Thank you for taking the time to read the sermon this week. I am thankful for the opportunity the Lord has provided to post this message.
As I mentioned last week, we are starting a short series on the Old Testament book of Zephaniah. Zephaniah is one of the Minor Prophets. They are distinguished from the major Prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah due to the brevity of most Minor Prophet's writings. Their message was not minor in any way.
I have always enjoyed studying the Minor Prophets. In Bible college, I had the opportunity to to study the Minor Prophets for two full semesters.
Let's start with a little background on Zephaniah. He was a descendent of King Hezekiah making him a member of the royal family.
Hezekiah was a good King who followed the Lord and led his people to follow the Law of Moses. Unfortunately, when Hezekiah died, his heirs on the throne rejected the True and Living God and worshipped the false gods of the neighboring nations.
Eventually, Josiah ascended to the throne, and this is when Zephaniah's ministry began.
Zephaniah received a word from the Lord that judgment was coming on the Kingdom of Judah. The people and leaders had rejected God for decades. The Lord was patient, but He was no longer willing to overlook the people's sinful ways.
God also told Zephaniah to pronounce a word of judgment on the surrounding nations due to their idolatry.
Shortly after Zephaniah's message from the Lord, Josiah turned to the Lord. He restored worship in the Temple, and he tried to lead the people back to God. While Josiah reigned, the people nominally served God, but they also tried to hang on to pagan ideas. When Josiah died, the Kings and people abandoned God. You can read more about this in the book of Jeremiah.
A few years after Josiah's death, Babylon conquered Judah. The Temple was destroyed, and many were taken into captivity.
So, what can we learn from the first part of the book of Zephaniah? First of all, we can see that a person can remain a servant of the Lord even when his family and fellow countrymen are abandoning God. Zephaniah's relatives ruled abominably, but Zephaniah remained faithful becoming a prophet of the Lord.
We live in a world where it can often be difficult to honor God and His ways. However, those of us who are in Christ have the Holy Spirit indwelling us and providing His power to live a holy and overcoming life. We must immerse ourselves in the Word and be diligent in prayer in order to do what the Lord expects of us.
I also want to point out the patience of the Lord and His willingness to forgive. The Lord sent many messages through the Prophets to His people. He waited many years before bringing judgment giving people ample opportunity to turn back to Him. Even now the Lord is patient. One reason that the Lord delays His coming is that He is not willing that any should perish but that all might come to repentance. The Lord is always ready to forgive when we call upon His name. Amen.
Prayer Requests And Other Matters
Please keep praying for an end to the coronavirus pandemic.
Pray that the fires in the Western US will be brought under control.
Please pray that those experiencing damage from storms will receive the aid that they need to recover.
We need to keep praying for peace in Syria and Afghanistan.
For our prayer focus countries, let's be pray for Jordan and Vietnam.
Please pray that the payment that I am expecting this week will come in with no problem.
Next week I will post the verses on Monday and the review on Wednesday. We will continue in Zephaniah on Friday. May God bless you all.
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