Message Seven

Enjoying Christ
as the Sprout and the Branch
to Grow in Christ
and as the Banner and the Standard
to Propagate Christ
in the Principle of the Restoration of Life
for a New Revival

Scripture Reading: Isa. 11:1-16

Isa. 11:1-16  Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, / And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2And the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, / The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, / The Spirit of counsel and might, / The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah. 3He will delight in the fear of Jehovah: / He will neither judge by what His eyes see, / Nor decide by what His ears hear. 4But He will judge the poor in righteousness, / And decide with equity for the afflicted of the land. / And He will strike the land with the rod of His mouth, / And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5Righteousness will be that which girds His loins, / And faithfulness will be that which girds His hips. 6And the wolf will dwell with the lamb; / And the leopard will lie down with the kid, / And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; / And a young boy will lead them about. 7The cow and the bear will graze; / Their young will lie down together; / And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child will play by the cobra¡¯s hole, / And upon the viper¡¯s den / The weaned child will stretch his hand. 9They will not harm nor destroy / In all My holy mountain, / For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah, / As water covers the sea. 10And in that day the root of Jesse, / Who stands as a banner to the peoples¡ª / Him will the nations seek, / And His resting place will be the glory. 11And in that day the Lord, / By His hand for the second time again, / Will recover the remnant of His people / Who remain, from Assyria and from Egypt, / From Pathros, Cush, and Elam, / From Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea. 12He will lift up a standard to the nations, / And will gather the outcasts of Israel; / And the dispersed of Judah He will assemble / From the four corners of the earth. 13And Ephraim¡¯s jealousy will depart, / And the adversaries in Judah will be cut off; / Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, / Nor will Judah be hostile to Ephraim. 14And they will fly down upon the shoulders of the Philistines on the west; / Together they will plunder the children of the east. / Edom and Moab will come into the grasp of their hand, / And the children of Ammon will submit to them. 15And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; / And will wave His hand over the River with the scorching of His wind, / And He will strike it into seven streams, / And march men through it dryshod. 16And there will be a highway from Assyria / For the remnant of His people which remain, / As there was for Israel / In the day that they came up from the land of Egypt.

                  I.    In studying Isaiah 11:1-16, our emphasis is not on its future fulfillment but on the principle of the restoration of life; Isaiah 11 describes the scene of a recovery, a revival, a restoration¡ªv. 1; Heb. 6:5; Acts 3:19-21.

Isa. 11:1  Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, / And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

Heb. 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

Acts 3:19-21  Repent therefore and turn, that your sins may be wiped away, 20So that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that He may send the Christ, who has been previously appointed for you, Jesus, 21Whom heaven must indeed receive until the times of the restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.

                II.    We need to enjoy Christ in the principle of the restoration of life as a sprout from the stump of Jesse and as a branch from the roots of Jesse¡ªIsa. 11:1-9; Heb. 6:5:

Isa. 11:1-9  Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, / And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2And the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, / The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, / The Spirit of counsel and might, / The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah. 3He will delight in the fear of Jehovah: / He will neither judge by what His eyes see, / Nor decide by what His ears hear. 4But He will judge the poor in righteousness, / And decide with equity for the afflicted of the land. / And He will strike the land with the rod of His mouth, / And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5Righteousness will be that which girds His loins, / And faithfulness will be that which girds His hips. 6And the wolf will dwell with the lamb; / And the leopard will lie down with the kid, / And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; / And a young boy will lead them about. 7The cow and the bear will graze; / Their young will lie down together; / And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child will play by the cobra¡¯s hole, / And upon the viper¡¯s den / The weaned child will stretch his hand. 9They will not harm nor destroy / In all My holy mountain, / For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah, / As water covers the sea.

Heb. 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

                           A.    Christ is typified by a sprout from the stump of the great tree of the house of David, which had been hewn down to the roots; Christ¡¯s coming in incarnation as the sprout from the stump of Jesse was the revival of David¡¯s deprived and ¡°hewn down¡± royal family¡ªRuth 4:17b; cf. Isa. 10:32-34:

Ruth 4:17b  A son has been born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Isa. 10:32-34  So it is this very day when he halts at Nob. / He swings his hand over the mountain of the daughter of Zion, / Over the hill of Jerusalem. 33But now the Lord Jehovah of hosts / Is lopping off the boughs with an awful crash: / Those which are tall in height are hewn down, / And those which are lofty are laid low. 34And He chops away the forest thickets with an iron ax; / And Lebanon falls at the hands of a majestic One.

                                      1.    According to our thought, Christ has two comings, but according to God¡¯s realization, He has sent His Son once for all; when Jesus was born, that was the beginning of God¡¯s sending His Son to the earth, and this sending is still going on; it will be completed at the time the Son of Man comes to the earth in an open way¡ªMatt. 24:27.

Matt. 24:27  For just as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

                                      2.    Christ¡¯s coming forth, His going forth, His appearing, is a continuous matter; at the time of His incarnation He began to come forth; then He continued to go forth through His human living, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His outpouring of the consummated Spirit (who is the reality of Christ Himself), His spreading through the preaching of the gospel to the whole inhabited earth, and His growing within the believers and the church¡ªMicah 5:2.

Micah 5:2  (But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, / So little to be among the thousands of Judah, / From you there will come forth to Me / He who is to be Ruler in Israel; / And His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity.)

                                      3.    The completion of His being sent by God is accomplished in three ways: by His building up of the church, by His preparing of Israel, and by His adjustment, His judging, of the nations.

                           B.    A sprout from the stump of Jesse indicates the restoring power of life in freshness¡ªIsa. 11:1a; 7:14; 9:6; Exo. 13:4; Acts 3:19-21; Titus 3:5; Eph. 4:23; 5:26; 2 Cor. 4:16.

Isa. 11:1a  Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse,

Isa. 7:14  Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and will bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel.

Isa. 9:6  For a child is born to us, / A Son is given to us; / And the government / Is upon His shoulder; / And His name will be called / Wonderful Counselor, / Mighty God, / Eternal Father, / Prince of Peace.

Exo. 13:4  On this day in the month of Abib you are going out.

Acts 3:19-21  Repent therefore and turn, that your sins may be wiped away, 20So that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that He may send the Christ, who has been previously appointed for you, Jesus, 21Whom heaven must indeed receive until the times of the restoration of all things, of which God spoke through the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.

Titus 3:5  Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Eph. 4:23  And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind

Eph. 5:26  That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word,

2 Cor. 4:16  Therefore we do not lose heart; but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

                           C.    A branch from the roots of Jesse indicates the hidden deepening power of life with growing power and fruit-bearing power¡ªIsa. 11:1b; cf. Phil. 4:12-13; Col. 1:9-11; 2:7; Matt. 6:6; Psa. 91:1; Luke 8:11-15; John 15:5; Jer. 17:8.

Isa. 11:1b  And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

Phil. 4:12-13  I know also how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to hunger, both to abound and to lack. 13I am able to do all things in Him who empowers me.

Col. 1:9-11  Therefore we also, since the day we heard of it, do not cease praying and asking on your behalf that you may be filled with the full knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10To walk worthily of the Lord to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God, 11Being empowered with all power, according to the might of His glory, unto all endurance and long-suffering with joy,

Col. 2:7  Having been rooted and being built up in Him, and being established in the faith even as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Matt. 6:6  But you, when you pray, enter into your private room, and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

Psa. 91:1  He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High / Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

Luke 8:11-15  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12And those beside the way are those who heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they would not believe and be saved. 13And those on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; yet these have no root, who believe only for a while, and in time of trial they draw back. 14And that which fell into the thorns, these are those who heard and, going away, are utterly choked by anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, and do not bring any fruit to maturity. 15But that which is in the good earth, these are those who in a noble and good heart hear the word and hold it fast and bear fruit with endurance.

John 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Jer. 17:8  And he will be like a tree transplanted beside water, / Which sends out its roots by a stream, / And will not be afraid when heat comes; / For its leaves remain flourishing, / And it will not be anxious in the year of drought / And will not cease to bear fruit.

                           D.    Christ as the sprout and the branch is full of the Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah; because this Spirit is of seven items, we may say that He is the sevenfold intensified Spirit, who is the presence of the Triune God in the church¡ªIsa. 11:2; Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; cf. Col. 2:2b-3; 1 Cor. 1:24:

Isa. 11:2  And the Spirit of Jehovah will rest upon Him, / The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, / The Spirit of counsel and might, / The Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Jehovah.

Rev. 1:4  John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

Rev. 3:1  And to the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead.

Rev. 4:5  And out of the throne come forth lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;

Rev. 5:6  And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Col. 2:2b-3  unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ, 3In whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.

1 Cor. 1:24  But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

                                      1.    The branching out of Jehovah is altogether a matter of the Spirit; Christ was born of the Spirit; that is, He was constituted of the Spirit as the divine essence¡ªMatt. 1:18, 20; Luke 1:35.

Matt. 1:18  Now the origin of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary, after she had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 1:20  But while he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.

Luke 1:35  And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the holy thing which is born will be called the Son of God.

                                      2.    Moreover, He was baptized, anointed, with the Spirit¡ªMatt. 3:16; Luke 4:18.

Matt. 3:16  And having been baptized, Jesus went 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 coming upon Him.

Luke 4:18  ¡°The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to announce the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away in release those who are oppressed,

                                      3.    The Spirit was with Him all the time and was one with Him¡ªvv. 1, 14; 10:21; John 1:32; Matt. 12:28.

Luke 4:1  And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, while being tempted for forty days by the devil.

Luke 4:14  And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee. And reports about Him went out through all the surrounding region.

Luke 10:21  In that hour He exulted in the Holy Spirit and said, I extol You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it has been well pleasing in Your sight.

John 1:32  And John testified, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abode upon Him.

Matt. 12:28  But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

                                      4.    He walked by the Spirit and lived a life in, with, by, and through the Spirit; in His human living the Spirit was manifested with all the attributes of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of Jehovah; no human being has ever feared God as much as Jesus did.

                                      5.    The Spirit is the reality of Christ¡ªJohn 14:16-20; 1 John 5:6b; 2 Cor. 3:17.

John 14:16-20  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, 17Even the Spirit of reality, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him; but you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. 19Yet a little while and the world beholds Me no longer, but you behold Me; because I live, you also shall live. 20In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

1 John 5:6b  the Spirit is He who testifies, because the Spirit is the reality.

2 Cor. 3:17  And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

                           E.    As the sprout from the stump of Jesse and the branch from the roots of Jesse, Christ carries out the administration of Jehovah¡ªIsa. 11:3-5.

Isa. 11:3-5  He will delight in the fear of Jehovah: / He will neither judge by what His eyes see, / Nor decide by what His ears hear. 4But He will judge the poor in righteousness, / And decide with equity for the afflicted of the land. / And He will strike the land with the rod of His mouth, / And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5Righteousness will be that which girds His loins, / And faithfulness will be that which girds His hips.

                           F.    Wherever Christ as life grows in freshness and depth, there is the Spirit with His riches, there is the government of God in righteousness and justice, and there is the restoration of life.

                          G.    The administration of Jehovah brings in the restoration of life, where all have their nature changed through Christ as the indwelling, sevenfold intensified Spirit of life in His restoring, deepening, growing, and fruit-bearing power:

                                      1.    In the age of restoration the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the kid, the cow and the bear will graze, the lion will eat straw like the ox, the nursing child will play by the cobra¡¯s hole, and the weaned child will stretch his hand upon the viper¡¯s den¡ªvv. 6-9a.

Isa. 11:6-9a  And the wolf will dwell with the lamb; / And the leopard will lie down with the kid, / And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; / And a young boy will lead them about. 7The cow and the bear will graze; / Their young will lie down together; / And the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child will play by the cobra¡¯s hole, / And upon the viper¡¯s den / The weaned child will stretch his hand. 9They will not harm nor destroy / In all My holy mountain,

                                      2.    In the restoration Christ¡¯s restoring power will cause a change in the inward nature of all the creatures; thus, the situation among them will be pleasant, peaceful, and loving; the reason for this change is that the knowledge of Jehovah, the knowing of God, will fill the earth¡ªRom. 8:19-21; Isa. 11:9.

Rom. 8:19-21  For the anxious watching of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God. 20For the creation was made subject to vanity, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, 21In hope that the creation itself will also be freed from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Isa. 11:9  They will not harm nor destroy / In all My holy mountain, / For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah, / As water covers the sea.

                          H.    Because the church life is a foretaste of the coming age, what will happen in Isaiah 11 should be among us today as a foretaste; among us there should be no ¡°wolves,¡± ¡°leopards,¡± ¡°bears,¡± ¡°lions,¡± and ¡°vipers¡±¡ªcf. Acts 20:29-30; Ezek. 34:25:

Acts 20:29-30  I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30And from among you yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverted things to draw away the disciples after them.

Ezek. 34:25  And I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish evil beasts from the land, so that they will dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

                                      1.    The church life may be considered as a ¡°zoo¡± of the restoration of life, where all have their nature changed through the Spirit and by Christ as the sprout and the branch¡ªHeb. 6:5; 2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2.

Heb. 6:5  And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

2 Cor. 3:18  But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.

Rom. 12:2  And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

                                      2.    Through the divine transformation of our inner being, we are able to practice the Body life, where the knowing of God prevails, the peace of Christ arbitrates in our hearts, and all is pleasant, peaceful, and loving¡ªIsa. 11:9; Col. 3:15.

Isa. 11:9  They will not harm nor destroy / In all My holy mountain, / For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah, / As water covers the sea.

Col. 3:15  And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts, to which also you were called in one Body; and be thankful.

              III.    Through our inner enjoyment of Christ, our growth in Christ, and our propagation of Christ, He becomes a banner to the peoples and a standard to the nations for a new revival¡ªIsa. 11:10-16; Phil. 1:20; 2 Cor. 5:20:

Isa. 11:10-16  And in that day the root of Jesse, / Who stands as a banner to the peoples¡ª / Him will the nations seek, / And His resting place will be the glory. 11And in that day the Lord, / By His hand for the second time again, / Will recover the remnant of His people / Who remain, from Assyria and from Egypt, / From Pathros, Cush, and Elam, / From Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea. 12He will lift up a standard to the nations, / And will gather the outcasts of Israel; / And the dispersed of Judah He will assemble / From the four corners of the earth. 13And Ephraim¡¯s jealousy will depart, / And the adversaries in Judah will be cut off; / Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, / Nor will Judah be hostile to Ephraim. 14And they will fly down upon the shoulders of the Philistines on the west; / Together they will plunder the children of the east. / Edom and Moab will come into the grasp of their hand, / And the children of Ammon will submit to them. 15And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; / And will wave His hand over the River with the scorching of His wind, / And He will strike it into seven streams, / And march men through it dryshod. 16And there will be a highway from Assyria / For the remnant of His people which remain, / As there was for Israel / In the day that they came up from the land of Egypt.

Phil. 1:20  According to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I will be put to shame, but with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death.

2 Cor. 5:20  On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors, as God entreats you through us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God.

                           A.    Christ as the banner is full of explanation, description, and instruction concerning the revival and restoration in the church¡ªIsa. 11:10; cf. John 1:1, 4, 29, 32, 42, 51:

Isa. 11:10  And in that day the root of Jesse, / Who stands as a banner to the peoples¡ª / Him will the nations seek, / And His resting place will be the glory.

John 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:4  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 1:29  The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1:32  And John testified, saying, I beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He abode upon Him.

John 1:42  He led him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, You are Simon, the son of John; you shall be called Cephas (which is interpreted, Peter).

John 1:51  And He said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

                                      1.    The divine glory, which is God Himself expressed, will be Christ¡¯s resting place¡ªIsa. 11:10b.

Isa. 11:10b  And His resting place will be the glory.

                                      2.    This indicates that the divine glory is one with Christ; it also implies Christ¡¯s divinity and indicates that Christ and God are one¡ªJohn 17:5, 24; 10:30.

John 17:5  And now, glorify Me along with Yourself, Father, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

John 17:24  Father, concerning that which You have given Me, I desire that they also may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory, which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

John 10:30  I and the Father are one.

                           B.    Christ as the standard to the nations is a great magnet to draw, attract, call, collect, and gather all the people of the earth to Himself¡ªIsa. 11:12; John 12:31-32; 3:14-15; 8:28-30; 6:44; Jer. 31:3; S. S. 1:4a; Heb. 12:2a.

Isa. 11:12  He will lift up a standard to the nations, / And will gather the outcasts of Israel; / And the dispersed of Judah He will assemble / From the four corners of the earth.

John 12:31-32  Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the ruler of this world be cast out. 32And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.

John 3:14-15  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15That everyone who believes into Him may have eternal life.

John 8:28-30  Jesus therefore said to them, When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing from Myself, but as My Father has taught Me, I speak these things. 29And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him. 30As He spoke these things, many believed into Him.

John 6:44  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up in the last day.

Jer. 31:3  Jehovah appeared to me from afar, saying, / Indeed I have loved you with an eternal love, / Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

S. S. 1:4a  Draw me; we will run after you¡ªThe king has brought me into his chambers

Heb. 12:2a  Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith,

                           C.    Isaiah 11 couples Christ as the sprout and the branch (v. 1) with Christ as the banner and the standard (vv. 10, 12):

Isa. 11:1  Then a sprout will come forth from the stump of Jesse, / And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

Isa. 11:10  And in that day the root of Jesse, / Who stands as a banner to the peoples¡ª / Him will the nations seek, / And His resting place will be the glory.

Isa. 11:12  He will lift up a standard to the nations, / And will gather the outcasts of Israel; / And the dispersed of Judah He will assemble / From the four corners of the earth.

                                      1.    In the church life, when Christ as the sprout among us grows bigger and bigger, this growing-up sprout becomes a banner, which describes, explains, designates, and even gives instructions to the peoples of the earth concerning what Christ is to God¡¯s people¡ªcf. Exo. 17:15.

Exo. 17:15  And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi;

                                      2.    The same Christ as a branch grows up to be a standard to call and gather the nations of the earth.

                           D.    Christ as the banner to the peoples and the standard to the nations brings in the return of God¡¯s people in the one accord and the submission of the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom to the whole inhabited earth¡ªIsa. 11:10-16; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 6:2; cf. Acts 16:6-9.

Isa. 11:10-16  And in that day the root of Jesse, / Who stands as a banner to the peoples¡ª / Him will the nations seek, / And His resting place will be the glory. 11And in that day the Lord, / By His hand for the second time again, / Will recover the remnant of His people / Who remain, from Assyria and from Egypt, / From Pathros, Cush, and Elam, / From Shinar, Hamath, and the islands of the sea. 12He will lift up a standard to the nations, / And will gather the outcasts of Israel; / And the dispersed of Judah He will assemble / From the four corners of the earth. 13And Ephraim¡¯s jealousy will depart, / And the adversaries in Judah will be cut off; / Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, / Nor will Judah be hostile to Ephraim. 14And they will fly down upon the shoulders of the Philistines on the west; / Together they will plunder the children of the east. / Edom and Moab will come into the grasp of their hand, / And the children of Ammon will submit to them. 15And Jehovah will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; / And will wave His hand over the River with the scorching of His wind, / And He will strike it into seven streams, / And march men through it dryshod. 16And there will be a highway from Assyria / For the remnant of His people which remain, / As there was for Israel / In the day that they came up from the land of Egypt.

Matt. 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Rev. 6:2  And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sits on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.

Acts 16:6-9  And they passed through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7And when they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, yet the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8And bypassing Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9And a vision appeared to Paul during the night: A certain man, a Macedonian, was standing and entreating him and saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us.

                  I.     ¡°In these days we need to pay our full attention to the all-inclusive Christ, who is the centrality and universality of the great wheel of the move of the Divine Trinity for the divine dispensing of Himself into His elect. In the church life for the Lord¡¯s recovery, where the proper revival and restoration of life are taking place, Christ should be the sprout, the branch, the banner, and the standard. First, we ourselves must have a restoration of life. Then this will be propagated and will be designated by a banner, Christ. He will then be sought after by the nations, and He will become a standard to them. Hallelujah for Christ!¡± (Life-study of Isaiah, p. 275).