Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Today we begin a new series titled, Behold Our God. It's a study on the character of God from Isaiah 40-55. In this first message, we see the beautiful picture of our Creator from the vantage point of Isaiah 40. Seeing the Lord as He is will equip us against the temptation to seek our satisfaction from things other than our Creator.
Things that will leave us empty and unsatisfied. Let's listen in. This is part two of a message that was first preached on March 17th, 2013. And Israel needs to understand, you and I this morning need to understand that God is person. He's not just a concept.
He's not just a force that stands aloof. He is a person and we must understand Him in that sense. What is the first word of Isaiah 40?
What is it? Comfort. So we're going to understand God as a person. First of all, He is a God who gives comfort. Verses one and two, comfort. Yes, comfort my people. Speak comfort to Jerusalem. God is a God who gives comfort.
Why? Because He is a caring God. He is a good God. He is a kind God. He is a God of comfort and He wants to comfort His people. Continuing there in verse two, number two, He is a forgiving God that her iniquity is pardoned. He is a forgiving God.
What does that mean? He wipes out debt. He doesn't hold accounts. He wipes out debt. But you see, there's something very prophetic in that, right? Because seven centuries down the road, He would wipe out that debt permanently in His Son. His most awesome work was done in the frailty of His Son. You see, He's a forgiving God. He is a God who restores. As a forgiving God, He is a God who restores by wiping out debt. Number three, still in verse two, He is a just God. Look what it says at the end of verse two. For she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. God held His people accountable and they suffered the consequences of their sin. And yet God is still willing to pardon them and to restore them. But He is a just God.
What does that mean? That He hates what is not right. Would He be a good God if He did not hate evil?
He would not. But He is a good God. And He hates what is evil because what is evil is what destroys. What is evil is that which is contrary to His good and perfect character and purpose.
And whatever deviates from that, whatever distracts from that, is what destroys you and me. And God in His justice will make things right. He is the one who will set things right and put things the way they ought to be. Look at verse three.
Number with me now. Verse three. Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill brought low.
The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth. What does it say before that? Verse three. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.
Why? Because He's coming. God is coming to us. Point number four is that God is near. He is a God who is near. He doesn't just stand aloof, but He is a God who pursues relationship.
Understand this this morning. Every one of you in this room, God has pursued relationship with you. That's the kind of God we worship. That's the kind of God we serve.
He is near. Prepare the way of the Lord. Number five. Look with me at verse four and five. The crooked places made straight. Look at verse five. The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Why? Crooked places made straight, valleys exalted, mountains brought low. God is a good God. He is a good God. He is, by His very essence, the definition of what is right and good.
He is the definition of what is beneficial, of what is good for me, which is why everything that He does is good, because it is consistent with His good character and purpose. We move to verses six and seven and eight. All flesh is as grass. The grass withers. The flower fades. The breath of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people are grass. Look at verse eight.
The grass withers. The flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. What about God? He is a faithful God. He is faithful, trustworthy, synonymous terms, meaning God is constant. He is an unwavering God. He is unaffected by circumstances. Circumstances don't change His plan, His purpose or His character.
That's very much unlike us. You see, He is a faithful God, so we can count on Him because He is constant and unwavering. Look with me at verse nine. We've read this verse already. Bring good tidings. You who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength.
Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say to the cities of Judah, behold your God. What kind of God is this?
Number seven. He is a knowable God. God is knowable.
He is a personal God, meaning He is a knowable God. He wants and invites to be known. He reveals Himself in order to be known. Behold your God, the Lord says through the prophet.
This is what Paul said to the Athenians on Mars Hill in Acts chapter 17. He says, God has made Himself known in hopes that you may grope for Him and find Him. The Lord Himself has said, you will find Me if you seek Me with all your heart.
He wants and He invites to be known. He is a knowable God. Look with me at verses 10 and 11. Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand and His arm shall rule for Him. His reward is with Him and His work is before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in His arm and carry them in His bosom and gently lead those who are with young.
Number eight. He is an immanent God. Imminent, not imminent.
That means it's going to happen right away. He is an immanent God, meaning He is close and He is concerned. He is close to you and He is concerned about you. And what is the kind of closeness and concern that He offers?
It is a strong and tender concern. That is our God. Behold, your God. Understand Him and know Him as the person, the infinite person. So we've looked at His personhood and His character there, some attributes of it. Now let's look at His infinitude and the prophet continues, Isaiah continues now, pointing out the infinitude of God. God is infinite and we must know Him in this way because He's not just another being like us. We must know Him according to His infinitude. Verse 12. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and measured heaven with a span, calculated the dust of the earth, weighed the mountains in a scale and the hills in a balance?
Who has directed the Spirit of Lord or who has, as His counselor, has taught Him? The first point under the infinitude of God is God is transcendent. Our God is transcendent.
What does that mean? His authority, His power and His understanding are not measured by time, space or aptitude. Because His authority and His power and His understanding transcend every means of measurement.
It is infinite. He is a transcendent God. Everything that is exists within Him, Paul said to the Athenians, in Him we live and move and have our being.
Do we see God that way? Behold your God. Second point under the infinitude of God, verses 15 through 17. Behold the nations are as a drop in the bucket.
Look at verse 17. All nations before Him are as nothing. They are counted by Him less than nothing and worthless. Point number two, He is an omnipotent God. He is all powerful. And if we could somehow contrast that, you take all the might, all the power, that the created earth, the people, the creations of earth can muster. You take it all and put it together. And what is that to God? He would go like this.
And it's gone. He is an omnipotent God. Verses 18 to 20, He is an incomparable God. Verse 18, to whom then will you liken me or what likeness will you compare to Him? He is an incomparable God, meaning He is unique.
He is the only one. So many people talk about other gods and even the Bible talks about false gods. But when the Bible talks about false gods and Paul says this to the Corinthians, they are non-gods. A false god is a non-god. It is a non-existent God.
Why? Because there is one God. And if you are worshipping a God that is not revealed in the Scriptures, then you are worshipping a non-god. God is alone. He is incomparable. There is none like Him. No other God can exist or be formed.
That brings us to point number four, He is the uncaused cause. Verse 20, whoever is too impoverished for such a contribution, choose a tree that will not rot. He seeks for himself a skillful workman to prepare a carved image that will not totter.
What is He saying there? We have such a propensity to worship. We need something to worship.
We need something to look to. And yet what will we do if we think if God is small to us, then we will take something that is already created and we will chop it down. We will use half of it for firewood. The other half we will carve into an image. We will paint it. We will put silver chains around it and we'll fall down and worship it.
What is He saying? You and I, listen, don't mock those who bow down to idols. We all have idols. If you are trusting something that is created and that you can manipulate for your satisfaction and your security, you are worshipping an idol. Who's laughing now? You see, God is the uncaused cause.
Why would we worship anything or anyone other than Him? Verses 21 to 24, have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? The implication there is it's been revealed. It's been clear as day.
You ought to know this. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on Weekdays at 10 a.m.
