John Lloyd - No Comparison

The Greatness of God:  A Study of Isaiah 40

No Comparisons:  God is Greater

Pastor John Lloyd

March 17, 2019

The name Isaiah literally means ‘the Lord saves.’  He saves us for eternity and helps us with our daily challenges.  Our passage today gives us a view of God from His viewpoint.  As we see Him from this viewpoint, it changes everything!  God’s wisdom and power are greater than all my possessions.   Nothing on this earth can compare to God and the blessings He brings to his children.

Passage:  Isaiah 40:12-26

Big Idea:  Help me view God and my life from His viewpoint. 



Declarations about God’s greatness:

I.                God’s ______________ is greater than mine.

Isaiah 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure  and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?  13 Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or what man shows him his counsel? 14 Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?

Erwin Lutzer “Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God?”  God has never learned anything, and he never will.  So no human being can teach God a thing. 

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

Proverbs 8:10 Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold, 11 for wisdom is better than jewels, and all that you may desire cannot compare with her.  James 1:5

God’s footsteps cannot be tracked by human reason- man cannot follow his train of thought. 

My declaration to God: I need your wisdom in my life.

My commitment to God:  I will seek your wisdom daily.

II.             God is greater than the __________________ nations and rulers.

Isaiah 40:15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.16 Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering. 17 All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

Isaiah 40:22 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 like a tent to dwell in; 23 who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. (Isaiah 41:2, Job 12:21, Ps. 107:40)

Ps. 107:43:  Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Psalm 20:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. 2 Corinthians 12:9

       My declaration: I trust and need the power of God.

My commitment:  I will ask for God’s help and power.

III.             God is greater than my most beautiful _____________________.

Isaiah 40:18 To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? 19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. 20 He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.  (Acts 17:29)

Isaiah 46:2 They stoop; they bow down together; they cannot save the burden, but themselves go into captivity.  (Isaiah 46:3)

Isaiah 46:4 even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.  Isaiah 46:12-13

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

I Corinthians 4:2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

I Corinthians 4:7 For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

Declaration: God owns everything and I yield my possessions to Him.

Commitment:  I will be a steward, not owner, of what He’s given me.

IV.          God ____________ me and ___________ me with my challenges.

Isaiah 40:25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.  26 Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?  He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing.

John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  4 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Declaration: I believe Jesus cares about me.  I ask Him to save me.

Commitment:  I will seek His healing and help for my challenges.

Spiritual Growth Questions for week of March 17, 2019

1.    Read Isaiah 40:12-26.  Read it slowly several times.  Ask God to speak to you through this passage.  What verse stood out?  Why?

2.   Read Isaiah 40:12-14.  What is the Lord saying through Isaiah to the people of Judah in captivity?  What is Isaiah teaching about the wisdom of God?  How does it break the hold of human wisdom? 

3.   Read Isaiah 40:15-17, 40:23-24.  What important truth is Isaiah sharing about powerful worldly leaders?  How could this be helpful for Christians suffering in North Korea, China and other persecuted countries?  How can seeing the world from God’s viewpoint help you? 

4.   Read Isaiah 40:18-22. Isaiah 46:1-7.  What is God’s viewpoint on our possessions and idols?  What does our culture teach about material possessions?  Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart about this topic.  Share with someone what you are hearing. 

5.   Read Isaiah 40:25-26.  Psalm 147:1-12.  How is God greater than nature?  What is the psalmist response to the greatness of God?  What response is God looking for from our heart? 

6.   How can we be an example of a person who is awed by the greatness of our Lord? 

What helps us see God from His viewpoint?Who could you help this week see the greatness of the Lord?Ask for one thing you could do that would help.Commit to it and share next week how it went.