Week commencing 11th July 2021

Devotional Materials. Week Commencing Sunday 11^th July 2021

Call to worship

‘The rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.’ Luke 1:79

‘For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as a ransom for all men- the testimony given at its proper time.’ (1 Timothy 2:6).

Opening Hymn

We proclaim him King of kings
We lift high his name
Heaven and earth shall bow at his feet
When he comes to reign

Saviour of the world is he
Heaven's King come down
Judgement, love and mercy meet
At his thorny crown

Life has sprung from hearts of stone
By the Spirit's breath
Hell shall let her captives go
Life has conquered death

Blood has flowed that cleanses from sin
God his love has proved
Men may mock and demons may rage
We shall not be moved!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnGEDmXdJHI

Opening Prayer

Lord we worship you. You have brought us out of darkness into your wonderful light. You have replaced hostility with your peace and have brought us to the place of sins forgiven. At one time we hated God and justified our sin. But now we have peace with God. Our hostility towards Him has been replaced with love. Similarly our hostility towards others has been replaced with your love.

Thank you for bringing us into your kingdom. Not only us, but you continue to call people from every tribe and nation. One day the kingdom will be fully experienced and we will know your perfect peace in eternity

Please lead us into a deeper appreciation of all that you have brought about for us, what you require of us, and what you have in store for us. Thank you Lord. Amen

Reading. Micah 4:1-5

4 In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and peoples will stream to it.

2 Many nations will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He will judge between many peoples
    and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
They will beat their swords into ploughshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore.
4 Everyone will sit under their own vine
    and under their own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,

Hymn

What freedom from our bondage to decay!

We shall be raised to heaven's height sublime,

From dust and darkness to eternal day;

Born of the Spirit, deathless, ransomed, free,

To be in Christ what we were made to be.

This world of nature where our lives are set

Still bears the scars of that primeval fall,

Whose curse remains on all creation yet,

Whose guilty shadow lengthens over all.

We wait in hope to prove the promise true,

That in God's purpose all shall be made new.

Our earth, disordered, groans as if in pain

With labour-pangs of glories yet unknown,

When Eden's innocence is found again

And all God's children gather round his throne.

Come, Holy Spirit!  Aid us as we pray,

‘Till heaven's morning breaks in cloudless day.

Timothy Dudley Smith

(Alternative Hymn. ‘Christ is surely coming’ Christopher Idle. Link with words https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuN3nMM_ZGE ).

Sermon. ’Beating Tanks into Tractors.’

The first three chapters of the book of Micah simply talk about crime and judgment. As far as crimes are concerned, King Jotham and King Ahaz had failed to remove the “high places” from the land. These places encouraged the worship of the Canaanite gods. Neither did Ahaz uphold the law of God. He was a bad king. Immorality/ self-indulgence was rife. The corruption in Jerusalem was spreading outwards throughout the land. There was bribery among the judges. Exploitation of the powerless. Greed, violence and cruelty were common. Crime was on the increase. Landlords were evicting widows and orphans. Merchants were using inaccurate scales. The rich and powerful were abusing the poor.

For these crimes, Micah prophesies judgment. He takes the names of villages and towns and twists that name to be a message of judgment. If Micah were preaching in London, he would say something like this: “Hackney will be hacked to pieces. Hammersmith will be hammered flat. Battersea will be battered for all to see and Shoreditch will be thrown in a ditch near the shore! Barking will be set on by wild dogs and vultures will feed on the corpses at Peckham!!”

At the end of Chapter 3 Jerusalem herself has been judged, she is left in ruins “ploughed like a field….a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets”.

But Chapter 4 is a surprise. It signals a change in the book. Instead of Jerusalem being reduced into a heap of rubble, Jerusalem is exalted. There is now a vision of the future in which Jerusalem and its temple become the centre of global justice and righteousness, peace and prosperity. So the coming judgment for the people’s crimes will not be the end of the story. A glorious kingdom is envisaged. A wonderful final outcome.

Let’s look more closely at these verses and the nature of this future glorious kingdom.

The Lord will be seen to rule supreme. (1a)

First we see it’s the Messiah who will reign in this future age. Not the corrupt kings, priests or false prophets who Micah attacked in his opening chapters. Rather, the promised king who Micah himself says will come from Bethlehem (5:2). He will rule with justice and truth and love

And the Messiah will rule supreme. His supremacy is indicated by the mountain imagery used here; “In the last days”, says Micah “the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills.”

Perhaps you’ve seen the film “The Englishman who went up a hill and came down a mountain” Hugh Grant plays his usual sort of indecisive but means well kind of character. His job is to measure the height of a particular mountain in Wales so that measurement can be recorded on the local maps. If its 1000 feet or above then it’s a mountain, if it’s less then it’s a hill. The locals aren’t too pleased to hear it’s just under a 1000 feet, and resolve to make up the difference by carting earth to its summit. They build a peak until it is high enough so their hill can officially be called a mountain!!

In Micah’s day people were also impressed with mountains. They would build their temples in high places on mountains. They did this for several reasons. If the temple was in a high place people would naturally see it more easily and be mindful of it. Temples were also thought to be gateways into the heavenly presence of the gods. And the temple was up high on a mountain or hill, because it suggested that local god ruled over the surrounding territory. In Micah’s time it seemed like the false gods and all they stood for had the ascendancy- the crowds were flocking to these, while the temple of Mount Zion was neglected and would one day be desecrated by pagan soldiers and reduced to rubble.

But according to Micah’s vision, in the future, the Lord will once again be seen as the true God, present with his people. He will show his dominion over all the earth. So great will be the Lord’s reign that it’s pictured as if his mountain were lifted up above Mount Everest, visibly dominating the whole earth. High above every mountain or hill.

And nations will worship there (1b, 2a)

So extensive is this future reign that Micah pictures “peoples” streaming to the Lord’s mountain. Not just the people of Israel, but “many nations”

In Micah’s day the nations went to Babylon to worship the false god Marduk. They “steamed” to the rival religion there. They quite literally had to go there by boat!  They didn’t stream to Jerusalem, since Jerusalem was surrounded by land! So it seems Micah is using irony when he pictures a time in the future when the nations “stream” to worship at Jerusalem rather than Babylon. Yes everyone seems to be worshipping Marduk at the moment, but the day will come when all the peoples will worship the Lord.

So how do we understand the fulfilment of this prophesy? When will God  bring this glorious kingdom about? When will He restore the fortunes of his people and the nations worship him??

We see a partial fulfilment of Micah’s prophesy through Church history. People of all nations have streamed to Christ and entered His kingdom. Not just converted Jews, but also Gentiles. Christ intended his rule would be universal when he told his disciples to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins to all nations and that is what has happened. In his book “The Church is bigger than you think” Patrick Johnstone describes how by 1900 more than half the peoples of the world were still completely unreached. By the end of the 20^th Century the vast majority of people groups have now been reached. Already the peoples stream to the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing/ no one else is comparable in terms of influence.

“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.”
(Attributed to James Allen Francis)

There may be something of the present Church age envisaged in Micah’s prophesy here, but there are details which suggest it has not yet fully come into being. What we have here is more in keeping with the Lord’s second coming, the future age when Jesus comes to reign on earth over the nations.

In that future age there will be a love for God’s Word, the word coming from the Messiah. His ways are not only taught, but the people will walk in His ways (2b). Jesus reminds us it is not the person who only hears the word who survives the storms of this life and future judgment- the foolish man knew God’s word, but built his house on the sand and it fell flat! It is the wise man who builds his life on the rock- that person hears the word and obeys it. This is where we Christians can be at our weakest. The way we live so often denies in practise what we believe in theory. Unfortunately the critics of Christianity have a field day. It is not just the media who observe and comment, it is the people closest to us; they are the ones who watch us. The people in our office or work place, the non-Christians at home, those of our friends who are not Christians. They may well want to know if there is something in what we believe. But we can be sure of one thing, they can see through the person who is living a double life. There must be an integrity about our lives; that what we believe translates into our behaviour and actions. That’s the way it will be when Christ returns.

And that integrity between theory and practise will also be evident when it comes to the settling of disputes. In that day God’s law and word will be brought to bear on these cases so wisdom will prevail. The Lord himself will decide between disputes, verse 3 “He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.”

And because it’s the Lord himself who settles disputes then war will be no more. “They will beat their swords into plough shares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more” (3). Tanks beaten into tractors! The weapons of war will be fashioned into agricultural tools, so the needs of the people can be met. There will be a universal peace.

Now as I was studying this passage I found myself asking various questions about it and developing a train of thought to help understand the passage better. These verses are very intriguing because they clearly do not fit any previous historical age or our present one. The Lord himself settling disputes, no more war, universal peace.  But that raises other questions. Does this picture really fit a new heaven and earth? The time when we will join with others after we have died and Christ gives us new bodies. It is difficult to limit Micah’s future vision of universal peace here just to Christians: Micah’s prophesy in these verses is describing nations “far and wide” who are learning from the Lord. It’s difficult to see how this can be a picture of heaven. Will there be disputes that need to be settled in the new heaven and earth?

One way to resolve it is to see that what is described here is a picture of the millennium. A picture of Christ’s rule over the nations. Revelation 20 describes a thousand year period where Christ will exercise such a universal rule, called the millennium.

There are three interpretations about the millennium. One is Pre millennialism. Revelation 19 describes Christ’s second coming, so it would appear Revelation 20 describes a thousand year period after that coming. Pre millennialists see the world in decay, with Jesus returning after a period of turmoil and suffering such as described in Matt 13 and 2 Thessalonians 2. During the thousand year rule which follows, Christ’s power will be finally and fully asserted on earth. Premillennialists would see our verses here as referring to that 1000 year rule. A state of affairs not achieved on this earth before Christ, but not yet heaven either.

Post millennialism sees Jesus returning after the millennium. Post millennialists see the ascended Christ as bringing into human history a period of universal peace and awareness of His Word- indeed a 1000 years- before He literally returns. In other words we could see the nations of the World won to Christ and His word and law settle disputes across the World, and the end of war before his return. The idea is that the ascended Christ will do this by His Spirit at work in the World as it is, and then He will literally return to usher in the final judgments and a new heaven and earth for his people.

A millennialism rejects belief in a future literal 1000 year rule. It sees Revelation 20 as a picture of this present age, with Satan bound and no longer able to deceive the nations, with the gospel enabled to spread to all peoples. According to A millennialism we enjoy the present reign of the ascended Christ, and look forward to the consummation of all things when he literally returns a second time. A millennialism has the hardest time squaring what is described in these verses- clearly what is described in these 5 verses is not a picture of our present age, but they don’t seem to quite fit the final picture of a new heaven and earth either.

To be fair, all 3 views about the millennium have their difficulties, and it’s nothing to fall out over. Although we are all subject to Scripture, our minds are fallen, so none of us has a monopoly on truth. It’s particularly difficult here because theologians are seeking to make sense of the future by putting together individual references in ways that make sense. So the millennium is a secondary issue of faith. I mention it because one or other of these interpretations might help you understand this passage better and deal with some of the questions that I mentioned earlier.

Certainly Micah’s vision in these verses is a very attractive one. A glorious outcome. The Messiah reigns from Jerusalem. He settles all disputes between the nations, His word prevails, no more war and universal peace. People will dwell in peace and safety (4a). They will be able to sit under their vines and fig trees. It was common practise that people read God’s word in their shade. People of that future age will have time to contemplate God’s word.

And there will be no fear (4b) No one to be afraid of, no injustice or oppression because the Lord will oversee all authorities and ensure you will get justice and live in peace according to his law and his word.

It’s a wonderful picture of what is to come. And it gives the people of God confidence to persevere in their present evil days. Yes, they will face immediate judgment as a people. But beyond that there is this hope of a wonderful Age brought in by the promised Messiah. And those who accept it by faith will inherit the Messiah’s kingdom just as we do. Though they had not heard of Jesus name, like Abraham they will receive it by faith, trusting in the Messiah who is to come, just as we look back and trust Him for what He has achieved for us through Calvary.

Having this hope kept them going. Though there was idolatry and immorality and injustice they could see beyond to what the Lord would establish, and so they say, verse 5, “All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever”

And it is hope like that that keeps us going. Sometimes it can seem so overwhelming in our day. The Church seems to have little influence in our land. Everyone else seems to be bowing to false gods, whether secular or religious. The people indulge in immorality. And injustice is prevalent, even in our own society with all its attempts to benefit the vulnerable- corruption takes root- those who lead abuse their positions- and these vulnerable people suffer. Of course we are all aware of the extreme poverty faced by those in other nations. It all seems so overwhelming.

Without the Lord the sufferings of this life and the sense of purposelessness to all we do would leave us despondent. Like Bertrand Russell we would say “In the end- life is only triviality just for a moment. And when the end comes. Then nothing.” Hardly motivating.

But with the Lord, and this glorious picture of the future, we are motivated now to live in accordance with what will be.

Then The Lord will be seen to reign supreme, so we gladly surrender to His Lordship now and urge others to accept Him, even if many in Lewes do not do so at this present time.

Then the nations will want to learn His ways and be judged by his word and law. So we are motivated now to hear his word, and not only hear it but live by it.

Then there will be an end to injustice, an end to war and there will be universal peace. So now we have a prophetic voice, we alert people to the evils of exploitation where they occur and provide a voice for the poor and disadvantaged.

In all these way we prepare for the time when we will reign with Christ when he returns.

Are you living your life now with that glorious end in view? All these things Micah describes are going to happen- the Lord Almighty has spoken- it will come to pass. So make your life count now by getting into line with Him and His purposes today. Regardless of what the majority appear to do, however discouraging or difficult it can sometimes be standing as a Christian you determine to say in your heart “I will walk in the name of the Lord my God for ever and ever” It’s worth it-  actually- in this life and it will certainly be worth it in the future. The best is yet to be.

So we give God all the glory and praise for what He has brought about for us in Christ. He has rescued us. And we will reign with Him.

Prayers (from Crosswalk.com)

An Encouraging Prayer for Christians in the Here and Not Yet

• “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of the mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -Romans 15:5-6
  
  Father, we live stuck in between two realms . . . the world we live in and the eternity we look forward to in heaven. In the middle it appears that chaos abounds; many to do not align themselves with the truth of Your Word or Your intention for creation. But through it all, You reign. Jesus sits at your right-hand side, and death has already been defeated.
  
  In Your great mercy, You are waiting for every ear to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, leaving opportunity for all to come to You and live in the presence of Your love. We pray today that you bless our lives to honour You in everything we do. Every conversation, idle moment, and seemingly everyday task—let all we do be for Your glory. Help us to live now in the light of Your promised return. Walking by faith- relying on You and what your Word says about such times- not relying on what other people say.
  
  In this life between here and the not yet, give us courage and bravery to operate in Your Truth even when we are afraid. As they strip Your name from everything and everywhere, let us proclaim it louder and longer . . . and everywhere we go. Jesus Christ has defeated death. In Him, we are victorious, and He will come again as He promised. Be our strength when it’s hard to be Christians in this world. Embrace us with Your encouragement and fortify us with Your perfect love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

A Hopeful Prayer for Jesus to Return Soon

• “All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” -1 John 3:3
  
  Father, there are days on this earth that we yearn for Jesus come, now. Come, Lord Jesus, reigns paramount in our hearts and plays as the anthem to our souls. The compassion and grace of Christ’s presence in our lives causes us to crave more and more of Him. And on the days, Father, when the world is . . . well, the world . . . we pray for Him to come soon.
  
  Your creation is majestic, and Your miracles manifest in our lives in gloriously faithful ways. You blow us away with Your faithfulness, Father, with Your true and perfect love and personal care for each and every life. Thank You for going before us. Thank You being the God of our memories, breaker of every chain, and forgiver of all sins through Jesus.
  
  The more we know You, the more we want to come home. The most blessed life on this earth is only a shred of the happiness we will feel in heaven, in the presence of the Holy Trinity. Some days, imagining the initial embrace when we arrive home in heaven helps us to keep breathing. We trust in Your will and pray for Your will over all else and everything we desire. Father, we pray, Come, Lord Jesus. Come now. Come soon. Bring us home. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Hymn

Micah was one of the Old Testament prophets who prophesied Christ’s first coming:

⁴ He will stand and shepherd his flock
    in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they will live securely, for then his greatness
    will reach to the ends of the earth.

These are familiar words heard at Carol services, celebrating Christ’s first advent. There are more promises/prophesies in the Bible of Christ’s Second Coming when the salvation He brings will be fully consummated.

For our final hymn is the well-known carol ‘O little Town of Bethlehem.’ No its not Christmas, but we remember the two advents of Christ hold together. He came to us in the Incarnation, He comes to live within all who receive Him by the Holy Spirit, and one day the work will be completed- He will come to take us into after we have died or if we are still alive at that time He will take us to be with Him on the day He returns in glory- for all who believe in Him.

Today is the day to make sure you are ready for His coming: ‘No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him, still the dear Christ enters in.’

Carol

1 O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.

2 For Christ is born of Mary,
and gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wond’ring love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing—let “Glory!” ring
with peace to all on earth!

3 How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is giv’n!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of the heav’ns.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him still
the dear Christ enters in.

4 O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray,
cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today!
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell.
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel.