Sermon Tone Analysis

THE CANDLE OF JOY- ISAIAH 35

Introductory Thoughts:

As we celebrate the joy of the coming of Messiah this morning, we are drawn to Isaiah chapter 35.

This chapter is a remarkable declaration of joy.

Coming at the heels of several chapters of judgment, this poem is a breath of fresh air to the lungs of the believer.

We all experience times in our lives in which we are depressed, down, or defeated.

Trying circumstances come up to which there are no good answers.

We are, many times, caught between the proverbial rock and hard place.

We long for a time when things will be different.

This is just on an individual level.

Consider our nation.

Simply watch the news for a few minutes and you will quickly beg the Lord to intervene.

Stories of the most horrific tragedies appear routinely on the local and national news stations.

So many people in the US are seeking joy and satisfaction from all sorts of different means.

Some of them are good: family, fulfilling careers, physical health, and personal growth.

Other means are evil: drugs, sex outside of God-ordained boundaries, the accumulation of material possessions and wealth.

Then there is our globe.

With an estimated population of over 7 billion people, the world is fraught with joylessness.

Plagues hit third world countries and end the lives of hundreds of thousands.

Catastrophic events level entire cities.

Threats of war, or the reality of war, occurs daily.

People all over long for a time of enduring and lasting joy.

The people in the days of Jesus were no different.

They had been oppressed by the Roman government for many years.

It seemed as if God had forsaken His people.

Like the Israelites enslaved by Egypt, it seemed as if all hope had been lost.

Many times God brings us to these points so that we can be utterly devoid of any self-reliance or hope.

We look to God, because our energies have been exhausted.

In our joyless states, we wonder if anything will ever change.

But God, as Paul writes to the Galatian believers, “when the fulness of time had come…sent forth his Son…to redeem those who were under the law” (, ESV).

We are addressing the topic of joy that only comes through Jesus Christ!

This is abundant joy.

It is not confined to a particular set of circumstances.

In fact, the joy that comes from Jesus is free from the pleasures of this life.

Isaiah, borrowing from Exodus-style language and imagery, paints a beautiful picture of the joy that comes from our gracious God.

This morning we will see what true joy does in the life of the Christian.

If you have not followed Jesus as Lord and Savior, I pray that the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to the glories that exceed our wildest imagination.

If you are experiencing a hardship, I pray the Holy Spirit encourages your heart with this message of joy.

I. True joy realizes that everything will be made right- vv.

1-2

But, as this Sunday reminds us, true joy realizes that everything will be made right.

Look at how the creation responds to the coming reign of Jesus Messiah.

It breaks out in joyful song upon seeing the glory of the LORD and the majesty of our God.

Isaac Watts hymn, “Joy to the World!

The Lord is Come” has a verse concerning this realization.

He writes, “Joy to the earth!

The Savior reigns; Let men their sons employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, Repeat the sounding joy.”

There is injustice in the world.

Unfortunately, it is a part of a fallen world.

I have mentioned for the past three Sundays the great ramifications of Adam’s disobedience to God, and the entrance of sin into God’s perfect world is one of them.

Children are excellent judges of fairness, are they not?

If one kid receives a small piece of candy then the other child demands his.

Or, if a little girl receives a piece of cake that is only 1 millimeter smaller than her sister’s, she cries out, “That’s not fair!”

Adults are no different.

Whether it is an unfair call by a referee against our team, being pulled over for speeding while another vehicle gets away with it, or even having to pay taxes on something while your neighbor gets away without paying, we all want justice.

And this lack of justice can be a true joy-thief.

Because the connection is so strong, I believe will provide an excellent view of how injustice can steal away any semblance of joy.

The first aspect of joy concerns creation.

We tend to focus, and rightly so, on the relationship between God and humanity.

We are, after all, God’s image bearers.

But, as Scripture reminds us, creation is bearing the punishment for our sins.

Immediately after Adam’s treacherous rebellion, God cursed the ground for Adam’s sake.

He told Adam that thorns and thistles will make his work hard.

Even on the animal level things were different.

All animals were vegetarians.

They would eat plants, not each other.

There was peace unlike anything we could imagine.

Now animals hunt each other.

There are parasites that slowly kill their carriers.

The pain on creation wrecks an unimaginable toll.

But, as this Sunday reminds us, true joy realizes that everything will be made right.

Look at how the creation responds to the coming reign of Jesus Messiah.

It breaks out in joyful song upon seeing the glory of the LORD and the majesty of our God.

Isaac Watts hymn, “Joy to the World!

The Lord is Come” has a verse concerning this realization.

He writes, “Joy to the earth!

The Savior reigns; Let men their sons employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, Repeat the sounding joy.”

But, as this Sunday reminds us, true joy realizes that everything will be made right.

Look at how the creation responds to the coming reign of Jesus Messiah.

It breaks out in joyful song upon seeing the glory of the LORD and the majesty of our God.

Isaac Watts hymn, “Joy to the World!

The Lord is Come” has a verse concerning this realization.

He writes, “Joy to the earth!

The Savior reigns; Let men their sons employ; While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, Repeat the sounding joy.”

Creation is altered by the coming of the Lord.

Paul brings up this point in one of the best chapters in all of the Bible, .

Paul caught this creation-redemption that comes through the advent, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

It changed creation.

Deserts, normally boasting a scarcity of and difficult life, burst out with joy.

Blossoms appear all over!

The once dead landscape rivals that of Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon.

And why?

Because everything will be made right.

Jesus came over 2,000 years ago to make our standing with God right.

As tells us, God loved us enough to send Christ to die.

And just as God sent Christ to redeem us, to restore that severed relationship, so too, God will send Christ to make everything right.

Creation will be restore.

But true joy also...

II.

True joy reassures the believer that justice will be done- vv.

3-4

We have all been here at one point in our lives.