What Does God Require Book of Micah Part 3
Book of Micah Chapter 6-7
We live in a world where it is believed that the good guy always wins and then lives happily ever after. The truth is that is not the case!
In these chapters, if we can imagine a courtroom scene, we will see that God will make His case against His people and we will see His great promise of salvation.
But the truth is in all these things we will also see that God has some requirements!
We will see the conduct of God since creation and weigh that against the conduct of man during that same period of time.
We will see what complaints mankind has made against God and we will see how God has answered.
The truth is, when the creature complains against it's Creator it just does not make much sense yet we all have done it from time to time!
1) Let's try to imagine the purpose of God's Laws.(What does God require)
2) Let's then try to see the complaints against God. (Mankind says the Laws of God are too confining for the benefits that are to be received)
3) Then mankind complains about the "Judgments of God". (God is not looked upon as a loving Father)
Let's learn as the true "Judge" of our world brings these things to our attention.
Psa 96:3 Declare his glory among the heathen, "his wonders among all people".
Psa 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: "he is to be feared above all gods".
Psa 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: "but the LORD made the heavens".
Psa 96:6 Honour and majesty are before him: "strength and beauty are in his sanctuary".
Psa 96:7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, "give unto the LORD glory and strength".
Psa 96:8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: "bring an offering, and come into his courts".
Psa 96:9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: "fear before him, all the earth".
Psa 96:10 Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: "he shall judge the people righteously".
Psa 96:11 Let the heavens rejoice, and "let the earth be glad"; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
Psa 96:12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: "then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice"
Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: "for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth".
Remember God had given Israel His Word.
God gave Israel 613 laws for their guidance and for their protection.
God has given the rest of the world only 2 laws.
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Why then are these two laws to be such a burden?
When the laws of God are rejected then sin will over come us all!
Let's place ourselves in the midst of this trial:
*****Mic 6:1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
Mic 6:2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
The very first thing we see is that it is God Himself that is the accuser of His people.
We see that word "Arise" which in this Scripture means, wake up from your state of sin and in our case, "wake up from your stupidity".
We see that word "contend" which in this Scripture means to defend and preserve the truth. After all, "trials" must be based on the truth for the outcome to be the correct one.
The "truth" is something that does not seem to be as important in most trials of today!
We live in a world that just rejects the truth because it interferes with the lifestyles of most people!
We see that the Lord has a "controversy" with the way we act.
1) We should understand, the Lord will always have a "controversy" with sin and He will never change from this.
2) The Lord's "justice" will always be directed at the "sins" of mankind.
3) God's "judgment" will always be toward all those that reject the truth and the Word of God is always true.
1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
We should never forget that it was the Lord Himself who laid the foundations of this earth physically and also spiritually!
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
It is this Creator, the Supreme Living God, that brings these charges against us all.
"For we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God"
We will always come up short of God's glory as long as we live in these sinful bodies of flesh!
*****Mic 6:3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
Here we see that no matter what God's people have done, He still calls them His people.
There some today and even then, who do not even like that reference of ownership but if our Creator does not own us who does?
It is a joke to believe we are all accidents of some imaginary nature!
There is no truth at all in the evolution process!
The truth is, besides showing kindness, what wrong has the Lord actually done to anyone?
Jer 2:5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
If we can imagine walking with the Lord, it is always we who veer from the path, the Lord walks the same path of righteousness all the time!
Then God says "which of His commandments are so grievous that they call for rebellion"?
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
And then God says "speak up" and let "Him hear what the people have to say".
Not one of us can complain about the patience of God especially each sinner!
And who could possible complain that God is a burden to hard to carry?
Let's see what had God already done for Israel?
*****Mic 6:4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
The people of Israel had been slaves in a foreign nation and had been abused in that slavery.
Psa 106:7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
Psa 106:8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
Psa 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
Psa 106:10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
If we studied our own history we would see that America was established by a people seeking the freedom to freely worship the Lord Jesus Christ, not the freedom to worship any false god that people can think of.
God fulfilled and established this great nation but as we can see ingratitude to the Lord is just as common today as it was in the time of Micah!
When the goodness of God is despised and His loving kindness is disregarded and His mercies neglected, then ingratitude will get what it deserves!
When we have decided that God's demands are unreasonable, we will get what we ask for.
When we think God will accept any sort of ceremony or sacrifice, we open ourselves to God's "judgment".
When we think we can place God on a shelf and take Him down like some idol whenever He is needed, we will find that God will not be there when we need Him the most.
When we refuse to recognize the voice of the Lord, we will be deceived by the noise of this world.
When we do any or all of these things we will bring upon ourselves ruin!
All these things show a lack of "Faith"!
God only ask very little from us and it is our "DUTY" to abide in Him!
God had provided Moses, the Lawgiver, but he was also an "Inspired Leader" and a great teacher.
God had provided Aaron a great priest and director of "Divine Worship".
God had provided Miriam who led the praise. People learned how to praise a Mighty God! And we see that it was God who first gave women their freedom!
And then God said that there are some things we need to remember!
*****Mic 6:5 O my people, "remember now" what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.
We first notice that no matter what we have done, God still shows ownership!
The Lord just does not simply abandon us when we have rebelled against Him!
This is an ownership based on "Love" and "Affection" and not an ownership based upon on servants or slaves.
God says to us all: "Look what I have done in the past and you will see what I will do in the future".
God says, He will keep all His covenants and His promises!
We should be able to remember that God's answer to Balaam was God's "gracious" deliverance of His people!
King Balak had plotted to destroy Israel even before they were very organized by getting Balaam to place a curse on them.
God turned things around and cause Balaam to bless Israel.
That's what God does He takes bad things and makes good things come out of them.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
In the end Balaam told King Balak that the only way to place a curse on God's people was through was "temptation", "idolatry" and "whoredom" and these thing have held to be true throughout all these years, and even more today!
God had even spared His children Israel and made a new covenant with Joshua.
We all know that in this instance Joshua was a "type" of Christ.
God only deals in "righteous acts"!
But truly God requires very little of His people.
*****Mic 6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Mic 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or 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?
Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, "but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God"?
We make a terrible mistake when we do not ask ourselves, "how do we approach God"?
It is only in His Scriptures that we can find the absolute truth.
**1) A great part of our world are convinced it takes some outward act to get the attention of God.
We are taught all our lifetime that we will never be any good in this world if we do not work hard at everything we do!
We think that if we cannot work hard enough to get what we need, then we can work hard enough to make enough money to buy what we need!
The truth is, no one can be forgiven their sins and become acceptable to God through human effort!
We can never be good enough!
We can never live morally enough!
We can never be religious enough!
**2) There also those that think they can just play church.
When we play church, it means we have realized that we are sinners and that there must be some atonement of those sins but are just unwilling to give what God requires!
We simply cannot bribe God by doing good acts to others!
Many of those who are rich think they are doing good things for God when they are charitable to good causes but those thing do not fool God but instead make a mockery of God!
We cannot sacrifice a 1000 rams and please God!
We cannot donate ten thousand rivers of oil and please God!
We cannot build hospitals, or schools, or even churches and think these things will count toward our salvation!
In the time of Micah, and by the laws of Moses, the first born man or beast were for the Lord.
The first born of the beast were to be sacrificed but the sacrifice of children was forbidden and death was the penalty for those who did such a thing.
Lev 20:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 20:2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Lev 20:3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
Lev 20:4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
Lev 20:5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
We already know that these things were taking place in Samaria and Jerusalem in the time of Micah as King Ahaz had sacrificed his own children and had led Judah to do such things and the Scriptures say he followed in the ways of the kings of Israel.
Those things had not changed and continued through the time of Jesus.
Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
In fact these things even fill our churches today!
If none of these other things please God then what does God require?
Then the Scriptures also add that there is no excuse for our ignorance in these things!
**3) What God requires?
a) To Do Justly:
We are to treat each other with respect!
God gave us all the 10 commandments as a guideline of respecting the Lord and respecting each other and the Lord Jesus Christ made these things even more simple:
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
There are many things that we are not to do to cause harm to one another but add to that, "We Are Required" to actively seek to do good for one another and to help one another.
This is called caring. We must truly care for one another!
Caring extends from "gratitude, hope and love" and these things we must learn of God!
b) To Love Mercy:
Mercy is that tenderness of the heart that allows us to treat people better than they deserve. In fact this is the greatest trait of God for us to follow in His example.
This is the source of God's "Grace" and Jesus Christ is the means of God's "Grace"!
We are to seek the "Mercy" of God and then show that "mercy" to all others!
Luk 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Mercy is a loyal love.
Mercy is a steadfast loving kindness.
Mercy is a love that seeks to do good to all others! (and it does not matter if they deserve it or not)
After all none of us deserve God's "mercy"!
c) To Walk Humbly With God.
God requires us to walk meekly and humbly. This is a modest way of life!
In the Scriptures this means moderate, and not excessive in anything, not extravagant, all our strength's and vices under control.
In fact God requires us to be free from vanity, egotism and boastfulness!
To walk with the Lord, is to acknowledge Him as the source of all life but also the source of each and every individual.
We are walk day by day with our Lord in a personal relationship!
This begins when we each seek the Lord's "Mercy" and "Forgiveness"!
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
We are not God's people until we know and understand the "Mercy" of the Lord!
We simply cannot get caught up in the rituals of religion!
There is only one way to please God. We must believe that His Words Are True!
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
We must not be deceived by the man-made religions of this world and they are just that man-made!
Nothing made by man will ever get to Heaven!
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Grace is the "undeserved favor of God" and without the "Grace of God" there would be no salvation of any kind!
The "Grace of God" comes by the "Mercy Of God"!
Psa 119:58 I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
The pure truth is that if we are not merciful we will never receive the "Mercy of God"!
Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Most all those in the day of Micah rejected these things of God and we know that most of those that live today are rejecting these same truth's of God!
Remember that word "Therefore"?
*****Mic 6:13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.
Mic 6:14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.
Mic 6:15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
Mic 6:16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.
The truth is God said He would ruin the nation of Judah just as He would Israel.
The nation would be ruined and the people who rejected the words of the prophet Micah would be ruined.
The nation would be full of incurable disease!
Cancer, Heart disease, along with other incurable disease still ruin many lives today.
The economy of the nation would collapse.
Their food supply would be gone.
Their savings and their investments would be stolen of destroyed.
Their harvest would be destroyed.
Their labor to to correct these thing would be in vain.
We still see all these things spring up from time to time and we wonder why!
All these things had already been put in motion but if they would repent things could still change for the better.
God always knows what each person is going to do and God tells each of us in writing what He will do and God has never veered from His written Word!
We live in a world where most money and most labor are wasted on useless things!
No one will ever live on the moon or on Mars or any other planet as a means to escape Earth and no man on this Earth has the knowledge to affect our climate on a grand scale accept maybe to destroy it and God will not allow that to happen until He is ready when He will do that Himself.
People on this earth are starving to death and no one seems to care!
People on this earth are dying from sickness that no one is serious about finding a cure!
Our world is full of terrorism and no one wants to stop it.
Much of this world is basically homeless and no one cares, they would rather discuss the medical help of harmful drugs.
A quick look at the "Judgment" of God should show us just how terrifying these things really are to any nation.
We would think that the simple answer to all these things would be to repent and turn to the ways of God but instead the ways of Omri were kept and the works of Ahab.
We have seen that the ways of Ahaz of Judah were the most evil of all the days of Judah. Remember he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel.
The ways of Omri and Ahab of Israel were the ways of Ahaz of Judah.
These kings promoted and officially sanctioned the worship of false gods or idolatry!
There was human sacrifice, even of children, sexual perversion, ritual prostitution, and every perversion known to man!
They even murdered God's prophets!
It can be said that the "Judgment" prophesied by Micah is still in effect today as we know that Israel is still hated by most all other nations.
Sin is a serious matter to God, and sin will always bring serious consequences unless repentance takes place!
The pure fact of all these things is that man cannot survive with out God!
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There is only one thing that any of us can do and that is to look unto the Lord and repent!
*****Mic 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
One of the greatest things we must realize as a people is that we are a creation of God and we need His help!
No matter our circumstances we need to look to the Lord!
The Lord is not only able to help us, "there is nothing impossible to God".
Mar_9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
God is not only "able" but God is also "willing" to help us, "all it requires is our faith".
When no one, or no thing, can help us here on this earth we can depend on the Lord!
Psa_72:12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
In all these things the important thing is to cry out to the Lord!
God is always listening and "if you believe" He can do all things then He will but only according to His own will and His own purpose.
The truth is I cannot walk without Him holding my hand.
I cannot breath without breathing His air.
I cannot be saved without His salvation plan.
I will have no future without the Lord being the biggest part of it!
God's salvation plan is the only one that works!
God's salvation came the first time Jesus set foot on this earth when that ended at the cross and then His resurrection.
This is the promise to the Church!
God's Kingdom plan will begin when the Lord returns for the second time!
This is the promise to Israel!
God's eternity plan begins at the end of this, God's promise to the Church and to Israel!
Israel will arise out of that fall as prophesied by Micah.
*****Mic 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
Mic 7:9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
The fact that God said Israel will arise from their fall is a great indication that the world should not gloat as they see Israel suffer now.
To dispute the Word of God in one thing is to dispute the Word of God in all things!
It is only God who can discipline His children!
Notice how Micah speaks for his entire nation as he accepted the responsibility for the sin of his nation.
To be quiet honest this should put us all to shame for in our own way, we are all responsible for the sin of our own nations.
If we accept that if we lived a sin free life and each and everyone of us followed suit, then sin would disappear from our world!
We cannot do much about others sins but we can do a lot about our own!
In fact we should ask for mercy and accept that God's judgment is a righteous judgment!
For God will always light our pathway to a complete recovery!
1Co_6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
The truth of our world is that God offers each one of us the freedom to choose and He will honor our choices but we should also realize that we must accept the consequences of our choices.
That is where the problem comes in, people want the freedom to do anything and everything but reject that they must answer to God.
God promises that all who repent will be forgiven!
*****Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Mic 7:20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
We talk about goals that we have from time to time but God has only one goal and that is to stamp out sin forever!
When we get to Heaven there will be no sin. Heaven operates by the Word of God and that is as it should be!
AND, God simply has more "mercy" than He does "wrath"!
Which means all those that repent will not be left out!
There are still places in God's oceans that man has never seen!
These are the places where God has tossed our sins out of the site of all who are looking to hold those things against us.
This is a picture of God's absolute forgiveness of sin!
Without sin then there should be no guilt!
Notice this is the promise God made to Abraham:
Gen 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
And who are these descendants?
Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Micah clearly understood that God would fulfill all His promises!
We know that the Lord appeared to Micah in visions and dreams so to Micah the promises of God were much more than a hope!
The greatest promise God makes to the human race is the promise of salvation!
Everyone who places their trust in the Lord can be saved!
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
God stamped out sin at the cross!
God has already gotten His victory!
If we have "faith" in these things of God, then we can have our own victory!
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Even the Apostle John accepted God's promises as being completed "but just not as yet executed".
God will always do as He says He will do!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
Book of Micah Chapter 6-7
We live in a world where it is believed that the good guy always wins and then lives happily ever after. The truth is that is not the case!
In these chapters, if we can imagine a courtroom scene, we will see that God will make His case against His people and we will see His great promise of salvation.
But the truth is in all these things we will also see that God has some requirements!
We will see the conduct of God since creation and weigh that against the conduct of man during that same period of time.
We will see what complaints mankind has made against God and we will see how God has answered.
The truth is, when the creature complains against it's Creator it just does not make much sense yet we all have done it from time to time!
1) Let's try to imagine the purpose of God's Laws.(What does God require)
2) Let's then try to see the complaints against God. (Mankind says the Laws of God are too confining for the benefits that are to be received)
3) Then mankind complains about the "Judgments of God". (God is not looked upon as a loving Father)
Let's learn as the true "Judge" of our world brings these things to our attention.
Psa 96:3 Declare his glory among the heathen, "his wonders among all people".
Psa 96:4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: "he is to be feared above all gods".
Psa 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: "but the LORD made the heavens".
Psa 96:6 Honour and majesty are before him: "strength and beauty are in his sanctuary".
Psa 96:7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, "give unto the LORD glory and strength".
Psa 96:8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: "bring an offering, and come into his courts".
Psa 96:9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: "fear before him, all the earth".
Psa 96:10 Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: "he shall judge the people righteously".
Psa 96:11 Let the heavens rejoice, and "let the earth be glad"; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
Psa 96:12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: "then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice"
Psa 96:13 Before the LORD: "for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth".
Remember God had given Israel His Word.
God gave Israel 613 laws for their guidance and for their protection.
God has given the rest of the world only 2 laws.
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Why then are these two laws to be such a burden?
When the laws of God are rejected then sin will over come us all!
Let's place ourselves in the midst of this trial:
*****Mic 6:1 Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
Mic 6:2 Hear ye, O mountains, the LORD'S controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the LORD hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel.
The very first thing we see is that it is God Himself that is the accuser of His people.
We see that word "Arise" which in this Scripture means, wake up from your state of sin and in our case, "wake up from your stupidity".
We see that word "contend" which in this Scripture means to defend and preserve the truth. After all, "trials" must be based on the truth for the outcome to be the correct one.
The "truth" is something that does not seem to be as important in most trials of today!
We live in a world that just rejects the truth because it interferes with the lifestyles of most people!
We see that the Lord has a "controversy" with the way we act.
1) We should understand, the Lord will always have a "controversy" with sin and He will never change from this.
2) The Lord's "justice" will always be directed at the "sins" of mankind.
3) God's "judgment" will always be toward all those that reject the truth and the Word of God is always true.
1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
We should never forget that it was the Lord Himself who laid the foundations of this earth physically and also spiritually!
Col 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Col 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.
It is this Creator, the Supreme Living God, that brings these charges against us all.
"For we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God"
We will always come up short of God's glory as long as we live in these sinful bodies of flesh!
*****Mic 6:3 O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
Here we see that no matter what God's people have done, He still calls them His people.
There some today and even then, who do not even like that reference of ownership but if our Creator does not own us who does?
It is a joke to believe we are all accidents of some imaginary nature!
There is no truth at all in the evolution process!
The truth is, besides showing kindness, what wrong has the Lord actually done to anyone?
Jer 2:5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
If we can imagine walking with the Lord, it is always we who veer from the path, the Lord walks the same path of righteousness all the time!
Then God says "which of His commandments are so grievous that they call for rebellion"?
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
And then God says "speak up" and let "Him hear what the people have to say".
Not one of us can complain about the patience of God especially each sinner!
And who could possible complain that God is a burden to hard to carry?
Let's see what had God already done for Israel?
*****Mic 6:4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
The people of Israel had been slaves in a foreign nation and had been abused in that slavery.
Psa 106:7 Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt; they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies; but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red sea.
Psa 106:8 Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that he might make his mighty power to be known.
Psa 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
Psa 106:10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
If we studied our own history we would see that America was established by a people seeking the freedom to freely worship the Lord Jesus Christ, not the freedom to worship any false god that people can think of.
God fulfilled and established this great nation but as we can see ingratitude to the Lord is just as common today as it was in the time of Micah!
When the goodness of God is despised and His loving kindness is disregarded and His mercies neglected, then ingratitude will get what it deserves!
When we have decided that God's demands are unreasonable, we will get what we ask for.
When we think God will accept any sort of ceremony or sacrifice, we open ourselves to God's "judgment".
When we think we can place God on a shelf and take Him down like some idol whenever He is needed, we will find that God will not be there when we need Him the most.
When we refuse to recognize the voice of the Lord, we will be deceived by the noise of this world.
When we do any or all of these things we will bring upon ourselves ruin!
All these things show a lack of "Faith"!
God only ask very little from us and it is our "DUTY" to abide in Him!
God had provided Moses, the Lawgiver, but he was also an "Inspired Leader" and a great teacher.
God had provided Aaron a great priest and director of "Divine Worship".
God had provided Miriam who led the praise. People learned how to praise a Mighty God! And we see that it was God who first gave women their freedom!
And then God said that there are some things we need to remember!
*****Mic 6:5 O my people, "remember now" what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.
We first notice that no matter what we have done, God still shows ownership!
The Lord just does not simply abandon us when we have rebelled against Him!
This is an ownership based on "Love" and "Affection" and not an ownership based upon on servants or slaves.
God says to us all: "Look what I have done in the past and you will see what I will do in the future".
God says, He will keep all His covenants and His promises!
We should be able to remember that God's answer to Balaam was God's "gracious" deliverance of His people!
King Balak had plotted to destroy Israel even before they were very organized by getting Balaam to place a curse on them.
God turned things around and cause Balaam to bless Israel.
That's what God does He takes bad things and makes good things come out of them.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
In the end Balaam told King Balak that the only way to place a curse on God's people was through was "temptation", "idolatry" and "whoredom" and these thing have held to be true throughout all these years, and even more today!
God had even spared His children Israel and made a new covenant with Joshua.
We all know that in this instance Joshua was a "type" of Christ.
God only deals in "righteous acts"!
But truly God requires very little of His people.
*****Mic 6:6 Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Mic 6:7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or 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?
Mic 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, "but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God"?
We make a terrible mistake when we do not ask ourselves, "how do we approach God"?
It is only in His Scriptures that we can find the absolute truth.
**1) A great part of our world are convinced it takes some outward act to get the attention of God.
We are taught all our lifetime that we will never be any good in this world if we do not work hard at everything we do!
We think that if we cannot work hard enough to get what we need, then we can work hard enough to make enough money to buy what we need!
The truth is, no one can be forgiven their sins and become acceptable to God through human effort!
We can never be good enough!
We can never live morally enough!
We can never be religious enough!
**2) There also those that think they can just play church.
When we play church, it means we have realized that we are sinners and that there must be some atonement of those sins but are just unwilling to give what God requires!
We simply cannot bribe God by doing good acts to others!
Many of those who are rich think they are doing good things for God when they are charitable to good causes but those thing do not fool God but instead make a mockery of God!
We cannot sacrifice a 1000 rams and please God!
We cannot donate ten thousand rivers of oil and please God!
We cannot build hospitals, or schools, or even churches and think these things will count toward our salvation!
In the time of Micah, and by the laws of Moses, the first born man or beast were for the Lord.
The first born of the beast were to be sacrificed but the sacrifice of children was forbidden and death was the penalty for those who did such a thing.
Lev 20:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 20:2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Lev 20:3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
Lev 20:4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
Lev 20:5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
We already know that these things were taking place in Samaria and Jerusalem in the time of Micah as King Ahaz had sacrificed his own children and had led Judah to do such things and the Scriptures say he followed in the ways of the kings of Israel.
Those things had not changed and continued through the time of Jesus.
Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
In fact these things even fill our churches today!
If none of these other things please God then what does God require?
Then the Scriptures also add that there is no excuse for our ignorance in these things!
**3) What God requires?
a) To Do Justly:
We are to treat each other with respect!
God gave us all the 10 commandments as a guideline of respecting the Lord and respecting each other and the Lord Jesus Christ made these things even more simple:
Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
There are many things that we are not to do to cause harm to one another but add to that, "We Are Required" to actively seek to do good for one another and to help one another.
This is called caring. We must truly care for one another!
Caring extends from "gratitude, hope and love" and these things we must learn of God!
b) To Love Mercy:
Mercy is that tenderness of the heart that allows us to treat people better than they deserve. In fact this is the greatest trait of God for us to follow in His example.
This is the source of God's "Grace" and Jesus Christ is the means of God's "Grace"!
We are to seek the "Mercy" of God and then show that "mercy" to all others!
Luk 6:36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Mercy is a loyal love.
Mercy is a steadfast loving kindness.
Mercy is a love that seeks to do good to all others! (and it does not matter if they deserve it or not)
After all none of us deserve God's "mercy"!
c) To Walk Humbly With God.
God requires us to walk meekly and humbly. This is a modest way of life!
In the Scriptures this means moderate, and not excessive in anything, not extravagant, all our strength's and vices under control.
In fact God requires us to be free from vanity, egotism and boastfulness!
To walk with the Lord, is to acknowledge Him as the source of all life but also the source of each and every individual.
We are walk day by day with our Lord in a personal relationship!
This begins when we each seek the Lord's "Mercy" and "Forgiveness"!
Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
We are not God's people until we know and understand the "Mercy" of the Lord!
We simply cannot get caught up in the rituals of religion!
There is only one way to please God. We must believe that His Words Are True!
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
We must not be deceived by the man-made religions of this world and they are just that man-made!
Nothing made by man will ever get to Heaven!
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Grace is the "undeserved favor of God" and without the "Grace of God" there would be no salvation of any kind!
The "Grace of God" comes by the "Mercy Of God"!
Psa 119:58 I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
The pure truth is that if we are not merciful we will never receive the "Mercy of God"!
Jas 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Most all those in the day of Micah rejected these things of God and we know that most of those that live today are rejecting these same truth's of God!
Remember that word "Therefore"?
*****Mic 6:13 Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins.
Mic 6:14 Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.
Mic 6:15 Thou shalt sow, but thou shalt not reap; thou shalt tread the olives, but thou shalt not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine.
Mic 6:16 For the statutes of Omri are kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab, and ye walk in their counsels; that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people.
The truth is God said He would ruin the nation of Judah just as He would Israel.
The nation would be ruined and the people who rejected the words of the prophet Micah would be ruined.
The nation would be full of incurable disease!
Cancer, Heart disease, along with other incurable disease still ruin many lives today.
The economy of the nation would collapse.
Their food supply would be gone.
Their savings and their investments would be stolen of destroyed.
Their harvest would be destroyed.
Their labor to to correct these thing would be in vain.
We still see all these things spring up from time to time and we wonder why!
All these things had already been put in motion but if they would repent things could still change for the better.
God always knows what each person is going to do and God tells each of us in writing what He will do and God has never veered from His written Word!
We live in a world where most money and most labor are wasted on useless things!
No one will ever live on the moon or on Mars or any other planet as a means to escape Earth and no man on this Earth has the knowledge to affect our climate on a grand scale accept maybe to destroy it and God will not allow that to happen until He is ready when He will do that Himself.
People on this earth are starving to death and no one seems to care!
People on this earth are dying from sickness that no one is serious about finding a cure!
Our world is full of terrorism and no one wants to stop it.
Much of this world is basically homeless and no one cares, they would rather discuss the medical help of harmful drugs.
A quick look at the "Judgment" of God should show us just how terrifying these things really are to any nation.
We would think that the simple answer to all these things would be to repent and turn to the ways of God but instead the ways of Omri were kept and the works of Ahab.
We have seen that the ways of Ahaz of Judah were the most evil of all the days of Judah. Remember he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel.
The ways of Omri and Ahab of Israel were the ways of Ahaz of Judah.
These kings promoted and officially sanctioned the worship of false gods or idolatry!
There was human sacrifice, even of children, sexual perversion, ritual prostitution, and every perversion known to man!
They even murdered God's prophets!
It can be said that the "Judgment" prophesied by Micah is still in effect today as we know that Israel is still hated by most all other nations.
Sin is a serious matter to God, and sin will always bring serious consequences unless repentance takes place!
The pure fact of all these things is that man cannot survive with out God!
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There is only one thing that any of us can do and that is to look unto the Lord and repent!
*****Mic 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
One of the greatest things we must realize as a people is that we are a creation of God and we need His help!
No matter our circumstances we need to look to the Lord!
The Lord is not only able to help us, "there is nothing impossible to God".
Mar_9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
God is not only "able" but God is also "willing" to help us, "all it requires is our faith".
When no one, or no thing, can help us here on this earth we can depend on the Lord!
Psa_72:12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
In all these things the important thing is to cry out to the Lord!
God is always listening and "if you believe" He can do all things then He will but only according to His own will and His own purpose.
The truth is I cannot walk without Him holding my hand.
I cannot breath without breathing His air.
I cannot be saved without His salvation plan.
I will have no future without the Lord being the biggest part of it!
God's salvation plan is the only one that works!
God's salvation came the first time Jesus set foot on this earth when that ended at the cross and then His resurrection.
This is the promise to the Church!
God's Kingdom plan will begin when the Lord returns for the second time!
This is the promise to Israel!
God's eternity plan begins at the end of this, God's promise to the Church and to Israel!
Israel will arise out of that fall as prophesied by Micah.
*****Mic 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
Mic 7:9 I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
The fact that God said Israel will arise from their fall is a great indication that the world should not gloat as they see Israel suffer now.
To dispute the Word of God in one thing is to dispute the Word of God in all things!
It is only God who can discipline His children!
Notice how Micah speaks for his entire nation as he accepted the responsibility for the sin of his nation.
To be quiet honest this should put us all to shame for in our own way, we are all responsible for the sin of our own nations.
If we accept that if we lived a sin free life and each and everyone of us followed suit, then sin would disappear from our world!
We cannot do much about others sins but we can do a lot about our own!
In fact we should ask for mercy and accept that God's judgment is a righteous judgment!
For God will always light our pathway to a complete recovery!
1Co_6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
The truth of our world is that God offers each one of us the freedom to choose and He will honor our choices but we should also realize that we must accept the consequences of our choices.
That is where the problem comes in, people want the freedom to do anything and everything but reject that they must answer to God.
God promises that all who repent will be forgiven!
*****Mic 7:18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Mic 7:19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Mic 7:20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
We talk about goals that we have from time to time but God has only one goal and that is to stamp out sin forever!
When we get to Heaven there will be no sin. Heaven operates by the Word of God and that is as it should be!
AND, God simply has more "mercy" than He does "wrath"!
Which means all those that repent will not be left out!
There are still places in God's oceans that man has never seen!
These are the places where God has tossed our sins out of the site of all who are looking to hold those things against us.
This is a picture of God's absolute forgiveness of sin!
Without sin then there should be no guilt!
Notice this is the promise God made to Abraham:
Gen 17:5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.
And who are these descendants?
Rom 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Micah clearly understood that God would fulfill all His promises!
We know that the Lord appeared to Micah in visions and dreams so to Micah the promises of God were much more than a hope!
The greatest promise God makes to the human race is the promise of salvation!
Everyone who places their trust in the Lord can be saved!
Joh 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Joh 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
God stamped out sin at the cross!
God has already gotten His victory!
If we have "faith" in these things of God, then we can have our own victory!
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Even the Apostle John accepted God's promises as being completed "but just not as yet executed".
God will always do as He says He will do!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
