We finally got the Lewis family Christmas tree up. Poor Eli has been chomping at the bit to get it up. We actually got the tree out of storage last Sunday. But because the weather was so nice, we spent the afternoon putting up the outside decorations. By the time we were done outside we only had enough energy left to put the tree in its stand. It sat undecorated in the corner of the living room for three days. Every day Eli would ask, “are we going to decorate the tree tonight?” “No, daddy is teaching confirmation class tonight.” The next day, “are we going to decorate the tree tonight?” “No, daddy is teaching Bible Information class tonight.” The night after that, “how about tonight, are we going to decorate the tree tonight?” “No, we have advent services tonight.” By the fourth day the poor boy looked like someone had stolen the jingle out of his bells. When he asked, “are we ever going to decorate our Christmas tree?”, I didn’t have the heart to tell him that we couldn’t decorate the tree because momma was at an ornament exchange with the church ladies. We decided we could decorate the tree as long as we saved her favorite ornaments for her.
I understand why the boy was so excited for the Christmas tree to be decorated. The Christmas tree is where Christmas presents are placed. There are few things more exciting to a child than seeing a present under the Christmas tree with their name on it. You remember what it’s like don’t you? A sort of madness comes over you as you imagine what treasure lies hidden beneath the brightly colored paper and curly-cue of ribbon. In an effort to discern what your gift might be, you study the shape, size, and sounds that it makes when you shake it back and forth. You carefully examine the folds and creases in the wrapping paper and inspect the quality of the tape used to hold it all together. Maybe you will get lucky; maybe momma was in a rush when she was wrapping presents and there will be a gap in the paper or a poorly applied piece of tape that will allow you to just sneak a peek inside. As I said, I understand why the boy was so excited for the Christmas tree to be decorated.
Today we continue our Advent worship series under the theme, “God so loved the world”. Last week we were reminded God so loved the world that He promised to send His Son. This morning we are going to be reminded that God so loved the world that He prophesied about His Son. This morning, it’s like your heavenly Father has placed a present under the Christmas tree with your name on it and, with the help of the prophet Isaiah, we are going to see if we can sneak a peek inside.
In Isaiah 11:1 we get our first impressions of the gift your heavenly Father has placed under the tree for you. Isaiah writes, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” To be honest, our first impression isn’t the greatest. I don’t know about you, but a shoot coming up from a stump is not on my Christmas list. Legos, videogames, leather wallets, and cashmere sweaters these are the kinds of things we have on our Christmas lists, a twig sticking out of a stump, not so much.
This twig didn’t look like much back in Isaiah’s day either. There was a time when Jesse’s family tree was magnificent. King David was the most notable branch of that tree. Under David, the kingdom of Israel thrived. It was a time of peace, prosperity, and spiritual enrichment for the Israelites. Unfortunately, not long after the reign of David ended, disease seeped into Jesse’s family tree. Under king Ahaz, disease had almost completely rotted Jesse’s family tree. Under Ahaz, war killed Israelites by the hundreds of thousands, the land was stripped of its wealth, and images of Baal were erected while child sacrifices were being performed. The LORD had no choice but to chop down Jesse’s family tree until all that was left was a stump.
As the Israelites were carried off into captivity, they longed for the branch of David to shelter them once more. Instead, all they got was a twig sticking out of a stump. Unfortunately, many decided to toss the twig aside in search of something better. There is a temptation for us to do the same. There are so many presents under our trees that one could argue that we have been carried off into commercialism. In our eagerness and excitement to open all the big, expensive, and exciting presents under our trees, sometimes, sometimes the twig gets tossed aside. When was the last time you put a bible on your Christmas list? You say, “I already have a bible.” Well you already have a pair of pants too, but I bet that doesn’t stop you from asking for more. How is it that on Christmas morning, of all mornings, no time can be found for a family devotion? And yet there is time to find the gift receipts. Why is it that the sound of prayerful thanksgiving is seldom heard as paper is being torn from packages? Could it be that we are guilty of tossing the twig aside in search of something better?
Before you mistake your heavenly Father’s gift for garbage, let’s do some more peeking at your present. In verses 2-5 Isaiah writes, “2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD— 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; 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. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” Upon closer inspection we realize that, though it doesn’t look like much, the gift your heavenly Father has given you is incredibly useful. It’s better than a Swiss army knife and a Leatherman put together. Did you see all the things this gift can do?
Your gift has the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Having walked in your shoes and having faced the same kinds of trials and tribulations that you face, your gift knows exactly what you are going through and He knows how to deal with the problems you face in this life. He has been there, done that, got the toga. He is not going to be fooled by the brave face you put on for everyone else. He knows what you need, and He has the ability to help. Your gift does not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
Your gift has the Spirit of counsel and power. Spiritually speaking, your gift knows what you are up against. He knows you are up “against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”[1] And He knows about the sin living in you[2]. Your gift has a plan to defeat the enemies from without and the enemies from within that seek to destroy you, and your gift has the power to execute that plan. Your gift will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.
Your gift has the Spirit of knowledge and fear. It is no secret that you have fallen short of the glory of God; fallen so very far short that you don’t always know the difference between right and wrong, and even when you do know, more often than not, you fail to do that which is right. Where you fail your gift succeeds. Your gift has a perfect knowledge of right and wrong and every time He chooses to do that which is right. Your gift wears righteousness as a belt and faithfulness as a sash around his waist.
Even before you are able to get your heavenly Father’s Christmas gift open, you can see how useful this gift is. It’s exciting, isn’t it? Let’s sneak one more peek. In verses 6-10 Isaiah writes, “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. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be glorious.” With these words we come to realize that though there are many gifts under your tree, this gift, the gift your heavenly Father gives you for Christmas is the gift that you need the most, even more than socks and underwear! Your heavenly Father has given you the gift of peace.
It is a peace that resembles that which was once found in the garden of Eden. A peace that existed before sin came into the world and corrupted our relationships. Sin is a powerful disturber of the peace: it causes us to assume the worst of each other, it causes us to say mean nasty things about each other, it causes us to be abusive and neglectful of each other. But the Christmas gift your heavenly Father gives you, changes you. It calls upon you to live in harmony with one another loving others as you love yourself; loving others as you have been loved. It calls upon you to live as a people at peace.
As long as we live on this earth we will struggle to live in peace with others, but we will not always live on this earth. There will come a time when we will stand upon the heavenly Father’s holy mountain, and when we do, we will be at last a people at peace not only with each other but also with our heavenly Father. Because of the twig sticking out of the stump of Jesse we will be finally and forever perfectly at peace.
This morning we have been reminded yet again how God so loves the world. He loves the world; He loves you so much that He allowed the prophet Isaiah to give you a sneak peek at the gift that He got you for Christmas. I completely understand if this sneak peek has made you excited for Christmas, but you have to try to be patient. Why don’t you come back next week, and we will talk about your Christmas gift as we remember how God so loved the world that He prepared for His Son. Amen.
[1] Ephesians 6:12
[2] Romans 7:17