Sermon
#1339 Miscellaneous
Sermons
Title: An Antidote For Fear
Text: Zephaniah 3:14- 17[1]
Readings: Office: Bobbie Estes Auditorium: Mark Henson
Subject: God’s Joy In His People
Date: Tuesday Evening - March 23, 1999
Tape # V-18b
We
all have our fears. We do not like to acknowledge them, or talk about them. We
certainly do not want other people to find out about them. But there are some
things that cause us fear. And it helps me to know that stronger, better, wiser
men than I am struggle with the same fears that disturb me.
I
cannot tell you how greatly my heart was comforted one day years ago by reading
these words from the pen of David. –
Psalms 56:3-4 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in
thee. (4) In God I will praise his
word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto
me."
I was
going through some deep waters, storms of trouble, some things that caused me
to be afraid of what might happen. But it did my heart good to know that David,
that great man of faith, the man after God’s own heart was once made to tremble
with fear, too.
What
do you fear? What is it that makes you tremble? Whatever it is, I have a
message for you tonight. You will find my text in Zephaniah 3:14-17. The title
of my message is AN ANTIDOTE FOR FEAR.
Zephaniah 3:14-17 "Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O
Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. (15) The LORD hath taken away thy
judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. (16) In that day it shall be said to
Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion,
Let not thine hands be slack. (17) The
LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty;
he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he
will joy over thee with singing."
John Gill wrote, “Every word (in this
text) carries in it something very encouraging to the church and people of God;
and is an antidote against those fears and faintings they are subject to.”
The Book of Zephaniah is a prophecy of
judgment. It exposes the sins of the nations; and it exposes the sins
of God’s people. We deserve wrath as much as anyone else. We are as guilty as
the rest of the world. What evil have other men done that we have not done in
thought, if not in deed? The nature of the reprobate is our nature. His heart
is our heart. His thoughts are our thoughts. And his deeds are our deeds.
Yet, while God pours out his
wrath upon others, he pours out his love, mercy, and grace upon us (1 Cor.
4:7). Therefore, the Prophet Zephaniah calls upon redeemed sinners to sing and
rejoice, even in the midst of trouble (v. 14).
Zephaniah 3:14 "Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O
Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem."
Proposition: Child
of God, no matter what the trouble is that breaks your heart, weighs upon your
soul, or dampens your spirit, I have good news which ought to make you rejoice
and sing with all your heart.
I am
saying “to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and
to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack” (v. 16).
Let’s
look at verses 15 and 17 tonight. Here the prophet of God gives us nine reasons
to rejoice and sing, nine reasons not to fear, nine reasons to be steadfast and
immovable in the work of the Lord. Keep your Bible open on you lap. I don’t
want you to miss a word.
I.
“THE LORD HATH TAKEN AWAY THY JUDGMENTS.”
The rest of the world, by
reason of sin and guilt, is under the wrath of God. But “the Lord hath taken away thy judgments.” That is good news,
indeed!
I am not talking about what
the Lord wants to do, hopes to do, or has tried to do. I am talking about what
the Lord has done. “The Lord hath taken
away thy judgments.” By the work of his free, almighty, and sovereign
grace, the Lord Jesus Christ, our great God and Savior, has taken away our
judgments.
A. He has taken away our sins, the cause of judgment (Heb.
9:26; Psa. 103:12. That is redemption!
B. He has taken away our spiritual death, the
consequence of judgment (Col. 1:13-14). That is the
new birth!
C. He has taken away the curse of the law, the sentence
of judgment (Gal. 3:13; Rom. 8:1,
32-34).
1.
Redemption accomplished - Christ redeemed us from
the hands of the law when he died at Calvary (Heb. 9:12).
2.
Redemption applied - Christ delivered us from
the bondage of guilt when he gave us faith (Heb. 9:14).
Hebrews 9:12-14 "Neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us. (13) For
if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the
unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: (14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the
eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from
dead works to serve the living God?"
II.
“HE HATH CAST OUT THINE ENEMY.”
Satan came into the land of
man’s soul by the door of sin as an invading enemy. But Christ, our mighty Man
of War, the Captain of our Salvation, has cast him out.
A. The Lord our God cast Satan out of heaven as soon as
he began to oppose his purpose of grace toward us (Ezek.
28:14-17).
Ezekiel 28:14-17 "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of
God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till
iniquity was found in thee. (16) By
the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with
violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of
the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst
of the stones of fire. (17) Thine
heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by
reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee
before kings, that they may behold thee."
B. The Son of God broke Satan’s power over the nations
of the world at the cross, and in that sense, cast him out when he died as our
Substitute (Gen. 3:15; John 12:31; Rev.
20).
C. Our Savior casts Satan out of the hearts of his
people in regeneration by the power of his Spirit, so that we are no longer in
bondage to and under the rule of the prince of darkness (Isa.
49:24-25; Matt. 12:28-29).
Isaiah 49:24-25 "Shall the prey be taken from the
mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?
(25) But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be
taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend
with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."
Matthew 12:28-29 "But if I cast out devils by the Spirit
of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you. (29) Or else how can one enter into a strong man's house, and
spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil
his house."
D. And the Lord Jesus Christ will cast Satan into the
pit of the damned at the last day (Rev. 20:10).
Revelation 20:10 "And the devil that deceived them was
cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet
are, and shall be tormented day and
night for ever and ever."
III. “THE KING OF ISRAEL, EVEN
THE LORD, IS IN THE MIDST OF THEE.”
The Lord Jesus Christ is the
King of Israel, the King of his church. And he is in the midst of us. Did you
hear that? Child of God, the Lord is with you. That ought to fill us with
unspeakable joy, peace, and security (Isa. 41:10).
Isaiah 41:10 "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea,
I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness."
Christ
is always near at hand (Phil. 4:4). He is near to support us and supply our
needs. He is near to assist and strengthen us. He is near to protect and defend
us. When Zephaniah says, “The Lord is in
the midst of thee,” his meaning is threefold:
A. He is essentially present, because he is the omnipresent God.
B. He is providentially present, because he is determined to do us good.
C. He is graciously present, because he promised never to leave us nor
forsake us.
IV. “THOU SHALT NOT SEE EVIL
ANYMORE!”
What a promise! “There shall no evil happen to the just” (Pro.
12:21). “Say ye to the righteous, that it
shall be well with him” (Isa. 3:10). The Lord God will not turn away from
you to do you good!
V. “THE LORD THY GOD IN THE
MIDST OF THEE IS MIGHTY!”
When Zephaniah was
delivering this message, after saying, “The
Lord is in the midst of thee,” seems to think, “Oh, I mean to say not only
that the LORD is in the midst of thee, but also to say, The Lord thy God in the
midst of thee is mighty.” I’m glad he remembered to put that in!
A. He who is in the midst of us is the LORD Jehovah,
the Being of beings, the eternal, immutable, all-sufficient God!
B. He is the LORD thy God!
1.
He is ours by his own
covenant grace.
2.
He is our by his miraculous
incarnation - “God with us!”
3.
He is ours by his great gift
of faith.
C. And he who is the LORD our God is Mighty!
He is the almighty God, the omnipotent
Creator, and the all-powerful Mediator and Savior. All power in heaven and
earth has been given to that Man who is our God. Therefore he is able to…
1.
Save
us to the uttermost.
2.
Deliver
us from the hand of every enemy.
3.
Keep
us in the midst of every temptation.
4.
Sustain
us in every trial.
5.
And
bring us safe into his heavenly kingdom.
VI. “HE WILL SAVE!”
The
Lord our God is not only able but also willing to save (Micah 7:18-20).
Micah 7:18-20 "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by
the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger
for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. (19) He will turn again, he will have
compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their
sins into the depths of the sea. (20) Thou
wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the
mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of
old."
A. He readily undertook to save us in the covenant of grace.
B. He came in the fulness of time to seek and to save that which was lost.
C. He has wrought out salvation for us by his obedience unto death.
D. He sees to it that salvation is applied to every chosen, redeemed
sinner.
E. And he will come again to put us in full possession of that salvation
he has accomplished for us.
·
He
saves us freely, fully, and everlastingly.
·
He
saves from sin, Satan, the law, hell, and wrath.
·
He
will save us from every temporal and every spiritual enemy in time and to
eternity. “He will save!”
Stay with me. The news gets better still! “The Lord hath taken away thy judgments - He
hath cast out thine enemy - The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst
of thee - Thou shalt not see evil anymore - The Lord thy God in the midst of
thee is mighty - He will save!” Now read the seventh line of our text…
VII. “HE WILL REJOICE OVER
THEE WITH JOY!”
Shall God rejoice over us?
Indeed he does! He rejoices over his elect with exceeding, great, inexpressible
joy. The inspired prophet is searching for words to describe God’s joy over his
people. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, the Lord our God, Jesus
Christ, rejoices over us his people (Isa. 62:3-5; 61:10). And when we stand
before him on that great day, he will publicly rejoice over us (Rev. 19:1-9).
Isaiah 61:10 "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my
soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of
salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decketh himself with ornaments, and
as a bride adorneth herself with her
jewels."
Isaiah 62:3-5 "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in
the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. (4) Thou shalt no more be termed
Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be
called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy
land shall be married. (5) For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the
bride, so shall thy God rejoice over
thee."
Revelation 19:1-9 "And after these things I heard a great
voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and
honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
(2) For true and righteous are his
judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with
her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. (3) And again they said, Alleluia. And
her smoke rose up for ever and ever. (4) And
the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God
that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. (5) And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God,
all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. (6) And I heard as it were the voice of
a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. (7) Let us be glad and rejoice, and
give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath
made herself ready. (8) And to her
was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the
fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
(9) And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And
he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."
VIII. “HE WILL REST IN HIS LOVE!”
Now hear the meaning of
these words - The Lord Jesus Christ finds great complacency, delight, and
satisfaction in loving us and in expressing his love to us! It is pleasing to
him to love us! He solaces himself in it!
There
is not a greater, fuller verbal expression of Christ’s love for us in all the
Bible than this, “He will rest in his
love.” He says to us, “Thou hast
ravished my heart” (Song of Sol. 4:9). O
what infinite, condescending grace! God not only loves us, but he loves to love
us! He is pleased that he chose us as the objects of his love! Oh, my
heart, be ravished with his love! Christ’s love for us is…
·
Without
Cause!
·
Without
Beginning!
·
Without
Change!
·
Without
End!
This phrase might
be translated, “He will be silent, because of his love.”
·
Our
Lord will not upbraid us because of our sins.
·
He
will never speak a word of anger or wrath to us.
·
And
he will put all of our enemies to silence as well.
As
one completely overwhelmed with love for another is often speechless at the
sight of the one he loves, when they have been separated for a long, long time,
so Christ is speechless because of his love!
IX. “HE WILL JOY OVER THEE
WITH SINGING!”
Again, the prophet is
searching for words to describe Christ’s love for us. He rejoices over us with
joy and joys with singing! He is telling us that God himself is delighted that
we are his people, his chosen, redeemed, called ones. We are his Hephzibah, in
whom he delights. We are his Beulah, to whom he is married. And he wants no one
else!
Application:
Now, in the light of these
things, I say…
1.
Children
of God, “Be glad and rejoice with all
your heart.”
2.
“Fear thou not!”
3.
“Let not thine hands be
slack.”
·
Hands
Of Prayer.
·
Hands
Of Praise.
·
Hands
Of Labor (1 Cor. 15:58).
AMEN.
[1] See Sermon #873, “GOOD NEWS FOR TROUBLED HEARTS,” preached at Danville 9-3-89 (AM), Richmond, IL 10-12-89, and Dingess, WV 9-29-89.
This Message Preached at: Houston, TX - Sunday PM 5-16-99) – Wichita Falls, TX - 3-24-99 – Lexington, KY 5-5-99 – Fairmont, WV - 4-1-99 – Philippsburg, NJ - 4-8-99 – San Leandro, CA 4-16-99
[2] Illustration: John Howson’s Card
[3] Illustration: The Little Girl Scared By the Clown