Intro: A sad reality is that many believers don’t actually know how the Father feels about them. We imagine that God responds to us the way that we would respond to us. Zephaniah 3:17 tells us exactly how God feels about Israel and all of His children. Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV) The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
I. The Lord is in your midst. God is in our midst right now as we meet. When we leave here God will go with us wherever we go. He is in the midst of the political situation. He is your God; yours in covenant. We Christians have a covenant with God Almighty through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ. He Is the mighty One who will save. He can do all that is required for our benefit. He can restrain and destroy enemies, can support and defend his own people. He can save you and I from our fears, worries, doubts and the rage of those who come against us.
II. The Lord rejoices over you with gladness. The word rejoice means God experiences glad joy over you His child. Too many Christians either are ignorant of this fact or reject what God says about them. Just think of God rejoicing over you. He knew all about you before you were ever born and He still rejoices over you despite all your failures. His love is not earned. His joy over you is not dependent on your works. He rejoices over you because Jesus made you His and He sees the future for you. Your future includes an eternity in heaven with Him. Quit listening to people and the devil.
III. The Lord will quiet you with His love. Are you troubled in your soul over a circumstance in your life? Allow God to quiet your soul. Let God renew his love for you each day. He will show the same love to you that he did of old to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the Israelite's. When things aren't going right and you are in the midst of a storm, He will gently quiet you with His love. By His Spirit He will speak peace in your heart. He will let you know how much He understands what you are going through and He will assure you He is present to help in the midst of your situation. Psalm 46:1-3 (NKJV) 1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear.
IV. The Lord rejoices over you with singing. When God looks at you He breaks out into singing. There is a great joy in God's heart towards His people, and so He expresses it; He rejoices with joy, and expresses it with singing; which shows how delighted He is with His people. We are His chosen, redeemed, and called ones; as we have God's own righteousness upon us, and His own grace in us because of what Jesus did for us. We are His in whom He delights; His "Bride" to whom He is married; and it is His love of satisfaction and delight, which is the source of all the grace and glory He bestows upon us. Not only does God sing, but you are the object of His song, simply because you are His redeemed child. His love for you causes Him to sing, not because of who you are or what you have done, but because of what Jesus did for you on the cross, that has brought you together into a mutual relationship of love with Him and the Father God. Imagine the river of God’s love, compassion, mercy and grace that streams toward you expressed through His singing voice right now.
Invitation: For God to look upon you with favor, you must know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord. You simply confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and then invite Him into your life to lead, guide and direct you by His Spirit. Then the Father God will rejoice over you.
