A Promise of Gods Strength

January 27, 1991

Isaiah 40:28-31

Introduction

There is no question but that these are days of stress all over the civilized world. The events in the Middle East are brought into our living rooms and our minds, and they are sobering, to say the least.

Yesterday the Patriot Ledger said that people of faith everywhere are turning to prayer: some for guidance, some for solace, some for God's intervention. I would hope that we would be people of prayer.

The question is: Where do God's people have any advantage over people who profess no faith at all? What difference does faith make?

Faith does indeed make a difference! I am sure that you are already finding this out. Perhaps you don't even need to be told that. But I find that it helps me to be reminded of God's great promises. Times of stress, whatever the reason, are good times to return to favorite treasures, to the passages of scripture that have 'come through' with assurance over and over again.

One such passage that we can claim together is Isaiah 40, and especially that last paragraph which says, in part:

" . . .they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength . . ."

I. ISAIAH IS A PROPHET OF GREAT HOPE

[Isaiah is also a great Messianic prophet, and is sometimes called "the Fifth Evangelist" (along with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), because we Christians can see so much of Jesus in his writings.]

  1. Some "key words" that open Isaiah's message as we read are words like "expectancy" and "hope" and "peace." Isaiah lived in expectancy for a long time, through many difficult times. But Isaiah was "forward looking." He believed that God was in charge, and that He was in charge of the future. Isaiah is the one who told us that Messiah would be called "Prince of Peace."
  2. The heart of Isaiah's message is the fact that God works not only on a cosmic scale, but personally. God was interested in kings and nations, and Isaiah observed roles and rituals of religious ceremony along with his fellow priests and prophets. But the message came in a PERSONAL way to Isaiah himself. Isaiah felt his own personal uncleanness before the holiness of God as well as that of his people. Isaiah experienced personal cleansing and empowering. The message that God gave him interfaced with his own family situation.

    And— Messiah would be a PERSON! Not just the nation of Israel, but a Suffering Servant, a man among men and women!

    Majestic and meek. Baptized - and a baptizer with fire! Life-bringer who came to die! This personal Savior would be called by the names of deity: WISDOM POWER IMMANUEL! God with us!

  3. Isaiah tells us in this passage that the reality of God's gifts of HOPE and STRENGTH and PEACE are personally available, held out to those who will 'WAIT UPON THE LORD!'

Wait upon the Lord!

II. WHAT IS THIS 'WAITING UPON THE LORD'??

  1. "Waiting" would seem to imply something like 'killing time;' like reading old magazines in a doctor's waiting room somewhere while the appointments are an hour behind schedule.

    Or, waiting might seem simply to let the years go by until God's time gets right, and a certain day or hour appears and God says, "Now you've waited long enough!"

    But "wait" here has a personal aspect. It doesn't simply mean letting time pass, but means waiting in expectancy, or looking to God in trust as we watch to see how God will answer our prayer.

    And no one, in any age, ever really waits on God in vain! No one ever comes in trust and obedience that does not somehow find that God is IN the prayer, that God is BEHIND the prayer— and that, ultimately, God is HEARING the prayer. [I certainly do not minimize the mystery of prayer. I do not dispute the fact of genuine struggle and even travail in prayer. But God does hear and answer prayer!]

  2. But what, then, does this waiting mean?

    Waiting on God indicates a sense of DEPENDENCY. Being dependent somehow goes against our All-American western culture Protestant work-ethic positive self-image self-confident way of life and living.

    [There ARE benefits to a healthy self-image which I do not deny. There is enormous worth in looking at a task and thinking "I CAN!"]

    But in matters of eternity and life and death "I CAN!" somehow fades away into the realization that among the spinning galaxies of ultimate reality there are many things which "I CAN NOT!"

    [In "skits" of Bible stories which we used at a recent pastors' retreat one mini-drama had to do with the centurion who came and asked Jesus to heal his servant. The man who represented the centurion was deeply moved, even to tears. Later he said, "I realized that in temporal things I had great authority: 'I say to one, "Come!" and he comes, etc.' But in the things which really mattered (i.e., the life and death of the beloved servant) I was totally helpless, dependent on Jesus."]

    Waiting on God is saying to God: We can't do it unless and until YOU do it!

  3. So waiting on God is not so much TIME as it is ATTITUDE. It is listening for God. It is seeking to give God our attention. It is being ready for communication from the Master. [It is perhaps like a little dog trotting along, always looking back, always looking up to make sure the master or mistress is coming along, and everything is all right.]

    And as we wait, we will hear God! As we wait the things will happen that would NOT have happened if we had not waited! Isaiah makes it clear that the benefits of waiting on God are in the HERE AND NOW!

    THEY THAT WAIT UPON THE LORD SHALL RENEW THEIR STRENGTH!

    [But we are NOT little dogs trotting along, looking up to the Master's face. We are PEOPLE, living in a tremendously complex world situation. We have tremendously complex lives to lead. Is there any practical guidance for waiting on God?

III. GIVING GOD OUR ATTENTION

  1. We can pray DELIBERATELY to be filled with God's Spirit. William Barclay says:

    "The only way to receive the Spirit is to silently and prayerfully WAIT upon the Spirit."

    A helpful verse to me is Luke 11:13. Jesus says that if we ask the Father He is more anxious to empower us with the Spirit than we are to give things to our own children! But we need to ASK!

    Barclay goes on: "In a church life in which the church is increasingly organized, and in which strenuous activity is the key-note, and in which ACTION is valued above all things it is hard to find time for that apparent doing nothing which means everything."

  2. But can we be even more PRACTICAL? More SPECIFIC? How shall we pray in such a way that we can renew our strength? [I have FOUR suggestions:]
    1. By praying HONESTLY. God will only receive as much of our lives as we are willing to give freely to Him. This God who could easily overwhelm us never pushes His way in past locked doors! If you need His help in areas of your life make certain that you have made Him welcome in EVERY area. [sin / confession / open-ness]
    2. By praying REGULARLY. Prayer life is not so much a series of major repairs and overhauls as it is keeping a schedule of daily maintenance. Fifteen minutes a day is better than two or three hours every other week!
    3. By praying CORPORATELY. Worship together with the Body of Christ is an essential part of waiting on the Lord. Worship is much more than just a convenient time for religious people to get together to hear a common word. The CHURCH has power as it joins in prayer together. "Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together" is the word of God (Hebrews 10:24.)
    4. Finally, By praying TOGETHER. Not just in the assembly of the Body, but in the daily traffic of life and living, Christians must learn to pray with each other, and pray for each other.

    We need to reach out and ask for help. We need to say, "Let's pray!" If it seems like a weakness, it is only admitting before God that He alone is our strength! There is strength and power in weaving the potency of prayer into the daily conversation of our living.

Conclusion

William Barclay again: "God will 'do it again;' that is, renew and revive, both for us individually, and for the church, if we remember that He asks nothing but our attention, and if we learn to wait INTENSELY upon Him."

Prayer:

Lord, We confess freely our need of Your strength. We believe that You are as good as Your word. Help us to wait in simple faith and trust- to give You our full attention. Help us to hear Your Word of power. Amen

(EH)#65 Speak, Lord, In the Stillness