God's Sovereign Power: Hope and Renewal in Isaiah 40
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"We've been talking about a time for confidence, and in this session, we're going to talk about our confidence must be in God. To help us get a handle on this, we're going to go back to Isaiah chapter 40. This has to be one of the most beautiful chapters in all of Scripture, Isaiah chapter 40." [00:00:03]
"This is a bleak book, Isaiah, from chapters 1-39. You begin looking at the nations, you begin looking at Israel, and you just see oracle of judgment upon oracle of judgment. And then, all of a sudden, at chapter 40, the tone now shifts. And it shifts, in fact sometimes these last chapters of the book -- chapters 40-66 -- are sometimes called 'The Book of Comfort' because those first chapters are so harsh in their judgment." [00:00:36]
"And so the opening verses of chapter 40 assure Israel that they will be restored to the land, and that is why this is a book of comfort. 'You will be brought back to the land.' But I want to think about this for a little bit. So, let's put ourselves in the campfire, right, in Babylon. And we are the captive Israelites in exile." [00:01:15]
"For one thing, between where we are and Israel is a huge desert. So we've got geography to overcome. But much more palatable, or much more formidable than that is Babylon. In order for this to happen, the king is just going to have to up and decide, out of the magnanimous joy of his heart, that we can go back home." [00:02:38]
"God is a faithful God and, if you put your confidence in God, you will not be let down. And so here we have a series of demonstrations of God's power. In this chapter, or in these verses -- from verse 12 through the end of the chapter -- we're going to see that God's power is demonstrated over creation." [00:04:29]
"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains on scales and the hills in a balance? Now, of course, you look at any one of these and you think of the great waters, right?" [00:05:30]
"Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Liddell did not cower or cave under the pressure of his king. He recognized that the nations are like a little drop that just goes right into the bucket, recognized the nations for what they are." [00:12:31]
"To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with Him? An idol? And here's where a little sarcasm comes out. I love this, in here. And I love it when the biblical authors get a little sarcastic. And here is a case where we see that: 'A craftsman casts it, a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts it for silver chains.'" [00:14:11]
"Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 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 like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing." [00:15:19]
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. Now, we're going to see it applied: 'He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.'" [00:18:17]
"But they who wait for the Lord, they'll renew their strength; they'll mount up with wings like eagles; they'll run and not be weary; they'll walk and not faint. Now, every time I look at this, I think, 'I do not get that order.' It really should be reversed. It seems anticlimactic. We start off soaring like eagles." [00:21:06]
"The ultimate demonstration of God's power is in the cross, and in the Son. And because of that, He delights to demonstrate His power in our lives. And our confidence has to be in him. It must be in Him. Next, we're going to look at how our confidence also needs to be not only in God, but also to put our confidence in the Word that God gave us." [00:24:30]
Ask a question about this sermon
"This is a bleak book, Isaiah, from chapters 1-39. You begin looking at the nations, you begin looking at Israel, and you just see oracle of judgment upon oracle of judgment. And then, all of a sudden, at chapter 40, the tone now shifts. And it shifts, in fact sometimes these last chapters of the book -- chapters 40-66 -- are sometimes called 'The Book of Comfort' because those first chapters are so harsh in their judgment." [00:00:36]
"And so the opening verses of chapter 40 assure Israel that they will be restored to the land, and that is why this is a book of comfort. 'You will be brought back to the land.' But I want to think about this for a little bit. So, let's put ourselves in the campfire, right, in Babylon. And we are the captive Israelites in exile." [00:01:15]
"For one thing, between where we are and Israel is a huge desert. So we've got geography to overcome. But much more palatable, or much more formidable than that is Babylon. In order for this to happen, the king is just going to have to up and decide, out of the magnanimous joy of his heart, that we can go back home." [00:02:38]
"God is a faithful God and, if you put your confidence in God, you will not be let down. And so here we have a series of demonstrations of God's power. In this chapter, or in these verses -- from verse 12 through the end of the chapter -- we're going to see that God's power is demonstrated over creation." [00:04:29]
"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains on scales and the hills in a balance? Now, of course, you look at any one of these and you think of the great waters, right?" [00:05:30]
"Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust. Liddell did not cower or cave under the pressure of his king. He recognized that the nations are like a little drop that just goes right into the bucket, recognized the nations for what they are." [00:12:31]
"To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with Him? An idol? And here's where a little sarcasm comes out. I love this, in here. And I love it when the biblical authors get a little sarcastic. And here is a case where we see that: 'A craftsman casts it, a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts it for silver chains.'" [00:14:11]
"Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? 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 like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing." [00:15:19]
"Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. Now, we're going to see it applied: 'He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength.'" [00:18:17]
"But they who wait for the Lord, they'll renew their strength; they'll mount up with wings like eagles; they'll run and not be weary; they'll walk and not faint. Now, every time I look at this, I think, 'I do not get that order.' It really should be reversed. It seems anticlimactic. We start off soaring like eagles." [00:21:06]
"The ultimate demonstration of God's power is in the cross, and in the Son. And because of that, He delights to demonstrate His power in our lives. And our confidence has to be in him. It must be in Him. Next, we're going to look at how our confidence also needs to be not only in God, but also to put our confidence in the Word that God gave us." [00:24:30]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Aug 19, 2020. Do you have any questions about it?