Turn with me now to the book
of Zephaniah, page 1165 in my Bible, the fourth
book from the end of the Old Testament. Zephaniah chapter 2. I'm going to read this whole
chapter, but I'm going to start by reading the first three verses. And let's really listen to this. Let's not just read this like
the next chapter in Zephaniah. Let's not just read this as historical
words that are written or a prophecy of future things or a lesson
that can be learned. Let's really listen to this. I want to encourage you to ask
the Lord to let you really listen to this and really enter into
this. God is saying something and he's
saying something to us. And every now and then I tell
you, you know, this really hit home to me. Well, this really
hit home to me. And I believe this is going to
really hit home to you. And old and young, I want every
person here to really hear what he's saying. I want to strongly
emphasize this. Let's put our, if you're old
enough to know what it means to put your thinking cap on,
let's put our thinking caps on. Let's turn our ears on. Let's
dial into this. Our eternity depends on this. It depends on this. This could
be the most important thing we ever hear in our lives. And I'm very serious. I'm very
serious at this moment. I preached from Zephaniah 1 Sunday
night. And Monday morning, first thing,
I already knew that this was our message. I already knew what
the focus of the message was. And then when I got word about
Brother Hines, And that continued into Tuesday. This brought all
new urgency to me. And I just want to bring urgency
to you in this. You know that chapter one, which
we just looked at chapter one was all judgment. It was all
judgment. The whole chapter was the judgment
of God on man for his sin. And the last verse in chapter
one, verse 18 said, and this is the Lord speaking. These are
the words of the Lord. He said, neither their silver
nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of
the Lord's wrath. He said, they are not going to
be able to buy their way out of my wrath. They will have nothing
to deliver them from my wrath. The wrath of God is coming down
on this planet. I know what that sounds like.
I told you before, I understand that sounds like I ought to grow
my beard real long and hang a sign from my neck and go stand on
a street corner in New York City. I understand that. But the wrath of God is going
to come down on this planet. We see natural disasters and
things happen and we're shocked. You know, you go about life and
then all of a sudden the news, everything is, you know, some
big thing is happening. The world is talking about it.
Well, the world's not going to be talking
about anything after this because it's all going to be over. But
God's wrath is coming down on this planet and we need to get
ready because it's going to be on a day that we think not. In verse 18, he said, neither
their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the
day of the Lord's wrath, but the whole land shall be devoured
by the fire of his jealousy, for he shall make even a speedy
riddance of all them that dwell. in the land. Now, listen to chapter
2. Okay? Listen to this. And I'm talking to Gabe Stoniker.
Gabe Stoniker, listen to this. Listen to this. Listen to this.
Chapter 2, verse 1. This is still the Lord speaking.
He said, Gather yourselves together. Yea, gather together, O nation
not desired. before the decree bring forth,
before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the
Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come
upon you, 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. Does that get anybody? I mean,
sometimes I'm so burdened about what I have to say, I just want
to lay down on the floor and not even say it because I know
I'm not going to get it across. I'm not going to do it justice.
I'm not going to be able to get out what my soul is wanting to
get out. I understand why different men
came up to the Lord and fell at his feet as a dead man. Well, we just, we need this. We need
to, we're not playing games anymore. We're just not playing games
anymore. Verse one says, gather yourselves together, yea, gather
together, O nation not desired, nothing desirable in you whatsoever. We are a nation that has nothing
desirable. There is nothing desirable about
us, nothing. Man has his proud look, and man
has his proud heart, and his proud life, and God says, that's
the thing I hate the most, pride. Pride. What man desires so much,
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, God said, that's the thing I despise the most. That's the thing that makes man
so undesirable to me. Verse 1, He said, Gather yourselves
together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired, before
the decree bring forth. There's going to come a day when
the decree goes. That's it. Angels, go gather
my people. Destroyers, get ready to destroy. Before the decree bring forth. Before the day pass as the chaff,
that's just the... gone in the wind. Before the fierce anger of the
Lord come upon you. Before the day of the Lord's
anger come upon you. Oh, if mankind only knew what's
coming. If we only knew what's coming. Everybody thinks, God's not angry
with me. He's angry with the wicked every
day. What's a wicked person? A sinner. Who in this room is a sinner?
Everybody here. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. If we say we haven't sinned,
we're calling God a liar. And that's a sin. Oh, if mankind only knew. We went
on this big, huge trip. We traveled to Europe, we traveled
to Africa, and I told them at one point, I said, what is overwhelming
me is the amount of people I'm seeing. I can't believe how many
people there are on the earth. And every soul is going to go
meet God. And souls are not ready to go
meet God. They don't know who God is. They
don't even know that God is a God of anger and fierce wrath. No,
God is love. God loves everybody. Not according
to God. Verse 3, He said, 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. We need to be hid in the day
of the Lord's anger. He said it may be. That's what
I've titled this message. It may be. What that means is,
number one, He does not have to put us in His hiding place.
That's what it means, first of all. It may be. Number one, He
does not have to put a soul in His hiding place. He is under
no obligation to us. People think, well, He has to
save me. No, He doesn't. He is under no obligation to
us. Number one, He does not have
to put us in His hiding place. But number two, this is what
it means. There is a hiding place. Thank
God. That's what He's saying. There's
a hiding place. Before this day comes, realize,
no, there's a hiding place. And He is willing to put some
undesirable sinners in it. And according to God's word,
we're just as undesirable as anybody else. It may be us. It may be you. He said, you gather. You beg, you seek, you cry, it
may be. But here's the thing about it.
Don't assume. Don't assume. The greatest error
that any man, woman, boy, or girl could ever make is assuming
that he or she is saved. That's the greatest error any
soul could ever make. Every soul here ought to not
assume that they are saved right now, before the decree goes forth. I mean, everybody starting with
me. Yeah, I wrote this. I wrote that in my notes. And
when I wrote that in my notes, I said, starting with me, I'll
do it by God's grace. Every soul here ought to right
now not assume that he or she is saved. This word is saying
to every person here, don't assume that you're saved. If we assume
that we are saved, we are probably not. I want all I want everybody to
know that I want you young people to know that I want you old people
to know that. If we assume that we are saved,
we are probably not. God's people can have assurance
without assuming on it. God's people can have assurance
without assuming on it. God's people do not assume on
their salvation. They gather, they seek, they
beg, they cry. God's people do. They say, Lord, if it may be,
let it be on me. They don't go around saying,
well, I'm saved. If anybody's saved, I'm saved. Ain't no doubt
in my mind, I'm saved. They say, God, be merciful to
me, the sinner. Yesterday's mercy is gone. I
need brand spanking new mercy today. Save me today. Well, I was saved
back, you know, whenever I was baptized back in. Save me right
now before the decree goes forth. I need it right now. I pray the Lord will reveal the
urgency of this to us and will cause us to do this. And here's
the reason why. This is not the cause of salvation. Christ is the cause of salvation. But this is the evidence. This
is the evidence. Faith in Christ. Faith is something
active in and toward and for the Lord Jesus Christ. It just
is. It's not of ourselves. It's the gift of God. It's even
the work of God in us. But faith looks to Christ actively. And it hopes in Christ and it
says, you're all I have. If if I don't have you, I don't
have anything. And if salvation is not you,
then I don't have salvation. Faith calls on Christ in the
soul. And it's the evidence. It says, Christ is the only hope
that may be. It may be. Well, Christ is the
only hope that may be. It may only be in Him. Now, that is the urgency of His
Word to us, and here's the reason why. Verse 4 says, Because, okay, he said in verse
1, gather yourselves together, ye gather together, O nation
not desired, before the decree bring forth, before the day passes
the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you,
before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you, seek ye
the Lord. Cry out to the Lord, all ye meek
of the earth. Only a sinner made meek in the
Lord Jesus Christ can be this way. which have wrought his judgment,
seek righteousness, seek meekness. That's a person. It's not a thing,
that's a person. It may be you shall be hid in
the day of the Lord's anger. Verse four, he said, for Gaza
shall be forsaken and Ashkelon a desolation. They shall drive
out Ashdod at the noonday. And Ekron shall be rooted up. All of those are Philistine cities
in the land of Palestine. And they are still there to this
day. They're in a little strip. If
you look at a map southeast of Jerusalem on the Mediterranean
Sea, you know what that kind of looks like. As you look at
the Mediterranean Sea, the bottom strip of it right there, all
those cities they just named, it's the bottom strip. Verse
4, Gaza shall be forsaken, Ashkelon a desolation. They shall drive
out Ashdod at the noonday and Ekron shall be rooted up. Woe
unto the inhabitants of the seacoast. The nation of the Karathites,
their name means executioners. They were foreign mercenary soldiers. That's what they were. Woe unto
the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Carithites!
The word of the Lord is against you. O Canaan, the land of the
Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no
inhabitant. And the seacoast shall be dwellings
and cottages for shepherds and foals of flocks. and the coast
shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah, they shall feed
thereupon. In the houses of Ashkelon shall
they lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God shall
visit them and turn away their captivity. I have heard the reproach
of Moab and the revelings of the children of Ammon, whereby
they have reproached My people and magnified themselves against
their border. Therefore, as I live, saith the
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, surely Moab shall be as Sodom
and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of
nettles and salt pits and perpetual desolation. The residue of my
people shall spoil them and the remnant of my people shall possess
them. This shall they have for their pride because they have
reproached and magnified themselves against the people of the Lord
of hosts. The Lord will be terrible unto them, for he will famish
all the gods of the earth. And men shall worship him, everyone
from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. You Ethiopians
also, you shall be slain by my sword. And he will stretch out
his hand against the north and destroy Assyria, and will make
Nineveh a desolation and dry like a wilderness. and flocks
shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beast of the nations,
both the cormorant, that's a pelican, and the bitter, and the birds
shall lodge in the upper lentils of it, their voice shall sing
in the windows, desolation shall be in the thresholds, for he
shall uncover the cedar work. This is the rejoicing city that
dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am. and there is none beside me.
How is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down
in? Everyone that passeth by her shall hiss and wag his hand." He started that by saying the
Gaza Strip is going to be destroyed. Now I believe I was very wisely
advised when I started preaching to stay away from prophecy. Do not get caught up in prophecy. What that means is don't try
to see the things that are happening in the world and then say that's
the fulfillment of this scripture. We don't know what the fulfillment
of God's scripture is unless The Word of God says, all this
was done that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which was spoken
by the prophet. If it says that, then we know
that's the fulfillment of Scripture. It's very foolish to assume on
God's wisdom and God's Word. But I will say this, based on
everything that's going on in the world, that ought to give
us a greater sense of urgency. The desolations and destructions
that are happening in the world ought to bring a greater sense
of urgency to the desolations and destructions that are coming
from the Lord in that day. There is going to come a day
when we realize time's up. That's it. The day of the Lord's
vengeance is at hand. And on that day, some are going
to be hid. And some are not. And here's how we can know who
is who. OK, this is how we can know who
is who. Those who will not be hid on
that day. Hid in Christ. hid in the blood and the righteousness
of Jesus Christ, covered in the blood, robed in the righteousness,
hid in the secret of His tabernacle. Christ is the hiding place. Jesus
Christ, my hiding place. Those who will not be hid will hear this warning from God. They will hear the word of the
Lord. and it will go in one ear and
out the other. It will mean nothing to them.
It will produce no fear, no urgency in them. They will assume that
they are saved and everything is fine. And then they'll go
right on back to the life they were living. That's those who will not be
hid. Thus saith the Lord. Hear the
word of the Lord. Beg the Lord to put a burden
in you. If you don't have a burden, if
you say, well, I don't feel fear, ask God to give it to you. Seek
the Lord. Cry out to the Lord. If you don't
see your need of His righteousness because you think your good works
are good enough to go to heaven, seek the Lord. Cry out to the
Lord, say, Lord, reveal to me my filthy rag self-righteousness
so I will see the need of your righteousness. That's those who will not be
here, OK? But those that will be here. They will see their one and only
need of a hiding place. Jesus Christ their hiding place.
And they will make it their mission in life to gather in the place
where his people meet. In the place where he's chosen
to put his name there. In the place where he's chosen
to put the glory of his name there. And the worship of his
name there. Not just the place that glorifies
man and worships man, not just the house of false religion,
but the house of God, the house that worships Christ in truth. And those people will together,
collectively, cry out to God for mercy. Mercy in the hiding place. They
will, from the depths of their soul, cry, hide me, oh my Savior,
hide. Let your mercy be on me. Let
your blood be on me. I do not assume on your goodness
to me. I know that I'm unworthy of it. But your loving kindness and
your tender mercy, the promise of loving kindness to sinners
against you, all because you're a merciful God. All because your
heart is full of tender mercy. Your loving kindness and your
tender mercy through the cross of your sacrifice. That's the
only hope I have of being spared on the day of your fierce anger. It's the Lord Jesus Christ who's
coming back. All those who say, Lord, my only
hope is that your fierce anger was poured out on Christ in my
stead. Every soul who has that response
to his warning will be healed. Let me close the message by proving
that to you. Turn with me to Matthew 7. Matthew 7 verse 7, Our Lord said,
Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened
unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth. Is that not good news? And he
that seeketh And he's not talking about seeking religion and seeking
heaven. He's talking about seeking Jesus
Christ for mercy. He that seeketh, findeth. And to him that knocketh, It
shall be opened. It shall be. Verse 21 right here. This is the example of those
that don't ask, but assume on their salvation. All right, you're
going to notice they do not ask the Lord anything. They only
tell him. Look at verse 21. Not everyone
that sayeth unto me, Lord, Lord, they're not asking, they're telling.
Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father
which is in heaven. What's the will of the Father?
Gather ye together. Before that decree goes out,
before the anger of the Lord comes upon you, seek the Lord. Seek righteousness. Seek meekness. Seek Christ. Verse 21, not everyone
that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom
of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my father, which
is in heaven, many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in thy name? They're telling him. And in thy
name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful
works. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you.
Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Our Lord said, ask,
beg, plead, seek, knock, and you'll have it. If you need a
greater desire to do that, ask, beg, plead, seek, knock, and
he'll give you a greater desire to ask, beg, plead, seek, and
knock. May every soul here hear the
word of God's warning. every soul here. May God make
it effectual to our hearts. May he cause us to seek the Lord.
Seek being with the Lord. Seek being found in the Lord.
May he cause us to seek his righteousness and not our own. That means his
good deeds and his goodness and not our own. May he cause us
to say with the rest of his apostles and men, woe is me. Woe is me. I don't need my works for salvation.
I need his. If we end up doing that, it will
not be the cause of our salvation. It'll be the evidence. And that may be. That was in
our text, according to God's promise will become a shall be. Pray the Lord will make it so.
Cast your all on Christ. He's our place of safety. He's
he's our hiding place. All right.