Life At The Ridge

In chapter 1 of Galatians Paul is going to get right to the point and the point was that these believers were not holding fast to the Gospel. They were in Pauls words “have turned to another Gospel” These were believers and yet they were wooed away by a false gospel. How can we hold fast to the Gospel so we are not carried away by the false gospels that are out there?

In this series we will be exploring the rich truths found in our salvation with Christ. In this introduction we will set the stage for our freedom that we have in Christ.

As we wrap up the last few verses out of the book of Micah, we encounter a question from Micah. "Who is like you O God?" What do we know about the only God who saves us, redeems us, and forgives us?

What exactly is the unforgivable sin? What does it look like for a person who has committed this sin?

The flavor of this chapter is completely different than the previous chapters. Throughout this book it's been a courtroom setting. God is bringing a lawsuit against his people. Chapter 7 however is different. The style of writing changes from this covenant lawsuit to more of a response of distress and lamenting. This chapter is very personal. Micah in this chapter is responding to the coming disaster.

Court is still in session, and the Lord is going to show Israel the evidence of their guilt and then pass judgement upon them.

Chapter six begins the third message of judgement which will be followed by a message of hope that goes through the remainder of the book. In this chapter it gives off a feeling of a courtroom setting. It’s very personal. God is going to be the judge. The mountains and the hills, that is the earth, is going to be called as a witness or a jury to dispense either guilty or not guilty. Judah (the southern kingdom) is going to be the defendant, And God calls Micah to be the prosecutor to bring God’s case against His people.

Mark 3:7-21 gives us some insights to the types of people Jesus encountered in His ministry. We see Him encountering the crowds as He healed many. We see Him calling His disciples and we see Jesus as He encounters His own family.

In the rest of chapter 5 here Micah is going to give us some details about His reign. What will the reign of Christ be like when He returns to rule and reign from the throne of David in Israel? Vs 5-6 When Christ comes He will bring peace and protection. Vs 7-9 Christ’s reign will be powerful. Vs 10-15 Christ’s reign will purify His people.

In this portion of Micah 5, Micah warns about Judas coming destruction and captivity, but then give some hope as concerning the coming king that will come out of Bethlehem and what the coming kingdom will look like as Jesus sits on the throne and shepherds His people with justice and peace.

The tone of Micah 4 is completely different than how chapter 3 ends. Micah tells us of a coming kingdom where the Lord Himself will rule.

The Lord will rescue the remnant, He will deliver His people and He will restore them. Micah's message out of chapter 4 is one of a coming hope and these words would have brought much encouragement to a nation that was about to go into exile for 70 years.

Geff Fisher speaks about the life of Jesus out of the book of Mark.

Micah continues his message of judgment and not only has he singled out the politicians but now he turns his judgment on the the spiritual leaders, the prophets. These prophets were giving messages only for what they could get from the people. God has some strong words for these corrupt people and this corrupt nation.

Micah is primarily giving judgement to the the northern kingdom of Israel. Although he will give some messages of judgement to the Southern kingdom as well later in his message, he primarily right now is pronouncing judgment on Samaria and their judgment would soon come to pass in 722 B.C when the Assyrian Empire would come in and destroy Samaria and take captive the people. The Southern kingdom would last a little bit longer and ultimately be destroyed and the people taken captive and led off by the Babylonian empire in 586 B.C. Why does this happen? Because they rejected the Lord and His ways. They worshiped false idols and allowed sin to rule their lives.

These last two verses are a promise of the coming king that will lead His people, if you can get the picture of what Micah is saying it’s a picture of hope, restoration and victory. These people living in Samaria, the Northern Kingdom would soon be defeated by the Assyrians. Later in 586 B.C the southern kingdom, Jerusalem would also be defeated and carried off to Babylon by the Babylonians and so to be living during that time and hear pronounced judgment upon you, but then followed by a message of hope was very encouraging.

Marks gospel account is many snapshots of Jesus. We see Jesus going and doing. It really emphasizes Jesus as the suffering servant. Today we are going to see 3 snapshots of Jesus’ ministry in three events. All three of these involve Jesus and the Pharisees and there are three questions that are asked of Jesus. The Pharisees question Jesus’ motives, His leadership, and His authority. In these three events and questions we see one answer to the Pharisee’s questions. The answer is basically that Jesus is Lord.

Here in chapter 2 God is going to get a little more specific and point out the problem of what these people were doing which was covetousness and corruption. In vs 1-5 we will see Micah points the finger at those who were in the government. These were the guys that were in positions of power. In vs 6-11 Micah points the finger at the prophets. These were the religious leaders.

In the opening chapter of Micah 1, we get a courtroom scene where God is calling the whole earth into His courtroom. God tells us that He is coming and when He comes it's not going to be a pretty picture. What can we do and how should we respond to His coming?

Micah is a prophet whose name means "who is like the Lord" In this book we are told some reasons why God is going to allow His nation to be destroyed by the Assyrians in 723 B.C and by the Babylonians in 586 B.C