Sermon Tone Analysis

This past week Google released the top ten words Americans used to search the internet in 2022.

There were different lists.

The most revealing of these lists is the list of most searched current events.

[SLIDE: TOP TEN CURRENT EVENTS]

Top ten current events:

*Election results

*Queen Elizabeth passing

*Ukraine

Powerball numbers

Hurricane Ian

Monkey Pox

Texas school shooting

Will Smith Oscars

Johnny Depp verdict

Roe v. Wade

Now I said that these top ten current events were the most revealing.

They tell us what people in the US are thinking about, sure.

But most importantly, they may tell us what people in the US are worrying about.

The top three: Election results, Queen Elizabeth passing, and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Each of them have to do with instability.

There are concerns about the death of Queen Elizabeth.

What does her death mean for Great Britain?

Is the monarchy over?

There is instability in western Europe.

There are concerns about Ukraine.

Where does it end?

Things are unstable in eastern Europe.

There were questions about the election in 2020.

No matter where you stand on that, things are more unstable in the United States as a result.

We trust God, but many of us struggle with our fears.

We see our country becoming less and less Christian and more and more post-Christian.

What happens when a country founded on Christian values leaves those values behind?

And what does that mean things will be like when our kids and grandkids are our age?

Maybe worry is the wrong word.

We are appropriately concerned about this instability.

And as Christians, we believe the Bible speaks into every situation with God’s own wisdom and perspective.

What does the Bible say about this that can help us?

Well, on one hand, the Bible has bad news for us.

We are not promised earthly security and safety.

That’s the bad news.

But here’s the good news.

If the bad news is that God does not promise us earthly security and safety, the good news is to be found in what God does promise us.

What does He promise us?

We see those promises in this prophecy found in Isaiah 11.

We are promised two things: a Perfect King, and a perfect world.

We are promised, for one thing, a Perfect King.

[SLIDE: PERFECT KING]

#1: Perfect King

We are promised a future Perfect King.

Who is this future Perfect King?

We see that in verse 1, if you’ll look there with me.

“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”

Now here’s a tip for reading biblical prophecy.

When you see a reference to anything related to a tree, like a stump or a branch, it often refers to a kingdom or a king.

And when you see the name Jesse, well, that’s king David’s father.

Except, it can’t be David himself.

David has been gone from the scene for years.

So who is this stump of Jesse?

It’s the Messiah.

It’s Jesus.

There’s this tension in the OT.

Some of Israel’s kings were really, really good.

But these guys were not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

Everyone of them was messed up somehow.

King David, well he was the best king Israel ever had, and he is the one who most resembled Christ, the true David.

But for all the good that he did, like any other human being David was capable of terrible sin.

So why did God use David?

To show us that David is not the Promised One!

There is coming one who is greater than David, who will succeed in every place that David fell; He will perfect every good thing David ever did.

Jesus is and will forever be the greater David.

And this greater David will come out of insignificant circumstances.

Did you notice the tree references?

— there’s no actual tree.

There’s a stump.

The tree’s been cut down.

Insignificance and desolation — those are the circumstance under which this new king from David’s line will be born.

Except, there’s a little tiny green sprig — a sign of life coming up out of an otherwise dead tree stump.

And in the NT, we read that this promised Perfect King has been born in a tiny, insignificant town, in a small, insignificant suburb of Jerusalem.

Even there, born in a barn and placed in a feeding trough.

To the world, he was just another ordinary Israelite baby.

Except King David is his ancestor.

And this baby is the promised offspring of David who would rule forever on David’s throne.

That’s why, when the angel addresses Jesus’ father Joseph, he says, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife”.

And when He is grown, by His death and resurrection He will usher in a new and better kingdom.

Jesus came preaching, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15 ESV).

And for all those who will just believe in Him, for all those who simply look Him for salvation and help and forgiveness, well, we’re promised that we will live forever with Him in this new kingdom when it has come fully, on a new heaven and a new earth.

That, church, is the good thing to which we look forward when things are hard here.

Let’s learn more about what it will be like from just verse 2 of Isaiah 11.

[WITH PERFECT KNOWLEDGE…]

A. With perfect knowledge, He will always know what to do and how to do it

Isaiah tells us this perfect king will be extremely well qualified to do His job.

Why?

Because He will always know what to do and how to do it.

Or, to put it like Isaiah did, “the Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, the Spirit of wisdom” — meaning He sees true nature of things and knows how what to do as a result — “and understanding” — that’s being able to weigh the options and knowing how to put it into practice.

Wisdom and understanding.

These are God-given gifts, gifts God gives to us by His Spirit.

Oh church, to have a president who has the Spirit of God within Him!

But even the wisest, most godly man you can think of to serve as president has times when he doesn’t know what to do.

Or thinks he knows what to do and does the wrong thing.

Jesus has perfect knowledge.