Intermediate Lesson 31 - Book of Zephaniah

MESSAGE FOR PEOPLE TODAY FROM THE BOOK OF ZEPHANIAH

Church: Philadelphia                                Lesson 36 out of 39                         Theme: Word of God

Background Information:

ü  We asked in the book of 2 Kings, “How can the creation know that the cost of sin is death?”

ü  In Job, we were awakened to learn how Satan will try to confuse the message of the sacrifice by lying about sin not being the cost of death, so we will not take responsibility for repairing the relationship with God.

ü  In Jeremiah, we learned how death is the cost for sin and because the word of God became flesh now we can receive a new heart of flesh to be a witness for the righteousness of God.

ü  In Amos, we learned how to be a witness who lines up our testimony with the Chief Cornerstone (the sacrifice Christ made) by witnessing about the justice that Jesus will bring even when we are surrounded by people who are prejudiced against the word of God.

Statement of Faith to Say Amen to for the Book of Zephaniah:

I can witness to the world about the day of the Lord.

Essential Question:

How is the world preparing people for the day of the Lord?

Book of Zephaniah

Have students read pages 194-197 in The Pattern of Sound Teaching.

After students read the information ask them, "What do you want to talk about?"

Remember the Issue:

Realizing that Jesus made a sacrifice for our sin and how He can make an intercession for us is important. The world is not teaching us how to look to Jesus’ sacrifice and to love the word of God.

Remember the Truth Jesus Brought:

When Jesus was questioned about what are the most important commandments in the law, His response is written in Matthew 22: 37-40, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul and with all thy mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

When Job discovered that Satan was going before God to testify against him, he asked God for a book that would explain all that Satan would use to testify against people and Job also asked for a Savior who could testify for all the righteous people. Now we have realized through the law of Moses that none are righteous. Through the sacrifice that Jesus made, we can understand that we cannot ever make the sinless sacrifice that Jesus did. However, we can be sanctified through Jesus' sacrifice by love when we are witnesses to the righteousness and holiness of God with our living sacrifice.

Satan knows when we are awakened to all that he has planned for us, we will not like it. God gives us a weapon to use against the enemy. We can remember when we accept God’s grace we can put on the armor of God. The seven churches have a developing message of how Satan can testify against us when our behavior spirals out of control to commit the unpardonable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. This book explains how Satan will use our behaviors to testify against us. This book also gives a message of hope. The seven churches have a developing message of how we can put on the armor of God, accept God’s grace, and look to the sacrifice that Christ made and have Jesus atone for our sins. Jesus is our way to be saved from Satan and all the evil that Satan has planned for us.

Remember the Rock God Established:

Zephaniah was a prophet who had a message about the day of the Lord. This is going to be the most horrible day that has ever been or ever will be. On the day of the Lord, people are not going to be able to hide from God. It will be a day of darkness with thick clouds, and man will cry. Surprisingly, the trumpet will blow. Remember in Church One when Joshua blew the trumpet against the walled city of Jericho?

Many people today have a common question about Jericho, “Why did God kill all the people in Jericho except Rahab and her family?” The trumpet will blow again, and as the trumpet blew at the walled city of Jericho against the Gentile people who defined righteousness for themselves and relied on a false god to save them. The trumpet will blow this time against people who are being self-righteous by deciding what is right and wrong for themselves and not believing that God will send them to an eternal hell.

The book of Zephaniah describes how all the nations will be aware of how terrible the day of the Lord is going to be. The remnant that Jesus saves will be purified and blessed. There is a promise that the Lord will save and rejoice with joy and singing over the people He gathers and saves.

The New Testament says that people will be able to hide in Jesus by keeping God’s word. As it is written in Zephaniah 3:14-15, “Sing O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart O daughter of Jerusalem. 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.”

In the New Testament, Jesus asked Simon Bar-Jonah who he was. Simon told Jesus he was the Son of the living God. Jesus blessed Simon and told him that flesh and blood had not revealed this to him, but His Father in heaven had. Jesus then called Simon Bar-Jonah, “Peter.” Jesus said He would build his church on the rock that can witness to Jesus being the Son of the living God. Jesus said that the gates of hell would not be able to destroy the church that He builds on this rock. We will build an internal church on The Rock of Faith and this church will beat the gates of hell.

That is why God sent His Son, Jesus. He is the Son of the living God who is building a church on a rock that will not be destroyed. God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to save us. Faith includes a sacrifice. Faith works by love. Jesus came and taught us how to present a living sacrifice with love. What you love will determine if you will present an acceptable living sacrifice.

Activity:

The activity directions are located in Appendix 5G.

Students will build two different structures that will represent the choices we make in life when we are building our internal temple. One will line up with the Chief Cornerstone and the other will not.

Conclusion:

Does the world teach us to line up with the Chief Cornerstone (the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made)? There is a message for people today not to let the world’s culture influence the church’s culture.

Next Lesson:

The last three lessons are going to explain during the church age how behaviors will build an internal temple (church) that will determine if after being betrothed to Him as a bride if you were faithful or unfaithful. Jesus is coming back for His bride.