Zephaniah Today
By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of November 17, 2024
There is a pattern in the Holy Bible’s Book of Zephaniah that I see happening today and it’s this: God is burning off the dross from the souls of people to heal and restore them. To then bring them together again in unity as one family for the purpose of serving Him (Zephaniah 3:9).
The Message version of Zephaniah 3:9 says, "In the end I will turn things around for the people. I’ll give them a language undistorted, unpolluted, Words to address God in worship and, united, to serve me with their shoulders to the wheel."
Purity, worship, and service are key here. Because this kind of unity involves wholeness of heart and Kingdom, where we see powerful demonstrations of God as enough, as we align with Him even more on a family legacy level (Strong’s #3605).
We are beginning to experience this, as we see it play out in His revivals around us right now. We know this can only happen by the powerful Presence of God as Love, simply because it pleases Him to bless those who earnestly seek Him and to draw others in.
Many have already come through a long season of dross-burning and foundational restoration to now continue on and help others through. A fundamental spiritual precept I learned during that time is that, as we go forth to help God’s family-at-large, He helps our own bloodline families and new family members to come.
As we help the least, we help Jesus. As we help His children, He helps ours. This is one way He helps us build a legacy. But there’s more reward coming, because God’s math is multiplicity. He gives us an exponential return on our investment of seed sowing in the purification, worship, and service.
I believe we’re coming into a depth and scale of unity that we’ve never known in our lifetime. I believe we’re about to experience and witness a move of Ephesians 3:16-21 in individual families and on a grand scale to build God’s Kingdom on earth. I believe we’re just beginning to enter into this right now, even as God repositions us to continue to sow life into others in new ways.
Ephesians 3:17-19 TPT reveals a strategy by saying:
Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!
Do you see here that it’s about exercising faith as we’re rooted in God’s love? Do you see here that you’ll discover His multiplicity of blessings expressed as love?
One of the directives I heard very recently from Holy Spirit was to “consume glory,” meaning to worship God with a pure heart, the sole motive being to honor Him and experience Him and all He desires to do in the area of purifying, healing and unifying.
This is especially encouraging for those who have lost loved ones, since we have an open invitation to worship the same God that our family of believers, who have gone before us, do right now. With God as our center, we can meet in the middle as we gather in Heaven and earth to worship Him.
We can also rejoice laterally as we discover God’s everlasting love unfurling in His faithful deliverance of the fulfillment of the promises for which our loved ones contended, in addition to our own. Can you see this?
So, our hope extends forward as we go and build a legacy of family unity, which includes church family, personal family, and heavenly family.
We can be certain of this hope, as Paul says to us in Ephesians 3:21 TPT, which is that "Now we offer up to God all the glorious praise that rises from every church in every generation through Jesus Christ—and all that will yet be manifest through time and eternity."
He also says in Ephesians 3:20 TPT to "Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you."
So, friends, get ready to step into a redeemed future. Get ready for the blessings of unity from a faithful God. And for the rewards of exaltation that come after purification as expressions of His love, even like the pattern we find in the Book of Zephaniah (Zephaniah 3:15-17, 19-20).
To God be the glory.
Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.
Originally published Sunday, 17 November 2024.
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