The Root & Branch of Jesse

[0:00] Ben read for us earlier, so please turn there in your Bibles now. Make one of those and keep it as our gift to you. And the title of today's sermon is this, The Root and Branch of Jesse.

[0:13] The Root and Branch of Jesse. Now this title comes from verses 1 and verse 10. It's the bookends of the passage. And the title might sound very mysterious to you, but let me tell you that the Root and Branch of Jesse is exactly the one that you want at command when it seems like all hope is lost.

[0:31] Now before we unpack what that means and what this passage means, I just want to go to the Lord in prayer one more time. Heavenly Father, illuminate, Lord, your word for us today.

[0:42] That our hearts, they need encouragement. Some of them need conviction. Our hearts need to see Christ. Our hearts need the light of your word to shine into our darkness this morning.

[0:53] God, I know my heart does. And I know other hearts here need that as well. Lord, we need you. Spirit, fill this place. Fill our hearts. And teach us, Lord, from your word. Pray this in Christ's name.

[1:05] Amen. Amen. I think I just realized it in. I need to introduce myself. I'm Mike, one of the pastors here at Shoreline. And if I have not met you before, I'd love to meet you after the service. And so last week's passage, Isaiah 9, 1 through 7, it came as a glorious message of light to the southern kingdom of Judah.

[1:24] So we want to set the stage again, especially for those that are new this week. Isaiah is prophesying about 750 B.C. And the first part of his prophecy is aimed at the southern kingdom of Judah.

[1:36] Because Israel was split in half. Israel in the north. Judah in the south. And the kingdom of Judah was in a really dire spiritual and national condition. It was dark and gloomy.

[1:47] And then Isaiah comes and proclaims this message of light that will pierce the darkness. And he predicts this future child become messianic king. And then the prophecy, right after that text that we were in last week, the prophecy shifts to the northern kingdom of Israel.

[2:03] And God presents this catalog of just scathing indictments against Israel. Just like he had done against Judah. And the list is quite similar. Pride. Irrigance.

[2:15] Injustice. Idolatry. These are the things that were wreaking havoc in the land of Israel. And God has already brought over and over again. Read 1 and 2 Kings. 1 and 2 Chronicles.

[2:26] God has brought judgment upon Israel in many ways. And yet, as the prophecy repeats four times in chapters 9 and 10, For all this, his anger has not turned away and his hand is stretched out still.

[2:40] God is going to bring a still fiercer judgment. And it will be by the hand of Assyria. This ruthless nation, Assyria, whom God calls the rod of his anger.

[2:51] He's going to do that to punish his wayward people. And yet, he won't finally leave her. We see in chapter 10 that God is going to preserve a remnant.

[3:03] And he will lead that remnant back home. And then chapter 10 ends with this picture of Assyria's destructive march up to the gates of Jerusalem. But then God is going to stop Assyria.

[3:15] And he will chop down that tree with his axe. This vivid imagery. And then chapter 11 begins. And so the first thing that we see here is the Messiah's divine appearance.

[3:37] The Messiah's divine appearance. And specifically here in verse 1, his origins. A branch from Jesse's stump. There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

[3:52] And lastly, we mentioned 2 Samuel chapter 7. About 250 years earlier, around 1000 BC, God makes King David this massive promise.

[4:02] That through David's offspring, God would establish his kingdom forever. And we refer to this as the Davidic covenant. Now David fathered Solomon.

[4:14] And under Solomon, Israel enjoyed abundant peace, abundant prosperity. And it seemed like the Davidic covenant was being fulfilled. But then Solomon led the nation into sin.

[4:26] And the kingdom was split in half. And both Israel and Judah descended further and further into sin. And so the kingdom that was supposed to be this mighty oak of righteousness and justice and the knowledge of the Lord is pictured now as merely a stump.

[4:44] And the reference to Jesse rather than David. Jesse wasn't the king. David, his son, was the king. But the reference back to Jesse, I think it underscores this. That the Davidic line is all but ended.

[4:56] The situation is dire. It's hopeless. Now at the time though of Isaiah's writing, King Ahaz, who was from the royal line of David, he still sat on the throne of Jerusalem.

[5:08] But several generations later, both Israel and Judah would be ransacked by an even fiercer nation, Babylon. And then the Davidic line would effectively be ended around 586 B.C.

[5:23] And so the oak is cut down. A stump is remaining. But what God's promising here is that out of this stump of Jesse, God is going to cause to come forth a shoot.

[5:38] Can you picture the dead stump? The dead stump and a shoot starting to make its way up out of what seemed to be lifeless. God is saying, I will raise up another David.

[5:49] And through him, these promises of old are going to come to pass. And I just want to pause here and say, Church, let's hear God's message here to Israel.

[6:00] Because this is God's word for us this morning. It might look dead. Right? It might in fact even be dead. But the God who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist, Romans 4.17, He is at the helm.

[6:17] He is in command. And no word of His falls to the ground. His word always accomplishes the purpose for which He sends in Isaiah 55.11.

[6:29] And see, we look around and we look within. And we see darkness. And we see death. And we sometimes feel like that is the sum total of our reality.

[6:41] But saints, God is always working to bring light into darkness. And to bring life out of death. And that's the direction that He has been.

[6:51] And is continuing to advance and orchestrate all of history. Here in Isaiah 11, God is confirming to Israel His covenant promises made to the royal line of David.

[7:03] The Messiah will come. Though the promise seems impossible. And then in verse 2, we see this. His anointing. The fullness of the Spirit.

[7:15] There in the Bibles of verse 2, it says, Throughout the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit comes upon specific people for a specific task.

[7:37] In fact, after David is anointed king by Samuel, the text says, And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. The one anointed with God's Spirit is God's appointed man to carry out God's will.

[7:54] It's God's appointed man to carry out God's will. Here in verse 2 is a description of how this Messiah to come will be God's man. Anointed with God's Spirit and appointed to carry out His will.

[8:07] And what we see in this verse is actually a seven-fold description. Which in the Bible notes completeness. He will have the Holy Spirit in fullness. We see first this is going to be a permanent resting of the Spirit.

[8:21] But the Spirit, He's not going to depart from the Messiah. And this permanent resting grants the Messiah wisdom and understanding. Just one chapter earlier, the king of Assyria ignorantly and arrogantly boasts of his victory over Israel.

[8:38] He says, By the strength of my hands I have done it. And by my wisdom, for I have understanding. In the end, the king of Assyria will be seen to be simply, as Isaiah says before, For a bee, a bumblebee that God whistles for to accomplish His purposes.

[8:58] In contrast, the Messiah will truly be filled with wisdom and understanding. And also we see counsel and might. Remember last week we saw in chapter 9 how the Messiah would be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God.

[9:15] Here Isaiah is affirming that. The Messiah applies His wisdom and understanding by setting a course. And then ensuring its fulfillment, counsel and its might.

[9:28] These are terms of leadership, of governance here. He's filled, finally, with knowledge and the fear of the Lord. To fear God in Scripture.

[9:40] It's not to be in dread of Him. But to revere Him. To regard Him as holy. To be in awe of Him. To worship Him. This fear is the basis of knowing God.

[9:53] Which in Scripture is not merely intellectual understanding. But it's a relationship. To know God is to love Him. To serve Him. To obey Him.

[10:04] To walk with Him and in His ways. This knowledge and fear of God was to characterize the ideal. We see earlier in Deuteronomy and Kings.

[10:16] This knowledge and fear of God was supposed to characterize the ideal King of Israel. So we see here the Messiah will meet that ideal. So, you know, if we think about our own day, don't we long for a king like that?

[10:36] What would our nation look like today if they were ruled by a king or a president? Perfectly endowed with the Holy Spirit and all of these attributes.

[10:49] Like what heights of human flourishing would take place in our country? I mean, on a smaller scale, don't we even long for bosses like that?

[10:59] Bosses that operate in the effectiveness of the Spirit's wisdom? Bosses that operate in the knowledge and fear of the Lord? I mean, what would our company or our department culture look like with leadership like that?

[11:14] Wise. Don't you long for husbands, children, for fathers that lead their homes in this kind of just total dependence on the Spirit?

[11:26] Our hearts long for such a leader. And God here is promising such a leader, such a Messiah to come. His appearance is going to be divine.

[11:38] Now, in verses 3 through 9, we're then given a foretaste of what his leadership will be like. And so we saw the Messiah's divine appearance and now the Messiah's divine administration.

[11:52] The first thing we see is his rules. Just, righteous, and faithful. The beginning of verse 3, look in your Bibles there. It actually is a transition from the first section to the next.

[12:03] It says, and his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. I learned this week that the word delight, it actually carries the idea of smelling a pleasing aroma.

[12:15] The Messiah will know and fear the Lord and that to him will be this pleasing aroma. It will satisfy the Messiah. His soul will be delighted by the Lord.

[12:27] And then this will be reflected in every facet of his leadership. He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear. You know, God told Samuel that man looks on what?

[12:41] The outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. You know, we often think in our foolishness. We think we know, we think we understand something. But our perspective is oh so finite and limited.

[12:55] The Messiah will declare right verdicts based on true reality. He will see and perceive to the heart of a matter and to the heart of a person. In other words, the Messiah will have a divine perspective leading to divine judgments.

[13:11] Verse 4, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. You know, it's the poor and the needy that throughout human history have been on the receiving end of mistreatment and violence and oppression and injustice.

[13:31] And so we see here when the Messiah comes to reign, he will administer perfect righteousness, perfect justice in the land such that all people, including the poor and the needy, the most vulnerable, will be treated fairly and equitably.

[13:47] And so again, it fulfills the ideal of what the Israelite kingship was always meant to be. And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

[14:04] But for justice, for righteousness to be carried out, evildoers must be brought to account and punished. And so it's saying here, the wicked are not going to survive under the Messiah's reign.

[14:18] He is going to vanquish all evil. He will bring it to an end. And notice how he's going to do it. With the rod of his mouth. With the breath of his lips.

[14:30] As Alec Mautier writes, The king needs no other display of power and no other weapon of enforcement than the bare word that he speaks. The king's word is full of divine efficacy.

[14:46] Verse 5. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The Messiah will be fitted. He's going to be fitted and prepared. Not with weapons of war, but with godly character.

[14:59] With righteousness, which speaks to his moral purity, his moral integrity. And then with faithfulness, which speaks to his loyalty, his steadfastness. In this verse, it brings these three verses to a close.

[15:12] It sort of forms what's called an inclusio, or just bookends. With that first phrase in verse 3, talking about the Messiah's delight in the Lord. And this last phrase about his godly character.

[15:23] And those things, his delight in the Lord, his character of godliness. That will be the basis for, and that will be worked out in, his godly reign. His kingly reign.

[15:34] In which justice and righteousness are perfectly executed. I ask again, don't you want to live under a king like that?

[15:46] In a country like that? A country where the rich can't control outcomes with drives. Or where lawbreakers never get away unpunished. And where the cause of the poor and the vulnerable is upheld.

[15:59] When the coach's son doesn't get more playing time just because he's family. A land of justice and righteousness. But it gets better still.

[16:11] Verses 3-5 depict the Messiah's reign. And then verses 6-9, his world. His world. Eden like peace. This is beautiful here.

[16:25] Look at verse 6. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb. Picture this image in your head. Use your imagination here.

[16:36] Isaiah makes it pretty easy. 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.

[16:47] And the little child shall lead them. What does a wolf do when it sees a lamb? Eats it. Eats it. And what does a leopard do when it sees a young goat?

[16:58] What does a lion do when it sees a calf? Eats it. Eats it. Eats it. And what does the mangy coyote lurking in New London do when it sees your neighbor's dog? That's a true story.

[17:11] You have neighbors move in and like a month later, poor little dog got carried away by a coyote. Here, we have an incredible vision of the future state of the Messiah's kingdom.

[17:26] It's going to be a state of total peace, total harmony among the created order. What we have here, predator and prey resting side by side as like friends.

[17:39] The wolf and the lamb are friends. You know, sharks are really going to say fish are not, or fish are friends, not food. I need an email if anyone didn't catch that reference.

[17:51] Yeah. And we see here that the animal kingdom is even going to be led by a child. What does this scene remind you of? What does it remind you of?

[18:02] Anybody? The garden. The garden of Eden. This is the curse reversed. That's what this is. This is the garden state restored. No more hostility.

[18:14] Right? Mankind having dominion over living creatures. Even the little child exercising that dominion. Verse 7. The cow and the bear shall graze. Their young shall lie down together.

[18:26] And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Not only will these old hostilities cease, but there's going to be an inner transformation of nature. Right? Carnivore is turned into herbivore.

[18:37] Again, it's returning to their pre-fallen state. God told Adam and Eve in Genesis 1.30, And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.

[18:55] Right? But when mankind sinned and brought the curse upon himself from God, this curse was extended to the entire created order. And now, here, through the Messiah's reign, again we see the curse reversed.

[19:10] And this is made even more clear in verse 8. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra. There are a lot of nursing children here. Can you picture the nursing child playing over the hole of the cobra?

[19:24] The weaned child shall put his hands on the adder's den. Why does this verse mention a snake and not some other deadly creature? Because it was a snake in the garden.

[19:38] It was Satan deceived as a serpent. There was Satan disguised as a serpent that deceived Eve, bringing sin and death into the world. And God cursed the serpent.

[19:48] He said, I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

[19:59] Genesis 3.15 Under the reign of the Messiah, the enmity that existed between the offspring of Eve and the serpent, it's here gone. So again, we see the curse is completely reversed.

[20:11] The garden of Eden is restored. And the section concludes with verse 9. God's holy mountain.

[20:28] That's a motif repeated all throughout all the prophets, but especially Isaiah. And it's referring to Mount Zion, that name for Jerusalem. But not the current one.

[20:38] Because, you know, the prophets, they either predict or they minister in the aftermath of Jerusalem's destruction. God's holy mountain is referring to the new Jerusalem.

[20:52] The new city of God. When heaven comes down to earth. And in that new city of God, the curse will be reversed. God's intention for mankind to multiply and fill the earth with the glory of his goodness.

[21:08] That will finally be realized. Under the reign of God's anointed Messiah, the whole earth will know God. The whole earth, that is, will be at peace with God.

[21:22] And the effect will be this total shalom, wholeness, harmony. Unlike anything that we have ever seen. Friends, don't our hearts ache for that day.

[21:35] Don't they long for the knowledge of God and his glory to cover the earth for peace and tranquility under the reign of God's Messiah, King. The day when nation no longer rises up against nation.

[21:48] And when brothers dwell together in perfect unity. When you don't care whether the house or the car is left unlocked. When your neighbor's dog invites the mangy coyote to play.

[22:00] This is what life will be like under the coming Messiah King. Assuming the Messiah's divine appearance.

[22:12] His divine administration. And lastly, the Messiah's divine acclaim. Let's read the final verse here. Verse 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.

[22:34] Note this verse. His reach. The nations. The Messiah is going to stand as a signal for the people.

[22:46] Of him shall the nations inquire. The signaling of the nations. It's another motif that Isaiah uses all throughout. Sometimes, as in chapter 5, verse 26.

[22:57] God is signaling the nations. And what he's doing is he's bidding them as his instruments to carry out judgment. But other times, God signaling the nations is him beckoning them to come.

[23:11] And to join his covenant family. And to enjoy his presence. And all the associated blessings. And that's what's going on here. And it is the Messiah himself who is the signal.

[23:23] He is the banner. As it says in other translations. He is the world's muster point. The nations will see him and rally to him. They will inquire of him.

[23:34] Which is the idea of seeking him out. Of pursuing him. And as verses 11 to 16, which we're not going to cover today. But as those verses describe. This will actually be like a second exodus.

[23:47] A far greater exodus. The Messiah isn't just gathering people out of Egypt. He's gathering people from every nation. To worship and to serve him. And to enjoy the covenant blessings.

[24:00] Of belonging to him. And then finally, his resting place. Glorious. Now when I picture a resting place.

[24:10] I picture my cozy bed. But Isaiah. He doesn't want us to picture a bed. He wants us to picture, I think. The tabernacle. In the wilderness.

[24:20] In Exodus 40. When God fills it with his glory. Or he wants us to picture the temple. After it was constructed by King Solomon. In 1 Kings 8. And the ark of the covenant is brought into the most holy place.

[24:33] Then a cloud. Filled the house of the Lord. So that the priest could not stand to minister. Because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord. Filled the house of the Lord. You see.

[24:45] The place where God comes to rest. Is a place of glory. And Isaiah is saying. That the place where the Messiah comes to rest.

[24:57] Is a place of glory. And that the nations. People like you and me. From every corner of the globe. Are invited to come partake. In that glory.

[25:08] I want us to consider. One more thing from this verse. Verse 10. Forms another inclusio. Or a bookend.

[25:18] It was verse 1. If you look in your Bibles. In verse 1. Isaiah said. There shall come forth a shoot. From the stump of Jesse. And a branch from his root.

[25:28] Shall bear fruit. The Messiah is the shoot. Right. He's the twig. The branch. Coming out of the stump. But here in verse 10. Isaiah refers to the Messiah.

[25:40] As the root. Of Jesse. The root. Did you catch that? In verse 1. He's the branch. In verse 10. He's the root.

[25:51] Is Isaiah confused? Again. Alec wants here. He comments. He says. The Messiah. Is the root cause. Of his own family tree.

[26:03] Pending the day. When within that family. He will shoot forth. In the Old Testament. This is a dilemma. Awaiting resolution. You know. This. This dilemma.

[26:14] It also appears. In the prophecy of Micah. The contemporary of Isaiah. When he writes this. But you. O Bethlehem. Ephrathah. Who are too little. To be among the clans of Judah.

[26:24] From you. Shall come forth for me. One who is to be ruler in Israel. Whose coming forth. Is from of old. From ancient days. Yes. Yes. This friends.

[26:35] Is the utter. Miracle. Of Christmas. The mystery. Of the incarnation. For the root. Of Jesse. Describes one. Who is himself. Life. Yes.

[26:46] One from whom. Life. Is derived. From. And the one who's. Coming forth. Is from a bowl. Right. From ancient days. That describes a being. Who. Who predates. And outlasts.

[26:56] All other kings and kingdoms. Of this earth. And that God. The only God. Became. Flesh. And he dwelt. That's. That's tabernacle.

[27:07] Among us. And we have seen his glory. Glory is of the only son. From the father. And the father. Full. Of grace. And truth. John 1. 14. The Messiah king. Of Isaiah 11.

[27:18] Who is both. The root of Jesse. Giving life. To the royal line. And the branch of Jesse. Rising up. Out of that line. To reign forever. Is. Jesus Christ.

[27:29] The son of David. And the son of God. The ancient of days. The word made flesh. Emmanuel. God with us. And so we sing.

[27:39] Veiled in flesh. The Godhead seed. Hail. The incarnate deity. Jesus Christ. The Messiah king. He came into this broken.

[27:50] And destitute world. 2,000 years ago. And he did so. As the son of God. In the fullness of the spirit. Recall how at Christ's baptism. The spirit.

[28:01] Descends like a dove. And it comes to rest upon Jesus. And throughout his life. He demonstrated. Perfect wisdom. Perfect understanding. He demonstrated counsel.

[28:11] And might. Knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He delighted. Like no one else before him. In God his father. And he proved. In every interaction. To be just. And righteous.

[28:23] And faithful. But then. Through the evil scheme. Of the Jewish leaders. He was unjustly tried. Beaten. And crucified. Upon a Roman cross.

[28:34] Right. All hope. Seemed lost. It looked like. The Messiah lay dead. But three days later. God. Raised him up. Loosing the pains of death. Because it was not. Possible.

[28:44] For him. To be held by it. Amen. And so the resurrection of Christ. It proved. That his death. Was sufficient. It was. It was. It was.

[28:55] It was efficacious. It did what he was supposed to accomplish. Right. And that is namely. To once for all. Pay for the price. Pay the price. For our sins. Yes.

[29:05] To satisfy the wrath of God. To give us. His righteousness. To reconcile us to God. Thank you. As his children. Thank you. The resurrection also proves.

[29:17] That he was in fact. The divine messianic king. Yes. The one prophesied from of old. Yes. And therefore. Through his death and resurrection. Christ has established.

[29:28] His never ending kingdom of righteousness. Justice and peace. The eternal reign of the Messiah. King. Foretold in Isaiah. Has begun.

[29:40] It's begun. It's not here in fullness. But it is here in reality. Yes. And friends. He beckons us now. To come. To rally to him.

[29:50] So that his light. Can dispel. Our darkness. Yes. So that we too. Can belong to the community. Of the redeemed. And so. If you have not. Rallied to Christ.

[30:01] I urge you this day. To repent. Of your sins. To confess your sins to the Lord. To trust in Jesus. For life. Eternal. And for salvation. To receive him.

[30:13] To rest in him. To declare him to be the Lord and Savior of your life. Friend. If you do. You will become a benefactor. Of all the promises we've been talking about today.

[30:24] So Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1. 20. All the promises of God. Find their yes. In him. That is in Christ. That's in the saints.

[30:35] I want us to consider. How the eternal reign of Christ. Depicted in Isaiah 11. Is actually manifested. Right now. Here on earth.

[30:47] Through the church. Through the church. That is to say. Heaven is brought forward. In and through. The church of Jesus Christ. Which is an outpost of.

[30:58] His heavenly kingdom on earth. This is how the apostles saw things. Right. This is why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 11. That the Old Testament scriptures. He says.

[31:08] They were written down for our instruction. On whom the end of the ages has come. Now this means first of all. That God intends. For us to display.

[31:20] The qualities. Of his heavenly kingdom. In the culture of our church. In the culture of our homes. No. We are not the perfect Messiah King. No. His reign is not finally here.

[31:32] But he does intend for us. To increasingly. Imitate him. Right. To increasingly. Delight. In the fear of the Lord. To increasingly. Uphold.

[31:43] Justice. And righteousness. And walk in faithfulness. To live at peace with everyone. So far as it depends on us. This means secondly.

[31:56] That through us. Listen there. Through us. Through the church. God is bringing through fulfillment. The promise right here. That the earth.

[32:07] Shall be full. Of the knowledge of the Lord. As the waters cover the sea. And how? How is that coming to fulfillment? Through the gospel proclamation. Of Christ's disciples.

[32:20] To the nations. Again. This is how the apostle Paul saw things. He saw his ministry. Of gospel preaching. To the nations. As fulfilling these. Prophetic promises.

[32:31] He quotes from Isaiah 11. In Romans chapter 15. This is. This is amazing. Friends. As we go heralding. Proclaiming. Sharing. The gospel of Jesus Christ.

[32:41] To the world around us. As we do that. The spirit is causing. Sinners. To turn. To Christ. To rally. To Christ. And to be saved.

[32:51] To receive eternal life. And to come into. The covenant community. Of. Of. Of Christ. Christ. So through us. He is spreading. He is spreading abroad. The knowledge.

[33:02] Of the glory. Of the Lord. To the ends. Of the earth. Christian. Do you see yourself. As ushering in. The eternal reign of Christ. Christ. Christ.

[33:41] I have one. Final. Point of application here. This morning. Verses 6 through 8.

[33:54] Christ. I mean. They vividly describe. The reverse. Of the curse. Right. And the garden of Eden. Restored. That state of. Shalom.

[34:05] Wholeness. Rest. Peace. And friends. That sounds so foreign to us. Because our present experience. Is one of. Sibling conflict.

[34:17] Workplace drama. Domestic violence. Terrorism. International wars. Natural disasters. And on and on. Right.

[34:28] As Paul says in Romans 8. We. And all of creation. Are groaning. For the day when Christ comes back. And claims us. And makes all things new. Thank you. And at the same time.

[34:41] Because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters. Because of the gospel. Because our Messiah King. Has already come. And inaugurated his eternal reign. We can actually know peace.

[34:53] Okay. We can actually know peace. We can experience. Divine peace. In our hearts. In the midst of. All of the chaos. That is raging around us.

[35:06] Friends. Brothers and sisters. Consider this. Where is the Messiah's. Resting place. Right now. Where has he taken up. Residence.

[35:17] Right here. Right. The Holy Spirit. Is right here. In our hearts. And where. The Messiah comes to dwell. Is a place.

[35:28] Of glory. It's a place. Of peace. Peace. And he is. As we saw last week. He is the prince. Of peace. Right. By the death.

[35:38] And resurrection. Of Christ. He has become. Our peace. He conquered. Our greatest enemies. And he has reconciled. Us to. The God. Of all peace. Are you filled.

[35:50] With anxiety. This morning. Paul writes. The Lord. Is at hand. The Lord. Is at hand. He's right here.

[36:01] Yes. Do not be anxious. About anything. But in everything. By prayer. And supplication. With thanksgiving. Let your requests. Be made known to God. And the peace of God. Which your past.

[36:12] Is all understanding. Will guard your hearts. And your minds. In Christ Jesus. I want to ask you. Are you fearful. This morning. Of the state. Of our nation. Or the state.

[36:22] Of our world. Isaiah declares. You keep him. In perfect peace. Whose mind. Is stayed. On you. Do.

[36:33] Do concerns. For loved ones. Multiply. Within you. The psalmist writes. In Psalm 94. 19. When the cares. Of my heart.

[36:43] Are many. Your consolations. Cheer my soul. Do you feel weighed down. This morning. With the burden. Of sin. Or perhaps. The burden.

[36:53] Of suffering. Of some kind. Jesus. With open arms. Declares. Come. To me. All who labor. And are heavy laden. And I. Will give you.

[37:04] Rest. Take my yoke. Upon you. And learn from me. For I am gentle. And lowly. In heart. And you will find. Rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy. And my burden is light.

[37:17] Church. Our world might be a far side. From the Eden. Like state. Picture here. In Isaiah 11. But. By God's grace and power. Our hearts. Can experience.

[37:28] The first fruits. Of this other worldly peace. Here and now. No matter what circumstances. Of life. Come our way. And saints. We know that. That one day.

[37:39] That other worldly peace. Will pervade. Every facet. Of creation. Now listen. If you. Or I. Or the greatest. Comeback king.

[37:50] Of sports. Or military history. Were at the helm. Our hope. Would be. Merely a delusion. But we. Have. Christ. Our Messiah king.

[38:01] He is leading the way. And he will finally bring. To fulfillment. To completion. The thing that he started. He will finally bring. Us.

[38:11] Into his heavenly resting place. When heaven meets earth. And his resting place. Will. Be. Glorious. Please pray with me.