Let’s look at Isaiah 35. vs 1-2:
ISA 35:1 The desert and the parched land will be glad;the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;they will see the glory of the LORD,the splendor of our God.
Isaiah is a prophet and he is predicting something. He is predicting that the Lord will take the desert wasteland and turn it into a beautiful place.
This shouldn’t surprise us. God wants to make all things beautiful. He is an Awesome God. When He created the world He filled it with beauty.
How many of you have seen photos of the Grand Canyon, or have actually been there? How many of us love to go to North Carolina to see the green mountains, and especially in October when the leaves are turning? My wife and I love to go to the beach… there is just something so peaceful and beautiful about the waves crashing up against the shore, and the noise that they make a like a melody…
But we don’t often see beauty around us. Our worlds are often filled with worry, pain, disease, fear, broken relationships. Even the young among us see the effects of aging, and we don’t like it. It seems we are continually trying to fight the chaos that is always trying to infect our lives, and we know that eventually it is a losing battle. It seems that one day we are going to have to succumb to the curse, our bodies will wear out, and we will die.
As a young man working my way through college this was all I could see. I was blinded to the beauty all around me. Instead, I gave up the faith I grew up with. In church one day looking for God I said to myself, “if God is anywhere, he isn’t here.” I despaired of church. I despaired of God. So I gave up and figured there was no God, and I was going to have to figure out life all on my own.
But I was young, and as I said I was blinded by the god of this age. It is a lie that we have to figure out life on our own. God loves us, and He does not want us to despair. And He is making the church beautiful. Even though at times the church may seem like a desert with no life in it God has a plan to bring springs of living water and make the crocus bloom. Let’s keep reading what He says to us through Isaiah:
ISA 35:3 Strengthen the feeble hands,steady the knees that give way;ISA 35:4 say to those with fearful hearts,"Be strong, do not fear;your God will come,he will come with vengeance;with divine retributionhe will come to save you."
God is coming to save us. God is “coming” means He isn’t here yet, not in the way you need Him. Do you believe this? The Prophet Isaiah is talking to us with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He is challenging us, encouraging us, inspiring us, even daring us to BELIEVE, that God is coming to restore His church and then His world!
So then he says, be strong and do not be afraid! God is coming, and He’s not coming as a wimp. He is coming with a vengeance, He is going to pay back your enemies and save you.
What enemies? Disease, infirmity, depression, disorder, and even death. Guilt and hopelessness. I believe this. I am glad that I am surrounded by people who believe this as well.
This Scripture, this promise of the Holy Spirit that is nearly 3000 years old, encourages me. It ought to encourage you, and bring energy and strength back to your hearts. Look at again at v. 3:
ISA 35:3 Strengthen the feeble hands,steady the knees that give way;
Sometimes life is so overwhelming that our hands begin to shake, that we can’t even stand up. Events like the news of the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, the receipt of divorce papers…
Yes, we have many enemies, but we have a God who is stronger than those enemies! We serve a God of SUPERNATURAL POWER! Let’s read on to vs. 5-6 to see what happens when God comes:
ISA 35:5 Then will the eyes of the blind be openedand the ears of the deaf unstopped.ISA 35:6 Then will the lame leap like a deer,and the mute tongue shout for joy.Water will gush forth in the wildernessand streams in the desert.
What an incredible promise! God is promising the most incredible miracles of love for his hurting people. Blind seeing, deaf hearing, lame not just walking but leaping and jumping!
This isn’t just for heaven because in heaven there will be no blind people to heal. No deaf will get their healing in heaven, because everyone there hears. Nobody jumping out of wheelchairs either. No cancer. No tears.
So this promise is for the earth. Let’s look at the ministry of Jesus. Everywhere he went he healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, brought the dead back to life.
MT 4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.
Jesus did these things. He did exactly what He said He was going to do. He fulfilled Isaiah’s promise.
Look at what else Isaiah predicted:
ISA 35:9 No lion will be there,nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;they will not be found there.But only the redeemed will walk there,ISA 35:10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return.They will enter Zion with singing;everlasting joy will crown their heads.Gladness and joy will overtake them,and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
But Jesus wasn’t the only one to do those things, He wasn’t the only one to fulfill Isaiah’s promise. The redeemed of the Lord will walk on that highway too. It won’t be only Jesus. The ransomed of the Lord will return, and man we will be singing!
Mark 16:20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.
Not just Peter and Paul, or the 12 apostles, but all of Jesus’ disciples did and do incredible miracles in the Name of Jesus.
No doubt many of you reading this have been miraculously healed or have witnessed a miraculous healing. This is more proof that God has already kept His promise. And through these miracle-working men the world has been turned upside-down. NO ONE has had more influence on this planet than the carpenter from Galilee and His followers. None.
So why is this happening? Let’s go back to Isaiah 35:
ISA 35:8 And a highway will be there;it will be called the Way of Holiness.The unclean will not journey on it;it will be for those who walk in that Way;wicked fools will not go about on it.
Jesus travelled this highway. He knew what it was to by holy. He did not get Himself dirty with all the stuff around him. He didn’t hang out with wicked fools.
That was the secret to His power. He knew what He was here for, and He stuck to His purpose in the fear of God.
Many whose names are not written in the Bible are on that road. Simple men and women who heard the call of Jesus in their hearts, and gave it all to follow Him.
As a result those of us who were blind, are going to see. Those of us who were lame, are going to walk. And we will all experience the joy of knowing that God is with us.
What Isaiah 35 is talking about is the Kingdom of God in the midst of a wicked world. We are talking about the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. And before then, we are talking about a church which will get holier and holier as the Day of Jesus’ return approaches.
All this salvation, and all of these ostentatious miracles, will be for those who walk the Highway of Holiness. No lions will be there, neither will the unclean, neither will there be any who are wicked. That place will be full of those who WALK in that Way, the Way of Jesus.
The church is going to see the Glory of God. He is going to reveal Himself in splendor to His bride. There will be an intimacy there we can only dream about today. But it is coming.
As a result, and over time, we will have meetings that are more and more exclusive. Perhaps because of growing persecution the church will begin to hide where it meets. Perhaps only those who are vetted and screened will be invited to participate. And there, where the hearts have been purified by fire, the Lord will reveal Himself to us, in His Glory and His Splendor.
Right now around the world this is already happening. In Communist China tens of millions of Christians are meeting in underground churches. They literally meet underground, in basements of regular houses which have had their windows blackened. They meet in secret rooms and there, God meets them with incredible miracles of love and encouragement. Only the holy ones walk there, and the wicked and the lions don’t know to enter, and wouldn’t dare if they could.
I have seen glimpses of this in South America. In little poor churches where only the desperate for the Lord come, a Lord who is desperate for His people comes. He lavishes them with love and miracles that make your jaw drop.
God is preparing His church for these days of supernatural intimacy. Some changes are needed. In the days to come the church will not look like it does today. It will not be identified by buildings. We won’t have buildings that look like churches because, unlike today, we won’t be looking for people to find us. Our glory will not be in our buildings but in the God who chooses to reveal Himself in our midst.
But only the redeemed will walk there,ISA 35:10 and the ransomed of the LORD will return.They will enter Zion with singing;everlasting joy will crown their heads.Gladness and joy will overtake them,and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
You think you get happy in church now? You haven’t seen anything yet! The days are coming when we will enter the presence of God with singing and a joy that no one can take away. We will be overwhelmed with gladness and joy, and it won’t matter what is happening to us outside. It won’t matter if we’ve lost our job, or our arm, or if we’ve suffered a stroke, a miscarriage or a divorce, because “sorrow and sighing will flee away”!
All of us reading this will have an opportunity to participate in this. But it comes with a price.
The redeemed and ransomed of the Lord will walk there. But wicked fools and unclean people will not be there. The lions and the ferocious won’t be there. Only God’s people who have truly chosen to walk in the Way of Holiness, the Way Jesus showed us, will walk there.
You say, “I would like to be part of that. I would like to be part of God’s plan to bring blessing to others.”
You can be. It is your choice. You must choose to walk on the Highway of Holiness.
So how do you get on the HIGHWAY TO HOLINESS? Let us go back to Isaiah 35:
ISA 35:3 Strengthen the feeble hands,steady the knees that give way;ISA 35:4 say to those with fearful hearts,"Be strong, do not fear;
We must strengthen ourselves. We must choose not to be afraid.
Afraid of what? Afraid of our enemies. Yes, but more than that. Let’s look at where we can find Isaiah 35 in Hebrews chapter 12.
HEB 12:12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Here we see the same admonition from the writer of Hebrews. He says, STRENGTHEN YOURSELF. STOP LETTING YOUR KNEES SHAKE. The purpose? SO THAT THE LAME MAY NOT BE DISABLED, BUT RATHER HEALED.
We are all responsible for maintaining an atmosphere of faith and holiness in our meetings. If we are fearful of obeying God’s word, that may have an impact on whether God will show up and do miracles like heal the sick.
We know that the timid are not very useful to the Kingdom. The timid are neither going to be able to move in nor receive God’s supernatural power.
It is the overcomers who inherit the Kingdom. We must overcome our fear that things will happen to us like what happens to people all around us who have no faith. We must believe that God is GOING TO KEEP HIS PROMISE. We can’t be afraid.
And the thing we must be courageous about is not so much staring down the Goliaths as it is the fear of God making us holy. To walk on the Highway of Holiness we must be holy.
Let’s see what the Word says about how we get holy, earlier in Heb. 12:
10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
God disciplines us so that we may share in His holiness. God will discipline us and it will result in holiness. In fact, this is God’s primary way of imparting grace to you. His power comes to you as you submit to His discipline.
Now this isn’t any fun at all, is it?
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
God wants to train us through His discipline. We, as good disciples, must be willing to enter into that discipline. Let’s look at the beginning of the chapter to get this in context:
HEB 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Jesus put up with a lot from bad people because He knew there was joy before him if he persevered in the mission God gave Him.
HEB 12:4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,HEB 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves,and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."HEB 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Discipline!! Rebuke! Chastening! Punishment! Wow, what is all this? I thought God loved me!
Yes, and it is because He loves you that He is going to discipline, chasten and even administer some parental style punishment that will get your attention and cause you to listen to Him and obey!
Do you really think that we can become a holy church rising up to be a glorious temple in the Lord all on our own?! NO, we need the grace of Jesus, and His supernatural power, to change us!
But the result is RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE and JOY. And the supernatural presence of God on the Highway of Holiness.
Today I am here to tell you that God is into beauty. The God who made the Grand Canyon is beautifying and purifying His church. She will be a glowing bride, without spot or any type of blemish.
But until then we must stay engaged in the fight. We must not give up on receiving the Lord’s discipline. We must continue to grow in grace and in holiness before the Lord.
If we do, we will see the church restored. In that restored church the lame will be healed. We will move in the supernatural power of God. We will see His glory.
I think there are some of us today who have been fighting hard to stay on the Highway of Holiness. Like Abraham, they obey God and go where He tells them, and even though they know they are in the right place they are still looking forward for something else, something better – “looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” Heb. 11:8
They earnestly seek the Lord and they absolutely hate it when they fall short. I am here to commend you and to assure you, based on God’s promise, that if you persevere you will see God, His provision, and His glory in your life, your ministry and your church.
I think there are others reading this who may be despairing of seeing the glory of God in the church. All over the country people are leaving organized churches. There are many reasons, but I tell you they are making a mistake. God is glorified in the midst of His people. If they leave, and if they stay away, they are missing out!
I am here to encourage you today, to urge you to get back on the Highway. Don’t stop believing that God will cause rivers to flow in the desert. God loves you and wants to make the relationships among us grow more and more in love.
So, let us be like Jesus and throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Don’t be afraid, strengthen your feeble hands and shaking knees, because God is with us and He is Mighty to Save. He will put you through His discipline so all together we can share in His holiness.
