Glorious Hope

Well, good morning, church.

Would you turn with me to Micah chapter 4?

Micah 4 · chapter mention

That's page 730 in the Pew Bible.

We will be looking at verses 1 through 8 of Micah chapter 4 today.

Micah 4 · chapter mention

As you turn there, let me pray for us, and then I'll read our text.

Father, what a great promise it is that Christ is ours forevermore,

that you have given your own self to us in your Son

and promised to hold us until the end.

Father, as we come to your word now, we pray that this great hope,

this great promise would again become real to our hearts

as we hear this message from Micah about the hope that you have laid up for us

and that you have accomplished for us according to your good plan and purpose.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

All right, Micah 4, verses 1 through 8.

Micah 4:1–8

It shall come to pass in the later days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established

as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills.

And people shall flow to it, 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 they may walk in his paths.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between many peoples

and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away.

And they shall beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nations shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

But they shall sit, every man,

under his vine and under his fig tree,

and no one shall make them afraid.

For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

For all the peoples walk, each in the name of its God,

but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

And that day, declares the Lord,

I will assemble the lame

and gather those who have been driven away

and those whom I have afflicted.

And the lame I will make the remnant

and those who are cast off a strong nation.

And the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion

from this time forth and forevermore.

And you, O tower of the flock,

hill of the daughter of Zion,

to you it shall come.

The former dominion shall come.

Kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.

So Micah.

Micah's writing and ministering

in a time of great crisis.

In a time of great difficulty.

If you remember back in chapter 1, verse 1,

we're told that the word of the Lord came to Micah

during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.

That's the late 8th century B.C.

And it was a time of massive upheaval in ancient Israel.

In fact, some Old Testament scholars think

that this particular passage,

this message from Micah chapter 4,

Micah 4 · chapter mention

was perhaps first given around 701 B.C.,

which was when Assyria,

the great sort of superpower of the day,

had invaded Judah during the reign of Hezekiah.

And in that invasion,

most of the country,

politically and economically,

had been devastated.

But if you remember,

the literary context of this passage,

in particular chapter 3

that we looked at last week

that leads up to it,

talks about the failure

and the selfishness

of Israel's own leaders.

And it speaks of the coming judgment

that will make Jerusalem,

or Zion,

which is another name for Jerusalem,

that coming judgment

would make Jerusalem

a heap of ruins.

Jerusalem would be plowed like a field.

So chapter 4 is a message

given to people,

not just in political or economic turmoil,

but in spiritual turmoil,

in spiritual crisis.

Their leaders had failed them,

and God's judgment was coming.

The whole people of God

seemed to be on the verge of collapse

under the weight of sin.

I wonder,

how do you feel

in times of crisis?

How do you react?

Not just in political

or economic crisis,

but more importantly,

in times of spiritual crisis.

How do you respond?

How do you react

when you learn that

perhaps a well-known pastor

or author

has failed morally?

How do you feel?

How do you react

when you see

more covetousness

and greed

in professing Christians

than generosity

and grace?

How do you react

when you discover

that perhaps

some of the things

you've been taught

aren't actually

what God's Word says,

but the twisting

of God's Word

by selfish

and self-centered teachers?

Micah was confronting

all of those things

in his day,

and so do we.

And Micah has been

pointing these things out

in the first three chapters,

calling for lament,

for grief and sorrow

over these things,

and he's been calling

for repentance,

for confession

and turning away from sin.

For the past few weeks,

we've been considering

these messages

of judgment,

of lamentation,

this call to repentance.

repentance.

But how do we go on?

Sometimes when the

spiritual crisis

is so great,

we just want to give up.

We think,

if that's what it means

to follow God,

if that's the cost,

if that's the pain,

I don't want anything

to do with it.

The whole thing

is hopeless.

hopeless.

And so,

into this crisis,

God,

through Micah,

speaks not just

a message of judgment,

but also a message

of hope.

And part of what

these messages of hope

are meant to do

is to encourage

our perseverance.

They're written

to people in crisis,

in turmoil,

encouraging us

to hold on,

to press on,

even in the midst

of the most difficult times.

And we see that

this very thing

is pointed to

in verse 5.

In verse 5

of our passage,

we see perhaps

the main application

that Micah wants

to impart

to his listeners.

He says to a people

in the midst

of spiritual crisis,

in the midst

of this upheaval,

he says,

look,

all the people's walk,

each in the name

of its God.

But knowing what we know,

even in the midst

of this turmoil

and difficulty,

we will walk.

Walk in the name

of the Lord,

our God,

forever and ever.

Why?

Why keep walking

in the name of the Lord,

even when politically,

economically,

and spiritually,

everything is crumbling?

Well,

because as our passage says,

there's hope.

Because God has a future plan

to establish his kingdom,

to establish his kingdom,

and that plan

will not fail.

He has spoken,

and so it shall be.

So let's look at the message

of hope in this passage

and consider how it encourages us

to persevere,

to keep walking

in the name of the Lord,

even in difficult times.

First,

Micah says,

keep walking

in the name

of the Lord,

because one day

God will draw

all nations

to himself.

Keep walking

in the name

of the Lord,

church,

because one day

God will draw

all nations

to himself.

We see this

in verses 1 and 2.

First in verse 1,

Micah says,

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,

and it shall be lifted up

above the hills.

Now, obviously,

Micah's point here

isn't ultimately

about elevation,

right?

It's about exaltation.

He's saying that

the God of the Bible,

the God of Israel,

the Lord,

will one day

be exalted

and seen

as the great

and glorious God

that he is,

and all other

so-called gods

will be exposed

as empty idols.

And when God

exalts himself

in this unmistakable way,

then,

Micah goes on to say,

people shall flow

to it.

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,

that we may walk

in his paths.

For out of Zion

shall go forth

the law

and the word

of the Lord

from Jerusalem.

So Micah sees here

a future day

when God's word

streams forth

from God's

exalted presence

out to all

the nations,

and then those nations

come streaming in

desiring more

of God's word,

desiring to be taught

his ways,

desiring to walk

in his paths.

Now,

in Micah's day,

the only nations

streaming to Jerusalem

were nations

who wanted nothing

to do with Israel's God.

The only nations

flowing towards Jerusalem

were flowing

with violence

and the machinations

of war.

war.

In fact,

if you read the story

of Assyria's invasion

into Judah

in the 8th century,

the Assyrian armies

mock God

and say he's no better

than all the other gods

they've conquered.

And if you and I

were standing on the wall

of Jerusalem that day

listening to the Assyrian

generals mock the Lord,

seeing the devastation

they had wrought,

seeing the proof

that they had toppled

countries and nations

a lot more mighty

than Judah,

would we too

have thought,

why not just give up?

Why not just join

the winning party?

Haven't our leaders

been terrible to us anyway?

I wonder if it doesn't

feel the same today.

It often feels like

the world wants nothing

to do with the true God.

God seems irrelevant

at best.

But it won't always

be that way.

Micah says,

God will be seen

as great.

And the nations

will stream in.

And they will want

to walk in his ways

because his ways

are good

and they're full of life.

You know,

sometimes people talk

about not wanting

to be on the wrong

side of history,

right?

But Micah is saying,

brothers and sisters,

extend your timeline

long enough.

And there's only one way

to not be on the wrong

side of history.

And it's to walk

in the ways

of the Lord our God.

Of course,

Micah didn't see

this promise fulfilled

in his day.

And we don't necessarily

see this promise

completed in our day

either, do we?

The fullness of this promise

awaits the day

that we read about

in Revelation 21

that Elizabeth read for us

earlier in the service.

When the heavenly Jerusalem

descends,

when God's presence

comes to earth,

and in the new heavens

and new earth,

a countless multitude

from every nation

streams in,

bearing their gifts

and worshiping God.

God's presence

is yet to come.

And we don't see it

But even though

the completion

of this promise

is yet to come,

don't we see it

beginning to take shape?

When Jesus the Messiah

rose from the grave,

and when 40 days later

he ascended

to the right hand

of the Father,

this promise

began to be fulfilled.

Christ ascended

to the heavenly Zion,

and from the Father's

right hand

he poured out

his Spirit

so that the law

might go forth

and be written

on our hearts.

And from the day

of Pentecost

until today

that word

has gone forth

and the nations

have begun

to flow

to God the Father

and to Jesus the Son.

Not in completion,

but the streams

have begun to flow.

That's raw.

Look at us.

Look around.

Count the nationalities

and ethnicities

in this room alone.

And then consider

that this morning

across the entire world

churches gather

in the name of Jesus,

the crucified

and risen Messiah,

to draw near

to God

with confidence

and assurance

in his name.

And what is it

we're saying

as we gather here

and across New Haven

and across Connecticut

and across North America

and across the entire globe?

What is it

all of these nations

are saying,

all of the international church

is saying

as we gather?

Are we not saying,

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?

So brothers and sisters,

keep walking

in the name of the Lord,

even in difficult times

because one day

God is going to draw

all nations to himself.

And that's the first part

of Micah's message of hope.

The second part is this,

keep walking

in the name of the Lord

because one day

God's justice

will bring global peace

and provision.

Keep walking

in the name of the Lord,

even in difficult days

because one day

God's justice

will bring global peace

and provision.

We see this

in verses 3 and 4.

Micah begins

by speaking

of God's righteousness,

his perfect justice

that will settle

all the disputes

between the nations.

Verse 3,

he shall judge

between many peoples

and shall decide disputes

for strong nations

far away.

Micah foresees a time

when God will settle

every claim

in perfect,

justice.

Imagine a world

where every dispute,

every conflict,

every clashing

of rights,

every deep history

of conflict

and violence,

imagine a world

where all that

has finally been

settled.

And in the wake

of such perfect justice,

Micah says,

there will be no more need

for warfare

and they shall beat

their swords

into plowshares

and their spears

into pruning hooks.

Nations shall not

lift up sword

against nation,

neither shall they learn

war anymore.

If you're familiar

with the book of Isaiah,

who was a contemporary

of Micah,

Isaiah gives

almost an identical

prophecy

in his book as well.

Clearly,

this is something

that God wanted

his people to see

and to know.

Imagine a world,

imagine a world

where all the money

and materials

and imagination

that we human beings

put into engines

of war

and destruction

and security

are turned instead

to cultivation

and not devastation.

We take all that money

and material

and imagination

and we put it

into pursuits

that are about

building up

and not tearing down,

that are about

agriculture

and artistry

and not war

and suffering.

Do we even let ourselves

imagine

such a future?

And what results

from the end,

this ending

of human war

because of the perfect

justice of God?

Verse 4,

they shall sit

every man under his vine

and under his fig tree

and no one

shall make them afraid

for the mouth

of the Lord

of hosts

has spoken.

The picture here

isn't just that

of prosperity,

although it is that.

You know,

the vine

and the fig tree,

those were images

of abundance,

of flourishing.

But the image

isn't just one

of prosperity.

The image

is also one

of contentment.

Every man

under his vine

and under his fig tree

no longer afraid

that there isn't enough

to go around,

no longer coveting

what someone else has,

no longer plotting

and scheming

how to squeeze

more profits

and more produce

out of less

and less pay.

It's a picture

of living without fear

because God will provide.

We live in a world

where consumption

and competition

are the air

that we breathe.

and so often

even as Christians

because we've been

breathing that air

for so long,

we don't even realize it.

I remember as a kid

when I'd go to visit

my friends' houses,

I remember,

I don't know why

I noticed this

and why I remember this,

but I remember

that each of my friends' houses

had their own

particular smell.

I don't know,

maybe it was just

the food

that they would

normally cook

or the cleaning products

that their parents

would use

or just the age

and materials

of the house,

whatever,

but I'd go into

my friends' houses

and be like,

man,

this house

kind of smells

different.

Am I the only weirdo

who noticed that

growing up?

And I used to think,

why do my friends' houses

smell different,

smell funny,

and mine doesn't?

And then you have

that realization,

ah,

my house must smell too

and I'm just used to it,

right?

I don't notice it.

And you get a little

self-conscious,

you're like,

oh man,

what does my house

smell like?

You know,

but the point is this,

in this passage

in Micah,

the breeze of God's future

is blowing into our present.

There's a wind

from the presence

in the house of God

coming in

to the present.

And that future

is not a future

of fear

and competition

and it's not a future

of greed

and war

but of peace

and contentment

and provision.

And we've grown up

in the house

of consumption

and competition

for so long

that we don't realize

that our house

kind of smells

until we catch

the breeze

of God's future.

And like a fresh wind

full of summer flowers,

it starts to open us up

to new possibilities.

You know,

the early church

felt this wind

on their face.

Listen to Acts 4,

32 through 35.

Now the number

of those who believed

were of one heart

and soul

and no one said

that any of the things

that belonged to him

was his own

but they had everything

in common.

And with great power

the apostles

were giving their testimony

to the resurrection

of the Lord Jesus

and great grace

was upon them all.

There was not

a needy person

among them

for as many

as were owners

of lands or houses

sold them

and brought the proceeds

of what was sold

and laid it

at the apostles' feet

and it was distributed

to each

as any had need.

Do you see

what Luke

is describing here?

As the people

held more

and more tightly

to the resurrection

of Jesus

as they held

more tightly

to the great grace

that they had

and the hope

that they had

and the confidence

that they had

in the resurrection

of Christ

as they held

tightly to that

they found

that they could

suddenly start

to loosen

their grip

on money

and possessions.

They started

to realize

that they weren't

in competition

anymore.

that they had

everything they needed

forever

in the resurrection

of Jesus

and now

they could be

generous

radically so.

Was this

the fulfillment

of Micah's prophecy?

Well again

like we saw

in verses 1 and 2

there is a completion

to Micah's vision

that still awaits us

in the future.

in the new heavens

and new earth

this will be true

without any remainder.

But even though

the completion

awaits the future

the beginning

is here.

When the church

practices

this sort

of radical generosity

in the boldness

and the confidence

of the resurrection

we start

to catch

the wind

that blows

through God's

future

and our house

starts to smell

a little differently.

And Micah's point

is that

this is

where God

is certainly

taking the future.

So don't give up.

In the midst

of difficult times

and times of crisis

times when the church

feels and smells

more like the kingdoms

of this world

rather than the kingdom

of God

don't throw in the towel.

Keep walking

in the name

of the Lord

our God.

Keep pursuing peace.

Jesus said

blessed are the peacemakers.

Keep pursuing peace

because that is

where the future

is going.

Keep pursuing contentment

in the riches

of the resurrection

because that is

where the future

is going.

And don't be afraid.

Keep walking

in the name

of the Lord

because one day

God's justice

will bring

global peace

and provision.

Well finally

then we come

to Micah's third

and last point.

Keep walking

in the name

of the Lord

because one day

God

will restore

the weak

and afflicted.

Keep walking

in the name

of the Lord

even in difficult days

because one day

God will restore

the weak

and the afflicted.

In verses 6-9

you can tell

sort of the voice

of the passage

shifts

doesn't it?

No longer

is it Micah's voice

sort of reporting

what God will do

but here we have

the direct speech

of God.

God speaking

through Micah

in the first person.

Here's a message

that God wants

his people

to hear loud

and clear

coming in his own voice

coming from his own heart.

The future

that God

will surely

bring to pass.

And this future

that God

will surely

bring to pass

won't just mean

the gathering

of the nations

and it won't just mean

global peace

and provision.

All those things

are surely wonderful

and all those things

are surely testimonies

to God's greatness

and glory.

But as Micah's

original listeners

heard all that God

was going to do

with respect

to the nations

there must have been

some who thought

in their hearts

that's what God's

going to do

with the world

that's what God's

going to do

with the nations

but what's coming

what is God

going to do

with us?

What will God

do with me?

What's God's plan

for those

who have suffered

the affliction

of these difficult days?

What's God's plan

for those

who have felt

the betrayal

of failed leaders

of corrupt authorities

of false preachers?

What's God's plan

for those

who have felt

the sting

and conviction

of their own sin

too?

Listen again

to what God

says in his mercy.

In that day

declares the Lord

I will assemble

the lame

and gather

those who have

been driven away.

To those

whom I have

afflicted

and the lame

I will make

a remnant

and those

who were cast off

I will make them

a strong nation

and the Lord

will reign over them

in Mount Zion

from this time

forth and forevermore.

And you

O tower of the flock

hill of the daughter

of Zion

to you

shall it come

the former dominion

shall come

kingship for the daughter

of Jerusalem.

God sees

the affliction

of his people

whether their affliction

comes

because of the sins

of others

or whether their

affliction comes

because of their own sins

or whether their

affliction comes

simply because

we live in a fallen

world.

God sees all of it.

And he says

to those who grieve

and those who limp

and those who

are driven

and feel far away

God says

I will

gather you.

The day will come

when I will wipe

all tears away.

The day will come

when you will be

so close to me

that you will

see my face

and you won't need

the light of a lamp.

You won't even need

the light of the sun

because I'm going

to be your light.

And though you're

weak now

though it feels

like you can barely

walk

one day

you will reign

with me

forever and ever.

what is perhaps

the greatest

stumbling block

in our walk

with the Lord?

What's the thing

that often tempts us

the most to want

to give up

and give in?

Is it not the heavy

weight

of our griefs

and our shame?

Our losses

and our failures.

We feel like

we've suffered

too much

and we feel like

we've sinned

too much

and so we just

lose hope

and walk away.

But God says

I'm going

to gather you.

I'm going to wrap

my arms around you

like a shepherd

lifting the wounded

sheep

and I'm going

to make you

strong.

It's you

he says.

It's the wounded

ones.

It's the humbled

and it's the

humiliated ones.

He says

you're going

to be

my remnant.

That is

he says

what is this

remnant?

He says

you're going

to be the core

you're going

to be the seed

you're going

to be the center

of the new

thing that I do.

you're going

to be like

the planting

that gives

birth to the

new tree.

You see

God's not

looking for the

strong

and God's

not looking

for the polished

and the put

together.

God's looking

for the weak.

God's coming

for the humble.

God's looking

for those

who know

what it's

like to

grieve.

Those

are who

will form

the remnant

the start

of his

renewed

people.

And that's

exactly

what God

did.

God

exiled his

people not

in the 8th

century but

in the 6th

century.

Eventually

Babylon came

and demolished

Jerusalem too

and carried

them off.

But then

in that

humbled and

humiliated

people,

that people

full of

shame and

grief,

he brought

a remnant

back.

They weren't

much.

In fact,

the temple

that they

rebuilt,

some people

remembered the

old temple

so they

wept because

it seemed

so insignificant

compared to

the former

one.

And they

struggled for

hundreds of

years just

to survive

as the

Persians

and then

the Greeks

and then

the Romans

as empire

after empire

continued to

oppress them

and to

shame them.

But then

at last

it came.

It came.

Just like

verse 8

of Micah 4

had said,

to you

shall it

come,

the former

dominion

shall come,

kingship for

the daughter

of Jerusalem.

At long

last the

kingdom arrived.

God's king

was born.

But this

king wasn't

what they

expected.

He wasn't

strong and

proud.

He was a

man of

sorrows

acquainted with

grief.

He was

humble and

came not to

be served

but to

serve and

to give his

life as a

ransom for

many.

You see,

friends,

this is how

much God

loves the

weak and

the humble

and the

broken.

In order

to rescue

his weak

people,

he became

weak.

In order

to redeem

his humiliated

people,

he humbled

himself.

In order

to save

his broken

people,

he was

broken.

And the

greatest mystery

of all,

in order

to save

his sinful

people,

Jesus

Christ

became sin

on the

cross.

Friend,

are you

weak and

filled with

sorrow today?

Has the

weight been

so heavy

that you've

considered just

giving up and

just walking

away?

Before you

do,

look again

upon the

God who

loves you.

And who

walked every

sorrow for

you and

even bore

the weight

of every

sin so

that in

your sorrows

you might

never be

alone.

So that in

your sorrows

you might

actually become

more like

him and

so that your

sorrows might

one day be

swallowed up in

victory and

he might wipe

every tear from

your eye.

Don't give

up.

Trust in

him.

And if you

placed your

faith in

him,

then keep

walking in

the name

of Jesus

our Lord.

He will

carry you

when you

feel like

you can't

take another

step.

He will

make you

strong even

when you

feel weak.

So this

is Micah's

message of

perseverance

and hope.

Hope,

not in

ourselves,

but in

God.

And hope

in God's

kingdom that

will gather

the nations

and establish

peace and

even strengthen

the weary.

glory.

And we

can know

that this

kingdom has

already begun.

It's already

begun because

the King,

the Lord

Jesus,

has come.

He came

the first

time to

live,

die,

and rise

again,

and he

will come

a second

time to

judge and

reign forever.

And on

that day,

when he

comes again,

all these

promises will

be fulfilled.

Fulfilled

not in

part,

but in

whole.

And all

these echoes

that we feel

and that we

experience now

will come

to their

fullness and

their

consummation

and their

fruition.

And Micah

tells us to

set our

eyes on

that day.

Keep that

day in

your sights.

Keep that

hope alive

in your

hearts.

And keep

walking in

the name of

the Lord

our God,

in the name

of Jesus,

in whom all

God's promises

are yes

and amen.

Let's pray

together.

Father,

we've

considered

the words

that you

spoke

through

Micah

so long

ago.

Now we

ask that

by your

spirit you

would work

this endurance

and hope

into our

hearts

through these

words.

Make the

hope of

the gospel,

the hope

of Christ

Jesus

crucified,

risen and

coming again,

the hope

of the new

heavens and

the new

earth.

Make this

hope real

to our

hearts,

spirit.

Make us

certain in

these promises

because Jesus

the son has

died and

has been

raised.

And in

hope, give

us strength

to walk,

to persevere,

knowing that

you will

surely complete,

bring to

full completion

the good

work that

you've

begun.

In Jesus'

name,

amen.