A few blocks away, Tommy was leaving the front stoop dressed in winter gear and very proud to be walking with the big boys. His mittens were on tight, and the snowsuit he was wearing barely gave him the ability to bend either arms or legs. He was warm, but barely able to walk. He looked like a child swallowed by a blueberry. His momma was gave him a hug, and watched in the doorway in spite of the rush of wind that almost burned as it hit her face and her legs. Snow was still swirling in the air as she waved goodbye to her little big man and lost sight of him…
Sharon had no idea how close to the curb she was riding. The street hadn’t been plowed in hours, and her viewing area of the windshield allowed her a very limited view of the world. She did not see little Tommy and his friends. She did not know how important this little guy was to a woman who was cleaning up breakfast in the house by the corner. She knew she was late, and she knew what she could see – and that wasn’t much. The power and weight of the car was unequally matched to the protection of the little blue snow suit. Tommy tripped while walking along the curb, and moments later Sharon and Tommy’s lives tragically crossed…
The truth is that we are a lot like Sharon. We don’t see the truth about life. Our windshield is quite small and our attention is on our immediate problems. We are focused only on PART of what is out there. We don’t see things as they are, and the consequences can be TRAGIC.
Let me explain: The created universe is all about drawing our eyes into the wonder of the glory of God. When we exchange God’s glory for lesser things, the disorder yields greater depravity and distance from God. Sensing the Lord’s direction for us at Grace, we will be breaking from our series today simply to look at the incredible promises of the Messiah that were given to Judah through the prophecies of the Book of Micah. If you haven’t explored this prophet before, you are in for a treat!
Key Principle: When people see the majesty of the Messiah, all self strength will flee away. In His presence we will know that we have faced God! Doubt and trouble will flee, and we will be immersed in a view of HIM.
Take a moment to consider the message of an ancient prophet named Micah. His book, called by his name includes four oracles (messages) of judgment, each ending with a snapshot of Messiah and His future Kingdom. Look quickly at the bitter messages of judgment as each funnels into a beautiful picture of Messiah :
1:1-2:11 Round One of Judgment – ending with a Messianic snapshot in 2:12-13. The message was to the Kings of God’s people located both in Jerusalem and in Samaria. The sins of the north did not stop at the border… they spread into the city of God’s Temple. Micah outlined those sins as:
• Idolatry (1:7) which was an outward manifestation of inner rebellion (1:5)
• Greed (2:1) that showed itself in ill gotten gain (2:2).
• Compromised lifestyles (2:5) that wish the standards to be silenced (2:6).
To these God offered an answer – Messiah’s Kingdom will stand in contrast to the compromised world and human perception.
Micah 2:12 “I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the fold; Like a flock in the midst of its pasture They will be noisy with men. 13 “The breaker goes up before them; They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it. So their king goes on before them, And the LORD at their head.”
UNITY: God will gather His people together against all historical odds and hide them in a fold of the fields when the clamor of the world presses in (2:12). His Spirit will unify in a world that divides. His power will renew in a world that is decaying. Israel will live again, because Messiah says so. The same is true of the Spiritual Kingdom today – we are reborn, renewed and united. Many ideas may be different, our paths may not come from the same woods, but we are one church still. When the shade of darkness falls on the land, God will show the candles in the window that burn for Him – make no mistake. He gathers and protects His people and His plan. No enemy will break down the wall that He builds to protect us.
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The message to Israel was unmistakable – God would re-gather and renew the nation – all of them – north and south, to the land of their fathers and no one will stop Him. The message to us is also a spiritual truth – God knows how to draw together people in His love and grace and hold them amidst the clamor of the world about them.
POWER: The flock would be re-gathered and held in the Father’s fold amid a clamoring field of men’s evil devices. Eventually, in a time of God’s own choosing, the flock would break out of the fold and follow the shepherd with the Good News of freedom (2:13). A breach would be “punched” in the wall of the fold, and the sheep would push through, widening the way as they went. God was going to offer power to spread the message of the Kingdom and the way would widen as His sheep went through the breach!
Jesus used this passage to craft a response to questions about who John the Baptizer was. He said in Matthew 11:7 “As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft cl
othing are in kings’ palaces! 9 “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 “This is the one about whom it is written, ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.’ 11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. 15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Did you catch it? Jesus used the “remez” or hint technique, citing a passage from Micah about breaking out of a sheepfold. He said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. 13 “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John…” The terms “suffer violence” are hard to relate, but the problem is linguistic. Micah used a Hebrew idiom of a “breacher” or “poretz” in Hebrew. This common image didn’t translate well into Greek, but Jesus was explaining that the words of the prophets were “holed up” and John was breaking them out with the message the King had arrived.
It was five of John’s followers that started following Jesus first. The message began with a handful of men – and has reached into 2 billion lives. That’s effective. That’s power. That’s movement. Never underestimate the power of God to save people. Never look at someone and think, they are beyond saving. If they are breathing, there is a chance.
Kindness is the eloquence that the hardest of hearts can feel, and the dullest of ears can hear. Philip Jenkins has noted: “Christianity is flourishing wonderfully among the poor and persecuted while it atrophies among the rich and secure.” It isn’t money the church in America lacks to reach neighbors – it is a heart that cares about what God cares about.
Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision said this: “Let my Heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God…” The power is there, and the resources have never been greater to reach people. The third characteristic is the one that is lacking…
SUBMISSION: Look at the end of Micah 2:13. The phrase is poetic, but powerful. “So their king goes on before them, And the LORD at their head!” The kingdom is led by a Great King – even the LORD.
Herein lies a problem. The message to Israel is that God will lead them with the King on the throne of Zion that He promised. It will happen. The people will be re-gathered, and Messiah will lead the nations after the Great Tribulation. Revelation 20 tells of the Kingdom that follows Revelation 6-19 and three sets of judgment of the Tribulation. That isn’t the problem. The spiritual principle to the spiritual kingdom is the problem. The verse clearly suggests that the kingdom of God is lead by Him. It says that His mastery over His people is the great character trait that marks them out.
The problem gets worse. Micah 3:1-4:8 offers another round of judgment – ending in a Messianic snapshot in 4:1-8. For time sake, I cannot look at the judgment, but we dare not miss the snapshot of the Messiah, for it amplifies His Majesty and Lordship over His people. Look at the passage in Micah 4 that finished round two of judgment:
4:1 “And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war. 4 Each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. 5 Though all the peoples walk Each in the name of his god, As for us, we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. 6 “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will assemble the lame And gather the outcasts, Even those whom I have afflicted. 7 “I will make the lame a remnant and the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion From now on and forever. 8 “As for you, tower of the flock, Hill of the daughter of Zion, To you it will come— Even the former dominion will come, The kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
God promised the Jewish people that:
• The UN will relocate to Zion and the world would look to the place of conflict for the answers to peace when the Prince of Peace resides there.
• Nations will see in the God of Israel, the God of the Universe.
• War will become a thing of the past because disputes will be settled in truth, not politics and power plays.
• The beleaguered and scattered Jews will be gathered into their homeland and go from OUTCAST to STRONG NATION.
Why? Because of submission to their King. A kingdom with a strong submission and Righteous King empowered by God is unstoppable.
Why is that a problem? Well, in the physical future of Israel it isn’t – but in the spiritual application of the modern church it most definitely IS a problem.
We are punching cultural holes in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many so called “churches” are proclaiming that God’s plan is to bring Heaven to you, and to do it in the here and now.
Does God expect more than a belief that makes me strong, healthy and happy from me? Does He ask for more than a few Sunday hours from my schedule and the avoidance of the “big sins”?
What if the call of Christ is for His mastery over our whole lives – every thought, every decision?
Richard Steans asked: “What if belief is not enough, Sunday worship times not enough, personal morality not enough, Christian community not enough”… what if God was searching for the person He spoke of in 2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His….”
The gospel wasn’t meant to give us concrete edifices and stain glass cathedrals. It was to CHANGE LIVES. Pastor John MacArthur’s prophetic words ring in here: “The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment.”
If the Kingdom’s character is about FULL SUBMISSION to the King, let me ask this pointed question: ARE YOU READY TO SURRENDER TO GOD’S WILL FOR YOUR LIFE? Again to Richard Stearns words: “When we say we want to be His disciple yet we attach a list of conditions, Jesus refuses to accept our terms. His terms are unconditional surrender.”
For time sake, let me share that there are two more judgment oracles in the book, each capped off with a picture of Messiah. The THIRD round of judgment is found in 4:9-5:5a. The FOURTH is found in 5:5b-7:20 (the end of the prophecy). The last two oracles paint a majestic picture of Messiah.
If you are to submit to Him, don’t focus on the meager things this world offers, or you will make the mistake of Eve in the Garden. You will miss all the beauty and lushness and focus
only on that which separates you from full use by you Father. If you are to submit to Him, see Him as He is revealed in Scripture. Stand in the warmth of His Presence. Take in a view of His Majesty.
We are starved for a true understanding of the Lord, and because of it many are half yielded, and half following. We dare not license this new Gospel of self fulfillment. It is selfishness clothed in misused Bible verses – nothing more. It promised to feed Eve’s desire to be like God – but it was a sham –and still it.
Gaze at the Messiah in the description of Micah in the THIRD Messianic snapshot:
Messiah is the product to TWO WORLDS: Heave and earth were joined when in Micah 5:2 the prophet proclaimed: “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.” Messiah was from the children of David – a man. Yet Messiah was from eternity – God’s eternal Son.
Messiah came with a PLAN: Micah said in 5:3 “Therefore He will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has borne a child. Then the remainder of His brethren Will return to the sons of Israel.” It looks like He has forsaken Israel. They aren’t following Him today, and though the re-gathering has clearly begun, the Holocaust scars their hearts. That was because of the attack of the enemy, but it was also because of US. God’s plan was to “give them up” for a time, and then return to them. He has not cast off His people, Israel. He has allowed a time of bitterness that the world may hear of the Gospel. The verse ends with God’s return to Israel’s welfare. It is what Paul said:
Romans 11:25 “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” 27 “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”
Messiah comes to bring PEACE: Micah promised: 5:4 “And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great to the ends of the earth. 5 This One will be our peace….”
Yet, you must recall that peace comes through acknowledging His rightful mastery of the world. Israel will see it. The day will come, as the Book of Revelation shares that the world will not be in peace, but in terrible turmoil:
Revelation 16:1-18:19 tells of a set of future devastating judgments that are shockingly powerful and furiously crushing – called the bowl or vial judgments. In them putrid boils form on all the followers of the beast – an anti-god Satanically empowered system. ALL the sea and its creatures are destroyed, the stench of which is unmistakable. The fresh water sources around the globe are fouled and fresh water marine life dies en masse. A horrible scorching sun causes the people of the earth to curse the God that made them until God answers them with a plague of darkness. The fouled Euphrates River is dried up, and the Near East gathers for one great and final war to crush the people that claim to be God’s personal possession – Israel.
With the sudden destruction that left their religious system in shambles (Rev. 17) and their markets and economy destroyed (Rev. 18), the people of the earth are convinced that Israel is somehow to blame and the nations turn to annihilate her. In desperation, Israel cries out to the God of the Ages, and He comes to them with a myriad of thousands in the sky. Dropping to their knees, the people acknowledge the Prince of Peace! (Rev. 19:11-20:10).
His rule brings peace, and Israel gets the long awaited Kingdom. As Micah says in the FOURTH Messianic Snapshot of Micah 7: 14 says: “Shepherd Your people with Your scepter, The flock of Your possession Which dwells by itself in the woodland, In the midst of a fruitful field. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead As in the days of old.”
The deliverance is striking and miraculous, as Micah goes on to say in 7:15 “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, I will show you miracles.”
The world’s mouths will drop open and they will see His Majesty, most for the very first time. They will know He is Lord and there is no other. Micah says: 7:16 “Nations will see and be ashamed of all their might. They will put their hand on their mouth, their ears will be deaf. 17 They will lick the dust like a serpent, Like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To the LORD our God they will come in dread And they will be afraid before You.
His people will see it, they will understand it. They will know that He is not one that shares the stage with any other important figure. He alone is the Lord of the Earth, the Creator of the Universe, the King above all Kings. But they will know HIS FORGIVENESS, HIS COMPASSION and HIS FAITHFULNESS.
The people will say: Micah 7:18 “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. 19 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. 20 You will give truth to Jacob And unchanging love to Abraham, Which You swore to our forefathers From the days of old.
The very appearance of the Savior is stunning. The realization that I am standing in His presence will remove all strength from ME and leave only a view of HIM.
Daniel went through it: Daniel 10:5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult. 7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9 But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.
The Disciples went through it: Matthew 17:1 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the d
isciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.” 8 And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.
John the Apostle went through it: Rev. 1:12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last…
When we see the majesty of Jesus, the Promised Messiah, all self strength flees away. In His presence we know we have faced God! All fear recedes, and life takes shape in truth.
CS Lewis said: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
