ISAIAH 40 BEHOLD YOUR GOD2016 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Isaiah 40 Behold Your God

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2016.

As we look at Isaiah chapter 40 this morning, I've titled the message, Behold Your God. And what I'd like for us to do this morning is to take some time to consider some very important aspects and attributes of God. Sometimes as God's people, we need to be reminded to look at God, to kind of be reminded about who He is and what He is like.

I gave the example of Peter a couple weeks back where he got out of the boat to walk on the water to Jesus and he was doing well as he was focused on the Lord. But then as he began to look at the wind and the waves, he got distracted and he began to sink. And Jesus told him, hey, why did you doubt? Oh, you of little faith. Very interesting.

Very much like Peter, sometimes we can be distracted by the wind and the waves around us, the things that are happening in life. And we can get overwhelmed by the circumstances, the trials, the troubles, the difficulties that we face, and the things that are going on around us. And we forget to behold the Lord.

And God wants to kind of call us back this morning and just take a few minutes to remember some very important things about who he is and what he is like.

There in verse 9, God sends messengers from Jerusalem and he says, hey, get up to the high hill and speak with a loud voice. Be bold and shout it out. And what is it that they're to shout? He says, behold your God. God wants this call to go out for us to take a moment to stop and

and behold God, to look at God and consider his attributes, his works. Now, God is big, and he's much bigger than we can describe in one service, and so we're not going to try to hit everything and every detail, even of this chapter, but it's an exhortation for us to remember and remind ourselves to look to the Lord and to consider the Lord and to behold him more and more. Pastor David Guzik puts it this way,

He says, the message isn't to give God a passing glance. No, we are invited to behold your God. It speaks of a study, a long-term mission to know the greatness and the character of God. And I would encourage you to embark on that mission, that long-term mission to know the greatness and the character of God. This will be kind of, you know, a beginning, you know, back to 101 of knowing the greatness of God and beholding God. But

but it's an exhortation to go beyond this service and this chapter and, and to consider and understand and, and grasp the greatness and awesomeness of God. Well,

Well, as we talk about beholding your God this morning, there's three points that we will look at as we work our way through the chapter. Again, we're not going to hit every detail, but just some of the highlights to give us an opportunity to stop and remember what our God is like. Verses 1 through 11 have point number one for us, and that is, God has comfort for his people.

As you behold your God, as you stop and kind of quiet your mind a little bit, stop thinking about and worrying about all the things happening around you, stop and remember that God has comfort in

Now this would have been something very important for the nation of Judah where Isaiah was prophesying these things at that time because Isaiah being one of the prophets was sent to announce to the people that judgment was coming unless they repented.

Because they were living in rebellion against God. And they were ignoring the other prophets that God had been sending. So they were experiencing some judgment as the nation of Assyria came against them. But also Isaiah has been proclaiming that Babylon would also come and bring ultimate destruction to the nation of Judah because of their rebellion against God and because they refused to listen to them. But...

Even in the midst of that. So here's this people of rebellious. Here's this people stopping up their ears and refusing to listen to God. And God wants them to know, even as he's announcing judgment, that there's also going to be comfort. Even as they're experiencing judgment, even as they're experiencing the consequences for their own rebellion,

God says, I want you to know I also have comfort for my people. Check out verse 1. He says, comfort. Yes, comfort my people, says your God. Verse 2, speak comfort to Jerusalem and cry out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she has received from the Lord's hand double for her sins. God makes it clear here. Three times he uses the word comfort here.

He says, comfort. Yes, you heard me right. Comfort my people. There's a strong message here that God wants to convey that even for those who are experiencing the consequences for sin, even for those who have been rebelling against God, God is not just wanting to give anger and punishment and judgment for the rest of your life, but that God also wants to give comfort.

There is the time of punishment. God does have to deal with sin. He does. He is just and righteous. He will deal with sin. But notice in verse two, he says her warfare is ended and her iniquity is pardoned.

Here's why God is bringing comfort to his people because the iniquity has been pardoned. She's received double, it says, from the Lord's hand for all her sins. Now double, don't think of like, you know, twice as much punishment as they deserved, but it means a full payment. The idea is the full payment, not a double payment. So the full payment of what was deserved for their iniquity.

The idea was if you double something over, so if you fold something in half, so half of it was their iniquity, the other half was that is doubled over is the payment for that. It's the retribution for that. And so the idea that God is conveying here is that although there was the time of judgment for the sin that they deserved, the sin that they had practiced in rebelling against God, but

God's promise to them was, okay, now that's done, or it's not done yet as Isaiah is prophesying this, but that will come to an end. That time will end. God will stop punishing, and then there will be a time of comfort. God has to deal with sin, but then he brings comfort. And maybe you could think about it like this, like a parent disciplining a child.

that there is, you know, the wrongdoing that the child does. And so there is the discipline that's brought. There's the, perhaps the grounding or the spanking or, you know, whatever form of discipline that might take. But then after that is brought upon the child, you as a parent don't just continue to always treat your kid that way. That punishment is brought because it's needed, because it's necessary. And then after that comes the time of comfort.

At least that's the way I remember it. Maybe you guys are different as parents, but when I was disciplined as a child, there was the discipline, and then there was the hug afterwards. You had to deal with the sin. You had to deal with the wrongdoing, but then there was comfort that came afterwards. In a similar way, God's saying, I have comfort for my people. It's not that I just am going to be angry all the time and just going to, you know, bring judgment all the time. And this is really important because

The nation of Judah, all of their troubles were self-inflicted. That is, they knew what God said and they deliberately chose not to do it. They deliberately chose to run from God. It was self-inflicted trouble that they had. But even in the midst of that, God says, I want you to know I have comfort for you.

Whatever you're experiencing right now, the trouble and affliction and even consequences that you may face right now, that's not going to be it for the remainder of eternity. For my people, there's also comfort. Comfort my people, the Lord says. Verse 3.

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain shall be brought low. The crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Here in these few verses, verses 3 through 5, we have a very familiar prophecy to us, because in the New Testament, this is applied to John the Baptist.

He was the forerunner, the one who came to announce that the Messiah, the Savior, was about to appear. And of course, he did that, announcing and introducing Jesus to the nation of Israel. It was normal, it was customary, when a king would be coming to a place, they would go ahead of the king and they would make sure the road was smooth, that it wasn't bumpy, that it was all cleaned up, that everything was in order. That was John the Baptist's job. He had to go and prepare the way of the Lord to make the people ready for

to hear from Jesus. What God is saying here, though, is, attaching it to the first two verses, the comfort that God has for his people is going to be in the Savior that he provides. Our comfort as God's people is going to be found in Jesus.

The Lord Jesus is the one who provides us comfort. He provides us comfort through Jesus and through his work for us. And then as he talked about, you know, the iniquity being forgiven, we look to the cross and we recognize that Jesus paid the price for our sin there upon the cross and received the punishment. And so now what God has for us is comfort.

Now for Judah, they had to wait for a long time to experience the comfort that God promised here. But for you and I as believers today, because of what Christ has done for us upon the cross, we can begin today to receive the comfort that God has for us because of what Christ has done for us upon the cross. It's an amazing comfort that God has provided for us. No matter what we go through, God has comfort for us. Verse 6 says,

The voice said, cry out. And he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades because the breath of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. As God announces this comfort to the people, you could imagine that

They're in the midst of a city that is torn by war. They've already been attacked greatly. They've already been reduced greatly. They've been affected severely as Assyria has come and attacked them, taken cities away, taken territory from them. They've been beaten. They've been bloodied. And now there's still the announcement of Babylon who would come later and destroy them completely. It would be hard for the people in that condition to believe that

that there ever could be comfort, that there ever could be time of peace, that there ever could be these promises of God. But here's what God says. He says, you're basing this on you guys. And he says, here's what you need to know. All flesh is grass. That is humanity, mankind, people, they're as temporary as grass is.

you'll notice the hills, you know, around the area. When the rains come, they turn a nice, brilliant green and they're lovely. But, you know, that's only for a couple weeks a year, right? And then the rest of the time, it just, it fades. Grass, it can be lovely. It can be beautiful. It comes, but then it doesn't last. It fades. And God says, that's how people are. We don't last. We are temporary. But in contrast to that, in verse eight, he says, "'But the word of our God stands forever.'"

I've made a promise, God says. I am going to provide a savior. I am going to provide comfort. And it's not going to fade. It's not going to be a promise like a person makes. But this promise stands. The word of God stands forever. It's eternal. It is sure. It will come to pass. It's guaranteed. So much so that in verse 9, he says, okay, so bring out the word.

Speak up. He says, This word from the Lord is sure. You can count on it. So shout it from the mountaintops. Behold your God.

Your God is going to work. Your God will work. Comfort. Yes, comfort my people, says the Lord. Verse 10. Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young.

Isaiah here prophesies of that time when Jesus will establish his kingdom here upon the earth. The Lord God will come with a strong hand and his arm will rule. For you and I, as we consider these things today to behold our God, we are still looking forward to the fulfillment of these promises.

And we can look forward to these promises because the word of our God stands forever. It is guaranteed Jesus Christ will come back. And the whole idea here, the whole concept is that in that time, that is the ultimate fulfillment of the comfort that God promises his people.

We can have comfort right now as we look to the Lord, as we trust in him. But we're still also going to experience affliction and difficulty and troubles. There are going to be those things that we hold on to the Lord in the midst of them. But the ultimate fulfillment of the comfort that God has for his people is in the kingdom that he establishes, where his arm rules with him. And notice it says in verse 10, his reward is with him.

that he rewards his people for serving him, for being obedient in their life and the things that he's called them to do. And so he's going to work, he's going to rule, he's going to reward. But then also notice the gentleness in verse 11. He's going to feed his flock. He's going to gently lead those who are with young. He's going to be a God who provides perfect peace and comfort to his people.

This is God's promise. It's his guarantee. Jesus will come and set up his kingdom. His reward is with him and he will take care of you. And so as we take this moment this morning to behold our God, first the Lord would have us remember. Remember the kingdom of God. That it's not just about this life and this moment and what we go through right now. God wants to work in the midst of that.

But then also remember what he has in store, that this is all temporary. You and I are temporary in the physical, but that we have that eternity with God that he's promised for us. And in that, he will make all things right.

We'll talk about that a little bit more as we go on. So let's move on to point number two, looking at verses 12 through 26. Here, the point is God is big and wise. Now, I worked really hard to try to come up with a much more impressive way to say these things, but I came back to just keep it simple. God is big. Did you know God is big? In these verses we'll look at, he's going to describe some of his characteristics, some of his attributes, and

God is big, of course, is quite an understatement, but it's accurate at the same time. God is big. He's much bigger than whatever we face. Also, God is wise. There's no one with more knowledge, with more understanding. He is big, he has all power, and he has all wisdom.

He is doing what is right. Let's stop and behold our God here in verse 12. It says, Now here God asks a series of questions. And he's going to be asking questions all throughout this passage.

I think it's something to take note of. I like it when God asks questions because when God asks a question, you have to know he's not asking a question because he needs more information. You know, I don't really know. So could you tell me what I don't know? No, that's not why God is asking a question. He knows all things. So why does he ask a question if he knows all things? Well, because he wants us to stop and think.

He asks questions to cause us to stop and think and consider and reflect. So this is what he wants us to think about here in verse 12. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? As we begin to talk about the idea of God being big, he gives us a little picture of that by talking about the waters in the hollow of his hand. The idea that he's describing here is the palm of your hand is

When you try to cup water, maybe you use two hands sometimes, right? Have you ever tried to do that where you get some water maybe to take a sip or maybe to wash your face? But it's kind of hard work, right? To gather water together in your hand, in the hollow of your hand. It's difficult work. You can only get a little bit. But here's what God's saying.

who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. In other words, the oceans, the springs, the rivers, the lakes. God has measured the water of the earth in the hollow of his hand. He can hold it all just like this and just, you know, pour it out when he wants to. God is so big in the hollow of his hand, he can hold the waters of the earth.

Not only that, but he goes on to say that he's measured heaven with a span or who has measured with a span. Now a span is a way to describe this. Okay. It's the measurement from your thumb to your pinky. That's called a span. Okay.

I don't know if you've measured yours, but I've measured mine. Mine's about nine inches. So whenever I need a rough measurement of something, I just kind of go, boom, okay, yeah, okay. And I can kind of guesstimate, you know, okay, it's about 18 inches or whatever it might be. And so I know the span of my hand, but here's what God says about the span of his hand. With the span of his hand, he measured heaven.

So look up at the stars, look at the universe, look at the galaxies. God says, yeah, it's about that big. God's big, in other words. Now, obviously, God doesn't have a physical body. He is spirit. And so he's not saying this absolutely literally, but he's using these descriptions to help us understand the concept of how big he actually is.

He can hold all the waters in his hand. He can measure the universe with the span of his hand. He says, who has calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Do you know how much dust there is on the earth? Can you measure that? Do you have a measuring cup in your cupboards big enough to do that? God does. He says, oh yeah, I've got that right here. And just like measuring sugar for us, God is able to measure. He knows exactly how much dust there is

there is in the earth. He says, who has weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? As you look at the mountains and the hills around us, do you know how much they weigh? Now, maybe we could do some math. Maybe we could make some approximations, but God knows the exact amount that Big Bear, Mount Baldy, San Bernardino Mountains, whatever you want to Mount Everest, he knows the exact weight. He can measure it.

He can weigh it out. He knows those things. He's capable of handling things on that kind of scale. He's big, but he's also wise. Let's look at verse 13. So he asked some more questions.

Who has ever directed the Spirit of the Lord? I think it's safe to say that probably most of us have tried to direct the Spirit of the Lord. Most of us have tried to counsel the Lord, but if we wait long enough, we'll see that God ignored our counsel for good reason, because it wasn't good counsel. Where did God go to school? Who taught God everything that He knows? Who

Who taught God how to be just? Who was more just than God that could teach God about justice? These questions are all pointing to the same answer. Nobody. God is the ultimate in wisdom. There's no one who knows justice better than he does. Now, sometimes we look on at situations and we think, God, don't you see the injustice that's happening? Sometimes we think we are more just than God. We know what's right better than God.

But that's not the reality. God is wise. There's nobody who could teach God about right or wrong better than he already knows it. He knows it perfectly. He knows what's best. Who taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding? Is there anybody who has more understanding than God? No, absolutely not. God knows what's right. He knows what's wrong. He knows what's best. He is wise.

Now this would be of particular interest and important to the people of Judah at this time and the nation of Babylon that was coming against them because in the Babylonian religions, they believed in a creator. The God was Marduk who they believed created the world. But in their beliefs...

They taught that he could not create the world. He couldn't go on with creation until he consulted a different God, Ea, the all-wise. And so he had to consult another God to get the wisdom that he needed to be able to create all things. That was what the Babylonians believed. And God says, that's not the case. I didn't need someone else to teach me.

I am big and I created all these things and I have all the wisdom that was necessary to create all these things. I have all the wisdom that's necessary to make things right. I am the one who is the wisest. I am the one who knows all things. I am the one who knows what's best. So God is big and God is wise. Now he's going to go on to give us some more things to consider in comparison to God. Verse 15 says,

Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket and are counted as the small dust on the scales. Look, he lifts up the aisles as a very little thing. And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beasts sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing, and they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless."

So God talks a little bit about creation. He talks a little bit about education. Now he talks about the nations. And he says, you know, the nations are like, the nations are like a drop in a bucket. Just a little, just a little drop in a bucket. That's, that's what the nations are like. Now, that's interesting for us to consider because we're so easily impressed with ourselves and the societies that we establish, the nations that we establish, right?

Just consider along with me for a moment, okay? One of the questions that is often asked, where is America in Bible prophecy, right? I'm sure you've heard that question before. It's often asked. It's often discussed. It's often talked about. Where is America in Bible prophecy? Why do we ask that question? I would suggest, at least in some cases, it's because we're easily impressed with ourselves. You notice, and this is not a slight in any means, but

Patty might feel it's a slight. Nobody asks, where is Canada in Bible prophecy? Just to be fair, where is Mexico in Bible prophecy? Nobody asks those questions. Where is Peru? Where is, you know, why do we ask about America? Well, partially because we live here, but also because we're really impressed with ourselves. Hey, we're a world power. The president is the most powerful person in the world. You know, whatever. We all say all those kinds of things, right? So impressed with our nation.

I don't think God would normally use this word, but I think in this case, you know, we're like, hey, where is American Bible prophecy? We're a world power. I think God would say, whatever. A drop in a bucket. Not impressed. He says in verse 17, all nations before him are as nothing. They're counted by him less than nothing and worthless.

We can bank so much on our nation. We can rely so much upon our nation. We can be so proud of our nation. And God says, you don't understand. It's less than nothing. It's not going to last. It's a drop in a bucket. It doesn't compare to God. Verse 18, to whom then will you liken God?

Or what likeness will you compare to him? So if God is big over creation, if he has all wisdom, if he's much greater than all the nations, what would you compare God to? He goes on in verse 19 and 20 to describe some of the idolatry that they would practice. In verse 19, he says, "...the workman molds an image, the goldsmith overspreads it with gold, and the silversmith casts silver chains."

In their days, they would try to create a likeness of God to worship, and they would make it out of gold or silver.

But if they couldn't afford that, then they would carve it out of a tree, but they'd be careful. Well, okay, make sure it's a tree, you know, it's wood that's not going to rot because we don't want our gods to be rotting. And so make sure we get, you know, good wood and also make sure we do it well so that it doesn't totter because we don't want our gods to fall over. And so there was this care that had to be taken because they were fashioning their own gods that were not gods at all. And we may chuckle a little bit at that idea of worshiping a statue and it might be a little bit humorous to us, but

Understand that in our society today, we have the same gods, they just take different forms. And they're just as little and just as vulnerable to toppling over. As we pursue different things in our lives, I would ask you to consider what are you living for? Now, if you deal with that question honestly in your heart, you'll begin to discern who your God is. What are you living for?

What is it that you're pursuing? What is it that consumes your life? What is it that you're focused on? What are you living for? And if it's for stuff, if it's for pleasure, if it's for a career, if it's for a relationship, if it's for anything besides God, it's a form of idolatry. What are you living for? As God's people, we're to be living for God, for his glory, for his goodness, for his pleasure. And anything else is just idolatry.

as vulnerable to be rotten, to be toppled over. It doesn't compare to God. Verse 21. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? Again, a series of questions. Hey, think, stop and think about what you're doing and what you're pursuing and the lifestyle that you're living. Stop and think about the course that you're on. Verse 22. Verse 22.

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He says, look, haven't you heard? Stop and think. Pay attention. From the very beginning, this is very basic stuff. God sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers who

Now, the idea here, the picture that they're painting, we may not get it quite the same as they would have got it because they would have grasshoppers. We might see a grasshopper like here or there. Every once in a while, you see a grasshopper. But they would have the swarms of grasshoppers. And so you would look and, you know, there'd just be grasshoppers everywhere. And as, you know, an adult human, you would look down and you could see all this action and commotion and activity that the grasshoppers are engaging in.

Maybe you've experienced an infestation of ants, right? We experience that often here at the church. In fact, there's a little battle going on in the women's restroom right now. So watch out, ladies, for that. But you can stand there and you can see all the activity. You know, you can see the whole chain of ants coming and going, you know, from their nest to the source of food. And they're going back and forth and there's all this activity. And you can sit and watch that. This is what God is saying. That's how I look at the earth, right?

I can see everybody. They're going to and fro. I see what they're doing. I see what's happening. He can watch everything that's going on because he sits above the earth. He goes on to say, who stretches out the heavens like a curtain. And I've always liked this visual. For me, it's just, it paints a real good picture.

I'm assuming most of you, you probably took a shower this morning. And when you close the shower curtain, was that especially difficult for you? Was it really hard? You had to strain and think about it and kind of get up the strength to be able to close the shower curtain? No, it's not even something you think about. You just close the shower curtain, right? God says, I stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

It's no big deal. It doesn't take any effort. I'm not stressed about it. I'm not wrestling about it, but I just, I hold it out. It's, there it is. This is how big God is. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Verse 23, he brings the princes to nothing. He makes the judges of the earth useless. Scarcely shall they be planted. Scarcely shall they be sown. Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth and

Remember earlier he compared all flesh to grass and the wind blows on it and it fades. Here God says princes and judges are no exception to that. Really big important people are blown away. In those days that was princes, that was judges. They were esteemed highly.

feared greatly, God says, and just, they're gone, blown away. Whoever we might consider really big, important people, maybe not princes, but prince, blown away. Presidents, blown away. God's not intimidated. He's not impressed. They don't compare. They're not trustworthy. God is bigger than all of our very important people. Verse 25, to whom then will you liken me?

Again, God challenges us with the question to stop and think, who is equal to God? Who else is able to hold out the heavens like a curtain? Who else is able to do the things that God can do? The point is, there is no one like God. Verse 26 says,

So he gives us one last thing to consider. He says, Now he's talking about at night looking up into the sky and seeing the stars, the host of heaven.

And he says, I'm the one who brings out the host by number. You know when the stars come out at night? God's the one who brings them out. Now that's not a scientific explanation, but that's the understanding. That's the truth, the reality. It's God who has placed the stars and it's God who sustains the stars. And he calls them all by name. He brings out their host by number. What is the number of the stars?

There was a university study a while back that tried to do a calculation for how many stars there are. They couldn't count them. That's still not possible. But based on some formulas and algorithms and calculations that they did, they came up with 70 sextillion number of stars. That's how many stars there are in the universe. So that's 70 with 21 zeros following it.

That's a big number. It's probably a bigger number than you and I really know how to grapple and understand in our heads. So let me break it down a little bit further. Let's say you were going to try to count those 76 trillion stars, and you were really good at it. And so you, as an expert star counter, can count 20 stars per second. 1,000, 2,000, 3,000. That's 60 stars in three seconds, right? 20 stars a second. You're really fast, but you're really good at it.

If you did that nonstop for a year, you would count 630 million stars. But let's say you get better as you go because you're doing it so much nonstop all the time. So let's just round it up to 700 million. Let's say you can count 700 million stars a year. How long would it take you to count all the stars there are? At 700 million stars a year, it would take you 100 trillion years to

to count all the stars, counting 20 stars a second, nonstop, for 100 trillion years. That's how many stars there are, roughly. But God knows the exact number, and he brings them out by number. He calls them all by name. So not only does he know how many there are and hold them there in place, but he has a name for each one of them.

I'm assuming it's not just, you know, one, two, that's their name. Hey, 375, you know, I don't think he calls them by that kind of name, but he knows their name. He knows everything about them. He's able to hold all those things together. And notice at the end of verse 26, by the greatness of his might and the strength of his power, not one is missing. Not one star is missing because God is great and God is strong.

In other words, the stars, they're not self-sustaining. They don't just stay there all by themselves. God holds them there. He sustains them and they stay there. We get to see them still because he is great and strong. Behold your God. Now, again, we've just scratched the surface. This is just glimpses. We didn't even dig into a lot of the details in these verses. And there's much more to God beyond this chapter.

But hopefully it's enough for you to stop and recognize whatever I'm going through, whatever situations I face, God is big and he's wise. He can handle all kinds of things. He can handle my life. He can handle my situations. And that's the point that God wants to bring us to. And that brings us to point number three to finish off the chapter, verses 27 through 31. Point number three is God gives power to

to the weak so god is great and he's powerful and by his might the stars stay in their place he has all this strength and power but he doesn't just hold on to it for himself he gives his power to the weak he gives his power to those who rely upon him verse 27 why do you say o jacob and speak o israel my way is hidden from the lord and my just claim is passed over by my god

Here God challenges his people. Why are you saying these things? Because they were saying things like, my just claim is passed over by my God. Here's what they were saying. I have an injustice that's happening to me and I'm calling out to God and he's not doing anything about it. And my way is hidden from God. Now, when they're talking about their way being hidden from God, they're not saying they're trying to hide from God. They're saying, we don't feel like God's paying attention.

He doesn't know the situation that we're in and how hard it is. One version of this verse says it this way, the Lord is not aware of what's happening to me. That's what the people were saying. The Lord doesn't know what's happening to me. He doesn't know what's happening. My way is hidden from the Lord. Do you ever feel that way? That God does not see what's happening in your life? And God would say, why are you saying that? My just claim is passed over. I'm crying out to God and it's

an injustice that's happening, but God is ignoring me. God says, why do you say that? Why do you accuse me of not paying attention? Why do you say, hey, I don't deserve this, or God's out to get me. God is judging me. Why do you say that? Well, we might feel that way sometimes, just like the nation of Judah did. And so here's what God would instruct us as we go on into verse 28. Have you not known? Have you not heard?

Again, he goes into these questions. Stop and think. Haven't you known? Haven't you heard? God gives power to the weak.

Before he even goes on to say he gives power to the weak, though, he reminds us of some of the things he's been illustrating before. The everlasting God. He's the God who's always existed. The God who has created all things. The creator of the ends of the earth. He says he doesn't faint and he doesn't get weary. That word faint, it means to get tired from running. God never gets tired from running, from working, from labor. He doesn't get worn out. That word weary, it means to gasp.

To be exhausted. You know, that gasping for air when you're just exhausted, when you're working so hard to be weary from labor. God stretches out the heavens like a curtain and it doesn't cause him to gasp for breath. He doesn't faint from the energy that it took to do that. He doesn't faint. He doesn't get weary. His understanding is unsearchable, but again, he gives power to the weak. When you understand that

the character and the nature of God. It's not surprising to you that he is big and that he is the creator and that he can stretch out the heavens like a curtain. That's not surprising. But you know what is surprising about God? Is that although he is big, the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth, he pays attention to you and I. This infinite God, this almighty God pays attention to us. He gives power to the weak.

And to those who have no might, he increases strength. Verse 30, even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. He says, even the youths will faint and be weary. That is the young people in the prime of their life, the best physical shape they're ever gonna be in.

They still faint and they still get weary, but God doesn't. And he says, those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. In other words, we're still going to faint and get weary, but we can be renewed. We're still going to come to the end of ourselves. We're still going to have difficulties and afflictions and things that we go through in life, but we can be renewed in our strength from the Lord. We can mount up with wings like eagles. We can run and not be weary. We shall walk and not faint anymore.

It's a promise of that renewed, that strength that comes from the Lord for those who wait on the Lord. And so I want to finish up this morning by just thinking about that idea, waiting on the Lord. Having taken a few moments to behold your God, knowing and considering that he has comfort for his people, that no matter what we go through in this life, even if it's self-inflicted, that God desires and has comfort in us.

for his people. Knowing that God is big and wise, knowing that he is the creator, that he has all things in his hands, that he is always doing what's right and what's best. He is the wisest. He has all understanding. Knowing these things about God, knowing that God gives power to the weak now, taking all of those things that we've considered about God, it's an exhortation for us to wait on the Lord.

because those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. God gives power to the weak. If you need power, if you need strength to face the things that you face in this life, God says, wait on the Lord. That word wait, it's not like a waiting room kind of waiting. You know, you just sit there until the doctor's ready to see you. Just sit there and do nothing. I like the word wait. It

Literally, kind of at the root of the word, it means to bind together by twisting. To bind together by twisting. And it gives me the picture of rope. Now, if you think about rope, if I'm a single strand of thread or string or whatever it is that goes into rope, but if I'm a single strand, you understand I'm very weak, I'm easily broken. But then you bring those strands together and you twist them, you bind them together by twisting, and then there's a strength that is provided.

a strength that comes from that. And here's what the idea is, that we're to be twisted up with Jesus, twisted up with the Lord, that our lives are being twisted into the things of God, that we're inseparable from God, that we cling to God, that we wait on the Lord.

Think about it this way. Have you ever traveled in a group? I was recently with some people in Orange County for that conference I went to a couple weeks back. And it was a group, and there was people from overseas and such. And so, you know, we were traveling in a group. And one of the things that you know about traveling in a group is you have to wait for the slowest one, right?

To stay together as a group, you have to wait for the slowest one. So the one who's meandering and looking all through Target at every aisle, and there's a group of us standing at the front on the other side of the registers just waiting for the one, and we can't go until, so we're waiting because we're twisted together with that person who is still shopping. In a similar way, we're to be twisted together with the Lord.

So many times we bring problems upon ourselves because we try to handle things on our own. Instead of waiting for God to do what he wants to do or to give us the instruction of what to do, we try to do things on our own. We launch out. We say, God, you're still shopping. It's taken a long time. I got other stuff to do. So I'm going to go handle these things for you. We'll come back, meet up. That way we'll be twice as efficient. It doesn't work that way. No, you're to be twisted together with the Lord.

inseparable, so that you only do what the Lord instructs you to do. That you would say to the Lord, I will follow your ways and I'm not going to pursue my own ways, but I'm going to be twisted together. And if you don't allow this, you don't want this, then I'm not going to do it. And if you command this, then I'm going to be obedient to it. And if there's a situation out of my control, Lord, I'm going to trust you to resolve it. Bind yourself to the Lord and he will renew your strength. He will meet your needs. He will give power to the weak.

Behold your God. And as you realize and remember and recognize how big God is, how amazing God is, the good plans that he has for you, the comfort that he has for you, the strength that he has for you, bind yourself to him. Be twisted up with Jesus so that you can't be separated, you can't be pulled apart, but that you are holding on to him. And you're not gonna move, but you're gonna trust him. You're not gonna go do your own thing, but you're gonna follow his ways. You're gonna let him dictate what you do

when you do it, and how you do it. One commentator put it this way, the expression to wait on the Lord implies two things, complete dependence on God and a willingness to allow him to decide the terms. God, you get to say what I do when I do. You get to say that. You're in charge. I'm twisted up with you. I'm bound to you. You're God, and I'm completely dependent upon you.

If you will cling to God in that way, if you will bind yourself to the Lord, your strength will be renewed. And even if the things that you're going through are self-inflicted because you've ignored God and rebelled against God, your strength will be renewed. God has comfort for you. He's big enough to handle your situations. He can do the work beyond what you could even ever imagine. But stop trying to do things on your own. Stop trying to do things your way and bind yourself to the Lord. Let's pray.

God, I pray for each one of us here. Lord, that you would help us to not run ahead of you, to not lag behind you, not to try to do things our way. But Lord, I pray that you would stir up, Lord, as we look to you and remember how big you are, how amazing you are, how incredible you are, how wise you are. Lord, help us to really trust you. Help us, Lord, to know that you have what's best for us in mind. You have the best plan.

You know what's right. You see what we're going through. Lord, so much so you see that the hairs of our head are numbered. Lord, that's a number that's constantly changing, but you know it because you're involved in every moment, every second of our lives. Help us, Lord, to rest in that, to trust you and to let you guide us, direct us. And Lord, any area that we are not obeying you, like Judah wasn't, I pray that you would call it to our attention.

Lord, that we could stop it, that we could go back to being bound together with you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.