Pastor Josh Massaro delivers a powerful message emphasizing the importance of repentance and revival in the life of believers during the Wednesday evening service on November 6, 2024, at Middletown Baptist Church. He stresses that true revival stems from a heart of repentance, urging listeners to turn away from sin and seek God earnestly. The sermon highlights the themes found in the Book of Zephaniah, particularly God’s judgment on those who rebel against Him and His gracious offer of mercy for those who humble themselves. Pastor Josh encourages the congregation to gather together in a spirit of humility and to recognize the urgency of getting right with God before it is too late. By fostering a genuine relationship with the Lord through prayer, Scripture study, and fellowship with other believers, individuals can experience the transformative power of God’s grace in their lives.

Pastor Josh Massaro leads an insightful exploration of the Book of Zephaniah during the Wednesday evening service at Middletown Baptist Church. He emphasizes the themes of God's judgment and grace, highlighting that although Zephaniah is a minor prophet with a brief message, the lessons contained within are profound and impactful. The discussion revolves around the historical context of Zephaniah's prophetic message, particularly during King Josiah's reign, where a revival momentarily delayed God's impending judgment on Judah. Yet, Pastor Josh stresses that true revival cannot exist without sincere repentance. He challenges listeners to reflect on their spiritual condition, urging them to gather and recognize their need for God amidst the chaos of their lives. The urgency of repentance is underscored, as Pastor Josh warns that the time to seek the Lord is now, before the fierce anger of the Lord is unleashed. He draws parallels between historical context and modern-day complacency, urging believers to awaken to the realities of their spiritual journeys.

The sermon also highlights the interplay between humility and the pursuit of righteousness, suggesting that true seekers of God must approach Him with meekness. Pastor Josh cites passages that encourage believers to seek God wholeheartedly, emphasizing that only through genuine humility can one receive the grace and mercy of God. The message culminates in a call to action, inspiring the congregation to actively pursue a closer relationship with God, which is central to living a life marked by faith, peace, and purpose. Through engaging anecdotes and practical advice, Pastor Josh illustrates that true seeking involves more than just ritualistic practices; it requires a heart transformation that is deeply rooted in the acknowledgment of one's need for God's grace.

Takeaways:

• The Book of Zephaniah emphasizes the importance of recognizing God's judgment against sin and rebellion.
• True revival comes from a heart of repentance, indicating a change of course toward God.
• God offers grace and mercy alongside judgment, providing opportunities for repentance and renewal.
• Pastor Josh encourages listeners to seek the Lord with meekness and humility for true transformation.
• Repentance is not a one-time act, but a continual process of seeking God's will.
• We must not delay in seeking God; the time for genuine repentance is now.

Thank you for joining our podcast. Visit our website at https://middletownbaptistchurch.org/

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This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/

Pastor Josh: 00:00:00

Hello, and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:06

My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:10

I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:16

Now, come along.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:17

Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:23

All right, let's go ahead and open up our Bibles to the Book of Zephaniah.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:28

Be have your Bibles turned to the Book of Zephaniah?

Pastor Josh: 00:00:31

We're going to continue our study.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:33

We have finished chapter one, and there's only three chapters in the Book of Zephaniah, so we won't be here long.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:40

Obviously, in contrast to the Book of Genesis, this is just a little dot on the page.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:45

We were in Genesis for, I think it was close to almost two years.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:48

And so it was a long book.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:50

Now we're in a short book.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:52

But just because a book is short doesn't mean that we can't learn from it.

Pastor Josh: 00:00:56

Obviously, the smaller prophetic books are called the minor prophets, but minor just in their length, not in their message.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:05

And so here in the Book of Zephaniah, we see a couple of themes.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:08

One theme that is really the main theme from the beginning is God's judgment upon those who are rebelling against him.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:16

God judges those who reject him.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:18

God judges those who walk in their own path and the.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:22

And the ways of the flesh and the ways of sin.

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And he tells them specifically, who is he talking to?

Pastor Josh: 00:01:27

He's talking to the people of Israel.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:29

More specifically, the people of Judah.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:31

Now, you have to remember, Israel was split into two.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:34

At one point, you had the northern kingdom, which by this point had already been judged by other nations coming in.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:43

Judah was still intact as it was before.

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But we know that in the future, Judah is going to fall because of their rebellion.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:50

Now, the Book of Zephaniah was written in the time of Josiah, King Josia.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:54

And I don't know how much you know about King Josiah.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:56

He took over at a very early age.

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He was a young boy.

Pastor Josh: 00:01:59

Even in his reign, though, there was a great revival that happened.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:04

That revival definitely delayed God's judgment, but it didn't hold back God's judgment because ultimately the people turned their backs after the revival.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:13

And we see that cycle in the Old Testament quite frequently.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:16

And so what we see in this book is a theme of judgment, God's judgment.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:20

But we also see a theme of God's grace.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:24

He's offering and really grace and mercy.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:28

He's offering an opportunity for these people to repent.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:31

And we kind of ended last week with this thought, anytime there is revival, there is repentance.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:38

Now, what is repentance?

Pastor Josh: 00:02:40

I want you to think about that concept here this evening, because a lot of times we think of revival as a stir of the heart when it comes to emotions.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:48

But real revival comes from a heart of repentance.

Pastor Josh: 00:02:52

And repentance is literally means to turn away from something, to change course, to stop doing one thing and to do another.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:01

And so the Bible speaks of a need for a repentant heart.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:05

And the Bible speaks of God wanting all to come to repentance.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:08

What that means is that essentially we have to see where we fall, where we fail, where we are inadequate, and turn away from that and turn to Christ.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:17

That is repentance.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:17

A lot of people think that repentance means, well, I'm not going to sin anymore.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:20

That doesn't mean you're going to be sinless.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:23

It just means that you recognize that in and of yourself, you cannot do what you need to do in your life, spiritually speaking.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:28

And ultimately God can give that change.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:31

And so the book of Zephaniah is about offering the gift of grace in repentance.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:36

There is a theme in the New Testament that you will see over and over again.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:40

And it's also a theme that you'll see in the Old Testament, but it's very clearly stated in the New Testament.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:44

You can find it in First Peter, you can find it in the Book of James, you can find it all throughout Jesus teachings is this.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:53

God gives grace to the humble and he judges the proud.

Pastor Josh: 00:03:58

He rejects those that are selfishly prideful.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:02

He blesses those and graces those that fall before him in meekness and humility.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:08

And so that's what God is calling for here in chapter two.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:11

So chapter one, he explains what the judgment will look like and who will be judged.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:17

And he went through a group, different groups of people.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:19

He talked about those who were the false teachers.

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He talked about those hypocrites.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:25

He talked about those people who were mixing the ways of God with the ways of the world, the compromisers.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:31

He talked about those who were complacent.

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He talked about those who were in idolatry.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:36

And he says, all of these people, if you continue on in this path, you will be judged, and it will be a complete judgment.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:44

And so we get to chapter two, and one of the things that I love about this book of the Bible is that he gives the condemnation.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:51

But then he gives them the opportunity of comfort and of peace and of forgiveness.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:56

And that's how God works.

Pastor Josh: 00:04:57

God is going to lay out the truth.

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He always will.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:00

He lays down the law, so to speak.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:02

But God always offers that route of repentance.

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And through that repentance comes revival.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:09

And we're going to see that here in this passage.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:11

So look with me to Zephaniah, chapter two.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:14

And we're going to look at verse number one.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:17

It says this.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:18

Gather yourselves together.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:21

Yea, gather together, O nation, not desired.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:25

Now, what is he saying here?

Pastor Josh: 00:05:26

He says, hey, you need to get yourselves together and listen to what I'm about to tell you.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:30

This is important.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:31

This is the word of the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:33

Now, remember when Zephaniah is speaking.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:35

Yes, Zephaniah is speaking.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:36

But ultimately, this is the word of God to the people there, and it is the word of God to us.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:42

And so he says, gather yourselves together.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:44

The idea here is to gather in a solemn demonstration of mourning.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:49

Essentially, not mourning as the sun's coming up, but mourning as in repentance.

Pastor Josh: 00:05:53

He says, you need to wake up to where you are in your life, open your eyes, come together, recognize where you stand before God.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:02

And so it's this.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:04

Basically, it's.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:05

It's repent while there is still time.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:09

That's the message that God is telling the nation of Israel.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:12

Repent while you still have a chance.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:15

And that's really the message that we are to preach today.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:18

That's.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:18

That's really the gospel message.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:20

There is a time.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:21

We don't know how long that time is, but there is a time to repent.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:24

There is a time to humble yourselves.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:26

There's a time to trust in God, to seek after him.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:28

And so he says here, this is the time, Verse two.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:33

Before the decree, bring forth.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:36

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.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:44

So all this announcement really is, is that judgment is coming and you need to be ready.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:51

And so here the prophet pleads with the nation to repent before it's too late.

Pastor Josh: 00:06:56

You know, there's a lot of people that are willing to say, you know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:06:59

I'm willing to risk it.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:01

I'll get right when I feel like I can get right.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:04

I'll get right when it makes sense to me.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:06

I'll get right when I can clean myself up.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:08

And the point is, you can't clean yourself up.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:11

You can't do enough.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:12

You got to rely on God as Your only hope for this change in your life.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:17

And so he says, wake up now.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:19

And he gives a comparison, he says before the day passes like chaff.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:23

And so here the prophet calls for a sense of urgency.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:27

And so he says, hey, this could happen at any point.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:30

And so what is he saying here?

Pastor Josh: 00:07:32

He says this, get right with God and keep getting right with God, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:07:36

This is not a process of a one time change.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:39

Repentance and revival is not a one time act in your life and then everything's okay.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:44

There were times in the nation of Israel where they were on fire for God.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:47

We're even going to see times in the life of Josiah that the people turned back to the scriptures.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:52

But it's a continual thing.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:54

We have to realize in our life that there is a time of evaluation.

Pastor Josh: 00:07:58

That's why we do special meetings.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:00

That's why we have different people come in and speak.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:03

You know, there's sometimes in my life where I feel like, well, you know what, I think that I've preached this before.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:10

And we have someone come in and they preach a very similar thing.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:12

And people go, wow, that's great.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:14

They've never heard that before.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:15

Well, you have heard that before, but maybe sometimes when you hear it from a new voice, it changes, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:08:19

And sometimes what we need to do is we need to wake up, we need to listen to what we're hearing.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:23

We need to say, you know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:08:24

Because there's one thing I can hear my wife, but sometimes I don't listen to her.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:29

I don't know if any of you men can relate to that.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:32

I hear noise, right, But I'm not listening.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:36

And then I don't know if any of you fellas, ladies, you should do this, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:08:41

Keep your men honest.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:42

But my wife goes, what did I just say?

Pastor Josh: 00:08:45

Oh man, that one hurts.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:47

I think you said.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:47

She goes, you're not even listening to me, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:08:49

So it's one thing to hear God, it's another thing to listen to his message.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:53

So they hear judgment.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:54

Well, what does that mean?

Pastor Josh: 00:08:55

He says it is this type of judgment before the day passes the chaff.

Pastor Josh: 00:08:59

This is going to be quick.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:01

We know that the Bible says that life is but a vapor.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:04

And so if life is but a vapor, God's judgment is coming quickly.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:07

And that's the message that we need to preach to this world.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:09

Like not, not in a doom and gloom sort of attitude, but in an attitude of, hey, wake up to the fact that you will be judged for your evil, you will be judged for your sin.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:20

And so he Says, be ready before the Lord's anger comes upon you.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:23

And a lot of people have a hard time dealing with that phrase, the Lord's anger.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:27

But remember, the defining attribute of God is his holiness.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:31

And so when God is angry, he's righteously angry.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:35

He's angry at sin.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:37

And so, so many times we hear that word anger, and we equate that with sin.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:42

And in most cases, in our human nature, it is sin.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:45

Because most of the time we are not righteously angry, we are selfishly angry.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:49

But when God displays his anger and his judgment upon people, he does it in a righteous and holy way.

Pastor Josh: 00:09:57

And so here the prophet is calling for an urgency in repentance.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:02

And so how easy is it for us to let the days pass like chaff and never get right with God?

Pastor Josh: 00:10:08

I'm gonna get right with him tomorrow, I'm gonna get right with him next week, this New Year, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:10:12

How about those New Year's resolutions?

Pastor Josh: 00:10:14

Have you ever made a spiritual New Year's resolution?

Pastor Josh: 00:10:16

How long did that go?

Pastor Josh: 00:10:18

Maybe three weeks, three months.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:20

Sometimes we treat our relationship with God like those New Year's resolutions.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:26

Like, you know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:10:27

This year I'm gonna get in shape.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:28

This year I'm gonna eat healthy.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:29

This year I'm gonna start a new hobby.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:32

And most of the time those kind of pass away when the distractions of this world come.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:36

And we understand that.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:37

And so many times we treat getting right with God just like that, like it's an optional thing, like we can get to it when we can.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:43

What he says here is basically this.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:45

Put this in the forefront of your mind, come together and be sober about this.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:48

Be sober minded.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:51

And often I believe Satan's most powerful tool is not telling us that there isn't a God.

Pastor Josh: 00:10:59

Like, none of us are probably going to be convinced that, hey, you know, atheism is the way to go.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:03

I hope not.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:04

And so that's sometimes what Satan does, is he doesn't package it like, hey, there's no God or no Bible.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:10

Often his most powerful tool is that there's no hurry, like, you got time, relax, get to that when you feel like it.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:19

And so what I would say sometimes in our Christian life is if Satan can't.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:24

If Satan can't take your soul, he can't take your life.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:26

What he can do is he can take your effectiveness, he can take your desire, he can take your joy, he can take all these things that God promises us.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:34

But what he can say is, look, you know, you have salvation, but, you know, just put it off.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:37

Put it off, you're fine.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:38

You're fine.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:39

And the truth is that sometimes when the Holy Spirit convicts our heart, we put a.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:43

You know, have you ever seen football?

Pastor Josh: 00:11:44

They stiff arm people.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:45

They put their arm out and they push it away.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:47

Like sometimes we stiff arm conviction in our life because sometimes it's difficult.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:51

It's difficult to deal with conviction.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:53

It doesn't feel good to see that you're wrong sometimes.

Pastor Josh: 00:11:57

It doesn't feel good to sometimes get that right.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:00

But what I would tell you, that if we desire the comfort of the spirit, the Bible says in the Book of John that the Spirit is the comforter.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:09

Jesus says the comforter will come and this is beneficial for you.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:12

And a lot of times we desire the comfort of the spirit, but yet we are not willing to embrace the conviction of the Spirit.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:18

And the conviction of the Spirit is actually what brings us to that comfort.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:22

The Bible says in the Book of John that also the Holy Spirit will come to convict the world of its sin.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:28

And that conviction shows us where we're wrong.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:31

But we never get to the comfort unless we address the thing that we're wrong in.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:35

And so I would say that as a Christian, yes, we have our salvation taken care of.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:39

But many times in our life, it's because of an unrepentant sin that we are rejecting the conviction of that's bringing us difficulty in our life.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:48

And God's going to wake us up.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:49

A lot of times people will think this, well, if I'm a child of God, he's not going to discipline me.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:53

It's the complete opposite.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:54

God only disciplines, in this case, his own.

Pastor Josh: 00:12:57

Now, ultimately, God will judge all mankind because of their sin.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:01

But right now, God is trying to discipline, and he will discipline those that he loves.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:06

But there is a point in our life where we can, what the Bible says is grieve the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:10

And as we grieve the Holy Spirit, we can have a seared conscience.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:14

And so what I want to preach to you here this evening is the importance of being sensitive to conviction.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:22

For revival, you want revival, you have to have conviction.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:25

You want revival, you have to have repentance.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:29

And so what I would tell you here this evening is what verse number three says.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:32

So he says, hey, he doesn't just tell them, stop sinning.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:35

Remember we talked about this on Sunday.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:38

It's not just a matter of stopping the idolatry, because if God alone wanted that to happen, he would just say, stop the idolatry and leave it at that.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:48

Now, does God want them to Stop idolatry?

Pastor Josh: 00:13:49

Of course he does.

Pastor Josh: 00:13:50

Does God want them to stop all of the things that they were doing in chapter one?

Pastor Josh: 00:13:54

The complacency, the compromising, all of those things of being controlled by their flesh and by their sensual ways?

Pastor Josh: 00:14:02

Of course he does.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:03

But then he also wants it to be replaced with something in the better way.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:07

And that's what verse three is all about.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:09

And I think verse three is the call to action here.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:12

Verse three is the, is the invitation, if you will, right at our church.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:15

You know, you come to the point where, okay, we're going to present the action item.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:20

And here's the action item.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:21

He says, seek ye the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:24

So the response to the preaching, the response to the conviction is what?

Pastor Josh: 00:14:32

Seeking the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:34

And he describes the type of people that will seek the Lord, seek the Lord all ye meek of the earth.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:41

He says, you gotta be meek, you gotta be humble.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:45

You have to be lowly to get to a place where you will seek after God.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:48

You won't seek after God if you think you've got it all under control.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:51

You're not gonna seek God in your pride.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:54

You're not gonna seek God in selfishness.

Pastor Josh: 00:14:57

You're not gonna seek God with a, with a self inflated view of everything that I am and everything that I do.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:05

Says to die, to self mortify your members.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:08

Jesus describes what it means to be his disciple.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:11

And he says, what do you have to do?

Pastor Josh: 00:15:12

You have to bear your cross daily.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:15

Can't look back.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:16

You can't have your hand to the plow and be looking back.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:18

He says, seek the Lord all ye meek of the earth.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:24

And so this is the call to action.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:27

Even the righteous must take heed to this warning.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:31

And so what they would say here is this.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:34

Can I say that I am the person who is seeking after God?

Pastor Josh: 00:15:38

Why I was seeking after him 20 years ago, I was really seeking after him.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:42

He's not saying that.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:43

He's not saying where you were and where you want to be.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:45

He says, where are you right now?

Pastor Josh: 00:15:47

I oftentimes as a pastor, when I'm counseling folks, they have issues with maybe like what I used to believe or what I used to do.

Pastor Josh: 00:15:54

And one of the things that I will say is where are you at right now?

Pastor Josh: 00:15:57

I'm not so concerned with where you were at 20 years ago.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:00

What I'm concerned about is where you're at right now.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:01

Well, right now I'm still dealing with that.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:03

Well then we can deal with that.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:04

But what Satan wants to do is he wants us to look, remember What Paul says in Philippians chapter three, he says, I'm not looking back.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:10

I'm pressing forward.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:11

I'm pressing forward.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:12

And so a lot of times what happens is that Satan wants us to think back to things that we did well in the past, things that we didn't do well in the past.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:19

He says, no, just seek after the Lord all ye that are meek of the earth which have wrought his judgment.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:26

Seek righteousness, seek meekness.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:28

He very clearly tells them what they need to do.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:31

He says, seek after the truth.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:35

Seek after righteousness.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:36

Seek after that humility.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:38

Why seek?

Pastor Josh: 00:16:40

Mikas.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:40

It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:46

In more than one place in Scripture, God promises to hide his righteousness, people, in the day of his great judgment.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:53

This is especially true in the end.

Pastor Josh: 00:16:55

Right at the end, God judges the world, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:16:58

We as his children are not going to have to feel that wrath.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:02

We know that ultimately we are going to be spared from the wrath of God.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:06

But what I will say is that sometimes when we as Christians look at that, we think, well, you know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:17:11

I'm spared from it, so I'm good.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:14

The truth is that God calls us not only to tell other people about this hope to tell other people about the truth, but also to live like that in our lives, to live with that desire to seek after the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:27

And so what does it mean to seek after the Lord?

Pastor Josh: 00:17:30

Well, the Bible tells us in the New Testament many, many things about seeking after the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:35

I'll have you look at a few of these.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:37

If you can keep your finger there in Zephaniah, we'll go back.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:40

But look at Matthew chapter six with me.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:44

Matthew, chapter six.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:45

This is Jesus teaching here.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:47

Many of you are familiar with this classic Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus addresses many different things here, many different things.

Pastor Josh: 00:17:58

But here in Matthew chapter six, he's talking to them about eternal treasures in heaven, about how you, basically how you live your life.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:08

What do you set your focus on?

Pastor Josh: 00:18:10

What's your treasure?

Pastor Josh: 00:18:11

What's your desire?

Pastor Josh: 00:18:12

What's your love?

Pastor Josh: 00:18:14

And Jesus gets to the point where he says, don't lay up treasures here in this earth.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:20

Why?

Pastor Josh: 00:18:21

Because these break through and steal.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:22

Verse 19.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:23

He says, this is what you should do, but lay up your treasures.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:27

Lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:34

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:37

And then he goes on to give this analogy of the light of the eye.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:41

And you know what your eye is set on is the truth.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:45

And he ultimately talks about that.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:46

Then he talks about, no man can serve two masters.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:49

And then he gets to this idea of worrying.

Pastor Josh: 00:18:50

Because a lot of times when we are so focused on the material of this world, it then manifests itself into worry, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:18:59

If I'm worried about all the things that are going on around me in this world, if I'm so attached to what I have and what I can see and what I know, there's a point in time where I'm gonna be characterized by worry.

Pastor Josh: 00:19:11

Because I'm around a bunch of things that are gonna be chaotic, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:19:15

So if my circumstances are chaotic, and that's what I'm living by is my circumstances or my bank account or my health, if I'm living as that, as my treasure, then when those things go up and down, so will also my attitude, my worry and my stress.

Pastor Josh: 00:19:32

And so he talks about the dangers of materialism that can lead to worry.

Pastor Josh: 00:19:37

Then he gets to verse 25, and he says, therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, nor yet your body what ye shall put on.

Pastor Josh: 00:19:46

Is not life more than meat and the body than raiment?

Pastor Josh: 00:19:50

And then he goes on to talk about that wonderful passage of Scripture where he says, even the fowls of the air are fed.

Pastor Josh: 00:19:56

How much more do you think your father's going to take care of you?

Pastor Josh: 00:19:59

And you say, where are you going with this?

Pastor Josh: 00:20:01

I thought we were talking about repentance and revival.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:02

Now you're talking about materialism and worry.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:04

Because I think they go hand in hand.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:06

And so then he goes through that whole passage, he says, you know, God clothes the grass of the field.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:11

He's going to clothe you, owe you a little faith.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:14

And then he goes on to say in verse 33, the classic passage, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:23

Not your own righteousness, his righteousness.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:27

And all these things shall be added unto you.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:28

What is he talking about, all these things?

Pastor Josh: 00:20:30

The blessings of God, the protection of God, the love of God, the confidence and the peace of God.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:36

He says, you seek first the kingdom of God, the eternal things.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:40

All these other things will be added unto you.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:42

Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:47

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:49

Meaning this.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:50

He says, look, you guys are all worried about the things around you.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:53

And you're so distracted with these things around you and your materialism and your worry that you're missing out on what actually really matters.

Pastor Josh: 00:20:59

And so really, repentance and revival is just seeing things for how they are and seeing what really matters.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:05

You know, if someone came up to us and told us, hey, you've got one day to live, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:21:09

You've got, this is your last day on Earth, we would live differently.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:12

We would live.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:13

I think we would live differently.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:14

Some of you might say, actually, I do the same thing.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:16

I just waste my day and get on YouTube and scroll or watch TV.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:20

I don't know about you, but for me, if I had one day, I'd be doing a lot of stuff.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:24

I'd be preparing, I'd be getting everything set up.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:26

And the Bible teaches us that's how we're supposed to live.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:29

And so if we realize that, hey, you know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:21:32

I don't have much more time, I believe we would have a sense of repentance and revival and restoration.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:37

And maybe we would even reach out to that person and we would say, hey, you know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:21:41

I need to get that right with you before I go, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:21:43

And so that's what the Bible says is we should be living like that.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:46

Repentance, that revival, and that comes from not being gripped to this world, but seeking after God, seeking after the things that he wants for us.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:53

Even go down to the next chapter.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:55

Matthew 7.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:56

Ask and it shall be given you.

Pastor Josh: 00:21:58

Seek and you shall find.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:00

Knock and it shall be opened unto you.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:02

And so there's this idea that, you know, part of seeking God is desiring his power in our life, seeking him through prayer, seeking him through his word, seeking after those things that he wants us to follow in our lives.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:15

And so there's so much to be said about seeking after God.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:17

And, you know, I would ask you here this evening, and this is just.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:22

You don't have to answer this.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:23

Please don't answer this out loud.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:26

But I want you to contemplate, really in your mind, what does it mean for me to seek after God?

Pastor Josh: 00:22:33

And then two am I doing that?

Pastor Josh: 00:22:37

Am I seeking his face?

Pastor Josh: 00:22:39

Am I willing to seek his face even if it's difficult for me, even if there's conviction, even if I have to change something in my life?

Pastor Josh: 00:22:46

The Bible says in Hebrews, chapter 11, verse 6, that it's impossible to please God without faith.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:51

And so therefore, we have to understand that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

Pastor Josh: 00:22:56

So there has to be a point in our life where we take it by faith that God is going to make all things right, even if it's difficult in this moment.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:02

And so for the people of Judah, it would have been difficult.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:05

It would be like a total change of their life to throw out all these things.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:08

Idolatry was so ingrained in their culture.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:10

It was all they knew.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:12

So for them, it was a change of their lifestyle, it was a change of their culture, it was a change of their family.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:17

And so for them, it was like, man, this is going to be a dramatic shift.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:20

But God says, you don't have any other choice.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:22

Judgment is coming.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:24

And so over and over again in scripture, we see that call.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:27

n think of Jeremiah, Jeremiah: 29:13

Pastor Josh: 00:23:32

Man, that one really cuts the heart.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:35

For me, it says, and ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all of your heart, you know, for me, where that cuts me deep is sometimes I'm seeking after God, but I'm not seeking him with all of my heart.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:50

I'm seeking him with half of it or what I have left over.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:54

You know, if I only have.

Pastor Josh: 00:23:57

Let's say I have, you know, just.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:01

I don't know how to explain this.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:02

Okay, let's say I have a five gallon bucket and I've got all the water filled all the way to the top, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:24:07

And I want to try to put more in there.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:09

What's going to happen?

Pastor Josh: 00:24:10

I'm going to put some rocks in there and that water displacement, that water is going to pour out, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:24:14

Because I can't have other things in there.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:16

And what happens is our heart so much as we pile in there, all these things that we desire in this world, and then we're supposed to seek God with everything and there's just no place for it because our heart is given over to something else.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:26

And so he says, seek me, but seek me with all of your heart.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:30

Give me everything.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:30

And we know that's his heart from the Old Testament to the New right?

Pastor Josh: 00:24:34

And the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, every element of our Life.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:39

Romans, chapter 12.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:40

Give your bodies a living sacrifice.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:42

And so what God wants is our heart.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:44

He wants the heart of the people there in Judah.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:47

He is concerned with their actions, no doubt, but he understands that their heart is connected to their actions.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:54

And so they could stop for a time.

Pastor Josh: 00:24:56

They could reject the things of this world, but ultimately what's going to happen is that they're going to go back to that.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:02

Unless it's a heart change.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:04

Unless it's a heart change.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:06

You know, I know what it's like, so I went to a Christian school growing up, and our Christian school had demerits.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:16

And so demerits were these things.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:17

Some of you probably know what it is.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:19

You don't do something that's in the rule book, you get a demerit.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:22

Some demerits were more serious than others.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:26

And so if you had 15 demerits.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:28

If you had 15 demerits, you were not able to play sports.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:33

So you'd hit 15 demerits and you'd be what we would call ineligible.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:37

And so you had to take off time until you earned off.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:40

Every week that you didn't get a demerit, you earned off a demerit.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:43

So you guys understand what I'm saying?

Pastor Josh: 00:25:44

So I'd get 15 demerits, and then you'd have a week, and then you'd get one earned off.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:49

Then you'd be back good again.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:51

So I started to think that my obedience to my teacher was all predicated upon how many demerits I had.

Pastor Josh: 00:25:56

I saw it as like a storehouse, okay?

Pastor Josh: 00:25:58

So, like, I know that I can talk in class and get a couple demerits, but I can just earn that off next week.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:03

And so it started to become like this currency.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:06

Like, okay, so if my teacher came around and I had 14 demerits, I better be quiet.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:09

Cause I wanna play sports this week, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:26:11

So it wasn't a heart issue.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:13

It was more of, like, I'm seeking after myself and I was using it as, like, what I can do in my currency.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:19

And so I would encourage you to think about it from this perspective.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:22

You know, sometimes if we see God's judgment and his love and his work in our life and what he's called us to do as that, like, spiritual currency, we're missing the point.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:31

It's about our heart.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:32

We should desire to do that.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:34

When I can get away, like, you know, if the teacher wasn't looking, I could get away with it.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:37

So I'm going to do it.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:38

Well, the truth is that, yeah, maybe I could have done something and gotten away with it.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:45

But we know that in our own lives, we can't get away with it in the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:48

Now, I just want to let you know, I was never ineligible for demerits, okay?

Pastor Josh: 00:26:52

Or anything else.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:53

Okay?

Pastor Josh: 00:26:53

I played sports all the way through.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:54

And that was really what I was caring about at that time.

Pastor Josh: 00:26:57

But the truth is that as a Christian, so many times when we think about it as like, checks and balances, list and say, okay, well, I didn't do this, this, and this and so maybe I can get away with this, this and this.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:06

We're missing the whole point on what God wants from us.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:08

He wants our heart.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:09

Revival is not about keeping rules.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:11

Revival is about wanting to desire God more, seeking God's face more.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:16

And the more we seek after him, the less we want those things of this world.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:19

I love that song.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:21

Seek.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:22

Yeah.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:23

How's it go?

Pastor Josh: 00:27:24

And the things of earth will go strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:27

That's how it ends.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:28

And so really, the desire for a believer should be that I don't want to love the things of this world.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:34

I want to grow so close to God that the things of this world look like wasteful, just empty, vain.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:42

And so the more you seek after God's face, the more you will deny those things of this world.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:48

And so, you know, I think that that's something that I've been really trying to work in in my own life, transparently.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:55

I want to be known more for when I'm for than what I'm against.

Pastor Josh: 00:27:58

What I'm for will make me against certain things, but I want to be so strongly for the things of God that naturally, or let's say supernaturally, I'm against the things that God is against.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:12

And that's how it goes.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:13

And I think that that's how, as a Christian, we should think about it.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:17

Someone told me, well, when you move somewhere, you will become like the people, and you should adopt the ways of the people.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:24

You'll start loving the things that they love.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:26

You'll start doing the things that they do.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:27

You'll start eating the foods that they like to eat.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:29

You'll start rooting for the teams that they like.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:31

And I want to tell you, I've been here for seven years, and I'm struggling with that, okay?

Pastor Josh: 00:28:34

I cannot adapt to all of those things.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:36

But I do see the point of that.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:38

The more you spend time around people, the more the things that they love, if you love them, will be endeared to you.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:43

Right?

Pastor Josh: 00:28:44

And so if I spend time with a person and I see how much they love something, I should in turn then grow in my love for that thing.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:51

It's the same thing with being Christ.

Pastor Josh: 00:28:52

Like, a lot of people want to be Christ like, and they want to desire the things of God, but yet in their minds they're like, how does that happen?

Pastor Josh: 00:28:58

I just don't feel it happening.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:00

Well, the truth is, it's not about just manifesting in your life, speaking into the existence.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:05

What it is is just being around God More.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:07

And so I know that that's something that is a Christian cliche.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:10

So what I want to do for the next, just the next few moments is I want to talk to you about what that means.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:15

Like, how can I seek after God?

Pastor Josh: 00:29:17

What does it mean to hunger and thirst after righteousness?

Pastor Josh: 00:29:19

Well, it's very basic.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:21

It's very simple.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:22

But spending time with the Lord, how do you spend time with God?

Pastor Josh: 00:29:26

I think one of the things that I would encourage you to do is to study his Word, meditate upon His Word.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:33

Set out a time in your life where the word of God is special to you, that it is the first thing for you, and meditate upon it.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:41

Don't just read the verses and just go through it.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:43

Read and see what God has for you.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:45

See it as a love letter to you.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:48

And don't read it with distractions.

Pastor Josh: 00:29:51

You know, I always liken it to my relationship with my wife, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:29:55

If I wanna spend time with her and talk with her, sometimes I'll be over here on my phone and like, she's talking, I'm talking, I'm going like this.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:02

I'm distracted, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:30:03

And so I would encourage you.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:04

I know a lot of us read our Bibles on our phones.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:07

There is a thing on your phone that you can do called airplane mode.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:11

And you can click that and no one can get you or put it on do not disturb.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:14

Because for me, if I'm reading my Bible on my phone, guess what?

Pastor Josh: 00:30:16

The little thing at the top pops down and news pop, news break, message text.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:20

And I start going, I better hit that.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:21

I better get to that.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:22

So I would say, you know, you don't have to read the Bible.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:26

Like, you know, if you want to read on your phone, you can.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:29

But I would say remove the distractions.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:31

Another thing is, like, just as much as you're hearing from God, you need to talk to God.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:34

You need to have a defined, distinct prayer time in your life that you can say, you know what, Lord, I want to talk to you, and I just want to pour my heart out to you.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:42

He already knows our heart, but it's another thing to connect with him.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:45

I think another thing to do would be to spend time with other people that love God, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:30:51

That's church.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:52

That's fellowship.

Pastor Josh: 00:30:53

A lot of times people will say, well, I don't have to go to church to be a Christian, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:31:00

But just you making that statement shows where your heart is in that moment, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:31:03

If you love God, you will love his people and you will want to spend time around Them.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:10

And so what I would say to you is this.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:11

There is a benefit and a command in Scripture to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:18

Now, again, I would tell you that the Bible actually says in that passage to do it all the more as the day approaches.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:23

So what I would encourage you to say is like, we should be doing church more.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:26

We should be meeting together more.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:28

We should be studying the Bible together more.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:29

And so I would encourage you to think about that.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:31

Sometimes we don't think about seeking God as by being around other Christians, but I would encourage you to think about what it means to be around other Christians and so seek the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:39

And so I would go back there.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:41

Zephaniah, chapter two.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:43

Oh, man.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:46

Cut out there for a second.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:47

Hopefully the batteries are good.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:49

Zephaniah, chapter two.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:50

We're going to end with verse number three.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:51

Again, I just want to reiterate what he said here, because there is a way to do this in the flesh and there is a way to do this in the Spirit.

Pastor Josh: 00:31:59

Doing it in the flesh is this.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:01

Let me just give you a real practical way this looks like doing this in the flesh.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:04

Okay, I got my Bible study ready for today.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:08

I got, I got my five minute prayer time that I needed to do.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:12

Okay, I gotta go to church on Sunday and once I do that, everything's gonna be okay.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:16

And I'm gonna do this in, you know, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do this great.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:21

I'm gonna do it every single day and I'm gonna.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:23

But, but that's good intentions.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:25

But who are we trusting in when we see it from that perspective?

Pastor Josh: 00:32:28

We're trusting in our own strength.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:30

We're trusting in our own wisdom.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:31

If you go back to look at verse three, he says, seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth which have wrought his judgment.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:36

Seek righteousness, seek meekness.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:40

Jesus tells us that, that, that key factor of humility there in Philippians chapter two, he took the form of the servant.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:48

We do this with a sense of meekness.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:50

We do this with a sense of humility.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:51

We do this with a sense of totally, completely giving over to God and the need for his power for this revival.

Pastor Josh: 00:32:59

And so he says, if you do this, it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:05

So there is this idea of mercy that God is going to withhold his wrath against those who have meekness.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:12

And so think about it from this perspective, you know, because you hear those terms mercy and grace you know, you should know what those terms mean.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:19

They're very similar.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:21

Grace is God gifting you something that you don't deserve.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:25

Mercy is God withholding something from you that you do deserve.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:28

Right?

Pastor Josh: 00:33:29

And so I would tell you to remember it this way, if you're still with me, you have mercy and meekness.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:37

So when you desire God's mercy, you meet that with meekness, right?

Pastor Josh: 00:33:42

That's the spirit that you should have.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:43

The spirit of meekness leads to understanding God's mercies.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:46

His mercies are new every morning.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:47

But you can't obtain those mercies without understanding what it means to be meek before him, humbled in spirit, serving the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:54

God gives grace to the humble, but he rejects the proud.

Pastor Josh: 00:33:58

And so if you want to understand and live and rest and bathe in the mercies of God every day, I would encourage you to face that with meekness.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:09

That righteousness comes from a sense of meekness.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:11

And therefore we get to receive the mercies of God.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:14

So the mercy in the meekness.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:17

So next week we're going to come back and we're going to look at the end of this chapter, chapter two, verses four through 15.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:26

And really this is where God goes and he goes outside of Judah, he says, okay, all of these surrounding nations that have been influencing you, they're going to be judged as well.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:37

And he goes through and he lists all these nations.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:39

And you might say, well, why does he do that?

Pastor Josh: 00:34:41

Well, one, he's explaining to them that these are all the people that are influencing you.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:46

And so therefore, there's going to be judgment upon you, there's going to be judgment upon them.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:50

But ultimately, I think a lot of times what people think is that, you know what, these people seem to be getting away with their sins.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:57

So we need to go do that.

Pastor Josh: 00:34:59

Even the psalmist David, he was saying, you know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:35:02

It seems like sometimes that these evil people are getting away with it.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:06

I think this is one of the ways that God explains to his own people that, hey, nobody is going to get away with this.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:12

Nobody has it better than you.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:13

The grass is not greener.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:14

On the other side, there will be judgment.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:17

And so the blessing is always in repentance and revival.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:21

And so he's going to go through and explain all those people, and he's going to explain that, you know, Moab is going to be like Sodom.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:27

Ammon's going to be like Gomorrah.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:28

And he talks about the complete destruction of all of these nations.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:33

Now, the unique thing about this is that many of these Prophecies were partially fulfilled in the time of Scripture.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:41

But we'll see that Zephaniah references something as the day of the Lord.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:48

And ultimately, I believe that this is not a prophecy of the past, but a prophecy that is still to come.

Pastor Josh: 00:35:56

And so ultimately, this is a foretelling, a prophecy of God's complete destruction against the world that has rebelled against him.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:05

And so I think that Zephaniah is a end times book.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:09

But I also do believe that Zephaniah has application for today.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:13

And I would be very cautious today for anybody who preaches a message that says, you know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:36:22

You've got time.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:23

Just relax, come as you are, stay as you are, folks.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:28

That's a dangerous message.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:29

Come as you are.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:30

Certainly that's.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:32

You can't come any other way.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:35

But what I would say is that come as you are, but don't leave as you are.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:38

Come as you are and be changed by the power of God and by the conviction of God.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:42

And I struggle with that.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:42

I struggle with embracing conviction.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:45

You know what happens to me if, like, I listen to sermons, too.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:49

I listen to a lot of sermons throughout the week, and I hear a guy preaching on something that I'm really struggling with.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:52

You know what?

Pastor Josh: 00:36:53

My flesh wants to turn that off and go, ah, this guy's probably not biblical.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:58

This guy's probably.

Pastor Josh: 00:36:59

Let me look at his background.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:00

I'm gonna try to find something wrong with him.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:02

He's inconsistent with this theology.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:04

But, you know, a lot of times it's just, he's.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:05

He's hitting me where it hurts.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:07

And what I have to do is I have to say, lord, you're doing that for a reason.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:11

And I.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:12

And I will just give you this, and I'll be done with this.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:15

I want to give you something that really helped me out to know the difference between conviction and guilt.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:20

Because the Bible says, as a Christian, there is no more guilt, there's no more condemnation, but there is conviction.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:26

So we have to think about the two different things, condemnation and conviction.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:29

What Satan wants you to do is he wants you to think about the condemnation on your life.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:32

That's the guilt, the weight.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:34

And every time Satan comes to you with guilt, it's vague, and there's no avenue of change or repentance offered.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:43

There's no avenue of grace in your guilt.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:45

It's like, let me give you an example of how it looks like in my life, I'm just a bad husband, I'm a bad father, I'm a bad pastor, and I just can't get this right, I have no hope.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:53

I can't see the end of it.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:54

That's Satan pulling the condemnation in and trying to put that upon you.

Pastor Josh: 00:37:58

Where the Holy Spirit is a convictor and the Holy Spirit is specific.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:02

And the Holy Spirit always gives us an opportunity to see from the word of God how to get that fixed.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:06

So let's say, let's say the Holy Spirit's convicted me on how I'm being a father.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:11

And I say, okay, Holy Spirit is telling me that I'm not being a good dad.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:16

And here's why.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:17

Because I totally missed an opportunity last night to lead my children in this truth of scripture.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:21

I just was so tired and I was so, you know, whatever, exhausted in my day that I just said, I'll just get that to another time.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:27

See, the Bible shows us that there is all scriptures given by inspiration of God as probable for doctrine, for approved, for correction, for instruction and righteousness.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:34

And so what I would tell you is that if you're dealing with like, is this guilt or is this conviction?

Pastor Josh: 00:38:40

I would say it's.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:41

If it's specific.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:42

And there's a way to get that fixed in repentance, that's the Holy Spirit convicting your life.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:46

If, if there's just condemnation, like, I'm just a lousy person, I can't get this right.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:52

That's, that's the.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:52

I believe that's.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:53

That's Satan trying to pull you down or that's your flesh trying to pull you down.

Pastor Josh: 00:38:56

And so I believe that the Holy Spirit, as it says there, he will convict us into the truth.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:01

It will teach us truth.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:02

It will guide us to truth, as the book of John says.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:05

And so the Holy Spirit leads the truth, Satan leads to lies.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:08

And that's how we can summarize that there as we talk about that.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:12

So repentance revival.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:16

Repentance revival in meekness and mercy.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:20

Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:24

I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:27

If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:36

You can also email me directly at joshmissaroiddletownbaptistchurch dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:49

Thank you so much.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:50

God bless.

Pastor Josh: 00:39:51

Have a wonderful day.