuke but a tender invitation enveloped in love and the promise of abundant pardon. God's forgiveness is unlike human forgiveness; it is full, free, and real, harboring no resentment and offering complete reconciliation.

Furthermore, the expectation of God's promises is highlighted. When we align our thoughts and ways with God's, we can expect His word to be unfailing and His blessings to be abundant. His word, like rain and snow, will not return void but will accomplish His purposes, bringing forth life and joy. As we walk in His ways, we are assured of His eternal and unchanging love, which surpasses all human understanding.

Key Takeaways:

1. God's Incomprehensible Wisdom and Love: God's thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours, revealing His profound wisdom and love. His providence and grace are beyond human comprehension, bringing light from darkness and joy from sorrow. We are called to trust in His divine wisdom, even when we cannot understand His ways. [03:57]

2. The Call to Repentance: We are urged to forsake our own thoughts and ways, which are often contrary to God's, and to seek His ways and thoughts. This call to repentance is a tender invitation, promising abundant pardon and reconciliation with God. [09:32]

3. The Nature of God's Forgiveness: Unlike human forgiveness, God's forgiveness is full, free, and real. He harbors no resentment and offers complete reconciliation, pressing the forgiven sinner to His heart and adopting them into His family. [35:46]

4. Expectation of God's Promises: When we align our thoughts and ways with God's, we can expect His word to be unfailing and His blessings to be abundant. His promises are like rain and snow, bringing forth life and joy in our lives. [41:07]

5. Eternal and Unchanging Love: God's love and ways are eternal and unchanging, surpassing all human understanding. His gifts and calling are without repentance, offering us eternal security and endless bliss in His presence. [46:30]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:10] - God's Thoughts and Ways
- [01:03] - The Mystery of Providence
- [03:57] - Grace Beyond Imagination
- [08:59] - Rebuke and Repentance
- [12:46] - Human Thoughts vs. Divine Thoughts
- [16:37] - The Truth of the Gospel
- [20:26] - Salvation and Human Misconceptions
- [27:42] - Rising to God's Holiness
- [31:11] - Encouragement to Repent
- [39:42] - Expectation of God's Promises
- [43:43] - Joy and Transformation
- [46:30] - Eternal Mercy and Love
- [49:00] - God's Abundant Forgiveness
- [50:10] - Closing Blessing

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Isaiah 55:8-9

Observation Questions:
1. What does Isaiah 55:8-9 reveal about the nature of God's thoughts and ways compared to ours? [00:10]
2. How does the sermon describe the difference between God's providence and human understanding? [01:03]
3. What examples from the sermon illustrate God's ability to bring joy from sorrow and light from darkness? [01:34]
4. How is God's forgiveness described as different from human forgiveness in the sermon? [35:46]

Interpretation Questions:
1. In what ways does the sermon suggest that God's providence is both mysterious and wise? How should this affect a believer's trust in God? [01:19]
2. How does the sermon explain the concept of atonement as a divine revelation beyond human imagination? What does this imply about God's love and mercy? [04:12]
3. What does the sermon mean by stating that God's call to repentance is a "tender invitation"? How does this perspective change the way one might view repentance? [09:32]
4. How does the sermon encourage believers to align their thoughts and ways with God's? What are the expected outcomes of such alignment? [41:07]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you struggled to understand God's ways in your life. How can Isaiah 55:8-9 encourage you to trust in His wisdom despite the mystery? [03:42]
2. The sermon calls us to forsake our self-centered thoughts and seek God's ways. What specific thoughts or behaviors do you need to let go of to align more closely with God's thoughts? [09:32]
3. Consider the nature of God's forgiveness as described in the sermon. How can you model this kind of forgiveness in your relationships, especially with those who have wronged you? [35:46]
4. The sermon highlights the expectation of God's promises. What is one promise from God that you are holding onto, and how can you actively trust in its fulfillment? [41:07]
5. God's love is described as eternal and unchanging. How can this assurance impact your daily life and interactions with others? [46:30]
6. The sermon speaks of God's word as unfailing and life-giving. How can you incorporate more of God's word into your daily routine to experience its transformative power? [41:07]
7. Reflect on the disparity between human and divine thoughts. How can you cultivate a mindset that seeks to understand and embrace God's higher thoughts in your decision-making? [16:37]

Devotional

Day 1: The Vastness of God's Wisdom and Love
God's wisdom and love are beyond human comprehension, as His thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours. This truth is evident in both His providence and grace. In providence, God's designs are vast and often mysterious, yet they are always wise and aimed at His glory. He brings light from darkness and joy from sorrow, demonstrating His infinite wisdom and power. In grace, the concept of atonement, where God sent His only Son to die for humanity, is beyond human imagination. It is a divine revelation that showcases His love and mercy. We are called to trust in His divine wisdom, even when we cannot understand His ways. [03:57]

Isaiah 40:28-29 (ESV): "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength."

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you struggle to trust God's wisdom and love? How can you actively choose to trust Him today, even when His ways seem inscrutable?


Day 2: A Tender Call to Repentance
We are urged to forsake our own thoughts and ways, which are often contrary to God's, and to seek His ways and thoughts. This call to repentance is not a harsh rebuke but a tender invitation enveloped in love and the promise of abundant pardon. God's forgiveness is unlike human forgiveness; it is full, free, and real, harboring no resentment and offering complete reconciliation. This invitation to repentance is a call to align ourselves with God's higher ways and thoughts, leading to a life of peace and joy in His presence. [09:32]

Ezekiel 18:31-32 (ESV): "Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live."

Reflection: What specific thoughts or behaviors do you need to forsake to align more closely with God's ways? How can you respond to His tender invitation to repentance today?


Day 3: The Depth of God's Forgiveness
Unlike human forgiveness, God's forgiveness is full, free, and real. He harbors no resentment and offers complete reconciliation, pressing the forgiven sinner to His heart and adopting them into His family. This divine forgiveness is a profound expression of God's love and grace, offering us a new identity and a restored relationship with Him. As we experience His forgiveness, we are called to extend the same grace and forgiveness to others, reflecting His love in our relationships. [35:46]

Micah 7:18-19 (ESV): "Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."

Reflection: Is there someone you need to forgive as God has forgiven you? How can you take a step towards offering full and free forgiveness to them today?


Day 4: The Assurance of God's Promises
When we align our thoughts and ways with God's, we can expect His word to be unfailing and His blessings to be abundant. His promises are like rain and snow, bringing forth life and joy in our lives. As we walk in His ways, we are assured of His eternal and unchanging love, which surpasses all human understanding. This assurance gives us hope and confidence, knowing that God's word will accomplish His purposes and bring forth His blessings in our lives. [41:07]

Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV): "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

Reflection: What promise of God are you holding onto today? How can you align your thoughts and actions with His word to see His promises fulfilled in your life?


Day 5: The Eternal and Unchanging Love of God
God's love and ways are eternal and unchanging, surpassing all human understanding. His gifts and calling are without repentance, offering us eternal security and endless bliss in His presence. This unchanging love assures us of our identity in Christ and our place in God's family. As we rest in His love, we are invited to live out our faith with confidence and joy, knowing that nothing can separate us from His love. [46:30]

Jeremiah 31:3 (ESV): "The Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."

Reflection: How does knowing God's love is eternal and unchanging impact your daily life? In what ways can you live out this truth in your interactions with others today?

Quotes


for my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways sayeth 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 Isaiah chter 55 verses 8 and N God's thoughts and ways far above ours [00:00:01]

though we think and are so far like to God because being intelligent beings we have thoughts of our own yet our thoughts must forever be weak and fragmentary as compared with his thoughts and though as free agents we have ways of our own choice in some of which we move with great show of wisdom yet our way are upon the Earth and cannot attain to the ways of the Lord which are far above us [00:00:33]

often times he brings light of excessive brightness out of Darkness more dense than usual and produces Superior Joys out of extraordinary sorrows in Infinite Wisdom he causes the most furious storms to cast up upon the shore the pearl of Peace He is wonderful both in counsel and in working and chooseth ever that way in which his glory is most abundantly displayed [00:01:28]

could man have dreamt that he was the object of eternal love and that God would assume his nature could we have imagined that the almighty would give his only begotten son to die for guilty man the atonement was a thought which never would have crossed man's mind if it had not first of all been revealed to him by the great father [00:04:04]

the Lord says forsake your way for it is not my way leave your thoughts for they are not my thoughts your way ought to be my way your thoughts ought to be my thoughts so far as the weakness of creatur ship will allow but it is not so you have wandered away from me you think not such thoughts as I would have you think [00:09:48]

God's thoughts are love pity tender eress ours are forgetfulness ingratitude and hard-heartedness he thinks of us as lost sheep are thought of by the shepherd as a prodigal child is thought of by his father but our thoughts are not of like kind in its wandering State the Sheep has no thought of returning to the shepherd [00:10:50]

God's thoughts to us are thoughts of love but not so ours to him he is tender of our comfort but we are not tender of his honor he considers our interests but we think not of his glory he watches over our safety but we are not watchful to keep his statutes he loads us with benefits but we only load him with our sins [00:11:37]

God's thoughts again as to the life which a man needs in order to Salvation are very different from man's thoughts did you notice how in this chapter he says hear and your soul shall live he reckons then that man is dead till he has heard the word of God in his soul man reckons that he is alive enough [00:14:54]

man's forgiveness is never so full as God's for the Lord forgives and harbors no resentment he preserves no recollection of our transgressions he casts them into the depths of the sea and remembers them no more man's forgiveness is seldom so real as God's for though man says he is Forgiven he does not afterwards Delight in the offender as he may have done before [00:35:46]

come and trust in God and His word shall be like himself immutable Eternal infallible and full of boundless blessing to you it shall be powerful to bless you mighty to fertilize you it shall be like rain and snow which go not back to heaven but sink into the Earth to make it bring forth and Bud [00:41:20]

the thorn shall be transmuted into fur trees and the Briars into myrtles there shall be a change in you such a wonderful change that all things shall become new there shall be a change in all that concerns you the Bible shall become a treasure and the Sabbath a delight The Mercy Seat a love Resort and the path of obedience a way of pleasantness [00:45:01]

man's thoughts are for a time and his ways but for a season God is eternal when he thinks his thoughts abide forever and when he acts his ways are Everlasting the gifts and calling of God are without repentance he never changes his mind perhaps you think that salvation is a thing to be found and lost to be gained and forfeited [00:46:30]

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Transcript
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