The Promise Proclaimed Pt.2

Sermon Series: The Promise of Christmas
Isaiah 11:1-9

December 16, 2007

Manuscript

Big Idea: The Promise of Christmas will ultimately restore a peaceful rest to all of creation and rule over it with unparalleled Godly leadership.

Introduction: I recognize that Christmas is about a week away but someone once said, you can’t really appreciate and celebrate the huge significance of Christmas until you clearly recognize the huge problems Christmas actually addresses.

Terrorism where religious fanatics can blow themselves up and kill hundreds and sometimes thousands of innocent people who are in the wrong place at the wrong time.
man trafficking- modern day slaves
Child predators
Conflict diamonds
Abusive regimes in Sudan
Holocaust
Animal abuse
Kids in foster homes...bouncing from one to the next after being abused in their own home
Racism and prejudice
Genocide

Let me ask you? How high are your hopes that these types of injustices will ever be made right? “How will these ever be made right?” ‘How will these ever be remedied?” In the face of all the unspeakable pain and injustices in our world, what keeps you from slipping into a dark hole of despair? How will these wrongs ever be set right? Where is your hope for this state of affairs to ever be made right? To be sure, Government and Church agencies alike must do all we can to stand against the tide of these kinds of injustices, but do you really believe that given enough time politicians and believers can actually fix all these problems? Where is God in the middle of these sorts of atrocities?

Now, lest you think that I am just in a “Grinchy” mood and trying to be negative; The Bible owns that life is often ugly, painful and unfair. The Bible speaks to the suffering these types of injustices bring into our lives and the pain we endure because of brokenness that comes from sinning against others or being sinned against by others. Listen to what it says:

Romans 8:22-24, “For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24 We were given this hope when we were saved. ...”

Here’s what this is saying; The ultimate Hope of The World is the promise of Christmas. This is what we have been talking about over the last three weeks. The only hope you and I have of ever seeing the injustices in our world sufficiently punished and completely resolved is through the rule and reign of Jesus, the Promise of Christmas.

Here’s why I say this: the sin that was introduced into the human experience in Genesis 3 is the root cause of the magnified injustices in our world today. It’s the root cause of the all the pain and suffering that you and I have either lived through or heard about others living through. And our only hope of seeing it adequately punished and sufficiently remedied is through the promise God whispers in Genesis 3. The “seed” of the woman will crush the head of Satan, the prince of evil. The Bible clearly teaches us that the promised offspring of the woman is Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah and the Promise of Christmas.

When Jesus comes he will initiate his rule and reign against sin in the hearts of those who trust him and follow him and those who allow him to take leadership in their lives. Our text from Isaiah last week proclaimed to us that when you let him lead in your life...when you let him shine his holy light into your life, he will begin to reverse the effects of the darkness of sin. As you follow his rule and reign in your life, he will empower you to break free from destructive ways of thinking and relating. As you are changed and you radiate his light in the world around you, others are invited to let him lead in their lives and they are changed.

But, the prince of evil is a stubborn foe and many people in our world will refuse to renounce him. Many will refuse to allow the light of God to shine in their lives. And sin and its heinous injustices will continue to war against our souls. Where will it end? When will it stop? Who will be able to adequately punish and sufficiently resolve the heinous injustices of our world?

Isaiah answers these questions for us as he proclaims that the hope of the world is in the FINAL DOMINION OF THE PROMISE OF CHRISTMAS.

[Transition] - Now, Old Testament Prophetic language is often awkward and unfamiliar to us, so let’s orient ourselves a bit.

The proclamation I want to show you falls in the middle of a speech that Isaiah is making where he is speaking about the national powers of the day in terms of a metaphor involving forests and trees. Isaiah proclaims to God’s people that because of their disobedience and rebellion, He is going to use the great power Assyria to cut Israel down to size. However, it would only be a kind of educational pruning, not a death blow. Isaiah assures them that after using Assyria to revive their devotion, God would cut Assyria down for good and once again restore the lives of his people. Using the tree and forest metaphor, Isaiah proclaims that this ultimate restoration would be accomplished through the ultimate dominion of an unprecedented leader who would start as a tender fragile shoot. Look with me at Isaiah 11, verse 1.

The Promise of Christmas will emerge from the family line of David (1).

The first thing Isaiah wants us to know is that this unprecedented leader was going to come from the family line of David. Now, Matthew wants to make sure we connect the dots on this and understand that Jesus...born at Christmas...though starting out a fragile, tender shoot from David’s family line...is the promise of Christmas. Turn with me to Matthew 1:1-17. Notice the emphasis Matthew places on Jesse and his son David and through them to Joseph and Mary the mother of Jesus.

[Transition] – Now, this tender shoot is going to become an unprecedented Godly leader. Look at verses 2.

The promise of Christmas will be full of Godly character (2-5).

The next thing we learn about his leader is that the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him in an unprecedented way. This is not speaking of a temporary anointing or temporary filling to complete an assignment from God. This is a statement of unique Godly character. The Hebrew language highlights the uniqueness by the repetition and unpacking of the fullness of the Spirit that rests on him: A spirit of wisdom and understanding...a spirit of counsel and of power...a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. This leader is going to be full of Godly character and possess unprecedented:

Wisdom and understanding = the capacity to have perfect discernment and perfect judgment in all things. And understanding; the ability to perceive and see directly to the heart of the matter
Unprecedented Counsel and Power = the ability to engineer the correct plan and course of action and the ability to see his plan and course of action through.
Unprecedented Knowledge and fear of the Lord = this knowledge is beyond knowing “about” – this knowing is a having a deep, personal, intimate relationship with a person with a reverence, respect and honor for God the Father.

With spirit of God resting on him in this unprecedented way, this leader will be like no other leader before him. Notice what John says about Jesus at his Baptism, "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' 34I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God." - John 1:32-33

Later, Paul says this about Jesus, “For God was pleased to have his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.” Notice the message of hope regarding the injustices in our world. Notice the message of hope in his ultimate dominion and reversal of the effects of sin and its injustices in your life and in your world. He’s going to reconcile all things...on earth...and in heaven!

[Transition] – Now, realize...His rule and reign has started in the hearts of those who trust him and follow him and in their hearts and lives he’s begun the work of restoration and reconciliation. But, Isaiah wants us to know that there is going to come a day when his dominion will be final and complete and he will decisively remedy every last injustice and sinful side-effect in our world. He will right every wrong and he will lead with righteousness and faithfulness. Look at verses 3-5.

His Godly leadership will decisively confront every last injustice.

When Jesus, the promise of Christmas, ushers in his complete dominion and exercises his full life restoring authority, corruption and injustice will be a thing of the past! He will lead with absolute righteousness and uncompromising faithfulness. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; He will go beyond the external to the heart of the matter. With righteousness he will defend the cause of the needy. He will be upright and fair and straight forward in all his decisions. He will be unbiased and thoroughly even-handed in all his treatment of people in a perfect balance of judgment.

[story] – When I played football, I had a coach who would do things from time to time that we as players didn’t think was fair, like make the whole team run for the screw up on one player. If anyone said anything, he used to love to scream, “Fair? Fair? Faire is where you eat cotton candy and ride rides...this is football, gentlemen...now keep running.” I can’t wait till Jesus finally exercise his dominion...cuz, I’m gonna find out if my coach was fair.

When Jesus exercises his final and complete dominion, righteousness will be his belt which simply means; he will be poised and ready for action. When a man prepared for vigorous action, he tied up his loose, flowing garments with a belt. It is similar to us saying he “rolled up his sleeves and really got to work” “The Message” puts it this way, “Each morning he'll pull on sturdy work clothes and boots, and build righteousness and faithfulness in the land.”

[Illustration] – I know we have been thinking about all the major world wide injustices he will confront, but think about all the little injustices in our lives that his rule will address.

In that day when someone runs into you and totals your car, you’ll actually get enough money from insurance to replace your car.
You’ll never get falsely accused of talking or passing a note in class. You know how that always happens? Someone talks to you, you respond and the teacher yells at you for talking?
You’ll never get a ticket when you really weren’t speeding...like what happens to me.
Try to list some other humorous injustices it will address.

[Transition] – What will the world look like with this type of perfect and complete dominion of Jesus? Isaiah gives us glimpse...Read verses 6-9.

His Godly leadership will result in the complete restoration of creation.

What an amazing picture of life this paints. Christmas is a pretty big deal isn’t it? The celebration of the birth of the tender shoot from the root of Jesse is a pretty big deal. What an amazing hope this creates for us. Under his ultimate dominion, old hostilities are reconciled and dispelled. Predators and prey live together in complete harmony. The natures of things are remarkably transformed – even carnivores become herbivores. Literally, no one will act wrongfully or corruptly in this world that has been wholly conformed to his holiness. It’s hard to imagine, isn’t it?

In that day the promise of Christmas will be fully realized and his dominion will be fully enacted. Notice verse 8 and the reference to the reverse of the curse in Genesis 3:15. “The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.” In that day, the ‘enmity’ is gone between “her offspring and yours.” Sin has been decisively addressed and its side effects completely reversed. This is our only hope for all the wrongs in our world to be made right.

[Transition] – Now, you might be thinking: What is this period of time Isaiah is talking about and when will it be ushered in? How long am I going to have to wait to see the enemy finally get what he deserves and ultimate justice served? Let’s walk through the basics of the Biblical teaching on this.

The Biblical teaching about the last days of life as we know it will involve a period of 7 years of tribulation where the experience of life here on earth will get very difficult and be filled with increased trials and tribulations as Satan has some increased freedom to have his way among people. This 7 year period of tribulation will be followed by a literal 1000 year rule and reign of Christ on earth where Satan will be bound and held captive in a place the Bible calls the Abyss where he can have no influence among humankind (Rev. 20:1-6). Following the 1000 year or millennial reign of Christ on earth, Satan will be released and he’ll try and deceive as many as he can before he is destroyed once and for all (Rev. 20:7-10). After his destruction the great white throne judgment occurs ushering in the eternal state with a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 20:11-15).

Now, there is some debate as to whether this scene Isaiah describes the 1000 year reign of Jesus on earth or whether this is referring to the eternal state of the new heaven and new earth. Personally, In my thinking, it is best to understand this prophecy as describing the millennial reign of Christ on earth. But, please realize, whether it is describing his millennial reign or his heavenly reign, it makes no difference. Bottom line, it is describing a future reign of Christ where he has completely made good on his promise of Christmas; to absolutely crush the head and influence of Satan and restored all of creation from his deadly influence.

Fundamentally, the function of texts like ours today is to reveal the hope that is ours in the Promise of Christmas. They are given to encourage the people of God with the sure hope we can hold to in the Messiah and his promised restoration and exaltation. This is a picture of God's restored universe—where the curse of sin has been removed from this world and the original, blessed state of Eden has been restored.

Conclusion

Think about the stubborn and complex injustices this will confront: In that day...when Jesus exercises his full and complete authority there will be no more self-centered, self-serving injustice. There will absolutely be no more stupid hunger in our World. Corrupt governments will no longer siphon off resources to lavish luxury on themselves while millions in their country die of starvation and disease.

There will be no more human trafficking. No more prostitution. No more child abuse. No more drug lords. No more spread of AIDS. In that day there will be no more death and no more taxes. In that day no child will ever experience abuse from a sexual predator. No race of people will ever be mistreated. No vulnerable person will ever be taken advantage of and used for selfish purposes. In that day no one will need to suffer through chemotherapy. In that day hearts will not be torn by divorce. In that day there will be no more sons and daughters sent off to war.

The promise of Christmas, Jesus the Son of God, the Messiah is our only hope for the injustices that plague us. The Promise of Christmas will ultimately restore a peaceful rest to all of creation and rule over it with unparalleled Godly leadership. His rule and reign will decisively confront every injustice and sufficiently restore the damages of sin.

The damage that the Fall caused at the beginning, the Promise of Christmas will reverse at the end. The Fall thwarted God's purposes; the Promise of Christmas will restore them to his original intent. The Fall drove humans away from God; the Promise of Christmas will bring them close to him. The Fall disrupted God's image in human life; the Promise of Christmas will make it perfect once more. The Fall gave Satan his greatest victory; the Promise of Christmas will hand him his greatest defeat.

Christmas you see...is a pretty big deal. I hope you can celebrate the Promise of Christmas with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

Pray.