Judges 10:6-16

To me, the Book of Judges is one of the saddest books of the Bible. The Israelites have come out of the wilderness into the land promised to them and we see in the Book of Joshua the wonderful victories that God has given them as they possess the land. Then we come to the Book of Judges.

Judges 2:10-13 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. (11) And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: (12) And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. (13) And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.

Within two generations, the Israelites had turned away from God and began to serve other gods. It says in verse 12 that the Israelites forsook the Lord God – that means they abandoned God, they turned away from Him. There is a two-fold problem here in chapter 2: first – in verse 10 we see that the older Israelites must have failed to teach the younger Israelites about God and what He had done for them. They must have neglected their duty to pass on to the next generation the things of God. Second: because the Israelites had not been taught, they turned away from God and went chasing after the false gods of the people around them. How about you: are you teaching your children, grandchildren and loved ones about Jesus Christ? Please do not depend on Sunday School classes and church services to be the only time your children and grandchildren hear about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. That is only four hours a week – please be sure to teach your children and grandchildren about salvation and Jesus Christ.

As you read the Book of Judges, you will see this is a constant pattern with the Israelites: they would turn away from God and sin, they would suffer, then they would supplicate themselves before God and then God would bring them salvation. How much better their lives would have been if they just kept their focus on God rather than on themselves. How much better our lives would be if we today would just keep our focus on God rather than on ourselves. That brings us to Judges 10.

Judges 10:6, 7 And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. (7) And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

The Israelites have had two judges in a row to guide them and after the second died, the Israelites quickly did evil again in the sight of the Lord. It is so sad how quickly they began to worship the false gods of the people around them. In verses 7-9, we see that the Israelites were oppressed and vexed for at least 18 years. The nations around them – whose gods they were worshiping – were making war with them.

Judges 10:10 And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim.

The Israelites begin to come to their senses and realize they need to repent and turn back to God. They cry out to God, but had they really repented? Was it repentance or is it recognition of their sin? It appears that they have not really repented of their sin and just recognize that they have sinned. There is a big difference between the two. Look at verses 11-14. The Lord reminds the Israelites what He has done for them in the past and points out that the Israelites have forsaken Him again. God tells them: (v14) Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. Personally, I would not be surprised if the Israelites had already cried out to Baalim, Ashtaroth, and the other false gods and found that they did not help. How often do we try everything else before we turn to God? How often do we try to accomplish something under our own strength rather than pray to God for help? Look at verse 15 and see how the Israelites cry out the second time – this time there is true repentance.

Judges 10:15, 16 And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. (16) And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.

The first time they cried out to God, they admitted that they had sinned, but that was it! This time The Israelites cried out and put some feet to their words: their repentance led them to action. The first time they are saying: “O God, we have sinned because we followed Baalim.” The second time they cry out: “O God, we have sinned and we deserve whatever you do to us. Please save us.” Then they put away the idols and the strange gods and began to obediently serve the Lord God. There is a big difference between the two occasions. They began to fear the Lord God again and chose to follow Him. God began to move in their lives when they moved back toward Him. God was working in their lives while they were unrepentant, because He was drawing the pagan nations to afflict the Israelites – God used the pagan nations to chasten the Israelites because a loving Father knows that He has to chasten His children when they go astray. Repentance became real in their lives and they acted upon it. The first time their repentance was just lip service.

God does not want false repentance and He does not to worshiped for the wrong reasons. What is your motivation? Ask God this question: “Why do I do what I do in my service to you?” The answer may dismay you. God does not want your service if your motivation is wrong. Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Repent if your service to God is poorly motivated! In Isaiah 29:13, we see that the Israelites’ worship of God was self-centered! They worshiped Him in the manner that made them feel good, not God. Their fear and reverence of God came from what men taught them – it was not in the way that God showed them. God does not want you to just go through the motions of service and obedience to Him. He wants you heart to be right with Him God wants to you to do anything that you do because you love Him and desire to serve Him. God wants your worship of Him to please Him not yourself! That means that not all music pleases Him! Look at what the All Holy God told the Israelites in the Book of Amos: Amos 5:21-23 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. (22) Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. (23) Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. Look at verse 23 again – there is some music that God rejects and we should reject it too. Not all music is appropriate in the believer’s life. Rock ‘n roll does not belong in the believer’s life. Country music does not belong in the believer’s life. Is a musician truly honoring God if he or she sing about God in one song and on the next song they are singing about drinking and partying? Christian rock is not “Christian.” If the music you listen to now as a saved believer in Jesus Christ sounds the same as the music you use to listen to – but with “cleaner” lyrics – then it is not God-honoring music. You are in need of revival when the music you listen to does not honor God.

Revival will come when repentance comes into the believer’s life. In the Book of Joel, God urged the Israelites to truly fully repent. Joel 2:12-13 Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: (13) And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. The Bible shows that when Israelites were in mourning they would put on sackcloth and place ashes upon their head and weep and wail. Look at verse 13 again: God wants them (and us) to not just put on a show of repentance but to truly repent! Rend your heart, not your garments, and turn to the LORD your God. God wants us to repent and be sincere about it and He will show us His grace and His mercy. I thank God that He is slow to anger and that He is very long suffering with me. I try His patience too often. God wants you and me to turn to Him with all of our hearts and when we do that, we will have a proper fear of the Lord God.

Today there is a distinct lack of the fear of the Lord among people, including Christians. What is meant by the phrase “fear of the Lord?” In the Bible it does not mean that the believer should be scared of God, but they should reverence Him. The Webster’s 1858 dictionary says: In scripture, fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion. In good men, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience. This is filial fear. Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever. People do not fear the Lord God like they should. We need revival when we do not fear the Lord. We need revival when do not feel conviction about the sin in our life. We need revival when we do not love God like we should. Read through the Book of Proverbs – at least 12 times it discusses what the fear of the Lord is in the life of the believer. Proverb 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. Pro 19:23 The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil. Pro 23:17 Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long.

The fear of the Lord, the reverence for Him should happen each and every day of our lives. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. If we do not properly fear God and respect Him, then we will not be obedient to Him. When we do not properly fear God, then we will not feel conviction for our sin. When we do not properly fear God, we will not feel conviction over that cigarette that was just lit up, or conviction for that glass of beer or wine that was just poured, or conviction about that TV show you just watched that had only “a few” bad words in it and “only” a couple scenes of immoral behavior. If there is one, then that is too many!

When we do have the proper fear of the Lord, then we will look to lift Him up and glorify Him, rather than ourselves. When we do have the proper fear of the Lord, then we will throw away those horror novels and romance stories about vampires. When we do have the proper fear of the Lord, we will focus on Him and His Word. When we do have the proper fear of the Lord, we will regularly pray to Him. We need revival when if we spend more time justifying our sin than repenting of the sin. The first steps to revival is regular prayer and reading of God’s Word.

Prayer is all important in the believer’s life. Jude 20-21 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, (21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Praying to God builds up our faith in God. Praying to God connects us to Him. Praying to God builds our love for Him. Praying to God gives us a greater fear and reverence for God. To be more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29), we need to daily pray to God and daily read our Bibles. Leonard Ravenhill wrote: No man is greater than his prayer life. The two prerequisites to successful Christian living are vision and passion, both of which are born in and maintained by prayer. The ministry of preaching is open to few; the ministry of prayer – the highest ministry of all human offices – is open to all. Spiritual adolescents say, “I’ll not go tonight, it’s only the prayer meeting.” It may be that Satan has little cause to fear most preaching. Yet past experiences sting him to rally all his infernal army to fight against God’s people praying. A sinning man will stop praying and a praying man will stop sinning. James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Prayer is all important in the believer’s life. Make the time to pray each and every day. Each of us needs revival if we can identify with any of the following statements:

We need revival when we are not daily praying and daily reading God’s Word. We need revival when church dinners are better attended than Wednesday night prayer meeting. We need revival when we do not love God as we once did. We need revival when we would rather watch TV rather than read the Bible or pray. We need revival when we make little or no effort to win the lost. We need revival when we have time for sports or amusements, but do not have time for church, Bible study, or prayer. We need revival when our Christianity is joyless and dry. We need revival when the only person you can hear sing in church is the song leader. We need revival when our hearts are cold and our eyes are dry. We need revival when we are bored with going to church. We need revival when going to church becomes our duty and not out of the love for God. We need revival when our worship is halfhearted, lifeless and becomes mere duty. We need revival when people have to be begged to serve God. We need revival when we know Biblical truth in our heads, but we are not practicing it in our lives. We need revival when we would rather make money rather than give money. We need revival when people have to be entertained in order to come to church. We need revival when we are unmoved by the fact that people are dying and going to hell. We need revival when we are not seeing the regular evidence of the supernatural power of God in our lives regularly. We need revival when we are more concerned about our children’s secular school education and activities rather than then condition of their souls. We need revival when we do not long for fellowship with God and His people. We need revival when our priorities are not spiritual first. If you identify with anything on this list, please do not hesitate to go to God in prayer and repentance! Go to Romans 12.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

God does not want you to die for Him – He wants you to be a living sacrifice. Live for Him each day! Look at verse 2 again: we are not suppose to be conformed to this world – we are suppose to be different from this world!The lost should look at believers and see that there is something different about believers in Jesus Christ – because we are suppose to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. This can only happen when we are spending time with God through His Word and through prayer. Have you noticed sometimes how a husband and wife after they have been married together for 30, 40, 50 years – that they start to look alike? They show the same mannerisms. They finish each other’s sentences and seem to know exactly what the other is thinking. That is how our relationship should be with God. How did that married couple get that way? Because they spent time together and built a relationship. We need to do the same with our relationship with God – spend time with Him by reading His Word to us and getting down on our knees in prayer to Him. That way when people look at us – they do not see us, they see Jesus Christ. We are in need of revival when people look at us and do not see Jesus Christ. When believers are willing to say, “Yes, God” then God will revive them. Are you willing to say “Yes, God” tonight?

Psa 85:6 Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

Deuteronomy 30:9-14

What is revival? We are calling these two nights revival meetings, but exactly are we looking to accomplish? We often pray for revival to come to our area and to the United States of America, but what are we looking for? And what are we willing to do?

Revival is nothing more than a renewed obedience to the Word of God and love for the Word of God. If we would just follow what God’s Word says, what a difference there would be in our lives. Leonard Ravenhill wrote: It has been well said that there are only three classes of people in the world today: those who are afraid, those who do not know enough to be afraid, and those who know their Bibles. Sodom, which had no Bible, no preachers, no tracts, no prayer meetings, no churches, perished. How then will America be spared from the wrath of the Almighty, think you? We have millions of Bibles, scores of thousands of churches, endless preachers – and yet what sin! Revival is a renewed obedience to and love for the Word of God. Real revival is Heaven sent, not born by man. Real revival is brought by God when His people repent of the self-centeredness and turn back to God-centeredness. Real revival is not about you and me – it is about God. Real revival in our lives will bring glory and honor to God and we will demonstrate that revival each and every day to everyone.

What has happened? Believers in Jesus Christ should not need revival! We have His Book right here! Hopefully, everyone came here tonight with a Bible in their hand and they have opened it up. That is your responsibility, to open the Bible in front of you and double check what I am reading to you and preaching to you is true to what the Bible says! My responsibility is to preach what God has given me, but please double check me! Is Sunday the only day of the week you open your Bible? Does your Bible collect dust the rest of the week? This Book is what God has given to us to tell us about Himself and His Son, Jesus Christ. We have no further revelations today despite what the cults may tell you and we do not need further revelations (see John 20:30, 31)! This Bible is the Word of God, as Paul wrote to Timothy: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. How else are we going to come closer to God except through His Word and prayer to Him. This Bible comes directly from God and gives us doctrine – the teachings of and about God; reproof – the chastisement every believer needs when they begin to stray from God; correction – showing the believer the way back to the right path; instruction in righteousness – to live lives glorifying and honoring to God. Charles Spurgeon said: I would rather speak five words out of this book than 50,000 words of the philosophers. If we want revivals, we must revive our reverence for the Word of God. If we want conversions, we must put more of God’s Word into our sermons.

Please return to Deuteronomy 30.

What is Moses (under Holy Spirit inspiration) telling the Israelites in verses 1-8? When you read the previous chapters, the Israelites are on the verge of entering into the land promised to them and they have read off the blessings that they will receive if they obey God and they have read off the curses that will happen if they disobey God. Chapter 30 verses 1-8 discuss what will happen if the Israelites repent of their sins and turn back to God. Moses is talking about revival here – Revival will happen for the Israelites when they turn back to God and turn away from their sin.

Deuteronomy 30:9-10 And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: And here is the definition of revival right here in the Word of God in verse 10:(10) If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

It is so simple and yet, we make it so difficult. We get comfortable in our sin. We know we should read our Bible… BUT, there is this TV show I really want to see. I know I should read my Bible… BUT I want to go see this movie. I know I should read my Bible… BUT baseball, football, basketball, NASCAR is on right now. I know I should read my Bible… BUT it is too hard to read. That is why we are suppose to study the Bible, so we can understand it better. I know I should read my Bible… BUT it is too long to read. And yet, people are willing to sit down and read the Harry Potter books or the Twilight series of books or Stephen King books or romance novels. I know I should read my Bible… BUT… fill in your own excuse!

The worst words that a man can say is BUT… GOD. And yet, if we would open our Bibles and study them, we would see that two of the greatest words are But God – as in Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. AND Romans 6:16-17 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? (17) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. AND Ephesians 2:3-5 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by (grace ye are saved;) If the dust on your Bible is thick enough to write the word “foolish” on it: then that is what you should do because that is exactly how you are acting: foolish.

Deuteronomy 30:10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

Look at what Jesus Christ said in Matthew 22: Mat 22:35-38 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, (36) Master, which is the great commandment in the law? (37) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. (38) This is the first and great commandment. The question I ask you is: If the first and great commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, then would the greatest sin be the failure to follow that commandment? How are you at loving God? When you sin, how quick are you to repent of the sin? And do you truly repent or do you go right back to that sin the first chance you get? If we are truly loving and obeying God, then we should show it. If you want revival in your life, then you must get back to the Word of God. If you want to glorify God in your life, then you must get back to the Word of God. If you want peace and contentment in your life, you must get back to the Word of God. Charles Spurgeon stated: Yet, above all, we want a revival, if we would promote the glory of God. The proper object of a Christian’s life is God’s glory. The Church was made on purpose to glorify God; but it is only a revived Church that brings glory to His Name.

Something that has been impressed upon me by God lately is a better realization of Him as Father. Go to Galatians 4:

Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

The problem today is that too many professing Christians look at God the Father as a kindly grandfatherly old man. They want to view Him as sitting among the clouds in Heaven in a rocking chair. They read the Galatians 4:6 and view the word “Abba” as “papa” or “daddy.” God is so much more than that, and people have lost sight of who He truly is. Read the next verses Galatians 4:7-9 (7) Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (8) Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. (9) But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? The believer in Jesus Christ is a son of God upon the moment of salvation and any good son of God should look to please his Father and obey his Father and Love his Father. When you sin, there should be a sense of conviction about committing that sin. And with that conviction should come repentance. If the repentance is not forthcoming, then if you are a child of God, God’s chastening, as the loving Father, will come upon you. Proverbs 3:11-13 My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: (12) For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. (13) Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.

We must be sure to have the proper view of God: He IS the most loving Father any believer could ever know, however, with that love requires God to chasten the unrepentant child of God. You are in need of revival if there is little or no repentance for the sin in your life. You are in need of revival if you enjoy your sin more than you enjoy your time with God and His people. You are in need of revival if the Word of God does not move you and convict you. Real revival produces judgment of sin and brings you to the point of falling down on your face before the Lord and crying out in repentance.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. (12) It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? (13) Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? (14) But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

God’s Word is not hidden from us today. God’s Will for us is not hidden from us today. We do not have to look up to the sky for God’s Word and we do not have to plunge to the lowest part of the ocean to find God’s Word. Moses is telling the Israelites that God’s Word was with them and the same is true today! Especially here in America – I have knocked on a lot of doors in this area and most people admit that they own a Bible. They own a Bible, but they rarely ever open it.

Let’s say you own a brand new Ford Mustang: it is bright cherry red, shiny mag wheels, high performance tires, black leather interior, tinted windows, and an excellent sound system… sounds great doesn’t it? But if you never take it out for a drive, what good is it? All you really have is a very large paperweight. The same is true with the Bible: you could have a leather bound, Cambridge made, King James version Bible, but if you never open it and read it and study it, then all you have is a very large paperweight.

Do you want revival in your life? I hope if I asked everyone in this room tonight if they wanted revival, everyone would shout, “Yes!” If you want revival, are you willing to do what it takes for God to bring revival in your life? That is a whole other story, isn’t it?

What does it take for God to bring revival into your life? It starts with the basics: read your Bible and pray to God. Start small and work your way up. When a person decides to become a body builder, do they immediately start with the two hundred pound weights? No! They start with smaller weights and, as they progress, they add more and more weights. Start by reading two chapters a day of the Bible: read one chapter of the Book of Proverbs and read one chapter of another book of the Bible, like the Gospel of Luke. Day one: read chapter 1 of Proverbs and chapter 1 of Luke. Day two: read chapter 2 of Proverbs and chapter 2 of Luke. And keep going until you finish Luke. Read one of the Books in the morning and the other in the evening – the point is that you need to read and you should do it with the goal of completing each book of the Bible. Pray a short prayer before each reading asking God for wisdom and guidance. Over time, add more chapters. If you read four chapters a day, you will finish the Bible in one year.

Deuteronomy 30:14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. God’s Word is right here. But you must make time for it. I know you are busy, but two chapters a day may take up twenty minutes of time, surely you can spare twenty minutes. God’s Word is a lot more satisfying than a television show.

Some folks do not read the Bible because, they say, there are so many things in the Book that they cannot understand. It is said that these things which cannot be understood trouble them. Of course these are excuses. What does one do when he sits down to a Southern-fried chicken dinner, and finds there are bones in the chicken which he is unable to chew? Does he excuse himself, and say, “I can’t chew the bony parts of the chicken, therefore I won’t try to eat any of it?” Hardly. He merely puts the bones to one side and enjoys the edible part of the chicken. Why not put at least this much effort into Bible reading?

You know the whole Armor of God as described in Ephesians chapter 6? Turn there now. The Word of God is the only weapon we have. Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: If you are fighting a war and every believer in Jesus Christ should be ready for battle, as the Bible says in Ephesians 6:11-13 Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. The Word of God is the only weapon we have! You cannot win a war by only defending yourself. Wars are won by going on the offensive and the Bible is our only weapon, you need to be ready to use it. The US Army does not send it’s troops to a battle with first preparing them otherwise, they will not know what to do in battle and they will run and hide. You need to be reading your Bible and studying it so you will be ready when someone comes up to you and asks you the question you did not expect. You must be ready to stand.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. The evil day is upon us, are you ready to stand? This country needs revival, are you ready to stand? This state needs revival, are you ready to stand? The towns of Colosse, Parish, Pulaski, Fernwood, Mexico, need revival, are you ready to stand? Are you in need of revival today and are you willing to do what it takes for revival?

From Zephaniah 2:4 through chapter 3, verse 8, we see the judgments of God upon the nations of the world. His judgments are worldwide, which only makes sense because He is the Creator of the universe and of this world and of mankind. Thankfully, He is also the Redeemer of mankind. Because of Who He is, Holy, Just, and Righteous, God will judge the nations and the people for their sin and rejection of His Son, Jesus Christ. J. Vernon McGee wrote:

People have a sense of standards, because God has put that into them. Paul wrote: Romans 2:12-16 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (13) (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. (14) For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: (15) Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) (16) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

The Gentiles – non-believers – have not been given the Law that was given to Moses. However, when they live their day to day lives, they may end up keeping certain aspects of the Law – for example: they could be setting aside the Sabbath day as a day of rest, or they may be not be thieves or killers. Their actions may be correct, but the motivation for the actions will not be the same as a believer in Jesus Christ. The believer in Jesus Christ will obey God’s commandments because they love Him and want to bring glory to Him. The non-believer may have certain standards, but if they are not God’s standards, then those standards will not help the non-believer no matter how sincerely they hold to those standards. Those head-hunters had a high standard of honesty, but they violated God’s standards by killing and eating people. Your sincerity will not be a deciding factor on the Day of Judgment. A man wrote: Returning home from school one day, my little boy came to me with the evidence of what he had had for lunch smeared all over his mouth. I told him to go wash his face and come back to show me the results. He returned in a hurry, saying, “I am all clean now, Daddy.” “Are you?” I asked. “Sure. I washed just like you told me to.” From his point of view he was clean, but from where I stood he still looked dirty. It is not what we think of ourselves that counts, but what God our Creator thinks of us.

Zephaniah 2:1-3 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired; (2) Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you. (3) Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.

This week we are continuing our look at the Book of Zephaniah which we began a month ago. If you will remember, the Book of Zephaniah speaks of God’s Wrath, but it also demonstrates God’s Tough Love for His people. In chapters 2 and 3, we will see the judgment of God upon the world as well as upon His people, the Israelites.

Zephaniah 2:1 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;

God is calling the Israelites to come together to look to God and pray to Him for forgiveness. They have sinned against God by consorting with other nations, which was against His commandments. They have sinned against God by worshiping idols and false gods. They have sinned against God by not following Him and His righteousness, instead seeking their own righteousness. God wants them to come together and humble themselves before the All Holy God. 2Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. This was a promise made by God to the Israelites and throughout their history, when they repented of their sin and returned to God, He did heal their land. God calls Israel: “O nation not desired”, why? Because there was nothing desirable about them. They were not the strongest people. They were not the smartest people. They were not the best looking people. But they were the people God chose to call out and separate from the rest of the world. Sadly, their sins against God had made them even less desirable, and now judgment was going to be coming upon them. The Israelites had reached the point where they were dead to their realization of what their sins were doing to themselves and their relationship with God. They were no longer sensitive to their sin. We can become that way too. We may choose to continue a particular sin and if we continue long enough in it, we become immune to the pricking of the Holy Spirit. We lose our sense of shame about the sin.

Zephaniah 2:2 Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD’s anger come upon you.

God is urging His people to come together for prayer and come together for repentance and come back to God. Zephaniah is telling the Israelites that the judgment day is coming – the day of the LORD’s anger is coming, and when it arrives it will be too late to stop. Remember, the chaff is the portion of wheat that is not used and when it is removed, it is never coming back. Our days are the same way – each day ends and we can never get it back, that is why we need to make the most of each day for the glory of God. Look at the decline of this country: there may not be more sin than there was 100 years ago, but sin is more visible today because there is no shame over sin. Instead, people celebrate sin and applaud sin. The day of the Lord’s anger will come upon this nation if it continues on the path it is on. This nation needs to come together in prayer and repentance to the Almighty God.

Zephaniah 2:3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.

The LORD is urging His people to seek Him and to return to Him. God is not hiding from His people, He is in the same spot as He was when the people were obediently following Him. God did not leave His people, they left Him and He wants them to come back. His people should be meek, not prideful, not impatient, and not full of self-righteousness. They are to return to Him and seeking His righteousness and seek to follow Him in meekness. Too many people are filled up with pride and self-sufficiency rather then truly seeking His righteousness and wisdom. Too many people are coming up with their own ideas and then using the Bible to look for verses to prove their point. We are to seek God’s righteousness and do it meekly! The Apostle Paul knew that he had nothing of himself to glory in other than in the cross of Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. By the world’s standards, Saul had everything to glory in, but Paul knew He had nothing if He did not have Jesus Christ.

The last phrase of verse 3: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger. If His people would return to Him then He would protect them from His Wrath. God’s Wrath was coming, so the Israelites had to choose which side they were to be on. Remember the showdown between Elijah, the prophet of God, and Ahab, Jezebel and the 400 Baal worshipers?

At Mount Carmel, before the sacrifices were performed, Elijah spoke to the Israelites: 1Kings 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Elijah is asks the Israelites How long halt ye between two opinions? When we think of the word “halt”, we think of stopping. What Elijah is declaring to the Israelites that they are fence sitters: sometimes they lean toward God and follow Him and sometimes they lean toward Baal and follow him (or it). Elijah is telling the Israelites to stop half-heartedly following God. One of the definitions for halt is “hop” and that is what the Israelites were doing. They would hop to the side of God for a moment and then hop to the side of Baal. The Israelites were lukewarm toward God and stayed with the side that they viewed was most profitable for them. Or most comfortable for them. Rather than stay on the side that glorifies and honors God.

wayoflife.org

An Article by David Cloud
Enlarged July 14, 2010 (first published February 10, 2010) (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org;)-

Many people have spoiled their Christian lives because of bad decisions made apart from God’s will (e.g., wrong job, wrong friends, wrong marriage partner, mistakes in the pursuit of education, mistakes made in moving to the another place). And it is not only young people who make unwise decisions; many older and even elderly people have committed this grave mistake.

Following are some foundational Bible principles for making wise decisions in God’s will:

1. Don’t trust your own understanding.

See Proverbs 3:5; 28:26; Jeremiah 17:9.

The individual that trusts his own understanding will not follow God’s will. He will make wrong decisions every time. Because of our fallen hearts we do not have the ability to make wise decisions on our own. We must seek God and trust Him explicitly.

As a consequence, we must be diligent Bible students, because it is through the Bible that we know God’s mind (1 Corinthians 2:16), learn God’s will (Psalm 119:105), and obtain faith (Romans 10:17). We must learn how to have an effective daily Bible study. We must be faithful to the preaching and teaching ministry of a strong Bible-believing church. We must take every opportunity to grow in our knowledge of God’s holy Word, so we can know His will and make wise decisions.

2. Trust in the Lord and pray much for wisdom (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Instead of trusting in our own understanding, we must cast ourselves upon the Lord and beseech Him for wisdom and guidance in every major decision. He has promised to lead His people, but we must seek His guidance and not presume upon it. We must “acknowledge him” in all of our ways. It is tempting to think, “Well, the Lord already knows that I need His wisdom and help; surely He will automatically give it.” In fact, God has taught us in His Word to pray specifically and earnestly about all matters. To fail to do so is a recipe for making unwise decisions.

3. Walk in the light (1 John 1:5-10).

To walk in sin is to walk in darkness, and it hinders spiritual living and thinking (1 Peter 2:11).

If a believer is disobedient or sassy to his parents, stubborn or critical or bitter toward authority, not loving one’s wife, not showing honor to one’s husband, gossiping, lying, stealing, loving the evil things of the world, or such things, his prayers are hindered and he will not have wisdom to make good decisions.

To make important decisions in a backslidden spiritual state is a recipe for disaster. Many believers who were far from the Lord in their hearts contracted a marriage or a job or pursued a field of education or developed a friendship that they later came to regret deeply. Beware!

4. Delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4).

The way to know God’s will is to put Him at the center of one’s affections. The will of God is not found by those who approach the Christian life as a mere list of do’s and don’ts. It is found by those who know Christ personally and delight in Him. When I do this, He puts the right desires in my heart and then fulfills those desires. The worldly or nominal Christian, on the other hand, is filled with desires that are contrary to God’s will and lives in frustration because they are not fulfilled.

5. Do not make any decision that would cause you to disobey the Bible (John 8:31-32).

What is God’s will? How do we know find it? Basically, God’s will is obeying His Word. Jesus described it as to “continue in my Word.” Any decision that causes you to disobey the Bible is contrary to God’s will. There are no exceptions.

This is what it means to live by faith. Living by faith is simply to believe God and obey His Word. See Romans 10:17. It means to learn to make decisions based on the Bible rather than on one’s feelings and human thinking and circumstances, and then to trust God to open the right doors and provide the needs. It is that simple.

Consider some examples of this and how it relates to making wise decisions in God’s will:

The Bible says do not associate with evil or with idolatry (1 Corinthians 15:33; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11), so living by faith means I will not associate with such things. Thus, it is not God’s will for His people to attend worldly parties, to attend a pagan school, to get a job at a place that would require participation in wickedness (such as selling liquor or wearing immodest clothing or showing wicked movies or playing wicked music or sensual dancing), to participate in pagan religious rituals, to participate in worldly music or fashions, etc. I recall a teenager at one church who got a job working in a movie theater. He was concerned about the unwholesome films and was thinking about quitting, but he was advised not to quit by the church’s worldly youth pastor! The result was severe backsliding. I recall another man who had a job at a restaurant-bar and was responsible to supervise worldly parties that included drinking and dancing. He did not grow very much spiritually or learn how to make wise decisions in his life until he quit that job.

The Bible says do not neglect the church (Hebrews 10:25). It is the house of God (1 Timothy 3:15). Thus, it is wrong to make any decision that would cause you to forsake the assembly, such as moving to a place where there is no good church or taking a job that would keep you out of the services. I recall a young man in our church that was saved out of a druggie lifestyle. He showed promise and was growing in the Lord, and then his father asked him to return to his village. In spite of our counsel against it, he went, and from that point he backslid in his Christian life. We have seen this happen many times.

In fact, one of the chief reasons why people quit church is that they disobey God and get a job that keeps them out of the services and they then backslide. Consider the following two warnings:

“We lose about 20% of the young sometime after the seventh grade, and generally we lose them because they get jobs that make them work on Sundays. Once they get those jobs, it becomes easy for them to justify staying out of services and they generally do.”

“We have noticed that many who leave get the idea that if God gives them a job that requires them to work during services, then it is O.K. to miss services. If God gives them a job that requires wearing immodest clothes then it must be O.K. to wear immodest clothes. If God gives them a job that plays rock-n-roll music on the PA then that is O.K. They think they are strong enough to take that and keep coming to church unaffected. Usually though, within six months of getting the job they are missing 50% or more of the services and within a year, they are out of the services completely. As the Singles Director, I have stressed the fact the God has His perfect job for us and Satan has his perfect job for us. However, most of the kids won’t wait upon God to provide that perfect job.”

If a person lives by faith, he will not take a job that causes him to disobey God’s Word by neglecting church.

The Bible says do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). Therefore, it is never God’s will for a believer to marry an unbeliever or to go into business with an unbeliever, or any such thing. I recall a man who was one of the first converts in a new church. He did well and grew, but eventually he went into business with an unbeliever and because of his partner’s crooked ways he ended up in jail and his testimony was corrupted.

The Bible says do not associate with false doctrine (Romans 16:17; 2 John 10-11). This means that it is not God’s will for a believer to attend a Bible study or a church where false doctrine is taught or to read books by or listen to sermons by false teachers or to develop a close relationship with someone who holds to false doctrine. I recall two young men who were in our church that showed much promise and seemed to be growing in the Lord, but they started attending a Bible study led by a false teacher and ended up leaving our church.

Making wise decisions simply means the child of God will not do anything contrary to God’s Word.

If we disobey the Bible, we cannot expect God’s blessing. What many Christians do is to make their own plans and then ask God to bless them, but that is backwards. We must first make certain that our plans are in accordance with God’s will, then we can reasonably ask for and expect God’s blessing.

6. Do not fear man; fear God (Proverbs 29:25).

Jesus warned that we must love Him even more than our dearest relatives. See Luke 14:26. What did Jesus mean when He demanded that we “hate” our nearest and dearest loved ones? We understand this by comparing Scripture with Scripture. Consider a companion passage in Matthew 10:37. When Jesus said we must hate our father, mother, wife, children, brethren, and sisters, he was saying that we must not love them more than Him and His will. The Lord requires that we put Him absolutely first in our affections and that we live to please Him above all else. Family relationships are important and God’s Word instructs us to care for our loved ones (1 Timothy 5:8; Colossians 3:18-21). At the same time, the call and work of God takes precedence over any human relationship. Down through the centuries many have resisted the call of God because of family ties. There are powerful forces at work here. I am reminded of the man who led me to Christ. When God called him to preach, his wife gave him an ultimatum that she would leave him if he did not stop preaching. He pleaded with her to stay, but he refused to stop preaching. Eventually she did leave him and took their young son with her. The man was brokenhearted, but he refused to stop obeying God’s command to preach the Word of God. Many, faced with such a choice, have turned their backs on God’s call.

If a person wants to make wise decisions in God’s will he must fear and serve God more than man. If it comes to a choice of obeying and pleasing his friends or relatives and obeying and pleasing God, he must choose God.

It is a great sin to fear relatives and friends more than God. Many unbelievers commit this sin and end up in hell because of it (“the fearful,” Revelation 21:8). Many who are in hell would say they are there because they were afraid of what other people thought. But believers also commit this sin. We must remember that we are bought with a price and are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This is what baptism pictures. The believer dies to the old life and is raised symbolically to a new life in Christ wherein Christ is Lord of all (Romans 6:3-4).

Young people often commit the sin of fearing man. They know that God is calling them to a life of holiness and service, but they don’t want to stand out in the crowd so they draw back from doing God’s will. I had to face this as a new Christian, when I knew that God wanted me to cut my long hair but I was hesitant to do so, knowing that I would no longer look “cool.” Many Christian girls refuse to dress in a modest and feminine manner because they fear man more than God. This is very foolish. Jesus warned that if we are ashamed of Him in this present world, He will be ashamed of us in the next (Mark 8:38).

7. Honor authorities

Another important principle in making wise decisions is to honor God-given authority. The Bible makes much of this. See Romans 13:1; 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:22; 6:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:17; Titus 3:1; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-15.

I have seen many believers make unwise decisions that took them out of God’s will when they failed to honor and obey the authorities that God put over them.

Many young people have committed this error by not honoring their parents, and by this means they have entered unwise marriages, developed unwise friendships, attended the wrong schools, joined the wrong church, moved to the wrong place, and made many other unwise decisions that could have been avoided had they simply honored their parents.

The same error has been committed by wives who have disobeyed and dishonored their husbands. Our mother Eve is the classic example of this!

The same error has been committed by church members who have disobeyed and dishonored their leaders. If you get angry and bitter at your leaders, you will not make good decisions. It is not wrong to question them, but it is wrong to have a bad attitude toward them. I have seen many people leave good churches and backslide because they got bitter at the church leaders and refused to repent. We must remember that church leaders are just men, and they are far from perfect. That is not an excuse; it is a fact! Church leaders are not above God’s Word, and if they sin they should be disciplined after a biblical fashion (1 Timothy 5:19-20), but the leaders should always be given the benefit of the doubt. There is a time to leave a church, when it is not committed to God’s Word, but we must be careful to leave in the right way, with the right attitude, and we should always move to a stronger church, not a weaker one.

Authorities must be tested by God’s Word. We don’t give blind obedience to authority figures., because we live in a fallen world, and the highest authority is God. Every authority must therefore be tested by God’s Word. Compare Acts 5:29; 17:11.

Authorities should be given the benefit of the doubt. Most of the time when people disagree with authority figures, they don’t do so on the basis of clear Scripture but on the basis of their own feelings and opinions. If I don’t think an authority figure is right, I must ask myself this question: Do I have clear Scripture showing me that this leader is wrong and that my thinking in this matter is right? In light of the many commandments in Scripture to obey those who have the rule over us, it is dangerous to reject authority figures on the basis of anything other than Scripture rightly divided.

8. Seek wise counsel.

See Proverbs 12:15; 19:20.

One of the important parts of making wise decisions in God’s will is to seek godly counsel. Before making any major decision–such marriage, education, a job, or a move–a person should seek godly counsel.

Seek counsel from wise, mature people (Prov. 24:6). The classic case in Scripture of someone who failed to do this is Solomon’s son Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:1-16). Soon after he ascended the throne, he was confronted by his subjects who beseeched him to treat them compassionately. In making his decision, he first consulted the old men that had counseled his father, and they wisely advised him to heed the people’s request. He then consulted his own peers, and they advised him to treat the people as he wished and to ignore their feelings. He followed this foolish advice and lost the majority of his kingdom.

Seek counsel from near people (Prov. 27:10). Many times people seek counsel from those who are far off rather than those who are near. A lot of strangers have written to me through the years to ask my opinion about situations in their family or church, and I have always thought this to be strange and wrongheaded. People sometimes want to seek counsel from those afar off because they don’t know them and their situation, but it is for this very reason that we should seek counsel from those who are near. For a young person, the first line of counsel should be his or her own parents, particularly if they are believers. The next line of counsel would be one’s church leaders. God gives leaders to the church to watch over His people and to help them, like a shepherd with sheep. Godly church leaders “watch for your souls” (Hebrews 13:17). They think about the church members and pray for them and desire the best for each of them, and God gives them wisdom.

In our church we urge the young people who are thinking about marriage to talk with their parents and then to discuss the matter with their church leaders. If a boy is interested in a certain girl, we urge him not to pursue the matter until he has talked it over with the leaders. They know things that the young people don’t know, and they can give good advice about whether it is wise to pursue a certain relationship. Invariably, those who have ignored this procedure have made a mess of things!

Seek counsel from caring people. It is wise to seek counsel from those who not only know you but who care about you and are interested in your spiritual welfare. A young person, for example, will get better counsel from a spiritual leader who is praying for him rather than from a parent who is not interested in his spiritual well-being and who is uninvolved in his life in this way.

Weigh counsel by God’s Word. As we noted under the previous point on honoring authority figures, we don’t give blind obedience to leaders in this fallen world. We must be Bereans and test everything by God’s Word (Acts 17:11).

God’s will is worth waiting for! Many decisions have consequences that last throughout one’s lifetime, and if an individual gets those decisions wrong, he will not only live to regret it but he will have to bear the consequences until he dies. Marriage is one of these decisions, of course, but there are many others.

9. Look to the future (Hebrews 11:24-27).

Moses made a major decision sometime in his youth “when he was come to years.” He was the adopted son of Pharaoh, who was the wealthiest and most powerful king of his day. Moses could have chosen to cast his lot with the wealthy and powerful, with the pleasure seekers, but instead he cast his lot with the despised, enslaved Jews. He made this wise decision by looking at the future through God’s Word. He looked ahead to the next life and saw that if he followed Christ he would have trouble in this world and riches in Christ’s eternal kingdom, but if he followed Pharaoh he would have “the pleasures of sin for a season” and then an eternity of regret.

Every Christian young person needs to follow Moses’ wise example. He needs to ask himself, “If I make this decision what will happen down the road? What are its eternal consequences? If I marry this person; if I take that job; if I pursue that particular education; if I go to that country; if I go to that party; if I develop that friendship; if I buy that television; if I listen to that music; if I am careless about what I see on the Internet; if I let my heart become captured with the love of the world?

Unbelievers can’t see the future because they walk in darkness and do not believe the Bible. They base their decisions entirely upon what they see with their eyes. They only take into account such things as money, pleasure, and prestige.

The believer has a light the unbeliever does not have, and he can make wise decisions based on the eternal Word of God.

The believer particularly needs to look at the judgment seat of Christ and make his decisions based on what he will hear on that solemn occasion (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

10. Wait on God (Psalm 27:14).

When endeavoring to make a wise decision in God’s will, it is very important to avoid haste. When we are hasty, it is easy to make the wrong decision. We must wait until we are certain that we know the mind of the Lord, and then He will take care of us.

Joshua and Israel were hasty when they agreed to an alliance with the men of Gibeon; they trusted their eyes and did not seek God’s face in the matter (Joshua 9:14-15).

There are two biblical principles that we need to heed when waiting for the Lord: the principle of abiding peace and the principle of no confusion. We find these two principles in 1 Corinthians 14:33. When there is a lack of peace and when there is confusion, we must be cautious and not rush forward in that particular decision.

The wisdom that is from God is always peaceable (James 3:17). God gives peace always by all means (2 Thessalonians 3:16).

When I am seeking God’s will, I look for this peace. If I have a certain inclination to do something, I want to see if there is growing peace or growing doubt. If something is of God, the peace will grow and the faith will increase, but if it is not His will there will be confusion and doubt and a lack of peace.

We have looked at ten keys in making wise decisions in God’s will, and after salvation nothing is more important in this life than learning how to make such decisions.

- The following is excerpted from “Most Christians Cannot Explain Their Faith,” Christian Post, June 3, 2010.

Josh McDowell is New Evangelical in his philosophy, but he is right about reproving evangelicals for their gross ignorance and inability to defend the faith scripturally, and what he says is widely applicable to fundamentalists, as well.

“The faith of most Christians, even that of many pastors, will not stand up to intellectual scrutiny, according to renowned apologist Josh McDowell. This is a concern because pastors’ inability to present biblical truth comprehensibly and relevantly has led to children from Christian families leaving the church, research has shown. In the United States, the age at which nearly all such children leave church has decreased to 18 years.

… During the past six years, he asked hundreds of Christians and leaders why they see themselves as Christians. Again no one gave him an ‘intelligent’ answer. In the past 17 years, he has asked over 4,000 pastors, leaders and parents why they believe the Bible is true. A mere six ‘came close to giving an intelligent answer,’ McDowell noted. … Ninety-five percent of Christians gave disappointing responses when asked why they believe Jesus is the Son of God. Asked why the Bible is true and historically reliable, Christians replied that it was what they had been taught by their church or parents.

A common response that most Christians gave to both questions was that it is ‘what I believe.’ McDowell responded: ‘That’s voodoo thinking. Where did we ever get that crazy idea that something is true just because we believe it? If that is true, then there will never be heresy. Everybody would be right.’ On one occasion, 13 youth pastors at a large convention were unable to reasonably answer the apologist’s question.

Finally one young person stood up, walked toward him and told him he knew the answer. The young man promptly held up his Bible and said, ‘Because I believe it.’ And to McDowell’s dismay, all the youth pastors applauded him. McDowell said, ‘Young man, do you know the difference between you, me, and the majority of Christians in the world? ‘To you, it is true because you believe it. For me, I believe it because it is true.’

http://wayoflife.org/files/f621e908c3a0de4041524baa5f227ea4-592.html

Zephaniah 1:8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.

The leaders will be punished, because they are held accountable for their obedience or lack of obedience toward God. The last king of Judah was Zedekiah who was put into power by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar and the city of Jerusalem was then besieged by Babylon. After a while, Zedekiah tried to escape Jerusalem and the Babylonian army even though God, through the prophet Jeremiah, warned him against doing. Zedekiah and his family was captured and his family was killed and Zedekiah’s eyes were put out (2 Kings 24, 25). The reference to strange apparel in Zephaniah 1:8 points to the Israelites’ wearing clothing other than what God had appointed to them. In Numbers 15:38, God has told the Israelites to wear a blue band and fringe on their garment for a specific reason. Numbers 15:38-40 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribbon of blue: (39) And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: (40) That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.

The strange apparel of Zephaniah 1:8 is referring to clothing that dishonors God. Remember when Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, offered up strange fire before God at the Tabernacle (Leviticus 10)? God struck them down for their disobedience.

Leviticus 10:1-2 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. (2) And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

The action of taking a censer and placing the incense on it was not necessarily wrong, but the action was not done as God had commanded, or was the wrong time for it which is still against God’s commands. Regardless, it was considered strange fire and it was in disobedience to God. Strange apparel can mean clothing that goes against the commands of God – clothing that is worldly or brings attention to the wrong parts of the body. The reference to strange apparel could be pointing toward the wearing of clothing similar to the clothing of the pagan worshipers. Remember, in Zephaniah 1:5, the Israelites were worshiping Molech and Baal, as well as going to the Temple to worship Jehovah. Our worship of God should include all facets of our lives. A believer should not separate the worship of God to just their home and live differently everywhere else.

When a person is saved, they have become a new creation and will one day be clothed in Heaven in robes of righteousness. In the mean time, we are to put off the old man – much like removing the tattered rags we wore as lost sinners, and put on the new clothes provided by Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Therefore, the believer should act like a new man or woman, and should be visibly different from the lost. The believer is not to take worldly actions, clothing, or forms of entertainment and try to clean them up – they will not seem any different to the lost.

The problem for the Nation of Israel is that they became just like everyone around them and lost sight of God because of it. The same is rapidly happening in America and will continue unless, believers are willing to stand up and declare, “Thus saith the Lord!” Each of us need to humble ourselves before God and have a renewed mind and obedience toward Him.

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A SURVEY OF THE BIBLE’S TEACHING ON REPENTANCE

In the following study, we examine most of the Bible passages dealing with repentance toward God. Our study is an expansion of one done by Bruce Lackey. He defined repentance as “a change of mind that results in a change of action.” That is a biblical definition. The Bible’s examples of repentance show a clear change in people’s behavior. The change itself does not save us from sin, but IT IS the fruit of Bible salvation.

Exodus 13:17. “And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.” God led Israel through the wilderness rather than through the land of the Philistines ‘lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.’ God knew that their change of mind would result in a change of action. In this instance, a change of mind without the resulting change of action would have been meaningless. Repentance is defined in this verse as turning.

Judges 21:1,6,14. “And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.” The men of Israel had sworn that they would not give any of their daughters as wives for the Benjamites, but they repented and gave them wives (vv. 6,14). Again, the change of mind without the resulting change of action would have been meaningless.

1 Kings 8:47-48. “Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and REPENT, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, SAYING, WE HAVE SINNED, AND HAVE DONE PERVERSELY, we have committed wickedness; And so RETURN UNTO THEE WITH ALL THEIR HEART, AND WITH ALL THEIR SOUL, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name.” God promised that if captive Israel would repent He would hear them. He defined repentance as acknowledging their wickedness and turning to God with the whole heart.

Job 42:6. “Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Here, again, we see that repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action. Obviously, the dust and ashes were a change of action.

Jeremiah 8:6. “I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.” Repentance is defined as acknowledging and turning from sin.

Ezekiel 14:6. “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.” God defined repentance as turning from sin and idols. Surely, no one thinks that God would have been satisfied if they had merely changed their minds without changing their actions.

Ezekiel 18:30. “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” Again, repentance is defined as turning from sin and idols.

Jonah 3:5-8. “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.” The word repentance is not used in the Jonah passage, but in Matthew 12:31 Jesus said they repented. The repentance of the people of Nineveh was witnessed in their actions. True repentance is always observable by a change in one’s manner of living.

Matthew 3:1,8. “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. … Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.” John the Baptist defined repentance as a change in life. He demanded ‘fruits meet for repentance,’ which obviously meant that he wanted to see some evidence that they had repented, before he would baptize them. The specific changes of action are listed in the parallel passage of Lk. 3:8-14. The various kinds of people had to show different changes of action, because their particular sins had been different.

Matthew 9:13. “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Jesus defined repentance as a sinner changing his attitude to sin.

Matthew 11:20-21. “Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” Christ defined repentance as a dramatic change in one’s attitude toward God and His Word. He said this change of mind is evidenced by a change in action.

Matthew 12:41. “The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” Jesus stated that the men of Nineveh ‘repented at the preaching of Jonas.’ Jonah 3 shows that they heard the Word of God, believed God, fasted, put on sackcloth, and turned from their sin. Christ considered their actions to be a result of their repentance. Would He have approved what they did if there had been no change of action? The answer is obvious.

Matthew 21:28-29. “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.” The son’s repentance was witnessed by his change of mind and his obedience. A mere change of mind without a change in action would not have satisfied the father’s command.

Luke 5:32. “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Christ’s objective was not merely to bring men to a mental belief in the Gospel but to bring them to repentance, which, as we have seen, means a turning from sin, a change of mind that results in a change of life.

Luke 13:3-5. “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Christ absolutely requires repentance for salvation.

Luke 15:7-10. “I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Again, we see that Christ requires repentance for salvation. God and Heaven do not rejoice merely because someone prays a prayer in the name of Christ (Mt. 7:21) or because someone makes a mental assent to the Gospel (James 2:19-20). God and Heaven rejoice when a sinner repents.

Luke 19:1-10. “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Zacchaeus’s repentance was a change of mind that resulted in a dramatic change of life. The evidence of his repentance was that he gave half his goods to the poor and restored five-fold that which he had stolen through his tax collecting business.

Luke 24:47. “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Repentance is part of the Gospel message that is to be preached to the ends of the earth. Repentance is part of the Great Commission.

Acts 2:37-41. “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” The Jews in Acts 2 who heard Peter’s sermon repented, and the evidence of this is that they gladly received his word, were baptized, and joined themselves with the hated Christians. Again we see that repentance is to turn one’s life from sin and rebellion to God and obedience; it is a change of mind toward God and sin that results in a change of life. The first church was built on the preaching of repentance!

Acts 3:19. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Repentance is God’s requirement for every sinner who will be saved. Repentance precedes and brings conversion and forgiveness of sin.

Acts 5:31. “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Repentance is required for and precedes forgiveness of sin. It is a work of Christ in the heart of the responsive sinner.

Acts 8:21-22. “Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” Peter warned Simon to repent of his covetousness, which meant he was to turn from it, to reject it, to change his mind about it and to stop it.

Acts 11:18. “When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” Note that the disciples described salvation as repentance. They thought of salvation commonly in these terms. Note, too, that repentance is a work of God in the heart of the responsive sinner.

Acts 17:30. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” Paul preached repentance to the idolatrous people at Athens. He did not even mention faith in Christ, but he explained that God demands repentance. The preaching of God’s holiness and righteousness and man’s fallen condition and need of repentance precedes and prepares the way for the preaching of the Cross.

Acts 20:21. “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” This verse summarizes Paul’s preaching and the true Gospel message: repentance toward God and faith in Christ. The sinner must repent about his disobedience toward God and exercise faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for his sin.

Acts 26:20. “But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” Paul preached the same message as John the Baptist, so no one can limit this to the dispensation of the law. The words of this verse, ‘that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance,’ show that repentance is not a work! When we preach repentance for salvation, we are not preaching a works salvation, as some have charged. When we say that repentance produces a change of works, it would be ridiculous to say that the two are one. Food produces energy and strength; labor produces sweat; but they are different things, so repentance and works are two separate things. Repentance produces and results in good works, but repentance itself is not works salvation. The bottom line is this: Paul preached repentance and required that repentance produce a change in the life. We must do the same today. Those who accept a mere prayer as salvation and who baptize people who demonstrate no change in life are not following the Bible pattern of evangelism.

Romans 2:4. “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” God does many things with the objective of bringing men to repentance. This is another reminder that God desires that all men repent.

2 Corinthians 7:9-11. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” Lessons: (1) Repentance is the product of God’s Word (v. 8; Jonah 3:5; Acts 2:38-41). (2) Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of life. The Corinthians’ repentance produced a great change in their manner of living: ‘carefulness … clearing of yourselves … indignation … fear … vehement desire … zeal … revenge.’ (3) Repentance is not the same as reformation or other forms of “the sorrow of the world.” Repentance has to do with God and sin, whereas reformation has to do with other people and with conditions and things in this world. Many people, when they get into trouble, are sorry for the trouble and they determine to change certain things in their lives that produced that trouble. This is not repentance, because it does not deal with one’s wickedness against Almighty God and does not result in a change of attitude and action in relation to God. (4) True repentance is permanent (v. 10).

2 Corinthians 12:21. “And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.” Repentance is not about sin in general; it involves a change of mind and a change of action concerning specific sins.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. “For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” This passage gives a perfect definition of salvation repentance. It is turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Note that repentance is directed to God (compare Acts 20:21; 26:20). Repentance results in a change of life (turning from idols to serve God).

2 Timothy 2:25-26. “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Repentance produces ‘acknowledging of the truth’ and recovery from the snare of the devil. Repentance is a work of God in the heart of a responsive sinner. God convicts of sin and calls the sinner to repentance and faith in Christ, and if the sinner responds, God grants salvation and fulfills His work of repentance in the sinner’s life.

Hebrews 6:1. “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” The ‘repentance from dead works’ is obviously a change of mind that results in a change of action.

Hebrews 12:17. “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” Esau ‘found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.’ Bruce Lackey says: “Since there is no record of Esau trying to change the sale of his birthright to Jacob (Ge. 25:29-34), this must refer to his effort to get Isaac to change the blessing from Jacob back to himself (Ge. 27:34). Some interpret this to mean that Esau could not repent; I think it means that he could not get Isaac to repent of having given the firstborn’s blessing to Jacob. In either case, the meaning of repentance would be the same. Esau found a place to change his mind, but he could not find a place to change the action. This is one of the strongest proofs in Scripture that a change of action must take place, or there is no repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Again, we see that the Bible frequently describes salvation in terms of repentance. God requires repentance for salvation.

Revelation 2:5. “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Repentance obviously involves turning from actions that are wrong to doing actions that are right. It means to change one’s mind about a wrong behavior so that one determines to change that behavior by God’s grace.

Revelation 2:16. “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” The Christians at Pergamos were instructed to repent of the sin and error that they were allowing in the church, which meant they were to turn from the things that Christ mentioned.

Revelation 2:21-22. “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.” Christ required that the people ‘repent of their deeds.’ He surely would not have been satisfied with a change of mind without a change of action.

Revelation 3:3. “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” The repentance Christ required produced a complete change in attitude and action about specific sin and error.

Revelation 9:20-21. “And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.” From these verses, we see that repentance that is acceptable before God is to reject and turn from sin, idolatry, and error.

Revelation 16:9,11. “And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” These passages say that tribulation sinners will not repent ‘of their deeds.’ Their lack of repentance is connected with their refusal to turn from their evil doings. Repentance is a turning to God from sin, a change of mind about sin that results in a change of action.

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WHAT ABOUT REPENTANCE?
Does not the Bible say that we must repent? Yes, the Bible plainly says that “God … commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30), and again, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). This was the preaching of John the Baptist, of Jesus, of Peter and of Paul, that men should repent. And certainly repentance is God’s plan of salvation. The trouble here, however, is that men misunderstand what repentance means, and there has grown up an idea that repentance means a period of weeping and mourning over sin, or sorrow for sins. This idea comes from the Douay Version of the Bible which instead of “repent” says “do penance.” So the place of inquiry, where people should be taught the plan of salvation from the Bible, in revival meetings, became “the mourner’s bench” and thousands of people have been taught that God would not hear their prayer nor forgive their sins until they went through a process of sorrow and mourning over their sins!
Do not misunderstand me. God is anxious for you to have a penitent, broken heart over your sins. You have gone away from God. You have trampled under foot the blood of Jesus Christ, wasted years of your life which you can never live over again. You have served your father, the Devil. There is plenty for you to weep over, and I am not surprised if you feel deep shame and sorrow in your heart that you have so mistreated the God who made you and the Saviour who died for you. I am not surprised if you cannot keep back the tears! But what I want you to know is that tears or no tears, however much sorrow you may have in your heart, or not have, those things do not save you.
You ought to be sorry for your sins and ashamed of them. “Godly sorrow worketh repentance” (2 Cor. 7:10)–the right kind of sorrow leads to immediate repentance, but mourning is not itself repentance.
“Could my tears forever flow, Could my zeal no respite know, These for sin cold not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.”
To repent literally means to have a change of mind or spirit toward God and toward sin. It means to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart, and trust in Jesus Christ to save you. You can see, then, how the man who believes in Christ repents and the man who repents believes in Christ. The jailer repented when he turned from sin to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why does Zephaniah warn the people to be silent in the presence of the Lord God? Because the day of the Lord is as hand. The Day of the Lord is coming – referring directly to the Tribulation which is coming soon. The day of reckoning is coming when all accounts will be settled and God is the one who keeps the books. Note the next phrase:

Isaiah 1:11-15 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. (12) When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? (13) Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. (14) Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. (15) And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

The Israelites were not properly sacrificing to God or in a manner that was pleasing to Him. The sacrifices were made as vain oblations meaning they were done more to please the people that to please God. The motions of the sacrifices may have been technically correct, but the motivation behind the sacrifices was all self centered rather than God centered. And that problem continues today – while we do not perform animal sacrifices, believers actually have a more difficult sacrifice to perform: themselves.

Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. The believer’s body is to be a living sacrifice to God – meaning that we are to die to self daily – in other words, we are to set aside what we want on a daily basis for what God wants. That is called obedience to God.

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. The believer must set aside their desires to follow the desires of God. The desires of the flesh must be cast away by the believer in order to become a living sacrifice for God. The form of praise toward God should please Him first, not us. And the praise toward God should not be just lip service: Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Our praise should be shown in our lives – we should not just say it, but we should show our praise and love of God in our actions. Hebrews 13:15-16 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (16) But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

If God is not pleased with the sacrifice prepared by His children, He will, as seen in Zephaniah 1:7, prepare His own sacrifice.