Whittling Away at the Sovereignty of God Judges 17

Are you past the point of weary? Is your burden

weighty? Is it all too much to carry? Let me

tell you about my Jesus. Do you feel an empty

feeling? Does shame turn all these feelings?

You're next with personal healing. Let me tell

you about my Jesus. He makes a way where there

ain't no way. God is love from an empty grave.

Ain't no sinner that he can't save. Let me tell

you about my Jesus. May the Christ grow in me

But we can't learn much about me Let me tell

you about my Jesus So as you know, we've been

working through the book of Judges, and last

week we soared right on into chapter 17, and

we did it without much history or background.

So we're going to take a moment and look at Judges

Judges 17 · chapter mention

chapter 17, and we're going to look at it from

a little bit of historical and geographical,

in case you don't already know. So here is the

truth. In the very first section, it talks about

how this was a man who lived in Ephraim. So the

region of Ephraim would have been well known

to the people who ever read the text. When we're

reading the text, we want to think about context.

What would the people who have first read this,

that this was first written to, what would they

have known about what they were reading? So we

need to know that in order to know what they

might think about what they were reading. So

the country of Ephraim, that area there inside

the promised land, was well known. Right nearby

there was a place called Shechem. That name might

sound kind of familiar to you. You've heard it

some. Maybe if you go back in Bible teaching

or things like that. And maybe not. And if that's

okay, if it doesn't, then that's okay. I'm going

to explain it to you. Does anybody know who was

buried at Shechem? By this time, when this story

is taking place, everybody would have been a

famous person. Everybody would have known he

was buried at Shechem. Anybody know? Off the

top of your head. Take a stab at it? No. I don't

think so. You think so? Tony Tate thinks Abraham

may also. That's not who I was thinking of, but

I was thinking somebody in a little bit more

recent history to this passage of Scripture.

I'm going to look that up real quick. See how

this is how easy it is. Somebody else could have

done this on my trivia question. No, he was not.

I'm sorry. Abraham was not buried at Shechem,

according to Google. We've been taught by Google

in our service today. I didn't think it was,

but I wasn't sure. Say it again. Was it Joseph

as well? No, I don't think so. No. OK, so Joseph's

bones were brought out of Egypt, right? And so

may have been buried at Shechem. And this guy,

very famous guy at Shechem, said the following

words. And since I say it, you're going to know

who it is. He said, as for me and my house. Joshua,

right? And then when he died, they buried him

there. So I was looking for that context because

the people in the book of Judges that are living

in Micah's day, this guy is living not that far

away. So guess what else is not that far away?

Shiloh. So what's in Shiloh in this day and age?

The tabernacle. What's the tabernacle? The big

tent that they built? God gave the specific design

for it. They worshiped at Shiloh or at the tabernacle

all throughout the wilderness. And then it settled

in Shiloh. So in this day, when all this is happening

in the household of Micah, the tabernacle is

within walking distance. OK, that's important

because as people are reading this, they're going

like, well, why didn't he just go worship in

Shiloh? It's a famous place. Also, Shechem was

the place in which Joshua led the Israelites

to recommitment. So they're all supposed to say,

and he said these famous words, which was, if

you will not follow the Lord, if you would go

and follow some other God, some idolatrous God,

then go do that. Don't promise to follow God

and not do it, but just follow God. And he said,

as for me and my house, we will follow the Lord.

That's all Shechem. And so they know that. So

as I was thinking about this passage of Scripture

myself then, I was challenged by the fact. that

there within walking distance was Shiloh and

the tabernacle, and all of the houses in this

area were slipping into idolatry, Micah being

no solitary example. Sometimes it happens that

in the very place that God has gotten great glory,

and I could mean in the church building possibly,

right, amongst us, or in church buildings across

the country, that people slip into whittling

away at the sovereignty of God. That's the title

of the sermon today. fall into a little mixed

synergy where I'm worshiping God, but I'm also

worshiping false gods, fall into worshiping something

that's not God at all. And so as we look at the

sermon today, we're going to look at a few pathways

by which that happens and make sure it's not

happening amongst us. Also, there is a geographical

nature to Ephraim that everybody knows if you're

reading this text for the first time back in

the book of Judges. It's a hill country, a lot

of steep ridges. Valleys, forests, scattered

villages. No big towns, really, like what we're

familiar with. Even Jerusalem and like that.

So this country would have been a lot of little

places. And these little places were relatively

isolated. Which means they were not ruled over

well by kings. Right? And so these people survived

that era where the Philistines were persecuting

them. And before that, others we read about as

we were studying the book of Judges. In part

because of that reason. They were little towns.

And by the time the alarm went up, they would

go run and hide in the hills or the caves or

whatever, and then they would come back out after

those who were persecuting them were gone. People

often lived independently from government oversight.

So even if the nation had been truly faithful

and at large a king was there or something, and

they'd been truly faithful when the judges were

ruling, they didn't necessarily fall under the

auspices of that king. So today we've got a situation

where we say, like, my house, my rules, I'm in

charge, I'm going to make the decisions the best

way I know how. And a similar thing was happening

for them, and that's a perfectly okay thing if

the rules are submitted to God. But if you're

making your own rules, or someone else is coming

up with rules, and you're adopting them for your

household, and they're not God's rules, then

it's not okay. But you can see how if you lived

in a region where there's nobody else around.

So small churches in small towns may be the only

church. Or a church in a neighborhood in East

Toledo where the other churches around us may

or may not be godly. And I'm not judging any

church. That's not my role in life in general.

But the bottom line is, this is where God has

been glorified in us. And we need to be aware

that it is possible that even in this place,

even as we gather, that it would be possible

that we could have something that does not glorify

God. a pathway that whittles away instead at

God's sovereignty and does not expect God to

be in charge. And then we get this thought. In

those days, there was no king in Israel, and

everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

In the church, it is Jesus. Separation of feelings

and being free to choose often breeds independence.

And then spiritually, when people become isolated

from God's people, so they stop going to church,

they stop being in a godly church, they stop

being in Bible studies, stop being under sermons,

that kind of thing. Or if they get their own

ideas, maybe they're still coming to church,

but they got their own ideas of the way things

are supposed to be done. Then you become isolated

from God's authority, which is not a good thing.

They become more likely to create a God of their

own standards. Not a good thing. Or to think

God can't quite reach into their life. Not a

good thing. In the day in question, as I mentioned,

Shiloh was within walking distance, and Micah

nonetheless appoints a priest in his household,

first from his family, and then in the text that

we're going to read today, we're going to see

that he appoints someone more qualified, theoretically,

but we'll look at that. This makes Micah's actions

even more deliberate. In other words, he's not

specifically ignoring God. He's putting God in

a box. He's making God out to be what he wants

God to be, inventing a version of God. That does

not fit what God has already told them. So, here's

a summary for you. The hill country of Ephraim

was a place of great spiritual heritage. This

was it. Shiloh was there. God's presence would

settle on the tabernacle. The country was rugged,

so the people were independent. They were strong

and firm and found their own way, so to speak.

God's true worship in Shiloh was available to

them, but... Micah's problem wasn't that he couldn't

find God. It was that he preferred a God he could

manage. And that's what we're going to see in

the text today. Not far from there, Shechem was

the place of Joshua's recommitment of the people.

And it was where he was eventually buried. All

right. So now grab your Bibles, if you would.

And we're going to go back to the book of Judges.

Go to Judges chapter 17. Thank you very much

Judges 17 · chapter mention

for being with me today. That little hoot, holler,

amen, reminds us this is God's word. What I read

from the Bible, I did not write. God inspired

it, and we're just going to read what he says.

We're going to begin reading in verse 5. Remember

that he has already created a graven image against

Scripture, created a carved image made of pure

silver against Scripture, and he's going to go

on from there. He had a shrine. He made an ephod,

a household idol. So basically he made all the

kind of same things that would be in the tabernacle

in Shiloh. And he installed one of his sons to

be his priest. In those days, there was no king

in Israel and everyone did whatever seemed right

to him. There was a young man, a Levite from

Bethlehem in Judah, who was staying within the

clan of Judah. The man left the town of Bethlehem

in Judah. to stay wherever he could find a place.

So basically, he went sojourning throughout the

Promised Land, going, I'm going to wind up wherever

I'm going to wind up. He didn't have an initial

plan. On his way, he came to Micah's home in

the hill country of Ephraim, which now we know

something about if we didn't before. Where do

you come from? Micah asked him. He answered him,

I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and I'm

going to stay wherever I can find a place. Micah

replied, stay with me. and be my father and priest,

and I will give you four ounces of silver a year,

along with your clothing and provisions. So the

Levite went in and agreed to stay with the man,

and the young man became one of his sons. So

first he took a priest from his sons, and now

he's taking another priest who's got a little

bit better pedigree. Verse 12, Micah consecrated

the Levite. That word consecrated means to set

him apart to be holy to God's service. Now Micah

doesn't necessarily have a right to do that.

Scripture shows ways that should be done and

he didn't do it the way scripture says necessarily.

He consecrated the Levite and the young man became

his priest and lived in Micah's house. Then Micah

said, now I know that the Lord will be good to

me because a Levite has become my priest. So

I told you we're gonna talk about pathways by

which in the very place. that God is supposed

to be glorified and honored, we might wind up

not doing that. Okay? And I'm calling that, using

the phrase today, whittling away God's sovereignty.

So whittling is when you take a block of wood

or any material and you cut off little pieces

of it until, in theory, you get a shape. You

can cut off pieces of it without getting a shape.

That's pretty much what I do when I whittle because

I'm not very artistic when it comes to whittling.

But you take your knife and you cut off a little

bit, shape it into whatever you shape it into.

But we're... not supposed to be trying to whittle

away at the sovereignty of God. We haven't figured

that out already. And that's what Micah is doing

in this text. So we're going to look at him as

our example of kind of what not to do. First

of all, notice that familiar names can hide false

worship. You can say words like baptism. You

can say sanctification. You can say sacerdotalism.

You can say theology. all kinds of things like

that. He liked the word Levite because the Bible

says Levites, priests are supposed to be Levites.

And so now he's got a priest who's a Levite.

He liked the word Bethlehem. Bethlehem is an

important word. It's got a lot of history to

it. And so he's got a Levite from Bethlehem.

That's really saying something. He used religious

language, including talking about blessings.

He talked about being a holy man, a follower

of God. And people can talk about being holy

and followers of God and actually not be that

at all. So be careful. Just because a guy's got

a microphone and talks about Jesus or God or

Scripture or even reads the Bible doesn't actually

mean necessarily that he is a godly person or

that you as godly men or women or young people

should fall in with the teaching. Everything

can appear biblical and pieces may even land

on biblical truth. Like we could say, for example,

You should get baptized after you get saved.

And then in the same paragraph or a few paragraphs

later, we can talk about how it's perfectly fine

for you to live together outside marriage. And

because we talk about getting baptized after

you're getting saved. That adds credence to the

fact that it might be okay to live together outside

marriage, but it's not okay to live together

outside marriage. Scripture is very clear on

that. So be careful about a person who spouts

a little bit of what God says and then uses it

as leverage to prove that they are holy and you

should listen to something else that they say.

At its heart, it will always remain contrary

to God. And, therefore, it will appeal to your

sinful man, your natural man, instead of your

faithful godly self. Worse, it begins to whittle

away at the sovereignty of God. Authenticity

in your faith is determined by obedience. Will

you do what God tells you to do or not? If you

say you believe in God, but you will not do what

God tells you to do, either you or God are a

liar, and I'm going to go with you. Do you believe?

Not just do you believe that God exists. Micah

believed that. And Micah believed it and began

to use all the preachy words, even to the point

that he was putting money on the line. And he

submitted himself to somebody outside his household.

But it wasn't godly. Many churches, teachers,

books, influencers, people sending you emails,

etc., etc., Facebook, YouTubers, right? All of

them might appear. Godly might appear biblical.

Familiar language is not the same as biblical

truth. Ariana only watches kids YouTube pretty

much and restricts herself to that because it's

really easy to drift into other things. And she's

got a number of YouTubers that she likes to watch

who are Christians who go to church and they

talk about church and they talk about doing godly

things. And we had this conversation, did we

not? Just because they talk about going to church,

just because they talk about godly things, that

does not make them godly people. And so you have

to be discerning because if they go to teach

you something that is not godly, you'll be in

trouble if you suck it up because they appear

godly. Jesus said it this way in Matthew chapter

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

15. He said, this people honors me with their

lips, but their heart is far away from me. But

in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines

the precepts of men. It's about heart condition.

You're looking for. to be. You want to be a person

whose heart is in line with the Lord. And if

you want to be a person whose heart is in line

with the Lord, then you want to surround yourself

with people whose heart is in line with the Lord.

And if they would teach you worldly things or

buy into worldly, and by the way, just as a little

side note, by the time you get to the Bible doesn't

say this is sin, you've probably already gone

too far. Because if you have to use the Bible

to verify whether or not it's sin, when you,

as 2 Corinthians 2 says, are supposed to have

the mind of Christ, the question is, why did

you get to the point of looking in the Bible

to verify that what you were doing was not sin

before you realized it was sin? These people

honored God with their lips. They talked about

God. They preached. They got their whole living.

They lived in the temple for crying out loud.

But their heart was far away from him. That can

happen. 2 Corinthians 11, Paul's writing to the

Corinthians, and he says, speaking first person

from his point of view, he says, For I am jealous

for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed

you to one husband, so that to Christ I might

present you a pure virgin. He was saying, church,

I connected you to Jesus, not to me or anyone

else, and now I am jealous over you. He says,

but I am afraid that. As the serpent deceived

Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led

astray from simplicity and purity of devotion

to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another

Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive

a different spirit which you have not received,

or a different gospel which you have not accepted,

you bear this beautifully. In other words, people

just keep right on. Somebody comes and talks

to them about things that are not godly, and

they're like... It's okay if they do whatever.

It's okay if they say whatever. I'm perfectly

fine with it. I'm not going to stand up for what

Jesus says. That's not godly. That's not what

God called us to be as the church. We are the

body of Christ in the world. And when the world

is going the wrong way, we have a responsibility

to speak up and say, hey, you're going the wrong

way. If nothing else, out of love. But that church,

the church in Corinth, had become a people that

they were fine with it. They were putting up

with it. Are you putting up with it? And then

a little later in that same chapter, he says,

no wonder. And you could say, no wonder they

put up with it. No wonder they were deceived.

For even Satan disguises himself as an angel

of light. Listen, it is the tactic of the enemy

to use church words, to use churchiness, to use

godliness, or to attack the church. I'll never

forget when a local church became very big and

they used a certain motto. They said, we're the

church for people who hate church. You see the

language? And people flocked. Because why? Because

people hate church. but they want to go to church

because they know God wants them to go to church,

but they hate church, right? So people speak

the words, but they aren't having the heart that

God has given them. 2 Timothy 3, Paul is now

writing to Timothy, and he says, here's what

you do when this is going on. He says that you

should hold firm. Avoid such men as these. He

said, They, these people, were holding a form

of godliness, although they had denied its power.

They were not godly. And then he says, avoid

such men as these. God is God. God alone is God.

God alone is sovereign. You want to hear what

I have to say about God? Let me tell you about

God. He's bigger, more powerful. There's more

to be known about him than you or I will ever

know. And yet we can know him intimately through

Jesus Christ. God will not send you to hell.

If you choose not to be in a relationship with

God by the time that time comes, you'll go to

hell because you chose to go to hell. But he's

God. And he did set up a place apart from him

because it wouldn't be right to make everybody

spend eternity with him, everybody that doesn't

want to. And so he set up a place that is apart

from him where you can go if you choose to. You

won't want to be there once you get there, but

you can go there if you want. There are people

who are speaking churchy words, God words, biblical

words, big words, sometimes small words like

love other times. And they're redefining what

those things mean and speaking from a heart that

does not belong to God. And you don't want anything

to do with it. The second thing in here to see

is that open doors are not always God's doors.

Remember that guy, that Levite priest? He left

Bethlehem and he said, I'm going to go wherever

I may go. I'm just going to go wherever I may

go. See, he just opened up the opportunity, and

then he wandered through Micah's town, and Micah

said, oh, I get the chance to hire a priest.

Basically, the Levite simply wants a place, and

he follows opportunity rather than calling. There

is a commitment level that involves your calling

where you're meant to be, and you're going to

suffer to be there. You're going to lack financially

to be there. You're going to lack relationally

to be there. Someone is not going to like that

you're there. And then God is going to fill you

up with the kind of power that changes the world.

Because that's the nature. In our church, we

have team leaders who are called to lead a team.

And they suffer. Sometimes they only have one

or two members. For sometimes months or years

at a time, they have one or two team members

and nobody else to help them. Or they have team

members who come and join their team. And they

ask them to do stuff. And they're, yeah, I'll

take care of it. And then they don't. And it

falls back on them. They suffer to be doing what

it is that God has called them to be doing. And

I'm not bemoaning my situation, but I understand

that I suffer. to be able to be standing before

you today to preach this message. And I know

you've suffered to be able to be here to hear

this message, some of you. Micah follows convenience

rather than scripture. God's will is revealed

primarily through the word of God and his presence.

And I submit to you that it's rarely just one

without the other. If the Holy Spirit tells you

to do something that is contrary to scripture,

that's not the Holy Spirit because he inspired

this book. And if you read this book and find

something you're supposed to do and the Holy

Spirit is saying that's not for you, you better

listen. Because you'll suffer for nothing. There's

no reason to suffer and you'll suffer anyway.

It's never just one or the other. It's not just

through favorable circumstances. Oh, I see, I

can go there, our situation will be better, this

will work better, this will get this done. I

see how I can finally solve that problem I've

been dealing with for 20 years. I've got an open

door there. But if God says no, it's no. God

does not speak to us. Through favorable circumstances,

he speaks to us through his word and his presence.

Look at the book of Jonah. Jonah had become a

very powerful prophet. He spoke in many prophecies

on God and never one of them went wrong. And

God tells him to go to Nineveh and say, go there

and tell them I'm going to destroy that huge

city. Huge city. One of the biggest cities in

existence at that time. Go there and tell them

I'm going to destroy. He didn't say go there

and tell them I'm going to destroy their city

if they don't repent. He just said, go there

and tell them I'm going to destroy their city

for all the wicked things they've done. And Jonah

didn't want to go. He didn't want to go because

there was an army from that city that was not

that far from his homeland. And he thought they

might wipe out the promised land, wipe out the

Israelites or take them over, rule them. He didn't

want that. So he didn't want to go to Nineveh.

So he says to God, I'm not going to go. And he

jumps on a boat and tries to go to the other

side of the world. And then there's the fish.

And then he's on the beach. And then he's in

the city and he preaches the message. And he

does not tell them the message of Jonah to the

Ninevites was not repent or be destroyed. That

was not the message that God told him to take,

right? He just went there and said, you're going

to be destroyed. In three days, God's going to

destroy this entire city. The reason Jonah didn't

want to go is because he feared that the Ninevites

would repent hearing that message and that God

would forgive them. And that's what happens.

They repent hearing the message, and God forgives

them. Now, they do eventually drift back into

sin 150, 100, 150 years later, and they are destroyed.

But then, and the army, because of the repentance,

the army did turn back and not destroy Israel.

So it all worked out for God's people in the

end. But the bottom line is, Jonah refused to

do what God wanted him to do because it didn't

line up with what he wanted from God. Is that

what we're doing? In Acts 16, beginning of verse

6 to 7, it says, They passed through Phrygian

and Galatian region, having been forbidden by

the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. The

Holy Spirit said, no, you can't go there. You

can't do that. Now, there was no wall. It wasn't

a flood. The roads didn't wash out and reduce

the opportunity. It wasn't stormy. So they said,

we'll wait and go tomorrow. Right. God didn't

reduce the opportunity. The Holy Spirit just

said, no, you are not going to go there and speak

the word in Asia. Then it says after they came

to Mysia, so they went on and continued the journey,

but not that way because God told them no. They

were trying to go into Bithynia and the spirit

of Jesus did not permit them. No flood, no traffic

jams, no cars broken down, no health concerns

or relationship difficulties. You stand up until

midnight trying to talk out your marriage stuff,

right? None of that. Just the spirit said no.

A vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man

of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him

and saying, come over to Macedonia and help us.

When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought

to go to Macedonia, concluding that God had called

us to preach the gospel to them. You see, God

is actively involved in telling the church what

to do. Still, to this day. And yes, it is through

his word and through the presence of his Holy

Spirit. Proverbs 3, of course, maybe just a hint

familiar once I start to say it, says, Trust

in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean

on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge

him, and he will make your path straight. See,

I said open doors are not always God's doors.

We are given the mind of Christ, 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2. It's our responsibility to listen.

And sometimes God might take you through an open

door because he's trying to take you somewhere

completely else. And so if you go through the

door and go, oh, this was God, and then you get

there and you're stuck there and you won't go

to the other place, this is God, but I don't

want anything to do with God. That doesn't make

any sense. We have to be willing. We have to

be willing to go wherever. What if God says,

go stand at the door and knock and wait and see

if they open? And he's got you there a day, a

week, a month, a year, 10 years. Oh, that could

never happen. Oh, really? Because that's exactly

what God has Jesus doing. Behold, I stand at

your heart's door and knock. And he opens the

door, I'll come in and sup with him and he with

me, right? And do you believe that there are

people on whose heart's door Jesus is knocking

now and they're not letting him in? So could

God not send you to knock on a door that's not

yet open for the rest of your life? Because that's

what he's doing with Jesus. And if you're a Christian,

I submit to you, it's very possible that the

door that you see is open, that you think is

God's door, may not always be God's door. And

so you are responsible to get your direction

and your leadership from the Lord, for which

you will need a fully sovereign God. A God who

is fully in charge of everything. The God of

heaven who created everything. A sovereign God.

We whittle away God's sovereignty until we think

we can control God. That's what we do. In Judges

17, Micah isn't trying to reject God. He doesn't

say there is no God. He doesn't say I will worship

Baal or Asherah or any of those others. He's

just rejecting God the way God is. He's trying

to manage God. He's thinking, Something like

this. I have an idol. I have a shrine. I have

a Levite. Therefore, God must bless me. Now I

know the Lord will prosper me, he says in verse

13. His confidence is not in God's character.

It's in his own religious formula and the successful

application of that formula to get what he wants

from God. He has reduced the sovereign Lord of

heaven to someone who must respond. because Micah

has followed the right ritual. He's not questioning

whether God exists. Instead, he's working a program

to achieve what he perceives as a logical outcome.

That is manipulation. It does not work when you're

dealing with people, and it works even less when

you're dealing with God. This, in a lot of ways,

looks like magic, or sorcery, or voodoo. Biblically,

prayer to God asks a sovereign God, recognize

that God alone is in charge, asks a sovereign

God to accomplish his will. Jesus prayed, your

will, not my will be done. We pray your will

be done on earth as it is in heaven. That's what

we're led to do. Magic says, if I perform the

right actions, I can guarantee the outcome. Micah

doesn't want to have a relationship with God.

And you and I know the only way is to have a

relationship with God. What he wants is a ritual

that will get him what he wants from God. He's

moving from submission to God into control. He's

not worshiping. He's manipulating. Today, it

looks like this. Christians say, if I tithe,

God has to make me wealthy. If I pray this prayer

enough times, God has to answer. If I attend

church every week, faithfully serve or give or

whatever, God owes me protection. If I use the

right words, the right declaration or enough

faith, I can guarantee God's response. Even we

say God is merciful and kind and he wants what's

best for me. And so I know he'll make it work

out whatever I do. Those ideas treat God less

like a loving father and more like a force to

be manipulated. Those ideas treat God as if he

has no personality, no character, no depth. Flip

a button, get what you want. Those ideas say,

if I put this together and this together, I'll

get this reaction. We have a little object lesson.

All right, I'm going to borrow you for a second.

And I need one more young person. All right,

you can't see, you might need to be able to see.

We're going to conduct a little experiment here.

I will turn this back on when I walk away. All

right. All right. Climb in the back, back here.

Hold on. Okay. Take this. Okay. So I want you

to put that in there. Hold it. I want you to

pour that in there. Now, when it starts to react,

you need to pour it. All at once. All at once.

Pour it. Okay. All right. Raise your hand without

saying anything out loud if you know. Raise your

hand if you know what was in those two glass

jars. One, two, three, four. I think we know

it's good enough. All right. So we think we know.

The bottom line is some of us think we know because

we've seen that experiment before. Now, after

I tell you, you've all seen it. And then from

this point forward, you will all know. If you

mix those two things together. That's the kind

of reaction that you get. OK, so it's baking

soda and vinegar. That's all it is. You find

it in your kitchen or your pantry. Right. Now,

I also put in a dot of dish soap because that

helps make it bubbly. Right. But it will react.

The ratio of exactly what to put in there is

a half a cup, roughly, of vinegar and a tablespoon,

roughly, of baking soda to get that kind of reaction.

If you go more vinegar and the same amount of

baking soda, the reaction will be different.

If you go less vinegar and the same amount of

baking soda, the reaction will be different.

Neither one of those two ways probably work as

well. My point is you now know how to combine

those things to make that kind of reaction. Is

everybody listening? Caleb, did you get it? What

two things? Baking soda and vinegar. Caleb knows

how to make that kind of reaction. In our world

where we live, That is kind of the way things

work, right? We put these two things together

as I've been working on my fast. I've learned

a lot of like how to make things that are purely

vegetables. Put this together, this together.

Oh, it tastes pretty good, right? And I've been

learning a lot. And so the next time I go to

do the fast, I've already got a bunch of recipes

and things that I can use. The point is, while

we think logically, we put these two things together,

we get this reaction. That is not how people

work. Have you ever given somebody a compliment

and it actually didn't go very well? You try

to say something nice to them, a compliment.

Maybe it's because they were already upset. Maybe

it's because you had already offended them. Maybe

it's because they thought you were being sarcastic

or they didn't like the tone of voice that you

used. Come on. Think about it. Have you ever

given somebody a compliment? You meant to be

kind, but they didn't respond very well? That's

because people are not chemicals. Character is

much deeper than just if I put this in, put this

in, I get this result. It's not two plus two

is four with people, right? It's not that way

with God either. Even though the Bible says we

reap what we sow, that does not mean we can sow

just to control what we reap. Because God is

looking for your heart condition. He's looking

for your character to be in line with his character.

A child cannot manipulate their father into doing

something by memorizing the right phrase. A husband

can't preserve their marriage simply by repeating

the phrase over and over again every morning,

I love you, if they ignore their wife the rest

of the day. That's not how that works. Relationships

flourish through love and trust. not formulas.

Which is why when you find fault with a loved

one, you say, well, I want to hear what you have

to say, but I don't like the way you said it.

It's a breach on both sides. If it was said incorrectly,

then that was wrong. But the person who is not

receiving it, though it was said incorrectly,

also wrong. Because words are just words. Hearts

are hearts. And yes, words can make your heart

dirty. But your heart is your heart, and it can

drive your language, and it can drive your understanding

of language. So if somebody compliments you,

just take it as a compliment. If they meant it

as snarky, ignore them. Take it as a compliment

anyway. You win, right? Micah has reduced the

sovereign Lord of heaven to someone who must

respond because he followed a certain formula,

and that's not who God is. God has never invited

us or the Israelites or anyone since the beginning

of time. into a system of religious mechanics,

which means essentially there are no rules. The

Bible doesn't say rules. There are precepts,

statements of God that tell you what you can

do and what you should not, but they are not

there to be a set of rules to be broken or not

broken. If you go like, well, I can just sin

against God. He'll forgive me because I broke

this one sin. There's a problem with your heart.

You should be saying. I will not because I love

him. I can't bear to break God's heart. Not after

all that he's done for me. God has invited us

into a covenant relationship. Someone receives

an email that comes in their email box and it

appears to come from their bank. The logo is

right. The colors are right. Better click here.

There might be a false charge. But if the email

is counterfeit and you click it, you're in trouble.

Satan rarely... invents new religions. Actually,

what he usually does is counterfeits the real

thing. If they're planting churches all over

the world that are not following God, why do

we need to plant a church that has Satan's name

on the wall? He's already got plenty. Isaiah

46 says it this way, Remember the former things

long past? For I am God, and there is no other.

I am God, and there is no one like me. Declaring

the end from the beginning. And from ancient

times, things which have not been done, saying,

my purpose will be established and I will accomplish

all my good pleasure. Daniel writes it this way.

All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted

as nothing, but he does according to his will,

that's God, in the host of heaven and among the

inhabitants of earth. And no one can ward off

his hand or say to him, what have you done? In

Romans 9, Paul writes it this way. On the contrary,

who are you, O man, who answers back to God?

The thing molded will not say to the molder,

Why did you make me like this, will it? Or does

not the potter have a right over the clay to

make from the same lump one vessel for honorable

use and another for common use? Paul is saying,

God can do with you whatever God wants to do.

Do not whittle the sovereignty of God. Jesus

prayed and led us to pray, Your kingdom come,

your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In 1 Samuel 15, after Saul, they had a great

victory and then they were supposed to destroy

everything and they kept some of it back. And

then Saul lodged it. He said, well, we kept some

of it back to sacrifice to God. Samuel says this.

He says, has the Lord as much delight in burnt

offerings and sacrifice as in obeying the voice

of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice

and to heed better than the fat of rams. Listen,

this is what he's saying. God's sovereignty means

God says it, you do it. Sovereignty means he's

in charge, he's sovereign, he's king. And in

the great blessing today, there is a fourth point

in the text. And this one is near and dear to

my heart. So if you're falling asleep right now,

shake your head. A priest you hire will eventually

tell you what you want to hear. And you can imagine

why that's near and dear to my heart. While I

was writing this sermon, I had a vision about

a small town restaurant. In a town of about 400

people, one stoplight in a restaurant is on the

corner. Young family decided, hey, we want to

run a restaurant. It's always been our dreams.

We bought the corner, old corner store. It used

to be a store, and they turned it into a restaurant.

They polled all their neighbors and all their

friends about what kind of food to serve, and

they served the kind of food that people wanted.

The restaurant was solid. They had children.

They raised their children. The children began

to run the restaurant. While that was still going

on, a lot of the people who come to the restaurant,

they got older. change their diets you know happens

something when you get older and they started

rumors started circulating they were not satisfied

with the menu at the restaurant anymore and so

they changed the menu while the kids were still

coming up and still taking over they changed

the menu and it sparked business back up and

people started coming again and it was good but

it was mostly older people coming people that

had requested change them and now the young kids

come up now the other people that had had kids

their young kids come it's a whole new town right

a whole another generations in the town They

don't want the old people food. They want the

salt back. You know what I'm saying? They want

their salt back. And rumor circulates they're

going to go to the next town or go wherever,

right? Because the food is not right there. So

the restaurant changed its food again. And over

two generations, the restaurant changed all their

food four times. And they survived. And the restaurant

kept having customers. And the family kept paying

bills. And the town kept having a restaurant.

In this story, Levi becomes Micah's employee.

Instead of representing God to Micah, he represents

Micah to himself. He tells Micah what he wants

to hear. Listen to me. Eventually, the priest

serves the one paying him. Believe it or not,

this is not what you want. And I want you to

hear me right now when I say, I don't work for

you. I don't work for you. That is to say then

that the pastor, the preacher, the teacher is

called to say what God would have. I'm going

to say it this way. I am called to say what God

would have me to say and in the way that God

would have me to say it. And you might want the

sermon shorter, but I'm here to tell you right

now there's somebody also in this room who wants

it longer. You might want the room cooler, but

there's somebody in this room would be covering

up a blanket if we did that. You might want the

music quieter. Somebody else wants it louder

so they can't hear themselves sing. What you

want does not matter. What God wants matters.

Paul wrote to Timothy this way, solemnly I charge

you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,

who is to judge the living and the dead, and

by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the

word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove,

rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction,

for the time will come when they will not endure

sound doctrine. But wanting to have their ears

tickled, they will accumulate for themselves

teachers in accordance to their own desires and

will turn away their ears from the truth and

will turn aside to myths. Today, you must decide

not to be one who will turn aside to myths. Don't

go after the shorter sermon. Don't go after.

The person who never stumbles over their words.

Don't go after the room that's the perfect temperature.

Don't go after the perfect kind of music. Don't

go after the church culture that you like, that

you think you'll fit into best. You go where

you will hear from the God of heaven and listen

with all your might. Because God is bending down

to listen to you. Why are you not bending down

to listen to him? Paul wrote to the church of

Galatia, which is really many churches this way.

He says, am I now seeking the favor of men or

of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I

were trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant

of Christ. Whenever we only seek teachers who

affirm our preferences rather than confront us

with God's word, we have begun choosing our own

priest. And that is a sure road to whittling

away at God's sovereignty, even in the very place

where it has been so clearly seen. Do you not

understand that you are only here today because

God did miracles to make it happen? Not just

the miracle of your birth or the miracle of being

born again, which is a necessary miracle, but

also the miracle of this building and the miracle

of these chairs and the miracle of the work and

the miracle that is my salvation and others who

serve in this church, their salvation. And the

money that came together to do the work, miracles.

You can walk in the basement and see a miracle

the size of a refrigerator because when this

building could not have heat and there was no

way we could get heat in the building, we were

worried about breaking pipes. The Mississippi

Baptist Convention found, just by some miracle,

found a brand new boiler sitting in a warehouse

that they could buy for $80 ,000, the kind of

money that we could never pay. And they donated

it. And then a businessman put together a group

of guys, a Christian businessman. put together

a group of guys who came and installed it so

we could have heat. When all the money we had

in the bank was probably $10 ,000 to $15 ,000.

That's all we had. We got an $80 ,000 boiler

and a $40 ,000 install for free. When it was

going to be $26 ,000 to get the electric, we

paid $2 ,600 because God intervened and did a

miracle. When we couldn't get the water on after

12 weeks of trying, God moved the former deputy

mayor into the... being in charge of the water

division. And when we called him, they came to

install the water the next day. Well, that same

deputy mayor was the guy who decided to give

us this building when he was working under a

different mayor. It's been going on for a while,

folks. We are sitting here today, listening today,

preaching today because of the miracles of God.

You're alive today, though you may not know it

because God saved your life from a car accident

last week, last month or last year. God killed

your cancer before it could take you out last

week, last month, or last year. We are the product

of miracles, and a sovereign God is the kind

of God that does miracles. And if you want a

God that's not sovereign over your life, then

you want a God that does not miraculously intervene.

And if you'd have had that over the last ten

years, you'd be gone now. To hell! Whenever we

only seek teachers that affirm our preferences

rather than confront us with God's word, we have

begun choosing our own high priest. That brings

us to our conclusion. And Judges 17 may seem

like it's about idolatry. I mean, it's definitely

the direction they're going in, right? They're

starting to worship other gods. But Micah is

not actually worshiping other gods. He created

idols, so that does make it idolatry, but those

idols were to be part of his worship of God.

This chapter is just about him shrinking God.

He attempted to reduce the creator of heaven

and earth into someone who could be managed by

enough religious activity. Every generation on

the earth will face that temptation. You, me,

our kids, our grandkids, our great -great -grandkids,

and the great -great -grandkids of every person

you will ever meet will face that same temptation.

Will we worship a God who is truly sovereign

or one small enough to fit inside our formulas?

That's the question. The gospel calls us not

to master God, but to trust God. Faith isn't

about manipulating the God of the universe. It's

about placing our lives into his sovereign, wise,

and loving hands, even when he answers differently

than we expect. The truth is that you're hearing

this today. You're probably already in some part

of this process. You live in the United States

of America, where the temptation to shrink God,

to whittle away God's sovereignty, is pushed

on people every single day. If you will whittle

away God's sovereignty, you can make more money.

In the world system. You can have more friends.

If we would whittle away God's sovereignty, we

could have more people here on Sundays. If we

will whittle away God's sovereignty, we can get

ahead in the fallen system that is rebelling

against God. Jesus said to Nicodemus, unless

you be born again, you shall not see the kingdom

of God. Further, he said, do not marvel, I say

unto you, you must be born again for anyone.

Here, who has not been born again, I'm asking

you today to be born again. You say, well, what

does that mean? It means you have a fresh start.

Now, let's look at the definition of a fresh

start, shall we? It's a moment in time in which

you decide that from here on out, I am going

to be willing, I am going to let God be in charge

of my life. Now, does that sound like whittling

away the sovereignty of God? It is the opposite.

You're saying, God, I recognize your supreme

sovereignty. I submit myself and I allow myself

to be guided by your supreme sovereignty. And

then over time, Christians begin to whittle away

at that sovereignty. Because if God's sovereignty

determines what my today is going to be like,

and I want my today to be something other than

that, then I have to whittle away at his sovereignty

in order to make that work. And I'm here today

to say, don't do it. Christian, if you've been

born again, today, right now, Decide that God

alone is sovereign. I want you to imagine for

one split second, just long enough to be aware

that it exists, the biggest, baddest, chunkiest

demon you could possibly imagine. It's the size

of Godzilla. His big toe is the size of Empire

State Building. He is stomping on anything, and

God picks him up by his tiny head and squishes

him like this and drops him out brain dead. Nothing.

The world is nothing. Demons are nothing. Evil

spirits are nothing. Money is nothing. Time is

nothing. Talent. Process, personalities, relationships,

struggles, it's all nothing. The sovereignty

of God is everything. Will you submit to it?

That's the question. God who declares the end

before the beginning has a better plan for you

than you can ever assemble, even if you somehow

became aware of all the parts which I submit

to you you're not. Even if you somehow became

aware of all the parts and put them together

in perfect order to your own standards, you could

not construct the plan that God has for you.

His plan is better. This time we'll ask the praise

team to come and lead us in a final hymn. And

I'm asking you today to reignite your understanding

of the sovereignty of God. God alone is in charge.

His will, not my will. Might it result in something

that humans would call suffering? Yes, it might.

Might it leave you without something that you

wish you could render for yourself? More money,

more time, more praise, a promotion, something

like that. Yeah, it might. But if it's in the

sovereign will of God, then you can guarantee

that the end plan will be better. You cannot

construct it. You cannot measure it out. You

can't even see all the parts that are involved.

that you can submit to the sovereign will of

God in the universe for the first time ever,

you say it now, and secure your place in heaven

for eternity. I submit to the sovereign will

of God. Jesus is Lord. Or, again today, if as

a Christian you realize you've been whittling

away at the sovereignty of God to make a place

for your own desires, you can repent and say,

I will do it no more. It's a lot like getting

saved again. And he promises that he is going

to forgive, he's willing to forgive, but also

confess and cleanse of all unrighteousness. And

the effect of your whittling away of the solid

of God can be drawn right now in an instant and

say, I know God is in charge. Will you stand

with me and sing this song that the Lord has

moved you to do so that you respond and let us

know what's on your heart today. I have decided

to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus.

You might be here today and you can't say the

word Jesus. That's a problem. Say, I have decided

to follow Jesus. If you can't say the name Jesus,

you've got a problem. Though none go with me

I still will follow Though turning back No turning

back. My cross I'll carry till I see Jesus. My

cross I'll carry till I see Jesus. My cross I'll

carry till I see Jesus. No turning back. I'm

turning back. I see one. Anyone else? You two?

Anyone else? You three? Just keep them up for

a second. We're going to pray together. Anyone

else? One wants? One wants? Father in heaven,

I commit myself to get out of bed every day and

recognize your sovereignty. It's foolish of me

to think that I would even be here if it were

not for you intervening on my behalf. We beat

all the statistics. We're so far beyond. where

we would be if you hadn't intervened, that we

just have to realize you are that God who loves

us, who is in charge, who deserves to be in charge.

For those who have their hands raised, and for

myself as well, we pray, you be sovereign. Teach

us about your sovereignty. Help us to remember

your sovereignty, day in and day out, choice

by choice. Lord, never ever let us sink into

trying to make it some kind of chemical reaction

or steps that we have to follow. We commit to

you. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Now,

if you're in this room today and you say, regardless

of what anybody else might think, you say, I

realize I need to be born again. Before you say

anything, being born again means a fresh start

in Jesus, that he starts your life over. It means

everything that was behind is gone. It's a new

start. It's meant to be a one -time deal. And

yes, we make mistakes somewhere along the way.

Sometimes we've got to repent, turn back to the

Lord. But if you're here today and you say, I

need to do that today. I want to give my life

to the Lord. I'm going to follow him to the best

of my ability, whatever that looks like. Then

I want you to raise your hand right now. I'm

going to pray for you. If you're in the room

and you're giving your life to the Lord for the

first time ever, it doesn't matter what anybody

else thinks. But you know it's the first time

ever that you raise your hand. Father, I pray

for the one who's in this room right now who's

resisting putting their hands up because of appearances.

I pray for one that might be in this room right

now who is still searching out the truth of it,

still figuring it out. I know I did that for

six months, and I guess I was pretty thorough,

and yet I sure could have messed it up, and you

just flat out called me. You were patient with

me, and you said, please come to me, and I came.

Maybe that's where they're at. You're saying,

please come to them. You say, just please come.

Lord, just keep telling them, please come, and

be patient, Lord. As we know you can be. And

merciful and kind toward them. They might figure

it out. And even as I'm praying right now, their

heart's turning. And they realize they're hearing

you. And they need to make some kind of a decision.

We're going to close out in prayer. And then

we're coming back together with the children

for the Lord's Supper. And that's meant to be

believers. It's meant to be people who recognize

the sacrifice that you made. And so I just pray,

Lord, that we'll remedy our situation. There's

something that's standing between us and you

that will let you take it out of the way. I pray

all this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. So

this is what we have left on our agenda. We're

going to pray one more time together to close

out our regular services. And then we'll pray

a couple more times during the Lord's Supper.

There's really no problem. You can talk to the

Lord as much as you want. We'll do that too.

But we are only going to take just a very, very

short break, just long enough to marshal the

kids. So if you need a little bathroom, get in

there quick and get back in here for the Lord's

Supper. And then we're done and out of here.

In probably 15 minutes. So don't freak out about

it. Your lunch will still be there when you get

there. He can tell you. Would you close us in

prayer at this time? We are transitioning to

Lord's Supper. Thank you for your love. Yes.

Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for

watching us. Knowing that we make mistakes. Thank

you for your forgiveness. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.