16 minute read
My pulpit message notes: Hope in spite of God's judgement
from TT 167
by TIMES TODAY
Hope in spite of God’s Judgment
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People of faith, there is a stage we should have entered and this is to become theologians of theology. But there is a problem because many of us believers do not see any connection or relevance between our faith and issues of justice, or economics, or society at large. ‘The world is not our home’, we say, ‘we are just passing through’.
Does our faith got anything to do with what happens outside the walls of the sanctuary? Does it bother us that after our exuberant worship, what we see outside, awaiting us at the end of our service, does it bother us when we see the hostility of the real world outside?
We are reminded of injustice involving the abuse of power and to the wide range of its victims. We see plenty of evidence of people who have bee excluded from the economy. Children begging on the streets, knocking on our cars, saying they are hungry children left to prostitution and drugs.
We hear in the news bulletins in our cars, or matatus of stories of misappropriation of public funds, tracks and plots of land along this we hear of the frequent failure of the law to bring perpetrators to justice because of corruption and impunity in our government and political structures.
So how do these things face up to our faith? Do we sometimes feel that we want to block our ears and eyes so that what we have enjoyed during our time of worship is not stolen by the evil one? Is our God concerned about the evils that we read about in the newspapers, or we watch and listen to in the media? Or is our God only interested in our individual salvation and our journey to heaven and does not have a social conscience?
Why is today’s popular Christianity so indifferent in addressing these concerns of justice which are at the heart of God who loves justice and hates injustice?
Martin Luther Junior said, “The gospel at its best deals with the whole man. Not only is soul, but also his body, not only his spiritual wellbeing, but also his material wellbeing. In other words, a religion that professes a concern for the souls of men and is not equally concerned about the slums that dump them and the social conditions that cripple them is a spiritually moribund religion.”
Abraham Kuyper, he was Dutch Prime Minister at the turn of the last century and he happened to be a theologian, a philosopher and a journalist. He said, “There is not one square inch in the whole domain of human existence that Christ who is Sovereign over all does not cry, ‘Mine, Mine, Mine’. Every domain belongs to God.
Scriptures on God’s concern for His people and His world. Micah 4:3 “He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
Micah 5:2
Micah 6:8,
Micah - Background
Micah of Moresheth, he was a man from the countryside. He was called to come and minister to the cities of Samaria and Jerusalem.
The name Micah is a rhetorical question in Hebrew. Micah 7:8 is about that name, “Who is like God?” That is what Micah means.
We know little about Micah’s background, but we know he had a strong sense of calling as a prophet, Micah 3:8 - “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.”
Important to note is that Micah was a contemporary of other prophets like Isaiah, Hosea and Amos. It’s possible that he was a friend of Isaiah because many people refer to the book of Micah as the miniature book of Isaiah.
The book of Micah, the prophecy is in the reigns of three kings of Judah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah and amazing that he had ministry throughout the reigns of these three kings. Jotham was a good king. Ahaz was a bad king and Hezekiah a good one.
Important to note that however times change, the Word of the LORD is still the same, and that is what Micah was called to do.
Micah chapters one and two is like a courtroom drama:
1. The charge.
2. The judgement.
3. The rescue.
The charge (Micah 1:1-7)
- Micah begins his prophecy by calling for all peoples of the earth to listen to what God has to say and what God is about to do. The LORD himself is coming from His holy temple. He is the One going to judge His people.
- A terrifying message by itself. God has sent a prophet before, He has sent messengers. This time God is coming down Himself.
- Why is God trampling the earth? Why is the earth melting under His feet. verse five, ‘because of the sins committed in both Israel and Judah?’ The reason given for that is for false worship and idolatry. No less than the Sovereign LORD bearing witness against the people of God.
- This book is written to God’s people, to Christians today, not even to the societies. First of all, It written to us and if it is God’s speaking to us He is saying to us, if the church and those in it will not hear, the earth and those in it will shame them.
- vs three “The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.”
- God will come down, not as a God of mercy, but in judgement to do things not for them, but against them, things that they didn’t look out for.
- It is one thing for preachers to warn us, but when it is God speaking to us, we need to be careful to hear. God Himself will be a witness by the judgements of His hand against those who would not receive His testimony in the judgements of His mouth.
- Hebrew 10:30-31
- Micah 1:5
- God is speaking to those in the capital cities of the northern and southern kingdoms and what is significant about this is the people in the capital cities happened to be the leaders of the nations. That is where they are, in government offices, in the corporate sector, in the big churches of the nations. Responsibilities for leaders and the elites in the societies.
- Perhaps if this was being written today, it will be people like you in cities like Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa, Nakuru etc. People in professional responsibilities. Those who are educated, healthy and advantaged.
- God was unhappy about the sin of covetousness and pride.
- Micah 2:1-2
- People who at night are plotting the evils they are going to do in the morning. With all that happens in a place like Kenya, wouldn’t you believe that this is what many people do. This is what our politicians do. Politicians and public servants scheming to steal.
- But it is not just to politicians. This is written to God’s people. Preachers who set up churches as family businesses. It is not just preachers. Young people perhaps who study subjects at university, that they can use to exploit others. Perhaps are some of the most over subscribed faculties and subjects in universities are like procurement, perhaps using your profession in law, or medicine, or an engineer to defraud others, that is why our roads are they way they are and needing to be repaired every so often.
- At morning light they practice it. These wicked people spend all night thinking of evil things to do and eagerly woke up in the morning, “At morning light” to carryout violence and oppression agains their neighbour because it is power to do so.
- Surprise that God is not happy with the people of Judah and the northern kingdom Israel. “Hear, you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it, that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.”
Application in Kenyan Context
- Interestingly and coincidentally here in Kenya, 5th September it is not just the Supreme court judgement for the presidential election in Kenya that is awaited, it also happens to be the day when a new British Prime Minister will be announced? Why do they need a new Prime Minister? Because the outgoing one, Boris Johnson was forced out. Why? Because he lied about attending a party. Just that.
- Kenyan politicians will just laugh at that. Resigned for attending a party during COVID lockdown.
- Britain may be a post-Christian society today, but I submit to you that the reason that a society has such high moral and ethical values happens to d with the transformation and the impact of the gospel over the past generations.
- Brothers and sisters, this is what we should be praying and working towards, that the gospel that we believe and preach will have this kind of influence in our society for generations to come.
- At NBC we talk about being Christ centred, building strong families, transforming the nations. That is the transformation we require in this country. But Alas the situation in Kenya, what would make a Kenyan politician resign?
- One of the main newspapers on August 21st, 2022, headline;
“This new parliament will be a house of suspects. MPs elect will juggle court and parliament. Murder, fraud, corruption, forgery, assault, these are the transgression ordinarily associated with hardcore criminals who live on the fringes of law abiding societies. Parliaments across the world enact stiff penalties against perpetrators of such crimes to keep the larger communities safe. In Kenya, however, the law makers break the laws. How did we ever get there?
- Here is an analysis from a certain lawyer:
“Just went through the list of elected MPs’ National Assembly. It looks like a prison. Almost seventy members have either an active case in court, or concluded varying from murder, rape, fraudulent acts, theft, corruption. You expect them to legislate, or oversight, or represent?
- Kenyans elect mistakes, then expect the mistakes to provide solutions. When no solutions are offered and their problems increase, they look for scapegoats. Come the next election cycle, they vote in the previous mistakes that have now graduated into disasters and throw in new younger mistakes which will be pupils of the disasters.
- No doubt, these unflattering commentaries are not of everyone who presented themselves for elections and won a seat.
- But we cannot deny that we have a problem with our ethics in our politics and in our society.
- So that is what God was against the people of Israel and Judah. That is what God is against in Kenya.
- The other charge is that they worshipped idols and other injustices Micah 2:5 “All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem?”
- This is a conspiracy with the false prophets to reject God’s Word. God’s people had conspired to reject God’s Word Micah 2:6 ““Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.”
- When God’s prophets came to His people, they did not receive God’s message. They embraced false prophets instead.
Micah 2:11,
- Didn’t we see enough of them in pulpits of many churches hired to politicians and many churches aligning themselves to certain candidates, anointing them as sent by God? This is what God was not pleased about, and this is what God is not pleased about today.
- Unlike in Jeremiah’s day, don’t we sometimes hear churches proclaim, ‘Peace, peace where there is no peace?
How does the church reposition itself to be a moral conscience of the nation?
- We need to model morality and ethics in the church.
- We need to resist compromise about money.
- Interestingly, one of the things that we hear about in presidential petitions, not just the concluded one, but also previously in 2017 is, ‘open the servers’. The sad thing is, and by God’s grace this is not NBC, there are many churches, that would not be able to open their servers to show how people got into leadership.
- The need for the church to reposition itself as the moral conscience. And so in judgement God says,
This is Micah saying, announcing the judgment of God. And as Micah sees the plight of his people, he cannot but weep and wail.
God to the rescue
The amazing thing about the message of Micah, as is true for a number of prophecies is that this God who is the Judge, is also the One who will rescue His people.
- Micah 7:18
- Micah 2:12-13
- Who is this ‘Who breaks open…’ ? One of the Messianic names of Jesus us actually - the Breaker. He is the Captain, the Leader of His people, advancing in front of His people. This is going to be a ‘noisy multitude’ he says. One who breaks open the way is going to lead them. They are going to break through the barriers, pass through the gate and go out. Their king will pass on before them. The LORD at their head as the leader.
- When Jesus says in John 10:4, when He has brought out of all of His own He goes out ahead of them and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice.
- In John 8:31-32
- Jesus is the Captain, the Leader of His people advancing in front of His flock. We need a Breaker, Trailblazer for our lives.
Application
- As individuals, are you here and don’t know this God? You have not been set free? You have not encountered this Breaker. This Trailblazer who can set you free? It’s never too late to surrender the steering wheel of your life to Jesus. I invite you to do so today.
- As the church - I suggest we pray for revival and renewal and for the transformation of this land (Kenya). - For many of us we confuse and interchangeably use renewal and revival.
- Alistair Petrie says that, “Renewal is the stirring up of the people of God in a given area to the love and purpose of God with a fresh awareness of the activity of the Holy Spirit and return to the seeking of God’s power in their lives. It is an empowering of the Holy Spirit, an enrichment of the fruit of the Spirit in the their lives often releasing a new discovery of praise and adoration and worship with a fresh understanding of God’s call in our lives.”
- This is what renewal is and let’s pray for that in our lives and our church.
- Revival on the other hand is a reviving, is a restoration of the presence of God returning to His people in order that His presence lives in the midst, that’s affecting every part of life a new desire for prayer and a new urgency to respond to the purposes of God begins to descend upon the people of God. Praying for renewal and revival.
Praying for the transformation of Kenya
- Transformation is the result of that lasting revival for every fabric of life that God may change this nation.
- While not aiming for perfection, the change in many components of corporate life can be easily discerned in which the presence of God has affected the social and economic aspects of community.
- I started by inviting you in this life cycles of Kenyans to be theologians. But it is not enough to be a theologian. It is not enough to know the purposes of God for ourselves and for our nation. We need one more stage, to be worshippers. To be people who will fall on our knees and understand God’s purposes afresh.
