Hope Made Possible

Scripture Passage

Isaiah 11:1–10 (NLT)

1 Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. 4 He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. 5 He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. 6 In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. 7 The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. 8 The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. 9 Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord. 10 In that day the heir to David’s throne will be a banner of salvation to all the world. The nations will rally to him, and the land where he lives will be a glorious place.

Focus Statement

EMMANUEL...God with us...gives us hope.

When we know God through Jesus,

we can have hope that one day all will be restored.

Point of Relation

God knows I have felt lost and overwhelmed before.

I can think of a time, well plenty honestly, where I have seen something unjust or wrong happening and I have had to address it.

Yet, I know by addressing it…there’s going to be hell first before there is heaven...

If you know what I mean…have you ever been there?

Where you know that addressing wrongdoing is the right thing to do…but you wonder what will it really accomplish.

It will get the person upset at you…and who knows where that will lead...

And then, of course, in churches or families or communities where everyone knows everyone else,

What will everyone else think when they hear about it…and let’s be honest…they will be hear about it.

In those situations, and thankfully they have been far and few in between,

I can feel so helpless…so hopeless...

Like no matter what way I choose, no matter what words I say...

No matter how I try to approach this in a godly and loving way...

It’s still going to go South before it gets better…if it gets better...

And that hopelessness can leave one feeling at a loss of peace...

You can’t sleep…you toss and turn at night…your waking thoughts and energy are being put in the situation...

No matter how it ends up turning out…and of course…it sometimes does work out the way you fear.

In those moments, I have turned to Jesus...

And I don’t mean just in prayer…though that is always where it starts...

And then God will put someone in my path…a confidant, a colleague…someone who has been there before and has been through those times...

And can encourage and, if possible, offer advice along with just being present for support.

Things to Consider

We’ve all been in situations where we have been overwhelmed

or didn’t have the answers we were looking for

or lacked the hope that we could get through the challenge we were facing.

And sometimes when we consider all the injustices and oppressions that are occurring in the world,

we can be driven to hopelessness and despair.

It can leave us feeling like there is no point in trying to change the world...

That no matter what little we do, we’re just too small...

That maybe we’d be better off just hoping…fingers-crossed…things change...

But yet we feel nothing we do will ultimately matter.

What Scripture Says

In the midst of the overwhelming and hopeless times, God is at work.

The people who received this prophecy were living in fear of Assyrian armies.

It must have been difficult to have hope with such a strong and unjust political enemy.

Isaiah 10:1-2 describes some of what it was like:

“What sorrow awaits the unjust judges and those who issue unfair laws.

They deprive the poor of justice and deny the rights of the needy among my people.

They prey on widows and take advantage of orphans.”

Isaiah, speaking from God’s perspective asks the Assyrian army,

“What will you do on the day of punishment….to whom will you flee for help…?” (Isaiah 10:3). When a power like Assyria relies on a strong army, unjust rulers, and manipulation to get their way, they will find themselves without help when all of that crumbles. On the other hand, Isaiah offers hope to God’s people who rely not on human tactics to get what they want but who rely on God, trusting God will give them what they need. Where did the people of Israel and where do we turn for help and hope?

First, let us look at Mr Rogers, the famous and beloved host of the children’s TV show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, once advised children on his show:

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. '”

Who is there to bring hope? J

esus offers us hope.

Look at all of the qualities of the Spirit described in Isaiah 11:2-3

2 And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay.

Those, friends, are the qualities that belong to Jesus.

They offer hope in the face of powers and events that seem impossible to endure.

They contrast with the false sense of stability offered by the world.

Jesus offers us hope and invites us to participate in it.

This is not a “cross your fingers” type of hope.

It is not simply a desire for something good to happen.

It is a confident expectation that something good will happen because God has promised it.

Biblical hope indicates a trust in the Lord.

We can live out that hope every day by embodying virtues of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might (strength/fortitude), knowledge and fear of the Lord.

Second, there is a plan for redemption at work that offers us hope.

The “shoot that shall come out from the stump of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:1)

was expected to be a new political leader for Israel from the house of King David.

It was political hope in the face of a political problem.

Yet, as is so often the case in prophetic writing,

Isaiah not only reveals the hope for their current situation, God also reveals through him a much larger plan for SALVATION.

In Jesus, we see that, like a tiny shoot growing up into a strong branch,

a baby is given, a baby who is THE HOPE for the world.

Jesus is hope for our whole lives and for all of creation.

Finally, God has a redemption plan in place to right every wrong.

The images the prophet uses are extreme and seem impossible (verses 6-8).

This points to the fact that our hope is not in our own efforts but can only be in God, for whom nothing is impossible.

Also notice how expansive this redemption is … it is not limited just to Christians, to religious people, to the just the Israelites, or even just to human beings;

it encompasses all of creation.

Just as redemption is for all creation, so is hope.

Isaiah says, “the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples, the nations shall inquire of him,”

As the body of Christ in the world, the church has a responsibility to “signal” (vs. 10), bear or model hope to the world,

to make people “inquire” (vs. 10) or ask, “where does that hope from?”

We will confidently answer, “Our help comes from Jesus, the root of Jesse!”

What This Means for You

Let me ask you this:

Have you witnessed examples of people in your life that have offered hope to you during overwhelming situations?

How can you share that hope with others who are feeling hopeless?

I’d, in fact, like you to act on it this week in response to Christ and the HOPE he has given you.

What This Means for Us

In our community, where can we as a congregation be the helpers?

What is a source of hopelessness in Newton and our surrounding communities?

Homelessness? Drug addiction? Hunger?

We are already providing hope to such people:

Through providing vibrant worship and Christian Education opportunities.

Through the Weekend Bag Program

Through Treasures of Hope

Through excellent, community building, concerts,

and many other ways.

but how can we expand what we are doing?

What are the needs you see as you walk down the street, around your neighborhood?

And what are you going to do to bring it to our family…so that, together, we can provide hope to those in need.

Let us as a congregation see our own communities as mission fields where we,

As those who came before us, can provide people with the TRUE HOPE of GOD: Jesus Christ! Amen? Amen!