Main Idea: Trust and be strengthened by the sovereign God. You are not hidden from Him; He has not disregarded you.
Isaiah 40 contains five demonstrations of God’s sovereignty that should cause you to trust in, depend upon, and be comforted by Him:
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Good morning. My name is Ian. Most of you know me. Some of you don't. I have the privilege of leading the youth ministry here at Faith Bible Church, get to hang out with the middle schoolers and the high school students and the great team of leaders that we have on Wednesday nights and sometimes on other days too. So we are taking a little break from the Genesis series over the summer, we're doing a series called trusting God. So it's a series in which we will work through some of the attributes of God, like talking about who God is. What is he like? What are the types of things that he does? What does his plan involve? How has it been unfolding? And what does that mean for me? Okay, how does that how does that help me? How should it encourage me? How should it strengthen me in my own faith and in my own walk? So the message is we're not like we're not preaching through this book, but a lot of the themes that we will be covering over the summer are similar themes as are mentioned in this book. Says a book called trusting God. It's by a man called Jerry bridges, and it's a great book. So I encourage you to get one of these. There are some on sale in the tribe coffee room, so you can go out and get get those. Can you buy stuff second hour? Does anybody know? I know the coffee cart closes, but I'm not sure. Go and try and see what happens. But they're out there. Get one. I know some of the growth groups are going to be going through this. The ones that keep going through the summer, if you're not in a growth group, or if your growth group takes a summer pause, still, get one of these. You can get it on Amazon as well, if there's not enough out the back. And just read through the topics. Read through the book as we're preaching through it these next two months or so, and you'll be blessed the original This is a new cover. The old book said trusting God even when life hurts. Okay, so that's the intent of it. It's not like he just wants to give us a bunch of a bunch of interesting knowledge about God, He wants to give us fuel that helps us when we're navigating through the difficulties the ups and downs of life. So really, does that? Well count? It will counsel your soul. So definitely get yourself a copy of that if you haven't already. So this morning and next week, in fact, myself and next week, Josh Gilchrist, are going to be talking about the sovereignty of God, and the sovereignty of God is really foundational to this idea of trusting him even when life hurts, okay, it's foundational to enduring difficulty. It's foundational to our faith and understanding of God, and it's really foundational to the sermon series that we're going to work through this summer. And all of the topics that come in future weeks will relate back to this idea of God being sovereign. So bridges definition in his book of God's sovereignty right towards the beginning page 13 is this. It's written in your notes. So there are notes for the sermon this morning on like the back third of the weekly so it's in there. His definition is that God's sovereignty is his constant care for and his absolute rule over all his creation for His own glory and the good of his people. Okay, so our main idea this morning will be in Isaiah, chapter 40, is trust and be strengthened by the sovereign God. You are not hidden from him, and he has not disregarded you. So we'll look at the whole of the chapter, but for our reading this morning, we're just going to read the last five verses that encapsulate it well. So please stand for the reading of God's word, and I'll read to you, beginning in Isaiah, 40 verse, 27 it's up on the screen as well. If you don't have Bibles with you, why do you say O Jacob and speak O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord and my right is disregarded by my God. 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. Earth is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, to him who has no might. He increases strength, even youth shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. But they who wait for 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. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together, oh Father, we are thankful to be able to come to your word. We're thankful for how we have even sung these truths in the songs that we've sung already this morning, and just pray that as we work through them in depth now, that they would resonate in our hearts, that they would stick in our hearts, that we would be able to remember them all the days of our lives, that they would encourage us to faith and faithfulness in our walks with you. Pray that the gospel would be heard clearly this morning, and those that don't know you would turn to trust in you for salvation. So pray that You would bless your word as it comes to us this morning in clarity and in strength in Christ's name. Amen. Please have a seat. So from our passage this morning, Isaiah, chapter 40. We're gonna look at it in five different segments, okay? And really, what we'll see is that it contains five demonstrations of God's sovereignty that should cause you to trust in Him, to depend upon him and to be comforted by him. So we're going to see his sovereignty demonstrated in a number of different ways. Okay, so really, it's the outworking of that, of that definition that we just heard that's in your notes of God's sovereignty. How do we see his constant care and his absolute rule over all creation playing out in life around us. So this week I'm talking about God's sovereignty over the big things in life. And next week, Josh is going to come back and he's going to talk to us about God's sovereignty over the little things, the everyday things, thing seemingly insignificant, things of life. So the first demonstration that we see in Isaiah 40, of His sovereignty is through his justice. His justice. Okay, listen to verses one and two. Comfort, comfort. My people, says your God, Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. So it's helpful in order to understand everything that's going on here in this chapter, to understand where Isaiah has been so far in this book, to get the context. Okay, so Isaiah is a prophet. He's a guy that has been appointed by God to proclaim, deliver God's message to his people, to the nations of Israel and Judah, okay? And the message went something like this, those of you Israel and Judah who live in opposition to God are opposed by God. If you make yourselves God's opposition, then he opposes you. You're making yourselves his enemy. And really the message as you work through Isaiah, it broadens, and we see that this actually is not only true for Israel and Judah. This is true for all nations. This is true for everybody. If you oppose God, then God opposes you. If you make yourself an enemy of God, God's going to be your enemy. It's going to be difficult for you, and at this point in history, we see this played out with the nations of Israel and Judah as they are taken into captivity by enemy nations. At this point, Israel has already been taken into captivity, and Judah, because they have had some faithful kings of late, are still there. They're still in the nation, and God is protecting and blessing them. But we actually read the verse before chapter 40, the very last verse of chapter 39 Isaiah, prophesies to the current king that they are about to be taken captivity by Babylon to Babylon as well. It will be after the reign. Of the current king, but that's going to happen too because of their sin. So Isaiah 40, then is a chapter of encouragement to those future captives.
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In short, we could say God is encouraging some people who are experiencing great difficulty. So in the same sense that this chapter is intended to be an encouragement for nations in captivity, it should also be an encouragement for us in our difficulty. So let's look at how these 40 or how these verses in Isaiah chapter 40 encourage those in difficulty. First, how do these two opening verses demonstrate that God is sovereign through His justice? How do they demonstrate to us God's sovereignty, his rule through His justice. Well, we see here that it is God who brought the Assyrians and later other nations upon Israel and Judah to conquer them and take them captive. God's actually the one that's behind all of that. Listen to Isaiah, chapter 10, verses five and six. God speaks, and he says, ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger, the staff in their hands is my fury. Against a godless nation, I send him and against the people of my wrath, I command him to take spoil and seize plunder and to tread down like the mire of the streets. So God sends this enemy nation to Israel to capture them, to conquer them. And then verse seven tells us after that in Isaiah chapter 10, that actually the king of Assyria has no idea that he's working for the Lord in this he doesn't have any idea. He's just going about his own business. He's trying to expand his own kingdom. He's not trying to glorify God or obey God. He's not doing it out of obedient service to God. Verse two in our text also tells us that Jerusalem's warfare, the consequence for her sin is from the Lord's hand. It's Yahweh s hand. That's the word that's used there. Yahweh the Lord. Look at it. The end of verse two, she has received from the Lord's hand, double for all her sins. Talking about the warfare that she's faced, Jerusalem has faced the Lord. Remember what we said? We talked about it before? When we see that there in all caps? If that's how it is in your Bible, it's that personal name of God, Yahweh, the covenant keeper, the one who makes the unbreakable covenant, the unbreakable vow, who will fulfill it, he will bring it about in his steadfast love. So it's God that's brought all of this about in his justice. We're also told here that it's because of their sin in these two verses, this has come about because of the sin of the people. It's with the aim of cleansing and the consequences also, we see have an end date. So God, in His covenant, giving nature and covenant faithful nature remained faithful to that covenant that he had made to his people. So I think it's important as well. On the flip side of all of this, not only do we see God's justice through Isaiah, in the fact that he brings about negative consequences, punishments, correction to those who oppose him and make themselves his enemies. But we also see that he blesses those that remain faithful to Him. So to summarize, God's constant care, back to this definition from bridges of sovereignty, God's constant care and absolute rule over all creation demonstrates his holiness through justice. What we see happen on this globe that we live on, things like the Assyrians and other nations overcoming Israel and Judah happens because God is just and because he is also sovereign. So Isaiah s purpose here, and my purpose is not to say. Say you're experiencing difficulty because you've sinned. Sometimes, that's true, but not always, not always. My purpose here to say, and I think the purpose of the text, is to show us that nothing escapes God's justice and rule. Remember, this is supposed to be a comfort to those in captivity. It's not supposed to be condemning necessarily, though the facts are true for Israel and Judah, they had been living in sin. They had been worshiping false gods. They had been rejecting the Lord. But here the message is, comfort, comfort my people. Nothing escapes his justice. Nothing happens outside of his sovereign rule. He is always aware of everything. He forgets nothing, and he will deal with it all appropriately, like Judah, our sin, our iniquity, has made us enemies of God. So I think an important question to ask is, who's dealing with your iniquity? Who is the punishment of your sin upon at this very moment? Is it going to come upon you, or is it being taken by you, taken for you by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. We must realize that God always sovereignly executes his justice. Sometimes that happens in this life, as we see with Israel and Judah and the consequences they face. But certainly we know that it will happen after this life. When we leave this planet, it is appointed for all men to die once, and after that comes judgment. Hebrews 927, tells us so there will certainly come a time when he will execute His justice fully for or upon all of us. And there's only one way that you can be freed from the consequence of your iniquities. Isaiah, chapter 53 talks about the suffering Messiah who would come written 600 years before he ever even came. And it says this, all we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him, the suffering servant, the Messiah, the iniquity of us all. So there is a way that you can be free from your sin and the consequences of your sin. That is the reason that Jesus Christ came. He came to die on the cross and take the wrath of God upon himself, that your sin earned, that my sin earned, so that those who trust in Him, those who turn to him for help and salvation, would be saved. So God's justice should not only draw us to Christ, but should motivate us to live differently. Which leads us to point number two, the second demonstration of His sovereignty. We see in his coming verses three to five, a voice cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill be made low. The uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places are plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. So how does God's coming demonstrate His sovereignty. Scripture teaches us that God is the creator and therefore the rightful Ruler of all creation. Scripture also teaches us that God has a kingdom and a people, Ian. That he is in the process of forming.
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God told a former king of the nation of Israel, King David, 3000 years from right now ago, that he God would rule his kingdom from a throne on earth, and his reign would have no end. So Isaiah, chapter 40, verses three to five describe the coming of that King. June 14 was a little bit different this year than we are used to June 14 being maybe a little bit more dramatic. June 14 was the day this year when we had the King Day. No King Day stuff going on. So in England, which is where I'm from, surprise, it's a relatively normal celebration that I actually had no idea about until Dan Jarms told me on Thursday morning this week that it was, it's called, I think it's called colors day. So it is the day of the year, June 14, where the monarchy in general is just celebrated. It's celebrated that we have a king or queen. It's not about Charles, it's not about Elizabeth, it's just a monarch in general that rules us, and it's a celebration of that. Okay, so kind of a King Day, they don't call it that, but so there's fanfare, there's chariots, there's palaces. There's fancy hats with that net stuff on them, whatever that is, gloves, you know, all that, all that fancy stuff, swords, things that you see on movies. What else I don't know? There's horses, yeah, all those kinds of things, palaces, okay? So that was in the UK, in the US, June 14 is always Flag Day. Flag Day. So this year, Flag Day coincided with the 200 and 50th anniversary of the army. Okay? So thank you. Anybody in here who has served in the military, we very much appreciate you serving for us. So this year, it's the 250th anniversary of the Army, and President Trump took the opportunity to throw a celebration for the military in Washington, DC. It also happened to be his 79th birthday, so who knows if any of that was behind it as well. But that celebration included this grand like military parade that happened in Washington, DC, among a bunch of other things, the coming of Jesus, the King of kings that we see in Isaiah, chapter 40, is very different, right? It's not like that. It's not like that. As you would expect the coming of God to be different. Make in the desert a highway for our God, every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill made low. The uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places are plain. I plane. Why that the glory of the Lord would be revealed and all flesh would be able to see it remove every hindrance from being able to see the glory of the Lord John the Baptist is the man who fulfilled these words we read in all of the Gospels. He was the fulfiller of this prophecy, though, when he came he was not a construction worker. He didn't come with bulldozers and diggers and excavators. He was a preacher. He spoke the words of God with his mouth. He revealed Jesus by telling people who he was. He said things like, I must decrease so that he may increase. John the Baptist, knew my life has come about with the purpose of doing whatever it. Takes to remove things out of the way of people seeing and knowing Jesus Christ, the Messiah. I want people to see him, and I want people to know Him. So whatever mountain needs to be moved, whatever Valley needs to be filled, whatever people need to be shoved aside. I'm here to do it so that people would see him, people would know him, people would worship Him, and people would follow him. So you might be thinking, well, things didn't really go according to plan, did they? Jesus was crucified. He wasn't glorified. Surely, this proves that God is not sovereign, not that he is sovereign. Well, we can't read them, but let me point you to something you can read in your own time. Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 are two of a number of places that you could go in the Old Testament that prophesy, they predict God lays out for us before it happens, hundreds of years before it happens that the Messiah is going to come and he's going to suffer, he's going to suffer. This was a part of God's sovereign plan. This wasn't a failed attempt to bring in his kingdom. But what I will read to you is Acts chapter two and verse 2023, which tells us Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. Similarly, Acts 427, and 28 tells us that Herod, Pilate, the Jews and the Gentiles all did to Jesus what God's plan and hand had predestined to take place. So to summarize again, how does God's coming demonstrate His sovereignty? He is the creator and therefore the rightful Ruler of all things. He has come and is coming to establish His throne, his rule and His kingdom on earth, and no one has stopped him. No one is stopping him, and nobody will stop him from doing it, His kingdom and His rule will have no end, and everything that happens works towards that end, Isaiah lived in the pre first coming of Christ time, as did Judah and Israel. We live the other side of Jesus, first coming God's first coming into the world. Like an important question to ask ourselves. Here, Isaiah is saying, Prepare the way for the Lord. Are you prepared for the coming of the Lord? Are you prepared? Scripture says it's imminent. And what that meant, what that word means is, it's the next thing to happen. There's nothing else that needs to happen before he returns. It's the next thing on God's timeline, the return of the Messiah, the second coming. Are you ready? Are you prepared? Also, do you realize and remember and find rest in what Jesus accomplished at His first coming. And do you anticipate with hope his second coming? If you are one of his children already, if you already follow him? Do you remember that he is coming? He already came and dealt with sin and death on the cross, and made a way for us to be forgiven of our sin and made right with God, so that we can know God, so that we can behold Him, and so that we can live with Him for eternity, and so that we can live transformed lives that glorify God. Do you know and remember that and find hope and reassurance in that, that your life is held firm because of what God has done for you on your behalf, through His Son. And equal to that, do you find comfort and hope and rest in the fact that Jesus is going to come back again, and when he comes back again, he's going to finish. He's going to finish everything that he said he was going to do, sin and death will be done forever, thrown into the lake of fire, misery, suffering. I. Difficulties,
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it'll all be gone. Every tear will be wiped away, every enemy will be justly dealt with. And that's a great hope that those of us who are in Christ can have. So the last words of that section read for the mouth of the Lord has spoken, because God has said it. It's sure, it's certain. And that brings us to the third declaration of his sovereignty, his word verses six to eight, a voice says, cry. And I said, What should I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. The grass withers. The flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. How does God's word reveal His sovereignty? Isaiah presents us here with two comparisons, two things that are alike, flesh, human beings and grass, they quickly come and they quickly go, all in God's sovereign plan and Timing, as is illustrated by him blowing on them, and they're gone. As quickly as they've come, they're gone. They've moved on. There are new people here. There are new rulers here. There are new nations here, and things keep moving on. Two things that are alike, flesh and grass, two things that are not alike grass and God's word, one quickly comes and goes, but the other endures forever. So the message that I think we're to take away from this illustration that he's providing us with is this a great encouragement to a nation like Israel Judah, who are in captivity or about to be in captivity. And a great encouragement for us, as things seem tumultuous in life, as things like invasions and bombings occur and we have some uncertainty about how it's going to affect us, the message we're to take away is this, while earthly kingdoms and kings and their plans rise and fall with a puff of God's breath, his reign endures And is displayed by the ongoing declaration of and fulfillment of His Word. Can you see like that would be tremendously encouraging, right for captive Judah and Israel, and should be encouraging for us in our difficulties too. He is bringing his plans to fruition, he created by his powerful word. Remember that back in Genesis chapter one, he just spoke, and from nothing, he produced complex things brought them into existence. Scripture tells us His Word does not return void when he speaks. All that means is that when he speaks, his word accomplishes everything perfectly the way that he intends what he says happens and we see in Scripture that His word is powerful. It's sharper than a double edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit. What does that tell me that his word is not only powerful to accomplish physical things, but it also accomplishes spiritual things. It changes people's hearts. It transforms dead sinners into alive. God glorifies so while the plans and edicts of earthly kings laugh for a moment, God is continually successfully executing his plan and bringing it to fruition. It need not pass through the House of Representatives for approval. It needs not the approval of the Senate. If it got through the House of rep. Representatives, Ephesians, chapter one, verse 11, tells us that God works all things according to the purpose or the counsel of his will. He doesn't need advice. He doesn't need counselors. He's his own counselor. He knows what to do. He decides on the plan, and that's all he needs. That's all he needs. So we need not imagine what it must be like to live under someone who is completely trustworthy and able to carry out every plan and policy he sets in motion. That's who God is. That's what God does. So the fourth declaration of his sovereignty is his rule. So we have a lot of verses to get through here. What I'm going to do is I'm just going to read them, or I'm going to explain them and explain them, and read them as we go, as we work through and you'll see that the way that God rules shows us his sovereignty, shows us his sovereignty. So notice how it begins in verse nine. There's good news to hear, there's good news to hear and know. And what is that good news? The first thing he's told to say is, behold your God. God Himself is the best news. God Himself is the best news. Why is God the best news? Because he will conquer all of his enemies, and He rules over all. His victory is guaranteed. Verse 10, behold the Lord comes with might and His arm rules for him. Behold his reward, his reward is already with him and his recompense before him. Why is God Himself the best news, because he shepherds his people with leadership, protection and care. Verse 11, he will tend his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arms. He will carry them in his bosom and gently lead those that are with young. He's transcendent. He's eternally beyond everything else that exists, things that seem massive to us and really hard to understand are tiny to God, verse 12, who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand. We haven't even gotten to the depths of the sea, and understanding them, he measured them in the hollow of his hand, who is marked off the heavens. Forget the waters that are on our planet. Think about space, the whole universe. He measures it with the span of his hand, the end of his little, thick little finger to the end of his thumb. Who has enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance. He's independent. We've seen this already. He doesn't need input. Verse 13 and 14. Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord or what man shows him counsel? Whom did he consult? Who made him understand, who taught him the path of justice and taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding, rhetoric, the rhetorical questions, the answer no one people that it doesn't have. He doesn't need it. He just knows. He just does it. He's already just. He's already righteous. He already does the right thing. He doesn't need anybody else's counsel or advice or input. Nations, or, for that matter, any other difficulty that seem powerful or insurmountable are nothing to God. Listen to the next verses. 15 on Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket. They're accounted as the dust on the scales. Not even something that's weighed on the scale, just dust. Behold, he takes up the coastlines like fine dust Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him, and listen to this further, they are accounted by him as less than nothing, as emptiness.
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It's like I don't even have to think about them. I. Like we've seen already, like all he has to do is just like people come and go, nations come and go. It's just, it's like we blow a dandelion clock. That's like, that's how insignificant, how easy it is for God, how powerful, how independent and transcendent he is. So don't fear or trust in nations or rulers of this world. Turn to and trust in the one who is beyond them all verses 18 to 20. Idols are nothing. They're just man made things. They have to be made in a way by people that they will stand up like they can't even stand up on their own. He rules over creation. He rules over people. He rules over nations. He rules over rulers. This spring, we got a Has anybody ever had a butterfly farm with a Cup of Caterpillars? We got one of those this spring. So it's the thing. It comes in the mail, and there's living caterpillars in there. They're tiny. You can hardly even see them, like these little thread pieces of thread. And at the bottom of this cup, there's all this food that they eat, and they eat it and eat it. And then you've got the lid. It's got the fabric on it. And then when they're big enough, they get up there, attach themselves to the fabric, make their cocoon. And then you're supposed to unscrew the lid, put it in the it's got this little butterfly cage thing. It's like a net, a round net thing. You put it in there, and I think it like, it's like, a week or so, they hatch out of their cocoons. You're supposed to put some put some food in there for them, this little sugar water thing, and then they eat that. And they get strong, and they fly around in the cage for a while. And then you take them outside and unzip the thing, and you set them free, and they go and get eaten by birds. And we said we had one of those, and all of, I'm sure all of those things happened, but like, it was up. It was up to me, like, am I gonna, am I gonna feed them? Am I gonna let the caterpillars eat? Am I gonna when they make their cocoons? Like, am I gonna leave the lid on that's got the fabric in it, or just let them not make their cocoons, and when they make them, Am I going to unscrew it and put it in the cage? Am I going to feed the butterflies after they hatch? I'm going to leave them long enough to let them hatch? Or am I going to mess with them? Am I going to unzip the thing and let them fly when they come out like that description is a good illustration of God. He's good, right? But we see it here in verse 22 it is he who sits above the circle of the earth. Me with the butterflies, is like God with to an even to an eternal extent. God's relationship to his creation. He sits above the circle of the earth and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers. That's us, by the way, we're the grasshoppers. God stretches out the heavens like a curtain. He spreads them like a tent to dwell in. He brings princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their STEM taken root in the earth. When he blows on them and they wither and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
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People are like grasshoppers. The universe like a tent that he sets up for us to dwell in. And rulers quickly come and go. We see in verses 25 and 26 that he created the stars and the planets of the sky. As you go out this summer, camping or enjoying nature, look into the sky. He created it all, even the stuff that's far beyond what we've ever even seen. And he sustains it. He keeps them doing exactly what they should be doing. To whom will you compare me, that I should be like him? Says the Holy One, lift up your eyes on high and see who created these who brings out their host by number, calling them by name, by the greatness of His might, and because he is strong in power, Not one is missing. God's rule displays His sovereignty. Remember that, that definition from the beginning, from bridges on sovereignty. It's his constant care and his absolute rule over all his creation for. His own glory and the good of his people. And we see this play out in the fifth declaration of his sovereignty, his power, verses 27 to 31 which is where we began. How did these verses reveal God's power in His sovereignty? Well, we've been up to the heights of who God is. We've been in the clouds of glory. We've been to eternity with Him. And verse 27 brings us back down to earth and shows us how all of these things should affect our daily lives. Isaiah ends how he begins with comfort. Why do you say, O Jacob and speak O Israel people? Why do you say, My way is hidden from God, my right is disregarded by my God. Sometimes it feels like our lives are hidden from God and that he's just disregarding us, things just won't go the way that we would like them to what you think or what you feel isn't the truth. That's not what's important. We need to read what God has said is true. Sometimes we think or feel something might be true, but we need to ask ourselves, but what's actually true? What has God told me is true? You are not hidden from God, and he has not disregarded you. Verse 28 Haven't you heard what I've been saying? Haven't you been listening the Lord again, all caps, Yahweh, the covenant maker, the guarantor, the fulfiller, the steadfastly faithful one is the ever lasting God. He is always God. There's never a time that he is not ruling. He doesn't faint, he doesn't grow weary. He knows everything. His knowledge is eternally beyond what we could ever even imagine that it could possibly be. So he hasn't forgotten you. Your life is not hidden from him. He knows it precisely. In fact, he knows it even better than you do. Verses 29 to 31 people who seem strong and mighty, mighty will faint and grow weary, but God's power and unfailing strength are available to those who wait for the Lord. He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might. He increases strength, even youths will faint and be weary. Young men will faint, will fall exhausted. But this is the key. They, who wait for the Lord, shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not be faint. So what does that mean? It mean I can run a marathon if I wait on the Lord. Does it mean I can have like I can pick up really heavy things if I wait on the Lord, it's not what it means. Sorry, it's not what it means. There's something even better than that. Does it mean that he will end the difficulty that I live in at some point before I die, doesn't even necessarily mean that. No, it means something better than that. It means that he will always provide for you exactly what you need to live a life faithfully to him and to fulfill the purpose that he's created you, for, which is to glorify Him, and that is the best kind of life that you can have. So it's for this reason that we can say, again, our main idea trust and be strengthened by the sovereign God. You're not hidden from him. He has not disregarded you. And we can say, as Jerry bridges says in the book, trust God. We can trust God even when life hurts. Has anybody ever not read this and doesn't own a copy of it? Anybody looking for a hand that will read it? Jesse, here you go. You're committed. That's a legally binding contract. No, it's a great book. The rest of you, if you don't have it or haven't read it, buy it and read it because it is fantastically encouraging. So that's where I wrap up. Come back next week, and you will hear from Josh gilke. About how God is involved in your flat tire, your juice spills, your dirty diapers, the seemingly insignificant things of this life all have their place in God's sovereign plan. So let's pray together, Father, we're thankful for the great and wonderful truths of Isaiah 40, how they bring us face to face with you in all of your glory. And I pray Father, that it would not just be head knowledge, but that it would be fuel that stirs up our hearts to faith and trust in you, that it would provide encouragement for us through the difficulties that we experience in our lives, whatever they may be. So I pray that it would result in our growing glorification of you in our lives. We pray this together in Christ's name. Amen.
Ian is the Youth Pastor of Faith Bible Church. He and his wife, Claire, have six children and previously spent a few years serving in a small church in England.
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Main idea: Trust and worship the Lord, who is sovereign over every detail. “God’s providence is His constant care for and His absolute rule over all His creation for His own glory and the good of His people.â€...