HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS?
ISAIAH 40:27-31
Have you heard the news? My boyfriend just proposed to me and we are engaged. Take a look at this ring he bought me!
Have you seen the Big Buck I killed this week? I posted it on Facebook so everyone could be jealous.
Did you watch the Big Game? Ole Miss just won the National Championship! Then, unfortunately, I woke up.
* When there is exciting news, we are very excited to share it. And in today’s passage, Isaiah has some wonderful news for Israel and us!
Isaiah 40:27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”?
The Babylonian Empire has destroyed Judah and they were taken into captivity. The people feel abandoned by God. They are questioning whether God is even aware of their problems. They are crying out for deliverance and restoration.
Have you ever been there? Maybe you’re going thru the worst problems you’ve ever faced in your life. You feel that all hope is lost and your whole life has become a train wreck.
You pray, but there is only silence from Heaven.
Don’t be distraught, God has great news for you today.
Is 40:28a Do you not know? Have you not heard?
This is a rhetorical question. It begins with the Hebrew word halo which indicates that every person should know the answer. Throughout the history of Israel, God has kept His part of the covenant. He has delivered them numerous times.
Is 40:28b The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Isaiah calls God by 3 very distinctive names which should give hope!
1. The Everlasting God. Elohim Olam. He is the eternal God. He has no beginning and no end. He existed before He formed the earth with His own hands and He will still be here when it’s destroyed by fire. The implication is that because He is eternal, there is nothing that has ever happened or will happen that is outside of His knowledge.
2. The LORD. YAHWEH. God is Lord over all the earth. Kings and kingdoms must yield to the will of God. Yahweh is the covenant name for God. Understand this, if Jesus Christ is not your Lord, then the promises of God cannot be claimed by you. His promises are for His children.
3. The Creator. Elohim. This name identifies Him as the One Who made everything out of nothing. And notice that He is not merely a regional god, He is the Lord over all Creation. His power extends over every nation, the forces of nature, over the cosmic universe, and over the spiritual realm. All things were created by Him and are under His dominion.
Is 40:28c {He} Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
Even though God administers His power over all of the stars of Heaven and over billions of people and events on earth, He never is exhausted and in need of a power nap.
* His understanding is inscrutable. He is omniscient. Nothing is hidden from God... not even thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Nothing ever takes God by surprise.
Because God loves us so much and because He can, God gives us grace. And Grace is the power of God provided to His children.
Notice what He does for us.
Is 40:29 He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power.
* Maybe this morning you feel weary because of what you’ve been going through. Maybe you feel that you don’t have the strength to overcome your problems. Notice that God increases power!
* Paul was once struggling over problems he was facing. He begged the Lord to remove his problems, but God answered....
2 Cor 12:0 “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
* As long as you think you can handle it and you’re fighting in your own power, you are limited. But when you bring the power of God into your situation, there is no limit to what God can do.
* Notice the promise that God gives you....
Is 40:30-31a 30 Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength;
Maybe you’ve been fighting the fight and you are worn out. Or maybe in your struggles you have stumbled in your walk with God. All of our human efforts fail when we are overwhelmed, but God gives us the answer to help us to be overcomers. It is His Grace.
Wait on the Lord- What does that mean?
1. It’s a time spent in faith in God rather than doubt and defeat.
2. It’s a time for seeking God’s will in your life.
3. It’s a time spent in prayer.
4. It’s a time spent in eager anticipation of what God will do!
* As we do these things, God will renew our strength.
3 WAYS GOD’S GRACE STRENGTHENS YOU.
1. Grace to Rise Up above your problems.
Is 40:31b They will mount up with wings like eagles,
Mount Up- means to ascend. The eagle is a massive bird that is able to flap his wings and rise high above the earth and there it spreads his wings stays aloft with little effort. There may be a forest fire all below him, but has no effect on him.
Col 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
When you focus your mind of the Heavenlies and your faith in Jesus Christ, your problems seem somewhat smaller because they are beneath the Savior, Jesus Christ.
* When I feel overwhelmed by problems, I begin to listen to and sing praise music. It instills in me a sense of well-being and I am stronger because of it.
* To me, Focusing on the things above is like a vacation for the soul.
2. Grace to Run the Race Well.
Is 40:31c They will run and not get tired,
The Christian life is designed to be one of serving in His Kingdom.
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
Jesus Christ saved us so that we would actively served Him in His Kingdom. Works don’t save us, but faith without works is dead.
* 1 Cor 9:26-27, Paul described serving Christ as a “race” we all run.
And, he wants to serve well and not be a castaway.
2 Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
The key for us to run our race well is spiritual renewal. We must remain close to Jesus in order to run the race without fainting.
3. Grace to Walk with Endurance and Faith.
Is 40:31d They will walk and not become weary.
The Christian life is a marathon, no a 40 yd dash. The successful believer is the one who can stay the course and trust Christ daily and endure throughout his life.
* I started thinking about life and ministry a while back. My friend Robert Gillis had reminded me after turning 60 that I was playing “the back 9". I responded by telling him that the main thing I want to do is “finish well”.
* I have had my ups and downs in life, both physically and spiritually. I have had days where I believe that I pleased God and there are days that I failed Him miserably. I can’t do anything about my past failures and sin.
But, like Paul said,
Phil 3:13-14 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Have you heard the great news?
God is offering you His grace today. Grace that will give you the power to overcome the problems that are trying to destroy you.
Grace to enable you to serve Him more effectively.
And grace for you to walk a life of faith in Jesus Christ.
