(Zephaniah 3:14-20) Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! 15 The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you will fear disaster no more. 16 In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not be afraid, O Zion; Do not let your hands fall limp. 17 The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. 18 I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— They came from you, O Zion; the reproach of exile is a burden on them. 19 Behold, I am going to deal at that time with all your oppressors, I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will turn their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. 20 At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you together; indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the Lord.
The Israelites could have had all of this the first time Jesus came - had they accepted Him as their King. Instead, they rejected and brought Him before Pilate in order to crucify Him.
(John 18:35-37) Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?”36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” 37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
God knew this would happen. God used this. Because of this, Jesus would bring personal salvation to the world, Now anyone can choose to accept and make Jesus the King and LORD of their hearts - of their lives. When we do so, as Christians, while here we represent our King, and OUR "kingdom" will be in heaven. THIS is what we may look forward to...
(1 Timothy 6:11-19) But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.
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