Micah: What Does God Want From Me?

Hallelujah What a Savior

WELCOME

Isaiah 53:4-5—Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

Welcome! (in-person/online)

In just a moment we’ll hear a reading from the text for today’s sermon in the book of Micah. Turn there now.

While you’re turning, 3 quick announcements

1) New Sunday School classes in July (Apologetics, The Old Testament)

2) Prayer Calendar

3) Table Talk at 5:30 PM

Pastor Hopson will lead a discussion on what God has taught us through the pandemic.

Stay afterwards to eat and/or play a game! (Bring your own dinner and/or games)

Now look in your Bibles at Micah 6:6 as Lynne Jones comes to read for us. . .

Scripture Reading (Micah 6:6-8)

Prayer of Praise (Lynne Jones)

Our God Saves

Lead Me to the Cross

Prayer of Confession (Sam Garcia)

We Fall Down

NCC #22 & Pastoral Prayer (Mike Lindell)

SERMON

What does God want from me?

Answers may vary widely depending on who you ask. . .

Buddhist

Muslim

Hindu

Jew

Progressive Christianity

But what does the Bible say? What does God Himself say about what He wants for us?

We’ll find a clear answer to that question in the book of Micah.

Not many years after Jonah preached in Nineveh, and Hosea and Amos preached against the Northern Kingdom, a prophet named Micah is sent by God to preach against both the North and the South

SHOW TIMELINE

In Micah’s prophecies we’ll see . . .

Four Steps God Wants Everyone to Take:

1) LISTEN

Micah 1:1—The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

From the outset we’re told that this is God’s Word

Do you believe this is God’s Word? Why not? Let me give you a few reasons to believe that you may not have considered. . .

The writers of Scripture claimed to be writing God’s Word

We already saw that from the beginning of this book

That formula is repeated throughout the Bible

2 Peter 1:20-21—Knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The writers of Scripture backed up their claims with true prophecies

In 722 B.C. about 20 years after Micah’s ministry began, the Northern Kingdom would be destroyed by the Assyrians. Micah predicts the Assyrian conquest in Micah 5:5-6

SHOW TIMELINE AGAIN

In 586 B.C. the Southern Kingdom would be destroyed by the Babylonians. Micah predicts the Babylonian captivity in Micah 4:10

For thousands of years God’s people have trusted these books as Scripture

The biblical authors considered each other’s writings to be Scripture. For example, 200 years after Micah prophesied another prophet named Jeremiah actually quotes Micah word-for-word.

SHOW SINGLE SLIDE WITH MICAH 3:12 and JEREMIAH 26:18

Micah 3:12—Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

Jeremiah 26:18—“Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.’

We have archeological evidence dating back to at least 200 years before Christ that these twelve Minor Prophets were revered as Scripture, preserved in a single scroll

Struggling to believe, but want to grow?

Read the Bible! Start in the Gospel of Mark

Go to white flag or talk to me for a free copy of Why Trust the Bible? by Greg Gilbert

Not enough to admit the Bible is God’s Word. God wants you to listen to His Word.

Our functional theology often doesn’t match our confessed theology

Think of the book of Micah like an ocean with three waves.

Each wave has a peak that marks the beginning of a new section.

Three Pleas to Pay Attention:

WAVE IMAGE #1

1:2— “HEAR you peoples all of you; pay attention, o earth, and all that is in it.”

3:1—“HEAR, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel”

6:1— “HEAR what the LORD says”

Why does God repeatedly tell his people to hear? Because we struggle with this!

Are you regularly hearing God’s Word?

Bible intake (devotionals, Scripture reading, audio Bibles, etc.)

God speaks through faithful sermons!

1 Thessalonians 2:13—"And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers."

Even though God speaks through faithful sermons, we must be careful because each of us is tempted to find preachers who tell us what we want to hear.

Micah 2:11—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!

Micah 3:11—Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.”

Paul tells us this sort of attitude will only increase as we get closer to the end. . .

2 Timothy 4:3—For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,

What kind of church do you want PBC to be? A church where we hear what makes us feel good, or a place where we hear truth?

Micah is an example of the type of preachers we should want. . .

Micah 3:8—But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

What does God want from you? He wants you to listen to His Word.

And if you faithfully do that, if you really listen to what God says you will. . .

2) LAMENT

Let’s go back to our metaphor of the book of Micah as an ocean with three waves again.

WAVE IMAGE #1

The peaks of those waves give us three pleas to pay attention

But why does Micah want God’s people to pay attention?

Because God’s wrath is coming to sinners who will not repent

The bulk of each wave represents a warning of wrath to come

Three Waves of Wrath:

Wave #1—Micah 1:2-2:11

Micah 2:3—Therefore thus says the Lord: behold, against this family [the entire Israelite people, north and south] 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.

Wave #2—Micah 3:1-12

Micah 3:12—Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.

This is the passage we referenced earlier that was quoted by Jeremiah the prophet 200 years later

Wave #3—Micah 6:1-7:13

Micah 6:13—Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow, making you desolate because of your sins.

Why is God so angry?

God accuses His people of two main evils:

Idolatry

Micah 1:5-7; 5:12-14

Not loving God as He deserves

Are you ever guilty of not loving God as He deserves? Why should God punish Israel and not you?

Injustice

Not loving their neighbor as he deserves

Micah 2:2; 2:9; 6:10-12

Are you ever guilty of not loving your neighbor as he deserves? Why should God punish Israel and not you?

These two sins (idolatry and injustice) are echoed by Jesus. . .

Matthew 22:36-40—“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And [Jesus] said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

We’ve got a problem. God is holy. We are not. God threatens wrath for all those who sin. And that’s all of us. So what do we do?

Zeke— “all done” at the doctor.

We try to move past uncomfortable things ASAP

Micah 6:6-7—With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

Rhetorical questions, answer is no!

Even with thousands of rams and thousands of rivers of oil!

Even with your firstborn son!

There is no price you can pay to earn admission into the presence of God!

Micah is not just saying we’re sinners. He’s saying we are totally unable to please God.

Most people will admit their sin, but won’t admit their inability.

There is nothing you can do to appease God for your sins!!!

This truth should lead us to do exactly what Micah does in 1:8. It should lead us to lament. . .

Micah 1:8-9—For this I will lament and wail; I will go stripped and naked; I will make lamentation like the jackals, and mourning like the ostriches. For her wound is incurable, and it has come to Judah; it has reached to the gate of my people, to Jerusalem.

What does God want from you? He wants you to lament because of your sin. He is holy and you are not. Wrath is coming.

And if you faithfully do that, if you really wrestle with the depths of your sinfulness and inability to please God, you will only have one place to . . .

3) LOOK

Imagine you’re at the beach watching the waves come in. The waves crash to the shore, then they quickly recede back into the ocean. In that moment you catch a glimpse of wet sand.

We see a similar thing in Micah. At the conclusion of every wave of wrath, we see a glimpse of grace.

Three Glimpses of Grace

WAVE IMAGE #2

Each glimpse gives us a portrait of a Shepherd who’s also a King

Glimpse #1—Micah 2:12-13

Micah 2:12—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.

Even though God’s people will be scattered, there is coming a Shepherd who will gather them together again

Verse 13 tells us this Shepherd is also a King

Glimpse #2—Micah 4-5

Micah 4 is filled with beautiful images of a new kingdom for God’s people. . .

Micah 4:6-8—In that day, declares the LORD, I will assemble the lame and gather those who have been driven away and those whom I have afflicted; 7 and the lame I will make the remnant, and those who were cast off, a strong nation; and the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore. 8 And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.

Glimpse #3—Micah 7:14-20

Micah 7:14—Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land; let them graze in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old.

Bashan and Gilead were among the first territories gained by God’s people when they entered the Promised Land. They were among the first territories lost when the kingdom began to fall.

But how can a God of holiness and wrath restore His people? How can God forgive our sins without forfeiting His holiness and justice?

Spilled meatballs—either start over with a new dinner or compromise something by working with what you got

That’s what many people think. Either God starts over with a new people (the church) or He compromises His holiness by workings with what he’s got

He does neither

We see this when we look at who this Shepherd-King is. . .

Micah’s hearers might have expected a resurrected David to come. After all David was the most famous shepherd-king in world history!!!

Micah 5:2-5—But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, . . .

Is it David?!? David was Bethlehem’s most famous son. . .

whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. . . .

Not David! Whoever Micah is talking about existed long before David.

3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.

God’s people are going to be given up to destruction and exile until this Ancient of Days is born

4 he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. 5 And he shall be their peace.

Who could this Shepherd-King be, other than Jesus Christ!

Exactly what the wise men believed when they journeyed to Bethlehem to worship Him!

Have you looked to Christ for salvation?

Micah 6:7—. . .Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

God gave His only begotten Son for your transgressions. He gave His beloved Son for the sins of your soul.

Confess your inability to please God, turn from your sin and trust that God sent His Son

Are you continuing to look to Christ in this life?

Peter walking on the water during a storm

Are you inviting others to look to Christ?

If you’re wondering why we haven’t seen the restoration promised in Micah 4, it’s because not all of God’s people have been gathered.

Micah 5:3 . . . then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel.

We “return to the people of Israel” when we are grafted in by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone

Spread the Good News!!!

What does God want from you? He wants you to look to Christ and be saved. Not be working for your salvation, but by trusting in the work of Christ!

And if you faithfully do that, if you really look on Christ for salvation you will never look the same . . .

4) LIVE

When Moses saw God’s glory his appearance was transfigured.

So too when we look upon Christ for salvation. It’s a look that changes us. We now live differently!

After telling us how not to approach God (trying to earn His favor through sacrifice), Micah tells us how we should live once we’ve received God’s favor by grace through faith. . .

Micah 6:8—He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Three Fruits of Faith

Fruit #1—Do Justice

do justice

The Christian should care about justice infinitely more than the unbeliever

But the Christian knows what justice really means. It’s not equal outcomes, but equal opportunity.

It’s a society where everyone has a shot. It’s not cheating someone because they’re poor or vulnerable.

Are you doing justice?

Fruit #2—Love Mercy

love kindness = Covenant love, mercy

Not enough to do justice. We also need to love mercy.

Ezekiel—if he gets justice, he gets the same opportunity as everybody else. He doesn’t get cheated out of a foster home. He gets put on the list to be adopted. But he could receive justice and never have a forever family. Unless adoption agencies and adoptive families also love mercy, he may stay in the government’s care until he ages out.

Do you love mercy?

Fruit #3—Walk Carefully

walk humbly with your God = walk circumspectly or carefully

A life of obedience to God and His Word

Are you walking carefully in obedience to Jesus?

Micah 7:18-20—Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Behold Our God

1 Timothy 1:17