Behold The Lord, Your God

Introduction

What a beautiful day the Lord has given us to gather together, and what a privilege it is. Really to gather with others of like precious faith. We should never take for granted that it is a privilege. This is a week in which our country is going to celebrate what we call Independence Day. I believe it’s on Friday of this week. And in fact, if you are concerned as you should be of the course of our nature, at least where it’s headed, I would hope that you would stop and listen to the sermon Brother Adam Willingham preached at the nine o’clock hour. I know many of you were not here. But in which he spoke about how this country really does not believe in God we trust.

And it might startle you to actually see some of the foundation, the statements of men that you might say were the founders of our country in its uh in its early days. I encourage you to do that. And I encourage you also when you do that that you’ll not be to the point of discouraged in the sense of what we have in Christ. But in rather, and certainly it should encourage us all to do as the apostle urged in Ephesians chapter six, to put on the whole armor of God, to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, to be able to take up the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and fight the good fight of faith. It stands about all of us.

And individually we do anyway. But when we look at what may be the future for our children and our grandchildren, great grandchildren, or however long God will allow life to continue on this earth. It shouldn’t make us all the more aware and appreciative of what God has done for us and what we have as a privilege to be able to gather to worship in this manner as we have this morning. I hope you have a Bible with you. I’d like to encourage you to be opening to Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 40. Isaiah chapter 40. In fact, I want you to read with me the last verse of that chapter, which probably is a verse you may have tried to commit to memory in times past. I think there are many people who indeed, if they have memorized various verses of the Bible, made that a project in their life, they would have probably memorized Isaiah chapter 40 and in verse 31.

For the scripture says, Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Why is it that the Lord through inspiration would give us the kind of encouragement that no matter what the problem or trial in life may be, that we can mount up with wings like eagles. We can be encouraged and aware that the Lord is with us. We probably memorize that verse without really knowing the background. What is Isaiah chapter 40 about? Why is it that here the inspired prophet of God would say, Look, wait on the Lord. What does it mean to wait on the Lord? And Isaiah chapter 40, particularly, as you go back and look at verse 9, you find that the prophet is here beginning, you might say, a contest with idolatry.

1. Behold Your God

In fact, in the next four chapters, we read how that there is indeed a real comparison between the one true God and that of idols served by most in that period of time and generation of time. In chapter 40, beginning in verse 9, he says, Oh Zion, you who bring good tidings. Get up on the high mountain, O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength. Lift it up, be not afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, Behold your God. What really the prophet is saying? Get to the highest place. Shout as loud as you can. Who is the Lord God? Here is a description of him. Behold, the Lord God. It is worth shouting. It is worth telling others about who it is that we serve.

In fact, he then begins to give some descriptions of this Lord God that we serve. In verses 10 and 11, behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand. His arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him and his work before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are with young. It’s an interesting statement here. First of all, when you speak about God, he will accomplish all that he has purposed to accomplish. Nothing will keep him from accomplishing his purpose in life, for he has a strong hand and a strong arm. You can look at really even the history of God’s people, even as he chose Israel through Abraham earlier, and delivered them from Egyptian bondage, brought them to the promised land, settled them.

It was not because of their military might or their own strength, but it was by the strong hand and the strong arm of the Lord. And yet, though we speak about the Lord and his power, his majesty and his might, look at what he says of him in verse 11. He is as a good shepherd who feeds the flock. He is the shepherd who will gather the lambs. There may be storms or there may be wolves about. But what does a good shepherd do? He has though taking the young, and therefore as a tender hearted God. The Lord who will gather his lambs even into his bosom. But who is this that has so strong and yet so tender hearted? He is one who created the heavens and the earth.

2. Who Has Measured the Waters in His Hand?

In verse 12, who’s measured the waters in the hollow of his hand? Measured heaven with a span, calculated the dust of the earth in a measure. Weighed in the weighed the mountains and scales and the hills in a balance. These are the questions that the prophet now would ask. And the answer, of course, is really observed and understood by all who look at the creation of God Himself. I find it remarkable when he says, think about God. He’s measured the waters in the hollow of his hand.

Perhaps you, like I have been quite amazed over the last month or better now, when that Malaysian Airline 370 crashed, we don’t know yet where. But for how many days, even in the weeks that were searching in the Indian Ocean. I have to tell you, I wasn’t aware how large the Indian Ocean was until all of that. I’m more concerned about the Atlantic and the Pacific. And I didn’t realize how depth and how broad the Indian Ocean is. But but did put them all together in what the verse is saying, God could hold them all in the hall of his hand. That’s beyond perhaps our physical comprehension, isn’t it? But not only that, he’s measured the heaven with a span. A span in the Hebrew terminology would be like from the tip of your little finger to the tip of your thumb.

Measured heaven. Many of you ever been in an airplane and flown internationally? Or even just across from, say Orlando to California. And you think, how large is the span of heaven? But surrounding our earth as we know it. He’s measured them. Yeah, just in a hand’s breadth. You want to talk about the power and the mind of Almighty God. He’s calculated the dust of the earth in a measure. Now, you women cook, and you know what a measure is, a measuring cup or maybe a spoon. But he calculated how much dirt was necessary. The dust of the earth. Now we know there’s water out there that he could hold in the hollow of his hand, but how much dirt does it take to fill this earth?

In fact, he goes on to say he’s weighed the mountains and scales and the hills and a balance. We don’t have a boring, a boring landscape, do we? Maybe in Florida it’s more flat, but you go north, you don’t have to go very far till you get into the hills and you get into the mountains even. And look that God has planned all of this. He’s calculated it. If you want to talk about the power of Almighty God, one who is also tender hearted, who would who would keep the lambs in his bosom? Think of his might and his power. And then in verse 13 he raises another question. When he says, Who has erected the Spirit of the Lord? How could he do all this?

Who has been his counselor? Who has taught him? Anyone smart enough of all the wisdom and the might and intelligence that we have, even among our scientists or whatever atmosphere or college or inner or certainly a school that you might want to go to? Who could direct God in all of these matters? In fact, it reminds me of the statement or the question is found in Job. If you have a Bible in Job chapter 38, God is indeed contesting Job himself. If you want to question God, then the Lord in a sense says, verse 3, Prepare yourself like a man, I will question you, and you shall answer me. God asks, verse 4, where were you? When I laid the foundations of the earth. Tell me if you have understanding.

Who determined its measurements? Surely you know. And you sort of see the mockery there a little bit. So man who thinks he’s so wise and so powerful, were you there when I laid the foundation to the earth? Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Who laid its cornerstone? When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst forth and issued from the womb? When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band. When I fixed my limit for it and set bars and doors when I said, This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop. Who is it that knew how exactly to form the earth as we know it?

You know, we we have the tide coming in, the tide going out, but we know that even as mighty and large as the ocean is, it has a stopping place. Who set the doors, he’s saying? Who made it where it was going to stop right there? Who had the wisdom to give God that counsel of what he needed to do in preparing it? You see the questions that are being raised? Man really has no answer to them. But those who serve idols need to begin to think about that. What can an idol do? Could an idol do any of this? In fact, he continued his arguments when he said in verses fifteen through seventeen, the things that we consider great are to God as a drop in the bucket.

3. The Nations Are as a Drop in a Bucket

Verse fifteen of chapter forty, behold the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales. Look, he lifts up the isles as a very little thing, and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its beast sufficient for a burnt offering. All nations before him are as nothing. And they are counted by him less than nothing and worthless. All nations fell into obscurity. They are counted as small dust on the scales when compared to the glory of God. You ever been in an airplane, and maybe before it gets so high you can’t see the earth or above the clouds? But I find it interesting sometimes to sit at the window seat and look down. And I’ve often thought, you know, just as it gets up, not very high.

You look down on earth, and we just look like little ants. You can’t really tell. You can maybe see a car move, and you can kind of tell that’s a car because you know it. But you think how insignificant we are. And all we’re looking at maybe are just the people around Orlando or Florida, and then it gets so high you don’t see. And yet you think there’s people on the other side of this earth. You mean God knows us all? Who are we? I know every one of us, of adult age at least, have some things important in your life. Whether you have plans for tomorrow that’s important, something you’re really planning to do, or maybe something you’ve accomplished in this last week. But you all had a purpose and plan.

There was something you were doing that you felt was important. But to God, it says nothing. I mean, who are we to think we’re so important anyway in the sight of God? To think that this one who created the heavens and the earth considers us, is concerned about us individually. Stop and think, who do we think we are? In fact, man as a as a people. We are pretty smart, aren’t we? We haven’t we sent men who walk on the moon and come back, don’t we have even in in space now men still going around the earth? And aren’t we smart? And yet to think that this prophet of God would say, to the Lord, it’s just like a drop in a bucket. I mean, it’s just nothing to God.

4. To Whom Then Will You Liken God?

The nations as a whole. It’s kind of enormous to think about God and his power. But after setting all of that up, the question in verse 18, begin to see the focus for the prophet. When he says, To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare to him? Again, that’s repeated in verse 25. To whom then will you liken me, or to whom shall I be equal, says the Holy One. We tend to elevate and honor the work of man’s hands. And yet what we do is nothing when compared to what God has done. What man could create the heavens and the earth? What man could accomplish what we have and what we live in. In Romans chapter 1, in fact, the Apostle Paul talks about the foolishness of men who think themselves wise.

In fact, in after really setting before us, you might say the theme and purpose of Romans when he says in verse 16, the gospel is God’s power to salvation, that righteousness of God is found in it from faith to faith. The very next verse, Romans 1.18, he begins to say why that God is at wrath over men who do not honor him as God. The wrath of God shall be revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hinder the truth in their unrighteousness or ungodliness. Why? Romans 1 19, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. There are people who like to say they’re just atheists, they’re not sure they believe. Well, the passage says God’s anger arises against them.

They’ve resisted the Holy Spirit, they’ve rejected God. Why would God be angry? Is he unfair? Well, the very next verse says, Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. What does he say? By the very world in which we live, the things that are made are evident proof that God is and that he is mighty and powerful, even as the prophet has just said in Isaiah 40. That here is one in whom we have every reason to believe that he is. Heavens declared the glory of God.

The firmament shows his handiwork, the psalmist said in Psalm 19 and verse 1. Indeed, who are we to challenge? And say, Well, I’m just not certain I can believe in God. It’s become a popular saying, I think, in our world. I attribute it to the fact that there are many people who don’t want to be accountable. They want to be able to do their own thing and not have a feeling of guilt. And so they just say, Oh, I just I’m not knocking on ready, I’m not believing, I’m not sure I believe, you know what. Well, God says they are foolish in their hearts. In fact, in verse 21, because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God and were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts.

Their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. They changed the glory of God and the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore, God gave them up to uncleanness. Yeah, the world that doesn’t know God likes to think they can live without any accountability. And so in verse 24 it says, God gave them up to uncleanness. Sexual immorality is really that idea. And there are people to say, well, you know. But what happens is God allows them. He doesn’t force them to obey him. He gave them up in the sense that he permits us as free moral agents to choose what we want. But what happens is, as in verse 26 says, evil really runs to more evil.

In verse 26, he talks about homosexuality. God gave them up to vile passions. And then he describes homosexuality. He finally gets to verse 28 where it says, He gave them up to a debased mind. And literally the word in verse 28 means they cannot tell right from wrong, good from evil. They reverse the order in their own minds. They’ve lost the standard of right from wrong. And there are many in our generation who are like that as well. Oh, we may say, we don’t worship idols here. I’m sure you can say, what idolatry do we have in this country? We don’t build an image over here and bow down in front of it, do we? Like Isaiah and God through Isaiah is contesting here in Isaiah 40 through 45.

But we have our idols. We may sometimes let other things come a lot more important to us than God. I hate to say, but I wonder how many of us could probably name most of the players on the Florida Gators football team, but can’t name the apostles. Or we might know more about the Florida State Seminoles, but we can’t tell our neighbor what to do to be saved. We’d have to run somebody else to do that. How many of us say, well, you know, some actress or actor or great singer or we have our idols. When they take for our for the time that we ought to give to God, we’re giving to people of this world. Yeah, we have some idols in our life. And even as the prophet here is saying, if you really believe in God, and you know how great and powerful He is, then why worship an idol?

All an idol can do is really give us empty promises. In chapter 41 and in verse 21, in fact, as Isaiah continues, he says, present your case, says the Lord. Bring forth your strong reason, says the King of Jacob. What he’s saying is, if you want to compare God, if you’ve given yourself over to something instead of God, that something else has become more important, then let’s take a little question about it. How does it really compare with the might of God? Which of your favorite ballplayers could create this earth? Which of your famous actress can hold in the palm of her hand the waters? Which of those that you might say, oh, these are so great, and boy, I bow all that they give out and issue all they consume my thought and attention.

And I can just do what I want to do. Compare that with God, then. None even come close. What they do is like a drop in the bucket to what God can do. But look what an idol may do. In chapter 44, look at verses 13 through 17. Where he there describes the foolishness of man who would worship an idol. He describes it here as a craftsman, stretches out his rule. He marks one out with chalk, he fashions it with a plane, he marks it out with a compass and makes it like the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house. He cuts down cedars for himself, takes the cypress and the oak, he secures it for himself among the trees of the forest.

He plants a pine and the rain nourish it. You see, what he’s describing here, here’s man, he’s preparing his idol, and he goes to a lot of effort. He gives a lot of attention. He picks the right tree and verse 15, then it shall be for a man to burn. He’ll take some of it, warm himself. Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread indeed. He makes a God and worships it. He makes it a carved image and falls down to it. He burns half of it in the fire. With this half he eats meat. He roasts the roast and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, Ah, I am warm. I have seen the fire. And the rest of it? He makes it into a God, his carved image.

He falls down before it and worships it, prays to it and says, Deliver me, for you are my God. Can you imagine? Can you see the foolishness that the prophet is showing here? Yeah, you do a lot of attention to this. You cut the tree, and half of it, you build a fire and warm yourself and cook your food. And the other half you worship. How can such an image even begin to compare? Can you not see where the prophet or God through the prophet is saying, present your case? There’s a debate. Tell me which one of them. Back in chapter 41 and verse 22, he says, Let them bring forth and show us what will happen. Let them show the former things what they were, that we may consider them and know the latter end of them, or declare to us things to come.

Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good or evil, that we may be dismayed and see it together. Indeed, you are nothing and your work is nothing. He who chooses you is an abomination. Now, beloved, we may look and say, Well, you know, back in Isaiah’s day, they were really foolish, weren’t they? And they’d cut that tree in half and warm themselves a part of it and cook the food by part of it and then worship the other part. They can’t even tell us what’s about to happen, or even reason why what has happened has happened. You can see how foolish they were, even as he presents this case. But are we not kind of the same?

We may not build a golden image and sit before it, but when we let some person or some theme or something that we honor ahead of the Lord, and it occupies our time, our money, our thought, our attention, and we don’t have the same time for God. In fact, we come to worship like this, it’s sort of with some to a have to attitude. How foolish we are. Whatever you count as the most significant thing that you really plan for and provide for, and can that really tell you about things yet to come? Or explain what has happened? Think in terms of how great God is and how, in fact, we are foolish to worship either man, woman, beast, or a tree made into an island.

5. Lift Up Your Eyes on High

But after arguing all of this, what God through this prophet is doing, really, is now begun to say in verse 26 of Isaiah 40, lift up your eyes on high. Now think about the one true God. Who is he? In verse 26, see who has created these things. Who brings out their hosts by number. He calls them all by name, by the greatness of his might, the strength of his power, not one is missing. In other words, if you begin to doubt God at all, go out on a dark night and look at the hosts of heaven. In this instance, he’s talking about the stars. You ever looked up on a dark night? You can’t do it in the city where the lights are on earth, but out in the woods somewhere.

And just try to count. Have you ever just laid down when I was younger, you know, camping, we’d do that. Count the stars. Well, it says by the naked eye, about all you can count are maybe 3,000 stars. And so it’s rather amazing what he even says in this verse that God calls them all by name. I think 3,000 by name is quite a lot. But what we know is that men have developed telescopes, and we’ve come to find out they’re more than 3,000 stars. In fact, Galileo built a telescope and found out in the 1600s that there were something like 30,000 stars. Hmm. That’s ten times more than we can see by the naked eye. In 1800, William Herschel developed a telescope and found out that well, something like 26 million stars.

Now it’s beginning to be incomprehensible in it. But in modern times, with the Hubble telescope, you know what they’ve discovered? Is that there are millions of galaxies? Our galaxy, the Milky Way, with its sun and moon, is only one a million billions, they say, of galaxies. That’s incomprehensible almost. Can you believe that the God can say, I know them all by name? Can you not see where he says, Oh, the nations are just like a drop in the bucket to God? When you think about his almighty power and strength. What is all this about? Because if you know that the one true God of heaven is that mighty and powerful, then that’s in verse 27. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, my way is hidden from the Lord, and my just claim is passed over by my God.

Now it said to the people who may be discouraged and downhearted, maybe trouble has come in your life. Maybe there’s a reason to feel, Lord, does anyone care? Lord, what can I do? Where is the light at the end of this tunnel? Are so full that you may feel as though you’ve been forgotten. And he says, Do you really think God has forgotten you? The God who can count the stars and name them all and call them by name? The God who made the seas and knew exactly how much dirt to put and put doors on how far the seas can go, you really think that God is unable to know about you? But who does he really know about? Again, in chapter 40, if you have your Bible open, he says in verse 28, have you not known?

Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. Why does he bring up the youth? Well, I tell you, most young people think they, well, they think they’re inconquerable. You know, I’m going to live on and on. They won’t talk about death at all. And they have strength. And those of us who’ve gotten older kind of can look back and say, Yeah, we used to do things that we can’t do. Now the young. But they think they’re going to go on and on. So he would say, even the young will get tired. Even the young, the Lord will help even the young. With all this background, he finally comes to verse 30. After promising strength to the weak, how the youth, even youth grow tired.

6. Those Who Wait on the Lord

But the Lord, like a shepherd, gathers his flock, even the lambs into his bosom. And then he says in verse 31, this famous verse those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. If you really believe in who God is, and you wait on the Lord, then you have the assurance and the promise that God cares about you. We may seem in significance when we look down from an airplane. And yet God knows every one of us. But that doesn’t mean that everyone has the same blessing from God. It doesn’t mean that all we’ve got to do, no matter what kind of life we’ve lived, is say, Lord, please bless me.

Some years ago, a childhood friend of mine, whose life had really grown sad and bad, divorced a couple of times, been in and out of drugs and alcoholism. And he said, Robert, don’t tell me to turn it over to the Lord. I’ve tried that and it didn’t work. What he was saying is, yeah, you know, in my lonely, miserable feeling, I prayed, and you know it didn’t help a thing. Well, that’s not what it means to wait on the Lord. Yeah, it may start there, but it involves a lot more than just saying, Lord, here I am, please help me. It may start there with prayer, but waiting on the Lord. Those are the ones that he’s promised that he cares for. Those are the ones that he really knows, even the young as well as the older.

Who is it that waits on the Lord? Who is it that will mount up with wings like eagles and run and not be weary and walk and not faint? Who really is that? Well, it’s important to know whether or not you are waiting on the Lord or you’re making the Lord wait. There’s a difference. There are some indeed who are waiting on the Lord, but there are some who say, not now, Lord, later on, maybe. But look at Psalm 25 with me. And in Psalm 25, I believe we have the answer to those who are waiting on the Lord. In Psalm 25, verses 3 through 5. The scripture says, Indeed, let no one who waits on you be ashamed. Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.

Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths, lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. On you I wait all the day. What does it mean, Lord? First of all, you notice in this scripture, he says, Show me. Teach me. Lead me. Three things are said. It’s an attitude toward God.

And I want him to be of help. I want him to allow me to, no matter what discouragement I may be going through, to know that the God is with me, and on him I turn and do rely. Because he’s promised those who truly are of this attitude, if you’ll just teach me, Lord, you’ll just lead me. I’ll obey.

It’s about the person who says, Lord, if you will indeed show me the truth of Jesus, who is the Son of God, who loved me, who died for me, who rose from the grave and is now seated at the right hand of God, and who promised to come again and to receive to salvation those who truly are waiting on him. It’s that individual. Who will not only profess faith in him, confessing indeed that faith, they will be immersed, baptized into the death of Christ, that their sins may be washed away. That’s what’s involved in waiting on the Lord. It’s not just that you come to an assembly, that’s not of itself waiting on the Lord. It’s not that you may bow in prayer, though the Lord would want you to approach him.

The Lord wants you to obey him. In fact, turn with me also to Psalm 65, verses 1 and 2. Again, where the psalmist would say to us what it means to wait on the Lord and what assurance it gives to those who do wait on the Lord. Psalm 65, verses 1 and 2. Praise is awaiting you, O God. I’m sorry, in Psalm 62, I’m in Psalm 65. Psalm 62, verses 1 and 2. Truly, my soul silently waits for God. From him comes my salvation. He only is my rock in my salvation. He is my defense. I shall not be greatly moved. And then drop down to verse 5, where he says, My soul waits silently for God alone. For my expectation is from him. I think that’s a significant phrase.

My expectation. What do you expect in life? Do you have hope? Do you have assurance that God will answer prayer to those who wait on him? Do you have the kind of assurance that no matter what may come your way, God has promised He knows and He cares, and He will lift up and provide for us all. I tell you, that’s a great assurance. Every one of us who can say, I believe in the Lord, and I’m doing my best to serve as a faithful Christian, ought to take comfort and rejoice in the fact that God allows you. As the Prince of the Sky, the eagle that is swift and strong, allows you to mount up with wings like an eagle. Allows you to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint.

Conclusion

He continually provides an escape from all the temptations of evil and the consequences of doing evil. Forgiveness of sins, the promise of life everlasting. And on the way, along the way, to give us help in whatever trials we may face. Well, I ask you, do you have that kind of expectation? Do you look to God with the kind of expectation? Yes, all is well for God will bless. Well, maybe there’s one in the audience who hasn’t obeyed the gospel, more than one, perhaps. We issue to you an invitation this morning, the invitation of the Lord. That if you believe Jesus to be the Son of God, you can this day become a Christian. You can show your faith by obeying as one who will repents of your sins.

Or confess the Lord, the faith in him as the Son of God. Or be immersed, baptized today, to rise to walk in uness of life. Or maybe you are a Christian, you’ve once done that, but somehow you’ve lost the way. On the way. Why not repent, confessing your sins? We’ll pray with you and pray for you. If any way we can assist you in obeying the Lord this hour, we bid you come, even now as we stand while we sing.