Sunday
Morning Bible Study
July
27, 2014
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it
build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words
Communion: 2500 words
Zephaniah’s prophecy was given somewhere around 622-612 BC.
Though this was written during the time of the national revival under King
Josiah, the revival was only skin deep. Most of the people were still enamored with
the wickedness that King Manasseh had brought into the nation.
The main theme of the book of Zephaniah is the “day of the LORD”
The concept of the “day of the LORD” is a day when God “shows up”.
It involves judgment on wickedness.
It involves salvation for those who turn to God.
We’ve talked before about the nature of prophecy,
and that there can be more than one fulfillment of a prophecy.
Some of Zephaniah’s prophecy will be fulfilled
with the coming Babylonian invasion.
Ultimately wiping
out the nation of Judah in 586 BC.
Other parts look far into the future, when Jesus comes back. We are in the part of the book that will take
place after Jesus has returned.
Zephaniah – Tsephanyah
– “Yahweh has treasured”
Whenever God speaks of future
judgment, it’s not just to make us cower and tremble,
it’s to make us do something.
God wants us to turn around.
There is a way out.
Over the last few weeks we’ve seen that the coming judgments of God not only would
affect the nation of Judah, but the other nations surrounding Judah as well.
Now the focus has turned back to
Judah and Jerusalem.
3:8-13 Judgment and Restoration
:11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you
transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who
rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain.
:11 you shall not be shamed
In verse 5 it was the unjust who knew no shame.
They had reason to feel shame because of their wicked deeds, but their
hearts were callused to feeling any sense of guilt.
Here there is no shame because the sin that causes shame will
have been taken away and cleansed.
Lesson
No more shame
I have a hard time imagining this. Sometimes I think that when we see God
we will feel nothing but shame.
How can God not see anything but shame in us?
His Son Jesus took care of the source of our shame on the cross.
(Isaiah 53:5–6
NKJV) —5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised
for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was
upon Him, And by His
stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have
turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid
on Him the iniquity of us all.
iniquity – ‘avon – perversity, depravity, guilt
This is the source of our shame, and yet God has “laid” it
on Jesus instead of on us.
The
word “laid” indicates a complete action (Heb perfect tense), it has already been
accomplished.
(2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT) —21 For God
made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
When God deals with our sin, it is gone.
God spoke through the prophet Isaiah,
(Isaiah
43:25 NKJV) “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions
for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.
The writer of Hebrews records God
saying,
(Hebrews 8:12 NKJV) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no
more.”
John wrote,
(1 John 1:7 NKJV) But if we walk in the
light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
(1
John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I
read an article the other day about a fellow who died on an operating
table, and was dead for 20 minutes before being revived. He claimed to have had a glimpse of heaven
during that time. One of the “souvenirs”
of this experience was a fresh sense of assurance. He writes,
I might as well have been Superman, because after my experience, I had a bullet proof vest where condemnation was concerned. The
enemy couldn’t touch me. I saw his accusations for
what they were and laughed. I told my wife, “Honey, it’s
all crap. All of it. He’s
taken care of everything. Condemnation is an illusion.”
I was naked before God, but I was covered. This too faded … but I’ve never forgotten. Like you, I need the gospel of the
grace of God, the preciousness of the blood, and the centrality of the cross to
make it through every day now. But I know that one
day, we will no longer limp, but run.
Are you struggling with guilt and shame?
There is a way to be cleansed.
Come to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and cleanse you.
Learn to accept by faith that God has indeed forgiven you.
Go and sin no more.
Video: Gospel of John – Woman caught
in adultery.
:11 I will take away … pride … haughty
God will remove the proud and
haughty.
(Zephaniah 3:11 NLT) On that day you will no longer need to be ashamed, for you will no
longer be rebels against me. I will remove all proud and arrogant people from
among you. There will be no more haughtiness on my holy mountain.
Lesson
Danger: Pride
Allowing pride to fester in your
heart is leading you to trouble.
(Proverbs 16:18 NKJV) Pride goes
before destruction, And a haughty spirit
before a fall.
(Proverbs 11:2 NKJV) —2 When
pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is
wisdom.
:12 I will leave in your midst A meek and humble
people, And they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
:12 A meek and humble people
KJV – “an afflicted and poor
people”
After God removes the “proud” and
“haughty” (vs. 11), all that’s left are the meek and
humble.
These are the
ones that will survive.
Note: If you want to survive in life, learn what it
means to be “humble”.
(James 4:10 NKJV) Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Lesson
Wanted: Humility
God has a lot to say about how important
humility is.
(Psalm 18:27 NKJV) —27 For You
will save the humble people, But will bring down
haughty looks.
(Psalm 149:4 NKJV) —4 For the Lord takes
pleasure in His people; He will
beautify the humble with salvation.
(Isaiah 57:15 NKJV) —15 For thus
says the High and Lofty One Who
inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With
him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
(Romans 12:16 NKJV) —16 Be of the same mind
toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the
humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
(James 4:6 NKJV) —6 But He
gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
(1 Peter 5:5–6 NKJV) —5 Likewise
you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you
be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the
humble.” 6 Therefore humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
:12 they shall trust in the name of the Lord
It takes humility to admit that you
need God.
It takes humility to admit that you
can’t do it on your own.
This is the essence of how we
become “saved”.
Salvation from hell comes when we
learn to trust God.
Salvation comes when we learn to
trust that Jesus has indeed paid for our sins.
Paul wrote,
(Romans 10:11–13 NKJV) —11 For the
Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” 12 For
there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is
rich to all who call upon Him. 13 For “whoever
calls on the name of the Lord
shall be saved.”
:13 The remnant of Israel shall do no
unrighteousness And speak no lies, Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in
their mouth; For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, And no one
shall make them afraid.”
:13 do no unrighteousness … speak no
lies
This is how “saved” people behave.
They don’t do bad things. They speak truth.
:13 they shall feed their flocks and lie
down
This is a picture of peace and
security.
This is not what it’s
like having rockets fired into your nation on a daily basis.
Most of the news networks are doing
a good job reminding us of what the Palestinians in the Gaza strip are going
through in the current conflict with Israel.
They tend to neglect the fact that
the conflict started and has continued because of the Palestinians with their
rockets and secret tunnels.
Micah
(Micah 4:4 NKJV) But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid; For the mouth of the Lord
of hosts has spoken.
(Micah 7:14 NKJV) Shepherd
Your people with Your staff, The flock of Your heritage, Who dwell solitarily in a woodland, In the midst of Carmel; Let them
feed in Bashan and Gilead, As in
days of old.
3:14-20 Glory and Joy
:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be
glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem!
:15 The Lord
has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel,
the Lord, is in your
midst; You shall see disaster no more.
:15 taken away your judgments
judgments – mishpat
– judgment, justice, ordinance
Lesson
Assurance
The time of judgment will be past.
There is no more reason for shame
and condemnation because it has all been taken care of.
:16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do
not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak.
:16 let not your hands be weak
Fear and anxiety make our hands
“weak”. These things keep us from doing
what we need to do.
The anxiety or fear that causes you
to do nothing (be weak) will be a thing of the past.
Be strong. There is work to be done.
:17 The Lord your God in your
midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He
will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
We’ll come back to this at the end.
:18 “I will gather those who sorrow over the
appointed assembly, Who are among you, To whom its reproach is a
burden.
:18 who sorrow over the appointed
assembly
(Zephaniah 3:18 NLT) “I will gather
you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more.
Lesson
The Appointed Assembly
The people that God gathers together after Jesus
has returned are those who have felt sorrow over how the appointed Jewish festivals
had been skipped or abused.
NIV – “mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals”
One of the qualities of those who trust God is participation in the
“appointed assembly”.
We too as Gentile believers have an “appointed assembly”. We call it “church”.
Going to church really isn’t an option.
You aren’t “saved” by going to church.
You don’t have to go to this church.
But you need to be a part of a church.
(Hebrews 10:24–25
NKJV) —24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good
works, 25 not forsaking
the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but
exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day
approaching.
The incentive of going to church should not be whether or
not the band sounds good. The
incentive of going to church should not be whether or not
the pastor made you feel good, miserable, or challenged. The incentive for going to church should not
be whether or not your kids enjoy going to church.
The incentive ought to be because God has said it’s
important to gather together with other believers.
That being said, there are good reasons why God
wants us being a part of a local church.
Worship
There is nothing greater that we can do in life than to give honor and
praise to our God.
Church ought to be a place where we
draw attention to God, where we draw near to God.
(James 4:8a NKJV) Draw
near to God and He will draw near to you.
We ought to draw near to God in our own personal devotional time, but
something wonderful happens when we are drawing near to God together.
(Psalm
22:3 NKJV) But You are holy, Enthroned
in the praises of Israel.
When we praise God together, God is “enthroned” in our
presence. God shows up.
(Matthew 18:20 NKJV) For
where two or three are gathered together in My name, I
am there in the midst of them.”
He is here. And He’s the one with the help we need.
Prayer
It is vital that you learn to spend time every day in prayer.
But when we as the church gather together and
pray, something special happens.
I hope that when I’m praying at
the end of worship you are agreeing with me about the needs we lift before the
Father.
We are learning on Thursday nights how to pray for each
other as well as pray together.
Jesus said,
(Matthew
18:19 NKJV) “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning
anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
When the early church began to
experience persecution, Peter and John were arrested and then released, the
church got together to pray.
(Acts 4:31 NKJV) And when they had
prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were
all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
May it be so.
Staying on track
Church ought to be one of the places where you are challenged
to stay on track with the Lord.
(Hebrews 3:12–13
NKJV) —12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily,
while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the
deceitfulness of sin.
When you stop going to church, it’s
real easy to let sin creep into your life and your heart grows cold and
callused.
When we get together, we ought to be challenged to
walk with God.
This might come through the message from the pulpit.
This ought to come from developing relationships with
others who are trying to follow Jesus like you.
Learning
Jesus calls us to be “disciples”.
The word “disciple” means “a learner.
It is important to be studying the Scriptures. That’s why we place
an emphasis on teaching through the Bible verse by verse.
(Hebrews 4:12 NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and
spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.
My calling as a pastor is to teach
you the word of God.
(Nehemiah 8:8 NKJV) So they
read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and
helped them to understand the reading.
(2 Timothy
3:16–17 NKJV) —16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness, 17
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every
good work.
Serving
Church ought to be about learning to serve the Lord, learning to find out
what God wants you to do.
The Pastor to Person article in the bulletin was about Nehemiah
getting the walls built around Jerusalem.
There is work to be done and the work goes
easier when we all do our part.
Jesus said,
(Mark 9:35 NKJV) —35 And
He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be
first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”
(Mark
10:44–45 NKJV) —44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even
the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a
ransom for many.”
When you’ve been in the same church for a year or
two, and all you do is come to Sunday mornings, you are going to hit a wall.
You’re going to find that the people
aren’t that great, in fact they are all a bit flawed.
You’re going to get bored with
the pastor’s bad jokes.
You’re going to get tired of the
music.
You’re going to start saying, “My
needs aren’t being met”.
My challenge to you my friend is not to move on to the next church. My challenge is to take the next step toward
maturity, learn to serve. Come to church
to serve others, not yourself.
Jesus said,
(Matthew 6:21 NKJV) For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Wherever you put the
treasures of your time, your attention, your hard work, and even your money –
this is where your heart is going to be.
Jesus was talking
about learning to lay up treasures in heaven, so our hearts are
drawn to heaven. But the principle works across the board.
If you want your
heart to be in your marriage, then invest in your marriage. Invest your time, your effort. You may want to invest some money with
counselling. Don’t
say you can’t afford it. Some of you can’t afford to miss it.
It happens in church
as well. Plug in. Find a place.
It might take time. Learn to
serve.
Deb and I are going to be off on vacation for the next two weeks. Some of
you might think that means you don’t need to come to
church for the next two weeks. Please reconsider…
:18 its reproach is a burden
Sometimes you catch some flack for going to church.
Why are you wasting a perfectly
good Sunday morning by going to church?
:19 Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you; I will save
the lame, And gather those who were driven out; I will appoint them for praise
and fame In every land where they were put to shame.
:20 At that time I will bring you back, Even at the time I gather you; For
I will give you fame and praise Among all the peoples of the earth, When I
return your captives before your eyes,” Says the Lord.
:20 Among all the peoples of the earth
The blessing of the world depends
on the blessing of Israel.
(Psalm 67 NKJV) — To
the Chief Musician. On Stringed Instruments. A Psalm. A Song. 1 God be
merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah 2 That
Your way may be known on earth, Your
salvation among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. 4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for
joy! For You shall
judge the people righteously, And
govern the nations on earth. Selah 5 Let the
peoples praise You, O God; Let all
the peoples praise You. 6 Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
:19 I will deal with all who afflict you
Judgment will fall on those who
have persecuted Israel.
(Revelation 16:4–6 NKJV) —4 Then the
third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they
became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters saying: “You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints
and prophets, And You have given them blood to drink. For it is their just due.”
:19 I will save the lame
(Zephaniah 3:19
AV) and I will save her that halteth
Spurgeon’s Devotional for July 16:
There are plenty of these lame ones, both male and female. You may meet “her that halteth” twenty times
in an hour. They are on the right road,
and exceedingly anxious to run in it with diligence, but they are lame, and
make a sorry walk of it. On the heavenly
road there are many cripples. It may be that they say in their hearts –
What will become of us? Sin will overtake us, Satan will throw us down.
Ready-to-halt is our name and our nature; the Lord can never make good
soldiers of us, nor even nimble messengers to go on his errands. Well, well!
He will save us, and that is no small thing. He says, “I will save her that halteth.” In saving us he will
greatly glorify himself. Everybody will
ask – How came this lame woman to run the race and win the crown? And then the praise
will all be given to almighty grace.
Lord, though I halt in faith, in
prayer, in praise, in service, and in patience, save me, I beseech thee! Only
thou canst save such a cripple as I am.
Lord, let me not perish because I am among the hindmost, but gather up
by thy grace the slowest of thy pilgrims – even me. Behold he hath said it shall be so, and
therefore, like Jacob, prevailing in prayer, I go forward though my sinew be
shrunk.
:19 gather those who were driven out
(Zephaniah 3:19 NLT) …I will
bring together those who were chased away
:19 In every land where they were put to shame
God will have them be praised in every place they were put to shame.
Think of where the Jews have been persecuted over the centuries.
Germany? Eastern Europe?
Russia? Actually, anti-Semitism can be found anywhere.
In those places
God will cause them to be praised.
:17 The Lord your God in your
midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He
will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
:17 The Lord your God in your midst
Lesson
What’s in your midst?
in your midst – qereb – midst, among, entrails; inward part; as seat of thought and
emotion
The concern is a little deeper than what’s in your
wallet. God’s concern is what’s in your “midst”, your inner parts, your thoughts,
your emotions, your heart.
The word translated “midst” is found six times (vs. 3,5,11,12,15,17)
in this chapter, more than any other chapter in the Bible.
(Zephaniah 3:3 NKJV) —3 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her
judges are evening wolves That
leave not a bone till morning.
Politics?
(Zephaniah 3:5 NKJV) —5 The Lord
is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every
morning He brings His justice to light; He never
fails, But the unjust knows no shame.
(Zephaniah 3:11 NKJV) —11 In that day you shall not be shamed for any of your deeds In which you transgress against Me; For then I will take away from your midst Those who rejoice in your pride, And you shall no longer be haughty In My holy mountain.
Pride?
(Zephaniah 3:12 NKJV) —12 I will leave in your midst A meek and humble people, And
they shall trust in the name of the Lord.
(Zephaniah 3:15 NKJV) —15 The Lord has
taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord,
is in your midst; You shall see disaster
no more.
(Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV) —17 The Lord your
God in your midst, The
Mighty One, will save; He will
rejoice over you with gladness, He will
quiet you with His love, He will
rejoice over you with singing.”
Jesus?
The Jews had been heading for trouble because they had evil leaders “in
their midst” (vs. 3).
They also had “pride” “in their midst” which God would
remove (vs. 11)
This is what the “day of the Lord” is all about, the day
that God shows up, the day that we find God “in our midst”.
The challenge for
us is to consider what indeed is “in our midst”.
What is at home in
your heart?
Paul wrote,
(Colossians 1:27 NKJV) To them
God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among
the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
It was a surprise
to most Jews that God would work in such a way that Gentiles
could get saved, and that Christ could live in them too.
Christ in us is
our hope.
(Colossians
3:15–16 NKJV) —15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which
also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
hearts to the Lord.
The phrase “dwell in you richly” speaks of someone being
comfortable, feeling at home.
Let Him “be at home” in your heart, “in your midst”. When He is, you will find…
:17 The Mighty One, will save
Lesson
He will help
God the mighty one, is in us, and He will save us.
It was about a hundred years earlier that the city of Jerusalem
found itself surrounded by the fierce Assyrian army.
King Josiah’s grandfather, the godly king Hezekiah, cried out to God for
help, and God heard them.
(2
Kings 19:35 NKJV) And it came
to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one
hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the
morning, there were the corpses—all dead.
One angel wiped out 185,000 Assyrians in a single night.
It wasn’t an ordinary angel, it was
the Angel of the Lord, whom we
have come to believe was none other than Jesus Christ in His preincarnate form
(before He was born in Bethlehem).
(Romans 8:31 NKJV)
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,
who can be against us?
God will save us.
When we trust Him, He will save us from hell.
He will also save us in our daily lives.
He may not take away every difficult circumstance because
He is smarter than that. There are some difficulties that we must go through in order to
grow.
But if He can wipe out 185,000
Assyrians in a single night, then my problems are nothing to Him. He can do anything.
:17 rejoice over you with gladness
rejoice – suws – to exult, rejoice
Several times this word is used in connection with
a groom on his wedding day.
(Isaiah 62:5b
NKJV) …And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall
your God rejoice over you.
Gentlemen, I have found that if you work at your
marriage, that even after 36 years, your wife can still take your breath away.
As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so the Lord rejoices over His
people.
(Isaiah 65:19 NKJV) I will
rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.
(Hosea 2:19–20 NKJV) —19 “I will
betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I
will betroth you to Me In
righteousness and justice, In
lovingkindness and mercy; 20 I will
betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you
shall know the Lord.
:17 He will quiet you with His
love
He will quiet – charash
– (Hiphil) to be silent, keep quiet; to make silent
love – ‘ahabah
– love
Apparently this phrase could be taken a couple
different ways, but I think I like the way that the old King James, the
“Authorized Version” (AV) translates it best.
The various translations reflect
those different ways.
(Zephaniah 3:17 NLT) …With his
love, he will calm all your fears…
(Zephaniah 3:17 NIV) …in his love he will no longer rebuke you…
(Zephaniah 3:17 NASB95) …He will
be quiet in His love…
(Zephaniah 3:17
AV) he will rest in his love
My old professor Dr. Charles Lee Feinberg wrote:
This is one of the boldest statements in the Bible. It is stated that
God will rest in silent ecstasy over His people, Israel. What assurance for Israel! The love is too
great for words to express. The Lord
will rest complacently in it. The idea
that God will no longer have occasion to rebuke and denounce can only be a
secondary one here. He has quiet joy in
His love. Then the silence is broken with singing…
:17 He will rejoice over you with
singing
(Zephaniah 3:17
AV) he will joy over thee with singing.
This is how the Psalmist describes God’s voice like thunder:
(Psalm 29:3–4
NKJV) —3 The voice of the Lord
is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The Lord is
over many waters. 4 The voice of the Lord
is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
Imagine the sound
of “thunder” singing over YOU with joy.
Lesson
You give God joy
God’s greatest desire is for you to know Him.
He has gone to great lengths so you could know Him.
(Romans
8:32 NKJV) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Jesus told the story of a son who left home, burned through his trust fund,
and finally realized he needed to turn his life around and go back home.
(Luke 15:20–24
NKJV) —20 “And he arose and
came to his father. But when
he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran
and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son
said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no
longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his
servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on
his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat
and be merry; 24
for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found.’ And they began to be merry.
When you say “yes” to God, there is great joy in heaven. Jesus said,
(Luke 15:10 NKJV)
Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels
of God over one sinner who repents.”
I used to think that it was the angels who
threw the party, but now I think that it is God who throws the party and
the angels just join in.
Why are you so reluctant to give Him all of your heart?
Why are you so reluctant to let the other stuff that’s
“in our midst” stay in your heart?
Open your heart to Jesus today.
Pray.
Sing Zeph. 3:17