* 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!

* * Jesus gave us the two greatest commandments:

* Love God

* Love People

* “True love is compassion with standards” -Dr. Tony Evans.

* What does this look like?

* David gives us a picture in this Psalm.

* Vs 13-18 - David is reflecting on God’s compassion for him.

* Vs 19-22 - David talks about God’s standards.

* To love as God loves is to hate as God hates.

* Proverbs 6:16 - God hates pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth.

* Bible Knowledge Commentary - “To hate them meant to reject them, to disavow any association with them.”

* Skip Moen - “David is expressing an emotional attitude toward persons and things which are opposed, detested, despised and with which he wishes to have no contact or relationship. Hate, in this case, is a virtue. When we feel sick to our stomach because God is not honored by someone or something, that is what hatred should feel like. The most important point of David’s verse is that there are people who act with disregard and dishonor toward God and these people make David sick to his stomach. As he says, he wants nothing to do with them.”

* David recognized that love is compassion with standards.

* Vs 23-24 - He then asks God to search his heart so he’s not grieving God like those who reject Him.

* This kept David humble.

* “Without vision people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).

* Three types of vision:

* Personal - where you wanna go with your life.

* Professional - how you’re going to sustain your life.

* Prophetic - seeing what God is doing and how you fit into His plan.

* BACKSTORY:

* Most prophets represent God to the people.

* But they can also represent the people to God.

* This was Habakkuk - he brought his bewilderment over the coming Babylonian captivity to God.

* Chap 1 - he pours out his complain (vs 1:13).

* Vs 2:1 - Then Habakkuk LISTENED!

* This is important after you’ve voiced your complaint.

* Vs 2:2a - “Record the vision …” - A dream written down is a goal, a goal broken down is a plan.

* “When we measure things it aligns are Attention with our INtention.” -Eric Beck

* We align our behavior with what we truly desire.

* Vs 2:2b - “…make it plain” - The clearer the vision, the fewer the options, the easier the decision (Stanley).

* Vs 2:2c - “…that the one who reads it may RUN!”

* Habakkuk was to record the vision and give it to a herald who would “run” with it from town to town informing the people of what was coming.

* They would repent and get God’s mercy rather than wrath.

* How do we apply this?

* The Prophetic vision is the foundation for the personal and professional.

* Jesus is coming back, so keep the vision of your role in his Millennial kingdom at the front and center of your mind.

* Making your vision clear and understandable is key to it becoming a reality.

* It’s meant to help you RUN (don’t overcomplicate it).

* Tie your vision together with your mission using two key words - “SO THAT.”

* EX: I want to be ________________ SO THAT I can _________________ !

* When you’re faithful in your work it leads to PROMOTION (Proverbs 22:29).

* When you’re faithful in your walk it leads to PERSECUTION (Luke 21:12).

* You’re not responsible for promotion or persecution - you’re responsible to simply be faithful.

* God will handle your reward as He sees fit.

* Faith is to be loyal and steadfast - allegiance to God.

* You pledge your allegiance to God, prioritizing Him above all others.

* Backstory - King Neb built a statue that everyone was to bow down and worship.

* They were forced to do something against their conscience.

* Three boys said “heck no!”

* Look at the two different attitudes of the king toward them:

* Vs 19-20 - they were persecuted.

* Vs 30 - they were promoted.

* What happened?

* Their faith intersected with God’s faithfulness and it changed everything!

* The same thing that got them FIRED (literally) got them HIRED.

* That is what allegiance to God looks like in the midst of Babylon!

* ** Carmel story of teacher who was scared to death about culture **

* BACKSTORY - the book of Psalms is by-and-large David’s prayer journal.

* He was fearful and frustrated A LOT!

* But we see what he was thinking about when he prayed.

* He remembered HISTORY to draw strength and courage in his present moment.

* History is God’s Story played out in human life.

* When you read it, it “encourages” you - makes you courageous.

* The devil wants to do two things to keep you fearful & frustrated:

* Make you not care about history - don’t pay attention to it.

* Re-write history.

* Vs 5-12 - Remember Og & Sihon - two giants of old.

* Og is mentioned 22 times in Scripture. Why?

* So we can be “encouraged” to keep fighting!

* According to the Talmud, Og and Sihon were brothers.

* Both are depicted sitting on the walls of their respective capital cities with their legs reaching down to the ground.

* Og was 12 feet tall and weighed nearly 500 lbs.

* His bed was made of iron (in 1914 an archaeologist found a bed that fit this size).

* They weren’t just physical giants, but they had money and power as well.

* Yet the Israelites defeated them both and took what was theirs!

* Psalms 136:17-22 - remember these dudes!

* To thrive like Daniel in today’s Babylon, we need:

* Conviction that transforms our heart.

* Commitments that transform our lifestyle.

* Courage that transforms our world.

* In order for these to happen, we need a vibrant prayer life.

* Vs 1-4 - Daniel was reading Scripture and discovered God’s plan for the people.

* This put him on a prayer and fasting path that led to visions of the future.

* As we look at his prayers, we see three topics emerge:

* 1) Repentance - this is always the foundation if you want to get God’s attention.

* Personal - get specific with your own issues (not just general).

* Corporate (national) - pray for your culture (“make disciples of NATIONS”).

* 2) Revival - bringing that which is dead back to life.

* Renew your personal commitment to God.

* Reengage Him with your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

* 3) Reformation - to bring “back to form.”

* God has a form for individuals and nations (communities). How?

* It all depends on how we handle truth publicly.

* When a bad idea (against God’s ways) presents itself, we have two options:

* 1) Go with the new idea (often by our silence in opposition).

* We reconcile God’s Word with the new idea so they can get along.

* It never works.

* 2) Resist the new idea by presenting the truth.

* We restate, reaffirm, and reapply God’s Word and we refuse to bend.

* This will only be done when reverence is the goal, not relevance.

* For true change to take place, we need all three.

* How did Daniel learn to pray like this?

* Look at 1 Kings 8:46-51 - he literally prayed the same way Solomon did!

* And we can too!

* 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."

* We live in a brand-building culture - so many are out to build a name for themselves.

* PROB - When you put your name over God’s, your brand becomes your boss.

* As a believer, the name we should be most concerned with building is God’s.

* KEY - When you’re all about building His name, He’ll help build your name.

* That may mean height (the number of people who know your name) or it may mean depth (the depth of respect people have for you).

* Likes (height) Lives (depth).

* If you have to choose one, go with depth! But if you get both, take it.

* God has given you the raw materials you need to make His name great.

* He wants to use the uniqueness of you to present the uniqueness of Him.

* But it will require courage!

* “Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re scared.”

* Backstory - Babylon!

* Vs 1 - it had been prophesied.

* Vs 2 - a spiritual battle - this showed that their god defeated Israel’s God.

* Vs 3-4a - God made these boys for this unique moment in history.

* Vs 4b - the king wanted “Babylonian-thinking men with Jewish roots” in his court.

* Vs 5 - before he got them “thinking” like a Babylonian, he had to cultivate a taste in them for Babylonian culture.

* Vs 6 - these four boys were “among” those who were chosen.

* We know none of their names. Why?

* Because, most likely, they decided to blend in rather than mix into culture.

* We are called to be the chocolate chips in the cookie dough of culture.

* We mix in, we don’t blend in.

* We keep our distinct form, even when put in an oven!

* Can you name one German millionaire during the time Hitler was in power? How about a famous actor? Musician? Megachurch pastor?

* But you know the names of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Corey Ten-Boom. Why?

* Because they stood with courage!

* They used their uniqueness to present God’s uniqueness, and they understood their times well enough to know their part was to FIGHT!

* And now we all know their names!

* Today’s business landscape is all about the power of “10X!”

* But the plan to achieve it is attached to STRATEGY.

* God is the author of the 10x principle, but His plan is attached to the SPIRIT!

* Deut 32:30 - “If one can put a thousand to flight and two can put ten thousand…”

* Backstory - Daniel and his buddies refuse to blend in with Babylon.

* This purity ushers God’s presence into their lives.

* Vs 18-20 - These four boys were ten times better than all the others!

* We don’t need to focus on strategy, we need to focus on the Spirit!

* God will give us the 10x results we need to stand out from the crowd.