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This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:

A day or two ago I pruned the roses in our garden at Carlton-in-Coverdale. We are situated close to 1,000 feet above sea level, and it can be quite wild and generally colder by a degree or two here. During the summer months, I have marvelled at the growth and beauty of these plants, and their resilience. But at times I have also fretted over them, even as I have continued to tend and nurture them. For the most part it’s been a wet, and extremely windy summer. But with the return of a spell of warmth and sunshine in September, they were back in strength and size and colour: fiercely and stubbornly alive, and blazing forth their startling colours.

However, I knew it was now time to cut them back. As of today, things look quite bare in places where there was a riot of bloom only a few weeks ago. But of this I feel certain, next year, at the right time, they will ‘spring’ up again.

I was captivated by the line in today’s verse which says, ”…the earth with all that springs from it…”

God has so set up this world that it is filled with abundant, teeming, raging, tenaciously reproductive life. You need look no further than your garden, with its annual cycle of death and resurrection, to wonder at the greatness of the Creator, and to catch a breath-taking glimpse of the gospel.

This is what God the Lord says—

Do you know what God is saying to you? Furthermore, if you do, what is your response? After all, if it’s ”God the Lord” speaking, ”See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks” (Hebs.12:25); ”Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebs.4:7b).

God has many ways of speaking to us, but He does so predominantly through the Scriptures. Also, by a ‘still small voice” within.

In order to hear God speak, first and foremost we must read His Word, the Bible (although, again and again we will find it is reading us).

Let’s also be alert for that prophetic word the Holy Spirit speaks into the heart. It will always ride tandem with God’s Word. It won’t veer off in another direction. This is how we can check what we think we’re hearing. God will not contradict Himself.

When I read these words from Isaiah 42:5a during a recent prayer time, it prompted me to pray for neighbours, friends and family, that they will hear God speaking to them. I very much want to pray for them, and keep on praying, but I confess there are days when when I feel weary and exhausted, and I wonder if anything will ever change. I guess you may also get to that place at times. But I remind myself that God can meet with anyone, anywhere at any time, and speak to them, and reveal Himself to them in all His majesty and greatness.

Come to think of it, isn’t that why you and I are in the Kingdom?!!

PRAYER: Lord God, as the old hymn says, ”Speak with the voice that wakes the dead, and make the people hear. Revive your work O, Lord…”

^1-4 “Take a good look at my servant.
    I’m backing him to the hilt.
He’s the one I chose,
    and I couldn’t be more pleased with him.
I’ve bathed him with my Spirit, my life.
    He’ll set everything right among the nations.
He won’t call attention to what he does
    with loud speeches or gaudy parades.
He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt
    and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,
    but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.
He won’t tire out and quit. He won’t be stopped
    until he’s finished his work—to set things right on earth.
Far-flung ocean islands
    wait expectantly for his teaching.” The Message.

At the close of this week, and as we come to the end of looking at verses 1-4, I would simply like to invite you to review the passage above. It is presented here in ‘The Message’ version. Reflect on which part of it speaks to you most at this time, and consider why this is. Find a way to turn it into prayer today, and give thanks for Jesus.

In his teaching the islands will put their hope.

Far-flung ocean islands
    wait expectantly for his teaching. The Message.

Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction. New Living Translation.

John Wesley famously said, ‘The world is my parish.’

I have a vivid memory of being in the ‘Millmead Centre’ (Guildford Baptist Church) one evening, when David Pawson was pastor. In his prayer he said, ‘Lord, help us to live on a world map.’ That is such a great prayer when you think that the Messiah’s ministry extends to the nations. Jesus came not just to Israel, and for Israel, but for the world (see John 3:16).

‘God had an only Son and He made Him a missionary.’ David Livingstone.

“The mark of a great church is not its seating capacity, but its sending capacity.” – Mike Stachura

“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.
² He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
⁴     he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.

As a leader, one of your greatest battles will be with yourself. The struggle is likely to be pretty relentless, and it will be experienced at a number of levels. But one of the greatest of these challenges will be to keep going in the face of discouragement.

We often comment that ‘there is so much injustice in the world.’ There clearly is, and it is of tragic proportions. Furthermore, the fight against it is like playing ‘whack a mole’ on a momentous scale. Someone may be able to bang some injustice on the head here, but then a different form pops up over there. I was reflecting on Wilberforce’s long, enduring campaign to abolish slavery (and what discouragements he faced along the road). But today, there are probably more contemporary forms of slavery than ever.

Jesus, the Messiah, is bringing in a Kingdom of total justice, where there is fairness for all. He knows He will do it. So in spite of every demonic push-back against the forward movement of divine justice in the world, He ”will not falter or be discouraged”. Mid-match, it may appear, at times, that He’s on the losing side. But He knows He’s not! The game isn’t over, and He knows the final score. ‘There’s no discouragement, will make him once relent…’

‘Our motto must continue to be perseverance’ William Wilberforce

”May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance” (2 Thess.3:5).

‘By perseverance the snail made it to the ark.’ C.H.Spurgeon

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.’