1 of 10
Richard Allen Farmer
Crossroads Presbyterian Church
5587 Redan Rd.
Stone Mountain, GA 30088
770.469.9069-office
Sermons From One Verse, Part 8
Buying While Broke
Text: Isaiah 55:1
Just as I am trying to be accurate in language when I speak of
food, I am doing the same when I speak of money. I have never
been starving, so I should never enter my house after a long day
and say, "I'm starving!" No, I am hungry. I have access to food
and am, therefore, not starving. When it comes to money, have I
ever been broke? Maybe finances have been tight. There are
times when there are more bills to be paid than there are dollars.
There have been times when I have had to ask for an extension
1 of 10
2 of 10
on a due date or a deadline. But have I been truly broke? Didn't I
have access to cash advances from credit cards? Didn't I have
retirement funds from which I could borrow? Didn't I have items
I could sell on ebay or etsy? Didn't I have a person who had
said, "If you are ever in a jam, call me"? Then, I am not truly
broke.
Broke is when:
• You go to KFC and lick other people's fingers
• You go to McDonald's and put a milkshake on layaway
• You eat cold cereal with a fork, to save milk
• You go to Central Park to feed the ducks and they throw
bread at you.
• You are so strapped for resources you can't even pay...
attention
2 of 10
3 of 10
That's broke!!
The word come appears 3 times in verse 1. When any person
realizes his/her bankruptcy, the first reasonable step is to come.
1. Come to the waters- Water is symbolic of life. We cannot
live very long without water.
2. Come buy and eat- Realizing one's inner emptiness, the
wise person goes to the source, God, and tries to secure
spiritual food.
3. Buy wine and milk- 1 Peter 2:2:
...as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you
may grow thereby
The invitation is universal- come, everyone
3 of 10
4 of 10
The invitation also assumes that the persons to whom it is
extended, are self-evaluating. They know their need. They know
they are thirsty, so they respond to come to the waters.
They are aware of spiritual hunger, so they respond to come, buy
and eat.
Scripture is replete with food and beverage symbols that
represent spiritual nurture and growth. Water and wine are
pictures of the Holy Spirit. John 7:37–39:
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and
drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out
of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He
spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would
receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was
not yet glorified.
4 of 10
5 of 10
Eph. 5:18:
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be
filled with the Spirit
Jesus is the Bread of Life :
John 6:32–35:
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you,
Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father
gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God
is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who
comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me
shall never thirst.
Our Lord may have had Isaiah 55:2 in mind when He said, “Do
not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which
endures to everlasting life” (John 6:27, NKJV).
5 of 10
6 of 10
This text, in Isaiah 55:1, is written in a culture in which spiritual
realities were framed in the language of food and drink.
"Humanity does not live by bread alone but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God." We have heard that verse,
uttered by Jesus in the wilderness. Do you remember when it
was first uttered?
Deuteronomy 8:3:
So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with
manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that
He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone;
but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the
Lord.
From the beginning of the biblical record, God is seen as the
feeder, the nurturer, the sustainer of the human race. Even today,
when we speak of a person with a deep spiritual need, we use
the language of food and drink. We speak of Janie having a
6 of 10
7 of 10
spiritual hunger or of Gerald drinking deeply from the fountain
of God.
According to our text, all this spiritual food and drink was
available even if you had no currency. The language remains
that of capitalism (the word buy is used twice in verse 1), but the
language of freebies is also used (without money, without price).
What good news this is, to those who want the commodities God
is offering, but who have no money. God is wanting to give gifts
to those who are in need.
A verse we have explored as part of this series, is Ephesians 2:8:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God
You who are spiritually serious, stop spending your capital on
junk food (verse 2). Accept the gift of God!!
This great text, inviting us to buy while broke, is the OT version
of the parable of the great supper in Luke's gospel.
7 of 10
8 of 10
Luke 14:15-24:
15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard
these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread
in the kingdom of God!”
16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper
and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say
to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’
18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first
said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and
see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ 19 And another said, ‘I
have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask
you to have me excused.’ 20 Still another said, ‘I have married a
wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ 21 So that servant came and
reported these things to his master. Then the master of the
house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the
streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the
8 of 10
9 of 10
maimed and the lame and the blind.’ 22 And the servant said,
‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’
23 Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the
highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my
house may be filled. 24 For I say to you that none of those men
who were invited shall taste my supper.’”
We return to the language of our text. Our God is always the
One who invites us to come. Come to the waters. Come to the
cross. Come to Jesus. Come to your senses. Come!!!
Closing
The good news of the gospel is that we can shop at God's store
without money. What He offers can be gained without our
paying the price. In a reversed capitalism model, God allows us
to shop and He picks up the tab. We can walk out of His store
with joy having not bought it. We can receive peace, simply
because God is the giver of peace and the Prince of Peace.
9 of 10
10 of 10
A shopping spree, with no money in hand. What a concept!
Amen
10 of 10