IN our last sermon we ended the section on spiritual restoration which commenced at verse 9. We saw the tremendous transformation which God works in the hearts of those he blesses with new life. In these next verses we have described and set forth the wonderful blessing that results in the lives of God's restored people. When revival is granted, there is a tremendous change that takes place in the whole life of the church. It is not only that the numbers who have become members of the church have increased mightily, but that there is a new spirit of joy and praise, and the worship and service of the church is totally renewed. In this next section we have this blessing described for us. It is our purpose in this sermon to begin to understand this tremendous change which happens in the life of the family of God.

The first thing which should be impressed upon our minds is that this blessing is associated with this restoration of revival blessings. In verse 16 the prophet tells us that it is 'on that day' that these blessings are experienced and known. As far as the time of Zephaniah was concerned, 'in that day' must refer to God's promise to restore the fortunes of Israel when he brought his people back to Palestine and Jerusalem, and the temple was rebuilt under Ezra, and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt in the time of Nehemiah. But this restoration can't meet the wonder of the blessings revealed to Zephaniah. The promise is so much greater and more wonderful, so plainly, under the terms of progressive prophecy given to the Old Testament prophets, 'in that day' must also refer to the coming of the gospel era after Jesus, the Messiah, came and won eternal redemption for his people. From this we can see in this promise of great blessing what is granted to the church in times of revival and restoration, when God pours our his Spirit in a fresh and new way.

What we must understand is that this expression 'on that day' is not speaking of one day of 24 hour period, but rather the time when God pours out his revival blessing. This reminds us that it is the Lord who gives the times of restoration and revival. He has his purposes, and when his time is right the day comes. Revival can and should be prayed for. Revival should be the concern of every sincere believer, but we can't in our own strength bring revival, nor is prayer a work we can perform which, if done well enough and earnestly enough, brings revival automatically. Revival is not in our hands, so that we, by hard work and great imaginary planning and working, can bring about revival. Revival is a sovereign act of God which he bestows. The fact is that when God purposes to bestow his revival blessing, he also stimulates and calls his people to pray fervently for it.

When God pours out his blessing in revival, then there is singing, rejoicing and gladness filling the heart of God's people. In verse 14 God speaks through the prophet to call his revived people to singing and praise because the wonderful blessings he is about to pour forth. In revival the blessings of salvation in Christ are made much more vivid and powerful, and as people are revived the wonder, power and blessing of all Christ has done to save sinners is felt deeply, and God's love is felt in a remarkable way. There is a deeper sense of sin and our sinfulness. There is a deeper understanding that we are dependent on God's mercy alone, and that mercy has been granted graciously to us who do not deserve it, and in the light of this experience the wonder of what God has given us in Christ, and the depth of love that has given so much in Christ, and the greatness of Christ's sacrifice, abounds in our hearts and minds, and we can do nothing else than shout in songs of praise. God gives these blessings so abundantly and graciously in order that we may be filled with joy and gladness, and so we sing and shout aloud, and are glad and rejoice.

What is it in revival and restoration that we are able to rejoice over, and sing about. The first thing, and it is massive and so glorious, is given us in the first clause of verse 15. This sentence tells us 'The Lord has taken away your punishment'. As far as the nation of Israel was concerned in the days of Zephaniah, this is God telling the nation that their punishment for their sin which caused them to carried off into Babylon and exile, and Jerusalem and the temple being destroyed, had now come to an end. In the light of this their punishment had been removed, and this resulted in the restoration and rebuilding of the temple in the days of Ezra, and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah.

But this blessing is at the heart of the gospel which was brought in by Jesus when he atoned for our sins. To appreciate the wonder and blessing in this statement as it refers to the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ we need to understand and believe the revelation of God in the whole testimony of Scripture. These days, at least in the Church in the United Kingdom, there is almost a total ignoring of the truth spoken of in the Bible of punishment for sin in the sight of God. From the very beginning the Bible reveals that God created us human beings, and he created us for his glory and to be his joy. The Bible reveals that from the very beginning that God has told us that if we do not live up to what he requires of us, then there is punishment which will follow, and that God has said that this punishment is everlasting death.

When God created our first parents Adam and Eve he gave them one prohibition as a test of their obedience. It was given in love because to disobey this command was to bring upon them untold misery. God said to them that on the day they disobeyed this command they would surely die. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, believed the devil's lies, and found the knowledge they attained was ghastly, horrible and destructive. They learnt what evil was and what sin was. God then executed the punishment of death, and this was executed immediately. This meant that they became spiritually dead because God expelled them from his paradise, and they ceased to have fellowship with God. The sentence of death continued in that they became morally dead, in that they found that their nature now was sinful, and the source of continual sin. Physical death was introduced, and although Adam and Eve and human beings at this time lived a very long time compared with our span of life, they eventually suffered physical death. Included in this punishment of death, eternal death followed, which is separation from God and all that is good and lovely for ever, and eternal torment with the devil and his fallen angels.

This condition of death has been passed down to all humanity. We are born with this punishment of death upon us. We are born alienated from God. We inherit a sinful nature which causes us to hate God deep in our soul, and live lives in disobedience to his holy requirements, codified in his Law. We are subject to physical death, and this means that the one great certainty of life is that one day we will physically die. On top of this, this punishment of death, that is of physical death, means we end up in eternal punishment in hell. This is the punishment which is ended through the gospel of salvation made possible by the atoning work of Jesus Christ. So we read in Roams 6: 23 'The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in or through Christ Jesus our Lord'.

This is the truth revealed in the whole of the Bible that the necessary punishment for sin before God is eternal death. However people live as if this death was not true. They live as if falling short of God's requirements for human life is not important. People live in total disregard for God and his claims on our obedience. This godless world is in desperate danger and does not appreciate it. When people do think about God and his requirements they speak of God as a God of love, and presume because of this that their sin does not matter, and that God in his love will overlook and forgive the failure in human life to live as God requires. However the fact is that God cannot overlook sin, and if he is to uphold his holy character and his holy justice, he must condemn sin and punish the sinner. This means that the Bible says that the soul that sins has to suffer death, and eternal punishment in hell. The holiness of God requires people to live without any sin at all if they are to receive life, and so no amount of good works can compensate for the many sins all of us commit. None of can escape the punishment of death by our own effort and working.

Are we beginning to appreciate now the massive and glorious blessing in this promise of God by Zephaniah – 'The Lord has taken away your punishment'. The question is as to how this blessing is made possible. God can only make this promise a reality if at the same time he upholds his holiness and keeps his law inviolate. In the wisdom of God, God found a way that he could be just and at the same time justify, that is account righteous in his sight, sinners. He did this in the Gospel of salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. Isaiah tells us in chapter 53:6 that God laid on Jesus (the suffering servant) the iniquity of us all. This declaration tells us that God made Jesus responsible for the sinner's sin, and then punished Jesus with everlasting death in hell in the place of the sinner. Because Jesus became a human being, and lived a perfectly sinless life, he could take on this role; and because he was also God, his death had infinite value. So Jesus gladly went to the cross, in obedience to the will of hid Father, and in the six dreadful hours on the cross suffered the eternity of hell in the place of sinners, and made full atonement for the sin of the world. That this is a fact is proved by the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, declaring thereby that he was satisfied that Jesus had borne all the punishment for sin in his body on the cross.

Who are they that know their punishment for sin has been taken away? Some think that this blessing is bestowed upon all without distinction, but this is not so. The offer of this blessing is offered to all, but it is only those who truly sorrow before God for their sin, and turn from sin in their hearts and confess they deserve the eternal death sin deserves, and then cry for mercy before God, and believe the Gospel that whosoever believes on Jesus and on this work of atonement he executed perfectly in his death on the cross, are the ones who receive this blessing of their punishment being taken away. We believe in Jesus as our Saviour and sin-bearer, and find peace with God through the work of Jesus for us.

People can be told this wonderful Gospel, but it means very little to them, and this is because there is no sense of falling short of God's glory and requirements. They have no sense of need, and no sense that they are under the sentence of eternal death because they have sinned against God. It is because of this that this blessing of having our punishment taken away is only found by those who are brought to realise how much they have offended God by their godlessness and sinning,and confess that they deserve God's wrath and punishment upon them, and fly to Jesus and seek his mercy and salvation. This is a work which God, by the Holy Spirit, alone can do in the life and heart of sinners. This always happens when people experience the blessing of having their punishment taken away. They are convicted of their sin, and experience the terror of the eternal punishment to come, and under this conviction are brought to cry for mercy before God. At this point the Holy Spirit leads such people to see Jesus, and hear him say to them that he died their death for them, and they are brought to believe in Jesus and know their punishment is taken away.