Okay, guys, good to see everybody. Hope you're not freezing. I'm freezing. Everybody's asked me how I'm doing. I'm doing good. I don't sound as good, but I am doing good, so you don't have to worry about me giving you anything. And we'll be back on this Tuesday night. I apologize for not being able to make it this past Tuesday night.

Today we're going to pick back up with our journey through the Book of Micah. Last week we looked at verses 1 through 5 where Micah delved headlong into what I would call a rant of sorts with no real introduction to the people that he was speaking to. I want you to listen to this. I want to read it to you one more time, and I hope you can see exactly what I'm talking about here.

Micah 1, 1 through 5, and here's what the prophet Micah wrote: "The word of the Lord which came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, and kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen on Earth and all it contains, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For behold, the Lord is coming forth from his place. He'll come down and tread on the high places of the Earth. The mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will be split like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep place." And this is for the rebellion of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the rebellion of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

So, in most of the letters or the books of the Bible that we have studied over the past 13 years, 24 to be exact, the writer generally begins with what I would call a soft opening of sorts. And let me give you an example of what I'm talking about by using the open of Galatians, 1 Peter, and James. And I'll begin with Galatians reading verse 1. Paul says this, then we have 1 Peter. Listen to how Peter opens. "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure." And then finally we have James. Verse 1, James says, "A bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes who were dispersed abroad. Greetings."

So as you can see, the opening of Micah and the opening of Galatians, 1 Peter, and James is wildly different. And so that kind of begs a question, which is why? What's the deal? What's going on? Is the God of the Old Testament different than the God of the New Testament? Well, the answer is obviously no, of course not. God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And so if that's the case, and it is, then why the differences in the opening of the letters?

First, I want you to remember that Micah is a prophet of God, which means he was commissioned by God to deliver his oracles. Another way to say it is he was God's messenger to the people. But guess what? So was Paul. So was Peter and James. The only difference is, well, the audience. The audience was different, meaning God's message in the Old Testament was limited to His people, the Jews. Where in the New Testament today, the message is universal, meant for all people, to both Jew and Gentile. And so, the only question is, why would God speak in such an angry tone toward his own chosen people, the Jews in the Old Testament, and then in a much nicer tone, you could say, in the New Testament, where it included both the Gentiles and the Jews alike?

The answer is idol worship. If you've attended church very long, you've probably heard it said that there's no sin that's greater than any other sin, and that's true. But having said that, there are a couple of sins that seem to carry a much harsher set of consequences, at least as it pertains to our lives here on this Earth. And first, and I would say at the top of the list, is that of idol worship. But does anyone know what the second would be? What that second sin might be? These two sins, by the way, the one I'm about to mention, many times they run congruent or parallel with one another, meaning when we see one, we generally see the other. And based on the testimony of Scripture, the penalty for those sins is much, much more severe, at least as it pertains to the punishment that we receive in this life. But wonder why?

Well, as far as idol worship goes, as I stated last week, idol worship is the ultimate really slap in the face to God. It really is. Because idol worship at its core is a symbol of hope. What you put your hope in, which means when someone creates an idol out of nothing, it becomes much more important than God himself. But why is that so bad? Or why is it worse than, say, any other sin? Because it says to God that the thing that I am worshiping, the thing that I am placing of more importance is, well, way more important than you are, Lord. And more specifically, that thing I'm idolizing is more important than what you have done for me. What you have done for all people. People who would be would be the ones who would profess Christ and accept his sacrifice on the cross, and that's what it represents. Really honestly and truly in the Old Testament.

What about, say, the New Testament? Well, I would tell you it's even worse. I would tell you it's even worse because when something becomes an idol in our lives in our day and age or let me say post-Jesus, it says to God that your sacrifice, your only begotten son, the one that you sent to the cross of Calvary to die a horrific death for me and for my sins is less important than the thing that I'm idolizing. So let's let that sink in for a minute and you'll begin to see why God would detest anything that takes priority over him.

Last week we talked about idols and I used sports and business as a modern-day example of those idols. After the services someone came up to me and said, I thought for sure you were going to say money. And money is definitely top of the list, but money is always the one that most preachers highlight. So I wanted to make it a little bit more personal and a little bit more specific. But money is right up at the top for sure. Anyway, so idols represent the worst of the worst sins in our life. And as such, the earthly penalty for that sin is much, much harsher.

But what about this other sin that I'm talking about? What about it? What is it? Well, it's sex. That's what it is. Sex in the Scriptures... at its extreme, many times seems to be paired with idol worship. Not always. And we can look at King David for that example. He wasn't necessarily worshiping idols in that traditional sense when he committed adultery with Bathsheba. But he did commit the sin of idol worship in what I would say is an idiomatic sense, meaning he was fixated on her and therefore he was worshiping the very thought of being with her. And so the consequences for his sin, well, you can study it for yourself, they were very, very severe. And then of course we have the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and I think we all know how that story ended.

But why are sexual sins met with such more severe punishment than, say, others? Specifically I would say met with death. Well, to be honest, just like idols, when people get caught up in the trap of sexual sin, it has the exact same effect as that of idol worship. As it becomes all-consuming, replacing God and His sacrifice of His only begotten Son with a fixation of the sexual act itself, which, as with my example of King David, is in and of itself idol worship, as it consumes your thoughts with enticement. It allures and excites the flesh. It's what I call that all-consuming sin. And it's also very selfish. Very selfish and very self-centered, which is exactly what idol worship is at its core.

Now, follow me here for just a second. Idol worship and sexual sin, you see, they have and they share really one general characteristic, and that is, well, it's all about that person. It's all about you. But in God's dichotomy, nothing is ever about us. Nothing in God's Word points things back to us. Rather, it points us back to Him. It's all about Him. Think about what I'm saying here for a moment. When we worship idols of any kind, well, normally we do so because of what? Because of what we obtain by worshiping that idol or worshiping that thing. What we get out of the deal is, for example, when the Jews worshipped idols in the Old Testament, well, they did so not because they loved the idol itself. No, they worshipped it because of what it stood for, what it was in it for them, meaning in their world of idol worship, what they were going to get for it. And just like then and now, no different. We, the people, are the focus when this happens. It's not the actual thing that we're worshiping that we're concerned about. No, that's not it at all. It's what we will get, what we desire to gain or obtain from that focus.

Think about it. If you love playing golf, for example, like you are obsessed over it, and I've known a lot of people that are, and I've had a touch of it in my life. I've seen men forsake everything for it. It's the thing that they think about all the time that they can't wait to do. They love golf that much. They absolutely cannot wait to get there. But here's what I want you to think about. In that type of idol worship there, well, they're not really fixated on the game itself. In other words, they don't love golf clubs and they don't love golf balls or greens or Bermuda or bent grass. No, of course not. It's a game. It's just a game, but they're trying to personally master that game. And they're doing so for what? For all selfish and self-centered reasons. Not because they love the components or the elements of the game. You see, with God, on the other hand, it's completely opposite. When we worship and we fixate on Him, it's because we love Him. It's because we want to please Him because of His sacrifice, the one He made for us on our behalf, His stand-in sacrifice.

And by the way, if you don't quite understand what I'm saying, well, just come see me after the service and we'll talk about it a little bit more. So, sexual sin is the same way. When engaging in this type of sin, it becomes all about the individual and it represents what I would say is the second highest form of selfishness and self-centeredness that the world has to offer. One more thing, let me say. It destroys. It absolutely destroys not only you, but everyone involved. And so it's for that reason that I believe God punishes people in a much more severe way when they commit those types of sin. And once again, remember, if you find yourself wrapped up in that type of sin, what should you do? Read 1 John 1.9. Repent, and God will cleanse you of all unrighteousness. And then what? I'll give you the same answer that Jesus gave the woman at the well. Go and sin no more.

Wait a minute, preacher. Is it really that simple? Well, it is. It is. It truly is. But I will say there are a few other things you need to do that will help you or prevent you from relapsing into that sin again. And by the way, this only happens to believers. What I'm about to talk about here is for believers. Once you have repented, well, it's time to move into what I call maintenance mode. Maintenance mode, where you begin to feed the Spirit of God that lives inside of you. And to do that, you must begin with prayer. A lot of prayer. Coupled with a steady ingestion of God's Word through comprehensive Bible study. Not reading it. I'm talking study it, ingest it, consume it, marinate on it. Followed up with a steady diet of church fellowship with your brothers and your sisters in Christ. And if you do these three things, I assure you, it will serve you well, as it's your only defense against the wiles, as the Bible tells us, or the temptations of the enemy.

Moving on and back to our study of Micah. Last time we were together, we ended our teaching with verses 1 through 5. But I didn't really expound on the words that Micah actually wrote, meaning I didn't really explain the language in the verses very well. So I want to do that real quick. And by the way, just in case someone's confused about Micah's language, his words, his choice of words, because this can be, they can be very confusing, I want you to remember Micah's words read like poetry. Which has led some commentators and critics alike to conclude that the book or the letter was the product of several writers and editors, redactors as they call it, which is not true. But that's what some have tried to say, mainly because of its apparent lack of coherency, with chapters 4 through 7 being the most incoherent. But in reality, when you study the book or the letter in its totality, from beginning to end, it's actually very harmonious in its basic structure. That's if you understand the context coupled with this poetic tone that he writes with. So, if you keep that in mind when reading it, it will truly help you understand it a little bit better.

So, real quick, one more time, beginning with verse 1. "The word of the Lord, which came to Micah of Moresheth, and the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, the kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem." Let me pause here for just a second for context purposes. Remember, Micah was a prophet and he was from Moresheth, Gath. He was actually from Moresheth, which was located on the edge of this Philistine town of Gath, which was about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. Michael was considered to be the blue-collar prophet to the common man, to the working man, because he prophesied to the rural communities in the southern kingdom of Judah. But if that's the case, and it is, then why is he prophesying about the destruction of the northern kingdom, specifically Jerusalem and Samaria? I mean, God didn't call him to prophesy to those people, so why is he talking about it?

Well, let's read on and see if we can find out why. Let's pick up with verse 2. "'Hear, O peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth and all it contains, and let the Lord God be a witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple. For behold, the Lord is coming forth from His place. He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will be split like wax before the fire.' Like water poured down a steep place. All this is for the rebellion of Jacob, for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the rebellion of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? What is the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? So did verses 2 through 5 really give us the answer as to why Micah was prophesying about the northern kingdom? Not really, not at all. And so in order to get the answer, let's go on in verses 6 through 16, where we'll finish out the chapter and see if we get it there. And we're gonna encounter, I'm just gonna go ahead and tell you right up front, we're gonna encounter some very difficult words to pronounce. And let me say, I'm gonna try very, very hard to pronounce the words correctly like I know what I'm saying, at which point you may find yourself saying, bless his heart, and that's okay, but for my ego's sake, because I'm a tender little guy, I need you to act like I pronounce the words correctly. And if you don't, or you make fun of me, I'm going to call on each one of you to pronounce the words out loud to the person beside you. Deal? Okay.

Beginning with verse 6. "For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins and the open country, planting places for a vineyard. I will pour her stones down into the valley and will lay bare her foundations. All of her idols will be smashed, all of her earnings will be burned with fire, and all of her images I will make desolate, for she collected them from a harlot's earnings. And to the earnings of a harlot they will return. Because of this, I must lament and wail. I must go barefoot and naked. I must make a lament like the jackals and a morning like the ostrich. For her wound is incurable. For it has come to Judah. It has reached the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem." Tell it not in Gath. Weep not at all at Bethleh-ephra. Roll yourself in the dust. Go on your way, inhabitant of Shaphir in shameful nakedness. The inhabitant of Ze-anon does not escape. The lamentation of Beth-ezel he will take from you in support."

"For the inhabitant of Maareth becomes weak, waiting for good, because a calamity has come down from the Lord to the gate of Jerusalem. Harness the chariot to the team of horses, O inhabitant of Lachish. She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, because in you were found the rebellious acts of Israel." Therefore, you will give parting gifts on behalf of Moresheth Gath. The houses of Aksim will become a deception to the kings of Israel. Moreover, I will bring on you the one who takes possession of the inhabitants of Moresheth, the glory of Israel will enter Adelium. Make yourself bald and cut off your hair because of the children of your delight. Extend your baldness like the eagle, for they will go from you into exile."

You're welcome. It's exactly the way they pronounce it in Hebrew, by the way. Interesting when you teach the Bible verse by verse and you run out of the easy letters and books to teach and then someone requests that you go to the Old Testament and teach one of the prophets and you quickly say before reading it, no problem. Well, as you can see these are tough teachings, but inside of these teachings is the same power that lies inside of the Old Testament. So, here's the question, did verses 6 through 16 tell us why Micah was prophesying about the destruction of the northern kingdom? Well, it did…but in order to understand it, you must first understand who the audience was, who his audience was. And who was his audience? It was the Jews living in the southern kingdom. And not only was it the Jews, it was all the nations, everybody that would hear, but specifically he was the prophet to the Jew. He was the prophet to the Jew. So essentially, God had Micah prophesying to the southern kingdom about the destruction of the northern kingdom. And why? So they would see what would happen to them if they too didn't obey and adhere to the Law of Moses. It was pretty simple. They became the example. If they were obedient, they received a blessing. By the way, can I tell you it's the same thing today? When we're obedient, God blesses us. On the other hand, if they weren't, well, they could expect the same punishment that the northern kingdom received. And by the way, it's the same thing for us today. When we're disobedient, God deals with it.

And this makes total sense, especially when you think about the meaning behind Micah's name. Remember, Micah's name was shortened from a word that meant "Who is like Yahweh?" which is important to note because Micah's name explains something to us. It describes part of the nature and the character of God, which is what? Wrath. Our God is both love, He's both kindness, He's patient, but He's also wrath. And in this situation, it's not good for those who will be on the opposite end of His loving kindness, experiencing His wrath. And yes, even today, God's character still contains wrath. This coming Tuesday, we're going to talk more in depth about God, this aspect of His character, and His wrath. We're going to do a little bit of a deep dive into that.

God's character, well, it contains wrath, which no one really wants to think about, especially in our day and age, and no one wants to consider it, but it's true and it's important to remember because it lets you know that God will allow us to sin for a time, but eventually we too will experience discipline through His wrath. We need to let that sink in for just a minute. And remember, if you are participating or you are doing something contrary to the Spirit of God, just know that there will be a time of reckoning in your life. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but at some point, as God will not allow His children to remain in a place of unrepentant sin.

As 1 John 3:4-9 says, it highlights this very thing. Listen to what the writer had to say concerning this topic. We'll begin with verse 4. "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him, there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins. No one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you. The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin."

Uh-oh. No one who is born of God practices sin because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin because he's born of God. "Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit, it says, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."

So that brings on more talk. What about Christians who have been living their life in unrepentant sin for years? Another way to say it is, what about Christians who practice sin? All I can say is this: God will not allow His children, according to His own Word, to go on in that. The word practicing in this text of Scripture is the key, by the way. It's the key to 1 John 3. To practice means to continue in an ongoing and unrepentant state, a willful state of sin. To be honest, if a person who says they're a Christian does this, well, the Scripture is pretty clear about it. He says they're not of God. And the best way for an individual to check themselves in regard to this begins with what I call one simple statement. Just one simple statement.

When you sin, do you A) feel exposed, much like Adam and Eve did in the garden when they realized that they were naked? Do you feel convicted? Do you feel ashamed or remorseful? Or do you feel kind of bad, but not really bad enough to refrain from doing it again? And by the way, then there's one more thing to consider when thinking through all of this. When you sin, do you ask God for help in overcoming your sin? Do you feel a desperation and a trepidation concerning what you've done? An anxiety, a stress produced by the sin that you've committed? Or do you simply, well, do you simply experience a fleeting moment of what I call semi-regret and then quickly forget it, meaning you feel bad for a moment in a worldly sense, but not enough to make a difference in your life.

By the way, guys, let me just say, we've been talking a lot about idol worship over the last couple of weeks, and now this week, sexual sin. But this also applies to any other type of ongoing sin. Even as the Catholics say, the venial sins, which are the sins that we, not God, but we consider minor sins, like telling a little white lie. Now, I'm not going to go down that road this morning. I certainly don't subscribe to the Catholics' interpretation of levels of sin per se, but I understand what they're trying to say when they talk in those terms. The terms that they use are mortal sins and venial sins. Mortal, according to them, being the very harsh sins, the very bad sins, and then, of course, venial being the minor ones. Like I said, I understand why they make this distinction. It's man's attempt, if you will, to put them into categories, but also know that sin is truly sin in the eyes of God.

What I'm saying is this, in 1 John 3, the writer is speaking in terms of practicing sin, ongoing practicing sin. I'm not up here today saying if you sin, you're not of God. That's not what I said. This is an ongoing willful practice of sin, regardless of the severity in your eyes. It is the ongoing act of sinning with no real conviction being present internally or inside that individual. So conviction is the key here, folks. It's the key when evaluating your standing before God. You must begin by asking a simple yet profound question. Is the person who's committed the sin convicted? And do they have a genuine and sincere desire to repent and obtain victory over that sin? If they do, well, that's a very good sign that they're one of God's, that they're saved. They just need the tools to overcome whatever it is. And what are the tools? Once again, prayer, fellowship, church attendance, being with your brothers and sisters, coupled with a daily and steady diet of the study of God's Word. If you do those things, as I said, I assure you, you can overcome it.

Back to the Scripture and we'll close. When you read verses 1 through 5, and when we read verses 6 through 16, I want you to remember you are reading poetic language. And as with any poetic language, if you've ever read Shakespeare, any of that, the author is trying to paint a more dramatic picture of what's going on through his words. And in the case of Micah, the picture being painted here is that of total destruction, desolation. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened to the northern kingdom. God warned them, they ignored His warning, and He sent the Assyrian army to destroy them. By the way, He sent an unrighteous, unholy, and ungodly army to destroy them.

Now, when we read verses 1 through 5, it says that God Himself would be the one to destroy the northern kingdom. And He was, but He administered their destruction through the Assyrians. Let me explain what I mean by reading to you from Isaiah 10, where you should get a complete and clear understanding of what I'm trying to convey. Isaiah 10, 1 through 7 says, "Woe to those who enact evil statutes and to those who constantly record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor of My people of their rights, so that widows may be their spoil, and that they may plunder the orphans. Now what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth?" Nothing remains but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. In spite of all this, his anger does not turn away and his hand is still stretched out.

And then verse 5, "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger! and the staff in whose hands is My indignation." To translate that for you, He's using Assyria as a rod of His anger. And then verse 6, "I send it against a godless nation, speaking of His own children of Israel, and commission it against the people of My fury to capture booty and to seize plunder and to trample them down like mud in the streets. Yet it does not so intend, nor does it plan so in its heart, but rather is its purpose to destroy and to cut off many nations."

Guys, the bottom line is this. Your God, our God, is a jealous God. And He said, there shall be no other gods before Me. The term "gods" there isn't just referring to the Greek gods that we think about from the Greek times and mythology and all that. No, it's referring to anything, anything that finds preeminence before the one true living God that you say is your God, that you say means more to you than anything. And if we are believers and we fail to remember that, I promise you God will quickly cause you to remember it. He will bring it back to mind real quickly. And generally speaking, that exercise of remembrance will not be a kind and gentle one.

So this week, as you stress this, and you worry, and you deal with all that life is going to throw at you, I want you to remember to keep the Lord in His rightful place, which is where? Which is on the throne of your life. And if you do, well, He'll straighten your path. Amen?