The God of Comfort - Part 2

Those are some mighty truths that we just sang.

! We need to pray.

God, we are so grateful this morning that you are faithful.

!

Over us.

That even what has been planned for evil, you can redeem and turn it for our good.

Oh God, we praise you.

That you can turn the bad things into good.

You can work all things out for our benefit, for our good.

To those who love you, to those who are called according to your goodness.

We praise you.

We praise you, Lord, for the fact that you intervene in our lives.

You intersect with your sovereignty.

You make good plans for us.

You have a good future in store.

We know that you're able.

We know that you're strong.

We know that you love us and are watching us and are interested in the very details of our lives.

God, we know that you're going to do that.

Help us, Lord, to trust in your absolute supremacy and authority and sovereignty over all things.

So that your gospel can radiate to this world.

So that the impact of the truth of God's word can not only penetrate our own hearts and lives,

but can make its way into the hearts and lives of the people around us.

So there can be some fruitfulness.

There can be some effectiveness because of the power of God working in and through us

to impact and to change the lives of those around us.

God, that's our desire this morning.

Please make it happen.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, last week we began our study through Isaiah chapter 40,

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

and hopefully this morning we're going to finish that chapter

as we're thinking about and looking at the God of comfort.

And as we think about the God of comfort, how does the God of comfort show up in our lives?

What does the God of comfort do?

How does it intersect with the day-to-day living in our lives?

How does it change us?

How does it help us?

How does it make a difference in our day-to-day?

As we talked about comfort, we got to see that we're not talking about what the world,

the world's concept of comfort.

We're not talking about this superficial idea of things that are pleasing in life necessarily,

things that are comfortable in life.

This feeling of acceptance and peace in your life.

That's our world's view of comfort.

But when God is talking about comfort, He is talking about the things that run to the very core of who you are.

He's talking about the things that change everything about the person that you are.

They affect the heart in life that you live.

They're not just dealing with the externals of life, but they will change you entirely.

That's what God is about doing for you in ministering comfort to your life.

God's desire is transformation.

To produce within us this lasting and enduring peace.

This ability to look fear in the face and to move forward in courage, recognizing that God is in control.

There is a fearlessness about those who have been ministered to in terms of comfort.

We understand that fear is one of those things that tends to grip our lives.

The apostle Paul even had to commend or correct his young disciple Timothy.

The young man in the faith, he says,

Don't have a spirit of fear.

God has not given you that kind of spirit, Timothy.

But He's given you the spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.

And then in Isaiah chapter 41,

Isaiah 41 · chapter mention

God is calling this people of Israel to,

Fear not, for I am with you.

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

Trust me.

Believe in me.

And then the beloved apostle in 1 John says,

Perfect love casts out fear.

One commentator puts it this way.

He says,

Fear expresses the opposite of all that Christianity is to be.

Fear is the contradiction of faith.

Fear is the complete state of anti-God.

That's a penetrating statement.

And God has to move us through steps of maturity.

To grow us in this fearlessness as we're confronted with the God of all comfort.

And He ministers to us graciously,

moving us into fuller peace,

fuller dependence,

fuller confidence in His ability to intervene in life.

There are two times of my life in particular.

I can remember that God has made dramatic shifts in my thinking in relationship to trusting in Him.

Of course, He intends to move us all in baby steps at times,

in moving in the direction of trusting Him more.

But two that stand out in my mind.

One,

it was a dark morning.

The sun had not yet risen in California.

I was sitting in my family room on the couch.

I was giving my heart to the Lord.

And I felt this tap on my shoulder.

God was speaking to my heart and saying,

Andrew, do you really trust me?

I know that life is sometimes out of control,

but do you trust me with the things that are most important to you?

Do you trust me with your future?

Do you trust me with your health?

Do you trust me with your family?

With your finances?

Do you trust me with your occupation?

Am I good enough to be trusted in that way?

And I can remember this wrestling that took place in my heart

and finally yielding to say,

God, you are trustworthy.

So I give you my family to do with them as you will.

God, I give you my future to do with it as you will.

God, I give you my finances and my health.

Every part of my life,

God, I recommit to you again

because I know that you are faithful and good and able.

It belongs to you anyway.

But God, I give it to you to do with as you will.

That was a big step.

Of course, our families belong to God in the first place.

But to go through the motions

and to reaffirm the things that we know

because of confidence in a God who is able,

a God who is good,

a God who is faithful,

a God who cares,

it's one more step towards maturity.

It's one more step in terms of yielding and trusting.

In Him.

And then several years ago,

we were standing at a crossroads in our life as a family

and we believed that God was calling us

to make a big decision

to step out of where we were

and to step really into the unknown.

I'm the kind of guy,

I like to plan ahead.

I like to know what's coming.

I like to have things well in hand.

At least I can anticipate what the future holds.

And this was one of those crossroads in our life

where I was stepping into the unknown.

I didn't have a job to step into.

I didn't know necessarily what the future would hold.

I just knew that God was faithful.

I knew that God would provide.

And again, I felt God tapping me on the shoulder.

Saying,

Andrew,

do you have to step into your plans?

Are your plans really that secure for you?

Step onto me.

Because I am the foundation.

I am the bedrock.

On Christ,

the solid rock I stand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

Do you trust me enough

to stand on me for your future?

So another step

took place

in my life that day.

As I committed my heart

to trust in God

in another way

that was different from the past.

And God does that for us

as He is progressively moving us

into deeper dependence upon Him.

And then He's ministering to us

in the process to say,

I am the God of comfort.

I will come and intervene in your life.

I will rescue.

I will help.

I will provide.

I am enough for you.

And when we do that,

the testimony of the great comforter

comes and fills our life

and shows the world

that we serve a God

who is distinct

from any other God.

Who moves us from fear

into faith.

That moves us

from the struggles

and the anxiety

into peace and joy.

that surpasses

any of the struggles

that we are currently experiencing.

And I can tell you

by experience

and I can tell you

on the authority

of the Word of God

and as we look there

this morning

we'll see it together.

We'll see

that when we make room

in our hearts

and lives

for the God of comfort

to come in,

He will run to you.

He will rush into

the vacuum of your life

and fill it up

with His comfort

and with His help.

You see,

as we seek to minister

to our co-workers

and our neighbors

and our family

about the greatness

of the gospel

in Christianity,

the one thing

that will not stand out

to them necessarily

is our devotion.

There's a lot

of religious people

in this world.

Many are far more religious

than we will ever be

but what will stand out

to them

is that the God

of comfort

has rescued you

from your circumstances,

has rushed in

to help

and the God

of comfort

will beckon them

in their anxiety

to come

and to feast

at the table

of comfort,

to drink in

the well

of comfort

and living water

that God has

to give to them.

And that happens

as we herald

the good news

of the great comforter

who has ministered

to our hearts

and lives

in the greatest

difficulties

and circumstances

that you might face.

Are we resting

in the great comforter

this morning?

Turn with me

if you would

to Isaiah chapter 40.

Isaiah 40 · chapter mention

As we continue

this great study

of the great comforter

what we notice

through this passage

beginning in verse 1

that there are really

three spokesmen

that stand out

throughout this chapter.

The first spokesman

is God

who is initiating

comfort with his people.

He is the first speaker

and he is the one

who sends his message

out

to the world.

The second speaker

is in verse 3

and that's our

next stage.

And this is

the voice of one

crying in the wilderness

and this voice

is

hearkening

or beckoning

to his audience

to make a way

for the Lord

to have his work

in their life.

The final speaker

or the final speakers

I should say

is in verse 8

and verse 9.

These are the

the heralds

of Jerusalem.

This

this

chorus

of voices

who are speaking

about the greatness

of God

as they have

experienced him

for himself.

And that those

who hear the message

can participate

in the experience

of knowing God

by

by following

the same process

that they have

they have also

gone through

in their lives.

Just by way

of recap

I want to just

take us briefly

through some of the

some of the things

we learned

last week

about the God

of comfort.

First we

we ask the question

why

does comfort

come?

And we saw

that comfort

comes in three

different ways.

In verse 1

we

we recognize

that comfort

comes because

it is God

who desires

comfort for his

people.

look at that

with me there

in verse 1

it says

comfort

comfort my people

says

your God.

It is God's

earnest

desire

for everyone

in this room

today

to know

and enjoy

and experience

the comfort

of God.

He is

the initiator

of comfort.

You cannot

have comfort

without him

and if it were

not for the fact

that he is

initiating comfort

for you

you have no

experience

of lasting

comfort in

your life.

It is

amazing

that God

wants us

to know

comfort today.

That God

initiates comfort

with us

today

when he knows

our hearts

he knows

our wickedness

he knows

our tendencies

he knows

our history

and our baggage

he knows

it all

but he is

still a God

who pursues

comfort

with us

he is

still a God

who desires

it for you

to know

it and

experience

it.

It comes

also

through

the forgiveness

that God

provides.

We see that

in verse 2

the very first

part

it says

speak tenderly

to Jerusalem

and cry

to her

that her

warfare

is ended

that her

iniquity

is pardoned

and as we

look at this

word last

week

we came

to understand

that whenever

this word

is used

in this way

in the

Old Testament

it's used

to refer

to blood

sacrifice.

We also

have understood

through our

study

in the book

of Isaiah

that God

didn't really

delight in

the actual

blood

sacrifices

of this

group of

people

because he

understood

what was

really going

on.

They weren't

pulling anything

over God's

eyes.

They weren't

pulling the

wool over

his eyes.

He knew

their hearts.

He knew

the veneer

of religion.

He knew

the hypocrisy.

He knew

that they

were just

going through

the motions.

He says

that in

chapter 1.

He says

I don't

delight in

your offerings

and your

sacrifices.

They're nothing

to me.

In a few

chapters from

chapter 40

we'll see

what sacrifice

really matters

to him.

the only

sacrifice that

ever matters

is the

once for

all sacrifice

of Jesus

on the

cross.

He was

wounded for

our transgressions.

He was

bruised for

our iniquities.

The chastisement

of our peace

was placed on

him and by

his stripes

we are healed.

It is his

sacrifice

in his

sacrifice

alone

that brings

comfort,

that makes

way for

comfort between

us and

God.

Because the

God of

comfort cannot

be in the

presence of

those who

have not

been pardoned.

So God

not only

offers the

comfort to

us, he

initiates

comfort to

us, but

he makes

a way

through his

son Jesus

to experience

that comfort

through pardon

of sin.

We also

talked about

the God

who chooses

to discipline.

Do you

realize that

God introduces

discipline in

your life

because he

wants to

call you

back to

what's really

important?

He wants

to remove

the things

from your

life that

you have

filled up

your life

with that

will never

give you

the kind

of comfort

that only

God can

give.

He does

it to get

your attention.

He does

it because

of his

grace.

He does

it because

he wants

you to

really

experience

true

lasting

comfort

that only

comes from

him.

And if

you're

filling up

your life

with all

of these

other things

you're not

going to

have any

room for

God.

So God

has to

take you

through this

disciplining

process

this weaning

process

to help

call your

attention

to him.

To help

expose the

emptiness

of those

things

and help

to direct

your attention

to the things

to the one

thing that

really matters

and that is

a relationship

with God.

we come

to see

in the

book of

Romans

in particular

that

judgment

of God

is to

ignore

our sin

to give

us up

to our

sin

to let

it just

have its

way in

our life.

God

just says

fine

I will

give you

the things

that you're

asking for

go ahead

but for

those whom

God loves

he disciplines

he disciplines

for our

best

he disciplines

so that

he can

be part

of our

life.

Why does

comfort

come?

It comes

because God

shows up

God

desires to

intervene in

your life

God wants

to give us

the comfort

that we

so long

for

but just

because

comfort is

offered

doesn't mean

that comfort

will be

received

so the next

question we

ask ourselves

is how

does comfort

come?

how does

it how

do we

get it

in the

first

place?

And we

see that

in the

next

several

verses

it says

in verse

three

a voice

cries in

the wilderness

prepare

the way

of the

Lord

make

straight

in the

desert

a

highway

for

our

God

every

valley

shall

be

lifted

up

and

every

mountain

shall

be

made

low

the

uneven

ground

shall

become

level

and

the

rough

places

plain

and the

glory

of the

Lord

shall

be

revealed

and

all

flesh

for the

mouth

of the

Lord

has

spoken

and as

we

read this

verse

and we

understood

the correlation

between

this verse

and the

ministry

of John

the

Baptist

we

came to

appreciate

the fact

that

what

Isaiah

is talking

about

what God

is

communicating

to his

prophet

Isaiah

is that

comfort

will come

through

the

preparation

of the

heart

is your

heart

ready

for

comfort

to

come

the

ministry

of

John

the

Baptist

was

the

ministry

of

repentance

the

ministry

of

John

the

Baptist

was

to

help

bring

humility

to

the

people

of

Israel

you

see

when

he

was

baptizing

these

Jews

out

by

the

Jordan

River

what

was

actually

taking

place

was

this

ceremony

that

was

set

aside

really

for

Gentiles

it

was

set

aside

for

Gentiles

to

usher

them

into

this

new

identity

as being

Jewish

as

John

the

Baptist

was

trying

to

help

them

understand

there

was

a

need

for

rebirth

to

take

place

in

their

life

that

they

could

not

rely

on

their

ancestry

on

their

heritage

on

their

ethnicity

they

couldn't

rely

on the

fact

that

they

were

connected

to

Abraham

something

more

significant

had to

happen

at the

deepest

levels

of

their

life

it

could

only

come

through

repentance

and

brokenness

and receptivity

of the

word of

God

in

their

life

the

ministry

of

Jesus

could

only

have

its

way

as

they

were

humbled

and

willing

to

receive

the

message

that

he

had

to

bring

there

was

a need

for

preparation

for

raising

up

the

low

places

!

and bringing

down

the

high

places

this is

all

about

accessibility

does

God's

word

have

its

way

in

your

life

does

it

have

free

course

in

your

life

is there

a sense

of

receiving

the

message

that

he

intends

to

give

and

when

the

heart

is

prepared

then

this

next

thing

happens

it

comes

through

the

presence

of

the

Lord

notice

the

glory

of

the

Lord

shall

be

revealed

and

all

flesh

shall

see

it

together

for

the

mouth

of

the

Lord

has

spoken

when

Luke

is

referring

to

Isaiah

this

is

the

one

phrase

he

kind

of

makes

an

adjustment

to

to

help

us

understand

the

correlation

between

the

glory

of

God

and

Isaiah

and

the

salvation

of

God

that

was

going

to

be

ushered

in

through

Jesus

you

see

the

glory

of

God

and

the

salvation

of

God

merge

together

in

they

converge

at

the

cross

this

is

where

glory

and

salvation

culminate

together

to

help

us

participate

and

enjoy

and

experience

the

glory

of

God

in

a

whole

new

way

it

is

through

the

cross

that

we

come

to

understand

the

perfect

standard

of

God

it

is

through

the

cross

we

understand

his

holiness

his

justice

it

is

through

the

cross

we

come

to

recognize

his

mercy

and

grace

it

is

through

the

cross

we

come

to

appreciate

the

significance

of

obedience

and

redemption

and

authority

and

sovereignty

of

God

all

the

glory

and

salvation

converge

there

at

the

cross

that

was

the

work

of

Christ

that

is

what

he

came

to

do

to

make

the

glory

of

God

known

and

to

welcome

us

into

that

experience

through

salvation

so the

presence of

God can

come

and show up

in your life

that leads us to

the final question

this morning

what

does comfort

accomplish

what

does comfort

accomplish

we look there

in verse 6

and we saw

that

comfort

first of all

leads me to

confidence

it helps me

to understand

that the

difference

between

fleshly

trust

and trust

in him

in verse

7

it says

the grass

withers

the flower

fades

when the

breath

of the

Lord

blows

on it

surely

the

people

are

grass

the

grass

withers

the

flower

fades

but the

word

of our

God

will

stand

forever

if you want

to experience

lasting comfort

put your

hope

in the

things

that

last

the

word

of

God

is

the

only

thing

that

will

last

it

leads

us

to

confidence

in

him

it

also

leads

us

to

a

continual

commitment

a

commitment

of

proclaiming

the

good

news

to

others

we

see

that

in

verse

9

go

up

to

a

mountain

herald

the

good

news

lift

up

your

voice

with

strength

O

Jerusalem

herald

of

good

news

lift

it

up

and

fear

not

this

comes

to

us

loud

and

clear

on

the

day

of

Pentecost

this

group

of

individuals

who

had

gathered

together

120

in

all

they

had

been

praying

together

and

worshiping

together

and

going

to

the

temple

together

they

had

been

ministering

to

one

another

through

the

word

and

then

the

Holy

Spirit

comes

and

then

there

is

this

bold

proclamation

in

Jerusalem

so that

we

find

in

Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter

2

it

says

of

these

people

who

are

listening

to

the

semblance

of

individuals

preaching

the

good

news

to

them

says

we

keep

hearing

them

say

the

mighty

works

of

God

that's

the

gospel

the

gospel

is

that

God's

word

and

God's

power

will

change

everything

in my

life

life

it's

not

that

it

just

changes

me

or

saves

me

for

a

moment

and

then

I

eventually

look

forward

to

heaven

but

that

the

gospel

intersects

with

every

moment

of

my

day

and

changes

my

parenting

it

changes

my

working

it

changes

my

relationships

in

my

community

it

changes

the

way

I

relate

to

suffering

it

changes

the

crises

that

I

face

and

helps

me

to

experience

rescue

in

difficulty

that's

what a

herald of

good

news

does

not

only

proclaiming

the

good

news

but

demonstrating

it

through

a

changed

life

and

finally

it

leads

us

to

a

commitment

of

waiting

on

him

!

waiting

waiting

for

the

last

several

weeks

interestingly

the

book

of

Isaiah

mentions

the

significance

of

waiting

almost

it's

only

second

to

the

book

of

Psalms

in

terms

of

using

this

word

waiting

in

all

of

the

Old

Testament

and

if

you

compare

the

number

of

words

Psalms

and

Isaiah

and

the

concentration

of

the

use

then

Isaiah

wins

hands

down

in

terms

of

referring

to

this

concept

of

waiting

waiting

on

the

Lord

trusting

in

him

putting

your

confidence

in

him

knowing

that

he

is

able

to

help

those

that

wait

on

the

Lord

will

renew

their

strength

we

see

in

verse

31

but

this

theme

of

waiting

and

hoping

and

looking

forward

with

confidence

how

does

it

happen

how

are

we

able

to

wait

in

this

way

and

that's

what

I

want

to

come

to

this

morning

I

want

to

spend

the

rest

of

our

time

just

talking

about

five

essential

truths

that

will

help

us

to

wait

in

a

way

that

pleases

the

Lord

you

have

those

five

essential

truths

in

your

outline

this

morning

I

want

to

begin

with

the

first

one

and

that

is

this

truth

that

God

cares

about

you

God

cares

about

you

we

find

that

in

verse

10

let me

read

that

for

us

it

says

behold

the

Lord

God

comes

with

might

and

his

arm

rules

for

him

behold

his

reward

is

with

him

and

his

recompense

before

him

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

he

will

tend

his

flock

like

a

shepherd

as

I

was

thinking

about

sheep

and

this

portrait

of

God

being

our

shepherd

I'm

sure

we've

heard

a lot

of

messages

about

sheep

and

shepherding

but

do you

know

how

high

maintenance

sheep

are

like

they

can't

do

anything

for

themselves

they

can't

really

feed

themselves

they

can't

find

nourishment

they

can't

protect