God Wants to Trade Your Desert for His Oasis (Isa.41: 8-20)
Text-Isa.41: 8 "But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,
9 I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 "All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.
12 Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.
13 For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
14 Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 "See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
16 You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel.
17 "The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
18 I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
19 I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together,
so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Intro: God wants to trade your dry barren ground for a fertile garden ; He wants to trade your weeds for beautiful flowers ; He wants to take our anxiety and give us assurance (everything is all right) ; He wants to give us faith instead of fear ; He wants to take your curses and give you blessings ; He wants to take your panic and pain and give you peace
God wants to replace your fear with his fellowship .
Lets look at verse 10--- 10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
Fear Stalks us all-none are exempt even heroes
Four basic types of fear
. Death
. Failure
. Losing security
. Fear of the future
4 . GOD’S answer to these fears
(a) . Death-(Phil.1: 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!
23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;
24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
(b)Failure-(Phil . 4: 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
(c) Security--- (Phil . 4: 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
(d) The future--- (Matt . 28: 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
B . God wants to trade His comfort for your confusion - Be not dismayed for I am GOD
1 . Dismayed----Why did this happen to me
2 . God has a purpose for your life-everything works to the good to those that love the LORD
3 . Trials may come ; but there is triumph on the other side of every trial
C .God wants to trade you strength for your weakness
1 . Reasons for feeling weak
Sickness-By His Stripes we were healed
Regret ;when the devil reminds us of our past
Sins cast in the sea of forgetfulness
2 . God gives Power to the faint
D . God wants to trade His help for your helplessness-(houseMelissa)
E . God wants to trade His righteousness for your sin .
He that never knew sin ;became sin that we might be forgiven
Calvary
F . God wants to trade your rags for His riches
Heaven
This Earth now
A/C: COME AND EXCHANGE YOUR PROBLEMS FOR GOD’S SOLUTIONS
