Our Lord Jesus is the Righteous Branch. Isaiah explains what His ministry will achieve
Isaiah 11: The Righteous Reign of the Branch
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
2 And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear,
4 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 kill the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them.
7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9 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.
10 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.
11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
12 He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west, and together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them.
15 And the LORD will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt, and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching breath, and strike it into seven channels, and he will lead people across in sandals.
16 And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that remains of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.
Isaiah 12: The LORD Is My Strength and My Song
1 You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O LORD, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.
2 "Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."
3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
4 And you will say in that day: "Give thanks to the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 "Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.
6 Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel."
Things to think about…
The “Shoot from the stump of Jesse”, Isa 11:1 is misinterpreted as David by the Jews. The Branch is mentioned here again. This Branch refers to David’s greater Son - Jesus. Jesus confirmed this when He said to the Jews “If David then calls Him Lord, how can He by his son”, Mt 22:45. Our Lord raises a good point.
“Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist”, Isa 11:5, we know David struggled with this concept at times, but Jesus had it as a title – “The LORD our Righteousness”, Jer 23:6. Through Christ we have the righteousness of God, 2Cor 5:21.
The rest of Isa 11 from verse 6 onward “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb…” describes a scene that has only been seen in the Garden of Eden and not seen since. I don’t believe Isaiah is describing something allegorical but literal. This period is referring to Christ’s literal reign on the earth from Jerusalem in the millennial reign.
Isaiah 11:12ff is happening in our day. The Jews are returning to Israel, “from the four corners of the earth”, vs 12. Note that Israel will be a united land. It will not be divided on the east or the west. The two-state solution is refuted here and in other places in the OT. It is not a biblical concept and so as Christians our prayer should still be your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. This encompasses the gospel primarily going to ever soul on the earth, but also a fulfillment of OT prophecy regarding the land of Israel.
I believe Isaiah 12 is describing what the Apostle Paul describes in Romans 11 where he says all Israel will be saved. While this will be a turbulent time for Israel the ultimate end is peace with the earthly reign of Christ from Jerusalem. But this should be Christ’s ministry among us now. As Isiah says “let this be made known among all the earth”.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Cell groups on break.
Prayer Points
1. Our Lord’s blessing over this year’s programs and outreach.
2. Those returning from holidays.
3. Victorian parliament discussing gay conversion therapy, antichristian bill next month.
3. America. Pray for truth, grace and peace. Especially the next 2 weeks.
4. Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
5. Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
6. The 2 positions:- Youth and Young Adults Coordinator and Children’s Coordinator we are recruiting for in 2021.
Praise Points.
1. Able to stream with the lockdown. Thanks Rin
2. First Café roof drawings have been completed.
3. All those who served in 2020 – Especially Dan Anderson, Helen and Steve Hawkins , Angelo, Rod and muso’s, Murray Aitchison, Yuki and many, many others. Thankyou. The elders and their families have been a great support to me this last year.
4. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
5. Visitors over the holiday period.
Announcements
1. Must wear a mask to church and during church service this Sunday morning.
2. Combined church prayer meeting. Beacon Baptist Sun 31stJan 5pm Beacon Baptist Church, Brassall.
3. Please consider signing the petition to continue prayer in Qld parliament so that we stem the tide of influences that are currently overtaking the Victorian Parliament. Petition link here - https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/.../petition-details...
4. Seeking Youth and Young Adults Coordinator – 2 days per week as well as a Children’s ministry Coordinator – 1 day per week.
5. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
