"Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: 'Fear not, O Zion; let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,' says the Lord." Zephaniah 3:14-20
Real and substantial healing (but not perfect) continually occurs in the life of the believer as we experience God as a mighty warrior who is in our midst. He is the one who takes away our sins and clears away our enemies while securing our future.
1. The day of His visitation (“in our midst”, v. 15b & 17a).
"And he began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'” Luke 4:21
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.' Then a voice came from heaven: 'I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.' Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out." John 12:27-28, 31
"The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8b
2. Judgements are “taken away” and enemies are “cleared."
New City Catechism Question 25
Q. Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be forgiven?
A. Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin, God graciously imputes Christ’s righteousness to us as if it were our own and will remember our sins no more.
New City Catechism Question 26
Q. What else does Christ’s death redeem?
A. Christ’s death is the beginning of the redemption and renewal of every part of fallen creation, as he powerfully directs all things for his own glory and creation’s good.
And what does this Mighty Warrior King do?
3. Our response:
•Rejoicing (v. 14).
•We fear no evil tidings (Romans 8:1, 31-34).
•A non despairing, non cynical approach to living; “let not your hands grow weak.”
“There is nothing noble about staying in the pit of despair… healthy depression is an intersection, not a highway; gateway, not pathway. We must go there. But we dare not stay there.” Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper
“The alternatives are not between being perfect or being nothing. Just as people smash marriages because they are looking for what is romantically and sexually perfect and in this poor world do not find it, so human beings often smash what could have been possible in a true church or true Christian group. It is not just the 'they' involved who are not yet perfect, but the 'I' is not yet perfect either. In the absence of present perfection, Christians are to help each other on to increasingly substantial healing on the basis of the finished work of Christ. This is our calling.” Francis Schaefer, True Spirituality
APPLICATION:
"No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found..." Isaac Watts, Joy to the World
1. We always begin and end with the Lord, who nourishes/quiets us with His love (the finished work of Jesus on the cross for our sins).
2. We respond with rejoicing.
3. We groan while we live in the “almost but not yet”; but our groaning always involves hope.
4. We are thankful for the appetizers of grace with the knowledge that the glorious main course awaits (eternal heaven).