Date:   12/12/04

Text:    Isaiah 35:1-10

Title:   Behold Your God Will Come

Theme: God comes to restore us and take us on a journey of going home.

Introduction:

  Many of you are making plans either to go home and visit your family members or getting your home ready for family members to come back. Christmas is the season when we want to be with our family. There is this longing and desire to be home.

  Isaiah 35 is about the Israelites looking forward to going home. They'd had lived in exile in a foreign land for 70 years. Their homeland was deserted and ruined. They looked forward to the day when their God would come and take them home. He would restore their lives, their land, their city and temple. They would see his glory again. Yet at the same time, this chapter is also about the coming of the Messiah; Jesus Christ. It is appropriate for us to read and study this passage on the 3 rd Sunday of Advent.

  The key verse in this chapter is found in 4b and 4c, “….Behold, your God will come….He will come…..” This prophecy is about God coming to his people to restore them and take them home.

I.   God comes to restore his created world. 1-2

  Vs.1-2, “ 1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; 2 it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, t he majesty of Carmel and Sharon . They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. ” Vs.6, “… For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; …. the grass shall become reeds and rushes. ” The Israelites looked forward to the coming of their God. For when He comes, He'd restore their land. Wilderness will now have the beauty and strength of Lebanon ; of ordered cultivation ( Carmel ) and the attractiveness of Sharon . It will be a safe place. This is a reverse of the Genesis curse after man had sinned against God. The creation would once again manifest its beauty and glory. And moreover, in the glory of nature, one sees the glory of God.

  In Romans 8:22, “ 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together ……. as we wait eagerly …… .” Yes, Christ has already come; but the entire creation is still waiting for his second coming. On that day, there will be the total restoration of the physical and natural world; a complete reversal of the Genesis curse. Now we see the partial glory of the created world. When Christ comes again, we shall see its full glory. Now the created world reflects a portion of God's glory, but when he comes, we'll see God's full glory through the glory of his creation..

  In this advent season, we look forward to Jesus Christ's first coming, and also with certainty, looking forward to his coming again. We, along with the entire creation, eagerly wait for this day when he will bring full restoration to the physical world.

II.   God comes to restore his people.

  Yes, when God comes he will restore the natural world. But there is more. Here Isaiah looks forward to the coming of God when he will bring restoration to his people. I would like to make two observations here.

1.   God's people are weak and helpless.

  Vs.3-6, “ 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. ….. 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. ” God's people are weak in hands, feeble in their knees and with anxious hearts. It is a description of those who have difficulties in actions, who are unstable and cannot make up their minds (that is, with no convictions). Moreover, his people are those who are physically and spiritually blind, deaf, mute, and lame. In other words, in both the ancient and present societies, they are not the winners. They are the weaklings and are despised by the world. Yet two times we are reminded that it is ‘our' God, ‘your' God.

  Don't we sometimes feel that we are weak and helpless? We can't express our thoughts and feeling, and have difficulty understanding others' words. We feel so inadequate to solve others' and our own problems. We read but have difficulty understand God's words. Very often we are confused about what is right and wrong. And when we do know, we lack the courage to speak out or act on it. We feel we are defeated and useless vessels. We are the nobodies.

And you know what? It is to such people, we read that he is our God, your God. We notice that Jesus' entire life was spent among those who are weak, anxious, lame, deaf, mute and blind. In 1 Corinthians 1:28, Paul writes, “ 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, ….” Your God, my God, our God is the God of the weak, tired, confused, discouraged and dejected.

2.   God will bring strength to his people

  Having said this, what do we do with our weaknesses? When we come together, do we just affirm and congratulate one another on our being blind, mute, deaf and lame? What does God do to his people? vs.3-6, ‘ 3 Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who have an anxious heart, “ Be strong; fear not! ……” 5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy…' He strengthens the weak, encourages the anxious, he heals the blind, lame, deaf and the mute. Isn't this what Christ did on earth? Matthew 11;4-5, “ 4 And Jesus answered them, "“Go and tell John what you hear and see:" 5 "the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them."

Moreover, vs.4, “Behold, Your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God.” This means when the Lord comes, he will set things right. He will correct the wrong suffered by his people. He will undo the wrong done to his people. In Romans 12:19, we read, “ 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

This is your God, our God. With the first coming of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, he began to restore our lives. He has strengthened our weak hands and knees. He has opened our spiritual eyes and ears so we see him and hear his words. He has opened our mouth so we can praise him. He has given us strength in the midst of trials and courage to speak and do what is right and good. He quiets our hearts so it will not be anxious.

In the recent Christianity Today is an article titled, “Cheated by the Church”. The writer shared about his struggle and temptation with his homosexual tendency. He visited some churches and they told him that he was ok and fine. Only after he realized that this was wrong and not ok, he began to seek God's help and gained strength to resist the temptation. In God, he found true freedom. God brings healing and restoration to our broken lives. As I look at you, I also see how God has brought wholeness and healing into many broken lives among us.

However, what we experience now is partial restoration. At times we are still weak and feeble. We still can't see or hear well his instructions and fail to stand up. And how we look forward to the day when he will change us completely into his likeness; when there is the total restoration. Sometimes we see him correcting the wrong done to us, but we know for certain that there will come a day when all the wrongs done to us will be corrected.

  God comes to us to restore us and there is more to this.

III.   God comes to bring His people home on the highway he built.

  Vs.8-10, “ 8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it………the redeemed shall walk there. 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; …” The Israelites waited for God to come. What for? He would build a highway through the wilderness. Where would this high way lead to: To Zion. Zion is the city of God , symbolizing his dwell place. It is his home. God comes to build a road that leads into his presence. In his presence, is strength for the weak, encouragement for the anxious and healing for the sick. Home is the place of hope. He comes to bring his people home. Let's take a closer look at this.

1. Only the redeemed can travel on this highway.

  Vs. 4c, “…he will come and save you.” Vs. 8, “ the unclean shall not pass over it.; ….. but the redeemed shall walk there. 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing ..” Who travels down this highway to God's city, God's presence? They are the clean ones, the saved, the redeemed, the ransomed ones.

  This is the language used to describe Israelites' exodus experience. They were saved, redeemed, and delivered from the bondage in Egypt . Isaiah looked forward to the day when the Israelites will be freed from the Babylonian captivity. But more than this, he is also looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. 500 years later, an angel appeared to Joseph, Matthew 1:20-21, “ Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 30 years later, Jesus said, Mark 10:45, “ 45 "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Who can travel down this highway into God's presence? The redeemed, the ransomed ones are those who have placed their faith in God. They are holy not because of merits, but because God has considered them as righteous, as holy. And as they continue to obey him, they also become more and more holy. And for this reason, this highway is also called the Way of Holiness.

2. This is the only way available.

  We have seen what life can be when God comes to his people and bring them home. There is comfort, encouragement, strength and healing. Who doesn't want to go into his presence? Who doesn't want the blessing? Who doesn't want salvation and be delivered? Who doesn't want to go to heaven, the perfect dwelling place? But isn't true that we all want to get there in our own ways? We want to build our own highways and rewrite the rules. But here it is very clear that if we want to get into God's presence, there is only one way, it is the way he has built. 35:8, “And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness.” Jesus said, John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." The way to go HOME is through the highway built by God. The way to God is through Jesus Christ, the only Way.

  To get onto this highway, we have to first acknowledge we are weak, anxious, and spiritually blind, deaf, lame and mute. Every aspect of our being is tainted by sin. We are wearing a filthy rag. We only deserve God's wrath. Jesus came into the world 2K years ago. He was clean, without any sins. At the end of his life, on that cross, God placed our dirty rag on Jesus, put Jesus' righteousness, the clean cloth on us. This is how we are clean. This is how he delivered us from God's wrath. This is how we become the redeemed, the ransomed. This is how we can travel on this highway to God.

  Moreover, when we travel on this highway, vs.10, “ 10 And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. ” This is a happy and joyous journey. There is joy, unbroken and unbreakable happiness.

Conclusion:

  Have you ever wondered why there is this longing to go home during this time of the year? It is really a reflection of our longing to go into God's presence, our ultimate home. It is a home full of hope; a place of perfect rest; a place where sin cannot molest. A place where there is total and complete healing of body and soul.

  We can go to Sugar Land via 90 or 59, or highway 6. But to get to God's presence, our home, it has to be on the highway he built. We cannot write our own rules or take our own highway; it has to be through Jesus Christ. We have to acknowledge our own total depravity, that every aspect of our life has been tainted by sin. We are to accept the righteousness God has placed on us and to follow and be obedient to him. And you know what, even as we start our journey home, we can begin to experience his strength, comfort, encouragement and healing power. Because of this present and limited healing and restoration, we can know for certain that when we arrive home one day, we'll experience total healing and restoration. Here we see a part of his glory through the world around us; on that day, we'll see him as he is; in his total glory. This is our hope. And with this hope before us, we can travel down this highway with unbroken and unbreakable joy.

Our God has come to take us with him on this journey Home. His Holy Spirit and his grace is with us that we can begin to experience what home is like. And one day He will come again to make sure we arrive at his home.

  May I invite you to come and take this journey with us?