Micah 4:1-5:5 "Hope for the Hopeless"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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The year is 701 B.C.

The armies of mighty Assyria under the direction of their king Sennacherib are laying waste

to one city after another in the Middle East.

And 20 years earlier, they've wiped out the northern kingdom of Israel, taken survivors

into captivity.

And more recently, they've marched through one town after another in Judah, all the way

up now to the gates of Jerusalem.

They've been ruthlessly pillaging, destroying, just like the prophets said would happen as

God's judgment came on his prosperous and promiscuous people.

Nothing has slowed them down.

And here they are outside Jerusalem laying siege to the capital city of God's people.

King Hezekiah in Jerusalem has sought alliance with Egypt.

He's sought to buy off Assyria and pay them to go away.

Now he and the prophet Micah ministering there in Jerusalem and all the soldiers standing on

the wall afraid hear the taunts from Sennacherib as we read them in 2 Kings 18.

Do not let Hezekiah deceive you for he will not be able to deliver you out of my hand.

Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in Yahweh by saying, Yahweh will surely deliver us and

this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Do not listen to Hezekiah for thus says the king of Assyria, make your peace with me, come

out to me.

Each one of you will eat of his own vine and each one of his own fig tree and each one of

you drink the water of his own cistern.

And do not listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you by saying, Yahweh will deliver us.

Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand that Yahweh should

deliver Jerusalem out of my hand.

Pretty hopeless situation it seems, right?

We've been way outmatched.

We've run out of allies.

We've exhausted all our resources.

Micah told us this would happen if we kept running after our idols and trusting in human

strength.

Boy, looking out there at that Assyrian army makes us feel small and helpless.

It seems we've reached the end of the road.

The end, in fact, of God's protection.

Have you felt like that before?

I felt that a little bit this week.

Just to be honest with you, a heavy weight.

Mostly from last week's passage.

Feeling the conviction of my sin and my weakness.

Failures in leading God's people as I should.

How can you be a senior pastor?

You don't have what it takes.

You deserve God's just judgment for not even living passionately for him.

You can hardly call yourself a Christian.

Maybe you've been struggling to pray recently.

And you've thought, what a pathetic Christian I am.

I'm the weakest Christian in the world.

I can't even find words to talk to God.

Maybe you're feeling outnumbered on campus or at work.

And you hear us say that God tells us to live for him all the time, everywhere.

And you think, that's a losing battle where I am.

What a joke.

How could I even begin to do that?

Maybe you hear me talk about revival.

Praying for God to do great things in us and in our community.

And what you really think is, seriously?

I don't talk like that.

That's way too big for little people like us.

Pastor, I'm just open for one good conversation about God with my family.

Like, just one night would be great.

One encouraging interaction with an unbeliever, revival.

Whether it's the reality of our sin, the strength of our enemies, the struggle in the battle of faith,

there are many real reasons to feel hopeless, aren't there?

If you need more help coming up with one, I can give you more later.

Reasons we feel small and weak.

And as a result, sometimes give up spiritually.

And focus on somewhere else I can feel more successful.

Feel better about myself, right?

And Micah comes to us this morning and says,

You know what?

Those things are true.

But they're not all that's true.

I've got a message of hope.

When you feel most hopeless,

I've just finished saying that Mount Zion will be flattened,

Jerusalem will be a heap of ruins.

That's the last verse of chapter 3.

But that's not all that's true.

He says, lift up your head.

Listen to a hope that will sound too good to be true.

It's Micah chapter 4.

Micah 4 · chapter mention

I'll read the first five verses for now,

and then we'll pray and talk about the whole passage.

It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and it shall be lifted up above the hills,

and people shall flow to it.

And many nations shall come and say,

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways,

and that we may walk in his paths.

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between many peoples,

and shall decide for strong nations afar off.

And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,

their spears into pruning hooks.

Nations shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

But they shall sit, every man,

under his vine and under his fig tree.

And no one shall make them afraid,

for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

For all the peoples walk,

each in the name of its God,

but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God,

forever and ever.

Let's pray.

Father, thank you for a message of hope.

We need it.

Holy Spirit,

help our hearts be not only desperate,

but able to hear it this morning.

In Jesus' name, amen.

This morning, I just want to walk through Micah's promise of hope together,

and then we'll talk about how God's people should respond to such a message.

What's he saying,

and what should we do in light of that?

So first, as this chapter begins,

this prophet who has been full of doom and gloom, right?

That's about all we've gotten so far,

as he addresses idolatrous people like us.

He's laid us low, right?

If we're honest, if we've been listening,

and now he wants to lift us up,

lift up our heads with an inspiring hope.

It shall come to pass in the latter days.

Before we go any further,

that's now, you know, right?

The latter days.

As you turn into the New Testament,

we see that the last days or the latter days

actually begin with the death and resurrection of Jesus

and continue on until he comes again.

So what we're talking about is what we're living in right now.

Peter pronounces that reality at Pentecost.

Paul reiterates it many places,

like 1 Corinthians 10,

where he says all these Old Testament stories

are written down as examples for us now.

Those upon whom the end of the ages has come.

That's now.

The inspiring hope Micah's talking about

is for future completion, for sure.

But in many ways, it's already begun today.

It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains

and shall be lifted up above the hills.

Remarkable, right?

Micah, you just said it was going to be devastated.

And now it's growing taller?

Mount Zion, Jerusalem,

that's representative for God's people as a whole.

They're not just alive and present,

but prominent and impactful.

And although it does sometimes seem to be happening,

the gates of hell will not prevail against the church, right?

In fact, it's not merely for ethnic Israel to be flourishing,

but nations turning to God.

The glorious vision here of a global worship service.

Every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.

Peoples shall flow to it.

And many nations shall come and say,

come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.

And we've seen that happen, haven't we,

over the last 2,000 years.

As Christianity begins with this small band of followers

in one small town in the Middle East,

and all of the sudden it begins to explode

and spread all over the globe.

And maybe you don't feel that as much

because we've got this Western mindset, right?

It can be very limited.

But the Pew Research Center tells us

not only has the number of those professing faith in Christ

quadrupled in the last 100 years,

you know where a quarter of those people live?

One quarter of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

You may not be seeing all of it.

Millions of them living as a minority in China.

Millions more in India.

Nations are flowing to Mount Zion, right?

And that's not merely a geographical statement.

It's not getting on a plane to get there.

It's primarily a spiritual statement.

Right?

How do they get there?

End of verse 2.

Out of Zion shall go forth the law

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

The good news about Yahweh and who he is

is spread by his people.

They, the nations, come in as we go out

with the word of God.

What an awesome global movement of God

showing himself to be the one true king overall.

What an exciting thing to be a part of a movement like that.

And then what does Yahweh's kingdom look like?

Verse 3.

He shall judge between many peoples

and shall decide for strong nations afar off.

Perfect justice, right?

This king who knows how it should be,

he makes it right.

And they shall beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nations shall not lift up sword against nation.

Neither shall they learn more anymore.

Y'all, world peace!

And we're not even at a beauty pageant.

Like, it's coming!

It's not all the way here yet, right?

But world peace globally.

How?

Yahweh is the one ruling.

That's how we know it's coming.

Yahweh will bring it.

Rest of verse 4.

They shall sit every man under his vine

and under his fig tree

and no one shall make them afraid.

You remember Sennacherib promised that to God's people,

the words I read earlier?

This abundant security,

this great provision.

And Micah says,

you know where it's actually gonna come from?

Yahweh.

He is the one who will.

The great king of hosts,

the king of heaven promises,

the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

For all the peoples walk each in the name of its God.

But we will walk in the name of Yahweh,

our God,

forever and ever.

A colorful gathering of the people enjoying the fruits of this kind king

with no one to make us afraid

because our God is greater and stronger

and brings peace and justice and eternal security.

That's not at all what we feel at our lower points, is it?

And yet Micah says it's coming.

In fact, in many ways, it's already started.

And don't you want to be a part of something like that?

Fearful, small soldier on the wall

thinking the end has come.

And he says, no, there's hope.

We want to be a part of that, right?

Well, not me, right?

I mean, the high priest, maybe, yeah.

Billy Graham, sure.

Mother Teresa, maybe.

But little, weak, struggling, insignificant, me?

No way.

You've got to listen to what Micah says next.

This is so great.

It's not just hope out there somewhere

for somebody who's really good.

This hope is for an astounding people.

Verse 6.

In that day, declares the Lord,

I will assemble the strong

and reward those who have been successful.

Nope, nope, sorry.

That's not it.

That's not what he says, is it?

Let me try one more time.

In that day, declares the Lord,

I will assemble the lame

and gather those who have been driven away

and those whom I have afflicted

and the lame I will make the remnant.

And those who are cast off,

a strong nation,

and the Lord will reign over them.

Really?

The lame?

Isn't this glorious?

I mean, we hardly know what to do

with a statement like that

because in every area of our life,

we get what we earn, don't we?

We reward strength and competence.

We honor achievement.

And God's heart is for the outcast

and the undeserving.

Just because he's building a strong nation

doesn't mean he's looking for all the strong people.

That's how I do it.

But no, incredibly,

he's so strong

that he will choose the weak

and the foolish

and the insignificant

and make them a strong nation.

Kids, that's not how you pick a team

on the playground, is it?

You're gonna lose.

Nobody wants to lose.

You pick the strong people,

the big guys.

But it is how God builds his church.

To the astonishment of all the nations

who value and depend on human strength,

he gathers the lame and the castoffs.

And then, y'all,

those are actually the ones

who go out with the message

of Yahweh's greatness and goodness

that brings world peace.

That's how it comes.

It brings the nations flowing

to this gracious, condescending God

of the Bible

who has welcomed them in.

It actually gets even crazier

and even better than this.

Not just the lame being the remnant,

but those that God himself cast off,

brought back.

The exiles away from his land.

They were hopeless, right?

They're actually made secure.

Listen at verse 9.

He's going to make

a significant time shift.

You may not notice it as well in English,

but I'll point it out to you.

He says,

no longer in those future latter days,

but now.

700 B.C.

What are God's people facing now?

Verse 9.

Now, why do you cry aloud?

Is there no king in you?

Has your counselor perished

that pain seized you

like a woman in labor?

Writhe and groan,

O daughter of Zion,

like a woman in labor.

For now you shall go out

from the city

and dwell in the open country.

You shall go to Babylon.

There you shall be rescued.

There the Lord will redeem you

from the hand of your enemies.

He's speaking to them

of real suffering, isn't he?

Because real suffering is coming.

They really will be taken into exile.

There's reason for great grief over that.

But even there,

he's at work to redeem them, isn't he?

Right in the midst of Babylon,

when they've lost all hope

and they can't see anything good,

there he works to redeem.

Verse 11.

Now, many nations are assembled against you

saying,

let her be defiled

and let our eyes gaze upon Zion,

Assyria,

and others looking around,

taunting and saying,

aha,

we have the upper hand.

They're stronger.

But,

they do not know

the thoughts of the Lord.

They do not understand his plan

that he has gathered them

as sheaves to the threshing floor.

Arise and thresh,

O daughter of Zion,

for I will make your horn iron,

your hoofs bronze.

You shall beat in pieces

many peoples

and shall devote their gain

to the Lord,

their wealth,

to the Lord

of the whole earth.

The promise of God's discipline

right alongside the promise

of his restoration.

Nothing can happen to you

so bad

that he can't redeem it.

There is no pit so deep

that he is not deeper still,

Corrie ten Boom.

If you will trust this great king,

even those of you who feel so far,

so distant from him

that he sent you away,

if you will yet return

and trust him,

you will find an eternal security

against all the evidence

of your circumstances.

Despite everything you look around

and see,

despite what your heart

tells you to feel,

you'll find an eternal security

that will never,

ever let you down.

See, that's really the reason

that this astounding people

people who really don't have

much reason for hope

can have this inspiring hope,

isn't it?

It's all through this amazing king.

Already, as we've been reading,

we've seen,

I hope you've noticed,

every time,

this is what Yahweh will do.

He keeps saying,

I'll do this,

I'll do this,

he will assemble,

he will gather,

he'll make the remnant,

he'll reign over them forever.

And chapter 5 opens

with one more,

now,

but.

Verse 1,

now muster your troops,

O daughter of troops,

siege is laid against us.

With a rod they strike

the judge of Israel

on the cheek.

It's not looking good,

is it?

I know what you're facing,

I know how you're feeling,

but,

you, O Bethlehem,

Ephrathah,

who are too little

to be among the clans of Judah.

From you shall come forth for me

one who is to be ruler in Israel,

whose origin is from of old,

from ancient days.

There's a verse you recognize,

isn't it, kids?

You hear that one at Christmas time,

don't you?

You know what that's about, right?

The Messiah,

the promised one,

the king,

he's gonna be born

in the little town of Bethlehem.

See, it's not just the people

who find power in weakness,

but that's actually the model

of power for the true king.

His great strength

will come from apparent weakness.

How do you know

that weak, failing, insignificant you

can really be a part of this kingdom?

The king comes from

too small Bethlehem.

But his rule will be magnificent.

Verse 3.

Therefore he shall give them up

until the time she who is in labor

has given birth.

Then the rest of his brothers

shall return to the people of Israel,

and he shall stand

and shepherd his flock

in the strength of the Lord,

in the majesty of the name

of the Lord his God,

and they shall dwell secure.

For now he shall be great

to the ends of the earth,

and he shall be their peace.

In the power of the one true God,

Yahweh, the one true king,

the promised one,

will shepherd his flock

of lame outcasts

who have become beloved children.

And the fact that he is great

is what brings world peace.

The fact that he is great

to the ends of the earth

is what makes them secure.

The fact that this unparalleled king

reigns with justice and grace

makes this inspiring hope

that Micah promises even possible.

It's his reign.

Their hope is not in their own strength,

their own greatness.

They are weak,

but he is strong.

To be clear,

no matter what current powerful leaders may say,

there is one great king for Israel

and for all nations.

There is one chosen one

in whom they and we all find hope.

He doesn't live in the White House

and he doesn't find strength

in human power.

To suggest otherwise

is dangerously distracting

from the true king.

See, we are to look for our hope

to no one else

and nowhere else

but the king

born in Bethlehem

whose greatness

no one can fathom,

no one can equal.

He is our hope.

Amen?

It's what God's people learned then.

It was

looking pretty bleak

for God's people

in Micah's day.

Stuck

before Sennacherib's

powerful army.

Human weakness

has led them to face

judgment.

Human power

has failed to deliver them.

Most of them

are utterly hopeless.

And finally,

King Hezekiah surrenders.

But not to the

might of Assyria.

Instead,

he surrenders

to the unparalleled

power of Yahweh.

He looks to God,

repents,

and cries

for God's help.

He prays this way,

O Lord,

the God of Israel

who is enthroned

above the cherubim,

You are the God,

You alone

of all the kingdoms

of the earth.

You have made

heaven and earth.

Incline Your ear,

O Lord,

and hear.

Open Your eyes,

O Lord,

and see.

And hear the words

of Sennacherib

which he has sent

to mock

the living God.

Now,

O Lord,

our God,

save us,

please,

from His hand

that all the kingdoms

of the earth

may know that You,

Yahweh,

are God alone.

And the angel

of the Lord

that night

with no help

from the army

of Judah

strikes down

185,000

mocking Assyrians.

and mighty Sennacherib

flees

and soon

dies himself.

God protects

His people.

Repentance

and revival

spreads through

Jerusalem

and it will be

over a hundred years,

multiple generations

before Babylon

comes to take

Judah into exile

for their idolatry.

History is altered.

altered.

Listen,

Micah has been clear

about the just judgment

coming upon those

who don't repent

even among

God's people.

But now,

he's reminding us,

y'all,

that there's not just

merely a way

to escape

by the skin

of your teeth

and maybe you'll survive,

but there is grace

and hope

beyond your wildest dreams

for those who turn back

to the true King.

So what?

What are we supposed

to do?

How should we now

as God's people

respond?

Just repent again?

That's what you say

every week.

But yes,

that is the call again.

Repent.

Return to God.

Repentance

and revival

come to God's people

as they lift their heads

and hope

in Yahweh,

their King,

in nothing

and in no one else

do they find strength.

Just as last week

the awfulness of sin

drives us

to repent,

so does the kindness

of God

lead us to repent.

Both of those things

take us to the same place.

We realize

we're face down

in the pigsty,

unworthy

and desperate

desperate

and we remember

the love of the Father

eager to welcome us

home and so

because we remember

both of those things

we run back to Him,

right?

That's repentance.

In these terms

this morning,

briefly,

surrender.

Quit trying

to be the strong one.

Micah's message

clearly

calls for us

to give up hope

in ourselves

trying to manage

our struggles.

True repentance

means that we quit

doing penance.

I'm so prone

to this.

I see my weakness

and my sin,

I call that bad will

and I resolve

to actually

instead of being bad will,

I'm going to be good will,

right?

It's actually

just another idol.

I'll try harder.

I'll preach better

next week.

I'll lead stronger

next time.

Then maybe

I'll be good enough.

No.

Repentance,

that's penance.

Repentance

turns

from my weakness

to God's

strength.

From my sin

and idolatry

to His forgiveness

and His righteousness.

It means

I pray more

and more desperately.

Not just

add 10 hours

of study

next week

to perfect the sermon.

It means

I read about

God's grace

being sufficient

for my weakness.

Not just try

to convince myself

I'm strong enough

not to need Him.

It means

you plead with Him

to forgive your failings

and then in the

joy of His grace

you plead with Him

to strengthen you,

to live for His glory

and quit chasing

your own idols

for your own pleasure.

That's repentance.

And our repentance

looks like something

doesn't it?

It has fruit.

We actually surrender

and then strangely enough

having surrendered

we then fight.

Strange.

But the same passage here

that tells us

to embrace our weakness

and find strength

only in God

also says

now we walk

in the name

of the Lord our God.

Living out

day by day

the life

of a well cared for

child

who now has

the freedom

and the resources

to be an instrument

of hope

and justice

and peace

in the lives

of others.

That's not just

for pastors

that's for all of us

right?

That's what we get

to do.

This passage

tells us

arise and muster

the troops

and fight together

against the darkness

and sin.

All idols

that would set

themselves up

against Yahweh.

We're to be fighting.

By the way

that's why you need

gospel community.

What Mark and Anna

were talking about

in the video earlier.

That's why we need

each other

to fight together

in each other's lives

for King Jesus

right?

You need that

I need that.

See repentance

means I give up

hope in myself.

It means when I run

back desperately

to God

I find a restored

relationship with Him

worth shaping

my life around

no matter what

it costs.

And then it means

I hope

this may be

the most encouraging

part.

Give me 30 more

seconds.

I hope because

I'm on His team

I'm in His

family now

and the promises

of my Father

are incredible.

Did you hear them?

I look out

from the wall

and all of a sudden

the Assyrians

are routed.

I go home

and my neighborhood

and my family

they're turning to God

they're praising Him.

My kids

and their friends

and my grandkids

worship Him

faithfully

because they see

how great He is.

Friends

the future vision

that God paints

for us

is glorious.

That's what He's doing.

I may be lame

afflicted

cast off

undeserving

outnumbered

inconsistent

too weak

too young

too old

too sinful

too ashamed

too damaged

and that may be true

but it's not all

that's true.

Jesus has come

and He is so strong

and so glorious

and so gracious

that He will use

me

and us

to bring revival

to see nations

come to worship Him

to see people

with no interest

in Him today

tomorrow

run back

to Him

to see neighbors

who are running away

from God

and don't want to talk

to you

seated at His table

with you

at peace

forever.

He says that's what

He's going to do

and we'll be there

with them

and have all we ever need

why?

Because He

is there

and what a day

that will be.

That day's coming.

Hopeless

brothers

and sisters

that day

is coming

see it

it's coming

because we are weak

but He is strong.

Let's pray.

God our hope

is in You.

Turn our hearts

back towards You

even in this moment

as we reflect

on our weakness

as we reflect

on Your greatness

and grace.

as we look ahead

to a day

we can hardly

imagine

will be

anywhere near

as glorious

as You promise

us it will be.

Give us hope

in that

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

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