The Saving King – part 3
Isaiah 11:1-16 (6-9)
June 4, 2023
On Thursday while working on this sermon I decided to do an internet search of the headlines for that day.
I landed on ABC news website and here was their list of top headlines.
• Child Accidentally Shoots And Kills Another Child
• Us Applications For Unemployment Benefits Tick Up
• Iran Sanctioned Over Alleged Assassination Plots
• Student Who Attacked Neo-Nazis Is Convicted
• Damaged Ties Cause Deadly German Derailment
• Security Flaws Let Man Throw Pipe Bomb At Japan Prime Minister
• Mexican Authorities Find 45 Bags Of Human Remains
• Man Gets 20 Years For Killing Mail Carrier
• Footprints Revive Hope Of Finding Missing Children
I nearly started singing Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World” right then and there.
And you and I know we can check it today
And there will be a new list with much the same information.
Murders, Inflation, Kidnapping, Violence, Death
Our world is saturated with it.
To put it mildly: THE WORLD IS BROKEN
Now, I know the cynics out there like to blame it on God.
“If God is so good, how can there be so much evil in the world.”
“It’s like a kid who rams his head into a wall and then blames you for the wall and for not stopping him before he did it.”
You and I know the real cause for the world’s disfunction.
Genesis 3:14-19 “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
THE REAL CULPRIT IS SIN.
Paul commented:
Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned”
Later Isaiah will say:
Isaiah 24:20 “The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.”
• IT IS SIN that is running rampant.
• IT IS SIN that is wrecking the world.
• IT IS SIN that is to blame for all of the wonderful realities we read in the headlines every day.
While God most certainly sits sovereign over all of the world,
He is not to be blamed for the sin which occurs in it.
You will never find a time in Scripture, nor in history,
When God ever condones, endorses, or enables sin.
Rather, from the beginning God is adamant that man should not sin.
• He warns of the effects of sin.
• He clearly outlines the wages of sin.
• He shares His wrath toward sin.
• He punishes sinners as an example for others.
YOU CAN’T PIN THE DYSFUNCTIONALITY OF THIS WORLD ON GOD.
IT IS ALL SIN.
I suppose the only loose connection you can lay at the feet of God
In regard to this world’s propensity to self-destruct
Is that God is patient toward sinners and does not immediately judge.
The only reason sin has gotten this far is because
God is patient and merciful not wishing for any to perish
But for all to come to repentance.
But sinful men take advantage of the patience of God
And continue in sin and continue to wreck this world.
HOWEVER…
• As we saw last week, it won’t always be this way.
• We have a righteous King on the way.
We have called Him “The Saving King” because
He will come and save His people from this fallen broken world.
#1 HIS REPUTATION
Isaiah 11:1-2
And we saw that “The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him”
• He is God’s anointed, from David’s line and He is perfectly suited for the job.
His “wisdom” and “understanding” and “counsel” and “strength” and “knowledge” and “fear of the LORD” are unparalleled.
He is the most qualified King this world will ever see.
And when He comes sin will no longer be tolerated.
#2 HIS RULE
Isaiah 11:3-5
Because this King fears the LORD
And because He is absolutely incorruptible
He will JUDGE WITH ABSOLUTE JUSTICE.
“He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.”
The days of patiently enduring sin will be over.
• No longer will sin be allowed to wreck this world.
• No longer will we live daily in the consequences of sinful behavior.
When this King reigns the daily headlines will look much different.
You won’t read any more of murders or kidnappings
Or unemployment or violence or death.
Such things will not be tolerated under His reign
And any who would attempt such things
Will be so quickly dealt with that it will be virtually non-existent.
“righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.”
When this King cleans up the world with righteousness…
When this King removes the sin from this world…
On that day THINGS WILL LOOK MUCH DIFFERENT.
And that is where we come This Morning.
#3 HIS RESULT
Isaiah 11:6-9
As you can see, the effect that He will have upon this world is staggering.
The things we read about here seem to us to be impossible.
(6-8) “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.”
Those three verses are filled with ABSURD IMAGERY.
Isaiah just rattles off realities that are so far-fetched
That even many commentators assume that it must be purely symbolic.
• There is no way a “wolf will dwell with the lamb” unless it’s to eat it.
• There is no way a “leopard will lie down with a young goat”
• There is no way a “calf” is going to lie down with “the young lion”
• There is no way “a little boy” is going to lead a lion around
• There is no way “the cow and the gear will graze” together.
• There is no way “the lion will eat straw like the ox”
• There is no mother who is going to sit their child down next to “the hole of the cobra”.
• There is no way “the weaned child” is going to play with a rattlesnake.
Those realities are so absurd they are virtually unthinkable.
And all of those realities have the same consequence – DEATH
Every one of those situations is just asking for death.
AND THAT IS THE POINT HERE.
When this Saving King comes to reign death will be a rarity.
It’s not that death will not occur at all during His reign,
But when it does it will be extremely rare and shocking.
Isaiah 65:17-25 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind. “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing And her people for gladness. “I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people; And there will no longer be heard in her The voice of weeping and the sound of crying. “No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred Will be thought accursed. “They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. “They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat; For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people, And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands. “They will not labor in vain, Or bear children for calamity; For they are the offspring of those blessed by the LORD, And their descendants with them. “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.”
• I mean in this day it is going to be extremely rare that someone doesn’t live to
the age of 100
• If they die when they are 100 people will think they died too young and that
they were “accursed”.
And what we must understand is that
There is A DEFINITE REASON why death is suddenly so rare.
It is because this King reigns in righteousness.
We know where death comes from.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”
But on this day, this King will stomp out sin.
We learn from the Revelation that
• He will have already destroyed the beast and the anti-christ
• And that He will have bound Satan in prison.
Revelation 20:1-4 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
So there’s no enemy running around tempting and deceiving
And there is a righteous King on the throne who does not tolerate sin.
Adrian Rogers once said: (paraphrasing)
“This world is in chaos because the bride isn’t with the groom, the King isn’t on the throne, and the criminal is not in prison. But on the day that bride joins the groom and the King sits on the throne and the criminal is in prison, then we’ll see this world the way it was mean to be.”
And that is what we are seeing here.
In Genesis we see sin enter the world
And GOD IS SO ANGRY at sin that He curses this world.
• He infests the ground with thorns…
• He lets enmity run loose…
• He infuses pain into everyday living…
• And He consigns everything to death…
But here we meet the King who came to Save.
And when He comes He roots out the catalyst,
He removes the cancer, He puts an end to sin.
And when sin is removed WE GET A NEW REALITY.
WHAT IS THE NEW REALITY OF HIS NEW EARTH?
PEACE
• Peace so strong that a wolf and a lamb are hanging out.
• Peace so strong that a lion and a calf are best friends.
We have heard that sentiment our whole lives.
Some of you who were alive during the hippy movement of the 60’s and 70’s really heard it a lot.
We just want world peace.
It’s been the dream of every beauty queen for the last 50 years.
But man is totally incapable of bringing it because man is full of sin.
In that same passage where Paul reminds us that there is none good, not even one, he goes on to say:
Romans 3:13-17 “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.”
Man doesn’t know how to bring peace.
BUT THIS KING DOES.
(9) “The will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,”
The days of war are over.
Did we not read that in Isaiah’s prophecy back in chapter 9?
Isaiah 9:4-7 “For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian. For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult, And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire. For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
In that day there will be no need for military uniforms
Or any kind of weaponry, they will burn them all in the fire.
For the “Prince of Peace” will be on the throne
And “there will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace”
• War is over
• Enmity is gone
• Sin is eradicated
• Death is a rarity
• It is the world as it was meant to be
AND ISAIAH EVEN REVEALS WHY.
He gives the sole reason for this dramatic shift in worldly reality.
“For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
There is a definite correlation here.
And that is that “the knowledge of the LORD” results in peace on earth.
What a fascinating truth!
Do you see the secret to this King’s reign?
• Certainly He is qualified…
• Certainly He judges righteously…
• Certainly He removes wickedness…
• Certainly He fears the LORD…
But the overwhelming secret to His successful reign
Is that He brings “the knowledge of the LORD” to the earth.
OUR WORLD TODAY THINKS
The secret to peace is tolerance.
They see conviction as the enemy of peace.
If the world is to have peace, they think,
• Then everyone needs to let go of their convictions.
• Just let go of any and all dogmatic belief,
• Learn to tolerate any and all behaviors,
• Work hard not to offend,
• Just love everyone and everything,
• And then we can have peace.
NOW LISTEN CAREFULLY.
We all know that such a mindset is not possible for men are sinful
There will always be those who take advantage of the kindness of others.
BUT LISTEN.
Let’s suppose for a second
• That such a reality were obtainable.
• Let’s credit man with the ability to actually do that.
• We’ll just throw of all doctrine and conviction…
• We’ll eliminate all judgment of all behavior and mindsets…
• We’ll commit to tolerate everyone and love everyone…
• No longer will we divide over issues of morality or behavior…
• We’ll just commit not to offend each other…
Let’s say that the world could actually pull that off.
Let’s just take a page from John Lennon for a moment:
Imagine there’s no Heaven, It’s easy if you try
No Hell below us, Above us only sky
Imagine all the people Living for today
Imagine there’s no countries, It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion, too
Imagine all the people Living life in peace
Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people, Sharing all the world
You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us, And the world will be as one
If we could pull that off, would there then be world peace?
And the answer is: NO
WHY?
Because the problem of the world is not only man at war with man.
The chief problem of the world is that man is at enmity with God.
In the garden,
• It was not Adam who cursed the world, it was God.
3 chapters later,
• It was not Noah who flooded the world, it was God.
When the Sodomites committed sin
• It was not Lot who burned Sodom, it was God.
And contrary to the message of every environmentalist of our age,
It is not man who will destroy this planet, it is God.
2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”
The reason there is no peace IS NOT that man can’t get along with man.
The reason there is no peace IS because man is at enmity with God.
John Lennon thought the solution was to get rid of God (all religion) and then we could have peace.
It is the exact opposite that is true.
This world will not know peace until “the earth [is] full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
The problem of the world is that men don’t know God.
And this was the problem of Israel, remember:
Isaiah 5:13 “Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; And their honorable men are famished, And their multitude is parched with thirst.”
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.”
• You had bad priests…
• You had bad prophets…
• You have a world with a deceiver…
And men don’t know God.
Ephesians 4:17-19 “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”
YOU SEE IT AGAIN.
Men are filled with ignorance.
They don’t know God and because of this ignorance
They give themselves over to sensuality, impurity, and greediness.
BUT WHEN THIS SAVING KING COMES
He will fill the earth with the knowledge of God.
Now, if you’ll remember,
This was His effort the first time He came as well.
John 1:18 “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”
Jesus said:
John 14:9 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
Jesus came the first time to reveal the Father to us.
• He came to show us His holy perfection and to fully explain and apply His Law.
• He came to call men to repentance that they might be forgiven of their sin.
• He came to offer salvation through His own life and death.
• He came in mercy to save men who were trapped in sin.
AND MEN, BY IN LARGE, REJECTED HIM.
But the SECOND TIME He comes,
SUBMISSION WON’T BE OPTIONAL.
Men will either repent and humble themselves and leave their sin
Or they will be trampled under His feet.
Justice, righteousness, and faithfulness will not be optional the next time.
He will reveal the Father to the world
And the world will live in awestruck wonder of God
And will do His will.
And this is the MOST REMARKABLE REALITY of this coming King.
• He will establish a world in which sin is not tolerated.
• He will establish a world in which God is honored.
• He will establish a world that will finally dwell in peace.
It just makes your heart long for such a place doesn’t it!
This WORLD certainly contains a fair amount of BEAUTY TODAY.
• We see joy and happiness in friendship…
• We see the beauty of a child entering the world…
• We see the rugged beauty of God’s creation…
But all the beauty is also tainted and tarnished
By the evil that surrounds it.
You see the beauty of a child being born,
• And yet you realize that disease and danger and evil men threaten that child, not just from the time it is born, but in our day from the time it is conceived.
• And you realize that this innocent beauty must be fiercely protected from this dangerous world in which we live.
You can go to the national parks and view the beautiful landscape and the wonder of what God created,
• But you also know that even nature possesses lethal danger.
• Men have fallen into the Grand Canyon, others have died from dehydration or flash floods or storms.
• Others have been attacked by wild animals and even the enjoyment of what is beautiful reminds you that it will kill you if given the chance.
AND HERE IT IS
This is what we’ve been saying
This world lacks peace because it lacks peace with God.
The writer of Hebrews sought to explain this reality as well.
Hebrews 2:5-8 “For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? “YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”
The writer of Hebrews had obviously read Psalm 8
Where David recounts how God had subjected all things to man.
• Man was to rule and to reign and to fill the earth and subdue it.
• We remember Adam naming the animals.
• We remember how the entire world was to live in peace and harmony.
But no sooner did the writer of Hebrews read Psalm 8 than did he say, “But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”
God may have promised it, but that is certainly not what is occurring.
What is the answer?
How do we deal with such an apparent contradiction?
The writer of Hebrews went on:
We don’t see all things subjected to man, but…
Hebrews 2:9 “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”
We do see Jesus who came to this earth to bear the penalty for sin.
• Man sinned and God cursed this world.
• God consigned this world to death.
• Man was at enmity with God
• And the only way to satisfy that enmity is through death.
So Jesus came to die that He might bring peace between man and God.
Paul noted this in his epistle to the Romans:
Romans 5:1 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
But nowhere examines the peace of Jesus more than the 2nd chapter of the book of Ephesians.
TURN TO: EPHESIANS 2:11-18
You are certainly familiar with the first 10 verses of that chapter
As Paul outlines how we are saved by grace through faith.
But as he continues outlining for the Ephesians Gentiles their great benefits in Christ, he next comes to the issue of peace.
And the first peace that Paul wishes to discuss is the peace God brought between Jew and Gentile.
• And if you are familiar with the Jew to Gentile relationship you know that getting those two groups to dwell in peace is about like getting a wolf and a lamb to get along.
• Jews considered Gentiles to be unclean dogs; they wouldn’t even eat with them. We all remember Peter getting in trouble for going to Cornelius’ house.
• Gentiles have historically considered Jews as sheep to be slaughtered. That was true in the days of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome, Germany, Russia, Palestine, etc.
THE TWO JUST DON’T MESH.
And yet here is what Paul reveals.
(READ 11-13)
• Christ took the unclean and uncircumcised Gentiles and made them clean.
• He took those who were separate from the covenants and the promises and from God and brought them in.
• He welcomed them in and accepted them as God’s children.
And that is not all.
(READ 14-16)
He also took away the main issue of separation, which is the Law.
• The Jews kept it, Gentiles did not.
• Jews had dietary restrictions, Gentiles did not
• Jews had cultural traditions, Gentiles did not
• Jews had circumcision, Gentiles did not
But Christ came in and fulfilled the Law in His flesh.
That is what Paul means, “by abolishing in His flesh the enmity”
He fulfilled the Law for both groups.
• Jews had it but they had failed to keep it.
• Gentiles didn’t even have it.
But what they had in common was that neither had successfully kept it.
Jesus came in and fulfilled it for both.
And this put both peoples in the same group.
It put them both in the group of people who need the grace of Jesus.
He brought both together.
And that is not all.
(READ 17-18)
Christ brought Jew and Gentile together
Which was a chasm that seemed impossible to mend.
And yet that chasm wasn’t nearly as big
As the one that existed between them and God.
A die hard republican and a die hard democrat might be brought together,
But they still both fall short of the glory of God.
AND THE REALITY IS THAT it is easier to get Jews and Gentiles together
Than it is to get either of them to God.
Christ did both.
• He satisfied God’s righteous requirement.
• He satisfied God’s wrath on sin.
• And all those who come through Him not only get peace with each other, but also peace with God.
There is not a more fitting statement than the one Paul makes in verse 14, “For He Himself is our peace,”
IT IS WHAT ISAIAH IS PREACHING.
• Jesus Christ is our Saving King
• Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace
• Jesus Christ is our Peace
And when He comes to rule and to reign
This world will know nothing but peace
For He will deal swiftly with sin
And will bring to the world a true knowledge of God.
That is what He will do and we all anticipate such a wonderful day.
BUT EVEN IN THAT I MUST REMIND YOU:
What He will do one day for the world, He will DO TODAY in your life.
He, today, can give you peace.
He, today, can make peace between you and God.
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Philippians 4:6-7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Colossians 1:19-20 “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”
2 Thessalonians 3:16 “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!”
You get the idea.
Jesus will bring peace to the world
• When they repent of their sin and submit their lives to His sovereign rule,
And those are the same two requirements
For Him to bring peace to your life today.
When He sits on the throne of the world
He brings peace to the world
And when He sits on the throne of your heart,
He brings peace to your life.
What is required is that you trust Him.
This morning I would invite you
TO YIELD YOUR LIFE TO JESUS CHRIST.
• Repent of the sin that brings with it the enmity of God.
• Submit your life to the Prince of Peace who produces reconciliation.
• And enjoy peace in your heart and life.
And then One day when He returns you can dwell with Him in this world
That will be overflowing with His peace.
