Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their Strength – Isaiah 40:31 – Finishing Well – Part II

Isaiah 40:31 says, "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." We have been in a series called, “Pursuing Wisdom.” We learned from Solomon’s life that it doesn’t matter how much wisdom you have if you don’t apply it. We also learned from Solomon’s life that it doesn’t matter how well you start. It matters how you finish. He, along with some other kings, reveal how we must wait on the Lord to have our strength renewed so we finish well. https://youtu.be/xIkGAVCok1A Isaiah 40:31 says, "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Judah's Kings reveal how we must wait on the Lord to have our strength renewed to finish well. Table of ContentsLessons for Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their Strength Family Worship Guide for Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their Strength Sermon Notes for Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their StrengthLesson 1: These kings reveal it’s hard to finish well: (example 1) Solomon (example 2) Saul (example 3) Hezekiah (example 4) AsaLesson 1: These kings reveal it’s hard to finish well: (example 5) Joash.Lesson 2: Wisdom is walking in the truth we’ve learned.Lesson 1: These kings reveal it’s hard to finish well (example 6) Uzziah.Lesson 3: Wisdom keeps us from pride, which leads to destruction.Lesson 4: Finish well by waiting on the Lord. Lessons for Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their Strength Lesson 1: These kings reveal it’s hard to finish well:Example 1: Solomon (1 Kings 11:4, Job 12:12).Example 2: Saul (1 Samuel 31).Example 3: Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:12-19).Example 4: Asa (2 Chronicles 14:8-15, 16:1-12).Example 5: __________ (2 Chronicles 24).Example 6: ____________ (2 Chronicles 26). Lesson 2: ____________ is ______________ in the truth we’ve learned (2 Chronicles 24:22). Lesson 3: wisdom keeps us from pride, which __________ to ____________________ (2 Chronicles 26:16-21, Proverbs 11:2, 16:18, 18:12). Lesson 4: finish well by _______________ on the ________ (1 Corinthians 9:24-26, Acts 20:24, 2 Timothy 4:7, Galatians 5:7, Isaiah 40:30-31). Family Worship Guide for Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their Strength Day 1: Read 2 Chronicles 24 and discuss: why do you think Joash finished so poorly after starting so well? What can we learn from his life? What truth did he learn that he failed to walk in, or failed to apply to his life (remember wisdom is applying truth/knowledge)? How did God graciously reach out to Joash? How did Joash respond? Day 2: Read 2 Chronicles 26 and discuss: why do you think Uzziah finished so poorly after starting so well? What can we learn from him? How did God graciously reach out to Uzziah? How did he respond? How does wisdom keep us from pride? Why does pride lead to destruction? Day 3: Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-26, Acts 20:24, 2 Timothy 4:7, Galatians 5:7, Isaiah 40:30-31and discuss: why is the Christian life compared to a race? Can you think of other verses that make this comparison? What causes us to be faint or weary as we run the race? What does it mean to wait on the Lord? How does waiting on the Lord renew our strength? Sermon Notes for Those Who Hope in the Lord Will Renew Their Strength The title of this morning’s sermon is, “Wisdom Needed to Finish Well – Part II.” We have been in a series called, “Pursuing Wisdom.” We learned from Solomon’s life that it doesn’t matter how much wisdom you have if you don’t apply it. We also learned from Solomon’s life that it doesn’t matter how well you start. It matters how you finish. Listen to this verse about him… 1 Kings 11:4 For WHEN SOLOMON WAS OLD his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. The part that surprised me most about Solomon isn’t that he turned from the Lord, but WHEN he turned from the Lord: when he was old. He finished poorly because he failed to apply the wisdom God gave him. If Solomon was the only example of a king finishing poorly after starting well I wouldn’t have developed any sermons on this topic. But since it’s a theme I thought it deserved attention. If Scripture makes something important through repetition, we should make it important. In our last sermon we looked at three other examples that I left on your handout… Lesson 1: These kings reveal it’s hard to finish well: (example 1) Solomon (example 2) Saul (example 3) Hezekiah (example 4) Asa We will look at two more examples this morning, and one more next week. Our new king for this morning… Lesson 1: These kings reveal it’s hard to finish well: (example 5) Joash. Please turn to 2 Chronicles 24. You might remember Joash was the child king who was hidden in the temple from his evil grandmother Athaliah. She murdered all of his siblings and if he hadn’t been kept from her, it would’ve meant the end of the messianic line. He experienced one of the most unique childhoods in the Old Testament, b/c he grew up in the temple. Look at verse one… 2 Chronicles 24:1 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. 2 And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.  Jehoiada the priest and his wife were Joash’s godly adoptive parents. He started off wonderfully, restoring the temple, following the LORD. But verse two hints at the problems there will be in the future. He did what was right but only while Jehoiada was alive. Skip to verse 15… 2 Chronicles 24:15 But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died. He was 130 years old at his death. When Jehoiada died it left a large vacuum in Joash’s life. Sadly it ended up being filled by ungodly people who came to influence him. Look at verse 17… 2 Chronicles 24:17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. 18 And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.  So he turned from the Lord, but God graciously reached out to him. Look at verse 20… 2 Chronicles 24:20 Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’”  Joash grew up with Zechariah. He was the son of the people who raised him. It’s like his brother was confronting him, I can’t say for sure why God chose Zechariah to be the one to speak to Joash, but if there’s anyone Joash would listen to, you’d think it would be him. At this moment Joash faced the same choice all of us face when we’re confronted: Respond humbly and repent…Respond pridefully w/ anger… But look what happened… 2 Chronicles 24:21 But they conspired against him, and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge!” Joash murdered his own stepbrother for confronting him. Since Joash responded this way, look what God did in verse 23… 2 Chronicles 24:23 At the end of the year the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. 24 Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash. This is written in such a way to show that they lost to a small army because God wasn’t for them. It was a judgment against Joash. You would think this is when God had him killed, but something even worse happened to him. Look at verse 25… 2 Chronicles 24:25 When they had departed from him, leaving him severely wounded, his servants conspired against him because of the blood of the son of Jehoiada the priest, and killed him on his bed. So he died, and they buried him in the city of David, but they did not bury him in the tombs of the kings.  His own people killed him in his bed, b/c even they were upset w/ him for murdering Zechariah. I think there’s an important lesson we can learn from Joash…and this brings us to Lesson 2… Lesson 2: Wisdom is walking in the truth we’ve learned. We must walk in the truth – or wisdom – we’ve learned. It’s not enough to simply know truth. We wonder how this could happen w/ someone like Joash who had been raised so well and sheltered from so much… Let me first say it had nothing to do w/ Joash being sheltered. You would really misunderstand this story if you walked away thinking parents shouldn’t shelter or protect their children. There are plenty of children whose spiritual lives were ruined b/c their parents exposed them to – or worse introduced them into – worldly or compromising environments and the effects were devastating. Instead, Joash’s problem is contained in verse 22 in the words the king did not remember. This doesn’t mean Joash didn’t remember like we think of people not remembering. It doesn’t mean… He forgot how he grew up…Or forgot what he was taught…Or forgot how kindly his family treated him… It means none of it heart. He never let any of it change him inwardly. He was the young man who could say all the right things, but he didn’t believe what he was saying and he didn’t wa