Introduction:
Since My Future is Filled with Hope... (Micah 4:1-13):
- I submit to God's authority even though it's Not popular . (Micah 4:1-5)
- I trust that God is always at work even when it Seems Like He is Not . (Micah 4:6-10)
- I do not fear those who Stand Against Me . (Micah 4:11-13)
Romans 16:20 - "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:44-01:19
Alright, so you can turn your Bibles to Micah chapter 4 Micah chapter 4 and by looking around the room I'm gleaning that there is a Steeler game today, which I don't even know about what time is it? Oh So that's why there's so many people here at the 9 a.m. Okay now it all makes sense You're all the Steeler fans all the next people the next service with a non Steeler fans the reason I don't know that I'm not a very athletic person and And my son, Sam, who's five years old, seems to have inherited my athletic ability, which means that he doesn't seem to have any.
01:20-01:31
Now, this could obviously change over time, but as of right now, it looks like he's gonna follow in my footsteps of being the bench warmer, who the coach congratulates on hustling and working really hard.
01:33-01:37
You know, as great as those compliments were, they never really led to much playing time, in my experience.
01:38-01:41
But Sam is following in my footsteps in other ways.
01:41-01:43
Like me, he likes nerdy things.
01:43-01:45
He has a huge imagination.
01:45-01:48
He loves superheroes, Legos, and Star Wars.
01:49-01:57
As the small group leaders learned yesterday at our small group training, my son loves to run around with a Batman towel at all times around his head.
01:57-02:00
He's always zooming around the house wearing a cape of some kind.
02:01-02:06
And whenever he's watching an animated movie or a TV show, he gets so invested.
02:06-02:12
He like casts himself in the role of the main character and he acts like he is Batman.
02:13-02:15
He acts like he is Spider-Man.
02:16-02:20
And sometimes he gets a bit nervous when he's watching these movies and shows.
02:20-02:27
They'll ask me, "Dad, is Batman gonna be okay?" And I'll tell them, "Well, Sam, the show is called Batman.
02:28-02:32
"So I think Batman's gonna be just fine." Or, "You know what, I've seen this one before.
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"He beats the Joker, he gets back to the Batcave, Everything's great.
02:37-02:41
Sometimes these pep talks work, and sometimes they don't.
02:41-02:48
So I actually have to grab the remote and fast forward to the end of the movie to show him that everything's gonna work out in the end.
02:49-02:56
And whenever I do this, I see his worries just wash away and he's finally able to enjoy himself yet again.
02:57-03:08
Catching a glimpse of this future hope at the end of the movie gives him a sense of security in the present when things aren't looking for Batman, Spider-Man, or The Mandalorian.
03:10-03:14
You know, God does the same exact thing for Israel in Micah chapter four.
03:15-03:22
He offers them a glimpse of their glorious future as they experience a corrupt and dysfunctional present.
03:23-03:31
In a way, it's like he fast-forwards the movie of human history to show his chosen people how things will work out in the end.
03:32-03:38
Over the past month, Pastor Jeff has been walking through Micah chapter one through three.
03:38-03:50
And these chapters are filled with a sense of weightiness as God details his coming judgment, as he details what is going to happen for Israel's constant rebellion and idolatry.
03:51-03:55
We've encountered a lot of darkness and bleakness over the past few weeks, haven't we?
03:57-04:01
But a bright ray of optimism is about to burst on the scene in chapter four.
04:01-04:10
Pastor Jeff must have felt very generous last year whenever he's playing out the preaching calendar because he gifted me with one of the brightest spots in the entire book of Micah.
04:11-04:14
So far, we've been challenged to mourn over our sin.
04:15-04:19
We've been challenged to discern the truth of God from the lies of our enemies.
04:20-04:24
We've also been challenged to wake up to what is happening all around us.
04:26-04:36
This morning in Micah chapter four, verses one through 13, the Lord will call us to hope and not lose heart no matter how bad things may look right now.
04:37-04:48
And to be clear, when I say that we are called to hope, I don't mean that we should just wish that things get better and cross our fingers, oh, hopefully things will work out someday.
04:49-04:58
No, when I say that we are called to hope, I mean that we must have a confident expectation in God, his word, and his ways.
04:59-05:03
a confident expectation in God, his word, and his ways.
05:05-05:06
But why should we feel this way?
05:07-05:09
I mean, haven't you turned on the news lately?
05:09-05:13
Haven't you opened up YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook recently?
05:13-05:21
Don't you know that a monumental election is coming up in two months that people are absolutely losing their minds over?
05:21-05:26
Why should we as Christians have a sense of confident expectation?
05:28-05:37
because our eternity has been secured by God himself, because our future is filled with more hope than we can possibly comprehend.
05:37-05:43
And it is my hope, it is my prayer this morning, that you will walk away from this sermon at ease.
05:44-05:50
Not at ease with how the world looks right now, but at ease with how the world will look someday.
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So let's go to the Lord in prayer.
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I'm gonna pray for you, that you will submit to the truth of God's word.
05:57-06:01
I ask you to pray for me, that I'll preach the truth of God's word with faithfulness.
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Let's pray.
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Father, there's no one more important than you, which means that what you have to say is more important than anything else that anyone else has to say.
06:36-06:42
So I pray that we would all focus in this morning and dial into what you have to say and what you want us to hear.
06:42-06:49
And I pray that we will walk out of this room filled with a sense of hope that comes from you and you alone.
06:50-06:52
We ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
06:53-06:53
Amen.
06:55-07:04
To your outline for this morning, since my future is filled with hope, first, I submit to God's authority even though it's not popular.
07:04-07:08
I submit to God's authority even though it's not popular.
07:12-07:20
And the verses we're about to read are repeated almost word for word in Isaiah chapter two, verses one through four.
07:20-07:26
And there's a very similar prophecy in Zachariah chapter eight, verses 20 through 23 as well.
07:26-07:33
You know, every single part of God's word is important, but whenever God repeats himself, you need to stand up and pay attention.
07:34-07:41
You know, I know how frustrating it is whenever I repeat myself over and over and over again with my kids and they're just not paying attention and they're tuned out.
07:41-07:50
So let's go against that trend and pay attention to what God has to say, what our heavenly Father has to say in verses one through four of chapter four of Micah.
07:51-08:02
Micah writes, "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 that shall be lifted up above the hills, "and the people shall flow to it.
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"And many nations shall come and say, "Come, let us go 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.
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"For out of Zion shall go forth the law, "and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
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"He shall judge between many peoples, "and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away.
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"And they shall beat their swords in the plowshares "and their spears in the pruning hooks.
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"Nation shall not lift sword against nation, "neither shall they learn war anymore.
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"But 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." You know, on top of not being very athletic, I'm ashamed to admit that I also can't drive stick.
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And to head some of you off of the past, no, I'm not interested in you teaching me in the church parking lot after service.
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It doesn't seem worth it.
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And knowing me, I'd probably ruin your car's transmission.
09:00-09:03
I mean, I am the guy who broke his foot by falling off stilts.
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So anything is on the table, I think.
09:06-09:10
But as a prophet, Micah writes this chapter like he is driving stick.
09:10-09:20
He constantly switches gears and bounces back and forth between what is happening in Israel in his day, what's gonna happen very soon, and what will happen at the very end of time.
09:21-09:28
It can be really easy to get a bit of a whiplash as he switches gears back and forth throughout the timeline of history.
09:29-09:36
In these first four verses that we just read, Micah zooms in on what life will be like someday in the far future.
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And scholars debate about the timing of these future events.
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Is Micah talking about the millennial reign of Christ upon the earth that is described in Revelation 20?
09:48-09:57
You talking about the new heavens, the new earth, after Satan and death are cast into the lake of fire, never to be seen or heard from again in Revelation 21 and 22?
09:59-10:08
Well, after a lot of study this past week, it's clear to me that Micah is talking about the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth after the tribulation.
10:09-10:13
But there are certainly principles here that relate to the final eternal state as well.
10:14-10:23
But to be honest, Micah doesn't seem very interested and busting out a chart and giving a detached lecture about the end times.
10:24-10:32
He does, however, seem extremely interested in preaching an encouraging message about the end times that will bless his hearers.
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So I'm gonna try and follow in his footsteps this morning instead of giving you my theological homework.
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Because people in despair don't need you to hand them a chart, a timeline, or a calendar.
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People in despair need hope, which Micah offers in spades in this chapter.
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So let's get back into the verses we just read and unpack the future that God has in store for Israel.
10:57-11:06
So Micah begins by saying that one day, 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.
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Jerusalem, the temple, and the areas surrounding the city are situated on hills or mountains.
11:14-11:18
But whenever we hear the word mountain, we tend to think of something like Mount Everest, right?
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Which has a 29,000 feet elevation.
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Like a massive mountain, right?
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Jerusalem isn't really like that.
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The highest elevation is several thousand feet.
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So that seems pretty small in comparison to these massive mountains like Mount Everest or others in America that go from 10 to 20,000 feet.
11:37-11:39
So what is Micah talking about?
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He's saying that's not always gonna be the case.
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A day is coming when the mountain of the house of the Lord, Jerusalem, will tower above all in prominence and importance.
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It will be the centerpiece of God's creation and his throne upon the earth.
11:58-12:06
The land that has been fought over for thousands of years will finally be rightly recognized as belonging to the Lord and him alone.
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The place that has been a hotbed for racial unrest and unspeakable violence will be the place where peace and unity come from.
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As Micah says, "Peoples shall flow to it, "and many nations shall come and say, "'Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, "'to the God of the house of Jacob, "'that he may teach us his ways, "'and that we may walk in his paths.
12:32-12:41
"'For out of Zion shall go forth the law "'and the word of God from Jerusalem.'" This is a world that is totally beyond our experience.
12:42-12:45
This is a world that seems too good to be true.
12:46-12:51
Isn't this a way different picture than if you pulled up your phone and looked up Israel on Google right now?
12:52-12:56
Or if I were to stream the news about the Middle East on these screens?
12:58-13:00
But it gets even better in verses three through four.
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Let's read those again together.
13:03-13:14
He writes, "And he shall judge between many peoples, "and shall decide disputes for strong nations far away, "and they shall beat their swords in the plowshares, and their spears and their pruning hooks.
13:14-13:26
Nations should not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore, but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and no one shall make them afraid.
13:27-13:35
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken." So in the future that God will bring, peace will be the norm.
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Justice will overtake injustice.
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Weapons will be transformed into farming equipment because war will be a thing of the past.
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A sense of fear and dread about the next round of inflation, the next election, the next mass shooting, the next global conflict will be a distant memory.
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In short, God will make things right again.
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All that is broken and bent by sin will be set back into place like a broken bone at the doctor's office.
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And at this point, you may be thinking, Taylor, this sounds great and all, But you said this future should affect my present and I just don't see the connection.
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Well, thankfully the connection is in the next verse, in verse five, when he writes, "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." You know, what does it mean to walk in the name of someone?
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It's not exactly a common expression that we use in 2024.
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When you walk in the name of someone, you are recognizing him or her as your authority in your life.
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You will do whatever they say to think, say, and do.
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Micah is saying one day, God will be rightly acknowledged, rightly recognized for who he truly is.
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That future is unstoppable and it's coming.
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But until then, most people will do their own thing, follow their own path, and submit to the wrong authorities.
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But we as God's people will not let public opinion affect our personal convictions.
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You know, this goes back to the question we were all asked by a parent or mentor of some kind growing up.
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Oh, if everyone jumped off a bridge, does that mean you should too?
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Who was asked that question during a parental lecture of some kind?
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And what's the obvious answer?
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No, right?
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It's a cliche, but it's a cliche for a reason, because it's true.
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What other people believe and do should not change what you believe and do.
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If the world is going in one direction, you are called to go in the complete opposite direction.
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Their authority is themselves.
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Their authority is this ever-changing culture.
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Their authority is a God of their own making.
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Their flimsy authorities will collapse and disappoint.
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But at Harvest Bible Chapel, our authority is the true God who made everything.
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Our authority is found in the name of Jesus Christ, the only name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
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Our authority is found in this unchanging book.
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We will choose to walk in the name of the Lord our God because our future is set and he will not let us down.
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Are you on board with that?
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No, but seriously, are you actually okay with that?
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Are you willing to not be popular in the eyes of the world?
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Are you willing to experience disapproval and discomfort now so you can actually experience approval and comfort then?
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Compared to eternity, this life is like five minutes long.
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Let's be long-sighted instead of short-sighted.
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Let's be God-focused instead of me-focused.
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We have to keep our eyes on the prize, people.
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Instead of being so fixated on things that will fade away, let's focus on that which will truly last, which is the Lord and the kingdom that he is bringing.
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So secondly, since my future is filled with hope, I trust that God is always at work, even when it seems like he is not.
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I trust that God is always at work, even when it seems like he is not.
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So Micah continues to describe how amazing God's future kingdom on the earth will truly be in verses six through eight.
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Let's read that together.
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In that day, declares the Lord, I will assemble the lame and gather those who've been driven away and those whom I have afflicted.
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In the lame, I will make the remnant.
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and those who were cast off a strong nation, and the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion from this time forth and forevermore.
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And you, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, the former dominion shall come, kingship for the daughter of Jerusalem.
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You know, we can all agree that we live in a dog-eat-dog world where people are victimized, exploited, and abused, right?
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Babies are aborted.
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Children are mistreated.
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Women are sexualized.
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There are more slaves now than the history of the world.
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The elderly are cast aside as not valuable to society.
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This is the case right now, but this won't be the case someday.
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Micah says that God will gather his remnant, his chosen people, like a loving shepherd, funneling his sheep into a safe pen He will protect them forever.
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And no one will ever be able to hurt them ever again.
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You know, God isn't like that team captain at recess, who only picks the best and the strongest and leaves the weaklings to get picked over.
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No, he goes for the unwanted.
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He wants the unexpected.
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He gives rest to the weary and he exalts the lowly.
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This is the clear pattern in scripture.
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and this will be the way of God's future kingdom.
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But Micah once again switches gears from the far future to Israel's upcoming judgment in verses nine through 10.
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He writes, "Now why do you cry aloud?
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"Is there no king in you?
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"Has your counselor Paris, that pain, seized you "like a woman in labor?
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"Writhe and groan, O daughter of Zion, "like a woman in labor, "for now you should go out from the city "and dwell in the open country, you shall go to Babylon." Micah makes it crystal clear that the southern kingdom of Judah will be destroyed and deported to Babylon.
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The consequences for the repeated rebellion and idolatry cannot be avoided.
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That train has already left the station.
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And in light of this inevitable exile, Micah says that you are to cry out and mourn like a woman in the midst of a long and painful labor.
20:24-20:34
But as every parent in the room knows, the struggle of childbirth often leads to joy and blessing, which Micah talks about at the end of verse 10.
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He writes, "There in Babylon, you shall be rescued.
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"There the Lord will redeem you "from the hand of your enemies." What an unbelievably beautiful promise from an unbelievably gracious God.
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Judah's judgment will lead to their deliverance.
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God will not abandon his people to be exiles in a foreign land forever.
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He will draw them back.
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He will rescue them and bring them back to Jerusalem.
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But before that future rescue can be experienced, the pain of near judgment must be endured.
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Before the solution can be given, the sting must be given.
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The curse has to run its course before blessing can be given.
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And it's so easy for us in 2024 to read this text and fully trust the promise because we see the fulfillment later in scripture.
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We can clearly know the facts of Judah's exile and then the return to Jerusalem after decades in captivity.
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But Micah's audience didn't have that luxury.
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They had to take God at his word and believe that this future would become reality.
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And if you think about it, we're actually in the same exact position today, aren't we?
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We know what the Bible has to say about our present and about our future, but we all wrestle with trusting that God's promises will come true.
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It's really hard to trust God when life seems to be falling apart around you, doesn't it?
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whenever your plans for your life never seem to line up with God's plans for your life.
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Whenever the culture around you seems to get worse and worse and worse and worse.
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You know, recently I was listening to one of my favorite preachers, and he said something in a sermon that I've thought about every single day since.
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He said, "There is a question that is on the mind of almost everyone in a church congregation.
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Do you know what that question is?
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Will I make it?
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Will I make it?
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Have you ever asked yourself that question?
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Are you asking yourself that question now?
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Will I make it through this next round of inflation and be able to pay all of my bills and take care of my family?
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Will I make it through this rough patch in my marriage that isn't going away no matter what I do?
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Will I make it through my kid's rebellion?
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Through my teenager shutting me out?
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Through my adult child wandering away from the Lord?
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Will I make it through this devastating loss that's ripping me apart inside?
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Will I make it?
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Because no one seems to care, especially God.
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You know, if I asked everyone who is wrestling with a will I make it question right now raise their hands, we would be stunned by the response.
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We often think we're the only ones, but we're not.
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We're all dealing with something that is wearing us out, pushing us down, and holding us back.
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Trusting in the Lord is a common struggle that we all share, no matter how long we've followed the Lord.
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You know, it's so easy to say that you trust God when everything is going your way, isn't it?
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But you really put your money where your mouth is or suffering hits you between the eyes.
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We have to really understand what we're asking whenever we pray to God to make us more trusting people.
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Do you know what will happen if you pray to God and ask him to help you grow in your ability to trust him?
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I can tell you what won't happen.
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He won't just spread magical faith dust over you and make you a more trusting person.
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That's just not how it works.
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Instead, God will put you into an experience, a season where you are forced to trust him or you won't make it.
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He will do whatever is necessary to strip you of self-reliance so that you can become a person of utter dependence.
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At this point, you may be thinking, Taylor, okay, okay, I get it.
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I need to trust the Lord, but what does that look like?
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How do I know if I'm truly trusting God?
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Well, trusting God looks like giving him thanks, even when it seems that there's nothing to be thankful for.
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Trusting God looks like refusing to give yourself over to negativity and complaining, even when everyone else is.
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It looks like holding onto hope, even when the world around you looks hopeless.
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It looks like truly believing that God is always at work, even when it seems like he's sleeping on the job.
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It means that you're confident that God is up to something, even when it seems like he is doing nothing.
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Because trusting God has nothing to do with your circumstances, which constantly change.
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Trusting God has everything to do with his character, which never changes.
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The Lord can use your most embarrassing defeat to lead to your greatest success.
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He can bring tremendous blessing out of your biggest problem.
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He walks with you to the lowest of valleys that you can be led to the highest of peaks.
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God is always at work, even when the darkness around you hides his hand from your sight.
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Finally, since my future is filled with hope, I do not fear those who stand against me.
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I do not fear those who stand against me.
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So Micah once again switches gears in verse 11.
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He writes, "Now many nations are assembled against you, "saying, 'Let her be defiled "'and let her eyes gaze upon Zion.'" You know, take it on its own, this verse seems to only describe something that happened thousands of years ago.
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Yes, the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and then much, much later, the Babylonians invaded and finished the job by defeating Judah.
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But the next two verses will show us that Micah's major focus here is something that will happen someday in the end times.
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And this future is so certain, it's like it's already happened.
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At the end of the great tribulation, which will last for seven long years, the nations will gang up against Israel.
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The nations will fight against the church and against Christians like never before in the history of the world.
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And their goal will be to thumb their noses at God and to gloat over their man-centered victory.
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But they are missing a key piece of information that will lead to their downfall according to verse 12.
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I love this verse so much.
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But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord.
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They do not understand his plan that he has gathered them as sheaves to the threshing floor.
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These wicked nations will think that they came up with a foolproof plan to defeat God and his people, but they have one thing that they're missing.
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They don't know what God knows.
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They have no idea what God has devised for his enemies those who stand against his people.
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The nations will think that they are setting up Israel for slaughter, but they're actually just signing their own death warrant and putting a nail in their own coffin.
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And Micah describes God's enemies, not as terrifying armies or mighty warriors, but as helpless bundles of wheat on the threshing floor.
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And look how Israel is described in verse 13.
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He says, "Arise and thrash, O daughter of Zion, "for I will make your horn iron, "and I will make your hooves bronze.
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"You shall beat and piece as many peoples, "and shall devote their gain to the Lord, "their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth." So Micah is comparing Israel, Zion, to a massive and unstoppable ox.
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And this ox is armored up.
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This ox has all these different upgrades.
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He has a iron horn that could skew someone like a kebab.
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He has bronze hooves that can trample anyone that gets in its way.
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Let me ask you some easy questions with obvious answers that I guarantee you will get right.
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Does a 20 pound bundle of grain stand a chance against a 2,600 pound ox with an iron horn and hooves of bronze?
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That bundle of grain is gonna be grinded into a fine powder and blow away in the wind.
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Does a Pee-Wee football team stand a chance against the Steelers in this scrimmage?
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I don't care how hard those little guys hustle or work, they are going down.
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Would I stand a chance against Mike Tyson in the ring?
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I won't even add in his prime to that question because it wouldn't change the outcome.
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Not only would I end up back in a medical boot, but probably a full body cast with a chunk of my ear missing.
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Final question, do God's enemies stand a chance against him and his people?
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None at all.
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Those who oppose God may seem to be winning right now, but they're actually losing.
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They may appear to be ahead, but they will actually come up short in the end.
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Destruction is certain for those who submit to Satan in his ways, rather than submit to God in his ways.
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You know, it's so amazing to me that God includes his people in his victory over his enemies throughout scripture.
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I mean, listen to what Paul say about this in Romans 16, 20.
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The God of peace will soon crush Satan under whose feet?
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Your feet.
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Isn't that awesome?
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God's victory is our victory, which means that we do not need to live in fear of anyone who opposes us, anyone, from Satan all the way down to his lowliest servant.
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I mean, think about it.
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Why should you live in fear of Satan when you will one day crush him under your boot like an ant that wandered into your house?
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Why should we live in fear of those who want to destroy the church when Jesus Christ himself promised to build his church no matter what hell throws at us?
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Why should we worry about those who wanna lay a trap for Israel when the Bible says they will fall into their own snare?
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Why should we stress out about Christians being blacklisted when our names are written in heaven?
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Church history shows that persecution isn't bad for the church, it's actually good for the church.
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The more people try to stamp out the gospel, the further it spreads.
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Satan is his own worst enemy, and he can't help but get in his own way and advance God's plans no matter how hard he kicks, screams, or fights.
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As we witness our nation facing judgment, we must mourn, as Pastor Jeff talked about a few weeks ago.
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But Harvest, we must mourn as those who have hope.
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We must mourn as those who believe we are on the winning side.
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We must mourn not as victims of this culture, but as victors in Jesus Christ.
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And to be honest with you, as a pastor, it can be so discouraging to witness how many professing Christians panic about the future and walk around on a weekly basis under a dark cloud of anxiety.
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Again, to be honest with you, I do that as well.
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I jump on that worthless wheel of worry with you.
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We can often so fixate on what could happen.
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You know, it's so sad that we get bent out of shape about what could happen when we definitively know what will happen according to God's word.
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We can look for answers to our problems and hopes to our worries in all the wrong places.
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Our hope is not found in the economy bouncing back or getting back to the good old days that probably weren't as good as we remember.
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Our hope is not found in the right political candidate getting into office in the two months.
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Our hope isn't even found in America.
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Our one and only hope is found in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us.
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That's it.
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Who else can deliver on every promise?
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Who else can truly comfort us when we are afflicted We have no idea what to do.
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Who else can forgive us of our past, present, and future sins?
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Who else can right every single wrong?
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And the answer is, no one.
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You know, a famous prosperity preacher once wrote a best-selling book called Your Best Life Now, which I wouldn't recommend reading unless you want to know exactly what not to believe about the Christian life.
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But Your Best Life Now isn't the most biblical of titles because for the Christian, our best life isn't now.
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When is it?
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Later, in heaven.
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The world is full of pain, corruption, disease, and war, but one day all those things will be no more.
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You experience relational struggles, betrayal right now, but one day you will have perfect relationships.
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You deal with temptation and sin right now, But one day, your only desire will be to worship and please the Lord.
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We all struggle with anxiety and worry, but one day, those horrible things will never again enter into our hearts and minds.
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For those of us who are born again believers, our best life is not now, it is later.
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Our best days are truly ahead of us.
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But your best life now is actually the perfect title unbelievers who reject Jesus Christ and his free offer of salvation.
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For them, their best life will truly be now and their worst life will be later and last forever and ever and ever.
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Let me ask you this morning, are you on that path right now?
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Are you on that path to destruction?
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Are you hoping that all your religious deeds and your church attendance will be counted up and God will let you into heaven?
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Are you hoping that there is no God and wherever you die, you'll just fade away into nothingness?
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Are you hoping that all religious roads will lead to the same destination?
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Let me tell you, trusting in those false hopes will lead you to an eternity of hopelessness.
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I beg you this morning to trust in Jesus Christ.
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to submit to him as the Lord of your life, and he will be your living hope both now and forever.
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And I promise you, the hope that he offers will never disappoint, it will never collapse, it will never let you down.
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Jesus lived the perfect life you couldn't live.
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He died the death that you deserve to die on the cross, and he rose against that you could have new and everlasting life.
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Believe in him as Savior and Lord, and you will experience the future that Micah writes about.
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You will enjoy the future that only Jesus Christ can bring.
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Let's pray.
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Father, we come to you as people who struggle with hopelessness.
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It can be so easy to look at our circumstances, to look at the world around us and just kind of shrug our shoulders and think everything is hopeless.
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But Lord, I pray this morning that you have redirected our gaze away from ourselves, away from the news, away from the world and towards you and your word. Lord, help us to believe your promises even when they seem too good to be true. Lord, I lift up those in this room who have not yet trusted in your son.
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Lord, make them restless until they find their rest in you.
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Lord, let them not be able to sleep until they make the most important decision of their lives.
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Lord, we thank you for who you are.
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We thank you for what you have done, what you continue to do, and what you will do someday.
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We pray all this in your mighty son's name, amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read Micah 4:1-13
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
What is hope? Why is it so important for Christians to possess a strong sense of hope?
In what area of life do you feel the most pressure to conform to the world and not stand out for Christ?
How do you see yourself struggling with trusting in the Lord right now?
How can we resist the temptation to live in fear of the future from day to day?
Breakout
Pray for one another.