Latest revision as of 00:53, 30 October 2022

Theological Proposition/Focus:God is is all-powerful and all-knowing;

Homiletical Proposition/Application: We need to admit our weakness and humbly place our hope in the LORD drawing on His strength.

Introduction:

Image: Manual tools verse power tools, you don't need to wear yourself out!

Fifteen years ago my parents were about to celebrate their 25th anniversary and my brothers and I decided we wanted to get them something for their anniversary. Both of my parents loved working in their yard and worked hard to keep their lawn looking nice and green. However, their house had no sprinkler system so this meant that they spent a lot of time dragging a hose. My brothers and I decided that we would install a new sprinkler system for them on their anniversary. We knew a man who owned a landscaping business and asked if he would help us design the system and buy all the parts. Then, we got to work. Our first task was to dig the trenches. So my three brothers and I showed up early in the morning and got to work digging. We dug trenches for about four hours and had completed about 1/3 of the yard. We were getting tired and took a lunch break. It was about this time that our landscaping friend Jim came by to see how we were doing. Jim took a look at our work, and asked, have you been digging all of this by hand? Wow! Let me run to my shop real quick while you all eat lunch. About 30 minutes later Jim showed up with a gas powered trencher and after a other 30 minutes all the trenching was done.

I am sure that trencher only had about 7 HP but it was what we needed. You see we were relying on our own strength and our strength was failing. What we needed was the strength of something beyond ourselves. Actually this is a sort of maxim in life. We need to rely on a strength that is beyond ourselves.

A key phrase from the BFM statement on God is that "God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all-powerful and all-knowing;"

Need: We need to recognize the unmeasurable, incomparable power of God, a power that is evident in creation, and draw on God's power as our source of strength.

Text: Isaiah 40

Setting the Stage:

We should seek comfort in God's omnipotence Isaiah 40:1-11

In Isaiah 40-48 Isaiah reminds the people that a time of deliverance is coming because of God's greatness and His care for His people. Chapter 40 focuses in on the majesty of the great God. Isaiah warned the people that a time of exile was coming. a time when the people of Israel would be held captive. However, the people could take comfort in God. The word comfort in verse 1 is repeated twice for emphasis. In verse two Jerusalem is addressed tenderly and we note that her time in captivity is described as hard service.

There are times in life when life can only be described as hard. The proper perspective to take in this times is to be reminded of God's omnipotence.

In verses 3-5 Isaiah calls on the people to prepare the way for the Lord.

All four Gospels applied this to John.

The point is that in the midst of hardship we need to be reminded to prepare ourselves for the mighty God to step in.

In verses 6-8, a second voice, God, draws a contrast between people and God. People are temporary, God never fails

In the midst of hardship we need to be reminded that the mighty God will fulfill his word.

As in verse 10 we need to recognize that the sovereign Lord is at work.

With all of this in mind we see that we need to seek comfort in the omnipotent God. So what does omnipotence mean?

Preview: We will see that God's omnipotence means his power is unmeasurable, beyond comparison, displayed in creation, and the source of our strength.

Body

God's power is beyond measure (40:12-17)

Isaiah moves into a series of rhetorical questions arguing that God's power allowed him to create the universe without the aid of anyone else.

God's power is displayed in His personal creation (12).

Figurative anthropomorphisms demonstrate the vastness of God's power. That which is unfathomable to each of us is a minor task for God.

Image: Parallax, the way we measure astronomical distances.

Hold your finger out in front of you at arms length. Look at the tip of your finger with one eye closed, then shut the other eye without moving your finger. Did you see your finger bounce between two locations? Your eyes are about three inches from each other and so we can use the apparent movement of your finger to estimate the distance to various objects. Similarly using the sun as the earth revolves in its orbit astronomers can estimate the distance between earth and various stars. The biggest problem, our estimates are just estimates and have huge errors. We cannot measure distances in space. But verse 12 tells us that God simply uses the size of his hand to mark off the distances of the universe.

God's power is displayed in His unfathomable intellect (13-14).

Creation is one aspect of God's power. But there is more, have you ever heard the phrase knowledge is power? Well, God has that under control as well. We cannot fathom what it would be like to truly know everything. God does know everything. No one can fathom God's knowledge. No one can teach God anything.

Image: Working on my dissertation and discussing it with God.

When I was working on my dissertation my thesis advisor went on Sabbatical and moved away for a year. In number theory, there are not a whole lot of people who know any given specialized topic. In reality in the entire country there were probably less than a half dozen people who understood the problem I was working to solve. There were times when it was a little lonely because I had no-one to talk to about my ideas. Then one day it hit me. God understood my problem and even understood the solution. I distinctly remember one night laying in bed and talking with God about the technique I was planning to use. My regular discussions with God about my Number Theory became very useful to me. We often separate spiritual and everything else. We need to understand that God knows everything there is to know.

God's power is displayed in His dominance over the nations (15-17).

What is the most powerful non-spiritual entity you know? The answer is probably a nation. We really cannot comprehend how vast the power of our country is. We cannot comprehend the budget, national debt, military, etc. To God, these are just a drop in the bucket.

The Hebrew word שַׁחַק (dust) refers to the layer of fine dust that might form on the pan of a balance when it is stored.

Lebanon, north of Israel, was known for its forests, large cedars.

However, even the vast woods of Lebanon could not provide enough wood for a sacrifice worthy of the Lord. Man is nothing before God, but the nations themselves are also nothing before God. God's power is unmeasurable.

In verse 18 three distinct words describe the nations אַיִן nothing, אֶפֶס worthless, תֹּהוּ less than nothing (emptiness).

MTR: What conversations do you need to have with the all-powerful, all-knowing God of the universe?

God's power is beyond comparison (18-24).

God's power is unmeasurable, yet people still fall into idolatry. To this Isaiah reminds the reader's that God's power is beyond comparison.

No idol could possibly bear God's power (18-20).

Isaiah draws heavily on irony noting the foolishness of idolatry.

Idols are made by craftsman and Isaiah has already talked about how insignificant even the nations are.

Idols are fashioned to look good but have no inherent good

The value of an Idol is completely dependent on the wealth of the one calling for the idol.

Idols cannot even stand on their own unless constructed to do so.

Note, that at this point Isaiah does not even present God as superior, it is simply obvious from the problems with idols.

No creation could possibly compare to God's power (21-22).

The picture here is one of God sitting above creation supervising the operation of his creation.The circle of the earth may be a reference to the horizon and poetically convey the idea that God rules over everything that they eye can see. In other words, God rules over everything.

No human ruler could possibly withstand God's power (22-24).

Isaiah compares the ruler of this world to sprouts of seeds. The rulers of our world are not just plants that may be uprooted from the ground, but tiny fragile sprouts that can be withered by a mere breeze.

MTR: Ask yourself, where do I need to be careful in comparing God to anything else?

God's power is displayed in creation (25-26).

Romans 1:20 reminds us that creation declares God.

In fact, historically, people have had a tendency to worship creation. To this God challenges people by asking who they can compare to God.

The absence of comparison demands recognition of God's power (25).

In the absence of anyone to whom we may compare God we are forced to admit that God is omnipotent.

The heavens declare God's power (26).

In fact, people have had a tendency to worship the heavens. God calls on us to look at the heavens and realize that He is master of the heavens.

Image: The vastness of the universe.

Astronomers estimate there are more than 100 billion stars in the Milky Way.

Astronomers further estimate that there are more than 10 billion galaxies in the universe.

this means that there are likely more than 10^22 stars in the universe (10 sextillion).

Isaiah tells us that God brings these out one by one knowing their names. If you were to start naming stars one-by-one

It would take you 3 x 10^14 years to name each star at one per second that is 100 trillion years

MTR: Tonight take a moment, look into the sky and praise God for his power declared throughout creation.

God's power should be your source of strength (27-31)

Mankind has a tendency to complain against God (27).

The people of Israel were under threat of conquest from the mighty Assyrian empire.

The threat was very real. the Assyrian empire was known for brutality.

Assyrian art contains some of the most appalling images ever created. In one scene, tongues are being ripped from the mouths of prisoners. That will mute their screams when, in the next stage of their torture, they are flayed alive. In another relief a surrendering general is about to be beheaded and in a third prisoners have to grind their fathers’ bones before being executed in the streets of Nineveh.

In fact, the Israelites to the North had already been exiled to Assyria and the Israelites living South in Judah were likely terrified that they were next.

God responds with a simple question, "why?"

God's people should never think that God does not see their problems.

God's people should never think that God has disregarded their problems.

Complaining against God reveals immaturity (28).

Spiritual maturity/immaturity are multidimensional.

Lack of knowledge.

Lack of understanding.

Lack of trust.

We need to know, understand, trust that

God and his characteristics are everlasting.

God is the creator and hence the one in control.

God does not grow weary or tired.

God's understanding is beyond our ability to comprehend.

God makes his power available to the weak (29).

Those who turn to God will find their strength in his power (30- 31)

Verses 30 and 31 answer one of the most important questions, how do I receive a measure of God's strength?

Recognize that everyone is susceptible, even the younger energetic and the best and brightest grow weary.

Place all hope in the Lord.

MTR: Determine right here and right now to place your hope in the LORD!

Conclusion:

Image:

1. ↑ “'Some of the Most Appalling Images Ever Created' – I Am Ashurbanipal Review.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, November 6, 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/nov/06/i-am-ashurbanipal-review-british-museum.