As we continue our worship service this morning, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 9 And I'll be reading for you verses one through seven You want to keep your Bibles open as John moves to this text line by line verse by verse if you'll remember Last week he preached on Christmas begins in the darkness Today, he'll be preaching on the subject of the kingdom has come We are men and women who love the wisdom of God Therefore we are men and women who long to Velcro our lives To that wisdom as they are chapter nine verses one through seven Here the word of God Nevertheless, there'll be no more gloom for those who were in distress In the past he humbled the land of Zebulin the land of Napoli But in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles By the way of the sea along the Jordan verse two The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death the light has gone You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy. They rejoice before you as people rejoice that the harvests As men rejoice when dividing the plunder For as in the day of midiens the feet You have shattered the yoke that burdens them the bar across their shoulders the rod of their oppressor Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning will be fuel for the fire for six For to us the child is born to us the 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 government 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 The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish This Indeed, this is the word of God
It really doesn't need it. He knows it all anyway, so He's got it down Let's return to the passage we read with him just a moment ago from Isaiah chapter nine What you just heard from the choir was that not awesome? Well, you're going to hear that and much more at five o'clock this afternoon That's the reason we have the small pulpit here if you're visiting again. We're very glad you're here We pray that God has blessed you through this worship, but normally we have a huge pulpit here I walked in behind this pulpit last year This is a pulpit that was here when I first came to independent and that's it does seem small and One of our young people looked up at his mom He didn't just couldn't understand what quite had happened, but I just looked at me and he said Mom Mr. Sartel has gotten fat And that's a good thing because that means that the choir is singing tonight and I had the privilege of Being here last night at five and can hardly wait to five o'clock this afternoon when we meet again in here folks I don't know how they do it. It's just the best best ever So I will see you here at five o'clock this afternoon and we will hear the rest of what We just heard we've been in a study in the great chapters of the Bible We can't give us we've got so much to cover this morning that I want to stay away from a long introduction Suffice it to say we're in a study in the great chapters of the Bible. We've come to the advent season So we're looking at the great passages about the advent we were here last week in Isaiah chapter nine last part of chapter eight and We took the first part of that passage and have come this morning to for to us a child is born to us a son is given I will tell you that last week's message is inextricably entwined with this morning If you really want to get the foundation for it, you need to get the tape of last week's message But this morning as they denied six and seven those familiar words Let's pray and ask the God who spoke them and who spoke them to Isaiah 700 years before Christ was born and who's here this morning Let's ask him to make these words. We have heard so often Let's ask him to open them in such a way that we'll see them as we never have before Let's pray our Father. I'm empty. I don't have anything to say that can possibly help anyone here even many So Father I pray that you would fill me up I pray that we would hear the voice of Jesus Christ in this room in the next few minutes I can't speak so that we'll make any difference but Father. He can speak so that we'll make all the difference Father, you know these words are not rhetoric on my part. You know that I know them and Father I ask with all my heart That you would speak to us here this morning and to your name be the glory and to Jesus Christ The all the honor and glory Amen Thy kingdom has come Isaiah solved the utter devastation wrought by Syria in Israel especially in the northern most tribes of Zebians and Naftali just west of the Jordan Those tribes that abutted right up next to a Syria where a Syria came with the most wrath with the most cruelty with the most fury And the people there you can just hear them we would have been saying the same thing oh for the days of David Oh for the days when Israel was a great kingdom when no army dared to come against us That's what they were saying It was so dark So dark and they were so full-horn And in despair and God began to speak out to Isaiah about the dawn of a new day He said we saw it last week that a great light would come one day out of that very region Obsedulant in Naftali And you know what that region was it was the region of Nazareth It could burn them and so you know what light came from there And what light would it be it would be the king a King from David's lineage
You know when we read just the words of those two verses Look at Isaiah 6 and 7 when we read just those words for to us a child is born to us a son is given And we we don't read what we read last week and what came and what comes before it we really miss it When we read about the child born in the wonderful counselor Every year at Christmas and we so easily say well Isaiah was talking about Jesus You know what we've missed it. He was talking about Jesus We have missed the depth and we've missed the profound look at the entire scene These people were crushed they were looking for a king and a kingdom That would deliver them from the Assyrian that would deliver them from this oppression that would deliver them from this economic poverty They were looking for Deliverance and as they are told them a king was coming And he would come from that very region now
But more than a king Look at the verses and you'll see it For to us a child is born to us a son is given and what does it say in the government What does that mean and the government will be on his shoulders? You know what a government if he will be the government You read on and he will be called the wonderful counselor the mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace And then you see it again of the increase of his government There will be no end You see it wasn't only a savior that was coming The life that was coming was wasn't even just a king it was a kingdom was coming There would be a new kingdom and look at it read it all of the increases government and he says he will rain Rain what is that that's a government on david throne. What is that that's a government And over his kingdom again. He was just stressing. He was saying over and over and over again It's not just about a savior. It's not just about deliverance. It's about a government. It's about a kingdom You know, we sometimes laugh at the Nabite of the disciples done with you know all through Jesus ministry Once they began to understand that he was Messiah Messiah was supposed to start a kingdom and they kept saying when are you going to go to Jerusalem take the throne When are you going to throw Jerusalem and take the throne when are you going to go to Jerusalem and take the throne Write up to the very end read Acts 1 6 this afternoon Jesus is getting ready to assist was getting ready to ascend into heaven He had died. He had been raised and dead his work was done his ministry was done He's about to ascend into heaven and and what did his disciples asking they still don't get it entirely Jesus isn't now that you're going to restore your kingdom is it now that you're going to restore the kingdom and build the kingdom
Where did they get this?
You know if they wish to laugh at their naivety It's right there. They got it from Isaiah 9 and 6 and they got it on every other page of the Old Testament As God revealed and revealed more and more that this Messiah coming would be a king and he would bring a kingdom
You know what they were right in looking For the kingdom We need to stop this this laughter at their naivety Jesus was a king and he came to establish his kingdom turn with me to Matthew chapter 4 Matthew chapter 4 you must see this when Matthew wrote Matthew 4 12 through 17 He was thinking of the very words that we read this morning He was thinking of Isaiah he was thinking of Isaiah chapter 8 Isaiah chapter 9. I'll prove it to you Matthew chapter 4 verse 12 When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison He returned to Galilee here comes Jesus naivety to begin his ministry leaving Nazareth He went out and lived at the Pernum which was by the lake in the area of Zebulan and Nathalie He did this to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah the land of Zebulan and land of Nathalie The way to the sea along the Jordan the Galilee of the Gentiles The people living in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death the light is done Matthew said you know Jesus Was there in that Nazareth and by the way, Nazareth was in in Nathalie in Zebulan in that area But he went from Nazareth over to Capernaum And that was in the heart of Zebulan in Nathalie and so here's the light is coming to dawn and he said that's exactly what was happening He's speaking of Isaiah, but here's the beauty of it. I hope he hadn't left that passage The cause Then Matthew made another subtle connection looking verse 17 from that time on Jesus began to to to preach Repent and believe and have everlasting life. Is that what it says? No Jesus began to preach repent for the kingdom Is near He said I have come and the kingdom has arrived the kingdom of which Isaiah spoke You know The gospel the word gospel how many times is that mentioned in the New Testament 90 times that's important word in it gospel Do you know how many times the just kingdom of Christ is mentioned in the gospels Are in the New Testament 140 times it was a theme of Jesus ministry It was a theme of his preaching people the disciples understood more than we do They were looking for a kingdom and they should have been looking for a kingdom But they were looking for the wrong kind of kingdom We'll see that in a minute, but they understood more than we do at least They were looking for a kingdom and most of us We don't even know that the kingdom is here We don't even know there is a kingdom We're content to say you know I'm a Christian Jesus died from my sin and that's a huge thing to say
But Isaiah was saying something far more what if what if your eleventh grade son Did not know that he was a citizen of the United States? What if he was in eleventh grade and he did not know that he was a citizen of the United States and what did he say to you Dad, you know, I really don't dad mom it doesn't really doesn't matter whether I'm a citizen of China or Iran or North Korea or Germany or Brazil or Saudi Arabia You would give that son a quick lesson in us history And you would show him that he is a citizen of the greatest nation that ever existed in the world I really believe that's why that's what Christ would like to do to us Because he were children running around down here. We don't even know Who we are we don't even know where our citizenship is We say that we're Christians. We say Christ has died for us But we know nothing of that great kingdom in our citizenship there The truth is and this is sad that most evident at most evangelical Christians make more of being citizens of the United States than they do in being citizens of this kingdom and you know that's true
God told Isaiah about a king in his kingdom Has his kingdom really arrived in my citizen of that kingdom? Let's look at the king and his kingdom through the eyes of Isaiah First I want you to see the government of the kingdom the government of the kingdom first look at verse 6 For us a child is born to undress the sun is given and the government will be on his shoulders Well, what kind of government will it be? He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom now verse 6 proclaimed to the land that a prince had been born You know when a child's born in the palace a child's born a son has been given He was saying a prince has arrived And he'll be the foundation of the government and that government will be a kingdom What's the where did that word come from The kingdom is the king's domain king domain king domain it shortened the kingdom
Kingdom is the king's domain a kingdom is not a democracy folks Jesus doesn't pretend that his kingdoms are democracy. It's not The kingdom's not a republic. There will not be a paul human or a congress There will be no senators or judges to check The balance of power or to check his will This is the king's domain and the king alone rose
You know sometimes when we become Christians we think that we elected Jesus king I want we just say right at the beginning You did not elect him king. I didn't elect him king If you're not a Christian this morning You're here and in his christmas and maybe you're looking for honest answers to honest questions I'm gonna say to you Jesus is indeed Your king you don't want him to be your king You don't want to submit to his reign you don't want to submit to his law But nonetheless he's your king You see when When we become Christians We don't vote for him to be king. We don't elect him king of our lives We don't make him something that he was not already We bow to his sovereign kingship
We bow before the king Now the Bible does hang with his is really important the Bible speaks in two ways of the kingship of Christ There is the regum the regum Grahtia aren't you glad you came to church this morning You might make a hundred thousand dollars one time on a quiz show regum grahtia it means the kingdom of grace He's the king of grace and that refers to his kingdom as his people people who have sworn allegiance to him People whom he has gathered to himself Who bow the knee to his reign Now that's the kingdom that eyes of which eyes they have spoke But there's another kingdom There's then there's another way that the Bible speaks of his kingdom and his reign and his rule And it is the regnant potentiai the regnant the regnant potentiai And it means the kingdom of power and that refers to his rule over all the earth It refers to his rule over all the universe He touches the father I touched he touches the father a star out on the edge of the universe We touch that and he says that's man We touch our index finger and he says that's man A surgeon touched the rib In the rib cage is the operates and Jesus says that's mine too That's regum potentiai It's the king of the universe the king of power the king of grace and the king of power And now listen You know what He does not take off when when he is the king of grace the king over this This special kingdom that he's establishing and building His people When when he is when he is operating is that king he doesn't lay down his His king of power his regnant potentiai he doesn't let go of that and when he is as a regnant potentiai He doesn't lay down this regnant Gravia he's bowed He is bowed the king of the universe the king of power And the king of grace you know when I was in the sixth grade I had a teacher named Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Anderson was a thorough and excellent teacher And in the sixth grade I was not a thorough and excellent student And she her students or grading system was stripped And toward the first the in the first part of the year I did I did all right my parents it was not because Mrs. Anderson it was because My parents were fearsome And you couldn't make seas in my house and so I made A's and B's But toward the end of the year I began to fall away And I mean really fall away And I do a report card was coming and did it would be Hooray I mean well below seas I would be having grades my parents had never seen on my report card before And that just was not going to happen And so I devised a plan and when report card came sure enough I opened it and there was the worst report card I've ever received in my entire life And I deserve every bit of it and worse But on the way home on that long bus ride home I changed the grades And I did it excellently and thoroughly My parents were none the wiser The next day they signed my report card they said what a fine report card They I they signed it when I took it back I changed the grades back Now what was I doing I was trying to abrogate I was trying to short circuit Mrs. Anderson's authority in position is my teacher But you know what if you go to central junior high school in Pulaski, Virginia And you look up my grades you will indeed find that Mrs. Anderson had the last word not me You will find that she indeed was my teacher And it was nothing I could do about it
Well that's the way it is He is Regnan Gratigal He's Regnan Patentia He's King of Grace He's King of Power And we didn't elect him He holds that position It's a sad day I just Our society continues just to spiral downward in it I read something this week and saw something on television where there was this big celebration One of the net works was having and recording Where Hugh Hefner was seven deep something And And here's this celebration this this man We're celebrating the moral sewer I mean it would have somebody Developed a system where sewer was just being emptied into your house Would you celebrate that person there's something wrong with the society that does that There's something wrong with a network that does that
Here's Jesus And here's Hugh Hefner And we Would rather Hugh Hefner be in charge of our pleasure And Hugh Hefner be in a certain Charging in charge of a certain part of our lives In Jesus But who's King Who's King In Revelation chapter five remember there's that Seed in heaven and John begins to cry because here's the scroll and it's the title It's the title deed to all of earth in all of heaven Now who in John begins to cry because no one will come and take that title deed No one will come and take that scroll read it this afternoon is a touching passage in Revelation chapter five And then all of heaven begins to rejoice as the King of Judah As the King of kings and Lord of Lords stands And takes the scroll What am I saying I'm saying folks in the end it's not going to be Hugh Hefner taking the scroll If Jesus Christ himself the King of kings and Lord of Lords Remember when Jesus said at the end of his ministry what did he say he's talking about this regimen patitiate What do you say he said all authority has been given into me in heaven and on earth And God said that to no one else God gave that authority to no one else The government is a kingdom is a rule by King Secondly, I want you to see the reign of that kingdom of the increase of his government in peace look at verse seven there will be no end And then you at the end of the verse He will establish and uphold his kingdom from that time on and forever there will be no end Can you tell me can anyone tell me About the great main standard what was the great Roman standard that stood above them all the emblem That stood for Rome above all others can you describe can anyone here describe that emblem to me Tell you most others can probably none of us can 2000 years ago Rome's long gone that kingdom is long gone
In 2000 years from now if crisis not returned the American flag will be justice forgotten
That great hymn abide with me the second verse we sing change in decay in all around I see You know that's disturbing and we don't like to see the nation going in this direction We don't like to see the decline But even if we are in a nation that has turned us back on God even if we are a nation that's in decline We're citizens of the kingdom that will never ever ever decline
We're citizens of the kingdom where we can say The reign of the king and kingdom will be forever and ever and ever. I love to sing the national anthem I love our flag But one day the stars and stripes will lie in the dust of history and that flag will not fly in heaven One day someday somewhere I'll sing the national anthem for the last time But I'll sing the hymns of the kingdom forever and ever and ever and ever You know Sometimes we despair at the church just recently we've been shaken but I want you to know his kingdom is forever And his throne has not even quivered The government of the kingdom the reign of the kingdom the reign is forever the supremacy of the king Look at Isaiah 9.6 and he will be called wonderful counselor of the mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace Now what are those names about Richard Pratt calls those the pro names of God if you go back to the great eastern kings They had a habit and you'll see this you read you can read it in the ancient writing They would give the king's name and then they would give his throne names for someone like nebuchadnezzar for instance Who was the great king of Babylon it would have been builder of Babylon conquerer of nations And they would strung out a list of names that they were called throne names that exalted nebuchadnezzar Well here is the king who's come and these are his throne names His first one is wonderful counselor and some less those are listed as two names wonderful and counselor But I believe it's just one name wonderful counselor That means he's a heck of a counselor. That means he's a great strategist His plans and strategy will be beyond all expectations And this is what the disciples did not understand they understood he was a king They understood there was a kingdom, but they didn't understand the strategy of the wonderful counselor Who would have thought that the plan of the Messiah king would be a humiliating death of a Roman cross Who would think that his plan would Include the foolishness of preaching I'm here before you preaching that's a part of his plan that the preaching the gospel around the world That's his strategy That's his strategy who would have thought and then mighty god That's the word El Gabor El for god and Gabor means a hero the god hero the conquering god Who conquers with the power? And but what's his power is that a soul would know listen to first Corinthians 23 Paul is his conquering Corinth with the preaching of the gospel and he's writing back to the Christians of Corinth and reminding them how they were conquered And he says this that we preach Christ crucified a stumbling block for the Jews and absolute foolishness to the Gentiles But to those whom God has called both Jews and Greeks in his Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God the wisdom of God Being a strategy the power of God He conquers with the cross, you know Napoleon got it right Napoleon said that Jesus conquered with the cross Jesus conquered with the cross more men and women Then he the Napoleon and Caesar in Charlemagne and all the other great rulers of the earth all put together There has never been a ruler that is conquered more people and reign over more people on this earth than Jesus Christ And how did he conquer it was with the cross how did he conquer your soul it was with the cross How did he conquer my soul it was with the cross?
He did that as the regnum dratia the kingdom of grace the king of grace But also we must remember here that he is the regnum patentei He's the king of power turn with me to revelation 1911 We have seen him come with that cross in conquer, but one day He's coming in the consummation of history And he will conquer not with the cross and not with grace He will come as the regnum patentei look at verse 11 I saw a revelation 19 I saw this is awesome picture think about the babe and Bethlehem and Jesus on the cross and think about this I saw heaven standing open in there before me was a white horse whose rider is called faithful and true with justice He judges and who makes wars His eyes it makes war his eyes are like a blazing fire and only his head or many crowns Has a name written on him that no one knows but himself He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood in the name and his name is the word of God The armies of heaven were following him Riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen white and clean Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations you see it. It's a sword. It's time With this which to strike down the nations he will rule them with an iron scepter Didn't read these author words. He treads the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God almighty On his robe and on his thighs. He has a name written the king of kings and the lord of lords who is that That is Jesus of Bethlehem. That's Jesus of the cross. That's the king of kings in lord of lords That is the regnum patentei
The king of grace and the king of power Elgeborg God of power As they are listed in the third throne name everlasting father now this was a son How can it be the son of man and some of God and be called a father in the same way that George Washington is called the father in the United States If you know history you know that it is Probably a certain day that without George Washington there wouldn't have been A country like we have today In a real way and it's not Just a shallow idiom or cliche that we call him the father of our country in the same way Jesus is the father of his kingdom So last throne name was the prince of peace and this is the one I love I do not want to deal with revelation 19 or rev- yes the passage we read in revelation 19 I don't do with regnum patentei From heaven first before Jesus came with that fearful army with that name written on his thigh Well before he came in judgment he came with a cross he came with grace He came with blood and he washed his people play He claimed him for his own We must move on hurriedly The government of the kingdom the reign of the kingdom the supremacy of the kingdom fourthly. I want you to see the status of the kingdom Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end He will reign on david throne nobody's kingdom Establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on in favor of what time that time When Jesus arrived in Bethlehem the kingdom or the king had come when he came out of that wilderness preaching When John the Baptist had been put in prison the kingdom Had begun He was establishing his kingdom and that's what he's been doing for all the centuries That's what he's been doing in Memphis Tennessee That's what he's been doing it independent. That's what he's been doing a second That's what he's been doing all across this city all across the world this week Janet and I went to see last week Janet I went to see master in commander It's the story of a British Warship that that was sent in the 19th century across the Atlantic to the coast of South America to search out and destroy a larger French warship They chased that warship down the coast of South America They even went further. They went farther. They went around the cave and into the Pacific and there they are They have this great battle and in the smaller shipwins, but there's There's death And there's burial at sea and we're sitting there in the theater and and and hear these minutes so very realistic and hear these men and and you recognize it the burial at sea It's it's something that you would recognize today if you were on a navy warship and they had a burial at sea And they were reading something from the New Testament and then they stopped and said you what they said They stopped and prayed the Lord's prayer and we're sitting in the theater and no one thinks the thing about it And I lean over to Janet and I whisper Matthew 2414 and the gospel Jesus words and the gospel of this kingdom should be preached to the ends of the earth Even on a ship lost in the middle of the city. They don't know where they are in the 19th century It's the gospel going out to the ends of the earth God is establishing his kingdom and we're participants in that kingdom That's the exciting part about it. That's his strategy. It's not just the cross in the strategy It's not just the resurrection of the strategy It's not just that he conquers with grace and he conquers with forgiveness. That's a strategy But he conquers using crooked sticks like us. He conquers using centers like us. We're part of his kingdom And let me ask you question If you're raised under the kingship of Saddam Hussein if you're raised in his palace under his Lord's ship. What do you go look like? You think you're going to look the same if you were raised in the United States under the Constitution of the United States? No Our lives will show forth our lives will show forth The kingdom the which we belong If we belong to a kingdom like the kingdom has turned with me to Ephesians 2 We've got to look at this as For you Ephesians 2 and 1 as for you You were dead in your transgressions and sin in which you used to live when you followed the ways of the world and the rumor of the kingdom of the air He said you want to serve something and we did if we're without Christ If we have a sin nature and we're following after it doesn't mean that we go about sticking people with knives and are shooting with the guns We just kill them in our hearts. That's it You know if we go about and and we're about pride and self and materialism and how much I can get from me We're about the kingdom of this world and our lives are going to reflect that if we're in his kingdom You know what if you have a king? Whose names are wonderful counselor the mighty god never lasting father in the prince of peace If you have that kind of king it ought to be reflected in your life If that's our kingdom just just like if you know you raised under sedom You're going to be one way you raised under the constitution in the United States. You're going to be another way It's a great illustration We're participants in the establishments what the status of this kingdom That's what we're about. That's why we're here The government of the kingdom the reign of the kingdom supremacy the kingdom the status of the kingdom And then we come and this is We can't leave this Fifthly and finally the passion the passion of the king Look at verse 7 the zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this and maybe if you're not used to independent You're saying yeah That that preacher is really excited about this. He's you know he's Like he's fighting bees from a bee's nest or something You know what? We should all have that passion about his kingdom The zeal of the Lord Almighty how's this going to be accomplished? God has the light coming How's the dawn coming how's the sun the child going to be given in the sun going to to grow and reign and down the cross How's that going to happen the zeal of the Lord of hugs will accomplish this?
Oh There's a you want to know about his zeal Listen to this and Isaiah 59 19 just listen. He put on righteousness as his breast place talking about God He put on righteousness as his breastplate and the helmet of salvation on his head He put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal like a clock What's the cloak Jesus wears the zeal and what's his passion about is the passion for his kingdom
You know we Presbyterians we love knowledge We love theology that we stay away from the zeal business Jesus is jealous. He's passionate about his kingdom That's what kept him on the cross when he was humiliated there and beaten by those Roman soldiers and spit on why Why would he endure that it was a zeal for his kingdom He has a passion for his kingdom We want to have a president that is passionate Zealous about the United States and the people of this land and about the Constitution Well, Jesus is wrapped in a cloak of zeal for his kingdom
My father Was a Marine he landed in the first way for the wujima and Sometimes I would hear of say I love I love the glory of the Marine Corps if he did
But then he would stop and he would say even more I love the glory of his kingdom if Jesus is that zealous about his kingdom How zealous should we pay about his kingdom the kingdom The kingdom our hymn is hymn number 297 We're going To sing stanzas one three four and five of this great hymn one three four and five two ninety seven