Mind you and make you aware of
the schedule for the next few services. This coming Tuesday
night, I'll be bringing the message. Next Sunday, Eric Floyd from
Ashland will be coming down. So I'm sure the vast majority
haven't heard him preach. I've heard him a few times on
Sermon Audio, and I think we'll be pleased. On the 7th of July,
Todd will be back with us. The 16th of July, Marvin Stoniker. And so those are the schedule
for the next few services. Today, we're happy to have Brother
Fred Evans, his wife Cheryl, and Andrew, and Audrey. It's hard to believe that they've
been over there for 12 years now because when they moved here,
Andrew was real small. Now we all look up to him except
for maybe Matthew back there. Everybody looks up to him. Fred is pastor of the Redeemer
Grace Church over in Sellersburg, Indiana. They haven't been able
to meet since the first part of March because right now they're
meeting in a school building. not able to meet and hopefully
he said next week will be the first time they've had services.
So we're indeed thankful to have Fred with us today. You come
bring a message now. It's good to be with you this
morning. Wow. It's good to see people. looked
at a camera for the last few months, and it's Scott. I had Scott, but that's in the
family, but that's it. So I pray the Lord will bless
us today. If you'll take your Bibles and
turn with me to Isaiah chapter 42. Isaiah chapter 42. The title
of the message is Christ, the servant,
God. Christ, the servant of God. The scripture says, behold, my
servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not
cry nor lift up. nor cause his voice to be heard
in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged,
till he have said judgment in the earth, and the aisles shall
wait for his law. Christ, the servant of God, my
servant. God says this to every one of
us here. Behold, stop, consider. Consider who? My servant. Behold
my servant. Look at this. Stand amazed and
behold my servant. God is well pleased with Christ.
Matter of fact, this whole book is about Christ and His work. It's not part of this book, it's
the whole thing. All of it is about His servant,
and God says to us, Behold, this morning there are many things
competing for our minds. There are many things competing
for our attention. We have this flesh that is constantly
bombarded, both within and without, always trying to pull us away
from this, the servant of God, Christ. It's always. We're bombarded
by everything. I got a haircut this last week,
and talking to my barber, he goes to a big church, Sad condition. It's in one of the biggest churches
there in Louisville. And the service last week was
about how all white people are racist. Well, I said, when you don't
have the gospel, that's all you got. I imagine that's all they'll
preach. I've got something much better. I've got something much
better. Don't let this current trouble
in this nation pull you away from this. God says, Behold My
Servant. And that's what I want to do
this morning. I want to set Him before you. I want to set Christ
in front of you. I want to see Him myself. I want
to behold Him. I want to admire Him. I want
to stand in awe of Him. Why? Christ is the Servant of
God. What an amazing statement that
is, considering who He is, that God would say, Behold My Servant. Jesus Christ is the one spoken
of here. Behold My Servant. Consider this,
that Jesus Christ is Himself God. God. John said, In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God. And listen, the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. And all things were made by Him,
and not anything that was made was made without Him. And Him
was life, and the life was the light of men. How then could
he be the servant of God? What an astounding statement.
My servant, yet he is himself God. Many false religions take
this and they claim that Jesus then must be a lesser God. What
a heresy. What a heresy. They reason that
if Jesus was the servant, then he must be less. But this is
not the meaning of the text or any other part of Scripture,
for Christ Himself confessed His deity. He said before, Abraham
was what? Now most people wouldn't understand
that. Those Jews knew exactly what he was saying because they
took up stones to stone him. And he said, Why do you pick
up stones to stone me? He said, Because thou makest
thyself equal with God. He was. He was God. He was equal in every point.
He used that name, I Am, which Moses, he gave to Moses at the
burning bush. I Am that I Am. Christ was speaking. And just as damning a heresy
is to go the other way, isn't it? Just to say He was only a
man. No, He wasn't. He was all man, but He was all
God. He was all God and all man. John tells us that that's a lie. He said any man that confesses
that Jesus Christ has not come in the flesh is not of God. Matter of fact, that's the spirit
of Antichrist, isn't it? It's what he said. And so then,
for us to behold the servant of God, we must see his complete
person. Behold, my servant is both God
and man. Behold Jesus Christ. See him
in the complete person of the God-man as he became the servant
of God. Now, three characteristics for
us this morning of a servant. What is a servant? There are
three characteristics of a servant. And then I want us to see how
Christ fulfilled his role as the servant of God. And lastly,
I want us to see that this servant was faithful. This servant was
absolutely successful in fulfilling all his master required. So first of all, let's see the
characteristic of a servant. A servant, first of all, must
leave all at the calling of one master. No man can serve two
masters. He must have one master, and if he is a faithful servant,
he will leave all to serve his master because he was called
of his master. Was not Jesus Christ faithful
in His calling? Was He not chosen to be the servant
of God? Yes. In our text, He said, Behold,
My servant whom I uphold. Listen, Mine elect. This servant was a specifically
chosen servant. Christ was chosen of the Father. He was called to this office
from eternity. He was the elect of the Father.
In fact, the Father trusted Him with His whole house. With His
whole house. In Ephesians chapter 1 and verse
12, it says, Who first trusted in Christ? Who first trusted
in Christ? The Father. The father committed
all of his elect to the care of Christ. He gave all the glory
of God rested in the hands of Jesus Christ. He gave all he
chose this servant. He was a chosen servant because
he was the best servant. the most capable to take upon
him all the commandments of God, the most fitted to humble himself
under the law of God and the righteous judgment of God, who
among us could be that servant. Go through history and find one
fit. There's not. This is why he was
chosen. He alone was chosen. God says, behold my chosen vessel,
by which I will fulfill all my sovereign decrees. And so this
morning, behold him. Behold him with the eye of faith.
May God open our eyes to see him as he is, the chosen servant
of God. Now, all men by nature are truly
to be the servants of God. Should we not all be servants? All men should have humbled themselves
before God. All of us should seek to leave
everything and serve Him. He is worthy of service. He is
worthy of praise. He is worthy of our honor. But
who among us has done that? I hear that song, I surrender
all. There is only one has done that, Christ. the chosen servant
of God. He surrendered all because he's
the servant of God. The scripture says, let this
mind be in you, you who are Christ. Let this mind, the mind of Christ
be in us, who being in the form of God, in the nature of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God because he was
God. But because he was the chosen
servant, he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him
the form of a servant, the nature of a servant, and was made in
the likeness of men. Is there any way for us to understand
how low he condescended? Is there any way for us to imagine
the great distance that he condescended to become
a man, not just a man, not just any man, but the lowest of men. To humble himself and become
the form of a servant, to learn obedience by the things he suffered. You suffer? Do you really think
we suffer? I like this man. Not like this
servant. This man, he served not himself,
but the one that sent him. He served and honored God as
the God-man. And when Satan tempted him to
bow down, what was the Lord's response? He said, It is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him alone shalt thou
serve. He served God. He did not lift
up himself, even though he was worthy. He did not promote himself,
as no doubt he could have. He did not come to be served,
but to serve. He said, the Son of Man came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister. and give his life
a ransom for many. So a servant must be chosen,
and Christ was that chosen servant. He must give all, and he did,
to do the will of one master, his master, the Father. Secondly,
a servant must do the will of his master. God sent Christ,
and Christ only did his will. Philippians 2.8 says, being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. It's one thing to purpose
to serve in it. How many times you purpose something
and you mean to do it, but have not the power or even the desire
to fulfill anything. Yet this man not only was chosen
to be a servant, chosen to do the will of God. Listen, he did
it. He actually did it. He humbled himself and became
obedient even unto death, even to the death of the cross. God
tells us to behold his servant. He is the only obedient servant,
and he only obeyed God perfectly, completely in righteousness,
in all his laws and decrees. Isn't it something? He that was
worthy of obedience became obedient. God sent his son to be a man
and he obeyed him. As he became a man, he obeyed
the father, humbled himself, even to the point of death at
the command of his God. But this was well known before,
wasn't it? Lo, I come. In the volume of the book, it
is written of me to do what? The will of him that sent me. You see, he's a servant because
he obeyed the will. He was chosen and he honored
the Father's will. You remember that night our Lord
was to be taken and crucified. And Peter, oh Peter, I identify
with this fellow. He was so zealous. He pulled
out that little fisherman knife and was going to take on the
whole army, cut off that servant's ear, thought he was doing the
will of God to save Christ. He was going to save Christ. He said this, put up your sword.
The cup my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Shall
I, as the servant of God, not fulfill what my Father has sent
me to do? My Father has sent me to drink
the dregs of the sins of all His people. Shall I not drink
it? Isn't this why I came into the
world? To fulfill this? You see, He's
a servant. He came to do the will of the
Father. And thirdly, a servant is content with his master's
wages. There was never a man more content
than Christ. He was content in suffering.
All right, raise your hand if you're really content in suffering.
No. We're like the bullock, unaccustomed
to the yoke. And yet Christ is in no way unaccustomed. He was determined to do this. He was content with whatever
God gave him. You remember when Satan attempted
him. He could have made those stones bread really easily, couldn't
he? But what? No, he was content
to rely upon God even for his food daily. Daily. He who was king, how should a
king come? I like this little song. Even
a commoner understands he should come for his houses. He should
come for his lands. He should come on a pure white
horse in the prime of day. The Trump should blow in the
crowds make way. Is that how a King should come?
Yet? How did this King come? He came
as a servant. He came as a servant to do the
will of God because he was ordained of God. He was chosen of God
to do the will of God, and he was content to do the will of
his father. You remember in that garden that
night when he sweat, as it were, great, great drops of blood,
he said, oh, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me. But nevertheless, not my will
be done, but thy will." Now, as he's the servant of God, was
he not content to do the will even when God commanded that
he bear the sins of his people in his own body and suffer the
vengeance of God for them, he willingly did it. That's something, isn't it? Willingly. You know, he didn't go kicking
and screaming to save us. He willingly did it. He willingly
did it because He's the servant. Now, why was He a servant? Why
was Christ, the Son of God, called to be the servant? We know that
He is this Jesus. We know that Jesus has fulfilled
all the requirements of being a servant, but why? Why should
this Son of God become a servant? Why should He who is God humble
himself, and take on flesh, and die according to the decree of
God." The purpose of this is found
in your text in verse 6. Look at this, "...behold my servant..."
Now this is why God says that he should come. He said, "...I
have called thee..." This is the purpose of his coming, "...I
have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and
will keep thee, and will give thee for a covenant
of the people, for a light unto the Gentiles, to open the blind
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that
sit in darkness out of the prison house." So the first thing is
this, he was called to be the servant of God for a covenant,
a covenant. This is why He became a servant,
because He was to be the covenant, the surety of a covenant for
the people, for His people. He was to be, second of all,
a light, a light. And thirdly, He was to do this
in order that he should call the blind prisoners. When God created Abraham, he
made a covenant. And the covenant was a very simple
one. Don't eat. It's a negative covenant, isn't
it? In other words, Adam, do nothing with this. In order to break this covenant,
you would have to actually do something. And when he did break
that covenant, we know what happened. As our federal head, he broke
the covenant of God. He who was the best that flesh
could offer, he broke the covenant of God. Therefore, God purposed, even before this,
that there should be Another representative. Another representative. My servant, it was because of
this we all became unable and unwilling to obey the law of
God. We all have sinned and become blind. We have all become enslaved
to sin by nature. We are blind to see our condition,
our need of righteousness, We are blind to think that we can
by our own righteousness and obedience somehow please God.
How arrogant is man by nature? Man by nature
cannot see that they are full of sin. You want to make a religious
person mad, tell him by nature he is full of sin. Now tell one who is saved by
the grace of God he is full of sin. And he will confess that
from the sole of my foot to the crown of my head there is no
soundness. Paul said, in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. Man is blind to see that. And
so then religion would come in, and what does religion do? But
patch up the flesh. That's all religion does. That's all the religion of morality
does, is try to patch up the old man, paint the corpse. But it can't give life. The one thing that religion and
law cannot do is provide righteousness. It cannot atone for sin. Friends,
God's law doesn't bend. Do you know that? It doesn't
bend in one point. Matter of fact, cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law
to do them. We all have broken the law because
we all fell in our father. When he broke that covenant that
God made, For him, he broke that covenant and we all died in him. And so then the law was never
intended to save or to help a sinner. It had one purpose, condemn. Condemn. Cursed. Cursed. Cursed is everyone. that continueth not in all things."
Written in the book of the law, Paul said, You that are wont
to be under the law, do you not hear it? Do you not hear it? Cursed is all it can do. Exposed sin, the soul that sinneth,
it shall surely die. So then what does the scripture
conclude? We have all sinned. We have all sinned and come short
of the glory of God. We have broken the law. Is there
any hope then for man?" Yes, the whole point of, Behold My
Servant, is a message of hope because He made him to be surety
of a covenant, a better covenant. than the one he made with Adam,
a better covenant than he made with Moses, a better covenant,
a covenant of free grace, free pardon and mercy. There's hope. Where's hope found? Behold my servant, my servant. He alone is the hope for sinners. because God had made a covenant,
not with man, but for man. And that covenant was made with
Christ for his people. You see, my salvation rests in
a covenant, and a covenant not that I made with God, but that
God made with himself. I like to see this. Salvation
is something done outside of us. that has nothing to do with
us. It's something God did for and
by himself. It's a covenant of mercy. And God in mercy chose and elect
people, a remnant of the race of Adam that he would save. And
in that covenant mercy, he gave them to Christ, his servant. You know why Christ should be
a servant? Because God had a people that he would save. And the only
one who could save them was the servant. was Christ. He was the only one. Therefore,
God trusted his servant with the souls of all of his people. He said, here they are, son.
And the son said, I love them. I'll take it. I agree. I agree to be their federal head. I agree to be their high priest.
I agree to be their sacrifice. I agree to be all that they need
for salvation. Therefore, he says, I will call
thee in righteousness." In righteousness because God's elect stood in
need of what? Righteousness. Righteousness
that we could not provide for ourselves. So Christ said, I'll
come in righteousness. I'll be their righteousness. not part of their righteousness,
all of their righteousness. I'll do it. I'll make up all
their righteousness. Think not I am come to destroy
the law, but what? to fulfill the law. That's what he came to do. He
came to fulfill the law in every jot and tittle, and it was fulfilled
by his own obedience. By his obedience to the will
of God, he fulfilled the law of God and established it in
every way. In Romans chapter 8 and verse
3, it says, For what the law could not do, and that it was
weak through the flesh, God sending his son, his servant in the likeness
of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. Now,
what was this for? That. This is the covenant that
the righteousness of God might be fulfilled in us. That the righteousness of God,
the righteousness of that law might be fulfilled in us. So
He came to establish righteousness, but righteousness alone was not
sufficient. There's a second part of this
work that was necessary. It was atonement. Righteousness
was necessary, but what about payment for sin? Payment for
sin was necessary as well. So as our surety, Christ must
not only provide our righteousness, but provide an atonement, make
an atonement, He must redeem us. He must come and pay the
ransom price for the prisoner. And so in verse 6, this is why
God says, I will hold thy hand. I will hold thy hand. I will keep thee. Who sustained
Christ in all of this? God did. God did. He sustained Christ. He held
Him. How is it that God delivered
up His servant to be crucified in the hands of wicked men? Because
He purposed in this covenant of grace that Christ would be
the sin-bearer of His people. Remember that at Great Day of
Atonement? What a picture of that, isn't
it? The high priest laid his hands upon the scapegoat, And
then that scapegoat was carried out by a strong man into the,
I like to picture that, just watching him go out in the distance. You see him a little, and as
he just gets smaller and smaller and smaller, until what? He's
gone. That's what Christ did. When
God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, in the covenant
of mercy, he said, that you might be made the righteousness of
God in him. And when he bore our sin in his
own body, and all the vengeance of God fell on his servant, you
know what happened to my sin? It is finished. And the servant forever put away
the sin. You know this, because of what
his servant did, God himself cannot find my sin. What an amazing servant. What
an amazing servant. To wit, God was reconciling the
world to himself. Can't reconcile a sinner as long
as he has sin. Can't be done. Reconciling the world to himself,
how could he do it not imputing their trespasses to them? In
the covenant, God was not willing that he impute your sin to you. that he should charge his own
son, the servant, the substitute for the sins of his people. Now
then, my question then is this. As a sinner myself, knowing my
sin, knowing this, that the covenant was made for the blind and the
prisoner, do you know yourself to fit that bill? I know what I am by nature. This
is the revelation of God to all his elect. We know this is us. We sat in darkness for so long. Until when? Until the light of
the glory of God shined in the face of Jesus Christ. Until God
commanded that light. You realize that no one's going
to be saved except God commanded? God commanded the light to shine
out of darkness. He has shined in our hearts the
light of the glory of God in the face of whom? My servant,
Jesus Christ. And I'll tell you this, you that
have come, this is the message you want to know, because I know
you're often tossed about with doubts and fears, because you
still see your sin. You still experience your sin. daily, constantly fighting, warring
with yourself. Was he successful? Are you sure the servant was
successful? You know, I've heard this before
on the Passover. There was that firstborn child
inside the house and the blood was where? Blood was on the outside. You imagine the worry. Father,
you sure you put the blood on the door? Are you sure that it
was the right sacrifice? Are you sure the sacrifice was
pure? How often do you wring your hands?
Was it pure enough? Was it good enough? That's why
we constantly need to behold the servant of God. Constantly. Though the world clamor for our
attention, behold the servant of God. Because this, he was
given for a covenant for the people. He became a man so that
he might establish righteousness for his people. He came to die
in the stead of his people. He said it was finished. How do I know it was successful?
Because God raised him from the dead and sat him down on the
right hand of the majesty on high. It's done, friends. What work is there for you to
do? There's nothing left to do. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. Don't add anything to that. I
read that this morning. Don't touch it. Don't touch that
scripture. Don't believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ. Believe what? He was a servant
of God. He accomplished the covenant
of God for his people by his own obedience and by his own
death and by his own resurrection. Salvation accomplished outside
of you. And the moment we believe, salvation
then is experienced in us. He comes and He opens our eyes. I'm not still blind. I know what
my nature is. I'm not blind. What do I see? His servant. What do I hope in? His servant. Where's my righteousness? In
His servant. Where's my atonement? By his
servant. Where's my hope? In heaven, seated
on the right hand of God. May God open our eyes. If God's
not opened your eyes, would to God he would, even now, let you see the beauty of his
son? The servant of God. I like that. You know, those old high priests,
they never finished, did they? There was no chair in the tabernacle. Never none. But this man. After he had put away our sins,
he sat down. Christ is resting. The servant
is resting because he finished the work the Father gave him
to do. And you know what? This servant is sure. He said,
all that the Father giveth me, you listen, they shall come to
me. And him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out. Why? For this is the will of
him that sent me, that of all he hath given me, I should lose
nothing. God trusted in Christ. What rebellion for you not to
trust in Christ? Unbelief is the most heinous
rebellion there is. Oh, but God give you faith and
you'll see the beauty of his servant. I pray God will bless
you.