A CALL TO JOY

TEXT:

Zephaniah 3:14–20 “Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. “The Lord your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. “I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you, O Zion; The reproach of exile is a burden on them. “Behold, I am going to deal at that time With all your oppressors, I will save the lame And gather the outcast, And I will turn their shame into praise and renown In all the earth. “At that time I will bring you in, Even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise…”

THESIS:

Just as Zephaniah delivered a prophecy from the Lord that the actions of the people had consequences, but there was still hope of a future in God where they would be gathered together again, God has promised us the same hope in the final judgement; if we are obedient and remain faithful, we have the ultimate reason for excitement and joy.

INTRODUCTION:

There are many hymns in our book about the absence of sorrow in Heaven

No Tears In Heaven

Won’t It Be Wonderful There

In the Land of Fadeless Day

In 1955, James Hill’s mother-in-law had a massive stroke.

He was a new Christian at the time.

He had a hard time understanding why this would happen to such a devout woman.

As he was thinking it over one day, he penned the lyrics to “What a Day That Will Be.”

Draws on the idea of Revelation 21:4 “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.””

The comfort He found can be seen in the lyrics:

“No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.”

“No more sickness, no pain. No more parting over there.”

The prophet Zechariah wrote of such a day.

A day of shouting and singing with no disaster and no affliction.

What was he meaning and how does it apply to us today?

DISCUSSION:

*(Short lead in statement for all main points)

I. A LITTLE BACKGROUND

A. Zephaniah – means “Yahweh hides/protects”

He was the great-grandson of king Hezekiah.

Ministered during the reign of king Josiah (640-609ish B.C.)

Date of the book 630 to 625 B.C.-ish.

Josiah (good) the son of Amon (BAD)

Book of the Law discovered in temple.

B. He gives a prophecy of coming judgment and of a future time.

The coming “Day of the Lord” (1:7,14)

The day is at hand (7)

It hastens quickly (14)

Babylonian Invasion of Judah (2 Kings 25)

2 Kings 25:1–2 “Now in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.”

Zephaniah among 72 that were captured and put to death by Nebuchadnezzar as they led Judah away into exile (25:18-21)

Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 B.C.

The future “Day of the Lord” (3:11, 16, 19-20)

In that day (11, 16) – future

As a side note - “Do not let your hands fall limp” out of anxiety and fear.

Isaiah 13:7 “Therefore all hands will fall limp, And every man’s heart will melt.”

At that time (19-20) - future

II. A LITTLE FOREGROUND

A. God will be with you

He says to “Wait for Me” (v. 8)

Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.”

Habakkuk 2:3 ““For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.”

He will be “In your midst” (3:15:17)

Regarding the division of land in Ezekiel - Ezekiel 48:35 ““The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The Lord is there.’ ””

Deuteronomy 31:8 ““The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.””

Isaiah 41:10 “‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”

B. God will save you

“He has cast out your enemy” to save them from captivity as He has done before (15)

Exodus 34:11 ““Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite.”

Deuteronomy 7:1–2 ““When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them...”

“The Might One” will save and rejoice over you (17)

Isaiah 63:1 “Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His apparel, Marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.””

Psalm 24:8 “Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.”

Jeremiah 32:41 ““I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.”

C. God will gather you home

Six promises of saving and gathering (18-20)

I will gather those who grieve…

I will deal with your oppressors…

I will save the lame and gather the outcast… (Mic. 4:6)

I will turn their shame into praise…

I will bring you in… (Ezek. 37:21)

I will give you renown and praise…

Isaiah 11:12 “And He will lift up a standard for the nations And assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.”

Amos 9:14 ““Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.”

III. A LITTLE GROUNDING FOR US

A. God has promised to be with us.

Matthew 1:23 ““Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”” (cf. Isa. 7:14)

John 14:16–17 ““I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”

Matthew 28:20b “...and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””

Ultimately, in that day...Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,”

B. God promised to save us if we obey Him.

Mark 16:15–16 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.”

John 3:36 ““He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.””

Continually - Philippians 2:12 “So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;”

Matthew 7:21 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”

C. God will gather the faithful home one day.

Psalm 50:5 ““Gather My godly ones to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.””

John 14:2–3 ““In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

The Christian’s home - the same place with no more pain, just joy - Rev. 21:4

Revelation 21:4 NASB95

and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

CONCLUSION:

Zephaniah gave a prophecy of a coming judgment on Judah and Jerusalem.

It was coming soon and there would be suffering.

Even though the cities were captured and destroyed, Zephaniah also reminded them they had hope of salvation in God one day.

God would be with them again and gather the faithful to Him.

God has promised us the same at the time of the final judgment.

If we are faithful, we have the ultimate reason to shout and sing for joy at the coming of the Savior to gather us home.