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[Pause] For thine sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness,

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and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. The Gentiles shall see thy righteousness. In all kings thy glory, thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.

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Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shall no more be termed forsaken, neither shall thy land any more be termed desolate, for thou shall be called Hepzibah, and thy land Bula for the Lord delighted in thee and thy land shall be married first four

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verses of the sixty-second chapter of the book of the Prophet Isaiah let us stand now as we sing the first and second stanzas of hymn number 308 we are marching to Zion [music]

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♪ Sweetest love of all ♪ ♪ In love you're joining us ♪ ♪ You're in the song of sweet accord ♪ ♪ You're in the song of sweet accord ♪

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♪ And us around the throne ♪ ♪ And us around the throne ♪ ♪ We're marching to Zion ♪ Beautiful, beautiful Zion

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We're marching up to Zion, Zion The beautiful city of God Oh, we're beautiful saints Who never knew our God

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The children of the heavenly King The children of the heavenly King ♪ We will keep the joy of love ♪ ♪ We'll keep the joy of love ♪

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♪ We are marching tonight ♪ ♪ Beautiful, beautiful night ♪ ♪ We are marching upward tonight ♪ ♪ Beautiful city of light ♪

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Beautiful, beautiful Zion, where moths become as desire, beautiful city of God. Speak, Lord, to our hearts.

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Grant that we may have listening ears. Amen. "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion. Woe to them that are at ease in Zion."

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The subject of the message on being uneasy in Zion, on being uneasy in Zion. Woe to them that are at ease in Zion. Ours is a society in which special emphasis is given to comfort and convenience. It is a way of life.

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More and more we have a tendency to seek the easy life, to follow the path of least resistance, not to rock the boat. We pride ourselves in our push-button gadgets

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which eliminate the drudgery of work. Our elevators and escalators take us up and down stairs while we stand still. We have cars with automatic transmissions to shift gears for us. We seek the painless dentist,

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and we seek to avoid the anguish and suffering of childbirth as much as possible. Our pension plans, our retirement programs point to the time when we expect to take it easy. And yet there comes a disturbing prophetic utterance to arrest and caress us. Woe to them

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that are at ease in Zion. It seems to me that this is a warning sign on the highway of abundant living. It points up a danger, a pitfall along the way. It is designed to make us alert and watchful, cautious and careful.

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Woe, woe to them that are at ease in Zion. There is a danger of becoming satisfied with ourselves as we are, being content to be where we are. Israel was at peace. She had reason to believe that she was safe and secure from all alarm.

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surrounded by the mountain of Samaria and possessed with abundant resources. In addition to that, she could boast of enthusiastic support for organized religion. After all, there was the beautiful temple, which was in Bethel, as the seat of religion in northern Israel.

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There was also the temple in Judah, and Judah shared the same kind of confidence that was exemplified by Israel's conduct. considered themselves impregnable because these were the centers of religious worship. So after all, what did they have to fear? They had the temple as centers of worship. They had God.

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In addition to having God, they had natural barriers. They were surrounded by mountains. So they had an arrogant sense of confidence which was expressed by a mood of complacency. They had adopted an easygoing way of life. There are several reasons why people adopt easygoing attitudes toward life. One is that they are satisfied and they seem to

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think that they have it made when they are prone to adopt an easygoing way of life. Since they have it made, they don't want to do anything to rock the boat. For Zion's sake, will I not hold my peace? And for Jerusalem's sake, I will not rest.

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Till the righteousness goes forth as brightness and the salvation thereof is a lamp that burns. Now these words were words that related to captivity in Babylon. Now when the Jewish people were captives in Babylon there were some of them who were successful in Babylon and because they were promoted and they

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were getting good salaries in Babylon, they said, "Well now I have it made," and they were satisfied with life in Babylon. And they weren't going to rock the boat.

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They, they were not concerned about Jerusalem. Then there were those in Babylon who, even though they recognized the fact that they were in Babylon, They were concerned about Jerusalem and

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They prayed daily with their faces turned toward Jerusalem While there were those who were so satisfied in Babylon that they no longer sang Zion's songs There were those who were satisfied only to sing the popular ditties of Babylon

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who had forgotten about the healing hurt of God's people. There were prophets there who no longer spoke for God but for prophets, priests who no longer ministered to the brokenhearted. There were those who were so much in tune with Babylon that they were just satisfied

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to forget about Jerusalem. But we must not be at ease in Babylon with the kind of faith that is so prevalent in Babylon. There must be those who have a kind of dynamic faith to see beyond the captivity of Babylon

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to that day of new liberation. For we are dwellers in Babylon in search of a new Jerusalem. We must learn to live in Babylon

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with Jerusalem in our hearts. And that's why there were those who said, if I forget the Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her cunning.

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May my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth If I remember not Jerusalem above my chief joy. And then there's another reason, not only those who think they have it made

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who become attuned to an easygoing attitude, mood of life. Another reason for taking it easy is that it is a way of avoiding strenuous activity.

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While it's a way of avoiding strenuous activity, the danger is that it leads to softness, it leads to decay, it leads to indifference, it leads to apathy.

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The less we do, the less we want to do. And we find ourselves becoming soft. Yeah, a few months ago I found it, I was having a little trouble with my back.

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Get up in the morning, I wouldn't feel like really walking and my wife had the same trouble and when we began to investigate it we spent one period of time we tried out just sleeping on the floor something hard and we felt better.

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So we got a hard mattress. Cost more, but it was better for us. So sometimes that soft feather bed you think that's so good for you isn't really the best But there's a danger in being at ease if one is going to rise And be alert and be on the job

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There is a danger in being at ease in Zion danger of taking it easy because easiness contributes to weakness The rich farmer had a bumper crop. He wanted to build bigger barns and take it easy. He said to himself So take thine ease Eat drink and be merry

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But the divine judgment was thou fool This night is thy soul required of thee To be at ease in Zion is to seek salvation without sacrifice To be at ease in Zion is to seek pleasure without pain.

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To be at ease in Zion is to seek hope without holiness. And to be at ease in Zion is to seek conversion without commitment. There is a danger in being at ease in Zion.

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And I think this is a word that comes to the church today, the church of our time. That was a book that came out of Canada a few years ago. A study was made of church life in Canada and from that study a book was published called

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The Comfortable Pew. The Comfortable Pew. This is sort of a mode of organized religion in our time. And all of us are somehow affected by it.

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we come in, the first thing some people are concerned about is how comfortable, you know, am I going to be? And so our church is concerned about comfort. We're concerned about having the temperature just right, and we're concerned about having all of the things that contribute comfort and yet somehow when we get beyond this we seek to have the same

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kind of comfort in our lives and when we sort of look for that kind of comfort and think that we are living the life of Jesus Christ there is a danger and that's why Kierkegaard wrote his attacks on Christendom is is that there were preachers who were more concerned about the comforts than they were the cross.

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And the preachers of his time were so concerned about comforts that it ended up that those who could most eloquently describe the sufferings of the cross were those who lived in the greatest luxury. And I think that may be said of our times. And the danger comes in the fact that when we are at

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is in Zion is that we neglect that which God has really designed for our lives. We don't want to rock the boat. And they must, this rustic shepherd from Tekoa comes into the temple at Bethel with its plush carpet and with all of its beauty, its glass glass stained windows so to speak and with all of the luxury and he found those comfortable worshipers there who were not disturbed about

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the hurt of the people and he said Woe to them That are at ease in Zion When he said that

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Amaziah the priest the pastor so to speak at Bethel said Amos you get away from here you go back home. We don't need you up here talking about suffering and giving your word of condemnation. The people cannot bear your words. You go back home. The prophet is abrasive. The prophet says words that are disturbing. And the prophet

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is not very popular. The true prophet isn't popular in any time. He disturbs the consciences of people and Amos is disturbing the consciousness of the nation so to speak. He's disturbing the conscience of the nation and they don't want to hear that. True prophet. Back in 1965 Baptist World

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Alliance met in Miami, Florida. It was during the civil rights struggle of the 60s. It was during the height of the popularity of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He's a great Baptist. He distinguished himself in many, many ways as a world figure but we were too little I'm talking about the Baptist World

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Alliance we were too little to have that great Baptist to appear on our program and that was one of the issues we discussed they were they wanted to hear Billy Graham but not Martin Luther King because you see his words were abrasive They pricked the conscience, so to speak.

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They pricked the conscience of people. And they were words that called forth the kind of morality and the kind of spirituality that we should have.

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And people wanted to be at ease in Zion. They want to hear that. - Yes, sir. - Zion is a mighty fortress,

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and those who dwell in Zion are called to be watchmen on the walls. They're called to live courageously. They're called to live dangerously.

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They're called to endure hardness as a good soldier. That's what we're called to do, to endure hardness as a good soldier. Beware! There's a danger of being at ease in Zion. And what does it mean to be uneasy in Zion?

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Well, brothers and sisters, it means to have a divine discontent. That's what all of us ought to have. I'm not satisfied with myself as I am. I'm not where I'd like to be along this pilgrim way.

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I know there are stages in life, but I haven't yet reached the stage in life that I'd like to reach. And so there's a little uneasiness there. And I know that this is not my permanent home. I know that I'm on my way somewhere beyond

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this veil of wrath and tears. I just have a tent here now, a temporary dwelling place. But there is beyond this tent, there is an eternal tabernacle.

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And somehow I must have become so satisfied with myself here in this tent as if I'm going to always be just like I am here and now. I have to be uneasy in Zion. Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease while others fought to win the

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prize and sail through bloody seas? Sure I must fight if I would reign, increase my courage, Lord. I'll bear the cross, endure the pain supported by thy word. To be uneasy in Zion is to be a promoter of peace,

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to have an irresistible urge to do good. In other words, you know, sometimes it's rather hard to promote peace in the midst of an atmosphere of war. Sometimes it's very difficult to have an irresistible urge to do good when people all around you are doing otherwise. But to have this kind of relationship that Amos is talking about, it means that there has to be something inside you that you just can't help.

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Martin Luther King Jr. tells this story. He said that he'd met one girl and he came to his father and he said, "Daddy," talking to Daddy King, "I think I'd like to marry her." Daddy King said, "Martin," he said, "I wouldn't marry that girl if I could hip it." And he went on. He met another one and he spoke to him about her and he said, "I think I'd like to marry her."

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He said, "Well, Martin, I wouldn't marry that girl if I could hip it." And then he came to his father and he said, "Father, I've met Coretta and I'd like to marry her." He said, "Well, I wouldn't marry her if I could help it."

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He said, "Well, Daddy, I just can't help it." That's what it really means to be on easy inside. It ought to be something deep down within that no matter what happens, what others may and what others may do that I have to do this because I just can't help it.

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For Zion's sake, I cannot rest. For Jerusalem's sake, I will not hold my peace until the righteousness goes forth as brightness and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burns. Oh as we hurry on here to a close you don't do this, you do this until. In other

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words you're gonna live in a state of uneasiness until. Until, that's that's a real key word there until. Until. How long will I do it? Well until. The Prophet Isaiah asked the Lord when when he responds to the challenge to go forth and preach he said Lord how long shall I cry and the answer comes back until until the land

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lies waste until there are no occupants in the land until Lord how long will it be before you will avenge our death that's the cry of the slain Saints underneath the altar in heaven. How long? And the answer comes back, until. Until those who abide in yonder's world are slain and suffer just as you have suffered in yonder's

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world, until. The man had his wife that had been with him for some forty years. They lived together and she was on her bed of affliction and she was stricken and she could not speak and she just scribbled on the note she said there's so much said I have to tell you but I cannot until so much so much more beyond but we

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We have to wait until the great until, until God calls us to move up higher. How long will the wheat and tar grow together? Until the harvest, until. So somehow, somehow this feeling of being at home with God is something that we not

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only journey toward something that gives us a sense of divine discontent and uneasiness as we journey on in this world. That no matter what may happen, no matter how bombs are bursting in air, and no matter how the floods may come and beat against us, that we continue on until that day when righteousness goes

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forth as brightness and the salvation thereof is the lamp that burns." This is what it means to be uneasy in Zion. It means somehow to be possessed with a divine discontent. It means to be possessed with that hope and with that faith that will enable us to work on until God calls us home. 'Tis the old ship of Zion.

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That's the hope of the world. And when you get on this ship, there's a certain uneasiness there because you have to be uneasy in Zion. The storms are raging and the floods are beating against that ship.

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But if you are there, you are safe. And as you come now, as the choir leads us in singing the old ship of Zion, we ask you to come and unite with the people of God God in living a life which means that we'll be uneasy in Zion.

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It's the Old Ship of Zion. [ Music ] [Music] What is that ship loading up over yonder?

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What is that ship loading up over yonder? ♪ What is that cheer ♪ ♪ Floating up over yonder ♪ ♪ Save a dream in your own little head ♪

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[Singing] These two are just too beautiful. Watch them. ♪ To the power of the lion ♪ ♪ Get off, Lord ♪

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♪ You are the lamb ♪ ♪ Jesus, at the end ♪ ♪ I owe you my life ♪ ♪ She has left me ♪

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♪ My dear mother ♪ ♪ She has left me ♪ ♪ My dear mother ♪ ♪ Get on, Lord ♪

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♪ Her own Lord ♪ ♪ She had landed ♪ ♪ Many a dozen ♪ ♪ She had landed ♪

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♪ Minyan gaza ♪ ♪ She and her dead ♪ ♪ Minyan gaza ♪ ♪ Get on board ♪

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♪ Get on board ♪ ♪ She will surely ♪ ♪ Make the journey ♪ ♪ She will surely ♪

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♪ Make the journey ♪ ♪ She will surely ♪ ♪ Make thou and me ♪ ♪ Get on, Lord ♪

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♪ Get on, Lord ♪ ♪ In Jesus ♪ ♪ He's the captain ♪ ♪ In Jesus ♪

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♪ Is the King ♪ ♪ In Jesus ♪ ♪ Is the King ♪ ♪ There on high ♪

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♪ At all ♪ - Submission now to the report. [ Silence ]