He Will Not Shout

Isaiah 42:1-4

42 “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.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

Someone once told me that standing in a McDonalds does not make you a hamburger.  Or holding a wrench does not make you a mechanic.  These did not come from Proverbs by the pen of Solomon, but rather from people in today’s world.  While in college, we often sat in the west mall area of UT to eat lunch.  We had the best time just watching people.  Weird people, nerdy people, homeless people, preppy people but the ones who stuck out the most were the yelling preachers.  These guys would stand on the steps, hold a Bible, and preach fire and brimstone.  While it was interesting to watch this spectacle, the one thing that you noticed is that while the guy was preaching, people would just walk past him as if he did not even exist. 

Being a Christian in college I was taken back at this because these yelling preachers were preaching from the same book I had devoted my life to studying.  I went a long while not sharing the gospel because I feared I would be received like the preachers on the steps at West Mall on UT, invisible and laughable at best.  For those of you who feel the same way, I have some good news.  You don’t have to hide your Christianity like I did. 

The Bible says that if we lift up the Lord He will draw all men to Him.  God is the one drawing the people not you.  If you are afraid that fire and brimstone preaching will turn off everyone then look at John the Baptist.  This guy wrote the book on that and he had throngs of people follow him everywhere he went. 

So what is the difference you might ask?  Isaiah tells us that the pre-cursor to bringing the Word of God is that “I will put my Spirit on him.” (verse 1)  John the Baptist and Jesus among many others had the Spirit of God in their lives. 

Next, is that “you will not shout or cry or raise your voice in the streets” (verse 2).  Man that sounds like the yelling preachers at UT.  You also have to be meek.  Verse 3 says, “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering  wick he will not snuff out.” 

The last thing we ought to do is not get discouraged or falter.  When we do this, we tend to blow off God because we are not seeing anything happen.  The older I get, the more I understand that God has reached more people one on one than through the yelling preachers.  Jesus had twelve disciples, not 500.  He spoke to crowds but we read about his one on one more than the crowded rooms he preached in.  He met “the woman” at the well, not the whole town.  He told Zacchaeus he would eat at his house. 

If you are struggling with this whole spreading the gospel thing, start by talking about what God has shown you in small groups or one on one instead of preaching to many people about “what the Bible says!”  Remember, Jesus called the disciples, he did not yell at them and make them follow.  Change someone’s heart today by relationship not by winning a debate.  We are not called to be Christian lawyers but disciples.

Prayer: Father forgive us for being Christian lawyers instead disciples and followers of Christ. Help us to share the good news and listen the Holy Spirit on when and where to do it. I pray that we open our hearts and minds to your calling on our lives and shy away from debating Christian principles but live it out instead. In Jesus name, amen.