Latest / HBCWestminster / 5.22.22 Micah 6:8 Pastor Danny Gardner

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5.22.22 Micah 6:8 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  But today we begin in Micah, Micah chapter 6 and verse 8. And once you've found it, if you're already there, if you would stand in honor of God's word. As I read this single verse, this profound statement, what does the Lord require of us? Micah chapter 6 and verse 8. He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God? And pray with me, Heavenly Father.
• 0:34
  our creator, our sustainer. We ask that you would make us a just people, a people who love mercy and a people who walk humbly with you. And Lord, we know that we can only do these things through Jesus. And so we pray for these things this morning in his name. Amen. Amen. Thank you, church.
• 1:01
  Bill Curtis has said it this way, this, referring to Micah 6, 8, is one of the most significant and profound verses in the entire Bible. Here, God condensed the spirit of the entire Old Testament law down to three principles. And so let's just really quickly, church, do a quick exercise if you would. Hold your Bibles in one hand. Don't drop them like I almost did just now. Hold your Bible in one hand.
• 1:26
  Find with the other hand the end of the Old Testament, that one page that separates Matthew from Malachi. Find that page and hold it. There it is. Then with that same hand, grab the rest of the Old Testament. Hold, if you would, with your Bible open, the entire Old Testament. Just take a look at it. The Old Testament represents about two-thirds of your scriptures, right? One-third New Testament, two-thirds Old Testament.
• 1:54
  Once you've found and now you're holding the whole Old Testament, look at what page number your Old Testament ends on. So find how many pages in your Bible. In mine, it's 970. Anybody else? What pages yours end on? 800s? 700s? Maybe some. If you're getting the giant text edition, it's like 1,700 pages of Old Testament. You feel very accomplished, right? It's only eight words per page, but it's a lot of pages.
• 2:25
  Right? I mean, we'll estimate somewhere 700, 800, 900, 1,000 pages. Now catch what Bill Curtis just said. That 1,000 pages can be summed up in three words. Justice, mercy, humility. And you're like, well, now you tell me.
• 2:49
  So I've been going through the Read Scripture app, and I'm like knee-deep in Job. Right? We're all in Job right now in the Read Scripture app. You're like, I could have just skipped ahead knowing those three words. Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God. Yeah, pretty much. That's what he's saying. All of those pages can be summed up with three basic...
• 3:12
  In fact, he continues this way. He says, the same guy, Bill Curtis, God challenged the people to abandon all of their religious activity and engage him with their hearts. And let me ask you, church, who here is interested in fake religion? Just by show of hands. You're interested in fake? You're like, I want the plastic Christianity. I want fake. I want to pretend like everything in my life is great. I'm just going to pretend.
• 3:41
  Every Sunday morning for an hour, we're going to polish ourselves up. We're going to pretend like our kids never sin, right? When we hear back from their Sunday school teachers that they were awful in class, I'm going to look shocked because that's the first time. I mean, honestly, they are sinless when they're at home. This has never happened before. Like, I want to pretend. And on Sunday mornings, I'm going to pretend, my wife is going to pretend that everything is great, that we never sin. We don't actually need to be here. And I want to sit among the people.
• 4:10
  Who also pretend. I want pretend Baptist church. Anybody interested in that? Nobody is, right? In fact, one of the things I believe that endears people to the church and even to this church, one of the constant points of feedback, positive feedback we get is it's genuine. It's authentic. I'm not interested in pretending. I'm not interested in phony Christianity. Like pretending.
• 4:42
  that heaven is now rather than awaiting a country a real home and a real country where i'm actually a citizen and understanding that right now this earth is cursed and fallen and full of sin and every now and again god slaps his kids with that reality little doses of truth momentary reminders that we might pretend like everything is great but we actually live in a fallen world we actually really do need jesus amen
• 5:12
  We don't just sing about it. Yes, at the cross, at the cross, my sin ran red, but now I'm white. We sing about it and we clap and then we go home. No, that's for real. We actually do need the grace of God abundantly in our lives. And Micah is one of those reminders. Why would God have to remind us to do justice unless there wasn't justice? Why would he have to say love mercy unless we were prone not to love mercy? Why would he have to remind us to walk in humility?
• 5:43
  If we were already a humble people. Do you see what I'm saying? A little dose of reminder that we actually live in a fallen world. And because a single verse will be our focus this week and next, allow me to take some time to offer some historical and literary context. Turn back with me just a few pages to the left. Go to Micah 1. Let me give some historical context here. What was Micah about? Chapter 1 and verse 1.
• 6:11
  It describes the Lord's calling Micah to a prophetic ministry. It says, the word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth. Moresheth was a small town in southern Judea. Micah was from the country. He was raised in a farming community. In fact, Micah worked in the fields. Micah was living proof that God is willing to use people from...
• 6:39
  very humble, even unimaginable backgrounds to accomplish great things. It's a reminder, Micah is a reminder, that God is willing to use someone from small beginnings to accomplish something vast. The Lord, we see in the life of Micah, was more concerned with his heart than he was with his heritage. God is more concerned, church, with your heart than with your heritage.
• 7:10
  I've heard people say at times that they are discouraged because they weren't raised in a Christian home. I've heard people say they're even intimidated coming to church because they said, Pastor Danny, I've never heard these songs. Never even heard these songs. Where did these songs come from? And yet the guy standing next to me has his arms raised and his eyes closed. He's not even looking at the words. I've never even heard the song. And then you say, turn to the book of Micah, and you're like, I have no idea where that is. Everybody's like, well, yeah, Micah, I know what page number that is. How do they know all of these things?
• 7:38
  What are the little numbers for? And what are the demarcations about? I don't know any of that stuff. And so they feel intimidated coming into a group because they're like, everybody in here must have come from the womb knowing exactly what number Micah was on. Like, well, no. We all started needing the table of contents. Raise your hand if you ever had to use the table of contents. Read everybody. Like, yeah. I mean, I didn't know.
• 8:07
  Even now, I'm like, wait, what was it? You know, and I memorized all the books of the Bible, but I have to start at Genesis to get them all. Like Micah, you know, you go all the way through, you know, like, well, okay, yeah, it took me 25 books to get there. No, we start, and they say, man, if you're one of those people, if you're like, I'm a little bit intimidated coming to church, then take heart, you're just like Micah. Humble beginnings, but God can use you to do something great. And listen, we are so glad that you're here.
• 8:34
  I've heard others, others who were raised in God-fearing homes, who were raised in Sunday school, who did Awana, who memorized all the verses, and who grew up doing sword drills. You guys remember sword drills? Like, yeah, I was raised, I know exactly where Micah's at. And I hear them say that they're discouraged because they'll say something like, Pastor Danny, I have no testimony. Came to Christ when I was four, never went off the rails.
• 8:57
  Never really rebelled against my parents. Never broke the law. Never got into trouble. Got straight A's in school. Here I am. And they feel like, well, God can't use me the way that he can use somebody who has a more colorful background. And listen, church, isn't it just like the enemy of our souls to use both sides of the same issue to discourage the saints? Isn't it just like the enemy to say, ah, you can't be used. Look where you came from.
• 9:27
  No, the Lord would never use somebody who's committed those things, who's done those acts. The Lord would never use somebody like you. And then on the other side, the Lord would never, you're so boring. You can't relate to anybody. You have no past. Like what's the Lord going to use you for? They shouldn't even ask you to share your testimony because it's going to be like, well, I grew up in a Christian home and then you're going to go sit down. The Lord can't use you. Isn't it just like the enemy? And beloved friends, listen, it doesn't matter what kind of home you grew up in or your background.
• 9:55
  The Lord is more concerned with your heart than with your heritage. Despite his humble beginnings, Micah spent most of his life in ministry in the sprawling city of Jerusalem. He was raised in the country, but then the Lord called him to the city. His name, Micah, means who is like Yahweh. Who is like Yahweh? And in his prophecies, he sets out to answer.
• 10:21
  that question and church may it also be said of us that the way we live our lives would always be an answer to that question who is like our god let me let you see my life as an answer to that question who is like our god try to find a better god and the way i live my life will be a testimony an answer to that question who is like our god chapter 1 and verse 1 continues the word of the lord that came to micah of morisheth notice
• 10:49
  In the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, Micah served the Lord as a prophet for three generations of kings. The first one mentioned is King Jotham. King Jotham feared God like his father Uzziah before him. He was even maybe greater than his father Uzziah because Jotham did not succumb to the arrogance that eventually toppled his father's throne.
• 11:18
  2 Chronicles 26 talks about Uzziah. This is Jotham's dad. Uzziah, when he was strong, became what? Proud. To his destruction, he was unfaithful to the Lord his God. He entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Kings weren't allowed to do that. That was reserved for priests. And he, in defiance of the law of God, walks into the temple and begins to burn incense on the altar of incense.
• 11:47
  In his pride, who is going to tell me no? That was Uzziah, Jotham's dad. Now, Jotham did not follow the arrogant ways of his father. In fact, it says in the next chapter, 2 Chronicles 27, Jotham, Uzziah's son, did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that his father Uzziah had done. So he did all of the good things, except he did not enter the temple of the Lord, where his father had failed Jotham.
• 12:17
  had succeeded he was a righteous king and that was the king on the throne when micah began however jotham had a son his name was ahaz ahaz was not like his righteous father at all ahaz was a wicked and idolatrous king he erected idols in judah he closed the temple can you imagine a jewish king walking into the temple closing the doors and barring them shut
• 12:46
  That's what this guy did, Ahaz. He then even began to offer his own sons as sacrifices to false gods. Those were the offerings he made. So he would take these little boys and he would sacrifice them, can you imagine, on the altar of false gods. Consequently, it was during the reign of Ahaz that God raised up conquering armies to defeat him and to humble him. However, Ahaz also had a son.
• 13:16
  His son's name was Hezekiah. Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, rejected the idolatry of his father. He embraced the pure worship of his grandfather, Jotham. In his first year, Hezekiah reopened the temple. He reestablished sacrifices. He reestablished worship of the Lord. He even commanded that all of his father's idols be torn down. Because of Hezekiah's courage and faithfulness, the Lord blessed him. 2 Chronicles 31.
• 13:45
  Talks about Hezekiah. Hezekiah did throughout all Judah. And he did what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart. And what? He prospered. He walked in humility toward the Lord and he prospered. He tore down all of the idol worship, all of those. And he reopened the temple. He sought pure worship for the people. And God blessed.
• 14:15
  Now church, I think that there are two lessons that we can learn from these three kings. Three generations of kings. The first lesson is this. As the king's heart goes, so the hearts of the people go. The heart of the king, the heart of the leader of a nation is a reflection of the heart of the people of that nation. If you have a wicked leader, you're going to be cursed. As the heart of the king goes, so the hearts of the people go.
• 14:46
  Generation after generation in Israel's history demonstrates this. Wicked kings bring curses upon their people. But contrite and God-fearing kings bring blessing. And you may say, well, how does this apply to me? I mean, I'm not the king. I'm no prime minister. I'm not a president. I mean, I don't have influence like that in any sphere in my life. But listen, just because you're not a king doesn't mean you have influence. You don't have influence.
• 15:12
  The Lord has, I believe, strategically, purposefully put you in positions of influence. And you may not be the king over a nation, but you certainly have influence in your home. And so let me ask you, what kind of king, what kind of leader are you in your home, at your workplace?
• 15:34
  With your classmates, with your co-workers, with your teammates? What kind of influence do you have? God has put you in positions of leadership. Maybe not over entire nations, but in positions of leadership that he expects you to lead. What kind of kings are you? Are you setting those people up for a blessing or for cursing? That's the first lesson. As the heart of the king goes, so goes the heart of the people. But second, here we have in these three kings a great picture of spiritual reform.
• 16:04
  You'll notice the Lord blesses the repentance and return even of an unfaithful people, if that people will but humble themselves and ask for forgiveness. What a great promise this is. Maybe you're here this morning, you think, you know what, I'm way too far down that road, Pastor Danny. You don't know what I've done. I can't be forgiven. I have actually out-sinned the forgiveness of God. Well, listen to this promise from 1 John 1.
• 16:34
  In verse 8, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Man, that is a pretty strong statement. If you're here this morning pretending, like we talked, if you're here this morning practicing fake plastic Christianity, he says, ah, you're a liar. You pretend like you don't sin. Nope. He says you're a liar. He says, however, if we confess our sins, if we actually agree with God, yes, I am a debauched and wretched man. He is faithful. He is just.
• 17:05
  To forgive our sins and to cleanse us from, here's the best word. What's the best word in the whole verse? All unrighteousness. He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is impossible to out-sin the forgiveness of God. Amen? Oh, praise God for that verse. It doesn't say some unrighteousness. It doesn't say a little bit of unrighteousness. It doesn't say he'll forgive you from some sins but not other sins. He says all unrighteousness.
• 17:34
  What a great picture of spiritual reform, that God would actually bring an unfaithful nation into blessing and grace again because they humbled themselves and asked for his forgiveness. Micah chapter 1 and verse 1 concludes by saying that Micah prophesied, notice right at the end, prophesied in both Samaria and Jerusalem. It means that Micah's ministry spread. Remember, he was in Jerusalem. That's where he lived and ministered.
• 18:02
  But his ministry actually spread to the surrounding regions, to the northern region of Samaria. More significantly even, Micah lived during the divided kingdom of Israel. Israel was actually broken into two. The ten northern tribes banded together. They became known as Israel. The two southern tribes also banded together. They became known as Judah. Interestingly, Micah ministered to both Jerusalem, which was in Judah in the south, and Samaria, which was in Israel.
• 18:33
  In the north. Now the reason that's important is because Micah begins his book in chapter 1 with a judgment against Samaria. If you were to read chapter 1, which we won't do for sake of time, if you were to read it, it would talk about how destruction was coming upon the Samaritans. The north. He's standing in Jerusalem. The south.
• 18:54
  And the people of Judah do not like the Samaritans. You remember all those stories that Jesus told about how great the Samaritans were. And the people were like, what are you talking about? The Samaritans are our mortal enemies. We don't like them. And that's why the parable of the Good Samaritan was such a big deal. No, they can't be good.
• 19:12
  We don't like the Samaritans. He's standing in Jerusalem and he is railing against the Samaritans. Now listen, what do you think the people of Judah were doing as he is pronouncing, prophesying destruction upon the Samaritans? You think they're cheering? Applauding? He's standing in the south and saying, let me tell you what's coming on the north. Your idolatry, your wickedness. The Lord is going to pour out famine and cursing and war upon you. And all the people in the south are doing what?
• 19:43
  Yeah, tell them. Get those Samaritans. It would be like Micah showing up at a joint session of Congress and walking up to the front and standing on the stage and saying, look in one direction and saying, listen, Republicans, I got some stuff to tell you. Destruction is coming upon you. You're doing it all wrong. What are the people on the other side of the aisle doing? Like, yeah, certainly a messenger sent from God, right?
• 20:17
  and then him pausing and saying, oh, wait, Democrats, I got some stuff for you, too. I got some stuff for you. So you get to the end of chapter 1, and you're like, okay, he is railing against the Samaritans, and all the people of Judah are applauding, and then he says, whoa, Judah, don't forget, I've saved some stuff for you, too. God would indeed judge the wicked Samaritans, but we find in the book of Micah that he would have plenty left over for Judah if they refused to repent. Now, church, listen, we can learn from this, too.
• 20:50
  Often we attend church, we listen to sermons with others in mind, friends and family who we hope to send the sermon to so that they can listen for themselves, those who would in our minds really benefit from the pastor's words this morning, all the while neglecting our own hearts. Let us not forget the words of Jesus. Did Jesus ever talk about that? Worrying about your brother's sin rather than taking care of your own? Did that ever come up? It came up. It was kind of a famous sermon, right?
• 21:19
  The Sermon on the Mount. He dealt with that. In Matthew chapter 7, look what Jesus says. Famous verses. Why do you see the speck that's in your brother's eye but don't notice the log that's in your own? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite. First take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Why are you worried about your brother's eyes when you have a log sticking out of your own?
• 21:48
  James Montgomery Boyce says it well, when we read of judgments on others, we almost sigh in relief, assuming wrongly that if judgment is spoken against them, it is therefore not spoken against us. But this is wrong because God is no respecter of persons. And listen, church, we live in an age where people love. In fact, they thrive on pointing out the faults of others. Social media has become a playground for self-expression, self-aggrandizement.
• 22:19
  and ruthless slander against those who would disagree with us. But the people of God must be above those things. The people of God must be a people who are quick to point out our own faults, all the while quick to extend grace to others. The book of Micah can be summarized very simply. The prophet declares a coming judgment due to the nation's sin. He then challenges the people to repent and humble themselves, and the people
• 22:51
  refuse. They chose idolatry and complacency instead. And listen, church, that went on for 16 years. For 16 years, for a decade and a half, Micah preached the truth faithfully and the people rejected. For 16 years, the people rejected his message until finally under the reign of Hezekiah, the last king, the people finally repented. You know, at the end of his life,
• 23:22
  Winston Churchill, the famous British Prime Minister who led the people of England through World War II. Winston Churchill, at the end of his life, was asked to speak at the boys' school where he had been raised and educated. He was asked during that small session to what he attributed his success in World War II. Why were we successful? To whom do you give the credit? And he just said this. It came in three words. His response was three words long. To what do you attribute your success? And he just said, never give up.
• 23:52
  And then he added, never give up. Never give up. Never, never give up. And we may be tempted to write off our culture. It's too far gone. It can't be helped. To write off our country. To write off especially particular states. I've noticed we've done that. Let us remember the lesson of Micah. Micah is the book that reminds us to never give up.
• 24:22
  As long as there is breath in the lungs of its citizens, there is hope for a nation. With that in mind, church, let's turn to Micah 6 and verse 8. If you've ever wondered, what is it that our nation needs to do in order to get right with the Lord? What do we have to do? What does the Lord want from us? What does the Lord require from us? The answer is found in a single verse in the Old Testament. Here it is. Do justice, love kindness or mercy.
• 24:54
  Walk humbly with your God. Micah was addressing a people who were willing to do a million other things before they were willing to do three right things. In fact, the very things that were needed. Look back just a few verses. Look at verse 6.
• 25:11
  They're asking, the people of Israel are asking, with what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? What does he want from me? What can I offer that the Lord will be pleased with? So they start coming up with ideas. Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams? Maybe I'll bring thousands of animals and I'll sacrifice them. Will he be pleased then? Thousands. Then he says this.
• 25:39
  What about ten thousands of rivers of oil? Oil was precious. It was valuable. It was only for the wealthy. It was expensive. What if I offer rivers of it? Will the Lord be pleased? Then they say in verse 7, Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? Shall I take my firstborn son and lay him on the altar? Surely that would appease the righteous requirements of this.
• 26:08
  And then Micah instead says, the Lord has already told you what he wants. He said it in the Old Testament, in the Mosaic Law. He said it in the Ten Commandments. And we look at the first of these two today, justice and mercy. And these two commands encapsulate the moral code of the entirety of the second tablet. Moses goes up on the mountain. He gets the Ten Commandments, chiseled by the finger of God, right? He comes down the mountain with two tablets.
• 26:39
  He's walking down to share them with the people as he's coming down the mountain. They're all worshiping idols He gets ticked off Throws the two tablets down on him, right? They break he goes back up the mountain and says listen Lord. I broke the first two I'm gonna do some new ones the Lord gives him new ones He walks back down with the two tablets the first of the tablets were all of the laws the Commandments in order to make us right before the Lord they were how we are to interact with God
• 27:07
  No other gods before me. Honor the Sabbath, a day of rest and worship, right? That was the first tablet. The second tablet was how to treat our neighbors, how to deal with people, and justice and mercy encapsulate that entire second tablet. Everybody with me? Justice and mercy. Without these two virtues, sacrificial worship is a meaningless, spiritless, plastic...
• 27:37
  And God takes no pleasure in it. And so let's look at these two words. What does it mean to do justice? You notice he does not say, talk about justice. He doesn't say, desire justice. He doesn't say, compel other people to do justice. He doesn't say, riot if you don't receive justice. He says, you must do justice.
• 28:09
  In other words, forget about the speck in other people's eyes for a moment. Take the log out of your own. We all feel that tidal wave of evil that is sweeping across our nation, even infiltrating many churches. We feel the pressure to stand for what is true. Despite the social and economic consequences, we consider secluding ourselves. Lord, what would you have me to do? Well, maybe we'll just get our five or six favorite people and we'll just withdraw. We consider isolating our families. We even consider moving.
• 28:42
  We struggle to know what to do and how to act. And against this tidal wave, the voice of God says, do justice. The Hebrew word for justice is the word mishpat. It occurs over 400 times in the Old Testament. Mishpat, justice, is based in the character of God because God alone is perfectly just. He is the righteous standard that we are to compare ourselves to.
• 29:07
  to judge ourselves against. He is a just God. And what that means is that those who reject the existence of that God or the goodness of that God or the power of God, if you reject the just God, then you cannot truly understand what justice even is. How are you supposed to understand right and wrong if you reject the only standard of right and wrong?
• 29:34
  God is just. He wants His people to be just. He demands that those who would enter heaven be just, just like He is. Now that's good news and bad news. Right, church? It's good news that God does not let sinners into heaven. It's good news. Because if He lets sinners into heaven, then heaven would become just like earth. What is this except the ruined paradise of God cursed because of the fall of mankind, right?
• 30:06
  This was perfect. It was perfect. We wrecked it. If God allowed sinners into heaven, we'd wreck that too. He can't let sinners into heaven, and so it's good news that he doesn't let sinners into heaven. Amen? The problem with that is it's also bad news. Why? Raise your hand if you're a sinner. Here we go. None of us can go. None of us get to go. It's good news. He's preserving it. The bad news is none of us can go. There's no way we can get in, but if you're a believer in Jesus Christ.
• 30:37
  You've already been made a recipient of God's justice through the atoning work of Jesus. In other words, you have been justified by faith. You've been declared not guilty for your sin, your past sin, your present sin, your future sin. You have received the imputed righteous life of Christ as his recipients of divine justice. The Lord now demands that we also do justice.
• 31:07
  true justice concerns itself with integrity honesty and a concern for the weak the heart of justice reflects the heart of god the god of the bible is a god who does what is right no matter the circumstances so we also must be people who do what is right who walk in integrity the god of the bible is true so we must also be a people who are true the god of the bible is concerned for the weak
• 31:37
  And so we also must be people who defend the cause of the weak, who show compassion on those in need. You see, justice is more than just abiding by the law. Justice is paying forward the same grace that God has showered on us. We have been recipients of God's grace, and now we pay that grace forward to those in need. And that leads to the second requirement, do justice, he says. But more than that, love.
• 32:07
  kindness or love mercy now the esv translates it love kindness or love steadfast love it's the hebrew word chesed it also appears hundreds of times in the old testament the english equivalent is difficult but again i like bill curtis's suggestion in his commentary when he said this chesed kindness or mercy is loyal love that contains mercy
• 32:36
  Now this attribute, mercy, is also based on the character of God. Don't forget, church, that God's love is revealed through his faithfulness to a faithless people. He doesn't love us because we're good. He loves us despite the fact that we aren't. Amen? That is mercy. God is willing to show mercy, even in the face of flagrant rebellion and sin.
• 33:07
  The people of God must also show this same kind of kindness, mercy to those who need it, even if they don't always ask for it. Why should I forgive him? He's not even asking for forgiveness. That's not mercy. That's justice. Making him grovel, making him bow, making him humble himself. Does that make sense? He's not even asking for it. He hasn't shown, no, that's not mercy. The mercy we've received from God came in the face of blatant...
• 33:36
  flagrant rebellion and sin. It's while we were shaking our fists at him that he sent his son Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners, Romans 5 and verse 8 says. Mercy's synonyms could be genuine love, grace, forgiveness combined with restoration. Mercy is such a great attribute of our creator because in this call to be merciful as he is merciful, it transforms the way we view our unsaved countrymen.
• 34:09
  others in our nation who disagree with us vehemently, who hate what we stand for, who would just as soon dissolve everything that we hold dear, showing mercy transforms the way we view them. Mercy allows us to see that first and foremost our unsaved neighbors and co-workers, some of whom may be very angry and despicable people. Mercy transforms the way we view them as people who really just need Jesus. That's what they need.
• 34:40
  Mercy allows us to respond with love and kindness when we're given anger and disdain. It allows us to show forgiveness when we're wrong, the same way that God showed mercy toward us. Mercy allows us to live in freedom because a merciful man or woman is impossible to offend. You're not carrying around these grudges for the rest of your life. Why? Because you've shown mercy. It changes the way we live our daily lives.
• 35:05
  Because a people on the lookout for opportunities to show mercy, embrace the command to walk in love toward the church, to value those people whom the Lord has put in our lives, to see outsiders the way the Lord sees them, not as an inconvenience nor as an enemy, but as people in whom we should invest for the sake of the kingdom. That's mercy. Before we conclude, I want to bring our attention briefly to one more item.
• 35:36
  I will readily confess that I am not a Hebrew scholar. I took Hebrew in seminary. I was awful at it. I had to work really, really hard to get a passing grade in Hebrew. Greek came naturally. Hebrew did not. So I'm not a Hebrew scholar, but I do know one, and I called him this week. I asked for some clarification on the grammar used in this verse. He told me that the verbs used in these three commands are infinitive construct verbs. What that means is that they describe the three requirements that the Lord requires of us. To do,
• 36:06
  to love to walk he said the three commands connote an ongoing action in other words the requirement of god is continuous there's no time limitation attached to the requirement in his words these are lasting requirements and i thought well what does that mean it's a little bit like being on a diet i've been trying for the last couple of months to be a little more careful with what i eat
• 36:38
  I felt like I was getting slower and slower and rounder and rounder with each passing year. I thought those two things might coincide. I was having trouble sleeping. I was often waking up with headaches. I was struggling with fatigue every afternoon. And so I began to think, well, you know what? Maybe I should change the way that I eat. Maybe I should drink nothing but water. And unfortunately, I'm feeling great. But it's a little bit like dieting, right? You've got this goal weight in mind. You're like, you know what? I could lose a few pounds. And so you can set this goal for yourself.
• 37:09
  I'm going to restrict what I eat. I'm going to be more careful. I'm going to be more conscientious. I'm not just going to jam chips in my mouth. And so I began to do that. I'm going to be more conscientious. I'm going to drink more water and I'm going to do all of these things. You hit that goal weight and then you're like, well, check, I'm done. I can go right back to what I was doing before. Right? Because I've hit my goal. I did it. I set out to do it. I did it. I'm done. But that's not how dieting works. Dieting is not a one and done. It's a one and forever. Forever now.
• 37:39
  Right? I have to watch what I eat. I have to be more careful. If I want to enjoy the energy that the Lord is giving me now, then I have to be careful with what I eat. The same thing is true with these verses. Like I showed mercy once. I'm done. No. I did justice once. I'm done. Nope. It is an ongoing exercise. There is no time limitation. It's continuous. And listen, friends, the world is waiting for us to exhibit these virtues.
• 38:11
  The world is waiting for Christians to act like Christians. In fact, they expect us to be who we profess to be. And they expect us to exhibit these virtues over the long haul, just like Micah did. For 16 years, preached the truth before there was any change. The book of Micah is the book of never give up, never give up, never give up, never, never give up. And Lord, I pray.
• 38:41
  Blessing over the preaching of your word, Lord, may we be a people who do justice and love mercy in Jesus' name. Amen.