WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Well, I didn't expect to be here this evening. 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:12.000 Those of you who get the Wednesday email might have noticed that Sunday evening had to be confirmed. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:17.000 And that's because Derek had somebody down to preach tonight. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:21.000 But that person didn't have themselves down to preach tonight. 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:25.000 So we all got a panic-stricken email during the week. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:32.000 Derek basically eventually said, can anybody do anything on Sunday evening? 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:37.000 Even at this late stage, some flag-waving will do. 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:45.000 So I thought I should offer, and that's why I'm here. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:50.000 So please turn to Isaiah chapter 11. 00:00:50.000 --> 00:01:01.000 I want to look at Isaiah 11 verses 1 to 10. 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:05.000 I'll just read the first two or three lines. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:10.000 Page 575. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:15.000 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.000 and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit, 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:29.000 and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:36.000 Now you may have heard it sung, I've heard it sung for 55 years. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000 It's the most wonderful time of the year. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:49.000 And I think it is, the time when once again we say it's a wonderful life. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:56.000 I didn't know what to preach on, but I realized that it's the first Sunday in Advent. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:00.000 And Advent is the season when, of course, we remember, 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:05.000 especially that the Savior has come in His first Advent, 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:11.000 but also that the same Savior will return in His second Advent. 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:16.000 So I want tonight to think a little about these two comings, 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:20.000 and both of them are in this passage of Scripture. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.000 And in between them, if there's time, 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:28.000 I want also to reflect on a crucial ministry of the Holy Spirit, 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:36.000 the Spirit who is so important here, and in the prophecy of Isaiah, and in the life of Jesus. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:41.000 So taking my cue from the word wonderful, three things. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:49.000 A wonderful king, a wonderful spirit, and a wonderful world. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:51.000 So first of all, a wonderful king. 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:57.000 If you have a Bible, we're looking at verses 1 to 5. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:08.000 Now, God had led His people to expect that one day a very special king would come. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.000 Now, these people knew about kings. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:18.000 They knew about the good and the bad, and sometimes the ugly. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:23.000 And even the best of their own kings were flawed. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:30.000 But they had a hope, a royal hope, a messianic hope. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:36.000 And here is one of the passages that nourished that hope of a coming king. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:44.000 And like all of these passages, it was to be fulfilled in Jesus, of course. 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:50.000 Now, it begins here with a shoot from the stump of a tree. 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:54.000 It doesn't sound like much, but this is a king. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:59.000 Now, Isaiah has already introduced us to this king. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:09.000 You remember in chapter 9, we're told about a royal child who will transcend what could be said about any other king. 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:17.000 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:24.000 and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:32.000 of the increase of his government and of peace, there will be no end, and so on. 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:44.000 And also, before that, in chapter 7 and verse 14, there was the famous prophecy of a child born of a virgin, 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:51.000 and she will name him Emmanuel, which means God with us. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:05:02.000 So think about it. In this little section of Isaiah, chapter 7 to 12, this little shoot is the third promise 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:13.000 of a coming child like no other, a royal child, and history will turn on his birth. 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:21.000 We also read here about the stump of Jesse. The shoot will come from this stump. 00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:29.000 Now, Jesse was the father of David, the most famous of the kings. 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:40.000 Now, the royal house of David has been failed. It's now just a stump, and it looks so unpromising. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:46.000 And people might have asked, what has happened to God's covenant promise to David? 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:55.000 Second Samuel 7, the promise of David's house and David's throne being established forever. 00:05:55.000 --> 00:06:00.000 But the royal line is nothing but a tree stump. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:10.000 But Isaiah is saying fresh growth, new growth, is going to emerge from that stump, from that line. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:22.000 And describing this shoot as from Jesse suggests that he's being portrayed as a new David, as the ideal David. 00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:34.000 And I think also saying from Jesse takes us back to David's humble origins in the little town of Bethlehem. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:40.000 This king too will have humble human beginnings. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:47.000 And a branch, well this shoot is going to grow to maturity, it's saying. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:58.000 It's as if the prophecy looks at a shoot and then fast forwards to focus on the picture of a branch full of fruit. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:05.000 And it's saying, rich fruit is going to be seen in the life of this king. 00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:10.000 And we may come back to this theme of fruit later on. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:18.000 And then verses 2 to 5 tell us a little about this king and his reign. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:22.000 And these verses belong as a unit. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:35.000 Verse 2 is showing us how the king is equipped for his role, as he endued with the spirit of the Lord and endowed by that Holy Spirit. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:46.000 And then verses 3 to 5 illustrate how that plays out in the actual reign of the king in the exercise of his role. 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.000 And I'll try to explain these things. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.000 So first of all, verse 2. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:59.000 We're told first that the spirit of the Lord will rest upon this king. 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:14.000 And then for many centuries later, in John chapter 1, John the Baptist would bear witness to Jesus as the one on whom he saw the spirit descend and remain. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:21.000 And then what Isaiah does is list six qualities in three pairs. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:27.000 The spirit of two things, the spirit of two things, the spirit of two things. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:33.000 The set of giftings is attributed directly to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:40.000 And in this context, all of these giftings have to do with his exercise of kingship. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:43.000 So I hope you're still with me. 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:46.000 So I'll go through each pair in turn. 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:50.000 First of all, wisdom and understanding. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:54.000 The spirit of wisdom and understanding. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:59.000 I think this is wisdom and understanding for government. 00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:08.000 Remember the great king Solomon, that very wise king, beginning of his reign, 1 Kings chapter 3. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.000 And he asks for just these qualities. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:13.000 God says in verse 12, 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:24.000 Behold, I give you a wise and understanding mind. The same words that are used of Solomon are being used here. 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:33.000 We're being told that this king is the ultimate Solomon, the really wise and discerning king. 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:38.000 He will have all the wisdom possible from the Holy Spirit. 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:49.000 And in every situation, he'll have the kind of discernment needed to know exactly what to do in that situation. 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:52.000 This is all from the spirit. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:10:01.000 Look at the contrast with the king of Assyria in the previous chapter 10 verses 12 and 13. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:08.000 God will punish the speech of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:12.000 And the boastful look in his eyes, for he says, 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:21.000 By the strength of my hand I've done it, and by my wisdom, for I have understanding. 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:29.000 Such a contemporary boast by the kings and presidents and prime ministers of the world. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:34.000 I do it by my wisdom and my understanding. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:41.000 This king will do it by the wisdom and understanding given by the Holy Spirit. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:48.000 And then the second pair, counsel and might, the spirit of counsel and might. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:57.000 Now, this may mean not what you would expect these to mean, but this looks like counsel and might for war. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:04.000 The same words counsel and might are used later on by Isaiah in chapter 36 and verse 5, 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:12.000 translated in the SV as strategy and power, specifically it says for war. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:18.000 Counsel and might or strategy and strength for war. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:22.000 Because remember, these people are looking for a king, 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:31.000 and kings had military responsibilities to defend the people and to defend the territory. 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:38.000 Now, we might say, but is this not the one of whom we read in chapter 9, who's the prince of peace? 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:47.000 Yes, but in the same verse, he's also mighty God, which really means warrior God. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:58.000 So he's both warrior God and prince of peace, because peace and salvation will only come after victory in battle. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:09.000 And one day this king will see all evil defeated, judged and destroyed. 00:12:09.000 --> 00:12:14.000 So he's a warrior king, counsel and might for war. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:21.000 And then the third pair, knowledge and fear, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:28.000 You see, kings were meant to offer credible spiritual leadership. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:36.000 God wanted his kings to know him and fear him and rule the people in his name, 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:42.000 so that when people looked at the king, they weren't thinking this is a hypocrite, 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.000 but they were thinking this is the genuine article. 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:53.000 This is somebody who knows the Lord and who fears the Lord, and this king is being described in these terms. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:13:01.000 He will know the Lord in an intimate, personal way, and he will fear or revere the Lord 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:06.000 in such a way that he lives for the Lord in every area of life. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:12.000 This king, you see, is going to have spiritual integrity. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:18.000 He will be the real spiritual deal. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:26.000 You can see how these people would have thought this is going to be the most amazing king. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:35.000 This really will be an ideal David and an ideal Solomon, an ideal everyone else, all rolled into one. 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:40.000 This will be the perfect king. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:46.000 Now, I want to take another two or three minutes on verses 3 to 5. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:56.000 These verses begin by repeating and emphasizing the last idea, remember, the fear of the Lord. 00:13:56.000 --> 00:14:00.000 So it says, His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:05.000 The word delight here comes from the word for scent. 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:11.000 So it's saying the king will find the fear of the Lord a fragrant thing. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:18.000 When he gets a scent of what the Lord wants, he will just want to do it. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:26.000 When Jesus got a scent of the Father's will, he loved it and did it as his pleasure. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:32.000 So what I want you to see in verses, middle of verse 3 to verse 5, 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:41.000 is that these verses are illustrating in turn how each of the three pairs of qualities, 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:45.000 you're still with me, three pairs of qualities that we looked at, 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:53.000 this is now showing how each of these three play out in the king's actual rule. 00:14:53.000 --> 00:15:00.000 Now, there's not time to explain that from the rest of the Bible and defend that interpretation. 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:05.000 So I'll just read them to make that point. 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:11.000 So we're going to read a line from verse 2 and then the relevant bit in 3 to 5. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:15.000 So go back to the spirit of wisdom and understanding. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:22.000 The king will have the spirit of wisdom and understanding. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:25.000 So middle of verse 3, he shall not judge by what his eyes see 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.000 or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:37.000 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:42.000 So it's saying in the exercise of his rule, the king will show how wise he is. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:47.000 He won't just go by external appearances or by hearsay, 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:55.000 but he will do in every case what is right and fair and wise. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.000 Then go back to the spirit of counsel and might. 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:02.000 The spirit of counsel and might, end of verse 4, 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:08.000 and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips, 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:11.000 he shall kill the wicked. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.000 Remember, this is the warrior king. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:20.000 He's strong and the end of verse 4 is actually, I think, 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:25.000 jumping to look at the second advent and it's picked up in 2 Thessalonians 2. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.000 And then the lawless one will be revealed, 00:16:28.000 --> 00:16:32.000 whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:36.000 and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:40.000 So the warrior king who has counsel and might for war, 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.000 he will be able to deal with any enemy 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:49.000 and he will one day have the last word over every enemy. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:52.000 Then back to the end of verse 2, knowledge and fear. 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:56.000 The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, verse 5, 00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.000 righteousness shall be the belt of his waist 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:04.000 and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 00:17:04.000 --> 00:17:07.000 That's saying this king is good 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:11.000 and he'll be shown to be good in the way that he rules. 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:15.000 He knows the Lord and he fears the Lord 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:20.000 so he lacked in righteousness according to the standards of the Lord 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.000 and he lacked in faithfulness loyal to the Lord 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:31.000 and loyal to his people and loyal to his task. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:36.000 Now let me make one other point connecting the things I've just been talking about. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:41.000 Verse 2, what the king is. 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:45.000 And verses 3 to 5, what the king does. 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:50.000 These are completely consistent. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.000 What he is, he does. 00:17:54.000 --> 00:17:58.000 And what he does reflects what he is. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.000 There's no dissonance between them, 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:04.000 but there is perfect harmony. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:08.000 I think this is very, very important. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:14.000 As Thomas might say, really, really, really, really important. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:19.000 His acts reflect who he is. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:24.000 Our leaders often act, I'm sure, out of character 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.000 in different places and with different people. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:31.000 But this king never acts out of character 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:34.000 and his character is perfect. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:41.000 This king is always the same, always himself, in himself, 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:43.000 and in what he does. 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:49.000 But I can put it this way, Jesus is Jesus all the way. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:54.000 Wherever you meet Jesus, wherever you hear Jesus, 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.000 wherever you see Jesus at work, 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.000 whatever you read of Jesus 2,000 years ago, 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.000 whatever you'll know of Jesus 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.000 and the new heavens and the new earth, 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:06.000 Jesus is always Jesus. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.000 There is no contradiction in him. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:13.000 There's no two-facedness in him. 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:17.000 Jesus is Jesus all the way. 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:21.000 And in the Gospel, we are offered a king 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:26.000 who is totally worthy of our trust. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:29.000 He's the wise king of this passage. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:32.000 He's the strong king of this passage. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:35.000 He's the good king of this passage. 00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:38.000 And for me, in a sense, reading the Bible 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:42.000 and coming to church and living the Christian life 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.000 is a daily saying, 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:50.000 help me to trust more in the wisdom of Jesus 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:55.000 and in the strength of Jesus and in the goodness of Jesus. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:58.000 Tell me more about Jesus 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:01.000 and show me more of how wise he is 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:04.000 and how strong he is and how good he is 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.000 so that I will pay homage again 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:13.000 to the king who is wise and strong and good. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:19.000 Many people view history as a game of thrones. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:23.000 Well, it's a game that every human throne 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:27.000 and every demonic throne will lose. 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:30.000 The previous chapter here, the end of 10, 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.000 has ended with judgment on pagan rule, 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:39.000 specifically the arrogant, cruel, evil empire of Assyria, 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:42.000 portrayed in verses 33 and 34 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:48.000 as the felling of a forest raised by God. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:51.000 Every such tree will fall, 00:20:51.000 --> 00:20:55.000 but the tree that came from a little shoot, 00:20:55.000 --> 00:21:00.000 that tree will stand and bear fruit forever. 00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:05.000 This king, our king, Jesus the king, 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:13.000 he is king forever and forever, a wonderful king. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:17.000 Now secondly, we were going to look at a wonderful spirit. 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:21.000 We were going to think about the spirit in chapter 11 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.000 and at the beginning of chapter 42 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:27.000 and at the beginning of chapter 61. 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:29.000 Look at them for yourselves. 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:32.000 Three prophecies, one of a king, 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:35.000 one of a servant and one of a preacher. 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:40.000 And in each case, he is anointed by the Holy Spirit. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.000 I was going to take you to the New Testament 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:48.000 and see how all these prophecies play out in the life of Jesus 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:51.000 and think about the ministry of the Holy Spirit 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:55.000 in the humanity of Jesus. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:58.000 But there isn't time to do that, 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:00.000 maybe some other time, 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:03.000 but I'd just like to suggest one thing to you. 00:22:03.000 --> 00:22:09.000 If you look at 11 and 42 and 61 and reflect on them, 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:14.000 learn to say thank you to the Holy Spirit 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:18.000 for what he did in the human life of Jesus 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:20.000 as you read the Gospels. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:25.000 Jesus depended every day that he lived 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.000 on the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit. 00:22:29.000 --> 00:22:32.000 So say thank you, if you've never done it before, 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:35.000 say thank you to the Holy Spirit 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:40.000 for what he did in the life of your Savior. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:43.000 Jesus would have said thank you to the Spirit 00:22:43.000 --> 00:22:45.000 every day in his ministry. 00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:47.000 And we should thank the Spirit 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:50.000 for what he did in the life of this king. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:56.000 The Spirit of the Lord really did rest upon Jesus. 00:22:56.000 --> 00:23:00.000 So let's come thirdly to a wonderful world, 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:03.000 verses 6 to 10. 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:08.000 These verses are pointing us to the second advent, I think, 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:11.000 the king bringing in his new world. 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:13.000 In the way it's pictured, 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:18.000 it's clearly meant to be seen as a reversal of the fall. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:21.000 Paradise was lost, 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:23.000 paradise will be regained. 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:28.000 But I believe it's paradise regained plus. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:32.000 It's not simply a return to Eden. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:41.000 This is much bigger and better than Eden ever was. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:44.000 I want to say to you that this is, first of all, 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:49.000 clearly a very physical world in these verses, 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:54.000 for verse 6, a very physical world. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:23:57.000 It's pictured as a world, of course, of peace and safety. 00:23:57.000 --> 00:24:02.000 You can read a similar passage in Isaiah 65 from verse 17, 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:04.000 where the same kind of language is used 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:07.000 of a new heavens and a new earth. 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:10.000 But just note the physicality of this world 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:13.000 with all kinds of creatures. 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:16.000 Wolves and lambs and leopards and goats and calves 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:21.000 and lions and fattigoths and cows and bears and lions again 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:24.000 and the cobra and the adder or the viper. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:27.000 I mean, just a whole list of them. 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:32.000 But now there is peace, where before there was hostility, 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:36.000 no longer are these animals being classified as predators 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:42.000 and prey, no longer is nature red and tooth and claw. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:49.000 Verse 6, our girls used to remember for years 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:53.000 a minister who came and gave a children's talk one time 00:24:53.000 --> 00:24:56.000 and said, would you hug a wolf? 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:59.000 Oh, no. Would you hug a lamb? 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:00.000 Oh, yes. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.000 So still, 30 odd years later, they referred to this minister. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:08.000 He doesn't know this as hug a wolf, hug a lamb. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:09.000 But there it is. 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:12.000 You will be able to hug a wolf or a tiger or lion 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:13.000 or anything else. 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:15.000 So it says. 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.000 End of verse 6, now a little child can lead the animals. 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:26.000 A child can exercise the dominion of Eden over the animals. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:32.000 In verse 7, it seems that all the creatures are now herbivores. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:35.000 Kathy tells me we would all be vegetarians there. 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:37.000 She was right all along. 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:42.000 In verse 8, the things that used to remind of the serpent and sin 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:46.000 will be harmless. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.000 The pictures of an infant or toddler going off and somebody 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:52.000 says, where's he gone? 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:54.000 And someone says he's gone to play with the cobras. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.000 Well, that's fine then. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:00.000 So the beginning of verse 9 is saying this will be a world 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:03.000 without hurt or harm. 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:07.000 They shall not hurt or destroy. 00:26:07.000 --> 00:26:13.000 Now, is all this meant to be taken literally? 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:18.000 I'm not sure, for example, you see the language of babies 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:20.000 and children. 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.000 Will there be nursing babies and nursing mothers and so on 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:26.000 in that new heavens and new earth? 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:29.000 I don't imagine there will be. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:35.000 But I think it is a picture for these people in this world's 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:42.000 terms of an otherwise unimaginable for them future. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:46.000 I want to make this point, even if this is not literal 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:52.000 in all its details, it is still a very physical picture. 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.000 Now, people will say to me, you can't take all of this 00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.000 literally, so they say, well, it's not going to be that physical. 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:01.000 That's not the way to read it. 00:27:01.000 --> 00:27:07.000 It may have some symbolic elements or picturesque elements, 00:27:07.000 --> 00:27:12.000 but it's still a very physical picture of a physical world. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:16.000 And I believe that the new heavens and the new earth will 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:23.000 have trees and flowers and birds and animals on a new earth. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:28.000 Romans 8 were told the creation itself, this creation, 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:33.000 will be set free from its bondage and will obtain the freedom 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:36.000 of the glory of the children of God. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:44.000 Christians, we have a physical hope of us in new bodies, 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:51.000 in a new world, in a real place on a new earth, 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:55.000 living to the glory of God in our bodies. 00:27:55.000 --> 00:28:00.000 And presenting these bodies as living sacrifices every day 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:06.000 in a physical world, full of variety and beauty to be 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:08.000 enjoyed forever. 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:13.000 So this is a picture of a very physical world. 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:18.000 But also it's a picture of a very spiritual world. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:23.000 The blessings of verse 9 flow from the fact that the Lord is known. 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:27.000 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:32.000 for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:36.000 That's why I can say they shall not hurt or destroy. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:41.000 Hurt or destroy there isn't just a reference to the animal world. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:45.000 The picture is much broader than just that. 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:51.000 It's saying no one will cause harm to anyone or anything else 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:53.000 ever again. 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:59.000 If you have been hurt this week, that will never happen in the new world. 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:06.000 If you have hurt someone this week, that will never happen in the new world. 00:29:06.000 --> 00:29:08.000 That will be gone. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:11.000 All the hurts will be gone forever. 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:16.000 Never again will you hurt or be hurt. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:17.000 And this is going to be true. 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:21.000 It says in all my holy mountain. 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:26.000 The holy mountain is a term for Zion, where God dwells in a special way. 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:30.000 But here it seems to refer to the whole of creation. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:38.000 And I think what it's saying in a symbolic way is that the whole earth will be like the Lord's hill. 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:45.000 The whole earth will be his dwelling place, his Zion, his Eden, whatever words you want to use. 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:51.000 God will be everywhere and holiness will be everywhere. 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:57.000 Everything, everyone will be holy to the Lord. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:30:04.000 For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, full of people in other words who know the Lord. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:10.000 And we will all enjoy perfect personal communion with the Lord. 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.000 And you notice that will be true as the waters cover the sea. 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:22.000 It will be true as widely and as deeply as the waters cover the sea. 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:33.000 And I see all of this being fulfilled in the second advent of the Lord on a new earth where everyone, everywhere in that world knows the Lord. 00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:45.000 And where everyone, everywhere in that world is filled spiritually to their capacity, a very spiritual world. 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:51.000 Before we move on finally to verse 10, I want you to tie these two things together. 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:55.000 This is a very physical world and a very spiritual world. 00:30:55.000 --> 00:31:00.000 There's some Christian tradition that will push these things in opposite directions. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:10.000 But we are not dualists, biblical Christians are not dualists who for example think that matter is bad. 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:18.000 And heaven and the new world are just about soul or spirit or spiritual things. 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:26.000 In a sense everything will be physical and everything will be spiritual in complete harmony and balance. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:33.000 A very physical and a very spiritual world hold these things together in harmony. 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:40.000 In a new heavens and a new earth where righteousness will be completely at home. 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:47.000 Finally verse 10, verse 10 returns to focus on the King. 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:53.000 You can see that verses 10 and 11 begin with the phrase in that day. 00:31:53.000 --> 00:32:01.000 So verse 10 is rounding off this section showing the nations rallying to the King. 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:07.000 Verses 1 to 10 belong together, in that day they'll rally to the King. 00:32:07.000 --> 00:32:10.000 But then verse 11 also begins with the same phrase. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:18.000 I think verses 11 to 16 are giving a complementary picture of what happens in that day. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:28.000 As the Lord gathers his scattered people, you can see the pictures from, as verse 12 puts it, from the four corners of the earth. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:30.000 It's portrayed as a new exodus. 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:36.000 If you look at the end of the chapter, the remnant that remains of his people. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:41.000 As there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt. 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:48.000 They were called people exited Egypt as people exit exile. 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:57.000 So God will gather his people from all over and bring them all together on that day. 00:32:57.000 --> 00:33:05.000 I'm tempted to say that in that case at least, exit will mean exit. 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:14.000 The King himself is the signal. The root of Jesse will stand as a signal for the peoples. 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:18.000 It's not that the King holds a flag or a banner. 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:22.000 He is himself the banner. 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:28.000 He is the one who draws the nations at saying to himself. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:35.000 Remember, he had to die to do this so that this might be done one day, John 12. 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:42.000 And I, when I'm lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:46.000 He was going to die for the world and he did it. 00:33:46.000 --> 00:33:51.000 And one day he will gather his people from all over the world. 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:59.000 And in this age of gospel mission, he is beginning to gather his people from all the nations. 00:33:59.000 --> 00:34:04.000 This verse is saying that there's only one savior for the whole world. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:08.000 The one who was lifted up to die to draw the nations. 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:13.000 The one who is preaching the gospel through his people to draw the nations. 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:18.000 The one who will at the last day stand as a signal for all the nations. 00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:24.000 There is only one savior for the world, Jesus, the King. 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:28.000 And there will be only one savior for the world. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:32.000 On that day, Jesus, the King. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:38.000 There is also just a detail that some people don't like to push too far, 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:41.000 but I'd like to push it as far as it will go. 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:45.000 Remember, the King was a chute from Jesse in verse 1. 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:50.000 In verse 10, he's called the root of Jesse. 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:55.000 Verse 1 was saying he springs from Jesse's line. 00:34:55.000 --> 00:35:03.000 Verse 10 is saying he's the root of Jesse, so Jesse sprang from him. 00:35:03.000 --> 00:35:09.000 He undergirds his own family tree. 00:35:09.000 --> 00:35:17.000 Because, of course, he is the eternal divine Son, as well as the human being, 00:35:17.000 --> 00:35:20.000 born at Bethlehem. 00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:28.000 Revelation 22, Jesus says, I am the root and the descendant of David. 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:36.000 So humanly speaking, he emerges from David's line, but he's also before David. 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:44.000 He precedes David, and he also proceeds from David. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:54.000 You see, merely human categories cannot adequately account for the identity of this King, 00:35:54.000 --> 00:36:02.000 who was before David and who emerges from David. 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:07.000 Clearly, he is both God and man. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:10.000 Who on earth can this be pointing to? 00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:15.000 There's only one possible identity there. 00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:20.000 And then it says, his resting place shall be glorious. 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:22.000 It's the language of home. 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:29.000 The King will come to stay, to rest, to be at home. 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:35.000 He will be perfectly at home on that day on this earth. 00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:42.000 He will be perfectly at home with his gathered people in a glorious place. 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:49.000 And they will be perfectly at home with him in glory. 00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:52.000 People are spiritually homeless. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:57.000 And this is saying that you only come home when you come to Jesus. 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:07.000 And one day we will all only come home when we come to the place prepared by Jesus for us. 00:37:07.000 --> 00:37:13.000 If I can quote the great American philosopher, Dolly Parton, 00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:21.000 who I saw in an interview recently talking about her songs that make people feel homesick 00:37:21.000 --> 00:37:25.000 when they haven't experienced what the song is talking about. 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:34.000 And she's saying, is it funny how folks can be made homesick for a place they've never been? 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:36.000 I thought that was really profound. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:42.000 Homesick for a place they've never been. 00:37:42.000 --> 00:37:47.000 One aim of the Gospel, you see, as we speak it to other people, 00:37:47.000 --> 00:37:51.000 is to make people feel exactly that. 00:37:51.000 --> 00:37:56.000 And to make them feel homesick for a place they've never been, 00:37:56.000 --> 00:38:05.000 but a place that is their real home where they can be one day with Jesus himself. 00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.000 Or as another philosopher, Augustine used to speak of, 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:14.000 our hearts being restless till they find their rest in God. 00:38:14.000 --> 00:38:16.000 That's what this is speaking about. 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:21.000 They're spiritually homeless and maybe restless and they don't know why they're restless. 00:38:21.000 --> 00:38:30.000 We only find our resting place when we find spiritually our resting place in Jesus. 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:40.000 And one day we'll find our proper home with Jesus and His people in this world forever and forever. 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:45.000 In the great promise of chapter 33 and verse 17, 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:48.000 remember this verse in the Advent season. 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:52.000 We've seen something of it in Jesus coming the first time. 00:38:52.000 --> 00:38:58.000 We will see it perfectly fulfilled when Jesus returns finally. 00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:06.000 33.17. I think it's one of the most beautiful and powerful and deep verses in the whole Bible. 00:39:06.000 --> 00:39:12.000 Your eyes will behold the King in His beauty. 00:39:12.000 --> 00:39:18.000 They will see a land that stretches afar. 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:23.000 Your eyes will behold the King in His beauty. 00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:31.000 They will see a land that stretches afar and it will stretch afar forever. 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:33.000 Let's pray. 00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:42.000 Lord, we thank You that You have indeed come, that as we read these promises of the advent of a King, 00:39:42.000 --> 00:39:49.000 we know that the King has been born, that He has lived and died and risen again, 00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:54.000 that our King is exalted at the right hand of the Majesty and High, 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:59.000 that we bow tonight before King Jesus, our Savior. 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:03.000 But we thank You also that we live with another horizon, 00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:08.000 that there is a second advent, that the King will return, 00:40:08.000 --> 00:40:13.000 that He will finally deal with all that hurts and harms, 00:40:13.000 --> 00:40:18.000 and He will bring in a new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell, 00:40:18.000 --> 00:40:25.000 and where we will be at home, because His resting place will be our resting place, 00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:30.000 and it will all be glory in Emmanuel's land. 00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:35.000 So help us now by faith to behold the King in His beauty, 00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:42.000 and to see spiritually a land that stretches afar with all the potential of the Gospel, 00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:48.000 and help us to look along for the day when we and all God's people will be together 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:57.000 in a new and perfect and heart-free world where we will see physically the King in His beauty, 00:40:57.000 --> 00:41:03.000 and we will know that the world we're in will last forever and forever, 00:41:03.000 --> 00:41:08.000 and will satisfy us endlessly in Him. 00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:20.000 Hear our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.