Isaiah chapter 40, I want for us to focus our attention upon the last verse of the chapter, but we can read again from verse 28. Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? That the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary. There is no searching of his understanding. he giveth power to the faint, and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. You'll be aware that the government has called for or appealed for patience that this shutdown would continue and that the spring and the good weather which tempts us all to go outside and to go back to enjoying life as we were familiar with before, that we would be patient and not do that. Don't go out prematurely, but wait. And one of the reasons why this was so strongly emphasised and it was reported in the media is because it's not easy to be patient. Life is too urgent, isn't it? It's too urgent for us to be patient. Life is too demanding for us to wait. We're all familiar with getting what we want and getting it now or getting it as soon as possible. And that's the message of really all the advertising that you see. You're told what is available, and you're told that you deserve it and you're told that you're right and you can have it now. All you have to do is this, don't wait. And so we find our prime minister and other members of the government pleading with us, arguing about all the probabilities that it is sensible to be patient and to wait. Even as they ask us to wait, they're reluctant to set an actual date to be absolutely committed to a time when we will no longer have, when we can stop waiting and get back to what life was like before. 12 weeks, more than 12 weeks, we do not know. Well, are you patient? Are you the kind of person that finds it easy to wait? You know, every Christian ought to be. Because waiting is a fundamental characteristic of the Christian faith. Waiting demonstrates faith. And waiting also develops faith. And there's many passages in the scripture which speak about us waiting or needing to wait, to wait upon the Lord. And that's what we have here in the end of chapter 40 from Isaiah. We're told that they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. So I want for us to think about this waiting that we're encouraged here to do. We're told about the ultimate triumph of those who wait upon the Lord. Those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint. Waiting. You have to understand there's not passive inactivity. It doesn't mean sitting back and doing nothing. It doesn't mean hibernating. And in some senses, it seems that that is how this time in our society has been addressed. People are kind of withdrawing into their homes or switching on their television and they're shutting down and they're just waiting passively. trying to amuse and entertain themselves as time goes past. But what is spoken of here in the scripture is not that passive withdrawal, that hibernating, but rather waiting is to look earnestly, to anticipate, to be expectant and hopeful It means being attentive. And it's not simply for those of you who may have a natural tendency toward optimism. But this waiting is a demonstration of your faith in all the promises of God. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Those who look earnestly, anticipating the great day of the Lord. Those who are expectant and come before God in such an attitude, with their mouths open, seeking His blessing. They shall renew their strength. says in Daniel chapter 11 and verse 32, that the people that do know their God shall be strong and shall do exploits. That's the same idea, isn't it? We wait upon the Lord because we know him. We know that it's not foolish to wait, but it's wise to wait because this is who our God is. He is the one who has all power authority who has all wisdom and is working all things according to the counsel of his will. It says in Daniel that the people who do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. The emphasis isn't on doing spectacular doing things that are spectacular so much as it is doing those things which are surprising. In the sense that they shall do what is against human nature. They shall submit and they shall surrender and they shall trust in the living God and not to their own wit and wisdom. And through their confidence in the living God and drawing near to him, they shall enjoy his blessing. They shall be transformed through the renewing of their own minds. Their hearts shall be filled with joy and with thanksgiving, even in the midst of trouble and affliction. And life makes so many demands upon us. And the answer is not to dig deeper. Dig deeper and find your hidden resources. The answer is not to work at developing a better you. There's so many books which teach you how to do whatever it is. How to be better at whatever it is. I'm not dismissing learning. I'm not dismissing developing character. But the answer is not to be found within you. Is it true that you maybe often get discouraged and even depressed as you see how you've still not been able to do whatever it is? You've set high standards. You have great expectations. And because you do not achieve them, you're discouraged. Friends, surely our expectation is not of finding that inner ability, but rather in recognizing that we're not able, that we come with a greater dependence upon God. we come with a greater dependence upon God. The Apostle Paul said, when I am weak, then am I strong. And that was the reason for his increase of strength. It was because in realising his weakness, he depended upon God in a greater way. It says in Psalm 27, wait in the Lord and be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Well, then we should be waiting. And when we read through Isaiah 40, we find this repeated phrase, hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? It's a rebuke, isn't it? It's a rebuke for indulging the thought that God has forgotten, that God has left us, that God is too great to care about the detail of our lives. Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard? that the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary, there is no searching of his understanding. But be reminded, no, not, never will God fail. It is never foolish to wait with expectation upon our gracious covenant keeping Lord. you will not be disappointed. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. You know how the eagle rises, effortlessly, swift and strong. And immediately as it rises, it's beyond all trouble. I was walking above Carbrae last week and out of the heather an eagle rose and in a moment it was high and it scarcely flapped its wings it just swept round and round in the gully and the hill each time gaining height each turn wider and stronger and then it was gone. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. It was only a few days before that that I saw an eagle flying over our house here. And there was something remarkable about that bird because as it swept effortlessly over the house and down the loch, I could see that it either had a broken or missing feathers in its wing. It's quite distinct, there was a gap in the wing. But although there was a gap in the wing, and I don't know how that might have happened, It didn't hinder or impede its graceful flight. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. Now don't misunderstand this passage. The picture of the eagle rising up Beyond all trouble, effortlessly and majestically flying past is not the promise of personal success in every venture in life. It's not the promise of constant reinvigoration so that you always have the energy and the zeal and the enthusiasm. You know, it's too easy to misapply scripture, to find a passage that seems promising of what it is that we want and to try to fit it in. I think sometimes this happens with the words of Psalm 91. Says there, thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day, nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, ten thousand at thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee. It's too easy to take these words and say, well, I'll be safe from the coronavirus, COVID-19 won't trouble me. You know, the reality is that many believers may die of that particular virus. Many believers die of other viruses or infections. Many believers can fall in battle. But the point of the words of Psalm 91 and the point of the words here in Isaiah 40 are that the believer will be delivered and not ultimately destroyed. Sometimes delivered from the trial, sometimes delivered through the trial, but always delivered. so that it is not foolish for you, but it is wise to wait upon the Lord. It's interesting the way that verse 31 is composed. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. Instead of rising to a climax, it seems to descend to a climax. From mounting up with wings as an ego, to running, to walking. Why's that? Wouldn't it seem better the other way? that you will walk, and having walked, you will run, and having run, you will take off and be unstoppable. I think it's because the point is that the Lord will preserve and will deliver. The point is not the dramatic exhilaration of your personal achievements, to be ego-like, The emphasis is not upon what you and I might do or experience, but rather upon the Lord who will keep us. And that's why you are to wait. And what does waiting look like? What does waiting look like? What does it really mean? Well, waiting means to Seek after God. How do you know if you're waiting upon the Lord? Well, you will cry out. You will cry out in prayer and you will seek his blessing. You will meditate upon his word. You will take time to read and to understand and to reflect. You will refuse to compromise. and to depart from what is clear in God's word. So often in life there's a temptation, isn't there, just to compromise a little. Sure, the scripture says this, but we need to be a little pragmatic, so the thinking goes. Pragmatism, not principle. Compromise, not conviction. But those who wait upon a Lord refuse to compromise, refuse to depart from principle, even if it's inconvenient, regardless of what other people do, regardless what feels right, or what seems to be the most prudent response, or what seems likely to be successful. to wait upon the Lord, is to trust in His wisdom. And it means surely also to return again and again to Him. So even though we may not have done as we ought to have done, maybe we haven't maintained that integrity, maybe we have compromised, we've slipped have fallen, or even more brazenly, like Peter, denied him. To wait upon the Lord means to come again, to come again and to seek his mercy. The government encourages us to wait, and they do so by arguing I'm presenting all the probabilities of what is likely to happen, and if we all do this, then hopefully, things will be better sooner. Christian friend, you're to wait upon the Lord with expectation, not because of the probabilities of how it is likely to work out, You're to wait upon the Lord because of the certainty of all His promises. You're to wait upon the Lord because the certainty of His great power. And so to wait upon the Lord, you must know Him. You must focus upon Him. And the truth is, that's not easy, is it? It's not easy when cares and responsibilities press in upon you. All the cares and the responsibilities of ordinary life. I mean, you must make choices. And you're preoccupied with that because you don't know the ultimate consequence of all the choices and decisions you have to make. All the what ifs demand your attention and you're grappling with uncertainty and your mind is filled, you're preoccupied. And that makes it difficult to wait with expectation upon God. It's not unbelief in the sense that you don't believe God. But it's the difficulty of belief, of keeping belief and the reality of God consciously in your thinking because your mind is overwhelmed with all this other stuff, all these other thoughts. That's the challenge. And that's why this waiting that we've been speaking about relates to worship. And that's the second point. And that's what I want us to consider now. You see, worship is the thoughtful and faithful response to the revelation of God. And waiting relates to worship. Because as you wait upon God, as you consider Him you inevitably will be stirred up to declare His glory, to confess His greatness, to sing His praise. As you wait upon God, your soul will soar as you consider the wonder of the gracious goodness of God. But also, as you worship, it in turn will help you with your waiting because worship is not simply a response to the revelation of God, but in worship we discover more of God. So how are you to actively, consciously, deliberately wait upon God as is emphasised in this passage and throughout the scriptures? Well, this is one of the ways you can help yourself do that. Be deliberate in his worship. For when you are consciously, deliberately worshiping God, it will keep the thought of God in the forefront of your mind. And it will give you a context within which to see all the aspects of life. So whatever these likely distractions are, and the difficulties that you face, you can bring, use that to help you to marvel at God's grace. You can reason like this. I'm overwhelmed in this situation, and yet God loves me. I'm overwhelmed in this situation and yet God speaks to me. I'm overwhelmed in a situation and I haven't thought about the reality of God's mercy to me for the last two days because of it and yet he has not cast me off. You can think like this. Here I am overwhelmed with all the perplexity of the day. And this perplexing experience is part of the purpose of God. And he is able to overcome and he is able to overrule so that ultimately it will be for my good and so though I haven't a clue what will happen next and although all is utterly dark yet I know that the Lord is faithful and I will rejoice in him. You see how worship lends itself to waiting and how waiting lends itself to worship as you respond to the revelation and as you discover more of who God is. See the reality is, isn't it, that God sustains his people through the events of life. Now we would all like, I suspect it's true, to have all necessary grace for the rest of life now. I've read a number of books about exploration in the Arctic. I think Shattuck O'Toone is a fascinating character. And there's something very compelling about the record of his expedition. It was a tremendous failure. It was a failure in that he did not achieve his expectation. But it was tremendous in that the men survived and we see the character and their boldness and we see how they came home safely. Remember, the great ship, the Endurance, it set out and it was heavy laden with provisions for their journey. It was low in the water. And for a long time, stores had been gathered and the ship went and was caught in the pack ice. and it was crushed and it sank. So not only did the men lose their ship, but they lost all their stores. They had nothing left. And yet the Lord provided for them day after day. They were able to catch and to shoot, and they found sufficient. Fish, seals, penguins, And they would have felt much more in control when they had their ship full of supplies. But they were made to wait and look for their daily bread. And they were given sufficient so that ultimately they all came home safely. And we're not like them as they set out on their Arctic expedition. We don't have a ship full of supplies. We don't have all the grace that's required for tomorrow and the day after and the following week and the rest of our lives. But we have the promise of God that he will sustain you. Says Nehemiah, the joy of the Lord is your strength. and isn't drawing near to worship, that you realize that and that you receive from him. Paul prayed for the church. believers. It's recorded in Ephesians chapter 3 and from verse 16. But the Lord who grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith and that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with the fullness of God. He says that you might receive from the Lord as you respond to the revelation of God in worship. And as you discover more of the character of God as you worship, as you wait upon him. And maybe you're thinking, Minister, that's all fine and well, but how can I worship when the church can't gather together? Maybe you're saying, Minister, I listen to the psalm being presented. I think of others singing it, but I just can't sing where I am. I'm not a singer. I don't want to undermine the importance of worshipping together, but friends, worship is not only something that is done by the church when it meets together. but we're to worship in our families and we're to worship by ourselves. And it's true that hearing other voices can be a great help. It affirms the reality of the words are being declared. It encourages you. It's easier to join your voice when you're confident that it will be lifted and covered by the voices of all the others around you. But at the end of the day, your worship is not dependent upon other people, is it? And you're to strive to be filled with a sense of awe. Maybe one of the ways you can be more deliberate in your worship is that when you pray that you are careful to begin your prayers by thanking God for his goodness. Even make a list every day. Make a list every day of three things that you must thank God for. Three things you've noticed or you've experienced. Three things you've been reminded of. and you begin your prayer not with, Lord, help me, do for me. you begin your prayer with, Lord, blessed be your name, that this is who you are, and this is what you've done, this is what you've remembered, this is how your faithfulness is to be seen. Because if you begin in giving thanks, you will be worshiping, you will be encouraging and instructing yourself in worship, and as you worship, you will be enabled to wait. has come to a conclusion. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. You're to be waiting. As you're waiting, you're to be worshipping. And as you're waiting, and as you're worshipping, you're to be working. These three things relate together. You see, waiting will result in worship. And worship will result in work. Because faithfulness in waiting will find an expression. And faithfulness in working will find an expression. And that will be expressed in how you live. It cannot be contained. Worship cannot be contained, it cannot be hidden. And the response of that, the faithful life of the believer, cannot be hidden. And maybe again you say, but minister, there's a frustration, I can't go out and I can't do what I did do. I can't do what I want to do. Minister, there's nothing I can do today. But you know that's wrong. You maybe can't do as you did do, or you maybe can't do as you once thought you ought to do, But today you can pray. That great work which is given to the church, to the people of God, to pray. Maybe brief prayers, a little prayer and a little prayer, again and again. But you can pray. Never undermine, never undervalue the significance of prayer. We have not because we ask not. And when we do ask, we often ask amiss. Let us resolve to work by praying to the Lord and seeking His mercy and His grace. But also, you can prioritise the way that you live your life. Isn't it interesting that because everything has shut down, life has changed so significantly and we've been stripped back to that which is essential. I suspect it's probably the case too with what you eat. It's not the fancy things now, is it? It's just the necessary things. We don't go to the shop so often. We don't buy all that we used to buy. So the way we use our money is different. The way that we use our time, or we did use our time, is different. So it's a time to prioritise. Not just to long to get back to how it was, but to think, if I can live this simply now, why didn't I live this simply before? And there's no good reason why I can't live this simply in the future. And to prioritise in how you use the resources that the Lord has given you. so you can make plans of what you might do. I'm not saying that you just simply satisfy yourself with this feeling of good intentions. Often, that's what happens, isn't it? You don't actually do what you thought of doing, but because you thought of doing it, you give yourself some of the credit, even though it was never carried out. No, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about realistic plans, that if the Lord would spare you, that you might be able to do this for him. And also now, there's time for you to connect with different people, isn't there? Or to reconnect, to develop relationships, to show your interest in, to gather information so you may pray with understanding. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint. In our waiting, worshipping, in our worshipping, working. And in our waiting, in our worshipping, in our working, rising up. rising up with an increased affection and devotion for the Lord, the one who has had mercy upon us, and the one who's faithful, and who has brought us to this point today for his good purpose in your life and in the experience of the church. Amen. Let's pray.