International Mediator

I. EXORDIUM:

How will we solve international disputes?

II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:

Believer

III. OBJECTIVES:

To prove that the LORD JESUS CHRIST is the international Mediator

IV. TEXT:

Micah 4:3 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

The Lord will mediate between peoples and will settle disputes between strong nations far away. They will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer fight against nation, nor train for war anymore.

V. THESIS:

The Lord is the mediator between man and GOD, He is also the international mediator

1 Timothy 2:5 (New International Version)

For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

VI. TITLE:

International Mediator

VII. EXPLICATION:

A. Time of writing: 750 B.C.

B. Author: Micah - during reigns of 3 kings. His name means "who is like Jehovah"

Micah 1:1 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

The Lord gave this message to Micah of Moresheth during the years when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. The visions he saw concerned both Samaria and Jerusalem.

C. Theme: Visions about Samaria and Jerusalem

VIII. MAIN BODY:

A. The LORD will mediate between peoples

John 5:27-29 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.

Don’t be so surprised! Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God’s Son,

and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment.

Psalms 82:8 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

Rise up, O God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you.

B. The LORD will settle disputes between strong nations far away

Isaiah 60:12 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

For the nations that refuse to serve you will be destroyed.

Joel 3:9-16 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

Say to the nations far and wide: “Get ready for war! Call out your best warriors. Let all your fighting men advance for the attack.

Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors.

Come quickly, all you nations everywhere. Gather together in the valley.” And now, O Lord, call out your warriors!

“Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, the Lord, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all.

Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. The storage vats are overflowing with the wickedness of these people.”

Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive.

The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.

The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel.

Zechariah 12:3-6 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.

“On that day,” says the Lord, “I will cause every horse to panic and every rider to lose his nerve. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of their enemies.

And the clans of Judah will say to themselves, ‘The people of Jerusalem have found strength in the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, their God.’

“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a flame that sets a woodpile ablaze or like a burning torch among sheaves of grain. They will burn up all the neighboring nations right and left, while the people living in Jerusalem remain secure.

C. Result of the LORD's mediation:

1. They will hammer their swords into plowshares

2. Their spears will be hammered into pruning hooks

3. Nations will no longer fight against nation

4. Nations will no longer train for war anymore

Isaiah 60:17-18 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

I will exchange your bronze for gold, your iron for silver, your wood for bronze, and your stones for iron. I will make peace your leader and righteousness your ruler.

Violence will disappear from your land; the desolation and destruction of war will end. Salvation will surround you like city walls, and praise will be on the lips of all who enter there.

IX. CONCLUSION:

Micah 4:4 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)

Everyone will live in peace and prosperity, enjoying their own grapevines and fig trees, for there will be nothing to fear. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has made this promise!