Title: What Can We Do For God?
Text: Micah 6:6-8 (Psalm 116:12-19)
The Big Idea: Be sure you want to know what God expects before you ask.
Introduction
The clip we are going to see this morning is one of those Art Linkletter, “Kids Say the Darndest Things” skits. There are several children in a Sunday School setting responding to questions about God.
Let’s look at the clip… Project God 101 (worshiphousemedia.com)
In some ways, another title for our discussion today would be to address the question: What makes God happy? What can we do that would please God?
What can we do for God? The question infers that God has needs, which gives theologians pause, because if God is a needy God, then how can God be God?
A.W. Tozer wrote in his little book The Knowledge of the Holy “nothing is necessary to God. No one is necessary. And if no one is necessary, then not we.” (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, p. 39)
John 5:26 states, “The Father has life in himself, and he has granted his Son to have life in himself.” That means God does not need anything to exist. We need air to breath, food to eat, and water to drink in order to live. God exists in and of himself. God is self-sufficient… nothing is necessary.
So the question this morning is not about God’s neediness but our desire to do something in response to God’s goodness in our lives.
Referring once again to Tozer, he suggests that it is for us to “spend ourselves for the honor of God and the good of mankind.” (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, p. 43)
Interestingly, God is no more or no less God if we are good people or if we are bad people. We neither add to God nor diminish God by our actions. And yet our actions are either honoring to God or they are not. Our lives either please God or they do not. God is not more God if we please him or less God if we do not… God remains self-sufficient. God does not need our obedience in order to be God. So if God has no needs, it is legitimate to ask, what are God’s expectations? What would be pleasing and honoring to God. That is the question raised in our text today.
The setting is something of a courtroom drama. The way God’s people had been living did not please God, so God is bringing charges against his people in court, so to speak. He called in the mountains to be jurors and listen to his case against them. God reminds his people of how much he has loved them and asks them to remember how he has faithfully watched over them over the years.
Of course what follows is intended to be rhetorical, but suddenly it seems as if the people realize that they have blown it and ask, “What does God require of us or what do we need to do to make up for the wrong we’ve done?”
Notice how the human response escalates to exaggerated proportions:
Should we offer God offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer God thousands of rams? Should we offer God rivers of olive oil? Would that please God? Should we offer God our first born? Would that make God glad? Micah 6:6-7
The early church father, Turtullian, referred to this response as a human attempt to flatter God or pander to God. (Ancient Christian Commentary, XIV, The Twelve Prophets, p. 170-172) A flatterer or a panderer is someone who exploits or caters to another person’s weakness in an attempt to buy them off, persuade them, or appease them with words or some kind of offer.
The obvious parallel is that people mistakenly think they can stay in God’s good graces by observing the rituals, so to speak, of our spiritual practice. Perhaps there is even the remote thought that if we do something extravagant we might even humor God. Our text couches the ritual in the language of the sacrificial system. In I Corinthians 13, Paul couches ritual in terms of spiritual gifts like speaking in other tongues, prophecy, faith, and martyrdom. He concludes that possessing and demonstrating spiritual gifts apart from love, makes the gift a useless gift. We might link baptism, confirmation, a profession of faith, church attendance at worship, etcetera, etcetera, as those things necessary to keep God happy with us.
Our text says that God has expectations of us.
1. God has expectations beyond what is understood as routine religious practice.
Then the prophet gets right down to business in verse 8 where he says, “No, O people, the Lord has already told you what is good, and this is what he requires…” Micah 6:8
What is a requirement? A requirement is something essential or a condition. A requirement is something that is expected and necessary. This requirement is not something that completes a need in God but one that completes a level of spirituality in us.
In education, degree programs require that certain classes be taken and that a significant number of credit hours be earned before the degree is awarded.
When we fly on an airline, we expect a good take off and a smooth landing.
An airline pilot wrote that after a particularly jarring landing he stood at the door while the passengers exited. He smiled and said to each person, Thanks for flying our airline,” all the while too embarrassed to look the passengers in the eye. Finally, everyone had gotten off except for a little older lady walking with a cane.
She said, ’Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?’
’Why, no, Ma’am,’ said the pilot. ’What is it?’
The little old lady said, ’Did we land, or were we shot down?’
Airline passengers have expectations.
It would be nice if everything were like the BarNone Auto Finance commercial:
• Bad credit? No problem!
• Bankrupcy? No problem!
• Repossession? No Problem!
Apply Now!
• Schedule an appointment.
• Arrive at the dealership.
• Drive off in your new vehicle.
I suspect that the BarNone.com people “require” several things before you drive off with your shiny new car.
We understand requirements. No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service or We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to Anyone are common signs in eating establishments. Eateries have requirements. I have spent half my life stressing out over boxes that read, “Some Assembly Required,” and so have you. No assembly – no Big Wheel Tricycle. No assembly – no gas grill. No assembly – no computer desk.
The children in the clip have a perception of what they think God requires of them or what makes God happy. They said, “When we obey him, do what is right, go to church, read the bible. When we be good. When we don’t hit our brother back. When we help people.”
The first thing Micah says God requires is this:
2. Do what is right or do justice.
“This is what God requires: to do what is right…” Micah 6:8
What does it mean to “do justice?”
Justice can mean to simply administer the law. A law exists with a certain penalty attached to the breaking of that law, and when the judge assigns that penalty, justice is said to have been done.
Mandatory sentencing is an example of doing justice by that definition. In New York and many other states, if you possess more than 4 ounces of a hard drug you receive at least a sentence of at least a minimum number of years in prison. California’s 3 Strikes Law mandates that upon the commission of a third felony the felon receives a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison. One size justice fits all… Some say that kind of justice is not just.
Sometimes things are legal but hardly seem fair. The great adverse possession, land grab case in Boulder last year is a case in point. If a person uses another person’s land for a long time without being challenged by the owner, the land belongs to the person who has been using it. In the Boulder case a family owned the land and paid taxes on the land for twenty-three years. But a neighbor, admittedly trespassing on the land, went to court and was awarded 1/3 of the owner’s property under the adverse possession law. Nice people do not set out to land grab another neighbor’s property. Legal isn’t necessarily nice or fair.
One of the charges God brought against the people in Micah’s day had to do with scheming and conniving to get what belonged to others. “How terrible it will be for you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. Your rise at dawn and hurry to carry out any of the wicked schemes you have power to accomplish. When you want a certain piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it be fraud and violence. No one’s family inheritance is safe with you around.” Micah 2:1-2
Another instance was the recent case involving a Wal Mart employee that was severely injured leaving her with brain damage, in a wheel chair, and living in a nursing home. The trucking company responsible for her injuries eventually awarded her family a settlement for her continued care, which after legal fees, amounted to around $400,000 which was placed in a trust fund to pay for her nursing care. When Wal Mart found out that they had received a settlement for her on-going care, Wal Mart sued to recoup their health insurance payments for her care and won. Democracy Now reported on April 2, 2008 that Wal-Mart dropped its $400,000 healthcare claim after receiving a flood of adverse publicity. Legal isn’t necessarily nice or fair. (www.democracynow.org/2008/4/2/after_adverse_publicity_wal_mart_drops)
Later in the chapter Micah’s challenge continued, “You steal the shirts right off the backs of those who trusted you, making them as ragged as men who have just come home from war. You have evicted women from their homes and stripped their children of all their God-given rights.” Micah 2:8-9
Doing justice is working to see that everyone is treated fairly… we certainly cannot correct all the injustices in the world but we can make sure that everyone in our little world gets treated fairly… especially those without defenses.
The phrase “to do justice” means to see with God’s judgment or God’s wisdom. Justice may be thought of as, “God’s desire for evenhandedness, fair play, and equality within the human family. In the bible there are nine words that are nearly always associated with justice: widow, fatherless, orphans, poor, hungry, stranger, needy, weak, and oppressed. So to do justice we are to be advocates for the weak, the vulnerable, the needy, and voiceless ones making sure they are treated fairly.” (Nancy Pfastzgraf, Real Worship – Real Life, Micah 6:6-8, November 20, 2005)
So we are advocates for the rights of the unborn child. We are advocates for the fair treatment of the stranger in our midst. We are advocates for the elderly, the poor, the unfortunate, those with special needs, the person who needs another chance. We resist bias and discrimination at every front. We treat people right.
Fifteen years ago a sixty-five year old man in our congregation received a sizeable wrongful death settlement in the death of his wife. His daughter was also in our congregation. One day I received a subpoena to appear at a competency hearing to determine the competence of the man. His daughter was attempting to have him declared incompetent and have herself appointed his guardian and appointed power of attorney.
When I got to the hearing I found that a local banker and the owner of the café where the man always ate had also been subpoenaed. Our testimonies were hardly necessary. The judge had the man in question take the stand and asked him a battery of questions regarding his health, his medications, his routines, his money… how much he had, where it was, and if he had financial counsel. Then each of us was called to answer questions… the judge dismissed the case in short order.
The next week the Kansas State Health Department descended on the café owner’s establishment, the Kansas State Banker’s Association arrived at the local bank, and my conference superintendent was calling to see what I had done to merit a threatened lawsuit against the denomination. She was a very angry daughter.
Fortunately it all proved to be frivolous, but my conference superintendent later asked me if I had learned anything from that experience… in other words, knowing what I now knew and the potential consequences of getting involved, which might incur a lawsuit in those kinds of disputes, would I do it again? Without hesitating I said, “Yes.” He asked me why and I told him, “It was a matter of justice.”
The second thing God requires is this:
3. Love kindness.
“This is what God requires: to do what is right, to love kindness…” Micah 6:8
Isn’t it interesting that God says “do justice” and “love kindness?” I would think God would also want us to “do” kindness or mercy.
We can run wild with ideas about what it means to “do” mercy and kindness. It can mean to be affectionate, loving, gentle, or forbearing. It can mean to be sympathetic. It can also mean giving pleasure or relief. And it can mean having compassion toward an offender, being lenient, or giving good-will.
But it says that God wants us to “love” kindness.
I suspect the wisdom in asking that we “love” kindness lies in the fact that when we love something or love to do something, we will likely do what we love.
No one has to tell an avid fisherman to go fishing. No one has to tell someone who loves to run to go run. No one has to tell a person who loves to shop to go shopping. No one has to tell a person who loves to have back yard barbecues to throw a party. No one has to tell someone who loves children to volunteer to work with children.
There is a young woman in our church who loves to make greeting cards so when she saw the list of homebound in our worship folder, she began making greeting cards and sending them to the homebound.
When we love to see acts of kindness, it is likely that we will do kind things.
John Gilbert is a 25 year old man living in Paradise, California. John suffers from Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. In his 90 page biography he wrote about an incident in his childhood when he was named California’s ambassador for MS.
One night he attended a fundraising auction sponsored by the NFL. The players were very kind to him and he was enjoying watching the auction proceedings when a basketball signed by all of the players of the Sacramento Kings went up for bid, he said when he saw it he impulsively raised his hand, which his mother quickly pulled down.
The bidding continued for the ball, exceeding any reasonable value until selling at a price that shocked everyone in the room. The man who won the bid went to the front of the room, collected his prize, walked across the room and placed the ball in the thin hands of a boy who would never dribble it down a court.
When we love kindness we do kind things. We support our summer VBS project of providing soccer balls for children in Africa. We send needy children in our neighborhood school to summer school. When we push our cart through Costco or Sam’s and see a great buy, we pick up an extra flat and donate it to our food bank program. When it snows we use our snow blower to clear out our neighbor’s drive. When we walk by the Samaritan Box we drop in some change.
Love kindness and you will do kind things.
The third thing God requires of us is:
4. Walk humbly with your God.
“This is what God requires: to do what is right, love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8
What does it mean to walk humbly?
Actor Tom Selleck of Magnum PI fame tells of an elderly couple with a camera eagerly approaching him as he was walking down a street in Honolulu one day. He said, “So I stopped and struck a pose for them.” The stopped short and said, “No, no, we want you to take a picture of us.” It’s is easy to assume that we are the center of the universe and the object of everyone’s adoration.
Walking usually involves taking steps.
One of our grandchildren gave us some reason for concern because she never did anything in the normal or expected way. She never talked. She pointed. She never crawled… she scooted on her bottom. Then one day she started talking in sentences and one day she stood up and walked. She took steps.
Does the text mean we are to stand up and take steps with God?
We also understand walk to mean the pursuit of a way of life. To walk infers the choice of a path. Choosing to walk with God means we choose to pursue a life that conforms to God’s leading and God’s will. It is not that we are literally accompanying God on foot but it does mean that in our day to day walk through life… it is with God.
Our walk with God, and the expression of our faith as a way of life, is not one rooted in pride or pretentiousness. Our way of life is not marked by haughtiness, self-righteousness, judgmentalism, or a critical spirit, but by gracious humility and love.
Humility before God recognizes that all are sinners… none is without flaws. Humility understands the old adage, “There, but by the grace of God, go I.” Humility understands that every good and perfect gift, every blessing in life, is a gift from God. Humility recognizes that God is creator and sustainer of all things. Humility recognizes with heartfelt gratitude that God is in control…
Conclusion:
Alec Shear has spent the last twenty-five years of his life collecting stuff. He has 6 stars and stripes lunch boxes, 400 transistor radios that look like name brand products, 10,000 match books, and countless other items of vintage Americana.
When his wife divorced him over his obsession, he soon filled the extra bedroom in his apartment with model trains, paper weights, Pyrex glass irons, 1,000 bars of hotel soap, and a pristine Farrah Fawcett make-up centre in its original box.
His apartment has become so jam-packed that he now rents a warehouse to store his stuff. When asked about his unusual hobby he answers, “I believe this stuff is important.” (Holiletics, The Stuffless Soul, 2/3/2002)
I guess the question for us is, what stuff is important to us? Is the stuff of justice, kindness, and walking with God important enough to alter our walk... to alter the way we live and answer the question, “What can we do for God?”
We can walk every step of every day under the guiding influence of God’s Holy Spirit,
• Doing justice,
• Loving kindness, and
• Living in humble reverence for and dependence upon God.
