invite you to take your Bibles out this morning and turn with me to Isaiah 42. Isaiah 42 as we continue our journey through this wonderful Old Testament book. If you're a first-time guest this morning, I'm just going to invite you to jump right in where we are. I know there's a challenge to that, but Looking expectantly this morning again to seeing what God has to say as Brother David prayed, he reveals something again of who he is and specifically his servant as he introduces us to him. Isaiah chapter 42, I'll read the first nine verses this morning. Behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the Lord who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it, I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations. to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord, that is my name. My glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare. Before they spring forth, I tell you of them. This ends the reading of God's holy word. May he write its truth upon our hearts here this morning. Well, no doubt many of you have heard the story of the wonderful, incredible, dramatic conversion story of the late Chuck Colson, who was known, of course, because of public shame involved in the Watergate scandal, was imprisoned for that, and yet was born again, and he writes of being born again in his new birth, And as some of you know, he then, out of prison, started to do ministry, a worldwide outreach ministry to those incarcerated called Prison Fellowship. But what you might not know, and what I didn't know until this last week, is that R.C. Sproul, who became a close friend of Chuck Colson, was the one who came up with the ministry's logo for Prison Fellowship. When Colson asked his friend Sproul if there were any verses that came to mind when he thought about prison fellowship's mission, really the essence of what they were trying to accomplish, Sproul did not hesitate. He immediately thought of Isaiah chapter 42 in verse three, which is in our text, which reads, a bruised reed he will not break. A bruised reed God will not break. Colson and Sproul believed with all their hearts that no one, not the most vicious prisoner, nor the most egocentric politician in Washington, nor anyone here this morning, nor anyone that you or I know is beyond the reach of the mercy of God found in Jesus Christ. This morning we turn to Isaiah 42, the first of four of Isaiah's servant songs, which all tell the story of God's son, what he's like, what he came to accomplish, the kind of people that he came to rescue. In fact, the text this morning labors to show just how different the servant is when we compare him to others, specifically others in chapter 41. For example, that word behold, which we've already considered this morning, which is a word which is meant to grab our attention. In chapter 41, verse 24, it says, behold, and God then tells the counterfeit gods, you are nothing. And then again in verse 29, behold, they are all a delusion. And then you'll notice in chapter 42, our text, verse one, behold, my servant. In other words, this one's different. This one's unique. This one's worthy of putting your trust in. This is one who is worthy of following. This is one who is worthy of our worship. This one is different. This servant, behold my servant. And this morning we're going to see why that's the case. from this passage and these nine verses. So first of all, consider with me, regarding this servant, where he gets his strength. Where is this servant strengthened from? Who sustains him? Who provides for him and undergirds his ministry? Look with me at verse one. Behold my servant, God says, whom, notice, I, the Father says, uphold. My chosen, says God, in whom my soul delights. Boys and girls, do you remember what God the Father said at Jesus' baptism? God the Father said at the baptism of Jesus in this public setting, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. With whom I am well pleased. Never forget that God the Father gave us that which was most dear and precious to Him. When John in his gospel says that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, he's telling us that the father gave to us the very one in whom his soul finds unspeakable joy and pleasure and delight. God, we could say, could not be more proud of his son. In fact, forever, the Father and the Son enjoyed perfect fellowship that simply cannot be comprehended by us, a closeness, a oneness. There was not an ounce of disappointment or disproval between the Father and the Son, not a sliver of annoyance. The Father never got under the skin of the Son, nor does the Son ever do anything to frustrate the Father, which of course only highlights the excruciating and unbearable and unthinkable pain that the Son experienced on the cross for us, right? In being treated as if he was a sinner because he took our place. who came under the wrath of God, his Father, not because he had done anything wrong, but because we had done a lot of things that are wrong. He became the substitute. He became the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. Notice what else though, our text pulsates with language that is clearly Trinitarian. Look with me again at the second part of verse one, says God, I have put my spirit upon him. I put my spirit upon this servant, that is the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. So Jesus in his earthly ministry was doubly upheld by the Father and by the Spirit, also referred to in the New Testament as the Spirit of Christ. Now what's going on in the Spirit's filling of Jesus? We know later on in Isaiah that's picked up in the Gospel of Luke by Jesus in the synagogue in the presence of the Jews that the Spirit was given to Jesus to anoint Jesus to prophesy and preach and declare the good news and to open the eyes of the blind and to announce that people in bondage can be set free through his blood and his atoning sacrifice. But the Spirit isn't just given by the Father to anoint Jesus for his particular task. He's also given by the Father to the Son as the Father's means of upholding the Son throughout his ministry. It was by the Spirit, for example, that Jesus was led out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. And it was also in the power of the Spirit that Jesus in that wilderness situation did what Adam failed to do. It was the Spirit that strengthened the son in his human weaknesses and frailties. It was by the Spirit that Jesus was raised again from the dead. In other words, our salvation this morning depends entirely upon the truthfulness of the Trinity. To be Trinitarian, therefore, is foundational to what it means to be a Christian. We serve one God who reveals himself in three persons, co-equal and co-eternal, God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It was the Father who sent his Son. It was the Son who took on flesh, obeyed the law, died and rose again, and it was by the Spirit that he was able to do so, which doesn't in any regard downplay or lessen Jesus' accomplishment, but rather it highlights the great extent to which the Trinity went to save us from our sins. And so when Paul, for example, in Romans 9, 10, and 11, gets to the end of that remarkable place, he can't help but say, for from him and through him and to him belong all things to him be the glory forever, which raises the question, who's the him of Romans 11? And the answer is the triune God. Praise be to God the Father. Praise be to God the Son. Praise be to God the Holy Spirit. Well, there's a lot of implications about this in our own lives, but let me suggest just one briefly. The servant that we're introduced to here in Isaiah chapter 42 came and conquered as a direct result, not only of his own accomplishment, but because the Father upheld him and the Spirit sustained him every step of the way, which means, among other things, that for you and me to be helped by God, to be sustained by the Holy Spirit, to come to a place where we realize that we can do nothing apart from the triune God, is a beautiful, wonderful, Christ-like place to be. Jesus does not make any excuses for being upheld and sustained by the Father and the Spirit. Brothers and sisters, whatever it is you're facing right now, it is a wonderful and Christ-like thing to come to the end of yourself and to say, I can do nothing apart from Christ and the Father and the Spirit. And so we are incredibly needy people. But that need is exactly where strength is found. And in fact, according to his human nature, where Jesus himself received it. That's how he strengthened in his ministry, but we have to keep going. Secondly, how does he go about his task? This gets at what the servant is like. In chapter 41, we were introduced to an up-and-coming king. If you were here, you may remember that we noted that that was, we now know, Cyrus of Persia. Cyrus would come upon the scene of Persia, and they would overtake the Babylonians eventually. Remember we said, because the text said it, that Cyrus was raised up entirely on account of God's sovereign initiation. You remember that? I mean, who else did this? but the God of Israel, the God of the scriptures. But notice what Cyrus is like in chapter 41, verse two. We didn't spend a lot of time on this last week, but verse two tells us of this coming king, he tramples kings underfoot. He tramples kings underfoot. He makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. In other words, Cyrus will come and did come in power and in might and vengeance and trampled down anyone who got into his way. Which is pretty much the way it worked in those days. Whichever empire ruled the ancient world did so because it had a king that was willing to do whatever it took to get the throne and keep it that way. And so when God through Isaiah introduces us to his servant, we might assume that this servant would be just like that. the kind of king that would do whatever it took to exert his power and authority. In fact, that is exactly and precisely the kind of king that Israel wanted and demanded. And the reason they crucified Jesus is because they didn't think he was that kind of king. But what does their own Old Testament say about this king? that he is completely different than Cyrus. Verse two, he will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street. Verse three, a bruised reed he will not break and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. Which are pictures of the vulnerable which are precisely the kinds of people that Jesus came to rescue. How do we know this? Well, one of the ways we know this is because our New Testament tells us. So as we're learning to study our Bibles, as we make connections and have a study Bible, or we're doing cross-referencing, and we notice that Isaiah 42 shows up in Matthew 12, that should raise red flags, and you should look into that. Because in Matthew chapter 12, verses 15 through 21, this is actually quoted, these first four verses of Isaiah chapter 42. And the context in Matthew 12 is Jesus is ministering to a man with a withered hand. And it's taking place on the Sabbath, much to the irritation of the Pharisees, right? That was kind of the scene. In fact, they're so frustrated that as a result, they want to eventually crucify him. They oppose him, it says this, Matthew 12, nine, he went on from there and entered their synagogue and a man was there with a withered hand and Jesus said to the man, stretch out your hand. And the man stretched it out and it was restored healthy like the other, but the Pharisees went out and conspired against him how to destroy him. Now the man with the withered hand, is he not a picture of the bruised read of this world, the maimed and the broken, a spiritual picture of every single one of us. Ray Ortlund said, the hope of the world lies in the servant of the Lord, the man for others who wields the only true power that exists, the power to reorder human civilization, not by bullying, but by suffering. not by imposing demands on us, but by absorbing our sins and miseries into himself. Brothers and sisters and friends, do you see, are you seeing, are you increasingly seeing something of who Jesus is? This is God's intent for us this morning. Behold my servant, let me show you what he's like. the one who did not come for the righteous, the one who did not come to heal the well, the healthy, the one who came for bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. People just like us. Notice the tenderness of the servant. With the outcasts and the scandalous and the unworthy, he speaks and acts with such compassion. He not only heals them, but often in the gospels, we're given these beautiful insights into what he's really like, into his heart, which is a reflection of his father. He'll extend his hand to theirs, and he'll physically lift them up. or in giving sight to the blind, in some situations, he not only speaks it into existence with the same voice that spoke the universe into existence, but then he will choose to make his own hands muddy and then physically touch the blind eyes of his fellow man and heal him. See, Jesus knows your weakness. He knows full well that you and I are bruised reeds. He knows that the fire in our hearts often grow dim, yet he still loves us. There is no bruised reed in the words of J.R. Miller that Christ cannot take and restore. He can take a life crushed by pain and sorrow and make it a harp whose music will be total praise. Do you believe that? Are you beginning to see why Sproul thought of that verse for prison fellowship? Can God even use a person like me behind bars here because of my own foolishness? I mean, what's my future? What is His heart towards me, a sinner? Do you believe it in other people as well? That he's able to save the person in your life who you think there's just no, there's no opportunity left. He's God and God can do anything. He could destroy anyone he wanted in an instant. But just when it seems like he might do that to us because of all that we've done, He comes this morning again and he shows me and you grace. And he chooses to deal patiently with us and tenderly. Remember the context of these words in Isaiah. They're written to would-be exiles, future exiles, who had no one to blame but themselves, and yet God still says that he will not break the reed that is bruised. He will not put out the fire that is faintly burning. That's what he's like, that's what the servant's like, and God wants you to see him this morning. He wants you to see that he's strengthened by the triune God, that he has a heart of tenderness and gentleness and compassion for sufferers and sinners. But then lastly, finally, What is he after? What's his big picture goal? What is he able to do and what did he come to accomplish? So thirdly, what he accomplishes in the world. And in the first four verses, three times the same word is repeated. Did you catch it when I read it? Three times, verse one, he will bring forth justice to the nations. Verse three, he will faithfully bring forth justice. Verse four, he will not grow faint or be discouraged until he has established justice in the earth. So, in other words, justice is important to him. The question I think we wrestle with is, has this servant succeeded in bringing forth justice? Because when we look around us, we doubt whether he has, because it doesn't look like he has. There's injustice just about everywhere we look. In turn, every single one of us, to one degree or another, has been on the wrong receiving end of injustice, and no doubt we've also been on the wrong end in hurting others. And it doesn't take a genius to see that this world isn't exactly just and fair. The vulnerable are often trampled on all the time. Those who are powerful seem to win. Whoever has the most influence and money and strength seem like they can just trample over and bulldoze other people underneath them. But you see, this forgets the all-important truth that God is in heaven and that he does whatever he pleases That there's more going on in our universe and more going on in your little corner of the world and mine than initially meets the eye. That behind us, frowning providence, as the hymn so beautifully puts it, is a smiling face. Not of some unknown deity, but if you're a Christian, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. So in verse eight we read, I am, I am the Lord, that is my name, my glory I give to no other. And we'll see that as we continue through Isaiah, he's just unwilling to do it. So whatever injustice is happening to you right now, God is not done yet. In fact, he promises that in the end, every single wrong that's ever occurred, will be overturned and righted in his perfect way and in his perfect timing. In fact, one day he will return again, and this time will be different for those who opposed him. He will very much be like Cyrus, only far more terrifying. He will trample over everyone who opposed him on this earth. And he will right everything that has been wronged, But for the bruised reeds of this world, those who've been hurt but are clinging to Jesus in faith, waiting for his return, he will take into his everlasting arms like a gentle shepherd. Which is why I love that Sarah played that, we didn't talk. The Lord's my shepherd. And all will be well for you and for me forever. It will be a place of complete safety The new heavens and the new earth will be a place where no injustice will ever occur again. But do we just have to wait until then? Ultimately, yes, but here's what's happening in our world today. He's already active and he's already initiated his kingdom. In fact, that's why this servant came in the first place to begin turning back the tide, to begin the work of reversing the curse, to bring justice to a new heavens and a new earth. And how does he do it? The servant of Isaiah chapter 42 would come to die on a cross and rise again. And now he is in heaven, and by his word, through his life-changing spirit, he's transforming people just like us, the bruised reeds of this world. Listen to what the Father says to the Son in our text. I love this, verse six. The Father says to the Son, his servant, I have called you in righteousness. I will take you, Jesus, we might say, by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations to open the eyes that are blind. to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison, those who sit in darkness. Verse nine, behold, the former things have come to pass and new things I now declare. Ortland says, have you ever thought, can I actually change? Or am I stuck with this forever? Is this it? Is this me forever? So, what's the answer? Do you and I have to stay stuck in our dungeon? The answer is there is a way out. There's hope for the slave. There's light for those in darkness. There's freedom for the captive. There's liberty for the prisoner. And it's called the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's believing this morning for the first time or again for the 10,000th time that there's more grace in Jesus than there's sin in me. But not only that, there's more power in Jesus than there is desire in me. Behold, my servant. The Father says, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. Praise be to God that God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God, that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and that Jesus Christ is in heaven and he is orchestrating every single event in your life and mine, even though we don't understand it. because he will not give his glory to another and we can trust him. Let's do that, let's pray. Father, thank you for this wonderful mystery that you have revealed to us this morning. Just a glimpse into something of what Jesus is like and how he was strengthened in his ministry and therefore how we are strengthened in our ministry and in our suffering. Oh Father, oh Jesus, oh Spirit, we need you desperately. We need your word. We need to learn how to pray. We need Jesus, your body, here at Grace Fellowship to encourage each other and us. Lord, we thank you for the heart of our savior, the servant, who will not break a bruised reed, but is patient. So Lord, may we be those who are broken people, Lord. Teach me, teach us that it's okay to be very needy because that is where we find you. Lord, transform us and bring forth your perfect justice, we pray, we beg, we plead. Protect those who've been hurt. Bring healing. Lord, and we will give you all the praise as we see your grace at work in their lives and ours. For Jesus' sake, amen.