Heart of a Servant

"...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matt. 20:28)

I was going to type out this whole long soapbox - correction: I HAD typed out this whole long soapbox on having the heart of a servant.  However, I have since decided to let the Holy Bible speak for itself.  Therefore, I give you the 4 Servant Songs.  They're pretty long (especially the last one), so I understand if you don't feel like sitting through them.  If you don't, though, you're short-changing yourself.  It's nitty-gritty, bare-boned gospel (in the OT), and it's GOOD!  The 4 Servant Songs:


The first Servant Song:
"'Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.  He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.  In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.  In his law the islands will put their hope.'  This is what God the Lord says - he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 'I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.  I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.'"  (Isa. 42:1-7)

The second Servant Song:
"Listen to me, you islands, hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name.  He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.  He said to me, 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.'  But I said, 'I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.  Yet what is due me is in the Lord's hand, and my reward is with my God.'  And now the Lord says - he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength - he says: 'It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept.  I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.'  This is what the Lord says - the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel - to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: 'Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.'" (Isa. 49:1-6)

The third Servant Song:
"The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.  He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.  The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back.  I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.  Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced.  Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.  He who vindicates me is near.  Who then will bring charges against me?  Let us face each other!  Who is my accuser?  Let him confront me!  It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.  Who is he that will condemn me?  They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up." (Isa. 50:4-9)

The fourth Servant Song:
"See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.  Just as there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured and his form marred beyond human likeness - so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him.  For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.  Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  By oppression and judgment he was taken away.  And who can speak of his descendants?  For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.  He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.  Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.  After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.  For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isa. 52:13-53:12)

Now do you see why it's so important for us to die to ourselves and be a servant to someone else?

Man, I could preach a whole sermon on this.....