Sustained by Faith
Audio Recording
Sermon Outline
Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord
Isaiah 40:12-31 (ESV)
12 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 in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 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?
15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
17 All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
18 To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold
and casts for it silver chains.
20 He who is too impoverished for an offering
chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman
to set up an idol that will not move.
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?
22 It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
23 who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
25 To whom then will you compare me,
that I should be like him? says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name;
by the greatness of his might
and because he is strong in power,
not one is missing.
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”?
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
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.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they 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.
Sermon Outline
If we are not drawing life from God we will not be sustained (vv28-31).
1. Confusion
v28 Have you not known? …his understanding is unsearchable.
v13 what man shows him his counsel?
vv18-19 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol!
2. Fear
v20 He who is too impoverished… chooses wood… to set up an idol that will not move.
v15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket
v25 To whom then will you compare me…?
3. Renewal
v27 Why do you say… “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
v29 He gives power to the faint
v31 they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength
v26 Lift up your eyes on high and see
Prayer of Confession
Our eternal Creator, all-powerful and all-wise: we humbly acknowledge our sin and weakness. Trusting our own wisdom, we have wrongly presumed to know better than you. In fear we have sought control and placed our trust in the things of our world. We have fashioned idols in our hearts. We have wearied ourselves with the very things you warn us against. Lord, we ask for your forgiveness. Renew your Spirit in us and strengthen us with the grace we need to live according to your will. Amen.
Questions for Reflection
What don’t you understand about God? Can you know God?
How do you feel making decisions or moving forward in life without knowing all you need to know? How do you deal with this or approach these situations?
Is it good that we can’t fully understand God? How is faith good for us? How is faith hard for you?
How do things become idols? What should we be looking for to determine if we are simply enjoying or benefiting from something, or if we have become devoted to it and crossed a line into idolatry?
What fears are frequently present in your life? How are those fears shaping your decisions? Your perceptions? What do you look to for help when you are afraid?
How can the Christian life become draining?
How does faith in Christ give people strength?
What does it look like to wait on the Lord?
What practices help us to lift our eyes up to see and experience the power and glory of God? What can you do to keep your sights set on God in a way that renews your strength?
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