Tonight we are going to talk about death. At the Ockenga Fellows Retreat last week we discussed “Science, Technology, and Healthcare.” I’m going to cover technology in May but tonight I want to discuss how to die well. By show of hands, who here thought about death this week, either your death or that of a loved one, family member, or friend? A lot of us thought about death this week. Our culture doesn’t like to talk about death but what I like about Psalm 90 is that it freely admits we are all going to die one day.

Psalm 90:3-6

3 You turn people back to dust,

      saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”

4 A thousand years in your sight

      are like a day that has just gone by,

      or like a watch in the night.

5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—

      they are like the new grass of the morning:

6 In the morning it springs up new,

      but by evening it is dry and withered. (NIV®)

These verses contrast our very brief and human lives with that of God who lives forever. In comparison to him we are like grass that looks fresh and new in the morning but by the time the midday sun shines we’ve withered and become brown. Even the strongest of us who watch our diets and exercise live a brief span. Death comes not only for the old and the sick but for the young and the busy. Car accidents, the flu, a freak accident—we’re all at risk of sudden and unexpected death. As one biochemist said, “The human body has so many things that could go wrong that it’s amazing that we are even alive.” So as Christians, what should we do about our approaching death? What’s the right perspective on death? Is there a way to live and die well? Tonight I want to give you four characteristics of a good and faithful death.

Trust

In the first two verses of our Psalm we find the Psalmist Moses expressing a deep trust in the Lord. 

Psalm 90:1-2

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place

      throughout all generations.

2 Before the mountains were born

      or you brought forth the whole world,

      from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (NIV®)

Moses saw a lot of death as one generation passed away in the wilderness because of their sins and another rose up. He also wrote about the generations that had come before when he crafted the genealogies in the Pentateuch (all those different times he said “son of” or “begats”). As he did these things he marveled at God’s goodness and that God is our “dwelling place” even in the midst of death. You know that saying “home is where the heart is?” Moses is saying, “home is where God is.” Life after life you’ve been there for us. Why don’t we want to die? Because we don’t want to leave family and friends, our home, our life. But our true home, our true life, is with God. He’s always been there for us and he always will be, even in death. 

On Thursday of the retreat we went down to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and met the chaplain there, Dr. Walter Moczynski. As he was talking about end of life care for terminally ill patients (patients that are going to die) he mentioned a study by Michael and Tracy Balboni. What the Balbonis found was that patients who were dying and who believed in “religious practices (e.g., prayer) and theological beliefs (i.e., a loving God)” pursued more radical treatment at the end of their life. Pursuing these radical treatments actually decreased the quality of life they had at the end and took away precious time with family members. In other words, something about their faith didn’t help them die well.

They were six-times more likely to try “life-prolonging measures at the end of life.”

They were “less likely to have a living will, a health care proxy, or a do-not resuscitate order.” 

They “were three times more likely to receive intensive life-prolonging care (e.g., mechanical ventilation and resuscitation).”

They were “nearly two times more likely to die in an intensive care unit” (ICU). 

Those drastic end-of-life procedures cost a lot of money and they a

Meditation #1 – Prayer defeats temptation by connecting us with Christ and each other. (Luke 22:39-41, 45-46)

Tonight I have three meditations on Jesus’ time in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion (Matt 26:36; Mark 14:32). After each meditation you will have a chance to pray and reflect and respond in song. We’re doing this with the hopes that this passage will sink in deeper and be more life-changing. We don’t want to come to church and go home unchanged. We don’t want to observe Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection like a detached observer in an operating room who doesn’t know the name of the person on the table. No, we want Jesus to do open-heart surgery on us. We want to walk away changed by the cross and all Jesus gave for us. Let me pray. 

Last week in Luke 19:28-44 Jesus paraded into Jerusalem at the Triumphant Entry. Immediately upon entering into Jerusalem he cleared out the temple of those selling and declared “My house will be a house of prayer but you have made it a den of robbers.” (Luke 19:46) When the chief priests and teachers and leaders saw this it just made them want to kill Jesus all the more. Jesus was in Jerusalem for Passover. During the week leading up to it they tried to catch him in traps as he taught in the temple courts (Luke 20:1, 19-20, 27). But they failed over and over again. So they try a different approach. They hire his disciple Judas to hand Jesus over when the crowds aren’t present (Luke 22:1-6). 

The night before Jesus’ crucifixion he and his disciples celebrate Passover, the same meal the Hebrew slaves in Egypt ate the night God rescued them from captivity. During this meal Jesus says, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15b) The disciples know something is coming but they don’t get it. It’s like they have earplugs in. As they eat they argue over who is going to be the greatest in his kingdom (Luke 22:24). They still think Jesus has come to overthrow the Romans and set up an earthly rule. They even offer him their swords, but Jesus doesn’t want that (Luke 22:38). 

It’s easy to judge the disciples but what they’re thinking and experiencing may not be so different from us. They were just thinking about their plans, and that’s what we do. We get wrapped up with building our own kingdoms when Christ is doing something so much better. Sometimes we don’t get it or understand. Tonight, Jesus is inviting us like he did the disciples to just be with him, to resist the temptation of all those other things and just be present with him. Don’t worry. Just be with him. 

Would you do that? Would you just be with Jesus tonight as we sing and worship and pray? Don’t be with your plans. Don’t be with your busy life. Don’t be with your kingdom. Be with Jesus right here, right now. I believe Jesus has something to say to you tonight through his Word but you have to be present to hear it. 

Jesus leads his disciples out of Jerusalem to the garden of Gethsemane at the base of the Mount of Olives. When Jesus get’s there he turns to them and says, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” (Luke 22:40) And then he goes a little way away from them, kneels down, and begins to pray. 

What does Jesus mean when he says, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation”? He means that prayer defeats temptation… Prayer defeats temptation! Jesus is looking into the future to what they are about to face—Judas’ betrayal and his trial and crucifixion. They need to pray so that when it happens they stay strong. They seem to grasp that something bad is about to happen because it says they were “exhausted from sorrow” in verse 45, but still they sleep. They don’t understand. 

Have you ever faced a trial or temptation or test that you didn’t understand? “Why God are you putting me through this? Why are you letting Satan do this to me?” When this happens we can either withdraw from God or press into God. Prayer is pressing into God. Prayer is going towards C

You may remember our sermon series “The Certain Gospel” in Luke that we started last year. We’re going to go back to Luke and slow down for the closing chapters. We won’t be able to hit everything, but we will focus more time on his entry today, the night of his betrayal, his crucifixion, resurrection, and the closing chapters of Luke. Lord willing that will set us up for Acts in the fall. This will line us up more closely to the Easter Holiday. Let me pray.

I grew up in Estes Park Colorado. Every year on the day after Thanksgiving Estes hosts a Catch the Glow parade. Even though it was cold we would get bundled up, walk down the street from my house about a half mile to the center of town, and watch the parade go by. There was always that anticipation at the beginning. When is it going to start? You would always keep looking up the street for the first signs of flashing lights, either the police or fire department to start the parade. Then the parade starts and bands, and floats, and people and pets dressed in all sorts of Holiday costumes would walk by. It was a fun time.

We have parades around here, the Westford Apple Blossom Parade and the Chelmsford July 4th Parade. We at Cornerstone have participated in three Apple Blossoms Parades in Westford, and one July 4th Parade in Chelmsford. Those were fun but I’m not sure they were very significant. Have you ever thought about that—that parades signify something? I think one year I walked in our town’s Memorial Day parade. That’s significant, remembering fallen soldiers. July 4th parades are meant to celebrate and foster patriotic spirit. The Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade is meant to foster gratitude, thanksgiving, and a greater love of Power Rangers.

The week before his crucifixion Jesus threw a parade. This parade was the second-most significant parade in all of history, and you missed it! He lead the parade. Now we call it the “Triumphant Entry” and many churches celebrate it on Palm Sunday one week before Easter. But what was his parade about? What did it mean, signify? I’m here to tell you what this parade was about but also to invite you to join in because there’s still a way to participate in Christ’s parade. So what’s this parade about? 

Jesus leads a royal yet humble parade. (Luke 19:28-36)

In Luke 9:51 Jesus set out for Jerusalem from the region of Galilee where he did three-years of ministry. Making his way south to Jerusalem in Luke 19 he comes to Jericho, and in our verses today he comes to the outskirts of Jerusalem. He comes to what some might call a suburb, the little village of Bethany,  which is about two miles east of Jerusalem. Then he comes to Bethphage, which is about 3/4 of a mile east of Jerusalem near the Mount of Olives. But when he get’s to the Mount of Olives he stops because he is going to lead a parade into Jerusalem in fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. 

Zechariah 14:3-4 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. (NIV®)

Jesus begins to fulfill this prophecy as he stands on the Mount of Olives. Jesus is the Lord. the king who has come to wage war not against the nations but against Satan, sin, and death through his suffering, death, and resurrection. You would think if he was the King come to wage war that he would ride in on a stallion, a giant black or white war horse, but that’s not what he does. Jesus sends two of his disciples to go and find a colt, a young donkey that has never been ridden before. With his parade Jesus is signifying that he’s not just anyone riding into town. He is the King. It’s like instead of our President riding a tank into Washington DC he rides a Limo, signifying this is his town—that he’s the rightful ruler. Instead of a military parade it’s an in

I tried fasting for the first time when I worked at the Farm Credit Administration in McLean Virginia. I tried it because my pastor preached a sermon on it. In his sermon he turned to our passage tonight, Matthew 6:16-18, and pointed out something that really convicted me. In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches on prayer and fasting and when he does this he says, “when you fast” not “if you fast…” He says it twice (c.f., Matt 9:15). 

Have you ever fasted? Neither had I. So I tried it that week and God did some really neat things. The first day I was fasting I was walking by one of my coworkers whose mother was sick and without thinking (and I think moved by the Holy Spirit) I asked her, “How’s your mom?” Her face melted. She started crying. I barely knew her. She said her mom was dying. I told her I was sorry and asked her mother’s name. 

She told me her name and then asked me to pray for her… which was surprising. She added, “I’m spiritual, and I can tell you’re spiritual too. You asked for my mother’s name. I knew you’d pray for her.” I told her I would and I talked with her a few times after that about church. When her mom died I tried to offer her some encouragement. Now all of that to say I’m not sure it would have happened if I hadn’t been praying and fasting and seeking the Lord. The Holy Spirit moved me in my weakness. 

Today I have three goals for this sermon. I want to define what fasting is. I want to show why it’s important. And I want to explain how to do it.  I hope you’ll give it a shot. I hope my opening story will intrigue you and make wonder, “How might God use me if I seek him through prayer and fasting? What surprises might he have in store for us as a church if we fast together?” So let’s jump in.

What is fasting?

Fasting is when you deny yourself good things, things you enjoy and go to for comfort, for a period of time so that you can use that hunger to intentionally draw near to God. There’s a wide variety of ways to fast:

Water fast – You could give up food and only drink water for a meal or several days up to 40 days.

Obviously the longer you go the harder and actually more dangerous it can become. According to the two documentaries I watched on Amazon Prime there are lots’ of potential health benefits to fasting, but I don’t advise anyone walk out of here and only drink water for the next 40 days. Talk to your doctor if you have any medical conditions that might prevent you from fasting safely. Even in the Bible, not many people fasted for 40 days. Moses did it twice, fasting from food and water, which was only possible because God supernaturally sustained him (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:9, 18). The prophet Elijah fasted 40 days when Jezebel tried to kill him (1 Kings 19:7-8). And Jesus fasted for forty days at the beginning of his ministry (Matthew 4:1-4). So only three people, so fasting for 40 days isn’t for everyone. But you could try skipping a meal or not eating a snack. If you didn’t eat snacks during the night and ate “break-fast” than you’ve already done a form of fasting but now be intentional about it or try it for longer. 

Juice fast – You could drink fruits and vegetables to keep you energy up but not eat food.

A variation of this is the Daniel Fast where you only eat fruits, vegetables, and water.

Foods fast – You could give up certain types of food for your fast, like sugary foods or comfort foods that you go to when you’re stressed. 

Fasting is different from dieting. Dieting is about losing weight or getting physically healthy. Fasting is about drawing near to Christ Jesus and getting spiritually healthy. Fasting is not a rejection of the goodness of food, but an intentional setting aside of it to seek God (1 Tim 4:1-4). Key word “intentional.”

Media fast – You could give up watching television, or Netflix, or the news, or surfing Reddit, Facebook, or Youtube.

Other fast – You could give up anything that you turn to when life is tough or anything you really love and enjoy, just to make su

Our guest preacher covered Micah 7 verse-by-verse explaining the big story of the gospel and the crushed serpent’s connection to Jesus. Listen to how Christ takes all our injustices and rights all our wrongs.

Today is the last sermon I’m preaching in our series on Micah. Next week my friend from seminary is finishing us up. He loves the Bible and has sat in on a few classes with Terry so I hope you’ll come and listen. But since this is my last week in our God of Justice series I really want to sum up what it’s all about. Our passage actually does a great job of this.

In verses 1-2 the Lord God says he is bringing an “indictment” against his people. What that means is that God is bringing “a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime.” He’s calling all of creation—the mountains, the hills, the very “foundations of the earth” to act as his witnesses. You can imagine the courtroom scene. God doesn’t call people to the witness stand, but mountains and hills, the high-places where the people offered sacrifices to their false idols. And what are the charges?

Micah 1 – Idolatry (not loving God)

Micah 2 – Injustice (not loving neighbor/abuse of the poor/stealing land and homes/false prophets)

Micah 3 – Misuse of power (rulers/prophets/priests)

Despite their sins God promises hope and blessing will come:

Micah 4 – Day of justice and peace (temple/Zion)

Micah 5 – A just and good King (the Shepherd King/Jesus)

And then we come to the last two chapters.

Micah 6 – What God really wants (and what he doesn’t want)

Micah 7 – Place your hope in the Lord (the closing theme)

In Micah 6 we’re going to encounter God’s judgment and call to repentance once again. In verses 3-5 God says, “What have I done to you?” He knows human nature. When things go wrong for us what’s one of the first things we do? We blame God. “I don’t believe in God anymore because this bad thing happened…” But God says, “Look how I’ve been faithful to you.” He reminds the people that he gave them Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead them out of bondage in Egypt, and when the king of Moab tried to curse the Israelites, God used the prophet Balaam to bless them instead (Gen 12:2-3; Num 22-24). When we’re tempted to blame God when things go wrong we also need to remember how he’s been good to us. Time and time again God has been faithful and good to his people and how do people respond?

This part is important because the way the Israelites respond to God’s goodness is sometimes the way we respond to God’s goodness to us. The Israelites had this beautiful history of God’s grace to them year after year. They had a wonderful temple. They had God’s presence. And what do they think God wants? Verses 6-7 tell us they think God wants their best sacrifices, their wealth, and their children.

6 With what shall I come before the Lord

      and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

      with calves a year old?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

      with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,

      the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

What the people are offering is their best religion. They are offering their prayers and religious duty like sacrifices. They’re offering their wealth. Their even offering to sacrifice their own children if that’s what it takes. That tells us something. They’ve gotten it wrong. They’re confused and maybe we are too. 

Do you ever think something is going to be one way and it turns out to be completely different? I watched a trailer for a movie on Netflix recently. It made the movie look like a cool action-packed apocalyptic end of the world movie, but it was actually a slow-paced melodrama. Sometimes we get it in our mind that what God wants is our best religious practices but the reality is completely different.

God doesn’t want our best religion. 

God doesn’t want our religious acts. He’s not interested the kinds of things we normally associate with being a good Christian. He doesn’t want our prayers and Bible studies. He doesn’t want our tithes and offerings. He doesn’t want our worship songs, volunteering, and church attendance. He does

King Hezekiah faced some serious obstacles in his lifetime. During his lifetime the Assyrian army, a military force known for their brutality and strength, ransacked Judah and gathered right outside Jerusalem’s walls. The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, sent his messenger to mock Hezekiah and the God of Israel (Isa 36:1-2). We see this in verse 1. 

Micah 5:1

Marshal your troops now, city of troops,

for a siege is laid against us.

They will strike Israel’s ruler

on the cheek with a rod. (NIV®)

King Hezekiah was facing some serious personal obstacles. He might lose his kingdom, his warriors might abandon him, he might die. Likewise, many of us are facing personal obstacles. “Everyone is going through something.” Maybe your obstacle is financial. You don’t have a well-paying job or your bills are mounting. Or it could be your schedule. There’s just not enough time in the day. You’re too busy. You don’t get to relax or be with family or friends. Maybe it’s deeper. You’re depressed, melancholy. Nothing good is happening in your own life and all you hear is bad news. We all face personal obstacles. 

The obstacles Hezekiah faced were personal but they were also corporate. It wasn’t just him who faced the Assyrians, but all the people. It wasn’t just him who might die. It was all of Judah. The whole community was at risk. Jerusalem means city of peace but the whole city is facing annihilation and exile. They’re probably going to die or starve and the enemy is telling them their God won’t deliver them (Isa 36:14-15). 

If they were facing obstacles as the people of Judah what sort of obstacles are we facing as the people of Cornerstone? You know what the big-three problems are that churches face and no one really wants to hear a sermon on? Money, attendance, and evangelism. 

Money – Although our church is incredibly generous we are still facing a budget shortfall of almost $18,000 going into next fiscal year.  The finance team has said we need to cut next year’s budget but they’re not sure what to cut. This is a big obstacle to doing the ministry we want to do.

Attendance – I’m going to be honest with you all. Attendance is terrible. When we first launched 80 people felt like a lot. Now 55 feels like a lot. Last year from July through June our average attendance was 59 people at a worship service. So far this year we are averaging 49, a drop of 10.

Evangelism – Our church is mostly made up of transplants, believers from other churches. We’re not seeing new people come to know Christ like we had hoped. The aim was never to be a small church but to grow this church by reaching the unchurched, people who don’t know Jesus, but we’re not there yet.

Instead of preaching one sermon on money, one on attendance, and one on evangelism, I’m cramming it all into one because these are the obstacles we are facing corporately. Let’s talk about them. Let’s face them. Let’s find solutions. I believe we can find solutions by looking to God’s word.

We’re looking at the story of Micah. I think as we compare our obstacles (money, attendance, evangelism) to theirs (death, starvation, exile), it’s fair to say our situation is looking better and better. Their problems are more serious than ours, but that means whatever solution Micah gave them should work just as well for us. Whatever they look to for hope and deliverance should be the exact same thing we look to. How they responded and how we “can” (keyword) respond influences “if” we will overcome our obstacles. 

Before we jump into our first point one word of caution. A church that is packed every week, has lots of baptisms, and is flush with cash isn’t necessarily a success in God’s eyes. But a lack of money, attendance, and conversions isn’t a sign of healthy church either. However, my sermon isn’t really about those things. It’s about how we respond when we face challenges. It’s about focusing on the right things. See our first response starts with our eyesight.

Eyes – Set your eyes on Jesus. (v1-6)

Firs

I want you to imagine a single day of perfect justice and peace. What would that be like? 

All the wars around the world would cease. 

All the jails and prisons would empty. 

It would be a boring day on Wall Street. 

Washington DC would be quiet and Hollywood would be clothed.

All the abortion clinics would offer care for pregnant moms without offering abortions. 

The homeless would be fed and clothed and have a warm bed to sleep in. 

Veterans would get the care they need. 

There’d be no drug overdoses, no drunk driving, no homocides or crime. 

There would be no divorces and even remarriages as split families became whole again. 

Police officers and protestors would share pizza and stories together. 

You’d call up that friendship broken from long ago and it would be like old times. 

Your relationship with your family and coworkers would be perfectly healthy. 

You’d finally do the good job you’ve always wanted to do at work or school. 

Everyone would be treated fairly and respectfully. And so it would be all quiet not just on the western front but everywhere in every relationship and place. Do you want a day of perfect justice and peace? 

God promises us a day of justice and peace is coming. (v1-5)

In our “God of Justice” series we’re studying the prophet Micah from the Old Testament. Let’s review.

Micah 1 – The problem of idolatry and injustice is in Israel, Judah, and us.

In Micah 1 we saw the northern nation of Israel committed idolatry against God—they worshiped false idols. Their idolatry spreads to southern Judah who will be exiled because of it. We’re studying this book so that we might recognize and repent of our idols and injustices and experience renewed hope.

Micah 2 – Love of money leads to unjust treatment of the poor and forsaking the gospel.

In Micah 2 we learned that “idolatry (not loving God first) leads to injustice (not loving our neighbor well).” The rich loved wealth so much they stole the homes and land of the poor and vulnerable and had false prophets who told them what they wanted to hear. We were challenged to truly care about the injustices in our world and to reject prosperity-gospel preaching that tells us we can have our best life now.

Micah 3 – Unjust power takes advantage of others but just power cares about what’s best for others.

In Micah 3 we contrasted selfish-unjust power with what Micah exercised, authority empowered by the Holy Spirit that cares more about others’ good than itself. Gospel power is even willing to lay down its life for the good of another. Although this chapter gave us hope in what could be it ended in a devastating prophecy that because of their sins God is going to destroy the temple.

Micah 3:12

Therefore because of you,

      Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,

      the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

Have you ever seen a deserted piece of property. What happens? If there’s a building it starts to look run down and abandoned and trees and bushes start to grow up all around the house. In verse 3 Micah is prophesying that the temple is going to be a heap of rubble and the temple mound overlooking Jerusalem will become an overgrown thicket. All is lost, but… God promises us a day of justice and peace is coming.

Micah 4:1 In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established

      as the highest of the mountains;

it will be exalted above the hills,

      and peoples will stream to it. (NIV®)

Micah contradicts the last verse in chapter 3 with the first verse in chapter 4. Your temple mount will be an overgrown thicket, but “in the last days” it will be restored and the temple will be established. The temple won’t just be for the Jews, but for all the nations, the non-Jews (Gentiles) too. In the following three verses Micah prophesies that God will bring justice and peace to the whole world through this temple.

2 Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

      to th

When you think of “power” what do you think of? The pink energizer bunny? Your local power station? Powerade? Maybe you think of superheroes and villains each have a power they can wield to either help or hurt humanity. Maybe you think of your boss or the President. Each one has power. 

What is power? Is power the strongest person in the room? Is power violence? Power can mean a lot of things but when I say power today I’m talking about the authority and ability to make things happen. Maybe you think power is inherently evil and no one should have power over another. But to be made in the image of God is to be made to rule or reign with God—to share in God’s power (2 Tim 2:11-12). This means that power is not inherently evil but actually good. 

Micah 3 is about power. The prophet Micah first addresses those who have misused their power, who wield unjust power. Then Micah himself models just power before hinting at gospel power. Why should you care? Because we each have power no matter how young or old we are and we can either use that power for good or evil. We can either commit injustices with the authority God has given us, and must answer to God for those deeds, or we can act just and true instead. Micah starts by giving us an example of unjust power.

Unjust Power – Authority that uses others for its own good. (v1-4)

Micah condemns the rulers of Judah and their wrong use of power in the first three verses. Now he uses a graphic metaphor of cannibalism. A metaphor is a figure of speech or image so they weren’t actually cannibals. They didn’t eat each other but the way they treated each other was selfish and unhealthy.

1 Then I said,

“Listen, you leaders of Jacob,

      you rulers of Israel.

Should you not embrace justice,

2    you who hate good and love evil;

who tear the skin from my people

     and the flesh from their bones;

3 who eat my people’s flesh,

     strip off their skin

     and break their bones in pieces;

who chop them up like meat for the pan,

     like flesh for the pot?” (NIV®)

What are they doing? As we learned last week in Micah 2 the leaders of Israel, the elders, judges, and wealthy are using their influence to steal the land and homes of the poor and weak. They are using their authority to take advantage of others. As Bernie would say, “They loved things and used people instead of using things and loving people.” So how does God judge them? What’s their sentence?

4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,

     but he will not answer them.

At that time he will hide his face from them

     because of the evil they have done. (NIV®)

Since they have hidden their faces from the poor and needy, and have not listened to the cries of the downtrodden, God will hide his face from them. They will cry out to God and God will not listen.

I want you to transport yourself back in time for a moment. You’re standing by the city gates and watching the sale of a widow’s home and property to a rich lender. She has lost everything and will likely have to sell her children into slavery, but the rich lender did everything in public and according to custom. He lent her money when she was in a tough spot but she couldn’t pay him back at the high interest rate. So now he gets to take everything. What would you do? Would you try to help? Or the lender did everything by the book so what’s done is done? Would you side with the powerful or the powerless?

Now let’s step into the present? How do you feel about the #MeToo movement? What’s your gut instinct say? When you hear that powerful men in business and entertainment have taken advantage of women is your first instinct assuming the accusation is true or that there’s a hidden agenda? Do you naturally side with the powerful or the powerless? Be reflective. Why do you think that is? Is it because one of the parties is familiar to you and you can relate to them? Is there some other reason? What does the Bible say? It tells us we shouldn’t automatically side on the side of the accuser or th

What is the greatest commandment in the Bible? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt 22:37) What is the second greatest commandment? “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:39) So the greatest commandments are “love God” and “love others.” 

What is idolatry? Idolatry is when we break the first and greatest commandment. It’s when we love anything more than God. Our sermon series is God of Justice. What is injustice? It’s when we break the second greatest commandment. Injustice is anytime we fail to love our neighbor. 

So at the end of the day this sermon series is meant to help us love God more and love our neighbor better. That’s the whole point of Christianity. Love God. Love others. So last week when I asked you to answer my survey “What’s an idol our culture worships?” and “What’s an injustice our culture commits?” you were simply listing ways we as a society don’t love God first and fail to love others as they deserve.

I’m excited to share the results of the survey with you, and I will, in just a little bit. But first Micah 1 tells us that the Israelite nations has failed to love God too. Remember the Israelite nation was made up of twelve tribes but in 930 BC they had a civil war and split into north and south just like America almost did. Chapter one reveals that the northern kingdom fell into idol-worship. Because of this God promises that Samaria, the capital of northern Israel, will be destroyed.

Micah 1:6-7a

6 “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,

      a place for planting vineyards.

I will pour her stones into the valley

      and lay bare her foundations.

7 All her idols will be broken to pieces;

     all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;

     I will destroy all her images. (NIV®)

In 722 BC the nation of Assyria destroyed Samaria and took its people into exile, fulfilling this prophecy. In the second part of Micah 1 the prophet addresses southern Judah for her sins. She’s stopped loving God and loving her neighbor. For this Judah will also go into exile. 

Micah 1:16

Shave your head in mourning

     for the children in whom you delight;

make yourself as bald as the vulture,

     for they will go from you into exile. (NIV®)

And that’s eventually what happens. Samaria falls in 722 BC to Assyria and Jerusalem and falls in 586 BC to Babylon and the people of Judah are deported and exiled. But remember Micah’s prophetic ministry took place sometime between 750 and 686 BC. So this second exile hasn’t happened yet. And now as we come to chapter two the prophet begins to explain why Jerusalem too will face exile. Samaria worshipped golden calves. Judah hasn’t done that. They worship at the one true temple. So what have they done? 

Judah’s sin – Unjust seizure of the most vulnerable’s land and homes. (1-2, 8-9)

1 Woe to those who plan iniquity,

     to those who plot evil on their beds!

At morning’s light they carry it out

     because it is in their power to do it.

2 They covet fields and seize them,

     and houses, and take them.

They defraud people of their homes,

     they rob them of their inheritance. (NIV®)

God is sending the remaining Israelite people, Judah, into exile because of their “iniquity.” The Hebrew word for “iniquity” is “avon.” The Bible Project’s word study of avon say that iniquity means “crooked behavior” like corruption and injustice and that’s exactly what we find in verses 1-2. The powerful in Jerusalem are laying awake at night figuring out how they can take for themselves the fields and homes of the poor and vulnerable. Verses 8-9 tell us they defraud everyone—men, women, and children.

The rich are coveting what the poor have. Can any of you think of a famous set of commandments where God prohibits coveting? The Ten Commandments. Do you know which commandment it is? The tenth. A way to remember that is 10 stands for best and we’re not to covet our neighbor’s best.

Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s