The Coming King and His Kingdom
Notes
Transcript
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
12 He will raise a signal for the nations
and will assemble the banished of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.
15 And the Lord will utterly destroy
the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching breath,
and strike it into seven channels,
and he will lead people across in sandals.
16 And there will be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that remains of his people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.
Introduction: Fallible Leaders, Broken Promises
Introduction: Fallible Leaders, Broken Promises
Woodrow Wilson won re-election in 1916 with the slogan "He kept us out of war," only to enter World War I a year later.
President Franklin Roosevelt took over in 1932 under the promise that he would balance the budget...by 1936, the federal budget had doubled from the time he first stepped into office.
President Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1964, declared that we would not be sending our American boys into a war in Asia. 1 year later he was deploying troops into Vietnam
President George H.W. Bush ran the 1988 Campaign under the banner of one major signature promise…”Read my lips! No New Taxes”. However, only two years into his presidency, President Bush signed into law a budget passed to him by Congress with NEW TAXES…
We’ve had wars on all sorts of stuff that haven’t resulted in us defeating anything…
We’ve had wars on poverty that didn’t stop poverty...wars on drugs that didn’t stop drugs...wars on crime that didn’t stop crime...wars on terror that haven’t stopped terror.
Even the best leaders in this life can’t completely fulfill the promises our hearts long for...the promises we believe will make our world a better place.
But our Advent season is intended to turn our focus and attention to a KING who makes promises and will KEEP EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM...
The King Will Come From Humble Beginnings…
The King Will Come From Humble Beginnings…
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
A single shoot growing from a stomp…
The reference to Jesse is to obviously to highlight the fact that God’s promised King to come will come from the lineage of David. God declared to David through His prophet Nathan...
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
Jesus affirms that he is the answer to that prayer in John’s Revelation...
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
But what Isaiah says that it is really important to highlight is the humble place that the King is coming from...a shoot from the stump of Jesse…
As one theologian says, Isaiah didn’t start his Christmas season with a tree. He started it with a stump...
Israel is not considered a prominent nation in this text…they have fallen off and fallen away, but though they are no longer of much reputation and have fallen far from God, God has not forgotten about them.
He makes provision for His people even His people are not seeking Him.
Out of these humble circumstances, God the Father raises a humble King...From the stump, A KINGDOM IS FORGED.
Even when the King arrives...he doesn’t arrive in a prominent setting.
His people are under the rule of Rome, he himself is born into a family of humble accommodations
All of this shows us that
The KING’s throne is built from a seat of prominence.
It begins in a manger. It begins on a stomp.
HIs Kingdom doesn’t require worldly prominence to thrive.
His Kingdom doesn’t require worldly power to thrive.
His Kingdom doesn’t require anything that these earthly Kingdoms require for thriving because our King is not of this earth. He is not subject to its limitations. He is not subject to its boundaries or its ceilings.
The only thing that this Kingdom needs to thrive is the King himself! We must remember this the next time we feel like we have to compromise the values of the Kingdom in order to expand the Kingdom.
Isaiah continues describing what makes this coming King so wonderful…
The King Will Come With the Spirit
The King Will Come With the Spirit
2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
All Kings appointed by God are given a king’s anointing signifying that God’s Spirit and presence is with them. We hear this truth confirmed by the God the Father at the very beginning of the Son’s ministry...Matthew 3:16 details it.
16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus’ anointing with the Spirit is a significant step above any other king. One theologian describes it this way...
“When God’s Messiah arrives, we discover that He was not only anointed with the Spirit, as kings of old were, but that He was actually conceived in the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). From His birth to His resurrection (Rom. 1:4), Jesus is the man of the Spirit par excellence. At every stage of His life and ministry, the Spirit guides, directs, and empowers Him. He knows what is needed to redeem His own and is empowered by the Spirit to save accordingly”
Stephen J. Casselli
Jesus is walking in power known by no other king ever to walk the face of the Earth. Even those anointed by God never had the Spirit resting upon them like the eternal King does.
We also hear of some of the ways in which the Spirit is sure to manifest himself in this King…
...Wisdom and Understanding
...Counsel and Might
...Knowledge and the Fear of the Lord
Don’t miss how so much of this Coming King’s anointing and power is described in terms of wisdom...The Spirit of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, and Might, Knowledge, and Fear of the Lord rests upon Him. This King doesn’t rule with sheer and brute force, but with wisdom, knowledge, and insights.
Also, don’t miss how the Spirit upon this Coming King is one where the Fear of the Lord is cultivated. That though He comes in perfect harmony with the Spirit and in full power and wisdom, He still walks in the humble reverence of His Father.
34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.
A King who is clothed in power doesn’t have to be a King who rules solely through force.
A King who is clothed in power doesn’t have to be a King who rules solely haughtiness.
The Eternal King whose 1st coming we are celebrating and whose second coming we are anticipating was clothed with the Spirit’s power but didn’t come with sheer brute force or haughtiness. His Kingly disposition was one of power through might but through wisdom and understanding, power through fear of the Lord and commitment to do the Will of the one who He was sent by.
The King Will Come With Righteous Judgment
The King Will Come With Righteous Judgment
This Coming King of this Eternal Kingdom will be a King who judges RIGHTEOUSLY.
One of the notable qualities of a great King is his ability to judge righteously, fairly, and equitably. To not be baited by wealth or prominence; to not be cowardly; to not be partial towards those with power because of how he might be paid back.
Isaiah tells us that we should expect the best of judgment to come from the ETERNAL KING.
Abraham once made this statement:
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
Moses sang of the just nature of this King…
4 “The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he.
This King will judge based on what is simply right!
In a world like ours filled with many great leaders and authorities but also definitely laced with some holding ill intent and willingness to prey on the weak and lowly, I’m encouraged that when it is all said and done, we have a King who will judge RIGHTLY.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
The Coming King of this Eternal Kingdom is not be moved by what makes for good TV or good theater. Celebrity and/or popularity doesn’t bring a more favorable judgment from His chambers.
He will judge the poor fairly...He will judge the meek rightly
ILLUSTRATION: We’ve seen even in our own country unfair practices rise up to prey on the poor and lowly. From unregulated practices in the payday lending industry that leaves a person trying to payback a small loan for years to charging up to $17 for a 15 minute phone call for a prison inmate contacting their family, we are subject to an imperfect system that must be constantly monitored for abuse and people looking to game it.
Last Year, the president of the American Bar Association was confronting the unfortunate role poverty was having in justice head on. She wrote an article entitled ‘Poverty is Not A Crime’ and opened it with these words:
“The sad reality is that in America today, economic status can determine the type of justice you receive. Not just due to the “justice gap” caused by under-funded civil legal aid offices that must turn away half of those seeking help. And not just because public defender offices are overwhelmed. But because a court system punishes people of lesser means by levying fees and fines on them that they have no hope of paying.
Every day, courts impose a range of financial obligations on individuals charged with criminal offenses or civil infractions. These can range from fines for low-level offenses like traffic tickets all the way up to fines for felonies. In almost every jurisdiction, there are numerous fees charged for using the justice system.”
Hilarie Bass
No matter where you land on this one can never argue that we have a perfect system in place to ensure the weakest among us have every opportunity to thrive as the strongest among us, but the Eternal King judges not only rightly but judges perfectly. In other words, He is consistently righteous in His judgments.
Application #1: Following the King means not being content with injustice amongst the lowly…
Notice here that righteousness is more than doing right personally...it is pursuing the right treatment of others...this is not an appeal to be a SJW or even some sort of advocate, but it is an appeal to follow in the footsteps of your savior.
7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor;
a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
8 Better is a little with righteousness
than great revenues with injustice.
11 A just balance and scales are the Lord’s;
all the weights in the bag are his work.
Application #2: The King understands what it means to not see justice…
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
One way in which this was clearly seen was the way in which Christ suffered injustice on His way to the cross…
Betrayed with a kiss by his very own friend.
Brought before the Roman authorities on trumped up charges
Traded for
Application #3: The King will bring justice once and for all...
The King Will Come With Perfect Peace
The King Will Come With Perfect Peace
6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;
and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze;
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.
The Coming King will bring PERFECT PEACE
Take Notice that Isaiah makes his case by connecting all of these wild animals: Wolves, Leopards, Lions, and Bears, Cobras, Adders...with these vulnerable creatures: lambs, goats, calves, cows, children
In other words, the most extreme examples with peace to show that peace will be established from the most opposed to the least opposed...from the most violent to the least violent and everything in between…
HOW shall this come to pass? The Knowledge of the Lord…
9 They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
The more we see of God...the deeper our knowledge of him becomes...the less selfish and sinful conflict we create...
Application 1: Pursue imperfectly what the King is bringing perfected!
14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
The King Will Come With UNENDING KINGDOM
The King Will Come With UNENDING KINGDOM
10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
12 He will raise a signal for the nations
and will assemble the banished of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.
15 And the Lord will utterly destroy
the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching breath,
and strike it into seven channels,
and he will lead people across in sandals.
16 And there will be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that remains of his people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.
Hold on...saints the King is preparing His Kingdom…
His promises are not unbroken they are pending
15 And the Lord will utterly destroy
the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching breath,
and strike it into seven channels,
and he will lead people across in sandals.
16 And there will be a highway from Assyria
for the remnant that remains of his people,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.