1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,280 We're looking at chapter 42. You can find the pages printed 2 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:06,360 for you there of the where you can find that in the red Bibles 3 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:11,600 and the chairs around you. We have jumped back into our 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:14,560 study of this incredible book of the Bible, Isaiah. 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,680 We are in kind of the last section of the book, chapters 40 6 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:23,520 through 66, and we've talked about how the tone of these 7 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,960 chapters is quite a bit different than the first part of 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,600 the book of Isaiah. There's still some comments here 9 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:35,760 addressing Israel's disobedience, but the focus is 10 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,840 much more on the hope that is to come for God's people as the 11 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:44,880 Lord sends his Messiah to rescue them and to redeem them. 12 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:47,640 And we've talked about the fact that in this last section of 13 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:52,280 Isaiah, Isaiah, through the work of the Holy Spirit is actually 14 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:57,400 talking and and proclaiming to those that were in exile, even 15 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:02,280 though that won't fully happen until after Isaiah is dead and 16 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:05,880 gone, pointing them to the hope that they are to have in the 17 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,480 Messiah. Today's passage we are going to 18 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:12,120 hear the first of what are usually referred to as the 19 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:17,800 servant songs, the pointing God's people to this wonderful 20 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:23,800 servant that is to come, and what that means for us God's 21 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,080 people. So listen as I read to you from 22 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:28,200 Isaiah chapter 42, beginning in verse one. 23 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:35,960 Behold my Servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, and whom my 24 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:39,680 soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. 25 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,760 He will bring forth justice to the nations. 26 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,720 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in 27 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,680 the street. A bruised Reed He will not 28 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,200 break, and a faintly burning Wick he will not quench. 29 00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:55,960 He will faithfully bring forth justice. 30 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,360 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has 31 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:03,320 established justice in the earth and the coastlands wait for his 32 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,400 law. Thus says God the Lord, who 33 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,320 created the heavens and stretched them out to spread out 34 00:02:09,320 --> 00:02:12,920 the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the 35 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:15,760 people on it, and spirit to those who walk in it. 36 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,280 I am the Lord. I have called you in 37 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,080 righteousness. I will take you by the hand and 38 00:02:22,080 --> 00:02:24,760 keep you. I will give you as a covenant 39 00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:29,040 for the people, a light for the nations to open the eyes that 40 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,600 are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from 41 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,080 the prison, those who sit in darkness. 42 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:41,040 I am the Lord, that is my name. My glory I give to no other, nor 43 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,720 my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have 44 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:47,680 come to pass, and new things I now declare. 45 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:50,400 Before they spring forth, I tell you of them. 46 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,920 Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise from the end of the 47 00:02:54,920 --> 00:02:57,400 earth. You who go down to the sea and 48 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,080 all that fills at the coastlands and their inhabitants, let the 49 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,320 desert and its cities lift up their voice. 50 00:03:03,320 --> 00:03:06,960 The villages that Qatar inhabits, let the inhabitants of 51 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:10,320 Sayla sing for joy. Let them shout from the top of 52 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:12,840 the mountains. Let them give glory to the Lord 53 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,080 and declare His praise. In the coastlands. 54 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,040 The Lord goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war. 55 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,000 He stirs up his zeal, He cries out, he shouts aloud, He shows 56 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,240 himself mighty against his foes. For a long time I have held my 57 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:30,000 peace. I have kept still and restrained 58 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,960 myself. Now I will cry out like a woman 59 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:35,240 in labor. I will gasp and pant. 60 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,000 I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their 61 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,360 vegetation. I will turn the rivers into 62 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,000 islands and dry up the pools, and I will lead the blind in a 63 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,880 way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known. 64 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,720 I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before 65 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:54,800 them into light, the rough places into level ground. 66 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:58,400 These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. 67 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:01,120 They are turned back and utterly put to shame. 68 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:05,360 Who trust in carved idols, Who say to metal images You are our 69 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:10,160 gods, hear you deaf and look you blind that you may see? 70 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,160 Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger, whom I 71 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,600 send? Who is blind as my dedicated 72 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:18,920 one, or blind as the servants of the Lord? 73 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,200 He sees many things but does not observe them. 74 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:24,720 His ears are open, but he does not hear. 75 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,240 The Lord was pleased for His righteousness sake to magnify 76 00:04:28,240 --> 00:04:32,440 His law and make it glorious. But this is a people plundered 77 00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,960 and looted. They are all of them, trapped in 78 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,920 holes and hidden in prisons. They've become plunder with none 79 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:42,080 to rescue, spoil with none to say restore. 80 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,040 Who will? Who among you will give ear to 81 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,240 this? We'll attend and listen for the 82 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,480 time to come. Who gave up Jacob to the looter, 83 00:04:50,840 --> 00:04:54,720 and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord against whom 84 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:58,200 we have sinned, and whose ways they would not walk, and whose 85 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:02,680 law they would not obey? So he poured out on him the heat 86 00:05:02,680 --> 00:05:05,200 of his anger and the might of battle. 87 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,920 It set him on fire all around, but he did not understand. 88 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,800 It burned him up, but he did not take it to heart. 89 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:20,560 Let's pray together. Father in heaven, we pray that 90 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,760 the same Holy Spirit that was at work in Isaiah, bringing him 91 00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:30,440 along to pen the words that we've just read, the same Holy 92 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,200 Spirit who has preserved Your word over these many, many 93 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,160 years. We pray for that Holy Spirit to 94 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,000 be at work in US right now in this room. 95 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,480 In these moments, even as we read your word, help us to 96 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,160 understand it. Give us an understanding that 97 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:51,080 moves us to a greater love for you and a greater desire to 98 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:56,520 serve and to obey you. This we ask in Jesus name, Amen. 99 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:06,000 Every Sunday that you come and walk into our sanctuary, you 100 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:11,640 walk past, you walk through the beautiful art display that's in 101 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:17,640 the foyer. The Vessels of Grace display was 102 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:22,000 created by our own Eric Van Wyk using some of his father's 103 00:06:22,440 --> 00:06:26,320 pottery with woodwork done by Randy Kennick. 104 00:06:27,080 --> 00:06:31,760 It serves us in a number of ways, but one of the ways is by 105 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:37,480 reminding us of who we are. We are like fragile pottery. 106 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:42,080 We are like jars of clay, full of cracks, broken pieces. 107 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:48,240 We are imperfect and broken. It also reminds us about God's 108 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:53,920 work in US, that through Christ we are made whole, that our 109 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:58,280 cracks and our broken pieces are filled with God's grace and 110 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:02,800 power and goodness. As we come into the sanctuary, 111 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:05,760 we see those pieces. It reminds us that God cares for 112 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:07,280 us. He tends to us. 113 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:13,400 He restores us and redeems us. We are vessels of God's grace. 114 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,080 It also reminds us of what we read in verse 3, a bruised Reed 115 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:24,240 he will not break, and a faintly burning Wick he will not quench. 116 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,480 Every time that you see the vessels of grace project in the 117 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,760 foyer, every time that you pass through it on your way into the 118 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,920 sanctuary, it should fill you with incredible hope because it 119 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,600 reminds you of who you are, and it reminds you of God's work in 120 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,160 US. Ultimately, it reminds us of the 121 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:51,880 great servant that the Lord sent to redeem us, to fill us with 122 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,640 his grace and love. Now, it is true that we are 123 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,680 different than the people that Isaiah was writing to then. 124 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,600 These words that we've read, we are not in exile in some foreign 125 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,280 place under God's judgment. We're not waiting for this 126 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:10,680 promised Messiah, this promised servant to come for the first 127 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,200 time. But we do have many things in 128 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:17,080 common with the people that read these words, heard these words 129 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,600 for the first time. We, we are waiting for the 130 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,400 Servant to come, not the first time, but the second time at the 131 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:26,720 end of time. And we are waiting now in a 132 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,040 place that is not our ultimate and final home. 133 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:33,679 We are foreigners. We are pilgrims and exiles in 134 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,600 this place. And just as God's people that 135 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:40,799 Isaiah wrote to needed hope and reminders of God's grace as they 136 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:44,960 waited, as they waited to be rescued and restored and 137 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:50,200 redeemed, so too God's people today waiting for the return of 138 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:54,280 the Servant need to be filled with hope and strength and 139 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:57,520 reminded of God's grace and God's love. 140 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:02,960 So let's take a few moments and look at Isaiah 42 and see 141 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,200 several of the things that are are given to us about this 142 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,360 promised servant. Let's look and see who he is, 143 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:17,920 what he does, why he had to do it, and what the right response 144 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:20,880 to him is. Then we'll finish by asking, So 145 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:22,560 what with some take homes for us. 146 00:09:22,560 --> 00:09:25,080 So first of all, who is the servant? 147 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,120 Well, if you know the book of Isaiah, then you know that in 148 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:33,000 just a few chapters we are going to hear about this man named 149 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:37,320 Cyrus and he is called a servant of the Lord. 150 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:40,840 It would be, he would be the means by which God's people 151 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,760 would be released from exile. Cyrus would be the king of 152 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,080 Persia, and he would send a decree out for the people to go 153 00:09:48,080 --> 00:09:51,480 back to the promised land. But as we're reading here in 154 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:55,480 chapter 42 about the servant to come, we know that this servant 155 00:09:55,760 --> 00:10:00,120 being described here in chapter 42 is not Cyrus, who will be 156 00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,160 called a servant in a few more chapters. 157 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:06,760 Cyrus's character and achievements are very different 158 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:10,440 from the servant who is described here in chapter 42. 159 00:10:11,560 --> 00:10:16,400 It's also the case that Israel and Judah as nations are 160 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,920 referred to as the Lord's servants as well. 161 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,080 In fact, we'll see that that's is what they are called at the 162 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,960 end of our verses for today in chapter 42. 163 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:30,440 But we also know that there's a clear description here of this 164 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:37,480 servant that is very different from Israel and Judah as a 165 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:39,680 nation. Just look and see how this 166 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:44,840 servant is described. First one, he is upheld by the 167 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:48,280 Lord. He is in the grip of the Lord. 168 00:10:48,520 --> 00:10:52,520 He is sustained by the Lord. Also in verse one, we're told 169 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:54,920 that he is the chosen one of the Lord. 170 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,960 The Hebrew word that is used there for chosen 1 is used in 171 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:02,480 the Old Testament exclusively for being in a relationship with 172 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:06,800 the Lord God Almighty. Again, in verse one we see that 173 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,440 the Lord delights in this servant. 174 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:11,760 It is the delight of the Lord's soul. 175 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,880 Again, in verse one, the spirit of the Lord is upon him. 176 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,400 And at the end of verse one, we see that he's given a mission 177 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:22,320 which we'll come back to in just a minute. 178 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:27,120 Verse 2:00 we we are told that the servant will not, will, will 179 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,520 not come with great fanfare and parades. 180 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:33,280 He will come quietly and humbly and modestly. 181 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,640 Verse three, He will come not to destroy, but to save and to 182 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,840 preserve. He he comes with a caring 183 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,120 concern for the vulnerable and those who are in need. 184 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:51,240 Verse 4, the servant will never grow tired, will never become 185 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:53,960 weary. He won't get discouraged. 186 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:58,760 And then at the end of verse 6, we have this wonderful word that 187 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:02,080 the servant will be a covenant for the people. 188 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:06,600 That in this servant will be the essence of the covenant 189 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,080 relationship between God and His people. 190 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,640 This servant would be the fulfillment of the covenant. 191 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,240 He is the one who fulfills the covenant. 192 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:19,520 He will be the one through whom the Lord will secure redemption 193 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,880 of His people as He had promised, all the way back to 194 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:27,760 Adam and Eve and Noah and Abraham and Moses and David. 195 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,840 And in verses 5 through 9, we read that the servants will have 196 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:38,760 the full support of the Lord God Almighty, the Creator of the 197 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:43,280 heavens and earth. We read Yahweh Himself will take 198 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:47,280 and keep this servant. Yahweh, the one whose glory is 199 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:51,320 given to no one else, will be at work in and through this servant 200 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:57,440 to accomplish His purposes, to bring to pass new things, things 201 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:02,320 that will spring forth. This servant has the support and 202 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:05,640 the backing and the power of the Lord God Almighty. 203 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:07,560 There's no question who this servant is. 204 00:13:08,520 --> 00:13:13,200 This servant is the ultimate and greatest servant that is Jesus. 205 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,440 In fact, the way that verse one begins is probably meant to 206 00:13:16,440 --> 00:13:19,960 point us to Jesus's baptism in Matthew chapter 3. 207 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:25,640 As the Father put the Holy Spirit on the Son, so here the 208 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:28,560 Spirit of the Lord is put upon this servant. 209 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,440 And in verses one through three, they are quoted in Matthew 210 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:37,000 chapter 12, specifically being applied to Jesus, the ultimate 211 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:41,680 and the greatest servant that is prophesied by Isaiah in the 8th 212 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:44,560 century BC. He's pointing to no one less 213 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:47,600 than Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ. 214 00:13:47,600 --> 00:13:52,120 And what does this servant do? The servant of the Lord is given 215 00:13:52,120 --> 00:13:55,560 a mission. The mission is mentioned three 216 00:13:55,560 --> 00:13:58,960 times in the 1st 4 verses. The end of verse 1. 217 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,160 He will bring forth justice to the nations. 218 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:06,040 The end of verse three He will be He will faithfully bring 219 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:09,120 forth justice. The end of verse 4. 220 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:13,040 Till He has established justice in the earth and the coastlands, 221 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:17,480 wait for His law. This servant had a mission. 222 00:14:17,480 --> 00:14:21,400 He was coming to bring justice, and not just for God's people, 223 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:25,160 but for the nation's, a global justice. 224 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:29,440 Now certainly it's referring to bringing fairness and 225 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,360 impartiality and the restoration of wrongdoing. 226 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:34,640 All, all the things that we think about when we hear the 227 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:37,480 word justice. But the Hebrew word here has a 228 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:42,440 greater breadth of meaning than just impartiality and fairness. 229 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:49,160 This word in the Hebrew Misha, it occurs 30 times in Psalm 119, 230 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,680 and if you know anything about Psalm 119, it is all about God's 231 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:57,000 word 30 times. In that Psalm we hear the Hebrew 232 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,160 word for justice. It occurs 20 times in the book 233 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:04,320 of Deuteronomy, which is the book about the law of God. 234 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:09,560 We even see justice and law being juxtaposed together at the 235 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,520 end of verse 4 in our passage here. 236 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:16,000 So this servant is coming to bring justice, but it is not 237 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,520 just fairness and impartiality. He is coming to bring God's 238 00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:24,640 Word, God's decrees, God's law to the nations. 239 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,000 He will establish the Word of God among all peoples. 240 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,400 He will bring justice and equity and fairness. 241 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:34,760 He will make all things wrong right. 242 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:38,400 He will bring righteousness and he will declare and establish 243 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:42,320 the word of God for all. That's part of his mission. 244 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:45,600 But you can see another part of his mission in verse 7. 245 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:50,400 He's coming to open the eyes that are blind to bring out the 246 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,920 prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison, those who sit in 247 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,480 darkness. This is also part of the mission 248 00:15:57,480 --> 00:16:00,160 of the servant. He is coming to open the eyes of 249 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:05,160 the blind, to bring prisoners out from the dungeon, those who 250 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,160 sit in prisons that are full of darkness. 251 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:11,120 This is clearly a reference to work, to the work of Jesus and 252 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:16,000 opening the eyes of those who can't see to see who he really 253 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,880 is. That he is fully God and fully 254 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:21,480 man. That he is the ultimate prophet, 255 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,000 priest and king. That he is the King of kings and 256 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,000 the Lord of Lords. That he is the long promised 257 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,400 Messiah, the one who came to crush the serpent. 258 00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:36,400 Jesus came to free people from their slavery and their bondage 259 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,440 to sin, to release them from the dark prisons of their sin and 260 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,480 idolatry and disobedience and unrighteousness. 261 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,760 And we know from the teachings of the New Testament that He did 262 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:52,360 all of that through His life and death and resurrection, through 263 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:55,800 His life of perfect love and obedience to His Father, Through 264 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:59,360 His willing and voluntary death on the cross as a sacrifice, 265 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:04,480 Through taking our sin and God's wrath for our sin on Himself and 266 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,560 paying for it all through His death, crediting us with His 267 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:12,359 perfect righteousness that we could never earn for ourselves. 268 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:16,560 He opens our eyes. He opens our ears. 269 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:22,200 He rescues us from the dungeon of darkness that is our sin and 270 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:24,800 is our heart. This is what the servant of the 271 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:31,680 Lord does and did. But notice why the servant needs 272 00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:34,680 to do this. You can see that in verses 18 273 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:39,680 through 25, Isaiah points out why the servant had to do this 274 00:17:39,680 --> 00:17:42,280 work, why he was sent on this mission. 275 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:46,640 Now it's interesting because in these last verses of chapter 42, 276 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:51,040 a servant is mentioned again. But as you read the whole 277 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:55,680 passage of verses 18 through 25, you see that he's now changed 278 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,120 from this ultimate servant that he's described for us in verses 279 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,120 one through 9. And now he's talking about his 280 00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:06,520 servants in terms of the nation of Israel and Judah. 281 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,280 He refers to them as such throughout the passage. 282 00:18:10,480 --> 00:18:12,040 It's clearly a different servant. 283 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,920 This servant isn't able to open the eyes of the blind or to give 284 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,960 hearing to the deaf because they themselves are blind and deaf. 285 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,160 They need to be given hearing and sight. 286 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,440 Verse 20. They have seen many things. 287 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:32,800 He says The Lord has revealed Himself to them through his 288 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:36,640 word, through his miracles, by rescuing them from Egypt, by 289 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,600 giving them the promised land, by preserving them from the 290 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,840 nations who wanted to destroy them. 291 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,400 They've seen many things, he says, but they haven't observed 292 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,760 them. They haven't truly taken them in 293 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:51,440 and believed and been changed by what they've seen. 294 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:55,360 God's people that Isaiah is writing to, he says, have been 295 00:18:55,360 --> 00:19:00,360 plundered and looted. In verse 22, they're trapped in 296 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:05,800 holes, they're hidden in prisons, they are in need of 297 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:10,920 rescuing and restoration. Verse 24 the Lord gave his 298 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,440 people up to be conquered and taken into exile because of 299 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:17,520 their sin, because of not walking in the ways of the Lord, 300 00:19:17,520 --> 00:19:20,200 because of not obeying the the word of God. 301 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:27,360 Verse 25 the Lord pours out the heat of his anger and the might 302 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:32,320 of his battle upon his people. And even then, he says they 303 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:35,240 didn't get it and they didn't take it to heart. 304 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:37,840 This is why the servant had to come. 305 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,440 This is why he needed to be sent with the mission that he had, 306 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:46,640 because God's people then were blind and deaf to the beauty and 307 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,320 the goodness and the faithfulness and the grace and 308 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:52,080 the love and the holiness of God. 309 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:57,400 But that's not just true for the people that Isaiah was writing 310 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,920 to. The servant needed to come and 311 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:06,400 accomplish his mission because God's people today, God's people 312 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:13,600 in this room are blind and deaf to the Word of God, to His law, 313 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:18,080 His beauty, goodness, faithfulness, grace, His love, 314 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:22,200 His Holiness, because we do the things that He tells us not to 315 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,920 do, and we fail to do the things that He commands us to do. 316 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,240 Because we don't love the Lord God Almighty with all of our 317 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,360 hearts, strength and mind, and we don't love our neighbors as 318 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:37,000 ourselves because we haven't kept the 10 commandments 319 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,160 outwardly in our actions and especially not inwardly in our 320 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:45,240 hearts. This ultimate Savior or servant 321 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,840 of the Lord, the Lord Jesus himself, He had to become. 322 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:54,360 He had to come on His mission because of our sin, because of 323 00:20:54,360 --> 00:21:01,400 your sin, because of my sin. This is how personal it is. 324 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:07,880 You can imagine Jesus hanging on the cross, enduring the wrath 325 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:12,600 and the judgement of the Father, feeling forsaken by His Father 326 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:18,200 for your specific sins, for my specific sins. 327 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:26,160 He knows us by name. He knows our sin by name, and He 328 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:31,200 endured the wrath and the judgment and the justice of God, 329 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:39,240 and He suffered as the ultimate servant for you and for me. 330 00:21:41,600 --> 00:21:45,040 That leads us to reflect on what the right and proper response to 331 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:50,560 the Servant is as we meditate on who He is and we meditate on 332 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,480 what He has accomplished and why He had to accomplish it. 333 00:21:53,480 --> 00:21:57,280 Not just for people so long ago that were blind and deaf, but 334 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,720 for the people in this room that are blind and deaf. 335 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,840 As we meditate on that Servant, what is the right response? 336 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:10,760 Well, how does Isaiah respond? Verses one through 9, he talks 337 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:13,040 about the Servant, who He is and what he does. 338 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:17,720 And then what does Isaiah do as we move to to verse 10? 339 00:22:19,120 --> 00:22:23,360 Sing to the Lord a new song. He says his praise from the end 340 00:22:23,360 --> 00:22:25,920 of the earth. You who go down to the sea and 341 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,920 all that fills at the coastlands and their inhabitants. 342 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:32,480 Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice. 343 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,120 The villages that Kedar inhabits. 344 00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:37,840 Let the inhabitants of Sayla sing for joy. 345 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,520 Let them shout from the top of the mountains. 346 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:45,760 Let them give glory to the Lord. Declare his praise in the 347 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,440 coastlands. What's the right, what's the 348 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,840 proper, what's the necessary response to the servant? 349 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,160 It is the praise and the worship of the Lord. 350 00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:01,800 It is to sing Him a new song that we would be that people 351 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:04,840 should be brought to Him from the ends of the earth and fill 352 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,800 up their voices and sing for joy to to shout from the mountain 353 00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:12,360 tops the praise of our God and give glory to the Lord, 354 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:16,200 declaring His praise to the uttermost, uttermost parts of 355 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,680 creation. Is that what the coming of the 356 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:27,360 servant makes you do? Is that the response to the 357 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:30,840 servants of the Lord and His work for you? 358 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:39,000 Our worship with God's people on the Lord's Day or whenever we 359 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:45,320 worship it should never be dry and dusty and boring. 360 00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:47,160 We we should never think of it that way. 361 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,760 As we pass through the vessels of grace and we enter into the 362 00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,200 sanctuary of the Lord, as we assemble with brothers and 363 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,680 sisters in Christ, as we remember who we are and we 364 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,880 remember what the Lord has accomplished for us and in us 365 00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:04,640 through His servant, we should be moved in our hearts and our 366 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,520 minds and our spirits and our bodies to praise and to worship 367 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:13,680 and to glorify the Lord. Our worship of the Lord should 368 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,440 flow out of our relationship with the Lord. 369 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,480 And it should be a living, heartfelt devotional singing of 370 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:26,000 a new song, shouting from the mountaintops, the praise of our 371 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:33,560 God. If that's not your heart, then 372 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:37,360 it probably means that we aren't really reflecting and meditating 373 00:24:37,360 --> 00:24:41,840 on this Servant, who He is and what He's accomplished and why 374 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:46,800 He had to accomplish it. If that's not us, we need to 375 00:24:46,800 --> 00:24:51,920 come back to the Scriptures, places like Isaiah 42, and be 376 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:56,040 reminded of this wonderful Servant once again, How much the 377 00:24:56,040 --> 00:25:00,880 Lord loves us. So what? 378 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:03,320 Let's finish with a few applications. 379 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:08,240 The first is simply this question. 380 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:13,880 Do you know the Servant? Do you know the servant? 381 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,720 Maybe you're here today and you know that you don't really know 382 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:22,280 him. You may know about him, but you 383 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:27,160 don't really know him. If that's glad, if that's you, 384 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,000 we're glad that you're here with us today. 385 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:32,160 We are glad that you are hearing the Word of God and having a 386 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:37,440 chance to reflect on it, hearing about Jesus, who he is and what 387 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:41,600 he did and and what he is doing. But don't stop there. 388 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:47,120 Pray to the Lord and ask him to open your eyes and your ears to 389 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:51,560 see and to hear the servant, the Lord Jesus. 390 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:53,560 Talk to God's people that are here. 391 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:56,960 Talk to one of the elders, talk to one of the pastors. 392 00:25:57,920 --> 00:25:59,920 Get to know the ultimate servant. 393 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:04,080 Believe in Him, put your hope and trust in Him. 394 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:09,000 Start a relationship with Him. Do you know the Servant? 395 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:19,440 Secondly, we must hope in the sovereign work of the Servant. 396 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,560 I thought Isaiah tells us plainly and clearly that this 397 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:30,600 Servant, the Lord Jesus, is fully capable of opening the 398 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,560 eyes of the blind, opening the ears of the deaf. 399 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:41,400 Many of us have loved ones, family members, friends, Co 400 00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:45,040 workers who don't know and believe in Jesus. 401 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:50,560 Some of us have family members and friends who have walked away 402 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:54,680 from Jesus, who've walked away from the church. 403 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:58,920 We're not following Jesus who are living lives like the 404 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:04,000 prodigal in Luke's gospel. Don't lose hope. 405 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:10,720 The servant Jesus opens the eyes of the blind and the ears of the 406 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:12,000 deaf. Deaf. 407 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:17,160 There is no heart that is so hardened that the servant Jesus 408 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,800 can't melt it with his love and His grace. 409 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:27,520 Do not lose hope. Don't stop praying and crying 410 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:31,880 out to the Lord for him to be at work and your friends and family 411 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,680 and loved ones. But there's another reason why 412 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,400 we must hope in the sovereign work of the servant. 413 00:27:41,160 --> 00:27:44,320 It's because a bruised Reed He will not break. 414 00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:50,080 A faintly burning Wick He will not quench. 415 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,440 Some of us find ourselves in seasons when we feel like a 416 00:27:55,440 --> 00:28:00,160 bruised Reed, when we feel like a faintly burning Wick. 417 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:06,200 We feel fragile and easily broken, easily snuffed out, 418 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:13,360 vulnerable, at a loss. Don't lose hope. 419 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:18,800 The servant doesn't break bruised reeds. 420 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:23,280 The servant doesn't quench faintly burning Wicks. 421 00:28:24,360 --> 00:28:30,280 Our servant cares for us and serves us and restores us and 422 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:35,960 strengthens us and motivates us. Don't lose hope. 423 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,280 Hope in the sovereign work of the servant. 424 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:50,280 Thirdly, the leaders of the Church should follow the model 425 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,400 of the servant. The leaders of the church should 426 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:57,280 take away something from the description that we have of this 427 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:02,040 servant, the one who ultimately and perfectly serves his people. 428 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,920 The the servants and the shepherds of the church should 429 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:09,040 learn from the model of the greater and the ultimate servant 430 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:13,840 and shepherd. How has he been described for us 431 00:29:13,840 --> 00:29:16,680 in this chapter? Well, he's not loud and 432 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:20,400 bothersome. He doesn't put the spotlight on 433 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:25,440 himself. He serves quietly and humbly. 434 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:31,560 He seeks to bring forth justice in the full meaning of that 435 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:35,320 word, not just for God's people, but for the nations he serves 436 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:38,120 with fairness and equity and impartiality. 437 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:41,040 And he brings the Word of God to the people. 438 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:46,000 He has gentle and kind care for those that he serves, not 439 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:50,320 breaking or quenching them. He doesn't grow weary in the 440 00:29:50,320 --> 00:29:53,600 work that God gives him to do, and he doesn't get discouraged. 441 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,600 He opens the eyes of the blind and leads prisoners that are 442 00:29:57,600 --> 00:30:01,280 stuck in the dark dungeons into freedom and light. 443 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:05,080 Now this is the ultimate servant Jesus. 444 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,200 He does all of those things and is all of those things 445 00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:13,040 perfectly. The leaders and the servants of 446 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:17,960 the church will never do or be those things perfectly, but it 447 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,920 is a good model for us what we should strive to be like. 448 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:26,040 What we should strive to do is we serve the people of the 449 00:30:26,040 --> 00:30:28,000 church. What are the descriptions of 450 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:32,280 this ultimate servant, his, his being and his doing that you 451 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:35,080 need to work on as a leader in the church? 452 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:43,400 Fourthly and lastly, do you have a care for the nations? 453 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:51,280 It's clear from Isaiah 42 that the Lord, this, the servant have 454 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:57,320 a concern for the nations. We see that concern throughout 455 00:30:57,320 --> 00:31:01,040 the Old Testament and we see it even more clearly and boldly in 456 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:04,520 the New Testament, especially in the life and the ministry of 457 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:07,920 Jesus. Think about the Great Commission 458 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,160 that he gave to his disciples. He said go there for and make 459 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:18,000 disciples of all nations. That was the Lord's calling, not 460 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:20,400 just on his disciples in the 1st century. 461 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,680 That is the Lord's calling on his disciples in every 462 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:27,520 generation. It's Our Calling as God's 463 00:31:27,520 --> 00:31:32,920 disciples today. We need to have a concern and a 464 00:31:32,920 --> 00:31:37,200 care for the nations. What are some ways that you can 465 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:40,160 strengthen your care for the nations? 466 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:43,320 Well, you know, one of the things you could do very easily 467 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:44,720 is come to our monthly prayer meeting. 468 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:51,400 We, we spend an hour once a month praying for the people 469 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:55,160 that are going to the nations, the people that are taking the 470 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:59,440 gospel to the nations. You could come to the prayer 471 00:31:59,440 --> 00:32:00,320 meeting. That's one way you could 472 00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:02,120 strengthen your concern for the nations. 473 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:05,040 You could get on the newsletter lists of the missionaries and 474 00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:08,000 the ministries that we support as a church so that you could be 475 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,760 hearing about the, the prayer request that they have and you 476 00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:14,200 could be lifting those things before the throne of mercy on 477 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:18,520 their behalf. You could join our global 478 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:20,880 outreach committee or our local outreach committee. 479 00:32:22,360 --> 00:32:24,480 You could attend the Global Outreach Conference that's 480 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:29,760 coming up in a few weeks. You could become a financial 481 00:32:29,760 --> 00:32:32,960 partner with someone that is taking God's Word to the 482 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:36,680 nations. You could go visit some of the 483 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:40,240 missionaries that we support or join, join in on a missions trip 484 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,480 to go and to serve with people who are taking the gospel to the 485 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:47,000 nations. You could go out to Crow Creek, 486 00:32:49,480 --> 00:32:52,280 the nation of the Lakota and Dakota people, and take the 487 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:58,160 gospel to the nations. Do what you can to strengthen 488 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:02,680 your concern for the nations because our God has a concern 489 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:06,600 for the nations. Our servant, the Lord Jesus has 490 00:33:06,600 --> 00:33:10,560 a concern for the nations, so God's people should have a 491 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:14,960 concern for the nations as well. Let's pray together.