Get out of my way! (Isaiah 42.5-15)

Get out of my way!

Isaiah 42:5 NRSV

Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:

Isaiah 42:6 NRSV

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,

Isaiah 42:7 NRSV

to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 42:8 NRSV

I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.

Isaiah 42:9 NRSV

See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

Isaiah 42:10 NRSV

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.

Isaiah 42:11 NRSV

Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains.

Isaiah 42:12 NRSV

Let them give glory to the Lord, and declare his praise in the coastlands.

Isaiah 42:13 NRSV

The Lord goes forth like a soldier, like a warrior he stirs up his fury; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.

Isaiah 42:14 NRSV

For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.

Isaiah 42:15 NRSV

I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbage; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools.

“Get out of my way!”

Intro:

A lot of times “A survivor’s mindset only” leads to decrease instead of destiny!

Because……

…….moving forward requires something more than thoughts of mediocrity, or complacency

......moving forward takes tenacity.....

.......and in todays text we do not witness a God of complacency

.....but instead we visualize a God who is showing us what it should look like when we are ready to experience something more!

(pause and expound)

There was a Danish philosopher-theologian, by the name of Soren Kierkegaard……..who in the nineteenth century…….was a voice crying out in the wilderness of a complacent civilization…………

And……..he wrestled with bringing relevance to the here and now…

And in doing so…..

….He makes a statement that is categorized under what is known as “The Leap of Faith”

He says…………that one could only become a Christian by a “leap of faith” a radical commitment of one’s whole life………

He goes on to say that this is because a person’s reasoncomes up against a boundary beyond which it cannot penetrate…………

And this reasonthat we use to prove things in science is incapable of being used as the same method to understand God, for God can never be just an object whose existence can be proved or disproved.

So it takes this radical commitment to move over those impenetrable boundaries……………..

(pause)

A level of thinking and behaving that is completely convicted to overcome whatever is standing in the way opposing forward movement!

…….because there are some things that we will never cross until we muster the unmitigated gall to holler out,

“Get out of my way!”

(pause and expound)

When…………….Jesus came to the pool of Bethesda………..he asked the lame man………….

“Do you………..want…………..to be made whole”

In other words…….

I hear you when you say nobody helped you get to the pool…..

……but when are you going to get mad enough

…….and when are you going to get tired enough

…..to make a decision that synchronizes

…….what you feel and who you are that ultimately says,

“I’m getting to this POOL!”

(pause)

42.5-7 (summarize)

According to the text………….

God is saying something…………and the entire framework of what God is saying relates to the fact that God is promising to assist God’s servant with the mission…..

(pause)

And the unfolding of the language in verse 5 does a phenomenal job of laying out God’s resume………

“He that created the heavens and stretched them out”

Meaning…….

Before God placed God’s hands on the heavens……….if we looked up there was no sky………

And the text says…………

“He that spread forth the earth and that which cometh out of it”

Meaning…….

God lifted land into existence by unrolling it into a predetermined distance and space…………..

And caused Bermuda grass, and oregano herbs, and red maples, and sugar berry trees to sprout up……...

(pause)

According to the text we are reminded that it is God who created the earthly living room for humanity exist in………

And it is God who opened God’s mouth and blew breath into our lungs that contained another component called……….. Spirit…….

(pause)

And the text says in verse 6………..that for every believer in Christ

The same God that did all of this…………..has chosen us into righteousness……….and has decided to hold our hand and keep us…..

(pause)

And it is through Jesus Christ…………….that there is this covenant or a promise………………

(pause)

In other words…………..everything we need……………..has been wrapped up into an answer that has God’s support…………

(pause)

And it’s one thing to know that people are on our side………….but it’s an entirely different story………….once we figure out…………God is on our side!

(pause)

And according to verse 7 the reason God is in our favor………….is because of righteousness….

(pause)

Because there is a mission that Christ is to carry out……………that will bring forth………….spiritual release!

(pause)

📷 Open blind eyes

📷 Bring out the prisoners……..and them that sit in darkness…….

And what the text is literally saying……………is that………….some stuff we can’t do alone……..

(pause)

And the only thing left for us to do is to trust God…………for support………..

(pause)

Look at it now……

Isaiah 42:8 NRSV

I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.

According to the text………

God says…………….I will not allow anything else to take the credit for what I completed………….

(pause)

And the Hebrew meaning for “Lord” in this verse……………is “The existing One”

In other words…………

I’m the only thing that’s really here………………for your life………….that has real value…………

(pause)

And there are two things that can’t be given to anything else……………

1. Glory – God’s divine dignity, and reputation, splendor and abundance

2. Praise – Adoration and thanksgiving…….

Look at it now……..

Isaiah 42:9 NRSV

See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.

In other words………..God is telling Israel……

Everything leading up to this point that I told you I was going to do………..I have already completed it….…………..

(pause)

And now……………I am declaring something new………….in your life

(pause)

And…………before it comes forth…………..I’m going to tell you it’s coming….

(pause)

Look at it now…………..because in verse 10…………something has to change

Isaiah 42:10 NRSV

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.

In other words…………….

Based on what God has in store for you Israel……………….you must change your tune…………

(pause)

Because God is getting ready to turn around the outcome of nations…………

Now the significance in this “new song” that the prophet mentions I believe relates to mindset adjustment....

Matthew 9:17 NRSV

Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

And so......

......part of getting those things out of the way in our lives involves not just what we receive, but what we give out!

.....or what comes out of us

(pause)

Luke 19:40 NRSV

He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Freedom......

Luke’s Gospel says,

“If our lives refuse to say anything.....

If we refuse to glorify Him.....

.....and even in our worship

.....if we are silent in praising Him.....

The text says......

.......there is a SOUND that will erupt out of a ROCK that will shout His GLORY!

(pause)

So Isaiah says………..

If you make your living…………..by sea Commerce……………and business……..

Or……….

If you live on islands…………….or desert regions and towns………..

Or……….

From Northern Arabia………….all the way to the city of Edom………

Isaiah says…………..in verse 12 and 13………………

Everybody……………..needs to give God glory……………..

(pause)

Because………….God is getting ready to do something BIG!!!!

And so Pastor what does that look like?

Glory or Glorify - To show forth his praise

Psalm 19:1 NRSV

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

And so.......

If we are going to glorify God that means.....

......our lives should tell of God’s glory

When folk look at us.........

.........it should be like heaven clapping its hands and saying God made me look like this!

That’s how low self esteem.......and depression

.......gets out of the way

(slight pause)

When we start glorifying God with our lives.........

We start putting new wine in new wineskins!

(pause)

The Lord is getting ready to…………..step out…………..as a might man……

The Lord is getting ready to…………..step out…………..as a mighty man……

……as a warrior……….

(pause)

And for…………those that are ministering………

…..God is going to put mighty weapons in their hands…………..to pull down the strongholds of Satan…..

In other words......

God is going to give us everything we need that is necessary in the process of...........

“Getting rid of what we need to get rid of”

And the reason God is so intentional in this moment is because......

........there are some strongholds or some areas where the devil thinks he is winning in our lives that the Gospel has to go in and PULL down, and ROOT out!

And the bible does not say that God is going to come in soft......

......but the text says,

“Like a Mighty Warrior!”

(pause)

And God told me to tell somebody.......

that you are not walking with a WEAK, COMPLACENT God.......

But whatever is trying to redefine you.......

.......whatever is trying to reduce you and the things around your life

.....is nothing more than a STRONGHOLD

.........but the good news is

......that there is A GOSPEL!!!

........that will PUSH our enemy around!!

(pause and Expound)

(pause)

And the text says…………

“He shall cry……..yea…..roar”

(pause)

And this is not your typical……………shout………..

(pause)

But because this is the Lion of the tribe of Judah……………..the bible says………..the Word of God is going to do more than the normal………

………..the bible says………..the Word of God is going to do more than the normal………

(pause)

But like a war cry…………………he shall prevail against his enemies……..

......and I wonder if there’s anybody in here that desires a WORD that aint NORMAL

......to catch hold in your SPIRIT!

WHATEVER........

......is trying to OVERCOME you has to

“GET out of the WAY!”

(pause)

And……......God says in verse 14………….I’m tired of sitting back…………

Isaiah 42:14 NRSV

For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant.

In other words………….

Yall………….aint never seen me like this………….

(pause)

I have been quiet long enough………….and I have been patiently sitting over here………..just watching……….

…….and I have been patiently sitting over here………..just watching……….

(pause)

The text says……….

I have actually been…………..holding myself back…………………and restraining myself……………from acting…………

……………and restraining myself……………from acting…………

(pause)

And so.....

Every time…………..I get the urge to move…………I hold back……….

I would hold back……….

(pause)

Every time………..I get the urge to do something……………I talk myself out of it………

I would talk myself out of it………

(slight pause)

But NOW………………………………….

(pause)

I’m getting ready to show you a side of me…………….that you have never seen before……………

a side of me…………

….that aint nobody seen before……………

(pause)

Isaiah said……………..

God…………….is getting ready to do something big……

(pause)

…….and like a woman in labor……..there is a groan……………..and every time a sharp pain hits her belly…………she gets closer to delivering…….

……..and every time a sharp pain hits her belly…………she gets closer to delivering…….

(pause)

God told Israel…………..

I’m getting ready to send some sharp pains to stir up the ground for my Word to go forth……………to bring me Glory…….

to stir up the ground for my Word to go forth……………to bring me Glory…….

(pause)

I’m getting ready to deliver…………….

And…………every enemy that gets in the way of the Gospel…………….God says………………..will be devoured and destroyed……….

.....God says,

(pause)

“IT’S got to MOVE!”

(pause)

When Pharoah was hindering the worship of Israel in Egypt......

God raised up Moses to go tell Pharoah

“Let my people go”

And.....

When the walls of Jericho needed to fall down......

God raised up Joshua to organize a march....

“to tear those walls down”

And I could go on and on......

......but when humanity needed a Savior

God reached into God’s self and sent his only begotten Son Jesus Christ who declared,

“I will REDEEM all of humanity!”

(pause)

And…………..somebody in here………….needs to point towards your enemy…………

.......who needs to point towards your enemy and declare

"My God is ALLpowerful......”

And………..the sin…………that has been trying to hold you back……….

(pause)

And has declared that it’s time for every stronghold in my life to be pulled down.....

And He’s going to..........

And………….declare…………

“RESTORE me!”

He’s going to.....

Bring the blind by a way they didn’t know

Make darkness light

Make crooked things straight

God will NOT forsake me

(pause)

And that’s why God has to.......

Get some stuff out of the way.........

......because God doesn’t want anything to stop you from receiving RESTORATION!!

And so you need to declare.......

......to everything that’s trying to block you.........

....God says,

“Get out of my way………”