Sunday
Morning Bible Study
May
25, 2014
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words
Communion: 2500 words
(Before Scripture reading – Video: Selfies or
Sacrifice - Memorial Day Video)
Micah’s ministry was roughly from the years 750-700 BC.
Micah lived in the southern kingdom
of Judah and had messages for both the northern and southern kingdoms.
Micah gives three messages (chs. 1-2, 3-5, 6-7),
and they all start with the words “Hear now”.
Micah gives three messages, and
they all start with the words “Hear now”.
Chapters 1-2 were the first message, chapters 3-5 are the second
message, and chapters 6-7 are the third message.
Micah 6 began Micah’s third and final message. Last week we talked about God’s indictment
against the nation – their idolatry and unfair business practices.
We talked about how God preferred
that Israel would obey Him rather than just falling back on sacrificing over
and over again.
We talked about what God really desires for Israel:
(Micah 6:8 NKJV) He has
shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do
justly, To love
mercy, And to
walk humbly with your God?
7:1-6 Sin’s Emptiness
:1 Woe is me! For I am like those who gather
summer fruits, Like those who glean vintage grapes; There
is no cluster to eat Of the first-ripe fruit which my soul desires.
:1 no
cluster to eat
(Micah 7:1 NLT) How miserable I am!
I feel like the fruit picker after the harvest who can find nothing to eat. Not
a cluster of grapes or a single early fig can be found to satisfy my hunger.
The image is one of a fellow going out into the field to pick fruit, and
there’s nothing there.
When you are caught in sin, nothing will satisfy you.
You look for something to satisfy that deep inner hunger inside you, and
nothing can take it away.
:2 The faithful man has perished from the
earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for
blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net.
:3 That they may successfully do evil with both
hands— The prince asks for gifts, The judge seeks a bribe, And
the great man utters his evil desire; So they scheme together.
There are no good people left.
Everybody is trying to take advantage of others.
:4 The best of them is like a brier; The
most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge; The day of your watchman and
your punishment comes; Now shall be their perplexity.
:4 The best of them is like a
brier
Even the best guy is a bit prickly.
:4 The day of your watchman
The watchman in the tower (like a prophet) had the responsibility to warn
the people of the danger that was coming, and the judgment was on its way.
:5 Do not trust in a friend; Do not put your
confidence in a companion; Guard the doors of your mouth From her who lies in
your bosom.
:6 For son dishonors father, Daughter rises
against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are
the men of his own household.
:5 Do not trust in a friend
Lesson
Sin separates friends
Micah is describing how the sin within Israel is separating people from
each other.
It will be so bad that you can’t
even trust a friend, because they might turn their back on you.
Sin can separate even the best of friends.
Even family members won’t be trusted.
Jesus would quote this passage.
(Matthew 10:32–39
NKJV) —32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before
men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever
denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My
Father who is in heaven. 34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come
to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a
daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
37 He who
loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of
Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who
does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who
finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find
it.
When you choose to follow Jesus, He will begin to change
your life.
He will change your allegiances.
When people you used to trust want to continue to go
further and further into sin, you will find yourself torn because you want to
be going further and further AWAY from sin.
Some friends are not healthy for us.
Illustration
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when
one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be
breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. “The other guy whips out his
cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: ‘My friend
is dead! What can I do?’ “The operator, in a calm,
soothing voice, says: ’Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure
he’s dead.’ The operator waits… (“There is a silence, then
a shot is heard.) The guy’s voice comes back on the line. He says: ‘OK, now
what?’
Some friends are not healthy for us.
There are some people who refuse to give up their sin.
Their sin is like a boat anchor, and they are out swimming in the deep
ocean holding on to that boat anchor.
That boat anchor is going to sink them if they don’t let
go of it.
When you are close to someone like that, there may be a day when you are
going to be faced with a decision.
You may think that you are going to rescue that person,
and perhaps you just might do that.
But if they are not going to let go of that boat anchor,
and they get you to start holding on to that same boat anchor, they are going
to take you down with them.
You will be faced with a decision.
Do you want to hold on to that friendship, or do you want
to hold on to Jesus?
7:7-13 Confession of sin
:7 Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my
salvation; My God will hear me.
Some may look to their ungodly friends for help, but Micah chooses to look
to God for help.
:8 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy; When I fall, I will arise; When I sit
in darkness, The Lord will be
a light to me.
:9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, Because I have sinned against
Him, Until He pleads my case And executes justice for me. He will bring me
forth to the light; I will see His righteousness.
:9 Because I have sinned against Him
Micah admits that he too is a sinner.
He looks forward to the day when
God brings him into the light and he sees God’s righteousness.
:10 Then she who is my enemy will see, And
shame will cover her who said to me, “Where is the Lord your God?” My eyes will see her; Now
she will be trampled down Like mud in the streets.
:11 In the day when your walls are to be
built, In that day the decree shall go far and wide.
:12 In that day they shall come to you From
Assyria and the fortified cities, From the fortress to the River, From sea to
sea, And mountain to mountain.
:12 In that day … From Assyria
For a moment, Micah jumps forward to the time when Jesus returns, and
people are coming from Assyria instead of being taken to Assyria.
It seems that Micah has moved into
a time in the future, the time when Jesus has come back to rule and reign for a
thousand years.
In Micah’s day, Assyria was the
nation that conquered others and took people away.
When Jesus
returns and rules, there will be a new highway bringing people to Israel from
Assyria.
Isaiah wrote,
(Isaiah 11:16 NKJV) There
will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who
will be left from Assyria, As it
was for Israel In the day that he
came up from the land of Egypt.
(Isaiah 35:8 NKJV) A
highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called
the Highway of Holiness. The
unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be
for others. Whoever walks the
road, although a fool, Shall not go astray.
(Isaiah 19:23–25 NKJV) —23 In that day there will
be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and
the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians.
24 In that day Israel will be one of three
with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, 25
whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt
My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel
My inheritance.”
:13 Yet the land shall be desolate Because of
those who dwell in it, And for the fruit of their deeds.
For now, in Micah’s day, there would be desolation.
7:14-20 Forgiveness of sin
:14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff, The
flock of Your heritage, Who dwell solitarily in a woodland, In the midst
of Carmel; Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, As in days of old.
Carmel, Bashan, and Gilead are all areas in the north, areas that were all swept
off to Assyria in Micah’s day. They
would come back.
:15 “As in the days when you came out of the land
of Egypt, I will show them wonders.”
Micah asks God to shepherd His
people like He used to in the old days.
:16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all
their might; They shall put their hand over their mouth; Their
ears shall be deaf.
:17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; They
shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of
the Lord our God, And shall fear because of You.
The nations that have come against Israel will one day be humbled like
snakes licking the dust.
:18 Who is a God like You, Pardoning
iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He
does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.
:18 Who is a God like You
Today, Orthodox Jews read vs. 18-20 on the Day of Atonement.
This may be a play on Micah’s name which means “Who is like Yahweh?”
We get several distinct definitions of what God’s forgiveness is all about.
pardoning – nasa’ – to lift; to take, take away, carry off, forgive
iniquity – ‘avon – perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or
punishment of iniquity
When God forgives, He carries our sins away from us.
passing over – ‘abar – to pass over or by or through
transgression – pesha– transgression, rebellion
When God forgives, He doesn’t stop to collect our sins, but He passes right
by them.
does not retain – chazaq – to have or take or keep hold of
anger – ‘aph – nostril, nose, face; anger
When God forgives, He doesn’t stay angry at us, He lets go of His anger
toward us.
:18 He delights in mercy
delights – chaphets – to delight in, take pleasure in
Qal perfect
mercy – checed – goodness, kindness, faithfulness
Lesson
God’s Mercy
Delighting in mercy
Merciful like Him
Mercy like God
God takes pleasure in showing mercy to His children.
The problem is that we tend to think that He would rather destroy us than
show mercy to us.
Illustration
Several years ago, a businessman found out about an elderly
widow who was unable to pay her rent. Feeling pity for her, he went to some of
his friends and asked them if they would be kind enough to contribute something
to help pay her rent. They responded, and he got two months’ rent. He went to
the widow’s house that week to deliver the money. Although he knew she was
inside, when he knocked he got no answer. He knocked a second time and still no
answer. He knocked a third time, still no answer. He knocked a fourth time. Not
knowing what else to do, he returned to his business. A couple of days later,
he saw her downtown on the sidewalk looking destitute. He walked up to her and
said, “Ma’am, some friends of mine and I found out about your situation. We
want to help. We got enough money together to give you rent money for two
months. I came to your house to give it to you this week, but I knocked several
times and got no answer.” She took a gasp of breath and put her hand to her
face. She said, “Oh, I thought you were the landlord coming to evict me.”
God is not out to punish. He delights in mercy.
-- R. Larry Moyer, "Right Smack in the
Middle of Sin," Preaching Today, Tape No. 148.
Last week we read,
(Micah 6:8 NKJV) He has shown you, O
man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love
mercy, And to walk humbly
with your God?
love – ‘ahabah – love
mercy – checed – goodness, kindness,
faithfulness
God wants us to
“love mercy”.
Hosea used the same two words when
he wrote,
(Hosea 6:6 NKJV) For I desire mercy
and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of
God more than burnt offerings.
desire – chaphets – to delight in, take pleasure
in, desire, be pleased with
Qal perfect
mercy – checed – goodness, kindness,
faithfulness
Hosea used the
same two words, but our translators translated “delights” as “desire”.
Just as God
delights to show us mercy (Micah 7:18), He wants us to delight in showing
others mercy (Hos. 6:6)
Jesus taught the same principle
this way.
(Matthew 18:21–35 NKJV) —21 Then
Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me,
and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you,
up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23
Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a
certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24
And when he had begun to settle accounts,
one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25
But as he was not able to pay, his master
commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and
that payment be made. 26 The
servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me,
and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the
master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him
the debt. 28 “But that servant
went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii;
and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me
what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow
servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me,
and I will pay you all.’ 30 And he
would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31
So when his fellow servants saw what had
been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had
been done. 32 Then his master,
after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked
servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33
Should you not also have had compassion
on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34
And his master was angry, and delivered
him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to
you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his
trespasses.”
God has shown us
great compassion. He has forgiven
us. We ought to forgive others.
Delight in mercy.
Jeremiah wrote,
(Jeremiah 9:23–24
NLT) —23 This is what the Lord says: “Don’t let the wise boast in
their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their
riches. 24 But those
who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and
understand that I am the Lord who
demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the
earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord, have spoken!
Jeremiah used the same words as Micah.
God delights to demonstrate “unfailing love”.
God wants to be merciful to you.
:19 He will again have compassion on us, And will
subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into
the depths of the sea.
:20 You will give truth to Jacob And mercy
to Abraham, Which You have sworn to our fathers From days of old.
:19 compassion – racham – to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection,
have compassion
:19 subdue – kabash – to subject, subdue, force, keep
under, bring into bondage
:19 cast – shalak – to throw, cast, hurl, fling
:19 cast all our sins into the depths of
the sea
Lesson
Handling my sin
When we learn to get serious about our sins, there are several things we
need to work at.
Gravity
We need to realize the seriousness of our sins.
David wrote,
(Psalm
51:17 NKJV) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken
and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
If we think that our sin is no big deal before the Holy
God whom we follow, we are setting ourselves up for trouble. We may actually be a captive to our sin and
we don’t even realize it.
True deliverance from our sin starts with a sincere
brokenness over our sin.
Triggers
I believe it is important to think about what triggered our sin.
Sometimes our “sin” doesn’t just accidentally happen.
Often there are broken places in our hearts that lead us
into bad places.
Sometimes it’s anger or resentment.
These feelings drive us to find “relief” in one of those
sins that we keep doing.
It may be a deep emotional hurt in our lives.
Our sin has been our “pain reliever”, and until we learn
to find a different pain reliever, we will continue to give in to our sin.
It could be a deep sense of loneliness
Our sin has been that thing we reach for to ease the
emptiness inside.
Ultimately, the answer to every trigger is Jesus. He is “more than enough” for us. He can give us the comfort, support, love,
and encouragement we need instead of our sins.
Yet if we ignore the reality of those “triggers”, we are
leaving ourselves open to continual temptation and backsliding.
David wrote,
(Psalm
139:23–24 NKJV) —23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead
me in the way everlasting.
Confession
Forgiveness comes when we admit to God what we’ve done.
David wrote,
(Psalm
32:3–5 NKJV) —3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my
groaning all the day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon
me; My
vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah 5
I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my
transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
John wrote,
(1
John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
When we admit to God that we have indeed sinned and are responsible
for our actions, we will find His forgiveness.
Stop Fishing
When God forgives our sin, He “forgets”
our sin
(Jeremiah 31:34b NKJV) …For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more.”
I do not think
that God acquires some sort of Alzheimer’s disease and is incapable of
remembering certain things.
I believe it means
that God no longer holds our sin over us.
In our lives, I
don’t think we necessarily gain amnesia about our sin.
We still need to
remember those “trigger” lessons, and our own vulnerability to sin.
Micah’s picture is that of God tossing our sin into the deepest ocean.
(Micah
7:18 NKJV) You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
We think of the bottom of the sea as a place where scuba
divers and submarines go. But in Micah’s day, it was a place where NOBODY went.
The problem is that sometimes we like to go “fishing” from
time to time where we shouldn’t.
We think that God’s forgiveness might not be complete so
we dig up our old sins and punish ourselves over and over again by wallowing in
our guilt.
Illustration
A man set out to do some ice-fishing on a frozen lake.
Carefully having carrying his gear to a favorite spot, he proceeded to carve
out a hole on the ice to drop his line, and settled into his mission. As he was
waiting for the fish to bite, he noticed a couple of young boys waddling onto
the ice with fishing poles, with a determined look on their faces. The man
smiled at the kids’ tenacity, but after a while, his expression turned to
surprise as the boys kept pulling fish after fish out of the lake. After about
an hour, the man slipped and slided across the ice to
the boys and said to them, “Young men, I’ve been here for a while and haven’t
caught anything, yet I see that you keep catching fish one after another. Do
you mind if I ask what your secret is?” The young boys mumbled, “Mm mm mm mm
mm mm mmmm!”
“What did you say?” asked the puzzled man. “Mm mm mm mm
mm mm mmmm!”
“I’m sorry, boys, I can’t understand you,” the man replied. One boy spit
something into his hand and said, “Mister, you gotta
keep your worms warm!”
It’s amazing what people will do to catch something,
anything while they’re fishing.
When it comes to our sins, it’s best to just not go
fishing.
Illustration
Corrie ten Boom, in her book Tramp
for the Lord had these words to say regarding forgiveness:
It was 1947--. I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with
the message that God forgives. It was the truth they needed most to hear in
that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my
favorite mental picture. Maybe because the sea is never far from a Hollander’s
mind, I like to think that that’s where forgiven sins are thrown. “When we
confess our sins,” I said, “God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone
forever--. Then God places a sign out there that says No Fishing Allowed!”
When God forgives, He actually forgives.
(Romans
8:1 NKJV) There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus…
Are you ready to receive God’s forgiveness?
Are you serious about your sin?
Are you ready to work on those triggers?
Will you confess your sin to God?
Are you ready to quit fishing?
Ending Song: