“Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” Is 40:12-31
WBC 16/03/03 am
THE CONTEXT
= Babylonian exile 587BC onwards (either from 8C BC or 6C)
- but still prophetic. Cyrus named
But applicable at any stage of history/life
- particularly today!
God will help you
- through the desert. Preparing the way
- valleys raised up, mountains lowered, way made straight
o because NOW is God’s moment, time, kairos
o she has paid double for her sins (40:2)
o the lesson is over. NOW is the time
God DOES have a time. After 70 years of desert/captivity
- now’s the time for freedom. They year of the Lord’s favour
- After years of being – in the spiritual doldrums
o Facing ‘captivity’ etc
- IT’S YOUR DAY/TIME
THE SIZE OF GOD (PPT)
But what about Babylon? They won’t let us go!
- it may be my time, God’s time… but something (someone!) always gets in the way
o Babylon is SO big,- surely IT will
o Nehemiah won’t be allowed to go and rebuild
Well- let’s get this in proportion, shall we? Babylon is mighty, but God is……. ALMIGHTY
- v12 “who has measured the waters…” (PPT)
o it’s a bit like God’s challenge to Job (38:4)
- >> answer: only God!
- God can deal with the whole universe, as a man deals with a trivial object
- Cf: Lagos. Does everyone get healed? “Is anything impossible for God!” (have no concept of folks not being healed= why they are. Good, evasive answer!)
God is BIG
In fact, v15 (PPT)- “the nations are like a drop in a bucket…”
- “dust on the scales” –that is ignored at purchase, or ‘swept off’
o they’re as insignificant as that
- “weighs the islands as if they were fine dust”
o could be translated ‘atoms’
Now, v16, He gets specific (PPT).
- let’s pick a nation. USA? GB? Iraq? No- Lebanon
o known for it’s Cedars and animal life
great things for Mosaic, cultic, sacrifice
o maybe there’d be enough there to impress God?
Nope! Not in SUBSTANCE or SPIRITUALITY
• Because it’s ALL His, anyway- and what He wants is 1) All 2) Obedience
V17 – (PPT) – it’s back to ALL the nations are nothing
- X= inconsequential, unimportant
o = small compared to Him
- The inference is- so is Babylon
Now, here’s the crazy thing. V18-20 (PPT)
- we all know this. They knew this. But still we/they worship other things, put their trust elsewhere
o = picture of idols. Carefully crafted and then worshipped!
= direct attack on Babylonian idolatry
• but applies to us all!
Crazy, Cray, crazy. The things we put our trust in, worship… that WE’VE done
- and then wonder why God hasn’t bailed us out
o He’s a pure, holy and jealous God! No fooling Him!
THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD (PPT)
I guess one of the reasons we’d rather trust ourselves… the work of OUR hands… dig cisterns for ourselves (Jer 2:13)…
- is we don’t understand GOD’S ways (so better do it ourselves)
V13 (PPT) “who has understood the mind of the Lord”
- like Is 55.
ISA 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
ISA 55:9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
- His ways are SO different! He does as He wills!
Actually “MIND” (PPT) in V13 could be ‘Spirit’ (same word)
- = a bit like Jn 3: 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going
- Illustr: = why we need to use not only our minds, but also try and see what God is doing, blessing, like Jesus did (“I only do what I see the Father doing”.
o This is a bit different, maybe, to getting ‘feelings’ about things. Rather SEEING God at work, and following
o Interestingly, TBJ doesn’t pray for everyone. Maybe not their time. He says He tries to follow Jesus
“But I see Him do so little”
- well, if… like me… you have a ‘sinful unbelieving heart’ you can’t expect to!
o But people intent on being open and holy can SURELY grow in these things to -
Is 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught
“What! You mean I have to go back to naive fundamentalism”
- oh no! You go back to the rock! To Jesus! To the basics- and following Him, learning from Him, again
v21 (PPT) = irony! Like “surely you understand it all. Have known from the beginning”
- well – God does! Has!
V22 (PPT) you nomads who sleep in tents- well, He stretches out the heavens like a tent. That’s His tent!
V23 (PPT) –and here’s the thing about nations, princes and rulers
- if nations get too big for their boots (that’s what happened with Babel’s tower, not scientific progress as such)
o well- this year’s peacock becomes next years feather duster- as PRIDE is the big sin in the Bible
He brings them to nothing.
V26 (PPT)- the Babylonians were into worshipping the stars as deities
- (astrology came from there. Genesis creation story was given by God to set that record straight)
- > well- He SPEAKS and the stars come out. Each by name
Now, here’s the problem (when you’re in ‘Babylon’/the desert/valley/doubt)
- as we ALL are from time to time
It’s only human to think
- “I’m forgotten, lost, overlooked… in all this hugeness” He doesn’t care
’Lord, when you treat your friends so badly, it’s no wonder you have so few friends’ St Theresa (Mother Theresa?)
- like v27 (PPT)
But here’s the encouragement (PPT) V26b
- not one star is missing (and we, now, have an idea of how many there are!)
- Not one atom is missing
Poem by Lord Hailsham
Father, before this sparrow’s earthly flight
Ends in the darkness of a winter’s night;
Father, without whose word no sparrow falls,
Hear this, Thy weary sparrow when he calls.
Mercy not justice is his contrite prayer,
Cancel his guilt and drive away despair;
Speak but the word, and make his spirit whole,
Cleanse the dark places of his heart and soul,
Speak but the word, and set his spirit free;
Mercy, not justice, still his constant plea,
So shall Thy sparrow, crumpled wings restored,
Soar like the lark, and glorify his Lord.
Like His POWER is so big- so is His knowledge of you
- (PPT) v28 “his understanding no one can fathom”
THE CARE OF GOD
And so is His care
V29 (PPT) = talking about the long, trying, treck through life… or through the desert from Babylon back to Israel- along which even youths stumble and fall
- but God can give power to the weary and strength to the weak
“But how?! Why don’t I feel it”
1) It’s not about FEELINGS (PPT). You may not feel strong but you may be… in God
- you don’t know until it’s over. And it’s not over till it’s over
2) It’s about FAITH (PPT)
- faith that he loves you and is with you.
- and feelings DO follow faith which follows this FACT
- and, consider the imagery of the eagles, here
A flying eagle is a magnificent sight. He soars in the air above us. But it does just happen overnight. An eagle has to learn to fly.
The eagle is an interesting bird. It makes its nest from briars and thorns and then lines the nest with animal skin - to stop the thorns and briars hurting the newly hatched eaglets.
For the eaglets - this is the life. Mum brings the food and the eaglet hangs around the nest getting fat.
UNTIL one day, when Mum decides it is time to fly. Naturally the eaglets are not keen and so the mother eagle pulls away the animal skins. And soon the eaglet is keen to leave the prickly nest.
He clambers on his mothers back and the mother flies high, 1000 ft, 2000 ft till she reaches about 5000 ft over the ground.
If the eaglet suffers from vertigo, this isn’t the job for him.
Suddenly, the mother tips the eaglet off and it goes hurtling down. It flaps it wings but nothing happens and the earth looks closer and closer.
Just as the eaglet is about to be splattered all over the ground, the mother eagle swoops down and catches the eaglet and the process is repeated until the eaglet can fly.
The fearful plunging sensation and feeling of abandonment is part of learning to fly!
- sometimes (always?) God allows us to be tried and tested so we can learn where our strength lies, and how to fly
o cf Rob Lacey and Clive, this week
This REALLY is a message and journey of faith- from first to last
3) you must put Him FIRST (PPT)
- is everyone ’renewed in their strength’, here?’ (question!)
- who is??
- those who hope… wait on the Lord
How do we do this? Wait on Him? For Him? Hope in Him?
- you know, really!!
- So many of our problems are a failure to seriously take God at His word and ACT
Here’s a suggestion as to how you do it.
- seek Him first. Don’t get fretted. Consciously and calmly put God at number one and seek Him in prayer
- with time. Waiting on Him. Time for ACTS. Use scripture to Adore him and magnify Him
- fasting?? (“when you fast” not “if you fast”)
It’s time to get serious about God
Illustr: Mum ‘I need my legs. Those who wait on the Lord will renew”
So- waiting on the Lord is an attitude
Friends: God is a holy, all powerful God- and we too easily think He can be fobbed off with a brief attempt, sham at
- seeking, praying, waiting , hoping
But I want it to be like:
PS 123:2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
Because He’s a BIG God.
During Gladys Aylward’s harrowing journey out of war-torn Yang Chen during the Communist take-over, she faced one morning with no apparent hope of reaching safety. A 13-year old girl tried to comfort her by saying, "Don’t forget what you told us about Moses in the wilderness," to which Gladys Aylward replied, "Yes, my dear, but I am not Moses." The young girl replied, "Yes, but God is still God."
