20070107 Behold Your God

"Behold Your God" - a Study on Isaiah 40

MMariano, PBMC 2007/01/07

Preamble

Remembering God

I want to thank Kuya Glenn for sharing that song with us today. In that song we can hear how Kuya Glenn 'sees' God, that He is the God that loved Him even when he was spiritually dead, and gave him new life.

Songs of testimony like that are essential in our mutual encouragement to understand God better.

The way we see God is very important.

Indeed our
comfort, our feeling of security, our expectations of God is affected by how we see God.

A W Tozer

The Christian Writer A W Tozer, in his book "The Knowledge of the Holy" said:

"Worship is pure or base as the worshipper entertains high or low thoughts of God.

We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God."

This to me says it matters how we see God. Because How we perceive God affects how we worship God, and how we hope in God.

Today my topic is "Behold your God", which is a study of Isaiah 40 in the context of remembering the majesty of God.

Today I hope to share from scripture the majesty of God and by doing so, pray that our perception of Him be re-aligned to the reality of who He is.

Let's Pray.

Opening Prayer

Dear God, we know that you are God. This we know in our minds yet it is so hard to convince our heart sometimes.



The bible says that you rule over all creation, you created us and know us all by name.



Everyone here today did not come by accident, because you draw us all to yourself.



Lord, speak.



Remove all distractions from our hearts - sharpen our ears and our minds that we may understand.



Take away from this talk anything that doesn't please you.



Amen.

Introduction

Mum

My brothers and I met for dinner on the 19th of December, without our wives and our children.

We don't do this often, so it's always a special time for us.

That time we talked a lot about growing up, had a few laughs here and there as you do when you talk about your childhood. One of the topics that really struck me was about our mother.

My brother Michael said that as he was growing up, he never really worried about how our mother was going to support our education. Somehow she always managed to get us through. He did remember though that a time or two we had to visit the School Registrar's office to get special permission to take our final exam because we were not up to date with our payments.

Our mum never let us know what that was like for her - trying to come up with the necessary funds to pay for the private education of three boys. She never shared with us what she had to do and how she felt about that. And we didn't ask her either.

When I was older I found out that she had amassed quite a substantial debt to family and friends, and if my dad hadn't come along at the right time, she wouldn't have had a way to get us through college.

My mum, like many in her generation, always put up a strong front, and didn't really discuss problems with anyone else - much less her children - unless she had to. I think it was her way of protecting us.

I thank God that she is still alive today and we've had a chance to tell her we love her, and that we appreciate everything she had done for us.

But I remember thinking at the time how much fuller our relationship would have been as a family if we boys had taken the time to get to know her.

Indescribable

Then just before Christmas I found myself really stressed out. Bec was fantastic because she already picked out gifts for our loved ones so that wasn't really what stressed me out. You see I had two things on my plate that were fairly major that I had deal with. An exam that was due on Boxing Day, and this talk.

On the night of the 23rd of December I was up studying, and when I took a break around midnight, no one else was up. That's when I heard the song by Chris Tomlin called 'Indescribable'.

Have you heard of that song? It's a worship song that extols in so many ways the majesty, the glory and the indescribable person that is God.

The song struck me powerfully, because there it was: in the same way not knowing my mum made our relationship less than it could have been, I saw that I had taken for granted the majesty and glory of God many times last year, and by consequence, affected my relationship with Him in the same way.

Not meaning to do so, I had ended up putting God in a box; I had made God small. I thought of Him primarily as Father, but forgot to remember that He was also my Creator, my King, my Judge and my Shepherd.

I didn't mean to do it, but because I perceived Him as limited, I did not surrender my life completely to Him.

New Year

You may have reflected on the past year too and found that like me you may have reflected on the year that has passed and realize that you lost touch with God along the way.



You walked away. You stopped trusting God.



Or maybe your year was worse.



You year only had disappointments, hurt or even fear.



In these situations we start asking questions of God.



Is God really there? Does He even see me? Does He care? Can He actually do anything to help me?

Bible Reading - Isaiah 40 (NIV)

And it is to remind people of who God is that Isaiah 40 was written.

We are going to read the whole chapter of Isaiah Chapter 40 today. 31 verses.



Find someone you can sit with if you don't have a bible.



1 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.  2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.



3 A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the LORD [a] ; make straight in the wilderness  a highway for our God. [b] 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."



6 A voice says, "Cry out." And I said, "What shall I cry?" "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever."



9 You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, [c] lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"

 10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him,

and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.



12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who has understood the mind [d] of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?

14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? 15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.



 16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.



 17 Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. 18 To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? 19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. 20 A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.



21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.



 25 "To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?" says the Holy One. 26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.Because of his great power and mighty strength,not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob,and complain, O Israel,"My way is hidden from the LORD;my cause is disregarded by my God"?



 28 Do you not know?Have you not heard?The LORD is the everlasting God,the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,and his understanding no one can fathom 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall;



 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint.

Made in the image of God

Question

So firstly we should answer the question, why does it matter so much to those who believe in God to know God? Why isn't it enough to know that He is there?

Answer - we are designed for an intimate relationship with God

In the very first chapter of the very first book of the bible, Genesis (Gen 1:26), we learn that all of us are created by God, and in God's image.

Straight away we see that if our design is by God, and we are in his image - then our purpose is by God and in God.

Then in Acts 17:27-28 Paul further teaches that God put us where we are, and in the time we live in, so we would seek Him.


We are designed for intimate fellowship with God. This is why knowing God matters so much to the believer: because intimacy with God means knowing God.

Feeling God is far away

And we know it, don't we, when we are not right with God. When you are a Christian, you know when you are not walking closely with God.

There are times when we feel God is far away. And we feel lost, cast adrift, orphaned.

The promises He makes to us in the bible seem like they're meant for someone else.


We may feel that He is far too busy to see us, or far too aloof to hear our cries.

Or we think that He is somehow not equal to our problems.

Sometimes we don't really mean to push Him away either, but the sinful nature makes it easy to do so.


That is exactly where the people of God were when the message of Isaiah 40 was given to them.

Isaiah 40: Background

The Northern Kingdom Falls to the Assyrians

The Kingdom of Israel had split into two kingdoms almost immediately after Solomon's death, at around 930 BC.



This was because of greed and rebellion against God (1 Kings Chapter 12, 2 Kings 17).



The northern kingdom, called 'Israel', made up of 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel, was conquered by the Assyrian Empire around 722 BC. The survivors were exiled and their possessions taken away.

The Southern Kingdom survive the Assyrians

The southern kingdom, called 'Judah', comprised only of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, witnessed the defeat of the northern kingdom and knew that they were next.



At the time the prophet Isaiah came to the scene, around 715 BC, the Assyrians laid seige to the fortified cities of Jerusalem.



However the King of Judah at the time, Hezekiah, still worshipped and believed in God. He made the necessary preparations against the seige  but more than that, he led the people to put their trust on the might of their God (2 Chronicles 32:6-7).



In response to Hezekiah and Isaiah's prayer, God intervened by sending an angel (2 Chronicles 32:21) who annihilated all the fighting men, leaders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king, Sennacherib. Sennacherib returned to his own lands in disgrace and was himself later assassinated by his own sons.

The Southern Kingdom falls to the Babylonians

But the reprieve for Judah was short-lived.



Judah eventually fell to the Babylonian Empire. We read in 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 the reason for the fall is that the people continued to not listen to the prophets God sent calling them to repentance, and finally God's wrath fell on His people.

The people were conquered; their fighting men killed and the survivors taken into exile to be made slaves to the Babylonians.



The temple, which to the people of God was a comfort because it represented God's presence in their midst, was burned down and all the articles of faith, large and small were carried off to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:18-20).

You are Mine. Behold your God!

Into this time of upheavel, death, loss, in the midst of an exile that would last 70 years, the message of Isaiah chapter 40 was sent.



To a people grieving over their losses and enslavement;



to a people losing hope,



to a people who felt orphaned with no king, no promised land, no identity - God said "You are mine. Behold your God!"

The Gospel Message

And God's message is this:

(a) God has not forgotten His people (Isaiah 40:6-8,11)

God's people belong to him. They are never away from His mind. He is not indifferent to their plight.



God speaks these words of comfort tenderly, and directly to the hearts of His people to let them know that this message was not merely from their Creator, Lord, King and Judge, but also their shepherd.



And this word of comfort, was a word that would stand forever. It would not be subject to time, will not wither away like men and their glory.

(b) God has forgiven them (Isaiah 40:2)

God said that their sins had been paid for.

Now remember that this message was sent while the people were going into captivity, not after it. So who paid for their sins so that God would be satisfied now, even before their time of exile and enslavement was over?

Who else if not God himself? We will see later on in Isaiah's writing that God Himself will pay for their sins - and paid it as the "Suffering Servant" of Isaiah Chapter 53. In fact it is this suffering servant, who receives from the Lord's hand double for THEIR sins.

(c) God will bring them home (Isaiah 40:3-5)

But that good news was not merely that they were pardoned by God.

God was coming to rescue them.

And not covertly, not under the protection of night, but in full display of God's majesty and glory (Isaiah 40:3-5).

In the book of Ezra, we learn that Babylon itself fell to the Persian empire, and the Persian King Cyrus around 530 BC, "in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah", set the people free and commanded them to rebuild the "temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem" (Ezra 1:1-4).

The God of the Gospel

These words of comfort are all well and good, but is worthless unless He who made them can back it up.



And this is where Isaiah 40 really speaks to me. Because from v12 to the end of the chapter, we read from God himself who He is.



What a breathtaking picture of God:

(a) This is an awesome God (12-26)

He is the Creator (v12), He is infinitely wise (v13-14), He is untroubled by any nation or land (v15-17), He is incomparable (v18 and 25), He cannot be represented (v19-20), He is enthroned over all (v22), He is great in power and mighty in strength and complete in His dominion (v26), and more.

(b) This is a compassionate God (27-31)

This God chooses to express and display his majesty and glory not only in his invincibility but in His compassion.



He never grows tired nor weary. He gives strength to the weary (v29), power to the weak.



Those who hope in Him will not do so in vain (v31)

Conclusion - The Confession of Faith

Same God

Singular, incomparable, all-powerful, unchangeable, infinitely wise, majestic and compassionate.  The God who spoke in Isaiah Chapter 40 is THIS God.



The danger for the people is not that God would ever be inadequate, but that they will forget.  They needed reminding.



But what does this all mean to us in the 21st Century? Does Isaiah's message apply to us today?



It most certainly does. The God of Isaiah is the same God we worship today. And we too, need reminding.

Worship Due the Creator

For the mere fact of God's greatness and majesty, even without considering what He has done, is doing, will be doing for us, He deserves our worship and adoration.



The Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:19-20 that we can see God's fingerprints in everything that has been created.



But even if we don't comprehend too much of the world, we only need to look at our own bodies and not help but praise God for we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

For creation alone, God deserves worship.

Worship Due the Shepherd

But we have an even greater reason for praising this God, don't we?



Because the provision for rescue that He prophesied through Isaiah, is also a provision for our rescue. The suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who received from the LORD double for OUR sins. By His wounds we are healed.



This is the indescribable God, who's indescribable love for us was exercised in doing what is impossible, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). And Jesus Christ is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11).


For this indescribable act of love the indescribable God deserves worship.

What does it mean for us - Implications

God, who is our rescuer, is the majestic, incomparable God. From across the centuries the prophets shout from the high mountains to bring good tidings to us - "Here is your God!"



As we look forward to the year, and perhaps continuing to see the trials and tribulations ahead of us, let us keep our thoughts and our hopes firmly planted in God.



Let us set our hope on Him who renews our strength - that we may soar on wings like eagles; that we may run the race and not grow weary; that we may walk and not faint.

Closing Prayer

Let's pray.