1.
Grace, mercy, and
peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The
message from God’s Word this 4th Sunday after the Epiphany is taken
from Micah 6:1-8. It’s entitled, “God’s
People Hear His Gracious Voice,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
This story is
told of the late George Bernard Shaw. It seems he was seated beside a duchess
at a dinner party and in the course of the conversation, he asked: "Tell
me duchess, would you live with a man for a million dollars?" "Well," replied the duchess,
"I suppose I would." So, Shaw asked her: "Would you
live with a man for $5?" The duchess was insulted. "What do
you think I am?" Shaw quickly replied, "Oh, my dear lady,
we've already established that. Now we're just trying to determine the price.” The punch line to that story is very
revealing. It raises the same issue that faced the people of Israel thousands
of years ago when the Old Testament prophet Micah spoke for God. It's also the
same issue we need to deal with today in our modern lives.
3.
In each and every
age, human beings have had to make decisions about values. We call many of
these ethical-right or wrong decisions in life - values. We ask: Do we teach
values in our public schools? Do our new neighbors have good values? Is our
daughter's boyfriend a man with good values? As a matter of fact, if we are
honest with ourselves, a big part of our day to day struggle is getting proper
price tags on everything in our life. You know, how much is it all worth to us?
What are we willing to pay? What are we willing to pay in terms of time, energy,
output, skill, and commitment -- to have a life of security and meaning and
comfort? That's what people are looking for to have the "good life."
4.
If analyst Arthur
Griffith is correct, the average American is willing to pay plenty. Griffith
says, "We are driven to spend money we really can't afford to possess
things we really don't need in order to impress people we really don't like."
And then we really get frustrated when we realize this good life can't be
bought no matter what we're willing to pay.
5.
The prophet Micah
said the same thing 2,700 years ago. Whatever you can pay, even in sacrifices
and prayers and going to church, no matter how much you are willing to pay,
it'll never be enough to make life turn out the way you believe it should. Let me read to you from Micah, chapter 6.
"The Lord says, 'Stand up, and plead your case before the mountains; let
the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the Lord's accusation;
listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case
against His people; He is lodging a charge against Israel. My people, what have
I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. "And Israel replied. 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? Will the Lord be pleased with
thousands of rams, with 10,000 rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my
transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you,
O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and
to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.'"
6.
The times in
which Micah prophesied were a lot like today. Israel experienced an almost
unprecedented period of prosperity, peace and advancement. Only during the rule
of great King David and his son Solomon had there been brighter days. And from
all this prosperity, the people were tempted to conclude the reason things were
going well for them was because they were doing something right. They were
like a married couple that for the first several years their marriage really
had some tough going. They hardly had money to put food on the table and keep
up with the mortgage. Then their prospects began to brighten up. The husband
got a good job. Life started to turn around and the wife would tell anybody who
asked, "Oh yes, Sam really managed to get us out from under it
all." That's the way Israel
felt. They figured they had really done a great job of being God's people— of
getting out from under it all. But, that kind of thinking can be dangerous. It
can lead to spiritual disaster.
7.
We know that
thinking is dangerous because the Bible says, "With Israel, God was not
pleased." Israel stood convicted before God’s holy throne. The
confrontation was described in courtroom terms. The prosecutor being God and
the defendant being Israel. God the prosecutor puts Israel the defendant on the
stand and says, "Stand before the mountains and the hills and answer my
accusations. What have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me! I
brought you up out of Egypt. I redeemed you from the land of slavery. I gave
you everything for the good life. Now, what are you going to return to me?"
8.
One of the modern
translations says the Lord brought a lawsuit against Israel. And the defendant
is stumped. They don't know how to respond. And so they simply answer the
question with another question. "OK, Lord. What do you want?" How
do you want us to settle up? What do you want us to pay? To which the prophet Micah, with some
prophetic sarcasm says to them, whatever they are willing to pay it won't be
enough. And still they try. They respond
in three interesting ways. They start to put the price tag on their good life.
How about some burnt offerings, Lord? What if we offer up calves a year old?
You see, those sacrifices were functions of the priest and the people were
offering to be priestly in their payment.
9.
Their second
attempt: How about a thousand rams, 10,000 rivers of oil? These were the
offerings Solomon the king brought when he first dedicated the temple in
Jerusalem. Shall we now as a people repeat these kingly offerings? Or their third attempt they asked shall we be
like the Moabites, our heathen neighboring nation? They make offerings to their
heathen gods by sacrificing their firstborn. Now that's a real sacrifice. Would
that be enough Lord? Don't You see we are willing to offer You anything? We'll
raise the ante to anything You want, Lord, for this good life of ours. They
were bargaining with everything they had.
10.
Before I share
the Lord's answer, let's move forward 2,700 years to today. What about us? What
if the Lord brought a lawsuit against us for the good life we enjoy? What if He
put us on the witness stand? What if He questioned us about our values? For
example, what about the 24 hours each day we call time. With all the pressures
of time in our life, would we be willing to sacrifice leisure time for family
time? Or personal comfort time for volunteer time in our community? Would it be
some extra sleep time on the weekend or time spent worshipping the Lord in His
house instead? We only have 24 hours a day-all of us-no more, no less. No one
gets anymore than anyone else. So what would get priority? These are real
questions as we try to manage our busy lives.
And they pop up all over our daily decisions. What about our social
standing? What in life would we offer up to be part of a certain circle of
friends? How important is it that I advance in my career even if it costs me a
happy family? Teenagers have to ask what they are willing to sacrifice in order
to be accepted by a certain group at school?
11.
How in the world
does God fit into all of this? Israel
might have been misguided in its thinking, but at least they were thinking
about God. Not everybody today can say that. Much of American society doesn't
even acknowledge God in their lives. They establish their values with no
consideration of how a personal relationship with God should impact those
decisions. Their answers leave out the most important parts of the question. What a mistake. For it’s only in our
relationship with God that the genuine "good life" is
possible. Micah says, "He, (that is, God), has shown you what is
required. Do justice, love mercy and
walk humbly with your God." And with that simple challenge, I hope you
realize the price for the good life is out of your price range. And, none of us
can afford it. That's why Micah's value setting challenge is an invitation to
come, not as you are, but as Christ is willing to make you. Jesus Christ is the
only One to have ever lived this good life, and paid the price in full.
Because, you see, the cost of the good life is the life of God's Son. He lived
a truly good life and then in perfect love died the death that we deserved on
Good Friday. He died a death that was the only effective sacrifice for a world
of sin, and He rose in victory on the third day. Our Lord Jesus’ resurrection served as the
Father's acceptance of His ransom for you and me. That brings us back to the courtroom. You see,
in God's courtroom, the judge gets out from behind the bench, takes off His
robe and pays the full cost of the lawsuit himself -- for each of us who can
never pay on our own. There is now no accusation against us any longer. Romans
8 assures us there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. God’s people hear his gracious voice.
12.
Soon their will
be garage sales in our area where our neighbors will set everything out on
tables, and then, with little pieces of masking tape put a price on all their
junk that they think people will be willing to pay. Well, the price tag that
a loving God was willing to put on you was the price of His Son, our Savior Jesus
Christ. Don't ever doubt how much you mean to the Lord. Unconditionally, He
would be willing to forgive you your debt, and empower you to make your
decisions and live out your daily life through faith-filled eyes. And with Him
at the heart of those decisions, oh how much easier they become. God’s people hear His gracious voice! Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting.
Amen.
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