Isaiah 40:6-8 | Who To Trust in a World Filled With Misinformation

Today we begin a new sermon series based on Isaiah 40.

Pastor Tom preached the first 5 verses back on May 1.

This morning’s message title is “Who to trust in a world filled with misinformation.”

It seems people have a hard time believing what they hear & read these days:

I was in Mexico on a sabbatical when the pandemic hit.

Mexican CDC: X number of positive cases and deaths. Mexican people: the government is trying to fool us. They are hiding something. There is no way the number of cases are that low. They should be higher.

American CDC: X numbers of positive cases and deaths. American people: the government is trying to fool us. They are hiding something. There is no way the number of cases are that high. It should be lower.

One thing I’ve learned throughout the pandemic is that people were asking this powerful question:

Who can I trust in a world filled with misinformation?

Not just about the pandemic, but truth overall.

The challenge: there are many voices calling out saying, “here’s the truth. Believe us!”

The prophet Isaiah addresses this question.

Isaiah 40:6-8 “6 A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

These verses offer a sharp contrast between humans and God. Humans are not reliable for they will eventually fade. Only the Word of God will stand forever and can be trusted.

Reasons why you and I can completely trust the Bible in a world filled with misinformation:

The Fulfilled Prophecies in the Bible

The Bible has 66 books.

1,5000 years

40 different writers

3 different languages

1 author

1 story: Jesus the Messiah

Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry.

In his book, Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophecies regarding Christ. He says, “The chance that any man might have ...fulfilled all eight prophecies is one in 10 to the 17th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.” (one hundred quadrillion).

Stoner suggests that “we take 10 to the 17th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly... Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up [that one marked silver dollar.] What chance would he have of getting the right one?”

Stoner concludes, “Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man,...providing they wrote them in their own wisdom.”

2 Peter 1:21 “21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The life of Jesus is a historical event, specially his resurrection.

The gospels are historical documents: Matthew, Mark, Luke & John

Luke begins his Gospel by saying that his aim was to give his audience, “an orderly account” about the life of Jesus which includes his birth, death, resurrection and ascension, so “that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.” (Luke 1:3-4)

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John write under the same premise: they were writing accounts of events that took place in their lifetime. We can have historical confidence that these events took place.

2 Peter 1:16-18 “16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.”

1 Corinthians 15:5-7 “[Jesus] appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

We can have historical confidence that these events took place.

I wasn’t there when the founding fathers signed the declaration of independence but I am historical confident that the United States is an independent country from English control.

The same thing is true for the Bible, specially the gospel accounts, specially the resurrection account.

So what?

John 20:30-31 “30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

John is not saying, “take a leap of faith.” He is saying, “here are the facts. What’s holding you back from trusting in Jesus as your savior?”

I trust the Bible b/c

The fulfilled prophecies in the Bible

The resurrection of Jesus is a historical event

Also....

What Jesus believed and affirmed about Scripture

Jesus believed and affirmed Scripture as historical

Throughout the gospel accounts Jesus makes historical references to:

Adam and Eve,

Abel,

Noah (and the flood),

Abraham,

Sodom and Gomorrah,

Lot,

Isaac and Jacob,

Moses,

manna in the desert,

serpent in wilderness,

David

Solomon,

Elijah

Elisha

Jonah and

Zechariah to name a few.

Jesus’ believed and viewed Scripture as authoritative

When Satan tempted him in the dessert, Jesus quoted Scripture: “It is written” 3x (Matthew 4:1-11)

When asked a tough theological question by the Pharisees Jesus answered, “Have you not read” and then proceeded to quote Scripture. (Matthew 19:4)

When asked a tough theological question by the Sadducees Jesus answered, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29)

Application: Jesus relied and depended on the Scriptures to counteract the lies of the world and the lies of the enemy. Therefore it is important that we stay in the Word.

In Matthew 24:4 Jesus warned his disciples, “See that no one leads you astray.”

Paul warns the church in Colossians 2:4 “I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments.” (NIV)

Colossians 2:8 “8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Be careful that you don’t pick and chose what fits your views. Some say, “I love Jesus’ teaching about love & forgiveness.”but then they reject his teachings about marriage, repentance, and eternal judgment to name a few.

We should imitate the example of the the believers in Berea. Acts 17:11 “they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”

Jesus’ believed and viewed Scripture as inspired by God

Jesus did not instruct his disciples to unhitch from the OT

John 10:35 “—”Scripture cannot be broken—”

Matthew 5:17-18 “17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

Clearly, Jesus doesn’t want us to keep the little commandments in Scripture and miss the big stuff, but neither does he allow us to overlook the smallest parts so long as we get the big picture right. He expects obedience to the spirit of the law and to the letter. Our Messiah sees himself as an expositor of Scripture, but never a corrector of Scripture. He fulfills it, but never falsifies it. He turns away wrong interpretations of Scripture, but insists there is nothing wrong with Scripture, down to the crossing of t’s and dotting of i’s. DeYoung, Kevin. Taking God At His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me .

Our view of Scripture should be Christ’s view: complete trust as the divine inspired Word of God.

We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises. EFCA SOF, Article 1

Conclusion leading into communion

In a world filled with misinformation, you can believe and trust what the word of God says.

Before we partake of communion, let me read to you how the Apostle Peter takes this morning’s passage found in Isaiah 40 and applies it to his audience.

1 Peter 1:23-25 “23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”

Peter no doubt believes that the Word of God is eternally enduring, dependable and trustworthy.

Peter goes a little further. Isaiah 40 points to a deeper reality.

Peter says that this word that remains forever is “the good news that was preached to you.” He is talking about the gospel. The gospel remains forever.

In a world filled with trendy ideas and ideologies that come and go, the gospel will remain. The message and the power of the gospel has no expiration date because is rooted in “the living and abiding word of God.”

What is this gospel?

1 Peter 1:17-21 “17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”