in every generation. And there
were those who shone as lights in that day. So whoever wrote
that is anonymous. They knew the Lord. Alright, Zephaniah. This little
book is called A Minor Prophet. It begins, you read it with me,
with dire warnings to all people, all people, but it's directed
primarily at Judah and Jerusalem. The city that he's talking about
that shall be desolate is Jerusalem, Daniel. wrote of the abomination
of desolation of Judah, meaning, he's talking about when idolatry
fills the land, and the Lord's not there. He's there, like he
said, in the middle, but in judgment and wrath. So this little book
begins with judgment, and God's anger, and God's wrath, and a
consummation of God who's a consuming fire. and people to be soon to be captives. This was before Babylonian captivity,
before Nebuchadnezzar came. Like Isaiah, Hosea, and perhaps
someone else prophesied of the certain captivity of the people. And they were warning. This was
only 10 or 12 years before that happened. Before Nebuchadnezzar
wiped out Jerusalem and took all those people captive. and
which is symbolic of this world taken captive by Satan. The Revelation, the book of the
Revelation, talks about Satan coming down to earth and he says,
Woe be unto the inhabitants thereof. He's got a little season. And
he brings them into captivity, the whole world, darkness and
sin. But God. He has a remnant, then
and now. This book, like the whole Bible,
and by the way, the prophets, all the prophets said the same
thing. If you read the prophets, every
one of them were either warning the people about destruction
and captivity, or they were in the middle of it themselves.
Daniel was in Babylon. Jeremiah was in Babylon under
this dominion, and they wept and prayed to the Lord to bring
them out of this captivity. All the prophets said the same
thing. As said, this book begins with
judgment and wrath, but it doesn't end that way. It doesn't end
that way. The whole book, the Bible, begins
with darkness, and man in a garden, and Satan coming, deceiving,
and bringing the people into captivity of sin. And then all
the sin, and wrath, and judgment, and all that. Throughout the
Bible, the whole Bible is about, oh. But in the Midstone, here and
there, a little here and there, God has a people, God has a remnant.
It reveals Himself to you. And then how does the Bible end?
It ends good for His people. A brand new kingdom. A brand
new world. This book means nothing to those
that don't believe God is holy and just. This book means nothing.
This Gospel means nothing to those that don't believe man
is that bad. This Gospel doesn't mean anything
to those that don't believe they're that bad. To those that don't
think they're in captivity, I don't need deliverance. From what? What am I being delivered from,
Preacher? I like it here. But to those who know something
about this captivity. You see that? There was a remnant
in there. Like in Exodus 3, I love this. Exodus 3, it says, God heard
the groanings. He said, I've surely seen the
affliction of my people in Egypt. In chapter 3, ironically or providentially,
the same chapter in Zephaniah, chapter 3, the Lord said, I've
left in the midst of this world a people afflicted and poor. So our Lord said in Exodus 3,
I've surely seen the afflictions of my people. I've heard their
cry by reason of their taskmaster. I know their sorrows. Blessed
are they that mourn. I have come down to deliver them
out of the land of Egypt, the Egyptians, to bring them up out
of that land to a good land, large, honey, flowing with milk
and honey." The message is the same. You know that? But this
generation, like Jeremiah said, Isaiah, spoiled, incaptive to all these gods. Do you know
who all these gods were? He's talking about Molech and
all these different gods he named. Do you know who they are? The
gods of gold, silver, stone, the gods of fertility. The gods
of the harvest, eating, drinking, gods of pleasure, all these gods. Is anything different? Has anything
changed? But now this whole book, this
whole book, the Bible, means everything to those in sin, who
mourn over sin, those in the world, those in captivity, who
know something about this captivity, so know something about the plague
of their hearts. This Bible, this book, this gospel means
everything to people who are his people who cry like the children
of Israel. Come, Lord Jesus, come. And ransom
captive is right here. O come, O come, Emmanuel. Bunyan's
book, I bring it up to you all the time, is the Holy War. If you haven't read it, try.
Bundy was in prison when he wrote that. That's significant isn't
it? The Lord gave him great insight
into this captivity. And he wrote this book about
a people taken captive by Satan. And he didn't have to do it forcibly. He did it with good words and
fair speech. And they opened the ear gate
to him. They opened the eye gate to him. And he came right in,
and they willingly received him, and he took them captive. And
it says he quietened the man called the recorder. That's the
conscience. He made him quiet, so he never bothered anybody. Bunyan wrote that in captivity.
And then he said, finally, the Lord sent a word from afar. Emmanuel's coming. The Son of God's coming. to rescue,
to ransom, to leave captivity, his captivity. And some heard
it and they started calling on him. You know what Emmanuel had
to do? You know what he had to do to get in that land, to get
in that place? Break it down. He had to break
down the eye gate and the ear gate. They wouldn't let him in,
but he came in and he took his people. And that's when I told
you they all were so happy to be delivered that they got in
behind him. and wanted to walk in his footsteps. Bunyan wrote that in captivity.
He knew something about it. Not a man raised up to preach
the gospel didn't have a greater understanding of human nature
and the wiles of the devil than John Bunyan. I am so thankful
for that man. Well, you see, like Paul said,
I believe all things written in the prophets. Paul said, I cease not to warn
you day and night. What did John preach? Repent
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Those pharisees came
to him, the occupants of Jerusalem, the rulers of whom he said they're
light, they're feebless, they're treacherous, they're scheming. What did John say to those rulers?
Oh generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from what? And it's worse. It's worse now. It's worse. Our Lord said it. Daniel said it. When you see
the abomination of desolation everywhere, when you see the
land full of idols, know that he's near. Our Lord said, in
the last days many falls proud of that. That's what he said. Now, this is no fairy tale, but
this is fact. This is no cunningly devised
fable, as Simon Peter said, but these are the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, I beheld Satan fall
as lightning to the earth. He's the one that cast him out
of heaven, to the earth. Only he that now letteth will
let. You remember that? In 2 Thessalonians? That he's the one who even now
does anti-crime, and many anti-crime. Remember that? We just studied.
Only he that leadeth. Who cast him out? Who sent him
here? What's he doing? What is Satan
doing? Only what the Lord lets him do. And yet, Romans 1 talks
about the Lord giving them over. Giving everybody over. Romans
2 talks about religion. Built that. Romans 3 says none
good. None that understand it. Isaiah
59, there's none that call it the truth. None pleaded for justice.
Hold on. There are some. It's just a few
of them. Do you? Do you understand? Do
you believe the record? Do you believe the prophets?
John Paul said, I believe that after the way they call heresy,
after that old-fashioned bloody religion, after that old-fashioned
religion of a God who is holy and just and will not clear the
guilty and the wrath and the consuming fire, the people say,
that's a bunch of nonsense. We're a modern world, and God
loves everybody, and we don't believe that. Well, Paul said,
you may call it heresy, but I believe it. And I preach it, Paul said,
as I cease not to warn day and night with tears. Jeremiah was
a weeping prophet. Jeremiah lived before the captivity,
and he lived in it. And you know what they did to
him? He kept warning them of it. You
know what they did to him? You know what they did to Jeremiah? They put him in prison. They
said, I will listen to you. They did it to Ezekiel. They
did it to Micaiah. Remember Micaiah? Ahab said,
let's call the prophets. And all the prophets got together
and said, it's all good. Everything's good. And Jehoshaphat
said, hold on here. Is there not a prophet of the
Lord here? Somebody tell us the truth. Ahab said, there's one
fellow that he never says anything good about anybody. I don't like
his message. I don't like him. The Jehoshaphat
said, we need to listen to him. So he came. We've got a few in
here this morning, though. Israel was few compared to Egypt
in that day, that night that the Lord passed through Egypt
in judgment. He told them, didn't he? Do you think the Israelites
told the Egyptians? Don't you think they did? Did
they have some friends? Did they have some employers
that they worked for? Did they have neighbors and all
that? Did they tell them? Sure they did. How many Egyptians
heeded the warning? How many Egyptians were under
the blood? But those Israelites were. His
people were, weren't they? And as they all sat in that house, they thought, oh how blessed
we are. We're the most blessed people.
We've got a few in here, but we're a blessed people to hear
this message. And now stay with me, it's going
to get good. It's going to get real good. I hope it'll get so
good that you'll be like them and she'll shout somebody. So the book begins bad in the
garden with man cast out and a flaming sword. God who's a
consuming fire keeping him from the tree of life. And there's
nothing but sin and darkness, and in the middle of it, a little
bit of light here and there. And it ends with Emmanuel coming
back, the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I come quickly, and He comes
to do what? Take them out. And then there's
no more tears, no more sorrow, no more sin, nothing that maketh
the life, nothing but righteousness and joy and hope to God. Every
book, every prophet, as I said, every single one from Moses to
Zachariah says the same thing. And John
was the last of the Old Testament prophets. And Christ himself,
Christ himself came, that prophet, and he said, as in the days of
Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. As in the days of Lot, he warned
it. Remember. He's the one that says,
remember lots. The Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is called a minor prophet.
I don't know who came up with that. The translator, I don't
know who said that, but they call major prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Daniel, long books, big books. They call these little
prophets, minor prophets. They're anything but minor. Their
message is not minor. Their message is not inferior
to Isaiah. It's the same message. But they say that about preachers
today. You've got your great preachers,
your big preachers. Look at all the people who are
hearing it. And you've got these minor little
fellas. And you know what they're saying? Nobody believes in them. Well,
you read with me Zephaniah. How many people know anything
about Zephaniah? How many people have even read
it? As F and I was unknown then to
a lot of people, he's unknown now. He's still unknown to most
people, isn't he? So you now know him. You know
him. You love this man. You think
highly of this man. You believe what this man is
preaching. He's just a minor prophet. All right. Chapter 1. Look at
this. It says, The Word of the Lord. Verse 1. Verse 2 and 3. I will utterly consume man and
be. That's what he said. You want to read some frightening
passages, read Isaiah 13, and on and on. Isaiah 30, Jeremiah. Verse 5, to them that worship
the host of heaven, the sun, the moon, and the stars, that
worship and swear by the Lord, or that is, say they do. Our
Lord is the one that said, well did Isaiah the prophet prophesy
of this people. They draw near unto me with their
lips and their heart. How much true worship actually
goes on in the so-called church today. You can't worship God
outside of Jesus Christ. You can't worship God. You do
not worship God unless you preach a message about sin. Wrath, judgment,
mercy. The need for mercy. The need
for propitiation. The need for a substitute. The
need for a sacrifice. That's the gospel. You're not
preaching the gospel without that. And if that's not being
preached today, nobody's worshipping God. The people of God worshipped
God by sacrifice. What does that mean? They were
sinners in need of mercy, so what they brought was a blood
of somebody who died in their place. That's what worship is.
You can't worship God... And that's from a heart, where
the heart man believes what? That in me dwelleth no good thing,
and I need a substitute. That's who's going to worship
him. The poor, the mourners, the meek. Not the proud, not,
God, aren't you glad I'm here? But, God, I'm glad to be here. It's a big difference. I swear by whomever, oh, how
many millions have their Actual idols that they pray to, like
Mary and the saints, the dead saints. Verse 11, how will you
have inhabitants? He talks about all the things
that they have accumulated and the wealth and all that. It's
going to be gone. It's going to be gone. Verse 17, I'll bring
distress upon men. He talks about mighty men, great
men, rich men, powerful men. Back when there was a depression,
people were jumping out of buildings. Big men, powerful men, educated
people, all was lost. Why? Because all their gold and
silver and everything was gone. The things they trusted in, the
things they got comfort in, the carnal security, and they were
jumping out of buildings left and right. I'll bring distress, verse 17.
That they'll walk like blind men. Look at chapter 2, verse
1. Gather yourselves together. Gather
together. We've been gathered this morning,
haven't we? To do what? Right here. Before it comes. Before the day
comes. Verse 3. Seek ye the Lord. That's
what we're doing, isn't it? Seek ye the Lord. O ye meek of
the earth. Oh, blessed are the meek. You
know what? They're going to inherit the earth. Not this one. It's
going to melt. A new heaven, a new earth. Wherein
dwelleth? Is that appeal to you? Righteousness. Seek righteousness. What's that? It's not a what. The Lord our Righteousness. Seek
ye the Lord. Master, where dwelleth that?
Where two or three are gathered, am I there? Master, where dwelleth
that? Where people really need a sacrifice?
People really need a substitute? People like Isaac can say, the
wood and the hay and stubble and all. No, we need a lamb. Seek meekness. It may be you
shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. Where are we going
to be hid? Like Moses in the cleft of the rock. How many people
sing Rock of Ages that don't have a clue what they're doing?
Do you? Oh, blessed art thou. Look at chapter 3, verse 1. Oh, woe to her that is filthy
and polluted, to the oppressing city! She obeyed not the voice,
she received not correction, she trusted not the Lord, she
drew not near to God, her princes, her rulers. Speaking of religion,
Jerusalem is supposed to be a rejoicing. He said, I'm going to create
Jerusalem of rejoicing, a new Jerusalem coming down out of
heaven from God. And that's a picture in Revelation 19 of Jerusalem
coming down out of heaven to meet us. That's God's people,
all the saints that are going to meet us in the air to be with
the Lord. I'm not talking about an actual
city, but a people all ransomed by the Lord, all taken out of
this place. And they're going to meet us
captives in the air, and so shall we go to be with the Lord forever.
New Jerusalem. But now, the professed people
of God, professing Christians, verse 3, are princes, are rulers,
are like roaring lions. That's Satan then. Are judges,
are evening wool, preyed on the sick and the helpless, the weak,
the feminine, the children. Verse 4, are prophets, are light, Frivolous, familiar, jokesters,
clowns, God's men are anything but light. They have a heavy
burden. And they speak of weighty matters,
don't they? All the prophets said,
the burden of the Word of the Lord, the burden of the Word
of the Lord. But no, these fellas are knights. They're priests that polluted
the just Lord, verse 5. The just Lord, He's there. He
sees this. His eyes behold, His eyelids
try. It says over in one place, it says the Lord by candles,
so search Him out. Search Him out. The word of the
Lord runs to and fro. Searches out. Looks on the hearts
of men. Now, go down now here, let's
get to the good news, okay? And let me say this. How often
have I said, have you heard other men say, the gospel is only good
news to sinners? That the gospel of God's mercy
is only good news for the sinful? That the gospel of God's righteousness,
imputed and imparted, is only good news for the unrighteous?
The gospel of God's pardon, free, final, eternal, complete, pardoned
from everything, blotted out. It's only good for those that
are guilty. It's only good news to those
that are condemned. The gospel of God's love is only for those
that feel unlovely. The gospel of a ransom, of deliverance,
it's only for those in captivity. Like Paul, he said, I see this
law warring in my memory bringing me into captivity. And so he says, who shall deliver
me? And Romans 8, who likes Romans
8 verse 1? God, those people know something
about that law and their members, this captivity. Romans 8, verse
1 says, there is therefore now no condemnation. He's not coming
again to judge His people. He's already done that on Calvary's
tree. That's the sacrifice I've been
talking about. He's gathered the people to.
Christ crucified, made sin for His people. He's coming again
not to judge His people, but to take them out of His place
before He judges it. We're not going to stand before
Him in the judgment. We're going to be seated. So this is for captives. Habakkuk. Go back one, two pages. Habakkuk. Habakkuk. Go back then. Habakkuk. Same message. In verse chapter
three. Habakkuk. Remember this? Habakkuk 3, a prayer of Habakkuk,
the prophet, upon Shegionah. Oh Lord, I have heard thy speech. I have heard the report, the
hearing. Like Isaiah, who hath believed thy report? And I was
afraid. I feared for myself, for my brethren,
for others. Oh Lord! Revive thy work in the
midst of the years. In the midst of the years make
known in wrath. Remember mercy. Remember mercy. So, go down to verse 9 of our
texts. He says then, he waits, he says
in verse 8, wait, I'm going to bring them all, but I'm going
to turn a people, Verse 9, to a pure language. What's that? The Bible language. They're going to learn my language.
The language of Zion. Hebrew used to be a pure language. They say one of the purest languages
ever. That's the language the Lord
revealed the truth to his people, to the Hebrews, in that language
called Hebrew. It was a language only known,
and they say there's very few now today who still speak that
pure language. Well, I'm here to tell you that
God said, I have a people now, and in the midst of this place
of confusion, like Babel, the Tower of Babel, I have a people
who have a pure language. You know what they talk about?
Him. You know what they talk about?
Mercy. They talk about grace. They talk
about propitiation. They talk about justification.
They talk about sanctification. They talk about blood on the
mercy seat. What? Preacher, what are you
talking about? They know. Ask them, my people. They have
a pure language. It's a language of redemption.
A pure language. Read on. They call upon my name,
the name of the Lord. They serve Him with one consent,
one heart, one mind. From the rivers of Ethiopia? The Lord sent a preacher all
the way out in the desert to rescue what? Ethiopia. Didn't He? Yep. My suppliants. I like that word. Suppliant.
What that means? Those that pray. We offer up
prayer and supplication. Meaning, Lord, supply us. We
don't have anything. There are poor people. Supply
us with righteousness. Supply us with mercy. Supply
us with grace. We have nothing. Supply us with
that which you require of us. Supply us. Are you a suppliant? Oh, my suppliants, they'll bring
mine offering. Look at that verse 10. They'll
bring mine offering. Like Abel. Did you hear the message
on the radio? Abel, what did he bring? Not
something he produced, but what God provided. God told him, Abel,
I will accept you through the blood, through a sacrifice. Where
am I going to get it, Lord? The Lord said, I have it right
here. Here it is. Thank you, Lord, for the lamb.
And he brought the lamb. What did he bring? What God brought
to him. That's my offering. In that day,
verse 11, look at it. Shalt thou not be ashamed of
all thy doings? See, this gospel is for those
that are ashamed. Jeremiah, I think it is, I didn't
write it down, he said somewhere, were the people ashamed for all
that they did against me? He said, no, we're not at all
ashamed. Isaiah, we may go through Isaiah,
I think we will. Isaiah chapter 3 says, "...the
show of their countenance witnesses against them." What's that? Pride. They declare their sin like Sodom. They're not ashamed. In fact, they're arrogant and
proud and boastful of their sin. Should not God be angry? Well, he says those that look
to him, those that come to them, like there were some enemies
of Israel, and they said, we heard the kings of Israel are
merciful men. You know how they came? Some
of you do. They came to the kings of Israel
with ropes around their necks and said, be merciful. You know
what the kings of Israel did? They were merciful to them. And
they were unmerciful men. That was a habit. But our God
is merciful. He says, My mercy is as high
above the earth as the heavens are. He said, Anybody, whosoever
comes, just plead Him mercy. Anybody. I'm preaching like there's
a thousand in here this morning. But there's not. But you're here.
You need mercy? God says, Just ask. How much
do you need? How black is your record? How
much you got on your record on the path? He said they won't be ashamed
of all their doings. Why? John, because Christ was
put to shame. Not because they promised to
do better. They may promise to do better,
but they're probably going to do it again. Do you see that? It's not...
Oh, you see that. Oh, man. They won't be ashamed. Doesn't
that sound good to you? Of all their doings, where are
they transgressing against me? He said, their sins and iniquities,
I'll remember no more. The thief on the cross, Brother
Kelly, he never did one blessed good thing his whole life, and
he's dying. You know what he said? All he
said, Lord, remember me. In what? Mercy, grace, salvation. Please. You know what the Lord
said? Today, you'll be with me in paradise. I think to die then, go ahead
and do whatever you want to me now. I can die in peace. He says you're going to take
away the pride out of you. You're going to take away the pride,
the haughtiness. Verse 12, I'll leave in the midst
of this place an afflicted and poor people, and they're going
to trust in the name of the Lord. They're not going to trust in
Himself. They're not going to trust in their faith. They're
not going to trust in their feelings. They're not going to trust in
their new resolves. They're not going to trust in
anything but the Lord Jesus Christ. He's going to be all their trust,
all their hope, all their plea before a holy God, and you know
what this holy God said? It's enough. It's all. All I require. Is that good news? Oh, sing. Sing! Oh, daughter of Zion, could you
not sing right now, Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauty
are, my glorious dress? Verse 15, cast out your enemy, Our Lord went to the cross, this
one who has the world captive and had us captive, and at times
we still think he has us, but I'm here to tell you, he doesn't.
Like Job, no, no, no, he doesn't, no. He can't do but what God
lets him do does. Isn't that good news? Our Lord
said, you can do something with him, but you can't kill him. He says, cast out your enemy.
And our Lord said to the king, he said, now is the king of this,
the God of this world cast out. Didn't he, John? At Calvary's
tree. Because, verse 15, the king of
Israel, the Lord, is in the midst of thee. You will not see evil
anymore. Didn't he say? All things work
together. To who? Them that love God, who
are called according to His purpose. Who are they? Foreknown, predestinated,
justified, called, glorified. That's who they are. They didn't
do anything. He did it all. Isn't that good
news? Thou shalt not see evil anymore.
Nothing that happens to God's people is evil in the pure sense
of the word. Though men mean evil against
you, though the God of this world is evil, God means it for good,
and it is good. Did you hear that? And that day
shall it be said to Jerusalem, fear thou not, desire, don't
be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee, he will save. He will rejoice over thee. Who?
The poor, the afflicted. He will save thee. Verse 17.
He will say, He will rejoice over thee. There's joy in heaven
over one sinner that does what? Repenteth. God be merciful to
me, the sinner. That publican in the temple.
Pharisee. God was angry with that fellow.
The republican in the temple, all he could do was pray that
seven word prayer. God be merciful to me, a sinner.
Heaven erupted. He's repenting. The Lord will rejoice over thee
with singing. That's something to think about. The Lord's singing. I may bring a message on the
daughters of Jerusalem. When I read this, verse 10, the
daughter of my disperse. Verse 14, O daughter of Zion. O daughter of Zion. He'll sing
over thee. I sing with my granddaughters
all the time. I love to hear them sing. I sing
with them. I sing for them. We sing together. I love them. They're my daughters.
The relationship of a daughter and her father is my specialty.
You call him, what do you call him? Daddy? Do you call him Daddy? That's what mine calls me. That's
the sweetest thing. That's the sweetest word I ever
hear. I never grow tired of, Daddy?
Brother Mack, what will you do for your daughter? Anything. You know what our Heavenly
Fathers do for His daughters? Everything. Daddy, Abba, Father,
huh? And who I'm talking about is
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's our Father. He that hath
seen me hath seen the Father. Abba, Father, what do you need?
Daughter, everything. It's yours. It's yours. He'll rejoice over that. I'll
gather them that are sorrowful for a solemn assembly. This is
a serious meeting we're having this morning. Can you beat both
serious and yet... Can you cry and laugh? Can you
be sorrowful and happy? Can you mourn and yet rejoice?
Can you? Can you be afraid and yet have no fear? Can you? Can you tremble and yet want
to burst with joy? Can you? Can you worry and yet
have no worries? Can you? All of God's people
know that. They do. Yes, they do. It's a solemn assembly, yet it's
a joyful thing. The Lord will join. The reproach,
it says in verse 18, to whom the reproach was a burden. You
see, their preachers are light and frivolous, and so are the
people. So-called Christians today, so many of them are just
so light, aren't they? It's all a big game. It's not
a game to us, is it? It's a heavy burden. Sin's a
heavy burden. The sin that our children are
in, this world and the captivity that we're in is very, very real. We have a very real fear for
our souls and the souls of those we love. There's a really heavy,
weighty burden, the reproach. We fear us being a reproach.
We fear the reproach of the gospel. We fear it. It's a burden to
us. That's who this is for. I'm going
to remove their approach. Verse 19, I'll undo all that
afflict thee. What have you done? What have
you done wrong? What have you done? How have you messed up? You know,
we learn scriptures from trial and error. Well, I've learned
a lot because I've mostly error. I've learned mostly from my errors,
my sin, a little bit. But the Lord says He's going
to undo everything. Everything we've done wrong,
He's going to undo it. Isn't that wonderful? He's going to undo it. He's going
to undo all that afflict thee, sin, Satan, everything. I'm going to save her that halteth.
I'm not going to quit just yet. Hold on a minute. This gets better
and better. It builds. I'm going to save
her that halteth. Anybody in here ready to halt? Huh? I'm going to gather her that
was driven out. Anybody feel like a cast out? Like Hagar? Anybody, any Hagars in here?
The Lord heard her. He heard her. He said, I'm going
to get them praised. I'm going to get them praised.
For sorry, I'm going to turn their mourning to laughter, ashes
to beauty, where they've been put to shame. I want to get them
fame. How's that? You're known by people
in heaven. You're known by David. You're
known by Abraham. You're known by Simon Peter and
Paul and all the saints. They know you. They know you.
Me? Yeah, you. They know you. See,
they know even as they've been known. They know you. I've got
better news than that. Emmanuel loves you. And He calls
you by your name. At that time, last verse, I will
I bring you again. You know, Israel got in captivity. And then the Lord brought them
out. You know what happened? They went back into captivity.
And He brought them out. Like Psalm 107. They got in trouble. And they called, and the Lord
brought them out of all their trouble. You know what they did? They got right
back in trouble. The Lord brought them out of
the world. And they were happy for a while. They were seeking
the Lord for a while. But you know what happened? They got
back in that world. They bingled. They got in trouble
again. They kept calling. They kept calling. Oh, that man
would praise the Lord for his goodness and his wonderful work
to the children of men. That's why we're here. I'm going
to bring them again. Go tell John again that I'm going
to bring him again. I'm going to bring him back.
In the time I gather you, I'll make you a name. God gave Jesus
Christ a name which is above every name. Didn't He? Jesus Christ. Do you know what
your name is? Christian. Christian. Are you proud, humanly
speaking, to wear the name Parks? Do you not bear the name of that
beloved husband of yours? Fine man, no finer man ever lived.
Great name. Do you not Stephen, do you not
wear that name? You know what I'm saying. And
we got a name. It's above every name. Christian. He's married us. We're his children. We're His bride, we bear His
name. He took away our reproach and gave us His name. We're His
children, we bear His name. You want to honor your Father's
name, don't you? Well, so do His people. I'll
give them a name and a praise. They're going to praise me among
all the people there. When I turn back your captivity
before your eyes, saith the Lord. Now turn in closing to Revelation. Okay, Revelation. Here's the
end of the story. Here's the end of the book. The
book. As said, it begins with God barring
man from the way because of his sin and all the death and all
the judgment and all the consummation that goes in between Genesis
and Revelation. And here in there are lights.
People walk in darkness, have seen a great light. Some he leaves
in outer darkness. But in Revelation 21, it says
this, I heard a great voice, verse 3, out of heaven saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell
with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall
be with them, and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. There shall be no more death,
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain,
For the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the
throne, who's that? Jesus Christ. He said, Behold,
I make all things new. And he said, Write it down. These
words are true and faithful. And the last words he said is,
Surely I come. Quickly. And you know what God's
people say? Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus
Christ. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you all. Amen. Alright, let's sing in
closing number 448. 448. This is an excellent hymn
to sing after that message. 448. Alright, let's stand.