1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,620 September 11th. 2 00:00:05,520 –> 00:00:06,800 There’s a certain chill almost 3 00:00:06,800 –> 00:00:08,400 in saying the date, isn’t there? 4 00:00:09,740 –> 00:00:13,160 We all remember where we were when we heard the news. 5 00:00:14,720 –> 00:00:18,120 The image of crumbling towers imprinted 6 00:00:18,120 –> 00:00:20,200 on all of our minds forever. 7 00:00:21,200 –> 00:00:23,920 The very date, as Roosevelt said, 8 00:00:23,920 –> 00:00:28,120 after Pearl Harbor, a date that lives in infamy. 9 00:00:31,000 –> 00:00:33,500 And ever since the last four years, 10 00:00:33,500 –> 00:00:35,500 we’ve lived with the knowledge 11 00:00:35,500 –> 00:00:36,639 that there are people 12 00:00:36,639 –> 00:00:39,759 who are determined to destroy our way of life 13 00:00:39,759 –> 00:00:41,660 and they’ll give their lives to do it. 14 00:00:43,959 –> 00:00:46,040 We live in a dangerous world 15 00:00:47,279 –> 00:00:48,840 in which, for four years, 16 00:00:48,840 –> 00:00:52,160 I doubt if there’s been a single news bulletin 17 00:00:52,160 –> 00:00:53,439 in the last four years 18 00:00:53,439 –> 00:00:55,439 that did not include the word terrorism. 19 00:00:56,139 –> 00:01:00,299 And now we are overtaken by a new disaster. 20 00:01:02,959 –> 00:01:05,639 A friend of mine told me this week 21 00:01:05,639 –> 00:01:10,639 about a report that he had read back in the 1980s 22 00:01:10,820 –> 00:01:14,160 that it had identified three events 23 00:01:14,160 –> 00:01:15,699 that could cripple America. 24 00:01:17,160 –> 00:01:20,279 A major earthquake on the San Andreas Fault, 25 00:01:21,199 –> 00:01:25,000 a major terrorist attack on a main city, 26 00:01:25,019 –> 00:01:27,680 or a tidal wave in the Gulf. 27 00:01:27,680 –> 00:01:29,680 It is extraordinary that two out of these three 28 00:01:29,680 –> 00:01:32,300 have happened inside four years. 29 00:01:33,980 –> 00:01:36,180 I guess like everyone else here, 30 00:01:36,180 –> 00:01:38,739 I’m still struggling to get my mind 31 00:01:38,739 –> 00:01:43,620 around the sheer scale of the devastation in New Orleans. 32 00:01:43,620 –> 00:01:46,320 The volume of water, the number of people, 33 00:01:46,320 –> 00:01:50,059 the massive scale of loss. 34 00:01:50,980 –> 00:01:56,019 Sunday morning after September the 11th, four years ago 35 00:01:56,120 –> 00:01:59,059 I spoke from the book of Hebrews chapter 12 36 00:01:59,059 –> 00:02:01,459 where God says that everything in this world 37 00:02:01,459 –> 00:02:05,320 will be shaken, and reminds us that nothing in this life 38 00:02:05,320 –> 00:02:06,519 is completely secure. 39 00:02:06,519 –> 00:02:10,419 Your home, your family, your health, your job. 40 00:02:10,419 –> 00:02:15,419 So what we need, is a faith that is big enough for life. 41 00:02:16,059 –> 00:02:21,059 That’s the desperate need, for us here and now 42 00:02:23,800 –> 00:02:26,500 at the beginning of the 21st century. 43 00:02:26,500 –> 00:02:30,759 We desperately need a faith that is big enough 44 00:02:30,759 –> 00:02:34,380 for life as we are experiencing it. 45 00:02:35,899 –> 00:02:38,320 Now I’m convinced from the very depth of my being 46 00:02:38,320 –> 00:02:43,320 that what that means is a return to biblical christianity. 47 00:02:43,960 –> 00:02:46,600 And I want to try and explain 48 00:02:46,600 –> 00:02:49,279 as we come to the scriptures this morning 49 00:02:49,279 –> 00:02:51,600 what that means because there has been 50 00:02:51,600 –> 00:02:56,500 such a massive slide away from this in our time. 51 00:02:57,679 –> 00:03:00,699 I want us to grasp clearly the difference 52 00:03:00,699 –> 00:03:04,100 between christianity and paganism, 53 00:03:04,100 –> 00:03:06,300 and by paganism I’m using that word 54 00:03:06,300 –> 00:03:09,380 to refer to really any form of idolatry 55 00:03:09,380 –> 00:03:11,460 that you would find both throughout the Old Testament 56 00:03:11,479 –> 00:03:13,740 and widely in our culture today. 57 00:03:14,800 –> 00:03:19,779 Pagan religion, pagan religion is based on the idea 58 00:03:19,779 –> 00:03:22,039 that the gods will keep you from harm 59 00:03:22,039 –> 00:03:25,119 so long as you keep them happy, that’s paganism. 60 00:03:26,320 –> 00:03:29,160 So a wise pagan thinks like this. 61 00:03:29,160 –> 00:03:32,039 He or she will say now I’ve gotta say my prayers, 62 00:03:32,039 –> 00:03:33,559 I’ve gotta give my tithes, 63 00:03:33,559 –> 00:03:35,839 I’ve gotta offer my sacrifices 64 00:03:35,839 –> 00:03:38,399 because as long as the gods are happy, 65 00:03:38,399 –> 00:03:41,240 the gods will keep me from harm. 66 00:03:41,479 –> 00:03:43,119 So the pagan thinks like this. 67 00:03:43,119 –> 00:03:48,119 If I keep the gods happy, then my family will be healthy. 68 00:03:48,660 –> 00:03:51,279 Then my business will prosper. 69 00:03:51,279 –> 00:03:54,000 Then my kids will make wise choices. 70 00:03:54,000 –> 00:03:56,139 Then my country will be secure. 71 00:03:56,139 –> 00:03:57,220 That’s paganism. 72 00:03:58,220 –> 00:04:00,320 It is a religion that you practice 73 00:04:00,320 –> 00:04:04,100 so that nothing terrible will happen to you. 74 00:04:05,479 –> 00:04:09,160 Now Christianity is completely different 75 00:04:09,179 –> 00:04:11,960 because the Bible makes it as plain as can be 76 00:04:11,960 –> 00:04:13,559 for anyone who reads it, 77 00:04:13,559 –> 00:04:16,239 that in this world bad things will happen 78 00:04:16,239 –> 00:04:18,200 to me and to you. 79 00:04:19,359 –> 00:04:20,779 The reason for this is simple. 80 00:04:20,779 –> 00:04:24,040 We live in a fallen world. 81 00:04:24,040 –> 00:04:26,339 We are surrounded by an environment 82 00:04:26,339 –> 00:04:30,880 in which evil is rampant within the human heart. 83 00:04:30,880 –> 00:04:35,040 The human race itself is plagued by disease and by death. 84 00:04:35,040 –> 00:04:36,119 And the Bible says, 85 00:04:36,119 –> 00:04:38,359 the whole creation in which we live 86 00:04:38,359 –> 00:04:41,299 is groaning under a curse, 87 00:04:41,299 –> 00:04:44,739 a curse that has not yet been removed. 88 00:04:46,040 –> 00:04:47,720 So for all our blessings, 89 00:04:47,720 –> 00:04:49,540 the Bible makes it clear 90 00:04:49,540 –> 00:04:51,160 that our life in this world 91 00:04:51,160 –> 00:04:53,720 will include the experience of loss, 92 00:04:53,720 –> 00:04:55,799 and that loss will come through disease. 93 00:04:55,799 –> 00:04:57,339 It will come through death. 94 00:04:57,339 –> 00:04:59,019 It will come through disaster, 95 00:04:59,019 –> 00:05:01,299 and it will come through destruction 96 00:05:01,299 –> 00:05:03,200 that arises from men and women 97 00:05:03,480 –> 00:05:05,600 whose hearts have been opened up 98 00:05:05,600 –> 00:05:09,359 to rampant powers of evil and the demonic. 99 00:05:10,540 –> 00:05:14,559 Jesus speaks clearly about wars, 100 00:05:14,559 –> 00:05:15,820 and rumors of wars, 101 00:05:15,820 –> 00:05:19,339 about famines and about earthquakes. 102 00:05:20,640 –> 00:05:24,000 This is your world, He says to those who are listening. 103 00:05:25,100 –> 00:05:28,179 This is the reality in which you live your life. 104 00:05:29,299 –> 00:05:32,320 This will be part of your experience. 105 00:05:33,640 –> 00:05:38,640 And this is precisely why you need me.” 106 00:05:41,359 –> 00:05:43,299 So you see in this world, 107 00:05:43,299 –> 00:05:48,299 we need a God who is big enough to fulfill His purpose 108 00:05:49,500 –> 00:05:54,420 even when everything else is lost. 109 00:05:54,420 –> 00:05:57,820 Now, do you see the huge contrast between these two things? 110 00:05:57,820 –> 00:06:02,440 Paganism says the gods, as long as they’re happy, 111 00:06:02,440 –> 00:06:04,980 keep the gods happy and they’ll keep you from trouble. 112 00:06:04,980 –> 00:06:06,700 That’s paganism. 113 00:06:06,700 –> 00:06:11,079 Christianity says that God will fulfill His purpose 114 00:06:11,079 –> 00:06:15,399 even through trouble which you our to expect in this world. 115 00:06:16,820 –> 00:06:19,140 Now what has struck me as I’ve pondered this 116 00:06:19,140 –> 00:06:22,839 over these last days is just how widely believers 117 00:06:22,839 –> 00:06:25,100 in our time have really bought 118 00:06:25,100 –> 00:06:29,179 into a Christianized form of paganism. 119 00:06:29,179 –> 00:06:30,779 In other words, we have the idea 120 00:06:30,779 –> 00:06:32,399 that if we’re good Christians, 121 00:06:32,399 –> 00:06:35,079 nothing bad will happen in our lives. 122 00:06:35,079 –> 00:06:38,839 That if our country is based on Christian principles, 123 00:06:38,839 –> 00:06:41,200 that no disaster will happen here. 124 00:06:41,200 –> 00:06:44,799 That kind of thinking shows how far we have drifted 125 00:06:44,799 –> 00:06:49,040 from Christianity into a kind of cross-shaped paganism. 126 00:06:51,239 –> 00:06:54,059 This kind of superstition is so far 127 00:06:54,059 –> 00:06:55,739 from the world of the Bible. 128 00:06:58,559 –> 00:06:59,980 Think about the Bible. 129 00:07:00,019 –> 00:07:05,019 Job was the most righteous man of his day, 130 00:07:05,179 –> 00:07:06,160 the Bible says so. 131 00:07:07,619 –> 00:07:10,140 And he experienced, think about this, 132 00:07:10,140 –> 00:07:14,859 a terrorist attack and a natural disaster on the same day. 133 00:07:15,899 –> 00:07:18,500 The Bible tells us the Sabaeans came 134 00:07:18,500 –> 00:07:20,500 and murdered his servants and his animals, 135 00:07:20,500 –> 00:07:21,660 that’s a terror attack. 136 00:07:23,140 –> 00:07:25,619 And then a hurricane came and flattened the house 137 00:07:25,619 –> 00:07:27,420 where all of his children were at that time 138 00:07:27,420 –> 00:07:29,160 throwing a party. 139 00:07:29,160 –> 00:07:30,640 That’s a natural disaster. 140 00:07:32,440 –> 00:07:35,260 It happened to the most righteous man in the Old Testament. 141 00:07:37,200 –> 00:07:39,320 So, you see, the Bible never suggests 142 00:07:39,320 –> 00:07:42,359 that if you keep God happy nothing bad will happen to you. 143 00:07:43,799 –> 00:07:45,880 No, the real world of the Bible 144 00:07:45,880 –> 00:07:48,000 is that we live in a fallen world 145 00:07:48,000 –> 00:07:50,239 in which there is disease and there is danger 146 00:07:50,239 –> 00:07:53,600 and there is death, and these things will shape 147 00:07:53,600 –> 00:07:57,220 the experience of the most righteous man. 148 00:07:58,220 –> 00:08:02,899 You never see it more clearly than in the life of Jesus. 149 00:08:02,899 –> 00:08:06,640 No one ever lived a life more pleasing to God, 150 00:08:07,940 –> 00:08:10,279 and, yet, Jesus, more than any other, 151 00:08:10,279 –> 00:08:13,179 experienced terror unleashed, 152 00:08:14,459 –> 00:08:16,519 and, when he stretched out on the cross, 153 00:08:16,519 –> 00:08:21,519 the earth splits beneath him as the sun no longer shines. 154 00:08:22,700 –> 00:08:24,440 Now, you see, paganism would say, 155 00:08:24,519 –> 00:08:26,359 my goodness, the earth’s splitting, 156 00:08:27,279 –> 00:08:30,899 he’s on a cross, the sun stops shining, 157 00:08:32,039 –> 00:08:34,260 the gods mustn’t be pleased with him! 158 00:08:34,260 –> 00:08:35,760 That’s what a pagan would say. 159 00:08:37,840 –> 00:08:39,119 But the gospel tells us that 160 00:08:39,119 –> 00:08:41,200 it is through this agony of trouble 161 00:08:41,200 –> 00:08:45,280 that God fulfills his redeeming purpose. 162 00:08:48,400 –> 00:08:50,919 You see, these are two completely different worlds. 163 00:08:51,400 –> 00:08:54,599 And so, it seems to me 164 00:08:54,599 –> 00:08:56,340 that the desperate need of the hour 165 00:08:56,340 –> 00:09:00,419 is that we be delivered from a superstitious Christianity 166 00:09:01,640 –> 00:09:03,179 in which we see our religion 167 00:09:03,179 –> 00:09:05,000 as a way of keeping God happy 168 00:09:05,000 –> 00:09:07,159 so there won’t be any trouble in our lives, 169 00:09:08,400 –> 00:09:12,559 and that we return to a biblical Christianity 170 00:09:12,559 –> 00:09:14,919 in which we put our trust in God 171 00:09:14,919 –> 00:09:17,559 knowing that there will be trouble in our lives 172 00:09:17,559 –> 00:09:19,799 but that God will bring us through it 173 00:09:20,239 –> 00:09:22,919 and that even by it and in it 174 00:09:22,919 –> 00:09:27,520 he will fulfill his purpose and it will not be lost. 175 00:09:29,520 –> 00:09:32,840 The God of the Bible is big enough for life. 176 00:09:32,840 –> 00:09:34,820 Superstition isn’t, paganism isn’t. 177 00:09:37,059 –> 00:09:39,159 But the God of the Bible can bring you 178 00:09:39,159 –> 00:09:41,359 through the worst experience of loss 179 00:09:41,359 –> 00:09:43,400 that you or I will ever face. 180 00:09:43,400 –> 00:09:45,119 He’s able to do, the Bible says, 181 00:09:45,119 –> 00:09:47,179 more for you, in you, and through you 182 00:09:47,179 –> 00:09:48,919 than you can ask or think. 183 00:09:48,919 –> 00:09:52,760 And my prayer for this series throughout the fall 184 00:09:52,760 –> 00:09:56,280 is that we will have a close encounter 185 00:09:57,299 –> 00:10:01,479 with this living God. 186 00:10:03,840 –> 00:10:05,760 You sense that’s the need of the hour? 187 00:10:08,340 –> 00:10:10,419 Let’s turn to the book of Micah, shall we? 188 00:10:12,419 –> 00:10:14,859 And I promise we’ll up the pace after today, 189 00:10:14,859 –> 00:10:16,820 but today just verse one. 190 00:10:16,859 –> 00:10:19,859 Micah chapter one and verse one. 191 00:10:19,859 –> 00:10:21,200 Just this one verse. 192 00:10:21,200 –> 00:10:23,619 And then we’re going to look to some other scriptures 193 00:10:23,619 –> 00:10:25,520 that we’ll read in a few moments time. 194 00:10:26,580 –> 00:10:28,960 But let us hear then the word of God. 195 00:10:28,960 –> 00:10:31,179 Micah chapter one and verse one. 196 00:10:32,659 –> 00:10:37,659 The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Morisheth 197 00:10:40,020 –> 00:10:45,020 during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, 198 00:10:45,119 –> 00:10:49,039 kings of Judah, the vision he saw 199 00:10:49,039 –> 00:10:53,200 concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. 200 00:10:54,619 –> 00:10:56,539 Now, just to get ourselves quickly oriented, 201 00:10:56,539 –> 00:10:58,380 that means that this man’s ministry 202 00:10:58,380 –> 00:11:01,299 spanned about a period of 50 years, 203 00:11:01,299 –> 00:11:05,440 somewhere around 750 to 700 BC. 204 00:11:05,440 –> 00:11:07,340 Micah lived and preached 205 00:11:07,340 –> 00:11:10,859 at the same time as the prophet Isaiah. 206 00:11:10,859 –> 00:11:14,280 Now, during this time, Israel was divided into two. 207 00:11:14,340 –> 00:11:17,859 The northern kingdom was called Samaria, referred to here, 208 00:11:17,859 –> 00:11:21,320 and the southern kingdom had its capital in Jerusalem. 209 00:11:22,179 –> 00:11:25,020 The major event in Micah’s lifetime 210 00:11:25,020 –> 00:11:27,739 was the fall of the northern kingdom. 211 00:11:27,739 –> 00:11:31,059 That happened in 722 BC. 212 00:11:31,059 –> 00:11:34,500 The Assyrians invaded Samaria, the northern part, 213 00:11:34,500 –> 00:11:37,479 and they removed the entire population. 214 00:11:37,479 –> 00:11:41,020 The people of the 10 tribes in the north were scattered. 215 00:11:41,140 –> 00:11:44,440 Samaria was left like a desolate wasteland 216 00:11:44,440 –> 00:11:48,960 and the Assyrians then later brought in foreign refugees 217 00:11:48,960 –> 00:11:52,179 who became known as the Samaritans. 218 00:11:53,340 –> 00:11:56,299 Now Micah’s focus was on the south, 219 00:11:56,299 –> 00:11:59,219 and he spoke the word of God during the reign, 220 00:11:59,219 –> 00:12:02,219 we’re told here, of three kings, 221 00:12:02,219 –> 00:12:06,539 Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. 222 00:12:06,539 –> 00:12:08,960 Now, you can forget about Jotham. 223 00:12:09,940 –> 00:12:13,039 Jotham was a believer with a good heart, 224 00:12:13,039 –> 00:12:15,299 but without the courage to do what needed 225 00:12:15,299 –> 00:12:16,559 to be done in the country. 226 00:12:17,820 –> 00:12:19,400 He didn’t have the courage to follow through 227 00:12:19,400 –> 00:12:21,159 on his convictions. 228 00:12:21,159 –> 00:12:24,640 He loved the Lord, but he let the idols stand. 229 00:12:24,640 –> 00:12:28,200 He reigned for 16 years and the sum total of his life 230 00:12:28,200 –> 00:12:29,679 was it didn’t really make much difference 231 00:12:29,679 –> 00:12:31,919 in the country at all. 232 00:12:31,919 –> 00:12:33,020 And that’s sad, 233 00:12:34,280 –> 00:12:37,099 because there are a lot of people like that. 234 00:12:37,099 –> 00:12:39,640 Neither hot nor cold, 235 00:12:39,640 –> 00:12:42,580 believing but compromised, 236 00:12:42,580 –> 00:12:46,179 holding faith but lacking conviction, 237 00:12:46,179 –> 00:12:49,580 drifting through life and going out with things 238 00:12:49,580 –> 00:12:51,539 around them or in them pretty, 239 00:12:51,539 –> 00:12:54,520 pretty similar to what they were at the beginning. 240 00:12:55,460 –> 00:12:56,340 So that’s Jotham. 241 00:12:57,299 –> 00:13:01,200 Now Ahaz and Hisakiah are an entirely different matter. 242 00:13:01,200 –> 00:13:04,380 So lets turn to 2 Kings, if you would, please. 243 00:13:04,380 –> 00:13:06,580 2 Kings chapter 16. 244 00:13:06,979 –> 00:13:09,460 And we’re going to read from this chapter 245 00:13:09,460 –> 00:13:13,020 and then a little later from 2 Kings chapter 18. 246 00:13:13,020 –> 00:13:15,320 And this will give us the setting 247 00:13:15,320 –> 00:13:19,140 in which Micah was bringing the word of God. 248 00:13:19,140 –> 00:13:22,760 2 Kings chapter 16. 249 00:13:22,760 –> 00:13:25,619 Micah started during the rather non-descript 250 00:13:25,619 –> 00:13:28,460 and eminently forgettable days of Jotham 251 00:13:28,460 –> 00:13:31,119 but he continued preaching the word of God 252 00:13:31,119 –> 00:13:33,299 during the time of Ahaz. 253 00:13:33,299 –> 00:13:37,919 And 2 Kings 16 will tell us what these days were like. 254 00:13:37,919 –> 00:13:40,299 Again let us hear the word of God. 255 00:13:40,299 –> 00:13:41,780 2 Kings 16. 256 00:13:41,780 –> 00:13:46,179 In the 17th year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz, 257 00:13:46,179 –> 00:13:49,679 the son of Jotham, king of Judah began to reign. 258 00:13:49,679 –> 00:13:52,719 Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king 259 00:13:52,719 –> 00:13:56,619 and he reigned in Jerusalem for 16 years. 260 00:13:56,619 –> 00:14:00,659 Unlike David his father he did not do 261 00:14:00,659 –> 00:14:02,799 what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 262 00:14:03,020 –> 00:14:04,799 And he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel 263 00:14:04,799 –> 00:14:09,440 and even sacrificed his son in the fire 264 00:14:09,440 –> 00:14:13,260 following the detestable ways of the nations 265 00:14:13,260 –> 00:14:17,359 the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. 266 00:14:17,359 –> 00:14:20,080 He offered sacrifices and burned incense 267 00:14:20,080 –> 00:14:22,599 at the high places, on the hilltops 268 00:14:22,599 –> 00:14:26,099 and under every spreading tree. 269 00:14:27,119 –> 00:14:28,719 Now if you read the rest of the chapter 270 00:14:28,719 –> 00:14:31,479 you will find that the pattern is the same 271 00:14:31,479 –> 00:14:32,719 and that what happened was that 272 00:14:32,739 –> 00:14:37,760 for 16 years Ahaz resided over a national moral disaster. 273 00:14:38,760 –> 00:14:39,880 That’s what it was. 274 00:14:41,099 –> 00:14:45,159 Verse six makes it clear that he lost territory. 275 00:14:46,359 –> 00:14:49,280 The chapter makes it clear that he drained the economy. 276 00:14:49,280 –> 00:14:52,000 He formed an alliance with the Assyrians 277 00:14:52,940 –> 00:14:56,419 feeling under threat, and because of this, he paid money. 278 00:14:56,419 –> 00:14:57,859 He was basically paying off 279 00:14:57,859 –> 00:15:01,380 what was virtually a bribery for peace. 280 00:15:01,739 –> 00:15:04,340 He paid that off and he drained the economy. 281 00:15:05,619 –> 00:15:09,179 Worst of all, he introduced God’s people to other gods. 282 00:15:09,179 –> 00:15:10,979 He made idols. 283 00:15:10,979 –> 00:15:13,380 See he’s going back to superstition 284 00:15:13,380 –> 00:15:15,400 and away from the world of the Bible. 285 00:15:15,400 –> 00:15:17,400 He made idols of Baal. 286 00:15:17,400 –> 00:15:19,619 He made idols of Moloch, 287 00:15:19,619 –> 00:15:23,340 a particularly detestable Canaanite god 288 00:15:23,340 –> 00:15:27,500 whose rite included the occasional sacrifice 289 00:15:27,500 –> 00:15:29,140 of a live child in the fire. 290 00:15:29,140 –> 00:15:29,979 Unbelievable. 291 00:15:32,020 –> 00:15:35,260 And Ahaz led this way with his own son. 292 00:15:38,840 –> 00:15:43,059 It’s hard to imagine the depth of demonic darkness 293 00:15:43,059 –> 00:15:47,260 that swept through the nation in Ahaz 16 years. 294 00:15:48,979 –> 00:15:49,960 But it happened. 295 00:15:52,140 –> 00:15:54,539 Professor Walter Kaiser gives us a sense 296 00:15:54,539 –> 00:15:55,780 of what was going on here 297 00:15:55,780 –> 00:15:58,580 and I think it shows how it speaks to us. 298 00:15:58,580 –> 00:16:00,380 Let me read these words from him. 299 00:16:00,380 –> 00:16:03,880 He says, The unbridled licentiousness 300 00:16:03,880 –> 00:16:06,380 that accompanied much of Canaanite worship 301 00:16:06,380 –> 00:16:07,940 of Baal in his concerts, 302 00:16:07,940 –> 00:16:09,940 this is what Ahaz brought back in, 303 00:16:09,940 –> 00:16:12,200 is well-documented. 304 00:16:12,200 –> 00:16:14,619 He says My doctoral dissertation 305 00:16:14,619 –> 00:16:17,080 was on the Ugaritic pantheon. 306 00:16:18,039 –> 00:16:19,500 Poor man, can you imagine doing 307 00:16:19,500 –> 00:16:23,500 a doctoral dissertation on the Ugaritic, 308 00:16:23,500 –> 00:16:24,979 anyway, that’s what it was. 309 00:16:24,979 –> 00:16:26,900 And here’s what he says, 310 00:16:26,940 –> 00:16:31,020 and I can testify that modern pornography 311 00:16:31,020 –> 00:16:33,419 seldom exceeds the debauchery 312 00:16:33,419 –> 00:16:35,659 to which these gods and goddesses 313 00:16:35,659 –> 00:16:39,159 and their devotees gave themselves. 314 00:16:41,059 –> 00:16:44,080 So you see, this sweeps right into our world, 315 00:16:47,780 –> 00:16:49,580 and if you think it’s inconceivable 316 00:16:49,580 –> 00:16:51,840 for a king to sacrifice his son in the fire, 317 00:16:51,840 –> 00:16:53,820 just take a few moments to ponder. 318 00:16:53,840 –> 00:16:58,679 One million abortions every year in this country. 319 00:17:02,500 –> 00:17:06,579 A national moral disaster. 320 00:17:11,020 –> 00:17:12,939 Ahaz was about as bad as it gets. 321 00:17:17,579 –> 00:17:19,540 By the way, we often hear folks today saying 322 00:17:19,540 –> 00:17:21,060 it doesn’t matter which god you worship, 323 00:17:21,060 –> 00:17:22,719 you know, just so long as you’re sincere. 324 00:17:22,719 –> 00:17:24,400 Don’t ever believe that. 325 00:17:26,439 –> 00:17:31,439 The god you worship will shape the person you become. 326 00:17:34,420 –> 00:17:36,300 And a nation that changes its gods 327 00:17:38,520 –> 00:17:40,219 changes its whole character. 328 00:17:44,780 –> 00:17:47,959 Now if you and I had lived through the time of Ahaz, 329 00:17:47,959 –> 00:17:50,520 and frankly, there are aspects of life 330 00:17:50,520 –> 00:17:53,780 in our loved lands that make us feel 331 00:17:53,780 –> 00:17:55,939 we’re seeing shades of it today, surely. 332 00:17:55,939 –> 00:17:58,000 I mean, this does speak to us, doesn’t it? 333 00:18:00,339 –> 00:18:02,640 You would probably have felt that the whole nation 334 00:18:02,640 –> 00:18:04,339 was plunging to a disaster 335 00:18:04,339 –> 00:18:07,119 from which it could never recover. 336 00:18:07,119 –> 00:18:08,819 That things had so changed 337 00:18:08,819 –> 00:18:10,479 that there was no hope of returning 338 00:18:10,479 –> 00:18:12,300 to the God of the Bible again. 339 00:18:13,199 –> 00:18:14,800 Well then, here’s the good news. 340 00:18:15,739 –> 00:18:20,739 When Ahaz died, his son Hezekiah came to the throne, 341 00:18:22,920 –> 00:18:24,119 and I’d like you to turn with me 342 00:18:24,119 –> 00:18:25,680 to Second Kings, chapter 18. 343 00:18:25,680 –> 00:18:27,160 Just over a couple of pages, 344 00:18:27,160 –> 00:18:28,400 because we’re following the story. 345 00:18:28,400 –> 00:18:32,459 Remember, that Micah preached during the time of Ahaz 346 00:18:32,459 –> 00:18:34,380 and during the time of Hezekiah, 347 00:18:34,380 –> 00:18:38,920 so he spent both of these experiences in national life, 348 00:18:38,920 –> 00:18:42,000 so let’s look at what it was like in the time of Hezekiah. 349 00:18:42,000 –> 00:18:46,079 Second Kings, chapter 18, and we read from verse 1. 350 00:18:47,520 –> 00:18:49,680 In the third year of Hoshea, 351 00:18:49,680 –> 00:18:52,380 the son of Elah, king of Israel, 352 00:18:52,380 –> 00:18:57,380 Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 353 00:18:57,880 –> 00:19:00,640 He was 25 years old when he became king 354 00:19:00,640 –> 00:19:04,760 and he reigned in Jerusalem 29 years. 355 00:19:04,760 –> 00:19:07,680 His mother’s name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah 356 00:19:07,680 –> 00:19:11,939 and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, 357 00:19:11,939 –> 00:19:15,060 just as his father David had done. 358 00:19:16,060 –> 00:19:21,060 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones, 359 00:19:21,140 –> 00:19:23,260 cut down the Asherah poles. 360 00:19:23,260 –> 00:19:27,319 He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, 361 00:19:27,319 –> 00:19:28,599 for up to that time, 362 00:19:28,599 –> 00:19:31,359 the Israelite’s had been burning incense to it. 363 00:19:31,359 –> 00:19:33,739 It was called Yahushuatan. 364 00:19:34,780 –> 00:19:39,780 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. 365 00:19:40,300 –> 00:19:43,699 There was no one like Him among all the kings of Judah 366 00:19:43,699 –> 00:19:46,280 either before Him or after Him. 367 00:19:46,280 –> 00:19:50,099 He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow Him. 368 00:19:50,099 –> 00:19:52,900 He kept the commands the Lord had given Moses 369 00:19:52,900 –> 00:19:54,579 and the Lord was with Him. 370 00:19:54,579 –> 00:19:59,500 He was successful in whatever He undertook.” 371 00:20:00,339 –> 00:20:04,520 Now here then is a king with an entirely different profile 372 00:20:04,520 –> 00:20:06,819 and Micah saw both in his lifetime. 373 00:20:07,699 –> 00:20:09,859 Not only did this king do what was right 374 00:20:09,859 –> 00:20:12,319 in the eyes of the Lord but we’re told 375 00:20:12,319 –> 00:20:15,800 there was no one else like Him either before or after. 376 00:20:15,800 –> 00:20:17,599 That means that He is being esteemed 377 00:20:17,599 –> 00:20:20,060 more highly than King David. 378 00:20:20,060 –> 00:20:21,900 No one like Him before or after. 379 00:20:23,819 –> 00:20:27,300 He broke free from the shackles of the Assyrians. 380 00:20:28,420 –> 00:20:31,140 He destroyed the centers of paganism 381 00:20:31,140 –> 00:20:34,380 with all their debauchery and pornography. 382 00:20:34,459 –> 00:20:35,939 He rebuilt the economy, 383 00:20:35,939 –> 00:20:38,060 restoring the treasures of Jerusalem 384 00:20:38,060 –> 00:20:40,619 and He reopened the temple of the Lord 385 00:20:40,619 –> 00:20:43,359 which His Father had actually closed. 386 00:20:46,800 –> 00:20:49,000 So Micah had quite a life, don’t you think? 387 00:20:51,380 –> 00:20:54,819 He lived through the best of times and the worst of times. 388 00:20:55,760 –> 00:20:58,819 He lived through a moral disaster 389 00:20:58,819 –> 00:21:01,400 and a spiritual revival. 390 00:21:01,400 –> 00:21:05,300 And it seems to me that that’s precisely 391 00:21:05,300 –> 00:21:09,280 where great encouragement comes for us today. 392 00:21:10,780 –> 00:21:13,280 I want very simply to say three things. 393 00:21:13,280 –> 00:21:18,280 Number one, God can bring a great revival 394 00:21:19,459 –> 00:21:22,319 from the worst disaster. 395 00:21:23,199 –> 00:21:25,420 Micah saw it happen. 396 00:21:27,560 –> 00:21:29,380 If you’d lived at the time of Ahaz 397 00:21:29,380 –> 00:21:31,339 you would almost certainly have thought, 398 00:21:31,339 –> 00:21:34,239 as I would have thought, everything was lost, 399 00:21:34,239 –> 00:21:36,939 but God did a new thing through Hezekiah. 400 00:21:38,579 –> 00:21:41,839 Now, you can apply this to any crisis that you face, 401 00:21:43,180 –> 00:21:47,880 a crisis in your family, your business, 402 00:21:47,880 –> 00:21:50,420 a crisis in our country, 403 00:21:51,819 –> 00:21:55,300 God can bring a great revival 404 00:21:56,459 –> 00:21:57,739 from the worst disaster. 405 00:21:57,739 –> 00:22:00,239 He’s a God big enough for life. 406 00:22:02,619 –> 00:22:06,420 See, a resurrection can only happen when something is dead. 407 00:22:08,540 –> 00:22:10,400 God has a way of stepping in 408 00:22:10,400 –> 00:22:13,459 where there seems to be no other hope. 409 00:22:14,699 –> 00:22:16,420 You never see this more clearly 410 00:22:16,420 –> 00:22:18,319 than at the very center of our faith 411 00:22:18,319 –> 00:22:22,040 when Jesus is on the cross, the life drains out of Him 412 00:22:22,040 –> 00:22:24,099 and for the men and women who are watching, 413 00:22:24,099 –> 00:22:26,060 all hope is gone. 414 00:22:28,060 –> 00:22:30,000 A soldier pierces his side, 415 00:22:30,000 –> 00:22:32,739 blood and water come gushing out. 416 00:22:33,819 –> 00:22:35,260 So they take down his body. 417 00:22:35,260 –> 00:22:36,439 They wrap it in cloth. 418 00:22:36,439 –> 00:22:39,300 They lay it in a tomb and his followers are left 419 00:22:39,300 –> 00:22:41,880 to grieve what might have been. 420 00:22:45,280 –> 00:22:47,119 But on the third day God steps in. 421 00:22:50,420 –> 00:22:52,199 Raises Jesus from the dead. 422 00:22:55,420 –> 00:22:56,900 God has a way of stepping in 423 00:22:57,000 –> 00:22:59,400 where there seems to be no other hope. 424 00:22:59,400 –> 00:23:02,920 And I want to suggest to you a God like that 425 00:23:02,920 –> 00:23:04,739 is worth knowing. 426 00:23:06,619 –> 00:23:09,300 When you can see no way forward in your family. 427 00:23:09,300 –> 00:23:11,239 No way forward in your business. 428 00:23:11,239 –> 00:23:13,760 You cannot know where to turn next. 429 00:23:15,079 –> 00:23:17,680 You need a close encounter with this Living God. 430 00:23:19,680 –> 00:23:24,420 Because knowing Him is the beginning of hope. 431 00:23:25,239 –> 00:23:27,900 If you’re in the worst of times, 432 00:23:27,900 –> 00:23:29,900 watch to see what God will do. 433 00:23:32,339 –> 00:23:35,479 What will God bring from this great tragedy 434 00:23:35,479 –> 00:23:37,280 that has befallen our nation? 435 00:23:39,599 –> 00:23:41,420 I think believing in the God of the Bible 436 00:23:41,420 –> 00:23:44,979 ought to direct our prayers with faith and with hope. 437 00:23:44,979 –> 00:23:45,819 Don’t you? 438 00:23:49,180 –> 00:23:50,839 Who knows how many on the last day 439 00:23:50,839 –> 00:23:54,239 will trace their conversion back 440 00:23:54,239 –> 00:23:55,880 to this moment of greatest loss? 441 00:23:57,319 –> 00:23:58,180 May it be so. 442 00:24:01,640 –> 00:24:04,280 God can bring great revival from the worst disaster. 443 00:24:06,839 –> 00:24:11,739 Second, God can raise a great son 444 00:24:12,839 –> 00:24:14,199 from the worst father. 445 00:24:16,020 –> 00:24:17,660 Praise God for this. 446 00:24:19,239 –> 00:24:20,839 Now, some of us have been blessed 447 00:24:20,839 –> 00:24:23,239 with a wonderful upbringing. 448 00:24:23,239 –> 00:24:24,900 Your father loved you. 449 00:24:24,900 –> 00:24:26,560 He spent time with you. 450 00:24:26,560 –> 00:24:28,300 He was a role model for you. 451 00:24:28,300 –> 00:24:32,619 You were blessed with a good father, good mother. 452 00:24:34,599 –> 00:24:36,040 That was my experience, 453 00:24:36,040 –> 00:24:39,579 and I testify to thanking God for it. 454 00:24:41,260 –> 00:24:45,959 But others among us had a very different experience. 455 00:24:47,160 –> 00:24:50,660 Your father was a picture of what you did not want to be. 456 00:24:51,500 –> 00:24:53,640 And there are tender wounds 457 00:24:53,640 –> 00:24:56,760 whenever you think of your father or your mother. 458 00:24:58,280 –> 00:25:01,260 For some of us, that is still a huge problem 459 00:25:01,260 –> 00:25:02,839 that we push away, 460 00:25:02,839 –> 00:25:07,680 but it gnaws at the inside of our minds and of our hearts. 461 00:25:09,739 –> 00:25:12,800 Now, can you imagine what it must’ve been like 462 00:25:12,800 –> 00:25:16,619 for Hezekiah to be raised as Ahaz’s son? 463 00:25:17,339 –> 00:25:22,260 To be raised by a man who does not know how to love? 464 00:25:23,420 –> 00:25:27,979 To be raised by a father who is spiritually blind 465 00:25:27,979 –> 00:25:29,859 and morally bankrupt. 466 00:25:31,920 –> 00:25:33,520 Can you imagine, and maybe you’re saying, 467 00:25:33,520 –> 00:25:35,160 yes, I know, I can imagine 468 00:25:35,160 –> 00:25:37,780 because I’ve experienced being raised by a man 469 00:25:37,780 –> 00:25:39,599 who has demons within him 470 00:25:39,599 –> 00:25:41,500 that he does not know how to control. 471 00:25:43,219 –> 00:25:45,920 Can you imagine living with the knowledge 472 00:25:46,000 –> 00:25:49,000 that your father sacrificed your older brother in the fire? 473 00:25:53,319 –> 00:25:58,319 Who knows what agonies Hezekkiah experienced 474 00:25:58,319 –> 00:25:59,540 in his early years? 475 00:26:02,099 –> 00:26:04,619 And Hezekiah, though he would not have used these words, 476 00:26:04,619 –> 00:26:06,579 he surely would have thought like this 477 00:26:06,579 –> 00:26:08,819 because they were not naive in those days. 478 00:26:08,819 –> 00:26:11,359 He would have looked at his father and thought like this. 479 00:26:11,359 –> 00:26:16,280 He would have said, your genetic material is in me, 480 00:26:17,920 –> 00:26:19,819 and it would have worried him to death 481 00:26:21,719 –> 00:26:24,839 like father, like son. 482 00:26:28,619 –> 00:26:30,000 Now, if that’s your situation, 483 00:26:30,000 –> 00:26:32,180 here’s the message that you need to hear 484 00:26:32,180 –> 00:26:35,119 because you need a God that’s big enough for life, 485 00:26:35,119 –> 00:26:38,599 including all that you’ve gone through in your life. 486 00:26:39,459 –> 00:26:44,459 Listen, God can raise a great son 487 00:26:45,719 –> 00:26:47,160 from the worst father. 488 00:26:47,160 –> 00:26:48,180 Is that good news? 489 00:26:50,979 –> 00:26:53,079 Hezekiah’s story is a beacon of hope 490 00:26:53,079 –> 00:26:54,920 for any person who comes from 491 00:26:54,920 –> 00:26:57,619 an abusive or dysfunctional family. 492 00:26:58,880 –> 00:27:02,239 God can raise a great son, a great daughter 493 00:27:02,239 –> 00:27:04,400 from the worst father, the worst mother. 494 00:27:04,859 –> 00:27:07,459 Think of this, Ahaz had two sons. 495 00:27:08,719 –> 00:27:12,599 The life of one tragically is lost in the fire. 496 00:27:12,599 –> 00:27:14,800 The life of the other goes on 497 00:27:14,800 –> 00:27:16,920 and he becomes the greatest king 498 00:27:16,920 –> 00:27:18,439 that Israel has ever known. 499 00:27:20,880 –> 00:27:22,839 Whoever in all the world would’ve thought 500 00:27:22,839 –> 00:27:25,439 that Hezekiah could come from Ahaz. 501 00:27:27,140 –> 00:27:28,839 Who would’ve thought that Abraham 502 00:27:28,839 –> 00:27:31,459 could emerge from the idolatry 503 00:27:31,459 –> 00:27:33,800 and debauchery of pagan tribes? 504 00:27:33,800 –> 00:27:35,880 The idolatry of paganism in Canaan. 505 00:27:37,160 –> 00:27:40,060 Who would’ve thought that the Apostle Paul 506 00:27:40,060 –> 00:27:43,800 would emerge from Saul breathing anger, 507 00:27:43,800 –> 00:27:46,699 fuming, slaughter, murder. 508 00:27:48,160 –> 00:27:50,119 But you see, that’s what the grace of God can do. 509 00:27:50,119 –> 00:27:51,640 That’s the gospel. 510 00:27:54,359 –> 00:27:56,680 A close encounter with the living God 511 00:27:56,680 –> 00:28:01,459 makes a whole new life possible even for you. 512 00:28:01,459 –> 00:28:04,199 Because he’s the God who’s big enough for life, 513 00:28:06,099 –> 00:28:11,099 life at its worst, life at its most disastrous. 514 00:28:17,119 –> 00:28:22,060 Hezekiah experienced a new life, a new dynamic. 515 00:28:23,439 –> 00:28:26,760 The spirit of God within him. 516 00:28:26,760 –> 00:28:27,599 Within him. 517 00:28:29,859 –> 00:28:30,760 And so can you. 518 00:28:32,300 –> 00:28:34,619 Now it won’t happen by your wandering through life 519 00:28:34,619 –> 00:28:36,479 with a vague general belief in God 520 00:28:36,479 –> 00:28:38,060 and turning up at church with a kind of 521 00:28:38,060 –> 00:28:40,079 paganized form of Christianity. 522 00:28:40,079 –> 00:28:41,339 No, no that won’t do it. 523 00:28:43,280 –> 00:28:48,079 But if you were to submit your lives seriously 524 00:28:48,079 –> 00:28:50,239 to the Word of God over time 525 00:28:50,239 –> 00:28:53,079 and to walk with him in proximity, 526 00:28:53,079 –> 00:28:55,859 a close encounter with the living God, 527 00:28:57,520 –> 00:29:01,500 can make a son of the most wounded experience 528 00:29:02,640 –> 00:29:05,500 to be a great man of God. 529 00:29:07,760 –> 00:29:09,400 A new life is possible for you 530 00:29:11,819 –> 00:29:16,819 through a sustained, close encounter with the living God. 531 00:29:18,880 –> 00:29:21,560 Or your genetic material may still shape 532 00:29:21,560 –> 00:29:23,020 your greatest struggles, 533 00:29:23,020 –> 00:29:24,839 but there will be a different outcome. 534 00:29:25,839 –> 00:29:29,099 God will say to you as He said to the apostle Paul, 535 00:29:29,099 –> 00:29:32,520 my grace is sufficient for you 536 00:29:32,520 –> 00:29:34,839 with all the struggles that your background 537 00:29:34,839 –> 00:29:36,859 still raises within you. 538 00:29:36,859 –> 00:29:41,859 And you can prevail because my Spirit lives within you. 539 00:29:45,079 –> 00:29:48,780 God can bring a great revival from the worst disaster. 540 00:29:49,739 –> 00:29:54,739 God can raise a great son from the worst father. 541 00:29:57,160 –> 00:29:59,959 And here’s the last thing, God can give a great ministry 542 00:30:00,839 –> 00:30:03,680 to the most ordinary believer. 543 00:30:03,680 –> 00:30:07,160 Now back to Micah 1 and verse 1 544 00:30:07,160 –> 00:30:09,300 for these last few moments. 545 00:30:09,300 –> 00:30:13,099 Micah 1 and verse 1. 546 00:30:14,199 –> 00:30:18,099 The word of the Lord came to Micah of Morisheth. 547 00:30:19,140 –> 00:30:23,140 During te reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, 548 00:30:23,140 –> 00:30:26,640 kings of Judah, Micah. 549 00:30:27,520 –> 00:30:28,500 Ask think about Micah. 550 00:30:28,500 –> 00:30:30,119 I like the name Micah. 551 00:30:30,119 –> 00:30:34,599 I think we have at least one Micah in this congregation. 552 00:30:34,599 –> 00:30:35,640 There may be others. 553 00:30:35,640 –> 00:30:38,359 The English derivatives of the name Micah 554 00:30:38,359 –> 00:30:41,060 which include of course Michael, Michelle, 555 00:30:41,060 –> 00:30:42,780 Mickey and so forth. 556 00:30:42,780 –> 00:30:45,859 In the old testament Micah was a very common name. 557 00:30:46,099 –> 00:30:48,900 Rather like Smith is today I suppose. 558 00:30:50,300 –> 00:30:52,780 And we’re told this fascinating piece of information 559 00:30:52,780 –> 00:30:55,520 that Micah was from 560 00:30:55,520 –> 00:30:56,959 Moresheth. 561 00:30:56,959 –> 00:31:00,819 Now where in all the world is Moresheth? 562 00:31:02,619 –> 00:31:04,880 I asked Stan Yoder who coordinates our AV 563 00:31:04,880 –> 00:31:06,760 to find me a map showing Moresheth 564 00:31:06,760 –> 00:31:08,800 and he went through his entire Bible software 565 00:31:08,800 –> 00:31:12,540 and he couldn’t find it even in the Bible software. 566 00:31:12,540 –> 00:31:14,959 That shows you how obscure a place it is. 567 00:31:14,959 –> 00:31:16,319 So we have had to create our own map. 568 00:31:16,319 –> 00:31:19,040 It was actually somewhere between 20, 40 miles 569 00:31:19,040 –> 00:31:22,000 south-west of Jerusalem. 570 00:31:22,000 –> 00:31:27,000 It was about as obscure a place as you could imagine. 571 00:31:29,079 –> 00:31:30,300 No-place town. 572 00:31:32,640 –> 00:31:35,900 And who was Micah anyway? 573 00:31:35,900 –> 00:31:38,300 Very interesting, if you look through the prophetic books 574 00:31:38,300 –> 00:31:41,239 of the Old Testament we are usually told 575 00:31:41,239 –> 00:31:45,280 the name of the prophet and then the name of his father. 576 00:31:45,280 –> 00:31:48,619 Presumably because most of them came from families 577 00:31:48,619 –> 00:31:51,040 that had some prestige, some reputation, 578 00:31:51,040 –> 00:31:53,119 some advantages in life. 579 00:31:53,119 –> 00:31:55,739 So we’re told that Isaiah was the son of Amoz. 580 00:31:55,739 –> 00:31:58,119 That gave him some credibility I guess. 581 00:31:58,119 –> 00:32:00,140 Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, 582 00:32:00,140 –> 00:32:01,839 Ezekiel the son of Busi. 583 00:32:01,839 –> 00:32:03,619 I’m not sure I’d want to be the son of Busi, 584 00:32:03,619 –> 00:32:04,800 but there you go. 585 00:32:04,800 –> 00:32:06,739 Hosea was the son of Beri. 586 00:32:06,739 –> 00:32:08,060 That might be even worse. 587 00:32:08,060 –> 00:32:09,900 And Jonah was the son of Amittai, 588 00:32:09,959 –> 00:32:11,979 but you’re always told about the line 589 00:32:11,979 –> 00:32:13,880 from which this man comes. 590 00:32:13,880 –> 00:32:15,699 But Micah. 591 00:32:15,699 –> 00:32:16,780 He’s just. 592 00:32:17,680 –> 00:32:18,739 Micah. 593 00:32:20,479 –> 00:32:24,199 Nobody ever heard of his father or his mother. 594 00:32:24,199 –> 00:32:26,099 Nothing in his line of history 595 00:32:26,099 –> 00:32:29,459 that was particularly distinguished or award worthy. 596 00:32:31,660 –> 00:32:36,500 And God calls a man from a two-bit town called Morasheff 597 00:32:37,459 –> 00:32:42,439 to minister in the capital city of Jerusalem. 598 00:32:42,439 –> 00:32:47,420 Farm boy from Idaho hits Washington. 599 00:32:50,040 –> 00:32:54,699 And you know at the time, the ministry of Isaiah 600 00:32:55,699 –> 00:32:58,579 the greatest prophet in the Old Testament 601 00:32:58,579 –> 00:33:02,260 was already in full flow. 602 00:33:02,260 –> 00:33:04,520 Now you put yourself in Micah’s shoes. 603 00:33:06,500 –> 00:33:09,819 How would you feel stepping out into ministry 604 00:33:09,819 –> 00:33:14,819 along side the greatest prophet in the Old Testament 605 00:33:14,939 –> 00:33:18,420 at the peak of his life and ministry? 606 00:33:21,959 –> 00:33:23,420 Look at what we’re told here. 607 00:33:24,500 –> 00:33:29,500 The word of the Lord came to Micah of Morisheth. 608 00:33:32,660 –> 00:33:33,500 Think of it. 609 00:33:34,339 –> 00:33:39,339 The creator of the universe who spoke and said, 610 00:33:39,439 –> 00:33:41,500 let there be light. 611 00:33:42,900 –> 00:33:46,739 And who spoke the universe into existence, 612 00:33:48,020 –> 00:33:53,020 he spoke to Micah of Morisheth. 613 00:33:57,060 –> 00:34:00,839 It’s important because what we’re going to study 614 00:34:00,900 –> 00:34:04,760 over these next weeks are not the thoughts of some farm boy. 615 00:34:08,179 –> 00:34:11,719 Not some obscure religious ideas from the eighth century BC. 616 00:34:14,459 –> 00:34:18,199 No, this is the word of the creator himself 617 00:34:18,199 –> 00:34:22,080 who chose to disclose his truth 618 00:34:22,080 –> 00:34:26,500 in a direct, infallible, clear way 619 00:34:27,179 –> 00:34:31,939 through the prophets and decided that Micah 620 00:34:31,939 –> 00:34:33,060 should be one of them. 621 00:34:34,899 –> 00:34:39,159 And so the Living God gave him a message 622 00:34:39,159 –> 00:34:41,500 that is not only for Jerusalem at its worst 623 00:34:41,500 –> 00:34:46,500 and at its best, but is also for us today. 624 00:34:48,899 –> 00:34:50,800 You know the wonderful thing, and we’ll discover this 625 00:34:50,800 –> 00:34:51,780 as we move through the book, 626 00:34:51,780 –> 00:34:54,340 that an ordinary man with the word of God 627 00:34:54,340 –> 00:34:56,100 changed the course of his nation. 628 00:34:57,500 –> 00:35:02,500 God can give a great ministry to an ordinary believer. 629 00:35:06,820 –> 00:35:11,419 Now, we need confidence and it’s not gonna come 630 00:35:11,419 –> 00:35:13,939 from what our name is or where we come from 631 00:35:13,939 –> 00:35:16,060 or anything about ourselves, 632 00:35:17,739 –> 00:35:20,280 but our confidence in ministry comes from the fact 633 00:35:20,280 –> 00:35:22,659 that we’ve been given the word of God. 634 00:35:23,320 –> 00:35:27,639 Where else would Micah of Morasheh 635 00:35:27,639 –> 00:35:30,120 find anything else to be confident in? 636 00:35:31,699 –> 00:35:32,959 I mean, who is Micah? 637 00:35:34,540 –> 00:35:36,340 What education does he have? 638 00:35:37,780 –> 00:35:40,060 What does a farm boy from out the sticks know 639 00:35:40,060 –> 00:35:42,179 about the complexity of business life 640 00:35:42,179 –> 00:35:45,100 and of international politics in the city of Jerusalem? 641 00:35:45,100 –> 00:35:47,739 What does he know about the psychological roots 642 00:35:47,739 –> 00:35:49,580 of dysfunction in the family? 643 00:35:49,939 –> 00:35:52,139 What does this country bumpkin think 644 00:35:52,139 –> 00:35:54,300 gives him the right to speak to the nation? 645 00:35:57,020 –> 00:35:58,419 And there’s only one answer. 646 00:36:00,719 –> 00:36:02,560 This man has been given the Word of God 647 00:36:02,560 –> 00:36:04,219 and this word brings life. 648 00:36:05,540 –> 00:36:09,300 This word is living seed that can change a king’s heart. 649 00:36:09,300 –> 00:36:11,580 This word is living seed that can change 650 00:36:11,580 –> 00:36:13,860 the way in which a man does business. 651 00:36:14,139 –> 00:36:19,139 It can change the way in which a family disfunctions 652 00:36:21,379 –> 00:36:23,659 move it onto a path of stability. 653 00:36:25,100 –> 00:36:27,719 It is the word of the living God 654 00:36:27,719 –> 00:36:30,540 who can bring a great revival from the worst disaster. 655 00:36:32,040 –> 00:36:34,899 Who can raise a great son from the worst father. 656 00:36:34,899 –> 00:36:37,899 Who can give a great ministry to the most ordinary believer. 657 00:36:40,939 –> 00:36:42,560 And I say this is a God worth knowing. 658 00:36:44,179 –> 00:36:47,399 We want a close encounter with this living God. 659 00:36:47,399 –> 00:36:49,459 Superstition won’t do it for us 660 00:36:49,459 –> 00:36:51,219 at the beginning of the 20th century. 661 00:36:51,219 –> 00:36:53,620 We need the God of the Bible. 662 00:36:56,020 –> 00:36:58,600 And we’re gonna get to know Him better 663 00:36:58,600 –> 00:37:01,340 as we listen to what he says in this book. 664 00:37:04,100 –> 00:37:06,320 Of course Micah isn’t around today. 665 00:37:06,320 –> 00:37:08,020 He’s in the presence of the Lord. 666 00:37:09,419 –> 00:37:13,100 So is Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Amos, and Husia. 667 00:37:13,159 –> 00:37:15,020 But they’re not around today. 668 00:37:16,620 –> 00:37:19,879 But the word of God is around today, 669 00:37:19,879 –> 00:37:21,439 and you know who has it? 670 00:37:22,280 –> 00:37:23,219 We do. 671 00:37:24,739 –> 00:37:25,780 We do. 672 00:37:27,600 –> 00:37:30,520 We have the word of God, 673 00:37:30,520 –> 00:37:35,239 the word that brings life in the Scriptures. 674 00:37:37,379 –> 00:37:39,840 And God speaks today through ordinary people 675 00:37:39,840 –> 00:37:41,979 who know his word, and will be faithful then 676 00:37:42,000 –> 00:37:43,120 in bringing it to others. 677 00:37:43,120 –> 00:37:45,399 That’s why we’re learning his word, 678 00:37:45,399 –> 00:37:47,179 so that we may be changed by it, 679 00:37:47,179 –> 00:37:49,419 and so that we may then bring this word 680 00:37:49,419 –> 00:37:51,699 that brings life to the lives of others 681 00:37:51,699 –> 00:37:54,780 so that they may encounter the living God 682 00:37:56,219 –> 00:37:58,899 who can bring a great revival from the worst disaster 683 00:38:00,739 –> 00:38:02,459 and who brings hope into dysfunction 684 00:38:02,459 –> 00:38:06,020 because he can raise a great son from the worst father. 685 00:38:08,139 –> 00:38:09,979 He can take an unheard of person 686 00:38:09,979 –> 00:38:12,620 who feels their life is of no great significance 687 00:38:12,620 –> 00:38:14,459 and can give you a ministry 688 00:38:15,760 –> 00:38:18,659 because your life’s been changed by the word of God, 689 00:38:19,959 –> 00:38:24,820 and you’re in a position to begin to share that with others. 690 00:38:26,139 –> 00:38:27,620 Let’s pray together shall we? 691 00:38:29,860 –> 00:38:32,620 Father, we see how far in our time 692 00:38:32,620 –> 00:38:37,620 there has been a drift into paganized Christianity 693 00:38:40,780 –> 00:38:44,780 We thank you that beyond that inadequate faith, 694 00:38:50,020 –> 00:38:51,879 there is the sure and solid ground 695 00:38:51,879 –> 00:38:54,219 of biblical faith in the living God. 696 00:38:56,260 –> 00:38:59,620 We see our need to return to this more fully personally, 697 00:38:59,620 –> 00:39:02,540 together, and across our land. 698 00:39:04,379 –> 00:39:06,159 We ask that through this fall 699 00:39:06,159 –> 00:39:08,600 you will do a great work in our hearts 700 00:39:09,300 –> 00:39:14,300 and that today, the light of hope may be lit 701 00:39:16,139 –> 00:39:21,139 in despairing hearts, through knowing you, the living God, 702 00:39:23,100 –> 00:39:27,120 for we ask these things, in Jesus’ name, amen.