Those are some mighty truths that we just sang.
! We need to pray.
God, we are so grateful this morning that you are faithful.
!
Over us.
That even what has been planned for evil, you can redeem and turn it for our good.
Oh God, we praise you.
That you can turn the bad things into good.
You can work all things out for our benefit, for our good.
To those who love you, to those who are called according to your goodness.
We praise you.
We praise you, Lord, for the fact that you intervene in our lives.
You intersect with your sovereignty.
You make good plans for us.
You have a good future in store.
We know that you're able.
We know that you're strong.
We know that you love us and are watching us and are interested in the very details of our lives.
God, we know that you're going to do that.
Help us, Lord, to trust in your absolute supremacy and authority and sovereignty over all things.
God, you're happy with you.
God's happy with you.
of the truth of God's word can not only penetrate our own hearts and lives,
but can make its way into the hearts and lives of the people around us.
So there can be some fruitfulness.
There can be some effectiveness because of the power of God working in and through us
to impact and to change the lives of those around us.
God, that's our desire this morning.
Please make it happen.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, last week we began our study through Isaiah chapter 40,
and hopefully this morning we're going to finish that chapter
as we're thinking about and looking at the God of comfort.
And as we think about the God of comfort, how does the God of comfort show up in our lives?
What does the God of comfort do?
How does it intersect with the day-to-day living in our lives?
How does it change us?
How does it help us?
How does it make a difference in our day-to-day?
As we talked about comfort, we got to see that we're not talking about the world's concept of comfort.
We're not talking about this superficial idea of things that are pleasing in life necessarily,
things that are comfortable in life,
this feeling of acceptance and peace in your life.
That's our world's view of comfort.
But when God is talking about comfort,
He is talking about the things that run to the very core of who you are.
He's talking about the things that change everything about the person that you are.
They affect the heart in life that you live.
They're not just dealing with the externals of life,
but they will change you entirely.
That's what God is about doing for you in ministering comfort to your life.
God's desire is transformation.
To produce within us this lasting and enduring peace.
This ability to look fear in the face and to move forward in courage,
recognizing that God is in control.
There is a fearlessness about those who have been ministered to in terms of comfort.
We understand that fear is one of those things that tends to grip our lives.
The Apostle Paul even had to commend or correct his young disciple Timothy.
The young man in the faith, he says,
Don't have a spirit of fear.
God has not given you that kind of spirit, Timothy.
But He's given you the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.
And then in Isaiah chapter 41,
God is calling this people of Israel to,
Fear not, for I am with you.
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
Trust me.
Believe in me.
And then the beloved apostle in 1 John says,
Perfect love casts out fear.
One commentator puts it this way.
He says,
Fear expresses the opposite of all that Christianity is to be.
Fear is the contradiction of faith.
Fear is the complete state of anti-God.
That's a penetrating statement.
And God has to move us through steps of maturity,
To grow us in this fearlessness,
As we're confronted with the God of all comfort,
And He ministers to us graciously,
Moving us into fuller peace,
Fuller dependence,
Fuller confidence in His ability to intervene in life.
There are two times of my life in particular,
I can remember that God has made dramatic shifts in my thinking,
In relationship to trusting in Him.
Of course, He intends to move us all in baby steps at times,
In moving in the direction of trusting Him more.
But two that stand out in my mind.
One, it was a dark morning.
The sun had not yet risen in California.
I was sitting in my family room on the couch.
I was giving my heart to the Lord,
And I felt this tap on my shoulder.
God was speaking to my heart and saying,
Andrew, do you really trust me?
I know that life is sometimes out of control,
But do you trust me with the things that are most important to you?
Do you trust me with your future?
Do you trust me with your health?
Do you trust me with your family?
With your finances?
Do you trust me with your occupation?
Am I good enough to be trusted in that way?
And I can remember this wrestling that took place in my heart,
And finally yielding to say,
God, you are trustworthy.
So I give you my family,
To do with them as you will.
God, I give you my future,
To do with it as you will.
God, I give you my finances,
And my health,
Every part of my life.
God, I recommit to you again,
Because I know that you are faithful,
And good,
And able.
It belongs to you anyway.
But God, I give it to you,
To do with as you will.
That was a big step.
Of course, our families belong to God in the first place.
But to go through the motions,
And to reaffirm the things that we know,
Because of confidence,
In a God who is able,
A God who is good,
A God who is faithful,
A God who cares.
It's one more step towards maturity.
It's one more step,
In terms of yielding and trusting,
In him.
And then several years ago,
We were standing at a crossroads,
In our life as a family.
And we believed that God was calling us,
To make a big decision,
To step out of where we were,
And to step really into the unknown.
I'm the kind of guy,
I like to plan ahead,
I like to know what's coming,
I like to have things well in hand,
At least I can anticipate,
What the future holds.
And this was one of those crossroads in our life,
Where I was stepping into the unknown.
I didn't have a job to step into,
I didn't know necessarily,
What the future would hold,
I just knew that God was faithful,
I knew that God would provide.
And again,
I felt God tapping me on the shoulder,
Saying,
Andrew,
Do you have to step into your plans?
Are your plans really that secure for you?
Step onto me,
Because I am,
The foundation,
I am the bedrock,
On Christ,
The solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand,
Do you trust me enough,
To stand on me for your future?
So another step,
Took place in my life that day,
As I committed my heart to trust in God,
In another way that was different from the past.
And God does that for us,
As he is progressively moving us,
Into deeper dependence upon him.
And then he's ministering to us,
In the process to say,
I am the God of comfort,
I will come and intervene in your life,
I will rescue,
I will help,
I will provide,
I am enough for you.
And when we do that,
The testimony of the great comforter,
Comes and fills our life,
And shows the world,
That we serve a God,
Who is distinct from any other God.
Who moves us from fear into faith,
That moves us from the struggles,
And the anxiety into peace and joy,
That surpasses any of the struggles,
That we are currently experiencing.
And I can tell you by experience,
And I can tell you on the authority,
Of the word of God,
And as we look there this morning,
We'll see it together.
We'll see,
That when we make room in our hearts,
And lives,
For the God of comfort,
To come in,
He will run to you.
He will rush into the vacuum of your life,
And fill it up with his comfort,
And with his help.
You see,
As we seek to minister to our co-workers,
And our neighbors,
In our family,
About the greatness,
Of the gospel,
In Christianity,
The one thing that will not stand out to them,
Necessarily,
Is our devotion.
There's a lot of religious people,
In this world.
Many are far more religious,
Than we will ever be.
But what will stand out to them,
Is that the God of comfort,
Has rescued you,
From your circumstances,
Has rushed in,
To help.
And the God of comfort,
Will beckon them,
In their anxiety,
To come,
And to feast,
At the table of comfort,
To drink in,
The well,
Of comfort,
And living water,
That God has,
To give to them.
And that happens,
As we herald,
The good news,
Of the great comforter,
Who has ministered,
To our hearts,
And lives,
In the greatest difficulties,
And circumstances,
That you might face.
Are we resting,
In the great comforter,
This morning?
Turn with me,
If you would,
To Isaiah chapter 40.
As we continue,
This great study,
Of the great comforter,
What we notice,
Through this passage,
Beginning in verse 1,
That there are really,
Three,
There are three spokesmen,
That stand out,
Throughout this chapter.
The first spokesman,
Is God,
Who is initiating,
Comfort with his people.
He is the first speaker,
And he is the one,
Who sends his message,
Out,
To the world.
The second speaker,
Is in verse 3,
And that's our next stage.
And this is the voice,
Of one crying,
In the wilderness.
And this voice,
Is hearkening,
Or beckoning,
To his audience,
To make a way,
For the Lord,
To have his work,
In their life.
The final speaker,
Or the final speakers,
I should say,
Is in verse 8,
Verse 9.
These are the,
The heralds,
Of Jerusalem.
This,
This chorus,
Of voices,
Who are speaking,
About the greatness,
Of God,
As they have experienced,
Him for himself.
And that those,
Who hear the message,
Can participate,
In the experience,
Of knowing God,
By,
By following the same process,
That they have,
They have also gone through,
In their lives.
Just by way of recap,
I,
I want to just take us,
Briefly through,
Some of the,
Some of the things,
We learned,
Last week,
About the God of comfort.
First,
We,
We ask the question,
Why,
Does comfort come?
And we saw that comfort comes,
In three different ways.
In verse 1,
We,
We recognize,
That comfort comes,
Because it is God,
Who desires comfort,
For his people.
Look at that,
With me there,
In verse 1,
It says,
Comfort,
Comfort my people,
Says,
Your God.
It is God's,
Earnest,
Desire,
For everyone,
In this room today,
To know,
And enjoy,
And experience,
The comfort of God.
He is the initiator,
Of comfort.
You cannot have comfort,
Without him,
And if it were not,
For the fact,
That he is initiating,
Comfort for you,
You have no experience,
Of lasting comfort,
In your life.
It is,
Amazing,
That God wants us,
To know comfort today.
That God initiates,
Comfort with us,
Today.
When he knows,
Our hearts,
He knows our,
Wickedness,
He knows our,
Tendencies,
He knows our history,
And our baggage,
He knows it all,
But he is still,
A God who pursues,
Comfort with us.
He is still,
A God who desires it,
For you,
To know it,
And experience it.
It comes,
Also,
Through,
The forgiveness,
That God provides.
We see that in verse 2,
The very first part.
It says,
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
And cry to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity,
Is pardoned.
And as we look at this word,
Last week,
We came to understand,
That whenever this word is used,
In this way,
In the Old Testament,
It's used to refer to,
Blood sacrifice.
We also have understood,
Through our study,
In the book of Isaiah,
That,
God didn't really delight,
In the actual blood sacrifices,
Of this group of people.
Because he understood,
What was really going on.
They weren't pulling over,
Anything over God's eyes.
They weren't pulling the wool,
Over his eyes.
He knew,
Their hearts.
He knew the veneer,
Of religion.
He knew,
The hypocrisy.
He knew that,
They were just going,
Through the motions.
He says that,
In chapter one.
He said,
I don't delight,
In your offerings,
In your sacrifices.
They're nothing to me.
In a few chapters,
From chapter 40,
We'll see,
What sacrifice,
Really matters to him.
The only sacrifice,
That ever matters,
Is the once,
For all sacrifice,
Of Jesus on the cross.
He was wounded,
For our transgressions.
He was bruised,
For our iniquities.
The chastisement,
Of our peace,
Was placed on him,
And by his stripes,
We are healed.
It is his sacrifice,
In his sacrifice,
Alone,
That brings comfort,
That makes way,
For comfort,
Between us and God.
Because,
The God of comfort,
Cannot be,
Cannot be in the presence,
Of those,
Who have not been pardoned.
So God not only,
Offers,
The comfort to us,
He initiates comfort to us,
But he makes a way,
Through his son,
Jesus,
To experience that comfort,
Through pardon,
Of sin.
We also talked about,
The God who chooses,
To discipline.
Do you realize,
That God introduces,
Discipline in your life,
Because he wants,
To call you back,
To what's really important.
He wants to,
To remove the things,
From your life,
That you have filled up,
Your life with,
That will never give you,
The kind of comfort,
That only God can give.
He does it,
To get your attention.
He does it,
Because of his grace.
He does it,
Because he wants you,
To really experience,
True,
Lasting comfort,
That only comes from him.
And if you're,
Filling up your life,
With all of these,
Other things,
You're not going to have,
Any room for God.
So God has to,
To take you through,
This disciplining process,
This weaning process,
To help call your attention,
To him.
To help expose,
The emptiness of those things,
And help to direct,
Your attention to the things,
To the one thing,
That really matters.
And that is,
A relationship,
With God.
We come to,
To see in the book of Romans,
In particular,
That judgment of God,
Is to ignore our sin,
To give us up,
To our sin,
To let it just,
Have its way in our life,
God just says,
Fine,
I will give you,
The things that you're asking for,
Go ahead.
But for those,
Whom God loves,
He disciplines.
He disciplines,
For our best,
He disciplines,
So that he,
Can be part,
Of our life.
Why does comfort come?
It comes because,
God shows up.
God,
Desires to intervene,
In your life.
God wants to give us,
The comfort that we,
So long for.
But just because,
Comfort is offered,
Doesn't mean,
That comfort will be received.
So the next question,
We ask ourselves,
Is how does comfort come?
How does it,
How do we get it,
In the first place?
And we see that,
In the next several verses,
It says in verse 3,
A voice cries,
In the wilderness,
Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight in the desert,
A highway for our God,
Every valley shall be lifted up,
And every mountain,
Shall be made low,
The uneven ground,
Shall become level,
And the rough places plain,
And the glory of the Lord,
Shall be revealed,
And all flesh,
Shall see it together,
For the mouth,
Of the Lord,
Has spoken.
And as we,
As we,
Read this verse,
And we understood,
The correlation,
Between this verse,
And the ministry,
Of John the Baptist,
We came to appreciate,
The fact that,
That what,
Isaiah is talking about,
What God is,
Is communicating,
To his prophet Isaiah,
Is that,
Comfort will come,
Through the preparation,
Of the heart.
Is your heart ready,
For comfort to come,
For comfort to come?
The ministry of John the Baptist,
Was the ministry of repentance,
The ministry of John the Baptist,
Was to help bring,
Humility to the people of Israel,
You see,
When he was baptizing,
These Jews,
Out by the Jordan River,
What was actually taking place,
Was this,
Ceremony,
That was set aside,
Really for Gentiles,
It was set aside,
For Gentiles,
To usher them into,
This,
This new,
Identity,
As being,
Jewish,
As,
John the Baptist,
Was trying to help them understand,
There was,
A need for rebirth,
To take place in their life,
That they could not rely,
On their ancestry,
On their heritage,
On their ethnicity,
They couldn't rely,
On the fact that they,
That they were connected,
To Abraham,
Something more significant,
Had to happen,
At the deepest levels,
Of their life,
It could only come,
Through repentance,
And brokenness,
And receptivity,
Of the word of God,
In their life,
The ministry of Jesus,
Could only have its way,
As they were,
As they were humbled,
And willing to receive,
The message,
That he had to bring,
There was a need,
For preparation,
For,
Raising up,
The low places,
And bringing down,
In the high places,
This is all about,
Accessibility,
Does God,
God's word have its way,
In your life,
Does it have free course,
In your life,
Is there a sense,
Of receiving the message,
That he intends to give,
And when,
The heart is prepared,
Then this next,
Thing happens,
It comes through,
The presence,
Of the Lord,
Notice,
The glory of the Lord,
Shall be revealed,
And all flesh,
Shall see it together,
For the mouth,
Of the Lord,
Has spoken,
When Luke,
Is referring to,
Isaiah,
This is the one phrase,
He kind of,
Makes an adjustment to,
To help us understand,
The correlation,
Between,
The glory of God,
In Isaiah,
And the salvation,
Of God,
That was going to be,
Ushered in,
Through Jesus,
You see,
The glory of God,
And the salvation of God,
Merge together,
In,
They converge,
At the cross,
This is where,
Glory,
And salvation,
Culminate together,
To help us,
Participate,
And enjoy,
And experience,
The glory of God,
In a whole new way,
It is through the cross,
That we come to understand,
The perfect standard of God,
It is through the cross,
We understand,
His holiness,
His justice,
It is through the cross,
We come to recognize,
His mercy,
And grace,
It's through the cross,
We come to appreciate,
The significance,
Of obedience,
And redemption,
And authority,
And sovereignty of God,
All the glory,
And salvation,
Converged there,
At the cross,
That was the work of Christ,
That's what He came to do,
To make the glory of God known,
And to welcome us,
Into that experience,
Through salvation,
So the presence of God,
Can come,
And show up,
In your life,
That leads us to,
The final question,
This morning,
What,
Does comfort accomplish?
What does comfort accomplish?
When we look there,
In verse 6,
And we saw that,
The comfort,
First of all,
Leads me to confidence,
It helps me to understand,
That the difference between,
Fleshly trust,
And trust in Him,
In verse 7,
It says,
The grass withers,
The flower fades,
When the breath of the Lord,
Blows on it,
Surely the people are grass,
The grass withers,
The flower fades,
But the word of our God,
Will stand forever,
If you want to experience,
Lasting comfort,
Put your hope,
In the things that last,
The word of God,
Is the only thing,
That will last,
It leads us to confidence,
In Him,
It also,
Leads us to,
A continual commitment,
A commitment of,
Of proclaiming,
The good news,
To others,
We see that in verse 9,
Go up to a mountain,
Herald the good news,
Lift up your voice,
With strength,
O Jerusalem,
Herald of good news,
Lift it up,
And fear not,
This comes to us,
Loud and clear,
On the day of Pentecost,
This group of individuals,
Who had gathered together,
120 in all,
They had been praying together,
And worshiping together,
And going to the temple together,
They had been ministering,
To one another,
Through the word,
And then the Holy Spirit comes,
And then there is this,
Bold proclamation,
In Jerusalem,
So that we find in Acts chapter 2,
It says,
Of these people,
Who are listening to,
The,
The semblance of individuals,
Preaching the good news to them,
Says,
We keep hearing them say,
The mighty works of God,
That's the gospel,
The gospel is,
That God's word,
And God's power,
Will change everything in my life,
It's not that it just,
Changes me,
Or saves me for a moment,
And then I,
I eventually look forward to heaven,
But that the gospel,
Intersects with every moment of my day,
And,
And changes,
It changes,
My parenting,
It changes,
My working,
It changes,
My,
My relationships,
In my community,
It changes the way I relate to,
To suffering,
It changes,
The crises that I face,
And,
It helps me to experience rescue,
In difficulty,
That's what a herald of good news does,
Not only proclaiming,
The good news,
But demonstrating it through,
A changed life,
And finally,
It leads us to a commitment,
Of waiting on him,
We've been talking about waiting,
For the last several weeks,
Interestingly,
The book of Isaiah,
Mentions the significance of waiting,
Almost,
It's only second to the book of Psalms,
In terms of,
Of using this word waiting,
In all of the Old Testament,
And if you compare the number of words,
Psalms,
And Isaiah,
And,
And the concentration of the use,
Then Isaiah wins hands down,
In terms of referring to this concept of waiting,
Waiting on the Lord,
Trusting in him,
Putting your confidence in him,
Knowing that he is able to help,
Those that wait on the Lord,
Will renew their strength,
We see in verse 31,
But this theme of waiting,
And hoping,
And looking forward with confidence,
How does it happen?
How are we able to,
To wait in this way?
And that's what I want to come to this morning,
I want to spend the rest of our time,
Just talking about five essential truths,
That will help us to wait in a way,
That pleases the Lord,
You have those five essential truths,
In your outline this morning,
I want to begin with the first one,
And that is,
This truth that God cares about you,
God cares about you,
We find that in verse 10,
Let me read that for us,
It says,
Behold,
The Lord God comes with might,
And his arm rules for him,
Behold,
His reward is with him,
And his recompense before him,
He will tend his flock like a shepherd,
He will gather the lambs in his arms,
He will carry them in his bosom,
And gently lead those,
That are with young,
He will tend his flock like a shepherd,
As I was thinking about sheep,
And this portrait of God being our shepherd,
I'm sure we've heard a lot of messages about sheep,
And shepherding,
But do you know how high maintenance sheep are?
Like they can't do anything for themselves,
They can't really feed themselves,
They can't find nourishment,
They can't protect themselves,
They're so subject to disease and parasites,
And they can't groom themselves,
They always wander off,
Sheep are high maintenance,
So high maintenance in fact,
That as I was thinking about it,
From the very beginnings of creation,
Just after the fall,
From that point until now,
Sheep have had to be cared for,
Like Abel,
He was a shepherd,
Right?
And so,
Somehow,
Right after the fall,
From that point until now,
Sheep have not been able to take care of themselves,
They've always needed somebody else,
To step in and make sure that they survive,
Otherwise,
We wouldn't have sheep anymore,
And that's the picture that God uses for us,
This gentle,
Caring,
Continual,
Interest of God in your life,
He cares for you like a sheep,
Like a shepherd cares for a sheep,
He knows your needs,
He cares for you deeply,
He knows you intimately,
He knows what you need,
And is able to deliver,
And as we find here in verse 10,
It says,
Behold,
The Lord comes with His might,
And with His arm,
He rules for Him,
Now when you read that phrase,
With His arm,
He rules for Him,
I kind of get this picture,
I can help you with one arm tied behind my back,
The sense of God's power,
And showing up to help,
With the,
With the most intimate details of your life,
Because He cares for you,
It says,
Behold,
His reward is with Him,
Behold,
His reward is with Him,
I like what God says to Abraham,
He says this,
The word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision,
He says,
Do not be afraid, Abraham,
I am your shield,
Your very great reward,
God is your reward,
Maybe the reason why we don't feel,
Like God cares about us,
Is because we're not getting the things,
That we think we deserve,
When in actuality,
God is giving us the very best,
Because He's giving us Himself,
In Romans chapter 8,
He says,
If God is for us,
Who can be against us?
He who did not spare His own Son,
But gave Him up for us all,
How will He not also with Him,
Freely give us all things?
God is your reward,
And if we feel like,
Like God doesn't care,
Maybe it's because,
We are not looking to Him,
For satisfaction,
Maybe it's because,
We're looking to other things,
To help fill those,
Those deeper parts of our life,
When they can never satisfy,
God is our reward,
He cares about your needs,
He is good,
As the psalmist says,
Taste and see,
The Lord is good,
Not the good things,
That God gives is good,
But the Lord Himself is good,
The challenge for us,
In being ministered to,
By the God of comfort,
Is embracing,
And loving the giver,
More than the gift itself,
Do you love the giver?
Do you love the shepherd?
Are you being ministered to,
This morning,
By the God of comfort,
Because you are learning,
To enjoy Him,
For who He is,
As the great reward,
He is,
Your great reward,
Does your life reflect,
Unwavering joy,
In the provision of God,
If it does,
Then you will enjoy,
The pleasure of comfort from God,
And you will lead others,
To experience the same comfort,
As the herald,
Of good news,
Your words,
Not only express,
The wonder of the God of comfort,
Your life,
Demonstrates,
That He is comfort,
That He is good,
That He is the treasure,
Does your life show that this morning?
If it does,
It will herald,
The good news,
Of the great comforter,
The God of all comfort,
Who is good,
God cares,
About you,
He has given Himself,
As your reward,
The second truth,
Is that God knows,
What's best for you,
We find that in verses 12 to 14,
God knows,
What's best for you,
Look at this with me,
Who has measured,
The waters,
In the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens,
With a span,
Enclosed the dust,
Of the earth,
In a measure,
And weighed the mountains,
And the scales,
And the hills,
In its balance,
Who has measured,
The spirit of the Lord,
Or what man shows,
His counsel,
Whom did He consult,
And who made Him understand,
Who taught Him,
The path of justice,
And taught Him knowledge,
And showed Him,
The way of understanding,
This,
These verses are pointing,
To the wisdom,
Of God,
Not just His authority,
And supremacy,
Over creation,
But notice,
The key words,
That Isaiah is pointing to here,
This key word,
Of measuring,
And marking,
And enclosing,
And weighing,
These are words,
For wisdom,
These are words,
For knowledge,
And knowing,
How to make,
The best things,
Work together,
The balance,
Of creation,
All working intricately,
To His master plan,
And design,
For me,
I,
I had a grandma,
Who was a master baker,
And,
And there were,
There have been times,
Where we've said,
Grandma,
Can you help us,
Know how to make this bread,
And how to make this pie,
And what do,
All good grandmas do,
All good bakers do,
They say,
Well,
Take a little bit of this,
And feel it out,
And then you put it here,
And then they're taking,
They're taking each of these,
Ingredients,
They're not going off a recipe,
They just know the feel,
And the weight,
And consistency,
And when that dough,
Is put together,
Oh,
We need a little bit more,
Of this,
Or a little bit more of that,
And you're like,
Ah,
I can never duplicate that,
And that's the point,
Certainly my grandma,
Is no,
No comparison to God,
But,
But the point is made,
God has measured it all,
He knows it all,
From the beginning,
And the end,
He knows from start to finish,
He has good plans for your life,
Perfect plans for your life,
Do you trust Him,
With those plans,
God has plans,
He knows what's best,
For you,
He knows what's in your heart,
He knows what's in your future,
And He knows how to get you there,
Do you trust Him,
With His plans,
Does your life reflect,
An unwavering trust,
In the wisdom,
Of God,
This morning,
If it does,
If you are depending,
In resting,
In the wisdom of God,
You will be,
An agent,
Of comfort,
An ambassador,
Of comfort,
To the world around you,
Who says,
I don't,
I've not figured things out,
How do you have,
So much peace in your life,
So much settledness,
About the future,
Say,
Well,
I don't know what's happening either,
But one thing I know,
Is that God is all wise,
And God will work it out,
The way He decides to work it out,
I can trust Him,
And I can remain settled,
In that truth,
Is God wise,
Or is your life,
Demonstrating a commitment,
To trusting Him in that way,
If it is,
You will be,
An ambassador of comfort,
Third truth,
God is able,
To help you,
God is able,
To help you,
We find that in verses,
15 to 26,
Maybe you ask yourself,
The question,
I know that God loves me,
I know that God,
Cares about my life,
I know that He's wise,
About the future,
But is He able,
To actually work it out,
And Isaiah,
In this herald,
In these verses says,
Yes,
God is able,
He is strong,
Nothing can thwart,
His plans,
It begins,
There in verse 15,
We see that God is supreme,
Over human powers,
Behold,
The nations are like a drop,
In the bucket,
And are accounted,
As dust on the scales,
Behold,
He takes up the coastlands,
Like fine dust,
All the culmination,
Of all the worldly powers,
Joined together,
Against God,
Is just like a drop,
In the bucket,
No earthly power,
Can stand against,
The might,
And supremacy,
Of our God,
Well,
Okay,
That's human powers,
Well,
What about divine powers,
What about supernatural powers,
Well,
The answer there,
Is in verse 18,
To whom then,
Will you liken God,
Or what likeness,
Compare with him,
An idol,
A craftsman,
Cast it,
And a goldsmith,
Overlays it,
With gold,
And cast it,
For silver chains,
Is this,
Is this what you're going to look to,
An idol,
A representation,
Of the supernatural,
God is higher,
And greater,
Than any of these things,
You can trust him,
Because he is able,
He is supreme,
Then dropping down,
To verse 25,
It says,
To whom will you compare me,
That I should be like him,
I'm greater than all these things,
I am God,
And I am able,
Well,
He's greater than,
Natural powers,
Than human powers,
He's greater than,
Super natural powers,
We find in verse 21 to 23,
That he's greater than,
Earthly powers,
They're nothing to him,
It says in verse 21,
Do you not know,
Do you not hear,
Has it not been told you,
From the beginning,
Have you not understood,
From the foundations of the earth,
It is he who sits,
Above the circle of the earth,
And it's his,
Its inhabitants,
Are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens,
Like a curtain,
And spreads them,
Like tents to dwell in,
Who brings princes,
To nothing,
And makes the rulers,
Of the earth,
As emptiness,
Everything,
In this world,
Is nothing,
Compared,
To the power of God,
Nothing,
Can stand,
In his way,
He is supreme,
He will do it,
There's nothing,
That's going to,
Be able to,
To thwart his,
His purposes,
For your life,
For his,
His purposes,
For your life,
God,
Actually,
Delights,
In our weaknesses,
So that his,
Strength,
Can show up,
We don't like to be,
Helpless,
But,
But God actually,
Delights to show up,
In our weakness,
So that he can magnify,
His strength,
What is standing,
In our way,
Is not,
Earthly powers,
Or,
Limited resources,
Or,
Limited giftedness,
What often,
Stands in our way,
Is an unwillingness,
To trust,
His power,
And wisdom,
But by trusting,
And yielding,
To the power of God,
I herald,
The goodness,
I don't have to strive,
I don't have to fret,
I don't have to strategize,
I just have to wait,
And yield,
Does our life,
Demonstrate,
An unwavering,
Trust in the power of God,
If it does,
Then we will be,
Ambassadors of comfort,
Heralds of good news,
Saying,
Behold,
Our God,
He is able,
He is strong,
He can be trusted,
Fourth,
God is watching,
Over you,
God is watching,
Over you,
We find that in verses,
27 and 28,
To whom,
Then will you compare me?
Excuse me,
Verse 27,
Why do you say,
O Jacob,
And speak,
O Israel,
My way is hidden,
From the Lord,
And my right,
Is disregarded,
By my God,
That's the question,
Does God see,
What's going on in my life?
Now the answer,
May surprise you,
Look at it with me,
In verse 29,
He gives power to the faint,
And to him who has no might,
He increases strength,
Even the youth shall faint,
And be weary,
And young men shall fall exhausted,
But those who wait for the Lord,
Shall renew their strength,
Verse 28,
I'm sorry,
Have you not known,
Have you not heard,
That the Lord is the everlasting God,
The creator of the ends of the earth,
He does not faint,
Or grow weary,
His understanding,
Is unsearchable,
Now remember the question,
God,
Are you watching me?
Answer,
I'm the everlasting God,
I don't faint,
Or grow weary,
I have,
Untappable,
And unsearchable wisdom,
What kind of answer is that?
Well it's the answer,
That answers the deeper question,
Not,
The question,
God are you watching me?
But the reason why we often,
Feel like God isn't watching,
Why we feel so alone,
Why we feel so isolated,
Is not because God is not watching,
But because,
God is not doing,
What we expect Him to do,
God says,
Know me,
And see me,
I'm the all wise,
All powerful God,
I'm doing what I do,
For you,
But we are blinded,
By our own expectation,
We're blinded by our own,
Selfishness,
And self oriented perspective,
God says,
Of course I'm watching,
I'm faithful,
I never grow tired,
I never grow weary,
But we miss it,
We're blinded,
Because God doesn't meet,
Our expectations,
He's not doing,
What we think,
We deserve,
For Him to do,
And so we miss,
His activity in our life,
Our problem,
Is not that God doesn't see us,
The problem is,
That we don't see God,
We're not looking,
For what He is actually doing,
In this life,
We're,
We're only,
Concentrating on,
What He's doing,
For me,
And to help,
My particular crisis,
We don't see the end game,
We don't recognize,
That God has,
Higher and greater plans,
For our lives,
I think,
Particularly,
About,
The wisdom of God,
In the,
The work of God,
In the life of,
Johnny Erickson,
Tata,
Who could have imagined,
That at 16,
In this freak accident,
Of diving into this,
This lake,
Breaking her neck,
And becoming a quadriplegic,
That God would actually,
Use that,
To make her a world changer,
That is our God,
Showing up,
That is His wisdom,
His watching,
His caring,
To make,
Someone like Johnny,
Erickson,
Tata,
An international,
World changer,
A paraplegic,
Who the world,
Would write off,
As being,
Unworthy,
God says,
No,
I delight,
In showing up,
In her life,
To show my strength,
And as a result,
Johnny,
Tata,
Is,
Her program,
Is being listened to,
By over a million people,
A week,
She serves,
800,
Special needs,
Families a year,
She supplied,
Over 34,000,
Wheelchairs,
Worldwide,
Written 35,
Books,
Visited over 41,
Countries,
She's a highly sought,
After conference speaker,
Does God care,
About Johnny,
Yes,
But God has greater,
Objectives for her,
Than her comfort,
He intends to use,
Difficulty,
In showing his strength,
Through her,
So that he can make,
Her effective,
And fruitful,
God wants to do that for you,
But he will only do that for you,
As you allow the God of comfort,
To come and intersect your life,
To change you,
And to shape you,
And to make you a herald of good news,
And finally,
God will strengthen you,
Says he gives power to the faint,
To him who has no might,
He increases strength,
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
And young men shall fall exhausted,
But those 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,
Say, okay,
I understand that God is good,
That he's watching,
That he's powerful,
He's got good plans for my life,
But I don't think I can do it,
And God says,
You don't have to,
I will do it for you,
I will empower you,
I will strengthen you,
I will help you,
But our problem is this,
Our problem is,
That God doesn't give tomorrow's strength today,
He doesn't give tomorrow's strength today,
He only gives today's strength today,
You find it fascinating,
That in the Lord's prayer,
He says,
Give us this day,
Our daily bread,
The reason is because God wants us to continue this process of leaning,
And resting,
And trusting in him,
But he'll only do that as we are depending on his strength,
Moment by moment,
And he will supply,
He will supply,
More than you could ever know,
And when we depend,
On the unwavering power of God,
To fill us up,
And to strengthen us for the moments,
Where we feel so weak,
Then we become,
The herald of the good news,
The God of comfort,
Has intersected our own lives,
And we have something to give,
To this world around us,
The comfort that they so desperately long for,
May God help us to be heralds of comfort for him,
As we depend on him,
Wait on him,
And trust in him,
Let me pray,
Oh Lord,
Please help us,
As for many of us,
We are moving into uncharted waters,
Uncertainty about the future,
Really begins to grip our hearts,
And what you're calling us to,
Is not the events,
Or the planning about the future,
What you're calling us to,
Is the confidence,
In the unwavering nature of God,
Regardless of what the future holds,
There is certainty,
Not certainty in circumstances,
But certainty in the future,
In the power of God,
To make it happen,
So help us,
Lord,
To rest,
To be confident,
To trust,
In the God of comfort,
Who can help us through the future,
And can make us effective,
And fruitful,
As we yield,
And surrender,
Our hearts to you,
Help us in that process,
We pray,
In Jesus name,
Amen,
Let's stand as we sing,
Sing together,
My foes are many,
They rise against me,
But I will hold my ground,
I will not fear the war,
I will not fear the storm,
My help is on the way,
Oh my God,
He will not delay,
My refuse and strength always,
I will not fear,
His promise is true,
My God will come through,
Always,
Trouble surrounds me,
Chaos abounding,
My soul will rest in you,
I will not fear the war,
I will not fear the storm,
My help is on the way,
Oh my God,
He will not delay,
My refuge and strength always,
Always,
I will not fear,
His promise is true,
My God will come through,
I lift my eyes up
My help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up
My help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up
My help comes from the Lord
Oh my God
He will not delay
My refuse and shame
Always
I will not fear
His promise is true
My God will come through
Always
The song comes from Psalm 121
It says, I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper.
The Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun will not smite you by day or the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.