"This
is the Word that the Lord spoke to Zephaniah" (Zephaniah 1:1).
Straightaway, our attention is drawn away from the prophet to the Lord -
"The Lord spoke His Word" (Zephaniah 1:1). How are we to hear the Word
of the Lord? - "Be silent in the presence of the Almighty Lord"
(Zephaniah 1:7). How can we hear what the Lord is saying to us, if we're
too busy speaking? We must listen to God, if we are to hear what He is
saying to us. What we hear from the Lord may not be what we want to
hear. It will be what we need to hear. He speaks to us His Word of
judgment so that we might see ourselves as sinners and come to Him for
salvation.
"The Son of Man came to save the lost" (Matthew 18:11). In Matthew 18:12-13, Jesus speaks about sheep. He's really speaking about us. He is the Shepherd. We are His sheep. Sheep wander away from the shepherd. We wander away from the Lord. The shepherd looks for the lost sheep. Jesus has come to seek for us and find us. He brings us home to God, our Father. Through His saving grace, we receive new life - a life in which we rejoice in our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He delivers us from the condemnation, which our sin has brought upon us. He brings us into the knowledge of His forgiveness. This Gospel of salvation changes us. It teaches us to live in the power of God's love. Jesus speaks about "the Kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:12,23), "the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:14,24) and "eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). Jesus' way of thinking and living is so very different from the world's way of thinking and living. He chall...
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