Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Zephaniah 3. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Looking at how things are in the world, it is difficult to see that there are many advantages to being a Christian. The message of our text is addressed to people who have felt the sting of “judgments against them,” of dangerous “enemies” and “the fear of evil,” and the mourning and sorrow and angst of living in the “shame” that the unbelieving people of the world foist upon true believers.
- The recent tabloid front page that read “God isn’t fixing this thing” is the accusation; and the obvious deduction that we are to make from this this assertion is that only a fool would pray to and trust in God, that He is to blame for the evil in the world rather than evil people. Many of you know from personal experience exactly what our text presents as the backdrop of the good news of God’s salvation.
- Often we truncate the message of God’s salvation – and turn it into a kind of “personal” Kleenex, as if it only serves to comfort us in our minds and spirits, but makes no real difference in the world. As a result our witness may dry up, or at best turn cowardly and weak. It is true that God produces and brings forth “THE CONSEQUENCES OF HIS SALVATION” in His own time and in His own manner – most dramatically on the Last Day.
- However, there is much that He has done for us that is real and existent even here and now – and He wills for these blessings to comfort and strengthen us as we head toward the ultimate vindication of Judgment Day. God presents these assurances to us in our text – and He wants us to take the realities seriously, that we may be richly blessed and strengthened in our faith, our discipleship, and in our love.
- So let us consider what He asserts – and grasp His blessings as reality, that our lives may be transformed as He desires! First, we are assured that:
I. Our Sin And Guilt Have Been Taken Away, Our Spiritual Enemies Have Been Neutralized, And We Have No Need To Fear Judgment – As We Live Lives Of Repentance And Take Refuge And Safety In Jesus By Faith
Text: “Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! THE LORD HAS TAKEN AWAY THE JUDGMENTS AGAINST YOU; HE HAS CLEARED AWAY YOUR ENEMIES.”
Statement: We know that there are legitimate grounds for “judgments against us.” We know our sin and our guilt – the Law of God reveals our sins and condemns them. If God’s Law remains in place as the foundation for our judgment then all of us are going to hell. This is simple fact and reality that virtually every human being can grasp and understand.
The message of the Gospel is that this verdict of the Law has been vacated. Our sentence was transferred to Another – to the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world. Our conviction, our guilt, our punishment was executed on a cosmic cross some 2,000 years ago – when God forsook His own Son, making Him to be sin for us, and pouring out His complete and unmitigated wrath and punishment against human sin upon Jesus. How else could the world survive and continue – given the wretchedness and evil that is so prevalent?
Our enemies do not believe this – but continue to press for our condemnation and destruction. Even our fellow human beings, sometimes our family and friends, continue to accuse and condemn us. But especially some who hate us are eager to prosecute us – in a variety of ways, aggressively, passively, through slander, and by innuendo.
Application: Our enemies appear to be present and powerful; and we have fear and angst over the trouble they can cause us. But in reality, they have been “cleared away.” They may remain like “talking heads,” but their words have no weight or basis in reality. And if we come to believe this, then we come to understand that:
II. The Lord, The King Of Israel, Our God, Is Our Strength
A. He Is In Our Midst To Save Us
Text: “The King of Israel, the Lord is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. . . . Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save.”
B. He Rejoices Over Us
Text: “He will rejoice over you with gladness.”
C. He Quiets Us With His Love
Text: “He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”
D. So There Is No Longer Need For Us To Fear
Text: “You shall never again fear evil.”
Statement: This is the ministry of God’s love that is to take place within the church. There is no question that these blessings are real and that God wants us to have them – and all of the strength, courage, and comfort that they afford us. It is also certain that they are given and provided to us within a context of humble repentance, confession of our sin, and assurance of God’s gracious mercy, forgiveness, and cleansing of our sin.
Likewise, it is certain that there are many forces and people who do not want us to have these blessings that God has provided for us in Christ Jesus. In fact, there are many even within the church who seek to make the church a “holiness” and “victory” club – where people are not taught that God is our strength, but rather helped along in deluding themselves that they are strong. Part of their twisted inner strategy is to gain “victories” over you – to hang you on their wall as a “trophy” they have conquered by accusation.
Application: So it is that in the face of this we must remember that God is our strength and our salvation – and that nothing can change this. We are not aggressively hardened against these enemies, so as to seek their harm; but we must be hardened in our self-protection from them – and the best defense is to understand and to hold fast to “THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOD’S SALVATION,” the blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus. This is trusting in God and allowing Him to be our strength.
But there are times when it appears our enemies have the upper hand, and so we must remember that:
III. God Will Remove Our Reproach
A. He Will Deal With Our Enemies And Oppressors
Text: “I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I deal with all your oppressors.”
B. He Will Do This For All Who Mourn, Who Are Outcast, And Who Are “Shamed” By Others
Text: “I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.”
C. He Will Exalt Us And Restore Our Fortunes
Text: “At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord.”
Statement: You see, these words are addressed to those who suffer the animosity and oppression of unbelievers and also of hypocrites within the church. They are addressed to dear people of God Who put their trust in Him and identify with Him even though it brings them trouble and reproach. But whatever is lost in this present world is restored – even fortunes. These also are “THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOD’S SALVATION” – even though we may have to wait some time for them to be realized in experience.
Application: But these promises of God, and the confidence they inspire, are also part of God being our strength. That we are called upon even now to rejoice in them and praise God for them is a call for the evidence of faith – that if God has spoken it is as good as done. And so it is – as we shall all shortly see.
Conclusion: It is important for us to remember these realities as we evaluate how things are in the world – lest the winds and waves destroy our faith and trust, denude us of courage and confidence, and we sink in unbelief.
“THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOD’S SALVATION” are sure and certain, and they are eternal. They are guaranteed to us by God’s own Word. Let us contemplate them and drink them in – and live in the peace and joy that God wills for us to have in Christ Jesus! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting. Amen.