Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18.                     The Day of the Lord???                 16/11/14

⁷ Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.

¹² At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’
¹³ Their wealth will be plundered, their houses demolished. Though they build houses, they will not live in them; though they plant vineyards, they will not drink the wine.”
¹⁴ The great day of the Lord is near— near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;  the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
¹⁵ That day will be a day of wrath— a day of distress and anguish,  a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom,  a day of clouds and blackness—
¹⁶     a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.
¹⁷ “I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung.
¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”
In the fire of his jealousy the whole earth will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live on the earth

 Again as we are reminded of the end of time and Judgement Day we have another sobering reminder of the need to take it seriously or else: Or else we might find that it does not end up the way would like to think it will. At the same time we are surrounded by the attitude that is mentioned here: ‘The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.’ We’ll be okay, because we are as good as everyone else around and surely he is not going to reject us all.

 Well, God is saying here, don’t be so sure about that! In fact he is clearly saying that for many, that day will be a very bitter one indeed. He states quite plainly that he will punish those who are complacent . That day will be a day of wrath— a day of distress and anguish,  a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom,  a day of clouds and blackness—. “I will bring such distress on all people that they will grope about like those who are blind, because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like dung.
¹⁸ Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”

A harsh and powerful message indeed. This surely then is not something that we can ignore or pass over quickly and get on with our lives. The consequences of what we do here and now can be very severe. This then is something we will consider very seriously both with regard to our own lives but also for all of our family, friends and neighbours as well.

 I really do think that there are many who think that it is not going to be all that bad. On top of that there are many more who do not really care; but when it comes to the death of a loved one, they very quickly talk of their loved one or friend as being up there in heaven, even though they have never taken Jesus seriously here in this life. They talk of resting in peace, and more.

 Now I know this is touching on a very sensitive issue for many, and there are many who will take an angry exception to this message. But it is here that I will say; listen to what God himself has to say. Not what we might want God to say, but what does he actually say with regard to these things. And if God says that this is a serious issue and that many will not get to be in heaven because they have not taken him seriously, then we had better sit up and take note.

If we don’t like the thought of us or our loved ones or friends ending up in Hell then we had better do something about it: we had better listen carefully to what God himself has to say. Let us not be complacent. Let us not put it off till some later time, for he tells us the day is near.  

 Here in this regard, I think there are many who just think she’ll be right, we’ll take it all a bit more seriously a little later in life. At the moment they are busy doing what they need to do in getting on in this life. Their silver and gold; their great house and successful businesses, their fine wine and full stomachs are what is important for this life. Our sinful world sees these things as of great value and we have allowed these things to become all-consuming.

 Along with this, what I, me and myself think and do has become the base philosophy by which we operate day by day. Yes this often even extends to what we believe with regard to God and how he should and will treat us. We all too often relegate what God himself has to say to the back corner of our thinking.  And because we are people who all too regularly only think of here and now, we only look at what looks good now, without considering the ‘big picture’.

 This is all dangerous living for us. Now is only a tiny fraction of a second compared to eternity. A moment of ‘pleasure’ is nothing compared to an eternity in hell. Money, power and fine living here does not ensure access to and a good time in heaven.

 God here and in many places throughout the bible tells us of all of this. He dearly wants us to think carefully about this so that we do not face the great day of the Lord with all of its terror and the eternity in hell which follows. So with that in mind let us take careful note of what he said in that first verse that was read to you.

  Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near.
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited.

 So he begins by saying ‘Shut up and listen’ and take to heart who and what the Lord is and has done for us so that we do not rue that great day of the Lord. There is a way through all of this is we take the Almighty and Sovereign Lord seriously and listen to what he says.

 Here remember that in the end he is the only hope that we have. There is no other way. For we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory that he expects of us. All of us deserve to face Judgement and receive its terrors and hell. However he has provided a way through.

 There is a connection between this great judgement day and the other great Day of the Lord: The day that he sacrificed his only Son on the cross so that we might be forgiven and have a sure hope for that terrible Day of Judgement. On that day in Jerusalem God brought his terrible judgement on sin to bear against his one and only Son, so that those who look to him and believe in him may be spared on that great and terrible Day.

 Through Jesus’ death on the cross the price was paid for our release. He faced all that terror that is spelt out in the reading so that we might be spared it. He died for all so that those who believe and trust in him and what he has done for us might instead be ushered into an eternity with him in heaven

 He has now then invited each and every one of us to believe in him and what he has done for us. He has invited us to now join with him and receive eternal life with him in heaven, free from all pain sickness death and all the rest: just enjoy with him the very best of everything. He says believe and be baptised every one of you so that you may be joined to Jesus Christ and all that he has won for us: all freely given by God almighty himself.

 So what a great and wonderful thing this is that he has done for us. Surely now we will want to believe in him and what he has done for us. Now surely we will want to live with him and enjoy eternal life with him. Surely now we will look away from ourselves and our own feeble and failed efforts to make a life for ourselves today.

 

Surely we will listen him as well as look realistically out our lives here and now and know full well the tomorrow all that we have achieved for ourselves will be gone and we will in the end leave this life with nothing.  Then even worse still having to face the terrible Day of the Lord knowing that it will be a day of wrath— a day of distress and anguish,  a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom,  a day of clouds and blackness—.  And even worse still then to end up in hell for all eternity.

 

No, surely now we will want to take Jesus Christ and his death on the cross seriously. Surely now we will want to be in his presence week after week so the we do not lose sight of what he has for us. But even more important, to be with him who truly is our Lord and Saviour who loves us and wants us to be with himself. He now surely will be that which is all important for us each and every day of our life.

That day of the Lord is near for each and every one of us. Let us stay close to him who has made it possible for us to avoid that terrible day. Let us look to and trust him to take us to be with him in heaven. To him then be all glory and honour, now and always. Amen.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish