The Word of God, or the Bible,
is a book of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The whole of God's
Word from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 is a revelation of Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. The Old Testament is Jesus Christ
concealed. The New Testament is Jesus Christ
revealed. Christ himself said, they are
they which testify of me. And he was speaking of the Old
Testament scriptures at the time. The Old Testament says someone
is coming and gives exact details, prophecies concerning his person
and his work. And these things are mostly hidden
from the wise and the prudent, as the parables were in the New
Testament. And the Gospels say he is here. Here he is, exactly as described
from the Old Testament. And the epistles and the revelations
say he is coming again, the same one, Jesus Christ, the same,
yesterday, today, and forever. If you do not see Jesus Christ
in the Old Testament, you have missed the whole purpose of it.
Because the testimony of Jesus, that is the gospel of Jesus Christ,
is the spirit of prophecy, the essence of prophecy. It all has its fulfillment in
the person and work of Christ. In Isaiah chapter 42, Isaiah
42, we are going to see a prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ. Incidentally, Isaiah, the book
of Isaiah is more often quoted, the prophecies of Isaiah are
more often quoted in the New Testament than any other, save
for the book of Psalm. Isaiah 42 begins this way, Behold
my servant, whom I uphold. God Almighty is speaking, and
He is speaking of Jesus Christ, His sovereign servant, who came
to do God's will, who came to save a people given to Him by
God. He is called the sent one throughout
especially the Gospel of John, who came to do God's good pleasure. God says, My servant whom I uphold,
that is, whom I set forth, whom I hold forth, whom I maintain
as My only true servant. Mine, My servant whom I uphold. And He says, Mine elect. God
calls him His elect, God's choice servant, God's one chosen servant
out of the people, the one whom God chose and exalted, and the
one in whom all others are chosen. This is what Ephesians 1 verse
4 says concerning the saints, the elect of God. It says we
are chosen in Him, that is, in Christ before the foundation
of the world. in Christ are saved, are chosen
before the foundation of the world, and they are predestinated
to be conformed to his image. So God calls him his elect, mine
elect. And I read on, verse 1, "...in
whom my soul delighteth." God says, "...behold, my servant
whom I uphold, mine in whom my soul delighteth." God said this
of one person who walked this planet, one in whom he was well
pleased, only one. God said it from heaven. This
is my Son, my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Verse 21 here of Isaiah 42 says,
The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake. He will magnify the law and make
it honorable. Jesus Christ, the only holy,
sinless man to ever live, the only one who was truly righteous,
the only one who truly was obedient to God Almighty, to His law,
who kept it perfectly in thought, word, and deed, and God was well
pleased for his righteousness' sake, in whom his soul delighted. And God is only pleased with
another human being by faith in Christ, those who have this
perfect righteousness of Christ imputed or charged to their accounts. God is only pleased with us If
we are found in Christ, Paul said, not having our own righteousness
which is of the law or of our morality, but that righteousness
which is of faith through the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul goes
to great lengths in Romans to tell us that. Well, he says,
"...in whom my soul delighteth." Jesus Christ. Read on. Verse
1, "...I have put my Spirit upon him." I have put my Spirit upon
him. He had the Spirit without measure,
because they are one and the same person. These three are
one, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God's Holy Spirit was in him
as a man without measure, without measure, full of the Spirit.
Put my Spirit upon him, and it says, he shall bring forth judgment. to the Gentiles. That is, he
shall justify. He shall justify his people,
even the Gentiles. And read on. Verse 2, he goes
on to say, he shall not cry. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. He shall not cry. Jesus Christ, God Almighty in
human flesh, did not come to this earth to try to get men
and women to believe in Him. Nor is He doing that now. Nor
do His preachers do that. He did not come to this earth
trying to get men and women to believe on Him by crying out
in public, by going into various places in public and saying,
I'm the Savior, won't someone accept me? Won't someone believe
me? No, sir. No, he purposely, confidently
walked through the land, his land, his earth, calling out
his people which he had chosen, calling them by name like a shepherd
does his sheep. That's what he said. He said,
my sheep hear my voice. I know them and am known of mine
and they follow me. He found his sheep, came looking
for them in various places where he put them. knowing he would
find them there, and called them by name. He found one sitting
by the receipt of customs. He said, Matthew, follow me.
He found several in fishing boats, Peter, James, John, Andrew, follow
me. He found a man up a tree right
where he put him. Zacchaeus, come down. I must
abide at your house to-day. one on the road to Damascus,
Saul, come to me." No, Jesus Christ was not trying to get
people to believe in Him, so therefore He did cause His voice
to be heard in the street that went about as a certain Savior
saving certain ones, particular ones, with His sovereign call. He shall not cry. Nor does he
today try to get anyone to believe on him. The foundation of God
standeth sure, as Scripture says, the Lord knoweth them that are
hid. He said, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And he said in John 6.44, No
man can come except the Father which hath sent me draw him. And so he came as a shepherd
calling his sheep. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. Verse 3 says,
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not
quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. A bruised reed and smoking flax. There is nothing weaker than
a bruised reed, that is, a tender plant, and nothing more obnoxious
than smoking flax. Well, this is a picture of us
by nature, weak, helpless. God does not help those who help
themselves. That is a ridiculous old man-made
saying. God Almighty helps the helpless,
the hopeless. God saves the dead in trespasses
and sin. Those that are without strength.
That's whom God Almighty saved. A bruised wreath, smoking flax. God does not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentant. God saves sinners, not righteous,
good, and moral people, but sinners. And it says, He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth. That is, He'll justify, Isaiah
53 says, By his knowledge he shall justify many. He justifies
by his gospel, by his truth, justice and judgment unto truth. And verse 4, I love this verse,
it says, He shall not fail. He shall not fail. When the angels announced his
arrival, they said, Call his name Jesus. For he shall save
his people from their sin. Call his name Jesus. It means
Savior. For he shall save his people
from their sin. Isaiah said he shall not fail
nor be discouraged. He shall not fail. Jesus Christ
came to this earth to save a particular people given to him by God the
Father. He says that over and over again.
Read John 17 for yourself sometime. He said, Those whom thou hast
given me I have kept, and none of them is lost save the son
of perdition that the scriptures might be fulfilled. He shall
not fail. Jesus Christ did not come to
try to save everyone. He came to save His particular
people. Call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sin. He shall save His people from
their sin. He shall not fail, for He shall
save His people. What could be clearer? Jesus
Christ is not a a frustrated Savior, but a successful one. He saved all of those who he
intended to save, who he purposed to save. He shall not fail, nor
be discouraged. He is not some frustrated Savior
leaning over the banister of heaven hoping somebody will accept
him. That is blasphemy. He shall not
fail, nor be discouraged. He shall, Isaiah 53 says, see
the travail of his soul, and be satisfied, saved every one
he died for. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged. There are some that came to Him
one time and said, If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
He said, I told you, and you believe not, because you are
not My sheep. As He said, as I said unto you,
My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow
Me. And He said, I give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perish. He shall not fail,
nor be discouraged, till He hath set judgment in the earth. that
is justified his people by his righteousness. And the isles
shall wait for his law as the king sitting upon the throne,
as when he went to sit on the mount and the multitudes came
to him. All of his people shall come
to him and await his word, his word of salvation, his sovereign
word. Yes, this is God's servant, God's
elect, whom God has chosen to justify his people. He shall
not fail, nor be discouraged. No, and he has not failed. And he is right now seated on
the right hand of the majesty on high, expecting his enemies
to be made his footstool, and all of his people to be saved,
rounded up, sanctified by his Holy Spirit. This is the sovereign
Christ of Scripture, the only Christ there is. I hope you believe
on Him by His grace. Until next Sunday. Amen.