I just want to thank each and everyone of you that are here this morning and listening by the way of Facebook and reading this blog.

I know our lives are crazy busy, but this is absolutely the place that you need to be this morning. (In the house of God)

I would just like to give you the opportunity to acknowledge that there is food that needs to be prepared, last minute gifts that need to be bought, and wrapping, but let’s just knowledge that we have these things on our plate! Now let’s put them in the back of our mind and shut the door! Let’s prepare our hearts and our minds for the message that has been prepared for today.

This season, let’s remember that Emmanuel is here with us. God is here and wherever you are watching and reading! Be assured this morning (this day) that God indwells us today.

Let’s stand at the reading of God‘s word.

Now repeat after me!

1. Lord, prepare my heart to receive from you now!

2. I want to hear what you have to say to me today! Open my heart and mind to understand! Amen!

At first, I would like to read apart of the scripture that Jesus Fulfilled. Turn with me back to The book of Isaiah. Isaiah 11:1-2

The Branch From Jesse

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD—“ and he will delight in the spirit of the Lord”

Give someone a handshake, a hug, and take your seat. Let’s talk about the old roots and the new shoots of fruit! Notice, that we do not have a Christmas tree in this passage! We have a stump! Isaiah was conveying to Israel that even though they are in captivity and their nation has the been reduced to almost nothing: God is still in control! Anyone like that? He is prophesying that the Messiah is still going to come. He said that this Messiah was full of wisdom and would rule justly. Thus, this Messiah would come from the lineage and the house of David.

Some scholars say that Isaiah used Jesse the father of David, in this example, because he wanted to express that the ruler would be extremely wise. We know from the genealogical records (Matthew 1:1–17 and Luke 3:23–38) that Jesus was descended from the line of Jesse and his son David. In Isaiah 11:10, the Hebrew word used for “root” (sheresh) implies a root that remains alive and sends up a shoot or branch; thus, the root of Jesse was a root from which more descendants could come.

The stump recognizes that God can take something from the dead and bring it to life. Isaiah foretold that the perfect king was going to come.

Isaiah 11:10 — The New King James Version (NKJV) 10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

I can’t help to think about our Christmas tree on Christmas Day. We have an artificial tree here in sanctuary, but often times we have a real tree. In both instances the tree is there. Isiah’s tree is cut off at the stump.

However we can dress up a Christmas tree which is also dead. We can make one trip to Hobby lobby and get the biggest and brightest ornaments, the nicest lights, some tinsel, a tree skirt, and put presents under it. Then, Wala: a gorgeous tree. – but, the tree is still dead, dead, dead! There is no chance of life, because it has been cut off from its roots.

Are you getting this? Sometimes, we are like the Christmas tree. We put on our best garments, we put on jewelry, sometimes we add make up, and we practice good hygiene, but we are a mess inside. In fact, some of us are dead. And sometimes we have been cut down to the stump. But, because we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; God rejuvenates old roots.

I think if Isaiah was choosing a symbol today for Christmas he would have chose a stump. When you are looking at a stump there are no branches, there is no leaves, and there certainly is no fruit, because a stump is dead. However, there is life beneath the stump. The roots are hidden, but they are alive. The spirit of Christmas can be sentimental, but the spirit of Christ is alive.

Life in Israel, at the time of Isaiah, seemed impossible. Scholars say the time of Christ was about 600 years later. There probably was just a remnant of people waiting for their messiah to come. Then, Jesus does not come as this shining glorious king, but he is born into low class society, the working class, in a humble stable. He was so overlooked that he was born in a barn, as stable, or a cleft of rock. “He was such a tender shoot.” (Isiah 11:-1) This is Christ not what is commercialize. Not what we we dressed up for ourselves! The true meaning of Christmas was was born in a manger, because there was no room in the inn. The significance, of the phrase: “ there was no room for him in the inn;” was because he left the splendor of heaven to be born fully man and fully God. As a mortal man, Jesus lost his heavenly privileges, but was exalted, because he done had accomplished the will of his father.

Isaiah was saying that God was going to rejuvenate Israel and raise up a king.

This king was named Jesus Christ. He was the shoot from the revitalized roots of the stump foretold in Isaiah.

And in the book of Revelation, Jesus states, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16).

Christmas is about hope in the places that you feel stumped. You know what I’m talking about! In the places of depression. In the places of anxiety, in the places of fear, in the places of drug addiction, and then all the places that God is needed. – sometimes we feel stumped!

The message of Christmas is not about the shining areas of our life. It is not about what we post on social media. It is not about the shininess of our Christmas trees or our decorations. Christmas is about the messiah coming into the world. The message of Christmas is that there is hope in our stumps. (Trails and troubles)

Have you ever been walking in the woods and tripped on a stump? Have you ever been walking and seen a magnificent tree and stopped to gaze at it? Do you know that both of these things have in common? Both a stump and a magnificent tree contribute to our distractions?

The Holy Ghost wants me to share a Little story with you. Last summer, I had a tree cut down and we did not remove the stump. The stump sets on the side of my driveway. Keep in mind, that the driveway goes uphill to a barn. The stump will become slick when it rains or when it snows. So, when backing down the hill from the barn one must be very careful or your vehicle rollover the stop. When this happens, you will most likely have to be pulled out of there with a winch. In this example, the Holy Ghost wants us to know that even though we have created the stumps in our life, God will pull us over then and sometimes God will even remove it.

Christ brings new life.

Christ can make away when there is no way.

If we do not identify the problems (stumps) in our life; then, how are we to bring those problems to God? When we don’t bring life‘s stumps (problems) to God we continue to stumble and fall. The stumps in our life can grow and fester. Christ cannot rejuvenate our roots if we do not accept his living water and the nutrients of His word!

God, sent to his only son, Jesus Christ into the world. Not to condemn the world, but to save the world. (John 3:16) This Christmas accept Jesus Christ who will regenerate your roots and give you new life.

God will not do what we do! God will not just dress up a Christmas tree to make it beautiful. God will take the stump and turn the stump into a new child of God. A joint heir with Jesus Christ. God takes the darkness and turns it into light. God does not just clean up on the outside, because we do that. God cleans us up from the inside out.

Stay with me! It’s just getting good. We only have a few more scriptures to examine.

Isaiah 11:1 says the following: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”

This shoot came to the world in the form of a baby and they called him Emmanuel. (God with us)

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (King James Version) “7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. 8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit”

If you are a child of God, the Holy Spirit wants you to know that your roots are there. The world and its (stumps) problems may have cut you down to a stump, but with God there will be a huge shoot of life come out of your stump. In fact, if we are planted in Christ Jesus, which is our firm foundation, God will make us a healthy strong tree that bears much fruit!

Let me share with you a few things we can do “when facing a stump!”

1. When we are staring at our stumps: declare the faithfulness of God! We declare God’s faithfulness by remembering what he has brought us through. We can do this in a number of ways. We can call a friend and testify. We can praise God on social media. We can serenade God with songs and with poems.

2. The next thing The Holy Spirit wants us to do when we are facing our stumps is to focus on God. When we focus on God we have a cause to rejoice. Rejoicing in our lives lifts our burdens and they become light.

• We Rejoice because of the Sovereignty of Our Father. … 
• We Rejoice because of the Grace of the Son. … 
• We Rejoice because of the Presence of the Spirit. … 
• We Rejoice because of the Assurance of Heaven. … 
• We Rejoice because of the Comfort of the Scriptures. … 
• We Rejoice because of the Certainty of Answered Prayer.

The next Time you were facing a stump the Holy Spirit wants us dial God‘s phone number. what? Some pastors, in my past, have said that Jeremiah 33:3 is God‘s phone number! This is what it says: “3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

It might be just about time for us to stop talking to people about our problems and stop start talking to God.

It might just be about the time we stop complaining about our stumps and give it to Jesus!

Let’s present these stumps or problems to God himself, because he is able to give us conflict resolution.

3. The next time we are faced with a stop or a trial in our life; we are not going to be tossed in the wind. We are going to strengthen our roots and remain firm. Check out the advice found in Psalm 92. Verses 13 and 14 and 15 read as follows:

Psalm 92:13-15 (New King James Version) “13 Those who are planted in the house of the LordShall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be [a]fresh and [b]flourishing, 15 To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”

Church is where your roots find a direct source of living water!

Church is where our roots are fed spiritual nutrients through the Word of God!

Church is our training group and our fueling station! Make a comment to God to meet Him at church. When we do this we grow new shoots.

God is in this! God has not given up on you. Becareful, the shoot may not always look like you wanted to, but God is in control and he knows what’s best for us.

The Christ child was the new tinder shoot and because of him we celebrate Christmas.

In this new year, let’s not get stumped! Let’s allow GOD TO NUTURE OUR NEW SHOOTS!

Prayer: God would you work in our dead places and make us called trees of splendor. So, when others look to us they see the light and are drawn to it. Lord help us not to miss the tinder shoots that you are pushing up in our lives. Help us mature a little more this year! Let us remain in church. Let us see what you see. Lord thank you for sending Jesus Christ to be the sacrificial lamb? This season may we remember the beginning of the gospel and keep it close all year long. Amen!