The Greatness of our God!

There is no-one like our God! Scripture testifies to that truth, and one the greatest examples of this is found in Isaiah chapter 40. I think its important for every person to acknowledge and see the greatness of God, especially compared to other God’s and ourselves.

Just a little bit of context before we get going in this text… In the chapters preceding this the book of Isaiah mentions specifically in chapters 34 and 35 the judgment on all nations and creation, but also a future blessing on Israel and Gods people, with an insight of the past and looking forward to the future. In the beginnings of this chapter Isaiah sends a comfort for the people of God and a promise of his word staying true forever. While the people of Isreal were not yet free the truths found in this chapter will give them hope for the future. Thats why I have titled this study this morning the greatness of our God..

I have five observations about God greatness in this text today.

prayer requests… lauras and Jennifer parents are moving.. frank gaynor, mary, ruby passed away…

God is great because he is the sole creator… 12, 21

Genesis gives us this creation account. It teaches about how God alone created everything.. From the heavens to the earth… To man to animals, plants and all other things.. By his voice things are created into existence....

the architect of a giant sky scraper cannot possibly design, and build it by himself, but the creator God doesn't need architects, engineers, electricians, or anyone else to create this world. He alone is God and he alone is the sole creator, and because he is creator he has the ability to do all things.

what happens if we dont believe God is the sole creator?

God is great because no-one compares to him.. 9-12, 18, 25

God in his great power separated the people away from the promise land to show his power, while at the same time bringing them back to him with his power. This is just one reason no one compares to him, because he is a God who can give and take way. No other person has the ability to give and take away like God. Another way no-one compares to him is that he is the great Shepherd. John chapter 10 speaks of this truth, but whats unique about that truth is it teaches us that the good shepherd will lay down his life for his sheep , he is not hired shepherd like most, but Christ laid down his life for his sheep, and as a result all his sheep will come to him, and he will know them and they will no him. No other religion has that truth.

In verse 25 there is just another reminder that he is Holy and only God is holy

We live in a time for of comparisons… Jordan, Lebron.. is a big one, and many people make good arguments about who is greater… BUT noone can compare to God. For the Israelites they were surrounded by others Gods that did this and or, but for them they couldnt even compare them to God, because he is greater and thier is no comparison.

why should we not compare God to other things?

God is great because in him true wisdom exists 13-14

Romans 11:34 says, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” God is where true is wisdom is found. When you talk to an unbeliever about this wisdom they often disagree with what you have to say. Scripture is often found countercultural because the culture is not often of God. So when you think about wisdom the first that should come to mind is what does God have to say about this… we ask this question as believers, because of the work Christ has done in us, and the hope we hold on to. Let me explain why just in these 2 verses you see a few words that can be used in a variety of ways. Justice, and knowledge. How can we know what Justice is without God? I would say its pretty difficult. You ask 10 people and you may get 10 different answers, but the bible shows us what justice looks like before God. We see it in his law, and ultimately we see it in the cross. The cross is where justice is given for sinners, we talked about that last week. If not for that justice we could not have eternal life, we couldn't have knowledge or that relationship with God. We couldnt understand anything without God first teaching it to us. We may have great resources when it comes to life and godliness, but we can only have this because of the true wisdom of God…

why should we always go to God for wisdom?

God is great because he is Lord over all nations and rulers 15-17, 22-24

Nations may think they are in control, but the truth is God is in control. Those nations or rules may think they control their own destiny, but God is in control. The language in this text is powerful.... Look at what its saying… Like a drop from a bucket.. Accounted as DUSK on the scaled ALL the nations are NOTHING before him… They are ACCOUNTED by him as less than nothing, and empty. we are like grasshoppers… brings princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. They have no root.. Imagine telling that to the enemy of Israel they would think you are crazy, but like I mentioned earlier it was only because of God that they were in captivity to begin with. At a drop of a hat he couple free them or he can free us from anything. He is indeed Lord over all. Colossians 1:15-20 shows us that he is indeed over all things.. and like Jermey said in his sermon, and like Jeff and I have said before in Phil 2 everyone will bow before him..

what happens if we stop believing God is over all nations and rulers?

God is great because he is superior to to all others gods 18-20, 26

Isaiah reminds the Israelites that God is not made with human hands, their God’s cannot move or speak, or are capable of anything that the one true God is capable of. The rich would make them lined with gold, and the poor would use wood, but both worshiped a false God.

Again Isaiah uses the language that God has no comparison. The people were worshiping the creature rather than the creator. Romans 1:18-23 is an example of what they were doing.

Do we treat God that he is superior to all other gods/idols?

verses 27-31 sum the whole problem they have and the solution and I liked what one commentator said

In 40:27 the prophet anticipates the attitude of the exiles, who will be saying that they are either now outside of God’s vision for them (“my way is hidden”) or else God has given up on them (“my cause is disregarded”). To this Isaiah responds that to think in this way is to have much too low a view of God. He reminds them of who God is in 40:28–29, dealing with the Creator’s endless power and wisdom in the first verse and his wonderful desire and ability to share that power with the “weak” and the “weary” in the second. So he speaks of both the being and the person of God.

Thus, his question in 40:28 is rather incredulous. How could you say such things about God when you know perfectly well who he is and what he is like? He knows your situation perfectly, and he can and will do something about it. The fact is that the most vigorous things in creation (“young men”) cannot keep themselves going. They are not self-generating but are dependent on outside sources for their strength. God is not like that; he is self-generating, and that means he has abundant strength to give away to those who will wait for (niv “hope in”) him.

Here we come back to the theme of trust. This concept of trust as waiting has appeared three times previously in the book (8:17; 25:9; 33:2) and will appear twice more (49:23; 64:4).10 To “wait” on God is not simply to mark time; rather, it is to live in confident expectation of his action on our behalf. It is to refuse to run ahead of him in trying to solve our problems for ourselves. Thus, just as Isaiah called on the people of his own day to trust God to solve their problems, he calls on the exiles in the age to come to do the same thing. If they are worn out and weary, hardly daring to believe that there is any future for them, the God of all strength can give them exactly what they need at the right time, whether to “soar,” “run,” or “walk.”