Isaiah 42:1-4

It's a huge privilege for me to be here with you this morning on this auspicious occasion.

! The occasion when Paul Levy wears a tie.

! But it is, I do count it a privilege to be with you on this very special day.

There are a few days more special in the life of a church

when men that God has raised up

are acknowledged to be men that God has raised up

and who begin ministerially their calling to serve the church of Jesus Christ.

Whenever a visiting preacher comes to my own congregation

I'm nosy enough to want to know a little bit about them

to put a human context to their ministry.

My name, Ian Hamilton.

The best thing about me, I'm married to Joan.

I have four wonderful children.

One of whom is here, David, with his wife Sarah.

And two of my granddaughters, Emily and Molly.

I have another daughter who at this moment is in the midst of labour in Inverness.

So, please God, by the end of the day we might have a fifth grandchild.

We don't know the sex yet.

It's all a secret until the last moment.

I served for 20 years in the Church of Scotland

as a parish minister.

17 years in Cambridge.

Loved every minute of both situations.

Last year we transitioned back to Scotland.

I thought mid-60s it's time to do what I've always longed to do

at some time in my ministry

and become a theological teacher.

So, in addition to serving in Smithton, Free Church of Scotland,

I teach historical theology in Edinburgh

and teach patristics and Puritan pastoral theology in America.

They like the accent.

So, that's a little bit about me.

I was raised in Glasgow.

In case you're wondering, the accent has educated Glasgow.

It's amazing what 10 years of university will do for you

regarding your accent.

We are here to hear the Word of God.

Please turn with me to Isaiah chapter 42

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

and to the first four verses.

If there is one thing I would want to be saying today

to the men who have been ordained and installed

as under-shepherds in this flock of Jesus Christ

and beyond this flock of Jesus Christ

in His Church Universal,

it would simply be this.

Model your lives

after the great shepherd-servant of the Church,

Jesus Christ.

Isaiah chapter 42, the opening verses,

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

are the first of four servant songs.

Songs that increasingly unfold for us

the identity and the character

of the one described by God

as His servant

and who will come from God,

commissioned by God

to fulfil the purpose of God

to be the saviour of the world.

And God is saying,

Behold my servant.

But if we have to understand

these opening verses,

we need to set them

in their more immediate context

because the first word of chapter 42,

Behold,

which is a summons for us

to consider carefully

and to give detailed attention to,

is the third

in a triad of beholds.

If you look back to the previous chapter,

verse 24,

the Lord says,

Behold,

you are nothing.

And He's speaking of idols.

Your work is less than nothing.

An abomination is He who chooses you.

And so God is saying,

Behold,

the idols of this world

are empty,

they are vain,

they are nothing.

They can do nothing

because they are nothing.

And then in verse 29,

Behold,

they are all a delusion.

Now He turns from the idols

to the idol makers,

the idol worshippers,

the idolaters.

Not only are the idols

empty and vain and worthless,

those who make them

are a delusion.

Their works are nothing.

Their mental images are empty wind.

And so the Lord God

is summoning His creation

to behold the emptiness,

the vacuity,

the vanity,

the nothingness

of all that this world

counts important.

And then you have the third

in the series of beholds.

Behold,

my servant.

The servant of the Lord,

whom we know

from the New Testament,

Matthew 12,

is none other than

the Son of God

in our flesh.

He is God's answer

to the vanity,

the nothingness,

the emptiness,

the delusions

of this world.

Behold,

my servant.

And perhaps you could imagine

people for the first time

hearing those words

and listening with

tremendous anticipation.

Who is this servant

of the Lord?

Who is this great one?

Who is God's answer

to the vacuity

and the emptiness,

the nothingness

and the vanity

of this world?

Who is this great servant

of the Lord?

And the Lord Himself

tells us,

Behold,

my servant,

whom I have chosen,

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.

Behold,

my servant.

The Lord Jesus Christ

is set before us

in the Bible,

promised in the Old Covenant

and revealed in all his glory

in the New Covenant.

He is set before us

as the prototypical

servant of the Lord.

He is the one

who exemplifies

in himself

what true

servanthood means.

God's first

servant son,

Adam,

failed and fell

miserably

and horribly

in the garden.

God's

but here is

God's better

than Adam.

God's

better

servant son,

his own

chosen,

his own

beloved son

and he

comes

not to fail

where Adam

failed

but to stand

faithfully

and resolutely

to the last

and to do so

in humble

servant

hearted

obedience

and love

to the Father

who commissioned him

and sent him.

And the Lord Jesus Christ

himself

was self-consciously

aware

that though

he had been

from times

eternal

the Son of God

though there was

never a moment

when he was not

the eternal

Son of God

he understood

that he had

come into the world

to be

the servant

of the Lord.

He said in Mark's

Gospel

I have come

not to be

served

but to serve

and to give

my life

a ransom

for many.

He said

as he faced

the cross

I am

among you

as one

who

serves.

and when the

disciples

stood

in

bewilderment

as the Lord

Jesus Christ

washed their

feet

John chapter

John 13 · chapter mention

13

as they almost

drew back

at the thought

that he

their Lord

would stoop

so low

as to wash

their feet

he said

to them

I have left

you

an example

as I

have been

to you

so you

are to be

to one

another.

Jesus Christ

the servant

of God

is God's

counter

intuitive

example

to the world

his

counter

intuitive

answer

to the world

and that

answer

is bound

up

in a

servant

and what

a servant

the servant

of the

Lord

is

and it's

true that

every Christian

is called

to mirror

in their

lives

the servant

heartedness

of the Lord

Jesus Christ

remember Paul's

words in

Philippians 2

let this

mind be

in you

or among

you

that was

also in

Christ

Jesus

who though

he was

in the

form of

God

did not

consider

equality

with God

something to

be grasped

or held

on to

he made

himself

nothing

literally

he emptied

himself

himself

he emptied

by becoming

a servant

let this

mind

be

among

you

let

the servant

heartedness

of the

son of

God

be the

distinguishing

mark

of your

Christian

life

and that

comes to

pass

because the

Holy Spirit

who first

created

in the

holy humanity

of Christ

that servant

heartedness

comes to

overlay

that

model

that perfect

model of

servant

heartedness

on all

of our

lives

it's his

ministry of

replication

he has

come

to make

us

like

our

saviour

that's what

it means

to be a

Christian

to be

born again

into the

family of

God

and having

been born

into God's

family

to become

the

recipients

of the

Holy Spirit's

replicating

ministry

God's

ultimate

purpose is

to glorify

his son

and listen

to this

to make

him

the first

born

of many

brothers

he wants

to populate

glory

with

creaturely

reflections

of his

son

and at

the heart

of

the

God

man

there is

this

obedience

to the

father

not

ontological

eternal

obedience

he was

ever equal

to the

father

never

subordinate

to the

father

but in

his holy

humanity

as our

mediator

he

embraces

his

calling

to be

obedient

in all

things

to the

father

as our

covenant

head

he is

majesty

clothed

with

meekness

and

servanthood

every

Christian

is to

be

conformed

to his

likeness

but

uniquely

I think

every

Christian

leader

who is

called

to mirror

the

headship

and

leadership

of

Jesus

Christ

in his

church

is called

in a

special way

to model

for the

church

what it

means

to be

like

Jesus

Christ

and at the

heart of

that

modeling

is a

servant

heart

that says

no matter

what it

may cost

me

I will

seek

God

helping

me

your

present

good

though it

means

laying down

my life

for that

good

I want

to notice

just four

very brief

things that

we are told

here about

the Lord's

servant

we are told

first of all

that he

would be

dependent

on the

Holy Spirit

behold my

servant

whom I

uphold

my

chosen

and whom

my soul

delights

I have

put my

spirit

upon him

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

who is

the servant

read

Matthew

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

lived out

his life

in

holy

hearted

dependence

on the

Holy Spirit

he did

nothing

from womb

to tomb

without

doing it

in

dependence

on the

Holy Spirit

remember

how he

begins his

public

ministry

in Luke

Luke 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

the spirit

of the

Lord

is upon

me

he lives

out his

life

in faithful

trustful

dependence

on the

Holy Spirit

and my

brothers

those of

you who

have been

set apart

this morning

to be

under

shepherds

in the

flock

of Jesus

Christ

and to

reflect

his

servant

heartedness

you need

to be

men

who

model

to this

congregation

what it

means

to live

and to

act

in every

sphere

of your

life

in

dependence

on the

new

covenant

ministry

of the

Holy Spirit

anything

you do

you are

to do

in

dependence

on his

gracious

upholding

and

empowering

you are

to be

pneumatic

men

men of

the Holy

Spirit

and what

is the

great

ministry

of the

Holy

Spirit

to bring

glory

to Christ

the spirit

is most

honoured

when Christ

is most

exalted

and we

live

spirit

dependent

lives

when we

seek to

live

Christ

exalting

lives

and people

need to

see in

you

as

husbands

as

fathers

as

friends

as

leaders

they

need to

see

he

is a

man

who

glories

in

Jesus

Christ

and who

is at

his

happiest

and

highest

when

Jesus

is being

exalted

and that

will mean

you will

be men

of prayer

remember

those great

words in

Acts 6

when the

apostles

recognised

that they

couldn't do

everything

in the life

of the church

in Jerusalem

and certain

men are set

apart

because

said the

apostles

we must

give ourselves

to prayer

and the

ministry

of the

word

there was

John Bunyan

who wrote

you can do

more than

pray

after you

have

prayed

but you

cannot do

more than

pray

until you

have

prayed

prayer

is to

be one

of the

great

spiritual

realities

that is

woven

through

every

sphere

of your

life

that's

why our

Lord Jesus

Christ

prayed

he prayed

because

without

the Holy

Spirit

he could

do

nothing

there

wasn't

a channel

from his

deity

flowing

into

his

humanity

that

would

make

his

humanity

not a

true

humanity

and he

couldn't

therefore

stand

for us

with us

represent

us

and save

us

with every

prayer

he was

saying

Holy Spirit

enable me

help me

sustain me

support me

that's

why you

have that

almost

unexpoundable

verse

in Luke's

gospel

where our

Lord agonises

in the

garden

and the

father

sends

an angel

to comfort

her

in his

holy

sinless

perfect

humanity

he needed

the upholding

of God

to

fulfill

his

divine

calling

the

Lord's

servant

will be

dependent

on

the

Lord's

spirit

the

second

thing

we

notice

here

is

that

the

Lord's

servant

will

be

un-self

advertising

he

will not

cry

aloud

or lift

up his

voice

or make

it heard

in the

street

now that

doesn't

mean

he

wouldn't

be an

open-air

preacher

it

didn't

mean

he

wouldn't

shout

out

and

call

people

to

himself

the

language

here

in

his

Hebrew

form

the

language

is

saying

he

will

not

be

self

promoting

he

will

not

advertise

himself

he

had

come

to

glorify

his

father

un-self

advertising

brothers

in your

shepherding

of this

congregation

these

dear

people

need

to

see

that

you

are

their

servant

for

Jesus

sake

that

you're

not

out

to

promote

yourself

you're

out

to

seek

their

good

they

may

not

always

agree

with

you

you

may

fail

them

as

you

most

certainly

will

at

times

but

please

God

they

will

never

ever

ever

for

one

moment

be

able

to

say

at

his

heart

and

what

drives

him

in

his

service

in

this

congregation

is

not

himself

but

my

good

you

are

this

congregation

servant

for

Jesus

Christ

sake

and

so

you

are

to

pastor

this

congregation

in

such

a

way

that

they

will

know

that

Jesus

Christ

truly

is

the

chief

shepherd

of

the

church

that

your

pastoring

will

not

make

them

for

one

moment

think

that

you

are

the

one

who

has

ultimate

responsibility

for

them

but

by

the

very

way

and

manner

in

which

you

go

about

your

work

the

way

and

the

manner

are

as

vital

as

the

substance

the

words

that

you

may

speak

they

will

see

by

your

way

and

your

manner

that

it's

the

Lord

Jesus

who

is

the

chief

shepherd

of

this

flock

and

that

you

are

his

servant

and

under

him

the

servant

of

this

congregation

you

will

be

unself

advertising

that's

no

easy

thing

because

the

devil

is

always

seeking

to

infect

us

with

the

serpentine

sin

of

pride

you

had

it

in

the

garden

it

was

pride

in

Adam

and

Eve

pride

that

they

knew

better

than

God

self

exalting

self

advertising

pride

that

caused

them

to

rebel

who

in

their

right

mind

would

rebel

against

a

holy

gracious

glorious

good

cosmically

creating

God

it's

the

serpentine

infiltration

of

Satan

self

exalting

over

God

and

Satan

will

seek

to

serpentine

his

way

into

your

life

and

you

need

every

day

to

call

upon

the

Lord

to

help

you

to

put

to

death

every

self

advertising

self

exalting

self

promoting

thought

but then

the third

thing

the Lord

servant

will be

gentle

and

kind

and

unthreatening

to the

weak

the

needy

and the

seemingly

useless

a bruised

reed he

will not

break

and a

faintly

burning

wick

he will

not

quench

and the

point

that's

being

highlighted

here

is that

this

servant

of the

Lord

would be

like

no

other

servant

he

would

come

with

gentleness

with

tenderness

with

meekness

he

will

come

alongside

the

seemingly

useless

in the

church

of God

and

shepherd

them

safely

to

glory

he

will

tell

them

that

yes

you

are

a

bruised

reed

yes

you

are

a

dimly

burning

wick

but

you

are

precious

to

God

your

significance

and

value

does

not

lie

in

your

own

self

esteem

but

in

the

fact

that

you

are

bought

with

the

precious

blood

of

the

Son

of

God

that

God

made

you

and

has

imprinted

his

image

upon

you

you

be

the

kind

of

man

that

the

weak

and

the

retiring

and

the

shy

and

the

introverted

and

the

broken

will be

able to

say

I can

go to

him

and

know

that

he

will

receive

me

just

as

I

am

and

will

seek

to

help

me

where

I

am

it

must

have

been

breathtaking

to

be at

the

receiving

end

of the

tenderness

of the

Son

of

God

in

our

flesh

think

of how

gentle

he was

with

his

disciples

they

would

have

driven

you

round

the

bend

lord

we're

going to

call

down

fire

from

heaven

goodness

me

what

have

you

learned

how

patient

how

forbearing

he

meets

a

Samaritan

woman

at a

well

Jews

have

no

dealings

with

Samaritans

and he

evangelizes

her so

sweetly

at first

and then

the punch

comes

where's

your

husband

well

I

don't

have

one

well

that's

true

you've

had

five

you're

now

living

with

your

six

and

very

tenderly

Jesus

is

saying

I'm

going

to

be

your

seventh

and

last

man

and

then

there

was

a

woman

caught

in

adultery

I

can

never

read

that

passage

without

thinking

what

kind

of

men

must

these

men

have

been

who

were

waiting

to

pounce

on

a

woman

and

flagrant

had

her

what

kind

of

men

they

were

that

they

brought

her

to

Jesus

she

must

have

feared

the

worst

and you

know

the

story

Jesus

says

which of

you

is

without

sin

cast

the

first

stone

and we

all melt

away

shamefaced

and then you

have this

breathtaking

moving

climax

I

I

find it

hard

to

read

without

tears

actually

Jesus

says to

the woman

where are

your

accusers

she

must

have

been

absolutely

bewildered

well

I

don't

know

neither

do I

condemn

you

go

and

sin

no

more

I

remember

for the

first time

reading

Augustine

the

great

late

fourth

early

fifth

century

church

father

in this

passage

John

8

1-11

he has

a stunning

comment

some of you

might know

I'll tell you

what the

Latin is

and I'll

translate it

because the

Latin is

just

stunning

relicti

sunt

duo

misericordia

there remain

but two

misery

and mercy

isn't that

stunning

there remain

but two

misery

and divine

mercy

clothed in

holy humanity

and brothers

we are to be

gentle

as well as

unthreatening

we are to be

patient

and kind

and be the

kind of men

that people

in their

brokenness

can come to

and say

I need

your help

and we are

in all the

fragility

and frailty

of our yet

fallen

bodies

to minister

of the

grace

of Jesus

Christ

to them

but then the

fourth thing

is very simply

the Lord's

servant

in all of

this would

be undeviatingly

faithful

three times

verse 1

verse 3

and verse 4

this is

emphasized

he will

bring forth

justice to the

nations

verse 3

he will

faithfully

bring forth

justice

verse 4

he will

not

grow

faint

or be

discouraged

until

he has

established

justice

here is a

servant

who

will not

turn aside

from his

calling

here is a

servant

who will

pursue

come what

may

cost what

may

the calling

entrusted

to him

by his

heavenly

father

brothers it's

required of

stewards

1

countings

4

to be

found

faithful

you are

called

to model

the

undeviating

faithfulness

of the

savior

in your

ministerial

pastoral

care

of this

congregation

you are

called to be

undeviating

in your

resolve to

guard this

flock

from

the

errors

that

swirl

about

the

church

of

Jesus

Christ

and that

so easily

find their

way into

the life

of the

church

to infect

it

you are

to be

men who

so know

the word

of God

and are

so rooted

and grounded

in the

theology

of that

word

so beautifully

exemplified

I think

in the

Westminster

standards

that you

have an

antennae

alert

to

deviant

truth

truth

that

seems

to be

okay

but

you detect

there are

things not

quite right

about it

you

understand

there are

trajectories

here that

are going

to harm

God's

people

you are

to be

faithful

even though

it will cost

you everything

the Lord

Jesus was

obedient unto

death

and the

good of

this

flock

may yet

who knows

require

your

death

you think

well maybe

that's a bit

extreme

well

Jesus said

to everyone

who considered

following him

Luke 9

unless you

take up your

cross

daily

and follow

me