WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.200 Micah 1 and 2. 00:00:04.200 --> 00:00:06.299 It's on page 776. 00:00:06.740 --> 00:00:09.160 Let me start with this quote from the New York Times. 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:13.480 ! It's written by a man called Peter Olofsson. 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:14.720 ! 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:31.719 As a god, I can be a devil. 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:35.259 When I got up on the wrong side of the bed, 00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:38.079 when I got up on the wrong side of the bed on a recent Sunday, 00:00:38.480 --> 00:00:42.460 I took it out on my little worshippers in the computer game. 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:48.100 I sought to create rock slides on the hillside above their little community. 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:52.740 When that proved ineffective, I dropped boulders and trees directly on their houses. 00:00:53.620 --> 00:00:57.480 When the roofs crashed in and the occupants ran screaming from the wreckage, 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:00.879 I picked them up and threw them about like little dolls. 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:02.959 And then I dropped rocks on them too. 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:05.679 And that was just for the people who believed in me. 00:01:06.579 --> 00:01:11.379 I picked up a hermit who didn't believe and dumped him unceremoniously into the ocean. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:15.259 Is God like that? 00:01:17.519 --> 00:01:20.219 Is God like this guy, Peter Olofsson? 00:01:21.319 --> 00:01:23.679 Unpredictable, moody, gets up the wrong side of the bed. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:28.680 Does he treat us as puppets, as playthings? 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:31.940 Does God play games with us? 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:32.840 Is God capricious? 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:35.440 Is God arbitrary? 00:01:35.740 --> 00:01:37.100 What is God like? 00:01:38.980 --> 00:01:41.500 Does God get into a mood, fly into a rage? 00:01:41.780 --> 00:01:42.840 Does God get angry? 00:01:42.840 --> 00:01:47.640 It's what the people were asking in Micah's day. 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:49.500 It's what the people were asking. 00:01:49.560 --> 00:01:51.159 Look at verses 6 and 7 of chapter 2. 00:01:51.219 --> 00:01:52.620 You're going to need your Bibles open. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:56.740 Do not preach thus they preach. 00:01:57.659 --> 00:01:59.159 One should not preach of such things. 00:02:00.620 --> 00:02:01.659 Disgrace will not overdeek it. 00:02:01.859 --> 00:02:03.760 Should this be said, O house of Jacob? 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:05.439 Has the Lord grown impatient? 00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:06.900 It's a very contemporary question. 00:02:06.900 --> 00:02:11.640 It's not the God I believe in, chapter 2, verse 6. 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:14.599 Is that the God of the Bible you're talking about? 00:02:14.740 --> 00:02:15.480 What's he like? 00:02:16.920 --> 00:02:20.780 Well, Micah wants to tell you, he's written his prophecy to tell you what God is like. 00:02:21.920 --> 00:02:23.700 In fact, the name Micah means, doesn't it? 00:02:23.780 --> 00:02:25.120 Who is like Jehovah? 00:02:26.599 --> 00:02:28.620 It's a shortened version of who is like Jehovah. 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:29.700 What is God like? 00:02:31.420 --> 00:02:33.379 And Micah is going to tell us what God is like. 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:35.500 It starts in chapter 1. 00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:39.379 And I think the best way of describing chapter 1 is an avalanche of judgment. 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:43.539 Just look at the opening verses of chapter 1. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:45.060 I don't know if you've ever seen an avalanche. 00:02:46.060 --> 00:02:48.039 It must be terrifying to be caught up in one. 00:02:49.219 --> 00:02:53.439 Imagine being engulfed and swept away in an avalanche. 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:56.400 It's a terrifying thought, but that's the imagery in this chapter. 00:02:56.859 --> 00:03:00.699 If you look at the opening verses, verse 3, it all starts with God. 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:04.879 And Micah sees him swooping down from heaven. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.239 And look, he says, for behold, the Lord is coming out of his place. 00:03:09.579 --> 00:03:12.379 It's not the arrival of some denominational committee. 00:03:13.579 --> 00:03:16.780 This is the Lord himself who's coming from his dwelling place. 00:03:16.859 --> 00:03:20.359 He comes down and he treads not on the high places of the earth. 00:03:21.060 --> 00:03:23.459 Verse 4, the mountains will melt under him. 00:03:23.460 --> 00:03:32.500 The valleys will split open like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:35.480 This is the Lord himself who's coming. 00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:39.840 And he's coming like an avalanche, threatening to sweep away everything before him. 00:03:40.980 --> 00:03:42.100 Everything that's in his path. 00:03:42.200 --> 00:03:43.620 Look at verses 6 and 7. 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:48.920 Therefore, I will make Samaria a heap in the open country, a place for planting vineyards. 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.620 And I will pour down her stones into the valley and uncover her foundations. 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:55.340 All her carved images should be beaten to pieces. 00:03:55.460 --> 00:03:57.140 All her wages should be burned with fire. 00:03:57.480 --> 00:03:59.200 Her idols I will lay waste. 00:04:00.819 --> 00:04:02.939 But from the fee of the prostitute she gathered them. 00:04:03.140 --> 00:04:05.520 And to the fee of the prostitute they shall return. 00:04:07.700 --> 00:04:11.719 Historically, the kingdom's been split into the ten tribes in the north, which are called Israel. 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:15.580 And the two tribes in the south, which are called Judah and Samaria. 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:19.660 Samaria is the capital of Israel. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:21.480 And Jerusalem is the capital of Judah. 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:22.879 And God is coming to judge. 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:26.060 And he's going to sweep away Samaria. 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:29.680 So that all that is left is a heap of rubble. 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:32.399 I'll pour her stones down into a valley. 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:33.759 I'll uncover her foundations. 00:04:35.459 --> 00:04:37.860 He's going to beat the carved images into pieces. 00:04:38.500 --> 00:04:40.480 Her wages should be burned with fire. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:42.060 Her idols will lay waste. 00:04:43.220 --> 00:04:45.680 And here is God coming, sweeping down in judgment. 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:49.480 Micah actually saw this happen, 722 BC. 00:04:50.660 --> 00:04:53.160 The Assyrians came and they destroyed Samaria. 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:57.400 And the ten tribes went and disappeared off the face of the earth. 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:00.900 And God is coming, Micah says. 00:05:00.980 --> 00:05:02.759 And notice what he says in verse 9. 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:06.259 This avalanche of judgment that sweeps away the northern tribes. 00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:07.680 It sweeps away Israel. 00:05:07.779 --> 00:05:11.279 It's coming right to the doorsteps of the capital city, Jerusalem. 00:05:12.339 --> 00:05:13.680 Do you see that in verse 9? 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:16.519 It's reached to the gate of my people to Jerusalem. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:17.659 What can halt it? 00:05:19.019 --> 00:05:21.319 What can halt the tidal wave of God's judgment? 00:05:22.120 --> 00:05:26.139 What can save you from this avalanche of destruction that's bearing down on us? 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:32.339 And that's the question Micah is wanting to raise in the minds of these people. 00:05:32.659 --> 00:05:36.419 He's saying there's an avalanche of judgment that is coming your way. 00:05:36.919 --> 00:05:38.879 He's saying the Assyrians are coming. 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:43.500 And of course all of this is happening is in the political realm. 00:05:43.899 --> 00:05:48.279 That is how God uses the nations and rulers as his instruments. 00:05:48.279 --> 00:05:53.519 And how this works out in reality is that the Assyrians are coming. 00:05:53.919 --> 00:05:55.719 They're the dominant world power of the day. 00:05:56.539 --> 00:05:58.459 And they'll sweep away Samaria. 00:05:59.659 --> 00:06:01.079 But it's God's judgment. 00:06:02.799 --> 00:06:04.899 God's judgment through the Assyrians. 00:06:05.059 --> 00:06:07.139 And they're coming to Judea, to Jerusalem. 00:06:07.379 --> 00:06:08.619 They're heading your way. 00:06:10.179 --> 00:06:12.559 And Micah is saying they're going to end up on your doorstep. 00:06:12.779 --> 00:06:14.899 And what is going to stop them from destroying you? 00:06:14.899 --> 00:06:20.519 The background to all this is in 2 Kings 15 to 20. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:21.599 You've got it there in verse 1. 00:06:21.659 --> 00:06:22.839 There's a summary in verse 1. 00:06:23.719 --> 00:06:30.239 The word of the Lord came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 00:06:33.179 --> 00:06:36.539 And Micah prophesied during the reign of those three kings throughout 40 years. 00:06:38.219 --> 00:06:43.759 But 100 years after Micah's day, after Micah was long dead and buried, 00:06:43.759 --> 00:06:45.480 Jeremiah refers to him. 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:50.379 And Jeremiah himself is in trouble, in exile, in Babylon. 00:06:50.740 --> 00:06:53.420 And the authorities want to execute Jeremiah. 00:06:53.819 --> 00:06:54.959 They don't like what he's saying. 00:06:55.939 --> 00:06:57.519 They don't like his message. 00:06:57.639 --> 00:07:00.459 And so Jeremiah is on the point of being executed. 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:06.259 And Jeremiah and his supporters, they cite Micah in their defense. 00:07:07.339 --> 00:07:08.259 Let me point that out to you. 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:10.099 In Jeremiah 26, verse 16. 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:13.639 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:16.420 This man does not deserve the sentence of death. 00:07:17.060 --> 00:07:19.740 For he's spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:21.000 They're standing up for Jeremiah. 00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:26.379 They're defending Jeremiah against the death sentence that's hanging over his head. 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:31.860 And certain elders of the land arose and spoke to the assembled people, saying, Micah of Moresheth. 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:32.399 Remember him? 00:07:33.379 --> 00:07:36.100 He prophesied in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah. 00:07:36.300 --> 00:07:37.719 It's 100 years previously. 00:07:40.100 --> 00:07:43.600 If you read the chapters in 2 Kings, there's no mention of Micah. 00:07:44.980 --> 00:07:46.500 Isaiah features, but not Micah. 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:50.439 But here, 100 years later, there's mention of this man. 00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:52.240 Micah. 00:07:52.240 --> 00:07:55.660 And he prophesied to all the people of Judah, 00:07:55.780 --> 00:07:58.800 Thus says the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be plowed like a field. 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:04.540 Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. 00:08:06.180 --> 00:08:09.000 Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah put him to death? 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:12.019 Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord? 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:15.639 And did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he pronounced against them? 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:19.480 But we are about to bring this great disaster on ourselves. 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:23.160 Do you see what they're saying? 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:27.540 In Jeremiah, exactly the same as Micah said, there's an avalanche of judgment coming upon us. 00:08:28.220 --> 00:08:29.460 And who can halt the avalanche? 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:34.000 How can we escape the judgment of God that is coming down upon us? 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:40.080 The culmination of 40 years of Micah's ministry, 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:47.059 under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, led really to a renewal, 00:08:47.779 --> 00:08:49.899 to a revival in the days of Hezekiah. 00:08:51.139 --> 00:08:53.980 It was the highlight of Micah's work, 40 years preaching. 00:08:55.419 --> 00:08:57.460 And he didn't see very much by way of return, 00:08:57.580 --> 00:08:59.120 and the people didn't take him very seriously. 00:08:59.120 --> 00:09:02.580 But right at the end of his ministry, under the reign of King Hezekiah, 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:03.620 the people repented. 00:09:04.980 --> 00:09:07.879 And they heard the word of God, and they came back. 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:10.940 And there was renewal. 00:09:12.940 --> 00:09:16.840 They turned back to God, and the avalanche of God's judgment was halted. 00:09:18.060 --> 00:09:20.679 Right at the very gates of Jerusalem, God's word came. 00:09:20.679 --> 00:09:27.479 You see, Micah isn't mentioned in two kings, which is interesting. 00:09:30.839 --> 00:09:35.879 And it's interesting because the word of the Lord is not really about Micah. 00:09:38.379 --> 00:09:40.899 Dale Ralph Davis has got a really great commentary on Micah. 00:09:41.319 --> 00:09:46.199 Listen to what he says about how little detail Micah provides upon himself. 00:09:46.200 --> 00:10:16.180 He says this, 00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:18.000 The message, not the messenger. 00:10:19.900 --> 00:10:23.540 It's a really refreshing emphasis, isn't it? 00:10:23.560 --> 00:10:25.140 Especially for a day like ours, 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:28.820 when Christians tend to fixate on kind of evangelical gurus. 00:10:30.460 --> 00:10:31.980 What, after all, is Apollos? 00:10:32.540 --> 00:10:33.300 What is Paul? 00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:34.060 What is Micah? 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:38.160 They're only servants, aren't they, through whom you came to believe. 00:10:40.420 --> 00:10:41.240 And so do you get the picture? 00:10:41.379 --> 00:10:42.900 Can I give you the tone of this? 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:44.320 It's really heavy stuff, isn't it? 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.240 It's heavy stuff right from the off in Micah. 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:46.980 God is angry. 00:10:48.420 --> 00:10:50.620 And there's an avalanche of judgment on its way, 00:10:50.780 --> 00:10:53.580 and it's rolling right down to where you are, says Micah. 00:10:53.780 --> 00:10:54.980 And what are you going to do about it? 00:10:54.980 --> 00:11:00.279 What should you do when an avalanche is about to hit you? 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:03.960 What should you do when God himself comes to you? 00:11:04.180 --> 00:11:05.480 It's not just politics, is it? 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:06.639 It's not just the Assyrians. 00:11:08.340 --> 00:11:11.480 It's not the latest world power kind of getting up to his antics. 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:14.399 God is in this, and God is coming through the Assyrians. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:18.799 And God is coming himself down, and he's coming for you. 00:11:20.379 --> 00:11:21.620 And he's at your doorstep. 00:11:23.139 --> 00:11:25.879 And what kind of response should there be towards that? 00:11:25.980 --> 00:11:28.939 So I think there are three responses that I want you to see tonight. 00:11:31.059 --> 00:11:32.399 The first response is this. 00:11:32.620 --> 00:11:34.179 Very simply, the prophet weeps. 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:35.179 That's one response. 00:11:35.179 --> 00:11:38.879 The chapters are a lament. 00:11:39.579 --> 00:11:41.079 The people are in denial. 00:11:42.219 --> 00:11:45.219 In chapter 2, the people are believing the lies of the false prophets 00:11:45.219 --> 00:11:47.079 who are telling them what they want to hear. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:50.679 And then God himself acts at the end of chapter 2. 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:52.539 God acts to save them. 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:57.859 So let's look at these three responses. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:00.179 What do you do when the avalanche is coming your way? 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:03.799 When God's judgment is coming down upon a people? 00:12:05.179 --> 00:12:06.899 When God is angry, what do you do? 00:12:07.079 --> 00:12:08.639 Well, you see what Micah does, verse 8? 00:12:10.359 --> 00:12:11.620 He weeps and he wails. 00:12:13.719 --> 00:12:16.399 And he says, because of this, and this is bizarre, isn't it? 00:12:16.579 --> 00:12:19.299 He says, because of this, I will go about stripped and naked. 00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:23.799 And I will make lamentations. 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:28.719 I will howl like the jackals, and I'll moan like an ostrich. 00:12:30.299 --> 00:12:32.159 Just imagine I started doing that. 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:34.599 You probably think I already am. 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:38.939 Imagine your preacher turning up next Sunday night naked and barefoot. 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:40.179 Don't imagine that. 00:12:41.500 --> 00:12:44.959 But imagine I started howling like a jackal and moaning like an ostrich. 00:12:44.979 --> 00:12:46.339 I don't even know what an ostrich sounds like. 00:12:49.279 --> 00:12:50.959 Stuart Briscoe 00:12:50.959 --> 00:12:53.579 tells the story of a young colleague of his. 00:12:54.319 --> 00:12:56.500 He's a young minister working in the third world, 00:12:56.500 --> 00:13:01.019 and he was particularly concerned that the people of his homeland were not listening to the word of the Lord. 00:13:01.019 --> 00:13:07.019 They were listening to what they wanted to hear. 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:11.600 And as long as he preached all that was good and bright, 00:13:12.340 --> 00:13:14.240 and that they would be prosperous and peaceful, 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:16.159 it was fine. 00:13:17.699 --> 00:13:21.840 But the young preacher was convinced that there were bad things going on in the church and the country, 00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:23.500 and something needed to be done about it. 00:13:23.740 --> 00:13:25.539 People needed to be brought to repentance, 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:27.319 and take God seriously. 00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:31.139 He felt like he'd been hammering his head against a brick wall. 00:13:31.139 --> 00:13:31.840 So one day, 00:13:32.439 --> 00:13:36.120 he came into church late for the Sunday morning service to get the people's attention. 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.039 He came through the back door, 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:39.980 not the front door, 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:41.080 as he usually did. 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:44.019 And instead of what he normally wore, 00:13:44.100 --> 00:13:45.240 which was his pulpit gown, 00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:48.740 which was the custom of the church in which they dressed, 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:50.100 he wore sackcloth 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:51.419 and covered himself with ashes. 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:53.399 Instead of carrying a Bible, 00:13:53.539 --> 00:13:54.580 he carried a bell. 00:13:54.899 --> 00:13:56.740 And he came in ringing his bell, 00:13:56.860 --> 00:13:58.139 dressed in sackcloth and ashes. 00:13:58.139 --> 00:13:59.319 As a result, 00:13:59.559 --> 00:14:00.799 they fired him as their pastor, 00:14:01.439 --> 00:14:03.179 and they put him in a home for the mentally unstable. 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:05.340 One day, 00:14:05.379 --> 00:14:06.019 Briscoe says, 00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:07.720 I talked to him and asked, 00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:08.939 did you have a nervous breakdown? 00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:10.159 No, 00:14:10.199 --> 00:14:10.539 he said. 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:13.779 They decided that is what I'd had, 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:14.580 but in actual fact, 00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:15.519 I was trying to get their attention. 00:14:16.519 --> 00:14:17.299 I got it, 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:18.639 and they gave me their full attention. 00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:19.960 They locked me up. 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:22.360 They didn't want to know 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:24.379 what they didn't want to know. 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:26.860 And they wanted preachers 00:14:26.860 --> 00:14:28.220 who would tell them what they wanted to hear. 00:14:32.240 --> 00:14:32.740 What's new? 00:14:32.919 --> 00:14:33.960 They didn't want to know. 00:14:35.860 --> 00:14:36.800 They didn't want to know 00:14:36.800 --> 00:14:38.259 about this God who was angry with sinners. 00:14:39.539 --> 00:14:40.800 And so Micah gets their attention. 00:14:40.940 --> 00:14:42.320 He goes around barefoot and naked. 00:14:42.560 --> 00:14:43.659 He howls like a jackal. 00:14:43.700 --> 00:14:44.740 He moans like an ostrich. 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:46.600 And he begins his lament. 00:14:46.740 --> 00:14:47.919 Do you notice in verse 10, 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:48.779 notice how he begins. 00:14:49.139 --> 00:14:50.039 It's quite striking. 00:14:50.180 --> 00:14:50.460 He says, 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:51.700 tell it not in gath. 00:14:54.500 --> 00:14:55.019 Of course, 00:14:55.080 --> 00:14:55.840 you remember what that is, 00:14:55.879 --> 00:14:56.100 don't you? 00:14:56.100 --> 00:14:58.060 From that very, 00:14:58.159 --> 00:14:59.639 very memorable series on 2 Samuel. 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:03.080 David's lament for Saul and Jonathan. 00:15:03.300 --> 00:15:04.740 Tell it not in gath. 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:06.440 Whisper it not in Ashkel Elm. 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:09.580 Saul and Jonathan have fallen. 00:15:10.180 --> 00:15:12.320 And David is bringing down a media blackout. 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:16.019 Because he doesn't want the Philistines gloating. 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:18.700 But it isn't just the shame of what's happened. 00:15:18.779 --> 00:15:19.379 It's his sorrow. 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:20.220 His deep sorrow. 00:15:22.100 --> 00:15:23.379 Jonathan is his best friend. 00:15:23.460 --> 00:15:24.180 His soulmate. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:25.460 Tell it not in gath. 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:27.780 And Micah is using that line. 00:15:28.060 --> 00:15:28.960 Tell it not in gath. 00:15:29.019 --> 00:15:30.200 There's deep anguish here. 00:15:30.200 --> 00:15:33.540 He's saying to us, 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:36.420 this is how God's people ought to respond in a day like ours. 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:41.300 In a city where people are just blasé about spiritual things, 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:43.020 and have got no interest in it at all, 00:15:43.259 --> 00:15:45.480 the church should be full of anguish for these people. 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:47.900 Full of deep sorrow. 00:15:47.899 --> 00:15:52.139 And you could miss it in this chapter. 00:15:52.139 --> 00:15:54.199 And you could miss it in this chapter. 00:15:54.259 --> 00:15:58.019 Because what follows in this chapter, the rest of the chapter, are a series of puns. 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:02.799 And you don't usually take it seriously when people pun, do you? 00:16:04.079 --> 00:16:08.480 And when there's a serious event in our country, we don't normally get Tim Vine as the social commentator. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:12.259 But that's to really miss the point. 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:18.019 Because the Jews would not have taken it in that way. 00:16:19.460 --> 00:16:25.820 These names that are here unpronounceable, they are actually omens of what is about to happen. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:28.080 They're not puns in a kind of laughing manner. 00:16:29.899 --> 00:16:31.000 Micah is not joking about. 00:16:32.980 --> 00:16:34.980 Micah is not an entertaining evangelist. 00:16:34.980 --> 00:16:36.860 He's not trying to get laughs from the crowd. 00:16:37.300 --> 00:16:38.519 These are not puns. 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:40.740 As Leslie Allen says, they are omens. 00:16:41.240 --> 00:16:43.740 And we are to read Micah 1 and 2 ominously. 00:16:45.580 --> 00:16:48.420 Omens of the judgment of God that is coming upon the cities of Judah. 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:51.580 And these villages in the land of Judah. 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:56.560 And Micah is lamenting, weeping, full of anguish for these people in these cities. 00:16:58.700 --> 00:17:00.800 I think it doesn't come out as clear as it can. 00:17:00.800 --> 00:17:04.700 Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase, the message, 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:06.299 He captures it brilliantly. 00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:09.720 And he gives us the sense of what is going on. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:10.980 Let me read to you what he says. 00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:15.000 He says, don't gossip about this in tail town. 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:19.620 Don't waste your tears in Dustville, roll in the dust. 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:22.700 In alarm town, the alarm is sounded. 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:27.000 The citizens of Exitburg will never get out alive. 00:17:27.620 --> 00:17:29.400 Lament, last stand city. 00:17:29.740 --> 00:17:31.720 There's nothing in you left standing. 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:35.539 The villages of Bittertown wait in vain for sweet peace. 00:17:35.900 --> 00:17:39.200 Harsh judgment has come from God and entered Peace City. 00:17:39.680 --> 00:17:43.740 And all you who live in Chariotville get in your chariots for flight. 00:17:44.860 --> 00:17:48.539 You led the daughter of Zion into trusting not God but chariots. 00:17:49.319 --> 00:17:52.120 Similar sins in Israel also got their start in you. 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:55.880 Go ahead and give your goodbye gifts to Goodbyeville. 00:17:55.880 --> 00:18:00.720 Mirage town beckoned but disappointed Israel's kings. 00:18:00.940 --> 00:18:03.580 Inheritance city has lost its inheritance. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.460 Glory town has seen its last of glory. 00:18:06.860 --> 00:18:10.080 Shave your heads in mourning over the loss of your precious town. 00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:11.980 Go bald as a goose egg. 00:18:12.280 --> 00:18:14.800 They've gone into exile and they're not coming back. 00:18:16.700 --> 00:18:17.660 Do you see what's happening here? 00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:21.040 These are the towns, the cities of Judah. 00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:28.560 We're going to hear about these towns in chapter 5 of Judah. 00:18:28.740 --> 00:18:30.640 There's one that you'll recognize. 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:33.440 The least of all the cities in Judah. 00:18:35.340 --> 00:18:40.800 But these are the cities of Judah that are in the path of the Assyrian avalanche that's coming. 00:18:42.820 --> 00:18:44.640 And do you see what is happening all around you? 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:46.620 It's coming to right where you are, Micah says. 00:18:48.100 --> 00:18:51.460 And it's Micah's lament and there's tears in his eyes and his heart is breaking. 00:18:51.560 --> 00:18:52.880 And that's the proper response. 00:18:55.220 --> 00:18:58.140 It's like when Jesus looked over Jerusalem and he said, 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:00.840 Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets. 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:06.080 How often would I have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks but you would not? 00:19:06.180 --> 00:19:07.759 Literally it says Jesus sobbed. 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:11.120 He sobbed over Jerusalem. 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:19.419 William Hendrickson in his commentary tells of the barnyard chicken that's burned into the ground. 00:19:21.259 --> 00:19:23.219 There's a fire in the farmyard. 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:26.319 And when the fire brigade turn up, there's a mother hen. 00:19:27.219 --> 00:19:30.859 Who is kind of sort of charred remains there on the concrete. 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:39.159 And when the fireman pokes the chicken with a stick, out from underneath the charred remains of the mother hen come the little chicks. 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:40.119 That's the picture. 00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:43.799 Oh Jerusalem, oh Jerusalem. 00:19:43.939 --> 00:19:45.219 Oh Ealing, oh Ealing. 00:19:45.479 --> 00:19:47.119 Oh London, oh Philadelphia. 00:19:47.539 --> 00:19:49.279 Oh Sydney, oh Berlin. 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:53.420 Don't you realize that God's judgment is coming upon you? 00:19:55.119 --> 00:19:57.399 How often would I have gathered you? 00:19:57.480 --> 00:19:59.799 I sent prophets, I sent preachers, I sent evangelists. 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:02.619 How often would I have gathered you but you would not? 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:08.039 Do you see that is the answer to the avalanche of judgment, isn't it? 00:20:08.059 --> 00:20:11.559 It is the only thing that can stop the anger of God against sinners like you and I. 00:20:15.639 --> 00:20:16.579 Listen to this hymn. 00:20:16.579 --> 00:20:20.240 You sinners, seek his face whose wrath you cannot bear. 00:20:21.319 --> 00:20:24.619 Run to the shelter of his cross and find salvation. 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:26.679 That's what people need to know. 00:20:28.819 --> 00:20:31.819 But there on the cross, Jesus took the anger of a holy God. 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:34.579 That was coming our way but he took it. 00:20:36.899 --> 00:20:39.779 He stood in the way of the avalanche and it fell on him. 00:20:39.859 --> 00:20:42.480 The fiery indignation of a holy God, he took it. 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:45.759 He became a propitiation. 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:48.220 That's what the word means, the propitiation for our sin. 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:51.859 God's wrath fell on him so that it did not have to fall on us. 00:20:53.559 --> 00:20:56.019 Oh, he says, how often I would have gathered you. 00:20:56.119 --> 00:20:59.079 He went to the cross, didn't he, to gather sinners to himself. 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:04.599 He went to the cross to take the wrath of God. 00:21:04.720 --> 00:21:07.640 Ye sinners, seek his face whose wrath you cannot bear. 00:21:09.059 --> 00:21:12.259 Fly ye to the shelter of his cross and find salvation there. 00:21:12.259 --> 00:21:17.359 Romans tells us that the wrath of God is being revealed. 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:20.819 It is here. 00:21:22.059 --> 00:21:22.779 You know it. 00:21:22.859 --> 00:21:23.640 You experience it. 00:21:25.119 --> 00:21:26.000 And yet it is coming. 00:21:26.140 --> 00:21:29.559 It is on its way against all ungodliness and against all wickedness. 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:37.220 And yet the Christian church in the UK don't really intercede. 00:21:40.019 --> 00:21:42.119 And there's very little pleading in the preaching. 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:43.099 I say that with my own preaching. 00:21:45.179 --> 00:21:48.440 There's very little anguish in our hearts. 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:56.880 Do you remember Philippians chapter 3 just a few weeks ago, isn't it? 00:21:56.940 --> 00:22:00.320 Where Paul spoke of the enemies of the cross of Christ. 00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:03.059 Even with tears. 00:22:03.240 --> 00:22:04.420 Even with tears, he said. 00:22:05.240 --> 00:22:06.960 That many live as enemies of the cross. 00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:08.840 And their destiny is destruction. 00:22:11.299 --> 00:22:14.180 And Paul says, it breaks me up to think about that. 00:22:14.180 --> 00:22:21.340 And so there are many, many people out there in our circles, in our families, on our streets. 00:22:22.340 --> 00:22:24.259 That live as enemies of the cross. 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:28.539 Christ died for sinners. 00:22:28.660 --> 00:22:30.920 He took the wrath of a holy God in our place. 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:34.860 And there are many, many people who you know and whom you love who live as enemies of that. 00:22:36.980 --> 00:22:40.039 And Paul says to the apostle, I tell you with tears about this. 00:22:40.340 --> 00:22:41.240 Isn't that the only response? 00:22:41.600 --> 00:22:43.400 Pleading with God to have mercy on this city. 00:22:44.180 --> 00:22:46.960 It's not the only response. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:49.440 Anguish, tears in our hearts, if not in our faces. 00:22:49.660 --> 00:22:50.539 What have you got to do? 00:22:53.460 --> 00:22:54.620 Micah went naked. 00:22:54.980 --> 00:22:57.019 And he started howling like an ostrich. 00:23:01.980 --> 00:23:03.160 It's wise, isn't it? 00:23:03.240 --> 00:23:07.240 We do need to talk as a church about need to be being woken up. 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:12.060 The church in London is half asleep. 00:23:12.059 --> 00:23:15.539 We're more asleep than awake. 00:23:15.740 --> 00:23:20.639 We believe in hell and we believe the wrath of God is coming. 00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:23.639 But it's as if we're dreaming about it. 00:23:25.919 --> 00:23:28.000 And so Paul says, how are you time to wake out of your sleep? 00:23:29.099 --> 00:23:32.579 Paul says our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 00:23:32.740 --> 00:23:34.440 The day of grace will be over soon. 00:23:34.440 --> 00:23:42.120 And so the first and most important thing we can do for the people of Ealing, people who are under the wrath of God, is to pray for them. 00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:46.939 It's a work that we're called to pray. 00:23:46.939 --> 00:23:48.099 Prayer is not an optional extra. 00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:56.000 In the same way that I am called to preach the gospel, you are called and I am called to pray for the lost. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:00.519 I'm not trying to put a guilt trip on you. 00:24:00.579 --> 00:24:02.079 I want us to care about the lost. 00:24:04.019 --> 00:24:06.079 And that we will pray for people to be saved. 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:09.559 And rescued as brands from the burning. 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:10.519 That's the first response. 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:11.460 Lament and anguish. 00:24:11.539 --> 00:24:13.759 But there's another response that we're really familiar with. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:15.380 It's chapter 6, verse 7 and 2. 00:24:17.579 --> 00:24:19.039 Verse 6 and 7 of chapter 2. 00:24:19.039 --> 00:24:23.559 Matthew Henry says true Israelites tremble when God is angry. 00:24:24.639 --> 00:24:26.619 True Israelites tremble when God is angry. 00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:30.200 But these people, they're in denial, aren't they? 00:24:31.619 --> 00:24:34.819 And they've listened to the false prophets who are telling them what they want to hear. 00:24:34.940 --> 00:24:36.019 And look at the things they're saying. 00:24:36.099 --> 00:24:37.339 Verse 6 and 7 of chapter 2. 00:24:37.659 --> 00:24:39.139 They say, look what they say. 00:24:39.180 --> 00:24:39.819 Don't preach like that. 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:41.139 Stop preaching like that. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:43.259 Maybe that's what you were thinking a minute ago. 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:44.619 Stop it. 00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:45.639 You're just Welsh. 00:24:45.640 --> 00:24:49.880 And getting all kind of revival-esque and into the wrath of God. 00:24:51.280 --> 00:24:52.580 I don't believe in a God like that. 00:24:54.140 --> 00:24:56.000 I don't believe God gets angry with people. 00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:57.600 Do you believe in a God like that? 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:00.680 I'm not going to come and listen to you again. 00:25:02.140 --> 00:25:02.960 It'll never happen. 00:25:04.860 --> 00:25:05.840 Do you see what it says? 00:25:05.960 --> 00:25:07.120 And do not preach. 00:25:09.380 --> 00:25:10.800 One should not preach of such things. 00:25:11.020 --> 00:25:12.400 Disgrace will not overtake us. 00:25:12.860 --> 00:25:13.680 It's not going to happen to us. 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:14.820 It's always going to happen to somebody else. 00:25:16.440 --> 00:25:17.340 Some people smoke, isn't it? 00:25:17.340 --> 00:25:17.820 Why do people smoke? 00:25:17.860 --> 00:25:21.700 You see this packet of cigarette fag packets. 00:25:21.840 --> 00:25:25.500 It's got these horrific photographs, haven't they, of what your insides look like. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:26.660 Why do people smoke? 00:25:27.259 --> 00:25:28.500 Because they think, it'll never happen to me. 00:25:29.160 --> 00:25:29.759 I won't be like that. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:33.160 It's not going to happen. 00:25:33.360 --> 00:25:33.880 But it did happen. 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:38.200 Is this the way preachers should talk? 00:25:39.880 --> 00:25:41.620 Should this be said, O house of Jacob? 00:25:41.619 --> 00:25:44.339 Has the Lord grown impatient? 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:45.159 Is God angry? 00:25:45.259 --> 00:25:46.079 Is that the God of the Bible? 00:25:49.679 --> 00:25:51.339 Often if you hear people, I talk like that. 00:25:51.399 --> 00:25:53.799 Do not my words do good to him who walks uprightly. 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:55.179 Isn't God on the side of good people? 00:25:56.559 --> 00:25:57.559 I'm not a bad person. 00:25:57.619 --> 00:25:58.859 I'm certainly no worse than others. 00:25:59.819 --> 00:26:02.059 Doesn't God help those who help themselves, preacher? 00:26:02.059 --> 00:26:05.359 Why are you talking about the wrath of God? 00:26:05.379 --> 00:26:06.259 About God being angry? 00:26:06.339 --> 00:26:07.519 What kind of preaching is that? 00:26:07.700 --> 00:26:08.799 What's God's answer to that? 00:26:08.859 --> 00:26:13.299 Well, look at the opening verses of chapter 2, verses 1 and 2. 00:26:13.299 --> 00:26:26.740 Again, let me use Ralph Davis. 00:26:26.839 --> 00:26:28.919 Ralph Davis talks about that little word, covert. 00:26:30.279 --> 00:26:31.019 And this is what he says. 00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:31.500 He says this. 00:26:31.500 --> 00:26:35.960 The Lord opens up the septic tank of your own reeking nature and lets you smell it. 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:39.419 I wouldn't dare say that, but Ralph Davis does. 00:26:39.420 --> 00:26:47.480 The word covert opens up the septic tank of your own reeking nature and lets you smell it. 00:26:47.580 --> 00:26:47.840 Covet. 00:26:50.320 --> 00:26:53.060 Paul says the same thing, doesn't he, in Romans 7. 00:26:57.240 --> 00:27:00.820 He said, I didn't know what sin was until I read that commandment, you shall not covet. 00:27:01.900 --> 00:27:04.580 And the thing about covetousness is it's in the heart. 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:08.919 And these people were lying in bed at night plotting. 00:27:09.179 --> 00:27:12.699 And the next day they were ripping each other off and doing all sorts of things. 00:27:12.819 --> 00:27:15.859 But the root of the problem was their hearts, the covetousness there. 00:27:17.619 --> 00:27:21.679 And Paul said, I didn't know what sin was until I read that commandment, you shall not covet. 00:27:23.019 --> 00:27:25.019 Until then, I thought I was doing pretty well in keeping the law. 00:27:25.619 --> 00:27:26.740 I never murdered anyone. 00:27:26.819 --> 00:27:27.679 I didn't mean sleeping around. 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:30.240 But covetousness, well, actually, it blows your cover, doesn't it? 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:35.420 Remember what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 5. 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:45.339 He says, among you, sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 00:27:45.460 --> 00:27:49.799 Let there be no filthiness, no foolish talk, no crude joking, which are out of place. 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:51.059 But instead, there should be thanksgiving. 00:27:51.640 --> 00:27:55.940 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who is covetousness, 00:27:56.940 --> 00:27:59.859 has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:03.160 Let no one deceive you with empty words. 00:28:03.259 --> 00:28:07.799 For because of these things, because of greed in the heart, which is a form of idolatry. 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:14.079 Because of these things, coveting, greed in the heart, God's wrath comes. 00:28:14.120 --> 00:28:14.980 That's Micah's message. 00:28:18.099 --> 00:28:20.099 We see it in the UK, covetousness. 00:28:20.099 --> 00:28:27.279 I think if we had to identify the gods of the UK, the economy would actually be right up there. 00:28:29.159 --> 00:28:32.079 We look to the economy to solve all our problems. 00:28:32.079 --> 00:28:41.000 I'm told, I'm not sure it's completely true, but I'm told that no UK government has lost an election when the economy was in good shape. 00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:46.759 Because the people can see that the government is appeasing their God. 00:28:46.759 --> 00:28:50.879 So let's heed this warning. 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:52.420 Let no one deceive you with empty words. 00:28:52.500 --> 00:28:53.319 Don't listen to the prophets. 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:56.640 Let no one deceive you with empty words. 00:28:56.700 --> 00:28:59.680 Because of such things, God's wrath is coming. 00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:01.500 Because of covetousness and greed. 00:29:03.660 --> 00:29:04.700 And that's Micah's message. 00:29:04.839 --> 00:29:06.359 These people, the problem is not out there. 00:29:06.460 --> 00:29:07.119 It's in here. 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:11.259 The problem is not with the Assyrians. 00:29:11.539 --> 00:29:12.359 The problem is with sin. 00:29:14.339 --> 00:29:16.619 If you deal with your sin, God will take care of the Assyrians. 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:20.719 And if you don't deal with it, the Assyrians will come and sweep you away. 00:29:20.779 --> 00:29:21.539 That's Micah's message. 00:29:21.619 --> 00:29:22.579 It's really serious, isn't it? 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:25.579 I haven't got time to bring all of this out. 00:29:25.659 --> 00:29:27.419 But compare verse 1 with verse 3. 00:29:28.639 --> 00:29:31.819 Verse 1, woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds. 00:29:31.899 --> 00:29:33.219 Verse 3, look what God says. 00:29:33.500 --> 00:29:35.439 I am planning to, I am devising to. 00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:38.100 I am devising disaster on you. 00:29:38.519 --> 00:29:39.360 What are you dreaming about? 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:40.100 What are you planning about? 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:43.100 And what are you going to do to other people? 00:29:44.640 --> 00:29:46.100 God says, I am actually going to do to you. 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:47.299 I will turn the tables on you. 00:29:47.380 --> 00:29:48.559 The punishment will fit the crime. 00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:53.500 And the Assyrians will come and you will find that you are evicted from your property. 00:29:53.660 --> 00:29:55.860 And the things you have done to other people will be done to you. 00:29:55.900 --> 00:29:57.759 It's a very unpopular idea, isn't it? 00:29:59.279 --> 00:30:00.440 It's incredibly unpopular. 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:02.440 This idea that God will punish sin. 00:30:03.600 --> 00:30:05.059 And that that punishment will fit the crime. 00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:10.940 Most people would go as far to say that what you deserve, 00:30:11.140 --> 00:30:13.039 what kind of what goes around comes around. 00:30:13.220 --> 00:30:14.440 But that's impersonal. 00:30:14.539 --> 00:30:15.480 This is personal. 00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:23.440 And God's anger is not cause and effect like stubbing your toe against a post and hurting yourself. 00:30:24.140 --> 00:30:24.880 It's personal. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:30.740 And that's what the false prophets can't stand. 00:30:32.580 --> 00:30:33.680 It's still the same. 00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:43.920 Richard Niebuhr summed up liberal theology that was coming in his day and is rampant today in the kind of mainline church. 00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:45.600 He said, 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:51.159 A God without wrath brings men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through Christ without a cross. 00:30:51.160 --> 00:30:56.100 And that's not Christianity. 00:30:56.340 --> 00:30:57.660 That's what false teachers teach. 00:30:57.660 --> 00:31:03.400 A God without wrath brings men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through Christ without a cross. 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:05.000 And that's exactly what people want to hear. 00:31:08.360 --> 00:31:10.380 And that brings me finally to God's response. 00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:14.060 We've seen the prophet's response. 00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:14.540 He weeps. 00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:15.120 There's a lament. 00:31:15.320 --> 00:31:16.340 We've seen the people's response. 00:31:16.520 --> 00:31:17.180 They're in denial. 00:31:17.400 --> 00:31:18.580 They're listening to false prophets. 00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:21.980 But then, can you see verse 11 of chapter 2? 00:31:21.980 --> 00:31:28.599 That if a man should go about an utter wind and lies and saying, 00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:30.779 I will preach to you of wine and strong drink, 00:31:31.099 --> 00:31:33.200 well, he'd be preacher of the year, wouldn't he, for these people? 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:34.980 Of wine and beer. 00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:37.440 It's just the prophet you're looking for. 00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:40.200 So what's the proper response? 00:31:40.299 --> 00:31:41.180 What is God's response? 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:42.700 Look at the last two verses. 00:31:42.860 --> 00:31:44.000 They're fantastic verses. 00:31:44.339 --> 00:31:44.920 I will. 00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:46.519 I will. 00:31:47.460 --> 00:31:48.220 I will. 00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:55.120 Whatever people do, I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob. 00:31:55.240 --> 00:31:56.579 I will gather the remnant of Israel. 00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:59.240 I will set them together like sheep in a fold, 00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:01.180 like a flock in its pasture, 00:32:01.900 --> 00:32:03.640 a noisy multitude of men. 00:32:04.140 --> 00:32:07.860 He who opens up the breach goes up before them. 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:09.360 Who do you think that is? 00:32:10.960 --> 00:32:14.779 They break through and pass the gate going out by it. 00:32:14.779 --> 00:32:20.059 Their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head. 00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:21.559 Well, if that's not Jesus, I don't know who is. 00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:25.839 Jesus has got many names in the Bible, 00:32:25.940 --> 00:32:28.279 but surely one of them is the breaker, isn't it? 00:32:30.180 --> 00:32:33.700 That's Micah's nickname, really, for the Messiah. 00:32:34.980 --> 00:32:37.160 He's the breaker, the smasher. 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:40.440 If you're walking through a dangerous city at night, 00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:42.619 who would you like to be with you? 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:44.539 Barbie or the breaker? 00:32:44.779 --> 00:32:50.119 A few years ago, R.C. Sproul tells this great story 00:32:50.119 --> 00:32:53.720 of a distinguished professor of New Testament studies. 00:32:54.079 --> 00:32:56.099 He's invited to address a graduation. 00:32:57.399 --> 00:32:58.779 It's an academic convocation. 00:32:59.859 --> 00:33:00.920 It's in a large university. 00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:02.119 You know these American universities 00:33:02.119 --> 00:33:04.779 where they all process in gowns and robes. 00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:09.000 This New Testament professor was there 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:11.139 to give this scholarly speech. 00:33:11.240 --> 00:33:11.779 It was a hush of expectation. 00:33:11.779 --> 00:33:15.700 He was an expert in the field of Christology, 00:33:16.579 --> 00:33:20.220 and it was expected that the lecturer would present an address 00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:23.619 revealing his most recent research in the field. 00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:25.139 And instead, he stood at the podium, 00:33:25.559 --> 00:33:28.119 and he began to recite a litany of titles 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:29.779 of Jesus drawn from the Bible. 00:33:29.819 --> 00:33:31.039 And it went on for several minutes. 00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:34.779 And as the full impact of the title in themselves 00:33:34.779 --> 00:33:36.319 was given no commentary, 00:33:36.379 --> 00:33:37.960 as it was felt by the audience, 00:33:38.339 --> 00:33:40.599 he just stood there with pauses in between. 00:33:40.599 --> 00:33:52.079 Christ, Lord, Rabbi, Son of Man, Son of God, 00:33:52.319 --> 00:33:57.699 Son of David, Lion of Judah, Lamb without blemish, 00:33:58.039 --> 00:34:01.139 Rose of Sharon, the bright and morning star, 00:34:01.619 --> 00:34:04.240 Alpha and Omega, the Word of God, 00:34:04.579 --> 00:34:06.959 the Advocate, the Prince of Peace, 00:34:06.960 --> 00:34:09.079 the only begotten of the Father, 00:34:09.260 --> 00:34:11.280 and on and on and on. 00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:15.340 And the litany went on as he just recited 00:34:15.340 --> 00:34:17.179 all the titles that the biblical writers 00:34:17.179 --> 00:34:18.480 had conferred upon Jesus. 00:34:18.760 --> 00:34:19.940 And this is just one of them, 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:20.679 the breaker. 00:34:22.260 --> 00:34:23.119 The breaker. 00:34:25.760 --> 00:34:26.780 Isn't that what you need 00:34:26.780 --> 00:34:28.820 when the wrath of God is coming down upon you 00:34:28.820 --> 00:34:30.280 with covetousness in your heart? 00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:31.820 Don't you need someone to smash through it? 00:34:31.820 --> 00:34:36.000 Look at what he says in verse 10. 00:34:36.100 --> 00:34:37.460 He says, arise and go, 00:34:37.580 --> 00:34:39.039 for this is no place to rest. 00:34:39.680 --> 00:34:40.740 Get up and go. 00:34:41.600 --> 00:34:42.760 This isn't your rest. 00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:45.500 But our problem is, 00:34:46.039 --> 00:34:47.140 I can't get up and go. 00:34:49.539 --> 00:34:50.700 I can't leave my sin. 00:34:50.800 --> 00:34:52.160 I've not got the power to do it. 00:34:53.620 --> 00:34:54.660 And we need a breaker. 00:34:54.840 --> 00:34:56.660 And Jesus, in his death and resurrection, 00:34:56.940 --> 00:34:59.059 smashes Satan and breaks through death 00:34:59.059 --> 00:35:00.600 and gathers the scattered people. 00:35:01.820 --> 00:35:03.420 And he leads them to a safe place. 00:35:03.460 --> 00:35:04.400 And that's what you need, isn't it? 00:35:05.980 --> 00:35:07.640 The great sage Augustine said, 00:35:07.780 --> 00:35:10.440 there is no place to run from God. 00:35:11.440 --> 00:35:12.800 A God who is angry, 00:35:13.539 --> 00:35:14.800 but to God reconciled. 00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:17.080 There's no place to run from God angry, 00:35:17.220 --> 00:35:18.480 but to God reconciled. 00:35:19.220 --> 00:35:20.880 Would you run from him? 00:35:21.059 --> 00:35:22.700 Augustine said, run to him. 00:35:23.620 --> 00:35:24.680 That's the gospel, isn't it? 00:35:26.080 --> 00:35:27.400 Would you run from him? 00:35:28.940 --> 00:35:31.800 This angry God who is angry with sin 00:35:31.800 --> 00:35:33.400 every day, the Bible says. 00:35:38.539 --> 00:35:40.200 It's not true what people say, isn't it? 00:35:40.220 --> 00:35:42.060 God hates the sin, but loves the sinner. 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:43.100 It's not. 00:35:43.340 --> 00:35:45.400 God is angry with sinners every day, 00:35:45.480 --> 00:35:46.100 the Bible says. 00:35:48.980 --> 00:35:50.980 Anger is a component of love, isn't it? 00:35:50.980 --> 00:35:53.440 If I'm angry with my kids when they misbehave, 00:35:53.480 --> 00:35:54.400 it's because I love them. 00:35:54.400 --> 00:35:58.800 And God is angry with sinners every day. 00:35:58.920 --> 00:36:00.480 Oh, sinner man, where are you going to run to? 00:36:03.039 --> 00:36:05.019 From a God who is angry with you every day. 00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:06.200 Would you run from him? 00:36:06.360 --> 00:36:07.019 Run to him. 00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:10.180 As he comes to you in Christ, 00:36:10.400 --> 00:36:12.480 reconciling the world to himself in Christ, 00:36:12.559 --> 00:36:13.240 what is God like? 00:36:14.619 --> 00:36:16.400 Mike is telling you something really wonderful. 00:36:16.519 --> 00:36:17.920 He's telling you God is like Jesus. 00:36:17.920 --> 00:36:20.840 You wonder what God is like? 00:36:20.880 --> 00:36:21.960 He is like Jesus. 00:36:25.340 --> 00:36:27.019 And that is where your rest is 00:36:27.019 --> 00:36:29.780 when there's an avalanche coming. 00:36:33.240 --> 00:36:33.960 Verse 10, 00:36:34.400 --> 00:36:35.680 here is not your rest. 00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:36.780 Here is not your rest, 00:36:36.860 --> 00:36:38.260 but Jesus comes and he says, 00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:39.740 come to me and I will give you rest. 00:36:39.739 --> 00:36:42.679 Whoever believes on the sun, 00:36:43.219 --> 00:36:44.119 John 10 has life. 00:36:44.199 --> 00:36:46.139 Whoever rejects the sun will not see life. 00:36:46.619 --> 00:36:48.119 And the wrath of God remains on him. 00:36:50.359 --> 00:36:53.299 Storing up wrath against the day of wrath 00:36:53.299 --> 00:36:54.819 until one day the dam will burst. 00:36:56.219 --> 00:36:58.099 And it will come right to your front door. 00:37:00.159 --> 00:37:01.199 And so get up and go to him. 00:37:02.279 --> 00:37:02.779 Let's pray.