God's Heart for Justice

The scripture reading comes from Micah chapter 6. Please follow along your bulletin or on the screen.

Micah 6 · chapter mention

Hear what the Lord says.

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 an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.

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 sent before you Moses, Aram, and Miriam.

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

and what Balaam, the son of Beor, answered him,

and what happened to Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous 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?

Would the Lord be pleased with the thousands of rams and ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn to 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.

This is the word of God.

Thank you. Sylvie?

We're not going to have an extended pastoral prayer today,

but let's just pray briefly as we come to God's word.

Heavenly Father, as we look at the scripture this morning,

as we've said so many times, we are not here merely to be inspired,

or merely encouraged, or entertained.

We are here to meet with you, the living God,

and we want to do that in your word.

And so, we pray, O God, that you will speak to us from your word.

We pray, Holy Spirit, take your words that are from your scripture,

and apply it to our hearts and our lives.

God, as we look at this topic this morning,

this theme of your love for justice and mercy,

we pray, God, that you transform our own hearts,

that we will become more like you.

And so, help us, we pray,

that your word come alive to us, God.

We pray that this won't just be the opinions of man,

but that really, God, we'll encounter you today in your word.

Come and lead and guide us, we pray.

In your powerful and your majestic name.

Amen.

If you've been coming to Watermark for a while,

you'll know we are working through this series called Watermark Essentials,

and we're coming to the end,

and we've been looking at our values as a church,

the foundations upon which we as a church are built.

And so, for four weeks, we looked at the gospel.

What is the gospel?

And the gospel really is the heart of Watermark Church.

You take away the gospel,

or if we start to drift from the gospel,

let's close the doors.

It's the reason why we exist.

It's the heart of our church.

And then we said,

okay, but the gospel makes us a kind of community.

And so, we looked at community for a couple of weeks,

and how the gospel shapes us as a community.

And then, over the last couple of weeks,

we've been saying,

yes, but God also calls us

to be on mission with Him.

That part of being part of the people of God

is to be part of the mission of God.

To be someone who follows Jesus

is to join Him in His redemption plan,

and what God is doing in the world.

And so, we've been saying that

mission is not something that the super Christians do.

It's not an optional extra.

It's not something that the pastors and the elders do.

It is part of what it means to be a follower of Jesus

is to join His redemption plan in the world.

But then the question is,

okay, but what does that mean?

What does it actually look like?

And so, last week, we answered that question one way

by saying,

to be part of God's plan for the world,

His redemption plan,

is to be agents of reconciliation.

And so, we said,

we are reconciled to bring reconciliation.

Today, I want to look at part two of that question.

What does it mean to be part of God's mission in the world?

And not only are we agents of reconciliation,

we are also God's agents of mercy and justice.

Okay?

So, that's where we're going today.

To be part of God's people

is to be part of His mission.

What does that look like?

It's to be His agents for mercy and justice in the world.

And we're going to do that

by looking at this very famous passage in Micah chapter 6.

Micah 6 · chapter mention

Now, the background is this.

The book of Micah is written by this prophet called Micah.

You would never have guessed.

And he writes to the nation of Israel around 740 BC.

Now, at the time, Israel is not in a very good way.

Okay?

They've lost their way.

The nation is actually divided into two.

There's a northern kingdom and a southern kingdom,

and they don't really get along so well.

There is rampant wickedness and idolatry.

There's all sorts of craziness that is going on in the nation of Israel.

And God is bringing His judgment on the nation of Israel.

And the way that Micah is written,

it's written like a lawsuit.

God is bringing His charge or His indictment against His people.

And so, look at how it starts off.

He starts off in verse 1,

and He's calling His witnesses.

Okay?

So, it starts off,

and His witnesses is creation.

Look at what it says.

Arise.

Okay?

Remember, you've seen those scenes in the movies,

All Rise, the court is in session.

Okay?

He says,

Arise.

God, arise.

Plead your case before the mountains.

Let the hills hear your complaints.

Listen to the Lord's lawsuit,

you mountains and enduring foundations of the earth,

because the Lord has a case against His people,

and He will argue it against Israel.

And so, God says,

I'm coming to bring my case and my lawsuit against you,

and He calls His witnesses to listen to His case.

Except, He doesn't, in the next verse,

lay out His case.

You think He's now going to say what the problem is,

but He doesn't actually read from the charge sheet,

as it were.

And the reason is,

because He's done that previously in the book of Micah,

Micah 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 and chapter 3.

God details the charges that He's bringing against His people.

And so, look at what He says here in chapter 3.

He says,

This is what the Lord says,

concerning the prophets,

those who lead my people astray.

Those who proclaim peace, peace,

when they have food to sink their teeth into,

but declare war against anyone

who puts nothing in their mouths.

Okay, so what's going on here?

The leaders of Israel,

when their bellies are full,

when their bank accounts are full,

when people are being generous and kind to them,

ah, peace, peace, everything's fine.

God bless you, brother.

Go on your way, as you were.

All's fine.

But as soon as things don't turn out the way that they want,

as soon as their bank accounts are getting a little empty,

or maybe somebody in the congregation

doesn't do what they want,

war!

God's not going to bless you.

If you don't do what I say,

well, you've got to be under God's judgment, right?

So when the people are doing what they want,

ah, peace, God bless you.

Go on your way.

But if not,

oh, well, God's going to be displeased with you.

Likewise, He goes on, verse 9.

Listen to this,

leaders of the house of Jacob,

you rulers of the house of Israel,

you who abhor justice,

or pervert justice,

and make crooked everything that's meant to be straight.

Her leaders issue rulings for a bribe.

Her priests teach for payment.

Her prophets practice divination for money and silver.

Okay, so corruption,

perversion of justice is taking place.

Maybe there's a dispute that's taking place in Israel.

Two people aren't getting along.

And they come to the leaders and say,

how should we deal with this?

And who do you think is going to get the favorable outcome?

The one that's going to pay the higher bribe, right?

Or maybe two friends,

or there's disagreement,

they come to the leaders,

and the leaders are always favorable towards their friends,

or to those that give the most money.

And so what happens in Israel

is the rich are getting richer,

the poor are getting poorer.

Those that have access to opportunities

get more access to opportunities.

Those that are disadvantaged

get more disadvantaged.

Those that are being tread on

or become more downtrodden,

because of the injustice that's happening in Israel.

Now, how should God's people respond?

God is saying there's a problem.

We've got to do something about it.

What should God's people do?

Well, God's people have some ideas.

Look at verse 6.

They say,

What shall we bring before the Lord

when I come and bow before the God on high?

What can I do to appease God

or to win back His favor?

Shall I come before Him

with burnt offerings

and year-old calves?

In the Old Testament,

a year-old calf is the choice offering.

So should I come with a choice offering?

That'll really please God.

Verse 7.

Would the Lord be pleased

with a thousand rams,

ten thousand streams of oil?

So pure olive oil,

very expensive,

but very important to the offering.

Is that what God wants?

Maybe I should bring

ten thousand streams of pure olive oil.

God will be pleased with me then.

Maybe rams and sheep,

a hundred rams,

a thousand rams.

Should I give my firstborn son

for my transgression,

the offspring of my body?

God, is that what you want?

God, what do you want from us?

Name what you want

and God will do it.

We'll bring it.

Will that earn your favor, O God?

Well, look what God's going to say.

What is it that God wants from His people?

Look at verse 8.

He says,

He has told you, O mankind,

what is good.

What does the Lord require of you?

To do justice,

to love mercy or kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God.

See, for the Israelites,

they knew that things weren't good.

God's bringing His charge against them.

And their response is,

Okay, fine.

God, name your price.

What is it that you want?

Do you want money?

We can give you money.

You want offerings?

We can give you offerings.

Let me write a check.

I can do that.

God, you want sacrifice?

How much do you want?

A hundred sheep?

A thousand sheep?

Ten thousand sheep?

God, what do you want from us?

And God's response is,

I don't want your stuff.

I don't want your religious piety.

I want your hearts.

I want your hearts.

Imagine a married couple.

Imagine a couple are married,

and the husband,

let's just say,

is,

something goes wrong.

And he is unfaithful to his wife.

And he comes back and he says,

Honey, I'm so sorry this has happened.

How can I put this right?

I'll tell you what,

I'll buy you a diamond ring.

You want an overseas holiday?

Let's go on an overseas holiday together.

Well, I don't know.

I'll buy you a new car.

Will that make you happy?

What's the wife going to say?

She says,

I don't want your stuff.

I want your heart.

Friends,

this is what God says to his people.

He has told you,

a man,

what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice,

to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God?

Now,

why is it that God requires this of them?

Of all the things that God could ask for his people,

why does he want this?

Why is this one of the pinnacle descriptions

of what it means to love and trust and follow God?

Throughout the scriptures,

these two things of loving and serving God

and loving and serving people

are always come together.

These two things of acting with justice

and mercy towards people

and walking with God

are always found together.

As we work our way through scripture,

these two things are almost married to one another.

It's almost as if God says,

it's impossible for you to say,

you love me,

and yet have no regard for the people

that I'm concerned about.

And so that's why I remember Jesus.

One day somebody comes to him,

says,

Jesus,

what is the greatest commandment?

Out of all the laws in the Old Testament,

the hundreds of them,

narrow it down.

What's the greatest thing that we should do?

And what does Jesus say?

I want you to love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

your soul,

your mind,

and your strength.

But then,

he quickly adds the second one.

But don't forget the second one,

which is just like it.

To love your neighbor as yourself.

Now remember,

nobody comes to Jesus and says,

Jesus,

what are the two greatest commandments?

Just,

look,

I know there's 600,

just give us the top two.

Nobody does that.

They come to him and say,

Jesus,

what's the greatest thing?

And he says,

to love God.

But,

there's another one,

which is just like it.

To love God,

and to love your neighbor.

For on these two things,

hang all the law,

and the prophets.

Friends,

to love God,

and to love others.

To serve God,

and to serve others.

To walk humbly with God,

and to walk righteously with others.

These two things,

are actually two sides,

of the same coin.

Do you know that phrase?

Two sides of the same coin.

You've got a coin,

and you look at,

you can't say,

well,

I like this side,

but the other side,

I think I'm just going to throw it away.

Right?

If you've got a coin,

it's got two sides,

but they join together,

they married.

And what God has joined together,

let no man separate.

Right?

Jesus says,

to love God,

and to love others,

is what he's all about.

And so that's why God says to his Israelites,

mankind,

he has told you what is good,

and what does the Lord require of you?

Now you might say,

but when did God say this?

When did he tell them?

I mean,

what verse is there,

that he told them,

this is what he requires of you?

Friends,

this is what God has always said.

This is what the entire scriptures are all about.

In many ways,

this is what the entire Old Testament is about.

Remember the Ten Commandments,

we're going to look at them in a few weeks time,

we're going to,

in two weeks time,

we're going to start preaching through the Ten Commandments.

The first four commandments are all about

what it means to walk humbly with God,

to have no other gods,

no other idols,

to honor God's name,

and honor his Sabbath.

The next six are what it means to do justice,

and righteousness,

and mercy in the world,

to honor your wedding vows,

to honor your parents,

to honor your words from your mouth,

to not take from others.

This has always been God's instruction to his people.

This is what it means to be part of the people of God.

And so in Jeremiah chapter 9,

Jeremiah 9 · chapter mention

God says this,

listen to this amazing verse.

He says,

this is what the Lord says,

let not the wise man boast in his wisdom,

let not the strong man boast in his strength,

let not the rich person boast in his riches,

but if you're going to boast in something,

boast in this,

that you understand and know me.

And what does that mean?

Who am I?

That I am the Lord who practices mercy,

and justice,

and righteousness on the earth.

For in these things I delight.

He has told you a man what is good,

and what does the Lord require of you,

but to do justice,

to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God.

Now,

we need to define our terms here.

What does that actually mean?

What is justice and mercy?

What does it mean to do these things?

Well,

are you getting ready?

This is going to be a little theoretical

for a few seconds,

okay?

You're going to have to have your game on.

In the Bible,

the word justice is the Hebrew word mishpat.

And mishpat is a very common word

in the Old Testament.

It's translated in many different ways.

But the broader sense is

for things that are wrong

or out of sync with God's order,

for those things to be put right again.

Or it can mean for things to operate

as God intended in His created order.

Now,

of course,

one of the ways that things can be put right

is through punitive justice.

So,

somebody does something wrong

and they commit a crime

and they've got to pay for their crime.

Things are put right that way.

But in the Bible,

justice,

mishpat,

often means more than that.

It means restorative justice.

It means to go out

and seek

things that are wrong in the world

and to restore them

or to put them right

as God originally intended.

It means specifically

looking out for people

that are disadvantaged,

that are vulnerable,

people that are powerless,

those that are taken advantage of,

those that are pushed

on the outskirts

or the margins of society,

and to restore them

to a place of dignity

and equity

and fairness.

And so,

that's why the Bible

so often talks about

these four things,

the widows,

the orphans,

the immigrants,

or the fatherless.

These people

that are most likely

to be taken advantage of,

God says,

go out and find them,

go and seek them

and restore them

to a place of dignity

and equity

and equality

in society.

And so,

for instance,

in Zechariah 7,

God says this,

this is what the Lord Almighty says,

administer justice,

okay,

there's our word,

mishpat,

show mercy

and compassion

to one another.

Do not oppress

the widow,

the orphan,

the immigrant,

or the poor.

This is what God

calls His people to do,

to pursue justice,

to pursue mishpat,

to go out and seek

those that are treated

less than image bearers

of God

and to restore them

to things that are right.

Okay?

So,

that's our first word.

Second word

is the word mercy

or loving kindness

and it's the Hebrew word

chesed.

Is that right,

Eric?

Eric Amir

is going to correct

my Hebrew

later on.

And in the Bible,

this word mercy

or loving justice

doesn't speak so much

about our actions,

what we do,

it talks about

our hard attitudes.

It's an attitude

of having compassion

and kindness

towards those around us.

It's actually the word

that most often

describes God's

steadfast love

to His people.

And so,

in Micah 6 verse 8,

Micah 6:8

it talks about this.

It says,

I want you to do justice,

I want you to go out

and find those

that are oppressed,

but I want you to do it

with an attitude

of compassion

and kindness

in your hearts.

So,

Tim Keller says

it like this.

At first,

we may think

acting justly

and loving mercy

are two different things,

but they're actually not.

Acting justly

is the action

what we must do,

but being full of mercy

and compassion

describes the attitude

or the motive

behind that action.

So,

think about this.

You can say,

okay,

yes,

yes,

I must do justice,

right?

We must go out

to the marginalized

and the poor,

and you can go

and do that,

but you can do it

with an attitude

of arrogance

or superiority

like,

oh,

these guys,

they're so lucky

to have me

in their life.

They're so lucky

that I'm such a kind person.

I'm giving of my time.

All we can do

is with a savior complex,

right?

Like,

I will come

and save the world.

Thank goodness

that Hong Kong

has a church

like Watermark.

Here we are.

Welcome us.

No,

no,

no,

no.

Friends,

God says,

I want you

to do justice,

but do it

with mercy,

do it with compassion,

with steadfast love

in your hearts.

Then there's a third word

that the Bible uses

to describe God's heart,

and it's the word

tzedekah,

or in English,

righteousness.

When you think

of someone being righteous,

we can often think

of someone

who is morally superior

or very religious,

right?

But in the Bible,

the word righteous

actually has to do

with the way

we handle our relationships,

both with God

and with one another.

Alec Mottier

is an Old Testament scholar,

and he said

that those that are righteous

are those who are right

with God

and therefore committed

to putting all other

relationships in life

right as well.

And so,

according to scriptures,

to be righteous

is not

a private standard

of morality

like being honest

and not being greedy

and being sexually pure.

Okay?

According to scriptures,

being righteous

is inherently social.

It's communal.

It's the way

that we treat

other people

with dignity

and equity

and respect.

And so,

look at God's call

to his people

to practice righteousness

and justice.

It's all over the Bible.

Look at Proverbs 31.

He says this,

Speak up,

judge righteously.

Now,

what does that mean?

What does it mean

to be those

that judge righteously?

He says,

Speak up for those

that have no voice.

Pursue justice

for the oppressed

and the dispossessed.

Defend the cause

of the oppressed

and the needy.

Or,

Jeremiah 22,

this is what the Lord says.

Administer justice

and righteousness.

Rescue the victim

of robbery

from his oppressor.

Don't exploit

or brutalize

the immigrant,

the orphan,

or the widow.

And so,

throughout the scripture,

God constantly says,

this is what it means

to be the people of God,

is to love

and practice justice,

to find those

that are oppressed

and to raise them up,

to do so with mercy

and compassion in our hearts

and to practice righteousness

towards those around us.

Old Testament scholar,

Jane Oswald,

says it like this,

When God called

the rulers of his people

to do justice

and righteousness

for his people,

this didn't mean

enforcing some abstract

law code

or to ensure

the rights of his subjects.

Rather,

it meant to be

so in tune

with the sovereign God

of creation,

to walk with the author

of life,

so in tune

with his character

and his desires

and his wishes,

that his rightness,

his order for life,

would be made

to prevail in the nation

with the inevitable result

that the good,

which is inherent

in the creation

of the good God,

will be unleashed

upon the earth.

See what he's saying there?

He's saying

the people of God

are meant to so walk

with God

that God's heart

of compassion

for the poor

and the marginalized

becomes our heart.

That God's desire

for those that are oppressed

becomes our desire.

That we so walk

with God

that becoming like him

changes the world

and the city

in which we live.

And so that's why

Jesus gets so upset

with the religious leaders

of his day.

Remember at one point

he says to religious leaders,

he says,

you guys have got

the technicalities down.

You tithe on everything,

even your pot plants

in your garden.

You know,

you've got a mint bush

in your garden

and you work out,

okay,

nine leaves for me,

one leaf for God.

You've got some herbs

and spices,

you've got,

okay,

nine pots for me,

one pot for God.

You've worked it out

technically,

but you've forgotten

and what God's

really concerned about

is justice

and mercy

and righteousness.

These,

Jesus says,

you should have abandoned,

you should have pursued

without abandoning

the first things.

Friends,

God's call for his people

to be those

who practice righteousness

and justice

and mercy

is all over the Bible.

almost every book

in the Old Testament,

there's this call

to be his people

that administer justice,

to pursue righteousness

and mercy.

And it's all over the place

and God's call

for his people

is not just to be nice people,

it's not just to be kind-hearted

and certainly not just

to write a check

to ease our conscience.

God calls us

to be those

that seek out

the vulnerable,

that pursue

the disadvantaged,

who go after

those that are susceptible

to abuse

and to stand with them,

to speak up

for those

that have no voice

in society

because they've got

no authority

in society,

to come alongside

those that are downtrodden

or forgotten

and to give them

dignity and honor

where society

gives them

no dignity and honor

because they are made

in the image of God,

because they inherently

have dignity

as his people.

Now,

as we come to a close,

let's ask the question,

why?

Why should we do this?

Friends,

why is it that as a church

we must be those

that are agents

not only of reconciliation

but agents of justice

and mercy

in our city?

There are about

2,700 reasons

and we'll just

look at a bunch of them.

Okay?

It's all over the scripture.

Let me just give us

a couple.

One of the first reasons

is this.

Because God identifies

with the poor

and the vulnerable.

Do you know what I mean

when I say,

when I talk about

name dropping?

Do you know that phrase?

Name dropping

is when you are

in a conversation

with your friends

and you drop the name

in the conversation

of somebody

really important

or famous

so that other people

will associate you

with that famous person.

Right?

So for instance,

you may be

with your friends

and you just casually say,

I was talking to my friend

Jack Ma this week

and we were just

talking about

investment stuff

and suddenly people say,

you know Jack Ma?

And your status

in their eyes

gets increased.

Okay?

Or you say,

I was just emailing

this guy John Piper

and we were just discussing

Micah 6

and talking about it

and suddenly people say,

you know John Piper?

Wow, okay,

you must be

really somebody.

Well, you know,

I was talking to my friend

Brett Iliad

and you know Brett?

Wow, okay,

something like that.

In the Bible,

God constantly

stands with

or associates

with a certain group

of people.

But it's not the kind

of people you'd think

he does.

God constantly

identifies

or takes his stand

with the outcasts

and the marginalized

and the poor

of society.

The downtrodden

and those that society

don't look

very well upon.

In Psalm 68,

God says this,

he introduces himself,

think about this,

think about how you

introduce yourself.

Maybe you're going to

give a talk

at an evening

and someone says,

this is, you know,

Reverend Dr.

Chris Thornton.

Okay?

Or this is

Dr.

Samson,

you know,

whatever it is.

Look at how God

introduces himself.

I am the father

to the fatherless,

the defender

of the widows.

Some killer

comments on this

and he says,

this is one of the

main things that God

is doing in the world.

He identifies

with the powerless

and he takes up

their cause.

In the ancient world,

this was absolutely

scandalous.

The gods

and the deities

of the day

were always

associated

with society's

elites,

with the captains

and the commanders

of armies,

with the leaders

and the generals,

with the kings

and the rulers

of the world.

The priests

were always those

that were associated

with cultural elites.

But here God,

the God of the Bible,

chooses to associate,

to identify,

to name drop

the outcasts

and the vulnerable

and the abused

and the poor

of society.

God takes a stand

with the widows

and the orphans

and the evangrists

and the powerless.

Those that are

most vulnerable,

most likely to be abused,

have a special place

in God's heart.

And therefore,

dear friends,

they must have

a special place

in our hearts as well.

Okay?

That's one reason.

God identifies

with the poor

and the vulnerable.

Second reason is this.

Every human being

is made in the image

of God.

If you think about it,

sometimes in a city

like this,

we can treat our animals

better than we can

treat human beings.

That wasn't meant

to be funny.

I'm sorry.

It was.

We really can, right?

But every human being,

whether they are

mentally challenged,

whether they are crippled,

whether they live

in a cage home,

whether they are

multi-billionaires,

every human being

was knit together

in their mother's womb.

And inherently

has a dignity

and an equality

and something beautiful

about them

because they are made

in the image of God.

Every human being

Jesus Christ

hung on the cross for

and said,

it is finished.

Every human being

Jesus poured out

his life for.

And therefore,

there is no human being

on the planet

that does not deserve

the dignity

and the respect

and the equality

that every other

human being

deserves

and is expected of.

fundamentally,

our dignity

and our identity

as people

is not found

in our bank accounts

or where we live

but in the fact

that we are made

in the image of God

and carry his fingerprint,

his thumbprint

upon us.

Here is one last reason.

Why is it imperative

that as a church

we become agents

of mercy and justice

in our city?

One of the reasons

is because it will

show us the gospel.

about 200 years ago

there was this

Scottish preacher

called Robert Murray

McShane.

It is a strange name.

He died as a young man.

He was 29 years old

when he died.

He was only a pastor

for 8 years

and yet God used him

really powerfully

in Scotland.

He was trying to

urge his congregation

to be those

that give generously

of their finances

to the marginalized

and the vulnerable

in their city.

But as he did this

he found that people

were coming back

to him and saying

but the people

are not thankful

or the people

in our city

they don't deserve it

or when we give

of our money

to the poor

and the marginalized

they are just

going to abuse it.

They are going to

go and buy alcohol

or they are not

going to take care

of themselves.

When we are generous

people abuse

our kindness

and they are not

even thankful.

Why should we do this?

Listen to how

Robert Murray

McShane

answered them.

He says

some of us

might say

but my money

is mine.

I worked hard

for it.

I studied hard

for it.

I labored for it.

It's my money.

Friends

might not Jesus Christ

have said the same

thing.

My blood is my own.

My life is my own.

Friends

if Jesus had said

that to us

where would we

have been?

Some of us

might say

yeah but the poor

and the destitute

they are undeserving.

Friends

might not Christ

have said that

about us.

Jesus might

have looked at us

and said

but they're wicked.

They rebel

against my father.

Shall I lay down

my life

for these undeserving

sinners?

No

I'll give my life

for the good angels.

Dear friends

he gave his blood

for the undeserving

for you

and for me.

Some of us

might say

but the poor

will abuse

our kindness.

They'll take advantage

of our generosity.

Dear friend

might not Christ

have said the same

of us

and with far

greater truth.

Christ knew

that thousands

would trample

his blood

under their feet.

That most of us

would despise

his death

on the cross

and that many

of us

would use

his mercy

and his grace

as an excuse

to sin even more.

And yet

he went to the cross

for us still.

Oh dear brother

if you would be

like Christ

give much

give often

give freely

to the outcasts

to the poor

to the thankless

to those

who seem

undeserving

Christ is glorious

and he's happy

and so will you be.

It's not your money

I want

it's your happiness.

Remember

Christ's own words

it is more blessed

to give

than to receive.

Friends

as we

come to a close

I want us to

look at one last

verse in Micah

Micah 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6.

I wonder if you

picked up on it

when we read it earlier.

The people of Israel

they are convinced

that they are in the wrong.

Things have not

they are wicked

they are unjust

things are going wrong

and they are saying

what should we do?

How can we put this

right again?

Should we bring

an offering?

Should we bring

gold and silver?

Should we bring

a thousand rams?

What should we do?

And then in verse 7

there is this amazing line

should we offer up

our offspring?

Should we give

our own son

to please

the gods?

Friends

in the ancient world

that's what you did.

If you wanted

to please the gods

you burnt your children

in the fire

as an offering

to the gods

to earn their favor.

Friends

in the gospel

we have a God

who doesn't require

that of us

but he did that himself.

Friends

in the gospel

we have a God

who knew

that we were lost

who knew

the wickedness

in our hearts

that knew

that we deserved

his judgment

and rather than

requiring that of us

he gave

of himself.

He sent

his own son.

He sent

Jesus

to die

on the cross

in our place

rather than saying

what will you give

of me

to be reconciled?

Here we have a God

that came

to the outcasts

to the unjust

to the undeserving

to the lost

and the broken

and he said

I will give

you

my son

that you

can be included

in my family.

Friends

in the gospel

we have a God

that doesn't require

that of us

but he gave

of himself.

Friends

as we be those

that go out

to be agents

of mercy

and justice

as we join

God

what he's doing

in the world

friends

let us never

forget

that the basis

for any

mercy and justice

any grace

that we give

to our city

is the great

mercy and grace

that we have

received in God.

Friends

let us remember

that we were dead

in our sins

and God sent

his son.

He came to find us

he came to hang

on the cross

to pour out

his life for us

to give us

new lives

that we can

be reconciled.

Friends

if God

had left us

where we were

where would we be?

Friends

if God

had treated us

as we deserve

what would our

future look like?

Friends

if God

had only loved

and served

the worthy

who of us

would be saved?

No dear friends

Christ came

from the lost

and the broken

he came to

pour out his life

as an offering

he came to

rescue and to

save us

that we might

have hope in him

out of the overflow

of the mercy

and the justice

we have received

let us be agents

of mercy

and justice

in our world.

He has shown you

a man

what is good

and what is it

that the Lord

requires of us?

To act justly

to love mercy

and kindness

and to walk

humbly

with our God.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father

good and gracious God

God

when we look

at your word

Father God

what should we say?

God

when we read

your word

we like the nation

of Israel

have to get on

our knees

and say

guilty as charged.

Father

we are

not that different

from them.

We are not that

different from the

Pharisees God.

In our lives

we come and we

do our religious

thing but God

in our hearts

so often we are

living for ourselves.

Oh Father

be gracious

towards us.

Father

be merciful

towards us.

Oh great God

do not give us

what we deserve

we pray.

Father

we pray

that as your

gospel gets

into our hearts

that you will

not only save us

but you will

transform us.

And we pray

that we as a church

will be those

that are so moved

by the gospel

so changed

by your

incredible

faithfulness

to us

that God

it will soften

our hearts

towards our

brothers and

sisters in the

city and in

this world.

God we pray

that you really

will use us

as a church.

God use us

disproportionately.

Help us God

to be those

that do

love and act

justly in our

city God.

that do so

with mercy

and compassion

and steadfast

love in our

hearts

because we are

those that are

walking humbly

with you.

Father we give

you permission

to wreck our

lives God

where our lives

are comfortable

and convenient

God where our

lives are tame

we pray God

come and help us

to walk with you

and God that

will mean changes

we acknowledge that

Christ come and

have your way

in our life.

come and have

your way God.

Christ come and

have your way in

our church Lord.

Christ come and

have your way in

our city.

Lord we pray that

it will be in

Hong Kong as it

is in heaven.

Use us we pray

in your powerful

and majestic name.

Amen.

Amen.