Pastor Sullivan's Blog

1)          Don’t judge a tree by its height, the number of branches it has, or the thickness of its trunk. The life of a tree isn’t in the trunk, the branches, or the height. The life of a tree is in the roots. The house of David was, already at the time of Isaiah, a tree hewn down to its stump, cut down through its own unbelief, dilapidated due to unfaithfulness so that it looked to be spiritually dying if not dead already. But the Lord is faithful to His promise when man is unfaithful in His response to God’s promise. The prophet writes, “ 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 .” (Isaiah 11:1-2) From this dilapidated stump of a once great tree, a rod would sprout. From this lowly rootstock a branch would appear. The Lor...

1)          “ The Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. ” King Ahaz did not want the Lord to give him a sign. Ahaz, king of Judah, was not the most faithful man to sit on his father David’s throne. He was quite wicked actually. So when his enemies form a military alliance against his small nation, the prophet describes Ahaz’s reaction, that Ahaz’s “ heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind. ” (Isaiah 7:2) Having abandoned trust in the Lord for confidence in mute idols and his own imagined might, Ahaz quails in fear at the thought of his enemy at the gates. The Lord sends the prophet Isaiah to meet Ahaz with this promise, “ Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. ” ( Isaiah 7:4 ) Though A...