It's there on page seven and eight in your bulletin. Also, you can find it in the Bible in the pew rack in front of you, and it will also be on the screens. I encourage you during this message this morning to leave pages seven and eight open before you or the passage from your Bible or the pew Bible, as we'll be referring to this chapter throughout the message this morning. And also, in case you haven't been here in a while, as we Conclude the reading of the scripture. I'll say this is the word of the Lord you see that on page 8 and the people respond. Thanks be to God and Say it like you mean it Here now the word of the Lord 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 in 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, 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, the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the late 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 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 upon it. They shall not be found there, but the redeemed of the Lord shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing. Everlasting joy shall be on their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Praise the Lord. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. The grass withers and the flowers of the field fade away, but this is the word of God, and God's word stands forever. We join me as we pray and call on the name of the Lord today. Let us pray. Oh Lord, our God, we bow before you and pray for your favor and blessing to be poured upon us as now we come to your feast of the word of God. the living bread, as we come and taste the water of life again, the good news of the gospel in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is the living water. Oh Lord, come and visit us today. You know every single soul here. You know what everyone needs. You know those who need refreshment, who are spiritually dry. You know those who are hungry. You know those who've never cried out to you for mercy. You know those, Lord, who need encouragement and hope. You know those who are worried and fearful about tomorrow or the week ahead. You know those, Lord, who are proud and have built up walls of unbelief. You know those who need a Savior. You know those, Lord, who've come hungering and thirsting for the things of God today. So, Lord, come and visit us. Draw near to each person here. Lord, and help me, your servant, to rightly divide your word and proclaim it faithfully. We pray that you would use this portion of your word of God significantly in our lives, that we would remember this day, that we would remember your word, that we would think on it, meditate on it, and roll it around in our minds, that your word would find fertile soil in our hearts to bear fruit today as the seed, the word of God is planted in us. We do pray for the presence and power of the risen Christ, that the Lord Jesus would be here among us using this humble means called the preaching of the word of God to come with power, to visit your people, to feed our souls, to strengthen us, to build us up, and to prepare us for the week ahead. Help me your servant to rightly divide your word to proclaim it faithfully may Christ be honored in this place We make our prayer in the matchless name of our great Savior who died for us and rose again and is coming One more time how we long for that day in Jesus name. Amen From the Psalms in the Old Testament and through the prophets as here in Isaiah to the pages of the New Testament, there is this reoccurring theme of spiritual thirst. of a dryness of the soul like a spiritual drought. We read of that this morning in Psalm 42 in the call to repentance. As the deer or the heart pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God, My soul thirsts for the Living God. These things I remember as I pour out my soul, how I would go or used to go with the multitude to leading the procession to the house of God with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among the festive throng. I remember those days, but not anymore. It's one of the constant realities, actually, of those without Christ, those who are always seeking to fill the soul, their heart, with something to alleviate their thirst, something other than the Lord himself, something else to replace, only what the living God can fulfill, as seen with the woman at the well when Jesus spoke to her. It's one of the constant realities of those without Christ. Always going from one fad to another. One gimmick to another. One substance to another. One relationship to another. One exercise regime to another. One hobby to another. Looking for something to fill the emptiness in their soul. But that spiritual dryness can actually be a reoccurring reality. It is possible even in the life of a Christian. Even in the life of a believer as experienced in Psalm 42 as we read and sang this morning. I think anyone who's walked with the Lord for years knows this to be true. You've been through it yourself. You've been through seasons of spiritual dryness and you know what it's like to remember wonderful days, refreshing times. And then you compare that to the empty, barren place when your soul feels parched and your spiritual tank feels empty. Perhaps you're going through that right now and nobody else knows. so that you're not dreaming of a white Christmas just like the ones I used to know. Instead, you have visions of a dry Christmas. So for yourself, whether it's right now or sometime in the future, or for you to use to encourage someone else who's going through a spiritually dry time. Let's consider what God's word says about this from here in Isaiah 35. I'd like to ask these three things or three points. You'll find them on page nine in your bulletin. First of all, what are the signs and symptoms of spiritual drought? There will be signs and symptoms of spiritual drought in the life of a Christian. First of all, you'll see it in your actual spiritual life. I'm going to speak of it in the present tense for those who are experiencing it right now. What are the signs and symptoms of spiritual drought? Well, first of all, in your spiritual life, things have just become routine, like you're just going through the motions. And the Lord seems far off. And the sense of God's presence he once knew, walking with God, answers to your prayers, joy in the Lord. Like the psalmist said, I used to go, I would go. I remember when I did go to worship with God's people with joy. The sense of God's presence you once know is just gone, and a daily expectation of God's involvement in your life is gone. Your heart is no longer moved by God's promises, no longer captured by the amazing grace of God to you in Christ. You feel like your spiritual strength is evaporated. and you're totally drained of power, of strength. Like David in Psalm 32, my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. So you don't really care. You don't really care anymore. You're in a spiritual wasteland. Spiritual dryness is experienced in your spiritual life. which secondly spills over into your attitude. And your attitude, what are the signs and symptoms of spiritual drought? Well, your attitude, your attitude about life, your attitude about almost everything. It's another sign and symptom when you become critical and moody and temperamental and grumpy and your outlook on life has changed. And looking at the big picture isn't what it once was, You have a sour attitude about everything in life, negative and pessimistic, or at least a blasé outlook. And you just don't want to think about eternal matters. You're even blasé about the Word of God. And so if you were pressed to answer, you might say that all this happy holidays talk is just something you'd rather be done with and let's move on to January. It is the season to be jolly, but all you can sing is I'm dreaming of a dry Christmas, because that's what it's going to be. And all this elevator music about Jesus being born in Bethlehem is just burdensome. There's no wonder and awe that the living God took on human flesh and came and suffered and died for you. So you'd say that you really don't have any sense of peace and joy. In fact, none of the fruit of the spirit seemed to belong to you right now. You have no love and joy or peace or patience or kindness, no sense of gentleness or self-control. Your spiritual life is empty and your attitude pretty much stinks most of the time. And there are signs and symptoms in your participation in the means of grace. You just have no zeal for them anymore. You know what the means of grace are. The things that God has given you to build up your soul. You have no zeal, no desire for Bible reading or prayer or worship or Bible study or fellowship or getting involved in ministry. One time when I was going through a really spiritually dry time years and years ago, one of my friends said, Eric, you just need to put your hand to the plow, roll your sleeves up and get to work serving the Lord. That was the best advice I could get. All those means of grace just seem to repel you right now. You have to drag yourself to church and everything's a battle. And when you do come, every spiritual activity seems empty and dull. worship and the Lord's Supper and all the parts of the service just seem lengthy. Oh my goodness, another baptism. This is going to take forever. When are we going to be done? And you derive no benefit from the preaching of the Word of God because your heart is hard. You find yourself checking your watch and wishing that you could be any place but here and you just want to be out of here. So you can actually relate to what this English pastor Joseph Parker said many, many years ago. The hearer sometimes complains that there is no food for his soul when the truth is there is no soul or heart for the food. And in fact, you've been searching and looking for other things to thrill your soul, other things to quench your spiritual thirst. And so, fourthly, in your search for solutions to your thirst, you've let your mind drift way off into areas where you've never ventured before, or areas that you knew when you were an unbeliever, wondering if maybe that would be the answer to bring your soul some refreshment and excitement. So that the thought of something off limits has been luring you like forbidden fruit, When actually the answer for your drought is what you already know to be true. Because this dry soul, this spiritual drought is not near, not new to you. I want to tell you to listen well now because the Lord knows your condition. He knows your need. Spiritual dryness is a common theme in God's word. The revelation from God to his people has this theme all throughout it of spiritual drought, because it is a common experience, a common theme for God's people. It's the main theme found here in Isaiah chapter 35, which finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ. So our second point this morning is the Lord's provision for spiritual drought. What is the Lord's provision for spiritual drought? It's found here in Isaiah 35. The background of Isaiah is helpful to remember. Isaiah was a prophet some 700 years before Christ in Jerusalem for about 40 years. His ministry overlapped with the reigns of several kings. King Uzziah, remember chapter six, where Isaiah has the curtain pulled back between this world and the next and he falls on his face and he says, woe to me, I'm a man of unclean lips. And he hears, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. The whole earth is full of his glory. He was ministering, Isaiah was ministering during King Jotham and King Ahaz and King Hezekiah. There were a number of significant issues going on during Isaiah's ministry. Early in his ministry there was war between the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah. Later, during Hezekiah's reign, came the siege of Jerusalem, while Sennacherib's Assyrian army devastated the countryside of Judah. Isaiah's prophecy contains words of warning. This is coming because of your spiritual condition, Israel. Isaiah's prophecy contained words of warning, calling the spiritual leaders of God's people back to the Lord. Exile is coming. calling them to task for their hypocrisy, their greed, their self-indulgement. Judgment was coming, and in fact, it did come. They were exiled in 722 BC. If you go to Jerusalem today, you can find Hezekiah's Tunnel, which was built during the ministry of Isaiah, one of the few 8th century BC structures that you can visit and walk through. In 2 Kings 20, verse 20, it says, now the rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit, the tunnel, that brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah? 2 Chronicles 32, verse 30, Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon, the Gihon Spring, and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. Hezekiah's tunnel was a technological marvel. They began digging from opposite sides to bring this tunnel from a spring into the city, a third of a mile long. For many years, liberal scholars thought, oh, this just proves the Bible is wrong. That it's false, this never happened, there's no evidence of it. And then in 1838, it was discovered. And you can walk through it. If you've been to Israel, my wife and I went there about 13, 14 years ago. You can walk through Hezekiah's tunnel. There's still water flowing through it. It was genius. Hezekiah's commended for his wisdom, his desire to provide water for what he knew would be a thirsty city, a city under siege. But what the people of God needed most was to return to the Lord, the living water. Isaiah predicts and warns of their exile and he speaks of Israel's remnant that would one day return, even found here at the end of Isaiah 35. But Isaiah points to a greater salvation, a greater savior, the coming suffering servant. He gets to that in Isaiah 53, the one who would establish justice and be a light to the Gentiles, who would take away sins, who would suffer willingly. Just listen to the language of God's provision that's found here in Isaiah 35. Words that describe and accompany spiritual dryness. This is what God's people needed to hear. They needed to hear of their own spiritual drought reflected in the drought of the land. Listen to the words that are sprinkled all through Isaiah 35. Wilderness, dry land, and desert, and weak hands, and feeble knees, and anxious heart, and fear, and thirsty ground, and going astray, and sighing, and sorrow. And then listen to the words of refreshing. Refreshing grace that are found in this chapter gladness and rejoicing and blossom and strengthen and be strong and waters and reeds and rushes and returning and singing and everlasting joy See the words of the prophecy are clear The immediate prophecy, no doubt, was for the returning exiles, that they would know that one day they would come back, verse 10, when the ransom of the Lord would return and sorrow and sadness would flee away. The land which was made a wilderness by the invasion of the Assyrians would be restored, verse one. The glory of the Lord would return, verse two, with the rebuilding of the temple. The vengeance of God would reestablish his people in the land with justice, verse four. The land would again be restored to fruitfulness and the people who walked in idolatry before would now walk in the way of holiness, verse eight. Their going astray, their discipline would teach them to fear God and to walk with him. The majesty of God in restoring His people, verse 2, keeping His promises, bringing a whole nation back, which was unprecedented that a people who had been carted off into exile would one day be brought back. God's promise would be accomplished. But Isaiah's prophecy has an even greater fulfillment than just the immediate fulfillment that was coming with the return of the exiles. With Old Testament prophecy it's like looking at a mountain range or two in the distance where you see some mountains are closer than others and there's another mountain range behind and they're all mixed together but they're miles apart. They have the same qualities only the one behind is greater and higher. That's what we have with Old Testament prophecy as we look at the fulfillment of that immediately in the present day and there's a fulfillment even greater in Christ in the mountains beyond. You see, Isaiah's prophecy has a greater fulfillment in view, the ultimate fulfillment of these things. When the glory of God would return to the land in the second person of the Trinity in the Lord Jesus Christ, when the heavens would open and the skies would be filled with angels at Bethlehem, and the one who could turn water into wine and command the forces of nature, the one who could turn a withered tree into full fruit, Then, he says there in verse five, yes, then at that day, at the final day, when the Messiah finally came to Bethlehem, then the eyes of the blind would be opened and the eyes of the deaf would be unstopped and the lame would leap for joy and the mute would sing and great and mighty miracles would be performed and even the dead raised. And the one who is the way and the truth and the life would come to earth. And the one who subdues the prowling lion of Satan himself, the ravenous beast mentioned there in verse nine, would be overcome so that God's people could walk in the way of holiness. And would come then to Mount Zion, not a physical mountain, but as Hebrews 12 says, to the heavenly Mount Zion where thousands upon thousands of angels are in joyful assembly. and even to a more glorious mountain as we enter the heavenly city on the day of resurrection through gates of pearl streaming in with the countless hosts singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, hallelujah. See, Isaiah's prophecy has an immediate fulfillment of when that season of spiritual drought would end with the exile and a future fulfillment in Christ who came to bring an end to spiritual dryness. But you know, the experience of the Christian is such that there are times when we go through spiritual drought or seasons of drought again. We need refreshment. We need the refreshment that still belongs to us, but our experience of that soul-quenching work of the Spirit of God is gone. And it seems to be especially acute during the holidays, when everyone is supposed to be merry and happy and joyous, but your soul is dry as a bone. So what do we do? What do we do to find an answer? Just as we've been seeing in our morning series in Exodus as the thirsty Israelites needed an oasis in the wilderness. So you may need an oasis right now and in the days ahead among amidst all the tinsel and holly and carols. Where do you find relief and refreshment? Thirdly, this morning, finding relief and refreshment. What do you do? Well, first of all, I tell you, and I tell you some of this from my own experience, look back, look back. Take an honest look at how you got to where you are. You remember, like Psalm 42 says, you remember when you used to come with joy to worship God? You remember that. But then something happened. Your stress level increased. Job concerns, financial problems maybe, family situations, conflict. financial issues, broken relationships, or maybe you've just become spiritually lazy and you've given in to fear, like verse four, and an anxious heart, and you've gone astray, like verse eight. Maybe you've started pocketing your sins. and saving it for later. I remember reading in a book one time about comparing that, comparing to saving sin for later, to putting eclairs in the refrigerator. As you go to the, you're on a diet, and you swing by a bakery, and you see all these beautiful pastries, and you think, oh, no, I can't do that, I can't do that, I'm on a diet. Well, you buy them anyway. And then when you get home, you feel bad that you bought the eclairs. Oh, but they're covered in chocolate. So instead of throwing them out or giving them to someone else, you just stick them in the refrigerator so they don't go bad. Maybe you've started pocketing your sin or putting in the refrigerator, save it for later. Psalm 66, the psalmist says, if I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Maybe it's unconfessed sin. Like David relates in Psalm 32, when I was silent, that is silent about my sin, silent and not confessing my sin, he says, my bones ached, my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I confessed my sin to the Lord, he says. Maybe it's unconfessed sin. I remember one time years ago, I was in my early 20s. Someone noticed a change in me and I had unconfessed sin. And this woman said to me, Eric, what's going on? Got unconfessed sin in your life? Like, oh, bingo. How did you know? She could see it. Maybe it's unconfessed sin, so you've withdrawn, you've withdrawn from God's people, you've withdrawn from serving the Lord, you've become sloppy and negligent in your spiritual life. You had not been watching your doctrine and life closely, as Paul says to Timothy. So first of all, look back. And then, look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. Take a full evaluation. Take a look first at your physical health. What's changed? How's your diet? That is, what are you eating? Are you exercising? Are you walking? Are you getting enough rest? Are you allowing electronics to keep you up late into the night? Maybe you're overworked. It can affect your spiritual health. Maybe you keep saying, but I'm the only one. I need to be there. Really? Are you feeling guilty for getting rest that you need? Jesus found times of rest, right? Remember when he was sleeping in the boat, taking a nap because he was weary? And the disciples accused him of not caring. Don't you care? We're gonna drown. You notice Jesus didn't apologize for taking a nap. Jesus didn't apologize for sleeping. Maybe you're not working enough and your laziness has spilled over into your spiritual life. So take a look back take a look in the mirror and thirdly realize your constant need for constant refreshment. Realize your constant need. The great apostle Paul knew this personally. It's amazing how many times he speaks about the need for others to refresh him. We think of Paul as being this great mighty apostle, the great apostle Paul. I don't need anybody. In Romans 15 he says to the church in Rome, pray so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed. in your company. That's why he wanted to go to Rome, not only to preach the gospel and to encourage the church, but to be refreshed by them. In 1 Corinthians 16, he says, I rejoice at the coming of Stephanus and Fortunatus and Achaicus, for they refreshed my spirit. Aren't there people in your life that do that? In 2 Timothy verse one, Paul speaks of how Onesiphorus often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. Or of Philemon in verse seven. He says the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, Philemon. And in verse 16, I want to benefit from you, Philemon. Refresh my heart in Christ. See, Paul's experience. is a common one. There are those, you know, who are particularly refreshing to you, those who lift you up from the muck and the mess. And just being with them recharges your batteries, right? Well, go to them. Call them if you're in a dry wilderness, in a dry place. If you're going through spiritual drought, call them. Call them on FaceTime. So you can see them if they're far away. Invite them to come see you. Naples is beautiful this time of year. It's vital for your soul to seek them out, those who refresh you. That's one of the means God gives you. It's very practical. Be around refreshing people. If you don't have anybody in your life that's refreshing, then pray for that. Pray for God to bring you refreshing friends. And that's what he brings together in the body of Christ in the church. That's why we have these Sunday evening suppers so people can sit around the table and refresh one another, get to know someone new, someone you didn't know. We have many new people here who are very refreshing to my soul. Seek out the refreshment. And then most importantly, turn to the Lord. Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one Isaiah speaks of here in chapter 35. Fly to him. Get on your knees. Pour out your heart to him. Wrestle with God until he answers. Pray, like Isaiah says, Lord, I am in the wilderness. Be honest with God. I am in a dry land right now, Lord. I'm in a desert. I have weak hands. I have feeble knees, Lord. I have an anxious heart. I'm fearful. Lord, I feel like I'm on thirsty ground. I'm going astray. I'm sighing all the time. Sorrow fills my heart. Lord, you said, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest for your souls. Lord, I need that rest. I need that refreshment. Only you can give it. I've tried everything else. Lord, I want gladness. Lord, I want rejoicing. I want crocuses blossoming, as Isaiah says, here in my life. Lord, strengthen me. I want to be strong. Let the living waters turn my desert into reeds and rushes. Let the living water return me to the Lord that I might be overflowing with singing and everlasting joy. You've promised your people, Lord. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink Oh Lord, let me drink of your grace and your promises. Forgive my wandering, whatever I've done to contribute to this desert that I'm in. You promised the woman at the well, whoever drinks of this water will never be thirsty again. Whoever drinks of the water I give will never be thirsty. Lord, that's what I need today. Today. Maybe you've just now realized. Maybe you've just now realized. that you've never come actually to Christ. You've never prayed for any of those things before. You've never prayed for anything like what I've just suggested. And you've always lived in the wilderness. You've always just been going through the religious motions of going to church, but you've never poured out your heart to God saying, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. I need a savior. I need eternal refreshment for my soul. I'm tired of trying all the fads and gimmicks and all the things of this world, stuffing them into this empty vacuum in my heart because nothing satisfies. Come to him today. Believe on him, trust in him. He died for sinners like you and like me. And as we sang earlier in the service, don't let fitness to come to Christ, nor a fitness fondly dream. All the fitness he requires is that you feel your need of him. You don't have to wait for your life to get all cleaned up. Come to him now. Come to him now. He'll give you new life. Maybe you've just not realized until right here what's going on in your life, that you're in a spiritual desert. Or maybe you're a Christian who's just gotten off track so far and you realize, I'm in the middle of the wilderness. I need, Lord, I need you to bring me back and refresh my soul. And you're not just dreaming or having visions of a dry Christmas. You have nightmares about the holiday season. because your heart needs refreshing from the Lord himself. So come today. Why would you refuse? Why would you refuse? Fly to him, call out to him. He has promised that he will answer. Praise the Lord. He's a God of grace. He's a God of grace. He's near to you when you cry to him. God is good. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we bow before you and thank you for your mercy to us in Christ. Thank you that you are the answer for all of our needs, all of our spiritual needs, and you promised to give them out of the riches of grace in Christ. Thank you that Jesus didn't come to find good people, Jesus came to save sinners, to save rebels like us. Lord, draw to yourself those who are far off by the winsome love of Christ for the rebel. Lord, restore us, refresh us, bring refreshing people into our lives, and may we be that refreshment to others who are far off and walking through a dry spiritual desert. Bless your church, Lord. Use these tithes and gifts and offerings to build your church that we might be the light to the world that you've called us to be. Thank you for our Savior, who makes all this possible. Thank you for a Savior greater than our sins. Thank you for the hope of the resurrection, how we long for that day when every tear will be dry. Keep us close to you, Lord, until that day. And we pray in Jesus' name, amen. In just a moment, the ushers will come forward for the morning offering, and then we'll sing our closing hymn of joy. Joy to the world, the Lord has come. It's number 195 in your hymnal, but first let's receive the morning offering. you