Trust the Branch

Title: Trust the Branch

Title: Trust the Branch

Text:

Illustration:

This past year, we believe that lightening struck one of our large trees in the back yard. As a result, large limb of the tree (about 8 - 10 inches in diameter) has partially fallen and needed to be cut and removed.

In order to get to where the partial break in the branch was, I had to climb many other branches and hang off of other branches. Each move I made was with confidence that the branch or limb that I was standing on or hanging on would be able to sustain my weight.

In this passage, we find that there is hope for God’s people. A different kind of Branch would come one day, and the people would have to place trust in the coming of this Branch.

As we look at this passage though, we need to make it really clear that the LORD does not share his throne with anyone. He is to be trusted in a distinct manner.

Some people today are religious, and they trust the Lord but, in addition to the Lord, they trust in their religious observances.

Others trust the Lord like they trust their employer to put the paycheck in the bank.

Others still trust the Lord like they trust the government to make decisions for them.

The kind of trust that the Lord deserves is of greater importance than trust in any other human institution or any other person. Our devotion and trust in the Lord must be supreme, even if that means that we sacrifice the temporal for the sake of the eternal.

Proposition:

The Lord must be trusted in a way that is distinct from all other trusts or beliefs in our lives.

(1) Because He is incomparably faithful to His Word (v. 1 - 2)

(a) The LORD is faithful across many generations (v. 1)

Note the Christ connection:

“stem of Jesse” - eternal throne

Application:

This truth is important to remember because we are tempted to make many decisions based upon the immediate and the temporal. Our tendency is to place faith in temporary opportunities or other humans.

Illustration:

In June of 2006, I walked in to my boss’s office and submitted by 4 week notice. We had a cordial conversation. After that time, we went to lunch together where he informed me that if I would have stayed with the company, they would have promoted me again, as I was managing two teams at the time (one in AZ and one in OH). It was then that I needed to make a choice.

All of us are called to make choices every day. For the unbeliever, “don’t sacrifice the future on the altar of the present.”

For the believer, make choices that reflect the certainty of your future. This world is NOT your home.

Philippians 3:20 KJV 1900

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:

(b) The LORD is faithful through humble fulfillment (v. 1)

Note the Christ connection:

“Branch”; , ,

Matthew 2:23 KJV 1900

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Psalm 22:6–8 KJV 1900

But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Isaiah 53:2–3 KJV 1900

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, And as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: And we hid as it were our faces from him; He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Application:

This is greatly instructive for us. It was through humble means that Christ came to this earth. It is humility that the unbeliever must have if he will see his need for salvation. It is humility that the believer must have if he will be the Spirit-filled servant that God expects him to be. This is what Christ has made possible!

(c) The LORD is faithful in a complete and perfect way [for the benefit of the people] (v. 3) -

Note the Christ connection:

The Spirit of God -

John 3:34 KJV 1900

For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

Application:

It an an encouragement to know that the same Holy Spirit of God has been given to us completely - . The key though is two-fold:

Submitting to the Spirit of God because the Spirit does not gift us comprehensively.

Understanding that the Spirit is given for the mutual edification of one another. We need each other - , ,

Overall Application:

To the unbeliever, this is one of the arguments in favor of becoming a Christian. What has been prophesied has happened, and this shows Divine Superintendence.

For the Christian, this should present a motivation and a hope to trust the Lord distinctly. It is certain that what God has promised will happen.

Current suffering cannot compare to the glory that will be revealed.God works all things for good to those who love Him.We can never be separated from the love of God in Christ.

(2) Because He is incomparably faultless in His Wise Judgments (v. 3 - 5)

(a) His wise judgments begin with a delight in the fear of the Lord (v. 3)

Application:

This is one of the wonders of the Christian life: the Lord saves us and gives to us a delight in Him. It should be noted that this delight in the Lord can either grow or decline. While the delight begins with the indwelling Spirit of God, the growth takes place as we submit to the Spirit of God.

(b) His wise judgments burrow beneath the external part of men (v. 3)

Application:

As we approach unto Jesus Christ, we must know that our Lord is a high priest who searches the hearts and motives of men.

We must see this as something that takes place as we yield to the Word of God. . Thus, submitting to the word of God: hearing, reading, studying...are means whereby God sanctifies us from the inside out - .

(c) His wise judgments are based in true righteousness (v. 4 - 5)

Application:

We must see that this is the righteousness of the holy Lord. When he makes judgment calls, they are always right. This means that what He demands of us is higher than we could ever imagine.

The gospel is the place where we see the righteousness of God revealed -

Christian, take hope. . When we really understand the transaction that has taken place so that we could have his righteousness, we lovingly offer ourselves up for service. . This gives us a different perspective on service.

Overall Application:

God can be trusted because He is wise in his judgments. The greatest of these judgments is the fact that God is just in forgiving all of the sins of those who have come to Him. It is a perpetual cleansing in the blood of Christ that Christians have - . He is faithful and just!

Conclusion:

Illustration:

Last year, we made homemade cinnamon rolls, all from scratch. This year, we used a different recipe. In addition, there is a small bakery in Lebanon who had cinnamon rolls. No matter what we have made, what we have tried, there just isn’t much comparison to a fresh, warm Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll.

Similarly, we should not think of God as someone who we can compare to others. He is absolutely distinct, and He deserves to be trusted in a manner in which others are not trusted.

Illustration:

Though I love my wife deeply and my children deeply, there is a difference in the level of trust that I have in my wife versus that which I have in my children. My wife is more responsible. She is more capable. She is more dependable. It doesn’t mean that I love my children less. It simply means I can trust my wife more.

What say we of the God who promised to give a sacrifice of His son? What say we of the God who promised to establish the eternal kingdom of David and raised Jesus from the dead? What say we of the gospel that has come to us?

We thus conclude that the description of this Branch, this King, leaves us with no question as to whether we should distinctly trust him or not.

- What suffering are you bitter about?

- What troubles are you hanging on to?

- What sins are you allowing because you are sacrifice the future for the immediate?