Micah 6:1-8

Listen to what the Lord says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say. Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel..

"My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me. I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord."

With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, 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

Background to story

Micah brings charges against Samaria and Jerusalem.

Social and Economic conditions are the problem.

Corruption of the rulersDishonesty of the merchantsGreed and covetousness of the land ownersEvil plans and schemes of manyWorldliness of the priests and prophetsOppressionWitchcraft Widespread idolatry of the people of Israel.

Micah 6:8 ‘To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly

with your God.’

Remember

‘I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam. My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.’

God was giving them some

SPIRITUAL MARKERS,

what are ours?

Justice

Micah complained about people using dishonest scales.

Honesty is the only policy.Psalm 51:6 “You desire truth in the inward parts.”

Mercy

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, it was the one considered least likely to offer help who did so.

The parable of the prodigal son reveals to us the heart of a father who accepted his son against the expectation of almost everyone.

The story of the woman caught in adultery teaches a compassionate mercy scarcely revealed in Old Testament Jewish law.

The dying thief on a cross has a lesson for us about the depth of God’s mercy.

Humility

Ephesians 2:8-9, “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Conclusion: It’s all a matter of the heart!

Psalm 139: 23-24 ‘Search me O God and know my heart test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.’

What do people see when they come to church?

Luke 6:45 ‘A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.’

An OUTWARD change will occur

because

of an INWARD response

to an

UPWARD relationship with God.