3rd Sunday of Advent Date: 12/17/06 Text: Zepaniah Title: Now and Not Yet
3rd Sunday of Advent
12/17/2006
Text: Zephaniah
Title: Now And Not Yet
Today, as we continue in our series, “Pause, Ponder, and Prepare”, we are going to take a look at the Old Testament reading from Zephaniah. Zephaniah began his ministry during the reign of Josiah, who was a good and ethical king. Josiah was guided, by God’s loving priests and religious leaders. Things went well for the kingdom, that is until Josiah’s death. After his death, the people and their new leaders went back to their old habits, idolatry and sin.
God’s prophet Zephaniah tells them when the Lord comes again there will be no escaping from the Lord. God will punish those who reject him. He will not cut anyone any slack. There will be no place to hedge their bets, no place to sit and figure out what to do, no place to watch the battle from the sidelines.
The day of the Lord is coming. It will be a Day of Judgment and there is no escaping it. Sin, even what society likes to call victimless sin, has to pay the price, for there is no sin that is victimless.
Sin in itself is bad enough, but unrepentant sin is all-encompassing, for not only does it harm or destroy human relationships; it also has a negative impact on our relationship with God, the God who loves us, who wants to forgive us. Unrepentant sin will slowly but surely, take a person back to where we all started, slaves of Satan.
Zephaniah’s insight into the nature of sin does not lead him to simply throw his hands in the air in defeat. He knows unrepentant sin is not just some abstract concept that theologians talk about, preachers complain about, and laypeople try to forget about.
Unrepentant sin demands a response, so Zephaniah tells them what is going to happen to the Philippians Ethiopians, the Assyrians, the Moabites, and the Ammonites, all because of their unrepentant sin against God.
God will judge them, and they will be punished. I can just hear the people now. “Good, they finally are going to get what they deserve. We are God’s people and we know he will not let us down. Our enemies are going to be destroyed, good riddance to them. Thank you God.”
Everyone is happy. Wouldn’t we be happy if God destroyed the enemies of our country? They were happy, that is until Zephaniah starts speaking to the people, God’s people, about their unrepentant sin. He tells them that God’s judgment will not stop at their borders. God has to destroy sin, especially unrepentant sin. He cannot let it go. God will not let anyone get by with sin. It does not make any difference if you are a priest, a king, or just a plain ol’ working person. God, just by his nature has to destroy sin.
I do not imagine there was much celebrating going on after he got through with that statement. But then Zephaniah tells them that God will leave a remnant of the people. He will not destroy those who are truly faithful. That brings us to the wonderful scene that Zephaniah paints for them and us in our Old Testament reading for today.
It is true that God will destroy those who are against him, but it is also true that he will restore and deliver those who are oppressed. Now God through Zephaniah is talking of the time when the Jewish people would come back to their beloved city. Jerusalem will restored and the people will rejoice, for all that the Lord has done for them.
That is exactly what happened when God brought the exiles back. The problem is that we need to find out what Zephaniah’s prophecy has to do with us today, otherwise it is just a story with a happy ending. Well let us see. The first thing that we can learn from Zephaniah’s prophecy is that what God says he will do, he will do. He will rescue and he will punish as he sees fit.
Some people don’t like the idea, that God will rescue those he wants to rescue and punish those he wants to punish. They don’t like it, but I would rather trust a perfect God to do the right thing, rather than trust myself or someone else to do the right thing, for I know how I think and act. Too many times I have jumped to the wrong conclusion and regretted it later. Even though I do not understand God’s ways, I would still rather trust him to do what is right.
People have a hard time trusting God because they base their trust of God on their own personal experiences, rather than God’s Word. It is pretty pitiful, is it not, but that is the way we are, for even though we would never admit it, at least publicly, we naturally keep wanting to go back to the slavery of Satan. I know that sounds weird, for who in their right mind would want to go back to the slavery of Satan. God’s Holy Word tells us differently. The proof of our natural desire is found all over the Old Testament and New Testament writings. People sin. God punishes. People repent. God forgives. God blesses. People sin and the cycle starts all over again.
Have you ever noticed that in God’s Word there is to be a distinct line between the people of God and those who are not? Now that is a hard concept, for most Christians to swallow, especially us Americans. We pride ourselves on our independence, our ability to be free thinkers, yet we do the best we can to blend in, so that we will not be considered different. In fact, we frown on someone who does not fit the norm.
The problem is that we apply this to our Christianity. For the most part most of us will do whatever we can to hide our Christianity. You don’t think so? How many of you have listened to that dirty joke, or told a joke that made fun of some culture, or race? How many of you have ever stopped someone from making a raciest comment about someone else?
You see, we want to blend in, we do not want to upset anyone, or let them know that as a Christian we don’t take part in those things. We want to fly under the radar.
We need to be separate, to be recognized for no right thinking person need look too far to see that civilization, as we know it is, if not actually falling apart, is seriously unraveling. Read your morning paper. Look at the evening news. Our own country is being pulled apart by what has been called, so often that we don’t even hear the word anymore, “polarization.” Good people shriek at each other across an ever widening cultural divide about ideas and ideals, red-flag concepts and standards: Family values! Guns! Violence! War! Iraq! Nukes in Iran! Nukes in North Korea! Churches split because of worship wars. The nation is becoming more fractured by culture wars.
What about us, the people of God? Are we lost along with the rest of the world? Are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? According to God’s words through Zephaniah we are not, for his words are about Advent, the first coming of our Lord, but they do not stop there, for they also speak of the Second Advent, that time when Zephaniah’s prophecy will be completed.
You see, as I mentioned earlier, Zephaniah’s prophecy contains a now and not-yet. We join the people of Judah in praising God, for we too have been and are blessed. “Sing aloud now, O daughter Zion, for even though you have sinned, the Lord holds none of it against you. “Shout now, O Israel! Rejoice now, O Jerusalem!”
We can sing those words, even though we also stand in the midst of a world we can barely comprehend, whose end we cannot see before us. We stand in the now with those long-ago people of Judah, as we live our lives in corrupt world. Yet, even in the midst of all this corruption, the Lord, our God, is with us. We need not fear. Disaster has come. Disaster will more than likely come again. Yet we need not fear, for our God is with us. Yes, that is good news! It is some thing to rejoice about, something to shout about.
And we have not even came to the not-yet. On that day when Jesus became one of us God began something that is not yet completed. On that day, so long ago, God took a stand with us, in the midst of history, and showed us that we have ahead of us a new day, a day that is even now coming, to us and to any in our world who God has torn away from Satan’s grasp.
On that day, The Second Advent of our Lord, he who came to us as a helpless baby, and who is even now in our midst, will bring us victory. It will not just be any old victory, for on that day, our Lord will remove all corruption from you, as he brings you to live with him in his new heaven and earth, good news, indeed!
It is my prayer that from now on, whenever you hear or read the words of Zephaniah’s prophecy you will see them in a new light, the light of our Savior, Jesus Christ. In the words of Zephaniah, we see a picture of God who is resolutely committed to working within history as it unfolds, even as it unravels.
Our God was working then, and is working now, slowly over time, waiting for that time when he will create a new world, a world of peace, a world where there is no more illness, accidents, prejudice, or any of the other things we suffer from.
God is coming. God stands in our midst, even now. He is victorious. We can praise God right now, even though the days seem dark and long, for we know that God will return in all his glory. Our victory is being accomplished.
Sing! Shout! Rejoice with all your hearts my brothers and sisters in Christ, for the victory is ours through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
12/17/2006
Text: Zephaniah
Title: Now And Not Yet
Today, as we continue in our series, “Pause, Ponder, and Prepare”, we are going to take a look at the Old Testament reading from Zephaniah. Zephaniah began his ministry during the reign of Josiah, who was a good and ethical king. Josiah was guided, by God’s loving priests and religious leaders. Things went well for the kingdom, that is until Josiah’s death. After his death, the people and their new leaders went back to their old habits, idolatry and sin.
God’s prophet Zephaniah tells them when the Lord comes again there will be no escaping from the Lord. God will punish those who reject him. He will not cut anyone any slack. There will be no place to hedge their bets, no place to sit and figure out what to do, no place to watch the battle from the sidelines.
The day of the Lord is coming. It will be a Day of Judgment and there is no escaping it. Sin, even what society likes to call victimless sin, has to pay the price, for there is no sin that is victimless.
Sin in itself is bad enough, but unrepentant sin is all-encompassing, for not only does it harm or destroy human relationships; it also has a negative impact on our relationship with God, the God who loves us, who wants to forgive us. Unrepentant sin will slowly but surely, take a person back to where we all started, slaves of Satan.
Zephaniah’s insight into the nature of sin does not lead him to simply throw his hands in the air in defeat. He knows unrepentant sin is not just some abstract concept that theologians talk about, preachers complain about, and laypeople try to forget about.
Unrepentant sin demands a response, so Zephaniah tells them what is going to happen to the Philippians Ethiopians, the Assyrians, the Moabites, and the Ammonites, all because of their unrepentant sin against God.
God will judge them, and they will be punished. I can just hear the people now. “Good, they finally are going to get what they deserve. We are God’s people and we know he will not let us down. Our enemies are going to be destroyed, good riddance to them. Thank you God.”
Everyone is happy. Wouldn’t we be happy if God destroyed the enemies of our country? They were happy, that is until Zephaniah starts speaking to the people, God’s people, about their unrepentant sin. He tells them that God’s judgment will not stop at their borders. God has to destroy sin, especially unrepentant sin. He cannot let it go. God will not let anyone get by with sin. It does not make any difference if you are a priest, a king, or just a plain ol’ working person. God, just by his nature has to destroy sin.
I do not imagine there was much celebrating going on after he got through with that statement. But then Zephaniah tells them that God will leave a remnant of the people. He will not destroy those who are truly faithful. That brings us to the wonderful scene that Zephaniah paints for them and us in our Old Testament reading for today.
It is true that God will destroy those who are against him, but it is also true that he will restore and deliver those who are oppressed. Now God through Zephaniah is talking of the time when the Jewish people would come back to their beloved city. Jerusalem will restored and the people will rejoice, for all that the Lord has done for them.
That is exactly what happened when God brought the exiles back. The problem is that we need to find out what Zephaniah’s prophecy has to do with us today, otherwise it is just a story with a happy ending. Well let us see. The first thing that we can learn from Zephaniah’s prophecy is that what God says he will do, he will do. He will rescue and he will punish as he sees fit.
Some people don’t like the idea, that God will rescue those he wants to rescue and punish those he wants to punish. They don’t like it, but I would rather trust a perfect God to do the right thing, rather than trust myself or someone else to do the right thing, for I know how I think and act. Too many times I have jumped to the wrong conclusion and regretted it later. Even though I do not understand God’s ways, I would still rather trust him to do what is right.
People have a hard time trusting God because they base their trust of God on their own personal experiences, rather than God’s Word. It is pretty pitiful, is it not, but that is the way we are, for even though we would never admit it, at least publicly, we naturally keep wanting to go back to the slavery of Satan. I know that sounds weird, for who in their right mind would want to go back to the slavery of Satan. God’s Holy Word tells us differently. The proof of our natural desire is found all over the Old Testament and New Testament writings. People sin. God punishes. People repent. God forgives. God blesses. People sin and the cycle starts all over again.
Have you ever noticed that in God’s Word there is to be a distinct line between the people of God and those who are not? Now that is a hard concept, for most Christians to swallow, especially us Americans. We pride ourselves on our independence, our ability to be free thinkers, yet we do the best we can to blend in, so that we will not be considered different. In fact, we frown on someone who does not fit the norm.
The problem is that we apply this to our Christianity. For the most part most of us will do whatever we can to hide our Christianity. You don’t think so? How many of you have listened to that dirty joke, or told a joke that made fun of some culture, or race? How many of you have ever stopped someone from making a raciest comment about someone else?
You see, we want to blend in, we do not want to upset anyone, or let them know that as a Christian we don’t take part in those things. We want to fly under the radar.
We need to be separate, to be recognized for no right thinking person need look too far to see that civilization, as we know it is, if not actually falling apart, is seriously unraveling. Read your morning paper. Look at the evening news. Our own country is being pulled apart by what has been called, so often that we don’t even hear the word anymore, “polarization.” Good people shriek at each other across an ever widening cultural divide about ideas and ideals, red-flag concepts and standards: Family values! Guns! Violence! War! Iraq! Nukes in Iran! Nukes in North Korea! Churches split because of worship wars. The nation is becoming more fractured by culture wars.
What about us, the people of God? Are we lost along with the rest of the world? Are we doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again? According to God’s words through Zephaniah we are not, for his words are about Advent, the first coming of our Lord, but they do not stop there, for they also speak of the Second Advent, that time when Zephaniah’s prophecy will be completed.
You see, as I mentioned earlier, Zephaniah’s prophecy contains a now and not-yet. We join the people of Judah in praising God, for we too have been and are blessed. “Sing aloud now, O daughter Zion, for even though you have sinned, the Lord holds none of it against you. “Shout now, O Israel! Rejoice now, O Jerusalem!”
We can sing those words, even though we also stand in the midst of a world we can barely comprehend, whose end we cannot see before us. We stand in the now with those long-ago people of Judah, as we live our lives in corrupt world. Yet, even in the midst of all this corruption, the Lord, our God, is with us. We need not fear. Disaster has come. Disaster will more than likely come again. Yet we need not fear, for our God is with us. Yes, that is good news! It is some thing to rejoice about, something to shout about.
And we have not even came to the not-yet. On that day when Jesus became one of us God began something that is not yet completed. On that day, so long ago, God took a stand with us, in the midst of history, and showed us that we have ahead of us a new day, a day that is even now coming, to us and to any in our world who God has torn away from Satan’s grasp.
On that day, The Second Advent of our Lord, he who came to us as a helpless baby, and who is even now in our midst, will bring us victory. It will not just be any old victory, for on that day, our Lord will remove all corruption from you, as he brings you to live with him in his new heaven and earth, good news, indeed!
It is my prayer that from now on, whenever you hear or read the words of Zephaniah’s prophecy you will see them in a new light, the light of our Savior, Jesus Christ. In the words of Zephaniah, we see a picture of God who is resolutely committed to working within history as it unfolds, even as it unravels.
Our God was working then, and is working now, slowly over time, waiting for that time when he will create a new world, a world of peace, a world where there is no more illness, accidents, prejudice, or any of the other things we suffer from.
God is coming. God stands in our midst, even now. He is victorious. We can praise God right now, even though the days seem dark and long, for we know that God will return in all his glory. Our victory is being accomplished.
Sing! Shout! Rejoice with all your hearts my brothers and sisters in Christ, for the victory is ours through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 7:11 PM
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