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The Presence of the Future II
October 26, 2003
This morning, I’d like to continue where we left off last week in our series on the Kingdom of God.
-Remember, that wherever Jesus went, as we see inLuke 8:1, He proclaimed“the Good News of the Kingdom of God.”
-And so, with His first public sermon stating that the Kingdom was at hand…
-With Jesus preaching this same message of the Kingdom wherever He went… with nearly every single parable having to do with the Kingdom… with all of his miracles testifying to the presence of the Kingdom…
-Certainly, if this message was so central to Jesus, than it needs to be central in our lives as well.
We said last week that when Jesus opened that scroll from Isaiah, announcing that the Kingdom of God was at hand, the Jews with him there in the Synagogue understood just what He was saying.
-And so, what I’ve tried to do over the past few weeks… and this morning as well… is to trace back through the OT Scriptures at those pivotal events, those windows in history thathad shaped the Jewish understanding of the Kingdom.
-And the reason I want to do this is because it can give us such a fuller understanding of what the Kingdom is all about.
-Through the Exodus Narrative, we learn about a Yahweh… that Sovereign, Creator God who called Himself, “The One who Always Is”… that the “One who always Is has broken into the present… broken into history in order to intervene in history”… to restore His children back to Himself.”
-Through this window in the Exodus narrative, we see the clash of two kingdoms… the counterfeit kingdom of Satan whose intent is to enslave humanity… and the Kingdom of God, come to restore humanity back to the joy and intimacy of the Garden.
-And when these two kingdoms collide… God always wins!
-So, in the picture of the coming Kingdom, we see that our Father God… our Warrior God… has broken into the present… to be our Emmanuel… God with us.
I. The Davidic Monarchy
This morning, I want to look through two more windows we’re given in the OT, which gave shape to the Jewish understanding of the coming Kingdom. The First is the David Monarchy… that “Golden Age of Israel” led by King David and King Solomon after him.
-While there are so many passages we could look at, I want to look at just a few… the first of which is in Psalm 2, known as the Messiah’s Song.
-Psalm 2 begins with all the kingdoms of this world (not just Egypt) rising up not only against the Lord, who is the Highest King. But also against His anointed one, David.
-Then in verse 4 God says, “the One enthroned in heaven laughs… you are coming against me?! You have no idea who you’re dealing with… you see, I have installed David as king in Zion… on my holy hill.”
-What we learn here is that God is no longer going to speak to Israel through a prophet like Moses, but rather, He is going rule from heaven through His representative king, whom he has established on earth.
-And so God anoints David as King and puts His Holy Spirit on Him… God reigning from His Heavenly Throne… and David reigning as God’s representative king… anointed by God to be the One to restore God’s people to their Heavenly Father.
By the way, some of you might have thought that this passage in Psalms was speaking about Jesus, the Messiah. Well… it is!
-Again, what God is giving us here is a sign… a “window” into the coming Kingdom… a window through which you can anticipate God’s ultimate King and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
-We see this expressed in 2 Samuel 7:5 where Nathan the prophet comes to David and says, “David, God is going to build you a house and a dynasty… a line of kings that will never end. And the anointing of the Spirit won’t just be for you… but for generation after generation.”
-And what would David do with that “house”? We read that this “House of David”, which housed the Ark of the Covenant, was had become a place of worship. In fact, we read that there was unbroken worship 24/7 for some 36 years! (a generation)
Then, in chapter 8, you see that David goes out as God’s “warrior king” to subdue all the nations who took for themselves the land He had originally given to Joshua.
-All those nations (or kingdoms) who rose up against God were put down…
-And so, because of this, we read in verse 15 that “David reigned over all of Israel… bringing justice and righteousness to his people… doing what was just and right toward the people.”
-So, now that God had restored back to Israel the land He had promised them, He would now allow David’s son, Solomon, to lead Israel into the next part of story.
In 1 Kings 4 we see this incredible picture of Israel thriving. In verses 20 we read, “The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore
-It was a time of multiplication… where His people were as numerous as the sand of the seashore… just as Abraham had been promised before him.
-Then we read in the next verse that…“They ate, they drank and they were happy. And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.”
-Basically, party time had come to the People of God, whose presence extended all the way to the borders of Egypt… all because God’s anointing was on them.
-In the next bunch of verses, we read about all the blessings that came on Israel through their king.
-Just look at that list! The magnificence of His court was so great that the daily provision was beyond belief… and why?
-The next verse explains why… “For He ruled over all the kingdoms west of the river and had peace on all sides.”
You see, because the kingdom had come, there was peace and abundance.
-This was Jesus’ promise to us in John 10:10 that He has come that we might have life… and that we might have it abundantly!
-The passage goes on to say that during Solomon’s lifetime, Judah and Israel lived in safety… each man under his own vine and fig tree.
-During this entire generation, there was Shalom! It wasn’t just the king who had this abundance, but every family… the whole nation… was living in the reality of Shalom.
-But Shalom wasn’t only about peace and abundance… but about God’s undisputed rule.
Then, in chapter 10, in the midst of this golden era of the Kingdom coming on the people of God, the Queen of Sheba comes to visit Solomon and his people.
-Once she gets there, she’s blown away by what she sees. She then says to Solomon, “Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD's eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness."
-She knew where this Shalom came from... the rule of God breaking in on earth through the Davidic Monarchy of David and Solomon.
-She then says, “I praise your God”… and she begins to worship Yahweh herself.
-In fact, throughout this section of Scripture describing this Golden Era… what we always see is worship… the People of God worshipping God… naming His name as above all other names.
As we look at these windows into the Kingdom, we see the Presence of the Future… in that we are able to experience in part, what we will one day experience in full.
-When the Kingdom comes, there is peace, spiritual authority… Shalom! It may be some time till we join the party in Heaven… and so, He brings the party to us… inviting us to join with Him and one another as His people.
II. The Prophetic Promises
Unfortunately, that earthy party didn’t last beyond that generation. The people of Israel and Judah began turning their back on God. Now, in the book of Kings and Chronicles, we see a succession of kings who “did evil in the sight of the Lord.”
-Unlike David and Solomon who lifted up the name of the Lord, these kings were interested only in making a name for themselves.
-So, through this period God raise up prophets to warn them… calling on them to repent. But instead they continued to turn on God and began worshipping Baal in more and more detestable ways.
-Prophet after prophet came to warn them… but no one listened.
-Eventually, the judgment of God had to fall… and Israel was invaded and subdued by the Assyrians… and then the Babylonians… returning the nation back to their bondage…. Where Babylon becomes the new Egypt.
In the midst of this very dark and hopeless situation, people began asking themselves if God, who had broken into the present, was still present!
-“We remember the times of Moses and David… but where’s the Kingdom now?”
-Into this the prophet Isaiah begins painting a picture like no other prophet before him ever painted.
-(Through His earthly ministry, Jesus quotes Isaiah more than any other prophet of the OT. Both Isaiah and Daniel are key in helping us understand the reality of the Kingdom of God.)
-What Isaiah spoke to the people of Israel was that Yahweh, the “becoming present God who intervenes”, will again bring His Kingdom… but this time it wont be a repeat of the past…
-In fact, it will be greater than anything before it.
-Of course, the other prophets speak to this coming Kingdom, and yet, the picture Isaiah is going to paint for us here is like the Imax version of what everyone else is saying.
-Imagine watching the TwinTowers on a 9” kitchen TV. You can’t. Isaiah knew that He would have to use the literary equivalent of an 80’ screen with hundreds of speakers.
Isaiah begins by saying, “Just as Yahweh came in the past, so He will come again.” But this time He will come in such an amazing way that the sun will get embarrassed (24:27) because it will not be able to compete with the Brightness of His Glory.
-He will come with such glory and power that He will never have to repeat it… prophesying to the final coming of God.
-Isaiah also says that a descendent of David will come… greater than David ever was.
-We read about texts such as Isaiah 9:6, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his rule and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”
-We read about this never ending throne in places such as chapter 11 when it speaks of that shoot that will come up from the stem of Jesse. The Jews there in captivity are in bondage… the beautiful tree that is Israel has been cut down.
-But now, there’s a shoot growing out of that trunk… Isaiah calls Him the King of Righteousness that all nations will rally to.
-We read about Him in Isaiah 53:2..7
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground… 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
And Isaiah 42:5-9
5 This is what God the LORD says-- he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind,to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
8 "I am the LORD; that is my name!I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have taken place,and new things I declare;before they spring into being
I announce them to you."
But Isaiah not only describes the Coming of Jesus, the Anointed One… but using such incredibly poetic language, he describes the coming of the Holy Spirit as well… the One who will come like the rain… flood like the rivers.
-He speaks about how the Spirit, like the rain, will fall on the dry wilderness and how the wilderness will blossom into flowers… and that the wilderness becomes like a huge forest.
-Can you imagine this for NJ?! Yes!
-He says, “forget all that has happened before… I will do a new thing… I will pour out My Spirit on My people!”
-Look at Isaiah 44:3-8
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. One will say, 'I belong to the LORD'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and will take the name Israel. 6 "This is what the LORD says-- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. 7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people (THAT’s WHAT WE’RE DOING THIS MORNING), and what is yet to come-- yes, let him foretell what will come. 8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?(Do you see our belief in the Trinity coming across here?!”
The Book of Isaiah is overwhelming. In it, Isaiah announces the Good News that God will come to save and comfort His people. The people will, according to Isaiah 60, “arise and shine because the glory of God has come to them!
-Isaiah also tells us that when God comes, He will also pour out His Spirit, bringing salvation to His people!
-Isaiah 41:9-10 says, “I have chosen you and have not rejected you. 10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;”
-For Isaiah, salvation relates to the whole spectrum of God’s mercy, love, worship, intimacy, friendship, mercy, and peace…
-For Isaiah, salvation is “Shalom”! The kind of Shalom we were created, as God’s people, to have in the Garden.
For Isaiah, Salvation includes:
- Total Forgiveness: “I, even I, am He who blots your transgressions, for my own sake, who remembers your sins no more.” FOR HIS OWN SAKE!!! 43:25
- Salvation: “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” 12:2-3
“In that day the heir to David’s throne (Jesus) will be a banner of salvation to all the world… the nations will rally to Him, for the land where He lives will be a glorious place.” 11:10
- Freedom: “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a dear, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” 35:5-6
- God liberates His people once and for all from ALL bondage!
- “Never again will there be an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not live out his years.” 65:20
- Peace: “In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard and the goat will be at peace. Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions, and a little child will lead them all!” 11:6
- Joy & Praise: “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all people, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines..” 25:6
- This part will end all parties… so that even Solomon’s table is like a child’s play!
“Everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.” 51:11