How Do We Respond to God?
Isaiah 35:8-9
Pastor Jim Luthy
Near the beginning of the movie, "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang," Professor Potts its traveling down the road in Chitty with his two children when they suddenly veer to avoid hitting a woman in a lovely and pure white dress driving along in her car. The woman loses control of her vehicle, coming to a stop in the middle of a shallow pond. Being the gentleman he is, Professor Potts proceeds to wade out into the pond and rescue Truly Scrumptious. He carries her back across the pond to his car, where she is introduced to his children and the adventure with the magic car begins.
Like Professor Potts, Jesus is traveling a road. Unlike Professor Potts, Jesus travels that road without fault, perfect in every way. It is the Way of Holiness.
Quite frequently, when you and I stumble across that way, we tend to crash and burn. We rumble around doing things our way only to find our lives a mess and God a long way off. We bumble around with all our good deeds supposing they will cleanse our conscience. We fumble away the truth that the only way to God the Father is through faith in the Son. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:23, "we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." (NIV) The Way of Holiness is a stumbling block to the world. All of our rumblin’, bumblin’, and stumblin’, leaves us stranded off the Way in a pool of condemnation or despair or pain or worry.
But like Professor Potts rescuing Truly Scrumptious and taking her along his way, Jesus came in the flesh to rescue us, spilled his blood to save us, and places before us a highway on which we can be on an adventure with him and his family.
"Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you…and a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return." (Isaiah 35:4, 8-10a; NIV)
We have already seen that when God comes to us to save us, he brings healing in his wings and he gives us his Holy Spirit to awaken us spiritually. He gives us eyes to see, ears to hear, and strengthens us to walk in his ways. But at that point, having been healed and awakened, we must get on board with him and travel on his way. As a popular Vineyard song invites us, "Hop on the Bus! God’s on the move! There’s a seat for me. There’s a seat for you. It don’t matter what you’ve done, if you believe in his Son and what he’s done and what he’ll do." That bus is going in a different direction than the rest of the world. It is a journey separate from the journeys of other men and even other religions. It is the Way of Holiness.
Let me be clear that the Way of Holiness is not about driving the bus, it’s about being on the bus. You don’t have to drive, you just need to remain seated.
Isaiah used the image of walking. Makes sense, doesn’t it, since buses were more than 2500 years from being invented and, when it comes to mass transit of the day, camels didn’t make very good imagery! When Jesus sets us apart, heals us and wakes us up to God, he invites us to walk with him in holiness. The objective is not to walk with the crowd, because the crowd is too often heading the wrong way. Nor is the objective to walk on our own, because left on our own we eventually either become afraid or tired until we give up and roast in the desert or mix in with the misguided crowd. The objective is simply to walk with Jesus. He is the Way. He knows the Way. And he has been where he is taking you.
So, how do we respond to God when he comes to us? We get on board with Jesus and walk in the Way of Holiness.
What comes to your mind as you think of a "way?" The first characteristic of a "way" that comes to my mind is a journey. When God comes to us, he invites us on a journey.
Two things stand out to me about a journey. First of all, every journey has a starting point. The image is there in Isaiah, "and a highway will be there." Do you, like me, picture a freeway that is right before you that you haven’t merged onto yet? The Way of Holiness is right before us, but we must decide to travel on it. The starting point to this journey is decision. You must decide if you want to be holy. You must decide if the journey is worth the prize. There are plenty of people in the church who believe in Jesus as Savior, but will not get on this road of holiness. Is there anyone who does not cherish the idea of avoiding judgment? Is there a soul who would not seize the prize of heaven if it were placed before him? But the journey to heaven travels along a narrow path from which we are commanded not to swerve to the left or right. It costs us everything. Very few are willing to travel the road when it is placed before them.
Here is the way before you. You must decide to walk in that Way. Do you even want to be holy?
The second feature of a journey is progress. Once you decide to travel with Jesus, understand that you do not arrive overnight. Psalm 84:5-7 affirms, "Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion." (NIV) On this journey, we go from strength to strength. What can that mean other than that our pilgrimage, or journey, takes us from strength to strength, leaving behind weakness after weakness? Traveling the Way of Holiness, then, requires both a crisis of decision to get on board and a progression of victories and lessons that make us stronger as we go.
The highway also brings to mind "direction." When we decide to get on board with Jesus, we have to have confidence that he knows where he is going and how to get there.
I once worked for a man that was a bit crotchety. One day a woman called up who was coming to his warehouse from out of town. Two or three times he told her to come off the freeway and take a right. Then she asked him, "Will I get off the freeway and go over the bridge…?" He replied, "Yes, maam, yes you will. You go over that bridge and just keep on going, I’m sure you’ll get here someday." I guess he just didn’t need her business.
If we’re walking with Jesus, we must believe there is a right way and a wrong way. We cannot buy into the lie that we can go whichever way we want and get there someday. On this highway, Jesus knows the right way to go. Do you believe him? He has given us a road map—the Word of God. And he has given us his Holy Spirit, the Counselor who has come to lead us into all truth, illuminating the map and giving us directions.
Isaiah 30:20-21 speaks of what happens to the man or woman who has been spiritually awakened:
Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (NIV)
Guys, I know you don’t like asking for directions, but pull over into your prayer closet, ask the Holy Spirit for directions, and look at your map so he can point the way!
And finally, the highway brings to mind "destination." Jesus does not invite you on board so he can drive in circles. He has a destination in mind for you. The redeemed and the ransomed, those he has purchased with his own blood, will return.
"They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."
Two years ago, the Clerget and Luthy families piled into a fifteen passenger van and drove off down the highway. Do you think, even for one second, that our thought was, "Hey, let’s pile four adults and ten kids in a van and go on a long drive together?" Not a chance! We had a destination in mind. We were going to Disneyland! The destination made the trip worth taking. If you look at the way of holiness alone, without a destination in mind, it may not seem appealing. Traveling on the way sometimes means we have to travel without the things we love. Sometimes it means we can’t stop and enjoy the sights and sounds we might otherwise like to take in. Sometimes it means taking time for someone when we want time for ourselves. Sometimes we don’t have what other people have and sometimes we give to people who do not have because we ourselves have "better and lasting possessions." The destination makes the journey worthwhile.
Let me also be clear that this is no ordinary way—it is a way of holiness. Holiness means "set apart." Those who walk in that Way are set apart from the rest of the world. It implies a separation from the masses. It implies purity. It implies integrity. But it is neither of these things alone. Holiness is being on a journey with Jesus. It is not what we do or say, but whom we do for and whom we speak for. We walk to the beat of a different drum—Jesus’ drum. The unclean cannot walk on that way, and only Jesus can make us clean. Wicked fools cannot go about on it, either. Neither can lions who prey on the weak or ferocious beasts that are just plain destructive. This "way" is for those who have been redeemed. Only those who have received the grace of God and his promise of forgiveness, having renounced their former way of life, can hop on the bus.
Let me say it as simply as I possibly can. How do we respond to God, knowing that he has come to save us, healing us, and awakening us to him spiritually? We walk with him.
We are invited on a journey. For those of you who are wandering and lost, you’ll be comforted to know that Jesus provides direction on this journey. Those of you who are without hope, you’ll be glad to hear there is a wonderful destination on this journey. This journey is a good journey. It is also the best journey.
Hebrews 12:14 says, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord."(NIV) I mentioned earlier in this series that holiness is necessary on the road from desert to glory. By the grace of God and the blood of Jesus Christ, we are made holy. Yet if we will not get on board and stay on board, we won’t see the glory of God, we’ll find ourselves in a desert again.
Furthermore, if we are not holy, those who have not yet believed in him will never see him. There is a part of the strategy in friendship evangelism that we have bought into that is nothing more than a deception of the evil one. We need to be incarnate. We are commanded to go into all the world. Jesus hung out in the bars with the sinners. But what makes us think that Jesus surprised people with his love for the Father. I hear people talk about getting to know someone or making a friend and that someday soon they hope to spring on them that they’re a Christian. It’s like, friendship first, then suddenly, "Ha! I’m a Christian! What do you think about that?"
Jesus has come to save you and set you apart to belong to him. Don’t ever be ashamed of that! "Be holy," says the Lord your God, "because I am holy." Let your lips and your love and your lifestyle say loud and clear that you belong to Jesus and that Jesus has set you free. Don’t beat anyone over the head with it. Be gentle and respectful. But don’t for a minute believe that you have to prove yourself to be like someone to gain credibility. The only credibility that counts and isn’t written off as hypocritical is the credibility that comes from being like Jesus.
That is holiness. It is the highway on which you must travel. It is the bridge between salvation and glory. Walk on it.
