"How God Feels About You"

Christmas time I always try to be on my best behavior. Thinking about what special gift to get everyone, go to all these special events and try to be nice to people. I get away with the way I look most of the year but once the halls are decked with boughs of holly, someone is going to remind me that I look like the big guy from the North Pole—they’re going to think they are very clever—and I’m going to be tempted to a give a naughty response.

People are like, “Hey Santa, is that you?”

What I should say is something like, “Yes! I was hoping to run into you here—what was it you wanted for Christmas again?” That would be sweet. Playful.

I should play along and be nice. But… I don’t really like being compared to a bald, overweight, old man—so I’m tempted to respond more like…

“Donnor? Blitzen? Turn around so I can see your face, I can’t tell which of the reindeer you are from behind—oh, that is your face. Nevermind.” Ho ho ho.

“I’m sorry, what is your name again? Santa doesn’t remember all the names on the Naughty List.”

But Jesus told us to love one another. Be kind. Don’t attack people just because they say stupid things. Well. He didn’t say it would be easy.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who struggles to keep my attitude merry and bright. It’s like we make all these plans and we want everything to go perfect but then people show up to the party and ruin everything.

We’re like, “Can’t we all just along for one day? Just one day without all the drama?”

No. We can’t. We might be Christians but we’re still not very good at it yet. Sinners saved by grace. But maybe if we keep that in mind, we can prepare ourselves to be ready with a little of that grace and patience instead of expecting everyone to suddenly stop being the annoying turkeys they are the rest of the year just because we have a pine tree inside the house.

The whole naughty-and-nice thing is funny because we all know deep down we’re a little more naughty than we’d like to admit. And that’s exactly what our reading is about this morning.

Today’s text is from the prophet Zephaniah. Zepha-what-a? Most people have spent about as much time in the book of Zephaniah as they have reading the terms and conditions of their latest software upgrade on their phone.

It’s a fascinating book, though. Written 600 years before Jesus. Z, that’s what I call him, we’re close like that, he was a prophet during the time of one of Israel’s best kings, Josiah. His book is basically a very serious warning for them to get their act together or God is going to put the entire nation on the real naughty list. He says God has seen them when they’re sleep and when they’re awake and they better start being good for goodness sake—like real quick.

They were worshipping false gods—right there in the temple. There was a very popular storm god like Thor named Baal, and they were all about him. Even sacrificing their children hoping he would bless them with wealth. Absolutely insane, right?

They paid no attention to God’s commandments, doing whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Living as if God didn’t exist. 

And Z made it very clear that if they kept it up, God was going to utterly sweep everything away from the face of the earth and cut them off if they don’t repent. It’s a cheery little book.

Now the cool thing is, King Josiah did actually lead the people in repentance, got rid of all the Baal worship and the people turned back to God. For a while. It didn’t last long and Josiah died young—the next four kings were terrible, the people fell back into gross idolatry, and God sent the Babylonians to destroy Israel.

But things were good for about 20 years after Zephaniah preached his message and King Josiah started his reforms. It was a little taste of what it was going to be like when God sends His Messiah to truly make things right between Him and His people.

Toward the end of Zephaniah’s book there’s a beautiful passage describing what God is going to do when He fixes things. It’s a perfect Advent passage because it talks about things that started when Jesus came the first time and will be fully brought to fruition when He comes again.

Perfect text for a Christmas concert, too:
Zephaniah 3:14–17

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Come on! That’s a great passage for us today. Sing aloud! Shout even. He’s talking about you. You’re the people of God—you are spiritual Israel, you’re the church of Christ. This passage is for you. All of you who trust in Jesus. The One God sent to save His people from all their sin.

God has done all these things for you. He’s taken away the judgments that were against you. He ‘s cleared away your enemies—the world, the flesh and the devil. Hell has no power over you any longer. Why? Because the Lord is in your midst! Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. God became man and fixed everything that was broken between you and Him. You have a right relationship with God. Not because of anything you did. The Lord God, the One who came on the first Christmas, He’s the mighty one who will save. And He saved you because He wanted to. Sometimes people are like “Oh but I’m such a miserable sinner, why would God save me?” Well He did. It was all His idea. He’s happy about it.

Look at that language again… He will rejoice over you with gladness! He will quiet you with His love! He will exult over you with singing! Rejoice over you, celebrate over you! He knows you and all this is all true anyway. Your sins don’t ruin it a bit. That should be shocking.

The sins of the people in Zephaniah’s day aren’t very different from the sins of our culture today. We might not call our false god “Baal” but it’s the same demons. We worship money, success, possessions, and social status. Nothing has changed. 

As people in our day turn away from God and stop making church a central part of their life, they turn to the same superstitious nonsense that people have always turned to. Astrology, tarot cards, crystals, horoscopes, self-help affirmations—when we stop believing in God’s word, we start believing in anything. Nothing has changed.

They sacrificed their children for prosperity and convenience—we think, “What monsters they were back then.” And sure, literal child sacrifices aren’t common anymore but our culture prioritizes convenience and personal desires over the well-being of the vulnerable, including children. The current frenzy over abortion, child exploitation, and neglect shows a culture willing to sacrifice the next generation for the sake of personal freedom, ambition, and comfort. The porn industry thrives at the expense of our children. Same demons, different day. Nothing has changed.

Politicians exploit religious language just like their priests did but lead us further and further into moral relativism. Where right and wrong is subjective and people are unwilling to confront evil or take a stand for God’s truth. Moral decay is nothing new.

Sin separates us from God, isolates us from each other, and leaves us in darkness, despair, shame, and fear. Joy to the world, right?

Well, thank God for all the promises of this little passage from brother Z. He was looking into the distant future when Jesus would make everything good. Things that started with baby Jesus in Bethlehem and will culminate in the returning King Jesus at the end of time—what Zephaniah calls “the day of the Lord.”

God is not only near—He’s rejoicing over you! Through Jesus, He removes your guilt, takes away your fear, and brings you into His joy. Jesus came to be “God with us”—to live the perfect life you couldn’t (no matter how hard you try—even at Christmas), to die for your sins, and rise again so you could have the promise of eternal life with him. All these promises of Zephaniah are fulfilled in Jesus for you.

No matter what you’ve done, no matter how many times you’ve done it, even if you do it again tomorrow, no matter how far you wander away—God calls you back to Himself, offers you grace that you can receive by faith, and by simply turning to Jesus and trusting in Him—It’s all good! God is absolutely thrilled. He doesn’t just put up with you, He delights in you. The Creator of the universe sings over you! He loves you and rejoices over you. This sense of joy, peace, and restoration—what every Christmas carol tries to capture.

So, this year, instead of just striving to be ‘nice,’ let’s rest in the truth that God has already taken care of everything. Live in the joy of knowing He delights in you—because that’s the kind of joy that will overflow to everyone around you.