Sunday Night: A Man To Follow
Place: BLCC
Date: 5/21/17
Text: Isaiah 42.1-7
CT: Jesus is worthy to be followed.
Two months before [Orthodox priest] Aleksandr Menn was felled by an ax, he was asked in a radio interview broadcast across Russia, "Does one need to be a Christian, and if one does, then why?"
"I think there is only one answer, and it as follows," he said:
"Man always seeks God. The normal state of man is, to some extent, to be connected with a higher power, even when the higher power in the human mind is distorted, and turned into something secular. Eras of Stalinism ... and all other isms seek some false god even if God is taken away. This turns to idol worship, but still the inner instinct of seeking God is there. ...
"The question is totally different when it is put this way: Why Christianity? Is it because of the sacred scriptures? No, every religion has sacred scriptures, and sometimes with a very high quality of spiritual content. ...
"Then why Christianity? Morality? Certainly. I am happy that in our society the high moral values of Christianity are accepted, but it would be totally erroneous to maintain that there are no moral values outside Christianity. ...
"Then why Christianity? Should we embrace ... a position that God is revealed and therefore can be found in any religion? No, because then the uniqueness and absolute character of Christianity will disappear. I think that nothing will prove the uniqueness of Christianity except one thing--Jesus Christ Himself."
Larry Woiwode, Books & Culture, Vol. 2, no. 2.
LS: What would make a man stand up to the point of death to proclaim his belief in Jesus Christ?
Would you?
Who is Jesus for you? Is He someone you would give up everything for?
How does God describe Jesus? I found a scripture that describes Jesus as God sees Him.
Isaiah 42.1-7, 1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
This text is known as the first of the four “Servant Songs” of Isaiah referring to God’s Servant the Messiah.
The others are 49.1-6, 50.1-11, and 52.13-53.12. They are worth a read sometime. You would recognize 53. This is the one where Jesus is pierced for our transgressions and by his wounds we are healed.
But lets look at our text in depth tonight. Isaiah 42.1-7
In verse 1 God claims Jesus as His Servant. He is pleased with Him and will put his Spirit on Him. (1) Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
It deals with the character of Jesus. Verse (2 and 3) begin with the unique manner of the Servant’s ministry that will bring justice to the nations. “He will not shout or cry out , or raise his voice in the streets.”
(3)“A bruised reed He will not break, And a smoldering wick He will not snuff out; In faithfulness he will bring forth justice.”
(4) he will not falter or be discharged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.
These islands are the islands of the Mediterranean from Is. 11.11.
This Messiah will not stop till he completes what God calls him to do.
Unlike the foreign conquerors, God’s Servant wouldn’t come shouting His decrees in the streets, nor would He crush the oppressed or discourage the disheartened.
The divine King has given the servant, Jesus, royal power. Yet He will exercise that power in such a way as to not damage the hurting or the disenfranchised - not even a broken reed that appears useless or a wick so uncared for it could no longer produce clear light, or those so oppressed they feel crushed.
God’s answer to the oppression of the world is not more oppression.
His answer to arrogance is not more arrogance. Rather in quietness, humility, and simplicity, by the Spirit of God, He will take the evil of the world and return grace.
Though He is meek we learn in verse 4 that He is not weak. “He will not falter or be discouraged till He establishes justice on earth."
This servant will faithfully administer God’s justice, eventually to the ends of the earth. He will not merely offer justice; He will put it into place and bring it about.
Though the task will be impossibly difficult He will not turn away from it, because that is His character. Jesus did all to follow the will of the father.
Then God speaks directly to this servant: (5) This is what God the Lord says—the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it.
(6) I, the Lord, have called you into righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and make you to be a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles. (7) to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
God is saying all this to Jesus, but isn’t it also to us?
Aren’t we called by God to do all this as we follow His Son? Read 6-7 as if it were to you. Isn’t that what we are called to do? We are to go and rescue our friends and neighbors who are lost.
There has always been disagreement over whether Isaiah is referring to the Nation of Israel as the Suffering Servant or whether the servant is Jesus, in either case the servant is thought of as the Messiah. There was disagreement at the time of Jesus and there is disagreement today: Most Christians identify Jesus as the Messiah and Jews are still waiting for the Nation of Israel to be led by a new, heavenly, king.
I see this as the Messiah… Jesus. No problem discerning this for me.
These verses are quoted in Matthew 12:18–21 with reference to Jesus.
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”
This is the New Testament.
The chosen servant reveals a character of gentleness, encouragement, justice, and truth. When you feel broken and bruised or burned out in your spiritual life, God won’t step on you or toss you aside as useless, but will gently pick you up. God’s loving attributes are desperately needed in the world today. Through God’s Spirit, we can show such sensitivity to people around us, reflecting God’s goodness and honesty to them.
How can we do this in a world so divided on every issue? How can I get along with those who are so set on fixing the world themselves? They know best and you are ok as long as you agree with them.
My thought is this. I look to Jesus for the answer.
In Matthew 6.33, Jesus says, But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
We are to SEEK. When we go after the things this world chooses to fix things we get in trouble if it takes us from God’s ideal.
Trust in what Jesus would want us to do in every situation. He is the chosen of God. He will not lead us anywhere but toward God’s ideal.
We are also to SHINE.
Matthew 5.16, In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Paul even has something to say on this:
2 Corinthians 4.6, For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.”
We are to shine with the light of Jesus. We are to reflect His light to all who find themselves in the darkness. Some… no, many will reject this light. Jesus knows this, but we must continue to shine the light even though we know many will not accept this light. .
We are shown that God chose well and if we follow the one He chose we will come out ok. We come out better than OK.
Does this mean we will one day face a challenge that will cost us?
I pray it is not as bad as our friend in the opening story, but there will be a time when following Jesus will go against what we may want. That is when the decision has to be made. Will we follow the chosen of the Lord or will we follow the one who was rejected by the Lord? The devil.
May you be strong in your faith and always seek and shine for God.
God tells us in our text today that only Jesus is the one worthy to be followed.
Bibliography:
NIV Bible; Life Application
