When God Sings

Intro

This message is for the down-beaten. The downtrodden. The down-and-outs. The beaten up. The done-in. The left out. The passed over. The sidelined. The misfits. The rejects. The ignored. It's for the unemployed and unemployable. For those who blew their chance and those who never had it in the first place. For those who see no way in, up or out. Those who are trapped. Those who were told that they would never be someone. Never do something. Never become anything. This message is for those who have been weighed in the scales, ranked in the spreadsheets, measured against others. And you have lost. This is for you. It's not for the self-mades or the got-it-mades. It's not for those who ride the world like a surfer rides a wave. It's not for the preened, the prized and the privileged. It's not for the care-free, worry-free, wrinkle-free and their airbrushed reality. No. This for the strugglers, the fighters, the scrappers and the ankle biters. For those who wait in line to find that everything is gone. For those who have sunk to the bottom and can't find a way back up. For those who have lost everything and have nothing else to give. If this is you, then this message is for you. And no-one else. Because when you reach the end of yourself, God is waiting for you. And you're already there. You're just looking. Looking for Him because He is your last hope. There is nothing else. There is no-one else. Just God. And this is what He says to you: The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/zep.3.17.NIVUK This message is for you.

The Mess They Were In It came originally to a people who were busted beyond repair. They had sinned for generations. They had thought that God had ignored it. That He had turned His face away to forget it. But now they've realised He was just waiting and working on His plan. That His patience was finite. That they had pushed Him too far. And then He unleashed His terrible, awesome judgement upon them (Zephaniah 1:12‭-‬18). Their cities were crushed. Their walls were smashed like eggshells. Their Temple was desecrated, dismantled and destroyed. The place to which people streamed in their thousands on pilgrimage became a war zone from which they fled in terror. The place that teemed with life became a silent wreck, full only with carrion birds feeding on the dead. This was nothing less than a disaster. A great, tragic, awful disaster. And yes, you might say, "Well, they deserved it. They turned their back on God and He punished them. He was just. He was right. But I've never had a chance. They crossed the line. I was born on the wrong side of it. They knew better. I've never even seen a picture of it." That may well be correct. But I want to tell you something. If the Jews were being punished for generations of sin and God could say these words about them, then how much more about you? You see, these words came to a man who had a spectacular box seat, a ringside, birds-eye, drone shot view of the whole sorry affair unfolding, because He was a member of the royal family of Judah under the rule of King Josiah (Zephaniah 1:1). Josiah was a good king. One of the better ones. God's wrath would not come during His reign. But it was building, because Josiah's reign was nothing but a brief time-out in a whole shooting match of evil (2 Kings 23:26‭-‬27). The tremendous words we read, which tell us what God thinks of those who have been broken and beaten down by life, even when it's thoroughly deserved, were written to lift up a nation about to be cast down further than it ever had been before. As Zephaniah prophesied: On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done to me, because I will remove from you your arrogant boasters. Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill. But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord. Zephaniah 3:11‭-‬12 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/zep.3.11-12.NIVUK These are special words for the meek and humble, for those at the end of themselves. They contain five things that God will do for you: Firstly THE LORD IS WITH YOU:

The Lord is with You The Lord your God is with you. Zephaniah 3:17 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/zep.3.17.NIVUK How many of you were ever chosen by your teacher in PE to select a team to play a game? You don't pick the weak, do you? You don't pick the slow. You don't pick the uncoordinated. You might be all these things yourself. You might have all the strength of a dandelion stem or the stamina of a flat battery or be unable to catch a ball even when it isn't moving, but who cares? You want to be on the winning team so you pick the people who will get you there. You choose winners. Right? Not God (1 Corinthians 1:26‭-‬31). God is not on the side of those who don't need Him, because they don't need Him (Luke 5:31‭-‬32; Luke 15:7; Luke 19:10) The Presence of God was a Covenantal promise that the Jews depended on from the very moment they existed as a nation (Exodus 33:14‭-‬1). The Temple was the very representation of God's presence among them (1 Kings 8:10‭-‬13). But the Lord had departed from the Temple (Ezekiel 10), and the Temple had been destroyed (2 Kings 25:8‭-‬9). The Presence of God, the very thing that marked them out as unique and distinctive among the nations, had departed. It was gone. Gone because the People of God had blown it good and proper. And now the Presence of God was promised to the poor and the destitute who remained in the land! Why? But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord. Zephaniah 3:12 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/zep.3.12.NIVUK Because they trusted in the name of the Lord.They had nowhere else to go. They had no other solution. They were out of options. But they put their trust in Him. And He promised Him His presence. The promise of God's presence is a gateway promise. It's the door to the strongroom of His blessing and power and glory and He is about to open it wide and let it loose on behalf of His people. That's why Moses longed for it. He wouldn't leave Sinai without it. That's why Solomon treasured it. He built a wonder of the ancient world to contain it. That's why Jesus brought it down from Heaven to save the lost (John 1:14). Jesus, just as Zephaniah said, is the Presence of God with those who are humble in heart, who know their lowly place, and are willing to trust in Him. So when the world has failed you, and it seems like you have failed the world; when you have come to the end of yourself and there is nowhere else you can go, friend, will you do it? Will you trust in Him? So we see that the Lord is with you. Next we see that THE LORD IS FIGHTING FOR YOU:

The Lord Is Fighting For You The Mighty Warrior who saves. Zephaniah 3:17 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/zep.3.17.NIVUK And boy, did they need a warrior! They were utterly defenceless! They had no walls or battlements to protect themselves (2 Kings 25:10). They had no army or king (2 Kings 25:4‭-‬7). More than seven long decades after Zephaniah prophesied this, the situation still hadn't changed (Nehemiah 2:17). And their enemies were not slow in pointing out their predicament (Nehemiah 4:1‭-‬3). They were beyond vulnerable. They were slaves of a foreign king and there was not a thing they could do about it. They were like the bespectacled victim of heartless bullying, cowering in a corner as the blows rain down. Like the nerd who walks the corridor while people punch and yell, "Hey, know-it-all! Do you know who hit you?" Like the pitiful girl, dying inside as her every physical flaw is broadcast bare across the school. If that is you, then let God fight for you (Psalms 10:17‭-‬18). But why does God fight for the weak and defenceless? Why is He not on the side of the muscle-bound and rich, those with legal teams and private armies and bodyguards? Because He Himself walked the way of weakness (Isaiah 53:2‭-‬3). He trod the path of the defenceless (Isaiah 53:7). He wore the wounds that you wear now so you will never need to wear them again (Isaiah 53:4‭-‬5). So if you open your mouth to explain yourself and the words do not come out. If you are alone and isolated and don't understand why. If you feel like the whole world has rejected you and even the mirror says 'No!', then I have a message for you: God says 'Yes!' He will fight for you. You know, when I was a teenager, a local tough guy saw me. "Paul!" he yelled. "Paul! Come here!" he beckoned with his cigarette hand so he didn't spill the cheap wine in the other. I've had to censor his words a little in case they offend those with particular sensibilities... or those with any sensibilities at all. But here is the gist of what he said. "Paul, you know I hate you. I can't stand you. I hate you and everything you stand for." (He was a lovely guy really.) "But if anyone lays a finger on you, I'll... I'll... [commit an offence of attacking the person of another, illegal under Scots law and likely to attract a custodial sentence]." He protected me because he respected me. He hated me. But he respected me. Not God. That's not why he fights for you. He fights for you because He loves you (Jeremiah 31:3). He doesn't just love your potential. He doesn't just love who you could be or should be or would be. He loves you as you are. Right now (Romans 5:6‭-‬8). Regardless of what others people think or say. Regardless of what you think or say. So when your weakness stings like thorns, when you look around for helpers and there is no-one, when you feel hopelessly alone and exposed, I want you to know this, my friend: The Lord is fighting for you. If you trust in Him. So the Lord is with you and fighting for you. But more than that. Oh, way more wonderful than that! There is something so wonderful that I advise you to step back a bit from your device in case you soak it with grateful tears: THE LORD TAKES GREAT DELIGHT IN YOU.

The Lord Takes Great Delight In You Read it again. Soak it in like a sponge. This treasure is yours. It's for you. No-one can steal it, borrow it, hide it from you or taunt you with it. It's yours and it will always be yours. The Lord takes great delight in you. Even if others don't. Even if you don't. The Lord does. But why? God created you in His own image (Genesis 1:27). Like a coin bears the image of a ruler. Like a banknote bears the image of a hero. Like a stamp bears the image of something great. You bear the image of God. And do you know what God says about you? The rest of creation receives its grading from God and it receives a "Good". God creates human beings like you and like me and we receive a higher grade. We are "Very Good" (Genesis 1:31). Believe it, friend. And there's still more: You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:13‭-‬14). You. Yes, you. God didn't break the mould when He made you. There was no mould. All of us, every one of us, are unique creations of our Creative God. Not a make-up artist. Not a cosmetic surgeon. God. If we really let that truth sink in, then maybe we'd spend a lot less money on potions and lotions and make-up and operations and injections and fillers and lifters. Maybe we'd stop seeing ourselves as someone else's construction site and see ourselves as God's architectural genius. Why? Because God made us this way. We don't need the verdict of a beauty magazine or a talent spotter or even the most handsome guy in school. God's verdict is enough. He made us in His image. Let's not allow other people make us in theirs. The whole beauty and fashion industry is built on a heinous lie: that we should want to look like someone else. Like someone we're not. Like someone we could never be. I once heard of someone who spent $120,000 on surgery to look like a plastic doll. And, in case you're wondering, he was a man. If you can hardly look in the mirror, and definitely not let someone else see you, without your warpaint on, then you are at war... with yourself. Why? Because God has said that He takes great delight in you. But you can't even accept who you are without the cosmetic mask. God loves you deeply. You, on the other hand, do not. So I dare you to do something radical. Get one of those wipes and clear it all off. Yes, all of it. Remove that over-expensive night mask made of seaweed and mud. Stare into this screen behind only your bare skin. Then repeat the following: God made me and says I am very good. God says I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. God takes great delight in me. Keep saying it. Repeat it over and over, through the brokenness and the tears and the angst and the weeping. Keep repeating it until sinks to the core of your being and you really believe it for the first time ever. And there is more. So much more. This just the tip of the iceberg of God's love for you (Isaiah 43:1‭-‬2; Isaiah 54:10). And He thinks so much of you - you are so precious to Him - that He gave up His Son to a violent death to save you (Romans 5:7‭-‬8), Who then rose from the dead to lead you to salvation. You are His fearful and wonderful creation. He made you and said you are Very Good. He knows your name and gave up His Son to save you. This is who you are. God takes great delight in you. So God is with you, is fighting for you and takes delight in you. But almost as if this wasn't enough already, GOD IS SILENT AGAINST YOU.

God Is Silent Against You I was once a witness to a crime. A friend of mine from church was stabbed at the door of a take-away restaurant not far from where I lived. And I saw it. I was outraged. As the ambulance took him to hospital, the police asked for witnesses. I wanted justice for my friend, so I gave my name and contact details. Truth be told, I was a bad witness. I couldn't pick the guy out of a line-up. I thought I'd get out of court. Maybe I wouldn't be summoned. But I was wrong. Months later, I found myself outside the courtroom, heart beating way too fast, expecting some defence lawyer to tear me to shreds in the witness box. But it didn't happen. The clerk of the court passed us by and told us the accused had pleaded guilty. I was so relieved.

God, however, had witnessed every crime the Jews had committed against Him. And the list is long. And shocking. And very, very graphic.

There is idolatry (Zephaniah 1:4-6; Isaiah 2). Prostitution (Isaiah 1:21; Ezekiel 16). Murder (Hosea 4:1-3). Child sacrifice (Isaiah 57:5; Ezekiel 20:31). Rampant corruption and exploitation (Isaiah 58). Need I go on? Every one of the charges on their charge sheet was true. Every last one. And so you know who the lead witness for the prosecution was? God (Psalms 94:9; Jeremiah 29:23; Micah 1:2; Zephaniah 3:8). And He is a witness Who could not be bought with bribes or paid to be silent or threatened to not show His face. The verdict was absolutely certain: Guilty. Then we come to this verse: In his love he will no longer rebuke you. Zephaniah 3:17 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/zep.3.17.NIVUK The one witness who could send them down. Do them over. Finish them. And He says nothing. Oh, He had plenty to say before! There are multiple prophecy books, packed with serious accusations against Israel and Judah. There are witness statements longer than your arm. But now, He is silent. The accusations have stopped. The charges are no longer being pressed. But why? But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord . They will do no wrong; they will tell no lies. A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no-one will make them afraid.’ Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. Zephaniah 3:12‭-‬15 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/zep.3.12-15.NIVUK The pitiful few who remained had been humbled but had also humbled themselves. They had turned from their sin. They had set their faces towards changing their ways (Ezra 9:7‭, ‬15). As it says elsewhere: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/1jn.1.9.NIVUK Their humiliation caused them to remember their wrongdoing and to turn away from it. It was tough. Really tough. But good things were coming from a terrible situation. Are you overcome by the charges against you? Are you weighed down by accusations, crushed by insinuations, broken by gossip and innuendo? Then come to the Lord. If there is a grain of truth in a field of lies, then you must confess it. You must bring to the Lord all your shortcomings, all the times when you didn't measure up, when you let Him down, when you crossed the line and broke His heart. And you must turn away from it. God will hear you. He really will (Psalms 51:17). And how will He react? The star witness for the prosecution will tear up His statement. He will not testify. He will not press charges. He will do something you could never hope for or deserve. He will forgive you and give you the possibility to leave your life of sin (John 8:2‭-‬1). Go and leave your life of sin. That's all He asks. That's all He requires. That's all He wants of you. In return for His silence. So we see that God is with you, fighting for you, delighting over you and silent against you. The last blessing here for the humble people at the end of themselves is that GOD IS SINGING OVER YOU.

God Is Singing Over You What are the voices you hear in your head? Is it the voices of the mockers and the scornful, yelling everything that's wrong with you? Is it the angry and accusing, 'lovingly' explaining why you're always losing? Is it your own self-talk, looping endless defeats? Well, right now we're changing the channel. Imagine a sports field. A big one. Really big and really full. One where a sportsperson has just become a hero. A bat has been swung, a ball kicked or caught, and the crowd is on their feet, applauding. They're singing. They're chanting. They're singing that hero's name. Singing it loud and clear. You can hear it. Can you hear it? Only that hero is you. It's your name you hear. How cool would that be? Only this verse doesn't promise a huge multitude of voices calling your name in celebration. It promises just One. The Most Important One of all: God's. In his love he will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/zep.3.17.NIVUK In the ancient times, they sung songs for great victories. To mark awesome events. To remember great occasions. Like the Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:1-21). Like Deborah freeing the Israelites (Judges 5). Like David's victories in battles (1 Samuel 18:7). Like Jesus being born (Luke 1:46-55; Luke 2:13-14, 28-32). And now God is singing over you. Not because of what you have done. No, because of who you are: His child (1 John 3:1). And He sings because He is celebrating that fact. He is like the shepherd who searched through the dangers of the desert for his lost sheep. Like the woman who searched frantically for her lost coin. Like the Father who stood at the window of his house, longing for his wayward waistrel of a son to return. And when that son returned, the father threw a party (Luke 15:20‭-‬24)! That is your God! And when He sings, the all of heaven joins in the harmonies (Luke 15:1-10) Hallelujah! Or we could think of it another, precious way. Have you ever tried settling a baby to sleep? Hard, right? One of my sisters would only sleep to the sound of one song. You know, to drown out the yelling and the sirens and the stones smashing against our windows. So my parents would get out the record player, pick out the album, set the record spinning, find the track with the needle and let it play. And it worked. Every time. The track? Simon and Garfunkel: "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Yep. You got it right. My sister dropped off to sleep to the sound of a white dude wondering if he should kill himself. No accounting for taste, right? When my daughter was born, someone gave us a CD of Christian baby lullabies. I mean, they were so cheesy I'd be amazed if they weren't the cause of my wife's dairy protein intolerance. It was either that or the ice cream and chocolate. But do you know what? Falling asleep to a gentle voice singing that you are blessed and watched over by God? Not a bad idea. Probably why she's the best adjusted of all of us. But there's more. How about God singing of His love for you? How about God celebrating you? How about God singing of all He gave for you? Would that drown out the self-doubt and the trash talk and the put-downs? Other people might have been 'just saying', but what if they 'just stopped' so you could 'just listen'? To God. Singing of His love for you. What difference would that make? Would it change the moment? The atmosphere? The game? Your life? Because God is singing. And He is singing over you. And if you could hear it! Oh, if you could only hear it! You'd never be the same again.

Outro So if your head aches from hearing about your flaws, and your heart hurts from hearing about your failings. If you are constantly reminded that you are not fast enough, strong enough, bright enough, good enough. If you've reached rock bottom and bruised more than your pride. If even Houdini in all his prime couldn't get you out of the mess you're in, then before you give up, give in and check out, let God have the final word. When you're humbled before Him - whether you did it or others - and you freely confess the mess you're in then He has five things He wants to say: I am with you. I am fighting for you. I delight in you. I am silent against you. I am singing over you. Hear it, brother! Hear it, sister! Hear the voice of the Lord! Let drown out all the negativity. Let it drown out the self-talk. Let it drown out the mocking and the teasing and the jeering. Instead, here Him singing. Almighty God singing. Over you. Celebrating you. His love for you. And all of Heaven is harmonising too! Then ask yourself this: who are you going to listen to now? In the 1993 a Christian was sorely challenged by the pride in his own heart. So Steve Taylor wrote a song. I saw the title of this song and I was shocked. It was called "Jesus is for losers". What? Losers? I was a teenager. I was desperate to be somebody. How could Jesus be for losers? I couldn't be a loser! Then I read the lyrics: Just as you are Just a wretch like me Jesus is for losers Grace from the blood of a tree Just as we are At a total loss Jesus is for losers Broken at the foot of the Cross

(music here, lyrics here) Then I read the Word of God. You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. Matthew 5:3‭-‬4 MSG https://bible.com/bible/97/mat.5.3-4.MSG For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Matthew 23:12 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/mat.23.12.NIVUK And especially this one: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:8‭-‬10 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/1jn.1.8-10.NIVUK When the thinker CS Lewis came to Christ, he said that he was the most reluctant Christian in all of Britain. He wrestled with God and had to admit that he lost. You see, that's it. We cannot be found without admitting we are lost. We cannot receive grace without admitting we got it wrong. We cannot gain Christ unless we are willing to lose everything. The only difference between us and the so-called 'losers' in society is they are more willing to admit it than we are. They are more honest and open about it. Perhaps that's an uncomfortable truth worth remembering.