1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,880 Bibles now to the book of Zephaniah. 2 00:00:03,640 --> 00:00:05,880 If you're kind of panicking right now because you don't have 3 00:00:05,880 --> 00:00:09,480 an idea where that is in the Bible, don't worry, you're in 4 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,400 good company. It's it's a hard book to find. 5 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:16,880 It's on page 788 and the chair Bibles around you and it's the 6 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,800 fourth to the last book of the Old Testament. 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,640 So it might, might be able to find the Gospel of Matthew and 8 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,240 then start paging back. But but don't get stuck, stuck 9 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:28,000 on Zechariah. Keep going until you get to 10 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:30,240 Zephaniah. Zephaniah. 11 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,120 This is the the next book in our summer series on the minor 12 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,560 prophets that we're going through it chronologically. 13 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:44,440 And and so before we go through this book, because this is a 14 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,320 less familiar, I'm first going to give some background to it. 15 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:53,960 But before we do that, let's pray and ask God to do the all 16 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,520 important work that only He can do. 17 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:02,400 Heavenly Father, we come and we ask that You would give us ears 18 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:07,440 to hear now, to hear Your word, to hear the warning call of the 19 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:11,720 coming judgment Day of the Lord. And Lord, I pray that You would 20 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:16,760 prepare us for that day, that we would not be panicking or 21 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:21,360 apathetic about it, but that we would be confidently ready and 22 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,240 joyfully ready because of what Jesus Christ has done. 23 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,240 So I pray that you would do that work in us now in Jesus name, 24 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:33,560 Amen. Where were you this past 25 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,600 Thursday when the tornado warning sirens went off? 26 00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:44,280 I had I'd seen the, the tornado, a watch switch to a warning. 27 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:46,400 And so I hit the road to go back home. 28 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:50,120 And so I was on the in the car when when the sirens went off 29 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:55,120 and my phone started blaring. And because I knew that they 30 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:58,040 just get get back to the family. Yeah. 31 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:00,880 What, what, what feelings do you get when those sirens go off? 32 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:03,960 You kind of get that pit in your stomach. 33 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,840 Are you one of those weird people that those storm chaser 34 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:09,240 types? They get all excited and then 35 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,600 you try to get find the best of you in your house to see the 36 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:16,640 storm come through. Now what if you're, what, what 37 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:19,800 would be your response if you heard that siren again and again 38 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,840 and again and again, but no storm would ever come. 39 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,160 But you probably develop a completely different response to 40 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:30,880 it, right? Well, that kind of happened to 41 00:02:30,880 --> 00:02:35,120 me when I was a, when I was a kid during the, the mid 90s, I 42 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:37,320 lived in the small town of Lester Prairie. 43 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:39,880 It's a farming town of about 1000 people. 44 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:45,800 And, and in that town, they, they, they had a siren that 45 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:54,000 would go off every day twice, once at noon and once at 6:00. 46 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:58,200 That is unless it was the first Wednesday of the month, in which 47 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:00,920 case it would go off at at 1:00 instead of noon. 48 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:07,720 And that siren, it was located on Old Water Tower which was 49 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,800 behind a fire station no more than 100 feet from our house. 50 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:16,200 So naturally we got annoyed quite quickly with this siren. 51 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,200 It would wake up my sister if she was napping, the dog would 52 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,320 howl. And one time my little cousin 53 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:25,280 was visiting us, the siren went off and he panicked and he ran 54 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:28,920 towards the road and thankfully he was stopped. 55 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,120 So my mom had enough of this and she decided to figure out why it 56 00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:36,880 was going off twice a day and, and, and wanted to see if 57 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:38,120 there's something we could do to silence. 58 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:43,400 It turns out that for some some small farming communities like 59 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:46,240 Lester Prairie, that the town siren would go off to call 60 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:52,040 farmers in for lunch and supper. Now this was the 1990s, not the 61 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,880 1890s. So so we figured that this is a 62 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,160 little out of date. So my mom went to the City 63 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,760 Council to request the siren be stopped, would would stop being 64 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,840 set off twice a day. But there's this one City 65 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:07,200 Council member who kind of seemed to be the power guy. 66 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,640 And he said that, well, you know, his nephews, they would, 67 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,480 they would know what time to come back from the park when the 68 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:17,920 siren would go off. So the council did not go with 69 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:21,360 my mom's request. A little while later, the old 70 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,200 water tower was torn down and the siren was brought down with 71 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:27,560 it. For a few months we thought our 72 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:31,480 problems were over until we saw them installing the same siren 73 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:35,760 onto the fire station, now just even closer to our house. 74 00:04:38,440 --> 00:04:42,280 But once a new mayor was elected and he was actually a write in 75 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:46,880 candidate small town politics, my mom submitted her request 76 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,120 once again and the siren was finally done away with. 77 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,760 The province of Aniah along with other prophets, proclaimed 78 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,440 messages that were like tornado sirens. 79 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:01,640 They warned of the coming storm, of God's judgment. 80 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:05,400 And for some of you here today, when you hear a warning like 81 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:09,080 that, like what you'll hear in Zephaniah, you'll have feelings 82 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,080 of panic, kind of like my little cousin when you heard the siren. 83 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:17,280 Maybe for some of you, you, you've heard this warning of the 84 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:20,520 coming judgment of God again and again for many, many years. 85 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,920 And it's just really doesn't have much of an impact on you 86 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,880 anymore. Perhaps it's kind of a little 87 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:30,880 annoying to hear another sermon on the judgment of God. 88 00:05:32,840 --> 00:05:34,920 Why doesn't the pastor just preach on something practical or 89 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:40,360 relevant? My hope and prayer today is that 90 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,720 as we hear Zephaniah's warning of the coming day of judgment, 91 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:48,480 that God would move us away from both a response of of panic and 92 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,480 both the response of apathy. My hope is for God to give us 93 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,040 ears to hear the warnings of Zephaniah and to be ready for 94 00:05:56,040 --> 00:06:00,040 the day of judgment so that we can stand confidently and 95 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:05,400 joyfully on that day. Confidently and joyfully. 96 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:09,200 So let's let's dive in here. So who? 97 00:06:09,200 --> 00:06:13,360 Who is the prophet Zephaniah? While we read in the first verse 98 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,720 that he was the son of Khushi, son of Gedeliah, son of Amoriah, 99 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,240 son of Hezekiah, the name Hezekiah wasn't. 100 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,920 It wasn't super uncommon, but the fact that Zephaniah goes all 101 00:06:25,920 --> 00:06:29,120 the way back 4 generations to name him probably means that 102 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:31,360 this was the king, the king Hezekiah. 103 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:34,880 So Zephaniah was likely of royal lineage. 104 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:40,000 Other than that, we don't know much more about Zephaniah as a 105 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,840 person. Now what was going on in his 106 00:06:42,840 --> 00:06:45,880 day? In context, verse one says that 107 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,760 he prophesied in the days of Josiah the king of Ammon, king 108 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:53,160 of Judah. King Josiah reigned over the 109 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:58,560 southern Kingdom of Judah between 6:40 and six O 9 BC. 110 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:02,160 So scholars estimate the Zephaniah he may have been 111 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:07,560 prophesying around 623 BC and that date is 100 years, almost 112 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:12,000 to the day 100 years after the northern Kingdom of Israel fell 113 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:14,720 to Assyria. And so here is Judah in a 114 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:19,880 similar bad spot where like what Israel was in 100 years ago, 115 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,160 where idolatry is rampant, wickedness is everywhere. 116 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,120 And, and, and God was proclaiming judgment on them. 117 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:32,400 The the kings immediately prior to Josiah were, were wicked and 118 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:36,200 they had led the nation deep into idolatry like his his 119 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:41,240 father Amon had done. Now, now, do we have any 8 year 120 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:43,560 olds in here? I know there's a few out there. 121 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:45,240 Yep, Yep. See my son in the back. 122 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:49,280 Yeah, well, King Josiah, he became king at age 8. 123 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:53,160 Now imagine that. Imagine being a king or queen at 124 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:54,720 that age. That's kind of like Narnia, 125 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:59,760 like, right. And thankfully, Josiah, he was a 126 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,680 good king and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 127 00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:06,600 He brought about many great reforms in Judah. 128 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:09,520 He he repaired the temple. And in the process of repairing 129 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:14,320 the temple, the the the the law, the book of the law was found. 130 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,520 And so Josiah brought obedience to the law of God back to God's 131 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,800 people. He also went on a rampage 132 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:28,920 against idolatry in the land. But sadly, Josiah's reforms did 133 00:08:28,920 --> 00:08:33,840 not stick after his death. He was the last good king of 134 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,440 Judah. 4 evil kings followed him, leading the people back to 135 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:42,200 idolatry. And in a mere 23 years after 136 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:46,200 Josiah's reign, Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians would be 137 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,600 sent by God to destroy Jerusalem and exile a remnant of God's 138 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,120 people. So it seems likely that 139 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,760 Zephaniah's message here likely came in conjunction with 140 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:01,640 Josiah's reforms, but but perhaps, but likely prior to 141 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,480 their success. And as the book seems to hand, 142 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,280 the reforms wouldn't be permanent and God's judgment was 143 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:10,840 still coming soon to Judah and the surrounding nations. 144 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,760 So Zephaniah's message, it was, it was addressed to Judah and 145 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:17,760 light of King Josiah's impending reforms. 146 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,400 And it was also addressed to the surrounding nations, just like 147 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:23,680 so many of the other prophets that we've seen so far, like 148 00:09:23,680 --> 00:09:26,560 Isaiah. So you'll hear him warn the 149 00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:32,040 nations of, of God's judgment. But Zephaniah's message wasn't 150 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,840 just for the people of his day. It's a message for all people 151 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,080 throughout history. It's it's for us. 152 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,120 And for, because as you'll, as you'll see, he prophesied of a 153 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:45,680 day of judgement that is much bigger than what Nebuchadnezzar 154 00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:49,160 would bring. It will be a judgement of all 155 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:53,760 the world. Now let's walk through 156 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:56,800 Zephaniah. And as we read it, you'll hear 157 00:09:56,800 --> 00:10:02,080 him sound the warning siren of the day of the Lord 18 times. 158 00:10:02,880 --> 00:10:06,080 We'll see him proclaim 2 warning calls to Judah and the world. 159 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,360 And in the in the middle of that, he'll call the surrounding 160 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,640 nations of Judah to repentance. But at the end, you'll hear a 161 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:18,720 very different message, one of hope and surprising joy. 162 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:24,480 So look with me at Zephaniah 1. Now let's consider the first 163 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:27,280 warning. Call God's judgment of Judah in 164 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:32,280 the world, chapter 1, starting in verse one here the word of 165 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,840 the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushy, the son of 166 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:40,360 Gedaliah, son of Amoriah, son of Hezekiah in the days of Josiah 167 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:42,880 the the son of Ammon king of Judah. 168 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,040 I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the 169 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:51,760 earth, declares the Lord. I will sweep away man and beast. 170 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:54,800 I will sweep away the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the 171 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:56,640 sea and the rubble with the wicked. 172 00:10:57,000 --> 00:10:59,880 I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, declares the 173 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:01,840 Lord. I will stretch out my hand 174 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:04,880 against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 175 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:09,080 and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal and 176 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:11,360 the name of the idolatrous priests. 177 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:14,840 Along with the priests, those who bowed down on the roofs to 178 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,680 the host of the heavens. Those who bowed down and swear 179 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:19,960 to the Lord, and yet swear by Milkham. 180 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,760 Those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not 181 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:28,360 seek the Lord or inquire of Him, Be silent before the Lord God, 182 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:31,720 for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a 183 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,640 sacrifice and consecrated his guests, and on the day of the 184 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,480 Lord's sacrifice, I will punish the officials and the King's 185 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,680 sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. 186 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:45,920 On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the 187 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,720 threshold and those who fill their master's house with 188 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:52,320 violence and fraud. On that day, declares the Lord, 189 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:55,600 a cry will be heard from the fish gate, a whale from the 190 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,040 second quarter, a loud crash from the hills. 191 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:02,440 Whale OO inhabitants of the mortar, for all the traitors are 192 00:12:02,440 --> 00:12:05,120 no more. All who weigh out silver are cut 193 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,960 off at that time. I will search Jerusalem with 194 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,200 lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent. 195 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,120 Those who say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good, nor 196 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:18,760 will he do I'll. Their goods shall be plundered 197 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:21,800 and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they 198 00:12:21,800 --> 00:12:24,400 shall not inhabit them. Though they plant vineyards, 199 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:26,080 they shall not drink wine from them. 200 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,920 The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast. 201 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:33,200 The sound of the day of the Lord is bitter. 202 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,200 The mighty man cries aloud there. 203 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,000 A day of wrath is that day. A day of distress and anguish, a 204 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,960 day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day 205 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:47,480 of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle 206 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:50,120 cry. Against the fortified cities and 207 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:54,480 against the lofty battlements. I will bring distress on 208 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:58,360 mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they 209 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,440 have sinned against the Lord. Their blood shall be poured out 210 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:03,480 like dust, and their flesh like dung. 211 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,160 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver 212 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:09,480 them on the day of the wrath of the Lord. 213 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:14,080 In the fire of His jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. 214 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:18,600 For a full and sudden end He will make of all the inhabitants 215 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:26,920 of the earth. In this first chapter we see 216 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:31,240 three things, the extent of judgment, the reason for 217 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:33,960 judgment, and the day of judgment. 218 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:36,360 The extent, the reason, and the day. 219 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:39,320 Let's look first at the extent of God's judgment. 220 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:43,480 We'll see in verses 2 through 4 that the extent of God's 221 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:48,120 judgment is all-encompassing. In verse 2 he says He will 222 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:52,080 utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth. 223 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:57,800 Then in verse three, He includes not only mankind, but also all 224 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,320 beasts of the field, birds of the heavens, the fish of the 225 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,040 sea. The reference to all of these 226 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,480 animals brings us back to Genesis 1, to the creation of 227 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,560 everything. And now here God is declaring 228 00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:13,080 the destruction of everything. All of creation is affected by 229 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,640 the wickedness of man, who is appointed to have dominion over 230 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:19,960 it after He proclaims A worldwide judgment. 231 00:14:19,960 --> 00:14:23,080 In verse 4, God specifically calls out Judah and Jerusalem 232 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:25,760 for their wickedness. Even though they are God's 233 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,880 chosen people, they will not be exempt. 234 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:33,760 When God judges all the earth, they do have turned their backs 235 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:36,160 from following the Lord and will be held accountable for the 236 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,800 rebellion. The first chapter ends with the 237 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,640 bleakest outlook imaginable. Verse 18. 238 00:14:44,680 --> 00:14:48,360 In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed. 239 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:53,520 For a full and sudden end He will make of all the inhabitants 240 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:59,200 of the earth. The extent of God's judgement is 241 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:02,920 universal. No one will be overlooked, no 242 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:08,560 sin will remain hidden, no injustice will go unpunished as 243 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:12,160 Hebrews 413 says, and no creature is hidden from His 244 00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,400 sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to 245 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:22,840 whom we must give an account. That is the all-encompassing 246 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:27,600 extent of God's judgement. Next, the reason for God's 247 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:30,200 judgement. In this first chapter the Lord 248 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,080 gives a handful of reasons why His wrath is coming on Judah. 249 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,560 One of the biggest reasons is idolatry. 250 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:41,400 Idolatry. In verse 4 we see that the 251 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,680 worship of Baal was being sanctioned by the priests. 252 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,200 And verse 5 we hear that people were bowing down to the heavens 253 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:51,120 to to worship the the moon and the stars and the sun. 254 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,480 In verse 5, we also hear that Judah was swearing by Milkham, 255 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:57,920 which is that's probably the God Molech. 256 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:02,600 Molech was the God to whom child sacrifices were being made at 257 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:07,200 times. So Judah's idolatry was also 258 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,040 synchronistic. That's what I mean by 259 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,080 synchronistic is that is what we see in verse 5, that they would, 260 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,960 they would bow down and swear to the Lord and yet swear by 261 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:20,040 Milkham. So they would follow the Lord 262 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,560 and they would follow other gods. 263 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:27,960 That's syncretism. But God is a jealous God, right? 264 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,320 And as we saw in the book of Hosea, he will not tolerate his 265 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,680 bride committing spiritual adultery with another God. 266 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:44,800 He is worthy to be worshipped exclusively and above all other 267 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:48,360 sins are given as reasons for God's judgment, violence and 268 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:52,320 fraud in verse 9, Verse 18, a trust and wealth. 269 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:57,440 Verse 9, Pagan superstitions jumping over the threshold. 270 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,320 But there is one more sin I want to mention that stands out 271 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,280 because even though this was written over 2500 years ago, 272 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:08,200 humans haven't changed. Human heart has not changed. 273 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,520 Look at verse 12. At that time I will search 274 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,400 Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are 275 00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:16,680 complacent. Who's those who say in their 276 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:20,240 hearts, Lord will not do good, nor will he do I'll? 277 00:17:22,599 --> 00:17:27,760 This is a kind of deistic apathy about God that is still present, 278 00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:30,520 prevalent today. It's just that it's general 279 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,120 belief in God. But people believe that he isn't 280 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:37,920 really involved in their lives. He doesn't care how they live 281 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:39,280 and he won't do them good or I'll. 282 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,800 So as we can see, the sins of Judah were many and heinous. 283 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,920 God's judgment was and is justified. 284 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,520 So we've seen the extent of judgment and the reasons for 285 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:58,120 judgment. Now we'll consider the day of 286 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:01,240 judgment. In the 1st chapter alone. 287 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:05,840 He mentions this day 14 times. He's sounding the tornado siren 288 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:10,280 again and again and again. He describes this day in a 289 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,320 variety of ways. He calls it the day of the Lord, 290 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,800 the day of the Lord's sacrifice, the day of the wrath of the 291 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:18,880 Lord, the day of the anger of the Lord. 292 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:23,520 And in verses 14 through 16, look there with me, he gives a 293 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:25,320 truly terrifying description of that day. 294 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:30,680 Verses 14 through 16, The great day of the Lord is near, near 295 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:33,760 and hastening fast. The sound of the day of the Lord 296 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,440 is bitter. The mighty man cries aloud 297 00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:39,240 there. A day of wrath is that day, a 298 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:43,280 day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a 299 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:47,600 day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a 300 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:51,720 day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities 301 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:53,880 and against the lofty battlements. 302 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,480 So Zephaniah uses storm like language here to describe the 303 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:03,200 Lord's wrath for sin and no strength of humanity can 304 00:19:03,200 --> 00:19:06,040 withstand it. Not the mighty man, not the 305 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:08,280 fortified city, not the lofty battlement. 306 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:13,480 There is no mere man or man made shelter that can shield you from 307 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:21,160 this storm. Now Zephaniah speaks of this day 308 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:24,800 in two senses. It's kind of like when you're 309 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,360 driving out West and you're, you're heading towards the Rocky 310 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:30,160 Mountains and you see the mountains in the distance and as 311 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:33,320 you get closer, what you thought was 1 mountain actually actually 312 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:36,280 you can see that that was actually 2 mountains, 1 mountain 313 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:40,840 in front of the next. Zephaniah speaks of the day of 314 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:46,560 Lord in this and kind of in this sense, Judah and each nation 315 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:50,160 mentioned in Zephaniah will face their own separate days of 316 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,760 judgment in the day in the years and decades to come. 317 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:59,000 Judah would face their day of judgment, and 586 with the the 318 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,560 coming of the Babylonians, their surrounding nations like the 319 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,760 Philistines, the Moabites, the Kushites, and the Assyrians, 320 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:09,640 they would they would all face their own days of judgment when 321 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:14,160 their nation would end now mostly or maybe entirely by the 322 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,040 hand of the Babylonians. So there was a day of imminent 323 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,000 judgment that Zephaniah's original audience would soon 324 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,240 have to face. But that's not the only day of 325 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,400 judgment. There is another mountain, a far 326 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:33,120 larger mountain of judgment that is behind all other mountains 327 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:39,440 and is the day of judgment that all must face without exception. 328 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:44,400 And that day comes when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in all of 329 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:49,080 His glory with His heavenly host of angels, and the dead will all 330 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:53,680 be raised, the righteous with glorified bodies like Jesus 331 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,440 body, and then all will stand before the judgment seat of God. 332 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:03,680 The righteous will be clothed with Christ and the unrighteous 333 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,680 will be naked. That is the great day of the 334 00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:11,360 Lord, a day we must be prepared for. 335 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,480 Now we come to chapter 2 of Zephaniah and and it begins with 336 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:21,240 Zephaniah directing everyone's attention to the only way to be 337 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,920 protected from the wrath of the Lord for sin. 338 00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,480 There's something they and we can do. 339 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:34,200 Before that day comes, you receive a call to repent God's 340 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:38,120 judgement on the surrounding nations through the 1st 3 verses 341 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:41,280 of Zephaniah 2. Gather together. 342 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:45,320 Yes, gather, O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect, 343 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,520 before the day passes away like chaff, before there comes upon 344 00:21:49,520 --> 00:21:52,480 you the burning anger of the Lord, before the, before they 345 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,200 there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord. 346 00:21:55,920 --> 00:22:00,040 Seek the Lord, All you humble of the land who do is just 347 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,960 commands. Seek righteousness, Seek 348 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:06,760 humility. Perhaps you may be hidden on the 349 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:14,880 day of the anger of the Lord. You see here that the Lord is 350 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:19,160 calling people to gather before the decree of judgment takes 351 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,640 effect, before the anger of the Lord comes upon them. 352 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,840 They are to gather together in humility and to seek the Lord in 353 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:31,720 faith, in repentance, in prayer, and in obedience. 354 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,080 They're to turn away from from living in rebellion against God 355 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,160 and to return to the Word of God. 356 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:42,080 If they were to repent, then Zephaniah says in verse three 357 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,400 that they would be hidden, sheltered on the day of God's 358 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:52,600 anger. God is so patient, isn't he? 359 00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:58,640 After all of their wickedness, after all of our wickedness, He 360 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:03,800 still gives us an opportunity to repent and find shelter in Him. 361 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:09,560 God is so patient. This is a much different tone 362 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:11,000 than the first chapter, isn't it? 363 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,440 Commentator Ian Do Good says of this. 364 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:19,920 Zephaniah was not merely writing to condemn his hearers for their 365 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,360 sins, however. Rather, he was urging them to 366 00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:25,560 flee from the wrath to come and find a safe refuge from the 367 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,000 storm while there was still time. 368 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,880 Like a tornado warning. The the prophet's stark message 369 00:23:31,880 --> 00:23:34,840 of the danger of the of impending death was not designed 370 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,800 designed to simply terrify his hearers, but rather to save 371 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:41,120 their lives. His message had been recorded in 372 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:45,360 the Scripture so that it may have the same impact on us as it 373 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:47,720 was intended to have on his original hearers. 374 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:51,480 If Zephaniah's tornado warning about the oncoming and imminent 375 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,680 destructive storm of God's fierce wrath against human evil 376 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:59,720 and sin is still in effect, and all of us had better heed it and 377 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,240 seek shelter for ourselves when the opportunity exists, the day 378 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,800 of the Lord is still a reality to be reckoned with. 379 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,720 There is a shelter to hide in on the day of the anger of the 380 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,440 Lord. And that shelter is not your own 381 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,960 good works. It's not your best efforts. 382 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:22,160 That shelter is not your parents. 383 00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,080 That shelter is not how how zealous you are for God. 384 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,240 The only refuge is the Lord Jesus Christ. 385 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:37,560 Psalm 2 verse 12 says kiss the Son, that's the Lord Jesus. 386 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:40,640 Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for 387 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:45,360 his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge 388 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:50,960 in him. By faith in Jesus. 389 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,800 We are united to Him, and as Colossians 33 says, our life is 390 00:24:56,040 --> 00:24:58,880 hidden with Christ. In God. 391 00:25:00,160 --> 00:25:02,520 Our life is hidden. We take refuge in Him. 392 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:09,720 We're safe. There's still time to turn your 393 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,560 life around and follow Jesus. We don't know how much more 394 00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:15,000 time, We don't know how much longer. 395 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,200 So don't wait another day to give your life to the Lord. 396 00:25:19,120 --> 00:25:29,320 Today is the day of salvation. The rest of chapter 2 consists 397 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,840 of God's proclamation of judgment for the nations that 398 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,400 surrounded Judah. He speaks to nations east, West, 399 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:39,720 north, and South of Judah all around God's, not just. 400 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:42,000 He's not just singling out Judah for its wickedness. 401 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:45,480 All the other nations who are not in covenant with God are 402 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:50,080 still accountable to God. All of these nations would not 403 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:54,120 recover from God's judgment. Like Nina, for example. 404 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:58,960 But Judah would be different. Actually, in verse 9 we read of 405 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:03,880 a remnant of God's people, survivors of the coming 406 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,480 judgment. These people would go into 407 00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:10,880 exile, but they would one day return to Jerusalem, to Judah, 408 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:14,080 and re establish their nation and their covenant with God. 409 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,200 But even though the nation's mentioned in chapter 2 wouldn't 410 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:21,960 recover from God's judgment, there is still hope in this 411 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,120 chapter for the Gentile nations of the world. 412 00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:29,600 So if you look at verse 11, the Lord will be awesome against 413 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:34,040 them, for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to Him 414 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:38,920 shall bow down each in its place, all the lands of the 415 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:42,360 nations. To him shall bow down each in 416 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:44,560 his place, all the lands of the nations. 417 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,680 That's a remarkable prophecy of the all the nations of the earth 418 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,920 bowing down to the Lord God. I think this will be fulfilled 419 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:58,480 at the return of Jesus Christ. Philippians 210 and 11 says that 420 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:02,960 we know so well at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in 421 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:05,360 heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue 422 00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:09,720 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the 423 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:15,280 Father. So there is hope for the Gentile 424 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:19,920 nations. Now we come to chapter 3, 425 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:25,360 Zephaniah 3 that begins in a similar way to chapter one with 426 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:28,240 a warning called the Judah and the nations of the world. 427 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:32,760 Verse 8 speaks of the sins of Judah, specifically its leaders, 428 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:36,520 and it warns the nations that they are cut off. 429 00:27:37,760 --> 00:27:41,520 Verse 8 repeats the same phrase at the end of chapter one, that 430 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:45,680 in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. 431 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:51,960 But when we come to the end of Zephaniah verses 9 through 20, 432 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,640 the prophecies take a striking turn. 433 00:27:59,960 --> 00:28:06,000 The day after Thursday storm this past week, Friday, it took 434 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:07,600 it took a quite, quite the turn, didn't it? 435 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,480 Friday was beautiful and peaceful. 436 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:15,680 I went on a walk with my family that evening and and that the 437 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:19,480 blue skies and the the lush green trees, the tranquil 438 00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:23,600 breeze, the people calmly enjoying a walk or playing golf, 439 00:28:24,280 --> 00:28:26,000 It was. It's just almost hard to believe 440 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:29,680 that the day before that everyone was sheltered in a fear 441 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:34,000 of a tornado. The message of Zephaniah takes a 442 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,640 similarly striking turn. Now the dark storm of judgment 443 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:41,560 against all the earth gives way to the tranquil blue skies of 444 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:47,120 God's mercy and peace and the joy of people from every nation. 445 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:53,360 Because of the the dark and dreadful backdrop of the 446 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:58,000 beginning of Zephaniah's message, his ending message of 447 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,440 hope and joy are a surprising relief. 448 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:07,400 So here we see a call to rejoice God's future conversion of the 449 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:10,920 nation's and his permanent restoration of Judah in Christ. 450 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:13,680 So read with me starting in verse 9 of chapter 3. 451 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:19,480 For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a 452 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:23,480 pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the 453 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:28,120 Lord, and serve him with 1 accord from beyond the rivers of 454 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,240 Cush. My worshippers, the daughter of 455 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,160 my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering. 456 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:37,360 Here God prophecies that a day is coming when He will bring 457 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,000 about the change needed for the nations. 458 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,920 He will give them a pure speech. He will change their hearts so 459 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:48,240 that they will call upon His name and serve Him and worship 460 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:53,000 Him in one accord with unity. Verse 11. 461 00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:57,600 On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by 462 00:29:57,600 --> 00:29:59,280 which you have rebelled against Me. 463 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,560 For then I will remove from your midst your proudly exalted ones, 464 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:08,920 and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain, but 465 00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,680 I will leave in your midst of people humble and lowly. 466 00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:15,000 They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord. 467 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:20,160 Those who are left in Israel, they shall do no injustice and 468 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,520 speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a 469 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:27,120 deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie 470 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,400 down, and none shall make them afraid. 471 00:30:32,680 --> 00:30:37,360 God's holy mountain, the new heavens and earth that the new 472 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,240 Jerusalem, that will be a place where there is no more shame for 473 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:46,440 our rebellion against God. We will forever be at peace with 474 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:51,520 God on the cross. Jesus took on himself all of our 475 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,920 shame and we will live humbly before our God. 476 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,200 No longer will the prideful and arrogant turn their backs 477 00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,520 against God. The prideful will have no place 478 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,880 in heaven. Only those who have taken refuge 479 00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,520 in the name of the Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, will have 480 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:13,160 a home with God. We will be like well fed sheep, 481 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:17,320 living in peace and prosperity and safety. 482 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:25,080 Verse 14 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout, O Israel, 483 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:27,240 rejoice and exult with all your heart. 484 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,960 O daughter of Jerusalem, the Lord has taken away the 485 00:31:30,960 --> 00:31:33,600 judgments against you. He has cleared away your 486 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:36,920 enemies, the King of Israel. The Lord is in your midst. 487 00:31:37,160 --> 00:31:44,320 You shall never again fear evil. There couldn't be a more polar 488 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:49,440 opposite passage here than from chapter 1. 489 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:53,320 Instead of dread, there is a call to rejoice for those who 490 00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:55,120 have sought their refuge in Jesus Christ. 491 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:59,480 They are assured that the Lord has taken away their judgments 492 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,200 against them. How has God done that? 493 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:08,560 God didn't sweep sin under the rug and show us partiality. 494 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:14,120 No, God is a just God who punishes sin, and He is the 495 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,520 justifier of those who put their faith in Christ. 496 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:21,240 The Lord took our way, our judgments, and placed them on 497 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:27,200 Jesus, and so our sin was justly punished and we were forgiven 498 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:31,840 and reconciled to God. It was the perfect solution to 499 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:36,920 our unsolvable problem, and so we shall never again fear evil. 500 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,480 Our king, King Jesus, is in us now. 501 00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:45,760 He's with us now, and He will forever reign in our midst when 502 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:48,480 we dwell with Him in His forever Kingdom. 503 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:55,440 Now let's read the last verses of Zephaniah. 504 00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,880 We see that not only will we rejoice in God's salvation, 505 00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:02,520 there is someone else who will be rejoicing too. 506 00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:07,680 Verse 16 on that date shall be said to Jerusalem. 507 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,280 Fear not, O Zion, let not your hands grow weak. 508 00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:15,040 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will 509 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:18,120 save. He will rejoice over you with 510 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:20,840 gladness. He will quiet you by His love. 511 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:23,640 He will exalt over you with loud singing. 512 00:33:24,680 --> 00:33:27,240 I'll gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that 513 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:29,400 you will no longer suffer reproach. 514 00:33:30,120 --> 00:33:34,000 Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors, and I 515 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:37,840 will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change 516 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,120 their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 517 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,320 At that time I will bring you in at the time when I gather you 518 00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,280 together, for I will make you renowned and praised among all 519 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:53,280 the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before 520 00:33:53,320 --> 00:34:01,080 your eyes, says the Lord. Our rejoicing, our shouts of joy 521 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:04,120 will be outmatched by God Himself. 522 00:34:05,560 --> 00:34:09,480 God will rejoice over us. He will quiet us with His love, 523 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:14,199 and verse 17 even says that He will exalt over you with loud 524 00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:17,760 singing. What will that be like? 525 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:24,040 What will it be like to hear God sing and to sing of His love for 526 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:28,120 us? We'll just have to wait to find 527 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:33,960 out. But hearing that song, that love 528 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:38,960 song of God, hearing that love song that is worth enduring 529 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:48,840 anything in this life to hear. So that's the message of 530 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:52,360 Zephaniah. So how, how does it apply to us 531 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:56,480 today? Well, here's some recap. 532 00:34:57,520 --> 00:34:59,000 Be ready for the Day of the Lord. 533 00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:01,880 Don't panic. There's no reason to panic. 534 00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:07,160 Have a proper respect for the day of the Lord, but but don't 535 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:09,760 panic. God's provided a shelter for us 536 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,600 on that day. And it's it's not a, it's not a 537 00:35:12,600 --> 00:35:14,720 place, it's a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. 538 00:35:15,240 --> 00:35:18,840 In him we're safe and secure. So don't panic. 539 00:35:20,520 --> 00:35:23,880 We also must not ignore the warnings of the Day of the Lord. 540 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:29,160 I lived in downtown Minneapolis during seminary, and one 541 00:35:29,160 --> 00:35:31,560 afternoon we were playing ultimate Frisbee and the sirens 542 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:36,240 went off. We kept playing for some time, 543 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:39,760 ignoring them as the dark clouds came from the West. 544 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:43,080 Little did I know that a tornado was ripping through north 545 00:35:43,080 --> 00:35:46,400 Minneapolis, just a few miles from where I was. 546 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:50,280 That was pretty foolish of me to ignore those warning calls. 547 00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:55,040 Don't make an even worse mistake by ignoring the Lord's warning 548 00:35:55,040 --> 00:36:01,200 of the coming day of the Lord. Turn to Christ today after the 549 00:36:01,200 --> 00:36:03,320 service, stay here, talk, talk with me, talk with Pastor Chris, 550 00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:04,480 one of the elders, just somebody. 551 00:36:05,160 --> 00:36:07,280 Let's talk together. Get right with God. 552 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:12,200 Second, keep yourselves from idols. 553 00:36:13,520 --> 00:36:15,120 Idolatry. It's in each of our hearts. 554 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:18,240 It's common to all. We covet the things of this 555 00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:20,440 world and, and they're, they're idols in our hearts. 556 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,800 Our hearts are to be a temple of the Holy Spirit where we offer 557 00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:28,840 up sacrifices of praise and, and, and, and a temple of God is 558 00:36:28,840 --> 00:36:32,760 no place for an idol. So, So what do you covet? 559 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:36,680 What do you, what fights for first place in your heart? 560 00:36:38,600 --> 00:36:41,800 Do you tend towards syncretism where, where you, you want to 561 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:45,560 have your cake and eat it too? You want to worship God and 562 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:47,280 indulge in the pleasures of the world. 563 00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:52,880 God is a jealous God and he is not OK with you committing 564 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:57,760 adultery against him. He loves you with a deep and 565 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:05,440 holy love and so to him alone belongs your souls devotion. 3rd 566 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:08,760 and finally, Zephaniah gives us amazing reasons to rejoice. 567 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:14,960 We exist to glorify God and enjoy him forever, as our 568 00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:19,400 Catechism first question says. And because of Jesus life, death 569 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:22,960 and resurrection, we can have a restored relationship with God 570 00:37:23,400 --> 00:37:30,600 and we can fulfill that purpose. That is reason for us to rejoice 571 00:37:30,600 --> 00:37:33,480 forever and ever. But not only do we exist to 572 00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:39,960 enjoy and glorify God, we also exist to be rejoiced over and 573 00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:43,320 loved and enjoyed by God forever. 574 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,560 That is the essence of the beauty of this covenant 575 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:51,320 relationship that we have with our Lord. 576 00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,840 We rejoice in Him, He rejoices over us, we love Him, He loves 577 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:57,480 us. It's a relationship. 578 00:37:59,320 --> 00:38:03,720 So brothers and sisters, rejoice that God will sing over you a 579 00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:10,840 song that will forever content your heart with His love, never 580 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:14,720 to long for another. Let's pray. 581 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,480 Lord Jesus, we thank you for the message of Zephaniah. 582 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:26,680 Thank you for sobering us about the reality of what's coming. 583 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:30,320 And Lord, we pray that there wouldn't be fear in our hearts 584 00:38:30,320 --> 00:38:34,800 right now, but rather that there would be a resting, a sheltering 585 00:38:35,960 --> 00:38:40,640 in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that from that sheltering, 586 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:43,880 from that resting, we asked Lord, that what would emerge 587 00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:48,320 would be rejoicing, rejoicing in the Lord with all of our hearts. 588 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:55,280 Lord I, I pray that we would also rest in your love, that we 589 00:38:55,280 --> 00:39:00,720 would think on hearing your love song toward US one day. 590 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:08,480 O Lord, may we persevere to hear that song over us as we pray in 591 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:09,800 Jesus name, Amen.