Let's open our Bibles again to
Isaiah chapter 35. The title of the message is God's
Highway of Salvation. I took the title from verse 8,
and a highway should be there and a way, and it should be called
the way of holiness. Now this way is very necessary
because man has fallen in Adam. When Adam sinned in the Garden
of Eden, All men who would ever descend from Adam became sinners.
All of us became guilty in Adam. In Adam, every one of us fell
out of the way. And all men are in desperate
need of salvation because we can't save ourselves. We can't
save ourselves from sin and death. We're in a lost condition and
we can't find the way. But God in His goodness and mercy
has provided a way of salvation. There is a way. Isaiah describes
this way of salvation as a highway. It's God's highway of salvation.
John Gill said this, it's very good. This is the way that's
common to all of Christ's subjects, high and low, rich and poor,
stronger or weaker believers, all walk in this way. It's an
old, beaten path. where saints in all ages from
the beginning of the world have walked in. It's the good old
way, the more excellent, the most excellent one. All obstructions
and impediments are removed. No one is to be stopped or molested
in this way and all in it shall come safe to their journey's
end. Now I'm very interested in that way of salvation because
I'm a sinner in need of a savior. And if you're a sinner in need
of a savior, I believe I've got a message from the Lord for you.
Now, what does our text here tell us about God's highway of
salvation? Well, first it tells us who is
on this highway. Everyone in God's highway of
salvation, every one of them are impotent. They can't do anything
to save themselves. They're all helpless, hopelessly
lost. Every one of them needs Christ. They must have Christ to come
save them by himself because they can't contribute anything
to their salvation. And they can't contribute anything
because everybody in this way, on this highway, is weak and
feeble. Look at verse three. Strengthen ye the weak hands
and confirm the feeble knees. Now before God saves anyone,
first thing he teaches us is this. He makes us see our weakness. Our hands are too weak to lift
up to do anything good. All our hands can do is sin.
So we've got to have someone else come save us. Somebody else
is gonna have to come lift us up because we, our hands are
too weak to even lift them up ourselves. And before God saves
anyone, He makes us see that our knees are feeble. Our knees
are so feeble, We can't move. We can't make a move toward God. I hear a false prophet say, now
you just meet God halfway and he'll save you. Well, that's
not good news if you got feeble knees. I can't take the first
step, much less meet God halfway. My knees are feeble. Somebody's
got to come where I am and save me because my knees are too feeble
to go to him. Well, how are the weak and the
feeble? How are they strengthened? We're
not strengthened by the preacher giving them something to prop
themselves up. We don't give them a cane or a walker. God
strengthens his people by giving them Christ. Those weak hands
and the feeble knees are confirmed through the preaching of Christ.
God strengthens his people by putting them in Christ and putting
Christ in them. When God saves a sinner, now
he's not just propping us up. God doesn't just help us out.
Everyone God saves doesn't have anything to contribute to their
salvation. They don't have the strength to do anything. They
need more than some help. They need someone to do all the
saving. They need one who's mighty to
save. They need Christ. He's the one
who's mighty to save. And they're strengthened in Christ. They're strengthened by Christ
giving himself as a sacrifice for us. And they're strengthened
by Christ giving Himself to us. Christ in you, that's the hope
of glory. We're strengthened by hearing
Christ, by hearing Him preached and seeing Christ with the eye
of faith. Especially on Wednesday nights.
I know when you get here, you're wore out. And it's my prayer
to preach Christ in such a way that you go home feeling like
you're strengthened. And Thursday morning, maybe the Lord lets
you remember something, a message. You're strengthened by hearing
Christ preaching. That's how the feeble are strengthened. Second, the people on God's highway
of salvation are sinners who are full of fears. What message
does God have for sinners who are full of fear? Look at verse
four. 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. Now
when God enables a sinner to see something of ourselves and
he begins to open our eyes, the first thing we see is our sin. And that makes us full of fear,
doesn't it? Sin has made us full of fear of everything. I mean,
we're afraid of everything because of sin. But when God lets us
see something of ourselves, we become full of fear of God's
wrath. We become fear of separation
from God. We become fear of eternal death.
And I'll tell you something else we fear. Our own selves. I am, I fear my own self. We're afraid of ourselves because
we know we're capable of doing anything. Full of fears. Well,
what's God's message to a sinner who's full of fears? The message
is fear not. Fear not because of your sin.
Christ has removed the sin of his people. Well, you might ask,
why shouldn't I fear? Aren't I full of sin? Yes, you
are. We're full of sin. Well, don't
I have a sin debt to pay that I can't pay? Shouldn't I fear?
Yes, you do. We all have a sin debt to pay.
We cannot pay. Won't God punish every sin with
death? Yes, He will. Then why shouldn't I be afraid?
Because if God has put you in His mercy, He's put you on His
highway of salvation, God's already come with a vengeance against
your sin. He's already come with a vengeance and punished your
sin in Christ your substitute. And if God's punished Christ
for your sins, God will come to you with a recompense. Now
that word recompense is reward. Now God's not going to come and
give us a reward for anything we've done, is he? No, it's not
a reward based upon our works. The reward is the reward of grace. We know God will come and save
his people because Christ has already suffered and died for
their sins. Christ has already satisfied
the vengeance of God against the sin of his people. Justice
is satisfied. So God will come and save his
people. His vengeance is gone. There's
no more vengeance left, so he will come and give his people
the reward of grace that Christ has earned for them. That's God's
message to the fearful. Fear not. Christ has already
suffered the vengeance of your sin. God will come with the reward
of grace to his people. Thirdly, who's on this highway
of grace? Everyone who's on God's highway
of salvation sees where they're going. Verse five, then the eyes
of the blind shall be opened. Now, everyone who's on God's
highway of salvation, they were born blind, but now they see. They see and they understand.
We see Christ with the eye of faith. And when we see Christ,
we understand how God saves sinners. When with the eye of faith, I
see Christ in his glory, in his sufficiency, Now I see how God
can save someone as vile as me. It's by the perfection of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's by the glory and sufficiency
of Christ. Now I see. Now we're born blind. Who is more dependent than a
blind person? We're completely dependent on
God the Holy Spirit to come give us eyes to see. But when he gives
us eyes to see, we see, we understand, we see the way. The gospel is
not understood naturally. You know, I always hope to preach
in simple terms that everybody can understand, but you really
can't understand in the heart, the gospel with the natural mind. Brilliant men and women, have
heard the gospel and not understood what somebody with a first grade
education can understand. Because the gospel is understood
supernaturally. When God the Holy Spirit gives
us eyes to see, then we understand. Fourth, everyone who's on God's
highway of salvation hears Christ and they follow him as he leads
in the way. In the middle there, verse five,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Now by nature,
we don't hear and we don't obey the voice of Christ commanding
us to repent and come to Him. We don't understand when we hear
the gospel. We say, that's so strange. I
don't understand that. And it's strange to us because
it runs contrary to human intellect. It runs contrary to the way we
would do things. But the Holy Spirit comes and
gives ears, ears to understand, ears to hear. He gives those
ears to everyone that Christ died for. And when we're given
spiritual ears to hear the gospel, you know what we hear? You quit
hearing the preacher and you start hearing Christ, the good
shepherd. And he calls you, you're his sheep. He calls you through
the preaching of the gospel and you follow Christ in the way.
You follow the shepherd in God's highway of salvation because
he gave you ears to hear. Fifth, everyone on God's highway
has feet to follow Christ. Verse six, then shall the lame
man leap as in heart. Now, like I said earlier, we're
talking about these feeble knees. We're born lame. We're both unable
to come to Christ and we're unwilling to come to Christ. We're just
like Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was lame on both
feet, wasn't he? How did Mephibosheth become lame?
In a fall. His nurse picked him up to run
with him and she fell. Whatever happened, he was lame
on both his feet from then on for the rest of his life. David
became king and he began looking for someone of the house of Saul
to show mercy to for Jonathan's sake. Mephibosheth had no idea
this covenant that had been made many, many years ago between
David and Solomon, or David and, yeah, I know his name. Jonathan,
that's his name. I ought to remember that name,
what not. This is what happens when you go off your nose. He
had no idea, no idea of that covenant. Mephibosheth was in
hiding. He's lame on both of his feet.
He was unable to come to David. But you know what else? The Phibosheth
was unwilling to come to David. He said, if I go to David, he'll
kill me. He had no idea of the mercy that David had in his heart
because of a covenant that he made with Jonathan. That's you
and me by nature. Unable to come to God because
we're dead in sins. And because we're dead in sins,
we're unwilling to come to God. We're unwilling to come before
his bar of justice. I want you to look in Acts chapter
3. By God's grace, we're born again. I'll tell you what we
do. We come to Christ leaping for
joy. In Acts chapter 3, here's a physical
fulfillment of this very promise. Acts 3 verse 1. Now Peter and
John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer,
being the ninth hour. And a certain man, laying from
his mother's womb, was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate
of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them
that entered into the temple. Who, seeing Peter and John about
to go into the temple, asked an alms. And Peter, fastening
his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave
heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then
Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I
give thee. in the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk. And he took him by the right
hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength. Those feeble knees received strength.
And he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered with them
into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking
and praising God. That's everyone on God's highway
of salvation. They're there by God's grace.
They're there because God put them there. But they're also
there willingly, lovingly, joyfully following Christ. Sixth, everyone
on God's highway of salvation tells the exact same story. Everyone
on this highway tells the story of grace. Look at the middle
of verse six. And the tongue of the dumb sing. Now, by nature, We don't know
God, so we don't know anything to say about God, do we? I mean,
how can we say anything about him when we don't know him? But
when God reveals Christ to us, now we've got a story to tell.
And the story we tell, look in Luke chapter one, the story we
tell is gonna be the story of grace. In Luke chapter one, this
is the angel, Gabriel, came to Zacharias and told him, that
Elizabeth was Campbell's son. Zacharias didn't believe him.
So the angel said, until this child's born, you won't be able
to speak. He was struck dumb this whole
time. In verse 63 of Luke 1, this is after the boy was born,
and Zacharias asked for a writing table and wrote, saying his name
is John. And they marveled all, and his
mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he
spake. What did he speak? He praised God. As soon as his
tongue was loosed, he praised God. Everyone on God's highway
of salvation tells the story of grace. But instead of speaking,
Isaiah says here they sing. You know, what do they say when
they catch the criminal? I watch Law and Order. They put
them in the box, you know, they're going to sweat them out. And
that guy finally confesses. What do they say about that criminal
that confesses? They say he sang like a bird.
That's what everyone on God's highway of salvation is doing.
They're singing like a bird. They're confessing that all they
are is sin. They're confessing that they're
a sinner and they're confessing that Christ is all my salvation.
He saved me by himself, by his power alone, by his grace alone,
by his blood alone, by his righteousness alone, through faith alone. Everyone
that God, if he loosens your tongue, will confess Christ is
all. Seventh, everyone on God's highway
of salvation is filled with the Holy Spirit because they've been
born again. Look here at the end of verse six. 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 and the habitation of dragons where each
lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes. Now look in John
chapter seven. I'll show you this, when Isaiah
here is speaking of this water, he's speaking in a picture, a
picture of the Holy Spirit. In John 7 verse 37, In the last
day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth
on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit,
which they that believe on him should receive, for the Holy
Ghost was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
So as Isaiah talks about these springs breaking out and these
dry, parched lands and these deserts becoming a pool, what
he's speaking of is the believer being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Our natural soul is a dead, barren wilderness, isn't it? But in
Christ, We're born again. When we're born again, we are
a well-watered soul because it's the spirit who dwells in us.
Isaiah says here in this habitation used to be just parched ground.
Now there's reeds and rushes. Well, reeds and rushes grow in
a well-watered area. They grow where there's standing
water. That's the believer. Has standing water, spring of
water in them because they're filled with the spirit. So you're
not gonna thirst for righteousness anymore, because you're filled
with righteousness. You're not gonna thirst for an
atonement for your sin anymore, because you've been filled with
the atonement. You've been washed in the blood. You're not gonna
thirst for salvation anymore. Not only are you in the way of
salvation, you're filled with it, filled with the Holy Spirit.
And I tell you, we didn't come into this world that way. We
came into this world dry and parched ground, We used to be
an idolater. I don't care where it is, God
found you. When he found you, you were an idolater, worshiping
something other than him. That's what Isaiah says here
about the habitation of dragons where each lay. That's an idolater. But not anymore. Now you're the
temple of the Holy Spirit. You're filled with the Spirit.
See, God's highway of salvation is not like the West Virginia
turnpike. It's not a toll road. It's a freeway. It's the way
of free grace. And it's gotta be. Because God's
highway of salvation is filled with needy sinners who don't
have anything to pay. They don't have any strength.
They can't earn anything. The only way they can be there
is by free grace. And that's comfort to the needy
sinner. God's way of salvation is a freeway. Free grace. Now that's who's on the highway
of salvation. And if that describes you, you're
on God's highway of salvation by His grace. Next, we have a
description of God's highway of salvation. So you know, are
you on the way or not? First, we saw who's on the highway.
Second, God's highway of salvation, what kind of way is it? It's
a way of holiness, verse eight. And a highway shall be there
in a way, and it should be called the way of holiness. The unclean
shall not pass over it." God's highway of salvation is not a
road that you have to travel in order to become holy. Everyone
on God's highway of salvation has already been made holy in
Christ. Everyone God saves is made holy. They're justified, made without
sin. They're made the righteousness
of God in Christ. When a sinner is born again,
That sinner is not reformed. He's born again. He's born new.
He's born from new seed. He's born with a new holy nature. He's holy. That's God's way of
salvation. God's way of salvation is not
to accept sin. God's way of salvation is not
to just ignore sin and pretend like it's not there. God's way
of salvation is to take the sin of His people away through the
blood of His Son and to make His people holy in His Son. In
our first birth, we were born an unclean thing. Isn't that
right? The unclean can't pass over this
highway. How are we going to get on it?
We've got to be born again. We've got to be given a new nature.
We've got to be washed in the blood of Christ. And God makes
all of his people holy in his son. His way of salvation is
a way of holiness. Third, God's highway of salvation
is so plain that if you're on it, you can never get lost. Look
here at the end of verse eight. But it shall be for those, the
wayfaring men, Though fools shall not err therein." Everyone who's
on God's highway of salvation, they're all wayfaring men and
women. They're pilgrims on their way
home. Now I'll tell you this about them. Every one of them
is born a fool in Adam. They're born not knowing God.
They're born not knowing Christ. They're born not knowing the
way of salvation. But when God the Holy Spirit
causes them to be born again, They receive an understanding.
They're given wisdom and knowledge. But it's pretty limited, isn't
it? Now that knowledge is pretty limited. We see, but we see through
a glass darkly. We know, but we know in part. Well, is my limited knowledge
going to make me get lost so I can't make it home? No, no. Everyone on God's highway of
salvation will make it. all the way home. This road leads
one place. It leads to the throne of God.
It leads home. And you'll never choose the wrong
fork in the road and end up going the wrong way because there's
no forks on God's road. There's one road. It's a long
straight road. You can't miss it. You'll never
turn to the right when you should have turned to the left and end
up in the wrong place because there's no intersections on God's
highway of salvation. It's one way, one road. You'll
never take a detour and get off the highway and fail to get back
on the highway. It always makes me wonder, how
is there an exit on this interstate but there's no reentry? That
just always boggles the mind. If I get off here, how am I going
to get back on, you know? There's no signs like that on
God's highway of salvation. There's no detours. You'll never
come to a construction zone because Christ has already built everything
perfectly. There's no repair going on on
this highway. It's always perfect. You'll not come to any wrecks
on God's highway of salvation, because everything on this highway
is secure and safe in Christ. Even fools like us cannot mess
up salvation in Christ. It's too simple. There's just
one answer. There's just one way. It's Christ. And when God saves a sinner,
we're fools, but God gives us the wisdom to keep looking to
Christ. And as foolish as we are by nature,
not only is there just one way so we can't get lost, but Christ
is there with his people. Christ is the way of salvation,
and Christ is the guide leading his people in this way of salvation.
Here in verse 8 where it says, but it shall be for those, the
wayfaring men. If you got to Cambridge and sent
a reference there, you probably got a little number 7 by that,
but it shall be for those. That literally translated is,
for he shall be with them. You know why you won't get lost
on this highway of salvation? Because Christ is with you. Not
only is he the way, he's leading you in the way and he'll never
lead you wrong. You'll never get lost on this
way of salvation. Fourth, God's highway of salvation
is a way of safety. I have a friend up in New Jersey
And they had come down to the, I believe it was a Danville conference.
And she was telling me they'd gone different years and gone
different ways. And she said they, one time they went down,
picked up their daughter at college and came through the West Virginia
turnpike. She said, that's the road of
death. She said, why, why would anybody ever go on that road?
That's not God's highway. God's highway of salvation is
the way of safety. Verse nine. No lion shall be
there, nor any ravenous beast shall go thereon. It shall not
be found there. The only lion who's on God's
highway of salvation is Christ, the lion of the tribe of Judah.
We just saw there in verse 8, where he shall be with them.
Satan, that old roaring lion, going about seeking whom he may
devour, he's not going to bother you on this way. Because Christ,
the lion of the tribe of Judah, is there. And he's already crushed
Satan's head at Calvary. If Christ is with us, you fear
no enemy because Christ has already defeated our every enemy. There
are no ravenous beasts come up on this highway and tear anybody
to shreds because all those ravenous beasts, they're defeated. Even
the justice of God. Now the justice of God scares
the sinner. We hear the justice of God, that
strikes fear in the heart of the sinner. Even the justice
of God will not come on God's highway and tear anyone to shreds
because Christ has already satisfied. He's put an end to God's justice
against the sin of his people when Christ suffered and died
as our substitute. God's highway of salvation is
a way of safety because Christ has already satisfied justice. He's already purchased our salvation. Which brings me to the fifth
point. God's highway of salvation is a way of blood. And look at
the end of verse nine, but the redeemed shall walk there and
the ransomed of the Lord shall return. Now, everyone who's on
God's highway of salvation, they're going somewhere. They're returning
home. They're going back to God and
they're walking through this world on this highway, going
home. And Isaiah describes these travelers as the redeemed and
the ransomed. How did they become redeemed?
How did they get ransomed? They're redeemed and they're
ransomed by the blood. This is a way of blood, the blood
of Christ. And this blood is necessary.
You can't be on this highway without the blood because all
these travelers, they're born in sin. They're born under the
curse of sin. The law has put a price on their
head they cannot pay. But Christ has redeemed them
from the curse of the law by being made a curse for them.
He redeemed his people with his own precious blood. He bought
them back from the law by paying their sin debt with his own blood.
They're redeemed in the blood. And all these travelers, they're
born in the prison house of sin. I often wonder about these women
having babies in prison. And I don't understand what happened.
I don't know what happened to that baby. I really don't know.
But whenever I see it, I thought, that's us. We're babies born
in the prison house of sin. And God's justice is not going
to let us go free until justice is satisfied. A ransom must be
paid. So the Lord Jesus Christ came
in the perfection of his person, and he satisfied justice for
his people. He delivered them from going
down into the pit because he became a ransom for their souls.
They were ransomed through the sacrifice of Christ. You don't
have to turn here, but our Lord spoke of this in Matthew chapter
20, verse 28. Even as a son of man came not
to be ministered unto, but to minister, he came to minister
to his people and to give his life a ransom for many. Well, who are the many? Everyone
on this highway, everyone on the highway of God's salvation.
Christ gave his life a ransom for them so they could be set
free and put on this highway of salvation. Sixth, God's highway
of salvation is a way of joy. Verse 10, And the ransom to the
Lord shall return and come to Zion with songs and everlasting
joy upon their head. They shall obtain joy and gladness. Now, a believer's joy. You know,
we talk about the believer's joy. This world has perverted
the definition of what true joy is. A believer's joy is not just
everything's happy, everything's wonderful all the time, everything's
gonna be easy now because Christ has saved us. No, that's not
it at all. These travelers, they're redeemed,
and they're ransomed. They're full of joy. They're
singing. But I'm telling you, they've got a hard way to go.
This is a hard way. They're going to face many dangers,
toils, and snares. Look at John chapter 15. But even in all these difficult
times, when they face all these dangers, toils and snares, the
believer's joy is Christ. It's not our circumstances, it's
Christ. John 15, verse 11. These things have I spoken unto
you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might
be full. What was Christ's joy? He said,
my joy. What is His joy? His joy was
the joy of saving his people from their sins. And he says,
now that's your joy, that your joy might be full. Paul said in Romans 5 verse 11,
not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ by whom we have now received the atonement. What joy to have
forgiveness of your sins in the blood of Christ. That's the atonement.
We're made one with God through the atonement. of the Lord Jesus
Christ. What joy to be made righteous
in Christ. God can't accept us unless we're
righteous. What joy to be made like Christ. What joy to have
the promise of the presence of Christ wherever you go. There's
going to be many dangers, toils and snares, but don't you find
joy in His promise? He's going to be with you there.
Oh, what joy. What joy to have the promise
of Christ himself that we are going to be with him where he
is forever. That's the believer's joy. It's
who Christ is and what he's done for his people. Our joy is not
earthly blessings. Now, we're thankful for those
things. I'm thankful to have a home and
a car and food to eat and clothes to wear and these things. We're
thankful for earthly blessings, but that's not our true joy.
All those things are gonna be burned up someday. Our joy, look
in Luke chapter 10. Our joy is not even the ability
to do special spiritual signs and wonders. Our joy is salvation
in Christ and the forgiveness of our sin in him. Luke 10 verse
17. And the 70 returned again with
joy. saying, Lord, even the devils
are subject unto us by thy name. We had a lot of liberty in preaching.
Even the devils are subject unto us. And he said unto them, I
beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto
you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the
power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Notwithstanding, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject
unto you. but rather rejoice. Here's your joy, because your
names are written in heaven. Our joy is being in Christ. Our joy is the forgiveness of
sin in him. And last, God's highway of salvation
is a way of rest. Look at the end of verse 10 in
our text. And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. God's highway
of salvation is a way of rest in Christ. We have sorrow and
our sorrow, all of our sorrows, wherever you find them, are the
result of the curse of sin. Women have sorrow and childbearing
because of the curse of sin. Men eat of the fruit of the ground
and sorrow all the days of our life because of the curse of
sin. But travelers on God's highway
of salvation It can be a hard way. They're going to have lots
of sorrows, but they rest. They rest from all of their sorrows.
We rest from the sorrow of our sin because Christ came as a
man. He came as our representative
and he bore the sorrows of his people away. Scripture describes
our Lord Jesus as a man of sorrows, a man acquainted with grief.
And he had those sorrows. He was acquainted with that grief
because he became the representative of his people. He bore our griefs. He bore our sorrows. And if Christ
bore your sorrow, you will never bear eternally the sorrow of
your sin because Christ already suffered. How he suffered, it's
unimaginable. The sorrow that he suffered when
he made his soul an offering for sin. But if he suffered for
you, your sin's punished and you rest from all that sorrow.
Look at Lamentations chapter one. Here's how the believer can rest
from our sorrows. Here's how sorrow's gonna flee
away from you because Christ bore it. And brother, he bore
it all. Lamentations one, verse 12. Is
it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there
be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith
the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger."
Why did the Father, the Lord, afflict His Son with His fierce
anger? Because Christ was made sin for
His people, and He bore that sorrow away. So all the sorrow
of God's elect is turned to joy. Our Lord told his disciples,
you'll sorrow, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. Everything
that causes you sorrow will be turned into joy because Christ
bore your sorrows away. Travelers on God's highway of
salvation rest from all their works. They may as well Our works
have never produced anything good, have they? We may as well
rest from all of our works. I normally sigh in frustration. On the way home tonight, I'm
going to sigh, and Chance is going to say, what's wrong? I don't even realize I
did it. I'll sit down in the evening, the day's work is done,
and I'll sigh. She'll say, what's wrong? Nothing's
wrong. I just didn't do what I wanted
to do as well as I wanted to do it. The job's done, it's finished,
but it's mighty flawed. I sigh because I'm frustrated
with myself. Why do I think that? Why do I
do that? Oh, I sigh. I'm just so frustrated
with the indwelling sins you can't get rid of. In this highway, this freeway
of salvation, There's no frustration in Christ. There's no frustration. There's only the joy of his perfection. There's only the joy of being
made perfect in him. That's God's highway of salvation.
It's a way of holiness made holy and righteous in Christ. It's
a plain way. If you're on it, you'll never
get lost. God's highway of salvation is
a way of safety. This is a sure salvation. God's
highway of salvation is a way of blood, redemption in the blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ. God's highway of salvation, it's
a way of joy. God's highway of salvation is
a way of rest, to rest in Christ. God help us to rest in our Lord
Jesus Christ. Let's bow in prayer. Our Father, how we thank you
for your word. How we thank you for your mercy, your grace, and
your goodness, and your wisdom that you would provide the way
of salvation for your people, the way Christ Jesus. How we
thank you that you would not leave your people to themselves,
but you put us on this highway, that you keep us on this way,
that in Christ, We're saved. We're saved from all of our sins.
Saved from the wrath to come through him. And that in him,
because of him, we'll be with him eternally. Father, we're
thankful. I pray that you'd bless your
word as it's been preached. Bless your word to your glory
and to the hearts of your people. And cause each soul that's here
tonight to leave here on your highway, the freeway of salvation. our Lord Jesus Christ. It's for
his glory, we pray.