“Rejoice and Be Glad”

A few years ago, an angry man rushed through the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam until he reached Rembrandt's famous painting "Nightwatch." Then he took out a knife and slashed it repeatedly before he could be stopped. A short time later, a distraught, hostile man slipped into St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome with a hammer and began to smash Michelangelo's beautiful sculpture The Pieta. Two cherished works of art were severely damaged. But what did officials do? Throw them out and forget about them? Absolutely not! Using the best experts, who worked with the utmost care and precision, they made every effort to restore the treasures.

The wonderful work of restoration. What is it that causes us to be consistently and constantly happy, to rejoice, to be exuberant, to do cartwheels today? Our favorite sports team winning the championship? Getting more money back from our taxes? Good and profitable performance from our stocks and mutual funds? Finding out that our favorite band of all time is doing a reunion tour and coming to Denver? The guy or girl you like just broke up with their boy or girl friend. A 75% of sign at for favorite department store. They got your favorite flavor at cold stone? They are opening an in and out near you? Moving into your new house? Driving your new car? Child doing well in school? Going on a vacation with your family? Your political party got the majority in congress? Finally got a 100 thousand subscribers on your youtube channel? 100 likes on the picture you posted on facebook? Kiss and a smile from our significant other? What is it? Or does it really have to do with the gospel of Jesus?

Do we still find joy in Christianity? Do we find joy in the the restoration of God through our Lord Jesus? Do we rejoice everyday knowing that we have been saved from the very Hand of God by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross? Do we celebrate every hour of everyday knowing that Christ into this world to seek and save that which was lost and he actually accomplished it? Let’s be honest today. Is hearing and being reminded of the hope and promise we have with God something to whole heartedly celebrate with all our hearts, minds and strength?

If we are struggling with this, we will see why this is happening and how we can overcome it. If we are not, great today we will find more reason to celebrate. Let’s check it out.

Zephaniah 3:14–20 NLT

Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid! For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” “I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones; I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.

We Rejoice

He Rejoice

The Mighty Savior

The first thing we will look at today is the wonder reason that the Lord imparts as to why His people should sing, shout, and rejoice and be glad. Second, we will witness a vivid description as to how the Lord will delight, love and rejoice over His people. Finally, we will see the mighty savior who have come to seek and save that which was lost.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world may cause us to despair in dissatisfaction with lifestyle, it is the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of Scripture that will cause us to see the work of the Mighty Savior and see sin and the wrath of God as our main problem in life and how He won our salvation on the cross.

I. We Rejoice

- More than enough reason to rejoice.

A. As we end the book of Zephaniah, we should take note of something here. The book begins with one of the most intense oracles of judgement and universal devastation. And now it will end with one of the most intense oracles of divine restoration and love we will ever read.

B. I love the way O Palmer Robertson writes it. “One of the most awesome descriptions of the wrath of God in judgement found anywhere in scripture appears in the opening verses in Zephaniah. The totality of the cosmos shall be consumed in His burning anger. The very order of creation will be overturned. One of the most moving descriptions of the love of God for His people found anywhere in scripture appears in the closing verses of Zephaniah. God and His people attain heights in the ecstacy of love that are hard to comprehend.”

C. Instead of a woe we see a declaration of Jubilation. We we see the word woe when we are reading, we should also take note when the scriptures are piling up available words for celebration. Ver 14 we see “Sing, Shout, Rejoice and Be Glad.” The people of God are to rejoice and celebrate with all their hearts, minds, and strength. Rejoice and be glad… and why should they do this? The Lord give us the reason why...

D. The Lord has taken His judgement away from them. They no longer have the judgement of God’s threat. They have been saved. They have been restored. This is reason for much celebration. Right? We say yes but do we really understand why?

E. A reason for great celebration is the salvation from the judgement of God. They will be saved from the lifting of the judgment hand of God and he will deliver them from their enemies… Now some of us might say, for sure that is reason to celebrate, but it is really a reason to celebrate that much. The Lord is declaring a celebration and a really really big celebration, because of this?

F. Hey Shane thats great news but, I dunno if its that huge I mean its huge but is it really? I mean in our day and age, has the message of the gospel lost its luster? Many will say that it is good news, great news, but the most wonderful news the most wonderful thing, well not sure bout that. It does seem to matter today. More and more pulpits in America are abandoning the frequency and quality of the gospel message in its potential to attract and to motivate. Is it really a party I want to get involved in? Is it really what people need to hear today? Is it really what motivates people? Is it really what attracts people? It is a message that people really wanna hear. Is it really what inspires?

G. In reality in our global community, not so. Thomas Watson one said. Until sin is bitter, Christ will not taste sweet. We do not see gospel as extraordinarily good news in which angels long to look with outstretched necks... because we do not see sin and the wrath of God as our biggest problem. Sure it is one of the many problems in life. But not the the biggest.

H. Its kinda like going through a life damage report. Sin and the wrath of God is a factor and important factor… so lets put it on the list. We got health problems, financial problems, housing problems, family problems and marriage problems. Well we got health problems, so lets work on a diet and exercise solution, financial problems, so lets save and ask the boss for a raise. House problems, so lets sell the house and get a better one. Sin and the wrath of God problems, so let believe in Jesus and go to church and that solves that… so now lets focus on the family issues and my marriage problems… this is gonna take some work and need our complete attention.

I. Many of us might think of Christianity as more of an investment to our future, more than the fact that our lives were saved. Christianity is not about being reconciled to God forgiven of our sins and restored to life, but when I die how do I make sure I go to heaven. Do wanna suffer in hell, but want eternal bliss. Instead of rejoicing for the fact that there was nothing we could do, we needed to be saved… we rejoice that we did enough. Cool I made it into heaven. Not hallelujah I want to see Jesus.

J. No matter what the distraction… we have got to get in into our minds that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Matthew 8:12 NLT

But many Israelites—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

K. This is not simple times of discomfort in hell with an occasional party or trapped in a cage with the Devil and a pitchfork poking you in the back. This is gonna be an aweful aweful thing. It will be eternal anguish, remorse, pain misery and terror. Hell is not a place where you suffer the anger and evil of the devil and his demons, but the actual wrath of the living God. We see in the scriptures that His wonderful blessings are more than we can imagine. The wrath of the living God will be more than we can ever imagine. We should be afraid of the wrath of God. Very afraid.

L. Now we may be able to better realize why the rejoicing and being glad. We are save from the wrath of God. Something this bad was looming on the horizon. And our Lord in grace and love opened our eyes to see it. IN order for the good news to be truly great and wonderful, we needed to hear the bad news. Sin is so much worse than we think. We are worse than we think. The wrath of God is so much worse than we think. Hell is so much worse than we think.

M. And today we rejoice and be glad because we have been saved and restored which is more than enough reason to celebrate. The Lord is showing us here that we have in Christ all the reason to rejoice, consistently and constantly rejoice and be Glad. Our God saves so we should always rejoice. We have it all right now. We should always rejoice.

Philippians 4:4 NLT

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!

1 Thessalonians 5:16 NLT

Always be joyful.

N. We are missing something truly important if we cannot do this. Until sin is bitter Christ will not taste sweet.

II. He Rejoice

- The Lord will rejoice over us.

A. A picture that we see here in the rejoicing and gladness in verse 17 we see at first a beautiful picture. They would find comfort in the fact that the Lord their God is living among them. He is with them. And the comfort is in the context of judgement and so in the same we we would find comfort with the Lord dwelling with us. How so?

John 1:14 NLT

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

B. He is with us and another point of comfort and reason to be glad. Not only is He with us, but He said that he would always be with us.

Matthew 28:20 NLT

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

C. And with that he adds something incredible. A people who rejected and rebelled against the Lord would be brought to Him and he will delight over them. And a beautiful example of this is given in Isaiah.

Isaiah 62:5 NLT

Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem, just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

D. Understand the incomprehensible nature of this. It is one thing for God to delight over His creation is one thing. But that He would delight over a sinner is another. Rejoice and be glad today.

E. He said he will quiet and calm us with His love. Gonna let John McKay bring this one home.

- This silence is a love deeply felt, where God is absorbed in the object of its love. This is a sublime expression of the ultimate in divine love, lost in wonder over reclaimed humanity.

F. And lastly we see that He will rejoice over us. It is amazing that in the beginning the people will be judged and they will face the terrible. It is the horrors of what God will do to them and now we see the wonders of what God is going to do for them. And He rejoices over His redeemed and restored people.

G. It pleases the Lord to redeem and restore His people.

III. The Mighty Savior

- He came to seek and save that which was lost.

A. All of these are realities for us as well as it was for the people of Judah when they were redeemed and restored. God is not just mighty to save the people of Israel, but mighty to save the world. However, like the people at the time of Zephaniah’s prophesy, we too are faced with the judgement of God. We too sinned and rebelled against the Lord and we too are as guilty and deserving as the people of Judah at the time. Wait are you serious? Yes and take it serious.

B. The bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Bible says that there is no one on earth who always does good and never sins. We are all by nature children of wrath. We were sinful from the time we were in our mothers womb. Our righteousness is like filthy rags. But wait Shane, that’s not me I don’t sin… the Bible says, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. And the Bible says that if we keep all the laws of God except one we are as guilty as one who has broken all of them.

C. We are liable for judgement. We deserve the judgement of God. We are guilty. And the Bible is clear about the judgement that is coming. It is real and it will be devastating and we should be afraid of it. And God has promised the wrath to be poured out and those who fall into His hands of judgement will go to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth to face eternal, anguish, pain, remorse, regret and suffering.

D. But Shane the Lord gave hope to the people at the end of Zephaniah. Do we have hope? You bet we do. It is called the gospel of Jesus. We can have hope. Jesus took the punishment of God for us. Jesus suffered for us. Jesus was judged for us. Jesus faced the wrath of God for us. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance… Jesus came to seek and save that which was lost. He became a ransom for many. He was the propitiation. He was the sacrifice. He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. We have reason and lots of reason to rejoice today.

E. The promises continue… If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts… all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

F. And so Christian today know that the Lord looks upon us as the bridegroom. He rejoices over us like the bridegroom rejoices over His bride. When we are covered with the blood of Jesus, we are His delight. And know that His eternal love will continue to calm us every day for all days. Rejoice and be glad because our Lord is with us… the Holy Spirit is with us. Rejoice and be glad today that Christ said that he will be with us always to the end of the age.