Zephaniah chapter 2 to start
with. It's right after Habakkuk, Nahum,
Micah. Zephaniah chapter 2. The title of this message, and
you will understand why, is God's maybes are better than man's
shallbes. God's maybes are better than
man's shallbes. Let me read. One, let me read
in Zephaniah chapter two, verses one, two, and three, and we'll
look specifically at verse three. Gather yourselves together, yea,
gather together, O nation not desired. Before the decree, bring
forth, before the day passes 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 the 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. This, the reason why God's maybes
are better than man's shallbes is because they are founded upon
his gracious purposes and the blood of the everlasting covenant.
His maybes are based upon himself. You cannot lie. Now this word
maybe could also be rendered perhaps. Perhaps. Verse three. Perhaps ye shall
be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. I'd like us to pursue
seven different verses. This is the first one. And observe
the usage of maybe or its equivalent, perhaps, and learn of Christ,
who was ever meek, and lonely of heart, Matthew 11. Zephaniah
chapter two, and that last verse, seek ye the Lord. All ye the
meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment, seek righteousness,
seek Christ. He is the righteousness. He is
our righteousness. We are the planting of the Lord,
the righteousness of the Lord. We are his righteousness. or
he, excuse me, he is our righteousness. That's why we are to seek him. Seek meekness. He is meek and
lowly of heart. He's saying seek Christ. It may
be just perhaps all those who are seeking, all of us today,
perhaps everyone here this morning, everyone who can hear this broadcast,
hear this message, perhaps you are seeking It may be you shall
be hid in the day of the Lord's anger. Brethren, seek Christ
while he may be found. Seek him while he may be found.
We don't know what tomorrow will bring. We may not be here tomorrow. In him, in Christ are all the
riches of pure free grace in our greatest times of need. This
fierce anger, this time of fierce anger, this day of judgment,
it may be we will be hid in that day. His anger, his judgment,
his wrath. Flee to him. That's what he's
saying. Verse three, seek ye the Lord. Flee to him. Do not
delay. In him is covering safety and
life. Can we not see God's perhaps
are certain and sure under his atoning blood? An old hymn states
this. I looked this up. I couldn't
find it in any of the hymnals, Gatsby's, I believe. When sins
rise up, I fall to my knees to see my savior plead for me. Storms
may rage on, but this is my peace. I know my redeemer. pleads for
me. It may be just perhaps you shall
be hid in the day of his anger. Now these verses, they all talk
about the greatness, the glory, the wonder of Christ and his
righteousness to us word. It gives us comfort. I pray that
this would give us comfort, would give us hope, Peace and each
one of these verses are unique but it describes His people his
people as they are coming to him have come to him They're
going through difficult times, but all these are beautifully
laid out before us this morning 1st Samuel chapter 14 1st Samuel
chapter 14 and some of these you'll be very familiar with
Just perhaps you didn't see these three words. It may be, or perhaps. First Samuel chapter 14, verses
one and four through six. First Samuel 14, just to set
a backdrop as to what's going on. Chapter 14, verse one. Now it came to pass upon a day
that Jonathan, the son of Saul said unto the young men that
bear his armor, come, let us go over to the Philistines garrison. that is on the other side, but
he didn't tell his dad. Verse four, and between the passages
by which Jonathan sought to go over onto the Philistines' garrison,
there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the
other. The name of the one was Bozes, and then the name of the
other, Sene. The forefront of one was situated
northward over against Mishmash, and the other southward over
against Gibeah. And Jonathan said to the young
men that bear his armor, come, let us go over unto the garrison
of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will
work for us, for there is no restraint to the Lord to save
by many or by few. Now this area, this county, Cape
County, it's fraught with religion, churches, precipices, ditches
on every side. But we believe the Lord has given
us the truth of his one and only gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have no harder road to hoe, so to speak, as does Jonathan
did here. But Jonathan says, perhaps, perhaps
brethren, we will, we will lay it all out before the Lord. Perhaps
the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint. And that
word restraint is hindrance. That's because God is sovereign.
He's not, it's not being preached today. Is there any word that's
counted as far as I know, but I don't know every church. but
he said his truth here. Let us go. Basically what Jonathan
is saying is, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
To look ahead is uncertain for us. We don't know what tomorrow
will bring, but it is certain with God. As for me and my house,
said Joshua, we will serve, we will trust and depend on our
sovereign because there is no hindrance. There's no restraint
to our Lord. Sink or swim, we'll trust only
in him with whom we have to do. No wonder it was said, the apostle,
Lord, increase our faith. Increase our faith. Not wealth,
not sight, not our physical strength, but increase our faith. For the
just shall live by faith. We fall far too often back on
our flesh. and what we know, or our pocketbook,
or our savings, or these accounts, all these different things. If
the Lord takes it all away, could we be like Jonathan? If we're
a faith, we could. And said, it may be that the
Lord will work for us. It's all in his hands. But this
gives the believer peace and rest. Peace and rest. This should, as Charles Haddon
Spurgeon says about this verse, this should nerve the saints
for holy enterprises, not self-enterprises, not to do different things, to
play with, no, this should cause us. Why are we here? We're here to share the gospel
to our neighbors, our friends, our families, or whoever we,
you know, at the grocery store, whoever it may be. This should
nerve the saints for holy enterprises. There's no restraint. How can
there be? God rules and reigns in the heaven
and the earth, and Daniel says none can stay his hand. So we
look at this verse, it may be, no matter what's in front of
us, old age, physical decline, Beauty begins to wane, eyesight
goes, hearing goes, hair goes, all these things go with age.
It may be. It may be the Lord save our grandchildren.
It may be the Lord save our children. It may be the Lord save our parents. It may be our friends, our neighbors,
our coworkers, perhaps. There's no restraint to the Lord
to save by many or few. 2 Samuel chapter 16. 2 Samuel chapter 16. Verses 9 through 12. 2 Samuel. You'll remember this once we
get going here. Then said Abishai, the son of
Zariah, unto the king, David's running for his life from Absalom,
why should this dead dog, this is Abishai, why should this dead
dog curse my lord, the king? Let me go over, I pray thee,
and take off his head. And the king said, what have
I to do with these sons of Zariah? So let him curse, because the
Lord has said unto him, curse David. Who shall then say, wherefore
hast thou done so? And David said to Abishaiah and
to all of his servants, behold, my son, which came forth of my
own bowels, seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite
do do it? Let him alone. Let him curse.
For the Lord hath bidden him. It may be perhaps that the Lord
will look on my affliction and that the Lord will requite me
good for his cursing this day. I wonder if that's a little bit
of Romans 8, 28. All things work together for good. Do they or
do they not? It doesn't work for good if it's
only, you think it's good. If nothing, there's no loss or
trial or difficulty. All things work together for
good. And it may be, it's in his hands. It's up to the Lord. to deal bountifully with us.
In darkest times, in seasons of woe and affliction or heartache,
let us see God's hand in it all and rest content in his unerring
providence or in him. John Trapp said, if we see not
God in our sufferings, we shall not so well submit to him. That's
exactly right. If we don't see God's hand in
it, it's like, well, I can take care of this, or I can do this,
or I need to make a phone call here and there. No, if God's
afflicting you, and if he's chasing us, me as well, if we don't see
God's hand in it, we're not gonna submit to it, and we're not gonna
glorify him. It was God who turned this dead
dog Shami I upon David. Let patience, says James, have
her perfect work. Oh, it's easy to get her back
up, but let patients have her perfect work. It may be it may
be that the Lord will look on my affliction and he will require
it be good for this man's cursing this day. Second Kings. Second Kings chapter seven. Second Kings chapter seven. This
is the story about Sennacherib is enclosed the city and there's
no food. They're starving to death. And
there's these two lepers. Second Kings chapter seven, verse
three and four. And there were four lepers, I'm
sorry, four lepers, leprous men. at the entering into the gate,
and they said one to another, why do we sit here and die? If
we say we will enter into the city, then the famine is in the
city, and we'll die there. And if we sit here now, we'll
die also. Therefore, come, let us fall
into the host of the Syrians, and if they save us alive, we
shall live, and if they kill us, we shall die. What they're saying, in like
circumstances, what they're saying is, may we cast all our care
upon him, for he cares for his sheep. May we learn a little
something from these lepers. May we fall upon the mercy of
our benevolent Christ, who once suffered the just for the unjust,
1 Peter chapter three. They were at their wit's end.
You know what? We know the believer in times
of need, and perhaps they knew it, perhaps they didn't know.
This is a wonderful picture of salvation. If we stay here, we're going
to die. If we go, we're going to die.
Let us cast our lot, but we know that the whole thing is the disposing
thereof is of the Lord. We know that. It's not fatalism. We absolutely believe God is
on the throne. And matter of fact, the thing
was prophesied. Elisha said, hear the word in
verse one of the word of the Lord, thus saith the Lord tomorrow
about this time, shall a measure of flour be sold for Shekel and
two measures of barley for Shekel and the gate. It's going to be
plentiful. It's going to be too much to
handle. Second Kings chapter 19. Second
Kings chapter 19. A sweet lesson in prayer we have
here for everyone in in time of need or threatenings or the
early early church threatenings and slaughters and wandering
around and sheepskins. Second Kings chapter 19 verses
two through four. And let's start with verse one.
And it came to pass when the king Hezekiah heard it, there's
threatenings, he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth
and went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim, which
was over the household of Shebna, the scribe, the elders of the
priest covered with sackcloth to Isaiah, the prophet, the son
of Amos. And they said unto him, thus
saith Hezekiah, this day is a day of trouble. and of rebuke and
blasphemy. For the children are come to
the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. It may be, perhaps,
the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Reb Shechai, whom
the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to reproach the living
God, and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard.
Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. The church is in between a rock
and a hard place. This is a sweet, tremendously
sweet lesson in prayer. Why should the church, the Lord's
peculiar people, his missionaries and their missionary work be
put to flight before her enemies? Greater is he that is in us than
he that is in the world. First John tells us this. What
are they doing? It may be, that's their prayer.
They're praying for the church. They're praying for her ministers.
They're praying for the success of his gospel. They're praying
for submission to his word of truth. Oh, petition unto Jehovah
for life, liberty, and furtherance of his name, especially here
in this place, in this town, in Cape County. It may be that the Lord will
hear all the words of these false prophets and spite them, in spite of them,
grow his church. Look at this, we're not a threat,
but every time we gather together, we're a threat. We talked about
that this morning before Bible class. People are not content with where
they're going, but they won't come here. Why? Because the truth is being
preached. The truth is being preached. It may be. Lamentations chapter
three. Lamentations chapter three. and one verse. This, uh, it may, may be is reckoned
if so be in this passage, if so be look at verse 29, the Lord
is humbling his servant. He sit at the loan. Verse 28
keeps silence because he had, he had a born it upon him. Look at verse 29. He put it his
mouth in the dust. If so be, perhaps, maybe, there
may be hope. There may be hope. What does
the scripture say? He that humbles himself, we know
that's by the Holy Spirit's enabling, will indeed find hope. The Lord
will raise him up. A broken and contrite heart he
will not despise. He putteth his mouth in the dust.
If so be, maybe, there may be hope. Don't boast of your free
will. Don't boast of what you're doing
for God. Simply put your mouth to the dust and hope in the Lord. Perhaps,
perhaps, surely he will grant the request of all, all to the
glory of his name and his person because he hears the cries of
the humble. And lastly, Jonah chapter three. Jonah chapter three. In this passage, a maybe is in
the form of who can tell. Who can tell? It's in that form. Let's look at it together. Jonah
chapter three, verses five through nine. So the people of Nineveh believed
God and proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest
of them even to the least of them. For the word came unto
the king of Nineveh and he rose from his throne and laid his
robe from him and covered him with sackcloth and sat in ashes.
And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh
by the decree of the king and his nobles saying, let neither
man nor beast, herd nor flock taste anything Let them not feed
nor drink. So one guy said, even your pets
are better off when the Lord saves you. Yeah, even your pets. Verse eight, but let man and
beast be covered with sackcloth, cry mightily unto God. Yea, let
them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that
is in their hands. Who can tell? Maybe, perhaps. This is where it's used, the
maybe is in the form of who can tell. Who can tell if God will
turn and repent and turn away from his fierce anger and we
perish not. And perish not. The Lord God
through the blessed work of Christ brought the whole of Nineveh
to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God is truly
blessed overall. He says in Job, whatever he does,
whether it's to an individual or to a nation, the people would
fear him. He can subdue even the most rebellious
and stiff naked among us. Didn't he deliver me? Didn't
he deliver you? He may have been, Bruce may have
been the darling of Martinsburg. I may have been the darling of
Lyndon Hearst, but that's not the case. We were the worst. We were the worst. Brethren,
let us now enter into his rest and cease from our own useless
works, trusting only in his gracious achievements on Calvary's tree. That's our only hope. It may
be, perhaps, Perhaps, who can tell? We can't, because it's impossible
with us, but it's possible with God. In closing, you can turn
if you want back to 1 Samuel chapter 22. I love this verse.
1 Samuel chapter 22 and verse two. First Samuel chapter 22 and verse
two. And I close with this. And everyone that was in distress
and everyone that was in debt and everyone that was discontented
gathered themselves unto him. And we know who that is. And
he became a captain over them. And there were with him about
400 men. Whether it's a few or many, there's
no restraint to the Lord. There is no hindrance. are the hindrance. We often are,
we got, I was talking to somebody the other day, I said, we just
need to learn to get out of our own way, and get out of our own
way. May we, may he show us, may he
give us distress, debt, discontented in ourselves, and gather ourselves
unto him. He's already the captain. It
may be, perhaps, God would be gracious this day. Bruce, would
you close this?