RETURN TO ME: MICAH

• The Bible answers this question: What does God want from ?
• Leviticus 20:26 (Written by Moses) You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.
• In the New Testament, holiness remains the standard of God’s desire.
• 1 Peter 1:13-16 (Written by Peter) So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
• The summation for God’s people is holiness, purity, freedom from defilement, and distinctness from the .
• John 17:15-19 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. 18 Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. 19 And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.
• Ecclesiastes 12:11 The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful. Their collected sayings are like a nail-studded stick with which a shepherd drives the sheep.
• God sent the prophet Micah to expose the people’s sins. He sent prophets because He His people.
• Micah’s name means “Who is like Yahweh, or who is like the Lord?”
• The book of Micah was written during a period of spiritual compromise, injustice, corruption, and self-confidence.

• Micah 1:2-5 Attention! Let all the people of the world listen! Let the earth and everything in it hear. The Sovereign Lord is making accusations against you; the Lord speaks from his holy Temple. 3 Look! The Lord is coming! He leaves his throne in heaven and tramples the heights of the earth. 4 The mountains melt beneath his feet and flow into the valleys like wax in a fire, like water pouring down a hill. 5 And why is this happening? Because of the rebellion of Israel—yes, the sins of the whole nation. Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion? Samaria, its capital city! Where is the center of idolatry in Judah? In Jerusalem, its capital!
• Micah 2:1-3 What sorrow awaits you who lie awake at night, thinking up evil plans. You rise at dawn and hurry to carry them out, simply because you have the power to do so. 2 When you want a piece of land, you find a way to seize it. When you want someone’s house, you take it by fraud and violence. You cheat a man of his property, stealing his family’s inheritance. 3 But this is what the Lord says: “I will reward your evil with evil; you won’t be able to pull your neck out of the noose. You will no longer walk around proudly, for it will be a terrible time.”
• What are their signature sins? No love, injustice, and no mercy.
• People of influence never have to tell others they are influential. Why? Because whatever power they have, they want to leverage it for others’ .
• Micah 3:9-11 Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right. 10 You are building Jerusalem on a foundation of murder and corruption. 11 You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord. “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.”
• The people wanted the benefits of being God’s people without the that comes with living as God’s people.
• Isaiah 29:13 And so the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.
• Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah in a sermon on inner purity: Matthew 15:8 These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

• 1. We should be for the way God has led us in our lives. God is sovereign and faithful.
  • Micah 6:3-6 O my people, what have I done to you? What have I done to make you tired of me? Answer me! 4 For I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you. 5 Don’t you remember, my people, how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead? And remember your journey from Acacia Grove to Gilgal, when I, the Lord, did everything I could to teach you about my faithfulness.”
  • All the great things God has done without my help.
  • Deuteronomy 6:10-13 (Joshua 24.11-13) The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11 The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 13 You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.
• 2. Trying to please God with anything other than a heart is unacceptable.
  • Micah 6:6-7 What can we bring to the Lord? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before God Most High with offerings of yearling calves? 7 Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins?
• 3. Be committed to a lifetime of .
• • Micah 6:8 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
  • 1. Do what is – act with integrity, truth, and righteousness. Our conduct can reflect moral character.
  • 2. Love – demonstrate it.
  • Ephesians 4:31-32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
  • 3. Live with God – seek daily help.

I acknowledge that I am a sinner and cannot save myself. I repent of my sin and ask You to forgive me. I believe that Jesus bled, suffered, and died on the cross for my sins, and that You raised Him from the dead. Today, I place my faith in Jesus alone—not in good works or a religion, but in a relationship.

Jesus, I confess You as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me. I surrender my life to You and ask You to help me follow and obey You from this day forward. Thank You for Your mercy, Your grace, and the gift of eternal life. In Jesus, name. Amen.

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