John Lloyd - Renewed Strength
/The Greatness of God: A Study of Isaiah 40
Renewed Strength from our Great God
Pastor John Lloyd
March 31, 2019
The name Isaiah literally means ‘the Lord saves.’ He saves us for eternity and helps us with our daily challenges. Our passage today gives us a view of our God who never gets weary or faint. He is ready to renew the strength of any weary follower who comes to Him.
Passage: Isaiah 40:27 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.
Big Idea: My emptiness or weariness is an opportunity to be filled with the fullness and strength of God.
I. The trials of this life bring ________________ and ___________________.
Isaiah 40:27 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”?
Disregarded – passed over, to be alienated
Isaiah 40:30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted.
“By what means Satan first drew mankind from the obedience of God, the Scripture doth witness: To wit, by pouring into their hearts that poison, that God did not love them.” John Knox
2 Corinthians 1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.
Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
Ezekiel 37:11Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’
Declaration: As long as I live on this earth, I am no match for the demands of this life.
Commitment: I will seek God when I’m weary, faint or tired.
II. My faith is rooted in the __________________ of our God.
Isaiah 40:28 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.
A. God is _____________________.
B. God is the ______________ of everything.
C. God does not get __________.
D. God _____________________ my situation.
God does not suffer setbacks, and he helps those who do. ESV Study Bible
“The wrong inference would be that God is too great to care, the right one He is too great to fail,” D.A. Carson. Colossians 2:6-8
I John 3:2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
Declaration: I know God understands and cares for me.
Commitment: I will humbly accept that I am a beloved child of God.
Prayer: Lead me to walk with someone who is weary.
III. Trusting God’s promises gives ____________ for endurance.
Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength
no might … increaseth strength—a seeming paradox. They “have no might” in themselves; but in Him they have strength, and He “increases” that strength (2 Co 12:9).
Isaiah 40:31 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. Exodus 19:4
Wait – to live in confident, eager suspense. It means to live with the tension of promises revealed but not yet fulfilled. It is waiting on tip-toe, waiting with eager longing.
The phrase renew their strength (31) is (lit.) ‘change strength’, as one might change into fresh clothes or exchange an old thing for a new.
Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
“I can plod,” said William Carey, the father of modern missions. “That is my only genius. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything.” 2 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 1:20
Hebrews 11:32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Hebrews 11:35-38
Hebrews 11:39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
Declaration: God can bring strength to my soul in the midst of weariness.
Commitment: I will live in expectation of God to renew my strength.
Spiritual Growth Questions for week of March 31, 2019
1. Read Isaiah 40:27-31. Read it slowly several times. Ask God to speak to you through this passage. What verse stood out? Why?
2. Read Isaiah 40:27. Why was life so hard for the people of Judah? Why do you think life is difficult on this earth for believers? What is draining your strength at this time?
3. Read Isaiah 40:28. Isaiah shares four things about who God is and what He is like. What are they? How can each one of them bring strength to our hearts? Who could you encourage with these truths?
4. Read Colossians 2:6-10. How does Paul hope the Colossian’s faith will be? What concerns him about their walk? What does he tell them to do?
5. Read Isaiah 40:30, 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. What principle can you take away from these verses about natural strength? Read 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. Why does Paul share his personal struggles with the Corinthians? How does this encourage you in your situation?
6. Read Isaiah 40:29 & 31. What is God able to do? What does it mean to “wait” on the Lord? What is one thing you can commit to doing this week to wait on the Lord? Share it with a friend.
Memory Verse: Isaiah 40:31 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.