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Isaiah 40
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Theme: As God’s people, we must chose to be primarily focused on God’s glory, not our own. Challenge: Are you about your own glory or God’s glory? Title: Glory Glory Everywhere! Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-8 Intro: Goatee Joke Middle Child – Do what we can for attention Any middle children out there? Oldest – firsts; Youngest – lasts At an early age learned how to be a glory getter Not alone – we all like getting some glory….at times can even become obsessed with it Culture that encourages it – Admissions Counselor – poured over applications, did interviews asking about their accomplishments – what glory have you gotten? Today we’re going to spend some time thinking about glory – giving glory to God and getting glory for ourselves. Glory….what comes to mind? Maybe Glory conjures up images of the movie where Denzel Washington won an Oscar for his role in this Civil War drama. Maybe you think of OLD GLORY – the term of endearment coined for the American Flag by Captain Stephen Driver, a shipmaster of Salem, Massachusetts, in 1831. As he was leaving on one of his many voyages aboard the brig CHARLES DOGGETT - and this one would climax with the rescue of the mutineers of the BOUNTY - some friends presented him with a beautiful flag of twenty four stars. As the banner opened to the ocean breeze for the first time, he exclaimed "Old Glory!" Then Later, Fritchie, Barbara (also Frietchie), legendary American heroine, who reputedly defied the Confederate troops under Stonewall Jackson as they advanced through Frederick, Maryland, by waving the Stars and Stripes from an upper window of her home. Or for others…Glory brings back memories of your Glory Days….back when…you were different things were different… The bible has some things to say about glory – and a lot of it talks about God who is worthy of Glory. We’re going to spend some time with one of the prophets of God this morning who gives us some insight about human glory and God’s glory. Isaiah is a prophet of the OT whose words were true for the nation of Israel, are then picked up by John The Baptist, and continue to call out to us today. God spoke through the messages of Isaiah. He also spoke through new, later prophets. As the community heard and responded to God's ongoing word, they preserved both the message of the prophets. The book of Isaiah emerged as a witness both to the devastating effects of disobedience as well as God's willingness to forgive. Isaiah of Jerusalem had urgently warned a complacent and arrogant people. At the beginning of Isaiah 40, the people of Judah are in captivity in Babylon (many scholars date this part of the book around 550-540 BC). One question loomed large for the exiles. Since they had clearly failed to be God's people, did they have a future? Would God again work in their midst, or would He simply abandon them? Could God act? In this crisis of faith, God again speaks to the community through the messages of Isaiah 40-55. They were in crisis, they were uncertain about their future, they were uncertain of what God would do. Anyone there today? Can you relate? Fall is a big season of change for a lot of us – for me, I just moved into a new apartment. It’s a good change for me, but there is still that period of stumbling around in the dark for a while – not completely familiar yet with where the new light switches are…Maybe for you it’s a time of a new school, new job, new relationship….maybe just a new crisis that seemed to come crashing down unexpectedly. Isaiah’s passion and calling was to remind the people that they could not do it on their own – they needed God – and they needed God to be the point person in all they did. That God was still about offering forgiveness and giving direction for a new path to follow. Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-8 We read this and are hit with the impact that Isaiah seems to be carried forward in time to the occasion of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He is told to announce to the disobedient nation that the basis for their forgiveness has already been accomplished. He is to speak to the heart of Jerusalem, that in moving forward, forgiveness for the past is a reality of our God. Prepare To Give God Glory “Prepare the way for the Lord” With forgiveness as a beautiful foundation, Isaiah moves into a call to Prepare the way for the Lord. As people who want to be followers of Christ, the reality is that we need to elevate God above ourselves. It is a desire to give God more glory than ourselves. That means that we think more about Gods ways than our own – that we adopt the ideas, the passions, the actions of our God as our own – less of us and more of God.
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