Good morning. We're going to be in Isaiah chapter
42 this morning for our Bible study. We've been looking at different
names and titles that are given in God's Word. to Christ and
there are several in these first few verses of Isaiah 42 but the
one I want to look at is the title mine elect we just sang
about that but we sang about God's chosen people being his
elect here the father refers to Christ as his elect Let's pray together and ask the
Lord's blessings on His Word. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we are thankful for the blessing that You've given to us, allowing
us to come here to be in this place. We thank Thee for the
promise of Thy presence. And we ask, Lord, that you would
minister grace to our hearts and enable us to worship you,
to worship you in the power of your spirit, to worship you according
to the truth of the gospel. We pray that Christ will be lifted
up and as thine elect, Lord, that we would be drawn to him
and find the hope of our salvation in his finished work and in the
glorious person of him. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. The elect of God. You see that? In verse 1, Behold my servant
whom I uphold mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth,
I have put my spirit upon him, and he shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles." Now when men speak of choosing
Christ, what they do is they put themselves on the throne
of God. deceive themselves in thinking
that they have that power of choice and they fulfill what
the Lord said about them in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 that they have believed
the lie and they in fact have made themselves out to be God. God is the one who does the electing. He said to the disciples, he
said, you did not choose me. And that's what this word elect
means. It means chosen, but I chose
you. Now, the father chose his people
in the elect. The elect are elected in the
elect. He's never seen us outside of
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ had to
be chosen first. He had to be the elect of God
in order for us to be found in Him. And so the hope of our salvation
is found in the fact that God Almighty is pleased with the
Lord Jesus Christ and that we are to be found not having our
own righteousness which is of the law. Paul said, oh, to be
found in Him. To be found in Him. There's our
only hope. So now the Lord is telling us
what He's like. And I love the way he begins
this verse, behold, behold. Now there's, there's three things
this word tells us. It tells us of the urgency of
the matter. And it tells us of the amazement
of the matter, and it tells us of the necessity of the matter. When God says, Behold, what He's
saying to you and to me is, Stop everything. Stop everything. Give your undivided attention
to this matter. For it is life and death. It is that urgent. It's not something
that can be put off. It's not something that can be
considered optional. The urgency of the matter is
seen in when God says, Behold, nothing else is of any value
without understanding and believing this. all else is in vain set
all your affections on things above where Christ is seated
at the right hand of God the urgency of the matter if you
miss this if you miss this you miss everything if you get this
you got it all behold Behold, stop what you're doing, put everything
aside, have the Spirit of Mary, not the Spirit of Martha. What
did the Lord Jesus Christ say to Martha about Mary? Martha,
you're encumbered about with so many things. Isn't that so
true of us? But Mary has chosen that one
thing needful. What was she doing? She was sitting
at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, beholding Him. Beholding Him. That's what the
scripture tells us. that the word became flesh and
tabernacled among us and we beheld his glory as the glory of the
only begotten of the Father, the one and only one that is
full of grace and full of truth. The law came by Moses, but grace
and truth comes by the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold, oh, there's nothing
in your life, there's nothing in my life more urgent than that
we behold what God is saying right here about the elect. Nothing. Sometimes we feel too stressed
or too troubled or too ashamed or too busy to attend services. But in fact, this is the place
where He's pleased to show forth His glory. This is the place
where we behold Him as He is. This is the place where He's
promised to bless His people with His Spirit and open His
Word and reveal Himself to our hearts. And the times when we
feel the most difficult to come to services
is when we need to be here the worst, isn't it? It really, really
is. To say that I'm too stressed
or too busy or too troubled or too ashamed or too whatever to
be in service where where God is pleased to show himself forth
is like saying I'm too hungry to eat or I'm too thirsty to
drink. It just doesn't make sense does
it? It doesn't make sense. Urgency is seen in this word,
behold. The second thing that we see
in this word, behold, is amazement. Amazement. Oh, he is the wonder
of wonders. The praise and the glory and
the power that is to be beheld in him. Behold, my servant. Oh, that we would look at him
and be amazed. That we would just have our affections
set on him so that we can't take him all in. The amazement of a view or a
vista or an experience is something that captivates our attention,
doesn't it? I remember a few years ago we went and visited
the Grand Canyon. I'd seen pictures of it. I'd
flown over it. But there's nothing like walking
up to the edge of the Grand Canyon and looking and you can't take
it in. You just can't take it in. It's
absolutely amazing. You behold. You just sit there
and you can't hardly blink. You're just beholding it. That Grand Canyon is a drainage
ditch in your front yard compared to the glory that is to be beheld
in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Behold. Behold Him. The psalmist said,
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. and wonder
how he could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclaimed. How marvelous, how wonderful,
and my soul shall ever sing how marvelous, how wonderful is my
Savior's love for me. Behold, When the Pharisees sent
men to take the Lord Jesus Christ, they came back without him and
they said, where is he? And they said, never a man spake
like this man before. We couldn't take him. We were
too amazed by the power of his word. We just sat there and beheld
him. When that centurion that participated
in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ saw His glory hanging
there on Calvary's cross, when he felt the earth shake, when
he saw the darkened sky for three hours, when he heard the words
that the Lord Jesus uttered from that cross, he sat there and
beheld Him and in time he said, This was the Son of God. Well, he may have gotten the
verb tense wrong. He wasn't was the Son of God.
He is the Son of God. But nevertheless, he beheld Him,
didn't he? When those disciples on the road
to Emmaus walked with the Lord Jesus Christ and He spake with
them along the way and revealed Himself to them through Moses
and the prophets and the Psalms and finally their eyes were opened
and what did they say? Did our hearts not burn within
us as He spake with us along the way? They beheld something
of His glory and were amazed by who He was and what He had
accomplished. Behold, my servant." Oh, that
the Lord would put in our hearts a spirit of urgency and a spirit
of amazement, so that we would say, like Job, having seen the
Lord, Behold, behold, I am vile. He's holy. He's to be looked
upon. But we're dependent upon the
Lord to open the eyes of our understanding, aren't we? And
we're hopeful that what He opens, no man can shut. Lord, would
you? You remember when the Lord asked
the blind man, what would you have me to do for you? And that's
what the Lord's saying to me and you right now. What would
you have me to do for you? Remember what the blind man said?
Oh, Lord, that I might see. I just want to see. I get so caught up in the things
of this world, the things of my life, I want to behold thy
glory. Lord, would you show me your
glory? Would you enable me to behold
thee? the necessity of beholding Him. Not only is it urgent, not only
are we to be amazed at who He is and what He's accomplished,
but there is absolute necessity. There is no other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. This is it. He's it. He's everything. 2nd Kings chapter 6. I love that
story. We're not going to turn there.
I'll just tell you the story. You're familiar with it. Elisha, the
prophet of God, was in Samaria. Actually, he's in Dothan. The king of Syria found out that
it was Elisha that was telling the king of Israel his battle
plans and so he decided well we'll just take out that prophet
and then we'll be able to get military victory over Israel
and so he sent an army to capture a little prophet Elisha and his
servant went out you remember that night the Syrian army surrounded
the town of Dothan and the servant went out and he He saw the Syrian
army and he came back in and he said, oh master, he said,
what shall we do? What are we going to do? And
there's no indication that Elisha ever even looked out the window.
He just said to the servant, he said, don't be afraid. He said, they that are with us
are greater than they that are with them. And can't you see
the servant looking, and you say, it's just me and you, old
man, you know? What are you talking about? And
Elisha said, Lord, open his eyes that he might see. And the servant
went out, and the mountains were filled with horses and chariots
of fire. And God blinded the eyes of the
Assyrian army And Elisha took them right into Samaria, didn't
he? The necessity of the Lord opening
our eyes and enabling us to behold. This word is used often in the
scriptures. When God says, behold, He's saying
to you and He's saying to me, this is the most urgent, necessary
matter in your life. Give your full attention to it. All right, look back with me
to our text. Behold my servant, my servant. Now the Lord Jesus
Christ came into this world first and foremost, first and foremost
to serve his father. That's what he came to do. He
came to render perfect obedience to God Almighty. Don't lose sight
of that. The Father had elected a people. He had chosen them in the covenant
of grace before the world ever began, but those people needed
to be redeemed. Righteousness had to be established.
Justice had to be satisfied. Their sin had to be put away.
And the Lord Jesus Christ came in servitude to the Father. That was his first and foremost
call from God and that was his passion, that was his desire. That's what he came to do. And
he accomplished it, didn't he? Right up to his dying breath. Wasn't it is finished as important
as that is. What was finished? What was finished? Well, the redemption of his obedience
to the Father, his servitude to God was finished. Why? Because after he said, it is
finished. Father into thy hands, I commend my spirit. And he gave
up the ghost. Right to his dying breath, rendering
service to the Father. Behold my servant. That's who the Lord Jesus Christ
is first. He's the servant of God. And
this word servant means bond slave. It means bond slave. And Paul said, I'm a bond slave
of the Lord Jesus Christ. But his service is first, isn't
it? I do want you to turn with me to Exodus chapter 21. Exodus
chapter 21. You're familiar with this passage,
I love this picture of Christ. Nothing shows his servitude to the Father
and his love for his people any more than this mosaic law. God
gave to the Israelites a law. The law was that if one Israelite
became indebted to another Israelite and couldn't pay the debt, that
he was obligated to pay that debt out of indentured servitude. And that he would go to work
for that other Israelite and pay off his debt through labor. But he could only work for six
years. One Israelite could not work another Israelite in indentured
servitude for more than six years. Six is the number of a man. Six
is the complete picture of our humanity. All right? Created on the sixth day, 666,
all of the number six is man. All right? So look at Exodus
chapter 21, the beginning of verse one. And these are the
judgments which thou shalt set before them. If thou buy a Hebrew
servant, six years he shall serve. And in the seventh, he shall
go out free for nothing. He's paid his debt. And if he
come in by himself, he shall go out by himself. But if he
were married, then his wife shall go out with him. So if when he
became your servant, he already had a wife, then his wife goes
with him when he's free. However, verse three, verse four, if his
master gave him a wife, and she bear him sons or daughters, and
the wife the wife and her children shall be her masters, and he
shall go out by himself." So he's free to leave after six
years. But if the master gave him a wife, and during those
six years they had children, then the children and the wife
remain with the master, and the husband goes out by himself.
Verse five, and if the servant shall plainly say, there's no
ambiguity, There's no confusion. There's no reluctance on the
part of the servant. No, he says plainly and willingly,
I love my master, my wife and my children. I will not go out
free. then his master shall bring him
into the judges, and he shall also bring him to the door and
unto the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with
an awe, and he shall serve him forever." What a glorious picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father gave him a bride,
and that bride produced sons and daughters. Here we are, right
here today. And the Lord Jesus Christ had served the requirements
of the Father in His six years of service. He served the Father.
And He was free to go out free by Himself. What did He say? I love my Master. I love my wife. I love my children. And I will
willingly be bore through in the ear, which was a picture
of the servants willingness to hear and to obey the voice of
the Master but it's also a picture of what the Lord Jesus Christ
did on Calvary's cross when he was bore through not just not
in the ear but in the hands and the feet and in the side and
gave himself a sacrifice out of love for his Master and out
of love for his children Isaiah chapter 53 verse 11 says,
My righteous servant shall justify many. My righteous servant shall
justify many. Behold, I will bring forth my
servant, Zachariah says, the branch. So here we have behold,
behold, urgency, amazement, necessity, Give your undivided full attention
to what's about to be said. Behold my servant, the Lord Jesus
Christ, the servant of God, whom I uphold. Turn back with me to
chapter 41 of Isaiah at verse 10. passages can be understood as
God speaks them to our hearts, but they're also understood as
the Father spoke them to the heart of His Son. For the Son was upheld by the
Father until that mystery of mysteries took place on the cross
when the Lord Jesus Christ cried out, My God, my God, why hast
thou forsaken me? He wasn't being upheld then,
was he? He was forsaken by God. He was made sin. And God's eyes are too pure to
look upon sin. verse 41, chapter 41 verse 10,
fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy
God I will strengthen thee yea I will help thee yea I will uphold
thee with the right hand of my righteousness I will uphold thee
and that's what the father did for the Lord Jesus Christ his
entire life he upheld him How many times the Lord said the
works that I do are not, they're the Father's. The words that
I speak, they're the Father's. I've come here to serve the Father.
He told us the first words uttered, written in scripture from the
lips of the Lord Jesus Christ was when he was lost in, or his
parents lost him, he wasn't lost. But when they couldn't find him
in Jerusalem, at the age of 12. And what did he say to Mary when
she finally did find him? Did you not know that I must
be about my Father's business? That's what I've come here to
do. I've come here to do the business of God." And he was upheld. Exodus chapter
17 when Moses and the children of Israel went to battle against
the Amalekites and Joshua was leading the army down in the
valley and Moses was sitting up on the mountain remember and
every time Moses would lift his hands Joshua would prevail and
every time his hands got tired and they came down the Amalekites
would prevail and finally Aaron and Hur set Moses upon a rock
and held up his arms Scripture says they stayed his arms. They held them up. And Joshua
prevailed against the Amalekites. What a picture of the Lord Jesus
Christ's hands being held up by the Father and the battle
being won. He prevailed against the enemies
of God. Why? Because the Father upheld
Him. Behold, my servant, whom I uphold
by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ, was upheld,
upheld by God. Mine elect, my chosen one, the
one that I'm pleased with, there he is, the one that God saves
all his other elect in. You can't believe the gospel.
I'm going to anger some people right now, I know I am. Hopefully
it won't be any of you, but some people don't believe what I'm
about to say. But you can't believe the gospel
without believing in eternal justification. Eternal justification. There are folks who want to make
justification something that God does when you believe. This matter of the Lord Jesus
Christ has always been God's elect. And God's chosen people
have always been viewed in Christ. God didn't come up with a plan
to save a people. He purposed the salvation of
his people in himself from eternity past. He said, I change not. I change not. I'm the same yesterday,
today, and forever. I change not. I'm the eternal
one. I am the self-existent, underived,
uncreated God. And that's the only reason you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. If I changed, if I had to come
up with a new plan, I would base it on what I see in you. But my purpose stands, the purpose
according to election might stand. God has elected a people in the
elect from eternity past and that can't be changed. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. And
the blood of Christ has always been the covering for our sins. When the Lord's pleased to regenerate
you, when He's pleased to open the eyes of your understanding,
when He's pleased to give you faith, you are just simply discovering
something that's always been. That's it. Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth." David, God is not pleased with
your best efforts and he's not pleased with mine, is he? He's
just not. You talk to folks all the time,
you say, well I'm doing my best. Well, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. God's not pleased with your best. He's not pleased with your best. In whom my soul delighteth. The soul of God delights in the
Lord Jesus Christ. And the only hope that you and
I have that he would delight in us is that we be found in
him. As He is, so are we in this world. That's the only hope we have. A holy God can only be pleased
with that which is as holy as He is. God is not indifferent to anyone. He's not indifferent to anyone. He either loves you with a perfect
love or He hates you with a perfect hatred. There's no middle ground with
God. Jacob I have loved and Esau have I hated. He loves those
who are found in the one in whom His soul delights. And those
who are outside of Christ He has no delight for them. He has
nothing but wrath and judgment and disdain and hatred for them. There's no middle ground. Isaiah said, He, speaking of
the Father, shall see the travail of His soul and shall be, what? Satisfied. shall be satisfied."
God the Father satisfied with Christ. He's not satisfied with
you. He's not satisfied with me. He's
satisfied with Christ. And that's what he's saying here.
Behold! Behold! Give your urgent, undivided attention
to what I'm about to tell you. My servant, whom I uphold, mine
elect, in whom my soul delighteth." My soul delights in Him. I've
put my spirit upon Him. Look at the rest of this verse.
I've put my spirit upon Him. Now that means that I've anointed
Him. And that's what Christ means. He's the Anointed One. He's the
Messiah. He's the one sent of God in the
full power of the Holy Spirit so that it can be said of Him,
He was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows.
Read Hebrews chapter 1. To which of the angels did God
ever say, Sit thou here at My right hand? No, He said that
to Christ. He said that to his anointed
one. Look at the rest of this verse. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. Now this word judgment means
justice. It means justice. It means that
the case has been decided in a court of law and the execution
of a sentence has been made according to the strict accordance to the
law, strict obedience to the law. God didn't change his law
in order to bring about judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ made the
law of God, the scripture says, honorable. He fulfilled the law
of God. He is the end of the law of God. He satisfied the demands of the
law of God. He is our righteousness before
God. So that we're not under the law.
The law's got nothing to say to you. If you're in Christ,
The law is silenced. The law is quiet. The law has
got no... There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. You're not under the law. You're
under grace. You're under grace. The law has
been fulfilled. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. And you know what that word Gentile
means? means dog. Dog. Sinners of the Gentiles. Dogs. And what did the Syrophoenician
woman say when the Lord called her a dog? What did she say? Truth, Lord. Truth, Lord. One of the kings of Israel said
to a prophet of God one time, what am I, a dog? What am I,
a dog? God's people don't talk like
that, do they? What do they say? Truth, Lord. But the dogs, the dogs receive
the crumbs that come from the master's table. Lord, would you
enable me to behold thy glory? All right, let's take a break. you