28 MAY 2006: The Alpha and the Omega

TOPIC: Word; Christ, Light, Mystery, Power

TEXT: John 1:1, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[…]
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is the Word of God to us?
CONCISE OUTLINE:

I. TO US IT IS THE POWER OF GOD!
II. TO US IT IS THE LIGHT OF GOD!
III. TO US IT IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD!
IV. TO US IT IS THE TEACHING OF GOD!

TRUTH/CONTEXT: If you are one of those clandestine Christians who secretly don’t believe the bible is truly the word of God, you may have a problem with this message. You see, it is necessary to believe … faith … in the word of God, because the word of God is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ!

To claim a saving belief in Him while denying His authorship of the Word is irreconcilable double-speak.

The Alpha and the Omega says it all; He’s the whole alphabet! Since God is our Maker, He has authority over us. Since the Word is God, God’s Word is authori-tative in and over our lives.

On a more practical level, we must realize the Word is the source of our faith …

“faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word concerning Christ.”

Romans 10:17

And since we …

“have been saved by grace through faith”

Ephesians 2:8

… our very existence as Christians is dependent on the authoritative Word of God.

[QUOTE] Paul Benware, writing in Moody Monthly, said, “… while the universal church promises stability, the local church is only as strong as its obedience to the clear-cut directives given in Scripture.” [“Doctrine: The Church”; March 1986, p.96.]

Critics say it’s silly to trust in a book that old, that’s out of touch … they give a thousand reasons … we should just give up, no one believes in the word of God any more!

[HOLY .38] Can you imagine an armed homeowner surrendering his .38 Special to an intruder just because the crook doesn’t believe in guns? The Word of God is our .38 Special, protecting our lives, our families, and or homes.

Why, then, do we surrender it to so many pagans and heathens just because they say they don’t believe in God? How many times have we heard of the Scriptures touching the heart of a stubborn man or woman, someone who’s announced no interest in God’s or His Word? [In Other Words; n. d.]

[HOLY EUREKA!] The era of gold rushes in this country heard the cry: “GOLD! GOLD!” Search, search, search; traces, traces, traces; signs, signs, signs!

They found traces (flakes and nuggets), they discovered small veins, and they heard rumors. And, of course, there was "fool's gold," and they bought into "salted" mines (fakes), they re-mined old mines that had been mined many times before, and they followed every rumor ever spoken by the lips of man. But, search as they might they never found the Mother Lode, the source of all the gold.

Likewise, men from all over the world rush to and fro, “here and there,” to this very day ... seeking to find the mother of all errors in the bible. They find what they believe are huge errors but in 2000 years everyone has been shown to be an apparent error not an error.

Hebrews says “Jesus [is] the author and finisher of our faith.” Our faith is thus based on the words of Christ Jesus. So, to the extent we trust Him, His words become authoritative in our lives. By this we mean: whatever He spoke carries His authority with it.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is the Word of God to us?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. TO US THE WORD OF GOD IS THE POWER OF GOD!

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.

1 Corinthians 4:20

Yes, Jesus (the Word) is the power of God and He is available to us! AMEN?

[POWER] When laser light was discovered there was a quiet celebration in the scientific community. They alone seemed to know of its existence … most of the public thought it was just science fiction. It was there all the time; but just undiscovered.

The difference between laser light and ordinary light is direction. A regular bulb diffuses light in all directions. A magnifying glass turns diffused light into concentrated light. A laser is a single, powerful, di-rected beam of parallel light.

In many ways the Word of God (the Light of the World) is like this.

There have always been those in the religious community who knew of its existence.

Those on the outside, living in the diffused and confused light of this world, think it’s a spiritual science fiction or simply mythology; sadly, even many on the inside that have yet to discover its existence, let alone its power.

Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?”

Mark 12:24

Don’t you see the problem is not with the Bible, it’s with you!

II. TO US THE WORD OF GOD IS THE LIGHT OF GOD!

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:4-5

Yes, Jesus is the power and the light of God! How does one see in the dark?

[TRAIN LIGHTS] There was little girl on the train, she couldn't un-derstand why the conductor was lighting the lamps in each car. She said, "Mommy, it is day time and the sun is shining, why is he turning on the lamps"? Her mom said, "Wait and see." In a minute the train plunged into a long, dark tunnel, and then the little girl understood … they were for the dark time ahead.

The Bible contains thousands of verses that seem very ordinary and unnecessary. You can't understand why God has lit those lamps at the moment, but there are dark moments ahead and then we’ll understand … if you’ve hidden them in your heart.

The Bible is like train lights, both were made to overcome the dark.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

John 8:12

… if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fel-lowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:7

III. THE WORD OF GOD IS THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD!

Yes, Jesus is the both the Power of God and the Light of God, but He is also the Knowledge of God!

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wis-dom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot un-derstand them, because they are spiritually appraised. But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:12-16

You all know what “palm oil” is, don’t you? Let me tell you about palm oil.

[PALM OIL] Fred W. Cropp, president of American Bible Society, received a letter asking: "What do you recommend to keep my leather Bible from getting stiff and cracking?
He wrote back, "There is one oil that is especially good for treatment of leather on Bibles; in fact it will insure your Bible will stay in good condition for years. It is not sold, but may be found in the palm of your hand."

And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND.”

Luke 8:10

[TIP OF TONGUE] A skeptic physician went to hear Moody. To his amazement, he was saved. When asked the reason, he said, "I went to hear Moody with no other idea than to have something to laugh at. I knew he was no scholar, and I was sure I could find many flaws in his argument. But I found I could not get at the man. He stood there hiding behind the Bible and just fired one Bible text after another at me till they went home to my heart straight as bullets from a rifle. I tell you, Moody's power is in the way he has his Bible at the tip of his tongue."

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Hebrews 4:12-13

IV. THE WORD OF GOD IS THE TEACHING OF GOD!

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

[CORRECTION] The Word of God is like the auto-pilot in modern aircraft. All during the trip, the plane is flown on automatic pilot, which continually yet imperceptibly corrects the course of the plane to keep it on track.

That's what God's Word does for us. It nudges us to keep us on course. It keeps affecting the way we think, the way we draw conclusions, and the way we make our daily life decisions.

But Satan doesn’t want your Auto-pilot on …

“Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.”

Psalms 119:105

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Romans 15:4

For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. For solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

Hebrews 5:13-14

Many wonder why they can’t take hardship and trials very well. I saw a young bullrider a few weeks ago; he was hurt so bad he needed help getting on a bull. He never complained or hesitated. Why? Because he knew what was expected of him. He was in the race to win and he ran with endurance the race set before him.

We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

Colossians 1:28

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: There is a 5th element of the Word of God that has meaning to us: IT IS THE REVELATION OF GOD!

Take all the street and highway signs down and remove all the traffic lights and see where it gets us? How would we know how to get to our destination?

[POCKET WATCH] A man seated on a park bench had a Boy Scout sit down next to him and began winding what appeared to be a pocket watch. "My, that’s a nice watch." the man said.

“Thank you, sir. It’s my bible watch!” The scout said, flipping it open.

"Oh, really, does it tell you the time?"

"No sir, it can’t do that!" said the boy. "That’s why I call it my Bible watch; I have to open it to see what it says."

How in the world would we know anything of God if it were not for the Word of God?

[TRIAL] There is no city in the world where art treasures are more appreciated than Florence, Italy. An American visited the Pitti Palace, after viewing a few of the paintings there, said to his guide: "Are these the great masterpieces everyone talks about? I don't see much to arouse such excitement."

The guide answered, "These paintings are not on trial here sir; you, sir, are the one who is on trial."

So it is with the Word of God. Sometimes we run across scoffers, men who sneer at divine revelation, who say that they cannot feel much enthusiasm about the Bible. But the Bible is not on trial. Whether men believe it or not …

"you [are] born again not of seed which is perishable but imperish-able, that is, through the living and enduring word of God."

1 Peter 1:23

Peter is directly pointing to Christ Jesus, the Word of God … don’t you see that when you reject the WORD OF GOD you reject not only the POWER, the LIGHT, the KNOWLEDGE, and the TEACHING of God, but you also reject the very SON OF GOD!

It seems people are more concerned about whom, from this world, they will see in heaven than if they’ll see God or how they’ll fair in the coming Judgment.

As a church let’s make every effort to give the word of God the respect it deserves for the Word is living and is none other than Jesus. Deny it, and you deny Him; deny Him and you will not see the Kingdom of God.

Think about that!

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TAGS: Homoletics, Gospel of John,
Preaching, Scripture, Sermons

21 MAY 2006: Freedom - The Threat & The Price!

TOPIC: Freedom; Bondage, Church health, Liberty, World

TEXT: John 8:36

"If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What do we do to be vigilant concerning our religious liberty?

[ASLEEP] When Rip Van Winkle awoke from his peculiar 20 year siesta, he immediately went back home. When he arrived he found it remarkably changed. New buildings had sprung up over night, and their style was different than anything he'd ever seen.

Many of the people he didn't know, many he did, and many didn't know him. Their clothing was odd and they spoke of things which were meaningless to him. He discovered himself out of touch and con-fronted by a foreign and hostile social order.

TRUTH CLAIM: Like Van Winkle, the church has been asleep; when it awakened recently, the world had become hostile; it found itself impotent as a representative of our Omnipotent God.

Friends, the church today is not free at all. What it considers freedom is actually a subtle form of psychological and spiritual bondage ... a dreamy apostasy.

There are two requirements for a truly free church:

1. Understanding and appropriation of our focal text and
2. A remnant of believers who are "unashamed of the Gospel of Christ"!

[JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN QUOTE] This great objective was succinctly expressed by John Philpot Curran, the great Irish patriot, in a political and secular realm, but its essence is purely biblical. In 1790 he said:

"The condition upon which God has given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime, and the punishment of his guilt."

Curran is reminds us we our children can expect to be slaves of others we we're not vigilant concerning our secular and spiritual liberty ... i.e., we took it for granted.

That unexplainable church snooze has allowed an enemy to steal the viability of the Church of God.

Like any military unit overpowered by an enemy has three tactical choices:

1. Surrender or capitulation
2. Retreat, with or without honor
3. Counterattack with all your strength, all your number, and all your courage without fear or regard for safety or cost!

My choice is counterattack; the best counterattack is executed immediately while the element of surprise is with you, but with courageous, fearless, and gifted leaders out front.

This enemy is known by secularism, pluralism, humanism, political correctness, diversity, inclusivism, and worldliness. The president of this evil philosophy is Satan, and his goal is to pass off a lie as truth!

That lie has as its stated objective the toleration of, even acceptance of, all worldviews under one organic umbrella (Globalism), overseen by the UN; all other worldviews are acceptable except the worldview espoused by the church.

Promotion of these "isms" inside the church is simply an effort to mask an ideology of moral relativism: feminism, gay rights, tolerance, political-correctness, liberalism, and anti-traditionalism are just a few of the more notorious.

They all reject any belief system or ideology which claims revealed truth or absolute truth, such as that of the orthodox or traditional Judeo-Christian worldview.

By making things sound reasonable and proper in the minds of ill informed believers, the devil surreptitiously undermines the foundations of our faith.

In general, religious freedom is the freedom to worship free of any and all unwanted external influence.

Pluralism and its several religious counterparts do not require force to steal this freedom to choose. Satan always relies on stealth to deceive.

Boundaries of faith, once taken for granted, are being regularly crossed by people with worldviews hostile to the Bride of Christ.

Twenty-five years ago, if you were asked, how soon would you have guessed the Episcopal Church USA would be on the cusp of a being booted from the world-wide Anglican Communion? If you would have guessed in the first decade of the 21st Century, would you have guessed it would have been over homosexuality?

Twenty-five years ago, if you were asked, how soon would you have guessed the Pacific Coast region of the American Baptist Church would have divorced itself from the parent organization? If you would have guessed in the first decade of the 21st Century, would you have guessed it would be over homosexuality? Maybe abortion but not homosexuality!

Capitulation and abdication have replaced the bold acts of faith previously seen among the faithful. "Peace at any cost!" is now the battle cry, when it should be "Repent and be saved!" Now church leaders are chastened for offending non-believers or people of other faiths.

Beloved there is only one faith, one church, one Lord and God, the Lord Jesus Christ!

There is One Truth, and that is the great "I am (is) truth," and He is very offensive for those who are seeking other ways to heaven, other ways to do church.

Jesus could have accommodated the woman at the well's counter-arguments but instead He confronted her sin. Jesus could have said "You are right!" to the legalistic accusers of the woman caught in sin but He attacked them from their own teachings.

What's up? Is Jesus bifurcated in His teaching? No! Never! He was confronting those who would twist the Royal Law into something it did not say and did not mean. In both cases the woman was a changed woman.

When their deception is confronted, the pluralist and relativist jeer, mock, and ridicule ... they smear good people with bigot, homophobe, racist, capitalist, etc.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What can we do to be vigilant concerning our religious liberty?

I. WE MUST REMEMBER NOT TO FORGET!

How can we do this? By keeping alive the doctrines of the faith, the essentials of traditional and orthodox Christianity. By keeping alive and real the testimony of the saints who've gone before us!

DON'T FEAR ... INTIMIDATION, AND DON'T BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, being always ready to make a defense to everyone who asks ...

1 Peter 3:15

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

II. WE MUST BECOME MORE DOGMATIC!

The secular world has inundated the church with an emphasis on "feel-goodism" and pop-psychology (psychobabble), while downplaying any dogmatic instruction.

Learning about man rather than the Risen Lamb of God seems to be primary.

What is the meaning of this? And How may I apply it to my life? These are the questions of the students of the truth of God!

We must become as bold and as committed as those who proclaim false gospels; yet we must ...

... keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

1 Peter 3:16

III. WE MUST ENGAGE OTHERS!

To heed the commandments of Christ is the first order of action for the truly born again. To fail His commandment to evangelize the lost is the same as not loving one another, let alone our enemies!

[FREEDOM IS SHARED] Centuries ago, in the slave mines of South America, when a man found a stone of a certain size he was given his freedom. No man, having once gained his freedom, ever returned to the mines to help his fellow-slaves find theirs.

Likewise, today, it is hard to find many believers who've gained true, authentic freedom who've return to the mines to help others gain theirs.

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: We, as church people, are imitating secular society at an alarming rate. Increasingly, we adopt from other worldviews what seems good or feels good; gleaning, as it were, here and there, as the human spirit and human wisdom moves them, ignoring the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth and the wisdom which comes down from above.

The spirit of this world is earthly, natural, and demonic [James 3:13-18] ... it teaches us to be inclusive, while the Bible teaches us to be exclusive; it teaches us to be accepting, while the Bible teaches us to be discerning; it teaches us all things are relative, while the Bible teaches us their are absolute truths; it teaches us to accommodate diversity, while the Bible teaches the straight path and the narrow gate; it teaches us to tolerate and accommodate, while the Bible teaches us to separate.

[GENERATION GAP] As one Texas Pastor wrote: "As a result, questions are [now] being raised that previous generations never felt the urgency to discuss. We will no longer [spend our] time disputing ... polity or procedures. People will not struggle with 'Can we drink?' 'Can we dance?' or 'Can we listen to that type of music?'

"Instead the queries ... [now] center around the exclusivity of Jesus ... as the [only] way of salvation, the nature of man, the doctrine of sin, and other central teachings of the faith."

What he fears is that the faithful are more concerned with the curtains and the wallpaper than the foundation of the Temple God is building.

The liberal media, the liberal educational community, the liberal judiciary, and the liberal religious community lay down a pluralistic barrage of acceptance and accommodation ... the only voice which is unacceptable and lacks accommodation is the conservative voice, especially the conservative Christian voice.

God has too many children that are like thermometers; what He needs are thermostat kids. A thermometer reflects the temperature of the room; a thermostat sets the temperature of they want the room to be.

Whatever you chose to do, do it with all your heart and soul! Put your whole self into it! But please, oh please, don't be lukewarm.

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TAGS: Homoletics, Freedom,
Liberty, Preaching, Sermons

14 MAY 2006: You Have Been Told What The Lord Takes Delight In

TOPIC: Submission/Surrender; circumspection, humility, justice, mercy, sinful rebellion, unchanging love

TEXT: Micah 6:7-8 (1-8, a section of prophetic self-talk)

Does the LORD take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require (Lit. search for in) of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What does God delight in?

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Let’s review Micah, the sixth of the 12 Minor Prophets …

Name: means Who is like Jehovah? Michael has the same origins: Who is like God? Note the play on words in 7:18 (later).

Home: Micah is called a Moras-thite; Moresheth-gath is a small town about 20 miles south of Jerusalem, near Lachish (remember Isaac & Rachel).

Contemporaries: primarily Isaiah, but also Amos and Hosea, who both prophesied in Israel (the Northern Kingdom) Locale/rulers: prophesied in Judah during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (pre-Manasseh), but also pro­claimed the word of the Lord in Samaria as well (approx. 740-30 to 700-690 BC). [McGee, "Micah," Thru the Bible Radio commentaries, Pasadena, n.d., p. 290]

Theme: The judgment (scathing indictments against sin jux­taposed with dramatic panoramas of God's judgment against Israel's leaders - prophets, priests and kings) and the redemption of God.

[MINI-PROPHET] Some call Micah a mini-Isaiah or Isaiah in shorthand [Ibid]; sort of like Mini-me in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.”

Key verse:

Who is a God like Thee, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. [Micah 7:18]

God hates sin, but He loves sinners' soul.

Form: Some say Micah's style is pungent and personal. At least one writer equates him with a war correspondent. The prophet combines tenderness and gentleness with rank judgment. [Ibid]

Israel was a center of influence in the region; much like the U.S. is in the world today. Its in­fluence created problems all over; the problems were curiously similar to those of contemporary American society, just disguised differ­ently. The prophet condemns violence, corruption, greed, robbery, covetousness, gross materialism, duplicity, injustice, oppression, and spiri­tual bankruptcy. And God's providential will is clearly seen in Micah …

2:12 The remnant will be gathered.
3:6, 7 The end of prophecy.
3:12 This verse brought about Jeremiah's preservation [Jeremiah 26:18]
4:1-8 One world government coming.
4:1-5:15 Bright but brief sketches of Israel's future hope.
5:2 Birth of the Messiah (Jesus) in Bethlehem; proba­bly the best known.
5:7, 8 Future ministry of the remnant.
6:1-7:7 A clear summary of God's requirements of Is­rael and how they had failed to meet them.
7:8-20 The glorious fulfillment of the Davidic kingdom, when God's love in faithfulness and forgiveness re­stores His kingdom. All of this looks forward to the church age, the end of the Age of the Gentiles.

[DIAMOND] Like a finished diamond, each wonderful and awe inspiring side of the final and glorious portrait of the Lord Jesus is developed in God’s word. Each facet shows a different aspect of His work or person or history or future.

Right now the Great Jeweler is still working on a diamond in the rough; no one but Him can see the finished product and what is required to get there; but has been trying to give us a glimpse through a glass darkly.

Who is a God like You (word play on the name of the prophet), who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea. [Micah 7:18-19]

[TEN BOOM] Said, “Then He put up a ‘No Fishing’ sign.”

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What does God delight in?
EXPANDED OUTLINE:

I. HE DOESN’T DELIGHT IN OUTWARD SACRIFICE! [6:7]

A. He doesn’t want our live stock (“thousands of rams”)
B. He doesn’t want our valuables (“ten thousand rivers of oil”)
C. He doesn’t want our offspring (“my firstborn”)
D. He doesn’t want anything we possess

II. HE DOES DELIGHT IN INWARD SACRIFICE! [7:18]

A. He delights in “unchanging love”

This is not toward others here, rather it’s Godward; the Israelites had a “changing love” for God … when things were good they claimed they loved Him, but when He chastened them for their sinful rebellion, they changed their love for Him because they didn’t see their sins.

B. He delights in our doing “justice”

1. Pictures accurate weights
2. Pictures fair prices

C. He delights in our loving “kindness”

1. aka “mercy”
2. Pictures not oppressing the innocent and defenseless
3. Genuine and proactive sorrow for others

D. He delights in our being “circumspect with [our] God”

III. HE DELIGHTS IN THE SACRIFICE OF SELF! [Romans 12:1]

A. A Holy sacrifice
B. A well pleasing (acceptable) sacrifice
C. A worshipful sacrifice
D. A sacrifice of service
E. He wants me, all of me, from the inside out

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: Prophecy is an interesting subject today; in retrospect prophecy seems clear. We say, “Why didn’t those idiots get it? Why didn’t they listen to the Lord when He spoke? It’s clear as mud to anyone with any brains.”
But when we look forward and are told that the prophecy has yet to be fulfilled, we fall all over ourselves trying to explain how it doesn’t apply to us, our nation, or our generation.

[BIGGER PICURE] Faith gets tested when a sense of God's presence fades or when the very ordinances of life make us question whether our responses even matter. We wonder, "What can one person do? What difference will my small effort make?"

Philip Yancey writes, “I once watched a series on public television based on interviews with survivors from World War II. The soldiers recalled how they spent a particular day. One sat in a foxhole all day; once or twice, a German tank drove by, and he shot at it. Others played cards and frittered away the time. A few got involved in furious firefights. Mostly, the day passed like any other day for an infantryman on the front. Later, they learned they had just participated in one of the largest, most decisive engagements of the war, the Battle of the Bulge. It did not feel decisive to any of them at the time, because none had the big picture of what was happening elsewhere.” ["Reaching For the Invisible God," Christianity Today (September 4, 2000)]

They knew they were in a war, a really big war. They had even been told the Germans were amassing to press the front in the area, but they were so close to the trees they couldn’t see the forest. Prophecy reminds me of …

[SPEECH] In my junior college speech class we had a hippie art student giving a final speech. Nice guy, but as a surfer I didn’t get too close. His speech was centered on a series of roughs, sketches, and watercolors, each one built up the idea he had in his head, one part at a time, until at the end he showed us the final oil. I didn’t care much for his art but I got the idea. The finished product was only attempted after all the concept had been worked out, piece by piece.

Old Testament writers (historians, narrators, poets, psalmists, and prophets), like artists, have built up the picture of our Savior, piece by piece, over time, each contributing his part. And just so, Micah paints his piece …

Let’s get back to the issue of sinful rebellion. America is like the Army during the Battle of the Bulge … we don’t want to see the big picture! It’s not that we can’t see it … we’ve been told … but, like the Jews of old, we don’t want to see it. If we did we’d have to admit we are like the Israelites … with a changing love, a lack of justice, unmerciful, and proud before our God.

You and I, though we are in Mexico, we can decide whether we’re part of the problem or part of the solution.

As a nation, America is already in the cauldron of chastisement … but it is not too late …

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea. [Micah 7:18-19]

God remains to this day The Redemptive God.

TAGS: Bible, Homoletics, Micah,

Minor Prophets, Preaching, Sermons