Click here to get a copy of RealAudio
Click here to get a copy of RealAudio
SM1149: On-Line
Teaching Notes
ISAIAH 11:1-2
Before we move into Isaiah chapter 11, let me give you the background for what is going to be said. In Isaiah chapter 10 God is telling His people in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, that the Assyrians won't wipe them out, that these tall mighty trees will be cut down. And that is exactly what happened. The Assyrians made some headway into the Southern Kingdom of Judah, but God answered king Hezekiah's prayer, and in one night the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, sending the rest home fleeing for their lives.
Now this also has a future fulfillment as the antichrist and his forces will be cut down. Yes, they will oppress the people of God, the Jews, for a time, but a remnant will be brought through the fire and the antichrist and his forces will be cut down. It is as Isaiah says, "Behold, the Lord, The LORD of hosts, Will lop off the bough with terror; Those of high stature will be hewn down, And the haughty will be humbled. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One." Isaiah 10:33-34.
It is out of this that we see the promise of God come forth. The fulfillment of what God promised to Israel, promised to David, come to pass. And thus, we read in Isaiah chapter 11, beginning in verse 1...
ISAIAH 11:1-2
"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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 of the fear of the LORD."
If you remember, the house of David was cut off because of the idolatry that they had joined themselves with. A curse was placed on the royal line because it had become so corrupt. But out of this stump that was left, we see a branch come forth. Out of this dead piece of wood came forth life. And that branch that grew out of this stump was Jesus Christ, from the tribe of Judah, the house of David.
And what we see working in the life of Jesus is the seven fold working of the Holy Spirit. In Revelation 4:5 we read, "And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." Not seven Holy Spirits, but the fullness of the Spirit upon the life of Jesus.
Now the New Testament gives us a clear picture of what took place prior to Jesus beginning His earthly ministry. In Matthew chapter 3, beginning in verse 13, we read, "Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?' But Jesus answered and said to him, 'Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'" Matthew 3:13-17.
Now prior to Jesus beginning His earthly ministry the Holy Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, why? Because when God became man He freely emptied Himself of some of His Godly attributes. In Philippians 2:7 we read of Jesus that He "...made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men." In The Amplified Bible this verse is translated that Jesus "...stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being."
That phrase "made Himself of no reputation" is the Greek word KENNO which means "emptied himself of his privileges". Now don't get the idea that Jesus ceased being God when He became flesh. Not at all. He was 100% God and 100% man in the incarnation, and I know that is 200%, but that is what the Scriptures say and what I believe, even though I may not completely understand it with my finite mind.
Now why would Jesus want to or have to empty Himself of some of His Godly Attributes? I believe He was showing us that a person who has surrendered his life to do the will of the Father, who is empowered by the Holy Spirit can do awesome things for the glory of God.
Turn to John chapter 14, and lets read through verses 12-18, and then we will go back and expound on them. Jesus, as He was preparing His disciples for His death, said to them beginning in verse 12, "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." John 14:12-18.
VERSE 12
In verse 12 Jesus is saying that He is leaving, that He is returning to the Father, and all that they saw Jesus do, all the works, they will do greater. Now, understand that Jesus is not speaking of greater in quality for in John 13:16 Jesus said "...a servant is not greater than his master..." Then what was Jesus speaking of? He was saying that His disciples will do greater works in regards to scope and quantity. You see, Jesus, in His earthly ministry was limited in being at one place at a time. But now, through His disciples, He can work through them in a greater scope and touching more lives around the world.
VERSES 13-14
Now as we move to verses 13-14, these are some of the most misunderstood and misapplied verses in the Bible. The "name it claim it" preachers focus in on these verses and say that all you need to do is ask by faith anything you want, and God is forced to give it to you, for there is power in your words and whatever you speak you will get. And you see, this becomes like a magic formula. You would pray "Lord I want a million dollars!" or "Lord, I want a new car!" and then you place the tag that will get you what you want, that will seal the deal, "In the name of Jesus!" How foolish!
When we ask in the name of Jesus we are asking in His place, something He would ask for, something that would bring the Father glory. Jesus prayed for others, He placed them first. And He also prayed for Himself, with the focus always being the Fathers will and not His own that would be done.
And I know that the faith teachers believe that asking according to the will of God is a big cop out, it is wrong, and that we should name and claim anything and everything we want, but they are wrong. In fact the Scripture points this out very clearly when John said in I John 5:14-15, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
You see, man is self-centered, and we as Christians are to be others centered. And even when we ask for ourselves, we are asking just as if Jesus were asking. If we do, it makes it very difficult to ask out of selfish desires, trying to build up your kingdom here on earth instead of building up the kingdom of God.
VERSE 15
Now in verse 15 Jesus is saying that our love for Him is displayed by our obedience to His Word, and that means you need to have a love for God's Word that draws you into it, asking God to show you His truths for your life.
VERSES 16-17
Jesus has been talking about His departure, that He is going away, but He is not going to leave His disciples alone. Jesus tells us in verses 16 and 17 that He is going to send us "another helper" that will remain with us and never leave us.
This "helper" or "comforter" comes from the Greek word PARAKLETOS which means "called alongside to assist." The Holy Spirit was to help them, assist them. Then, Jesus asks the Father to send His Holy Spirit to indwell them. You see, in the Old Testament times the Holy Spirit came upon certain individuals to empower them for service. And thus, the Holy Spirit could leave them. That is why David prayed in Psalm 51:10-11, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me."
We can never pray that prayer as Christians, for as Jesus said, the Holy Spirit will abide with us forever! In fact, Paul said in Romans 8:9, "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." In other words, if you don't have the Holy Spirit, you are not saved!
A couple of more important points before we move on. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will be "with" us and "in" us, two different Greek prepositions are used.
PARA is the Greek word that speaks of the Holy Spirit dwelling WITH us. That speaks of the time prior to our conversion when the Holy Spirit is convicting us of our sin and pointing us to the Savior, Jesus Christ.
The second Greek preposition is EN which speaks of the Holy Spirit dwelling IN us. This occurs at the time of our conversion, the time of our salvation when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our life. At that point the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and Paul points this out when he said in I Corinthians 6:19, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"
There is also a third Greek preposition that speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit found in Acts 1:8, which says "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The Greek word is EPI and it speaks of the Holy Spirit coming upon us or empowering us to be witnesses of Him.
Three functions of the Holy Spirit in the world, to draw people to Christ, to fill them at the time of salvation, and to empower them for service. That is what Jesus was going to leave us with.
Now don't get the idea that the Holy Spirit is some impersonal force, like the Jehovah Witnesses try to teach. The Holy Spirit can be grieved, lied to, resisted, He speaks, He teaches, and-so-on. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity, and is God!
When Jesus said that He would send "another helper" to us, He used the Greek word ALLOS, in speaking of the Holy Spirit. That Greek word means "another of the same kind." Jesus could have used a different Greek word, HETEROS which speaks of "another of a different kind", but He didn't. Why?
Because the comforter, the Holy Spirit which was going to be sent to His disciples after His departure, was exactly like Jesus, and thus, He is God! He has the same attributes, qualities as Jesus and the Father, although His work is different, as was the work of Jesus. As Paul said in II Corinthians 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen." Paul speaks of the three persons of the Trinity as one God, and they are!
VERSE 18
And now, in verse 18 Jesus says that He is not going to leave his disciples as orphans, He was not going to abandon them, leave them alone, leave them helpless and hopeless, but was going to send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to be with them.
For 3 1/2 years Jesus was with His men, day in and day out, but now He was going to leave. But in his absence, the Holy Spirit, who is exactly like Jesus, who is God, will come to assist them. You see, the Holy Spirit did not come to work instead of us, or in spite of us. The Holy Spirit came to work in us and through us!
Let me read this section in John chapter 14 from The Amplified Bible, and with the background I have given you, this should drive home the point in what we as Christians possess. We read:
"I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father. And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son. [Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as presenting all that I Am]. If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever - The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, desolate, bereaved, forlorn, helpless]; I will come [back] to you." John 14:12-18.
Now that is a long introduction to what I want to get at in Isaiah chapter 11, specifically verse 2. Lets read through that verse again to refresh our memory. We read, "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 of the fear of the LORD."
Jesus said in John 14 that what He possessed for the work He did, He was giving to us so that we can do the work that God has called us to do. And that of course is the Holy Spirit and here in Isaiah we see the complete work of the Holy Spirit or the fullness of the Spirit at work in the life of a believer. These are the things that we have at our disposal through the Holy Spirit.
But, one of the problems is illustrated to us by this story. At St. Margaret's Bay, in the southeast of England, there is a well that is always covered by the sea at high tide. But, strangely enough, the water in this well remains fresh and pure. It has not be contaminated by the briny waters of the sea. You see, this well is fed from the hills above, it has a constant supply of fresh water pouring into it, which effectively prevents the ocean from flowing in.
I think we can allow the things of this world to contaminate our lives if we are not constantly being filled by the refreshing waters of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus is our example, as the Holy Spirit came upon Him, Jesus was able to say "I always do those things that please Him." as He spoke of the Father. John 8:29.
We have that same Spirit working in us, and we can look to Jesus as our example. Lets look at this seven fold working of the Holy Spirit so we can apply what God has for us into our lives.
1. THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD SHALL REST UPON HIM
As believers the Holy Spirit will come upon us, fall upon us, EPI is the Greek word in the New Testament, to empower us for the work, to empower us to be witnesses of Him. If we don't go in the power of the Spirit, we will be like a firecracker that is a dud! Lots of excitement and anticipation, but in the end it just fizzles out without a bang, without any impact!
2. THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM
Wisdom is the application of the truths of God. It is not just a bunch of head knowledge, but it is allowing the Holy Spirit to let the Word of God sink deep into our hearts and transform out lives. In I Corinthians 1:30 we read, "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God; and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." If you want wisdom, come before the Lord, and He will give you what you need. It is as Proverbs 9:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom..." When you apply the truths of God into your life, not just the things you like, then you are wise. When you don't, then you are a fool!
3. THE SPIRIT OF UNDERSTANDING
This is speaking of spiritual discernment, knowing what is right and what is wrong, what is of God and what is not of God. How is this done? Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." Allow the Spirit of God to teach you all truth according to the Word of God.
4. THE SPIRIT OF COUNSEL
I see this in two aspects. First of all God has a predetermined plan for our lives and we need to be sensitive to that plan, to walk in the Spirit and to be guided by the Spirit, as Paul said in Ephesians 1:11-12. We read, "In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory."
Secondly, what God has given to us we can give back to others, words of comfort, hope encouragement, counsel, and-so-on. What the Holy Spirit gives to us we can impart to others.
5. THE SPIRIT OF MIGHT
I think this speaks of the victorious life we have in Christ. Paul said in Philippians 3:10, "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." Too often we walk around as defeated Christians, when we should be walking in the power of the Spirit in victory!
6. THE SPIRIT OF KNOWLEDGE
It is as Paul said in I Corinthians 2:11-12, "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." God, by His Spirit, has reveled to us the things we need to know in this life.
7. THE SPIRIT OF THE FEAR OF THE LORD
This speaks of our reverence towards God. Jesus always did those things that pleased the Father, and as our example, and by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, we should do the same. It is as Proverbs 15:33 says, "The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility."
I think all of us desire the fullness of God's Spirit in our lives, for we surely need it! And understand this, it is not that we need more of the Spirit, but the reality of the situation is we need to let the Spirit of God have more of us! We need to submit ourselves to His guiding, His direction. If you do, you will see what God has planed, what He can do through you as He works in you.
This morning, as I bring this study to a close, I want you to think about these words, for they are very applicable to what we have talked about this morning. Years ago there was an American with an English gentlemen and they were viewing the Niagara whirlpool rapids. And the American said to his friend: "Come, and I'll show you the greatest unused power in the world." And he took his English friend to the foot of Niagara Falls, "There", he said, "is the greatest unused power in the world!" "Ah, no my brother, not so!" was the reply. "The greatest unused power in the world is the Holy Spirit of the living God!"