Wait for Me

Well, let's grab our Bibles and let's go back to Zephaniah. If you're visiting with us today, we're going verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and an expositional preaching of this Old Testament book.

How rich it's been. Just a brief background again. Josiah was a young boy, actually, when he becomes king of Judah, the southern kingdom.

Remember, it split. Ten tribes are with the northern kingdom, caught Israel at this point. Benjamin and Judah make up the southern kingdom, typically just called Judah, and Josiah is the king, and he is a reforming king. Manasseh and Ammon before him were wicked, wicked kings. They literally led, encouraged, celebrated the nation of Judah running into rebellion, idolatry and wickedness all in the land. And so young Josiah, and I'm convinced, under the discipleship of this godly prophet that we're studying, Zephaniah, began to reform the land.

And a lot of great and wonderful changes took place, but unfortunately, it was too little, too late. And as happens with a lot of awakenings and revivals, there's a true part of it and then a superficial element. A part where maybe the people on the outside make some changes, but their hearts are not really turned toward God. For all of these reasons, God announces through the prophet Zephaniah. Remember, he is also a contemporary of Jeremiah, so if you want more insights, you can read Jeremiah's prophecies also. But nevertheless, he's announcing what God is going to do and how he's working in this situation. And we come to this last chapter, chapter three, and we see glorious promises of covenant faithfulness from God. Let me just read it there. Zephaniah 3, verses 8 through 13, all right?

8 through 13. May Paul's there to remind you again, there are always a number of prophetic destinations in these Old Testament prophecies. There's an immediate fulfillment, but certainly this points us to that end-time event when God will return. The Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth, and everything will be devoured and everything will be judged. He says there in verse 8, all the earth.

So this has a bigger fulfillment. Than just the punishment of the nations that occurred in the day of King Josiah and Judah. Verse 9 now. But then I will give to the people's purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord to serve him shoulder to shoulder.

From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my worshipers, my dispersed ones will bring my offerings. In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against me. For then I will remove from your midst your proud, exalting ones, and you will never again be haughty on my holy mountain. Again, we see the final fulfillment of this only in a future coming kingdom out in front of us even, even though there were some fulfillment, a partial fulfillment, if you will, in this day. Verse 12. But I will leave among you a humble and lowly people, and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong and tell no lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths, for they will feed and lie down with no one to make them tremble. Again, ultimately, that kind of peace and security is yet in the future even for us. But that day is coming.

Now let's unpack it this way. By the way, I've entitled the message, Wait for Me. That's what God is saying. But we read in verse 8 again, Wait for Me declares the Lord, because who is to wait for him? There's this awesome global cataclysmic judgment coming to the earth, but to some audience he's saying, time out, take comfort, you wait for me. Well, I'm convinced these are not the same people that he referred to just in the last phrase of the earlier verse in verse 7. Look at it there, last phrase.

But they were eager to corrupt all their deeds. Matter of fact, the scholars tell us that this is a different group in verse 8 from the group he was addressing in verse 7. He changes from the third person, whom he's addressing in verse 7, down to the second person, plural, in verse 8, because he's addressing a different audience. And this new group he's addressing, if you want to turn back to chapter 2 again, is the same group that we see in chapter 2, verse 3. Where he talks about, Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who've carried out his ordinances, who seek righteousness and seek humility, and perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord. He said, there's a humble group among you, a group that's striving to honor my law, my ordinances. And he says, you can be sheltered from the coming punishment I'm bringing on the nations.

And that's who he's referring to when he gets to verse 8. No, there's a godly remnant within Judah, not just the whole nation. Not just because you're of the lineage of Abraham, do you think, or should you think that I'm going to protect you and preserve you? No, there's a godly remnant within the nation of Judah that I'm going to protect. So in God's mind, there are two distinct groups here.

There's National Judah, which represents the false professor, the counterfeit believer, if you will. And then there's the true holy remnant within Judah, which represents truly saved believers. So as we think about this group, and again, referring back to chapter 2, verse 3, they're called the humble. Twice in that verse, humility is mentioned. That's why through the years I've talked to you and I've taught pastors about the necessity of a church family, if they have any real spiritual maturity, there will be a rich, obvious gospel humility among them.

The higher your percentage of true believers in a local church, the more you will see the permeation of a true gospel humility. So who is to wait? The godly remnant. You, he says, wait for me. My children should wait for me.

It's always been this way. There's always been the professing Christendom or the professing nation of God or the professing kingdom of God. And then within that larger group, there is the true and much smaller remnant of God, God's true children.

For example, in Romans 2, 28 and 29. For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, just because physically and outwardly you're the of the blood and light of Abraham didn't make you a Jew, i.e. make you God's child. Nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. You can go through all the rites and rituals of outward Judaism. It still doesn't make you a true child of God. Verse 29, Romans 2, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that which is of the heart by the spirit, not by the letter, and his praise is not from men but from God. So he says there's got to be an inward transformation. Can I ask you, dear friend, member of probably a Baptist church or a like church, have you been born again?

Has your heart been changed? Because you're not God's child just by being one outwardly. We can take the Lord's table. We can do the ordinance of baptism. Some churches add a whole lot of other sacramental rituals and acts you can go through, but that does not make you a child of God. You must be regenerate in the heart, from the heart, by the Holy Spirit of God. Then you're a true child of God because you are one inwardly.

But that doesn't protect us from difficulties and trials, mistreatment, oppression, and suffering in this earth. That's what's going to be faced by this Godly remnant here in Judah. That's why God says, listen children, my true children, my true remnant, wait for me. Be patient.

Wait for me. You know, God is always about two purposes. God is always active. He's active right now, either actually doing it or in planning to remove the wicked. And he is always actively saving the remnant.

Did you hear that? God is always active, planning the judgment or executing the judgment on the wicked. And he is always active securing and saving his true children, his remnant.

That's always been true. And we see it fleshed out here or spoken of so clearly through the prophet Zephaniah. So the coming difficulties that these people will face, the whole nation, but in particular verse 8, the remnant within the nation of Judah, they're all going to be to the good of God's precious remnant people. Now, the Bible tells us in James 4 10 that we're all as Christians to humble ourselves. That's why you come to church and that's why you want to sit under sound preaching, because you want to continue to humble yourself and say, Lord, what do you say? What does your truth teach me? I want to be a humble repenter today and learn and do better and be a better witness. A true Christian should have that attitude.

But God knows we can't just humble ourselves, that we need help from him to humble ourselves. And so, like the remnant of Judah is going through some very severe trials in this day of judgment. So we look at this and we have to remind ourselves that there has to be a broader final fulfillment of these prophecies.

And I think certainly there is. As he says in verse 8, he's going to gather all the nations and the fire of his zeal will devour all the nations. A global, the whole earth is involved here, more than just the region around Judah in this day. It reminds me of Revelation 19 verses 19 and then back up to verse 15. I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against him who sat on the horse and his army.

That's Jesus. From Jesus, his mouth comes a sharp sword so that with it he may strike down the nations and he will rule them with the rod of iron. And he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. A devastating statement which lines up with the devastating statement of Zephaniah 3.

This whole earth is going to fill the fury of my indignation. So amplifying this out a little further as we look at the end prophetic destination for these texts or this text. So just as ancient Israel paraded in the earth saying they were God's chosen people, nevertheless they were actually false professors, false professors who did not truly know God.

So likewise there's coming in a day when that principle comes to fruition. When this one called the Antichrist will take over the reigns of planet earth and he'll establish this political, religious, global system. There'll be a worldwide church, a false counterfeit Christendom. And in this false worldwide church that the Antichrist will set up in the earth, it will involve all the churches and all the religious Christian systems.

The Roman Catholic Church system may be the centerpiece of it, but I'm telling you the Baptist system and the Methodist system and the Assembly of God system and the Pentecostal system and the Episcopal system and the Presbyterian system. All the symptoms were men held to the rituals and motions but didn't love God from the heart. All of them will make up this counterfeit theocracy that the Antichrist will rule over in the last day. And every single individual person, no matter what form they put on the outside, like the ancient Jews would put on the form of, oh, I'm a descendant of Abraham and God said, it doesn't matter. Are you changed from the heart?

Are you different from within? So all of these, along with the Antichrist, will be judged and they will be removed. Only the true, believing remnant will remain and dwell with the true Christ who's coming after this season. And they will be in a glorified, eternal state with him forever and ever. But while the tribulation is going on on the earth, so many of the genuine remnant of God will suffer, be martyred in addition to the oppressions and the persecutions that they will endure. And Revelation says, actually, that there will be those who are martyred in front of the throne of God now in heaven, glorified, who will say to God, how long will you refrain from avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth? God, we're your true children. You saved us.

We've been born again from the heart and we've trusted in you. How long before you bring the justice we deserve against those who hate you and hated us? Well, Zephaniah's got to answer. Well, for right now, wait for me. Just wait. Just wait. It's coming.

Just wait. Well, Zephaniah, lay some things out for us about some of the mysteries of the coming ages, if you will. And quite honestly, I refrain from working out my eschatology in precise ways, because I don't think the Bible gives us absolute, without question, a structured step-by-step outlay of how the end times are going to unfold.

I think generally we know. I'll say it now and I'll say it again in a moment, but I think one of the reasons that God does not give us just real ironclad specifics of how it's going to unfold is because he knows we're too prone to look at his coming and not look for his coming. So while we may not can wrap our minds, our brains all the way around everything Zephaniah say, and the whole Bible's saying about the end times for that matter, while we may not can wrap our minds all the way around it, listen, brothers and sisters, we can rest our hearts completely upon it.

You don't have to figure it out, at least not completely, to trust in it. So God is, in a very real sense, always actively judging the wicked, and he's always actively preserving and saving the elect, if you will. But one thing we know from this text and so many, many others throughout the Scriptures, salvation and hope are always God's last word.

Salvation and hope, they are always God's last word. So we've been looking here at the judgment on the nations. Now let's move to the purification of the remnant. We've hit on that some, but notice it amplified out as we get to verse 9, the purification of this holy remnant. He said in verse 9, For then, after those other events, I will give to the people's purified lips.

Let's talk about that for a moment. What does he mean by I will give them purified lips? Well, the Hebrew there, really the word lips is in the singular. And some speculate that this could mean the restoration of one universal language. You remember, in judgment, the languages were scrambled at the Tower of Babel, and men could no longer communicate with all the different languages.

But that was because of judgment. And in this day, when there's a purification, perhaps it's going to be removed back to a singular language. Which I thought, well, which language is it? Maybe it'll be southern. Who knows?

I don't know. But we'll certainly communicate with one another in that day. But I think it certainly, absolutely must refer to the product of a regenerate, purified heart. The lips speak out of the content of the heart. You see, these are hearts that previously loved false gods, loved idolatry, and loved sin. And they would use their lips as an expression of their hearts to worship and honor these false gods and these idols.

But now they've been changed. And now they use those lips to honor and worship Yahweh, the one true God of Israel. God says, I'm going to do that.

I'm going to bring me about a peoples. And I believe the word peoples is used there because it means more than just Jews. I don't know how many of the ancient Jews grasped that. Because it really blew their minds in the New Testament, as Jesus and then the apostles who wrote sacred scripture began to make it very, very, very clear that God's people includes Jews and, by the way, you're Gentiles and I'm Gentiles.

We got any Jews here, don't wave your hand, but you know, I don't think so. We all get in on it because God purifies our lips by first purifying our hearts. Remember the image in Isaiah 6 as Isaiah is standing and he sees that vision of God and the holiness of God is just absolutely overwhelming. And the moment Isaiah sees God in his truth, Isaiah bows his head and weeps before the Lord and said, I'm a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.

He wasn't just talking about his words. He's saying our hearts are all wrong. We love self. We love sin. We want to be our own masters. We want to do our own thing and we'll gladly add God on to our life, make him a part of the pie-shaped illustration.

He's a part of our life, but he's not going to really be our all in all. That's the kind of people we are, Isaiah was saying. I'm an impure man and I have an impure heart and my people have impure hearts and that's why they have impure lips. And then an angel took a coal off of the altar, the Bible says, and touched Isaiah's lips. And in effect says, now this has made you clean. Isaiah did nothing but weep and God initiated the purification. The same idea here in Zephaniah chapter 9 when he says, I will give the peoples a purified lip, or lips. Like Isaiah 6 tells us when Isaiah was spoken to by the angel who put the coal on his lips, your iniquity is taken away, your sin is forgiven.

Let us be very clear. Look again at verse 9, middle phrase. That, to the end, they were given purified lips, first phrase. Second phrase, that they may all, or rather all of them may call upon the name of the Lord. All of them, I can't think again, includes Jew and Gentile. But make it very clear until the lips are purified by the Holy Spirit of God applying regeneration to the soul, one cannot truly call upon the name of the Lord.

So that's sort of the hidden mystery that a lot of people miss. Anyone who generally calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Can I get amen there?

Anyone. But only those, the Spirit of God in mysterious fashion has worked on their hearts and given them a new standing, a new position of purification before Holy God. Only that person can then call on the name of the Lord. So the calling is contingent upon God first taking the initiative to cleanse.

You remember a couple of verses from the New Testament, John 6, 44. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me calls him. Unless the Father does the initiating, they're not going to come. Oh no, they may join a Baptist church. They may join a Methodist church. They may join a Presbyterian church. They may go through all the motions. They may have had an emotional experience, but they can't come to God if God hasn't done the initiative.

Acts 16, 14, as Paul was gathered around the river there outside of Philippi, he meets a lady named Lydia, and as he's speaking the Word of God, the Bible says the Lord opened her heart to the things Paul was saying. So we see this element of the purification of the remnant. God says through all of these events, all that I'm doing on earth, and particularly up in verse 8, all the cataclysmic global judgment I'm bringing, I'm going to purify you, my elect remnant, my peoples.

Now let's go to Roman numeral three. I call it the glorious homecoming. Homecoming. We know that word down in the south, don't we? Or that phrase, a homecoming.

That's what this is. We see this in the rest of the chapter, the last part of verse 9, and on through to verses 10 through 13. But first of all, subpoint A, notice in this glorious homecoming, there is a holy unification. All of the sudden, peoples and nations that hated each other, that would quickly and readily, utterly destroy one another, now by the transforming work of a sovereign holy God, find themselves in glorious unification. He uses the phrase there at the end of verse 9 to serve him shoulder to shoulder.

It's the picture of two oxen sharing a yoke together to pull the load and help one another. He said, there's going to be people from all peoples, tongues, tribes, and nations who will gather together shoulder to shoulder. That day, when I establish my glorious kingdom in the earth, and they'll work together, serving me for my glory. Romans 9, 24 through 26 reminds us, even us, whom he also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles. As he says in Hosea, I will call those who are not my people, not of the lineage of Abraham, not bloodline Jews, I'm going to call many of them my people, and her who was not beloved, beloved. And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, you are not my people, there thou should be called the sons of the living God. The Jews would have believed forever if they hadn't been corrected, that only those of us who are the bloodline of Abraham are the true people of God. Paul writes, oh no, no, no, you got it partially right, there's a special place for Israel, but God has grafted in the Gentiles also. And they're going to work shoulder to shoulder in a future glorious kingdom, in this glorious homecoming day, when they'll all come home and serve me together. Ephesians 2, 14 reminds us, for he, Jesus himself, is our peace, who made both groups, Jew and Gentile, into one, and broke down the dividing wall. I've said it to you many times, you don't understand the animosity between Jew and Gentile.

Well, you might, if you look at the Jewish-Arab events in our world today, it's quite ugly and evil in a lot of ways, and it's just deep, bitter, heartfelt hatred. Some of those very people, for God's own glory, he will change. He will purify them, and they'll walk shoulder to shoulder. Now, he continues on there, not only a holy unification will be a part of this homecoming, but secondly, a holy convocation. You know, a convocation is when you call people together for a glorious or specific purpose.

It can have to be glorious, it can be evil, but the word convocation means being called together. So, look at verse 10 again, or continue in verse 10, I should say. From the on the rivers of Ethiopia, that's way away, my worshipers, my supplicants, you could say, my dispersed one, I believe that refers particularly to Jews, will bring my offerings. So, what an idea here that Gentiles across the globe are going to be saved, and in proof of their salvation, they're going to walk arm in arm with Jewish brothers.

Powerful picture. The dispersed ones in verse 10, I believe, refers to the Jews. You never see that phrase used in Old Testament scripture for Gentiles. Like prisoners of war in World War II that marched together arm in arm just to hold each other up to get back home. Here we have saved Gentiles walking lockstep, arm in arm with saved Jews, heading back to Jerusalem.

We haven't seen that day yet, brothers and sisters, but that day is coming. Now, Hebrew scholars point something out that I think they're right on. When they say that the phrase in the English, my worshipers, my dispersed ones will bring my offerings, they say in the Hebrew, it's quite possible that what that's picturing is that Gentile believers are walking arm to arm, shoulder to shoulder, bringing their Jewish brothers into Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord.

A beautiful picture. As if the Jewish brothers are saying, we know we're grafted in this thing late. We know they were your original chosen people. And somehow, in grace, you've included us in this covenant through your son Jesus Christ, his death, burial, and resurrection on our behalf. But we want you to know, Holy Father, we non-Jews bring to you also an offering of a remnant of Israel.

Powerful picture. Doesn't absolutely have to mean that, but I believe that's exactly where this text is going. Romans 11, 11 and 12 reminds us. I say then, they, the Jews, the Jewish nation, did not stumble so as to fall. That means fall away and never be reclaimed by God.

Did they? May it never be, Paul writes. But by there, the Jews' transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them jealous. We were looking at the favor of the Jews, and we saw them sinning and failing God, and we became jealous for what they had in a figure of speech. Now, if their transgression is richest for the world, that means the rest of the world who are non-Jews get in on salvation because they wouldn't come to Jesus like they should have. And their failure is richest for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be? Another place where I just can't grasp the amillennialist argument that there is no place for a remnant of truly individually saved Jews coming back together before the Lord in his future kingdom on the earth.

How much more will that fulfillment be? What is Paul referring to? He's referring to the incredible number of specific promises God made to Israel through the prophets, revealed in the Old Testament throughout all the ages. Well, in this glorious homecoming, there's an unbelievable unification. There's a holy convocation.

They're all going to come back together. And then thirdly, there's a holy sanctification, a holy sanctification. We see this in verses 11 through 13. And I remind you, sanctification is a simple idea of being set apart. And in biblical context, in a broad overview of it, it means set apart unto God. You're no longer Satan's. You no longer belong to the kingdoms of this world. You're set apart to be in God's kingdom and be God's child. But there are subdivisions, if you will, subcomponents of sanctification. Sanctification is not just separated unto God and separated from sin, but it's also separated from our foes.

Now, that's what this is going to specifically speak to. Remnant of Judah, wait for me. Wait for me because there's a time coming when all the things outside of yourself that burdened you, that troubled you, that oppressed you, that persecuted you, that brought suffering to you, I'm going to separate them off from you. It'll never be on you any longer. Two sub points here.

What's going to be separated off? First of all, be separated off from the rebel brethren. Brethren in the sense of bloodline, not spiritually. Notice how he says it there in verse 11. In that day, you will feel no shame. You humble, repentant ones, you true children of God, you had to live so long in the shame of others who claim to be God's children, but live like the devil.

Live like the world. Indulge in idolatry and sinful practices, including the princes and the judges. We saw that earlier in the text. Including the prophets and the priests.

They were so wicked. And it's been throughout the ages, brothers and sisters, that the true remnant of God, even in the church today, those who truly know Christ, are grieved and shamed by others who call themselves Christians and willfully live in unbiblical lives and sin. Just turn on the media, whichever media you want to have, and you'll see one of these one-time Bible-believing denominations now spouting the most vile, unscriptural, sinful things.

And if you're a child of God, you're going to grieve that they're called a Christian, just like you're called a Christian. It says to the holy remnant of Judah, that's what it used to be. Your brethren in the flesh claimed to be the children of God like you claimed to be a child of God, but they were not. No longer, God says, is that going to happen? I'm going to take those, he goes on in verse 11, those proud, exalting ones, they'll never be haughty again on my holy mountain.

That bunch that just had the shell and not the substance. He says in verse 11, never again. You, my holy remnant of Judah, as a foreshadowing of the future holy remnant who will be in the kingdom with Christ on the earth, you will be completely sanctified and permanently sanctified from the false brethren. You know, as we've tried to strive to reform this church to biblical and spiritual health, who gave us the most grief? Who gave us the most grief?

You know the answer. Other professing Christians, particularly other Baptists. But God says there's coming a day when you don't have to worry about that anymore. He calls them in verse 12, what I will leave among you a humble and lowly people and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord. Humble and lonely because they were the outcast of the culture. They were oppressed by the religious authorities of the day and mocked and ridiculed and shamed. But they weren't perfect. They didn't conduct themselves with absolute perfection.

Nobody ever does it. Nobody ever can, not in this life. But as a pattern of their life, they took refuge, verse 12, in the name of the Lord. In their desperate and needy condition, they found hope in God. I remember the story about a slave owner in early America. And he was looking with disgust on one of his slaves, an older gentleman. He lived in a house that roof let in the snow and the rain and the walls had cracks that let in the blistering cold in the winter. And he rides by on his horse and that old slave man was singing a song with joy and gladness in his heart.

And he spoke to him, called his name, said, How can you do that? You have nothing. You're just a slave.

Look at your house. How can you have this joy? He said, Well, Master, I don't have a house, but I have a home. To the ancient Judean remnant, God says, Wait for me. You may have lost your goods on this earth, but I've got some things waiting for you. Wait for me. It's coming.

Wait for me. The Bible promises in the New Testament, Matthew 6 33, Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things, the things that maybe you'll lose in this world to honor Christ. But all these things will be added unto you in the right way and in the right time.

We may live this earth in faithfulness to Christ, and it costs us greatly. I think that might be one reason why I started out with nothing. I've told you before, you could not have had more of nothing than I had when I started in the ministry. I married a girl that was very wealthy.

That's supposed to be funny. Well, she had more money than I had. But nevertheless, I started with nothing. I may end with nothing. I don't want to. Do you want to?

I don't want to. But if that's what my Lord ordains, blessed be the name of the Lord. There were numerous times on this journey, brothers and sisters, where we didn't know if this was going to work or not. It didn't look like it was going to work.

Well, so far, it's worked for a little over 44 years. We'll see what God does. But he's promised, wait for me. I've got a plan. I'll take care of you.

I have abundant need at times, but I rest in one who has abundant resources. Well, first of all, they said, you're going to be sanctified from the rebel brethren around you that shamed you or made you ashamed. And you had their persecutions all the time, but also from the outside nations who hate you. Look at verse 13. The remnant of Israel will do no wrong. There we go.

The same word again. Who's this remnant of Israel? I think there's an ultimate fulfillment of that. It's in Revelation chapter 7, the 144,000 Jews who are sealed for God. Tell no lies, verse 13 says, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. All unrighteousness, all injustice will be done away with. No lies. They had lived with lying prophets and lying priests and unjust and oppressive judges and princes over them. But no longer. That's all gone. They're going to be in a wondrous, glorified state with their master, their holy master, the Lord Jesus. And look at the last two phrases there.

They will feed and lie down. That means you're finally going to have calm and peace in your life. Maybe it's health. Maybe it's a bad marriage. Maybe it's rebellious children.

Maybe it's financial calamity. But there are a lot of you just hoping for some peace. Just give me calm and peace. But God says to his godly remnant, wait on me. Don't give up. Keep the faith.

Wait on me. Then he says the last phrase of verse 13, with no one to make them tremble. Now there were things within Judah that made the godly remnant tremble, sure. But there was also the Philistines outside that made them tremble. The Assyrians outside their country that made them tremble.

The Babylonians and the Egyptians and the Scythians. All of those outside foes that when the Jewish remnant put their heads on the pillow at night could think, is this the night the Assyrians crash through the gate and destroy all of us? Wait on me, God says.

I've got a day coming when no one will ever, ever lay a finger on you again as my chosen holy remnant. Not to mention just those things. No more heart disease. No more cancer.

No more diabetes. All of that stuff that keeps you from peace and calm, gone forever. Isaiah 54 17, Isaiah speaks to this day. No weapon that is formed against you will prosper, and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. And their vindication is from me, declares the Lord.

Back up in verse 8 as we close, just a couple more thoughts on that powerful statement. Those three words, wait for me. Now, waiting for him means we keep looking to him. The Bible says in Hebrews 12 to fix our eyes on Jesus. Keep looking to him. Look to him believingly. Look to him trusting.

Look to him with service. Pastor, my faith is just kind of weak. I just don't know if I can really hang on to all of that. I just don't know if my heart's that strong in faith.

You know what the problem is? You're not busy enough for God. Get busy. Keep serving the way the Scriptures describe service. And then your faith will grow. Your assurance will grow. Your hope will grow. Your trust will grow. So waiting for him, he says, wait for me includes looking to the Lord.

It also includes looking for the Lord. He didn't say wait for my solution. Not first. That's coming.

That's not first. He didn't say wait for my glory you're gonna have one day. That's coming. That's good. But that's not the priority. He didn't say wait for me to defeat all your foes. That's coming.

But that's not the main thing. The first thing you must do is wait for me. Traveling internationally.

Brother Steve, we've seen it many times. You get to that gate where the international concourse pours out into the common area. And the folks who didn't fly can't go in that other part.

And you're coming out toward it. And you would see people walking with you coming out of the international concourse. And they come in to the edge of that opening where there's the common area. And there are just hordes of people everywhere. And here's what they're doing. They're not filling with their phone. They're not going to get a cup of coffee. They're not even taking a restroom break.

They're looking for someone. That's the idea. Actively. There are days, brothers and sisters, if you're faithful, that about all you can do is raise your hands toward heaven and say, even so, come Lord Jesus.

That's my hope. He said that's coming for us. And as we are looking to him actively in this life, you actively wait for him. And as we're looking for him, let's remember what Romans 8, 18 reminds us. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory that is to be revealed to us. When we look to him trusting, believing, obeying, honoring, serving him in this life, and then we suffer sometimes for that, then we long for him in his return. But when he does return, you will lay alongside his glory all the sufferings that you went through for him, and they will vanish into insignificance.

They'll just be gone. The minute you see Jesus. I'm not talking about the Bible gives us glory upon glory upon glory of the wonders of this kingdom and the future eternal state and the glories of heaven and all that's glorious. But that's not the main thing. The main thing is him. The moment you see Jesus, somebody might say to you, What about all your suffering?

You'll immediately say, What suffering? Have you looked at him? He is going to be, now listen to me, all of our satisfaction. He will be all we need, all we've ever wanted.

We don't even know how much we want him, but he's all we need and he's all we want. So to the precious remnant within Judah and the precious remnant church of today. Yes, there'll be times when you're despised. There'll be times when you're hated.

There'll be times when you're marginalized, ridiculed, mocked, slandered, been there and done that quite a few times. But Jesus says, Just wait for me. Jesus is in effect saying, You won't believe how quick I'll clear this whole mess up when I get back.

You just won't believe it. They look like they're winning. They look like they've got the world by the tail. They look like indulging in the flesh and worldly things and trying to change the world on Sunday morning to look like Saturday night. They're trying to do all this stuff and they mock you, but you won't believe how quickly I'll settle the score when I get back. Now, if we was in one of those churches where Brother Tom grew up, we'd be shouting and running up and down the aisles right now. What would Brother Tom? He said, You better know it.

I hope this hits you about one o'clock in the morning. You throw off the CPAP and start praising God. Dr. Adrian Rogers used to pastor the First Baptist Church of Merritt Island, Florida. He told the story one day of a man swimming with his young daughter. There was a subtle undertow and they went further and further and further out into the ocean and the man realized, I cannot take her in and survive.

The only way I can save my daughter is I'm going to have to swim in by myself, get the authorities and go back in a boat and find her. He didn't explain that to her, but he turned to her and said, Sweetheart, you remember how Daddy taught you that you can float on your back all day long? You just float, get on your back?

The seas were basically calm that day. And he said, You can just float all day long. Look, Daddy's got to leave and go get some help to get us both in. Don't you worry about a thing. You just float on your back and I'm coming back to get you. Don't worry about it. You just keep floating and I'm coming back to get you.

Sure enough, two or three, four hours pass. He's in a Coast Guard vessel. They find the little girl.

You know what she's doing? Just floating. They plucked her up out of the water. He hugs her and kisses her and says, Baby, how did you do it? How did you hang on, baby?

How did you make it? He said, Daddy, she said, Daddy, you told me you was coming back to get me. If you're living for Jesus in this world, brothers and sisters, sometimes it'll feel like you're just smothered by the great deep. Just rest in him. Just roll over on your back.

And you know, if you're floating on your back, you can look up. Look unto Jesus. Look to him. And he'll see you safely all the way through. The Prophet Zephaniah, speaking for God, said, first person there, wait for me. The child of God, you keep serving Jesus. You keep loving Jesus. You keep hoping in Jesus, trusting Jesus.

That means actively obeying his word and wait. The old songwriter said, it will be worth it all when we see Jesus. Our trials will feel so small when we see his face. One glimpse of his dear face, all sorrow will erase. So gladly run the race till we see him.