okieinexile
Well-Known Member
I will not keep silent
Isaiah 62:1-5
62:1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.
62:2 The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give.
62:3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
62:4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.
62:5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
+++
When I was a kid in school, I always wanted to get older so that I would know everything like the grownups did. I figured they knew everything. They ran the church, they ran the schools, and they ran the businesses.
I am still waiting to grow up, and I bet some of you are too. Maybe when we get to look the Lord in the face we might know enough to ask the right questions. For my own part, I learn something new every day. One of my big failings, and it’s something I am praying to get over, it waiting until it is too late to speak my mind.
My problem is that I want everybody to like me, and if you just keep your mouth shut and roll with the flow, then you don’t make anybody mad. I don’t know about you folks here, but when I was growing up this is what we were taught: Keep your mouth shut and keep your ears open. Don’t ask questions. Don’t volunteer too much information. This is not bad advice, and there are a lot of times when it works out well.
However, the fact the matter is that not everyone is going to like you. If it seems like everyone does, it is this you need to be worried because you are doing something wrong.
There are times when you have to stand up on your hind legs, let people know where you stand, and let the chips fall where they may.
This is what the first verse is talking about today: “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.”
The Lord is speaking through the prophet Isaiah. He is saying that he is not going to shut up until everything is taken care of.
There are those who have a gift—and I am sincere in calling it that—to forthrightly speak the truth when it needs to be spoken in spite of hurting someone’s feelings. Having said that, I need to clarify myself a little. Feelings are important. Don’t go out of your way to hurt someone’s feelings. That will happen by accident often enough, and it will happen by necessity often enough. What I am saying is there are things that are more important than feelings.
Jesus called some folks “whitewash tombs.” He said they were clean looking on the outside, but rotten on the inside. There is not a way in the world you can spin that to a complement. But however nasty it might sound, he did it with a purpose.
This is a subject I bring up because I need to hear it myself. I don’t want anybody to get the message I am telling you to go out and upbraid you fellow man. What I am saying is that there is a time for doing just that, and we need to be willing to do that if our God-given wisdom tells us it’s time for it.
I say this because, while in the first verse God says he has stood up for Israel and will stand up for Israel, in the rest of the passage He is building up Israel. This is where talent comes in.
And it is and thing. While on hand anyone can talk tough and be nasty, it is difficult to know when this needs to be done. It takes great wisdom to know when to be mean, when to be tough, when to tear down because it should be done so rarely. On the other hand, talking in a way so as to build up can be hard. Finding the right words to say in order to build up someone who needs affirmation can be hard, and this is ironic because it should be done so often.
So here it is, I’ve gotten toward the end of the sermon, and I’ve told you to talk tough and not to talk tough. I’ve told you to talk nice, and then I’ve told you it’s really hard to find the right words.
You might be about convinced to just go work for the devil because it would be easier.
Don’t do that.
Just remember this. Love God with all your heart, love your neighbor as yourself, and pray for wisdom because you say anything that might hurt someone’s feelings. Then, if you still think you have to, proceed only with love.
Father, give us wisdom, give us the words we need, and give us the strength to speak them. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Isaiah 62:1-5
62:1 For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.
62:2 The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give.
62:3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
62:4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.
62:5 For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.
+++
When I was a kid in school, I always wanted to get older so that I would know everything like the grownups did. I figured they knew everything. They ran the church, they ran the schools, and they ran the businesses.
I am still waiting to grow up, and I bet some of you are too. Maybe when we get to look the Lord in the face we might know enough to ask the right questions. For my own part, I learn something new every day. One of my big failings, and it’s something I am praying to get over, it waiting until it is too late to speak my mind.
My problem is that I want everybody to like me, and if you just keep your mouth shut and roll with the flow, then you don’t make anybody mad. I don’t know about you folks here, but when I was growing up this is what we were taught: Keep your mouth shut and keep your ears open. Don’t ask questions. Don’t volunteer too much information. This is not bad advice, and there are a lot of times when it works out well.
However, the fact the matter is that not everyone is going to like you. If it seems like everyone does, it is this you need to be worried because you are doing something wrong.
There are times when you have to stand up on your hind legs, let people know where you stand, and let the chips fall where they may.
This is what the first verse is talking about today: “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch.”
The Lord is speaking through the prophet Isaiah. He is saying that he is not going to shut up until everything is taken care of.
There are those who have a gift—and I am sincere in calling it that—to forthrightly speak the truth when it needs to be spoken in spite of hurting someone’s feelings. Having said that, I need to clarify myself a little. Feelings are important. Don’t go out of your way to hurt someone’s feelings. That will happen by accident often enough, and it will happen by necessity often enough. What I am saying is there are things that are more important than feelings.
Jesus called some folks “whitewash tombs.” He said they were clean looking on the outside, but rotten on the inside. There is not a way in the world you can spin that to a complement. But however nasty it might sound, he did it with a purpose.
This is a subject I bring up because I need to hear it myself. I don’t want anybody to get the message I am telling you to go out and upbraid you fellow man. What I am saying is that there is a time for doing just that, and we need to be willing to do that if our God-given wisdom tells us it’s time for it.
I say this because, while in the first verse God says he has stood up for Israel and will stand up for Israel, in the rest of the passage He is building up Israel. This is where talent comes in.
And it is and thing. While on hand anyone can talk tough and be nasty, it is difficult to know when this needs to be done. It takes great wisdom to know when to be mean, when to be tough, when to tear down because it should be done so rarely. On the other hand, talking in a way so as to build up can be hard. Finding the right words to say in order to build up someone who needs affirmation can be hard, and this is ironic because it should be done so often.
So here it is, I’ve gotten toward the end of the sermon, and I’ve told you to talk tough and not to talk tough. I’ve told you to talk nice, and then I’ve told you it’s really hard to find the right words.
You might be about convinced to just go work for the devil because it would be easier.
Don’t do that.
Just remember this. Love God with all your heart, love your neighbor as yourself, and pray for wisdom because you say anything that might hurt someone’s feelings. Then, if you still think you have to, proceed only with love.
Father, give us wisdom, give us the words we need, and give us the strength to speak them. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
