"Stairway To Heaven"

Isaiah 35

"Stairway To Heaven" There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold And she's buying a stairway to heaven. When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed With a word she can get what she came for. Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure 'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings. In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings, Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven. Ooh, it makes me wonder, Ooh, it makes me wonder.

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west, And my spirit is crying for leaving. In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees, And the voices of those who stand looking. Ooh, it makes me wonder, Ooh, it really makes me wonder.

And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune Then the piper will lead us to reason. And a new day will dawn for those who stand long And the forests will echo with laughter.

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now, It's just a spring clean for the May queen. Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run There's still time to change the road you're on. And it makes me wonder.

Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know, The piper's calling you to join him, Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow, and did you know Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.

And as we wind on down the road Our shadows taller than our soul. There walks a lady we all know Who shines white light and wants to show How everything still turns to gold. And if you listen very hard The tune will come to you at last. When all is one and one is all To be a rock and not to roll. And she's buying a stairway to heaven.

Isaiah 35:1-7 (NIV) 1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; 2 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.

John 7:38-39 (NIV) 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

I. v. 8 IT IS A HIGH WAY Isaiah 35:8 (NIV) 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.

I. v. 8 IT IS A HIGH WAY

I. v. 8 IT IS A HIGH WAY

I. v. 8 IT IS A HIGH WAY Ephesians 2:1-3 (NIV) 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

I. v. 8 IT IS A HIGH WAY Psalms 40:1-3 (NIV) 1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY Isaiah 35:8 (NIV) 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.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY Proverbs 2:13 (NIV) who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, Proverbs 12:15 (NIV) The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. Psalms 119:30 (NIV) I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY Jeremiah 5:4-5 (NIV) 4 I thought, "These are only the poor; they are foolish, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God. 5 So I will go to the leaders and speak to them; surely they know the way of the Lord, the requirements of their God." But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) 28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY Luke 1:75 (NIV) in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. Ephesians 4:24 (NIV) and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY 2 Corinthians 6:17 (NIV) "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NIV) Avoid every kind of evil.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY 1 John 2:3-4 (NIV) 3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY 1 John 2:15 (NIV) Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY 1 John 3:4-10 (NIV) 4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

II. v. 8 IT IS A HOLY WAY 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

III. v. 9 IT IS A HARMLESS WAY 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

III. v. 9 IT IS A HARMLESS WAY Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

III. v. 9 IT IS A HARMLESS WAY James 4:7 (NIV) Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

III. v. 9 IT IS A HARMLESS WAY Psalms 1:6 (NIV) For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. John 10:28-29 (NIV) 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

IV. v. 10 IT IS A HEAVENLY WAY Isaiah 35:10 (NIV) 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.

IV. v. 10 IT IS A HEAVENLY WAY John 14:1-3 (NIV) 1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

IV. v. 10 IT IS A HEAVENLY WAY Revelation 21:4 (NIV) He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

IV. v. 10 IT IS A HEAVENLY WAY Revelation 22:4 (NIV) They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

V. v. 10 IT IS A HAPPY WAY Isaiah 35:10 (NIV) 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.