church

INI
Last Sunday of the Church Year
November 25, 2012
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

WHEN THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD RETURN
Isaiah 35:3-10

Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. On this final Sunday of the
church year we hear the Word of God as spoken through the prophet Isaiah,
chapter 35, beginning with the third verse, as follows:

Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who
are fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! 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 shall be
unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb
sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.
The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with reeds and
rushes. A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway
of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool, Shall not go astray. No lion shall be
there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; 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 singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall
obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. So far the holy
Word.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, Dear
Fellow Redeemed,

In the early sixth century B.C., the prophet Isaiah predicted disaster for the
people of Judah. The Jews of Jerusalem and it’s surrounding region had forsaken
the true God for idols. Despite repeated warnings, they continued their
idolatrous ways. Instead of trusting the Lord, they trusted in shaky foreign
alliances to protect them from the threatening power of Babylon, gathering in
the north. A century later, the prophesied disaster struck. Most of those who
weren’t killed by the army of Nebuchadnezzar were carried away captive into
the land of Babylonia. There they languished for many years.

But Isaiah not only prophesied the disaster, he also prophesied the deliverance
from the disaster. The words I just read to you describe that deliverance. God
would ransom His people Israel and allow them to return to their homeland.
Seventy years after the captivity God would raise up a new leader named Cyrus,
who would allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their capital. It
would be a time of great joy, and that joy was part of Isaiah’s prophesy, too.

Well, but that's all ancient history. What does this have to do with you and me?
A lot. Because as often happens with prophesy, Isaiah’s prediction not only had
a near-term fulfillment in view but a remote fulfillment as well. He was talking
about the joy that we ransomed believers will experience when we finally reach
our home in heaven. This is a message that all of us Christians need to hear on a
regular basis. Why? Because our life’s journey is liable to become quite difficult
and discouraging as soon as we lose sight of the glorious goal that lies at its end.
Our theme today:

WHEN THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD RETURN
I. Then strength will replace weakness.
II. Then a lush garden will replace desert wasteland.
III. Then joy and gladness will replace sorrow and sighing.

Commenting on this text, one Lutheran pastor wrote, "No matter the hardships
of life, the opposition of an evil world, suffering or sorrow, none of these should
weaken our faith or dim our hope." And that's exactly what Isaiah had in mind
when he wrote, Strengthen the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees.
Have you ever felt so tired and discouraged that you could hardly lift your
arms? Your hands just hang limp at your sides. Your knees shake and your legs
feel like they’ll hardly support you. That’s the picture that Isaiah paints here.
Certainly it was a good description of how the exiled Jews would feel as
captives in Babylonia, far away from their homeland. But it’s also a good
description of how discouraged we Christians can sometimes become with our
life in this world. Life is hard. There are unpleasant surprises along the way.
There is real suffering to endure and real hardship to overcome. But it helps so
much when our Lord in His word gives us a glimpse of the glory that will one
day be ours in Christ. For WHEN THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD
RETURN, then strength will replace weakness.

If you were in Bible class last week, you may recall that that was Paul’s
conclusion, too, in the book of Romans when he said, For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us. – 8:18. It doesn’t mean our suffering isn't real. It
doesn't mean our trials in this life aren’t difficult, it only means that, if we could
see our final destination, those sufferings and trials would fade into utter
insignificance by comparison. Isaiah agrees, and that’s why he says, Strengthen
the weak hands, And make firm the feeble knees. 4 Say to those who are
fearful-hearted, "Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with
vengeance, With the recompense of God; He will come and save you." That is,
in fact, why we are meeting here today. It's why gather here to listen to God's
Word and sing His praises every Sunday. You're building each other up in the
faith. You're strengthening his hands. You're supporting her and making her
strong, just when her knees were starting to get a little wobbly. You're saying to
one another, "Be strong! Don't worry! The day is coming! We're on our way,
and it won't be long!" It’s such an encouragement! It gives you strength! That’s
why I beg people to do anything they can to make it here to our worship
services on Sunday. Because getting that strength from your fellow-Christians –
and giving that strength to your fellow-Christians – that’s so important. “It’s not
long,” we tell one another, “we’ll be there soon – you can almost hear the
angels singing already!” One of my favorite hymns is “For All the Saints,” and
my favorite stanza is stanza 5:

And when the fight is fierce, the warfare long,
Steals on the ear the distant triumph song,
And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

The hymnist goes on:

But, lo, there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of Glory passes on His way.
Alleluia! Alleluia!

The Day is coming. And when it arrives, every physical flaw and weakness and
disease that now torments us will be banished. It’s hard to even imagine. Here
on earth medical science continues to make modest advances in the treatment
of disease. Sometimes there are even breakthroughs, like the discovery of
penicillin or the eradication of polio. Nevertheless, illness and death remain
symptomatic of this sin-tainted world. No amount of scientific research will
ever defeat them. But I know what will - heaven! There, perfect strength will
replace every weakness! Isaiah says, Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then the lame shall leap like a
deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. Can you imagine? When THE
RANSOMED OF THE LORD RETURN, people who have been blind all
their life will not only see, they will see Jesus! People who were deaf will not
only hear, they will hear the songs of angels! People bound to a wheelchair in
this world, when they reach the next, will not only stand, and run, they will run
into the loving arms of Jesus their Savior! How wonderful it will be just to
watch that - can you imagine?

Furthermore, Isaiah says, WHEN THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD
RETURN, then a lush garden will replace desert wasteland.

Maybe you didn't realize that we live in a desert wasteland, but we do. We live
in a spiritual wasteland of sin and unbelief, a society that is offended by the
Gospel of Christ crucified, and scornful of the believers who worship Him.
Even we believers are afflicted with the sinful flesh, that stubborn “old Adam”
that spoils our service to God and taints all our actions. The LORD looks down
from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand,
who seek God. They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good, No, not one. -- Ps 14:2-3. But you have a Savior
in Jesus Christ the righteous, a Redeemer who has ransomed you from sin and
death. That is, He has paid the price necessary to buy you back from the
punishment your sins deserved. He bore your punishment for you. By faith in
Him, you may now count yourself among THE RANSOMED OF THE
LORD.

All that is true, of course. God has convinced us of that by giving us faith. But
did you know that sin has affected not only the spiritual world, but even the
physical world - the world of nature? You might not think it when you get up on
a beautiful, clear Northwest morning like today, with a sliver of moon on the
blue horizon and sun just beginning to light the top of Mount Rainier. No, you
might not think it, but it's true - that compared to what this earth was before
the fall in to sin, even it's greatest beauties fade to nothing. For when sin came,
not only was man cursed because of it, but the rest of creation, too. I will curse
the ground for your sake, God told Adam, thorns and thistles it shall bring
forth. And ever since then, all creation is waiting and yearning for the final
redemption, just like we are, says Paul, For the creation was subjected to
futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because
the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation
groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. -- Rom 8:20-22. The
Apostle Peter tells that what we see around us now will be destroyed and
replaced: The heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will
melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for
new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. -- 2 Pet 3:12-13.
"A new heavens and a new earth." That new, wonderful place is the place that
Isaiah envisions in our text for today. He says that, WHEN THE RANSOMED
OF THE LORD RETURN, a lush garden will replace desert wasteland.

Have you ever visited Phoenix, Arizona? When you fly into Phoenix, it's
startling how the grays and browns of the surrounding desert are suddenly
replaced by the rich, luxurious green of Phoenix itself. Phoenix used to be
desert. It has no water of its own, but imports huge amounts of water from the
remote Colorado River and the Valley of the Sun. Thus Phoenix has been
transformed from a desert into a lush garden. It has over eighty well-watered
golf courses, and over 300,000 swimming pools. I looked this up, by the way:
the city of Puyallup uses less water in a year than the amount of water that
evaporates from Phoenix swimming pools.

Phoenix was transformed from desert wasteland to lush garden. Amazing as the
transformation of Phoenix may be, it's nothing compared to the changes the
earth will go through when THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD RETURN.
Our text says, For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the
desert. The parched ground shall become a pool, And the thirsty land springs of
water; In the habitation of jackals, where each lay, There shall be grass with
reeds and rushes. A lush, new garden of Eden will replace the parched and
barren wasteland in which we now live.

Finally, WHEN THE RANSOMED OF THE LORD RETURN, then joy and
gladness will replace sorrow and sighing. Isaiah says that the redeemed shall
walk there, And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, And come to Zion
with singing, With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and
gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Zion is another name for Jerusalem. The picture Isaiah uses here may sound a
bit strange to you. But to the people of Judah to whom Isaiah was speaking, it
wouldn't sound strange at all. It would sound quite familiar. For several times a
year - at the time of the major Jewish festivals - all the people in the
surrounding country would make the journey up to Jerusalem to worship in the
Temple. Jerusalem sits on top of a hill, so everyone would be making their way
uphill toward the beautiful city. Sometimes groups of these pilgrims would
travel together, singing hymns as their steps brought them nearer to the holy
city.

That's how it will be for us, the Redeemed of the Lord, as we travel to our
heavenly Zion. A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the
Highway of Holiness. We'll walk on that holy road, through a renewed and
beautiful countryside. We will come to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy on
our heads, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

What a contrast that is with our life on this earth! One writer pointed out that
life in this world can sometimes seem like just the opposite of that. Don't you
feel that at times? Like you just get over one painful episode, you start to catch
your breath and recover your spirits, and then some other sorrow comes along.
Something else to give you sighing and grief and sleepless nights. And don't we
sometimes, if we're honest, have to admit that a lot of that grief and trouble
comes from our own sinfulness? How sorrowful is the knowledge of our own
sins, our own failures, our own dissatisfaction and complaining about God's
way, and insistence on doing things our way! We can almost feel how heavy and
grief-stricken the Psalmist must have felt when he wrote, There is no soundness
in my flesh Because of Your anger, Nor any health in my bones Because of my
sin. 4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; Like a heavy burden they are
too heavy for me. 5 My wounds are foul and festering Because of my
foolishness. 6 I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the
day long. -- Ps 38:3-6.

But Good News: Jesus died to give you relief from that sorrow and sighing. His
love for you carried Him all the way to the cross. There on Golgotha he
received the prints of the nails in His hands and feet and side. They were in the
truest sense wounds of love. They were evidence of the everlasting love of God
for lost mankind, a love that would stop at nothing to accomplish our salvation!
Have you ever wondered what they look like, those wounds? We're going to
find out! We're going to see them, when we meet our Savior face to face in that
holy city. Can you imagine that? I wonder if you were struck, as I was, when we
sang the second stanza of the hymn of the day. It referred to those wounds. We
sang:

Those dear tokens of His passion
Still His dazzling body bears,
Cause of endless exultation
To His ransomed worshipers.
With what rapture,
With what rapture,
With what rapture
Gaze we on those glorious scars!

In heaven, Isaiah says, we shall obtain joy and gladness. To "obtain" is a
descriptive word. It means "to pursue and overtake." Did you ever wonder why
people are always talking about the "pursuit" of happiness? Everybody pursues
it, but nobody seems to overtake it! Well, one day we're going to finally catch
up to what our hearts and souls have been yearning for all along. What C.S.
Lewis was talking about when he said, " If I find in myself a desire which no
experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was
made for another world." We were made for another world, and by faith in
Christ we're headed toward that world right now. There we will obtain joy and
gladness. There we will leave sin and every sorrow miles behind, and we'll find
true, everlasting happiness in the presence of our dear Lord Jesus Himself.

The fairy tales that we read as youngsters often ended with the familiar cliché:
"…and they lived happily ever after." And as we grew up, we realized that
that's one of the reasons they call them "fairy tales," because nobody actually
does live happily ever after, and even the most blessed lives are marked with
sorrow and suffering. But one Day all that's going to change! WHEN THE
RANSOMED OF THE LORD RETURN, strength will replace weakness, a
lush garden will replace desert wasteland, and joy and gladness will replace
sorrow and sighing. And then, by the grace of God, we will indeed live happily,
ever after! AMEN.