6/18/2018 What Is Good To God? He has told you, O man, what is - PDF document

6/18/2018 What Is Good To God? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you… Micah 6:8 , ESV 1

6/18/2018 What Is Good To God? This OT prophet summarizes the life God expects from his people, condensing it down to three essential qualities. Micah 6:8, NIV 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. What Is Good To God? Good Grief! To “walk humbly with your God” requires a genuine sorrow for your sin. Lent Season On our journey toward Good Friday and Easter, we have an opportunity to practice “good grief.” A Call To Repentance Joel 2:12-13, NIV “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. 2

6/18/2018 When God Gets Your Attention… Walking humbly with him includes whole-hearted repentance. Joel 2:12, NIV & MSG “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart…Come back to me and really mean it! James 4:8 , NLT Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. When God Gets Your Attention… Walking humbly with him includes down-hearted repentance. Joel 2:12-13, NIV “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” James 4:9 , NLT Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When God Gets Your Attention… Walking humbly with him includes broken-hearted repentance. Rend your heart and not your garments. Joel 2:13 , NIV In the culture of Bible times, tearing your clothes was an outward expression of being “torn up” on the inside! Wearing your broken heart on your sleeve was a way to show good grief. 3

6/18/2018 The Robe-Ripping King Young Josiah was overwhelmed with good grief when he realized how God’s Word had been disregarded. 2 Kings 22:11 & 2 Chronicles 34:27, NIV When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. …because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. The King Who Didn’t Give A Rip Josiah’s son, Jehoiakim, showed no grief or other sign of repentance as he disregarded (and even discarded!) God’s Word. Jeremiah 36:23-24, NIV Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. Good Grief: From The Inside Out! God despises repentance that is merely ritual. (an external show without your heart being in it) But God doesn’t despise heart-felt repentance that includes ritual! Joel 2:13, NIV & MSG Rend your heart and not your garments…Change your life, not just your clothes. 4

6/18/2018 Locusts And Lent! God uses unforeseen calamities as well as planned holy days to get our attention and our expressions of good grief. Joel 2:15-16, MSG Blow the ram’s horn trumpet in Zion! Declare a day of repentance, a holy fast day. Call a public meeting. Get everyone there. Consecrate the congregation. Here’s Why We Repent! It is God’s nature to respond to good grief with amazing grace! Joel 2:13, NIV Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. 5