May it please the Lord to bless
us together this morning as we consider his word. Let's turn
to the prophecy of Zephaniah chapter 3 and we'll read verse
12. Zephaniah chapter 3 and reading
verse 12. I will also leave in the midst
of thee an afflicted and poor people and they shall trust in
the name of the Lord. The prophet Zephaniah lived in
the times of Josiah, the king, king of Judah. And it was not very long before
they were to be taken captive by the Chaldeans and go down
into Babylon. And as so many of these prophecies
refer to this period in the history of Judah and Israel and speak
to them very straight and very clearly about their condition
and about their situation. And although, of course, that
was written very, very many years ago, yet we are sad to have to
acknowledge that we still live in a day and age when there is
so much evil about. And people, just like they were
in this day, they were more concerned about pleasing themselves and
living their life as they would have said to the fool. They didn't
really want God to interfere He didn't want to have to do
those things which would stop them enjoying the foolish things
of this world. And so, in this chapter we read
together, the Prophet speaks and he says, woe to her that
is filthy and polluted to the oppressing city. It is a word
of warning to say, woe, woe to listen to the situation. And
it tells us, she, that's that nation, obeyed not the voice
she received, not correction. She trusted not in the Lord.
She drew not near to her God. And that is an exceedingly sad
statement. If you consider that here was
Judah blessed, wonderfully really, and favoured with the temple,
and all that that meant, the favour of it and the continual
daily sacrifice and the sacrifices which were brought and yet we
have this statement made against them that they did not obey that
which was written in the word of God, they did not obey the
prophets and they didn't receive the instruction, they didn't
receive correction, they weren't prepared And they trusted not
in the Lord, and they drew not near to God." Well, it's a very
sad condition, isn't it? Well, just look at the condition
today. Look at the condition in our nation today. Look at
the condition in the churches today. You know, is that not
true? They obeyed, not the voice. And if we consider that, in a
full application to the Word of God. The Word of God is so
wonderfully instructed and so gloriously comprehensive and
yet today we find many in the churches of God who are not obeying
the voice. They come and they go. They come and they go. And they
just are satisfied with an outward performance of religion. They do not obey the voice of
God. They will not receive correction. They do not want to be corrected. They make all manner of excuses. They go their own way. They follow their own ideas. And sadly, they do not trust
in the Lord. and they do not draw near to
God. True religion is not just a Sunday
religion. Many people today are happy just
to spend a few hours on Sunday and think they've done their
duty to God and man. But it's just an outward performance
of the flesh. It really comes under that category.
The bodily exercise profiteth little. The great blessing will
be if there is that trusting in the Lord and the drawing near
to God. We might ask the question, do
we draw near to God every day? And sometimes we may desire to
draw near to God, but don't appear to be able to draw near to God.
There seems a separation. There seems a dividing line.
And we can't do that that we want to do. Well, it's a sad situation, isn't
it? But it is a true situation and we should not ignore such
statements which are provided for us. And then we read. The prophets, the teachers are
light and treacherous persons. How true that is today. You know
there is lightness in the preaching of the gospel. People are more
interested in amusing the people than they are in preaching the
gospel. There is really no room for lightness. in the things
of God. No room for lightness in the
preaching of the gospel. And so here we have this statement,
a light and treacherous persons. That means if they're light,
they're treacherous in the things that they're speaking and displaying. We read further on in this same
chapter, I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn
assembly. It is a wonderful blessing to
be able to gather together to worship, but it is a solemn assembly. And how wonderful when God shows
us that truth, that it is a solemn assembly. It's not an occasion
for frivolity, for lightness, for jokes and stories. It's an
occasion to worship God. So we have a very firm position. And her priests have polluted
the sanctuary. They have done violence to the
law. It means they have taken away
from the law of God. People today think they can trifle
with God. They think they can please God
in their way. My friends, you and I can only
please God in His way. And that means doing those things
in a right way, with right desires, with right concerns. And those
desires and concerns should be directed to the position and
to the life of our soul. This is the vital and important
consideration for every one of us, to be made aware of the health
or the sickness of our soul. We come to worship God not for
our natural bodily blessing. We come to worship God for the
blessing of the soul. And that is important. It is so necessary that today
we recognise such importance. There is an erosion of this truth. There is an erosion of true worship
of God. And there is that which is satisfying
to the flesh. We should remember that the flesh
will not profit from spiritual blessings. But today, there is
that attitude to please the flesh. Well, my friends, let us not
be concerned about pleasing the flesh. Let us be concerned about
the profit of our soul. And then we read, the just Lord
is in the midst thereof. God is in the midst. Just ponder
that. Not a little God, a great God. If God is in the midst, how solemn
it is to realise that we are before Almighty God. and therefore how concerned we
should be to worship rightly. The just Lord, and God is just,
is a just God. The just Lord is in the midst
of, He will not do iniquity. Every morning does He bring judgement
and light. He faileth not, but the unjust
knoweth no shame." Again, that's a very true statement, isn't
it? The unjust knoweth no shame. See, if we possess the work of
God in our souls, by the Holy Spirit, and if we don't do those
things which are wrong, and not in accordance with the will of
God, does it bring shame into our heart? Yes. Are we shamed by it? Are we shamed
by our attitude? Or is there no shame? Now, the word is the unjust knoweth
no shame. If it be good evidence of life,
then in our hearts If we know what it is to be ashamed of our
religion, that means really how we fail to do that which we should
have done. We haven't been diligent in the
things of God and we are ashamed. God's people know what it is
to be ashamed of themselves, their failure. And so it will
be a blessing for you and me today to realise the truth of
these things. The Spirit of God goes on to
tell us, I have cut off the nations, their towers are desolate, I
made their streets waste, that none passeth by, their cities
are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none
inhabitant. And I said, surely they will
fear me, they will receive instruction. so their dwellings should not
be cut off. Howsoever I punished them, but
they rose early and corrupted all their doings." The sad and
solemn position that we see around us today, the same as it was
in these days when, as Zephaniah wrote to Judah and Jerusalem,
He says, therefore, wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the
day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather
the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour on them
my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth shall
be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. And then he comes and tells us,
for then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may
all call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent. It's a blessed position to see
the unity of the true Church of God Wherever that may be found,
throughout the world, the unity of the true Church of God are
like this. They have a pure language, and
that is the language of Zion. That's the language that God
gives to us. That's the language that the
Lord teaches us. Again, it's not of the flesh.
It's of the Spirit, and it's a pure language. Because that
which God teaches us is good and right and just and true. And the result is then, that
they may all call upon the name of the Lord. Without any exception,
the whole Church of God are joined together in calling upon the
name of the Lord. That means they are praying to
God. You cannot be part of the Church
of God and not pray to God. Because prayer is the life of
our soul. In the same way, you cannot live
unless you breathe. In the same way, you cannot live
spiritually unless you pray. And so, therefore, you will need
that pure language of God-given prayer that we all may be found
calling upon the name of the Lord, and to serve him." To serve
the Lord. And that means we are not found
serving ourselves. What we are found, we are found
serving the Lord. Now, these words that Zephaniah
wrote to Judah were very separating words, weren't they? He cut right
down the middle. Perhaps it didn't cut down the
middle, perhaps it cut down near one edge. Because most of them
were under condemnation. There were only a few who truly
worshipped the Lord. But it was a very faithful message
that Zephaniah was told to convey to this nation. Now the sad thing
was that it had little effect, little true effect, Because the
time came when, of course, those prophecies came to pass that
Judah were carried away captive right down into Babylon and they
had to endure 70 years of captivity. God had told them what would
occur. There it was, very clear. They ignored it. So it is today. The Word of God speaks to us
very clearly. And yet so many people today
are willing to ignore the truth of God's word. When he comes
down he says, In that day shall thou not be ashamed for all thy
doings wherein thou hast transgressed against me for then I will take
away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride
and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountains."
Now that's not a very easy verse to understand. But what it really
means is this. The Church of God were part of
an evil generation. And they were occupied in a similar
situation. But the Lord came and remove
those who did indeed transgress, who rejoiced in wrong things,
who rejoiced that there were those who were perhaps wrongly
taken up with pride. And the Lord came and sovereignly
removed them. But there were then, and there
was a remnant The 13th verse tells us, the remnant of Israel
shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, neither shall a deceitful
tongue be found in their mouth, for they shall feed and lie down,
and none shall make them afraid. So there is, there was and there
is today a remnant. Now let's have a description
of this remnant. We have it in the twelfth verse.
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor
people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. There is
a very simple and true and powerful description of the true living
Church of God. He says here that he will also
leave in the midst of thee. They were a people, a small remnant
that were left and they dwelt there. The Lord was with them. I will also leave in the midst
of thee an afflicted and poor people. This, of course, has
a principle reference to a spiritual situation. And what it means
is this. God's people are afflicted and
poor. Now, you may say, surely that's
not right. Surely they are a most blessed
people. They are rich. Well, so they
are. But as they view themselves,
and as they see themselves, and as they understand themselves
they would appreciate the statement that they are part of this little
company who are called an afflicted and poor people because they
realize the affliction that sin brings upon them the affliction
of sin sin is an affliction and it is an evil Sin is not good,
is it? Surely we ought to acknowledge
that. Sin is not good. Sin is evil. And sin dwells within
us. That sin came upon us through
the sin of Adam and Eve in that Garden of Eden. That original
sin which passed upon all mankind. We are all afflicted by sin,
and we always are afflicted by sin. And that's why the Apostle
Paul tells us, when he wrote to the Romans at 7th of Romans,
he says, in me, that is in my flesh, his flesh, not his new
nature, but in his flesh dwelleth no good thing. No good thing. We also read sin is mixed with
all we do. So what does it add up to? It adds up to an afflicted situation. That means we are really ill.
That means we are not healthy. No, we are ill because of sin. I wonder whether you and I realise
what this really means. Well, I believe it will have
a right effect upon us by the influence of the Holy Spirit
of God. It will make us be concerned that we are delivered, that we
are healed from this awful affliction of sin. Now, that doesn't mean to say
that we will lose the affliction on this earth. We shall still
be afflicted by the evil of sin, and it will make us poor. It will make us feel our poverty
in the things of God. We're going to understand what
the Apostle said, the good that I would, I do not, and the evil
that I would not, that I do. And we will come and we will
cry out what a poor person I am, what a failure I am. I don't
seem to be able to keep my mind on the things of God. I don't
seem to be able to concentrate on the things of God as I would. And we come and we realise, yes,
we are a poor people. We are afflicted. Sometimes we cry out, can ever
God dwell here? Surely, I can't be like a true
believer if I have this continual conflict in my heart, the battle
between good and bad, between our flesh and the spirit. And we foolishly perhaps think,
well, This will soon get better, and I shall soon move out of
this kind of situation." Well, we don't really. We still possess
affliction, and we still possess poverty. We're still poor, because
this is our sinful nature. And the devil will shake us,
and try to bring us down, and try and make us give up. in our
religion and say well it's no point you carrying on in effect
you are such a sinner and you are so poor and you don't seem
to get out of it and you are therefore it's time you gave
up and call no more on Jesus name. You see we are then under
this affliction and poverty under conviction But I believe the result of this
will make us not actually give up. We may be tempted to give
up. No doubt you may be. But by the
Spirit of God, and if you and I possess that Spirit of God,
it's the life of God in the soul, and that means that we possess
that which we have been given, spiritual life, and the truth
is, as the prophet says here, and it's a very positive statement,
and they shall trust in the name of the Lord. So however afflicted
and poor we may be, The Spirit of God within us will stretch
out to seek for mercy and blessing
and favour. The prayer may be very weak,
but it will be there. The sigh, the upward lifting
of our eye when none but God is there. We won't be there in
that condition like a pharisee trying to impress people would
understand the publicans condition when he smote upon his breast
and said God be merciful to me a sinner he was an afflicted
and poor person and the church of God understand that condition
but blessed be God we are not left there We do not remain there. We stretch out in faith to the
Saviour. They shall trust in the name
of the Lord God. And it comes like this. He is
able, yes. He is willing. Doubt no more. We have a God who is all sufficient. A God who knows our every thought,
our every movement, our every condition. Nothing is hidden
from this all-seeing God. And so to come and to realise
these words are true. And they. It doesn't refer to
those previously spoken of. It's these who are found, who
are left in the midst of an afflicted and poor people. And they shall
trust. in the name of the Lord. Bless God today if you are trusting
in the name of the Lord. That means you are trusting in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that means you are trusting
Him for everything, for time and for eternity. And why are
you trusting Him? because he's put in your heart
that living desire to seek his face. They that seek shall find. Come unto me is the gracious
invitation of the word of God. And they that trust the name
of the Lord. You're afflicted and poor. What
are you doing? You're trusting in the name of
the Lord. Sometimes men always realise
that. But I believe when we come right
down, the spiritual heart still beats. There's still life. We haven't expired. While that
heart still beats naturally, there's life. when that spiritual
heart still beats, there's life. And I believe what it is, it's
a panting after Christ. We read, don't we, in the Psalms,
Psalm 42, I think it is, as the heart panteth after the water
brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." So when we come
and recognise our afflicted and poor condition, there will be
that panting after God. Yes, it gives the picture of
almost giving up, panting after the water brooks, that hearth
or that deer that needed water, And so it is in a spiritual sense,
you and I need the water of life. We need the Lord of God to apply
his word to our souls, so that we do indeed know the Lord, and
they shall trust in the name of the Lord, and we come and
we trust what in? What the Lord has done. We give up all our hope in ourselves. We look to ourself and we see
failure. We realise we're poor and afflicted
and then we look out of ourself. We have no hope in self. We look
to the Saviour and we see then the glory of His finished work. We see then, by the Spirit of
God, the Lord Jesus Christ doing everything for us. We could not
deliver our soul. We could not save ourselves. But there is a great and glorious
Saviour who has done everything necessary to save our soul. And there's our trust. There's
our trust in the name of the Lord. Now this is a trust which
will not disappear because, and they shall trust in the Lord. You see, the Spirit tells us,
I will also leave in the midst of thee this afflicted and poor
people and they shall trust. It is one of those positive statements
by our God, I will There are many such statements in the Word
of God, and how wonderful it is to realise that we have a
God who says, and it comes to pass. There is no doubt about the Word
of God. And so he says, I will, and this
means I will, that they shall trust in the name of the Lord. We shall trust in what he's done. We shall believe that that work
of Christ was sufficient, it was totally adequate to redeem
His church from all their sins. Yes, the Saviour shed His blood,
His precious blood, His invaluable blood to atone for our sins,
those sins which have made us feel so very poor and very afflicted
so that we're in a very low condition. We have to look out of ourselves
and we look up. We look up to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh yes, it's a great and glorious
word, is it not? We often refer to it in Isaiah,
look unto me, be ye saved o'er the ends of the earth for I am
God and there is none else. Oh, where's our trust today?
You may feel poor and afflicted. I hope you do. Are you trusting in the name
of the Lord? Are you trusting in what he has
achieved through his great and glorious death when he finished
that work that his father gave him to do? He came into this
world to seek and to save them that are lost. Those who are
lost and ruined in the fall, the Saviour came to save them.
Oh, my friends, I think of that today. Yes, the Lord has said,
I will enable us to trust in the name of the Lord. Yes, as
we come and we stand, as it were, at the foot of the cross, And
we're looking up. Looking up. If you stand at the
foot of the cross, you've got to look up. You can't look down.
The Saviour was lifted up. He was raised up on that cross.
And you and I are to be found today, looking up, looking to
the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Apostle wrote to the Hebrews. having concluded that long list
of all those who were blessed with that God-given faith, he
comes and tells us, wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience. The indication is, if we're an
afflicted and poor people, we'll need patience, and you will,
and we will, with patience. We are to run with patience the
race that is set before us and here is the wonderful solution. Looking unto Jesus, trust in
the Lord with all our heart and lead not to our own understanding. Who the author and the finisher
of our faith. That God who has begun A good
work in your heart. A good work in your heart which
has brought you into a place that you didn't expect to be
found afflicted and poor. You may have expected it to be
all rosy. A believer's life is going to
be all wonderful. All smooth. The Word of God tells us it's
the exact opposite. It's a hard path. It's a rugged
path. It's a difficult way. But it's
a way which leads to eternal life. It's not a broad, easy
way. It's through much tribulation
that we shall enter the kingdom. Let us never forget that truth. And so let us run with patience
then, in this race, looking unto Jesus, the author, that one who
has begun that good work, that God who will finish that work.
And that's why here we have this, and they shall trust in the name
of the Lord, to trust that He will finish that work for you
and me. He may indeed take us by our hand and lead us on safely
through this barren land. Yes, what a blessing it is to
have such a Saviour who comes alongside and takes us and leads
us. He led them forth by the right
way that they should go to a city of habitation. And again, that
was a very clear description that the psalmist gave of the
condition that was typical of the children of God. He says,
they wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way, they found
no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul
fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble. Yes, the prayer to God. Yes,
they cried unto God. And He delivered them out of
their distresses. We're told, He satisfies a longing
soul, filleth a hungry soul with goodness, such as sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction, and iron,
as it were, in prison, because they rebelled against
the words of God. And that may touch a chord in
our heart to realise that we've been guilty, that we've rebelled
against the words of God, and contend the counts are the most
high. Therefore, he brought down their heart with labour, afflicted
and poor. They fell down and there was
none to help. Then they cried unto the Lord
in their trouble and He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness
and the shadow of death and break their bands in sunder. Deliverance
by Almighty God. Those who trust in the Lord and
they shall trust in the name of the Lord. Yes, he came and
delivered them and he said, oh that men would praise the Lord
for his goodness and for his wonderful works the children
men for he has broken the gates of brass and cut the bars of
brass, iron rather, in sunder. Well what a blessing it is to
know the truth of these things, to know the truth of God's word
I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor
people and they shall trust in the name of the Lord well today
may we understand what Zephaniah was prophesying and may it have
an application to you and me that although we may be found
afflicted and poor to realize it's an evidence of the life
of God in the soul, and to be found trusting in the name of
the Lord, that is a good and a firm foundation. Amen.