11/18 Life

---

---

You are My Servant
1. [v.1-5] Servant to Master: “The LORD called me…”
     A.[v.1-3] Equipped for the Master: “He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me”
   B.[v.4-5] Strengthened by the Master to Overcome Discouragement: “ ‘I have labored in vain… yet surely my right is with the LORD… my God has become my strength”
2. [v.6-7] Master to Servant: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant…”
   A.[v.6] The Mission to His Divine Servant: “I will make you as a light for the nations… may reach to the end of the earth”
     B.[v.7] The Worship of His Chosen Servant: “they shall prostrate themselves… the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you”


​

 
You are My Servant
(ISAIAH 49:1-7)
 
Pause & Reflect
 

1. What has God been teaching you through last week’s message? Read the texts once more and discern what the holy Spirit is desiring to say through it.

 
1 Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away.
3 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
 

1. [v.1-3] *Biblical principle – THE MASTER CALLS AND EQUIPS HIS SERVANT: God called His only Son, conceiving Him by the holy Spirit in the womb of humanity. He equipped His mouth to be like a sword that pierces into soul and spirit, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Even before being called His only Son and the rightful King of kings, Jesus was called to be the servant of the LORD, in whom the LORD’s glory would shine by His servanthood. God equips those whom He calls. He does not call those who are equipped. Our equipped weapon is not in guns or our fists or our words, but in God’s Word flowing through our mouth. Even more important than being a child of God is learning to be a servant of God hidden in His Word. Already back in chapter 42, the LORD has described His only Son Jesus Christ as a servant – “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations” (42:1). Now from chapter 49 onward, we see a clearer portrait of Jesus as the servant of God the Father. Although Jesus is the eternal Son of God and equal to God, the LORD describes Him first as a servant in whom He will glorify Himself. In what ways did Jesus first live the “servant” life before the “eternal sonship” life? How was He a servant before our King? Although the gospel is about becoming children – sons and daughters – of God, how are we too called to live the “servant” life before the “child of God” life? We learned how “servant” more precisely can mean “slave.” What are the qualities of a slave – does a slave have any rights, identity, or privileges? If slaves of the Master Jesus Christ, how is this the most honored position to take instead of to avoid? The Master equips those He calls instead of calling those who are already equipped. How did the LORD equip the servant Jesus with His mouth? What sufficient equipment has the LORD equipped you with to obey His calling to servanthood?

 
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.”
5 And now the Lord says, 
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength--
 

1. [v.4-5] *Biblical principle – THE MASTER STRENGTHENS HIS SERVANT TO OVERCOME DISCOURAGEMENT: As a servant, Jesus too became discouraged when “He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him” (John 1:10-11), praying in agony with sweat like great drops of blood (Luke 22:44), and being forsaken on the cross by the Father as He became the fullness of our sins (Matthew 27:46). Yet Jesus overcame all this, knowing the LORD would justify Him through the resurrection, and reward Him with the purchase of our salvation. There is strength for the journey in servanthood! When we spend all our strength, God becomes our strength, as it did for Jesus. Our labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). The journey to obey the Father God’s will to come as a servant of sinful humanity was no easy task for Jesus. It wasn’t all sunny days in His earthly life. The servant Jesus had much more gloomy days of anguish and persecution. Experiencing the full breadth of the human condition, Jesus too could have thought His labor was in vain, and the weight of carrying our sins in His own body on the cross was initially unbearable. Yet through it all, God still became His strength to finish His service in purchasing our salvation. When have you been discouraged in ministry, thinking, “I have labored in vain”? How does the example of Jesus strengthen you and assure you that the life of a servant of the LORD is not in vain? Has God become the strength of your heart? Can we say with Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”? Do you know that like Jesus, you too will be honored in the eyes of the LORD, and recompensed/rewarded for your service – not by your work, but by His grace? How can we grow a longing to hear more and more from the Master until the last day, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23)?

 
6 he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
 

1. [v.6-7] *Biblical principle – THE MASTER’S MISSION AND THE WORSHIP OF HIS DIVINE SERVANT: As a servant, Jesus was commissioned for a specific mission – “to bring Jacob back” (v.5) to the LORD, “to bring back the preserved of Israel” (v.6). Yet, this was incomplete, too light of a task in view of the grander mission that God had in mind – to make Jesus “a light for the nations” so that His “salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (v.6). The mission of every servant is to bring all people into the worship of the servant Jesus Christ, who is the only true God chosen to be our salvation. It is too light of us and narrow of us to think otherwise. Stay on mission! Widen your scope of the mission! You are His servants, His church, to be the viral gospel on mission with Him! Now as the servant Jesus is resolved to overcome discouragement and finish the mission, the Master reiterates the grander mission He has – more than just the restoration of the remnant of Israel. Jesus was to be the salvation that can reach every nation on the earth. Although despised, abhorred and crucified on a cross, Jesus would rise on the third day and all rulers of the earth will one day prostrate themselves in worship before Him. As servants of Christ, are we treating the mission too lightly? How can we keep our eyes on the mission – to bring all peoples before the worship of Jesus Christ? How can we realign and refocus the purpose of our life, our church, our ultimate goal to bring back all nations before the feet of Christ? How does the Master’s mission secure us to look farther than even our own lives, our own church, our own agendas? Read the following Scriptures on godly servanthood:

 
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:5-7)
 
But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. (Luke 22:26)
 
And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)
 
The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:11-12)
 
If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. (John 12:26)
 
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
 
Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. (Romans 12:11)
 
Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. (Colossians 3:24)
 

 
The central truth of this word was –
You are servants, not kings. The sin within us will always take the position of kings. Yet if even the King of kings took the position of a servant, how much more should we? A servant has no rights except what the Master grants. A servant has no identity except who he/she belongs to – which Master has ownership. A servant does back-bending work day and night without complaint at the Master’s instruction. Every good and faithful servant is rewarded (Matthew 25:14-30), not by their work but by His grace (Matthew 18:21-35). Blessed are the servants who stay awake (Luke 12:35-48)! Blessed are the servants who say they are unworthy and have only done their duty (Luke 17:7-10). Are you His servant, or are you still your own king?
– *How has the LORD spoken to you today through this?
 

Holy Spirit Moment
Take a moment to invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, and pray.
 
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18)
 
…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7)