Gaining Your Strength from the Right Source
2165 BC – Call of Abraham
1445 BC – Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea
1000 BC – Reign of King David
931 BC – Division of Israel into two kingdoms (northern – “Israel” and southern – “Judah”)
722 BC – Northern Kingdom (Israel) conquered by Assyria
586 BC – Southern Kingdom (Judah) conquered by Babylon
538 BC – Cyrus the Persian conquers Babylon and begins the release of the captives
Deuteronomy 29:24-28 - All the nations will say, “Why has the Lord done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?” Then men will say, “Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them. Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.”
Jeremiah 5:19 - It shall come about when they say, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” then you shall say to them, “As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.”
Isaiah 40:25 - “To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 40:27 - Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? …
Isaiah 40:31 - Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
gain = change, exchange, substitute, renew
4 actions to take when trials cause you to reevaluate your source of power
I. Face the Choice You and Everyone Have to Make – v. 1
A. It is time to quiet your soul
Isaiah 41:1a - Coastlands, listen to Me in silence…
B. Understand that new strength is available
Isaiah 41:1b - …And let the peoples gain new strength
C. Judge wisely and well
Isaiah 41:1c - Let them come forward, then let them speak; let us come together for judgment.
II. Consider the True Source of Strength – vv. 2-4
A. The One Who controls history – vv. 2-3
Isaiah 40:8 - The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
B. The One Who predicted history – v. 4a
Isaiah 41:4a - Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning?
C. The One Who is eternal and self-existent
Isaiah 41:4b - I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.
John 18:4-5 - So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.
John 18:6 - So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
III. See the Folly of Any Other Source of Strength – vv. 5-7
A. Without God you have no choice but to fear the future
Isaiah 41:5 - The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and have come.
Psalm 1:1-3 - How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
B. Fearful/weak man must strengthen fearful/weak man
Isaiah 41:6 - Each one helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
C. Man invents a spiritual power
Isaiah 41:7 - So the craftsman encourages the smelter, and he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and he fastens it with nails, so that it will not totter.
Isaiah 40:31 - Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
Jeremiah 29:1 - Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
Jeremiah 29:4-11 - Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, “Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.” For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,” declares the Lord. For thus says the Lord, “When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
IV. Choose Your Source Wisely
What the people do for their god Choose them Make them Strengthen them Secures them Exalts them | What God does for His people Chooses His people Forms His people Strengthens His people Secures His people Exalts His people |
Isaiah 41:10 - Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
A. One whose presence will melt your fear – 41:10a
Isaiah 41:10a - Do not fear, for I am with you…
1 Samuel 8:7 - The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.”
B. One whose person will end your search – 41:10b
Isaiah 41:10b - Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
Isaiah 41:23 - Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.
C. One whose power will make you strong – 41:10c
Isaiah 41:10c - I will strengthen you, surely I will help you…
D. One whose purity will help you stand – 41:10d
Isaiah 41:10d - Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
-I want to thank the church family once again for your prayers and encouragement regarding my health concerns over the last few weeks.
-Throughout the month of July I had noticed that my breath was failing. I was short of breath
-The exercises that I normally did were becoming increasingly difficult for me.
-My strength was failing because, something was happening in my lungs that I did not know about.
It was not until I was put on medication that helped my condition did I realize how much my strength and breath had been compromised.
The last week, in comparison to what had been happening in July to by lungs has been amazing.
I am breathing and functioning as God designed…My strength came from my lungs functioning as God designed..
- this morning we are going to look at a passage of Scripture that makes the point of where your strength is found.
And if you find your strength waning then it is time to examine why and exchange that condition for the way that God designed you…..
- the truth is – COVID and all the other trials raging right now have a way of showing us how compromised our strength was
- trials make our false gods topple over…
- if they looked for strength in the stock market…who knows what is going to happen in the economy…your strength would be compromised
- for those who believed that science would always rescue us, or our political leaders would never let us down…or at least we have our local stores that will always have all the items we need…(how about those paper products and hand sanitizer?) you found that your strength is compromised
- if a person found his ultimate strength in sports, they are in trouble right now….
- if they lived for social activities on the weekends…they’re feeling caged in…
- you can almost close your eyes and hear the false gods tottering and crashing to the ground…and friends, maybe that’s a good thing…
- with that in mind, please open your Bible to Isa 41
- Isaiah was a prophet…writing in the 700’s BC…
Let me set up a bit of the big picture of the Old Testament for you so that you know what is going on.
If I were to summarize the entire OT for you it would be God dwelling with His people to God banishing his people from His presence because of their rebellion against Him but promising to provide a way to restore mankind to His presence
The creation story shows this same theme in a few short chapters—dwelling with God in the garden to expulsion from the Garden
And then the history of God’s people Israel also demonstrates that concept
God calling out a people to restore His presence with a nation of people
- 2165 BC – Call of Abraham
- 1445 BC – Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea
- 1000 BC – Reign of King David
Then His people involved in consistent idolatry and God having to discipline and exile His people…
- 931 BC – Division of Israel into two kingdoms (northern – “Israel” and southern – “Judah”)
- 722 BC – Northern Kingdom (Israel) conquered by Assyria
- 586 BC – Southern Kingdom (Judah) conquered by Babylon
And The hope of restoration…
- 538 BC – Cyrus the Persian conquers Babylon and begins the release of the captives
- Isaiah was writing during the 700’s BC, but starting in chapter 40, he was prophesying specifically about things that would happen 150 years later during the Babylonian captivity…
- for a clear example of that – peek over at Isa 45:1 – read…
1 Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed,
Whom I have taken by the right hand,
To subdue nations before him
And to loose the loins of kings;
To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
- who was Cyrus?...he was the Persian king whom God raised up to conquer Babylon and end the 70-year Babylonian captivity…
- Isaiah called him out by name 150 years before that event occurred…
- here’s a question…do you think you could do that? How about a piece of wood that you made with your own hands…like an idol?...
- idols don’t even talk, must less make specific predictions about the future…
- and that was the problem…why were the children of Israel experiencing the Babylonian captivity anyway?...because of idolatry…
- remember during the time of Moses – God gave the children of Israel a series of commandments…how many commandments were there?...10
- and what was the very first one – thou shalt have no other gods before me…
- God knew the people would not keep that commandment…and God told Moses that…
- just before Moses died…here’s what he told the people before they were allowed to go into the promised land…
- Deuteronomy 29:24–28 - “All the nations will say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’ “Then men will say, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. ‘They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them. ‘Therefore, the anger of the Lord burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book; and the Lord uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.’
- That’s exactly what happened to both the northern and southern kingdom hundreds of years later…
- and it wasn’t because there wasn’t sufficient warning and instruction both to the northern and southern kingdoms, and to the foreign nations around them…
- for example – when Babylon came to destroy Jerusalem – Jeremiah said - Jeremiah 5:19 - “It shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
- here’s what’s happening in Isa 40-41…as God’s chosen people were in captivity…
- some foreign nations are mocking God because they thought He wasn’t strong enough to protect His people…
- even some of the Jews were suggesting that God was not treating them fairly…
- that’s why we have verses in chapter 40 like:
- Isaiah 40:25 – “To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal?” says the Holy One. – does anyone really believe that God is not as powerful as an idol?...
- Isaiah 40:27 - Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? …
- the exact opposite is true…
- God is judging His people because of their idolatry…but here’s the good news…for them, and for us…they can make an exchange…of their strength
- they can trade in the false gods they have been trusting for wisdom, and power, and peace, and security…for the way God designed them to live in dependence on Him…
- and so to those living in exile, then – and in significant trial, now – here’s what God said at the end of chapter 40…
- Isaiah 40:31 - Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
- could you use a little bit of that about right now?...
- do you see the word “gain”…
- gain = change, exchange, substitute, renew
- here’s the offer that was being made to them. and to us…you can exchange false gods that let you down…to the true God of heaven and earth who was worthy of your wholehearted allegiance all along…
- now, do you know what we need to drive that point home?...we need to stage a trial…just like you would see down at the courthouse…
- and let’s call in the nations…and even the doubting people of God…and compare the idols of the world to the God of the Bible…
- who really is worthy of our trust…and how does making the right exchange impact the issues of fear, worry, and anxiety?...
- read Isa 41:1-13
1 “Coastlands, listen to Me in silence,
And let the peoples gain new strength;
Let them come forward, then let them speak;
Let us come together for judgment.
2 “Who has aroused one from the east
Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet?
He delivers up nations before him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
As the wind-driven chaff with his bow.
3 “He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been traversing with his feet.
4 “Who has performed and accomplished it,
Calling forth the generations from the beginning?
‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’ ”
5 The coastlands have seen and are afraid;
The ends of the earth tremble;
They have drawn near and have come.
6 Each one helps his neighbor
And says to his brother, “Be strong!”
7 So the craftsman encourages the smelter,
And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil,
Saying of the soldering, “It is good”;
And he fastens it with nails,
So that it will not totter.
8 “But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’
- we’re talking this morning about Gaining Strength from the Right Source…and with the time we have remaining, let’s think about 4 actions to take when trials cause you to reevaluate your source of power.
The first action to take is to
I. Face the Choice You and Everyone Has to Make – v. 1
A. It is time to quiet your soul
- Isaiah 41:1a - Coastlands, listen to Me in silence…
- this is very similar to the judge calling the courtroom to order…if you’ve ever been in that situation, woe to the person who keeps talking after the judge thunders “this court is now in session…”
- that’s been one of the great consequences of the pandemic…if we’ll allow it to be…less sports…less entertainment…less running around…less noise…
- an opportunity to quiet your soul and ask probing questions about what is really happening in your heart…who are you trusting…who are you worshipping…
B. Understand that new strength is available
- Isaiah 41:b1 - …And let the peoples gain new strength;
- the exiles who were seeing their world topple around them because of their idolatry…
- people in our culture coming to an end of our resources…
- there’s our God with open arms…you can make an exchange…there is a better option available to you…
C. Judge wisely and well
- Isaiah 41:1c - Let them come forward, then let them speak; let us come together for judgment.
-
its been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result…
- so this passage is inviting us to make a wise choice about the identity of our God and the place we are seeking strength…
- by the way – the Scripture gives a series of very positive examples of people living during this very period of time who made the right choice…
- Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego…
- they were living during the time that Isaiah was writing about….and when the various kings of Babylon offered them the opportunity to bow down to their idolatrous ways…or in some cases, literal idols…what did these courageous men say – no thanks…we already have a God, and it’s not you…
- they were fearless…worry free…powerful…why?...because they had this same kind of deliberation in their own hearts and they made the right choice…
- [if time – tell about Shorty Hibner, a pastor’s wife, always hoped some day they could retire and move to Florida, then her husband died, she remarried a man who had the means to take her to Florida, and then he developed kidney failure…Shorty had to decide – am I going to find my strength in my plans/desires – or in the opportunity to serve my powerful God by caring for my ailing husband?]…
As we face the choice that we all have to make…
II. Consider the True Source of Strength – vv. 2-4
A. The One Who controls history – vv. 2-3
- verses 2-3 are talking about King Cyrus of Persia…[re-read the verses]…
2 “Who has aroused one from the east
Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet?
He delivers up nations before him
And subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
As the wind-driven chaff with his bow.
3 “He pursues them, passing on in safety,
By a way he had not been traversing with his feet.
- do you think any idols made that prediction in writing 150 years in advance?...
- idols don’t talk, idols don’t write, idols don’t prophesy…why in the world would we worship them?...
- Isaiah 40:8 – The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
- you want a God who is sovereign and in absolute control of human history…
B. The One who predicted history – v. 4a
- Isaiah 41:4a – Who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning?
- what’s the answer?...only the God of heaven could do this?...
- it should take our breath away that the Lord predicted the Babylonian exile during the days of Moses…
C. The One who is eternal and self-existent
- Isaiah 41:4b – ‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He.’ ”
- that takes us back to Moses too, doesn’t it?...where did God say a similar thing to Him?...at the burning….bush…
- so friend, what are you trusting to get you through this pandemic…the election…the racial injustice…or whatever personal problem you’re wrestling with?...
- is booze going to get you through this – just another trip to the liquor store?...
- what about sexual sin…will that satisfy long term?...
- what about your anger….is that controlling people and circumstances the way you want?...[is the virus listening to your rants?]…
- wouldn’t it be wiser to turn to the Lord, the first and the last, the I am?...
- of course it’s a pretty short walk from here to the cross…because Jesus purposely used the phrase I am repeatedly in His teaching ministry as a claim and demonstration of His deity…
- in fact, on a few occasions that were absolutely astounding…do you remember in the Garden of Gethsemane after wicked Judas had betrayed Him?...
- so Judas kisses Christ – the sign he had given the solders to know who to arrest…John 18:4–5 – So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and *said to them, “Whom do you seek?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He *said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them.
- do you remember what happened next?...John 18:6 – So when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
- theology professors John Whitcomb liked to say – and then we have the most foolish action in all of human history…the soldiers got back up…if they had any sense at all, they would have stayed on their knees and worshipped Him…
- I would ask every person here 2 questions…
1. Has there been a definite time in your life when you admitted your sin and trusted Jesus Christ as savior and Lord?...
2. As a Christian, are you avoiding the temptation to find strength in all sorts of impotent idols and instead seeking strength and wisdom in the Lord Jesus Christ?...
As we face the choice of where our strength lies
As we consider the only true source of strength, then
III. See the Folly of Any Other Source of Strength – vv. 5-7
- the next verses articulate the sad response of many…
A. Without God you have no choice but to fear the future
- Isaiah 41:5 - The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and have come.
- ultimately fear, and worry, and anxiety are the byproducts of unbelief…
- contrast this to the blessedness of Psalm 1…Psalm 1:1–3 - How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.
- [develop the joy of seeing men and women in our church family do this…in ways that are courageous…]
- [develop – this is what we’re trying to do with the HH and Northend Teens – encouraging those who live right around us to delight in the Lord…]
B. Fearful/weak man must strengthen fearful/weak man
- Isaiah 41:6 - Each one helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!”
- be strong in what?...
C. Man invents a spiritual power
- Isaiah 41:7 - So the craftsman encourages the smelter, and he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and he fastens it with nails, so that it will not totter.
- do you see the obvious irony?...when you have to nail down the feet of your god so he doesn’t totter…you’ve probably selected the wrong god…which is the entire point here…
- to establish a relationship with the true God of heaven and earth…
- and I realize that you might say – but it’s so hard to wait…who knows when this pandemic will be over…
- who knows when my political party will have power…
- who knows when my views of social justice will be vindicated?...
- please always remember this – false gods promise a quick fix…
- an immediate rush…that’s one of the reasons they are so enticing…
- you get to feel the way you want to feel right now…
- but sin ultimately overpromises and underdelivers…
- that’s the point of the verse we started with this morning…Isaiah 40:31 - Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
- why would people living during the Babylonian captivity need to hear that?...
- because God had made it clear – the captivity is going to last 70 years…
- but a group of false prophets were telling the exiles it would only last 2 years…
- that’s why the prophet Jeremiah was treated so badly…because he wouldn’t tell people what they wanted to hear…
- what is the option before us?...we can wait for the Lord…we can make an exchange…we can and will find a new kind of strength…or we can listen to the false promises of immediate gratification of idolatry…
- so a person can explode in sinful anger (and enjoy that immediate rush of adrenalin)…and with each explosion become weaker and weaker and weaker…or wait on the Lord and find new strength…
- a person can run to the bottle or the pills or some form of illicit sexual fulfillment…and with each fall become less and less like the person God created you to be…or wait on the Lord and find new strength…
- the bottom line is…
After we face the choice we all have to make
Then we consider the only true source of Strength
Then we see the folly of any of source of strength
Then its time
IV. Choose Your Source Wisely
10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
11 “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.
12 “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them,
Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.
13 “For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’
- the contrast between God and idols could not be more stark…
What the people do for their god Choose them Make them Strengthen them Secures them Exalts them |
What God does for His people Chooses His people Forms His people Strengthens His people Secures His people Exalts His people |
- verse 10 is a passage worthy of committing to memory…Isaiah 41:10 - Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
- even if an idol could talk, it couldn’t make any of these claims…please think about each phrase in this important passage…choose a God…
A. One whose presence will melt your fear – 41:10a
- Isaiah 41:10a - Do not fear, for I am with you
- praise the Lord that in His mercy, He sent the perfect King, the Lord Jesus Christ…who said over and over to His followers…fear not…I am with you…
- so for that healthcare worker who steps back into the hospital to work another exhausting shift…our Lord would say – Do not fear, for I am with you…
- for the teacher or student who walks back into that classroom – Do not fear, for I am with you…
- for the police officer…
B. One whose person will end your search – 41:10b
- Isaiah 41:10b - Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.
- we’re not looking at the “entire court case” for sake of time…but if you peek over at verse 23 – you see this charge being made to the idols and those who worship them…
- Isaiah 41:23 - …Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together.
- the Person of our god ends our search…we don’t have to fear what others might know about us or do to us…
- and I realize you might say – well, it’s too late for me…my idolatry has produced a long string of people who know all kinds of bad things about me…I’m constantly having to watch my back for what people might be saying or preparing to do…
- the shed blood of our God can free us from all of that…
C. One whose power will make you strong – 41:10c
- Isaiah 41:10c - I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,
- didn’t you love our brother Abel’s testimony last week [develop]…
- if we’ve chosen to follow the Lord Jesus Christ as our rightful God…we can claim this promise each and every day…
D. One whose purity will help you stand – 41:10d
- Isaiah 41:10d - Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
- idols need someone else to keep them from tottering and falling over…
- worshippers of God can be assured that He will uphold us…with His righteous right hand…
- [develop ways we are seeing that among our church family right now…]
- Conclusion – the only thing worse than buying the wrong item, is refusing to exchange it when the opportunity is there.
