Women’s Advent Dinner 2022
The Root of Jesse: god is glorious
by Sheetal Enright
Scripture reading: Isaiah 11:1-2, 10 [ESV]
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
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…
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.
Before we begin, I wanted to share with you ladies that up until last year, I had never observed Advent. I became a believer as an adult and have attended non-denominational churches in the past, so this was new to me. And I was richly blessed by the time we spent in the Everlasting Light study.
Life seems to ramp up to a breakneck pace this time of year… and being able to pause to contemplate the beauty and wonder of Jesus coming to earth restores our souls. So I'm really glad we're all here together this evening.
***
When I was first approached about sharing a devotional at the Advent dinner this year, I began praying about what the Lord would have me share. And the message He gave me for us to focus on today is that He is Glorious.
And on the one hand, that’s an easy subject to address because we all know that God is glorious. The Psalmist tells us, “The Heavens declare the glory of God…” When we say that He is glorious, we’re just joining with all of Creation to acknowledge a truth that has been known since the beginning of time.
But on the other hand, I believe God has a purpose in having us hear this today. So I’ve been praying – and others have as well – that our hearts would be soft and open to receive what God has for us in this message – and that He would bear fruit in us and through us for His glory.
***
A couple of years ago, I read a foreword by John Piper in which he said, “The primary mission of the Spirit – and His people – is to show the world that Jesus is more glorious than anyone or anything else.” He added, “It cannot be done by those who find this world more
enjoyable than Jesus.” And I don’t know about you ladies, but I sometimes find myself defaulting to enjoying – or prioritizing – or focusing on – the things of this world way more than I do on the glory of our awesome God. And when I – when we – do that, we are missing out on opportunities for Him to show the world His glory through us.
Our theme for Advent this year, the “Root of Jesse”, is a quote from Isaiah 11. And I love Isaiah because he is all about God’s glory.
Isaiah 6 talks about this decisive moment towards the start of Isaiah’s ministry, the year that King Uzziah died, when Isaiah saw the Lord – high and lifted up, holy and majestic and glorious. And this encounter was life changing for Isaiah… he recognized his utter sinfulness, he received God’s grace taking away his guilt and he responded to God’s call to go and speak for Him.
And this is God’s glory – the splendor of His holiness, the beauty of His character displayed for us to see, so that we grow in our knowledge of Him and live lives that display His glory to the world around us.
We see God’s glory shine through over and over again in the Bible as His people experience Him in very real and personal ways.
Abraham saw it on the mountain when God provided the burnt offering in place of Isaac, the One who did not spare His own son, chose to spare Abraham’s.
Job struggled to reconcile God’s sovereignty and goodness in the midst of his suffering and had a life changing encounter with God which deepened his faith and understanding. In Job 42, he says, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.”[Job 42:5 NIV]
Peter was confronted with his sinfulness and lack of faith over and over as he walked with Jesus, [Luke 5:8, Matthew 14:28-41, Matthew 26: 75] but he was also completely restored by Jesus’ love and grace.
Mary and Martha saw the glory of God in Jesus’ power over death when they received back their brother Lazarus.
And Moses – Moses was physically transformed by his time with God – we are told in Exodus 34 that the skin of his face shone when he came out after speaking with the Lord.
The truth is, God is glorious. And in our closest best moments with Him, we are overwhelmed and awed by that knowledge. But then we need to go out and walk in the everyday carrying that knowledge of the glory of God in jars of clay, showing the world His all surpassing power. So how do we live that way?
***
Ladies, this is why we need to fix our eyes on Jesus [Hebrews12:2] – Jesus who is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being. The Word who became flesh and made His dwelling among us. Like John, we have seen His glory, the glory of the one only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NIV)
In one sense, this is a shared experience – many of us have come to know Him as our Savior and our Lord. But just like the shepherds and the wise men, just like Isaiah and Abraham and Job and Mary and Martha and Peter and Moses and countless others, we have also experienced God revealing Himself to us in unique and special ways. Ways that have to do with His plans and purposes for each of us individually.
And we need to hold on to those moments, because as we remember and reflect on how God has shown us His glory, we can bear witness to others around us. That’s God’s plan for each of us.
And His plan is glorious. It isn’t based on who we are…
Because Jesus isn’t just the Root of Jesse, He is also a shoot from the stump of Jesse.
We read in Matthew, “there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.” [Matthew 1:17]
The lineage of Jesse, which had begun with such promise when David was anointed king ended up being a picture of what it looks like when we fail to follow the Lord… some kings from his line were generally faithful, but many were wicked and in Jeremiah 22 we see God’s judgement on the House of Judah. He tells the wicked King Jehoiachin (also called Jeconiah),
Jeremiah 22: 24b, 25, 27 [NIV]: “… even if you…were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians…
You will never come back to the land you long to return to.”
This was the exile.
And this is where it should have ended, this is where it would have ended, except for the kindness of our awesome God.
Honestly, it should have ended in the garden. Or at Babel. Or in the flood. Or in the desert. Or countless other times in the history of our world. God’s righteousness would have been completely satisfied by delivering us to the destruction we deserve… the just wages of sin.
But our God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love [Psalm 145:8, ESV].
Because of God’s faithfulness, Jehoiachin’s grandson, Zerubbabel, who was born in Babylon during the exile, was able to return to Judah when King Cyrus II allowed the Judean captives to return to their homeland to rebuild the temple.
And in Haggai 2, the Lord speaks to Zerubbabel and the remnant of the people and says, [Haggai 2: 2-9 ESV]: “‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?
He says…
Yet now be strong...
I am with you…according to the covenant that I made with you..
My Spirit remains in your midst...
The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former….
And in this place I will give peace…’”
And we know that the latter glory of this rebuilt temple was greater than the former, because our Savior Himself - the Prince of Peace - stood and spoke in the courts of this temple. The Kingdom of David son of Jesse had been reduced to stumps, but our true King Jesus the son of God is the shoot that came forth from the stump of Jesse.
If God’s plan depended on us, we would be so completely lost. But God’s plan is so much more glorious than that. For God chose us to be holy and blameless in his sight because of Jesus Christ. Because of His great love, He adopted us as His children through Christ. Our faith is a gift, in accordance with God’s pleasure and will and to the praise of his glorious grace [Ephesians 1].
Just like Zerubbabel, offspring of Babylon, we have been redeemed, not because of anything we did but because that is God’s glorious plan.
***
I so identify with that imagery of stumps. I grew up with this idea that it was really important to have it all together – or at the very least, to look like I had it all together. And so much of my identity was wrapped up in being that person who did the right thing, that even when I came to faith in Christ, and intellectually had accepted that I was a sinner saved by God’s grace, I still lived imprisoned by those expectations.
But in God’s goodness and mercy, He stripped back the facades in my life in 2003 and revealed the stumps which I was pretending - both to myself and to everyone else - were trees. And there were literally no trees, it was all stumps.
I’m not sure how many of you have had the blessing of having everything in your life cut down to stumps, but I will tell you I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Because when everything else is down to stumps, you can clearly see the only tree we really have, the tree on which Jesus hung. That’s the only tree we can count on – the Cross of Christ.
And it was only then that I truly understood at the core of my being how much God loves us – in spite of who we are, not because of who we are. That’s when I became rooted and established in His love. And that’s when I learned to rest completely in Jesus’ finished work on the cross.
***
So I’m here to say today that His rest is glorious.
Isaiah speaks of this in our theme verse - a day when the Root of Jesse, our lord Jesus, shall stand as a signal for the peoples… and His resting place shall be glorious.
And I often think of that as a promise for our future; a future described so beautifully in the book of Revelation: [Revelation 21:3-4 ESV] “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
We who know Christ as Savior can look forward to that day. Advent is all about this waiting… a time to celebrate the coming of Christ in flesh as we watch for His return in glory.
But what about now? Here in our present lives, in this fallen world where everything is not as it will be? Could the rest of Jesus be available to us now?
***
I’m a planner – that’s my personality – and the blessing of this is that it allows me to see patterns and possible outcomes, which is helpful in seeking to make wise choices. The downside is that there’s this danger of being overcome with worry, of wanting to take control, to protect myself and those I love, working overtime to bring about the result that I think is best. But that’s not faith. Faith is letting go of what we think is best and surrendering our ways to God, trusting Him to accomplish what He knows is best… it’s resting in Jesus.
So where have you been trying so hard that you’re exhausted? Who have you been trying to please, what standard have you been trying to live up to, what needs have you been trying to meet in your own strength, in what ways have you been trying to protect or provide for yourself by your own power?
Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [Matthew 11:28, NIV]. He says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. [John 15:9, NIV]. He tells us not to worry about running after earthly things, because our Heavenly Father knows what we need [Matthew 6:25-30]. He says, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. [Matthew 6:33 NIV].
The rest of Jesus includes every blessing he talked about in the Beatitudes [Matthew 5] and every fruit of the Spirit He sent to help us and be with us forever [John 14:16]. It’s about seeking Him, following Him and desiring His will for our lives.
***
I know how hard it can be to rest in Jesus.
My first marriage was rough – and I worried and worked to try and protect myself and my family from the awful consequences that I could see coming. But after every possible thing had gone wrong, I saw God work in awesome ways for my good – for the good of my son – and for the good of others around us as well – so that His glory was made evident even in the midst of devastating circumstances. Because God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of his Son [Romans 8:29]… that is His goal in the hardest of trials, in the most difficult of seasons. He is able to work all things together for good, so that we who were called and justified might begin to look a little less like the world and a little more like Jesus.
It’s so easy to think that our lives – our time here on earth – are about us and sometimes we forget that God is not here to glorify us, He is here to glorify Himself so that the world may be blessed.
And because God is glorious, He can be glorified in our lives. Jesus already told us the secret to fruitful lives that glorify God. He says,
[John 15:5, 7-8 ESV]: I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing... If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
God being glorified in our lives is directly linked to us abiding in Him. The word means to remain, to continue, to stay, not to depart. And ladies, I know that’s hard to do when our lives can be so hectic and there are so many people and things competing for our time.
But I was reading 1 John [1 John 2:3-6] last week and saw a progression that I wanted to share with you all today. John talks about knowing Jesus – coming to understand who He is – and says, “… by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.” That word for commandments is "entole" and it’s talking about specific precepts. But then John says that those who truly love Jesus will keep his word. And that goes beyond "entole" to “logos” – which includes all communication, including every intent of His word. And finally, John talk about abiding – remaining, continuing, walking in step with Jesus.
Ladies, this type of abiding goes beyond our abilities and efforts. Just like to Zerubbabel, the Lord’s word to us is, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit…”[ Zechariah 4:6,NIV]
As we spend time with God in His word and in prayer, the Holy Spirit works in us to reveal how precious our Lord really is and to grow our love for Him, so that the desire of our hearts is to abide in Him.
And that’s a resting place that is truly glorious.
***
How do we show the world that Jesus is more glorious than anyone or anything else? It starts with intentionally and consistently seeking His face, asking Him to grow our knowledge and love for Him, so that we abide in Him more and more.
And here’s the thing… as we spend time in this resting place, abiding in Him and beholding His glory, 2 Corinthians 3:18 [ESV] tells us that we are “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Next February will mark twenty years since I became a single mum with a one year old son, physically, emotionally and financially desolate. But I had Jesus and I will testify to you that there is nothing better than abiding in Him.
As you can probably imagine, I haven’t been perfect in it, but God has been gracious and faithful to grow me in Him. And although I have so, so, SO far to go, I am not who I was back then… I have more love, more joy, more peace, more patience, more of every fruit of the Spirit, I am more humble, less self-centered, more rooted in Him and more submitted to Him.
And I know that my life – and my witness – are richer for it.
Ladies, our God is glorious. His plan for each of us – for each of you - is glorious. And the rest He offers – even now, even here, even in the midst of everything you have going on – is glorious.
So that’s my prayer for us this Advent Season and in the year ahead: that we would be abiding in this glorious resting place, beholding the glory of our Savior and that as we do that, God would transform us - individually and as a sisterhood of believers - and use us to show the world how glorious He truly is.
Questions for Reflection
God is glorious “…just like the shepherds and the wise men, just like Isaiah and Abraham and Job and Mary and Martha and Peter and Moses and countless others, we have also experienced God revealing Himself to us in unique and special ways. Ways that have to do with His plans and purposes for each of us individually.”
Q: When if you life have you experienced God as glorious? How has He used this experience as a witness and a blessing to others?
God’s plan is glorious “…when everything else is down to stumps, you can clearly see the only tree we really have, the tree on which Jesus hung. That’s the only tree we can count on – the Cross of Christ. “
Q: Is there an area in your life that has been or is now reduced to stumps? What has God done or what is He doing to work this to good?
God’s rest is glorious “…where have you been trying so hard that you’re exhausted? Who have you been trying to please, what standard have you been trying to live up to, what needs have you been trying to meet in your own strength, in what ways have you been trying to protect or provide for yourself by your own power?”
Q: Where do you need to rest in Jesus more?
Wrap up “…prayer for us this Advent Season and in the year ahead: that we would be abiding in this glorious resting place, beholding the glory of our Savior and that as we do that, God would transform us - individually and as a sisterhood of believers - and use us to show the world how glorious He truly is.”
Q: What would help you take more time to abide, rest, in Jesus’ glorious presence so that you can be a part of His plan to show the world how glorious He truly is?
Take time to pray.