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[0:00] We're going to go to Micah. This morning we looked at one of the minor prophets and they're called minor because they're the smaller books.! He hath showed 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.

[0:44] Micah. His name means who is like God. Here's the big question of his book. Who is like our God? And the answer is, spoiler alert, nobody.

[1:00] Amen? Nobody is like our God. He's holy, he's just, he's full of love and mercy. He's incomparable, isn't he? Think of his mercy.

[1:11] Justice means to give people what they do deserve, but mercy is to give them what they don't deserve. And God extends mercy, doesn't he? Thank God he does go beyond justice.

[1:23] He gives people what they do not deserve. His mercy out of sheer love. And Micah's book, it tells of two main themes. You could see it as judgment and hope.

[1:35] God calls us to humble ourselves, to depend upon God, to walk humbly with thy God. So we're going to get to that a little later through.

[1:46] And really we're only touching the surface of the book of Micah. It's more of an overview. And we sing about Micah. He tells us how to walk humbly with thy God.

[1:59] To know that daily walk of grace. And Micah gives a sobering warning of judgment and a glorious promise of the coming Messiah and his redemption.

[2:10] Micah calls us, even now, to examine our hearts and our walk. And he points to the hope of the coming Saviour from Bethlehem.

[2:22] And he tells of God's unfailing love. Micah himself, he was really just a regular fellow, a shepherd from a small town.

[2:32] But God used him to deliver a message of serious truth to a messed up world. Micah, this humble prophet, he came from the countryside.

[2:44] And he addressed both Samaria and Jerusalem in this time of spiritual and moral collapse. And the point is that God is calling each one to this walk.

[2:56] To live right. To love mercy. To walk humbly. Let's look at these three aspects, these three components of his book tonight.

[3:09] Firstly, the world's mess. Secondly, the hope that is in the Saviour. And thirdly, God's plan. Firstly, the world's mess and God's warning. We read that in the first three chapters.

[3:23] The mess that the world is in. And the warning of God. You can see Micah, it opens up with almost like a cosmic courtroom scene. As Micah summons all creation to witness God's case against his people.

[3:41] And Micah 1 verse 2, it reads here. All ye people, hearken, O earth, and all that therein is. And let the Lord God be witness against you.

[3:54] The Lord from his holy temple. We see God's authority here. His righteous judgment. And the imagery, it's awe-inspiring. If you can picture it like a courtroom setting.

[4:06] I know, I've been to court. I was in the jury. And that was scary enough. But in the courtroom here. And this call to witness.

[4:21] To see the judgment of God. And it reads on there, verse 3. For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of his place and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.

[4:35] And the mountains shall be molten under him. And the valley shall be cleft as wax before the fire. And as the waters that are poured down a steep place.

[4:46] The Lord's coming forth. And the world is going to melt before him. And we see God as the holy righteous judge.

[4:58] He confronts sin. And the charges are severe. There's a witness against you. The Lord from his holy temple.

[5:10] For the transgression of Jacob is all this. And for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah?

[5:21] Are they not Jerusalem? There's a calling to account here. Of the people of God. And this word transgression. It tells of a willful rebellion. Not just some mere error.

[5:34] It's transgression. It's a defiance. It's a rebellion. And God is calling the people of God here to account. For this rebellion. Back in Micah's day, around 700 BC.

[5:46] Things were rough. And Israel was in deep trouble. It stood on the brink of judgment. And at this time we see. As it unfolds through the book. Samaria's idolatry.

[5:58] It's sin. And it's described in chapter 1 verse 9. As this incurable wound. Now some people have had some wounds. That have been taken a while to heal. And I've got a bit of a sore foot myself at the moment.

[6:10] You get that? And I know Julie's had an injury. That's taken some six weeks. It's still not healed. But this wound is an incurable wound. And it's like a disease. Like this infection.

[6:21] Like a spreading infection. This sin of Samaria. You could see of its idolatry. And we can see how the Bible talks about. Words that eat like a canker.

[6:32] Like gangrene. Like cancerous. And this was the picture here. Of this sore. That would not heal. In Micah 1 verse 9. That's the picture of this sin.

[6:43] Of Samaria. Of their idolatry. And these people. They were chasing after things. After money. After power. And fake gods. They were chasing after idols. Like Baal.

[6:54] And the leaders were crooked. They were taking bribes. Hypocrisy was rife. The prophets were preaching lies. For cash. And Micah describes this society.

[7:04] Where everything's breaking down. Relationships. Breaking down trust. Completely broken down. Husbands and wives. Not trusting each other. Children turning against parents.

[7:16] Friends becoming enemies. And family members becoming foes. This is the picture of the chaos. The disruption. The sin. Of Samaria. And it reads how the nation's leaders.

[7:27] Are described as those who. Quote. This is Micah 3 verse 2. Who hate the good. And love the evil. Doesn't that sound like Australia at the moment? At times.

[7:38] Doesn't it? Some of the government. Some of the governors. Some of the lawmakers of our land. It sounds like. What's happening. Even today. We think of our own world. We've got family dysfunction.

[7:50] We've got idols of our own. Australia's idols. People virtually worshipping stuff like money. Or fame. And Micah. Presents this case here.

[8:02] And. We're just skipping through. As I say. We don't really have. Time to do it. Complete justice here tonight. But. It reads on. In Micah 3 verse 11. Micah says.

[8:12] The heads thereof. Judge for reward. The priests thereof. Teach for hire. And the prophets thereof. Divine for money. Yet will they lean upon. The Lord.

[8:23] And say. Is not the Lord amongst us. Non evil can. Come upon us. So the picture here. Is of these leaders. The civil. Religious. Prophetic leaders. They were corrupt.

[8:35] They were judging for bribes. They were corrupted. They were teaching for hire. And they were prophesying for money. And they thought. We're good with God. So we can do whatever we want.

[8:47] But God wasn't having it. God saw this. And he was. Wanting to call them to account. God is holy. And sin has to be dealt with. We see it in our own day. False teachers.

[8:58] With prosperity gospels. Watered down doctrines. We see the corruption. That is even in Christendom. Churchianity. But Micah was different.

[9:09] This man of God. Micah was different. In Micah 1 verse 8. It reads how his heart. Was broken up. For his people. Micah was moved. By the sin. He was moved.

[9:19] To action. And his heart. Was breaking. He was like Jeremiah. The weeping prophet. Grieving over sin's. Consequences. So. Micah. Stood against this tide.

[9:31] That others were going. The wrong way. And in contrast to the false prophets. We see. Micah 3 verse 8. Micah declares his authority. Now some might. Might overstate pastoral authority.

[9:44] And I think there's some overstating of that. But this is a. This is a biblical authority. This is an authority. That comes from the spirit of the Lord. And Micah 3 verse 8. He says.

[9:55] But truly I am full of power. By the spirit of the Lord. And of judgment. And of might. To declare unto Jacob his transgression. And to Israel. His sin.

[10:05] So Micah. Is standing here. Not on his own authority. But the authority of the word of God. The authority of the spirit of God. And the word for power here. Where he says. I'm full of power. It signifies divine strength.

[10:18] Enabling him to speak truth fearlessly. And this speaks of the preacher's calling. To declare sin. And stand in the power of the spirit. That's important. And the speaking here.

[10:29] Is by Holy Spirit empowerment. And a boldness for truth telling. We all need that. Don't we? To be bold enough. To speak the truth. In love. And Micah here. He's preaching.

[10:40] Under God's power. And authority. It's a courageous declaration of truth. That's what we have. As God helping us. Whoever stands in this pulpit. And preaches from the word of God.

[10:51] We've got the authority of the word of God. In the words that we speak. As we speak the word of God. How will we stand in this world?

[11:02] Will we be like Micah? Will we stand in our own world? With all of its idols. The materialism. The pride. The entertainment.

[11:12] That seems to distract. And detour people from the truth. May we cling to faithful preaching. That's what we want. That's why God helping us. That's the people that we have.

[11:23] To speak here. They're faithful preachers. Exalting Christ. Speaking the truth in love. Speaking of sin. And of the remedy.

[11:34] Christ's blood. And his saving grace. And we want to cling to faithful preaching. May we as a church stand firm. A light to our other brothers and our other sister churches. Brother churches.

[11:45] Across Adelaide. Those that will stand for the truth. We're glad to refer people to other churches that stand firm on the scriptures. And let's refuse to trade truth for popularity or profit.

[11:57] You see that in Micah's day. He withstood such falsehood. And you could imagine the ecumenical crowd of his day. But rather to be a church standing firm.

[12:08] Preacher standing firm on the scriptures. And Micah warned. He was forthright in warning about judgment. Judgment is coming. And it's the same for us. Judgment is coming for our nation.

[12:19] God sees the mess that our world is in. And in our own hearts sometimes. And we've got to take stock, don't we? Are we tolerating sin in our own lives, our homes, our church?

[12:31] Sin is like a trap. It promises fun. But it brings pain. So what does this mean for you and me? Check your heart. Are you chasing stuff that's pulling you away from God?

[12:42] Get serious about your faith. And have that faith that's real, not fake. That's fair dinkum. And that's the heart of Micah for the people of God.

[12:56] And notice in this time of judgment that God preserves a remnant. A faithful few who are the people faithful to him. And this is a recurring theme in the book.

[13:08] There's different references here. But you look at the word remnant. It occurs some four or five times. And it's a truth down through history. God always preserves a remnant.

[13:18] And we don't mean to big note ourselves saying we're the holy huddle. And we're the only ones who've got it right. But with a sense that God helping us, we're following in the tread of the faithful before us.

[13:30] We're walking in that tread. The faithful few. It's a kind of theme through the word of God. And it's a theme through the book of Micah. And it's a truth that we see down through history. That God always preserves a remnant.

[13:42] The faithful. Even though they'd be few in number sometimes. And it's a comfort for us, isn't it? To keep faithful. Keep faithful. Brothers, sisters, churches that are faithful.

[13:52] It doesn't matter how big they are, how small they are, if they're faithful. That's what we need. In this time of moral decay and doctrinal compromise to be called out. To stand. To stand our ground.

[14:03] To stand with the faithful. To stand firm in the truth. Even if we are few. And the Lord calls us to endure faithfully. When the majority turn from the faith. And from truth.

[14:14] So, we see that theme. Of the judgment there. The world's a mess. And God's warning. And thank God we can be amongst the faithful. The remnant.

[14:25] And then secondly, we see another theme. Is the hope that is in the saviour. Micah tells us of a wonderful hope. That is in the saviour from Bethlehem. Of course, we know who he is.

[14:37] Don't we? And Micah 4 verse 1. It tells. But in the last days it shall come to pass. That the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established. In the top of the mountains. And it shall be exalted above the hills.

[14:48] And people shall flow unto end. Micah's telling here about God's great promise of a future hope. He's telling you about a future. Where God's kingdom is going to be on the mountain.

[15:00] God's kingdom is going to be established. There's going to be peace and justice that will prevail. And we're going to see that people are going to flow unto it. It's talking about the last days. This glorious prophecy of the coming kingdom.

[15:13] And it tells of how nations are going to seek after God's truth. Micah 4 verse 2. And many nations shall come and say. Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.

[15:24] You can think of it as Mount Zion. And to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us of his ways. And we will walk in his paths. For the Lord shall go forth of Zion. And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

[15:37] It's telling how nations are going to seek after God's truth. There's a hopeful vision for us. In this time where the world's a mess. But hey there's coming a time. When the word of the Lord is going to go forth from Jerusalem.

[15:49] There's a hopeful vision of God's ultimate reign. That we can know this future hope. This glorious certainty. Really of Christ's coming kingdom. And of his ultimate rule.

[16:01] And that's really the glorious promise of the word of God. That this day is coming. One day. And we can know this future hope. The coming kingdom of Christ.

[16:12] Our Lord. And God's ultimate rule. And then it tells us at such a time. That peace is going to be reigning. Micah 4 verse 3. It tells of our God. He shall judge among many people.

[16:24] And rebuke strong nations afar off. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares. And their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up a sword against nation.

[16:35] Neither shall they learn war anymore. Now we touched on it this morning. Speaking of from the book of Joel. The fact that one day there's going to be no more war. Wouldn't that be good?

[16:46] If you open the newspapers or the media. You see there's no more war. There's a ceasefire. No. Actually there's a complete cessation of war. There's no more war.

[16:58] No war anymore. Wouldn't that be something? We know at the moment we don't have that. But wouldn't that be something? Where they shall learn war no more. And it tells how every man's going to dwell securely.

[17:10] Under his vine and under his fig tree. That's Micah 4 verse 4. The symbol of peace. Of prosperity. What it's telling us is about the coming of our saviour. The coming kingdom reign.

[17:22] The millennial reign. When Jerusalem will be that spiritual capital of the world. And peace will reign supreme. There's going to be no more war. And Micah tells of hope amidst judgement.

[17:34] He tells of the coming deliverer. The saviour to come. And so one of the big verses in Micah. Is chapter 5 verse 2. It's one of the most precise messianic prophecies.

[17:44] One of the clearest Old Testament declarations. Of Christ's deity. And of his eternal nature. You see that there in Micah 5 verse 2. Micah 5 verse 2. But thou Bethlehem of Ephrathah.

[17:57] Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah. Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me. That is to be ruler in Israel. Whose goings forth have been from of old.

[18:08] From everlasting. That's Jesus isn't it? That's Jesus born in a tiny village. Bethlehem.

[18:19] And it was 700 years later. After Micah uttered these words. And by the way Bethlehem. It means house of bread. Ephrathah means the fruitful place.

[18:29] This tells of Christ's pre-existence. Of his incarnation. And of his kingship. What a promise. That the ruler of Israel is going to come forth.

[18:45] And he is from everlasting. It tells that Christ is the hope. Who was born to reign. Not just redeem.

[18:57] And he is from eternity. Yet born in time. It declares the Messiah's eternal nature. From everlasting. And it tells of his divine authority.

[19:09] Ruler. Ruler. 700 years before Christ was born. It tells us the Lord Jesus is God.

[19:21] Eternal. The King. Who brings peace. And Christ fulfilled this verse. Of course at his birth. Matthew 2 verse 6. And thou Bethlehem. In the land of Judah.

[19:32] Art not the least among the princes of Judah. For out of thee shall come forth a governor. That shall rule my people Israel. Bethlehem. It's described as small. Insignificant.

[19:43] Isn't this God's pattern? It's for you and for me too. It's God's pattern. That God uses the small. The insignificant. God chooses to use the humble.

[19:54] To accomplish his purposes. So brother, sister. Don't think you're too small. For God to take hold of your life. And use you. For his glory. We see also the Messiah.

[20:06] As the shepherd. As signified in this word feed. Here in Micah 5 verse 4. And he shall stand. And feed. And the strength of the Lord. And the majesty. Of the name of the Lord his God.

[20:17] And they shall abide. For now shall he be great. Unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace. When the Assyrians shall come. Into our land. So Jesus here.

[20:28] He's the good shepherd. He lays down his life for the sheep. He will bring peace. Even amidst threats. Like the Assyrian. God will defend his people.

[20:40] Now the Assyrian. We could see it. Variously. We could understand it. As a type of Satan. Or of worldly powers.

[20:51] Opposed to God's kingdom. Defeated through Christ's work. The Assyrian. Could represent. An end time adversary. Such as the Antichrist. Or oppressive world systems.

[21:03] The point is. This man shall be the peace. Micah's world was falling apart. But he pointed to a saviour who had come. Who would bring hope. And peace. And joy.

[21:14] This man shall be the peace. Verse 5. We could understand it. To speak of our Lord. Where it tells us. Therefore being justified by faith.

[21:25] We have peace with God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Think of our Lord. He came to die for our sins. To rise again. And one day he's coming back. To make everything right.

[21:36] No more war. No more pain. What's more. We can know peace with God. Peace with God. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his shed blood. We can know peace with God. And think of Christ today.

[21:48] Think of him. Born in Bethlehem. Prophesied 700 years before. God manifest in the flesh. Our eternal king. His first coming. Secured our salvation.

[21:59] And his second coming. Will establish his righteous kingdom. And this is our hope. That anchors our soul. In a world of chaos. So think of it. Of this choice of Bethlehem.

[22:11] God chose humble Bethlehem. This obscure little town. It prompts us to think.

[22:21] God uses the weak. And the lowly. Doesn't he? Hey who am I? Who are we? If we're weak and lowly. We think of how the word tells us.

[22:33] That God chooses the foolish things. Of the world. To confound the wise. We think whether in small churches. Or in our simple lives. That our faithful witness.

[22:44] Can have an eternal impact. That each one. In our own humble little way. In our own little. Seemingly insignificant way. That we can all make an impact.

[22:55] On other souls. And we can proclaim the gospel boldly. God can help us to make that impact. I know we've talked about it before. How the man Paul.

[23:06] His name was little. God chooses the little people. Doesn't he? The insignificant people. The humble people. The little churches. The little faithful preaching.

[23:18] The little faithful ones. To be. Reaching the world for Christ. To confound the wise. And to have that wonderful impact. And the kingdom to come.

[23:29] Assures us that God's purposes will prevail. It's the gospel hope isn't it? That no matter how dark the world becomes. And even as we see the escalation. The signs of the times that we're living in.

[23:42] That there is hope in the darkness. There's light. And what does this mean for you? When life feels dark. When we're feeling stressed about all kinds of things.

[23:52] Whether it be money. Study. Dramas of our family. Jesus is our hope. And he's the one who's going to see us through. There is a future hope. That's beyond all of the mess at times of the present.

[24:05] We can trust him to light our way. And we can share the good news too. Your friends need this hope too. Hey you've got the privilege. I'm trusting that you're saved here tonight.

[24:18] But you've got that wonderful privilege to be a child of God. Think of the ones who are yet to trust him. Think of the ones that you know. Your friends.

[24:28] Your family. How can you be a messenger to them? To share that gospel hope. To tell them about Jesus. The one. The only one who can save.

[24:41] So we've seen as we've travelled so far through Micah's book. We've seen the world's mess. As it is pictured there in Samaria's idolatry. As we see the infection as it were.

[24:51] This dread incurable disease of their sin. Of the judgement. We see secondly the hope. That is in the saviour from Bethlehem. The one who is the coming king.

[25:02] Who is the peace. And thirdly we see. As we could translate it into our own lives. What does it mean for me? What is God's plan for me?

[25:14] How can I live in this crazy world at times? How can I live for God? In such a world as this. And the context of Micah 6. From verse 6.

[25:25] There's a recounting by God of his faithfulness. And he tells the account of how he delivered Israel from Egypt.

[25:36] As he raised up Moses and Aaron and Miriam. And the people then respond to that. And they say.

[25:48] Wherewithal shall I come before the Lord? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams? Or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

[25:58] God's just told them. Hey I've delivered Israel. I've raised up Moses and Aaron and Miriam. I've led you out of slavery. And delivered you.

[26:10] And they're saying here. Well. What shall I bring to please God? To try to earn favour. To try to earn favour from God.

[26:20] By focusing on external things. On ritualistic acts. Of worship. As if we can buy God's approval. That's the kind of picture of it here. That they're looking to.

[26:31] How can I do something to earn favour from God? To earn God's approval. And God rejects that. He's saying. No that's not what I'm looking for. That's not what I'm looking to.

[26:43] Some superficial religious practices. Some sacrifices. Some offerings. What he wants really is your heart. He wants your heart. He wants that genuine devotion.

[26:56] He wants authentic faith. He wants you to be as it were. A living sacrifice.

[27:07] And we see as he answers them. What he really wants. What God truly values. It's worship.

[27:18] It's authentic faith. And this is really one of the pivotal verses of the book. Micah 6 verse 8. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good. And what doth the Lord require of thee?

[27:30] But to do justly. And to love mercy. And to walk humbly with thy God. It's like. It's drilled down to these three truths.

[27:43] Of authentic living out of their faith. Of this genuine godliness. Of true spirituality. So let's break it down. He says do justly.

[27:53] Do justly. We could think of that. Live right. Do what's right. Be fair. Don't cheat. Don't lie. Don't hurt people. It's a call to live with integrity.

[28:05] If you're at work. Don't slack off. Stand up for what is right. Of course we know. It's through faith in Christ. That we are justified.

[28:17] As we read before. We're justified by faith. Romans 5 verse 1. To be entirely just. Is to put your faith in Christ. We could translate that. Into the New Testament.

[28:29] Understanding. So do justly. Secondly. Love mercy. Love mercy. In other words. Have compassion. To be kind to people. Even when they don't deserve it.

[28:41] Have a gracious spirit. I know we can get annoyed. I know we were driving to church tonight. And it was bumper to bumper. And it's easy to get cranky. Isn't it?

[28:52] But to be kind. Let someone else in. Just chill out. Be kind. They don't deserve it. Hey they cut in. They sped past me in that lane.

[29:05] Love mercy. Just have a gracious spirit. Don't get cranky. Show forgiveness. They don't deserve it. Doesn't matter.

[29:16] Love people. Love mercy. Love mercy. In other words. Delight in showing kindness. Have that heart. Hey. Life's too short to be a cranky person.

[29:28] Love mercy. Extend grace. Forgive us. Christ forgave you. That's something. Isn't it? We can gloss over that one. Do we forgive people like Christ has forgiven us?

[29:40] That's Ephesians 4.32. In other words. Show compassion. Show compassion. To the hurting. The lost. The broken. Can't we be like. God is to us.

[29:51] His mercy. The mercy of God. Even save us. For the mercy of Jesus. To die. While we were his enemies. To die. While we were sinners. To die.

[30:03] In our place. To bear our sin. Or didn't we. To love mercy. Have that compassion. And then thirdly. We're saying. Walk humbly. Walk humbly. Here's true spirituality.

[30:14] Hey. Well I've got all the right doctrine. I've got all the right doctrine. And I've got all the. P's and Q's right. And everybody. Who differs from me. Must be wrong. And we can walk humbly.

[30:24] With our God. Can't we. Hey. I may not have everything right. I may actually have. Some learning to do. Here is true spirituality. Isn't it. Walk humbly. Yeah.

[30:35] Walk humbly. Not proudly. It's talking about. Dependence upon God. Isn't it. I like to say. Kind of tongue in cheek. We're not an independent. Baptist church. We are a dependent.

[30:47] Baptist church. Amen. We're dependent. Upon God. Because all the glory. Is to him. Isn't it. All the glory. Is to our Lord. We're totally dependent. We're a totally dependent. Baptist church.

[30:58] We're dependent. Upon our Lord. As humble servants. Of the mighty king. Our majestic Lord. So we should walk humbly. It's talking about. Our dependence.

[31:09] Upon our God. That's what we should have. Isn't it. To reject pride. And self-reliance. To crucify it.

[31:19] Nail it. Die daily. To acknowledge our need of God's grace. That's what we need. Don't we? Don't we need God's grace.

[31:32] At every moment. Moment by moment. To be humble. It means knowing you need God. Every single day. And when you walk humbly.

[31:43] Hey. You don't. You don't sort of look at other people. As if. Hey. I'm better than them. No. The foot is level at the cross. Isn't it? The ground is level at the cross.

[31:53] We're all equally deserving. Of damnation. And equally undeserving. Of his grace. And yet we're glad recipients of it. By faith.

[32:04] To be humble. It means knowing you need God. Every. Single. Day. And these truths. Of the. The verse here. It's not really. Saying how to get saved.

[32:15] But it's more. The fruit. It's reflective of the fruit. Of a saved life. It's. It's really a call to. Authentic. Spiritual life. Isn't it? To prioritise spiritual.

[32:27] Authenticity. To be real. Be real. Hey. I foul up. Regularly. Be real. Right. Don't try to put on. A face. And put on a front.

[32:38] Hey. We're all equally needful. Of the grace of God. Every day. That we can. By God's strength. We can live with integrity. We can serve others. We can have that humility.

[32:49] Of heart. That doesn't big know ourselves. And look down on everybody else. That we pursue that deep relationship. To walk humbly. To walk humbly. With thy God. There's a relationship there.

[33:00] It's genuine godliness. Isn't it? Not religious routine. Because what God really desires. Isn't what the people were bragging on about. Hey. What offerings shall I bring? No.

[33:10] He just wants your heart. He wants your heart. And that's where the rubber hits the road. That genuine godliness. Not some formalism. Not some ritual. But true righteousness.

[33:21] Which is lived out. It's Christ in you. Christ out of you. Isn't it? It's where the rubber hits the road. So amidst this darkness. We see Micah's faith. It shines through. Notice this great declaration of faith.

[33:34] That he makes in Micah 7 verse 7. It tells. Therefore I will look unto the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

[33:47] Isn't that something? When you pray. You can say. My God will hear me. My God will hear me. I will look unto the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation.

[33:59] He's my saviour. Can we fix our eyes upon our Lord. And wait upon him. Sometimes we get a bit impatient. Don't we? I can get cranky. I can get impatient.

[34:10] I can get gnarky. But we should wait. Be patient. Let the Lord. Let the Lord teach you patience. He will deliver.

[34:22] Wait upon him. And we think of God himself. He is the source. The basis of our hope. And we see Micah. He trusted in God's faithfulness. So Micah shows us here.

[34:33] In the midst of this mess. This collapse. This moral collapse. Of personal failure. Then we can find hope. My God will hear me. I'm going to wait on God.

[34:46] And if I don't get an answer. I'm going to wait a bit longer. And I'm going to keep on waiting. I'm going to keep on waiting upon him. He's talking about serving. A sense of waiting on. As a waiter.

[34:56] We're waiting on God. We're at his bidding. Aren't we? We're waiting for him to lead. To guide. And it's teaching of that spiritual perseverance. That our faith can stand firm.

[35:09] In the hard times. I want an answer. And I want it right now. God says just wait. Wait on me. Be patient. You may not get it straight away.

[35:20] Wait on me. Micah could testify. Of the sustaining grace of God. In his life too. You see Micah 7 verse 8. Rejoice not against me. O my enemy. When I fall.

[35:31] I shall arise. When I sit in darkness. The Lord shall be a light unto me. Here's Micah. And he's saying. Okay. When I fall. I shall arise. Micah's not saying.

[35:42] I've got it all together. And I never make an error. And I never mess up. Now and again. He says. When I do fall. I shall arise. That's the picture there.

[35:52] Hey. Sure enough. We all have moments. Where we might slip. And. Friend here tonight. If you're a backslider here tonight. If you're a weary saint.

[36:05] There's hope. There's hope. When I fall. I shall arise. Okay. Maybe I messed up here. I shall arise. God's patient with me. And the Lord shall be a light unto me.

[36:18] There's hope for the backslider. And the book closes then. With this triumphant hymn. This song of praise. This glory to God for his mercy.

[36:28] We see. As we started off the book. As we started off the sermon tonight. That we started off with the truth that. Micah's name means.

[36:41] Who is like our God. Who is like God. And he really answers it here. In Micah 7. 18 through 19.

[36:52] This wonderful climactic truth. This. Question and the answer. Who is a God like unto thee. Oh God.

[37:04] Who is like unto thee. That pardoneth iniquity. And passeth by the transgression. Of the remnant of his heritage. He retaineth not his anger forever. Because he delighteth in mercy.

[37:17] He's saying here. Who is a God like unto thee. And this word pardoneth. It means. It means to lift up. And carry away. He's saying. Who is a God like unto thee.

[37:29] You carry my sin. And you take it away. That's the sense of it here. That he so pardons you. He so pardons us. Of our sin.

[37:40] Of our guilt. Of our shame. He says. I'm going to take it. And lift it off of you. And carry it away. That's the meaning of this pardon. So God doesn't merely overlook sin.

[37:50] He removes it completely. God's mercy. God's mercy. Surely. Surely it is immense. Isn't it? He delights in mercy. He delights to show you mercy.

[38:00] And notice the grace of God in forgiveness. As it reads on there. He will turn again. He will have compassion upon us. He will subdue our iniquities. And they will cast all their sins.

[38:12] Into the depths. Of the sea. Now I don't know how deep the sea is. This is some several kilometers. Isn't it? I know that some of you probably know those facts and figures. But the depths of the sea is kilometers deep.

[38:26] And it's a picture there of the grace of God. Isn't it? Of his forgiveness. That he remembers our sins no more. That he completely removes them. And he cast them into the deepest part of the sea.

[38:39] Never to be remembered against us again. What a picture. Isn't that? What a picture. I know some. I hear stories from different ones. And they tell me the dread things of their past sometimes.

[38:52] Not that I've got a confessional booth. But sometimes they get to know of the sins. Of the congregation. And God says. I'm going to cast all of their sins.

[39:06] Into the depths of the sea. That's the picture. So you don't need to even hold it in your own mind anymore. If you've given it to Christ. If you've surrendered it to the Lord.

[39:19] Then he's cleansed you. From all your sin. And he's cast all of your sin. Every single one of the sins. Into the depths of the sea.

[39:30] What a picture of his forgiveness. And he remembers our sins no more. Never to be remembered again. Against us. Think of his salvation. Of his mercy. Think of his pardon. Who is like unto our God.

[39:44] His pardon. His faithfulness. We can know God. Not just a God of wrath. Which at times he is. And rightfully so. And righteously so.

[39:55] But the Lord. Who delights to show mercy. He delights to extend abundant mercy. And he forgives so completely. And he restores his people. Undeserving.

[40:07] Unmerited. Unmerited. Unworthy. He forgives completely. And he restores his people. That he forgives you.

[40:19] All of the foul ups. And tosses them into the sea. Into the ocean. Gone. Forever. Gone. That's the God. Who is like unto thee.

[40:30] Who is like unto thee. That's the God that we serve. And brother. Sister. You can hope. You can trust in the forgiveness of God. That it is sure. Through Christ. You can trust in his grace.

[40:42] That complete forgiveness. That he will cast away our sins. And cast them into the sea. And this truth can bring an encouragement. To the backslider. Hey to all of us.

[40:53] That there's an encouragement. To the discouraged. And there's hope for the sinner. No sin. Is beyond God's grace. Just yield it to him. And Micah was this lone voice.

[41:05] In this wicked age. It's like that for us today. The world grows darker. Doesn't it? Compromise is celebrated. Truth is mocked. Micah stands firm.

[41:15] In such a time. And he's a model for us. To reject the false. And to live the true. To preach the gospel boldly. To trust the promises of God. As we started off.

[41:26] Micah's name means. Who is like God. And the answer is. None. He is one. Of a kind.

[41:38] There's no other saviour. None other name. Under heaven. That we can be saved. Think of. This one. There's no other hope. It's Christ alone.

[41:50] What does this mean for you? Live it out. Brother sister. Live out your faith. Don't just talk about faith. Put your faith into action. Into the shoe leather. As you walk your life's journey.

[42:02] Don't just talk about faith. Do it. And trust God's mercy. Have we messed up? Run to the Lord. Hey. He's going to cast it into the depths of the sea.

[42:13] Why are you hanging on to it? Let him take it. And throw it away. By his grace. Let him cover you. And pay for that sin with his precious blood.

[42:24] And wash you clean. Run to the Lord. And he will forgive you. To conclude. Think about. How can we be a Micah in our world?

[42:37] Really Micah was a nobody from nowhere. But he stood up and he spoke God's truth. And Micah's hope in God's mercy had sustained him. In the darkest of times. Our ultimate hope is Jesus Christ.

[42:49] The ruler from Bethlehem. Has fulfilled Micah 5 verse 2. And he will return to reign. And again back to this pivotal verse. Are we doing justly?

[43:00] In other words living right. Hey Lord help me to do justly. To do what's fair. To do what's right. To stand for truth. In love.

[43:11] To stand in righteousness. And we may justify it by faith. So let your faith be strengthened. To do justly. Do the right thing. And then to love mercy.

[43:22] Do we love mercy? Are we showing steadfast love? In our relationships. Like Jesus does for us. Are we forgiving? Like Jesus forgives us. Are we showing kindness to the undeserving?

[43:34] Like the loving kindness of our God? Will we walk humble? Will we walk humble? Even if we got it all right. Got the doctrine all right. To submit to God.

[43:46] Hey. I'm just a humble vessel. I'm just a learner. Like everyone. A disciple. A learner. I just want to get closer to my Lord. To draw nearer to him.

[43:57] And he's going to draw near to me. As I walk humbly with my God. As we acknowledge our need of his grace. Our dependence upon him. To walk humbly with our God. So as God's people.

[44:10] Let's not make the mistake. Of the crowd of Micah's day. Where they're kind of a bit obsessed with the ritualism. And the actions. Rather than the heart. And the Lord calls us to yet have this faith.

[44:22] That's lived out. It's practical. Hey. This will be a witness. Even your life. Can be a testimony. Who is like our God? Micah's faith.

[44:33] It inspires us. It's the mercy of God. Isn't it? That calls us to trust in him. There's nobody like our God. He's absolutely awesome.

[44:45] Awesome. There's only one God. Our Lord. And Saviour. And it inspires us to trust him. If you've never trusted Christ. Today is the day.

[44:55] He died for your sins. Rose to give you life. If you've never trusted Christ. Trust him now. Trust him now. Hear Micah's plea. God lifts away our sins.

[45:07] And he casts them away. Into the depths of the sea. Never to be held against us again. And if you're saved. Let Micah's message ignite your faith.

[45:18] To be like Micah who stood firm. When there was a lot of falling away. And there was a lot of compromise at the time. In the dark world of Micah. That we can be a Micah people.

[45:29] In other words we can be that holy people. Hopeful and wholly devoted. To our awesome God. To go live like Micah. And show the world who our God is.

[45:39] Amen. If you've trusted him. He's your saviour. He's the ruler from Bethlehem. And he's the one who rules over your heart. And life. Put your trust in him tonight.

[45:50] Lord we thank you that you dwell in hearts by faith. That we see the peace of God shall rule in our hearts. Lord we can know that you are the ruler.

[46:01] Not just the ruler from Bethlehem. But the ruler of our heart. You are the king of my life. Lord we thank you for that. Lord help us to live as loyal subjects.

[46:11] As a. Not just that. But as children. Of the living God. As kings and priests even. As part of the royal family.

[46:22] As it were Lord. That we would walk in your truth. That especially Lord we walk humbly. With you our God. That we won't ever get too prideful. Or too self-centred.

[46:34] That you'll crucify our conceit. Our pride. Our flesh. Our vanity. Our vain glory. That we would learn to walk humbly with our God.

[46:47] Keep us humble Lord. Keep us with the right spirit. That will do justly. That will love mercy. That will walk humbly. With our God. Help us in these things Lord we pray.

[46:59] And if any are yet to trust you here tonight. That they'll say. Lord Jesus you died for my sin. I trust you. To pay for it now. To trust you. To pay every bit of my sin.

[47:09] To take it away. To cast it into the sea of forgetfulness. Lord that we can know your cleansing power. That as we turn and trust in faith.

[47:20] That we can know that saving power. The saving work of the cross. We thank you Lord for these things. And bless each heart. Each home. Help us Lord to live like Micah lived.

[47:32] Even if it be somewhat out of kilter with the world that we live in. Where they don't seem to care much for the truth. That we'll be like Micah Lord. Who is like unto thee.

[47:44]  We thank you Lord in Jesus name. Amen.