Joy Breaks Through the Wilderness | Isaiah 35:1-10

[0:00] Welcome to Ontario Community Church, where we are encouraging, equipping, and engaging lives for Christ.! I'm Pastor Patrick Daly, and you're listening to week 3 of our Advent series here in 2025.

[0:15] ! Before we go into today's message, I want to give you a little context. We started Advent exploring the hope that is found in Revelation 21, and then last week we looked at peace flowing like a river from God's throne in Revelation 22.

[0:32] Today, we're moving into the Advent theme of joy. And here's what I love about the verse that I chose for today. It's from Isaiah 35.

[0:44] It's a wilderness passage. Joy doesn't come because everything is easy. Joy breaks through the wilderness. That barren, difficult seasons, the waiting seasons of life.

[0:58] Isaiah prophesies that the wilderness will rejoice and blossom, that the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap like a deer, and everlasting joy will be upon their hands.

[1:13] This isn't just ancient poetry. It is a promise that Jesus himself fulfills. What I want you to listen for today is this, that joy comes when we see God's promises fulfilled.

[1:28] Joy requires patient endurance. It is waiting on God's timing. And one more thing before we start. My wife Amber created this incredible Advent devotional for week 3 focusing on joy.

[1:42] It includes daily reflections, art and contemplation, and practical ways to cultivate joy into your everyday life. You can download it for free on our website at ontariocommunitychurch.org or in the description of this podcast.

[1:58] So let's settle in. Let's dive into this message together. Here is joy that breaks through the wilderness. Well, good morning, everyone. Christmas is right around the corner.

[2:14] How many days? Oh, you don't know. Well, it's the 14th, so that's 11 more days right there. All right, 11 more days until Christmas.

[2:26] So we keep track here. So that's all right. That's all right. Well, today, you know, when we're thinking about our Advent season, this Christmas season, it's so important for us to reflect on our relationship with the Lord, to reflect on the coming of Christ.

[2:45] And it's just a wonderful time for us to look back and to reflect, to just take some time. And as the year slows down, we are with a lot of the...

[3:01] It's getting a lot colder. How many of you guys enjoyed the fog this morning, right? A change of temperature, things slow down.

[3:12] It's getting darker earlier. And for a lot of us, we're probably sleeping in or we're going to bed earlier. Let's be honest here. And we think about this Advent theme, this theme of joy.

[3:24] It's important for us to know that when we think of this idea and this notion of joy, what joy comes to our minds and to our hearts, knowing that God's promises are fulfilled, that God is constant, that he is everlasting to everlasting.

[3:45] And this idea in Advent is this sense of waiting and anticipation. How many of you have a dog or an animal and how excited they are the moment you come home?

[4:02] And sometimes you have a bad day and you come home and that animal, that creature, whatever, is so excited to see you.

[4:14] And it's like, it kind of makes you not want to have a bad day anymore. You know, when I was growing up, I had lots of, I had horses and dogs and cats, and it was always exciting to come home and have the, be greeted by animals.

[4:29] Much like we can even think of our own children, how excited they are to see us when we get home from a long day at work. And I want you to think of that as a little piece of this idea of joy.

[4:41] From the perspective of an animal or perspective of a child who's waiting for their parent to come home, they are, have this sense of knowing that mom or dad or whoever is coming home.

[4:55] Or the animal is waiting for their owner to come home. And they're excited in that. And when we think of this idea of joy and this sense of anticipation and the sense of waiting, that is the same kind of joy that we should have as we are waiting, not only for the first coming of Christ, but also for the second coming of Christ.

[5:20] And it's almost as though we are living this life in anticipation, waiting for better days to come. We think about it. We think about the world in which we live in and how there's so much darkness, death and destruction, but yet there is light.

[5:38] There is the love of Christ, the hope that is in him, the peace that surpasses all understanding. And in moments of waiting, there is joy that comes from him.

[5:49] You think about it all throughout scripture. There is the imagery of a bride waiting for the groom. Or the servant waiting for the master, which is a little harder for us to understand, but there's still that sense of anticipation.

[6:04] We can think of that, like I mentioned, this idea of children waiting for parents to come home or animals waiting for their owners to come home. I want us to turn. We're going to turn our Bibles to Isaiah 35.

[6:17] It's going to be from verses 1 through 10 here. And as we're turning here, I want us to think that let us recognize that Jesus is the one that we have been waiting for.

[6:32] And joy isn't necessarily pretending. It is anticipation. It is expectation. It is waiting for better days to come.

[6:43] And so, it's going to be on page 707 in your ESV Pew Bible. Or you can use your Bible of choice.

[6:54] We're going to read these 10 verses together. Are we ready, church? So, it begins Isaiah 35. The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad.

[7:06] 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.

[7:18] 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 the feeble knees.

[7:30] 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.

[7:42] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the death unstopped. And shall the lame man leap like a deer. And the tongue of the mute sing for joy.

[7:52] What beautiful imagery, right? 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.

[8:04] In the hot 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.

[8:15] 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.

[8:25] Nor shall any ravenous beast come upon 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.

[8:38] Everlasting joy shall pee upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy. And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. How beautiful.

[8:49] We think of Advent. We think of this sense of joy. And that joy is not the absence of any sort of hardship or waiting.

[9:00] In fact, it is knowing that better days will come despite darkness. Despite the wilderness. Despite the dry desert, as it were.

[9:11] And we think of joy as confidence in who our God is. That he is faithful. And that he is consistent in his promises. Even while we wait for those promises to be fulfilled.

[9:26] You know, for many of us, we, well, I think we all live in this culture where there's instant gratification. And so many instant things. You turn on the TV and you can click on Netflix.

[9:39] And just like that, something will pop up. Or for some of us who order on Amazon. Nothing against ordering on Amazon, mind you. But there is two-day delivery.

[9:49] And sometimes within the hour or whatever it is. Depending upon your location, where you're at. And we live in this constant culture where, well, I want it now.

[10:00] Right? Or you think of Burger King. Right? Their famous slogan, have it your way. Right? And then certainly when we think of our food and our packages, we like to have it our way.

[10:11] But when it comes to God, it is on his timing. And not on our timing. And oh, how much we wish it would be on our timing. But God has a much better plan than we can comprehend.

[10:24] Than we can fathom. Much like how God's justice and love and mercy is beyond anything that we could produce or think of. The very notion that God loves us.

[10:36] And that he provides peace. And all of these different attributes of who he is. It's really beyond us. How quick God is to forgive.

[10:47] How he is slow to anger. That's an interesting one we think about. And we rejoice. Not because everything is finished, but because Christ has come.

[10:59] We think of the present moment that we live in today. We celebrate the coming of baby Jesus in the manger. Right? Just as we were having this, the kids play.

[11:11] Right? It's a reminder for us of the story of Christmas. Right? The real reason for the season. But we think about us in today. We are still in the waiting.

[11:23] We're still in this sense of anticipation. Because Christ has come and he is coming again. And that God is already at work in the wilderness.

[11:36] We think about this idea of the wilderness. Right? We think of how Christ went for 40 days up into the wilderness. And that's similar. But in this sense, we're talking about the wilderness as that which is barren.

[11:49] That which is dry. That which is dead. And something coming to life. God doing a new thing in this imagery of the wilderness. And let us be reminded that better days will come.

[12:04] We anticipate. We wait for the return of Christ. The final judgment. And how God makes all things new. How we await to be in his presence forever.

[12:16] How we await the new heaven and the new earth. And so thinking of the coming Messiah in Christmas time. Let us remember that. But we also live in the present moment.

[12:27] And look towards tomorrow. Towards the second coming of Christ. And we can also think there are other things that we wait for. We wait. Sometimes we're waiting on God to answer a question that we have.

[12:39] Sometimes we're praying and we're waiting for healing to come. Sometimes we're waiting on a relationship to soften. For many of us, we can think of that.

[12:51] The hardness of hearts that some people have. Praying to God and waiting on his timing. God, I want this person's heart to change. Maybe it's waiting on promise.

[13:03] Waiting for Christ to return. And some of us are even just waiting for peace in our own mind. We think of all of these things. Let us remember that God works in his timing.

[13:16] And we anticipate for his deliverance. For his timing. And for his answer. And so when we look at the text here. Right? What is we observe?

[13:26] We observe that the wilderness will rejoice. And it will blossom. Right? Isaiah prophesied that the wilderness will blossom and rejoice when God comes. And this not only speaks of the first coming of Christ.

[13:40] But also the second coming of Christ. We think of miracles. We think of restoration. We think of forgiveness as well as redemption. So it's kind of a twofold that's happening.

[13:52] The first and the second coming. And it's also going on that the blind will see. The deaf will hear. And the lame will leap. In fact, I think it's very. When you're reading that in the Isaiah 35.

[14:09] Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble needs. It's in verse 6 where it says. Then shall the lame man leap up like a deer. What an amazing imagery.

[14:22] Right? You're thinking of the lame man leaping up. I'm thinking he's ready to start dancing or whatever. Right? And we can think of that kind of restoration. That kind of transformation that comes from our Lord.

[14:33] And we also think that it says that the waters will flow in the desert. And this is connected not only in the season of Advent.

[14:44] But also throughout scripture where we find things like in Psalm 147. Where the Lord lifts the oppressed and feeds the hungry and loves the righteous.

[14:55] That God takes care of his own. And we also think of how James calls for believers to be patient like farmers.

[15:06] Who are waiting for their crops. Now, you know, I'm not necessarily a farmer. But I know when I've ever had a plant and I want it to bloom. I'm waiting for it to blossom.

[15:17] Awesome. I had a, I was gifted a few years back a money tree. And I kept watering it and watering it. And for the longest time I thought the thing was never going to grow.

[15:29] And then finally it just started sprouting up. Right? You think of that sense of anticipation. Waiting for it to grow. And that imagery from James I think is remarkable. Right? To be patient like farmers who wait for crops.

[15:41] Because the Lord's coming is near. And we think about how the people of God waited for the first coming of Messiah. The fulfillment of prophecy. And how we wait in the same way for the second coming of Christ.

[15:54] We think of all these things. And there's everlasting joy that is on their heads. This leads us now into, let's go to that next slide. The interpretation of what we can learn.

[16:10] That joy comes when promises are fulfilled. It gives us confidence. That the wilderness blooms when God shows up. Right? Just like how I mentioned last week.

[16:22] When the Lord comes into the scene. And the story of creation. And the earth is dark. And there's the chaos of the sea. And then God enters by saying, let there be light.

[16:33] And there was light. Not only speaking of actual light. But the light of Christ. Breaking through into the world. Well, in this sense where we have the wilderness.

[16:46] It blooms when God shows up. And that's remarkable. Thinking of that which is dead. That which is barren. Being brought to life. I actually want to go to that next.

[16:57] So, I have this image up here. Right? You. The wilderness will rejoice. Can we say that together? The wilderness will rejoice. Right? And on one end. I don't know about you.

[17:08] I don't want to be on that left end right there. Right? I don't want to be where there's barren. Dry. And lifeless. You think of the. Kind of the desert.

[17:19] I think of like New Mexico. Or Arizona. Right? Or these desert regions. As it were. You want to be on the right side. Where it's blooming. And flowing. And joyful. And what's remarkable about this.

[17:31] Is that this is a connection with what we find. With God making all things new. And what a beautiful image we can think of. That is something that we should be joyful of.

[17:44] Taking that which is broken and restoring it. Taking that which is barren and making it blooming. Dried. Flowing. All these different things that we can think of. You know what I thought of when this was being made?

[17:55] Is the valley of the dry bones. Is another connection we can think of. Right? How there was that valley. And there was life that was being put into it. We can also think of. How in this image.

[18:08] The barrenness. The wilderness coming to life. It's this constant pattern that we see. Of that which is dead. Coming to life. And it's beautiful imagery. And we also have to think that.

[18:21] What seems dead? Think of a desert. It appears dead. But yet God can speak life into it. And we have to think in our own lives.

[18:31] We think of deserts. And things that are coming to life. Some promises. Have bloomed. Some life may be forming within you.

[18:42] You may be going from that. Traveling from the barren desert. Into the blooming field. We think that. This is why. We think of Christ.

[18:54] We think of how. There is the pointing of his miracles. Where it's to testify. Of who God is. We think of the fact that Jesus.

[19:04] The word became flesh. And dwelt among us. A fulfillment of prophecy. Or we think of all the. The entire ministry of Jesus.

[19:15] Healing the sick. Raising people from the dead. We think of that kind of power. That Christ has. It's to prove. That he is the promised Messiah. And when we read scripture.

[19:26] We're like. Well no duh. Well. Imagine being a disciple. And seeing this. And being like. What is going on here? Right? We think about that. But Jesus's miracles.

[19:37] Proves that he is the promised Messiah. The fulfillment of prophecy. And we. Just say amen to that. Can I get an amen on that? Right? Now I want you to think.

[19:48] When we are. Let's go back to the. Interpretation. Right? Joy comes when promises are fulfilled. You might be. In the wilderness. There might be an area.

[19:59] In your life. That is very dry. That is very barren. And I want you to think. There. What wilderness. Is in your life. Or is there any. Maybe you're getting out of a specific wilderness.

[20:12] Right? Or you may literally be. In the wilderness. May you turn to God. May you turn to his truth. And his guidance. His comfort. That.

[20:23] Is something. That we can have. Great joy in. Knowing that our God. Delivers on his promises. And he will never abandon you. Nor will he forsake you. Be honest.

[20:35] When you come before the Lord. There's times. Where we are vulnerable. There's moments. Where we are weak. There's moments. Where things. Just happen. Where life.

[20:46] Just happens. We've got to come before the Lord. Asking for his guidance. Asking for his comfort. We think. Of all of these things.

[20:56] The second thing. Then. Is that joy. Requires. Patient. Endurance. I mentioned this. Verse from James. Where it says. Like farmers. That await. Harvest.

[21:07] While we wait. Patiently. For God's. Perfect timing. We have to consider. The joy. In waiting. That better days. Are going to come.

[21:19] And that. The Lord. Is with us. I'm not talking about. Empty joy. I'm talking about. The joy. That we have. In God. Because he is. Consistent.

[21:30] That is something. We take. Joy. In. Now. For many of you. You may know. Of John. The Baptist. Even he. Had moments.

[21:41] Of doubt. Right. Where he was. Preparing the way. For Jesus Christ. Well. You think. Later on. Within the. Within the narrative. There were moments. Where John. Was questioning. What he was doing.

[21:53] Just like how. There's even. Doubting Thomas. Right. Where he said. He wanted to see. What. Right. He wanted to see. The piercings. Right.

[22:04] And we think. For a moment. There are moments. Where we doubt. There are moments. Where. We have fear. But yet.

[22:16] In all of this. God calls for us. To remain. In him. Think of the story. Of even. Job. Think of all of these. Stories of.

[22:27] Tragedies. That happen. Within their own. Walk with the Lord. It's okay. To doubt. But may you. Remain in God. Let me make that.

[22:37] Very clear. We remain in the Lord. Even with. What our mind. Thinks. May we remain. In him. Even when we don't. Understand. What in the world. Is going on. Do we all.

[22:48] Understand. What's going on. Right now. Don't raise your hand. By golly. Right. We think about. There's so much. That we do not. Understand. That not only happens. In our own life.

[22:59] But happens. In our own community. That happens. In our own country. Or that happens. In our own world. But that is a call. For us. To remain in the Lord. Even when we have.

[23:10] Our questions. Even when we don't. Have it all together. We think. About this. May you. Remain. In the Lord. Even. When you have.

[23:20] Questioned. Even when you have. Doubted. Remain. In him. That's so. Important. And consider. That God's people. Have always. Remained. And I want to make. This very clear.

[23:31] We think. Of the entire. Bulk of scripture. It's this constant. Story. Of the promise. And the fulfillment. I want you to think.

[23:41] About that. The promise. The prophecy. Of what is to come. And the fulfillment. Of that. And how often. We read. Of the. Example. The promised land. Right. How there would be.

[23:53] Better days. That would come. And we even think. Of where we are. Currently at. That we are. In between. The promise. And the fulfillment. That should give us. Confidence.

[24:04] That should give us. Great joy. Even when there's times. Where we think. When is it going to happen? When are you coming back? Lord? Even when we have. That sort of question.

[24:14] We remain. In the promise. Because we have. The word of God. That shows us. The consistency. Of the story. That is very. Important. For each. And every one of us.

[24:24] That's why. We read scripture. That's why. We look. At the connections. To see. God fulfills. His promises. Even. When God's timing. Is not our own. And so.

[24:36] The third thing then. Is that joy. Is found. In what church? Unexpected. Unexpected places. Right? God's joy. Can often come.

[24:49] Differently. Than what we expect. It can be through. Waiting. It can be through. Weakness. It can be. In a hospital room.

[25:00] It can be. In a difficult. Conversation. It can be. In our moments. Of vulnerability. And we think. Of how Jesus. Worked. Through the.

[25:11] Outcast. Of society. The marginalized. Even. And those. That the world. Overlooked. And sometimes. The miracle. Is just knowing.

[25:21] That Christ. Is there. Regardless. Of the storms. That happen. In our life. My friends. This is not. An easy. Sermon. To preach. Because for many. Of us. We don't have. To raise.

[25:31] Our hand. Here. But I bet. All of us. Have been. Through many. Storms. In our life. May we. Stand. Firm. On the foundation. That exists.

[25:42] In the Lord. To not be shaken. To not be. Wavered. To not be. Distracted. But to remain. In him. And so.

[25:52] We have to think. Am I growing. Impatient. On God's timing. I think the answer is yes. Right. We all get impatient.

[26:03] At times. But also think. Where can I find God. In unexpected places. Where can I find joy. In an unexpected situation.

[26:14] That's another thing. For us. To consider. This leads us now. Into the. The application. What do we do about this? What do we do about this?

[26:27] The first thing. Is to celebrate. The signs. Of God's presence. And I want you to think. Of one place. Maybe. A situation. You have been in.

[26:38] Or a situation. Of someone. That you know. Where God. Brought the blooming. In the wilderness. Take a moment. And think about that. And think of how.

[26:51] God does work. In his own timing. Sometimes it's a lot quicker. Than we think. Other times. It takes longer. And I want you. If you.

[27:01] If you ever have time. Maybe sometime. This week. Or whenever. Write down. A time. When there was.

[27:12] Blooming. In the wilderness. We think of this. Sense of restoration. Maybe that's. An opportunity. For you. To take note. And to take inventory. Of that. Let that also.

[27:23] Be a call. To share. With someone. How God. Has transformed. Your life. How God. Has worked. In and through. Your life. I bet. You'd be surprised.

[27:34] By the person. Sitting next to you. On how God. Has worked. In their life. The second thing. Then. Is to. Practice. Patience.

[27:44] In your waiting. I don't like that. Pastor. We have to practice. Patience. Yes we do. We certainly do. In the waiting. Sometimes we get. Frustrated. Right. When things just.

[27:55] Are not happening. In the time frame. That we want it. But God has a much. Different plan. And I want you to think. Of one. Area. Of frustration. And offer that to God.

[28:06] Through prayer. Offer it to him. Let this. Come as a. As something. As a way. You can offer your burden.

[28:18] Before the Lord. Maybe you're not frustrated. I'm willing to bet. You know someone. That's frustrated though. And maybe you can. Pray with them. And work with them.

[28:29] As they are journeying. Through life. Maybe you can. Be present with them. In a season. Of waiting. That's very important. And the third thing.

[28:40] Then. Is to look for Jesus. In unexpected places. Perhaps. It's a call. For you. To serve. The least of these. Or to share.

[28:51] In your walk. With the Lord. With other people. Share in your testimony. Share the gospel message. You'd be surprised. How many people. Have a misunderstanding. Of who Jesus is.

[29:02] That's why. It's so important. For us. To share the gospel message. The death. Burial. And resurrection. Of Jesus Christ. How Christ. Is a fulfillment. Of prophecy. And how. The Lord.

[29:13] Makes all things. New. You want to talk about. A wonderful gift. That you can give. To someone. This Christmas season. Let it be a call. For you.

[29:24] To share. In who Jesus is. To celebrate. The season. The real reason. For the season. I know that's the common. Catch phrase. We think about.

[29:34] But we think. Let us. Think of someone. Maybe it's visiting. Someone who's. Lonely. Maybe it's helping. Someone. When they're vulnerable. Or someone who is. Struggling.

[29:46] But it's not only a call. For each and every one of us. Individually. But for us. Collectively. As a church. To think of people. That we can. Minister to. The ones that we can.

[29:58] Serve. And maybe. It's. A call for you to. Ask God. To open your eyes. To help you see. Him.

[30:09] In unexpected places. Right? To look for Jesus. In those unusual. Or unexpected places. Ask him to see. Him at work.

[30:20] Where you least expect it. You know. I've always found it. Very amazing. When. It's in the book of Habakkuk. One of my. It's kind of a. Fun book to go over. Where you have the prophet.

[30:33] And he's. He doesn't understand. All the things that are going on. And he's asking God. God. Why is this happening? I do not understand. How many of us identify. With that question.

[30:43] Right? And the Lord answers him. And he says. I'm paraphrasing here. Look and observe. For I am doing something.

[30:54] That. If I were to tell you. You would not even believe. If I told you to. And then it goes on. And the Lord explains. What he is doing. And it shows.

[31:05] In the book of Habakkuk. How God works. Behind. The scenes. And I think that's very important for us. As we are thinking of. This sense of joy.

[31:16] And anticipation. And in God's timing. God is working on his own timing. Behind the scenes. Putting things together. That we certainly don't understand.

[31:29] You know. I. Something I heard. I. It was. I think it was from a pastor. But. Paraphrasing here. For many of us. We don't even understand.

[31:39] Why we do. What we do. So what in the world. Are we doing. Trying to understand. The God that created us. Think about that. Do you understand.

[31:51] Everything that you do. And why. The answer should be no. Maybe you do. Maybe. Maybe you do. Then. Shift it over.

[32:02] Do you understand. Your. Sister. Or your brother. Or your. Cousin. Or your spouse. No. Right. So. We have to think. How difficult it is.

[32:13] For us to even understand. Who we are. What in the world. Are we doing. Trying to comprehend. God. Now. That doesn't mean. We don't try. We don't. Seek to understand.

[32:24] God and his word. But. At the same time. There's so much. That we won't understand. And we have to be okay. With that. We have to be okay. That. We may not understand. Ourselves.

[32:34] And certainly. We may not understand. Other people. And there's a lot. That we won't understand. About God. And when it comes. To his timing. That's a piece. Why.

[32:45] Did it take five years. Instead of five minutes. God. Right. We have to think. Of these things. And so. I have this slide. On here. This. This next one here. That the wilderness.

[32:56] Is blooming. Right. We think. Of this imagery. Where the blind. Will see. The deaf. Will hear. The lame. Will leap for joy. It is the reality.

[33:07] That Jesus. Will bring. And so. Don't let doubt. Steal your joy. For Jesus. Is at work. In his own timing.

[33:19] And he. Fulfills. His promises. He is consistent. And we should have joy. In that. And what I have here. The wilderness. Is blooming. Isn't it interesting.

[33:30] That. Is from revelation. That Jesus. Is the one. Who was. Is. And is to come. And yet.

[33:41] That's so connected. With what we understand. Of advent. The sense. Of anticipation. This sense. Of waiting. And trusting.

[33:51] In God. That he will deliver. And that. Is joy. And that. Is what we. Ought to be joyful. For. Let's pray together.

[34:03] Father God. We thank you. For this time. And this opportunity. For us to gather. As we are going over. The blooming. In the wilderness. Father. May we trust.

[34:13] In you. And recognize. You make all things new. You are the God. Of love. And transformation. The one. That gives peace. That surpasses. All understanding. There is hope. In you. And there is joy.

[34:24] In the anticipation. And waiting. For you. May we wait. Upon you. And may we not. Be discouraged. And even in moments. Where we have doubts. Or we are discouraged.

[34:34] By culture. Or whatever it is. That life throws at it. May we remain. In you. For you are the source. Of life. You are the light. In the darkness. And you sent your son.

[34:47] Jesus Christ. To change the course. Of history. That whosoever believes. Shall not perish. But have eternal life. And I pray. That if there is anyone. That doesn't know. Who you are.

[34:57] May they come. To believe in you. May they have this sense. Of repentance. The changing of the mind. And may they believe in you. May they respond. To your salvation. And not just stop there.

[35:09] May they respond. By being on a path. To be more like you. To following. In the footsteps. Of Christ. To be transformed. From the inside out.

[35:21] And Father. I pray for all of those. Who have tuned in online. Those that are listening. To the podcast. And those. Who are here this morning. I pray that you will do. A new thing in them.

[35:31] I pray that you will transform. Each and every person here. Online or digital. Or later. Whatever. I just pray Father. That you will do.

[35:42] A new thing in them. Let there be healing. Let there be transformation. Let there be understanding. Let there be growth. Let there be health. Let there be blooming. In the wilderness.

[35:53] It is in the name of Jesus. That we pray. And we all say together. Amen church. Amen. Thank you for listening. To today's message. I really hope.

[36:03] That this sermon. Encouraged you. When I was preparing. This message. I kept thinking. About this imagery. Of the wilderness blooming. It is such a powerful picture. Of what God does.

[36:14] He takes the barren places. The dry places. The dead spaces. And he makes them full of life. He makes the wilderness bloom. And that is an image.

[36:25] Of what joy is. It is not the absence. Of wilderness. It is God showing up. And giving new life. In the wilderness. All of our resources from today.

[36:37] The devotional. The notes. And the slides. They're available for free. On our website. At Ontario Community Church. Dot org. And at the podcast description. Everything else.

[36:49] Is on our sermon archive. So you can go back. And review it. Or share it with someone else. Next week. We will continue. Our Advent series. With week four. Focusing on.

[36:59] Love. But until then. Remember this. The wilderness. Is blooming. The blind. Will see. The deaf. Will hear. And the lame. Will leap for joy.

[37:09] This is not just that ancient prophecy. This is the reality that Jesus brings. In the first coming. But also. The second coming of Christ.

[37:21] Strengthen your weak hands. And steady your trembling knees. Let us be patient like that farmer who waits for the harvest. Don't let doubt steal your joy. For Jesus is the one who was.

[37:34] Who is. And is to come. God bless you. And we will see you next week. As we continue through Advent. Thank you.