MICAH 6:8

Well today is the day the Boffer group meets...so the following is the lesson that I have prepared for them:

Begin with prayer

Sing the Micah 6:8 song (?)

Today I will be sharing with you from the NASB instead of my usual NKJV. Unfortunately, I forgot my NKJV at work!

Read Micah 6:8
Before we look at these particular verses, I want you to know that the book of Micah is one of chastisement and of prophecy. In it, Micah chastises Israel and Judah for their sins, and yet he also gives much encouragement as God uses him to tell of the coming Messiah, whom we know, of course, as our Lord Jesus Christ. In the midst of all of this, we have this section in which God Himself tells the people what He has expected from them…and here is where I want us to spend the next few minutes.

Let us read again Micah 6:8
Now then, we have spoken a bit of what this book is about. For the sake of making an application to our own lives, we will not necessarily look at the context of the book for the nation of Israel, but for how we as a people might apply the words and learn from them and be impacted by them.

“He has told you, O man, what is good;”

Just as Israel (referring to the people of both Judah and Israel) knew what God wanted and expected from them, we in this day and age know also. For Israel and Judah, they had the writings of Moses and of the Patriarchs. In addition to this, the nation was sent prophets by God who delivered His words to them as well, whether it be Micah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, or Ezekiel!
In or own day, we do not have prophets that foretell the future, though we do have prophets who proclaim the Word to us; I think here of giants like John MacArthur, Albert Mohler, and even in our local churches, though unfortunately these are a mere handful. Far more important than anything else, however, we have one thing that tells us about God, and that serves to inform us of how God would have us live.

What is it? The Bible!!

And so, we especially in our day and age, have NO excuse for not knowing what God has said. There is not one person here who does not have access to a Bible, therefore when we fail to read it and learn from it we are totally without any excuse whatsoever. So then we understand that when Scripture says that “He has told you, O man, what is good,’ that the prophet refers to the Word of God.

“And what does the Lord require of you”

The question here is being asked rhetorically, for the prophet will supply the answer himself. Does everyone understand what the word “rhetorical” means? (discuss if necessary).

From this verse we can learn one very important thing, and that is that God does indeed have requirements for us. Too many people would have you believe that a simple prayer, whether sincere or not, has the magical ability to transform you into a Christian. Sincerity, however, is a given. And sincerity means that such a prayer will result in a changed life.

You young people are at an age when you are starting to mature into young men…will you grow to continue serving the Lord with all of your strength, soul, and mind? I pray that this is so…but above all I pray that you will examine yourself constantly, and test whether you are truly His. If you profess Jesus as Lord and Savior of your lives yet do not bear testimony to this fact through a changed way of thinking, a changed way of living, then the danger becomes that someday Jesus might say to you, “Depart from Me…I never knew you” God forbid anyone here be destined for such a thing!

What do I mean when I say your lives should bear testimony through changed thinking and living? (discuss)

So we see that God requires things from you. And it is not only here that we are told this, for Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”

What does Jesus mean?

Those who love Him WILL keep His commandments! Not perfectly, not all the time, for unfortunately we are still inhabitants of this fallen flesh…but we want to obey Him, and when we sin, we do not make excuses for it but acknowledge it and repent of it!

“But to do justice”

What does it mean "to do justice”? The NKJV translates it as “to do justly” but it means the same thing.
To do justice or to do justly is to love His commandments, ultimately. For His ways are good. Therefore when we think of our Lord Jesus and His sermon on the mount, or when we think of the Ten Commandments as given to Moses, we must treasure the words and seek to live by them. NOT because it will gain us salvation, but because we LOVE the Lord so much (remember John 14:15)!

Challenge: Can anyone recite all of the Ten Commandments? Can anyone name at least one point from the Sermon on the Mount?

“to love kindness” NKJV “and to love mercy”

This is a true judgment against any type of works based idea of salvation. Yes we are to help those in distress…we are to be kind to people, to be merciful to the orphans and widows. But unless we do so because we LOVE it, then we are blaspheming by attempting to gain that which we are freely given!
Little brothers, I would add that the greatest example of loving mercy or kindness is to share your faith with others. Are you a lover of kindness and of mercy? If so, then the kindest and most merciful thing you can do is tell someone about Jesus. Share the gospel with them…and this means telling them what you were saved from and why you deserved it!
What were you saved from? Hell!
Why did you deserve it? Because we are all sinners and enemies of God!

“And to walk humbly with your God?”

Little brothers, when we walk with our God, we are to do so humbly…why do you think this is?

Because we do not deserve to walk with Him! Yet He permits us to do so…what is more, He made it possible for us to do so! When we were yet His enemies, is what the Bible tells us; read Ephesians 2:1-9

THEREFORE, when we are tempted to be puffed up with pride over our good works, or when we are satisfied where we are at spiritually and think we have reached the greatest level of spiritual maturity…think about Who it was that enabled you to do the good works…and think about how much more we can learn by continuing to study our Bibles daily, realizing that we will NEVER learn everything there is to know!!

Walk humbly with your God my brothers.

Let us pray