I Will Establish My Glorious Kingdom - Micah 3:1-4:5

[00:00:00] Thank you for listening to the Calvary Monterey Podcast. Please visit calvary.com to learn

[00:00:10] more about our church and visit Nateholdrich.com for additional Bible teaching from our lead pastor,

[00:00:16] Nateholdrich. Teaching today is our lead pastor, Nateholdrich.

[00:00:24] All right, good morning everyone. If you would get out your Bibles with me let's turn to the

[00:00:30] book of Micah in the Old Testament, Micah chapter three. So our third study in the Book of Micah

[00:00:36] we're going verse by verse three this seven chapter Old Testament book of prophecy so if you

[00:00:42] turn there Micah chapter three and as you're turning there I just wanted to let you know what the

[00:00:48] next couple of weeks will look like obviously in two weeks as was just mentioned in the announcements

[00:00:52] we'll have Easter Sunday, Easter weekend. We'd love for you to be at one of the good Friday services

[00:00:58] it's always a great time for us to set our attention, a fresh on the actual act of the cross of Christ.

[00:01:08] We spend a lot of time as Christians as New Testament people thinking about the implications

[00:01:13] of the cross what it means for us what it does to us what it says about us but it's beautiful for

[00:01:20] us to take time to just think about the actual act what Jesus endured what he went through how he

[00:01:27] suffered and so we're going to do that together on Good Friday partaking of communion together it'll

[00:01:32] be a beautiful time and then we'll put a pin in it and we'll wait for resurrection Sunday where we

[00:01:38] think about on that Sunday morning what Jesus accomplished for us and how his resurrection changed

[00:01:45] everything and so we're going to think about that set our hearts upon it sing about it pray about it

[00:01:51] get into the word about it and that'll be the focus that weekend so looking forward to that next

[00:01:57] Sunday of course is Palm Sunday and because of the big load of Easter coming and all of that I usually

[00:02:03] ask one of our beloved pastors to cover the pulpit for me on Palm Sunday and next week will be

[00:02:08] Pastor Riley who was leading us in worship so come out next Sunday and Pastor Riley will share the

[00:02:14] word with us on Palm Sunday another thing I wanted to mention to you it's kind of a geeky

[00:02:19] announcement that I wanted to make sure to make is that our our leadership team we've actually

[00:02:25] decided to re-institute into our Sunday morning services a brief moment of greeting each other right

[00:02:34] before the announcements begin each Sunday you don't need to applaud or anything like that because

[00:02:39] there's some people that really love this and part of the reason I wanted to announce it is

[00:02:43] because there's some people that are terrified of that moment I am one of those people to be honest

[00:02:49] in my own nature without being a pastor and growing in Jesus if you just took Nate off the shelf

[00:02:56] before being sanctified do not want to meet and greet I do not want to do that but we're going to

[00:03:04] start that next Sunday for Easter this is not going to be a lengthy time it's not going to be like

[00:03:08] a go get coffee make up new friend you know all that kind of stuff it's just going to be a brief

[00:03:13] acknowledgement of the people around you we live in a time where we have to figure out ways

[00:03:18] to make our gatherings connected we live in a time where people are watching YouTube videos right now

[00:03:25] and calling it engagement with the church that's what they're doing right now they're sitting at home

[00:03:30] watching YouTube this is my church there are 20 states away but that's my church

[00:03:36] and so we have to find ways to just connect together as human beings so we'll start that next Sunday

[00:03:41] I didn't want you guys to be startled by that and that's what we'll be doing as a church okay today

[00:03:48] Micah chapter three we've been as I said going through the book of Micah together and I've called

[00:03:54] this the call of the shepherd king because all throughout the book of Micah if you've not been with

[00:03:59] us he's last couple of weeks there is this figure that Micah has a vision about he sees

[00:04:06] this figure that is going to come the figure is divine he's God he's a shepherd and he's a king

[00:04:17] and of course in the New Testament we understand this figure is Jesus he is the ultimate shepherd king

[00:04:23] and so we are looking into the book of Micah to hear to try to see what does Jesus want to say to

[00:04:30] us as his people if he is this shepherd king what is he trying to communicate and to be honest with you

[00:04:35] as I've wrestled with the book of Micah you know I get the privilege like I'd love my job I get to

[00:04:40] really like think about read about study these passages that we're going through and as I've

[00:04:46] been wrestling with the book of Micah you know one of my conclusions is that the book of Micah like a

[00:04:52] lot of times we read the gospels and we kind of go okay that's cool and then we just jump into

[00:04:57] the epistles because we love to see the application but passages like Micah show us

[00:05:07] what Jesus was doing in the Matthew, Mark Luke and John gospel accounts and his heart his vision

[00:05:15] his focus so these books really show us Jesus in some amazing ways so today we're going to

[00:05:21] read our whole passage at the top of the teaching so if you guys would follow along we're going

[00:05:25] to start in chapter three verse one and bleed into chapter four this is Micah's second major

[00:05:33] oracle he's got three big prophecies that he gives in this book and the second one starts in

[00:05:39] verse one it says and I said here you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel

[00:05:48] is it not for you to know justice you who hate the good and love the evil who tear the skin from off

[00:05:58] my people and their flesh from off their bones who eat the flesh of my people and play their skin

[00:06:06] from off of them and break their bones and pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot like flesh

[00:06:13] in a cauldron then they will cry to the Lord but he will not answer them he will hide his face from

[00:06:21] them at that time because they have made their deeds evil that says the Lord verse five concerning

[00:06:28] the prophets who lead my people astray who cry peace when they have something to eat

[00:06:33] but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths therefore it shall be night to you

[00:06:40] without vision and darkness to you without divination the sun shall go down on the prophets and

[00:06:47] the day shall be black over them the seers shall be disgraced and the diviners put to shame they

[00:06:55] shall all cover their lips for there is no answer from God verse eight but as for me I am filled with

[00:07:03] power with the spirit of the Lord and with justice and might to declare to Jacob his

[00:07:11] transgression and to Israel his sin here this you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the

[00:07:19] house of Israel who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight who builds Zion with blood

[00:07:27] and Jerusalem with iniquity its head gives judgment its heads give judgment for a bribe its priests

[00:07:35] teach for a price its prophets practice divination for money yet they lean on the Lord and say

[00:07:44] it's not the Lord in the midst of us no disaster shall come upon us therefore because of you

[00:07:53] Zion shall be plowed as a field Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins and the mountain of the house

[00:08:01] a wooded height okay on into chapter four verse one it shall come to pass in the latter days that

[00:08:09] the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains

[00:08:15] and it shall be lifted up above the hills and people shall flow to it and many nations shall come

[00:08:20] and say come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob that he may

[00:08:27] teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law and

[00:08:33] the word of the Lord from Jerusalem he shall judge between many peoples and shall decide disputes

[00:08:40] for strong nations far away and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears

[00:08:46] in a pruning hooks nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war

[00:08:55] anymore but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree and no one shall make

[00:09:01] them afraid for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken for verse five all the peoples walk each

[00:09:11] in the name of its God but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever let's

[00:09:19] pray together Lord we thank you for this amazing passage we ask that you would speak to us from it

[00:09:27] Lord we thank you for preserving this prophetic book all these years so that almost 3000 years later

[00:09:37] we could sit here in this room with our bibles open or looking up on the screens and we could

[00:09:42] consider these words Lord thank you we pray that they would be like medicine that goes into our

[00:09:50] bodies and slowly heals we thank you Lord strengthen us right now by your spirit myself included

[00:09:58] for this passage in Jesus name amen okay this is one of those passages that spans

[00:10:10] just a massive portion of human history I mean Micah begins everything we read in chapter three

[00:10:19] with these short bursts of rebuke against basically the leadership in ancient Israel almost as I

[00:10:28] prayed 3000 years ago and then in chapter four it projects out into the future way past our time

[00:10:40] into this glorious moment where Yahweh is going to revive Jerusalem and bring the full blast of his

[00:10:49] kingdom and his glory to earth so what we have in the passage that we just read is a passage that

[00:10:56] is ancient and distant a passage that is forgotten if we're really honest about it I doubt that many

[00:11:03] of you as I was reading chapter three were like oh yeah this is one of my favorite chapters I remember

[00:11:08] this it's forgotten and anticipated and it is past and future and I think because that's the

[00:11:18] reality we are in danger right now in this moment we're in danger of dismissing the passage

[00:11:28] because it's ancient and because it's distant chock full of rebukes for people yesterday and promises

[00:11:38] for tomorrow how can this help me today I mean after all when we come to church it's not necessarily

[00:11:43] a wrong thing that we're thinking to ourselves like I hope there's something for me today you know

[00:11:48] I want to receive from the Lord today I want the Lord to encourage me today I want the Lord

[00:11:52] to strengthen me today I want the Lord to point me in the right direction today by the way don't

[00:11:56] don't always just come to church saying I hope the Lord encourages me today say I hope the Lord

[00:12:02] shapes me today if that shaping comes through encouragement beautiful but I want whatever the Lord

[00:12:08] wants to give to me but today does make an appearance at the end of our text in verse five of

[00:12:14] chapter four it should color everything within it because of everything God did in the past and

[00:12:21] because of what God does in the future Micah says that everybody who reads his prophecies has a

[00:12:27] decision to make the decision is simple he says in verse five of chapter four that well the

[00:12:35] unbelieving peoples walk in the name of their gods he says but we will walk in the name of our

[00:12:44] forever and ever what that is is not a promise or even a prediction it's a word of commitment

[00:12:52] Micah is saying I'm part of a remnant and as a part of that remnant I am making a decision

[00:12:59] though in the past there are all these sins that God had to confront and though in the future

[00:13:04] there's this glorious age that is coming because of those things I am making a decision today

[00:13:10] I'm deciding what team I want to be on I'm not with these ancient leaders doing all these terrible

[00:13:17] things to God's people I want to be with those who are running to the mountain of the Lord to worship

[00:13:22] his name and study his word forever and ever right now today I'm going to let my life be colored

[00:13:30] shaped moved by what I know is coming in the days to come and that's exactly what's happening in

[00:13:38] this passage Micah knows he sees I mean chapter three is all about the politicians the judges the

[00:13:43] king they they were supposed to love and pursue justice that's actually what Micah says when he talks

[00:13:51] about knowing justice it means like a marital pursuit of a bride pursuing justice but instead he

[00:13:59] says in verse one and two of chapter three that they hated the good and they loved the evil

[00:14:05] their prophets and their priests were supposed to be like vessels for delivering the truth of

[00:14:13] Yahweh to the people but what Micah said is that instead what they did is they said whatever made

[00:14:20] them popular and whatever made them prosperous and this rebellion had lasted so long that God

[00:14:28] in chapter three verse 12 said I'm ready now to distance myself from Jerusalem Jerusalem's my holy

[00:14:35] city it's been my place Mount Zion I've been trying to do stuff there for so long but but it's been

[00:14:42] corrupt for so long that now I'm in a distance myself from it talks about how it's going to

[00:14:47] become like a wooded height what that means is it's just going to become overgrown nature is going

[00:14:52] to overtake Jerusalem because it will become a place of desolation now last we sit back and go like

[00:15:00] oh yeah everybody was terrible in that time you notice Micah gives a little autobiographical

[00:15:08] moment in verse eight of chapter three you might see that in your bibles Micah's interesting some

[00:15:15] some of the prophets tell us like who they were and how they were called and all of that we don't

[00:15:21] get that from Micah but right here we get a little hint he says that I am filled with the spirit

[00:15:29] of the Lord and with the power of God and I'm going to spend my prophetic energy fighting for justice

[00:15:36] while declaring to God's people their sins and their transgressions and you should know that

[00:15:42] Micah wasn't the only guy doing this if you've ever read the book of Isaiah what you're reading when

[00:15:48] you read the book of Isaiah is a contemporary of Micah they prophesied at the same time Micah came

[00:15:55] from the valley below Jerusalem Isaiah looks like came from Jerusalem itself and they said a lot of

[00:16:01] similar things in fact their prophecy the prophecy we read in chapter four about the mountain of

[00:16:08] the Lord and people rushing to it flowing to it and all of that Isaiah said almost verbatim the exact

[00:16:14] same thing either Isaiah copied Micah or Micah copied Isaiah or they both copied someone else

[00:16:21] or they both received the same prophecy independently from the Holy Spirit which is totally possible

[00:16:28] but the point I'm trying to make is that when times are dark among God's people and leaders

[00:16:34] among God's people are not doing what they should be doing when you come across terrible reports in

[00:16:41] the news of a pastor or clergy who did horrible things even in the midst of all of that there are

[00:16:49] still some goodies out there is what I'm trying to say there are some who are trying to walk with

[00:16:54] the Lord and trying to do the right thing Micah was that kind of guy now despite all the corruption

[00:16:59] that Micah saw or maybe because of all the corruption that Micah saw he looked into the future

[00:17:06] and he saw in chapter four verse one it says the latter days that's what he says he saw the latter

[00:17:12] days these are days that are not yet occurred for us at our point on the timeline of human history

[00:17:19] they're described as a time of unparalleled peace and prosperity aren't those those first five

[00:17:25] verses of chapter four they're just beautiful like I couldn't wait to read them to you because

[00:17:29] Micah has been like a blazing hot fire up to this point so it's kind of nice to see like wow

[00:17:36] this look at this this is amazing in fact a lot of unbelieving scholars when they analyze the

[00:17:42] book of Micah they think there's multiple Micahs because how could one person hold these views

[00:17:49] how could one person be so like a nihilistic and then optimistic well that's like by the way

[00:17:59] that's what the resurrection does to us it shows us the reality of humanity broken and despairing

[00:18:06] and lost and sin but because Jesus rose from the dead there's the possibility of hope and life

[00:18:11] for anyone who confesses the name of Jesus so Micah sees this he describes him as a beautiful time

[00:18:18] there's peace everywhere they're described as days of revival all the nations streaming up a mountain

[00:18:26] to God's house everybody wants the Lord it's a Jesus famous time it's a revival atmosphere

[00:18:33] all right so what I want to do today is I want to spend our time thinking about these two

[00:18:40] movements that Micah saw the ancient thing that he saw and the future thing that he saw

[00:18:49] and I want to contrast them like I said Micah made a choice he said this is the team I'm going to

[00:18:56] be on everyone's gonna walk in the name of their God but I'm gonna walk in the name of the Lord I'm

[00:19:01] choosing the team that I want to be on and what I hope to do today is show you the contrast between

[00:19:07] these two kingdoms these two Jerusalem's if you will the one from his day and the one from the future

[00:19:14] so that you can ask yourself the question which one do I want to be part of today there is no middle

[00:19:21] it's one or the other and so my hope of course is that you'll pick Jerusalem number two

[00:19:26] and that you will form your life based on what we find there each each contrast we're going to

[00:19:33] look at between their in glorious past and God's glorious future it's a case study of what happens

[00:19:39] when God is or is not at the center all right so the first contrast I want to show you

[00:19:48] is the contrast between hunted and safe number one hunted versus safe

[00:19:57] let's think about hunted first Micah he used like very brutal language at the beginning of chapter

[00:20:05] three he depicted the nation's leaders in Israel at that time they're in Jerusalem

[00:20:14] he basically used language to describe them as cannibals you're tearing the skin off a God's people

[00:20:22] now this is interesting because when the Assyrians eventually came as a result somewhat of the

[00:20:28] prophecies of prophets like Micah when the Assyrians came to the northern region and ransacked

[00:20:35] the ten northern tribes and dispersed them the Assyrians came and actually literally did this

[00:20:42] the historical records show us that they were a brutal people they would take prisoners of war

[00:20:47] and they would skin them alive and Micah seems to be ascribing that same evil proverbially to the

[00:20:57] leaders of God's people he also depicted them in verse three as hunters who prayed on the populace

[00:21:07] he talks about them like cooking God's people up at their campfire after chopping them in pieces

[00:21:14] this is not literal language it's metaphorical poetic language but it's like a glimpse into this

[00:21:20] is what you guys are doing in God's sight it was gruesome it was meant to make all these leaders look

[00:21:26] in the mirror at themselves and repent of their sin to correct themselves if they didn't it'd be too

[00:21:33] late and invading armies would come that's why God said in verse four no one will hear your voice

[00:21:38] if you don't repent and deal with this it will be too late but for as much as everyday folks would

[00:21:46] have felt like hunted animals in the scopes of Jerusalem's leaders Micah also saw this beautiful

[00:21:54] future day in chapter four where God will judge between many people's so he loves justice he makes

[00:22:02] the right decisions and he'll settle disputes he says for strong nations far away these times of

[00:22:09] peace will be so extensive that it will lead to a total and complete disarmament and that sound

[00:22:17] exciting weapons won't even be needed to keep the peace at that time so apparently they will be

[00:22:25] repurposed to cultivate the earth he talks about swords and spears being converted into farming

[00:22:34] equipment and everyone will prosper as they enjoy the fruits of their labor Micah saw everyone

[00:22:41] with a vineyard and everyone with a fig tree it will be like a napah valley but over the whole

[00:22:47] world you know kind of thing everyone has their own vineyard everyone's got their own farmed

[00:22:53] dwelling without fear this is Micah's way of envisioning the personal peace that Christ's rule will

[00:22:59] bring to everyone who experiences no one will be hunted everyone will be saved now I want to talk

[00:23:06] about a couple errors that we might make while we're reading the book of Micah one error that

[00:23:15] I think we make sometimes when we're reading the book of Micah or prophets like Micah is we forget

[00:23:22] that this was not like a snap judgment from God you know so now you read these like hard

[00:23:28] confrontations that God is making against these people and you you kind of the way you might read it

[00:23:34] or I might read it is you know things were just kind of cruising along and like one day God was

[00:23:39] like I love you you're amazing you're the apple of my eye and then the next day he's like what you

[00:23:44] know and he just kind of what we have to remember is that this was a this was a very long time coming

[00:23:50] there on their 12th and 13th and 14th kings at this point and God had been sending prophets for

[00:23:58] generations trying to bring them back so when God says He's long suffering He means it takes

[00:24:03] them a long time to get to this point so you got to remember that when you're reading the book of

[00:24:07] Micah but but another mistake that we sometimes make when we read these words is especially in our modern

[00:24:13] time we just see the world so quickly through political grid and lens that one of the first things

[00:24:21] that we do is we start thinking about it in our world and context and so we start thinking

[00:24:27] about the rulers of Micah's day and his rebukes against them as rule as words against the political

[00:24:34] leaders of our world today and I understand why it's tempting to make that connection it's sometimes

[00:24:42] appropriate to make that connection but what I have to remind you of is that Micah did not

[00:24:48] rebuke the corruption that he saw in the unbelieving nations the people Micah was talking to could have

[00:24:55] made that same mistake themselves when he's talking about you guys leaders you don't love justice

[00:25:01] you're not doing the right thing you're taking advantage of people they could have said yes

[00:25:05] totally we see this in a Syria we see it then years later in Babylon we see it they got all these

[00:25:14] terrible leaders doing these terrible things to them but God is trying to say no actually

[00:25:19] I it's in my people that I see it and I'm going to send the Assyrians and I'm going to send the

[00:25:25] Babylonians who yes do have sin to be instruments of judgment for my people for whom from whom I

[00:25:33] expected so much more right so it's important for us to get that right in our heads

[00:25:43] I think to be frank this has a lot more to say to modern pastoral leadership and modern Christians

[00:25:51] in the economic middle class or above than it does to Congress if I could just say it like that

[00:25:58] it might have some things to say to our Congress but it's got a lot to say to us as believers

[00:26:03] and a lot to say to people in spiritual leadership in the church you see we live in a time where

[00:26:09] people are hunted it's just the fact of the matter we live in a time where humans are traffic

[00:26:15] humans are abused humans are commoditized and as Christians as believers we just cannot go along

[00:26:24] with that and we just can't get used to that if you just think about it we've gotten so used to

[00:26:31] in our time and culture we've gotten so used to the sexualization of the female body

[00:26:38] that it's common to us to see it used to sell anything and everything from music to toothpaste

[00:26:48] it's just normal to us the pornography industry makes around 10 times more than the national

[00:26:55] football league and what is it doing it is trading in human bodies it is hunting human bodies to do so

[00:27:03] and people who are so vulnerable that they rely on the safety and nourishment of their mother's

[00:27:10] womb are treated as political footballs rather than children created in the image of God

[00:27:17] and just as the judges and rulers of Israel had abandoned justice to go on a quest for self indulgence

[00:27:24] many modern believers have turned blind eyes while consuming humans who are struggling to make it

[00:27:31] day-to-day Jesus told us to love our neighbor but the mantra of our time so often is as long as

[00:27:39] I have my needs met I don't have time to care for someone else but God was expecting more from those

[00:27:48] especially leaders in Israel's past fast forward to Christ's reign it is a time of total safety

[00:27:58] I expect that Micah's vision will be fulfilled during the future thousand year reign of Christ

[00:28:03] here on earth after his return what I know is that Micah saw a day when the brutal leadership humanity

[00:28:10] so often toils under is replaced by the incredible rule of Christ he's no tyrant he's no abuser

[00:28:19] people will no longer be hunted they will be totally safe he'll rule with a rod of iron

[00:28:26] but he will be the good shepherd in the process and because that's who he is and what he's going to

[00:28:33] be I think the Lord would be saying to us today that it's important as believers to

[00:28:40] be instruments of that safety as much as we possibly can okay not not hunting taking advantage of

[00:28:50] people but giving blessing protecting thinking of others helping others this is why a church like

[00:29:00] ours I'm so thankful that one of the major emphasis of our church is our focus at our Monday night

[00:29:06] regeneration and the bridge ministry because this is just a facet of that heart that says we want to

[00:29:15] be a place that provides safety for those who need it okay so that's the first thing number number two

[00:29:22] the second contrast I want you to see is deceived versus instructed deceived versus instructed

[00:29:30] Israel had a long tradition of prophets and schools of prophets who were supposed to urge people

[00:29:35] towards God's laws to be who they were called to be as his covenant partners but when Micah saw

[00:29:40] the prophets of his day what did he see in three verse five he saw that the prophets led people astray

[00:29:49] the the prophets they should have been the ones that the leaders who were doing all this terrible

[00:29:54] stuff should have been afraid of like if you are a governor in that day doing all these corrupt things

[00:29:59] and a prophet started rolling up your driveway you should have been peeing your pants like okay this

[00:30:06] guy is about to confront me in a serious way but that's not at all what happened as long as people

[00:30:14] paid them well they would say whatever the people wanted them to say

[00:30:19] okay they should have been the ones rebuking all the oppression and materialism stemming from God's

[00:30:25] holy city but instead Micah saw that their message was shaped by shekel signs right they're thinking

[00:30:34] about all right I want to make money the unrighteous leaders in Jerusalem should have been terrified

[00:30:40] of these prophets but they weren't these these prophets were saying things like if you give me a

[00:30:44] private jet I'll make you feel really good about yourself I'll say whatever you want me to say

[00:30:50] now fast forward to Christ reign people will come up to Yahweh's mountain it says in four verse two

[00:30:56] they'll come up to God's house so that he can teach them his ways so he's going to teach directly

[00:31:03] and that they may walk in his past and if the people in Micah's day were deceived by false prophets

[00:31:09] the people in God's glorious kingdom will be well instructed in the truth and this instruction

[00:31:15] is not going to be theoretical or educational or informational only it's it's going to be instruction

[00:31:23] leads everyone who hears it to walk in what they hear and I really am looking forward to this because

[00:31:32] you know I'm like you I can't count the times that I have not lived up to the calling of the word

[00:31:40] on Sunday morning on Sunday afternoon you know there's a there's like a mixture in me just like

[00:31:51] there's a mixture in you and if you don't know about this yet then I'd love to talk with you

[00:31:55] after service because there's definitely a mixture there but the day is coming where he says

[00:32:02] that we go up to the mountain we hear the word of the Lord and we're like okay I will do it

[00:32:08] and I will apply it immediately right now today it's going to happen it's not going to be like the

[00:32:14] after the 798th time I've heard that excertation then I will take a step in that direction it's

[00:32:20] going to be like radical transformation orthodoxy followed by orthopraxy now for me I'm really

[00:32:28] looking forward to this is the portion of Micah's hope his vision of the kingdom that invigorates

[00:32:33] me a ton because there's a lot of voices that are competing for our attention right now

[00:32:41] and every technological advancement that we make seems to drown out God's voice a little bit more

[00:32:48] let me know don't get me wrong I'm thankful for technology but we're a culture in chaos we're

[00:32:56] we're swimming in confusion there's technology is given us more bibles than ever before

[00:33:02] digital teaching which I'm a huge fan of has democratized bible study in some beautiful ways

[00:33:10] anyone in our modern time can get seminary level training for free

[00:33:18] but biblical illiteracy abounds it's like the weirdest thing so I'm looking forward to

[00:33:27] the time when that is no longer the case when we all run to God's hill to hear God's word and

[00:33:33] to walk in it now Micah declared these oracles and lock-orts and marketplaces and in the temple

[00:33:38] precincts because he wanted to see God's people turn and walk with God today and light of what

[00:33:44] is kingdom will be like tomorrow these words were recorded so we could make that same decision

[00:33:50] and if that's what God's forever kingdom is one where there's an insatiable hunger for God

[00:33:56] and his word then we can do that in miniature today all right the third thing that I want you to see

[00:34:04] the third contrast is exiled versus home exiled versus home

[00:34:14] Micah depicted Jerusalem which he you might have noticed this already in the book of Micah he also

[00:34:21] calls it Zion at times that's like the theological focus of what God was trying to do in Jerusalem

[00:34:30] envisioned this place called Zion spiritually healthy he envisioned it in verse 12 though as

[00:34:38] destined to become plowed as a field and a heap of ruins when he said that the mountain of the

[00:34:44] house would become a wooded height like I said earlier he meant that the temple would be destroyed

[00:34:49] and the natural elements would take over the land to Micah the actions of the leaders of Jerusalem

[00:34:56] the rulers the prophets and the priests it led to the destruction of Jerusalem he's telling them

[00:35:01] in this chapter it's your fault because they in their leadership roles detested justice and were

[00:35:07] motivated by money to perform religious services Jerusalem would eventually pay a very steep price

[00:35:14] now at the end of Deuteronomy when Israel was on the brink of going into the promised land remember

[00:35:21] they got set free from Egypt and then they like that a moment of unbelief they believe the 10

[00:35:27] spies rather than the two spies so they had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years well that

[00:35:32] generation died off and a new generation was born and then came of age after 40 years of wandering

[00:35:39] in the wilderness in Deuteronomy they're on the cusp of going into the promised land this new generation

[00:35:45] and God told them that he basically or Moses as God's messenger told them if you guys walk with God

[00:35:53] I'm not going to go with you but if you guys walk with God you're going to be incredibly blessed

[00:35:57] but if you don't walk with God especially for long periods of time your strength and power is

[00:36:03] going to evaporate and one of the things he said would happen is neighboring armies are going to

[00:36:08] defeat you here's a quote from Deuteronomy 28 it says the Lord will bring a nation against you

[00:36:15] from far away from the end of the earth swooping down like the eagle as what Moses said now by the time

[00:36:21] Micah rises up from his home in the shuffle of valley down below Jerusalem like I said they're

[00:36:28] very deep into the kingdom or on their 14th king God had been waiting for a long time for his people

[00:36:35] to completely return to him but as the generations tick by their long-standing rebellion made them

[00:36:41] pointless as missionaries to the nations and ripe for discipline so exile was like the promise

[00:36:49] and Micah's voice is one last attempt like a last ditch effort to get the people's attention and by

[00:36:55] the way it doesn't say this in the book of Micah but we do know that he did get the attention of

[00:37:01] the people at least for a little while and part of the reason that we know that is because

[00:37:05] a hundred years later when the book of Jeremiah was written the Jeremiah is saying like the same

[00:37:11] stuff Micah is saying to the southern kingdom and the leaders then were like should we listen to

[00:37:17] Micah or should we listen to Jeremiah or not should should we consider this and then some of them

[00:37:23] actually quoted from Micah and said back in the day king has a chia heard the word of the Lord

[00:37:31] from Micah the prophet and it's they quote verse 12 but chapter 3 and say and has a chia listened

[00:37:37] to the word of the Lord and that actually bought them some time that repentance bought them some time

[00:37:43] but unfortunately the people in Jeremiah's day were like yeah but who cares and they just

[00:37:50] continued sinning and so the Babylonians had to come okay fast forward to Christ's reign

[00:37:56] Micah saw it in contrast not as a time of exile but a time where people are brought home

[00:38:06] they flow like a reverse stream up the mountain to god city god god is there his house is there

[00:38:13] he's not gonna scatter but gather to himself now I don't know if Micah from his perspective is a

[00:38:22] Jewish prophet who knew Israel as God's special nation and holy people I don't know if he was

[00:38:28] surprised when he saw many nations flowing to god's house but this is not a big shock to us in the

[00:38:36] church age right we're from the many nations and we know what the gospel did Christ broke down

[00:38:42] the racial barrier by his blood and it's made the way for any person any tribe any nation or

[00:38:48] tongue to know God every every river that we know flows down the mountain but Micah saw a river of

[00:38:56] people flowing up the mountain to god now this worldwide revival like I've been saying it's meant

[00:39:03] to instruct us on where to find our truest home today when Jerusalem was finally invaded by the

[00:39:11] Babylonians hundreds of a hundred years after Micah's predictions the city was decimated the people

[00:39:18] did go into exile their home was far away but they were able to find their home in God and we

[00:39:25] are able to do that in a powerful way as well we might have an earthly citizenship but Paul says

[00:39:31] to us in Philippians 3 20 that we have a new citizenship in heaven and we can make our home with him

[00:39:38] even well we are experiencing exile in a sense because the spirit abides in his people he's made his

[00:39:46] home in us we're already home and I just want to say to you today if if you're a person who perhaps

[00:39:53] you're like the prodigal son in Jesus is parable your far from home you're at the end of your

[00:40:02] resources or you're despairing of life itself but I want you to know is that the father wants to

[00:40:08] welcome you home to himself today because he sent his son to go out and die on the cross on your

[00:40:17] behalf to rescue you his Holy Spirit is searching for you right now and trying to break through all the

[00:40:25] noise to bring you home and out of exile right okay in conclusion the last little thing I want

[00:40:32] you to see one last little contrast is dead versus alive so Micah the destruction of Jerusalem and

[00:40:42] its temple meant the death of God's presence among his people he says this in a few different ways

[00:40:48] he says in verse 4 of chapter 3 that God was going to hide his face from them then in

[00:40:54] verse 6 and 7 he said that the seers that's another word for prophets they would no longer be able

[00:41:01] to see because God would bring darkening to their understanding they'd be blind spiritually

[00:41:08] they would verse 7 cover their lips and shame because there be no answer from God

[00:41:13] and the judgment would become final when God removed the temple this is like a catastrophic event

[00:41:21] in Israel like history that the temple is removed it's like that means the removal of God's very

[00:41:29] presence we are spiritually dead now as a people and apparently what Micah said is that these people

[00:41:36] had a terrible theology look at verse 11 tell me in chapter 3 verse 11 if you think some people

[00:41:42] hold of this theology today they said is not the Lord in the midst of us no disaster shall come upon us

[00:41:51] in other words they'd convince themselves that God's unconditional love meant God's unconditional

[00:41:56] blessing somehow they've concluded that since Yahweh considered them his first born son he would

[00:42:03] not parent them in any meaningful way to put it in modern terms they expected him to pay the bills

[00:42:11] forever will they play video games in their man cave basement red and free that's what they're

[00:42:18] saying to Yahweh we could do whatever we want you will not depart from us no disaster will come

[00:42:26] upon us and as I've already pointed out God had been very clear before they went into the promised

[00:42:29] land about their partnership with him law I do love you you're my people but long term rebellion

[00:42:35] is going to necessitate discipline you're meant for a purpose you're supposed to be a light to

[00:42:41] the world and if you're terrible at it for like hundreds of years I'm going to be forced to do

[00:42:46] something it was sheer ignorance of scripture probably fueled by a willful rejection of the

[00:42:54] difficult parts of scripture that made them conclude that God was with them and they had nothing

[00:43:00] to fear but for as much as their rebellion led to Jerusalem becoming a wasteland without God's

[00:43:06] temple when we fast forward to Christ's reign we discover that the mountain of the house of the Lord

[00:43:11] verse 1 of chapter 4 shall be established as the highest of the mountains lifted up above the hills

[00:43:19] and when this day comes since everyone will flow to God's house to hear God's voice all the

[00:43:23] silence all the darkness all the distance and all the death that Micah envisioned will be replaced

[00:43:29] with God's voice with God's light with God's presence with God's life my wife Christina talked to the

[00:43:37] women of the church yesterday morning about Jesus as the light of the world okay he replaces all this

[00:43:43] death all this darkness that exists in one sense what we've just read this morning Micah 3 1 to

[00:43:51] chapter 4 verse 5 it's just a miniature version of the Bible the Bible teaches us that human sin and

[00:43:58] brokenness impact everything we cannot fully repair anything Christ came to restore any one

[00:44:10] and one day he will restore everything so walk with him today it's really the message of this

[00:44:19] little chunk of scripture and the message of God's word in other words we all have a choice today

[00:44:24] like I said there's a tale of two cities what we be like the Jerusalem of Micah's day a place where

[00:44:29] the desires of the flesh were dominant or will we be like the Jerusalem of Christ's return centered on

[00:44:36] God and focused on his will let's be a people who walk with him and let's let's hear Micah's

[00:44:42] exhortation in chapter 4 verse 5 for all the peoples walk each in the name of its God but we will

[00:44:50] walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever thank you for listening if you would like more

[00:45:02] teachings and information about Calvary Monterey please visit calvary.com you can also find books

[00:45:09] teachings through the Bible and articles from our lead pastor at Nate Holdrich.com thanks again

[00:45:15] for tuning in see you next week