WHAT
DOES GOD REQUIRE OF US?
Introduction: In 1963, August
28, one Baptist minister named Martin. Luther King Jr in his passionate I have
a dream speech; urged our nation to get busy in doing the very things that are
close to God’s heart. Here is a part of his message:” I have a dream that one
day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of
former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of
brotherhood… I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state
sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression,
will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.” I have a dream that
one day every valley shall be exalted: every hill and mountain shall be made
low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made
straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see
it together.”[1] ( Isaiah 40:4-5, Amos 5:24)
In
a sense, Martin Luther King Jr captured and articulated the very dream of God
not only for our country but for the whole world. Last week, we looked into
what would happen when Jesus returns to this earth for the second time. He would separate the righteous from the
wicked, and send the upright into His Kingdom and the wicked into the eternal
fire.
Jesus
Christ’s grand return, his final judgment, and the glorious inheritance of the
righteous are what we are eagerly awaiting? Wait a minute! Is that fair to even
think that way, when millions of people never even heard of once of Jesus’
first coming? In the passage, we read God shows a threefold path for humankind
to live in peace and harmony with one another.
I
title this message: What Does God Require Of US? Micah 6:1-8. What were the
religious, political, and socio-economic conditions of the Southern Kingdom of
Judah like during the time of Micah’s prophecy?
It was after the prosperous reign of Uzziah, who died in 739 BC. His son Jotham continued the same good
policies of his father but failed to remove the centers of idol worship.
Outwardly the kingdom of Judah was looking very prosperous, but inwardly, there
was social corruption, injustice, and religious syncretism. The rich were
oppressing the poor. Merchants cheated their customers. The religious and
judicial leaders were corrupt, and the true prophets were told to keep quiet.
Micah’s message reminded the people of the consequences of national sin. Micah
pronounces the oracles of God as if God was holding a courtroom session to
judge the nation of Judah for their sins.
I. WHEN GOD IS IN
THE COURT (Vs. 1-3)
Vs.
1-3“Stand up and state your case against me. Let the mountains and hills be
called to witness your complaints. And now, O mountains, listen to the Lord’s
complaint! He has a case against his people. He will bring charges against
Israel.” Imagine that God is holding a court. He is sitting as a judge, and the
guilty party was the nation of Judah. The judge says I have a case against you;
I am calling the mountains and hills as my prime witnesses against all the
atrocities you have done against me for all the good, I have done towards you
Here is a list of offenses.
Firstly,
he held all of them guilty for turning the capital city of Jerusalem into a
center of Idolatry.” (Ch 1:5) Secondly, he took on the wealthy oppressors
should we say, The Wall Street of Judah.” He said, 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.” (Ch 2:2)
Thirdly, he rebuked the leaders, who were hating good and loving evil, saying,
“you skin my people alive.” Ch 3:2-9) He exposed their lack of concern for the
oppressed saying, “you hate justice and twist all that is right. Finally, he charged all the false prophets who
were misleading the leaders and the people through their false prophecies.” He
did not spare anyone!
God
challenged them by showing them all that He had done from the time they were
living as slaves in Egypt until the time of this judgment. He closes his
argument by saying, “I the LORD, did everything I could to teach you about my
faithfulness.” (Vs. 5)
As
I read through the book of Micah, I see several similarities between the nation
of Judah and our beloved country, the USA. There is income inequality. A massive
gap between the rich and the poor exists, and it is only widening as time goes
by. There are gender and racial disparities, workplace harassment, domestic
abuse, abortions, crime, and violence against minorities. Not to mention the gun
violence the opioid epidemic. Syncretism is on the rise.
Our
justice system is broken. Our Immigration system needs reform. On the other
hand, there is a decline in morality and family values. There is a
deconstruction of faith, where more and more people are moving away from their
Christian faith. When I see this and more I wonder, are we any different than
the seventh century, Judah?
When
we see injustice happening right in front of us and don’t say or do anything,
we are complicit. Remember any offense against people who are made in God’s
image is an offense against Him for which He holds us accountable. If God holds
a court today and levels all these charges against us, how will we respond? How
can we pay for all the sins of our nation?
The
nation of Judah thought they could offer, ten thousand rivers of olive oil,
thousands of rams, they were even ready to offer their first-born children to
pay for their sins. But God said, No! to all of them. What did He require of
them, and what does he require of us today?
II WHAT DOES GOD
REQUIRE OF US? (Vs. 8)
Vs., “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with
your God.”
(NIV). Is God
showing us a path that He has never walked on? Or is he requiring us to do
something impossible?
All he is
teaching and asking us to do are part of who He is. Mercy Justice and Humility
are the threefold path of God towards, restoration, wholeness, and peace. Since
all people are made in the image of God, He requires all of us to cultivate and
display these three divine qualities, and they are: To love Mercy, to walk Humbly and to do Justice.
A: LOVING MERCY
Think of how
God has been merciful to us in spite of all our rebellion against him? Then
don’t you think we should be compassionate towards those who might sin against
us? Prophet Daniel warned King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel 4:27, “Therefore, O king,
let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing
righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that
there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” God hears the outcry of the poor and the oppressed, and he
wants us to speak up for them. Being merciful to others is not a good
suggestion but a direct command from God. Luke 6:36
B: WALKING HUMBLY: In our country, many equate humility to weakness, hence the
proud and arrogant talk and behavior. Whereas God requires us to walk humbly. “Be
not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before
God, for God is in heaven, and you are on earth. Therefore, let your words be
few.” Ecc 5:2 Humility is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength and
mark of a true Christian.
Remember
Jesus, humbled himself in obedience to God and died a
criminal’s death on a cross. What
are we being known for, as proud and arrogant or humble and gentle people? Can
we practice the humility of our Lord? Let’s look at what it is to do
justice.
C: DOING JUSTICE. There is a concern
for justice in our world today. However, to achieve justice for the world, we
must better understand how God views it. Consider these scriptures: Isaiah
30:18-19 For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for
him.”
Isaiah
61:8, “For I, the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong.” Here are some
practical ways we can do Justice. Isaiah 1:17, “Learn to do good; seek
justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's
cause.” Wilma and I knew Sarah and James Rabavarapu from our time in
India. Sarah is from Montana and James
from Andhra Pradesh India. Starting a children's home was never on Sarah’s radar
when she moved to India.
All
she knew was that she had a desire to adopt children with special needs - but
God had even bigger plans for Sarah. In January of 2008, Sarah went to the
Indian government to ask for five children with special needs to start a small
children's home. When she went to visit the government orphanage, Sarah's heart
broke for the children as she saw neglect, illness, and malnourishment. There
was no way she could only leave with five kids but instead took ten the first
day. Stepping out in faith, Sarah took in more and more children.
God
brought in people to help care for the kids as well as offered a place for them
to stay.
Today Sarah's Covenant Homes
consists of seven foster family homes, over 150 children and young adults with
special needs, and over 200 local and international staff. SCH is not only able
to meet the individual needs of kids but were able to see first-hand the restoration that takes place as a result of being placed within a family unit.
This
is just one example. God is challenging us this morning with what is good for
us as individuals and the society at large. That is to do Micah 6:8. You don’t
have to travel to India or the DR to do justice, right here in our backyard we
are presented with many opportunities. I am asking the Lord to show me how we
as Hope Church may fight for social justice. My prayer is that God will fill
our hearts with love and compassion so that we might have Christ-like response
towards immigrants, refugees and the marginalized. God is not asking us much;
only three things he would require of us: To love mercy, to walk humbly with our
God and to do justice. Amen!
