Joy that Makes Sorrow and Sighing Flee

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Good morning. My name is Brian and my family and I are part of the Alameda Community Group.

Today's Old Testament lesson is a reading from the book of Isaiah.

The desert and the parched land will be glad.

The wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, 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.

Strengthen the feeble hands.

Steady the knees that give way.

Say to those with fearful hearts,

Be strong.

Do not fear.

Your God will come.

He will come with vengeance.

With divine retribution, he will come to save you.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

The burning sand will become a pool.

The thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay,

Grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

And a highway will be there.

It will be called the way of holiness.

It will be for those who walk on that way.

The unclean will not journey on it.

Wicked fools will not go about on it.

No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast.

They will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there.

And those the Lord has rescued 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.

The grass withers and the flowers fade.

But the word of our God stands forever.

Good morning, Christ Church.

We hope that you've been learning so far

that there are two prophets during the Advent season.

And there's the prophet Isaiah

and the prophet John the Baptist.

You're going to hear a little bit from both today.

Both of these prophets are focused on the coming Messiah.

Their job is to prepare the way,

to get people ready for his arrival

through leading us in a searching

and fearless inventory of our lives.

To lead us in a process of repentance,

a process of spiritual transformation,

so that when God's coming King arrives,

his people will be ready to welcome him

and to receive him.

But unlike Isaiah and unlike John,

we're not preparing ourselves

for the first Advent of Jesus

when he came in humility as the Savior.

We're getting ourselves ready

for the second Advent of Jesus

when he'll come in glory

as the judge of the whole world.

And this emphasis on the second Advent,

the second coming of Jesus,

really is the chief and central focus

of the season.

And it's what we're inviting you

to meditate on a little bit more

this time of year.

And just a word about reading the prophet Isaiah.

We've given you so far in this series

bookends of Isaiah's great work.

We gave you Isaiah 64,

oh, that you would rend the heavens

and come down.

That's the end of the book.

We gave you Isaiah 2,

that the Lord would teach us his ways

so that we would beat our swords

into plowshares.

This is the great sandwich of Isaiah,

beginning and end.

So what do we put kind of in the middle

of that sandwich?

There's so many places we've taken you before.

There's Isaiah 9,

for to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

We could have gone to Isaiah 11,

a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse,

and from his roots a branch will bear fruit.

We could have gone to that great text

of Isaiah 40,

comfort, comfort my people,

proclaim to her that her warfare is ended

and that her iniquity is pardoned.

These are some of the great classic texts

of this Advent season

that are worthy of your meditation.

So if you have not yet taken the time

to sit with these passages,

let me encourage you to do that today.

But we acknowledge that the book of Isaiah

is filled with prophecies

about this future messianic age

that will be brought by this future messianic king

who will come and put all things right.

And Christians, of course,

believe that this messianic king

was Jesus himself.

And so we're focusing

not only on the one who was born

in the manger on Christmas Day,

but we're focusing on the one

who when he comes as the judge of the world,

he will renew this sad old world

and he'll make everything new.

And so that's why we've chosen

our text today, Isaiah 35.

And I want to encourage you,

if you pull out your pew Bibles,

to turn to page 582.

Page 582.

And I think it's important

to see the text there

because it's written in poetry,

not prose.

And a poet is somebody

who gives us not so much a story,

they give us pictures,

they give us images.

And Isaiah is giving us

these three images

of what is gonna happen

when God's Messiah comes

to establish the kingdom of God

on the earth as it is in heaven.

And what I want to walk us through

is how he goes from sorrow

to blossoming joy.

That's the first image

we're gonna look at.

And then he goes from fear

to whole life salvation.

That's the second image.

And then the third image is

he moves from exile

to the highway home.

Okay?

So I know like two of you

take notes on a Sunday morning,

but I'm gonna say it again

for those of you who take notes.

From sorrow to blossoming joy,

from fear to whole life salvation,

and from exile to the highway home.

And I want to start

with this movement

from sorrow to blossoming joy.

It says in verse one,

the desert and the parched land

will be glad

and the wilderness will blossom,

will rejoice and blossom

like the crocus.

It will burst into bloom.

It will rejoice greatly

and shout for joy.

The interior spiritual landscape

of the exiled people of God

who are the first people

reading this text,

their interior spiritual landscape

matches the exterior physical landscape

of this desert with no water.

This parched land,

this wilderness of burning sand

and thirsty ground,

the lives of the people of God

feel dry.

They feel arid.

They feel withered and barren.

Full of sorrow and sighing.

In a word,

their lives are joyless.

Anybody ever feel joyless?

The extreme conditions in the desert

are hostile to life, right?

There's no water.

There's no green.

There's no flowers.

There's no fragrance.

There's no beauty.

We can't enjoy any of these things.

And verses seven and verse nine

say that the desert

is actually the haunt of jackals,

that lions and ravenous beasts

live there.

And maybe you feel like that sometimes.

You feel like,

man,

I live among predators

and everywhere I turn,

there's a hard circumstance.

There's a difficult person to love.

There's a threatening situation.

And that's how the people of God felt

as they were living in exile.

Literally,

they had been exiled

from their homes in Israel

and taken off to Egypt

and Assyria

and Babylon.

And so Isaiah gives them this word,

this vision

that when God's Messiah comes,

parched and barren places

of sorrow and sighing

will become fruitful places

of joy and gladness.

Now each year,

everyone that lived

in this part of the world

knew that each year

the winter rain would come

and it would cause

a springtime of

some sparse growth

of grasses

and flowers

here and there

in the desert.

You'd have to go

and search for them

pretty hard to find them.

And what Isaiah is describing

is this supernaturally

enhanced spring

that's intensified

many folds

so that the desert,

he says,

is bursting into bloom.

So that you have

these natural scrub brushes

and acacias

and wildflowers

like the crocus

that are blooming.

But even more than that,

he says there are forests

and there are woods

that are springing up

in this barren place.

He says in verse 2,

the glory of Lebanon

will be given to it

and the splendor

of Carmel and Sharon.

That's like saying

the glory of the Muir Woods

and the splendor

of Napa Valley

and Yosemite Valley

will be given to it.

Can you imagine

a bloom in the desert

of giant redwoods

and sequoias,

of cedars and pines,

of olive trees

and grapevines

that are just

bursting into life.

Isaiah says

it's as if the landscape

will break into a smile

of joy.

Rejoice greatly,

shout for joy,

he says,

because the creator God

is going to send

his Messiah

to this barren,

hard,

cracked,

thirsty,

lifeless place.

and he's going to turn

this great Salt Lake desert

into the central valley

of fertility

and fruitfulness.

Anybody been to the Mojave Desert?

He's going to turn

the Mojave Desert

into Sonoma Valley

with wine

and feasting

and beauty

and joy.

God,

when he sends

his Messiah,

is going to turn

the whole world

into the Garden of Eden,

into a new creation

because that's what

he made us for.

We were made

to walk with God

in the cool

of the day,

in an orchard

of trees,

in a vineyard

of fine wine.

And so why does

the Lord give

his sorrowful people

a vision

in the midst

of this world

that's currently

barren and bleak?

In the midst

of a world

that for them

is bombed out

and in ruins?

A world

that's been scorched

and scarred

by human pride

and violence?

Why does he give them

a vision

for this world

being changed

into a beautiful

and life-giving garden

of rest

and of peace?

Because he wants us

to know that a day

is coming

when your heart

will be satisfied

with joy.

This vision

of a transformed world

speaks to the end

of sin and death.

It speaks to

the reversal

of the curse

that sits heavy

on this world.

It speaks to the end

of a creation

being released

from its bondage

and its groaning

and its decay.

It speaks of a day

when we will fully

enjoy the Lord.

And that's what he means

in verse 2

when he says

they will see

the glory

of the Lord

and the splendor

of our God.

The Lord is

creating this

life-giving

transformation

in the most

barren place

and in the most

unexpected way

not so that we can

experience

and enjoy

the glory

and splendor

of this beautiful

landscape.

He does not

want us to

merely enjoy

the natural

fertility of Lebanon

or the ordered

cultivation

of Carmel

or the innate

attractiveness

of Sharon

which is all

wonderful and good

but no

what he really

wants for us

is to be

awestruck

by a vision

of his own

glory

and his own

splendor.

The majesty

and the beauty

of God

from which

all other

things

derive their

loveliness

and their

attractiveness

because Isaiah

says when you

see the glory

of Yahweh

when you see

the glory

of I am

who I am

when you see

the splendor

of Elohim

when you see

the splendor

of almighty

God

your parched

and barren

heart

will burst

into bloom

and you

will begin

to blossom

with joy

and he

will vivify

you

and he

will fill

you

with the

life

of heaven

he will

put the

life

of God

in your

soul

and he

will turn

you

into a

new

creation

that's

what

Isaiah

is saying

and Isaiah

goes on

and he

says the

reason

that nothing

is blossoming

here

is because

there is

no life

giving

water

in verse

six

he says

water

will gush

forth

in the

wilderness

and streams

in the desert

the burning

sand

will become

a pool

the thirsty

ground

bubbling

springs

in the

haunts

where jackals

once lay

grass and reeds

and papyrus

will grow

when the

Messiah

comes

springs

of water

will supernaturally

well up

from deep

and hidden

places

and they

will gush

forth

and all

those places

that have been

ravaged

all those places

that have been

ruined

will begin

to grow

up into

an oasis

and into

a paradise

Isaiah

knows

that we're

not made

to live

east of

Eden

we're not

made to

live in this

world of

withering

and aging

we're not

made to

live in a

world of

disease

and death

but we're

made for

this world

where God

himself will

come and

give us

new life

and new

creation

where he

will give

us the

water

and the

green

growth

where we

least

expect it

so that

we who

were

burning

sand

spiritually

and we

who were

thirsty

ground

existentially

we will

be changed

into

bubbling

springs

and this

is why

Isaiah

the prophet

is

filling our

heads

with these

poetic

images

of

blossoming

joy

because he

can see

what's going

on in the

life of the

people

the exiled

people of

God

look at

verse 3

he says

strengthen

the feeble

hands

steady the

knees

that give

way

say to

those

fearful

hearts

be strong

do not

fear

your God

will come

he will

come

to save

you

you see

without a

vision

without a

messianic

vision

of the

future

without a

vision of

this future

messianic

king

who's

coming

the people

of God

are perishing

they have

feeble

hands

that

will not

serve

God

they have

weak

and wobbly

knees

that will

not

walk

with

God

they have

fearful

and anxious

hearts

that will

not trust

God

and so

this

prophetic

vision

of the

Messiah

this

prophetic

vision

of his

coming

is meant

to be

medicine

for the

people

of God

it's

meant

to be

like

a

cordial

that

we

drink

and

as

it

goes

down

it

gives

us

strength

and

stability

and

conviction

to the

people

of God

so that

it

steals

our

nerves

so that

it

stiffens

our

resolve

to

live

as

a

counter

cultural

people

in

this

barren

world

you see

if the

Lord

can give

his

people

a

fresh

vision

of

his

own

glory

and his

own

splendor

and the

way

in which

we will

share

in his

glory

and in

his

splendor

when his

Messiah

comes

then he

knows

that that

vision

will

strengthen

our

feeble

hands

and it

will

steady

our

weak

and

wobbly

!

knees

and it

will

put

resolve

and

courage

into

our

fearful

hearts

you guys

with me

Isaiah is

writing to

people who

are

discouraged

he's

writing to

people

whose

lives

are

collapsing

he's

writing to

people who

have their

heads

in their

hands

and they're

afraid

and they're

anxious

they're

depressed

and they're

lonely

they're

tired

and they're

despairing

they feel

barren

they feel

like their

life is

going from

fear

to fear

and they're

ready to

give up

because they

feel like

their future

is just

one of

endless

joy

joy

and Isaiah

says to

them

the Lord

wants to

lift that

heavy burden

from your

shoulders

the Lord

wants to

replace your

fear with

confidence

he wants to

replace your

despair with

hope

he wants to

replace

your fatigue

with

energy

he wants to

replace your

sadness

and your

misery

with his

own joy

and the way

he intends

to do that

is by

revealing

himself

to you

showing you

more of his

own glory

and his

own splendor

encouraging you

that he's

coming

and that when

he comes

he will

come

to save

so how do

we apply

this to our

lives

this advent

well two

things

quickly

if you're

here today

and you're

feeling dry

your life

feels like

that parched

desert

that waterless

wilderness

your soul

feels like

that burning

sand

and that

thirsty

ground

I want to

remind you

that in the

first advent

of Jesus

he came

and he gave

us just a

glimpse

of the glory

and the splendor

of the Lord

and when

we saw him

we heard him

say this

in John 4

he said

whoever drinks

the water

I give them

will never

thirst

indeed

the water

I give

them

will become

in them

a spring

of water

welling up

to eternal

life

he says

something similar

in John

the gospel

of John

John 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

he says

let anyone

who is thirsty

come to me

and drink

whoever believes

in me

as scripture

has said

rivers

of living

water

will flow

from

within them

and by this

he meant

the Holy

Spirit

so friends

do not allow

yourself

to stay

dry

do not allow

yourself

to stay

parched

and thirsty

and burning

go today

go this

month

to the one

that God

sent to save

you

and he

will refresh

you

he will

satisfy you

with living

water

from a place

you know

not which

it comes

the water

of the Holy

Spirit

and he

will turn

you into

a bubbling

spring

he says

he will

turn you

into a

person

who is

not only

refreshed

and satisfied

he will

turn you

into someone

who refreshes

and satisfies

other people

the second

application

is this

that Isaiah

35

I think

is what

C.S.

Lewis

is getting

at

in his

Narnia

Chronicles

when he

talks about

living in a

world

that's

always

winter

but never

Christmas

and yet

knowing

in the midst

of that

world

that Aslan

is somehow

on the

move

he says

wrong

will be

right

when Aslan

comes in

sight

at the

sound

of his

roar

sorrows

will be

no more

when he

bears his

teeth

winter

meets

its

death

and when

he shakes

his mane

we shall

have spring

again

or

if you

had a

British

accent

again

if we

can remember

how

Aslan

came

the first

time

and how

when he

came

he kind

of shook

his mane

a little

bit

and if

we can

know in

our hearts

that he's

on the

move

even now

even though

we can't

see him

then we

can live

through the

winter of

this world

knowing that

we shall

have spring

again

we can

live even

with an

anticipatory

joy

before our

circumstances

even change

one

iota

because we

have a

sure and

a certain

hope that

when Aslan

comes again

and when

Aslan shakes

his mane

one final

and ferocious

time

all the

deserts of

this world

will spring

into bloom

they'll burst

for joy

so friends

let us put

our eyes

on

this one

who has

come

and is

coming

who says

that if we

come to

him

he'll

strengthen

our

feeble

hands

he'll

steady

our

weak

and

wobbly

knees

he'll

give

courage

to our

fearful

hearts

this is

what I

think

Isaiah

is talking

about

when he

talks

about

moving

from

sorrow

to

blossoming

joy

the second

image I

want to

walk us

through

is

from

fear

to

whole

life

salvation

from

fear

to

whole

life

salvation

again

verse 4

he says

say to

those

with

fearful

hearts

be

strong

do

not

fear

your

God

will

come

he

will

come

with

vengeance

with

divine

retribution

he

will

come

to

save

you

yikes

that's

kind

of

intense

right

we

heard

Isaiah

2

last

week

he

talked

about

the

fearful

presence

of

the

Lord

when

he

comes

with

the

splendor

of

his

majesty

and

he

rises

up

from

his

throne

he

will

shake

the

earth

and

the

humble

will

be

exalted

and

the

exalted

will

be

humbled

the

prophets

don't

mess

around

and

that

word

vengeance

is

hard

for

us

because

we

can

only

really

imagine

human

vengeance

right

a

human

kind

of

vengeance

that's

dark

that

is

full

of

self

that's

full

of

malice

vengeance

but

what

Isaiah

is

talking

about

is

divine

vengeance

and

that

word

means

justice

it's

a word

that

means

liberation

for

the

oppressed

!

And

what

he's

talking

about

is

the

divine

judge

who

in

his

justice

sees

the

wrongs

that

are

being

done

to

his

people

that

are

suffering

and

that

he

will

come

to

make

all

those

things

right

that

word

retribution

means

that

the

Lord

sees

all

the

injustices

that

are

being

done

against

his

people

and

it

assures

them

that

in

his

pure

and

perfect

justice

he

will

come

and

he

will

cause

all

of

those

things

to

be

settled

once

and

for

all

and

this

must

have

been

a

huge

relief

and

a

huge

comfort

to

these

suffering

exiles

in

Egypt

and

Assyria

and

Babylon

who

literally

had

been

torn

from

their

homes

who

had

been

alienated

who

had

been

mistreated

who

had

been

abused

right

these

broken

families

with

poor

widows

and

orphans

women

literally

pregnant

women

had

been

torn

open

literally

their

babies

had

been

dashed

against

the

rocks

their

fathers

had

been

cut

down

with

swords

and

spears

no

wonder

they

were

full

of

sorrow

and

sighing

no

wonder

their

hands

were

feeble

and

their

knees

were

weak

and

their

hearts

were

afraid

what a

relief

what a

comfort

it must

have

been

to

know

that

the

judge

of

all

justice

is

coming

to

put

an

end

to

the

darkness

and

this

is

what

Isaiah

says

Messiah

when

God's

Messiah

comes

he's

going

to

right

all

wrongs

and

he's

going

to

heal

all

wounds

and

his

redemption

and

his

rescue

will

not

merely

be

for

our

souls

they'll

be

for

our

bodies

verse

five

he says

then

will

the

eyes

of

the

blind

be

open

and

the

ears

of

the

deaf

unstopped

then

will

the

lame

leap

like

a

deer

and

the

mute

tongues

shout

for

joy

Isaiah

is

describing

a

community

of

people

that

are

disabled

and

who

are

suffering

these

are

blind

people

who

cannot

see

the

sunrise

they

can't

see

a

smiling

!

face

they

can't

see

the

glory

of

God

these

are

blind

people

who

cannot

hear

a

child

laugh

they

cannot

hear

the

voice

of

a

loved

one

they

cannot

hear

the

truth

of

God

these

are

lame

people

who

cannot

walk

they

cannot

dance

they

cannot

serve

God

these

are

mute

people

who

cannot

talk

or

sing

or

declare

the

praises

of

God

they

lost

much

of

their

humanity

how

would

you

feel

if

you

lost

these

faculties

and

these

abilities

but

Isaiah

says

when

God

himself

comes

to

save

when

he

sends

his

Messiah

and

he

arrives

he's

going

to

transform

inability

to

ability

and

lack

into

abundance

and

when

the

Messiah

shows

up

nerves

are

going

to

start

to

heal

and

grow

and

they're

going

to

send

signals

and

receive

signals

so

that

blind

eyes

will

see

this

God

who

saves

and

so

that

deaf

ears

will

hear

the

word

of

this

God

and

so

that

lame

legs

will

leap

in

the

presence

of

God

and

mute

tongues

will

begin

to sing

for joy

in the

worship

of God

all of

these

capacities

are used

to celebrate

with joy

what God

can do

and what

God

has done

these

people

when

Messiah

comes

they're

not

just

going

to

walk

and

begin

to

get

strength

back

in

their

legs

and

just

totter

around

he says

no

they're

going

to

jump

they're

going

to

leap

they're

going

to

bound

they're

going

to

dance

for

God

he says

these

are

people

who

cannot

speak

they're

not

just

going

to

be

able

to

get

the

ability

to

mumble

a few

things

no

he says

they're

not

just

going

to

talk

they're

going

to

shout

they're

going

to

praise

God

at

the

top

of

their

lungs

they're

going

to

be

human

again

when

the

Messiah

comes

friends

do you

see

what