Isaiah 40:12-31
Ep. 94

Isaiah 40:12-31

Episode description

A Verse-by-Verse Expository Sermon on Isaiah 40:12-31 from June 29.

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0:00

We're going to read the whole chapter to start

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out with, so it's a really good one,

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so it shouldn't be that hard. Alright, Isaiah

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40 verses 1 through 31.

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"Comfort, O comfort, my people, says your God.

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Speak kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her

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that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity

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has been removed, that she has received the

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Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice

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is calling, clear the way for the Lord and the

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wilderness, make smooth in the desert a

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highway for our God. Let every valley be

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lifted up,

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and every mountain and hill be made low, and

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let the rough ground become a plain,

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and the rugged terrain a broad valley. Then

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the glory of the Lord will be revealed,

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and all flesh will see it together, for the

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mouth of the Lord has spoken."

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A voice says, "Call out." Then he answered, "

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What shall I call out? All flesh is grass,

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and all this loveliness is like the flower of

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the field. The grass withers, the flower fades

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,

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when the breath of the Lord blows upon it,

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surely the people are grass. The grass withers

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,

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the flower fades, but the word of our God

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stands forever. Get yourself up on a high

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mountain, O Zion,

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bear of good news. Lift up your voice mightily

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, O Jerusalem, bear of good news. Lift it up,

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do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, 'Here

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is your God.' Behold, the Lord God will come

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with

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might with his arm ruling for him. Behold, his

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reward is with him and his recompense before

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him.

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Like a shepherd, he will tend his flock. In

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his arm he will gather the lambs and carry

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them in his

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bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes."

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And our passage starts here. "Who has measured

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the

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waters in the hollow of his hand and marked

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off the heavens by the span, and calculated

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the dust

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of the earth by the measure, and weighed the

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mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair

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of scales? Who has directed the Spirit of the

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Lord, or as his counselor has informed him?

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With whom did he consult, and who gave him

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understanding? And who taught him in the path

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of justice, and taught him knowledge, and

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informed him of the way of understanding? Be

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hold, the nations

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are like a drop from a bucket, and are

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regarded as a speck of dust on the scales. Be

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hold, he lifts up

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the islands like fine dusts. Even Lebanon is

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not enough to burn, nor it's beast enough for

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a burnt

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offering. All the nations are as nothing

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before him. They are regarded by him as less

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than nothing,

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and meaningless. To whom then will you liken

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God, or what likeness will you compare with

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him?

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As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, a gold

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smith plates it with gold, and a silversmith f

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ashions

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chains of silver. He who is too impoverished

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for such an offering, selects a tree that does

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not rot.

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He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman

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to prepare an idol that will not totter.

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Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it

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not been declared to you from the beginning?

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Have you not understood from the foundations

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of the earth? It is he who sits above the

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circle of

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the earth, and its inhabitants are like grass

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hoppers, who stretches out the heavens like a

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curtain,

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and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

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He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,

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who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.

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Scarcely have they planted, scarcely have they

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been sown, scarcely has their stalks taken

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root in the earth, but he merely blows on them

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,

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and they wither, and the storm carries them

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away like stubble. To whom then will you liken

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me,

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that I would be his equal, says the Holy One.

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Lift up your eyes on high and see who has

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created

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these stars, the one who leads forth their

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hosts by number. He calls them all by name,

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because of the greatness of his might, and the

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strength of his power, not one of them is

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missing.

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Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,

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my way is hidden from the Lord,

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and the justice due me escapes the notice of

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my God? Do you not know, have you not heard,

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the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of

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the ends of the earth, does not become weary

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or tired? His understanding is inscrutable. He

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gives strength to the weary, and to him who

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lacks

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might, he increases power. Though youths grow

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weary and tired, and vigorous young men

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stumble

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badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will

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gain new strength. They will mount up with

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wings like

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eagles. They will run and not get tired. They

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will walk and not become weary. Let's pray.

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Hey, Father, thank you for your word. Thank

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you for the opportunity to come and worship

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you in song

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and giving and reading your word and hearing

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your word preached in fellowship. I pray that

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you bless the rest of our service, your word

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to our hearts and our minds for our growth and

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grace

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and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank

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you for him. In Christ's name, amen.

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All right. Now, that was a long passage, but

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we've been going through Isaiah 40 in the past

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two

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services in the past two months. And in those

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two months, I don't know about in your, I do

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know in

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your life, a lot of things have happened in

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the past two months. In the United States

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alone,

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about 602,000 babies were born in the last two

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months. And about 568,000 people have died

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in the last two months alone, in our nation

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alone. And in my immediate circle of friends

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and family

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and people that I know, I've had three people

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pass away. One, a very sad story. And I'm sure

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that if we would go through each of our lives

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in the past two months, we could find similar

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stories. We have all had someone in our lives

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who have had very life-altering situations and

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circumstances happen in the past two months or

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maybe just a little bit longer if the past

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two months have been good for you. And we take

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prayer requests on Sunday morning and on

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Wednesday

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nights in a prayer meeting. And some of us don

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't share those with everybody, but we may go to

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someone that we're close with and ask for

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prayer on certain personal things. And

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sometimes there's

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things that are on our hearts that we don't

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mention to anyone, difficulties that we're

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going through just in our lives. All of us are

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that way, because there's always something

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happening and there's always some struggle or

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difficulty. In our culture, we seem to have

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this

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idea that we just go through life and that we

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'll never hit any brick walls. We don't plan or

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save

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money for rainy days anymore. And we just go

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have this idea that as we go through life that

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nothing

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bad will happen, no accidents, no pain, no

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suffering. And then when the inevitable pain

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and

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suffering happen, we're just so taken aback

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and so surprised that it did. And our culture

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doesn't

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have a real answer for this. Our culture looks

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to the government to fix those problems. And

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it's

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always the government that is the one that's

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supposed to rescue us in order to some kind of

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therapy for somebody just to talk to. We have

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people that just pay money to people because

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they have no serious friends and no serious

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close person in their lives that they can

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really bear their hearts to. And that's

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necessary for human flourishing. And the last

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two messages

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that we went through in Isaiah have drawn a

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line in the sand between those that are

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outside of Christ

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and their lack of true comfort and consolation

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and strength and those that are on this side

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of the line with Isaiah, that even though they

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're facing this great struggle and pain to come

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with

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the empire coming and bringing them into exile

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, but Isaiah is saying, hey, we still have

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comfort

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and consolation on this side of the line, even

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with all that pain and suffering to come. In

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April,

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we looked at the first two verses and the true

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comfort for God's people. Isaiah was told to

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point God's people to rest in him and in his

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eternal love, to trust in his word and

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trusting,

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not just in his word, but what he has done for

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them in the past. Then he spoke, if you

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remember,

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of a future comfort that was to come as if it

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had already happened. And we talked about that

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being

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the prophetic future tense. Remember that? And

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that God will use these prophecies and the

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prophetic,

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the words will be in past tense, but they

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haven't happened yet because it's just as if

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it had already

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happened because God was the one that was

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promising it. And then last month in May, we

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saw the three

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fold comfort of God as Isaiah heard a voice

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call out a message from God to hear about God

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's comfort

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and trust, to call his people, to trust in him

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and what he was going to do. And the Lord, the

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call,

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the message was that the Lord will come in

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glory. The message was that the Lord's word is

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forever,

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his promises last forever. And also the

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message was to behold, is to step back and

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behold your God

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and what he would do in these situations in

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their lives. And ultimately that situation was

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their need

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of salvation and look towards the Messiah that

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would come. The comfort is to be taken by God

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's

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people at all times, not just the direct

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people that Isaiah was talking to. The Holy

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Spirit

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orchestrated this where that message was

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directly to them and directly to us as his

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people in the

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future. The Hebrew were told of the coming emp

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ires for the last 39 chapters. Isaiah preached

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judgment

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and punishment to them for their breaking of

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God's laws. They're turning away from him and

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following idols that the Babylonians and the

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Assyrians would come and bring them into

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slavery

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and exile and defeat their nations. And he was

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telling them to take comfort in the promises

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of

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God for after that. And the promises in Isaiah

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, the comfort was to those in the New Testament

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who

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were waiting for the Messiah. And there was

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the Messiah and they would trust him no matter

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what

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was happening with the government around him.

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The Jews took care of him and put him on the

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cross.

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And the trust and the coming comfort of God,

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it was to the early church that we're going

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through

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suffering and persecution. As we see it in 1

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Peter, as we see in the Corinthian church, as

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Paul imprisoned

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in Rome, they could trust in the coming

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comfort of God. And it's to us in 2025 as well

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that no

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matter what happens, our nation, the United

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States is just like a wind or a root that God

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could just

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blow out. No matter what happens to our nation

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or the nations around the world, we can trust

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and look forward to the comfort that is to

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come. Although we're surrounded by voices that

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call

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to us to complain, to fear, to worry, 24 hour

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news cycle, worry, worry, worry, we as

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Christians are

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to be rooted and grounded in the comfort that

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is to come because of who Christ is and what

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he has

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done. We have the voice of God through his

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word, which has the opposite voice of our

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culture around

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us. It calls us to faith, to trust and to hope

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and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Romans

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15

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12 says again, Isaiah says, "There shall come

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the root of Jesse and he who arises to rule

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over the

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Gentiles and him shall the Gentiles hope."

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That's us. Now, may the God of hope fill you

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with all

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joy and peace and believing so that you will

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abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit

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.

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And we have the Almighty, Everlasting, Sovere

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ign, Creator, Holy God as our source of comfort

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and

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strength. 2 Corinthians 1-5, "For just as the

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sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance,"

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and that

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true sometimes. So also our comfort is

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abundant through Christ, and that is also true

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in Christ.

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Isaiah gives us many reasons in this chapter

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to look to our true comfort and our true

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strength

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in the only source where it can truly come

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from, and that is God, the Almighty God,

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Creator

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of the universe. And I've done my absolute

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best to get all of this into three points

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in 30, 40 minutes, and so we're going to get

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after it, but I will not be able to touch the

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surface of this unless I do take months of

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going verse by verse by verse. So my

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recommendation,

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my homework is for you to take this passage

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home with you, and just for seven days, just

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read it

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in the morning before you go to work, before

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you start your day. It's only 31 verses, and

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see if

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it doesn't change your outlook on what's

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happening in the world around you, what's

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happening in your

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family, what's happening in your mind, in your

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heart, and in your life. God's Word is truly a

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gift

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to us, and we take it for granted so often.

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Let's avail ourselves of this gift and these

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truths,

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the source of comfort and strength as the Holy

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Spirit through Isaiah is telling us to do here

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,

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that all of us, everyone who believes, must

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look to God as their only comfort and their

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only source

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of strength. The first reason is in verses 12

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through 26, because God is the one and only

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sovereign Creator. Now, I normally read the

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section that I'm going through, but I'm not

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going to do

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that because it's so many verses, so I'm going

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to read the last two that kind of summarize

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this part of the passage. Verse 25 says, "To

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whom then will you liken me that I would be

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his equal?"

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Says the Holy One, "Lift up your eyes on high

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and see who has created these stars,

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the one who leads forth their hosts by number.

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He calls them all by name because of the

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greatness

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of his might and the strength of his power.

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Not one of them is missing." That's an amazing

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fact.

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Isaiah is giving here in these 14 verses a

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beautiful poem that we're not going to be

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able to dissect every one of these verses. We

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're just going to go over them, but the reason

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that

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it's so much, and this one point takes up so

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many verses, is because our God truly is big.

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Our God

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truly is almighty and huge and great, not just

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compared to us, to man, but compared to all of

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creation, all the universe. God is so high

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above it, and God is so much bigger than our

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universe,

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which we cannot even fathom the size of. There

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's a catechism where there's questions and

15:18

answers,

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and you remember these questions and answers,

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and they help build your faith and they help

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build

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your understanding. And there's a children's c

15:25

atechism that has really simple questions and

15:27

answers, but it really says a lot in those

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simple questions and answers. And the very

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first three

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questions and answers in the children's catech

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ism are, "Who made you?" "God made me." The

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second

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question is, "What else did God make?" The

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answer is, "God made all things." The third

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question is,

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"Why did God make you and all things?" "God

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made all things, including me, for his own

15:52

glory." And

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as we said in Sunday school, if you get your

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little child to remember those three questions

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and answers,

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they're already wiser than the biggest

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scientist or whatever on TV or in our culture.

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So from

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Genesis to Revelation, the very fact that God

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created everything, the universe and

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everything

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in it, the heavens and the earth, it is

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understood to be one of the main reasons why

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we are under

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him and why we should listen to him and why he

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deserves all the glory from his creation, why

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he

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is above all things, and why he is sovereign

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over all things. Colossians 1.16 says, "For by

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him

16:35

all things were created, both in the heavens

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and on earth, visible and invisible, whether

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thrones

16:41

or dominions or rulers or authorities, all

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things have been created through him and for

16:46

him. He is

16:47

before all things, and in him all things hold

16:50

together." And so the next time you read the

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book of Revelation, the last book in our Bible

16:56

, don't just read it and read the newspaper to

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see

17:00

what it says. Read it specifically and see how

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many times God has praised and worshipped and

17:06

bowed

17:06

down before and mentioned as the Creator of

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all things, the Creator of man, the Creator of

17:13

earth,

17:13

the Creator of heaven. Revelation 4.11 says, "

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Worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to

17:19

receive glory

17:20

and honor and power for you created all things

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, and because of your will they existed and

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were

17:28

created." Now this is the reason if you've

17:30

ever wondered why there's so many alternative

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creation

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stories and origin stories for man and the

17:37

universe is because it's one of the main ways

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to get after God's sovereignty, to get after

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the fact that he rules over our world, our

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universe,

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and us individually, whether we like it or not

17:49

, he is the king and he is the sovereign

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because

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he created all things by the power of his

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voice. And it's not more rational or easier to

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believe

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that everything was created with no purpose

18:05

and no end from nothing in the universe and

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everything

18:10

that we can hear and see and taste, smell and

18:15

feel came from nothing for no purpose all by

18:19

itself and all on accident. That is not more

18:22

rational than believing that an almighty God

18:25

who has the power inside of himself to create

18:29

spoke everything into existence in the way

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that it is,

18:34

that he is our sovereign God and he has the

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power and the sovereignty because he is the

18:40

creator.

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Isaiah isn't describing God's wonderful power

18:45

and control over his creation to defeat and

18:48

debate against people who don't believe he was

18:51

the creator. He was talking to God's children

18:55

who did believe that he was the creator. He's

18:58

showing us his power and his sovereignty

19:02

because it reaches down into the lives of his

19:05

people. Everything is under his power and

19:08

everything

19:08

is under his sovereignty. If God created all

19:12

things, then he can hear and answer our

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prayers.

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If God is over all things and in control of

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all things, then he knows what exactly you're

19:22

going

19:22

through and in his goodness and his wisdom and

19:25

in his power, he can orchestrate them all

19:27

together

19:28

for his glory and our good in ways that we can

19:31

't even fathom. This includes the coming

19:35

judgment

19:36

that Judah was facing through the Babylonian

19:39

Empire and the Assyrian Empire and exile. It

19:44

includes the suffering of his people in 2025.

19:47

Let's look at our passage and we're going to

19:50

go

19:51

through some of it. Isaiah is showing God's

19:54

greatness and creation by extolling God's

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wisdom

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and his power and complete control that he has

20:01

over his creation and all powers in the

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universe.

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That is the overarching point as we go through

20:06

this. Isaiah is going to build and build and

20:08

build

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to make that point very clear. In verses 12-14

20:14

, he lifts up his God's wisdom in creation. We

20:17

're

20:18

going to read verse 12. It says, "Who has

20:20

measured the waters in the hollow of his hand

20:22

and marked off the heavens by the span?" The

20:24

span is like an inch and calculated the

20:28

dust of the earth by the measure and weighed

20:31

the mountain in a balance and the hills in a

20:34

pair of

20:34

scales. In the next section, in verses 15-17,

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Isaiah shows the greatness of God and how he

20:41

dominates all creation, including all the

20:44

nations, including all the principalities and

20:46

the powers

20:47

and the governments. Verse 15, "Behold, the

20:50

nations are like a drop from a bucket and are

20:52

regarded

20:52

as a speck of dust on the scales. Behold, he

20:55

lifts up the islands like fine dust." Verse 17

20:58

, "All the

20:58

nations are as nothing before him. They are

21:02

regarded by him as less than nothing and

21:06

meaningless."

21:07

Then that capture a lot of, especially in this

21:11

time, the wars of nations on the other side of

21:14

the world. That captures our imagination, our

21:16

fear, and our worry. What's going to happen

21:18

is my son going to get drafted and all this

21:20

stuff. We start thinking about it. I don't

21:23

know,

21:24

but God does. It's in his hand. He dominates

21:27

it. Verses 18-20, "God alone is God. Idols are

21:31

nothing

21:32

but gold or wooden trinkets created by his God

21:35

's own creation." It really is amazing. Verses

21:38

18-20,

21:39

"To whom then will you liken God or what liken

21:42

ess will you compare with him?" As for the idol

21:45

,

21:45

a craftsman casts it. A goldsmith plates it

21:48

with gold and a silversmith fashions chains of

21:50

silver.

21:51

He who is too impoverished, too poor for such

21:54

an offering, selects a tree that does not rot.

21:57

He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman

22:00

to prepare an idol that will not totter. The

22:03

man

22:04

makes his own God out of wood or stone or

22:07

metal and fashes it in what he thinks God is.

22:12

God is way farther outside. He's way bigger

22:15

than that. He's the only God. He is the only

22:17

deity

22:17

that's transcendent and above all of creation.

22:21

In verses 21-24, "He rules all earthly powers

22:25

and is by his hand that they rise and fall."

22:27

Verse 23, "He it is who reduces rulers to

22:30

nothing,

22:31

who makes the judges of the earth meaningless

22:34

." And finally, in 25 and 26, he controls all

22:38

of

22:38

his creation down to the last detail. "To whom

22:42

then will you liken me that I would be as

22:45

equal,"

22:45

says the Holy One. "Lift up your eyes on high

22:49

and see who has created these stars,

22:52

the one who leads forth their hosts by number.

22:55

He calls them all by name because of the

22:57

greatness

22:58

of his might and the strength of his power,

23:02

not one of them is missing." Now, we have

23:06

another

23:07

space telescope or another telescope that just

23:11

came online a couple of weeks ago that has,

23:14

and I can't even remember, like 35,000 megapix

23:18

els. And we have cameras that are really good

23:20

for

23:21

professional photographers that have like 20

23:23

megapixels. This has like 3500 or 35,

23:26

some ridiculous amount of resolution that they

23:29

can capture with great clarity, the stars and

23:33

the different galaxies. And one of the first

23:35

images they released is, it's this whole field

23:40

of not just stars. The only stars you see are

23:43

the ones that are in our own galaxy that are

23:47

in

23:47

between the other hundreds and thousands of

23:50

other galaxies that this telescope is looking

23:52

at.

23:53

And God spoke to each of those into existence

23:57

in the place where they are,

23:59

and he knows the name of every one of those

24:02

stars. And you're going to take and this piece

24:05

of rock

24:06

or this piece of metal or this piece of wood

24:09

or this idea of communism or this idea of

24:13

evolution

24:14

or this idea of whatever culture is putting up

24:17

as an idol and say, "Behold your God." No,

24:22

behold your God. Take this into your mind

24:25

every morning this week, as we said, and I

24:28

promise

24:28

your outlook on everything will change. It's

24:31

going on in the world. We have the only true

24:35

source of consolation, of comfort and strength

24:39

in our God who is worthy of all of our praise.

24:43

He created all things and not only that,

24:45

nothing that he's created is outside of his

24:48

control.

24:50

Nothing is an oops or a, oh, I missed that,

24:52

not one maverick molecule. We also look to him

24:57

as our

24:57

only source of comfort and strength because

25:00

God sees everything and forgets nothing. Vers

25:04

es 27-28.

25:07

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel

25:10

, my way is hidden from the Lord,

25:12

and justice do me, escapes the notice of God.

25:16

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

25:18

The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of

25:21

the ends of the earth, does not become weary

25:24

or tired. His understanding is inscrutable."

25:28

One of my favorite psalms is the 73rd Psalm,

25:33

and it was written by either Asaph himself,

25:37

who was the leader of music for the temple of

25:40

the

25:40

Levites under David the king, or somebody who

25:44

came after him. They kind of created a guild

25:47

of

25:47

musicians and called themselves the Asaphites.

25:51

He looks around at his culture at the time,

25:54

and he sees the wickedness around him, but it

25:58

wasn't just that he was questioned. He looked

26:01

at the culture, he saw the wickedness, and

26:05

those who were doing the wicked acts were the

26:08

ones that

26:09

were prospering, were the ones that were

26:11

wealthy, were the ones that weren't sick and

26:14

lived long

26:15

and happy lives. And one of the wicked things

26:18

that they did was believe that there was no

26:22

justice

26:22

with God. He said this in Psalm 7311, and he

26:26

said, they say it's the wicked. They say, how

26:29

does God

26:29

know? And is their knowledge with the most

26:31

high? They didn't believe in God. They didn't

26:34

believe

26:34

that there was judgment coming. They didn't

26:36

believe that there was true justice. They did

26:38

what they

26:39

wanted to do. And so the Hebrew and Isaiah,

26:43

the Jews at the time were looking at the same

26:47

lens

26:48

that Asaph was. They looked around them and

26:50

said, look, I didn't do all this. I'm not

26:52

worshipping

26:52

the idols. There's no justice here. Why am I

26:55

being judged as well? It looks like God was

26:59

sleeping,

27:00

or that he was missing what was happening to

27:02

them. He just looked over them. He didn't see

27:06

their plight, or worse, that he wasn't being

27:09

just. But look what the people are saying in

27:13

verse 27.

27:14

Why do you say, Oh Jacob, and assert, O Israel

27:17

, my way is hidden from the Lord, and the

27:20

justice do me

27:21

escapes the notice of my God? So these two

27:25

questions show two things about these people,

27:28

or about their faith. One, that it was very

27:32

frail. And in light of the previous passage

27:35

that we just read, how how absurd it is to ask

27:39

these questions about the Creator God who sees

27:44

everything. Mottier says, the particular value

27:48

of the doctrine of God the Creator is, of

27:51

course,

27:52

that it brings all that is true about God to

27:54

bear on this world. Consider then the absurd

27:57

ity

27:58

of losing faith in one who in relation to

28:01

earth is all powerful, all wise, dominant,

28:04

with no God to challenge him, check or rival

28:07

him, king of kings, sovereignly in charge of

28:10

his world,

28:11

down to the smallest detail, so that

28:13

everything is in its place,

28:15

nothing overlooked, nothing lost. But how

28:19

often is our faith so frail that we end up in

28:22

some way

28:23

questioning, does God know what's happening?

28:25

It happens to me. But the absurdity of that

28:29

doesn't

28:29

overrule sometimes our emotions. So God

28:33

answers those who are a frail of faith like me

28:36

in verse 28.

28:38

He said, "Do you not know? Have you not heard?

28:40

The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of

28:43

the

28:43

ends of the earth, does not become weary or

28:46

tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He is

28:50

the

28:51

everlasting God. He doesn't become winded on

28:54

his way to your problem. He doesn't pause to

28:56

take a nap

28:58

in the middle of trying to help you out. He

29:01

does not become weary or tired." Now, we're

29:05

going to

29:05

take a look at those two words because they

29:07

become very important in this part and in the

29:09

next part

29:10

of the passage. The word weary could also be

29:13

translated as exhausted. It's someone who's at

29:17

the end of their strength. They've exerted all

29:19

that they had and they have nothing left.

29:22

There was a wicked ruler and judges that was

29:25

fighting against the Hebrews named Cicera.

29:28

He was so weary from fighting and before the

29:31

battle was over, he just couldn't do it

29:33

anymore.

29:33

So he had to go back to his tent to take a

29:36

rest and to sleep. He trusted this woman named

29:40

Yael

29:40

to guard the door for him while he slept. He

29:43

had nothing left. Judges 421 says, "But Yael,

29:48

Heber's wife, took a tent peg and seized the

29:50

hammer in her hand and went secretly to him

29:53

and drove the peg into his temple and it went

29:56

through into the ground for he was sound

29:58

asleep

29:59

and exhausted." That's the same word for weary

30:02

. So he died. "God is not like Cicera. He's not

30:05

fighting our battles and then he gets tired

30:08

and exhausted and has to go take a nap. He

30:10

will never

30:11

run out of energy trying to fulfill the

30:13

promises that he's made and he'll never come

30:15

up short."

30:16

That's weary and exhausted. Tired could also

30:20

be translated as labored.

30:22

You may be able to just barely lift the weight

30:26

, but it takes everything you got and you

30:28

strain

30:29

against the weight. Nothing that God has

30:32

before him makes him strain whatsoever. As we

30:36

have said,

30:37

everything in this universe came into

30:40

existence by the power of his word and he was

30:43

not winded

30:44

when he finished speaking the universe into

30:47

existence and he doesn't get winded when he's

30:50

orchestrating all that has happened for the

30:53

Jews at that time, for the Jews in Jesus' time

30:56

and for

30:56

us in this day. When he's working out his plan

31:00

, there's no breaking of any sweat. He doesn't

31:03

get

31:03

weary. He doesn't get tired, but maybe he

31:07

doesn't get weary or get tired, but maybe he's

31:10

just not

31:11

smart enough to handle our problems. They're

31:14

just so complicated and twisted that we just

31:17

don't see how we can be helped in these

31:20

problems. Maybe God is coming to the end of

31:23

his knowledge

31:24

or wisdom. May it never be. Isaiah says his

31:28

understanding is inscrutable. I love that word

31:33

.

31:33

ESV says his understanding is unsearchable.

31:37

How can we, as feeble as we are, plumb the

31:41

depths of his understanding and his wisdom?

31:43

Romans 11-33, "O, the depths of the riches,

31:46

both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How

31:48

unsearchable are his judgments and unfathom

31:50

able

31:50

his ways." Psalm 147-5, "Great is our Lord and

31:54

abundant in strength. His understanding is

31:58

infinite."

31:59

Over and over again, we see the working out of

32:02

the wisdom of God throughout all of history in

32:04

the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, but

32:08

also in our lives in amazing ways that we pray

32:12

and God answers. We see how that works. We may

32:16

think that our lives are going to go a certain

32:19

way and have things figured out, but then God

32:22

moves in a different way. Then in the end of

32:25

it,

32:25

we see, "Hey, that really was the right way.

32:28

The best way is his way. Please consider who

32:32

you

32:33

are serving. He does not run out of knowledge

32:36

or wisdom in orchestrating his universe. He is

32:40

not

32:40

a aloof. It's not like he missed where you are

32:43

. He knows exactly where you are and what you

32:46

need,

32:47

and he doesn't get tired of orchestrating the

32:49

things in our lives, weaving that tapestry

32:52

of our lives together as a church individually

32:55

, as families in our workplaces, all those

32:57

different

32:58

things. He is working out according to his

33:00

infinite understanding." That was the same

33:03

thing that Asaph

33:04

saw in Psalm 73. He was really wrestling with

33:08

this, and he as a leader, if you read Psalm 73

33:12

,

33:12

he as a leader said, "Man, if I speak this, I

33:14

'm going to betray your people. If I say how I

33:17

'm

33:17

actually feeling, I'm going to let your people

33:20

down." Then he went to the temple, and then he

33:23

understood that it wasn't just how they were

33:27

living now in this temporary thing. He saw the

33:32

end

33:32

of the wicked. He saw the big picture. He saw

33:35

the wisdom of God, not just in their little

33:38

lives,

33:38

but he stepped back at the bigness of the

33:40

temple, at the bigness of the worship of God,

33:42

at the bigness

33:43

of who God is. He saw their end, and that's

33:46

when he opened his eyes. The Lord opened his

33:49

eyes. He

33:50

wrote this in Psalm 73.25, "Whom have I in

33:53

heaven but you and besides you? I desire

33:56

nothing on earth.

33:58

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the

34:00

strength of my heart and my portion forever."

34:03

When we don't understand what's happening, we

34:07

can understand and rest in the fact that God

34:10

does

34:10

only understand, and he has the power to take

34:14

care of whatever the need is in his way and

34:17

for

34:17

his glory. We don't understand what's

34:19

happening. We can find our strength and our

34:21

comfort in God's

34:22

strength and in his wisdom. Lastly, in verses

34:26

29 through 31, "Because God gives his people

34:31

strength."

34:32

Verse 29, "He gives strength to the weary, and

34:35

to him who lacks might, he increases power.

34:38

Though

34:38

youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous

34:40

young men stumble badly, yet those who wait on

34:43

the Lord

34:44

will gain new strength. They will mount up

34:47

with wings like eagles. They will run and not

34:50

get

34:50

tired. They will walk and not become weary."

34:55

One of the most misused Bibles, or excuse me,

34:57

verses in the Bible, is plastered all over pla

35:02

ques and coffee mugs and inspirational

35:06

Christian calendars. Philippians 4-13 says, "I

35:10

can do all things through him

35:12

who strengthens me." That verse wasn't written

35:16

by Paul to encourage you to push just a little

35:19

bit

35:20

harder to get the position of starting line

35:24

backer or to get the next promotion at your job

35:28

. He was

35:29

talking specifically about suffering in the

35:33

Christian life and that God would strengthen

35:36

through the suffering of the Christian life,

35:38

the persecution, when the things aren't going

35:40

good, when you won't get the position that you

35:43

wanted. He said in verse 12, "Because I know

35:46

how to get along with humble means, and I also

35:49

know how to live in prosperity. In any and

35:52

every

35:52

circumstance, I have learned the secret of

35:55

being filled and going hungry, both of having

35:57

abundance

35:58

and suffering need." Paul knew that the source

36:01

of his strength through the suffering wasn't

36:03

from an

36:04

inward motivation to push it just a little bit

36:07

harder, but the reality that the Almighty God

36:10

that he served that saved him, that put him in

36:12

the very positions that he was in in his

36:14

sovereign

36:15

plan, not just wanted his good, but delights

36:21

in his ability to give his people strength to

36:26

get

36:26

through the suffering. It brings God joy to

36:29

see his people come through pain and hardship

36:33

and trials

36:34

and on the other side trust him more, glorify

36:37

him more. Remember in the last section we

36:41

looked at

36:41

the words weary and tired and that God doesn't

36:44

get weary and God doesn't get tired. If you

36:47

look at

36:48

this passage that we're in now, these three

36:51

verses, weary and tired are repeated in every

36:54

one of these

36:54

verses. God doesn't get weary or tired, but we

36:59

do. God gives us out of his abundance of

37:04

strength,

37:05

the strength to get through the times when we

37:09

lack power and we all lack at certain times.

37:13

God has given us this beautiful passage to

37:16

look at. I'm coming up on the ripe old age of

37:20

44

37:21

and in just a couple of weeks, next month. I

37:24

can remember back in my younger days,

37:27

I am getting older, look at the gray. Rachel

37:32

cut my hair yesterday and there's gray on both

37:35

sides

37:35

and a little stripe of color left there. I

37:40

remember that even in my age of 44 and right

37:44

in the middle

37:45

at the Lord of the Wills, that back before I

37:48

was stronger when I was younger. I could do

37:51

more physical exertion. Isaiah recognizes this

37:56

same fact that even the young people here get

38:01

exhausted. Even the youth runs out and gets

38:05

weary. Sometimes we can feel that reality of

38:10

our age and

38:10

our bones and the difference between our

38:12

strength and energy level when we were young

38:15

and is now.

38:15

When I was younger, I always wondered why

38:18

older people woke up so early. But now I know

38:23

it's

38:23

because if you don't wake up earlier, back

38:25

hurts all day. But even at a certain point,

38:31

the young, the youth tires out. Verse 30, "Th

38:34

ough youths grow weary and tired," there's that

38:36

phrase,

38:37

"and vigorous young men stumble badly," but

38:40

those who put their faith in God, those who

38:44

find their

38:44

comfort in this life and their strength in

38:46

this life in Him and not in their external

38:48

circumstances,

38:49

things that happen to them, they will find

38:51

their strength in God. Verse 31, "Yet those

38:54

who wait for

38:55

the Lord," you could say, "who hope in the

38:58

Lord, who trust or have faith in the Lord will

39:01

gain

39:02

new strength. They will mount up with wings

39:05

like eagles. They will run and not get tired.

39:08

They will walk and not become weary." And

39:11

again, I'm repeating this because Isaiah did.

39:14

It's very

39:15

important for us to see that God doesn't get

39:18

weary or tired and He has excess that He loves

39:21

to give

39:22

His people. So we, when we get weary and tired

39:25

because we will, He will lift us up. He will

39:28

transform us from a tired being into the

39:32

picture of strength and majesty in the eagle.

39:37

The eagle,

39:37

the apex predator, doesn't worry about the

39:40

things that are around him. His prey worries

39:43

and fears. The eagle doesn't. And look how he

39:47

says in verse 31, if you can bring it back up,

39:49

babe,

39:50

"That they will run and not get tired. They

39:53

will walk and not become weary." We run when

39:56

there's

39:57

something extra hard, something extra

39:59

difficult that we're going through, but we won

40:02

't get tired.

40:03

When we walk, that's the every day, the daily

40:06

walk, the daily grind that we have to go to in

40:09

and out every day, but we won't get weary or

40:13

exhausted from it after trusting in God. That

40:17

doesn't mean that we won't experience the

40:20

suffering or the pain, but it means that God

40:23

will be there

40:23

in delights to help His people. Hebrews 12, 1,

40:26

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of

40:29

witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay

40:31

aside every encumbrance and the sin which so

40:34

easily

40:34

entangles us, and let us run with endurance

40:37

the race that is set before us." He sets the

40:40

race

40:41

before us and provides the stamina and

40:43

endurance for us to run through it because of

40:46

Christ and

40:46

through His Holy Spirit. So, as I said before,

40:51

that was a bunch of verses. I had it written

40:55

down

40:55

somewhere, and we've raced through this

40:58

passage today and in the past two sermons. So

41:02

please,

41:03

take this little tidbit and go and read it and

41:05

study it yourself. Isaiah starts with a call

41:09

to

41:09

comfort the people because of the plan of God

41:12

was not for their destruction, that the exiled

41:15

of Babylon and Assyria wouldn't be their end.

41:18

That wasn't the end of the story for them, but

41:21

God

41:21

would show Himself through the struggles and

41:24

through that slavery and through that exile,

41:27

that He

41:27

would bring them back to the land, and He

41:30

would show Himself to be great and glorified

41:32

in those

41:32

situations. And not only that, through the

41:34

future, when He would bring the Messiah, He

41:37

would show

41:38

Himself to be great. The people would come

41:42

back and rebuild, but now that the Messiah has

41:46

come,

41:46

and if you have placed your hope in Christ

41:49

alone, then that strength that He promises,

41:53

that comfort

41:54

that He promises is only found in Him and

41:57

nothing else. And so, rest in that and trust

42:01

in that. So

42:01

many sufferings that we have to face in this

42:04

life. So much persecution and trial and

42:06

hardship,

42:07

pain, death and sickness and poverty. All

42:10

those things happen, but we have the Creator

42:14

of the world

42:15

that has promised His goodness to us. We have

42:19

the one who is all wise and all strong who

42:22

provided

42:22

His Son to face the wrath of God in our place.

42:26

So trust Him if you're a believer. Trust Him

42:29

as

42:29

you go through those things. And if you're not

42:31

a believer yet, then trust Him that He

42:33

promises,

42:34

that He will if you place your faith in Him

42:37

and follow Him in biblical repentance.

42:40

We can rest in these truths from Isaiah 40 as

42:43

we are commanded to do as we're given these

42:46

promises

42:47

to take comfort and rest in. Let's pray.

42:50

Father, thank you for your mercy and your

42:53

grace. Thank

42:53

you for your great Son who you've given us in

42:56

Christ. All that He's done for us to provide

42:59

for

42:59

all of our needs in Him. I pray that you bless

43:01

us with the Holy Spirit. We're going to face

43:04

these fears and worries even in the coming

43:06

weeks. We have no idea what's going to happen

43:08

this week, but we know that you do and that

43:11

you are in control. I pray that our faith

43:13

will be placed in you in a more complete way

43:15

this week because of the truth of your Word.

43:17

And may you get all the glory in Christ's name

43:19

. Amen.