And this is Leslie Curran saying hello once again and welcome to the program. I'm delighted you're tuning in and joining us and I do hope you'll be able to stay with us for the next 15 minutes as today the reverend Philip Gardiner is with us to let the bible speak. I want to read two verses from the book of Isaiah chapter 35.

Isaiah chapter 35 the verses 1 and 2. The wilderness and a solitary place shall be glad for them. And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice even with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it. The excellency of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God.

Over recent years the weather patterns in Australia have been intriguing for meteorologists. Parts of Australia that have traditionally been associated with good rainfall have experienced prolonged periods of drought. However other parts of Australia that have been dry and barren for years have witnessed increases in their rainfall.

So there are places that have been barren for perhaps 60 years and they are blossoming with exuberant foliage. It certainly reminds us of these words in Isaiah 35 in the verse 1. And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. This is the picture that Isaiah has in mind.

A landscape that has been dry. It receives rain from heaven. Suddenly it bursts with life.

The words of this particular portion are fulfilled in a number of different ways. They were fulfilled in the history of Judah. Isaiah's ministry was one of warning.

Speaking of a coming captivity when God's people would be carried into Babylon. But Isaiah looked beyond that captivity to the return to the land of promise. When the Babylonians plundered Judah and carried away the captives the land was left looking like a wilderness and a solitary place.

But here is God's promise. God's people would return and the land would blossom afresh. These words the desert shall blossom as the rose have been fulfilled in times of revival.

When a nation is in a state of spiritual coldness and dryness we could describe it as a desert. But when the Lord pours out his spirit the desert blossoms as a rose. There will also be a future fulfillment of these words.

The desert shall blossom as a rose. The Lord is coming again to renew the earth. When the Lord returns the earth will be delivered from the physical curse that is upon it now.

The desert will blossom as a rose. But there is another fulfillment of these words in the gospel. A sinner is like a desert that lies dormant.

But when the regenting rain of the gospel falls upon that sinner from the barren soil there is the blossoming of a fragrant rose. So we want to look at the desert blossoming as a rose, the effects of regeneration. I want to see first of all the requirement for regeneration.

The picture that Isaiah paints of the wilderness prior to the rain is a pretty dismal one. He uses three Hebrew words to describe the barrenness of the place. That is reflected in our English translation.

We read of the wilderness, the solitary place and the desert. We see here a reminder then of the barrenness of the human heart. When we think of a desert barrenness is the thing that springs to your mind.

You could walk for miles and not see any sign of life or at least see very little sign of life. All around in the desert is barrenness and deadness. That is the state of the human heart naturally speaking.

We have been conceived in sin. The sinner cannot bring forth fruit of himself. He is barren and dry, dead in trespasses and sins.

There is the barrenness of the human heart. Also the isolation of the human heart. The desert generally speaking is an uninhabited place.

Generally speaking the desert is abandoned. Is that not a sad but accurate picture of the state of the human heart? You think of Adam and Eve in Eden. He walked with God.

He had intimate fellowship with the Lord. But when he and Eve sinned they were cast out of the garden. They were cut off from God.

They were sent out to a solitary place. The sinner today may have many companions but if he is without Christ his heart is a solitary place. His maker does not dwell there.

There is also the shame of the human heart. You think of the desert. If the rain was to fall there would be foliage.

But in the state of dryness the deserts follow. It is not fulfilling its potential. Does that not remind us of the state of the human heart? Man was created to live for God's glory.

He was created to praise his creator. Yet the vast majority of mankind live in rebellion against their creator. They will not have the Lord.

As we think of all this it reminds us that the sinner stands in great need of God's regenerating power. Bringing about life and beauty in deadness. We have seen the requirement

“Leslie Curran introduces the program with Reverend Philip Gardiner, who reflects on Isaiah 35:1-2, emphasizing spiritual regeneration. The passage depicts a desert blooming with life, symbolizing God's transformative power. Gardiner connects this to Judah's restoration, spiritual revival, and the gospel's impact on sinners. He highlights the barren, isolated state of the human heart, the beauty of regeneration through Christ, and the joy it brings. Gardiner urges listeners to seek salvation and experience the joy of a spiritually renewed life.”

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of regeneration.

I want to see secondly the revelation of regeneration. For we have been looking at the desert when it is dry. I want to see how it is after the rain has fallen.

The foliage begins to appear. In Isaiah 30 verse 2 Isaiah speaks of the glory of Lebanon being given and the exodus of Carmel and Sharon. Prior to the rain the glory of Lebanon these cedars were not there.

The great excellency or beauty of Carmel and Sharon they were nowhere to be seen. Isaiah goes on to make it clear that the glory of Lebanon and the excellency of Carmel are speaking of the beauty and the glory of the Lord. The sinner does not have the glory of God naturally.

He is not born with the Lord's beauty in him. He is born in sin. But in regeneration there is the planting of a divine nature into the sinner.

Peter spoke of how we are partakers of the divine nature. So in regeneration there is the appearance of life out of the midst of deadness. In the midst of the desert there is the blossoming of a rose.

So in this desert full of deadness the rain falls. We see the blossoming of a beautiful rose. The sinner is dead in sins and trespasses.

As a result of his sinful nature he is in a state of spiritual deadness, facing eternal deadness, a lost eternity in hell. But when the seed of life is planted in him, when he experiences the new birth there is this new life that sprouts forth. So Isaiah says the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God are given to him.

It's not only the appearance of life out of deadness but the appearance of loveliness out of ugliness. The glory of Lebanon is likely a reference to the cedar. The word glory actually carries the idea of splendour.

We read then of the excellency of Carmel and Sharon. The word excellency has the idea of beauty. This is what the Lord says then about one who is saved.

There is great splendour seen in them. There is something very beautiful evident in them. It's not a beauty of their own making.

It's the day of the Lord seen in them. Child of God as you look at yourself you may not see much inward beauty. You may look at your sinward proneness.

You may see the loss of the flesh. But today if you're saved as the Lord looks upon you, he sees great beauty. He sees great splendour, the glory of God and the beauty of the Lord in you.

For Isaiah brings us here to see Christ. In Isaiah 4 in the verse 2 it says in that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious. The branch is a title of Jesus Christ.

This glory and beauty be given then speaks of the doctrine of imputation. The cross, the Lord Jesus was made to be as the desert and the desolate place. The sin of those for whom Christ died was laid upon him.

And though he was eternally the planting of the Lord, as the Father imputed our sin to him, as our condemnation was laid on the Son, he became as the solitary place. But in regeneration the Lord having taken our sin and laid it upon Christ now takes the righteousness of his Son, his beauty and places it upon us. Our account is no longer then the account of the barren desert but rather as a blossoming field.

How does the Lord see you today? Are you as a barren desert or as a blossoming field? Do you stand condemned or have you been justified? Today dear sir I plead with you that you leave your sin. You might leave aside all hope of trying to make yourself better before God. Just as the desert cannot transform itself, it stands in need of the rain.

So your great need today is the power of God at work in your life. Paul said unto us who are saved the preaching of the cross is the power, the dynamite of God. Would you not experience that power today? We see here the requirement of regeneration, the revelation of regeneration.

I want to notice finally the rejoicing after regeneration. Isaiah says the wilderness and solitary place shall be glad for them and the desert shall rejoice. In verse 2 it shall rejoice with joy and singing.

Those who experience the desert of their heart turned into a blooming field will indeed experience great joy. They will rejoice that they are living to God's glory, fulfilling their created purpose. They can rejoice that their sin has been forgiven, that all the beauty of the Lord, that the perfect righteousness of Christ is seen by God in them.

The old account is settled. William Bradley said where Christ's joyful kingdom cometh, deserts blossom as the rose. Is your heart blossomed as the rose today? Are you rejoicing in the knowledge of sins forgiven or should you be in the place of dread, dreading meeting a holy and a just God? Isaiah said in Isaiah 59 in the verse 1, Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear.

The Lord is willing and able to save you today. May you look to him, come and be saved.