Sermon Notes - Micah 7 - Littleby Baptist Church - March 17, 2024

 1.        Today we will wrap up Micah’s final section of his prophecy. 

a.        Last week Micah was laying out that the coming judgement was deserved.

b.       And vs. 8 let us know what the Lord requires.

c.        Read vs. 8.

d.       Act Justly – treat others right, a love your neighbor king of thing.

e.        Love faithfulness – more of the same.

f.          Care for those in need.

g.        Follow through with our commitments to do good… be faithful.

h.        Walk humbly with your God – Recognize who you are and who God is.

i.          Follow His commands.

j.          We Honor God by how we live your faith.

2.        Doing these things doesn’t save us.

a.        But if we follow Jesus the chance of these behaviors being part of who we are significantly increase.

b.       We should be praying for the Holy Spirit to manifest in us what it says in vs. 8.

3.        As we wrap up Micah, we see some more bad stuff, but it ends on a good note.

4.        Micah 7:1-2

a.        If you are hungry you go get food, in Micah’s day that may have meant you went to the field or the vine.

b.       Today you might go to a local restaurant or the grocery store, or to our gardens.

c.        Either way you are looking for food because you need it.

d.       Micah is looking for people who honor God.

e.        There are none, instead all he finds is wickedness.

f.          It is as if he could not find anything to eat.

5.        Micah 7:3-4a

a.        Both hands are good at accomplishing evil… the only thing the people can consistently do well is sin.

b.       Not sure we could even say good people.

c.        Not a mix of good and bad.

d.       They are good at doing bad stuff.

e.        The leaders took bribes to get their way.

f.          They plotted to do evil.

g.        Even the best was like a thorn hedge… meaning that they entangled and injured anyone they came into contact with.

h.        The nation was in a bad place.

6.        Micah 7:4b

a.        The watchmen, the true prophets, those that truly honored God.

b.       Have prophesied that judgement was coming.

c.        Still, the people will be surprised.

d.       They will panic when they find out that what they had been told was not true.

e.        They are expecting that nothing bad will happen as they are Israelites, that is what the false teachers told them.

f.          Yet it will come.

7.        Micah 7:5-6

a.        Family turned against family.

b.       Neighbors and friends betrayed each other.

c.        Things were bad, as there were no upright or good people.

d.       The best of the leaders entangled and injured others.

e.        There was no one to trust.

f.          The people did not honor God, they did not act justly, love faithfulness, or humbly walk with God.

8.        Micah 7:7

a.        Micah and those who do honor God, will watch.

b.       They will look for God.

c.        They will wait for Him.

d.       They will trust that God will hear them.

e.        Judgement is coming, but so is Salvation.

f.          We all face judgement.

g.        But with Jesus we will be saved.

h.        Our sin will not be held against us.

i.          We will be judged but with the blood of Christ we will be seen as a righteous person, more righteous than a normal human can ever be.

9.        Micah 7:8-10

a.        Judgement will fall.

b.       Darkness will overcome the people.

c.        But that is not the end.

d.       God will lift Israel back to its feet.

e.        The Lord will be the light for them.

f.          God will be their champion.

g.        He will fight for them.

h.        Imagine how amazing that is, that our God fights for us.

i.          Scripture tells us that Jesus intercedes for us.

j.          An amazing and humbling thought.

10.   Micah 7:11-13

a.        Once again, we are looking at the 1,000-year reign of Christ.

b.       Israel will be rebuilt bigger and better.

c.        Past enemies will travel to Israel to learn and to worship Jesus.

d.       People from around the world will come to worship Jesus.

e.        What an amazing time it will be.

f.          Many will be judged for standing against God.

g.        The earth will have suffered through the wrath of God.

h.        Parts of it will be a wasteland.

i.          But people will be looking to Jesus.

j.          Israel will be restored, and Christ will reign.

11.   Micah 7:14

a.        Micah is asking God to restore His people, to shepherd them. 

b.       He is asking for them to be as blessed as they were in the past.

c.        Let them graze, have peace and prosperity as they did in Bashan and Gilead.

d.       These were great fertile lands for their sheep and cattle.

e.        Micah is praying for his people to be blessed when their time of judgement is complete.

12.   Micah 7:15

a.        Here we see God’s responses.

b.       A time will come when Israel will see God as a God of wonders.

c.        Miracles will be done like when they came out of Egypt.

d.       History shows that the return of the 70-year exile, may have had God’s hand on it but there were no miracles like when the Israelites were taken from Egypt by God.

e.        This miraculous restoration is still to come.

13.   Micah 7:16-17

a.        Those who turned their back on God.

b.       Those who treated their people poorly will be ashamed.

c.        They will see that God is so much greater than anything they can dream up.

d.       They will lick the dust; they will humble themselves.

e.        They will submit themselves to God.

f.          Those who did not honor God during the tribulation period will realize that Jesus Christ is Lord.

g.        They will fear retribution from Israel.

h.        Every knee will bow, and tongue confess, will happen.

14.   Micah 7:18a

a.        Who is like God?

b.       No one.

15.   Micah 7:18b-19

a.        Who forgives our rebellion?

b.       Who restores His people Israel, even thousands of years later?

c.        He does not stay angry forever.

d.       He desires to show us mercy.

e.        He will have compassion on His people.

f.          He will vanquish our iniquities.

g.        He will wipe away our sins!

h.        Our sins will be cast out to the depths of the sea… out of our reach.

i.          He pays our debt in full.

16.   Micah 7:20

a.        Genesis 12:2-3

b.       Promises made to Abraham will be fulfilled.

c.        Genesis 28:13-14

d.       Promises confirmed to Jacob will be fulfilled.

e.        Maybe not how people thought they would.

f.          But one day, through Jesus these promises will be fulfilled.

g.        The Messiah King will reign.

h.        A glorious time it will be.

i.          Israel will be safe and secure.

j.          People will seek Jesus.

k.        They will worship Him and seek His wisdom.

17.   These words would have given hope to Micah and anyone else who honored God.

a.        Knowing that some of what we have studied over the last two months, should show us that God has fulfilled His promises.

b.       This should give us hope.

c.        When the angel appeared to Joseph.

d.       Matthew 1:21

e.        Mary gave birth to Jesus who would save His people from their sins.

f.          While we are not Israelites, we have been grafted into the family of God through Jesus.

g.        Through His death on the cross and our faith in Him our sins are forgiven.

h.        Through our belief that He defeated death we are given an eternal life in the presence of God.

18.   In our study we have seen that history has proven Scripture to be true.

a.        Trust in what it tells us and give your life to Jesus.

b.       He will change your life on this side of eternity and the other.

c.        Submit to Him and watch Him work in you and through you.

d.       If you don’t know Jesus, I would love to talk to you about Him.