Sermon Tone Analysis

Isaiah 40:12-31

*Introduction*

Last weekend at the conference, we heard some very challenging messages about the failure of evangelical Christians to live their faith.

I mentioned this in a message a few weeks ago.

I am one of those evangelicals who does not always succeed at living obediently.

I know that there are times when I sin and it is frustrating and defeating when we yield to sin.

At times like that, I wonder, “where is the power of God that is supposed to change me into the image of Christ?”

Some of you are aware that our daughter, who is 27 years old, suffers with arthritis.

It is hard to watch and realize that if the problem is already starting now, how severely limited will her life be?

We pray for healing, but it only seems to be getting worse and we wonder, “where is the power of God that healed people so easily in the past?”

I know that some of you are dealing with some really tough stuff.

Some of you are dealing with serious illnesses.

Some of you are dealing with grief that seems hard to bear.

Some of you are dealing with business challenges that are hard to solve, including those of you who are farming and experiencing drought after flooding and wondering if there will ever be a year that will yield a good crop again.

You also must be wondering, “where is the power of God to help us in these difficult situations?”

As a pastor, I am concerned about my family and about you as a congregation.

The burden of caring is one that sometimes gets a little heavy and I get tired and wonder how I can keep on ministering.

I invite you to open your Bibles to Isaiah 40:12-31 where we will find direction and encouragement in these things.

*I.

Where Is God When I Need Him? Isaiah 40:27*

Isaiah had prophesied the destruction of Israel for a number of years.

In the first 39 chapters of the book, he warned of what was coming because of the sin of the people.

Beginning in Isaiah 40, there is a new section with a new tone.

Some suggest that this section was written when the people were already in exile in Babylon and others say that it was written before they went into exile in Babylon to prepare them for that time.

Whatever the case may be, it is written to a situation of extreme difficulty.

It is written to a situation of loss, of devastation, of hopelessness.

It was written to a time when the people were wondering if God was still alive, if God cared for them, if God was able to help them.

Great and godless powers had prevailed and they would have wondered, as one writer says, “How could the glory of the Lord be revealed in a world dominated by emperors and their armies?”

In Isaiah 40:27, Isaiah identifies the things they were thinking about.

They were thinking, “my way is hidden from the Lord.”

What did they mean by that?

They meant that they felt that God could not see them.

They meant that they felt that God was blind to their situation.

They thought that, in God’s eyes, their issues were so small that in the grand scheme of things God didn’t see them.

The second thing they were thinking is “My cause is disregarded by the Lord.”

By this they were expressing that they thought God wasn’t fair.

They assigned no motive for why they thought God was being unjust.

Was it that he didn’t care or wasn’t able to help or because he hated them?

They simply declared the result and that is that God wasn’t making it right, he was ignoring what was due to them

Have you ever asked such questions?

I suspect that all of us have.

When we consider the powers of nature, we wonder if God is big enough to bring rain and if he is big enough, why he doesn’t – is our cause disregarded by the Lord?

We wonder why our disease is not healed when God could so easily relieve us of the pain and burden of it – is our way hidden from the Lord?

As we watch the destructive military actions in Israel and Lebanon, we wonder if God is powerful enough to stop the conflict and bring peace to the region.

We wonder if nations are too big for God to control.

One writer asks, “Given the complexity of the cosmos and its celestial hosts, can we really believe that one God controls our destiny?”

*II.

Do You Not Know?

Isaiah 40:28, 12-26*

*A.

Questions*

Isaiah takes their questions seriously, when he asks, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel…” In other words, he asks them, “why are you asking these questions?”

Twice in the whole passage he asks, “Do you not know?

Have you not heard?”

These questions appear in both verse 21 and 28.

These questions imply that we have missed something.

Both of these questions turn our doubts back on ourselves.

The questions which Israel was asking were questions of doubt.

The questions God asks are questions challenging doubt.

What reason do you have to doubt God?

The major part of Isaiah 40:12-31 is a rehearsal of who God is written to demonstrate that we do not need to be filled with doubt about the ability, justice, care and help of God.

The evidence is powerful and deep to demonstrate that we have every reason to hope in the Lord.

This morning I would like to examine what is spoken here as an encouragement to all of us to not doubt God, but to put our faith in Him.

What reasons do we have to do this?

*B.

God Is:*

First of all, we note the brief summary of who God is and what he does in verse 28.

Here we have four statements which encourage us to trust God.

First of all we read that he is the everlasting God.

Was God able to help Abraham?

Of course, He is the everlasting God.

Was God able to help Paul?

Of course, He is the everlasting God.

Is God able to help us today?

Of course, He is the everlasting God.

Will God be able to help us in whatever future we experience?

Of course, He is the everlasting God.

The second statement indicates that He is the “creator of the ends of the earth.”

Last summer, our son Joel hit a rock with his canoe while going down a rapid and caused some damage.

We were not too concerned about it.

We had built the canoe and so we knew exactly how to fix it.

God is the creator of the ends of the earth.

Is there anything in all of creation that He does not know about, how it works and how to fix it?

A few weeks ago when I was working on a building project in our yard, I was having some problems.

It was in the evening and I had already had a full day at church and was quite tired.

I began to make silly mistakes and realized that I would have to stop because I wanted to do it right, but was too tired to do so.

God “will not grow tired or weary.”

Whenever we need His help, He is ready and able to give us His best.

The last statement in this summary is that “his understanding no one can fathom.”

There are two thoughts which come out of this one.

One is to recognize that there is nothing that God does not know.

Ken Jennings knows a lot of things, but there is an end to his understanding.

In his day, Albert Einstein brought the understanding of physical science to new depths, but there was an end to his understanding.

There is no end to God’s understanding.

The other side of that truth is that when we get to the end of our understanding and can’t figure things out, God still has lots of ideas.

In other words, when we can’t understand why God lets a child die, we have to realize with humility that we have come to the end of our understanding, but not to the end of God’s understanding.

*C.

Over All Powers*

Isaiah 40:28 is a summary of the arguments which encourage us to put our trust in God.

Isaiah 40:12-26 is a fuller presentation of the things which encourage us to trust God.