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Lessons From Micah

Micah 2:1-2 (12/21/17)

December 21, 2017 • Benham Brothers

* When the Israelites took the Promised Land God established their boundaries and granted them ownership that would last forever. * He also created laws that governed the transfer. * One of those laws was Jubilee - where the land would revert back to God’s plan every 50 years. * They were also to purchase land within clans and not sell interchangeably. * In Micah’s time, wealthy investors were buying up the land so certain families no longer owned what God wanted them to own. (vs 9) * This made God mad. Why? * Because they were breaking His laws governing land ownership and transfer. * The Biblical definition of fair market is this: * The price a buyer is willing to pay, a seller is willing to sell, “with a clear conscience under God.” * This third component was missing in Micah’s time and it’s still missing today. * God isn’t happy about it.

Micah 2:6 (12/16/21)

December 16, 2021 • Benham Brothers • Micah 2:6

* When a nation sins against God, He punishes. * Reproach is in their future. * How do you know a nation has sinned? * Evil is celebrated in culture. * Evil is codified into law. * God puts His people in place to push back against evil. * The church is the “conscience” of a nation. * It reminds people the right way to go and warns them of the wrong way. * The goal of your conscience is to keep you away from bad stuff. * It assures you when you do good and bothers you when you do bad. * BACKSTORY - in Micah’s day their nation had done bad things. * God was going to punish. * But Micah didn’t want that to happen, so he spoke out. * Vs 6 (NAS) - their response: * “….But if they do not speak out concerning these things, reproaches will not be turned back."

Micah 2:11 (12/21/17)

December 21, 2017 • Benham Brothers

* I’ve noticed certain “Christian celebrities” will speak out on certain things but not others. * They’ll come out boldly on sexual harassment but say nothing about sexual perversion. * They’ll speak out on income inequality but say nothing about the devastation of welfare. * They spoke out against Trump’s foul and perverted mouth but say nothing about Hillary Clinton’s belief that babies can be ripped apart in the womb or Bill’s predatory behavior. * Why can’t they speak out on “all” issues, not just some? * Because their brand is their boss. * They will speak out on what the boss tells them they can. * If they spoke out on the latter they would be labeled certain things, which would tarnish their brand - and nothing could be worse than that. * It’s time for Christians to suck it up and speak out on the things that truly break God’s heart.

Micah 3:8 (12/20/18)

December 20, 2018 • Benham Brothers

* This verse shows the picture of a true prophet. * He wasn’t out to build his brand, but to declare God’s message whatever the cost. * The Holy Spirit manifested Himself through power, strength, courage in the face of sure persecution. * The Holy Spirit does not shrink back. * It doesn’t operate in fear or selfishness. * You can have the Holy Spirit “in” you but not “on” you. * “In” you means He has revealed Jesus to you. * “On” you means He is working through you to reveal Jesus to others. * It’s like a power drill - it’s powerful but only until it’s plugged in. * We activate the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives by the attitude of our hearts - the attitude of surrender. * When you say, “I surrender all,” the Holy Spirit responds, “Good, now I’ll take over.”

Micah 4:3 (12/18/14)

December 18, 2014 • Benham Brothers

Joel 3:10 - "turn your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears." The tools of their sustainability would now be used as weapons for their deliverance. 100 years later...... Micah 4:3 - "turn your swords into plowshares and your spears into pruning hooks." The weapons of their deliverance would now be used as tools for their sustainability. We are in a battle - we were made for that very purpose. One of the main ways God trains us for battle is the workplace. Jesus was trained in the workplace. God has entrusted each of us with talents and with an assignment. As we're faithful in our assignment as we improve upon our talents we'll find that the very tools we use to provide for our families will become weapons God uses to fight His battles and vice versa. The key: 1) Who you are - you must see yourself as God's minister, regarldess of where you're placed or how you're paid. 2) Where God has placed you - you must see that where God has placed you is a part of HIS plan - you can trust Him. 3) What God has given you - you must see what God has put into your hand is ultimately HIS, so use it for His purposes.

Micah 6:8 (12/30/21)

December 30, 2021 • Benham Brothers • Micah 6:8

* The higher the building goes the deeper the foundation should be. * A proper foundation assures the building will not fall down when severe weather hits. * EX: For a segmental retaining wall you had a three-step process: * 1) Fill in with dirt (4 ft). * 2) Place the blocks. * 3) Lay out the geogrid. * You do those three things over and over you’ll have a wall strong enough to build a building on. * The same is true in our lives. * And here in Micah we see a three-fold pattern for how to build a solid spiritual foundation. * This was the answer to the question asked in the preceding verses: * Vs 6-7 - are we supposed to be religious? * His answer was “NO!” But do these three things: * Vs 8 - act justly, love mercy, walk humbly. * Notice the three verbs - act, love, walk. * To act is about your deeds - what you say and do. * To love is about motivation - what inspires you to act. * To walk is about pace and attitude - you’re in no rush and you’re not trying to keep up with everyone else. * 1) ACT JUSTLY - to adhere to God’s standard of truth. * Live your life inside God’s boundaries. * Justice is not fairness - fairness has no objective standard by which you can measure it. * A kingdom includes a Ruler, Realm, and Rules - obey the rules! * If you live inside God’s boundaries, then you’ll want everyone else to as well. But what happens when someone transgresses those boundaries? That’s what point 2 is all about! * 2) LOVE MERCY - Mercy is “not getting the punishment you deserve.” * Since we haven’t all “acted justly,” we deserve punishment - but God gave us mercy. So we should do the same for others. * The Lord’s prayer ties us to this - “forgive us … as we forgive others.” * In order to have mercy you have to have justice. * James 2:13 - mercy triumphs over judgement. * 3) WALK HUMBLY - You’ll never show someone mercy if you are not humble. * Humility is seeing ourselves through the grid of who God is and who we are in relation. * God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs, 1 Peter, James). * Humility is the key to unlock relational gridlock - human nature responds positively to humility. * When you build on this three-part pattern, you will have a foundation that will never be shaken!