What Does The Lord Desire? (5 Questions)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning Sisters and Brothers in the faith. Since the end of 2018 to now, I’ve been graced to begin to round 3rd base in getting school finished up. It’s been a ton of reading and twice as much writing. I was looking back on some of the assignments, some of the writing were as short as 5-to-10 typed pages to my biggest submittal at just over 150 pages. When the programs were starting, boy I was energized and ready to shoot to the moon. But, when the programs were nearing their end, it was getting tougher to stay focused. One thing I was finding was I had to change my outlook. In stead of looking at the assignments as something “I have to do,” to “look at when I get to do.” That really helped on many levels!
Have you noticed how many things in life are like school-work? When we’re given an assignment, usually directions come packaged or we’re given a set a parameters to complete the task. We call that prescriptive. We’re given a set of directions to help us navigate the work and reach the goal. I’ve heard people say the Word of God is just too hard to understand, or to put it another way — I don’t get it. Yes, there’s a lot in there! Yes, somethings are easier to understand. Yes, there are something that require a little more studying. It’s no different that trying to complete a hard assignment at school or trying to a mentally challenging task at work that requires a higher level of critical thinking.
God has given us this thing we call the Bible! I all of history, there has and never will be anything like it. When the Word of God is picked up, it’s difficult to put down. When God is trying to teach a lesson, sometimes we can feel like we’re getting our toe or legs cut off. Other times, we welcome the Word of God in look at God is trying to show me. Many times, we embrace that! Today you might be asking the question. A question that has stood the test of time, and has been asked by many — What Does The Lord Require? That’s the title of our sermon today. We’re going to try and answer that question.
Open up the Word of God to Micah Chapter 6, and together let’s read verses 6 through 8.
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
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?
Pastoral Prayer
Pastoral Prayer
Background: Micah is writing in a time where the people of God have once again fallen away from God. They’re chasing after everything in between instead of chasing after God. The people were guilty of offenses that included violence, deception and unfair business practices. Micah realizes his, and its weighing heavily on his heart. The people of Israel had turned their backs on God. They continued in their religious practices, but had forgotten the Lord. Consequences of the these violation was certain judgement. Micah knew this and preached repentance to avoid God’s judgment. God has called on the nation to consider what He has done for them. He’s offering another opportunity to turn from their wicked ways, and to turn back to God! I don’t know how you feel, but I’m glad we serve a long-suffering God! A God who has a lot of patience.
[Display Verse 6]
In our passage this morning, the nation is seen as convicted and eager to obtain God’s favor. In doing so, it appears as though the nation does not quite know how to go about it. We see that in the first half of verse 6, as the questions start to get kicked-off (“With what shall I come before the Lord”). Think about a time you’ve been on the customer service side of a conversation, and you’re doing all you can to provide the best service possible. Proactive questions are asked to help learn about what is truly desired. That’s what is going on here in a similar sense. The nation has come the a realization something must be done now to get right with God, but what is that. In the second have of verse 6, the proactive nature begins to blossom with, “Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?” These type of questions begin to take on the form and assumption that God wants something. Burnt offerings were those in which the who animal was consumed in the fire, none was saved. According to:
27 “When an ox or sheep or goat is born, it shall remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as a food offering to the Lord.
So, on the 8th day, the animal could be offered to the Lord. The nation knew the Levitical laws and that an 8-day old calf would be acceptable. When the Lord accepted Aaron’s burnt offering, Aaron brought animals “a year old without blemish.” The thought with offering an animal a year old was that the animal would be considered to be more valuable. In this case, the nation is willing to bring “calves a year old.” It doesn’t top there!
[Display Verse 7]
The nation asks, “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil?” This is HUGE!! This takes a quantitative leap, not just with the question, but the mention of “thousands.” The first aspect to keep in mind is this type of offering very well could have been a likely offering, and not just words, or numbers on a ledger. David was known to offer sacrifices to the Lord in the terms of a burnt offering of “1000 bulls, 1000 rams, and 1000 lambs” in addition to “their drink offering” (1 Chronicles 29:21). Solomon offered a 1000 burnt offerings (1 Kings 3:4). And, the use of oil for offerings is mentioned in Exodus 29:40. Bu! Our passage uses the word “thousands.” Think about if you were ever in the wrong and you were willing to do whatever it took to make it right. There was no cost too high. You were willing to do it. It would be like if you borrowed someone’s vehicle, and while you were driving, somehow all 4 tires were damaged. Instead of buying 4 new tires, you show up with a brand new car! Most of us The mention of “thousands” suggests sacrifices that go beyond the level of reasonable.
The 4th question continues with this trend, “Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” Yes, the nation’s neighbors continued this practice. You can read about that in 2 Kings 3 verse 21 and following (specifically verse 27). The story about Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 made it clear that the Lord was not interested in human sacrifices. In fact we have Jeremiah (19:5) and Ezekiel (16:20-21) speaking sharply against it. It comes down to: What Does The Lord Require, What Does The Lord Want From Me?!? The answer is in Verse 8!
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?
Now a different voice speaks. As the Micah book was used in public worship, we could imagine another voice reading at this point. The answer begins by saying there will be no surprises! “He has told you … what is good.” The Lord had already made known what was expected from the Lord’s people. God’s word here is strong. We see that in how God is using the words “you” and “your.” The address we’re given here in Verse 8 is larger than anyone person. The words “O Man” are used to show a universal application to nature of this truth. It would be like saying, y’all or all-ee-y’all. This includes everyone. No one is excluded. The answer God provides here is absolutely clear. God want you and me. It’s you, not something.
The last half of verse 8, God sketches a broad outline in three statement. The first aspect pickups up and emphasizes the social dimension: “to do justice.” The book of Micah has provided examples of the failure to do justice. We did not cover that this morning, perhaps this could be part of s personal study this week. Micah talked about how the powerful oppress the powerless, laborers being exploited and corruption in the courts (Chapters 2 and 3). To do justice means to work for the establishment of equity for all, especially the powerless.
“To love kindness.” This is a thematic word in the Hebrew. The word חֶ֫סֶד (he’sed). He’sed is a rich word in meaning. It means love with a strong element of loyalty. This would be similar to the loyalty that is shared between a husband and wife, or between two friends. In 1 Samuel, there’s a story between two friends Jonathan and David. These two friends shared a very close friendship. So much so that the Bible tells us “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” He’sed, or translated kindness, when used in terms of our relationship with God, it means loving loyalty.
“To walk humbly with you God.” This phrase is part of our package. This implies action. Many of you drove here this morning. When you exited from your vehicles to your seat, you walked. There was an action to get you from there to here. This last phrase of verse 8 is powerful. Let’s look at this in detail.
[Display Bullet-point Slide 1]
Walk = Points to moving forward and/or to follow. A journey. The orientation and ethics of our life from day-to-day (our testimony).
Humbly = Without pride, ambition or arrogance.
[Display Bullet-point Slide 1]
With = Together, accompany
God = Supreme, great and mighty
Our moving forward, our journey with God is not a lonely road in the middle of the Nevada desert. It’s a humble journey with Almighty God! That is enjoying a constant fellowship with Him, completely submitted to His will for our lives. This involves much more than an outward sacrifice; it involves sacrifice within the heart. God must be the priority in our lives. He should never have to “compete” with this world for our loyalty! This can only be achieved through total submission. We must want what God wants more than what we want. Paul taught the believers in Rome to be a living sacrifice:
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Spiritual blindness had led the nation to offer everything except the one thing He wanted—a spiritual commitment from the heart!! We still have not answered the question: What does the Lord require? You’ve heard the phrase “there are two sides to the conversation” or “there are two side to every coin.” Let’s review verse 8 one more time.
[Display Verse 8]
He has told us … “to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” To sum up these tree points, the spiritual commitment for the believer in Jesus Christ, can be summarized into one simple word — obedience. It’s about walking humbly with God and living circumspectly (which means careful, avoiding threats that can risk our testimonies). It’s about living in obedience for the One who provided redemption — Jesus Christ!
If you have not made the full commitment of belief in Jesus Christ — what is the spiritual commitment for you that the God desires from you? This too can be summarized into one simple word — belief! The Bible says in a famous statement:
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
God is essentially saying, take me by the hand and let me love you, let me guide you (Not Part Of Slide Show):
10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Application
Application
We can never truly live right and show the love and kindness God desires without Him. That is why God gave His son Jesus. He’s not asking us solve the world’s problems. He’s not asking us conquer evil.
Here’s where the theology meets life: More than things we have one this rock, our possessions, our money, things we have stored away — God desires our hearts! A heart of obedience! A heart of belief!
I want to draw closer to Him in these days. I trust you’ve considered your relationship with the Lord. Is it what it should be? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer