Audio Recording

Sermon Outline

Speaker: Rev. Tim Chang
Sermon Series: Come, Let Us Walk in the Light of the Lord

Isaiah 30:1-18 (ESV)
1 “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord,
“who carry out a plan, but not mine,
and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,
    that they may add sin to sin;
2 who set out to go down to Egypt,
    without asking for my direction,
to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh
    and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
3 Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame,
    and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
4 For though his officials are at Zoan
    and his envoys reach Hanes,
5 everyone comes to shame
    through a people that cannot profit them,
that brings neither help nor profit,
    but shame and disgrace.”

6 An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb.

Through a land of trouble and anguish,
    from where come the lioness and the lion,
    the adder and the flying fiery serpent,
they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,
    and their treasures on the humps of camels,
    to a people that cannot profit them.
7 Egypt's help is worthless and empty;
    therefore I have called her
    “Rahab who sits still.”

8 And now, go, write it before them on a tablet
    and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come
    as a witness forever.
9 For they are a rebellious people,
    lying children,
children unwilling to hear
    the instruction of the Lord;
10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
    and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
    prophesy illusions,
11 leave the way, turn aside from the path,
    let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Because you despise this word
    and trust in oppression and perverseness
    and rely on them,
13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you
    like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
    whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;
14 and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel
    that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a shard is found
    with which to take fire from the hearth,
    or to dip up water out of the cistern.”

15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
    in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, 16 and you said,
“No! We will flee upon horses”;
    therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
    therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
    at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
    like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
    like a signal on a hill.

18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

Sermon Outline

1. The stubbornness of misplaced trust (v. 1-2, 9-11, 7)

v. 1-2: “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!
v. 9-11: For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD; who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
v. 7: Egypt’s help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her “Rahab who sits still.”

2. The costliness of misplaced trust (v. 6, 3, 12-14, 16, 15)

v. 6: An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from where come the lioness and the lion, the adder and the flying fiery serpent, they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people that cannot profit them.
v. 3: Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
v. 12-14: Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them, therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant; and its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.”
v. 15: For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling.

3. An invitation to trust in God again (v. )

v. 1: “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD,
v. 9: For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the LORD.
v. 18: Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.

Prayer of Confession
Heavenly Father, you invite us to completely trust in you, but we often misplace our trust. We do not see you as trustworthy, and so we look to other things and people to trust in. We struggle with stubbornness, believing that what we do is right and best. We pay with our time, energy, resources, and affections. But you patiently wait for us to return. And when we return, you are always there to receive us. May we turn to you, run to you, and find our rest in you. Amen.

Questions for Reflection

What connected with you from the sermon or the passage?
What helps you to trust in God? What makes it difficult to trust in God?
In what ways do you struggle with stubbornness? What do you think is at the core of this struggle for you?
Are there people in your life that you trust who will speak hard but necessary truth to you? When has this happened?
Where do you place your trust in that is not God? In what ways have you “made payment” to the thing or person that you trust in?
In what setting have you essentially prayed to God, “thy will be done”? Are there certain areas of your life that you sense God calling you to pray this prayer to him?
As you imagine God waiting for you to return (whether from besetting sin, or an unwise decision, or something else), what does that picture do for your heart and soul? Do you trust that he is waiting and ready to receive you?
What do you sense God calling you to do from this passage?

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Isaiah Sermon Series