MICAH 6:6-8
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” (NKJV)
The world is running towards an inevitable end. We are all players on the great stage of life, and sooner or later, the Lord will draw close the curtains of the stage, and every actor and actress will await the final verdict of the great Judge.
The propounding, profession, and proliferation of strange, unscriptural practices in the church today, and the resultant confusion, may give the impression to many that anything goes with God as long as the name “JESUS” is being invoked. What a sad mistake!
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9
Too many cooks have spoiled the ecclesiastical soup, and the ill savor now, more than ever, calls for divine punishment. But infinite mercy and unfailing love, which God Almighty alone truly gives, calls us to:
Firstly, Attention; Secondly, Repentance; and Thirdly, Reconciliation with our God who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness…” Habakkuk 1:13
If you would be made worthy of acceptance before the LORD, then He requires you to do the following:
1) PAY ATTENTION: Proverbs 4:20-27; Psalm 90:10-12.
From the cradle to the grave, man keeps himself occupied with the world around him or is otherwise kept occupied by the unseen forces of nature, whether good or bad. The resultant effect of such mental preoccupation is the tendency for man to forget that he has an appointment with God at the Judgment Seat of Jesus Christ someday — may be sooner than he even realizes!
2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad”. (NKJV)
The clarion call to us all right now is to pay more attention to our relationship with God (if we already have one) or to start considering how to begin one (if we don’t have one with Him yet).
“Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.” Proverbs 4:24-27
Stand at attention! Take some time for a moment and ponder these salient points:
1. Where am I heading to? Proverbs 16:2, 25. Do you feel that you have a sense of direction towards heaven? Or are you only preoccupied with your own worldly pursuits, while relying on your own instinct for guidance?
2. Who is leading me in my life’s journey? Joshua 24:14-15. Is it God or your own ambition? Can you see beyond your earthly dreams?
3. How much time have I spent going this way? James 4:13. So far, are you gaining or losing ground? What results do you have to show that suggest you have lived a heaven-oriented life?
4. Is there a hope and a future in this direction? Jeremiah 29:11. Do you feel spiritually secure walking this way?
5. How much time do I have left in this journey? James 4:14. Do you feel that time is still on your side or not? Do you have a sense of spiritual accomplishment or failure?
“The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away… So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:10, 12
God calls you to attention. Your soul is of more value than anything you could hope to gain in this world, now or in the future, assuming you have enough time left.
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matthew 16:26
Your life is like a lighted candle exposed to the wind. If it survives being quenched by the harsh wind of life, yet it must burn out someday; so make the most of it, heavenward, while you can.
The hands of God’s mercy are extended to mankind, but a boisterous and insensitive soul would pass them by, unnoticed, and head for a Christless eternity.
“Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy.” Jonah 2:8
2) EMBRACE GOD’S CALL TO REPENTANCE: 2 Chronicles 7:12-14; Joel 2:12-17; John 9:39-41
In dealing with the second point of this study, which focuses on repentance, we must approach the issue in the spirit of humility and with a simple, childlike faith; for only then can we truly see our need for repentance.
To the self-righteous Pharisees who scoffed at Jesus’ mission to help the spiritually blind sinners to see (John 9:39-40), His response to them was simple: “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.” John 9:41.
God’s promise of forgiveness and restoration will be effective only “…If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways…” 2 Chronicles 7:14
The Bible defines repentance to be a turning away “from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.” Acts 26:18
Here, in this study, we are dealing with repentance as it concerns God’s children, though it may apply to anyone who has not met with and surrendered to Jesus Christ as their Lord and personal Savior.
In the Scriptures above, God’s call to repentance was to “My people,” which refers to a people under a covenant relationship with God Almighty. The emphasis here is to stress the point that unless a born-again Christian walks in God’s will and according to His Word, he or she is not in harmony with God Almighty, and they will ultimately lose that “…grace of God that brings salvation…” (Titus 2:11) unless they turn to Him in repentance again.
Satan hardly tempts the matured Christian with those deeds that are manifestly sinful. He would rather employ a more subtle means, which in this case is the sin of omission.
In Matthew 23:23, Jesus Christ rebuked some religious leaders who took pains to observe some religious duties while omitting some others; He said to them:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone”. (NKJV)
Below also are some things that God’s children have omitted and are still omitting to do today:
1. Failure to win souls — Matthew 28:19-20; Daniel 12:3; John 21:15-17
2. Failure to intercede for others — 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Genesis 19:17-33
3. Failure to fast and pray — Mark 9:28-29; Acts 6:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Joel 2:15-16
4. Failure to visit the brethren — Acts 15:36; Matthew 25:43
5. Failure to read and meditate on God’s Word — Joshua 1:8; 2 Timothy 2:15; Psalm 1:1-3
6. Failure to forgive offenders — Mark 11:25-26
7. Failure to carry our “cross” — Matthew 10:34-39
8. Failure to correct those in error — Galatians 6:1; 1 Timothy 5:20
9. Failure to support God’s work or to give our tithe — Malachi 3:10-12; Exodus 22:29; Proverbs 3:9
10. Failure to help the needy — Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:8; Hebrews 13:1-3, 16
11. Failure to rely on and listen to God — Proverbs 1:23-33
Sin, in whatever shade or color it comes, whether in OMISSION or COMMISSION, is still a transgression of God’s Word, and the consequences are the same.
God requires immediate repentance while the grace to do so is still in rich supply. Grace, we must understand, is for a season, and mercy for a time. Who can appease the anger of the Righteous Judge when, at death or after the rapture, His grace is withdrawn and bitter judgment is lavishly bestowed on the unrepentant? Revelation 6:12-17
Wisdom calls for a change of heart and disposition if our repentance must be genuine. Failure here would be failing in our covenant relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
“The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the promotion of fools.” Proverbs 3:35
There is a great, daily influx of unrepentant souls into hell. Some went there out of ignorance, but others, sadly, out of procrastination. Why wait until mercy is beyond reach?
“Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55:6-7.
So far in the first two points of this study, we have talked about taking out time to “PAY ATTENTION” to some very serious issues of life, and to turn to God in “REPENTANCE” in those areas where we have been found wanting in our walk with God.
In point three (3), which is the final part of the study, we shall talk about the need for RECONCILIATION with God Almighty.
3) ACKNOWLEDGING THE NECESSITY OF A RECONCILIATION WITH GOD
Isaiah 1:1-18; 44:22; 43:25-26; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
What is reconciliation? Very often, we confuse repentance with reconciliation, or juxtapose the one with the other as though they mean one and the same thing. A close examination of the two concepts, however, would reveal that they are different, albeit indispensable, one to the other.
Whereas repentance means turning away “from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18), reconciliation, on the other hand, means a restoration of our battered relationship with God Almighty. At repentance, we can hear God say,
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25
But at reconciliation, we can hear Him say,
“Come now, and let us reason together…”
“Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.” Isaiah 1:18; 43:26.
Forgiveness of sins at repentance is not an end in itself, but a means to an end; which end is our reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.
“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
The reason we sometimes relapse into sins we have previously confessed, in all sincerity, is because we did not pursue reconciliation with God. This is what God’s Word warns against when it says in 2 Corinthians 6:1:
“We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”
Reconciliation with God, as a basic scriptural tenet, must be seen as that line in the plan of salvation where, soon after repentance, you ask yourself the following questions:
1. Now that my sins are forgiven, what does God expect of me? John 8:10-11; Mark 5:18-20
John 8:11 “…And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (NKJV)
2. What must I do to make my repentance genuine? Luke 3:8-9; 19:8-9; Colossians 3:1-3
Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth”.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; *old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”. (NKJV)
3. How do I go about rebuilding my battered relationship with God? Romans 12:1-2; Hebrews 3:15; John 8:31; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Timothy 2:4
2 Corinthians 6:17,18 “Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” (NKJV)
4. How do I forestall a relapse into sin and maintain a constant fellowship with God? Psalm 1:1-6; 119:1-11, 105; Luke 18:1; Isaiah 40:28-31; 2 Timothy 4:1-2; 1 Peter 5:8-9
Psalm 119:11,105:
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You…Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way… Your word is a *lamp to my feet And a light to my path”. (NKJV)
Some people today are aware of what God requires of them to do in order to be among His chosen vessels, but they lack the willingness and commitment to obey Him. You, however, must make a difference, dear reader.
Jude 1:20, 21:
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”. (NKJV)
To the short-sighted and shallow-minded person, the pursuit of this world’s pleasures — of whatever kind! — might seem to be more thrilling and adventurous than living a life of strict compliance with God’s Word now, in hope of a reward in heaven someday. They, it seems, would rather have their fill of pleasure now, and rather gamble with their chances of ever getting into heaven, than do otherwise. But have they ever realized that the price of a fleeting moment of sin is the eternal loss of one’s soul? Will God wait forever to show mercy to anyone who will not turn to Him in repentance? Do they ever care to find out what God requires of them?
Hebrews 2:3: “What makes us think that we can escape if we are indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself? It was passed on to us by those who heard him speak..” (NLT)
The End