Pastor Joe Fuiten, September 14, 2003

 

Scripture Reading:  Isaiah 35       Page 508

1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God. 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. 8 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. 9 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, 10 and the ransomed of the LORD 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. (NIV)

 

            I really have three goals for this message today.  Before I work from the text we have read, I want to give you those three goals.  First, I hope that you will understand and support the vision of Christian Schools.  Second, I hope you will understand and support the expansion vision for those schools.  Third, I want to engage you in the spiritual support of the existing Christian School education.

            Isaiah 35 should be read with three interpretations in mind.  To those who read it first, shortly after 701 BC, it was a promise of the restoration of Judah after the Assyrian invasion and devastation.  It speaks of the revival in the latter part of Hezekiah’s reign.

            It is also a prophecy of the coming of Jesus some 700 years later.  Particularly verses 5 and 6 speak of Christ’s first coming. “Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.”  This describes the time of Jesus on the earth.  In fact, when John the Baptist was wondering if Jesus really was the Son of God, the promised Messiah, Jesus answered with the substance of this passage. In Luke 7:22 we have the Lord’s reply.  "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”  Isaiah’s prophecy had come true again.

            It is also a prophecy about the rule of Christ on the earth that is yet future.  Even though Israel is experiencing some of this blooming, it is only a picture of what is to come.  There will be water and things will bloom.  More importantly the Lord himself will show up.  When he comes he will come with vengeance and divine retribution.  He will establish his throne and rule the earth in peace and righteousness.  The righteousness of Christ is called the Highway of Holiness.  Verse 8 and beyond has it: “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. 9 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, 10 and the ransomed of the LORD 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.”

 

            You can understand that the vision of transformation is very encouraging in times of testing and difficulty.  In actual fact, transformation can work two different ways.  Transformation can be positive and negative.  Psalm 107:33-35 notes, “He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, 34 and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those who lived there. 35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs;”

            Our lives are a piece of land.  It will either become a desert fit for very little, or it will flourish and prosper.  Sin brings a drought but integrity is like the sound of summer rain.  Sin divides and scatters.  Righteousness unites and gathers.  Sin weakens and diminishes.  Godliness strengthens and increases.

            This is true in every field of human relationship.  It is true among friends and it is true in romance and marriage.  It is true in business and society.  It is true in the field of education.

            If we really believe that God makes a difference in transformation we will also go with God in education.  If a school is unwilling to acknowledge God, will God create a desert or a garden?  If a school teaches that everything just happened without a creator, will the creator add his blessing to that or let it return to the jungle from which they say we came?  If a student is taught that we are all just animals, will the Lord bring those people together or will they divide up racially, socially, and economically?  You can put the Ten Commandments in the heart or you can put Ten Commandants in the halls but it is unlikely you will have both.

            If you have the values of God in your home, the educational system should support that not attack it.  Our aim is to build schools that God can bless.  If God wants to help us then we need to qualify for that help.  If he wants to prosper our schools so that we graduate great kids then we need to be prosper--able.  As the 78^th Psalm reads in verses 4-7 “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. 5 He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, 6 so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. 7 Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

 

            The goal of Cedar Park Christian Schools is first to honor God and, therefore, to be available for God to honor us.

            We have in mind to expand the opportunities for students to attend a Cedar Park Christian School.  Right now we have the largest private K-12 school in the State of Washington.  I would like to see our four campuses grow to many more.  We are currently building this 78,000 square foot High School building on this property.  We have begun the design and planning work to build two more schools, one in Totem Lake and the other in Kenmore.

            I choose Isaiah 35 because of its attachment to that land next door.  For years I wanted that land for Cedar Park.  Even before we bought this land, I tried to get Bill Knutson to sell his land to us.  He did rent us the ball-field for $1000 a year.  One Sunday night about ten years ago I preached on this text.  I preached on the crocus that suddenly breaks forth in flower, sometimes even in the snow of February it blooms.  That night we went out and planted a faith capsule.  In it I put a small Bible to represent that the land would be used for Gospel work.  People wrote faith statement of what would happen with the land.  I put a one-dollar bill inside the Bible to represent the fact that God would supply the money.  That capsule is still buried in that land.  The building you see is the blossom of those prayers.  When it was barren and dry we asked God for blessing and he brought to us the land and now the buildings.  Acquiring the land itself amounted to a $2.5 million planned gift.  We have had two large gifts, the lead gift of $600,000 and a more recent gift of $250,000, plus many smaller gifts.  As people give their gifts, it becomes the fertile ground for spiritual and educational success.

            God has helped us here.  Our dream is to see this story multiplied all over this region.  I wish I could turn back the clock a few years and remake a decision.  We could have bought 12 acres of buildable land just before the Snohomish Valley for $155,000.  Think how we could use that for a school and church today.  We didn’t.  Within two years the same property sold for over a million dollars.  Surely, God has property reserved for us to build more schools.  I hope you will support that vision with your contributions and other kinds of support.

            Third, I want to engage you in the spiritual support of the existing Christian School education.  Schools tend to drift.  We need your prayers for our teachers and staff.  We will be on course if our leaders stay on course.  Please help us find the nation’s best people and then help keep us on track by your consistent prayers.

 

            Every day we are deciding what kind of a future we have.  If we plant crocus bulbs, we will have a beautiful place.

 

Annual Business Meeting—September 28^th. Deacon Nominations so far are Tom Bloomhorst, Rich Haugo, Jim Karnes, Ruthi Ross, Jerry Smith, Kevin Stockton.

Jeff Kemp, Families Northwest—leading Washington in a marriage and family movement.

Pastor Eric Moody Westgate Chapel, in Edmonds, Wednesday evening, Sept. 17th, at 7 p.m.