WEBVTT 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:05.639 And good morning everybody it is so great to be together. I can't see you 00:00:05.639 --> 00:00:09.800 right now but a few minutes ago I could see a whole bunch of the Watermark family 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:16.080 I saw Mimi and Huilin and Oscar and the Lao family and a whole bunch of others 00:00:16.080 --> 00:00:21.000 it's really great to in a small way be able to see people face to face even 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:26.000 through this technological medium. And just to say thank you so much for your 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:30.620 grace and your flexibility. I wish in some ways we could communicate these 00:00:30.620 --> 00:00:35.480 things weeks in advance and have a well organized communication a strategy weeks 00:00:35.480 --> 00:00:39.500 and months ahead but just your flexibility your grace thank you so 00:00:39.500 --> 00:00:45.659 much we appreciate it and thank you for that. Now this morning we are starting as 00:00:45.659 --> 00:00:49.519 Chris said our Advent series and the word Advent comes from the Latin word 00:00:49.519 --> 00:00:55.100 Adventus which means coming and it's the period in the Christian calendar when we 00:00:55.100 --> 00:01:00.820 celebrate the coming of Christ. And we're going to be doing that over the next 00:01:00.820 --> 00:01:03.719 couple of weeks by looking at the Old Testament book of Isaiah. 00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:08.740 Now that may sound strange because if you know much about the Bible it's the New 00:01:08.740 --> 00:01:11.219 Testament that really talks about Jesus and his coming. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:15.740 Why would we look at the Old Testament book? This book that is written 700 years 00:01:15.740 --> 00:01:21.020 before Jesus came. Well Augustine who lived in the fourth century was one of the 00:01:21.019 --> 00:01:25.840 first to say that the book of Isaiah is the fifth gospel along with Matthew, Mark, Luke 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:31.379 and John because it's just so full and rich of the story of the good news of the 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:35.979 gospel of Jesus. And so stick with us of the couple of next couple of weeks as we 00:01:35.979 --> 00:01:41.039 work through Isaiah together. Today we're going to be looking at this amazing 00:01:41.039 --> 00:01:47.000 passage in Isaiah chapter 42 and the main passages verses 1 to 9. We're going to focus 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:52.579 on verses 1 to 4. If you have your Bible open with you grab Isaiah chapter 42. If you've 00:01:52.579 --> 00:01:56.420 got the bulletin open up there and we're going to work through this passage together. But 00:01:56.420 --> 00:02:00.219 I wonder if you can just join me in a moment of prayer. Let's ask God to speak to us from 00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:05.740 his word now. So let's pray together. Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, we come 00:02:05.740 --> 00:02:11.699 before you this morning and we come before your word not just to learn some advice, not just 00:02:11.699 --> 00:02:16.420 to share someone's opinion. We want to come and meet with you in your word. God we want 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:21.919 to be astounded by the beauty of Jesus. As we look at this Old Testament message of 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:27.619 Isaiah, hundreds of years before you came Jesus, we want to have our eyes open to see 00:02:27.619 --> 00:02:32.500 you freshly for who you are, to understand what your coming was all about. And so God 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:37.459 I pray for myself, I pray for us in the room, I pray for those of us spread across Hong Kong. 00:02:37.619 --> 00:02:41.859 Won't you minister to us? Won't you open the eyes of our heart? God won't you help us to 00:02:41.860 --> 00:02:47.140 see in your word what you want us to see. We pray these things in your powerful, your 00:02:47.140 --> 00:02:55.700 majestic and your gentle name. Amen. Amen. Now, as we dive into Isaiah 42, let me give you 00:02:55.700 --> 00:03:00.820 just a little bit of context about what's going on here. The first half of the book of Isaiah 00:03:00.820 --> 00:03:08.820 can be quite difficult reading. And it's because it's detailing or chronicling the rampant problems 00:03:08.819 --> 00:03:14.900 that the nation of Israel are facing. Israel is on a downward spiral and things are going 00:03:14.900 --> 00:03:21.699 from bad to worse. There is social unrest, there is injustice and corruption. The strong are taking 00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:27.459 advantage of the weak, the rich are abusing the poor, the leaders, both civic leaders and religious 00:03:27.459 --> 00:03:32.819 leaders are just thinking about themselves, not caring about the people. And where the nation of Israel 00:03:32.819 --> 00:03:38.900 Israel was meant to be a light of hope to the nations around them, actually Israel has become 00:03:38.900 --> 00:03:44.340 just like the nations around them. They've become just as corrupt, just as unjust. There's no distinction 00:03:44.340 --> 00:03:50.900 between Israel and the surrounding nations around them. And so Isaiah comes with this message, 00:03:50.900 --> 00:03:55.859 but he doesn't come with a message that just says, pull your socks up or sort yourselves out. 00:03:55.859 --> 00:04:00.419 He doesn't even come with a moral message or a message of how to improve their behavior. 00:04:00.419 --> 00:04:07.539 Isaiah, he tells them that what they're going through is actually the consequences of a far 00:04:07.539 --> 00:04:13.779 deeper problem. Isaiah diagnoses the root cause of what's going on in the nation of Israel. 00:04:14.099 --> 00:04:19.459 And he says that the root cause is actually the abandoning of their faithfulness to God. 00:04:19.459 --> 00:04:24.899 The fact that they've run after and hope and trusted in foreign gods and foreign idols. 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:29.939 And the scriptures all throughout the Bible, Old Testament, New Testament tell us again, 00:04:29.939 --> 00:04:34.339 and again, that fundamentally what's wrong with the world and what's wrong with ourselves. 00:04:34.980 --> 00:04:40.180 It's just not just what we see on the surface, but it's actually the condition of our hearts, 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:46.259 that those who trust in worthless idols become worthless themselves. Those who trust in false 00:04:46.259 --> 00:04:52.259 gods become false themselves. And so for centuries, God has been speaking to the people of Israel, 00:04:52.259 --> 00:04:58.899 warning them, calling them, beckoning them, summing them back to himself, but all to no avail. 00:04:59.459 --> 00:05:06.740 And so eventually God brings upon Israel this final act of discipline, this final mechanism to bring them 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:12.899 back to himself, which is that he brings this army, the Babylonian army from the north. They come down 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:19.379 and they conquer Jerusalem. They destroy the temple. They destroy the city of Jerusalem, 00:05:19.379 --> 00:05:24.979 and they take most of the nation of Israel back to Babylon as forced exiles. 00:05:26.179 --> 00:05:30.659 And that's really what the first half of Isaiah is all about, about this warning that the Babylonians 00:05:30.659 --> 00:05:38.259 are coming, this ruthless nation is coming unless Israel repents. But then in Isaiah chapter 40, 00:05:38.259 --> 00:05:44.819 things change. There's a shift. And the second half of the book of Isaiah is all about, is written to 00:05:44.819 --> 00:05:51.060 those in exile, those who are stuck in Babylon. And it's written to tell them that though they feel 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:57.459 abandoned, though they feel forsaken, God has not forgotten them. God is going to bring healing and 00:05:57.459 --> 00:06:04.180 redemption and restoration. God is going to restore them and revive them. And so remember how Isaiah chapter 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:09.699 40 starts, it starts with these famous words. We should have it on the slide here. It says, 00:06:09.699 --> 00:06:16.500 comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her warfare 00:06:16.500 --> 00:06:23.540 is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned. And so the second half of Isaiah is all about God's message of 00:06:23.540 --> 00:06:31.139 hope and redemption and restoration. Except God is going to do it through a very unusual means. 00:06:31.139 --> 00:06:40.500 He's going to do it through the work or the ministry of some agent, some agent that he calls his servant. 00:06:41.219 --> 00:06:46.579 And the rest of Isaiah describes the work of the servant. And in the book of Isaiah, there are four 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:53.740 passages that describe the redemptive healing work of this servant agent of God and how it is that this 00:06:53.740 --> 00:06:58.740 servant is going to bring the redemption, the restoration that Israel, in fact, the world needs. 00:06:58.740 --> 00:07:04.900 And so the first of those passages is Isaiah 42 and we get to look at it today. And so look at how 00:07:04.900 --> 00:07:15.920 it starts off. Verse one, God says, behold, my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:24.259 delights. This servant that God is sending is not self-appointed. He has been destined, almost predestined 00:07:24.259 --> 00:07:30.779 by God. And he's one that he says, my soul delights in him. It speaks of this intimate relationship that 00:07:30.779 --> 00:07:37.060 God has with this servant agent of his that's going to bring healing to his people. He says, behold, 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:43.259 my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. 00:07:43.699 --> 00:07:50.300 He will bring forth justice to the nations. Now, as we said, God's people are in serious trouble. 00:07:50.300 --> 00:07:55.360 They need a deliverer. They need a rescuer. But what they don't need is someone who's just going 00:07:55.360 --> 00:08:01.199 to bring them some good advice. What they need is someone who's going to put what's wrong right again. 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:09.060 In other words, what they need is a king. In the Old Testament, the kings of Israel were those that 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:15.220 would lead God's people to flourishing and to abundance. God always spoke about his people, 00:08:15.220 --> 00:08:21.640 his kings as his servants. Those who were empowered by the Holy Spirit, who led in the power and 00:08:21.640 --> 00:08:29.080 dependence on the Spirit, would lead his people from death to life, from difficulty to wellness as 00:08:29.080 --> 00:08:34.860 they rested on God. And the reason is because as Israel's kings went, so went the nation. 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:40.680 When Israel's kings were faithful, God's people flourished and prospered. When Israel's kings were 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:48.059 corrupt and unjust, the nation felt the consequences and the pain and the heartache correspondingly. 00:08:48.459 --> 00:08:54.039 In fact, the very reason that Israel's in trouble is because their kings are such a mess. And so 00:08:54.039 --> 00:08:59.719 that's what this passage is about, that God is promising this servant king, one who is going to 00:08:59.719 --> 00:09:05.659 walk in the power of the Spirit, who's going to lead God's people, one about whom God can finally say, 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:13.459 with you my servant, am I well pleased. But look what the servant will do. Look at verse 1. It says, 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:20.899 he will bring forth justice to the nations. Verse 3 says, he will faithfully bring forth justice. Verse 4 00:09:20.899 --> 00:09:28.219 says, he will not grow faint or be discouraged until he has established justice on the earth. Central to 00:09:28.219 --> 00:09:33.339 his message, central to his mission, is the fact that this servant king is going to be one who brings 00:09:33.340 --> 00:09:40.340 some kind of justice to his broken and hurting people. Now the Hebrew word for justice is the 00:09:40.340 --> 00:09:46.860 word mishpah. And it's a notoriously difficult word to translate because it's used in so many varied 00:09:46.860 --> 00:09:53.440 ways and different contexts. But broadly speaking, theologians tell us that the Hebrew word mishpah 00:09:53.440 --> 00:10:01.120 means to restore or to put right again what is wrong. To take something that's not right and to make it 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:08.460 right again. Some scholars tell us that the word mishpah means for things to operate according to 00:10:08.460 --> 00:10:15.360 God's right order, how he planned them to be. And so it's to take things that are out of sync with God's 00:10:15.360 --> 00:10:21.179 order and to restore them to his original plan. There's one famous example in the book of Exodus where 00:10:21.179 --> 00:10:27.080 God gives these instructions to Moses for how his temple is to be built. And he gives him a plan, 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:33.759 a blueprint. He gives him a mishpah, a plan for what God has intended design is for his temple. 00:10:34.680 --> 00:10:42.139 Well friends, God has a plan, a blueprint for humanity, for society, how he wants things to run 00:10:42.139 --> 00:10:47.960 that people may flourish, that we may prosper and enjoy the blessing and the happiness that God plans 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:54.840 for us. And it was Israel's abandoning of this blueprint, the plan that had led to their current 00:10:54.840 --> 00:11:01.100 state. And not only their exile in Babylon, but the injustice, the corruption, the brokenness of 00:11:01.100 --> 00:11:09.040 their society. And this is the message of Isaiah, that God is going to send a servant king, one who 00:11:09.040 --> 00:11:14.519 would put right what is wrong again. For those who would receive him, God would restore the brokenness 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:21.580 of the world. God's blueprint plan will be for one to come who will undo the horrendous and the 00:11:21.580 --> 00:11:27.520 degrading effects of sin in the world, who will restore the dignity and the freedom that God's 00:11:27.520 --> 00:11:33.120 children are meant to enjoy as his sons and his daughters of God. This is the JD, the job description 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:39.940 of God's servant king. Friends, as we think about our own world and our own lives, don't we all long 00:11:39.940 --> 00:11:47.560 for such a king? In the Bible, the result of God's justice is this other beautiful Hebrew word, God's 00:11:47.560 --> 00:11:54.100 shalom. Shalom means so much more than just peace. It means wholeness or well-being. That God, when he 00:11:54.100 --> 00:12:01.080 brings his justice, leads to shalom. Friends, don't we long for a shalom in our world, in our city, in our 00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:07.460 own hearts, where the anger and the mistrust that divide families and churches and societies will subside, 00:12:07.460 --> 00:12:14.060 with the disappointment and the resentment and the bitterness and the unforgiveness, where a breakdown 00:12:14.060 --> 00:12:21.780 of relationship can fade away and restoration can come. This is what God's servant king was to bring, 00:12:22.160 --> 00:12:29.860 a kingdom of justice. Now, in the ancient world, kings were establishing their kingdoms all the time. 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:34.940 And the way that kings would establish their kingdom is through the defeat of their enemies. 00:12:34.940 --> 00:12:41.260 And in the ancient world, the more ruthless a king and his army were, the more successful they were in 00:12:41.260 --> 00:12:47.040 establishing their kingdom. Now, at the time of Isaiah, there's two kind of predominant kingdoms. 00:12:47.220 --> 00:12:52.940 There's the Assyrian kingdom first, which was overthrown by the Babylonian kingdom. And the Babylonians, 00:12:53.660 --> 00:13:00.780 if you remember the book of Habakkuk, he describes them as that bitter and hasty nation. Those who seize dwellings 00:13:00.779 --> 00:13:06.819 that are not their own. Those who, the dreaded and fearsome nation who come only for violence. 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:12.480 That's how the Babylonians are described. And the Babylonians became the world's superpower of the day 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:20.659 by smashing the Assyrian empire. They marched into Nineveh, overthrew the capital, killed the Assyrian 00:13:20.659 --> 00:13:26.019 king and established their power. The Egyptian army then thought, well, this isn't very good. So they 00:13:26.019 --> 00:13:31.419 marched up north to challenge the Babylonians and the Babylonians crushed the Egyptians at the battle 00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:39.699 of Qashemesh in around 608 BC. And then Babylon wasn't satisfied with them. They marched further 00:13:39.699 --> 00:13:46.819 south and destroyed Jerusalem and overtook Judea and took all the Israelites as exiles back to Babylon. 00:13:46.820 --> 00:13:52.260 This is how it worked in the ancient world. This is how kings established their kingdom. 00:13:53.879 --> 00:13:59.240 But look at this servant king. There's something different about him. There's something unique about him. 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:06.120 Here is a king, a servant king, who's going to liberate Israel from his enemies. One who's going to defeat 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:12.680 their foes and bring freedom and justice to the oppressed. Who's going to restore God's people back and bring 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:18.859 them dignity and freedom that they had hoped and longed for. But he does it in a way that no other king does it. 00:14:19.479 --> 00:14:25.879 Rather than coming with war and might, rather than summoning an army, here's a king who's going to come in 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:33.479 gentleness. He's going to come full of mercy. Here's a king that rather than bringing war horses, he's going to come 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:41.600 with grace. Look at what verse 2 says. He says, he will not cry aloud or lift up his voice. He will not make it heard 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:48.539 in the streets. In other words, he's not going to come with a big fuss. A bruised reed he will not break. 00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:54.759 A faintly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. 00:14:54.759 --> 00:15:01.799 This word from Isaiah is getting stranger and stranger because this coming servant king is going 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:06.639 to be one who's going to liberate God's people. He's going to push back darkness. He's going to 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:12.539 restore justice and righteousness to the nation. And yet he's going to do so not by way of revolution, 00:15:12.919 --> 00:15:21.779 but as we said, by mercy. A bruised reed he will not break. It's the image of a plant or maybe a branch, 00:15:21.779 --> 00:15:27.360 maybe a tree branch that has been broken and has been trampled, maybe in a typhoon or somebody 00:15:27.360 --> 00:15:33.419 walked in and broke this branch or this flower. But at first you pick it up and as you pick it up, 00:15:33.459 --> 00:15:39.319 you recognize it just falls over. It's flat. It has no power. And what you're tempted to do is you pick 00:15:39.319 --> 00:15:44.839 up this flower or this branch that you think is going to be sturdy instead and stable, and yet it's 00:15:44.839 --> 00:15:51.120 crushed and broken. You cast it aside. You throw it away. It has no use. But here's going to come a 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:56.700 servant king. He's going to come to the broken, those that feel abused, those that feel forsaken 00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:07.560 and abandoned, those who feel broken and downtrodden. And he's not going to cast them aside. He's going 00:16:07.560 --> 00:16:12.940 to nurse them back to health. He's going to restore them. He's going to bring healing. 00:16:14.580 --> 00:16:20.480 Isaiah talks about this faintly burning wick, and it's the image of a candle that has burnt itself down. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:26.740 It's got no resources to replenish itself. And the wick is smoldering. It's flickering. It's about to go 00:16:26.740 --> 00:16:31.920 out because it cannot replenish itself. Here will come a servant king. Rather than just blowing it out 00:16:31.920 --> 00:16:38.519 and throwing it away, he will pour himself into it. He will replenish itself by pouring his own very self 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:45.659 and restoring it that it can burn brightly again. Friends, just think about the way that our world 00:16:45.659 --> 00:16:51.579 works. We live in a city that is dog-eat-dog. We live in a city in which if you don't trample others, 00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:55.559 they'll trample you. I remember when I first moved to Hong Kong, somebody said to me, 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:01.860 in this city, second sucks. There's no place for being second or third best. If you're not best, 00:17:01.959 --> 00:17:07.740 you get left behind. Friend, here is a king who's going to establish a kingdom. Here is a king who's 00:17:07.740 --> 00:17:13.420 going to bring justice and righteousness to the world. But he's going to do it by coming after those 00:17:13.420 --> 00:17:17.940 that feel abandoned. He's not going to do it in the way that other kingdoms do it. He's going to 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:23.039 revitalize this nation. He's going to come to those that have no strength and he's going to 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:27.660 bring and incorporate those that have got nothing to add to his kingdom. Those that have no strength 00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:32.840 to bring. He does not cast them aside. He doesn't throw them out. He restores them to health. 00:17:33.380 --> 00:17:39.779 And he has the time and the care and the compassion to bring those that the world considers as forgotten 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:44.019 and useless and meanless. And he breathes fresh life into them. 00:17:44.899 --> 00:17:50.220 Friends, imagine what our world would look like, what our city would look like, what our own homes 00:17:50.220 --> 00:17:57.259 and hearts would look like if we were to encounter such a king. But there's something else that's 00:17:57.259 --> 00:18:04.299 unusual about this king. It seems that somehow this servant king's mission will involve some kind of 00:18:04.299 --> 00:18:10.839 suffering. Because Isaiah in verse 4 is using a play on words here. And what he's going to say is 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:17.339 he's suggesting that this servant king is going to experience the very brokenness that he's come to 00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:25.220 heal in his people. Look at how he says here. He says, a bruised reed he will not break, a faintly burning 00:18:25.220 --> 00:18:30.940 or a flickering wick he will not quench till he is faintly brought forth justice. And then he says, 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:38.539 he himself will not flicker, it's the same word, he himself will not be bruised until he has established 00:18:38.539 --> 00:18:44.180 justice on the earth and the coastlands wait for his law. Now do you see what Isaiah is saying here? 00:18:44.660 --> 00:18:50.680 He's using this clever plain words to communicate that as he looks into the future, somehow, somewhere, 00:18:50.680 --> 00:18:56.519 at some point in the future, God is going to send this servant king who is going to establish 00:18:56.519 --> 00:19:00.860 justice on the earth. He's going to bring shalom to the weary. He's going to bring 00:19:00.859 --> 00:19:07.839 wholeness to those that feel outcast. He's going to lift up and build up and bring healing to the 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:12.319 weary and justice to the oppressed, freedom to the enslaved. He's not going to do it through 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:19.519 revolutionary power. He's going to do it by taking upon himself the very brokenness, the very bruising 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:26.299 that his people are experiencing. That's causing his people to languish and suffer. He's going to take 00:19:26.299 --> 00:19:32.059 that upon himself. He says, he will heal their bruising by allowing himself to be bruised. 00:19:32.619 --> 00:19:39.200 He will restore their flickering light by allowing himself, his own light to flicker, even to be 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:47.279 snuffed out. And yet, that won't hinder his mission. It won't stop what he's come to do, because look at what 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:53.519 it says. It says, he will not grow faint or flicker. He will not be completely destroyed, discouraged or 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:59.119 bruised until he has established justice on earth, until he has accomplished what he's come to do. 00:19:59.460 --> 00:20:06.480 It won't stop his mission. In fact, it seems that his suffering, his bruising, will be the very means 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:12.279 by which he accomplishes his mission. His very bruising will be the means by which he brings healing 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:18.519 to those that are bruised and discouraged and hurt and broken. His very injustice that he bears upon 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:25.879 himself will be the means by which he brings justice and wholeness and shalom to those that need it most. 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:36.359 Friends, this servant king, this compassionate, glorious, majestic, sovereign, tender servant king, 00:20:36.359 --> 00:20:41.879 is what Isaiah promises to his people and what we so desperately need. 00:20:43.319 --> 00:20:47.639 Friends, who is this king? And where on earth are we going to find such a king? 00:20:49.059 --> 00:20:54.579 Well, in Isaiah chapter 41, the nation of Israel is described as God's servant. And so some people say 00:20:54.579 --> 00:20:59.659 maybe Israel is the servant. Israel are going to be those who are going to be a light to the nations. 00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:05.500 They're going to restore justice to the earth. But as we read the book of Isaiah, actually Israel is the 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:10.940 one that is the bruised and broken reed. Israel is the one that needs restoration and healing themselves. 00:21:11.660 --> 00:21:18.059 Israel themselves are pretty broken. Maybe it's a son of David, one of the kings that's going to sit 00:21:18.059 --> 00:21:23.500 on the throne who will restore justice to the earth. But friends, when you read the Old Testament, 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:28.619 you see that the very problem with Israel is their kings. The kings are the most unjust. They're the ones 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:34.940 that have brought all the problems upon Israel. Some people say maybe it's Cyrus. Cyrus was the king of 00:21:34.940 --> 00:21:39.820 Persia that eventually overthrew the Babylonian army and liberated Israel and brought them back 00:21:39.820 --> 00:21:47.100 to the promised land. Maybe Cyrus is the king. When you read the history book, Cyrus was not a gentle king. 00:21:47.580 --> 00:21:54.220 He overthrew Babylon. He overthrew the army. He wasn't someone who came and gently and tenderly healed 00:21:54.220 --> 00:22:00.860 this broken reed. He was a vanquishing military leader. Some people say maybe it's the church. 00:22:00.859 --> 00:22:05.740 The church is the light of the nations. The one who's going to bring healing to the world. The church is 00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:13.179 the hope of the world. Friends, if we look at ourselves, are we not just as need of this redeeming, 00:22:13.179 --> 00:22:19.339 saving king? Are we a light to the nations? Are we ourselves perfect? No friends, we are need. We 00:22:19.339 --> 00:22:26.220 ourselves need this ministry. And so who is this rescuing redeeming king? Well, look at what the text says. 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:34.459 It says this servant king's influence, his ministry will extend to the ends of the earth. You see, this 00:22:34.459 --> 00:22:40.459 servant king won't just rescue Israel. His mission is to bring heaven's true justice, 00:22:40.460 --> 00:22:46.700 shalom, to the whole world, to those who will receive him. Look at verse 1. He says, I put my 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:52.460 spirit upon him and he will bring forth justice to the nations. Verse 4, he will not grow faint, 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:59.019 will be discouraged until he has established justice on the earth. Verse 6, I will give you as a covenant 00:22:59.019 --> 00:23:05.980 for my people, a light to the nations. Friends, the reason for this is because that as we read the 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:11.660 scriptures, indeed the rest of Isaiah, one of the things we learn is that the problem Israel faced 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:17.339 is actually the problem that all of us face. The problem of Israel faced, the reason that Israel 00:23:17.339 --> 00:23:23.259 was broken and the reason that their society and their homes were broken was because of their drift 00:23:23.259 --> 00:23:30.539 from the one true God. And friends, don't we find ourselves doing the same, loving, trusting, false idols, 00:23:31.099 --> 00:23:36.460 false gods? Friends, the problem that Israel faced is the problem that we all face. 00:23:37.420 --> 00:23:43.819 Ray Ortlund said it like this. He says, the problem of idolatry was not just a problem for ancient Israel, 00:23:44.379 --> 00:23:50.700 it's a modern problem as well. In fact, it's a human problem. We inevitably gravitate towards 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:57.339 hoping and trusting what we believe will make us happy. Idolatry is the reason why we struggle with the 00:23:57.339 --> 00:24:03.899 same old persistent enslaving sins. Our root problem is not social, it's not just intellectual, 00:24:03.899 --> 00:24:09.579 or even moral as we usually think about it. Our root problem is that in all of life, 00:24:09.579 --> 00:24:17.019 we keep going back to false gods for their false salvations. Friends, as we read the scriptures again 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:23.980 and again, we see that the real enemy of God's people is not out there, it's in here. Friends, 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:29.980 that the injustice and the brokenness of our world is not just on the streets, it's in our own hearts. 00:24:30.700 --> 00:24:35.339 Friends, the injustice of this world is not just in the corridors of power and the political realm, 00:24:35.740 --> 00:24:41.900 it's actually within our own selves. Friends, where on earth are we going to find such a servant king? 00:24:42.380 --> 00:24:48.220 One who's going to not just push back darkness out there, but is going to do so here. One who's not 00:24:48.220 --> 00:24:53.019 going to just dismantle the injustice on the streets, but dismantle in our own hearts and 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:58.779 selves. Friends, where are we going to find one who will bring back captivity and set free those who 00:24:58.779 --> 00:25:04.620 are oppressed, not just politically or economically, but spiritually, who will establish a heavenly 00:25:04.620 --> 00:25:09.980 shalom, not just on the streets, but in our hearts. Friends, where are we going to find the 00:25:09.980 --> 00:25:16.140 servant king who will undo all the horrendous and degrading effects of sin in our world, who will 00:25:16.140 --> 00:25:21.100 restore the true freedom and dignity that God's children are meant to experience? Friends, 00:25:21.100 --> 00:25:26.220 where are we going to find one who will bring back together justice and mercy, who will bring 00:25:26.220 --> 00:25:32.060 justice to our world without crushing those that have been unjust? Friends, where are we going to find 00:25:32.060 --> 00:25:41.900 a king whose reign is so magnificent, so glorious, so supreme, so universal that all the nations of the 00:25:41.900 --> 00:25:47.740 world will be able to find refuge and healing and wholeness in him. Friends, where are we going to find 00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:53.820 a king whose reign is so magnificent that it doesn't just last a generation or two, but millennia, so that 00:25:53.820 --> 00:25:59.740 even those of us that live in Hong Kong, thousands of miles away from Israel, thousands of years after he 00:25:59.740 --> 00:26:12.779 came can still find peace, redemption, healing, restoration, freedom, justice, under his rule and reign. 00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:20.380 Friends, where are we going to find such a king? Friends, the good news of Christmas is that such a king has come, 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:28.859 that God sent a servant king in the person of Jesus Christ, that God sent his king. He didn't come with 00:26:28.859 --> 00:26:33.659 pompous here and he wasn't born in a palace. He didn't raise his voice or cry aloud in the streets. 00:26:34.459 --> 00:26:42.379 He came humbly, came born in a stable, laying in a manger, surrounded not by palace attendance and 00:26:42.379 --> 00:26:49.339 royalty, surrounded by shepherds and lonely animals. Friends, the story of Christmas is that God really did 00:26:49.339 --> 00:26:57.339 send such a servant king, one who would allow himself to be bruised, broken, who would allow even his life to be 00:26:57.339 --> 00:27:03.899 snuffed out, that he would pour himself out for those of us that are broken and bruised, that he would bring 00:27:03.899 --> 00:27:09.819 justice, that he would bring healing, that he would restore God's blueprint and plan for our lives and 00:27:09.819 --> 00:27:15.899 for humanity, that God would put right what has been wrong with the world. Friends, God sent such a son, 00:27:16.619 --> 00:27:22.619 such a servant king, one in whom his soul delighted. Friends, this is the good news of Christmas. 00:27:22.619 --> 00:27:30.779 This is the good news of the gospel, that Jesus has come, heaven and earth's true servant king. Let's pray together. 00:27:33.179 --> 00:27:39.119 Oh Lord Jesus, we are so grateful for you. We are so grateful for Christmas. God, we are so grateful, 00:27:39.219 --> 00:27:45.379 as Chris reminded us, that Christmas is not just about feasting and food and presents and holidays. 00:27:45.380 --> 00:27:52.940 Christmas is the good news of great joy, that you, heaven's true king, has come to us to restore 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:58.660 justice and healing, to bring the shalom that our hearts long for and so desperately need. God, we 00:27:58.660 --> 00:28:05.780 celebrate you. We long for more of you. God, come and have your way in our city, but more importantly, 00:28:05.900 --> 00:28:13.560 in our hearts. Jesus, we need you. We long for you. We love you. Jesus, thank you for coming. 00:28:13.559 --> 00:28:21.220 Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for coming, taking upon our sin upon yourself. Thank you for coming to 00:28:21.220 --> 00:28:28.500 rescue us and redeem us. God, we worship you this morning. We adore you. All praise and glory to your 00:28:28.500 --> 00:28:34.460 magnificent name. We love you, Lord. Amen. Amen.