The Blossoming Desert

Please turn to Isaiah 35.

We're starting Isaiah 35 today.

And just as a reminder this section of Isaiah, you know, if you were to put the book of Isaiah into

chapters like you have chapters in modern books Isaiah 28 to

35 would be its own chapter.

So this is you can think of this as the last section of this particular chapter.

We're in Isaiah this this large part of Isaiah being about the folly of trusting

in the nations and Here it ends with this note of hope about How God will

restore his people after they have failed to trust in him.

They've trusted in the nations instead but how he will restore them and

Make them a glorious people.

So when you have Isaiah 35, please stand for the reading of God's Word.

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad.

The desert shall rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who have an anxious heart be strong.

Fear not behold your God will come with vengeance with a recompense of God.

He will come and save you.

And the eyes of the blind shall be opened in the ears of the deaf.

Unstopped.

Then shall the lame man leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

For waters break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

The burning sand shall become a pool and the thirsty ground springs of water and the haunt of jackals

where they lie down.

The grass shall become reeds and rushes and the highway shall be there and that shall be called the way of

holiness.

The unclean shall not pass over it shall belong to those who walk in the way.

Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.

No lion shall be there nor shall any ravenous beast come upon it.

They shall not be found there.

But the redeemed shall walk there and rent the ransoms of the Lord shall return and come

to Zion with singing.

Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads and they shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and

sighing shall flee away.

You may be seated.

You have my father.

We thank you for your word we thank you for the glorious promises of the gospel and we ask that you would use these

prophetic images to reinforce the message that we have heard so

many other times before but yet we need to hear again and We ask that you would help us to

fully embrace this truth that though we Believe we ask that you would help our unbelief in

Jesus name.

Amen.

The fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self -control.

That second part there joy joy should be a defining aspect of the Christian life.

The world does not have joy like the Christian has the world lives with the gloom of death a

death sentence.

Hanging over their head and no matter how much they suppress that truth.

No matter how much they ignore it too much no matter how much they fill their life with

temporary pleasures.

They cannot have this joy, but the Christian has this joy and the Christian

as the Spirit of God works in him Should be producing much fruit of the

Spirit much joy.

So what reason does the Christian have to rejoice?

I have the reason of salvation and this passage here Especially these first two verses

is about that reason that we have for joy.

What God has done in this work of salvation to grant us joy.

So as we consider this perhaps you can think about what joy looks like in your own life.

Whether or not and you're weak as you express yourself with unbelievers around you if

one would be able to tell that you have a particular joy that you have a joy that is Beyond

understanding because it is a joy.

That's origin is not of this world.

This passage begins speaking of wilderness.

It says the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad the desert shall rejoice and

blossom like the crocus.

So we speak here of a desert into wilderness.

This desert in this wilderness describing the state of the people of God

in Isaiah's time.

Say the people of God in Isaiah's time is like a desert it's like a wilderness because God has given them over to their hands

that the enemies or he is about to so they will be Driven from the land and then the

land of Zion will have no one in it except for animals to Come and dwell in it

as though it were a desert so this is a picture of the effects of sin

is a picture that's true of people in every generation who do not know the Lord both

a picture of God's people apart from God's work.

Both corporately and individually and so for each person each person who has sinned

against God each person born slave of sin.

They are part of that wilderness.

They have no life.

No source of life.

They're spiritually dead.

Spiritually dead and unable to do anything pleasing to God

but what this passage promises is something much greater than that because context here

this wilderness is not The wilderness it is the wilderness of the people of God

apart from the work of God prior to the work of God but in context it has spoken

of this curse being taken from this people and applied to the enemies of God.

So that those who are the people of God may receive the blessings of God.

Hopefully you remember some of the words that we've been going over in chapter 34.

In chapter 34 it had spoken of.

Of.

The land of Edom.

Receiving these curses Edom being representative of various enemies of God throughout the world not

simply one nation of Edom.

But it is.

But this curse has been applied to The enemies of God in order that the

people of God might receive blessings.

You know just skipping forward a little here you see how salvation comes house out of salvation come in verse 4.

It says be strong fear not behold.

Your God comes with vengeance with the recompense of God He will come and save you.

Salvation comes through judgment.

It's not.

Oh, it's either salvation or judgment.

In fact, there is no salvation without judgment.

Salvation comes through judgment.

You think of the ark the picture that God uses of salvation several times even in the New Testament.

Out of salvation comes it comes through judgment.

And in this case the judgment has come upon the enemies of God.

They become like a desert so that the people of God who are like a desert may turn into a blossoming

field.

That is the picture that it gives gives a picture of a blossoming field.

The dry land shall be glad.

The desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus.

Might be wondering What is the crocus?

I had to look this up myself but a crocus is a is a flower native to that

region that shuts up during the night and During poor conditions

so that they're one that shuts up and opens up Under the right conditions and

you can imagine, you know seeing these in the morning as it dawns, you know all blossoming at the same time.

Right.

This is this is the pictures that suddenly suddenly and beautifully Will

this desert blossom?

Now older translations speak of a rose and you can imagine the same thing with the rose.

Maybe it doesn't close up overnight and open in the morning, but roses have bright and beautiful blossoms.

So the picture is of a sudden beautiful blossoming of this people of

God.

And how do we know that this is speaking of the people of God we could look at a couple of things

but just recall that Isaiah has spoken of this

picture several times before in Isaiah 32 verse 15 it says until the spirit is poured out from on

high and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field and the fruitful field is deemed as a forest.

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness abide in the fruitful field and so there

he had been talking about.

About Zion he's been talking about the people of God receiving these blessings of God and becoming no longer as a

desert but as a fruitful field.

Blossoming beautifully and this is what has taken place in the gospel as

God's Word has been preached.

Men their spirits that are dead in sin have been quickened quickened meaning coming alive

as they come to life you see a beautiful field a beautiful

Blossoming of the people of God.

This is the condition that the nation of Israel was in until Christ arrived and people heard his word

than those who had been Without hope suddenly had a great hope in Jesus Christ.

And it is what it this Zion that is spoken of here is the church.

It is.

The people of God not just of one nation, but across the world blossoming

opening up A beautiful picture of the joy of God

filling the hearts of many across the world.

And so we have much reason to To rejoice because of this beauty this

picture of beauty.

This.

Picture also exists.

In.

A song of solomon's as in song of solomon.

I'm a rose of sharon a lily of the valleys.

Now you've probably heard that before and that's why I think the esb chooses to Say a rose of

sharon.

In fact, they have a little footnote saying that this is actually crocus.

But you're used to hearing it as rose of sharon.

So I think they wanted to keep it that way.

But is this speaking of the same thing.

Is this speaking of the the beauty of the crocus of sharon.

Opening up.

And here when we talk about this the glory of lebanon shall be given it the majesty of carmel and sharon.

It's talking about the beautiful flowers.

Beautiful.

Picture of the joy of God.

It says it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing.

It's not it's not also one of the marks of the church that it sings that it rejoices with joy and singing.

Uh this desert this was a desert becoming a fruitful field rejoicing

blossoming singing.

Several things to consider as you Examine this passage and you understand that it is

for not just those people then but it is for us today as we are.

This people of God they're being led in the ways of God.

They're being led into joy.

What this should mean for us?

First of all that you should join yourself to a church if you've not already joined yourself a church.

This is something that you absolutely should do because it is through this

Through this body that christ has instituted.

That he is bringing these blessings and building up and giving joy.

And secondly as you see this picture of of joy and singing that this is supposed to be the mark of the church

now.

That's not just on sunday as we sing, but you should be singing regularly to the lord

it should be something that Fills your soul so that it would only be right.

To sing this is how one expresses himself joyfully you know, I find it interesting that

our Society is one that is very very focused on Self -expression right self

-expression apart from self -expression.

You're not really the the full you.

You know, they make a big deal in workplaces about being being able to bring your whole self to work.

You know being able to express yourself completely and if you're not able to express yourself completely, you're just not even

you and yet people struggle When it comes to

expressing themselves in the way that god has given us to express ourselves, right?

Forget other ways that you might express yourself that are more or less important, but We have here a way of

expressing ourselves is through song and we should be training ourselves in this mode of self

-expression, we should be training one, uh the Heart condition that would desire to

have this mode of self -expression, but then on top of that the expression itself.

This is something that we should be we should be growing in and it's something that god has supplied his spirit that living

water that we might have the life that would Just naturally as the plant does.

After a rain.

Just open up and blossom.

It says in the next passage, uh, the glory of lebanon shall be given to it the majesty of carmel

and sharon now.

Before I talk about this passage next let me let me break This into two categories.

Okay, we're supposed to we're supposed to have joy.

We are to sing to god and why what is the reason?

It can be broken into two categories here.

First category is that we receive Glory, the church receives the glory of god.

Zion as a desert receives glory and and blossoms becoming glorious but then

also we see The glory of the lord and the passage after that.

So it's both receiving glory that should cause us to rejoice and is also seeing glory that should cause us to

rejoice.

And so this is described as seeing glory here.

Speaking of the glory of lebanon shall be given it the majesty of carmel and sharon.

You know these all being pictures of very prosperous lands.

Lebanon carmel sharing these places have tall trees or beautiful fields things

like that and before.

Uh, the removal of these things was considered a curse.

So in isaiah 33 9, it says the land mourns and languishes.

This is talking about judgment upon israel.

The land mourns and languishes lebanon is confounded and withers away.

Sharon is like a desert bashan and carmel shake off their leaves and so

the Destruction of jerusalem or god's curse upon it

Is considered so great that it spreads all the way to these beautiful lands.

Right that are in the far regions of of that area.

And they are all their beauty is taken away from them because this curse of god has spread from zion but now

what you have in this picture is the opposite is.

Those places in their beauty is all.

Restored.

Centralized in zion in the people of god.

God.

So that it's not just taken from them for their sin, but despite all the sin that we have seen

God for some reason undisclosed in this particular passage, but disclosed Later and

especially in the new testament Is restored and centralized and made even more beautiful than

it was before.

And how is that?

It's through the gospel of jesus christ.

Through christ though we deaden our sins though we deserve only to have glory taken away from

us.

He.

And his wonderful kindness has sent jesus christ to Not only pay the penalty for our sins to

put us In the clear and zero out the balance but has even uh

earned by his righteousness a glorious existence that we might Uh

be restored beyond that to so much more something that is more than just a restoration something that is

building up even beyond this.

And this is not just something that we have to anticipate as we Uh look forward to having a

glorious body because that is the state of glory formally considered but it is a it is a

joy and a Uh a blessing that exists even now as the holy spirit has been poured out since pentecost.

And uh ample measures beyond Anything that we have of ourselves naturally

and we are given uh this.

Glory.

In order that god himself might be glorified that as the church is is growing

and building and Receiving more and more that it might be more and more joyful.

Uh, god himself is more and more glorified in that process.

So as you see this and you see this picture of the church.

Of zion.

Receiving glory.

And considering what that looks like in our world is more and more are brought into the church.

And those who are already in the church grow and their understanding of god and grow and their maturity.

Know that this is a a wonderful project not only to uh, enjoy.

Uh.

Witnessing but to enjoy being a part of and actually participate in into a project to

uh, have ownership over of and Invest in you know, there is an opportunity to really be

invested in this work that god is doing in his kingdom.

Growing this fruitful field growing this land.

Be a part of it.

Uh, enjoy it.

Do not consider the uh, The tasks that you might see around here, you know when I when

I first uh Became a more involved church member.

I saw a lot of church duties as just that duties, right things to be.

Sighed over things to uh, you know grit through and endure because they were the right thing to do.

But no, this is something that is joyful.

There's no there's no better way to spend your time.

There's no better thing to invest your time and there's nothing that is more enjoyable for the one who understands

what is happening for the one who who has I keep using this phrase i've used a lot today.

But the eyes of faith to see what is taking place to see the crocus is blossoming.

Says they shall see the glory of the lord the majesty of our god and so this is not just a picture

of God's people receiving glory but as a picture of them seeing

glory they see the glory of the lord.

Because the glory that uh The church receives is an entirely different kind of glory.

It's an earthly glory Of of sorts if you can if I can say it that way, you know

God says that he he does not share his glory with anyone.

There is a glory that is particular to the lord, uh that we ourselves cannot

enjoy as recipients rather we enjoy as viewers as beholders.

And this is a joy.

This is a uh glory that we not every man can witness you have to be given the

senses you have to be given the opportunity to witness this just as uh There is a

special sight of god that was restricted only to moses.

And you see the way that god goes about restricting this so no one else sees him and only moses Witnesses him in this particular

way.

There is a sight of god that has been reserved only for Those who are in christ

jesus.

There is a sight of god that we will see.

One day.

When we are with christ forever, we will see him and then we will be like him.

But even now we may witness the glory of god in a in a.

Uh.

Anticipatory way not not seeing him as we one day will when we see christ, but

We can see the glory of the lord as he works among us and we can we can experience his

goodness.

Because that is what it's talking about when it's talking about seeing the lord yes, there will be a visual component when we see christ, but

uh, it is about Experiencing the fullness of god's goodness and that is something that we can

begin experiencing even here even now.

And it is the source of our joy receiving glory seeing glory and then

Learning to cultivate that as a garden learning to express it Um

ways that we can have joy so if your life feels joyless if your life feels like a desert.

Know that if you are in christ, uh, you are not a desert.

You are a fruitful field and god has equipped you with everything you need in order to be that fruitful field.

He has given you his spirit at living water from on high that you may continue

Blossoming as an individual individual and blossoming along with the rest of the church corporately.

And that he has given us all these things.

For our good, uh, not only that others might see our joy, but that we might enjoy

Being joyful enjoying him enjoying what he has done in our lives.

Consider this as you go through your week as you Experience the ups and downs of the week where you may be tempted to

despair where you may be tempted to feel um a lack of joy.

Uh know that god has given you everything you need for joy.

And as we look to christ as we look to him and what he has done in salvation and

Restoring us from this desert state that we were in he has given us everything we need to be joyful.

Let's pray Dear heavenly father.

We thank you for the spirit.

We thank you for the fruit of him in our lives and we ask that you would increase us in

joy that we might.

That we might uh.

More uh.

Experience your goodness.

We ask that you would do this for your glory sake for the glory of your kingdom in jesus name. Amen.