God Will Give You Wings (2)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, And my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.
I’d like to, with the help of the Lord, for just a moment, speak to you about this passage, which is extremely well-known. These verses are a blessing to us because they speak to us about Who God is and what He does for His people.
I want to preach on the subject of “God Will Give You Wings”...
A Common Problem (v. 27)
A Common Problem (v. 27)
27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, And my judgment is passed over from my God?
A. Notice the question of the prophet IsIsaiah.
"Hid" — sense of unknown, neglected.
"Judgment" — case, suit.
What we are seeing here is skeptical despair as to the fulfillment of God's promises.
B. We've all been there.
We suffer, and God seems indifferent.
We see injustice, and God does not right it.
Others hear a message; our heavens are quiet.
Others get answers; we get none.
C. So what’s the Problem?
The problem is we take weaknesses in ourselves and project them on God: "God has forgotten us; He has passed us by; our wrongs and sufferings are disregarded by Him as if hidden from Him."
A Correcting Picture (v. 28-29)
A Correcting Picture (v. 28-29)
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
A. The Prophet Isaiah appeals to their intelligence.
He says, “Hast thou not known?” - Hey, God is not only the Creator, but He’s also the Preserver of all things, even the heavenly bodies, nations, and individual men, how in the world can the people of God complain that He has forsaken them?
He gets their attention away from emotion; you know, that’s our usual focus in difficult times.
These practical atheists need to hear what they already know:
He is everlasting ("beyond the vanishing point").
He is creator — implies providence; if He created it, surely He will sustain it.
In the early days of the automobile a man's Model-T Ford stalled in the middle of the road. He couldn't get it started no matter how hard he cranked nor how much he tried to advance the spark or adjust things under the hood. Just then a chauffeured limousine pulled up behind him, and a wiry, energetic man stepped out from the back seat and offered his assistance. After tinkering for a few moments the stranger said, "Now try it!" Immediately the engine leaped to life. The well-dressed individual then identified himself as Henry Ford. "I designed and built these cars," he said, "so I know what to do when something goes wrong." God, the Creator is with us to "fix" what is broken in our lives...
He doesn’t faint, He never grows weary — God is wholly free from whatever is weak in man.
He is unsearchable — unfathomable intelligence; a wise purpose in each providence.
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
C. We see the Prophet Isaiah reminding them of the character and the purposes of God:
Belief will relieve us of a load of care.
“How easy it is to believe in the infinite power of God and at the same time to feel that He is unable to meet our personal needs!”
A Complete Provision (vv. 29-31)
A Complete Provision (vv. 29-31)
29 He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall:
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.
A. Weakness is to be expected (v. 30)
"Even the youths ... even the young man."
Those who are young are not always strong. No matter the age. We all get weary and faint.
Young men get exhausted, stumble, stagger, and fall.
There are no supermen, so we need to get real today and stop acting like we are bulletproof…We, not only need to remember Who God is, but we also need to realize who we are...
Who gives power? Who increaseth strength? It’s God! It’s not us - It’ll be a good day when we stop trying to do everything ourselves, and rely on God!
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
In spite of our weakness, we can find strength in the Lord!
B. Provision is made (v. 29)
Because the Lord is powerful, He has power to give to us. He gives power to the faint, who have been overwhelmed by trouble and trials. He gives strength to those who are weakened by sickness, discouragement, depression, or physical exhaustion.
God gives us strength when we are desperate for it. No matter what the cause, He can encourage, excite, and energize you to get back up on your feet and go forward for the Lord.
2 The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
14 The Lord is my strength and song, And is become my salvation.
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
C. Power is provided beyond provision.
God makes special provision.
Renews strength.
Provides for every area of life.
God can and does provide.
The secret lies in waiting on God. (verse 31)
31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.
The word “renew” in verse 31 carries the idea of “exchange.”
When we trust in Him, we exchange our weakness, for His strength. We exchange our inability for His ability. We exchange our shortcomings for His completeness.
Warren W. Weirsbe wrote, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The greatest heroes of faith are not always those who seem to be soaring; often it is they who are patiently plodding. As we wait on the Lord, He enables us not only to fly higher and run faster, but also to walk longer. Blessed are the plodders, for they eventually arrive at their destination!”
Conclusion
Conclusion
If you go back and look. I began back in verse 27...In my Bible I've written and I encourage you to write this in the margin of your's too...in verse 27 we find "feelings" in verse 28 and 29, we find "facts" and in verse 31, we find "faith".
You see, that common problem is feelings, the correcting picture is facts, and the complete provision is brought to us by faith...
Facts form the foundation; faith rests on facts; and feelings come last.
For most people, feelings are the guiding factor in life. If they feel something, they think it is real. If they do not feel anything, they think it is not real. But this is not according to God's order.
Others try to put faith first. They think that if they have enough "faith," they can make anything come true. But this is not God's way either. God wants us to have faith, but our faith must rest on His Word; otherwise it is of no value.
Here’s the point today!
• Keep on praying, even when it appears that He isn’t hearing.
• Keep on going to church, even when it seems nothing much is happening.
• Keep on preaching preacher even when it seems that God is not moving and the people aren’t listening.
• Keep on witnessing even when no one gets saved.
• Keep on giving, even when it gets tight financially.
• Keep on living for Jesus, day in and day out, even when others around you fall away. Refuse to turn back or waiver from following him.
• God will give you wings.