12/4/21 Shine Brightly

Who is scared of the dark??????

Zephaniah 2: 1 Gather together, gather yourselves together, you shameful nation, 2 before the decree takes effect and that day passes like windblown chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you. 3 Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands.Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.

Zephaniah communicated judgment upon the house of Judah with great authority. How could he stand strong and deliver his message with passion in the face of a whole nation let alone one person.

Lets talk a out the the pattern Zephaniah set an example of for our ability to shine the light in the darkness: 

1.Belief in our God. 

Zephaniah had to trust in God to protect and empower him to communicate the message. 

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

2.Belief in the message.

 Zephaniah had to be convinced that this hard words were exactly what the people needed to hear. 

1 Timothy 4:10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

3. Belief in our cause. 

Zephaniah had to embrace his ultimate cause. 

John 4:23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

4. Belief in the people. Zephaniah had to have hope that the people would change and buy into his message. 

Romans 4:18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

5. Belief in ourselves. 

Zephaniah had to be convinced that he was the man to deliver this message.

2 Corinthians 3:3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God.

6. Belief in a Savior

Even in the midst of the judgment, there was hope. In the verses leading up to the description of God’s wrath, Zephaniah wrote,

Zephania 1:7 Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.

In these words, we see a glimpse of Jesus Christ as as a mighty savior from the judgment that sins deserve. In the midst of judgment, God prepared a sacrifice and has set his people apart for salvation. Just as God would save a remnant of Judah from the judgment of exile, Jesus would save God’s repentant people.

We could live in this world fearfully and Immediately gratifying ourselves with what the world calls courageous or we can live in Christ Jesus , loving enemies, blessing those who persecute, clothing the unclothed, and caring for our neighbor. That is the difference between being a a dim light casting shadow or a bright light invading the darkness. It is definitely our choice. ( say it with me if you mean it ) As for me and my house:

WE WILL SERVE THE LORD.

Lets pray