Isaiah 11 :: December 4, 2016
Week #2: Spiritual Power
“Advent” means “coming.” Christmas is coming. Jesus has come and is coming again.
During this year’s Advent season, we are reflecting together on the ancient promise of the Messiah revealed in the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 11. Isaiah predicts:
[READ ISAIAH 11:1 AND RE-LIGHT FIRST CANDLE.]
Our first candle was a candle of persistent promise. Even though the dynasty of David had dwindled to almost nothing, God was still at work. A new king would arise, a tender shoot sticking up from the stump of Jesse.
Who will this king be? The next verse gives us a hint.
[READ ISAIAH 11:2 AND LIGHT SECOND CANDLE.]
Our second candle speaks of this promised ruler’s spiritual power.
Four times in one short verse, Isaiah tells us that the Spirit of the LORD will rest on this king, and he describes the Spirit as providing wisdom and understanding, counsel and power, knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
Clearly, this coming ruler will possess the Spirit of God in an unprecedented way.
Who will this king be? It must be Jesus!
In the gospel of John, Jesus said that the Father has given Him the Spirit “without limit.”
With all of that spiritual power at His disposal, how glorious will be the Messiah’s rule? The shoot from the stump of Jesse will not be tender and small forever. It will grow to be a powerful tree that will tower over the ages and never be toppled.
Rejoice! Because of the fullness of the Spirit, King Jesus will have everything He needs to rule in power and perfection forever.
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