Sermon Notes By Pastor Arthur H. Coleman Sr. for Sunday June 15, 2014
Text :Isaiah 35:8-10 “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring( a traveler) men, though fools, shall not err therein. (vs9) No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: (vs10) And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
Jeremiah 6:16-17 “Thus saith the Lord, Stand in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. (vs17) Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.”
PREMISE
The Pulpit Commentary, Vol.10, Page 574, A Comment on Isaiah 35:8 “ THE HIGHWAY TO THE HEAVENLY CITY. In all his dealings with man God has been constructing a highway from bondage to spiritual freedom, from sin to holiness, from guilty selfishness to sacred service, from utter ruin to complete salvation, from earth to heaven. He was engaged in this beneficent, Divine procedure when he spake to us through the patriarchs, when he instituted the Law, when he gave to us his prophets. And he completed this “way” when he “sent forth his Son.” Jesus Christ had so much to do with preparing for us the highway to the heavenly city that we speak of him, as indeed he spoke of himself, as actually being the (Way itself) St. John 14:6 . He, the Truth, is the Way by which we have a knowledge of God and of his will. He, the Mediator, is the Way by which we ourselves come into close spiritual contact with God himself. He, the Propitiation, is the Way by which we ascend to forgiveness and reconciliation. He, the Life, is the Way by which we rise into loving union with, and growing likeness to, and ultimate preparedness for, the Divine Father.”
THE LORD’S HIGHWAY LEADS TO THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION OF PERFECT PEACE AND REST
“Holiness is not solely the product of God’s will, but a changeless characteristic of His eternal nature, His absolute separation from all moral evil, His perfect moral purity. The good, the just, the pure, the holy is holy, not by reason of an arbitrary act of the divine will, nor of a principle independent of God, but because it is an outflow of his nature.”
EXPOSITION
1.THE LORD’S HIGHWAY IS A PREPARED SPIRITUAL HIGHWAY. Proverbs 16:17--- “The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul.” Isaiah 62:10 “Go through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people.”
2.THE LORD’S HIGHWAY IS PLAINLY MARKED---St. Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; (vs14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
3.THE LORD’S HIGHWAY REQUIRES STRICT ADHERENCE TO ITS DIRECTIONS---Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
4. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY ROADSIGN ON THE LORD’S HIGHWAY --- St. John 14:1-6 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (vs2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (vs3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye maybe also. (vs4)And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. (vs5) Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? (vs6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by me.”
5. ONLY ALONG THE LORD’S HIGHWAY YOU WILL FIND TRUE FELLOWSHIP AND ULTIMATE PURPOSE---Ephesians 2:19-22 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; (vs20) And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (vs21) In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: (vs22) In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”
6.THE SAFE DELIVERING PRESENCE OF THE LORD IS ALWAYS ASSURED ON THE LORD’S HIGHWAY---Isaiah 43:2 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."
7. THE LORD’S HIGHWAY LEADS TO THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION OF PERFECT PEACE AND REST ---Revelation 21:4 “ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”