INTRODUCTION
1. CHURCH PLAN
For the last 4 weeks, we have been looking at many of the different parts of church ministry and relating it to the necessary ingredients of becoming not only successful in church but prepared and equipped to live a life outside the church that is available and prepared for God’s work.
1. God is always at work. We simply must learn to recognize that work & join Him
“my father is always at work to this very day and I too am working”
2. God gave the church as the “Training Ground” to prepare us for that work.
“to prepare God’s people for works of service until we all reach unity in the faith”
APPLICATION
But what some mistakenly do is begin to place the wrong emphasis on trying to remain in God’s good grace by observing certain rituals or works or even acts of service for the wrong reasons.
For example, one might link church attendance, tithing, small groups, teaching, Bible Study so forth and so forth as necessary requirements for “making God feel good about themselves”.
3. God is no more or less GOD if we are GOOD PEOPLE or if we are BAD PEOPLE.
- We neither ADD TO GOD nor DIMINISH GOD by our actions.
- Our ACTIONS are either honoring to God or they are not.
- Our LIVES either please God or they do not.
Simply put, God is no 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.
John 5:26 (NIV)
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.
SO, if God has NO NEEDS, it is legitimate to ask …
2. WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF ME?
TEXT: MICAH 6:1-8.
The setting is something of a courtroom drama – sort of a dialogue between God and the people. God was angry over the way His “CHOSEN PEOPLE” had been living and is bringing charges against them in court (so to speak).
Micah is the Mediator shares not only the Charges of God but also the remarks of the people.
I. GOD’S CASE AGAINST HIS PEOPLE (1-5)
READ VS. 1-2 – GOD SUMMONS ALL
- Lord Calls on Mountains to Hear His Case
- Against the People of Israel
- His anger and reached a point!
Would the Lord be able to stand and make a case against us?
Would you be sitting in confidence or would you begin to sweat a little?
READ VERSE 3 – GOD’S PROOF
‘what have I done to you’? - ‘plead your case against me’!
- This may not be as absurd as it may seem. Think about it! Does He deserve what we…
READ VERSES 4-5
1. ‘redeemed you’ – from slavery.
2. ‘Moses’ - God’s chosen and trained that he might be their leader and lawgiver.
3. ‘Aaron’ – Their priest - all spiritual matters - offerings, sacrifices, and atonements.
4. ‘Miriam’ – the prophetess - given for the spirit of prophecy – leader of all females.
5. ‘Balak - prophet Balaam’ – requested a curse but received a blessing
6. ‘Shittim unto Gilgal’ – last camp east to first encampment west after crossing…
7. ‘that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord’ – He showed His love!
APPLICATION:
In all God had done, God asks, “How have I burdened you?” “What did I do to cause such disrespect?”
Today, that question could be the same!
- We too have been given redemption. … pastors/teachers/each other/WORD!
- We too have received every tool necessary so that we may ‘know the righteousness of God’ (5b)
II. ISRAEL ANSWERS (Verses 6-7)
READ VERSES 6-7
They seem to instead plead guilty. Notice…
6) Offered the normal types of sacrifices, offerings, and atonement according to the LAW. 7) Micah offering an exaggeration – overstates their condition.
Offering all, they still find no satisfaction in standing up to God’s GOODNESS! There’s NO WAY that we can ever earn God’s Approval based on WORKS or RITUALS or even ACTS!
There seems to be NO WAY OUT!
III. WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE? (VS. 8)
READ VERSE 8
‘he has showed you what is GOOD’ -- YOU ALREADY KNOW!
‘what does the Lord REQUIRE of you?’
A requirement is something essential – a condition. It 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.
3 THINGS THAT IS REQUIRED:
1- This is what God REQUIRES: “to act justly”
The phrase “to act justly” means to see with God’s judgment or God’s wisdom.
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.
READ MICAH 2.1-2 --- MICAH 2.8-9
They had lost all respect towards treating others as God COMMANDED in His LAW.
Likewise, as God’s ambassadors, we are advocates for the rights of an unborn child, advocates for the fair treatment of the stranger in our midst, advocates for the elderly, the poor, the unfortunate, those with special needs, the one who needs another chance! WE TREAT PEOPLE RIGHT!
Learning to Act and Live “Justly” only comes from consenting to be trained by God and learn to see with His Wisdom:
ILLUSTRATION: ARABIAN HORSES
Arabian horses go through rigorous training in the deserts of the Middle East. The trainers require absolute obedience from the horses, and test them to see if they are completely trained.
The final test is almost beyond the endurance of any living thing. The trainers force the horses to do without water for many days. Then he turns them loose and of course they start running toward the water, but just as they get to the edge, ready to plunge in and drink, the trainer blows his whistle.
The horses who have been completely trained and who have learned perfect obedience, stop. They turn around and come pacing back to the trainer. They stand there quivering, wanting water, but they wait in perfect obedience. When the trainer is sure that he has their obedience he gives them a signal to go back to drink.
We must consent to God’s training and obey Him – LEARNING TO “ACT JUSTLY”.
2- This is what God REQUIRES: “to love mercy”
1st – to act justly – now 2nd … “to love mercy”
ILLUSTRATION: “MERCY”
Have you ever been shown mercy? Does a teacher come to mind? How about a time when your parent or parents were compassionate and showed mercy? I remember my 10th grade geometry teacher and how I hated that class. I flunked it the first year and had to retake it. I got a B+ the 2nd year. I think that it was because of the mercy of my teacher that I got it!
Notice that God requires that we ‘act justly’ - BUT - ‘LOVE mercy’.
We all understand the meaning of mercy: Anything from compassion, being affectionate, gentle, forbearing, etc.
But it says that God wants us to “LOVE” mercy. Asking that we ‘love mercy’ lies in the fact that when we love doing something, it stands to reason we will likely do what we love!
No one has to tell an avid golfer to go play/practice golf. Or an avid fisherman to go fishing. One who loves to go shopping to go shopping!
WHEN WE LOVE TO SEE ACTS OF KINDNESS, IT IS LIKELY THAT WE WILL DO KIND THINGS!
3- This is what God REQUIRES: “to walk humbly with your God”
1st – ‘act justly’, 2nd – ‘to love mercy’ and finally …
QUOTE: Pastor Monty Newton describes this walk this way:
“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 is to be a way of life. Not something that we do because we have to please someone but rather a way of life because of one’s personal relationship with another. A way of life that is observed because of our love for God. A love that Paul says can only be observed because of his love for us.
SUMMARY
WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE?
1. Act Justly
2. Love Mercy
3. Walk Humbly with God
ILLUSTRATION: ALEC SHEAR
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.” (The Stuffless Soul, 2/3/2002)
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE “IMPORTANT”?
Many of us have allowed the world’s influence along with the pressures of today to cloud the truth and have forgotten what is important?
Some have gotten so wrapped up in the religion that they have too forgotten what is important (even having the right intent)
Paul said it best in challenging us to be a “living sacrifice” to God. It’s a matter of the heart – WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?
‘he has shown you what is good…’
To act justly
To love mercy
To walk humbly with your God
