Micah 4

I'll turn to you at Micah 4 and 5.

I should have said next Saturday is the big church clean.

!

Doesn't it?

That God is about to turn the lights out.

He's about to shut the door.

Here it is pretty bleak.

Israel's kind of lowest point.

And into that context you get this remarkable promise.

This remarkable prophecy in chapter 5.

Into this bleak scenario of judgment.

Down on the nation.

God gives a promise.

Sennacherib is going to come right up to the door of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is besieged.

And in that very bleak and blackness.

God gives this promise of a royal ruler.

A royal ruler who will bring in God's righteous rule.

And not just in Israel and in Judah.

But it will spread throughout the whole of the world.

We get the leaders we deserve don't we?

That's been our experience as a country the last kind of 10 years.

We get the leaders we deserve when we turn away from God.

But what Micah 4 and 5 tell us is that God is going to send a leader in his grace that we don't deserve.

We know don't we?

Standing this side of the New Testament.

That person is Jesus.

And I want to call him God's once and future king.

God's once and future king.

Who is going to bring in God's now and not yet kingdom.

Are the two things I want us to think about.

He is God's once and future king.

Who will bring in God's now and not yet kingdom.

He is the royal ruler.

Who will bring in God's judgment throughout the whole world.

And he is God's once and future king.

Who is going to bring in God's now and not yet kingdom.

Look what it says in verse 2 of chapter 5.

You know this because you'll have heard it in Christmas carol service readings.

But you, O Bethlehem, Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah.

From you shall come forth for me one who is to be a ruler in Israel.

Whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

See that mention of Bethlehem?

That little town that's hardly on the map.

There are two Bethlehems.

That's why it differentiates.

That's why it says there is Bethlehem Ephrathah.

He's saying make sure you get the right Bethlehem.

Make sure you go to the right place.

It's a tiny little township.

Five or six miles outside of Jerusalem.

And the mention of Bethlehem has a kind of ominous ring to it.

Because the birth of the Messiah takes place in Bethlehem.

A suburb outside of Jerusalem.

Not in the heart of the city of David where you'd expect.

It supposes, doesn't it?

It gives you and I a hint.

Why is he born outside the city?

Not right in the center of the city.

It's supposing to us that the family of David, they'll no longer be in the position of power.

They'll no longer be on the throne in Jerusalem.

They'll have fallen into poverty.

It's as if the quest for the coming king which the world needs has got to go all the way back to the stump of Jesse.

It's no longer a great oak.

It's no longer a great tree.

It's just a stump.

And so this little township of Bethlehem.

There'll be no royal starter kit still available in Jerusalem.

The Davidic dynasty will have been cut off.

But out of Bethlehem, this little place outside Jerusalem will come God's once and future king.

Who will bring in God's now and not yet kingdom.

And so let's look at the now and not yet kingdom first.

That's the order in which these verses come in chapter 4.

There are no chapters and verses in the original which make it a little bit difficult to kind of divide up.

And we're meant to see the contrast between the end of chapter 3 and the start of chapter 4.

And so look at the end of chapter 3.

Jerusalem, well Zion, God's city.

The kind of apple of God's eye is going to be ploughed like a field.

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins.

And the mountain of the house, it'll become like a wooded height.

Just think of that.

The temple mound, it's overgrown with weeds.

There's moss growing on the rubble.

But in the last days, verse 4,

it shall come to pass in the latter days,

that the mountain of the Lord will be established.

The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains.

It's picture language, isn't it?

It's saying to you, this mountain is going to grow.

It's going to grow to the highest mountain there is.

And so one minute, he says at the end of chapter 3,

it'll be overgrown with brambles.

It'll be a complete mess.

It'll be a heap of ruins.

But the next minute, it's going to be raised.

And so that not only the peoples of Israel,

but all the nations of the world will stream to it.

And what is this all about?

Well, notice that little phrase.

Can you see it in verse 1 of chapter 4?

It's in the latter days.

This kingdom that is going to come, Micah is saying,

it's not for now,

it's for the future.

It sounds too good to be true.

Out of the ruins,

out of the ruins,

God is actually going to build

an international,

universal,

supernatural kingdom.

I mean it.

Just look at what it sounds like.

Look what it says, isn't it?

It tells us, isn't it,

in Micah 4,

that swords will be beaten into plowshares.

Spears into pruning hooks.

They're not going to study war no more.

Their famous verses,

politicians often quote it without realizing.

Martin Luther King put them in a famous speech,

didn't he?

He used this imagery.

Swords and spears.

Farming imagery.

And so tanks will be turned into tractors,

Micah's saying.

Bombs will be turned into bailers.

Missiles will be turned into milking parlors.

He's saying there's a beautiful picture coming of a new world.

If you've seen Lord of the Rings, isn't it?

The great battles.

And the battles of Middle Earth.

And the end of the film,

it ends with them in the shire

and everything's beautiful.

That's the picture.

That's why Tolkien got it from him anyways.

There'll be no more military academies,

no more terrorist training camps.

All will be shut down

because it will be a world

that we will all want to see.

It's universal.

It's international.

But it's also individual.

Can you look at verse 4?

In verse 4,

Because they shall sit every man

under his vine and under his fig tree.

And no one shall make them afraid.

It's a picture of security

where people will be unafraid.

You'll leave the locks unlocked.

The doors unlocked at night.

And all the nations will be there

and every man will sit under his own fig tree.

Not only that,

but the peoples will come streaming up to this.

You ever seen a river going up the mountain?

Streams don't usually go up mountains, do they?

They don't.

But here's a picture, isn't it?

The mic is giving you

of a temple mountain of Jerusalem.

And the temple mountain is being raised

higher than all the mountains of the earth.

And the nations are streaming towards it.

And so you can go to central London.

You can go to New York.

You can go to Sydney.

You can go to Beijing.

And you see this beginning to happen.

You see it now, today, on the Lord's Day.

There's a not yet about it,

but it's not happening, isn't it?

This morning, during the hymns,

I tried to count how many nationalities

are in the church.

I got to about 40 this morning.

I think, when you include the people

that aren't here,

it's about 45 nationalities now.

In this little congregation in West London.

This is what God is doing.

Now, there's a not yet about it,

but there is a now too, isn't there?

You see it in the beginnings of John chapter 12.

John 12 · chapter mention

And this kingdom, there were some Greeks

that came to Jesus,

and they came with a request.

They came to Philip of Bethsaida.

They were up in Jerusalem for a visit,

these Greeks.

And they come to Philip,

and they say,

Sir, we wish to see Jesus.

We would like to see Jesus.

It's a great message for preachers, isn't it?

John Stott, when he was given that

weird lectern at all souls,

engraved on it,

is saying,

Sir, we wish to see Jesus.

It should be the message of every serpent.

And Philip goes to Andrew.

Andrew then goes to Jesus.

And it's interesting how Jesus responds

to this request,

Sir, we wish to see Jesus.

And Jesus replies to this,

to these Greeks.

He says,

The hour has come for the Son of Man

to be glorified.

Truly, truly, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat

falls into the earth and dies,

it remains alone.

But if it dies,

it bears much fruit.

And then Jesus goes on

to speak about his death,

and he says this.

He says,

Now is the judgment of this world.

Now will the rule of this world

be cast out.

And I, when I'm lifted up from the earth,

will draw all men to myself.

And he said this,

John says,

to show what kind of death

he was going to die.

Do you see the point?

It's the beginning of it.

This is the beginning of the now

and the not yet kingdom.

That is the basis

on which the kingdom of God

is going to be established.

The death on the cross

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I am lifted up,

he says,

with arms outstretched

on the cross,

and I will draw all men to myself.

He's talking about people

from every tribe and tongue

and nation, isn't he?

All peoples to him.

And so,

even as we sit in church

this evening,

we sit here tonight

and the nations,

they are streaming up the mountain.

All around the world,

hundreds of thousands of people

are becoming Christians

in places like Africa,

in Southern America,

in China,

places like that.

It's not happening very much

in the UK,

but it is happening.

And who would have thought

that from that little obscure

little place

that isn't even really

on the map,

Bethlehem of Ephrathah,

and this son

of a carpenter

who grew up in Nazareth,

can anything good

come out of Nazareth?

But out of Nazareth

has come God's ruler,

this once and future king.

And the nations

are streaming to him.

It's now

and it's not yet.

Let me just give you

another example of that

in the Old Testament,

Matthew 24.

Listen to what Jesus says there

when he talks very much

about the kind of thing

that you see

in Micah in Matthew 24.

Jesus says to him,

he's warning his disciples

and he says,

see to it that no one

leads you astray,

no one takes you captive,

for many will come in my name

and they'll say,

I am the Christ

and they'll lead many people astray

and you'll hear of wars

and rumors of wars.

That's the not yet,

isn't it?

That is still the studying of war.

That is nation rising

against nation,

Jesus says.

Such things must happen

before the end comes.

And then he says,

this gospel of the kingdom

will be preached

to all nations.

It'll be proclaimed

throughout the whole world

as a testimony

to all nations.

And then he says,

the end will come.

You see,

they haven't beaten

their swords

into plowshares yet.

There's still,

isn't there,

today,

nation rising up

against nation.

There are wars

and there are rumors

of wars.

That is the world

we live in

on a micro

and a macro level.

But in this world

right now,

in the ruins

of the fall,

God is building

his kingdom.

And God is bringing

in his kingdom

through Jesus.

And that good news

of the kingdom of God

is to be preached

throughout the world

and it is preached

as it is preached,

as Jesus is lifted up,

the nations gather

to Jesus.

And it is happening.

It's not a fairy story.

The kingdom of God

is now

that it is not yet.

See what I'm trying

to say.

But there's another

side to this now

and not yet kingdom.

You see it in the second

half of chapter 4

and chapter 5.

Let me read you

from verse 10

of chapter 5.

In that day,

looking forward,

declares the Lord,

I will cut off

your horses

from among you

and I will destroy

your chariots.

I'll cut off

the cities of your land,

I'll throw down

all your strongholds

and I will cut off

sorceries from your hand

and you shall have

no more tellers

of fortunes

and I will cut off,

do you see the cut off,

cut off, cut off

your carved images

and your pillars

from among you

and you shall bow down

no more to the work

of your hands

and I will root out

your Asherah images

from among you.

Destroy your cities

and in anger

and in wrath

I will execute

vengeance on the nations

that did not obey.

Why is that?

What is that?

It's the other side

of this kingdom.

The utter destruction

of God's enemies,

everything that opposes him.

And so you better make sure

that that's not you.

Every entity,

every ology,

every institution,

every individual

that stands in opposition

to God

will ultimately be destroyed.

Look at verses 11 to 13

of chapter 4.

Now many nations

are assembled against you.

Sing,

let her be defiled

and let our eyes gaze

upon Zion

but they do not know

the thoughts of the Lord.

They do not understand

his plan

that he has gathered them

as sheaves

to the threshing floor.

Arise and thrash

your daughter of Zion.

For I will make

your horn iron

and I will make

your hooves bronze

and you shall beat

in pieces many peoples

and should devote

their gain to the Lord,

their wealth to the Lord

of the whole earth.

It's difficult,

I found it difficult

this week to get inside

the language of

Micah 4 and 5

and probably you're

finding that

like I am.

But what it's saying

to you is this,

it's saying to you

every pocket of resistance

against the Lord

will be removed.

That chap wasn't there,

he died in the late 90s

and he lived

in the jungle

of Guam.

He couldn't accept

that the battle

had been lost,

he couldn't accept

that the war

had been lost

so he stayed

in the jungle of Guam.

He refused to accept it,

eventually he was discovered

and brought out.

It wasn't just that

he didn't know

that the war was over,

he did know

that the war was over,

he just wouldn't accept

that the war was over.

He wouldn't accept

that it was over,

that it was game over.

It's game over

if you're opposed to Christ.

And you say,

well that's so Old Testament

again, isn't it?

That's all very,

very Old Testament

but listen to Jesus,

Jesus in Matthew 13,

the parable of the weeds.

Just as the weeds

are gathered

and burned with fire,

so will it be

at the end of the age.

The Son of Man

will send his angels

and they will gather

out of his kingdom

all causes of sin

and all lawbreakers

and throw them

into the fiery furnace

and in that place

there will be weeping

and gnashing of teeth

and then the righteous

will shine like the sun

in the kingdom

of their father.

He who is ears,

let him hear.

And so can you see

God's righteous rule

will not be established

until everything

that opposes him

is rooted out

and destroyed.

When God puts out

the rubbish,

make sure you're not

in the bin.

Paul tells us,

doesn't it,

in Romans chapter 8

Romans 8 · chapter mention

that the carnal heart,

the sinful mind

is enmity against God.

Enmity,

it is war against God.

That is natural human nature.

It is hostile to God.

And you don't go around

dealing with a placard

saying,

I hate God.

I hate God.

You wouldn't do that,

would you?

You're far,

you're far too civilized

to do that.

But you can live,

can't you?

Like I can live

in God's world

like a sullen teenager

under the roof

of his parents

taking everything

for granted,

living my own

selfish little life

pleasing myself.

I'm totally oblivious

to the God

who's created you

and provided for you

and given you a purpose.

You're an enemy of his.

And you might come to church

but if you've got

an unconverted heart

and an unregenerate heart,

you are at war with God.

And the day will come

when it will be game over

for you.

Now how do we know

that this is going to happen?

Because of this great promise.

Because of something

in these chapters

we just can't ignore.

Something that we can't overlook,

this marvelous prophecy

about Jesus

that God is going to

actually send

from Bethlehem

out of Bethlehem,

he's going to send

his once and future king.

Look at how he's described

in verse 2 of chapter 5.

But you, O Bethlehem of Fratha,

who are too little

to be among the clans of Judah,

from you shall come forth

from me,

one who is to be ruler

in Israel,

whose coming forth

is from of old,

from ancient days,

whose origins

are from of old,

from ancient times.

That is God's

once and future king.

It's the stuff, isn't it,

that fairy tales

are made of.

Those are the words,

aren't they,

at the end of verse 21,

that according to the legend

are written on the tomb

of King Arthur,

the ancient king.

The legend is that

he will come back,

won't he?

He'll come back

and he'll free the Welsh

from the English.

That's another story.

But on his tomb,

supposedly lies,

here lies Arthur,

the once and future king.

It's really interesting

with fairy stories,

isn't it?

Fairy stories don't go

out of fashion.

You would think they would.

Fairy stories,

they kind of make

a comeback,

don't they?

They go through

different generations.

Now you've got beauty

and the geek.

But fairy stories

don't die out.

Why don't fairy stories

die out?

Why do fairy stories

have such a powerful

resonance with us?

Why have they got

a hold on us?

C.S. Lewis

and J.R. Tolkien,

the guy who wrote

Lord of the Rings,

they had a famous

discussion on this

before Lewis

became a Christian.

Lewis believed

very much in the myths

and of legends,

but there's a kind of

famous conversation

before he was converted

where he explains

to Tolkien

that he felt

the power of myths

but ultimately

they were untrue.

That's how he put it.

Myths are lies

even though they are

lies breathed

through silver.

Tolkien said,

no, you're wrong.

You're wrong,

they're not.

Tolkien argued

that far from being lies,

these myths and legends,

they pointed to a deeper truth.

That's right.

The fairy stories

that we were taught,

they point to an

underlying reality.

They've got something

in common,

isn't it?

I think Glenn Scrivener

did some work on this

a few years ago.

You can look at it

on YouTube.

The fairy stories,

they point to an

underlying reality

that this world

is under the sway

of the devil.

The prince of this world,

he keeps the minds

of those who don't

believe in Jesus.

He keeps them in darkness.

The whole world

lies in darkness.

That's the reality.

And then along comes

the dragon slayer

to usher in the golden age.

That's the reality.

And this is who the ruler is.

And the myths

are just shadows of that

pointing forward

to the greater story.

Fairy stories

point us to the true story.

The underlying reality,

which is

in our passage this morning,

this evening,

that he who is from of old,

he who was in eternity,

the one who was with God

and the one who was God,

the one who walked with Adam

in the cool of the day,

the one who spoke with Abraham,

the one who wrestled with Jacob,

the one who appeared to Moses

in the burning bush,

the one who led the people

through the wilderness

into the promised land.

That one who is from of old,

from ancient days,

is God's once and future king.

Out of you,

Bethlehem of Fratha,

will come a ruler

who is going to usher in

this incredible kingdom,

this universal kingdom,

this international kingdom.

God's righteous reign.

Look at verse 4.

What's he going to be like?

He shall stand and shepherd his flock

in the strength of the Lord.

In the majesty of the name

of the Lord his God,

and they shall dwell secure.

For now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth.

No more wolves.

No more wars.

No more predators,

because God is going to raise up

a shepherd king

that is promised at the end

of chapter 2.

The shepherd king

who will gather his people

and protect them

and usher in God's righteous rule.

Let me try and round this up.

Let's go back to the slap.

Let's go back to the slap

of chapter 5 in verse 1.

Can you hear the slap?

Must be your troops.

O daughter of troops,

the siege is laid against us.

With a rod they strike.

The judge of Israel on the cheek.

Will they?

Well actually it never happened.

Never happened.

It didn't happen in Micah's time.

It did in Jesus' time,

but never to Hezekiah,

the king during Micah's reign,

Micah's time.

They did slap Jesus across the face,

didn't they?

But they never slapped King Hezekiah.

And Jeremiah tells us why.

I showed you this a few weeks ago,

but in Jeremiah 26,

it's about 100 years after the event,

and Jeremiah is telling what happened

in the time of Micah.

This is what he says in Jeremiah 26,

and verse 18,

he says,

tells us that this prophet,

this preacher, Micah,

he turned up.

A spirit anointed preacher.

And he told all the people of Judah.

He says,

did Hezekiah king of Judah,

and all Judah put him to death?

Did they kill Micah?

Did he not fear the Lord,

and entreat the favor of the Lord,

and did not the Lord relent of the disaster

that he pronounced against them?

That's what happened.

It wasn't actually king,

it wasn't Sennacherib,

who ransacked Jerusalem to disaster.

It didn't happen at the time of Micah.

It was Nebuchadnezzar who came hundreds of years ago,

and wrecked Jerusalem.

It wasn't the Assyrians,

it was the Babylonians.

Because when Micah preached,

when Micah prophesied,

Hezekiah,

the king,

heard the message of God.

He heard about God's once and future king.

He heard about this now and not yet kingdom,

and he broke his heart,

and he repented.

Micah chapter 3, verse 8.

Micah 3:8

I've not been able to escape this verse this week.

Micah chapter 3, verse 8.

Micah 3:8

I love this verse,

but as for me,

there's a picture there of the loneliness

of the Old Testament preacher

in an apostate nation.

He could have joined others,

he could have preached a popular message,

he could have gone on the conference circuit in America,

but he says,

as for me,

as for me,

listen to what he says.

He says,

I'm filled with power,

with the Spirit of the Lord,

with justice and might,

to declare to Jacob his transgression,

and to Israel his sin.

He says,

as for me,

I can't preach what you want me to preach.

I can't give you what you want to hear.

I'm not free to do that.

And so here is a man,

the prophet Micah,

who's controlled by the Spirit of God,

by the Spirit of Jesus.

The Spirit that proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Do you remember what Jesus said?

He said,

when the Spirit comes,

what will the Spirit do when the Spirit is poured out?

What will he do?

He'll convict the world of sin and judgment and righteousness.

That's what these chapters are about in Micah,

aren't they?

As Micah stood up,

he must have been one of the most unpopular men of his day.

And when Micah stood up,

as for me,

and the Spirit of God took hold of him,

and the Spirit of Jesus,

God's righteous ruler,

the Spirit of Jesus comes into King Hezekiah's court.

Because Hezekiah was one of those corrupt rulers

that we heard about last week in chapter 3.

And the Spirit of Jesus comes through the preaching of Micah

into the very throne room of God,

and Hezekiah repents.

He's convicted of sin.

And the Holy Spirit,

through this preacher,

Micah,

paints this beautiful picture

of what God's righteous and loving rule looks like.

And he says,

the kingdom that all humanity longs for

is found in God's once and forever King.

And we think it'll never happen,

but Micah gives us a vision of God's righteousness.

And through the Spirit-anointed preaching of Micah,

Hezekiah gets a taste of judgment to come.

And he's warned, isn't he,

that if God's King is going to come,

every kingdom opposed to it will be crushed.

And so Hezekiah repents.

He repents.

And revival.

Revival comes to Judah.

You can read about it in the historical books.

Same thing that happened in Nineveh, isn't it?

Jonah's a much more popular,

much more well-known story.

And Jonah comes to Nineveh,

and he calls on them to repent.

And they did, and there was repentance.

Right from the king's palace,

down to the streets of Nineveh.

And God relented,

and God saved a pagan nation.

And I think that's what London needs, isn't it?

God needs Spirit-anointed preaching

about Jesus to convict the world of sin.

To give a vision of this now and not yet king.

To warn people that if you do not get into this kingdom

through faith in Jesus Christ,

you will be utterly devastated.

And so let me ask you,

who's your ruler?

Who's your ruler?

We get the rulers we deserve.

But God is promising through Micah 4 and 5,

a ruler that you don't deserve.

Is he your ruler?

I read a lovely little story about Martin Luther.

Martin Luther had a friend called Philip Malanthon.

They were both reformers.

Luther was just full, boisterous,

not particularly sensitive.

Melanthon was gentle,

timid.

Luther didn't suffer from anxiety.

He probably could have done with suffering

from a bit more anxiety.

But Melanthon really suffered from anxiety,

worried.

He used to have panic attacks.

Not that they were called that back then.

He worried about everything.

And the story goes that Luther came,

and he would put his hands on Philip's shoulders

and he would say to him,

let Philip cease to rule the world.

Let Philip cease to rule the world.

That's all I want to say to you tonight.

Some of us are chronic worriers, aren't they?

I am a worrier.

I think I know how the universe has got to work.

I think I know how history is going to play out.

I think I know how life has got to happen

for me and for us.

No, I don't.

Stop pretending that I rule the world

and hand it over to the Lord Jesus

and let him rule.

Let him rule the universe.

Let him rule your world.

Let him rock your world.

Because he will bring in his now and not yet kingdom.

Who's going to make the nations study war no more?

Who's going to make the nations

to beat their swords into plowshares?

As politicians,

we know that's not going to happen.

Only Jesus can do that.

And he will only do it

through his spirit-empowered preaching

of the gospel.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

pray.