Using the Scriptures from Isaiah 11: 1-10 and Romans 15: 4-13, this was given at the Lynnville (IL) UMC on December 5, 2004.

       Some few years ago I chanced to see an old, seventies-something tan-colored Plymouth, and my heart went pitter-patter for the length of time it took for me to realize that this was, Then, 2004. You see, when I first got my drivers license, back in September of 1969, and for some years thereafter, the Illinois State Police were driving tan-colored Plymouths, and the sight of one along the road… or worse, in your rear-view mirror… was one that always filled me with a tingle of fear. And the thought occurred to me that I bet you could pretty well tell what decade a person was born by what kind of car gives them the shivers like that.

Now I think it’s safe to say that it is not… necessarily… that all teenagers are doing something wrong and need to be on the lookout that causes them to fear the sight of a patrol car… I know for myself that except for the occasional speeding that most teenagers seem to do… (We all outgrow that, right?)… I was a pretty safe driver. (I’d like to think I still am!) But somewhere during those years of adolescence, most of us learned a great deal of ‘respect’ for figures of authority… School Principals, Deans, cafeteria workers… and I think that, for many, that ‘respect’ is translated subconsciously as ‘fear’. And so it is that we learn to fear many figures of authority… and one of the most prominent of those figures are our law officers! And even though I know in my head that they are just people like you and me, and that their main job is to ‘protect-and-serve’ all of us regular people, I still can’t help getting that nervous, gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach any time I’m around one.

And that is what comes to my mind when I hear Isaiah talking about, “…the Spirit of the LORD resting on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD —“…I read that… and I think I understand that fear… for if we have an innate fear of figures of authority… and God is the ultimate High Authority… then many would have a great innate fear of God! But then Isaiah adds that, “… he will delight in the fear of the LORD.” Delight? He must be meaning something different than what I have been thinking about fear!

Let me read some of what Matthew Henry’s Commentary has to say about these verses…

“The prophet… foretold…

That the Messiah should, in due time… arise-from Jesse… He is called a shoot, and a branch; both the words signify a weak, small, tender product, a twig and a sprig, such as is easily broken off. The enemies of God’s church are… compared to strong and stately boughs, which can not be hewn down without great labour… yet even though Christ is compared to a tender branch, he shall be victorious over them.

He is said to come out of Jesse rather than David, because Jesse lived and died in relative poverty and obscurity; his family was of small account, and it was in a way of contempt and reproach that David was sometimes called the son of Jesse.

He comes forth out of the stump of Jesse… The house of David was reduced and brought very low at the time of Christ’s birth… witness the obscurity and poverty of Joseph and Mary.

Yet, He will be every way qualified for that great work to which he was designed… that this tender branch should be so watered with the dews of heaven as to become a strong rod…

The Holy Spirit, in all his gifts and graces, shall not only come, but rest and abide upon him; he shall have the Spirit not by measure, but without measure, the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in him.

He shall have the spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and knowledge; he shall thoroughly understand the business he is to be employed in. What he is to make known to the children of men concerning God, and his mind and will, he shall be himself acquainted with and apprised of. He shall know how to administer the affairs of his spiritual kingdom, so as to effectually answer the two great intentions of it, the glory of God and the welfare of the children of men.

Not only shall he have a reverent affection for his Father, but he shall have a great zeal (or ‘fear’) for religion, and shall design the advancement of it in his whole undertaking. Our faith in Christ was never designed to supersede and crowd out our fear of the Lord, but to increase and support it.”

So, the word ‘fear’ is used here to describe our ‘zeal’ for loving and obeying God. Yes, we must needs maintain a fear of evil, and a fear of Hell and eternal damnation. But our God is a God of love and patience and understanding! It is only in an ignorance of understanding… (Or a certainty of having sinned)… that one might fear Him in the sense that we fear danger or evil!

Isaiah goes on to say that, “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy… with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth… Righteousness will be his belt… and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.”

Aren’t those beautiful thoughts…? Thoughts of peace and righteousness and justice? You know, in Romans 15, starting with verse 4, Paul says that, “… everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

A little later he lists four passages that predict the coming of the Lord, when he says, “…it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name.”  

Again, it says,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”  

And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.”  

And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.”  

Some years ago, when (my wife) was working at one of the colleges in Jacksonville, we went to a gathering at the house of one of her co-workers. While there, I struck up a really nice conversation with who I thought was the husband of one of the secretaries, and we talked for some thirty minutes or so. It was only afterwards that I learned that he was the president of the college! Now, whenever I see him on campus, I can barely bring myself to say more than ‘Hi, how are you?’ to him. He isn’t any different than when I met him at that picnic… nor am I. But my awareness of his status of authority IS different… and that old ‘fear-of-authority’ prevents me from getting close, again!

Far too often, I think that happens to us in our dealings with God… our fear of His authority prevents us from getting too close. But in verse 5 of that chapter from Romans Paul writes…

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy…”

On this, the Second Sunday of Advent, I invite you to do two things…

First of all, analyze your relationship with God. Is it a relationship built on love and trust… or on fear? Because, if we fear God more than we love Him, we are missing the whole point of all of this! God… LOVES… us! And all He has really asked is for us to love Him in return! For if we love Him, we will obey Him… it is really just that simple!

       Second, consider these verses from Romans and ask yourself… “Am I truly being as accepting of all those around me as Christ is of me?” Again, Christ died on the cross because He loved us! His entire teaching was about loving and caring for one another in His name! And if we aren’t doing that when He returns, then we may well have reason to fear…

I choose… to love! And in that attitude of love, let me repeat what Paul says in verse 13 of this chapter of Romans…

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”