Sermon Tone Analysis

Isaiah, chapters 24-27, are referred to by Biblical scholars as the Apocalypse of Isaiah because these chapters all point to “end of world” events, and not merely Israel’s future.

We saw last week that chapter 24 points us forward to a cataclysmic time in world history that we’ve come to call The Great Tribulation.

Chapter 25 points us to the next great event in God’s plan which is Christ’s Millennial Kingdom.

It concerns that period of time when Jesus Christ is reigning upon the earth in glory and power.

It is a message of hope and promise to the Jews.

Yet, as I read these verses, I am reminded of a parallel passage in Rev. 21:4.

That verse is not a prophecy to the Jews, but it is a promise to all of God’s children.

Notice what that great verse says, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

I don’t know about you, but I like the thought of Jesus wiping all of our tears away!

Tonight, I want to take some time to look at this prophetic passage.

I want to look at what Isaiah is saying and I would like to preach for a few minutes on Some Tears Our Lord Will Wipe Away.

I want you to know that there is a better day coming for all of God’s children.

I want you to know that weeping and sorrow will not last forever.

I want you to know that trials and heartaches will come to an end one of these days.

I want you to know that one day, God’s children are going home and, when we arrive there, God will take His great handkerchief of grace and all of our tears will be wiped away.

Here are some of the tears our Lord will wipe away.

!

I. HE WILL WIPE AWAY THE TEARS OF DEATH v. 8

* \“he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.

The LORD has spoken.”/

(Isaiah 25:8, NIV)

#. death has a universal impact and many live in fear of death and dying

* ILLUS.

Literature is filled with the expressions of fear about death that grip the hearts of unbelievers.

Socrates said, /“No one knows whether death. . .

may not be the greatest of all good,”/ but men /“in their fear apprehend it to be the greatest evil.”/

Francis Bacon wrote, /“Men fear death as children fear to go in the dark. . .

.”/

Samuel Johnson—an 18th century British poet and essayist—told of his horror at the death of a friend: /“At the sight of this last conflict, I felt a sensation never known to me before: a confusion of passions, an awful stillness of sorrow, a gloomy terror without a name.”/

#. the Bible is very clear that physical death comes to all men and there is nothing we can do about it

* /"No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death.

As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it.”/

(Ecclesiastes 8:8, NIV)

#. the Bible is equally clear that after physical death, men will stand before God and give and accounting of their lives

* /“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,”/ (Hebrews 9:27, NIV)

#. ever since man sinned in the Garden man has been dying

#. we have all been touched by it and if the Lord doesn’t return in our lifetimes, we will experience it personally

#.

Isaiah gives us hope when he writes that a day is coming when God will swallow up death forever

!! A. JESUS HAS CONQUERED DEATH FOR HIS PEOPLE

* /“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Come and see the place where he lay.”/

(Matthew 28:1–6, NIV)

* ILLUS.

William Saroyan was a world-famous dramatist and author, who had achieved great success in his field.

His works had been acclaimed in the literary world, his name was a familiar entry on best-seller lists, and he had even been awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his play The Time of Your Life.

Early in 1981 he lay dying in New York City of cancer, which had spread to several of his vital organs.

One evening, as Saroyan reflected on his condition and what the future held for him, he placed a phone call to Associated Press.

After identifying himself to the reporter who answered his call, he posed a searching question.

It was a final statement to be used after his death (which occurred later in May of 1981).

He said, /“Everybody has got to die.

But I have always believed an exception would be made in my case.

Now what.”/

And then he hung up the phone.

#.

Jesus has answered the ‘now what’ for those who call upon His name

* /“And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?””/ (1 Corinthians 15:49–55, NIV)

#. death is not the end, it is but a passage to a new beginning

* /“For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”/

(2 Timothy 4:6–8, NIV)

#. in that passage, the word Paul used for his death was departure

#. the word was used in a variety of ways in the culture of that day

#.

this word was used by sailors to speak of loosening the moorings to set sail for a new destination

#. it was used by armies to refer to striking the tents to move to a new location

#. it was used by travelers to speak of taking a saddle off a horse and putting in a stall to rest

#. it was a legal term used to speak of taking the shackles from a prisoner and giving them freedom

#.

Paul didn’t see death as a sad end to life, but as a new adventure and as a doorway into the presence of God

#. on that day the Lord Jesus will reward the apostle with the crown of righteousness

#. and not only does the Apostle Paul receive this crown, but so too all who have longed for his appearing

!! B. DEATH HAS BEEN ABOLISHED WHERE WE ARE GOING

* /“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.”/

(Revelation 21:4, NIV)

#. never again will we follow a loved one to the cemetery

#. never again will view them in their coffins

#. never again will the cold, icy grip of death take hold on those we love!

#. no tears over death, because death will be no more!

!

II.

HE WILL WIPE AWAY THE TEARS OF DESPAIR v. 8

* /“he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.

The LORD has spoken.”/

(Isaiah 25:8, NIV)

!! A. THIS VERSE REMINDS US THAT THIS WORLD IS A LAND OF WEEPING

#. in this world homes and hearts are frequently broken

#. families and the lives of individuals lie in shambles due to the touch and taint of sin

#. every week spouses, children and parents watch their loved ones march off to war, not knowing what the outcome will be for the one they love

#. this world is a vale of tears!

#. the Bible makes it clear that there will be times when we will pass through times of heartache and sorrow