Promises Kept: The Shoot and the Root

🟢

Theological Status: FAITHFUL (Sound) Biblical Parallel(Archetype): Philadelphia

❓ What do these grades mean?

🔍 Biblical Discernment: The 7 Church Parallels

The Faithful Parallels Smyrna • Philadelphia

Teaching that parallels the churches that endure suffering with true spiritual riches (Rev 2:9) and keep the Word of Christ without denial despite having "little strength" (Rev 3:8).

The Cold Orthodox Parallel Ephesus

Teaching that upholds doctrinal precision yet parallels the loss of the "first love"—the vital, motivating power of the Gospel (Rev 2:4).

The Compromised Parallel Pergamum

Teaching that parallels churches tolerating the "doctrine of Balaam" through cultural accommodation (Rev 2:14), characterized by weak boundaries, sloppy theology, and worldly compromise.

The Corrupted & Dead Parallels Thyatira • Sardis • Laodicea

Teaching that parallels churches with active heresy, synergism, therapeutic deism, or dead orthodoxy (Rev 2:20, Rev 3:1, Rev 3:17). These represent systemic, fundamental errors that corrupt the Gospel engine.

Date: 2025-12-14 | Church: Coddle Creek ARP Church | Speaker: Andrew Shoger

🧐 Overview

Theological Verdict & Summary

Sermon Summary: In a world defined by broken promises and fading hope, this sermon unveils the unshakeable foundation of Jesus Christ as the eternal 'Shoot and Root' of Jesse, offering a joy that transcends circumstances.

Pastoral Analysis: Pastor Shoger delivers a theologically rich and expository sermon that masterfully connects the lineage of Jesse to the person of Christ. The message is marked by strong biblical literacy, clear exposition, and a comforting application of biblical joy. The high ratio of scripture reading to spoken text demonstrates a deep respect for the biblical text, allowing the Word to speak for itself. There are no theological errors, and the Gospel engine is intact and powerful.

Biblical Parallel (Archetype): Philadelphia — This sermon exemplifies the faithfulness of the Philadelphia church archetype. It maintains a pure, unadulterated exposition of Isaiah 11, centering entirely on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The preaching is characterized by theological precision, robust biblical literacy, and a clear presentation of the Gospel without compromise or dilution for cultural acceptance.

Big Idea: Jesus Christ is the shoot and the root of Jesse, the God-man who restores what was lost in Eden through His righteousness and establishes an eternal kingdom of joy and peace. [00:27:45 ▶️ 📄]

🎨 The Visual Metaphor

The deep, ancient roots symbolize the Messianic lineage of Jesse, while the emerging shoot represents Christ's life and restoration of Eden. The physical golden cord woven through the stone signifies the unbroken, continuous thread of God's faithfulness from Genesis to Revelation.

📖 How they Handle Scripture & Jesus

Primary Text: Isaiah 11:1-10
Usage Classification: Expository
Text-to-Talk Ratio: High
Pulpit Decorum: ✅ PASS - The pastor maintains a respectful and reverent tone throughout, using appropriate language and avoiding coarse speech or pejoratives.

✝️ Christological Focus: Direct Messianic Fulfillment

"The sermon explicitly identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah 11, the Shoot and Root of Jesse, and connects His work to the restoration of Eden and the establishment of God's kingdom."

Scripture Saturation: Verses Read: 18 | Referenced: 17 | Alluded: 17

Passages Read Aloud:

Luke 1:26-33 [00:08:09 ▶️ 📄]
"In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God and behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end."
Isaiah 11:1-10 [00:31:10 ▶️ 📄]
"there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. Now Jesse, who's referenced in that verse, is the father of David. We saw that last week as we spent just a little bit of time looking at the genealogy at the end of the book of Ruth. You remember how Ruth and Boaz, when they married, they gave birth to a son named Obed, and Obed was the father of jesse and jesse was the father of david and of course david needs very little introduction to us david was the shepherd boy whom god appointed king over his people and david sort of stands forth in the pages of the old testament and to the jews as the idyllic king because he is the one who united the kingdom and it was under his rule and his reign that the golden era of Israel was ushered in. But more important for our purposes today is to remember that it was also to King David that God made an important promise. In fact, God established a covenant with David. And the promise was that David, one of David's offspring, would sit on his throne and establish an everlasting kingdom. But if you know your Old Testament history following David, you know that none of the kings as recorded in the pages of the Old Testament were the fulfillment of this glorious promise. The closest that any of them perhaps ever came would have been Solomon in the early years of his ministry when he was still a very faithful king and led the people in righteousness, but even Solomon fell away. We remember how Solomon in his later years gave himself over to idols and idolatry. And so none of the immediate offspring of David fulfilled this glorious promise that God gave to him that an offspring of his would one day sit on his throne and rule forever. All of the kings that followed after David, all of his sons and grandsons and great-grandsons were ultimately failures. We think of that in light of King Ahaz that we've talked about the last couple of weeks. Ahaz, during whose reign Isaiah was making some of these prophetic utterances, how he led the people into godlessness and idolatry and eventually god's judgment on the nation would result in exile when the kingdom would be uprooted and the peoples carried off into babylon and it was during that time when the people were wallowing in exile in babylon that surely they were wondering had god's promise failed because he told us that david would have a son who would establish a kingdom forever and now there is no more kingdom it's as if the tree had been chopped off and nothing was left that's why isaiah employs this imagery of a stump of the tree the great mighty tree the family tree of david had been felled and nothing remained and that's where isaiah says no all is not lost there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of jesse and this is actually a an illustration that you maybe have have realized have witnessed in your own life if you've ever cut down a tree maybe a young tree a sapling or one that's only a few years old if you've ever cut it down and just left the root or the stump i mean you maybe walked away and thought to yourself well that tree is dead it's no more but then you come back to that tree a month or two later and what do you see sometimes a little shoot right coming off the side of that stump life is still in the stump and that's what god is is telling the israelites though it appears that all is lost there is still hope there is still life to be found a shoot will come forth from the stump of jesse and from this stump god was going to fulfill his promises and his redemptive purposes. But have you ever wondered at Isaiah's word choice in this first verse? Why does Isaiah say that a shoot would come from the stump of Jesse rather than from the stump of David? Because the promise was made to David, right? So why doesn't he say that a shoot would come forth from David well I think it's likely because in the immediate moment the Davidic line was increasingly disappointing king after king who came from the line of David was only or only more and more disappointing one bad king followed another and so Isaiah bases this promise in the stump of Jesse. The stump that had given David, remember Jesse was the father of David, the stump that had given them David would one day give them another one like David, but he would be greater than David. And this is what the angel tells Mary. This is the fulfillment, the word the angel tells Mary is really the fulfillment of this promise. It's what we heard earlier when the angel told Mary that he will be great and will be called son of the Most High and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end. While David had for the most part been the ideal king, while he was the man commended as being the man after God's own heart, we see in the promise from Isaiah that this promised king this promised messiah would surpass david in every way yes david is a type of christ he foreshadows christ but christ is the better the greater the truer king and he would embody everything god's king is meant to be we're told in the verses that follow in chapter 11 that the spirit of the lord would rest upon him well there's another promise that we see specifically answered and fulfilled in the life of jesus particularly in his baptism do you remember that scene as the gospels record it when jesus goes to john the baptist to be baptized after he's baptized he comes up out of the river and we're told that a voice spoke from heaven and the spirit of god descended upon him in the form of a dove the spirit of god empowered the ministry of jesus christ and jesus displayed this empowering through his wisdom and his understanding through his counsel and his might, all of the things that Isaiah rattles off in verses 2 and 3, we see fulfilled in Jesus throughout his life in ministry in the Gospels. And then we're told in the second half of verse 3 that this coming king will not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor. You know, the kings of Israel sometimes had to function as judges. We see this most famously in the case of Solomon. You remember early on in Solomon's kingship, two mothers came to him and they were fighting over a baby. One baby had died in the middle of the night and that lady had replaced the other woman's baby as her own. And they came to Solomon and said, both claiming that the child was theirs. And Solomon, with the wisdom that God had blessed him with, decided the case. And when he did, when he judged that case rightly, all of Israel was amazed. And they rejoiced because they had a king who judged with righteousness well jesus we're told will judge with righteousness as well jesus is the fulfillment of judging in righteousness and not only did he judge rightly during his ministry but we know that he will continue to judge rightly in fact this is what paul told the athenians in acts chapter 17 he said god has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And that man is none other than Jesus. Jesus, the righteous judge, who in fact even teaches us in [John 7](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+7&version=KJV), he says, do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. You know, there's a tie-in with that and what we talked about just a moment ago from Genesis chapter 3 when we think about all that had been lost. this idea of judging by appearances isn't that what got humanity into the mess we're in in the first place go back to adam and eve and the temptation by the serpent how they listened to his cunning and deceptive words as they stared at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and as they stared at its fruit what are we told that it was a delight to their eyes They were making an assessment. They were making a judgment based on what their eyes saw rather than on what God had commanded them. They abandoned righteousness and instead embraced the folly and the deception of their own eyes. And because of their sin, God's curse came upon the serpent and the woman and the man and the created order. The righteousness that had originally adorned Adam and Eve was now replaced with shame and fig leaves and things like enmity and pain and hard labor and death would be there a lot until the seed of the woman would come and crush the head of the serpent. And that seed of [Genesis 3](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3&version=KJV) is the king of [Isaiah 11](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+11&version=KJV). And righteousness, that precious standing which had been lost to all of us because of sin, righteousness, we're told in verse 5, is the belt around His waist. You see, friends, Jesus really did come to restore what was lost. He came to seek and to save sinners by offering them a righteousness that is alien to them, but freely imputed by faith. This is the hope of Advent. This is the hope of the Incarnation. When we sing of joy and of glad tidings, this is what we mean, that the baby of Bethlehem came to be the Christ of the cross who bore our guilt and punishment and in exchange offers us His perfect righteousness so that we are no longer separated from God but are restored to a right relationship with Him. And if that's not enough to give you hope and to give you joy, Jesus has even more in store for you and for me. You see, while we are right to look back during this season and to celebrate his first advent, we also ought to look ahead to his second advent, to his return. And do you want to know what that's going to be like? Do you want to know what it's going to be like when Christ returns? Look at verses 6 and following. Isaiah tells us what it will be like. shall lie down together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den, and they shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. What does that sound like to you? If in [Genesis 3](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3&version=KJV) we see everything lost, in this passage in [Isaiah 11](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+11&version=KJV), it's like we're hearing of Eden restored, doesn't it? Eden before sin entered the world, before death came into the world. You see, Jesus is not just redeeming people. He's not just redeeming you and me. Jesus is redeeming all things to Himself. He has come to make all things new. And old hostilities like that between the wolf and the lamb are now reconciled. So complete is the peace that He brings that Isaiah speaks of a little child leading these former predators, lions and wolves. Can you imagine that picture of a place marked by that kind of peace and that kind of holiness and that kind of joy? And as for the curse of [Genesis 3](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3&version=KJV), which placed enmity between the serpent and the woman, that too is done away with [revelation 22](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=revelation+22&version=KJV) tells us that in that day there will no longer be anything accursed and if you want to think of it in this line think of it according to what isaiah shows us in verse 8 of a child playing over the whole of the cobra over the whole of the serpent there is no more curse on that glorious day when jesus christ returns for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And that's because His dwelling place will be with us and we will be with Him forever. And friends, I can't imagine a more glorious future. In fact, glorious is exactly how Isaiah describes it in verse 10. He tells us there that in that day, the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples, of him shall the nations inquire and his resting place shall be glorious. By the way, do you notice there at the beginning of verse 2 that Isaiah switches up how he speaks about the Messiah? Particularly how the Messiah relates to Jesse. Do you notice in verse 1 of this chapter, we're told that the Messiah was a shoot from the stump of Jesse. And yet in verse 10, we're told that the Messiah is the root of Jesse. Well, which is it, Isaiah? Is he the shoot that comes forth from Jesse? Or is He the root that even gives life to Jesse? Which one is it? It's both and, right? Because our Messiah is not just a man. He is the God-man. He is fully God, fully man. He Himself as God is the source of all life. He is the source of Jesse. And as man, He is the descendant of Jesse in the line of David. And this only works out if the Messiah is fully God and fully man. You know, Jesus drew this connection too in His ministry. In Matthew chapter 22, we're told that some of the Pharisees gathered together around Him and Jesus asked them a tough question. He said, what do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He? And they said to Him, well, He's the son of David. And Jesus said to them, well, then how is it that David in the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. If David calls him Lord, how is he his son? And Jesus wasn't trying to make their brains melt. His point is that before David was, I am. And yet, I am the fulfillment of the promise, the covenant made to David of a son who would sit on his throne and establish a kingdom forever. And this lines up with what Jesus even says about himself in [Revelation 22](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+22&version=KJV) when he says, I am the root and the descendant of David. The root and the descendant of David. And so Jesus is both the Lord and son of David. He is both the root and the shoot of Jesse, and He is our Messiah, our Savior, who has come to restore what was lost and to give us a glorious future. And yet, I realize that for some of us, 2025 has been anything but glorious. For some of you, this has been a year marked by loss, by grief, by frustration, or illness. And if not 2025, then it was 2024. And if not that, it was the year before that or some other year in the course of your life. My point is, our current circumstances are anything but glorious. And then we come to the month of December, we come to the season of Advent and of Christmas, and it seems like everyone is doing their best to try to drum up some kind of joy in their hearts. and yet for some of you I imagine joy is the last thing you feel at least as far as Luke explained it to our children this morning if the joy you're looking for is just another word for happiness then you will be disappointed because those things come and go our feelings come and go based on our circumstances but the joy that we celebrate in Jesus Christ is again as Luke explained it to our children, the joy that we have every day of our lives isn't based on what today may be like or not. It's based on Jesus. It's based on His finished work. It's based on the fact that He is the fulfillment of all those promises that we've been looking at in the pages of the Old Testament. And what's more, He is the source and the fulfillment of all the promises that are yet to be fulfilled in our lives, particularly of His return. You see, biblical joy is rooted in what God has said and what God has done. Biblical joy is rooted in Jesus Christ, which means that if everything else is stripped away from you or from me, if we have Jesus, we have everything. And if we have Jesus, we still have joy because He who promised is faithful. And He will come back to us. And He will establish an eternal kingdom. And He will make His dwelling place with us. And His resting place shall be glorious. And you and I and all who look to Him in faith will share that glory. And will share that eternal joy. This is what we hold on to. Not only in the season of Advent, but every day of our lives. A joy unending in Jesus Christ. Let's pray together. our heavenly father we do thank you that the joy you offer your people is a joy that is rooted in our savior who is fully god and fully man the shoot and the root of jesse the lord and the son of david our messiah jesus christ emmanuel god with us and father we thank you that you have not overlooked your people in our miserable condition but you have stepped into history you have stepped into our lives and you have given us a new and living hope in Jesus Christ. Father, He is the source of our joy. He is the source of all of our hopes because He is the one who has accomplished the task for which you sent Him to seek and to save the lost and to restore what has been lost. Indeed, to restore to us your righteousness so that we might be Your dearly loved children. And we thank You, Father, that we know what awaits us in the end, this glorious resting place with You and with our Savior. Father, we pray that during this season and during the course of our lives, especially when our circumstances plague us and trouble us, that we will always hold on to Jesus Christ and the joy and the hope and the peace that we have in Him. And in the meantime, Father, our deepest prayer is that You would speed the day of His return. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen."

Key References: Genesis 3, Isaiah 7, Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11:1, Isaiah 11:2, Isaiah 11:3, Isaiah 11:5, Isaiah 11:6, Isaiah 11:8, Isaiah 11:10, and 7 more...

🎙️ Sermon Content & Delivery

Word Count: 4,433 words

📌 Key Topics Addressed

Biblical Unity and Christocentrism [00:28:08 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor argues that the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is about Jesus, describing Him as the 'golden thread' woven throughout Scripture.
Messianic Prophecy in Isaiah [00:28:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor highlights Isaiah as having the most prophetic references to Jesus, connecting previous chapters (7 and 9) to the current text in chapter 11.
Restoration [00:29:47 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor identifies 'restoration' as the key theme of the sermon, explaining that Jesus came to restore what was lost in Genesis 3 due to human sin.
Isaiah and Messianic Prophecy [00:28:34 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor highlights Isaiah's prophetic references to Jesus, specifically Emmanuel in chapter 7 and the titles in chapter 9, leading into the restoration theme of chapter 11.
Restoration and Sin [00:29:58 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor defines the core mission of Jesus as restoration, contrasting the 'bad news' of sin and separation in Genesis 3 with the 'joy' of restoration through Christ.
The Stump of Jesse and Davidic Covenant [00:35:44 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor explains the imagery of the 'stump of Jesse,' noting that while David's lineage failed due to godless kings, God preserved hope for a greater King who would fulfill the Davidic covenant.
Jesus as the Fulfillment of [Isaiah 11](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+11&version=KJV) [00:41:55 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor connects the Spirit resting on Jesus at his baptism and his righteous judgment to the specific descriptions in Isaiah 11, positioning Jesus as the superior King who surpasses David.
Righteous Judgment and Restoration [00:42:57 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor contrasts human judgment (Solomon) with Jesus' righteous judgment, linking it to the loss of righteousness in Genesis 3 and its restoration through Christ's imputed righteousness.
The Nature of the Messiah (Root and Shoot) [00:50:05 ▶️ 📄]
> An analysis of Isaiah's terminology ('shoot from Jesse' vs 'root of Jesse') to explain the dual nature of Christ as fully God (source) and fully man (descendant), supported by Jesus' question to the Pharisees in Matthew 22.
Biblical Joy vs. Circumstantial Happiness [00:53:15 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor distinguishes between fleeting happiness based on circumstances and biblical joy rooted in Jesus' finished work and promises, addressing listeners who may be experiencing grief or hardship.
Eschatological Hope (Second Advent) [00:47:27 ▶️ 📄]
> Discussion of Isaiah 11's depiction of the restored creation (peace among animals, no curse) as a foreshadowing of Christ's return and the eternal kingdom where God dwells with His people.
Perseverance in Christ [00:56:48 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor exhorts the congregation to hold onto Jesus Christ, specifically referencing the joy, hope, and peace found in Him, particularly during times of trouble.
Eschatological Hope [00:56:57 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor leads a prayer for the speed of Christ's return.

🖼️ Illustrations & Stories

Sermon Illustration [00:28:19 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses the metaphor of a 'golden thread' to describe how Jesus is woven from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation.
Sermon Illustration [00:38:47 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor uses the analogy of cutting down a tree and leaving the stump; though it appears dead, a new shoot often emerges from the stump, illustrating God's ability to bring life and hope from the seemingly dead lineage of David.
Sermon Illustration [00:43:09 ▶️ 📄]
> The pastor recounts the biblical story of Solomon judging the dispute between two mothers over a living baby, illustrating how Solomon judged with wisdom and righteousness, a role fulfilled perfectly by Jesus.
Sermon Illustration [00:43:09 ▶️ 📄]
> The story of King Solomon judging the case of two mothers fighting over a living baby, demonstrating wise and righteous judgment that amazed Israel.
Sermon Illustration [00:44:48 ▶️ 📄]
> The temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3, where they judged the fruit as 'a delight to their eyes' based on appearance rather than God's command, leading to the fall.
Sermon Illustration [00:51:01 ▶️ 📄]
> Jesus' interaction with the Pharisees in Matthew 22, where He asks how David can call the Messiah 'Lord' if the Messiah is merely his son, highlighting the Messiah's divine pre-existence.

🚀 Calls to Action (Application)

Pastoral Charge [00:56:57 ▶️ 📄]
> Praying for the speedy return of Jesus Christ

🧭 Biblical Alignment Dashboard

Overall Verdict: Sound & Commendable

Category	Status	Reasoning
Gospel Presentation	✅ PASS	The Gospel is clearly presented through the lens of Christ's restoration of what was lost in Eden. The sermon effectively contrasts the 'bad news' of sin with the 'good news' of restoration through Jesus, ensuring the congregation understands their need for a Savior and the sufficiency of His finished work.
Soteriology	✅ PASS	The sermon correctly identifies salvation as rooted in Christ's righteousness and His establishment of an eternal kingdom, avoiding any notion of human self-sufficiency.
Bibliology	✅ PASS	The high text-to-talk ratio and the use of the 'golden thread' metaphor demonstrate a high view of Scripture as the authoritative and consistent witness to Christ.
Hermeneutic	✅ PASS	The exegesis of Isaiah 11 is sound, correctly identifying the Messianic fulfillment in Jesus and connecting it to the broader biblical narrative from Genesis to Revelation.
Theology Proper	✅ PASS	The doctrine of God is presented accurately, highlighting His faithfulness to His promises and His power to bring life from seemingly dead situations.
Sacramentology	✅ PASS	No errors detected in sacramental theology or practice.
Confessional Depth	❌ FAIL	The sermon demonstrates a deep understanding of covenant theology, linking the Old Testament promises to their New Testament fulfillment in Christ with precision.

⚙️ The Gospel Engine (Confessional Distinctives)

✅ The Law And Wrath:

"everything that had been created and had been declared good by God was suddenly subjected to things like futility and death. It's the bad news of the human story that our sin separates us from God." [00:30:30 ▶️ 📄]

✅ Total Depravity And Inability:

"The righteousness that had originally adorned Adam and Eve was now replaced with shame and fig leaves and things like enmity and pain and hard labor and death would be there a lot until the seed of the woman would come and crush the head of the serpent." [00:45:39 ▶️ 📄]

✅ Active Obedience Of Christ:

"He came to seek and to save sinners by offering them a righteousness that is alien to them, but freely imputed by faith." [00:46:09 ▶️ 📄]

✅ The Cross And Atonement:

"we thank you for the work that Jesus Christ came to do this work foretold by the prophet Isaiah fulfilled in the life death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ." [00:33:06 ▶️ 📄]

✅ Commendations

Expository Precision | Faithful Textual Engagement

The pastor demonstrates exceptional fidelity to the text of Isaiah 11, allowing the scripture to drive the sermon's structure and content. The high text-to-talk ratio ensures that the congregation is immersed in the biblical narrative.

Theological Clarity | Clear Gospel Presentation

The sermon clearly articulates the Gospel, contrasting the despair of sin with the hope of restoration in Christ. The application of biblical joy as a steadfast state rooted in Christ's finished work is both theologically sound and pastorally comforting.

Pastoral Sensitivity | Comfort in Grief

The pastor effectively applies the message to those experiencing grief and loss, offering a profound sense of hope and peace that is anchored in the unchanging nature of God's promises.

🛡️ Verified Orthodox Mechanics

✅ The deity and humanity of Jesus Christ as the God-man.

✅ The restoration of all things through Christ's righteousness.

✅ The eternal nature of Christ's kingdom.

✅ The biblical definition of joy as rooted in God's faithfulness rather than circumstances.

📜 Full Sermon Transcript (Audit)

Use the 📄 icons next to quotes above to automatically jump to their location in this raw transcript.

[00:01:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:01:47] Please join us in standing, if you are able, as the Ancient of Days, the King of Glory, calls us to worship Him this morning.
[00:01:56] Lift up your head, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in.
[00:02:07] Who is this King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle.
[00:02:14] Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
[00:02:21] Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. Indeed, let us worship the King of glory this morning, joining our voices together, singing hymn 198. Lift up your heads,

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:02:36] ye mighty gates will sing the first four verses. Let's pray together. Almighty God, you are the

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:04:39] King of kings and the Lord of lords. All of the earth and all of its fullness is yours.
[00:04:48] All those who dwell within it are yours. You have founded all creation. You have established it and you uphold it by your mighty, omnipotent hand.
[00:05:00] And as we come this morning singing your praise and adorning you with prayer and love and joy, we come knowing that we are not worthy in and of ourselves, that we cannot ascend the holy hill of the Lord on our own,
[00:05:15] nor stand in your holy place.
[00:05:18] And so we worship you that Jesus has come to make a people of clean hands and pure heart, to make a people who lift our souls up to you in worship as we receive blessing from your hand
[00:05:31] because you have given us righteousness and you are the God of our salvation.
[00:05:37] So be with us now as we seek your face, the God of Jacob, in worship this morning as we praise you, the King of kings, the Lord of hosts.
[00:05:47] We pray that you would lead us by the power of your Holy Spirit this morning as we worship you and that you would greatly equip us so that we may be encouraged by your promises.
[00:05:59] We find great comfort in knowing that all your promises find their yes and amen in the King of glory, Jesus Christ.
[00:06:05] We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:06:09] Please remain standing and turn with me in your bulletins for our corporate voice of faith to Heidelberg Catechism 31.
[00:06:24] We're going to hear from our New Testament reading.
[00:06:27] the angel of the lord tell mary that her son shall be called jesus who will save his people and and our heidelberg catechism explains to us what that title christ means to us heidelberg catechism question 31 why is he called the christ that is anointed because he is ordained
[00:06:48] of god the father and anointed with the holy spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel of God concerning our redemption and our only high priest
[00:07:07] who by the one sacrifice of his body has redeemed us and ever lives to make intercession for us with the Father and our eternal King who governs us by his word and spirit and defends and preserves us in the redemption obtained for us.
[00:07:30] Please be seated.
[00:07:39] And let's turn in our Bibles now for our New Testament reading to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, verses 26 through 33, where Luke records for us, in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the birth of Jesus foretold.
[00:08:00] Let's hear now the word of the Lord.
[00:08:09] In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored
[00:08:26] one, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
[00:08:41] favor with God and behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will
[00:08:55] give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there will be no end. Friends the grass withers and the flower fades but the
[00:09:08] word of God will stand forever. Amen. Children, at this point in time, I want to invite you forward for the lighting of the Advent candle. Good morning. Well, we've been lighting a candle each Sunday in worship and Advent. The first week we lit the candle of hope, and last week we lit
[00:10:02] the candle of peace. That's right, that Jesus comes and he brings hope to us and peace to us with God, that he reconciles us. God makes things right. And this week, we're going to light the
[00:10:18] pink candle in the back, and that candle is the candle of joy. The candle of joy. Now, how many of you know what joy feels like and looks like, right? It's one of those things we
[00:10:30] feel in our heart, but it's a little harder to put our finger on how to define it. But what I want us to understand about the joy that Jesus brings, you can put your hands down, the joy that
[00:10:42] Jesus brings is not like happiness. Because here's the thing about happiness. Happiness can come and go in our lives, right? Some days we're happy, some days we're not. Happiness can come and go, But the promise from Scripture is that God gives us a joy that does not leave us through Jesus.
[00:11:07] Jesus' joy that he gives to us is with us in bad times and in good times.
[00:11:13] It's a joy that we have because we know that we are safe with him, with the Lord.
[00:11:19] And in Luke chapter 2, we heard about this joy.
[00:11:22] We've heard this already during Advent, but I want to tell you about the promise of who Jesus would be.
[00:11:27] This is an angel of the Lord talking to shepherds watching their flocks by night.
[00:11:32] And they said this, they said, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
[00:11:41] Jesus' joy is for all the people who believe in him.
[00:11:45] Isn't that amazing?
[00:11:46] That's what we celebrate at Advent, that Jesus is our hope, he's our peace, and he is our joy.
[00:11:53] All right, I need a volunteer to light this candle.
[00:11:56] Morgan, you want to come help me light these candles?
[00:11:59] All right, we're going to go in order.
[00:12:03] Can you tell which one's which?
[00:12:08] Jesus is our hope.
[00:12:11] Jesus is our peace.
[00:12:15] All right, now we're going to have to walk over there so that I don't catch my suit.
[00:12:18] There we go.
[00:12:19] All right, come over here.
[00:12:26] And Jesus is our joy.
[00:12:28] Let's pray and thank God, okay?
[00:12:30] Let's pray to him together.
[00:12:31] You repeat after me.
[00:12:31] Dear God, we thank you that Jesus brings us joy help us to sing praises to him in jesus name amen all right you can go back to your seats

[00:12:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:12:49] and we will sing praises and we will celebrate the joy that we have in christ as we turn to

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:12:56] number 195 we'll stand together and sing joy to the world let's pray together oh lord our god we

[00:15:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:15:24] do celebrate the wonders of your love this morning as we rejoice in the fact that you are the god of creation and the God of salvation, that you indeed have given joy to us, your people, through Jesus
[00:15:36] Christ, your Son and our Savior. Father, what an indescribable gift that you have blessed us with.
[00:15:43] And as we continue in worship now, we also give. We give back to you your tithes and our offerings just as a small token of our great love for you and what you have done for us. And we do this
[00:15:56] in accordance with your word. And we do it, Lord, as joyful people. And so we ask that you'll be pleased to receive these gifts and that you will use them to build up your kingdom all throughout

[00:16:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:16:06] the world. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. You may be seated. Well,

[00:19:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:19:15] it's appropriate today that we have lit the joy candle as a congregation. We have found reason for joy these last couple of weeks. Last Sunday, we were rejoicing over the safe and healthy arrival with little Josie Burrell, who's actually here with us this morning. Tim and Lizzie, it's good
[00:19:29] to see y'all, and we're glad that Josie can be with you as well. And this morning, we have further reason for joy as we celebrate with Ben and Abby Kiesler, their pregnancy, expecting a little one
[00:19:39] at the end of June. And so we celebrate with them and Gabriel, Avery, and Noah as well, who will be big siblings once again. So we rejoice with y'all and continue to pray, Abby, for a healthy pregnancy
[00:19:53] see and that the Lord will see y'all through to June. So with that said, let's look to the Lord in a time of prayer together. Lord our God, the psalmist tells us to make a joyful noise to the
[00:20:07] Lord and to break forth into joyous song and to sing praises. And we do this because you have made known your salvation. You have revealed your righteousness in the sight of the nations.
[00:20:22] Father, in this season, we know that this salvation that You have revealed is fulfilled in the arrival, the incarnation of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who came into this world to save sinners.
[00:20:36] And so our joy this morning, our joy this month, our joy throughout the course of our lives is based, is rooted in the good news that Jesus has come and that He has accomplished salvation
[00:20:50] and redemption for his people. And even now, through his Holy Spirit, he is applying that finished work to the men and women, to the boys and girls that you have called to yourself. And so we do find great joy this morning in the glad tidings of good news that a Savior has come to
[00:21:10] this world. And Father, we have great joy not only in that, but also in knowing that there is a day that you have set when this Savior who has ascended to your heavenly throne will return,
[00:21:23] when He will come back and He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity.
[00:21:30] And Father, that is the day that we find our hearts longing for, even as we reflect on His first advent, how we long for His return and His second advent. And yet here we live in between
[00:21:43] these two arrivals of our Savior.
[00:21:46] And this is where You have placed us.
[00:21:47] This is where You have called us to live and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.
[00:21:53] And so we thank You, Father, for the opportunity we have this morning to gather together and to worship as the people of God in this place at this time.
[00:22:04] And Father, we do thank You that You are the Father of light and the giver of every good and perfect gift.
[00:22:10] And we thank You this morning for the gift of new life we thank you this morning that little josie is here after coming into this world just eight days ago we thank you for the answered prayers that she represents and we praise
[00:22:23] you this morning for the good news from the keesler family for this pregnancy that you have blessed abby with and ben and the rest of the family lord this is the answer to many prayers and so we thank
[00:22:34] you and praise you for this little one that even now you are knitting together within her womb and And we would ask that you would superintend that you would safeguard this pregnancy and see it through to full term and a healthy delivery come June.
[00:22:48] Lord, how we thank you and praise you for this gift.
[00:22:52] And that reminds us to continue in prayer for Taylor and Jessica Welch and Piper as they continue to wait on you in their hopes for adoption.
[00:23:01] Lord, this has been a long road that they have been on.
[00:23:03] And so we would pray that you would answer this prayer, that you would fulfill their heart's desire, that you would do that soon and very soon and that you would continue to abide with them
[00:23:14] as they wait upon the Lord.
[00:23:16] Of course, Lord, that's a theme for all of us in our lives, learning to wait upon the Lord.
[00:23:21] It is not always easy, especially when we find ourselves going through difficult days and seasons.
[00:23:27] And yet, Father, we know that you are completely trustworthy and that all things come to pass in your perfect time.
[00:23:36] And so, Father, in this season of Advent, we pray that you would teach us yet again what it means to wait on the Lord and to keep our eyes fixed on you to know that our joy is not based in whatever our circumstances
[00:23:49] might be but that our joy and our hope and our peace is found in the person and work of our

[00:23:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:23:55] great Savior Jesus Christ remind us of this we pray in Jesus name amen thank you choir that's

[00:27:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:27:45] beautiful. Well, please turn with me in your Bibles this morning to Isaiah chapter 11 as we continue our Advent series on promises kept. We're looking this month at promises that God made concerning the Messiah in the Old Testament that find their fulfillment in the New Testament.
[00:28:08] And of course, that serves as a good reminder for us that all of the Bible is about Jesus.
[00:28:13] It's not just the New Testament, it's the entire Bible that is about Jesus.
[00:28:19] He is that golden thread that is woven from the very beginning to the very end.
[00:28:24] From Genesis all the way to Revelation, He and His redemptive work is the focus and is the goal of Scripture.
[00:28:34] And that becomes particularly obvious in a book like Isaiah.
[00:28:39] The book of Isaiah, according to some counts, has the most prophetic references to Jesus of any book in the Old Testament.
[00:28:49] And we've seen that already.
[00:28:50] A couple of weeks ago as we began this series, we looked at Isaiah chapter 7 and the very first promise of the Messiah that Isaiah gives us with the sign of Emmanuel that the virgin would conceive and bear a son.
[00:29:05] And then if you go to chapter 9, which we're actually going to look at next Sunday, We're told that this child to be born, this son to be given, would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
[00:29:20] And so even before we get to chapter 11 that we're looking at today, we're told about this miraculous conception and birth, and of the divine nature of the Messiah.
[00:29:35] And then we come to chapter 11 as we are, and we're going to learn more about what this Messiah will be like, and what sort of restoration He will bring.
[00:29:47] And that word restoration, that idea of restoration, is going to be a key thing for us to hold on to this morning as we read this text and as we go into the sermon.
[00:29:58] Because restoration is what Jesus came to accomplish.
[00:30:03] and if you think about that that's exactly what he's done in a world in which so much has been lost you go back to genesis chapter 3 and we find out why we need a savior in the first place because
[00:30:17] of what had been lost it's in genesis 3 that we read of of the devastation of human sin and and the weight of god's curse for that sin everything that had been created and had been declared good
[00:30:30] by God was suddenly subjected to things like futility and death. It's the bad news of the human story that our sin separates us from God. And that's not a very joyful thing to think about.
[00:30:47] And yet it is the backdrop for our joy because what was lost is now restored through Jesus Christ. And so it's only against that backdrop of our sin and brokenness that something like what we read about here in Isaiah 11 really makes sense and really gives us a foundation for hope
[00:31:10] and for joy. So that being said, let's hear now from God's Word, Isaiah chapter 11, verses 1 through 10. This is where Isaiah tells us, his roots shall bear fruit, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit
[00:31:35] of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.
[00:31:47] He shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lips he shall
[00:32:05] kill the wicked righteousness shall be the belt of his waist and faithfulness the belt of his loins the wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat and the calf and the lion the fattened calf together and the little child shall lead them
[00:32:23] The cow and the bear shall graze.
[00:32:27] Their young shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
[00:32:32] The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
[00:32:40] They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
[00:32:49] 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 let's pray together Lord our God we
[00:33:06] thank you for the glorious resting place of our Messiah we thank you for the work that Jesus Christ came to do this work foretold by the prophet Isaiah fulfilled in the life death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
[00:33:24] Lord, we come this morning to a text that is likely familiar to many ears this morning, but we would pray that You would enlighten our hearts to glean from it a fresh appreciation, a fresh understanding of who Jesus is as our Redeemer, as our King, as our Messiah.
[00:33:43] And so we pray that You would grant us this grace in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:33:50] So if you've been here the last couple of weeks, I'm going to assume that by now you've got a pretty good understanding of the situation of Israel and Judah during the days of the prophets, during the days of Isaiah.
[00:34:06] We've discussed the last couple of weeks of sort of the discord that was going on in that nation.
[00:34:12] What had once been a united kingdom was now a divided kingdom.
[00:34:15] You had the northern kingdom of Israel, the southern kingdom of Judah, and they were constantly at odds with one another.
[00:34:23] And besides that, there was also a growing sense of godlessness, of faithlessness, as so many of the kings that led those two nations were themselves godless and faithless kings.
[00:34:38] And Isaiah was sent to prophesy during this time, during the reign of several of these kings. And unsurprisingly, he was given a message of judgment for these nations because of their idolatry, because of the way they walked away from the Lord their God. But he was also given
[00:34:57] a message of grace as well. This message in particular was for the remnant that God would preserve for himself from his people. And this grace would ultimately manifest itself in the coming of this promised Messiah who would establish an eternal kingdom.
[00:35:16] And so in the first half of our passage this morning, verses 1 through 5, we hear about the kingly identity and rule that this coming one would establish.
[00:35:29] And Isaiah begins with those very well-known words, at least to our ears this time of year, in verse 1, where he says, there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear
[00:35:44] fruit. Now Jesse, who's referenced in that verse, is the father of David. We saw that last week as we spent just a little bit of time looking at the genealogy at the end of the book of Ruth.
[00:35:56] You remember how Ruth and Boaz, when they married, they gave birth to a son named Obed, and Obed was the father of jesse and jesse was the father of david and of course david needs very little
[00:36:09] introduction to us david was the shepherd boy whom god appointed king over his people and david sort of stands forth in the pages of the old testament and to the jews as the idyllic king
[00:36:24] because he is the one who united the kingdom and it was under his rule and his reign that the golden era of Israel was ushered in. But more important for our purposes today is to remember that it was
[00:36:38] also to King David that God made an important promise. In fact, God established a covenant with David. And the promise was that David, one of David's offspring, would sit on his throne and establish an everlasting kingdom. But if you know your Old Testament history following David,
[00:36:59] you know that none of the kings as recorded in the pages of the Old Testament were the fulfillment of this glorious promise. The closest that any of them perhaps ever came would have been Solomon
[00:37:09] in the early years of his ministry when he was still a very faithful king and led the people in righteousness, but even Solomon fell away. We remember how Solomon in his later years gave himself over to idols and idolatry. And so none of the immediate offspring of David
[00:37:27] fulfilled this glorious promise that God gave to him that an offspring of his would one day sit on his throne and rule forever.
[00:37:39] All of the kings that followed after David, all of his sons and grandsons and great-grandsons were ultimately failures.
[00:37:47] We think of that in light of King Ahaz that we've talked about the last couple of weeks.
[00:37:52] Ahaz, during whose reign Isaiah was making some of these prophetic utterances, how he led the people into godlessness and idolatry and eventually god's judgment on the nation would result in exile when the kingdom would be uprooted and the peoples carried off
[00:38:09] into babylon and it was during that time when the people were wallowing in exile in babylon that surely they were wondering had god's promise failed because he told us that david would have a son who would establish a kingdom forever and now there is no more kingdom it's as if the tree
[00:38:28] had been chopped off and nothing was left that's why isaiah employs this imagery of a stump of the tree the great mighty tree the family tree of david had been felled and nothing remained and
[00:38:47] that's where isaiah says no all is not lost there shall come forth a shoot from the stump of jesse and this is actually a an illustration that you maybe have have realized have witnessed in your
[00:39:03] own life if you've ever cut down a tree maybe a young tree a sapling or one that's only a few years old if you've ever cut it down and just left the root or the stump i mean you maybe walked
[00:39:13] away and thought to yourself well that tree is dead it's no more but then you come back to that tree a month or two later and what do you see sometimes a little shoot right coming off the
[00:39:23] side of that stump life is still in the stump and that's what god is is telling the israelites though it appears that all is lost there is still hope there is still life to be found a shoot will
[00:39:38] come forth from the stump of jesse and from this stump god was going to fulfill his promises and his redemptive purposes. But have you ever wondered at Isaiah's word choice in this first verse?
[00:39:54] Why does Isaiah say that a shoot would come from the stump of Jesse rather than from the stump of David? Because the promise was made to David, right? So why doesn't he say that a shoot would
[00:40:10] come forth from David well I think it's likely because in the immediate moment the Davidic line was increasingly disappointing king after king who came from the line of David was only or only more and more disappointing one bad king followed another and so Isaiah bases this promise in the
[00:40:37] stump of Jesse. The stump that had given David, remember Jesse was the father of David, the stump that had given them David would one day give them another one like David, but he would be greater
[00:40:56] than David. And this is what the angel tells Mary. This is the fulfillment, the word the angel tells Mary is really the fulfillment of this promise. It's what we heard earlier when the angel told
[00:41:08] Mary that he will be great and will be called son of the Most High and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom
[00:41:22] there will be no end. While David had for the most part been the ideal king, while he was the man commended as being the man after God's own heart, we see in the promise from Isaiah that this
[00:41:36] promised king this promised messiah would surpass david in every way yes david is a type of christ he foreshadows christ but christ is the better the greater the truer king and he would embody everything god's king is meant to be we're told in the verses that follow in chapter 11 that the
[00:41:55] spirit of the lord would rest upon him well there's another promise that we see specifically answered and fulfilled in the life of jesus particularly in his baptism do you remember that scene as the gospels record it when jesus goes to john the baptist to be baptized after
[00:42:13] he's baptized he comes up out of the river and we're told that a voice spoke from heaven and the spirit of god descended upon him in the form of a dove the spirit of god empowered the ministry
[00:42:27] of jesus christ and jesus displayed this empowering through his wisdom and his understanding through his counsel and his might, all of the things that Isaiah rattles off in verses 2 and 3, we see fulfilled in Jesus throughout his life in ministry in the Gospels.
[00:42:45] And then we're told in the second half of verse 3 that this coming king will not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the
[00:42:57] poor. You know, the kings of Israel sometimes had to function as judges. We see this most famously in the case of Solomon. You remember early on in Solomon's kingship, two mothers came to him and
[00:43:09] they were fighting over a baby. One baby had died in the middle of the night and that lady had replaced the other woman's baby as her own. And they came to Solomon and said, both claiming that
[00:43:19] the child was theirs. And Solomon, with the wisdom that God had blessed him with, decided the case.
[00:43:24] And when he did, when he judged that case rightly, all of Israel was amazed. And they rejoiced because they had a king who judged with righteousness well jesus we're told will judge with righteousness as well jesus is the fulfillment of judging in righteousness and not only did he
[00:43:46] judge rightly during his ministry but we know that he will continue to judge rightly in fact this is what paul told the athenians in acts chapter 17 he said god has fixed a day on which he will judge
[00:44:00] the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And that man is none other than Jesus.
[00:44:10] Jesus, the righteous judge, who in fact even teaches us in John 7, he says, do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. You know, there's a tie-in with that and what we talked about just a moment ago from Genesis chapter 3 when we think about all that had been lost.
[00:44:29] this idea of judging by appearances isn't that what got humanity into the mess we're in in the first place go back to adam and eve and the temptation by the serpent how they listened to his cunning and deceptive words as they stared at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
[00:44:48] and as they stared at its fruit what are we told that it was a delight to their eyes They were making an assessment.
[00:44:57] They were making a judgment based on what their eyes saw rather than on what God had commanded them.
[00:45:05] They abandoned righteousness and instead embraced the folly and the deception of their own eyes.
[00:45:12] And because of their sin, God's curse came upon the serpent and the woman and the man and the created order.
[00:45:20] The righteousness that had originally adorned Adam and Eve was now replaced with shame and fig leaves and things like enmity and pain and hard labor and death would be there a lot until the seed of the woman
[00:45:39] would come and crush the head of the serpent.
[00:45:42] And that seed of Genesis 3 is the king of Isaiah 11.
[00:45:49] And righteousness, that precious standing which had been lost to all of us because of sin, righteousness, we're told in verse 5, is the belt around His waist. You see, friends, Jesus really did come to restore what was lost. He came to seek and to save sinners by offering them a
[00:46:09] righteousness that is alien to them, but freely imputed by faith. This is the hope of Advent.
[00:46:17] This is the hope of the Incarnation. When we sing of joy and of glad tidings, this is what we mean, that the baby of Bethlehem came to be the Christ of the cross who bore our guilt and punishment
[00:46:33] and in exchange offers us His perfect righteousness so that we are no longer separated from God but are restored to a right relationship with Him.
[00:46:45] And if that's not enough to give you hope and to give you joy, Jesus has even more in store for you and for me.
[00:46:54] You see, while we are right to look back during this season and to celebrate his first advent, we also ought to look ahead to his second advent, to his return. And do you want to know what that's going to be like? Do you want to know
[00:47:07] what it's going to be like when Christ returns? Look at verses 6 and following. Isaiah tells us what it will be like.
[00:47:27] shall lie down together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den, and they shall not
[00:47:38] hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. What does that sound like to you? If in Genesis 3 we see everything lost, in this passage in Isaiah 11, it's like we're hearing of Eden restored, doesn't
[00:47:53] it? Eden before sin entered the world, before death came into the world. You see, Jesus is not just redeeming people. He's not just redeeming you and me. Jesus is redeeming all things to Himself.
[00:48:09] He has come to make all things new. And old hostilities like that between the wolf and the lamb are now reconciled. So complete is the peace that He brings that Isaiah speaks of a little
[00:48:24] child leading these former predators, lions and wolves. Can you imagine that picture of a place marked by that kind of peace and that kind of holiness and that kind of joy? And as for the
[00:48:45] curse of Genesis 3, which placed enmity between the serpent and the woman, that too is done away with revelation 22 tells us that in that day there will no longer be anything accursed and if you
[00:49:00] want to think of it in this line think of it according to what isaiah shows us in verse 8 of a child playing over the whole of the cobra over the whole of the serpent there is no more
[00:49:15] curse on that glorious day when jesus christ returns for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And that's because His dwelling place will be with
[00:49:29] us and we will be with Him forever. And friends, I can't imagine a more glorious future. In fact, glorious is exactly how Isaiah describes it in verse 10. He tells us there that in that day,
[00:49:44] the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples, of him shall the nations inquire and his resting place shall be glorious.
[00:49:56] By the way, do you notice there at the beginning of verse 2 that Isaiah switches up how he speaks about the Messiah?
[00:50:03] Particularly how the Messiah relates to Jesse.
[00:50:05] Do you notice in verse 1 of this chapter, we're told that the Messiah was a shoot from the stump of Jesse.
[00:50:13] And yet in verse 10, we're told that the Messiah is the root of Jesse.
[00:50:19] Well, which is it, Isaiah?
[00:50:20] Is he the shoot that comes forth from Jesse?
[00:50:23] Or is He the root that even gives life to Jesse?
[00:50:26] Which one is it?
[00:50:28] It's both and, right?
[00:50:30] Because our Messiah is not just a man.
[00:50:34] He is the God-man.
[00:50:37] He is fully God, fully man.
[00:50:39] He Himself as God is the source of all life.
[00:50:42] He is the source of Jesse.
[00:50:44] And as man, He is the descendant of Jesse in the line of David.
[00:50:48] And this only works out if the Messiah is fully God and fully man.
[00:50:57] You know, Jesus drew this connection too in His ministry.
[00:51:01] In Matthew chapter 22, we're told that some of the Pharisees gathered together around Him and Jesus asked them a tough question.
[00:51:12] He said, what do you think about the Christ?
[00:51:14] Whose son is He?
[00:51:16] And they said to Him, well, He's the son of David.
[00:51:19] And Jesus said to them, well, then how is it that David in the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.
[00:51:31] If David calls him Lord, how is he his son?
[00:51:39] And Jesus wasn't trying to make their brains melt.
[00:51:42] His point is that before David was, I am.
[00:51:46] And yet, I am the fulfillment of the promise, the covenant made to David of a son who would sit on his throne and establish a kingdom forever.
[00:51:58] And this lines up with what Jesus even says about himself in Revelation 22 when he says, I am the root and the descendant of David.
[00:52:08] The root and the descendant of David.
[00:52:12] And so Jesus is both the Lord and son of David.
[00:52:15] He is both the root and the shoot of Jesse, and He is our Messiah, our Savior, who has come to restore what was lost and to give us a glorious future. And yet, I realize that for some of us,
[00:52:34] 2025 has been anything but glorious. For some of you, this has been a year marked by loss, by grief, by frustration, or illness.
[00:52:48] And if not 2025, then it was 2024.
[00:52:51] And if not that, it was the year before that or some other year in the course of your life.
[00:52:59] My point is, our current circumstances are anything but glorious.
[00:53:05] And then we come to the month of December, we come to the season of Advent and of Christmas, and it seems like everyone is doing their best to try to drum up some kind of joy in their hearts.
[00:53:15] and yet for some of you I imagine joy is the last thing you feel at least as far as Luke explained it to our children this morning if the joy you're looking for is just another word for happiness
[00:53:30] then you will be disappointed because those things come and go our feelings come and go based on our circumstances but the joy that we celebrate in Jesus Christ is again as Luke explained it to our children, the joy that we have every day of our lives isn't based on what
[00:53:51] today may be like or not. It's based on Jesus. It's based on His finished work. It's based on the fact that He is the fulfillment of all those promises that we've been looking at in the pages
[00:54:04] of the Old Testament. And what's more, He is the source and the fulfillment of all the promises that are yet to be fulfilled in our lives, particularly of His return.
[00:54:17] You see, biblical joy is rooted in what God has said and what God has done.
[00:54:23] Biblical joy is rooted in Jesus Christ, which means that if everything else is stripped away from you or from me, if we have Jesus, we have everything.
[00:54:36] And if we have Jesus, we still have joy because He who promised is faithful.
[00:54:43] And He will come back to us.
[00:54:47] And He will establish an eternal kingdom.
[00:54:50] And He will make His dwelling place with us.
[00:54:53] And His resting place shall be glorious.
[00:54:57] And you and I and all who look to Him in faith will share that glory.
[00:55:01] And will share that eternal joy.
[00:55:03] This is what we hold on to.
[00:55:05] Not only in the season of Advent, but every day of our lives.
[00:55:09] A joy unending in Jesus Christ.
[00:55:13] Let's pray together.
[00:55:14] our heavenly father we do thank you that the joy you offer your people is a joy that is rooted in our savior who is fully god and fully man the shoot and the root of jesse the lord and the son
[00:55:35] of david our messiah jesus christ emmanuel god with us and father we thank you that you have not overlooked your people in our miserable condition but you have stepped into history you have stepped into our lives
[00:55:52] and you have given us a new and living hope in Jesus Christ.
[00:55:57] Father, He is the source of our joy.
[00:56:01] He is the source of all of our hopes because He is the one who has accomplished the task for which you sent Him to seek and to save the lost and to restore what has been lost.
[00:56:15] Indeed, to restore to us your righteousness so that we might be Your dearly loved children.
[00:56:22] And we thank You, Father, that we know what awaits us in the end, this glorious resting place with You and with our Savior.
[00:56:34] Father, we pray that during this season and during the course of our lives, especially when our circumstances plague us and trouble us, that we will always hold on to Jesus Christ and the joy and the hope
[00:56:48] and the peace that we have in Him.
[00:56:51] And in the meantime, Father, our deepest prayer is that You would speed the day of His return.
[00:56:57] We pray this in Jesus' name.
[00:56:59] Amen.
[00:57:02] Indeed, our greatest longing is the return of our Savior Jesus.
[00:57:06] And that is the message of our closing hymn this morning.
[00:57:09] Stand with me as we sing number 196, Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus.

[00:57:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:57:16] Now receive God's blessing.

[01:00:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:00:54] May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ The love of God the Father Almighty and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all both now and forevermore. Amen.