["Pomp and Circumstance"]
Good evening. We're in Isaiah chapter 35.
And the chapter reads,
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them,
and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose.
It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it,
the excellency of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God.
Strengthen ye the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees.
Say to them that our fearful heart be strong.
Fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance,
even God with a recompense. He will come and save you.
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as in heart
and the tongue of the dumb sing.
For in the wilderness shall waters break out
and streams in the desert
and a parched ground shall become a pool
and the thirsty land springs of water
and the habitation of dragons where each lay
shall be grasped with reeds and rushes.
And in highway shall be there and away
and it shall be called the way of holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
but it shall be for those, the wayfaring men,
the fools shall not err therein.
No line shall be there, nor any ravenous beast
shall go up thereon. It shall not be found there,
but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
and come to Zion with songs
and everlasting joy upon their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Let's pray. We thank you, Heavenly Father,
for the King James Bible, dear God.
We're thankful for every blessing you have blessed us with,
dear God, and this wonderful church you have given us, dear God.
Thank you for our pastor.
Please bless him as he preaches your word.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
Okay, we're going to continue our series tonight
on the book of Isaiah.
And so we're in chapter 35 this evening.
And again, it's only about ten verses.
I'm not sure how long I'm going to be tonight,
but we are going to cover these ten verses.
And as I mentioned throughout the series in the book of Isaiah,
a lot of what Isaiah talks about
deals with the new heaven and the new earth,
the millennial reign.
And throughout the book,
we just get different types of glimpses throughout the book
that describe what we're going to experience
when we go into the millennial reign
and the new heaven and the new earth.
And it's the same here in chapter 35.
Now, look at verse number 1 here.
We're going to look at the new earth described.
Now, before I get into the actual chapter itself,
when we talk about the new heaven and the new earth,
we're obviously referring to something that's post-millennium, right?
The millennial reign of Jesus Christ
comes after that seven-year Daniel 70th week,
three and a half years of tribulation,
three and a half years of God's wrath.
You have the battle of Armageddon.
And then after the battle of Armageddon,
Jesus Christ sets up his millennial physical reign here on this earth
for a thousand years,
meaning that he's essentially the king of the earth.
And his laws are being instituted.
His laws are being carried out.
The Bible says that we shall rule and reign with him
for those thousand years.
And it's a glorious era where we see what the world is like
having Jesus Christ as the ultimate magistrate of this world.
But even then, in the millennial reign,
as perfect as we would consider it to be,
you know, the fact that Christians are essentially ruling the earth at that time,
the laws of God are being instituted,
God himself, Jesus, is on the throne in Jerusalem ruling the world,
you know, it's still not a perfect world
because of the fact that sin is still present in the world.
Sin has not yet been removed.
We obviously understand that the devil, at that point,
is in a bottomless pit
and he is essentially in prison for a thousand years.
But still, sinful men exist.
People are living and dying.
People are still committing sins.
That has not yet been removed from the earth.
And so even though Jesus Christ is physically ruling and reigning,
it's still an imperfect world.
And the best way to describe this,
or the best way to understand it, should I say,
it's like when we get saved, right?
When we get saved, we got the new man living within us,
and in fact, you know, we have Jesus Christ in us, the hope of glory,
but you know what, we're not perfect
because we still have the sinful flesh in our bodies
and we have to make the body submit to the will of the Spirit,
we have to make ourselves overcome sin and repent of sin
and obey the laws of God, right?
We have to purposely and intentionally do those things,
but we're not perfect, okay?
And we essentially live like that for the remainder of our life.
It's a constant battle between the flesh and the Spirit,
a constant battle between wanting to do that which our flesh wants to do
and that which the Spirit wants us to do.
And the way we can make our flesh do what God wants us to do
is by walking in the Spirit,
making sure that we are subjecting the flesh to the laws of God
and doing what we're supposed to be doing,
but you know, that's how we're going to live life.
But after the thousand year reign is over,
you have a period called an eternal period
known as the new heaven and the new earth
where sin is completely removed out of the picture,
Satan is completely removed out of the picture,
unregenerated man is no longer present,
and the earth and everything in the earth
is completely glorified and made perfect, right?
And this is what people would consider to be
the perfect eternal state of man, right?
When we are dwelling with God, not just Jesus Christ,
but yea, now we're dwelling with God the Father, okay?
The new Jerusalem comes down and glorifies the world,
sin is completely eradicated, it's no longer present,
and a new earth is made.
And we obviously understand that we are a new creature now, right?
But because we have that flesh, it's going to be that battle,
it's not until the resurrection that we're made holistically perfect,
meaning our bodies made perfect,
along with our spirit that's already perfect,
and so we see that the new heaven and the new earth
kind of pictures the salvation of a person, right?
Because when a person gets saved,
it's kind of like that millennial reign,
but it's not until the new heaven and the new earth,
so to speak, where we are completely made new,
that resurrection, and so the new earth
is what we're looking at in this particular chapter.
Look at verse 1, it says,
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them,
and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.
Now what is this referring to?
Well we know the context of the last couple chapters
has been Judah and Jerusalem,
and he's saying here that the wilderness and solitary places
of Judah, of Jerusalem, you know, one day we'll be glad.
One day the desert shall rejoice.
It's like the blossom as the rose.
And what this is referring to is the fact that
immediately after the victory over the Assyrians,
you know, the land of Judah is going to experience a time of peace.
They are going to experience a time of gladness,
a time of rejoicing,
but this is also picturing the fact that the world one day
will also experience a time of rejoicing,
will also experience a time of gladness,
and will blossom as the rose as well
because it's made completely new.
So this verse implies that the land is lacking
a sense of rejoicing and gladness right now.
So you say, you mean right now as in the time of the book of Isaiah, right?
Well yeah, but even now,
because Jerusalem, Israel right now,
is not a place of rejoicing or gladness.
And in fact, the Bible tells us that
the Israel at this moment is spiritually Egypt and Sodom.
It's not a place of rejoicing,
it's not a place of gladness,
it's not a place where the blossom,
it's blossoming as a rose,
it's a place where it's lacking these good qualities.
But one day the Lord will turn Judah as a rose, right?
One day it'll be a pleasant place to visit.
You know, I wouldn't recommend anybody to go to Israel right now
or Judah or Jerusalem right now.
You know, it's not worth going there right now
because it's not a place that exalts the Lord Jesus Christ.
And here's the thing is that,
you know, right now it's a place where they reject the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's a place where they hate the Lord Jesus Christ.
But yea, even Judah, Jerusalem, Israel,
one day will be a place that will become beautiful,
full of gladness, and full of rejoicing.
So this is prophetic of the new earth.
And so what happens in the new earth?
Well, we're going to go through those passages and revelations in just a bit.
But essentially what the Lord does is that he terraforms,
or as the Bible puts it, he glorifies the current earth
in order to make it habitable for eternity.
You see, the current state of the earth right now,
everything dies, right?
You know, plants die, vegetations die, people die,
there's death present, and so it's constantly renewing itself,
people are constantly dying, things are constantly perishing,
whereas one day in the new earth,
it'll be completely glorified, terraformed in order to make it habitable
so we can live there forever.
And at that point, the earth will never decay.
At that point, the earth will never be destroyed,
it'll never decay, everything will live forever, okay?
And here's a good way to explain it.
Everyone is familiar with the concept of the Garden of Eden.
And any time you think of the Garden of Eden,
you think, oh man, that's like paradise.
That's like a perfect condition right there.
That's like, you know, that is what we would want as human beings
to be in a paradise such as Eden.
Well, the new earth is Eden restored.
Because at this current time, you know, we're not experiencing Eden.
Right now, there's sin in this world, it's very corrupt,
a lot of wickedness that takes place here in this world,
but one day in the new earth, Eden,
those conditions will be once again restored, okay?
So if you can picture it that way.
And the new earth will be the eternal dwelling place of believers.
That's hard for a lot of Christians to think about
because most Christians think, well, once we die,
isn't the eternal state in heaven?
Isn't that the place where we'll go?
And often when we preach the gospel to people,
we say, are you 100% sure that if you die today that you'd go to heaven, right?
And that's very much biblical.
However, what the Bible teaches is that even after heaven,
the eternal state of man, of believers, will actually be the earth, okay?
You say, well, I don't know, you know,
I thought Jehovah's Witnesses believed something like that.
Don't they say stuff like that?
They do, but they got it from us, okay?
And let me just be real honest with you,
Jehovah's Witnesses aren't going to be in the new earth, okay?
They're going to be in a place called the Lake of Fire, all right?
And that's their eternal state.
Eternal state, forever.
Whereas believers, you know, God made the earth to be inhabited.
I mean, when he created Adam and Eve, where did he place them, in heaven?
Well, he placed them on earth, right?
He placed them in earth, in Eden.
He made this place to be inhabited by man,
to procreate in order to exist and to please the Lord.
That was his original purpose.
But obviously everything became corrupt.
So the last state of man, what God wants, God's will,
is for this earth to continue to be inhabited in a perfect state
where he can actually, you know, walk with man
as he used to in the Garden of Eden.
Because the Bible tells us that the Lord would walk with Adam
in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden.
Well, that fellowship has been destroyed, right, because of sin.
But one day when sin is completely removed out of the picture,
not the millennial reign, but in the new earth,
the Bible says that God the Father will dwell with man.
He will be their God. They shall be his people.
And so that is the eternal dwelling place.
And this is why the Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth,
not heaven, but the earth.
You're like, oh, man, that sounds weird.
You know, I thought we were going to be in heaven forever.
Well, really, you know, salvation, eternity,
what makes salvation salvation, what makes eternity eternity
is the fact that we're with God, no matter where he is, right?
And so, you know, obviously we're all going to die here.
And when we do, if we're saved, if you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ,
if you placed your faith in Jesus Christ exclusively for your salvation,
you will be in heaven.
But one day you will return to this earth to rule and reign with Jesus Christ
in this world until the new heaven and the new earth.
And so the current earth is still under a great curse due to the fall of man.
I mean, this earth is beautiful, right?
There's a lot of beauty in this world.
There's a lot of things to enjoy, a lot of food to enjoy.
I mean, we're going to have a great time tonight.
And this current earth is a blessing to a certain degree.
But let's just be honest, it's filled with cursings as well.
It's a very hostile environment for us, even as Christians, right?
But one day it will not be that way.
He promises to create a new earth and he will do that by transfiguring it,
meaning that he will remove Satan permanently.
He will remove sin permanently.
He will remove death permanently.
He will remove the unregenerated man permanently.
He will remove hell permanently.
Because death and hell are relocated to the lake of fire.
And then he will place new Jerusalem on the earth permanently
and God the Father will permanently dwell with believers.
Let me read to you from Isaiah 65 verse 17.
It says, For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to mind.
So this is implying that when we're in that new heaven and new earth,
according to the Bible, it seems as though God's going to actually wipe our memory clear.
Now, how many things of the old earth or the old heaven will we retain?
We don't necessarily know.
It seems to imply, according to Revelation chapter 21,
that that which is filled with sorrow and pain will be completely removed.
But it says here that the former things shall not be remembered.
It's not even going to come to mind what the old world was like.
It says in verse 18, But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create.
For behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.
And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people,
and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her nor the voice of crying.
Now, let me ask you this before we move on.
If he's saying here, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy,
wouldn't that imply that they're currently not a people who bring joy?
That's basically what it's implying, right?
Because according to the Bible,
those of Israel are a curse unto the nation because of the rejection of Jesus Christ.
But one day it will not be that way.
One day they will be a joy to the world because God will create a new earth.
And the Bible tells us in the New Testament that the whole creation groaneth
and travaileth and pain together until now.
What does that mean?
It means, you know, all of the world, the animals, you know, creation, the environment,
we groan in ourselves waiting for that new creation.
You know, if you're a Christian and you're dedicated to the Lord,
you're reading the Bible, you want to serve God.
There's a constant grief that you deal with, which is your flesh.
You know, sometimes you fail God and you don't do the things you're supposed to do.
And because you love the Lord, it probably grieves you at your heart.
It, you know, it kind of grieves you.
It saddens you.
It frustrates you.
There's a battle between the flesh and the spirit constantly.
That's what's called groaning within ourselves waiting for that,
waiting for that new earth, that new heaven.
Let me read to you from Revelation.
Actually, turn to Revelation, if you would.
Chapter 21, Revelation chapter 21.
Hold your place there in Isaiah because we're going to come right back,
but we're also going to go back to Revelation again.
So look at Revelation 21.
And Revelation 21 is the fulfillment of Isaiah 65
and all the passages dealing with the new heaven and the new earth.
It says in Revelation chapter 21 in verse number 1,
by the way, Revelation is at the very end of the Bible.
It's the last book of the Bible.
21, it says, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away,
and there was no more seed.
Look at verse number 5.
It says, And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.
And he said unto me, Write, for these words are faithful and true.
So I want you to notice it says that they shall pass away.
It doesn't say they cease to exist.
The world passing away means it's going to die away,
and the new earth is essentially a resurrection,
a glorification of that earth that passed away.
Just like when we physically die, what do we say of people that die?
They passed away.
It doesn't mean that their bodies cease to exist.
It means they die.
And when we die, we will receive a resurrected body at the rapture, right?
We are made new.
We are made glorified in order to be in the presence of God.
Go back to Isaiah chapter 35 here in verse number 2.
It says, It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy in singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it.
The excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord
and the excellency of our God.
And of course, this is still referring to the new earth,
and it's essentially saying that this is the time where God
will dwell with people.
Now, obviously, during the millennial reign,
God is dwelling with people in the second person known as Jesus Christ, right?
And during that time, we actually see Jesus Christ,
will be with Jesus Christ,
but God the Father will be dwelling still in heaven during that time.
And it's not until the new earth where we actually get to see God the Father there.
Let me read to you from Revelation 21 in verse number 2.
It says, The night John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of the heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,
and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people,
and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.
Now, that's an indicator that it's obviously referring to God the Father
since this is a period after the millennial reign
where God the Son was dwelling with them.
So we know that God's already dwelling with them,
so this is obviously referring to the first person of the Trinity
referring to God the Father,
being their God and the people being His people, okay?
And in fact, go back to Revelation, if you would.
Look at chapter 22 of Revelation.
Revelation chapter 22, and look at verse number 1.
It says, And He showed me a pure river of water of life.
This is referring to that new earth,
clearest crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it, on either side of the river,
was there the tree of life, which bared twelve manna of fruits
and yielded her fruit every month,
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there shall be no more curse,
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it,
and His servants shall serve Him.
I want you to notice verse number 4.
It says, And they shall see His face.
Now, obviously, they've already seen the face of Jesus Christ,
so this is referring to God the Father.
It says, They shall see His face,
and His name shall be in their foreheads,
showing us conclusively that we see God the Father
finally in the new heaven, new earth, okay?
This is what that's referring to.
Go back to Isaiah, if you would, chapter 35.
So in chapter 35, we see a new earth described.
This earth is void of sin, this earth is void of Satan,
because after this, or excuse me, right before this,
Satan is cast into the lake of fire
where the beast and the false prophet are.
Prior to this, you have the great white throne judgment
where everyone who's not saved,
those who have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ,
who were in hell, will be judged according to their works
to confirm their condemnation,
and the Bible says that they will be cast
into the lake of fire as well.
And by the way, this is why you should believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
A lot of religions and a lot of churches
will often tell you that in order to be saved,
meaning in order for you to go to heaven,
you have to do good works, you have to be a good person,
you have to stop sinning, you have to be baptized,
you have to follow the commandments,
and you have to do X, Y, and Z,
whereas the Bible tells us that the way to be saved
is by placing your faith in Jesus Christ only,
meaning you believe, you trust that Jesus Christ
is sufficient to save you.
You believe that his death,
barren resurrection is sufficient to save you.
The Bible says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus and believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be, listen to this, saved,
for what the heart man believeth unto righteousness
and what the mouth confession is made unto salvation,
for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord,
the Bible says, shall be saved.
Thank God that you know salvation.
You say, I thought, you know,
isn't this a Thanksgiving banquet?
Well, you know, here's something to be thankful for.
The fact that salvation is free.
It does not require your works.
It doesn't require your obedience to God's command
because no one is able to keep the commandments of God
perfectly other than the Lord Jesus Christ,
and none of us are Jesus.
He kept all of God's commandments perfectly
in order for his righteousness to be imputed upon us
when we believe on him, and so salvation is a free gift.
The Bible says, for by grace are you saved through faith,
and listen to this, and that not of yourselves.
You could insert there not of your works,
not of your ability to keep God's commandments,
not of your righteousness.
It says not of yourselves.
It is the gift of God, not of works,
in case you missed it the first time,
lest any man should boast, the Bible says.
Meaning that God, the only thing that God requires
for you to go into heaven is that you trust 100%
on Jesus Christ to give you the gift of eternal life.
And by the way, once you have that gift,
guess what?
You have it forever.
Meaning that salvation cannot be lost
because if it could be lost, it wouldn't be considered,
listen to this, eternal, because eternal is forever.
If it was something that could be lost,
it would be called a what?
A temporal life, but God is not a man
that he should lie.
The Bible says in hope of eternal life,
which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.
And so in order to be saved,
you have to believe only on Jesus Christ,
and you have to believe that you can't lose your salvation,
because if you believe you could lose it,
you're essentially calling God a liar.
And we know that God is not a man that he should lie.
And so when you get saved, you receive this promise.
You will be in the new heaven, the new earth.
So we see a description of the new heaven
the new, excuse me, the new earth.
Now we're gonna look at the new bodies that are described.
And verse number three says,
strengthen ye the weak hands,
and confirm the feeble knees.
Now this is obviously implying that the current hands
and knees of God's people are weak.
Because he's saying, you know,
you guys gotta strengthen your weak hands
and confirm or make strong the feeble or weak knees.
Now what are hands for?
What is this referring to?
Hands are for working.
And what is the symbolic nature of the knees?
Knees are for praying.
So this is implying that God's people are not working,
and they're not praying.
Now this is a good admonition for us, even in 2024.
We need to make sure that we strengthen our hands,
put our hands to the plow, and do work for God, amen?
To maintain good works, that we maintain the first works.
Why?
Because the Bible says that we are his workmanship.
Created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We should do works for God.
Now if you never do works for God,
but you believe on Jesus Christ,
the Bible says you're still saved.
Because to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth thee in God
that his faith is counted for righteousness.
But you know what?
We've moved beyond that,
because we know we can't lose our salvation.
So now, we need to make sure
that we understand our responsibility to work.
Strengthen, listen to this, the weak hands,
and confirm, not just work, but look what it says,
confirm the feeble knees.
What is this referring to?
You know, we need to pray as well.
On Sunday morning, we talked about prayer,
and the importance of prayer, and how to pray,
and we gave some principles in that regard.
You can listen to that sermon online if you'd like to.
The point that he's making here is that
hands need to be strengthened to work,
knees need to be confirmed in order to pray.
Look at verse four.
Say to them that are of a fearful heart,
be strong, fear not, for behold,
your God will come with vengeance.
Even God was a recompense.
He will come and save you.
And what is he saying here?
You need to change your heart.
And why do we need to change our hearts,
or why do God's people need to change their hearts?
Because they're fearful, constantly afraid,
constantly worried, constantly thinking,
what's gonna happen?
And the Bible says, be strong, fear not.
Behold, your God will come with vengeance.
And obviously in this context,
the reason God's people are fearful
is because of the Assyrians who are gonna come
and destroy them, or are threatening to destroy them.
So they have this fear that the Assyrians
are gonna take advantage of them,
they're gonna destroy them,
and God is telling them, hey, be strong,
don't be afraid.
And obviously sometimes that's easier said than done.
But here it's telling us to have confidence in God
that he will recompense, he will save us,
he will come with vengeance upon our enemies.
Look at verse five.
It says, then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
And what this is referring to is that in the new earth,
you're not gonna have handicapped individuals,
meaning everyone will be able to see clearly,
they'll be able to understand the word of God clearly,
they'll be able to hear clearly.
You know, right now you talk to people about the Bible
and they just kind of look at you,
they give you the fluoride stare, right?
They're just kind of like, what, you know?
You talk to people about the Bible,
you show them from the scriptures,
and they're just like, they're not interested.
There is a blockage there, right?
There's something that they can't get over.
This is why the Bible says they have to overcome.
Their minds have been blinded, the Bible says.
The God of this world who has blinded the minds
of them which believe not.
But there's gonna come a day
when those scales are completely removed,
the ears will be unstopped,
and they will be able to understand God perfectly.
And look, I'm saved, I've been saved for 17 years,
and I understand the Bible,
but I don't understand everything about the Bible.
Now, I understand everything
that is essential about the faith, though.
You know, it's not like I'm wondering about salvation,
like, yeah, I'm still trying to figure
this salvation thing out or whatever.
Salvation is very clear in the Bible.
There's a lot of key doctrines in the faith
that we understand plainly, but let's just be honest.
There's a lot of stuff about the Bible
that we don't yet understand.
Now, luckily, it has nothing to do with our salvation,
has nothing to do with, you know,
the essentials of our faith,
but there are fourth, fifth, sixth types of doctrines
that we just don't understand.
They're very cryptic in the Bible.
But you know, one day the Bible says
that everything will be made completely clear.
You'll be able to see everything plainly.
You'll be able to understand everything plainly,
and in fact, let me read to you from Hebrews 8.
You don't have to turn there.
Verse 10 says,
For this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, saith the Lord.
I will put my laws into their mind
and write them in their hearts,
and I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people,
and they shall not teach every man his neighbor
and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord, for all shall know me,
from the least to the greatest.
It sounds like people will be able to see clearly
and hear clearly in the new earth.
Look at verse number six of Isaiah 35.
It says,
Then shall the lame man leap as in heart
and the tongue of the dumb sing,
for in the wilderness shall waters break out
and streams in the desert.
Now, this is actually partially fulfilled
when Jesus Christ came,
because if you remember in the book of Acts,
if you've read through the book of Acts,
there's a story in Acts chapter three
where there's a lame man,
and he is at the beautiful gate,
and the Bible tells us that he's begging for food.
He's begging for resources, right?
And Peter goes up there,
and the guy's asking for alms,
and Peter says,
Silver and gold have I none,
but such as I have give I thee,
in the name of Jesus Christ,
rise up and walk.
So he's like, I don't got money.
I don't got silver or gold,
but how about this, walk?
And lame means that he's not able to walk.
He's not like the way we use lame today,
like you're lame,
like you're, I don't know,
what's the synonym for lame today?
Okay.
You suck, you know?
Lame just means like,
in the Bible,
it means that you're unable to walk, okay?
You're handicapped.
So he tells them,
Silver and gold have I none,
and then the man starts walking
and leaping and praising God.
Now spiritually,
that's kind of what happened to us,
because before salvation,
we were spiritually lame.
Why?
We can't walk to heaven.
We couldn't walk to the Savior.
We couldn't walk to the standard of God.
We can't walk ourselves in the commandments.
We couldn't walk in the Spirit, right?
Because the Spirit was dead and trespasses and sin.
But when we got saved,
now we're able to leap.
Now we're able to walk in the Spirit,
not fulfill the lust of the flesh,
walk in the commandments of God.
We're able to leap as a heart.
We're able to run and not faint
and be strengthened by the Spirit of God.
But what this is saying here in Isaiah is that,
yeah, spiritually,
that will be fulfilled,
that was fulfilled when Jesus first came,
but then it will be completely fulfilled in the new earth
because no handicapped person will exist at that time.
You know, whatever ailment you have today
will be completely gone.
And I'm all for living healthy,
eating healthy,
lifting and exercising.
That's all good.
But you know what?
Let me just tell you,
you can do that all you want.
You're going to die still.
I'm just, I don't want to be negative or anything,
but you know,
you can be on carnivore and on a deficit
and you can lift and be strong
and have a healthy heart,
but you're not going to be able to beat death physically.
You're going to physically die one day.
But the great thing is,
is that we will receive a resurrected body
where our body would no longer be incapacitated by sin.
It will no longer be lame.
It will no longer be hindered from living forever.
We will never die.
Okay.
And this is what this is referring to
is the fact that that is completely removed.
Look at verse seven.
And the parched ground shall become a pool
and the thirsty land springs of water
in the habitation of dragons where each lay
shall be grass with reeds and rushes.
This is referring to the fact that even though now,
spiritually speaking,
it's like a desert,
it's like a wilderness absent of fresh water,
spiritually speaking,
you know,
in the new earth,
everything will be like a pool.
There'll be springs of water springing up everywhere.
And again,
this was fulfilled when Jesus Christ first came,
because the Bible says,
Jesus said in John 7 38,
he that believeth on me,
as the scripture had said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
But this spake he of the spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive,
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
And the reason the Bible is describing it in this manner
is because before salvation,
we were thirsty for the truth.
We were thirsty for eternal life.
We were parched,
not knowing where we're going to go when we die.
Right?
Whereas when we got saved,
that was quenched, right?
That thirst was quenched.
Rivers of living water came into our soul.
We got saved.
And now we shall never thirst again,
meaning we shall never die.
Okay?
We have been completely and totally fulfilled eternally
through Jesus Christ.
Look at verse eight.
Now we're going to look at,
so we saw a new earth described,
a new body described,
and now we're going to look at a new way described.
Verse eight says,
and in highway shall be there,
and a way,
and it shall be called the way of holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
but it shall be for those,
the wayfaring men,
though fools shall not err therein.
Now what is this referring to
when it talks about the highway shall be there?
Well, I believe it's referring to the highway of salvation,
the road of salvation.
Okay?
And I'm going to explain to you what I mean in just a bit.
Go with me if you would to,
turn with me if you would to 1 Corinthians chapter six,
1 Corinthians chapter six,
because keep in mind,
this is all BC.
Isaiah is prophesying of a new way that will come,
a highway,
a different road, right?
And it's referring to that highway of salvation.
Now why is that?
Well, I'm going to read to you from Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 19,
it says,
having therefore, brethren,
boldest to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way,
which he had consecrated for us through the veil,
that is to say, his flesh,
and having an high priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with the true heart and full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water.
So the Bible's telling us here that Jesus Christ
provided a new and living way.
Now,
there are two ways in this world.
He said, no, no, no, there's a ton of religions in this world.
Yeah, but they can be broken up into two ways,
two roads,
two highways.
One is a highway to hell,
as those godless people sing about, right?
There is a highway to hell,
and then there's a highway to heaven.
And the Bible tells us,
enter ye in at the straight gate,
for wide is the gate and broad is the way
that leadeth to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat.
Now, what is it referring to when it talks about that broad way?
It's not referring to, you know, the works that you do,
it's referring to the fact that there's a road that leads to hell,
and the vast majority of the people in this world are taking that road,
which is why it needs to be broad.
When it says broad, it means wide.
It means it's able to fill a lot of people.
And the reason the Bible calls the way to heaven narrow,
it's not because, oh, it's because it's so strict.
It's because we have to do all these works.
It's because we have to keep all of God's commandments.
The straight way is implying that not many people are going that way.
So it doesn't require a wide space to inhabit those people
or to make a road for those people,
because there's going to be a lot more people in hell
than there are people in heaven.
And let me say this.
Every religion in this world, even some aspects of Christianity,
if they don't teach the right salvation, they're taking that broad way.
They're going that broad way to hell.
They're going through that.
And you can talk to all types of people that are going down that road
and they have various opinions about the afterlife, do they not?
Oh, you know, I think if you're just a good person, you'll go to heaven.
Well, you might as well line up with the Buddhists
because they think the same thing, even though they don't call it heaven.
You might as well line up with the Hindus, the Buddhists,
yeah, even the Jehovah's Witnesses, yeah, even the Mormons.
Well, the Mormon says we're going to go to like a different planet.
Yeah, you can call that planet hell or something.
You could rename hell all you want.
It's not going to change the way it's going to feel when you get there.
It says broad is the way because the vast majority of people in this world
are going to reject the free gift of eternal life.
That's fact.
He says straight is the gate, narrow is the way which leadeth into life,
and few there be that find it.
So few that, quite frankly, it doesn't require a broad way.
It requires just a narrow path.
And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me.
Those who take the broad way are not happy with that statement.
The people who take the broad way say, how can you say you're the right religion?
Everyone says they're the right religion.
Yeah, but there's only one absolute truth.
That's so arrogant to say you got the right religion.
Well, we're basing it off of the Bible.
And here's the thing, folks, is that at the end of the day,
we're basing our faith off of God's word,
which is the final authority for all matters of our life.
It has everything that pertains to life and godliness,
whereas people are just placing their faith in what?
They're placing their faith in what think will happen.
They're placing their faith in pagan ideologies or whatever.
But Jesus said, I am the way.
I mean, last time I checked, you know, Buddha's still dead.
Muhammad, still dead.
Any person who claimed to be the Messiah or Savior or God, they're still dead.
Whereas Jesus Christ is alive forevermore.
He died 2,000 years ago, but he also resurrected 2,000 years ago in physical form,
and he is on the right hand of God making intercessions for the saints.
And yes, he will return one day.
Now, it says in Isaiah, the passage we read, it says,
a highway shall be there, meaning like a road,
and he says it shall be called the way of holiness.
Now, why is that?
Well, he goes on to say the unclean shall not pass over it.
In other words, God is not going to allow anybody who's unclean to be on that road.
Now, people say, well, that's why you got to do good works.
No, this is referring to an uncleanness that's based upon them not placing their faith in Jesus Christ.
Because let me let you in on a little secret.
When you get saved, you're cleansed from all sin, past, present, and future.
Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 9.
It says, know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Here's another way of saying it.
They're not going to be able to go on that highway.
You don't go on the highway to get saved.
The reason you're in the highway is because you got saved.
It says, be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate.
By the way, that's showing us that being effeminate is a sin, according to God.
Being effeminate is when a dude is girly.
It's not referring to a homo.
It's referring to just a guy who has feminine attributes or characteristics.
It means they're soft.
It says, nor effeminate nor abuses themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And this is another way of saying it.
Nothing unclean will enter into the kingdom of God, right?
Nothing unclean will be on that highway.
I want you to notice verse 11.
And such were some of you, but ye are what?
Washed.
But ye are sanctified, but ye are justified by your works?
No.
Justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
So the reason we get to be on that road is because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing and regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, the Bible says.
And so this is clearly showing us that when we get saved, we're placed on that highway.
That highway to heaven.
Look, go back to Isaiah, if you would.
So it's a new way that's being described that's a way for the clean, not a cleanliness that's based upon your works, because the Bible says that our righteousness, listen to this, are as filthy rags in the eyes of God, right?
It's a righteousness that stems from the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's giving us of his righteousness.
He cleanses us from all our sin through his blood, and therefore we're placed on that highway.
It goes on to say that, but it shall, excuse me, the latter end of verse 8 says, but it shall be for those, the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
So this is a great statement here, because he's saying, you know, you don't have to be perfect to be on this highway.
Even if you're a fool, you can get saved, right?
And if you're a fool, you're not going to be able to err on that highway.
Because if you're a person that doesn't have intelligence, you don't make the best decisions in life, but if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what decision you make in life thereafter, it's not going to get you off of the highway and onto the highway to hell, because you can't lose your salvation.
You will never be able to err on that highway regarding salvation.
Obviously, you can still make bad decisions. I'm not saying you can't.
The point that this verse is making is that though fools, you know, the kingdom of God is for everyone.
Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, regardless of the level of intelligence, regardless of how much money you have or how poor you are or whatever it is, the social background that you come from, it doesn't matter, because even the fool, the Bible says, will not be able to err therein.
They have salvation.
Verse 9 says, no lion shall be there.
So keep in mind, this is kind of giving us a picture, you know, in Isaiah's day where people are, they're traveling this road, right, somewhat of a dirt road going from city to city.
And he's describing this superior road that God is making. He's relating it to salvation, obviously, the way of the Lord.
And he's telling them, you know, this is a superior road. No unclean thing will be there. You know, even a fool, he's not going to be able to err.
You know, the signs are going to say, hey, go left, but make sure you take a right over here. Like the road will be made plain.
And that's how Christianity is. It's very plain.
You know, when you are saved, you have the word of God that plainly tells you what you should do, right?
But it also says that on this road, no lion shall be there.
Now that's important because in Isaiah's day, when people are traveling roads, you got mountain lions jumping out of the road.
You got all types of beasts that are coming out and trying to devour you. This is why I don't take hikes, amen.
Brother Jose, wherever he is, you know, you got all kinds of rattlesnakes, you know, like I just take a walk around my block, you know, I'll just let Jose do all the hiking and film it for me.
But he's saying, you know, no lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon.
It shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.
So what is the Lord saying? It's a safe place to walk.
And more specifically, because he says no lion shall be there, what is he referring to?
He's referring to Satan, who is as a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour.
Now, obviously, we know that as Christians, we will always be attacked by Satan this side of eternity, but Satan will never be able to, like, destroy us eternally.
Whereas people who are not saved, they're in subjection to the deception of Satan.
Like, Satan is constantly lying to them, deceiving them, doing all these things to them, whereas us, we're saved.
Yeah, we have Satan as our enemy, but there's not much he can do to us as far as our salvation is concerned.
There's nothing he can do to us. He can't remove our salvation from us.
There's no lion on this road, nor beast to devour you.
Let me read to you from Revelation chapter 20. You can turn there if you'd like, if you still have a bookmark there.
It says, the devil that deceived them, verse 10 of Revelation 20, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever.
Go back to Isaiah. So obviously, in a spiritual sense now, we don't have a lion on the road to salvation.
They can do anything to our salvation. But in a literal sense, in that new heaven, that new earth, Satan will be completely removed from the picture.
Look at verse 10. Here's the last verse here. It says, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, referring to the redeemed, those who are saved.
The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
So one of the greatest things about the new heaven and new earth, no more depression, no more sadness, no more loneliness, no more pain, no more sorrow, no more sighing.
All those things are of the past. And you know, to some of you, that might not mean much right now.
Some of you are just like, I'm kind of happy, you know, I ain't got nothing bad going on in my life.
But that's not everyone, though. The majority of people in this world, and I would even say in this room, have experienced, will experience,
or are currently experiencing sorrow, pain, hurt, disappointment, disillusionment, sighing, things of that nature.
And, you know, God, obviously, pain is good for us. Pain causes us to seek the Lord.
Pain causes us to read our Bible. Pain causes us to pray. Pain causes us to seek the face of the Lord.
But sometimes it can be overwhelming, right? Grievous, hindering.
And what God wants to do through these passages is just remind you the things concerning you do have an end.
You're not always going to be in pain. You're not always going to be lonely. You're not always going to be hurting. You're not always going to be depressed.
These things will end one day. Now, for the people out there who are not saved, it will never end.
Because people who die without Christ graduate from one pain to a greater pain known as hell,
where they're burning eternally forever and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever.
And they have no rest day nor night. That is a miserable destination and existence.
But you know what? You, me, we're going to have pain in this world, but our worst day here is still some unsafe person's best day.
Because all this will end one day. Your pain will end one day. Your mental anguish will end one day.
The anguish of your soul will end one day. The crying, the tears, the depression, you fill in the blank, all that will end one day.
Yeah, you know what? It might continue for the next five years, believe it or not. It may continue for the next decade.
It might even continue for some people with their lifetime if they're dealing with some sort of physical ailment that they have to live with.
But even then, there's still an end. It will end. And you know what? Obviously, Christians may have this feeling like,
yeah, I feel like this is never going to end, though. Like, I feel like I'm just in this position forever and it's never going to go away.
But let's just, come on, hey, let's be realistic here, though. You know it is going to end because you believe the Bible.
And you know that this isn't your final home in this carcass known as the flesh. The things concerning you do have an end.
You say, well, how do I, like, think that way, though? Well, that's why you got to read the Bible.
And that's why you got to read passages like this that remind you that one day all sighing will be removed.
The Bible says in Revelation 21, verse 4, this is the last verse here, referring to that new earth.
It says, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. What does that mean? No more crying.
And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.
I thank God today and tonight for that new earth. I thank God for salvation.
I thank God that Jesus Christ, who's God in the flesh, chose to come down here 2000 years ago to die on the cross, to redeem a sinner like me and a sinner like you.
I thank God that he resurrected. I thank God that the forgiveness of sins is past, present and future.
I thank God that he sealed me with the Holy Spirit of promise until the day of redemption.
I thank God that I participate in the adoption of sons, that I am now a child of God.
I thank God that I have a Bible in my hand that I can read every single day to be reminded of these things.
I thank God that he wants to commune with me.
I thank God that we have a church where we can hear the preaching of God's word, that we can be edified and receive the fellowship necessary to continue in the faith.
I thank God that we have a work to do so that when we go to heaven, it's not just salvation we get, we get paid.
We get a reward. Gold, silver and precious stones.
And I thank God that it will not always be this way, that one day we'll all end.
He said, I need something to be thankful for. I just I just gave you a bunch of stuff to be thankful for.
But let me say this, if you're not saved, though, if you're not saved, I mean, the only thing you can be thankful for is this meal you're about to receive.
And that's it, because you know what? You can literally die tonight.
And you will split hell wide open. That's a fact.
But, you know, thank God that maybe you came on a night like this.
And thank God that you stepped into a church that actually preaches the right gospel.
And thank God that someone's actually going to come talk to you after the service to ask you about your eternal state.
And you can be saved. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word.
We're so thankful, Lord, for our church and for our people, for the word of God.
And of course, we're thankful for the new earth that's promised to us.
I pray that you help us to think upon these things, Lord, as we mentally list all the things that we're grateful for,
whether it's our spouses, it's our children, it's our church family, it's our jobs, it's good health.
It's shelter, it's food, it's all the necessities of life that you've given to us,
and even the spiritual blessings that we receive that are far greater even than the physical ones that we have.
I pray that, Lord, you help us to cultivate a heart of gratitude over these next couple of days.
And may we thank you for all things, Lord, that you've done for us.
For we know that that is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us.
I pray you bless us as we go on our way, Lord, as we fellowship and feast together.
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.