Elements City Church
Around 700 hundred years before Jesus, we were given a proclamation from a prophet who was trying to get God’s people to follow Him again. They were God’s royal priesthood, a holy nation, blessed to be a blessing, but they were living below their calling. It is into this setting that the prophet Micah was called to bring a word of realignment. He challenged the people of God to return to a simple life focus... captured in one verse, but it was large enough to take a lifetime to live out.
He has shown you, O mortal, 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. -- Micah 6:8
...following after God may not always be easy, but it was never meant to be complicated. We need to be people who walk in this way - way more. This is the way of Jesus.
At times - religion can feel like it comes with a lot of fine print - confusion can abound and things can feel overly complicated
When it comes to Christianity - if someone would say to you “so all I have to do is believe in Jesus?” Well, yes. But we feel like we need to add to that because we instinctually know that saying YES means that my life and actions should alter and pivot some… shouldn’t it?...
For centuries people have been wrestling with how do I get God’s attention and favor? It’s driven some to exhaustion, some to disbelief and some nearly mad…
From Micah’s proclamation (6:8) we can learn what God does look at, how God does judge the heart, and what we should focus on. It’s not another set of tasks to add to our already growing religious to-do list; rather, it’s a statement that encapsulates the heart of God.
And I hope you’ll begin to see how three words, in particular, can change everything. == following Jesus is not always easy, but it was never meant to be complicated.
Micah 6:6-7 — here’s the build up, the set-up if you will:
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 ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
essentially he's asking How do I get the attention of God?
Micah 6:8
“What does the Lord our God require of us?”
That is the question in Micah 6:8.
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (v. 8)
Micah 6:8
“What does the Lord our God require of us?”
That is the question in Micah 6:8.
The requirements of God had already been revealed; the people of God had only to listen and live it out…
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (v. 8).
Jesus referred to this passage in Matthew 23:23 as representing the “weightier matters of the law.” In other words, since justice, mercy, and humility are based on the character and nature of God, it pointed to that aspect of the Mosaic Law that would never go out of vogue!
We hope you have been blessed by your time worshipping with us -- through song and through the Word!
We'll see you back at Elements next weekend -- on-site or online -- as we continue our new series on one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible and how it challenges us to live... Micah 6:8