The Wonderfulness of God

Good morning. Good to see you all the day. Well, this past April, the Wallace children had the very first plane ride. And the older two are really nervous about it at all. third child, 11 year old was a little nervous about it. So she wanted to sit in the middle, which is great because I hate the middle. And so she said the middle seat and little four year old John David was was was a little concerned about it. He told me that he did not like flying. And I thought and I said, Well, you've never flown before. He's I like to be on the ground. I don't like to be up in the air. And I said, Well, it'll be okay. So we kind of worked him through it and talked him through it and everything. And so when I got on the first plane, we got on boarded, and he was okay. He kind of had forgotten about what he was doing. He was watching an iPad or something on the I don't know what he was doing on the plane, he was all he did really great. Playing started going down and runaway. And it took off. And right when it got in the air, he looked out the window and he said, Whoa, we're in the air. We're flying and everybody around him kind of laughed and everything. He said, we're on a rocket ship. He was just so excited, you know, and it was just kind of cool to see him experience that and to see him express the wonder of a plane lifted off of being in the air the first time to see that. Would it be great if if we all thought about God and looked at God in that way, the wonder of God, maybe you did at one point when you were saved? Maybe you still do. And that is a great place to be that maybe some days you don't anymore. Maybe some days you just go about your normal life. And the wonder of God, the wonderfulness of God is lost. Every day, dealings of life just life is just beaten down. You've had some tough, tough things happen to you. And you wonder about the wonder of God. Today we're gonna look at a passage of Scripture, where I pray that you will see we will see clearly the wonderfulness of God. Isaiah chapter 25. Starting in verse one. Isaiah writes, oh, Lord, You are my God. I will exalt you. I will praise your name. For you have done wonderful things. Plans formed of Old Faithful ensure you have made the city a heap. The fortified city a ruin, the foreigners places the city no more, it will never be rebuilt. Therefore strong peoples will glorify You, cities of ruthless nations will fear you, for you going to stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and the shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against the wall like heat in a dry place. You subdue the noise of the foreigners as heat by the shade of a cloud so the song of the ruthless is put down for six. On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wine of rich food full of marrow of aged wine will refine and he will swell up on this mountain, the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever. The Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces and the reproach of his people. He will take away from all the earth for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day Behold, this is our God we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord, we have waited for him. Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Heavenly Father, indeed this morning, let us be glad and rejoice in your salvation. Let us let us experience the wonder that is dwell on the the wonder of who you are. That you would leave your heavenly dwelling to come to earth in the form of a man to live a sinless life that we cannot live and to die on a cross As a substitutionary atonement for our sin, so that we may be made right with you through your Son, Jesus, Lord, we thank you for being a wonderful God. I pray that we would see how wonderful you are today. And I pray that my words reflect your heart. Your Spirit fills me as I preach and that this congregation receives in Jesus name. Amen. At this point in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah has heard from God as He has been given God's word. And he's pronounced impending judgment on a whole list of nations. Babylon is set to be judged. As Syria is set to be judged. Moab will be judged. Damascus will be judged. cush will be judged. Egypt will be judged. Tyre in Saigon will be judged all these nations, he's gone through and said, you all be judged. And in chapter 24, God pronounces his judgment on the whole earth. So God is not just in the business, of judging his people, when they sin against Him and turn against him. God has shown a willingness, I precedents to judge unbelieving nations, as well. And the point of this is to show that when it comes to judgment, when it comes to God's judgment, there is no partiality. There is no prejudice. No one, whether you claim to be a believer in God or not, will escape his judgment. The God you've you've turned from, the God you don't believe in, will still judge you. And just because someone puts the covers over their head, doesn't mean that God can't see them. But even with the inevitability of God's judgment being a reality, there is good news as well. So today, I want to give you three reasons why God is wonderful in the midst of a book that's talking about judgment. Three reasons why God is wonderful. Secondly, or First, God is wonderful first, because God is faithful. God is faithful, amen. First one, oh, Lord, You are my God. He says, I will exalt you, I will praise your name. For you have done wonderful things. Plans formed of old, faithful, and Sure. Think about the mindset of Isaiah. He's just pronounced judgment on virtually every nation on Earth. Yet he still claims God as his God. He doesn't try to change the character of God. He doesn't try to reinvent God, to make him more accepting to the culture. He claims this judging God as his own. And furthermore, Isaiah says that He will exalt God because of this, and he will praise his name. Why? Because Isaiah knows that God is a faithful God. He's done wonderful things. He is a wonderful God. And he's been doing these things since before He created time. Do you know that God even decides the life cycles of cities and civilizations? Look at verse two. He says you made the city a heap, fortified city and ruined the foreigners places a city no more it will never be rebuilt. People, humans, mankind, we do not decide the end of civilizations. You know that we don't decide that. Doesn't matter what wars are fought. We don't decide it. Doesn't matter what the threat is. We don't decide it. Isn't matter how much carbon dioxide we put into the air. Doesn't matter how much effort we put into city planning. Doesn't matter how much the government taxes us civilizations ultimately rise and fall based on God's plans. It's the height of arrogance. To think that we mankind, people, little ants, have more control over this world, then the God who created it, then the God who is sustaining it, and the God who will bring it to end in his time, amen. And deep down, all humanity knows this. Because we're all made in the image of God. He says the verse three, strong peoples will glorify You cities of ruthless nations will fear you. See, people intuitively know that God is the author of life, whether they choose to admit it or not. But God also is the city planner. He is the governing authority. And this speaks to the faithfulness of God. Look at Psalm 36, five years your steadfast love, oh Lord extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds. See God, He created the world. He is sustaining the world. And he will end the world and his timing and in his way, and he will finish what he started in the world and in your life. Because he is a faithful God, you do not have to fear tomorrow. You don't have to fear this afternoon. Next week, because He created you, and you will be here until he's finished with you. On this earth at least. God is a faithful God. Secondly, God is comforting. Number two, God is a comforting God. Verse four says this. You have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress a a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat. He's saying that those who are poor and all sorts of weights not just financially in any way. The poor lean on God. Why? Because the poor know there's nowhere else to lean. But even so he's there for them. When someone is in distress, he's there for them. He's that shelter from the storm. He's that shade from the heat. Are there a few things in life better than sitting under a shade on a hot day? Amen. I was thinking about this this week how hot it is. If I'm just if I'm just walking into WalMart, I try to choose the paths with the shade. Amen. But anywhere I'm walking outside I'm looking for the shade. It's amazing what a difference being in the shade would makes as opposed to being in the sun. And he says God is our shade. When the when the heat of life is upon us. We run to Him and we cool down and we get a break. He also says that when the storm comes. He provides us cover from the rain in the wind he is the cover never been outside and storm before. I used to work at a golf course. Few times I get caught out there. It's not a fun feeling. You know you could go and eat the tree but that's not smart. And the golf cart I used to do would head back to the clubhouse as fast as I could. One time that was in the cart shed plugging up carts, electric carts in there. In the rain in the storm, you know when it was safe, you won't get electrocuted. And the lightning bolt hit right on the shed. And if I thought I was dead i didn't know i just knew it was loud. Shed protected covered me in 50 carts with electric batteries being outside the store with no covers and fun. Can you imagine being in the heat with no shade, to run to to escape to. This is the world we live in. This is the world we live in. Billions of people who don't know Jesus, who have either never heard the gospel, or we've simply rejected the Gospel. Have no shade, to run to have no shelter from the storm. And even Christians who do know Jesus, forget it. out the shelter ignore the shade and they go the other places of comfort not getting it. It looked for other ways to ease the pain and they don't get it ease. No wonder depression rates are at an all time high. No wonder hopelessness is running rampant. No wonder there's so much anger in the world. We're living amongst people who are soaking wet from the storm. They're dying in the heat. But we have what they need Amen. We have the shelter to give them we have the shade to cover them. And we have it for us we forget about that he's there for us. But there's even other threats. A guy God comforts us from. The second half of verse four says the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall like heat in a dry place. He says you subdue the noise of the foreigners as heat by the shade of it. So the song of the ruthless is put down. Even when the storm and the heat is coming from other people. God still seduces even when that phone call is an impending storm. Even when that text message is a place without shade. God is still there. He said that he subdues the ruthless because ultimately God's going to comfort his people. Look at Second Corinthians one. Bless it. Be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, God of all comfort, who comforts us in most of our affliction in some of our affliction. Is that what it says? Now let's just say in what? All of our affliction? Do you really believe that? Amen, should why we love this, but it gives another reason here, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. You might be wondering, why am I going through this? Why does God allow me to go through this? While he's comforting you and he can comfort you why you go through it. In one day, another one of his children who he loves just as much as he loves you will need your comfort from him. That's why God designed the church, amen. This is why this the body of Christ, the Church of Christ, part of the design of the church is that we can comfort each other. We can bless each other by giving them comfort and no one does not need comfort, amen. God's comforting. That's another reason why he's wonderful. Number three, God is victorious. God is victorious. Isaiah now turns to a time of future restoration for God's people. It's a picture of what heaven will be like the new heavens, the New Earth. It's a picture of what our eternity will be like with Jesus. For six on this mountain, he says, the Lord of hosts will make for all pupils a feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wine of rich food full of marrow of aged wine, well refined. What he's saying is here that the mountain here refers to mountain Zion, which is another name for Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is what he's referring to as heaven. The New Jerusalem God says he'll make and heaven there'll be a feast. That's what you didn't do the good times you served wine at feasts to serve good food because you didn't get these hardly ever. And that's what he's saying. Heaven will be a feast. Now there's disagreement as to this is literal imagery or metaphorical imagery, but the point is clear. Heaven will be a place of feasting, feasting without the sin of gluttony. Feasting without the sin of pride or feasting without the sin of, of exclusion will be feasting. On the love of God will be feasting on Jesus Christ Himself for seven says that he will swell up on this mountain heaven, the covering that is cast over all peoples the veil that is spread over all nations. What is he talking about here? He's like, he's picking up a cover of the world. He's picking up a veil off the world. God's people live. We live now, under a veil of oppression under a veil of tyranny from the world. We're free in the United States, but we're really not free. Amen. We live in an impressive world. We live in a tyrannous world. Some are more oppressed than others, but we all feel it. We all have it in our lives. He says in heaven, this thread is removed. That's taken off, you don't have that anymore. There's no pressure and there's no tyranny, because God is the true king who isn't oppressive. He's loving. He's not a tyrannical maniac. He's a loving God. It gives his true freedom in heaven. But there's another thread that will be removed as well look in verse eight. He will swallow up death forever. He will eat it. Swallow it up. Like my kids can swallow up some chicken fingers. Just gobble it right down. swallows up forever and He will wipe away tears from all faces. Another name a four year old was upset about something. Usually it's something I did to him. He was telling me how it hurt him or his feelings or whatever. Any of these big old tears run down his cheeks I just wiped them off. I'm sorry, buddy. I love you. wiped off his tears. There's gonna be a day where the tears are wiped away. Amen. No more tears. No more death. This is echoed in other parts of Scripture. First Corinthians 15. Paul talking about the resurrected body says When the perishable puts on the imperishable, the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death. Where's your victory? Oh death. where is your sting? It's nowhere. The sting of sin is death and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 21 for He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more neither there should be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away. No more crying. No more morning no more sadness, no more pain. God permanently. Amen. defeats the threat of death and everything that goes with it. No other quote unquote God or belief system even comes close to the reality and not even even make that claim that they could do it. The best they can do is they'll say, well, you'll escape it maybe. Or maybe you'll cease to exist. That's kind of what our world tells us. And when you went in with that when you're dead, you just it's over. It's no more pain because it's over. We know that's not true. The pain gets worse without Jesus. But in Jesus Christ, deaths defeated. There's even a third threat that will be vanquished. He says this and the second part of verse eight the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. Their approach from his people to the humiliation of being persecuted. Persecution is humiliating. It's it's a reproach the humiliation of being a Christian In our world is taken away. God's people be humiliated, no longer Amen. They're victorious with Jesus Christ. And he says in verse nine, and it will be said on that day Behold, this is our God. Amen. This is our God when he takes away death, when he wipes away the tears from her eyes, when the humiliations over, when he picks us up from our knees, and he seats us right there and heaven next to Jesus Christ, we say, this is our God. We've waited for him. So that he might save us, this is the Lord, we've waited for him, then let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. This is our God. This is our God. Think about the pleasure you have. When you meet someone, you introduce your husband or wife to them, you're excited to meet them or your child or grandchild is this is my child, this is my wife. This is our God, are we excited to tell people we know this is our God. Because he's done. The most powerful testimony in your life you can have is not to win some logical argument about the logical truth of Jesus or the Lord is for people to know that you know, what God's done in your life. That authenticity, that authenticity. People want to know why they see it in your life. And in Heaven will say we waited for him, he delivered he's victorious, we will rejoice and we will be glad because of the wonderfulness of God. That same wonder a child has when they see the plane takeoff. And they're in the air. And they say, wow, we're flying? Do we look around and we say, wow. Look how God has blessed me. With God, God has saved me. Or do we listen to the world? And everybody else who talked about how horrible the world is? How horrible life is all the problems that are going on? Or do we say wow, we're on a rocket ship. straight to heaven, amen. That's where we're headed. And our response time today, maybe you need to confess to the Lord, that you'd not have not been doing a good job thinking about how wonderful he is. Today you can you can commit your life, to appreciate how wonderful God has been in your life, and will continue to be and will forever. Maybe you've never placed your faith in God. Save you. Do the work of Jesus. Today, you can turn from your sins. Place your faith in him. Or maybe you just need prayer and I'm down here every week. I'm not just down here. Looking at y'all staring looking around the room every week. If you need prayer, I'm here to pray for you. The steps are here to free to pray. Whatever need you need, you have. Know that God is for you today. Because he's a wonderful God. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for who you are and what you've done and how wonderful you are. We thank you that when we're in a worship service, we get glimpses of heaven. Just through worship and through hearing your word. Because we'll be hearing your word forever in Heaven, Lord. It's always a good word for us. So long as we close our time today, I pray that we in worship are able to worship you for how wonderful you are today and what you've done for us and there's someone in here today struggling with that truth. They would understand it today that you would meet them, they're where they're at. And they would understand how wonderful you are Are we asked you think these things in Jesus name amen.