* 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!
Micah 6:8 (12/30/21)
Building a Spiritual Foundation
December 30, 2021 • Benham Brothers • Micah 6:8
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.