2023 Jesse's Stump Hope

2022

Jesse’s Stump and Hope

Isaiah 11:1-1; Zech. 6:12; Acts 13:22-23; Rev. 5:5

Maybe someone here has been in this situation. Maybe you have lost everything. Maybe you have been in a position where as you looked across the horizon of life, and you saw nothing but desolation and experienced desperation. It was like looking across a clear-cut land after the lumber crew has finished and all you see is waste. There is no green, no color. There’s nothing, just nothing; it’s all gone and there’s nothing left.”

Maybe you have experienced this kind of thinking and emotion. You had a vision of what was suppose to be, and now everything is gone. You had promises of what was suppose to be, and now nothing… there is just nothing…

What do you need in times like these, in times of desolation, desperation, and depression? When hearts are exiled to darkness?

I think we need hope; we need a vision for hope. Read Proverbs 29:18 - “Where there is no revelation (prophetic vision, the people run wild; but happy are those who keep the law.” When God’s vision, God’s Word, God’s promises are not in front of you… you will wander into darkness and hopelessness...

It’s during the winter months of our lives that we experience these moments… SAD (seasonal affective disorder), a type of depression that comes during this season of cold, less sunlight, vitamin D, less activity… may cause it...

But, spiritually, dark and cold times come and we experience them… and it’s then, or it is here and now, that we need a glimpse of hope, a glimpse of life that can pull us forward.

That is what this text is for. Israel needed hope, because they could not see light in their future.

There is coming a war. There is coming desolation. There is a coming of destruction, and all will be laid low. It’s a picture of a clear cut in the kingdom.

Where is David’s kingdom? Where is the mighty one from David that will come and save the day? Remember the promise of a ruler coming through the blood line of David, but what happened to the bloodline (2 Samuel 7)?

I lift my eye onto the hills; Where shall our help come from? There is no life to be seen, no greenery, no visible fruits of life for our future and the promises that we were hanging on to, that were holding us, are all gone…

The Davidic dynasty has been cut down along with the Assyrian empire… and all hopes and dreams seemed to have faded to black…

Remember the movies we watch… they know how to keep us on the edge of our seats. It seems like the hero is dead. It seems that the bad guys have won. It seems… It only seems that way to us… from where we are seating...

But… but what? “Look at that stump. What stump? That stump over there… look at it. I don’t see anything… look closer… there is a branch coming out of the stump of Jesse.”

Who is Jesse? Jesse was King David’s father, a peasant farmer. Why is he the stump? The imagery is important/significant. This hope and kingdom will not be inferior to David’s. No. It will be equal to or greater than David’s.

The picture of this Branch symbolizes that the kingdom, though laid low, is not utterly destroyed… but it will survive… and better yet… it will conquer all.

The Branch not only points to the kingdom to come, but it points to the Person who will rise to bring this Kingdom into fruition… A greater-than-David is coming.

Zechariah 6:12-13 – Behold, the man whose name is “the Branch,” from His place He shall branch out and build His temple and bear the glory, ruling on His throne.”

Who is the Branch? Who is He? Who is this Hope? Psalm 110: 1 – The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies your footstool.” Who? Lord Jesus, the Christ.

He is the Tree of Life. He is the Promised One. He is the Tree that will give Life to all men who are connected to Him.

Let me ask you something: Do you need a vision for hope today? What is hope?

Hope is a future expectation of what will be. To hope is to trust in, to wait for, to look for, to desire something or someone, or to expect something beneficial in the future. It is not wishful thinking…

Christian Hope is a confident expectation that leads to assurance in our lives, that looks through, into the future, and takes our eyes captive so that we can walk forward in life today.

AS Christians, we need hope. As Christians, we have Hope. As Christians, we experience all kinds of seasons in our lives, including winter. As Christians, we walk in times where love turns cold and there appears to be no sign of life on the horizon. As Christians we can be taken by desperation and depression, and feel as if we are without hope.

When we lose sight of hope, we lose sight of our future. When we lose sight of hope, we fall into emotional despair. When we lose hope, we are no longer trusting, no longer waiting, no longer looking, and no longer expecting…

Is that you? Have you, or are you losing hope? Are you asking…

“Where are all the promises? Where is the light? Where is the life?”

This text is for you. Look, there is life in your future. There is a Person Who has come and is coming. You have a Kingdom that is here and is coming. There is a ruler who is coming, even though you see nothing now but a glimpse, He is coming and it will be a rule without end. His Kingdom will be without end.

This Tree will fill the earth with light and peace!

This text is pointing to Jesus; He is our Living Hope.This text is pointing us to the first and second advent of Christ. This text is pointing to your hope when all you can see is darkness and destruction.

When all eyes are on death and are filled with despair, our eyes are on a baby in a manger, and we are filled with life. There is hope today. The Light of the world has come into the world, not to condemn it, but to save it.

Many may lift their eyes into the hills and say “Where does my help come from? I don’t see anything or anyone!” WE say, “Look, Our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. There He is, I see Him! He is born in Bethlehem.

The Promises have not been cut off. They are here and they are now. God has delivered… And its better than what people thought it would be...

It’s not just a man who will conquer with a sword. It’s not just a prophet, who will give some words from God… No...

Instead… It will be God… who will come to us, and make His home with us. God the Son… will be Our Tree of Life.

Yes, He looks poor and meek, laying in a feed trough, looking very humble and lowly… but He is the Branch of Jesse, He is the Branch that will branch out and will build His Kingdom, His temple, and will sit on the throne of glory for all of eternity.

Church family, this is not the end. There is a future. You have hope. Your future is not black. Your future is not cut off. Your promises have not been destroyed. No. In the midst of winter, you have life.

Do you see it?

“Without this vision, the people run everywhere.” They need help, and they needed a word from God to get them through their desolation, desperation and depression.

Israel needed something that they could hang onto for hundreds of years… and God provided that picture of hope for His people, just like He has provided for His people today.

We have living promises today that will never die.

The Tree of Life has come and is coming.

The Tree of the Kingdom has come and is growing.

You can’t stop Him! So, don’t let discouragement stop you. Place your faith and hope in this Savior today.

Don’t miss out on the Christmas message of Christ as you look upon the Tree this year. Look at it and remember the hope that you have. Remember the life that has come and is coming. Remember that God keeps His promises!

Christ is the Hope for Exiled Hearts.