Michael continues: God will not allow sin to hinder His divine purpose. When nations and governments turn their hearts away from God and the truth of His holy Word, God will allow the consequences of sin to bring a nation to its knees, to find Him. In Micah the northern kingdom of Israel had turned their backs on God and His righteous laws. God allowed them to be taken captive into Babylon.
Likewise in our current times, 2 Timothy 3:2-5 describes people in the last days who have forsaken God and the righteous standard of his holy Word. The Bible says, For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
The prophet Micah wrote to the southern kingdom of Judah to warn them about the consequences of forsaking the Lord their God. The choice for those who have been called by God is truth or consequences. According to Micah 6:6-8, “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?” The question is, how shall I approach a holy God. What can I do to appease Him in order to stand in His presence? What sacrifice can I bring that is worthy as an approach offering? “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
The answer is in Micah 6:8: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” God doesn’t want your outward sacrifice. He wants your heart. He doesn’t want your vain ritualistic offerings of the blood of lambs, goats, and bullocks. He wants the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving from a pure heart of love and gratitude. He has shown us what is good. Good means “fit for the purpose for which the designer designed us.” God wants us to delight in the Law of the Lord ... for blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly nor sits in the seat of the scornful nor stands in the way of sinners. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night.
In the midst of trials and tribulations of this world, it’s easy to become disheartened and discouraged. The little obstacles of life are frustrating and steal our focus from the things of life that really matter. Therefore, guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Unless we guard our hearts, the devil will use the distractions of this world to separate our hearts from God’s good purpose. The world’s secular definition of success is diametrically opposed to God’s purpose. The challenge of this life is to be careful when climbing the ladder of success. The greatest failure is that after a lifetime of climbing, we realize that our ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.
Let's finish Michael's message on the next post.
InChrist, Brian
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