Open the Bible UK Daily

For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.Micah 4:5God sits exalted on the throne of the universe, the sovereign Lord over all creation. Nothing can touch Him. No one can usurp Him. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God is adored in heaven, and one day He will be confessed by every tongue on earth. He is incomparable, in a class of His own. He has no peers, no rivals. The Bible speaks about “one God,” but our world speaks about “many gods” and pursues many forms of spirituality. We live in a pluralistic society in which there are many religions. The phrase “God bless America” has become ambiguous in our time because there is no longer a consensus over what we mean when we say the name “God.” Are we referring to Yahweh or Allah or Shiva or Vishnu or Buddha? Or are we simply referring to ourselves? This confusion is not new. In fact, affirming faith in the living God when the people around you affirm many gods is one of the main themes of the Old Testament story. Micah's message is that God will destroy all idols. At first sight the subject of idolatry may seem remote, but it actually comes very close to home.When you think about the many gods in our pluralistic society, does it make you feel confused? Fearful? Confident? Why?

“Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.”Micah 5:9If you are walking by faith in Jesus Christ, then over the noise of your enemies’ voices, you are able to say: “I am a child of the King. I have a place at His table. I have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. I belong to the Shepherd-King. My life is secure in His hands.” What will happen when the banquet is finally ready and the king returns? He will put on his royal robes, the trumpet will sound, and he will enter his banquet hall in all of his splendour and glory. When he comes, all the enemies will be gone. That means there will be no more laughing voices, no more doubt and fear, no more darkness, and no more debilitating wounds. So if you belong to Jesus today, you already know how the story of your life will end. Your life will end with you standing in the presence of Jesus Christ — ransomed, healed, restored, and forgiven. Listen to how Micah puts it: “Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off” (5:9).That’s your future. Now, go and live in the light of it. What’s holding you back?

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.Psalm 23:5Imagine a great banquet hall in the king’s palace. The king is dressed in common clothes, and he is doing the work of a servant, preparing the table for a great banquet. All of us are gathered in this vast hall. We would like to help the king, but he will not allow it. He wants us to watch as he prepares the table for us. The only problem is that our enemies are there too. Fear comes to a few of us and says, “There’s no place for you at this table.” Failure says to others, “Are you the kind of person who deserves to be here? What have you really achieved?” Doubt comes and says, “Are you sure there’s going to be a banquet? Maybe this is your imagination, a product of your upbringing?” The old enemy, Guilt, says, “Remember what you’ve done. How could you ever sit at the king's table?" And finally Old Wounds—nasty piece of work that he is—keeps saying, “You will never break free from me.” The king is busy preparing the banquet. But we are surrounded by enemies. They are laughing at us and the king allows it to be so. The laughter stops when the king comes back: “Don’t fear their mockery,” he says. “I am preparing this table for you.” That’s your position as a Christian believer. Already you are a child of the King. Already you are surrounded by His love. Still, you are in the presence of your enemies. You hear their laughter, and you feel the pull of their temptations. But the Great King is preparing a table for you.Do you feel overwhelmed by one of these enemies today? What is he saying to you?

From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.Micah 5:2David was the greatest king God’s people ever had. But he had his own sins and flaws. You will never find a leader who is everything you think a shepherd should be. The good news of the gospel is that God Himself has come to be your shepherd. Other shepherds may disappoint you. But those who trust in Christ will not be put to shame. If your trust has been betrayed, you need to know that there is a shepherd who is greater than David. Jesus Christ is that shepherd: “He shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD” (5:4). He is God with us, the arm of the Lord revealed. David saved his sheep from lions and bears, but Christ is able to save you from dark despair, the slavery of sin, and the second death. Not only is Jesus able to save you, but He is also able to keep you through every trial of life in this dark world until He presents you faultless and with great joy in the presence of God. The last glimpse this world had of Jesus was when He hung on a cross, led like a lamb to the slaughter. This world looks for a future without Christ, but Jesus will one day come in glory and every eye will see Him. Have you felt disappointed by a spiritual leader?

“The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”John 10:11The common image of a biblical shepherd is an older man with a beard walking slowly through the countryside. He is wearing a flowing robe and carrying a long stick with a hook on the end. If that’s how you think about a shepherd, then it’s time to change the image. Think about a cattle rancher and you’ll get a picture that is much closer to reality. Jesus said, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (10:11). Now, why did He say that? Because in biblical times, the shepherd was their only defence against predators. David met with Saul and volunteered to represent Israel in a showdown with the Philistine champion Goliath. But Saul thought the idea was ridiculous: “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth” (1 Sam. 17:33). Here’s what David said to Saul: “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him” (1 Sam. 17:34-35). That’s impressive. No guns. No tranquilliser darts. Face-to-face with a lion and a bear, armed only with a piece of wood. You can’t get a hired hand to do that: When the “hired hand… sees the wolf coming… [he] leaves the sheep and flees” (John 10:12). The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He is more interested in the good of the sheep than in his own welfare. It isn't easy to find shepherds like that! And those are the kind of shepherds we need in the church.Have you known any “good shepherds” in ministry? Can you name one or two?

“And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God,” declares the LORD God.Ezekiel 34:31Whenever we come to this theme of shepherds and sheep in the Bible, we have a problem. Animals tend to make us sentimental, and most of us have a remarkable capacity to project an image onto animals that is a long way from reality. Take bears, for example... Some children get anxious at night and have trouble sleeping, so what do we do to comfort them? We put a bear in their beds. Now, how far from reality is that? Adults sometimes continue this sentimentality. If you ask them, “Why do you have this bear sitting on your bed?”, they might answer: “Because he’s so cute!” And then you could reasonably say, “But bears are killers. If you actually met one, you wouldn’t survive.” We have the same problem of sentimentality when it comes to sheep. We think of sheep as being white, fluffy, and cuddly. But if you had real sheep in your bedroom, you wouldn’t be able to sleep because of the smell. And if you have ever watched sheep being sheared, you will know just how awkward these animals are—it’s hard to imagine anything less cuddly. When the Bible describes Christians as "the flock" of God, this is not a flattering description. To be described as “sheep,” is to be smelly, dirty, defenceless, lacking the capacity for independent thought, and so on. This is who we are - the flock of our God - full of sin, defenceless, prone to the herd mentality, and in need of a shepherd to guide and protect us.How does it make you feel when you hear that you are part of "God's flock"? Why?

“It shall come to pass in the latter days...”Micah 4:1How will God establish peace on earth? It begins with God judging. Here are three more things Micah tells us: God will gather. “I will assemble the lame” (4:6). These people have been injured by others’ cruelty. They have difficulty getting where they want to go. Imagine the Lord saying this to you. He will not allow your wounds to keep you from the blessing He wants you to enjoy. He is gathering His community: “Come to me, all you weary and I will give you rest” (Mat. 11:28). God will rule. “The LORD will reign over them” (Mic. 4:7). The same Jesus who says, “I will give you rest,” also says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me” (Mat. 11:29). Those He gathers, He also rules. To rule means to give direction. And “many nations shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths’” (Mic. 4:2). Here is a community of people who say, “Without you, Lord, we would make a mess of our lives.” God will redeem. “The LORD will redeem you from the hand of your enemies” (4:10). “Redeeming” is buying back what would otherwise be lost. You will see God’s strong arm revealed as He breaks the dark powers around you and in you. God will fulfil His promise by judging, gathering, ruling, and redeeming. These are the things Christ does for all who will come to Him, and that is why you can have hope.Is this something that you would want to be a part of?

He shall judge between many peoples...Micah 4:3Peace on earth sounds great, but how will God deal with the problems around us and the problems within us? The first thing Micah tells us here is that God will judge, and that this judgement will have two parts. First, God will resolve disputes among His own people. So many disputes among God’s people never get resolved. But here we read that Christ will resolve them. Second, God will judge the enemies of His people: “Many nations are assembled against you” (4:11). That’s the reality. In Micah’s time—and this has been true ever since—there have been many nations who have wanted to destroy Israel. They want to invade the land and to do violence. What is God going to do about that? Micah says, “They do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor" (4:12). What happens to sheaves on the threshing floor? They are destroyed. God will remove those who persist in evil from the earth. People often say that a God of love would never send people to hell. That sounds good but it hides a great naivety about the power of evil. We need someone who can overcome the power of evil (human and demonic) that spoils life in this world. Who can stop the thief or the murderer? Who can break the drug cartels or the terror cells? Who can break down the structures of self-interest that leave half the world hungry, while the other half is drowning in gluttony? We need the judge. Without the judge, the vision of Micah 4 would only be a dream, as it has been throughout human history.What is your reaction to God’s work of judgement?

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be lifted up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it.Micah 4:1“The house of the LORD” is the temple, and the temple in the Old Testament was the place where God’s presence came down on the earth. God had said that He would meet with His people at the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:22). The ark was housed in the temple and when Solomon’s temple was built, the cloud of God's presence filled the temple. So, when we read about the temple (or the house of the LORD) in the Old Testament, we are talking about the place to which God had said He would come. Micah foresees a day when God would visibly come to His temple: “Many nations shall come, and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths’” (4:2). The “he” here is obviously God Himself. So, Micah is talking about a day when the presence of the Lord will be known to all the nations of the earth. People will come to see the Lord, to hear His teaching, and to walk in His paths. This is what he is saying! God is invisible and so, if He is to be seen and known and heard, He must take some visible form. That means Micah is clearly anticipating a day when the Messiah, the Christ, will come to the temple in Jerusalem. There will be a day when God will draw near and His presence and His Word will be made known on the earth.Can you imagine what this would be like?

“They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”Micah 4:3Micah is describing total disarmament—something that’s never been seen in world history—all bombs exploded, all weapons eliminated, all training camps closed, all prisons emptied, and all national defence budgets reallocated. Now, of course, we find this almost impossible to imagine, because the only world we have ever known is one in which there is hostility, fear, and danger. But Micah speaks of a day when there will be peace on earth—imagine that. It’s quite a dream! Along with this peace, there will also be security: “They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid” (4:4). Imagine being able to walk the streets of London any time, day or night, without being afraid—no stories of murder or rape, and no reports of theft. These sound like beautiful words for church on Sunday, but they are obviously light years away from the reality of the world we live in today. So, is Micah just a dreamer? Notice what Micah says at the end of verse 4: “They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.” Micah is saying, “You need to know that I’m not just dreaming here. What I’m describing is not some vague hope for a better world. It’s not a dream. It’s a promise! This is the promise of Almighty God!”What is your initial reaction to the idea of peace on earth? Laughable? Sceptical? Hopeless? Hopeful? “Yawn”? Something else?

But as for me. I am filled with power. with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.Micah 3:8For twenty years Micah preached and prayed, and watched things move from bad to worse among the people that he loved, but he was faithful in doing what God had entrusted him to do. God called Micah to speak and pray, and that’s what he did. That’s the secret. He stuck with it—in season and out of season—and as a result, he lived to see a miracle that he probably never thought possible. We have the Bible and we’ve been called to pray. God has entrusted each of us with a ministry to carry out, and he holds us accountable for it. If you want to see a breakthrough in the darkness in your family, office, or some other place where there is resistance, follow Micah’s model. You can make a difference and here’s how: Tell the truth. Plant the living seed of God’s truth wherever you can. If it doesn’t seem to bear fruit, don’t get discouraged. This is what God has called you to do. Do what’s right. Micah is "filled. with justice." (3:8). Truth and integrity belongs together. Pray with faith. “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). Persevere. Micah preached and prayed for twenty years without seeing any change. But he stayed faithful in what God called him to do.How can you make a difference?

Therefore because of you [unfaithful leaders] Zion shall be ploughed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height.Micah 3:12If you had heard Micah speak the words of this prophecy, you would have felt completely hopeless. But the wonderful thing is that it didn’t actually happen for another 100 years. If you want to know why, turn to Jeremiah 26. The city of Jerusalem and its temple were still standing 100 years after Micah said that they would be destroyed. Jeremiah reminds the people of God what Micah said, “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. 'Zion shall be ploughed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height’” (Jer. 26:18). Notice what happened when Micah gave this message: “Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favour of the LORD, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them?” (Jer. 26:19). Micah spoke the Word of God all through the years of King Ahaz (20 years), and if ever there was a leader who abused the trust he was given by God it was Ahaz. Think about what that was like for Micah—twenty years of teaching the Word and faithful prayer, and no sign of progress. Then Hezekiah came to the throne. The new king heard Micah’s message and God touched his heart. Who could have predicted that the son of the most notoriously wicked Ahaz would turn with all his heart to the Lord? That’s what happened. Hezekiah turned to the Lord, the Lord relented, and an entire generation was saved from disaster. Micah’s preaching and praying made a difference. The disaster he spoke of was postponed and he lived to see a great turning back to God in his generation.Why do you think God included this story in the Bible?

Then they will cry to the LORD, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil.Micah 3:4Here we come to another principle that runs throughout the Bible. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (Jas. 5:16). Effective praying depends on right living. “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way… so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Pet. 3:7). Effective praying depends on right living. “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psa. 66:18). This does not mean that you have to be perfect before you can pray. The reason that we come to God in the name of Jesus is that none of us can come before Him with hands that are entirely clean or hearts that are entirely pure. But these Scriptures clearly teach that if there is sin in your life that you refuse to face, God says, “If you will not deal with your sins, I will not listen to your prayers.” That’s why self-examination and confession of our sins is so important when we come to God. God has made an inseparable connection between your relationship with Him and your responsibilities toward other people. In the Lord’s Prayer, when we come and ask God to forgive us for our sins, He immediately asks us to look around and see if we need to forgive someone who has sinned against us. How can we receive from Him what we are not willing to offer to others?Is there a sin in your life that you are aware of, but have been unwilling to face?

“Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?—you who hate the good and love the evil, who tear the skin from off my people and their flesh from off their bones. who eat the flesh of my people. and lay their skin from off them. and break their bones in pieces and chop them up like meat in a pot, like flesh in a cauldron."Micah 3:1-3God is speaking here to the leaders among His people. The problem is that these leaders have betrayed their trust. They were abusing the trust that they had been given by God. These prophets and priests were called to be shepherds of God's flock, but they seem more like butchers than shepherds. So, what does God do when leaders prove unfaithful to their trust? When a prophet, priest, pastor, parent, product manager, publicist, professor, promoter, or plumber proves unfaithful, what does God do? The answer is: He stops listening to their prayers. Here are leaders who are ripping people off and chewing people up. They come to the temple and say their prayers, and they feel that they are spiritual. But they have ignored the cries of the poor, and God says as long as that is the case, he will not listen to their cries either. God holds His people accountable.Is it possible that God is not listening to your prayers? Are there cries from the weak, vulnerable, or poor around you that you are ignoring? If so, how can you respond differently?

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.Hebrews 13:17You are accountable for all that you have been given, and the more you have been given, the more accountable you are.That’s why the Bible urges us to pray for our leaders. Children, pray for your parents, because God has given them a big responsibility to lead you. Congregations, pray for your pastors and elders, because God has given them a big responsibility to lead His church. Citizens, pray for your prime minister, MPs and local leaders, because God has given them a big responsibility to lead your country.The God of the Bible holds leaders accountable, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account” (Heb. 13:17). On the last day, church leaders, for example, will have to answer questions like these:Have you been faithful to the gospel? Have you been a shepherd of the flock? Have you led the people to be wholehearted in fulfilling the Great Commission? Nobody should underestimate the responsibility that goes with the privilege of leadership. So, pray for your leaders, because they have been trusted with great responsibility before God.Take a moment to pray for those who are in leadership around you.

“Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.”Luke 19:17Jesus told a story about three servants who were trusted with investing money. Two of them did a good job. They were enterprising and showed themselves to be wise managers.In Matthew’s version, when the master returned, he said: “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much” (Mat. 25:21).Jesus spells out the principle: “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much” (Lk. 16:10). That’s why God’s people are to select church leaders by looking at how candidates have handled other responsibilities like family and money (see Titus 1:5-9). Look at their track record.When you find yourself making choices that involve trust it’s worth asking: Where has this person proved faithful? This question will help keep you from trusting the wrong people. It is a great question to ask when you are choosing leaders, friends, employees, or a spouse. It is also a good question to ask when you are deciding whether or not you can trust someone to keep a secret, or when you are deciding what freedoms to allow your children.When you see people who have proved faithful in what has already been entrusted to them, you can be confident in trusting them with more.How are you handling the responsibilities that God has already given you?

Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required…Luke 12:48It is worth taking a moment to think about what God has entrusted to you. Here are some areas to reflect on.Relationships. Your relationships are a trust from God. Every wedding reminds us that one person’s happiness is largely entrusted into the hands of another. When a child is born, he or she is entrusted to parents. Friends influence one another. Your friends are a trust from God.Work. Your work is a trust from your employer, and ultimately from God. Teachers, you’ve been trusted with students. Nurses and doctors, you’ve been trusted with patients. Investors, you’ve been trusted with other people’s money. Pastors and missionaries, you’ve been trusted with the Bible and the care of God's flock.Gifts. Your gifts are a trust from God—your hands and your mind, your creativity and your enterprise, your love for children, your way of speaking to others about the gospel. You are accountable for how you use these gifts.Ministry. If you serve on boards or committees, certain responsibilities have been entrusted to you. You may have a Sunday school class or a Bible study group. Whatever your ministry is, it is a trust from God. We are accountable for our stewardship of ministry.Money. The money that passes through your hands is a trust from God.Gospel. If you are a Christian, you’ve been trusted with the gospel. We are to guard the gospel and contend for the gospel. We are responsible to proclaim it and to live it.You will find in life that if you are faithful with what God has entrusted to you, God will trust you with more. It’s true with money. It's true with responsibility, influence, ministry, and friendship.What have you been trusted with? Make a list.

Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel!Micah 3:1The Bible has a great deal to say about leadership. Some positions of leadership are elected. That is, people make a choice through a process of voting, by which they trust the task of leadership to people who are willing to take that responsibility.This is what happens in a democracy, and it is also what happens in many churches. Leadership is a trust given by the people. But even when there is no voting involved, leadership is still a trust from God. Nobody votes on the birth of a baby, but when a child is born, the father and mother are given a trust by God.The apostle Paul said that all governing authorities are established by God (Rom. 13:1-2), and the Roman Empire was hardly a model of democracy. So, even when governments are not elected by the people, Paul says, “the authorities are established by God,” and that means they are accountable to God.All leadership involves a gift of trust, and all leaders are therefore accountable. The same is true in your work. Whatever authority or responsibility you have was given to you by someone else, and you are accountable to them for the way that you use it.Think of a person in authority over you (a parent, boss, teacher, pastor, political leader, etc.) who’s been given responsibility and is accountable for how they use it. How does that make you feel, to be aware of their responsibility and accountability?

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”Hebrews 4:7God is speaking. And He says two things that He will do: Some time ago, Professor Don Carson was asked to speak at Cambridge University. When he had finished his presentation on biblical Christianity, one of the faculty got up and asked: “So what you’re saying is… if God is a talking God, that changes everything?”This highly educated man had obviously never encountered biblical Christianity before. The idea that there might be a God who speaks, and therefore could be known, had evidently never occurred to him. The professor offered a brilliant summary of biblical Christianity: “If God is a talking God, that changes everything.”If God has spoken, you can know Him. If God does not speak, there’s no way you can know Him. But if God speaks, that changes everything. God has spoken because He wants to be known. You can respond to Him in faith and obedience. You can know the love of the Creator who reaches out to you in Jesus Christ.If God has spoken, you can know the truth. If God had not spoken, then you would have your opinion and others would have their opinions. But if God speaks, that changes everything. If God speaks, then His Word is the truth, against which all opinions must be measured, and there is a foundation on which you can build your life.If God has spoken, you must listen to what He says. If God did not speak, then how you live is up to you. But if God speaks, that changes everything. There will be a Day of Judgment when every person who has ever lived, including you, will stand before Him. Jesus came into the world so you could be freed from your past sins and brought into a new relationship with God.When you hear the Word of God are you listening as if God speaks, or as if He doesn’t?

“Do not preach”—thus they preach— “one should not preach of such things; disgrace will not overtake us.”Micah 2:6When Micah spoke the Word of God, there were strong voices in the community that did not want to hear it.The first marker of the false prophet is that he or she brings comfort to people who are still in their sins: “Micah, you talk about judgement from God. How can that be? We are the most blessed people on the face of the earth!” So, the false prophets brought an alternative message that proved to be very attractive to many people.The second marker of the false prophet is that he or she deceives the complacent: “If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, ‘I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,’ he would be the preacher for this people!” (2:11).Many people today are looking for religious leaders who will enjoy a pint of beer and not talk too much about God. Many are looking for a minister who will run the public services—baptisms, weddings, and funerals—and who will affirm us all on our pathway through life but won’t disturb our way of life by talking about God. And, under no circumstances, would he or she ever suggest that there might be something we need to deal with before God.While God speaks about judgement and salvation, the false prophet comforts the wicked (2:6) and deceives the complacent (2:11). The voice of the false prophet can be clearly heard around our country today. But the tragedy of the false prophet is that he actually leads you away from God.Ask God to deliver you from the seductive lies of false prophets.

Therefore, thus says the LORD…Micah 2:3“I am devising disaster.” He is explaining the action that He is about to take against those who take advantage of the vulnerable: “against this family I am devising disaster” (2:3).A society that follows the path of exploitation will not survive for long. God says that those who have taken the land will be removed from it, and that is precisely what happened. This is the New Testament principle: “whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal. 6:7)—those who exploit others will, in the end, be exploited. Every sin brings its own wages.“I will gather the remnant.” Then God gives a word of hope: “I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob; I will gather the remnant of Israel” (2:12). This is precisely what happened in the year 586 BC.Nebuchadnezzar’s armies came against Jerusalem, causing dreadful destruction, and a small community of God’s people were taken off into exile. “The remnant” lived in Babylon for 70 years. Then God brought them back to rebuild Jerusalem in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.God’s Word is a message of judgement and salvation. He would bring a great disaster because of the evil that had gripped their society. But out of that disaster God would gather a community: “I will set them together like sheep in a fold” (2:12).Living this side of the cross, we cannot read these words without seeing Jesus as the Good Shepherd. Ezra and Nehemiah led God’s people back from exile in Babylon. But Jesus will lead His people out of bondage to sin and death and hell.Where have you seen this “reap what you sow” principle at work in your own life?

Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds!Micah 2:1These people are intentionally pursuing the wrong path. Their plan is to make money by taking advantage of vulnerable people: 'They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them away; they oppress a man and his house, a man and his inheritance” (2:2).In farming communities, the land is everything. If you lose your land, you lose your means of income. That’s why the Old Testament law made special provisions for protecting the land.If you had to sell your land, it was leased to the buyer, and after a period of time, it would be returned to you or your children. These “land laws'' put the brakes on the process by which the rich become richer, while the poor become poorer. Unfortunately, these laws were ignored.God is very interested in how you make your money. He is less interested in the amount of money you make than in how you make your money. And God is angered by the business schemes of those who make money by exploiting the weaknesses of other people.In Micah’s day, businesspeople made loans, and then foreclosed on them, displacing people, and seizing their property at a fraction of its value. And this is still happening today. This same spirit has led to the multiplication of lawsuits, lotteries, and gambling in our culture.If your only question is “How can I make money here?” you will soon find yourself in some scheme that takes advantage of vulnerable people.How do you think God would evaluate your pursuit of money?

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.Galatians 1:11-12“Revelation” is the word that we use to describe how the invisible, incomprehensible God has made Himself known.You can come to know God, not through your own ideas or feelings about what He may be like, but through His own revelation of Himself. And how has God revealed Himself? By His words and deeds.What are God’s deeds by which we may come to know Him? He created the world. He sent His Son into the world. Jesus died on the cross, and on the third day the tomb was empty.But alongside God’s actions are God’s words. We often say, “Actions speak louder than words,” and that’s true. But it is also true that “Words speak clearer than actions.” So, if you want to understand God’s actions, you need to listen to His words.God’s words give meaning to His actions, and His actions give substance to His words. You can have a close encounter with the living God because He has made Himself known in the words and deeds found in the Bible. That’s revelation.Are you trying to understand God’s actions mostly from your own experience, or are you also listening to God’s words?

I declared them to you from of old, before they came to pass I announced them to you, lest you should say, “My idol did them, my carved image and my metal image commanded them.”Isaiah 48:5A large part of the world’s religion is precisely this: speculation about the nature of God. Men (and women) have thought, talked, meditated, and written about what they think God is like.Twenty-first century secularists have picked up on this, and they point out that a large part of religion is only a projection of people’s own ideas and prejudices, not universal truth. Therefore, we are not bound by it.And the spiritual mindset today is: “What really matters is not what the great religious writers and teachers said, what really matters is what it means to you.” What comes to your mind when you think about God? What is your experience of God? How do you feel about faith?”An idol is simply “my idea of what God is like.” So, you might think of an idol as something that was made out of wood, stone, or metal. But many idols are not metal, but mental. They are constructed not in a workshop, but in a classroom: “I like to think of God like this,” we say.Any approach to knowing God that begins with our speculation will lead to idolatry. A god who is a projection of your own thoughts and feelings is simply an extension of yourself. If that is your god, then you are ultimately on your own. You cannot come to know the living God by speculation; you come to know the living God by revelation.Why is speculation about God attractive to people? What is the problem with it?

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!Psalm 34:8How can we come to know the sovereign God of the Bible? We can’t see Him, hear Him, taste Him, touch Him, or smell Him. God is invisible. More than that, He is incomprehensible.This really is about the most fundamental question a human being can ever ask: How can I know God? How could we, a small fragment of creation, in such a small window in time, ever expect to know the glory of the Creator who is eternal? Is that even possible?Imagine an American bringing their hairdryer with them on a trip to the UK. They find an attachment that converts the prong shape and they plug it into a 240-volt electric socket. Do you know what would happen? It would fry! Why? Because their hairdryer is designed for a 120-volt electric supply. Unless they use a voltage adapter, the hairdryer would be overwhelmed.In the same way, if you were to take all the power and glory of the eternal God and communicate it down to our little brains, exactly the same thing would happen! A storm of thunder and lightning is overwhelming to us. How much more the glory of our awesome Creator?How do you answer the question: “How can I know God?”

Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair, for the children of your delight; make yourselves as bald as the eagle, for they shall go from you into exile.Micah 1:16Shaving the head was an act of mourning before the Lord. When one sees a disaster happening in the land that he loves, that person will mourn for himself and for his loved ones.Disasters will always have one of two effects in your life: Either you will shake your fist, or you will shave your head. Job's wife shook her fist at God: "Curse God and die!" (Job 2:9). But Job shaved his head: “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (2:10).The disasters in your life will reveal who you really are. Time and again you see that when a true Christian faces disaster, it proves to be their finest hour. You will hear them saying, “I cannot explain this—the pain of it is still with me, but I have discovered God in a whole new way.”But you don’t need to wait for a disaster in your own life to draw near to God. Every Christian should go to a funeral at least once a year, and when you are there, you should say, “One day this will be me. One day this will be my wife, my husband.” Then you will know better how to live.Are you allowing God to speak to you through other peoples’ losses?

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever.Deuteronomy 29:29In America, where I have been a pastor for many years now, some people are confident that they know why God sends disasters. Some would say it is because of abortion. Some would say it is because of America’s policy towards Israel. Some would even say that it is because of NASA space initiatives!We need to remember the difference between us and Micah: He was a prophet. God spoke to him directly. God enabled him to predict precisely what would happen: “The word of the Lord… came to Micah…” (Micah 1:1).But we are not prophets, and “the secret things belong to the LORD” (Deut. 29:29). We don’t know the secret things, and here’s the problem: Claiming to know the secret things only detracts from our credibility when we try to speak about “the things that are revealed” by God in the Bible.When you claim to know the reason for secret things like disasters, people will see that you are guessing based on your own prejudices. So, when you speak about the gospel, people will write it off, assuming that this is another guess that reflects your own prejudice too.There is an impulse within us that wants to have a simple explanation for complex events. One day Jesus’ disciples asked Him: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus said, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:2-3).We need great humility before the secret things and great confidence in the revealed things.Which do you need more of today—humility with the secret things? Or confidence in the revealed things? You can ask the Lord for both!

“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.Job 2:10Job was the righteous man who suffered incredible loss in a terrorist attack and a natural disaster on the same day. We know Satan’s hand was behind what Job suffered, but the Bible does not allow us to think for a moment that Satan operates as a free agent.Martin Luther once said, “Even the devil is God’s devil.” His point was that Satan’s best effort to destroy God’s work ends up contributing to its growth.Dr. Joe Stowell tells the story of giving a sermon on the sovereignty of God. Afterward, a couple came up to him to thank him for his message, which they said had been such a comfort to them.Then they told him their story. They had lost their son through a tragic and sudden illness, so they went to talk to their pastor. They were looking for something to cling to in their sorrow, and their pastor said to them: “I don’t know what to tell you, except to say that sometimes even God makes mistakes.”The sovereignty of God will leave you with many questions, but it is far better to live with these questions unanswered than plunge into the abyss of a god (small g) who stands by as a helpless onlooker, because the disasters of life are somehow beyond his control.The circumstances of your life right now may be far from what you would want them to be, but they are under the control of God, and that's the first thing you need to know in times of disaster.How would you answer Job’s question?

Disaster has come down from the LORD.Micah 1:12We must affirm that God is in control not only of good things but also bad. This isn't easy. In fact, it is so difficult that some Christians have felt that it would be better to keep God at a distance from disasters altogether.Back in the eighteenth century there was a movement called deism. Deists believe that God created the world but then He stepped back, like a watchmaker who makes a watch, winds it up, and then lets it run on its own without any further interference.So, if God is at a distance and something good happens to you, the deist believes there is no reason to thank Him for it. And if something bad happens there is no reason to blame Him for it. There are no miracles, no salvation, and no prayer. All that you really have is yourself.The Bible shows that deism is quite different from Christianity, because in it the Creator is always involved with His creation—reigning, intervening, hearing and answering prayer, sending His Son into the world, opening blind eyes, and raising the spiritually dead.So, nobody who believes the Bible will embrace deism, but some Christians want to go halfway there. They want to say that God is in control of the good things that happen but not the bad.But if God is in control of the good, who’s in control of the bad? And if the bad is greater than God, we are in real trouble! If God is not sovereign, then evil is; or we are all adrift on a sea of chance. The Bible brings us the good news that God is in control of the disasters of life.Does it seem like “good news” to you to know that God is in control of disasters?

For this I will lament and wail...Micah 1:8Notice Micah’s response to his own message! Here is a man with the Word of God, who also shares the heart of God.Micah says that the wound in the Northern Kingdom is “incurable” (1:9), and that Samaria’s resistance to God has essentially reached the point of no return.Micah cannot change the course of these events, but his tears show that he really cares. There may be times like that in your life. Things reach a point where they cannot continue as they are. You have to fire an employee. You have to tell a son or a daughter to leave. You have to confront an unfaithful spouse. You have to intervene in the life of somebody you love—the day of reckoning has come, and it tears you apart, but you cannot avoid it. When this happens, you will say (with Micah), “Because of this I will weep and wail.”Then Micah says, “Tell it not in Gath” (1:10). Gath was one of the five main cities that belonged to the Philistines, the long-time enemies of God’s people. Goliath came from the town of Gath. This phrase was originally used by King David after Saul died on the field of battle: 'Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice” (2 Sam. 1:20). Don’t expect sympathy from your enemies when disaster comes.Do you share the heart of God? Where have you seen evidence of this? Can you think of a time when you wept (or wailed?) because of the Word of God?

For behold, the LORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.Micah 1:3Micah begins with a terrifying scene: God rises up from His dwelling place and comes down to the earth. And He is coming to make His case against the peoples of the earth (1:2). We are given a description of the terror of what happens (1:4).Steven Spielberg would have a field day with the special effects here. What Micah describes is like a scene from a disaster movie—mountains melting like wax, valleys splitting apart, with great chasms opening up in the ground.Micah says, in effect, “Listen, people, the Lord is coming in judgement,” and his audience would be nodding their heads in agreement, “Amen. Amen. Finally, God is going to deal with our enemies—the Assyrians. Lord, come quickly!” That’s what his audience was thinking, but look at what Micah says next: “All this is for the transgression of Jacob” (1:5).“Sorry, Micah, what did you say?”This is “for the sins of the house of Israel” (1:5). Jacob and Israel were ways of speaking about the people of God in the Old Testament. They saw themselves as the true believers, the light of the world, the people bearing God’s name.But Micah says, “It’s not the mountains in Assyria that are going to melt. It’s our mountains. It’s our valleys that are going to be destroyed.” Talk about a knockout punch. “Micah, you cannot be serious.” But Micah is deadly serious. This is the Word of the Lord, and this is precisely what happened when the Assyrians invaded Samaria (during Micah’s lifetime) in 722 BC.How do you respond when personal tragedy, financial loss, or health issues hit close to home?

The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah…Micah 1:1Who is Micah? What education does he have? What does he understand about the complexity of city life, or business, or international politics? What does he know about the psychological roots of dysfunction in the family? What does this country bumpkin think he has to say to the nation?There is only one answer. This man has been given the Word of God. That Word brings life. That Word is a living seed that can change the heart of a king. It can change the way a man does business, and it can change the experience of a dysfunctional family.It is the Word of the living God who can bring a great revival from the worst disaster, raise a great son from the worst father, and give a great ministry to the most ordinary believer. This is a God worth knowing.Micah isn’t around today. Nor is Isaiah or Jeremiah or Amos or Hosea. But the Word of God is here today—and you know who has it? We do! We have God’s Word in the Bible.God speaks today through ordinary people who know His Word and who will be faithful in bringing it to others. We’re learning this Word, so that we may be changed by it, and then bring this Word to others so that they can experience a close encounter with the living God.God wants to use us to bring His Word to others so that they can experience a close encounter with the living God. Who is God calling you to speak with today?

The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah…Micah 1:1In Old Testament times, Micah was a common name, rather like Smith today. We are told that Micah was from Moresheth, a tiny little farming village about 20 miles from Jerusalem. It was about as obscure a town as you could imagine.And who was Micah? At the beginning of the prophetic books, we are usually told the name of the prophet and then the name of his father, presumably because most of them came from families with some prestige or reputation. Isaiah is the son of Amoz, Jeremiah is the son of Hilkiah, and so on, but Micah is just Micah. No one had heard of his father or mother.God called Micah from this small rural town, Moresheth, to the capital city of Jerusalem. The ministry of Isaiah was already prominent when Micah arrived in Jerusalem. Put yourself in Micah’s shoes. How would you feel stepping out into ministry alongside the greatest prophet in the Old Testament?Look at what we are told here: “The word of the Lord… came to Micah of Moresheth.” The Creator of the universe who said, “Let there be light,” and who spoke the universe into existence with His own Word, actually spoke to Micah of Moresheth and gave him a message. It was not only for Jerusalem and Samaria, 700 years before the time of Jesus, but also for us today.An ordinary man with the Word of God changed the course of his nation. God can give a great ministry to the most ordinary believer.What is God calling you to do?What’s keeping you from stepping out in faith?

He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him.2 King 18:5Some people have been blessed with a wonderful upbringing. Your father loved you, spent time with you, and was a role model for you. But others have had a very different experience.Perhaps your father was a picture of what you do not want to be. There are tender wounds when you think about your father. And for some of us, this is an ongoing problem.Can you imagine what it must have been like for Hezekiah to be raised as Ahaz’s son? Imagine being raised by a man who does not know how to love, who is spiritually blind and morally bankrupt; who has demons within him that he does not know how to control.Hezekiah must have looked at his father and said to himself, “I’ve got his genetic material in me.” Like father, like son. If that’s your situation, you need to know that God can raise a great son from the worst father. Hezekiah’s story is a beacon of hope for any person who comes from an abusive or dysfunctional family.This is what the grace of God can do. A close encounter with the living God makes a whole new life possible. Your genetic material may still shape your greatest struggles, but there will be a different outcome.How was your upbringing?Do you have some tender wounds?

The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth…Micah 1:1If you had lived at the time of King Ahaz, you would probably have felt everything was lost. But God did a new thing through King Hezekiah.You can apply this to any great crisis in your family, your business, or your nation: God can bring a great revival from the worst disaster. A resurrection can only happen when something is dead. And God has a way of stepping in when there seems to be no other hope.You never see this more clearly than when Jesus is on the cross. Life was draining out of Him, and for those who were watching, all hope was gone. A soldier pierced His side, blood and water flowed out, and He was pronounced dead. So, they took Him down, wrapped His body, and laid Him in a tomb. His followers were left to grieve over what might have been.But on the third day, He rose from the dead. The God who can do this is a God worth knowing! And knowing Him is the beginning of hope. He is the living God, and you never know what He is going to do next. When it seems that everything is lost, He steps in.If you are in the worst of times, start watching to see what God will do. God can bring a great revival from the worst disaster, and when you know this, it will give direction to your prayers.Does it feel like you are in the worst of times today?

The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.Micah 1:1Micah’s ministry spanned a period of about 50 years (750-700 BC). He lived and preached at the same time as the prophet Isaiah.During this time, Israel was divided in two—the Northern Kingdom (often called Samaria), and the Southern Kingdom (Judah, with its capital in Jerusalem). Micah’s focus was on the south, where he spoke the Word of God during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.Jotham was a believer with a good heart, but he didn’t have the courage to follow through on his convictions. Ahaz presided over a national moral disaster—he lost territory, drained the economy, and introduced God’s people to other gods. If you had lived in Ahaz’s time, you would have felt that the whole nation was plunging to a disaster from which it could never recover.But when Ahaz died, his son Hezekiah came to the throne (2 Kings 18:1-7). He was a king with an entirely different profile. Not only did he do right in the eyes of the Lord, but “there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him” (18:5). He was greater even than King David.So, Micah lived through the best of times and the worst of times. He lived through a moral disaster and a spiritual revival. There is great encouragement for us here. God can bring a great revival from the worst disaster.Do you feel as if everything is lost? Why? Have faith in the God who can bring a great revival even from a moral failure.

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.Job 1:1Job was the most righteous man of his time. Yet he suffered a terrorist attack and a natural disaster on the same day. The Sabeans came and murdered his servants and animals, and then a hurricane came and flattened the house where all of his children were throwing a party.The Bible never suggests that if you keep God happy nothing bad will happen to you. We live in a fallen world of disease, danger, and death, and these things will shape our experience.You see this in the life of Jesus. Nobody ever lived a life more pleasing to God. Yet He experienced terror unleashed, as He was stretched out on a cross, the sun stopped shining, and an earthquake split the ground beneath Him.Paganism would say, “Well, the gods must not be happy with him.” But the Bible says that it was through Him that God fulfilled His purpose.We desperately need to be delivered from a superstitious Christianity, in which we see our religion as a way of keeping God happy so that there won’t be any trouble in our lives. And we need to rediscover a biblical Christianity in which we put our trust in God, knowing that there will be trouble in our lives, but that He will bring us through it and fulfil His purpose.The God of the Bible is able to bring you through the worst experiences of your life. He is able to do more for you and in you than you could ever ask or imagine.Are you ready to experience a close encounter with the living God?

“The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.Isaiah 65:25The great promise of the Bible is not just that God will restore His people, but that He will restore creation. There will be a new heaven and a new earth.Old hostilities will be reconciled: “The wolf and the lamb shall graze together” (65:25). Wolves destroy lambs. But now they feed together. God creates a new animal kingdom that reflects the reconciliation of all things in Christ.In the new heaven and the new earth, redeemed Hutus and redeemed Tutsis will live together in joy; redeemed Jews and redeemed Arabs will be neighbours and friends; and redeemed Socialists and redeemed Conservatives will be speaking well of each other!Old natures will be changed: "The lion shall eat straw like the ox." Lions eat red meat - it's their nature. But in the new heaven and the new earth, every source of violence, pain and destruction is gone. The lion eats straw like the ox!Every last remnant of your old nature will be gone too: the impulse of the flesh that tempts you, the coldness of heart that often makes you sluggish and unresponsive to God, all that you struggle and fight against in your Christian life will be gone forever. We will be changed, in a moment, at the sound of the last trumpet (1 Cor. 15:51-52).And the life and joy of this new heaven and new earth will endure forever: “The new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD” (Isa. 66:22). What Christ redeems is secure forever.Where could you get a head start today on God’s promise of restoration?

“They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be.”Isaiah 65:21-22The important point here is that people will settle down in heaven. In this world, many people find a home, but oftentimes they don’t get to enjoy it.As you get older, you find that you cannot maintain the family home you have loved for so many years. You don’t want to move, but you have to.Tragedy comes and you have to flee. The home you built is destroyed in a flood or in an earthquake or in a war. And you have to start all over again.The transience of this world wrecks community. It tears up relationships and ruins stability. It means that many people do not have the joy of seeing relationships mature. They are not able to stick around long enough to see what comes of their work.But Isaiah says that in the new heaven and new earth His people “shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity” (65:22-23).We won’t be bearing children in heaven—Isaiah is using what we know to point us toward what is hard to understand. Here’s what he is saying: In this life, some children are born into desperate circumstances of poverty, war, and abuse. No more. Instead of war and hate and violence and crime, God’s people will live together in love and harmony and peace and joy.As you think about our broken families and relationships in this world, give thanks that God will bring restored community in the new heaven and new earth.

“No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.”Isaiah 65:20Taking the last part of this verse first. Isaiah is telling us that death will be no more. He is using the analogy of what we can understand to point us toward what, right now, is beyond our grasp. It’s hard to get your mind around living for eternity, but you can understand a man living to a hundred, so Isaiah says living to a hundred is nothing in the new heaven and the new earth.Commenting on this future reality, bible scholar Alec Motyer says, “Death will have no more power and sin will have no more presence.” The book of Revelation says, “Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (21:4).The joy of heaven will be more than the absence of death; it will be in the quality of life. Look again at the first part of Isaiah 65:20: “No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days. or an old man who does not fill out his days.” John Calvin interpreted this by explaining, “Whether they are children or old men, they shall arrive at a mature age so as to be always vigorous, like persons in the prime of life… they shall always be healthful and robust.”What do you find most encouraging about heaven?

“Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.”Isaiah 65:17-19When God says that “the former things shall not be remembered” in the new heaven and the new earth, it does not mean that we will have no memory of this life. We will know one another in heaven. We will know and remember Christ’s love for us and His grace in our lives.What God is saying is that what breaks your heart will no longer come to your mind, and what causes you pain and distress will no longer have power over you. You will find joy in the city of God and in the people of God. And your greatest joy will be in the joy that God has over you.Where Isaiah says, “No more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress” (65:19), John says the same thing another way in Revelation: “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17; 21:4).That is such an intimate picture: A loving Father wipes away the tears of His child. Imagine Almighty God doing this for you.Can you imagine God wiping away all your tears from your eyes—the source of every sorrow, the effect of every pain - so that with unclouded joy you can savour heaven, the world of love?

“They shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."Isaiah 66:24When Jesus spoke about hell, He used these words from Isaiah 66:24 to describe its awful reality: “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:48). The fire speaks of God’s presence. People sometimes say that hell is being separate from God forever, but sinners in hell can never escape the God they hate or the burning fire of His hostility toward them. God is a consuming fire; it is a fearful thing to fall into His hands (Heb. 12:29, 10:31)The worm speaks of conscience that eats away at the inside of a person. A person in hell will not be telling himself what a good guy he is and that he has just been misunderstood. The sinner in hell will know that the single reason he (or she) is there is his own continued resistance and rebellion toward God. He will see that God’s judgement on him is completely just.The Bible’s teaching about hell helps us to understand why Jesus Christ came into the world and why He had to die on the cross. What would be on a scale that would call for Christ to leave heaven, God to become man, the Saviour to hang on a cross and the eternal fellowship of the Father and the Son to be ruptured?Hell has a summons for every person. Either you go there yourself, or Christ goes there on your behalf. Christ entered hell so that you should never know what it is like.Does it make sense to you that Jesus came into the world and went to the cross for you?

Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame; behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry out for pain of heart and shall wail for breaking of spirit.”Isaiah 65:13-14God Himself is speaking here, and He describes two groups of people: Some who are eating, drinking, rejoicing, and singing. Others who are hungry, thirsty, ashamed, and crying out from anguish of heart.The Bible speaks repeatedly about two destinies—one that is indescribably good, the other indescribably bad, and that all people will enter one of these two destinies. We believe these things, not because we like them, but because we find them in the Scriptures.It seems that these two groups of people will be aware of each other (Mat. 25:31-46). The wicked will see the joy of the righteous and know how much they have lost: “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out” (Luke 13:28).The righteous will see the wicked and know what they have been saved from: “They shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die. their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh" (Isa. 66:24).So, the righteous will see and hear the sentencing of the wicked, and the wicked will see the salvation of the righteous.Do you find it easy or difficult to believe in the everlasting joy of God’s people and the everlasting punishment of the wicked? Why or why not?

They shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD to my holy mountain Jerusalem.”Isaiah 66:20What a marvellous picture: People from all the nations are gathering before the Lord. In Jesus Christ, they have become brothers and sisters. And the missionaries who proclaimed God’s glory in distant lands will have the joy of bringing these redeemed people from the nations in which they have served before the Lord.The New Testament takes up this picture. In Revelation, John sees a vision of the New Jerusalem, and it has gates facing north, south, east and west. The gates are open and God’s redeemed people from all nations are pouring in from every direction. How did the gospel get to these nations? Through those who were sent.Revelation 21:26 tells us that “the glory and the honour of the nations” are brought into the city. Picture the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Athletes from each nation enter the arena. They walk together behind their flag with great joy while the vast crowd cheers. A special honour is given to those who carry the flags.God is telling us that He is gathering a people from every tribe and tongue and language and nation. So, He sends some who have seen His glory. They go and proclaim His glory. And now God gives them the honour of bringing the redeemed people from the nations to which they have been sent before the Lord.God's people will be redeemed from every nation. And we will lay the flags of all nations from which we come at the feet of Jesus, and He will be crowned as Lord of all.Can you picture this day, when Christ’s redeeming work in these nations will be our joy?

“They shall declare my glory among the nations.”Isaiah 66:19There is an old (but profoundly unhelpful) phrase that is often quoted: “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.”How in all the world can you communicate the gospel without words? You can convey love without words, but love is not the gospel. You can bring hope without words, but hope is not the gospel.The gospel is that Jesus Christ died for your sins, and that He lives in the power of an endless life. He offers forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with the Father, and eternal life to all who will turn to Him in repentance and trust Him as Saviour. How can you communicate that without words?Missionaries will engage in many tasks, just as the local church is involved in many ministries. But whether it be at home or around the world, we want to invest in ministries that are committed to proclaiming God’s glory by putting the gospel of Jesus Christ into words.This is what God says about the priority of the missionaries that He sends: “They shall declare my glory among the nations.”How have you heard this phrase being used: “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words”? Why is it essential to communicate the gospel with words?

“And from them I will send survivors to the nations… to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory.”Isaiah 66:19Notice that there are two descriptions of the people to whom God sends His missionaries. First, God sends His missionaries to those who “have not heard my fame.” We would call them “unreached” peoples. People who have never heard. God sends missionaries to communities where there is no viable church. We should focus missionary effort on unreached peoples and give priority to those who have not heard.But there is also a second description here: People who “have not… seen my glory.” There are many people who have heard the gospel, but they have not yet seen Christ’s glory. They have been reached, but they have not yet been converted. It’s sometimes said that nobody has the right to hear the gospel twice until everybody has heard the gospel once. But how many people are converted the first time they hear the gospel? So unreached people are the primary focus, but not the only focus. God’s purpose is not only that nations should be evangelised, but that from every nation people should be converted. Not just that they should hear of His fame, but also that they may see His glory.Would you pray that God would raise up workers and send them to those who are unreached and to those who are unconverted?

“They shall come and shall see my glory…And from them I will send survivors to the nations.Isaiah 66:18-19Some years ago, John Piper coined a memorable phrase: Missions exist because worship doesn’t. That’s true. The reason we send missionaries is that across the world there are millions of people who do not see Christ’s glory. The great purpose of mission is that Jesus Christ should be worshipped in every nation as people see His glory.But thinking about this passage helps us to see that the opposite is also true: Mission exists because worship does. Why would anyone become a missionary? Because they have been gripped by God’s glory and feel compelled to declare His glory to others.Effective missionaries are worshippers gripped by the glory of God and “survivors” shaped by the discipline of God. “And from them I will send survivors” (66:19). In the immediate context, Isaiah was talking about those who survived the exile. But there is a broader application here.Those who will be most useful and effective in the missionary enterprise will be people whose lives have been marked by God’s discipline. They will be survivors who have learned what it means to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).God uses the tough things in life to build the kind of character that makes a person useful in tough situations. So don’t despise the hardships of your life. Effective missionaries are worshippers gripped by the glory of God and survivors shaped by the discipline of God.What kind of hardships has God been using to build character in your life? How might this discipline of God be shaping you for mission?

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.2 Corinthians 4:4Every weekend in church, there are people who come to worship. They sing hymns, appreciate the music, stand for the Bible reading, and listen to the sermon. But they don’t see Christ’s glory.That is our natural fallen condition. So how is it that some people from every nation, tribe, and language will come to see Christ’s glory?Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:6: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” At the creation, everything was dark, and then God said, “Let there be light.”Now Paul says that it is the same with us. Everything was dark in your heart, and then God said, “Let there be light!” He made His light shine in your heart. He gave you the light to see His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. And that happened through the gospel, which is why Paul says, “What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord” (4:5).If your mind and heart are gripped by the greatness and glory of Jesus, realise that this is a miracle of grace; it is the work of the Holy Spirit in you.Have you experienced this miracle of seeing Christ’s glory? If so, give thanks to God, and ask for more. If not, then ask God to make His light shine in your heart today through the gospel.

“The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory.”Isaiah 66:18In heaven, everything you discover, everything you accomplish, and everything you enjoy will give you fresh glimpses of the glory of God. After a million ages in heaven, you will only have grasped the beginning of Christ’s glory. That’s why life in heaven will never be old or dull, but always fresh and new. Christ’s glory is inexhaustible.Here’s the point: Our worship now is a foretaste of what we will experience then. Listen to what Paul says: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face” (1 Cor. 13:12). Worship is a foretaste of heaven. It is seeing now a little bit of what we will see then.Every glimpse of the glory of Christ in singing, in praying, in preaching, and in gathering around the Lord’s table is an anticipation of your unclouded joy when you see the Saviour. Many people today associate worship with singing, but the heart of worship lies not in what we sing but in what we see. Seeing Christ’s glory is the heart of worship.Every service of worship should be like a visit to the Grand Canyon. You know the Grand Canyon is big, but when you get there, it is bigger than you remembered, and that’s how it is with God. His love is deeper than you think. His power is stronger than you think. His holiness is purer than you think. God is always greater than our highest thoughts about Him.Will you anticipate and make it your intention to enlarge your vision of Christ’s glory as you participate in worship this week?

I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”Isaiah 6:8Worship and mission are bound up so tightly together that you cannot separate one from the other. When worship declines, mission follows. One sure sign of a church losing its way in worship is that it loses its interest in mission.If you want to evaluate a church’s worship, ask about its commitment to mission.When God restores worship, His people pursue mission. Isaiah knew this from experience: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up: and the train of his robe filled the temple" (6:1).Isaiah had known the Lord for a long time, but now he saw God’s glory. And in that awesome experience of worship, Isaiah heard the voice of God say, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And Isaiah said, “Here I am! Send me” (6:8).That’s the pattern: A worshipping church is a missionary church. Worship fuels mission. Those who see Christ’s glory are compelled to proclaim it. Where worship is restored, mission will prosper.How would you evaluate your church’s worship? How about your own worship? Why did you answer each of these questions the way you did?