1. June 19, 2016 Grace Church at Willow Valley

2. Vacation Bible School begins TOMORROW! June 20-24 Please Pray!

3. In Pursuit of Glory The Stories of Eight Ancient Kings Who Sought God’s Glory above Their Own! Sunday Mornings at Grace Beginning June 26 th

4. A worldview is how we look at and understand the world around us. The only worldview that will help us make sense of life as it unfolds around us is one that has at its center the glorious vision of God which Isaiah offers up for us here in Isaiah chapter forty!

5. But all too often we Christians have done one of two things with our thoughts of God: GOD 1.We have marginalized God “real life” drawer “spiritual life” drawer

6. But all too often we Christians have done one of two things with our thoughts of God: GOD 1.We have marginalized God 2. We have minimized God

7. “You simply cannot properly understand anything unless you look at it through the lens of the awesome glory that Isaiah sticks in your face. Not only does God exist and not only is he active and not only is he in control, but he is also so glorious that it is almost impossible to find words or illustrations that are huge enough to capture his majesty.” Paul D. Tripp AWE

8. Isaiah 40:1-2a Comfort, comfort my people says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem...

9. AWESOME Seeing God for Who He Is and Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do (an in-depth study of Isaiah 40) Sunday mornings June 5 th, 12 th, 19 th

10. Message #1 – “Your sins are forgiven!” (v.2) Message #2 – “I have a plan and am working that plan!” (vv. 3-5) Message #3 – “You can take Me at My Word!” (vv. 6-8) Message”4 – “Behold your God!” (v. 9)

11. Theology 101 The transcendence of God – word comes from two Latin words: trans (above, beyond); scendere (to climb) transcendence = to climb above or beyond When applied to God it simply means that God is above and beyond his created order. He is distinct from what he has made. This is God’s “farness.”

12. Theology 101 The immanence of God – this word comes from two Latin words: im (in); manere (to remain/abide) Immanence = to remain or abide in When applied to God it simply means that God remains or abides in his created realm. This is God’s “nearness.”

13. God’s immanence (nearness) Isaiah 40:10a, 11 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him... 11 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..

14. Four Threads of the Transcendence of God He transcends both the earth and the heavens he has made! Isaiah 40:12 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?

15. How much water is on our planet? 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons (326 million trillion gallons) How much is a trillion? If you spent $1 million a day since Jesus was born, you still would not have spent $1 trillion by now!

16. Four Threads of the Transcendence of God He transcends both the earth and the heavens he has made! Isaiah 40:25-26 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.

17. How many stars are there in the universe? One septillion (10 24) (10, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)

18. Four Threads of the Transcendence of God He transcends all human knowledge Isaiah 40:13-14 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?

19. Four Manifestations of the Transcendence of God He transcends all human knowledge Isaiah 40:13-14 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?

20. Four Threads of the Transcendence of God He transcends all the nations of the world Isaiah 40:15-17 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.

21. The Nations of the World 196 countries 9813 people groups 7,291,999,000 individuals All a mere drop in a bucket … NOTHING before the AWESOMENESS of our God!

22. Four Threads of the Transcendence of God He transcends all the nations of the world Isaiah 40:23-24 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.

23. Four Threads of the Transcendence of God He transcends all the idols of Man Isaiah 40:18-20 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.

24. Are you grasping what Isaiah is communicating to us about our God? He is near as he engages in our world as a mighty victor and our gentle shepherd. He is far as he transcends (climbs above and beyond) the earth and the heavens he has made, all of human knowledge, all the nations of the world, and all the idols of Man.

25. 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”?

26. 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. Isaiah 40:29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

27. Listen my friends. When we are weary... when our backs are up against the wall … we can always turn to God. His resources will NEVER run out!

28. Isaiah 40:30-31 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.

29. How many of you like to wait?

30. Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

31. Isaiah 40:30-31 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.

32. ESV Study Bible Note: Isaiah 40:31 wait for the Lord. Savoring God’s promise by faith until the time of fulfillment

33. Isaiah 40:30-31 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.

34. If you cultivate this vision of God and keep it fresh in your mind, heart and soul … what affect will it have on: -your anxiety level? (up or down?) -your desire to be in control? (grow or diminish?) -your chase after things? (more intense or less?) -your dissatisfaction with life (deepen or lessen?)

35. As you think about God, beware of GOD 1.marginalizing Him 2.minimizing Him

36. Instead think about God in terms of the vision of Him given to us in Isaiah chapter forty! GOD of Isaiah 40

37. "The comfort of Isaiah 40 is that it gives us the only worldview that has eternal hope embedded in it. Isaiah 40 comforts us not because it helps us understand life or divine the future because it reminds us of the glory of the God who rules in majesty over all the things that would otherwise rob us of comfort and hope.” Paul D. Tripp AWE

38. "We need Isaiah to say to us again and again ‘Here is your God!’ And we need to let the awesome glory of his description of our God wash our hearts clean of cynicism, doubt, fear, discouragement, anxiety, worry, and control." (Paul D. Tripp, AWE) Paul D. Tripp AWE