Embracing God’s Promise Of Hope Series

Sermon: Embracing God’s Promise of Hope

Scripture: Isaiah 40:27-31 “O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? 28 Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. 30 Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not faint.” NLT

Introduction: Isaiah 40 is designed to take your focus away from everything else and consider the Sovereign Lord, the one true, living God. The chapter begins with a message of comfort and redemption from the Lord (verses 1-2). It points to the coming of Christ and good news. The Lord gives us remedies to doubts that creep in about his ability to help or his care to help when we are in a great crisis. These words are addressed to his people; those who have been redeemed by his grace. He points us away from the crisis (and doubts about him) to facts about him.

“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.” He points you to creation. The world had a beginning, it was once nothing. The world owes its being to the creative power of God. God spoke the world into being, and instantly it was so. Obviously, if you look at the creation you can see that it would take much less power to relieve us in whatever crisis we are in than it did to create or maintain the world. God is certainly able, and He wants His people to consider that fact. That leaves us the subject of His concern, His care for His people. Isaiah points out that His understanding is unsearchable. We may not understand why we are in dire straits, but God does. God has revealed to His people the things necessary for them to have peace with Him, and He has provided even more in the coming Christ.

When we seek relief in present troubles it is necessary to remember God’s former mercies. The knowledge of who God is provides the spiritual strength we need to endure faithfully. We are the ones who faint and grow weary, God never does. In verse 29, the Lord promises to provide strength to us: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.” This may not seem to be our experience. We might ask how we can tap into this supply of strength? It is by our faith. The Lord has already directed us to be assured of His ability to help and His concern for us. God says these things to convince us that He is for us! The next thing would be to go to the foundation our salvation to revisit what the good news teaches us. There is no other God like our God. God is a savior and deliverer.

Isaiah prophesied during the reign of four kings of Israel: Uzziah, Jothan, Ahaz and Hezekiah. From the death of Uzziah to the reign of Hezekiah was 47 years. Isaiah's ministry lasted more than 60 years. Isaiah 40 is the turning point of the book. It is the subject of Ricky Dillard’s Melody, “God is great! “The greatness of the Lord is inconceivable; The love that he shows is unconditional; The power of the Lord is unbeatable; Great is the God we serve; God is great and greatly to be praised, God is great and greatly to be praised."

It can be difficult to hear these words during struggle and trials, election stress, mental disorders, medical difficulties, bereavement, and grief. Isaiah offers hope to a people who seemed to be doubting the ability of God and concern of God. It is believed that Isaiah had written this message years before to the children of Judah in Babylon. After 70 years of captivity, the fall of Assyria and Babylon, then the rise of Persia, the people of Judah seem to see their God as powerless to change things. There are times when it seems that Satan is getting the best of us, and circumstances seem to be out of control. Often, it’s a little hard to maintain our faith and trust in God when everything seems to be going against us. The People of Judah were in the middle of one of the greatest trials of their lives. It is in those times that they needed the Lord more than ever, yet they felt abandoned.