Hard hearts and soft preaching

Introduction

Dear brothers and sisters, one of the biggest news in HK that happen recently is the fraud of JPEX. Don’t know if you heard about it, but basically it’s a crypto platform 虛擬貨幣平台| 比特幣交易所 that is unlicensed, and people can’t get back their money, up to 15.2亿. One of those who involve in a celebrity called Lam Chok. I don’t know the details and comment on it. But I heard one of the reporter said, which is funny. He basically say, these kind of frauds are always same, they do great marketing and celebrities, they promise high interest return but need your immediate investment, they push the stock value high . He basically said, told you so. He seemed very tired of people falling into the same trap and he keep reporting this. But really, are we surprise of this? THe heart of greed started at the beginning of age, and so why ten commandments . 7 不可貪戀人的房屋、也不可貪戀人的妻子、僕婢、牛驢、並他一切所有的。15 不可偷盜。Micah as we were told last week by Philip, God is judging those who have hard again, both the northern kingdom and southern kingdom, and that Assyrian would come to destory them. But isn’t what Israel need to face in those days very similiar to what we face today. The hearts of people. The sinfulness, covetness of people. And so let’s hear from God today. Let’s pray.

Dear Lord, today through Micah, you want to speak to us through your imperfect servant. Lord give us a heart so that we’re able to hear, and not only hear but do what you want us to do, and be rejocing your following your commandments. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Micah felt the immediate threat of Assyria, coming to Jersualem. Chapter 1 describing Judah and Israel towns. The thing of sin is followed by retributive judgement at work. In chapter 1, Samarian is expected to be destroyed because idolatory hated God. Israel heard the voice of God, but did not respond in faith and obedience . Chapter 1 expressed religious syncretism of all flesh, with other religion. But it spread to Judah. But in chapter 2, Micah not only accuse them for not loving God, but also not loving neigbour. They were destorying each other, coveting each other inheritance. Let’s read v1-5

Harden Hearts (v 1-5)

Micah 2:1–5 “Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance. Therefore thus says the Lord: behold, against this family I am devising disaster, from which you cannot remove your necks, and you shall not walk haughtily, for it will be a time of disaster. In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you and moan bitterly, and say, “We are utterly ruined; he changes the portion of my people; how he removes it from me! To an apostate he allots our fields.” Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot in the assembly of the Lord.”

This section is called a Woe Oracle. It first declare woe, then explaination of offense, then a messager formula and lastly a prediction of doom. IN verse 1-2, it talks about the offense. These are powerful people in Israel who at night think of evil schemes, and at morning, snatch it from others, resulting in social injustice. Doesn’t that happen so many times under capitalism, or any society of the 21st century. And let’s spend a little time to look at the relationship with power and corruption.

Some people say, “absolute power not equal to absolute corrupt”. But according to here and other places in the Bible. Corruption is actually independent power. Power could not be evil, but also for good. Power is not evil, is rather followers, act out corrupt. Therefore in v1-2. These days power is evil. Say truth to power. It is not correct. Power imbalance is systemtic abuse of soceity, but bible view is different. Evil comes from rebellious from power, but from every son and daughter. Jesus said, Matthew 15:17–19 “Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” The reason why sin more is not morality, but impotencne. Given opportunity, ability, circumstances, our hearts would show us. Tiger woods, confess infeidility, I knew my actions are wrong, but he continues “ I convince normal rules don’t apply to me”. Power enables sinners sin, but sin arises out of a sinful heart.

But also let’s look into this form of coveting. As we say, it is the violating of the great commandment. James 4:2 “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. ” Covet in the low case fight and quarrel, but in serious cases it stealds, it murders. Aspiration for wanting a good life is not the same coveting, wanting my neighbours money and wife. Our heavenly father wants us to be grateful for those things we have, and rejoicing with others in what they posesses. It is basic respect and love for neighbours. Covet also show in other forms as well, suchas leads to an expression of discontentment, we don’t believe God is big enough to help us or good enough to care. We think actually people owe us, God owes us. Or it could lead to envious, competitiave jealousy.

And when all this happens, when they thought they were so safe when the plunder others, Micah is saying no, Assyrian will come. Those who covet are coveted by others. You will lose your land. Lord is devising a diaster amongst you, that you can’t even lift up your head when you walk. And even when they may be gathered, in Micah 2:5 “Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot in the assembly of the Lord.” It means even after you could come back to your land, nobody will divide up the land for you. When Israel a place meant for rest, Micah 2:10 “Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction.” No place for rest.

Illustrate:

When we think about coveting in Australia, one example is gambling. Australia has the highest gambling losses per capita, averging $1200 a year. 40% of people gamble weekly, and within them 1.6 million are at risk of having a gambling problem. It probably is shown most clearly in how slot machines are everything, in each club and pub. It has 20% of all world pokies. It fuels suicide, domestic violence, financial crimes. I have met a with gamblers in my time pastoral caring as well. It destroy not only one live, but the whole network, families and friends. Gambling ultimately is a form of coveting, coveting others money without actually earning it. It could be an addiction, that people can’t stop doing it. It is sad that to see that the government, venue operators are not reducing the problem but increasing it, problem gamblers double in the last 10 years.

Application:

While we could condemn others and the soceity, how about us? As we grow in age, we could become vunerlable. we could be the victim of others covetness. But on the other hand we have fears as our lives often involve loss. To resist all this, we covet, we envy, we become discontent about a lot of things, we do not consider others as much. Hoarding is an exmaple of that isn’t it. We save money only for the purpose of accumlating, and become our source of security, our dependency is on our money not on God. Dear brothers and sisters, are we discontent, are we coveting others, are we jealous of others, are we hoarding? May we really confess our sins to God.

But this hardened heart doesn’t stop there. It doesn’t stop at covet, it doesn’t stop at stealing, it even stops people to speak against that, it stops prophsey that is speaking aginst them, such as what Micah is saying.

Weak prophsecy (v 6-11)

Micah 2:6–11 ““Do not preach”—thus they preach— “one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us.” Should this be said, O house of Jacob? Has the Lord grown impatient? Are these his deeds? Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly? But lately my people have risen up as an enemy; you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly with no thought of war. The women of my people you drive out from their delightful houses; from their young children you take away my splendor forever. Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction. If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be the preacher for this people!”

While the first section is woe oracle, this section is a disputation, in which Micah and his God complain bitterly against those who snatched houses and fields from victims. Micah quotes the false prophets of these greedy oppressors. HIs wicked listeners could not accept his message of doom. They found it offensive and command him to stop preaching such things. Isn’t that usually what happen with hardened hearts, when engage with sinful behaviour, they silenced the opposition force. In some translation of the bible, instead of prophecy, they use preach. I believe prophecy is the better translation, but preaching is also acceptable. In both cases, they are God’s word, while propehcy may come directly from God, preaching have the element of intepreation, but both involves the Spirit of God.

Illustrate:

And so if we think of today’s world. Most people in this soceity don’t want to be preach at today. They hear in preaching, morality, condemenation, judgement that they don’t like. People don’t believe they are sinful. They don’t want to hear their condemntation. Just speak of the positive, love kindness, universal good of human nature, of progressive soceity. In verse eleven “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” Micah is saying that You preach beer, you preach happiness and party, they will love you. One famous pastor says, We don’t want forgiveness from repetance, we want acceptance and affirmation without change. Another pastor in China said, , consumerism plagues the church, he said in his church we are to get, preaching is a “product”, sermons are cater to our taste, And maybe even church also operate to these “customer”. church main objection is to chase gain and avoid loss. we accomodate message to conform to hedonism nature of a Godless nation. We forget that worship and preaching is not only about us, not even our feeling of growth, but God’s glory, God’s mission.

Application:

One pastor gives us some pointers how to preach and listen. First, he said expect God to speak. Although today we are listening to a human, if the preacher is opening the Bible and tries to use all his faculties to be faithful to the Bible, there is the authoriative voice of God. Quiet your mind and heart and expect God to speak. I know preacher’s are imperfect, we have our background and limitations, we are committed to grow and pray for the preacher as well. Seocnd, Admit God knows better than you do, that God requires us to turn from sin and trust in Christ. I need to sit under the word in humanity, not over it in judgement. God is God and I am not. I must be ready to adjust my opinions, my beliefs, my hearts and my life. Third, make sure the preacher says what the passage says, every sermon should open up from Scripture the meaning God has already put in scripture. the authroity of preacher is a delegated authority. Fourth, hear the sermon in church, we hold one another accountable. We exepect each other to respond appropriately. We help one another to godly living. Five, be there week by week, be regular, God doesn’t give us quick fixes that come from one or two Sunday sermons, he shapes and molds our minds , our hearts, our character over time by the steady drip of his word. six, do what the bible says. James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” The purpose of sermon is to make us like Jesus. We don’t come to sermon to be entertained or to admire intellectual displays. We come to worship and obey. After Sunday, think about some concrete way in which obey. Hebrews 3:15 “As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.””There is urgency in our hearing, and then rejoice. Be glad God is speaking to us today.

As we come back to the passage, we could see that Micah is a sad book, it talks about the endless cycle of harden hearts and weak prophsecy, it is sad that humans history seems to keep repeating itself. It doesn’t change. But in the end of chapter 2, there is, there is a breakthrough.

The breakthrough (v 12-13)

Micah 2:12–13 “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel; I will set them together like sheep in a fold, like a flock in its pasture, a noisy multitude of men. He who opens the breach goes up before them; they break through and pass the gate, going out by it. Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head.”

Salvation Oracle in which the Lord as Roayl Sheperd promises to gather a remnant of his people like a sheep in a pen. Then, as their king, he leads them out through the city gate. Although the coming seige will lead them to exile, there will be a remnant, and the Sheperd will restored them and they will become a large group. A lot of people think it is fulfilled when it is about Hezekiah in 71 BC got deliverance from King Sennacherib’s seige. But it seems more than that, and often Bible’s prophecy is fulfilled progressively. In verse 13, God has a new name here, it is called the breaker who opens up the way and leads his people out of the lands where they have been scattered. THe Lord not only act as a shepred here, but a breaker who enables his people to break through the city gate and exit the place of thier confiement.

This prophecy, and real change could happen when God becomes man, the never ending cycle of sin and judgement will not have the last word. God is promised sending in MIcah, now he has sent. Somebody came to the world, that change the world, change thecycle of sin and judgement. God has sent Jesus to be the person who died on the cross, and raised again three days. He is the breaker, breaker of judgement and death, and leads us towards new heaven and earth. He has risen victorious and by His Spirit, today regenerate all those who follow up, transforms us in new humanity. While we were hardened hearts, and soften preaching, now he breaks, he we have transformed in heart, looking opportunity to do good, brining new birth and hope.

As we go out today, as break through people, to our home, to our school, to our workplace, to our friends and family. Let’s again be reminded to confess our sins. And let’s be thankful for his forgiveness.