1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,520 We've all been hurt. 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:04,820 We all carry scars. 3 00:00:04,820 --> 00:00:09,840 We can all overcome these things and be healed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. 4 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:14,080 Let's build that relationship together right here. 5 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,200 Welcome to Healing Scars with Pastor Burton. 6 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:20,760 Hey everybody, welcome back to the sanctuary. 7 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:22,660 So good to have you with us. 8 00:00:22,660 --> 00:00:26,520 And for those of you who are new, thank you for joining us. 9 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:27,520 Welcome! 10 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:33,840 So, this week is really the part of the book of Zephaniah that many of us have truly been 11 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:41,280 looking forward to because we're going to learn about the Day of Hope. 12 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:42,280 Hope! 13 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:50,800 Now, it's a small word with tremendous implications, isn't it? 14 00:00:50,800 --> 00:01:01,640 Dr. Martin Luther King is credited as saying, everything that is done in this world is done 15 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:03,240 by hope. 16 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:10,320 Now, I'm not talking about the, well, I sure hope the weather cooperates today, you know, 17 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:15,400 way of hoping for things or anything like that. 18 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,120 Sometimes it's a word that just kind of gets tossed around. 19 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:24,480 However, as Christians and as believers, hope is a little different. 20 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:32,480 Hope is the confident expectation that no matter how bad things may get in the world 21 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:41,340 around us, and they will get bad, God will take care of us as His children. 22 00:01:41,340 --> 00:01:48,920 This is a hope that comes from absolute love and absolute joy that can only be found in 23 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:56,040 the familial relationship between us and the Father. 24 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:04,480 Now, to start, the first seven verses that we're going to look at today finish laying 25 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:11,920 down the final warning and what the consequences are going to be for those who continue to 26 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:15,440 rebel, you know, not just then, but today. 27 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:22,480 You know, those people who do the things that they shouldn't and just continually disobey 28 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,400 what God has told us. 29 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,480 We're going to go through this part and then we're going to dive into the Day of Hope. 30 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:37,080 Now, for those of you with your Bibles and those of you taking notes, join me now in 31 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:39,520 Zephaniah chapter 3. 32 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,120 We're going to go through verses 1 through 5 first. 33 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:47,480 So Zephaniah chapter 3, we're going to start right there at the beginning, verses 1 through 34 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:48,480 5. 35 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:58,840 The Bible says, Whoa, to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled, she obeys no one, 36 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:07,560 she accepts no correction, she does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her 37 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:09,400 God. 38 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:17,480 Her officials within her are roaring lions, her rulers are evening wolves who leave nothing 39 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:18,840 for the morning. 40 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:24,600 Her prophets are unprincipled, they are treacherous people. 41 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:30,780 Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law. 42 00:03:30,780 --> 00:03:35,460 The Lord within her is righteous, he does no wrong. 43 00:03:35,460 --> 00:03:41,040 Morning by morning he dispenses his justice and every new day he does not fail, yet the 44 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:46,200 unrighteous know no shame. 45 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:50,760 Wow, that's quite a bit there, isn't it? 46 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:57,440 Quite often today it's easy to find people who refuse to listen to anything they disagree 47 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:00,840 with or anyone who disagrees with them. 48 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:06,040 They'll claim to be tolerant, but then they turn around and they show themselves to be 49 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:09,440 anything but. 50 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,880 It leads to some really heated situations sometimes. 51 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:18,120 We have countless memes at this point because of it. 52 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:25,560 We even put names to some of these people, like Karen, right? 53 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:30,840 And the reason for it is actually quite simple. 54 00:04:30,840 --> 00:04:31,840 It's pride. 55 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:35,720 It comes down to a matter of pride, that sin of pride. 56 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:40,360 Inflated egos, exasperated self-esteem, exaggerated self-importance. 57 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:47,280 I could go on at length, but the underlying issue is pride. 58 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:57,200 It's a sin that leads people to worshiping themselves without even realizing it. 59 00:04:57,200 --> 00:05:04,680 And as we hear the people, I'm sorry, as we see here, the people, those who were supposed 60 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:13,260 to be God's people at that time, since we're looking at Jerusalem, they had gotten so prideful, 61 00:05:13,260 --> 00:05:20,760 so arrogant that not only would they refuse to hear God, but they refused to accept his 62 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,600 correction on top of it. 63 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,480 The people who should know better. 64 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:32,200 Now, it could be pretty tough to admit when you're wrong. 65 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,480 I'll give you that. 66 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:39,680 And I'm sure some of you are looking at your significant others right now. 67 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:49,240 However, we shouldn't ever, let me say that again, we shouldn't ever let pride take control 68 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:55,240 of us like that, especially when it comes to the things of God and the Bible, God's 69 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,120 holy word. 70 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:02,760 Pride should never be allowed to get in the way of God working in our lives and God guiding 71 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:04,880 us in our lives. 72 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:10,520 And he is correcting us, we need to open ourselves up to whatever that is that he's trying to 73 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,960 teach us in that moment. 74 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:18,520 Now sometimes it is a tough pill to swallow. 75 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:24,360 However, at the end, we'll be better off because of it. 76 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:29,500 You know, now notice everyone's being called out here from the top down. 77 00:06:29,500 --> 00:06:36,280 God had issues with all the leadership in Jerusalem, officials, rulers, prophets, priests, 78 00:06:36,280 --> 00:06:43,400 and so on because of their blatant disobedience and sins. 79 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:48,320 Take a look here, it says her officials within her are roaring lions. 80 00:06:48,320 --> 00:06:53,160 You notice a certain parallel here? 81 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,360 Because who is Satan? 82 00:06:55,360 --> 00:07:01,000 He who is looking to devour like a roaring lion, right? 83 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,200 You know, we've heard this before. 84 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:08,760 So the people here, they're being compared to the devil. 85 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:18,760 You know, so let me put this out here, leading people, being a leader, it is a great privilege. 86 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:27,520 Just like then, we see the same thing today, people in these positions have forgotten it. 87 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:34,000 It's an incredible responsibility, especially in the church. 88 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:39,080 Those who even consider taking leadership positions within the church or becoming clergy 89 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:45,260 really need to pray and listen to what God has to say about it because God holds all 90 00:07:45,260 --> 00:07:51,160 of us in these positions responsible for our actions, our examples, the very words that 91 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:53,180 we speak. 92 00:07:53,180 --> 00:07:59,720 It's not just a way to earn a living and I can tell you many of us, a great many of us, 93 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:05,440 really don't earn anything monetary from it, which is why we have jobs outside of the church. 94 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:10,840 It's what's referred to as being bivocational, meaning we have multiple jobs. 95 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:15,920 So it's a huge undertaking that is taken for granted by so many people. 96 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:20,160 You know, a lot of us, we have to take those jobs so that we can pay the bills because, 97 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:26,340 let's just face it, we don't earn anything if we earn anything at all within the church. 98 00:08:26,340 --> 00:08:30,640 You know, myself and I know several others out there, you know, working in the ministry 99 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:40,280 and, you know, senior pastors whose places of worship don't make enough to even be able 100 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:45,280 to pay them anything, they barely keep the lights on because people, you know, they don't 101 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:50,320 want to give anymore, which is fine because, you know, we are called to give with a joyful 102 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,880 heart and if it's not on your heart to give, then you know what, so be it. 103 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,040 If it is on your heart to give though, I highly encourage you to do so because you will be 104 00:08:59,040 --> 00:09:03,280 making an impact, you will be doing some great good, you know. 105 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:08,840 However, then there are those who do make an exceptional living at it and take it for 106 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:13,040 granted like, oh, this is what everybody should be doing, you know, and they are very proud 107 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:15,000 of, you know, the things that they buy. 108 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:20,400 They like to show things off, you know, they have a certain image, you know, that they 109 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,440 like to put out there and, you know, those are red flags that all of us should be aware 110 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:25,320 of, you know. 111 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,560 In Jerusalem, going back here, you know, going down a little rabbit hole here, you know, 112 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:32,240 Jerusalem's people, they knew better. 113 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:41,600 Of all the people to stray from the path, of all the people, they knew God and because 114 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:46,480 of that, they had no excuse for their various sins. 115 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:49,000 None, not one. 116 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:56,400 We're talking Jerusalem here, the place where the temple was located, the religious center 117 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:05,560 of the nation, the place of God within the city, the place where God dwelled and He was 118 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:06,560 within the city. 119 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:07,560 He was present there. 120 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:08,560 He dwelled there. 121 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:09,560 He lived there. 122 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:16,120 Yet the people didn't follow Him as they should have. 123 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:21,320 You know, like a lot of people today we see, you know, like I was just talking about, they 124 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:31,120 took for granted their relationship with Him and in many cases disregarded it entirely 125 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:38,760 because even though God was there, they still fell into corruption. 126 00:10:38,760 --> 00:10:45,640 They still persecuted others and committed various other sins, so much so that it got 127 00:10:45,640 --> 00:10:52,920 to the point that they themselves were becoming unbelievers. 128 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:58,760 You know, let me take a moment to remind you that no matter how dark, how lonely, how hard, 129 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:07,400 how spiritually strained and drained you will become, and it happens, God is still right 130 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,040 there with you. 131 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:15,320 What we need to do in these times is we need to shift that perspective from looking down 132 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,720 at the ground, looking down at the gutter, to looking up to Him. 133 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:23,640 You know, we need to talk to God. 134 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:28,760 That way, you know, He can guide us, He can comfort us, He can tell us that He loves you, 135 00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:34,640 you know, because you are loved, every single one of us. 136 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:42,640 Continuing on here, Zephaniah chapter 3 verses 6 through 7, the Bible says, I have destroyed 137 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:43,680 nations. 138 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:47,360 Their strongholds are demolished. 139 00:11:47,360 --> 00:11:54,600 I have left their streets deserted, with no one passing through. 140 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:57,020 Their cities are laid waste. 141 00:11:57,020 --> 00:12:01,280 They are deserted and empty. 142 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:09,940 Of Jerusalem I thought, surely you will fear me and accept correction. 143 00:12:09,940 --> 00:12:17,800 Even her place of refuge, or certain translations, or her sanctuary, would not be destroyed, 144 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:22,240 nor all my punishments come upon her. 145 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:27,600 Some translations may also say, or something along the lines of all those I appointed over 146 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:31,080 her. 147 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:37,720 But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did. 148 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:40,040 You know, it's curious here. 149 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:46,000 It's curious to see that the Israelites, who had every warning, who knew better, who had 150 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:52,840 that relationship, still strayed from God, still turned their backs on God. 151 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:56,480 You know, and really, it leads to a question of why. 152 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:01,320 Why would you turn when you already know what's up? 153 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:04,200 You had all the information. 154 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:08,480 It was sitting right there in front of you at your very fingertips. 155 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,800 Yet, they still couldn't figure it out. 156 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,680 It's the same today, isn't it? 157 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:22,800 People can be presented with all the research, all the facts, the statistics, so on, so forth, 158 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:28,820 all of it, and then still set in the same place. 159 00:13:28,820 --> 00:13:30,920 They stay set in the exact same place. 160 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:31,920 They won't budge. 161 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:36,920 You know, and often, these days we hear it more and more, they'll have a comment like, 162 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:38,880 well, you know, that's just your truth. 163 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:46,400 I have mine, which is garbage, and it stems from the sin in our lives and the sin in the 164 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:47,400 world. 165 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:52,000 You know, again, nobody wants to be told, let alone accept the fact that they're wrong. 166 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,000 It's tough. 167 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:58,600 You know, and when it happens, people tend to feel slighted. 168 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,020 We give into that vanity. 169 00:14:01,020 --> 00:14:04,720 We give into pride. 170 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:13,960 We buy full on into that false sense of self-worth that the world tells us we're entitled to. 171 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:21,600 You know, when we're banging on our chest so hard that we bruise it. 172 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:24,800 And we see a lot of it today, especially in the workplace, don't we? 173 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:26,000 Oh, I'm just so good. 174 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,000 I did this. 175 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:34,640 Just like the Israelites, that sin of pride, it hardens our hearts. 176 00:14:34,640 --> 00:14:42,760 You see, the problem they had was that they were just so consumed by it, and their hearts 177 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:53,260 were so hardened that even though they knew of God, they didn't want to follow God anymore. 178 00:14:53,260 --> 00:15:00,680 They were so consumed by the noise of the world, all the lies and the poison that's 179 00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:05,400 out there, the pollution that's out there, that they couldn't hear God anymore. 180 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:08,520 You know, they're too busy. 181 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:11,200 They didn't have time. 182 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,080 Sounds familiar, doesn't it? 183 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:19,000 Because we're hearing and we're seeing the same thing today. 184 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,520 You know, what happens is just like them, we get consumed by that sin, by that noise, 185 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:26,800 by that pollution in the world. 186 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:35,100 And even though the warnings and the telltale signs from God are there, people keep on going 187 00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:38,480 on in their way because they don't see the connection. 188 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:46,900 They can't perceive that correlation between sin and the consequences of it. 189 00:15:46,900 --> 00:15:55,360 They don't accept it and therefore believe that there are, you know, they don't accept 190 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,920 and therefore they don't believe that there's consequences for those sins. 191 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,320 There's no repercussions, you know. 192 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:07,960 And if there's no repercussions, there's no consequence, then hey, you know, must be 193 00:16:07,960 --> 00:16:08,960 alright. 194 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:10,280 If it feels good, do it, right? 195 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:16,080 You know, that's the stinking thinking of the world today. 196 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:22,760 And the more we tolerate sin and harden our hearts to God, the more agreeable we become 197 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,560 to sin, the more distant we become from God. 198 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,120 So I implore you to listen to Him. 199 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:35,720 Listen to the Father, listen to His warnings before your heart gets so hardened that like 200 00:16:35,720 --> 00:16:42,320 the Israelites, you lose sight of Him, you lose hearing of Him. 201 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:49,280 You lose that connection because again, it's not God who severs that connection with us, 202 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:54,320 it's us severing that connection with Him. 203 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,400 And if you're ever curious, you know, hey, does Jesus still live within me? 204 00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:02,880 Because a lot of people, they want to say, yeah, I'm a Christian, you know, but you ask 205 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:05,440 them, does Jesus live in you? 206 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,680 Here's the litmus test. 207 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:16,680 You go out, if you were to do something wrong, would you, you know, basically, oh, let me 208 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:17,680 back this. 209 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:24,800 If you do something wrong and you feel bad or you feel wrong, that is the Holy Spirit 210 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:26,880 convicting you and that's a good thing. 211 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,160 That means Jesus is there. 212 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:37,240 However, you know, if you're that kind of person, go out, do something you know is wrong 213 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,480 and you don't feel bad about it at all. 214 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:45,760 Well, that's a part of yourself that you've allowed to harden and push, you push Jesus 215 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:47,760 out of. 216 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:56,240 You need to focus on that and fix it to let Jesus back in before it's too late. 217 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,960 Because you can't live in Christ and the world. 218 00:17:59,960 --> 00:18:02,360 The Bible tells us you can't have two masters. 219 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:04,840 You need to choose one or the other. 220 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:11,600 Now I know there's some out there who think that this doesn't apply to them. 221 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:16,920 I can assure you it applies to each and every one of us. 222 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:21,300 You, me, all of us. 223 00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:26,640 You could be brought up going to services your whole life and not have Jesus in you. 224 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:29,880 You can go to a Christian school and not be saved. 225 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:34,920 You can be baptized and still not know the Holy Spirit. 226 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:41,720 You know, and this is a big reason why a lot of people give up on their faith and the faith 227 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:45,920 that they had as kids as they grow older. 228 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:48,080 You know, they used to go. 229 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:50,680 It was a part of their life. 230 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:56,640 But then the world was given root in their lives. 231 00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:01,920 Now of course there's more to it than this, but let's take a look at it while we're here. 232 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:05,960 LifeWay Research did a study all the way back in 2017. 233 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,680 They released the results in 2019. 234 00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:20,440 And in it they said that most teenagers, approximately 66% who attended church regularly for at least 235 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:30,720 a year in high school dropped out of church and stopped going to services between the 236 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:37,760 ages of 18 and 22 when they were becoming young adults. 237 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,960 And that in itself is only in Protestant denominations. 238 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:48,000 From what I've read various places, those numbers are just a staggering across the board 239 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:50,480 regardless of denomination. 240 00:19:50,480 --> 00:20:01,980 To take it further, this same study gave the top five reasons for dropout of young adults 241 00:20:01,980 --> 00:20:05,760 age 23 to 30. 242 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:11,080 I'm going to go through these and I want you to listen because these should sound the alarm 243 00:20:11,080 --> 00:20:13,820 for all of us. 244 00:20:13,820 --> 00:20:23,000 Of those surveyed that had dropped out, 34% said it was because they moved away for college 245 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,280 and stopped going while they were there. 246 00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:31,640 You know and with schools pushing God out, this really isn't surprising. 247 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,000 It's really not. 248 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:44,840 32% said it was because church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical. 249 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,440 What really? 250 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:47,440 Judgmental or hypocritical? 251 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,720 Yeah, really. 252 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:54,320 This is also a big one for veterans and first responders. 253 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:55,320 Huge one. 254 00:20:55,320 --> 00:21:00,000 I can't tell you how many stopped going because of this very thing. 255 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,720 Especially the military community though. 256 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,800 More so than first responders. 257 00:21:05,800 --> 00:21:12,280 29% didn't feel connected to the church. 258 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:16,440 29% nearly a third. 259 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:21,160 And they are not alone on this. 260 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:30,920 25% did not agree with the church's stance on political and social issues. 261 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:37,480 Let's be honest, there are way too many out there that allow personal politics to take 262 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:46,360 the stage and to take over their sermons, messages, and teachings instead of presenting 263 00:21:46,360 --> 00:21:49,600 the gospel. 264 00:21:49,600 --> 00:22:00,280 24% said work obligations did not allow them time to go. 265 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:05,480 And this one's not a surprise either because employers care more about that bottom dollar 266 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:08,240 than they do their employees. 267 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,320 Now I'm not saying all managers do, but the employers in general? 268 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:12,680 Absolutely. 269 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:17,840 And I'll remind you as an employee, we are all replaceable. 270 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:22,120 You can quit, you can die, doesn't matter. 271 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:25,200 You'll be replaced in the blink of an eye. 272 00:22:25,200 --> 00:22:31,400 And your contributions, hardly even remembered, and those who do remember it for just a short 273 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,760 period of time before completely forgotten. 274 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:41,320 However, your family, your children will remember all those times that you should have been 275 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:45,480 there and you weren't. 276 00:22:45,480 --> 00:22:49,520 Because you couldn't miss work. 277 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:56,440 Proverbs 22 verse 6, the Bible says, train up a child in the way he should go even when 278 00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,400 he is old he will not depart from it. 279 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:06,680 See we get so focused on ourselves that we forget to ensure that our children know God 280 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:08,720 and they're suffering because of it. 281 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,920 They know it too. 282 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:16,040 I can give you an example here. 283 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:26,640 I was serving at a church for many years and I was growingly frustrated with a number of 284 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:32,720 things and I needed to take some time off because I was experiencing a little bit of 285 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:33,720 burnout there. 286 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:39,720 And I needed to take some time off to pray, to have that conversation with God, listen 287 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:44,760 to what he was telling me, and to reset myself because I was becoming very angry. 288 00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:48,160 It happens to all of us, right? 289 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:49,800 Every single one of us. 290 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,960 Don't think just because someone's up in the pulpit that it doesn't happen. 291 00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:57,880 Clergy burnout, pastor burnout, it's a very real thing. 292 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:02,560 Now at this time I was thinking of myself. 293 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:03,560 I was being selfish. 294 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,440 I didn't even realize it. 295 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:13,760 I was thinking of myself and since I wasn't working at the church, quote unquote, at this 296 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:24,760 place of worship during those couple of weeks, I also was not attending a worship service. 297 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:25,760 Didn't think twice of it. 298 00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:27,400 Just like, you know what, I need time to reset. 299 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:31,240 I need to be away from that particular place. 300 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,160 I'm going to take some time off. 301 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,400 But here's the thing. 302 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,760 You know who did take note and said, hey, we need to be going to service. 303 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,360 Hey, why aren't you going to service? 304 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:44,880 My son. 305 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,840 My son noticed and he spoke up. 306 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:53,040 My son who the Lord blessed me with and charged me with taking care of. 307 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:56,000 He's the one that the Lord spoke through. 308 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:02,760 He's the one who reminded me that it wasn't about me and if it wasn't there, then it should 309 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,600 be someplace else. 310 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:09,640 But I needed to come together with other Christians, joining together as the church in worship 311 00:25:09,640 --> 00:25:11,200 somewhere. 312 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:12,280 And you know what? 313 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:17,160 He was 100% right. 314 00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:20,240 We can't lose sight of that. 315 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:25,640 You know, and if you know someone who's burning out, if you know someone, you know, who used 316 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:30,320 to go and they kind of strayed or they're going through some kind of turmoil, pray for 317 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:32,000 them. 318 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:33,720 Pray for them and keep setting that example. 319 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:41,220 Show them what it is and what it means to have a healthy relationship with God. 320 00:25:41,220 --> 00:25:46,520 It's easy to lose sight of that when you become frustrated and angry. 321 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:47,520 And it happens in life. 322 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:49,960 It happens to every single one of us. 323 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:54,760 And that right there is exactly the time it matters most. 324 00:25:54,760 --> 00:26:00,240 That's when we need to remember to refocus and recenter ourselves on God's will. 325 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:01,240 Let me say that again. 326 00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:07,000 We need to remember to refocus and recenter ourselves on God's will. 327 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:11,960 If that means you need to break away and go someplace else for a moment, do so. 328 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:12,960 Talk to God though. 329 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:18,320 Find out where He's calling you and what it is that you need to learn. 330 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,600 Give Him your frustrations. 331 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:22,160 Don't give into anger. 332 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:26,120 Don't give into that sin because it leads you down the path that you don't want to 333 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:28,340 go down. 334 00:26:28,340 --> 00:26:29,340 Let's get back to it. 335 00:26:29,340 --> 00:26:39,040 In Zephaniah 3 verse 8, the Bible says, Therefore wait for me, declares the Lord, for the day 336 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:43,440 I will stand up to testify. 337 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:48,680 I had decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms, and to pour out my wrath 338 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:52,000 on them all my fierce anger. 339 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:58,760 The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger. 340 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:05,720 In the end, everyone is going to be standing before the throne and judged by what they've 341 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:07,840 done in this life. 342 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:15,080 The Bible also tells us this in Revelation 20 verse 12 when it says, And I saw the dead, 343 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:20,840 great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. 344 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,760 Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. 345 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:31,120 The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 346 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:38,240 Now as we've discussed in the past, eventually God will see to it that justice prevails. 347 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:47,000 Evil is going to be punished and the faithful will be forgiven, blessed, and join with Him 348 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,000 in fellowship. 349 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:54,320 I'll remind you, don't look to get revenge. 350 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,640 It's going to be taken care of. 351 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:01,280 Instead pray and look to Jesus. 352 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:02,960 Now it's not always going to be easy. 353 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:06,040 I'm not going to tell you that because I'd be lying. 354 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:08,800 It will not always be easy. 355 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:17,760 Yet as Christians, as believers, as followers of Christ, this is what we're called to do. 356 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:26,360 And this is where we dive into the Day of Hope, because the Day of Justice is coming. 357 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:37,080 Zephaniah 3 verses 9-13, the Bible says, Then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that 358 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:44,300 all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve Him shoulder to shoulder. 359 00:28:44,300 --> 00:28:51,680 From beyond the rivers of Cush, that's the upper Nile region, my worshipers, my scattered 360 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:56,480 people will bring me offerings. 361 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:03,200 On that day Jerusalem will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done to me, because 362 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:11,880 I will remove from you your arrogant boasters. 363 00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:17,880 Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill. 364 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:22,860 But I will leave within you the meek and humble. 365 00:29:22,860 --> 00:29:27,420 The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord. 366 00:29:27,420 --> 00:29:30,280 They will do no wrong, they will tell no lies. 367 00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:34,440 A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. 368 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:42,840 They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid. 369 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:45,440 Now I don't know about you, but I love this. 370 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:53,200 The day when every believer around the world is unified as God's proper family, worshiping 371 00:29:53,200 --> 00:30:02,080 Him together, in fellowship with one another, living in harmony, a perfect harmony, God 372 00:30:02,080 --> 00:30:07,960 is going to purge the sin from us, thereby purifying us. 373 00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:15,360 Everything about us will be as He intended it to be, from the inside out. 374 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:20,040 You know, some people get hung up on the whole, oh I'm going to have this new heavenly body. 375 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:24,720 Really, I'm going to tell you now, I believe that this is better. 376 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:32,480 Look at it, we're talking a world of love, a world of peace and understanding with the 377 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:33,480 Father. 378 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:37,360 Now the scattered people here, this is referencing the Jewish people who had been relocated to 379 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,100 different areas. 380 00:30:39,100 --> 00:30:48,400 And just like then, the Bible is telling us that no matter how far God's people have been 381 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:56,160 scattered around the earth, and at this point we're all over it, the day is coming when 382 00:30:56,160 --> 00:31:04,280 we will all come back together as one people, as one nation, as one kingdom in worship of 383 00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:07,360 God. 384 00:31:07,360 --> 00:31:09,200 God's family, right? 385 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:17,640 In Isaiah chapter 60 verses 6 and 7 the Bible tells us this, herds of camels will cover 386 00:31:17,640 --> 00:31:26,960 your land, young camels Amidian and Ephah, and all from Sheba will come, bearing gold 387 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:31,080 and incense and proclaiming the praise of the Lord. 388 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:35,040 Al-Qadar's flocks will be gathered to you. 389 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:46,660 The rams of Nebayoth will serve you, they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, 390 00:31:46,660 --> 00:31:50,120 and I will adorn my glorious temple. 391 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:54,080 Sorry, I kind of butchered that name there, didn't I? 392 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:58,280 A little bit of a tongue twister for me. 393 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:02,120 This right here though, this little piece here, this tells us that everyone is going 394 00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:03,280 to come back to the Father. 395 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:11,800 They're going to see his light, they're going to be drawn to him. 396 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:18,680 While the appearance of the outside world may be discouraging sometimes, the fact that 397 00:32:18,680 --> 00:32:22,440 so many people are not turning to God right now. 398 00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:26,280 It seems like more and more so people are actually turning away from him. 399 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:34,000 The day is coming when everybody is going to recognize the Father as our one true God. 400 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:38,880 And it's going to be a glorious sight. 401 00:32:38,880 --> 00:32:46,400 Going back to Zephaniah chapter 3 and verses 11 through 12, what the word is telling us 402 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:54,720 is that God is going to weed out those sinfully proud and boastful people, those arrogant, 403 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,160 self-absorbed idolaters. 404 00:32:58,160 --> 00:33:02,040 They're going to find that they're out of time and that it's time to pay for their 405 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:03,040 transgressions. 406 00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:10,280 You know, all that garbage and nonsense that they bought into, it's time to pay up. 407 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:16,480 God is going to cut out the cancer that stems from the disobedience of sinners, thereby 408 00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:21,320 removing their poison and their pollution from the world. 409 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:27,440 However those, as the Bible says here, who are meek and humble, they'll be rewarded 410 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:31,920 because of their faith in the Almighty. 411 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,760 That's where we find our strength, is in God. 412 00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:41,640 Revelations chapter 21 verses 4, I'm sorry, verse 4, the Bible says, He will wipe every 413 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:43,000 tear from their eyes. 414 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:48,380 There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things 415 00:33:48,380 --> 00:33:51,280 has passed away. 416 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:54,840 For believers it's going to be a great day. 417 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:58,480 You see, there's going to be tough days while we're here. 418 00:33:58,480 --> 00:33:59,480 There are. 419 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:04,080 I'm not going to let anybody tell you otherwise because if they are, they're lying. 420 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:10,600 Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 1, the Bible says, but mark this, there will be terrible 421 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:13,120 times in the last days. 422 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:20,000 Matthew 24 10, the Bible says, at that time many will fall away and will betray one another 423 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:21,500 and hate one another. 424 00:34:21,500 --> 00:34:30,040 In John 15 verses 19 and 20, Jesus said, If you belonged to the world, it would love you 425 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:31,680 as its own. 426 00:34:31,680 --> 00:34:38,520 As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. 427 00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:41,120 That is why the world hates you. 428 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:44,680 Remember what I told you, a servant is no greater than his master. 429 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:50,280 If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. 430 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:54,000 There will be hard days. 431 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:58,760 Tell you now, there will be hard days. 432 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,780 There are a ton of false teachers out there and they love to say things like, live your 433 00:35:02,780 --> 00:35:06,440 best life now. 434 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:10,720 Prosperity preachers of the name it and claim it faith that love to say things like, do 435 00:35:10,720 --> 00:35:11,720 you want to be rich? 436 00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:12,720 I want to be rich. 437 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:14,480 This is how you're going to do it. 438 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:20,000 They will lead you to damnation because they don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. 439 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:27,680 As Christians, we will find persecution and judgment from the world just like Jesus did. 440 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,160 Just like he did. 441 00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,160 Times are going to be hard. 442 00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:38,560 You know, say, live your best life now. 443 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:39,680 Really? 444 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:40,680 Live your best life now? 445 00:35:40,680 --> 00:35:46,200 No, I'm pretty sure that's in heaven when we're called home to be with the Father. 446 00:35:46,200 --> 00:35:50,680 That is going to be the best life right there. 447 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:56,440 Matthew 6, 19-21 tells us that our treasure is stored up in heaven. 448 00:35:56,440 --> 00:35:59,280 Not here on earth, but on heaven. 449 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:03,160 And that's part of our hope in Jesus. 450 00:36:03,160 --> 00:36:07,640 That fact that we're going to be together, living in harmony with rewards that we can't 451 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:11,240 even imagine. 452 00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:18,960 We're simply asked to be obedient children, to trust in the Father, and that everything 453 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:24,960 is going to work out for us in the end. 454 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:30,800 Continuing on here, Zephaniah chapter 3, verses 14-18. 455 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:39,160 The Bible says, seeing daughter Zion, shout aloud Israel, be glad and rejoice with all 456 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,880 your heart, daughter Jerusalem. 457 00:36:41,880 --> 00:36:45,240 The Lord has taken away your punishment. 458 00:36:45,240 --> 00:36:47,800 He has turned back your enemy. 459 00:36:47,800 --> 00:36:52,000 The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you. 460 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:55,480 Never again will you fear any harm. 461 00:36:55,480 --> 00:37:01,680 On that day they will say to Jerusalem, do not fear Zion, do not let your hands hang 462 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:02,840 limp. 463 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:08,740 The Lord your God is with you, the mighty warrior who saves. 464 00:37:08,740 --> 00:37:11,800 He will take great delight in you. 465 00:37:11,800 --> 00:37:20,120 In His love, He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. 466 00:37:20,120 --> 00:37:27,040 I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals, which 467 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:30,520 is a burden and reproach for you. 468 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:39,800 When the day of hope arrives, God will wipe His and our enemies from the earth. 469 00:37:39,800 --> 00:37:42,120 And He will come down and He will live with us. 470 00:37:42,120 --> 00:37:49,160 Like I said earlier, those will be the days of true happiness, true joy, true fulfillment 471 00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:53,920 as we have never known and cannot imagine. 472 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:58,720 All gifts from the Father. 473 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:03,680 When we are with Him, that is when we will live our best life. 474 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:08,880 But for those who continue to turn their back on Him, those who cut themselves off from 475 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:16,560 Him, so they can continue to indulge in sin, they'll miss out when they find themselves 476 00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:17,800 sentenced to hell. 477 00:38:17,800 --> 00:38:21,040 Plain and simple. 478 00:38:21,040 --> 00:38:25,400 True happiness right now as we wait for Him? 479 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:32,920 But we can find that by living honestly and by living lovingly. 480 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:36,120 These are the things that make God happy. 481 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:42,040 And in turn, He will place a happiness in our hearts that is beyond explanation and 482 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:44,880 beyond understanding. 483 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:49,560 That is the love and joy of Jesus within each and every one of us. 484 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:54,640 Within you, within me, all of us. 485 00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:58,320 Let's look at the last couple of verses in this book now. 486 00:38:58,320 --> 00:39:03,280 Zephaniah chapter 3 verses 19 and 20. 487 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:11,720 The Bible says, At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. 488 00:39:11,720 --> 00:39:13,640 I will rescue the lame. 489 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:15,920 I will gather the exiles. 490 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:25,260 I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame. 491 00:39:25,260 --> 00:39:29,120 At that time I will gather you. 492 00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:32,320 At that time I will bring you home. 493 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:41,360 I will give you honor and praise among the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes. 494 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:47,840 Some translations may say something along the lines of, I bring back your captives here. 495 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:50,760 Before your very eyes, says the Lord. 496 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:57,680 Now this last verse is not referring to everything happening in Zephaniah's time. 497 00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:02,400 It's not his lifetime, not the lifetime of those people. 498 00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:09,560 Instead, it's the fact that the restoration and everything that God was doing and is going 499 00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:15,160 to do, that it's all going to be obvious to everyone. 500 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:24,120 Again, it's going to be obvious to all exactly who he is and all the faithful are going to 501 00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:26,080 be drawn to him. 502 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:29,440 Philippians chapter 2 verses 10 through 11. 503 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:36,560 The Bible says that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and 504 00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:42,200 under the earth and every tongue a notch that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the 505 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:43,200 Father. 506 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:51,720 What this is saying is all of creation will one day bow down and worship Jesus. 507 00:40:51,720 --> 00:40:58,080 Now for those of us who believe and we know how great of a thing this is and how much 508 00:40:58,080 --> 00:41:05,560 of a privilege it is to be one of God's children, we recognize that we have the privilege of 509 00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,680 doing it now, starting rather than later. 510 00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:13,440 These are things that God's even told us, hey, do it, do it, because this is how we 511 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:18,960 express our love for him. 512 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:26,880 The book here, the book of Zephaniah, it does, it starts very dark. 513 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:29,000 It's very bleak, isn't it? 514 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:34,320 It starts off as a message of impending doom. 515 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:38,800 These are the things that people like to hear about, which is a big part of why this is 516 00:41:38,800 --> 00:41:41,440 one of the least preached books in the Bible. 517 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:45,360 Let's face it, these are the things that really, they turn people off. 518 00:41:45,360 --> 00:41:49,720 Like really, really, there's enough going on and you're going to hit us with this, which 519 00:41:49,720 --> 00:41:54,440 is why people tune out instead of hanging in there to see what else is coming. 520 00:41:54,440 --> 00:42:03,560 As we've seen, it moves along quickly to a great message of hope at the end. 521 00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:13,440 This is a reminder that God can take anything, no matter how bad it is, and use it for good, 522 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:19,920 that a new day is coming when God is going to bless all of the faithful. 523 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:23,800 It's also a reminder that we all need to look inward. 524 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:28,000 We need to examine ourselves. 525 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:31,520 Going back, the people of Judah, they were outwardly religious. 526 00:42:31,520 --> 00:42:35,200 They had that appearance, they had that image. 527 00:42:35,200 --> 00:42:42,600 However, inside, they were far from God. 528 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:44,200 We see people like that in the church today. 529 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:47,600 They can talk the talk, they look the look, they have a certain appearance, like, oh yeah, 530 00:42:47,600 --> 00:42:50,880 you got to do this, and it's looking good. 531 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:53,800 But inside, spiritually, they're dead. 532 00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:58,880 They use their own justification and trust in what the world has told them instead of 533 00:42:58,880 --> 00:42:59,880 God. 534 00:42:59,880 --> 00:43:06,400 Zephaniah has encouraged all these people to come back together before God, to turn 535 00:43:06,400 --> 00:43:08,160 from their sin and to pray. 536 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:09,900 This is what the Lord is telling us. 537 00:43:09,900 --> 00:43:12,280 We see this time and time again in the Bible. 538 00:43:12,280 --> 00:43:15,280 This is something we still need to do today. 539 00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:16,280 We need to look inwards. 540 00:43:16,280 --> 00:43:24,560 We need to examine ourselves and then come together with other believers to remember 541 00:43:24,560 --> 00:43:32,640 that faithful followers of Christ praying and worshiping together are the church. 542 00:43:32,640 --> 00:43:34,120 It's not a building. 543 00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:40,260 It's not the pastor alone, but Christians coming together and showing God's light in 544 00:43:40,260 --> 00:43:44,280 them to the world. 545 00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:49,240 Another way of saying it, to be our brothers and sisters' keepers in their times of darkness 546 00:43:49,240 --> 00:43:54,320 so that they could come to know Jesus. 547 00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:59,280 Let me tell you, there is nothing better that we can do in this life than to answer the 548 00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:04,840 Great Commission, making Jesus known to the world. 549 00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:08,480 And that hope that we all have? 550 00:44:08,480 --> 00:44:15,740 That's part of what makes the world a better place while we're here. 551 00:44:15,740 --> 00:44:23,220 Knowing we have a great home to go to with the ultimate loving Father waiting for each 552 00:44:23,220 --> 00:44:25,600 and every one of us. 553 00:44:25,600 --> 00:44:31,920 Now that's a pretty bright future. 554 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:35,720 Remember you're loved and you are a blessing. 555 00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:39,840 Now go and be the church. 556 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:42,180 I want to thank you for joining us today. 557 00:44:42,180 --> 00:44:48,420 If you have any questions, prayer requests, or would like to know more about our ministry, 558 00:44:48,420 --> 00:44:56,920 you can find us on our website at BeTheLightSanctuary.org or on Facebook at BeTheLightSanctuary. 559 00:44:56,920 --> 00:44:58,480 We'll catch you next time. 560 00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:22,360 God bless.