Expecting God to Be God, by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture:  Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

1:7 Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is at hand; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests.
1:12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, "The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm."
1:13 Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.
1:14 The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there.
1:15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
1:16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.
1:17 I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they have sinned against the Lord, their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung.
1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed; for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

          There is a phrase I often hear that makes me smile at the sheer human ego and brass it takes to say it, replete as it is with a monumental misunderstanding of God.  That phrase is "let God be God." 

          On the one hand it is often meant that the object of that statement should not undertake those means that are the purview of Almighty God.  In other words, they should back off and let God take care of those things only God can have an impact upon.  But at the same time, it assumes that whether or not we allow God to be God, whether or not we "let" God be God, makes any difference to God. 

          If we refuse to rely on God, to stand upon His word, His promises to us, it's possible God may withhold His work in our behalf.  But in the long run, God is going to do what God is going to do.

          Then there are those who claim that if you say certain words, if you take certain actions, then God "must" do this or that.  That sort of mumbo-jumbo really, really misunderstands the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever present God and Creator of the universe.

          So, how do we know then, what action to expect from God?  How do we get a handle on what may cause God to react in certain ways?

          Actually, it's easy.  Just pay attention to what God has told us.

     For example, God is unchanging (Psalm 102:25-27; Hebrews 1:10-12; 13:8).  He does not change.

     According to inspired scripture, God is also eternal. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Jeremiah 10:10; Psalm 90:2); God is infinite (1st Kings 8:22-27; Jeremiah 23:24; Psalm 102:25-27; and Revelation 22:13); God is self-sufficient and self-existent (Exodus 3:13-14; Psalm 50:10-12; Colossians 1:16); God is omnipresent (present everywhere)  (Psalm 139:7-12); God is omnipotent or all powerful (Genesis 18:14; Luke 18:27; Revelation 19:6); God is omniscient  or all knowing  (Psalm 139:2-6; Isaiah 40:13-14); and God is sovereign. His attributes constitute a long list, including wise, holy, righteous, faithful, true, and more, all based upon scripture.

     But in connection with our scripture today, let us concentrate on unchanging.

     And consistent with that scripture, how will God respond if we "rest complacently on our dregs," if we say in our hearts, "The Lord will not do good, nor will He do harm."  How will He respond if we sin against Him?

     Seven of the eight verses in today's scripture describe exactly how he will react.

     All across this nation and the world, Christian churches are being persecuted simply because they worship the Christ.  The Bible, God and all reference to Him is being excised from modern education.  In His place we allow the discussion of false religions and false gods.

     Children are no longer taught the love of Christ in their homes, and their parents no longer set the example by going to Sunday School and church with them.

     Christian ethics are no longer the expected norm for children and adults.

     Moral excess and sexual depravity have become common in the American society.  Not only common now, but exalted and protected.

     False religions which exalt and demand violence have become threaded into our society, indeed welcomed by many, some of whom claim to be ministers of the Christ.  And Sharia Law, replete with injustice and violence, has already become a subject of reference by some judges in America's courts.

     In the second book of the Bible, Exodus 20:1-17, the law as given to Moses by God, the Ten Commandments, begins with "You will have no other gods before Me."  And yet ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, understanding that Christ was the fulfillment of the Law, so that Christians are now under grace, yet they have brought the supposed writings of the Islamic god Allah, the Quran, into their places of worship and have read aloud from that book, some in heretical agreement with the Islamic claim that Allah is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

     How, then, do we who claim to be His Church, avoid His discipline?

     Zephaniah was prophesying the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem, but many scholars believe his prophesy goes beyond his own time, as well, to that period of God's judgment on the nations followed by a millennial reign of peace.

     What is clear in Zephaniah is that God hates sin, and His righteousness will react to it.  What is also clear is that if sin is the cause of God's discipline of the nation, if the cause is removed, the effect is removed. 

     God's anger toward our sin of contempt for His life-giving love is triggered by our sin, our individual sin and our sin as a nation.  God does not change.  He will not countenance sin, contempt for His righteousness.  His corrective action against a people who seek their own pleasures despite His warnings is predictable.  God predicts it, again and again, in holy scripture which He Himself has inspired. 

     To ignore God about God, to ignore His warnings, to sin against Him and expect that God will not be God, is to deal in the death of the soul.  There is no future in that, not for a person, not for a nation.  God is going to do what God is going to do.  Will you do what God has told you to to?  Love God and live.  Amen.