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He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.

How beautiful! There is no razamatazz about the Servant of the Lord’s ministry (unlike much of what we see today, sadly). Also, He is gentle with people, not domineering. Lord Jesus, please reproduce these characteristics in me, and in all who serve you.

‘Verse 3 (quoted in Matthew 12:20) has been a great comfort to believers down through the centuries. We often face times in our lives when we feel bruised, when our spirits are smouldering, almost burnt out, times when we feel that just one more blow would break us completely. If we will but turn to Christ at such times, we can be sure He will not allow us to suffer more than we can endure. We can be sure that whatever we experience will be for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28),’ Tom Hale: ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1041.

‘Be kind, everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.’ Whoever said this, (and it is a matter of debate), I’m sure we recognise the truth in it. Christian leaders, of all people, should exemplify God’s kindness (2 Sam 9:1).

“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

Every church leader needs to deeply understand this fundamental principle of ministry: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’ (Zech.4:6).

Derek was a good friend to me when I was in Bible College. He was a little older, and, I have to admit a bit of a hero of mine. I looked up to him, and I suppose he informally mentored me. One day we were praying together, and after a period of total quiet Derek began to express his heart. He had just one request, and with deep intensity, he said over and over, ”Lord, I want to know everything Jesus meant when He said, ‘You will receive power…’ ”

At the time I thought it was a great thing to pray. I still do.

The Spirit of God did come upon Jesus (see, for example, Is.11:2; Mk.1:10; Jn.3:34). One thing our Lord did mean when He said, ‘You will receive power’ (Acts 1:8) was, ‘You’re going to receive the same equipping I have had.’ The same Spirit the Father poured out on the Son, the Father and the Son will pour out on the church. I heard a preacher say this means that the church can do, in the Spirit’s power, everything Jesus did in the Spirit’s power.

It is also this ‘anointing’ that is key to being ‘upheld’: strengthened ‘with power through his Spirit in your inner being’ (Eph.3:16).

 Believe that the anointing of God will find a way — even where you yourself don’t see that there is a way. The anointing of the Lord will show the way — whatever the day and age, situation or country you may be living in.” Sunday Adelaja

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen one in whom I delight;

‘Jesus Driven Ministry’, by Ajith Fernando, is one of my all time favourite books on Christian leadership. It’s a volume to keep going back to, full of godly wisdom and Biblical insight. It shows clearly that Christlikeness is fundamental to leadership in the church. By the Holy Spirit, we are to grow increasingly into the likeness of Jesus, the ultimate Servant of the Lord.

Here are two things that were true for Jesus, and can be proved true in the experience of every church leader:

• God will ”uphold” you. Whatever you are facing, He will strengthen you, so that you can stand in the evil day, and having done all things to still be standing. The devil wants you on your back, but God will keep you on your feet if you trust Him, and use all the armour He provides (Eph.6:10ff.);
• God the Father delights in you. This is supremely true of Jesus (Mt.3:17), but it is also true of everyone who is in Jesus. He sees us not in our sin, but in His Son. How important it is for leaders to grasp this point. He is not well-pleased with us because of our performance, but because we are positioned by grace in Jesus. His attitude towards His Son is His attitude towards us. This is not to say that our work doesn’t matter – that we can be careless or casual about our approach. But it is, rather, to affirm that we don’t earn God’s approval by our labours. He is pleased with us as those clothed with the Lord Jesus.

‘Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen one in whom I delight…

It is generally agreed that in verses 1-4 of this chapter we have the first of four ‘Servant Songs’ (as they have come to be known) found in Isaiah. (The others are in 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). Although Israel is God’s servant (see 41:8), in these great prophecies one individual seems to emerge from out of the nation who is the Servant of the Lord. Tom Hale explains this well:

‘Israel, as a nation, was meant to serve God; therefore, in a collective sense, Israel could properly be called God’s ”servant.”

However, here in verses 1-9, God is clearly speaking about an individual servant – or at least an idealized servant, an ideal Israelite. Here again we see Isaiah prophesying on the basis of his historical situation – as a citizen of an imperfect nation – and yet seeing something beyond that, a perfect Israel represented by one perfect individual. Isaiah didn’t know it, but that perfect individual, that perfect servant, was Christ; indeed Matthew, inspired by the Holy Spirit, applied these verses to Christ (see Matthew 12:15-21).’ ‘Applied Old Testament Commentary’, p.1040.

For a number of years, I had the privilege of returning to a church where I had been a pastor, and helping to deliver one component of a leadership course. The essence of Biblical leadership is servanthood, and I put together a talk, highlighting vital leadership (i.e. servant-like characteristics) from Isaiah’s Servant Songs. Over the next few days we are going to look at certain truths about Jesus’ ideal ‘leadership’, that can also be realised – however imperfectly – in His flawed human leaders.

The greatest need for any pastor is Christ-likeness.

The great Scottish minister, Robert Murray McCheyne, put it so well: ‘My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.’

^21-24 “Set out your case for your gods,” says God.
    “Bring your evidence,” says the King of Jacob.
“Take the stand on behalf of your idols, offer arguments,
    assemble reasons.
Spread out the facts before us
    so that we can assess them ourselves.
Ask them, ‘If you are gods, explain what the past means—
    or, failing that, tell us what will happen in the future.
Can’t do that?
    How about doing something—anything!
Good or bad—whatever.
    Can you hurt us or help us? Do we need to be afraid?’
They say nothing, because they are nothing—
    sham gods, no-gods, fool-making gods.

^25-29 “I, God, started someone out from the north and he’s come.
    He was called out of the east by name.
He’ll stomp the rulers into the mud
    the way a potter works the clay.
Let me ask you, Did anyone guess that this might happen?
    Did anyone tell us earlier so we might confirm it
    with ‘Yes, he’s right!’?
No one mentioned it, no one announced it,
    no one heard a peep out of you.
But I told Zion all about this beforehand.
    I gave Jerusalem a preacher of good news.
But around here there’s no one—
    no one who knows what’s going on.
    I ask, but no one can tell me the score.
Nothing here. It’s all smoke and hot air—
    sham gods, hollow gods, no-gods.” (The Message).

That idols are hopeless and worthless and powerless is a continuing theme as we move into verses 25-29.

Fulfilled prophecy (and so much of it!) is a primary piece of evidence for the inspiration of Scripture. A major contrast is drawn in these verses, between the living God, who announces the future in advance, and dead gods that can’t. The Lord not only raised up Cyrus, but also foretold his arrival on the scene.

”Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7.

‘Not only were the idols unable to make any valid predictions, they were not even able to speak!’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘Old Testament Commentary’, p.1186.

PRAYER: Lord, I am so grateful to know that you are the living God. I come before you again today, place my life before you afresh, and ask that you will speak to me through your Word and by your Spirit. Help me to do whatever you say.

“Present your case,” says the Lord.
    “Set forth your arguments,” says Jacob’s King.
²² “Tell us, you idols,
    what is going to happen.
Tell us what the former things were,
    so that we may consider them
    and know their final outcome.
Or declare to us the things to come,
²³     tell us what the future holds,
    so we may know that you are gods.
Do something, whether good or bad,
    so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear.
²⁴ But you are less than nothing
    and your works are utterly worthless;
    whoever chooses you is detestable.

In Mark Buchanan’s book, ‘Spiritual Rhythm’, he says that in the course of his ministry he regularly has to fly. So he often finds himself in conversation with a total stranger in the next seat. When they find out that he is a pastor, for some it is a conversation-stopper, but for others it is a conversation-starter. He reckons it works out about 50-50. But of those who do open up to him, what in essence they have to say is that they can’t make a decent case for their idolatry. Their gods do not satisfy. They know there is more.

Isaiah was, of course, exposing the folly of bowing down to/trusting in hand-crafted gods. They can’t speak. They can’t interpret the past or predict the future. They can’t do anything. They are hopeless: ‘utterly worthless.’ In some parts of the world, people still do worship such gods. But if the true God is not our God, then we are going to be serving someone or something, and the truth about all idolatry is that it is vain. We pursue tin-pot ‘deities’ that do not and cannot satisfy.

In Justin Brierley’s new book, ‘The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God’, there is a testimony of a woman called Tamara. She gives the reasons why she converted to Christianity:

‘The person of Jesus; the fact that everyone I know wants love, relationship, connection; the fact that everyone I know is often living somewhere between angst and misery and wanting “more” (mixed with times of happiness); because people create and because beauty matters; because of morality.’

Do not be afraid, you worm Jacob,
    little Israel, do not fear…

Do you ever consider yourself to be worm-like: small, insignificant, not particularly attractive, largely unnoticed and under-appreciated? You’re often overlooked and regularly trodden on (or so it seems to you).

Well take heart. I have just watched a video of a short child’s science programme entitled ‘Worms are wonderful.’ The animated female presenter exclaimed, ‘Worms are super-cool’, and, she added, ‘Next time you come across one, thank them! They keep the soil healthy, and that in turn keeps the plants healthy, so we keep healthy.’

Worms, while not being all that glamorous in the popular imagination, have a vital role to play in a delicate, and wonderful, natural eco-system. Most of their work takes place underground, away from the public glare. But it is essential.

May we realise today, how special it is to be a faithful presence in the ‘soil’ where God has placed us.

I will put in the desert
    the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
    the fir and the cypress together,
²⁰ so that people may see and know,
    may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
    that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

If yesterday brought God’s supernatural (and abundant) provision to our attention, as the passage flows on we see His supernatural work in the world, for His glory. When God does things which would not normally/naturally happen, people take note and recognise that something out of the ordinary is happening. It is obvious that people could not be responsible for it, and it causes them to think deeply.

How the world needs to be able to see a church they cannot explain in merely human terms: church services that cause them to ”…fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!” (1 Corinthians 14:25).

“The poor and needy search for water,
    but there is none;
    their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
    I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
¹⁸ I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
    and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
    and the parched ground into springs.

”I will make…I will turn…”

“When we rely upon organization, we get what organization can do; when we rely upon education, we get what education can do; when we rely upon eloquence, we get what eloquence can do. And so on. But when we rely upon prayer, we get what God can do.” A. C. Dixon.

How we need what God can do. Strictly speaking, our reliance should not even be on prayer, but on the Lord Himself. Nevertheless, we get the point Dixon is making in this wonderful quote.

The picture painted here is one of a desperate people, looking for water but not finding it. It just isn’t there.

But there is the inference that in their desperation they pray.

In response, God provides abundantly;

He also provides supernaturally.

In a situation where there just is no water, He makes it. Of course, in the memory of God’s people, there was the remarkable story of the water from the rock. The Lord was once again going to provide for these returning exiles, on this ‘second exodus’ through the wilderness

I often think of Hudson Taylor’s dictum that ‘God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.’

So here…

…a desperate people,

…a thirsty people,

…a praying people,

are going to be a more than satisfied people.

How good is our God.

‘The borderline of human need is the borderline of divine miracle.’