Lord, Change my Heart. Zephaniah 3:1-13. *Message: From WOE to WOW! Messes to Miracles! Lord, Change my heart!

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1 Lord, Change my Heart Zephaniah 3:1-13 NH Testimony: I discovered the Minor Prophets during seven years away from family, friends and all that was familiar. Those prophets of old became my best friends and gave me hope with correction to remain steadfast in God s word for the fulfillment of His promises. From Habakkuk s proclamation to Zephaniah s decree were promises I hung onto like a lifeline that would not fail. There is nothing minor about the Minor Prophets. The spirit of their words kept me when the winds of confusion whirled around me. God s word will not fail The anchor holds. Zeph 3:1,2,9: Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city! 2 She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God 9 "For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord. *Message: From WOE to WOW! Messes to Miracles! Lord, Change my heart! 1. We are sinners, (v.1-4) Romans 1-3 indicts the world of sin. Ch. 1: Nations. Ch. 2: Jews. Ch. 3: All have sinned & fallen short. Zephaniah 1-3 unveils a similar indictment: Ch. 1: Jews. 2: Nations. 3: Woe! v.1 Woe! A word of grief used by prophets to warn of God s destruction on the guilty. Nobody delivered more Woe s in Scripture than the True & Better Prophet, Jesus. (see Mt.) Why the Woe? 4 Reasons: v Rebellious (v.1) Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city! Jerusalem is described as Rebellious, Defiled, Oppressing = Lit: filthy, polluted, violent. *Is there a city in America which this does not adequately describe? *i.e. Forbes article last week revealed a study done on how much urine in public pools *Study revealed: 8-20 gallons in the average pool which caused the author to write: Stop it. Stop using swimming pools as toilet bowls. Just stop it Stop peeing in the pool it ain t nice. So please stop it for everyone s sake, stop it please. (Bruce Lee) *In God s eyes, even worse than public pools is the amount of filth His people allow in their life. v Stubborn (v.2) She listens to no voice; she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord; she does not draw near to her God. *Is there any better description of the human condition a deadly combination: stubborn (I don t need your advice) & self-sufficient (I don t need your help) *Proverbs = a chief descriptions of fools: stubborn pride & inability to listen to advice.

2 *AT&T this week: A block in coverage prevented people from Calling 911 *To what degree has stubbornness blocked you from asking for help? v Corrupt (v.3) Her officials within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves that leave nothing till the morning. (Hebrew: leave nothing = gnawing the bone. ) *Judges: rule without a moral compass. Politicians: take what isn t theirs. *It doesn t take a Wikipedia leak to know that many officials and judges use their position like lions and wolves and rule with corruption. v Arrogant (v.4) Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men; her priests profane what is holy; they do violence to the law. *IOW: Pastors no better than Politicians. Fickle - Lit: light; bubbly; frothing with easy words *Like a keg delivering a foaming beer, these pastors cater to applause of men; pander. *They Profane the Holy - Blurring the lines, so that nothing is sacred. *They Do violence to the law. - they claim to speak for God, but fail to deliver His word. *This is the reason for God s Woe = ch.1: idolaters, vacillators, backsliders, complacent do not seek the Lord ; ch. 2: boast of being I am ; ch. 3: Rebellious, Stubborn, Corrupt, Arrogant. 2. but God is holy, (v.5-8) Completely Faithful. (v.5) The Lord within her is righteous; he does no injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail; but the unjust knows no shame. *The Lord within her is righteous/just. Morally pure and upright. In Him is No Darkness. *The people of Jerusalem had the presence of God within her, but did not live like it. *How much more do we of the new covenant have the Lord within us a holy God! 1 Cor. 6: do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. Lesson: The Lord within us is holy and invites us to operate according to His power. *Illustrate. A couple in the church has owned a GMC Acadia for 3 years. Just 2 weeks ago, they discovered the car has a remote start. 3 years at their disposal, but never tapped into. *My friend, are you guilty of the same thing? Not tapping into the God within you *BTW - The Lord does not fail. Completely Reliable. He does not lie. (No Fake News) Lovingly Strong. (v.6-7) 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.

3 *God points to His wrath against the Nations, reminding them what happens to Pride. Battlements are in ruins. Lit: towers are destroyed. A symbol we know very well. *My dad used to say: I brought you into this world; I can take you out. *But God not only has Strong Arms, he has a Tender Heart. v.7: 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.' *IOW: God disciplines those He loves! He desires all should reach repentance. *Ever considered the thing you call a problem in life may be God s loving discipline? Perhaps your lack of peace or joy but maybe God is trying to get your attention. Maybe you blame a boss or spouse, when God is using him to change you. Maybe you are always accumulating, but never satisfied, b/c God won t allow it! *Remember the story in Num. 22 about Balaam who kept beating his donkey b/c he wouldn t move forward only to find out that God was blocking his way? *It turns out the true Donkey in the story is Balaam who deserved a whooping. *Perhaps some of you keep beating the donkey, when God is saying Stop! *How did the people respond to discipline? All the More they were eager to corrupt *Band name with New Hope s Ian Newberry: All The More refers Heb 10:25: not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and ALL THE MORE as you see the Day drawing near. *Which ALL THE MORE describes you? Do you respond well to God s discipline? Perfectly Jealous. (v.8) v.8 "Therefore wait for me," declares the Lord," for the day when I rise up to seize the prey. For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger; for in the fire of my jealousy all the earth shall be consumed. *A dark verse of judgment for those eager to do evil; those unresponsive to God s love *My Jealousy? What does that mean? (We will cover that in Nahum 1: Jealous God ) *Bottom Line: He is a Jealous God, so be sure to keep a For Sale sign handy, in case your priorities get mixed up and you need to let go of whatever is between you and your relationship with the Lord. (Allen, New Hope Book Author) Make it personal = what things do you need to put a For Sale sign on? 3. and fully able to change us. (v.9-13) v.9: I will change. Lit: Turn around; transform; convert; a sudden & radical change with the past *A word used in 1 Sam 10 when God gave Saul another heart. A deep, heart change.

4 *I assure you, no matter what is broken in life, when God gives a new heart, He gives remarkable power to change and transform. Rebellious to Pure (v.9) "For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the Lord and serve him with one accord. Change the Speech = Mouths that were once rebellious, now purified by God s Spirit. Pure = polished = A Boastful blasphemer now a song leader for God s people. All may call upon the name of the Lord. Complacent Agnostic, now calling on the King. *Is there a more important verse: All who call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. And serve him with one accord = A self-centered man now serves the King. The authorized vehicle of the Kingdom of God: Accord. *Free Worship CD s today to everyone who owns a Honda Accord. One Accord = Lit: with one shoulder, bearing the load together. *New Hope excels here with one shoulder, we bear the load together and serve Him! *What a marvelous change: At one time, we listened to no voice, accepted no correction but now, we use our mouths to glorify him. Stubborn to Holy (v.10) From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering. *Cush = beyond Ethiopia. People that were redeemed from a foreign land to worship God. *Travel Ban = at one time these people did not seek God or draw near to Him. *But God transformed Stubborn outsiders to holy worshipers *What a Transformation! (Eph 2:13) in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. What power! To take Stubborn people from beyond the water of Lake MI & make us holy Arrogant to Humble. (v.11-12) 11 "On that day you shall not be put to shame because of the deeds by which you have rebelled against me; for then I will remove from your midst your proudly exultant ones, and you shall no longer be haughty in my holy mountain. 12 But I will leave in your midst a people humble and lowly. They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord, *Some people built a Wall of Pride at the border of hearts. But, God humbles their pride

5 I will Remove : take away; pluck God will deal decisively with the arrogant & proud. *There is no place for pride on God s holy mountain. We are saved by grace. I will leave a people humble God will give repentance so His people call on him w/ humility they shall seek refuge. Here is Zephaniah s name/theme again. The Lord has hidden! What a change! People who did not seek the Lord, now called to seek Him for refuge! Corrupt to Clean. (v.13) 13 those who are left in Israel; they shall do no injustice and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouth a deceitful tongue. For they shall graze and lie down, and none shall make them afraid." Only God can do this! Justice, not corruption. Truth, not lies. Faith, not Fear. *The remnant, once devoured by lions & wolves, now dwelling in peace in presence of God! *At the Resurrection, we too will dwell forever without fear of corruption. Action Steps: Asking God for Change (Flip around v.2 - Negative to Positive) Listen to Advice. *Some of us talk too much. God gave us 1 mouth & 2 ears so we would listen 2x as much. *Perhaps we need to stop talking & hear what area God wants to change in us. *Perhaps our mouths are guilty of profaning the holy and we need God to cleanse us. Accept Correction. *Are you guilty of Arrogance and Stubbornness? Are you independent or self-sufficient? *Perhaps you ve been blaming problem in life on failure; a boss; a relationship; or money. *How about considering that God may be using failure to discipline you & win your heart. Trust in the Lord. *God does not fail. Does not lie. He Desires our love; Jealous for our relationship *Trust Him with a broken situation. Trust him with your heart & your fears. *Trust Him with the wolves of politics; with your future; Draw Near to God. Scripture promises: If you draw near/approach God, He will draw near/approach you! Draw near with your mouth call on him & ask him to cleanse you of rebellion Draw near with your heart ask him to change your pride to humility. Draw near with your life ask Him to be your refuge and salvation, through Jesus who is Lord.