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All right, my Bible in 365, 
brothers and sisters, we have 

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arrived at the book of 
Zephaniah. 

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And folks, let me tell you the 
same thing that I have said from

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the very beginning. 
And the minor prophets, at least

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that's what they call them. 
There is nothing minor about 

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them. 
As a matter of fact, the reason 

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why they're called the minor 
prophets is because of the size 

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of their writing. 
But boy, oh boy, oh boy are they

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major, and Zephaniah is no 
exception. 

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If you want to learn more about 
Zephaniah, you can go to 

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jamescadis.com where I teach 
through it, give you all kinds 

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of history and understanding, 
and you will love it. 

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And I'm going to go through a 
passage in chapter 3 that I 

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think is so fitting for the time
that we're in and so critically 

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important. 
Now, what is Zephaniah all 

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about? 
Well, Simply put, Zephaniah 

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prophesied during the reign of 
King Josiah, that is the 

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southern Kingdom of Judah, 
probably in the 7th century. 

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Now Judah had become very deeply
corrupted by idolatry and 

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spiritual compromise. 
Zephaniah repeatedly warns about

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the day of the Lord, and that 
phrase is one of the keys to 

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understanding the entire book. 
If you want to know what the 

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book of Zephaniah means, you're 
going to need to understand that

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phrase. 
There was an immediate judgment 

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that was coming upon Judah 
within that time period. 

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But yet there's also a very 
larger, a much larger prophetic 

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context, a bigger picture of 
God's future judgment upon the 

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nation's. 
Now, Zephaniah does not end with

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destruction. 
And of course, like many of the 

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minor prophets, we should note 
that this book moves from 

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judgment to purification, which 
is again very typical, to the 

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place of restoration. 
The day of the Lord here brings 

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judgment against literal 
rebellion, but God ultimately 

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restores and blesses a people 
who belong to Him. 

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And This is why I continue to 
tell people God is not done with

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Israel, OK, and we see these 
passages continuing to show up 

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like chapter 1's a great 
example. 

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The great day of the Lord is 
near. 

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It is near and it hasteth 
greatly. 

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And then Zephaniah will go on to
describe it in that chapter that

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the day is a day of wrath, a day
of trouble and distress, a day 

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of wasteness and desolation. 
So think about this for a 

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second. 
Zephaniah is not softening the 

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message by any stretch of the of
the of the circumstance by his 

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representation sin as 
consequences. 

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He's saying that and God had 
been patient with Judah, but his

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patience didn't mean that he had
ignored their rebellion. 

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They had mixed the worship of 
the Lord with insane amounts of 

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idolatry. 
They'd become spiritually 

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complacent. 
And then verse 12 of chapter 1 

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describes people who effectively
believed God wasn't going to do 

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anything, so they had mistaken 
God's patience for God's 

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complete and total indifference.
And I think that this is one of 

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the most dangerous places a 
person can reach spiritually 

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when they sort of become 
comfortable with these things. 

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And that's when they start 
believing that because God has 

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not yet acted, He's never going 
to act. 

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That is a problem. 
And I need you to be able to 

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understand that again. 
We see he gives us the 

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exhortation Zephaniah tells us 
in chapter 2. 

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Seek you the Lord, all you meek 
of the earth. 

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That's a phrase that you should 
remember. 

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Why? 
Because even in a book filled 

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with warnings of judgment, God 
is still calling people to 

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himself. 
Judgment is not announced 

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because God delights in 
destruction. 

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He's not announcing it to tease 
people and go ha ha, ha, you're 

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about to get judged. 
The warning itself demonstrates 

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God's mercy. 
God tells them what is coming 

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and He gives them an opportunity
need to turn to Him. 

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Guys, this pattern runs 
throughout the Bible. 

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We see it everywhere. 
God warns before He judges. 

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And that makes Zephaniah more 
than a book about judgment. 

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It's also a call to repentance, 
like any of these books that 

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outline the judgment of God. 
As a matter of fact, I believe 

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you learn more about the grace 
of God through His judgment than

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you ever will about anything 
else. 

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And I think it's so super 
important that you recognize the

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pattern because you can see the 
love and the grace of God 

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through his judgment. 
But when you get to chapter 3, 

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which is the area I want to 
land, the book takes a dramatic 

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turn. 
Let's read verse 14 and 15. 

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And I just want to read you 
portions of this through 

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Zephaniah chapter 3, verse 14. 
Sing, O daughter of Sion Zion, 

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right? 
Shout, O Israel, be glad and 

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rejoice with all the heart. 
Notice that why? 

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What's the reason that he's 
telling to do this? 

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Why? 
Because the Lord hath taken away

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thy judgments. 
Think about the contrast here. 

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You go to chapter 1. 
It says judgment is coming. 

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You read chapter 3. 
What does chapter 3 say? 

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Judgment has been removed. 
Chapter 1 describes fear. 

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Chapter 3, we'll talk about 
rejoicing. 

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You guys get the the contrast. 
That's why I read the chapter. 

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Chapter 1 describes the the, the
day of the Lord that's going to 

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be coming. 
Chapter 3 will actually tell you

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the Lord himself will be 
dwelling amongst his people. 

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The point behind this is God's 
final purpose for Israel is not 

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abandonment. 
It's actually restoration. 

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And if you want to be on the 
right side of history, don't 

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jump on the bandwagon of beating
up the nation of Israel. 

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That's a very critical place to 
be. 

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Look what it says in verse 17. 
The Lord thy God is the Lord thy

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God in the midst of thee is 
mighty. 

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He will save. 
That's what it says. 

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God is dwelling among His 
people. 

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Let me say that again. 
God is dwelling among His 

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people. 
The nation that experienced 

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judgment is ultimately restored.
You guys like I want you to see 

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that He is mighty, He will save.
That's what it says. 

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Israel's salvation ultimately 
doesn't depend upon Israel's 

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strength. 
It depends upon God himself 

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actually accomplishing it. 
I love the remarkable language. 

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I've read it time and time 
again. 

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I love it. 
It says He will rejoice over 

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thee with joy. 
He will rest in his love. 

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He will joy over thee with 
singing. 

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I think it's powerful when you 
think about the fact that God is

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not merely tolerating the the 
people that he restores, He 

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actually rejoices over their 
restoration. 

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The book that began with God's 
righteous anger and the 

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judgement that people deserve 
ends with God's love. 

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Judgement was never God's final 
word concerning Israel, and 

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that's the same thing with us as
his children. 

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Zephaniah gives us a progression
that is worth us paying 

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attention to. 
If you are rebellious, then you 

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belong to judgment. 
Rebellion brings judgment. 

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God, on the other hand, always 
calls His people to repentance. 

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He preserves A remnant. 
He always has a group of people 

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that He holds fast to. 
God ultimately restores His 

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people, Israel. 
And that's why you cannot read 

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only the beginning of Zephaniah.
To understand the book you have 

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to get to the end. 
I love the fact that Zephaniah 

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begins with the great day of the
Lord is near and yet ends the 

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book by saying the Lord thy God 
in the midst of thee is a mighty

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He will save. 
Guys, here's the story with 

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Zephaniah. 
God takes sin seriously. 

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His judgement is very real. 
The day of the Lord is indeed 

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coming. 
You guys. 

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This is not like symbolic 
language being thrown out 

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somewhere, but for those who 
belong to Him, the story doesn't

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end with judgment. 
It ends with salvation. 

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It ends with restoration. 
And yes, the Lord dwelling in 

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the midst of his people. 
We have a lot to look forward 

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to. 
Why? 

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Because God is faithful and He's
good and that's why when we get 

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to know Him, we find comfort and
peace because His Word gives us 

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every answer that we need. 
That's why I love the ministry 

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of Bible in 365, because the 
more you learn the Word of God, 

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the more impacted you will be by
it. 

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Love you guys, God bless you. 
I'm so proud of your consistent 

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reading of the Word of God.