What Does the Lord Require? A Study of the Book of Micah

5:16 Amen. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless God's holy name. Come on one more time in the sanctuary or watching online, however you're joining us tonight. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless God's holy name. On behalf of our senior pastor, Reverend Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes III and the entire family of faith known as Friendship West. We're three minutes early tonight, but the word was so good. We just needed you to hasten to get around the table. Come on in where the table is spread and where the feast of the Lord is indeed going on. Pull up to the table. Pull up a chair to this table as we get ready to eat from heaven's table, as we get ready to feast on the word of God. We're excited that you're joining us tonight.

6:11 Those of you who are coming into the sanctuary, for those of you who are watching us online, we're so excited that you are joining us in the midst of our Howard Thurman Bible Institute experience. And so I want to begin with a major shout out of the Howard Thurman Bible Institute class on the book of Micah. What does the Lord require? A study of the book of Micah. And so We're joined tonight in the digital space and we will be joined in the physical sanctuary tonight by this class taught by yours truly on the book of Michael, which is so apropos, so appropriate as we go back to Sunday's message from the book of Michael chapter four. you have no idea i want to provide us an opportunity to have a deeper study not only of that sermon but a deeper study of the fourth chapter of the book of micah if you're watching us online do me a favor hit that like button hit that share button because somebody somewhere needs the word of god that we believe is going to go forth with power and with authority and with clarity this evening again hit that like button, hit that share button, click that notification bell. You want to be up to date.

7:30 You want to be connected to this family of faith whenever we go live or whenever we are engaged in our life affirming programming here at the Wild Wild West. And again, we give God praise for each and every one of you as you join us tonight, as we get ready to go to the word of God. But before we get started, as we get started tonight, we want to saturate the atmosphere with a quick word of prayer. So I want to encourage you wherever you are, across the city, across the country, even across the world or across the sanctuary tonight to join me as we seek the presence of God. Lord, we thank you for this time of gathering, for this time of study. We thank you that you allow us to engage tonight our study as worship to engage you to know more about you to seek your face to have your counsel to have godly wisdom for our life to know what we must do in this season thank you for your word that you promised to us as a lamp unto our feet and as a light on our pathway.

8:50 Thank you for your word, which we get an opportunity to feast on in fellowship on this evening. Thank you for the word of God that is healing, that is salvation, that is deliverance, that is reproof, that is rebuke, that is correction, that is redirection, that is reorientation, that is restoration, revitalization that is revival oh god for your people no lord our prayer tonight is that whatever season or circumstance that we find ourselves in tonight that we would find an answer for our situation an answer for our circumstance in your word give us tonight fresh revelation as we go back to the book of Micah, fresh word, fresh oil that would help us, that would sustain us, and that would encourage us.

9:52 Lord, tonight, we believe you. We believe what your word says. And we believe that you can reveal yourself to us as we study. Help us, oh God, to be hungry for the word. help us to have a passion and a desire to know more about you because you will satisfy that hunger. You will quench that thirst. And we pray that tonight. Lord, we pray for those who are watching us from across the city, across the country, even across the world, for those watching us tonight in hospitals and nursing homes. We pray healing to them. for those watching us tonight in prisons and in jails tonight, oh God, with access to this word.

10:46 We pray liberation for them. We pray, oh God, for those who are bound by the various dimensions and the various modes of oppression, physical, spiritual, psychological. We pray freedom tonight in the name of Jesus. freedom tonight from the word of God. Remind us that our condition is not your conclusion about us. So help us to see ourselves, help us to see our circumstance from God's perspective. And we'll be careful to bless you, to give your name the praise, to give your name the honor and the glory. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray through the Holy Spirit and according to your word.

11:45 Amen. Amen. And amen. Again, we give God praise for each and every one of you tonight. Hit that like button. Hit that share button. Amen. That notification bell. If you've got questions, we want to encourage you to share your questions in the comments section as we get ready to go to the word of God tonight. tonight, I want to lift in your hearing what we read on Sunday from the book of Micah, the fourth chapter, and beginning at verse 11 and reading through verse 12. I'm going to read it from the New Revised Standard Version, and then I want us to spend a little time going back through the preceding chapters of Micah. We've studied, we've been studying this book all week long in our Howard Thurman Bible Institute. We have been studying the book of Micah all month long in Noonday Bible study. So if you want some more of this, you can join us for our Noonday Bible study, amen, in person or online every Wednesday at 12 noon. You can join us for the Noonday Bible study experience where we'll be studying the book of Micah. In the month of October our focus is on the fact that God remembers and calls us to remember the oppressed and so Micah is an appropriate book for us to reflect on that but the book of Micah chapter 4 gives us a vision of God's intended future an intended future of peace an intended future of security because the people of God are obedient to his word, his will, and his way.

13:41 That stands in contradiction to the preceding chapters that we're going to study as we come back to the fourth chapter. So we're going to start in chapter four and then end in chapter four, but we're going to take some detours through chapter one, two, and three as we lay the groundwork for future study. Chapter 4 verse 11 reads, now many nations are assembled against you saying let her be profaned and let our eyes gaze upon Zion. Verse 12, but they do not know the thoughts of the Lord. They do not understand his plan that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.

14:42 But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord and they do not understand God's plan. and that from that we took the thought on Sunday you have you have no idea but I want us to uh just do a little uh take a little bit of a backtrack uh again you get a little for those of you who are joining us tonight and uh in the sanctuary or online have not been a part of the course you you get this for free uh I want to give you just a couple of sources and resources that we've been using as we've studied the book of Micah, including the Cambridge Bible commentary, history of Assyria from the earliest times to the fall of Nineveh by George Smith, the Cambridge ancient history of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires and other states of the near east from the eighth to the sixth centuries as a way of giving us context, giving us background to understand the book of Micah and what Micah is talking about, the prophetic, the context of his prophetic utterances. Micah writes in the eighth century, eighth century, about 800, 799 to 700 years before the birth of Christ. He came from the city of Morsheth in the south and prophesied according to his record in the times of at least three kings, King Jotham, King Ahaz, and King Hezekiah.

16:22 He is a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. So the things that Isaiah sees and prophesies and speaks of, Micah is a contemporary. He's living in the same time, seeing the same thing, speaking and ministering to the same time. and based on the biblical record. According to the book of Jeremiah, the 26th chapter, in the 18th or the 19th verse, Jeremiah, the prophet, makes mention of, a reference to the prophet Micah and his prophetic oracles, that Micah prophesied the destruction of Judah, that he prophesied the destruction of Israel. And so in some ways, we might regard Micah as an influence on the prophetic ministry of the weeping prophet known as Jeremiah. Jeremiah is a major prophet.

17:15 Micah is considered a minor prophet. That's just how the book, that's how we categorize these books. But this minor prophet's influence is major. Again, prophesying in the same time as Isaiah, having an influence on the prophetic ministry of the prophet Jeremiah. He's prophesying during a time of great geopolitical transformation that, as we have said, is not unlike our own time. That like the time of Micah, we too are experiencing a period of great shifts in power at an international level. for Micah it is the Assyrians who are the predominant imperial force the Assyrians are the dominant force in the region for years there had been the triumph and the domination of the Egyptians the Egyptians rule and was bossing up on everybody And then the Assyrians come to power and put the Egyptian rule to rest.

18:30 Included in the Assyrian empire is a little piece of land called Babylonia, which had been an empire in its own right until the Assyrians knocked them out of power. And in a few years, Babylon will rise again and overtake Assyria. And so Micah is riding in this time of great geopolitical conflict and transition and shifts of power that are not unlike our own moment, where United States dominance is vulnerable to the emergence of China, to the emergence of other state or even non-state actors, we might say, right, in this moment. where we too are confronted with political shifts in power and what does it mean to be caught in the middle of great power contests that's that's what Micah is writing about or that's the time that Micah is writing in Jerusalem and and Samaria are the capital cities of this divided nation of of Israel that have been divided in civil war and in so many ways that too is like our time right where the nation is divided we're not divided north and south as we were in the actual civil war but every day more and more it becomes clearer and clearer that the nation is dealing with rifts and chasms of division and those divisions for Micah as for our own time leave the nation vulnerable to external influences and external power and so Micah is writing to a people who are living in a divided nation. They're surrounded by enemies on all sides.

20:17 They've got the Assyrians to the north. They've got the Babylonians to the east. They've got the Egyptians to the south. And the question becomes for Micah and for his time, what are we going to do to survive? How are we going to live through? How are we going to survive? How are we going to make it in the midst of this change that we have no power over. And that brings us to the great crisis of the book of Micah, which is the problem of idolatry. It's the great problem of the book of Micah. It's the problem of idolatry, which is a major theme in biblical literature, not just Micah, but for Micah, it is certainly an issue. It refers to the worship of false gods. It refers to a misplaced trust that allows a community to claim God while organizing its life against God's purposes. This is a major issue for the people of God. It's a major issue for the prophets primarily because to engage in idolatry is to violate the covenant relationship that God says that he wants to have with his people.

21:37 And Jeremiah, again, who was influenced by Micah, the 32nd chapter and 38th verse of Jeremiah, Jeremiah lays out this covenant in very simple terms that all of us can understand. It is God's intention, according to Jeremiah, that you will be or they will be my people and I will be their God. That's what God's expectation is, that I'm gonna be God for them. they're gonna they're gonna be my people for me and that is the nature of the relationship they trust me I come through for them I ask them to follow me they follow me and I bless them and that is the covenant relationship that God says that he wants to have with this people and he gives them uh he lays the foundation in the law tradition uh of this people in the book of Exodus chapter 20 verses three through five where God gives this explicit command have no other gods before me now that's the ache that's the that's the first part of the eating have no other gods before me and we we think it would be enough to stop there but God goes on to say something that is strange for this people who are surrounded by people who don't just believe in one God they got multiple gods they got a God for the rain they got a God for the for the storm they got a God for fertility They got a God for sowing.

22:59 They've got a God for reaping. And God says to his people, that's normal for them, but that's going to be out of order for you. Have no other gods before me. You just need one God. And I'll be the God of your sunshine. And I'll be the God of your rain. And I'll be the God of your harvest. Have no other gods before me. That's the first part. But the second part of the command is, and make no graven images. Build no idols. Don't try to capture my glory. It's too big for you. It's too grand for you. You can't capture my glory. So you're going to be strange to your neighbors because you're only going to have one God. And that God is not going to have a physical form. And this is essential to your ability to trust me. Here it is. We want a God that we can touch, taste, see, and feel. and God's instruction God's word to uh to this people is in order to be in covenant with me you gotta trust me even when you can't touch me you you gotta trust me even when you can't physically put your hands on me even when you can't be right when you don't get the opportunity to chisel me out and and you gotta be able to believe that I am who I say that I am here's the good, what's the other part that makes us shout a little bit is God is also telling them you also don't get to define who I'm going to be and how I'm going to be God in your life. Because if we had it our way, we wouldn't make God in our image. We would make God in our likeness. And God says to Israel, in order to have this covenant relationship with me, have no other gods before me, besides me, around me. I'm a jealous God. And you don't get to try to put an image and put form to me. That's the rule. And idolatry, it's very simple. Be my people, I'll be your God.

24:59 Have no other gods before me. And what is the history of Israel? What is the history of this people? Zion, as Micah calls them. I like Zion. We're going to use that term because that's what Micah calls them. What's their history? God says, follow me. They follow for a little bit. Then they decide to do their own thing. Yeah, they decide that they want, they want God on their terms or no God at all. And then they get in trouble and then they call on God. And God says, I repent. They repent. And they, they, they go through this cycle of trust and betrayal trust and rejection trust and obedience and then denial and a refusal to be who God has called them to be and that is where we begin that's where we pick up in the book of Micah Micah is concerned about the idols of Samaria the idols of Judah he says in chapter 1 verse 7 that there's going to be a great judgment that's coming upon this nation of Zion and it's going to be so great that the images and the idols of Samaria are going to be crushed to pieces. It's clear that God takes issue with the idolatry of Zion which is interesting because of the way in which the title of the book and the name of the prophet in ironic ways kind of play on this idea of idolatry being abhorrent to God.

26:37 Micah's name comes from the Hebrew word, which literally means who is like Jehovah. Don't miss that. Micah's name is a message and a ministry to the people that he's called to in and of itself. Who is like God? Who is like Jehovah? Is it your graven image? Is your graven image like God? Is your stone or your crystal like God? Who is like the Lord for you? And I don't think we should miss or walk past this idea of idolatry. We talked about it Sunday. We think about idolatry as we have all kinds of definitions for it. We reduce it to the crystals. We reduce it to all kinds of things that don't indict us and our version of idol worship. But your money can be your idol.

27:43 Right? Your cars, your clothes, your cash can be your idol. Your job, your title can be your idol. It is anything that we put in the place of God that signals to God that we trust that thing more than we trust the God who gave it to us. Idolatry is when we trust the thing more than we trust the God of the thing. The God who gave us the thing. The God who resourced the thing. So before we look down on Judah and Samaria for their version of idolatry, we need to look around our life and ask ourselves, what have we given power and prominence and position to as God in our life that God says should not have that place in that position and that power? god god is opposed to idolatry because it is violative of this covenant relationship and who is like god is your job like god is your car like god is your house like god who is like jehovah to you god god god wants judah and samaria to understand this because their idolatry violates the covenant relationship, but also because their idolatry produces values that run counter to the values of God. Let's say it another way. What you worship comes out in your work.

29:23 Okay. Y'all didn't like that. I just knew that y'all was going to shout, but I forgot it's H.T.B.I. and y'all taking notes. Okay. What you worship comes out in your work. What you worship comes out in how you go about your work in the world. What you worship shows up in how you treat your neighbor. All right. How you worship and what you worship shows up in how you work. What you worship and how you worship and the faith and the trust that you have in the God that you claim to worship shows up in how you show up in the world. and God's condemnation of idolatry in the book of Micah is is is rooted in the fact that Judah and Samaria have not only embraced gods that are not like God but they've embraced ideologies and values that don't belong to God they've embraced values that are not like God in chapter one So God can clearly confronts the rebellion and the idolatry in Samaria and in Jerusalem.

30:36 But in chapters two and three, so chapter one gives us just kind of a general overview. And we know God is mad. God is upset. God is not pleased with Judah and with Samaria. in chapters two and three though we get a little bit of we get clarity about why god is upset and it comes from the fact that in chapter two and chapter three we learn about the rich we learn about the rulers and about the religious if you're taking notes write that down chapters two and three, expose us to God's indictment of the rich, of the rulers, and the religious.

31:25 The rulers, the rich, and the religious. In chapter two, the rich are defined as those, according to the book of Micah, who think evil while they're laying down. early in the morning, they trying to plot and plan on what kind of evil they're going to get into in the day. And then they wake up and they do it. Okay. Now, I don't know what kind of evil you're thinking about when you hear that, right? They're laying down. They haven't even got up. The day hadn't even gotten started. The alarm hadn't gone off. And they're already thinking about all the evil that they can do. Okay. for most of us I'm actually not clear on what that evil might be for you but for God in the book of Micah in the second chapter that evil is rich folk who make plans to seize the land and the homes and the inheritance of vulnerable people people who make a plan to rob from the poor so that they can make themselves rich God calls that evil land seizures uh and when we especially our community when we think about what micah calls evil we are well acquainted with that how if we understand the history of the highway system if we understand the history of redlining if we understand the history of housing policy in the united states of america we would understand precisely what micah in the second chapter calls evil taking what don't belong to you taking from poor people taking from vulnerable people to enrich those who've already gotten rich how many black communities were bulldozed to make way for highways how much black land was stolen to make ways for housing developments and and for uh for suburban communities that black people couldn't even live in

33:32 but the land has black blood and black tears and black sweat equity in it god says that kind of of seizure of land taking what does not belong to you in the name of enriching yourself is evil now i know that's not what we want to call evil in the land of the free and the home of the brave because watch this capitalism is our idol money is our god and so uh in there's it's difficult for us to uh see that as wrong and see that as evil because it's making money we're improving the tax base think think about how black people are driven out of their communities through gentrification i'm talking about what i'm not talking about what i want to talk about i'm talking about what the bible says right that Micah says that that kind of seizure is evil.

34:26 Folk moving to communities that they left. They didn't have to leave in the 50s and the 60s as integration moved in, but they left. Right? Took the tax base with them. The property of the community was what it was as black folk was living there and raising families there. and then one person comes in, builds a new house, builds a new development, drives up the value of the property to such a degree that your grandmother or your aunt or your uncle who's been living there for 30, 40 years now can't afford the property taxes and property that used to belong to the family no longer belongs to the family because of seizure that Micah says is evil.

35:22 So he's concerned about the rich who get rich off of the backs of the poor and the vulnerable. The poor and the vulnerable. I want to lift for us this passage from the second chapter of Micah verses eight and nine. I think this is from the New Revised Standard Version, but I want to invite you to read it in whatever version of the text that you have. This is Micah, this is God speaking through Micah, offering condemnation and rebuke and judgment. He said, but you rise up against my people as an enemy. You strip the road from the peaceful. so people who who who have clothed themselves in peace people minding their business who clothed themselves in peace you you strip the road from them you got enough clothes but you had to take their road for those who pass by trustingly with no thought of war those who just minding their business just trying to live a good life right you strip and you rob them the women of my people you drive out from their pleasant houses from their young children you take away my glory forever i don't want us to miss that that that that the prophet micah privileges highlights centers the experience of oppressed people but particularly the experience of women and children the most vulnerable members of this seventh century society who who at the time of Micah's writing it there's no reason why they they should be taken seriously why their rights should be respected except that they're children of God and they belong to him and so while they're they're vulnerable they can be attacked they can be mistreated and Micah says the fact that that has been the case is a problem for God. The women you drive out from their pleasant houses and from

37:34 their young children, you take away my glory forever. In chapter three, we see the condemnation and the judgment and the reproof and the rebuke extended. In chapter two, it was a critique of the rich in chapter three it is a critique of the political and the religious leaders who sustain the injustices that the rich pursue the rich the rulers and the religious I want to lift it for you chapter 3 of Micah verses 9 through 12. Hear this you rulers of the house of Jacob and chiefs of the house of Israel who hate or abhor justice and pervert all equity. Now the Trump administration is opposed to DEI but Micah chapter 3 says that God is not.

38:41 y'all missed it you missed you missed all of that shout hear this you rulers of the house of Jacob chiefs of the house of Israel who abhor justice and pervert all equity hear this who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with wrong Amen. its rulers give judgment for a bribe its priests teach for a price its prophets give oracles for money yet they lean upon the lord and say surely the lord is with us no harm shall come upon us therefore because of you zion shall be plowed as a field and jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins and the mountain of the and the mountain of the house of god a wooded height so we have the critique of the rich in chapter two but then in chapter three we have a critique of the rulers and the religious who support this unjust institution.

40:01 We got to talk about it because we are living through a time of idolatry that we sanctify by putting God's name on it. We're living through a time and through a moment where billionaires have direct access to the White House. It's always been the case, but they flaunting it in a way that we've never seen before. and and and they are given they're being given all of the lanes necessary to extract and to take more from people who already don't have enough and on top of that the rulers that the if that wasn't enough to for the president to make his friends rich he said he gonna get his too he said he gonna get his cream casseroles everything around me yeah get the money This is Donald Trump, not Wu-Tang.

40:54 Dollar, dollar bill. He says, I'm going to get mine. I'm going to get my money too. God says, this is abhorrent to me. This is the thing that I, this is the stuff I don't like. This is the stuff that I despise. We major in the things that are minor to God. And we treat as minor the things that are absolutely major to God. he says its rulers give judgment for a bribe i couldn't help but think about the supreme court we talked about this last night where uh uh i get to quote my pastor this is not me this is dr haynes amen he said that that harlan crow is clarence thomas's sugar daddy he's been on all of his jets been on his boats been right gotten trips paid for so that he can what render judgment not rooted in the constitution and not rooted in the law, but rooted in that which gives advantage to people who already got advantages.

41:55 God says that that's the stuff I hate. You want to shout. You want to have a good time. You want a word that's going to tickle your fancy. You want a word, amen, that's going to make you feel good because you want the comfort of God's presence without the condemnation and the correction that comes from the word. I'm preaching better than y'all saying amen. He said the priests teach for a price and its prophets give oracles for money. Earlier in the book of Micah, first chapter, we see Micah make a condemnation of the system of prostitution that has made its way into Judah. He doesn't condemn prostitutes. He condemns the system of temple prostitution. and and and we talked about that uh and as a way of trying to treat dr dr stacy try to give a womanish treatment i did the best that i could of of that uh of of mike of micah chapter one and that condemnation of of prostitution but it shows up again in the condemnation and the rebuke of the prophets the prophets prostitute themselves god says i've got i take more issue with the prophets who prostitute their gift who give oracles for money and for priests who teach for a price than I do with the version of prostitution that you got in your head and got in your mind and the condemnation is of the system of prostitution yeah he says the prophets give oracles for money they teach for a price and then they lean on me they lean on the lord and say surely the Lord is with us. What does it mean? What kind of idols? What, what kind of idols have we erected in this country when not only the secretary of defense, but a pastor in this city says that we should, there is no biblical condemnation of, of a, of a public execution that they're going to carry out for the public. That means that violence is our God.

44:06 That means that death dealing and destruction is our God. And then we lean on God to justify him. God says, because of that, I need you to hear me tonight. Because of that, not because of this and whatever this is, whatever sin we've said is worthy of punishment and worthy of judgment. God says, I'm not dealing with this. He said, I'm dealing with that. I'm dealing with the injustice of a priest teaching for a price, rulers giving judgment for a bribe, prophets giving oracles for money, the rich stealing from the poor and the political influence. Those were political influence blessing it and the preachers putting God's name on it. That's what I hate.

44:54 He said, and for that reason, Zion will be plowed as a field. Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins. Watch this. and the mountain of the house of God is going to become a wooded height. Don't miss that. God has been opposed to their idolatry. And God says, I'm so sick of your idolatry, I'll tear down the house that you built, said it was for me, because my name can be praised without the wooded height that you've established for me. I'm going to get my praise. I'm going to still be God, right? Whether you bless me in the wooded height or not, whether you put on your cross, right, and claim to be a Christian or not, whether you read your Bible, whether you put on your Sunday go to meeting, amen, and read your Bible, I'm going to still be God. so that so what you what you what you have built for me doesn't matter to me as much as who you are in me don't miss that god's concern with idolatry is that it that it that it devalues the covenant relationship that israel is made with god but that idolatry produces values that put them at odds with each other what is it that you are worshiping the title of our study is what does the lord require that that's chapter six chapter six of the book of michael we're not going to have time to get there tonight but but that that question emerges because israel and judah spent so much time in worship that doesn't please god that question has to be asked because judah and samaria and israel have been engaged in worship that god ain't trying to hear and how many of us as we gather Sunday in and Sunday out as we gather online and in in the digital sanctuary in the physical sanctuary how many of us have gathered to engage in worship

47:01 that God don't even like have you ever given somebody a gift that they really don't want have you ever given somebody a gift that they really didn't want it don't fit them it's not their size it's not their color it's not their style it's not their taste it's that's just not even who they are that's what we're that's what Micah says the people of God are doing with their worship you're trying to give God a worship that that don't even fit him you're trying to give God a worship that ain't even his style you're trying to put a worship on God that that is too small for his bigness hallelujah that that that's too that's too puny for his might you're trying to give God a gift of worship that God can't fit. He says, I'm too big. He says, I'm too great. He says, I'm too powerful. And it's rooted in the fact that even though Judah and Israel are receiving the condemnation and rebuke of the Lord, god says even though i'm i'm rebuking you i'm also gonna make a way of salvation for you i i'm rebuking you i'm reproving you but i'm also gonna make a way of escape for you god says when we get to the fourth so so we've gone through the first three chapters all bad all doom and gloom and as we said we i should have given the disclaimer to you that i gave to the class micah don't pull no punches micah calls it like it t.i. is micah Micah says what's on his mind.

48:41 We've seen in the first three chapters, the judgment, rendered judgment. God says, I'm going to bring judgment. I'm going to bring, I'm going to bring hell, fire, and brimstone down on my people because of how they behave. But I also see, and remember now, they made this decision on the basis of survival. Survival. They've embraced the gods of their adversaries because they refuse to trust the god of their ancestors. When if they had trusted the god of their ancestors, God would have handled their adversaries. So they make the choice to embrace the gods of the Assyrians, to embrace the gods of those who are surrounding them in order to survive. This is a survival mechanism. and I wish I had the time to talk about the way that we have embraced the idols of those who are oppressing us in the name of survival lord have mercy so so god says uh I see that you've embraced the gods of your ancestors in the name of your survival and I don't want you to think that just because I'm bringing judgment to you oh thank you lord that my judgment of you precludes my salvation that I want to bring to you yeah I've got judgment for you I've got reproof for you I've got rebuke for you but I'm also gonna bring some salvation to you so chapters one and two and three have been focused on God's judgment God's critique God's God's rebuke of the rich and the rulers and the religious as they have embraced idolatry and the ideals that that idolatry produces important very important for us to be able to name. God establishes this covenant relationship. He says, have no other gods before me. I'm a jealous God. And, and, and I don't want you to be in, it's not just that I don't want you to have graven images of other gods. I don't want you to have the fingerprint of these other gods on you. What does that mean? I don't want you to embrace the values of these foreigners. We talked

50:52 about the values of the foreigners, temple prostitution, the value of the foreigners, greed, the values of the foreigners, violence as a way of dominating the region. All of these are the ideals of their adversaries that they've embraced. And so that makes up the full scope of chapters 1 and 2 and 3. When we get to chapter 4, God says, I've got judgment that I want to, you're going to get my judgment. You're going to get my judgment, but you also are going to be a beneficiary of my work of salvation. You also going to be a beneficiary of the blessing of salvation that I want to bring to you. Chapter four begins in verse one with God giving a vision of a future time. This vision of the future time has been a one of a promised judgment. When we get to chapter four, it's something a little different.

51:48 It says in the days to come, the mountains of the Lord's house shall be established as the highest of mountains. verse 1 of chapter 4 and shall be raised up above the hills and people shall stream to it many nations shall come and say come let us go to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his path for out of Zion shall go forth instruction and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem so check that out in chapters 1 2 and three it's clear that the nations of the earth are in opposition to Israel opposition to Zion and God says though in chapter four I'm the same people who are who are the subject of ridicule I'm gonna make the resource and the source of blessing that's how quickly God can change your circumstance that's how that's how that's how sharply God can change your situation that the that the same people who are being ridiculed today will be the source of blessing for those who ridicule them tomorrow.

52:53 That's why you got to be careful with God's people because you'll know how soon and how quickly and how sharply God can turn this situation for me. And so you might have the upper hand today, but God can make it that you need me to bless you by my hand tomorrow. I can't get no help in here. He said, he says, I can turn that thing so sharply for you. if you would embrace me, if you would return to me as your first love, if you would throw down your idols, put away your idols, embrace me as your God, enter back into covenant relationship with me, I can make it so that the people who oppress you need you to bless them. Aren't you glad that you serve that kind of God who can use you and use and use what you've been through as a vehicle of being a blessing for somebody else? Here he is. He says many nations will come to you. He says in verse three, he shall judge between many peoples and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away. And they shall beat their swords into plow shares, their spears into pruning hooks.

53:59 Nations shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn to study war anymore, but they shall all sit under their own vine, under their own fig tree. and no one shall make them afraid for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. So listen to that hopeful future. God says, I've got a future that I'm preparing. It's my promised future. I know that you've heard and suffered my rebuke. You suffered my reproof. But here's what I want you to know. Just because you're receiving my judgment, just because you're receiving my condemnation doesn't mean that's the end for you. God says, I've got another move. I've got more. And as we said on Sunday, faith is understanding the difference between the fact of the facts of what's happening.

54:53 Understanding the difference between the fact that something is happening, whether it's a bad happening or a good happening. Faith is understanding the difference between the fact of what's happening and the fact that something else can happen. And that's the promise, right? that God says, I know what's happening to you. I know you've got Assyria to the north. I know you've got Egypt to the south. I know you've got Babylon to the east. I know you've got Elamites and Moabites and Amalekites all around you. I know what's happening to you, but do you trust me to make something else happen for you? God says I've got a promised future and that promised future watch this is a whole 180 degree difference from your present aren't you glad that God in an instant can make your future a thousand times different than your current condition and your current present what is God's future the nations who are at war with each other are going to be at peace with each other and in peace with Zion. They're going to come together. Nations are going to come together to receive God's instruction. And as they come together to receive God's instruction, watch this. God says, I'm going to transform the weapons of warfare into weapons of production.

56:12 Weapons of mass destruction are going to become weapons of mass production. Swords are going to be turned into plow shares. Spears are going to be turned into pruning hooks. I'm going to turn tanks into tractors. I'm going to turn guns into shovels and everybody's going to have a place to live. They're going to have something to eat and they're going to be able to live without fear. People are going to have all of their needs met. They're going to have all of the conditions necessary for their peace. What a future God has proposed. And if it is God's future that everybody have food to eat and a place to live and live without fear why is it that people who claim to love God are fighting so hard to prevent that from becoming a reality y'all missed it why is it that people who claim to love God are using the name of God to prevent folk from having food and having health care and having housing security when God said that's his preferred promised future here.

57:12 God's promised future is a future where everybody got something to eat, where everybody got someplace to live and where everybody can live without fear. Why aren't we working to build that future? Why aren't we working to build that future? Why are we putting effort and energy to create the very opposite future? We create conditions for more war, more havoc, more depravity, more lack. And God's promised future is that there will be abundance, that there'll be provision, that there will be security. He says, not only am I going to, do I want to create a world where everybody has what they need. Watch this.

58:05 I am so God that I'm going to build that future using people that you don't think have the tools to build it. so i'm gonna use the people that you've cast aside i'm gonna use the people that you forgot i'm gonna use the people that you've ignored i'm gonna use the people that you've overlooked i'm gonna use the people that you don't think have what it takes to build the future that i want to build look at micah chapter 4 verses 6 to 8 on that day says the lord i will assemble the lame gather those who have been driven away and those whom i whom i have afflicted the lame I will make the remnant and those who were cast off I'm going to make them a strong nation and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion now and forevermore and you oh tower of the flock hill of the daughter Zion to you it shall come the former dominion shall come the sovereignty of daughter Jerusalem. I want you to listen to that. God says not only am I going to build the future that I want to see but I'm going to use the lame. I'm going to use the displaced.

59:18 I'm going to use those who have been brought to grief. I'm going to make them a remnant and I'm going to rule over them and with them I'm going to build the future that I'm looking for. Here's the word here if you'll shout about it you don't need everybody to go with you. God says I don't need watch this you don't need a consensus you don't need a unanimous vote you just need enough confidence in me to stand in the remnant with your lameness with your heartbrokenness with with all of the things that disqualify you in front of other people and surrender them to me and with them I'll build the promised future that I'm looking for that ought to be good news that we don't need to have immaculate CVs for God to use us. That you don't have to have it all together for you to be useful in the hands of God. God says I will use everything and everybody that other people would have thrown away and overlooked and walked over and walked past.

1:00:19 Those are the exact people that I want to use. My God. So you don't have to spend your time trying to win a popularity contest with people. You just need to be aligned with God. You don't need to worry about having it all together. Every I dotted and every T cross. You should do your best, but you don't have to worry about manifesting a life that looks perfect. You just need to be yielded to me and watch me work a perfect work in your life. he said I'll take a remnant God said I don't need all of you it's enough of us in here tonight for God to do a work hallelujah we would be glad to see the whole church filled on a Wednesday night for Bible study and we praying amen that the Lord will make it so but it's enough of us gathered up in here that if we're willing and yielded to God God can do what God wants to do with just us amen so we don't need to be looking for the consensus. We don't need to be looking for the approval of people. We don't need to be looking, amen, for folk to see whether folk are going to sign up for God's agenda. Just be a part and be yielded and be aligned with God's agenda. And God says, if you trust me with your lameness, with your heartbreak, with all of the things that are wrong with you, I can build a world that's right in my eyes, despite what's wrong with you. God says, I'm a, I'm a build the world and I'm going to build the future that I want and I'm not even going to use your strong warriors.

1:01:51 I'm not even going to use your kings. I'm not going to use your priests. I'm not going to use amen your magistrates. I'm going to use the people that you otherwise would have looked over. God says I got a promised future and and that promised future is is such that even though going to verses 11 and 12, even though that the nations of the earth, verse 11, even though many nations are assembled against you, and even though they're saying, let her be profaned, let our eyes gaze upon Zion, even though they're looking at you to destroy what God is building, even though they're looking at you with a desire to seize and to take what doesn't belong to them, God says they don't know the plans of the Lord. They don't know the thoughts that God has about you and your future.

1:02:54 Sunday we said it this way, that your condition is not God's conclusion. The nations of the earth are looking at Zion's condition as a function of its idolatry, as a function of its embrace of values that don't belong to them and that God abhors. and they see them in a weak and vulnerable position. They see them as easy prey. And they begin, watch this, to devise plans to take advantage of Zion's vulnerability. God says, watch this, I see those who think they see the weakness in you. I'm watching those who are watching you. I've got my eyes on those who got their eyes on you. They got their eyes on you trying to figure out how they can make the move to take advantage of you. They got their eyes on you trying to figure out how they can get one over on you. They've got their eyes on you, but I got my eyes on you too. And not only are my eyes on you, my eyes are on them.

1:03:48 And here's the good news of the record. They don't know the plans that God has. They don't even know the mind of God toward you. That ought to be good news for somebody here tonight. that despite your condition, despite where you find yourself, despite the difficult season that you're in, God still has plans for you. The worst season of your life is not the end of your story and the worst thing that happened to you might actually be God's way of setting you up for the next level of bless up, the next level of blow up, the next level of unadulterated, unstoppable blessing that God wants to bring in your life. They got their eyes on you to see what they can take from you, but they don't understand that I'm watching them watching you. That ought to be good news tonight. I said, God said, I'm watching them watching you. And even though they mean it for evil, I've got a way of working what they mean for evil. I got a way of working that thing out for my good. He says in the 12th verse of the fourth chapter they don't understand his plan watch this he says that they have been gathered as sheaves to the threshing floor now check that in in verse 11 the nations gather against israel the nations gather against zion the nations gather against judah it's their gathering they've done the gathering they're doing the they're doing the assemblage they're putting themselves together in groups. They're clicking up against Zion. And they're in agreement to overtake Zion.

1:05:31 They have gathered themselves. And God says what they don't know is that they think they're gathering against you, but I'm actually gathering them to myself. Like grain to the threshing floor. What do you do with grain on the threshing floor? You beat it. You beat the grain. You beat the grain off of off of the stalk on the threshing floor. God says they're trying to set you up and they have no idea that what they think that they're setting you up for I'm actually going to use it to my benefit. And they're in agreement. They've come together. They're in agreement. We're going to take the city of Judah. We're going to take the city of Samaria. We're going to make it rubble and the word of God that God gives to Micah to give to the people is that their agreement can't overrule my authority that they're what they have meant for evil I have the power to turn around for your good the nations of the earth are confident in the fact that Zion can be defeated and they don't understand that Zion's weakness is a part of God's plan that that that zion's that zion's poor condition is a part of god's plan and that god can take what they meant for their destruction and use it to bless them you serve a god who can crown your life with the very things meant to destroy him your God is so strong.

1:07:15 Your God is so powerful. Watch this. And your God's intentions toward you are so great that the things that others and that the enemy intends to use for your destruction, God says, I can crown your life with it. And the very people who sought your demise will be coming to you for instruction on how to get delivered. how to get free how to get he said i will have all of the nations coming to judah coming to zion to hear and to see instruction from the lord god's promised future is so much better than the one that others are trying to build right now in god's name so what does the lord require of us that we align ourselves with the future that god actually wants not the future that somebody else is trying to build in god's name michael says god god is concerned about the poor god is concerned about those who are vulnerable god is concerned about those who are exploited and if those people and if those circumstances and those situations are not priority to you you misunderstand me if those are not priorities for you you misunderstand me and he says he says I know in chapter two he says I know this is not the prophetic word that you want. He said, I know that when I preach like this, y'all don't want to hear it. This is Micah talking. Micah says, I know when I preach like this, you don't want to hear this.

1:09:14 You want a word that's going to make you shout. You want a word that's going to make you feel good. You want a word that you want, you know, you want me to prophesy that you're going to be married by the spring, right? That if you give a thousand dollars that you can live good and ride good, that you'll live better than you've ever lived, that you'll ride better than you've ever ridden, that you'll have houses, amen, that are so big that you won't have, amen, enough clothes to fill all the closets. Hallelujah, right? And Micah said, that's the kind of word that you want me to bring. He says in chapter 3, if I prophesied to you about good drinking beer, you'd be shouting all over the sanctuary. If I promised you a good time, if I promised you that I would tickle your fancy, that God is going to reward your wickedness, you'd be shouting all over the sanctuary. but I understand Micah says I understand that the promised future that God intends is not the promised future that we all want so what does the Lord require of us do justice, love, mercy walk humbly with God we're getting ready to talk about that tomorrow as we wrap up the book of Micah as we close tonight it's about alignment with the way and the will of God.

1:10:34 And here's what Micah's record suggests, Micah's text suggests. There were people who were living good, riding good, had more money than they could count. Huh? They was OG stacking dollars, right? They had more money than they could count. They was riding good. They was living good. They was eating good, but they were out of alignment with the will and way of God. so the so the edict and the challenge is not to mistake the image of blessing for what it truly means to be blessed which is to be in alignment with the things that god says he values what does the lord require of you that you would do justice that you would love mercy that you will walk humbly with God. And my intention, God says, my intention is that those who intend to harm Zion won't win.

1:11:35 And that my plan, my plan, my way will be the best way. For the mouth of the Lord has already spoken it. That's the word of God for the people of God. We say thanks be unto God. The doors of the church are open. It's an unusual night as we are celebrating HTBI, but you might be in the sanctuary. You might be watching online. You've heard the word of God tonight, and you say, I want to be aligned with God. I want what God wants. I want what God wants for the world. I want what God wants for this nation. I want what God wants for my life. and I see what's going on all around me, all around the country, all around the city, all around the world. I see what's going on, but tonight I want to express and live into the faith of Micah. I see what's going on around me, but I know that God has plans.

1:12:44 i know that god has a way that is above my way i know god has a will that i must surrender my will to and i want to live in alignment with that god that's you tonight you're in the sanctuary we've got our decision counselor down front with an extended hand that says your place of purpose and Destiny is right here at Friendship West. If you want to make your membership with Friendship West, you can get out of your pew. You can walk down the aisle and they will minister to you. She will minister to you tonight to get you connected with this family of faith. For somebody who says, I want to make Jesus the Lord of my life, I've never confessed Christ. I don't know that I can live in alignment with Christ. I didn't know that till tonight. And I want to make him the Lord of my life.

1:13:37 If that's you tonight, you can get out of your pew. You can come on down the aisle and give your life to Christ. If you're watching online, you can connect with this family of faith as well. There's a number on the screen. You can call it. There's an email on the screen. You can use it. A QR code as well. Take advantage of it. These are all safe and effective vehicles, reliable vehicles that will connect you with this family of faith. Dr. Haynes would love to be your pastor. And we would love to be your family and your community of faith. Someone here tonight is making a decision, watching online, making a decision. And we want to help them by praying for them tonight. Father, we thank you for the promise of your word that you have a future that will blow our minds. The question is, are we prepared to embrace it? Are we prepared to walk in it? Are we prepared to align our life so we can have what you want us to have?

1:14:34 Oh Lord for someone here tonight who's making a decision to make you the Lord of their life. We invite them to declare that I am grateful. I am so grateful. For what you did on the cross of Calvary. Thank you for your son Jesus. Who died that I might have eternal life. But who lived so that I could have life more abundantly. Lord come into my heart. Thank you for coming into my heart. Now, Lord, live your life through me. Make me your hands and feet in the earth realm until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. This is my prayer tonight. I want my life surrendered and yielded and aligned with the will and the way of God. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. Come on.

1:15:24 Give God praise for the gift of salvation. We give God praise for the room that is left at the foot of the cross. and we give God praise because it's giving time in the house of the Lord. And we get excited about the opportunity to give and to sow into this ministry, knowing that it is indeed good ground tonight. We're in the midst of the Howard Thurman Bible Institute. So while we're in the sanctuary and you're watching online all across the building tonight, we've got Christian education courses going on. Oh, by the way, we had tutoring tonight. our young people our children receive tutoring instruction in the midst of the howard thurman bible institute you know the ministry that goes forth from this church the mantle of justice work that is placed on this church and on dr haynes our pastor whether it's faith formula and the work that we do in our benevolence ministry and our justice ministry our ministry of care and support our vips who we minister to every sunday you know the the breath and width and depth of the vision that God has given to this church. None of it can we do without your obedience to God as it concerns the time and the offering. We thank God for all of the reasons to give and we know the ways to give. We can text to give. We can give through the Givelify app. We can give online at friendshipwest.org or through the Friendship West Baptist Church app. If you're watching online or in the sanctuary, there's a QR code on the screen that is also a safe and effective vehicle for giving or if you want to use the old school offering envelope that's cool too our deacons are prepared to receive those gifts as well whatever you're going to give however you're going to give let's consecrate our gifts unto the lord tonight father we thank you for what we hold in our hand what we give tonight whether digitally or physically we sow it with expectation and we believe that it is no longer money but a seed that after not many days will meet us again

1:17:30 as life-giving life-changing life-affirming ministry we declare it to be so that lives will be changed that people will be blessed that people will be food and house secure because of the gift and the seed that I now hold in my hand bless gift and give it the same and may no one suffer lack as they are obedient to you tonight as they give with great expectation in the name of jesus we pray through the holy spirit and according to your word and together we say amen and amen as you're giving tonight or online just a couple of uh things that we want to bring your attention to uh in the life of friendship west don't forget that this sunday is breast cancer awareness sunday We want to encourage every member of our church to meet us here for worship, wearing your pink as we celebrate survivors, as we celebrate those who are in the struggle. And by faith, we believe that God can do what no other power can do.

1:18:30 We are trusting and we are believing God for miracles in our midst. Join us for Breast Cancer Awareness Sunday. Don't forget to wear your pink. We're also excited that as we continue our celebration of our church's 50th anniversary, that we get to invite every one of you to encounter, engage and experience Friendship West through a documentary entitled Justice Now. Meet us here Friday, October 23rd at 6.30 p.m. for Sankofa, honoring our past, reclaiming our power as we premiere this documentary produced by the National Urban League. After the screening, we're going to have an opportunity to hear an amazing panel discussion featuring Attorney Lee Merritt, moderated by Vice President Jericho Richardson, Vice President of the National Urban League, and our very own prophet, our very own pastor, drum major for justice, Reverend Dr. Frederick Douglas Haynes III.

1:19:32 You do not want to miss it. We need every face in the place Friday, October 23rd at 6.30 p.m. here in the sanctuary. for this amazing documentary screening and panel discussion. Also, in the midst of this October, we're excited and prepared, and preparing, rather, for our Hallelujah outing, one of our biggest and most significant outreach efforts of the year. We're in need of church candy to make sure that our children have an amazing experience. We need your help. The Hallelujah outing is quickly approaching. We're in need of candy donations, so we're encouraging you. Bring your bags of candy to the church before October 31st. Or you can make a monetary donation by texting FWDISCOVER. That's one word, all caps, FWDISCOVER to 28950.

1:20:29 For more information, contact DISCOVER at discover at friendshipwest.org. Or you can see our children's pastor, Dr. Nerissa Grigsby. Check that map that's on the screen. We are dividing up the Metroplex and challenging you to bring candy based on where you live. So look at that map. Make a commitment to help us celebrate our children and make sure that they have an amazing, safe way to celebrate the fall season. Also, we're encouraging you to help us put our faith into action by joining us for the People's Revival Thursday, October 29th, right here at Friendship West. There's a community phone bank from 5 p.m. to 645 p.m. that you can participate in. And then at 7 o'clock p.m., we're going to have the People's Revival. This is sponsored or in partnership with our justice ministry and our community partners, including the progressive national Baptist convention and the black faith coalition. So join our justice ministry and our community partners for a community dinner and phone banking gathering from five to six 45.

1:21:36 You can scan the QR code on the screen to let us know you're coming to the community dinner and the phone banking gathering. don't miss the people's revival amen on thursday october 29th those are our announcements as the as they say in the old church govern yourselves accordingly we give god praise for each and every one of you here tonight we continue to lift up and pray for our senior pastor we thank god for dr haynes and the ministry and the mantle that rests on his life amen we continue to pray for him and the entire first family we hope you were blessed tonight uh by the teaching and by the word of god on tonight don't forget to meet us here sunday morning amen as we continue to go higher in the lord receive now the lord's benediction and go in peace if you're in my class i want to see you tomorrow all right tomorrow uh for the last night of our howard thurman bible institute let's pray father we thank you for the word that is going forth on tonight as we leave from this place, but never from your presence.

1:22:39 Help us to go in the power of your promised future. Help us to trust and believe that what you have in store for us is beyond our wildest imagination. Help us to know that you have plans for us, to prosper us, to grow us, to bless us if we align ourselves with you. Help us to do so tonight as we go forth from this place, but never from your presence. In the name of Jesus, we pray through the Holy Spirit and according to your word. And together we say, amen. Go in peace.