Martyn Lawrence – Paradox of Liberty – Class 4 – The Form of a Servant

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Our first speaker this morning
is Brother Martin Lawrence from

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the Cleckheaton, UK Ecclesia.
This week’s classes theme for

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Brother Martin’s classes is
Paradox of Liberty, and today’s

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class is entitled The Form of a
Servant.

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Brother Martin, the Paradox of
Liberty is moving on.

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Brothers and sisters, we have
been in Genesis.

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We’ve seen God’s guardrails, the
way in which he gives his

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creation this broad, wide,
liberal opportunity to serve him

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in in all these different kinds
of ways.

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Being in the patriarchs lives as
well, seeing what’s happening

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specifically with Abraham and
with Moses, and then in the

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lives of the children of Israel.
To the way in which God works

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with his people as they come out
of Egypt, as they come not to be

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free from Egypt, but as they
come out of Egypt to serve on

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the mountain.
And we looked yesterday at

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those, those tricky verses in
Exodus 21, the way in which God

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is trying to lay the groundwork
for the nation to be formed from

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nowhere, and how they will
interact with each other when

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things go a little bit wrong.
Well, as the narrative of

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liberty moves on into the kings
and the prophets, things are not

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all as they seem.
And as we begin to move forward

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in time, Israel’s history is
framed repeatedly as a failure

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to live up to their liberty, Not
just that they sin and fall

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short because we know that they
do that we know you and I do

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that, but that the language that
the prophets use is specifically

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couched in this language that
we’ve been talking about.

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Have a look.
Oh, sorry, there were our our

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circles.
I’ve not not give you the title,

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but you can see where we’ve got
to with, with when liberty is

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moving on and going wrong.
This is what happens when we get

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to the days of the kings.
Think, for example, about the

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days of Rehoboam.
You know it well and you

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understand what is going on with
him.

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But when we read of the days of
Rehoboam and, and when Jeroboam

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comes onto the scene as well,
they come to petition him, you

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remember Solomon is no longer
there.

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And, and because they’re not
particularly happy with their

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lot, they say your father made
our burden heavy.

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Now lighten the hard service of
your father.

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And they’re just dragging that
word, consciously or

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unconsciously, out of Exodus
chapter 1, the very same hard

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labor that Pharaoh laid on
Israel when he changed his

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immigration policy and realized
that they were a threat to him.

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And you remember that Ray Bohm
goes away and deliberates for a

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while, and he talks to the old
wise heads with the long beards,

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and he talks to the young guys
as well.

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And the young guys are the ones
whose voices prevail.

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And he comes back and says,
well, you wanted me to lighten

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it.
I’m going to add to your yoke.

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And I know that you know the
account and I know that you know

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the story, but isn’t it
significant not just that things

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are going off the rails, but
that we are using freedom

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language to describe that
happening?

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I think, for example, of the
days of Ahaz, Second Chronicles

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28 and verse 19, who made Judah
act wildly.

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And again, that is an expression
which is dragged out of the Book

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of Exodus as well.
It comes from the chapter with

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the golden calf where the people
break loose.

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In other words, having had God’s
broad liberty with guardrails,

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that’s not good enough, that’s
not sufficient.

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So we are going to break loose.
We are going to act wildly.

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We’re going to run around freely
and do as we choose.

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So not only when the monarchy is
still just about in one piece do

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things begin to go wrong, but
also when we’re focusing only on

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the Southern Kingdom, do things
go wrong or take the days of

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Zedekiah and, and brother Jesse
and I have had a chat and I’m

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allowed to go into this first,
provided I don’t talk about it

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very much.
So we’ve, we’ve, we’ve had a

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chat who of course, in Jeremiah
34 proclaims liberty to the

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people in exactly the way that
the law commanded him to.

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And it looked great.
Six years shall you serve, and

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in the 7th year you shall go
free.

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And that’s what happens.
Only this is not the kind of

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king whose example you would
want to follow.

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And so he turns it back on
itself and reverses the liberty

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which he gives to his people,
which of course is far worse

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than not giving it at all.
One thing to leave somebody

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incarcerated, another thing to
let them go free.

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And then as they’re getting to
the gates, close the gates on

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them and make them come back.
And as a result of that, the

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Lord in in Jeremiah 34 says,
well, if that’s how you treat

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freedom, then I will proclaim
freedom to you, freedom to the

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sword, freedom to the pestilence
and to the famine.

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What goes around comes around.
I suppose you might say for all

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of the kings of Israel and
Judah, just come with me to

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Jeremiah chapter 2 almost sums
up the way in which this works.

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Jeremiah chapter 2 and and the
Lord says in verse 7, I brought

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you to a plentiful country to
eat the fruit and the goodness

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thereof, but you defiled my land
and made MyHeritage and

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abomination.
Verse 14 Is Israel a servant?

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Is he a?
Homeborn slave.

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This is the only place we had
all those circles on the screen

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yesterday.
This is the only place where the

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AV translates that Hebrew word
avid as the English word slave.

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And as we said.
Yesterday it it’s really just

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filling a gap where you need a
noun, which is why it’s in

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italics.
Is Israel a servant?

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Is he a homeborn slave?
You have brought this upon

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yourself.
The Lord says verse 17 and that

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you’ve forsaken the Lord your
God when he led you by the way,

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verse 20 of old time I have
broken your yoke and burst your

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bands.
I’ve set you free.

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I’ve released you from bondage.
I have led you out of Egypt with

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a mighty hand and an
outstretched arm, and you said I

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we won’t transgress.
Yes, on every high hill and

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under every green tree you
wandered about playing the

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harlots.
You are nothing more the Lord,

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says Danny verse 23 than a a
restless camel.

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Running here and there, you are
a wild donkey sniffing the wind.

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In other words, you are
unrestrained.

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You have been cast off.
You have been given your

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liberty, as Jeremiah 34 said.
You have been proclaimed liberty

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to the sword and the pestilence
and to the famine.

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You can go off and do what you
want if that’s how you want to

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behave.
If you don’t like my freedom,

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then you can go and find your
own.

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And there will be dramatic
consequences as a result of

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that.
Something has gone bad at the

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core of the nation.
What happens when there is

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nobody who will serve?
What happens when liberty goes

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wrong?
Well, it’s not as if God doesn’t

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have a solution.
And the Lord is going to raise

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up another servant for them, who
will raise up the tribe of

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Jacob, and bring it back the
preserved of Israel.

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And we’re going to spend our
session this morning, brothers

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and sisters in.
The prophecy of Isaiah in the

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account of the Servant songs,
which a number of us will have

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touched just briefly in our in
our reading groups right at the

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beginning of the week.
Going to sit in Isaiah 40

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through 55, which is the section
about the Servant prophecies.

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Just trying to draw some
contrast between those kind of

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ideas that that everything is
going wrong in the nation and

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what God is doing as an
alternative.

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Now, you may well know about
Isaiah’s Servant songs, but if

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you don’t and you’re not certain
of the references, there are 4

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passages in Isaiah 40 through to
55 which are separate from

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everything else, and they’re
described by by by commentators

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and and scholars for for decades
about the four servant songs of

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Isaiah.
The 1st is chapter 42, verses

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one through 4.
The second is chapter 49, verses

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one through 6.
The third is chapter 50, verses

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4 to 9, and the fourth and the
longest and the most well known

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of course, as well, begins in
5213 and runs through to the end

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of Isaiah 53.
And in those chapters we meet 2

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servants. 1 is a national
servant who is given blessings

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beyond recognition, blessings
beyond imagination, but who

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turns away from the Father.
One is an individual servant,

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not named, although we can
figure out who it is fairly

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easily, who does the will of his
father, who chooses deliberately

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to obey.
And those 4 passages within the

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broader span of chapters 40
through to 55 tell us of this,

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this individual servant, of his
calling of his.

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Mission to the nation and to the
world of his suffering at the

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hands of others and of his death
and ultimate vindication that

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comes at the end of things and
he’s.

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Presented to us as a direct
contrast from the nation.

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First of all, you would meet
blind, deaf, unbelieving Israel,

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the rebellious nation given
physical freedom by God, as

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we’ve seen in the Exodus, as
we’ve seen in in Jeremiah

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chapter 2.
But who chooses spiritual

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slavery to sin?
And it’s contrasted with a

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faithful individual, the humble
servant who freely chooses.

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Well, I was going to say to to
bind himself to God’s will who

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chooses to walk out to the cross
and give himself for his people.

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So how do we work out which is
which?

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Because we need to spend a bit
of time making sure we

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understand what these verses
tell us.

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Come to Isaiah’s prophecy,
brothers and sisters, if you

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haven’t done already.
And we’re going to just see

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whether we can paint a broad
picture of these two servants

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before we drill down into the
one who, of course, is our

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focus.
Come to Isaiah chapter 41, just

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do one or two quick comparisons
because it’s not always easy to

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tease out who’s being spoken of.
And I just want to try to open

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things up a little bit for you.
So as, as I thought you won a

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couple of examples here, verses
8:00 and 9:00.

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You, Israel are my servant
Jacob, whom I have chosen, the

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seed of Abraham, my friend, you
who I’ve taken from the ends of

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the earth and called from the
chief men thereof and said to

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you, you are my servant.
I’ve chosen you and I’ve not

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cast you away.
It’s talking difficult when I

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just dropped the verse on you
without warning, but it’s

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talking about the nation.
Just compare it with chapter 42

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and verse one, the first of
those two of those four songs.

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This is not talking about the
nation.

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This one’s talking about the
individual.

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Behold my servant, whom I uphold
my neglect, in whom my soul

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delights.
Recognise those verses.

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We’ve got a hymn that that that
encapsulates those verses.

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So the servants are chosen both
in Chapter 41 and Chapter 42.

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Look back into 41 and verse 13.
The servant has spoken of in a

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different way.
I, the Lord thy God will hold

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thy right hand, saying to thee,
Fear not, I will help thee.

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This is a servant who is held
close by the heavenly Father.

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Again, just contrast not with
the song in chapter 42, but just

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afterwards where the Lord is
still, I think, Speaking of his

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individual servant. 42 Verse 6 I
the Lord have called thee in

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righteousness, and will hold thy
hand, and will keep thee, and

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give thee for a covenant of the
people, for a light of the

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Gentiles or looking.
Chapter 44.

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You can see them on the screen,
but I just want to make sure you

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walk through one or two of them
with me.

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Beginning of Isaiah 44 Again
speaking now of the nation.

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Verse 1 Yet now here, O Jacob,
my servant, and Israel, whom I

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have chosen.
Thus says the Lord who made

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thee, inform thee from the womb,
who will help thee.

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Fear not Jacob, my servant, and
thou Dashurin, whom I have

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chosen.
That’s the nation.

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What does it say of the
individual?

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Well, it’s in verse.
It’s in chapter 49 in the second

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of the songs, and verse 5.
Now says the Lord, who formed me

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from the womb to be his servant.
To bring Jacob again to him,

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this is a servant, or these are
two servants who are called, who

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are held by God’s hand, who are
called by their name, who are

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formed from the womb.
So they look similar.

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00:12:27,320 –> 00:12:30,160
In fact, it’s not altogether
easy when we just kind of land

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00:12:30,160 –> 00:12:32,920
on it without warning to be able
to identify who’s being spoken

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00:12:32,920 –> 00:12:36,800
of at any particular time.
But not only are there

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00:12:36,800 –> 00:12:40,400
similarities, there are also
some dramatic contrasts, and

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00:12:40,400 –> 00:12:44,320
I’ll just put them up there for
you so you can see it’s up to 42

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00:12:44,320 –> 00:12:46,640
and verse one.
This is my servant whom I

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00:12:46,640 –> 00:12:47,640
uphold.
This is the.

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00:12:47,640 –> 00:12:50,080
Individual servant, the one
who’s prefiguring the Lord.

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00:12:51,120 –> 00:12:54,080
Well, looking to 42 and verse
19, just so you can see the

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00:12:54,080 –> 00:13:02,800
verse, who is blind but my
servant, or deaf as my messenger

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00:13:02,800 –> 00:13:06,160
that I sent, who is blind as he
that is perfect, and blind as

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00:13:06,160 –> 00:13:08,320
the Lord’s servant, seeing many
things.

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00:13:08,680 –> 00:13:12,160
But thou observest not opening
the ears, but hearing not.

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00:13:13,360 –> 00:13:15,920
So they look the same, but they
also look different.

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00:13:17,440 –> 00:13:21,600
They are formed from the womb.
And yet Israel is described in

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00:13:21,600 –> 00:13:24,680
48 verse 8 as being a rebel from
the womb.

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00:13:25,320 –> 00:13:28,320
You knew I would deal very
treacherously, Isaiah writes.

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00:13:28,600 –> 00:13:30,800
And you were called a
transgressor from the womb.

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00:13:32,240 –> 00:13:34,600
Not, again, easy to understand
what that verse specifically

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00:13:34,600 –> 00:13:37,280
means when we drop on it without
much warning, but just to make

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00:13:37,280 –> 00:13:38,760
the point and make sure we
understand it.

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00:13:38,760 –> 00:13:41,640
Brothers and sisters, this is
these are two servants who look

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00:13:41,640 –> 00:13:45,240
very similar but who have
dramatic contrasts.

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00:13:45,920 –> 00:13:48,760
And on each of the occasions
we’re thinking about, it’s the

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00:13:48,760 –> 00:13:52,960
four servant songs, those four
separate passages, who are

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00:13:52,960 –> 00:13:56,360
telling us of the individual
servant, the the ideal servant

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00:13:56,360 –> 00:14:02,600
of God who contrasts hard up.
With the servant that failed to

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00:14:02,600 –> 00:14:06,400
live up to what was asked.
I mean think about it when you

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00:14:06,400 –> 00:14:10,120
know your your Old Testament
history, you know your your

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00:14:10,200 –> 00:14:12,480
modern history of Israel as a
nation as well.

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00:14:12,480 –> 00:14:14,560
Think about the way God has
worked with his people.

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00:14:15,440 –> 00:14:17,880
Think about the way in which he
witnessed to their survival

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00:14:17,880 –> 00:14:18,720
through the.
Ages.

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00:14:20,000 –> 00:14:22,880
Think about the way that Israel
has been the standard by which

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00:14:22,880 –> 00:14:26,200
all other nations are judged.
Think of the way in which he

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00:14:26,200 –> 00:14:29,240
blots out their transgressions
time after time after time.

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00:14:30,160 –> 00:14:34,040
And yet Isaiah will make all
these accusations against his

253
00:14:34,040 –> 00:14:37,000
nation, against the national
servant, the one who goes off

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00:14:37,000 –> 00:14:42,080
the rails.
Israel doesn’t listen, and it

255
00:14:42,080 –> 00:14:45,720
contrasts with what we’re told
in chapter 50 of the servant who

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00:14:45,720 –> 00:14:47,760
opens his ear morning by
morning.

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00:14:49,400 –> 00:14:52,200
Israel is insensitive to
correction.

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00:14:53,800 –> 00:14:56,120
And again, it contrasts with
what we’re told in chapter 50

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00:14:56,120 –> 00:15:00,680
and verse and verse 9.
That the Lord is is confident in

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00:15:00,680 –> 00:15:04,640
his, in his Father’s work, and
conscious of his influence.

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00:15:05,840 –> 00:15:10,480
Israel is untrusting.
It’s weary of offering

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00:15:10,480 –> 00:15:15,080
obedience.
Israel are stubborn. 48 and

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00:15:15,080 –> 00:15:19,600
verse 4 Israel are condemned for
not pleasing.

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00:15:20,120 –> 00:15:21,640
Their well, I.
Was going to say their God,

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00:15:21,640 –> 00:15:24,960
their master in the picture that
Isaiah was painting for us.

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00:15:24,960 –> 00:15:27,720
So there are all these contrasts
set up between what the national

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00:15:27,720 –> 00:15:31,760
servant doesn’t get right in all
these different ways and in the

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00:15:31,760 –> 00:15:35,680
song what the actual servant
begins to understand.

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00:15:35,680 –> 00:15:38,960
And that’s why that’s why God
needs to bring forward for us a

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00:15:38,960 –> 00:15:41,800
new servant.
That’s why we need to recognise

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00:15:41,800 –> 00:15:44,480
that some other alternative
needs to come because the nation

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00:15:44,680 –> 00:15:46,560
has broken restraint.
They have gone wild.

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00:15:46,560 –> 00:15:49,840
They are running around in the
desert like a free camel to

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00:15:49,840 –> 00:15:52,560
borrow Jeremiah to to Jeremiah’s
phrases.

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00:15:53,920 –> 00:15:55,640
And because of that, God needs
an alternative.

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00:15:55,640 –> 00:15:59,200
But it will not be.
It will not be easy.

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00:16:02,000 –> 00:16:09,640
And as Isaiah intensifies, and
as the songs become darker and

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00:16:09,640 –> 00:16:13,200
more foreboding, the
circumstances will change as we

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00:16:13,200 –> 00:16:16,440
work our way through the songs.
And it’s not going to be all

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00:16:16,440 –> 00:16:19,960
that easy to read, because the
pressure will grow on God’s

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00:16:19,960 –> 00:16:22,960
individual servant.
The work in song one will be

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00:16:22,960 –> 00:16:26,680
long.
The labour in song 2 will be

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00:16:26,680 –> 00:16:29,600
hard.
The physical abuse that will

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00:16:29,600 –> 00:16:32,960
come in song 3 will bring
challenges.

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00:16:33,840 –> 00:16:36,960
And in the final song, when the
suffering comes and the

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00:16:37,000 –> 00:16:41,520
unjustified, isolated death
occurs, it seems as if

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00:16:41,520 –> 00:16:44,160
everything has broken down
again.

288
00:16:45,320 –> 00:16:49,800
Only as that happens, God will
show us the faith that His

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00:16:49,800 –> 00:16:53,640
individual servant shows in
increasing measure.

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00:16:54,360 –> 00:16:57,520
Song #1 He will be, as we will
see in just a second.

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00:16:57,560 –> 00:17:01,840
He will be dignified and caring
in in song 2.

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00:17:01,840 –> 00:17:05,280
He will become the channel for
God’s glory in the earth in a

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00:17:05,280 –> 00:17:07,240
way that the nation was never
able to be.

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00:17:09,400 –> 00:17:14,960
In song three, He will have his
ears open to his Master and

295
00:17:14,960 –> 00:17:17,480
we’ll just catch our exodus echo
when we get to that song later

296
00:17:17,480 –> 00:17:20,960
on.
And in song 4 there will be a

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00:17:20,960 –> 00:17:29,040
prospect not of of death.
But of glory in the future with

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00:17:29,040 –> 00:17:32,840
others, which will keep him
going strong and will keep him

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00:17:32,840 –> 00:17:35,840
moving on.
So come to Isaiah 42, brothers

300
00:17:35,840 –> 00:17:36,920
and sisters.
We’re going to work our way

301
00:17:36,920 –> 00:17:41,000
through all four of them at at a
fair old lick.

302
00:17:41,000 –> 00:17:44,400
I’m afraid what I’m going to do
is just leave that on the screen

303
00:17:44,400 –> 00:17:44,800
there.
Can you?

304
00:17:45,120 –> 00:17:47,400
You can just about say it.
Sorry, it’s a little bit dark.

305
00:17:47,400 –> 00:17:51,360
All of those are the references
for the servants in these in

306
00:17:51,360 –> 00:17:54,400
these passages.
The the N, the white text, if it

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00:17:54,400 –> 00:17:57,320
makes any difference to you, is
the national servant.

308
00:17:57,600 –> 00:17:59,960
The, the S is the the individual
servant.

309
00:17:59,960 –> 00:18:02,240
There’s there’s one slightly
awkward one that I think is

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00:18:02,240 –> 00:18:05,520
either, but they’re there if you
want them and you can scribble

311
00:18:05,520 –> 00:18:08,600
them down at chapter 42, though,
we’re going to have a look at at

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00:18:08,600 –> 00:18:11,520
the first song when you get
there.

313
00:18:12,560 –> 00:18:16,240
You will notice something
significant because we’re not

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00:18:16,240 –> 00:18:17,960
going to hear what the servant
says himself.

315
00:18:19,920 –> 00:18:23,800
We’re we’re only going to hear
what the Lord says, what the

316
00:18:23,800 –> 00:18:28,640
master says of his servant.
It’s as if right at the

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00:18:28,640 –> 00:18:32,040
beginning, we’re finding out
that actions speak louder than

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00:18:32,040 –> 00:18:35,280
words.
Behold my servant, whom I

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00:18:35,280 –> 00:18:39,000
uphold, mine elect, in whom my
soul delights.

320
00:18:39,560 –> 00:18:43,960
I have put my spirit upon him.
He shall bring forth judgement

321
00:18:43,960 –> 00:18:49,120
or justice to the Gentiles.
There is something, something

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00:18:49,120 –> 00:18:53,720
tender about this servant.
He’s he’s not a warrior, he’s

323
00:18:53,720 –> 00:18:59,600
not a Street Fighter.
He’s quiet and he’s gentle, but

324
00:18:59,600 –> 00:19:03,440
he has a character that will
influence others.

325
00:19:04,520 –> 00:19:08,880
My servant whom I uphold, mine
elect, in whom my soul delights.

326
00:19:09,000 –> 00:19:12,360
I have put my spirit upon him.
The emphasis is not on the

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00:19:12,360 –> 00:19:13,040
servant.
Yet.

328
00:19:14,280 –> 00:19:18,360
The emphasis is on his master.
The emphasis is on the one who

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00:19:18,360 –> 00:19:21,040
is calling him out.
It’s almost as if the servant is

330
00:19:21,040 –> 00:19:23,160
surrendering to his master’s
will already.

331
00:19:24,480 –> 00:19:26,840
And we’re going to see this as
it grows, as as we work our way

332
00:19:26,840 –> 00:19:29,880
through.
He’s the one in whom my soul

333
00:19:29,880 –> 00:19:31,680
delights.
It’s it’s an echo.

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00:19:32,680 –> 00:19:36,440
From or Matthew chapter 3 will
echo this when when we read of

335
00:19:36,440 –> 00:19:39,640
the Lord’s baptism.
You are my son in whom I am well

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00:19:39,640 –> 00:19:41,360
pleased.
You are my son in whom I

337
00:19:41,360 –> 00:19:44,920
delight.
It’s an identical expression,

338
00:19:45,840 –> 00:19:48,400
just understanding what the
master thinks of his servant is.

339
00:19:48,400 –> 00:19:52,040
Identical to what the the Father
thinks of his son when he

340
00:19:52,040 –> 00:19:53,560
submits to the waters of
baptism.

341
00:19:54,760 –> 00:19:59,080
You won’t cry, you won’t lift
up, you won’t cause his voice to

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00:19:59,080 –> 00:20:03,040
be heard in the street.
This servant will carry on all

343
00:20:03,040 –> 00:20:06,840
the work of his master without
raising his voice.

344
00:20:08,480 –> 00:20:12,440
He’s not hysterical, although he
will cause hysteria.

345
00:20:13,400 –> 00:20:17,240
He’s not attention seeking,
although people will spread his

346
00:20:17,240 –> 00:20:21,320
name abroad.
He’s not an advert for himself,

347
00:20:22,080 –> 00:20:23,800
although attention will
certainly come.

348
00:20:24,320 –> 00:20:27,720
He’s he’s not going to.
To flaunt his accomplishments,

349
00:20:27,920 –> 00:20:30,320
his wealth, or his personal
achievements.

350
00:20:30,320 –> 00:20:32,920
This is a servant who is, as it
were, going to take a step back

351
00:20:34,160 –> 00:20:35,760
and leave all the focus on his
master.

352
00:20:38,040 –> 00:20:40,160
Verse 3A.
Bruised Reed shall he not break,

353
00:20:41,040 –> 00:20:44,000
and the smoking flax shall he
not quench.

354
00:20:44,440 –> 00:20:47,280
He shall bring forth judgement
unto truth.

355
00:20:47,920 –> 00:20:50,360
He shall not fail or be
discouraged until he has set

356
00:20:50,360 –> 00:20:53,880
judgement in the earth, and the
aisles will wait for his law.

357
00:20:54,440 –> 00:20:58,320
The The man who won’t break a
bruised Reed, the man who will

358
00:20:58,320 –> 00:21:03,480
not snuff out a faintly burning
candle, is a man who fosters the

359
00:21:03,480 –> 00:21:07,120
good qualities in other people.
A man who is always looking for

360
00:21:07,120 –> 00:21:09,920
the positives and overlooking
faults.

361
00:21:10,520 –> 00:21:14,320
A man who spots the glimmering
ideal of acceptable service and

362
00:21:14,320 –> 00:21:17,920
fans it into flame and does not
merely cover it over and snuff

363
00:21:17,920 –> 00:21:21,800
it out.
This is not a man who is a

364
00:21:21,800 –> 00:21:24,800
graduate of the Putin or the
Trump school of democracy.

365
00:21:26,320 –> 00:21:27,960
This is somebody altogether
different.

366
00:21:27,960 –> 00:21:31,640
He is so far from from smashing
the mighty that he won’t break

367
00:21:31,640 –> 00:21:33,800
off the Reed that is cracked,
but will straighten it and

368
00:21:33,800 –> 00:21:38,120
support it.
This is a man who is so open to

369
00:21:38,440 –> 00:21:41,520
to to fanning that flame again
that rather than sniffing it

370
00:21:41,520 –> 00:21:46,000
out, he will support it.
And until it’s wig his his

371
00:21:46,000 –> 00:21:48,480
answer.
To the oppressors of the world.

372
00:21:48,680 –> 00:21:52,240
Is not more oppression his
answer to the arrogance in the

373
00:21:52,240 –> 00:21:53,880
world?
Is not shouting it down with

374
00:21:53,880 –> 00:21:59,120
more arrogance, but in quietness
and in humility and in

375
00:21:59,120 –> 00:22:02,320
simplicity.
He will bear all the evil

376
00:22:02,320 –> 00:22:08,160
himself and return only grace.
That’s power.

377
00:22:09,720 –> 00:22:12,800
Power in a velvet glove, maybe,
but that’s power.

378
00:22:14,840 –> 00:22:16,320
Now with that kind of
introduction, brothers and

379
00:22:16,320 –> 00:22:18,600
sisters, don’t you want to hear
what the servant has to say for

380
00:22:18,600 –> 00:22:28,950
himself?
Come to chapter 49 because the

381
00:22:28,950 –> 00:22:30,630
tone of the second song is a
little different.

382
00:22:31,670 –> 00:22:36,390
It’s more personal now, and
we’re learning just almost

383
00:22:36,710 –> 00:22:39,150
unconsciously, that the
relationship is not just one

384
00:22:39,150 –> 00:22:45,110
between a servant and a master,
but between a son and a father.

385
00:22:46,830 –> 00:22:49,270
This no whiles unto me, and
hearken ye people from far.

386
00:22:49,270 –> 00:22:52,440
The Lord has called me from the
womb, from the bowels of my

387
00:22:52,440 –> 00:22:54,160
mother.
He’s made mention of my name.

388
00:22:54,160 –> 00:22:57,440
There is a bit more personal
undertone to this.

389
00:22:57,760 –> 00:23:00,160
With my mouth.
He’s made my mouth like a sharp

390
00:23:00,160 –> 00:23:02,600
sword.
In the shadow of his hand He’s

391
00:23:02,600 –> 00:23:06,040
hidden me and made me a polished
shaft in his quiver.

392
00:23:06,040 –> 00:23:09,680
He’s hidden me and said to me,
You are my servant, O Israel, in

393
00:23:09,680 –> 00:23:13,440
whom I will be glorified.
God has made the servant who he

394
00:23:13,440 –> 00:23:14,880
is.
It’s not him.

395
00:23:14,880 –> 00:23:16,880
Seeing it as his inherent
ability.

396
00:23:17,280 –> 00:23:20,360
If I can extend this, this is
not a pre existent Christ who

397
00:23:20,360 –> 00:23:22,240
has already got abilities to do
things.

398
00:23:22,240 –> 00:23:25,160
This is somebody given something
by his master and God has

399
00:23:25,160 –> 00:23:30,000
prepared him and hidden him and
protected him and made him ready

400
00:23:30,000 –> 00:23:31,640
for the moment when he will come
forth.

401
00:23:31,800 –> 00:23:36,920
He’s an arrow in a quiver,
prepared and ready for that

402
00:23:36,920 –> 00:23:41,320
moment when he’s required.
Verse three he said to me, You

403
00:23:41,320 –> 00:23:45,760
are my servant, O Israel, in
whom I will be glorified in

404
00:23:45,760 –> 00:23:48,280
other.
Words, this servant will

405
00:23:48,280 –> 00:23:51,360
function as Israel.
This isn’t a verse talking about

406
00:23:51,360 –> 00:23:53,520
the nation, it’s a verse talking
about the individual servant.

407
00:23:53,720 –> 00:23:55,360
This servant will function as
Israel.

408
00:23:55,480 –> 00:23:57,600
He will be the Israel that
Israel never was.

409
00:24:00,240 –> 00:24:02,960
And Matthew’s gospel will will
get hold of all of these ideas

410
00:24:02,960 –> 00:24:07,360
when he describes the Lord Jesus
as a new Israel, which is a

411
00:24:07,360 –> 00:24:09,160
whole of the Bible school.
So we can do that in a few years

412
00:24:09,160 –> 00:24:11,560
time maybe, who knows?
But what he’s talking about here

413
00:24:11,560 –> 00:24:14,920
is the way in which this man
will be the new Israel.

414
00:24:15,040 –> 00:24:18,600
God will not wipe out the the
nation because of his failure,

415
00:24:18,760 –> 00:24:21,960
but will simply introduce
another way in which servanthood

416
00:24:21,960 –> 00:24:25,040
will be represented in the earth
through one who will be the

417
00:24:25,040 –> 00:24:28,280
vehicle of God’s glory before
all people.

418
00:24:30,360 –> 00:24:34,080
And it will bring us to our
knees in in admiration I’ve

419
00:24:34,080 –> 00:24:38,160
laboured in vain, he says.
I’ve spent my strength for

420
00:24:38,160 –> 00:24:41,640
nothing and in vain.
This is a servant who is.

421
00:24:42,720 –> 00:24:46,640
Who is not perfect, by which I
mean he is not absolutely

422
00:24:46,960 –> 00:24:48,880
confident of everything that
will come.

423
00:24:49,240 –> 00:24:50,840
Perfect is perhaps the wrong
word to use.

424
00:24:51,000 –> 00:24:54,200
This is a man who is, who is
conscious that that he is going

425
00:24:54,200 –> 00:24:55,480
to struggle, he is going to
suffer.

426
00:24:55,480 –> 00:24:58,360
There will be hard nights.
This is a man who will be up all

427
00:24:58,360 –> 00:25:00,280
night in prayer, worrying
sometimes.

428
00:25:00,520 –> 00:25:03,000
What do I do Lord?
Do I stay here and heal, or do I

429
00:25:03,000 –> 00:25:06,600
go on and preach the gospel?
And we see that, don’t we, time

430
00:25:06,600 –> 00:25:10,200
after time in the Gospels where
the Lord is, is almost between

431
00:25:10,200 –> 00:25:12,920
2:00, between two stalls, and
both are right.

432
00:25:12,920 –> 00:25:15,760
Staying and healing is right.
Going on and preaching is right.

433
00:25:16,480 –> 00:25:20,840
What do I do, Lord?
How do I work it out, Lord?

434
00:25:21,160 –> 00:25:23,600
I’ve laboured in vain, Lord.
It’s tiring, Lord.

435
00:25:24,080 –> 00:25:29,080
I keep saying this stuff, Lord,
and they don’t listen to me. 120

436
00:25:29,080 –> 00:25:36,120
people in that upper room in
Acts chapter. 120 people after 3

437
00:25:36,120 –> 00:25:38,240
1/2 years of the greatest
preaching campaign on the

438
00:25:38,240 –> 00:25:42,520
history of the Earth.
I don’t listen to me, Lord, I’ve

439
00:25:42,560 –> 00:25:45,080
laboured in vain and spent my
strength for nothing.

440
00:25:46,120 –> 00:25:49,440
The Lord doesn’t know.
Sometimes I think the best way

441
00:25:49,440 –> 00:25:52,920
to go on, which is why he puts
all of his trust in his father.

442
00:25:53,200 –> 00:25:57,080
This is a man almost overwhelmed
by the amount of work that is

443
00:25:57,080 –> 00:26:01,200
coming upon him, as if when he
says that the fields are white

444
00:26:01,200 –> 00:26:05,200
under harvest but the labourers
are few, he knows exactly what

445
00:26:05,200 –> 00:26:07,480
he’s talking about.
And what’s the master’s

446
00:26:07,480 –> 00:26:09,120
response?
What’s the Father’s response to

447
00:26:09,120 –> 00:26:11,200
this individual servant’s
concern?

448
00:26:12,080 –> 00:26:15,480
Well my son, you think it’s
hard?

449
00:26:15,480 –> 00:26:18,640
Now I’m going to give you more
work to do.

450
00:26:21,840 –> 00:26:24,360
Middle of verse 5.
Though Israel is not gathered

451
00:26:24,360 –> 00:26:27,840
yet, I will be glorious in the
eyes of my Lord, and my God will

452
00:26:27,840 –> 00:26:30,920
be my strength.
And he said, It is a light

453
00:26:30,920 –> 00:26:33,920
thing, that thou should this be
my servant, to raise up the

454
00:26:33,920 –> 00:26:36,640
tribes of Jacob, and to restore
the preserved of Israel.

455
00:26:36,880 –> 00:26:40,760
I will also give thee for a
light to the Gentiles, that thou

456
00:26:40,760 –> 00:26:43,200
mayest be my salvation.
To the ends of the earth.

457
00:26:44,680 –> 00:26:47,920
You think it’s hard now?
Well, this is a message which is

458
00:26:47,920 –> 00:26:52,360
going even further, even harder.
And, and this will be the

459
00:26:52,360 –> 00:26:55,080
servant who will be God’s
vehicle for his glory in all

460
00:26:55,080 –> 00:26:58,720
ways.
A light.

461
00:26:58,720 –> 00:27:00,880
Thing to do the work that he
did.

462
00:27:01,320 –> 00:27:04,080
But you will be my salvation to
the ends of the earth.

463
00:27:04,080 –> 00:27:07,880
And Simeon will pick this up
and, and Anna will pick this up

464
00:27:07,880 –> 00:27:10,680
when the Lord is brought to the
temple, when he’s when he’s just

465
00:27:10,680 –> 00:27:13,640
eight days old.
And, and see in this baby boy,

466
00:27:13,640 –> 00:27:16,360
the servant that God was
bringing forth before his

467
00:27:16,360 –> 00:27:19,160
people.
Psalm #3 chapter 50.

468
00:27:24,770 –> 00:27:29,010
And the intensity just begins to
deepen and just begins to

469
00:27:29,010 –> 00:27:31,570
change.
Because as the tasks of the

470
00:27:31,570 –> 00:27:35,560
servant increase.
So to the care of his master

471
00:27:35,560 –> 00:27:38,600
increases.
Song one shows us about how the

472
00:27:38,600 –> 00:27:43,120
servant learns patience.
Song 2 shows us how he becomes

473
00:27:43,120 –> 00:27:48,360
strong Despite that weariness.
Song 3 is going to show us how

474
00:27:48,360 –> 00:27:50,640
he can be steadfast in the face
of abuse.

475
00:27:51,720 –> 00:27:55,000
Song 4 will show us how he can
be courageous in the face of

476
00:27:55,000 –> 00:27:59,680
death.
And he can do it only and only

477
00:27:59,680 –> 00:28:02,240
because his master is there
beside him.

478
00:28:02,840 –> 00:28:06,960
He will uphold his servant song
#1, He will strengthen his

479
00:28:06,960 –> 00:28:12,360
servant song #2, He will protect
his servant against hostility,

480
00:28:13,200 –> 00:28:18,840
song #3, and he will redeem and
restore his servant in song #4.

481
00:28:19,440 –> 00:28:22,880
Just look at some of the power
in these words, Isaiah 50 and

482
00:28:22,880 –> 00:28:25,320
verse 4.
The Lord God has given me the

483
00:28:25,320 –> 00:28:28,120
tongue of the learned four times
in this song where you’re going

484
00:28:28,120 –> 00:28:34,000
to see a specific title for the
Lord Adonai Yahweh, my Master

485
00:28:34,200 –> 00:28:37,120
Yahweh.
This is a servant who realises

486
00:28:37,120 –> 00:28:41,920
who the master is, almost as if
in some sense the battle has now

487
00:28:41,920 –> 00:28:46,560
been won, the struggle against
himself has now been overcome,

488
00:28:46,880 –> 00:28:48,760
the battle that takes place in
Gethsemane.

489
00:28:49,240 –> 00:28:50,800
Can you take this cut from me,
Lord?

490
00:28:52,320 –> 00:28:56,080
No.
And you therefore are my master

491
00:28:57,000 –> 00:28:59,640
and my sovereign.
The Lord God has given me the

492
00:28:59,640 –> 00:29:01,720
tongue of the learned, that I
should know how to speak a word

493
00:29:01,720 –> 00:29:06,720
in season to him who is weary.
He awakens morning by morning

494
00:29:07,360 –> 00:29:09,480
awakens my ear.
To the learned.

495
00:29:09,480 –> 00:29:12,720
The Lord God has opened my ear.
There’s the second phrase, the

496
00:29:12,720 –> 00:29:16,880
second time that occurs, and I
was not rebellious and I didn’t

497
00:29:16,880 –> 00:29:19,120
turn away my back.
Isn’t it interesting?

498
00:29:19,120 –> 00:29:25,680
You know he hears and then he
speaks and he can only speak.

499
00:29:26,480 –> 00:29:30,680
Because he’s been listening,
which might be a little

500
00:29:30,680 –> 00:29:34,440
excitation for you and I in the
way we speak forth words before

501
00:29:34,440 –> 00:29:37,880
God.
Discipleship needs lingering.

502
00:29:38,520 –> 00:29:40,920
You and I live in a world that
connects progress with

503
00:29:40,920 –> 00:29:44,280
efficiency.
The quicker we get stuff done,

504
00:29:44,720 –> 00:29:46,440
the more time we have for other
things.

505
00:29:46,760 –> 00:29:50,960
Technology brings more
efficiency, and yet efficiency

506
00:29:50,960 –> 00:29:54,880
means slowing down is difficult.
Ours is a faith where we need to

507
00:29:54,880 –> 00:29:58,080
linger.
We need to linger in prayer with

508
00:29:58,080 –> 00:30:00,200
our Heavenly Father.
We need to linger in

509
00:30:00,200 –> 00:30:03,480
conversations with each other.
We need to linger in fellowship

510
00:30:03,480 –> 00:30:06,200
when our ecclesia gathers.
We need to linger with our

511
00:30:06,200 –> 00:30:09,160
children when the Word is open
before us and we talk about

512
00:30:09,160 –> 00:30:11,720
things and not just move on to
the next thing.

513
00:30:13,000 –> 00:30:15,120
There are challenges there
because everything is always

514
00:30:15,120 –> 00:30:17,600
pulling us at every direction
all of the time.

515
00:30:17,880 –> 00:30:21,040
And yet here is the one who
says, come unto me, all ye who

516
00:30:21,040 –> 00:30:23,880
are weary, and I will give you
rest.

517
00:30:25,240 –> 00:30:29,800
So the Lord God has opened his
ear, and he’s not rebellious.

518
00:30:29,800 –> 00:30:32,440
This is the servant, isn’t it,
of Exodus Chapter 21 that we

519
00:30:32,440 –> 00:30:35,120
looked at yesterday and some of
you were going, well, he hasn’t

520
00:30:35,120 –> 00:30:37,280
finished the story here because
there’s an awful lot more to be

521
00:30:37,280 –> 00:30:38,880
said of this servant.
And here it is.

522
00:30:39,240 –> 00:30:43,280
This is the servant’s pledge of
loyalty, forever in his master’s

523
00:30:43,280 –> 00:30:46,000
house.
The ear of the servant is now

524
00:30:46,000 –> 00:30:49,680
symbolically open, forever
because he’s committed himself

525
00:30:49,920 –> 00:30:52,040
to the work that his father
called him to do.

526
00:30:53,320 –> 00:30:55,920
Remember how Exodus 21?
Runs when When servants love

527
00:30:55,920 –> 00:30:59,880
their masters, they commit
lifelong service to them rather

528
00:30:59,880 –> 00:31:03,080
than walking away.
That’s what true freedom looks

529
00:31:03,080 –> 00:31:05,000
like.
That’s what that servant of

530
00:31:05,000 –> 00:31:07,640
Exodus 21 enacted.
And that’s what the Lord is

531
00:31:07,640 –> 00:31:11,680
doing here.
But you remember how Exodus 21

532
00:31:11,680 –> 00:31:18,440
went on to say, not just I love
my master, but I love my master,

533
00:31:19,120 –> 00:31:23,640
my wife and my children, and I
will not go out free.

534
00:31:24,480 –> 00:31:26,880
He doesn’t just stay in the
house because he loves his

535
00:31:26,880 –> 00:31:30,240
master.
He stays in the house because he

536
00:31:30,240 –> 00:31:33,160
has family there.
This is a servant who is

537
00:31:33,160 –> 00:31:37,880
motivated by other people.
This is a man who is going to be

538
00:31:37,880 –> 00:31:41,040
glorified, that he might bring
many sons to glory.

539
00:31:42,040 –> 00:31:44,760
Not just that he might be made
immortal in some grand

540
00:31:44,760 –> 00:31:48,440
mythological way and sit on a
throne and rule the empires, but

541
00:31:48,440 –> 00:31:53,600
that he might be the head of the
body and be in the Kingdom and

542
00:31:53,600 –> 00:31:56,160
share the Kingdom with those who
are of faith as well.

543
00:31:57,320 –> 00:32:00,840
So he says, I love my master
God.

544
00:32:01,400 –> 00:32:08,280
I love my work, Israel, I love
my children, the Gentiles, and I

545
00:32:08,280 –> 00:32:12,360
will not go out free.
I will commit myself to the

546
00:32:12,360 –> 00:32:14,320
’cause that my Father has given
me.

547
00:32:14,320 –> 00:32:19,320
Even though they will smite me
on the back, verse 6, even

548
00:32:19,320 –> 00:32:21,800
though they will pluck off my
beard, even though they will

549
00:32:21,800 –> 00:32:27,440
shame me and spit at me, I have
set my face like a Flint and I

550
00:32:27,440 –> 00:32:29,880
will not be confounded.
It’s the words from Luke Chapter

551
00:32:29,880 –> 00:32:31,480
9, isn’t it?
When the Lord sets his face to

552
00:32:31,480 –> 00:32:34,880
go to Jerusalem, He’s he’s, he’s
telling us to go to this verse

553
00:32:37,080 –> 00:32:39,680
because he set his face like a
Flint after the transfiguration

554
00:32:39,680 –> 00:32:42,520
and will go like he’s carved out
of granite and will go to

555
00:32:42,520 –> 00:32:45,280
Jerusalem and offer himself.
Come on to the fourth song,

556
00:32:46,520 –> 00:32:52,160
chapter 52 and verse 13.
You understand how I say that

557
00:32:52,160 –> 00:32:54,880
things begin to get darker and
harder as the songs move

558
00:32:54,880 –> 00:32:58,800
forward?
How things just become a more

559
00:32:58,800 –> 00:33:02,200
complicated and and more more
challenging for him.

560
00:33:02,200 –> 00:33:03,720
Even here the Hebrew is
different.

561
00:33:03,800 –> 00:33:06,680
The Hebrew is is less
rhythmical, it’s more wrenched.

562
00:33:06,680 –> 00:33:08,320
There are fewer words being
used.

563
00:33:08,560 –> 00:33:11,600
It’s almost as if somebody who
is under under pressure is

564
00:33:11,600 –> 00:33:14,080
falling back on a vocabulary
that is very limited.

565
00:33:14,080 –> 00:33:17,360
To them, because that’s what.
You and I do when we’re under

566
00:33:17,360 –> 00:33:20,880
pressure or the the
paraphernalia around the edges

567
00:33:20,880 –> 00:33:23,160
disappears and we just.
Fall back on who we really are.

568
00:33:24,040 –> 00:33:28,040
That’s what this servant will do
as well. 52 and verse 13 Behold,

569
00:33:28,040 –> 00:33:34,160
my servant shall deal prudently.
He will be exalted and extolled,

570
00:33:35,040 –> 00:33:38,160
and be very high.
As many as were astonished at

571
00:33:38,160 –> 00:33:41,840
the His visage was so marred
more than any man, and He’s four

572
00:33:41,840 –> 00:33:45,400
more than the sons of men, So He
shall sprinkle many nations.

573
00:33:45,400 –> 00:33:47,080
Kings will shut their mouths at
him.

574
00:33:47,320 –> 00:33:50,120
For that which had not been told
them they shall see, and that

575
00:33:50,120 –> 00:33:53,640
which they had not heard they
shall consider something about.

576
00:33:53,640 –> 00:33:56,040
This man that drew the eye for
all the wrong reasons.

577
00:33:57,520 –> 00:34:00,240
Who could have believed that
when the Lord bared his holy

578
00:34:00,240 –> 00:34:06,400
arm, it would look like this?
Someone who was scarred and

579
00:34:06,400 –> 00:34:08,480
battered by 3 1/2 years of
ministry.

580
00:34:09,000 –> 00:34:12,400
Somebody who looked more than 50
when he was only 30 years old.

581
00:34:12,600 –> 00:34:15,679
Someone who would had all those
sleepless nights in prayer to

582
00:34:15,679 –> 00:34:17,800
his Father.
Someone who had sweated great

583
00:34:17,800 –> 00:34:20,679
drops of blood in Gethsemane,
who had been beaten by the

584
00:34:20,679 –> 00:34:26,760
soldiers, who looked not like a
saviour, and who was going to be

585
00:34:26,760 –> 00:34:28,199
let out to die like a common
criminal.

586
00:34:28,199 –> 00:34:32,400
Who could have believed that
when God bared his holy arm, it

587
00:34:32,400 –> 00:34:39,760
would look like this servant?
Service takes its toll on this

588
00:34:39,760 –> 00:34:43,400
servant.
And when verse 14 says that his

589
00:34:43,400 –> 00:34:47,000
visage was more marred than any
man, it’s word that comes from

590
00:34:47,000 –> 00:34:48,960
Leviticus 22.
You may have a note in your

591
00:34:48,960 –> 00:34:50,840
margin.
It’s it’s to describe something

592
00:34:50,840 –> 00:34:55,159
rejected for sacrifice, as if to
say you would not have picked

593
00:34:55,159 –> 00:34:58,120
this man to be your saviour if
you looked at him on the

594
00:34:58,120 –> 00:35:03,200
outside.
Verse 1 of chapter 53 or verse

595
00:35:03,200 –> 00:35:07,560
2, He shall.
Grow up before him as a tender

596
00:35:07,560 –> 00:35:09,360
plant and as a root out of dry
ground.

597
00:35:09,360 –> 00:35:12,840
He’s got no formal comeliness,
and when we shall see him there

598
00:35:12,840 –> 00:35:16,600
is no beauty that we should
desire him here is.

599
00:35:17,240 –> 00:35:21,000
Abraham and Isaac coming to
Moriah, go to the mountain and

600
00:35:21,000 –> 00:35:22,640
offer him on a place I will tell
thee of.

601
00:35:23,240 –> 00:35:26,640
Here is the vineyard mismanaged
by Jewish husbandmen.

602
00:35:26,960 –> 00:35:30,240
What more could I do for my
vineyard, says the owner.

603
00:35:30,480 –> 00:35:34,320
I will send my son.
Here is Hezekiah growing up in

604
00:35:34,320 –> 00:35:38,880
his father’s wicked reign.
Here is Moses in Egypt, with the

605
00:35:38,880 –> 00:35:42,200
temptation of all the treasures
and the wisdom of that land, and

606
00:35:42,200 –> 00:35:44,320
choosing to go into those
exoduses, out into the

607
00:35:44,320 –> 00:35:46,600
wilderness, and come back to
lead his people.

608
00:35:48,640 –> 00:35:53,360
There is Paul in the Roman world
that persecuted him, surrounded

609
00:35:53,360 –> 00:35:55,720
by brothers and sisters who
mistrusted him.

610
00:35:57,440 –> 00:36:03,480
Here is God’s care for us when
we stand up for truth in a world

611
00:36:03,480 –> 00:36:07,120
that doesn’t want to hear it, in
a world that says if you feel

612
00:36:07,120 –> 00:36:11,480
it, then it must be true.
Here is the way the Lord looks

613
00:36:11,480 –> 00:36:14,080
after us, no?
Form or comeliness, that we

614
00:36:14,080 –> 00:36:18,600
should desire him no beauty, but
when we should see him no beauty

615
00:36:18,600 –> 00:36:23,560
that we should desire him.
Was the spiritual aura of this

616
00:36:23,560 –> 00:36:26,960
man that drew the attention.
He wasn’t head and shoulders

617
00:36:26,960 –> 00:36:28,720
above everybody else.
This wasn’t King Saul.

618
00:36:28,720 –> 00:36:31,440
This wasn’t a kingship based on
external appearances.

619
00:36:33,040 –> 00:36:35,600
This was something on the
inside, which of course was

620
00:36:35,600 –> 00:36:39,840
when, why when the message got
too much, everybody turned away.

621
00:36:41,120 –> 00:36:43,400
Because he doesn’t look like a
leader, doesn’t look like

622
00:36:43,400 –> 00:36:45,600
somebody that could carry you
out and and and throw out the

623
00:36:45,600 –> 00:36:47,640
Romans.
Verse 3.

624
00:36:48,000 –> 00:36:50,800
He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows, and

625
00:36:50,800 –> 00:36:55,200
acquainted with grief, and we
hid, as it were, our faces from

626
00:36:55,200 –> 00:36:58,120
him.
Here’s the greatest sacrifice

627
00:36:58,160 –> 00:37:01,720
for the Servant.
Of all things, because the

628
00:37:01,720 –> 00:37:04,880
condemnation on this man was
that he was to be utterly,

629
00:37:05,320 –> 00:37:13,280
utterly alone in a society built
on community, his call was to be

630
00:37:13,280 –> 00:37:17,040
an absolutely isolating 1.
That’s why leprosy language runs

631
00:37:17,040 –> 00:37:19,800
all the way through Isaiah 53,
because we’re reading about

632
00:37:19,800 –> 00:37:22,440
somebody who was cast out.
We’re reading about somebody who

633
00:37:22,440 –> 00:37:26,920
was put outside the camp.
We’re reading about somebody who

634
00:37:27,600 –> 00:37:32,720
was seen as being unclean in a
most hideous and ironic way.

635
00:37:33,160 –> 00:37:35,760
He would have to be completely
isolated.

636
00:37:37,680 –> 00:37:40,400
And it puts those parables in
the Gospels into a new light,

637
00:37:40,400 –> 00:37:43,200
doesn’t it?
When the Lord heals the lepers,

638
00:37:43,880 –> 00:37:50,520
when he sees Legion amongst the
rocks chained, the chains have

639
00:37:50,520 –> 00:37:53,000
been broken and yet still he
needs healing.

640
00:37:54,160 –> 00:37:55,640
And we finish off with that
account with.

641
00:37:55,640 –> 00:37:59,080
Legion sat at the Lord’s feet,
healed and in his right mind.

642
00:37:59,280 –> 00:38:04,800
Because the Lord looks at that
man and sees himself, the

643
00:38:04,800 –> 00:38:08,920
servant who had a calling and
can do nothing else but reach

644
00:38:08,920 –> 00:38:13,200
out and heal in mark one, when
the Lord does have that dilemma,

645
00:38:13,360 –> 00:38:15,800
when he goes to his father in
prayer and says, what do I do,

646
00:38:15,800 –> 00:38:16,880
Lord?
Do I stay here and heal?

647
00:38:16,880 –> 00:38:19,720
Do I go on and preach?
He goes on and preaches because

648
00:38:19,720 –> 00:38:22,080
that’s the that’s the command
that seems to come.

649
00:38:22,080 –> 00:38:25,320
But there is one person who
changes his, his direction, one

650
00:38:25,320 –> 00:38:27,520
at the end of mark 1, and it’s
the leper who comes to him.

651
00:38:27,840 –> 00:38:31,680
And again, the Lord sees the man
like himself, the isolated man,

652
00:38:32,200 –> 00:38:36,600
and turns things around, even
though so many of the others

653
00:38:36,840 –> 00:38:40,720
were indifferent to their fate,
even though so many enslaved

654
00:38:40,720 –> 00:38:43,560
societies over the years had
been mistreated, because the

655
00:38:43,640 –> 00:38:45,800
people were indifferent to their
consequences.

656
00:38:47,040 –> 00:38:52,400
And when Isaiah says we hid, as
it were, our faces from him, it

657
00:38:52,400 –> 00:38:55,480
implies that they just didn’t
care.

658
00:38:57,120 –> 00:39:00,840
There is an indifference
underlying that phrase.

659
00:39:03,120 –> 00:39:05,400
Like we said, 120 people in that
upper room.

660
00:39:06,080 –> 00:39:09,520
After all the work that the Lord
did, pouring himself out day

661
00:39:09,520 –> 00:39:13,640
after day, and when verse 8 says
who shall declare his

662
00:39:13,640 –> 00:39:16,880
generation, you could read it
well, who will acknowledge?

663
00:39:16,880 –> 00:39:18,440
Him who’s going to bother to
speak of him?

664
00:39:19,880 –> 00:39:23,880
Because so few people did that?
The Lord Jesus Christ, your Lord

665
00:39:23,880 –> 00:39:28,160
and Master, your King, the one
who will rule all things, The

666
00:39:28,160 –> 00:39:31,080
one who is the Son of his Father
and the servant of his Master.

667
00:39:31,320 –> 00:39:36,960
As the soldiers gamble for his
garments, as they crucify him

668
00:39:36,960 –> 00:39:42,520
naked, as he gives up every last
vestige of himself for somebody

669
00:39:42,520 –> 00:39:46,360
else, they are going to come out
of Jerusalem.

670
00:39:47,680 –> 00:39:51,080
They’re going to look at him on
the cross and they’re going to

671
00:39:51,080 –> 00:39:54,320
shrug their shoulders and move
on.

672
00:39:56,120 –> 00:39:58,040
We hid, as it were, our faces
from Him.

673
00:39:59,440 –> 00:40:05,000
Isaiah 53 has a centre point and
it looks like this.

674
00:40:05,880 –> 00:40:10,120
Tried to keep you away from
chiasms this week, but but

675
00:40:10,120 –> 00:40:12,240
here’s 1 and I and I think it
works.

676
00:40:12,600 –> 00:40:14,840
You can begin to work this in
and I’ll make sure the slides

677
00:40:14,840 –> 00:40:17,560
become available.
But all of those phrases, one by

678
00:40:17,560 –> 00:40:20,480
one just track US into the
centre part of this song.

679
00:40:21,120 –> 00:40:24,920
You can, if you are are
interested, break the 4th song

680
00:40:24,920 –> 00:40:29,320
down into 5 sections, 3 verses
in each of those five sections.

681
00:40:29,640 –> 00:40:32,920
But the centre point is there in
verse 7 where the Lord is LED

682
00:40:33,160 –> 00:40:36,720
like a lamb to the slaughter.
It takes us to the very heart,

683
00:40:36,960 –> 00:40:39,680
my brothers and sisters, of the
paradox of liberty.

684
00:40:40,720 –> 00:40:43,880
Because physically he is led to
the cross.

685
00:40:44,240 –> 00:40:47,000
We know that.
In fact there is an implication

686
00:40:47,000 –> 00:40:49,520
that they have to half carry him
there because of what they’ve

687
00:40:49,520 –> 00:40:51,600
done to him.
And he can barely bear the cross

688
00:40:51,600 –> 00:40:53,400
bare.
That’s why Simon of Cyrene is

689
00:40:53,400 –> 00:40:57,040
called out of the crowd, because
he can’t take it by himself.

690
00:40:57,040 –> 00:41:00,240
He has to have some help
physically.

691
00:41:00,240 –> 00:41:05,720
They get in there spiritually.
He’s the one directing events.

692
00:41:06,040 –> 00:41:09,040
I have the power to lay down my
life and I will take it up

693
00:41:09,040 –> 00:41:12,120
again.
He bowed his head and he gave up

694
00:41:12,120 –> 00:41:14,560
the spirit.
It’s the difference between

695
00:41:15,040 –> 00:41:19,560
being told to go to your death.
I’m voluntarily choosing to do

696
00:41:19,560 –> 00:41:21,840
so.
This is the servant who has

697
00:41:21,840 –> 00:41:23,720
given everything over to his
master.

698
00:41:24,520 –> 00:41:28,360
Everything now matters because
he realises that the Lord is all

699
00:41:28,360 –> 00:41:34,360
things.
Isaiah 53 or or the the the 4th

700
00:41:34,360 –> 00:41:40,640
song, as we should probably call
it, is quoted in all manner of

701
00:41:40,640 –> 00:41:44,320
places in the New Testament, as
if to say we should focus our

702
00:41:44,320 –> 00:41:46,920
attention on this perhaps more
than any other place when we

703
00:41:46,920 –> 00:41:48,080
think about the Lord’s
suffering.

704
00:41:49,120 –> 00:41:53,360
And and as we break into the
very heart of the song, as we

705
00:41:53,360 –> 00:41:55,680
read about how he’s LED like a
lamb to the slaughter, the

706
00:41:55,680 –> 00:42:00,080
realization comes to.
Us that the servant suffering

707
00:42:01,120 –> 00:42:04,160
was for you and I.
You were there when they

708
00:42:04,160 –> 00:42:10,080
crucified our Lord.
And the gospel writers and the

709
00:42:10,080 –> 00:42:15,680
Lord himself, and Philip in Acts
and Paul in his letters, and the

710
00:42:15,680 –> 00:42:19,600
Hebrew writers as well, all want
us to come back to this place

711
00:42:20,160 –> 00:42:23,720
and see something remarkable
happening to the place where the

712
00:42:23,720 –> 00:42:28,160
Lord gives everything of himself
for his brothers and sisters.

713
00:42:28,720 –> 00:42:30,400
Can I bring you to First Peter
chapter 1?

714
00:42:42,960 –> 00:42:45,800
The most of of all those places,
the most sustained quote is the

715
00:42:45,800 –> 00:42:48,640
one that’s in the bottom of the
list there at the end of of one

716
00:42:48,640 –> 00:42:50,800
Peter chapter 2.
But I want to start in one Peter

717
00:42:50,800 –> 00:42:57,120
1 because if we drop in in the
middle of a in the middle of a

718
00:42:57,120 –> 00:43:00,120
sentence, we can read about how
Peter tells us of the prophets

719
00:43:00,120 –> 00:43:02,360
of old time verse 10, one Peter
1.

720
00:43:02,560 –> 00:43:06,240
The prophets inquired and
searched diligently, prophesying

721
00:43:06,240 –> 00:43:10,320
of the grace we should come to
you searching what or what

722
00:43:10,320 –> 00:43:12,480
manner of time the Spirit of
Christ which was in them,

723
00:43:12,480 –> 00:43:17,120
signified when it testified
beforehand the sufferings of

724
00:43:17,120 –> 00:43:19,640
Christ and the glory that shall
follow.

725
00:43:19,640 –> 00:43:21,480
Now you can apply that
expression to lots and lots of

726
00:43:21,480 –> 00:43:22,720
Old Testament passages, but I
think.

727
00:43:22,720 –> 00:43:25,200
Because of where Peter was going
to lead us, he’s.

728
00:43:25,200 –> 00:43:28,480
Specifically talking about the
fourth of those servant songs.

729
00:43:29,040 –> 00:43:35,040
It’s a letter about submission.
In other words, a letter about

730
00:43:35,040 –> 00:43:40,000
making yourself not free.
So look at chapter 2 and verse

731
00:43:40,000 –> 00:43:42,640
13.
Submit yourselves to every

732
00:43:42,640 –> 00:43:44,920
ordinance of man for the Lord’s
sake.

733
00:43:46,920 –> 00:43:50,240
Submit yourself to the king as
supreme, or to governors as unto

734
00:43:50,240 –> 00:43:52,720
him who are sent by the
punishment of for the punishment

735
00:43:52,800 –> 00:43:56,280
of evil doers.
Verse 18, Servants, be subject

736
00:43:56,280 –> 00:43:59,160
to your masters with all fear,
not only the good and the

737
00:43:59,160 –> 00:44:01,520
gentle, but also the froward.
And now we know how to read that

738
00:44:01,520 –> 00:44:04,600
in light of Exodus 21.
So it’s not about abusing your

739
00:44:04,600 –> 00:44:06,520
employees.
It’s got a bigger context.

740
00:44:07,360 –> 00:44:09,560
So you’d be subject to the king,
you’re subject to the governors,

741
00:44:09,560 –> 00:44:13,320
you’re subject to your masters.
Chapter 3 and verse one wives be

742
00:44:13,320 –> 00:44:17,840
subject to your own husbands,
which is a verse that we tend to

743
00:44:17,840 –> 00:44:20,640
take in isolation and get all
funny about.

744
00:44:20,640 –> 00:44:23,320
But actually it’s in a long line
of verses telling us about

745
00:44:23,320 –> 00:44:27,040
people submitting to each other
and chapter 5 and verse 5

746
00:44:27,840 –> 00:44:30,440
younger submit yourselves to the
elder.

747
00:44:30,440 –> 00:44:33,880
It’s in light of ecclesial
activities and how ecclesial

748
00:44:33,880 –> 00:44:36,920
members are encouraged to submit
themselves to ecclesial elders.

749
00:44:37,880 –> 00:44:40,320
Because God is sanctifying
decisions that ecclesial elders

750
00:44:40,320 –> 00:44:43,160
make.
This is a letter about making

751
00:44:43,160 –> 00:44:47,840
ourselves not free and and as I
keep talking about the goodness

752
00:44:47,840 –> 00:44:49,600
of constraints and how this is
a.

753
00:44:49,600 –> 00:44:53,280
World that doesn’t seem to have
any chapter 2 tells us why we

754
00:44:53,280 –> 00:44:57,680
try to do it 2 verse 15 so is
the will of God that with well

755
00:44:57,680 –> 00:45:02,400
doing you may put to silence the
ignorance of foolish men as free

756
00:45:02,880 –> 00:45:05,200
and not using your liberty as a
cloak of maliciousness and we’ve

757
00:45:05,320 –> 00:45:10,600
picked up that verse earlier on
in the week it’s done to silence

758
00:45:10,640 –> 00:45:14,400
those who don’t understand and.
And and this is a letter that

759
00:45:14,400 –> 00:45:16,680
turns around that servant song.
You remember the one who was

760
00:45:16,680 –> 00:45:21,320
silent.
We submit, we give up our

761
00:45:21,320 –> 00:45:23,320
liberty in all the ways we’ve
been talking about through

762
00:45:23,320 –> 00:45:27,040
these, through these sessions,
in order that we might make

763
00:45:27,040 –> 00:45:30,320
others silent, in order that
they might look in awe at the

764
00:45:30,320 –> 00:45:33,480
God of all the earth.
Now you’re not going to.

765
00:45:33,480 –> 00:45:35,640
Like this slide, it’s very tiny.
It’s really just there as a

766
00:45:35,640 –> 00:45:37,560
hold.
OK, if you want it later, but it

767
00:45:37,560 –> 00:45:40,920
will tell us about all the
different ways in which Peter is

768
00:45:40,920 –> 00:45:42,520
going to pick up that Servant’s
song.

769
00:45:42,760 –> 00:45:45,120
I’ll bring you down to verse 21
in chapter 2 and we’ll just read

770
00:45:45,120 –> 00:45:48,400
it through for even hereunto
were ye called because Christ

771
00:45:48,400 –> 00:45:51,920
also suffered for us, leaving us
an example that you should

772
00:45:51,920 –> 00:45:55,360
follow his steps and you can put
your Isaiah 53 antenna up and we

773
00:45:55,360 –> 00:45:57,720
can just work our way through.
He did no sin.

774
00:45:58,120 –> 00:45:59,760
Neither was guile found in his
mouth.

775
00:46:00,240 –> 00:46:03,760
Who when he was reviled, reviled
not again when he suffered, he

776
00:46:03,760 –> 00:46:06,640
threatened not, but he committed
himself to him who judges

777
00:46:06,640 –> 00:46:11,600
righteously, Who his own self
bear our sins in his own body on

778
00:46:11,600 –> 00:46:14,960
the tree, that we, being dead to
sin, should live unto

779
00:46:14,960 –> 00:46:17,920
righteousness.
By whose stripes you were

780
00:46:17,920 –> 00:46:22,320
healed, For you were his sheep
going astray, but now are

781
00:46:22,320 –> 00:46:25,320
restored.
Remember that idea of freedom,

782
00:46:25,720 –> 00:46:29,600
putting people back where they
belong, but now are restored to

783
00:46:29,600 –> 00:46:32,320
the Shepherd and the Overseer of
your souls?

784
00:46:32,680 –> 00:46:35,400
The question that was asked in
Mark chapter 12, when the Lord

785
00:46:35,800 –> 00:46:38,320
tells the parable of the
vineyard, remember the owner

786
00:46:38,320 –> 00:46:41,640
goes into a far country and he
sends his servants 1 by 1.

787
00:46:41,640 –> 00:46:44,800
And the first one gets beaten
and sent away and the second one

788
00:46:44,800 –> 00:46:47,360
gets killed.
And there is a whole series of

789
00:46:47,360 –> 00:46:49,680
servants going backwards and
forth to the to the vineyard to

790
00:46:49,680 –> 00:46:52,440
work out what’s going on.
And finally, when there are no

791
00:46:52,440 –> 00:46:58,080
more servants left, the master
says, I’m going to send my son.

792
00:47:00,440 –> 00:47:03,680
And you and I, who know what’s
happening, sit there tearing

793
00:47:03,680 –> 00:47:07,120
whatever little hair I have left
out and saying don’t do it,

794
00:47:07,120 –> 00:47:11,040
Lord, because they’ve beaten the
other guys and Chuck rocks at

795
00:47:11,040 –> 00:47:12,480
them and thrown them out and
killed them.

796
00:47:12,480 –> 00:47:17,480
Don’t do it Lord.
Don’t send the son having yet

797
00:47:17,480 –> 00:47:18,960
therefore one son who’s well
beloved.

798
00:47:18,960 –> 00:47:22,320
He sent them, lost them to them,
saying they will reverence my

799
00:47:22,320 –> 00:47:25,440
son.
And they just shrugged their

800
00:47:25,440 –> 00:47:29,320
shoulders and moved on.
And they didn’t want to know

801
00:47:29,320 –> 00:47:32,400
anything about him.
That was that list.

802
00:47:32,640 –> 00:47:35,840
Of references that we had all
the way through Isaiah 40 to 50.

803
00:47:35,840 –> 00:47:39,000
Five and if I just bring you in
to the bid at the end and bring

804
00:47:39,000 –> 00:47:41,600
you back please to Isaiah 53,
we’re going to see something

805
00:47:41,920 –> 00:47:43,440
just to round us off this
morning.

806
00:47:45,760 –> 00:47:51,080
Come back to Isaiah 53.
There is one more thing because

807
00:47:51,080 –> 00:47:55,000
all the way through the songs.
All the way through these

808
00:47:55,000 –> 00:47:57,040
passages that tell us of the
national servant and the

809
00:47:57,040 –> 00:47:59,640
passages that tell us of the
individual servant, we are only

810
00:47:59,640 –> 00:48:02,920
ever reading of an individual
servant in every single place

811
00:48:04,560 –> 00:48:07,640
except for one.
And it’s the very last

812
00:48:07,680 –> 00:48:10,600
occurrence that you can see
there on the screen. 54 and

813
00:48:10,600 –> 00:48:13,240
verse 17 where it changes.
Why?

814
00:48:14,480 –> 00:48:16,760
Well, the answers at the end of
Isaiah 53 answer.

815
00:48:16,880 –> 00:48:21,160
At the end of the fourth song,
verse 10 of 53, it pleased the

816
00:48:21,160 –> 00:48:23,560
Lord to bruise him.
He’s put him to grief.

817
00:48:24,160 –> 00:48:26,080
When thou shalt make his soul an
offering for sin.

818
00:48:26,080 –> 00:48:30,360
He shall see his seed, He shall
prolong his days, and the

819
00:48:30,360 –> 00:48:34,440
pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand, healthy the

820
00:48:34,440 –> 00:48:37,480
travail of his soul, and be
satisfied by his knowledge.

821
00:48:37,480 –> 00:48:39,880
Shall my righteous servant
justify many?

822
00:48:40,240 –> 00:48:42,360
Now all of the focus comes back
to the servant.

823
00:48:42,360 –> 00:48:44,280
He’s done the work.
He’s been to the cross.

824
00:48:45,080 –> 00:48:47,600
He’s been numbered with the
transgressors.

825
00:48:47,600 –> 00:48:50,360
Verse 12.
He’s borne the sins of many.

826
00:48:50,600 –> 00:48:52,720
He’s made intercession for the
transgressors.

827
00:48:53,040 –> 00:48:55,640
And all of our focus on this
idea of service and liberty and

828
00:48:55,640 –> 00:49:00,160
freedom comes to this point and
this moment because suddenly

829
00:49:00,160 –> 00:49:02,840
he’s described in an altogether
different way.

830
00:49:04,120 –> 00:49:08,680
He’s not a servant now.
He is a righteous servant

831
00:49:10,120 –> 00:49:14,640
because the work has been done.
He has obeyed his master.

832
00:49:14,640 –> 00:49:16,640
He has gone to the cross and.
Everything has been

833
00:49:16,640 –> 00:49:19,120
accomplished.
Because of what he does in the

834
00:49:19,120 –> 00:49:21,680
fourth song, He is a righteous
servant.

835
00:49:21,680 –> 00:49:24,160
And you know what, Brothers and
sisters, never again in the rest

836
00:49:24,160 –> 00:49:26,880
of Isaiah’s prophecy.
Well, Isaiah describe any

837
00:49:26,880 –> 00:49:30,280
individual servant again, every
single time he’s going to talk

838
00:49:30,280 –> 00:49:32,000
about servants, plural.
Why?

839
00:49:32,200 –> 00:49:34,920
Because he has died, That he
might bring many sons to glory.

840
00:49:37,400 –> 00:49:40,240
This is the work of the master.
This is the work of the King,

841
00:49:40,880 –> 00:49:48,720
the one who came well not to be
served, but to serve and to give

842
00:49:48,720 –> 00:49:54,680
his life as a ransom for many.
There is only one who can fulfil

843
00:49:54,680 –> 00:49:58,680
true freedom, and the effect of
his work is that it brings us

844
00:49:58,680 –> 00:50:03,360
into the family of God.
Freedom principle #8 Just in

845
00:50:03,360 –> 00:50:04,600
case you thought I’d forgotten
this.

846
00:50:06,120 –> 00:50:09,840
We choose service because of the
character of God’s servant,

847
00:50:10,760 –> 00:50:14,160
because we can do nothing else.
When we see this altogether

848
00:50:14,160 –> 00:50:20,000
lovely man but fall down at his
feet, we can choose no other

849
00:50:20,000 –> 00:50:22,800
path other than doing as Peter
says and following in his

850
00:50:22,800 –> 00:50:26,400
footsteps.
The one who who becomes obedient

851
00:50:26,400 –> 00:50:27,800
to death and gives up his
freedom.

852
00:50:28,480 –> 00:50:32,680
The one who is bound, like the
sacrifice of Psalm 118.

853
00:50:32,880 –> 00:50:36,600
The one who leads captivity
captive and gets gifts for men.

854
00:50:36,600 –> 00:50:38,840
The one who leads his people in
triumphant procession.

855
00:50:40,120 –> 00:50:43,880
The one who can’t be bound, held
in the grave, as Peter says in

856
00:50:43,880 –> 00:50:47,520
Acts 2.
The one who causes everybody to

857
00:50:47,520 –> 00:50:52,480
bow before him and give up their
freedom because you and I,

858
00:50:52,480 –> 00:50:54,920
brothers and sisters, who all
our lifetimes were subject to

859
00:50:54,920 –> 00:50:58,640
bondage, are set free by the
love of our Heavenly Father.

860
00:51:00,800 –> 00:51:05,440
May it be as we continue our
week, enjoy our company, enjoy

861
00:51:05,480 –> 00:51:09,240
our fellowship, that God would
work in our hearts and awareness

862
00:51:09,240 –> 00:51:13,040
of our own sin and the
insufficiency of our abilities,

863
00:51:13,600 –> 00:51:17,160
and that we might put everything
we have onto the Son who gave

864
00:51:17,160 –> 00:51:18,160
all things for us.