WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU WHEN THERE IS NO GOD
Zephaniah 3:1-8
ATTITUDE WITHOUT GOD
V:1-2." Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and
defiled! 2 She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in
the Lord, she does not draw near to her God."
A. God keeps a record of your disobedience and unrepentant
sins.
1. God keeps a
record of how you treat others.
2. How we treat
others is determined by how obedient we are to God.
3. To love God
brings an automatic requirement to love your neighbor.
B. When the leaders do not know God, there will be a
lifestyle of injustice.
1. When there is
no love in the heart, it is easy to mistreat others.
2. Oppression is
holding someone down so you can get ahead.
3. Those who oppress others, have no regard
for man or God.
4. Any sin is a
rebellion against God.
5. The more
rebellious we are, the more defiled our lives become.
C. When you walk away from God, you will not trust God.
1. Those who do
not trust God will not be close to Him.
2. Those who do
not trust God will not seek him.
D. Some say leadership starts at the top.
1. But I say the
heart of leadership starts at the bottom.
2. It takes a good
foundation for a house to be structurally sound.
3. Those at the top
had to rise from the bottom.
4. The teaching of
the righteousness of God in the home is the start of a
solid
foundation for those who rise to the top.
5. The continual
practice of righteous builds the structure of sound leadership.
ACTIONS OF THE UNGODLY
V: 3-4. " Her officials are roaring lions, her rulers
are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning. 4 Her prophets are
arrogant; they are treacherous men. Her priests profane the sanctuary and do
violence to the law."
A. Both the religious
leaders and civil leaders acted as predators to the people of God.
1. Instead of building
up the community, they tore down the moral and spiritual
values of the
people.
2. They used God's
laws to do injustice and to profit themselves.
3. Like lions and
wolves, they had an appetite for violence and injustice
that could not
be satisfied.
4. Morning and night they sought new ways to
corrupt themselves.
B. The religious leaders, instead of being worshippers of God became
worshippers of
idols.
1. God's House had
become a robbers den rather than a house of prayer.
2. They profaned
the altar of God by offering blemished animals for sacrifice.
3. The general
population was also guilty.
a. Instead of
bring God their first and best, they brought Him the lame and the
cripple.
4. The Church
today is no different.
a. God
commands us to bring Him one tenth of our income plus an offering.
b. The Church
as a whole across America
only brings to God 2 percent of
their
income.
5. Because the
leadership does not follow God's commands is no excuse for you
to be
disobedient.
THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD
V:5. " The Lord within her is righteous; he does no wrong.
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice, and every new day he does not
fail, yet the unrighteous know no shame."
A. The mercy of the Lord endures forever.
1. God is always
good to us even in our sinfulness.
2. God is
righteous.
3. There is no
injustice in the Lord.
4. God is the same
everyday.
B. In comparison, we are filled with injustice and
unrighteousness.
1. A man without
God can not be trusted.
2. A man without
God is subject to do violence to his family and neighbors at anytime.
3. A man without
God is his own worst enemy.
GOD'S EXAMPLE TO US
V: 6-7. "I have cut off nations; their strongholds are
demolished. I have left their streets deserted, with no one passing through.
Their cities are destroyed; no one will be left — no one at all. 7 I said to
the city, 'Surely you will fear me and accept correction!' Then her dwelling
would not be cut off, nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still
eager to act corruptly in all they did."
A. God reminds us of His power, His authority, and His wrath
by what He does to
other people and
what we see in nature.
1. Throughout the
history of Israel ,
God destroyed Gentile nations to make
way
for them to
take possession of the promise Land.
3. They had God with
them fulfilling His promises that He made to their forefathers.
4. They were eye
witnesses to the Glory of God doing their times.
5. They had a
written record of the commands that God gave to Moses promising their
success in the
promise land.
B. God expects us to study His Word and make corrections in
our lives as He has
commanded.
1. If we are
obedient to God's commands, He promises to deliver us out
of all our
troubles.
2. God promises to
not let His wrath fall on us if we repent and turn to Him.
C. Israel continued in their sins and ignored the warnings
of God.
1. God knows the
end from the beginning.
2. He knew Israel
would not repent, but by His mercy He kept reminding
them of His
impending judgment.
GOD SAID IT, BELIEVE IT!!
V: 8-9. " Therefore wait for me," declares the
Lord, "for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to
gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them — all my fierce anger. The whole world will be
consumed by the fire of my jealous anger. 9 "Then will I purify the lips
of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder"
A. Because Israel would not repent and turn from their
wicked ways, God
prepared the
Babylonians to come and destroy Jerusalem
, the temple and
take them captive
for 70 years. (Jer 29:4).
1. God chastises
those He loves.
2. The good news is
that His chastisement is designed to bring us back to Him.
3. The good news is
God's chastisement is for a season of revival.
B. Our actions will affect our children.
1. They will suffer
with us.
2. Their homes were
destroyed and they had to start again in a foreign nation.
3. The good news is,
even when God is punishing us, He is taking care of us.
4. God put a wall
of protection around Israel
while they were in captivity
longing to
return to their homeland.
5. God promised
their return to the Promise Land
SUMMARY
THREE STAGES OF COMMITMENT
TO GOD
A. NO COMMITMENT
1.The world does
not know God. John 6:44
2. The world says
there is no God.
B. PARTIAL COMMITMENT
1. Most
of the church fits into this category.
2. We believe in
God.
3. We come to
church on a regular basis.
4. We don't
completely rely on God.
5. We don't
completely trust God.
6. How does God get
commitment out of people who know Him
but will not
follow His commands?
a. The
Israelites are our example.
b. He warns us
of impending judgment.
c. He takes away
that which distracts us from Him; job, health, family, etc.
d. He gives us
over to others who destroy what we have and abuse us.
e. He brings us
to the point where we cry out to Him.
f. He punishes
us because of His love.
C. COMPLETE COMMITMENT
1. Totally
committed to the Will of God.
2. Total subjection
to God's commands.
3. Spiritually
tuned with Lord.
4. Continually
seeks God for guidance and directions.
5. Relies on God in
good times and times trouble .
6. Seek ways to
serve Him.
7. Actively in
involved in the ministry.
8. Generous in
giving.
9. A minister of
the Gospel to his/her environment.
10. Constant in
Praise and Worship of the Lord.
11. We sin but we
grieve because of our sins and repent.
SUCCESSFUL LIVING STARTS WITH TOTAL DEPENDANCE ON GOD
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst. Pastor of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For a complete set of my messages, visit my blog
goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment