So maybe you’ve heard it said, ‘read your bible’ so you tried and failed. Our hope as leaders is that all of us will pick up God’s word and come to understand the true nature of God. After all, the bible is God’s Word curated over centuries detailing His nature, His will, the meaning of life and humanity’s historical interactions with Him. The Bible details the hidden keys to the Kingdom. Hence, the reason we are reviewing a new book each week.
This week we move ahead to the book of Zephaniah. His name means “The Lord Protects” and lived from 640- 609 BC. He was also a contemporary of Jeremiah.
The book of Zephaniah is a prophetic word for the nation of Judah, as the downfall of the conquering Assyrians is at hand, AND Babylon is about to destroy them and everything in Judah. Zephaniah keeps preaching repentance to stave off the impending doom before it's too late. A plea He knew would go ignored by everyone. Would you continue sharing a message that would save everyone even if you knew they wouldn’t listen? What kind of person doesn’t quit when it's evident they’re not going to win?
A person who lives by two core beliefs: God loves his creation and a hope in God’s promise of a future in which we will see:
“....God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” …. And we will hear him say, “I am making everything new!” (rev 21:3-5b)
Both hopes are present in Zephaniah’s revelation including the assurance to his audience that even if they ignore him, the pain of God’s judgment would pave the way for a new world in which justice would prevail and all humankind would worship the Lord.
Take a listen to Zephaniah 3:8-13:
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 I will purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings.
11 On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will remove from you your arrogant boasters. Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill.
12 But I will leave within you - the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord.
13 They will do no wrong; they will tell no lies. A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid.”
Zephaniah’s writings have a urgency to them and also a future aspect. They are a plea to his people but also to future generations of believers. Generations like ours who see the decay of society.
It doesn’t take the brightest person in the room to see the similarities:
Government leaders who no longer serve for the good of the republic but serve only to insure re-election to continue to feed their selfish desires
Business leaders who have voided a social contract for a profit motive, or decide to treat workers like expendable tools, instead of God’s creation in need of nurture.
Education leaders who forgo God’s moral teaching for a humanism indoctrination
Religious leaders who prevert God’s call, to serve in His name and for his glory, so they can acquire monetary riches and glory for themselves.
Family leaders who forsake their responsibility to be integrity examples for their children
Public figures who are more interested in their appearance and popularity than their possible impact on a society in need of real character.
Dr. Lee Roberson once said, “Everything rises and falls with leadership.”
Now, I know some within earshot of this message will say, “I am not a leader.” But that fails to recognize one of the greatest truths of our faith, “Christ is within us.” The only leader worth emulating is insidious - Jesus. As a committed follower of Jesus, we have been made new with the power of God within us.
Edward Hale, author of “The Man without a Country” once wrote:
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
Video Domino’s
We are all leaders. You may be a quieter leader, a more caring leader, a more thoughtful leader but you are a leader because Christ is within you.
As the apostle Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me… for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good and pleasure” (Phil. 4:13, 2:13)
Now some of us will still want to debate about our calling to be sent into the places we live, work and play to be a leader in the faith. Most respond out of fear that we don’t have enough training or mentoring. This is of course a product of religion. We have allowed ourselves to create and blindly participate in a system of credentialism to serve the Lord and subsequently have used Scripture to defend it. All those with MDiv’s or Phd/Thd’s behind their name are considered the experts and if there’s one thing that’s been drilled in our heads over the last few years, it’s trust the experts.
But should we? Or should we look for the gifting, or the anointing, and follow those whose lives align with scripture and are the best discipleship examples of history. After all, if the Lord sends, do we not believe he will protect? God doesn’t change so we only need to look to His actions when we doubt.
Education or money or even status does not circumvent the power of the Holy Spirit in everyday people. Let’s just take a moment and go through a list of some of the unqualified and ordinary men and women God chose to work through to do the most unexpected things.
Noah – He drank too much and God used him to build the ark to save the world. (Genesis 6-9)
Abraham and Sarah – A couple in their 90’s that God used to build a nation. (Genesis 11-25)
Joseph – An entitled teen who, with a little humbling, saved both Egypt and Israel. (Genesis 37-50)
Moses – A stutterer who was God’s spokesman and leader. (Exodus 3-4)
Rahab – A prostitute who God used to help his spies and overtake Jericho. (Joshua 2)
Jonah – the reluctant who God used to save Nineveh. (Jonah 1-3)
Esther – The adopted orphan who became Queen to save Israel. (Esther 1-8)
Peter – The quitter God brought back to start the Kingdom. (Matthew 26, John 21, Acts 1-2)
John - The fisherman who wrote the book most skeptics read and come to know Jesus
Paul – The enemy who became the most prolific Christian in the New Testament. (Acts 7-9)
But there have been others, Jonathan Edwards and D.L. Moody had the equivalent of a sixth grade education
As you can see, there is literally nothing we can do to disqualify ourselves from being a candidate who God chooses to work through. This should inspire us because so often we can feel like we have sinned too much, or missed the opportunity for God to work through us.
God chooses the unequipped more than the experts because they will rely more on Him. As Luke writes in Acts 4:13-14
13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing there with them, they had nothing to say in response.…
I love the fact that Peter and John, part of Jesus' inner circle, did not just sit down and say, “we knew the Lord, worked beside him and we’re good for the next life.” They went all in knowing the future reality of His return. It’s a perfect example from scripture that while Christ followers are aware of the future return (and what it means for humanity), they are to enlighten and encourage others, especially in times of societal decay.
This week's challenge is simply to share your story of coming to know Jesus with one person. A simple request. Share what you were like before Christ, what happened and what you are looking forward to as a result of this new relationship.
Creative: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/zephaniah 5 Min
https://youtu.be/5JCm5FY-dEY?si=NrOafBsypb3WXNYA
References: Quest Bible Overviews p:1375-81, The Bible Exposition Commentary (Wiersbe)
