Sermon for MHBC (13 December 2020. You can listen on Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, or our website. Live at 11:00am on Sundays.
I have a simple goal today. I want to highlight and expound the incomparability of the Lord. If you sit down and read Isaiah 40–48, you will be confronted with this idea over and over again: Who is like the God of Israel? That theme is like a drumbeat pulsing through the entire section—really it’s at the heart of the entire book.
Isaiah 40 is a fitting Advent text. Remember the first 39 chapters have had a sense of despair, but now something new is happening. Captivity is ending. Corruption is ending. The Lord is on the move. Look at the first two verses in chapter 40: “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.”
These words of comfort strike a different tone. It’s a tone that needs to be heard after years of suffering. Then he says “speak tenderly to Jerusalem.” The Hebrew literally reads “speak to the heart of Jerusalem.” And there are three words of comfort. They are each followed by the word that.
1. That her warfare is ended.
2. That her iniquity is pardoned.
3. That she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.
Each of these declarations are incredibly good news. Warfare is ended means the struggle is over. Iniquity being pardoned means there is no fear of punishment. And receiving double means abundant blessing. Another way to say this is to say all of these refer to peace and wholeness.
How could this be so? Look at v. 3: “A voice cries: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’” Notice the connection between the words cry in v. 2 and here in v. 3. They are the same word in Hebrew. So the voice crying out that her warfare is done, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she is receiving blessing, is now crying that the LORD is on the move.
Now why is the LORD making a way in the wilderness? Two reasons. We know the wilderness is barren. It’s dry. It’s a metaphor for a place without much hope. Life can feel like that sometimes. Life can feel like you’re stuck in a place without much hope. You don’t know where your next drop of water is going to come from. But Isaiah says the LORD is on the move. The hopeless situation is turning around.
The other reason is that this is part of Israel’s story. The LORD delivered them from Egypt. They went through the wilderness. Isaiah is saying: God is about to deliver you just like he did in Egypt—a new exodus is coming.
Now you need to know that Mark’s Gospel quotes v. 3. It’s his way of saying that the new exodus, the second exodus, is happening with Jesus. In Jesus, the struggle is over. In Jesus, sin is pardoned. In Jesus, grace upon grace is given. The decisive moment happens with Jesus, and if you want to understand what Isaiah is talking about, you have to understand that it happens in Jesus.
Look at the language Isaiah uses in v. 4 to describe this event: “Every valley shall be lifted up,and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” It’s language of complete renewal. Everything is changing.
And the crux of this great event—the central point of what Isaiah is driving at—is catching a glimpse of the living God. Verse 5: “And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” John’s Gospel also reminds us that this moment happens in Christ. John 1:14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
There’s a lot of talk today about finding your authentic self or just being happy or following your heart or other phrases like that. And I agree that as human beings we have a deep longing for fulfillment. But Scripture teaches us that we won’t find that fulfillment by looking in the mirror. We must turn our gaze upon Christ.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
It’s a bit overused but Augustine got it right when he said, “Our heart is restless until it rests in you, O God.” A glimpse of the living God who is revealed in Christ Jesus can change everything.
It did for Paul. Do you remember Paul’s story? He’s a zealous opponent of the early Christians, but on his way to Damascus, he encounters the glory of God in the risen Christ. His life was never the same.
What about you? Is your faith one of encounter with the living God or is it just something you were born into? There’s nothing necessarily wrong with being born into the faith. That can be a great blessing, but there is some cause for concern. For example, in Judges 2, there is a contrast. In v. 7, we read: “And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel.” But then in v. 10, we read: “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.” And the result is given in v. 11: “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals.”
Many of us grew up in the heyday of cultural Christianity. It was weird not to have church membership. But with cultural Christianity came assumptions and God-talk, not Spirit-empowered Christianity. And now, we have already witnessed a mass exodus from the Church. I believe I’ve said this before, but I’ll repeat it now, D. A. Carson once said: “One generation believes something. The next assumes it. And the third will forget and deny it.”
What we desperately need today, at MHBC and as individuals, is to catch a glimpse of the glory of God. It’s the only thing that’s going to make any difference.
That’s Isaiah’s point throughout this chapter. Look at what he says at the end of v. 9: “Behold your God!” And then he speaks of his redeeming work in the next two verses. This the hope. This the comfort that is coming. Verses 10–11: “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.”
Then for the next several chapters, Isaiah is going to talk about the incomparability of the LORD. There is none like him. Just look at the next few verses with me. Isaiah 40:12–18:
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?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him 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?
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.
Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,
nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before him,
they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?
Let me give you a few more examples:
- “I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other” (42:8).
- “Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior” (43:10–11).
- “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (43:25).
- “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there’re is no god (44:6).
- “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God” (45:5).
- “To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance” (45:23).
- “To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike?” (46:5).
- “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me” (46:9).
- “For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it … My glory I will not give to another” (48:11).
This is really the heart of the book of Isaiah. There is no God like the LORD. He alone is God. I submit to you that once we catch a glimpse of the utter incomparability of the one true God, it will change everything.
I know there are numerous thoughts in this room right now. There are concerns about finances and family and the future. There are cultural and political concerns. There are concerns about health. There are concerns about this church and its future. The remedy for our concerns is to gaze upon the living God.
Look at v. 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.” Lift up your eyes and see. There is none with the power or magnitude or majesty or splendor or glory of the living God.
So what do we do? We look to the Lord. Verses 30–31: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 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.”
I’m struck by that word wait. Do you remember Jesus’s instruction to the first disciples? Wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Spirit. I’ve come to realize that more than anything else we need to the movement of the Lord—in our hearts, in our relationships, in our church. But I’m afraid our professions of faith and our actions don’t always match up.
When is the last time we waited on the Lord? When is the last time we spent even a day fasting, waiting on the Lord? When is the last time we devoted a day to prayer? When is the last time we prayed through the night?
We are talking a lot about the church and moving forward. We can talk about great books and strategies all day, but until we have waited on the Lord and caught a glimpse of his incomparability, I’m afraid none of it will make any difference.
So we wait. We watch and we pray. We pray to see the glory of God. Let’s take a lesson from Jacob. Do you remember? He wrestles with God all night. “I won’t let go until you bless me,” he says. Jesus teaches the same thing when he teaches that we should be persistent in prayer. Until we behold the incomparability of the Lord, little difference will be made. So begin now. Seek the Lord. Fast and pray. Wait upon the Lord and you will be renewed.