What Does The Lord Require of Me?
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What Does The Lord Require of Me?
Micah 6:6-8
Micah 6:6-8
Walking With God
By Richard L. Brown
“Walking with God”
Micah 6: 1-8
Listen to what the Lord is saying:
“Stand up and state your case against me.
Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.
And now, O mountains,
listen to the Lord’s complaint!
He has a case against his people.
He will bring charges against Israel.
“O my people, what have I done to you?
What have I done to make you tired of me?
Answer me!
For I brought you out of Egypt
and redeemed you from slavery.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.
Don’t you remember, my people,
how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed
and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead?
And remember your journey from Acacia Grove to Gilgal,
when I, the Lord, did everything I could
to teach you about my faithfulness.”
What can we bring to the Lord?
Should we bring him burnt offerings?
Should we bow before God Most High
with offerings of yearling calves?
Should we offer him thousands of rams
and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
to pay for our sins?
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Years ago, in the small town of Catlettsburg Kentucky, there lived several town-drunks. These men where classic characters, each unique, and from time to time they found themselves arrested and eventually in front of the City Judge.
My father was the Fire Chief and in Catlettsburg, in those days, the city operated its own jail, and my father also doubled as the Police Dispatcher and City Jailer. He told me this true story:
One of those town-drunks, Sy Billips (fictitious name), was arrested and brought before Judge Vernon Dinkle.
Now when you were found guilty of public drunkenness, it usually meant a fine and some jail time. On this day, the Bailiff called Sy’s name and asked him to stand. Judge Dinkle said, “Mr. Billips, You are charged with Public Drunkenness. How do you plead?”
Sy, having been in this spot many times, knew full well what awaited him, so he decided to try a diversionary tactic. He said, “Your Honor, if you don’t mind, I would like to try myself”. The judge was intrigued, so with a sheepish grin on his face, he said , “OK, let’s hear it.”
Sy proceeded to call himself every kind of despicable name that came to mind. He said, “Sy you are a low down, no good pole-cat of a man, who has abandoned every responsibility you ever had. You have spent you whole life thinking of nothing but your own selfish desires. And now here you are, once again, throwing yourself on the mercy of this court.”
Sy went on, “But you will not find mercy today, because you do not deserve it.” And he looked up at the judge and said, “Your Honor, I find myself guilty as charged, and I sentence myself to a $100.00 fine and 30 days in jail. And I pray that God will help me understand the wickedness of my ways.”
Judge Dinkle was visibly impressed, he said, “Sy, I think you really mean it this time. I commend you for your righteousness.” At which, Sy interrupted the Judge and said, “YOUR HONOR, I HAVE ONE MORE THING.”
“I SUSPEND MY SENTENCE!”
Like Sy, we sometimes find that we are so pre-occupied with ourselves that we are blinded to the fact that God requires that we walk humbly with Him, that we love justice, His not ours, and that we love kindness. That was the case when God delivered his indictment against Israel through the Prophet Micah.
Introduction:
1. I think all of us would like to know just what the Lord requires of us to get to heaven.
2. However, answering that question is not as easy as giving a list of rules —
“Thou shalt...and Thou shalt not.”
3. The Old Testament prophet, Micah, gives us an inspired answer to this most important question.
4. Let’s examine this question together.
I. God Wants More Than Externals
A. (Micah 6:6-7).
What can we bring to the Lord?
Should we bring him burnt offerings?
Should we bow before God Most High
with offerings of yearling calves?
Should we offer him thousands of rams
and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
to pay for our sins?
B. (Isaiah 1:13-15; Amos 5:21-24).
Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
I want no more of your pious meetings.
I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
“I hate all your show and pretense—
the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.
I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings.
I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings.
Away with your noisy hymns of praise!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice,
an endless river of righteous living.
C. External actions without the involvement of the inward man are useless (Matthew 15:8-9; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
II. God Wants Us To Practice Justice
A. (Micah 6:8).
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
B. To do justice is to act righteously toward all men — not just some.
C. How do you treat enemies, the poor, and the sick?
D. (Romans 12:17) Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.
III. God Wants Us To Love Mercy
A. (Micah 6:8).
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
B. Not just show mercy; but to love it.
C. (Matthew 23:23).
“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
D. How different would our outlook on life be if we sought out opportunities to be merciful?
E. (Matthew 18:21-35).
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
F. (Matthew 7:1-2; James 2:13).
There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
IV. God Wants Us To Walk Humbly With Him
A. (Micah 6:8).
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.
B. (Amos 3:3) Can two walk together except they be agreed?
Can two people walk together
without agreeing on the direction?
C. (James 4:10) Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord...
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
D. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit...
“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
Conclusion:
1. As you examine your life, are the above qualities the things that jump out at you?
2. If your neighbor summed up your life, what would he say of you?
3. If your God were to sum up your life right now, what would He say
Israel was guilty as charged and so are we…..But we can’t ‘Suspend our own sentences” as Sy Billips did…..Only God can. And he did this in Jesus Christ. Not only that, he paid our fines and served our sentences as well.
How can we not walk with God? How can we ignore His Justice, and how can we not be Kind to those around us?