Our God Is an Awesome God!

“OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!” ISAIAH 40:9-26 KEY VERSE: ISAIAH 40:9 INTRO: Friend, I want to ask you an important question this evening, “Do you have a burning desire to know God in a greater way?” Listen to what Paul’s desire was according to Philippians 3:10—“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” True knowledge of Christ alters and changes men, their judgments and manners, and makes them as if made again anew. The believer prefers Christ, knowing that it is better for us to be without all worldly riches, than without Christ and His Word. (MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSION by Matthew Henry. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR). Knowing God in a greater way must have been what was on Isaiah’s mind because we see that many times he gives us vivid descriptions of God. In Isaiah 40:9 we read these words—“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!” Every Christian should have a desire to know God in a greater way. Friend, the more you know God the more you will love HIM. The more you love HIM the more you will serve HIM. Friends, I want us to consider this evening that “OUR GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!” As we look at these verses in Isaiah tonight we see that… (1) GOD IS CARING ISAIAH 40:11—“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” A. HE CARES BECAUSE OF HIS COMPREHENSION. Friends, the Lord sees us. He knows our sorrows. He is acquainted with our grief. He knows when we hurt and why we hurt. He knows the trouble we face. Psalm 34:15 tells us—“The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.” The Bible invites us—“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7).

B. HE CARES BECAUSE OF HIS COMPASSION. Many seem to think that NO ONE cares about them, but I have some great news for every person in this world—GOD CARES ABOUT YOU! God wanted Israel to know that He cared about them. That is why God’s prophet Isaiah told them to get their eyes off themselves and “Behold your God!” Israel had felt as if for years that God had forsaken them, but He had not! It was because of their disobedience that God punished them by allowing them to be taken captive by the Babylonians for seventy years. Now the Lord was about to free them from their captivity. It was during this time that Isaiah told the people— “Behold your God!” As they behold HIM what kind of God did they see? They saw that GOD IS CARING. How does God show his caring? :  HE FEEDS. The Bible says here—“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd…”. Christ is the good Shepherd; he shows tender care for young converts, weak believers, and those of a sorrowful spirit. By his word he requires no more service, and by his providence he inflicts no more trouble, than he will strengthen them for. (MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSION by Matthew Henry. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).  HE GATHERS. “…he shall gather the lambs with his arm…”. He snatches them away from danger. .  HE CARRIES. “He shall…carry them in his bosom…”. He holds them dear to His heart.  HE LEADS . “He shall…gently lead those that are with young.” Friends, may we always listen for the voice of our Shepherd and follow Him wherever He leads us. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). May we know our Shepherd’s voice, and follow him, proving ourselves his sheep. (MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSION by Matthew Henry. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR). GOD IS CARING but also… (2) GOD IS BEYOND COMPREHENSION ISAIAH 40:13-14, 18—“Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?... To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” A. HIS WISDOM IS PAST FINDING OUT! Friends, God is so awesome that He is incomprehensible! How could anyone even begin to comprehend God, the Creator? The Scripture here asks—“Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counselor hath taught him? With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?” God said of Himself—“For my thoughts are not your thoughts…” (Isaiah 55:8a). Romans 11:33-34 declares—“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” He has infinite wisdom. Our wisdom is finite. He can see the end from the beginning. We can only see where we have been and where we are now. If you and I cannot comprehend each other, how could we ever hope to comprehend God? ILLUS: If one could take all the great minds of mankind through the ages and put them all together, still they could not comprehend the greatness of God. Mankind, it seems, is always trying to tell God how to do things. But who are we to tell our AWESOME GOD anything! The answers to the greatest questions that men have pondered are easily answered by God. He knows the answer to every mathematical, scientific, and theological question that have stumped the wisest of men.

B. HIS WAY IS PAST FINDING OUT! Isaiah 40:18 asks—“To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” Friends, there is no way we can comprehend the God of the Bible! He is AWESOME!  CONSIDER HIS HANDS! V12 says—“Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?” God held all the waters of the oceans, rivers, ponds, lakes, creek, etc. in His hand. You ask, Brother Bryan, do you believe that? Of course, I do, the Word of God says—“Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand…”. The God this Bible speaks of is an AWESOME GOD! He knows exactly how many ounces, pints, quarts, and gallons of water are in His creation! Notice the word hand is singular. God is so great that He measured all the water and He did it in just one hand—“the hollow of his hand.” The Bible also says—“Who…meted out heaven with a span…”. The word “span” means the distance from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended. For an average man this is usually about 9 inches. God is so awesome He has “meted out heaven with a span.” To the people who had been in bondage for seventy years, Isaiah said—“Behold your God!” But not only that, but v12 goes on to say—“…and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure.” Historian Jerome believes that during Isaiah’s time one of the ways a store owner measured was by taking his three largest fingers together and dipping stuff out with those three fingers –that was a measure. God took those three fingers and picked up all the dust of the earth! To the people who had been in bondage for seventy years, Isaiah said—“Behold your God!” One last thing we see in v12—“…and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.” If you asked me how much a mountain weighs I would have no idea. But God knows precisely. God’s mighty hands made all things in perfect balance. God knows exactly what all the water, earth, and the mountains weigh. He has everything perfectly balanced and rotating on its axis. This whole universe is beyond our comprehension because God, who created it is beyond our comprehension. To the people who had been in bondage for seventy years, Isaiah said— “Behold your God!”  CONSIDER HIS GREATNESS! All the great nations of this world are nothing compared to the greatness of God! Isaiah 40:15 says—“Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.” At the time of this writing, Babylon was the greatest nation on earth. America is the most powerful nation that has ever existed but America is great because God made her great! But Babylon, America, and all the other great nations throughout history “are as a drop of a bucket” compared to the greatness of our God! To the people who had been in bondage for seventy years, Isaiah said—“Behold your God!”  CONSIDER HIS WORTHINESS! Friends, God’s worth is beyond compare. In Isaiah 40:16 we read—“And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.” The trees of Lebanon were beautiful cedar trees that grew in that area. Wood from these trees were considered to be the finest you could get. But Isaiah is saying the trees of Lebanon were not worthy enough to offer up a sacrifice to our AWESOME GOD! To the people who had been in bondage for seventy years, Isaiah said—“Behold your God!”  CONSIDER HIS VALUE! The Bible says that God is so great that “All the nations before him are nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” (v17). All created beings shrink to nothing in comparison with the Creator. When the Lord, by his Spirit, made the world, none directed his Spirit, or gave advice what to do, or how to do it. The nations, in comparison of him, are as a drop which remains in the bucket, compared with the vast ocean; or as the small dust in the balance, which does not turn it, compared with all the earth. This magnifies God’s love to the world, that, though it is of such small account and value with him, yet, for the redemption of it, he gave his only-begotten Son, John 3:16. (MATTHEW HENRY’S COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE CONDENSED VERSION by Matthew Henry. The Master Christian Library Version 5. Copyright 1997. AGES Software. Albany, OR).

CLOSING: Friends, our God truly is an AWESOME GOD! But HE IS CARING and because of His greatness HE IS BEYOND COMPREHENSION. Listen to what the Bible says in vv. 21-26—“Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.” Friends, I have a personal question for each of you: “Do you know Him?” and If so, “Do you want to know Him more?” (PREPARED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 20, 2009).