WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Good morning. 00:00:05.379 --> 00:00:09.779 My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, 00:00:09.779 --> 00:00:12.679 and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. 00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:17.019 We are in our second Sunday in the season of Advent. 00:00:17.699 --> 00:00:22.839 As I mentioned last week, Advent comes from a Latin word that means to come or to arrive, 00:00:23.080 --> 00:00:29.660 and so it's simply when we celebrate the fact that Jesus came and he arrived on this earth as a human being. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:35.020 So we take the four weeks that come before Christmas to basically do two things. 00:00:35.020 --> 00:00:39.620 We celebrate the past. We celebrate the fact that Jesus did come. 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:47.539 That's why we sing songs like Joy to the World, and we also take that time to long for the future and look forward. 00:00:48.179 --> 00:00:50.539 So that's why we sing songs like O Come, O Come, Emmanuel. 00:00:51.560 --> 00:00:57.159 We're doing both of those things, and as I mentioned last week, those are really two things that we're always doing in the Christian life. 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:01.659 We are always looking back to what God has done in the past that we can celebrate. 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:09.219 We're always looking forward to what God will do in the future and looking with longing towards that, 00:01:09.299 --> 00:01:14.099 knowing that he's going to make all things new, as we read in our New Testament passage this morning. 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:18.599 And we're using both of those things, the past and the future, to affect how we live in the present. 00:01:19.339 --> 00:01:23.859 That we live as people who believe what happened when Jesus came and lived and died, 00:01:24.199 --> 00:01:27.099 and we live as people who believe that he's coming again. 00:01:27.479 --> 00:01:29.299 He's coming again to make all things new. 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:39.519 When I was living in St. Louis and I was going to seminary, I decided I wanted to get to know some people who were not Christians. 00:01:39.739 --> 00:01:44.920 I was, of course, surrounded by many Christians, being in seminary constantly, and that was also where I had a job, 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:46.420 so I was on campus all the time. 00:01:46.979 --> 00:01:52.560 So I decided to join a running group that ran in the park very close to where I lived. 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:55.560 Now, it turned out this group was not a group. 00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:59.519 It was just me and one other man, which is fine. 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:01.180 We got to decide. 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:06.980 We know we made real clear decisions about when the group would meet, where exactly we would run. 00:02:07.540 --> 00:02:11.120 We'd meet when it was convenient for the both of us and where it was convenient for the both of us. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:14.860 And as I got to know this man, who was not a Christian, 00:02:15.140 --> 00:02:18.240 he began to share with me some of the things that were going on in his life, 00:02:18.259 --> 00:02:19.920 and he had several struggles. 00:02:19.920 --> 00:02:21.659 One of them was in his marriage. 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:27.120 He desperately loved his wife, and yet she didn't believe that he did. 00:02:29.120 --> 00:02:34.699 She constantly doubted whether he actually had feelings for her, why he had married her, 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:36.659 what his reasons for doing that were. 00:02:37.539 --> 00:02:41.920 And as I got to know him, it became clear that he actually had trouble expressing his emotions. 00:02:42.900 --> 00:02:46.960 This was someone who felt things but didn't know how to put them out so that other people could see them. 00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:52.960 He also shared with me that he had grown up with a father who was incredibly angry. 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.260 And so as a child, as a youth, he had made a vow. 00:02:57.460 --> 00:03:01.580 He had made a vow that he would never be angry in the way his father was angry. 00:03:02.960 --> 00:03:05.280 And of course, what he had not done, what he didn't realize, 00:03:05.379 --> 00:03:07.860 he had not put those two things together as being related. 00:03:08.900 --> 00:03:13.400 What he thought was that he was making a vow to never be angry, never express anger, 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:17.039 but really he was making a vow to never express emotion. 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:21.379 Because of course, as counselors will tell you and psychologists, 00:03:21.540 --> 00:03:23.379 our emotions are not something that we can parse out. 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:27.719 We can't decide, well, I'm going to not experience anger and bitterness. 00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:32.560 I'm just not going to have those emotions, but I'm also going to have lots of joy and happiness. 00:03:33.860 --> 00:03:34.240 It just does. 00:03:34.300 --> 00:03:35.980 The human heart doesn't work like that. 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:39.299 Our emotions are a switch that we can turn on and off. 00:03:39.399 --> 00:03:43.359 And so what this man had done when he decided to not be like his father, 00:03:43.459 --> 00:03:45.780 he'd actually jeopardized himself in his marriage. 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:48.919 Because in choosing not to express any anger, 00:03:49.079 --> 00:03:53.259 he'd made it impossible for him to express love and delight in his wife. 00:03:54.060 --> 00:03:55.539 And of course, she felt that. 00:03:57.339 --> 00:04:00.979 We're coming to the book of Advent, the book of Micah again in Advent. 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:04.439 And as I told you last week, it's a book about both judgment and salvation. 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:09.319 And as we talked about last week, we can't decide to have one of those and not the other. 00:04:09.979 --> 00:04:11.719 Judgment and joy go together. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:16.420 We can't decide, okay, I'm not going to have any confession of sin. 00:04:16.519 --> 00:04:18.920 I'm not going to focus on the ways I need to repent. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:20.959 I'm not going to think about God's judgment. 00:04:21.939 --> 00:04:24.279 And yet I want to have incredible joy. 00:04:24.399 --> 00:04:25.920 I want to have the joy of the season. 00:04:27.379 --> 00:04:29.319 Those are part and parcel, just like our emotions. 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:32.480 Just like you can't choose to not have anger, but you're going to have joy. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:35.819 You can't choose to not have judgment, but then have joy. 00:04:36.460 --> 00:04:38.759 Those are things, as we looked at last week, that go together. 00:04:38.900 --> 00:04:40.700 And that is what the book of Micah is about. 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:43.960 It's a book of both judgment and salvation. 00:04:44.640 --> 00:04:46.580 And we have to have both of those. 00:04:47.280 --> 00:04:51.900 Now, I mentioned that it's, as one man has said, it's about 70% judgment and 30% salvation. 00:04:51.900 --> 00:04:54.080 We're flipping that a little bit because it's Advent. 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:56.259 And we're looking at the book through a very specific lens. 00:04:56.860 --> 00:05:00.340 Last week, we looked at God's judgment coming down in chapter one. 00:05:00.339 --> 00:05:03.119 We're skipping chapters two and three this week. 00:05:03.859 --> 00:05:08.339 Chapters two and three, however, I summarized very briefly last week, include more judgment. 00:05:09.579 --> 00:05:15.539 And so it's after three chapters of judgment that God then comes with his word of salvation and hope. 00:05:17.039 --> 00:05:21.199 It's after chapters one through three that we come to chapter four. 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:24.920 And so we're moving beyond. 00:05:24.979 --> 00:05:27.420 We're moving beyond the judgment to the joy. 00:05:27.979 --> 00:05:30.920 Last week was necessary, but not sufficient, right? 00:05:30.979 --> 00:05:33.319 God's judgment by itself is only bad news. 00:05:34.300 --> 00:05:38.539 And so we need the good news that also accompanies it, the good news of God's salvation. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:42.439 At the end of chapter three, which we skipped, God finally comes down. 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:52.759 And after he's listed all the reasons that he's judging his people, the corruptness of their leaders, their oppression of the poor, the consequence is that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. 00:05:53.459 --> 00:05:56.480 The city of God's people is going to be laid waste. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:01.920 It's with that word of judgment then that we come to chapter four, which is the word of hope. 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:07.400 He told, he's told his people what's about to happen, and now he's going to tell them a future vision. 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:14.680 What they can look forward to and hope in, even as God's punishment is coming towards them. 00:06:16.640 --> 00:06:21.280 We begin then this week, the words of hope and salvation from the book of Micah. 00:06:21.379 --> 00:06:23.340 That's where we're going to be the next two weeks as well. 00:06:23.420 --> 00:06:26.340 We're going to look at chapter five next week, which is another word of hope. 00:06:26.339 --> 00:06:32.339 And then the very end of chapter seven, right before Christmas, which is the final word of hope that comes in the book of Micah. 00:06:33.019 --> 00:06:39.019 And our question this morning is, okay, if we have this judgment and we have this joy that go together, 00:06:39.779 --> 00:06:45.379 what about the world that Jesus is bringing in his second coming actually gives us joy? 00:06:46.039 --> 00:06:50.779 Why should we look forward to Jesus' second coming and not just celebrate his first? 00:06:52.799 --> 00:06:54.639 What is it that's going to give us joy? 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:56.699 If God has already saved us, what more do we need? 00:06:57.579 --> 00:07:02.379 What is it about the world that God is bringing that we can rejoice in and long for? 00:07:03.979 --> 00:07:06.560 It's with that that we're going to be in Micah chapter four. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:08.379 I invite you to turn there with me in your Bibles. 00:07:08.479 --> 00:07:10.839 It's also printed near the end of your worship guide. 00:07:11.539 --> 00:07:13.300 You can probably find it on your phone as well. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:15.639 And as we come to it, remember that this is God's word. 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:21.599 And God tells us that his word is more precious than gold, even the finest gold. 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:26.060 And it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. 00:07:26.840 --> 00:07:29.080 That's why we read it now, starting at verse one. 00:07:29.079 --> 00:07:38.599 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains. 00:07:38.600 --> 00:07:44.160 And it shall be lifted up above the hills and peoples shall flow to it. 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:55.439 And many nations shall come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:08:00.360 For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 00:08:01.540 --> 00:08:06.199 He shall judge between many peoples and shall decide for strong nations far away. 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:11.980 And they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. 00:08:12.740 --> 00:08:15.319 Nations shall not lift up sword against nation. 00:08:16.159 --> 00:08:18.159 Neither shall they learn war anymore. 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:23.500 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree. 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:26.060 And no one shall make them afraid. 00:08:27.200 --> 00:08:30.080 For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:31.680 Verse five. 00:08:32.700 --> 00:08:36.019 For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its God. 00:08:36.899 --> 00:08:42.200 But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. 00:08:42.200 --> 00:08:46.980 Father, I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:08:50.680 --> 00:08:58.340 Father in heaven, we thank you that you know that we are but dust as you tell us in the Psalms. 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:01.680 And that we need hope. 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:08.200 And we need pictures and images and visions to look forward to and long for. 00:09:08.800 --> 00:09:11.980 You know that we're people of stories and so you've given them to us. 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:18.360 We ask that you would send your spirit this morning and that you would help us as we come to Micah chapter 4. 00:09:19.460 --> 00:09:26.060 We ask that you would use this picture to stir up our hope and our faith in you. 00:09:26.920 --> 00:09:32.540 And that we would long more and more and pray more and more for the future world that you are bringing. 00:09:33.720 --> 00:09:35.980 We ask all these things in Jesus' name. 00:09:36.580 --> 00:09:36.879 Amen. 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:37.000 Amen. 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:51.120 I'm sure if I were to poll everyone in this room, we would have a variety of different opinions about immigration. 00:09:51.120 --> 00:09:58.960 All kinds of things that we would think about how and when people who are not U.S. citizens should access the U.S. 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:01.340 We would probably have some debates and arguments over it. 00:10:01.399 --> 00:10:02.460 That's not my goal this morning. 00:10:02.539 --> 00:10:03.379 That's not why I bring it up. 00:10:03.379 --> 00:10:10.139 But there is something in the midst of all that disagreement that my hope is that we would all agree on. 00:10:10.899 --> 00:10:14.600 We might disagree on political solutions and ideas. 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:17.340 We might disagree about what's right and what's wrong. 00:10:17.340 --> 00:10:19.480 My guess is that we would agree on this. 00:10:20.560 --> 00:10:23.540 People risk their lives to get to the United States. 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:29.980 And people risk their lives because this is a place that has opportunities and prosperity. 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:35.759 And not only do people risk their lives, we might even say people stream to the U.S. 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:37.940 We could even use this language. 00:10:38.060 --> 00:10:40.660 We might say peoples shall flow to us. 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:43.139 Many nations will come. 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:44.820 Oh, wait. 00:10:44.900 --> 00:10:47.100 That's the language at the beginning of Micah chapter 4. 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.379 Micah's painting a vision for us of what the future will look like. 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:56.240 And this is a future where people are not streaming to the United States or any other country. 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:57.980 They are streaming to Jerusalem. 00:10:58.139 --> 00:10:59.780 We see this in verses 1 and 2. 00:11:00.700 --> 00:11:04.899 It shall be lifted up above the hills, and peoples shall flow to it. 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:07.700 And many nations shall come and say, 00:11:08.220 --> 00:11:12.100 Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, 00:11:12.100 --> 00:11:15.700 that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths. 00:11:17.340 --> 00:11:21.440 In other words, there are these latter days, and the latter days can be interpreted in various ways. 00:11:21.540 --> 00:11:25.460 Basically, it just means sometime in the future when people will be clamoring. 00:11:25.560 --> 00:11:28.840 They won't be clamoring to get to New York City or London. 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:32.780 They won't be clamoring to get to Paris or Hong Kong. 00:11:32.779 --> 00:11:36.139 But they will be clamoring to get to God's city. 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:39.959 That's the place where they're going to want to be more than anything else. 00:11:40.419 --> 00:11:42.740 That's what's going to happen in the world that Jesus is bringing. 00:11:43.259 --> 00:11:46.879 And not only are they going to be longing for that city above all the other cities, 00:11:46.939 --> 00:11:50.939 we're told this city is higher than the others, which is a way of saying it's going to be the most prominent. 00:11:50.940 --> 00:11:56.260 People are going to no longer, if they look at a list of the most important cities of the world, 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.780 God's city is going to be at the top of the list. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:05.320 And they're not going to look anymore to the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal, 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:10.000 the Harvard Business Review, as the place where they're going to find what's most true and helpful in this world. 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:12.800 Instead, they're going to look to God and his word. 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:17.480 That's going to be the place that people are longing for and coming to. 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:21.519 That's going to be where they're finding what is true and good. 00:12:23.019 --> 00:12:28.420 While God is destroying Jerusalem now, he is going to restore it. 00:12:29.240 --> 00:12:36.100 And one day, God's word and God's city will be the place of greatest influence 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:39.539 and the source of greatest influence. 00:12:40.659 --> 00:12:44.560 That is what God's people have to look forward to and long for 00:12:44.559 --> 00:12:48.619 as they live in a time when they know that Jerusalem is going to be sacked. 00:12:50.359 --> 00:12:52.799 God is coming back to restore. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:58.059 And he's going to come back and restore in such a way that the nations, 00:12:58.279 --> 00:13:02.939 all peoples, not just the Jews, are going to be desperate to get to his city. 00:13:04.359 --> 00:13:07.819 When I was growing up, my mom would tell me from time to time, 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:12.839 she would say, Matthew, people will climb over walls to get to the truth. 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:22.360 In the latter days, people will climb over walls to have access to God's presence and God's word. 00:13:24.220 --> 00:13:28.680 They will be so desperate for the truth that God has to offer. 00:13:29.820 --> 00:13:34.000 And so this is part of the vision that Micah gives these people as they see destruction coming. 00:13:34.160 --> 00:13:37.960 We can say now, one question as we come to passages like this is, 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:39.700 what do we do with these kinds of prophecies? 00:13:39.700 --> 00:13:46.300 Prophecies like this are often more like dimmer switches and less like on and off switches. 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:50.780 That is, prophecy is something often that happens gradually over time. 00:13:50.820 --> 00:13:54.960 So we can say, in a sense, this has been fulfilled in part. 00:13:56.920 --> 00:13:59.660 Many nations come to hear God's word. 00:13:59.740 --> 00:14:00.540 How do I know that? 00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:03.780 Because you all are here this morning. 00:14:03.779 --> 00:14:08.779 And not many, if any of you, are Jews. 00:14:10.459 --> 00:14:14.199 So God is already fulfilling his promise through Jesus. 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:20.079 Remember, it's when Jesus came that the great expansion of God's word and his people began. 00:14:21.199 --> 00:14:26.639 It was at Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2, right after Jesus had gone back to heaven, 00:14:27.299 --> 00:14:29.500 that the Holy Spirit was poured out on all nations. 00:14:29.500 --> 00:14:34.980 And so there's a sense in which this prophecy has been partially fulfilled now. 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:38.299 It's partially fulfilled in the sense that you're not streaming to Jerusalem, 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:39.419 but you're streaming to the church. 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:43.080 You're streaming to a place where God's word is taught and proclaimed. 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:44.600 Many nations are coming. 00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:47.580 And in fact, we wait. 00:14:47.679 --> 00:14:48.860 So it's been partially fulfilled. 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:50.080 It hasn't been fully fulfilled. 00:14:50.179 --> 00:14:51.419 In Matthew chapter 24, 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:55.480 Jesus tells us that the gospel needs to be preached to all nations. 00:14:55.480 --> 00:15:00.000 And so we continue to wait for that full fulfillment. 00:15:01.220 --> 00:15:03.960 And then we're told in Revelation chapter 7, 00:15:04.060 --> 00:15:07.920 that there's going to come a time when all nations and tongues and tribes are going to worship God. 00:15:09.180 --> 00:15:11.379 And so we celebrate that in part, 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:14.080 and we continue to look forward to when it will happen in full. 00:15:16.920 --> 00:15:18.159 Sometimes the question is, 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:21.159 why does this matter for us now? 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:24.120 We're in this season of Advent. 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:26.840 And how it matters for us now is, 00:15:26.940 --> 00:15:29.480 number one, we can praise God for what he's already done. 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:31.940 Because of Jesus, 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:35.200 you have access to God, 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:37.759 even though you are not a Jew right now. 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:41.620 That's part of what we celebrate. 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:46.279 We celebrate at Advent that God is bringing many nations to his city, 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:48.980 many nations, including you. 00:15:48.980 --> 00:15:57.580 And we can also look forward to the time when we will experience that in full. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:15:59.259 And so we celebrate it. 00:15:59.259 --> 00:16:00.320 There's already proof, by the way. 00:16:00.379 --> 00:16:03.139 There is measurable progress in God's plan. 00:16:04.039 --> 00:16:06.019 From Micah's time in the 8th century to now, 00:16:06.080 --> 00:16:09.639 we can say a lot of things have happened in terms of the nations streaming to God. 00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:11.580 This is not some pie-in-the-sky hope. 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:14.659 This is a dimmer switch that we have seen. 00:16:14.659 --> 00:16:17.360 We can look back in history and we can see it being turned on. 00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:21.079 We can look at the history of Christian missions and know, 00:16:21.439 --> 00:16:22.779 wow, Micah chapter 4, 00:16:23.059 --> 00:16:25.039 that prophecy that was given in the 8th century, 00:16:25.179 --> 00:16:28.579 has in part begun and will one day be completed and finished. 00:16:28.580 --> 00:16:35.620 And so God gives his people a vision of the future that can give them hope. 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:38.560 We can take confidence that this prophecy is true 00:16:38.560 --> 00:16:41.960 because we can see already the ways in which it is being fulfilled. 00:16:43.639 --> 00:16:47.480 And at Christmas, part of what we celebrate is that we belong to God's people. 00:16:48.280 --> 00:16:50.820 And we belong to God's people because of Jesus. 00:16:51.820 --> 00:16:55.980 Jesus was the one that made it possible for many nations to come. 00:16:55.980 --> 00:16:59.700 So our hope is that in the future, 00:17:00.300 --> 00:17:04.599 systems and organizations and people will be shaped by God and his word 00:17:04.599 --> 00:17:10.099 because it's these nations that are streaming to hear it. 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:13.440 So we celebrate that. 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:14.519 God included us. 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:18.339 Now, at this point, you might be afraid. 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:22.019 You might be thinking, man, this sounds like these people are streaming to hear the word of God. 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:27.039 I think that could be good, but I also don't want a future city. 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:29.279 And the city is nothing but Sunday school. 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:30.259 Don't get me wrong. 00:17:30.359 --> 00:17:33.079 I love Sunday school, but there's other things, right, that I want to live in this world. 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:35.740 Well, if you're afraid of that, this vision continues. 00:17:36.879 --> 00:17:39.900 God's word is not just something that exists for its own sake, 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:42.319 but it leads to the transformation of his people. 00:17:42.460 --> 00:17:43.660 God's word does something. 00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:46.720 You might not be a Christian. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:53.460 You might be wondering, okay, if I'm not a Christian, why should I care that God's word is going to be going out for all peoples 00:17:53.460 --> 00:17:54.339 and they'll be streaming to it? 00:17:54.380 --> 00:17:55.339 Why is that good for me? 00:17:56.779 --> 00:18:01.059 Last week, we looked at the fact that idolatry and behavior go together, 00:18:01.620 --> 00:18:07.539 and that means that wrong worship, what people were condemned for in Micah 1, led to wrong behavior. 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:09.640 That's what Micah chapters 2 and 3 are about. 00:18:10.539 --> 00:18:12.860 Right worship also leads to right behavior. 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:20.899 God's word going to all the peoples is good news because it is going to lead to peace and justice 00:18:20.899 --> 00:18:24.319 and flourishing and life for the world. 00:18:25.779 --> 00:18:28.339 And that's the picture we see in the next two verses. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:31.599 We get a picture of what God's word creates. 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:33.179 It creates peace. 00:18:35.159 --> 00:18:38.479 There are many people who talk about their desire for world peace, 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:42.299 and here we find out how it's going to happen, verses 3 and 4. 00:18:43.699 --> 00:18:47.799 The city of the Lord is going to be a place where he shall judge, verse 3, between many peoples 00:18:47.799 --> 00:18:50.659 and shall decide for strong nations far away. 00:18:52.159 --> 00:18:56.179 They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. 00:18:57.079 --> 00:19:01.379 Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 00:19:05.539 --> 00:19:11.639 Worshiping God, the nation streaming to him, means that war is going to end. 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:17.759 That's why it's good news, whether you're a Christian or not, 00:19:17.860 --> 00:19:22.340 you should want and long for people to go to God's city and learn his ways. 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:25.820 And if you're not a Christian, you should want to be one of those people. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.340 You should want to become a Christian so that you are included 00:19:28.340 --> 00:19:32.360 in this world of peace that's envisioned in this passage. 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:39.379 Some of you may be familiar with an evangelist whose name is Ravi Zacharias. 00:19:40.199 --> 00:19:45.219 He's a popular speaker, and at one point in 2012, he gave a talk at a prayer breakfast, 00:19:45.339 --> 00:19:49.159 an international prayer breakfast, and he told a story near the end 00:19:49.159 --> 00:19:53.240 about how he had been invited to take part in some peace talks in the Middle East. 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:57.120 And during this peace talks, he tells it this way. 00:19:58.059 --> 00:19:58.359 He says, 00:19:58.359 --> 00:20:01.000 We were meeting with religious and political leaders. 00:20:01.939 --> 00:20:04.079 We had spent five tiring days. 00:20:04.740 --> 00:20:06.759 On the last day, we were with a sheik. 00:20:07.659 --> 00:20:12.099 We were sitting in a room enjoying a lovely lunch with lamb, rice, and other delectables. 00:20:13.379 --> 00:20:16.979 Having spent 18 years in prison, the sheik told us all kinds of stories. 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:21.459 After lunch, the archbishop, it's the person who'd invited him, 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:26.199 being the chief guest, gave the five of us with him an opportunity to ask one question. 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:30.180 I looked at the sheik, and I asked him my one question. 00:20:31.120 --> 00:20:33.580 I will not give you my question, nor will I give you his answer. 00:20:34.420 --> 00:20:35.660 Then I looked at him, and I said, 00:20:35.740 --> 00:20:40.039 Sheik, sir, you and I will probably never see each other again, 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:42.420 and I hope I do not offend you. 00:20:43.380 --> 00:20:46.640 I want to share just one thing with you and leave you with that. 00:20:48.140 --> 00:20:51.620 I said, not far from where you and I are seated is a mountain. 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:59.679 5,000 years ago, a man you and I respect by the name of Abraham wanted to show his faith in God, 00:20:59.879 --> 00:21:02.019 and he took his son up that mountain. 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:04.599 Do you remember that story? 00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:06.659 He said, yes. 00:21:07.579 --> 00:21:13.239 I said, he was willing to sacrifice his own son as an expression of faith in God. 00:21:14.219 --> 00:21:15.359 He said, yes. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:20.000 I said, as the axe was about to come down, God stopped that axe. 00:21:20.659 --> 00:21:22.199 Do you remember the story? 00:21:23.059 --> 00:21:23.859 He said, yes. 00:21:24.539 --> 00:21:28.579 I said, what did God say to him when he stopped him? 00:21:29.419 --> 00:21:31.079 He said, I don't know. 00:21:32.099 --> 00:21:34.179 I said, God said, stop. 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:37.399 I myself will provide. 00:21:38.500 --> 00:21:39.519 He said, that's right. 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:44.539 And I said, sir, 2,000 years ago, God kept that promise. 00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:49.879 A stone's throw from where you and I are sitting is a hill called Calvary, 00:21:50.420 --> 00:21:55.160 where he took his own son and offered that son for you and for me. 00:21:56.660 --> 00:22:00.879 Sheik, until you and I receive the son God has provided, 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:07.060 we will be offering our own sons and daughters on the battlefields of this world 00:22:07.060 --> 00:22:11.220 for position, power, prestige, and control. 00:22:14.340 --> 00:22:17.160 Zion is going to be lifted up as the highest of the hills, 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:20.160 and it's going to be a place of peace. 00:22:20.260 --> 00:22:20.540 Why? 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:28.060 Because God sacrificed his own son so that we could have peace. 00:22:28.059 --> 00:22:35.519 God's word is not something abstract, 00:22:36.339 --> 00:22:40.179 but it is real in time and space, 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:42.480 something that brings peace to the world. 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:44.759 And even more than that, God sent his son, 00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:48.240 who was the word made flesh, as we read last week, 00:22:49.379 --> 00:22:53.119 sacrificed on Zion, which will one day be the highest of the mountains, 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:59.879 bringing judgment on him so that we can have peace. 00:23:02.939 --> 00:23:05.719 It's because of that reason we can have verse 3, 00:23:06.500 --> 00:23:10.279 he will judge between many peoples and shall decide for strong nations far away, 00:23:11.019 --> 00:23:14.779 and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. 00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:20.259 Because of Jesus, God is bringing peace into this world. 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:25.460 And so that's part of what we celebrate at Advent. 00:23:25.599 --> 00:23:31.319 One day, there will no longer be clashes between police and protesters in Hong Kong. 00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:36.400 One day, there will be no more conflict in Syria. 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:42.420 One day, Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia will be at peace with one another. 00:23:42.420 --> 00:23:47.580 One day, the war on terror will end. 00:23:49.660 --> 00:23:54.420 And the special operations forces won't have to send people in to kill terrorist leaders. 00:23:56.060 --> 00:23:58.279 And that day will come because of Jesus. 00:24:01.080 --> 00:24:05.360 It won't happen just on a political scale, but it will happen on a personal scale as well. 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:08.779 We're not told this in this passage, but of course, if this kind of peace is going to be brought, 00:24:08.779 --> 00:24:11.680 how much more will we see personal peace? 00:24:13.019 --> 00:24:15.139 Mother-in-laws and daughter-in-laws will get along. 00:24:17.139 --> 00:24:18.839 Fathers and sons will get along. 00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:24.220 People will no longer post on Nextdoor about how their car was broken into, 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:26.420 followed by 10 comments. 00:24:29.420 --> 00:24:31.519 And this is not just something that's destructive. 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:33.500 God is bringing it through restoration. 00:24:33.500 --> 00:24:38.039 He's not destroying the world, doing away with it. 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:39.019 He's restoring it. 00:24:39.900 --> 00:24:41.420 That's the vision that's given here. 00:24:41.579 --> 00:24:42.940 Swords aren't done away with. 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:44.160 They're turned into plowshares. 00:24:45.599 --> 00:24:46.940 Spears aren't done away with. 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:48.259 They're turned into pruning hooks. 00:24:49.619 --> 00:24:52.619 We might say today, snipers are going to take their scopes, 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:55.619 and they're going to teach kids how to bird watch. 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:02.400 God is doing with Jerusalem an act of restoration. 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:05.120 At the end of chapter 3, it's being destroyed. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:06.300 It will be built again. 00:25:08.100 --> 00:25:11.019 He's doing, with the artifacts of war, a work of restoration. 00:25:12.660 --> 00:25:15.519 And he's doing, in our lives, a work of restoration as well. 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:17.500 You know this intuitively. 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:19.700 If you have a difficult relationship, you don't think, 00:25:19.780 --> 00:25:21.920 man, I just wish this person would go away, right? 00:25:21.940 --> 00:25:22.800 That's not the right longing. 00:25:22.860 --> 00:25:24.380 Their longing is that it would be restored, 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:25.560 that it would be right again. 00:25:28.040 --> 00:25:31.720 God is bringing peace to this world through Jesus. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:34.800 He is the one bringing it to bear. 00:25:35.860 --> 00:25:38.140 And so why is it that we long, as I asked at the beginning, 00:25:38.240 --> 00:25:40.019 why do we long for Jesus' second coming? 00:25:40.140 --> 00:25:42.500 What is it about the restored world that would bring us joy? 00:25:43.820 --> 00:25:47.040 The restored world brings us joy, first of all, 00:25:47.840 --> 00:25:51.040 because it's a world where people are longing and climbing over walls 00:25:51.040 --> 00:25:53.140 to get to God's presence and God's word. 00:25:53.140 --> 00:25:56.540 Second, it's a place that we long for, 00:25:56.600 --> 00:26:00.640 because that longing for God's word will result in world peace. 00:26:02.840 --> 00:26:05.920 It will result in the peace that people long for. 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:08.160 There's a reason that Jesus is called the Prince of Peace, 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:13.980 and that peace will be possible because of his sacrifice for us on the cross. 00:26:16.480 --> 00:26:19.580 And then we're left with a final word after these two reasons. 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:20.240 Verse 5, 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:32.940 I mentioned earlier that God gives us pictures. 00:26:33.079 --> 00:26:34.200 He gives us images and visions. 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:35.500 He knows that we are people. 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:36.480 We need hope. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:38.799 We need real concrete hope. 00:26:38.900 --> 00:26:41.359 And so he gives us this image as real concrete hope. 00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:45.479 These images of God's restoration in the future 00:26:45.479 --> 00:26:47.419 are meant to affect how we live now. 00:26:48.279 --> 00:26:51.659 This picture is not meant to just be a pretty picture for us to ponder, 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:54.359 but it's something that's supposed to affect our faithfulness, 00:26:54.419 --> 00:26:56.799 that we continue to have faith in Christ 00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:58.359 and walk forward in this world, 00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:01.019 living in a way that cuts against the culture 00:27:01.019 --> 00:27:02.819 because of what we see in the future. 00:27:05.399 --> 00:27:10.019 And so this vision is meant to change the way that God's people live, 00:27:10.019 --> 00:27:12.019 and that's what they're talking about in verse 5. 00:27:12.660 --> 00:27:15.879 One day, all the peoples are going to stream to Jerusalem. 00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:18.400 That's not happening right now. 00:27:19.619 --> 00:27:20.180 Verse 5, 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:21.700 All the peoples do what? 00:27:21.819 --> 00:27:22.799 They don't walk to Jerusalem. 00:27:23.180 --> 00:27:25.039 They walk each in the name of its God. 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:26.920 In other words, 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:30.299 this vision has not been completely fulfilled yet. 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:33.139 What are we going to do while we wait? 00:27:33.140 --> 00:27:40.259 We will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:42.240 In other words, 00:27:42.320 --> 00:27:43.900 no matter what destruction comes, 00:27:43.980 --> 00:27:48.120 no matter how difficult it is for us to live faithfully to God in this time, 00:27:48.200 --> 00:27:51.160 we have seen a vision of what God is bringing in the future 00:27:51.160 --> 00:27:53.860 in such a way that it gives us the hope and the confidence 00:27:53.860 --> 00:27:56.060 to be able to continue walking now 00:27:56.060 --> 00:27:59.080 as people who believe that everything God has said is true. 00:27:59.079 --> 00:28:04.279 And we can stream to God's city and receive his word even now 00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:08.059 as we wait for him to bring it around finally and fully. 00:28:09.019 --> 00:28:10.859 No matter what the peoples do, 00:28:10.960 --> 00:28:13.379 no matter how much they walk in the names of their God, 00:28:13.539 --> 00:28:16.119 we are going to stay faithful to Yahweh. 00:28:17.919 --> 00:28:21.240 We are going to continue to hope in what he has said. 00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:24.960 We are going to continue to obey his word 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:28.960 even when it cuts against what the nations around us are telling us. 00:28:29.939 --> 00:28:34.119 Because we live knowing that this picture will one day be true. 00:28:37.779 --> 00:28:40.919 Some of you may be familiar with the book, 00:28:41.799 --> 00:28:44.259 The Man in the High Castle, which came out in the 1960s. 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:48.539 It's a dystopian novel that's now been made into an Amazon Prime series, 00:28:48.639 --> 00:28:50.139 so it has a second life now. 00:28:50.220 --> 00:28:51.139 People are aware of it. 00:28:51.659 --> 00:28:53.899 And it tells a basic story, and it's a what if. 00:28:54.059 --> 00:28:57.299 What would happen if the Allies had lost World War II? 00:28:57.299 --> 00:29:03.639 And in this story, the West Coast is controlled by the Japanese 00:29:03.639 --> 00:29:05.139 and the East Coast by the Germans. 00:29:06.139 --> 00:29:08.099 Colorado, by the way, is a no man's land. 00:29:09.859 --> 00:29:11.919 Canyon City is the middle point, apparently. 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:16.960 And in this world, of course, being controlled by these governments, 00:29:17.080 --> 00:29:19.100 there's incredible atrocities that are committed. 00:29:19.300 --> 00:29:21.140 This is a violent world to live in. 00:29:22.080 --> 00:29:26.340 And yet there's a group of people in this world who continue to resist. 00:29:27.279 --> 00:29:29.960 There's a resistance, and there's a reason that they resist, 00:29:30.759 --> 00:29:32.320 despite the power that they're up against. 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:34.900 There is an alternate story. 00:29:34.900 --> 00:29:41.200 This group that's resisting has had access to videos that show an alternate reality 00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:42.900 in which the Allies actually won. 00:29:44.700 --> 00:29:49.460 And those videos are so inspiring for them that they begin to live their lives 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:51.480 as if that is what's true. 00:29:52.780 --> 00:29:57.040 And day after day, as they're fighting against the power of the Japanese 00:29:57.039 --> 00:30:02.399 and the power of the Germans, they're able to continue to have hope for a future. 00:30:03.539 --> 00:30:07.159 They're able to continue doing what is dangerous and risky 00:30:07.159 --> 00:30:12.819 because they believe in something that is even more powerful than the world that they're in. 00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:16.960 They have a glimpse of what could be, 00:30:17.299 --> 00:30:20.059 and it keeps them living faithfully in the present. 00:30:20.059 --> 00:30:26.359 Brothers and sisters, we do not have a glimpse of what could be. 00:30:27.379 --> 00:30:29.879 We have a glimpse of what will be 00:30:29.879 --> 00:30:35.159 so that we can continue living faithfully in the present. 00:30:36.919 --> 00:30:40.559 That is why God has given us Micah chapter 4. 00:30:41.899 --> 00:30:45.220 We keep hoping in God and living faithfully now 00:30:45.220 --> 00:30:48.619 as we wait and long for what God will bring in the future. 00:30:50.059 --> 00:30:55.259 And so why is it that we long for God's new world? 00:30:55.940 --> 00:30:57.720 What about it is it that will bring us joy? 00:30:59.079 --> 00:31:02.079 It brings us joy because it's a place where all the nations 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:05.079 long for God's presence in his word. 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:11.179 It's a place where there is full and final peace on this earth. 00:31:12.339 --> 00:31:15.399 And because we know that and believe it and trust it, 00:31:15.399 --> 00:31:19.220 we can live faithfully now no matter what. 00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:24.859 For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its God. 00:31:25.639 --> 00:31:29.240 But we, at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, 00:31:29.940 --> 00:31:35.200 will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever. 00:31:36.639 --> 00:31:37.759 Please pray with me. 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:43.259 Father in heaven, we thank you and we praise you 00:31:43.259 --> 00:31:45.079 that you have not left us alone, 00:31:45.579 --> 00:31:49.079 but you've given us a glimpse of the future 00:31:49.079 --> 00:31:51.160 that we would be able to keep going 00:31:51.160 --> 00:31:53.900 with trust and hope and faith in you. 00:31:54.440 --> 00:31:56.980 We thank you for the life that your word gives 00:31:56.980 --> 00:31:59.460 and we ask for it now that you would give us hope. 00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:02.000 You would help us to celebrate 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:04.519 what you have already done in Christ 00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:07.500 and that you would help us, 00:32:07.600 --> 00:32:10.019 you'd stir up our longing and our affection 00:32:10.019 --> 00:32:14.259 for what is going to become full and finally true one day. 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:17.940 We ask these things not because we have earned them, 00:32:18.980 --> 00:32:23.079 but because you gave your son to die 2,000 years ago for us. 00:32:23.919 --> 00:32:25.779 And so we ask these things in his name. 00:32:26.299 --> 00:32:26.539 Amen.