We're starting a new series this evening.
So I'll just explain just for a couple of minutes what's going to happen.
So for the next 10 weeks, we'll follow a similar pattern.
We're going to be following the themes of None Like Him.
Still copies available, only £5.
Take them and pay later, should you wish.
And the reason why we're doing this, the reason why we're discussing the character of God
is firstly so that it will help us in our worship,
but also so that it will give us something with which we can help and encourage others.
Somebody said recently that in our pastoral care, in our care of others,
that the best thing that we can supply for people is a big and a true picture of who God is
so that we understand that He is trustworthy, that He is good,
that He is someone that we can rest and rely on.
So we'll have a shorter time of worship.
We'll have a sermon.
And then once the service finishes, we'll have an opportunity together
to break into small groups and to discuss, and really to discuss,
for example, today, how does the fact that God is infinite,
how does that help us to worship Him?
Why should that lead us to praise Him?
And how can that knowledge be used to help and encourage other people,
whether Christians or not Christians, as they're hurting, troubled, confused, or anxious?
I know some people don't like discussion groups, feel a bit uncomfortable, a little bit awkward.
Can I encourage you, even if you don't want to say anything, still stick around,
because as you listen to other people share their experiences,
even if you're not saying anything, you'll be encouraged.
You'll be hearing how God has been at work and continues to be at work in people's lives.
So it'd be wonderful if we could all stick around just for 15 or so minutes after the service finishes.
Time is marching.
We're going to make sure that we keep things nice and tight.
So let's read together from Isaiah chapter 40, this wonderful chapter of God's Word, page 724.
Our first theme tonight is the God who is infinite, the God who has no limits.
So we're in Isaiah 40, on page 724, and we're going to read from verse 12 to verse 31.
Let's hear God's Word together.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales, and the hills in a balance?
Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor?
Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge, or showed him the path of understanding?
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket.
They are regarded as dust on the scales.
He weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
Before him all the nations are as nothing.
They are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing.
To whom then will you compare God?
What image will you compare him to?
As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it.
A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in.
He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown,
no sooner do they take root in the ground than he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal?
Says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens.
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel,
My way is hidden from the Lord.
My cause is disregarded by my God.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall,
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not be faint.
Amen.
Now, I want to begin with something that I'm sure we are all familiar with,
the reality that we are, as people, limited, and we can be measured.
And that's something that life teaches us in so many ways.
As we grow up, we're very interested in our height.
We are concerned for our strength.
Our age is really important to us.
We want to get older, then we reach that certain point we just wish we could get a little bit younger.
Life teaches us as well that we have limits of our capacity,
our emotional capacity, our physical capacity.
We reach max, and we can't do anything more.
We suffer from time constraints.
We have to-do lists that we, if you're like me, you probably never manage to get through.
You find yourself being double or sometimes triple booked,
and you can't be in two places at the same time.
We have diminishing abilities.
I didn't always need glasses.
Exercise wasn't always such a challenge.
Staying up late, getting up early was easy, but not so much now.
So all of us know this.
It's true.
From the day we're born until the day we die, we are limited, and we can be measured.
So the really important thing for us is how do we respond to that?
The Bible would say to us we should respond by viewing ourselves with humility,
living within those limits, recognizing that they are from God,
who created us, designed us with limitation.
However, sometimes we go wrong as people because we want to reject those limitations.
If we remind ourselves of what happened in the Garden of Eden,
we think about Adam and Eve, what happened there?
They weren't content to live under God's rule.
They wanted to become like God.
And we can do that.
We can try and take God off his rightful throne,
and we can put ourselves there instead.
We can be guilty of pride that rejects the limits that are placed on us.
Or we can do another thing.
We can put other people on a pedestal.
We can make someone else so important in our lives
that to us they then have a God-like significance.
And we place on someone else a crushing weight of expectation
because we don't understand that only God is supposed to have that ultimate position.
So the key to being fully human, biblically,
is to embrace our limits,
to live under God's good rule.
So that's a truth that we recognize.
The Bible also teaches us very clearly,
Isaiah 40 is a great example,
God is unlimited,
and he cannot be measured.
That's what we mean when we talk about God being infinite.
God has no limits.
He doesn't have the limitations that we have
because he's not human.
He's not created.
He is eternal,
and he is uncreated.
He doesn't suffer those restrictions of space and time.
He rules over them.
So, for example,
he sees all of history in a single moment.
God can be in all places at all times,
and he is infinite.
He cannot be measured by us.
God can superintend the whole of creation
at the macro level,
the movements of stars,
planets,
galaxies,
and at the micro level.
As Donald was praying,
he knows the number of hairs on our head.
We have a God who,
unlike us,
his power and his capability never diminishes.
He is not affected by age or decay.
He doesn't find that he gets pressured
and makes bad decisions.
In fact,
the only limit that there is on God
is that he cannot sin.
He must always remain true to his character,
which is good and perfect and holy.
And so,
I want us to explore these two realities
by using Isaiah 40.
I want us to see clearly the difference
between God and us
and to celebrate that as good news,
to worship him as a result,
to recognize that embracing this infinite God,
the one who has no limits,
is the key to all that we need in our lives.
This is why Isaiah 40 was written.
It was written to deliver to a people,
people of Israel,
who were being prepared for exile
because of their disobedience,
because they were rejecting life under God's rule.
Isaiah is saying to them,
even in that situation,
in turning to this God,
in turning to the God of no limits,
this is your one hope for security,
trusting in this God who keeps his promises,
this God who can be trusted absolutely.
And so,
for us this evening,
I want us to receive this God
and his good news,
to embrace our own limits
and to embrace the God without limits,
and to see how God in Jesus
has provided out of his infinite love
all that we lack.
So,
let's look at our passage.
Let's turn to Isaiah 40,
and let's see,
first of all,
the God who measures,
but cannot be measured.
There's wonderful imagery
all through this passage.
Verse 12,
we see it very clearly.
The choice of scale is deliberate.
Here is a picture
that the largest things in our universe,
they're small,
and they're controlled by God the creator.
So,
he can measure all the waters of the universe
in the hollow of his hand.
You know,
we can manage a few drops.
He can manage all the oceans.
God is so great
that he can,
as it were,
mark off the size of our universe
in handbread,
where we're still trying to grapple with its size.
He's held the dust of the earth in a basket,
weighing Mount Everest,
as it were,
on a scale.
Here is a picture of God
who is in absolute control.
He has the capacity to measure
and control the universe he created.
He is without rival in that regard.
So,
God measures all things,
but then Isaiah is quick to point out
that he cannot be measured.
That's the point of verse 13 and 14.
Who has understood the mind of the Lord
or instructed him as his counselor?
The implied answer,
of course,
is nobody.
It's impossible for us
to fathom God's creative mind.
God didn't go to anyone
for advice or direction.
God is in no need of a teacher.
He lacks no wisdom or information.
So, here in these three small verses,
we get an amazing picture
of our unlimited God
who contrasts with us as people.
Because the next thing
that we see in verses 15 to 26
is the God who has the measure of us.
You know the expression
to have the measure of someone
where you have them figured out
where in a sports context
you understand how another team plays
and you've figured out tactics
to make sure that you're going to defeat them
and deal with them.
It's clear from Isaiah 40
that God has the measure of us as people.
We are no challenge to his uniqueness.
We are no rival to him.
He is infinitely greater than us.
And Isaiah brings that out
in a number of ways.
Verse 15 to 17, first of all,
we see that the collected strength
and wisdom and intentions of humanity
are nothing compared to God.
Surely the nations
are like a drop in a bucket.
Or the islands
just like fine dust.
Nothing compared to God.
It brings to mind the story of
the Tower of Babel
in Genesis chapter 11.
So you have that picture of humanity
in rebellion against God.
God said,
scatter around the world
and subdue it and live as God's
vice kings on the earth.
But instead they gather together
and in human pride
they decide to build a vast tower
as if to say,
we don't need God.
Look at us.
We're great.
And there's that wonderful picture
where you've got,
on the one hand,
the people building up in pride,
trying to build this tower to heaven.
And then it says,
God came down and saw.
And the impression is,
what they're doing is so small
and so insignificant
and no threat at all to God.
He has no rivals.
Verse 16,
a different kind of imagery.
Lebanon,
famous for its cedar trees,
is not sufficient for altar fires,
nor its animals
enough for burnt orphans.
Imagine a country-sized altar
for worship.
All the forests laid out
to offer all the animals
of that country as sacrifices.
What it's saying is that
while God invites and commands worship,
He is not controlled by worshipers.
That supposing we were to make
that kind of great sacrifice,
it would not put God in our debt.
It would not say that we are
in any way comparable to God.
Our most impressive religious
and moral deeds
do not put God in our debt.
And then the imagery moves on again.
And it begins to address,
Isaiah begins to address
ways that we fight against the limits
that God has set for us.
So God created us to live under His good rule,
to be humble before Him,
but there are ways that we refuse
to submit to that.
And there are two ways
that we tend to do that as people.
The first is in verses 18 to 20,
where one of the things that we can do
is make idols for ourselves.
So reading at verse 18,
to whom then will you compare God?
What image will you compare Him to?
As for an idol,
crafts him in casks,
casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it
with gold and fashions,
silver chains.
But here's this contrast
between the Almighty God
that we've just seen
and this image
that somebody has created.
And the point really is that
no matter how fancy an idol is,
no matter how valuable an idol is,
back in those days when it was statues,
they cannot move,
they cannot think,
they have no power or influence,
they are no rival to the true God,
nor are the idols that we create for ourselves.
So it is possible we speak about idolizing money,
thinking if I just had enough money,
then I'd have security,
and I'd have joy,
and I'd have happiness.
But money has limits.
Money can be lost.
We can idolize our jobs
and find our identity
and source of happiness,
and I've made it
because I've got this job.
But again,
a job is something
that we will leave behind.
We can even idolize another person.
And when we do that,
we realize
that everyone disappoints us eventually,
and everybody dies eventually.
God is not like the idols.
And in refusing to know and accept our limits,
there's another thing that people tend to do.
They did it in Isaiah's day.
We can do it in our own day.
We can place our hopes
in the great and the good and the powerful.
That's what happens in verses 21 to 26.
We've got this deliberate choice of imagery.
For example, in verse 22,
He, that is God,
sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
and its people are like grasshoppers.
So people are tiny.
People are grasshopper-sized
compared to the infinite God.
And he goes on in verse 23,
this God brings princes to nothing.
He reduces the rulers of this world
to nothing.
End of verse 24,
Think about petals on a cherry blossom tree.
One slight breeze,
and they're gone.
Compared to God,
that's what the great kings and rulers
and the rich and the wealthy
and the powerful are like.
So bearing all this in mind,
Isaiah brings us back
to the idea of
gaining a proper perspective,
looking up
and seeing God
as He truly is.
Verse 25,
To whom?
He said this already,
To whom will you compare me?
Or who is my equal,
says the Holy One?
Lift your eyes
and look to the heavens
who created all these.
So God's here called the Holy One.
God is separate from us.
God is in a class of His own.
And that's brought out
because He has personally created
and now personally sustains
the trillions of stars
in our galaxy.
This is the God who created us.
This is the God who has set our limits.
This is the God who knows us,
that we are no rival to.
And because of that,
we should live under His rule,
living lives of worship.
And so the key to living well,
according to the Bible,
is learning to re-measure.
And that's really where Isaiah goes
in the rest of our chapter
from verse 27 onwards.
There's a really nice quote
in chapter 1
of Jen Wilkins' book
where she says,
our limitations are by design.
Whether we spend the remainder
of our lives denying
or embracing this basic truth
makes all the difference
in how we will love God
and others.
If we put ourselves
in the center of our own universe,
we will tend to be selfish.
We will not tend to love well.
But if we are humble
and we put God at the center,
if we have His values,
then we will love Him
and we will love others.
Seeing our limits should,
on the one hand,
humble us
and it should then lead us
to worship the God
who has no limits.
To have Him as our God,
not to seek to put ourselves
or anyone else
in that place.
One of the other positive things
about seeing our limits
is it should create honesty
in us
where we can acknowledge
our weakness,
where we can acknowledge
our sin.
We don't expect ourselves
to be God-like.
We confess our sin.
We don't try and hide it.
We don't try and justify it.
We recognize that we are
limited sinful creatures
and we remember
the infinite God knows.
And so there's a freedom
for us to be honest
before God.
One of the other benefits
of seeing our limits
is surely that it will ease
our levels of stress.
When we recognize
that I can't control
everything and everyone,
that should come as freedom to us.
When we realize
that I should not try
to control everything
and everyone around us.
There is freedom in that
and instead there is
an invitation to turn
to the God
who clearly is in control.
So what does Isaiah 40
teach us about learning
to re-measure?
We need to hear verse 27
and understand what's going on.
So verse 27,
we read this.
Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel?
My way is hidden
from the Lord.
My cause is disregarded
by my God.
So there's a question,
perhaps even an accusation
going on here.
The people,
as we said at the beginning,
are facing exile
because they rejected
living under God's limits.
And so they've got questions
attached to that.
They're having fears
and anxieties
because of what's happening.
questioning either,
God doesn't see my difficulties
or God doesn't care
about my difficulties.
That's their response.
Things are getting bad
and so they're beginning
to doubt God.
How does the God
of no limits respond?
Well, in the language
of verses 28 to 31,
he reminds them
that he is the infinite God,
that he is the God
of no limits
and in that reality
is their hope,
is their good news,
is their chance
of renewal
and life.
And he reminds them,
yes, I am infinite,
but I am also
profoundly personal.
He's already done that
in verses 10 and 11
that Donald read for us
at the beginning,
the sovereign Lord
who is also
the shepherd
of his people.
He is not distant
and remote.
This all-powerful God
knows and sees
and is therefore
his people.
So why is understanding
our limits
and God's lack of limits
good news?
Well, hear the language
of verse 28.
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the creator
of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired
or weary
and his understanding
no one can fathom.
And he gives strength
to the weary
and increases
the power
of the weak.
So here's the moment.
When we find ourselves
lacking strength,
when we find ourselves
in a situation
and we feel like
we don't have
the necessary wisdom,
when we feel
that we have reached
the end
of our emotional capacity,
that's when we need
to understand
who God is
because he is the God
who is willing
to provide
from his unlimited
resources of strength
and wisdom
and love.
So it's in those moments
when we are suffering
or hurting,
when we feel powerless
and weak,
that we are invited
once again
to turn and trust
in this all-powerful God.
Naturally,
there are times
when we will all suffer
loss and inability,
even youths,
as it says here.
But hoping in this God
brings a source
of strength
that is constantly
being renewed.
So embracing our limits
is to be truly human
and it's also
the place
where we find help
when we need it most
because it reminds us
again
that we are weak
and it encourages us
to look to the God
who is infinitely strong
and who is always there
for and with
his people.
For those of us
who have been Christians
for a while,
I'm sure we can testify
to that reality.
Times when life
seemed incredibly difficult
in situations
and we had no idea
what to do
and in those moments
praying,
giving it to God
and finding strength
and help
to go on.
Trusting God
to care for our families
when we send them away
and we are concerned
for them.
Turning to him
in our times of sadness
and fear
and loss,
knowing him
to be both
infinitely great
and infinitely personal
and loving.
Our greatest limit
as people,
of course,
is that one day
we will all die.
I read an article
this week
where there was
a quote
from an atheist philosopher
by the name
of Luke Ferry.
And I want to read
some of that quote
because it's really helpful
for our discussion.
He said,
as distinct
from animals,
a human being
is the only creature
that is aware
of his limits.
He knows
that he will die
and that his near ones
will also die.
And he comments
this state of affairs
is disturbing
and absurd,
almost imaginable,
unimaginable.
And I'm sure
we can identify
with that sentiment.
And then he continues,
our greatest desire
as human beings
is to be loved,
not to be alone,
and not to be separated
from our loved ones.
And again,
I'm sure that we can identify
with that sentiment
when it comes down
to what matters
most to us
is the people
that we love
and the greatest sorrow
that we have
is being separated
from them.
So how does
the God of no limits
offer hope
even at that point
where we feel
our limit
most keenly?
And I think
to answer that,
we need to remind ourselves
of the story
of the gospel,
to remind ourselves
that the God of no limits,
the infinite creator God
in Jesus,
took on human limitations.
That he knew
what it was
to be weak
and tired
and hungry
and thirsty.
And as that
truly human
man,
Jesus,
as well as being
fully God,
he went to the cross
as our
representative
and as our
redeemer
and three days
later
became our
resurrected Lord.
And there's the hope
for us.
Jesus has conquered
the greatest
of our limits,
death itself.
And the result
is that
Christianity
uniquely
offers the kind
of hope
that Luke Ferry,
our atheist philosopher,
was talking about.
In Christianity,
in Jesus,
we find
a love that lasts,
a love that remains,
a love that is
stronger
than death
itself.
And so what we find
in the gospel
is that the God
of no limits
offers something
we all wish
to be true,
whether we're
Christians
or whether
we're not.
And so the good
news of the gospel
is that the
unlimited God
in Jesus
is revealed
as the fully
personal God.
And we are
called
to look
to him
as Lord
and King.
In our
weakness,
we are called
to look
to him
and to recognize
that he is the key
to our hope.
He is the key
to all our joy.
Thank you.