1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:11,480 Just being here again, Amen. Thank the Lord. 2 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,320 I hope that's your sentiment today. 3 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:15,960 It feels good to be in the House of the Lord again. 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,400 Amen. Songs like that revert me back 5 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,920 to a child on a Pew when I ever things like that. 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,960 I grew up here in that in the House of the Lord. 7 00:00:26,600 --> 00:00:32,200 It also reverts back to feeling my ear being twisted by my 8 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,680 mother. You just behaved back there, 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:39,200 Sister Cox. We was talking this morning 10 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:41,360 about Brethren Malone's birthday being today. 11 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,440 And Sister Cox was talking about how he's probably not even, you 12 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,960 know, over 30. And she looked at me and she 13 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,520 says, I know you're over 30. And I said, well, let's talk 14 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:55,680 about your age for a little bit. I said not a day over 16. 15 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,600 She says, don't you realize you're you're standing in the 16 00:00:58,600 --> 00:00:59,800 House of God? I said, yeah. 17 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:08,200 I said not a day over 16. Plurality, Amen. 18 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:10,280 Good to be in the House of the Lord today. 19 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:13,000 Amen. Feel the presence of God here. 20 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:17,120 I'm going to turn to a minor prophet book. 21 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,120 So that's going to mean your fingers are probably going to 22 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:22,080 turn left, right, left, right, left, right, right. 23 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:23,760 Try. I want to turn to the book of 24 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,160 Zephaniah. All right, Zephaniah, you might 25 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,000 be best to start at the very last book of the old test that 26 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,400 Malachi worked backwards to Zechariah, Haggaiah, then go to 27 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:36,720 Zephaniah if that helps you out any. 28 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,320 Amen. Minor prophet here. 29 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:43,680 You know, it's my experience that when you consistently read 30 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:47,800 through the Bible all the time, you come to these these these 31 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:52,560 these books of the Bible. And I know that we don't hear 32 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:58,040 them preached out of that often, but, and I'm not casting stones 33 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,840 anywhere, but I wonder sometimes if even our pastors are reading 34 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:06,360 through Scripture. Amen. 35 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:10,919 Because all Scripture is God breathed according to New 36 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:13,960 Testament. It is all it is all there for 37 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:20,320 reproof or rebuke or instruction and righteousness, all of it. 38 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:22,960 So we're going to go to the word of the Lord today. 39 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:27,080 Zephaniah chapter #2 and I think another reason and and police 40 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,320 you spare for me today. All of the prophets are 41 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:33,800 prophesying warning. Prophets are prophesying 42 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,800 warning, and maybe maybe we don't like to embrace that maybe 43 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,720 as as much as we do some of the other aspects of Scripture. 44 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,200 But I understand when I was reading Ezekiel here lately, and 45 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:46,880 I preached from Ezekiel just last week. 46 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:49,360 As a matter of fact, in that same chapter I preached from 47 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,640 last week, the beginning verses are talking about a watchman on 48 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:57,320 the wall and alluding to that he's there and that if he looks 49 00:02:57,320 --> 00:03:00,320 out over the horizon of the city that he's a watchman of and he 50 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,520 sees, he sees danger, something that's coming that's 51 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:08,840 approaching, it's his obligation to sound a warning to the city 52 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,480 about what's coming. He said if he doesn't sound a 53 00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:14,680 warning, Sister Margaret, and something happens to the people 54 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:17,760 and they die, so that blood's on his hands. 55 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:22,640 But if he sounds a warning and they don't heed to it and they 56 00:03:22,640 --> 00:03:27,200 die, that's on their hands. So I have an obligation today. 57 00:03:27,640 --> 00:03:29,480 Amen. The apostle Paul said that he 58 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,560 didn't want to shun to declare the whole counsel of God. 59 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:34,240 And I know you're standing. I apologize. 60 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:39,640 Zephaniah chapter #2 and verse #13 I want to begin reading 61 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:43,200 today. The Bible says, and he's 62 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaking of God will stretch out his hand against the north, and 63 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:55,600 destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and a dry 64 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:00,360 and dry like a wilderness, and flock shall lie down in the 65 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,000 midst of her. And all the beast of the 66 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:09,320 nation's, both the cormorant and the bittron, bittron shall lodge 67 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:14,040 in the upper lentils of it. Their voice shall sing in the 68 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,800 windows. Desolation shall be in the 69 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,959 thresholds, for he shall uncover the cedar work. 70 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:27,400 This is the rejoicing city that dewelt carelessly that said in 71 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,640 her heart, I am there I am, and there is none beside me. 72 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:36,600 How is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down 73 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,520 in? Everyone that passeth by her 74 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:44,120 shall hiss and wag his hand. Amen. 75 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:49,040 Verse #14 really the phrase from which this message comes from 76 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:51,920 that pricked me in my heart several weeks ago. 77 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:57,600 That last phrase says for he shall uncover the cedar work. 78 00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,880 What does that mean? I want to minister just a little 79 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:05,200 while this morning on this laying bare the cedar work. 80 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,760 Laying bare the cedar work. Nobody has no idea about what 81 00:05:10,760 --> 00:05:13,760 pastors about ready to minister. Let's talk to the Lord right 82 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:15,360 now. Father, I love you today. 83 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:17,600 I'm thankful Lord for this opportunity. 84 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,760 I'm thankful Lord Jesus that we can God center our lives around 85 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,840 your word God. They are the words of life. 86 00:05:24,840 --> 00:05:26,720 They are the words that speak of you. 87 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,440 I pray O Lord, help me God to internalize that word today. 88 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,600 God help us the Lord in the next few moments God that our lives 89 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,720 will be challenged. God perhaps even changed God by 90 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,240 this word and what we hear in the lovely name of Jesus Christ 91 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,640 that I pray Amen and Amen the church say Amen. 92 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:51,640 You may be seated lame bear the cedar work Zephaniah is is among 93 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:56,040 a course in our Bibles as one of the minor prophets as they're 94 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,520 they're spoken of a minor doesn't necessarily mean they're 95 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,520 less important than the major, but nonetheless he is a he's a 96 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,760 prophet. He is prophesying during a very 97 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:09,560 peculiar time. If you would read it, it's just 98 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,840 three chapters. Zephaniah is he is prophesying 99 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:17,640 during the time of the days that come before the Babylonian 100 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:22,120 captivity, before a part of God's people are carried away as 101 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,680 exiles into a lamb that is foreign to them, and his lips 102 00:06:26,680 --> 00:06:31,000 are constantly speaking about a day of disaster. 103 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,360 He speaks about a day of disaster for the outside world 104 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,160 and not just other nations outside of Israel, but even for 105 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:41,360 Israel itself, a day that would come. 106 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:45,640 It's termed in Scripture as the day of the Lord. 107 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:49,960 Like other prophets that had prophesied, his prophecies were 108 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,240 dual nature and we see this a lot in the Old Testament 109 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:55,920 prophecies. Many times they prophesied about 110 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,840 things that had a near fulfillment, something that 111 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:02,200 would be a near fulfillment to their own time. 112 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:06,960 But that same prophecy then has a a distant fulfillment that 113 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,720 could even take place in our day, in our time. 114 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,280 And so while Zephaniah is Speaking of a day of a Lord no 115 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:19,320 doubt that that fulfills in his hour, that takes place in his 116 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,080 generation in time, it is also quite likely that he was 117 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaking of a future day distant from him that perhaps even even 118 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,600 takes place in our generation and in our time. 119 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:33,960 And so he's spouting some prophecies. 120 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,560 The Bible says when you read the first chapter that Zephaniah is 121 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:41,640 prophesying during the reign of King Josiah, that very youthful 122 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:46,160 king who assumed the kingship, I believe it was at 8 years old. 123 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,720 He was a king that was known for reform. 124 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:52,560 He was a king known for revival concerning Israel. 125 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:56,040 He was a repairer. Josiah was a repairer of the 126 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:00,360 House of God that had failed in ill repair and was dilapidated. 127 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:05,760 And he he took some movements and, and control and seeing that 128 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,280 thing to be built back. And as a matter of fact, we read 129 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:13,000 in Scripture that Josiah's care and his attention that that he 130 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:17,680 gave to God's house really gave him back and the people back 131 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,400 that put them back in touch with the word of God. 132 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,960 We read in the Scripture was during that time he sent them to 133 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:26,880 repair the house. And Hilkiah, the, the, the high 134 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:29,400 priest is going throughout the House of God and the Bible says 135 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:33,799 he comes up on the book of the law and he gives it to the, the 136 00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:36,919 scribe Chiffon and he takes it back to the king. 137 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:39,679 And he begins to read that in the presence of the king. 138 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,000 And it's then that the king realized there's so many things 139 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:45,240 here in the book of the law that, that, that, that, that 140 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:48,000 we've lost touch with. There's so many things here in 141 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,160 the book of the law that that our forefathers had done that 142 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,960 we're no longer doing. We're, we're no longer keeping 143 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:57,600 the same standard that they did because we've been separated in 144 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,800 many regards with God's house and God's law. 145 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,160 And so as he got back acquainted with the repairing of the House 146 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,280 of God, that put him in touch with the word of God. 147 00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,720 And so he realized this, that the people had been complacent 148 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,920 in just a couple of areas. And that is God's house and 149 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,240 God's word. He he understood that they 150 00:09:17,240 --> 00:09:19,360 seemingly had no concern for either. 151 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:23,440 And yet here is a man, a king who had sought God. 152 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,400 The Bible says he sought the God of his father, David. 153 00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,920 He sought God if we could. He prayed to God and as a result 154 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:34,600 of just having a prayer life, Bishop, just as as a result of 155 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,480 having a prayer life, this king then received some spiritual 156 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:42,400 instruction and fought to recover both God's house and 157 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,520 God's word. And so Zephaniah is prophesying 158 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:50,520 during that context. He's prophesying when those 159 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:53,960 things are taking place as Josiah is doing all this 160 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:58,440 reformation and revival in chapter 1, Zephaniah prophecies 161 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:01,160 and pronounces judgment upon Judah. 162 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:03,520 I know, I know, listen to me. I know it. 163 00:10:03,680 --> 00:10:05,480 We don't like to embrace these type of things. 164 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:07,120 We don't like to talk about judgment. 165 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:09,040 We, we, we want to talk about grace and mercy. 166 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:10,600 And I love preaching about those things. 167 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:11,920 I love preaching about all those. 168 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:15,680 But please understand that after mercy comes judgment. 169 00:10:17,640 --> 00:10:20,240 That's God's word. He always gives opportunity. 170 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:23,680 He always gives chance. He always gives a season, if you 171 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:25,600 will, for turning. But after that, these things 172 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:27,680 come. And so Zephaniah is saying it's 173 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:30,000 coming, Judah judgment is coming. 174 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:33,400 And then in chapter 2, he extends that not just to Judah, 175 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:37,280 but he extends it to all the nations that around about he he 176 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,720 extends it to the the Philistine cities, the five Philistine 177 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:44,080 cities that that lined up at the Mediterranean Sea. 178 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:47,560 He said it to Moab. He said it to AM and Ethiopia, 179 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:51,680 he said it to Assyria, he said to the IT to the capital of 180 00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:52,920 Assyria. None of it. 181 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,920 He's speaking to them. All that judgement is coming 182 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,120 again. He's not just speaking in his 183 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:02,040 day, but his words supersede that and even speak to our day. 184 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,200 If I can be a Zephaniah this morning and I want to tell you 185 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:08,160 this, not just the church house, but the White House. 186 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:12,440 Judgement is coming. Judgment is coming. 187 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,080 And so when he says this and speaks this in our text in 188 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:19,280 particular, he's talking about how God's hand is going to be 189 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:22,760 stretched out upon the Syria and upon Nineveh. 190 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,600 This is the same Nineveh that Nimrod was attributed to 191 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:30,200 building in the book of Genesis along with some other cities 192 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,320 like Babel. This is the same Nineveh that 193 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:38,920 the prophet Jonah in his book about 100 or 100 and 5050 years 194 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:41,800 earlier than this. It's the same city that he went 195 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:46,960 to that was very prominent then and still yet noble. 196 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:51,880 In our day then Nineveh was a power that was great. 197 00:11:51,880 --> 00:11:55,720 It had a lot of influence. It was filled, though, with 198 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,320 wickedness. And we understand that the 199 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,840 warning that came from the prophet Jonah, although he was 200 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:05,840 reluctant, although he did not go the first time, he was told 201 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,920 to go when he showed up in Nineveh with his voice of 202 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:13,320 warning for that, that city. The Bible tells us that that 203 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:17,920 whole empire went to fasting. The people, the beast, the king 204 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:21,560 put on sackcloth and ashes. They repented of their air 205 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:24,360 before the Lord. They had been doomed for 206 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:28,080 destruction, but they were spared because they repented. 207 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:32,600 And then somewhere, though, in a century of time of 100 years or 208 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,480 so, 100 or years or so, if I could say it like this, of 209 00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:41,080 mercy, 100 years or so of reprieve. 210 00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:43,760 We understand at this point in Scripture that they are 211 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,600 returning to their old ways, they're returning to their 212 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,960 violence and they are returning to their pride and their 213 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:55,480 idolatry of serving other gods. As a matter of fact, Nineveh has 214 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:59,400 become at this point in architects, a very vast empire. 215 00:12:59,520 --> 00:13:03,440 Historians say it was a city that was 60 miles in its 216 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:06,800 circumference. It had walls that were 100 feet 217 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,960 high, that there could the, they were so thick that three 218 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,560 Chariots could ride abreast on top of their walls. 219 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:17,440 They had 1500 towers all around about them. 220 00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:22,480 Nineveh was considered a impenetrable city, an invincible 221 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:25,680 city. It boasted of its security. 222 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:31,000 It boasted of its greatness, it all of its architecture and, and 223 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,840 its wealth. Just just it's, it's lavished 224 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,160 with these things. It's it has grand palaces and 225 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,520 grand temples and it has fortifications. 226 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:45,080 It was adorned with precious metals and intricate carvings 227 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:50,240 and even cedar wood. Someone say, man, cedar trees 228 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:52,160 just got walk with me just for a little bit today. 229 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,800 Cedar trees were seen as the most superior in scripture of 230 00:13:56,800 --> 00:14:00,520 all the trees. Cedar wood was highly prized in 231 00:14:00,520 --> 00:14:03,040 ancient Near East. It was durable. 232 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,520 It was fragrant. You remember having those cedar 233 00:14:05,520 --> 00:14:07,640 blocks in your your dresser drawers Ever. 234 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:09,160 No. OK. 235 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:12,240 That's the house I lived in. All right, The cedar, you know, 236 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,880 the resistant to decay. People like to use them even in 237 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:19,080 outside construction because it's resistant to decay. 238 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:23,960 Used to construct in biblical times palaces and temples and a 239 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:27,160 lot of significant structures had cedar that was involved in 240 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:28,760 them. It was a symbol of wealth, a 241 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:31,800 symbol of luxury, a symbol of grandeur. 242 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:35,440 It had to be imported from Lebanon even for people to use 243 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:37,320 it. And so that kind of tongue and 244 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:40,520 grooves with the wealth because it had to float on rivers and 245 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:42,800 canals in order to get to where it was going. 246 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:46,920 So the the the whole shipping and handling was quite 247 00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:48,840 expensive. You understand what I'm saying? 248 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:52,800 So you had to be a person of means even to be able to have a 249 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,800 man Cedar. And so cedar wood was was used 250 00:14:55,800 --> 00:15:00,920 in places meant to be protected. It was like the the interior of 251 00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,120 a palace or the interior of a temple. 252 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:07,560 It was used in buildings meant to last structures intended to 253 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:11,840 stand the test of time. Cedar wood was used in in 254 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:15,160 everyday ways like like, and this is something that we can 255 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,240 relate to. It's almost like paneling or 256 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:18,840 wainscoting. You know, I'm talking about when 257 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,200 I say wainscoting might be in a hallway only comes up so high on 258 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,120 your wall and you got that, that wainscoting in the house. 259 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:26,960 It was used in those type of ways. 260 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:29,840 They could use cedar wood. Please just follow me real real 261 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:33,440 closely right here. They could use cedar wood to 262 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,360 kind of put over where walls were uneven. 263 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,920 Take cedar with that, that deck to a very luxurious piece of 264 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:47,600 cedar wood and just kind of mask maybe where a wall was uneven or 265 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:51,600 where it was rough or, or or where the material maybe was a 266 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,640 little less valuable. They would just cover that up 267 00:15:54,640 --> 00:15:57,880 with cedar wood. A poor quality of material that 268 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:03,120 they'd use cedar wood as a, as a facade or a face upon that a man 269 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,920 just to cover maybe some brick or some old rough stone that was 270 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,200 there. It had a purpose not just for 271 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:13,240 beings, but for the purpose of being able to cover some 272 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:17,960 imperfections. Syria made use of it, so much 273 00:16:17,960 --> 00:16:22,600 so, and embodied its character of superiority to such a degree 274 00:16:22,600 --> 00:16:26,040 that the prophet Ezekiel said it compared the whole nation of 275 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:30,120 Assyria itself to a towering cedar of Lebanon. 276 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,240 We learn in Scripture, though, that when Zephaniah gives the 277 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:38,080 warning and tells Nineveh, hey, God's hands going to stretch out 278 00:16:38,080 --> 00:16:40,800 against you. God's hand is going to destroy. 279 00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,280 There's going to be destruction. There's, there's going to come a 280 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,960 fall. We understand historically that 281 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,200 Nineveh this time did not heed the warning. 282 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:51,440 They did not heed the voice of God. 283 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:54,120 The city fell. According to history, it was 284 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,000 looted. It was burned and as a matter of 285 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,160 fact, even people that's done archaeological studies of it, 286 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:02,360 Amen. Not too long removed from the 287 00:17:02,360 --> 00:17:06,319 time that it was destroyed had a challenge in discovering even 288 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:10,480 where it was, this place that once had grand structures and 289 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,520 cedar beams and now it's just charred and it's destroyed and 290 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:19,000 they can't almost even recognize what it once was, Amen. 291 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:23,920 It's just buried under time now, Amen, because it did not heed 292 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:28,880 the warning and God through and I he denounces this place. 293 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,560 He says he says Nineveh. He said you've been self reliant 294 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:37,000 you you've been complacent you you've gotten in trouble, Amen. 295 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,840 You're going to meet your demise if you don't repent like you did 296 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:42,720 years ago. God's going to stretch out his 297 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,200 hand. Look at the words in our text. 298 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:46,840 He's going to destroy. He's going to make desolate. 299 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:50,120 He said beasts of all sort are going to inhabit the buildings. 300 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:53,120 He said, I know how it is right now, but it's going to be laid 301 00:17:53,120 --> 00:17:54,680 bare. There's just going to be beasts 302 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,200 there traveling, Amen, through the, the edifices and the 303 00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:59,240 buildings, these once glorious structures. 304 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,640 And the last words that he said, which is my sermon today is he 305 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:09,760 said that God shall uncover or God's going to expose or God's 306 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,600 going to lay bare the cedar work. 307 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,480 Someone say, Amen. Laying bare the cedar work is 308 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:22,920 nothing but a metaphor for God's judgement because God has the 309 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:29,480 ability to reach to the most deepest and most protected areas 310 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:37,120 of our life. And he can uncover, he can ruin 311 00:18:37,120 --> 00:18:39,880 what we thought maybe was once untouchable. 312 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:44,560 Hey, man, He can bring light to the hidden aspects of our lives. 313 00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,240 Sometimes we build up, if you will, cedar works in our lives. 314 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:52,880 That's just that's just facades. That's that's just material 315 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:55,880 covering the other deeper matters and deeper things that 316 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,720 we don't want to engage with, that we don't want to identify 317 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:03,080 that we don't want to push in the light that we don't want to 318 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,440 emit. And so we just bring our cedar 319 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:08,800 paneling, our wainscotted and we put that up and we just kind of 320 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:10,680 covered up. But God says, listen. 321 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,040 Well, he says, I know net of a he said, I'm going to lay bare 322 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,280 the cedar work. He says, I'm going to pull that 323 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:17,800 thing, if you will, off the wall. 324 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,760 I'm I'm going to I'm going to lay it bare. 325 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:22,560 Oh God, you, you wouldn't do that. 326 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,840 You're loving God. He is a loving God. 327 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:29,040 I'm trying to tell you today that is a major of his love. 328 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:33,520 That is a attribute that is a consequence of his love that 329 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:37,600 whenever he lays the cedar work bare so he can expose some 330 00:19:37,600 --> 00:19:40,400 things in our life that need to be exposed. 331 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:45,120 That's not really an anger God as much as it is a loving God. 332 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:49,880 He's trying to expose some areas in his presence and his sight. 333 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:53,480 Maybe that will come in own, maybe that will come to terms 334 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:55,600 with. Maybe that will identify. 335 00:19:55,840 --> 00:20:00,480 Maybe that will correct. Someone came in. 336 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:03,600 He can do it. He'll pull the cover off those 337 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:06,760 things that are hidden and uneven and replaces. 338 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:10,880 He'll, he'll lay them bare. Because sometimes we walk to 339 00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:14,920 walk and sometimes we talk to talk and we live our lives and 340 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,480 it looks good. And it has, if you will, all the 341 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,520 appearances of everything as well. 342 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:23,960 And we sing the songs and we lift a half mast hand and we'll 343 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:26,160 go to prayer for 5 minutes before service. 344 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,800 And we do all the little indicators and indices just to 345 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:31,560 make sure there's enough cedar work there. 346 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:38,840 There's just enough cedar work there. 347 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:43,280 Amen to hide my vulnerabilities. Amen to hide my misplaced trust. 348 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:46,520 You know what Jesus called it in the New Testament Scripture with 349 00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:49,400 the Pharisees? He says you all got whitewashed 350 00:20:49,400 --> 00:20:52,000 sepulchers. You're out there trying to wash 351 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,160 and purify that sepulcher to give the appearance that it's 352 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:57,400 not impure. He's a bit inside. 353 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,360 It's full of dead man's bones. You know what he's saying? 354 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:02,520 He said I'm a addressing the cedar work. 355 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:06,400 I know what's behind the panel. I know what's behind that cedar 356 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:08,160 work. I'm going to lay it bare. 357 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,480 Listen, if God does that in our life, either through reading His 358 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,840 word or the preached word or conviction, you need to thank 359 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:21,080 the Lord that He laid your cedar work bare so that you could 360 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:24,920 adjust the uneven places of our lives. 361 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:35,480 Amen. So those, these are the things 362 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:40,080 we sometimes put forth a a cast of relationship with God. 363 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,320 But if we allow this unevenness to, to consistent to do well, 364 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,960 it's, it's going to impact our relationship with God left 365 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:52,720 unchecked. Hey, brother McGee, you're 366 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:56,440 talking about Assyria. Brother McGee, you're talking 367 00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,200 about Nineveh. That doesn't apply to us. 368 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,920 He wasn't talking to Judah. He was talking to a nation that 369 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,920 was surrounding Israel. Someone say man. 370 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:12,560 Please understand though that Zephaniah in chapter 1 speaks 371 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:17,000 judgment on Israel and what he found in Israel. 372 00:22:17,120 --> 00:22:20,040 Listen to me. Well, he found in the nations 373 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:26,560 around about Israel. That's that's not because Israel 374 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:30,920 infected the other nations. That's because these other 375 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:34,800 nations that surrounded Israel impacted Israel. 376 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:44,280 Hey man, something had seeped in, something had seeped in to 377 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:48,240 God's people, Amen. So he speaks judgment over them 378 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,200 in chapter 1 and the other nations in chapter #2 it's only 379 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,960 there that we see this self-reliance, this this 380 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:58,080 complacency. Then that's also found evidently 381 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:00,600 in Judah. You know what the apostle Peter 382 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:01,840 said? And now listen, folks, I 383 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,200 understand no one wants to hear this type of preaching today, 384 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:08,000 but the apostle Peter said this. He said, for the time has come 385 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,400 that judgment must begin at the House of God. 386 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,160 We'll point judgment at the world. 387 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:15,080 We'll point judgment at the politics. 388 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:18,880 We'll point judgment at all all these sterling things, Amen, of 389 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:21,800 transgenderism. We'll point the finger, but we 390 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:25,520 need to point the finger at the House of God and say, Lord, is 391 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,920 there any seed to work around here that I need you to lay 392 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:30,240 bare? Is there any? 393 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:35,880 Come on, hear me today. Sometimes the best way to wiggle 394 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:46,640 away from your issue is to point out somebody else's issue, Peter 395 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:48,720 said. It's time for it to begin at the 396 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:52,120 House of God. You know, there was cedar work 397 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:57,560 in the temple. There was cedar work in 398 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:00,920 Solomon's temple on its walls, on its ceilings, on its 399 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:04,520 interior. You need to start at the House 400 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,600 of God. Whenever Ezekiel was also 401 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:11,080 prophesying during the years of exile, God directed his judgment 402 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:12,760 and you know what God told Ezekiel? 403 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:14,880 He says here's where I want you to start Ezekiel. 404 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:19,040 He says begin at my sanctuary. He says don't begin on the 405 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,560 outskirts, don't begin with the foreign nations. 406 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:24,280 He said begin of my begin of my sanctuary. 407 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,680 Here is the idea folks. What good is a compromised 408 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,680 church trying to help a compromised world? 409 00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:34,720 He says if we're we're going to be able to help the world around 410 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,400 us, judgements got to begin at God's house. 411 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:51,640 Everybody say Amen. He says, you begin at my 412 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:53,360 sanctuary. That's what God told Ezekiel to 413 00:24:53,360 --> 00:24:55,840 do. And when he get to chapter #11 414 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:58,480 that's verse, that's chapter #9 when he says begin at my 415 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:02,480 sanctuary, when you get Ezekiel chapter #11 he tells him, he 416 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:05,280 said, O House of Israel, for I know the things come into your 417 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:07,960 mind, every one of them. What's God doing? 418 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,280 He's pulling back some layers on the cedar work. 419 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,800 And then he says then in verse 10 of that same chapter, he 420 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,640 said, I will judge you in the, this is interesting. 421 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,400 I will judge you in the border of Israel. 422 00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:26,640 He says where there's that definitive line between Israel 423 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:29,640 and then not Israel. He says I'm going to I'm going 424 00:25:29,640 --> 00:25:32,440 to judge you in the border of Israel. 425 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:35,080 Amen. That thing that divides you 426 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,960 between being mine and not mine, I'm going to divide. 427 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,280 I'm going I'm going to judge you at the line. 428 00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,000 I'm going to judge you at the border. 429 00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,360 As a matter of fact, in Zephaniah chapter #2 we read of 430 00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:49,440 the judgments that that God has given out through Zephaniah. 431 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:53,200 He has him judge some people of Cush, which is a very distant 432 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,720 land in Egypt to the South. But he also then has casting 433 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,000 judgment upon Nineveh. That's in the north. 434 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,280 But again, we cannot forget where he started. 435 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,560 He started with Judah. He started with Judah. 436 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:06,320 Now here's what I want you to realize. 437 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,040 Zephaniah, of course, is prophesying and giving warning 438 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:12,080 according to the decree of the Lord. 439 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:17,440 But I can't help but also consider that Zephaniah is not 440 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:24,320 just speaking God's word, but speaking from some family 441 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:30,720 experience. Ezekiel for Hezekiah Rather in 442 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,640 Zephaniah chapter #1 we read a little bit of the lineage of 443 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:39,000 Zephaniah and Hezekiah. I know we got all the ayahs 444 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:40,680 right here today. Oh Hallelujah. 445 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:43,760 Ayah. Hezekiah is believed to be, if 446 00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:49,400 you read the little lineage, the king Hezekiah of Judah. 447 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:55,720 In other words, Hezekiah is the great, great grandson or 448 00:26:55,720 --> 00:27:04,440 grandfather rather of Zephaniah, who the scripture says that 449 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:14,240 Isaiah came to and said get your house in order for you going to 450 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:19,680 die. That Judean king, that Judah 451 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:24,320 king turns his face to the wall, tears streaming down his face, 452 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:29,080 prayers made-up to heaven. Isaiah doesn't get, but just a 453 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:31,680 little ways into the court further out and God speaks to 454 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:37,840 him again and he says, you go back and you tell Hezekiah that 455 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:44,320 I've heard his prayers and that I'm going to extend his life by 456 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:50,080 15 years. Someone say Isaiah says in verse 457 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:53,120 chapter 38, verses 2 and three, this is the record of that and 458 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:55,000 there's other records of it also in the Chronicles. 459 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,320 But the Bible says then Hezekiah turned here, it is his face 460 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,440 toward the wall and prayed unto the Lord. 461 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:02,680 Look at verse 3 and said, this is what Hezekiah said. 462 00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:06,360 Please follow this. Remember now, O Lord, I beseech 463 00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:10,960 thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect 464 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:14,920 heart, and I've done that which is good in my sight. 465 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:21,560 And Hezekiah wept sore. Isaiah comes back, says 15 466 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:23,960 years, 15 years going to be given to your life. 467 00:28:25,440 --> 00:28:30,080 Just stay with me here. I want to talk to you about the 468 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:33,360 concern of God because when we see those 15 years, we're 469 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:37,600 thinking, man, there's a man that prayed, God answered, gave 470 00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:40,440 him 15 years. Man, what a good God. 471 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:44,280 God's just honoring his life. God's just honoring all this 472 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,920 stuff. But no set the Chronicles 32 and 473 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,800 verse 31. Bible says how be it in the 474 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,760 business of the ambassadors of the Princess of Babylon, who 475 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,080 sent to him to inquire the wonder that was done in the 476 00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:56,960 land. What happened was whenever he 477 00:28:56,960 --> 00:28:59,800 became well and everything was fine, some ambassador from 478 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:01,920 Babylon came. They want to check in on him. 479 00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:05,160 They sent gifts and and Hezekiah begins to show them everything 480 00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,960 he has all the treasures, all these things, but note what the 481 00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,360 Scripture says. It says that God left him 482 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:19,720 Hezekiah to try him Hezekiah that he Hezekiah might know all 483 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:29,040 that was in his heart. Those 15 years that God extended 484 00:29:29,040 --> 00:29:36,640 Hezekiah's life was 15 years for God to lay bare the cedar work 485 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,280 and Hezekiah's life and Hezekiah's estimation. 486 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:50,720 He said unto God, I have a perfect heart, but that was just 487 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:55,840 all smoke and mirrors. That was all cedar work. 488 00:29:56,600 --> 00:30:01,760 Jeremiah told us as a prophet, he said above all things he said 489 00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:08,400 the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. 490 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:13,160 Who can know it if I can say it like this? 491 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:16,160 Above all things, the heart is just a bunch of cedar work. 492 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:19,800 What are you saying, brother McGee? 493 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,400 I'm saying I, I, I contrast, I come against and don't trust 494 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:25,120 people who tell you just listen to your heart. 495 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:31,520 Just just just listen to your mind. 496 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,360 Just listen to your heart. Just trust your heart, folks. 497 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:37,000 I have. I have of mandating scripture. 498 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:40,680 My own heart can't be trusted. I got mandating scripture that 499 00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:44,360 it's a deceitful thing. I got mandating scripture that 500 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,240 this old human heart of mine is desperately wicked. 501 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,440 Don't don't, don't talk to me about trusting your heart or I 502 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,280 was just following my heart. Your heart will lead you this. 503 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,880 Your heart will lead you to sin. Your heart will lead you to a 504 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:00,080 devil's hell. Your heart will lead you outside 505 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:02,880 of the ark of safety. Your heart will lead you to make 506 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,680 bad choices and bad decisions that you think are right because 507 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:08,320 you're just following your good little heart. 508 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,000 No, no, no, that's just a bunch of cedar work. 509 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:15,400 Just give God some time to lay bare the real consciousness of 510 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,520 your own heart, the real reality of your own heart. 511 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:25,120 It took 15 years to do it, but God extend his life for 15 years 512 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:31,080 so Hezekiah might know what was in his heart. 513 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:34,240 And so I'm, I'm, I got a little, I got a little determination 514 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:38,800 here today that whenever Zephaniah is prophesying, that 515 00:31:38,800 --> 00:31:43,200 perhaps there's a piece of that family history piece of that 516 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:47,840 family history that made a urgency in his voice for 517 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:50,600 Nineveh, for the nations around about him. 518 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:52,760 Look at verse 15 of our text today. 519 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,320 Oh, this grip my heart. I was over here finishing things 520 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:59,400 up last night that we're coming back from men's conference and I 521 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:03,240 read this phrase and I, I admit to you, I sat there with tears 522 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:07,280 in my eyes and streaming down my face when I heard Zephaniah say, 523 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaking of Nineveh, Speaking of Assyria, he said this is the 524 00:32:12,360 --> 00:32:17,440 rejoicing city that the Welt carelessly. 525 00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:22,360 This is the rejoicing city that do well to carelessly. 526 00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,560 What does that mean? That it means they're rejoicing 527 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:29,000 that they have all of the celebration, they have all of 528 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,480 the mechanics that everything is well, but in reality everything 529 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,040 is not well. They have all of the mechanics 530 00:32:36,040 --> 00:32:39,680 that everything's OK, that life is serving its purpose and 531 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:43,280 they're living to the grandest scale that life has to offer. 532 00:32:43,520 --> 00:32:46,440 But in reality, they are dwelling careless. 533 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:49,560 They're not taking the reality in mind. 534 00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,440 They're not considering what's behind the cedar word. 535 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,360 They're not. Oh come on, somebody hear me. 536 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:58,480 Today we got to come to terms. I want to dance and I want to 537 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,200 shout, but I want there to be other times I hug an altar and I 538 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:17,640 cry and I repent and I confess. What's saying in years ago, the 539 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:19,120 old preachers got it and you're going to hear it. 540 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,040 Amen. Almost just every other month 541 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:23,760 they're going to about preach about hell, fire and brimstone, 542 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,480 and people's going to listen and people's going to embrace it in 543 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,160 the altar. But we don't have much preaching 544 00:33:28,160 --> 00:33:31,160 about hell anymore because we don't want to offend anybody and 545 00:33:31,160 --> 00:33:33,560 we don't want anybody to feel uncomfortable and we don't want 546 00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:35,720 anybody maybe not to come for a week or two. 547 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,440 But I'm hearing today I can preach a happy all the way to 548 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:40,920 hell, or we can somehow rub you a little wrong with some 549 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:44,080 sandpaper once in a while and help ensure that your feet hit 550 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:47,840 gold somewhere. I want God to lay pair the seder 551 00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:58,960 work. They were a rejoicing city, but 552 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:04,200 they dwelt carelessly, they said, even almost as Hezekiah 553 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,360 noticed them in their heart. I am and there is none beside. 554 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:11,560 They had some great self-reliance. 555 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:15,800 Great self-reliance because Zephaniah says you're going to 556 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,040 be desolate, beasts are going to lie in your dwellings. 557 00:34:19,480 --> 00:34:21,800 People that pass by is just going to even wave their hand, 558 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:24,800 just even kind of blocking the view because they knew what you 559 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:30,120 once were. And if they're located in a, a 560 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:36,440 rejoicing city, it's Facade. Listen, folks, you can get real 561 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:40,239 with God. You can get real with God. 562 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,040 For that matter, you don't have to play games with us. 563 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:48,760 You have to put up your paneling, your Wayne scouting of 564 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:51,960 cedar with us. But you don't get real with God 565 00:34:54,639 --> 00:34:56,639 putting up cedar where it's just a covert operation. 566 00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:00,440 It might be masking the reality. You might be going through a 567 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,320 hard time. That's not a time to stay out of 568 00:35:03,320 --> 00:35:05,080 church. Say, well, I'll come back when I 569 00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,280 get it all together. You walk out. 570 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:08,680 You may never get it back together. 571 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:14,080 Just let God lay bare the cedar work. 572 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:18,280 Let him take off all the antics. All, all, all of you will be 573 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:20,720 exterior. Let him just just do it there 574 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:24,320 because to do otherwise is to dwell dangerously, is to dwell 575 00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:27,400 carelessly. Folks, we have been given a most 576 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,600 prized gift. The apostle Paul said we have in 577 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:33,440 these earthen vessels glorious treasures. 578 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:36,600 I'm telling you today, I don't want to do well carelessly what 579 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:39,240 has been invested to me and with me. 580 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:43,000 We've been given a prized gift. We've been given a gift that 581 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:44,760 will keep us from the second death. 582 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:46,560 Do you understand what I'm talking about? 583 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:54,080 Today I can't afford. How do you deal carelessly? 584 00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:56,360 Because you said in your heart I am. 585 00:35:56,720 --> 00:35:59,040 There's none beside me. Everything's OK. 586 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:00,560 I'm OK. You're OK. 587 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:03,920 The church, what it says is really just a suggestion anyway. 588 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:07,080 The Bible is just really a collection of letters that's 589 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:10,000 given some instruction that if you want to, fine. 590 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:12,360 If you don't too, fine. Though we are wrong. 591 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:14,400 He's giving us divine instruction. 592 00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:18,560 All the epistles are to churches, people that are saved, 593 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,000 and the instruction is how you get from the moment of your new 594 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:24,080 birth to the moment of your glory. 595 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:36,150 It is instructions for life. It is Amen. 596 00:36:36,230 --> 00:36:43,910 Am I OK? I love you today. 597 00:36:44,430 --> 00:36:50,080 I cried over you last night, hear me? 598 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:54,920 Some people want to preach her, but they don't want to pastor. 599 00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:00,720 I go in a lot of circuits. I'm just a preacher. 600 00:37:00,720 --> 00:37:08,320 But at home, I'm a pastor. And the difference is, is how 601 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:15,440 you accept a no. The difference is, is how you 602 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,720 accept a warning. Zephaniah's not doing that 603 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:22,000 because he's on some high horse. Zephaniah's not doing that 604 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:24,000 because he's trying to prove his ministry. 605 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:27,640 Zephaniah's doing it because he's trying to, if you will, to 606 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:31,400 squelch the fatalities of the impending judgment that's 607 00:37:31,400 --> 00:37:33,640 coming. And as it was coming in his day, 608 00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:36,600 it's coming in our day. We are living in moments of 609 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:38,560 grace. We are living in moments of 610 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:41,160 mercy. But if we don't allow God to 611 00:37:41,200 --> 00:37:44,680 bear our cedar work now, He'll bear our cedar work then. 612 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:48,600 And I want God to lay me bare now. 613 00:37:48,640 --> 00:38:00,080 That's the way he pointed out to Judah in chapter 1. 614 00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,560 He points out to Nineveh. And yes, in case you haven't 615 00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:06,280 feared out yet, God is talking to us. 616 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:16,000 Well, even Hezekiah, even mirrored in Scripture. 617 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:21,000 Long before Zephaniah ever rose on the scene, He most likely 618 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:24,000 even gathered from Assyria. Look at the Scripture and Isaiah 619 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:26,560 38 and six. This is where the Lord's telling 620 00:38:26,560 --> 00:38:28,240 him I'm going to head to your for your day. 621 00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:30,200 You do days 15 years. I'm going to do all this and the 622 00:38:30,200 --> 00:38:34,800 Bible says and I Speaking of God will deliver the Hezekiah and 623 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:39,760 the city out of the hand of the look at this, the king of 624 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:43,920 Assyria and I will defend this city. 625 00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:48,400 Syria has had all along an inflated heart, and then 626 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:53,120 Hezekiah prejudges his heart as being perfect when 15 years 627 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:55,120 later God showed him the evidence of the matter. 628 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,960 I kept you alive to lay you bare so you could see what was in 629 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:01,840 your heart. What happened? 630 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:12,200 God exposed the cedar work. It took 15 years to do it, but 631 00:39:12,200 --> 00:39:16,080 He did it. So yes, it applies to us. 632 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:18,000 How so? Please listen to me today. 633 00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:20,960 Maybe we'll preach mercy and grace next. 634 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:25,920 I won't. Maybe Brother Garden Haggai 635 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:29,320 chapter 1 and verse four. Another good old minor prophet 636 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:33,840 here. Now notice Zephaniah prophecies 637 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:36,760 before the exile. Ezekiel's prophesying during the 638 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:39,920 exile. Haggai prophecies after the 639 00:39:39,920 --> 00:39:41,880 exile. Everybody's going home. 640 00:39:41,880 --> 00:39:44,680 Supposed to be rebuilding the temple and Jerusalem and walls 641 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:48,240 and all this stuff. Haggai poses this question to 642 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:50,320 the children of Israel. They've received the warning 643 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:53,320 from Zephaniah. They've heard the words of 644 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:56,760 Ezekiel during exile. That's over here. 645 00:39:56,760 --> 00:40:00,120 They are supposed to be building temple house Jerusalem. 646 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:07,560 And Haggai says, is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your 647 00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:12,040 sealed houses? And this house, speaking to the 648 00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:17,600 House of God lie, waste. This is after, this is after all 649 00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:18,920 the warnings. This is after the exile. 650 00:40:19,200 --> 00:40:22,360 And he's talked to him again. Is it time for you to do well in 651 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:25,720 your sealed houses? What are you? 652 00:40:25,760 --> 00:40:28,760 What are you referencing? Hey, guy, I'll tell you what 653 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:32,200 he's referencing. The sealed houses are the 654 00:40:32,240 --> 00:40:39,280 paneled houses, the wainscotted, if you will, houses sealed most 655 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:43,440 likely with costly wood. We have different places in 656 00:40:43,440 --> 00:40:45,840 scripture, standards of example. In Scripture. 657 00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:50,200 In Second Chronicles 35 they sealed them with fir trees. 658 00:40:50,360 --> 00:40:53,920 In Ezekiel 4116 they sealed them with wood. 659 00:40:54,120 --> 00:40:59,280 And Jeremiah 2214, look, they sealed them with cedar. 660 00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:04,160 Hey, Guy says you didn't heed the warning. 661 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:07,520 You went to exile. You're outside of exile. 662 00:41:08,560 --> 00:41:11,160 We're at a point where we should be rebuilding God's house. 663 00:41:11,640 --> 00:41:14,840 It's foundation has already been here late for 14 years. 664 00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:17,760 Some progress has been paid, but it's unfinished. 665 00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:24,120 And he says here you are more concerned about putting your 666 00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:30,360 cedar work work over the rough places of your home, putting the 667 00:41:30,360 --> 00:41:33,760 facade up over the on areas, uneven areas of your life, 668 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:36,920 rather than paying attention to my house. 669 00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:46,400 He said you're working harder to cover your imperfection than to 670 00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:56,640 expose your imperfection. In my house, we have spent 671 00:41:56,640 --> 00:42:03,800 countless hours hiding our insecurities in our rooms, even, 672 00:42:03,800 --> 00:42:07,360 just maybe as equal, if not even sometimes less work could have 673 00:42:07,360 --> 00:42:10,160 been done in pulling them into the presence of God. 674 00:42:16,070 --> 00:42:17,550 God can lay a bear. You can stay with me today. 675 00:42:17,550 --> 00:42:22,430 God can lay a bear. I want, you know, I want to 676 00:42:22,430 --> 00:42:26,070 build up what's impressive on the outside, right? 677 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:29,160 I want to put up all my, all of my cedar work of achievement and 678 00:42:29,160 --> 00:42:31,640 wealth and reputation. I want to put up all my cedar 679 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:34,560 work of, of even some of my faith practices, you know, that 680 00:42:34,560 --> 00:42:37,480 can somehow get the good gold stars beside my name. 681 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:40,240 I, I want to do all of that. I want, I want to cover up all, 682 00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:43,880 all the imperfections and the little, the misgivings and stuff 683 00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:46,840 with layers of self-sufficiency and complacency and 684 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:48,840 indifference. I I want to trust all these 685 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:52,200 outward displays of my cedar work, you know, to protect 686 00:42:52,200 --> 00:42:56,920 myself. God will lay this eater work to 687 00:42:56,920 --> 00:43:01,480 bear all those things that we quote UN quote depend upon. 688 00:43:02,560 --> 00:43:04,120 He'll expose what lies underneath. 689 00:43:04,120 --> 00:43:06,680 And in doing so, please understand me. 690 00:43:06,680 --> 00:43:08,600 God is not trying to embarrass us. 691 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:12,080 God's trying to reach the rough areas of our life. 692 00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:18,000 God is trying to touch the uneven you all this you all this 693 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,160 facade up here. There's some 2 by fours behind 694 00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:24,720 this paneling over here. Well, honey, all I can do right 695 00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:27,720 now is just I'm just touching whatever is covering it. 696 00:43:28,440 --> 00:43:31,720 But if I start to peel this thing back where that seam is, I 697 00:43:31,720 --> 00:43:34,040 can get my hand back in there on that 2 by 4. 698 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:37,760 God says you got cedar wort put up, He said. 699 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:39,960 But if you'll let you let me get my hands on you. 700 00:43:40,680 --> 00:43:42,920 So I'll lay that bare and I'll get my hand on some things 701 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:47,960 that's behind that. I'll get my hands on some things 702 00:43:48,280 --> 00:43:51,120 behind that. We'll really be able to make 703 00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:54,560 some type of difference if you'll just let me in there. 704 00:43:56,800 --> 00:44:02,120 Our hits today. Listen to me today. 705 00:44:03,240 --> 00:44:06,080 God is in the season. I feel like we're in the season 706 00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:08,920 as a church, and I'm Speaking of the collective church. 707 00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:14,200 God is in the season of exposing what lies beneath the cedar work 708 00:44:14,200 --> 00:44:21,120 right now. So many different things happen 709 00:44:21,120 --> 00:44:24,000 in our nation and our world and I know you see them and you 710 00:44:24,000 --> 00:44:26,440 you'd have to be blind not to see some of the things that are 711 00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:31,400 taking place. There's coming, there's there's 712 00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:36,320 coming a Clarion cry as we approach even as if and I did 713 00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:40,120 his day, but yet had future prophecy as we approach the day 714 00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:46,360 of the Lord. And he said I'm you know what 715 00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:48,400 the New Testament scripture said and this has been up on my heart 716 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:49,960 here so lately too. So I don't know if he'll come 717 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:52,360 about somewhere along the way. He says he's going to try every 718 00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:56,040 man's work by fire. I told my son this the other 719 00:44:56,040 --> 00:44:57,360 day. I was just joking with him. 720 00:44:57,360 --> 00:44:58,520 I don't know what he's talking about. 721 00:44:59,920 --> 00:45:04,080 Let's go try every man's work by fire, whether it be wood, hay or 722 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:07,320 stubble. What a New Testament says that 723 00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:12,440 burns right up right? Wood, hay, stubble you find on 724 00:45:12,440 --> 00:45:14,040 the surface. No big deal. 725 00:45:14,640 --> 00:45:15,320 You can go. You can go. 726 00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:17,120 You can find good haste of a not much effort. 727 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:21,840 You fight, but you know where the precious stones that it 728 00:45:21,840 --> 00:45:24,400 speaks of the diamonds and the gold and the things like that. 729 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:28,800 That's not on the surface, that's deep. 730 00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,960 That requires effort to get to to mine. 731 00:45:36,240 --> 00:45:39,960 That's unaffected, if you will, by the last day fire. 732 00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:46,480 We're living on surface. What we can get on the surface, 733 00:45:48,160 --> 00:45:52,520 we can interact on the surface, but it's all just wood, hay and 734 00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:55,360 stubble that a fire will consume. 735 00:45:56,080 --> 00:45:57,920 But if you want something lasting, you're going to have to 736 00:45:57,920 --> 00:46:02,560 go below the surface. If you want something lasting, 737 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:04,840 you're going to have to make bear the cedar work and go 738 00:46:04,840 --> 00:46:10,400 behind the facades. We going to have to go deep 739 00:46:12,600 --> 00:46:17,360 Simon inviting us as the first Apostolic Church invite you this 740 00:46:17,360 --> 00:46:20,440 morning as I have last night and I will again today. 741 00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:28,560 I invite you to let, allow and even investigate yourself the 742 00:46:28,560 --> 00:46:37,400 cedar work of your life. The parts that we dress up, the 743 00:46:37,400 --> 00:46:41,840 parts that we Polish and make sure is all attempt and just 744 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:45,680 right. But my question to you is, 745 00:46:45,680 --> 00:46:50,280 what's behind that? Is it hollow? 746 00:46:51,080 --> 00:46:55,760 Are you a rejoicing person? But you're dwelling carelessly 747 00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:00,200 as individuals this morning, as the church this morning. 748 00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:05,120 It's not necessary that you continue to maybe mask weakness, 749 00:47:06,080 --> 00:47:11,880 mass inconsistencies. Bring yourself into the light of 750 00:47:11,880 --> 00:47:15,760 God's divine light. Let him search me, O Lord, and 751 00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:19,360 know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts and 752 00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:21,800 see if there be any wicked way in me. 753 00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:26,040 Have you grown complacent like Judah? 754 00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:30,840 Have you, I love the outside influences of the world that you 755 00:47:30,840 --> 00:47:34,040 live in and the spill over the boundary line into your life. 756 00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:37,880 Have you become self-reliance? Are are you focused on 757 00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:40,680 maintaining the appearances of something? 758 00:47:42,360 --> 00:47:45,680 But are you fostering something that's true and authentic? 759 00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:48,640 And do you have a deep relationship with God or is it 760 00:47:48,640 --> 00:47:53,400 just smoke and mirrors, just paneling, just wainscoting, just 761 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:58,760 cedar work. Someone needs to come today and 762 00:47:58,760 --> 00:48:03,320 say, God lay my heart bare. I can't trust God lay my heart 763 00:48:03,320 --> 00:48:05,120 bare. It's deceptive to me. 764 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:10,480 God, strip away some things. We need to come in the presence 765 00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:13,320 of God ever once in a while. We need to say, God, strip me, 766 00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:18,680 strip me, strip away the cedar work of my life. 767 00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:23,800 God exposed things in my life that I need to push in your 768 00:48:23,800 --> 00:48:27,200 presence. Expose things in my life, God, 769 00:48:27,200 --> 00:48:30,400 that are hidden, the God false securities, God that I have in 770 00:48:30,400 --> 00:48:33,680 things, Lord, all spiritual pretenses, whatever it may be, 771 00:48:34,040 --> 00:48:36,640 God, I want to be whole in your presence. 772 00:48:37,360 --> 00:48:39,680 I don't want to just masquerade, God. 773 00:48:40,480 --> 00:48:46,080 I don't want to just masquerade around, God, I want to return to 774 00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:48,920 you. I want to return to you, not 775 00:48:48,920 --> 00:48:52,880 just in some outward form of acceptance, but God in a 776 00:48:53,040 --> 00:48:56,720 interior integrity. God of life, heart and mind, the 777 00:48:56,720 --> 00:48:58,880 deepest places, the Lord of my heart. 778 00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:03,600 Help me, God, remove the layers, remove the concealment, Oh Lord, 779 00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:09,160 the rough edges rebuild me God, from within God to withal God. 780 00:49:09,160 --> 00:49:11,640 Build me on a foundation of humility. 781 00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:15,120 Build me on the foundation, Lord of grace and truth. 782 00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:18,280 Lord, I know you're not looking, God, for all the sex here. 783 00:49:18,280 --> 00:49:22,040 You know my heart, God. You desire my heart, God, I want 784 00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:24,960 to be entirely yours, completely yours. 785 00:49:25,560 --> 00:49:29,320 Bear the cedar work of my life. Oh God.