Isaiah 11:1-10 (ESV)

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.

Intro: When did you last experience antagonism?

THE PROBLEM OF ANTAGONISM
Why is the work of the Messiah so radical?

THE GRACE OF THE KING
How does Jesus combine unlikely elements in His kingdom?

MESSIAH’S PEACE
How does the reign of Jesus’ Grace break the spell of all death and antagonism?

YOU CAN PRAY WITH US …
1 - Worship the LORD for His wisdom to save us through Christ’s own weakness and death. Praise Him, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for His miraculous love that would motivate Him to undergo that for us.

2 - How do you live as if Christianity is a religion for the strong? Confess your arrogance to Jesus for thinking you know better than Him, asking Him to forgive you and heal you from your pride.

3 - Give thanks to Jesus for His power to bring life even out of death. Thank Him for dying to comfort to break the power of selfishness and suffering death and condemnation to atone for all of our sins!

4 - Who do you know that claims to trust Jesus yet is profoundly different from you and your values? Pray for them, asking the Lord to help you both pursue Jesus even more and therefore grow closer to them as well.

5 - Ask the Holy Spirit to mature you and grow you in the influence you exert as Jesus’ representative in our city. Ask Him to use you to heal antagonism, to to bring comfort to those who suffer, and be fruitful as you display Jesus.