Okay, well I want you to turn to the prophet Zephaniah this morning for our thoughts and I think we'll maybe spend a week or two in this prophecy before coming back to a New Testament epistle. Because I think it's so important that we're clear to understand what is the true gospel. And why do we preach the gospel? You know, Romans, the start of Romans, Paul calls it the gospel of God. Why do we preach the gospel of God? We're such a tiny minority in this world. We're ignored by the world. We're ridiculed by the world. We're despised as irrelevant by most people round about with nothing to attract them to hear the words that we have to say. But we believe God's word. We believe his word. Some have heard his call to leave this world and to seek his kingdom. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things will be added to you. Some have discovered salvation from the curse of sin. The curse of sin, the soul that sins, it shall die. And it's an eternal death in hell. It never ends. And some in believing have found eternal hope. It's not just a hope that it might happen, but a confidence that it certainly will, that we're leaving this life, that the kingdom of God is real, that we're going to eternal glory. That's what it is that we're talking about. Many dismiss it as foolish irrelevance. The people all around us dismiss it as foolish irrelevance. You younger people especially, think on these things because the world around, whether it's in education or wherever it might be, through the media, the world all around dismisses the gospel that we believe. But they've got a problem. There are three things that are a problem for them. First of all, you cannot explain life without God. this living and moving and having our being, you cannot explain it without God. Because this universe, this creation, the physical laws of this creation, the constants of this creation, all of those things are so incredibly finely balanced and so incredibly complex. that even if one little bit was out of kilter by a tiny amount, the whole thing would be implausible. I'm not making this up. You can look it up on Google. Look up the theory of the hypothesis of this balance of all the constants of creation. It's so incredible, it can't have just happened by a big bang. It can't have just happened by pure random opportunity. And then, nextly, there's the impossibility of evolution. You know we're surrounded by it, aren't we? You can't have a wildlife program on the television without it all being on the premises of evolution being a proven scientific fact. But it isn't. It isn't. It's impossible. Evolution is impossible. Evolution is more impossible than this. You imagine a great big builder's yard, a great big builder's merchant's yard. And there's an explosion in the builder's merchant's yard. And even if you give it billions of years to settle down, you will never find a perfectly furnished mansion with all of its services working perfectly in it. Because the order of life does not arise from random things. It doesn't. It's God. It's intelligent design. Establishment all around, if you say intelligent design, you are immediately regarded as a crank and a lunatic, and it's the one thing that university science departments will not allow, is the idea of intelligent design. But they can't get round it. They cannot get round it. You can't explain life. Secondly, secondly, now, they'll argue with that first point, but the second point is this. You can't avoid death. Oh, oh, oh, now he's got me there. You can't avoid death. You cannot avoid death. We're all going to die at some stage. What does it say in Hebrews 9 verse 27? It is appointed to man to die once. Oh, you say that's years off for me. I'm so young. People die at all ages. You can't avoid death. You cannot. It's impossible. You know, why do we preach the gospel of the kingdom of God? You can't avoid death. Take it on board. And there's a third problem related with that, that that verse Hebrews 9 27 tells us you can't avoid accountability to God because we're all accountable because he says it's appointed to man to die once and then the judgment we all face a judgment we read about it in second corinthians chapter 5 verse 10 we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive the things done in the body, whether good or bad. You cannot avoid accountability to God. I've told you this many times before, but do you remember I told you years ago about the biology teacher? When I was a teacher, in the 1970s, and I used to talk to them and tell them they shouldn't teach evolution as a fact. And one of the biology teachers, a very sweet lady, we debated with notes in our pigeonholes for weeks and weeks and weeks, and she said to me finally, she said this, I hope evolution is true, because if it isn't, it means I'm accountable to a God who is my judge. And the thought of that appalls me. That's the reason. That's the reason. That's why they do not like to retain God in their knowledge. Creation testifies to the truth of God. Look at Romans. I'll be quick with this. Romans chapter 1. And you don't need to turn to these references because I'll read them out anyway. But Romans chapter 1 and verse 18 says this, the wrath of God, the anger of God, the just wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth. They know the truth really, but in unrighteousness they disbelieve it. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has showed it to them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. so that they are without excuse, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. Neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves to be wise, They became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and to four-footed beasts, and to creeping things. God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. You see, the indictment of Scripture is perfectly clear. Not one, not one, in their natural-born state is in a right relationship with God who made us. The scripture says, the Psalms say, the scripture says there is none righteous, no, not one. Why are we unrighteous? We deny the existence of God. Mankind denies the existence of God. When we've just read, the existence of God is plain for all to see. We make idols out of the false ideas that we have about what God should be like. Dare, dare to call God a liar, because his word is truth. What is truth, said Pontius Pilate to Jesus? Thy word is truth. And yet, mankind in general disbelieves God. They call God a liar. And they refuse his lordship. You know what they said? We will not have this man to rule over us, speaking of Christ. They refuse his lordship. By nature, all of us are enemies. All of us are sinners. All of us are transgressors of God's holiness. All of us are what the Bible calls wicked. The wicked this. What are the wicked? and believers. Those who call God a liar. Those who deny the existence and the truth and the holiness and the righteousness and the justice of God. They are wicked according to the scripture. And what does God say about that? God is angry with the wicked every day. God is angry with the wicked every day. Psalm 11, sorry, Psalm 7, verse 11. Our God, we read, is a consuming fire. Our God is a consuming... The God who made all things who we must face is a consuming fire. It's a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, we read. And if you remain in that state, if you remain in that state, you are hanging over an open door to hell. I cannot say this as seriously as I really should be able to. If you remain in that state of rebellion and unbelief of God, you are hanging over the open door to hell. There should be an alarm bell ringing. There should be an alarm bell ringing. But most people shrug it off and just go on regardless. They're on the broad way that leads to destruction and they're happy to stay because the majority are on that broad way which leads to destruction. Or are you sufficiently awakened to ask with old Job, Job chapter nine and verse two, how should a man be just with God? That's the problem I've got. I know that I'm not just with God, but I need to be. I need to be to avoid that hell, that just hell. How should a man be just with God? Or the Philippian jailer, when he realized the truth of God in that flash of a moment, and he said to Paul and Silas, the prisoners that he was keeping, says, what must I do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. You see, there's nothing you can do in yourself because we all are a lost cause as far as being right with God is concerned. But God in Christ has done all for his people to save them. You must have God in Christ. You must be clothed with his righteousness. But where do I find him? This is what Job said, Job 23. Job 23 and verse 3, oh that I knew where I might find him. that I might come even to his seat, that I might even come before his presence. Oh, that I knew where I might find him. What does the scripture call us to do? We need to find God. What does the scripture call us to do? Chapter 2 and verse 3 of Zephaniah. Chapter 2 and verse 3. Seek ye the Lord. That's the title of the message this morning. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment. Seek righteousness, seek meekness, It may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. Let me just explain a little bit about the context of the prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah was the last prophet before the Babylonian captivity. He lived in the time of Jeremiah. He prophesied in the time of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah. He was the last prophet before they actually went into the captivity. And then you've got Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi that came out of that. The context of it was the idolatry of Israel and Judah that God was going to punish, and he was going to punish it with captivity by the Babylonians. The Babylonians, Nebuchadnezzar was coming to sweep them away into captivity, to destroy the temple, that glorious temple of Solomon. All of that was coming upon them because They kept going after idols. They kept going after false gods. And he came. It pronounces judgment. But this short prophecy, just three chapters, you read it and you think, wow, this is severe. This is judgment, judgment, judgment. God is going to punish, punish, punish. But keep reading because it's full of glimpses of the gospel of grace, of salvation from that judgment, of rescue from that judgment. So then, here is the hope. Seek ye the Lord, it may be you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. This isn't an invitation to all without exception. Did you notice that it's only to the meek of the earth? All ye meek of the earth. And what marks out the meek of the earth? You know, the sermon on the mount. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the meek. What is it to be the meek of the earth? They have wrought the judgment of God, which have wrought his judgment. What does that mean? It means you've taken sides with God concerning you and your sin. Like David said, Psalm 51, after the sin with Bathsheba, what did he say? He said, against you, against you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight. We've worked God's judgment. We've sided with God concerning our sin. We've known that we deserve nothing. We've come down off our self-righteous high horse in repentance. We're seeking true righteousness. And what is true righteousness? It's the righteousness of God. And if you have the righteousness of God, and if you're clothed with the righteousness of God, which only he can do, he must accept you. He cannot turn you away. Without this, you will surely be condemned to divine justice. But if you seek in a right spirit, it may be you shall be hid. No sinner has any credit for favor with God. God doesn't owe us anything. We can't claim payments of debts from him. Our only due from God is punishment for our sin in an eternity of hell. You ask, how can you be so severe? How can you be? They used to talk about hellfire preachers, and here's one this morning preaching hellfire. Yes, because the Bible says it. God's Word says it. This is it. Don't kill the messenger. Look at what the message is. The message is that God will punish sin, all sin. God's Word says it. End of argument. Every mouth stopped, as it says in Romans chapter 3. All the world become guilty before him. We've got no excuse, nothing to say, but here we have hope. because God is a God who delights to be merciful. We can't demand anything good from him as our right, but we can venture on the Lord's mercy to keep us. It may be that God will look upon us with divine favor. He did do with people in the past, in the Old Testament. Do you remember the story of Queen Esther? Queen Esther in the Medo-Persian Empire. And she was a Jewish girl, but she was married to the Medo-Persian emperor. And the people were in danger, the Jewish people were in danger of being wiped out. completely removed as a people from the earth by the plans of a particularly evil man. And the people said to Esther, you're the queen, go in to the king. But you know, you couldn't just go into the king. Because under the laws of the Medes and the Persians, if you went in before the king without being summoned to the king, it was instant death. And Esther said this, I'm in a perilous condition, but I will go in. And she said this, if I perish, I perish. If I perish, why will I perish if I perish? Because Ahasuerus, I think his name was, demands it. No, because God allowed it. Because you know what it says about the king, earthly kings, rulers? It says, the heart of the king is in the hands of God. God. orders his people. God orders the rulers of this world to do things the way he wants them. Esther said, if I perish, I perish. And she went in, and of course, God ordered it, but she didn't. You remember Jonathan, the son of Saul the king in the days of David, and Jonathan and his armor bearer were basically in a situation where they were about to be killed by a lot of Philistines. And Jonathan, prayed, Lord, if you want us to do this, even if there's just two of us, we can go and be triumphant. And they left everything in the hands of God. And they went, and they were triumphant, 1 Samuel 14. King David himself left his fate with God when his son Absalom rose up to kill him and to take over the throne from him. David said this in 2 Samuel 16, he said, it may be, there it is again, it may be, it may be that the Lord will look on my affliction and do me good today. It may be, it may be for you, sinner, knowing that you are under the just judgment of God, but it may be that God will look on you and will hide you in the day of his anger. There were four lepers. And there was a Syrian famine. This is 2 Kings chapter 7. There were four lepers who were going to die of starvation outside of the city, the Syrian city. And they said, well, if we stay here, we're going to die anyway. So why don't we venture on the Lord's goodness and go into the city and see? And if they kill us when we get in there, we're no worse off than we will be anyway if we just wait here because we're going to die of starvation. And they went in. and they found the city deserted, and they had all the food that they wanted. They ventured on the Lord, and the Lord provided. When Jonah was sent, finally, and he went to Nineveh to preach that the place was going to be overthrown under the judgment of God, and amazingly, and Jonah was a bit upset about it later, the people and the king of Nineveh, they repented of their sin. They sought the Lord. And the king of Nineveh, the king of Nineveh, The king of Nineveh in Jonah chapter 3 verse 9 said this, who can tell if God will spare us from the promised judgment? Who can tell? He might do it. It may be that he will, and of course he did. You who know that you deserve eternal separation from God, you know that he would be just to confine you to hell, hear what his prophet says. His prophet says this, here in this verse three, seek the Lord, seek righteousness and meekness. It may be you shall be hid, because why? How will you be hid? In Isaiah chapter 32, Isaiah chapter 32, And verse two, a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covet from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. A man shall be as a hiding place. It may be you shall be hid. Hid where? By this man. Who is this man? This man is the God-man. This man is our Lord Jesus Christ. And in him is salvation from sin. What do I mean by salvation? I mean the satisfaction of divine justice to discharge a sinner's debt, to clear a sinner's debt, and make that sinner, as we read in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, make that sinner the righteousness of God in Christ. And it is entirely the work of God. It is entirely, from start to finish, the work of God. And you can contribute nothing to it, but what were we thinking about last week? for a while. Ezekiel 36 verse 37, he will be inquired of by the house of Israel. Or we could say, he will be searched for by the house of Israel to do it for them. It's entirely the work of God, but he will be searched for by the house of Israel to do it for them. You say, I don't know if I'm sincere enough. You say that this human heart of mine is so sinful, I don't know if I'm sincere enough to come to God. Well, pray. How are we to pray? In accordance with His Word. What does His Word say? It says in Psalm 110 verse 3 that He, God, makes His people willing, makes them want to come, makes them sincere about coming in the day of His power. So pray, Lord, make me willing in the day of Your power to come to You and to search for You and to seek You and to find You. Resolve not to rest. Don't rest until you get off this world around us, that broad way that leads to destruction. And seek the Lord with all your heart, with all your energy, because as we read here, it may be that you will escape the eternal anger of God. My second point is this. Venture on the Lord's mercy. The first point was it may be, it may be that you will be hid. But venture on the Lord's mercy. Launch out into what you might consider to be the spiritual unknown. Trust your immortal soul to his eternal keeping. You know what Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter And verse 12, he said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded. He launched out on this. I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day, against that day of judgment, against that day when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ. I've committed my soul to him. I'm confident, I'm persuaded that he will keep me. Trust your immortal soul to his eternal keeping. Why should you seek him? Why should you seek him? because the word of God tells you to. Look at some scriptures with me. Isaiah 55, Isaiah 55, and verses six and seven. Seek ye the Lord. There it is again. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found. You know, today is the day of salvation. Today is the day when sinners will be able to find God if you seek him. Seek the Lord while he may be found because the day is coming when you will not be able to find him because it will be too late. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and our God, to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Seek him because he will pardon you. He will save you from your sins. Then look at Micah chapter seven, a prophet a couple of pages back. Micah chapter seven, verses 18 and 19, so very near the end of the prophecy. Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity? God who is just and must punish sin is the God that pardons iniquity, forgives iniquity. He passes by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He retains not his anger forever because he delights in mercy. He will turn again. He will have compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. My sin of the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross. I bear it no more. He's taken it away. He's cast it all into the depths of the sea. Are you a great sinner? You say, oh, I'm too great a sinner. I'm too great a sinner for God to have anything to do with me. 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 15. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. That Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, came into the world to save sinners. Paul's not a sinner, is he? Oh yes he is, he says. Of whom I am chief. He said, I am the chief of sinners. And it's a faithful saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save the chief of sinners. If that's what the word of God says, we're going to sing a hymn to finish. which asks the question again and again, and if free grace, which it is, and if free grace, why not for me, the chief of sinners, or one as bad as the chief of sinners? If free grace, which it is, the grace of God is free, why not for me? Then again, Has he not already kept you from hell? God would have been just to confine all sinners to hell already. But has he not kept you from that so far? Lamentations chapter three and verse 22. Why has God kept you from hell? It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. Because his compassions fail not. Then you every morning, great is thy faithfulness. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. God is a God of mercy to keep his people from hell. And then here's another point. Why should you venture on the Lord's mercy? Because the record of Scripture, the record of heaven, the vision of John regarding heaven in Revelation, is of much people in heaven who have experienced God's mercy. You can read about them around the throne, singing and extolling the praises of God. And in chapter 19, verse 1, he beheld, he looked in his vision, and there were much people in heaven. He looked on all his people seated in heavenly places in Christ. Why else should you venture on the Lord's mercy? Why else? You're a sinner, aren't you? You have a sin debt which must be paid for. 1 John chapter 1 and verse 7, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Because he shed his blood, because he poured out his life on behalf of his people who were in union with him from all eternity, that justice of God is satisfied. The law demands death, And he died and his people died in him under the strict justice of God. And that blood of Jesus Christ cleanses his people from all of their sins. And here is the clincher, why we should venture on the Lord's mercy. Here is the clincher. If God saves a sinner like you or me, he gets all of the glory. He gets all of the glory. This is it. God must be glorified in the salvation from sin of all his people. Psalm 106 verse 8, he saved them for his namesake that he might make his mighty power to be known. This is why God saved his people, for his namesake. He gets all of the glory. Revelation 5 verse 12 says, worthy, worth all praise and adoration. Worthy is the lamb who is our God. Worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing. There's an old hymn that says this. Venture on him. Venture holy. Let no other trust intrude. None but Jesus, none but Jesus can do helpless sinners good. It may be that you shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. But don't fear. You see, venture on him. Yeah, venture on him. But don't fear that you won't be hid if you do venture on him, because this, God has promised. God has promised. If God has promised to accept you, venture on Him. Venture boldly. Come boldly to Him. Be confident in the Lord's promises. And with this, we'll finish. Here are some verses. Be confident in the Lord's promises. Back in Isaiah chapter 55 and verse 7. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him. To our God, for he will abundantly pardon. There's no doubt. There's no need for fear that you won't be accepted. He says, I will accept them. In 1 John, again, 1 John chapter one and verse nine, you say, I'm a great sinner. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just. What does that mean? He doesn't sweep the sins under the carpet. He doesn't just pretend they never existed. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. How is he just to forgive us our sins? Because he, in the person of his son, bore those sins and paid their penalty to the to divine justice, that it might be taken away, that it might be cast into the depths of the sea. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We must be clean before God and He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And then those well-known verses in John chapter 3. John chapter 3 and verse 16. God so loved the world, and he means the world of the seed of Abraham, of his elect. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. Now listen to this. He that believeth on him is not condemned. Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? What must I do to be saved, said the Philippian jailer? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned. And he that believeth not is condemned already. Why? is he condemned already, because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. For there is none of the name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. And then Acts 16 and verse 31, exactly. That was the point. I said it already and my notes told me to say it again. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. You see, he has promised. God has promised. In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 7, And verses 7 and 8, he says this, this is God come down from heaven. This is God with the secrets of heaven come down to earth. And he says this to the people, and it's recorded here, and he says it to us today. He says concerning the things of God, he says, ask, ask God. Seek the Lord, ask God, and it shall be given you. Seek, seek the Lord, and ye shall find. and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh, receiveth. And he that seeketh, findeth. And to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. What could be clearer? This is God come down to earth from heaven. And he says, how should a man be just with God? Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Everyone that asks receives everyone that seeks finds do it do it He's there saying it now and then the verses in Jeremiah 29 that we've looked at again recently Jeremiah 29 in verse Verse 11, I'll start with this one. God says, I know the thoughts. In the context, he's telling them that he's going to bring them back from captivity. But it applies to the people of God in all ages. He says, I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Now listen to this. Then you shall call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. God will hear your prayer. Lord, help me. Lord, help me. Be merciful to me, the sinner. Pray that prayer. I will hearken unto you, and you shall seek me and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. Look for me, and you will find me. I will not turn you away. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord, and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord, and I will bring you again into the place whence I have caused you to be carried captive away. Obviously in that context it's talking about the recovery from the Babylonian captivity, but nevertheless apply it spiritually. It's the church. Come to the church, the people of God. Come into his body. Come into his church. Is he calling you right now where you are? Hear his call. Hear his call. He says it again. Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28. Matthew chapter 11 verse 28. Come unto me. All ye that labour and are heavy laden. What? With what? What are you labouring with? What's the burden on your back? It's the burden of sin that you know that you're not right with God. And he says, come to me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. I will give you Sabbath. I will give you that rest that all is accomplished. Take my yoke upon you. The yoke was the thing that you put on the oxen so that they would pull as a pair. And he says, share this yoke with me. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek. God who is above all things, whose name is above... He has the preeminence in everything. He is meek and lowly in heart. And you shall find rest, you shall find Sabbath unto your souls. Why? For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. It's an easy thing to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. In John chapter six and verse 37, Jesus is talking to the unbelieving Jews around him. And he says about his people chosen in him before the foundation of the world, the ones given by the father to the son in the covenant of grace. And he says, all that the father gives to the son shall come. And he that comes, he that comes. You say, well, how do I know I'm amongst them? He says, come. He that comes, I will in no wise turn away. So what does the scripture call us to do? Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy. and find grace to help in time of need. 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. Oh, that all who hear me, whether it's live now or on the recording later, would seek the Lord, would flee from the wrath to come and find rest for their souls in him. Amen.