Isaiah 41
Nothing to Fear
Who’s in Control? Vs. 1-7
I Am With You vs. 8-20
Empty Promises vs. 21-29
Intro: Australian X Factor
Pray for Nico Parra
Youth Purity seminar
Isaiah 40-44 is a really special section not only in Isaiah but in the whole Bible
It is God’s message comfort and encouragement to a group of backslidden people
God talks about how he will renew us, stand with us, and pour out his Spirit upon us
This morning he shows us how we have nothing to fear
Read Is 41:8-10
Transition:
Isaiah is writing 170 years in advance
He is writing to a group of people who are in captivity and getting ready to get out
Israel had enjoyed hundreds of years of blessing under the watch of God
While in the dessert they journeyed 40 years w/o their clothes of shoes wearing out
When they entered the promised land they lived in houses they didn’t build and harvested crops they didn’t plant
This whole time they were slowly turning away from God
So God brought Assyria to discipline them
They had backslidden and had been chastened by the Lord
Still they didn’t turn back to God yet became more wicked
Centuries of rejecting the prophets message to repent they now get it
After a time of captivity they get the message and want nothing more than the favor of God again
Now their biggest fear is “Will God accept me back?”
God’s message this morning is “Return to me, there is nothing to fear.
Who's in Control? Vs. 1-7
The first reason we have nothing to fear is that God is in Control
Vs. 1 Bring your Best Defense
This verse gives you the idea of being in a courtroom
In fact God is judging all of the nations and their idols and gods against him
He invites them into his courtroom and asks for silence as he
He tells them to rest up and build up their defense agains Him because he is going to judge
This verse gives us a perfect picture that God is in control
He will be the final judge and no one will be able to mount a defense
Vs. 2-4 King Cyrus
In vs. 2-4 God starts to lay out his defense
He talks about stirring one up from the east, a king and ruler that is relentless
The person that God is talking about won’t even be born for another 125 years
God is talking about King Cyrus of Assyria
Is 45:1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:
Probably the most brutal and effective military commander the world has known
Yet God uses him to set the captive Jews free from Babylon
When he conquers Babylon he makes an edict that allows the Jews to go back to Jerusalem
He actually has the local governors pay for it
This shows how God in his sovereign power can use the worst the world has to offer for his purposes
Vs. 5-7 Misplaced Trust
What will be the world’s response to this judgment?
God has defeated their idols
Vs. 5 they will tremble and be afraid but eventually they will turn back to their idols
Vs. 6 Everyone help his neighbor be strong
Instead of turning their hearts toward God they look to their friends, turn back to their idols and call it good
Three problems we see here
First, is looking to your friends for support when God is discipling you
If you find your strength in anything besides God it will fail you
They might pump you up for a little while but eventually that will fade
God wants us to look to Him
Second, they go and make new idols to replace the ones that were destroyed
While we don’t make idols of gold and silver anymore we still do elevate idols
Money, possessions, and prestige can all be idols that people chase after
But even simple things like food can be idols
Remember back about 20 years ago when people carb loaded
We would eat plates full of spaghetti because it gave us energy
Then we flipped to atkins diet which was all protein and fat
Then we dumped all the bad stuff of atkins and 2/3 protein, 1/3 carbs, and 1/3 fat
Then we got pyscho and started doing Paleo where it was all natural protein with carbs like bread and pasta being evil
It got so bad the people started calling their diet a religion
We as humans are really good at making things besides God our idols
Finally, they call it all good
Ever met someone who no matter how bad it gets answers “It’s all good”
The reference to soddering here a jab at poor quality and weak stability
Don’t call things good that aren’t good
I know we want to believe the intent that God works things out for the good
But we can often call sin good and set someone up for failure
I Am with You vs. 8-20
The second reason we have nothing to fear is that He is with us
So not only is he above the circle of the earth running things but he is with us at the same time
No matter how much Israel blew it he wasn’t going to leave them
He made a covenant and he wasn't walking away from them
They were his chosen people and we are are his people too
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
That is even if we backslide and turn away from Him
He allows us to wander but is always trying to bring us back to Him
He gathered up the Jews from the ends of the earth and brought them to Israel
But the Jews biggest fear is “Will He truly receive us back”
Much like the prodigal son who went off and blew his inheritance
He was hoping that he could go back and work as a servant
Yet God, like the prodigal’s father, wasn’t satisfied with a servant relationship with his son
Instead he opens his arms and restores him back to a full relationship
How does he do that?
There are three ways that God shows us he is with us
Vs. 8-13 God’s Help is Present
First is that his help is present
He starts by telling us not to fear, because he is with us
It is always reassuring when someone bigger than us tells us not to worry
He goes further by telling us he will strengthen us, help us, and hold us in his right hand
This takes us back to Is 40:31 which tells us that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength
This is that present help he is talking about
Strengthen us when we are weak. help us when we need it, and hold us when we need that comfort
Ps 18:6 In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.
Vs. 14-16 No Obstacle is too Great
The second way that he is with us is that “No Obstacle is too Great!”
One more time he tells us not to fear
Then he truly describes the situation
He calls Jacob a worm
A worm is a insect that has no spine and in reality is at the bottom of the food chain
But he will take that worm and make it a threshing sledge, new sharp
Then you will be able to crush the mountains and grind the hills into chaff
Mountains are those insurmountable obstacles and God says you will crush them
That no obstacle is too great for God shows us He is with us
Vs. 17-20 God has Abundant Resources
Finally we can know God is with us by His abundant resources
Vs. 17 when the poor and needy seek water and there is none I the Lord will answer them
Vs. 18 I will open the rivers and fountains and make the wilderness pools of water
All of these show his abundant resources
This is both tangible and spiritual
Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
He can provide every financial need you have
He knows your needs before you do and he has the resources
So what is happening if he is withholding those resources?
Anytime God is withholding something it usually point to two areas
First is that there is unrepentant sin
Second He is allowing the trial to draw you closer to Him
When he is satisfied with where your heart is then he will open his gates
14 “I Wills” of God
I will strengthen you. (Isaiah 41:10)
I will help you. (Isaiah 41:10, 13, and 14)
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth. (Isaiah 41:15)
I will open rivers in desolate heights. (Isaiah 41:18)
I will make the wilderness a pool of water. (Isaiah 41:18)
I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia tree. (Isaiah 41:19)
I will set in the desert the cypress tree. (Isaiah 41:19)
I will give to Jerusalem one who brings good tidings. (Isaiah 41:27)
Empty Promises Vs. 21-29
Finally God shows how the pursuit of idols are nothing but empty promises
Vs. 21 Set forth your case, bring your proofs
He is giving them an opportunity to show themselves but they are lifeless
Psalm 115:7-8 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.
They look like they can do something but they can’t
Worse yet those who make the idols and those who trust in them become like them
Wow! Those who chase after idols become lifeless
How many times have we seen that come true?
Someone has chased after money only to die penniless
Someone chases after power only to fall because of corruption
All idols bring with them empty promises
Yet there is one who is coming who is the real deal
Vs.
Closing: Australian X Factor
There is a video going viral on youtube of a guy singing on the Australian X factor show
He was born Iraqi with his brother but they both don’t have any arms and are deformed in their legs
When he walked out on stage the judge asked him how old he was
He replied “I don’t know, I don’t have a birth certificate.”
My brother and I were found in a park by some nuns and taken to a orphanage
Then an angel walked into the orphanage and took me and my brother back to Australia for surgery
Eventually she couldn’t let us go so she became our mom and raised us
Then with this big smile and beautiful voice proceeded to sing Imagine by John Lennon
It brought the house down and the judges almost couldn't speak
But it brought to mind everything we worry about pales in comparison
This young man was born in a war torn country with no arms and deformed legs
Yet he sung with all of his heart
When we measure our problems against what God can do they pale as well
