Bad Church

This was a recent men’s small group study:  

Zephaniah 3:1-5
1 Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city!
2   She has not obeyed His voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the Lord, She has not drawn near to her God.
3-4 Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; Her judges are evening wolves that leave not a bone till morning. Her prophets are insolent (unprincipled), treacherous people; Her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.
5 The Lord is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness.  Every morning He brings His justice to light (He dispenses His justice); He never fails, but the unjust knows no shame.

While this was specifically God’s complaint with Jerusalem, it could easily be applied to a country or a home or even a person. We made an application to a church.

So, what was God upset about?  

They were – verse 1: 

1. Rebellious – God said it, BUT…
2. Polluting – God, along WITH (God AND)…
3. Oppressing – love parcelled – there were cliques, some people seen as lesser, some rejected

AND they were – verse 2:

1. Not obedient – not listen, not apply, not important
2. Not accepting of “NO” or “STOP”
3. Not trusting – about worldly ways: fund-raising, marketing, worship tools
4. Prayer and passion lacking

AND their leadership – verses 3-4:

1. Leaders/Pastors were loud, boisterous and consuming (selfish)
2. Judges/Elders were quick to destroy in order to promote their power and plenty
3. Teachers were prideful and dangerous
4. Worship leaders mixed the sacred with the secular (like rock concerts)

Verse 5 harkens back to the first word of 3:1, “WOE!”  Who is making such a declaration?

Is the one pronouncing judgment viable?  Is the threat real?  You decide!

God:   1. He is righteous – holy – pure – right

2. He is in her midst – He is present, near and knowing
3. He never does wrong – never!
4. He daily sheds light on evil and executes justice
5. He NEVER fails in what He declares!

Yikes!  So, men and brethren, what do we do?  (Acts 2:37)

Zephaniah 2:1-3

1. 2:1 – Gather – come to Jesus – draw near – do so quickly!  James 4:8
2. 2:2 – “Before, before, before” – judgment looms! “Today, if you hear His voice…”, Hebrews 3:7
3. 2:3 – Seek the Lord, seek righteousness (strive to obey), and seek humility (squash pride)

BUT, 3:5b, there are those who won’t as they are not troubled, shamed, grieved, nor humble.

We are either those who see our sin and run to God or those who don’t see we are sinning.