Hebrews 12. I want to begin by reading to you
the two verses that will actually be our text for tonight. Hebrews 12 verses 12 and 13. Wherefore, lift up the hands
which hang down. and the feeble knees, and make
straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned
out of the way, but let it rather be healed." That's beautiful,
isn't it? Reading those two verses will
lift up your hands and strengthen your feeble knees. He said, wherefore,
because of everything that has just been said, be encouraged,
be encouraged. Now, let's just recap what he
said. Verse one, he said, wherefore, seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, Let us lay aside every
weight and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Finish
this course in life looking to who He is. He is the author and
finisher of our faith. He is the author and finisher
of everything because He's God. Everything. Everything He authors
is for our good and His glory. Finish the course of this life
looking to who He is and looking to what He's done. Verse 2 says,
who for the joy that was set before Him, because He delighted
in His people, loved His people, desired for them to be with Him
for all eternity, He endured the cross. I cannot wait to hear
Him preach the cross. I can't wait. We've heard a lot
of men try to preach the cross, haven't we? He endured the cross. He authored the remedy for sin
through the cross. He finished the remedy for sin
through the cross, despising the shame. Bearing the shame,
putting away all the shame. Finish the course of this life,
look into who He is, what He has done, and where He is now. Verse 2 says, He is set down
at the right hand of the throne of God, and He does whatever
He pleases. Whatever He pleases. Does that
lift up your hanging hands? Does that squeeze support around
your feeble knees? Verse three, he said, for consider
him that endured such contradiction of centers against himself, lest
you be wearied and faint in your minds. Anytime you feel weary,
like you're not going to make it. Anytime you get to that place
where you honestly think, I don't know that I'm going to make it.
You think about everything He endured to pay your price and
set you free. It does not matter what it is
that is dragging you down. If you can get to the place in
this heart that realizes for just a moment what He did for
me and how He has set me free. Yes, the world is hard, it's
bad, but it's almost over and that's it. I'm free. I'm paid for. I'm bought with
a price. Verse four, you have not yet
resisted unto blood striving against sin. That battle was
his. As you finish running the course
of this life, remember, verse 5 says, you have forgotten the
exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son,
despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou
art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he
chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If you
endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what
son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if you be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are you bastards and not sons.
Furthermore, we have had fathers in our flesh which corrected
us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in
subjection unto the father of spirits and live? For they verily
for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for
our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now
no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward, it yielded
the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised. Thereby, he is teaching us and
he is correcting us because he loves us. He loves us. And what we consider to be trials
and chastisement. And they just keep coming and
they just keep coming. Trials and trials and trials and trials
and trials and trials. What we consider to be chastisement
is actually him drawing us nearer to himself. That's what it is. That's what it is. If we did
not have him, how far, so very far, would we go? It's Him bringing us closer to
Him, and it's Him conforming us to His glorious image. Verse 12 says, Wherefore, lift
up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make
straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned
out of the way. but let it rather be healed. Verse 12 is quoting Isaiah 35. And I want us to turn over there
and see what the Lord said in Isaiah 35. This chapter is one
of the most encouraging, uplifting chapters that I know of in all
the Word of God. This is a glorious, glorious,
Chapter now the exhortation is Be comforted. That's the exhortation
be comforted. How are we comforted? Through
this word We're comforted through this word David said your word
is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path and it is a It is,
it's a lamp, it's a light. The Lord said to Solomon, my
son, attend to my words. Incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from your
eyes. Keep them in the midst of thine
heart, for they are life unto those that find them and health
to all their flesh. And it's true. It's true. It is life. It is health. It's
encouragement. It's marrow to our bones. Now,
if we start back in chapter 34, we see in verse 16, Isaiah 34,
verse 16, it says, Seek ye out of the book of the Lord and read.
No one of these shall fail. None shall want her mate, for
my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them. Set a straight course for this
book. That's what he said. Set a straight
course and soak up every promise that's in this word. Every single
promise. Because not one of them will
fail. Down to the smallest detail. Jeremiah 6 verse 16 says, Thus
saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways and see, and ask for the
old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and you
shall find rest for your souls. John wrote on the Isle of Patmos,
blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this
prophecy. Blessed is he that readeth. and
they that truly I mean truly not just hear the words but I
mean hear the words of this prophecy and here's why if God ever opens
up this word to us and if his spirit ever blesses it to our
understanding chapter 35 verse 1 says 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 unto it. The excellency of Carmel and
Sharon. They shall see the glory of the
Lord and the excellency of our God. Once sinners see the glory
of the Lord. Once they see the glory of the
Lord. Once God reveals to the heart
of a sinner, not the mind. I stress that. Oh, do I stress
that? Not the mind. I'm learning more
and more of that saying, salvation is roughly 18 inches. I'm learning
more and more of that, I believe. Not the mind. Not the mind. Once the heart of a sinner sees
the excellency, once God reveals the excellency of who he is,
what he did, and where he is now, the wilderness, and that's
us, The desert, the place where nothing
is, emptiness, void, all of a sudden starts rejoicing and blossoming
as a rose. So the commandment is, start
preaching my word to them. Comfort them. Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people. You start preaching the glory
of the Lord to them. and this is what will happen.
You preach the glory of the Lord and this is what will happen.
Now we're about to read down through this but Listen to how
he describes the ones who he wants to be comforted, the ones
that he wants these promises of his word to be declared to.
These are his people. These are the sheep of his pasture. These are the ones he endured
the cross for. He said this word is to the weak. The feeble. The fearful. The blind. The deaf. The lame. The dumb. Mute. The parched. The thirsty. The wayfaring. The fools. The redeemed. And the ransomed. I believe it's talking about
us. I believe he's talking about us. Verse 3, he said, you preach
the gospel to them and this is what will happen. Strengthen
ye the weak hands. This is who I want you to preach
to. You strengthen the weak hands. Can't do. Can't work. No works of their own. In my
hand, no price I bring. That's who I want you to strengthen.
That's who I want you to speak to. That's who I want you to
speak to the heart of. No ability of my own, no ability
in my hands. Verse three, he said, and confirm
the feeble knees can't stand. Cannot stand before God who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord. or who shall stand in his holy
place he that has clean hands and a pure heart who have not
lifted up his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully that's
not me i can't stand god said that's who i want you
to talk to that's who i want you to preach to verse four he
said say to them that are of a fearful heart weak, feeble,
fearful. He said, I want you to tell them,
be strong. Fear not. Behold, your God will come with
vengeance. He will come. He will come. Is He really coming? Is this real? Are we of all men most miserable? Is he coming? Your God shall come. He's coming. He's coming with vengeance. Even
God with a recompense, He will come and save you. Out of this
miserable, dark place, this valley of the shadow of death, He will
come pluck you out. He will receive you to Himself.
He is coming. We are a fearful people. We're
a fearful people. I love how John, when he saw
the Lord on the Isle of Patmos, he fell at his feet as dead. And the Lord laid his right hand
on him and said, fear not, fear not. I am he that liveth and
was dead. And behold, I'm alive forevermore. Fear not. God said, you tell
my weak, feeble, fearful people that I'm coming to save them.
I'm coming to save them. They have my word. I'm coming
back with a vengeance and I'm going to save them. Verse five,
then the eyes of the blind shall be opened. This is what happens. You preach the gospel to them.
And once they hear that gospel, the eyes of the blind shall be
open. They're going to see Christ.
For the first time, they're going to see Christ for the first time. They're going to see their deliverer.
They're going to see their shepherd, the one who is keeping them and
feeding them and protecting them. You have a keeper. What if the economy tanks? You
have a keeper. What if a madman turns on you? You have a keeper. You have a keeper. You have a
shepherd. You have somebody feeding you. protecting you. Verse five says,
then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the
deaf shall be unstopped. They're going to hear his voice. They're going to hear his voice
and they're going to be so shocked. Instead of hearing him say, depart
from me, I never knew you. They're gonna hear him say, come
unto me, my beloved, my spouse. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. Beautiful voice. Verse six says, then shall the
lame man leap as a heart. Is this not what happens when
the gospel comes? It starts with this word. Starts with this word to a barren
land, a bunch of dry, dead bones. Can these bones live? Well, you
preach the gospel to them and find out. You strengthen their hands, their
feeble knees. You tell them that their God
is coming to save them. And as soon as you tell them
that, the eyes are going to be open, and the ears are going
to be unstopped. And as soon as their eyes are
open and their ears are unstopped, all those lame men and women
leap as a heart. The chains have fallen off. The weight of sin has been lifted. Just like Pilgrim, who was carrying
that burden on his back, Oh, I desire that God might show
more sinners where they can take their burden. Pilgrim had that
burden on his back and he was seeking relief and seeking help.
And he went down the path that straight and narrow way. And
when he got to the foot of the cross, he looked up and the burden
fell off and he leaped as a heart. Verse six says, and the tongue
of the dumb is going to start singing. In loving kindness,
the Lord Jesus came. My soul in mercy to reclaim. And from the depths of sin and
shame, through grace, he lifted me. From sinking sand, he lifted
me. With tender hand he lifted me
from shades of night to planes of light." Have you ever taken
off in an airplane under the rain, the gray, the dreary, the
cold, and you get above those clouds and it's just daylight,
sunny and 70 degrees. From shades of night to planes
of light. It was there all the time. I
just couldn't see it. Oh, praise His name, He lifted me. This
word calls it a new song. They start singing a new song.
The old song went like this, Why me? The new song goes like this,
Why me? The old song said, What did I
ever do to deserve this? The new song goes like this,
What did I ever do to deserve this? Verse 6 says, for in the wilderness,
the wilderness is you and me. That empty place, in, in, inside
the wilderness, Christ in you, the hope of glory. 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. Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come running to the living water. Bring two cups. One is not enough. It'll just run over and run over. Verse seven says in the habitations
of dragons. Where each one lay and you can
imagine what that looks like. That's a dead spot. You know
what it's like a place where an animal lays. It's a dead,
dirty, muddy, ruined spot. It's just a ruined spot. He said life is going to come
to that place. Grass is going to grow with reeds and rushes. in the habitation of dragons,
where each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes." That
comes from the precious seed that's sown, the seed of the
Word, watered by God's Holy Spirit. He said, you throw the seed of
the Word, water it with the Spirit, and then watch the grass grow.
Life spring up. Verse 8 says, "...and an highway
shall be there." I love this. This is one of my favorite, favorite
things to read. A highway shall be there. I love
how he didn't call it a trail. It's not just a path. It's not just a road, he said,
it's a highway, it's a freeway. free to all who are put on it
by God Almighty. It's a great way. Verse 8 says, And it shall be
called The Way of Holiness. Do you see how The is capitalized? That means call it Christ. The Way of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over
it, but it shall be for those, the wayfaring man, the pilgrims
and the strangers who are seeking God and seeking a better country. Lord, we need a better country.
We've all ruined this one. And this is just glorious. The
end of verse eight, it says, the wayfaring men, though fools,
shall not err therein. Err does not mean enter. Err means error. These strangers that I've selected
to be my people, Even though by nature they're
fools, they're just sinful fools. That's all they are. I'm going
to put them in the highway, which is Christ. Christ the highway.
I'm going to bring them all the way to my city. And once they're in, they're
never going to sin ever again. Never again. The wayfaring men,
though fools, shall not err therein. There are going to be new creations.
All of them. Brand new creations. Verse 9
says, 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. The paid for. Bought with a price. They're going to walk there with
no harm, no threat, perfect peace. Stayed upon Jehovah, perfect
peace. Verse 10 says, and the ransomed,
the rescued. And the ransomed of the Lord
shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy
upon their heads. And they shall obtain joy and
gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Does that lift
anybody's hands? Man, that lifts mine. God's Word, His Word of our deliverance,
that's the only thing that can lift the hands of His people.
And God's Word of deliverance will lift the hands of every
single one of His people. Every one. I love this. I'm going to close with this.
Go over to Exodus 14. Exodus 14 verse 5 says, And it was told the king of Egypt
that the people fled. And the heart of Pharaoh and
of his servants was turned against the people. And they said, Why
have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready his chariot
and took his people with him. And he took 600 chosen chariots
and all the chariots of Egypt and captains over every one of
them. And the Lord hardened the heart
of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And he pursued after the children
of Israel. And the children of Israel went
out with a high hand." Here they all go, marching out. Marching
out, and they're so, Pharaoh's so mad, what have I done? Why
did I let them go? They're all marching out with
a high hand. They were encouraged. 400 years
of bondage, and today was the day. And there, can't you see
God's saints marching to Zion, marching all the way through
Emmanuel's ground, with a high hand. Today is the day. Oh, they're so encouraged. They
have every reason to be. God delivered them. God delivered
them, and he continued to deliver them all the way to the promised
land. Right here in this chapter is where Moses said in verse
13, Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the
Lord, which he will show to you to this day. The Egyptians whom
you've seen today, you'll see them again no more. The Lord
shall fight for you and you'll hold your peace. It's over. It's over. Go out with a high
hand. All right, let's all stand together.