Week 3 Summary

 

Week 3 Review

 

Isaiah 40 is one of the most striking passages in the Bible on the greatness, the majesty, and the power of God. It was written to a discouraged people. The Babylonians had taken Israel captive. They had been uprooted from their homes, their communities and their land. They were discouraged, disheartened, and despondent. They were wondering, “Where is God? Does God care? Does He see? Does He notice? Has God abandoned us?”

 

We understand. At times, we feel discouraged and wonder if God sees, if He cares. Maybe you feel that way right now. Through the prophet Isaiah, God reminds His people of how big, vast, and great He is.

 

In Isaiah 40:12–14, we see that God is so much bigger than nature—the oceans, the skies, the deserts, and the mountains. 

 

In Isaiah 40:15-17, we see that God is so much bigger than the nations; than nations like Babylon that terrorize and destroy.

 

In Isaiah 40:18-20, He is so much bigger than idols—the created things that so many worship, anything that is more important to us than God.

 

In Isaiah 40:21-23, He is so much bigger than rulers of the earth. We may be impressed by the powerful rulers of nations, but not God. They are like grasshoppers to Him.

 

Finally, God points us to the most awe-inspiring, humbling thing in all creation; the stars. God created the stars and calls them by name. He is so much bigger than even the stars. 

 

In light of all this, in light of the sheer greatness and power of God, He says to us: “Put your hope in Me. Look to Me. Wait upon Me. I have not abandoned you. I have not ignored you. I can take care of your biggest problem–unemployment, teenage rebellion, depression, loneliness, addiction, or cancer. Whatever it is, however big it is, I am bigger. So wait upon Me. Look to Me. Put all your hope in Me. I will come through for you!”

 

I will stop striving in my own strength and start believing God for His.

I will stop stressing in my own reasoning and start believing God for His peace.

I will stop dreading what I don’t know and start believing God, who already knows.

I will stop complaining and start believing God, who is faithful!

 

In Isaiah 40:15-17, we see that God is so much bigger than the nations; than nations like Babylon that terrorize and destroy.

 

In Isaiah 40:18-20, He is so much bigger than idols—the created things that so many worship, anything that is more important to us than God.

 

In Isaiah 40:21-23, He is so much bigger than rulers of the earth. We may be impressed by the powerful rulers of nations, but not God. They are like grasshoppers to Him.

 

Finally, God points us to the most awe-inspiring, humbling thing in all creation; the stars. God created the stars and calls them by name. He is so much bigger than even the stars. 

 

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength (Isaiah 40:28–29, ESV). 

 

It’s incredible that the Creator of the universe doesn’t look down at us in our weakness but comes alongside us to increase our strength. 

 

It’s true, and the way we receive His strength is by choosing to stop striving in our own. We must believe that because Jesus died and rose again, we really can have all He said we can have and we can do what He said we can do. Let’s you and I make the following declarations. 

 

“He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31 NKJV

 

Notice who God gives power to: the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Those who are proud and confident in their own wisdom and strength will receive no strength from God.

 

They shall mount up with wings like eagles: This is the measure of strength the LORD gives us – strength to soar above everything else.

 

Notice the order, because it seems strange. First, we mount up with wings like eagles. Then we run. Finally, we walk. Does it seem out of order? Not at all. First, we recognize that we soar up into heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). Then we set ourselves on the course to run the race (Hebrews 12:1). Then we are in the good place to walk the walk (Colossians 2:6).

 

“but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” Isaiah

 

No Fear

 

Oftentimes, the facts and circumstances surrounding us can cause us to feel overwhelmed. 

 

In Isaiah 41:10 we hear God’s Word: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

When you feel overwhelmed by life’s problems and are not sure you will survive, hear God’s Word to you: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

When you visit a friend in the hospital who faces surgery or a life-threatening disease, let them hear God’s Word for them: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

Every line breathes life and hope and peace. “Fear not.” The fears may come but do not give way to them. Refuse to give way to fear.

 

“… for I am with you.” If you know God is right there with you, you can bear it. You might need to remind yourself over and over, 'He is with me.'

 

“… be not dismayed.” Do not be alarmed. Refuse to be shaken. Do not fret yourself.

 

“…for I am your God.” This is the bottom line: He is our God and He is bigger than our burden.

 

“… I will strengthen you, I will help you.” God’s strength is poured out upon our weakness. Feel God’s strength rise within you. He is our strength.

 

“… I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” This is deeply encouraging. God will not let you fall. He will uphold you. He will never let you go, never. Let these words wash over you. Hear them. Hear the voice of God.

 

When you feel overwhelmed by life’s problems and are not sure you will survive, hear God’s Word to you: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

The enemy wants us to stay focused on what’s discouraging. He knows that with God you can do all things, which is why I want to remind you that you’re not alone! God is with you. He is empowering you. And through Him you are well able!

 

 

“But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:1-2 NIV

 

 

Fear not: This is a command, accompanied by promises. By outward circumstances, the people of Judah had reason to be afraid of Babylon’s army and exile. God points them past the present circumstances to both this command and promise.

 

For I have redeemed you: Not only did Israel have obligation to God as their Creator, by also as their Redeemer. He is the one who bought them out of literal exile and spiritual slavery.

 

The redeemer bought an unfortunate relative out of their slavery and debt. He rescued them and paid the slave price or debt they could not pay. When God calls Himself our Redeemer, it looks forward to the price that must be paid for our salvation.

 

I have called you by your name; You are mine: God twice owns His people. He has right of ownership both as Creator and Redeemer. His ownership is personal, because He says I have called you by your name. His ownership is certain, because He seals it by saying You are mine.

 

Knowing that we belong to the LORD is a wonderful answer to fear. We can know that He holds us, protects us, guards us, and cares for us. We can know that He would not have created, redeemed, and called us unless He intended to finish His work in us. How can we be afraid when we know this God is for us, is looking out for our interests?

 

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you: Through any potential obstacle, God will be with us. Deep waters? I will be with you. Must you walk through the fire? Then you shall not be burned. When God is with us, He is for us, and who can be against us?

 

Israel had and would have their trials, but we have ours also. Trials are inevitable; it doesn’t say if you pass through the waters, it says when you pass through the waters. The text doesn’t say, “When you walk on a luxurious padded carpet, I will be with you.” It says God will be with us in the toughest of circumstances. Trials are varied; sometimes we face waters, sometimes rivers, and sometimes fire. Floods overwhelm, fires consume.

 

 

“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth…Isaiah 43:18-19a NKJV 

 

“Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old. Look, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:18-19 CSB

 

Do not remember the former things: As Isaiah writes prophetically to Israel, they were mired in the desperate circumstances of captivity and exile. God wants to put their eyes on the new work He will do, so it begins with a reminder to not remember the former things. If they are stuck in the failure and sin and discouragement of the past, they will never go forward to the new thing God has for them.

 

It is a fascinating – and instructive – switch between Isaiah 43:16-17 and Isaiah 43:18. In Isaiah 43:16-17, Israel is told to look to the past by remembering the great things God did for them at the Red Sea. But in Isaiah 43:18, they are told, do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. This shows us that there is a sense in which we must remember the past, in terms of God’s great work on our behalf. There is also a sense in which we must forsake and forget the past, with all its discouragement and defeat, and move on to what God has for us in the future.

 

Behold, I will do a new thing: Staying stuck in the past can keep us from the new thing God wants to do. If Israel stayed stuck in the discouragement and seduction of Babylon, they would never look for the new thing of release from exile.

 

We can make an idol out of the “new.” We can error as the people of Athens did who spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing (Acts 17:21). We can be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. But we can also error on the other side of the balance, and work against the new thing God wants to do.

 

 

“This is what the Lord says— Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God.” Isaiah 44:6 NIV (read v. 6-8)

 

I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no God: The LORD has already taken this unique title in Isaiah 41:4, in the same context of proclaiming His glory against the feeble false gods. An idol can never be the First, because an idol needs someone to make him. An idol can never be the Last because they wear out and break. But the Lord GOD of Israel is both the First and the Last; He is completely unique, and besides Him there is no God.

 

“As first he does not derive his being from any other, but is self-existing; as last he remains supreme at the End.” (Motyer)

 

Jesus takes the same title of the First and the Last in Revelation 1:17 and 22:13. If the LORD is the Firstand the Last according to Isaiah 44:6, and if Jesus is the First and the Last according to Revelation 1:17 and 22:13, since there cannot be two firsts or two lasts, Jesus must be the LORD God!

 

Who can proclaim as I do: Because God is the First and the Last, He lives outside our time-domain, and can proclaim things before they happen. He can proclaim the things that are coming and shall come. This shows God really is who He says He is, watching and directing the parade of human and cosmic history as it makes its course down His appointed path.

 

Do not fear, nor be afraid: Knowing these truths about God isn’t only good for winning theological quiz games. When we really know who God is, and His great wisdom and authority over all things, it erases all fear in our lives.

 

You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me (Isaiah 44:8): God says to His people, “You are all witnesses of these truths. Tell Me yourself – is there any God besides Me?”

 

Because there is no other God besides the LORD, it means that God the Father is the LORD, God the Son is the LORD, and God the Holy Spirit is the LORD. Yahweh – the name translated by the small-caps LORD – is the Triune God, the One God in Three Persons. There are no “grades” or “degrees” to true deity. There are false gods, symbolic gods, and the true God – and the only true God is Yahweh, the LORD.

 

You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me (Isaiah 44:8): God says to His people, “You are all witnesses of these truths. Tell Me yourself – is there any God besides Me?”

 

Because there is no other God besides the LORD, it means that God the Father is the LORD, God the Son is the LORD, and God the Holy Spirit is the LORD. Yahweh – the name translated by the small-caps LORD – is the Triune God, the One God in Three Persons. There are no “grades” or “degrees” to true deity. There are false gods, idols, symbolic gods, and the true God – and the only true God is Yahweh, the LORD. Our God is a jealous God, He wants a deep, intimate, personal relationship with us. Don’t let nothing and no one come before Him.

 

The Goodness of God

Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!

Introduction

Week 1 Review

Week 2 Review