Sermon (04-Sep): "Who is a God Like Him" Micah 7:18-20

Scripture:

MICAH 7:18-20 (SLIDE)

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.

Big Idea:

The objective of this message is to realize that there is no god like our God

Introduction:

- As I look back over the Old Testament, many times we can look at in different ways

- Some look at as mere history

- Others look at it as just literature maybe good bedside reading

- Yet and still others look at it as God telling us His story

- Just as some have tagged the Bible as Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

- As Christians and believers, we recognize that it is our nourishment

- Spiritual food that is more important than physical food...

- Aside from the cakes, pies, donuts or our favorite cuisine

- It all begins with our grasping and understanding of God's Word--Old and New Testament

- We can focus on either one or the other and be incomplete;

- Having and knowing half of the story

- The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed

- What God promised in the Old comes to completion in the New

- God told us the end from the beginning

- He foretold us that the Serpent--Satan--would be crushed

- Nothing caught or catches God by surprise

- It's a wonder how He leads us daily and moment by moment through His Spirit

- There have been times when I wondered why He does it...

- And it's just because He loves us

- And that He is a faithful God who believes in hope, restoration, and forgiveness

- Recently, I heard a former pro athlete say, "I don't know how people make it without God."

- And that has been my exact sentiment...

- I think about how hard life is without God and wonder what some anchor themselves to

- Money will only take you so far, trust in people alone can lead to disappointment

- But now that I've seen the other side of the story...with God and with Christ

- I can't imagine living without Him

- That is what Micah, here in this chapter, tells us and

- Actually, He is asking God to intervene

- Bishop T.D. Jakes recently reminded me and I’m paraphrasing,

(SLIDE) Prayer doesn’t inform God of your situation…it invites God into your situation.

- Here, post exile, after the nation of Israel's captivity,

- Micah pleads with God but then I believe he does something else

- He reminds Judah of the uniqueness of God and that’s where we launch into...

- Who is a God like Him? (SLIDE)

- A God Who Pardons and Forgives

- A God Who Is Compassionate

- A God Who Is Faithful

Transition: There are too many traits that make God distinct so these are only a few but let’s get started

1) A God Who Pardons and Forgives (SLIDE)

18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

- Nothing speaks intensely to God’s character as His heart and how He forgives

- Many times, we think that God wants to beat us over the head

- We may have heard it from the church, parents, leaders, etc…

- But, my thought is that if we only knew God’s heart

- We would become more familiar with His ways

- God is a God Who has to deal with sin…that’s truth

- So, when we look back at the Garden of Eden, we see that God—because of His nature—had to act

- Adam directly violated what God told him not to do

- So, there had to be a response not a reaction;

- Reactions are usually done on impulse and not considering the long-term effects of thoughts or actions

- But responses are more well thought out and consider those long-term effects—God does not react…He responds

- Yet, and still, we see that God in His response…employed mercy

- Mercy is NOT getting what we deserve

- See…Adam deserved death but God showed Him and Eve mercy

- And God desires to do the same for us today

- The Book of Isaiah mentions it several times in different ways (Isa 40:18, 25) (SLIDE),

“With whom, then, will you compare God?” or “Who is [His] equal?”

- As much as we like to reason and/or even imagine…there is no one like our God—Jehovah God

- Many look at the Do’s and Don’ts or how God has judged people in the past

- Yet, if we look at the whole canon of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation

- We can see just how good God is and has been

- In terms of judgment, if God was that “judgy” even in the Old Testament…

- Many more would have been taken out at the first instance of sin and wrongdoing

- Still, contrary to what people preach and say,

- God showed mercy time and time again when people prayed (think Moses and some of the prophets)

- Or even when people didn’t directly pray

- You and I could even look back over our own lives and see the mercy and grace of God

- I think of times past where I know that I should have been taken out

- And God’s grace and mercy stepped in

- Verse 18 tells us that He does not hold onto His anger…like some of us intentionally or unintentionally

- Thankfully, God uses His Spirit to lead, guide and talk to us about us

- It is always in our best interest to keep a heart that is open to hearing God’s correction

- It’s not always a happy, joyful moment when that happens but it’s necessary

- I know that I am better off with His correction than without

- God truly knows how to guide His children—it’s the fatherhood nature of God to do so

- Many parents—much like God—delight in showing mercy to their children…

- Especially if they have that contrite heart,

- (SLIDE) The Psalmist writes (Ps 34:18 AMP),

“The Lord is near to the heartbroken and He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).”

- It may be that parent out there that’s not like that

- But we’re talking about Father God

- Not that any of you are like this

- But some people seem to magnify the worst moments and attribute them to God’s prevailing character

- Some forget that every breath we take is a gift

- And that blessings truly come from above

- I’ve learned that once we believe in Christ that it doesn’t exempt us from trouble yet we still have the victory in Christ

- But Christ Himself proclaimed,

“[He] has overcome the world”

Transition: God’s love and mercy shows how He pardons and forgives…we also see A God Who is Compassionate

2) A God Who Is Compassionate (SLIDE)

19 You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

- Corrie Ten Boom famously said,

“When God forgives He forgets. He buries our sins in the sea and puts a sign on the bank saying, 'No Fishing Allowed.’”

- I know that we as humans have a hard time with that—for ourselves and for others—and

- Most times, I believe it takes the supernatural power of God to forget

- What should encourage us all the more is the nature and character of God

- I think we can agree that God is the most knowledgeable being to ever exist

- In this verse, He chooses not to remember our past sins

- And although our past can replay in our minds; God does not allow that to be the case with Him

- If that is not reassuring, then I don’t know what else can be

- I’m not trying to neglect the past but God wants to help us transcend our past

- All of us have made mistakes and have sins in our past

- But what have we learned from them?

- One of the biggest themes from in the New Testament era and to this very day is repentance

- Well, we can’t repent if we are perfect or have never missed the mark

- The old thought is that none of us can go a day without sinning—in word, thought or deed

- Think about it in regards to our thought life…

- Would you or would you not want your daily thought life broadcast on the screens for an audience to see?

- I believe the answer for most if not all of us would be, “No”

- And, our words and deeds can speak for themselves

- What I am saying is that repentance should be a daily part of our regimen—as Christians, as believers

- And, once we do so, God forgives

- Then, there is still the consequences that follow which God can curtail or see us through

- Thankfully, He does see us through more than we realize

- Can you imagine being free of God’s condemnation or our own condemnation?

- How much more effective will we be in service to Him?

- How much more will our lives shift and change?

- So, it’s not merely that God casts it in the sea never to bring it up again

- Our mercies are new daily

- The English word new is the Hebrew word hadas … It means never before experienced (Preaching Today; Mark Batterson)

- We can gain a sense of freedom that we never knew before; every day comes equipped with brand new mercies

- I get it that it’s not that simple or easy to live through it

- Still, we can live through it

- The times where we get stuck; we may need to find someone to help us to get unstuck

- Why? I believe God desires your freedom more than you desire to be free

- Paul says it at different points in his letters, but look at the two times He says it here in Galatians 5 (1,13),

”It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (v.1)

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (v.13)

- Our freedom allows us to be in an intimate relationship with God that allows us to serve Him and others

- If were are saying that it truly is about God, let us allow it to be about Him

- We do have actual needs and God is big enough to fill and/or make sure those needs are met

- Paul says it like this (1 Thess 5:24),

Faithful and absolutely trustworthy is He who is calling you [to Himself for your salvation], and He will do it [He will fulfill His call by making you holy, guarding you, watching over you, and protecting you as His own].

Transition: Which leads to this; Who is a God Like Him that is Faithful

3) A God Who Is Faithful

20 You will be faithful to Jacob, and show love to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our ancestors in days long ago.

- You may be wondering and asking the question…

- What does Jacob and Abraham have to do with us today?

- Let’s look at Abraham…

- Coming from the background he was born into, God led him from idolatry to worshipping Jehovah God

- Abraham was “distraught” that he didn’t have an heir and God promises him that it will happen

- Not only that, but He will make of him a great nation and he will have many descendants

- And, the main descendant is Jesus

- The same for Jacob

- Our story didn’t begin with just our parents

- Our spiritual lives didn’t begin in one church

- We look at the story of Jacob and Abraham and their stories didn’t begin with their parents or background

- Their lives began with an experience with God just like ours

- The thing is that God has shown Himself to be faithful for thousands of years

- He clothed Adam and Eve, made covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and then us (New Covenant)

- The truth is…we couldn’t hold up our end of the covenants in the Old Testament

- And, in spite of that, God still showed Himself to be faithful

- One of my favorite songs “Promises” says this,

Faithful through the ages

God of Abraham

You're the God of covenant

And of faithful promises

Time and time again

You have proven

You'll do just what You said

- It goes on to say,

Great is Your faithfulness to me

From the rising sun to the setting same

- The prophet Jeremiah writes of God’s great faithfulness

- In 1923, Thomas Chisolm composed a poem “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and sent it to William Runyan who composed the famous hymn

- Billy Graham frequently had the song sung and many of his crusades

- And, now, about 100 years later

- We can still sing of His faithfulness

Transition: His character and all that He is…is faithful

Closing:

- As I close, who is a God like Him?

- There’s no doubt that I’m biased but when I consider it all

- No one compares to Him

- Storms may come and winds may blow

- But they don’t take away His faithfulness

- I’m not smart enough to understand it all

- Nor can I see all the pieces of the puzzle

- That’s not my job…I’m called to be like my heavenly Father—faithful

- God is my success on any and every level

- The race that we call life can only be run and won when we realize God is the engine in the midst of it all

(SLIDE) Takeaway: Our comfort need not be in the unstable world that surrounds us but in God—and our Jesus—that is in us and for us

- Would you pray with me?

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins known and unknown, I renounce them all. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I receive you now as Lord and Savior of my life. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died for me and arose and sits at the right hand of God praying for me, interceding for me. Lord Jesus, I give you everything. I thank you for saving me, delivering me and setting me free, in Jesus’ name!