Christ's Heart for the Downtrodden

Isaiah chapter number 42 is where we will be this evening. Thank you Pastor Carnes for moderating the service for us this evening.

I haven't quite got down the order of service yet so I appreciate him not allowing me to embarrass myself this evening. Isaiah 42 verses 1 through 4. Hear with me the words of a true and living God as he speaks to us as people. Behold my servant whom I am uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights.

I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the gentiles. He will not cry out nor raises voice more causes voice to be heard in the street of bruised reed. He will not break and smoking flax. He will not quench. He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged to. He has established justice in the earth and the coastlands shall wait for his law.

This is the word of God for the people of God. In 2021 following my full embrace of Reformed theology I was called either to recant of my theological convictions or I would be expected to return my ordination. Following the return of my papers I soon resigned from my pastor to understanding there had on my part developed a great theological difference between myself and the congregation to which I ministered. So being unwilling to create controversy or to cause harm to those people whom we deeply loved, we resigned and found ourselves moving back to South Carolina with no community there to surround us. And so I began to work a secular job as a driver for a company called Canteen back in Greville. It was during that time that I found myself facing quite an identity crisis of sorts and I found myself struggling with depression quite seriously during the time. Fast forward to august of the same year.

In one week myself, my wife and our two year old all catch covin. We receive a letter in the mail telling us that our taxes were filed wrong by the company that we had used and we had expected to be paid quite quite a bit more. And we also received a letter that our employer had not insured us as we had previously understood.

Few. That was a nice, that was a nice surprise. Two weeks later after we're doing better, my mom catches covin and is quickly hospitalized and would go on to spend a month in ICU where we would be informed that she would not be expected to live. And the reality of understanding that in my early twenties and in her early in her early years, let's pause there thinking that in my early twenties I may be left without my mother and the fact that she's sitting in a hospital bed somewhere was delivered that news without me being there to embrace her and to encourage her broke my heart quite drastically, quite more than I was prepared to admit. My mom was in the hospital beforehand, she would take care of her mother and so we were left with those same tasks and she was doing quite well. The Lord had blessed us tremendously and as I would come home and be able to spend time with my grandmother and I always was a nanny's boy, the Lord had clarified her mind and her health looked to be improving tremendously. And so I enjoyed those weeks with her.

However, coming home one evening, I checked her 02 levels, which are 98 the day before and this day they were at 60. And so to keep a long story short, three days later, I'm holding her hand as she slips off into eternity. So in one month span, we're faced with depression, with sickness, with bills, with stress, with fear and facing death, all while having a toddler to look after during this time guys. And you might be wondering, why are you telling us this this morning and the reason or this evening? And the reason I feel like this may be helpful is that you also may be finding yourself overwhelmed. You may have found yourself looking over, if not at this time while I tell this story, looking over times in your life for you to find yourself bombarded about with the multiple different types of stresses that can find us encompassed in our day to day life. You may feel overwhelmed and exhausted and in the midst of all of that, in the midst of this story, I really don't have a part where I can seem to make myself seem as the superhero.

There's no way that we can do that. However, I can tell you with all and full affirmation that there is a Christ who in the midst of these times of stress and worry, these times of fear, this time of unsettling nervousness and anxiety that encompasses us, there is a Christ who will not break the bruised reed and who will not extinguish the smoking flags. He is the Christ. He is the Lord of glory who is gentle and lowly of heart and in Him we find strength for our souls. When it seems the circumstances of this life are greater than we can bear, we can look to our most precious Lord.

Are you tired today? Is your soul broken and weary? The Lord of all creation has looked forth and called you from the toil and strife of your life. He has set aside this Lord's day and called us to be strengthened. Strengthen not with the mirror sitting aside to watch TV but to be strengthened by the contemplating of His grace, to feast upon His faithfulness. The Lord has set aside this Lord's day where we may come to feast upon the means of grace, to be strengthened and to consider His faithfulness to us.

This is what He has provided for us this day. As we look in Isaiah chapter 42, we notice that it begins with the phrase behold. The ESV captures it most well as does the New King James, this phrase behold, because throughout chapter 41 you will notice it as well. Immediately my eyes drawn to verse number 11, behold. We will notice it again several times of that chapter as you will read. The beholds are bursting forth even in verse number 15, behold.

And it seems as the translators grasp very well as what Isaiah was doing here. In the midst of all of this cascading darkness, He comes forth upon this scene, this cloud of darkness, and in the midst of the depression that is there, He bursts forth. Behold.

Behold the stupidity, if you will, of your idols. Behold the judgment that is falling upon us, the captivity that is coming. And in the midst of this darkness, a radiant light burst forth through this realm of darkness, the shroud of darkness, and it bursts forth with the promised servant of the Lord who will come for us. The summary for my lesson, my sermon here this evening is this, that Christ the servant will perform his work of bringing righteousness to the world gently yet unfailingly. So I can have confidence in that when it feels as though life's difficulties overwhelm me, Christ has not forsaken his purposes of bringing forth righteousness to this world. Or to make it even more basic for you and I, when life seems to be falling apart, I can look to my most gentle Lord who knows what He is doing. So in the midst of the troubles of my life, we can look first and foremost to the servant in whom God delights.

Would you look with me in Isaiah 42 verse 1? Behold the servant whom I uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

First, who is this servant? Let's look at his identity, his identity. Matthew chapter 12 verse 16 through 21 reads, Yet he warned them not to make him known, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him. He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets, but bruised reed he will not break, and smoking flags he will not quench, till he sends forth justice to victory, and in his name Gentiles will trust. Also consider with me this evening, if you will, Acts chapter 3 verse 13, which reads, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, notice this, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. Verse 26 of the same chapter reads, To you first God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to bless you, and turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

Acts 4 27 reads, For truly against your holy servant Jesus, and in verse number 30, by stretching out your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus. I believe it is certainly safe for us to conclude that Christ, Christ is the most beloved servant that we are seeing in Isaiah here, and what do we behold as we examine the life of the servant? As we look within his life, we consider multiple passages, and one which I am drawn to is Matthew 20 26 through 28, which reads, Yet it shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. This servant, within whom the Father delights, is Christ, and as we look at his life, we behold a life of ministry. He has come as the servant, not merely granting us an example of the depth of servanthood, but I say this with all reverence. He himself has become a servant unto us, not temporally, but eternally, as he is our advocate and great high priest at the right hand of the Father. He is the servant within whom the Father delights. As we look at his life, we behold the servant, the Christ, who is our most beloved servant. We not only notice the identity of the servant, we need to notice the esteem of the servant. My servant whom I uphold, Isaiah 42 reads, my elect one in whom my soul delights, I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles, his esteem. First let us notice that he is the servant whom the Father upholds.

Alec Mortyer says concerning the word uphold, that the idea is not so much of imparting strength as of the Lord's rights over his servants and his determination to, as it is, of the Lord's rights over his servants and his determination to keep his servant for himself. He is the one with whom the Father's very soul delights. He is not merely a capable man for the Lord's task, but he himself is the Lord's man for the Lord himself. Redpath believes it speaks of the Father's trust and dependence on the Son. The picture is taken from an Eastern court where the monarch is in a procession and as he walks he leans upon his favorite courtier and this verse in fact could be well translated, behold my servant upon whom I lean.

It is an indication of a special favor and confidence. So here we have a picture of God the Father who is leaning upon God the Son. This would be a beautiful depiction of a portrait of the Old Covenant expectation with New Covenant realities. He is the one within whom the Father upholds. He is the one within whom the Father entrusts to carry forth his will. Christ says I come not to do my will but to do the will of he who sent me. And only do we notice that he is the servant that the Father upholds.

But we must notice this great statement here. He is the elect of the Father, my elect one in whom my soul delights. Calvin said of the statement in this passage the word elects denotes excellence.

As in many other passages for they who are in the very flower of their age are called chosen youths in 1st Samuel 26 and 2nd Samuel 6. Jehovah therefore calls him an excellent servant because he bears the message of reconciliation and because all of his actions are directed by the Father. At the same time he demonstrates his undeserved love by which he embraced us all in the only begotten Son that in his person we may behold an illustrious display of that election by which we have been adopted into the hope of eternal life. This glorious passage here as we began to consider that as the Father looks at the Son his heart with radiant love bursts forth this is the one within whom I delight.

This is my elect one. And this friends breeds passion upon our great reform doctrine of election. It is nothing more that the world would say that it is a cold and hardened doctrine but as we consider that the Father has passion upon his elect one and that we are the ones that God has pro genosco whom he has intimately sat his love upon before the world began and has placed us within the beloved this breathes life upon our doctrine of election that the Father has made us accepted within his beloved that is Christ. Christ is his elect. This floods this great doctrine of election with radiant and beaming passion as we consider the unbound love the Father has for his Son and thus the unimaginable love that he has for us whom he has foreknown. Notice not only the word elect but notice the phrase my spirit. I have put my spirit upon him. Mortier continued with my spirit is the Lord's personal presence in action that is endowing leadership. As a consequence of his divine endowment the servant will perform the task of bringing divine truth to the Gentiles. This is also a fine verse in connection with John 1 32 which reads and John bore witness saying I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and he remained upon him. This is further identifying or agreeing with our identification of the servant as Christ.

So the application here. So when we are not sure where to look in the midst of life's trials we are to look to Christ. We are to look to Christ the one in whom the Father is delighted. We are to look to Christ the one whom the Father has been pleased to give to us and who the Spirit has been most gracious in bringing us to.

We are Christ. We are Christ forever and we can look to our most submissive and gentle Lord. In the midst of life when it seems that tyrannical dictators would pursue and push us out of our own homes we can look to Christ. When it seems as though we are no longer able to lay within our own homes but lay our heads upon hospital beds we can look to Christ. When it feels like those to whom we love greater than life itself slips from our hands and the cloud of doubt and disarray lands upon our faith we can look to Christ.

When the problems of this life begin to reveal that we are not as strong in faith as we thought we were we can look to Christ. We look to him the one with whom the Father delights. We look to him who is that faithful, faithful servant to whom the Father has been pleased to give us to whom the Spirit in love has drawn us to. We look to Christ. We look to Christ. Next let us notice the servant in the midst of this life, in the midst of the circumstances, in the midst of the pain, in the midst of fear. We look to Christ the servant who is gentle with the downtrodden, who is gentle with the downtrodden. Would you please read with me Isaiah 42 2 through 3. He will not cry out nor raise his voice nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.

We'll stop there. Let's notice quickly his demeanor. As we consider this passage we must ask ourselves what this means because we read accounts of Christ preaching in the streets. We see him crying out.

We see him raising his voice. So what does this mean? Does this passage disqualify Christ as being the servant? Does this passage reveal that maybe I've been wrong in my identification? What does this mean for our interpretation? Well it must be understood that this is a depictive passage of the demeanor of this servant.

Isaiah's flow is this. If you want an outline of the passage it is this. Verses 1 through 4, verse 1, God will provide his beloved servant to bring forth justice. Two and three, here is how he will not do it. And four, he will not fail to perform this task.

And so as we consider this passage and we note the three verbs, cry out, to raise his voice, and to cause his voice to be heard, we understand that these are depicting the opposite of his nature. Christ when he comes would not be like Nebuchadnezzar. He would not be like Cyrus or any other king that the earth has ever seen for that matter. He will be nothing like the world would expect or that the world would have ever seen.

He will be gentle and not self assertive. He will be meek and he will be gentle in heart. Think of it and let our minds roam with wonder. The one who is the creator of all things, the one who formed the cosmos, has come to earth to do the will of the Father and he does so quietly. Indeed for us as believers we can take note that when we go forward in the service of God, when you and I go forward in the service of God, we do not need fanfare or attention, photographs or applause.

Our service has been seen by the creator of all things and that is payment enough if it is for his glory. Christ has come not arguing and not drawing the sword but he has come meek, gentle, and lowly of heart submitted to the will of the Father. Notice not only his demeanor but let's notice secondarily his compassion in verse number three.

A bruised reed he will not break and smoking flax he will not quench. It would be understood that any king when he would come would be most ungentle with those whom he is conquering but as Christ is coming and will unfailingly perform his task, how could we expect him to come? Would we expect him to trample over all who come to him for mercy?

The Prophet says no. He will be meek, he will be gentle, he will not break the bruised reed and he will not extinguish that most flickering wick. First notice with me that he is gentle with the distraught. This is the climax of our sermon if you will for today. He is gentle with the distraught.

Not only will Christ come modestly but Christ will come mildly and just as he will work as no king ever has, he will also be more gentle than no king ever has. See a reed is a plant that would grow near a marshy area, mostly around a pond and such. It is a plant that when dried would be used for many purposes, particularly once fully grown and dried out could be used for a cane, for a measuring stick at the time, and for several other reasons.

But as it is growing and as it is green it is a hollow plant in the inside and any firmness on the outside would cause it to bend and it would not be able to bear any weight. Where even the weight of a sparrow landed upon it would cause it to splinter and would cause it to break. And here we see Christ's handling of such people. Richard Sibbes said, the church is compared to weak things, to a dove among the fowls, to a vine among the plants, to sheep among beasts. These are the weaker vessels. First let us ask ourselves this question, what does it mean to be bruised?

What does it mean to be bruised? I can think of no better connection than that of Matthew 5 3 which Christ reads as he is ascending the mount, looks back at his congregation and says, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Two words that he uses there are makarios and tokos. This is what we know as blessed bankruptcy. As he looks at them and he says, those to whom the kingdom belongs are those who are poor, they are poor in spirit and they are the most blessed upon the earth. The bruised are the broken, the downtrodden, the hopeless and it is those who under the weight of the ravages of sin are the most blessed when they see themselves in such a place as within the realm of blessed bankruptcy. It is those who find themselves within the estate of tokos poverty that they find themselves within great blessedness.

What does this word tokos mean? It is an it is an illustrative word which most Greek is and it would give us the depiction of a beggar who is sitting upon the side of the street who is extending his hand and is saying alms for the poor. If you do not show me grace I have no ability to provide for myself and unless you should so mercy and grace to me I have no hope. It is those to whom the Spirit has shown that that is the estate of our souls. It is those to whom are most blessed because it is that day with which we realize that we are bankrupt, empty of righteousness, that all righteousness is as far as this foreign from us and any hope of righteousness that righteousness that we have Luther would say must be an alien righteousness. It is that we find ourselves in this place where we come to Christ broken, extending a hand saying alms for the poor and unless he should show us that grace we should be eternally without hope. Within that hopeless condition the conquering king will not cut down those who are broken and worthless but he instead is gentle with them and he receives them.

Christ said in Matthew 11 28 come to me all you who are who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. Consider this if you will Isaiah 53 5 he was bruised for our iniquities. What a general warrior he is that the upright would be bruised that the bruised now may be made upright. This is our Lord and as he makes his presence known upon the earth he does not extinguish those or crush those whom the weight of a mere sparrow would destroy them but he shows the most gentleness with him and where it may seem as though Satan himself may discourage you in saying you will not find help within the hands of Christ. Christ's own heart is deeply touched with every sinner to whom the Spirit has drawn to him and he will not break the bruised reed. The upright one has come and has been bruised that you who are bruised may now be made upright in the sight of the Father. This is our most gentle Lord.

Next please notice that he is gentle with the defeated. When you look up in the night sky there are a few things that are more amazing than watching a shooting star. The speed which the flight the light flashes across the sky is quite exhilarating but have you ever stopped to consider that whatever type of debris is falling into our orbit is actually in the process of burning up. It is being consumed and the heat that it is generating that is generated as the object quickly deteriorates is the light which we see. Pretty quickly that object burns out and its light ceases.

If it is big enough it breaks through our atmosphere and it lands with a giant thud and somewhere on the planet as a blackened rock. As we look at this text we notice that Christ will not quench the smoking flax. With the smoking flax there is but a little light that is remaining.

It is weak and it is struggling for fuel. It is mixed with smoke and just a tiny ember that is still alive. In Matthew 12 Christ heals the withered man's hand on the Sabbath and he continues to heal all of those who are around him who are in need. He is healing the bruised reeds and the smoking flax. The prophecy here in Isaiah is that Christ would not extinguish the fading flames of those who needed him. He would not snuff out the remaining embers of faith within their souls. Instead Christ comes stoking the embers of faith reigniting what once was feeble and fading.

Surely that woman of that widow of name was a smoking flax as she follows the funeral procession of her only son. Yet there was Christ coming to heal him and to stoke that fading ember. We may consider John the Baptist as he sends his disciples to ask Christ whether he is the Messiah or whether we should look for another. And Christ seeing the fading flames does not extinguish but speaks igniting truth to that most beloved John. Consider doubting Thomas who Christ bore with so gently. Consider Peter who after his denial being broken by shame.

Though denying Christ, Christ does not deny Peter. Consider the handling of our most beloved Lord with those who seem to be fading into oblivion. Within the hearts of believers, whether babes or not, within the hearts of believers, whether fading or not, there may be times where it seems that our faith is fading and it is in those times that the deceiver would convince us that Christ would not show mercy but brutality towards us. But on the contrary it is with Christ. When we are broken, when we are struggling and hurting, we may run to Christ and he will fan the fading flames. It is not a burden to Christ to fan those flames and it is not a burden to Christ for his children to flee to him. I would argue that it is, it must touch the inner chambers, the inner recesses of Christ's being, his heart to cradle the wounded spirit of his beloved for whom he has died. And in the moments of life where it seems as though your faith is nothing more than just some smoke and a small ember, run to Christ. Flee to him. You are not a burden to the one for whom he has died.

It must touch the inner recesses of his heart to cradle his most beloved in those most broken hours of your life. Is that you today, morning mother? Is that you today, exhausted father? Is that you, one who feels abandoned and misunderstood and alone? Do you feel like that shooting star who is putting a display for all around you to see that last glimmering light before you are extinguished into nothingness?

But in reality you're already almost out of fuel. As you sit at the bedside of a loved one who is slipping off into eternity and it feels like a cloud of turmoil and darkness and pain has settled itself upon your soul to reveal to you that you are not as strong as you thought you were, run to Christ. He will help you. He will nurture you.

He will sustain you. Our most precious Lord loves you, his elect, and he will not extinguish the smoking flax, my dear friend. This is the heart of Christ for the downtrodden. And as we consider him, we consider that Christ the servant will overwhelmingly bring righteousness, unfailingly though gently.

Let me close with this last point. He is the servant. In the midst of all of life's turmoil, he is the servant who is committed to his duty. Notice with me verse 3, please. He will bring justice for truth, the finality of verse 3. Verse 4, he will not fail nor be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands shall wait for his law. Though facing our temptation and burden on earth, Christ did not splinter as a bruised reed and Christ did not fade as the smoking flax as he's made his way towards Calvary, but he remained faithful, faithful even unto death. But not only then, Calvin writes, this must not be limited to the person of Christ, but it extends to the whole course of the gospel, for he not only discharged the embassy committed to him for three years, but continues to discharge the same embassy every day by means of his servants. Indeed, Christ has established us his church that the gates of hell will not prevail against her, and as he sits at the right hand of the Father, he is actively making his enemies a footstool.

He will not fatigue and he most certainly will not fail. The success of the church rests not upon the tactics of carnal men, but upon the Christ who is faithful to use his most beloved church. He will zealously triumph, establishing righteousness even to the remote lands through no means but by his gospel. And as we look at this text, indeed within the context at hand here, there is heartbreak. It is the 8th century BC, bondage has and is coming for them, and the end of chapter 40 through 41, it is both assuring them of God's provision while simultaneously giving them a dark address of the idols of man. It is understood, as Derek Thomas writes, that much of Israel has turned to idols and the believing remnant hang on with a slipping grip, but within this cascade of darkness, the piercing light of God's compassion has been shown and is presented and his presented will is beautifully encouraging and reassuring.

Perhaps this evening you find yourself discouraged. Let the heart of Christ for the downtrodden be a balm to your weary and wounded soul. In conclusion, I want to provide you with two streams of application, the first one being a personal comfort and the latter being one of practical conduct. First, as we consider the heart of Christ towards the downtrodden, let us flee to him in tumultuous times. As we consider the heartbreak that you face in this life, whether it is the sickness of a child, the passing of a loved one, the ravages of your own homeland, the watching of one who is sliding off into eternity, as the tumult of this life finds itself to your front door or right before you, look to Christ who has heart for the downtrodden. Now let us consider practical conduct. First, we behold in verse number one the servant performing God's tasks under God's power for God's glory.

We must also function in the same manner. If our most beloved Lord should come laying aside his divine prerogatives, resting wholly in the power of the Spirit to fulfill the will of a father, how much more should we rest in the power of the Spirit as we live and minister for the glory of Christ. As we go forth to try and to love neighbor and to love the Lord, it must not be accomplished within our own might, but resting in the might of the Spirit. And as we go to minister and to witness to our loved ones, to teach our classes, or to go to school, we must rest in the power of Christ. Second, we should note in verse two that Christ will not wage this conquering war with the weapons of carnal kings.

This warfare is not one that is waged as the means of the pagan world, but is of a different world. Pastor B and I were speaking of the great pressure that we face, particularly within youth ministry, to try and bring different attractions and to gain a larger youth following. But to develop great Christian men and women, it is not the usage of carnal minds and different means, but it is the weapons of this warfare, the strengthening of the church that Christ has given us are his means of grace. We rest upon nothing else but the word preached, the word given, prayer, baptism, the Lord's table, and the koinonia, the fellowship of the saints. This is the weapons of our warfare, the strengthening of our soul.

Are you tired today? Are you beaten down from the problems that you faced or that you are anticipating to face tomorrow? The banqueting halls, the doors to them have been flung open, and you have been invited in to dine upon the faithfulness of your Lord, who is gentle towards the downtrodden. And lastly, as we consider Christ's heart for the downtrodden, so should we minister with the same heart towards others around us.

There are broken friends, there are sin sick friends who are around us. May we minister to them with an eye upon Christ's heart for the downtrodden. This is God's word.

Let us pray. Father, you have been most gracious to us. You have brought us together, and you know the needs of each and every one whom you have brought here together today. Perhaps there is one to whom you have revealed that they are broken and that they are spiritually bankrupt of all righteousness. Lord, may you call them unto yourself to kiss the Son while he is near, lest he be angry. Lord, may you draw them unto yourself to repent of their sins and to place their hope in Christ, our only hope in life and in death, forsaking all the faulty and failing attempts of this temporal life but latching onto Christ, who is full of grace towards the bruised reed. Father, today, perhaps there is a brother, sister, a mother or father who is nothing more than a smoking flax, and they have put on a great facade and show for all of us with the remaining fuel that is within them to seem as though they are burning light, but within their hearts they are fading and fading quickly. Would you strengthen their faith, Lord?

Would you nurture them where they are? Would they feast and hold tight and close to them the words of God which we have looked at here together this evening? May they go forth throughout this week nurturing themselves from the Word of God. Father, I pray for those whom are exhausted, who are weary, and I pray that you would strengthen them. In Christ's name we do pray, amen.