We'll begin our worship this morning by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing in Psalm 25, the first version of the psalm,
in the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 25,
page 231.
The tune is Dennis. We're going to sing from verse 1 down to verse 6.
To thee I lift my soul, O Lord, I trust in thee.
My God, let me not be ashamed, nor foes triumph for me.
Let none that wait on thee be put to shame at all, but those that without cause transgress, let shame upon them fall.
We'll sing from verse 1 to 6 to God's praise.
To thee I lift my soul, O Lord, I trust in thee.
Let thou that wait on thee.
My God, let me not be ashamed, nor boast high of glory.
Let the man that wait on me be put to shame and all.
And those that will and cause transgress, let shame upon them all.
O me, my grace, O Lord, my past, O tree, shall we?
And do thou read me in my truth, then my teacher be.
For thou art God, let us to meet salvation, strength.
And die upon thee, O Lord, my best, O Lord.
Amen.
Let us bow our heads in a word of prayer.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, as we gather in your name this day, as we come praising you, as we come offering up praise to you in song,
as we come looking to you in prayer, as we come seeking to hear from you in your word.
We thank you that you are a God who has remembered us, that you have remembered us in such a special and a significant way,
that you have sent salvation to us as we have sung.
We thank you that we come in the name of Jesus today, that we come looking to him to be Lord and God of all,
and Lord and God for us, that we would come looking to him to trust in him with all our heart, with all our soul,
and to love you as we should.
And we pray and thank you, Lord, for your word that instructs us, that helps us.
Your word teaches us day by day.
And we thank you that all of us together here, from youngest to oldest, hears from your word and help us to learn,
help us to hear what you are saying to us.
And as we come to the end of this year, as we come to the last day of the year,
we thank you for all your goodness to us in so many ways over this year.
Through all the ups and downs of life, Lord, you are faithful.
You are our constant companion.
And we pray, Lord, that as we look, God, willing to a new year,
that we will put our hand in yours and walk with you and trust in you with all our hearts.
May you guide us and help us along every step of the way.
So, Lord, be near to us as we worship you this day.
And in all our homes and our families, Lord, we ask your blessing, your help, your strength in all the different needs that we have.
We thank you, Lord, for a time of holiday.
We thank you for many families being together, both here and maybe some away as well.
We thank you for these times that we are able to share together and to be able to share it around your word today as well is a real blessing to us.
So, Lord, we thank you for everyone here, everyone visiting with us, everyone tuning in online as well, wherever they may be, Lord,
that you will surround us all with your love and with your grace.
We thank you for your faithfulness, Lord, and help us that we may be faithful to you in all that we do, in all that we say,
and in all that we do in the days ahead as well, Lord.
May we know your goodness with us and your mercy upon us.
So, Lord, hear our prayers and pardon all our sin as we ask all these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Before some of the younger ones go out, I'll just share a word with you.
We're thinking today in our service about what it means to walk with God,
to go on looking to him and trusting in him every day of our lives.
And I hope you've had a good week this week.
I hope you've been enjoying your holiday and enjoy the last few days of it.
And today is the last day of 2023.
Tomorrow, all being well, we'll be into 2024.
Another year has gone by.
And when you think about a year and you think about it in terms of numbers,
there's so many numbers that you can think about in a year.
You think about it as one year.
And it sounds quite small in some ways.
One year has passed.
Or we think about it in another way.
We think about it in terms of months.
And we have 12 months in the year.
And everybody in that period of time,
I'm sure everybody's had a birthday or other different occasions over these months.
Then you think about it in terms of weeks.
How many weeks are there in a year?
We've got 52 weeks in the year.
Then you can break it into days.
And how many days there are in a year?
365 days in the year.
So the numbers are getting bigger.
And then you start thinking,
well, I've got 365 days.
Every day's got hours.
So how many hours are there in a year?
Now the numbers are starting to get quite big.
8,760 hours in a year.
Now we're going to go one more.
What about number of minutes in the year?
A lot higher than 8,000.
How many minutes are in a year?
525,600 minutes in a year.
Now we're not going to go to seconds
because that will just be getting a really big, big, huge number.
But you just think about all these numbers that we have.
From one year down to 525,600 minutes.
And you break it all down into that.
And the question is this.
What have we done with our time?
In Ephesians, the letter of the Ephesians,
in the New Testament, in chapter 5 and verse 15,
it says,
Look carefully then how you walk,
not as unwise but as wise,
making the best use of the time.
It's talking there about walking.
How are we walking with God?
Are we making the best use of our time?
All of the last year,
and as we look ahead to another year to come,
God willing,
as we look back over 12 months,
as we look back over 52 weeks,
as we look back over 365 days,
as we look back over all these numbers,
and we think of them,
yes, some of them are just small numbers,
but we ask ourselves,
have we lived every minute trusting in God?
Have we lived 525,600 minutes trusting in God
with all our hearts?
And is that what we will do
as we go into a new year?
If we haven't already done so,
are we going to make the best use of the time?
Walking with God,
not as unwise,
which means we're doing silly things with our time,
stupid things with our time,
but as wise.
Wise people,
making the best use of our time
every minute that we have.
We often say time is precious,
and we are to spend it in the right way.
It means looking out for others,
helping others,
living our lives in a good way,
but above all,
it means trusting God
every minute,
every second of every day,
that we will walk with Him
and trust in Him.
So may God bless these thoughts to us
and be with us all
as we look ahead to a new year.
We're going to say now
the Lord's Prayer together.
Amen.
Our Father,
which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power,
and the glory forever.
Amen.
We're going to sing again
to God's praise,
this time in Psalm 57,
in the Sing Psalms version.
Find us on page 74
of the Psalm books.
Psalm 57.
We're going to sing
from verse 1 to verse 5.
The tune is Selma.
Have mercy on me, Lord,
to you my soul holds fast.
Your covering wings will shelter me
until the dangers pass.
I cry to God,
most high,
to God who answers me,
for he fulfills his purposes
for me most perfectly.
We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 5
to God's praise.
God's praise.
Let's amen.
Let's pray.
د hands
I cry to God most high, to God who answers me.
For he fulfills his purposes, for he moves perfectly.
He sends his help from her, and saves me all my love.
Reveal me close to see my life, God sends this truth and love.
I live with savage peace, I dwell with high up strong.
With man who speak, with piercing words, a sharp sword is their tongue.
Above the highest head, O God, exalted thee,
And O God, on the earth below, display your majesty.
We'll turn together to read in God's word now in the Old Testament, in the book of Micah.
Micah, we're going to read in chapter 6.
Micah chapter 6, you'll find it around page 942, towards the end of the Old Testament.
Micah chapter 6, and we can read the whole of this chapter together.
Micah chapter 6, from the beginning.
Hear what the Lord says.
O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you?
Answer me.
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery.
And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
O my people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, devised,
And what Balaam, the son of Baor, answered him,
And what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
That you may know the saving acts of the Lord.
With what shall I come before the Lord,
And bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
With calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
With ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has told you, O man, what is good,
And what does the Lord require of you,
But to do justice, and to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God.
The voice of the Lord cries to the city,
And it is sound wisdom to fear your name.
Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it.
Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness
In the house of the wicked,
And the scant measure that is accursed?
Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales,
And with a bag of deceitful weights?
Your rich men are full of violence,
Your inhabitants speak lies,
And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.
Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,
Making you desolate because of your sins.
You shall eat, but not be satisfied,
And there shall be hunger within you.
You shall put away, but not preserve,
And what you preserve I will give to the sword.
You shall sow, but not reap.
You shall tread olives,
But not anoint yourselves with oil.
You shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.
For you have kept the statutes of Omri,
And all the works of the house of Ahab,
And you have walked in their councils,
That I may make you a desolation,
And your inhabitants a hissing.
So you shall bear the scorn of my people.
And so on.
And may God bless to us that reading of his word.
Let's again turn to God in prayer.
Let us pray.
Amen.
Our Father in heaven,
As often as we read of your blessings in your word,
The many great and wonderful promises
That you have given to us,
That are all fulfilled in your Son,
Christ Jesus our Lord.
We recognize and give thanks, Lord,
For every one of them,
That are precious to us as a people.
And yet, O Lord,
As we read your word as well,
In the fullness of it,
We see the many promises,
But also the many challenges,
And rebukes that there are for us.
The many truths that they are reminding us
Of the consequence of sin.
The many truths that remind us of what it means,
What it entails not to listen to you
As you speak to us.
And as we have read in your word together just now,
We see so many of these things.
We see the challenges and the rebukes to your people.
But we thank you that in the midst of them,
We read too of your great love towards us as a people.
That you know our sins,
You know our helplessness,
You know how we cannot do anything for ourselves
Because our hearts are so inclined to wander away from you.
We are pulled in so many different directions.
We are pulled so easily away from your truth and from your ways.
The things that appeal to us in this world, O Lord,
Can so easily take over our hearts.
But help us, Lord, to find mercy with you.
Help us to find renewal with you.
Help us to repent as your word calls us to.
Help us to turn away from our sin
And to seek to walk humbly with the Lord.
For we thank you for your steadfast love,
Your covenant love,
Through which we are blessed and blessed abundantly.
That you are a God who loves steadfast love.
That you are a God who desires it for all people.
And yet so quickly, Lord, we turn away.
And so help us, Lord,
Even as we reflect at the end of this year.
As we look back and
As we are maybe reminded of the many ways in which your promises have blessed us and helped us
Throughout so many different situations.
We thank you that we can look back and see your faithfulness to us in so many ways.
The way that you have kept us, sustained us, watched over us.
The way that you have provided for us.
In the simplest of ways, Lord, that we so often forget.
Whether it's the air that we breathe, the water that we drink.
The simple things in life that we see as attained by ourselves.
And yet your word reminds us that every good and perfect gift is from above.
From the one who changes not.
And so, Lord, humble us before you today.
That we might walk rightly with you.
That we would seek your face.
That we would come, O Lord, with much to give thanks for.
And that we would praise your name.
That we would also come, O Lord, confessing our sin.
Our sin of forgetfulness.
Our sin of turning away from you.
Our sin of not leaning on your word or trusting in it.
And also, Lord, in the many things that go on in our lives.
When we are challenged.
When we are finding the way tough.
We thank you that we can come, O Lord, and cast our cares upon you.
And help us to do so for ourselves and for others around us.
For our communities.
For our nation.
For our world.
We thank you that you are a God who hears and answers prayer.
And every one of which we have seen answer to in this past year.
We give you thanks.
For every prayer offered up that we wait upon.
Still wait upon.
We pray for patience to wait.
For every prayer that we offered up, Lord.
Not according to your will.
But for our own selfish hearts.
We ask forgiveness.
And we pray, Lord, that you will be the one that guides us in the days ahead.
That as we go into a new year, God willing.
We would know your presence with us.
We would know you going before us in all things.
Directing our paths.
Helping us to walk closely with you.
We pray that, Lord, for our nation as a whole.
When we think of our rulers and all who govern us in so many different ways.
We think of our king and his family, Lord.
We pray your blessing on them.
We pray, Lord, for them all to come to see the light of the glory of Jesus Christ.
We pray for them to come to know what it is to fully believe in God.
And the fact that you sent your son as a savior for this world.
That they would come to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The one who is there for us.
Lord, help them.
We pray in all their own needs as well, Lord.
We pray above all for their souls, O Lord.
That you will bless them richly.
That you will bring them to know and to rule according to your word and to your truth.
We pray that also for our governments.
For Westminster.
For Holyrood.
For Prime Minister and First Minister.
Lord, again, that their hearts will be turned to you.
That they would come to know the glory of God.
That they would come to know the wonder of your grace.
And the power of your word.
The power of prayer.
And that righteousness exalts our nation.
We pray, Lord, for the year ahead to be seeing your glory in our land.
To be seeing your power at work.
To be seeing people turn to you in great numbers.
And people coming to know and believe in the Lord Jesus.
We pray these things so often, Lord.
Maybe just asking as a token gesture.
Not really believing it's possible.
But we thank you that your word reminds us of how quickly you can turn a people.
Turn a nation.
Turn a world to yourself.
And we pray, Lord, that you will come in your power.
That you will hear your praying people throughout the world today.
Far and wide.
That you will look down upon us.
That you will remember those in need in all corners of the earth.
The persecuted church.
Those who suffer for your name.
Those who are suffering in the midst of conflict and wars just now.
Those who suffer in so many different ways.
Through rulers oppressing a people.
Keeping things for themselves when a people are in need.
And we, oh Lord, pray for mercy.
And your goodness to be poured out upon us.
We thank you, Lord, that you remember us.
That you know us in every need that we have.
That you know our names.
That you know us in all our personal needs, our innermost thoughts.
And we come, oh Lord, pleading with you to remember our people here.
To remember our homes.
And our families and our communities at this time.
Remember those in sorrow and sadness.
Remember those who are anxious over loved ones.
Remember those who are unwell.
In whatever situation that may be.
Physically or mentally or spiritually.
Oh Lord, we know that the battles in this world are so many.
And so varied.
But we thank you that we have a God who is able.
A God who is able to help and do abundantly more than all that we ask or imagine.
And so we pray, Lord, to draw near to us.
And to help us to draw near to you.
That every day of a year to come.
Every week.
Every hour.
Every second even.
That we would live for the Lord.
That we would seek to trust in you.
And to walk closely with you.
Lord, bless us, we pray.
From our youngest to our oldest.
That you would be with us in all that we seek to do in your name.
In families and communities.
In all our island communities here, Lord.
We pray for your goodness and mercy to be with us.
To pour out your spirit upon us.
To revive us as a people.
And to do us good.
Lord, help us, we pray.
And all we ask, we ask.
Knowing our own frailties and weakness.
But thankful, Lord, for your goodness towards us.
Your strength.
Your grace that is always sufficient.
And we pray.
Pleading in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The name above every name.
The name before whom we must all come and give an account.
On that day of judgment.
And we pray, Lord.
Help us to be prepared for that day.
To be ready for it.
To be trusting in you.
Recognizing that there will be no injury time when it comes to that.
There will be no second chances.
There will be no time to make amends when the Lord comes.
Our day is now.
Our time is now.
And we pray, Lord, that you will help us in this day.
To hear your voice speaking to us.
Give us ears to hear then.
And go with us, we pray.
Pardoning all our sin as we ask it all in Jesus' name.
Amen.
We're going to sing again to God's praise before we turn back to look at the passage in Micah and Psalm 39.
Psalm 39, we'll sing from verse 7.
Page 258 of the Psalm book.
Psalm 39 at verse 7.
And now, O Lord, what wait I for.
My hope is fixed on thee.
Free me from all my trespasses.
The fool's scorn make not me.
We'll sing from verse 7 to 13.
And the tune is, Wetherby.
Amen.
The fool's scorn make not me.
Because this world was nigh.
Thy soul's scorn make not me.
The fool's scorn make not me.
Of thy hand I do hide.
When with refuse thou dost glory,
Man for iniquity.
The fool's scorn make not me.
But then, my cry, Lord, that my tears
And there's the silent beat
I soldier not
My father's all
And Savior come with me
O say by me
That I my strength
Recover me again
Before progress
I do depart
And here
No more
Reveal
Let's turn back to our reading in Micah chapter 6
We can read again at verse 8
We're going to look really at verse 1 through to verse 8
Micah 6 at verse 8
He has told you, O man, what is good
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice
And to love kindness
And to walk humbly
With your God
To do justice
And to love
Steadfast love
You could say there
And to walk humbly
With your God
As we think of coming
To the end of a year
As we've thought about
Our time in that sense
Of the year gone past
And what we've done
With our time
Has it been a year
That we have been walking
Humbly with the Lord
Or is it something
That we have to reflect on
And think about
How we could be better
In that sense
Of walking
Humbly with the Lord
Have we lost our focus
From him
As we look at the book of Micah
It's a book that's
Full of this challenge
Both in the sense of
Yes, in many ways
Things are going well
The people are getting on
Okay
But they're losing sight
Of God
And that always has
Consequences
And Micah comes to them
With a word
With a rebuke
With a challenge
And to walk humbly
With your God
You imagine going
Into your workplace
And you're going in
Expecting that your boss
Will give you the jobs
For that day
But instead
They say to you
I'm sure you've
Got enough
To catch up on yourself
I know you've just
Been on holiday
You're coming back
After your Christmas
And New Year break
But you've probably
Got things that you
Would like to do yourself
Things you want to get
Back on top of
So just take the day
To yourself
You're probably thinking
Well
My job must be at risk
Or something
There's something
Just not right here
Maybe he's not going
Not going to get paid
For this day's work
So you ask that question
What about my pay?
And they say
Don't worry
You'll still get paid
But just go
And do your own thing
I'm sure you'll be surprised
If any boss
Would say that to you
Because you go to work
Expecting
To do a job
Likewise
You wouldn't go into work
And just say to your boss
Look I can't do the work
That you're paying me for today
I've got so many things
I've got to do for myself
I'm going to go and do that
But you're going to still pay me
My wage at the end of the week
You wouldn't go in doing that
Because if you did
You would probably expect
To be sacked
But what is our relationship
With God like
In this way?
How are we living
With God?
Do we treat God
With a selfish
Kind of attitude?
Where we come to God
And say to him
I'm going to do my own thing
I'm going to live as I want
But at the end of the day
You're going to give me
The goodness
Of your heart
You're going to give me
All the good things
That you promise
In your word
But I'm still going to
Just go and do
My own thing
That is how we
So often end up living
We want to do
Our own thing
And we want to do it
In our way
But we want the blessings
Of God too
And as you look through Micah
That's the very situation
You find
They were doing
Anything they wanted
To please themselves
But still expecting
To God
God to be on demand
As well
When he was needed
They'd call
And they would expect him
To give them
Exactly what they wanted
And that's why God
Sent Micah
He sent Micah to them
To show them
The error of their ways
To show them
Where they were going wrong
How they're turning
Away from God
And expecting just God
To do as they wanted
When they wanted
This was going to have
Consequences
That without their way
Being changed
Would lead them down
A path
That was not good
The relationship
With God
Was breaking up
The steadfast love
That they had enjoyed
From God
So much
And that the goodness
Of God
As we read through
Here of what he'd done
For them
They were forgetting
And just turning
Away from
When you see
The setting of Micah
And the kind of situation
He's writing into you
Begin to realise
How similar it is
To our own day
You read through Micah
And you see
Turning away from God
Leads us to turn
To other things
To pleasing ourselves
To getting our own gain
And there's probably
Four different ways
That you could see it
When you read through Micah
You read in chapter 3
Verse 11
Something that was happening
There was bribery
Going on
In verse 11 of chapter 3
Its heads give judgment
For a bribe
Its priests teach for a price
Its prophets practice divination
For money
Yet they lean on the Lord
And say
It's not the Lord
In the midst of us
No disaster
Shall come upon us
It's this situation
Of bribery going on
Just you tell us
What will please us
And we'll give you money
For it
But if God is not happy
You can bring God into it
And give him a token gesture
So that he will bless us
And isn't that how
Our nation seems to operate
So much now
We bring God in
Just for the essentials
From time to time
But we want to continue
And live our lives
In our own way
Turning away from God's word
Rejecting God's word
But in the midst of disaster
We'll come and say
Oh but God help us
It doesn't work
You see there was violence
In Micah's day as well
Micah chapter 2 verse 8
But lately my people
Have risen up as an enemy
You stripped the rich robe
From those who passed by
Trustingly
With no thought of war
There was this violence
Going on for self gain
Again you look at our world today
Such a similar situation
Corruption was there as well
Similar to bribery
But slightly different
Micah 6 verse 11
Which we read
Shall I acquit a man
With wicked scales
And with a bag of deceitful weights
Corruption going on
And you see too
In chapter 7
There's a sense of community
Breakdown too
In verse 5 and 6
Of chapter 7
Put no trust in a neighbor
Have no confidence in a friend
Guard the doors of your mouth
From her who lies in your arms
For the son treats the father
With contempt
The daughter rises up
Against her mother
There's community and family
Breakdown to the fore here as well
Again it's the same kinds of things
That we see in our own society today
All these things are so prominent
In our life
And what is behind it all
We fail to acknowledge
We fail to look at
Is abandoning God
And turning her back on God
There are consequences
To doing that
In Micah's day
And in our own day
And yet God still comes in
God still speaks to a nation here
And to a nation ourselves
To a people ourselves
And he calls his people
To repentance
What remains constant
Throughout Micah's day
And our day
And every generation
Is the need of repentance
And the offer of salvation
From the Lord
In Micah chapter 7
Verse 18
You read there
Who is a God like you
Pardoning iniquity
And passing over transgression
For the remnant of his inheritance
He does not retain his anger forever
But he delights
In steadfast love
He delights
In his covenant love
In his faithfulness
Towards his people
And that is what Micah
Is calling us to
In this section
Just as the Lord
Loves
Steadfast love
So in verse 8
We are being called
To God
He has told us
What is good
What he requires of you
To do justice
To love
Steadfast love
And to walk humbly
With your God
It is there
Before us
And the question is
What are we doing
With it
Somebody once
Put it like this
The same old story
Which is what we see
And look at here
The same old story
Of all that is wrong
With our world
He said
It needs
The same old story
Needs
The same old story
Of corruption
And bribery
Turning away from God
Needs the same old story
Of the steadfast love
Of God
It needs
The gospel
And that is what
We all need
As we come to the end
Of a year
Going to a new year
God willing
The gospel
The goodness of God
With us
And to walk humbly
With our God
And there's three things
That we learn here
Of what we need
To walk humbly
With God
And the first is this
We see it in verse 1 and 2
Hear the Lord
If we're not listening to God
If we're not hearing God
It is impossible
To walk humbly
With God
Because if we're not
Listening to God
We're listening to ourselves
Or to everything else
That this world
Will throw our way
And we're turning away
From God
And so
Micah's role
If you like
As a prophet
Was to bring
The word of God
That the people
Would hear
And listen
To the word of God
There were these
False prophets
Who were coming
They were taking a bribe
They'd tell the people
Whatever they wanted
To hear
Not what God
Was saying to them
But whatever they wanted
To hear
Just carry on as you are
Do as you please
Do what you want
But God will still
Be there for you
But Micah
He comes
With the truth
In verse 1
And verse 2
You see
It says
Hear what the Lord
Says
Hear what the Lord
Says
Hear you mountains
The indictment
Of the Lord
God is speaking
And he is speaking
Powerfully here
To the people
And they need
To listen
And how much
Has the Lord
Been speaking to us
All through our days
All our lives
All our years
All our weeks
All our months
All our hours
Every second of the day
God is speaking
To us
Through everything
That goes on
In our own lives
Our lives around us
The world around us
God is speaking
And yet
What had happened
To the people
In Micah's days
The same as is
Happening to ourselves
Today
People are growing
Tired of listening
To God
They are growing
Tired of hearing
What God is saying
And they are
Turning away
And Micah is saying
There are consequences
If you do
What you need to do
Is hear
What he is saying
To you
Have you ever had
Someone
Who has always
Got advice
To offer
It doesn't matter
What you are doing
It might be just
A little job
Around the house
You might be working
With this person
But they have always
Got a bit of advice
To give as to
How it should be done
Or to do it like this
Instead of like that
And if this is going on
All the time
You can become
Tired of hearing it
You become frustrated
With hearing it
You don't want to
Hear it anymore
And yet
When we are hearing
God speaking to us
It is so often
The way we can be
God
Why do you keep
Saying that I am a sinner
God
Why do you keep
Telling me that I need
To repent
And turn and live
My life in a particular way
Can I not do it
My own way
And it tires us
It wearies us
It is a recurring problem
Throughout the scriptures
From the old
Into the new testament
You find a people
Who become weary
With God
Although he is offering
His steadfast love
His salvation
His redemption
People just reject it
And turn away from it
We will do it our way
We will go our own path
We will walk our own way
Not humbly before God
But proudly before others
We will show them
How it is done
But it will not end well
And so
The word of God
Is telling us
To listen
To hear what he is saying
Not to tire of it
But to love it
To love the fact
That God speaks
To love the fact
That God
Longs for goodness
For his people
To love the fact
That we have
A great story
To hear
Not to tire
Of it
There was a woman
Called Catherine Hankey
And she was born
In London
In 1834
And born into
A very wealthy family
But she came
To love the Lord
And serve the Lord
From her young age
She was very young
When she became
A Christian
And she had a real
Love for God
And a love for sharing
His word with others
And when she was
Just a teenager
She began
A Bible class
For girls
In her neighborhood
In her late teens
She began organizing
Sunday schools
Around different parts
Of London
For girls
In her late teens
As well
And she used to love
Just serving the Lord
She used to publish
Poems and tracts
To share with others
She was always busy
With the Lord
But then when she was
In her thirties
She became seriously ill
And she was ill
For quite a long
Period of time
And she realized
During that time
That in all the busyness
Of what she'd been doing
She had become
In a danger
Of forgetting
The gospel
Forgetting to listen
To God
And she wrote
A poem
And it's called
Tell me
The same old story
And it goes
Like this
Tell me the story
Slowly
That I may take it in
The wonderful redemption
God's remedy
For sin
Tell me the story
Often
For I forget
So soon
The early dew
Of morning
Has passed away
At noon
That was one of the verses
In it
She longed just to hear
The story
The same old story
Tell it to me often
For I forget
So soon
And it's so important
That we listen
To what the Lord
Is saying
To us
Tell me
The story
Often
Let us
Love
Hearing
The gospel
The good news
Of God
Through Jesus Christ
To us
We are to listen
To the Lord
Why is that
So important
Well the second thing
We see here
Is because we have
To give answer
To the Lord
The day is coming
When we have to give
Answer
To the Lord
We have to give answers
We see in verse 6
With what shall I come
Before the Lord
And bow myself
Before God
On high
A day is coming
When we will have to
Appear before God
And what are we going to
Bring
Before God
On that day
How am I going to
Bow myself
Before God
On high
Do you realize
The significance
Of this
Yes we can
Not listen
To God
Just now
We can turn
Away from God
Just now
But the day
Is coming
When you must
Come face
To face
With God
And what will
You bring
Before the Lord
On that day
You might
Watch
Television
And see
These programs
They have now
When they have
A judge
Judge Judy
Or judge
Rinder
Of one of these
Programs
And it's all
Televised so people
Can see what's
Going on in people's
Lives
And a person
Will come
Making a case
Against somebody
Else
Presenting
The evidence
And this is almost
Like a court case
We're having here
In verse 6
And 7
What we see here
Is God
While saying
What evidence
Do you have
Against me
You go back
To verse 3
And it says there
Oh my people
What have I done
To you
How have I
Wearied you
Answer me
What have I done
To you
How have I
Wearied you
Answer me
And when you
See God
Put across
His case
There
In verse 4
And verse 5
For I brought
You up
Out of the
Land of Egypt
And redeemed
You from the
House of slavery
And I sent
Before you
Moses and
Aaron
And Miriam
Oh my people
Remember
What Balak
King of Moab
Devised
And so it goes
On
And then
In the end of verse 5
That you may know
The saving acts
Of the Lord
This is God's case
What have I done
To weary you
I've brought you
Out of Egypt
I've brought you
Out of slavery
I've brought you
Redemption
I've brought you
All of this
How have I
Wearied you
Answer me
God is a God
Of covenant
A God of
Faithfulness
A God of
Steadfast love
And he shows it
Again and again
And again
And he says
How can this
Be wearisome
To you
And what is
Our case
That we are
Going to make
Against that
How are we
Going to answer
Is there anything
That we could
Bring against
God to
Justify and
Say
Look Lord
You did this
Wrong
Look Lord
This would have
Been better
In my life
When God
Knows best
For us
All the time
The word
Of God
Is so clear
To us
If you think
Of it
When you go
To a workplace
And you have
A contract
It makes clear
Everything for you
But you don't
Always read
All the fine
Details
Until something
Goes wrong
And they say
Well if you read
The small print
You'll see
It's there
And even when we
Think of the hard
Things in our life
The troubles
That come our way
The trials
That are there
Can we say
But Lord
You didn't tell me
No because
It's there
Before us
And it's not
In small print
It's in bold
It's clear
To us
God makes
Clear to us
There will always
Be challenges
There are consequences
To sin
Death has come in
Pain and misery
And suffering
It's all there
It's clear to us
So that there is
Nothing that we can
Say to God
You didn't tell me
When it comes
To that day of judgment
We can't come
And say
Lord
You didn't tell me
My life would be
Like that
My life would be
This hard
The Lord has told us
In this world
You will have
Many troubles
It's there
Before us
But he also
Says
But be of good
Courage
For I have
Overcome the world
There is always
That promise
That God
Will be with us
So that when we
Appear before
The judgment seat
With what
Shall we come
Before the Lord
How will we
Bow ourselves
Before God
On high
What answer
Will we give
There is no
Avoiding this
There is no
Hiding from him
The message
From Micah
To his people
Then is the same
As for ourselves
Today
How are we
Living with God
Are we walking
Humbly with him
Are we bowing
Ourselves before him
In all our need
How will we answer
God
Well the final
Thing we see
Is as we come
Into the
Verse 8
He gives us
The answer
We cannot
Come
In verse 7
With thousands
Of rams
Or ten thousands
Of rivers
Of oil
We cannot
Come with any
Of these things
So what can
We come
With
He has told
You a man
What is good
And what does
The Lord
Require of you
But to do
Justice
To love
Steadfast love
And to walk
Humbly
With your God
He is telling
Us
What to do
He is giving
Us
The answer
In the same
Way as he
Reminds the
People of
All that he's
Brought them
Through
From the land
Of Egypt
Redeeming
Them from
The house
Of slavery
Sending
Moses
And Aaron
And Miriam
Before them
We look
At our lives
And what has
God done
For us
He has
Bought us
Out of the
Bondage of
Sin
He has
Redeemed us
Through his
Son Christ
Jesus
He has
Given us
His spirit
To guide us
And to help
Us along
The way
Has he
Wearied us
With these
Things
Are we
Tired of
Hearing
Of the
Goodness
Of God
Or do we
Need to
Hear it
Again and
Again
Tell me
The same
Old story
Of the
God of
Steadfast
Love
Of the
God of
Faithfulness
To his
People
When we
Think of
The world
In which
We live
In
And the
Way
We have
Turned
Away
From
The word
Of
God
Are we
Surprised
At where
We're at
When there's
Consequences
Outlined
For us
Charles
Swindle
He's got a
Book called
Living above
The level
Of mediocrity
And listen
To what he
Says
In this
Imagine if
You will
That you
Work for
A company
Whose
President
Found it
Necessary
To travel
Out of
The country
And to
Spend an
Extended
Period of
Time
Abroad
So he
Says to
You and
To the
Other
Trusted
Employees
Look
I'm
Going
To
Leave
And while
I'm
Gone
I want
You to
Pay
Close
Attention
To the
Business
You
Manage
Things
While I'm
Away
I will
Write
To you
Regularly
And when
I do
I will
Instruct
You
In what
You should
Do
From now
Until
I return
From this
Trip
And
Everyone
Agrees
To this
So the
President
Leaves
And he
Stays
Gone
For a
Couple
Of
Years
During
That
Time
He
Writes
Often
Communicating
His
Desires
And
Concerns
Finally
He
Returns
He
Walks
Up
To the
Front
Door
Of
The
Company
And
Immediately
Discoveres
Everything
Is
In a
Mess
Weeds
Flourishing
In
Flower
Beds
Windows
Broken
Across
The
Front
Of
The
Building
The
Person
At
The
Front
Desk
Sleeping
Loud
Music
Roaring
From
Several
Offices
Two
Or
Three
People
Engaged
In
Horse
Play
In
The
Back
Room
Instead
Of
Making
A
Profit
The
Business
Has
Suffered
A
Great
Loss
Without
Hesitation
He
Calls
Everyone
Together
And
With
A
Frown
Asks
What
Happened
Didn't
You
Get
My
Letters
And
You
Say
Oh
Yeah
We
Got
All
Your
Letters
We
Even
Bound
Them
In
A
Book
And
Some
Of
Us
Memorized
Them
In
Fact
We
Have
A
Letter
Study
Every
Sunday
You
Know
Those
Were
Really
Great
Letters
I
Think
The
President
Would
Then
Ask
But
What
Did
You
Do
About
My
Instructions
And
No
Doubt
The
Employees
Would
Respond
Do
Well
Nothing
But
We
Read
Everyone
What's
He
Getting
At
There
He's
Getting
At
The
Fact
That
Yes
We
May
See
God
Has
Gone
Away
For
A
Time
But
He
Is
Coming
Again
And
In
The
Meant
Time
He
Has
Spoken
To
Us
Through
His
Word
Which
We
Have
Bound
In
A
Book
Before
Us
Which
We
Hear
Every
Sunday
Which
We
Maybe
Memorize
Great
Parts
Of
It
But
The
Question
Is
What
Have
We
Done
With
It
Have
We
Listened
To
What
God
Is
Saying
Do
We
Hear
What
God
The
Lord
Is
Saying
To
Us
He
Calls
Us
Here
To
Hear
Because
We
Are
To
Appear
Before
God
And
God
Will
Say
To
Us
What
Have
I
Done
To
You
How
Have
I
Weed
You
Answer
Me
What
Answer
Do
You
Give
Do
You
Have
Anything
To
Come
Before
God
And
Say
You
Got
That
Wrong
There
Is
No
Answer
Before
God
In
That
Way
The
Only
Answer
Is
To
Listen
And
To
See
That
All
We
Are
To
Do
All
We
Are
Required
Of
Us
Is
Before
Us
In
This
Word
To
Do
Justice
To
Love
Steadfast
Love
And
To
Walk
Humbly
With
Your
God
How
Do
We
Do
That
We
Look
To
God
We
Trust
In
His
Faithfulness
His
Steadfast
Love
His
Covenant
Love
That
We
See
Before
Us
Fulfilled
In
Christ
Jesus
And
We
Seek
To
Walk
Humbly
Putting
Our
Trust
In
Him
Turning
Away
From
Our
Sin
Repenting
Of
Our
Sin
And
Looking
To
And
Trusting
In
Him
It's
No
Use
Having
The
Word
Beautifully
Bound
Before
Us
Memorizing
It
And
Doing
Nothing
With
It
We
Are
To
Hear
And
Do
As
The
Word
Commands
So
As
We
Come
To
The
End
Of
A
Year
As
We
Look
To
A
New
Year
God
Willing
We
Seek
To
Do
These
Things
To
Do
Justice
To
Love
His
Steadfast
Love
And
To
Walk
Humbly
With
Our
God
Let
Us
Pray
Our
Father
In
Heaven
We
Thank
You
That
You
Have
Revealed
Yourself
To
Us
Through
Your
Word
That
You
Are
Speaking
To
Us
Today
As
You
Have
Ever
Been
For
We
Are
Living
The
Same
Days
As
Micah
When
We
See
So
Many
Of
The
Problems
And
Troubles
Of
His
Day
Are
So
Common
To
Our
Own
And
We
Are
Turning
Away
From
You
In
The
Same
Way
But
We
Thank
That
You
Speak
That
You
Call
Us
To
Yourself
And
Help
Us
To
Hear
What
You
Are
Saying
And
To
Do
Justice
To
Love
Kindness
And
To
Walk
Humbly
With
Our
God
Lord
Teach
Us
In
These
Things
We
Ask
And
We
Ask
It
With
For
Our
Sin
In
Jesus
Name
Amen
We're
Going
To
Conclude
By
Singing
To
God's
Praise
In
Psalm
138
In
The
Sing
Psalms
Version
Psalm
138
Page
179
We'll
Sing
Verse
1
To
3
I'll
Praise
You
Lord
With
All
My
Heart
Before
The
Gods
I'll
Sing
Your
Praise
I'll
Bow
Towards
Your
Holy
Place
And
Bless
Your
Holy
Name
Always
We'll
Sing
From
Verse
1
To
3
And
The
Tune
Is
Warrington
I'll
Bow to
Lord
With
All
My
Heart
Before
The
Cross
I'll
Sing
Your
Praise
I'll
Bow to
God
Your
Holy
Place
And
Bless
Your
Holy
Name
Always
I'll
Praise
You
For
Your
Faithfulness
And
For
Your
God
Love
O
Lord
For
Over
All
Things
You
Have
May
Your
Holy
Name
And
Faithful
Word
The
Very
Day
I
Call
To
You
Give
An
Answer
To
My
Be
You
May
Be
All
Within
Myself
When
You
Is
All
You
Say
The
Day
After
The
Benediction
I'll go to
the door
to my
right
we'll
close
with a
benediction
now may
grace
mercy
and peace
from
God
Father
Son
and Holy
Spirit
rest
upon
and
abide
with
you
all
now
and
forever
more
Amen
Tamb
do
Especially
of
for
,
you