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From the Pulpit
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From the pastor
A brief explanation of these sermon manuscripts and my preaching philosophy
To whom it may concern,
My sincere hope is that these messages would be an encouragement to strive in the fight of faith that is the Christian life, and that your eyes would glisten at God�s greatness. Any success in this I immediately leave at the feet of my Savior, Jesus Christ, (Phil. 2:13) who not only gives me the ability, ideas and inspiration to expound His Word, but also the will to wrestle with His Word, the Saints and myself.
I always write out my sermons. This comes from a sincere distrust of myself (1 Cor.1:18-2:8: James 3:1-2; Prov. 10:19). I have often misquoted references, and still do, and have mishandled the treasure of God�s Word. With this trembling fear (Is. 66:1-3) I labor to write out my thoughts completely. I often quote directly from my sermon as I preach, but also strive not to memorize or be �married� to this manuscript. It is kind of like an outline for me, yet I will omit much and insert much as I go along. And so there is a tension here with relying on God�s Spirit for immediate guidance and inspiration - yet I do not want to walk into the pulpit with an empty head and empty words to fill the time in which the sheep are hungry for food.
Preaching is foolishness. And so is the Cross of Christ to those who are perishing. I am constantly bombarded with my weakness, yet God has chosen common jars of clay to pour the precious tonic of His glory and power (2 Cor. 4:7). If you are trying to drink in anything other than the preaching and prayerful study of God�s Word, then you are drinking at best rancid milk and at worst dirt. Any sermon or liturgy that pulls heart strings but does not pull the soul away from its deceptive selfishness and pride, is worse than worthless � it is Satanic. (2 Tim. 4:1-4; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Col. 2:8; 1 Tim. 6:3-5 � I could go on and on with biblical references.) As one of my seminary profs said, it is �air conditioning the train to hell�.
Sin often feels good, mind twisting drugs feel good, a movie that speaks nothing of God can make us feel good � the goal is not feeling good. We must see our God! There is a kind of preaching in our day that is geared towards the tickling of ears and focused on drawing in large crowds. (This was not a mark of Jesus ministry � John 6:66-68). And in the midst of this we see the foolishness of preaching � some bumbler like me who, in spite of my best attempts, fumbles and is just as weak as the rest of the sheep (often weaker).
(Heb. 4:12; Acts 2:37) God uses the foolishness of preaching, and fools to do it, so that no one but Him gets the credit. To God alone be the Glory forever and ever. Oh that the eyes of our hearts may have that precious light of the gospel to shine in them so that we would see what is the height and length and breadth and depth and to know the love of Christ which goes beyond understanding!!!!
In our entertainment culture pastors must decide if we are going to entertain the goats, or feed the sheep � we cannot do both because the gospel is not �comfortable�, �sensitive�, or �entertaining� to goats � it is an offense to which many have been killed for. And goat slop is no food for sheep!
So enter with me into this foolish endeavor! Weak things are strong because they are relying on the strength of the Savior (2 Cor. 12:7-10). What are you relying on today? Where is your strength?
Your fellow weak fool in Christ,
Jeff Gauvin
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Micah 5:3-4
The Strength and Majesty of the Shepherd (Micah 5:3-4)
�Therefore� � because God is interested in using weak, little things to showcase His glory, He is going to give them up for a while �
�giving up�
This �giving up� will not last forever. � it will all come to an end when she (now we understand the recurrent use of the feminine pronouns) she the daughter of Zion, the daughter of troops has borne a child. The entire nation will give birth to a child? Through the seed of Israel there is one who will be borne, into this world, even though �His days are from eternity�. Now this is meant as an encouragement, because of the words, �In labor�. God is not ignoring the pain. Your in labor right now Israel, but it is necessary and something wonderful is going to come out of it. You, nation of Israel, are going to give birth, and out of all the prophecies, all of the heartache and desire for God, you will be satisfied. OH come OH come Emanuel, and rescue captive Israel. It was for those who walked in darkness that there was a great light.
�Then the remainder . . .?�
This could mean the remainder of those from the exile, with the greater picture of the Gentiles being grafted into the main vine of Israel.
�Then He will arise and Shepherd . . . �
He will arise because He was previously seated, giving them up to their labor. But when the time is right, when He is done giving them up to labor pains, we see in this verse what the birth is going to look like. And here we see that the One whose goings forth are from eternity comes as a Shepherd. Just like weak King David was.
1. The Strength of the Shepherd -
Just as the weak shepherd David had God�s strength So the great Shepherd of our souls has strength and might. David, even though he was a little boy wrestled a lion and a bear, and defeated Goliath. So it is that the Son of David, Jesus Christ, will slay the lion of our souls, Satan, and the bear of sin that gnaws and claws us to death, even though He didn�t come in the full strength of God almighty.
And so Jesus came in weakness, we saw that last week. Weakness, suffering and death marked his ministry. But that was only the seed sown. What a majestic power that says, �No one can snatch them out of my hand!� The cross guarantees the Shepherds� grasp of His little ones. Christian no one can snatch you out of His hands, because His hands bear the nail marks.
His strength is manifested in His grasp of our lives. He is able, He is strong enough to finish what He started in you, He is the author and perfector of our faith, He is able to present before Him spotless and blameless on that great day! HE IS STRONG. Rom. 8:38-39 is about the strength of His love. His love and plans for us have fingers that no one but He Himself can move or influence. These fingers tenderly grip our lives and shape our faith, and guide our paths, in spite of our sins, in spite of our weakness, HE IS STRONG.
If you took the strongest man this world knows, Shawn Filby, and if you had him put a cinder block above his head, how long would his grip last? Even if his grip was able to last the rest of his life, he would one day have to put the block down at his death. We are not strong; our grip on things that are good is so weak! Our grip of God�s Word slips through our fingers, yet there is so much trash that we have committed to memory. The grasp of our thoughts before God in prayer is so short, our thoughts fly and wander. I can go on and on. But our sovereign God has reached His hand down to grasp His elect chosen ones, and no one is able to reverse and disrupt this act of Grace from God.
2. The Majesty of the Shepherd �
All right I want to understand what this word MAJESTY means. The word is very similar in its use to God�s glory. We see all through God�s word where we are to live towards His glory.
A similar word is found in Ps. 29:4 � Job 37:3. The voice of God is thunder. So if you want a picture of majesty. Listen to the thunder. Even many miles away from the lightening bolt, we hear the explosion. Magnificent. There is very little that can be heard from such a distance. They have tapes of thunder storms that people listen to so they can go to sleep. MAJESTY, to hear the rolling ball across the sky, and shake the ground when it gets to you. MAJESTY. But if the bolt is across the street, well that�s another story. It will wake up your slumber. I stepped on the front porch of our house once in North Carolina. And a bolt exploded across the street. The flash of light was amazing, there was a rush of wind from the blast, and the immediate crash was so loud I thought the entire house had been hit. My ears were ringing when I popped my head back into the door. And I was still trembling. I couldn�t stop talking about it. MAJESTY. Is. 66:2. So His Word is FULL of majesty.
This Hebrew word for �majesty� is translated a majority of the time as �pride�. The words, �puff up� or �swell� can also be used to refer to pride. The word can also be translated as �Thicket� (stay with me on this one). It refers to brush that surrounded the banks of the Jordan. Jer. 12:5; 49:19; 50:44. When the Jordan River swelled up, or flooded, the lions would exit the thicket, which would make it more dangerous to be about. And the picture is that the Jordan was swelling up beyond its borders and becoming larger than what it really is. So is this word applied to man, when he tries to swell beyond the boundaries God has placed him in, and think of himself as more than what he really is.
But when we are talking about the majesty of God, we want the waters of that river to flood the land. Because when we talk about God�s majesty, He is swelling up not to be what He normally is not, He is displaying more of what He really is.
Swell God, let your glory rise. Normally we see the river of your glory, and it trickles through our lives and this world. Show us your glory! We have been blinded to it! Swell, be majestic and overflow your banks. We want a deluge once again, but flood the world this time with your glory! Make your flood rise into our homes and sweep away all that is holding us back from more of You! Please heal us, we are blind, and deaf and dumb to your majesty. We grumble about petty things, we gossip and speak evil about people behind their backs, we love to tickles ears and have our ears tickled! We have exchanged the glory of God for things, and we have been satisfied with lesser Glories. We want to feast on the best, Your glory! Drown us in your majesty. Now we are a little closer to what majesty means. But there is more.
3. How did the Shepherd feed His flock in strength and majesty? -
The Word for Shepherd here means �to feed�, but it is the word that is also used to refer to the act of Shepherding (same word as in Gen. 29:7and Prov. 10:21). So you could use the word shepherd or feed here. Now the words �Majesty� and �Strength� are referring to something. The is Messiah going to Shepherd (feed) with great strength and majesty. So if we could go somewhere in the bible and get a picture and see what the Messiah�s Shepherding looks like, then we could really see what this passage is talking about! And the scripture has a very clear picture of what the majesty and strength of His Shepherding looks like.
John 10:11-18 It�s the cross. What did Jesus do to feed His flock? He offered His own flesh and blood for food. The earth trembled at His death, and we stand indifferent to it. It makes for good jewelry. No! MAJESTY! When we step away from the cross and look at this world and our lives, we should still be shaking, our ears should still be ringing from the lightening blast of the cross!!! His voice thundered �It is finished!� Don�t you remember Christian what happened there. �Were you there when they crucified the Lord, Oh sometimes it causes me to tremble.� And when we are not trembling we have forgotten what it is.
This is how the Shepherd arises and feeds us; which His own flesh and blood. (John 6:47-58) So now we follow the Shepherd because we have heard His voice! His voice is full of MAJESTY! He poured out His love on the cross, and it is the love of Christ that motivates us to live for His Majesty.
His voice, being full of majesty, is not dependent on the crash of thunder, or the rumbling of the earth, or the tempests of wind. Even if He chooses a still small voice, the effects are the same on us, (2 Ki. 19:9-13) And even across the distance of 2000 years it still causes us to tremble.
Look to the cross and see how He Shepherds in all His majesty and strength, hear what the cross has to say and tremble before Him.
OH CHRISTIAN how glorious the thought. This sin of ours, not just in part but the whole, is nail to the cross and we bear it no more, Praise the Lord oh my soul! What precious food for our souls!
You who hold grudges! If you could taste the bitterness of hell� if you could hear the insane screams of merciless torture, I highly doubt you would be so bitter. Jesus bore that bitterness for you on His cross. Those of you who get so angry so easily, if for only a second you could feel the eternal flame of God�s wrath, that same flame which Jesus bore on your behalf, your own wrath and anger would put its tail between its legs and run away. You Christian who is downcast, we have forgotten what a Good Shepherd we have, that though He may take us through the valley it is only to get us to better pastures. Majesty! He Shepherds us according to His strength and majesty.
Those of you who lack contentment in life, your restless, oh see the flash, feel the blast, let the explosion crack your eardrums, fall on your face and experience what it means to have a Good Shepherd for your soul. �The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want . . I shall not be discontent . . .� I have Jesus, I have everything.
LISTEN �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 . . .�
Did you forget Christian? Let Micah remind you. He has a picture of what Shepherding looks like too, he has a picture of the gospel too, see 7:19.
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Safety and Peace in Christ � The Scripture�s Picture
�Are you safe?�
1. They will remain because - Vs. 4b.
They � those who are fed in the strength and majesty of the Lord. Will remain � In what sense? The word means safety, abiding. This Shepherd will give ultimate protection of the sheep. This of course was pictured in Jesus ministry. None of them fell away. All that the Father had given Jesus remained (John 17:12: 6:39).
Because - Now why is this � because He will be great! Is there ever a time when God is not great? God is always and has always been great. We just don�t see it. So what we see here is not so much God increasing in greatness, but our sight of His greatness increasing.
So our safety, abiding, depends on His greatness. So if we are blinded to His greatness, we are not safe. Little David was more safe with no armor and his slingshot, than the entire armies of Israel with all their armor and swords. David�s God is great!
2. (To what extent will God be great?) To the ends of the earth - Poetic language is being used now. And so the expression, to the ends of the earth is used. Certainly, even today, many of the people in Uzbekistan have not heard of the greatness of God. They will one day, but not yet. What does this mean then?
A. I believe we can determine two things here. First of all remember that there will be people in exile reading this prophecy. People who are all the way in Babylon. After Daniel heard the edict about praying only to king Nebucadnezzer, perhaps he consoled himself with this passage, that God is not limited to a specific region. Daniel would continue to pray to God, with great risk to his life, because Daniel�s God is great, even in Babylon. A people in exile need to know that God is still great, even when they are a long way from home. That POW, so far from home and so close to death, needs to know the greatness of God extended to the darkest places this world can hold! There are a lot of teens leaving the church to go into life now. You teens may wander quite a distance from home! You must never forget that the greatness of Jesus Christ extends to the ends of the earth! So this is an encouragement to see God�s greatness in our lives.
B. But we must also see the grandeur of God�s greatness itself! Read the text! Ask yourself, does the world have ends? No! There is no end to God�s greatness! Just when you think you understand it, just when you think you might have climbed up that wonderful mountain of God�s greatness, His love, His compassion, His mercy and grace, just when you have reached the peak of His Holiness and glory, and you know you are unable to climb any more, you look for miles off into the distance and there towering every larger and brighter than where you are standing, rises another mountain range of God�s greatness. His greatness extends to the ends of the earth. There is no end. And so we pray with Paul, OH God, to You who are able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think, according to Your power that works within us, to YOU be the glory forever and ever! (Eph. 3:20)
3. The Shepherd�s greatness, our safety, and tribulation - But this brings us to a problem, doesn�t it. If our safety depends on God�s greatness, and God�s greatness is this magnificent then why is there so much persecution? If the Shepherds sheep are going to remain safe, how do we explain the martyrs of the early church? Does having your head chopped off sound like a safe thing for you? Is God abiding with you if your head is dipped in tar and set on fire so your other Christian brothers and sisters can be tortured throughout the night. What about when your marriage is falling apart! When you are watching the faith of your spouse or children slide into the disgusting slug of this world!
We need to understand what this word, abide, means. Micah has already used it in 4:4 and there the word is translated �sit� and it is in reference to a safety from war.
Look at Paul�s last written words. 2 Tim. 4. We see that the time of his departure is near (vs. 6), He tells Timothy to make every effort to come to him soon (vs. 9), and more specifically before winter (vs. 21). Because when winter comes he will need the cloak Timothy is to bring (vs. 13). Alexander the coppersmith had done him great harm (vs. 14-15) He has been deserted by someone he thought was on his side in ministry (vs. 10). And when he was brought under trial everyone deserted him (vs. 16). Somehow he was threatened by lions (vs. 17) so that he either had a Daniel experience, or he narrowly escaped being thrown into the lions den.
And then he says something absolutely amazing. Look at verse 18. Was Paul ever safe? Look at his life! 2 Cor. 11:23-29. It seems to me that many people were successful in doing evil to him. So what in the world does Paul mean in verse 18? There must be something more than his physical circumstances that he is looking at when he says �The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom . . .� And we read the answer in 2 Tim. 4:7 (Also - Acts 20:24!)
So picture Paul outside the city walls, all alone. They thought he was dead so they left him there. Minutes earlier stones were slamming against his head and ribs. When he gains conciseness his body is throbbing in pain. Between his spitting up blood and vomit, �Thank you Jesus for keeping me safe!� �Thank you Lord God for your rescue!� �I didn�t turn from you. I didn�t forsake you. I didn�t love my life more than you. For me to live is all about you, and if I die serving you, it is my gain!� Is this kind of Christianity alive today? This is what Micah means when he says, �safe.�
You know why Paul could do this? Because Paul�s God, like little David�s God, like your God and mine is great! Rom. 11:33.
But there is more, not only can we as Christian go through such things and call it safe, we can also have peace in it!
4. This One is Our peace - Peace is a person, not an event, or a certain order of our circumstances. Do you want to see a picture of peace? Do not look to Herod, in his temple with every luxary. He is not at peace. Don�t you want a little peace? Don�t look for your peace the way David did and retired from his work, he ended up committing adultery. Solomon didn�t find peace in all of his riches. Neither did Hezekiah find peace when his life was extended. Look to the One who is peace. Eph. 2:14. Peace is a person!
Now when is this peace going to step forward? When Assyria comes. You must understand the terror of that word. Assyria was a feared force in this day. They represent all that was evil and dreaded. They were merciless and brutal in their attacks.
What is Assyria going to do? Invade, trample vs. 5, attack and trample our territory vs. 6. The point is that the bad stuff is going to come first.
5. God�s deliverance. Vs. 5-6 What does the deliverance look like here? �7 and 8�. This is typical in Hebrew poetry. Prov. 6:16; 30:15. But without getting too into the various supports, most of the scholars agree that this can be and most likely is a symbol of the completeness and number of these rulers. The point is �He will deliver us�. Look at the trial sandwich Micah has made for us. Beginning of 5 and end of 6.
6. Application - John 16:33. What kind of peace do you want from God? The peace that flees when the Assyrian comes, or the peace that endures through the Assyrian�s invasion. An inward frame of spirit that is so elevated and trusting in God�s greatness that no matter what happens to you, you have a quiet sense of peace. Or would you rather have from God a more ordered life, so that you can have peace? What kind of peace is greater and what gives God more glory?
Has Jesus Christ arisen in your life, is He your good Shepherd, the One you look to when your hungry and restless. We have various ways to console ourselves when things are tough. We have various ways to feed ourselves. We can look forward to dinner, look forward to our beds, look forward to vacation, look forward to going to the gym, look forward to spending time with loved ones. These things are not bad in themselves, but where is Christ in them? Do you ever look forward to going to Him? Do you have time with Christ on a daily basis when you go to Him for peace and comfort. Many of us go to the TV on a daily basis don�t we. Why not Christ? Is He really the Shepherd of your soul? Is He just background noise?
Are you resting in Him? That depends if you see His greatness!
Is He great to you? To the ends of the earth? Maybe you�ve been taken captive and have given into your sins. And the river of sin in your life has taken you a long way away from home. Your joy with Jesus is a distance memory that�s millions of miles away. Listen, He can still be great to you. To the ends of the earth! Until your body departs from this earth, you can still come back to Him. You can�t wander too far prodigal. The Ocean isn�t deep enough. Even if you could dive to the bottom, OH how great He is there on the bottom of the ocean floor. In the blackness, in the coldness, if you look closely you�ll see a vast graveyard of sins that He has cast down there. (Mich. 7:19). If you have wandered to a distant land, come back Christian! See His greatness, even to the ends of the earth!
Is He your peace? It is easy to say that He is your peace when everything is going your way, when everything you want to happen is happening. But what about when the Assyrian invades your land? Is He your peace then? If He is not great to you, then He cannot be your peace when Assyria attacks.
What is your Assyria today? What is invading your life? Is He your peace when your Assyria attacks? A flood that sweeps the landscape of your life and uproots any trees of hope you�ve been planting. And invading force that you just don�t know how to overcome? Is He your peace when Assyria attacks? Listen, if Jesus Christ is not your peace, then what is? What is your Shepherd, the one who feeds and protects you? Whatever it is I can tell you two things for sure First it is not great, secondly it won�t bring you the peace you think it will.
[Mat. 7:24-26? Notice in this verse Jesus didn�t say that the one who built his house upon the rock would not have any tribulations and trials. The storms of this life will blow and SLAM against your life. Any brand of Christianity that promises a relief from hard times, prosperity, health and wealth is a demonic false gospel.
Week after week you guys come and listen, you hear what God has to say to you. But that is not enough. If He is going to be your peace, then you must follow Him, put into practice the things you hear from Him. If He is your Good Shepherd you will hear His voice and follow Him. If you don�t, He�s not great to you, and you will not have peace. So what is it that God wants you to put into practice?
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Micah 5:7-8
The Power of Life and Death
Last week we looked at the seriousness of the situation before us. Verse 15 is going to give us a better context to what lies before us in verses 7-14. We talked about the extremities of heaven and hell and how there is no second best besides God. And this is attached to His anger and wrath. If the severity of this has gripped you, then you would not be surprised how I could get so intense at times when I preach. If I feel the weight of heaven and hell, and that we are all so close to it; and upon that massive weight I look out and see you falling asleep, or look at me with disinterest then woe is me if I don�t scream to wake you up. If I love you then I scream into the burning house to escape the flames. So now we have the gospel before us in Micah and it�s power to life or death.
1. The power of the remnant Vs. 7-8
Who is this remnant? Remember what we have already established that the remnant
is that which is following the chief Shepherd Jesus Christ. (5:2-4). I believe the remnant of Jacob are those who are His own, the remnant of Jacob entails much more than just the return of the exiles from Babylon, since we have a direct prophecy to Jesus Christ here.
A. Vs. 7 - A victory of overwhelming power, that is life � Dew, showers.
The dew � (extensive) if you go outside just about any morning now this time of
year and just look at the dew. It is on everything throughout the land. So in spite of the remnant�s size, their impact on the world will be like the dew. Every single blade of grass will have some, every small crack will have it. Dew is mostly seen as a positive thing throughout the scriptures. In Genesis we see that Jacob took Esau�s blessing. And one of the main blessings for Jacob was the dew of heaven (Gen. 27:28), likewise Esau�s curse was a absence of the dew of heaven (vs. 39). Dew touches everything and weighs down on every aspect of life.
The rain � (From God) The rain is just a more abundant supply of water for the growth of the church. There is a poetic increase of the intensity of the words here. So we go from dew to rain, and from lions to young lions in last part of the verse. The idea is that if there is a little watering, or a large watering, it is all from God. In Job 38:28, one of the questions God asked Job was, �Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew.� In case there is any doubt here in verse 7 it is from the Lord.
(For growth) The sense here is that there is a nurturing of the gospel amongst the nations. Most of the time rain and dew are very positive things for a people living in the desert. Notice that the focus of the watering is on the vegetation; for the sake of growth, not wrath.or destruction. (Hos. 14:5) This is the pouring out of God�s Spirit on the nations.
Both are in God�s timing � We pray for revival, we work hard in good deeds and charity. But when it all comes down to it, it is God who produces fruit on the plants and causes them to grow. It is a mystery. The Holy Spirit moves like the wind, you cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes or why. You cannot force the dams of God�s Spirit to break across the land. The dew falls when we sleep, and there is nothing we can do to stop it or start it. So it is with the gospel. The dew and rain are not controlled, limited or extended by man�s power. They can�t even predict it right. One morning you wake up to a barren desert, the next the plants are dripping with dew. It is from God on His time table. So God uses His remnant to water the nations. And so we continue to water God�s Word into people�s lives weather we see growth or not.
Here is the victory of overwhelming power, that is life. For some of us, when we heard the gospel from the remnant, it was like waking up in the field. Dew is all over every blade of grass, and on you. Every blade of grass in your field was covered. And the rains came over you. What sweet and living water it is to your soul! Living water. It watered your roots in Christ and you yourself started to produce fruit and water other people. Something that wasn�t there before started to grow in your heart. Love for Christ. This is life.
B. Vs. 8 - A victory of overwhelming power, that is death � lions, young lions. The lion is the strongest of beasts in the forest, the young lion has the most energy and vitality amongst the lions.
Now remember what we are talking about. This is the progression of the gospel, this is the remnant�s song and message. The remnant follows the Shepherd, so what do you think the remnant does when the Shepherd says, �Go into all the world and make disciples of all the nations�?
So is there any sense that we see the gospel trampling down, tearing apart, flocks of sheep (keep in mind that we are not referring to the remnant�s flock right here. So the flock of Israel is going be like a lion and scatter the sheep.)
Look at Mt. 10:34-36! What! Was Jesus having a bad day! Did He really mean this? In what sense. I thought He was the Prince of Peace? (He is). He did come to bring a kind of peace to His followers (John 16:33), but it is a peace that rests in Him (Phil. 4:4-9). Look just a few verses over in Mat. 11:29! So what is Jesus saying in Mat. 10? He is saying that the gospel is a lion that tears and destroys any kind of peace you may want from this world. And if you love anything else in this world more than Him, including family relations, you don�t love Jesus. Like I said before, there can be no peace in this world if the Prince of Peace is not the author of it. Peace only comes through Him; not through a family member, not through the UN or some politician. And so those who will not have Him, will not have peace, no matter what they do.
Now where do you think Jesus would get such an idea?! (Micah 7:6 by the way if Micah was good enough for Jesus to preach and study, then there must be life in Micah huh?)
The offense of the gospel � The gospel deals with some like a lion. The gospel is offensive. Don�t try to make it a kitty cat to a culture that is hostile to the gospel. We can try to add lights and surround sound and all kinds of fun things, if we are still preaching the gospel it will still be offensive. Our goal is not to make the gospel unoffensive and seeker sensitive, if someone is seeking they need the whole truth; the whole offensive, martyr making, family destroying, lion tearing truth about Jesus Christ. Don�t be ashamed of the gospel.
The gospel is for the sheep only � When His sheep will hear His voice and follow Him, they have peace. If we only present the fluffy side of the gospel, if we only speak of the love of Christ and how nice Jesus is, we have drained the cross of its blood and suffering. It was for sin, the wrath of God that He died. And it does not extend to everyone, only to those who see their sin and need of a Savior. I will keep saying it in a culture that sees Jesus as a means for a successful life, and not the means of a holy life of communion with God . . . Jesus came to save us from our sins not from a boring or mediocre life!
So you must tell people about hell, you must confront them lovingly and I would even say gently in their sin. You must tell them that Jesus Christ is the one and only way to heaven. And that He suffered died in our place on the cross, and that He is coming again in wrath on those who do not accept Him. And that you must take up your cross, deny yourself and follow Him. But make no mistake, be as gentle as you can, and as loving as you can, if they are not appointed for eternal life, the gospel will be a lion to them.
Stephen had the face of an angel and yet we see a progressive hardness of heart in the Pharisee�s and Sadducees, and we see the Jews gnashing their teeth at Stephen. The only thing they could do was try to kill the lion. But there was no way. The words of Stephen�s sermon continued to burn long after Stephen was dead. In fact the gospel became stronger. The more they tried to kill this beast it just grew. This is the ultimate victory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a lion to some and a life giving dew to others.
If you want a lot of friends in this world, then don�t tell them about Jesus. None of us likes division, none of us likes conflict. But this is the ministry of ambassadorship Christ has called us to. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. Good as a person you may be, you are an enemy of Christ if you are not a Christian! Go to church and read your bible and you�ll still go to hell! Give to the poor all of your money and you�ll go to hell a poor man if you don�t have Christ! Give you body over to be burned and you�ll continue to burn in hell if you don�t have Christ. If what you are hearing offends you, then I dare say you very well may not be a Christian. Because anyone who hates the doctrine of hell has no idea of what Christ bore on our behalf on that cross, you have no idea of His great love in bearing our sins. This is the gospel, that He took our place so that we could freely have life!
3. From Whom does this power come from?
We are called as Christians to be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. How could we display such diversity of character. It depends what we are dealing with. If it is sin and hearesy, we are lions, if it is the broken hearted we are dealing with, then we are like the dew. Like Father like son, we act this way because it is the way our heavenly Father is towards mankind. He causes the mountains to melt like wax with His voice, His voice is like the thunder, and yet it was this same voice that spoke into nothing and created all that we see, including feathers and the wild flowers, and the gentle breeze that blows them. He is the lamb of God, He is the lion of Judah. He is the God who shook Mt. Moriah when Moses received the 10 commandments, and that same voice cried out on the cross when He said, �It is finish� and He died to forgive our breaking of those commandments.
We are not adequate to represent such an amazing God! So powerful, and yet so gentle. He can crush this entire universe with the command of His voice, and yet He guides baby Moses down the Nile in the basket to the Pharaoh�s daughter.
The point of these two symbols is to show the overwhelming power of the gospel. For some it is like a gentle dew, to others a lion. For some it is the fragrance of life, to others the fragrance of death (2 Cor. 2:15-17; Prov. 19:12)
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Micah 5:9-14
Stubborn Sins (Idolatry)
1. God�s Rampage Vs. 10-14 - Remember a couple of weeks ago I said we needed to
nail down verse 15. God is angry, He is on a rampage. What is He going to do � cut off, tear down and destroy. What exactly is God on the rampage against?
Verse 12-14 (1) sorceries (Manipulation of current situations) � witchcrafts in KJ, They would examine sheep innards, watching the patterns of oil dropped in water, or smoke /incense, chemistry (the greek word for witchcraft is �pharmakeia�). (2) fortune tellers (Manipulation or prediction of future events) � word is translated �cloud� in Gen. 9:14 and �an observer of times� in Deut. 18:10; So these are people who would look up into the sky, to the clouds and stars and determine future events. (3) carved images- These were idols carved out of wood. God does not have an image in which He gave Israel, He gave His law, that�s it. (4) pillars - These were usually made out of stone and erected as a memorial. The word in a positive means a grave stone in Gen. 35:20. But the word most often refers to stones Israel had set up to worship other gods. (5) Asherim � this can also be translated �groves� or large trees. The Asherim is similar to the pillars, they were large poles placed into the ground and carved into the image of the female deity Asherim, they are associated with what is called the �high places�.
Idols are imitations - All of these things in Micah are mockeries and imitations of the ministry of Jesus Christ, the One whom would be born in Bethlehem. There is One God we turn to for our current circumstances and situations. There is one God who deals with our future and He will not be manipulated. There is One God and He has given us His image at the right time, and the image of God is perfectly displayed in Jesus Christ. Jesus is God in the flesh. He is also called the chief corner stone. And it is one a tree He was displayed on for all to see. God hates these idols because they are very cheap imitations of the most precious thing in the universe: Himself.
Vs 10-12 � But that�s not all, look at what else God is going to cut off. We see some things here that are not inherently evil that God also will cut off - cities, fortification, horses and chariots. Now why would God group the destruction of the clear and evil worship of false god�s with the destruction of a nation�s military?.
Vs. 13. What do all of these things have in common? They are all sources of trust and devotion. They bow to them. See the real problem with Israel is not that they were doing bad things, the real problem is that they were bowing to the wrong gods, they were trusting in the wrong things.
(Application) So you know what this means? We have to be very careful! Is there anything wrong with fortifications, NO! You�re a fool if you don�t consider your city�s fortifications. However, no matter how strong a city or a nation is, no matter how prosperous a person or a church is, if Christ is not the ultimate source of trust and hope it will all fall. If riches increase to not put your hope in them. If church attendance increases don�t put your hopes in that. If you get a promotion . . .
So is it wrong to have life insurance? Is it wrong to have a savings account or a retirement fund? Not really, but where is your ultimate hope in? If at the end of our days our peace and joy is attached to our back account no matter how much we have, we are bankrupt. Our hope and joy is in Christ, not our circumstances. The God who brings water from the rock, can squeeze daily needs from a slim bank account.
Is it wrong to be a good person, to go the church and read your bible? No you�re a fool if you�re a mean person. Problem is we are called not to trust in our good deeds to get us in with God. It is only by His grace, His free blessing on us that we have any good. You can�t trust in your goodness to buy you a way to heaven.
2. How does God view idolatry? - Love for other things more than God. What does God think of those things we think are better and more lovely than Him?
God sees idols as being �among� us - �among you� (3 x). It was not that idolatry was there on occasion. It was among them. And so it is with idolatry. If your idol is TV, then you�re not going to get on your knees and sing songs of worship and praise to your TV. But your TV will be in your midst, among you. You may not sacrifice a goat to it, but you�ll sacrifice obeying your parents or doing your chores, you�ll sacrifice a good night�s sleep, you�ll sacrifice loving and spending time with your spouse and kids, or time with your God. There is no excuse for a poor quiet time if you are watching several hours of TV every night. You are trusting in your TV to bring you peace more than you do your God and His precious Word to you.
Idols are never just kind of there. They never just kind of have a grip on you, when they are worshiped, they are always amongst you. You cannot just invite some sin in your house for an afternoon chat, enjoy its company and off it goes. It stays for dinner and sleeps in your bed, when you wake up in the morning, there it is on your pillow, and it leaks into the walls and crevices of your dwelling. It is among you. Think it�s gone? When light shines just right you�ll see the slug trails over everything. It is among you!
Well the nature of idolatry, which is just another word for sin, should give us an idea of how to deal with it. If it is this pervasive and dangerous, you can�t be nice with it, you must be on the war path! See why God is so angry, why He is on the warpath?
3. How does God deal with idolatry? These things must be cut off � �cut off� (4x) Too often we just trim the trees of our sin. We just want people to see that we are working on it. We just want to deceive ourselves that we have things under control, it is manageable and we can make it look symmetrical and orderly. Sin is rebellion against God, and any sin that we harbor in our lives must be cut off. God HATES sin, why groom it!
You can say your saved, your going to heaven � but is that enough for you? What will make heaven, heaven is more of Jesus. And if I can have more of Jesus now why sacrifice that for temporary lusts. Why give up that which will make heaven, heaven, in order to have more sewage now. Is your heart really in heaven? Sin hides Jesus from us!
(Mat. 5:29-30) Jesus said if your right eye causes you to sin, cut it out and throw it away from you. This is what must be done with sin. Even the smallest desire for our pet idol shows that we don�t hate it the way God does. Now Jesus made this singular. Does just one eye sin and not the other? If you only cut one eye out you still have another eye you can amply sin with. So the point is not to cut off and destroy our physical body. Even if both eyes are cut out you can still sin as a blind man by what you do with your mouth and fantasies. The problem of idolatry is much more pervasive and much more hideous. Your real problem lies within your heart.
Vs. 14 - These idols can be stubborn you know. Most of the Kings of Israel, even the good ones, did not deal with the groves, the high places. Do you know why? Because these suckers have roots. They stick around! When God says He is going to cut off, He means He is going to get to the root. And some sins have very deep �Roots� - See when you worship you become part of what you worship. Because worship is all about treasuring in and loving and trusting in something. Where your treasure is, there your heart (desires, devotion) will be also (Mat. 6:21). This is why some feel as if they are being controlled by their bodies, like they are possessed. OF COURSE. Because they have practiced the worship of this idol so much it has become part of them. Very deep are the roots, and they identify themselves with their sin.
So God wants root change more than just behavioral change. He doesn�t care if you give all your money to the poor, because you can do that with wicked motives. Don�t just wash the outside of the cup, for goodness sake wash the inside of the cup first. Make sure your good deeds are from a heart that has deep roots in Jesus. That�s the goal.
(Application) So it is not enough to say �I�m going to stop getting so angry, I�m going to stop being so depressed and down, I�m going to stop my lust . . .� If you only put a filter on the computer, if you only keep sweets out of the house, if you only get rid of the TV, if you only stop seeing that secretary, if you only stop drinking, if you only cut off and stop actions and behaviors, you will have another tree sooner or later. If the roots are not dealt with, the tree will grow again.
How can we get to the root? #1 Recognize God�s role and your responsibility. Who is doing the work in this passage? God does it with our participation, it is not enough to pray, we are called to action (Phil. 2:12-13), this is not a passive thing here where you �let go and let God�. #2 Recognize your weapons - But what do you do? That depends on the sin. But your guide in figuring out what to do is God�s Word. The most powerful weapon God has to chop down the groves in your life is His Sword. (Ps. 119:11; Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6) If we must get to the roots, and if the roots are below the surface of action and behavior, if the root is planted in our heart, then God�s Word is the only thing that will change us. #3 Recognize sin when it walks into your house. Make sin unwelcome in your house. Don�t offer it a chair and a drink. Don�t even let it in the door, and don�t think it will only stay a while. If a murderer or a thief comes into your house you don�t sit down with them and discuss and think over why they should leave. Sin is NOT supposed to be in you! This is WAR! Don�t be civil, throw it out!
Vs. 9 Who is the real enemy? If someone was baby sitting my children and I found they had been forced to drink a septic line for hydration, I would be very angry. I would be in a rage! Who did this! What enemy of mine has done this to my children! Especially since I had left them fresh cold water to drink! But who is the real enemy?
See the real enemy is our own love (trust, desire for, worship for) other things that are not God. We are drinking from septic tanks if we are not drinking from God�s pure fountain of Jesus Christ. We are God�s children, and we ourselves have chosen septic tanks rather than His pure water, and He is very angry at this.
Vs. 9 � And the real enemies are not so much the Assyrians, they are not your stubborn neighbors, your oppressive parents, your crazy children or your oppressive boss, the real enemy is you, and your love for that which will not give you life; sewage.
Have you tasted Christ�s love? Nothing comes close. So much tries to imitate it. But it�s all really sewage in the end. Only in Jesus Christ do we find peace and joy and abundance of life. He is sweet spring water!
The reason why this is possible is because Jesus Christ Himself took our sins on His cross He took the hell we deserve and paid the price for our sins. And He didn�t do it because He had to, He did it because He loves His own. If you turn your back on that kind of love then you have no hope. You�ll continue to drink from your septic tank, you�ll continue to trust in and worship your false gods. What are you going grasp Christian, more of heaven or more of hell. More sweet Jesus water, or satanic sewage
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Micah 5:15
We have skipped over some verses today and find ourselves at the end of chapter 5. There is a very good reason for this. Because we must understand a hard truth about verse 15. But if we understand it, then verses 7-14 will light up for us. Let�s read verse 15 and I think it will become apparent to you what I mean.
1. Is God really this way? - God is supposed to be a God of love and mercy and grace. Look at Jesus Christ and His ministry. Micah 5:15 is not very nice! �I know! Let�s just ignore this verse! After all this is the Old Testament and God was dealing with people differently back then.�
Many of us really don�t like to think about the wrath of God, some of us just want to hear a sermon with flowers and the sweet smelling love of Jesus. Some of you are simply wanting to walk away from the sermon feeling good. But I want to tell you something with all sincerity. Sometimes God wants us to experience conviction and the burden of our sin, and the depth of our depravity. If we do not know what we have been saved from, if we do not remember the horror of hell and the evil that sin is, then we have never really tasted the sweetness of Jesus. If you think Jesus is sweet, and you have never felt the weight and guilt of your sins, if you have never seen what a worm of a person you really are, then you�ve been sucking on lemons and calling it sweet. You have not had the nectar of Jesus Christ. If all you know was fat free, sugar free, calorie free ice cream � then you have not even come close to ice cream! He is much sweeter and His love is much deeper than you think, because you are much more sinful and sin is that much more horrible than we can ever comprehend.
So let me ask a question. Who is the angriest person in the bible?
Well maybe that�s so, but God surely composes Himself.
2. What does God do when He gets angry? Let�s look at a passage in Numbers
32:10-13. We can also look at Romans 1:18. Do you know how God reveals His wrath, but letting people wander away from Him. That is the worst punishment He can give us, is to let us wander away from Him. So in His wrath God let the children of Israel wander aimlessly for 40 years until they all died, and we see in Romans how He lets us wander in sin, away from His promises of blessing.
He also kills people, 1 Cor. 10:6-12. These people did not appreciate God�s blessings, they grumbled, they worshiped idols, and God in His anger plagued them and killed many of them. We read the account in Numbers 25:1-5. Now are we to ignore passages like these that talk about God�s anger and killing of people? NO 1 Cor. Tells us that these things were written for our instruction.
My main point here is, God does kill people in His anger, and for an example, the New Testament points to the old. And it gets worse, God does more than kill.
3. Why is it wrong for man to get angry but not for God. God�s anger and man�s anger are not alike. James 1:19. Jesus got angry, but we are called to put anger away from us Eph. 4:31 is one of the places we see this. But isn�t this a double standard? No we can still be angry and not sin. But it needs to be an angry that is righteous, which most of the time we are incapable of doing. Based on James anger is wants justice. Only God sees clearly enough to execute justice perfectly.
So God is an angry God and He is completely justified and perfect in His wrath
4. But what about Jesus? Isn�t He the gentle Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World. He did not come to condemn to world but to save it.
Well the way Jesus ministry began was with a forerunner. John the Baptist, and what do we see him saying? Mat. 3:7 He railed at the Pharisees, �who warned you of the wrath to come.� And then when Jesus finally came what did John call Him, �the Lamb of God�. Yes on earth, Jesus ministry was to take away sins, by dying on the cross. But woe to those who don�t run to the Lamb of God to flee from the coming wrath.
Because whose wrath will it be? Look at Rev. 6:16-17. The Lamb of God has some seriously scary wrath. Read Rev. all the way through sometime.
We don�t need to be saved from the devil, it is God�s wrath that we need to be saved from. (Rev. 14:9-11) Hell is not satan�s domain where he and his demons have fun torturing people forever. God�s wrath that will make hell what it is, satan will be in torment as much as anyone else (Rev. 20:10).
5. The anger and the love of God -
So why does God get angry. He gets angry when we turn from Him. His anger is attached to His love. Jesus got angry during His earthly ministry too � Now this was not a distinguishing mark of His ministry. But anger was not absent from His character.
In Mark 3:1-5 � Jesus was angry. God is the best, and we don�t have eyes to see that. How come? Because of sin. So when God calls us to worship Him, praise Him, call on Him, obey Him, He is being very merciful. Because left to ourselves, we don�t go after Him, we don�t go after the best. We think the things of this world will help us, we think the clouds will guide us, that the trees have power to bring us happiness, that other gods can deliver what they promise to, that sex and drugs and all the entertainment�s of this world is what life is about.
See we don�t get it. God is holy, and He is the best. Nothing else compare to Him and all of His glory. Ps. 90:7-14. We don�t understand His fury � according to the reverence or fear that is due Him. See if anger is about making things right, if anger is about achieving justice, and God�s ultimate anger is displayed by a hell where people are suffering extensively and intensively, forever with no breaks or rest � then what does that say about the degree of wrong we have done against God, if Hell is about God�s making things right, what does that say about the degree of reverence that is due Him. I believe when we stand before Him, there will not be a single soul that is not in complete shock. �Lord I didn�t realize you were this magnificent, this glorious, this holy and beautiful!�
You may think you know what you have been saved from, and that all that is needed now is to press into your identity in Christ. But you don�t know what you have been saved from. If you did realize the scope and the breadth and height and depth of Christ, you would be the happiest person on earth, you would not worry about so much, you would not have fear of anything bad thing � Seeing all of this is part of our sanctification.
So is God being mean when He is angry, that may be the case for us, but not for God. He is not contradicting His nature of love.
It really doesn�t look mean anymore if I am angry over my little girl�s playing with matches, am I being mean. Do I really love my wife if I am not jealous and angry over some guy flirting with her, trying to separate her from me, trying to draw her heart away from me and from her children.
So lets ask a few more questions. What do you have to do in order to have God�s wrath fall on you? Absolutely nothing. John 3:36. All of us are condemned. We all deserve Hell.
Now here comes the good news. What can you do in order to have God�s wrath removed from you? Absolutely nothing! Jesus did it for you - Romans 5:8-9.
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Micah 6:1-3
�How has God wearied us?�
Where we have been in Micah. Israel has turned from God. Micah has made many predictions about the future and time will show that they were true prophecies, especially the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem. There is this harshness against Israel, the leaders, religious and political, have warped justice and are robbers of the poor. Truth has been bought out for money, and the entire nation is suffering the wages of worshiping idols, false gods.
We are coming up to a very important passage here in Micah 6:8. And there is no shortage of commentaries and sermons on this text. But there is whole string of thought that leads up to that wonderful passage. And by taking a careful and thoughtful stroll through verses 1-7 I think we will much better appreciate verse 8? Many use verse 8 out of context with great destruction to the gospel. More on that later God willing.
This passage begins the third and last cycle of prophecies in Micah. God challenges His people three times here in these passages. There are two statements and a question. �Arise and plead your case�, �Testify against Me� and �What have I done to weary you?�
This is all in the context of a court room kind of an atmosphere. We see this picture often in scripture (Ps. 50:4-7). Because as we see at the end of verse 2, the Lord has a case (controversy) against His people. God is accusing His own people of evil, Deut. 25:1 lays out well what is meant by this word, �case�, or �controversy�.
1. Who are the judges God calls � Hills, mountains and enduring foundations.
Which mountains? When they first went into the promised land God laid out blessings and curses. He warned them to be careful to follow Him. And on two mountains these curses and blessings were clearly laid out. Mount Ebal was the mount of curses, and Mount Gerizim was the mount of blessing. Those mountains stood as a reminder from generation to generation of God�s Law.
Which hills? How about the hills talked about in Jer. 2:2 and all throughout we hear of how on every high hill and under every green tree Israel built alters to foreign gods.
Maybe they should go to Mt. Sinani? No, because from there they would see the early days as Gods people and their stubborn willingness to turn so quickly away from God. If anything God�s abundant patience and steadfast love over the generations would become more evident.
What are these enduring foundations? What was the earth founded on? (Job). How does God create matter out of the voice of His mouth?
2. Why would God call such judges?
a. These people are rock heads. This is meant to humiliate them, to show that
an un-intelligent, inanimate object such as a hill or a mountain could judge mankind. It was bad enough when Baalam�s donkey proved to be the smarter, here we have the silent mountains speaking against the evil of man.
b. These people are but dust. The mountains and the foundations have
endured through thousands of generations, but man is a vapor, he is like the flower that grows on the soil of the mountains, here today and gone tomorrow.
c. God is awesome, patient, and good. God is awesome in that He is the maker
of the foundations, He appeals to the mountains to also show His goodness and patience with His people. Look at the mountains and hills, they are filled with figs and crops, and trees and abundance. And they have been that way ever since the rebellious people entered the land. God is pleading with His people because this patience is about to come to an end.
3. Man�s turn to speak � Testify against Me. We really don�t hear any accusations here. When we don�t think someone is listening we can hurl all kinds of evil things against them behind their backs. But when we stand in their face our tongues are often cut. So God is willing to prove His case with these people. Something He is not required to do. God is basically saying, �one of us is wicked, let�s take a close look at this together shall we? Prove me wrong, what is your charge against Me?�
4. How has God wearied you? Maybe you don�t think you have a charge. But let�s probe our hearts a little.
If you have no complaints against God, then what is keeping you from your joy? If you have nothing to testify against God then what is holding you back from loving God will all your heart, soul and strength? If you are not living a life of joyful submission to Him, then you must have some charge against Him.
Be honest now. Most of us would not openly accuse God in front of others. But what charges are you secretly holding against God? Is your life going the way you want it to? What goodness has God withheld from you? What hard circumstances has God given you that you are beginning to accuse Him?
If you are a Christian then we need to remember in our hardest circumstances that God has withheld from us the greatest horrors this universe holds, hell. And no matter what our life is like now, we are promised the greatest joys this universe holds, heaven with Christ. Do we believe that?
If you knew for certain that around 5 p.m. tonight you will be in heaven with Jesus forever, but from now until then, for about the next 6 hours you will have to suffer excruciating pain (and it begins with the sermon). That happened you know. (Luke 23:39-43) I would be very surprised if a smile did not crack open his pain filled face, and a joy helped him to endure the hardest moment of his life.
Does that thief have any charge against God? �Excuse me? Yes, Jesus, I know you said I would be with you in Paradise. But you see you wearied me, by suffering those 6 hours. That was not fair. I really didn�t deserve to suffer like that, I think you were being unfair!� That is unimaginable, the nerve it would take to make such an accusation. God�s response would probably be, �RIGHT! If I was being completely fair you would not be in Paradise right now, you�d be where your fellow thief is now, in hell forever.�
If we could only see that those two men represent the entire human race. We are all worthy of God�s judgement, because we have all turned form God. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Now this doesn�t mean that we are as bad as we could be. If you look hard enough there will always be someone more sinful than you. But the point is that we have rebelled against God!
Those of us who are quite comfortable drinking the fountain of God�s grace, as if the cross was something God owed us, as if God�s forgiveness gave us permission to enjoy our sins. Those are the kinds of people who plague themselves with the question as to why bad things happen to good people. But those of us who are amazing at the cross, who feel our sins, and call grace amazing, and have no desire to take advantage of such a precious gift, we have a more plaguing question; why does the most beautiful person, the Son of God, writhe in pain and agony on the cross, for my sins? Why did He absorb our hell? I do not deserve that.
And so we need to think through the One who speaks here. This is the One whose voice causes the mountains to shake and melt, who causes the seas to be still at His command. There is no charge we can bring against this magnificent One. Try as we might, we were not able to bring any charge against Jesus Christ. And yet we crucified Him anyway. As He hangs there in excruciating torture, bearing the penalty for our sins, put verse 3 of Micah 6 into Jesus mouth now.
We all are going to have to stand before the courtroom of God. What will you do if you have no pleaded for Jesus Christ to be your Advocate? What has God done that you don�t trust Him? Or if you are a Christian, how has God wearied you? What are the mountains and hills and foundations in your life? What kind of things has God given you to show you His abundant goodness and patience? What do you take for granted and just expect from God, from our daily food to the cloths on our back, we act as if we deserve these things and that we will always have them. There are millions of blessings God has given you in this life, million of mercies of what God has withheld that you have deserved. The courtroom floods over with those who have come to testify as to God�s goodness in your life. How has God wearied us in our lives?
What kind of things would testify of how we have wearied God? Perhaps He would call a fly that was on the wall, that fly who heard all those evil things you said, and heard your screams of anger and rage. Perhaps He would call your computer�s hard drive to the stand. Maybe God would call your checkbook to the stand, if you are greedy and horde money. All of these things and more could be witnesses against us.
How has God wearied us? Cliff was sharing with me about the Todd Agnew concert and a certain thing Todd said really impacted him, and when he told me it impacted me too. Mr. Agnew said something to the fact that our nation is the most prosperous and yet the best selling books tell us how to get more. We are so latched onto getting more blessing, bigger better, healthier and wealthier. We are deceived into thinking we don�t have enough, when Jesus gives us the most ultimate focus and promise, we are not to seek our health and wealth first, but His Kingdom and His righteousness, the othe
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