Nice to meet you. I'm so glad to be here. I mean
that. Thank God. Pennington, New Jersey. Is that
where we are? Ewing, New Jersey. About like
Katy, West Virginia. Katy, West Virginia is about
as big as this building right here. But Almighty God raised
up a church. Raised up a church in Ewing,
New Jersey. Oh, I thank God for His mercy. I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn back to where Brother Angus read from
Zephaniah. I'd like to look at the verses
14 to 17, but while you turn there, I want to just begin by
saying this. The Lord had given the prophet
Isaiah a command concerning God's sheep. This is what he said to
him. You tell my people that I said,
comfort. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. Doesn't that have a sweet sound?
My people. Saith your God, speak comfortably
to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished.
that her iniquity is pardoned for or because she hath received
of the Lord's hand by his power double for all her sins. Now the message that the Lord
gave to Isaiah is a message to every one of God's preachers. So I know this, I have a word
from the Lord for us. I need to hear what God has to
say just like you do. I know from experience and so
I know what you go through. You're struggling just like I
do. This world is waiting for you
just like it is for me. And you hurt. You have sorrows. But I have a word from the Lord
for us. We who know Him, who are His
people. That's what He said. You tell
My people. This is what He said. Now listen.
Your warfare is accomplished. Sin, Satan, this world was defeated for you at Calvary. Now listen, your iniquity is
pardoned. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
shed for you, His people. God has accepted it. And he said, when I see the blood, aren't you glad he said that? I'm going to pass over you. And he said, you have received
of the Lord's hand double. For all your sins, the atonement made for you to God's honor,
God's glory, God's praise has paid the debt that we incurred
having disobeyed God. And the glorious merit of that
pardon and peace and acceptance with God is by the blood. The blood put away the debt and
the merit of that debt is the blood. Now I want you to look
with me for just a few minutes concerning those thoughts. Zephaniah
chapter 3. Verse 14 to 17. Based upon that word of comfort
from the Lord. Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel, be glad. Be glad. The Lord knows I want to be.
I want to be glad. I'm glad and I want to be glad.
And rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has a word to His people. To the bride of the Lord Jesus
Christ, you have a reason to rejoice. You got a reason to
be glad. And to be rejoicing with all
the heart. And she's exhorted to sing the
song of praise unto the God, the God. Not like Moses' father-in-law. Just the greatest of the gods
among the gods. The God. One God. We have reason to sing the song
of praise unto the God of all grace. You know, Brother Donnie and
I was talking just a few minutes ago before services started. We was talking about the song
that's going to be sung throughout eternity. Just hold your place
right there. Turn to Revelation. Revelation
5. Revelation chapter 5. Revelation 5, verse 9, and they, that is all redeemed,
glorified saints of God, they sung a new song. It's new every
time they sing it. Every time. The gospel is preached. God blesses
it to the heart. You know, you can truthfully
say, I don't think you heard anything new last night. I don't
think you did. You heard the same message out
of a different passage. But I'm telling you every time
you hear it, you think, that's the greatest message I've ever
heard in my life. Would you just tell me, tell
me just one more time. Tell me one more time how the
Lord has put away my debt. Tell me one more time how God
has everlastingly chosen to show mercy to one such as I. Just tell me about that blood
when the Lord sees it. Todd told me one time, he said
there was a night He was laying on a hospital bed, and he said,
I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to die
that night. And when he told me that, I thought to myself,
you know, we're all going to go that way. And in that day,
what's going to matter? But in that day, for a believer,
they're going to say, you tell me one more time. Tell me again. I just want to hear it one more
time. Because faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word
of God. You tell me one more time. And they sung a new song,
saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals
thereof. For Thou wast slain, Thou hast
redeemed us to God by Thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God, kings and
priests, and we shall reign on the earth. He had a book in his
hand. Verse 1 and 2 of chapter 5, And
I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book,
written within, and on the backside sealed with seven seals. I saw
a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy?
open the book and to loose the seals thereof. This is a book
of secrets that Almighty God is revealing through the precious
and glorious message of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is that book
that only He has the right to break the seals thereof and it
is concerning the mercy of Almighty God to a people that He has chosen,
everlastingly loved, and redeemed out of all the nations, and kindreds,
and tribes, and tongues. This is a secret. Almighty God
is pleased to reveal to us today a secret. And here it is. I've always loved you. I've always
loved you. I chose you in Christ from before
the foundation of the world. Before I made you in the womb,
Jeremiah, I knew you. Oh, what reason the Lord has
given us back in Zephaniah. Sing, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel. Be glad and
rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. What's the reason
that Almighty God has given us? Look at verse 15. The Lord. hath taken away thy judgments.
He hath cast out thine enemy. The King of Israel, even the
Lord, is in the midst of thee. Thou shalt not see evil anymore. Now you think of those four reasons. Now we got a reason. Now listen,
I'm just going to touch them. Just touch them. I'm not going
to exhaust them. I can't. But I can say what he said. That's
what preaching is. I'm just going to tell you what
God said. Trust the Spirit of God. Listen, here's a reason,
we got a reason to sing and rejoice. He hath taken away thy judgments. He's dealt with the Lord Jesus
Christ on behalf of His people already. He hath made Him sin. For us, he who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him. By the grace of God,
one of these days I'm going to understand that. I think. I know
we will. I know we will. I can't enter in. I can't enter. I can tell you this. that I know
He was made sin. And I know this, He was made
sin for us. And I know He knew no sin. But I know this, according to
God's Word, God has said, you sing and rejoice because God
has taken away thy judgments. You know what that means? He
said, I'm not going to bring it up anymore. I'm not going
to bring it up. I'm not going to bring it up.
Aren't you glad? Almighty God has been pleased
to show mercy to a people who in themselves are guilty. And
I know that. I know I am. But blessed God,
He has said that for His people, there are blessed people. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Romans 8, 1. Boy, what a passage. We quote
this so easily. Lord, teach me this. There is
therefore now. Brother Scott used to read that
and he said, you know what now means? He says, right now. Right now. For God's people,
now listen. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh
but after the spirit. Almighty God hath not appointed
us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. So
the bride has got something to sing about. Rejoice in him. The Lord, the scripture says,
has taken away your judgment. And here's another thing you
have to sing about. He hath cast out thine enemy. Cast out. I looked that up. Here's what he said. He's done
in our conquering surety. He's turned toward, cast out.
He's turned toward, faced and dealt with our enemy. He turned and looked and dealt
with it. And just as the Lord has cast
out the enemies that were in the land of Canaan, that's a
beautiful picture. He said, I'm going to give you
this land and I'm going to deal with your enemies that are there.
He has overthrown everything that opposes His people. Everything that would stand in
opposition to God's people, He said, I've cast that out. Sin, Satan, death, hell. Sing, O Israel, because the Lord
has removed all the enemies that would keep you from Him. They're not going to keep you
from Me. Here's the third thing we've
got to sing about. The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in
the midst of thee. You know, there is something
that is especially precious about meeting together. Now you know what I'm going to
say. Where two or three are gathered
together in my name, he said, I am in the midst of you. The very thought that the God
of glory would come and be in the midst of his people, there
is something that's precious And you that know Him, you're
thinking on that right now. You're thinking, I know He's
here. He's hearing what is being said,
and may the Lord of glory be honored in what's being said.
May the Lord of glory tune our hearts to think honorably upon
Him. The Lord Himself, God's Messiah,
the King of Israel, Almighty God, is in the midst of His people. The King, the Lord is in the
midst of thee. He said, I will never leave you. There's times that I feel, you
know what, there's just times that I forget. I just forget. And I get to looking at the situation. And I forget His promise. And when I forget His promise,
I'm going to be honest with you, I have no comfort. I just don't
have any comfort. He said, I'll never leave you. I will never forsake you. He said, I'm going to defend
you. I'm going to keep you. I'm going to deliver you. I'm
going to protect you. I'm going to tell you another
reason we have to sing and shout. He said, Thou shalt not see evil
anymore. He said, you're not going to
experience the penalty of evil. Why? Because Almighty God has
everlastingly been pleased to not charge you with iniquity. I have dealt with my son in your
stead and you're not going to see it. Our sins he bore in his body. Don't we end up looking at the
circumstances way, way too often. We come to a point of despair. Listen, we have reason to rejoice
in the Lord. Almighty God has taken away thy
judgments, cast out thy enemies. The King of Israel, even the
Lord, is in the midst of thee, and thou shalt not see evil anymore. Verse 16, he says, In that day
It shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not, and to Zion, Let
not thine hands be slack. In that day, that day, in what day will God's
people have this word of promise? In that day it shall be said
to Jerusalem, Don't be afraid. What day is
that? Well, I started thinking about
the day of God's judgment. I can see that. And the day of the Lord's crucifixion
when He put away sin. I believe, yes sir, I believe
that. In that day, but I'm going to tell you something, Almighty
God who is eternal, He is the eternal day. He is in that day
from the creation of man till the second coming of Christ.
God who is eternal in that day. Every day is the day in which
the Lord has said to His people. He said this to Abel. He'll say
it to the last one of his elect that he calls out of darkness
is what he's gonna say. Fear thou not. Let not thy hands be slack. Every day is the day of deliverance,
protection, comfort of God's people. Remember, He's cast out
thine enemy, the Lord is in thee, in the midst of thee, and thou
shalt not see evil anymore. Therefore, fear thou not. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. By nature, we
are. If we were not by nature prone
to fear, He'd never told us, don't be afraid. I know I am. Let not thy hands
be slack. Don't be fearful. Don't be weak.
Don't faint in spirit. I thought about what you said last
night concerning that woman that had that alabaster box. That
was a precious box. That's what I've heard. About
a year's wages. About what it cost. Broke it. And the Lord's word for her to
them that got on to her. She's done what she could. That's
just such a precious thing. I just, I think about preparing
this message. I want to bring the word of the
Lord. I praise God's word for the hour. But then to hear the Lord say
concerning me, He's done what He could. And I think to myself,
what a word of encouragement for somebody like me that's so
weak and frail and fearful. I'm getting ready to stand up
to preach. Clay, my heart's just, you know,
I'm thinking I'm getting ready to stand up there again. Fear
thou not. I'm not going to leave you. I'm not going to forsake you.
And I think to myself, Lord, thank you. Thank you for that.
Thank you for your Word. In that day, it shall be said
to Jerusalem, Fear thou not to Zion, let not thine hands be
slack. Finally, my brethren, Ephesians
6.10. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. And
then lastly, last verse for this morning. The Lord thy God in
the midst of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice
over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. In my margin there it says He
will be silent. He will joy over thee with singing. You know, here's what the scripture
has to say again in verse 17. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. Don't we need to hear again.
He just told us in verse 15. that He's in the midst of thee. And just two verses later, because
we're so prone to forget, I'm going to tell you again. Because
you just forgot. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. has set His throne in Zion, lives
and reigns and governs in the hearts of His people. The Lord thy God, mighty, almighty,
all power is given unto the Son. Now when you think of all power,
you know how much is left? None. All power is given unto
the Son. He should give eternal life to
as many as the Father has given Him. And what is the One who
has all power going to do for the redemption of His people?
Whatever He sees fit. Where is your God, David? He
said, Our God's in the heavens, and He hath done whatsoever He
pleases. Oh my! If God be for us, let
me ask you this, who can be against us? Here's what, the Lord thy God
in the midst of thee is mighty, He will save. You know, the scripture says
that He has saved us. 2 Timothy 1.9, who hath saved
us and called us with an holy calling. I'm so thankful the
Spirit of God revealed that. Who would have ever known that?
You say, well, that sounds backwards to me. Well, it's not. Because the Lord said, "...who
hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." Now that's just the way it is. He
hath saved us. But I'll tell you what Scripture
says. We are being saved right now.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you. God's keeping this who are kept
right now by the power of God through faith unto salvation
ready to be revealed in the last time. So He hath saved us and
we are being saved right now through faith. Faith that he gives right now. Last night, I stood here and
while I was preaching, I was breathing. I was breathing. And that breath that I took last
night, I'm just so thankful for it that I could take a breath.
But you know what? Last night's oxygen does me no
good right now. I've got to take a breath right
now. I just had to have a breath right now. He's keeping us through faith
right now, that He just gives right now. We've been saved,
being saved. I'm telling you this, He's going
to save us. That's what He says, the Lord thy God in the midst
of thee, He will save. For we are unto God a sweet saver
of Christ in them that are saved. That is those that are being
saved right now. In them that are saved right
now. He will save us. She shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his
people from their sins. He will rejoice over thee with
joy. I want you to imagine that it
is the joy of the Lord to rejoice over His people. He joys in rejoicing
over His people. Jeremiah 32, 41, Yea, I will
rejoice over them to do them good. I will plant them in this
land assuredly with my whole heart, with my whole soul. And then it says, He will rest
in His love. He will be silent. That is, He
will continue in His love without any variation, without any disturbance,
without any change. And the Lord Himself knows that
in ourselves, we would give Him good reason to vary. You know, it would be wonderful
if we could treat each other with no variation that we would
be unchanging in our love for one another. Everything, as far
as we are concerned, is our environment. Well, you looked at me wrong.
I know what you meant. I heard what you said, but I
know what you meant. He will rest. He is going to
be silent in His love. And He will joy over thee with
singing. Boy, that last statement right
there, He will joy over thee with singing. I'm just going to try to relate
what the scripture has to say. I know this, I know that according
to Matthew 26.30 after the Lord had eaten His supper with His
with his disciples. And this is what the scripture
declares. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the
Mount of Olives. I just thought to myself, the
Lord sang with them. The Lord sang with them. He was
singing, I don't doubt for one second, they were singing the
Psalms. I don't know which one it was. But the Lord sang. How precious to just consider
the fellowship of the Lord singing with His people. The great God who loves His people
and loves to love them, He will joy over them with singing, rejoicing
in the graces that He has bestowed upon His own, and ready to express
His joy by singing over them. I'm just going to read you what
John Calvin had to say about this statement. He said, joying
over his people with singing. Mr. Calvin said this, it may
not appear to us that God should be described as a husband who
burns with love to his wife, his bride, by singing. But we must fully learn how great
is God's favor toward his people. who is humble himself in the
person of his precious Son for our sake. We must observe that
whatever is calculated to set forth the love of God in God's
Scriptures does not deviate from His glory, for His chief glory
is that vast and inexpressible goodness by which He has embraced
us. in which he will show us his
love to the end. The scripture declares, he will
joy over them, over thee, with singing. Lord, for your mercy
and your grace and the expression as revealed in your scriptures
of your love to your people, how we thank you, praise and
bless you. for Christ's sake.