08/11/2020
What will we do when the Lord decides to pour out His wrath upon the world? Will we throw away our inhibitions, remove the boundary stones of our faith, and run roaring like lions in the streets, or will we fall to our knees and pray fervently for God to forgive us, and spare his children? We don’t like to consider these frightening things, but if we wait until such a day arrives then our faith will find itself caught off guard by the hopelessness of humanity, and we may be lost. Is our faith robust, and can it withstand the chaos of such a time as this?
“But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord,”
Zephaniah 3:12 ESV
When the entire earth is wallowing in sin and corruption, and God pours out His plagues and punishments on it, only our faith can save us, and it will not be by our own strength, but in our ability to kneel low in a humble posture before the Lord, and worship Him just as He has commanded that we love Him... with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”
Mark 12:30 ESV
You say that mankind has not reached this point of corruption, that this will never happen, and that God would not pass judgement on us in such a manner, but be still, look about you, and remember Jerusalem in the time of Zephaniah... this is not new, and we, like Jerusalem, are not immune to the plagues...
“She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God.”
Zephaniah 3:2 ESV
The world, and portions of the Church, have become numb to sin, making excuses for it, and honoring those who show strength in their dominance over others, while neglecting those who worship the Lord. Perhaps we still can’t see ourselves in this imagery, so let’s read on and remember these words...
“Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning. Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men; her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law.”
Zephaniah 3:3-4 ESV
When we read such charges do we see the world we live in? Can we look around us and see churches that have rewritten the Word of God because they fear the truth, and judges who don’t know God, and who can’t separate themselves from the politics of society, nor confront the truth required to be righteous? Do we still say this is not our world? Then let’s read on, and watch the evening news...
““I have cut off nations; their battlements are in ruins; I have laid waste their streets so that no one walks in them; their cities have been made desolate, without a man, without an inhabitant.”
Zephaniah 3:6 ESV
We still refuse the obvious, but how can we deny what we see in the morning streets of Beirut, St. Louis, Paris, Portland, Baghdad, Milwaukee, or Chernobyl... all littered with the remnants of destroyed buildings, smoldering cars, and mankind’s refuse; trash and rubble? Is the world’s denial of God so complete as this? Are we caught up in its lie, or will we be one of the people that God leaves in the midst of such punishment... humble before Him in worship? Can we see the sin, and recognize correction when we are faced with it?
“I said, ‘Surely you will fear me; you will accept correction. Then your dwelling would not be cut off according to all that I have appointed against you.’ But all the more they were eager to make all their deeds corrupt.”
Zephaniah 3:7 ESV
Let’s pray that our world is not the Jerusalem that Zephaniah saw in his day, and that it it’s not too late to turn back from the brink of God’s wrath. Let’s rededicate ourselves to him, and restore the boundary stones of our faith to their rightful places. Let’s look at His correction and humble ourselves before Him. God will save nations because of the prayers of His faithful children within them, and heal the scars left by a people’s past sin. So are we the lowly and humble people God has left to pray for Jerusalem? Are we seeking refuge in the name of Jesus Christ as we pray that God gives us strength to witness successfully to the lost, and pray for the restoration of our land?
“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV
So, how do we pray today? How do we prepare ourselves in faith for the coming day of correction and judgement?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your patience, and long suffering as you withhold your wrath while your children witness to a sin drenched world. Thank you for providing us refuge from such a deluge of evil beneath the cross of your Son Jesus Christ, and opening a way for the redemption of the lost souls who have denied you for so long. Open the eyes of all those who deny your correction, and who remain blinded to the sin that has become their everyday lives. Circumcise the hearts of those who have become callous and unresponsive to your Word, and heal your Church Father, tending to every wound that rouge priests, and false prophets, have inflicted it with. Return the boundary stones of our faith to the places where you set them, and return us to proper worship, and compliance to your commandments. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God before whom we humble ourselves. Great are you whose love for us comes in the midst of sin to extract us from it. Wonderful is the name of Jesus Christ that redeems us, and wraps itself around our prayers. Praised be your name Father for leaving the humble to restore your creation when your wrath is poured out. Your mercy and grace know no bounds, and their arms are strong as they reach out to lift us from the sin that threatens to consume us. Hear our prayers today Lord as we pray for our souls, the souls of those around us, the healing of our countries, and the restoration of your Church. Let the blood of Jesus cleanse us, and make us worthy of your forgiveness. Lift us from the littered streets of this fallen world, and set our feet on the grand avenues of your kingdom forevermore. In this way we prostrate ourselves before you, and worship you in Spirit, and truth eternally.
““Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.””
Hosea 6:1-3 ESV
Rich Forbes