The Promised Home

Advent 2018 • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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God restores the cursed universe and suffering humanity to their original purposes by the redemption plan achieved in Christ.

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome

Series Recap

Advent, longing

Anthony and Stephanie along with their little girl Emilia Elise Negron, born yesterday at 3:13 PM

Today we will be in Isaiah 35

Pray

Introduction

Today’s passage in a beautiful description of this end scene. It’s the glorious conclusion of a drawn out conflict but I’m concerned that we won’t taste its sweetness unless we understand and feel the desperation that precedes this description.

We could simply read the end how it ends, as though you read the last few pages of a book but your emotions will be unaffected.

Imagine this scene: A loving husband and wife sit in a bar listening to a guy play the piano.

Anything - does this create any emotion, - NO

But if I tell you the story from the movie La la Land - Of a man names Sebastian, a struggling Jazz artist, and woman named Mia, an aspiring actress, who fall in love, each pursuing their dreams. There are highs and lows surrounded by a soundtrack that almost won them an oscar for best picture - In the end the woman leaves for France and man chooses to stay behind. The passing of time leads them in different directions until the movie ends with Mia walking into a club with her unknown husband as a famous actress and Sebastian sitting at the piano sadly playing a song as he thinks about how his life would be different had he gone with her to France. There’s a longing and sadness and then the movie ends.

Desire for a sustained sweet joy

is a description of the final scene in human history. It is a picture of our promised eternal home for those who trust on Jesus and follow him. The scene described in this chapter is part of a larger story across time. It isn’t a description of some far away place but it describes our lives, all of human history, and how this will ultimately come to completion.

Give away the ending without describing the conflict - falls flat

Danger of sugar high then crash - merry Christmas, happy holidays, smiles and eggnog or my preferred, coquito

Desire for a sustained sweet joy

Good News | God’s Perfect Creation

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

God is present, before time, before the earth, skies, and heavens were formed - God has always existed.

God formed and filled the earth over 5 days and said his creation was good

God created mankind on the 6th day and said it was very good.

Prefect Relationships:

God and Mankind enjoyed a perfect relationship

Mankind enjoyed a perfect relationship with each other

Mankind enjoyed a perfect relationship with God’s creation (animals, plants, atmosphere, etc)

The danger is that we move to quickly on from this point

From nothing - God created everything and said it was good, very good

This part may feel like a fairy tale of a happier place and long, long time ago.

We live in a jaded culture and time. Some might call it realism while others may call it pessimism but in the end - we can’t imagine anything truly and fully good.

Yet, the Bible describes just that - a perfect good place where nothing bad exists.

Bad News | Man’s Rebellion

Then appears a crafty serpent who deceives mankind into disobeying God’s one command to not eat of one tree in the Garden of Eden.

This disobedience exchanged God’s rule and authority for Satan’s rule. We said we would prefer to listen and trust the crafty serpent rather than our Creator, God.

Relationships become unraveled

Broken relationship between God and mankind

Broken relationships between mankind

Broken relationship between mankind and creation

Default Setting - Sin

This brokenness exists because of mankind’s disobedience and it becomes the default setting for all mankind

Explain default setting - when you buy a new phone or a computer it comes pre-programmed. Because of sin

Some may argue - no, people are naturally good. Country artist, Luke Bryan has a title song called, “Most “People are Good.”

I believe most people are good And most mama's oughta qualify for sainthood I believe most Friday nights look better under neon or stadium lights I believe you love who you love Ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of I believe this world ain't half as bad as it looks I believe most people are good

Bible says in “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”

Our default setting is brokenness, rebellion - sin

Children

How many of you have needed to teach your children to disobey?

Have you ever said, “Listen, little Johnny, when Mommy and Daddy say no you can ignore us and do whatever you want. Part of the fun for a parent is saying the same thing over and over again. Sometimes, when I ask you who did something you can just lie about it or blame it on your little sister.”

Same Starting Point

Here’s what I want you to see. We all have the same starting point in life concerning our relationship with God, each other, and creation itself - brokenness. This is where things begin and this brokenness leads to a spiritual and physical death.

Two Paths

lays out two paths for us in light of our present state. describes the end result of one path and describes the end result of the other path.

1) The wages (earned result) of sin is death ()

2)The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ()

END OF THE ROAD

Which road are we on today? Which path do we want want to travel.

Our Way or God’s Mercy

a) Our Way Leads to Destruction

Read & Highlighted Portions

“The wages of sin is death ()

shows us what will become of everyone who buys into the world. For phrases describe God’s Wrath:

God is Enraged (2): “The wrath of God will explode upon the world like the bursting dam, with the mountains dissolving in mudslides of human blood.” Raymund Ortlund

God has a sword (6): That will descend from heaven, who can flee

God has a Sacrifice: All guilt must be paid, either through the blood of Christ or our own.

The Lord has a Day: All of this terrible finality has been scheduled. It’s on the calendar. The Lord has a day and it is approaching.

“confusion and emptiness”

Isaiah borrows from the language of and God disassembles a broken world and begins the renovation.

God takes the world’s rebellion and turns it back into nothing: formless and void.

“Thorns and Thistles”

Our way leads into an eternally barren desert.

Barreness, hopelessness

It is in this settling that God begins his renewing work

- The Lord is Enraged

34:2 “The Lord is enrages against all the nations - destruction

34:6 “The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood”

34:6 “The Lord has a great sacrifice - a great slaughter

34:8 “For the Lord has a day of vengeance

34:8 “For the Lord has a day of vengance,” a day of judgement at the end of history.

Before this day - there is confusion and emptiness

Wild animals possess the Land

Thorns and thistles surround the land with the haunt of jackals inside their wall.

Good News | God Mercifully Redeems

Now, Let’s Read

“Salvation”

God starts his renewing work of grace in the desert of our real and broken lives.”

In barrenness of the desert, God brings forth the beauty of life

Dry land - gladness, crocus blossoms. Crocus is one of the first flowers to bloom each spring, with blossoms that often often while there is still snow on the ground.

Reminds me of CS Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” The evil white witch has cast a spell over Narnia so that it was always winter but never Christmas. But then Aslan, the true king has returned to Narnia and defeat the white witch, breaking her spell.

Notice the intensity of God salvation:

blossom abudnantly

Rejoice with joy and singing

Why/ How?: They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of God.

“Encouragement”

Is your heart weak? Do your knees feel weak, your heart anxious - does the lie enter your thoughts that the brokenness we experience in life is our only reality. Do you ever feel hopeless overwhelmed?

The path that leads to death and destruction is not our only option. God calls out, “Be strong, fear not!”

This is a profound statement in light of and a furious God where the slain shall be cast out, the smell of dead bodies rises as the mountains flow with blood.

Fear Not: God will come with vengeance… to save you. Not vengeance against you but against sin for the purpose of saving you.

Where do we look for our help?

a “Jesus”

We contribute blindness, deafness, lameness, muteness

God gives sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the lame shall leap and mute will sing for joy.

In Jesus went to the synagogue and stood up to read these words from ”

The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Then Jesus rolled up the scroll, sat down and said, “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

We look for saviors to our brokenness in many places.

Work, family, children, money, success, fame, comfort, etc. This is our path that leads to destruction

There is another path that leads to life and life abundantly and that is through Jesus

Creation - the haunt of jackals lie down

“God Renews What We’ve Broken”

Creation is at peace

deserts become pools and springs of water

The haunt of jackals lie down peacefully

No ravenous lion, no fear from creation

(v8) A Highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness”

You may hear the word highway and immediately think and I-4, 417, or 528.

However, this literally means a path that is high in the air, its visible - the unclean can’t reach it but weak hearted can’t get lost.

Where does this road lead? Verse 10 tells us.

“Overtaken by Joy”

There is joy and singing

“everlasting joy shall be upon their heads” - literally, “Gladness and joy will overtake them.” This word carries the same force as where the blessings of God “overtake” his people.

P3

All of our lives we seek after happiness and joy. We try to find it anywhere but in God himself.

My wrong view of God growing:

I grew up in church

At the age of 5 or so I knelt but my bed to trust in Jesus because I didn’t want to go to the devil’s fireplace.

For some of you this morning you may be thinking along these lines. The path of is destruction. What other options are there?

As I grew a bit older and became a teenager I saw God as a kill-joy. All his rules were meant to stop me from having fun or fitting in with my friends. My longings and desire were for something other than what God offered.

Then, in the summer before I entered college God crabbed hold of my heart. I knew of God… I knew about God… but in a moment I was broken by the knowledge that God knew me, the real me, and chose to love me. It was God’s loving mercy that drew me to himself. God wasn’t just an alternative to hell, God was gloriously good and beautiful and I desired nothing less.

This is what it means to be overtaken by joy.

God redeems and restores. He saves.

CONCLUSION

What path are you on this morning?

Are you paving your own path? In pride do you assume you can be good enough.

In his book, “It’s not about the Bike,” Lance Armstrong writes out his thoughts the night before his brain surgery, “I asked myself what I believed. I had never prayed a lot. I hoped hard, I wished hard, but I didn't pray. I had developed a certain distrust of organized religion growing up, but I felt I had the capacity to be a spiritual person, and to hold some fervent beliefs. Quite simply, I believed I had a responsibility to be a good person, and that meant fair, honest, hardworking, and honorable. If I did that, if I was good to my family, true to my friends, if I gave back to my community or to some cause, if I wasn't a liar, a cheat, or a thief, then I believed that should be enough. At the end of the day, if there was indeed some Body or presence standing there to judge me, I hoped I would be judged on whether I had lived a true life, not on whether I believed in a certain book, or whether I'd been baptized. If there was indeed a God at the end of my days, I hoped he didn't say, 'But you were never a Christian, so you're going the other way from heaven.' If so, I was going to reply, 'You know what? You're right. Fine.'

Are you following after Jesus?

To the one following their own path:

The Bible says this path leads to death. We are born into brokenness and we will suffer in brokenness throughout eternity if lie to ourselves and try to convince ourselves and others that we are good enough

Trust and Follow Jesus

He suffered for your sins in your place

He rose from the dead

Believe in Jesus

To the one already following after Jesus

Be encouraged

Encourage Others

Let us sing with joy

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