1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,574 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast 2 00:00:03,702 --> 00:00:06,606 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,718 --> 00:00:09,662 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,686 --> 00:00:10,690 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,990 --> 00:00:14,630 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,670 --> 00:00:16,290 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,750 --> 00:00:20,134 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,182 --> 00:00:21,650 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,550 --> 00:00:25,142 All right, let's go ahead and get our bibles out. 10 00:00:25,166 --> 00:00:29,222 We're going to start our Bible study here this evening. 11 00:00:29,406 --> 00:00:33,702 We just got done with a very well known book of the Bible, the 12 00:00:33,726 --> 00:00:34,542 Book of Ruth. 13 00:00:34,646 --> 00:00:37,190 And if you were here for that study, I hope that it was a blessing 14 00:00:37,230 --> 00:00:37,870 for you. 15 00:00:37,990 --> 00:00:42,158 If you got parts, bits and pieces of that, hopefully it was 16 00:00:42,214 --> 00:00:43,342 encouraging for you. 17 00:00:43,446 --> 00:00:45,478 If you missed it, I encourage you to go back. 18 00:00:45,614 --> 00:00:49,158 Thankfully, with the advent of the Internet and all that, you can 19 00:00:49,174 --> 00:00:50,390 go back and watch those. 20 00:00:50,510 --> 00:00:53,182 And I encourage you to go back if you missed any of those and study 21 00:00:53,246 --> 00:00:54,294 through that book of the Bible. 22 00:00:54,342 --> 00:00:56,302 So we have books of the Bible that we're very familiar with. 23 00:00:56,326 --> 00:00:58,818 Ruth is one that a lot of people are familiar with. 24 00:00:58,954 --> 00:01:02,674 You've got other books of the Bible that people talk about all 25 00:01:02,682 --> 00:01:06,010 the time, but we've also got books of the Bible that aren't mentioned 26 00:01:06,050 --> 00:01:06,786 a lot. 27 00:01:06,938 --> 00:01:10,290 Even though we know that all scripture is given by inspiration 28 00:01:10,330 --> 00:01:10,994 of God. 29 00:01:11,122 --> 00:01:15,514 Sometimes we tend to skip over passages of scripture, or sometimes 30 00:01:15,562 --> 00:01:18,474 the smaller books of the Bible get lost in the shuffle. 31 00:01:18,642 --> 00:01:22,802 And so we are going to study a book that sometimes gets overlooked, 32 00:01:22,826 --> 00:01:24,826 and that is the book of Zephaniah. 33 00:01:24,938 --> 00:01:27,522 So if you have your bibles, turn to the book of Zephaniah. 34 00:01:27,586 --> 00:01:28,794 Now this is a sore drill. 35 00:01:28,882 --> 00:01:30,602 How many of you can find Zephaniah quickly? 36 00:01:30,666 --> 00:01:31,290 It would be hard. 37 00:01:31,330 --> 00:01:31,706 It's hard. 38 00:01:31,738 --> 00:01:32,538 It's in there. 39 00:01:32,554 --> 00:01:34,114 Now, some of you are cheating because you're on your phones. 40 00:01:34,162 --> 00:01:34,850 I'm just kidding. 41 00:01:34,970 --> 00:01:35,746 It's okay. 42 00:01:35,858 --> 00:01:36,842 But you can get that fast. 43 00:01:36,906 --> 00:01:37,770 Zephaniah. 44 00:01:37,890 --> 00:01:42,338 But we're going to be in Zephaniah for the next foreseeable 45 00:01:42,394 --> 00:01:42,682 future. 46 00:01:42,746 --> 00:01:42,978 Okay. 47 00:01:42,994 --> 00:01:44,394 I don't know how long we're going to be here. 48 00:01:44,482 --> 00:01:46,690 We're going to take our time through the book of Zephaniah. 49 00:01:46,850 --> 00:01:50,834 Sometimes you get to the minor prophets, and when we use that phrase, 50 00:01:50,882 --> 00:01:52,626 minor prophets, we're not talking about that. 51 00:01:52,658 --> 00:01:55,964 It's, there's minor and major importance to their message. 52 00:01:56,012 --> 00:01:57,500 It's just we're talking about length, right? 53 00:01:57,580 --> 00:01:59,972 So this is a smaller book of the Bible. 54 00:02:00,036 --> 00:02:04,388 It's a smaller book that was a book of prophecy, but it's still 55 00:02:04,444 --> 00:02:09,252 important for us to study in our understanding of who God is and 56 00:02:09,276 --> 00:02:10,964 what he has done for us. 57 00:02:11,132 --> 00:02:14,572 And so we have to go through a lot of introductory to get to the 58 00:02:14,596 --> 00:02:15,380 main message. 59 00:02:15,500 --> 00:02:18,532 But I want to give you a little bit of background and context 60 00:02:18,596 --> 00:02:19,700 to this study. 61 00:02:19,860 --> 00:02:24,884 Zephaniah is a book of the Bible written by a prophet named, 62 00:02:24,972 --> 00:02:26,276 you guessed it, Zephaniah. 63 00:02:26,308 --> 00:02:26,532 Okay. 64 00:02:26,556 --> 00:02:30,820 He wrote this, and his name means defended or protected by God, 65 00:02:30,940 --> 00:02:32,160 hid by God. 66 00:02:32,700 --> 00:02:36,380 And we're going to see how that's significant as we study this 67 00:02:36,420 --> 00:02:37,596 prophecy here. 68 00:02:37,788 --> 00:02:41,924 We know that the date of the writing was in some time in the reign 69 00:02:41,972 --> 00:02:43,140 of King Josiah. 70 00:02:43,180 --> 00:02:45,034 We're going to study that here in a few moments. 71 00:02:45,212 --> 00:02:50,558 And so that took place between 635 and 625 BC. 72 00:02:50,694 --> 00:02:54,934 So this is happening about 600 years before Jesus. 73 00:02:54,982 --> 00:02:58,390 And so this is obviously before the new testament. 74 00:02:58,470 --> 00:02:59,406 Some of you are like, come on. 75 00:02:59,438 --> 00:03:00,310 I knew that, pastor. 76 00:03:00,390 --> 00:03:01,662 I can't take anything for granted. 77 00:03:01,686 --> 00:03:03,814 So I'm setting up the context for you. 78 00:03:03,942 --> 00:03:07,878 It's written specifically to the people that were in the southern 79 00:03:07,934 --> 00:03:09,702 kingdom named Judah. 80 00:03:09,806 --> 00:03:10,166 Okay? 81 00:03:10,198 --> 00:03:14,222 Judah was where Jerusalem was located, if you remember, Israel 82 00:03:14,286 --> 00:03:17,782 split, and there was the northern kingdom, which was considered 83 00:03:17,806 --> 00:03:18,686 to be Israel. 84 00:03:18,758 --> 00:03:19,670 That was the name. 85 00:03:19,750 --> 00:03:21,918 And then you had the southern kingdom, which was Judah. 86 00:03:22,054 --> 00:03:26,366 Now, Judah was the one that held on longer to the things of God. 87 00:03:26,478 --> 00:03:29,398 The northern kingdom turned to idolatry earlier and got judged earlier. 88 00:03:29,454 --> 00:03:34,622 And so Judah was the last remnant before the complete overthrow 89 00:03:34,686 --> 00:03:36,750 of the babylonian kingdom. 90 00:03:36,910 --> 00:03:40,550 So this is a book of the Bible written by Zephaniah the prophet 91 00:03:40,590 --> 00:03:42,966 between 635 and 625 BC. 92 00:03:43,078 --> 00:03:47,142 And Zephaniah's message was a message of judgment and encouragement. 93 00:03:47,246 --> 00:03:50,054 It's important to know that his message is a message of judgment, 94 00:03:50,102 --> 00:03:52,158 God's judgment upon sin. 95 00:03:52,254 --> 00:03:53,870 And we're going to specifically talk about those sins 96 00:03:53,910 --> 00:03:56,966 here through this study, but also encouragement for those who 97 00:03:56,998 --> 00:04:00,846 come to Christ in repentance, or in this case, come to Yahweh, 98 00:04:00,918 --> 00:04:02,886 God in repentance. 99 00:04:02,998 --> 00:04:05,750 And so we're going to talk about that here in our study. 100 00:04:05,790 --> 00:04:08,942 We're going to talk about the understanding of God's judgments 101 00:04:09,046 --> 00:04:12,138 and the importance of knowing about God's judgment, knowing why 102 00:04:12,194 --> 00:04:17,922 God judges how God judges, and ultimately, how we can avoid God's 103 00:04:17,946 --> 00:04:22,130 judgment in faith, and knowing that God judges those who deserve 104 00:04:22,170 --> 00:04:22,874 punishment. 105 00:04:23,002 --> 00:04:25,418 And really, frankly, all of us deserve punishment. 106 00:04:25,514 --> 00:04:30,610 So how can we, as believers today, understand the relationship 107 00:04:30,650 --> 00:04:36,074 between God's love and his justice, his grace and his holiness? 108 00:04:36,242 --> 00:04:37,734 We're going to talk through that here. 109 00:04:37,842 --> 00:04:40,622 Now, there's some attributes of God that we have to understand 110 00:04:40,726 --> 00:04:42,974 before we talk about his judgment, right? 111 00:04:43,022 --> 00:04:47,718 My judgment is limited because I am flawed. 112 00:04:47,854 --> 00:04:50,694 And so I don't know if you guys have dealt with your children 113 00:04:50,742 --> 00:04:52,838 this way or maybe I was a teacher. 114 00:04:53,014 --> 00:04:55,630 And so in class, I'd hear someone talking. 115 00:04:55,670 --> 00:04:58,054 I turn around and I would assume it was that person. 116 00:04:58,102 --> 00:04:59,046 I'd say, hey, stop talking. 117 00:04:59,078 --> 00:05:00,190 It wasn't me talking. 118 00:05:00,310 --> 00:05:01,502 And I might have misheard. 119 00:05:01,526 --> 00:05:03,556 I might have thought it was someone or, you know, the. 120 00:05:03,638 --> 00:05:05,432 The person pushes somebody and they push him back. 121 00:05:05,456 --> 00:05:07,544 And I only see the person pushing back, and I get upset, and 122 00:05:07,552 --> 00:05:08,688 I go, hey, you're in trouble, right? 123 00:05:08,784 --> 00:05:11,056 My judgment is flawed because I don't see everything. 124 00:05:11,248 --> 00:05:14,392 My judgment is flawed because ultimately, I'm fallible. 125 00:05:14,456 --> 00:05:18,336 But God's judgment is perfect because he is perfect. 126 00:05:18,488 --> 00:05:20,728 His defining character trait is his holiness. 127 00:05:20,864 --> 00:05:25,064 And so when God judges, he justly judges those that need to 128 00:05:25,112 --> 00:05:27,056 be condemned for their sins. 129 00:05:27,088 --> 00:05:29,802 So we're gonna talk about that here in the book of Zephaniah. 130 00:05:29,976 --> 00:05:32,326 And so let's look at verse number one. 131 00:05:32,358 --> 00:05:35,686 We're going to see the genealogy of Zephaniah, which is 132 00:05:35,718 --> 00:05:39,814 unique because we don't hear about the genealogy of prophets very 133 00:05:39,862 --> 00:05:41,014 often in scripture. 134 00:05:41,142 --> 00:05:42,182 And we're going to see why. 135 00:05:42,246 --> 00:05:45,990 We are going to be told about his genealogy, and then we're going 136 00:05:45,990 --> 00:05:46,974 to see the setting. 137 00:05:47,102 --> 00:05:47,422 Okay? 138 00:05:47,446 --> 00:05:51,702 So verse number one, the word of the Lord, which came unto Zephaniah, 139 00:05:51,726 --> 00:05:56,856 the son of Cushai, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the 140 00:05:56,888 --> 00:05:57,608 son of. 141 00:05:57,744 --> 00:06:01,456 That's Hezekiah, or Hezekiah in the days of Josiah, the son of 142 00:06:01,488 --> 00:06:03,120 Ammon, the king of Judah. 143 00:06:03,240 --> 00:06:06,416 So there's so much packed into verse number one. 144 00:06:06,568 --> 00:06:10,840 The first thing I wanna point out is the first phrase there, the 145 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:12,528 word of the Lord. 146 00:06:12,664 --> 00:06:15,144 This is not the word of Zephaniah. 147 00:06:15,312 --> 00:06:16,944 This is not his opinion. 148 00:06:17,112 --> 00:06:19,392 This is not his political persuasion. 149 00:06:19,536 --> 00:06:21,664 This is not his feelings. 150 00:06:21,752 --> 00:06:23,192 This is the word of the Lord. 151 00:06:23,216 --> 00:06:25,858 You have to understand, at this time frame, the way that God 152 00:06:25,914 --> 00:06:28,682 spoke to his people was through the prophet, right? 153 00:06:28,706 --> 00:06:30,002 So it's thus saith the Lord. 154 00:06:30,026 --> 00:06:31,938 So it's not Zephaniah's opinion. 155 00:06:32,034 --> 00:06:33,610 It's God's opinion. 156 00:06:33,690 --> 00:06:36,954 It's God's truth coming through Zephaniah. 157 00:06:37,082 --> 00:06:39,266 They didn't have the complete scope of scripture. 158 00:06:39,378 --> 00:06:39,658 Okay? 159 00:06:39,674 --> 00:06:41,402 So they didn't have it all complete. 160 00:06:41,426 --> 00:06:43,938 And so what would happen is Zephaniah would come and he would 161 00:06:43,954 --> 00:06:45,074 say, thus saith the Lord. 162 00:06:45,122 --> 00:06:47,362 And then he would be speaking for God. 163 00:06:47,466 --> 00:06:50,946 Now, we know today that we have the revealed word, complete 164 00:06:50,978 --> 00:06:51,768 word, of God. 165 00:06:51,874 --> 00:06:54,252 And so if I got up here tonight and I said, okay, this is 166 00:06:54,276 --> 00:06:56,012 what the Bible says, but thus saith the Lord. 167 00:06:56,036 --> 00:06:58,916 And I tell you my own opinion, okay, that's, number one, heresy. 168 00:06:58,948 --> 00:07:02,204 And number two, you should say that's dangerous, because the Bible 169 00:07:02,252 --> 00:07:05,196 says not to add or subtract from the completion of the word. 170 00:07:05,308 --> 00:07:08,500 So in this case, when Zephaniah says something here, he's 171 00:07:08,540 --> 00:07:10,180 Speaking for God. 172 00:07:10,300 --> 00:07:13,372 And so it's essentially God speaking directly to the people of 173 00:07:13,436 --> 00:07:14,160 Judah. 174 00:07:14,460 --> 00:07:17,988 So the word of the Lord which came unto Zephaniah, and then we 175 00:07:18,004 --> 00:07:18,956 go through his genealogy. 176 00:07:18,988 --> 00:07:21,808 Now, why is his genealogy so important in this case? 177 00:07:22,004 --> 00:07:27,080 Most commentators believe that he was of the descendant of King 178 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,856 Hezekiah, which would mean that this is the only prophet that 179 00:07:29,888 --> 00:07:31,620 is linked to royalty. 180 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,064 And so the first verse of the prophecy of Zephaniah sets it apart 181 00:07:36,112 --> 00:07:39,136 from most of the other prophets in that it tells us the 182 00:07:39,168 --> 00:07:42,020 timeframe and the lineage of the prophet. 183 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:45,752 So Zephaniah is unusual because most commentators would say 184 00:07:45,776 --> 00:07:50,298 that he is from royal lineage, descending from the godly king Hezekiah. 185 00:07:50,474 --> 00:07:54,978 And so we also see another individual mentioned, Josiah. 186 00:07:55,154 --> 00:07:56,346 Most of you know Josiah. 187 00:07:56,378 --> 00:08:01,186 Josiah was a godly young king who brought revival to Judah. 188 00:08:01,378 --> 00:08:04,706 And so Judah was overseen by Josiah. 189 00:08:04,738 --> 00:08:08,234 He reigned for ten years before he led his great revival. 190 00:08:08,282 --> 00:08:09,666 And I hope you know that story right. 191 00:08:09,698 --> 00:08:10,898 They found the scriptures. 192 00:08:11,034 --> 00:08:13,586 Josiah told them to read the scriptures. 193 00:08:13,658 --> 00:08:16,548 And then with those scriptures being readdez, there was that great 194 00:08:16,604 --> 00:08:20,228 revival and that turnaround there, a temporary revival, by the 195 00:08:20,244 --> 00:08:21,796 way, they reverted back. 196 00:08:21,948 --> 00:08:25,596 But in this case, Josiah was a godly king, one of the few godly 197 00:08:25,628 --> 00:08:26,012 kings. 198 00:08:26,116 --> 00:08:29,164 Obviously, there was more in Judah than in the northern kingdom. 199 00:08:29,252 --> 00:08:32,732 But in this case, there was still an opportunity for God to be 200 00:08:32,756 --> 00:08:33,892 seen there in Judah. 201 00:08:34,036 --> 00:08:36,820 But basically what we're going to see is that the judgment was just 202 00:08:36,860 --> 00:08:38,080 delayed in this time. 203 00:08:38,460 --> 00:08:43,859 So Zephaniah was likely written before the revival happened, 204 00:08:43,939 --> 00:08:48,467 early on in the reign of Josiah there in Judah. 205 00:08:48,563 --> 00:08:52,219 And so we have twelve minor prophets, and they're divided into 206 00:08:52,259 --> 00:08:52,691 two groups. 207 00:08:52,715 --> 00:08:55,891 And I don't want to get too intellectual here for you this evening, 208 00:08:55,915 --> 00:08:58,243 or academic, but I do need you to understand this. 209 00:08:58,331 --> 00:09:03,267 You have nine that are pre exilic, meaning prior to the exile, 210 00:09:03,323 --> 00:09:05,971 that they went to Babylon and all that. 211 00:09:06,155 --> 00:09:08,491 And then you have the three posts, okay? 212 00:09:08,515 --> 00:09:10,019 The three that happened after. 213 00:09:10,179 --> 00:09:13,924 And so this would be the last of the pre exile prophets. 214 00:09:14,012 --> 00:09:14,292 Okay? 215 00:09:14,316 --> 00:09:16,960 So just so that you understand where this is in the timeline. 216 00:09:17,380 --> 00:09:19,764 So he quotes a lot of other prophets. 217 00:09:19,932 --> 00:09:23,052 He's essentially rehashing a lot of what's already been said with 218 00:09:23,076 --> 00:09:24,092 the minor prophets. 219 00:09:24,196 --> 00:09:27,044 But ultimately, he's gonna be preaching judgment. 220 00:09:27,132 --> 00:09:28,684 So let's look at verse number two. 221 00:09:28,772 --> 00:09:30,412 He says, I will utterly consume. 222 00:09:30,436 --> 00:09:33,572 Now, remember, this is not Zephaniah saying he's gonna consume. 223 00:09:33,596 --> 00:09:34,852 He's speaking for God. 224 00:09:34,996 --> 00:09:37,624 And so he's speaking of God's judgment that is to come. 225 00:09:37,692 --> 00:09:40,536 And it says this, I will utterly consume all things from off 226 00:09:40,568 --> 00:09:42,376 the land, saith the Lord. 227 00:09:42,488 --> 00:09:44,704 Well, he doesn't pull any punches in his first line. 228 00:09:44,832 --> 00:09:45,408 Okay. 229 00:09:45,504 --> 00:09:48,152 You know, sometimes they tell you it's how you start and how you 230 00:09:48,176 --> 00:09:48,936 finish that matters. 231 00:09:48,968 --> 00:09:50,856 Well, we see how Zephaniah starts. 232 00:09:50,888 --> 00:09:52,416 He doesn't come in and give any frills. 233 00:09:52,448 --> 00:09:55,816 He just says, hey, look, God is going to consume all things from 234 00:09:55,848 --> 00:09:56,780 off the land. 235 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,888 And so in this case, we know that KING Josiah inherited a corrupt 236 00:10:00,944 --> 00:10:04,330 nation from his father, AmmOn, and from his grandfather Manasseh. 237 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:07,526 And so this isn't God just coming down on a whim and just saying, 238 00:10:07,558 --> 00:10:08,710 I don't like you guys today. 239 00:10:08,830 --> 00:10:14,334 This is a longstanding culture of idolatry and evil. 240 00:10:14,382 --> 00:10:16,422 We're going to get into that here in the Study as well. 241 00:10:16,446 --> 00:10:20,006 What kind of judgment that is coming to these people and why this 242 00:10:20,038 --> 00:10:21,118 judgment is coming. 243 00:10:21,294 --> 00:10:23,006 So he says, I will utterly consume all things. 244 00:10:23,038 --> 00:10:26,718 And so this speaks of a complete judgment for the sins of 245 00:10:26,734 --> 00:10:28,290 the people here in Judah. 246 00:10:28,870 --> 00:10:32,230 And so we see in verse number three, he says, I will consume man 247 00:10:32,310 --> 00:10:33,190 and beast. 248 00:10:33,350 --> 00:10:38,246 I will consume the fowls of the heaven, the fishes of the sea, 249 00:10:38,398 --> 00:10:41,414 and the stumbling blocks with the wicked. 250 00:10:41,582 --> 00:10:45,606 I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord. 251 00:10:45,798 --> 00:10:48,814 And so we see that God is serious about what they are doing. 252 00:10:48,942 --> 00:10:51,238 He is serious about their rebellion. 253 00:10:51,414 --> 00:10:54,330 And God speaks here to his holy justice. 254 00:10:55,190 --> 00:10:58,454 And this is something that as christians, we really need to understand 255 00:10:58,582 --> 00:11:04,268 that God is a loving goddess, and we should preach that. 256 00:11:04,404 --> 00:11:07,564 We should preach what the New Testament says in one John. 257 00:11:07,692 --> 00:11:12,372 It says that God is love, but in God's love is also his holiness, 258 00:11:12,516 --> 00:11:15,640 and in God's love is also his judgment. 259 00:11:15,980 --> 00:11:18,972 And we talked about the analogy of a righteous judge, right? 260 00:11:19,076 --> 00:11:22,252 If someone came before a judge and he overlooked evil, he wouldn't 261 00:11:22,276 --> 00:11:23,364 be a righteous judge. 262 00:11:23,492 --> 00:11:26,092 And so in God's defining character trait of his holiness, 263 00:11:26,156 --> 00:11:27,200 he must judge. 264 00:11:27,300 --> 00:11:28,688 He must judge evil. 265 00:11:28,824 --> 00:11:32,456 And so I believe that this is a wonderful picture of God's holiness 266 00:11:32,528 --> 00:11:37,740 and saying that I will cut off this land if this continues. 267 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:42,152 And so we see really in verse four where the judgment is going 268 00:11:42,176 --> 00:11:42,752 to go. 269 00:11:42,856 --> 00:11:46,660 Who is God going to specifically judge verse number four, 270 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:50,420 I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah. 271 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:51,776 Now, this is. 272 00:11:51,888 --> 00:11:53,088 You might skip over that. 273 00:11:53,104 --> 00:11:54,688 And you might say, well, that's not significant. 274 00:11:54,784 --> 00:11:58,466 It is significant because these people that were in Judah were 275 00:11:58,498 --> 00:12:01,266 used to hearing about God's judgment to the northern kingdom 276 00:12:01,378 --> 00:12:05,642 and for the people that were in other lands, the pagans, the idolaters. 277 00:12:05,786 --> 00:12:09,906 But in this case, he's specifically saying, no, you right. 278 00:12:10,018 --> 00:12:10,506 It's easy. 279 00:12:10,538 --> 00:12:10,866 Sometimes. 280 00:12:10,898 --> 00:12:13,906 When I did this a lot, and I still do this, if I'm hearing good 281 00:12:13,938 --> 00:12:16,146 preaching, sometimes I'm like, wow, that's really good. 282 00:12:16,178 --> 00:12:18,666 I hope that person over there got that, because I don't struggle 283 00:12:18,698 --> 00:12:19,050 with this. 284 00:12:19,090 --> 00:12:19,434 Right. 285 00:12:19,522 --> 00:12:22,362 Sometimes it's easy to disassociate ourselves from the conviction 286 00:12:22,386 --> 00:12:23,380 of the message. 287 00:12:23,570 --> 00:12:26,176 And so God is being very clear here, saying, no, this isn't just 288 00:12:26,208 --> 00:12:27,880 a vague judgment on the world. 289 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:30,992 This is a judgment to you, Judah, the ones who think that you're 290 00:12:31,016 --> 00:12:31,864 in the right. 291 00:12:32,032 --> 00:12:34,136 And we're going to see that there were a lot of people that were 292 00:12:34,168 --> 00:12:36,780 living in complacency in Judah at this point. 293 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:41,160 I think that if we change a few of the settings and we change 294 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,736 some of the names here, that we could take the message that Zephaniah 295 00:12:44,768 --> 00:12:45,648 preaches and insert it. 296 00:12:45,664 --> 00:12:50,902 Today in our society, there were people that were basically overlooking 297 00:12:50,966 --> 00:12:51,998 God's word. 298 00:12:52,174 --> 00:12:54,454 They were coming to a place in their life where they felt like they 299 00:12:54,462 --> 00:12:57,350 were worshiping God, but they were worshiping idols. 300 00:12:57,390 --> 00:12:59,046 They were worshipping Baal and Moloch. 301 00:12:59,078 --> 00:13:02,942 And we're gonna talk about those false gods here in a few moments. 302 00:13:03,126 --> 00:13:05,422 So he says, I will stretch out my hand upon Judah. 303 00:13:05,446 --> 00:13:09,050 So this is God personalizing the message to the hearer. 304 00:13:09,830 --> 00:13:12,430 And so this would be, you know, the pastor getting up and saying, 305 00:13:12,470 --> 00:13:15,182 guys, I know that you think that I'm talking about the people 306 00:13:15,246 --> 00:13:18,036 that are out there in the world, but church, this is us. 307 00:13:18,148 --> 00:13:19,180 This is our problem. 308 00:13:19,300 --> 00:13:23,988 And sometimes as a church, we fail in the concept of, when we hear 309 00:13:24,084 --> 00:13:26,780 sin preached about, we think that we're talking about these evil 310 00:13:26,820 --> 00:13:28,644 people that are not christians, that are out there in 311 00:13:28,652 --> 00:13:30,132 the world, that are against us. 312 00:13:30,156 --> 00:13:32,964 But really, folks, the problem sometimes, and where the revival 313 00:13:33,012 --> 00:13:36,836 starts is within the body of believers, within God's people. 314 00:13:36,988 --> 00:13:38,756 And so this is what that is all about. 315 00:13:38,828 --> 00:13:42,012 God is addressing his people and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 316 00:13:42,036 --> 00:13:46,292 So he gets even more specific, and then he gets really specific 317 00:13:46,356 --> 00:13:49,012 in the type of people that he is going to cut down. 318 00:13:49,156 --> 00:13:53,252 He says in verse four, and I will cut off the remnant of Baal. 319 00:13:53,356 --> 00:13:58,156 From this place, he directly addresses the false God Baal and 320 00:13:58,188 --> 00:13:59,480 those that worship him. 321 00:13:59,780 --> 00:14:03,800 And so in this case, we know that God hates idolatry. 322 00:14:04,540 --> 00:14:05,460 We know that. 323 00:14:05,580 --> 00:14:10,524 And apparently both the leadership and the people were entrenched 324 00:14:10,572 --> 00:14:11,840 in Baal worship. 325 00:14:12,540 --> 00:14:15,532 And so in this case, he says, I'm gonna cut off the remnant of 326 00:14:15,556 --> 00:14:15,820 Baal. 327 00:14:15,860 --> 00:14:18,804 I'm gonna stop the influence of Baal from this place. 328 00:14:18,972 --> 00:14:24,532 Now, if you do some study on who or what Baal was, Baal was the 329 00:14:24,556 --> 00:14:26,564 fertility God of this area. 330 00:14:26,732 --> 00:14:32,404 And the people that worshiped Baal would do horrendous acts. 331 00:14:32,452 --> 00:14:33,820 They would self mutilate. 332 00:14:33,860 --> 00:14:37,916 If you know the story of Elijah at Mount Carmel, remember 333 00:14:37,948 --> 00:14:41,512 when they were trying to compel Baal to send the fire before 334 00:14:41,576 --> 00:14:41,840 God? 335 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:43,152 They were cutting themselves, right? 336 00:14:43,176 --> 00:14:44,664 There's this self mutilation. 337 00:14:44,752 --> 00:14:49,264 We're even gonna talk through this, that through very heinous things. 338 00:14:49,312 --> 00:14:52,680 They were sacrificing their children to Baal and Moloch. 339 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,260 Baal was something that they could access. 340 00:14:55,880 --> 00:15:00,280 Baal was something that they could carve out on a piece of wood 341 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:01,224 and put up in their house. 342 00:15:01,272 --> 00:15:04,416 And they could see it, and it was something that they could materialize 343 00:15:04,488 --> 00:15:07,540 in their mind, and then they could touch and they could see. 344 00:15:07,620 --> 00:15:10,540 And Baal reminded them of themselves. 345 00:15:10,620 --> 00:15:10,836 Right? 346 00:15:10,868 --> 00:15:16,276 Baal was this individual, this God that they thought identified 347 00:15:16,348 --> 00:15:16,988 with them. 348 00:15:17,124 --> 00:15:20,880 And so Baal was the prevailing worship at that time. 349 00:15:21,460 --> 00:15:23,436 And so God says, I'm gonna cut out idolatry. 350 00:15:23,468 --> 00:15:25,120 I'm gonna cut out this evil. 351 00:15:25,540 --> 00:15:28,800 And then he says, and the name of the. 352 00:15:29,100 --> 00:15:32,052 And this is a word that we don't use very frequently. 353 00:15:32,076 --> 00:15:33,530 Cause it's not an english word. 354 00:15:33,620 --> 00:15:36,150 It's actually a transliteration of a hebrew word. 355 00:15:36,270 --> 00:15:38,422 And so it's the chimerons. 356 00:15:38,566 --> 00:15:44,974 And so these were the priests that were acting like they were worshiping 357 00:15:45,022 --> 00:15:47,230 God, but they were worshiping. 358 00:15:47,310 --> 00:15:49,510 They were blending in Baal worship. 359 00:15:49,670 --> 00:15:52,854 And so I think that this is very interesting, because eventually 360 00:15:52,902 --> 00:15:56,126 what he's going to get to is that these were false priests who 361 00:15:56,158 --> 00:15:57,414 claimed to serve God. 362 00:15:57,502 --> 00:16:00,726 They were claiming, and they were taking the role of a priest 363 00:16:00,758 --> 00:16:05,106 that was Worshiping the one true God, but yet they were not. 364 00:16:05,298 --> 00:16:06,826 They were compromising. 365 00:16:07,018 --> 00:16:10,610 And so they were pagan priests, and they were sacrificing 366 00:16:10,650 --> 00:16:11,154 to Baal. 367 00:16:11,202 --> 00:16:14,170 They were sacrificing to Moloch and other pagan deities. 368 00:16:14,250 --> 00:16:18,770 And so these were the pagan priests that God was announcing judgment 369 00:16:18,810 --> 00:16:19,082 against. 370 00:16:19,146 --> 00:16:22,850 These were the individuals that were leading the people away 371 00:16:22,930 --> 00:16:26,706 from the true worship of God and leading them to false worship. 372 00:16:26,898 --> 00:16:31,218 And so in this case, Josiah, is, we know in two kings stops this. 373 00:16:31,314 --> 00:16:35,206 He stops the practice of burning incense to Baalje and worship 374 00:16:35,238 --> 00:16:36,510 of the sun and the moon. 375 00:16:36,670 --> 00:16:40,662 He tears down altars of Baal and destroyed all this. 376 00:16:40,686 --> 00:16:44,406 And so we know that ultimately they are wiped out in this case. 377 00:16:44,438 --> 00:16:48,222 And so he says, these chairmans, these are the ones that 378 00:16:48,246 --> 00:16:48,782 are WORSHIPping. 379 00:16:48,806 --> 00:16:50,526 Now, I did some research on what that word means. 380 00:16:50,558 --> 00:16:53,010 It means like dark, darkness. 381 00:16:54,230 --> 00:16:57,262 And so you could take that from a spiritual sense that they 382 00:16:57,286 --> 00:16:59,404 were dark in their actions. 383 00:16:59,582 --> 00:17:04,096 But it also could have MEant that the gowns that the priests wore 384 00:17:04,128 --> 00:17:07,568 that were white, if they were burning things to Bale and they were 385 00:17:07,584 --> 00:17:10,240 burning things to Moloch, that they would have been characterized 386 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,120 by that smokiness on their outfits. 387 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,240 And so there's a lot of speculation on why they recall this. 388 00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,312 But ultimately, we know that they were evil priests that were 389 00:17:19,376 --> 00:17:22,336 taking the place of godly priests, but yet they weren't. 390 00:17:22,368 --> 00:17:24,733 And so this is God speaking to hypocrisy. 391 00:17:24,871 --> 00:17:27,721 This is God speaking to individuals that are acting like 392 00:17:27,745 --> 00:17:29,473 they're worshiping God, but they're not. 393 00:17:29,641 --> 00:17:31,825 They're worshiping other things, and then they're leading 394 00:17:31,857 --> 00:17:32,953 other people astray. 395 00:17:33,081 --> 00:17:37,289 False teachers, false worshipers, wolves in sheep's clothing. 396 00:17:37,329 --> 00:17:39,145 We see that mentioned in the New Testament. 397 00:17:39,177 --> 00:17:40,073 God hates that. 398 00:17:40,161 --> 00:17:44,961 God hates when people pose as christians, pose as godly people, 399 00:17:45,025 --> 00:17:48,673 pose as biblical preachers, but yet are worshipping other things 400 00:17:48,721 --> 00:17:49,697 along with that. 401 00:17:49,833 --> 00:17:52,409 And so we even see that back at that time frame, they would mingle 402 00:17:52,449 --> 00:17:53,309 their worship. 403 00:17:54,050 --> 00:17:58,050 Some of the folks up in the northern kingdom actually built like 404 00:17:58,210 --> 00:18:02,474 mini temples, and they basically tried to mirror the worship 405 00:18:02,522 --> 00:18:08,786 that was commanded by God, but yet they mingled in the baal worship. 406 00:18:08,978 --> 00:18:10,830 And what does that look like for us today? 407 00:18:11,210 --> 00:18:14,554 Well, that looks like us following the word of God, but yet 408 00:18:14,642 --> 00:18:18,346 infusing into our worship things of the world, infusing into 409 00:18:18,378 --> 00:18:20,618 the church the things of this world, and then overlooking it for 410 00:18:20,634 --> 00:18:24,564 the sake of prosperity, overlooking it for the sake of man 411 00:18:24,612 --> 00:18:26,292 praise and man worship and all that. 412 00:18:26,316 --> 00:18:30,348 So we're seeing that here, God's judging their hypocrisy, God's 413 00:18:30,404 --> 00:18:35,188 judging their misleading worship, and God's judging them for 414 00:18:35,244 --> 00:18:39,044 their ultimate sin that they're committing against him and 415 00:18:39,092 --> 00:18:39,540 others. 416 00:18:39,660 --> 00:18:40,396 Verse five. 417 00:18:40,508 --> 00:18:42,836 And them that worship the host of heaven. 418 00:18:42,868 --> 00:18:45,596 Now, if you read this, you would say the host of heaven. 419 00:18:45,628 --> 00:18:48,240 That sounds like they're worshiping goddess. 420 00:18:48,390 --> 00:18:54,100 It's talking about worshiping stars, bodies, heavenly bodies, stars, 421 00:18:54,180 --> 00:18:56,212 planets, you know, something like that. 422 00:18:56,236 --> 00:18:58,772 So there was a type of worship that they would do. 423 00:18:58,796 --> 00:19:02,060 They would get up on their housetops in the middle of the night, 424 00:19:02,180 --> 00:19:07,100 and they would worship and swear by those stars and the moon 425 00:19:07,140 --> 00:19:07,700 and all that. 426 00:19:07,740 --> 00:19:13,092 So it's basically worshipping the astrology, right? 427 00:19:13,156 --> 00:19:15,212 It's worshiping these stars and going by these stars. 428 00:19:15,236 --> 00:19:19,468 And so I would encourage you to see it as that, because a lot 429 00:19:19,484 --> 00:19:22,188 of people read that and they say, well, why is he getting upset 430 00:19:22,204 --> 00:19:24,012 with them for worshiping the host of heaven? 431 00:19:24,036 --> 00:19:25,924 That's not talking about the host of heaven, God. 432 00:19:26,012 --> 00:19:30,388 That's talking about the false gods of the sky, so to speak. 433 00:19:30,524 --> 00:19:32,492 And so it's a clear violation of God's law. 434 00:19:32,516 --> 00:19:36,812 If you look at Deuteronomy, chapter four, verse 19, God warned 435 00:19:36,996 --> 00:19:39,720 his people not to worship the heavenly bodies. 436 00:19:40,100 --> 00:19:43,894 And so I would encourage you to think about it from that perspective. 437 00:19:43,982 --> 00:19:49,054 And then also in Exodus, chapter 20, verse three and four, 438 00:19:49,182 --> 00:19:51,902 we know that God commanded his people to worship him and him alone 439 00:19:51,926 --> 00:19:54,050 and not to bow down to other gods. 440 00:19:54,390 --> 00:19:57,742 And so this is in direct violation to God's law and the fact 441 00:19:57,766 --> 00:19:59,582 that they are worshiping things outside of him. 442 00:19:59,606 --> 00:20:03,718 And so we see God very serious about people worshiping things that 443 00:20:03,734 --> 00:20:04,610 are not him. 444 00:20:05,430 --> 00:20:07,886 And I would encourage you to think about that here this evening 445 00:20:07,918 --> 00:20:08,490 because. 446 00:20:08,930 --> 00:20:09,722 Why? 447 00:20:09,906 --> 00:20:13,738 Well, if you're like me, you're starting to think, well, I 448 00:20:13,754 --> 00:20:14,870 don't worship baal. 449 00:20:15,370 --> 00:20:19,082 I don't carve things out and put that on my mantle. 450 00:20:19,266 --> 00:20:20,990 I'm not worshiping Moloch. 451 00:20:21,410 --> 00:20:24,190 I'm not worshiping the moon, the stars. 452 00:20:24,850 --> 00:20:25,706 I'm glad you're not. 453 00:20:25,738 --> 00:20:26,550 That's good. 454 00:20:27,130 --> 00:20:31,882 But what we do know that within our culture today that there 455 00:20:31,906 --> 00:20:35,870 are individuals who do worship things that are not God, right? 456 00:20:35,910 --> 00:20:43,118 So a hobby, a lifestyle, money, a relationship, whatever it 457 00:20:43,134 --> 00:20:43,926 is, fill in the blank. 458 00:20:43,958 --> 00:20:46,094 If it's anything outside of God, that's idolatry. 459 00:20:46,182 --> 00:20:49,654 And sometimes we take it from the perspective of idolatry only 460 00:20:49,702 --> 00:20:53,054 when I carve something out of wood or I make it out of gold. 461 00:20:53,102 --> 00:20:55,806 But no, the Bible says very clearly that idolatry is putting 462 00:20:55,838 --> 00:20:57,090 anything before God. 463 00:20:57,710 --> 00:21:02,090 And God is very clear in scripture that he hates idolatry. 464 00:21:02,740 --> 00:21:05,596 And so if we want to be honoring God, what do we do? 465 00:21:05,628 --> 00:21:09,492 Well, we don't do what they're doing here by going up onto the rooftops 466 00:21:09,516 --> 00:21:13,460 and worshiping certain things that cause them to be in awe or in 467 00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:13,956 wonder. 468 00:21:14,068 --> 00:21:17,052 But in deuteronomy, chapter four, God warned that against them. 469 00:21:17,156 --> 00:21:18,372 He warned that. 470 00:21:18,556 --> 00:21:20,640 He said, idolatry is forbidden. 471 00:21:21,060 --> 00:21:24,188 Verse 19, he says, unless thou lift up thine eyes into heaven, and 472 00:21:24,204 --> 00:21:26,652 when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all 473 00:21:26,676 --> 00:21:29,596 the hosts of heaven shouldest be driven to worship to them and 474 00:21:29,628 --> 00:21:30,220 serve them. 475 00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:32,988 Which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the 476 00:21:33,004 --> 00:21:33,604 whole heaven. 477 00:21:33,692 --> 00:21:36,972 But the Lord hath taken you and brought you forth out of the 478 00:21:36,996 --> 00:21:40,876 iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of 479 00:21:40,908 --> 00:21:42,716 inheritance, as ye are this day. 480 00:21:42,748 --> 00:21:43,580 So meaning this. 481 00:21:43,700 --> 00:21:46,516 Don't worship anything else outside of God. 482 00:21:46,548 --> 00:21:46,740 Why? 483 00:21:46,780 --> 00:21:48,652 Because God is the one who has saved you. 484 00:21:48,676 --> 00:21:50,524 God is the one that has brought you out of Egypt. 485 00:21:50,612 --> 00:21:54,446 Those stars, that moon, that planet, didn't pull you out of Egypt. 486 00:21:54,628 --> 00:21:58,562 You know, that false God, that's the fertility God, or the 487 00:21:58,586 --> 00:22:03,546 God of rain or the God of whatever, that God did not pull you 488 00:22:03,578 --> 00:22:04,834 out of where you were. 489 00:22:04,922 --> 00:22:08,290 It is God and God alone who saves you from your sin. 490 00:22:08,330 --> 00:22:11,290 And so what he's saying here is, don't allow your worship to be 491 00:22:11,330 --> 00:22:11,882 stolen. 492 00:22:11,986 --> 00:22:15,306 Don't allow your worship to be taken away from the one who deserves 493 00:22:15,338 --> 00:22:15,706 that worship. 494 00:22:15,738 --> 00:22:17,106 And we talked about that on Sunday morning. 495 00:22:17,138 --> 00:22:20,292 When it comes to this idea of where my heart is, where is my love? 496 00:22:20,426 --> 00:22:22,744 And so he says, don't do that. 497 00:22:22,792 --> 00:22:25,256 This is where the judgment's going to come, he says, and then 498 00:22:25,288 --> 00:22:28,768 that worship, and then swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcolm. 499 00:22:28,864 --> 00:22:30,400 And that's another way to say Moloch. 500 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,272 Moloch was an old Testament God back at that time frame. 501 00:22:33,456 --> 00:22:34,816 And they. 502 00:22:34,928 --> 00:22:37,856 Again, by the way, false gods are fake. 503 00:22:37,968 --> 00:22:38,432 Right? 504 00:22:38,536 --> 00:22:42,704 But we do know that there were demons who were parading around like 505 00:22:42,752 --> 00:22:44,936 gods that were influencing these people. 506 00:22:45,048 --> 00:22:47,112 And so there was something there, right? 507 00:22:47,136 --> 00:22:50,466 There was a force, an evil force that was about that they were 508 00:22:50,498 --> 00:22:52,750 worshipping, just as there's evil forces today. 509 00:22:53,210 --> 00:22:59,150 And so, yes, that little idol on the countertop was not real. 510 00:22:59,570 --> 00:23:03,002 But the evil forces behind that idolatry are real. 511 00:23:03,106 --> 00:23:06,666 The Bible says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but 512 00:23:06,698 --> 00:23:09,030 about the spirituality, the darkness. 513 00:23:09,410 --> 00:23:11,042 And it's a spiritual battle. 514 00:23:11,186 --> 00:23:13,522 And so I would tell you that there are certain things that in 515 00:23:13,546 --> 00:23:16,162 and of themselves are not evil, but they can become evil when 516 00:23:16,186 --> 00:23:17,390 they grip our hearts. 517 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:20,592 And Satan is always working against us when it comes to that. 518 00:23:20,616 --> 00:23:23,580 He's always trying to fill in our minds with something. 519 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:26,832 And if our minds are not filled with the word of God, the 520 00:23:26,856 --> 00:23:29,848 truth of God, he will fill our minds with something else. 521 00:23:29,984 --> 00:23:32,000 And two Corinthians, chapter ten is all about that. 522 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,448 Casting down our imaginations, not entertaining the thoughts of 523 00:23:35,464 --> 00:23:37,424 the enemy, because he's putting lies in. 524 00:23:37,512 --> 00:23:39,260 He's trying to corrupt our minds. 525 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,736 And so what I would tell you, when it comes to this in our own 526 00:23:41,768 --> 00:23:46,802 life is as believers, we have to set our minds and our hearts upon 527 00:23:46,826 --> 00:23:48,730 the things of God, not on the things of this world. 528 00:23:48,770 --> 00:23:52,626 Because when we do so, we begin to give a foothold for the 529 00:23:52,658 --> 00:23:53,122 enemy. 530 00:23:53,226 --> 00:23:56,514 And therefore, the Bible says that Satan is his Ephesians. 531 00:23:56,602 --> 00:23:58,138 Satan is firing these fiery darts. 532 00:23:58,154 --> 00:24:00,098 And if we don't have the armor of God up, we don't have the helmet 533 00:24:00,114 --> 00:24:02,746 of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the 534 00:24:02,778 --> 00:24:05,866 spirit, we're allowing these fiery darts to come in and attack 535 00:24:05,938 --> 00:24:06,602 us. 536 00:24:06,786 --> 00:24:10,162 And ultimately, we know that that is devastating for the life 537 00:24:10,186 --> 00:24:11,204 of an individual. 538 00:24:11,362 --> 00:24:16,584 And he says, you that swear by the Lord and that swear by Moloch, 539 00:24:16,712 --> 00:24:18,392 meaning they're double tongued. 540 00:24:18,496 --> 00:24:19,616 They're double minded. 541 00:24:19,728 --> 00:24:23,232 James chapter one warns us about being a double minded man. 542 00:24:23,256 --> 00:24:26,208 A double minded man is unstable in all of his ways. 543 00:24:26,384 --> 00:24:27,528 What's a double minded man? 544 00:24:27,544 --> 00:24:30,480 A double minded man is an individual who wants the blessings 545 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,408 of God, who wants to swear by God, who wants to lift up the name 546 00:24:33,424 --> 00:24:36,312 of God, but in the same vein, also wants to lift up the things 547 00:24:36,336 --> 00:24:37,716 of this world and have both. 548 00:24:37,888 --> 00:24:39,036 That's a double minded man. 549 00:24:39,068 --> 00:24:40,436 And so God is against that. 550 00:24:40,468 --> 00:24:41,600 God hates that. 551 00:24:41,980 --> 00:24:44,492 And so he says, those that swear by the Lord and those that 552 00:24:44,516 --> 00:24:47,380 swear by Moloch, meaning in the same breath, they're praising 553 00:24:47,420 --> 00:24:50,180 God, but also in the same breath, they're praising Moloch, 554 00:24:50,300 --> 00:24:52,724 who had child sacrifice. 555 00:24:52,852 --> 00:24:54,716 That was the main thing for Moloch. 556 00:24:54,868 --> 00:24:58,076 And we went to, when we were in Israel, they had these things 557 00:24:58,108 --> 00:25:00,604 called the high places, and that would be where they would go, 558 00:25:00,652 --> 00:25:03,300 and they would commit these heinous acts. 559 00:25:03,420 --> 00:25:07,172 And it really put into perspective how that was something. 560 00:25:07,236 --> 00:25:10,092 And usually those high places were very close to where they would 561 00:25:10,116 --> 00:25:10,764 worship. 562 00:25:10,932 --> 00:25:12,796 And so you would just see that dichotomy. 563 00:25:12,828 --> 00:25:17,212 You would see that contrast between the evil and the good and 564 00:25:17,236 --> 00:25:19,052 how it was so mingled together. 565 00:25:19,236 --> 00:25:20,452 It was so mingled together. 566 00:25:20,516 --> 00:25:22,100 And that's what we see within the church today. 567 00:25:22,140 --> 00:25:24,692 We see individuals who say, you know what? 568 00:25:24,876 --> 00:25:26,676 I want to have all the blessings of God. 569 00:25:26,708 --> 00:25:27,724 I want to praise God. 570 00:25:27,772 --> 00:25:29,964 Like, we're going to sing christian songs, and we're going 571 00:25:29,972 --> 00:25:31,948 to have our scripture verse of the day. 572 00:25:32,044 --> 00:25:34,300 But then also, on the other side of things, what am I filling 573 00:25:34,340 --> 00:25:35,252 my time in with? 574 00:25:35,316 --> 00:25:37,308 What am I entertaining myself with? 575 00:25:37,484 --> 00:25:40,588 What am I truly in my heart dwelling upon? 576 00:25:40,764 --> 00:25:43,924 The Bible speaks very clearly about the importance of meditating 577 00:25:43,972 --> 00:25:45,052 upon scripture. 578 00:25:45,236 --> 00:25:46,520 What is meditation? 579 00:25:47,140 --> 00:25:49,476 Well, I was always told meditation was empty in your mind. 580 00:25:49,508 --> 00:25:52,156 That's actually not the biblical definition of meditation. 581 00:25:52,268 --> 00:25:55,812 The biblical definition of meditation is filling our minds with 582 00:25:55,836 --> 00:25:56,400 something. 583 00:25:56,730 --> 00:26:00,330 And so meditating upon scripture is filling our minds on 584 00:26:00,370 --> 00:26:03,834 scripture and dwelling upon it, chewing on it. 585 00:26:03,922 --> 00:26:07,218 I always use the analogy of what that really means in the original 586 00:26:07,274 --> 00:26:07,990 language. 587 00:26:08,330 --> 00:26:11,218 It's the picture of the animal that chewed the cud. 588 00:26:11,394 --> 00:26:13,082 And I gross everyone out when I say this. 589 00:26:13,106 --> 00:26:15,434 So if you know what that's all about, I won't describe it to you. 590 00:26:15,442 --> 00:26:18,538 But essentially, an animal will chew on something, chew on something, 591 00:26:18,594 --> 00:26:21,058 take it in, and then put it back out and chew on it more and 592 00:26:21,074 --> 00:26:22,722 get every nutrient that they can out of it. 593 00:26:22,746 --> 00:26:24,960 That's the way that we're supposed to deal with scripture. 594 00:26:26,020 --> 00:26:28,308 The problem is, is that most of the time, we don't dwell on the 595 00:26:28,324 --> 00:26:28,988 things of God. 596 00:26:29,044 --> 00:26:29,540 What do we do? 597 00:26:29,580 --> 00:26:34,028 We dwell on the things of negative values, and we dwell in 598 00:26:34,044 --> 00:26:34,836 things that are not pure. 599 00:26:34,868 --> 00:26:36,932 Philippians, chapter four, verse eight, says, for us to dwell 600 00:26:36,956 --> 00:26:39,556 on those things which are pure, to meditate upon those things 601 00:26:39,588 --> 00:26:40,436 which are true. 602 00:26:40,588 --> 00:26:43,340 And what happens, at least for me, in my life, is instead of dwelling 603 00:26:43,380 --> 00:26:46,692 upon the truths of God, I'm dwelling upon what I watched on the 604 00:26:46,716 --> 00:26:49,372 news, or I'm dwelling upon what possibly could happen to me 605 00:26:49,396 --> 00:26:51,684 over here or what did happen to me back there. 606 00:26:51,772 --> 00:26:54,100 And all I can think about is those negative things and those lies 607 00:26:54,140 --> 00:26:56,532 that God does not want us to be dwelling on. 608 00:26:56,596 --> 00:26:59,252 But yet that pulls us away from our worship to God. 609 00:26:59,276 --> 00:27:01,764 Because if we're dwelling on the negative, we're not going to 610 00:27:01,772 --> 00:27:02,564 be thankful. 611 00:27:02,612 --> 00:27:04,420 We're not going to be giving him praise. 612 00:27:04,460 --> 00:27:07,932 We're not going to be giving him what he desires from us. 613 00:27:07,956 --> 00:27:10,708 And so we see there at the end of verse five, he says, don't be 614 00:27:10,724 --> 00:27:12,044 a double minded person. 615 00:27:12,132 --> 00:27:13,880 That's the one that gets judgment. 616 00:27:14,300 --> 00:27:19,182 And it says, and them that are turned back from the Lord, those 617 00:27:19,206 --> 00:27:20,606 are the ones that have turned their backs. 618 00:27:20,718 --> 00:27:23,766 And those that have not sought the Lord nor inquired of him. 619 00:27:23,798 --> 00:27:29,126 So he's speaking here not just of those that are out demonic, Allen, 620 00:27:29,158 --> 00:27:30,038 out pagan. 621 00:27:30,134 --> 00:27:31,902 He's talking about those people that have just turned their 622 00:27:31,926 --> 00:27:32,566 backs against God. 623 00:27:32,598 --> 00:27:33,798 They've backslidden. 624 00:27:33,934 --> 00:27:35,654 They've gotten away from that zeal. 625 00:27:35,702 --> 00:27:37,070 They've gotten away from their purpose. 626 00:27:37,110 --> 00:27:39,742 They've gotten away from remembering what God did for their 627 00:27:39,766 --> 00:27:43,158 fathers, what God did for their ancestors before bringing them 628 00:27:43,174 --> 00:27:45,782 out of Egypt, leading them across the Red Sea, bringing them 629 00:27:45,806 --> 00:27:48,830 across the Jordan river, giving them that beautiful promised 630 00:27:48,870 --> 00:27:49,214 land. 631 00:27:49,302 --> 00:27:50,062 They've forgotten. 632 00:27:50,086 --> 00:27:51,502 They've turned their backs. 633 00:27:51,646 --> 00:27:53,446 They have not sought after the Lord. 634 00:27:53,478 --> 00:27:55,210 They don't inquire for him. 635 00:27:55,630 --> 00:27:59,462 This speaks of the complacency of the church today. 636 00:27:59,606 --> 00:28:02,454 I believe that God hates complacency. 637 00:28:02,502 --> 00:28:04,006 He hates apathy. 638 00:28:04,198 --> 00:28:04,742 Right? 639 00:28:04,846 --> 00:28:07,510 We know that sometimes it's very easy to get into a spiritual 640 00:28:07,550 --> 00:28:07,774 rut. 641 00:28:07,822 --> 00:28:09,638 I know this because I've been there. 642 00:28:09,814 --> 00:28:13,342 We come in on Sunday mornings, we play the part, we sit down, we 643 00:28:13,366 --> 00:28:14,222 go home. 644 00:28:14,406 --> 00:28:15,966 But we are not inquiring of God. 645 00:28:15,998 --> 00:28:21,150 The only God or the only word of his truth comes into our life 646 00:28:21,190 --> 00:28:23,302 on Sunday mornings or Sunday nights or Wednesday nights. 647 00:28:23,326 --> 00:28:28,166 And we can get so busy with the christian life that we lose God 648 00:28:28,198 --> 00:28:29,130 in all of it. 649 00:28:29,590 --> 00:28:33,062 Our eyes are off of him and on to the ministry. 650 00:28:33,246 --> 00:28:38,948 And I can tell you by way of testimony that even a pastor can 651 00:28:38,964 --> 00:28:43,092 get his eyes so fixed on the things of ministry that the heart 652 00:28:43,116 --> 00:28:44,720 of God is missed. 653 00:28:45,620 --> 00:28:47,836 And I can tell you that's a shameful thing to say. 654 00:28:47,868 --> 00:28:50,940 But sometimes what we do is we justify even things that are not 655 00:28:50,980 --> 00:28:52,640 necessarily bad, they might be good. 656 00:28:53,220 --> 00:28:55,132 We justify something in our life. 657 00:28:55,316 --> 00:28:59,012 For example, I can justify, well, hey, you know what? 658 00:28:59,036 --> 00:29:01,268 I need to do this, this, this, and this for ministry. 659 00:29:01,364 --> 00:29:05,136 So therefore, I can let my personal Bible study go aside. 660 00:29:05,268 --> 00:29:09,008 Or maybe I need to go make another visit or. 661 00:29:09,024 --> 00:29:11,952 No, I need to go write another sermon and then neglect my family. 662 00:29:12,016 --> 00:29:14,460 Folks, God doesn't want you to neglect your family. 663 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,888 God doesn't want you to neglect your prayer life in the sake 664 00:29:18,904 --> 00:29:19,744 of ministry. 665 00:29:19,872 --> 00:29:23,152 He wants us to be fully given over to him, and everything else 666 00:29:23,176 --> 00:29:24,160 will fall in line. 667 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,224 And so here he's talking in verse six about those people who 668 00:29:27,232 --> 00:29:31,260 have lost their zeal for that personal relationship with him. 669 00:29:31,930 --> 00:29:34,914 And how often do we see people losing their zeal for that personal 670 00:29:35,002 --> 00:29:35,950 relationship? 671 00:29:36,410 --> 00:29:39,042 There was a time, maybe where you said, you know, I just love talking 672 00:29:39,066 --> 00:29:39,810 with God. 673 00:29:39,970 --> 00:29:43,642 I was so excited to get to my private time with him, my secret 674 00:29:43,706 --> 00:29:46,538 place, to get into my devotions, to pray. 675 00:29:46,674 --> 00:29:47,466 And you know what? 676 00:29:47,498 --> 00:29:49,514 Now maybe there's not that much excitement anymore. 677 00:29:49,562 --> 00:29:53,146 Maybe it seems now like a chore for me to get there and read 678 00:29:53,178 --> 00:29:57,514 my daily bread and make sure I pray a couple times a day before 679 00:29:57,562 --> 00:29:59,288 I eat, maybe before I go to bed. 680 00:29:59,394 --> 00:29:59,612 No. 681 00:29:59,636 --> 00:30:02,444 The Bible says that we are to live a lifestyle of prayer. 682 00:30:02,612 --> 00:30:04,404 We're to live a lifestyle of worship. 683 00:30:04,492 --> 00:30:08,404 If the only time that we are worshiping is Sunday mornings, and 684 00:30:08,412 --> 00:30:10,988 then if you come back on Sunday nights and then on Wednesday 685 00:30:11,044 --> 00:30:13,012 nights, you say, that's pretty impressive, pastor. 686 00:30:13,036 --> 00:30:15,760 I come three times a week, and I'm worshiping three times a week. 687 00:30:16,340 --> 00:30:17,468 We're missing the point. 688 00:30:17,564 --> 00:30:20,836 There's corporate worship and that's exciting to do together. 689 00:30:20,908 --> 00:30:21,428 Right? 690 00:30:21,564 --> 00:30:22,684 I love corporate worship. 691 00:30:22,772 --> 00:30:24,240 I love coming to church. 692 00:30:24,670 --> 00:30:25,910 And it's not just because I work here. 693 00:30:25,950 --> 00:30:26,486 Okay? 694 00:30:26,598 --> 00:30:27,930 I love coming to church. 695 00:30:28,750 --> 00:30:31,810 But our life should be characterized by worship. 696 00:30:32,150 --> 00:30:33,286 It's not just on Sunday morning. 697 00:30:33,318 --> 00:30:34,238 It's not just on Sunday nights. 698 00:30:34,254 --> 00:30:35,038 It's not just Wednesday nights. 699 00:30:35,054 --> 00:30:37,246 The Bible says in one corinthians chapter ten, whether 700 00:30:37,278 --> 00:30:42,262 therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all of the glory 701 00:30:42,286 --> 00:30:43,010 of God. 702 00:30:43,990 --> 00:30:46,646 And so I think that this is speaking here in this case to those 703 00:30:46,678 --> 00:30:50,870 who have lost that zeal for that personal walk with goddess. 704 00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:54,696 And so we're going to obviously continue on in this study, 705 00:30:54,808 --> 00:31:00,328 but we know that here in this first introduction that God is specifically 706 00:31:00,384 --> 00:31:03,176 speaking to the things that he hates and the things that he will 707 00:31:03,208 --> 00:31:05,260 judge, and that is idolatry. 708 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:11,260 A lack of zeal, a lack of passion, ultimately a hypocrisy. 709 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,528 They're essentially lying to others and maybe even in SOme cases, 710 00:31:14,584 --> 00:31:15,662 lying to themselves. 711 00:31:15,816 --> 00:31:18,730 Did you know the Bible says that we can actually lie to ourselves, 712 00:31:18,890 --> 00:31:21,562 that we can deceive Ourselves because we actually start Telling 713 00:31:21,586 --> 00:31:22,818 ourselves that, hey, you know what? 714 00:31:22,834 --> 00:31:23,670 I'm okay. 715 00:31:24,050 --> 00:31:25,202 I'm doing okay. 716 00:31:25,346 --> 00:31:27,714 But what does James chapter one, verse 22 say? 717 00:31:27,802 --> 00:31:30,618 I want you to turn there with me because we're going to go a little 718 00:31:30,634 --> 00:31:35,482 bit to the New Testament here tonight to kind of amplify upon what 719 00:31:35,506 --> 00:31:36,986 Zephaniah is talking about here. 720 00:31:37,098 --> 00:31:44,932 But in James chapter one, verse 22, if it's not convicting 721 00:31:44,956 --> 00:31:48,760 for you, I don't know. 722 00:31:50,220 --> 00:31:52,868 This is one of the most convicting passages for me. 723 00:31:52,964 --> 00:31:57,404 James 122, it says, but be doers of the word and not hearers 724 00:31:57,452 --> 00:32:00,644 only deceiving your own selves. 725 00:32:00,772 --> 00:32:04,000 Meaning this, it's good to hear the word of God. 726 00:32:04,660 --> 00:32:11,472 I mean, even back at the time of Zephaniah and Josiah, there were 727 00:32:11,496 --> 00:32:12,360 still worship, right? 728 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:14,020 There were still things going on. 729 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,136 And so it's one thing to be hearers of the word, but the Bible 730 00:32:18,168 --> 00:32:18,888 says that's not enough. 731 00:32:18,944 --> 00:32:21,380 It says, but be doers of the word. 732 00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:22,144 Why? 733 00:32:22,192 --> 00:32:26,064 Because if you hear the word and agree with it but don't apply 734 00:32:26,112 --> 00:32:28,616 it, you're deceiving yourself, is what it says here. 735 00:32:28,768 --> 00:32:30,336 It's deceiving your own selves. 736 00:32:30,488 --> 00:32:32,496 For if any, be a hearer of the word and not a doer. 737 00:32:32,528 --> 00:32:35,892 He's like unto a man beholding his natural face and a glass, for 738 00:32:35,916 --> 00:32:38,428 he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgetteth 739 00:32:38,444 --> 00:32:39,800 what manner of man he was. 740 00:32:40,420 --> 00:32:43,972 And so he says they're basically the Bible is like a mirror. 741 00:32:43,996 --> 00:32:45,892 It shows us where we are in our lives. 742 00:32:45,956 --> 00:32:50,588 And someone who sees what they are or who they are and sees the 743 00:32:50,604 --> 00:32:52,452 things that they need to change and just walks away. 744 00:32:52,516 --> 00:32:56,692 Is someone who reads the word of God, sees the conviction, feels 745 00:32:56,716 --> 00:32:59,444 the conviction, understands the conviction, but yet goes along 746 00:32:59,532 --> 00:33:01,066 their life and doesn't change. 747 00:33:01,228 --> 00:33:02,014 Verse 25. 748 00:33:02,062 --> 00:33:05,302 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, meaning this 749 00:33:05,326 --> 00:33:08,358 is the one who looks into the word and continueth therein. 750 00:33:08,414 --> 00:33:10,654 Meaning, he obeys it, she obeys it. 751 00:33:10,742 --> 00:33:14,470 He being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this 752 00:33:14,510 --> 00:33:15,662 man shall be blessed in his deed. 753 00:33:15,686 --> 00:33:18,062 So the blessing is in the obedience, not just in the hearing 754 00:33:18,086 --> 00:33:18,890 of the word. 755 00:33:19,470 --> 00:33:21,070 It's in the heeding of the word. 756 00:33:21,150 --> 00:33:24,798 I hear the word, I believe the word, I apply the word, I live the 757 00:33:24,814 --> 00:33:24,990 word. 758 00:33:25,030 --> 00:33:26,284 That's where the blessing comes. 759 00:33:26,422 --> 00:33:26,856 You know? 760 00:33:26,928 --> 00:33:29,168 I know sometimes it's like, well, it's such a blessing to hear 761 00:33:29,184 --> 00:33:29,888 the word of God. 762 00:33:29,984 --> 00:33:31,920 I've been in services where I've said amen. 763 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:32,904 And I agreed. 764 00:33:32,992 --> 00:33:34,072 And I walked out of the service. 765 00:33:34,136 --> 00:33:36,752 And then I had no clue what the pastor said, and I couldn't retain 766 00:33:36,776 --> 00:33:36,912 it. 767 00:33:36,936 --> 00:33:38,680 I'm like, well, I don't know. 768 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:40,128 He said some story about something. 769 00:33:40,184 --> 00:33:40,760 I don't know. 770 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,552 And I left unaffected. 771 00:33:43,696 --> 00:33:45,168 I left unchanged. 772 00:33:45,264 --> 00:33:45,984 I agreed. 773 00:33:46,032 --> 00:33:48,856 But I didn't leave with the obedience. 774 00:33:49,048 --> 00:33:53,844 And so what we can see here in Zephaniah is that God hates the one 775 00:33:53,892 --> 00:33:57,196 who is having a form of godliness. 776 00:33:57,268 --> 00:33:59,076 And we're seeing that in the New Testament. 777 00:33:59,188 --> 00:34:01,268 And the New Testament says that in the end times, there will 778 00:34:01,284 --> 00:34:05,612 be a form of godliness, but no holiness, the no truth, no righteousness. 779 00:34:05,756 --> 00:34:08,060 And so there isn't a relationship. 780 00:34:08,100 --> 00:34:10,188 There's just a form of godliness. 781 00:34:10,324 --> 00:34:11,276 So God hates that. 782 00:34:11,308 --> 00:34:12,920 God hates people that put on. 783 00:34:13,420 --> 00:34:16,452 If you are tempted to think that God doesn't hate that, read 784 00:34:16,476 --> 00:34:19,689 the gospels and see how Jesus deals with the Pharisees, right? 785 00:34:20,549 --> 00:34:24,037 Who are the most religious people in Jesus time? 786 00:34:24,093 --> 00:34:25,089 The Pharisees. 787 00:34:25,589 --> 00:34:28,029 But they were the ones that he got the most upset with. 788 00:34:28,189 --> 00:34:29,133 Because why? 789 00:34:29,221 --> 00:34:33,769 They had a form of godliness, but no heart, no relationship. 790 00:34:34,349 --> 00:34:38,917 And so if we're not tempted, we can sit here and go down the road 791 00:34:38,933 --> 00:34:40,769 of destruction, saying, we're religious. 792 00:34:41,229 --> 00:34:42,285 We're following the word. 793 00:34:42,317 --> 00:34:43,469 We're fundamental. 794 00:34:43,629 --> 00:34:44,717 We preach the word. 795 00:34:44,813 --> 00:34:48,395 I that's great, but what does it mean when it comes to our lives? 796 00:34:48,547 --> 00:34:51,555 And Zephaniah says, don't be those ones who have turned their 797 00:34:51,587 --> 00:34:52,259 back from the Lord. 798 00:34:52,299 --> 00:34:57,347 Those have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of him and what 799 00:34:57,363 --> 00:34:58,051 we can see. 800 00:34:58,155 --> 00:35:00,179 And I'm sensitive to the time. 801 00:35:00,219 --> 00:35:02,099 So I'll have one last reference. 802 00:35:02,179 --> 00:35:04,547 In the New Testament, we go to Romans chapter one. 803 00:35:04,723 --> 00:35:10,694 Romans chapter one explains to us what is the natural process that 804 00:35:10,742 --> 00:35:14,070 happens when we begin to turn our hearts away from the truth of 805 00:35:14,110 --> 00:35:18,130 God and misappropriate our worship. 806 00:35:19,630 --> 00:35:24,690 And I think that most of you probably are familiar with this, 807 00:35:25,710 --> 00:35:29,382 but essentially what the Bible says here in this case is that over 808 00:35:29,446 --> 00:35:36,598 time, Romans 120, he just gets off in verse 16 about explaining, 809 00:35:36,654 --> 00:35:38,334 I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. 810 00:35:38,462 --> 00:35:41,326 For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, 811 00:35:41,358 --> 00:35:43,086 to the jew first, and also to the Greek. 812 00:35:43,238 --> 00:35:46,310 For therein is righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. 813 00:35:46,430 --> 00:35:48,222 As it is written, the just shall live by faith. 814 00:35:48,246 --> 00:35:53,110 And so he's speaking of really the truth of God and what changes 815 00:35:53,150 --> 00:35:53,494 us. 816 00:35:53,582 --> 00:35:56,890 And then he talks about God's wrath against ungodliness. 817 00:35:58,070 --> 00:35:59,510 And so it says in verse 18. 818 00:35:59,630 --> 00:36:02,262 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all 819 00:36:02,286 --> 00:36:04,920 ungodliness and unrighteousness of Mendez, who hold 820 00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:06,940 the truth of unrighteousness. 821 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,760 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them. 822 00:36:10,800 --> 00:36:12,520 For God hath showed it unto them. 823 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:14,016 And then here's verse number 20. 824 00:36:14,048 --> 00:36:15,280 And I think it's important to see this. 825 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:18,248 It says, for the invisible things of him from creation of the 826 00:36:18,264 --> 00:36:22,160 world are clearly seen, meaning God's handiwork is evident 827 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:24,472 to all right, everyone. 828 00:36:24,536 --> 00:36:27,376 You don't have to be a believer to see God's power in this 829 00:36:27,408 --> 00:36:28,688 world, his creation. 830 00:36:28,864 --> 00:36:31,080 And I don't know about you, but all you got to do is spend about 831 00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:32,232 five minutes walking outside. 832 00:36:32,296 --> 00:36:36,712 And you can see the beauty of the trees, the beauty of all of that. 833 00:36:36,736 --> 00:36:40,720 And it says that the creation is clearly seen, being understood 834 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:41,960 by the things that are made. 835 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:46,888 And so the unseen things, the unseen things of faith are seen in 836 00:36:46,904 --> 00:36:47,632 the creation of God. 837 00:36:47,656 --> 00:36:50,200 That's not enough to save us, but it's enough for us to understand 838 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:53,232 that there is a powerful God, he says, even his eternal power and 839 00:36:53,256 --> 00:36:55,380 godhead, so that they are without excuse. 840 00:36:56,040 --> 00:36:59,862 Because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as goddesse. 841 00:36:59,876 --> 00:37:05,242 So they realized that there is a God, but they didn't glorify him 842 00:37:05,266 --> 00:37:06,002 as God. 843 00:37:06,146 --> 00:37:07,794 Neither were thankful. 844 00:37:07,962 --> 00:37:13,430 They lost their gratitude, but became vain in their imaginations. 845 00:37:13,810 --> 00:37:16,026 Empty in their imaginations. 846 00:37:16,058 --> 00:37:17,594 Or you could say, thoughts. 847 00:37:17,762 --> 00:37:19,470 This is what we were talking about, right? 848 00:37:19,970 --> 00:37:22,470 And their foolish heart was darkened. 849 00:37:23,370 --> 00:37:25,778 So their hearts become darkened, professing themselves to 850 00:37:25,794 --> 00:37:26,242 be wise. 851 00:37:26,306 --> 00:37:28,200 They became fools. 852 00:37:29,020 --> 00:37:32,400 The Bible says the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, right? 853 00:37:32,820 --> 00:37:35,036 That's the start of wisdom is the fear of God. 854 00:37:35,068 --> 00:37:40,028 When we lose our fear of God, we then lose the wisdom of God and 855 00:37:40,044 --> 00:37:41,160 we become fools. 856 00:37:41,860 --> 00:37:46,692 And so then it goes on to list all these things that essentially 857 00:37:46,876 --> 00:37:48,800 is the product of that. 858 00:37:49,660 --> 00:37:52,884 And change the glory of the uncorruptible God into the image 859 00:37:52,932 --> 00:37:54,116 made unto a corruptible man. 860 00:37:54,148 --> 00:37:58,112 Meaning we change our worship from the one who should be worshipped 861 00:37:58,136 --> 00:37:59,992 to the things that were the creation. 862 00:38:00,136 --> 00:38:03,976 And so all of this, verse 25, who changed the truth of God into 863 00:38:04,008 --> 00:38:08,580 a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the creator. 864 00:38:09,320 --> 00:38:13,060 This speaks to the real heart issue of idolatry. 865 00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:18,560 They lose the fear of God, they lose the presence of God, they 866 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:21,698 lose the desire to know him and to glorify him. 867 00:38:21,794 --> 00:38:24,682 And so therefore they turn from worshipping him and they go 868 00:38:24,706 --> 00:38:25,722 to his creation. 869 00:38:25,786 --> 00:38:28,510 They worship the creation and not the creator. 870 00:38:28,970 --> 00:38:30,946 And there's a lot more in that chapter. 871 00:38:30,978 --> 00:38:34,150 I'm not going to give you a diatribe on romans chapter one yet. 872 00:38:34,530 --> 00:38:37,954 That's a little bit of a precursor to a future study that 873 00:38:37,962 --> 00:38:38,910 we're going to be doing. 874 00:38:39,610 --> 00:38:43,570 But ultimately, what we see here is that the natural inclination 875 00:38:43,610 --> 00:38:46,522 of man, when we turn our faces away from God, is to worship the 876 00:38:46,546 --> 00:38:50,160 things of this world, the good thing, even, even the good things 877 00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:51,260 in creation. 878 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:54,280 And that's why, yes, God created the moon. 879 00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:56,368 God created the stars, God created the sun. 880 00:38:56,464 --> 00:39:00,840 But when individuals who say they worship God turn to those things, 881 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:03,488 it's an indication of where their heart is. 882 00:39:03,664 --> 00:39:05,456 Their heart is not where it needs to be. 883 00:39:05,528 --> 00:39:07,864 And so in Zephaniah, that's where we start. 884 00:39:07,912 --> 00:39:09,056 God says, I'm going to judge. 885 00:39:09,088 --> 00:39:09,400 Now. 886 00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:13,192 The beauty is that God always gives grace and mercy to those that 887 00:39:13,216 --> 00:39:14,092 are repentant. 888 00:39:14,216 --> 00:39:17,892 God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 889 00:39:18,076 --> 00:39:18,636 Right. 890 00:39:18,748 --> 00:39:22,796 And so in our pride comes God's judgment. 891 00:39:22,948 --> 00:39:26,868 In our humility, in submission, in faith comes the grace, 892 00:39:26,924 --> 00:39:28,116 comes the forgiveness. 893 00:39:28,268 --> 00:39:31,764 And so it's really still God's heart in the book of Zephaniah to 894 00:39:31,812 --> 00:39:36,204 say, judgment is coming, but there is a possibility for forgiveness 895 00:39:36,252 --> 00:39:38,836 if you turn your hearts back to God in repentance. 896 00:39:38,948 --> 00:39:42,610 And so there is a message of judgment, but there's also a message 897 00:39:42,650 --> 00:39:45,330 of hope, and there's a message of encouragement that you can always 898 00:39:45,370 --> 00:39:46,314 turn to the Lord. 899 00:39:46,442 --> 00:39:48,474 And so I would tell you this, and that's the same message that 900 00:39:48,482 --> 00:39:49,550 we need to preach today. 901 00:39:50,610 --> 00:39:53,194 There are some people, I know this is a long study here, but this 902 00:39:53,202 --> 00:39:54,858 is a long Runway for our whole study. 903 00:39:54,874 --> 00:39:55,570 In Zephaniah. 904 00:39:55,650 --> 00:39:57,786 There are some people that say, don't preach about the judgment 905 00:39:57,818 --> 00:39:58,130 of God. 906 00:39:58,170 --> 00:39:59,130 We don't want to hear about that. 907 00:39:59,170 --> 00:40:02,394 Please, please, just talk about how much God loves everybody. 908 00:40:02,482 --> 00:40:03,146 And I agree. 909 00:40:03,218 --> 00:40:06,064 We preach the whole gospel. 910 00:40:06,242 --> 00:40:07,412 Preach the whole gospel. 911 00:40:07,476 --> 00:40:13,564 If I preach that God loves you, I have to understand God doesn't 912 00:40:13,612 --> 00:40:14,640 love your sin. 913 00:40:15,700 --> 00:40:19,428 It would be like me saying, okay, I love all the children of 914 00:40:19,444 --> 00:40:21,972 Middletown Baptist church, like the little kids of Middletown 915 00:40:21,996 --> 00:40:22,396 Baptist church. 916 00:40:22,428 --> 00:40:28,000 I love all of them, but I love them differently than I love my children. 917 00:40:28,420 --> 00:40:29,612 I hope you guys understand that. 918 00:40:29,636 --> 00:40:32,108 I love all the kids here, but my children are my children. 919 00:40:32,164 --> 00:40:32,578 Right? 920 00:40:32,684 --> 00:40:36,446 And so there's a distinction that God loves the world by sending 921 00:40:36,478 --> 00:40:37,678 his only begotten son. 922 00:40:37,774 --> 00:40:41,294 But God doesn't love an individual that's in rebellion to 923 00:40:41,342 --> 00:40:46,054 him the same way that he loves his son, that he loves his daughter. 924 00:40:46,222 --> 00:40:48,990 And so there is that general love that God extends to all and 925 00:40:49,030 --> 00:40:51,570 proved his love by dying on the cross for your sins. 926 00:40:52,270 --> 00:40:56,854 But God does not continue to condone the sin of an unsaved person. 927 00:40:56,902 --> 00:40:59,252 He doesn't condone the saved I the saved sinner. 928 00:40:59,316 --> 00:40:59,756 Right. 929 00:40:59,868 --> 00:41:01,956 He always wants us to come back to a heart of repentance. 930 00:41:01,988 --> 00:41:03,840 Now, there's grace and there's mercy. 931 00:41:04,140 --> 00:41:07,212 And so I know that maybe some of you might have misinterpreted 932 00:41:07,236 --> 00:41:09,316 me and says God doesn't love everybody. 933 00:41:09,428 --> 00:41:12,396 He loves everybody in the fact that he extends the gospel to all. 934 00:41:12,508 --> 00:41:17,796 But I think it's very clear in scripture that God has his true family 935 00:41:17,948 --> 00:41:21,876 that he loves and that he protects and that he sustains, and 936 00:41:21,908 --> 00:41:24,114 all those have an opportunity to come to Christ. 937 00:41:24,252 --> 00:41:25,182 And so that's his love. 938 00:41:25,206 --> 00:41:27,542 And so what I would encourage you to think about here this evening 939 00:41:27,566 --> 00:41:28,290 is this. 940 00:41:28,950 --> 00:41:33,822 As a believer, what does it mean for me to preach the whole truth 941 00:41:33,846 --> 00:41:34,662 of God? 942 00:41:34,846 --> 00:41:37,090 It does mean that we have to preach God's judgment. 943 00:41:37,430 --> 00:41:40,342 Because what if I come up to somebody and say, hey, God loves 944 00:41:40,366 --> 00:41:42,198 you and he doesn't care about what you're doing in your life? 945 00:41:42,254 --> 00:41:44,310 You're all going to go to heaven if you just are passionate 946 00:41:44,350 --> 00:41:45,170 about something? 947 00:41:46,270 --> 00:41:47,910 Well, that's not me preaching the whole gospel. 948 00:41:47,950 --> 00:41:50,646 I have to preach to you that the Bible says for the wages of sin 949 00:41:50,678 --> 00:41:51,462 is death. 950 00:41:51,646 --> 00:41:53,014 Now, I don't preach that alone. 951 00:41:53,102 --> 00:41:54,934 I don't come up to someone and thump them over the head with the 952 00:41:54,942 --> 00:41:56,894 Bible and say, you're going to hell and walk away. 953 00:41:56,982 --> 00:42:00,678 No, you tell them that there is going to be judgment and we don't 954 00:42:00,694 --> 00:42:02,850 know when that is ultimately going to happen. 955 00:42:03,630 --> 00:42:06,934 The Bible says life is but a vapor and that today is the day of 956 00:42:06,942 --> 00:42:07,534 salvation. 957 00:42:07,662 --> 00:42:10,262 But what we do is we say, hey, look, there is a judgment to come, 958 00:42:10,286 --> 00:42:12,398 but there's also a gift of grace that God loves you. 959 00:42:12,414 --> 00:42:15,622 And so that's what Zephaniah, Zephaniah is preaching the Gospel. 960 00:42:15,726 --> 00:42:19,042 He's preaching judgment, but also repentance and encouragement 961 00:42:19,066 --> 00:42:19,586 in that. 962 00:42:19,698 --> 00:42:21,722 And so I would encourage you to think about that when we come 963 00:42:21,746 --> 00:42:23,290 to this understanding of the Gospel. 964 00:42:23,370 --> 00:42:25,506 Now, there are people on both sides of this. 965 00:42:25,658 --> 00:42:27,882 There's people that will only preach one aspect. 966 00:42:27,986 --> 00:42:30,330 There's people over here that only preach one aspect. 967 00:42:30,490 --> 00:42:34,298 The concept would be to preach the whole revelation of the word 968 00:42:34,314 --> 00:42:38,210 of God, and that is the complete Gospel judgment and also 969 00:42:38,330 --> 00:42:41,162 forgiveness, judgment and also grace. 970 00:42:41,266 --> 00:42:44,026 And so we're going to see how that wraps up in God's holiness through 971 00:42:44,058 --> 00:42:44,886 this study. 972 00:42:45,018 --> 00:42:46,222 All right, well, I appreciate your time. 973 00:42:46,246 --> 00:42:50,230 I know that was a long study here this evening, but I think we 974 00:42:50,270 --> 00:42:53,210 at least needed to get through those first six verses here tonight. 975 00:42:54,110 --> 00:42:58,902 If you love to have you come back through the study in Zephaniah. 976 00:42:59,006 --> 00:43:01,330 It's one that I've been really excited for. 977 00:43:01,990 --> 00:43:06,686 It's one that sometimes we can skip over passages. 978 00:43:06,758 --> 00:43:08,654 And I've read through the Bible many times. 979 00:43:08,822 --> 00:43:09,894 I'm not going to lie to you. 980 00:43:09,942 --> 00:43:13,968 Sometimes when I get to the genealogy and some of the minor prophets, 981 00:43:14,024 --> 00:43:16,608 it's just like, okay, I've read this before, but I think that 982 00:43:16,624 --> 00:43:18,216 there's so much to glean from this passage. 983 00:43:18,248 --> 00:43:20,672 Even though it's three chapters, there's so much here. 984 00:43:20,696 --> 00:43:22,620 So encourage you to follow along with us. 985 00:43:24,160 --> 00:43:26,720 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist church 986 00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:27,560 podcast. 987 00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:30,260 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 988 00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:32,936 If you would like to find out more information about our church 989 00:43:32,968 --> 00:43:37,248 or this sermon, you can find us@middletownbaptistchurch.org or 990 00:43:37,344 --> 00:43:39,460 find us on Facebook or YouTube. 991 00:43:40,010 --> 00:43:45,538 You can also email me directly at joshmasaro@middletownbaptistchurch.com. 992 00:43:45,554 --> 00:43:48,898 if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow 993 00:43:48,954 --> 00:43:51,950 along for future podcasts and updates. 994 00:43:52,370 --> 00:43:53,466 Thank you so much. 995 00:43:53,578 --> 00:43:54,434 God bless. 996 00:43:54,562 --> 00:43:55,610 Have a wonderful day.