1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:07,240 Good morning church. We are going to be in the book 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:12,400 of Zephaniah today. If you're using the Bible under 3 00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,000 your seat, you can go to page 748, but you might have a 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,440 different version and that other page is on the screen. 5 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:27,560 OK, so we're going to start in chapter 1, verses one through 6. 6 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:34,400 The word of the Lord came to Zephaniah the son of Kushai, son 7 00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:39,240 of Gedeliah, son of Amoriah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of 8 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,640 Josiah the son of Ammon, king of Judah. 9 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,080 I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the 10 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:52,120 earth, declares the Lord. I will sweep away man and beast. 11 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,400 I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the 12 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:57,880 sea in the rubble with the wicked. 13 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:01,320 I will cut off mankind from the face of the earth, declares the 14 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,840 Lord. I will stretch out my hand 15 00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:06,640 against Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 16 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:12,040 I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal in the name 17 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:16,040 of the idolatrous, idolatrous priest, along with the priests, 18 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:19,480 those who bow down on the roofs to the hosts of the heavens. 19 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:22,960 Those who bow down and swear to the Lord, and yet swear by 20 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:25,320 Milkham. Those who have turned back from 21 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:29,320 the following of the Lord, who do not seek the Lord or inquire 22 00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:32,600 of Him. And we're going to jump down to 23 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:35,560 12 through 13 in the same chapter. 24 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,000 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will 25 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,280 punish the men who are complacent, those who say in 26 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:48,120 their hearts the Lord will not do good, nor will He do I'll. 27 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,320 Their goods shall be plundered and their houses laid waste. 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,360 Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them. 29 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:00,280 Though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from 30 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,600 them. We're going to move to chapter 31 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:10,759 2, verses one through 3. Gather together. 32 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:15,520 Yes, gather, O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect, 33 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:19,760 before the day passes away like chafe, before there comes, 34 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,240 before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, 35 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,960 before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord. 36 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:32,960 Seek the Lord and all you humble of the land, who does his just 37 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,040 commands. Seek righteousness, seek 38 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,480 humility. Perhaps you may be hidden on the 39 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:42,680 day of the anger of the Lord. And then we're going to go to 40 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:50,840 chapter 3, verses one through 3. Woe to her who is rebellious and 41 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,760 defiled the oppressing city. She listens to no voice. 42 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,960 She accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord. 43 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,320 She does not draw near to her God. 44 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,240 Her officials within her are roaring lions. 45 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,800 Her judges are evening wolves. That nothing to that leave 46 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:12,440 nothing till the morning. Then we're going to go lastly to 47 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,040 verses 14 through 17 in the same chapter. 48 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,680 Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion, shout. 49 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:24,240 O Israel, rejoice and exalt with your heart. 50 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,040 O daughter of Jerusalem, the Lord has taken away the 51 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:30,720 judgments against you. He has cleared away your 52 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,200 enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord is 53 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,400 in your midst. You shall never again fear evil. 54 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:42,840 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion, let 55 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:46,560 not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your 56 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:49,160 midst, a mighty one who will save. 57 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,400 He will rejoice over you with gladness. 58 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:55,760 He will quiet you by His love. He will exalt you over you. 59 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,360 He will exalt over you with loud singing. 60 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:08,840 This is the word of the Lord. What's going on Port City family 61 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:11,200 and friends, how we doing? Good. 62 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:13,840 My name is Tanner. It's a privilege to be with you. 63 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,040 Continuing our Minor Prophet series. 64 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,040 Y'all this week. One of my favorite artists, 65 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:22,720 indie worship, never thought I'd be into that. 66 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,160 Is that the right way to describe our friend our our Jess 67 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:27,720 Ray is that way to describe her indie worship? 68 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,600 I don't even know what it means, but sometimes I'm talking to you 69 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,000 about hip hop. This is not hip hop, but she 70 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,640 came out with a song called I Am Not God. 71 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:38,120 That's the name of the song and it's amazing. 72 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,880 You need to look it up. That's some of your homework and 73 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,160 y'all, this is a church. Like if you're if you're coming 74 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,120 around, you're getting around more and more like this starting 75 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:49,080 block of like what we want to be about is that phrase like I am 76 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:51,200 not God. Like there just is a certain 77 00:04:51,200 --> 00:04:52,920 humility. There was a time in my life I 78 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,240 hated that phrase. I didn't know that phrase, but I 79 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,240 thought it was God in my sin. I just thought I was the coolest 80 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,600 person in the world. But y'all, that phrase now to 81 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,440 believers is just so comforting in a week like this. 82 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:06,880 We need that phrase. Just I'm not God, man. 83 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,480 I don't have all the answers. I know who does. 84 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:13,520 I don't have it figured out, but I'm not God. 85 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:15,680 And there's something she says in the song. 86 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,480 She says, what a sweet relief. I am not God. 87 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:21,800 It's just a vibe. You need to go listen to it. 88 00:05:22,120 --> 00:05:25,560 And yeah, if you're looking for a local church family and just 89 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:27,800 wondering what we're about, we are about I'm not God. 90 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:31,240 We are a collection of ragtag misfits just stumbling along, 91 00:05:31,240 --> 00:05:33,240 clinging to Jesus together, saying I'm not God. 92 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:35,800 We've got we're trying to be multicultural, multi 93 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:37,600 generational. There are immigrants and 94 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:42,200 military personnel, all kinds of people, ODU faculty and students 95 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,640 like we want to be a hodgepodge that is our city just. 96 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,520 But the one refrain behind all that is I am not God. 97 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:49,360 That's what all those people are saying. 98 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:51,760 Amen. Somebody OK, let me pray. 99 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:53,800 And then we're going to dive into this amazing book of 100 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:55,480 Zephaniah. Let's let's pray one more time. 101 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,040 Our Father, we gladly proclaim we are not God. 102 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,040 You are not just a smarter, slightly bigger version of us. 103 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,160 God, you are holy. You are unique, you reign God. 104 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:12,400 You are the God who can be over the nations and reign and in 105 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:15,440 some kind of way you see the moving pieces and, and, and you 106 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:17,800 are over it all. And you are also the God who is 107 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,560 near to the broken hearted. You are a refuge and you are 108 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,520 down in the weeds and the details and you see every tear. 109 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:26,880 You put our tears in a bottle. You count the hairs on our head. 110 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,960 So we pray right now to the God who reigns over the nations and 111 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,520 knows the number of hairs on each of our heads as we speak 112 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:37,200 and God, we just ask you God who is both over it and in it. 113 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,600 You're more powerful than than all the dynamics we ask you just 114 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:43,560 to comfort in the season. We ask you to convict God. 115 00:06:43,560 --> 00:06:46,280 Your word says you will convict the world concerning sin and 116 00:06:46,280 --> 00:06:48,920 righteousness and judgement. I pray you just wake us up that 117 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,160 life is not a game. This is not ours. 118 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,320 It's not just randomness after there is capital T truth God. 119 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:59,360 So just help us to be humble enough to believe you and trust 120 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:01,640 you. So help us now as we open your 121 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:02,400 word. We love you. 122 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:04,000 We pray this to Christ's name, Amen. 123 00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:09,320 Y'all March Madness is upon us. If you are not familiar with 124 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:10,960 that term, let me explain it to you, OK? 125 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:14,800 March Madness refers to college basketball's end of year playoff 126 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,920 system, OK? If you lose a game, you out and 127 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,560 they keep playing each other from 64 down to one, OK? 128 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:23,240 And they call it March Madness because a lot of the games in 129 00:07:23,760 --> 00:07:26,200 crazy, all right? They just get crazy. 130 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:31,560 But the craziness tends to go up as the game goes on, right? 131 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:33,920 Because there's a basic principle in sports. 132 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:39,280 The clock determines the play. How much time is left dictates 133 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:40,640 the type of things you're going to see. 134 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:42,880 If there's 18 minutes to go, you're not jacking up a half 135 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,680 court shot, are you with me? But if there are three seconds 136 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,440 left and you down by three, you do what you got to do. 137 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,320 You know what I mean? And so as you watch these games, 138 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:53,760 you're going to watch chaos unfold the closer you get to 139 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:56,480 time ending. We are in a minor prophet 140 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:57,520 series. We're coming to the book of 141 00:07:57,520 --> 00:07:59,320 Zephaniah. And the best way to put what the 142 00:07:59,320 --> 00:08:02,800 prophets are is they are the realist telling you how much 143 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,960 time is left on the clock. Are you with me, y'all? 144 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,120 This is some of us. What we need today is a 145 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:10,440 recalibration. All of us need recalibration. 146 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,040 Some of us need recalibration how much time we think is on 147 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:14,760 that clock. And some of us need 148 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:16,960 recalibration of what game we think we plan. 149 00:08:17,160 --> 00:08:18,720 Some of us don't know how to play basketball. 150 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:20,680 Are you with me? And like, let me explain to you 151 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,120 what I mean by game. Just to be real clear, this is 152 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,240 God's world and he made us to dwell with him in it. 153 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,560 He wants to sing over you in delight as the book of Zephaniah 154 00:08:29,560 --> 00:08:31,760 will end. He wants you to be his 155 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:33,640 possession. He wants to dwell with you and 156 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,559 you to live out his law and bring him glory as you do it 157 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:41,960 together, Co reigning together. The problem is that is not the 158 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,080 game we default into, OK? What we default into is this is 159 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:47,400 my world. This is my game. 160 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:51,920 I'm in charge, I run the show or we just kind of drift into just 161 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:54,360 comfort seeking. Like who really knows if there's 162 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:57,720 any truth And we can, you know, we're not directly opposed to 163 00:08:57,720 --> 00:08:58,840 God. I don't, I don't hate him or 164 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,720 nothing. I just I'm just doing my thing 165 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,600 and I want an easier life, you know, And to all of that, the 166 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,200 prophets just RIP open reality as God sees it and he just 167 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,960 speaks in OK, so that's what we're going to see today is the 168 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:14,440 the next installment of what God has to say. 169 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:16,920 We're talking wrath. We're talking hard things. 170 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:20,720 And the book ends beautifully, which is so counter to how a lot 171 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,440 of this sermon is going to go. It just ends with amazing, just 172 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:25,680 God singing over you with delight. 173 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:28,520 And it's like, how does that fit with all the stuff we're going 174 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,600 to talk about to get there? And once you see the cross of 175 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:33,520 Jesus, it fits perfectly. OK. 176 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,600 The idea is we all go through the fire. 177 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,400 For some of us, it will purify. For some of us, it will not. 178 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:45,200 And my prayer for us is that we walk out of here excited to play 179 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:46,400 the game with God. Are you with me? 180 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,960 I know that phrase has its limits, but I stretch phrases to 181 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:51,440 their limit in this church. OK? 182 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:53,800 That is one of the other things you have to be committed to. 183 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,080 So if that all makes sense, we got three points. 184 00:09:57,080 --> 00:09:58,880 The first one is when God is ignored. 185 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:01,520 The second one is when a city becomes corrupt. 186 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,320 And the third one is when God restores his people. 187 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:05,920 If you are ready, let me hear you say I'm ready. 188 00:10:06,960 --> 00:10:09,120 All right, point #1 when God is ignored. 189 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:13,960 Zephaniah one one through 6 said this, the word of the Lord that 190 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:17,160 came to Zephaniah the son of Kushai, son of Gedaliah, son of 191 00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:22,360 Amoriah, son of Hezekiah in the days of Josiah the son of Amon 192 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:24,480 king of Judah. One of y'all kids just needs to 193 00:10:24,480 --> 00:10:26,720 memorize that and walk around saying it around your house 194 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:29,000 because it's awesome and those are real people. 195 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:30,840 Amen. Somebody that puts it in about 196 00:10:30,840 --> 00:10:35,960 the 640 kind of range post fall of Assyria, pre fall Babylon. 197 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,720 He's preaching to Judah. I will utterly sweep away 198 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:41,960 everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord. 199 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:44,520 I will sweep away man and beast. I will sweep away the birds of 200 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,040 the heavens, of the fish of the sea, and the rumble with the 201 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:48,880 wicked. I will cut off mankind from the 202 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:50,200 face of the earth, declares the Lord. 203 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,960 I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all 204 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:57,000 the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off from this 205 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,200 place the remnant of Baal, which is how I refer to it, even 206 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:01,760 though it's not the Hebrew pronunciation. 207 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:04,800 Amen. In the name of the idolatrous 208 00:11:04,800 --> 00:11:07,680 priests, along with the priests, those who bow down on the roofs 209 00:11:07,680 --> 00:11:09,960 to the hosts of the heavens, Those who bow down and swear to 210 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:11,680 the Lord, and yet swear by Milkham. 211 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,200 Those who have turned back from following the Lord, who do not 212 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:20,280 seek the Lord or inquire of him. Y'all, there are three reality 213 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:24,480 checks particularly for the people of God that we just read 214 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:27,600 because Judah is God's place. Jerusalem was God's city. 215 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:29,960 He's talking priest. This mainly applies to the 216 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:31,760 people of God, though it will apply to everybody. 217 00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:34,880 I got three things we just need to pay attention to that are 218 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:36,920 dangerous. Number one, there is danger and 219 00:11:36,920 --> 00:11:41,280 idolatry which is replacing God. There is danger and idolatry 220 00:11:41,280 --> 00:11:45,120 which is replacing God. If you read the text there, you 221 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,880 notice it said the, the judgment's going to fall on 222 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:50,600 everybody and everything. And it, it talks fish, it talks 223 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:53,520 bird and then it, it, it talks humanity. 224 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:56,480 It's kind of reverse order of what creation was like. 225 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,480 Like if you think bird and fish, then I don't remember the exact 226 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,720 order there, but you're with me like it's it's almost like 227 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,240 creation is unraveling. The reason for that Y'all, the 228 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,120 reason that judgment will unravel creation. 229 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,200 It kind of fits with the biblical view of sin, which is 230 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:15,160 that sin is AD creator. Sin unravels reality. 231 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,640 Sin is not aligning with who God is and what he says and we 232 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:21,880 corrupt things when we sin. Every time we sin, we are D 233 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:24,760 creating a little bit. So the judgment fits the crime. 234 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:26,400 Are you with me? The punishment fits the crime 235 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:30,360 like the the the way judgement will go down will fit with what 236 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,200 sin was doing all along. Are you with me? 237 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:34,960 It's not arbitrary pain infliction. 238 00:12:35,240 --> 00:12:38,080 It is almost like expediting the unraveling. 239 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:42,680 Are you with me So in particularly the sin in mind 240 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:45,160 here is idolatry. Somebody say idolatry. 241 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:50,240 Idolatry is a fancy word for God replacement. 242 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:55,800 OK, every human heart worships. It does not matter if you have a 243 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:57,760 religion. It doesn't matter if you select 244 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,560 none on your next census that you are not religious. 245 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:03,360 Your heart worships. That's what the Bible teaches. 246 00:13:03,360 --> 00:13:06,560 Your heart is a trusting factory. 247 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,400 You look to things to keep you safe and satisfy you. 248 00:13:09,400 --> 00:13:10,800 We all do that. We all want to be happy. 249 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,760 We all want to be safe. And idolatry refers to the 250 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:17,000 propensity of your heart to seek anything other than God to do 251 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,520 that. And what's unique about the 252 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:22,120 people of God is we still do that, but we can act like we 253 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:23,320 love the Lord while we're doing it. 254 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:25,400 We know how to play the game, right? 255 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:27,880 That's a lot of what this prophet series is, is actually 256 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:31,200 calling out the people of God because God sees y'all don't 257 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:32,920 love me. Y'all trust in that. 258 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:35,760 And in Judah, I just want y'all to know how bad it was. 259 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:38,520 Y'all. So can I hear how bad was it? 260 00:13:38,520 --> 00:13:43,120 T Thank you for asking me that. Let me tell you how bad it was. 261 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,920 Listen, this is how bad it was, OK, When King Josiah comes into 262 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:49,440 power, you can go read about this in Second Chronicles 34. 263 00:13:49,800 --> 00:13:52,560 It was so bad that he's looking around. 264 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:54,360 He comes to be king at 8 years old. 265 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,480 By the way he looks around, he's like, we don't love God. 266 00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,280 Like what are all these altars? Who is Baal? 267 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,240 And he just starts ripping stuff down everywhere. 268 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:03,560 Go clean up the temple. He gets the crew to go clean the 269 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:04,800 temple. They go look at the temple, 270 00:14:05,080 --> 00:14:06,640 dusting off stuff, cleaning it up. 271 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:10,400 It's not been worship Worshipful of the one true God in a long 272 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:11,440 time. They've just been doing all 273 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:15,000 kinds of weird stuff and they stumble across a book and they 274 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,800 literally they pick it up. It's the Bible by the way. 275 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:21,840 They can't recognize it. They bring it to him. 276 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:25,880 They go, we found the book. Y'all this is in the temple. 277 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:30,440 The priests come and say, we found a book and King Josiah 278 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,080 reads it and rips his clothes. He's like, have y'all read this? 279 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,320 He gets all the leaders together, all the elders, all 280 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:38,440 the officials, all the priests, and he just reads it over them. 281 00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,840 And there's a little bit of a reform that goes down, but 282 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,840 obviously not all the way to the heart level or they wouldn't 283 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:48,360 have fallen to the Babylonians about about 80 years later. 284 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:50,240 Y'all with me? It was so bad. 285 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:52,960 It was so bad they didn't even recognize God's word. 286 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:57,280 But here's what's crazy about it is they still thought we're the 287 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:00,440 people of God. They go to temple, they don't, 288 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,720 they can't recognize God's law in it. 289 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:05,160 They love bail. They trust bail is keeping them 290 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,480 safe and satisfied. They were becoming like the 291 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:09,840 nations. They wanted military prosperity. 292 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,920 They wanted to be safe. They wanted comfort and that's 293 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:15,160 what drove them. But they could say we're God's 294 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:16,200 people. Are you with me? 295 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:19,440 I'll show you how bad it gets in verses 12 and 13. 296 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,760 Go there at that time. So at the time of judgement, I 297 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:26,040 will search Jerusalem with lamps. 298 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,560 The idea is there will be no dark place that I don't find 299 00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:31,000 out. And I will punish the men who 300 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:35,960 are complacent, those who say in their hearts the Lord will not 301 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:42,720 do good nor will he do I'll the second danger that this text 302 00:15:42,720 --> 00:15:45,760 just pointed out to us, there is danger in treating God as real 303 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,480 but not relevant, which is ignoring God. 304 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:53,120 So idolatry replaces God. Ignoring God is you're real, 305 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:57,360 you're just not relevant. These are the people that the 306 00:15:57,400 --> 00:15:59,640 the image here. You might even see a note above 307 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,240 the word complacent in your Bible and it says something 308 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:05,680 about wine down in your note. The imagery here in Hebrew is of 309 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:07,960 wine that has been untouched for so long. 310 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:11,040 It's like stagnant and getting like gross. 311 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:13,840 You know what I'm talking about, Like getting a little fuzz on 312 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:14,560 it. You know what I mean? 313 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:17,920 The idea is these people are unmoved by God. 314 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:22,880 Yawn, right? If rejection is know God or 315 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:27,240 forget you God or whatever. This reaction is just one of my 316 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:29,280 kids does this sometimes when I tell them something, he's trying 317 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:30,800 to be funny that they don't want to listen to. 318 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:32,440 They are trying to be funny. They don't listen to me. 319 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:36,360 They go just a just a little yawn, OK? 320 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:41,280 This is years and years and years of yawn at the Lord, OK, 321 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:45,640 Stagnant complacency in our vernacular, the the literal 322 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:47,280 thing they say, look at the text there. 323 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:51,520 The Lord will not do good, nor will he do. 324 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,960 I'll let me translate that for you. 325 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:58,640 He ain't gonna do nothing. This heart says God won't do 326 00:16:58,640 --> 00:17:00,200 anything. This is the real world. 327 00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:02,920 They mask it. We, we run our business how we 328 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:05,319 need to run it. God's not involved in this. 329 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:07,440 Does that make sense? Like all that Bible stuff is 330 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,640 good in theory, but this is the real world. 331 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:12,359 We got to make money. I could be rooted in extreme 332 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:15,400 practical. I got to get stuff done. 333 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:18,119 This person is not saying I hate God. 334 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:20,040 God's not real. God's real. 335 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:21,760 He's just not relevant to my life. 336 00:17:23,079 --> 00:17:27,040 I know God's word says this, but this is the real world. 337 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,240 I've been waiting long enough for whatever it is, whatever 338 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,360 justification we come up for doing things our way and what 339 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:36,680 many have deemed this kind of He's real but not relevant. 340 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:40,680 It's functional atheism. You might say with your brain, I 341 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,680 believe in the concept of God, but your life doesn't live like 342 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,040 he matters. So how are you any different 343 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,360 than the person who says there is no God? 344 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:51,760 Are you with me? On the street level? 345 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:55,040 They're the same because God's word means nothing to me. 346 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:57,560 It's as if he is not real. Does that make sense? 347 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,440 That's what we're like when we look at the Lord's Word and we 348 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:04,080 just say he ain't going to do good or I'll complacent. 349 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:08,320 There's a lot of danger in that. The day of the Lord will reveal 350 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,560 the danger in treating God as real but not relevant. 351 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:16,760 The third danger that Zephaniah hammers, we can see the summary 352 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,920 of it in chapter 2, verse 15. It's what the the text says. 353 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,360 It says this is the exultant city that lived securely. 354 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,720 Lived securely. That said, in her heart I am, 355 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,200 and there is no one else. What a desolation she has become 356 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:35,160 a lair for wild beasts. Everyone who passes by her 357 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,880 hisses and shakes his fists. Here's the third danger in the 358 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:41,240 book of Zephaniah. There is danger and arrogance, 359 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,520 which is denying God. So the first one is let's 360 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:46,760 replace him. The second one is let's ignore 361 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:48,840 him. The third one is let's deny him. 362 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,320 The shift in chapter 2 is away from Judah in Jerusalem. 363 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:54,720 I've told you throughout the series, judgement starts with 364 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:57,280 the household of God, but then it extends to everybody else. 365 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:00,600 So if you go pull up the ancient Near East map at the time in 366 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,560 chapter 2, he's calling out the Ammonites, the Moabites, and 367 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,480 like directionally it's north-south, east, West of 368 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:08,720 Judah. So the basic idea is everybody 369 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:13,160 will come under the judgement of the Lord, not just my people. 370 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,360 And at the heart of the reason for that judgement, this 371 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:19,160 universal judgement that will fall on everybody, is this heart 372 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:21,400 that says I am and there is no one else. 373 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:25,440 It's the heart that says I'm running this show, I'm God. 374 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:27,920 And the evidence is look at how secure our city is. 375 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:30,960 Clearly my view of reality is right because look at how well 376 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,040 it's going, right? It's I, I'm running the show. 377 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:36,920 And if if God wanted to intervene, he would if there was 378 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:39,480 one. It's an arrogant heart. 379 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:44,000 It's this heart that denies. The Bible would say that every 380 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,560 human being is born knowing that there is God, His eternal power, 381 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:49,880 divine nature is evident to all of us. 382 00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:52,520 Like we just kind of know. This is why kids just start 383 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,560 asking them questions at four and five years old of like, how 384 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:58,080 did I get here? And they're asking one side of 385 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:00,800 that conversation, but then they're asking like, but what is 386 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:02,560 like the purpose of all this? You know what I mean? 387 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:04,600 And they're they're just intuitively smart. 388 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:07,000 And then we just suppress that truth. 389 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,560 That's what the Bible says is our sin makes us suppressors of 390 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,720 what we all know to be true, which is the phrase I am. 391 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:14,520 And there is no one else is insane. 392 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,360 You know, you don't run nothing. You don't. 393 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:21,360 But in our sin, we think we do. It's been said that the essence 394 00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:23,480 of sin is to replace God with self. 395 00:20:24,120 --> 00:20:27,200 So it's kind of the idea that the ultimate idol, if you will, 396 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:31,680 is you like you become the ultimate head honcho through 397 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,760 whom all things run. And it's we've all sort of got a 398 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,320 little God complex in us. We all do that. 399 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:40,040 And y'all part of the goal of the minor prophet is the book of 400 00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:43,440 Zephaniah is to say the day of the Lord is coming on all three 401 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:46,520 of these replacing God, ignoring him, denying him. 402 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:50,160 They will all be judged. They will all be shown to be 403 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,200 silly. You were sitting down when there 404 00:20:52,200 --> 00:20:54,040 were 5 seconds left and you were down by three. 405 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,360 That was silly. You know, or maybe you never 406 00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:57,720 even learn how to play basketball. 407 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:00,320 That was silly. Some of us are going to 408 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,160 recognize how silly it was when the when the clock runs out and 409 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,440 the the profits are trying to be that thing that says I'm telling 410 00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:08,920 you how much time is left. Does that make sense? 411 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:13,920 I was reading this morning Luke 13, like some people are asking 412 00:21:13,960 --> 00:21:16,560 Jesus some questions and he just says, yo, you need to repent or 413 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:18,560 you're going to perish. And he references a local 414 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:20,680 tragedy that had just happened. He was like, you heard about 415 00:21:20,680 --> 00:21:22,480 that tower that fell and killed those people, right? 416 00:21:22,800 --> 00:21:24,400 He's like, you think those people are worse than anybody 417 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:26,880 else. So sometimes he's basically 418 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,040 saying tragedy happens. The lesson is repent. 419 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:31,680 Like the lesson is life is short. 420 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:33,800 The lesson is the clock is running. 421 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:36,520 Are you with me? And so I just want you to hear 422 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:39,040 y'all, the clock is ticking on life. 423 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:42,360 Like we will not live forever. You live 7080. 424 00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:46,480 It's funny when the life expectancy goes up to like 76, 425 00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:48,680 we're like, man, we're going to be here forever. 426 00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,720 It's like, no, you're not. It's like 5 more years. 427 00:21:51,720 --> 00:21:53,920 Just the point is we're not going to live forever. 428 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:57,000 You know? Yo, that should just wake us up. 429 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,920 It should sober us and it should make us ask why are we here? 430 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:04,600 Not to get some insurance for the next life, but what is the 431 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,920 point of the life here and now? So I think at times in in the 432 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:09,720 history of the church, we've made the mistake of being like, 433 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:11,560 and here's what you need to know for when you're about to die. 434 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:14,640 That is not what I'm saying. What I'm trying to say is your 435 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,760 life was meant to be lived a certain way with the Lord and 436 00:22:17,760 --> 00:22:20,880 all three of these responses ignoring him, replacing him, 437 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,400 denying him are insane. Are you with me? 438 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:27,920 And God is saying I see them all real but not relevant, replacing 439 00:22:27,920 --> 00:22:30,320 me, denying me. I see all of that and that's not 440 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,640 what I want for you and that's not what I want for y'all 441 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:33,880 church. That's not what I want for our 442 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:39,160 city. The second turn in the book of 443 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:43,040 Zephaniah that is pretty unique is that a lot of his 444 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:45,640 conversation about the clock ticking and day of the Lord and 445 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,320 judgement, it focuses in on the city of Jerusalem in particular. 446 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,400 So point #2 is when a city becomes corrupt. 447 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:55,440 And this is the connection we got to make as I as I read these 448 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,160 verses. The way the Bible sees it, your 449 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,280 worship is tied to your lifestyle. 450 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,720 The way the Bible sees it is your the the modern mind. 451 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:06,920 This happened about 300 years ago and has been happening ever 452 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:08,320 since. Is that worship is almost like a 453 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:11,080 hobby like you just kind of pick your pick your religion and it 454 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:12,880 doesn't really matter how you live, just be a good person no 455 00:23:12,880 --> 00:23:14,640 matter what. That is not how world history 456 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:16,360 has thought about it, not how the Bible thinks about it. 457 00:23:16,360 --> 00:23:19,040 The way the Bible thinks about it is how in what you worship 458 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,000 and why you worship it. Whether that is a God you 459 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,360 actually read the book and can intelligibly talk around or it's 460 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:29,520 just concepts like you, you know, you worship money or, or 461 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,200 your comfort or whatever it is that worship lifestyle will 462 00:23:33,200 --> 00:23:35,320 impact your impact, your living lifestyle. 463 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:37,640 Are you with me? How you live is downstream from 464 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,760 how you worship. That's sort of facts from the 465 00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:43,640 way the way the Bible sees it is you become what you worship is 466 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,920 what the Bible would say. So the city and the oppression 467 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,840 and the issues we're about to read about in Jerusalem are 468 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,080 happening as a result of everything we just talked about. 469 00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:55,560 They're not separate topics. They're linked, you're with me. 470 00:23:55,560 --> 00:23:57,600 And we've been talking about oppression and injustice a lot 471 00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,120 in this series, but we can't disconnect that from the worship 472 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:02,320 we just talked about. Are y'all with me? 473 00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:06,200 It's almost like this is sort of the inevitable output of a 474 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:08,320 people that ignores, replaces, denies God. 475 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:10,320 Are you with me? So now let's read chapter 3 476 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:15,440 verses one through 5. Woe to her who is rebellious and 477 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,840 defiled the oppressing city. She listens to no voice. 478 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:22,120 She accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord. 479 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:24,920 She does not draw near to her God. 480 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:28,720 Her officials within her are roaring lions. 481 00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:31,720 Her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the 482 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:33,400 morning. Her prophets are fickle, 483 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:35,840 treacherous men. Her priests profane what is 484 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:37,640 holy. They do violence to the law. 485 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:42,160 Verse 5. The Lord within her, her being 486 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,160 the city is righteous. He does no injustice every 487 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,160 morning. He shows forth his justice each 488 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:50,560 dawn He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame. 489 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,000 Y'all particularly here we're talking city of Jerusalem. 490 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,840 And as we've talked about throughout the city this series, 491 00:24:57,920 --> 00:25:01,000 Jerusalem was supposed to be the one place on earth that most was 492 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:04,280 aligned right where the worship is most central and white hot, 493 00:25:04,360 --> 00:25:08,280 so to speak, is where the the activity on the street should be 494 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,960 showcasing God's love. But as I've already told you, 495 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:13,040 they found the Bible and said, I found a book. 496 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:15,480 So there was a there was a gap. Are you with me? 497 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,200 And it was showing itself on the street level. 498 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,400 So the first thing I just want you to see from this is that 499 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:25,120 there there is such a link y'all between worship and living. 500 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:29,320 It is so huge. You can't disconnect them. 501 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,760 The way the Bible thinks of it, Zephaniah has been called the 502 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:36,280 prophet of the city. Some of the other prophetic 503 00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:39,240 books focus on oppression, a lot of these other things. 504 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:43,640 But in a lot of ways, Zephaniah is focused on how the wrong 505 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,800 worship leads to wrong leadership, which leads to wrong 506 00:25:46,800 --> 00:25:47,920 living. Are you with me? 507 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:53,560 It's like he's focused on helping us understand when you 508 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:56,640 worship that way, you're going to be LED a certain way and then 509 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:57,720 you're going to live a certain way. 510 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:01,000 Does that make sense? And so that's why he highlights 511 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:04,080 the the leadership, he pointed out the prophets, he pointed out 512 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:05,920 the priests, he pointed out the city officials. 513 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:11,360 He's trying to point out that the the private complacency 514 00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:13,640 leads to public corruption. Are y'all with me? 515 00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:15,960 Like the complacency we just talked about? 516 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,680 And God won't do anything good or bad. 517 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:20,760 It leads to a street level living where who cares what you 518 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:22,200 do? It's a dog eat dog world. 519 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:23,800 Do what you got to do. God ain't going to do nothing 520 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:25,120 good or bad. Are y'all with me? 521 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,760 God ain't here today you with me. 522 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,280 So let's do what we want to do and he's trying to help us. 523 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:33,640 See this link, which is an important word to the church 524 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,240 y'all because Jesus calls us a city on a hill. 525 00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:38,680 You know that right? Like disciples, we are the salt 526 00:26:38,680 --> 00:26:39,720 of the earth, the light of the world. 527 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,360 We're not a geopolitical location. 528 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:45,480 That's not what I mean by city, but we the people of God are a 529 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,440 city on a hill. We are the people that are to 530 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,400 live out Our Calling and make Jesus look good, but it is only 531 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:55,120 as we are aligned with His heart and His Word. 532 00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:58,000 In the second, our worship goes out the back door. 533 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,400 And I don't just in Sunday worship, I mean the worship of 534 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:03,080 your heart. What's going to happen is it's 535 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:04,800 not going to show itself on the street. 536 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:06,880 Are you with me? So what I want to do is just 537 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,880 draw out a few things that were just broken in the flow. 538 00:27:10,120 --> 00:27:12,800 Yes, at the worship level, but what was going wrong leadership 539 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,920 wise that Zephaniah is calling out? 540 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:20,400 OK, First, these leaders were seeking the comfort of self, not 541 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:23,600 the flourishing of others. They were seeking the comfort of 542 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:25,320 self, not the flourishing of others. 543 00:27:25,320 --> 00:27:30,600 Chapter 1, verse 7 and 8 says this, Be silent before the Lord 544 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:31,960 God, for the day of the Lord is near. 545 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:34,920 The Lord has prepared to sacrifice and consecrated his 546 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:37,880 guests and on the day of the Lord's sacrifice, I will punish 547 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:40,640 the officials and the King's sons and all who array 548 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:45,840 themselves in foreign attire. It's this idea that God actually 549 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:49,120 for the the leadership in Israel and Judah wanted them even down 550 00:27:49,120 --> 00:27:51,920 to their clothing to represent. We're set apart for the Lord our 551 00:27:51,920 --> 00:27:55,480 God and part of their flippancy of what God has to say was 552 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:59,760 showing up in they would wear the treasures of other nations 553 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,120 out in public. Are you with me? 554 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,400 So instead of being set apart like I'm the Lord's person, when 555 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,520 they were growing in wealth, they were like, oh, let me wear 556 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,320 the fur from that place or whatever it was. 557 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:12,200 Are you with me? So what leadership meant was I 558 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:14,240 got the fur. That makes sense. 559 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:17,200 Leadership no longer meant I'm seeking your good. 560 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:21,600 It is look at what I've got. So leadership becomes about how 561 00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:24,800 it serves your comfort, not the good of others. 562 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,560 But y'all, the point of leadership is to bring out the 563 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,520 flourishing in others. And for us here in our great 564 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:35,960 city, y'all just remember that as you go up in the org chart, 565 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:39,360 it's not for you. You're going up to help those 566 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,720 down. So we talk about this a lot. 567 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,520 Go chase the degree. That's good. 568 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:44,840 God has given you all some gifts. 569 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:47,400 He has given you the propensity to make some dollars and do some 570 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:50,000 things. God is not anti that, but the 571 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,960 American ethos is. It just gives you more time off. 572 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,320 It gives you more ease, it gives you more comfort. 573 00:28:55,320 --> 00:28:58,480 It's about what it does for you, right? 574 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,600 And I'm not anti growing up in the org chart. 575 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:04,960 I'm trying to say help those beneath you. 576 00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:08,000 That's the goal. But the second we are arrayed in 577 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:11,000 foreign attire, we're missing why we were given the position. 578 00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:14,680 Are you with me? So get get get with what you can 579 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:18,560 in the in the sense of growth. But the growth should serve more 580 00:29:18,560 --> 00:29:20,480 people. You should be pumped for what it 581 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:22,480 does for others. And there's some of y'all that 582 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:24,800 are doing that so well in our city. 583 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,680 In your positions of leadership you are thinking about those who 584 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:32,720 you are entrusted to care for, not just the next standard of 585 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:34,520 living thing you can increase in. 586 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,960 Second thing we see with these leaders is in a lot of ways 587 00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,400 y'all they just trust status and wealth. 588 00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:47,240 They don't trust God they trust what these things give them in 589 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:52,720 safety and security. In chapter 1, verse 11, it says, 590 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,480 well, O inhabitants of the mortar, for all the traders are 591 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,240 no more, and all who weigh out silver are cut off. 592 00:29:59,360 --> 00:30:02,760 Verse 13, Their goods shall be plundered and their houses laid 593 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:04,640 waste. So they build houses, they shall 594 00:30:04,640 --> 00:30:06,760 not inhabit them, though they plant vineyards, they shall not 595 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:10,080 drink wine from them. And then verse 18, neither their 596 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:12,920 silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day 597 00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:16,760 of the wrath of the Lord. It seemed like they had some 598 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,960 materialism going on you with me, like there was a high trust 599 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,880 in their, their possessions, making them safe. 600 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,320 It makes you valuable, it makes you important. 601 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:28,880 It means that you can withstand hardship when you have these 602 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,720 things and on the day of the Lord, that's going to look real 603 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:34,600 silly. So leaders should be the ones 604 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,760 both in the the public sphere and in the church sphere that we 605 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,400 don't represent. Leaders should not represent you 606 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,920 and your leadership capacity. We're not safe because we got 607 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:46,360 stuff. Does that make sense, parents? 608 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:49,440 Hopefully what we're not repping for our kids is we're safe here 609 00:30:49,440 --> 00:30:53,200 because we got this, you know, like the source of our safety, 610 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:56,040 the source of our comfort for the next season is the Lord's 611 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:59,400 nearness to this house, not our well, at least we got this, you 612 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:01,960 know, and it's good to thank God for blessings and all that. 613 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:06,280 Don't, don't mishear me on that. But it is clear that some of 614 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:09,120 their arrogance that we're good with the Lord is the stuff we 615 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:10,880 have. They were not taking seriously 616 00:31:10,880 --> 00:31:14,120 God's call for them to repent because they had abundance. 617 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:16,720 Are you with me? Abundance can deceive you that 618 00:31:16,720 --> 00:31:19,240 you're living well. Does that make sense? 619 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:23,040 It Oh, of course I'm doing well. I must be a good person. 620 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:24,280 I must. And it can make us more 621 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,720 self-righteous and arrogant and actually deaf from what God 622 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:31,000 wants. And we use the, the, the the 623 00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:34,080 materials, so to speak, to point to we must be in the right with 624 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:36,280 God. And I just want to say, Nah, 625 00:31:37,360 --> 00:31:39,480 it's not that that material is bad. 626 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:43,200 It's just we 1 to 1 correlate them. 627 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:44,680 Are you with me? And that's not the way the Bible 628 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:48,480 sees it. Third, leaders should be the 629 00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:51,320 first to submit. That was not what they were 630 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:53,920 doing. Leaders are not creators as much 631 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:55,960 as they are submitters. Are you with me? 632 00:31:56,160 --> 00:31:58,760 So like, think about the story I shared with you of Josiah. 633 00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:02,280 Josiah was a leader by getting God's Word and reading it and 634 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:03,200 then saying we're going to do that. 635 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,680 He didn't create God's Word. He found it, read it, submitted 636 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:10,680 to it. In chapter 3 that we read, it 637 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:13,560 says that these leaders were not listening. 638 00:32:13,680 --> 00:32:16,600 They listened to no voice. She accepts no correction. 639 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:19,120 She does not trust in the Lord. She does not draw near to God. 640 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,360 Her officials within her are roaring lions. 641 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,080 Her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the 642 00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:25,600 morning. Her prophets are fickle, 643 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:28,080 treacherous men. Her priests profane what is 644 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:29,960 holy. They do violence to the law. 645 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,160 I'm not saying that even in every job, your job is to get 646 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:39,000 out the Bible and just read it at your employees. 647 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,920 Don't hear me saying that. OK, but the concept of 648 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,800 leadership actually starts with what you're submitting to, not 649 00:32:44,800 --> 00:32:47,480 with what you're generating. Are you with me like to lead a 650 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:50,080 company Well, to lead an organization well to say this is 651 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:52,080 what we're chasing after that we're all submitted to. 652 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:56,480 It's not follow me and I'm a generator and y'all are all my 653 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,040 peasants. It's we are about this thing 654 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:02,160 together and we are going to submit, we're going to listen. 655 00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:04,800 I take accountability like it says, they take no 656 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:07,040 accountability. They don't listen to anybody. 657 00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:10,160 They accept no correction. So I would argue the way the 658 00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,120 Bible sees it is the best leaders are the first to submit. 659 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:17,640 We see this in Jesus. He was not, he was the Son of 660 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:20,280 God, but he didn't operate like God, like y'all need to listen 661 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:21,520 to me. He was submitted. 662 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,280 The start of his mission was submission. 663 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,560 And I think in many ways, our leadership culture pushes you to 664 00:33:27,560 --> 00:33:30,240 be the genius in every room. Does that make sense? 665 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:31,560 You've always got to be the top dog. 666 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,960 You got to be the one who's the genius and putting everybody in 667 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,480 line instead of just being like, what's this thing? 668 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:38,320 We're submitted to it. Me first, let's go. 669 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:40,680 You don't have to be a genius or a hero. 670 00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,360 You just got to be submitted to the right person, the right 671 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:44,600 thing. And yeah, sometimes that means 672 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:45,600 sharing God's word. Amen. 673 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:48,640 Somebody. OK, the last thing I'll say is 674 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:49,840 this. I wish I could read it. 675 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:52,320 I can get real hyped up about how I'm going to preach 676 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:53,280 something. I'm going to read that whole 677 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:55,200 chapter of this other part of the Bible in the sermon. 678 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:57,840 I'm not going to do that, but we are going to read a couple of 679 00:33:57,840 --> 00:33:59,920 things from Second Peter 3. So turn there. 680 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,200 I wanted to just read all of Second Peter to you and I was 681 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:05,080 like, you know what? I'll just read Second Peter 3 682 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,040 and now I'm about to read you like 2 verses because I've been 683 00:34:07,040 --> 00:34:09,360 talking too much. But this is what I want us to 684 00:34:09,360 --> 00:34:12,760 hear you all. One of the things that God's 685 00:34:12,760 --> 00:34:19,360 leaders have to be most aligned with God on is how much time is 686 00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:22,560 left in the game. Does that make sense out of 687 00:34:22,560 --> 00:34:25,920 everything a leader does, Parents, you're a leader in your 688 00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:28,080 household. No matter no matter what role 689 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:31,400 you have in your even students. Like you're leading something, 690 00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:33,920 you are authoring something. Authority means you author 691 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:36,280 whatever you have authority over. 692 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:39,000 One of the things you bring to the table is sobriety, about how 693 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:41,560 much time is left of the game and how it shapes how you live. 694 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:45,920 Are you with me y'all? I just want you to hear how much 695 00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:48,239 time is left in the game and how the Bible has always thought 696 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:50,800 about that. Maybe after a week like this or 697 00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:53,320 sometimes again, the Lord's not going to do anything good or 698 00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:56,080 I'll you've had thoughts like that. 699 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:57,760 You might have not said it, but like God ain't going to do 700 00:34:57,760 --> 00:34:58,920 nothing. You never thought that. 701 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:01,960 Come on now, y'all know y'all thought that. 702 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,440 OK, so I want to show you how second Peter can be a sobering 703 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:09,160 word to us because these kind of thoughts were going on 30 years 704 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:13,840 after Jesus was gone, OK Second Peter 3, this was written AD 67. 705 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,880 So again, y'all 30 years ago they Jesus rose from the dead 706 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:20,600 and talked to 500 people. There were a lot of eyewitness 707 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:23,520 people who saw him. And within 30 years they're 708 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:25,320 going to say stuff like what I'm about to read to you. 709 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,080 It's more like 5 verses. I'm adding to them as we speak. 710 00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:29,920 Stalin a little bit. Are y'all with me? 711 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:36,400 Let's start in verse. I want to read it all. 712 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:39,280 OK, verse 4. Some of y'all like just do it. 713 00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:46,440 Chapter 3, verse 4 actually go back to verse I I just got to do 714 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:48,840 it. Y'all listen, just just give me 715 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:52,560 verses. Give me verses one through 11. 716 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:55,960 Can we do 11? I trimmed it from 20 down to 11. 717 00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:57,960 Here we go, chapter 3, verse one. 718 00:35:57,960 --> 00:35:59,920 This is now the second letter that I'm writing to you, 719 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:02,200 beloved. In both of them, I'm stirring up 720 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,040 your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should 721 00:36:05,040 --> 00:36:07,800 remember their predictions of the holy prophets and the 722 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,640 commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. 723 00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:14,520 Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last 724 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:16,280 days with scoffing. That's what scoffers do. 725 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,280 They be scoffing following their own sinful desires. 726 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,040 Here's what they will say. They will say, Where is this 727 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:25,480 promise of His coming forever? Since the fathers fell asleep, 728 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,080 all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of 729 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:30,240 creation. Translation. 730 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:32,760 Nothing's changing. Verse 5. 731 00:36:32,760 --> 00:36:35,440 For they deliberately overlooked this fact that the heavens 732 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:38,000 existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and 733 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,640 through water by the word of God, and that by means of these 734 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,400 the world that then existed was deluged, was water, and 735 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:46,360 perished. But by the same word, the 736 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:49,000 heavens and earth that now exists are stored up for fire, 737 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,320 being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the 738 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:52,680 ungodly. Verse 8. 739 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:55,960 Dope. But do not overlook this one 740 00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:59,400 fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as 1000 years, 741 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:03,480 and 1000 years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill 742 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:07,360 His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward 743 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:10,680 you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should 744 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:12,920 reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will 745 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:15,320 come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with the 746 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,840 roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, 747 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:20,320 and the earth and the works that are done in it will be exposed. 748 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,800 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of 749 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:26,400 people ought you be? Ought you to be in lives of 750 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:30,920 holiness and godliness? Now, let me give you the TSV, 751 00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:33,120 the Tander standard version. All right, the Tanner standard 752 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:35,360 version. Listen, what he's saying is 753 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:37,760 within 30 years after Jesus leaving, people were saying 754 00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,240 nothing's changing. Jesus ain't doing nothing, He 755 00:37:40,240 --> 00:37:42,320 ain't coming back so we can live how we want. 756 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:44,920 Does that make sense? And they were making fun of the 757 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:46,880 Christians. Like your hope is anchored in 758 00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:48,400 him coming back and he ain't coming back. 759 00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:53,560 Y'all see the argument? The argument is idleness based 760 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:56,200 on nothing's going to happen. The argument is, who cares? 761 00:37:57,040 --> 00:38:00,440 And Peter's point is, yo, God is not slow. 762 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:03,280 He's patient. His promises will come about 763 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:07,160 just as he said they would. And in light of that, how much 764 00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,000 should we be about what the Lord has us to be about? 765 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:12,680 How holy should our lives be? I was talking to some people 766 00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:14,200 earlier. The two effects this should have 767 00:38:14,200 --> 00:38:17,240 on us is #1 some of us, y'all just need to wake up. 768 00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:20,920 Somebody say wake up. The time on the clock for some 769 00:38:20,920 --> 00:38:24,000 of us should wake us up. And I'm just telling you there's 770 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:27,560 not a lot of time. I'm not trying to be the the the 771 00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:29,280 fear throwing preach. I'm really not. 772 00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:31,760 I'm just reading what the Bible says that I'm telling you that 773 00:38:31,760 --> 00:38:35,160 we alive 70 or 80 on this earth and then billions after. 774 00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:36,880 That's the way the the Bible thinks about it. 775 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:39,760 So you want to live the 70 or 80 in alignment with the billions 776 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:41,600 You with me. You don't need insurance for the 777 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:43,080 billions. You live in alignment with the 778 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:45,240 billions. The second group of people in 779 00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:48,640 here, we need to not give up. Somebody say don't give up. 780 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:52,640 Some of us are living lives of holiness, but the Lord's delay 781 00:38:52,680 --> 00:38:55,320 wants you to give up. Are you with me? 782 00:38:56,080 --> 00:38:57,640 And for some of y'all just will say don't give up. 783 00:38:57,640 --> 00:39:01,760 Live sober minded, continue to fight for God's good gifts and 784 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:03,520 wait for them on your timing. Some of y'all are doing an 785 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:06,040 amazing job waiting on the Lord and I'm telling you don't give 786 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:07,280 up. Some of y'all want to take 787 00:39:07,280 --> 00:39:09,600 matters into your own hands and I'm saying don't give up. 788 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,480 Trust the Lord vengeance is his. He will avenge declares the 789 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:14,400 Lord. Some of y'all feel like your 790 00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,640 holiness in your life doesn't matter because those around you 791 00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:21,000 aren't holy and what you need is Zephaniah chapter 3 verse 5. 792 00:39:21,120 --> 00:39:24,160 Don't give up in the midst of crooked Jerusalem. 793 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:26,600 That's what it says. Just verse. 794 00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:30,080 I love verse 57935. The Lord within her is 795 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:32,360 righteous. He does no injustice. 796 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:34,360 Every morning He shows forth His justice. 797 00:39:34,360 --> 00:39:37,480 Each dawn He does not fail. But the unjust knows no shame. 798 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,680 Even when the city is corrupt, the Lord is faithful. 799 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:44,000 Are you with me? The foundation of your ongoing 800 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,320 righteousness and justice and the things the Lord is calling 801 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:48,840 you to is the fact that He is still those things. 802 00:39:49,400 --> 00:39:51,760 So even when you feel like you're the only one you're not, 803 00:39:51,760 --> 00:39:54,440 do not give up. Keep your eyes on Jesus. 804 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,720 Are you with me? The dopest part of the book we 805 00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:01,080 have not read yet though. So let's go to point #3 let's go 806 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:03,600 to point #3 when God restores his people. 807 00:40:04,240 --> 00:40:06,640 You know, this is a harsh book. It's the day of the Lord is sure 808 00:40:06,640 --> 00:40:09,400 to come on everybody. For all these reasons, City, 809 00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,360 it's a lot of hardship. I want to read you the climax of 810 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,520 the hardship, the hard words in chapter 3, verse 8. 811 00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:19,480 Therefore wait for me, declares the lore, for the day when I'll 812 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:22,440 rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather 813 00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,400 nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my 814 00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:27,520 indignation, all my burning anger. 815 00:40:27,520 --> 00:40:32,600 For in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. 816 00:40:33,520 --> 00:40:37,480 Somebody say consumed. For those of y'all that have 817 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:39,960 been rocking with us, hopefully Pastor Ron's sermon is ringing 818 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:42,200 in your ears. Nahum and Zephaniah go really 819 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:43,880 well together. I hope you're listening to these 820 00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,080 sermons together. Thought he did an amazing job of 821 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:50,400 talking about God's jealousy. Did y'all see that in the 822 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,600 jealousy of my wrath, all the earth shall be consumed? 823 00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:55,600 He, he taught this really well. But what you need to hear is 824 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:57,640 that when we're jealous, we're insecure. 825 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:01,240 We're jealous from lack. God is jealous from fullness. 826 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:05,280 Okay, the idea biblically is that God is jealous in the way 827 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:07,920 like a spouse is the way Ron explained it. 828 00:41:07,920 --> 00:41:09,920 But he is jealous for his own name. 829 00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:13,800 He's not lacking. He is the one being in all the 830 00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:15,720 universe for whom jealousy is good. 831 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:19,080 He is jealous for his own name, and his jealousy for his name is 832 00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:21,120 actually good for you, which means he's going to be good to 833 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:22,960 you for the sake of his name, which is good for you. 834 00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,320 Are you with me? He's the one being for whom we 835 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:29,480 actually need him to be jealous, or things will not be good. 836 00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:33,120 So here's what I want y'all to feel after everything we've 837 00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:35,480 talked about. If God's wrath is sure to come 838 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:38,640 in the jealousy of his name, all of the earth will be consumed. 839 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:40,480 Don't you think the book would end? 840 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,960 So because time's about to run out, y'all better repent, you 841 00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:46,080 sinners. Don't you just think it would 842 00:41:46,080 --> 00:41:50,240 end really bad? Let's read Zephaniah 314 through 843 00:41:50,240 --> 00:41:51,920 17. Some of the dopest verses in 844 00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:57,680 Scripture sing aloud. O daughter of Zion, shout. 845 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:00,600 O Israel, rejoice and exalt with all your heart. 846 00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:03,360 O daughter of Jerusalem, the Lord has taken away the 847 00:42:03,360 --> 00:42:06,320 judgments against you. He has cleared away your 848 00:42:06,320 --> 00:42:08,200 enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord is 849 00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:11,440 in your midst. You shall never again fear evil. 850 00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:15,120 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear not, O Zion, let 851 00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:18,320 not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your 852 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:19,840 midst, A mighty one who will save. 853 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:21,640 He will rejoice over you with gladness. 854 00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:24,960 He will quiet you by His love. He will exalt over you with loud 855 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:30,920 singing. Just to be clear, what city is 856 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:33,400 he talking about? We've told you throughout this 857 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:37,760 series Zion is synonymous with Jerusalem. 858 00:42:38,240 --> 00:42:41,640 The same city we just had all that bad stuff to say about God 859 00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:45,640 is now singing over. Delight in, He's dwelling in, He 860 00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:47,880 is proud of. That's His possession. 861 00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:52,560 How can that be y'all? Here's the idea that I need 862 00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:54,280 y'all to. If you have been checked out, 863 00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:57,760 now's your time to check in, OK? This is the way the Bible thinks 864 00:42:57,760 --> 00:43:01,200 about judgement and salvation. There are two sides of the same 865 00:43:01,200 --> 00:43:04,480 coin, OK? Like if you think the Exodus 866 00:43:04,480 --> 00:43:09,560 story, when God's wrath came, the same Red Sea saved some and 867 00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:10,760 LED to the destruction of others. 868 00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:12,600 Same sea. Everybody's going through that 869 00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:13,480 sea. Are you with me? 870 00:43:13,720 --> 00:43:16,920 It's like one side was redemption and one side was 871 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:21,280 destruction, but it's the same coin like God's the the sea was 872 00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:23,880 split for one group and it fell on the other group. 873 00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:28,840 The idea in the Bible is that in one of my goals for you in this 874 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:32,560 series, that we've got to get out of our heads a little bit. 875 00:43:33,080 --> 00:43:36,280 You know, God's wrath is hard, but it's good. 876 00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:41,280 It's hard, but it's good. Some of us are going up to 877 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:43,920 Philly this next week. My guy Mark Turner up there, 878 00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:45,400 he's great pastor, great preacher. 879 00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:47,840 He was talking about God's wrath the other week and I love what 880 00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:49,360 he said. He was quoting somebody, but it 881 00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:51,920 was dope. The idea is that eternally God's 882 00:43:51,920 --> 00:43:55,400 attribute has been love, okay? Wrath is not an attribute of 883 00:43:55,400 --> 00:43:59,760 God, okay. But in an era of sin, everything 884 00:43:59,760 --> 00:44:02,080 we've talked about throughout this book, all the oppression, 885 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:04,760 all the leadership that all of us struggle with all of the 886 00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:09,680 ignoring, replacing denying God in a world of sin, love is going 887 00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:13,520 to look like wrathsome it's going to which means y'all, we 888 00:44:13,520 --> 00:44:16,000 should not be ashamed of God's wrath. 889 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:18,360 It is hard and I don't want it for nobody. 890 00:44:18,360 --> 00:44:21,800 And Peter just said God doesn't desire any to perish. 891 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:27,160 But the what the fire does is it destroys some and purifies 892 00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:31,040 other, but it's the same fire. Are you with me is falling on 893 00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:34,280 both groups. One will be purified and 1:00 894 00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:37,120 will be destroyed. So y'all, I just want this to 895 00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:41,840 get across that wrath. It's hard for our minds to 896 00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:46,480 understand it, but in light of sin it is love expressed against 897 00:44:46,480 --> 00:44:48,120 sin is wrath. Are you with me? 898 00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:52,080 Which is why and I'm trying to connect something to theological 899 00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:53,200 things at once. Stay with me. 900 00:44:53,200 --> 00:44:54,360 I might not be doing a great job. 901 00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:55,560 I'm sorry. Forgive me there. 902 00:44:55,720 --> 00:44:56,920 Other people could do this better than me. 903 00:44:56,920 --> 00:44:59,760 But listen, This is why it's good that God is jealous. 904 00:44:59,760 --> 00:45:04,880 I want y'all to understand that it wasn't like the Father loved 905 00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:07,600 you or was mad at you and Jesus loved you. 906 00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:10,280 So Jesus like God, I'll do it. I'll step in for him. 907 00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:13,960 Don't be mad at them. God is jealous, OK Father, Son, 908 00:45:13,960 --> 00:45:16,360 Holy Spirit, for his name, for your good. 909 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:21,760 And the Father sent the Son full of the Spirit to step in and 910 00:45:21,760 --> 00:45:26,600 bear the cup of wrath for us. Are you with me? 911 00:45:26,920 --> 00:45:32,080 And when we look at the cross, we see God solving a problem 912 00:45:32,080 --> 00:45:36,800 which is getting rid of our sin and loving us without ignoring 913 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:37,760 the sin. Are you with me? 914 00:45:38,080 --> 00:45:42,360 So on the cross, the wrath of God was applied to the Son of 915 00:45:42,360 --> 00:45:47,760 God in His divine jealousy and love for us and His power, He 916 00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:51,440 steps in and takes upon him the the Red Sea. 917 00:45:51,440 --> 00:45:53,280 Are you with me? Through Jesus? 918 00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:55,200 The sea gets split. That's kind of the idea. 919 00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,480 But it's the same sea, and the sea that is going to be split 920 00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:00,200 for some of us will cover others. 921 00:46:00,480 --> 00:46:03,600 Y'all, The wrath gets poured on the sun, or it gets poured on 922 00:46:03,600 --> 00:46:04,840 us. Are you with me? 923 00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:09,640 So the idea isn't that some get judged, some get saved, some get 924 00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:12,800 saved through judgement. That's the idea of the Bible. 925 00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:15,320 Are you with me? All are judged, but our 926 00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:20,480 judgement was taken by another. You don't get chosen because you 927 00:46:20,640 --> 00:46:22,920 avoided certain sins. We talked about in this because 928 00:46:22,920 --> 00:46:25,200 you didn't ignore as much, because you didn't deny God as 929 00:46:25,200 --> 00:46:27,960 much. Because the idea of the Bible is 930 00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:31,040 that some people put their trust in a substitute. 931 00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:34,960 Some people put their trust in the Son of God who stepped in 932 00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:39,280 and took the wrath, and they see the Father's love for them. 933 00:46:41,240 --> 00:46:44,480 So as chapter 2 verses one through 3 say, they say this. 934 00:46:45,800 --> 00:46:48,200 Gather together. Yes, gather together, O 935 00:46:48,200 --> 00:46:51,880 shameless nation, before the decree takes effect, before the 936 00:46:51,880 --> 00:46:54,800 day passes away like Chad, before there comes upon you the 937 00:46:54,800 --> 00:46:57,520 burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the 938 00:46:57,520 --> 00:47:00,000 day of the anger of the Lord, seek the Lord. 939 00:47:00,200 --> 00:47:02,600 All you humble of the land who do is just command. 940 00:47:02,600 --> 00:47:04,440 Seek righteousness, seek humility. 941 00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:08,200 Perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. 942 00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:13,600 Y'all in myself. I have no hope on that day. 943 00:47:13,720 --> 00:47:17,000 Are you with me? But what once was perhaps is now 944 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:18,160 definite. Are you with me? 945 00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:21,720 That if you trust in the Son of God, you will be hidden. 946 00:47:21,880 --> 00:47:24,800 You'll be hidden in him as Ron. So beautifully put. 947 00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:27,800 It's like the the car accident where the parent gets in front 948 00:47:27,800 --> 00:47:29,560 of the kid. That is the cross. 949 00:47:29,760 --> 00:47:32,080 It is your God who made you in his image. 950 00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:34,800 Though you sinned against him. Though you are not the leader 951 00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:37,160 you should be. Though you use your power for 952 00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:39,680 your own comfort. The point of this sermon is not, 953 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:42,040 here's your game plan to stop bothering the Lord. 954 00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:46,000 OK, yes, I hope that all of us walk more in our identity in 955 00:47:46,000 --> 00:47:48,880 Christ and we recognize the game that we're in and how much time 956 00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:51,640 is left and we beautifully walk out our identity in him full of 957 00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:55,160 the Spirit. But the power to do that will 958 00:47:55,160 --> 00:47:58,920 come from getting the undeserved hiddenness of Christ in the 959 00:47:58,920 --> 00:48:01,400 midst of the wrath that you do rightfully deserve. 960 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:06,640 Amen, somebody. And once you're in Christ, one 961 00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:10,520 of the coolest verses in all the Bible is yours, chapter 3, verse 962 00:48:10,520 --> 00:48:11,760 17. Let's read it again. 963 00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:16,040 This is staggering. The same people of corruption, 964 00:48:16,040 --> 00:48:18,280 the same people ignoring God, denying God. 965 00:48:18,280 --> 00:48:20,000 This is who he's now speaking over. 966 00:48:20,680 --> 00:48:26,480 The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will 967 00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:28,680 save. He will rejoice over you with 968 00:48:28,680 --> 00:48:31,200 gladness. He will quiet you by his love. 969 00:48:31,320 --> 00:48:34,120 He will exult over you with loud singing. 970 00:48:36,200 --> 00:48:42,440 You long to be a person who is sung over just because you're 971 00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:44,400 you and you have God as your God. 972 00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:48,960 Like you long to be loved unconditionally and what our 973 00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:52,000 culture wants you to do is think that it's your job to make 974 00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,200 yourself feel unconditionally loved. 975 00:48:54,440 --> 00:48:56,480 Y'all. What the Bible teaches is it's a 976 00:48:56,480 --> 00:48:59,760 fact in Christ and outside of Christ is not a fact. 977 00:49:00,160 --> 00:49:04,680 That's hard, but it's the truth. And in Him you have nothing to 978 00:49:04,680 --> 00:49:06,960 prove. In Him you have nothing to earn. 979 00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:10,320 In Him you are just totally freely loved. 980 00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:12,360 Because God loves you. Why were you chosen? 981 00:49:12,360 --> 00:49:13,400 Because he chose you. Why does he love you? 982 00:49:13,400 --> 00:49:16,120 Because he loves you. Christ died for you and God 983 00:49:16,320 --> 00:49:19,720 quiets you by his love. He's not quiet about you with 984 00:49:19,720 --> 00:49:22,320 His love. Y'all we have the theological 985 00:49:22,320 --> 00:49:24,720 evidence here that we should dad joke our kids. 986 00:49:24,720 --> 00:49:26,720 Y'all see that? Did you see it in the text? 987 00:49:26,720 --> 00:49:28,800 Look back at it. He will quiet you by his love. 988 00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:32,200 He will exalt over you aloud, singing the images of God over 989 00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:37,240 his kids, proudly boasting songs over them, making them squirmish 990 00:49:37,240 --> 00:49:39,960 with his love. So you have God's authority to 991 00:49:39,960 --> 00:49:41,920 tell dad jokes to your kids around their friends. 992 00:49:41,920 --> 00:49:45,600 And the kids are going to be like, I don't like when he 993 00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:47,880 preaches. Bring up that guy with the 994 00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:55,040 candy. Listen, even like things down to 995 00:49:55,040 --> 00:49:59,160 like our family, that impulse to shower a kid with undeserving 996 00:49:59,160 --> 00:50:01,440 love and sing over them and make them squirm. 997 00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:04,280 That didn't start with you. That came from him. 998 00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:07,520 There's a God who wants to delight over you, yo. 999 00:50:07,760 --> 00:50:10,600 And some of y'all are doing everything but going to Him to 1000 00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:13,520 feel delightable. You want to feel like you're 1001 00:50:13,520 --> 00:50:15,800 worthy of being delighted in. And I'm telling you that 1002 00:50:15,800 --> 00:50:18,880 promotion is not going to do it. That next bag you're trying to 1003 00:50:18,880 --> 00:50:22,280 get ain't going to do it. That guy thinking you're cute, 1004 00:50:22,320 --> 00:50:25,120 as great as it'll feel, ain't gonna do it. 1005 00:50:25,480 --> 00:50:28,280 What's going to secure you, what's going to anchor you, 1006 00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:32,440 what's going to lock you in is God himself who made you looking 1007 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:35,400 at you at your worst, weakest, dirtiest, defilest. 1008 00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:38,680 The saying I chose you, I bought you and I took that. 1009 00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:42,880 I bore that cross that you deserve in the I, in my jealousy 1010 00:50:42,880 --> 00:50:45,120 for you. I sent my son to take that for 1011 00:50:45,120 --> 00:50:46,760 you. You are mine. 1012 00:50:47,440 --> 00:50:50,240 The Bible does not teach there will be a day you feel worthy of 1013 00:50:50,240 --> 00:50:52,760 God's love. You will always be a recipient 1014 00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:56,800 of undeserved free grace. That's what the Bible teaches. 1015 00:50:57,080 --> 00:50:59,800 But there's something once you get there and you realize I'm 1016 00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:02,840 just saying because he's him, not because I'm me, you are set 1017 00:51:02,840 --> 00:51:05,400 free. And now I want to live with him 1018 00:51:05,400 --> 00:51:07,960 and I want to be an embodiment of everything we've talked about 1019 00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:11,840 in the sermon, but it's not because I feel worthy of it. 1020 00:51:13,400 --> 00:51:17,240 So in a weird way, let the dad jokes reign at Port City. 1021 00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:22,040 And this is the hard thing. Y'all is letting God love you. 1022 00:51:22,440 --> 00:51:23,880 That's one of the goals of your life. 1023 00:51:24,240 --> 00:51:26,520 It's memorizing chapter 3, verse 17. 1024 00:51:26,600 --> 00:51:28,360 It's letting other people in this room. 1025 00:51:28,360 --> 00:51:30,640 That's why yes, we're big on church membership here. 1026 00:51:30,640 --> 00:51:35,040 We it takes embodied ways of people loving you when you don't 1027 00:51:35,040 --> 00:51:38,560 deserve it to for it to get from your brain to your body. 1028 00:51:38,560 --> 00:51:40,560 Are you with me? Because some of us. 1029 00:51:45,680 --> 00:51:50,520 Praise God, That was not my first instinct to say praise 1030 00:51:50,520 --> 00:51:54,440 God. I think, I think that's my, 1031 00:51:54,480 --> 00:51:56,200 that's my cue. I'm I'm gonna pray here. 1032 00:51:57,120 --> 00:51:58,920 I'm gonna pray us up, man. Let me pray us up. 1033 00:51:58,920 --> 00:52:00,520 Let me pray, let me pray, let me pray. 1034 00:52:00,520 --> 00:52:02,880 God loves you, Father, we love you. 1035 00:52:02,880 --> 00:52:04,520 Thank you that you love us when we don't deserve it. 1036 00:52:04,520 --> 00:52:07,560 God wrap this hard. May we see through the series 1037 00:52:07,560 --> 00:52:11,200 that it's good that you hate sin that you, God, you, you want to 1038 00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:13,000 dwell with us. You can't when they're sin. 1039 00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:16,680 God, you want to purify us. You want to be in our midst. 1040 00:52:16,680 --> 00:52:18,920 God, this is what you want. And Lord, I just pray that some 1041 00:52:18,920 --> 00:52:22,520 people would wake up today that the clock would be closer to 0 1042 00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:25,240 than they realized God, that they would realize that life was 1043 00:52:25,240 --> 00:52:27,520 meant to be lived with. You got to pray you would sober 1044 00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:29,200 them. You would give them new life. 1045 00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:31,960 Got to pray for others who are in the midst of the game but 1046 00:52:31,960 --> 00:52:34,400 wanting to give up God that they are living with you, but they 1047 00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:35,960 feel that they're waiting is in vain. 1048 00:52:35,960 --> 00:52:39,040 Their labor is in vain or their their holiness is in vain. 1049 00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:41,360 God, would you show them once again that you're with them, 1050 00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:46,080 you're in it and God at the value seat table of our hearts. 1051 00:52:46,080 --> 00:52:49,160 God would we know that we're somebody not because of what we 1052 00:52:49,160 --> 00:52:52,320 do, not the money we make, not who likes us, not our brand, but 1053 00:52:52,320 --> 00:52:54,880 because you sing over us with the light. 1054 00:52:55,360 --> 00:52:57,840 I got to pray for the kids of this church, the teenagers, the 1055 00:52:58,120 --> 00:53:01,680 the college students. God, may there be healthy, hard 1056 00:53:01,680 --> 00:53:05,280 working, like going to live and do mighty things out there, but 1057 00:53:05,280 --> 00:53:07,920 God, may they all leave this church one day in Christ, 1058 00:53:07,920 --> 00:53:10,320 knowing that they have nothing to prove, nothing to earn, that 1059 00:53:10,320 --> 00:53:12,600 they're freely loved because of Christ. 1060 00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:15,760 Holy Spirit, help us. God, would you save some. 1061 00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:18,400 We love you. We pray these things in Jesus 1062 00:53:18,400 --> 00:53:19,160 name, Amen.