Kingdom Come

Lent - Preparing for Messiah The King is Coming Isaiah 32:1-4 Introduction I want to take you back to the time of 20 AD. Now, of course, in those years, they weren't called AD. Jesus had not revealed himself, yet. He had not preached sermons nor had he healed anyone, that we know of. He was a simple carpenter, living in the backwater town of Nazareth. But he was praying, studying, and he was preparing for his "time". All around the region there were rumors, there were quiet discussions, the time for his arrival, as prophesied by Daniel had arrived. In fact, many people had come claiming to be Messiah, but each of them in turn had been killed in their uprising, and their disciples scattered to the four winds. They made a big splash, but nothing lasted. In those days, the words of the prophets were repeated over and over. The people studied and anticipated. They felt it in their spirit, "something is getting ready to happen." But then, their parents had experienced the same thing. Where would he come? How would he come? Which of us would be willing to join his army and overthrow the bonds of slavery from the imperial force? Who is Messiah? Do I know him? Have I seen him already? This is the climate that surrounded the years just preceding 30 AD, when we believe that Jesus left his home and began preaching, healing, and announcing the Kingdom of God. Of course, the Kingdom was different than most had anticipated. It was greater than they could imagine, and yet it was smaller, as well. It was greater for it was not contained in the land of promise, the strip of desert and mountains in the Middle East. It was smaller, too, because it did not manifest itself directly into the political arena of the day. It was something different than almost everyone had conceived. Scripture: Isaiah 32:1-2 See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. Kingdom Come? If you only read this passage, could you have predicted the Jesus we know and love from the Gospels? It would be difficult. It certainly feels like there would be elected (selected, installed) a good man on the seat of power in the most high places of authority in the land. We know and understand that everything in that former statement was true except, in the land. Jesus comes to Israel and tells them, "My kingdom is not from this world." They had no concept of the spiritual world, like we do. They had no idea that there was going to be a great joining together between the natural and the spiritual. They had no idea that God was going to come in the flesh, that the Kingdom of God was anything except a Jewish thing. But that is exactly what Messiah would bring: righteousness and justice. Now, with all of the discussion in our culture about justice, can I tell you that humanity can never initiate real justice. From a human frame of reference, Justice should be blind, but far too often, we are simply blind to our own injustice. This is not a white problem or a black problem, it is a human problem. Humanity, in its sinful state is selfish, and therefore unable to bring justice. Every movement for justice has unknowingly or unwittingly been co-opted by over swinging the pendulum. It is the story of Robin Hood, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. But of course, then the rich become poor and the poor become rich. And once the powerless have power, they use it, wield it, and exploit it to their own advantage. It has been that way from the fall, and will continue until the second coming. Pictures of Kingdom Rule There are three pictures in this passage that describe for us what Kingdom rule will be like: 1. Shelter from the wind 2. Streams in the desert 3. Shade from the piercing sun. Let's look at each of these as a function of Messiah, of the Kingdom, of Holy Spirit 1. Shelter from the wind. Just a couple of weeks ago, it was brutally cold. And yet, even in the cold, the dog still had to go outside. As I journeyed into the sub zero temperatures and howling winds, I made sure to stay close to the house so that the wind was not full on. We sometimes find ourselves needing shelter from the winds. On occasion it is refreshing to stand in the wind and let it blow. But how nice it is to be able to escape. From a spiritual perspective, the winds of culture often blow against the church and the people of God. The prophet is reminding us that Jesus is a shelter from the wind of changing culture. The Kingdom of God helps to keep us from the blistering blustery changes. 2. Streams in the Desert. The story has been told many times about a man who came upon an old fashioned hand pump well in the desert. Sitting next to it was a bottle of water. A note attached to the bottle said, "Do not drink this water, use it, instead, to prime the well. Then, drink all the water you want, but, replace the water in this bottle for the next person who comes along and is thirsty. There are times in our lives when we are dry and uninspired. But Jesus promised us that he would provide springs of living water inside of us. The Holy Spirit is our pump primer. Because we have the Holy Spirit God can bring water out of the driest environments, out of wilderness experiences God shows us just how refreshing his presence can be. 3. The shadow of a great rock. When we were hiking in the Grand Canyon, during the summer of 1986, There are very few trees capable of producing much shade. And in much of the area, the landscape is desert like. There is a place along the South Rim of the canyon called Hermit's Rest. The Hermit lived all alone in that place, but he lived in the shadow of a mighty rock, a cave, that enabled him to escape the extreme heat of the day and the extreme cold of the night. The difference between sun and shade can feel 10-15 degrees cooler. It isn't really, but it feels that way because solar radiation heats our skin, clothes and cars. The hymn writer referred to the cross of Jesus as the "shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land. A home within the wilderness, a rest along the way, from the burning of the noontide heat and the burden of the day." When life gets weary, when the load weighs heavy upon us, when the heat of the moment threatens to scorch our testimony, God provides some places of solace and rest. He always has, he always will. Invitation Through the promise of God and the righteousness of King Jesus, we can shelter from the winds of social change, be refreshed by the living water in the wilderness, and find relief from the scorching rays of the trials of life in the shadow of the cross of Jesus. God has made a way for us to overcome the obstacles of life, especially sin. If you would like to have these resources at your disposal, I invite you to make Jesus your savior, make Jesus your Lord and King. He will help you overcome your storms, your deserts, your thirst. 3