Comfort, Fear, Servant, Assurance (Isaiah 40-43)

1. Comfort (Isaiah 40): Wait on the Lord.
2. Fear (Isaiah 41): I am with you.
3. Servant (Isaiah 42): Justice to the nations.
4. Assurance (Isaiah 43): I love you.

Isaiah 1-39 (Trust); Isaiah 40-55 (Grace); Isaiah 56-66 (Power)

Comfort (Isaiah 40): Wait on the Lord

1. The God of comfort (1-11)
2. The incomparable God (12-26)
3. The God who makes man fly (27-31)

Fear (Isaiah 41): I am with you

1. Living in fear (1-7): God predicts the rise of one from the east (Cyrus) and people panic in fear.
2. Living without fear (8-20): God choosing his servants to be with them and to help them.
3. Fear and idols (21-29): Fear causes the making and depending on idols, which are worthless and useless.

Servant (Isaiah 42): Justice to the nations

1. What the Servant does (1-9): Proclaims justice to the nations.
2. How the world responds (10-12): Praise the Lord!
3. What God does (13-17): Zealously accomplish his purpose.
4. Who we truly are (18-25): Blind and deaf.

Assurance (Isaiah 43): I love you

1. I have redeemed you (1-7).
2. You are witnesses of my love (8-13).
3. I am doing a new thing (14-21).
4. I remember your sins no more (22-28).

The Servant Saves (Isaiah 42)

Theme: Man's hope is that the Servant proclaims justice by gently and persevearingly serving the weak, blind and deaf. God's heart is always for the weak, blind and deaf.

1. What the Servant does (1-9): Proclaims justice to the nations.
2. How the world responds (10-12): Praise the Lord!
3. What God does (13-17): Zealously accomplish his purpose.
4. Who we truly are (18-25): Blind and deaf.

The "servant of God" theme is one of the richest strands of Isaiah's thought, and it lies right at the heart of his message as it moves to its climax in this second half of the book. 42:1-9 is the first of four "Servant Songs" (49:1-13; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12), the first of a remarkable series in which the servant theme is developed in a quite distinctive way and brought to a resounding climax. 61:1-3 could be regarded as fifth and final Song which brings the whole series to a (another) climax.

Quotes about Waiting on God

Isaiah 40:27-31

Theme: Wait, Trust and Hope in the Lord (Isa 40:31): "But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint" (Isa 40:31, NKJV). "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength" (Isa 40:31, NLT). "...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength" (Isa 40:31, NIV).

An entire sermon could be preached on every single one of these quotes about WAITING ON THE LORD:

What’s the purpose of waiting on God? "Biblically, waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be." John Ortberg.

Why should we endure our problems? "What then are we to do about our problems? We must learn to live with them until such time as God delivers us from them…we must pray for grace to endure them without murmuring. Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting. They harm us only when we resist them or endure them unwillingly." A.W. Tozer.