Good morning everyone, my name's Steve, Senior Pastor here.
If you've just checked in with us, we are partway through the book of Isaiah.
You could grab your Bibles, open up at Isaiah 40.
And also the St. Paul's app has an outline for today's message.
The most memorable moment of the movie, The Meg, at least for me,
and there's not many of them in the movie that is.
In fact, one of the biggest surprises of the movie,
that it was successful enough in order to require a sequel later this year.
But for the most memorable thing for me was the first glimpse of the Megalodon.
A child is playing with a ball or something in this glass walkway in this under-ocean base.
And then it sort of goes dark.
She senses something is there.
There's a presence there.
And then slowly from the shadows appears this Megalodon.
And it is right there against the glass.
As we...
And of course it bites the glass in attempting to eat her.
As we turn to the opening verses of Isaiah 40,
the word is that something is coming and it is big.
It is God who is coming.
And the question is for God's people Israel, Judah in Babylon at this point,
is he on their side or not?
Is this big thing a friend or a foe?
If you were here last week, you may recall,
as we're in chapters 36 and 37,
that the great victory of God over the Assyrian army,
where he wiped out 185,000 of their soldiers in one night,
and Judah didn't even lift a finger.
A couple of chapters later, you know, it's an amazing victory.
And then a couple of chapters later,
Isaiah predicts that Judah will end up in exile in Babylon
because of the faithlessness once again of the people.
And it happened 100 years later.
And so as we open up Isaiah 40, as we have just done,
Judah is no longer being addressed in Isaiah's own day.
He is now being projected forward,
Isaiah is projected forward by the Holy Spirit
into the future where Judah is now in exile in Babylon.
That's the context of Isaiah 40.
God's people are in Babylon under oppression
from the Babylonian empire.
And they think that God has abandoned them in this moment.
Where is God?
They are facing political crisis,
but more significantly, a spiritual crisis.
And God comes to his crisis-riddled people in chapter 40.
And in verse 9, Isaiah declares,
here is your God.
Here is your God.
And so what sort of God is he?
Amazingly, for the Jews of the Babylonian exile,
this is a message of consolation and hope
and not one of judgment.
And so if you've got the St. Paul's app in front of you,
who is coming, what is his arrival like,
and how do we respond to his arrival?
So the answer is who is coming is in verse 3,
Isaiah 40.
Get your Bibles open again.
Don't trust my word.
Get your Bibles open and see it for yourself.
Isaiah chapter 40, verse 3.
A voice of one calling,
in the wilderness, prepare the way for the Lord.
Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up.
Every mountain will be made low.
The rugged places shall become level.
The rugged places are plain.
So Isaiah hears a voice,
and this voice is calling for a construction project.
Now, the ancient listener tuning in at this point,
into this message from Isaiah,
would have known exactly what Isaiah is referring to here.
And especially the ancient person,
the person of Judah, sitting in Babylon,
knows exactly that when Isaiah says these words,
he's expecting a great king,
or a divine king coming.
You see, these verses are a combination of the ancient picture of the Lord coming to the aid of his people
with the ancient practice of constructing processional highways for visiting dignitaries
or for the use by the gods as they are carried throughout the empire.
There is an ancient hymn from Babylonia announcing the journey of the Babylonian god Nebo throughout the Babylonian empire.
And the hymn says this,
Whenever the gods were transported throughout the empire,
they made a road specifically for the god
to be carried with the king.
And the idea here of knocking down every barrier and bridging every gap
symbolizes getting rid of every resistance
to the progress of the king,
the divine king.
Nothing is to get in his way.
Nothing is to be held back from this king.
It also symbolizes here the healing influence of genuine kingship.
This king comes to an impassable wilderness,
and now it's passable.
This desert wilderness is inhabitable,
and now it's habitable.
Isaiah is trying to help Judah see
that a supreme king was coming for them.
That even then they're in exile,
a supreme king was coming,
and their god had not abandoned them.
He would never abandon them.
See, with a human king,
you build a bridge over a valley.
When this king comes,
the valley is filled up.
The language in these verses just bursts the banks.
You know,
a road through the mountain pass isn't made.
The mountains are brought down and gotten rid of.
You see,
what Isaiah is doing here
is he's drawing on one of the deepest,
deepest hopes of humanity.
Not just Judah,
but of all of humanity.
It's like he's saying,
the whole world is a wilderness.
It's a desert.
It's a wasteland.
Death,
disease,
war,
poverty,
injustice,
exile.
The whole world
is filled with brokenness.
Why?
Because the world in which we live
is under the control,
if you like,
under the rule of incompetent managers.
Like a really bad business.
Incompetent managers
that are just driving it into bankruptcy.
And those incompetent managers
are us.
Verses six and seven talk about
we're just like flowers of the field.
We come,
we go.
Our lives are being led by incompetent leaders.
Us.
That's why Judah is in exile.
They did it their way.
And only the good king
can bring ultimate healing and renewal.
Verse five,
we get a glimpse
into who this good king is.
It says,
the glory of the Lord
will be revealed
and all people
will see it together.
For the whole world
to see
the Lord together
means
that this Lord
must be coming
from outside
of the world.
That's the hope of humanity
right there.
A king that comes
from beyond the world.
Now,
I know that there are some
who are convinced
that what I just said
is nothing more than a fairy tale.
But I want to ask,
is it really?
Is it really?
One of the principles
that we know to be true
in nature,
in our world,
is called
survival of the fittest.
That is,
the strong
dominate the weak.
It's everywhere in life.
And yet,
on another hand,
if people act like that,
we see it amongst
the animal kingdom
and everything,
but if people act like that,
we say,
no,
that's not right.
You can't do that.
The strong can't
dominate the weak.
There's something wrong.
Whether it be
strong people
or strong nations
who pick on the weak
and the vulnerable,
we say that's wrong.
So,
think about it then.
If it's everywhere
in nature,
and yet we as human beings
call it wrong,
either the world
is a monster
or we are freaks
because our value systems
and our emotions
are out of kilter
with the natural world.
They can't both be right.
Either our value systems
are distorted
or nature
is disordered.
If you want to believe
that there's no God
outside of this world,
then how can nature
be disordered
if nature
and science
is all we've got?
Because the very principle
of science
is it's based
on an ordered world.
So,
if you want to say
there is no God
and science
is all we've got,
stop talking
about value systems.
Stop talking
about justice.
You can't do it.
If nature
is all we've got,
then death
and violence
can't be called wrong.
It is in fact
the super nature,
the supernatural,
beyond nature,
that in fact
what makes death
and violence
and injustice
wrong.
How can it be true
that the weak
need to be protected
unless there is
something outside
of this world?
We certainly
don't get that idea
that the weak
need protecting
from the world
itself.
In fact,
the only way
we can say
that the world
is broken
is from a standard
that exists
beyond this world
that tells us
it's broken.
And passages
like Isaiah 40
makes perfect sense
of how our hearts
and our emotions
feel.
The Bible tells us
there is a king
outside
and that this world
is a wilderness,
it's a wasteland,
it's desolate.
It's like our hearts
are tuning
into this king,
into his justice
like a radio
picks up radio waves.
And Judah's only hope
in this wasteland
that they're finding
themselves in
in Babylon
is that this king
would come,
that he would arrive.
Well,
several hundred years
after Isaiah
prophesied
the arrival
of the God
king from outside
of this world,
Mark opens
his biography
on the life
of Jesus Christ
with this,
the beginning
of the good news
about Jesus
the Messiah,
the Son of God.
He is saying
that what follows
in my biography
is good news.
Good news.
Jesus is
the long-awaited
king from beyond
the world.
He is God himself.
And then Mark quotes
Isaiah 40 verse 3,
a voice of one
calling in the wilderness,
prepare the way
for the Lord,
make straight paths
for him.
Now we are told
in the very next verse
in Mark chapter 1
that John the Baptist
appeared in the wilderness,
the voice
in the wilderness
is the voice
of John the Baptist.
That means
that the king
that was coming
outside of the world
to his people
is the one
to whom Jesus,
sorry,
the one whom
John points to.
Behold
the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin of the world.
It is Jesus Christ
who is the God
king beyond this world
who renews
all things,
who brings the mountains
down and the valleys up,
who turns the wilderness
into a habitable
wonderland,
a paradise.
The God
who comes
with power
to rule
is Jesus.
And we see that
in the early stages
of his ministry,
feeding the poor,
healing the sick,
welcoming the outcast,
touching the lepers.
And Isaiah
says
to the whole world,
look,
there is your God
right there.
So what is
his arrival like?
Is he a megalodon
coming to
smash everyone?
Isaiah 1
verses
chapter 1
to 39,
the first
major section
of Isaiah
is primarily
Isaiah
articulating
the standards
of the king
from beyond the world.
The standards
of God himself.
And when you look
at those standards,
it's obvious
that not a single
person escapes.
Not a single
person lives up to it.
Everyone
has tried to rule
their own lives.
Everyone's attempted
to control their own lives.
Everyone has turned
against the king
and sinned.
And we should
expect the king
to come
when he comes
like a
megalodon.
But,
you know,
a king
with a massive
sword.
ready to
smite,
to seek
vengeance
for us
rejecting him.
And yet
you open
Isaiah 40
and the very
first words
are,
comfort,
my people,
says your God.
What?
Comfort?
Then it says,
speak tenderly
to Jerusalem
and proclaim
to her
that her
hard service
has been
complete.
The statement
her hard service
means her
struggle.
And we are
told here
that the struggle
is now
complete.
God's not
abandoned them
at all.
Why?
And the answer
is the second
half of verse 2.
her sin
has been
paid for.
Judah's sin
has been
paid for
by 70
years
in exile
in Babylon.
Well,
that can't
be right.
How can
a finite
amount of
punishment
pay for
an infinite
debt?
And yet
we also
know that
after they
return from
exile in
Babylon,
they do
exactly what
verse 6
and 7
says,
they are
faithless
people like
flowers,
they shine
for a
moment and
they just
die,
the circle
of faithlessness
is there
again.
After they
return from
exile,
they still
operate as
if they
were in
exile.
Almost
immediately
they go
back to
their
rebellion
and oppress
other
nations.
there's
more sin
to pay
for.
And so
Isaiah's
prophecy
here looks
forward to
a greater
payment for
sin.
And in
fact,
this section
Father Isaiah
40 to
55,
which is
the next
section,
talking about
this king,
it's in
chapter 53,
it refers to
the servant
of the Lord
who is
crushed for
their
iniquities.
God has
laid on
the servant
of the Lord
this great
king who
has come
in Isaiah
40.
Our sin,
all of our
sin and our
faithlessness
has been
transferred
to this
king.
Judah's sin,
our sin,
are on the
servant of
the Lord,
this great
renewing king
who comes
in Isaiah
40.
but we
are told
that his
payment
means
that we
receive from
the Lord's
hand
double
for our
sin.
That doesn't
seem right,
does it?
I mean,
when you
read that
double,
the payment's
been doubled,
does that
mean that
Judah has
received
double
punishment?
It
deserved
100%
but it
got a
200%
payment?
Well,
that doesn't
seem right,
that seems
quite unjust,
doesn't it?
And yet when
you read it,
the word
punishment's
not there.
It's
double
payment,
not double
punishment.
What does
that mean?
Look at the
extraordinary
picture of what
happens when
this king shows
up in verse
9.
10.
In verse
10, we
are told he
is the
sovereign
lord with
power.
He rules
with a
mighty arm.
And how
is he
exercising
his might?
How is he
using his
power?
Verse 11,
he tends
his flock
like a
shepherd.
He
gathers
the
lamb
in his
arms and
carries
them
close to
his
heart.
He
gently
leads
those
that
have
young.
that's
the
king
that our
hearts
tell us
that he's
there.
He's
there.
We need
him to be
there.
This is
a king
who
exercises
his mighty
power to
see justice
for the
oppressed,
to lift
up the
lowly.
A
warrior
king,
a very
powerful
warrior
king,
who is
a shepherd
calling his
sheep by
their name.
Verse 10
tells us
his reward
is with
him.
This
mighty
king as
he comes.
What is
this reward?
What do
you give
a king
who it
says in
chapter 40
the oceans
are in the
palm of
his hands?
The nations
are just a
drop in a
bucket.
What do
you give
someone who
has everything?
His
reward that's
with him
is his
flock.
That's who
he's carrying
in his
arms,
close to
his heart.
The
exiled
ones,
the weak
ones.
So how
can this
king who
is powerful
and just
enough,
so just
in fact,
to put
down all
injustice and
evil in the
world and
glorious enough
for the whole
world to see
him,
but also
look at us
in all of
our
facelessness,
like little
flowers that
pop up and
disappear in the
desert,
all of
our weaknesses
and flaws,
how is it
possible that
he would
call us
his reward?
Double
payment.
That's how.
Double
payment.
We see
all this
Isaiah 40
come together
in the
person of
Jesus Christ,
the King,
the Son of
God.
On a
very dark
night,
a little
over 2,000
years ago,
just outside
the city
limits of
Jerusalem,
Jesus
struggled
with his
father.
it was a
struggle that
took him to
the cross
and from the
garden of
Gethsemane,
he sweated
tears of
blood as he
wrestled with
what was
about to
come.
Until
he shed
his blood
on the
cross.
And while
that was
happening,
his disciples
are over
there sleeping.
At very
best,
they could
see
him going
through it,
but they
never
participated
in it.
Until
eventually,
the soldiers
arrived to
arrest Jesus
in order to
convict him
and execute
him.
And at that
moment,
Peter jumps
up from
his feet,
whips out
his sword,
and strikes
off the ear
of the high
priest.
We are
ready to
battle for
you,
Jesus.
And
Jesus
turns to
Pete,
oh,
put that
sword
away.
Put it
away.
What a
pitiful
display of
power.
You don't
think my
arms are
strong enough,
that my
arms are
not mighty
enough to
smite
every sin?
I can
destroy every
enemy of
mine?
You don't
think I
can do
that by
myself?
I can
call down
legions of
angels if I
want to.
put the
sword
away.
I will
show you
strength.
I will
show you
power,
Peter,
and the
nations and
the world,
and you'll
all see
it when I
surrender my
hands to
the cross.
You will
see my
strength and
my majesty
and my
glory,
and you'll
see it in
my weakness
as I lay
down my
life for
the sheep.
And as I
spread out
my arms,
I will
gather you
to my
heart.
Double
payment,
2 Corinthians
5,
21,
God made
him who
had no
sin to
be sin
for us
so that
in him
we might
become the
righteousness
of God.
Only
Jesus Christ
can answer
the question,
how can
God give
double?
In Jesus,
God does
not just
pardon
sinners.
he imputes
his righteousness
in us
and on
us in
such a
way that
we are
his
treasure.
We don't
just get
pardon,
we get
reward.
2 Corinthians
5 says he
doesn't just
take away
our punishment,
he shares
with us
the reward
of what
his obedience
deserves.
He gives
both so
that we
become his
reward.
Let me
just pause
here.
Actually,
you're not
going to
pause,
I'm going
to keep
going.
So many
people who
identify as
Christians
live a
miserable
life.
Miserable,
faithful,
what they
would describe
as a
faithful life
because they
don't understand
the doubleness
of salvation
in Jesus
Christ.
They live
the Christian
life as if
they've just
got a
pardon.
Sins are
forgiven.
All a
pardon does
to you
is it
takes you
to the
exit door
of the
prison.
That's all
it does.
It does not
give you an
abundant life
in any way
whatsoever.
ever.
Too many
only grasp
that they're
pardoning
Jesus.
It's like
Jesus only
just done
what he
needed to
do to
get me
out of
hell.
But now
it's up
to me
to live
life that
pleases
him in
some kind
of way.
And too
many live
as if they
are pardoned
but not
accepted.
Not his
treasure,
not loved.
We get
doubling
Jesus.
Jesus was
obedient to
his father's
will.
He lived
the perfect
life.
And unlike
us he
didn't go
astray and
rebel against
God the
father.
And when
he came to
bring justice
to raise
the valleys
and lower
the mountains
his glory
was not
only revealed
in his
miracle but
it was
primarily
revealed in
his death
on the
cross.
His
power was
displayed in
humble service.
He went to
the cross
in weakness.
He faced
exile from
his father.
His father
turned his
face from
him.
And he
died the
death that
we should
have died
for our
rebellion.
And when
we put our
trust in
Jesus our
bad record
isn't just
credited to
him but
his perfect
record is
credited to
us.
So that
we get
treated as
if
in the
way that
he gets
treated
that's
double
payment.
So how
do we
respond?
The answer
is right at
the end of
the chapter.
It says
that those
who hope
in the
Lord will
renew their
strength.
How do
we treat
Jesus as
this great
king?
well it
says we
hope in
him.
We hope
in the
Lord.
Now five
things really
quickly.
Firstly hope
means obey.
We don't
treat him
as if he
is the
glorious
king if
we're not
saying with
our lives
not my
will be
done but
your will
be done.
In
every area
nothing held
back whatsoever.
Nothing held
back.
As
Christian
author
Elizabeth
Elliott
used to
say the
hardest
thing to
give is
in.
The
hardest thing
to give is
in.
To give
in.
To give him
the right to
rule our
lives.
Secondly hope
means rest.
Hope means
that his
schedule not
ours.
Hope means
God knows
what is
best.
Worry,
anxiety,
fear always
means that
if I
oversaw the
world I
would not
I would
know
exactly
what's
required.
That's what
hope, fear
and anxiety
means.
It means
if I
ruled the
world I
know
exactly
what's
required to
run this
world
properly.
And as
soon as
we humble
ourselves
under the
Lord of
history we
actually find
rest, even
rest amongst
the chaos.
Thirdly hope
means expect.
If it's
true that
the Lordship
of God is
a healing
influence then
we don't
treat Jesus
as king if
we don't
have high
expectations of
what he can
achieve in
us and
through us.
There are
too many
Christian
pessimists
who don't
treat Jesus
as king,
who pray
consistently
qualified
prayers.
Do you
look at the
problems of
this world,
the problems
of your
own life
and just
think,
well nothing
can be
done about
it?
John
Newton,
the great
John
Newton wrote
a hymn
with these
words in
it.
Thou art
coming to
a king,
large
petitions to
him bring,
his grace
and power
as such,
none can
ever ask
too much.
Fourthly,
hope means
proclaim.
The sovereign
Lord of the
universe has
come to us
in the person
of Jesus
Christ to
pay our
debt of
sin through
his death
and to
share the
spoils of
victory through
his resurrection.
It's for the
entire world
that is great
news.
Go back and
read Isaiah
40, the
entire chapter
again and
notice how
many times
the command
is to
speak, to
comfort, to
proclaim, to
cry out, to
lift your
voice and
to say.
It is used
again and
also the
main characters
in this
entire bit
of this
prophecy are
referred to
as a
voice.
These voices
represent God's
people.
God's people
are a voice
to the world
of this good
news and so
lift your
voice.
And if
you are a
Christian who
is miserable
because you
don't see
double payment,
that's one
reason why
you are not
lifting your
voice.
You don't
see it as
good news.
Fifthly,
hope means
endurance.
When we
hope in
him, when
we wait on
him, when
we rest in
him, verse
31, we
will renew,
they will
renew their
strength,
and they
will soar
on wings
like eagles,
and they
will run
and not
grow weary,
and they
will walk
and not
grow faint.
Now, let
me just
pause here.
Did
Isaiah get
that verse
wrong?
Go to
Kurong, buy
a mug, and
this is a
famous verse,
right?
Go to
Kurong, you
can buy
mugs, you
can buy
mouse pads,
all that
sort of
stuff with
this verse
on it.
But not
the entire
verse on
it.
all it
has there
is they
will renew
their strength
and they
will soar
like wings
of eagles.
That's it.
But notice
what it says
here.
We soar,
then we
run, and
then we
finish with
walking.
Did Isaiah
get that
wrong?
I mean,
shouldn't it
be the other
way around?
Walk, then
run, then
soar?
I mean,
wouldn't
that be
right?
The point
here is,
as we
hope in
the Lord,
we will
sometimes
soar, but
we won't
always.
But as
we treat
him as
king, in
every single
area of
life, we
will always
walk with
him.
That is
the point
of the
end of
Isaiah 40,
to God's
people who
are in
exile.
The word
of comfort
here is
endurance.
Keep
going, keep
trusting in
this Lord.
Not always
soaring, but
always trusting
and always
walking with
the king
until the
complete rescue
and renewal
finally arrives.
And it's
there in
Revelation
chapter 7.
The
apostle John
sees people
from every
tribe, nation
and language
standing around
the throne
of the
Lamb,
and they're
all wearing
white robes.
It says
that they
are the
ones who
have come
out of
the great
tribulation,
which is
another way
of saying
they're the
ones who
have survived
and been
brought out
of the
chaos and
the suffering
and the
injustice
of history.
The final
triumph of
God's king
is his
perfect people
in his
perfect place
where every
valley is
brought up
and every
hill brought
down.
The mighty
arm of
God
will tenderly,
it says in
Revelation 7
and 21
and 22,
he will
tenderly
wipe away
every tear.
Walk with
Jesus
until your
heart soars
with him
forever in
that place.
Amen.