Speaker: Rev. Eddie Jjumba
Scriptural Texts: Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21; Psalm 17:1-7, 15; Matthew 14:13-21; Isaiah 55:1-5
Scripture Reading and Opening Prayer [01:25:20]
“May I invite you to stand as we read our scripture together, Isaiah 55. The prophet Isaiah, as a channel or a mouth that God used, spoke these words to the children of Israel when they were captives in Babylon. Let’s read together: ‘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? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare…’
Father, in the name of your son Jesus Christ, we bow before every promise and every invitation that you have made in the ancient of times… May your Holy Spirit move even now as your word comes. And may your spirit find that man, that woman where they are standing in need of you.”
Introduction & Sermon Title [01:32:43]
“We do have a title of our message today… and the title is: Come to the waters. I really draw your mind and your heart to that invitation. Clearly, it’s an invitation. As I was taking the time to appreciate the message and understand the message, I found myself not moving away from the context… Any passage in the Bible, any scripture you ever place your eyes on, always wonder: what was the context? What was going on at the time?”
The Context of Isaiah 55: Captivity and Exhaustion [01:35:17]
“The historical context… is rooted in the Babylonian exile, where the prophet Isaiah delivers a powerful message of hope. Here’s the context: He was addressing a group of people, the nation of Israel, where two things were going on for them. They were displaced and they were exhausted. They were captives who had lost everything… their land, their freedom, and their possessions.
I want you to understand the context of when Isaiah writes those words, ‘come to the waters.’ He’s writing to people who have been accustomed to dry land. The sight of water is literally a miracle. When you appreciate the context, this message lands differently. It’s an invitation to people to whom water is not some luxury… By the time Isaiah writes this, they have endured decades of captivity under the Babylonian Empire. They were understandably growing weak spiritually… physically impoverished.”
Lens 1: The Metaphor of Ultimate Survival [01:46:40]
“The phrase ‘come to the waters’ in this context is like an anchor. Water was not a casual convenience; literally, water meant the difference between life and death. The audience that Isaiah would have been addressing was very familiar with what it means to be in the wilderness for a long time… Sometimes our wilderness is in different forms. Sometimes it’s in isolation, where because of the circumstances of your life, you find yourself in this long stretch of isolation.
God knows the people receiving this word, and He chooses to write these four words: ‘Come to the waters.’ This image highlights that seeking Him is not just a simple duty, but it’s really the difference between life and death.”
Lens 2: The Paradox of Buying Without Money [01:51:00]
“He’s saying, ‘Come to this market, and you’re going to buy things, but you’re not going to use money.’ Can you imagine that? It’s a paradox… things that don’t go together usually. To be able to buy, you have to give money. But he’s saying, ‘No, I’m saying, come buy… you who have no money.’
I want you to think of these people that have been displaced. They have endured so many years of impoverishment, they have nothing. Remember, this was also a time when produce or items in the market were extremely expensive… God is saying to them, ‘Come and buy without money.’ It emphasizes that divine grace and redemption cannot be purchased.”
Lens 3: The Urgent Call to Return Home [01:56:47]
“This invitation is a very urgent call to return home. It is inviting us to physically and spiritually pivot… Pivoting away from what? Pivoting away from our self-reliance. Sometimes we believe that we have everything it takes to solve problems of our personal lives… But we don’t.
For the exiles, coming to the water meant abandoning the dry land, abandoning that expensive transactional system, and returning to the fountain of living waters. And this is our invitation today.”
Conclusion & Jesus’ Living Water [01:58:43]
“In the Gospel of John 4, Jesus uses very similar language when he offers the Samaritan woman living water. He says the kind of water I’m giving you will permanently quench your thirst. Can you allow that image to go somewhere in your mind and in your heart? If you believed that the water He is holding can permanently quench your thirst—meaning you will never be in a situation where you are thirsty again—how quickly would you run to grab it?
Jesus uses the same image at the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7:37 when he cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.’ And we have the final invitation in the Book of Revelation 22:17: ‘Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.’“
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