From Long Ago, From the Days of Eternity
First B Jackson
2025-11-30

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning, everybody. Welcome to First B here in Jackson, Wyoming. Thanks for being here. We are entering, as you can see, from the decorations around. We're entering the Advent season.

I think today is the first day of Advent. Okay? Here's a good word from Matthew two to lead us into that season and to lead us into worship. When the wise men saw the star that guided them to Bethlehem where Jesus was born, it says, they were filled with joy. They were filled with gladness because they recognize God's grace towards them, and they bowed down and worshiped him.

So let's start by singing, oh come all ye faithful.

Hey. Are y'all? Hey. There we go. Alright.

For the announcements, we'll see what comes

up on the

screen. Every time... Blake has traveled down the stairs now three times. Here we go. Seeking truth in your twenties is not meeting today.

It's not meeting today out there behind the airport, but it is going really, really well. Just not happening today. Awana is happening. Tomorrow, school's back in. Thank you very much.

School's back in. So Iwana is back in. That's happening. It is so good to see this room full of kids and their parents before the end of it's over. So it's just wonderful.

I love that. Getting scripture into the minds of the kids to reach the hearts of the next generation It's just fantastic. I love it. Men's lunch study back... Study is back on on Thursday in the fellowship hall.

Come and go as you need it, but... As you need to, but it's twelve to one. It's a good time. That's always a good time. We're studying the book of John together.

There is children's choir practice between these services today. Lisa and Lauren are having a great time getting these kids into into shape, I guess, for a performance that'll be on the twenty first here during the 9AM service. Angel Tree, my wife is in charge of the Angel Tree. Y'all know Tanya is in charge of this. And she has said, would you make sure to mention the Angel Tree?

And I

said, yes. And then I said, Blake, put that slide up there so I don't forget to mention the Angel Tree. Tanya said specifically that if you wanna call her, and a lot of y'all have her number, if you wanna call her... We have some particularly difficult situations this year that we don't we don't seem to have as many families as we have had in the past, but we have some that are particular and sort of difficult. So if you wanna call her directly, you're welcome But there are new tags on the tree back there, and so we are helping with a lot of different families this year.

But she said if you wanna text her directly, she will answer you back with that sort of thing too. I am glad to see it, and it's amazing, the blessing of that. We have two different ones within our own church family right here that are particularly difficult. And so if y'all want to talk to her about it, she's super discreet about all of this stuff. She's kinda vague about a lot of it, but she'll be more specific about it if you'll talk to her about it, and that's it.

Next week is scout Sunday. So there's a pancake breakfast that the boy scouts will be doing in between services down the hall. That's always a fun time. The boy scouts have been meeting here for like ninety something years at 1st B. Wherever 1st B's building was, they've been meeting with us for ninety something years.

And I think that's it. We are in the first Sunday of Advent. Is that happening right now?

Yeah.

Okay. Here we go. The Fry family.

Good morning, everyone. Today is the first Sunday of Advent. And for the first Sunday, we light the candle of hope. We have hope because of the faithful promises of God. He sent his son and we receive our savior.

A savior born to redeem the world from sin and death. Romans fifteen thirteen says, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy

Alright. Would you all stand with us? You can shake hands with one another and greet each other. We're gonna bring you back together with a song right here.

Be to you a symphony singing out holy, holy. All my days, Amen.

God, we we just come before you as we start to remember you coming to this world to save to save us Lord and to have and begin and better our relationship with you. And we just pray that you would be with us during this season. Help us to to remember what it's about and remember you. Thank... God, thank you for this...

For your grace and your mercy that you have on our lives. We just pray that you would be with us, be with us here in this place. In the name we pray. Amen.

I'll with you and my soul sings out as your word throws down far away. I sing to you and my heart cries holy. Hallelujah. Father, you're near. In my selfishness you show me grace I worship you and my heart cries glory hallelujah

You can have a seat for a minute. We're gonna enter the worship through giving part of the service, and the ushers can come on forward. And we're gonna sing o, come, o come, Emmanuel, from Isaiah 49. God says to the... Through the prophet, you will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.

I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth. Ray, can you pray?

Yep. Lord God Almighty, thank you for that. Thank you for forecasting that ahead of time through the major and the minor prophets, Lord. Thank you for that word ahead of time that you would be the restoration of Israel and the light to the Gentiles. And thank you, Lord, that you have made us a light to the world.

In Jesus' name, we want, Lord, to continue advancing the gospel to places where it's never been before, to people who have never understood or accepted it before, whether they be across the street or across the world. In Jesus' name, Lord, we pray that you would have those of us that are here this morning gathered. Lord, that you would use us to make your name known. We wanna do your will, Lord. We wanna do it in your way.

We pray humbly for you to direct us or direct our steps and empower us, Lord. Have your word so filling our heart that it spills out of our mouth. And Lord, I pray that you would direct our steps to be in accord with that good word of the gospel. In Jesus name, amen. That's fun.

It's time for children's church downstairs. The manger scene might finally make sense on the slide. We've been using that particular slide for years and years. It just rolls on all the time. It's a manger scene.

Hey, here we are again at Christmas. I had a bad case of base space this morning. I caught it. I was grooving the whole time and I thought there are people out there watching this. Here we are.

I have been in the past few weeks, like we're halfway through the minor profits. And I've been going through that, and we hit... And I've, you know, it's a little bit of juggling because some of these guys are overlapping in their time frame. And so every year at Christmas, we hear one verse, maybe three verses from Micah. And we're gonna get to that today on the first Sunday in Advent.

So here we are, Micah is the prophet that we're studying today. And I have to say, it's longer, so it's seven chapters, it's longer than one sermon should allow. I'm just saying that at the beginning. But I think it's best taken in one chunk, so we're going to do that. So brace yourselves.

Okay? Micah. Social injustice is abounding at the time that Micah is presenting, and he is pronouncing judgment on both Judah, the Southern Kingdom, and Samaria, which is in the Northern Kingdom. So he's pronouncing judgment on both, but he also is pronouncing the hope to come, and he's very specific about it, which is pretty cool. This is a great book for the first Sunday in Advent, and it's more than just, oh you Bethlehem apathra.

We hear that every year on Christmas Eve, but here we go. So Micah the man is from a little town called Moresheth. It's in Gath, Moresheth. It's about 25 miles Southwest of Jerusalem, and he's ministering concerning both Samaria and Jerusalem. You're gonna hear every word in the whole text today, so bless you.

Micah's times are seven fifty to 700, so he is contemporaneous with Isaiah, who's a major prophet only because his book is longer. They're basically saying a lot of the same thing. Isaiah is very specific about Jesus too. So this is the time where God was announcing his plan for Messiah to his people. And so that's what we're gonna get into.

The focus of this book is primarily on the leaders, the rulers, the priests are mentioned briefly, and false prophets. And so, I think that if you'll honestly, just pay attention to what it's saying. Pride and arrogance are growing in Jerusalem, and there is a sense of security based on a previous relationship with God that has permeated what's going on in there right now, and they are acting in a way that is not godly, and it's not good. So here we go. That's the first slide.

The word of the Lord which came to Micah of Morosheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. That's the time period I said, seven fifty to seven hundred, kings of Judah, and which he saw regarding Samaria and Jerusalem. So that's who this is for, both Samaria and Jerusalem. Here, you peoples, both of you, all of you, all of y'all as it were. Listen carefully, earth and all it contains, and may the Lord God be a witness against you.

Oh, does that stab you in the heart right there? He's saying, may the Lord God be a witness against you. The Lord, from his holy temple, he sees and behold the Lord is coming forth from his place. That's a little hint right there of God's coming. You know, it's just a little one in the midst of a book that is a lot of judgment and some hope.

It goes back and forth between the two. I'm going use a color code today to help me keep up with it and help you keep up with it. There's a little bit of hope in here, for behold the Lord coming forth from his place. He will come down and he's treading upon the high places. The high places typically are where idol worship happened.

So he's gonna stomp out idol worship. That's what he's gonna do. So I'd say that's judgment. So that's the red Micah up there at the top. Red is for judgment, gold is for hope this morning.

The green is just interesting stuff that I don't want to pass. So Micah one four three five, here we go. The mountains will melt under him, the valleys will be split like wax before the fire, fire, like water poured down from a steep place. All this is due to the wrongdoing of Jacob's. Now, who is Jacob?

Jacob, Israel, Jacob, the whole of the Northern And Southern Kingdom represented here, Samaria and, whether you like it or not, Samaria and Judah are all represented in this. He's saying, all this is due to the wrongdoing of Jacob and the sins of the house of Israel. What is the wrongdoing of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? Yeah.

They've... They're wrong. So are you. What's the high place of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem?

He's saying the most holy place that he established has become an idolatrous spot. They were worshiping God in the temple, but they also were worshiping other idols in the temple. So I'd say that's judgment. For I will make Samaria a heap of ruins. Oh, definitely definitely judgment from line one.

Right? Planting places for a vineyard, will hurl her stones into the valley, lay her bare foundations. All of her idols will be crushed. All of her earnings will be burned with fire. All of her images, I will make desolate.

For she collected them from a prostitute's earnings into the earnings of a prostitute. They will return. That's definitely judgment. And if you're thinking, wow, Samaria gets a hard blast here. Samaritans pay no attention to the prophets.

They only believe the books of the Pentateuch. Moses' books, they believe that. And there was a prophecy even from Moses in Deuteronomy 18 that says, be looking for this one to come. And if you're in the study in John or you're looking through John and you see Jesus speaking to that Samaritan woman at the well, he speaks to her and she goes back and says, you're the one we're supposed to be looking for. She recognized from a prophecy from Moses way back.

Right? So individually, you have a chance to humble yourself at any point. Individually, you have a chance. And this is like collectively as a as a people, the Samaritans and the people of Judah and the people of the Northern Kingdom Israel had all turned away from God, had all turned to idols. Be...

Because of this, I must mourn and wail. This is Micah speaking personally. He has... He is lamenting the fact that he has a hard message to deliver. But the hard message to deliver is because it's the truth.

They had turned away to idols. I mean, if you've ever had this conversation, if you ever stood here and had this conversation, it's a hard thing to do to just deliver the truth that makes us look bad. Because we are bad. Right? I must go barefoot and naked.

I'm glad I don't have to do that. I must do mourning like the jackals and mourning like the ostriches for her wound is incurable, for it has come to Judah. It has reached the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. It's supposed to be the most holy place, but it is idolatrous, and there's God's judgment falling upon it. So Michael one ten through 15 is a list that I highlighted in green all of the cities that he's calling out.

I know that that's too small for you to read, I'll read it really quickly. It's also a poem, and so if you stop a poem in the middle sometimes... That's why I'm doing the whole book. Okay? We'll roll on.

Do not tell it in Gath, don't weep at all. At Bethlehempahra, roll yourself into the dust in mourning. Go on your way, inhabitant of Shafir, in shameful nakedness. The inhabitant of Zanan does not escape. The mourning of Beth Azel, he will take from you its support.

From the inhabitant of Maroth waits for something good because disaster has come down from the Lord. To the gate of Jerusalem, harness the chariot to the team of horses, you inhabitant of Lachish. She was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion, because in you were found the rebellious acts of Israel. Therefore, you will give parting gifts on behalf of more Sheath Gath. That's where he's from.

That's his hometown. He's saying it's even in my hometown. Right? To the houses of Akzeb will become a deception to the kings of Israel. Moreover, I'll bring on you the one who takes possession, you inhabitant of Marashah.

The glory of Israel will enter Adullam. Those place names to us probably mean nothing, but it's pretty inclusive. It's a long list of the cities. And then this, shave yourself bald. Cutting your hair because of a vow, you know, ripping your clothes, sitting in ashes.

Shave yourself bald. Yes. Cut off your hair because of the children of your delight. Extend the baldness like an eagle for they will go from you into exile. Okay.

This is a mention of exile. Now, at the time, it's gonna be the Assyrians, and then he's gonna mention Babylon. So last week, I went from Nahum, and Nahum was forecasting Assyria's downfall in a pretty bloody mess for Nineveh, and then Babylon would take over. So no longer, Nahum says, no longer do you have to fear Assyria because I'm taking them out. Well, the folks I'm taking them out with, I'm also gonna take you out with fifty years later.

They're going to go into exile. You adults recognize that before your children die, they're going into exile. So that's judgment. It keeps on for a while. Woah, that's a funeral word.

It's just deep deep deep mourning and anguish. Woah to those who devise wrongdoing, who practice evil on their beds. When the morning comes, they do it because it is the power of their hands. Now, that practicing evil on their beds is about the devising of wrongdoing. I think that it actually...

I thought I fixed that. Sorry. Those who practice, those who plan evil. So they're planning it at night, they're scheming at night, and the scheming is, how can we get them? So one of the particularly difficult situations that this week presented was a person from among us.

An older person had somebody scam them. They googled something, hey, how do I get a new email address for such and such? And somebody said, oh, you go and you get money out of the bank and you go get gift cards. And if I... If you ever get an email from me or if you ever get a text from me that

doesn't sound like me, it ain't me.

Okay? I'm not gonna call and say, hey, hey, I wanna do something nice for the staff. I wanna do something nice for a family in the church. I'm sitting bedside right now with a patient in the hospital, and I can't do this for myself. Would you go get me five Amazon gift cards?

That's not me. Okay? I didn't send that. Even if it says pastorraymcdaniel@gmail.com or some nonsense, that's not me. Okay.

I'm not going to do that. But there are plenty of people who are devising wrongdoing, they're planning it in the evening, and they're taking care of business in the daytime. It's bad. And he's saying, woe to those people. There will be payday someday.

He says, do it. Why? Because it's in the power of their hands. God has given us a will. He's given us a choice, and you can exercise that for good or you can exercise it for evil.

And he's saying, woe to these people who are exercising it for evil. They covet fields, so they seize them. They covet houses, so they take them. They exploit a man in his house, a person and his inheritance. Therefore, this is what the Lord says.

Behold, this is what the Lord says. Behold, I'm planning against this family a catastrophe. That's hard. From which you cannot remove your necks. You'll not walk haughtily for it will be an evil time.

On that day, they will take up against you a song of mocking, and they will utter a song of mourning, and they'll say, we are completely destroyed. He exchanges the share of my people. How? He removes it from me to the apostate. He apportions our field.

Therefore, you will have no one applying a measure line for you by lot in the assembly of the Lord. I grew up in where... What I felt like my whole life. I could have answered the questions before I actually realized it was for me about Jesus. Right?

I always felt like I grew up in a little hothouse, a greenhouse where I was in the hand of God. And when I accepted Christ, I always felt that way. It was a long time before I ever felt what it felt like to not feel that. And this is what he's saying is about to happen. You feel like you're in the safety.

Now, I actually was. Right? I actually was in the safety of the Lord, but I had a moment where I felt this despair. And I think that God gave me that. It was the first two weeks of ministry for me.

The first two weeks of us being in Mexico, and that God removed all of the sense that I had of well-being. And I'm thankful we did it two weeks ago for the first two weeks and not ten years in or twelve years in. It was heartbreaking, but it was for my good and I recognize that now and I'm very happy about it now. I'm not very bad... Was not very happy about it at the time for it felt like I just let go and that's what he's forecasting right there.

Now, God's doing this for the good of his people, but it's still judgment. This is judgment. It's come upon. There's nothing that you can do to remove your neck from it. Do not prophesy, so they prophesy.

But if they do not prophesy about these things, insults will not be turned back. Is it being said, house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord impatient? Are these his works? Do my words not do good for the one that's walking rightly? If you pay attention to what I'm saying and you walk in that, isn't it a

good thing? It is a good thing.

It will go well with you if you will follow after. You're not gonna be immune from suffering, I'm not saying that. But he's saying, do my words not do good for the one who's walking rightly? Recently, my people have arisen as an enemy. My people, God says, have arisen as an enemy to him and to others.

You strip the robe off the garment from the unsuspecting passers by, from those who return for more. You're taking advantage of people while they're down. You're my people, you're not supposed to do that. Can you hear God's heart in that? You evict the women of my people, each one from her pleasant house, from her children, you take my splendor forever.

Arise and go for this is no place of rest because of the uncleanness that brings on destruction. A painful destruction, if someone walking after wind and falsehood had lied and said, I will prophesy to you about wine and liquor like they're good things. You just become a prophet. He'd become a prophet to you. All all somebody's got to do is something that you want to hear.

There's coming a time right when we want what we want and we just want to hear somebody that validates what we want. If somebody came to you saying wine and liquor was a good thing, he just he just become a prophet to these people. That's judgment. I will certainly assemble all of you, Jacob. I will certainly gather the remnant of Israel.

There's a hopeful passage in there. There's a remnant. There are some that have not bowed the knee to Baal. There are some who have not taken advantage for selfish reasons. I'll put them together like sheep in the fold.

God's saying, I am paying attention. It's not just a blanket broad brush. I'm paying attention individually. Every single one of us has the opportunity to humble ourselves before the Lord. Everybody does.

I'm going to take that remnant and I'm going to put them together like sheep in the fold, like a flock in the midst of a pasture, and they will be noisy with people. The one who breaks through goes up before them, they break through, pass through the gate and go out by it, So their king passes on before them, the Lord at their head. That's hopeful. Do you recognize that? Is the color coding helping you all?

It's hard to take so much, and we've had minor prophets that said they're all dark clouds, but they all have silver lining. Micah has more than most. Micah is specific about things. I'm going to assemble the remnant of my people. So judgment on Jerusalem and say, God is a witness against you, that is terrifying.

Lament. Micah is feeling a prophetic tension. He has to deliver the message, but it's killing him. Right? It's really hard for him to carry that difficult message.

So, and I get this charge every once in a while too, you always have to get the good news in there. You don't just let them sit and ride in it. Actually, I get that more in the second service than the first, but I'm kidding. I'm kidding. Not really, you know.

Woe to oppressors, those who plan evil at night and then carry it out by day. Social injustice is a focal point. Woe be unto you if you're taking advantage of widows and orphans, older people who don't understand computers or how things work. It's heartbreaking. We I can't say it right now.

Sorry. In our church family, we just had had people that are are hurting because of evil. It's just awful. And I said, here now, leaders of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know justice?

You who hate good and love evil, who tear off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones, Strip their skin from them, smash their bones, chop them up as for the pot as meat in a cauldron. You're taking advantage of people just as bad as if you were stewing them. Then they will cry out to the Lord, but he will not answer them. Instead, he will hide his phrase from them at that time because they have practiced evil deeds. He's...

That's judgment, and it's horrible. And just like Nahum said last week, or Habakkuk a few weeks, couple weeks ago. Behold, I'm planning something in your time that you wouldn't even believe it if I said so. Sometimes he raises up the Babylonians to chastise his own people, and that's a terrible, difficult thing. It's judgment against this...

Their sin. This is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who lead my people astray. So he already said the leaders and rulers, now he's saying the prophets who lead them astray, false prophets. When they have something to bite with their teeth, they cry out peace. But against him who puts nothing in their mouths, they declare holy war.

Does that sound like they're just going after the money? They're going after the money. That's what it say. Therefore, it will be night for you without vision, darkness for you, without divination. The sun will go down on the prophets.

He's forecasting right there the intertestamental silence. You know, it's not far in the future where God's just gonna be silent for four hundred years. The seers will be put to shame, the diviners will be ashamed indeed. They will all cover their lips because there's no answer from God. Oh, judgment.

That's a terrible thing. On the other hand, here we go, Micah. Micah is speaking very personally right here. On the other hand, I am filled with power. It's a difficult task that I have, but I am filled with power.

I'm filled with the spirit of the Lord, and with justice, righteousness, justice, and with courage to make known to Jacob his rebellious act, and Israel is sin. I can call that out because I'm filled with power and the spirit of the Lord. I'm thankful to have that because a lot of us recognize that that all is not right with the world we're in. Right? He's saying, you know that if you speak out, you're gonna receive opposition.

Be careful that you're being filled with the power and the spirit of the Lord before you speak out. Right? But he is. Now, hear this you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel who despise justice and twist everything that is straight, who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with malice. Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe.

Her priest teach for pay. Her prophets divine for money, yet they lean on the Lord saying, it's not the Lord in our midst. Catastrophe is not gonna come on us. We're God's people. He's speaking specifically to the heads of the house of Jacob, to the rulers of the house of Israel, her leaders are priests and prophets.

They have a false sense of security. Like, we're the good guys. We're the good guys. Yeah. You're acting exactly like the bad guys.

You're supposed to be different. You're supposed to be a light to the Gentiles. You're supposed to be a light to the world. You're not supposed to act in the same way that the rest of the world acts. Now, as a New Testament Christian and knowing that we come after the time of where redemption is is is revealed in Christ, we see this and we go, how could they have been like that?

Look around. Are you

not seeing some of this these days? Are you

not seeing some of this? Therefore, on account of you, leaders, that's the leaders, rulers, false prophets, priests. Therefore, on account of you, Zion's gonna be plowed like a field. Jerusalem is going to be a heap of ruins. We saw that in seventy AD.

And the mountain of the temple would come high places of a forest. Boy, judgment. So judgment against bad leadership, shouldn't the rulers know justice? Shouldn't the rulers know what's right and what's wrong? Yet, they're the ones that are ripping apart the poor.

God says he's gonna hide his face from them. False security abounds because they have it in their minds that we're the good guys. So false prophets abuse their office for dishonest gain. Have you all seen that? Does it feel like this is a timely message to you all?

I mean, we ignore this book pretty much until Christmas Eve. We're over halfway through. And it will come about in the last days that the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills. The peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and they will say, come, let's go up to the mountain of the Lord and the house of the God of Jacob so that he may teach us about his ways and that we may walk in his paths for from Zion will go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. That is super hopeful. That's forecasting this time where the gospel is going forth, the favorable time of the Lord. And he will judge between the many peoples. He will render decisions for mighty distant nations, and they will beat their swords into plowshares.

They won't beat their sows, excuse me. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift a sword against nation, never again will they train for war. Instead, each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree with no one to make them afraid because the mouth of the Lord of armies has spoken. A time of peace.

Doesn't that sound good? Amen. Oh come, oh come Emmanuel, God with us. That's hopeful. Though all the peoples walk, each in the name of his own small g.

God asked for us, we're gonna walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and forever. Thank God, Micah. It's part of that remnant, and there has always been a remnant, there always will be a remnant, there's always gonna be that. Don't you wanna be a part of the remnant? Then walk away from evil.

Walk away from the way of the world. Walk in the way that God has shown us. On that day, I'll just say this one straight out of the box, it's hopeful. On that day, declares the Lord, I'm going to assemble those who limp and gather the scattered. Those whom I have afflicted.

Oh my goodness. God in his goodness and in his sovereignty is afflicting for our good. So I've heard it said that preaching, you know, is delivering truth through the means of personality, and another way of putting it is the job of the pastor or to the prophet at this time was to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Right? I'll make those who limp a remnant, and those who have strayed a mighty nation.

And the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion from now on forever. As for you, tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you it will come. Yes, the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Amen. Now, why do you cry out loudly?

Is there no king among you, or has your counselor perished? This agony has gripped you like a woman in childbirth. Wrath and scream, daughter of Zion, like a woman in childbirth. Feel the pain now. From now, you will go out into the city, live in the field, and go to Babylon.

So he has forecasted already the Assyrian takeover, and now he's forecasting the Babylonian takeover. You're gonna go into exile into Babylon and there you will be rescued. Difficulty, again, is used for good at the hand of God. There the Lord will redeem you from the hand of your enemies. That's judgment, but I gotta say that's also hopeful.

He's gonna use the exile for our good. He's gonna use the hard times for our good. And now many nations have been assembled against you, that's just the way it is. You're a little mouse surrounded by big cats who say, let her be defiled and let her eyes gloat over Zion, but they do not know the thoughts of the Lord and you do. You're supposed to know better.

Right? I could say that to us. Y'all got the New Testament, not just the Old Testament. You got the New Testament. Right?

Y'all know better. We know better. They don't know the thoughts of the Lord. Don't expect somebody who doesn't know Jesus to act like they do. But the scriptures expect for the ones who do know Jesus to act like they do.

Know Jesus. And they do not understand the Lord's plan for he has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. Arise and thresh daughter of Zion. For I'll make your horn iron and I'll make your hooves bronze so that you may pulverize many peoples and dedicate to the Lord their unjust prophet. If you're gonna go after someone, it should be because of their injustice.

It shouldn't be to enrich yourselves and their wealth to the Lord of all the earth. That's hopeful. Now, muster yourselves and troops, daughter of troops, they have laid siege against us with a rod. They will strike the judge of Israel on the cheek. I think that's messianic.

I think that that's a hopeful thing. So now, he is talking about a promise of blessing. It's very hopeful. Jerusalem is gonna be restored. Nations are gonna be blessed through her, particularly through Messiah.

He's getting more specific as we go. And there will be peace under God's righteous rule. But as for you, this is the one you know. But as for you, Bethlehem Ephesians, too little to be among the clans of Judah. From you, one will come forth for me to be a ruler in Israel.

His times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. This is talking about Jesus. It's saying where he's going to be born. It's saying how he is going to be. Yeah.

From the days of eternity, he's always been. In the beginning was the word. And the word was with God, and the word was God. And here he is from the days of eternity. He's coming forth, and he's gonna be born there in Bethlehem.

Now, therefore, he will give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth. That's vague prophet language, but then the remainder of his kinsmen will return to the sons of Israel. And he will arise, and he will shepherd his flock. This is Messiah. He will arise.

Does it present him as a warrior? He will arise and he will shepherd his flock and the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God, and they will remain because at that time, he will be great and he will be great until the very ends of the earth. That is forecasting not just Christmas but our time. It's the acceptable time of the Lord where people can come in the age of grace. Right?

This one, Jesus, will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, just be looking forward to him. They had to look forward to Messiah the same way we have to look back to him. Does that make sense to y'all? I used to worry me so much.

When I was a little kid, I said, what about all those people that were before Jesus? They had to look forward to him and just trust God's plan. Now, I don't understand how he does it. I just know daddy does it. They had to look forward to him the same way we have to look back to him.

This one will be our peace when the Assyrian invades our land, he tramples on our citadels, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight leaders of the people. Then, they will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod, the entrances, and he will rescue us. Jesus will rescue us. If you're gonna get saved, it's gonna be by Jesus. Okay?

Salvation is in Christ alone. He will rescue us from the Assyrian. He will rescue us when he invades our land, he tramples our territory. So from Bethlehem is coming a good ruler. It's in stark contrast to the rulers that they have had.

For five hundred years, they have been walking astray. Five hundred years is a long time. Goings forth are from long ago, that's speaking of eternity, it's from the line of David. He's going to shepherd us, he's going to be our peace. There's a hopeful passage.

Then, the remnant, there's always a remnant. There's always a small portion that have not bowed their knee to the Baals, who have not given over to the way of the world. Then the remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples like dew from the Lord, like showers on vegetation that do not wait for man or delay for mankind. The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, among many peoples, like a lion among the animals of forests, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which if he passes through tramples and tears, and there's no way one... No one who can rescue, your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, and all of your enemies will be eliminated.

There is coming a time where Messiah will rule. I think I can't go any further than this today. I think y'all are toast. I'm looking out and seeing it, and there's another cycle of judgment, and then we get to that great famous passage from Micah six that's right there that says, that we are to what? Do justly.

Love mercy and walk humbly with God. We'll get to that. We're gonna get to it next week. Y'all can't take anymore. A quote from John 15 when Jesus said to the disciples, he goes, there is much more I'd like to share with you, but you can't handle it right now.

Would you stand with us? I'll invite the band back up. Remember where I stopped for the second service, Blake. Lord God Almighty, thank you for the hope that we see there, but thank you for the purging that comes in judgment. I know that we live in a time of grace and I know that we live in a time, Lord, where the spirit is active in a more ample way now than he was then.

And the people who trusted in you then under the old covenant, Lord, it was a very difficult task for them. It's a difficult task for us today that we have the spirit flesh and those two are at war. So I pray Lord that we would humbly submit to the spirit of the Lord. That we would humbly submit to Christ, to your plan for us in Jesus because that is your plan in Jesus. Every one of us who will be saved will be saved in Christ and in Christ alone.

Would you Lord, take us to the place where we understand God with us? Would you take us to a place where you understand where we do not have to operate just like the world? Where one upmanship is not our game. Being bigger, faster, stronger, smarter is not the game. But actually humbling ourselves before the Lord to be filled with the power of God, to be filled with the spirit of God, to be just and courageous is what we desire, just like Micah.

So Lord, would you allow us to see our judgment and the things that come against us as refining fire so that we may walk in hope, so that we may look to Jesus, the author and the perfecter of our faith. Faith. In Jesus name, amen. The altar is open and we'll sing this closing song. Come forward if you'd like to.

In Jesus name, to pray. If you want to talk to me, I'll put down the base and turn off my mic. Amen.

You called the sun to rise. You lay it down to rest. You hold this heart of mine. Wonderful, such an awesome God, so selfless, so generous, so such an awesome God, so selfless, so generous, so faithful you are. Nothing comes close to the Lord almighty nothing as sweet as his love and mercy as close to the Lord

I've got a couple of things to mention. Do you all know Ed Wig? Ed Wig, he passed away this past week. And we loved Ed. He was he was very very helpful among the community of people getting sober.

He helped probably thousands of people get sober in his career. Wonderful guy. He has passed and Maddie, his daughter, will be planning a memorial service for spring. So he loved the music. He loved loved loved the music, and I enjoyed it so much this morning thinking about him.

It's kinda overwhelmed. And Russ and Yvonne, who usually sit right here in the second row in these first two seats, had a car wreck last night overnight at Hope Falls. They're fine. They're fine, but they did go get checked out at a hospital. I went and got them.

Their car is totaled. And they They said they were gonna walk here this morning. I said, please don't. So since I've been here, they've missed maybe three Sundays in thirteen years. But would you pray for them?

And I probably... I don't usually do this, but we probably will start a meal train or something to help with them during this next time. Yvonne has three broken ribs on both sides, so six broken ribs to deal with. Russ has a bruised chest from taking a direct airbag hit. So be praying for Russ and Yvonne Wood and for Maddie Wigg, Ed's daughter.

And I've got the benediction is from Micah six eight. So he has shown you, oh mortals, what is good and what does the Lord require of us but to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. May it be so. In Jesus name, amen.