WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.299 Well, good morning. If Pastor Nick got you excited that I was preaching on Isaiah, 00:00:05.540 --> 00:00:12.820 I'm preaching on Micah. But it's understandable because Micah and Isaiah overlap a lot. 00:00:13.380 --> 00:00:21.800 They prophesied during the same time. It's understandable. So just wanted to clarify 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:29.199 that before we get too far into it. It is good to be with you this morning. As Nick mentioned, 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:34.780 today we're going to finish our series in the book of Micah. And then next week we're going to start 00:00:34.780 --> 00:00:43.000 with the book of 1 John. So if you're someone who likes to read ahead and prepare ahead of time, 00:00:43.060 --> 00:00:49.939 we will be looking at the book of 1 John next week. So that will be our summer preaching series. 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:58.760 We're looking forward to that. In the book of Acts in chapter 17, there is a picture of 00:00:58.759 --> 00:01:05.219 the Apostle Paul as he comes to the city of Athens. And as he walks around the city of Athens, 00:01:05.340 --> 00:01:10.459 he sees many images, statues of gods of the Greek pantheon of various kinds. 00:01:11.620 --> 00:01:17.259 He acknowledged them. And as he spoke to people there, he said, I see you are religious people. 00:01:17.259 --> 00:01:25.640 He acknowledged their desire of the human heart to know God. And he acknowledged that from their 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:32.500 standpoint, there were a lot to choose from. Now we in the United States don't have a lot of 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:38.140 statues that we walk around as a part of religious worship. For the most part, there are certainly 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:45.060 some places where that is true. And certainly we live in a world where religious idols, icons, 00:01:45.060 --> 00:01:50.819 are still a significant part of their religious activity and worship. 00:01:50.819 --> 00:02:02.359 But I think that universally, even here in the U.S., there is a human impulse to want to know God. 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:09.419 And just like in the first century in Athens today, it seems like there are a lot of choices. 00:02:10.759 --> 00:02:16.039 In our culture today, spiritual search is kind of like going to the food court in the mall. 00:02:16.039 --> 00:02:22.400 You could go to Five Guys, you could go to Chick-fil-A, you could go to China Panda, 00:02:22.840 --> 00:02:31.060 and so on and so forth. So many different options. We get to pick maybe a little of this, 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:37.199 a little of that. Sometimes we even like it like a buffet. We can make our own plate and choose our 00:02:37.199 --> 00:02:42.239 own dishes to make up what God we think we want. 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:52.080 If I were to venture, think about some of the kinds of gods that we are most drawn to today 00:02:52.080 --> 00:03:00.100 in our culture, two of the strongest flavors that we long for, they would be these. 00:03:00.760 --> 00:03:06.620 One would be a God of justice, someone who will bring righteousness to this world. 00:03:06.620 --> 00:03:14.400 Because we have a desire to see that wrong be punished, that evil be stopped, that suffering 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:22.340 end, that oppression be overcome. And we long for Thor with his hammer to come down from heaven 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:31.560 and smite all the bad guys so that we can continue to move towards a better world and a better society. 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:38.879 So some of us long for a God of justice. And then there might be another flavor that some of us 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:46.560 are attracted to, and that would be a God of acceptance. A God who says, I love you just the 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:53.420 way you are, and you don't have to be anything different. A God who embraces our choices, supports 00:03:53.419 --> 00:04:03.379 our dreams, a God whose love fuels our pursuit of a fulfilling life, no matter what. 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:11.560 But I have a question for you. Do we really get to choose? 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:19.220 Now, it's been argued by some that all human religions are just, all religions are simply 00:04:19.220 --> 00:04:25.639 human constructions. That this human desire for something transcendent has no real object, 00:04:25.840 --> 00:04:30.699 and so everything that we worship and all that humanity has worshipped throughout history has all 00:04:30.699 --> 00:04:39.740 been created by us. And if that's true, then, well, let's go to the buffet. Let's choose. Let's make 00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:47.240 it right. Let's decide what we want. But what if…what if it's not a human construction? 00:04:49.300 --> 00:05:00.699 What if our desire to know God is a human response to a reality? C.S. Lewis argues that it's like hunger. 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:08.759 We have hunger in our human bodies because we were made to eat food. We didn't create hunger 00:05:08.759 --> 00:05:14.699 hunger so that we could enjoy food. We have hunger because we were made to eat food. 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:23.099 And he would argue, and I would argue with him, that our desire for God is not because we like to 00:05:23.099 --> 00:05:28.120 create something that doesn't exist, but because we were made for something that we have not yet 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:38.740 discovered. The God of the Bible comes, and he says to us, here I am. I am a God. 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:46.439 Not of your own making. I am a God who will be surprising in who I am. And I call you to come 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:53.819 and to know me. And that brings us to our text in the book of Micah this morning. If you're looking 00:05:53.819 --> 00:06:01.240 in the Pew Bibles, it's paid 732. Micah is buried in the Old Testament prophets, so you might have a 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:11.019 hard time. And remember, Micah is preaching around 700 B.C. He is proclaiming, he's prophesying to 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:17.800 the people of God, the nation of Israel, when they're between one calamity and another. The one 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:24.460 calamity is that the northern part of the nation of Israel has been conquered by Assyria, who have 00:06:24.459 --> 00:06:32.079 swooped in and taken over half of the land. They've not gotten to Jerusalem yet, but they've taken over 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:42.279 the northern kingdom. And what's coming for them and what Micah is predicting or previewing is that 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:50.299 in 586, the southern kingdom will be conquered by Babylon, and the nation of Israel as a nation state 00:06:50.300 --> 00:06:56.620 will cease to exist for 70 years. It's a significant time of crisis. 00:06:58.639 --> 00:07:04.020 And it's raised questions in the mind of the people. God, what kind of God are you? 00:07:05.580 --> 00:07:12.780 And this is what Micah is bringing to us. Who is a God like you? We'll see it in verse 18. 00:07:12.779 --> 00:07:25.319 So let's read Micah chapter 7. We're going to read verses 18 through… Sorry, I didn't… There it is. 00:07:25.739 --> 00:07:35.539 18… Nope. 8 through 20. That's what we're going to do this morning. Micah chapter 7, verses 8 through 20. 00:07:35.619 --> 00:07:40.399 So let's read God's Word together, and let's pray, and then we'll look at it for a few minutes. 00:07:42.779 --> 00:07:51.159 Rejoice not over me, my enemy. O my enemy, when I fall, I shall rise. When I sit in darkness, 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:57.899 the Lord will be a light to me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned 00:07:57.899 --> 00:08:06.019 against him. Until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me, he will bring me out to the light. 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:13.819 I shall look upon his vindication. Then my enemy will see, and shame will cover her who said to me, 00:08:13.959 --> 00:08:21.539 Where is the Lord your God? My eyes will look upon her. Now she will be trampled down like the mire of 00:08:21.539 --> 00:08:28.279 the streets. A day of building of your walls. In that day the boundaries shall be far extended. 00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:36.339 In that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, and from Egypt to the river, 00:08:36.500 --> 00:08:43.339 from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain. But the earth will be desolate because of its 00:08:43.339 --> 00:08:51.500 inhabitants for the fruit of their deeds. Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:59.080 inheritance who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of a garden land. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:07.179 as in the days of old. As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:15.740 marvelous things. The nation shall see and be ashamed of all their might, and they shall lay their 00:09:15.740 --> 00:09:23.419 hands on their mouths. Their ears shall be deaf. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, like crawling 00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:29.980 things of the earth. They shall come trembling out of their strongholds. They shall turn in dread to 00:09:29.980 --> 00:09:41.460 the Lord our God. They shall be in fear of you. Who is like you? Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity 00:09:41.460 --> 00:09:48.120 and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance. He does not retain his anger 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:55.980 forever because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us. He will dread our, 00:09:56.200 --> 00:10:02.480 he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:09.460 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham as you have sworn to our fathers 00:10:09.460 --> 00:10:17.879 from the days of old. This is God's Word. Let's pray together. Lord, we ask this morning that you 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:27.940 would help us as we finish this book, Lord, as we hear this last word, this last oracle. God, I pray you 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:34.180 would give us your help today. Lord, that by your Spirit you would open our hearts to receive your Word 00:10:34.179 --> 00:10:42.879 and open our minds to understand it and open our wills that we might submit to it. God, I pray that 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:50.959 we would see you this morning more clearly through this text. Lord, I pray that you would help me to 00:10:50.959 --> 00:10:58.000 speak as I ought, that together as we sit under your Word, Lord, you would be glorified. We pray this 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:15.639 in Jesus' name. Amen. Who is a God like you? This is actually what Micah is telling us. As is often true 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:22.879 in prophetic reading, one of the challenges is that the pronouns change. The perspective or the voice 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:28.679 changes consistently. So I'm hopefully going to help you walk through and help you understand 00:11:28.679 --> 00:11:35.679 who the voices are and how. But in the big picture, what I want us to see this morning is that Micah is 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:44.480 telling us two things about this God. In verses 8 through 17, he's going to tell us about God as our 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:51.879 shepherd. And verses 18 through 20, he will talk about God as our Savior. So if you're taking your notes, 00:11:51.879 --> 00:11:59.340 there's the outline. First of all, God as our shepherd, verse 14, he says, Micah is crying out 00:11:59.340 --> 00:12:05.639 to the Lord saying, shepherd your people, O God, with your staff. And you know, it's a surprising 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:11.879 thing because I don't know if you know any shepherds, but in the first century at least, and certainly in 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:18.120 the Old Testament times, shepherds were not the sort of people you'd have over for coffee. They tended to be, 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:25.060 well, people who hung around with sheep all day. And they were not particularly well regarded in 00:12:25.060 --> 00:12:29.600 society. It was not an honored profession. And one of the remarkable things about the Bible 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:38.100 is that it takes this role and it fills this and it imbues it with all of this goodness and this glory 00:12:38.100 --> 00:12:45.820 and this greatness. Because the shepherd who is a dirty workman in the cultural view becomes 00:12:45.820 --> 00:12:53.480 this precious king ruling and overseeing with care and protection for his people. 00:12:54.460 --> 00:13:00.300 And this is the kind of shepherd that Micah is referring to when he says, shepherd your people. 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:05.820 What kind of a shepherd is he? Well, there are two things in this section that I see. First of all, 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:13.080 he is a shepherd who disciplines those he loves. Go back to verse 8. And this is a remarkable thing 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:19.620 because now it's the nation of Israel speaking to their enemy. And he's saying, rejoice not over me. 00:13:20.160 --> 00:13:29.120 Why is he saying that? Because they've experienced God's discipline on their nation. Rather than 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:36.460 experiencing victory and glory in the world, God has disciplined them. Assyria has been a physical 00:13:36.460 --> 00:13:44.980 rod of discipline to defeat the northern kingdom to bring to light their idolatry, their disobedience, 00:13:45.040 --> 00:13:51.600 and their trust in other things. They've experienced the discipline of God's judgment because of their 00:13:51.600 --> 00:14:01.780 rebellion against him. And so the people around them might be saying, ha ha, see, your God has abandoned 00:14:01.779 --> 00:14:09.120 you. He's not much of a God after all, isn't he? But that's not true either. The discipline of what 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:17.740 God brings is also a restorative discipline. So you see in verse 9, in verse 8, you see the Israel 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:22.419 confessing their sin. We know we've sinned. We know this is God's discipline. But then he goes on and he 00:14:22.419 --> 00:14:28.399 says, but I will wait for the Lord because he will come and he will bring light into the darkness of my 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:34.379 present situation. He will bring redemption and even vindication at the end of the day. 00:14:36.639 --> 00:14:42.740 The Bible says this in a number of places, that the Lord disciplines those he loves. 00:14:44.319 --> 00:14:50.519 And if those of you have small children, you know this. When your one-and-a-half-year-old walks over to the 00:14:50.519 --> 00:14:58.199 outlet and wants to stick the fork in the outlet, you stop him from doing that and you discipline him. 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:04.439 And he will do it again, he will do it again, and he will do it again. And you discipline him to train 00:15:04.439 --> 00:15:13.639 him not to kill himself. Right? This is a loving action that is good and right. We teach our children 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:20.399 right and wrong by the discipline that we use. Another kind of discipline that happens in this 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:26.519 world is the discipline of a coach. When you go to two days in August for soccer practice, 00:15:26.519 --> 00:15:32.279 and your coach makes you run figure eights where you have to sprint every sideline and you get to jog 00:15:32.279 --> 00:15:38.759 across. And then you sprint the other sideline and you jog across. And he says, do it ten times. 00:15:39.159 --> 00:15:43.179 And you're exhausted. And then he gives you a water break. And then he says, do it again. 00:15:43.179 --> 00:15:54.419 Why? Because the discipline that he is building into you is strengthening you to accomplish the very 00:15:54.419 --> 00:16:03.919 things that you want to do but wouldn't do on your own. The Lord disciplines those he loves. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:13.539 This is one of the kinds of shepherding that God does of his people. It's what he does for us. 00:16:14.339 --> 00:16:18.319 We often just want a God who will give us our own desires and our ways. 00:16:19.199 --> 00:16:24.879 We often want God to just do what we want him to do for us. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:35.519 But in various ways, God disciplines us and he tests us and he strengthens us so that we might 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:44.039 grow in our trust in his care and so that we might become the people that he has called us to be. 00:16:44.039 --> 00:16:52.839 And you know, it's a beautiful thing because this God is a… this kind of shepherding, 00:16:52.959 --> 00:17:00.099 this disciplining God is a God of mercy and of justice because he doesn't simply allow us to 00:17:00.099 --> 00:17:05.420 continue in our sin forever. He doesn't allow us to do wrong over and over again. In his church, 00:17:05.420 --> 00:17:11.779 he continues to do… bring this discipline. When leaders have gone wrong, it becomes exposed and it 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:21.160 becomes rightly condemned. And yet… and yet… in his mercy, he continues to raise up new leaders and he 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:30.279 continues to provide for his church in various ways. So, the God of the Bible is a God who disciplines 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:38.220 as part of his shepherding. But it's not just that. It is also in verses 10 through 17 that in his 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:46.019 shepherding, he is a… he is a God who triumphs over his enemies. Now, this is surprising because at 00:17:46.019 --> 00:17:52.460 this time, Israel was a small nation that had just become smaller and it was surrounded by the 00:17:52.460 --> 00:17:58.900 superpowers. Assyria was stronger than them. Egypt was stronger than them. Babylon was stronger than them. 00:17:59.180 --> 00:18:04.299 Sometimes even the smaller nations around them like Moab or Edom were stronger than them. 00:18:04.299 --> 00:18:10.599 And it seemed like God had abandoned them. And it seemed like there was no way they would survive. 00:18:11.299 --> 00:18:18.319 But Micah reminds them their great shepherd will triumph over these enemies. So, verse 10, 00:18:18.399 --> 00:18:24.240 he comes and he says, these enemies who are gloating now saying, where is your God? Well, you know what? 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:33.359 How long has Israel existed after Moab fell away? How long did Assyria or Babylon last? 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:41.799 But Israel, God preserved and took forward sociopolitically. Where is your God? He is 00:18:41.799 --> 00:18:48.799 here and he's going to bring victory for his people. Verses 11 through 14 is this beautiful picture. 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:54.519 Look with me at it because… so that you… what… he's talking about a day. He's talking about a day when 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:59.299 the walls would be rebuilt. That's actually a picture not simply of the walls of the city, 00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:07.339 but expanding the boundaries of territory. And you see that in the second verse… second part of verse 11. 00:19:07.740 --> 00:19:12.139 That what God is going to do is… so even though it feels like God's people is small now, 00:19:12.639 --> 00:19:18.940 God is going to expand the impact. He's going to stretch the boundaries out. And what it was a small 00:19:18.940 --> 00:19:26.599 nation will have a huge impact and a huge influence on the world. And he will restore it to flourishing. 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:37.379 Right? And verses 16 through 18 says, the nations around that are arrogantly, proudly crowing that 00:19:37.379 --> 00:19:46.319 they have won, they will not last. But notice as well that not only is there a sense of victory, 00:19:46.500 --> 00:19:53.179 that God will bring his judgment and his justice on these other nations, but also there's an 00:19:53.180 --> 00:20:01.400 invitation with the warning. Look at me… look with me at verse 12. In the day that God will expand his 00:20:01.400 --> 00:20:08.880 nation, people will come to him. People will come from these other nations and they will say, 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:14.460 we want to be a part of your nation. We want to be under your umbrella. We want to be under your 00:20:14.460 --> 00:20:22.820 shepherd. That's what verse 12 says. Some will recognize the rulership of God in the world. 00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:29.660 And in the desire to be a part of that kingdom, they will come and be with God. 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:36.920 So, the shepherd king is a disciplining king. The shepherd king is a king who is victorious 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:45.600 over his enemies. And friends, this is meant to comfort us. This is meant to comfort us today. 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:54.299 Because we recognize that much of the world has no regard for the God of the Bible. And there is much 00:20:54.299 --> 00:20:59.500 evil, and there is much suffering, and there is much oppression in the world. 00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:08.559 And friends, if we just looked around, we would think, where is God? Is he really at work? And the 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:16.819 Bible reminds us that he is. That though the wrong seem off so strong, he is the ruler yet. 00:21:17.919 --> 00:21:25.899 That there is a storyline of the Bible that leads to, at the end, the triumph of God and his kingdom 00:21:25.899 --> 00:21:31.980 over the kingdoms of this world. And it is a kingdom of beauty, and a kingdom of righteousness, 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:39.480 and a kingdom of love, and a kingdom of hope, and a kingdom of all the things that we long for. 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:48.900 And this is the great shepherd, who holds out his shepherd crook and says, come, 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:55.259 be a part of my flock. Be a part of my sheepfold. Be a part of my kingdom. 00:21:57.360 --> 00:22:03.420 Micah is telling that to Israel in the seventh century. He is telling us the same thing today. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:09.460 When we feel like the world, the secular culture, may be pressing in. This is why we're doing 00:22:09.460 --> 00:22:14.539 the conversation in two weeks about Pride Week. Because where it might feel like we're pressed in 00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:20.480 and squeezed, and we're getting crushed by it, we need to have confidence that that is not true, 00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:25.180 that God has us in his hands, and that he will carry us through. 00:22:28.600 --> 00:22:35.960 But Micah is not simply concerned that we know God as our shepherd ruler. He wants us to know God as 00:22:35.960 --> 00:22:44.420 well as our great Savior. This is what verses 18 through 20 tell us about. If in the first section, 00:22:44.579 --> 00:22:52.460 verses 8 through 17, there was more emphasis, it felt, on the justice part of God, that he was 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:58.440 disciplining people and triumphing over enemies, in verses 18 through 20, we see much more, 00:22:58.440 --> 00:23:08.700 the emphasis on grace, and his acceptance and love for his people. Verse 18 is, I believe, 00:23:08.779 --> 00:23:16.440 the key verse in this whole section. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over 00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:25.660 transgression? For the remnant of his inheritance, he does not retain his anger forever because he delights 00:23:25.660 --> 00:23:35.840 in steadfast love. Now, friends, recognize that this God was speaking these things in the context of 00:23:35.840 --> 00:23:43.400 the law of Hammurabi. Do you guys know the law of Hammurabi, right? An eye for an eye is sort of the 00:23:43.400 --> 00:23:47.360 way people summarize it. And I'm sure there are some ancient scholars who are like, ah, that's not really 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:55.740 quite fair. But it's still a broadly true pattern that this was a reality in the ancient world. 00:23:56.299 --> 00:24:02.119 And this God comes and he says, the world will tell you, if you hurt me, I hurt you. If you offend me, 00:24:02.159 --> 00:24:12.479 I will retaliate. If you disobey me, I will punish you. But Micah says, the God of the Bible is a God 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:20.559 who, when he revealed himself to Moses on Mount Sinai, said, he is the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:27.900 and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for 00:24:27.900 --> 00:24:37.360 thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. This is the way that the God of the Bible 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:46.579 reveals himself to the world, he says, I am a God who delights in love, not in punishment. 00:24:47.939 --> 00:24:56.879 I am a God who delights in forgiveness, in removing your sins from you. And not just removing them by 00:24:56.879 --> 00:25:05.519 saying, ah, it's all right this time, but removing them the way that a convicted felon has his record 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:12.559 erased so that if anyone goes and looks at his record, all you see is a clean sheet. This is what 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:18.440 God has done for us, trampling over our sins, casting it into the depths of the sea, which at 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:22.740 that time no one could get to. Nowadays, we can do submarines and go to the bottom of the ocean. But 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:28.139 back then, you couldn't get to the depths of the sea. So that was like, it'll go to a place where it 00:25:28.140 --> 00:25:37.540 will never come back as if it were never there. Michael wants us to know, who is a God like you 00:25:37.540 --> 00:25:46.759 who forgives sin? Do you know that power today? Do you remember what it was like? 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:53.320 Or maybe you're sitting today feeling like this is true of me now, where you have really blown it, 00:25:53.319 --> 00:26:00.319 where you have sinned against someone else, or you have sinned against God, and you know it. 00:26:01.919 --> 00:26:08.339 You've rejected him, you've gone your own way, you've caused harm, and you've walked away from it. 00:26:09.819 --> 00:26:16.839 Friends, you know the beautiful story in Luke 15 about the prodigal son, the one who rejected his dad 00:26:16.839 --> 00:26:25.319 and said, basically, I wish you were dead, took his inheritance and abandoned him, and went off to live 00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:33.480 for selfish gain and selfish pleasure. Yet when he realized what he had done, 00:26:36.359 --> 00:26:40.639 he remembered the character of his father, and he went home. 00:26:40.640 --> 00:26:48.759 He thought, maybe I can be a part of my father's house as a servant. 00:26:50.840 --> 00:26:59.980 But the father saw him a long way off, and he ran, and he embraced him, and he gave him the robe and 00:26:59.980 --> 00:27:08.000 the ring and the sandals to restore him to his place. He forgave his sin and embraced him and welcomed 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:15.720 him back. Friends, this is the power of forgiveness. This is a God unlike any other God. 00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:29.279 And if you're sitting here thinking, gosh, I don't know that, remember this, God knows everything about you. 00:27:31.460 --> 00:27:36.339 Not just the public things where you've really blown it, but all the private thoughts, 00:27:36.339 --> 00:27:43.659 all the hidden acts done in secret, all the words you spoke, and even the words you didn't speak, 00:27:43.740 --> 00:27:45.659 but you thought really hard in your mind, 00:27:46.179 --> 00:27:51.399 all the ways that you have sinned. 00:27:52.379 --> 00:27:58.199 And God says, I am a God who pardons iniquity and casts your sin away. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:04.299 He is a faithful Savior. In verses 19 and 20, he uses this word twice, 00:28:04.299 --> 00:28:12.019 the steadfast, sorry, at the end of verse 18 and then in verse 20, he uses this word to say, 00:28:12.379 --> 00:28:17.960 I am a God of steadfast love towards you. And if you've been around the Bible for a while, 00:28:18.039 --> 00:28:27.099 you know this is chesed. This is the Hebrew word for God's covenantal love, and it's a really rich word, 00:28:27.099 --> 00:28:33.659 because it's not just affection or feeling well towards someone, but it has to do with covenant faithfulness. 00:28:33.919 --> 00:28:40.819 It has to do with loyalty. It has to do with commitment as well, a treasuring love. 00:28:43.459 --> 00:28:48.899 And God says, I am a forgiving and a treasuring, covenantal, loyal God. 00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:55.040 The image is like that of a faithful husband who hangs in there when his wife's affections wander away, 00:28:55.180 --> 00:29:02.940 or a faithful wife who is constant in his loyalty, even as her husband goes off and has an affair. 00:29:07.580 --> 00:29:11.800 God says, I will be faithful to you. I will still be here, 00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:18.480 and I am here to forgive that sin and to invite you in to be my people. 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:24.859 This is the kind of God that Micah is saying we have. 00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:29.839 And remember, this is for those who have blown it, 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:37.180 because Israel rebelled and pursued other gods and other idols. Israel didn't trust God, 00:29:37.619 --> 00:29:40.480 but went to other political alliances to save them. 00:29:40.480 --> 00:29:44.839 And Israel didn't love God, but acted evilly towards their own people. 00:29:45.500 --> 00:29:48.660 We've seen this, if you've been here for the series on the book of Micah, 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:54.900 how corrupt and how broken and how oppressive the people of Israel were towards themselves 00:29:54.900 --> 00:29:57.559 and their own people, let alone others. 00:30:00.420 --> 00:30:04.339 Their selfishness was on display over and over and over again. 00:30:04.339 --> 00:30:12.419 And yet God says, God is a God of forgiveness and of steadfast love for his people. 00:30:14.199 --> 00:30:19.939 And friends, we need to recognize that we are the wayward spouse in this analogy. 00:30:20.359 --> 00:30:21.179 All of us. 00:30:22.099 --> 00:30:23.319 None of us are righteous. 00:30:23.959 --> 00:30:28.720 None of us have been faithful to God in the way that he has been faithful to us. 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:32.799 All of us are in need of forgiveness for our sins. 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:37.140 And God says, I will do this. 00:30:39.220 --> 00:30:45.519 Now, if you've been following the thread of justice and grace that I've been trying to weave through this, 00:30:45.900 --> 00:30:48.319 you will ask, where is the justice in this? 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:54.079 How can God justly, simply forgive our sins and clear our slate? 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:55.819 How can he do that? 00:30:55.819 --> 00:30:59.759 Well, Micah doesn't really explain that. 00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:05.579 He hints at it in a couple of places, verses 8 through 10, 00:31:05.700 --> 00:31:08.819 where it talks about him coming to vindicate his people. 00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:12.779 But friends, we know the answer to that question. 00:31:13.159 --> 00:31:15.559 Because we don't read the Old Testament in a vacuum. 00:31:15.740 --> 00:31:17.740 We read it in light of the whole Bible. 00:31:18.119 --> 00:31:20.259 And we know what God has done. 00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:28.519 So that his forgiveness of us is not merely an overlooking, but is a just forgiveness of our sin. 00:31:29.180 --> 00:31:31.319 Because this is why Jesus came. 00:31:32.140 --> 00:31:40.859 Jesus came for us to be our Savior by stepping into that place of judgment. 00:31:41.420 --> 00:31:45.359 The sin that we committed, he took upon himself. 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:49.839 The judgment that we deserve, he took upon himself. 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:55.379 The death that we should die for our sins, he took upon himself. 00:31:55.639 --> 00:32:06.059 He bears God's wrath against it so that God might be both just and the justifier of the ungodly like us. 00:32:06.059 --> 00:32:13.639 He crushes sin and death by drinking the bitter cup of the cross for us. 00:32:15.899 --> 00:32:26.039 And so this grace that is free and rich and beautiful to us comes at an infinite cost to God himself. 00:32:27.099 --> 00:32:32.779 And in love, he says, I will bear it so that you don't have to, so that you can be mine. 00:32:32.779 --> 00:32:37.399 All I do is call you to come to me. 00:32:38.059 --> 00:32:39.119 Come in faith. 00:32:39.819 --> 00:32:43.379 Come not because you are righteous, but because you know you need me. 00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:47.839 Come and believe in what I have done in Jesus for you. 00:32:48.579 --> 00:32:49.740 And be my people. 00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:55.039 And be the one who can say, who is a God like this God? 00:32:56.639 --> 00:32:59.819 Certainly a God like no other. 00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:03.539 So how do we respond? 00:33:03.980 --> 00:33:09.019 For those of us who have known God for a while, how do we respond to this passage? 00:33:09.159 --> 00:33:11.119 First, we want to have courage. 00:33:12.099 --> 00:33:17.359 We want to have courage to believe that the guide of the Bible really is a God like no other. 00:33:17.639 --> 00:33:22.579 He is not merely our construction, but he is a God who has revealed himself. 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:27.279 He is the God who is outside of us that we were made to find. 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:36.720 And we want to have the courage to say, we believe that God does exist and that he is knowable and that he has revealed himself to us. 00:33:36.819 --> 00:33:40.019 And so as Paul says in Athens, what you worship is unknown. 00:33:40.180 --> 00:33:45.299 I declare to you today, this is the God of the heavens and the earth. 00:33:45.299 --> 00:33:48.980 So we ought to have courage with that. 00:33:49.419 --> 00:33:51.399 But we also ought to have humility. 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:54.339 And that humility comes in two different ways. 00:33:54.779 --> 00:34:01.720 One is a humility to say, we know this God not because we have done anything to deserve or earn this, 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:05.639 but simply because he has revealed himself to us in grace. 00:34:06.180 --> 00:34:10.420 We cannot claim to be the best out of all the tribes of the world. 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:12.500 In fact, we are the least. 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:19.360 But like poor beggars, all we can do is say, this is where the feast is. 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:22.539 Not with us, but with him who has invited us. 00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:26.420 Come with us to see this great God that we have seen. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:35.960 We also need to have the humility to keep from falling into the arrogance of remaking God in our own image. 00:34:35.960 --> 00:34:44.720 We don't get to choose whether God is a God of justice like Thor who will rain down fire to defeat our enemies, 00:34:44.940 --> 00:34:48.760 or whether he's a God of acceptance who's going to accept us no matter what we do. 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:55.260 The God of the Bible is a God who is outside of us, and we don't create him or choose him. 00:34:55.480 --> 00:35:00.480 We simply explore and get to know him better as he has revealed himself. 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:03.699 And the beauty of it is that he is both of those things. 00:35:04.860 --> 00:35:07.260 He is both just and gracious. 00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:15.719 He is both unbelievably accepting and intolerantly resisting evil and sin. 00:35:16.740 --> 00:35:18.699 And this is the God of the Bible. 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:22.679 And Jesus has come to show us who he is. 00:35:22.679 --> 00:35:34.139 And as we understand that Jesus shows us the fullness of God in his life, in his death, in his resurrection, 00:35:35.319 --> 00:35:38.779 grace and truth he came to show us. 00:35:39.539 --> 00:35:40.899 Let us respond in worship. 00:35:41.659 --> 00:35:43.679 This is what God calls us to. 00:35:44.039 --> 00:35:46.440 When we think, who is a God like you? 00:35:46.619 --> 00:35:50.139 When we see him as he is, let us treasure him. 00:35:50.559 --> 00:35:52.179 He is worthy of our praise. 00:35:52.179 --> 00:35:54.679 He is worthy of our daily study. 00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:56.739 He is worthy of our prayer. 00:35:57.119 --> 00:36:02.379 He is worthy of all of our life being under his lordship and his control. 00:36:02.739 --> 00:36:05.639 He is worthy of our love and our devotion, 00:36:05.799 --> 00:36:10.899 that he is the first priority and the one we seek to please above all others. 00:36:11.799 --> 00:36:17.839 He is the one worthy of our sacrificial commitment and our even suffering for his name. 00:36:17.840 --> 00:36:42.460 Lord, we do pray this morning that you would open the eyes of our hearts so that we might know the greatness of who you are. 00:36:42.460 --> 00:37:01.159 Lord, that we might know what a great privilege, a great calling it is to be your people. 00:37:01.159 --> 00:37:10.759 Lord, I pray this morning if there are those here who are seeking and seeking to understand the God of the Bible, 00:37:10.980 --> 00:37:12.659 Lord, that they would see you clearly. 00:37:13.159 --> 00:37:18.239 And Lord, that they would respond to your invitation to come, to come to you in faith. 00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:27.799 Lord, I pray for those of us who have known you for a while that we would be renewed and strengthened in our confidence in you and our faith in you today. 00:37:28.939 --> 00:37:34.079 And Lord, will you fill our hearts with worship that we might know you and love you. 00:37:34.079 --> 00:37:36.920 Lord, we pray this in Jesus' name. 00:37:37.579 --> 00:37:37.860 Amen.