Faith
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Most of us probably don’t get our Christmas trees like the Griswald family. In fact, most of you are probably like me… and your tree was made in a factory instead of in nature. I don’t know… does anyone in here use a REAL tree? Has anyone in here EVER used a real tree?
My guess is… that even if you use a real tree, you still don’t get it like the Griswald family… You bring a saw instead of pulling it up roots and all. And the result to that is this.
*SHOW PICTURE*
How many of you have ever had one of these in your yard? These are the most annoying things in the world. I remember growing up, I had one of these in our yard… and I’d be outside playing football with friends… and I think that tree stump put me on the ground more than getting tackled.
I mean… what good are tree stumps? Stumps are nothing but grave markers of trees. Stumps remind us that there used to be something living here, and now it’s gone. They are worthless. Nobody wants stumps in their yard.
Do you have a stump? Or maybe even stumps… plural? You might have some in your yard… but do you have stumps in your life? Perhaps the stump of a broken relationship… something that reminds you of that failed relationship. Or maybe it’s a season in your life where you made a series of bad choices and the consequences that came because of that time left a stump in your life… and it’s a painful reminder of your brokenness. Perhaps some of you would say… I don’t have any stumps… my whole life is a stump! It’s a broken mess.
If you have your Bible this morning, and I hope that you do, turn with me to Isaiah chapter 11. Isaiah chapter 11. This morning we’re going to see in Scripture a man who is characterized by a stump. I get that agricultural references may be lost on us a little bit because most of us are so removed from farming… but with the description of stumps that I’ve just given you… that they’re a grave marker… that they are a reminder that there used to be life here, but now there’s death… how would you like it if you were characterized by a stump. ***** the stump. What would that say about you? Isaiah chapter 11 we’ll see a stump named Jesse… and I think you’ll find that you may relate to Jesse the stump.
As we read this morning, we’ll be asking two questions… Who is this stump? And why in the world is he called the stump? What did he do to deserve that? Isaiah chapter 11, verse 1…
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Who is Jesse. Do you remember a story about a teenage boy that killed a giant with a slingshot and some smooth stones? Do you remember the story about a runt son, who became a shepherd boy… who became King of Israel, but was late to his own anointing? The writer of most of the Psalms? David… The great King of Israel? Well Jesse is his dad. And so… “the stump of Jesse” refers to David… but not just specifically to David… but to the entire kingly line of Israel. It’s the king program of Israel that is represented in this phrase… “the stump of Jesse”.
So we know who it is now… but what happened that this name, the stump of Jesse, came about? Let’s just take a brief run through of Israel’s history.
The book of Exodus tells us about a time when the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt. Yet God raises up a leader to take them out of Egypt… out of slavery. But because of their disobedience, Israel ends up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Eventually, though, they finally get to the land that God had promised Abraham so many years ago. And when they finally get to the land, the 12 tribes settle down and begin their new lives.
Israel had Judges in that day. The Judges were liaisons between God and the people and they helped navigate life in the new land. After some time though, Israel began to see all the other nations around them… and how they were governed by kings. And so, they said, we want a king! God said… I don’t think you know what you’re asking… this is not a good idea. Yes it is! We want a king!!! And so God gave them a king.
Saul became the first king of Israel. But he doesn’t really do so well. There were a few fairly good moments for Saul… but, generally speaking, he’s a pretty bad king. David is then anointed king. And David becomes known as THE King. He’s the king that all other kings aspire to be. He’s the man. But even David still blows it quite a bit.
Throughout Israel’s history, there are a total of 39 total kings. And of those 39 kings, only 8 of them did anything worthwhile. And even those 8 were a mixed bag of good and bad. So, we have all these kings who are rebellious against God… who did things their own way… who wanted to call their own shots… who didn’t really follow God’s leading. They knew what was expected of them, yet they were rebellious.
And as the king goes… so goes the people. So, the people were a mess too. Sure… there were moments of good… there were bright spots along the way… there were people that truly wanted to follow God… but generally speaking, as a whole, the people of God were rebellious… they wanted to worship other gods… they wanted to call their own shots. They weren’t loving their neighbors… they weren’t living up to the Old Testament laws… they were a rebellious bunch of people.
So… God raises up prophets to basically come in and say… listen people… if you don’t turn back to God… this is what’s going to happen. We looked at 12 of them earlier this year. And that’s where we find Isaiah writing this morning. Isaiah is also a prophet. And in his book, Isaiah is pointing out the ugly of Israel. Isaiah is saying… you guys are blowing it and God’s really ticked… and if you don’t turn back to God… trouble is a coming!
In chapters 1 through 10, Isaiah basically says that God is going to *WHISTLE*… you know that dog whistle that some people can do? I can’t do it. But he says… God’s gonna whistle and call in the Assyrians like mad dogs. They will kill the king… take people into captivity… the holy city will be left barren… the Temple will be destroyed…
And all that will be left is a stump. The stump of Jesse. A reminder of their brokenness. A reminder that there used to be something living here… now there’s only death and destruction.
So now we know why he’s called the stump. The King program didn’t work. But, let’s keep reading… Look at verse 1 again…
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
In other words… Isaiah says… in this thing that symbolizes death… God is going to bring some life out of it. Isaiah then goes on to paint a very poetic picture of the perfect King. But before we jump into that, I just want to remind you that whether you have stumps all over the landscape of your life… or you feel like your life is one big stump… God can still give you life. No matter how bad it may seem… God can bring you life.
I love that God doesn’t leave us in the darkness of our brokenness. And so even as Isaiah predicts that the Assyrians will come and they will destruction and there will only be a stump left, he says a shoot will come out of that stump. Whatever’s going on in your life… whatever brokenness that you feel… however bad things are… if you turn to God, He WILL NOT leave you in your brokenness. You will find grace and hope when you submit yourself to God.
Let’s look at verse 2…
The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;
Let’s look at those 3 things real quickly. Wisdom and Understanding. This is the idea that this shoot that comes up… He will govern well. Israel really hadn’t seen a GOOD king. David was as good as it got… but even he was pretty flawed. Isaiah says… This new King… this shoot will govern well.
Counsel and Might. This is a military term. This King, this shoot will know how to protect the people and he will have the strength to carry it through.
Knowledge and Fear of the Lord… and He will delight in the fear of the Lord. Not only will He know what God wants Him to do… but He will delight in doing exactly what God wants Him to do.
Let’s keep going… Verse 3…
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
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.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
This shoot from the stump of Jesse will not need empirical evidence to make good decisions. He will just know what is right and wrong. He will make perfect decisions, and there won’t be any malicious motives like there are with bad kings. Look at the 2nd part of verse 4…
but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Not only will he take care of the oppressed, but He will crush the wicked… the oppressors… those who persist in rebellion and disobedience… of attacking and killing… He will take care of the wicked.
And then, we come to verse 5… And it all really kind of lands in verse 5…
Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.
He will be perfectly righteous… living exactly as God would have… and perfectly faithful to God. This shoot from the stump of Jesse… this King will live in perfect obedience. That’s who this shoot from the stump of Jesse will be.
As we move into verse 6, Isaiah does something interesting. He turns on a moments notice… and he begins telling us what the end result will be when this shoot from the stump of Jesse completes His work. Here’s the result of having this future King. Verse 6…
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.
The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
Here’s Isaiah’s point… all hostility will be gone. The effects of the fall… the effects of sin upon this world… what this shoot from the stump of Jesse will do is remove all of those effects. We talked about this last week. Isaiah gives a very poetic picture of a time when all effects of sin… all hostilities are removed.
And then at the end of verse 9…
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
People will know God perfectly… that’s what the shoot from the stump of Jesse accomplishes. Finally, verse 10…
In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
Through this King, rest and peace will come.
Now… Did you see the change in verse 10? Did you notice what changed? Did you notice what happened? In that day the ROOT of Jesse. He’s no longer the shoot of Jesse… He’s now the ROOT of Jesse. We have another agricultural metaphor explaining to us… listen… a tree or a vine will only be healthy when the roots have really taken hold in the soil… right? The picture here is… not only is this future King the life that comes from the ugly stump… He is also the source of life.
God is not in the business of removing stumps… God is in the business of renewing stumps. If your life feels like a graveyard of stumps… This King, if He is allowed to be your source of life… No matter how ugly, no matter how rotten, no matter how big the hurts… how large the shame… no matter how much regret exists… God will take the graveyard of stumps and bring life to them.
Let’s look at how He brings life. Here’s where this all lands. Look at Romans chapter 15 with me…
And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”
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.
Paul says… our stumps are replaced with the joy, peace, and hope as we have FAITH in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the shoot that comes from the stump of Jesse… It is through Him that we have life… and Paul says we have that life when our FAITH is in Jesus. What exactly do we have faith in?
We have faith that Jesus was perfectly obedient and perfectly faithful to God, just as Isaiah said He would be. That He was the perfect sacrifice for our sin… and that when He died on the cross, He took upon Himself the punishment that we deserve… and that because He is also the source of life… death could not hold Him, so He rose from the grave 3 days later.
When our faith is in that… the gospel of Jesus Christ… then every single one of our stumps are renewed with overflowing life… with the joy and peace and the overflowing hope that only God can bring… and it’s only through Jesus Christ.
In this second week of Advent, I ask you… is your faith in Jesus Christ… the one who brings life? Are you trusting in Him and the sacrifice He made for you? Without Christ, there is no hope… there is no life. And as Jesus says in John 15…
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Don’t throw away your life… don’t let it get burned in the flames of eternal hell… Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ today.
Let’s pray together…