THE SHOOT OF JESSE

Reverend G. S. Adeyemo

Your stump will rise up and become a fruitful tree. Ezekiel 34: 29. Our nation Nigeria will be great again.

   “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.  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, 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 fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 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. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.” Isaiah 11: 1-5 

Introduction

David was the youngest of the sons of Jesse who against all imaginations became the anointed king of Israel. 1 Samuel 16:6-13. The big family tree of Jesse started to blossom significantly from the days of Ruth the wife of Boaz till the days of Jeconiah. The Bible records in Matthew 1:5 6 “Salmon was the father of Boaz. Rahab was Boaz’s mother. Boaz was the father of Obed. Ruth was Obed’s mother. Obed was the father of Jesse. And Jesse was the father of King David.”

 This tree of Jesse was so decimated as to be left with just a stump. For over 600 years before Christ, no descendants of David could mount the throne. This negated the covenant of God for David. Prophet Jeremiah declared “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” Jeremiah 23: 5 

A Root of Hope: Charles L. Allen says that “When you say a situation or a person is hopeless, you are slamming the door in the face of God.” The spiritual dryness of the Israelites led to the hopeless situation which was compounded by the external aggression. They were carried into captivity and were deprived of their liberty. Ezekiel described this experience as very dry bones. Ezekiel 37: 11 “Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’”

Are you cut off by friends, relations or colleagues? Here is a message of hope for you. “Even a tree has more hope! If it is cut down, it will sprout again and grow new branches.” Job 14: 7; Isaiah 11: 1. No matter how devastated is your situation, you will rise again.

A Shoot from the Root  

The one who was to come according to the prophecy of Isaiah is referred to as shoot and root. That line of kings, David and Solomon and so on, continued physical line of descendants continued, but they were no longer reigning as kings. 

What was left for you seems just like a dead stump, the breath of life will come into your stump. You need not to understand how could another king come from that dead stump? The Lord has spoken, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Your stump will rise up and become a fruitful tree. Ezekiel 34: 29. Our nation Nigeria will be great again.

Royalty, authority, and beauty attached to the highest office in Israel were stripped off the Davidic lineage; however, the Lord in His infinite mercy promised a restoration.  The Bible says, “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.” Wisdom and righteousness will rest on him in abundance. His rule and his reign will be just and faithful. This Davidic king will always do the right thing. Upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD” Isaiah 11: 1-3  

This king will come fully equipped, anointed with the Spirit of God in fullest measure: “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might...”

Not Over Yet. Jesus’ death paid the price for our sins and defeated all our enemies, including death. Christ’s death opened the way to life, and after three days in the tomb, he rose and was full of life. His cross of became our tree of life.

Whatever the enemies thought will disgrace you will turnaround to raise you up in glory in Jesus name. All you need to do is to hope in God, trust His Word and persevere in prayer and you will never remain the same again in Jesus name.

Moving Forward

 The longer you hold on to the past, the farther the future of your dream. The past and the future are separated by the present.

Start looking forward to whatever you desire. The desire you deserve comes at the moment you are ready to let go the past disappointments. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.” 1 Samuel 16:1

Looking forward, moving forward; You will reach your goal in Jesus name.

GO FOR GOALS

Reverend G. S. Adeyemo 

Determine and pay the price of attaining Jesus’ standard of reaching your goal. Determination through the power of the Holy Spirit makes a believer stronger and better till he reaches the perfection Jesus set for us.

“12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

INTRODUCTION

The Super Eagles began their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign on a shaky note with a lone goal victory over Burundi.  Considering how crucial the next game was to qualifying for the next round, the Nigerian Coach knowing the passion of Nigerians charged the team to “Go for goals” in their next matches. 

Christians must do everything needed to go for their God-given goals in the journey of life.   Everyone here on earth has one set target or the other.  The ultimate goal is attaining the full stature of Christ Jesus. To reach this goal, you need to observe the following principles: 

1. Desire to Know More: Paul did not consider himself as one who had attained complete spiritual maturity in Jesus Christ. He desires to know more. Prov. 15:14, 18:15; 2 Pet. 3:18; Eccl. 7:12; Prov. 4:5; 2 Pet. 1: 5

2. Develop Your Spirit-man: This is an area many of us battles with several things in our life. It is so frustrating to know what is right and still not be able to manage to do it.  Romans 7:18; Prov. 25:27-28; 1 Tim. 3:2-3; Titus 2:11-12

 3. Determine to Reach the Goal:  Determination is the strength that carries you through the path of success in the midst of obstacles. “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 3: 13b-14

George Lorimer says "You've got to get up every morning with determination if you're going to go to bed with satisfaction."  Determination is the ability to make difficult decisions and accomplish God's goals based on the truths of God's word. 

 When you are determined to succeed, you develop and progress, even if the result is not what was expected. Our determination needs to be governed by righteous desire, commitment, and dedication to God's principles. Be determined to succeed.  Determination is the strength Romans 15:4; Ruth 1:16-18; Phil. 3:12-14; Daniel 1:8 that carries you through the path of success in the midst of obstacles.  With determination, you remain focused on your goals and are resilient under problems, obstacles, distractions, oppositions, persecutions with conviction.  This is a resolve to reaching or achieving your heart desire no matter what may be the price. 

Looking at Paul’s statements in the passage, he said, “But one thing I do: Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead...” v 13b. Forgetting means to neglect, to put behind, not to consider as necessary for the sake of where you are going or what you are aiming at getting. If you don't forget the offense of that man or woman against you, you cannot achieve your desired goal. Many prayers are not answered because you are holding on to the past. You are depreciating because you are tied to the past. I challenge you to forget that past so you can move forward. No one holds on to the past and ever progress in life. Isaiah 43: 18. Living in the past is a devil’s weapon of tying down destiny. 

Fixing your mind means you strain, stretch, strive, squeeze your worldly comfort and freedom so you can get there. Determine and pay the price of attaining Jesus’ standard of reaching your goal. Determination through the power of the Holy Spirit makes a believer stronger and better till he reaches the perfection Jesus set for us.

Conclusion: Trials may come, temptations may surround you but the Lord will give you all it takes to reach your goals in Jesus name

I pray that the Lord will hold you and lead you through your hurdles till you get to the level God set before you in Jesus name