For God – Micah 6:8
December 8, 2024
What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past… courage for the present… hope for the future. —Agnes Pharo
how’s the Christmas shopping going… less than 3 weeks away… giving presents is easy… giving perfect presents is hard… doesn’t fit, wrong color, don’t want, etc…
explored a variety of gifts in this series… for hope, thanksgiving, you…
Psa 52:8-9… “I’m like an olive tree… flourishing in house of God… I trust in God’s faithful love… I’ll thank you forever because you have done it… I hope in your name for it is good…”
Psa 138:4… “all will give You thanks when they hear what You promised…”
Gal 3:18-26… “inheritance… given on basis of faith in Jesus to all who believe…”
what do you get someone who has no needs… what gift can you give God…
1Chron 29… “everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You…”
Psa 24:1… “the earth is the Lord’s and all it contains…”
Acts 17:25… “human hands can’t serve His needs… for He has no needs…”
Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about? —Charlie Brown
God is a giver… and He only gives good gifts… no sickness, poverty, pain…
Exo 15:26… “I will not inflict any illnesses on you… I am the God who heals…”
Matt 7:11… “how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts…”
Luke 11:17… “a house divided against itself falls…”
James 1:17… “every good and perfect gift is from above… from our Father…”
is there anything He wants more than anything else… yes… people to be saved…
1Tim 2:4… “God wants everyone to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth… for there is one God and one mediator between man and God… Jesus…”
2Pet 3:9… “God is patient… not wanting any to perish… but everyone to repent…”
You can never truly enjoy Christmas until you can look up into the Father’s face
and tell Him you have received His Christmas gift. —John Rice
in addition… God does have a wish list… found in obscure OT book… one of the most awesome prophecies about Christmas… given 700 years before Christ…
Micah 5:2-6… “but you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are only a small village… yet a ruler of Israel will come from you whose origins are from everlasting… He will shepherd them… they’ll live securely… He’ll be their peace… He’ll rescue them…”
Micah was country boy… blunt, direct, plain-spoken, no-nonsense… loved common man… condemned religious and political leaders who took advantage of people…
Tension of war – Israel caught between Assyrians, Egyptians, Philistines… Matt 24:6
Religious / Political corruption – most priests and politicians took bribes… 2Tim 4:2-5
Moral Chaos – immorality, evil, crime, corruption… few lived for God… Isa 5:20
people blamed God for the mess… He lovingly shared how wrong they were…
Micah 6:1-5… “state your case against Me, let the mountains witness your complaints… and now, O mountains, listen to the Lord’s complaint… my people, what have I done to you, what have I done to make you tired of Me, I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from slavery, I blessed you and did everything I could to teach you about My faithfulness…”
oops… maybe their situation wasn’t God’s fault… people asked Micah what gift they could get for God… maybe a quality gift would be best… a one-year old calf…
Micah 6:6… “what should I bring before the Lord… when I come to bow before Him… should I come before Him with burnt offerings… with year-old calves…”
nope, that wasn’t it… maybe a quantity gift would be better… not one, but 1000’s…
Micah 6:7… “would God be pleased with thousands of rams… 10,000 rivers of olive oil…”
nope… God wasn’t interested in quality or quantity gifts… people offered ultimate sacrifice… we’ll do this, You do that (quid pro quo)… still wasn’t gift God wanted…
Micah 6:7… “should we sacrifice our children to pay for our sins…”
Micah 6:8… “no, the Lord has told you what is good… this is what He requires…”
all those gifts deal with external actions… God wants your internal heart…
Exo 35:21… “heart was moved… spirit prompted… bring offering to the Lord…”
Deut 28:47… “serve the Lord with joy and a cheerful heart…”
Psa 19:14… “may the meditation of my heart be acceptable…”
Psa 37:31… “the instruction of God is in his heart… his steps do not falter…”
Psa 73:1… “God is indeed good… to the pure in heart…”
Prov 3:5-9… “trust the Lord with all your heart… healing for your body…”
Prov 27:19… “the heart reflects the person…”
Jer 29:13… “you will find Me when you search with all your heart…”
lebab… heart, soul, understanding, mind, thinking, emotions, passions, character…
Israel wasn’t interested in what God wanted… gave what they wanted… none of it as valuable as their heart… what did God say was good and that He desired…
Micah 6:8… “this is what is good… act justly… love mercy… walk humbly…”
Justly – absolutely fair; care for orphan, poor, widow; not take advantage of less fortunate…
Mercy – practice kindness and compassion; give grace to others…
Humbly – set aside self-righteousness…
outward behavior doesn’t change the heart… heart changes outward behavior…
Prov 4:23… “guard your heart above all else… it determines course of your life…”
Hos 6:6… “want you to show love, not offer sacrifices… to know Me more than offerings…”
Luke 6:43-45… “good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit… good person produces good out of the good stored in his heart… the mouth speaks what the heart is full of…”
John 6:28-29… “what can we do… this is work of God, believe in One He sent…”
1John 3:22-23… “this is His command… believe in His Son Jesus; love others…”
this gift for God is unique… because He has already provided all you need to give Him the gift… everything necessary is found in the knowledge of His Son…
Rom 8:17-32… “heirs of God… co-heirs with Christ… freely given all things…”
Eph 1:11-18… “pray your heart may know wealth of His glorious inheritance…”
Col 3:11-15 tpt… “Christ is everything as He lives in us… you are always and dearly loved by God… be merciful as you endeavor to understand others… be compassionate, showing kindness to all… be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others… tolerate weaknesses… forgiving one another in the same way you have been forgiven… if you find fault with someone, release the gift of forgiveness… love is mark of maturity… be thankful…”
2Pet 1:1-3… “everything required for life is found thru the knowledge of Him…”