I WILL NOT! I CAN NOT!
Isaiah 62:1-5

† In Jesus Name †

May the grace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ remind you constantly of God’s desire to be part of your life.. and His committing to be part of it.

• What does God Look like?

It is one of those questions that pastors cannot honestly answer, but we get asked on occasion….

What does God the Father look like?

Here are a couple of paintings of Him, most from the renaissance.

Look at them carefully; they all show an old man with a beard and a receding hairline that is grey and white.

But there is one thing I notice above all – that these pictures don’t show God with a smile; they don’t show him with His eyes lit up with joy, with the determination to see His people come from home

Especially this last one, I am not sure what He had for dinner or whether He was watching me this week. He looks either a bit sick to his stomach or severely disappointed and sad…

Today’s sermon is based on the Old Testament passage, where Isaiah’s words paint a far different picture…

Hear again how the passage begins,

Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch!

That doesn’t sound like it comes from the mouth of the One pictured in the painting. Neither does the last verse of the reading,

Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride!

That is the picture I want you to take with you today… that is the picture I want you to share with others. The image of God who loves you so much that it is indescribable…. Except to know He rejoices when you are in His presence.

• Never again… (which means there was a time)

As Isaiah goes on, these words just stuck in my mind,

³  The LORD will hold you in his hand for all to see— a splendid crown in the hand of God. ⁴  Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land!

We have to read this, knowing the past, but realizing the truth of the present. We have been saved, God has got us in His grasp, but there is a “before,” a state we were in, where God says, “never again!”

As we go into it, it reminds me of Paul’s words to Titus,

³  Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. ⁴  But—Titus 3:3-4 (NLT2)

We know this “but” is coming, but part of understanding who God is, is realizing in the midst of our sin – in the midst of our sin that will leave us feeling abandoned and desolate, there is God, saying,

Because I love you, I will not keep still, because My heart yearns for you – I cannot be silent.

I will not! I cannot!

In the middle of it all, God is there; He’s always promised to be there! Right in the middle of our worst battles with sin, He was there, relentless working to get to the point He descried with these words…

I will not stop interceding for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. ²  The nations will see your righteousness.  

That is where God the Father’s heart is…what His desire is,

That is why He sent Jesus, while we were sinning, to rescue us, and still does. That is our hope for those caught in our sin… that is our hope when we struggle with temptation…. That is our hope until we hear God’s voice… calling us…

• Delighted & Committed

And look what He calls us…

Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” and “The Bride of God,” for the LORD delights in you and will claim you as his bride.

I would translate these names for you, these names God calls us. I think most of the translations are more than a bit weak in this…

The first – the “City of God’s delight,” Hephzibah – is simply the “one I find joy with….”

That is you, the one who God enjoys being in the presence of…. Imagine that…

God’s greatest joy is found when we realize we dwell in His presence.

The second… Ba’aulu – is just as profound.

It means, “You are the one I am committed to..forever.”

Bride doesn’t quite say that… this idea of God committing Himself to you, forever.

I gave you the part of Paul’s words to Titus… let me give you what comes after the “but.”

⁴  But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, ⁵  he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. ⁶  He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁷  Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”

Eternal life with Him, the LORD God who finds His greatest joy when His children are with Him, who has committed Himself to us… to make us holy and perfect, for that is who His children, His beloved are…

That’s why Paul’s words end with this…

 ⁸  This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone. Titus 3:4-8 (NLT2)

So let’s help the whole world know this… God finds great joy in being with us and commits Himself to us, And He will not, He cannot stop until He makes this true for all His children. So let’s help the whole world know… AMEN!