Osceola Sermon July 7 th (Communion Sunday) Pastor Bob Vale Micah and Nahum

Transcription

1 Communion Sunday Osceola Sermon July 7 th (Communion Sunday) Pastor Bob Vale Micah and Nahum In Micah: July 7 th, 2013 Book Theme: He is judge of the nation. BIBLICAL Focus: 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 [a] with your God. In Nahum: July 7 th, 2013 Book Theme: He is the jealous God. Sermon Title: Trusting God Sermon Topic: Jesus states in Matthew that even though you worked miracles, if you do not know God, you will be sent away on the day of judgement. If you know Him, you will know that trusting him is the best thing for you to do, and it won t be hard to do Sermon Text: Nahum 1:7 / Matthew 7:21-7:23 Speaker: Pastor Bob Vale Communion in the Pews: Hymn of Praise: # 504 The Old Rugged Cross Prayer Hymn: # 63 Blessed be the Name Closing Hymn: # 395 Take Time To Be Holy

2 Let s talk about Nahum first, then move on to Micah. Nahum was written 630 years before the time of Christ. Nahum is the 34 th book of the Bible and the 7 th book of the minor prophets. It only has three chapters. 1. The only time Nahum is mentioned in the Old Testament occurs in the first verse of the book. Nahum 1:1. 2. Nahum s prophetic ministry has to do with the fall of Assyria and its capital city of Nineveh. 3. As a result of Jonah s preaching in the city of Nineveh, the people repented and God spared the city years after the preaching of Jonah, Assyria and the city of Nineveh fell. They were defeated by the Babylonians and the Medes in 612 B.C. 5. Nahum s prophecies against Nineveh takes place: a. 100 years after Jonah s preaching in Nineveh. b. 50 years before Nineveh will be conquered. 6. Nineveh had become one of the mightiest city on earth. Its walls were 100 feet high and wide enough to accommodate three chariots riding side by side. The walls were surrounded by a moat of water 150 feet wide and 60 feet deep. It is believed that Nineveh could withstand a 20-year siege.

3 Nineveh is modern day Mosul in the Northern part of Iraq. The Khsor river runs through the city and into the Tigris River. modern day city of Mosul, Iraq. The ancient city of Nineveh is today the

4 its glory. It was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. This is what it looked like in The key idea of the book is the destruction of Ninevah - the boastful capital of the Assyrian empire. Such a message would have been almost unbelievable at a time when the Assyrian empire had for several generations been the most powerful nation in this part of the world. But Nahum prophesies that the LORD will make an utter end of its place (1:8), and that they shall be devoured like stubble (1:10). The LORD said of Nineveh, Your name shall be perpetuated no longer. Out of the house of your gods I will cut off the carved image and the molded image. I will dig your grave, For you are vile (1:14). The people of Judah were to look for the messenger who would bring good news that, the wicked one shall no more pass through you; He is utterly cut off (1:15). Nineveh would be empty, desolate, and waste (2:10), and there would be no healing for the injury inflicted upon it (3:19). The interesting part about this prophecy is that after the destruction of the city in 612 B.C. the city of Nineveh is laid to ruins and is not discovered again until the 1800 s. 2,500 years later. Nahum was right.

5 The Book of Micah Micah is a contemporary of Hosea in the Northern Kingdom and Isaiah in the southern Kingdom. The Prophet Micah was the first to foretell the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. A third of Micah s book exposes the sins of his own countrymen. A third of the book depicts the punishment God is about to send. A third a holds out the hope of restoration once the punishment has ended. Micah s answer for the righteous living is found in 6:8 He has showed you, O man, 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. 1. To Act justly 2. To Love Mercy 3. To Walk Humbly with your God. Let s look at these three points a bit more deeply. 1. To Act Justly: To act justly is to be a good Christian. a. Live out your Christian faith with others and when necessary use words. b. Micah has a big heart for the poor and widows in his country. He wants God s people to care for them. (Social Justice.) c. We are called to ACT and not just preach, read, go to bible study or talk about the situation. (We need to get involved in social justice issues: caring for the poor and downtrodden: That means the following:

6 1. Work at an upcoming meal preparation for Hope Rescue Mission in the future. 2. Help fill up a baby bottle with coins for Hannah s house ministry. 3. Help with the Christmas food basket ministry in some way this Advent season. 4. Go on a short term mission trip to a tornado ravaged area to serve those who are hurting; or help others go to Honduras. 5. Give financial gifts to help the poor in our community. 6. Help dig a well in Africa through your gifts. 7. Serve at a Habitat for Humanity House on a weekend. Visit shut in s or the sick from our church. D. Do we in the church act justly? Do we know what it means to share our resources in the community? Or do we only look after our own field? Our own church? Do we look after the weak and the vulnerable in our congregations? Do we vote in our church committee s for what is right, or do we compromise and often choose the cheapest, easiest, or least controversial solution? E. Micah s message, though written in another time and another place, remains the same. It says to us, to religious people, to people who practice rituals and have traditions and rules and polices: don t forget the oppressed, the needy, the poor, and the hurting among you. I am glad to say, we are a church who gives 15% of all its income to missions. These are funds that go outside of our church locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Not only do we give financially, but we act in a way that ask our congregation to serve in many areas of service to help the needy. We have a social justice heart. A new pastor in wealthy down town church: Donuts in the courtyard of the church and a homeless person comes up to grab a doughnut. A lady approaches the pastor to do or say something to the homeless man. The pastor gives the homeless man a whole box of doughnuts and tells him, we are here in the court yard every Sunday morning at 10 a.m.

7 2. To Love Mercy: a. What does it mean to love mercy? Better yet, what is mercy? Looking up the word in the dictionary reveals mercy means pardoning some one's punishment or being compassionate to our offenders. It is also an act of kindness, compassion or favor. Mercy is one of the strongest qualities of our Lord. Lamentations 3:22 says, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail." Other translations have it as "His mercies never cease". In Psalm 103:10 we read, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities." We are all recipients of God's mercy; no denying that. How are we doing with showing mercy to others? In Matthew 18:21, we read about the parable of the unmerciful servant. The question that lingers on is: Shouldn t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? Matthew 18:33 The same question is directed towards us today. How merciful are we? Do we love mercy? Shouldn t we have mercy on our fellow men just as He had on us? It may look like we are taken for granted or that they don't deserve it. But that is the point. Being kind to others when they don't deserve it that is mercy! Here is an encouraging word for you: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Matthew 5:7 Illustration: A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. "But I don't ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." "But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. "Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." "Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman's son. Mercy is something we don t deserve God gives it to us.

8 3. To Walk Humbly with your God: a. Sometimes people wonder about the purpose of their life. In their whole lifetime, they haven t done anything earth shaking. They haven t become famous, rich, or important. So, they might feel like somewhat of a failure. What can anyone claim when we pass from this life? But, God doesn t look at our lives that way. God knows all of our struggles and failings, but He wants us to look at our lives from His perspective. In Micah 6:8, it says, He has showed you, O man, 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. b. In our living, are we fair in all of our dealings with no thought of lying or cheating? Do we love kindness so that our living reflects how kind the LORD is towards us? Do we walk humbly with the LORD our God? All of these things require living by faith in the LORD. c. To walk humbly with the Lord is an inward quality in the Christian life. It means: 1. To think of God s will in your life more than your own. 2. To think of the needs of others more than your own. 3. To pray for others more than you pray for yourself. 4. To serve others rather than being served. 5. To give financially to the work of God out of the blessings in your life, more than building up your American material kingdom. These three points look very much like John Wesley s three simple rules for Christian living. 1. Do no Harm. 2. Do Good. 3. Stay in Love with God.

9 Illustration: One of my favorite songs is a song called, Holiness. Here are the lyrics. Holiness, Holiness is what I long for. Holiness is what I need. Holiness is what you want from me. So take my heart and form it. Take my will transform it. Take my life conform it. To yours, to yours. Oh Lord! God has called us to be Holy as He is Holy. He has called us to live our lives as lights for Him. The great thing about all of this, is that you don t have to take my word for it! (Micah 6:8 states, He has showed you, O man 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.) How is your walk with God this morning? Are there areas in your life that need to be turned about, then I challenge you to do it today! Maybe this morning you see the need for Savior who was tempted in every way, yet was without sin, if that applies to you, don t wait make that decision today! No matter where you are or where you ve been, remember that you can always reach out and God will reach in! Let s pray, Words of Wisdom: John Wesley once said, Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can. Benediction: (Phil. 4:8) Finally, brothers and sisters in Christ, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received, do; and may the peace of God be with you. Amen.

10 Pastor Bob s Sermon Notes: (Micah 6:8) 1. To Act Justly 2. To Love Mercy 3. To Walk Humbly with Your God.