The Branch….By pastor Charles C Elliott
As a believer in the Lord Jesus, we come to know Him by many names Lord”…The “Good Shepherd”….The “Bread of Life”….The “Corner Stone”…The “Door”…. The “Horn of Salvation”….The “Lamb of God”….The “Morning Star”….The “Lion of Judah”….The “Rock”…The “Rose of Sharon” and many more…..But one of His names which is found in the inspired writings of the prophet Isaiah, caught my attention, and we will take a closer look together….
Isaiah 11:1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a BRANCH shall grow out of His roots v2 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 of the fear of the LORD, v3 And shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears, v4 But with righteousness shall He judge”…..
To understand this reference to Jesus as “The Branch” we first need to understand that the Bible depicts the nation of Israel, with the symbol of a grape vine or an olive tree. These symbols appear on the national stamps and are very identified with Israelis today… If you visit there you will see that these symbols are displayed quite frequently and are very common.
Even though a grape vine can grow wild, the most productive grape vines with the most delicious grapes must have the careful attention and constant care from a vine dresser… He braces up the vine to keep it out of the dirt….(there’s a lot of dirt around that you can easily fall into…Satan wants you down in the dirt, and the mire, so He can devalue, cheapen, and defile you… he wants you brought down where people can walk on you, crush you and dishonor you….) But Jesus comes along and braces you up and places you in a strong safe place where your value can come forth and you can shine with excellence and be seen of men, as the work of God’s grace, provision and power.
The Master vine dresser also prunes the vine, by cutting away all the unproductive shoots, called “suckers”….because these “suckers” want to drain from you the dream, the vision of God in your heart, they want to take away from you, your fruitfulness, your health, your ability to be all that you can be…in God’s plan and purpose…. When God begins to prune your life, He always has something better than all the “Suckers” He has cut away from you….
A young wife and mother came to her pastor to tell him, "I'm so scared! Joe says he's going to kill me if I continue to come to your church. "Don’t be afraid, trust God, He is with you and will protect you”, replied the pastor, "I will continue to pray for you and believe with you. Have faith - the Lord will watch over you. "Yes, you’re right, she said, He has kept me safe this far, only....only….. "Only what, my sister? "Well, now he says that if I keep coming to your church, he's going to kill YOU TOO!" "Well, now," said the pastor, "Perhaps it's time for you to check out that little church on the other side of town." (The suckers will rob you of your boldness and your power….)
Isaiah chapter 5, is referred to as “The song of the Vineyard” and we can see here, all that the Vine Dresser has done to assure that the grape vine is healthy, strong, and has all that it needs to yields the best harvest possible…
Isaiah 5:1 “Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching His vineyard. My well beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. (everything is present, for the very best outcome) v2 And He fenced it, and gathered out the stones in it, and planted it with the very choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress within it (you can always tell what’s inside a person when their pressed, but stop blaming Satan, God put a winepress in the vineyard, to see what you’ve got when the pressure is on) and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild (sour, uneatable, and distasteful) grapes”.
The Master vine dresser will taste the grapes before He gives them out to anyone else, you see the vine and all it produces is for Him first. It must bring Him pleasure, before and above anyone else!!!
Revelation 2:3 “And you have endured, and had patience, and for my name's sake you have labored, and you have not fainted. v4 But having said all that, I have something against you, because you have left your first love”.
Wow, how many are doing all the right things for all the wrong reasons! Trying to please everyone else, but forgetting what your real purpose and reason for being….truly is….Forgetting that the bottom line is what Revelation 4:11 tells us clearly “For God’s pleasure, we were and are created.”
God is telling us that there is a very real danger of becoming so busy, we forget that our purpose is to bring pleasure to God…and that there is one and only one that we have to please and all the rest will work out!
It was the beginning of Spring at Niagara Falls and the winter ice was rushing down the river in large blocks, flowing toward the falls. There were carcasses of fish that had become frozen and embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river on these blocks of ice, feeding on the fish. They knew that as they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would allow them to escape from the falls. However, some of the gulls didn’t count on something they couldn’t foresee, and became so engrossed in eating the fish, that when they finally came to the brink of the falls, and spread their powerful wings, they could not escape. They had delayed too long, and their feet had frozen into the ice and one by one they plunged into the deadly abyss."
The most wonderful attractions of this world become deadly when we become overly attached to them, even with all the grace which has been extended to us, for we must let it go in order to embrace and continue in, our God ordained purpose….
When Peter and the others forgot what it was all about, they quickly returned to their fishing boats….Solomon began to pursue after and worship other Gods….Aaron made a golden calf and led the people in worshiping it…...King Saul tried to kill David, the one whom God had chosen…..The first man, Adam and his wife Eve ended up being expelled from the garden…..Judas went out and hanged himself, after being that close to the Lord for 3 years….
When we do as the words say in the song, “In Christ alone,” everything else will fall into place and be added unto us….The song says "Oh, I could stop and count successes, like diamonds in my hand, but those trophies could not equal to the grace by which I stand. In Christ alone I place my trust and find my glory in the power of the cross, In every victory let it be said of me, my source of strength, my source of hope Is Christ alone….
We must be careful that we don’t linger too long at the table of self- gratification, until we squander away the opportunities to serve God and God alone.
Isaiah 5:5 (The Song of the Vineyard) “And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my (disobedient, self-serving) vineyard. I will take away the hedge thereof, (God’s divine protection) and it shall be eaten up (debt and lack, the wasters, and all that wants to take a pound of flesh). Break down the wall thereof, (the sense of safety, security and belonging) and it shall be trodden down. v6 And I will cut it down, it shall not be pruned, (it shall be left to it’s own devices and abilities) nor digged, but there shall come up briers and thorns (we don’t realize how much God is covering our back, and providing, until He allows us to feel what it’s like when He is not) I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it”.
But here’s the good part, that grace brings into the equation…. If we read on, we see that this is where “The Branch” shows up….Hallelujah…
Job 14:7 “For there is hope, that if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and the tender branch thereof will not cease”.
Could everyone say…(FOR THERE IS HOPE) When it looks like all that you dreamed of, has been chopped down, when what you have given your energy, time and resources to, was chopped off at the knees…. when your heart has been trampled upon and left shattered on the ground, and you’re not sure you can trust again, love again, or believe that it can work again….
When you don’t even realize it, when you can’t even see it…a new shoot appears… it’s almost indistinguishable….but it’s the shape of hope, of new life, of beginning again, a new start, YES, there in the valley of the shadows! David said, “In the valley of the shadows, He restores my soul and He anoints my head with fresh oil”
On one occasion, that new shoot of good things to come, appeared in the form of Samson’s hair beginning to grow, as his strength returned, after he had messed it all up so badly…. It came in the shape of a branch of hyssop which the prophet cast into the bitter waters of his Marah experience and the bitter waters were made sweet… It came in the shape of four lepers, when Samaria was gripped by famine in the days of Elisha….it came in the shape of Esther’s forbidden appearance before the king when it looked like Haman had won and the gallows were already built and waiting…and it came in the shape of a tomb with a stone rolled in front, sealing it’s entrance.
The name of that stone was “hopelessness”…surely this was the end, but while so much hung in the balance, the new shoots of our redemption were springing forth, in the very bowels of death and hell, and they blasted the stone of hopelessness forever from the tomb!!!!
Our God uses the seemingly insignificant things to accomplish His own eternal, history changing purposes. The picture of the shoot coming up from the cut-off stump of Jesse gives us insight on the way God often chooses to work. He allows things to start small from seemingly weak and inconspicuous beginnings. From small beginnings and unexpected ways, great things are brought forth, through the intervention of the life, power and foreknowledge of Almighty God!
Oh Church, hear it again….ISAIAH 11:1-3 “The Branch From Jesse 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. v2 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—v3 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, 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, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD --- and he will delight in the fear of the LORD”.
The barren vine of Israel which was cut down, for all intents and purposes, appears to usher them into the archives of history…it looked like they were over and done with. Their city devastated, the temple torn down stone by stone, the people scattered to the four corners of the earth….but every Jew held on to the promise of Jehovah, wherever they went, no matter what they tried to do to extinguish the flame of Zion….the last word would be spoken by “THE BRANCH”!!!
Friend, know this, that when you put your trust in “THE BRANCH”, HE WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD IN YOUR VALLEY OF SHADOWS!Isaiah says that whenever He shows up, “The Spirit of the LORD will show up, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD, will show up with Him! It’s a signal for the time of turn-around, of rearranging, of repositioning, and a shift in how things have been, to how they will be…..
1 Corinthians 1:27 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to disqualify the strong. v28 He has chosen the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to bring to nothing the things that are, v29 That no flesh should glory in His presence”.
Everything will work out in the end, and if it hasn’t, then it’s not the end yet, and God is not finished….He will finish what He has begun..(Tell someone… “He’s not done yet”)
ISAIAH 11:3-5 “ 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; v4 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. v5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 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 forth His decisions for the poor of the earth. His words will bring awe and attention in the earth, with the breath of His lips He will overwhelm the wicked, Righteousness will be His belt and faithfulness will be the sash around His waist”.
Justice, fairness and equity is hard to come by here in this world, but when “The Branch” begins to rise up and make His presence known, He will operate on the basis of perfect knowledge and wisdom. In other words, the King of Kings will be able to read between the lines, no matter how obscure the lines may be!
“The Branch” will gather what has been scattered, He will bind up what has been bruised and broken, He will reconcile what has been offended and separated, He will build up what has been torn down, and He will destroy the works of the evil one!!! When we allow Him to be the referee of our hearts, the final and undisputed umpire of our actions and behavior and the sovereign ruler over our desires and our lives, what is so amazing, is what He says in John’s gospel. It says, we begin to look and act like Him… “What would Jesus do, becomes our life’s underlying theme….Look at it here…
John 15:4 “Abide in Me, and I in you. For as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me. v5 I am the vine, YOU ARE THE BRANCHES.. He that abides in Me, and I in him, has entered a relationship that is intimately connected and united and the harvest is sure to be abundant, but without Me you can do nothing”.
Suddenly, in this process of interconnectedness by the Spirit, there comes a relationship, that causes us to assume the characteristics of “The Branch”, Himself…..Scripture calls it, “being grafted in” so that we receive of the anointing, the power, the very life of the “Branch”.
We begin to see dead things live again, broken things mended, we see damaged and discarded lives put back on track, and back in the mainstream …shattered hopes and dreams resuscitated and brought to life again….the lost saved, and the saved awakened like a sleeping giant!
Philip Clarke Brewer wrote the words…. “God uses what you have to fill a need which you never could have filled. God uses where you are, to take you where you never could have gone. God uses what you can do to accomplish what you never could have done. God uses who you are to let you become who you never could have been. With the correct biblical world view, we understand that things in our lives are not an end in themselves, but a means to an eternal end!"
When the Lord said "I am the vine, you are the branches," He was giving us a deeper vision of the spiritual realities and the spiritual power available to us. For every branch that is connected to THE BRANCH, is connected to the true source, the true life flow for everything we have need of and everything we are.
The Lord is our connection to the impossible… providing freely, our wants and needs--and doing it out of pure love. He has placed everything in you now, that you are to become. The Lord wants us to have everything we need to do the good work of the kingdom of God that He has called us to. And the Lord will give those things to us, if we are ready and willing to use them prayerfully, wisely, generously and in obedience as we serve Him, His people and those who still do not know Him on earth.
II Corinthians 9:8 “For God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”
What is the work of the Lord that we are called to do in this community? Why are we here as a church? What is our mission? Why has the Lord gathered us as a church? And are we using that trust well and wisely? Are we loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength as individuals and as a congregation? Are we loving our neighbor as ourselves? How are we serving our neighbors here and the surrounding area? How are we called to serve our area in our own unique way?
So many questions. And if we truly wish to be the church abiding in the Branch, and if we truly desire to be a center from which the Lord's love and truth flows out into our corner of the world, then it is important to ask and to answer these questions.
The power is available. Infinite power is available from the Lord. And it will flow to us when we dedicate ourselves to building His church. It will flow through us as we focus, on the mission of God for our friends, and for our neighbors, that the Lord has connected us together with…..We’re connected for a greater purpose….
Isaiah 55:11 So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in every place and thing that I have sent it to do”.
I want to abound. How about you? Abiding in “The Branch”, means yes, we will constantly face situations that are difficult and challenging, and some things will seem totally unattainable, but He will bring something supernatural into our being that, when it arrives, it will catapult us into the realms of His fruitfulness and abundance…. Things that have been cut down are beginning to sprout! Your lost loved one is no match for “The Branch”….Your family challenge is no match for “The Branch”…. Your big decision that is looming in your future, like a Damocles sword, can’t stand before “The Branch”…. Something supernatural is beginning to sprout and grow larger and stronger than your situation and circumstances…..
David was on the backside of the wilderness, herding sheep, but how could he know that kingship was growing inside of his dead-end life… Abraham was making idols with His father’s family business, when the tender shoots of a “Father of Nations” began to grow within him and change his direction forever…Moses was a fugitive from Egyptian justice, with a price on his head, hiding out for fear, when the roll of Deliverer, began to shape and fashion everything in his life…Paul, was killing and persecuting Christians, while in his misguided role as religious enforcer, there was growing the stirrings of an Apostle of the Faith!!!!
There are no hopeless situations or people with “The Branch”…. The picture of the shoot, persistently and steadily coming up from the stump of Jesse lets us in on the way God often chooses to work.
J. Hudson Taylor said, “I used to ask God if He would come and help me. Then I asked if I could help Him. Finally I ended by asking God to do whatever He wanted to do through me”.
God is not only interested in what He can do to us, but He is more excited about what He can do through us as we become grafted in. Because when it goes through us, many will be blessed and many will receive an impartation from the life that flows through the vine. The Branch is even now pouring out renewal, refreshing, revitalization, restoration, rearrangement, and reconnections….receive it now, by the anointing, in the mighty name of Jesus!
