July 21, 2013 Pastor Jim Cecy “Grasping the Immensity of God: Part One” Isaiah 40:12-31 Introduction: “How big is your God?” “Is God really there?” “Is He big enough to handle every aspect of my life?”

Background of Isaiah 40 Speaking to unbelievers who denied the existence of God (cf. Is. 9:2) and believers who had lost their confidence in God (Is. 40:12-31) “EITHER God is all-loving but not all-powerful (and therefore, cannot help me) OR God is all-powerful but not all-loving (and, therefore, will not help me).” cf. Job 23:6 I. The Declaration of His Greatness (Isaiah 40:12-27) Psalm 145:3-6 “Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty, and on Thy wonderful works, I will meditate. And men shall speak of the power of Thine awesome acts; and I will tell of Thy greatness.”

On the one hand, the Bible tells us that God is too big to grasp. On the other hand, that same Bible tells us to keep trying to grasp it anyways and to keep telling others what we have learned.

Even a limited and finite understanding of the unlimited and infinite majesty and greatness of God determines how effectively we will live and serve.

Illustration #1. Compared to our greatest geniuses...GOD IS EVEN GREATER!

The Ultimate Assignment: Explain everything that is knowable and then follow it up with an explanation of everything that is unknowable.

Isaiah 40:12-14 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance, And the hills in a pair of scales? Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge, And informed Him of the way of understanding?

Illustration #2. Compared to our greatest empires...GOD IS EVEN GREATER! Considering the combined might, resources and influences of all the empires in history...

Isaiah 40:15-17 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, Nor its beasts enough form a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before Him, They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless. Exodus 15:7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.”

Illustration #3. Compared to our greatest man-made idols...GOD IS EVEN GREATER!

Isaiah 40:18-20 To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, A goldsmith plates it with gold, And a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering, Selects a tree that does not rot; He seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman, To prepare an idol that will not totter.

Our own wooden idols...

Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” Colossians 3:5 “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”

Illustration #4. Compared to our greatest leaders...GOD IS EVEN GREATER! Considering the combined power of the world’s greatest leaders...

Isaiah 40:21-25 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He it is who reduces rulers to nothing, Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless. Scarcely have they been planted, Scarcely have they been sown, Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, But He merely blows on them, and they wither, And the storm carries them away like stubble. “To whom then will you liken Me, That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.” Ezekiel 31:2 “Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes, ‘Whom are you like in your greatness?’” Daniel 7:27 “Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.”

Illustration #5. Compared to our greatest knowledge...GOD IS EVEN GREATER! Considering human knowledge, ingenuity and inventions...

Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, And see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing. 1 Chronicles 29:11 “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all.”

Illustration #6. Compared to our greatest problems...GOD IS EVEN GREATER!

Isaiah 40:27-29 Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God”? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. “...(God) is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think...” (Ephesians 3:20) “Don’t tell GOD how big your storm is. Tell your storm how big your GOD is.”

We cannot live any higher than our understanding of what we conceive God to be like.

If we have a weak, anemic God, we will have weak, anemic lives and therefore weak, anemic families and a weak, anemic church doing weak, anemic ministry. Next time in Part Two:

II. Our Response to His Majesty (Isaiah 40:28-31)

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