MESSAGE ABOUT JUDGMENT

“Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land” (Zeph. 1:8 NKJV).

Most folks today do not want to hear messages of judgment. Instead, they want to hear preaching about the love of God. However, much is said about judgment in the prophetical books of the Bible. And so, when sin abounds, judgment is the message that is needed. Sin was abounding in Israel during the times of Zephaniah the prophet, hence judgment was often the theme of his messages. Sin abounds in our land today, and a most fitting message is a message on judgment. In this message of Zephaniah, we want to note the severity of judgment, the speediness of judgment and the safety from judgment.

Severity of judgment - “The whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy.” Divine judgment is often characterized by fire, and the final judgment upon the individual sinner will be “in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone” (Rev. 21:8). This is severe indeed, but God is a holy God and sin will be punished forcefully. It is a strong warning to us to repent of our sin in order to avoid God’s judgment upon sin. Let’s not play the fool and laugh at judgment – but rather repent instead.

Speediness of judgment - “He shall make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.” God patiently waits for the sinner to repent. However, if the sinner does not repent, one day judgment will come with great speed and cut down the sinner. Do not procrastinate about getting right with God. Delay may be dangerous. Judgment will come and it will come so fast that there will not be time to repent and get right with God.

Safety from judgment - “Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath.” Safety from judgment is not in our wealth; money will not help. Safety will be found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:18-19 states, “you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct… but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 2)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“It is because of the doctrine of judgment and hell that Jesus’ proclamations of grace and love are so astounding!”

Timothy Keller (1950 -)

American Christian Pastor, Author, Theologian, and Christian Apologist

Word Study

Entirely

In 1 Thess. 5:23 we read, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!” (NASB).

Entirely is the Greek word holotelḗs (ὁλοτελής =hol-ot-el-ace'). It is made up of two words: “hólos” which means all, the whole, complete, and “telos” which means end. The word is only used here in the New Testament and means complete to the end, i.e., absolutely perfect, wholly complete. It describes something that is complete in all its parts. The apostle Paul is asking God that nothing in these saints would escape the sanctifying power of His Word and His Spirit. He is praying that God would sanctify these saints “through and through.”

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident?” (Psalm 27:3 KJV).

Did You Know…

During the time of David, the Ark of the Covenant rested at the home of Obed-Edom, and he and all that he had were blessed by the Lord (1 Chron. 13:14).

Bible Quiz

Whom did John describe as “an Advocate with the Father?”

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: Whose mother asked the Lord Jesus to grant her sons places at His right and left? James and John (Matt. 20:20-23).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“DAYSPRING”

"Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us!” (Luke 1:78 NKJV).

1. Meaning – DAYSPRING means sunrise and speaks of the Lord Jesus as the One who brings light, life, and peace.

2. Insights – DAYSPRING pictures the coming of dawn which breaks the hold of darkness upon the earth. The advent of the Messiah as a sunrise was a favorite theme of Old Testament prophets. The coming of the Messiah, then, is like a sunrise which give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. It is the dawn of a new day because of the tender mercies of God. The Lord Jesus has come to deliver people from their slavery to sin.

Did You Know – Christian History

Samuel Davies was born November 3, 1723, in New Castle County, Delaware. He was a Presbyterian preacher in the American colonies who defended religious dissent and helped lead the Southern phase of the religious revival known as the Great Awakening.

A child of deeply religious parents, his mother named him after the prophet Samuel in the Bible. The Davies family could not afford to send their son to college, so they instead sent him to receive his early education under the tutelage of Rev. Samuel Blair at the academy he conducted in Faggs Manor, Pennsylvania.

Davies was determined to make life count for God. And although Virginia’s colonial government discriminated against denominations other than the official Church of England, in 1740, it gave Davies a license to preach as a Presbyterian minister in four counties. This Davies used to promote tolerance for all denominations. The persuasive reasoning of Davies’ eloquent sermons electrified his audiences by combining Scripture with practical teaching. The patriot orator, Patrick Henry frequently attended Davies’ services with his mother and acknowledged that as the source of his own oratorical skills.

Davies also regularly invited three hundred slaves to his home on Saturday evenings - their only free time. He taught them to read and to sing hymns, many of which he wrote himself. His “Great God of Wonders” and other gospel songs are still found in hymn-books. Davies’ efforts to evangelize slaves in Virginia has come to be called “the first sustained proselytization of slaves” in that colony, earning him scholarly attention into the present day.

Realizing the importance of education, Davies helped found Princeton University, and was chosen its president after Jonathan Edward’s sudden death. But even before becoming president of Princeton, Davies proved to be highly beneficial to the university. In addition to raising money to build Nassau Hall, Davies received funding from Great Britain to build a house for the school’s president, and to start a charitable fund to educate young people. Further, while serving as the school’s president, Davies drew up the first catalog of the university library, 1,281 books in all.

Yet Davies, too, soon died - at the early at age thirty-eight. Like the Old Testament prophet after whom he was named, this 18th Century Samuel dedicated his life to serving his God and his country.

A Little Humor

The Sunday school teacher was teaching a class of children about creation. “Now, children,” she said, “Who can tell us what makes the flower spring from the seed?” “God does it,” answered one little girl, “but fertilizer helps.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“Only the fear of God can remove the fear of death!”