Walk Humbly With Your God

We'll begin our worship this morning by singing to God's praise. We're going to sing in Psalm 25, the first version of the psalm,

in the Scottish Psalter, Psalm 25,

page 231.

The tune is Dennis. We're going to sing from verse 1 down to verse 6.

To thee I lift my soul, O Lord, I trust in thee.

My God, let me not be ashamed, nor foes triumph for me.

Let none that wait on thee be put to shame at all, but those that without cause transgress, let shame upon them fall.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 6 to God's praise.

To thee I lift my soul, O Lord, I trust in thee.

Let thou that wait on thee.

Let thou that wait on thee.

My God, let me not be ashamed, nor boast high of glory.

Let the man that wait on me be put to shame and all.

And those that will and cause transgress, let shame upon them all.

O me, my grace, O Lord, my past, O tree, shall we?

And do thou read me in my truth, then my teacher be.

For thou art God, let us to meet salvation, strength.

And die upon thee, O Lord, my best, O Lord.

Amen.

Let us bow our heads in a word of prayer.

Let us pray.

Our Father in heaven, as we gather in your name this day, as we come praising you, as we come offering up praise to you in song,

as we come looking to you in prayer, as we come seeking to hear from you in your word.

We thank you that you are a God who has remembered us, that you have remembered us in such a special and a significant way,

that you have sent salvation to us as we have sung.

We thank you that we come in the name of Jesus today, that we come looking to him to be Lord and God of all,

and Lord and God for us, that we would come looking to him to trust in him with all our heart, with all our soul,

and to love you as we should.

And we pray and thank you, Lord, for your word that instructs us, that helps us.

Your word teaches us day by day.

And we thank you that all of us together here, from youngest to oldest, hears from your word and help us to learn,

help us to hear what you are saying to us.

And as we come to the end of this year, as we come to the last day of the year,

we thank you for all your goodness to us in so many ways over this year.

Through all the ups and downs of life, Lord, you are faithful.

You are our constant companion.

And we pray, Lord, that as we look, God, willing to a new year,

that we will put our hand in yours and walk with you and trust in you with all our hearts.

May you guide us and help us along every step of the way.

So, Lord, be near to us as we worship you this day.

And in all our homes and our families, Lord, we ask your blessing, your help, your strength in all the different needs that we have.

We thank you, Lord, for a time of holiday.

We thank you for many families being together, both here and maybe some away as well.

We thank you for these times that we are able to share together and to be able to share it around your word today as well is a real blessing to us.

So, Lord, we thank you for everyone here, everyone visiting with us, everyone tuning in online as well, wherever they may be, Lord,

that you will surround us all with your love and with your grace.

We thank you for your faithfulness, Lord, and help us that we may be faithful to you in all that we do, in all that we say,

and in all that we do in the days ahead as well, Lord.

May we know your goodness with us and your mercy upon us.

So, Lord, hear our prayers and pardon all our sin as we ask all these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Before some of the younger ones go out, I'll just share a word with you.

We're thinking today in our service about what it means to walk with God,

to go on looking to him and trusting in him every day of our lives.

And I hope you've had a good week this week.

I hope you've been enjoying your holiday and enjoy the last few days of it.

And today is the last day of 2023.

Tomorrow, all being well, we'll be into 2024.

Another year has gone by.

And when you think about a year and you think about it in terms of numbers,

there's so many numbers that you can think about in a year.

You think about it as one year.

And it sounds quite small in some ways.

One year has passed.

Or we think about it in another way.

We think about it in terms of months.

And we have 12 months in the year.

And everybody in that period of time,

I'm sure everybody's had a birthday or other different occasions over these months.

Then you think about it in terms of weeks.

How many weeks are there in a year?

We've got 52 weeks in the year.

Then you can break it into days.

And how many days there are in a year?

365 days in the year.

So the numbers are getting bigger.

And then you start thinking,

well, I've got 365 days.

Every day's got hours.

So how many hours are there in a year?

Now the numbers are starting to get quite big.

8,760 hours in a year.

Now we're going to go one more.

What about number of minutes in the year?

A lot higher than 8,000.

How many minutes are in a year?

525,600 minutes in a year.

Now we're not going to go to seconds

because that will just be getting a really big, big, huge number.

But you just think about all these numbers that we have.

From one year down to 525,600 minutes.

And you break it all down into that.

And the question is this.

What have we done with our time?

In Ephesians, the letter of the Ephesians,

in the New Testament, in chapter 5 and verse 15,

it says,

Look carefully then how you walk,

not as unwise but as wise,

making the best use of the time.

It's talking there about walking.

How are we walking with God?

Are we making the best use of our time?

All of the last year,

and as we look ahead to another year to come,

God willing,

as we look back over 12 months,

as we look back over 52 weeks,

as we look back over 365 days,

as we look back over all these numbers,

and we think of them,

yes, some of them are just small numbers,

but we ask ourselves,

have we lived every minute trusting in God?

Have we lived 525,600 minutes trusting in God

with all our hearts?

And is that what we will do

as we go into a new year?

If we haven't already done so,

are we going to make the best use of the time?

Walking with God,

not as unwise,

which means we're doing silly things with our time,

stupid things with our time,

but as wise.

Wise people,

making the best use of our time

every minute that we have.

We often say time is precious,

and we are to spend it in the right way.

It means looking out for others,

helping others,

living our lives in a good way,

but above all,

it means trusting God

every minute,

every second of every day,

that we will walk with Him

and trust in Him.

So may God bless these thoughts to us

and be with us all

as we look ahead to a new year.

We're going to say now

the Lord's Prayer together.

Amen.

Our Father,

which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth

as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts

as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power,

and the glory forever.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to sing again

to God's praise,

this time in Psalm 57,

in the Sing Psalms version.

Find us on page 74

of the Psalm books.

Psalm 57.

We're going to sing

from verse 1 to verse 5.

The tune is Selma.

Have mercy on me, Lord,

to you my soul holds fast.

Your covering wings will shelter me

until the dangers pass.

I cry to God,

most high,

to God who answers me,

for he fulfills his purposes

for me most perfectly.

We'll sing from verse 1 to verse 5

to God's praise.

God's praise.

Let's amen.

Let's pray.

د hands

I cry to God most high, to God who answers me.

For he fulfills his purposes, for he moves perfectly.

He sends his help from her, and saves me all my love.

Reveal me close to see my life, God sends this truth and love.

I live with savage peace, I dwell with high up strong.

With man who speak, with piercing words, a sharp sword is their tongue.

Above the highest head, O God, exalted thee,

And O God, on the earth below, display your majesty.

We'll turn together to read in God's word now in the Old Testament, in the book of Micah.

Micah, we're going to read in chapter 6.

Micah chapter 6, you'll find it around page 942, towards the end of the Old Testament.

Micah 6 · chapter mention

Micah chapter 6, and we can read the whole of this chapter together.

Micah 6 · chapter mention

Micah chapter 6, from the beginning.

Micah 6 · chapter mention

Hear what the Lord says.

O my people, what have I done to you?

How have I wearied you?

Answer me.

For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery.

And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

O my people, remember what Balak, king of Moab, devised,

And what Balaam, the son of Baor, answered him,

And what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,

That you may know the saving acts of the Lord.

With what shall I come before the Lord,

And bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

With calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

With ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has told you, O man, what is good,

And what does the Lord require of you,

But to do justice, and to love kindness,

And to walk humbly with your God.

The voice of the Lord cries to the city,

And it is sound wisdom to fear your name.

Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it.

Can I forget any longer the treasures of wickedness

In the house of the wicked,

And the scant measure that is accursed?

Shall I acquit the man with wicked scales,

And with a bag of deceitful weights?

Your rich men are full of violence,

Your inhabitants speak lies,

And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,

Making you desolate because of your sins.

You shall eat, but not be satisfied,

And there shall be hunger within you.

You shall put away, but not preserve,

And what you preserve I will give to the sword.

You shall sow, but not reap.

You shall tread olives,

But not anoint yourselves with oil.

You shall tread grapes, but not drink wine.

For you have kept the statutes of Omri,

And all the works of the house of Ahab,

And you have walked in their councils,

That I may make you a desolation,

And your inhabitants a hissing.

So you shall bear the scorn of my people.

And so on.

And may God bless to us that reading of his word.

Let's again turn to God in prayer.

Let us pray.

Amen.

Our Father in heaven,

As often as we read of your blessings in your word,

The many great and wonderful promises

That you have given to us,

That are all fulfilled in your Son,

Christ Jesus our Lord.

We recognize and give thanks, Lord,

For every one of them,

That are precious to us as a people.

And yet, O Lord,

As we read your word as well,

In the fullness of it,

We see the many promises,

But also the many challenges,

And rebukes that there are for us.

The many truths that they are reminding us

Of the consequence of sin.

The many truths that remind us of what it means,

What it entails not to listen to you

As you speak to us.

And as we have read in your word together just now,

We see so many of these things.

We see the challenges and the rebukes to your people.

But we thank you that in the midst of them,

We read too of your great love towards us as a people.

That you know our sins,

You know our helplessness,

You know how we cannot do anything for ourselves

Because our hearts are so inclined to wander away from you.

We are pulled in so many different directions.

We are pulled so easily away from your truth and from your ways.

The things that appeal to us in this world, O Lord,

Can so easily take over our hearts.

But help us, Lord, to find mercy with you.

Help us to find renewal with you.

Help us to repent as your word calls us to.

Help us to turn away from our sin

And to seek to walk humbly with the Lord.

For we thank you for your steadfast love,

Your covenant love,

Through which we are blessed and blessed abundantly.

That you are a God who loves steadfast love.

That you are a God who desires it for all people.

And yet so quickly, Lord, we turn away.

And so help us, Lord,

Even as we reflect at the end of this year.

As we look back and

As we are maybe reminded of the many ways in which your promises have blessed us and helped us

Throughout so many different situations.

We thank you that we can look back and see your faithfulness to us in so many ways.

The way that you have kept us, sustained us, watched over us.

The way that you have provided for us.

In the simplest of ways, Lord, that we so often forget.

Whether it's the air that we breathe, the water that we drink.

The simple things in life that we see as attained by ourselves.

And yet your word reminds us that every good and perfect gift is from above.

From the one who changes not.

And so, Lord, humble us before you today.

That we might walk rightly with you.

That we would seek your face.

That we would come, O Lord, with much to give thanks for.

And that we would praise your name.

That we would also come, O Lord, confessing our sin.

Our sin of forgetfulness.

Our sin of turning away from you.

Our sin of not leaning on your word or trusting in it.

And also, Lord, in the many things that go on in our lives.

When we are challenged.

When we are finding the way tough.

We thank you that we can come, O Lord, and cast our cares upon you.

And help us to do so for ourselves and for others around us.

For our communities.

For our nation.

For our world.

We thank you that you are a God who hears and answers prayer.

And every one of which we have seen answer to in this past year.

We give you thanks.

For every prayer offered up that we wait upon.

Still wait upon.

We pray for patience to wait.

For every prayer that we offered up, Lord.

Not according to your will.

But for our own selfish hearts.

We ask forgiveness.

And we pray, Lord, that you will be the one that guides us in the days ahead.

That as we go into a new year, God willing.

We would know your presence with us.

We would know you going before us in all things.

Directing our paths.

Helping us to walk closely with you.

We pray that, Lord, for our nation as a whole.

When we think of our rulers and all who govern us in so many different ways.

We think of our king and his family, Lord.

We pray your blessing on them.

We pray, Lord, for them all to come to see the light of the glory of Jesus Christ.

We pray for them to come to know what it is to fully believe in God.

And the fact that you sent your son as a savior for this world.

That they would come to believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The one who is there for us.

Lord, help them.

We pray in all their own needs as well, Lord.

We pray above all for their souls, O Lord.

That you will bless them richly.

That you will bring them to know and to rule according to your word and to your truth.

We pray that also for our governments.

For Westminster.

For Holyrood.

For Prime Minister and First Minister.

Lord, again, that their hearts will be turned to you.

That they would come to know the glory of God.

That they would come to know the wonder of your grace.

And the power of your word.

The power of prayer.

And that righteousness exalts our nation.

We pray, Lord, for the year ahead to be seeing your glory in our land.

To be seeing your power at work.

To be seeing people turn to you in great numbers.

And people coming to know and believe in the Lord Jesus.

We pray these things so often, Lord.

Maybe just asking as a token gesture.

Not really believing it's possible.

But we thank you that your word reminds us of how quickly you can turn a people.

Turn a nation.

Turn a world to yourself.

And we pray, Lord, that you will come in your power.

That you will hear your praying people throughout the world today.

Far and wide.

That you will look down upon us.

That you will remember those in need in all corners of the earth.

The persecuted church.

Those who suffer for your name.

Those who are suffering in the midst of conflict and wars just now.

Those who suffer in so many different ways.

Through rulers oppressing a people.

Keeping things for themselves when a people are in need.

And we, oh Lord, pray for mercy.

And your goodness to be poured out upon us.

We thank you, Lord, that you remember us.

That you know us in every need that we have.

That you know our names.

That you know us in all our personal needs, our innermost thoughts.

And we come, oh Lord, pleading with you to remember our people here.

To remember our homes.

And our families and our communities at this time.

Remember those in sorrow and sadness.

Remember those who are anxious over loved ones.

Remember those who are unwell.

In whatever situation that may be.

Physically or mentally or spiritually.

Oh Lord, we know that the battles in this world are so many.

And so varied.

But we thank you that we have a God who is able.

A God who is able to help and do abundantly more than all that we ask or imagine.

And so we pray, Lord, to draw near to us.

And to help us to draw near to you.

That every day of a year to come.

Every week.

Every hour.

Every second even.

That we would live for the Lord.

That we would seek to trust in you.

And to walk closely with you.

Lord, bless us, we pray.

From our youngest to our oldest.

That you would be with us in all that we seek to do in your name.

In families and communities.

In all our island communities here, Lord.

We pray for your goodness and mercy to be with us.

To pour out your spirit upon us.

To revive us as a people.

And to do us good.

Lord, help us, we pray.

And all we ask, we ask.

Knowing our own frailties and weakness.

But thankful, Lord, for your goodness towards us.

Your strength.

Your grace that is always sufficient.

And we pray.

Pleading in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The name above every name.

The name before whom we must all come and give an account.

On that day of judgment.

And we pray, Lord.

Help us to be prepared for that day.

To be ready for it.

To be trusting in you.

Recognizing that there will be no injury time when it comes to that.

There will be no second chances.

There will be no time to make amends when the Lord comes.

Our day is now.

Our time is now.

And we pray, Lord, that you will help us in this day.

To hear your voice speaking to us.

Give us ears to hear then.

And go with us, we pray.

Pardoning all our sin as we ask it all in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going to sing again to God's praise before we turn back to look at the passage in Micah and Psalm 39.

Psalm 39, we'll sing from verse 7.

Page 258 of the Psalm book.

Psalm 39 at verse 7.

And now, O Lord, what wait I for.

My hope is fixed on thee.

Free me from all my trespasses.

The fool's scorn make not me.

We'll sing from verse 7 to 13.

And the tune is, Wetherby.

Amen.

The fool's scorn make not me.

The fool's scorn make not me.

The fool's scorn make not me.

The fool's scorn make not me.

Because this world was nigh.

Thy soul's scorn make not me.

The fool's scorn make not me.

Of thy hand I do hide.

When with refuse thou dost glory,

Man for iniquity.

The fool's scorn make not me.

The fool's scorn make not me.

The fool's scorn make not me.

The fool's scorn make not me.

The fool's scorn make not me.

But then, my cry, Lord, that my tears

And there's the silent beat

I soldier not

My father's all

And Savior come with me

O say by me

That I my strength

Recover me again

Before progress

I do depart

And here

No more

Reveal

Let's turn back to our reading in Micah chapter 6

Micah 6 · chapter mention

We can read again at verse 8

We're going to look really at verse 1 through to verse 8

Micah 6 at verse 8

He has told you, O man, what is good

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justice

And to love kindness

And to walk humbly

With your God

To do justice

And to love

Steadfast love

You could say there

And to walk humbly

With your God

As we think of coming

To the end of a year

As we've thought about

Our time in that sense

Of the year gone past

And what we've done

With our time

Has it been a year

That we have been walking

Humbly with the Lord

Or is it something

That we have to reflect on

And think about

How we could be better

In that sense

Of walking

Humbly with the Lord

Have we lost our focus

From him

As we look at the book of Micah

It's a book that's

Full of this challenge

Both in the sense of

Yes, in many ways

Things are going well

The people are getting on

Okay

But they're losing sight

Of God

And that always has

Consequences

And Micah comes to them

With a word

With a rebuke

With a challenge

And to walk humbly

With your God

You imagine going

Into your workplace

And you're going in

Expecting that your boss

Will give you the jobs

For that day

But instead

They say to you

I'm sure you've

Got enough

To catch up on yourself

I know you've just

Been on holiday

You're coming back

After your Christmas

And New Year break

But you've probably

Got things that you

Would like to do yourself

Things you want to get

Back on top of

So just take the day

To yourself

You're probably thinking

Well

My job must be at risk

Or something

There's something

Just not right here

Maybe he's not going

Not going to get paid

For this day's work

So you ask that question

What about my pay?

And they say

Don't worry

You'll still get paid

But just go

And do your own thing

I'm sure you'll be surprised

If any boss

Would say that to you

Because you go to work

Expecting

To do a job

Likewise

You wouldn't go into work

And just say to your boss

Look I can't do the work

That you're paying me for today

I've got so many things

I've got to do for myself

I'm going to go and do that

But you're going to still pay me

My wage at the end of the week

You wouldn't go in doing that

Because if you did

You would probably expect

To be sacked

But what is our relationship

With God like

In this way?

How are we living

With God?

Do we treat God

With a selfish

Kind of attitude?

Where we come to God

And say to him

I'm going to do my own thing

I'm going to live as I want

But at the end of the day

You're going to give me

The goodness

Of your heart

You're going to give me

All the good things

That you promise

In your word

But I'm still going to

Just go and do

My own thing

That is how we

So often end up living

We want to do

Our own thing

And we want to do it

In our way

But we want the blessings

Of God too

And as you look through Micah

That's the very situation

You find

They were doing

Anything they wanted

To please themselves

But still expecting

To God

God to be on demand

As well

When he was needed

They'd call

And they would expect him

To give them

Exactly what they wanted

And that's why God

Sent Micah

He sent Micah to them

To show them

The error of their ways

To show them

Where they were going wrong

How they're turning

Away from God

And expecting just God

To do as they wanted

When they wanted

This was going to have

Consequences

Consequences

That without their way

Being changed

Would lead them down

A path

That was not good

The relationship

With God

Was breaking up

The steadfast love

That they had enjoyed

From God

So much

And that the goodness

Of God

As we read through

Here of what he'd done

For them

They were forgetting

And just turning

Away from

When you see

The setting of Micah

And the kind of situation

He's writing into you

Begin to realise

How similar it is

To our own day

You read through Micah

And you see

Turning away from God

Leads us to turn

To other things

To pleasing ourselves

To getting our own gain

And there's probably

Four different ways

That you could see it

When you read through Micah

You read in chapter 3

Verse 11

Something that was happening

There was bribery

There was bribery

Going on

In verse 11 of chapter 3

Its heads give judgment

For a bribe

Its priests teach for a price

Its prophets practice divination

For money

Yet they lean on the Lord

And say

It's not the Lord

In the midst of us

No disaster

Shall come upon us

It's this situation

Of bribery going on

Just you tell us

What will please us

And we'll give you money

For it

But if God is not happy

You can bring God into it

And give him a token gesture

So that he will bless us

And isn't that how

Our nation seems to operate

So much now

We bring God in

Just for the essentials

From time to time

But we want to continue

And live our lives

In our own way

Turning away from God's word

Rejecting God's word

But in the midst of disaster

We'll come and say

Oh but God help us

It doesn't work

You see there was violence

In Micah's day as well

Micah chapter 2 verse 8

Micah 2:8

But lately my people

Have risen up as an enemy

You stripped the rich robe

From those who passed by

Trustingly

With no thought of war

There was this violence

Going on for self gain

Again you look at our world today

Such a similar situation

Corruption was there as well

Similar to bribery

But slightly different

Micah 6 verse 11

Micah 6:11

Which we read

Shall I acquit a man

With wicked scales

And with a bag of deceitful weights

Corruption going on

And you see too

In chapter 7

There's a sense of community

Breakdown too

In verse 5 and 6

Of chapter 7

Put no trust in a neighbor

Have no confidence in a friend

Guard the doors of your mouth

From her who lies in your arms

For the son treats the father

With contempt

The daughter rises up

Against her mother

There's community and family

Breakdown to the fore here as well

Again it's the same kinds of things

That we see in our own society today

All these things are so prominent

In our life

And what is behind it all

We fail to acknowledge

We fail to look at

Is abandoning God

And turning her back on God

There are consequences

To doing that

In Micah's day

And in our own day

And yet God still comes in

God still speaks to a nation here

And to a nation ourselves

To a people ourselves

And he calls his people

To repentance

What remains constant

Throughout Micah's day

And our day

And every generation

Is the need of repentance

And the offer of salvation

From the Lord

In Micah chapter 7

Micah 7:18

Verse 18

You read there

Who is a God like you

Pardoning iniquity

And passing over transgression

For the remnant of his inheritance

He does not retain his anger forever

But he delights

In steadfast love

He delights

In his covenant love

In his faithfulness

Towards his people

And that is what Micah

Is calling us to

In this section

Just as the Lord

Loves

Steadfast love

So in verse 8

We are being called

To God

He has told us

What is good

What he requires of you

To do justice

To love

Steadfast love

And to walk humbly

With your God

It is there

Before us

And the question is

What are we doing

With it

Somebody once

Put it like this

The same old story

Which is what we see

And look at here

The same old story

Of all that is wrong

With our world

He said

It needs

The same old story

The same old story

Needs

The same old story

The same old story

Of corruption

And bribery

Turning away from God

Needs the same old story

Of the steadfast love

Of God

It needs

The gospel

And that is what

We all need

As we come to the end

Of a year

Going to a new year

God willing

The gospel

The goodness of God

With us

And to walk humbly

With our God

And there's three things

That we learn here

Of what we need

To walk humbly

With God

And the first is this

We see it in verse 1 and 2

Hear the Lord

Hear the Lord

If we're not listening to God

If we're not hearing God

It is impossible

To walk humbly

With God

Because if we're not

Listening to God

We're listening to ourselves

Or to everything else

That this world

Will throw our way

And we're turning away

From God

And so

Micah's role

If you like

As a prophet

Was to bring

The word of God

That the people

Would hear

And listen

To the word of God

There were these

False prophets

Who were coming

They were taking a bribe

They'd tell the people

Whatever they wanted

To hear

Not what God

Was saying to them

But whatever they wanted

To hear

Just carry on as you are

Do as you please

Do what you want

But God will still

Be there for you

But Micah

He comes

With the truth

In verse 1

And verse 2

You see

It says

Hear what the Lord

Says

Hear what the Lord

Says

Hear you mountains

The indictment

Of the Lord

God is speaking

And he is speaking

Powerfully here

To the people

And they need

To listen

And how much

Has the Lord

Been speaking to us

All through our days

All our lives

All our years

All our weeks

All our months

All our hours

Every second of the day

God is speaking

To us

Through everything

That goes on

In our own lives

Our lives around us

The world around us

God is speaking

And yet

What had happened

To the people

In Micah's days

The same as is

Happening to ourselves

Today

People are growing

Tired of listening

To God

They are growing

Tired of hearing

What God is saying

And they are

Turning away

And Micah is saying

There are consequences

If you do

What you need to do

Is hear

What he is saying

To you

Have you ever had

Someone

Who has always

Got advice

To offer

It doesn't matter

What you are doing

It might be just

A little job

Around the house

You might be working

With this person

But they have always

Got a bit of advice

To give as to

How it should be done

Or to do it like this

Instead of like that

And if this is going on

All the time

You can become

Tired of hearing it

You become frustrated

With hearing it

You don't want to

Hear it anymore

And yet

When we are hearing

God speaking to us

It is so often

The way we can be

God

Why do you keep

Saying that I am a sinner

God

Why do you keep

Telling me that I need

To repent

And turn and live

My life in a particular way

Can I not do it

My own way

And it tires us

It wearies us

It is a recurring problem

Throughout the scriptures

From the old

Into the new testament

You find a people

Who become weary

With God

Although he is offering

His steadfast love

His salvation

His redemption

People just reject it

And turn away from it

We will do it our way

We will go our own path

We will walk our own way

Not humbly before God

But proudly before others

We will show them

How it is done

But it will not end well

And so

The word of God

Is telling us

To listen

To hear what he is saying

Not to tire of it

But to love it

To love the fact

That God speaks

To love the fact

That God

Longs for goodness

For his people

To love the fact

That we have

A great story

To hear

Not to tire

Of it

There was a woman

Called Catherine Hankey

And she was born

In London

In 1834

And born into

A very wealthy family

But she came

To love the Lord

And serve the Lord

From her young age

She was very young

When she became

A Christian

And she had a real

Love for God

And a love for sharing

His word with others

And when she was

Just a teenager

She began

A Bible class

For girls

In her neighborhood

In her late teens

She began organizing

Sunday schools

Around different parts

Of London

For girls

In her late teens

As well

And she used to love

Just serving the Lord

She used to publish

Poems and tracts

To share with others

She was always busy

With the Lord

But then when she was

In her thirties

She became seriously ill

And she was ill

For quite a long

Period of time

And she realized

During that time

That in all the busyness

Of what she'd been doing

She had become

In a danger

Of forgetting

The gospel

Forgetting to listen

To God

And she wrote

A poem

And it's called

Tell me

The same old story

And it goes

Like this

Tell me the story

Slowly

That I may take it in

The wonderful redemption

God's remedy

For sin

Tell me the story

Often

For I forget

So soon

The early dew

Of morning

Has passed away

At noon

That was one of the verses

In it

She longed just to hear

The story

The same old story

Tell it to me often

For I forget

So soon

And it's so important

That we listen

To what the Lord

Is saying

To us

Tell me

The story

Often

Let us

Love

Hearing

The gospel

The good news

Of God

Through Jesus Christ

To us

We are to listen

To the Lord

Why is that

So important

Well the second thing

We see here

Is because we have

To give answer

To the Lord

The day is coming

When we have to give

Answer

To the Lord

We have to give answers

We see in verse 6

With what shall I come

Before the Lord

And bow myself

Before God

On high

A day is coming

When we will have to

Appear before God

And what are we going to

Bring

Before God

On that day

How am I going to

Bow myself

Before God

On high

Do you realize

The significance

Of this

Yes we can

Not listen

To God

Just now

We can turn

Away from God

Just now

But the day

Is coming

When you must

Come face

To face

With God

And what will

You bring

Before the Lord

On that day

You might

Watch

Television

And see

These programs

They have now

When they have

A judge

Judge Judy

Or judge

Rinder

Of one of these

Programs

And it's all

Televised so people

Can see what's

Going on in people's

Lives

And a person

Will come

Making a case

Against somebody

Else

Presenting

The evidence

And this is almost

Like a court case

We're having here

In verse 6

In verse 6

And 7

What we see here

Is God

While saying

What evidence

Do you have

Against me

You go back

To verse 3

And it says there

Oh my people

What have I done

To you

How have I

Wearied you

Answer me

What have I done

To you

How have I

Wearied you

Answer me

And when you

See God

Put across

His case

There

In verse 4

And verse 5

For I brought

You up

Out of the

Land of Egypt

And redeemed

You from the

House of slavery

And I sent

Before you

Moses and

Aaron

And Miriam

Oh my people

Remember

What Balak

King of Moab

Devised

And so it goes

On

And then

In the end of verse 5

That you may know

The saving acts

Of the Lord

This is God's case

What have I done

To weary you

I've brought you

Out of Egypt

I've brought you

Out of slavery

I've brought you

Redemption

I've brought you

All of this

How have I

Wearied you

Answer me

God is a God

Of covenant

A God of

Faithfulness

A God of

Steadfast love

And he shows it

Again and again

And again

And he says

How can this

Be wearisome

To you

And what is

Our case

That we are

Going to make

Against that

How are we

Going to answer

Is there anything

That we could

Bring against

God to

Justify and

Say

Look Lord

You did this

Wrong

Look Lord

This would have

Been better

In my life

When God

Knows best

For us

All the time

The word

Of God

Is so clear

To us

If you think

Of it

When you go

To a workplace

And you have

A contract

It makes clear

Everything for you

But you don't

Always read

All the fine

Details

Until something

Goes wrong

And they say

Well if you read

The small print

You'll see

It's there

And even when we

Think of the hard

Things in our life

The troubles

That come our way

The trials

That are there

Can we say

But Lord

You didn't tell me

No because

It's there

Before us

And it's not

In small print

It's in bold

It's clear

To us

God makes

Clear to us

There will always

Be challenges

There are consequences

To sin

Death has come in

Pain and misery

And suffering

It's all there

It's clear to us

So that there is

Nothing that we can

Say to God

You didn't tell me

When it comes

To that day of judgment

We can't come

And say

Lord

You didn't tell me

My life would be

Like that

My life would be

This hard

The Lord has told us

In this world

You will have

Many troubles

It's there

Before us

But he also

Says

But be of good

Courage

For I have

Overcome the world

There is always

That promise

That God

Will be with us

So that when we

Appear before

The judgment seat

With what

Shall we come

Before the Lord

How will we

Bow ourselves

Before God

On high

What answer

Will we give

There is no

Avoiding this

There is no

Hiding from him

The message

From Micah

To his people

Then is the same

As for ourselves

Today

How are we

Living with God

Are we walking

Humbly with him

Are we bowing

Ourselves before him

In all our need

How will we answer

God

Well the final

Thing we see

Is as we come

Into the

Verse 8

He gives us

The answer

We cannot

Come

In verse 7

With thousands

Of rams

Or ten thousands

Of rivers

Of oil

We cannot

Come with any

Of these things

So what can

We come

With

He has told

You a man

What is good

And what does

The Lord

Require of you

But to do

Justice

To love

Steadfast love

And to walk

Humbly

With your God

He is telling

Us

What to do

He is giving

Us

The answer

In the same

Way as he

Reminds the

People of

All that he's

Brought them

Through

From the land

Of Egypt

Redeeming

Them from

The house

Of slavery

Sending

Moses

And Aaron

And Miriam

Before them

We look

At our lives

And what has

God done

For us

He has

Bought us

Out of the

Bondage of

Sin

He has

Redeemed us

Through his

Son Christ

Jesus

He has

Given us

His spirit

To guide us

And to help

Us along

The way

Has he

Wearied us

With these

Things

Are we

Tired of

Hearing

Of the

Goodness

Of God

Or do we

Need to

Hear it

Again and

Again

Tell me

The same

Old story

Of the

God of

Steadfast

Love

Of the

God of

Faithfulness

To his

People

When we

Think of

The world

In which

We live

In

And the

Way

We have

Turned

Away

From

The word

Of

God

Are we

Surprised

At where

We're at

When there's

Consequences

Outlined

For us

Charles

Swindle

He's got a

Book called

Living above

The level

Of mediocrity

And listen

To what he

Says

In this

Imagine if

You will

That you

Work for

A company

Whose

President

Found it

Necessary

To travel

Out of

The country

And to

Spend an

Extended

Period of

Time

Abroad

So he

Says to

You and

To the

Other

Trusted

Employees

Look

I'm

Going

To

Leave

And while

I'm

Gone

I want

You to

Pay

Close

Attention

To the

Business

You

Manage

Things

While I'm

Away

I will

Write

To you

Regularly

And when

I do

I will

Instruct

You

In what

You should

Do

From now

Until

I return

From this

Trip

And

Everyone

Agrees

To this

So the

President

Leaves

And he

Stays

Gone

For a

Couple

Of

Years

During

That

Time

He

Writes

Often

Communicating

His

Desires

And

Concerns

Finally

He

Returns

He

Walks

Up

To the

Front

Door

Of

The

Company

And

Immediately

Discoveres

Everything

Is

In a

Mess

Weeds

Flourishing

In

Flower

Beds

Windows

Broken

Across

The

Front

Of

The

Building

The

Person

At

The

Front

Desk

Sleeping

Loud

Music

Roaring

From

Several

Offices

Two

Or

Three

People

Engaged

In

Horse

Play

In

The

Back

Room

Instead

Of

Making

A

Profit

The

Business

Has

Suffered

A

Great

Loss

Without

Hesitation

He

Calls

Everyone

Together

And

With

A

Frown

Asks

What

Happened

Didn't

You

Get

My

Letters

And

You

Say

Oh

Yeah

We

Got

All

Your

Letters

We

Even

Bound

Them

In

A

Book

And

Some

Of

Us

Memorized

Them

In

Fact

We

Have

A

Letter

Study

Every

Sunday

You

Know

Those

Were

Really

Great

Letters

I

Think

The

President

Would

Then

Ask

But

What

Did

You

Do

About

My

Instructions

And

No

Doubt

The

Employees

Would

Respond

Do

Well

Nothing

But

We

Read

Everyone

What's

He

Getting

At

There

He's

Getting

At

The

Fact

That

Yes

We

May

See

God

Has

Gone

Away

For

A

Time

But

He

Is

Coming

Again

And

In

The

Meant

Time

He

Has

Spoken

To

Us

Through

His

Word

Which

We

Have

Bound

In

A

Book

Before

Us

Which

We

Hear

Every

Sunday

Which

We

Maybe

Memorize

Great

Parts

Of

It

But

The

Question

Is

What

Have

We

Done

With

It

Have

We

Listened

To

What

God

Is

Saying

Do

We

Hear

What

God

The

Lord

Is

Saying

To

Us

He

Calls

Us

Here

To

Hear

Because

We

Are

To

Appear

Before

God

And

God

Will

Say

To

Us

What

Have

I

Done

To

You

How

Have

I

Weed

You

Answer

Me

What

Answer

Do

You

Give

Do

You

Have

Anything

To

Come

Before

God

And