A Joyous Restoration

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

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God said, “Be my Kings and Queens. Do my Work on Earth. Take the garden as a template and make the whole of the Earth look like it.”

They were Naked and Unashamed.

Nothing or No one to hide from. Open and exposed. Joyful, Peaceful, Experiencing the fullness of Love, grace, and goodness.

Knowing the fullness of God and each other.

Seeing the goodness of earth, vegetation, and the fruits of their labor.

Everything living in perfect harmony.

BUT then…We get to Genesis 3.

There is a fracture that takes place.

A colossal collapse.

Arrogance and Ego replace grace and goodness.

Broken Relationships with God and each other.

Separation in our relationship and worship of our Creator. We can no longer fellowship with God. There is a rift.

Harmony replaced with discord.

Enmity, Strife, Increased Pain, Thorns, Thistles, Bodily Ailments, Fragility and ultimately Death

Nothing How it was intended. All of Creation is Broken/Fractured/Shattered.

Romans 8:22–23 ESV

For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

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It doesn’t get much better than that the first murder happens when Cain kills Able (Gen 4:8)

Genesis 6:5 ESV

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

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God destroys the earth and all it’s inhabitants with a flood except Noah and his family along with the animals they brought on the ship. Giving them the same mandate as Adam

Genesis 9:1 ESV

And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

The Story of the effects of the colossal collapse don’t get any better. The book of Judges sums up the human experience pretty well:

Judges 21:25 ESV

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

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The King we needed is the one we talked about Last Week, The Promised Divine King. King Jesus who comes to Deliver, Conquer, and Reign His eternally peaceful kingdom.

In Isaiah 35 We see that when this king comes, he is going to restore all the brokenness. He is going to heal the wounded, and he is going to redeem his people.

Main Idea: The Promised Divine King is coming to restore broken creation to it’s intended state and bring about a Joyous Restoration.

A Joyous Restoration

Isaiah 35:1–2 ESV

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.

God Restores Creation

Driving to NV. Barrenness from Amarillo to Albuquerque

The Fear of Breaking Down and not having enough Gas

The desert is nothing to mess with.

It’s dry. Very little food, water, shelter.

Danger of heat during the day. Danger of wildlife at night.

There is nothing about the desert to rejoice about, especially when you lived there or your ancestors lived there and you hear about their lives in such danger and turmoil.

What is it about the desert that makes its so dangerous and scary?

Lack of access to water. An Essential element of human existence.

Often we take it for granted. It doesn’t take much for us to have a glass of fresh clean drinking water. Go to the faucet, pantry, fridge and there you go. Sustenance.

Even our farmers have irrigation systems to provide water to their crops.

Part of the mandate from God to Adam and Eve was to cultivate the land. To make it inhabitable. The desert is for all intents and purposes uninhabitable.

That mandate would have been easy to fulfill if our work always provided for us. If we didn’t have to deal with the thorns and thistles and the whims and wiles of nature.

Barrenness shouldn’t exist. The desert shouldn’t exist. Creation should be blossoming.

But the fracturing and brokenness of creation is part of the consequences of man’s sin and disobedience.

But what does God say he is going to do.

Isaiah 35:1–2 ESV

God Restores Creation

He is going to Restore Creation.

Dry land will be glad. The Desert shall rejoice.

What is broken in creations will be restored and Rejoice.

What should have been will now be when God restores creation.

Not miniscule, not just enough, but ABUNDANTLY!

Instead of Groaning, there will be rejoicing.

Instead of destitution there will be abundance.

“God’s work will remove the curse from every part of the earth.”

Lebanon, Carmel, Sharon

These are all places that are known for their vast and beautiful vegetation.

Whether it be luscious evergreen trees or beautiful pastures. All of the land will look like this when God restores creation.

When God fixes what is broken.

And as rich and majestic as these places are they pale in comparison to the Glory and Majesty of God.

The fullness of God’s Glory and Majesty will be seen when the restoration happens.

We already see the works of God’s hands in creation

Romans 1:20 ESV

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

God Restores Creation

Restored Creation will be a reflection of the Creator and Redeemer

Perfect, Holy, Majestic, Glorified Creations will be free from corruption

Romans 8:21 ESV

that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

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As great and majestic as that day will be when creation is restored, humanity will experience something far greater.

God Restores the Broken

Isaiah 35:3–7 ESV

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.

God Restores the Broken

Not only is creation broken because of the fall, but humanity has felt the effects as well.

All physical, emotional, mental problems that we experience from day to day will all be taken away when God Restores the Broken.

We are all still under the curse of brokenness. The result of a fractured universe.

We feel the pain of childbirth. We experience aching muscles, degenerating joints, weak bodies.

We also see the minds of our loved ones disintegrate.

We are still under the thumb of aging.

Mental disorders, addiction, disease are still our reality.

There are those who are born that are not whole. Whether they are born unable to speak, hear, see, or walk.

That doesn’t make them less valuable. Because it is they who will receive the blessing of restoration. God values all people. Even the ones that society doesn’t.

Eyes will be opened, deaf ears unstopped, lame men leaping, mute people singing.

What unimaginable joy will be found when those that experience these hardships are restored.

We need to remember that Isaiah is writing to his own people in his own time.

These ailments were way more detrimental then than they are today.

If you were blind, mute, deaf, or lame you had zero value in society.

You were a burden and usually a beggar relying on the generosity of others to help you.

They didn’t have the same type of governmental safety nets that we have.

There weren’t wheel chairs for the lame to get around.

Through the miracle of modern technology these ailments are no longer a death sentence. You are no longer a pariah if you are afflicted.

Illustration of woman hearing for first time. 33 million views

Color Blind Glasses, Prosthetic Limbs, Sign Language.

Isaiah 35:4 ESV

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.”

This is an amazing and powerful promise found here in Isaiah.

He will come and save you. Don’t be anxious. Be Strong. God is coming.

He cares about you. He Loves you. He sees you. He is coming.

This promise was fulfilled 700 years after it was written.

In that manger in Bethlehem. God Showed up like he promised.

He came to save us.

God Restores the Broken

While he was here he showed us a picture of what total restoration will look like.

Jesus performed miracles that were a sign of the reality to come.

Much like a sign on the highway telling you it’s not the destination, but it is an indication of what is to come.

Jesus came gave sight to the blind.

Opened the Ears of he Deaf.

Strengthened the Lame

Loosened the tongues of the mute.

What happened at the restoration of these things. Joy. Unspeakable Joy.

Though those miracles were amazing. Though those signs were infallible. They were only temporary.

These miracles were still over come by the reality of death. Death is the final enemy that needs to be defeated.

Good news for those who follow and believe in Christ. He defeated death. He overpowered its hold on creation. He offers eternal life.

When all is said and done, when Christ comes back to establish his Kingdom, death will be no more. Pain will be no more. Anxiety will be no more. Brokenness will be no more. Sadness will be no more.

All that has been fractured will be restored. We will live in a state of “Shalom” wholeness, completeness, where God will say once again that it is “Very Good.”

Jesus’ goal in demonstrating his power over the brokenness of humanity was to point to the fullness of healing that will occur when he comes back as King.

His first advent (birth) occured so that people would hear the good news of the perfect restoration to come. His second advent will be the fulfillment of that promise.

His first advent (birth) is a picture of the complete work that will be accomplished when heaven and earth are restored to their rightful state.

His first advent (birth) paved the way for salvation and redemption. His second advent will bring complete restoration and renewal.

What is that renewal going to look like?

Joy of the Redeemed

Isaiah 35:8–10 ESV

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.

Joy of the Redeemed

There is a highway leading to the perfect new creation.

The “Way of Holiness.” Only the holy can walk it.

The Fools and the unclean are those that reject God and his statutes. They are the ones that scoff at and ignore the reality of their brokenness. They are content living a life of sinfulness and broken relationship with God.

They will not see or enjoy this perfect and holy restoration.

There is a problem. The reality of this fractured/broken/shattered world leaves all of us unclean and foolish.

No one is able to walk on this “Way of Holiness” in our current state.

We are all sinful, unclean, rebellious people.

We needed one to pave the way. We needed one to be our holiness. To be our perfection. To be our redeemer.

Jesus is that one. He came to SAVE US.

He came to redeem us. He cam to purchase us back from our debt to sin and death.

He came to Ransom us.

Both Ransom and Redeem are words that mean that there is a debt to be paid. That we owe something and someone else paid the purchase price.

Jesus gave all of himself to offer us eternal live. A life of Restored Redemption.

Jesus came to remove the curse of sin and death and to bring back to order all that is in chaos.

He came to deliver us. To Save us. To pave the “Way of Holiness.” To be the way of holiness.

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

A Joyous Restoration

Jesus’ Redemption brings Joy. Not temporary Joy, but “everlasting Joy”

There is still pain, heartache, and brokenness in the world. But our hope is in the fact that Jesus promises to restore all that is broken. Jesus promises to redeem those who cling to him. Jesus promise to comfort those who hurt. Heal those that are broken. Redeem those who call out to him.

Those who don’t enter into “The Way of Holiness” are bond to experience ultimate separation from God. They will not be able to see, experience, or enjoy life everlasting.

They will not get to celebrate with singing the goodness of redemption.

But Jesus came so that you could know the goodness and joy of redemption. That you could experience wholeness and completion of restoration.

Give you life to him. Submit you heart to Him.

He came so that you could know true peace, love, joy, and hope.

Pray

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