WEBVTT 00:00:01.480 --> 00:00:04.400 We continue. our sermon series in Zephaniah, 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:07.120 Hidden Treasures, as we journey with this minor 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:09.900 prophet speaking to the people of Judah, the 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:12.460 people of God, and we continue in chapter 2. 00:00:12.599 --> 00:00:15.580 We'll be going verse 4 through 15, and what's 00:00:15.580 --> 00:00:18.179 interesting about this section that we're going 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:20.500 to look at is we're going to look at kind of 00:00:20.500 --> 00:00:24.019 the reach of God's justice. One of the things 00:00:24.019 --> 00:00:26.660 that Zephaniah is really hitting strong on, like 00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:29.399 many of the prophets do, both minor or major, 00:00:29.460 --> 00:00:31.739 again that's just size of book, and the size 00:00:31.739 --> 00:00:34.840 of of message, so to speak, is God's justice, 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:37.780 that God is still making a way for those pagan 00:00:37.780 --> 00:00:41.200 Gentile kind of cities around and people and 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:44.939 tribes around to see the way he disciplines and 00:00:44.939 --> 00:00:49.250 loves his children. hopefully comes with an opportunity 00:00:49.250 --> 00:00:53.850 for them to turn toward Yahweh, turn toward the 00:00:53.850 --> 00:00:56.789 God of gods, the Lord of lords, which I always 00:00:56.789 --> 00:01:00.130 find interesting and bring it to a kind of parental 00:01:00.130 --> 00:01:03.590 place today on Mother's Day, is the way we discipline 00:01:03.590 --> 00:01:08.030 our children is a way people can see the Jesus 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:10.629 that we love. Think about that for a minute. 00:01:10.909 --> 00:01:13.769 For some of us, that may bind us real tight and 00:01:13.769 --> 00:01:15.650 go, oh, pastor, I don't like that you just said 00:01:15.650 --> 00:01:18.069 that. Because maybe you're more of a heavy -handed 00:01:18.069 --> 00:01:21.769 disciplinarian. Or maybe there is zero discipline 00:01:21.769 --> 00:01:25.450 in your house and it's chaos. And we can actually 00:01:25.450 --> 00:01:28.849 see the way people have kind of their faith in 00:01:28.849 --> 00:01:30.870 Christ in the way that they discipline their 00:01:30.870 --> 00:01:34.069 children. That that is actually an example we 00:01:34.069 --> 00:01:37.430 can give that our discipline is fair and just, 00:01:37.709 --> 00:01:39.950 right? A God that is slow to, and believe me, 00:01:39.969 --> 00:01:41.709 I'm looking right in the mirror when I say this 00:01:41.709 --> 00:01:44.530 verse, that if our God is slow to anger and abounding 00:01:44.530 --> 00:01:47.409 in steadfast love, though there is chiding, as 00:01:47.409 --> 00:01:50.189 Hebrews tells us, which is an active discipline 00:01:50.189 --> 00:01:53.680 rooted in the love of the gospel. And that is 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:57.040 how we, if we have the honor and opportunity 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:00.159 to be parents, that is how we should be. Same 00:02:00.159 --> 00:02:03.599 thing with our Lighthouse teachers and our youth 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:05.519 group leaders and all of those things, which 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:08.300 I do want to just thank Lisa and her entire team 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:10.479 for the year that they have given us in Lighthouses. 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:12.900 They celebrate kind of the end of the season 00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:17.460 next Sunday along with our youth ministry leaders. 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:20.020 Let's just give them a hand quick because that's 00:02:20.020 --> 00:02:24.650 not easy. A gymism that you guys have heard a 00:02:24.650 --> 00:02:26.810 lot, and I'll continue to say, if you've served 00:02:26.810 --> 00:02:29.949 in nursery as a Sunday school teacher or in youth 00:02:29.949 --> 00:02:32.270 ministry, when you get up to heaven, I believe 00:02:32.270 --> 00:02:34.849 that your room will not be by the ice machine. 00:02:35.169 --> 00:02:37.650 That that is definitely something you have earned 00:02:37.650 --> 00:02:41.090 in that sense. That as we start in a couple weeks 00:02:41.090 --> 00:02:43.789 the call for youth ministry leaders and children's 00:02:43.789 --> 00:02:46.740 leaders, that is a... Carrot we can dangle. Anyway, 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:50.159 so the reach of God's justice. As Zephaniah is 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:53.020 talking to Judah, as Zephaniah is talking to 00:02:53.020 --> 00:02:55.819 everybody looking at the small little Judah right 00:02:55.819 --> 00:02:59.800 now, we hear the voice of Zephaniah last week 00:02:59.800 --> 00:03:05.199 calling Judah a shameless nation. Now, some of 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:07.659 us, we think, well, it's shameful what they are 00:03:07.659 --> 00:03:11.800 doing or not doing. But the shameless part points 00:03:11.800 --> 00:03:15.000 to not only the loss of moral grounding. but 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:19.060 to a people that no longer care if they sin. 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:23.300 That one way you can tell your spiritual walk 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:26.599 has issues is if you're sinning and there's no 00:03:26.599 --> 00:03:29.659 conviction. Or you're sinning and you go, ah, 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:31.620 you know what? God's going to forgive me anyway 00:03:31.620 --> 00:03:34.340 in the end. I don't think you want to take that 00:03:34.340 --> 00:03:37.139 chance. I think to have that active relationship 00:03:37.139 --> 00:03:39.300 with God, much like we have active relationships 00:03:39.300 --> 00:03:41.580 with each other, if we sin against one another, 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.300 we want to make it right. We want to bring reconciliation, 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:48.939 whether easy or hard. You don't want to be that 00:03:48.939 --> 00:03:51.300 person that doesn't want to extend forgiveness 00:03:51.300 --> 00:03:53.939 in grace, because I guarantee you there will 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:56.360 be a time in life when you want that from somebody 00:03:56.360 --> 00:04:01.659 or from God himself. They're not even worried 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:04.259 about sin in the sense that they just don't care, 00:04:04.419 --> 00:04:08.419 and that is shameless. Unmoved by God's holiness, 00:04:08.740 --> 00:04:11.560 unaffected by their spiritual condition, and 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:14.860 now we move into our set of passages for today. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:18.319 That the shamelessness is not just in Judah, 00:04:18.459 --> 00:04:20.399 but it's in the world around. We're going to 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:23.740 talk about specific cities today that represent 00:04:23.740 --> 00:04:27.040 and maybe can be recognized in us that maybe 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:31.779 that's where we are. in our walk with God. Pride, 00:04:31.860 --> 00:04:36.120 mockery of God, and rebellion. What they did 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:39.019 then can mirror in our hearts today when we feel 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:42.300 we're good. We live under the banner maybe of 00:04:42.300 --> 00:04:44.300 once saved, always saved, so I can do whatever 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:47.420 I want. That is not the definition of Christian 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:50.939 liberty. That we understand and recognize God's 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:53.639 sovereign in our lives. We live to serve him, 00:04:53.740 --> 00:04:58.120 to love him, and to love others. So this call 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:01.060 to repent of God's powerful declaration of judgment 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:04.879 is not only over Judah. There's a lot of times 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:07.279 we can read the Old Testament and go, wow, he 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:10.519 was just a disciplinary parent to Judah. It wasn't 00:05:10.519 --> 00:05:12.540 just about Judah. It was about all these other 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:15.839 towns and nations. Zephaniah reminds us that 00:05:15.839 --> 00:05:20.459 God's justice is not bound by borders. His judgment 00:05:20.459 --> 00:05:23.759 sweeps across the known world back in this day. 00:05:24.269 --> 00:05:27.110 You had Philistia to the west, Moab and Ammon 00:05:27.110 --> 00:05:29.850 to the east, Cush to the south, and Assyria to 00:05:29.850 --> 00:05:32.449 the north. That is going to be that kind of box 00:05:32.449 --> 00:05:35.149 we're going to be in today. That this sermon 00:05:35.149 --> 00:05:38.949 is not only a warning, but of scope. That God's 00:05:38.949 --> 00:05:43.009 sovereign over all people, not just those that 00:05:43.009 --> 00:05:45.990 are believers. And how he cares how the nations 00:05:45.990 --> 00:05:49.810 reflect and reject his holiness. So a little 00:05:49.810 --> 00:05:52.649 bit of context before we dive in. These nations, 00:05:52.810 --> 00:05:54.089 the ones that I mentioned and we're going to 00:05:54.089 --> 00:05:57.069 go to kind of town by town, were traditional 00:05:57.069 --> 00:05:59.730 enemies of Israel. These were constant enemies. 00:05:59.810 --> 00:06:01.370 They were constantly having battles throughout 00:06:01.370 --> 00:06:05.410 the Old Testament. And each had mocked and oppressed 00:06:05.410 --> 00:06:08.449 God's people. They took an aspect of God's character 00:06:08.449 --> 00:06:11.170 or what the Israelites, one of the aspects that 00:06:11.170 --> 00:06:14.129 the Israelites worshipped and thanked God about 00:06:14.129 --> 00:06:17.449 God, they mocked it. Their downfall would be 00:06:17.449 --> 00:06:20.959 a sign of God's covenantal justice. and warning 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:25.379 to Judah. Zephaniah likely preached during the 00:06:25.379 --> 00:06:28.879 start of King Josiah's reform, late 7th century 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:32.180 BC, at the time when Judah might have been a 00:06:32.180 --> 00:06:35.759 bit proud and insolent that they were kind of 00:06:35.759 --> 00:06:39.819 doing good. We're in that good place, so now 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:43.579 we think we're better than everybody. When we 00:06:43.579 --> 00:06:46.839 maybe have been done being disciplined or a season 00:06:46.839 --> 00:06:49.300 of discipline by God, we may try to go to a spiritual 00:06:49.300 --> 00:06:54.459 eliteness and pride cometh before the fall. The 00:06:54.459 --> 00:06:57.259 listing of our cities and the directions suggest 00:06:57.259 --> 00:07:00.319 the complete surrounding judgment. So you have 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:03.319 Judah and then you have all the towns around 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:07.500 it. I think it's great and deep the way that 00:07:07.500 --> 00:07:09.560 this declaration is coming from Zephaniah. So 00:07:09.560 --> 00:07:12.259 let's dive in. First, Philistia. Start with verses 00:07:12.259 --> 00:07:15.819 4 through 7. So verses 4 through 7, then we're 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:16.920 going to do a little rabbit trail on the word 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:20.699 remnant. For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon 00:07:20.699 --> 00:07:23.579 shall become desolate. Well, become a desolation. 00:07:24.339 --> 00:07:26.920 Ashdod's people will be driven out at noon, and 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:30.800 Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to the inhabitants 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:34.120 of the seacoast, you nation of, I don't know 00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:36.220 how to say that word. The word of the Lord is 00:07:36.220 --> 00:07:38.939 against you. O Canaan, land of the Philistines, 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:41.899 I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left. 00:07:42.779 --> 00:07:46.399 And you, O seacoast, shall be the pastures with 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:49.420 meadows and shepherds and folds for flocks. The 00:07:49.420 --> 00:07:52.399 seacoast shall become the possession of the remnant 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:54.819 of the house of Judah, and on which they shall 00:07:54.819 --> 00:07:57.379 gaze. And in the house of Ashkelon they shall 00:07:57.379 --> 00:08:01.430 lie down at evening. For the Lord their God will 00:08:01.430 --> 00:08:04.649 be mindful of them and restore their fortune. 00:08:04.829 --> 00:08:08.509 So Philistia, cities like Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, 00:08:08.550 --> 00:08:12.709 and Ekron are named. And what do we see? God 00:08:12.709 --> 00:08:19.569 promises total desolation. Wiped out. Gone. Now 00:08:19.569 --> 00:08:22.490 again, some of us, we struggle with the God that 00:08:22.490 --> 00:08:25.730 does this. Because there are times we think God 00:08:25.730 --> 00:08:29.230 should just be this loving God. And not discipline 00:08:29.230 --> 00:08:32.110 anyone. And maybe that's because you think that's 00:08:32.110 --> 00:08:34.750 what you need in life. And I'm here to tell you 00:08:34.750 --> 00:08:37.570 that if that's you, you probably need some discipline. 00:08:37.649 --> 00:08:40.110 You probably need not to come in first place. 00:08:40.230 --> 00:08:43.350 You probably need to be taken down a peg or two. 00:08:43.429 --> 00:08:45.490 And again, I'm looking in the mirror first before 00:08:45.490 --> 00:08:48.370 I say that to any of you. But the thing here 00:08:48.370 --> 00:08:51.210 we have to recognize is that God promises total 00:08:51.210 --> 00:08:55.549 desolation, yet he speaks of a word remnant. 00:08:56.750 --> 00:08:59.769 He says this word. It is one, in my mind, one 00:08:59.769 --> 00:09:02.230 of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture 00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:05.649 is this word remnant. You want to see it done 00:09:05.649 --> 00:09:09.529 a lot, read the prophet Isaiah. But there's a 00:09:09.529 --> 00:09:13.570 remnant inheriting the land. So allow me a moment 00:09:13.570 --> 00:09:16.350 to do a little rabbit trail on the word remnant 00:09:16.350 --> 00:09:19.929 in the Old Testament. Whenever you see the word 00:09:19.929 --> 00:09:22.809 remnant in the prophets, it's worth pausing. 00:09:23.690 --> 00:09:25.970 It's word taking a little bit of a time out. 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:30.720 This is not a throwaway word. It is loaded with 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:34.419 significance, both biblically, both apocalyptically, 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:38.899 meaning end times, and both theologically. In 00:09:38.899 --> 00:09:40.879 the Old Testament, especially in the prophetic 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:44.620 books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, and Zephaniah, 00:09:44.799 --> 00:09:50.019 the remnant refers to the faithful few who survive 00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:54.179 judgment, exile, or destruction. Let me say that 00:09:54.179 --> 00:09:58.299 again. The faithful few that survived judgment, 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.080 exile, and destruction, not because of their 00:10:01.080 --> 00:10:03.879 strength or merit that they were that awesome, 00:10:04.059 --> 00:10:09.159 but because of God's covenant faithfulness. The 00:10:09.159 --> 00:10:13.279 remnant is based because God is a covenantal 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:15.720 God. It is based in that. Without the covenant, 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:19.299 there would not be a remnant. These are the people 00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:22.320 who still cling to God, who walk in humility, 00:10:22.539 --> 00:10:26.600 and who look. Towards salvation. Not just for 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:28.960 themselves, not just for their people, but for 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:33.139 the world. In Isaiah 10, the remnant is described 00:10:33.139 --> 00:10:36.639 as those who return to the mighty God. Micah 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:39.759 says God will gather his remnant like a shepherd 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:42.919 gathers sheep. And here in Zephaniah, even the 00:10:42.919 --> 00:10:46.039 nations are judged. We hear that a remnant shall 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:50.620 inherit the land. So as reformed believers, how 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:52.720 do we engage this? How do we walk through this? 00:10:53.289 --> 00:10:56.190 Because this seems to echo themes of election. 00:10:57.009 --> 00:11:02.250 Evan read in Romans that God predestined, that 00:11:02.250 --> 00:11:05.830 God has this choice, this covenantal choice for 00:11:05.830 --> 00:11:08.649 us. And he chooses us, not because we're great, 00:11:08.769 --> 00:11:13.970 but because we need God. God's sovereignty preserves 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:16.929 his people, not based on what they've done, but 00:11:16.929 --> 00:11:22.450 according to his gracious purpose. If I ever 00:11:22.450 --> 00:11:26.570 find out that any of you use this term election 00:11:26.570 --> 00:11:31.549 as a place to stand over somebody, please believe 00:11:31.549 --> 00:11:34.789 I'm going to call for a conversation. Because 00:11:34.789 --> 00:11:37.429 to me, that could be seen as spiritual abuse. 00:11:37.970 --> 00:11:40.470 That when we use this term, well, we are elect. 00:11:40.690 --> 00:11:44.450 Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah. No. Please never do 00:11:44.450 --> 00:11:47.210 that. Because that is not at all the right understanding 00:11:47.210 --> 00:11:50.820 of being part of God's elect. That God's election 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:56.639 shows his sovereign purpose because we need it. 00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:01.139 Not because we've earned it. If you think that 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:04.159 you've earned God's election, you and I have 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:08.320 a lot to talk about. The Cairns of Dort, section 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:13.919 7, speaks clearly. Election is the unchangeable 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:17.840 purpose of God whereby he has chosen in Christ. 00:12:18.620 --> 00:12:21.259 To salvation, a definite number of particular 00:12:21.259 --> 00:12:24.440 people. You go to the end of the Belgic Confession, 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:27.220 which to me is one of the most missional documents 00:12:27.220 --> 00:12:30.179 we have in our Reformed Confessions, our three 00:12:30.179 --> 00:12:32.879 forms of unity, which are what? The Heidelberg, 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:38.080 the Belgic, the Canons. Oh, that was fun. Thank 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:41.620 you for doing that. The last article on the final 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:46.220 judgment, it says, until the elect is complete. 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:53.200 That is when Christ will come again. The beautiful 00:12:53.200 --> 00:12:57.220 thing about that is we don't get to choose that. 00:12:57.820 --> 00:13:01.559 We just have a job to do. What is that job? Point 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:05.519 people back to the cross. Point people back to 00:13:05.519 --> 00:13:10.899 Jesus. So the remnant is a sign of both judgment 00:13:10.899 --> 00:13:14.110 and mercy, much like a prophet would say. Though 00:13:14.110 --> 00:13:17.350 judgment falls, God keeps a people for himself, 00:13:17.629 --> 00:13:20.730 pointing us forward to Christ and his church. 00:13:21.009 --> 00:13:24.250 And today, we who remain faithful amid a world 00:13:24.250 --> 00:13:27.889 of compromise are the spiritual remnant hidden 00:13:27.889 --> 00:13:33.909 in Christ and preserved by grace. Let's come 00:13:33.909 --> 00:13:36.289 out of that rabbit hole of remnant and jump in. 00:13:36.870 --> 00:13:39.830 So in Philistia, we've seen the mixture of God's 00:13:39.830 --> 00:13:43.230 judgment and restoration. God's wrath is real, 00:13:43.370 --> 00:13:47.070 but he wants to preserve his people. You liken 00:13:47.070 --> 00:13:49.110 that to if you grew up in a house where there 00:13:49.110 --> 00:13:52.070 was more physical discipline, right? Whether 00:13:52.070 --> 00:13:55.549 you got spanked, right? Whether you got a belt, 00:13:55.649 --> 00:13:58.549 whether you got some other weapon. There's no 00:13:58.549 --> 00:14:01.710 other way to say that. Disciplinary tool. Or 00:14:01.710 --> 00:14:05.090 if you were like my little kind of 4 '12", no, 00:14:05.169 --> 00:14:09.389 that would be 5 feet, 4 '11", grandma, her three 00:14:09.389 --> 00:14:12.500 fingers. Just pop you right in the mouth. You'd 00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:15.860 come out of nowhere. Like a ninja. Right? I told 00:14:15.860 --> 00:14:18.019 you that story before. I was in junior high. 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:20.539 I mouthed off. She whacked me on the mouth. And 00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:22.740 I turned to her and said, at that point I could 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:25.919 look down at her, was, Grandma, why would you 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:30.159 do that? And she looked at me cold as ice and 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:35.740 says, because it doesn't leave a mark. You better 00:14:35.740 --> 00:14:39.059 believe. I laughed when my cousin, who was a 00:14:39.059 --> 00:14:41.000 year younger than me, like next week got the 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:45.220 same thing. And we never talked back again. But 00:14:45.220 --> 00:14:48.980 that is, so when we discipline, even as parents, 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:51.620 a lot of us may feel it or even say it. This 00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:54.080 hurts me more than it hurts you. That though 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.159 you discipline your children, you still love 00:14:56.159 --> 00:14:59.860 them. If your disciplinary tool is to maybe physically 00:14:59.860 --> 00:15:02.740 or verbally discipline, but then never come back 00:15:02.740 --> 00:15:06.509 and show compassion or mercy to your child. then 00:15:06.509 --> 00:15:10.070 Colossians is kind of calling you out because 00:15:10.070 --> 00:15:13.009 you're discouraging your kid. That a Christ -like 00:15:13.009 --> 00:15:16.350 discipline has discipline, but it also has compassion. 00:15:17.429 --> 00:15:19.990 Because how would we like it if God just striked 00:15:19.990 --> 00:15:23.970 us but never came back to pick us up? We have 00:15:23.970 --> 00:15:26.950 to model that, and God is modeling that in Philistia. 00:15:27.309 --> 00:15:29.769 But in Moab and Ammon, we got something else 00:15:29.769 --> 00:15:34.669 in verse 8. We see. I have heard of the taunts 00:15:34.669 --> 00:15:38.309 of Moab and the revelings of the Amorites, how 00:15:38.309 --> 00:15:40.850 they have taunted my people and made boast against 00:15:40.850 --> 00:15:43.769 their territory. Therefore, as I live, declares 00:15:43.769 --> 00:15:47.730 the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall 00:15:47.730 --> 00:15:50.250 be like Sodom and the Amorites like Gomorrah, 00:15:50.330 --> 00:15:53.429 a land possessed by nettles and salt pits and 00:15:53.429 --> 00:15:56.669 a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall 00:15:56.669 --> 00:15:59.529 plunder them and the survivors of my nation shall 00:15:59.529 --> 00:16:04.509 possess them. This shall be their lot in return 00:16:04.509 --> 00:16:07.590 for their pride because they taunted and boasted 00:16:07.590 --> 00:16:09.629 against the people of the Lord and the hosts. 00:16:09.929 --> 00:16:13.389 The Lord will be awesome against them for he 00:16:13.389 --> 00:16:15.970 will famish all the gods of the earth and to 00:16:15.970 --> 00:16:19.529 him shall bow down each in its place all the 00:16:19.529 --> 00:16:23.509 lands of the nation. And God will be awesome 00:16:23.509 --> 00:16:27.970 against them. I hope and pray that that is never 00:16:27.970 --> 00:16:31.139 turned toward me. Because we see the word awesome, 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:33.720 but it doesn't feel that way. That God will be 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:37.840 awesome in his desolation toward them. These 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:42.559 nations insulted and taunted God's people. Pride 00:16:42.559 --> 00:16:45.440 and mockery are highlighted. Verse 11 speaks 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:50.120 of God reducing their gods to nothing. A clear 00:16:50.120 --> 00:16:53.950 assertion of Yahweh's supremacy. The language 00:16:53.950 --> 00:16:57.389 anticipates the universal worship of God. To 00:16:57.389 --> 00:17:00.629 him shall bow down each in its place all the 00:17:00.629 --> 00:17:02.669 lands of the nations. Where have we heard that 00:17:02.669 --> 00:17:05.750 before? The book of Revelation. At every knee 00:17:05.750 --> 00:17:08.390 will bow, every tongue will confess. We sing, 00:17:08.650 --> 00:17:12.230 holy, holy, holy, that that will be the congregation 00:17:12.230 --> 00:17:17.289 of the Lord in the end times. But the insults 00:17:17.289 --> 00:17:22.559 and the taunting. Now. We're kind of a sports 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:25.859 family. A lot of you are sports families. Taunting 00:17:25.859 --> 00:17:28.440 is one of the worst things we can see in kids' 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:30.759 sports. But it happens all the time. The worst 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:33.220 is when it's adults to kids. That's absolutely 00:17:33.220 --> 00:17:36.500 terrible. But as I manage my son's C League team 00:17:36.500 --> 00:17:39.259 in Munster, one of the first things that I taught 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:43.759 them is we win with grace and we lose with grace. 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:46.819 So last week, a little bit of a flex, when we 00:17:46.819 --> 00:17:49.819 had more of a walk -off win, right, for our first 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:52.599 win, it's okay to cheer, but you get in line 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:56.220 and you shake hands anyway. That we understand 00:17:56.220 --> 00:18:00.819 that in life, the boastful will be disciplined. 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:05.000 It says it over 30 times in the scripture that 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.880 those puffed up with pride, meaning we think 00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:13.009 we are doing all the things, that God will. Discipline 00:18:13.009 --> 00:18:16.829 us. Why? Because he says it in the very first 00:18:16.829 --> 00:18:20.890 commandment. You will have no other gods but 00:18:20.890 --> 00:18:23.630 me. I've said it before. I'll say it again. What 00:18:23.630 --> 00:18:26.769 is he speaking to? When we become our own gods. 00:18:27.509 --> 00:18:30.789 When we put ourselves so up in high and lawfully 00:18:30.789 --> 00:18:34.069 places that our job and our opinion is to look 00:18:34.069 --> 00:18:40.210 down and judge people. Be careful. God will humble 00:18:40.210 --> 00:18:43.359 the prideful. And that is what's happening in 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:47.059 Moab and Ammon. But an even different and even 00:18:47.059 --> 00:18:49.940 more interesting to me kind of judgment happens 00:18:49.940 --> 00:18:52.859 in Cush and Assyria. So starting with verse 12. 00:18:54.339 --> 00:18:58.619 You also, O Cushites, shall be slain by my sword. 00:18:59.019 --> 00:19:01.660 And he will stretch out his hand against the 00:19:01.660 --> 00:19:05.579 north and destroy Assyria. And he will make Nineveh 00:19:05.579 --> 00:19:09.640 a desolation, a dry waste like a desert. Herds 00:19:09.640 --> 00:19:12.359 shall lie down in her midst. All kinds of beasts, 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:15.960 even the owl and the hedgehog, shall lodge in 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:18.839 her capitals. A voice shall hoot in the window. 00:19:19.740 --> 00:19:22.400 Devastation will be on the threshold, for her 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:27.480 cedar work will be laid bare. This is the exultant 00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:32.240 city that lives securely, that said in her heart, 00:19:32.319 --> 00:19:36.660 I am and there is no one else. What a desolation 00:19:36.660 --> 00:19:40.839 she has become. A lair for wild beasts. Everyone 00:19:40.839 --> 00:19:46.559 who passes by her hisses and shakes his fist. 00:19:47.500 --> 00:19:51.519 Very different. A lot of animals. These animals, 00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:55.299 don't go so deep with it, right? It's what happens 00:19:55.299 --> 00:19:58.319 when things become deserted, when things have 00:19:58.319 --> 00:20:02.470 crumpled. The animals take over, right? Whether 00:20:02.470 --> 00:20:04.849 it's a town, whether it's an abandoned house, 00:20:04.950 --> 00:20:07.809 or your garbage can, right? When things are just 00:20:07.809 --> 00:20:10.970 left with no signs of life, what happens? The 00:20:10.970 --> 00:20:16.569 animals come in. Interesting. Note here. Now, 00:20:16.589 --> 00:20:19.109 unless I know some of our squirrels are just 00:20:19.109 --> 00:20:22.849 demonic that we have on our street, but they 00:20:22.849 --> 00:20:25.819 don't come at it right away. Animals will kind 00:20:25.819 --> 00:20:28.779 of check and see to make sure. They're not all 00:20:28.779 --> 00:20:31.400 dumb, most of them are, but they have a survival 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:35.619 instinct in them. So what happened? These places 00:20:35.619 --> 00:20:41.480 have become desolate for a while. But the interesting 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:45.660 thing is, when things become destroyed, we... 00:20:45.900 --> 00:20:47.759 tend to want to build them back up. We see that 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.619 with hurricanes. We see that with tornadoes. 00:20:50.619 --> 00:20:53.519 When a town gets leveled, and I'm not saying 00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:55.240 that that was God's judgment on them. That's 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:57.579 not what I'm saying. But we see a rush, whether 00:20:57.579 --> 00:20:59.859 it's the Red Cross or other organizations, to 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:03.079 come and try to rebuild and restore those towns. 00:21:04.119 --> 00:21:08.000 That doesn't happen here. We need to clock that 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:11.390 for a minute. That we need to see that not only 00:21:11.390 --> 00:21:13.710 are they devastated, not only are they completely 00:21:13.710 --> 00:21:18.430 torn down, there is no one there to rebuild and 00:21:18.430 --> 00:21:21.450 the animals take over. You see, Cush is mentioned 00:21:21.450 --> 00:21:24.990 briefly signaling God's justice even in the distant 00:21:24.990 --> 00:21:28.150 places. Cush would be the farthest of these towns. 00:21:28.650 --> 00:21:31.730 Showing God's judgment, but God also chooses 00:21:31.730 --> 00:21:35.329 to restore what he wants to restore. And it should 00:21:35.329 --> 00:21:38.589 go and kind of serve us to tell us of our interpersonal 00:21:38.589 --> 00:21:41.170 relationships with one another, that restoration 00:21:41.170 --> 00:21:46.069 he always wants. Never does God say to you, it's 00:21:46.069 --> 00:21:48.349 okay to say to that person, you're dead to me. 00:21:49.609 --> 00:21:52.890 That is not, you are there to rebuild. Even if 00:21:52.890 --> 00:21:55.190 those relationships have been hurt and hard for 00:21:55.190 --> 00:21:58.069 decades, we are called to rebuild them. We are 00:21:58.069 --> 00:22:01.210 called to make them right. Will they ever be 00:22:01.210 --> 00:22:04.089 flourishing? Probably not. Will you ever necessarily 00:22:04.089 --> 00:22:07.130 trust those individuals? Probably not. But forgiveness 00:22:07.130 --> 00:22:10.650 needs to be shared and received for that reconciliation 00:22:10.650 --> 00:22:15.970 and that restoration to happen. So isn't it funny, 00:22:15.990 --> 00:22:19.230 even the most distant desolation, the most distant 00:22:19.230 --> 00:22:22.329 hurt and pain that we may have in our life, God 00:22:22.329 --> 00:22:26.509 calls to restore. Assyria, once a dominant empire, 00:22:26.710 --> 00:22:30.380 is mocked for her arrogance. I am and there is 00:22:30.380 --> 00:22:34.259 no one else. Her end is desolation. Nineveh, 00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:38.339 proud and untouchable, shall become a wasteland. 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:43.480 Proof that no empire stands forever. Because 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:49.160 it's all about God at work. God's kingdom. Okay, 00:22:49.279 --> 00:22:51.599 that was fun. We nerded out on some of the history. 00:22:51.720 --> 00:22:55.960 Thanks, Jim. What do we do today in 2025? Well, 00:22:55.980 --> 00:22:58.099 friends, there is a kingdom. That is continuing 00:22:58.099 --> 00:23:00.259 at work. There is a kingdom that is bringing 00:23:00.259 --> 00:23:03.200 people low if they need to be low or lifted up 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:04.900 if they need to be lifted up. It is the kingdom 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:08.619 of Christ. The Belgian Confession, Article 37, 00:23:08.859 --> 00:23:11.400 speaks of the final judgment when Christ will 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:14.319 bring justice to all nations and vindicate his 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:18.359 people. We are living in that time. These sweeping 00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:21.599 judgments in Zephaniah previews this great day. 00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:24.819 No sin will escape. No rebellion will stand. 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:30.759 Verse 11 hints at a hope beyond judgment, a remnant, 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:34.700 if you will, a time when all the lands of the 00:23:34.700 --> 00:23:37.960 nations will worship the Lord. This anticipates 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:40.140 the Great Commission that we talked about before 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:44.599 the baptisms, but it also speaks of Pentecost, 00:23:44.740 --> 00:23:48.619 when the church has a job to do and is set on 00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:50.759 its ways. Again, we'll get to that Labor Day 00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:53.160 weekend. We're going to start a whole journey 00:23:53.160 --> 00:23:55.930 in the first eight chapters of Acts. The judgment 00:23:55.930 --> 00:23:58.349 that Zephaniah is talking about prepares the 00:23:58.349 --> 00:24:02.349 way for the kingdom of Christ. A kingdom of peace 00:24:02.349 --> 00:24:06.269 and justice. And that will reign. And friends, 00:24:06.410 --> 00:24:08.890 spoiler alert, where does that kingdom come? 00:24:09.109 --> 00:24:14.309 From God, through Christ, in us. In the church. 00:24:15.190 --> 00:24:18.390 That we are to be people of peace and justice, 00:24:18.490 --> 00:24:24.109 of reconciliation and hope. How do we do this? 00:24:24.910 --> 00:24:27.710 First and foremost, friends, we do it by trusting. 00:24:28.049 --> 00:24:31.750 And I'm going to land the plane here today. My 00:24:31.750 --> 00:24:34.210 question, what are you trusting in this morning 00:24:34.210 --> 00:24:36.670 before we get to what Zephy's telling us then 00:24:36.670 --> 00:24:40.230 and now? Are you tempted to think God doesn't 00:24:40.230 --> 00:24:44.029 see what is happening in the world? Have you 00:24:44.029 --> 00:24:45.930 just thrown the baby out with the bathwater and 00:24:45.930 --> 00:24:49.089 said, God's clearly not at the wheel because 00:24:49.089 --> 00:24:54.420 of, insert whatever your observation is. Do you 00:24:54.420 --> 00:24:57.960 think God's not in control? He still is. Zephaniah 00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:01.920 tells us, even if all of the nations around are 00:25:01.920 --> 00:25:04.859 desolated, the remnant of God still remains. 00:25:06.140 --> 00:25:09.720 Do we mock or ignore God in our own pride, like 00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:15.380 Moab or Ammon? In those little secret spots that 00:25:15.380 --> 00:25:18.180 no one really knows, so we don't talk about it. 00:25:18.670 --> 00:25:21.490 Do we actually mock God's power? Do we ignore 00:25:21.490 --> 00:25:27.029 because we think we have a better way? Third 00:25:27.029 --> 00:25:29.829 question, where is your security? Is it in your 00:25:29.829 --> 00:25:33.230 culture, your nation, your wealth? Or is it in 00:25:33.230 --> 00:25:36.730 the Lord? This is a constant theme in Zephaniah. 00:25:37.069 --> 00:25:40.150 Constant theme in the entire Bible. Don't put 00:25:40.150 --> 00:25:43.630 your weight in the material things of the world. 00:25:43.690 --> 00:25:46.410 That's where we're going to be in August. Jesus 00:25:46.410 --> 00:25:49.509 uses the word store up. Don't store up all these 00:25:49.509 --> 00:25:52.589 things where they will be destroyed because you 00:25:52.589 --> 00:25:55.829 can't take it with you. The call to Judah is 00:25:55.829 --> 00:25:59.769 also a call to us. Be faithful, be humble, be 00:25:59.769 --> 00:26:04.930 found in God's justice, in God's grace. Are you 00:26:04.930 --> 00:26:07.490 seeing those that don't think they're being seen? 00:26:07.750 --> 00:26:11.630 Are you lifting up those that remain down? You 00:26:11.630 --> 00:26:14.289 have the power to do all of that because the 00:26:14.289 --> 00:26:17.450 kingdom of Christ is coming through you. If you 00:26:17.450 --> 00:26:20.250 claim Christ as Lord and Savior, the kingdom 00:26:20.250 --> 00:26:22.849 of Christ is coming through your hands and your 00:26:22.849 --> 00:26:26.029 feet in what you say, in what you do, in what 00:26:26.029 --> 00:26:32.289 you post. Be faithful. Be humble. Be found in 00:26:32.289 --> 00:26:37.660 God's justice and grace. What is Zephaniah trying 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:40.079 to tell us? What is he saying then and what is 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:43.339 he saying now? Then he was saying God's justice 00:26:43.339 --> 00:26:46.880 swept over every direction. No one was exempt. 00:26:47.180 --> 00:26:51.039 I repeat, no one was exempt. The nation's pride 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:54.079 led to their fall. Yet God's promises to preserve 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:58.079 a remnant and bring about global worship shine 00:26:58.079 --> 00:27:02.019 through. What is he saying now? Our world mirrors 00:27:02.019 --> 00:27:05.900 those nations. Arrogant, dismissive, self -centered. 00:27:06.349 --> 00:27:09.430 But God's justice is still active. And so is 00:27:09.430 --> 00:27:13.369 his call to humility and repentance. Through 00:27:13.369 --> 00:27:17.069 Christ, all nations are invited to bow and worship. 00:27:17.670 --> 00:27:23.410 We are the remnant. And we are also his ambassadors. 00:27:23.970 --> 00:27:27.869 Sent to the family you find yourself in, the 00:27:27.869 --> 00:27:30.829 job you find yourself in, the communities you 00:27:30.829 --> 00:27:33.369 find yourself in, the churches you find yourself 00:27:33.369 --> 00:27:37.230 in. We. are the remnant of God's justice and 00:27:37.230 --> 00:27:42.230 grace. So let's be active in that. Let's pray.