Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG002744
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00:09 It's been 2000 years since the glorious light
00:11 of the cross illuminated the world 00:13 wailed in darkness and confusion about the character of God 00:17 and still today the greatest need of mankind 00:19 is a revelation of God's love 00:21 that's revealed in the life of Christ. 00:23 Amazing Facts presents the everlasting gospel 00:26 with Pastor Doug Batchelor coming to you each week 00:29 from Sacramento Central church in sunny California. 00:32 Discover hidden treasures in God's word today. 00:39 I want to take a moment and welcome everybody 00:42 who may be visiting here at Sacramento Central. 00:45 We trust that you sense God's sphere here 00:48 and you can feel as part of God's family. 00:50 We know we have some people from Sunnyvale, 00:52 we sure appreciate the men's choir 00:54 that has been singing a chorus and that has been real blessing. 00:59 And if you are member here, you are welcome too, 01:02 we are glad you are back. 01:04 I sometimes forget about you, so we are just delighted 01:08 that we could come together during this special time. 01:11 This week has been little bit interesting 01:15 once every couple of years Amazing Facts, 01:19 some of the team gets together leadership, 01:21 we talk about our vision, our mission where we are going 01:25 and do some strategic planning 01:27 and that's a healthier thing to do. 01:30 Every now and then it is a smart move 01:34 to sort of recalibrate your compass. 01:37 I have been having some computer problems 01:41 and one of the men in our IT department said 01:44 Doug every now and then it's a good idea 01:46 to format your hard drive and reinstall the programs. 01:50 Every thing seems to run a little cleaner. 01:54 Some times as Christians you need to recalibrate your compass 01:58 and just figure out how we become confused 02:03 and cluttered in our thinking so that we are forgetting 02:06 what the priorities are, 02:08 that's the purpose of the mission statement. 02:12 Say we know, sometimes you start 02:13 firing buckshot in every direction 02:16 and what you really need is a rifle that is more focused. 02:20 And as Christians we look at the millions of words 02:24 in the Bible and all of the different doctrines 02:28 and the different debates about different doctrines 02:30 and we can loose track of what the main thing is. 02:35 I don't remember the first time I saw the statements very simple 02:38 but it struck me, it's very profound and it said 02:42 the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. 02:46 You've all heard that before. 02:48 And that's really our message today. 02:51 What is the main thing? 02:53 In our scripture reading that we had, 02:56 we address the verse. 02:57 And I'll have you turn there with me in the Book of Micah. 03:02 Matter of fact this has been one of my favorite verses 03:06 in the Bible and because of that, 03:09 it's one of the reasons that named one of our children Micah 03:14 because this verse always struck me, I like simple things. 03:19 It say in the word here we are, what do you want, 03:24 and that's really the bottom-line, isn't it? 03:27 "With what shall I come before the Lord, Micah 6:6, 03:32 With what shall I come before the Lord 03:34 and bow myself before the high God? 03:36 What does he want? How do I worship Him? 03:38 What do I bring to Him? 03:40 Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, 03:43 with calves a year old? 03:44 That means in their prime, the young, the healthy. 03:47 Do I give him the best calf I have? 03:51 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, 03:53 may be its not a calf, 03:54 may be if it's not one calf may be many rams. 03:58 Is it the highest offering they had was the calf. 04:02 So when they say they brought forth the fatter calf, 04:05 it was tender, it was prime and at the most potential. 04:08 Sometimes most numerous offerings were the rams. 04:11 He said is it the quality of my offerings? 04:15 Is it the quantity of my offerings that you want? 04:21 Or ten thousand rivers of oil? 04:24 Is it the richness the fatness of the oil, 04:27 Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression. 04:31 Now every Jew knew that the first born of every man 04:35 and beast belong to the Lord that didn't mean 04:37 they were all sacrificed 04:38 but it was consecrated to the Lord, 04:40 if it was a human then they would make an offering 04:44 for the first born, if it was an unclean animal, 04:48 you first born donkey would be consecrated to the Lord 04:51 except you won't offer a donkey because it's an unclean animal, 04:53 so they make a donation, 04:55 thank the Lord for the first born. 04:57 Says what do you want? 04:58 You want the first born, 05:00 the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 05:03 This here is even the illusion of God giving his first born 05:07 then after he makes such statement 05:09 that messianic reference, here is the main thing. 05:14 This one verse is the study of our sermon. 05:17 I don't often do this, usually I take a lot of verses 05:20 and talk about a subject or I'll take a story 05:22 and use a lot of verses to expound the story. 05:24 And this is one of the few times I am going to do 05:27 an expository message on one verse. 05:30 Here is the verse, 05:33 "He has shown you, O man, what is good. 05:36 And what does the Lord require of you? 05:40 But to do justly to love mercy 05:43 and to walk humbly with thy God." 05:47 Now, when we met this week with our leadership team 05:51 at Amazing Facts and we reviewed our mission statement 05:53 and we found ourselves getting into sort of manipulating 05:57 and tweaking every little word, 05:59 because everything means something, 06:00 and the idea of a good mission statement 06:02 is you don't want pages, you don't even want paragraphs, 06:05 you want something that is focused 06:07 that people can memorize, that is sort of like a simple 06:10 the marching orders that was never a boy's scout. 06:14 I had a lot of friends that were boy scouts 06:16 and they knew that they had 06:17 sort of a little oath that they said, 06:19 they would all memorize their creed. 06:21 Anyone here know or remember what that was? 06:23 Any boys scout, pathfinders have them too, don't they? 06:26 Yeah, you remember that, where you boy's scout? 06:28 What was the creed? 06:34 Remember to put me on the spotlight. 06:35 Put you on the spotlight that it's kind of tough, aha? 06:38 Friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, 06:40 thrifty, brave, clean, reverent. 06:43 That's pretty good, that's pretty good 06:46 and that was sort of the summary of all those good virtues. 06:50 Did you remember one? 06:52 Be prepared that was the summary, 06:55 be prepared and the marines and the navy 06:58 and they all have their kind of their creed of their slogan. 07:03 Well, this verse that we are looking at today 07:05 is the essence of the Christian life 07:11 coalesced into one verse. 07:15 Now, John 3:16 is really the essence of God's mission. 07:20 It's what God does, God so loved His provision, 07:24 He is telling us that He so loved the world, 07:26 what He does to provide for us. 07:28 But this verse is unique in that, 07:31 it summarizes what does the Lord want from us? 07:35 What is our response? 07:37 Is it sacrifices, is it a pilgrimage. 07:41 What kind of ritual is it? 07:44 And he boils it all down and He gives us the main thing, 07:47 so we are going to look at that together. 07:50 First of all we will start at the beginning. 07:54 He has shown you. 07:57 God is telling us what He wants and he said, 08:00 it's not a mystery, it's not something 08:03 that you are going to have to have a degree in rocket science 08:07 to understand, it's not that complicated. 08:11 I become exasperated sometimes when I do evangelistic meetings 08:14 and you present the simple gospel to people 08:17 and they come out and they start debate with you and they say, 08:19 well, you know there are some books in the Bible 08:21 that seem to be missing. 08:24 And how do we know these things were translated accurately 08:27 and they want to complicate 08:29 what is really a very simple message. 08:32 And they say, well, it's still mysterious, 08:34 it's difficult, who can really know. 08:37 Mark Twain used to love to say. 08:40 Most people are bothered by the passages of Scriptures 08:43 they don't understand, but the passages that bother me 08:46 are those I do understand. 08:50 He has shown you, you know, you can't stand before the Lord 08:55 and say I didn't know. 08:58 Most of us know what God wants. 09:02 Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed 09:05 for lack of knowledge." 09:07 Well Pastor Doug that sounds like 09:08 you are contradicting yourself, here it says they don't know. 09:10 You have to keep reading, he says, 09:12 "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge 09:14 because they have rejected knowledge, 09:17 they knew and they rejected it. 09:21 He says because they have rejected knowledge 09:23 I'll reject you from being a priest for me 09:25 because you've forgotten. 09:27 They knew the law of your God, I will forget your children." 09:33 It's not what we don't understand. 09:35 It's what we do understand. 09:37 Romans 1:18, "For the wrath of God from heaven 09:43 is revealed from heaven 09:44 against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, 09:47 who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. 09:53 Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, 09:57 God has shown it to them. 09:59 He is saying all men he has shown 10:01 that you're not just the nation of Israel 10:04 or not just the church but people know what God wants. 10:07 For since the creation of the world, 10:10 the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen 10:12 being understood by the things that are made. 10:15 Even his eternal power and Godhead, 10:17 so they are without excuse. 10:19 He has shown thee, O men. 10:22 He has told us what He wants. 10:25 We can't come to church week by week 10:27 and say I am not ready to make a commitment 10:28 because I'm not really sure what God wants. 10:29 Yes, you know what He wants. He wants you. 10:34 It's like that old country love song it dates back 10:39 before Willie Nelson but he did it again. 10:42 All He wants is you. 10:44 Nothing else will do, not just a part, 10:47 He wants all of your heart. 10:49 All He wants is all of you, all He wants is you, 10:52 but I have never sung that before. 10:56 That's not true sorry. 10:59 That's a simple message, right. 11:01 That's what the Lord wants. 11:04 Deuteronomy 30:11, Mosses at the end of his life. 11:08 This is what he says to the children of Israel. 11:09 In case they were things, 11:11 you know, we just don't have enough encyclopedia of scripture 11:15 on our shelf to really understand what the Lord wants. 11:19 Deuteronomy 30:11, Mosses said 11:22 "For this commandment that I command you today 11:24 is not too mysterious for you, can't say it's too complicated, 11:29 it's too deep nor can you say it's a far off we can reach it. 11:35 It's not in heaven, that we should say, 11:37 'Who will ascend to heaven for us 11:38 and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it? 11:42 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 11:44 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us 11:47 that we may hear it and do it? 11:49 But the word is very near to you, 11:51 it's in your mouth and in your heart, 11:54 that you may do it. 11:56 He has shown you but keep in mind when Moses says 12:00 this to the children of Israel, 12:02 what was the most prominent feature of their camp. 12:08 Got the 12 tribes organized into their clusters 12:12 and they are all organized in a square 12:15 where that the middle of their parade grounds 12:18 was the sanctuary, right? 12:21 And in the sanctuary there is a courtyard 12:23 and there was the holy place and the most holy place 12:26 and above of the Shekinah Glory was glowing at night. 12:30 And almost like the wick of that of that candle 12:34 in the Holy of Holies was a box, 12:37 I believe the Shekinah Glory came up 12:39 right from the Holy of Holies 12:40 and in that box was the word of God. 12:43 So when Moses said don't make excuses 12:45 that you don't know what God's word is? 12:48 It's right here in your midst. 12:51 You've heard him speak those same ten words 12:54 from the mountain top. 12:55 You know He wrote it with His own finger in stone, 12:58 so don't act like you don't know what He wants. 13:01 He has shown you what He wants. 13:05 Most of us know. 13:06 Even people who can cannot recite 13:08 the Ten Commandments know that's its wrong to steal. 13:13 Even people who have not memorized all Ten Commandments, 13:16 know adultery is wrong. 13:19 The word is not far away. 13:21 He has shown you. 13:23 And by the way when it says He has shown me, 13:25 oh man, it's that's the inclusive word 13:27 it means mankind, this is not just for men. 13:30 He has shown the human race. 13:34 What's the next part of our verse? 13:37 He has shown you what is good. 13:41 You know Solomon when he had his dream 13:46 and he prayed and he said Lord, 13:49 when God said what do you want? 13:51 He said, Lord, give therefore your servant 13:54 an understanding heart. 13:55 By the way 1 King 3:9, 13:58 "Give therefore Your servant an understanding heart 14:00 to judge Your people, 14:01 that I might discern between good and evil." 14:06 I want to know what is good. 14:10 Well, God says He's shown you what is good. 14:14 He revealed it to Solomon. He gave him that wisdom. 14:17 Matter of fact Solomon so much going for him, 14:21 I mean he had a lot of good things about him 14:23 especially when he was young but he went right ahead 14:26 and did the very things that God said don't do. 14:28 God said, don't multiply horses, 14:31 and then he goes on to say Solomon multiplied horses. 14:35 He said don't multiply riches and he multiplied riches. 14:39 And of course worst of all, he said don't multiply wives 14:44 and he went and did that. 14:45 Then what happened his wives drew him away 14:47 because money made him proud, 14:49 his army the size of all the horses and his army, 14:51 he began to trust in that instead of God. 14:53 He knew what to do and when he prayed 14:57 that God would help him know the difference 14:59 between good and evil. 15:02 Most of us know what God wants. 15:04 The Holy Spirit guides us Ecclesiastes 2:26, 15:08 by the way written by Solomon, 15:11 "For God giveth to all men 15:14 that is good in his sight wisdom and knowledge 15:17 and joy but to the sinner he gives travail." 15:22 God gives blessings to all those that are good in His sight. 15:27 We know what God wants us to do. 15:29 You remember Luke 18:18. 15:32 A rich young ruler came to Jesus and he said good master, 15:35 what good thing shall I do that I might have eternal life? 15:40 And this was a diversionary tactic. 15:42 He knew he wasn't seeking for God's kingdom, 15:47 he was seeking first earthly treasure. 15:51 Jesus answered him and He said only God is good. 15:55 He has shown you what is good. 15:59 1 Corinthians 13:13 in that great simple passage, 16:03 Paul summarizes in that chapter of love, 16:06 what is the best thing, what is good? 16:09 Love is good. 16:11 "Now abide faith, hope, love, they are all good, 16:15 these three but the greatest of these is love." 16:18 You notice what I did to you, you didn't even catch it. 16:22 I quoted where Jesus said only God is good 16:26 and then it said the greatest of these is love 16:29 and doesn't the Bible say God is love? 16:32 He has shown you, O man what is good? 16:34 God is good, God is love. 16:37 Love is good. Most people know. 16:40 What are the two great commandments? 16:43 Love the Lord, love your neighbor. 16:47 This love relationship is where most of our problems come in, 16:50 these two love relationships. 16:52 This love relationship and this love relationship, 16:57 and I think in order for you to have 16:59 this love relationship right, 17:01 you will have to have these love relationships right. 17:04 And that works both ways. 17:05 In order for these love relations to be at their best, 17:09 this love relationship needs to be right. 17:13 He has shown you what is good? 17:15 God is good, God is love, love is good. 17:17 It's the greatest, it's not that complicated. 17:22 And what does the Lord require? 17:25 That's very important, we are still moving through our verse. 17:29 He has shown you, O man, what is good 17:32 and what does the Lord require? 17:34 Now that's the bottom-line. 17:36 What does the Lord want? 17:38 Lord, what do you want me to do? 17:39 Peter, no Paul stuck down on the road to Damascus 17:43 and still trembling, Jesus appears to him 17:46 and he finally says Lord what do you want me to do? 17:50 Lord, what do you want? 17:53 That really should be the cry of every heart. 17:55 Lord, what is Your will? 17:57 What do You want for me to do? 17:59 Is that your question? 18:01 Do you seek to find that out? 18:04 I think that ought to be the most important thing. 18:06 We've to probably do what we did at Amazing Facts this week 18:11 and our whole church ought to take a retreat 18:13 for about four days and just get together 18:15 and say all right, what is the main thing? 18:18 I guess we do it every week, don't we? 18:22 Talk about what is our mission statement. 18:25 You know what our mission statement is? 18:29 He has shown you, O man what is good. 18:32 That's a good mission statement. 18:34 There's lot of in the Bible. 18:36 Another good mission statement is go into all the world, 18:39 preach the gospel to every creature, 18:43 make disciples of all nations and baptize. 18:47 He has shown you, O man what is good. 18:48 What does the Lord require? 18:50 You notice he doesn't say what does the Lord suggest? 18:53 What does the Lord recommend? 18:55 You see the difference between 18:56 a requirement and recommendation. 18:58 You bet there is. 19:00 It is recommended before a pilot flies 19:03 that he files a flight plan, it is not a requirement. 19:09 Now a requirement is something that 19:11 you can be penalized for not obeying. 19:15 There are recommendations and there are requirements, 19:18 the Ten Commandments are not ten suggestions. 19:22 They are not ten recommendations. 19:24 They would be ten requirements. 19:28 And you know they have when you read the-- 19:33 the information on the box that has nutritional values, 19:39 they've got your minimum daily requirements for vitamins. 19:43 I guess somebody did some research to find out. 19:46 You just have to have x amount of cc of Vitamin C per day 19:50 or you are going to get scurvy or something. 19:52 And if you don't have Vitamin B 12, 19:54 there are actually, there are people who suffer 19:55 a lot of side effects from that. 19:57 Most of us get enough Vitamin C 19:59 but some people don't get enough potassium 20:00 or B 12 or some of these things and you can suffer from that. 20:04 You get your minimum vitamin requirements. 20:07 All right, Lord, what is the minimum basic requirement? 20:11 What is the basics that you want from us? 20:14 I don't think we had to shoot for the minimum 20:16 but we ought to make sure we don't get below it 20:17 because it's a requirement. 20:20 See the difference, don't get below that requirement. 20:27 Deuteronomy 10:12 Moses again is telling us. 20:31 "And Now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of the? 20:37 He answers our question, but to fear the Lord thy God, 20:42 to walk in all of His ways to love Him, 20:46 and to serve the Lord thy God with all of thy heart 20:49 And to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, 20:53 which I command thee this day for thy good? 20:57 You must do it or you are unhealthy, 21:00 it's a minimum requirement. 21:02 Let me read that again Deuteronomy 10:12, 21:04 "Fear the Lord, walk in His ways, 21:07 love Him and serve Him. 21:08 You notice he doesn't say serve Him and love Him. 21:10 Before you can serve Him, you got to do what? 21:13 He says love Him and serve Him. 21:14 He not even says that in the Ten Commandments. 21:17 It's understood all through the Bible, 21:18 you can't obey God if you don't love Him. 21:21 Right in the Ten Commandments its say showing mercy 21:23 and the thousands of men that love Him 21:25 and keep His commandments. 21:27 Love Him love first and then we do it because we love Him. 21:32 That's what the Lord requires of us. 21:35 Another good mission statement. 21:37 Fear the Lord thy God and reverence Him, 21:40 walk in His ways love Him and serve Him 21:42 with all of your heart and all of your soul 21:44 and keep His commandments. 21:48 Luke 10:27. 21:52 Remember when the lawyer said to Jesus, 21:56 what is the greatest of the commandments 21:58 and Jesus said what do you read in the law 22:00 and he answered His own question. 22:02 "You shall love the Lord your God 22:03 with all of your heart, with all of your soul, 22:05 with all of your strength, with all of your mind, 22:08 and your neighbor as yourself." 22:10 And He said to him, 22:11 "You have answered rightly, do this and you will live." 22:15 Jesus said that's it eureka, bingo. 22:18 No, He didn't say bingo. 22:21 But you know what that means. 22:24 You hit it, that's the most important thing, 22:29 love the Lord your God with all of your heart, 22:32 all of your soul, all of your strength, 22:35 all of your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." 22:38 Jesus said you rightly answered do this and you will live. 22:42 Well I say that's one of the main things. 22:44 "He has showed you, O man, what is good 22:47 and what does the Lord require of thee, 22:51 not just everybody else but of you? 22:53 What does He want from you? 22:55 Not just from the church, 22:56 it's not just the collective requirement, 22:59 so you are not going to fill in one aspect 23:01 and I'll fill another 23:02 and someone else will fill in the third 23:03 and collectively you know it's team work. 23:06 There is something a minimum requirement of everybody. 23:12 Here it is. 23:13 We are going to get into it now, three big principles. 23:17 Do justly do, 23:22 I could preach a whole sermon on do two words. 23:27 Spurgeon used to preach a whole sermon on the. 23:31 I can preach whole sermon on Do, the got three words, 23:35 I suppose someone can preach a sermon on I, 23:39 one word, one letter or A. 23:43 Lets talk about do for a minute. 23:45 There is a lot of discussion these days 23:47 about just believing and we play down the doing, 23:53 but when I read my Bible, Jesus makes a big deal 23:56 about that two letter word, 23:59 "Not everyone that says unto me, 24:00 Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom but they that do." 24:06 The Lord says there is a man that had two sons 24:08 and he says go work in my field. 24:09 And one says, one son says I'm going father 24:12 but he does not go and the other one says 24:14 I'm not going but he later repents and he goes 24:17 and Jesus then asks at conclusion 24:19 which of the two did, oh that's three letters now, right? 24:23 The will of his father, same principle. 24:26 It's the one who went. 24:30 Not just saying, Lord, Lord but do we do it. 24:33 When Jesus separates the wise men from the fool, 24:35 what's the big difference? 24:38 The wise men hears these words of mine and he does them, 24:42 the foolish man hears these words of mine 24:44 and he doesn't do them and so it does make a difference. 24:48 God doesn't just want Christianity to be a philosophy, 24:52 He wants it to be something that we do something about. 24:57 Do what? Do justly. 25:00 That means do what is right 25:05 as in seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness 25:11 and all these things will be added. 25:14 In other words doing what is right is act with fairness, 25:19 act with honesty, act with integrity, 25:23 you do things differently when you keep 25:26 the man thing the main thing. 25:28 You use good judgment. 25:30 Jesus said don't judge according to the appearance 25:32 but judge a righteous judgment. 25:34 You do what's right. 25:36 It means honesty in our relationships not giving 25:39 preferential treatment or being biased, 25:43 but doing what is just. 25:46 Some one asked this butcher, 25:50 what happened after he was converted 25:52 and he said well, before I was converted 25:54 I used to weigh my thumb. 25:57 Some of you remember the days 25:58 when they have the old fashion scales 26:00 and the butcher would plop the chicken down on the scale 26:02 and he lean over 26:04 and he could put his thumb on the scale 26:05 and add another ounce to it, this butcher said 26:07 after I was converted I don't weigh my thumb anymore. 26:10 He says I was cheating those people. 26:12 Said now in fact what I do is all my customers 26:15 I give them little extra to compensate 26:17 for all that time I weighed my thumb. 26:20 Since now I'm a Christian 26:21 I don't weigh my thumb, doing justly. 26:26 He went and said dishonesty is dishonesty 26:29 whether it's a diamond or a dollar, doing justly. 26:34 That means that your are faithful in little things 26:39 as well as big things, doing justly I love this verse, 26:44 you want another good bottom-line, 26:46 the scouts creed for the Christian. 26:50 Psalms 15:1, "Lord what do you require, 26:56 who may abide in your tabernacle 26:58 who made dwell in your holy hill? 27:01 Who is going to be in heaven? 27:03 Psalms 15, this is good you should circle it. 27:06 "He walks uprightly, he is a doer, 27:09 he works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart, 27:12 he does what's just. 27:13 You notice in his heart. 27:15 He does not backbite with his tongue, 27:18 he is not even speaking ill of others but he guards, 27:22 I like the, I like the children story today 27:24 talking about the tongue and how powerful the tongue is. 27:29 Nor does evil to his neighbor. 27:31 Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend. 27:34 In whose eyes a vile person is despised, 27:37 But he honors those who fear the Lord." 27:40 He seeks up the company of the just he wants to be just 27:43 and he finds pleasure in the company of the just. 27:46 Doesn't look for bad companions. 27:50 He honors those who fear the Lord, 27:52 He swears to his own hurt and does not change. 27:55 He will make a promise then after he makes a promise, 27:57 he will realize, hey I'm going to lose money on this deal 27:59 but I made a promise, I got to follow my word 28:02 and he still keeps his word, he follows through. 28:09 He swears to his own hurt and does not change. 28:11 He does not put out his money to usury, 28:14 that means he shows mercy on others. 28:17 He might lend them but he is not going to charge them interest, 28:19 he has the right to charge interest but he doesn't. 28:25 The Bible says he does not take a bribe against the innocent. 28:27 He does what's just regardless of what's in it for him. 28:32 He who does these things. 28:35 You notice it's not who think for these things, 28:37 is not who believes these things, is he who what? 28:40 Who does these things. 28:44 He who does these things shall never been moved. 28:48 That means they are on a good foundation, 28:51 they are building on the rock. Doing justly. 28:57 You know when raising children you got to keep things simple. 29:00 Children need simple rules. 29:04 Sometimes parents and I have done this, 29:07 Karen has done this. 29:08 The child will do something wrong 29:10 and we begin to pontificate and give them all the reasons 29:13 that they shouldn't do this and pretty soon 29:15 their eyes are glazed over and you're just, 29:16 all they do is they see mom and dad going. 29:20 They will not hear what you are saying anymore, right? 29:23 You are laughing because two things, 29:24 one you remember your parents doing that, 29:27 you're getting a tongue lashing 29:28 and you will hear the first few words and pretty soon 29:30 it's just with noise. 29:34 And also you are laughing because you've done that too. 29:37 You begin to lecture them. 29:39 Pretty soon it says, got to keep it simple. 29:43 And you start when they are young. 29:45 And I know some parents they had 29:47 some very simple rules for their kids. 29:50 You might try this. 29:53 Don't do anything that will hurt someone, rule number one. 29:57 Don't do anything I see some of you writing these down, 29:59 you have to put up on your mirror, 30:01 it's good for you too. 30:03 Now you are someone that means don't do anything 30:06 that hurts yourself too. 30:08 And this is rule one category A don't do anything 30:12 to hurt someone that would include yourself, 30:16 so you can always ask yourself will this hurt someone? 30:20 Rule number two. 30:22 Don't do anything that will hurt something. 30:25 If it's going to damage something 30:28 or break something or wear something out, 30:32 you are hurting something, don't do it. 30:36 Now you might think coloring on the walls is an improvement 30:40 but you know your parents think 30:42 that's actually hurting of the walls. 30:45 Number three. Don't do anything that will hurt Jesus. 30:49 Now, I bet you can't name some offense 30:52 that will not fall somewhere in these three categories 30:56 Very simple rules, do what's just in other words. 31:00 Don't do anything that's going to hurt somebody. 31:02 Don't do anything that's going to hurt something. 31:05 And don't do anything that will hurt God. Simple rules. 31:10 All right so, now we are getting to point two. 31:13 Remember there he'd shown you what is good. 31:16 What does the Lord require of you? 31:18 He has got three things 31:19 He mentions that He requires of you. 31:20 One is what? Do justly. 31:23 What's number one? Do what's just. 31:26 You know what that means. 31:28 Your spirit is going to tell you when you stop doing 31:31 what's just or if it's a gray area, 31:34 it's like the old Scotsman that was getting ready 31:37 to get dressed in the morning he was holding up 31:39 yesterday's shirt by the window and sniffing it 31:42 and his wife called over her shoulder, 31:44 if it's doubtful it's dirty, if it's doubtful it's dirty. 31:51 And so when something is doubtful, it's probably dirty. 31:55 When in doubt throw it in the laundry. 31:59 Oh, wait a second, I got to make a correction here 32:01 for kids that are lazy. 32:02 Lot of kids throw clean clothes in the laundry 32:04 because they are too lazy to put them away, right? 32:07 Yeah, so that's not an excuse for that. 32:11 So point number two, we talked about do justly, love mercy. 32:18 Now I could break those two apart and just say love. 32:24 We could spend a lot of time talking 32:25 just about love in this great verse you've got love 32:31 but you notice it's saying love, mercy. 32:36 Doing justly, catch this, this is a great verse. 32:40 Doing justly is what I do to others. 32:44 Showing mercy, now I'm saying doing justly 32:47 is what I do with myself, I get that backwards. 32:49 Doing justly is my choice about how I'm going to conduct myself. 32:56 Love in mercy, I don't show mercy to myself, do I? 33:01 I have decided to be merciful today to myself. 33:05 How is that, how you show mercy. 33:07 You're not really been very merciful. 33:09 Mercy is done where? 33:11 That way, it's done to others. 33:14 And so when you love mercy, 33:16 what do you have to love to love mercy, 33:18 you got to love others. 33:20 Does that make sense? You still with me? 33:23 So the first part of doing justly 33:25 is how I will conduct my self. 33:27 Love in mercy is how I'm going to treat others 33:29 and it goes beyond treating them with justice 33:34 because when you give somebody mercy 33:36 that's difference from justice. 33:38 You are giving them something that doesn't require, 33:40 you're going beyond the requirement 33:42 on the side of kindness, 33:45 that's one of the bottom lines in the creed of a Christian. 33:50 Don't just do what the obligation is, 33:52 go beyond the obligation 33:54 and do what's kind, do what's merciful. 33:57 A mother came to Napoleon one time pleading for her son 34:01 who had shown himself a coward on the battlefield twice 34:05 and the penalty was death. 34:09 And she said, your majesty please show mercy to my son. 34:15 He said I can't because justice requires 34:18 that he dies for this offense. 34:21 She says I'm not asking for justice, I'm asking for mercy. 34:24 He said he doesn't deserve mercy. 34:27 She said if he deserved it, it won't be mercy. 34:29 Mercy is something you give to someone who doesn't deserve it. 34:33 Mothers become very eloquent 34:35 when they are pleading for their children. 34:37 He said okay, you win, I'll show him mercy and let him live. 34:43 If it wasn't, if it was justice 34:47 that we wanted if we deserved it, 34:48 it won't be mercy, right. 34:49 What do we want from the Lord? 34:50 You want justice from the Lord. Oh, no. 34:56 People ask me periodically, Pastor Doug, 34:58 how is life treating you. 35:00 I say much better than I deserve. 35:03 I don't want what I deserve. 35:06 And in case you don't know what you don't want what I deserve, 35:10 you don't even want what you deserve, 35:12 even if you think what you deserve 35:14 is better than what I deserve, you don't want what you deserve. 35:18 What we want is mercy. 35:20 Now, if we want mercy then what should be willing to give? 35:27 Like that man who the unmerciful debtor. 35:30 He is asking the king to forgive him 35:31 his ten thousand talents that he squandered. 35:34 The king shows mercy to him, forgives him, 35:38 he goes out and finds a fellow servant that owes him 42 pence. 35:44 There's a difference between $52 million and $42. 35:49 He accepts the mercy for the $52 million 35:52 but he won't pass on the mercy for the 42. 35:56 Part of our Christian creed is that we show mercy to others. 36:05 I went to have a professional photo taken 36:08 and after I got done looking at the picture, 36:10 you know, periodically at Amazing Facts 36:12 I got to go get a series of pictures taken. 36:14 For while there I was showing pictures that were so old, 36:16 I still had hair. 36:18 And people said to me Doug that's not on, 36:19 as you need to go get some updated pictures, 36:21 so you go and you sit in for a photo section, 36:23 I remember looking one time at the picture and saying, 36:27 I don't know if this really does me justice. 36:30 He said Doug you don't want justice, you want mercy. 36:44 Actually I think he said with the face like yours 36:46 you don't want justice, you want mercy. 36:50 He is a friend. They will be honest with you. 36:57 Blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy. 37:02 Matthew 9:13, Jesus said, 37:04 "But go out and learn what this means 37:06 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice. 37:11 For I did not come to call the righteous 37:13 to repentance but sinners. 37:17 What does God want from us? Mercy. 37:20 Matter of fact if you are going to err in your relationships 37:25 with your friends and your family 37:27 or others that you may work with. 37:28 If you are going to err and go too far on the side of justice 37:33 or too far on the side of mercy, 37:35 which side would God prefer that you err on, 37:39 I think He would prefer that you go a little too far 37:42 on the side of mercy. 37:44 You know one reason I believe that. 37:47 How many of you know the story of kind David, 37:49 that man after God's own heart. 37:52 God had told David you are to be king, 37:53 he had been anointed as king. 37:55 He had done nothing wrong to Saul. 37:57 Saul was just demon possessed and out of his mind 38:00 and he was hunting down David to kill him. 38:02 Providentially God put Saul in David's hand at least two times 38:08 where David could kill him and all the soldiers around him 38:11 said this is obviously an act of God. 38:14 Now you can have justice for what he has done to you, 38:16 chasing you out of your land. 38:18 And you know what David said, 38:21 no if he is the king and God has chosen him as king 38:27 and I'm going to let God take him out, 38:28 I am not going to assume that role of being vengeful, 38:33 vengeance belongs to the Lord. 38:35 He will either get old and die, or he will fall in battle 38:38 or he will get sick but my hand will not be against him, 38:41 I'm going to show him mercy, I'm paraphrasing. 38:44 And you know God loved what David did 38:48 because God could take Saul out anytime he wanted. 38:51 David said look I'm gonna try first to win Saul through mercy 38:55 and after David had an opportunity to kill Saul 38:57 twice this happened, he then shouted across the mountain 39:01 and said King Saul, my Lord the king humbled himself 39:04 before the king and said here I got a piece of your robe, 39:07 I have got your spear that was at your side, 39:08 I had a chance to kill you, 39:10 I want you to know I had a chance to kill you 39:11 but I have shown you mercy, 39:12 I hope you will have mercy on me. 39:14 Will you stop chasing me down? 39:17 And God loved David because he did that. 39:21 I think God would have understood 39:23 if David had killed Saul. 39:24 In self defense he is trying to kill me. 39:27 But he didn't take that approach, 39:29 he erred on the side of mercy. 39:31 Did David end up getting the throne? 39:34 David didn't need to kill Saul, he killed himself. 39:37 Saul killed himself, so if you are going to make a mistake, 39:41 sometimes you say look well, I went over backwards 39:43 to help that person, I have gone the second mile, 39:47 I am not going any further. 39:49 Well, you're never going to be, 39:53 God will not be angry at you 39:54 if you go just a little further really. 39:57 If you err on the side of mercy, forgiving them a little more, 40:01 being patient a little more. 40:03 How often did Jesus say to Peter you should forgive 70 times 7 40:09 which is sort of the Hebrew equivalent of seven 40:12 was a cycle of time, it was a circle, 40:16 and he seventy times seven, 40:17 he was just saying God's mercy endorse forever 40:21 and just go as far as you can go. 40:25 Love mercy, don't just tolerate it but leave it out. 40:32 2 Samuel 22, "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful 40:39 with the blameless man You will show Yourself blameless. 40:43 If you ever want to really appreciate God's mercy, 40:46 then let him pass it on through you to someone else. 40:51 Be merciful to others and you will never better understand 40:53 God's mercy for you. 40:54 To the merciful he shows himself mercy. 40:58 Blessed are the merciful, they will obtain mercy. 41:02 Matthew 23:23, I think this is a reference of Jesus 41:06 is making to Micah to our verse. 41:09 This is one of the examples where I think Jesus is making 41:11 a reference to this Old Testament passage. 41:15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, 41:18 For you pay tithe of your mint and your anise and cummin, 41:22 but you've neglected the weightier matters, 41:24 can I translate weightier matters, 41:26 you are not keeping the main thing the main thing. 41:29 It's good to pay tithe and its wonderful you are paying tithe 41:31 on your herb garden that's wonderful. 41:35 I think he could probably take care of your whole herb garden 41:37 just put one pumpkin in the plate when he goes by say 41:39 hopefully that will cover all the herbs. 41:41 I am not counting out my parsley and chives, 41:45 rosemary, parsley and thyme, to quote Simon and Garf. 41:53 I mean, you know, that was sort of extreme 41:54 but he is not condemning them for being precise 41:56 in their tithe but he said 41:57 you are forgetting the weightier matters. 42:00 And notice what Jesus said. 42:02 Justice, mercy and faith. 42:06 The first two are the very same two that you find in Micah. 42:09 Do justly, love mercy and faith, that means faith in God, 42:14 that will be the last one 42:16 I think Christ is quoting that there. 42:20 And then we go to point three, first of all do justly, 42:23 love and love mercy, loving your neighbor 42:28 and then finally walking humbly with your God. 42:32 Now, I'm going to bare this out a little bit 42:33 because there is a lot there. 42:36 First of all walking with God, not even talking yet 42:40 about walking humbly, just walking with God. 42:44 Your walk represents the direction of your life 42:47 and it represents how you use your time from day to day, 42:49 that's your walk. 42:51 If you lay in bed all day long, that's your walk. 42:54 You don't have to walk to have a walk, 42:55 everybody has got a walk. 42:57 Your walk is how you live your life. 43:00 It's an allegory or metaphor for that. 43:06 I want to walk like Enoch walked. 43:09 How did Enoch walked? 43:10 Well, it says in Genesis 5, Enoch walked with God, 43:14 and he was not, for God took him. 43:17 And it's like it tells us the 144,000 43:19 they followed the lamb wherever He goes. 43:22 Are they in the kingdom? 43:24 Yeah, well they are-- 43:26 I'm talking about Revelation places them there, right? 43:29 So they are going to be saved and the 12 apostles, 43:34 the ones who walked with Jesus. 43:37 They are the ones who are going to be among the redeemed. 43:40 Ultimately their names are going to be 43:42 on the 12 foundations in the New Jerusalem. 43:48 So do you walk with Him here? 43:50 Bible says Noah walked with God, he was a just man, 43:53 Genesis 6:9 " Noah was a just man, 43:57 perfect in his generations, and he walked with God." 44:01 Blessed is the man, Psalms 1 your first Psalm 1:1, 44:06 "Blessed is the man who walks 44:08 not in the counsel of the ungodly," 44:11 what does walking with God mean? 44:12 Well, I tell you what it doesn't mean. 44:14 You don't walk with the ungodly. 44:18 Nor stands in the path of sinners, 44:21 nor sits in the seat of the scornful. 44:22 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, 44:25 and in his law he meditates day and night." 44:27 So what is it-- what is it mean to walk with God? 44:31 Can two people go in the same destination if the are, 44:35 can they walk together 44:36 if they are not going to the same destination. 44:39 Does God keep his own law, so if you are walking with Jesus 44:43 and it says all of my Father's commandments I have kept. 44:47 That means you're following the Lord. 44:51 Amos 3:3, Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 44:57 So this person who is keeping the main thing the main thing, 45:01 he walks with God, he finds that Lord what do you want, 45:04 what's your will and that's what I'm going to do. 45:07 I've kind of summarized this in five or six points. 45:11 To walk with God, first of all you got to be 45:14 going in the same direction. 45:17 If you are not going in the same direction, 45:18 you might walk with them a little ways 45:19 if you are 45 degrees off you are going to keep 45:21 getting further and further apart. 45:23 But if you are going to the same point on the horizon, 45:25 you're gonna stay together, right. 45:28 So you got to be going to the same place 45:30 in the same direction. 45:33 B, you need to be going in the same pace. 45:37 When you are walking with God, 45:38 He has got a speed at which He is going to lead you. 45:42 If you run ahead you are not together anymore. 45:46 If you lag behind you are not together. 45:48 You may be going in the same direction 45:49 and still not be walking together 45:50 because one's mile ahead of the other. 45:54 Can't really say you are walking together anymore, can you? 45:56 So you not only need to be going in the same direction, 45:58 you need to be going in the same pace. 46:01 Need to be going to the same destination. 46:07 You need to be going with the same purpose. 46:10 Why are you going? 46:12 Have you ever thought that there is a lot of people 46:13 who want to go to heaven 46:15 and they are walking with God 46:16 with different motives than Jesus has. 46:20 Shouldn't we have the same motive for walking with God 46:23 that God has for walking with us? 46:27 Have you seen people getting married before 46:29 and they have got different ulterior 46:33 motives for the marriage. 46:36 If their marriages are, I love this person, 46:38 I want to make this person happy 46:40 and they both have that one goal, 46:42 they are going to have happy marriage. 46:44 If there are ulterior motives other than that, 46:47 if their purpose is not the same you got problems. 46:52 In your walk with the Lord if you are doing it 46:54 because what's in it for you, that's not God's motive. 46:59 Love must be the motive for others, 47:01 a love that goes out, so you got to do with the same purpose. 47:07 And finally you got to be doing it under the same power. 47:11 The power of God's spirit and it will certainly 47:14 be the driving dynamo of the Lord, 47:16 it must be the same power that drives you, 47:19 same direction, same page, same destination, 47:21 same purpose and the same power, 47:23 that's how you determine if you are walking with somebody. 47:27 Now doesn't just say walk with God, 47:29 it tells us how to walk with Him. 47:31 Walk humbly with thy God. 47:35 You know what that would mean? 47:36 In Hebrew the word humble there in this verse Micah 6:8, 47:42 it means through humble thyself to walk with God. 47:47 Another words walk in humbly with God means 47:49 you begin the walk by humbling of yourself, 47:53 repenting of your sins. 47:56 You are not walking with God 47:57 because you think you are worthy, 47:58 you are walking with God because you humbled yourself. 48:01 That's what makes us worthy to walk with God. 48:05 We're not walking with God because we think 48:06 we are better than others who are walking with God. 48:09 We walk with Him because we are thankful 48:12 that we can be found worthy by Christ's virtue 48:15 in merit not by our own. 48:18 Psalms 25:9 "The meek he will guide in judgment, 48:23 that means in rightness, 48:25 and the meek he will teach his way, the humble will learn." 48:30 Heard about this village in Africa 48:33 where a man was given a medal 48:34 because he was considered 48:36 the most humble man in the village 48:38 but then he made the mistake of wearing the medal 48:39 and they took it away from him. 48:45 The interesting thing about Christian humility 48:48 is once you think you have achieved it, 48:50 you probably lost it at that moment. 48:53 Praise the Lord, I'm not humble I mean as soon as you say 48:56 that you're proud in your humility, right 48:59 and you've have lost it. 49:00 1 Peter 5:5 "God resists the proud, 49:04 but he gives grace to the humble." 49:07 I don't know about you but I need grace. 49:10 You need grace? Who gets the grace? The humble. 49:16 In your walk with God, are you going to fall down? Yeah. 49:21 But if you walk in humbly, 49:22 they will pick you back up, you get grace. 49:25 If you are walking with arrogance with God, 49:28 you gonna fall a lot where you're not even up yet. 49:33 But if you want to be able to continue walking with God, 49:35 you need to do it humbly 49:38 and then especially beautiful is the part that says 49:44 finally Psalms 51:17, 49:48 "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, 49:53 a broken and a contrite heart These, 49:55 O God, You will not despise." 49:58 If you are walking with God humbly, 50:00 that means you are walking 50:01 because your heart has been broken. 50:03 You have been broken at the foot of the cross 50:08 and you are so thankful that you have any-- 50:10 the privilege to walk with God that you are doing it humbly. 50:16 Now, moving into that last verse, 50:19 the last parts of the verse, do justly, 50:21 love mercy, walk humbly with thy God. 50:27 You know that's really beautiful when you think about it. 50:30 The very fact it says with God what, we get to be with God. 50:34 What's the purpose of the plan of salvation? 50:37 We have been separated from God by our sins, 50:39 He wants to be with us. 50:41 Isn't that wonderful to think about? 50:43 Revelation 21:3, "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 50:49 Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, 50:53 and he will dwell with them, they shall be his people, 50:57 and God himself will be with them." 51:00 Wow, what's the ultimate goal when we get to heaven? 51:03 That we are with each other. 51:06 So if you want to be with Him then, 51:08 there, we must be willing to walk with Him here now, 51:12 that we walk humbly with our God. 51:14 Living to guide you, you got two choices, 51:16 you can live a life with God or without Him. 51:19 I have already tried living without Him and it goes nowhere, 51:21 well, it goes down. 51:24 So I'm going to live with Him, that means walking with Him. 51:29 Walk humbly with thy God. 51:31 Now in summary, notice what's in these verses. 51:36 The three main points are say it with me. 51:39 Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly. 51:46 The do is what you do. 51:50 The love is what you do with others. 51:54 The walk is with God. 51:57 The great commandment, love the Lord your God, 52:00 love your neighbor as you love yourself. 52:03 You heard me say before the key to joy is Jesus, others, you. 52:09 As these three individuals are in the key vision statement 52:12 for the Christian, it's in this verse. 52:15 You live justly, for others love mercy 52:22 and then have God your focus, walk with God, 52:26 live for His glory, worship Him. 52:30 You, your neighbor and God is all summed up in this. 52:33 You know what I love about this verse. 52:35 It says for God seeks not what you would have 52:39 but who you are, not your substance but your spirit. 52:46 He is not looking for your house but He wants your heart. 52:50 This wonderful verse encapsulates 52:53 what does the Lord want from us? 52:55 He wants you, He wants your heart. 52:59 And if He has your heart, you will say Lord, 53:01 by your grace I'm going to seek first your kingdom. 53:04 I'm going to do justly, I'm going to love my neighbor, 53:08 I'm going to show mercy and kindness 53:11 and I'm going to live a life that's not separated from You. 53:14 I'm going to walk with you like Enoch and Enoch 53:15 must had some kind of walk because he never even died. 53:19 Enoch is where you want to be, amen. 53:21 So if you can walk with God the way Enoch walked with God, 53:24 then you are home free. 53:26 Now we've made a little change in the way 53:29 we are going to conclude this. 53:31 I thought, how many of you know that there is a song 53:34 that actually summarizes this verse. 53:39 I'm going to see if Pastor Steve will come out here. 53:40 We are going to put that song up on the screen. 53:43 It's the word, the whole song is this verse. 53:45 Yeah, just bring that up. Thank you very much. 53:50 The song is this verse. 53:51 He has shown you, O man, what is good 53:53 and what does the Lord require of thee. 53:56 But to do justly, to love mercy, 53:59 and to walk humbly with thy God? 54:01 Now do you know why I want you to sing this, 54:02 we're not going to do the closing hymn. 54:04 How many of you men in the choir 54:05 know this song and the chorus. 54:07 I'd like you to come up here with us. 54:08 Make Steven and I sound much better, 54:10 come on don't be afraid. 54:11 We are sort of a friendly church. 54:13 I'm taking your word for that you know what, 54:15 that you don't know some elaborate version. 54:44 All right, we are going through a couple of times, 54:46 if you know it you are welcome to sing, 54:47 but probably it's a short song, so probably do 54:49 three or four or more times. 54:52 And the idea is you gonna be humming this all day long, 54:54 I want to impress this vision statement 54:56 on your mind, all right. 55:01 I will do it slow first, okay. 55:03 You can join me. 55:04 He has shown thee, O Man 55:07 What is good 55:10 And what does the Lord require of me 55:17 But to do justly 55:20 And to love mercy 55:23 And to walk humbly with thy God 55:28 Say it again. 55:29 He has shown thee, O Man 55:33 What is good 55:35 And what does the Lord require of me 55:42 But to do justly 55:45 And to love mercy 55:47 And to walk humbly with thy God 55:53 Are you ready to join the choir? 55:55 All right, let's all stand. 55:57 You will sing better, take a deep breath. 56:00 We will do this two more times, okay. 56:04 He has shown thee, O Man 56:07 What is good 56:10 And what does the Lord require of me 56:16 But to do justly 56:19 And to love mercy 56:22 And to walk humbly with thy God 56:28 He has shown thee, O Man 56:32 What is good 56:35 And what does the Lord require of me 56:41 But to do justly 56:44 And to love mercy 56:47 And to walk humbly with thy God 56:54 Amen. Amen. 56:56 Are you gonna remember this verse? 56:58 Are you going to do it? 57:01 All right, that's our prayer. 57:02 Let's bow our heads together. 57:05 Loving Father in heaven, 57:08 Lord, sometimes it's easier to quote it, 57:11 to sing it than to do it, I pray that Your word will come alive 57:16 in our hearts that this simple power of this verse, 57:21 what it is you require of us to do justly, 57:25 to live honest lives in integrity, 57:27 to love mercy, to show compassion and kindness 57:32 for those around us and to walk with the mind 57:35 and the spirit of Christ humbly in your presence. 57:39 Help us Lord to really exemplify these things in our lives. 57:42 This is what it means to be Christians. 57:44 I pray that this can be our mission statement. 57:47 Bless each person, guide us with Your spirit 57:50 that we might live this kind of life 57:52 and walk this kind of walk, 57:54 so that we might ultimately be with You through eternity. 57:58 This is our prayer in Christ's name. Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17