Zephaniah 2:1 (KJV) Gathered Together

Zephaniah 2:1 (KJV)

Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;

The nation here referenced is Israel, the Jews, God's people. They were not desired by the Gentiles because they were few in number, and their spiritual convictions set them apart from the rest. They were not desirable to God either, as their history had proven them to be prone to rebellion, backsliding, and compromise. They were no better than any other nation except that, because they had been set apart (by God) from all other nations, they were despised by those nations.

God here calls them twice to gather together. This is, I believe, the watchword of the Bible: gather, assemble. In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the people of God come out of the world and gather together. Our word is “church,” which means “a called-out assembly.” We are not “catholic,” which means “whole or universal.” We are gathered, churched. We are assemblies of local believers, united together under a common faith, a common baptism, and a common purpose—the Great Commission.

But we’ve missed something if all we do is gather. The Hebrew word means “to forage dry branches,” or “to sift the straw.” The implication of the word is more than just a poor bunch of people huddling together; it is to search out the cause of their condition.

As believers, we are to gather. We are to encourage one another by our presence and mutual faith. But we are to do more than that when we gather. We are to search out the reason for our condition. We are to deal with our sin condition. We are to find our corruptions, so undesirable to God, and to repent of them. And then, once addressing the beam in our own eye, “go into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever [Jesus Christ] hath commanded.”

#CalledOutAssembly #GatherAndRepent #FaithfulTogether #LocalChurchUnity #GreatCommissionLife

Gathered Together: Understanding the Purpose of Church

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

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Zephaniah 2:1 (KJV) Gathered Together

Zephaniah 3:8 (KJV) Wait ..Saith the LORD

Zephaniah 3:8 (KJV)

Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

Zephaniah preached in the days of Josiah, who, though he was a good king, lived in a time of terrible oppression. Around him were enemies on every side. The threats before his reign were severe. The judgment after his reign was dramatic. The nations of the world were wicked as never before.

In that sense, the world in which we currently live is similar. It seems like those opposed to God surround us more daily.

God’s message in the day of Zephaniah was, “Wait ye upon me.”

• God had determined to gather the nations
• God had determined to pour upon them His indignation
• God had determined to devour them with His jealousy

We may as well wait upon the Lord as they were to do, because God has still determined those judgments upon the wicked.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Zephaniah 3:8 (KJV) Wait ..Saith the LORD

Zephaniah 3:2 (KJV) May She Repent!

Zephaniah 3:2 (KJV)
She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.

The passage is a pronouncement against Jerusalem.

• She is filthy
• She is polluted 
• She is oppressing

Further, 

• She obeyed not the voice of God through the prophets
• She received not correction to repent 
• She trusted not the Lord
• She drew not nigh to her God 

There is, I note, a hint of grace in that, through all that is pronounced, she is still said to belong to God. But she is far from where she ought to be. 

All of this may be equally said of the United States of America today. 

• May God lead believers to trust in the Lord. 
• May God then cause the nation to draw night to Him. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Zephaniah 3:2 (KJV) May She Repent!

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Zephaniah 1:7-8 (KJV) Make Ready

Zephaniah 1:7-8 (KJV)
Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.

And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

I am reminded of a parable of the Lord and a parallel to this passage,  
Matthew 22:1-14 (KJV)
And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.
Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.
So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.
And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
For many are called, but few are chosen.

The day of the Lord is near. 

I beg my readers to answer the invitation and to make yourself ready. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Zephaniah 1:7-8 (KJV) Make Ready

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Zephaniah 3:5 (KJV) He Is Always Near

Zephaniah 3:5
The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

The time was in the days of Jeremiah the prophet. The sin of Jerusalem had reached its peak. There had been revival under Josiah, but revival must be maintained. It’s not a one time and we’re done sort of thing. Revival can lead to a spiritual decline if people put their trust in it instead of God. Zephaniah describes the city, 

Zephaniah 3:1-5
Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!
She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.
Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.
Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

Now, look at this. The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

In the middle of all that pollution, all that oppression, all that rebellion, the Lord was in the midst. He is righteous and will not do iniquity. He is faithful and will not fail.

While the unjust knows no shame, any who will seek Him may find Him. He is always near.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4500 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

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Zephaniah 3:5 (KJV) He Is Always Near

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Zephaniah 2:3 (KJV) The Day No Christian Need Fear

Zephaniah 2:3 (KJV)
Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’S anger.

Not all believers have been hidden from tribulation and trials on this earth.

• The prophets were severely treated by their own kings, as is recorded in Hebrews 11. 
• Christians from the beginning of the faith have been sorely persecuted, at times, worse than other times. 
• Those who come to faith during the Great Tribulation called Jacob’s Trouble, will face terrible persecution and difficulty.

But there is a window of hope in the Word of God. There is a promise of rescue. There is generation of believers who will escape The Tribulation.

Previous to Daniel’s Seventieth Week, also know as Jacob’s Trouble or the seven year Tribulation, God will remove those believers still living from the earth. It is:

• The blessed hope of Titus, 
• The promise in the book of First Thessalonians and 
• The next great event in the prophetic timetable of God’s Word

Any Christian is subject to the trying of his faith. Though difficult, it is good for us. But no Christian need fear facing the day of the Lord’s anger, which He will pour out upon this earth during the Tribulation Period.

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.

For this and more than 3800 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Pastor Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit Bible Baptist Church of Puyallup.

Zephaniah 2:3 (KJV) The Day No Christian Need Fear

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Religious Pride

Zephaniah 3:11

In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me: for then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain.

God promises to remove the pride the Jews had in their holy mountain by removing the mountain. The Jews had become haughty over:

·       Whom God had made them to be

·       Their heritage as Jews and

·       What they, once the slaves of Egypt, had made for themselves

It would not last for long.

One of the greatest dangers a person of faith faces is becoming proud and haughty because of it. We often forget what we once were, what God delivered us from, how helpless we were before He lifted us up. We begin to see ourselves as better than others, especially those who are where we once were. We reason that if we got out they are without excuse if they don't do the same.

Perhaps the reason why when the Son of man comes again there is so little faith is that God removes it so those who are of faith have no reason to be haughty because of it.