Micah 6

Micah 6.

And just again,

that book for David and Marsh would be lovely

! If we could get lots of people to sign it and to write messages

! for them, if you're able to do that.

And then we're meeting for prayer on Wednesday.

Don't forget that.

Micah 6.

So school exams are coming up, aren't they?

Sophie and Marius

are doing GCSEs, aren't they? I'm sure they're delighted

to be reminded about that.

And when I was in school, I don't know if it's the same now,

when you were

preparing for exams, your teachers

would give you kind of exam coaching, wouldn't they?

They'd give you this advice and they'd

give you this strongly

over and over again, repeated words.

So they would say to me and the others

in my class, they'd say, don't panic, make sure

you take the time to read the questions carefully.

Did you get that advice?

Because time and time again,

people rush in and they

come out afterwards

and they confer with people only to find out that they've

given a perfect answer

to a question that wasn't on the paper.

Make sure you read the paper properly

because people often

give a good answer

to a question

that wasn't on the paper.

It's very sad when people do that, isn't it?

It's tragic, actually.

You feel gutted

if you've done that.

And yet, how often

many people do that

when it comes to God?

Because what does God

require of us?

What does God expect from you?

And what does God

want from you?

There are lots and lots of people

in churches, aren't there,

sitting like you are tonight

and they think

they know what God requires of them.

And without any reflection,

they busily go about their lives

and they think they know

what God requires of them

only to find out

too late on the day of judgment

that they've read the question wrongly.

And so look at verse 8.

It's a really famous verse, isn't it?

And I want to speak really

from the whole chapter

but kind of hone in on that verse.

Verse 8 is the text.

What does the Lord require of you?

That's the question.

He has told you,

O man, what is good.

What does the Lord require of you?

Let's do justice

and to love kindness

and to walk humbly with our God.

That's what the Lord requires of us.

But the question is,

how can we actually do that?

And in order for us to understand that,

we need to put this really famous verse

into its context.

If you look at the passage,

you'll notice that the passage

describes a courtroom.

Look at the opening verse,

what it says.

It says, doesn't it?

Hear what the Lord says.

Arise.

Court, arise.

Plead your case before the mountains

and let the hills hear your voice.

Hear you mountains,

the indictment of the Lord

and you enduring foundations of the earth.

For the Lord has got an indictment.

The Lord has got a case against Israel.

Against his people.

And he will contend with Israel.

Everyone is entitled to their day in court.

So we say, don't we?

And this is God's day in court.

And God has got a charge against his people

and his people, Israel, are in the dock.

God is the plaintiff

and the mountains

and the ancient hills,

they're in the witness box.

That's the scene

that's painted here in Micah chapter 6.

Micah 6 · chapter mention

And the charge is this

to the people of Israel.

You have not given the Lord

what he requires of them.

That's the charge against them.

That's the big issue.

What does the Lord require of us?

Now Israel is their defense,

you notice.

They bring into court

the whole sacrificial system

of the Old Testament.

Look at verses 6 and 7.

Here is Israel

defending themselves

against this charge.

Well, with what shall I come before the Lord

and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him

with burnt offerings?

Here they are.

With calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased

with thousands of rams?

With ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Isn't that enough?

Haven't we done enough for you, Lord?

What next?

How much more do you think

you can have?

How much more do you want?

Do you think you'll be expecting us, God,

to offer up our children next?

Is that what you want?

Shall I give my firstborn, verse 7,

for my transgressions?

The fruit of my body

for the sin of my soul?

Aren't you satisfied

with animal sacrifices?

Do I have to give my firstborn?

How much more, God,

do you require of me?

Aren't you asking too much?

What more does God require of us?

At St. Paul's Cathedral

in the center of town,

kind of one of the great buildings

of the world, isn't it?

One of the great church buildings.

St. Christopher Wren was the architect.

And I remember hearing about a man

whose job it was

to lead tours

of St. Paul's Cathedral.

If you go to visit,

I don't know whether you can get in

as a worshiper on Sunday.

I assume you can,

but if you're not a worshiper,

you've got to pay to get in.

And this guy

was a tourist guide.

And so if you want to go

round at St. Paul's,

someone like him

will show you around.

And this guy,

he got into conversation

with his tour group,

and he was asked,

do you enjoy your work?

And the man said,

yeah, there's only one drawback.

He said,

I can never get to a place of worship.

So busy on a Sunday,

I can never get to a place of worship.

Think about that for a moment,

the irony of that.

It's a man who spent his life

inside St. Paul's Cathedral

showing people around,

and yet he said,

I can never get to a place of worship.

That's my problem.

And I want to decide

if that's an application for us.

Do you ever get

to a place of worship?

You say you're in one,

now.

Well, not necessarily.

For all our Bible reading,

and for all our singing of hymns,

and for all our praying,

for all our fellowshipping,

for all our religious observances,

for all the Sundays

that we've spent in this place,

for all the sermons

that I've preached

and you've had to listen to,

do we ever get

to a place of worship?

Notice how God is described

here in verse 6.

With what?

Shall I come before the Lord?

It's the word Yahweh.

It's his covenant name.

God is revealing himself.

He is giving Israel a handle

on who he is.

He's giving a name to himself.

You can call me this,

he says.

Yahweh, the Lord,

how shall I come before this one,

the Lord who's revealed himself

to Moses at the burning bush?

This isn't one of the

pagan deities

that's out there in Canaan.

It isn't one of the

fertility gods

or the gods of war

or the gods of whatever

or wherever.

This is Yahweh.

Do you notice how he's described?

With what shall I come before the Lord

and bow myself before God on high?

It's not like the Roman pantheon.

This is not Zeus

or Jupiter

or Mars

or Venus.

It's not like the pagan deities.

The problem with pagan deities

or the Greek gods

is they were just really

souped up human beings,

weren't they,

behaving badly.

That's all they are.

And the problem with religion

is that you've got to get

on the right side of your god.

And so if you are

a pagan Canaanite

and you need to get

on the right side of your god,

your god who brings fertility,

well, if you fall out

with your god,

with him or with her,

then your crops won't grow.

And it's tit for tat.

That's what religion is.

But our god,

Yahweh,

the god of the Bible,

is above all that.

He is the exalted one.

The god of the Bible,

the god whom we worship,

is not some tin pot god

that you can manipulate

and that you can get blessings

from him.

No, he's the exalted one.

And so how can I appear

before the one who is exalted?

That's the question.

How do I get to a place of worship?

That's the question

in all my religious activity.

In all my religious observance,

that is a very important question

because unless we get

to a place of worship,

unless we get to that place

of brokenness

and bowing down

and prostrating ourselves

before him

and adoring him,

well, I can tell you

what happens in ministry.

What happens in ministry

is you burn out.

All the sermons I prepare,

all the sermons I preach,

if I never get to a place

of worship,

in the end,

it just becomes

intolerable toil.

Do you see the issue?

If saying my prayers,

singing the hymns,

going through the routine,

do I ever get to a place

of adoration?

And the question is,

what does God require?

And how do I get to the place

where I can bow

before the exalted God

and come before Yahweh

and pour out my heart

before him

and praise him

in an attitude of worship?

And the answer comes

in verses three to five.

Do you notice God's answer

to the question?

He's charging them

for all their religiosity,

but they're not actually

getting it.

They're not actually

coming before him

and worshiping him.

That's the charge.

And they've brought in

the sacrificial system

and all the things

they've offered before him

and all the things

they've done for him.

And this is his answer

in verses three to five.

It's the cry, isn't it?

Can you see how it begins?

Oh, oh.

It's a cry from the heart

of God.

Oh, my people.

And he's not only

pleading against his people,

he is doing that

in verses one to two

because he's got a charge

against them.

But he's not only

pleading against his people,

he's at the same time

pleading with his people.

So listen to what he says.

He says,

oh, my people, Israel,

what have I done to you?

How have I wearied you?

Answer me,

for I brought you up

from the land of Egypt.

I redeemed you

from the house of slavery.

I sent you,

before you,

Moses, Aaron, Miriam.

Oh, my people,

remember what Balak,

king of Moab,

devised and what Balab,

the son of Beor,

answered him.

And what happened

from Shittim to Gilgal

that you may know

the righteous act

of the Lord.

Verse five,

that journey,

what happened between

Shittim and Gilgal,

it's the journey

across the Jordan.

That's what it is.

There are two places

on either side.

And the geography,

it might be a little bit

foreign to us,

but it wasn't to them.

These people should know

their history.

And what God is doing here

is he's reminding

these people

of what he's done for them.

That's really important,

isn't it?

If you become,

I don't know,

like,

if you say,

right,

I'm going to become Welsh,

all right,

I'm going to become

a Welshman,

you can't just make

that,

there's certain things

you've got to know.

There's certain things

you've got to understand.

You've got to understand

the beauty of a place

like Swansea.

You've got to know

certain things

about our history.

You've got to know

about O'England Dool.

You've got to know

about these nationalists

burning English people's houses

down in the 1960s.

You've got to know

about the mining community.

You can't just say

your Welsh.

If you say your Welsh,

you've got to know

your history.

It's in wherever

you're from,

isn't it?

And that's what he's saying

here.

Don't you know

your history?

He's saying

you won't make

the right response

to God.

You won't make

the right response

to God.

You won't worship God

in an acceptable way.

You won't know

what God requires of you

until first you understand

what God has done for you.

And I think that's

a really key message

in the Bible.

You will not worship God

until you understand

what he's done for you.

And maybe the reason

actually why

you're not worshipping God

is because you haven't

understood what he's done

for you.

In fact,

that's the pattern

in the New Testament,

isn't it?

You see it in the

New Testament letters.

Broadly,

Paul's letters

in the New Testament

are always split

into two.

The first half

is indicative

what God has done

and the second half

is ordinarily

how we're to live

that out,

the imperative.

He tells us

what God has done

and then he tells us

what we are to do.

The indicative,

it points to

the great salvation

that God has accomplished.

And only then

there is the imperative

to live it out.

And so,

a number of years ago,

it seems to disappear,

there was this thing

called the Micah Challenge,

a guy called Jim Wallace,

you probably don't remember it.

But it was a big thing,

wasn't it?

So churches

and the big message

of Christianity

is what?

They would say

to act justly,

walk humbly

before our God.

Act justly,

love kindness,

walk humbly

before our God.

the problem

with all that

was that it didn't

point you

to what God

had done,

the facts of salvation.

It didn't give you

the indicative,

it didn't give you

the oh my people,

oh my people.

Remember,

he says,

remember what I've

done to you.

It's a bit,

I hesitate

to use this illustration,

but Monty Python,

I've got a sketch,

in the life of Brian,

which is not a film

I recommend,

but there's a sketch

in it,

where there's a really

brilliant sketch in it.

The Jewish authorities

are plotting

to overthrow the Romans.

You'll know the sketch

as I tell you about it.

And one of the leaders

stands up and says,

what have the Romans

ever done for us?

It's a very funny scene.

Somebody pipes up

from the back of the crowd,

well,

there's the aqueduct.

Another one puts up

his hand and says,

there's the roads.

Another one says,

there's sanitation.

And then the answers

start flooding in.

There's irrigation,

medicine,

public baths,

law and order,

education.

All right,

all right,

says the leader.

Apart from the aqueducts,

the roads,

the sanitation,

irrigation,

medicine,

education,

public baths,

law and order,

and education,

what have these people

ever done for us?

That's what they're doing

in Micah.

They're saying,

what has the Lord

ever done for us?

All the times I've

slaved for you,

all the sacrifices

I've offered.

The thousands of rams,

the rivers of oils

I've poured out,

worshipping you,

observing your religious

practices.

And what has he ever

done for us?

Oh, my people,

God says,

oh, my people.

Remember,

remember.

And he mentions

all these things.

It's the history of

God's dealing with Israel.

These people,

these places,

they're foreign to us,

but they wouldn't be

foreign to them.

He says,

remember how I brought

you out from the land

of Egypt.

I am the Lord your God

who redeemed you.

Who redeemed you

from the house of slavery.

Remember how I gave you

Moses and Aaron

and Miriam.

I led you through

the wilderness.

Do you remember

when the Moabites,

they wanted to curse you

and they hired

Balaam the prophet

to curse you?

And do you remember

what happened?

He couldn't curse you

because I kept

making him pronounce

blessings.

Do you remember

how I turned the tables

on him?

Do you remember

how I brought you

across the river Jordan

onto dry land?

And he's saying,

how can these people

who are Israelites

call themselves Israelites

if they've forgotten

about Moses and Miriam

and Aaron

and Balaam

and Balak

and the journey

to Gilgal?

How can they call

themselves Israelites

if they've forgotten

what God has done

for them?

And that's the point,

you see.

God is not a concept.

God is not an idea.

God is not a force.

God is a person.

God is a person.

When Pascal was converted,

I don't know if you

know the story

of Pascal's conversion.

He was a child protégé.

He was a mathematical genius.

He was in fact

the inventor

of the first computer.

He didn't know

it was a computer

at the time.

They wouldn't have

called it that day

but in the 17th century

it was a mechanical calculator.

The guy was a genius,

an absolute genius

but he'd been

a nominal Christian.

But on the evening

of Monday the 23rd

of November 1654,

Pascal had a profound

encounter with God.

He didn't talk about it

very much.

In fact,

he didn't tell anyone.

But he did write about it.

He wrote it down

on a piece of parchment

and he sewed it

into the lining

of his jacket.

He was 31 years of age

and although he

never spoke about it

very much,

he wrote it down.

It was discovered

after his death.

His sister looked

in his jacket.

There was something

kind of in the lining.

She discovered this.

It's called Pascal.

Pascal's memorial.

This is what it says.

Pascal became

a great philosopher,

a great scholar.

He was a very eloquent man.

But when he encountered God,

this is what he said.

It's a bit disjointed

because he wanted to capture

what he experienced

that night.

Let me read it to you.

Fire,

fire,

fire.

God of Abraham.

God of Isaac.

God of Jacob.

Not of the philosophers

and of the learned.

The learned.

Certitude.

Certitude.

Feeling.

Joy.

Peace.

God of Jesus Christ.

My God.

And your God.

God of Jesus Christ.

God of Jesus Christ.

God of Jesus Christ.

And so he goes on.

That's what he put

inside his jacket.

And every day,

he remembered

what had happened to him

on Monday the 23rd of November

of 1654.

He carried it round with him

as a memorial

to the fact that God

is not a concept.

God is not an idea.

He is the living God

and he is the God

of people

and of places.

He is the God

of Abraham

and Isaac

and of Jacob.

He is the God

of Bethel.

These are monuments

you can go to.

These are places

in geography

and God has been there,

God is saying

to the people

in Micah's day.

God has left

his footprints

in the sands of time.

Oh my people,

he says,

remember,

remember the righteous

acts of God.

That's what it says

there in verse 5.

Now how does all this

apply to us,

this side of the cross

and the resurrection?

Well, very, very much so.

Because tonight,

after we've sung a hymn,

we will gather round

this table

and we will hear the words,

as the bread

and the wine

is distributed,

Jesus said,

do this in remembrance

of me.

And that is what

the Lord's Supper

is all about.

The Lord's Supper

is a cry from the heart

of God to his people.

Oh my people,

oh my people.

Chuck Colson,

I'm reading some books

of his in a minute.

He once made this observation

about the wine

in the Lord's Supper

and he said this,

the world drinks

to forget,

the Christian drinks

to remember.

Isn't that right?

The world drinks

to forget,

the Christian drinks

to remember.

How important

the Lord's Supper is.

Which probably

happens more often

than we do,

as often as you do this.

As you drink,

you show the Lord's death

until he comes.

Do you remember

how in the Gospels

Jesus went up

the Mount of Transfiguration?

He's on this mountain,

he's transfigured,

his glory shines

through the veil

of his humanity.

It's taken away

and Jesus is seen

for years,

all glorious.

He's on the Mount

of Transfiguration

and he's talking

with Moses and Elijah.

Peter, James and John

can't believe it.

They see Jesus

talking with Moses

and Elijah,

the law and the prophets,

the great summary

of the Old Testament

and Jesus is there

and what are they

talking about?

One of the Gospel

writers tells us

that the subject

of that conversation

was the exodus,

the exodus

that he was about

to accomplish

in Jerusalem.

So what has God

ever done for us?

He has sent his son

to set us free

from our sins

and he became

flesh and blood

in order to bleed

and to die

so that you

might be set free

from the slavery

to sin and death

and you might be

brought into his

kingdom,

into his family

and you might be

called children of God

and so all my people,

oh my people,

remember.

It's not just

a fanciable idea,

it's not just

a nice thing to believe

that makes life

a little bit better

because it doesn't.

This is time

and space

that's happened

in history

God has literally

put his footpins

in the sands

of time.

And so all my people,

remember there is

a green hill,

I doubt there is

a green hill,

but there is a hill

outside the city wall

where God's dear son

was crucified

who died to save us all.

This happened,

remember.

Look at verse 7.

They respond

and they say,

don't they,

shall I give my firstborn

for my transgression,

the fruit of my body

for the sin of my soul.

Does God require

a human sacrifice?

They're saying,

aren't they,

are all the human sacrifices

not enough?

Does he require

a human sacrifice?

Yes, he does.

Can you offer it?

Can I offer it?

No.

Why can't you offer it?

Because God has already

done so.

Because God has not

spared his own son

but gave him up

for us all

and how will he now

not freely give us

all things?

And so how are we

to respond to that,

what God has done

for us in Christ

in giving of his son?

How are we to

respond to that?

What do we do

with that

when we get

eventually to verse 8?

And we're ready

to understand it,

aren't we?

What does God

require of you

and I

in the light

of what he's done

for us?

This is what God

requires.

Do justice.

Love kindness

and walk humbly

with your God.

Verse 8,

he's shown you,

oh man.

Where has he shown you?

Where has he shown you?

He's shown you

in his dealings

with Israel

for a start.

The calcitrant bunch,

aren't they?

The Israelites,

they were stubborn,

they were rebellious

and yet how patiently

God deals with them.

They keep on

breaking his covenant

and he sends them

into exile

and he brings them

back from exile

to the Lord.

He's shown you

that he is a just God

who will do

what he says.

He is a just God

but he's also a saviour

and he will punish

sin

but he will save

sinners.

He's shown you.

Where?

Where has he shown you?

Where do you see this?

You see it ultimately

at the cross.

God at the cross.

God at the cross

where Jesus died.

God shows his justice

and his mercy.

The cross is a revelation

of the justice

and the mercy of God.

It shows us

just like the way

that God can remain just

and yet be merciful

to the likes of you and I.

How just is God?

How righteous is God?

Well he's so righteous

so holy

that when sin is found

on his own son

not because of what he's done

but because it is placed

on him by imputation

when Jesus takes

the sin of the world

upon himself

he is forsaken

by God.

He cries out

my God

my God

why have you forsaken me?

That's how serious

a thing sin is.

That's how holy

God is.

That's how just

God is.

And yet the cross

not only shows us

the seriousness of sin

and how righteous

God is

and how he will punish it

it also shows us

at the same time

doesn't it

how much God loves sin.

It's an old hymn

isn't it?

I've not sung it

since I was growing up

in Wales

but payment

God cannot

twice demand

first at my bleeding

surety's hand

and then again at mine.

God is just

and the reason

God is just

because he's just

he will not punish

sin twice

and if your sin

has been laid

on the Lord Jesus Christ

it has been punished

there

he will not punish

you for your sins.

That would be unjust

wouldn't it?

That's why John says

if we confess our sins

if we own up to them

if we own up to

what we're really like

tonight

he is what?

What is God like?

Well he's lovey-dovey

and he'll sweep it

all under the carpet

and he'll say

it doesn't matter

no that's not

what he's like at all.

If we confess our sins

God is faithful

and he's just

to forgive us our sins

and cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

At the cross

God's judgment

and God's mercy

they meet.

At the cross

God has found a way

to be merciful to you

and be merciful to me

without compromising

his justice.

what has God

ever done for you?

What has God

ever done for me?

He has given

his son

to die

for me.

And so what should

be my response?

Love

so amazing

so divine

demands

my soul

my life

my all.

And what will that

look like?

Well that's where

you begin to act

justly.

And he began

to love mercy

and he began

to walk humbly.

In the 1970s

E.D. Armin

he was

Ugandan

president

kind of

totalitarian

ruler

if you've seen

the film

The Last King

of Scotland

it's kind of

depiction

of what he was

like really.

And E.D. Armin

murdered the

Archbishop

Janani Lawum.

Janani Lawum

he was the

leader of the

church in

Uganda.

E.D. Armin

murdered him.

Next to him

for the job

was a man

called

Amfesto

Kivangari.

Amfesto

Kivangari

struggled

with what

he should

do

but he

fled the

country

understandably.

And during

his exile

Festo

Kivangari

wrote a

book

while

Ammin

was

persecuting

and killing

Christians.

During his

exile

Festo

Kivangari

wrote this

book

and the

title of

the book

is a

strange

title.

The title

of the

book is

Why I

Love

E.D. Armin.

And in

that book

Festo

Kivangari

he writes

about his

and expresses

his longing

for E.D. Armin

that evil

dictator

to come

to know

the

forgiveness

of God.

How can

he write

a book

like that?

How can

he write

a book

like that

when his

best friend

had been

murdered

by this

tyrant?

How can

he write

a book

like that

when so

many

atrocities

were taking

place

when so

many

injustices

were being

afflicted?

How can

he write

a book

why I

love

E.D. Armin?

Only because

Festo

Kivangari

he himself

knew the

mercy of

God

and he

recognized

that he

needed

forgiving

just like

E.D. Armin

needed

forgiveness.

And here's

the shocking

truth

we're all

in the

same

boat

aren't

we?

All of

us human

beings

we're all

in the

same

boat.

So

offensive

isn't it?

We're all

in the

same boat

and the

boat is

called

the

Titanic

and we're

all

going

down.

And we

all need

I need

you need

God

to be

merciful

to you.

We're all

sinners

in different

ways.

it'll show

itself

in

different

ways.

And all

of us

need

God

to be

merciful

to us.

And those

who know

the mercy

of God

will be

those who

show the

mercy of

God.

And if

you know

the grace

of God

you will

want to

live it

out in

your

relationships

with

others.

It'll

show

itself

not only

in the

way that

you

handle

other

human

relationships

which are

close

to

you

but it

will

show

yourself

in

how you

view

public

and

societal

issues.

In a view

of compassion.

You'll

want to

act

justly

and show

mercy.

You'll

want to

walk

humbly

before

God.

If you

know

God's

grace

God's

you'll

will

be

very

reluctant

to

condemn.

Nor

will you

want to

condone

isn't it?

You'll

not be

one of

those

pharisaic

figures

crying out

what a

terrible

word we

live in

ringing

up five

live.

You will

recognize

in your

own

heart

there but

for the

grace of

God

go I.

And you

will act

justly and

you will

love

mercy.

Love it.

And you'll

walk humbly

not arrogantly

not proudly

not in a

superior way

not in a

patronizing

way but

humbly.

Because the

Bible teaches

us that God

resists the

proud but

he gives

grace to

the humble.

Like a

magnet isn't

it?

You turn

the magnet

the wrong

way around.

I can never

work out

which way

it is but

you turn

it around

the wrong

way and

you can

push the

iron filings

away can't

you?

But then

you flick

the magnet

and the

iron filings

just are so

attracted to

it.

It's the same

with pride

isn't it?

With the

proud.

God wants

nothing to do

with the

proud.

He resists

them but

with the

humble he

can't keep

away from

them.

That's the

micro challenge.

It's much

more than we

realise it's

not a social

gospel at all.

It's got

social implications

massive ones.

The challenge

is to point

to what God

has done in

human history

through Christ

and to

proclaim Christ

and to

call people

to respond

to what Christ

has done

for them.

And so

he has told

you oh man

oh IPC

what is good

and what

does the

Lord require

of you.

But to do

justice

to love

kindness

and more

humbly

with your

God.