Sermon Title: New Strength

Isaiah 40:27-31

Introit:

Spend roughly the first 10-15 minutes speaking about the tension of what is to come and the present reality.

Manuscript:

Isaiah is split up into two major divisions, the first being chapters 1-40, which theologians consider the pronouncement chapters, these chapters, these chapters is God’s lawsuit against his people. Elder, His people have done wrong, they’ve slept with other gods, they’ve forgotten their god, and god has now reached a place where He can no longer tolerate their foolishness. The first 40 chapters is God’s indictment on his people, the socio-political climate of biblical Israel and judah before the exile. Scholars believe that Second Isaiah, or Deutero-Isaiah, which are the next twenty chapters were written by a school of Isaiah’s disciples post-exile, expounding on the arguments and issues during exile. If you study enough judaistic philosophy, you’ll slowly but surely come to a realization that their tradition is arguing, but not just arguing with one another, but arguing with God. There’s a book by the name of Arguing with God a jewish tradition that puts it very plainly that in the bible, individuals argue with God in times of crisis through use of the law-court pattern of prayer; in other words, biblical characters weren’t praying just to pray, but they were praying because they wanted God to act, or make sound judgment. Our text today is not much different, the people of God are not being warned of a coming judgement, elder they are now living in the judgment. They are not being told about Babylon, they are now IN Babylon, and the tension in Isaiah 40, is that the people of God are realizing in real time, that being set apart doesn’t mean that you get to evade difficulty. That being chosen by God doesn’t mean that it’s always sunshine and rainbows, but sometimes being selected by God opens up doors to deal with stuff that sucks, they are learning that being a chosen people does not mean that its always peachy, but they are learning right before their own eyes that sometimes being set apart is painful. So watch this, God realizing how depressed and distressed his people are, He raises up a prophet, to give them words of comfort, He begins his exposition by letting them know that Jerusalem, God’s own people will be forgiven, they will see joy, they will see freedom, God promises this by giving them the memory verse we love, that the the grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of God… You know the bible well! And what the prophet is doing is letting the people of God know about the freedom, the resurrection, the hope that IS to come, but elder, here’s the tension, don’t tell me about how I’m gonna have it good in the future, tell me what is gonna be done right now.

And this is why people struggle with the invitation of Christianity, you want me to believe in a heaven, when I gotta deal with all this hell around me; What good is the hope of the future if my present circumstance is wretched!

So here’s the people’s anger against God, verse 27, let’s us know the first problem they got with God, is that they feel, that God, is ignoring their case. We ain’t so different from the children of Israel; while they’re stuck in captivity, they gotta sit there for a long 70 years. 7 Decades of being in a land you don’t know; 70 years of staying in a house in a city that you don’t know of, 70 years of being in a land that is governed by wicked people, 70 years church family, and what has happened, is that the people of God metaphorically are putting God on trial saying you are an unjust Judge. You see a good judge, doesn’t have to agree with every case, but a just judge will at least hear out the case. The people of God, the apple of His eye, are now accusing him of being a God who ignores His people. Have you ever felt ignored by God; expound on it

Now watch how God answers it, the tension is that God’s people feel that God, has forgotten them. God’s people are tired, God’s people don’t got anymore fight in them, God’s people elder want to throw in the towel and just call it quits, God’s people are fed up, they want this exile and torment to end, they ready to go home and on top of ALL OF THAT, God’s people feel that God has forgotten them. And the first words of comfort that comes to them, also serves as a rebuke, the prophet asks “have you forgotten that God is everlasting, and that he is also a creator, and if that isn’t good enough, He also created the ends of the Earth. When you hear that statement it should confuse you a bit, because you really on hear that He’s the creator of the heavens and the Earth, but watch this this idea of the ends of the earth paints a picture of a remote or inaccessible place, a place that is so far out there that you may never visit it in your lifetime; these words of comfort may seem confusing to us, but for the people in captivity this reminded them of God’s care. Because if God cares enough to create places that we can’t even see, or the depth of even the earths, then that means that God is detailed. And if God cares for all the details then that must me He cares for me!

The next thing He let’s them know, is that I am not like you. Pay attention, God is speaking to a people who are at the brink of despair, and His encouragement to them is, You and I aren’t the same. While you get tired, I don’t, while you get weary, I do not, while you are faint, I can not, and the encouragement for somebody is, stop thinking that you’re the one who has to hold it all together, you get tired, you get weary, you grow faint, ahhhhh but there’s somebody who doesn’t. And His name, is YHWH, His name is, Adonai, His name is Jehovah, however you call him, whatsoever you call him, just know that He can’t fail! He won’t fail!

Then, God in encouraging His people, again, rebukes his people, the prophet says, His understanding is unsearchable. There exists within all of us, a need for knowledge won’t you agree, we want to know things. If things are good, we want to know why; if things aren’t good we want to know why, and what God does, is that He reminds His people, an uncomfortable difficult truth, that His understanding is unsearchable. Now this part hurts, because as Human we want everything told to us, yet God let’s his people know you will waste your time trying to get to the depth of my understanding, and the reason why this matters is because this would save us so many arguments with God. If we would simply accept, that God does things how He does things, and sometimes that may go against what we want or think is right, if we would understand this truth, and accept it, it would save a lot of heartache. A lot of disbelief, because while God’s ways are not hidden from His people, His understanding remains a mystery. (Expound on this)

And finally, God reminds them that He’s the one who gives power and strength to those who are week, under one condition, they must wait on the Lord, and then He will renew their strength. If you were here a couple of Sabbaths ago, you remember how we learned that word wait the connotation is qavah that means wait with some anticipation, wait with some hope, wait with some ferver, don’t just wait and do not nothing wait with some happiness in your soul; but you know I can’t let you go without nerding out a little bit, that word renew is the hebrew verb halap which means to pass on. And in its connotation it denotes something passing away or being done with, while another example is somebody putting away old clothes for some new ones, and I came here this Sabbath to encourage somebody with this reflective thought. It’s time to put away that little strength you have and receive the new strength God is giving you, it’s time to let go of that little strength you have left over and receive God’s renewed strength, renewed doesn’t mean using the same strength you have, but it means that a new strength will be supplied to you, and that new strength is not by might, it’s not by power, not by degrees, not by trophies, not by conferences titles, not by church titles, but only, and only, and only by the hand of God. I know I said I’ll only take five minutes, but can you tap your neighbor and let them know that God is going to give you some new strength, let them know that old strength ain’t cutting it no more, God got some new strength for you. And this strength ain’t great value, this strength ain’t fake, but this is that good strength, the strength you feel in your bones, the strength that makes you wanna SHOUT!