1. "Now more than ever, our world seems to be a mess. With the popularity of cell phones and social media, which bring quick access to news headlines, we are constantly reminded that this world is full of suffering and death. Even if we are personally removed from such conflicts, it's easy to be filled with anxiety and insecurity about inflation or upcoming elections or rising crime and violence."

2. "For Israel, Isaiah 35 provided hope of future salvation in the face of invasion and exile. For us today, if you are a Christian, Isaiah 35 also provides hope. Rather than looking to this world or to ourselves for safety and refuge, we are to look at our Almighty God. We are to fix our eyes on him as we hold fast to his promises."

3. "The presence of God brings flourishing for his people and glory for his creation. Yet even this breathtaking and stunning splendor that the wilderness has blossomed into is surpassed and usurped by a greater majesty. It is outshone completely by another greatness that attracts full attention."

4. "Notice the tone of this commandment not to fear. It's bolstering, not scolding. This is not a command to be obeyed or else. This is an encouragement to the weak. We are encouraged not to collapse, not to give up. Our God is coming. Don't lose hope. Strengthen yourselves. He's almost here."

5. "So speak the truth about God to each other. Remind one another daily of our eternal hope in the truth of what God has done. Text a brother, email a sister, have God's promises always on your lips. If you struggle with doubt or anxiety or a tender conscience, don't isolate yourself. This church is for you."

6. "Isaiah 35 is one of the sweetest chapters in the Bible, but none of its sweetness is for you if you are not in Christ. If you are not part of God's people, none of these promises of hope and restoration apply to you. Instead, the fate of God's enemies is outlined in God's judgment of nations and Edom in Isaiah chapter 34. But you are not without hope."

7. "Every healing Jesus did in some way has been reversed by death. The blind man's eyes closed in death, but they were infallible signs of the total healing that God intends to give every believer in the resurrection. Friends, on that day there is nothing that will be beyond repair. You cannot meet any situation that God's provision cannot put right."

8. "Older saints are examples to us all of steadfast faithfulness under trials. Some of them are the Navy SEALs of the Christian faith. They have years of experience. They have proven their persistent love for the Lord over decades. They show us what it looks like to live under physical suffering, but far beyond mere physical trials."

9. "Through believing in Jesus, we enter onto the way. Through receiving His Spirit into our hearts, we stand in the way. As we follow our Redeemer's footsteps, we walk in the way. In holding fast to him as our Lord, we reach the end of the way."

10. "I've grown up my whole life trapped between two countries. I was born in England, but have spent much of my life in the States. When I moved to D.C., I'd lived exactly 11 years in England and 11 years in America. I often feel out of place, lonely, isolated. But over time I've learned to appreciate this. I have a daily reminder that this world is not my home, neither England nor America."

Observation Questions

1. Isaiah 35:1-2: What specific nature imagery does Isaiah use to describe the transformation that takes place when God's glory appears, and what areas of the land are mentioned?

2. Isaiah 35:3-4: What four commands are given in these verses, and who is meant to carry them out?

3. Isaiah 35:4: What two things will God come with, and what is the ultimate purpose of His coming?

4. Isaiah 35:5-6: What physical ailments are specifically mentioned as being healed, and what actions will those healed people take?

5. Isaiah 35:8: How is the highway described, and who is permitted to walk on it?

6. Isaiah 35:10: What will be upon the heads of the ransomed of the Lord, and what two things will flee away?

Interpretation Questions

1. In Isaiah 35:2, we read that "they shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God." How does seeing God's glory relate to the flourishing described in the preceding verses, and what does this suggest about the relationship between creation and Creator?

2. How do the encouragements in Isaiah 35:3-4 ("strengthen the weak hands," "make firm the feeble knees," etc.) connect to the promise that God "will come and save you"?

3. In the sermon, the preacher states that Jesus' miracles were "infallible signs of the total healing that God intends to give every believer in the resurrection." How do the healing miracles described in Isaiah 35:5-7 point to something beyond physical healing?

4. Isaiah 35:8 describes a "way of holiness" where "the unclean shall not pass over it." How does this relate to Jesus' statement in John 14:6 that He is "the way, and the truth, and the life"?

5. In Isaiah 35:9-10, what is the significance of the terms "redeemed" and "ransomed," and what do they tell us about how God saves His people?

Application Questions

1. When was the last time you found yourself looking to worldly solutions (like finances, politics, relationships) for security rather than fixing your eyes on God's promises?

2. The sermon emphasized that we should "strengthen the weak hands" and "make firm the feeble knees" of fellow believers. Who is someone specific in your life right now who needs encouragement, and what concrete step can you take this week to strengthen them?

3. The preacher highlighted the value of older saints as "examples to us all of steadfast faithfulness under trials." When was the last time you intentionally sought wisdom from an older Christian, and what held you back if you haven't done this recently?

4. In what specific area of your life are you currently experiencing "wilderness" or "desert," and how can Isaiah's vision of waters breaking forth in the wilderness give you hope?

5. The sermon described Christians as "pilgrims to this life" who often feel "out of place, longing for something more." In what specific situation this past month have you felt most at home in this world, and how might this be a warning sign of becoming too comfortable here?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Romans 8:18-25: This passage elaborates on how creation groans as it awaits redemption, connecting to Isaiah's vision of the wilderness bursting into bloom when God's glory appears.

2. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: Paul describes our current sufferings as a "light momentary affliction" preparing us for "an eternal weight of glory," reinforcing Isaiah's message of perseverance through suffering.

3. Revelation 21:1-5: John's vision of the new heaven and new earth where God "will wipe away every tear" parallels Isaiah's promise that "sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

4. Hebrews 12:12-14: The author quotes from Isaiah 35:3 about strengthening weak hands and feeble knees, then speaks about striving for the holiness "without which no one will see the Lord," echoing Isaiah's way of holiness.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The World’s Suffering and the Christian’s Hope

II. Persevere, for We Await a Glorious Salvation (Isaiah 35:1–4)

III. Persevere, for We Await Complete Restoration (Isaiah 35:5–7)

IV. Persevere, for We Await Everlasting Joy (Isaiah 35:8–10)

V. Prayer for Faithfulness and Eternal Joy

---

Detailed Sermon Outline

Now more than ever, our world seems to be a mess. With the popularity of cell phones and social media, which bring quick access to news headlines, we are constantly reminded that this world is full of suffering and death. Even if we are personally removed from such conflicts, It's easy to be filled with anxiety and insecurity about inflation, or upcoming elections, or rising crime and violence.

For Christians, we see and hear about persecution, whether lawsuits for sharing your faith in the workplace, or the imprisonment and death of our brothers and sisters overseas.

And alongside global conflict and spiritual suffering, we experience no small amount of physical suffering.

While many of us in the Lord's kindness experience lives with few trials, relatively, Many of us, most of us, have experienced or currently experiencing or will experience in the future a great deal of suffering.

In the midst of the trials of this life, what reason for hope do you have? Who or what do you place your hope in?

Do you hope in better days to come?

Safety and security that you can work towards and gain for yourself?

In the book of Isaiah, the Israelites faced suffering and death.

As we reach Isaiah chapter 35, Israel is facing a crisis of faith. The world's strongest army, Assyria, is tearing through Israel's neighbors, decimating city after city. Each nation is quickly destroyed and things are looking bleak. How will Israel be saved?

How will they be rescued?

Well, as Israel anticipates invasion, they are tempted to turn to other nations such as Egypt for help and protection. These nations seem to promise safety and security. Yet for God's people, this betrayed a lack of faith and trust in their God who had promised to keep them and to protect them.

And so, as a result in Isaiah chapters 9 through 34, God declares his judgment both upon the nations and upon Israel for their rebellion. On the heels of these oracles of judgment comes Isaiah chapter 35.

For Israel, Isaiah 35 provided hope of future salvation in the face of invasion. And exile.

For us today, if you are a Christian, Isaiah 35 also provides hope. Rather than looking to this world or to ourselves for safety and refuge, we are to look at our almighty God. We are to fix our eyes on him as we hold fast to his promises. How can we persevere in this life? We are to look to God's promise of salvation, restoration, and joy.

Friends, after a couple weeks of Nephilim and Noah, this morning we get to bask in the glory of God's redemption.

Let's read Isaiah chapter 35 starting in verse 1. If you're using the red Pew Bibles around you, this can be found on page 595.

Isaiah chapter 35 starting in verse 1.

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 the recompense of God; He will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and 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. In the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it; it shall belong to those who are on the way, Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it. They shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there. 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.

The main point of Isaiah 35 is this: Persevere, for we await a glorious salvation, complete restoration and everlasting joy. These will be my three points for us this morning. Persevere, for we await point one, a glorious salvation. We see this in verses 1 through 4. Point two, complete restoration in verses 5 through 7.

And point three, everlasting joy in verses 8 through 10. Persevere, for we await a glorious salvation.

Complete restoration and everlasting joy. First, persevere for we await a glorious salvation. Isaiah chapters 34 and 35 go together as a pair. In Isaiah 34, the fate of the nations is pictured in the desolation and destruction of Edom. In the wake of such a terrifying prophecy, Isaiah 35 starts with a sudden and surprising contrast.

Creation has become a wilderness. Sin and the curse of death have left the world desolate and under judgment. Creation groans as Romans 822 tells us. And yet from this wilderness springs forth joy and singing. It suddenly bursts with life.

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. Israel would anticipate this being fulfilled with their return from the exile. The land had become a wilderness and Israel's return to it would result in it being cultivated and it would become fruitful once more. But these verses point to so much more.

Israel remained sinful and continued to rebel against God to God. They needed a reversal of their spiritual state. This is what is ultimately pictured here, from spiritual wilderness to gladness and rejoicing. Just as the wild flower signals the turn from winter into spring, so the crocus in verse 1 signals the end of spiritual winter. And verse 2 shows that it is more than merely just a few blossoms.

No, the desert is filled with blooms. It shall blossom abundantly. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. Lebanon was well known for its magnificent forests full of lush and towering cedars. Carmel was a mountain range which went down into a plain which was Sharon.

And then you had the Mediterranean Sea. Both Carmel and Sharon were full of rich vegetation and pasture land. The wilderness burst forth with so much life and brilliance that it's like the most visually stunning landscape you could possibly ever imagine.

I think as those who live in Washington, DC, we can picture this particularly well, can't we? Even now in the middle of February, we are eagerly awaiting the first cherry blossoms. And we know that when we see those, it won't be long until the whole tidal basin and Stanton Park are overflowing with blossoms as they fill the area with glorious flowers. We get the first signs that spring has sprung.

But we're left wondering what the source of this unexpected blossoming is. Well, we see it in verse 2, It is God Himself. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. The Lord's coming is what initiates this sudden blooming and singing for joy. The presence of God brings flourishing for His people and glory for His creation.

Yet even this breathtaking and stunning splendor that the wilderness has blossomed into is surpassed.

And usurped by a greater majesty. It is outshone completely by another greatness that attracts full attention. The glory of the Lord, the majesty of God. And this glory is the focus of the verse. The glory of God's redeemed creation is indeed magnificent, but it offers a pale mirror of the glory of its creator.

The splendor of restored creation reflects the glory and splendor of its God. And we should thank the Lord and praise him for this. There are many ways even now that we reflect the splendor of God. And friends, as a local church, we are outposts of God's glory now. Do you want to see his glory most clearly displayed?

Well, look at the church. The glory of God is tangible in the lives of his saints as we live spirit-filled lives of mercy and justice, serving one another, worshiping God with supernatural unity. The world should be able to look at our church and see something of the majesty of God displayed.

But yet we as God's people are promised even more. We are promised that we will see God in all His glory. They that is God's people shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.

Saint, do you long for that day?

Do you yearn to see God face to face?

A day is coming where the deepest longing of our hearts will be met. We will see God.

The promise of one day seeing the glory and majesty of God should result in our strengthening of faith now. Verses three and four tell us, Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, be strong, fear not. The ground for our strengthening is God's coming salvation. And when God comes, we will see His majesty and glory.

Do you feel weak?

Do you feel feeble?

Do you feel anxious?

Look at the words God has given to us of encouragement. They're laden with comfort. And notice how these words are describing weak Christians. They're exhorted to look at their God.

I think all too often we can feel guilty for struggling. We feel as though Christians should somehow be superpowered, impervious to any doubts or anxiety. But no, we are promised trials in this life if we bear the name of Jesus. So if you are a weak, beaten down Christian who's barely hanging on, Brother or sister, God writes encouragement for you here in our text.

If you are grieving loss and your life seems to be flowing down a river of tears, if you are staring down the barrel of a diagnosis for yourself or for someone you love, that seems to have started a rapidly diminishing clock?

If your spouse has abused or abandoned you and you feel deceived, exhausted, and alone, if that friend or family member who you love deeply has turned their back on you because of your faith, Or if the voices of doubt and anxiety rage in your head and there seems to be no respite. No matter how hard you try, no matter how hard you try to turn them off, God says, Strengthen your weak hands.

Make firm your feeble knees. Be strong and fear not, for your God will come with vengeance and recompense. He will come to save you.

The Lord is returning when his perfect justice will be carried out. The source of your suffering will be ended for eternity. You will see the glory and majesty of your God. There is a day coming when the earth will pass away. The sea will be no more.

God will dwell with his people and he will wipe every tear from your eyes. Death will be no more. Neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore. For the former things have passed away.

Persevere for God will come and save you.

Verses three and four are something of a guide for biblical counselors. This is what counselors do, isn't it? Strengthen the weak hands, make firm the feeble knees, say to those who have an anxious heart, be strong, Fear not. I'm so thankful for the biblical counselors that we have working in this church.

You have set aside your time to help us, to strengthen us, to remind us to look to God and not fear.

Notice the tone of this commandment not to fear. It's bolstering. Not scolding. This is not a command to be obeyed or else. No, this is an encouragement to the weak.

We are encouraged not to collapse, not to give up. Our God is coming. Don't lose hope. Strengthen yourselves. He's almost here.

Also notice the corporate sense of these verses. This strengthening of hands, knees and hearts is commanded to us to do together, for each other. But we should counsel each other as we link arms and help one another fight through this life. So speak the truth about God to each other. Remind one another daily of our eternal hope in the truth of what God has done.

Text a brother, email a sister, have God's promises always on your lips.

And brothers and sisters, if you struggle with doubt or anxiety or a tender conscience, don't isolate yourself. This church is for you. You need people around you who can tell you to continue the good fight. You need people who can remind you of what God has promised. So don't be tempted to think that you are strange or unique that you have to battle your doubts on your own.

Don't deny your fears, but address them with God's truth. As Walton said last Sunday, Take your remarkable ability to fixate on the unseen and fixate on the as yet unseen hope in God's salvation.

The comfort that these verses bring for the Christian is a stark contrast to what they promise for those who do not trust in God. He will come with vengeance with the recompense of God. This is a mirror of Isaiah 34:8. If you look just across the page to that verse, God's coming with vengeance and recompense brings judgment for his enemies. This same event has completely different outcomes.

For God's people, it brings justice and salvation. For God's enemies, it brings judgment and destruction.

Friend, if you are here and are not a Christian, do not miss this point. Isaiah 35 is one of the sweetest chapters in the Bible, but none of its sweetness is for you if you are not in Christ. Christ. If you are not part of God's people, none of these promises of hope and restoration apply to you. Instead, the fate of God's enemies is outlined in God's judgment of nations in Edom in Isaiah chapter 34.

But you are not without hope. Verse 4 brings with it the greatest news of all. God has personally come to save.

He will do so in a future sense as he comes to regather his people, but he has already come to save. You are not excluded from the possibility of salvation. God sent his son, Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. And truth.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth to live the perfect life that you and I could never live. He paid the penalty for our sin. His death paid off our debt forever. He died for us, was raised on the third day, and he ascended to heaven and he sits at the right hand of the Father, proving for once and for all, that our debt really had been paid. If you turn from your sin, repent and believe this truth about Jesus Christ and confess Him as your Lord, you will surely be saved.

Salvation is as certain as judgment. And God saves through judgment. It is all of God's action and His salvation is all of His grace. Isaiah 354 is the heart of the book of Isaiah. This is the book's central message, be strong and fear not.

Behold, your God is coming with vengeance and with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. This coming glorious salvation brings complete restoration. So persevere for we await a glorious salvation. And secondly, persevere for we await complete restoration.

Point two, persevere for we await complete restoration. We see this in verses 5 through 7.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and 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.

In the haunt of jackals where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. Well here we see the effect of God's salvation. The curse will be broken and reversed as pictured in this stark contrast of the desert and burning sand that was home to wild dogs becoming pools of water and plants. For Israel, this reversal is realized in a small way as their spiritual blindness and deafness is temporarily overcome at the end of exile. As they turn to God, they return to the land.

Yet this reversal does not last long. The people remain rebellious and sinful.

When Isaiah was commissioned by God in chapter six, God gave him a message of blindness to share with the people. God said, go and say to this people, keep on hearing but do not understand. Keep on seeing but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy and blind their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn and be healed. Isaiah 35:5-6 served to provide hope that the people's spiritual blindness to God would indeed come to an eternal end.

And some of this reversal has already happened in Christ's earthly ministry and mission. As we read earlier from the responsive reading in Luke 7, Jesus' ministry is one of healing the blind, deaf, lame, and mute. Indeed, this ministry of healing is part of what Jesus points to in order to prove that he is the Messiah. Jesus proved the area of restoration, the era of restoration had come.

Salvation was at hand and God would restore all things through his son. He would provide healing not just physically, but to the spiritually, blind and deaf. We are promised complete renewal and every conversion that we see is a picture of this. We continue to see this spiritual healing today. People's eyes are opened and their lives remade by God.

Those who burn with anger toward God become streams of grace and life. So every baptism is a reminder, a foretaste of what God in his power will do on that final day. Jesus' miracles point toward the resurrection, providing a preview of when God not only opens our eyes, but fills our vision with himself.

This is what we have to look forward to as believers. There's a day coming where things that seem broken beyond repair will be fixed forever. Jesus' earthly miracles were merely signs pointing to this glorious consummation. Every healing Jesus did in some way has been reversed by death. The blind man's eyes closed in death.

But they were infallible signs of the total healing that God intends to give every believer in the resurrection.

Friends, on that day, there is nothing that will be beyond repair. You cannot meet any situation that God's provision cannot put right.

No amount of pain or suffering will be too great for complete and full restoration. And friends, if you're experiencing physical suffering, take special comfort from these verses. If it feels that your body has betrayed you, it hurts to wake up in the morning, or you can't even get to sleep at night, your body will be made anew in the resurrection. Your earthly body may fail, but God will fully restore you. Your tears will not be in vain.

And praise God that while you're still waiting on him for physical restoration, you have been granted spiritual renewal in salvation. Christian, there is a day coming where we will all experience complete restoration, both body and soul. God promises that our bodies will be made new and we will sin no more.

If you are a younger person here, early 20s, teens, don't take your good health for granted and prepare for old age even now. Look to older saints and the example of faithful endurance they have set. In our culture, older people are not respected enough.

They're seen as inconvenient. But for Christians, they shouldn't be remotely close to the truth. Remotely close to how we view those older than us. No, we should honor and respect our elders, viewing them with utmost appreciation. Older saints are examples to us all of steadfast faithfulness under trials.

Some of them are the Navy SEALs of the Christian faith. They have years of experience. They have proven their persistent love for the Lord over decades. They show us what it looks like to live under physical suffering, but far beyond mere physical trials. I think once you reach a certain age, you've probably experienced most of what life has to throw at you.

There's a wisdom and experience that comes with age that most of you and I do not have. Do you value spending time with older saints? Do you seek them out? Or do you just stick to those who are your own age? Those who are just like you?

I hope you see how short-sighted that is. You will grow far more from hanging out with somebody several decades older than you are than you will someone your own age.

And to older believers here, I won't point you out, but you know who you are.

Thank you. Thank you for your years of faithfulness. Your perseverance brings glory and praise to God. Keep going. I'm sure it can be hard at times being in a younger congregation, even if it brings unique joys.

Push on until the end. What awaits you will dwarf anything in this life.

So brothers and sisters, persevere through this life, for we await a glorious salvation and complete restoration. Thirdly and finally, persevere for we await everlasting joy. Point three, persevere. For we await everlasting joy. Look down at verses 8 through 10.

And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way. Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it.

They shall not be found there, but the redeemed shall walk there.

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.

Not only does God provide salvation and restoration, but he provides the way to salvation. Our text describes a way in the wilderness, a highway on which the holy travel on their way to Zion. This way leads to God's presence. So what is this way? Well, John the Baptist prepared the way in Luke chapter three as he cried aloud in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

And Jesus declares in John 14:6 that I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to God except through Jesus Christ. Through believing in Jesus we enter onto the way. Through receiving his spirit into our hearts we stand in the way. As we follow our Redeemer's footsteps we walk in the way.

In holding fast to him as our Lord, we reach the end of the way.

Just as it is God who does the saving in verse 2, so too it is God who provides the way to Zion. This way is a way for the holy and only the holy. Look at verse 8, the unclean shall not pass over it. That last line, even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. This would be better translated how the footnote in your Bible has it.

If they are fools, they shall not wander in it. The Hebrew word for fool used evail quite literally means evil. It's more than just a bumbling fool. Rather, it's someone who is morally bad, who despises the truth. So this is who we see throughout Proverbs as mocking at guilt, and it being folly and useless to instruct him.

This is who we see described in Jeremiah 4:22 as not knowing God, having no understanding, and doing evil. This also fits better with the context of verses 8 and 9, reinforcing the point of two lines previously. And we also often see this repetitive structure in Hebrew poetry. The unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way.

If they are fools, they shall not wander in it. Isaiah is reinforcing a stark comparison.

If you are here and don't consider yourself to be a Christian, how does this verse strike you? Does it seem harsh or unfair for God to save some people and reject others? Is this talk of holy and unholy Does that seem somewhat strange? Outdated? Well, friend, God who created all things is perfectly good and perfectly holy.

He calls us to be holy as He is holy, to hate sin and love righteousness. Yet we sin and rebel against God proactively all the time. And unless you repent of this and turn to God as the Lord of your life, you will not be found on the way. No matter how brilliant you are or how hard you try, you will not be good enough. How long can you go without a bad action or a bad word or a bad thought?

Unless you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will not be on the way. So turn.

Even today. If you are a Christian, you should take your sin seriously.

Do you take personal holiness seriously? Are you proactive in your fight against sin? The text is clear: It is only those who are holy that make it to Zion. The way of holiness is characterized by those who walk in the light as He Himself is light.

So walk in the light. Be honest about your sin, confess it, and flee from it.

This is a warning to work out our faith with fear and trembling as the Apostle Paul instructs us. But don't forget, it is God who makes you holy through the gospel. God has made the way and God will keep you in the way. Your sin is covered by the blood of his son and when God looks at you, he sees nothing but Christ's righteousness.

Verse 9 shows us that God's people have full safety and security along the way. They are kept all the way to Zion. Not a single one of his chosen people will ever fall from his grasp. If you read this passage and are tempted to fixate on the call to holiness in verse eight, if you are terrified that you might fall off the way, focus instead on verse nine.

Here in verse nine is the first time the word redeemed is used in the book of Isaiah. Israel, when hearing it, would have understood that this was a promise to pull them out of the oppression they are experiencing. Just as they were redeemed from Egypt, so too they would be redeemed from the threat of the Assyrians.

Some of us may have experienced being in a great amount of financial debt. Imagine if you were and had absolutely no way of ever paying it. And then suddenly, your debt is completely paid by somebody else.

This glorious freedom is the weight that this word would have for the Israelites. But these words hold even richer promises than mere safety to nations. The redeemed implies a redeemer, a one who does the redeeming, who pays the price. Christ has paid the price to redeem you from your sins. To save you from a life of wickedness and rebellion, a life that ends in anguish, and to pull you to safety, to bring you into the light and into His eternal family.

Those who are redeemed by God are kept safe and secure along the way until they reach Zion, the city of God, where God and man will dwell together forever. Notice the certainty. The ransomed of the Lord shall return. Those who God goes out and redeems, he will surely bring home. If you are in Christ, your fate is secure, and what a glorious fate lies ahead.

Verse 10, the ransomed of the Lord shall return, come to Zion with singing, everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy. Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah chapter 35 is book ended by singing. In verse 2, all creation sings for joy.

And here in verse 10, the ransomed of the Lord shall come to Zion with singing. The joy in verse 2 is increased as God's people are crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy shall overtake them.

We dimly picture this blissful scene whenever we sing as a congregation. God's people sing as they travel along the way, and it's a mixture of happiness and sorrow.

But it becomes increasingly joyful until sorrow and sighing flees away and God's people break into eternal rejoicing.

God's salvation brings restoration, which culminates in the redeemed entering into Zion, entering their eternal rest, forever singing and praising God in his presence.

We are pilgrims through this life, journeying along the way, and this world is not our home.

Do you feel this tension in your daily life?

Week by week, do you feel comfortable?

Or do you feel out of place, longing for something more?

I've grown up my whole life trapped between two countries. I was born in England, but I've spent much of my life in the States. When I moved to DC, I had lived exactly 11 years in England and 11 years in America. I often feel out of place, lonely, isolated. But over time, I've learned to appreciate this.

I have a daily reminder that this world is not my home, neither England nor America. But a day is coming where you and I will be home. We shall finally obtain our heart's greatest longing, unending joy and gladness, free of all sorrow and sighing. We will finally be with our Lord and with our God forever. The glory and majesty of our God will overwhelm us with joy unbreakable, and the pains and cares of this life will flee for the hills, gone forever.

This light, momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. So push on, dear Christian. Strengthen your faith and fear not. Know that God has promised that you will one day see Him face to face. Each of you who are hurting, beaten down, anxious, return to these promises and take heart.

Your God will come and save you. You shall obtain gladness and joy. Your sorrow and sighing will flee away. Away. Persevere, for we await a glorious salvation, complete restoration, and everlasting joy.

One day we will be together for eternity and glory. Picture that day. Look around this room and imagine the sight of each of us crossing the river, walking up the hill to God's city, having made it, faithfully to the end. What a glorious day. What joy unspeakable.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we praise youe as our glorious and majestic God. We praise you as a gracious and holy God.

We praise you as our kind and compassionate Father. You have promised that you will one day save us, you will restore us, and you will bring us home. Keep us faithful until the end, we pray. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.