THE HIGHWAY OF THE REDEEMED
THE HIGHWAY OF THE REDEEMED
Isaiah 35: 8-10
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Sunday, February 26, 2012
In Isaiah 35, we have the Glory of the Kingdom of God and the blessedness of His people after the judgments of chapters 28- 34. We are watching the nations of the world “shake” in judgments described in the Word of God as clearly as reading the morning newspaper. In those chapters, terrible indeed is the description of world-wide desolation.
However in Isaiah 35, we see the flourishing state of God’s people following the judgments of chapter 34. The earth, changed to welcome its Redeemer. The redeemed at the restoration of the Kingdom and the Coming of the Lord, is poetically personified. With joy, the desert, Arabia, Lebanon, Carmel, and Sharon see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.
Isa. 35: 1-2: “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the Excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the Excellency of our God.”
The blossoming of a rose is the principle of the Holy Ghost Baptism. After the glory of verses 1-2, the prophet continues in retrospect upon the tribulation preceding blessing. The command is given to encourage the weak and fearful, to tide them through the darkness preceding the dawn. Messiah-King is coming to punish, to reward, to deliver, and to work miracles or wonders (35: 3-7)
This is the Day of the Church Triumphant! This is one of the choicest chapters of the Bible. It is a poem of rare a superb beauty. It is a picture of the last times, when the church after the affliction of spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:12; Acts 14:22), shines forth in all the radiance of its glory. This is the glorious church of Eph. 5: 25-27. Destruction gives way to re-creation. God is coming to bring His people home unto Zion by a safe highway. At the sight of Him everything changes! The dry and lifeless desert bursting for joy becomes a paradise of flowing streams, great trees, and colorful flowers. Eden restored.
Just as the natural land of Palestine (through irrigation and man’s invention) has blossomed and become fruitful, so in the realm of reality or spirit. The wilderness, solitary place, and desert are all described in the judgment of chapter 34. In Lebanon we see the principle of the temple (the cedars from Lebanon—1 Kg. 5-8). In Carmel we see the principle of victory and conquest (1 Kg. 18). In Sharon the principle of beauty and fruitfulness (Gal. 5: 22-23). Out of Egypt, through the wilderness, into the land—Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. (Deut. 16:16) 30-60-and 100-fold, as in Matt. 13:23, 100-60-30 (testing, trial, wilderness).
Isaiah 35: 3-7: “Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompense; 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 shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb singing for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water; in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes.”
This reveals the ministry of the Comforter (Jn. 13-16) flowing in and through God’s sons in a word and ministry of reconciliation. (11 Cor. 5: 17-21). Verses 5-6 reveal the power of the Holy Ghost in repairing, healing, and restoring the Body (in the natural and the spirit). Verses 6-7 speak of living areas, which point to the heart of men. It is the habitation (heart of men) and not the dragons that are restored. This whole passage describes an outpouring of the Holy Spirit! Men’s knees will be restored to a place of worship before their Maker. Men will see (understand) and hear the Lord. The prophetic word will be loosed in the earth. Every place where dragons (false gods, false worship) now inhabit shall become the habitation and the temple of the Lord! Death shall be replaced by life. Darkness will be displaced and dispelled by the Light. This whole chapter is present for the now as well as future for those who walking in the Spirit and live in the Way, the Truth and the Life, Jesus Christ.
Isa. 35: 8-10, NIV: “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way, wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get upon it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
The devil doesn’t know about this walk in the Spirit, the ascended life. His whelps, the demons, cannot decipher this highway to Zion. The only way to walk in victory over the intelligences of the world system is to be clothed with a higher intelligence, and we have the Mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). We have been born from above, and Jesus is the Wisdom from above. The “High” calling of Philippians 3:12-14 is the “upward” calling. The ascended life is also the replaced life (Gal. 2:20). All these thoughts are summed up in the Most Holy Place, the realm of His life (John 14:6) “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father, but by Me. If you had known Me, you should have known My Father also…”
The redeemed will return joyfully to Zion, with everlasting exultation, obtaining gladness, with sorrow and sighing fleeing away. the highway is the way of life in the heavenlies demonstrated by the Way, the Truth, and the Life---the Lord Jesus Christ, the Pattern Son! We are to be a people of the Heavenlies (Eph. 1-2). We can compare this road with the path that the vulture’s eye (all the understanding of Satan and the kingdom of darkness, which feeds upon death) has not seen, or considered.
Job. 28: 7-8, KJV: “There is a path which no fowl knows, and which the vulture’s eye has not seen; The lion’s whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it.”
This is the road less traveled. It can only be seen and walked as we are led by the Holy Spirit. Those who take this path have their hearts fixed. Their vision is like the dove, single. Their focus is not on God and the devil, but on God alone. This path is one that is chosen. It can be a very lonely path and certainly rejection from the worldly view of the carnal mind. There can be no compromise. It is for those who have chosen the highway, the high calling to be their portion. Many times on the path, there will be crossroads and curves. The path less traveled will cost you your life. Do not look for accolades, your treasure and reward will be much greater than the approval of man.
In 2 Thess. Chapter 1, Paul wrote about the second coming of the Lord. In the first chapter the apostle assures them of their deliverance from tribulation at the coming of Christ, and in the second chapter he warns them there were certain events that had to transpire before Christ could come. The third chapter is an exhortation for the Thessalonians to return to their normal employment (or living their life) while awaiting the coming of the Lord.
2 Thess. 1: 5-10: “Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that do not know God, and they do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.”
Hebrews 12: 22-24: “You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem the city of the living god. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in Heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”
The Bride, the Lamb’s Wife, is a City. This City is the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church of the Redeemed. The hill, the great high mountain, is Zion. The great King is Jesus. We are not marching to Zion; Zion is marching. We are not looking for a city; we are the City! This city is the people for which Abraham sought. This city is descending from the heavens to the earth, from the invisible to the visible, from the mystical to the practical, from the platform to the pew, from the building to the streets. The Kingdom of God must be perceived, proclaimed and above all, performed.
Ps. 48: 1-2, NIV: “Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain. It is beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth. Like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.”
Preached by: Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V. and N.I.V; Text paraphrased and quoted from Principles of Present Truth of Isaiah by: Kelly Varner; The Priesthood is Changing, by: Kelly Varner; published by Destiny Image