Intermediate Lesson 16 - Book of Micah

MESSAGE FOR PEOPLE TODAY FROM THE BOOK OF MICAH

Church: Pergamos                                  Lesson 21 out of 39                                       Theme: Repent

Background Information

We asked in 1 Samuel, “How can the creation know how to repent?"

In Ezra we were awakened to learn how the world will try to confuse the message of Jesus’ sacrifice with lying vanities.

In Ecclesiastes, we learned from a preacher how to remember to be a witness who can understand how to present our body as a living sacrifice by teaching the meaninglessness of the world’s agenda.

In Daniel, we learned how to be a witness who lines up our testimony with the Chief Cornerstone (the sacrifice Christ made) by sharing the agenda of God with the enemy.

Statement of Faith to Say Amen to for the Book of Micah:

I can live in peace among those who choose not to look at the sacrifice Christ made or the agenda of God, which includes statutes and judgment.

Essential Question

How does the world teach people to deny God’s agenda and build their temple with lying vanities?

Book of Micah

Have students read pages 90-93 in The Pattern of Sound Teaching.

After students read the information ask them, "What do you want to talk about?"

Remember the Issue:

Realizing that Jesus made a sacrifice for our sin and how He can make an intercession for us is important. The world is not teaching us how to look to Jesus’ sacrifice and pray for our enemies with love because God’s agenda includes statutes and judgments that they are ignoring.

Remember the Truth Jesus Brought:

The world does not want people to pray with love for their enemy and look to the agenda of God to understand there are statutes and judgements. Instead, the world teaches a worldview that supports a vain attitude. The world will try and teach us to repent with rituals and works and to ignore God’s statutes and judgements. We can choose to receive forgiveness when we meet Jesus in court.

Remember the Rock God Established:

Micah, a country preacher, announced the court case between God and the world, and he also preached a message for the world to repent. As it is written in Micah 1: 2-3, “Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth and all that therein is: and let the Lord God be a witness against you, that Lord from his holy temple. For behold, the Lord cometh forth out of the place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.”

Micah warned that God would convict the people of Earth because God is bringing judgment for sin. This is not just a court case against Judah, it is against us all because God is calling all the people of Earth to listen. Micah has three charges against people:

1.     Idolatry. Love for idols will cause people to sacrifice other people’s basic needs, lives, and emotional well-being for prosperity.

2.     The messages. Idol worshipers will only listen to preachers who will tolerate the worship of idols.

3.     Preachers aligning their message to fit the evil plan that the leaders or people with power wanted. Wealthy people just had to give the preacher a little money, and the preacher would speak a message that would justify oppressing people.

God revealed His agenda to Micah: Peace on Earth will not be realized until the kingdom of God is established in the distant future at an appointed time. This agenda has not yet come to pass, but those who have faith know it will. Micah said that the people would go to Babylon to be delivered from their enemies. Babylon was not a world power at that time. Babylon was not even a nation. Micah named the place of Babylon as being where the people would escape the enemy. This happened just as Micah said it would. Micah also foretold the birth of Christ in Bethlehem approximately 700 years before the birth of Christ. He said that Christ would teach the people laws and statutes. This happened.

Micah also said we are going to have to account for every word, action, and thought we have had. This has not yet come to pass. It will! Micah said the faithful will be swept from the land and not even one upright person will remain. When this happens there will be a remnant of faithful people who will be in the midst of a lot of unfaithful people. Micah discusses how the unfaithful people will act toward the faithful people. Jesus said God would give us a new heart and write His laws on our hearts. When people ask what God expects of them Micah answers as it is written in Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed the, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of the, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God?” Having a new heart is a way to meet the Lord in the courtroom to get our iniquity pardoned. Then the enemy who said none can save you will be amazed. By repenting and praying with love for our enemy, we can be faithful which is the next behavior in the church of Thyatira.

Believing in lying vanities in the church of Pergamos will spiral into a more serious sinful behavior of new covenant unfaithfulness in the church of Thyatira. The prophet Micah gives an example of how God is faithful, and when we do not repent we will be unfaithful to God and the new covenant. The prophet Micah gave an example of how we are to remember the covenant made with Abraham. The world’s agenda will lie about God’s agenda, and when we believe lies, a bad behavior will spiral into a worse behavior when we align our life with the world’s agenda and not the agenda of God. In Thyatira, the next church, the next sinful behavior is new covenant unfaithfulness.

Activity:

The activity directions are located in Appendix 5 – Step 4.

Students will build two different cubes that will represent the choices we make in life when we are building our internal temple. One cube will line up with the Chief Cornerstone and the other will not.

Conclusion:

Does the world teach us to line up with the Chief Cornerstone (the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made)?

Next Lesson:

The next church, Thyatira, teaches us how behaviors will spiral from accepting God’s grace to sharing God’s mercy, repenting, and faithfulness when we line up our living sacrifice with the Chief Cornerstone. When we do not line up our living sacrifice with the Chief Cornerstone, we will work for prosperity, be proud, believe in lying vanities, and be unfaithful. Micah said vanity would spiral into unfaithfulness. However, when we repent, we will be considered to be faithful. The next church, Thyatira, will examine how the behaviors can spiral into new covenant faithfulness or unfaithfulness.