GOD'S PROMISE!

I know that nobody cares about the message of Zephaniah’s three chapters.  I’m not going to bore you with a long treatise about this almost unknown Old Testament prophet.  I’ll give you its essence in abbreviated form.  Here it is:

Chapter 1  -  Judgment Day is coming!

Chapter 2  -  So, get ready!

Chapter 3  -  You don’t want to miss out on what GOD has in store for you!

Let’s remind ourselves that this message was delivered about 2,700 years ago!  Generation after generation have passed with no resolution of God’s promise – YET! 

However, one look at Zephaniah’s last word spoken on behalf of GOD, reassures us!  The old King James Version renders these last words as “Thus saith the LORD.”   The New American Standard Version updates it:  “Says the LORD.”  The Message paraphrase brings it current:  “GOD’s Promise!”

God has promised a final resolution that will be totally satisfying to all who have suffered, but who have continued to trust in Him! 

And through the years many have suffered.  They have suffered injustices, prejudice, hatred, persecution, pain, death, war, imprisonment, and SO MUCH MORE!  Yet, many have remained faithful throughout these trials!  They have earned a great reward that they have not yet received. 

In our current world, many have been experiencing these same atrocities for a long time.  However, we in the United States, have been cocooned from most of these painful conditions.  We are only now beginning to feel the birth pains of genuine suffering.  Most of us feel that the pain and suffering will only increase.  It is a fearful time as we watch a stalwart nation begin to crumble from within – victims of an enemy that has been stealthily gaining more and more power and control for decades.  And now – the trend seems irreversible.

What do we do?  To whom do we turn?  Where do we place our hope?  Can this trend be reversed?  Will an election reverse the destruction we are witnessing?  We hold on to whatever hope we can find…

But this is nothing new!  It’s just new here!  Other nations have gone down this painful path scores of years ahead of us!  Whole generations have lived and died with little or no hope for rescue or improvement. 

Yet Christians in all of these places have sustained hope even in the midst of peril!  Matthew 7:13-14 tells us that there are two gates.  One gate is wide and leads to destruction;  this gate is easy to locate and many pass through it as a result!  The other gate is narrow and leads to life, and few are those who find it. 

Every person who has ever lived chooses one of these gates!  You have chosen one of these gates! 

And as a result, your eternal destiny depends on your choice! 

Some say, “Aw, phooey!  That’s all nonsense and spiritual mumbo-jumbo!”  Someday, they will regret that they took this attitude.

Others choose the narrow gate and strive to walk in a way that is God-honoring.  It’s not easy and they’re not perfect.  They struggle.  They fall.  They repent.  They return.  They grow.  They trust.  They persevere!  And God watches it all – looking not at their bodies, but into their hearts!  And He knows! 

And the amazing thing is:  you can travel the wide gate’s path for much of your life, and then suddenly decide to enter the narrow gate.  And that’s okay!  God allows you to do this! 

So, if you’ve exhausted your stubbornness and just want some peace and assurance in your life – CHANGE PATHS! 

Believe me on this:  God really wants you to experience the amazing place that He has been preparing for us!  GOD wants you there! 

As of yet, it’s still a future reality!  When GOD is ready, all believers will inherit this heavenly home at the same time – and it will be GLORIOUS! 

GOD’S PROMISE!!!!!!

DEUTERONOMY - RELEVANT?

Excerpts from Deuteronomy 7-9:

(7:9-11 LB)  Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is the faithful God who for a thousand generations keeps His promises and constantly loves those who love Him and who obey His commandments.  But those who hate Him shall be punished publicly and destroyed.  He will deal with them personally.  Therefore, obey all these commandments I am giving you today.

(8:3 LB)  Yes, He humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna...He did it to help you realize that food isn't everything, and that real life comes by obeying every command of God.

(8:10-14 LB)  When you have eaten your fill, bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.  But that is the time to be careful!  Beware that in your plenty you don't forget the Lord your God and begin to disobey Him.  For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in...and your silver and gold have multiplied, that is the time to watch out that you don't become proud, and forget the Lord your God...

(9:4-6 LB)  Then, when the Lord has [delivered you from your enemies] don't say to yourselves, 'The Lord has helped us because we are so good!'...It is not at all because you are such fine, upright people...it is only because of the wickedness of the other nations, and because of His promises to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that He will do it.  I say it yet again:  Jehovah your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not - you are a wicked, stubborn people.

I WORRY ABOUT U.S.

In his book, Too Small To Ignore, Wes Stafford - President and CEO of Compassion, International - observes, (p.94)

"Read the histories of civilizations.  You can tell a society is nearing its ultimate collapse when it is consumed with comfort, pleasure, and entertainment, when it no longer feels it needs anything from God, the Creator.  For the Greeks, Romans, Incas, Aztecs, and soon perhaps Western civilization, the path has been the same."

What if he's right? 

From the same page:

"In our society, when a guy who flips a basketball through a ten-foot hoop can make as much money in three hours as a schoolteacher, who is shaping the lives of the next generation, does in a year, something is horribly wrong with our values."

Two young men had an interesting discussion before my membership class began on Sunday.  They go to different high schools in our area and spoke of international students studying at their schools.  These international students make fun of the curriculum here.  In comparing it to studies in their home nations, they describe our curriculum as being ridiculously easy!

Hmmm...

Stafford observes that we damage our children by not allowing them to make a meaningful contribution to family life.  He explains that in African culture, even the youngest children are expected to gather kindling for the fires.  Older children protect the fields from marauding monkeys and other animals that could quickly wipe out the anticipated crop. 

He hints that by "protecting" our children from "work", we bring them to young adulthood completely ill-equiped to survive!

There are clear signals that ours is indeed a civilization in rapid decline. 

Many place confidence in our government to rescue us from this decline - "This next election will solve all our problems!"  Yet, unbridled government spending and a lack of courage and cooperation to make essential cuts leaves us with a nagging, national sense of peril.

Where is the hope?  How do we change our course?

Stafford points us in right directions!  We were not given wealth, freedom, knowledge, and influence for our own benefit.  We are postioned to make a massive difference in our world!  We are missing God's intended role for us!

In Sunday School, (as a child) I was taught that you attain JOY by putting Jesus first, Others second, and Yourself last!

FIRST AMERICAN THANKSGIVING

At the turn of the 16th century there was a lot of unrest in England.  A group of believers emerged who felt the need to leave the influence of the Church of England.  This group, much later, became known as Pilgrims.  In 1607, they fled to Holland because their lives were being threatened in England.  From there - in 1620 - they boarded a ship called the Mayflower and set sail for the new lands across the ocean.  Their primary objective was to find a place where they could live and worship in freedom and without persecution.

The Mayflower was an old boat that was about 100 feet long.  It was quite crowded with 102 passengers (plus crew).  We know the names of all these passengers!  The journey was hard with many storms.  At one point, a main beam broke and had to be repaired with a giant screw.  After 66 days, they sighted Cape Cod and realized that they had missed Virginia where they had permission to settle.  But with food and water supplies low, they could go no further.

Since they were on land that had not been chartered to them, they all signed the Mayflower Compact which basically stated that they would all stay together and cooperate for common survival.  When they were able, they petitioned for a new charter for the land of Plymouth;  this charter was granted in 1621.

In December of 1620, a group went ashore to explore.  They found the land of Plymouth to be suitable for living.  However, the winter was harsh and they were unprepared for it.  Many became sick.  By spring, half had died!  The Mayflower returned to England, but all of its passengers stayed in the new land.  In April, Samoset, a Native American who spoke English walked into the sttlement and said, "Welcome!"

The Wampnoag people had lived in this area for hundreds of years.  They were acquainted with English explorers who had come to fish and hunt.  One of their strongest leaders was Massasoit, who lived 40 miles southwest of the Pilgrims in Rhode Island.  These tribes had suffered from new diseases that took the lives of many of their people!  Because of this, Massasoit was interested in forming alliances wherever he could.

In the early fall of 1621, the 53 surviving Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in response to the harvest.  The 53 included:

• 4 married women
• 5 teenage girls
• 9 teenage boys
• 13 young children
• 22 adult men

Another ship arrived after this celebration, bringing more people to be part of the settlement.

King Massasoit attended the Thanksgiving along with 90 of his men.

The menu for that first Thanksgiving included:

• cod, bass, and other fish
• wild ducks and geese
• turkey
• lobster
• watercress
• berries
• dried fruit
• boiled pumpkin
• clams
• plums, and
• venison (Massasoit's men went out and killed 9 deer for the feast).

LESSON TO BE LEARNED
They thanked God even though they had experienced terrible hardship and great loss!  49 of their family and friends had died during that first hard winter!  They had said a final good-bye to mothers, fathers, friends, and children!  Yet, amazingly, when the Mayflower departed for England - no one left!  Their shelters were makeshift.  The Native Americans were friendly.  The game was bountiful.  The sea held food resources for them.  The gound was capable of bearing fruit.  But, most important, they had freedom!  They could worship God and express themselves to Him without interference from outside authorities!

FROM HAL
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!  Whether you've been blessed with much or with adversity, you can always find reasons to give thanks to God!