TEXT: Isaiah 40:18,25
I once came across a description of God entitled, “God
is Like:”
. God is like Coke: He’s the real thing.
. God is like Pan Am: He makes the going great.
. God is like General Electric: He lights your path.
. God is like Bayer Aspirin: He works wonders.
. God is like Hallmark Cards: He cares enough to send the best.
. God is like Tide: He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
. God is like VO5 hairspray: He holds through all kinds
of weather.
. God is like Dial Soap: Aren’t you glad you know Him?
Don’t you wish everyone did?
. God is like Alka-Seltzer: Try Him, you’ll like Him.
. God is like Scotch Tape: You can’t see Him, but you know He’s there.
In verse 18 and 25, Isaiah says God is like no other; no
other is like God. He is in a class all to Himself.
In verse 18, Isaiah says: To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? THERE IS NO ONE IN HIS LIKENESS.
The words “liken” and “likeness” has basically the same
meaning. They both speak of that which resembles. Isaiah was saying, “There is no one that resembles Him.”
The word “compare” is an interesting word. It literally
speaks of putting something in a row. Isaiah was saying that if we lined up this and that one, put them in a row
side by side, God would stand head and shoulders above them all for there is no one like Him. He is in a class all to
Himself. There is no one in His likeness.
In verse 25 Isaiah says “To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal?
THERE IS NO ONE ON HIS LEVEL.
The word “equal” speaks of leveling something. Isaiah
is saying that there is no one on His level.
He is mightier than mightiest, greater than the greatest, holier than the holiest, and higher than the highest. He is on a level all of His own, for He is in a class all to Himself.
In Isaiah 40 we see several truths about God that
testify that THAT THERE AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM. Let me point these out to you.
1. THE HONOR HE POSSESSES SAYS- AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM! THE WORD HONOR MEANS Dignity; exalted rank or place; distinction.
In verses 13-14, Isaiah tells us that God possesses within Himself an honor that no one else possesses. Isaiah asks a series of questions to point out this unique truth about God.
We read, “Who hath directed the Spirit of the Lord, or
being his counselor hath taught him? [14] With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?”
Isaiah asks:
. Who taught God what He knows?
. Who counseled God in what He did?
. Who showed God how to do what He did?
What is Isaiah implying in the questions he asks? He is
implying that no one taught God, no one counseled God, and no one instructed God. Why is that? Well, let me ask you a couple of questions myself.
A. WHO IS AVAILABLE TO TEACH GOD?
There was a time when only God existed. There was no one or nothing but God. Yet, even then He was an all-knowing and all-powerful God. He was every bit God then as He is now. So I ask you, who taught Him if there was no one to teach Him?
I like the way the black preacher explained it:
“God stepped from behind the curtain of nowhere, onto the platform of nothing, and spoke a world into existence. The reason God came from nowhere is because there wasn’t anywhere for Him to come from.
And coming from nowhere He stood on nothing, and the reason He stood on nothing was because there was nothing on which He could stand.
And standing on nothing, He reached out where there was nowhere, and caught something when there was nothing to catch, and hung something on nothing and told it to stay there. Then standing on nothing He took the hammer of His own will and He struck the anvil of His omnipotence and sparks flew everywhere. He caught these sparks from the tips of His fingers and flung them into space and bedecked the heavens with stars.
And nobody said a word. The reason nobody said anything was because there wasn’t anybody to say anything. So God
Himself said, “That’s good!”
God never attended one day of school for there was no
school to go to. He never had a teacher for there was no teacher to teach. He never earned a degree for there was no degree to earn. There was nothing but God. There was no one but God.
B. WHO IS ABLE TO TEACH GOD?
Since God is omniscient, which means that He knows all things, then who has the capability of teaching Him
anything.
I realize that man is capable of many things and man’s
knowledge and intelligence is rapidly expanding by the hour and not just by the day.
Thomas A. Edison said: “We do not know one-millionth
part of one percent about anything. We do not know what
water is. We don’t know what light is. We do not know what electricity is. We do not know what gravity is. We don’t know anything about magnetism. We have a lot of hypotheses, but that is all.”
Sir Isaac Newton, After his sublime discoveries in
science, said, “I do not know what I may appear to the
world; but to myself I seem only like a boy playing upon
the seashore, and diverting myself by now and then finding a pebble, or a prettier shell than ordinary, while the great ocean of truth lies all undiscovered before me.
On one occasion Einstein said, “We know nothing about Nnothing at all. Our knowledge is but the knowledge of
schoolchildren.”
The truth is, there is no one capable of teaching God
anything. Man at his highest cannot not inform God, cannot reveal anything new to God, cannot teach God anything that He doesn’t know, or instruct God about any matter.
God knows all there is to know. He is self-intelligent.
1. THE HONOR HE POSSESSES TESTIFIES AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM!
2. THE HEAVENS HE PRODUCED TESTIFIES AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM!
Notice verse 26, “Lift up your eyes on high, and behold
who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one
faileth.”
Isaiah says, “Look up! The heavens that have been created by God testify that there is none like Him
Isaiah reminds us that God is the Creator and Originator of the heavens and earth.
In verse 26 Isaiah tells us to look up. Consider what
God has created. When I look up I think of:
A. THE MARVEL OF GOD’S CREATION.
I think of the immensity of the universe around us.
Stretching out into a space is a marvel that staggers the
human imagination.
Our universe is so big we cannot produce a scale model
of the universe. The impossibility of making such a model
accurately is shown by the fact that, if the earth were
represented by a ball only one inch in diameter, the
nearest star, ,would have to be placed nearly 51,000 miles away.
It is no wonder Isaiah said “Look up!” The heavens
declare that God has no equal and that He is in a class all
to Himself. A God that could create such a universe is
definitely in a class all to Himself and has no equal.
B. THE MANAGEMENT OF HIS CREATION.
Notice that Isaiah said in verse 26 that God calls all
the stars by name. Isaiah said God, “bringeth out their
host by number: he calleth them all by names by the
greatness of his might…”
Before Christ One man gave the number of stars as 1,022, Another in the beginning of the second century of the Christian era, could find but 1,026. Now astronomers know that there are over 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and probably billions of galaxies similar to ours.
Jeremiah 33:22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, That tell us that there are so many stars that
no man can number them. Yet, Isaiah tells us that God calls each of them by name.
There are billion’s and billion ‘s of stars and God calls each one by name.
God calls the stars by name by “the greatness of His might.”
The word “might” carries the ideal of God’s sovereignty. The point that Isaiah makes is that the stars and heavens are under his control and management.
Listen to what science has said Take this earth of ours as an example. The earth spins on its axis, like a top, at the speed of one-third mile per second or 1,000 miles per hour. If it were 100 miles per hour, the earth would alternately freeze and burn.
It weaves slowly back and forth on its axis, tilting to an
angle of 23 degrees, then swinging slowly back, twice a
year. This gives us our seasons.
The earth with the moon is swinging around the sun, once a year at the rate of 181/2 miles per second. And it never
Varies.
Now all this has been going on for thousands of years.
How do you think it has maintained such an accurate course? I should say, “Who do you think has kept it on such an accurate course?”
God not only created this universe, He maintains it as
well. Isaiah said, “There is no one like Him. He is without a comparison. He is without an equal. He is in a class all to Himself. The heavens testify to such.
1. THE HONOR HE POSSESSES- SAYS AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM!
2. THE HEAVENS HE PRODUCED-SAYS AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM!
3. THE HELP HE PROVIDES -SAYS AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM!
Beginning in 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. We have a beloved passage to God’s people. Time and time again, many a troubled and tired saint of God has turned to this passage to find help and strength for the journey. It tells of a help that God provides,
A. THE WEAKNESSES THAT ARE ABSENT WITH GOD.
We read in 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.”
The word “fainteth” means to “become tired, wearisome from flight.” The word “weary” means “to be exhausted.”
God never gets tired. His strength is never exhausted.
He is an all-powerful God and His all-power is always all
power.
All that God is, He always will be. He will never be anything less than what He is. He does not faint and He
does not get weary.
B. THE WEAKNESSES THAT ARE ACCUSTOMED TO MAN.
We read in verses 29 and 30 the familiar words, “He
giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. [30] Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.”
Isaiah reminds us that there are times when we are tired from the struggles and burdens of life.
He reminds us that there are times when we are exhausted of all our ability to cope with the problems and pressures of life.
He reminds us that there are times when we just can’t go on in ourselves.
But the God that never faints or grows weary helps those who are tired and exhausted. We read in verse 31, “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.”
When we are overwhelmed by life, God is there is help
us.
He comes to us in our lowest and takes us to our highest.
When we stumbled and stagger under the weight of life’s burdens, He renews our strength that we might walk, run, and even soar.
Now if you have been there, then you can testify that
there is no one like Him. When no one could help you, when you could turn to no one else, He was there to help you.
ILL. A little girl was saying her prayers before she went to
bed. She asked God for this and that, thanked Him for
several things and then said, “Amen.” Then suddenly she
said, “And one more thing God. You be sure and take care of yourself because if anything happens to you we are all in a mess.”
2. THE HEAVENS HE PRODUCED-SAYS AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM!
3. THE HELP HE PROVIDES -SAYS AIN’T NOBODY LIKE HIM!
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