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Philip Levant, Lead Pastor at Iglesia Agape, Fort Worth, preached from Zephaniah in SWBTS Chapel on October 30, 2025.
Good morning. Thank you all for leading us in worship. It’s not often you hear songs about Christ’s return in that way. I really appreciated that. Thank you all. Take your Bibles and look for Zephaniah Chapter Two again. I’m thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to be here. I love Southwestern and thank you, Dr Dougherty for invitation. It’s always a joy to be on campus, and it’s always a privilege to preach God’s word. I’m thankful for my wife who encourages me, prays for me, who’s here 21 years, and my seven children who are broken hearted to have to miss school to be here and encourage me today. Thank you all for your sacrifice.
On July 4 of this year, I was at youth camp with my kids. It was pouring rain, nonstop. Almost the whole time we were there, we were in Spicewood at Highland Lakes come to find out our camp was on high ground, so we didn’t have anything to worry about. But that wasn’t true for many other camps along the Guadalupe River, one camp in particular, and you saw the news if you live here in Texas, we’re here this summer camp mystic lost 25 young girls and two teenage counselors overall. Over 130 people were lost in the flooding. This is a tragic event for Texas families. My intention is not to point fingers and to place blame. My prayers go out to those families that have suffered loss. Needless to say, things are going to change for those who live and work along the Guadalupe River. But question remains, why don’t people heed the warnings?
There are over there dozen, over a dozen camps in the area that was flooded this July, 4, along with RV parks, homes and businesses these structures are on clearly marked flood plains, meaning there is always a chance of catastrophic flooding during any heavy rain. You would think that people who live and work in flood plains would one be attentive to weather reports when there is rain in the forecast. Two, be extra cautious when A flood watch is in effect the day before. And three, be absolutely sure you can hear the National Weather Service warnings so you can evacuate safely. After all, I believe it is reasonable to expect locals who are familiar with the potential danger of flash flooding, because they live and work in flood plains, there are many reasons people stay where they are. It can get complicated. I understand. In fact, not too long ago, I was tempted to buy a house along a flood plain, because you get a lot more house for a lot less money.
So, I understand. But I think one of the reasons why people stay or they work and live in flood plains is because of the perception of low risk. There is only a 1% chance of flooding any given year in a floodplain, and most of the time, nothing happens. In fact, 99% of the time, everything is fine, and so many people live their daily lives in the flood plains, never giving it another thought until desires disaster strikes and it’s too late. And then we wonder, how could this have happened? Something similar is happening in the book of Zephaniah. The Lord is warning Judah through the prophet Zephaniah, that danger approaches. The Lord is warning Judah through the prophet Zephaniah, that time is short, but there is still time to act. The danger before them is not a flash flood, but the burning judgment of the Lord Read with me again verses one and two. Gather together. Yes, gather O shameless nation. Before. The decree takes effect before the day passes away like chaff, before there comes upon you, the burning anger of the Lord. Before there comes upon you, the day of the anger of the Lord. I think it’s clear the Lord is angry. Why?
Because Judah is in terrible spiritual shape. Josiah King. Josiah is a current king in Judah, and he’s a good one, the last good one, actually, and he’s working hard to bring spiritual reform, but it’s an uphill battle at Second Chronicles, 33 and I encourage you to read that later today, Manasseh Josiah’s Great Grandfather misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all of Judah to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed Before the sons of Israel, the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. The Word says, and then Manasseh’s Son, Amon, he follows in his father’s footsteps. And the Word says, He multiplies guilt. He’s assassinated after two years, and then Josiah becomes king at the ripe old age of eight years old. What did Manasseh do? Exactly? What was so terrible that’s worse than the Canaanites?
Well, if you read Second Chronicles, 33 I’ll just list it for you. Manasseh rebuilt the high places that his father, Hezekiah, had torn down, the Baals, the Asher of and served them. Manasseh built altars for all the hosts of heaven inside the temple courts. Manasseh burned his sons alive as an offering for pagan rituals. Manasseh practiced fortune telling, sorcery and witchcraft, and finally, Manasseh placed an idol that he had made inside the temple and the very house of God. These were shameless acts that made Judah worse than the Canaanites. And if you recall, God judged the Canaanites for their sin. This is the Jerusalem that King Josiah and Zephaniah inherited. And by the way, for Bible trivia, did you know their cousins? There you go. The truth is the Lord is angry because his chosen people are in a worse spiritual condition than the pagan Gentile nations. They are shameless. Gather together.
Yes, gather Oh, shameless nation. He’s talking to Judah to his people. That word shameless can also be translated undesirable. They practiced their sin openly and brazenly, and they are undesirable to the Lord the funny ass culture sounds like a lot like ours, doesn’t it? Just think of the pride movement. It says it all, doesn’t it? They flaunt their sinful lifestyle for all to see. Now they’ve taken another step, indoctrinating children, leading them astray and even encouraging them to mutilate their bodies, shameless. The rise of organized retail crime in certain areas, mobs of kids and even adults walk into stores in broad daylight and boldly take whatever they want, and if someone tries to stop them, they get angry, as if you’re violating their rights. That’s a very undesirable place to be. Here’s a touchy one. Obesity is celebrated in our culture now, while it’s true that one’s body mass shouldn’t affect their value as a human being, celebrating obesity due to lack of discipline and self control is quite another matter. Doesn’t scripture teach that gluttony and laziness is a sin, I think this is what Jerry bridges would call a respectable sin. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter, says the prophet Isaiah, we have become an arrogant and shame. List culture, just like Judah in Zephaniah’s time. But how did this come to be for this, we’ve got to go to chapter one, verse 12 of Zephaniah.
Zephaniah chapter one, verse 12 says, At that time, I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good, nor will He do ill. In other words, the people believe there will be no consequences. There’s only a 1% chance God will act just like living in a flood plain. But the Lord does see, and the Lord will act, which leads to the next question, the Lord is angry because of Judah’s sin, but what will he do? Verse two mentions the day of the anger of the Lord. It mentions a decree in chapter one, starting in verse seven, Zephaniah mentions the day of the Lord. That’s one of the main themes in Zephaniah, the Old Testament. Day of the Lord is when God will come to judge the wicked and save the righteous. Decisively, it’s a day of cleansing when he will search out Jerusalem, like we saw in verse 12, with a lamp. And if you read verses two and three, he says, I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth, declares the Lord, I will sweep away man and beast.
I will sweep away the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea and the rubble with the wicked. The Lord will sweep away all wickedness and filth from the land. It’s just like we do our spring cleaning. The Lord has put a date on his cosmic calendar that says, clean house on that day, no one will be able to hide. It will be a day of burning anger. It’s not a matter of if, but when. So what is Judah to do? What we see in verse one, gather together. Yes, gather it’s an imperative. It’s a command. Imagery is above straw or rubble that has been bundled up and is ready to be burned. At first glance, this seems to imply God wants to bunch up his people together and kind of take care of everything all at once. But no, he commands them to gather before in verse two, there’s three befores before the decree takes place, before the Lord’s anger overtakes them, before the day of the Lord’s angry judgment, the decree has gone out.
The day of the Lord is coming, but has not taken effect yet. This is God’s storm siren that you hear. It’s warning everyone of the coming danger, but there is still time. Question is, are they paying attention? Even though Judah deserves nothing more than to be burned up like you straw due to their shameless sinful behavior, the Lord warns them to gather in his presence before it’s too late, realize that the call to repentance is always an expression of God’s care. The call to repentance is an expression of God’s grace. If a young child runs out into the street, what is a parent going to do? Oh, honey, please come back. Their car’s coming. Be careful, it might hit you and kill you. Is that what you would see a mom or a dad doing once her kid’s already running into the street? Wait, stop, come back and they’re gonna run aft. You know what talking about?
Is that not an expression of love and care. Absolutely, most people get defensive when they’re told they’re wrong and need to get right with God. Don’t be that person that says I didn’t know there was no warning. Look up and see God’s desire to help you get right with Him and avoid disaster. Now, what are people, God’s people, supposed to do after they gather before the decree takes place? Chapter verse three, seek the Lord all you humble of the land who do his just commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility, seek, seek, seek three times. Seek the Lord, not lifeless idols. Seek the God of the Covenant who brought you out of slavery from Egypt. Seek the God who saves his people, the one whom he has chosen, the ones whom he loves, obey Him.
Seek righteousness, seek not injustice or moral shortcuts. When no one is watching, choose to do what is right before God, no matter who is watching or not heaven is watching, the creator of heaven and earth watches seek humility, not self-sufficiency, not self-exaltation. Humility is not looking down on yourself. It’s not self-deprecation. Humility is thinking rightly of who God is and who we are before him, and bending the knee, the Lord calls the people of Judah to come together, to turn away from their sin and to return to Him. Now, what does this look like? We can look at King Josiah in Second Chronicles 34 again, because my preaching prophet is here, and it can’t be a long sermon. I’m just going to tell you what it says in Second Chronicles 34 Josiah becomes king at age eight. When you get to verse three, he’s 16 years old, and the Word says, Josiah begins seeking the Lord.
Then when he turns 20, he begins to purge idolatry from from Jerusalem and all Judah that takes six years. At age 26 he begins to repair the temple, and that’s when they find the book of the law that had been lost and hadn’t been read from for years, for generations. And then when he hears the priest read God’s word to him, this is what Josiah says, Great is the wrath of the Lord, which is poured out on us because our fathers have not observe the word of the Lord to do according to all that is written in this book. They consult a prophetess, and she comes and she says, Yep, it’s too late. The decree has been given, Judah will be destroyed, but Josiah will not see destruction because he has sought the Lord. And in chapter 35 of Second Chronicles, Josiah celebrates to Passover again for the first time in generations since his father, Hezekiah. When Josiah sought the Lord, he grieved over his sin. He removed idolatry from his life and those under him, and he began obeying the Lord once again. It really does seem like Josiah heard Zephaniah’s word because he sought the Lord, he sought righteousness and He sought humility.
But then we get to really interesting part at the end of verse three, perhaps you may be hidden on the day of anger of the Lord, no one can hide from God. Jeremiah, 2324 who is a contemporary of Zephaniah, says, Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him? Declares the Lord. Do I not feel the heavens and the earth? Declares the Lord, no one can hide from the Lord, but one can be hidden by his own hand. Moses in the cleft of the rock Adam with animal skins and the righteous revelation have their shame covered with white robes that are washed by the blood of the Lamb. The idea here is of atonement, the covering of sin. Humanity cannot cover its own sin. We cannot cover our own sin, but God can. But the text says, perhaps you may be hidden. Perhaps, perhaps can also be translated. It may be or maybe my kids don’t like the answer. Maybe when they ask for something they want, because they have learned that most of the time it’s a delayed No, right? Kids, you. Wait. Judah might be hidden, might be forgiven. What are the odds here? This kind of sounds like The Hunger Games. May the odds ever be in your favor, knowing that you only got one chance in 24 of making it out alive. This does not mean that forgiveness depends on God’s whim. Okay? Zephaniah is reminding his readers that forgiveness is not a right.
R.C. Sproul told the story of extending grace to his students at the beginning of class, in the syllabus, he talked it out, no late assignments, no grace. If you miss the deadline, it’s a zero. But then he had mercy, he had grace, and he let his students turn in their assignments late with no penalty. What a gracious man. But then halfway through the semester, he stopped extending grace. No more light assignment, no more late assignments were accepted. How would you feel students? If that happened to you, naturally, the students complained. That’s not fair. What happened until he reminded them. Remember what I said? Do you want me to rescind the grace that I’ve already extended before you, which you didn’t deserve? Beware a feeling entitled to grace. Beware a feeling entitled to grace, our repentance, even when it’s genuine, does not automate forgiveness is not an automatic transaction, nor does it compel God to forgive. If I do this, God must do that.
That is works based thinking Zephaniah does not presume on God’s grace, and neither must we. God does not owe us forgiveness. God does not owe us anything. We should repent simply because we recognize we have sinned against Almighty, Holy God, regardless of his response, we are guilty. Our attitude should be one of humility. Seek humility. But the question remains, doesn’t it, will the Lord save those who humbly seek him? Maybe the answer is in what follows in chapter two. For the sake of time, we won’t read it, but it’s the judgment of all the nations. Oh, more judgment. Gee, thanks, Pastor. I’m just a messenger. Okay, don’t all the nations will be judged. The Philistines, which are west of Judah are mentioned first, and then the Ammonites and the Moabites, which are east of Judah are mentioned second in verses eight to 11, and then in verse 12, the Ethiopians, which are south of Judah, will be slain by the Lord. And then in the north, the Assyrians, in verses 13 to 15, will be completely wiped out. No one escapes the Lord’s sovereign and holy judgment, as Romans three reminds us as it is written, none is righteous.
No Not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. All have turned aside together. They have become worthless. No one does good, not even one. The Bible is clear, all every individual, every nation, is unrighteous, and we all dwell in the flood plain of God’s judgment, but even in righteous judgment, there is hope. Hope is hidden in the judgment of the nations. There is a remnant. Look at Verse seven, the sea coast shall become the possession of the remnant of the house of Judah, on which they shall graze, and in the houses of Ashkelon, they shall lie down at evening, for the Lord their God, shall be mindful of them and restore their fortunes. God’s people will pass you. In the Philistine lands. And then verse nine, therefore, as I live, declares the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a lamb possessed by nettles and salt pits and wastes. Forever, the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them. God’s people will pasture on the west, and they will plunder their enemies on the east. And you know what’s interesting, these are the covenant lands. This is the all the promised land will be returned to God’s remnant. The remnant will dwell in complete security and all the god Land God promised, because all their enemies will have been taken care of by the Lord Himself. We see here that even in the face of judgment that Judah deserves God is faithful to the covenant and offers mercy. It reminds me of Second Timothy 213, and the New Covenant.
If we are faithless, he remains faithful. The Lord judges sin decisively, but offers hope and renewal to those who humbly turn to Him. And if you were to go to chapter three, you will see that all the nations are converted. They are all purified, and the other whole world now worships the Lord in Unity. Yes, Zephaniah too, emphasizes God’s holiness, His intolerance of sin and the certainty of judgment, but he also highlights God’s grace, as he calls his people to repentance and promises future restoration for those who humbly seek Him, there’s an irony here. It’s those who seek the Lord that will be hidden by the Lord and the Day of Judgment. Yes, Zephaniah’s warning is severe, but only because the impeding catastrophe is more so, but his hope, his grace is greater. So I have a couple applications for us to take away with us today, Christian humbly, seek the Lord today, examine your life for sin and turn to the Lord in repentance. Set aside a daily time, at least a weekly time, even now in this moment, to evaluate your life, evaluate your actions and attitudes against scripture, act promptly to make things right, reconcile that broken relationship, serve in your church in that area you’re not really interested in, but there’s a need or address a personal sin that you’ve allowed to take root in your heart. Live with humility and obedience to God’s commands, avoiding pride or complacency like Zephaniah warns us sub against. I heard this from Ken Hinfield in chapel my first time around at Southwestern he said Delayed obedience is immediate disobedience and Partial obedience is complete disobedience. Do what’s right and do it all. Seek righteousness. Life is short and judgment is certain. As John Piper would say, don’t waste your life humbly, seek the Lord. Christian, preach the gospel.
There is no time to waste. People are living in the flood plain of God’s judgment, and they don’t know, don’t wait for your degree. Don’t wait for your vocation to start. Your ministry has already begun. If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, you have been commissioned and sent out by King Jesus. You are his royal emissary, as Paul says, His Royal Ambassador, what are you waiting for? Warn your friends that they are in danger. Tell your family members they have time to respond, and if they don’t listen, don’t give up. Take advantage. Advantage of every opportunity. Pray for them, listen to them, understand where they’re coming from. You don’t have to agree to understand. You can understand that you’d be better equipped to plant the seed that they need in their heart. Help them to see that God’s call to repentance is an expression of His love for them, friend. That means non-Christian, humbly seek the Lord today, there is an urgency here, if you have your Bible, go to Psalm 32 I was just going to read it, but if you can find it, I encourage you to do that. Psalm 32 verses five through seven.
This should be your prayer if you are coming to terms with the reality that your life is in danger, but God is here to offer you salvation. Say, I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me. You preserve me from trouble. You surround me with shouts of deliverance. Can it be any more clear? Don’t delay, do not conceal your sin. Humbly, seek the Lord, and He will hide you. He will rescue you. How through Christ, hope in Christ, he is God’s mercy. God cannot ignore sin because He is a righteous God. He is a righteous judge, as we just sang, sin must be dealt with. You can’t just sweep it under the carpet and hope it goes away. In the Old Covenant, the Lord dealt with people’s sin through the blood of lambs offered every year the innocent, spotless lambs died in the people’s place. Josiah restored the Passover for this very reason, understanding they needed forgiveness, and that was the way to receive it. But in the New Covenant, the Lord provided his own sacrifice, the perfect Lamb of God, His Son, Jesus the Christ. When Christ said on the cross, It is finished, it was because all of God’s wrath and fury had it poured out on him. There is none left for us. Christ took it all. Jesus paid it all praise.
God trust in Christ’s atoning work, His work of covering your sin for protection from Ultimate judgment, as Romans one eight says, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, Jesus. Christ is the high ground. He is the rock on which we stand when the storms of life, when the floods come, when the winds blow, our house will not fall. Praise be to God. The Day of the Lord is coming, and humanity lives in the floodplain of God’s judgment. But the warning has gone out. Are you on high ground? He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Humbly, seek the Lord. After all the perhaps in Zephaniah becomes the it is finished in Christ, let us pray.
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God says your word, but we praise you because you have made a way where there was no way we praise you, that even though we deserve all manner of punishment because of our shamelessness, our sinfulness, that you call us out. You call us to come and gather before you, before it’s too late, you offer us deliverance. There is no God like you. We thank you that because of your love for us, you poured out all of your wrath on your son, your only begotten Son, so that we could be dressed in white. It, oh, Lord, we do not deserve this. You are not compelled to do this because we simply say, Forgive me. It’s because you are gracious, you are loving, because you are love, and your love has been manifested through your son. So we say, forgive us, O Lord, forgive us our sin, and we trust in the work of Christ on the cross. We praise you because you made a way where there was no way. We thank you for the sacrificial lamb of Jesus Christ. Give us faith to believe and to follow Him. Allow us to humbly seek you until Christ returns for us in glory, and we ask you this in Jesus name, amen.
