Latest / HBCWestminster / 10.9.22 Isaiah 40:27-31 Guest Speaker

Transcript

10.9.22 Isaiah 40:27-31 Guest Speaker · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  I want to begin by making a distinction between tiredness and weariness. I would say that probably most of us are feeling tired to some degree this morning, right? Although you here in the 11 o'clock service don't nearly have the excuse that those in the 8 o'clock service do. But whether from a lack of sleep or health issues,
• 0:28
  or taking care of kids or a busy work schedule, I guess that many of us are feeling tired. My family, as Danny said, lives in Indonesia, and the tropical heat and humidity really saps your energy. I'm wondering if some of you have lived in the tropics for a while. It's just really draining physically. And then there is the constant battle with insects.
• 0:55
  They're trying to invade and we have to keep them back. And there are the inefficiencies and frustrations of living in a third world country where everything seems to take 50% longer than you think it should. So you add up these challenges among others and we often feel tired. Maybe like you do. But the greatest challenge of serving in Indonesia has not been the heat.
• 1:28
  The bugs, the traffic, different food, learning a new language or culture. The greatest challenge, and I'm going to be honest with you this morning, maybe this is a little dangerous for a worker to say, the greatest challenge has been nagging questions about the fruitfulness of our ministry or our sense of identity. You see, we have a strong sense of the Lord's leading into Indonesia.
• 1:59
  We felt like that was confirmed. But my wife and I sometimes look at each other and we say, what are we doing here? Is our ministry actually making a difference? Is this worth the sacrifice, being so far from family? Or would we be more effective serving in our native language and home culture? See, we're not immune.
• 2:31
  to that kind of weariness. And those questions can bring up that sense of weariness. I'm talking about a tiredness of the soul. Doubts about the meaning and value of your life or work touches deeper levels of yourself. Your motivation, your sense of purpose, belonging, or direction. And I'm wondering...
• 3:01
  Brothers and sisters, have you ever experienced that kind of weariness before? Maybe you are experiencing a crippling anxiety about your life and what the future holds. Maybe you feel a deep frustration with your work or with your parenting or relationships. And you're wondering if you're headed in the right direction. Maybe you're absorbing all the bad news about the economy, about...
• 3:35
  politics or how our society is changing. It's just wearing you down. Or maybe it's just your daily grind that is grinding you down. Yes, you may be tired, but more than that, you feel weary, burnt out. Well, if any of that describes you this morning, I have good news for you. God offers strength to the weary.
• 4:09
  And I'd like to share with you a few things that I've learned, that God has taught me, that have been a help and encouragement to me. So let's turn to what will probably be a familiar passage for many of you, Isaiah chapter 40, verses 27 through 31. And would you please stand with me in honor of God's word. Isaiah 40, 27 to 31. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel?
• 4:42
  My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God. 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 grow faint or weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint.
• 5:11
  and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted. But they who wait for 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. You may be seated.
• 5:42
  Let's pray. Father, we're so thankful that your word speaks to us just where we are. And so often, Lord, your word is just like an arrow on target. And I pray that it would pierce our hearts and souls this morning, that you would touch us in a very deep place and encourage us, Lord, in the midst of whatever situation, circumstances we're in right now.
• 6:19
  I pray especially for those here this morning who are dealing not only with tiredness but with weariness. Would you have a special word of encouragement and by your Holy Spirit bring them strength this morning. And to all of us, Lord, show yourself to be good and mighty and faithful as we know you are. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
• 6:53
  So I want to divide the passage this morning into three parts. First, we're going to look at Israel's wearied complaint. Secondly, God's counterintuitive response. And third, God's gracious demand. So first, Israel's wearied complaint.
• 7:20
  The concept of faintness or weariness is expressed repeatedly in this passage, nine times, in fact, using different verbs and adjectives. What is the nature of this weariness? Is it physical tiredness, like I mentioned before, and thus is the strength that God promises in this passage physical strength, energy, or bodily stamina?
• 7:52
  I don't think so. I think that Isaiah is using metaphors not to describe physical endurance, but rather spiritual endurance, what we might call mental resilience, or even emotional health. And likewise, I think the weariness implied here is not the tiredness you might feel by staying awake all night, but rather discouragement.
• 8:25
  stress, anxiety, or just feeling plain beat down by the pressures of this life. I interpret the concept of weariness in this passage this way for two primary reasons. First, my sense from reading the book of Isaiah and the rest of the Bible is that God never promises unrelenting good health and physical stamina to his people.
• 8:55
  We are living in bodies that are wasting away, to use the language of the Apostle Paul. God doesn't promise that all of his people will be long-distance runners or endurance athletes. But secondly, and more importantly, I think Israel's complaint in verse 27
• 9:21
  reveals the nature and the source of the weariness described in the rest of the passage. First, notice that this complaint is in the mouth of Jacob, or Israel. If you glance back to verse 9 in chapter 40, if you still have your Bibles open, you will see that the earlier portion of this chapter was explicitly directed to Zion.
• 9:51
  to Jerusalem, to the cities of Judah, that is, the southern kingdom. But in verse 27, the focus is shifted to Israel, the northern kingdom. And this focus on the northern kingdom continues all the way to chapter 49. In the flow of the book of Isaiah, you may remember that God has just devastated the Assyrian army that was surrounding the city of Jerusalem.
• 10:23
  during the reign of King Hezekiah. But of course, the Assyrian army had already overrun the northern kingdom. It had destroyed their land and carried off survivors into exile. So Israel's complaint in verse 27 makes sense. He says, my way is hidden from the Lord.
• 10:52
  The Israelites weren't claiming that God lacked omniscience. They were complaining that Yahweh, their covenant God, was seemingly neglecting them while they were living in exile. Likewise, in saying, my right is disregarded by my God, they are complaining that God is ignoring their welfare or that he has failed to act on their behalf. And I want to ask you this morning,
• 11:26
  Have you ever felt like God was distant or silent when you needed him? Have you ever felt God is ghosting you? In our hearts, we often grumble. Come on, God. Really? This is what you have for me? This is what you're asking me to endure? This is not what I was envisioning for my life.
• 12:00
  And brothers and sisters, when we feel as if God doesn't see us or doesn't care or is really just being unfair or that we're stuck in the mud and we're spinning our wheels and we're getting nowhere, that is when weariness can set in. We might feel angry, we might feel depressed, or we might just feel weary. We want to give up.
• 12:33
  Think of the day and the culture in which we live. The influence and reach of social media in the last 15 years has been absolutely incredible and world-altering. I mean, some of your younger people won't even know what the world was like before social media. But I want to ask you, at the bottom of all of the social media use, what is driving all of these posts?
• 13:05
  and tweets and selfies and messages about what you had for breakfast so that the world can know. Well, I see the popularity of social media, and this is what I conclude. People want to be seen. People want to be known. They don't want to be alone in this world. They want to share their experiences and thoughts and feelings.
• 13:39
  feel noticed, right? Consider also our modern emphasis on human rights. We have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. But that is not all. We have a right to property, to vote, to privacy, to free speech. Politicians tell us that we have a right to health care, to affordable housing, education.
• 14:11
  and the expression of our own sexual identity. We claim and we demand these rights and these rights and these rights and those rights, and what is all of this about? What's at the bottom of this? Well, I think people feel threatened. They feel vulnerable. They realize they're on shaky ground in this world, and they long for protection and security.
• 14:45
  and justice. So this complaint of Israel's that we see in exile in verse 27 is really a common human complaint, and it may even be the cry of your heart this morning. Where are you, God? Don't you see what's happening to me here? Don't you even care? Why won't you help me or defend my cause? In Isaiah chapter 40 verse 28,
• 15:21
  God responds to this complaint through his prophet Isaiah by lovingly rebuking his people. Yet God's response is perhaps not what you would expect. So let's consider God's counterintuitive response. Verse 28, have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God.
• 15:53
  the creator of the ends of the earth. Notice something important here. God does not begin his response to the complaint of Israel by reassuring Israel that he sees him, or that he will be faithful to his promises, or that he will act with righteousness, or even that he loves and cares for his people. Of course, all of those things are true, but notice
• 16:25
  God's initial response. His people should know, indeed they have been told, that God is everlasting. He is without beginning or end. He is the Alpha and the Omega, ancient of days. Before the foundation of the world, God says, I am.
• 16:55
  And not only that, notice in verse 28 that God is not described as the creator of the heavens and the earth, although that is true, but he's described as the creator of the ends of the earth. So Isaiah is here emphasizing the reach of God, the span of his rule, to Assyria, those in exile, to Indonesia.
• 17:23
  and the farthest reaches of this world. And when you put that together with the fact that God is everlasting, I think God's transcendence and his immensity is being emphasized here. But can you see how we might not initially perceive how verse 28 answers the complaint of verse 27? Israel laments,
• 17:57
  Why is my way hidden from you, God? Why are you doing me wrong, God? The cry goes up to heaven and God booms his response, I am the everlasting creator. That doesn't really answer the question or complain, or does it? What if we want God to fix our problems, confirm our agendas?
• 18:30
  follow our plans, but he wants us to put our hands over our mouths and wonder. What if he wants us to first marvel at his awesome transcendence and might? What if we are inclined to protest before God like he is just one other politician that is answerable to us?
• 19:02
  And he wants us to respect him and honor him. Honor him as something totally other and wonderful and worthy and unfathomable in the fullness of his greatness and glory. Brothers and sisters, meditating on the true nature and being of God, that he is everlasting and creator.
• 19:35
  might not initially seem like the answer to your weariness or to the list of complaints and grievances that you bring before God. But that is exactly where we need to begin, counterintuitively, with the transcendence of God. This is God's first response to Israel's complaint, but it is not his final one. Verse 28 continues,
• 20:08
  He does not faint or grow weary. His understanding is unsearchable. What does it mean that God does not faint or grow weary? Does it mean that God never physically tires or never needs sleep? Well, those things are true, gloriously true. But I've been arguing that this passage is not primarily about physical tiredness or bodily strength.
• 20:41
  So it would be odd if Isaiah was suddenly interjecting a statement about God's physical endurance, right? Especially when God does not have a body. So what does this mean? I think we receive a clue in the second phrase. God's understanding is unsearchable. If you look at the rest of this passage, you will notice that it is written in poetic parallelism.
• 21:14
  In other words, in each verse you will find one or two pairings of phrases. Isaiah makes an assertion and then he writes another that basically restates the first assertion or clarifies it. So for example, look at verses 29 and 30. He gives power to the faint and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youth shall faint and be weary.
• 21:46
  and young men shall fall exhausted. Can you see and hear the poetic parallelism? You can find it throughout the entire passage. Now, if that is true, how does he does not faint or grow weary, parallel or in some way relate to his understanding is unsearchable, right? Those two phrases seem unrelated, don't they?
• 22:19
  How do those things go together? Well, when Isaiah writes that God does not faint or grow weary, I think he means that God is never discouraged or frustrated with the outworking of his eternal plan in the world. No. On the contrary, God is unrelentingly enthusiastic about what he is doing. God is passionate.
• 22:53
  about the purposes that he is perfectly and gradually achieving throughout human history. With boundless energy and excitement, God is rejoicing over working all things according to the counsel of his will. And if that interpretation is correct, I hope you can see how the phrase, he does not grow weary,
• 23:20
  or faint, is related to the next phrase, his understanding is unsearchable. God knows what he is doing, even if his purposes are beyond our comprehension sometimes. God has a plan, and he is thrilled about how it is unfolding. He is not in the least discouraged or disappointed or frustrated or weary with his work in this world.
• 23:53
  Now, I don't mean to suggest that God is not grieved by the human sin and injustice that he sees in this world. Of course, he is grieved by sin. And he is angry and rightfully wrathful toward human unrighteousness. However, when God steps back, as it were, and surveys the entirety of his redemptive plan,
• 24:25
  He is filled with divine joy and zeal and passion. As God thunders in Isaiah chapter 46, I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done. Saying,
• 24:54
  My counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose. I have spoken and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed and I will do it. Can you see how this is such good news for us, God's weary servants in this world? How often from our perspective,
• 25:25
  Does our country seem to be tilting toward chaos and ruin? Am I the only one who feels like our society and culture is spinning out of control? And just wait until the global famines next year and the country of China implodes. The global order is crumbling and there will be widespread panic and instability.
• 25:59
  cry will go up to heaven and we will be tempted to say, is our way hidden from you, oh God? Don't you see what's happening here? What has happened to your justice? And God, above it all, will reply, I am the everlasting creator. I am not panicking. This world is not tilting out of my control.
• 26:33
  My understanding is unsearchable. My eternal plan is right on schedule. And though you can't see everything I'm doing, I can. And I am thrilled with what I have planned for this world and for your life, my child. Now I hope you can see how verse 28 naturally leads into verse 29. This sovereign,
• 27:07
  inexhaustible and enthusiastic God who is full to overflowing with wisdom and purpose and zeal is ready to pour all of his perspective and passion into you to give power to the faint and to increase your strength. Not necessarily and certainly not primarily in the realm of physical strength.
• 27:37
  though that too is the gift of God, but rather the confidence and assurance that your life and your work are meaningful and valuable, seen by God and part of his righteous plan, even if you are suffering at the present time. But let me come now to the last point in my outline, God's gracious demand.
• 28:12
  The burning question we have or should have after reading verse 29 is how can we tap into the energy and enthusiasm of the unflagging God, the God who does not grow weary? To whom does he give his strength and motivation? Well, the answer is simple, but you're not going to like it. The entire hinge between God's strength
• 28:43
  of purpose and ours is concentrated in this passage on a single word, right? Wait. They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. And God could have inspired Isaiah to write, they who serve the Lord shall renew their strength, right? Or those who seek the Lord. And that would have made sense, right?
• 29:17
  But what God inspired was this disturbing little phrase, they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. Bummer, right? I hate waiting, don't you? Our modern world of convenience and instant gratification has not prepared us well for waiting on the Lord, right? We live in a day when 30 seconds in the microwave
• 29:49
  seems like an eternity, right? And when you are annoyed by five-second advertisements on YouTube, right? And I can't tell you how many times in a week I say to my kids, wait, wait not now, be patient, wait, later, wait, and they don't like it. And when God says that to us, we don't like it either. So why does Isaiah choose this word?
• 30:22
  And why does God choose to renew the strength of those who wait for him? What does it even mean to wait for God? Well, as I meditated on this word, I concluded that waiting on the Lord includes at least three nuances or three aspects. First, waiting is expectant anticipation. The Hebrew verb kavah,
• 30:57
  here translated as wait, can be translated in other verses as eagerly look to, right? So this is not the waiting of a bored teenager, right? Slumped over the couch, just hanging out, waiting. No, that's not what we should picture. The picture I have in mind is when one of my boys brings to me a toy that has been broken.
• 31:23
  And as I am untangling it or snapping something back into place or whatever, my boy starts leaning in and breathing really heavily right in my face, right? With palpable eagerness. And I have to say, whoa, Hugh, Wally, give me a little space and I'll do this for you, right? Can you picture that?
• 31:50
  Well, that is the best way I can think of to explain the sense of this Hebrew verb, this expectant anticipation that we are to have toward God, as it were, waiting for him with bated breath so that he would act. So in that sense, our waiting for God is very active and it's engaged. However,
• 32:19
  There's another sense in which our waiting for God is passive because waiting is surrendering your initiative or your ability to act. It means realizing that you are helpless and totally dependent on God to act. And turning yourself over to God brings a certain quietness and peacefulness to your soul.
• 32:49
  If you still have your Bibles open, notice the verse that follows our passage. Isaiah 41.1 says, Listen to me in silence, O coastlands. Let the peoples renew their strength. Can you hear the poetic parallelism again? Listen to me in silence. Renew your strength. Wait for the Lord.
• 33:21
  Renew your strength. Generations of Christians have found strength in the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. And in our day of nonstop entertainment and distraction, these disciplines are needed now more than ever. And if you are feeling weary, I want to ask you, how often do you get alone with God and get quiet?
• 33:55
  How often do you wait on the Lord in stillness? This is not something that you can enter into in just a few minutes, right? A final aspect of waiting is patiently enduring. We faithfully stand still and wait for the God who does not operate on our timetables or adjust according to our schedules or expectations.
• 34:28
  Waiting can be a hard and grueling thing, especially if we are asked to wait in a place of suffering or confusion. In our modern world, no one wants to be the farmer that is described in James chapter 5. It's written, see how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it.
• 34:57
  until it receives the early and the late rains. You also be patient. Farming involves a lot of waiting, waiting for things that are beyond your control, like the coming of the rains. And that is what God calls us to do too. So how can waiting, this kind of waiting, possibly bring us strength?
• 35:30
  How can waiting be the antidote to weariness? Again, I think this is totally counterintuitive, but I believe this is what God is graciously demanding of us because this is how I think it works. As our eyes are fixed on God, as we're giving God our full attention,
• 35:59
  And we're focused on who he is. As we surrender ourselves to him and we're quieting our souls and trusting in his wisdom and timing and purposes. As we're waiting for God like that, God delights to fill us with hope and an unshakable peace.
• 36:28
  knowing that he is the one who's in control, not us. And this is his plan for your life, not yours. And trusting in the everlasting creator and all-wise God brings a strength to your soul that should put the endurance of professional athletes to shame. Maybe you saw this recent news story, but
• 37:00
  Cristiano Ronaldo, if you know who he is, maybe the most famous athlete worldwide, although he's not as popular here in America. Cristiano Ronaldo is suffering from depression. And here's a guy who has achieved the highest levels of professional soccer and fame and money and beautiful wife and everything. And he is wrestling with depression. As the passage says,
• 37:32
  even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted but you don't have to when you know the Lord you can have an endurance and a strength of soul that if Cristiano Ronaldo never believes he will never know or any professional athlete you can outlast them to God's glory so let's consider one more detail in this passage it's in verse
• 38:04
  31. It says, they who wait for the Lord shall mount up with wings like eagles. Why eagles? When we think of strong animals in the Bible, we think of lions, bears, or bulls, right? So why doesn't the text say, they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall roar like lions.
• 38:35
  where they shall charge like bulls. That would seem to make more sense, right? Why eagles? Well, here's the point, I think. Eagles derive their power from the wind. They float on air currents, right? All that eagles have to do is spread out their wings, and an outside force buoys them up and gives them...
• 39:08
  their strength. And isn't that a perfect picture of the strength that we have as those who wait on the Lord? If we are waiting on God, his might, his wisdom is what propels us to great heights. And we are just coasting on the current of his powerful purposes.
• 39:40
  And like eagles, we can mount with wings far above all of our problems and suffering that can so weary us. We can gain perspective, God's perspective on our lives and ministries. So to conclude, brothers and sisters, don't doubt that in the coming days, each one of us will face new challenges and discouragements.
• 40:10
  seeming setbacks and the temptation to weariness. We may begin to believe that our way is hidden from God and God has disregarded his promises to us. But don't grow faint or weary. Rather, wait on the everlasting creator. Tap into his unbridled enthusiasm.
• 40:43
  and optimism. He knows the end from the beginning. He sees all of the moves on the chessboard. He knows how it's going to end. And he will accomplish his good purposes for your life and for this world. Let's pray. Father, I know that these last two or three years have been trying.
• 41:19
  With the pandemic and political turmoil, everything that's happening in the world. And God, I sense that we can just be given to weariness. And we can feel like things are going out of control. And we can feel discouraged and anxious about what's happening and about our own lives. But we thank you, God, that you are sovereign.
• 41:49
  And we rejoice in your sovereignty this morning. And more than that, we rejoice in your providence that you are sovereign and you have a purpose and plans that you are working toward even for our own lives. So I pray, God, that you would strengthen us in our souls. Help us not to be weary and burnt out, but to be filled with fresh.
• 42:18
  conviction and assurance and faith even this morning to the praise of your glory and we ask in jesus name amen