A Growing Hope
Isaiah 11:1-10; Matthew 3:10
Announcements:
Opening: Today is the first Sunday in the season of Advent! Advent is not an
alternative to Christmas, Advent isn’t a way to combat a so-called war on
Christmas but Advent is the season of preparing our hearts and lives for the
arrival of Christ, the celebration of the birth of the Messiah on Christmas day
and looking forward to the second arrival of our King Jesus Christ.
-Last week we talked about how this is a season of waiting. I encouraged to
write down 3 things that you are waiting on God for and to pray asking God
how he will show up in your life this year.
-Advent is a season of waiting but it’s also a season of hopeful anticipation.
It’s period where we are not waiting in dread but we are waiting with this
yearning and excitement as we anticipate Christ’s arrival.
ILL-Abe and tree leaves
-It’s pretty well-known that my wife Brooke loves Christmas time and she has
transferred this love to our oldest son Abraham. As we were going through
the fall and it got a little colder, Abraham insisted on wearing a winter hat and
he kept asking, “is it tismas time” which is 2-year old talk meaning Christmas.
We had to keep telling no not yet, it’s still the fall. Brooke told him to watch
and when the leaves fall off the tree then he would know it was Christmas
time. We would be driving down the street and he would see the leaves
falling and out of the blue he would just belt out, “Christmas time Daddy!!”
-Anticipation. That is what Advent is about, it’s this season where we are
looking forward to the arrival. We anticipate it not with fear, we don’t have
fear of Christ return but we yearn for it as our hope, we are desperate for the
arrival. We are looking forward to Christ’s return because we know that’s
when everything will finally be set right!
-Advent is a time where we yearn for Christ’s return. It’s as though you were
sick with a disease and someone told you that there is a coming day when
there will be a cure, everyday you wake up with hopeful anticipation…is
today the day? This is our reaction as we go through Advent.
-In this season of Advent we know that the King has arrived but still today we
look for his return because we know things haven’t been fully set right yet.
-Today we look out at a world that is still full of death, of plane accidents, of
terrorist attacks, of divisive words and we think, how long oh Lord? We are
looking for newness this very day. We seek the return of Christ because we
have this longing inside of us, this longing to see things set right. To see the
end of violent ways, to stop the innocent deaths, to do away with division and
hatred, to see a new city, a city of peace, this is our hope.
-Today as we look forward as we anticipate, we yearn for the return because
we have a growing hope, a hope that is not dead, a hope that is alive, a hope
that gives us the ability to wake up not in terror, not in fear, not in anxiety, not
in weariness but we have a hope that awakens us to life. Today the question
presented to us is when things look grim, where are we to look? What do we
have hope in?
Text
-This leads us to our text for today, Isaiah 11:1-10. This leads us to our text
today because in Isaiah 11 we see that the Israelites are living in a grim time.
They are living in a time when they feel like nothing good is coming their way,
they are living in fear, they are living serving their desires instead of following
God. The Israelites were stuck in this image of despair because they weren’t
relying on God but they were relying on their own abilities and desires which
was leading them to death.
-In Isaiah 6 we see that the prophet receives this image of the people of
Israel as deaf and blind and they are being led in darkness because they
aren’t looking to God but relying on self and in Isaiah 6:13 it says, “And
though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.”
-This is the image of Isreal, the holy seed, the holy people, the people of God
are not living but they are a stump. A stump is the image of something that is
dead, a tree with no life in it is to be cut down to it’s stump.
ILL-Tree Cut Down
-A few weeks ago one of our neighbors had a bunch of tree trimmers come
and cut down their tree. I went over and asked him why he was doing it and
he told me that the tree was dying. Over the past few months they saw tree
branches falling, falling in the yard where their 2 year old plays, falling on the
sidewalk where people walk, falling on the street where cars are parked. He
was cutting it down because it was dying, it had no use, it had to go away.
-This is the image we have of Israel, they are a nation, they are a people,
who are being cut down because they no longer have life in them, they are
dying. So in the beginning of Isaiah they are portrayed as a field of stumps, a
forest that once was thriving that was now cut down because they were
dying, they weren’t functioning in the way they were supposed to live.
-We see this image because they stopped looking to be led by the giver of
life, by Yahweh. Paul Spears describes it this way, “They began to believe
that they were the reason for their position in the world and “despised the
Holy One of Israel”—forsaking God’s wisdom for their own. At the beginning
of Isaiah, Judah has become a nation whose people are culturally Jewish,
but whose hearts are deeply duplicitous and whose sacrifices God hates.”
-They took their eyes off the Lord and began to get full of themselves and by
relying on their own abilities they were dying without their source of life.
ILL-Stumptown
-They were a stumptown! A people who were no longer thriving but passing
away because they left their source of life. In the early 1900’s when the
railroad industry was bursting, there was a small town in Montana, Whitefish.
The railroad industry took over the area and they cut down pretty much all
the trees in this town to make railroad ties. The town went from being thriving
to dying because after the trees were cut down they had no more resources,
they had been drained of life. This town was nicknamed stumptown because
it was no longer useful, the people left and deserted it because it was bare.
-This is the picture we get in Isaiah that the people who once thrived as a
forest relying on the life-giving God had become self-reliant and because of
this they had lost their use and they were dying, the King-line, the royalty had
died out, there was not future for this kingdom.
-Their reality felt hopeless, they were looking at a field of stumps and
thinking, we have no future, we have no life, we are done for!
-Sometimes this feels like our reality of life, we look up and the future seems
bleak and we feel hopeless. We feel like we are stuck, we feel like we have
no future, and we turn away from God in fear.
-But in the midst of this picture, the prophet Isaiah gives this image of hope,
the holy seed is its stump, the holy seed is going to be planted, there may be
life yet.
-Isaiah 11:1, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a
branch from his roots shall bear fruit.”
-There is hope, a growing hope! Out of the dead stump of Jesses, the father
of David, the greatest king in Israel, out of the dead royal line, the dead
stump, life is growing, the holy seed is sprouting, we have hope!
-In Isaiah 11 we see a poem that looks past the grim reality of the present
and looks forward to the hope we have in the future. Today as we look at the
often grim reality of life, of our culture, of our city, of the pain we face, today
we can find hope.
1. Hope of Life-New King VV.1-5
-First and foremost today we see that we have hope because the hope of life.
There is a shoot growing, there is life growing out of death, there is a branch
that is emerging in the field of stumps.
-We anticipate the arrival of Jesus because we have hope, hope that is found
in the growing branch, the hope of this New King!
-There are 3 characters in the beginning of Isaiah 11. The two main
characters are the stump and the shoot. The stump is death and the shoot is
life. The stump is the feeling that comes when you stub your toe on the edge
of the sidewalk. The stump is the moment when you had life planned out and
all of a sudden the plan falls apart. The stump is the period where you lose
your job, the stump is seeing the injustice of life around you, the stump is the
feeling of looking up and saying, that’s not fair. The stump is the feeling of
failure, the feeling like we messed up, the feeling like we are done for.
-Often in life we feel like we are surrounded by the stumps. We become
surrounded by the stumps when we look for hope in the wrong places. When
we expect the governing powers above us to do the work that we are to do,
when we trust in our abilities, in ourselves, we lose sight of hope when we
aren’t looking at the one who carries our real hope.
-Isaiah 11 we see that the stump doesn’t prevail, but we see that amidst the
stump there is a shoot. The life of the shoot is stronger than the power of
death. The shoot is the ability to navigate the sometimes difficult present
because you know there is a better future. The shoot is the sprouting of
God’s blessing in seasons of hardship. The shoot is the life that is growing,
the kingdom that is coming, the holy seed that was planted.
-The stump and the shoot are the contrast between the feeling of death and
the reign life, Isaiah says, take hope because a shoot is growing, and the
reason the shoot is growing is because the 3rd character in this passage.
That 3rd character is the Spirit.
-Isaiah 11:2, “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
knowledge and the fear of the LORD.”
-The reason that the failed stump is turning into an emerging and growing
shoot of hope is because of the Spirit! The Spirit this mysterious Hebrew
word, ruah, that carries the translation of wind, or breath, enters the picture.
Here is what we see in Isaiah 11, listen up because this is good news, out of
the failure of man, out of the stump of bruises and trip-ups, and pain and
sorrow, out of the stump emerges a shoot of life, a shoot of justice, a shoot
that will provide shelter, because the breath of life has come blowing in!
-The shoot emerges out of death because the breath of God has come to fill
the field of stumps back to being a forest of life-giving trees!
-Here is the hope we have in Advent, we follow a God who recreates. We
follow a God who doesn’t want death to reign but who breathes life into a
dying world. We follow a God of second chances who brings reconciliation,
justice, peace, and everlasting righteousness.
-The anticipation we have in advent is that we have hope, a hope that is
found in a growing branch that has life because of the breath of God.
-We look forward to this future image in Isaiah because this growing branch
will, verses 3-5, “And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not
judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but
with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the
meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and
with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the
belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins.”
-This branch has already begun to grow, it’s through the birth, life, death, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ that we have seen this branch emerge out of a
world of death, and this branch, this king, our King Jesus Christ is a King who
judges not with his eyes but judges in righteousness, a king who wears
righteousness and faithfulness as the belt that holds his kingly garments in
place. Hope in the face of injustice!
-You can have hope today because there is a New King who now reigns.
You can have hope in the present because we know who are king is today.
2. Hope of Unity-New Creation VV.6-9
-Second, we have hope, because we have hope of the world that is coming,
hope in new creation.
-We have this growing hope in the growing branch of life and this hope in the
new king gives us hope for a new world. Between verses 5 and 6 there is a
change of topic. It’s as though Isaiah is zooming out the throne of this new
king and now giving us a glimpse of the Kingdom that he reigns in.
-Isaiah 11:6-9, “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf
together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall
graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like
the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or
destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
-The image we have of this new kingdom, this new world, is one of new
creation! This a contrast to the world and creation we know of. Verse 9 says
that “they shall not hurt or destroy.” The world we live in thrives on
destruction. The world we live in loves to see division, to hurt people, to seek
destruction and not creation. The world we live in is divided by the wolves
and the lambs, the lion and the calves, it’s a world that is divided based upon
power and ability, the strong survive and the weak are left to destruction.
-This comes out in the way that people bend wording in the rules so that it fits
their thriving. It’s the maneuvering of how to make a little bit more money, of
how to keep the troubled people out of the good people’s way, the division of
social status by wealth, manners, or simply by the way someone looks. The
current world thrives on division and destruction but we have hope amidst
this because a new creation is coming. A creation that shall be full of the
knowledge of the Lord!
-Listen to the contrast, no longer will the way of hurting and destruction reign
but, ‘The wolf shall DWELL with the lamb’; ‘the leopard and goat shall LIE
DOWN’; ‘the cow and the bear shall GRAZE.’ The image we have is is the
hope of a world where dwelling together is no longer a dream but it’s the
reality of unity and togetherness.
ILL-Child’s Innocence
-It sounds like a drawing by an innocent child. There is the bear and cow, the
wolf and lamb, the lion and the calf all together. My boys love to play like this,
they crawl on the ground and play like the lion, like the wolf, like the bear and
they can play these characters because they don’t have a fear of them.
Because they have innocent minds that there is no harm in the world.
-But that’s the point of Isaiah 11, don’t live in fear, but awaken yourself to the
coming hope, don’t lose hope but look ahead because there is a new reality
on it’s way, a new creation. Hope in the face of division!
-You can have hope today because a new world is coming where unity
reigns! Where dwelling with one another in peace is the reality.
3. Hope of Victory-New Life V.9
-We have a hope of life and a hope of unity and lastly we see that we have a
hope of victory!
-Isaiah 11:10, “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for
the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be
glorious.”
-The growing hope we have in the reign of the new king leads to the hope we
have of a united world, and this future is becoming a reality because the
shoot we saw in verse 1 is growing into a sign, into a banner of victory.
-Listen to how the message version says it, “On that day, Jesse’s Root will
be raised high, posted as a rallying banner for the peoples.”
ILL-Bulls Banners
-There is a banner being raised. It’s a banner of victory. It’s like the
championship banners the Bulls and Blackhawks have raised after each
championship won.
-The shoot grows into a banner, a banner of victory, a banner that people will
flock to as their resting place.
-How are we to live right now on December 4th, 2016? How are we to live in
light of a divided world that is only become more divided from the power of a
single tweet? How are we to live in light of what at times seems like a stump
filled world? We are to live with hope! We are to live with hope because this
image that Isaiah is giving us is not a far off dream world, this image that
Isaiah is giving us has already come into partial fulfillment. The banner has
already been raised up.
-In John 12:31-32, Jesus is showing his disciples how the Kingdom of God is
about to be established in the world and he tells them, “Now is the judgment
of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am
lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
-Jesus was pointing to his death, because it was the day that they nailed him
to the cross, and they rose him up in crucifixion that he was being lifted up on
his throne, his throne that says, I have taken on death once and for all, that
was the shoot emerging. It was 3 days later that he rose up, he rose up in
life, he rose up as a shoot that grew into a banner of victory! Then days later
he rose up as he ascended to heaven where he currently reigns as king.
-The hope we have is that we have victory. We have victory today because
it’s through his death that we can be raised to new life.
-This is what we will celebrate in a bit in the waters of baptism, we have
shared in his death so we can rise in the victory of new life! We can
anticipate the coming because we have this growing hope, this hope of life,
of unity, of victory.
-This hope leads us to action.
-In Matthew 3 we see that John the Baptist operating as the preparer of the
way for the arrival of Jesus is in the wilderness baptizing people into
repentance, preparing their hearts to turn toward Jesus.
-In Matthew 3:10 he turns to those that are living above this repentance,
acting as if they are good by themselves and he says, “Even now the axe is
laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
-What John is saying is that trees that don’t bear fruit are cut down, because
a tree that doesn’t bear fruit is considered to be a dead tree, useless. Stumps
are created and are made out of dead trees, are you a living tree?
-Don’t live as a stump. Don’t follow the path of life that says follow your will,
follow your eyes, follow your stomach, follow your desires, because it’ll drain
the life out of you. But today, find hope that you can cling to the tree of life.
-We have seen the victory of Jesus upon the cross and this victory doesn’t
lead us to standing around and waiting for the arrival by doing nothing but it
leads us into action filled waiting of living out that hope to the world.
-When you have feasted upon the tree of life, the tree that Jesus gave his life
up on, when you have feasted upon the cross of Christ it leads you into a life
of living out the hope you have by bearing fruit in his name.
-Stop living as a stump and find the shoot that is growing. Stop relying on this
world, stop relying on yourself, rely on the breath of life, the growing shoot,
and find a refuge in his banner of victory.
-How are you seeking, living, and growing the fruit of that growing shoot of
hope?

Conclusion: Find Hope!

You who are living in stumptown-find life!
You who are living in division-find unity!
You who are living in defeat-find victory!

Prayer of Confession
God of the future,
you are coming in power to bring all nations under your rule.
We confess that we have not expected your kingdom,
for we live casual lives, ignoring your promised judgment.

We accept lies as truth,

exploit neighbors,
abuse the earth,
and refuse your justice and peace.

In your mercy, forgive us.

Grant us wisdom to welcome your way,
and to seek things that will endure when Christ comes to judge the world.